THE
fJl STORY
OF
ENGLAND
VOL. VII.
THE
HISTORY
or
ENGLAND,
FROM THE
INVASION OF JULIUS C^SAR
TO
THE REVOLUTION IN 1688.
IN EIGHT VOLUMES.
By DAVID HUME, Esq.
a JlrU) iStrition,
WITH THE author's LAST CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS.
TO WHICH IS FREFIXEP,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE, WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
VOL. VII.
LONDON
PRINTED FOR T. CADELL ; F. C. & J. RIVINGTON ; J. CUTHELL ; LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; JOHN RICHARDSON; J. M. RICHARDSON; J. BOOICBR; J. CARPENTER: JEFFERY AND SON; W. BAYNES AND SON; S. BAGSTER; J. AND A. ARCH; BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY; W. STEWART; J. BOHN ; SHERWOOD, NEELY, AND JONES ; T. HAMILTON ; OGLE AND CO. ; R.SAUNDERS; HARDING, MAYOR, AND LEPARD; J. AND T.GRAY; G. AND W. B. WHITTAKER ; W.MASON; SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL; lONGSBURY, PARBURY, AND ALLEN; J. COLLING WOOD; T.BOONE; LLOYD AND SON; BLACK AND YOUNG; W. WOOD; AND L. RELFE : AND J. PARKER, OXFORD.
1823.
^^f\%BjA
r\ "^ '"^. J- r~i ' '"""i P Ci
U*:
rA\Ci^}^
LONDON :
Printed by D. S. Maurice, Fenchurch-street.
CONTENTS
OF
THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
CHAP. LVII.
Invasion of the Scots. — Battle of Marston-moor. — Bat- tle of Cropredy-bridge. — Essex's Forces disarmed. — Second Battle of Newbury. — Rise and Character of the Independents. — Self-denying Ordinance. — Fairfax, Cromwell. — Treaty of Uxbridge. — Execution of Laud. Page 1
CHAP. LVIII.
Montrose's Victories. — The new Model of the Army. — Battle of Naseby. — Surrender of Bristol. — The West conquered by Fairfax Defeat of Montrose. — Eccle- siastical Affairs, — King goes to the Scots at Newark. — End of the War. — King delivered up by the Scots. 43
VI
CONTENTS.
CHAP. LIX.
Mutiny of the Array. — The King seized by Joyce.— The Army march against the Parliament. — The Array subdue the Parliaraent. — The King flies to the Isle of Wight. — Second Civil War. — Invasion from Scotland. — The Treaty of Newport. — The Civil War and In- vasion repressed. — The King seized again by the Army. — The House purged. — The King's Trial — and Execution — and Character. Page 82
THE COMMONWEALTH.
CHAP. LX.
State of England — of Scotland — of Ireland. — Level- lers suppressed. — Siege of Dublin raised. — • Tredah storraed. — Covenanters. — Montrose taken Prisoner. —
— Executed. — Covenanters. — • Battle of Dunbar. — of Worcester. — King's Escape, — The Comraonwealth.
— Dutch War. — Dissolution of the Parliaraent. 155
CHAP. LXI.
Cromwell's Birth and private Life. — Barebone's Parlia- ment. — Cromwell made Protector. — Peace with Hol- land. — A new Parliament. — Insurrection of the Royalists. — State of Europe. — War with Spain. — Jamaica conquered. — Success and Death of Admiral Blake. — Domestic Administration of Cromwell. — Humble Petition and Advice. — Dunkirk taken. — Sick- ness of the Protector. — His Death — and Character.
221
CONTENTS. vii
CHAP. LXII.
Richard acknowledged Protector. — A Parliament. — Cabal of Wallingford House. — Richard deposed.— Long Parliament or Rump restored. — Conspiracy of the Royalists. — Insurrection — suppressed. — Parlia- ment expelled. — Committee of Safety. — Foreign Affairs. — General Monk. — Monk declares for the Par- liament. — Parliament restored. — Monk enters Lon- don, declares for a free Parliament. — Secluded Mem- bers restored. — Long Parliament dissolved. — New Parliament. — The Restoration. — Manners and Arts.
Page 292
CHARLES II.
CHAP. LXIIL
New Ministry. — Act of Indemnity. — Settlement of the Revenue. — Trial and Execution of the Regicides. — Dissolution of the Convention. — Parliament. — Pre- lacy restored. — Insurrection of the Millenarians. — Affairs of Scotland. — Conference at the Savoy. — Ar- guments for and against a Comprehension. — A new Parliament. — Bishop's Seats restored. — Corporation Act. — Act of Uniformity. — King's Marriage. — Trial of Vane — and Execution. — Presbyterian Clergy eject- ed. — Dunkirk sold to the French. — Declaration of Indulgence. — Decline of Clarendon's Credit. 349
CHAP. LXIV.
A new Session. — Rupture with Holland. — A new Ses- sion. — Victory of the English. — Rupture with France. — Rupture with Denmark. — New Session. — Sea-fight
of
viii CONTENTS.
of four Days. — Victory of the English.— Fire of Lon- don.— Advances towards Peace. — Disgrace at Chat- ham. — Peace of Breda. — Clarendon's Fall — and Banishment. —State of France. —Character of Lewis XIV. — French Invasion of the Low Countries. — Negotiations. — Triple League. — Treaty of Aix-la- Chapelle. — Affairs of Scotland — and of Ireland.
Page 395
CHAP. LXV.
A Parliament. — The Cabal. — Their Characters. — Their Councils. — Alliance with France. — A Parliament. — Coventry Act. — Blood's Crimes. — Duke declares him- self Catholic. — Exchequer shut. — Declaration of In- dulgence. — Attack of the Smyrna Fleet. — War de- clared with Holland. — Weakness of the States. — Bat- tle of Solebay. — Sandwich killed. — Pr^ress of the French. — Consternation of the Dutch. — Prince of Orange Stadtholder. — Massacre of the De Wits. — Good Conduct of the Prince. — A Parliament. — Declaration of Indulgence recalled. — Sea-fight. — Another Sea- fight. — Another Sea-fight. — Congress of Cologne. A Parliament. — Peace with Holland. 450
THE
THE
HISTORY
OF
GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. LVII.
1644.
Invasion of the Scots. — Battle of Marston-moor. — Battle of Cro- predy-bridge. — Essex's forces disarmed. — Second Battle of Newbury. — Rise and Character of the Independents. — Self-de- nying Ordinance. — Fairfax, Cromwell. — Treaty of Uxbridge. — Execution of Laud.
npHE King had hitherto, during the course of chap. -* the war, obtained many advantages over the i-^^i- parliament, and had raised himself from that low condition into which he had at first fallen, to be nearly upon an equal footing with his adversa- ries. Yorkshire, and all the northern counties, were reduced by the Marquis of Newcastle ; and, excepting Hull, the parliament was master of no garrison in these quarters. In the west, Plymouth alone, having been in vain besieged by Prince Maurice, resisted the Kings authority: And had it not been for the disappointment in the enterprise of Gloucester, the royal garrisons had reached, VOL. viT. B without
2 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, without interruption, from one end of the kingdom to ^^^^- the other; and had occupied a greater extent of ^g^^ ground than those of the parliament. Many of the royalists flattered themselves that the same vigo- rous spirit which had elevated them to the present height of power, would still favour their progress, and obtain them a final victory over their enemies : But those who judged more soundly observed, that besides the accession of the whole Scottish nation to the side of the parliament, the very principle on which the royal successes had been founded was every day acquired, more and more, by the oppo- site party. The King's troops, full of gentry and nobility, had exerted a valou superior to their ene- mies, and had hitherto been successful in almost every rencounter : But, in proportion as the whole nation became warlike by the continuance of civil discords, this advantage was more equally shared ; and superior numbers, it was expected, must at length obtain the victory. The King's troops also, ill paid, and destitute of every necessary, could not possibly be retained in equal discipline with the par- liamentary forces, to whom all supplies were fur- nished from unexhausted stores and treasures.'' The severity of manners, so much affected by these zealous religionists, assisted their military insti- tutions ; and the rigid inflexibility of character by which the austere reformers of church and state were distinguished, enabled the parliamentary chiefs to restrain their soldiers within stricter rules and more exact order. And while the King's officers indulged themselves even in greater licences than those to which, during times of peace, they had been accus- tomed, they were apt, both to neglect their mili- tary duty, and to set a pernicious example of dis- order to the soldiers under their command.
* Rushworth, vol. vi. p. 560.
At
CHARLES I. 3
At the commencement of the civil war all chap. Englishmen, who served abroad, were invited over, ^vii. and treated with extraordinary respect : And most of them, being descended of good families, and, by reason of their absence, unacquainted with the new principles which depressed the dignity of the crown, had inlisted under the royal standard. But it is observable that, though the military profession re- quires great genius and long experience in the principal commanders, all its subordinate duties may be discharged by ordinary talents, and from superficial practice. Citizens and country gentle- men soon became excellent officers, and the gene- rals of greatest fame and capacity happened, all of them, to spring up on the side of the parliament. The courtiers and great nobility, in the other party, checked the growth of any extraordinary genius among the subordinate officers; and every man there, as in a regular established government, was confined to the station in which his birth had placed him.
The King, that he might make preparations, during winter, for the ensuing campaign, summoned to Oxford all the members of either house, who ad- hered to his interests ; and endeavoured to avail himself of the name of parliament, so passionately cherished by the English nation.'' The house of peers was pretty full ; and besides the nobility em- ployed in different parts of the kingdom, it con- tained twice as many members as commonly voted at Westminster. The house of commons consisted of about 140; which amounted not to above half of the other house of commons.''
So extremely light had government hitherto lain upon the people, that the yerj name of e.vcise was unknown to them ; and among other evils arising from these domestic wars, was the introduction of
b Rush. vol. vi. p. 559. " Idem, p. 566. 574, 575.
B 2 that
1644.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
that impost into England. The parliament at West- minster having voted an excise on beer, wine, and other commodities; those at Oxford imitated the example, and conferred that revenue on the King. And, in order to enable him the better to recruit his army, they granted him the sum of 100,000 pounds, to be levied by way of loan upon the sub- ject. The King circulated privy-seals, counter- signed by the speakers of both houses, requiring the loan of particular sums from such persons as lived within his quarters."^ Neither party had as yet got above the pedantry of reproaching their antagonists with these illegal measures.
The Westminster parliament passed a whimsical ordinance, commanding all the inhabitants of Lon- don and the neighbourhood to retrench a meal a week ; and to pay the value of it for the support of the public cause.'' It is easily imagined, that provided the money were paid, they troubled them- selves but little about the execution of their ordi- nance.
Such was the King's situation, that, in order to restore peace to the nation, he had no occasion to demand any other terms than the restoring of the laws and constitution ; the replacing him in the same rights which had ever been enjoyed by his predecessors ; and the re-establishing, on its ancient basis, the whole frame of government, civil as well as ecclesiastical. And, that he might facilitate an end seemingly so desirable, he offered to employ means equally popular, an universal act of oblivion, and a toleration or indulgence to tender consciences. Nothing, therefore, could contribute more to his interests than every discourse of peace, and every discussion of the conditions upon which that blessing could be obtained. For this reason, he solicited a treaty on all occasions, and desired a conference and mutual examination of pretensions,
•1 Rush. vol. vi. p. 590. « Dugdale, p. 119. Rush. vol. vi.p. 748.
even
CHARLES I.
even when he entertained no hopes that any conclusion could possibly result from it.
For like reasons, the parliament prudently avoided, as much as possible, all advances towards negotiation, and were cautious not to expose too easily to cen- sure those high terms, which their apprehensions or their ambition made them previously demand of the King. Though their partisans were blinded with the thickest veil of religious prejudices, they dreaded to bring their pretensions to the test, or lay them open before the whole nation. In opposition to the sacred authority of the laws, to the venerable pre- cedents of many ages, the popular leaders were ashamed to plead nothing but fears and jealousies, which were not avowed by the constitution, and for which neither the personal character of Charles, so full of virtue, nor his situation, so deprived of all independent authority, seemed to afford any reason- able foundation. Grievances which had been fully redressed; powers, either legal or illegal, which had been entirely renounced ; it seemed unpopular, and invidious, and ungrateful, any farther to insist on.
The King, that he might abate the universal veneration paid to the name of parliament, had issued a declaration, in which he set forth all the tumults by which himself and his partisans in both houses had been driven from London ; and he thence inferred, that the assembly at Westminster was no longer a free parliament, and till its liberty were restored, was entitled to no authority. As this declaration was an obstacle to all treaty, some contrivance seemed requisite, in order to elude it.
A LETTER was Written in the foregoing spring, to the Earl of Essex, and subscribed by the Prince, the Duke of York, and forty-three noblemen/ They there exhort him to be an instrument of
' Clarendon, vol. iii. p. 442, Rush. vol. vi. p. 566. Whitlocke, p. 77.
restoring
1644.
f HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
:hap. restoring peace, and to promote that happy end LVii. ' with those by whom he was employed. Essex,
though much disgusted with the parliament, though
^'-^- apprehensive of the extremities to which they were driving, though desirous of any reasonable accommo- dation ; yet was still more resolute to preserve an honourable fidelity to the trust reposed in him. He replied, that as the paper sent him neither contained any address to the two houses of parliament, nor any acknowledgement of their authority, he could not communicate it to them. Like proposals had been reiterated by the King, during the ensuing cam- paign, and still met with a like answer from Essex.^ In order to make a new trial for a treaty, the King, this spring, sent another letter, directed to the lords and commons of parliament assembled at Westminster : But as he also mentioned, in the letter, the lords and commons of parliament assem- bled at Oxford, and declared that his scope and in- tention was to make provision that all the members of both houses might securely meet in a full and free assembly ; the parliament, perceiving the con- clusion implied, refused all treaty upon such terms.'' And the King, who knew what small hopes there were of accommodation, would not abandon the pretensions which he had assumed ; nor acknow- ledge the two houses, more expressly, for a free parliament.
This winter the famous Pym died ; a man as much hated by one party, as respected by the other. At London he was considered as the victim to national liberty, who had abridged his life by in- cessant labours for the interests of his country : ' At Oxford he was believed to have been struck with an uncommon disease, and to have been consumed
e Clarendon, vol. iii. p. 444. Rush. vol. vi. p. 569, 570. Whitlocke, p. 94. h Clarendon, vol. iii. p. 449. Whitlocke, p. 79.
' Ibid. p. 66.
with
CHARLES I. •
with vermin; as a mark of divine vengeance, for chap. his multiplied crimes and treasons. He had been I-Vii. so little studious of improving his private fortune in those civil wars of which he had been one prin- cipal author, that the parliament thought them- selves obliged, from gratitude, to pay the debts which he had contracted. '' We now return to the military operations, which, during the winter, were carried on with vigour in several places, notwith- standing the severity of the season.
The forces brought from Ireland were landed at Mostyne, in North Wales ; and being put under the command of Lord Biron, they besieged and took the castles of Hawarden, Beeston, Acton, and Dedding- ton-house. ' No place in Cheshire, or the neigh- bourhood, now adhered to the parliament, except Nantwich : And to this town Biron laid siege dur- ing the depth of winter. Sir Thomas Fairfax, alarmed at so considerable a progress of the royalists, assembled an army of 4000 men in Yorkshire, and, having joined Sir William Brereton, was approach- ing to the camp of the enemy. Biron and his sol- diers, elated with successes obtained in Ireland, had entertained the most profound contempt for the parliamentary forces ; a disposition which, if con- fined to the army, may be regarded as a good pre- sage of victory ; but, if it extend to the general, is the most probable forerunner of a defeat. Fairfax suddenly attacked the camp of the royalists. The 25th Jan. swelling of the river, by a thaw, divided one part of the army from the other. That part exposed to Fairfax, being beaten from their post, retired into the church of Acton, and were all taken prisoners : The other retreated with precipitation.'" And thus was dissipated, or rendered useless, that body of
k Journ. 13th of February, 1643. ' Rush. vol. vi. p. 299.
™ Ibid. p. 301,
forces
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
forces which had been drawn from Ireland ; and the parliamentary party revived in those north-west
~^ counties of England.
rasion The invasion from Scotland was attended with
m Scot- consequences of much greater importance. The Scots, having summoned in vain the town of New- castle, which was fortified by the vigilance of Sir
i Feb. Thomas Glenham, passed the Tyne, and faced the Marquis of Newcastle, who lay at Durham, with an army of 14,000 men." After some military ope- rations, in which that nobleman reduced the enemy to difficulties for forage and provisions, he received intelligence of a great disaster which had befallen his forces in Yorkshire. Colonel Bellasis, whom he had left with a considerable body of troops, was
'"^^^' totally routed at Selby by Sir Thomas Fairfax, who had returned from Cheshire with his victorious forces. ° Afraid of being inclosed between two armies, Newcastle retreated ; and Leven having joined Lord Fairfax, they sat down before York, to which the army of the royalists had retired. But as the parliamentary and Scottish forces were not numerous enough to invest so large a town, divided by a river, they contented themselves with incom- moding it by a loose blockade ; and affairs remained, for some time, in suspense between these opposite armies, p
During this winter and spring, other parts of the kingdom had also been infested with war. Hopton, having assembled an army of 14,000 men, endeavoured to break into Sussex, Kent, and the southern association, which seemed well disposed to receive him. Waller fell upon him at Chering- ton, and gave him a defeat, '^ of considerable im- portance. In another quarter, siege being laid
" Rush. vol. vi. p. 615. o Idem, ibid. p. 618.
P Idem, ibid. p. 620. q 29th of March.
to
•t
CHARLES I. g
to Newark, by the parliamentary forces. Prince c h a Pi Rupert prepared himself for relieving a town of such ^-^^H- consequence, which alone preserved the communi- cation open between the King's southern and northern quarters/ With a small force, but that animated by his active courage, he broke through the enemy, relieved the town, and totally dissipated that army of the parliament. ^
But though fortune seemed to have divided her favours between the parties, the King found himself, in the main, a considerable loser by this winter- campagin ; and he prognosticated a still worse event from the ensuing summer. The preparations of the parliament were great, and much exceeded the slen- der resources of which he was possessed. In the eastern association, they levied fourteen thousand men, under the Earl of Manchester, seconded by Cromwell.* An army of ten thousand men, under Essex, another of nearly the same force under Waller, were assembled in the neighbourhood of London. The former was destined to oppose the King; the latter was appointed to march into the west, where Prince Maurice, with a small army which went continually to decay, was spending his time in vain before Lyme, an inconsiderable town upon the sea-coast. The utmost efforts of the King- could not raise above ten thousand men at Oxford ; and on their sword chiefly, during the campaign, were these to depend for subsistence.
The Queen, terrified with the dangers which every way environed her, and afraid of being en- closed in Oxford, in the middle of the kingdom, fled to Exeter, where she hoped to be delivered un- molested of the child with which she was now preg- nant, and whence she had the means of an easy escape into France, if pressed by the forces of the
•■ Rush. vol. vi p. 306. ' 21st of March.
' Rush, vol.vi. p. 621.
enemy.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
enemy. She knew the implacable hatred which the parliament, on account of her religion and her credit with the King, had all along borne her. Last summer the commons had sent up to the peers an impeach- ment of high treason against her ; because, in his utmost distresses, she had assisted her husband with arms and ammunition, which she had bought in Holland. " And had she fallen into their hands, neither her sex, she knew, nor high station, could protect her against insults, at least, if not danger, from those haughty republicans, who so little affected to conduct themselves by the maxims of gallantry and politeness.
From the beginning of these dissensions, the parliament, it is remarkable, had, in all things, assumed an extreme ascendant over their sovereign, and had displayed a violence, and arrogated an autho- rity, which, on his side, would not have been com- patible either with his temper or his situation. While he spoke perpetually of pardoning all rebels ; they talked of nothing but the punishment of delinquents ^ndi malignants : While he offered a toleration and indulgence to tender consciences ; they threatened the utter extirpation of prelacy : To his professions of lenity, they opposed declarations of rigour : And the more the ancient tenor of the laws inculcated a respectful subordination to the crown, the more careful were they, by their lofty pretensions, to cover that defect under which they laboured.
Their great advantages in the north seemed to second their ambition, and finally to promise them success in their unwarrantable enterprises. Manches- ter, having taken Lincoln, had united his army to that of Leven and Fairfax ; and York was now closely besieged by their combined forces. That town, though vigorously defended by Newcastle, was re- duced to extremity ; and the parliamentary generals.
"Ruih. vol. vi. p. 321.
after
M
CHARLES I. 11
after enduring great losses and fatigues, flattered ^^^^,^- themselves that all their labours would at last be
crowned by this important conquest. On a sudden, ^^44 they were alarmed by the approach of Prince Rupert. This gallant commander, having vigorously exerted himself in Lancashire and Cheshire, had collected a considerable army ; and joining Sir Charles Lucas, who commanded Newcastle's horse, hastened to the relief of York, with an army of 20,000 men. The Scottish and parliamentary generals raised the siege, and, drawing up on Marston-moor, purposed to give battle to the royalists. Prince Rupert approached the town by another quarter, and, interposing the river Ouse between him and the enemy, safely joined his forces to those of Newcastle. The Mar- quis endeavoured to persuade him, that, having so successfully effected his purpose, he ought to be content with the present advantages, and leave the enemy, now much diminished by their losses, and discouraged by their ill success, to dissolve by those mutual dissensions which had begun to take place among them. '"^ The Prince, whose martial dispo- sition was not sufficiently tempered with prudence, nor softened by complaisance, pretending positive orders from the King, without deigning to consult 2d July, with Newcastle, whose merits and services deserved better treatment, immediately issued orders for bat- tle, and led out the army to Marston-moor. " This Battle of action was obstinately disputed between the most ^^'^^^°°" numerous armies that were engaged dunng the course of these wars ; nor were the forces on each side much different in number. Fifty thousand British troops were led to mutual slaughter ; and the victory seemed long undecided between them. Prince Ru- pert, who commanded the right-wing of the royalists.
w Life of the Duke of Newcastle, p. 40. " Clarendon,
vol. V. p, 506.
was
moor.
1644.
12 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, vvas opposed to Cromwell^, who conducted the ^^^^' choice troops of the parliament, inured to danger, under that determined leader, animated by zeal, and confirmed by the most rigid discipline. After a! sharp combat, the cavalry of the royalists gave way; and such of the infantry as stood next them were likewise borne down and put to flight. Newcastle's regiment alone, resolute to conquer or to perish, ob- stinately kept their ground, and maintained, by their dead bodies, the same order in which they had at first been ranged. In the other wing. Sir Thomas Fairfax and Colonel Lambert, with some troops, broke through the royalists; and transported by the ardour of pursuit, soon reached their victorious friends, engaged also in pursuit of the enemy. But after that tempest was past, Lucas, who commanded the roya- lists in this wing, restoring order to his broken forces, made a furious attack on the parliamentary cavalry, threw them into disorder, pushed them upon their own infantry, and put that whole wing to rout. When ready to seize on their carriages and baggage, he perceived Cromwell, who was now returned from pursuit of the other wing. Both sides were not a little surprised to find that they must again renew the combat for that victory which each of them thought they had already obtained. The front of the battle was now exactly counterchanged ; and each army occupied the ground which had been possessed by the enemy at the beginning of the day. This second battle was equally furious and desperate with the first : But after the utmost efforts of courage by both parties, victory wholly turned to the side of the parliament. The Prince's train of artillery was taken ; and his whole army pushed off' the field of battle.^ This event was in itself a mighty blow to the King ; but proved more fatal in its consequences.
y Rush, part iii. vol. ii. p. 633. z Rush. vol. vi.p. 632.
VVhitlocke, p. 89.
The
It I
CHARLES I. 13
The Marquis of Newcastle was entirely lost to the chap.
royal cause. That nobleman, the ornament of the ^_^
court and of his order, had been engaged, contrary ^^44 to the natural bent of his disposition, into these mili- tary operations, merely by a high sense of honour, and a personal regard to his master. The dangers of war were disregarded by his valour ; but its fa- tigues were oppressive to his natural indolence. Munificent and generous in his expense ; polite and elegant in his taste ; courteous and humane in his behaviour ; he brought a great accession of friends and of credit to the party which he embraced. But j amidst all the hurry of action, his inclinations were secretly drawn to the soft arts of peace, in which he took delight ; and the charms of poetry, music, and conversation, often stole him from his rougher occu- pations. He chose Sir William Davenant, an inge- nious poet, for his lieutenant-general : The other persons, in whom he placed confidence, were more the instruments of his refined pleasures, than qua- lified for the business which they undertook : And the severity and application, requisite to the support of discipline, were qualities in which he was entirely wanting.""
When Prince Rupert, contrary to his advice, resolved on this battle, and issued all orders, with- out communicating his intentions to him, he took the field, but, he said, merely as a volunteer ; and, except by his personal courage, which shone out with lustre, he had no share in the action. Enraged to find that all his successful labours were rendered abortive by one act of fatal temerity, terrified with the prospect of renewing his pains and fatigue, he resolved no longer to maintain the few resources which remained to a desperate cause, and thought that the same regard to honour, which had at first called him to arms, now required him to abandon a
» Clarendon, vol. v. p. 507, 503. See Warwick.
r- party,
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
party, where he met with such unworthy treatment. Next morning early he sent word to the Prince that he was instantly to leave the kingdom ; and, without delay, he went to Scarborough, where he found a vessel, which carried him beyond sea. During the ensuing years, till the Restoration, he lived abroad in great necessity, and saw, with indifference, his opulent fortune sequestered by those who assumed the government of England. He disdained, by sub- mission or composition, to show obeisance to their usurped authority ; and the least favourable censors of his merit allowed, that the fidelity and services of a whole life had sufficiently atoned for one rash action into which his passion had betrayed him.^
Prince Rupert, with equal precipitation, drew off the remains of his army, and retired into Lanca- shire. Glenham, in a few days, was obliged to surrender York ; and he marched out his garrison with all the honours of war." Lord Fairfax, re- maining in the city, established his government in that whole county, and sent a thousand horse into Lancashire, to join with the parliamentary forces in that quarter, and attend the motions of Prince Ru- pert : The Scottish army marched northwards, in order to join the Earl of Calender, who was advanc- ing with ten thousand additional forces*^; and to reduce the town of Newcastle, which they took by storm : The Earl of Manchester, with Cromwell, to whom the fame of this great victory was chiefly ascribed, and who was wounded in the action, re- turned to the eastern association, in order to recruit his army.^
While these events passed in the north, the King's affairs in the south were conducted with more success and greater abilities. Ruthven, a Scotchman, who
^ Clarendon, vol. v. p. 511. ^ Rush. vol. vi. p. 638.
<J Whitlocke, p. 88. ^ Rush, vol vi. p. 641.
had
CHARLES I. 15
had been created Earl of Brentford, acted under the chap. King, as general. ^^ '
The parliament soon completed their two armies 1544. commanded by Essex and Waller. The great zeal of the city facilitated this undertaking. Many speeches were made to the citizens by the parlia- mentary leaders, in order to excite their ardour. Hollis, in particular, exhorted them not to spare, on this important occasion, either their purses, their persons, or their prayers'; and, in general, itmust be confessed, they were sufficiently liberal in all these contributions. The two generals had orders to march with their combined armies towards Oxford ; and, if the King retired into that city, to lay siege to it, and by one enterprise put a period to the war. The King, leaving a numerous garrison in Oxford, passed with dexterity between the two armies, which had taken Abingdon and had inclosed him on both sides. ^ He marched towards Worcester; and Waller received orders from Essex to follow him and watch his motions ; while he himself marched into the west in quest of Prince Maurice. Waller had ap- proached within two miles of the royal camp, and was only separated from it by the Severn, when he received intelligence that the King was advanced to Bewdley, and had directed his course towards Shrewsbury. In order to prevent him. Waller pre- sently dislodged, and hastened by quick marches to that town ; while the King, suddenly returning upon his own footsteps, reached Oxford ; and having reinforced his army from that garrison, now in his turn marched out in quest of Waller. The two armies faced each other at Cropredy-bridge near Banbury ; but the Charwell ran between them. ^^"^^ ^^ Next day the King decamped, and marched towards bridge^. ^' Daventry. Waller ordered a considerable detach- June 29. ment to pass the bridge, with an intention of
^ Rush. vol. vi. p. 662. e 3d of June.
falling
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
SAP. falling on the rear of the royalists. He was re- '^^^^' pulsed, routed, and pursued with considerable loss." 644. Stunned and disheartened with this blow, his army decayed and melted away by desertion; and the King thought he might safely leave it, and m.arch westward against Essex. That general, having ob- liged Prince Maurice to raise the siege of Lyme, having taken Weymouth and Taunton, advanced still in his conquests, and met with no equal oppo- sition. The King followed him, and having rein- forced his army from all quarters, appeared in the field with an army superior to the enemy. Essex retreating into Cornwall, informed the parliament of his danger, and desired them to send an army, which might fall on the King's rear. General Middleton received a commission to execute that service ; but came too late. Essex's army, cooped up in a narrow corner at Lestithiel, deprived of all forage and provisions, and seeing no prospect of succour, was reduced to the last extremity. The King pressed them on one side ; Prince Maurice on another ; Sir Richard Granville on a third. Essex, Robarts, and some of the principal officers, escaped in a boat to Plymouth : Balfour with his horse passed the Sept. King's out-posts, in a thick mist, and got safely to the garrisons of his own party. The foot under Skippon were obliged to surrender their arms, ar- tillery, baggage, and ammunition ; and being con- ducted to the parliament's quarters, were dismissed. By this advantage, which was much boasted of, the King, besides the honour of the enterprise, obtained what he stood extremely in need of: The parlia- ment, having preserved the men, lost what they could easily repair.'
No sooner did this intelligence reach London, than the committee of the two kingdoms voted
^ Rush. vol. vi. p. 676. Clarendon, vol. v. p. 497. Sir Ed. Walker, p. 31. ' Rush. vol. vi. p. 699, &c. Whitlocke, p. 98. Clarendon,
vol, V. p. 524, 525. Sir Edw. Walker, p. 69, 70, &c.
thanks
1644.
CHARLES I. 17
thanks to Essex for his fidelity, courage, and con- chap. duct ; and this method of proceeding, no less politic '"^'^'•• than magnanimous, was preserved by the parliament throughout the whole course of the war. Equally indulgent to their friends and rigorous to their ene- mies, they employed, with success, these two power- ful engines of reward and punishment, in confir- mation of their authority.
That the King might have less reason to exult in the advantages which he had obtained in the west, the parliament opposed to him very numerous forces. Having armed anew Essex's subdued, but not dis- heartened troops, they ordered Manchester and Cromwell to march with their recruited forces from the eastern association; and, joining their armies to those of Waller and Middleton, as well as of Essex, offer battle to the King. Charles chose his post at Newbury, where the parliamentary armies, under Second the Earl of Manchester, attacked him with great Newbury. vigour ; and that town was a second time the scene of the bloody animosities of the English. Essex's 27th Oct. soldiers, exhorting one another to repair their broken honour, and revenge the disgrace of Lesti- thiel, made an impetuous assault on the royalists ; and having recovered some of their cannon, lost in Cornwall, could not forbear embracing them with tears of joy. Though the King's troops defended themselves with valour, they were overpowered by numbers; and the night came very seasonably to their relief, and prevented a total overthrow. Charles, leaving his baggage and cannon in Dennington- castle, near Newbury, forthwith retreated to Wal- lingford, and thence to Oxford. There Prince Rupert and the Earl of Northampton joined him, with considerable bodies of cavalry. Strengthened by this reinforcement, he ventured to advance to- wards the enemy, now employed before Dennington- castle.'' Essex, detained by sickness, had not joined
•' Rush. vol. vi, p. 721, &c.
VOL. VII. c thq
i
i
8 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
:hap. the army since his misfortune in Cornwall. Man- ^^11- Chester, who commanded, though his forces were
much superior to those of the King, declined an
^^'^'^' engagement, and rejected Cromwell's advice, who th Nov. earnestly pressed him not to neglect so favourable an opportunity of finishing the war. The King's army, by bringing off their cannon from Denning- ton-castle, in the face of the enemy, seemed to have sufficiently repaired the honour which they had lost at Newbury; and Charles, having the satisfaction to excite, between Manchester and Cromwell, equal animosities with those which formerly took place between Essex and Waller ^ distributed his army into winter-quarters, ad Nov. Those contests among the parliamentary gene- rals, which had disturbed their military operations, were renewed in London during the winter season ; and each being supported by his own faction, their mutual reproaches and accusations agitated the whole city and parliament. There had long prevailed, in that party, a secret distinction, which, though the dread of the King's power had hitherto sup- pressed it, yet, in proportion as the hopes of suc- cess became nearer and more immediate, began to discover itself with high contest and animosity. The Independents, who had, at first, taken shelter and concealed themselves under the wings of the Pres- byterians, now evidently appeared a distinct party, and betrayed very different views and pretensions. We must here endeavour to explain the genius of this party, and of its leaders, who henceforth occupy the scene of action.
During those times, when the enthusiastic spirit met with such honour and encouragement, and was the immediate means of distinction and preferment, it was impossible to set bounds to these holy fer- vours, or confine, within any natural limits, what
' Rush, vol. vii. p. 1.
was
CHARLES I.
was directed towards an infinite and a supernatural object. Every man, as prompted by the warmth of his temper, excited by emulation, or supported by his habits of hypocrisy, endeavoured to distinguish himself beyond his fellows, and to arrive at a higher pitch of saintship and perfection. In proportion to its degree of fanaticism, each sect became dangerous and destructive ; and as the independents went a note higher than the presbyterians, they could less be restrained within any bounds of temper and mo- deration. From this distinction, as from a first prin- ciple, were derived, by a necessary consequence, all the other differences of these two sects.
The independents rejected all ecclesiastical esta- blishments, and would admit of no spiritual courts, no government among pastors, no interposition of the magistrate in religious concerns, no fixed en- couragement annexed to any system of doctrines or opinions. According to their principles, each con- gregation, united voluntarily and by spiritual ties, composed, within itself, a separate church, and ex- ercised a jurisdiction, but one destitute of temporal sanctions, over its own pastor and its own members. The election alone of the congregation was sufficient to bestow the sacerdotal character; and as all essen- tial distinction was denied between the laity and the clergy, no ceremony, no institution, no voca- tion, no imposition of hands, was, as in all other churches, supposed requisite to convey a right to holy orders. The enthusiasm of the presbyterians led them to reject the authority of prelates, to throw off the restraints of liturgies, to retrench ceremonies, to limit the riches and authority of the priestly of- fice: The fanaticism of the independents, exalted to a higher pitch, abolished ecclesiastical government, disdained creeds and systems, neglected every cere- mony, and confounded all ranks and orders. The soldier, the merchant, the mechanic, indulging the
c 2 fervours
1644.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
fervours of zeal, and guided by the ill apses of the Spirit, resigned himself to an inward and superior di- rection, and was consecrated, in a manner, by an im- mediate intercourse and communication with heaven.
The catholics, pretending to an infallible guide, had justified, upon that principle, their doctrine and prac- tice of persecution: The presbyterians, imagining that such clear and certain tenets as they themselves adopted, could be rejected only from a criminal and pertinacious obstinacy, had hitherto gratified, to the full, their bigotted zeal, in a like doctrine and prac- tice : The independents, from the extremity of the same zeal, were led into the milder principles of tole- ration. Their mind, set afloat in the wide sea of in- spiration, could confine itselfwithin no certain limits ; and the same variations, in which an enthusiast in- dulged himself, he was apt, by a natural train of thinking, to permit in others. Of all Christian sects this was the first, which, during its prosperity, as well as its adversity, always adopted the principle of toleration ; and it is remarkable that so reasonable a doctrine owed its origin, not to reasoning, but to the height of extravagance and fanaticism.
Popery and prelacy alone, whose genius seemed to tend towards superstition, were treated by the in- dependents with rigour. The doctrines too of fate or destiny were deemed by them essential to all re- ligion. In these rigid opinions, the whole secta- ries, amidst all their other differences, unanimously concurred.
The political system of the independents kept pace with their religious. Not content with con- fining to very narrow limits the power of the crown, and reducing the King to the rank of first magistrate, which was the project of the presbyterians ; this sect, more ardent in the pursuit of liberty, aspired to a total abolition of the monarchy, and even of the aristocracy; and projected an entire equality of
rank
CHARLES I.
rank and order in a republic, quite free and indepen- dent. In consequence of this scheme, they were
declared enemies to all proposals for peace, except "764^ on such terms as, they knew, it was impossible to obtain; and they adhered to that maxim, which is, in the main, prudent and political, that, whoever draws the sword against his Sovereign, should throw away the scabbard. By terrifying others with the fear of vengeance from the offended Prince, they had engaged greater numbers into the opposition against peace, than had adopted their other princi- ples with regard to government and religion. And the great success which had already attended the arms of the parliament, and the greater, which was soon expected, confirmed them still farther in this obstinacy.
Sir Harry Vane, Oliver Cromwell, Nathaniel Fiennes, and Oliver St. John, the solicitor-general, were regarded as the leaders of the independents. The Earl of Essex, disgusted with a war, of which he began to foresee the pernicious consequences, adhered to the presbyterians, and promoted every reasonable plan of accommodation. The Earl of Nor- thumberland, fond of his rank and dignity, regard- ed with horror a scheme which, if it took place, would confound himself and his family with the lowest in the kingdom. The Earls of Warwick and Denbigh, Sir Philip Stapleton, Sir William Waller, Mollis, Massey Whitlocke, Maynard, Glyn, had embraced the same sentiments. In the parliament, a considerable majority, and a much greater in the nation, were attached to the presbyterian party; and it was only by cunning and deceit at first, and afterwards by military violence, that the indepen- dents could entertain any hopes of success.
The Earl of Manchester, provoked at the impeach- ment which the King had lodged against him, had long forwarded the war with alacrity : but being a man of humanity and good principles, the view of
public
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
public calamities, and the prospect of a total subver- sion of government, began to moderate his ardour, and inclined him to promote peace on any safe or honourable terms. He was even suspected, in the field, not to have pushed to the utmost against the King the advantages obtained by the arms of the parliament ; and Cromw^ell, in the public debates, revived the accusation, that this nobleman had wil- fully neglected, at Dennington-castle, a favourable opportunity of finishing the war by a total defeat of the royalists. " I showed him evidently," said Cromwell, *' how this success might be obtained ; " and only desired leave, with my own brigade of *' horse, to charge the King's army in their retreat; " leaving it in the Earl's choice, if he thought pro- " per, to remain neuter with the rest of his forces : *' But, notwithstanding my importunity, he posi- " tively refused his consent ; and gave no other " reason but that, if we met with a defeat, there " was an end of our pretensions: We should all be " rebels and traitors, and be executed and forfeited " by law.'""
Manchester, byway of recrimination, informed the parliament, that at another time, Cromwell having proposed some scheme, to which it seemed improbable the parliament would agree, he insisted and said. My Lord, if you will stick Jirm to Jionest men, you shall find yourself at the head of an army, which shall give law both to King and parliament. " This discourse," continued Manchester, *' made " the greater impression on me, because I knew ** the lieutenant-general to be a man of very deep *' designs; and he has even ventured to tell me, *' that it never would be well with England, till '' I were Mr. Montague, and there were ne'er a "lord or peer in the kingdom."" So full was
"> Clarendon, vol. v, p. 561. " Idem, ibid. p. 562.
Cromwell
CHARLES I.
Cromwell of these republican projects, that not- withstanding his habits of profound dissimulation, he could not so carefully guard his expressions, but that sometimes his favourite notions would escape him.
These violent dissensions brought matters to extremity, and pushed the independents to the exe- cution of their designs. The present generals, they thought, were more desirous of protracting than finishing the war ; and having entertained a scheme for preserving still some balance in the constitution, they were afraid of entirely subduing the King, and reducing him to a condition where he should not be entitled to ask any concessions. A new model alone of the army could bring complete victory to the par- liament, and free the nation from those calamities under which it laboured. But how to effect this project was the difficulty. The authority, as well as merits of Essex, was very great with the parliament. Not only he had served them all along with the most exact and scrupulous honour : It was, in some measure, owing to his popularity, that they had ever been enabled to levy an army, or make head against the royal cause. Manchester, Warwick, and the other commanders, had likewise great credit with the public ; nor were there any hopes of pre- vailing over them, but by laying the plan of an oblique and artificial attack, which would conceal the real purpose of their antagonists. The Scots and Scottish commissioners, jealous of the progress of the independents, were a new obstacle ; which, with- out the utmost art and subtilty, it would be difficult to surmount." The methods by which this intrigue was conducted, are so singular, and show so fully the genius of the age, that we shall give a detail of them, as they are delivered by Lord Clarendon. ^
^ Clarendon, vol. v. p. 562. p Idem, ibid. p. 565.
A FAST,
1644.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ||
A FAST, on the last Wednesday of every month, had been ordered by the parliament, at the beginning of these commotions ; and their preachers on that day were careful to keep alive, by their vehement declarations, the popular prejudices entertained against the King, against prelacy, and against popery. The King, that he might combat the par- liament with their own weapons, appointed likewise a monthly fast, when the people should be instructed in the duties of loyalty and of submission to the higher powers; and he chose the second Friday of every month for the devotion of the royalists.'' It was now proposed and carried in parliament, by the in- dependents, that a new and more solemn fast should be voted, when they should implore the Divine as- sistance for extricating them from those perplexities in which they were at present involved. On that day the preachers, after many political prayers, took care to treat of the reigning divisions in the parliament, and ascribed them entirely to the selfish ends pursu- ed by the members. In the hands of those members, they said, are lodged all the considerable commands of the army, all the lucrative offices in the civil ad- ministration: And while the nation is falling every day into poverty, and groans under an insupportable load of taxes, these men multiply possession on possession, and will, in a little time, be masters of all the wealth of the kingdom. That such persons, who fatten on the calamities of their country, will ever embrace any effectual measure for bringing them to a period, or ensuring final success to the war, cannot reasonably be expected. Lingering ex- pedients alone will be pursued : And operations in the field concurring, in the same pernicious end, with deliberations in the cabinet, civil commotions will for ever be perpetuated in the nation. After
1 Rushworth, vol. vi. p. 364.
exaggerating
1644,
CHARLES I. 25
exaggerating these disorders, the ministers returned chap. to their priiyers ; and besought the Lord, that he ^^^^• would take his own work into his own hand, and if the instruments, whom he had hitherto employed, were not worthy to bring to a conclusion so glorious a design, that he would inspire others more fit, who might perfect what was begun, and, by esta- blishing true religion, put a speedy period to the public miseries.
On the day subsequent to these devout animad- versions, when the parliament met, a new spirit appeared in the looks of many. Sir Henry Vane told the commons, that if ever God appeared to them, it was in the ordinances of yesterday : That as he was credibly informed by many, who had been present in different congregations, the same lamentations and discourses, which the godly preachers had made before them, had been heard in other churches : That so remarkable a concur- rence could proceed only from the immediate operation of the Holy Spirit : That he therefore entreated them, in vindication of their own honour, in consideration of their duty to God and their country, to lay aside all private ends, and renounce every office attended with profit or advantage : That the absence of so many members, occupied in different employments, had rendered the house ex- tremely thin, and diminished the authority of their determinations : And that he could not forbear, for his own part, accusing himself as one who enjoyed a gainful office, that of treasuser of the navy ; and though he was possessed of it before the civil com- motions, and owed it not to the favour of the parlia- ment, yet was he ready to resign it, and to sacrifice, to the welfare of his country, every consideration of private interest and advantage.
Cromwell next acted his part, and commended the preachers for having dealt with them plainly and impartially, and told them of their errors, of which
they
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
they were so unwilling to be informed. Though they dwelt on many things, he said, on which he had never before reflected ; yet, upon revolving them, he could not but confess, that, till there were a perfect reformation in these particulars, nothing which they undertook could possibly prosper. The parliament, no doubt, continued he, had done wisely on the commencement of the war, in engaging several of its members in the most dangerous parts of it, and thereby satisfying the nation, that they intended to share all hazards with the meanest of the people. But affairs are now changed. During the progress of military operations, there have arisen in the parliamentary armies many excellent officers who are qualified for higher commands than they are now possessed of. And though it becomes not men engaged in such a cause to put trust in the arm ofjiesh, yet he could assure them, that their troops contained generals fit to command in any enterprise in Christendom. The army, indeed, he was sorry to say it, did not correspond, by its discipline, to the merit of the officers ; nor were there any hopes, till the present vices and disorders, which prevail among the soldiers, were repressed by a new model, that their forces would ever be attended with signal suc- cess in any undertaking.
In opposition to this reasoning of the indepen- dents, many of the presbyterians showed the incon- venience and danger of the projected alteration. Whitlocke, in particular, a man of honour, who loved his country, though in every change of go- vernment he always adhered to the ruling power, said, that besides the ingratitude of discarding, and that by fraud and artifice, so many noble persons, to whom the parliament had hitherto owed its chief support ; they would find it extremely difficult to supply the place of men, now formed by experience to command and authority: That the rank alone, possessed by such as were members of either house,
prevented
CHARLES I. 27
prevented envy, retained the army in obedience, chap. and gave vi^eight to military orders : That greater ^^^^"
confidence might safely be reposed in men of family iqu and fortune, than in mere adventurers, who would be apt to entertain separate views from those which were embraced by the persons who employed them: That no maxim of policy was more undisputed, than the necessity of preserving an inseparable connection between the civil and military powers, and of retain- ing the latter in strict subordination to the former : That the Greeks and Romans, the wisest and most passionate lovers of liberty, had ever intrusted to their senators the command of armies, and had main- tained an unconquerable jealousy of all mercenary forces : And that such men alone, whose interests were involved in those of the public, and who pos- sessed a vote in the civil deliberations, would suffi- ciently respect the authority of parliament, and never could be tempted to turn the sword against those by whom it was committed to them/
Notwithstanding these reasonings, a committee Seif- was chosen to frame what was called the Self- or^umm denying ord'mance, by which the members of both houses were excluded from all civil and military employments, except a few offices which were spe- cified. ' This ordinance was the subject of great debate, and, for a long time, rent the parliament and city into factions. But at last, by the preva- lence of envy with some ; with others, of false mo- desty ; with a great many, of the republican and independent views ; it passed the house of com- mons, and was sent to the upper house. The peers, though the scheme was, in part, levelled against their order; though all of them were, at bottom, extremely averse to it ; though they even ventured, once to reject it ; yet possessed so little authority, that they durst not persevere in opposing the
" Whitlocke, p. 114, 115. Rush. vol. vii. p. 6.
resolution
ance.
28 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
c II A P. resolution of the commons ; and they thought it ^^^^' better policy, by an unlimited compliance, to ward jg44 off that ruin which they saw approaching.' The ordinance, therefore, having passed both houses, Essex, Warwick, Manchester, Denbigh, Waller, Brereton, and many others, resigned their commands, and received the thanks of parliament for their good services. A pension of ten thousand pounds a-year was settled on Essex. 1645. It was agreed to recruit the army to 22,000 men;
and Sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed general.' It is remarkable, that his commission did not run, like that of Essex, in the name of the King and parliament, but in that of the parliament alone : And the article concerning the safety of the King's person was omitted. So much had animosities in- creased between the parties." Cromwell, being a member of the lower house, should have been dis- carded with the others ; but this impartiality would have disappointed all the views of those who had in- troduced the self-denying ordinance. He was saved by a subtilty, and by that political craft, in which he was so eminent. At the time when the other officers resigned their commissions, care was taken that he should be sent with a body of horse, to relieve Taunton, besieged by the royalists. His ab- sence being remarked, orders were despatched for his immediate attendance in parliament; and the new general was directed to employ some other officer in that service. A ready compliance was feigned ; and the very day was named, on which, it was averred, he would take his place in the house. But Fairfax, having appointed a rendezvous of the army, wrote to the parliament, and desired leave to retain, for some days. Lieutenant-general Cromwell, whose advice, he said, would be useful in supplying
^ Rush. vol. vii. p. 8.15. « Whitlocke, p. 118, Rush. vol. vii. p. 7. » Whitlocke, p. 133.
the
CHARLES I. 29
the place of those officers who had resigned, chap. Shortly after, he begged with much earnestness, ^^^l- that they would allow Cromwell to serve that cam- ~^^^ paign."" And thus the independents, though the minority, prevailed by art and cunning over the presbyterians, and bestowed the whole military au- thority, in appearance, upon Fairfax; in reality, upon Cromwell.
Fairfax was a person equally eminent for cou- Fairfax, rage and for humanity ; and though strongly in- fected with prejudices, or principles derived from religious and party zeal, he seems never, in the course of his public conduct, to have been diverted, by private interest or ambition, from adhering strictly to these principles. Sincere in his professions ; dis- interested in his views ; open in his conduct ; he had formed one of the most shining characters of the age ; had not the extreme narrowness of his genius, in every thing but in war, and his embarrassed and confused elocution on every occasion, but when he gave orders, diminished the lustre of his merit, and rendered the part which he acted, even when vested with the supreme command, but secondary and subordinate.
Cromwell, by whose sagacity and insinuation Cromwell. Fairfax was entirely governed, is one of the most eminent and most singular personages that occurs in history. The strokes of his character are as open and strongly marked, as the schemes of his con- duct were, during the time, dark and impenetrable. His extensive capacity enabled him to form the most enlarged projects : His enterprising genius was not dismayed with the boldest and most dangerous. Carried by his natural temper to magnanimity, to grandeur, and to an imperious and domineering policy ; he yet knew, when necessary, to employ the most profound dissimulation, the most oblique
'* Clarendon, vol. v. p. G29, 630. Whitlocke, p. 141.
and
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
and refined artifice, the semblance of the greatest moderation and simplicity. A friend to justice, though his public conduct was one continued vio- lation of it ; devoted to religion, though he perpe- tually employed it as the instrument of his ambition; he was engaged in crimes from the prospect of sove- reign power, a temptation which is, in general, irre- sistible to human nature. And by using well that authority which he had attained by fraud and vio- lence, he has lessened, if not overpowered, our de- testation of his enormities, by our admiration of his success and of his genius.
During this important transaction of the self- denying ordinance, the negotiations for peace were likewise carried on, though with small hopes of success. The King having sent two messages, one from Evesham", another from Tavistoke^, desiring a treaty, the parliament despatched commissioners to Oxford, with proposals as high as if they had obtained a complete victory. ^ The advantages gained during the campaign, and the great distresses of the royalists, had much elevated their hopes ; and they were resolved to repose no trust in men in- flamed with the highest animosity against them, and who, were they possessed of power, were fully au- thorised by law to punish all their opponents as rebels and traitors.
The King, when he considered the proposals and the disposition of the parliament, could not expect any accommodation, and had no prospect but of war, or of total submission and subjection : Yet, in order to satisfy his own party, who were impatient for peace, he agreed to send the Duke of Richmond, and Earl of Southampton, with an answer to the proposals of the parliament, and at the same time to desire a treaty upon their mutual demands
^ 4th of July, 1644. v 8th of Sept. 1644.
' DugdalC; p. 737. Rush. vol. vi. p. 850.
and
CHARLES 1. 31
and pretensions.* It now became necessary for chap. him to retract his former declaration, that the two ^^^^^• houses at Westminster were not a free parliament ; and accordingly he was induced, though with great reluctance, to give them, in his answer, the appella- tion of the parliament of England.'' But it appeared afterwards, by a letter which he wrote to the Queen, and of which a copy was taken at Naseby, that he secretly entered an explanatory protest in his coun- cil-book ; and he pretended that, though he had called them the parliament, he had not thereby acknowledged them for such. " This subtilty, which has been frequently objected to Charles, is the most noted of those very few instances, from which the enemies of this Prince have endeavoured to load him with the imputation of insincerity ; and have in- ferred, that the parliament could repose no confi- dence in his professions and declarations, not even in his laws and statutes. There is, however, it must be confessed, a difference universally avowed between simply giving to men the appellation which they i assume, and the formal acknowledgement of their j title to it ; nor is any thing more common and fami- ' liar in all public transactions.
The time and place of treaty being settled, six- 30th Jan.
! teen commissioners from the King met at Uxbridge,
with twelve authorized by the parliament, attended
I by the Scottish commissioners. It was agreed, that
' the Scottish and parliamentary commissioners should
\ ^ Whitlocke, p. 110.
b Whitlocke, p. 111. Dugdale, p. 748.
« His words are : " As for my calling those at London a parliament, I " shall refer thee to Digby for particular satisfaction ; this in general : If " there had been but two besides myself of my opinion, I had not done " it; and the argument that prevailed with me was, that the calling did " no ways acknowledge them to be a parUament; upon which condition '' and construction I did it, and no otherwise, and accordingly it is re- " gistered in the council books, with the council's unanimous appro- " bation." The King's cabinet opened. Rush vol. iv. p. 943.
give
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
give ill their demands, with regard to three im- portant articles, religion, the militia, and Ireland; and that these should be successively discussed in conference with the King's commissioners. '^ It was soon found impracticable to come to any agreement with regard to any of these articles.
In the summer 1643, while the negotiations were carried on with Scotland, the parliament had sum- moned an assembly at Westminster, consisting of 121 divines and 30 laymen, celebrated in their party for piety and learning. By their advice, alterations were made in the thirty-nine articles, or in the meta- physical doctrines of the church ; and what was of greater importance, the liturgy was entirely abo- lished, and in its stead, a new directory for worship was established, by which, suitably to the spirit of the puritans, the utmost liberty, both in praying and preaching, was indulged to the public teachers. By the solemn league and covenant, episcopacy was ab- jured, as destructive of all true piety ; and a national engagement, attended with every circumstance that could render a promise sacred and obligatory, was entered into with the Scots, never to suffer its re- admission. All these measures showed little spirit of accommodation in the parliament ; and the King's commissioners were not surprised to find the esta- blishment of presbytery and the directory positively demanded, together with the subscription of the covenant, both by the King and kingdom. ^
Had
-J Whitlocke, p. 121. Dugdale, p. 758.
•^ Such love of contradiction prevailed in the parliament, that they had converted Christmas, which, with the churchmen, was a great fes- tival, into a solemn fast and humiliation : " In order," as they said, " that it might call to remembrance our sins and the sins of our fore- " fathers, who, pretending to celebrate the memory of Christ, have turned " this feast into an extreme forgetfulness of him, by giving liberty to carnal " and sensual delights." Rush. vol. vi. p. 817. It is remarkable that, as the parliament abohshed all holy-days, and severely prohibited all amusement on the sabbath ; and even burned, by the hands of the hangman, the
King's
1645.
CHARLES 1. 33
Had Charles been of a disposition to neglect all c h a p. theological controversy, he yet had been obliged, in ^^^^' good policy, to adhere to episcopal jurisdiction, not only because it was favourable to monarchy, but because all his adherents were passionately devoted to it; and to abandon them, in what they regarded as so important an article, was for ever to relinquish their friendship and assistance. But Charles had never attained such enlarged principles. He deemed Bishops essential to the very being of a Christian church ; and he thought himself bound by more sacred ties than those of policy, or even of honour, to the support of that order. His concessions, therefore, on this head, he Judged sufficient, when he agreed that an indulgence should be given to tender consciences w^ith regard to ceremonies ; that
King's book of sports ; the nation found that there was no time left for relaxation or diversion. Upon application, therefore, of the servants and apprentices, the parliament appointed the second Tuesday of every month for play and recreation. Rush. vol. vii. p. 460. W/iiilocke, p. 247. But these institutions they found great difficulty to execute ; and the people were resolved to be merry when they themselves pleased, not when the par- liament should prescribe it to them. The keeping of Christmas holy-days was long a great mark of malignancy, and very severely censured by the com- mons. Whitlocke, p. 286. Even minced pyes, which custom had made a Christmas dish among the churchmen, was regarded, during that season, as a profane and superstitious viand by the sectaries; though at other times it agreed very well with their stomachs. In the parliamentary ordinance too, for the observance of the sabbath, they inserted a clause for the taking down of may-poles, which they called a heathenish vanity. Since we are upon this subject, it may not be amiss to mention, that, beside setting apart Sunday for the ordinances, as they called them, the godly had regular meetings on the Thursdays for resolving cases of conscience, and conferring about their progress in grace. What they were chiefly anxious about was, the fixing the precise moment of their conversion or new birth; and who- ever could not ascertain so difficult a point of calculation, could not pretend to any title to saintship. The profane scholars at Oxford, after the parlia- ment became masters of that town, gave to the house in which the zealots assembled, the denomination of Scruple Shop : The zealots, in their turn, in- sulted the scholars and professors; and, intruding into the place of lectures, declaimed against human learning, and challenged the most knowing of them to prove that their calling was from Christ. See Wood's Fasti Ox^- onienses, p. 740.
VOL. VII. D the
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ^
the Bishops should exercise no act of jurisdiction or ordination, without the consent and counsel of such presbyters as should be chosen by the clergy of each diocese ; that they should reside constantly in their diocese, and be bound to preach every Sunday ; that pluralities be abolished ; that abuses in ecclesiastical courts be redressed ; and that a hundred thousand pounds be levied on the Bishops' estates and the chapter lands, for payment of debts contracted by the parliament. ^ These concessions, though con- siderable, gave no satisfaction to the parliamentary commissioners ; and without abating any thing of ' '''^^ their rigour on this head, they proceeded to their demands with regard to the militia.
The King's partisans had ail along maintained, that the fears and jealousies of the parliament, after the securities so early and easily given to public liberty, were either feigned or groundless ; and that no human institution could be better poised and adjusted, than was now the government of England. By the abolition of the star-chamber and court of high commission, the prerogative, they said, has lost all that coercive power by which it had formerly suppressed or endangered liberty: By the establish- ment of triennial parliaments, it can have no leisure to acquire new powers, or guard itself, during any time, from the inspection of that vigilant assembly : By the slender revenue of the crown, no King can ever attain such influence as to procure a repeal of these salutary statutes : And while the Prince com- mands no military force, he will in vain, by vio- lence, attempt an infringement of laws, so clearly defined by means of late disputes, and so pas- sionately cherished by all his subjects. In this situation, surely, the nation, governed by so vir- tuous a monarch, may, for the present, remain in, tranquillity, and try whether it be not possible, by
f Dugdale, p. 779, 780.
peaceful
llOD
oft
aiilb pari
IDt
fote
app stall
I
m
laie
sert
Don
CHARLES I. 35
peaceful arts, to elude that danger with which, it is chap. pretended, its liberties are still threatened. __^
But though the royalists insisted on these plausible 1645. topics before the commencement of war, they were obliged to own, that the progress of civil commo- tions had somewhat abated the force and evidence of this reasoning. If the power of the militia, said the opposite party, be intrusted to the King, it would not now be difficult for him to abuse that authority. By the rage of intestine discord, his partisans are inflamed into an extreme hatred against their antagonists ; and have contracted, no doubt, some prejudices against popular privileges, which, in their apprehension, have been the source of so much disorder. Were the arms of the state, there- fore, put entirely into such hands, what public secu- rity, it may be demanded, can be given to liberty, or what private security to those who, in opposition to the letter of the law, have so generously ventured their lives in its defence ? In compliance with this apprehension, Charles offered, that the arms of the state should be intrusted, during three years, to twenty commissioners, who should be named, either by common agreement between him and the parlia- ment, or one half by him, the other by the parlia- ment. And after the expiration of that term, he insisted that his constitutional authority over the militia should again return to him. ^
The parliamentary commissioners at first de- manded, that the power of the sword should for ever be intrusted to such persons as the parliament alone should appoint '': But afterwards, they re- laxed so far as to require that authority only for seven years ; after which it was not to return to the King, but to be settled by bill, or by common agree- ment between him and his parliament. ' The King's commissioners asked. Whether jealousies and fears
g Dugdale, p. 798. '' Ibid. p. 791. * Ibid. p. 820.
D 2 were
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
were all on one side ; and whether the Prince, from such violent attempts and pretensions as he had expe- rienced, had not, at least, as great reason to enter- tain apprehensions for his authority, as they for their liberty ? Whether there were any equity in securing only one party, and leaving the other, during the space of seven years, entirely at the mercy of their enemies? Whether, if unlimited power were in- trusted to the parliament during so long a period, it would not be easy for them to frame the subse- quent bill in the manner most agreeable to them- selves, and keep for ever possession of the sword, as well as of every article of civil power and jurisdiction.''
The truth is, after the commencement of war, it was very difficult, if not impossible, to find se- curity for both parties, especially for that of the par- liament. Amidst such violent animosities, power alone could ensure safety ; and the power of one side was necessarily attended with danger to the other. Few or no instances occur in history of an equal, peaceful, and durable accommodation, that has been concluded between two factions which had been inflamed into civil war
With regard to Ireland, there were no greater hopes of agreement between the parties. The par- liament demanded, that the truce with the rebels should be declared null ; that the management of the war should be given over entirely to the parlia- ment ; and that, after the conquest of Ireland, the nomination of the lord-lieutenant and of the judges, or in other words, the sovereignty of that kingdom, should likewise remain in their hands.'
What rendered an accommodation more despe- rate was, that the demands on these three heads, however exorbitant, were acknowledged, by the parliamentary commissioners, to be nothing but
'' Dugdale, p. 877. ' Ibid. p. 826, 827.
preliminaries.
CHARLES I.
preliminaries. After all these were granted, it would be necessary to proceed to the discussion of those other demands, still more exorbitant, which a little before had been transmitted to the King at Oxford. Such ignominious terms were there insisted on, that worse could scarcely be demanded, were Charles totally vanquished, a prisoner, and in chains. The King was required to attaint, and except from a ge- neral pardon, forty of the most considerable of his English subjects, and nineteen of his Scottish, toge- ther with all popish recusants in both kingdoms who had borne arms for him. It was insisted, that forty- eight more, with all the members who had sitten in either house at Oxford, all lawyers and divines who had embraced the King's party, should be rendered incapable of any office, be forbidden the exercise of their profession, be prohibited from coming with- in the verge of the court, and forfeit the third of their estates to the parliament. It was required, that whoever had borne arms for the King, should forfeit the tenth of their estates, or, if that did not suffice, the sixth, for the payment of public debts. As if royal authority were not sufficiently anni- hilated by such terms, it was demanded that the court of wards should be abolished ; that all the consider- able officers of the crown, and all the judges, should be appointed by parliament ; and that the right of peace and war should not be exercised without the consent of that assembly. " The presbyterians, it must be confessed, after insisting on such condi- tions, differed only in words from the independents, who required the establishment of a pure republic. When the debates had been carried on to no pur- pose during twenty days among the commissioners, they separated, and returned ; those of the King, to Oxford, those of the parliament, to London.
■" Rush. vol. vi. p. 850. Dugdale, p. 737.
A LITTLE
1645.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
A LITTLE before the commencement of this fruitless treaty, a deed was executed by the parliament, which proved their determined resolution to yield nothing, but to proceed in the same violent and imperious manner with which they had at first entered on these iecution daugcrous enterprises. Archbishop Laud, the most Laud, favourite minister of the King, was brought to the scaffold ; and in this instance the public might see, that popular assemblies, as, by their very number, they are, in a great measure, exempt from the re- straint of shame, so, when they also overleap the bounds of law, naturally break out into acts of the greatest tyranny and injustice.
From the time that Laud had been committed, the house of commons, engaged in enterprises of greater moment, had found no leisure to finish his impeachment ; and he had patiently endured so long an imprisonment without being brought to any trial. After the union with Scotland, the bigotted pre- judices of that nation revived the like spirit in England ; and the sectaries resolved to gratify their vengeance in the punishment of this prelate, who had so long, by his authority, and by the execution of penal laws, kept their zealous spirit under con- finement. He was accused of high treason in en- deavouring to subvert the fundamental laws, and of other high crimes and misdemeanors. The same illegality of an accumulative crime and a constructive evidence, which appeared in the case of Strafford ; the same violence and iniquity in conducting the trial ; are conspicuous throughout the whole course of this prosecution. The groundless charge of popery, though belied by his whole life and con- duct, was continually urged against the prisoner ; and every error rendered unpardonable by this im- putation, which was supposed to imply the height of all enormities. "This man, my lords," said serjeant Wilde, concluding his long speech against him.
*'is
CHARLES I.
" is like Naaman the Syrian ; a great man, but a " leper.""
We shall not enter into a detail of this matter, which, at present, seems to admit of little controversy. It suffices to say, that, after a long trial, and the ex- amination of above a hundred and fifty witnesses, the commons found so little likelihood of obtaining a judicial sentence against Laud, that they were obliged to have recourse to their legislative authority, and to pass an ordinance for taking away the life of this aged prelate. Notwithstanding the low condition into which the house of peers was fallen, there appeared some intention of rejecting this ordinance ; and the popular leaders were again obliged to apply to the multitude, and to extinguish, by threats of new tu- mults, the small remains of liberty possessed by the upper house. Seven peers alone voted in this im- portant question. The rest, either from shame or fear, took care to absent themselves. °
Laud, who had behaved during his trial with spirit and vigour of genius, sunk not under the horrors of his execution ; but though he had usually professed himself apprehensive of a violent death, he found all his fears to be dissipated before that superior courage by which he was animated. " No one," said he, " can be more willing to send me out of life, than " I am desirous to go." Even upon the scaffold, and during the intervals of his prayers, he was harassed and molested by Sir John Clotworthy, a zealot of the reigning sect, and a great leader in the lower house: This was the time he chose for examining the prin- ciples of the dying prelate, and trepanning him into a confession, that he trusted for his salvation to the merits of good works, not to the death of the Re- deemer.p Having extricated himself from these theological toils, the Archbishop laid his head on the block; and it was severed from the body at one
" Rush, vol.vi. p. 330.
1' Rush. vol. vi. p. 838, 839.
Warwick, p. 169.
39
CHAP. LVII.
1645.
blow.
1645.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
blow.^ Those religious opinions, for which he suf- fered, contributed, no doubt, to the courage and con- stancy of his end. Sincere he undoubtedly was, and, however misguided, actuated by pious motives in all his pursuits; and it is to be regretted, that a man of such spirit, who conducted his enterprises with so much warmth and industry, had not entertained more enlarged views, and embraced principles more favourable to the general happiness of society. i
The great and important advantage which the party gained by Strafford's death may, in some de- gree, palliate the iniquity of the sentence pronounced against him. But the execution of this old infirm prelate, who had so long remained an inoffensive pri- soner, can be ascribed to nothing but vengeance and bigotry in those severe religionists, by whom the par- liament was entirely governed. That he deserved a better fate was not questioned by any reasonable man : The degree of his merit, in other respects, was dis- puted. Some accused him of recommending slavish doctrines, of promoting persecution, and of encou- raging superstition ; while others thought that his conduct, in these three particulars, would admit of apology and extenuation.
That the letter of the law, as much as the most flaming court-sermon, inculcates passive obedience, is apparent. And though the spirit of a limited go- vernment seems to require, in extraordinary cases, some mitigation of so rigorous a doctrine; it must be confessed, that the preceding genius of the English constitution had rendered a mistake in this particular very natural and excusable. To inflict death, at least on those who depart from the exact line of truth in these nice questions, so far from being favour- able to national liberty, savours strongly of the spirit of tyranny and proscription.
1 12thof July, 1644.
Toleration
CHARLES I. 41
Toleration had hitherto been so little the prin- chap. ciple of any Christian sect, that even the catholics, ^^^^• the remnant of the religion professed by their fore- ^ fathers, could not obtain from the English the least indulgence. This very house of commons, in their famous remonstrance, took care to j ustify themselves, as from the highest imputation, from any intention to relax the golden reins of discipline, as they called them, or to grant any toleration ' : And the enemies of the church were so fair from the beginning, as not to lay claim to liberty of conscience, which they called a toleration for soul-murder. They openly challenged the superiority, and even menaced the established church with that persecution which they afterwards exercised against her with such severity. And if the question be considered in the view of po- licy ; though a sect, already formed and advanced, may, with good reason, demand a toleration ; what title had the puritans to this indulgence, who were just on the point of separation from the church, and whom, it might be hoped, some wholesome and legal severities would still retain in obedience ? *
Whatever ridicule, to a philosophical mind, may be thrown on pious ceremonies, it must be confessed, that during a very religious age, no institutions can be more advantageous to the rude multitude, and tend more to mollify that fierce and gloomy spirit of devotion, to which they are subject. Even the Eng- lish church, though it had retained a share of popish ceremonies, may justly be thought too naked and unadorned, and still to approach too near the ab- stract and spiritual religion of the puritans. Laud and his associates, by reviving a few primitive institu- tions of this nature, corrected the error of the first reformers, and presented to the affrightened and as- tonished mind, some sensible, exterior observances, which might occupy it during its religious exercises
^ Nalson,vol. ii. p. 705.
* See note [A], at the end of the volume.
and
1645.
42 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, and abate the violence of its disappointed efforts. LVii. 'pjjg thought, no longer bent on that divine and mysterious essence, so superior to the narrow capa- cities of mankind, was able, by means of the new model of devotion, to relax itself in the contempla- tion of pictures, postures, vestments, buildings ; and all the fine arts, which minister to religion, thereby received additional encouragement. The primate, it is true, conducted this scheme, not with the enlarg- ed sentiments and cool reflection of a legislator, but with the intemperate zeal of a sectary ; and by over- looking the circumstances of the times, served rather to inflame that religious fury which he meant to re- press. But this blemish is more to be regarded as a general imputation on the whole age, than any par- ticular failing of Laud's ; and it is suflicient for his vindication to observe, that his errors were the most excusable of all those which prevailed during that zealous period.
[ 43 j
roses victories.
CHAP. LVIII.
Montrose's Victories. — The new Model of the Array. — Battle of Naseby. — Surrender of Bristol, — The West conquered by Fair- fax.— Defeat of Montrose. — Ecclesiastical Affairs. — King goes to the Scots at Newark. — End of the War. — King delivered up by the Scots.
^i^l/'HILE the King's affairs declined in England, chap, ~ ' some events happened in Scotland, which ^^m- seemed to promise him a more prosperous issue of "76457 the quarrel.
Before the commencement of these civil disorders, Mont- the Earl of Montrose, a young nobleman of a distin- guished family, returning from his travels, had been introduced to the King, and had made an offer of his services ; but by the insinuations of the Marquis, af- terwards Duke of Hamilton, who possessed much of Charles's confidence, he had not been received with that distinction to which he thought himself justly entitled.* Disgusted with this treatment, he had forwarded all the violence of the covenanters ; and, agreeably to the natural ardour of his genius, he had employed himself during the first Scottish in- surrection, with great zeal as well as success, in levying and conducting their armies. Being com- missioned by the Tables to wait upon the King, while the royal army lay at Berwick, he was so gained by the civilities and caresses of that monarch, that he thenceforth devoted himself entirely, though se- cretly, to his service, and entered into a close cor- respondence with him. In the second insurrection, a
« Nalson, Intr, p. 63.
great
1645.
44 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
C II A p, great military command was intrusted to him by thi Lviii. covenanters ; and he was the first that passed th« Tweed, at the head of their troops, in the invasioi of England. He found means however, soon after to convey a letter to the King : And by the infidelitj of some about that Prince, (Hamilton, as was sus ! pected,) a copy of this letter was sent to Leven, the Scottish general. Being accused of treachery, anci a correspondence with the enemy ; Montrose openly avowed the letter, and asked the generals, if thej dared to call their sovereign an enemy : And byi; this bold and magnanimous behaviour, he escaped; the danger of an immediate prosecution. As he was now fully known to be of the royal party, he no longer concealed his principles ; and he endeavoured to draw those who had entertained like sentiments,! into a bond of association for his master's service.;^ Though thrown into prison for this enterprise", and detained some time, he was not discouraged;! but still continued, by his countenance and protec- tion, to infuse spirit into the distressed royalists, i Among other persons of distinction, who united < themselves to him, was Lord Napier of Merchiston, ' son of the famous inventor of the logarithms, the per- ^ son to whom the title of ore at man is more justly due, than to any other whom his country ever produced. ' There was in Scotland another party, who, ! professing equal attachment to i;the King's service, ' pretended only to differ with Montrose about the ' means of attaining the same end ; and of that party, ■ Duke Hamilton was the leader. This nobleman had ' cause to be extremely devoted to the King, not only by reason of the connection of blood, which united '• him to the royal family ; but on account of the
^ It IS not improper to take notice of a mistake committed by Clarendon, much to the disadvantage of this gallant nobleman; that he offered the King, when his Majesty was in Scotland, to assassinate Argyle. All the time the King was in Scotland, Montrose was confined to prison. Rush, vol, vi. p. 980.
great
hii
S
t;
1645.
I CHARLES I. 45
jgreat confidence and favour with which he had ever chap. 'been honoured by his master. Being accused by LViii. iLord Rae, not without some appearance ofprobabi- [iity, of a conspiracy against the King; Charles was ISO far from harbouring suspicion against him, that, : the very first time Hamilton came to court, he received him into his bed-chamber, and passed alone the night with him."^ But such was the Duke's unhappy fate tor conduct, that he escaped not the imputation of I treachery to his friend and sovereign ; and though he I at last sacrificed his life in the King's service, hisinte- j grity and sincerity have not been thought by historians entirely free from blemish. Perhaps (and this is the more probable opinion) the subtilties and refinements of his conduct and his temporizing maxims, though accompanied with good intentions, have been the chief cause of a suspicion, which has never yet been either fully proved or refuted. As much as the bold I and vivid spirit of Montrose prompted him to enter- I prising measures, as much was the cautious temper I of Hamilton inclined to such as were moderate I and dilatory. While the former foretold that the I Scottish covenanters were secretly forming an union with the English parliament, and inculcated the ne- I cessity of preventing them by some vigorous under- i taking; the latter still insisted, that every such attempt j would precipitate them into measures, to which, other- j wise, they were not, perhaps, inclined. After the j Scottish convention was summonedwithout theKing's ' authority, the former exclaimed, that their intentions I were now visible, and that, if some unexpected blow were not struck, to dissipate them, they would arm i the whole nation against the King ; the latter main- tained the possibility of outvoting the disaffected I party, and securing, by peaceful means, the allegi- ! ance of the kingdom." Unhappily for the royal
I * Nalson, vol. ii. p. 683. ^ Clarendon, vol. iii.
i p. 380, 381. Rush. vol. vi. p. 980. Wishart, cap. 2.
cause.
,
46 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, cause, Hamilton's representations met with more Lviii. credit from the King and Queen, than those oi Montrose ; and the covenanters were allowed, with ^^^^' out interruption, to proceed in all their hostile measures. Montrose then hastened to Oxford; where his invectives against Hamilton's treachery, concurring with the general prepossession, and sup- ported by the unfortunate event of his counsels, were entertained with universal approbation. In-i fluenced by the clamour of his party, more than hisi own suspicions, Charles, as soon as Hamilton ap peared, sent him prisoner to Pendennis castle, in Cornwall. His brother, Laneric, who was also put under confinement, found means to make his escape, and to fly into Scotland.
The King's ears were now opened to Montrose's counsels, who proposed none but the boldest and most daring, agreeably to the desperate state of the royal cause in Scotland. Though the whole nation was subjected by the covenanters, though great armies were kept on foot by them, and every place guarded by a vigilant administration ; he undertook, by his own credit, and that of the few friends who remained to the King, to raise such commotions, as would soon oblige the malecontents to recal those forces, which had so sensibly thrown the balance in favour of the parliament.^ Not discouraged with the ; defeat at Marston-moor, which rendered it impos- sible for him to draw any succour from England ;; he was content to stipulate with the Earl of Antrim, i a nobleman of Ireland, for some supply of men from I that country. And he himself, changing his dis- 1 guises, and passing through many dangers, arrived ; in Scotland; where he lay concealed in the borders ' of the Highlands, and secretly prepared the minds of j his partisans for attempting some great enterprise. ""
y Wishart, cap. 3. ^ Clarendon, vol, v. p. 618.
Rush. vol. vi. p. 982. Wishart, cap. 4.
No
i
wli
Hi
I; i
1645.
CHARLES I. 47
No sooner were the Irish landed, though not chap. exceeding eleven hundred foot, very ill armed, than LVill. Montrose declared himself, and entered upon that scene of action, which has rendered his name so cele- brated. About eight hundred of the men of Athole flocked to his standard. Five hundred men more, who had been levied by the covenanters, were per- suaded to embrace the royal cause : And with this combined force, he hastened to attack Lord Elcho, iwho lay at Perth, with an army of six thousand men, jassembled upon the first news of the Irish invasion, i Montrose, inferior in number, totally unprovided with horse, ill supplied with arms and ammunition, had nothing to depend on, but the courage which he ihimself, by his own example, and the rapidity of his enterprises, should inspire into his raw soldiers. [Having received the fire of the enemy, which was answered chiefly by a volley of stones, he rushed amidst them with his sword drawn, threw them into confusion, pushed his advantage, and obtained a complete victory, with the slaughter of two thousand of the covenanters. ^
This victory, though it augmented the renown of Montrose, increased not his power or numbers. The far greater part of the kingdom was extremely I attached to the covenant ; and such as bore an laffection to the royal cause, were terrified by the established authority of the opposite party. Dread- ing the superior power of Argyle, who, having joined his vassals to a force levied by the public, was ap- proaching with a considerable army; Montrose hastened northwards, in order to rouse again the Marquis of Huntley and the Gordons, who, having before hastily taken arms, had been instantly sup- pressed by the covenanters. He was joined on his march by the Earl of Airly, with his two younger sons. Sir Thomas and Sir David Ogilvy : The eldest
'•' 1st of Sept. 1644. Rush, vol. vi. p. 983. Wishart,cap. 5.
was
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
was at that time prisoner with the enemy. He at- tacked at Aberdeen the LordBurley, who command- ed a force of 2500 men. After a sharp combat, by his undaunted courage, which, in his situation, was true policy, and was also not unaccompanied with mi- litary skill, he put the enemy to flight, and in the pursuit did great execution upon them. ^
But by this second advantage he obtained not the end which he expected. The envious nature of Huntley, jealous of Montrose's glory, rendered him averse to join an army, where he himself must be so ^ ijjoi much eclipsed by the superior merit of the general. Argyle, reinforced by the Earl of Lothian, was be- hind him with a great army : The militia of the northern counties, Murray, Ross, Caithness, to the j number of 5000 men, opposed him in front, and guarded the banks of the Spey, a deep and rapid river. In order to elude these numerous armies, he turned aside into the hills, and saved his weak, but active troop, in Badenoch. After some marches and counter-marches, Argyle came up with him at Faivy castle. This nobleman's character, though celebrated for political courage and conduct, was very low for military prowess ; and after some skirmishes, in which he was worsted, he here allowed Montrose to escape him. By quick marches through these in- accessible mountains, that general freed himself from the superior forces of the covenanters.
Such was the situation of Montrose, that very good or very ill fortune was equally destructive to him, and diminished his army. After every victory, his soldiers, greedy of spoil, but deeming the smallest acquisition to be unexhausted riches, de- serted in great numbers, and went home to secure the treasures which they had acquired . Tired too, and spent with hasty and long marches, in the depth of winter, through snowy mountains, unprovided with
i* 11th of Sept. 1644. Rush. vol. vi. p. 983. Wishart, cap. 7.
every
m
I CHARLES I. 49
every necessary, they fell off, and left their general chap. almost alone with the Irish, who, having no place LViil. to which they could retire, still adhered to him in "^5 every fortune.
With these, and some reinforcements of the Athole men and Macdonalds whom he had recalled, Montrose fell suddenly upon Argyle's country, and let loose upon it all the rage of war ; carrying off the cattle, burning the houses, and putting the in- habitants to the sword. This severity, by which Montrose sullied his victories, was the result of pri- vate animosity against the chieftain, as much as of zeal for the public cause. Argyle, collecting three f thousand men, marched in quest of the enemy, who had retired with their plunder ; and he lay at Inner- lochy, supposing himself still at a considerable distance from them. The Earl of Seaforth, at the head of the garrison of Inverness, who were veteran soldiers, joined to 5000 new-levied troops of the northern counties, pressed the royalists on the other side, and threatened them with inevitable detruc- tion. By a quick and unexpected march, Montrose hastened to Innerlochy, and presented himself in order of battle before the surprised, but not affright- ened, covenanters. Argyle alone, seized with a panic, deserted his army, who still maintained their ground, and gave battle to the royalists. After a vigorous resistance they were defeated, and pursued 2d Feb. with great slaughter. ' And the power of the Camp- bells (that is Argyle's name) being thus broken; the Highlanders, who were in general well affected to the royal cause, began to join Montrose's camp in great numbers. Seaforth's army dispersed of it- self, at the very terror of his name. And Lord Gor- don, eldest son of Huntley, having escaped from his uncle Argyle, who had hitherto detained him, now joined Montrose with no contemptible number of
<= Rush. vol. vi. p. 985. Wishart, cap. 8.
VOL. VII. E his
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
his followers, attended by his brother, the Earl of Aboine.
The council at Edinburgh, alarmed at Montrose's progress, began to think of a more regular plan of defence against an enemy, whose repeated victories had rendered him extremely formidable. They sent for Baillie, an officer of reputation, from England ; and joining him in command with Urrey, who had again inlisted himself among the King's enemies, i thev sent them to the field with a considerable army against the royalists. Montrose, with a de- ■ tachment of 800 men, had attacked Dundee, a town \ extremely zealous for the covenant, and having car- i ried it by assault, had delivered it up to be plun- dered by his soldiers ; when Baillie and Urrey, \ with their whole force, were unexpectedly upon him. '^ His conduct and presence of mind, in this emergence, appeared conspicuous. Instantly he called off his soldiers from plunder, put them in order, secured his retreat by the most skilful measures ; and having marched sixty miles in the face of an enemy much superior, without stopping, or allowing his soldiers the least sleep or refreshment, he at last secured himself in the mountains.
Baillie and Urrey now divided their troops, in order the better to conduct the war against an enemy, who surprised them, as much by the rapidity of his marches, as by the boldness of his enterprises. Urrey, at the head of 4000 men, met him at Al- derne, near Inverness; and, encouraged by the superiority of number (for the covenanters were double the royalists), attacked him in the post which he had chosen. Montrose, having placed his right wing in strong ground, drew the best of his forces to the other, and left no main body between them ; a defect which he artfully concealed, by shewing a few men through the trees and bushes, with which
"^ Rush. vol. vii. p. 228. Wishart, cap, 9.
that
}lm
ttieie kttle oftia: ill kai ilike' iiistn tlee upoD tioor
pi
rend
prep, piovi
of tf
tiei soutl
m
loai until
CHARLES I.
that ground was covered. That Urrey might have no leisure to perceive the stratagem, he instantly led his left wing to the charge ; and making a furious impression upon the covenanters, drove them off the field, and gained a complete victory.'' In this battle, the valour of young Napier, son to the lord of that name, shone out with signal lustre.
B A I L LI E now advanced, in order to revenge Urrey's discomfiture ; but at Alford, he met, himself, with a like fate.*^ Montrose, weak in cavalry, here lined his troops of horse with infantry ; and after putting the enemy's horse to rout, fell with united force upon their foot, who were entirely cut in pieces, though with the loss of the gallant Lord Gordon on the part of the royalists.^ And having thus prevailed in so many battles, which his vigour ever rendered as decisive as they were successful, he sum- moned together all his friends and partisans, and prepared himself for marching into the southern provinces, in order to put a final period to the power of the covenanters, and dissipate the parliament, which with great pomp and solemnity they had summoned to meet at St. Johnstone's.
While the fire was thus kindled in the north of the island, it blazed out with no less fury in the south : The parliamentary and royal armies, as soon as the season would permit, prepared to take the field, in hopes of bringing their important quarrel to a quick decision. The passing of the self-denying ordinance had been protracted by so many debates and intrigues, that the spring was far advanced be- fore it recieved the sanction of both houses ; and it was thought dangerous by many to introduce, so near the time of action, such great innovations into the army. Had not the punctilious principles
' Rush. vol. vii. p. 229. s Rush, vol, vii. p. 229.
1645.
|
Wishart, cap. 10. |
' 2d of July, |
|
Wishart, cap. 11. |
|
|
e2 |
of |
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
of Essex engaged him, amidst all the disgusts which he received, to pay implicit obedience to the parlia- ment ; this alteration had not been effected without some fatal accident : Since, notwithstanding his prompt resignation of the command, a mutiny was generally apprehended."^ Fairfax, or, more properly speaking, Cromwell, under his name, introduced, at last, the new model into the army, and threw the j troops into a different shape. From the same men, new regiments and new companies were formed, 1 different officers appointed, and the whole military ' force put into such hands, as the independents could rely on. Besides members of parliament who were excluded, many officers, unwilling to serve un- der the new generals, threw up their commissions; and unwarily facilitated the project of putting the army entirely into the hands of that faction.
Though the discipline of the former parliamen- tary army was not contemptible, a more exact plan was introduced, and rigorously executed, by these new commanders. Valour indeed was very gene- rally diffused over the one party as well as the other during this period : Discipline also was attained by the forces of the parliament : But the perfection of the military art in concerting the general plans of action, and the operations of the field, seems still, on both sides, to have been, in a great measure, wanting. Historians at least, perhaps from their own ignorance and inexperience, have not remarked any thing but a headlong impetuous conduct ; each party hurrying to a battle, where valour and fortune chiefly determined the success. The great orna- ment of history during these reigns, are the civil, not the military transactions.
Never surely was a more singular army assem- bled, than that which was now set on foot by the j parliament. To the greater number of the regiments,
'' Rush. vol. vii. p. 1 26, 1 27. *
chaplains
tatioB tkein poit ecjiJi
as we fob Spiri: tlode
theii tieii liieij
Mi.
well' occ?;!
of In
h
tiile(
I CHARLES I. 5;
chaplains were not appointed. The officers assumed chap. the spiritual duty, and united it with their military _^^^ functions. During the intervals of action, they ^g^^ occupied themselves in sermons, prayers, exhor- tations ; and the same emulation there attended them, which, in the field, is so necessary to sup- port the honour of that profession. Rapturous ecstacies supplied the place of study and reflection; and while the zealous devotees poured out their thoughts in unpremeditated harangues, they mis- took that eloquence, which, to their own surprise, as well as that of others, flowed in upon them, for
I divine illuminations, and for illapses of the Holy Spirit. Wherever they were quartered, they ex- cluded the minister from his pulpit ; and, usurping his place, conveyed their sentiments to the audience, with all the authority which followed their power, their valour, and their military exploits, united to their appearing zeal and fervour. The private sol- diers, seized with the same spirit, employed their vacant hours in prayer, in perusing the Holy Scrip- tures, in ghostly conferences, where they compared the progress of their souls in grace, and mutually
' stimulated each other to farther advances in the great work of their salvation. When they were marching to battle, the whole field resounded, as well with psalms and spiritual songs adapted to the occasion, as with the instruments of military music ' ; and every man endeavoured to drown the sense of
' present danger, in the prospect of that crown of glory which was set before him. In so holy a cause, wounds were esteemed meritorious ; death, martyr- dom, and the hurry and dangers of action, instead
I of banishing their pious visions, rather served to
i impress their minds more strongly with them.
The royalists were desirous of throwing a ridi-
; cule on this fanaticism of the parliamentary armies.
' Dftgdale, p. 7. Rush. vol. vi. p. 281.
without
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
without being sensible how much reason they had to ■ apprehend its dangerous consequences. The forces assembled by the King at Oxford, in the west, and j in other places, were equal, if not superior, in num- | ber, to their adversaries ; but actuated by a very \ different spirit. That licence, which had been in- \ troduced by want of pay, had risen to a great height among them, and rendered them more formidable to their friends than to their enemies. Prince Ru- pert, negligent of the people, fond of the soldiery, had indulged the troops in unwarrantable liberties: Wilmot, a man of dissolute manners, had promoted the same spirit of disorder : And the licentious Goring, Gerrard, Sir Richard Granville, now cart ried it to a great pitch of enormity. In the west especially, where Goring commanded, universal spoil and havock were committed ; and the whole country was laid waste by the rapine of the army. All dis- tinction of parties being in a manner dropped, the most devoted friends of the church and monarchy wished there for such success to the parliamentary forces as might put an end to these oppressions. The country people, despoiled of their substance, flocked together in several places, armed with clubs and staves ; and though they professed an enmity to the soldiers of both parties, their hatred was, in most places, levelled chiefly against the royalists, from whom they had met with the worst treatment. Many thousands of these tumultuary peasants were assembled in difl'erent parts of England ; who de- stroyed all such straggling soldiers as they met with, and much infested the armies.''
The disposition of the forces on both sides was as follows: Part of the Scottish army was employed in taking Pomfret, and other towns in Yorkshire : Part of it besieged Carlisle, valiantly defended by Sir
k Rush. vol. vii. p. 52. 61, 62. VVhillockc, p. 130, 131. 133. 135. Clarendon, vol. v. p. 665.
Thomas
WV.i
i
i CHARLES I.
Thomas Glenham. Chester, where Biron com- manded, had long been blockaded by Sir William Brereton ; and was reduced to great difficulties. The King, being joined by the Princes Rupert and Mau- ^ujj jjrice, lay at Oxford, with a considerable army, about ^JJ|15,000 men. Fairfax and Cromwell were posted at ■ V Windsor, with the new-modelled army, about 22,000 men. Taunton, in the county of Somerset, defended by Blake, suffered a long siege from Sir Richard Granville, who commanded an army of about 8000 men ; and, though the defence had been obstinate, the garrison was now reduced to the last extremity. Goring commanded, in the west, an army of nearly ithe same number.'
j On opening the campaign, the King formed the project of relieving Chester ; Fairfax that of relieving Taunton. The King was first in motion. When he advanced to Draiton in Shropshire, Biron met him, iand brought intelligence, that his approach had raised the siege, and that the parliamentary army had withdrawn. Fairfax, having reached Salisbury in his road westward, received orders from the com- mittee of both kingdoms, appointed for the manage- ment of the war, to return and lay siege to Oxford, now exposed by the King's absence. He obeyed, after sending Colonel Weldon to the west, with a detachment of 4000 men. On Weldon's approach, Granville, who imagined that Fairfax with his whole army was upon him, raised the siege, and allowed this pertinacious town, now half taken and half burned, to receive relief : But the royalists, being reinforced with 3000 horse under Goring, again advanced to Taunton, and shut up Weldon, with his small army, in that ruinous place.™
The King, having effected his purpose with re- gard to Chester, returned southwards; and, in his way, sat down before Leicester, a garrison of the
' Rush. vol. vii.p. 18, 19. &c. "" Ibid. p. 28.
parliament's.
1645.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
parliament's. Having- made a breach in the wall, he stormed the town on all sides ; and after a furious assault, the soldiers entered sword in hand, and committed all those disorders to which their natura violence, especially when inflamed by resistance, is so much addicted." A great booty was taken and distributed among them : Fifteen hundred prisoner? fell into the King's hands. This success, which struck a great terror into the parliamentary party, determined Fairfax to leave Oxford, which he was beginning to approach ; and he marched towards the King, with an intention of offering him battle. The King was advancing towards Oxford, in order to raise the siege, which he apprehended was now begun ; and both armies, ere they were aware, had advanced within six miles of each other. A council of war was called by the King, in order to deliberate concerning the measures which he should now pursue. On the one hand, it seemed more prudent to delay the combat : because Gerrard, who lay in Wales with 3000 men, might be enabled, in a little time, to join the army ; and Goring, it was hoped, would soon be master of Taunton ; and having put the west in full security, would then unite his forces to those of the King, and give him an incontestible superiority over the enemy. On the other hand. Prince Rupert, whose boiling ar- dour still pushed him on to battle, excited the impatient humour of the nobility and gentry, of which the army was full ; and urged the many dif- ficulties under which the royalists laboured, and from which nothing but a victory could relieve them : The resolution was taken to give battle to Fairfax ; and the royal army immediately advanced upon him. |
At Naseby was fought, with forces nearly equal, " this decisive and well-disputed action, between the
" Clarendoi), vol. v. p. 652.
King
1
CHARLES r. 5
King and parliament. The main body of the CHae royalists was commanded by the King himself: The LViii right wing by Prince Rupert ; the left by Sir Mar- ~'^ maduke Langdale. Fairfax, seconded by Skippon, placed himself in the main body of the opposite army : Cromwell in the right wing : Ireton, Crom- well's son-in-law, in the left. The charge was begun, with his usual celerity and usual success, by Prince Rupert. Though Ireton made stout resistance, and even after he was run through the thigh with a pike, still maintained the combat, till he was taken pri- soner ; yet was that whole wing broken, and pur- sued with precipitate fury by Rupert : He was even so inconsiderate as to lose time in summoning and attacking the artillery of the enemy, which had been left with a good guard of infantry. The King led on his main body, and displayed, in this action, all the conduct of a prudent general, and all the valour of a stout soldier." Fairfax and Skippon en- countered him, and well supported that reputation which they had acquired. Skippon, being danger- ously wounded, was desired by Fairfax to leave the field ; but he declared that he would remain there as long as one man maintained his ground.^ The infantry of the parliament was broken, and pressed upon by the King ; till Fairfax, with great presence of mind, brought up the reserve and renewed the combat. Meanwhile Cromwell, having led on his troops to the attack of Langdale, overbore the force of the royalists, and by his prudence improved that advantao^e which he had sained bv his valour. Having pursued the enemy about a quarter of a mile, and detached some troops to prevent their rallying, he turned back upon the King's infantry, and threw them into the utmost confusion. One regiment alone preserved its order unbroken, though twice desperately assailed by Fairfax :
" Whitlocke, p. 146. p Rush. vol. vii. p. 43. Whitlocke, p. 145.
And
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
And that general, excited by so steady a resist- ance, ordered Doyley, the captain of his life-guard, to give them a third charge in front, while he him- self attacked them in rear. The regiment was broken. Fairfax, with his own hands, killed an ensign, and having seized the colours, gave them to a soldier to keep for him. The soldier afterwards boasting that he had won this trophy, was reproved by Doyley, who had seen the action ; Let him re- tain that honour, said Fairfax, / have to-day acquired enough beside/^
Prince Rupert, sensible too late of his error, left the fruitless attack on the enemy's artillery, and joined the King, whose infantry was now totally dis- comfited. Charles exhorted this body of cavalry not to despair, and cried aloud to them. One charge more, and we 7XCover the day J But the disadvan- tages under which they laboured were too evident ; and they could by no means be induced to renew the combat. Charles was obliged to quit the field, and leave the victory to the enemy. ' The slain, on the side of the parliament, exceeded those on the side of the King : They lost a thousand men ; he not above eight hundred : But Fairfax made 500 offi- cers prisoners, and 4000 private men ; took all the King's artillery and ammunition; and totally dis- sipated his infantry : So that scarce any victory could be more complete than that which he obtained.
Among the other spoils was seized the King's ca- binet, with the copies of his letters to the Queen, which the parliament afterwards ordered to be pub- lished. * They chose, no doubt, such of them as they thought would reflect dishonour on him: Yet, upon the whole, the letters are written with delicacy and tenderness, and give an advantageous idea both of the King's genius and morals. A mighty fondness, it is
1 Whitlocke, p. 145. ■• Rush. vol. vii. p. 44.
• Clarendon, vol. iv. p. 656, 657. Walker, p. 130, 131. ' Clarendon, vol. iv. p. 658.
true,
n
r,}
CHARLES I.
true, and attachment, he expresses to his consort, and often professes that he never would embrace any measures which she disapproved : But such decla- rations of civiUty and confidence are not always to be taken in a full literal sense. And so legitimate an affection, avowed by the laws of God and man, may, perhaps, be excusable towards a woman of beauty and spirit, even though she was a papist. "
The Athenians having intercepted a letter writ- ten by their enemy, Philip of Macedon, to his wife, Olympia, so far from being moved by a curiosity of prying into secrets of that relation, immedi- atety sent the letter to the Queen unopened. Philip was not their sovereign ; nor were they inflamed with that violent animosity against him, which at- tends all civil commotions.
After the battle the King retreated with that body of horse which remained entire, first to Here- ford, then to Abergavenny ; and remained some time in Wales, from the vain hope of raisiiig a body of infantry in those harassed and exhausted quarters. Fairfax, having first retaken Leicester, which was i7th Ji surrendered upon articles, began to deliberate con- cerning his future enterprises. A letter was brought him written by Goring to the King, and unfortu- nately intrusted to a spy of Fairfax's. Goring there informed the King, that in three weeks he hoped to be master of Taunton ; after which he would join his Majesty with all the forces in the west ; and
" Hearne has published the following extract from a manuscript work of Sir Simon D'Ewes, who was no mean man in the parliamentary party. " On Thursday, the 30th and last day of this instant, June 1625, I went " to Whitehall purposely to see the Queen, which I did fully all the time " she sat at dinner. I perceiv'd her to be a most absolute delicate lady, <' after I had exactly survey'd all the features of her face, much enliven'd " by her radiant and sparkling black eyes. Besides, her deportment " among her women was so sweet aud humble, and her speech and " looks to her other servants so mild and gracious, as I could not ab- " stain from divers deep-fetched sighs, to consider, that she wanted the " knowledge of the true religion." See Preface to the Chronicle of Dunstable, p. 64.
intreated
i
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
intreated him, in the meanwhile, to avoid coming to any general action. This letter, which had it been safely delivered, had probably prevented the battle of Naseby, served now to direct the ope- rations of Fairfax. '^ After leaving a body of 3000 men to Pointz and Rossiter, with orders to attend the King's motions, he marched immediately to the west, with a view of saving Taunton, and suppress- ing the only considerable force which now remained i to the royalists.
In the beginning of the campaign, Charles, appre- hensive of the event, had sent the Prince of Wales, then fifteen years of age, to the west, with the title of general, and had given orders, if he were pressed by the enemy, that he should make his escape into a foreign country, and save one part of the royal fa- mily from the violence of the parliament. Prince Rupert had thrown himself into Bristol, with an in- tention of defending that important city. Goring commanded the army before Taunton,
On Fairfax's approach, the siege of Taunton was raised ; and the royalists retired to Lamport, an open town in the county of Somerset. Fairfax attacked them in that post, beat them from it, killed about 300 men, and took 1400 prisoners.'' After this ad- vantage, he sat down before Bridgewater, a town esteemed strong, and of great consequence in that country. When he had entered the outer town by storm, Windham the governor, who had retired into the inner, immediately capitulated, and delivered up the place to Fairfax. The garrison, to the number of 2600 men, were made prisoners of war.
Fairfax, having next taken Bath and Sherborne, resolved to lay siege to Bristol, and made great pre- parations for an enterprise, which from the strength of the garrison, and the reputation of Prince Rupert the governor, was deemed of the last importance.
" Rush, vol. vii.p. 49. » Ibid. vol. vii, p. 55.
But
fi-
ert''
I
I
■ m ted
of Bristc
intor ?riDCt'
CHARLES I.
li But so precarious, in most men, is this quality of tl military courage ! A poorer defence was not made J* by any town during the whole war : And the general I expectations were here extremely disappointed. No attenl I sooner had the parliamentary forces entered the lines :iflt|)i-t by storm, than the Prince capitulated, and surren- dered the city to Fairfax/ A few days before, he iithSej had written a letter to the King, in which he under- I took to defend the place for four months, if no I mutiny obliged them to surrender it. Charles, who
was forming schemes, and collecting forces, for the Surrend< 1 relief of Bristol, was astonished at so unexpected an event, which was little less fatal to his cause than the the defeat at Naseby.^ Full of indignation, he in- stantly recalled all Prince Rupert's commissions, and sent him a pass to go beyond sea." I The King's affairs now went fast to ruin in all ' quarters. The Scots having made themselves I masters of Carlisle'', after an obstinate siege, j marched southwards, and laid siege to Hereford ; i but were obliged to raise it on the King's approach : And this was the last glimpse of success which at- I tended his arms. Having marched to the relief of Chester, which was anew besieged by the parlia- ! mentary forces under Colonel Jones ; Pointz at- ! tacked his rear, and forced him to give battle. While the fight was continued with great obstinacy, ; and victory seemed to incline to the royalists ; Jones fell upon them from the other side, and put them to rout with the loss of 600 slain, and 1000 prisoners." The King, with the remains of his broken army, fled to Newark, and thence escaped to Oxford, where he shut himself up during the winter season.
y Rush. vol. vii. p. 83. ^ Clarendon, vol. iv. p. 690. Walker,
p. 137. a Clarendon, vol. iv. p. 695. ^ 28th of June.
« Rush. vol. vii. p. 117.
The
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
The news which he received from every quarter, was no less fatal than those events which passed where he himself was present. Fairfax and Cromwell, after the surrender of Bristol, having divided their forces, the former marched westwards, in order to complete the conquest of Devonshire and Cornwall ; _, the latter attacked the King's garrisons which lay to the east of Bristol. The Devizes were surrendered to Cromwell ; Berkley castle was taken by storm ; Winchester capitulated ; Basing-house was entered sword in hand : And all these middle counties of England were, in a little time, reduced to obedience under the parliament.
The same rapid and uninterrupted success attend- ed Fairfax. The parliamentary forces, elated by past victories, governed by the most rigid discipline, met with no equal opposition from troops, dismayed by repeated defeats, and corrupted by licentious man- ners. After beating up the quarters of the royalists at Bovey-Tracey, Fairfax sat down before Dartmouth, and in a few days entered it by storm. Poudram- castle, being taken by him, and Exeter blockaded on all sides ; Hopton, a man of merit, who now com- manded the royalists, having advanced to the relief of that town, with an army of 8000 men, met with the parliamentary army at Torrington ; where he was defeated, all his foot dispersed, and he himself, with his horse, obliged to retire into Cornwall. Fairfax followed him, and vigorously pursued the victory. Having inclosed the royalists at Truro, he forced the whole army, consisting of 5000 men, chiefly cavalry, to surrender upon terms. The soldiers, delivering up their horses and arms, were allowed to disband, and received twenty shillings a- piece, to carry them to their respective abodes. Such of the officers, as desired it, had passes to retire beyond sea : The others, having promised never more to bear arms, paid compositions to the
parliament,
1646.
CHARLES I. 63
parliament'', and procured their pardon/ And thus chap. Fairfax, after taking Exeter, which completed the ^^m* conquest of the west, marched with his victorious army to the centre of the kingdom, and fixed his camp at Newbury. The Prince of Wales, in pursu- ance of the King's orders, retired to Scilly, thence to Jersey ; whence he went to Paris ; where he joined the Queen, who had fled thither from Exeter at the time the Earl of Essex conducted the parlia- mentary army to the west.
In the other parts of England, Hereford was taken by surprise : Chester surrendered : Lord Digby, who had attempted with 1200 horse to break into Scotland, and join Montrose, was defeated at Sherburn, in Yorkshire, by Colonel Copley ; his whole force was dispersed : and he himself was obliged to fly, first to the Isle of Man, thence to Ireland. News too arrived that Montrose himself, after some more successes, was at last routed ; and this only remaining hope of the royal party finally extinguished.
When Montrose descended into the southern counties, the covenanters, assembling their whole force, met him with a numerous army, and gave him battle, but without success, at Kilsyth/ This was the most complete victory that Montrose ever obtained. The royalists put to the sword six thou- sand of their enemies, and left the covenanters no remains of any army in Scotland. The whole king- dom was shaken with these repeated successes of Montrose ; and many noblemen, who secretly fa- voured the royal cause, now declared openly for it, when they saw a force able to support them. The
•' These compositions were different, according to the demerits of the person : But by a vote of the house they could not be under two years' rent of the delinquent's estate. Jouru. 11th of August, 1648. Whitlocke, p. 160.
* Rush. vol. vii. p. 108. f 15th August, 1645.
Marquis
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Marquis of Douglas, the Earls of Annandale and Hartfield, the Lords Fleming, Seton, Maderty, Carnegy, with many others, flocked to the royal standard. Edinburgh opened its gates, and gave liberty to all the prisoners there detained by the covenanters. Among the rest was Lord Ogilvy, son of Airly, whose family had contributed extremely to the victory gained at Kilsyth.^
David Lesly was detached from the army in England, and marched to the relief of his distressed party in Scotland. Montrose advanced still farther to the south, allured by vain hopes, both of rousing to arms the Earls of Hume, Traquaire, and Rox- borough, who had promised to join him ; and of obtaining from England some supply of cavalry, in which he was deficient. By the negligence of his scouts, Lesly, at Philip-haugh in the Forest, surprised his army, much diminished in numbers, from the desertion of the Highlanders, who had retired to the hills, according to custom, in order to secure their plunder. After a sharp conflict, where Montrose exerted great valour, his forces were routed by Lesly's cavalry '': And he himself was obliged to fly with his broken forces into the mountains ; where he again prepared himself for new battles and new enterprises.'
The covenanters used the victory with rigour. Their prisoners, Sir Robert Spotiswood, secretary ! of state, and son to the late primate. Sir Philip Nisbet, Sir William Rollo, Colonel Nathaniel Gor- don, Andrew Guthry, son of the Bishop of Murray, William Murray, son of the Earl of Tullibardine,were condemned and executed. The sole crime imputed to the secretary was, his delivering to Montrose the , King's commission, to be captain-general of Scot- land. Lord Ogilvy, who was again taken prisoner, would have undergone the same fate had not
e Rush. vol. vii. p. 230, 231. Wishart, cqp. 13. ^ 13th of Sept. 1645. 'Rush, vol, vii, p. 231,
his
i
CHARLES I. (35
his sister found means to procure his escape, by chap. changing clothes with him. For this instance of Lvm. courage and dexterity, she met with harsh usage. The clergy solicited the parliament, that more royalists might be executed ; but could not obtain their request. ''
After all these repeated disasters, which every where befel the royal party, there remained only one body of troops, on which fortune could exercise her rigour. Lord Astley, with a small army of 3000 22(1 Mar. men, chiefly cavalry, marching to Oxford, in order to join the King, was met at So we by Colonel Mor- gan, and entirely defeated ; himself being taken prisoner. ** You have done your work," said Astley to the parliamentary officers ; " and may now go " to play, unless you choose to fall out among your- " selves."'
The condition of the King, during this whole winter, was to the last degree disastrous and melan- choly. As the dread of ills is commonly more oppressive than their real presence, perhaps in no period of his life was he more justly the object of compassion. His vigour of mind, which, though it sometimes failed him in acting, never deserted him in his sufferings, was what alone supported him ; and he was determined, as he wrote to Lord Digby, if he could not live as a King, to die like a gentleman ; nor should any of his friends, he said, ever have reason to blush for the Prince whom they had so un- fortunately served. " The murmurs of discontented
^ Guthry's Memoirs. Rush. vol. vii. p. 232.
' Rush. vol. vii. p. 141. It was the same Astley, who, before he charged at the battle of Edgehill, made this short prayer, O Lord! thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If 1 forget thee, do not thou forget me. And with that, rose up, and cried, March on, boys '■ Warwick, p. 229. There were certainly much longer prayers said in the parliamen- tary army ; but I doubt if there were so good a one.
■n Catre's Ormond, vol. iii. No. 433.
VOL. VII. F officers,
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
officers, on the one hand, harassed their unhappy sovereign ; while they over-rated those services and sufferings which, they now saw, must for ever go ^^'^^' unrewarded. " The affectionate duty, on the other hand, of his more generous friends, who respected his misfortunes and his virtues, as much as his dig- nity, wrung his heart with a new sorrow ; when he reflected, that such disinterested attachment would so soon be exposed to the rigour of his implacable enemies. Repeated attempts, which he made for a peaceful and equitable accommodation with the par- liament, served to no purpose but to convince them, that the victory was entirely in their hands. They deigned not to make the least reply to several of his messages, in which he desired a passport for com- missioners." At last, after reproaching him with the blood spilt during the war, they told him that they were preparing bills for him ; and his passing them would be the best pledge of his inclination towards peace : In other words, he must yield at discretion.^ He desired a personal treaty, and offered to come to London, upon receiving a safe-conduct for himself and his attendants : They absolutely refused him admittance, and issued orders for the guarding, that is, the seizing of his person in case he should at- tempt to visit them.'' A new incident which hap- pened in Ireland served to inflame the minds of men, and to increase those calumnies with which his enemies had so much loaded him, and which he ever regarded as the most grievous part of his misfortunes. i
After the cessation with the Irish rebels, the King was desirous of concluding a final peace with them, and obtaining their assistance in England : ! And he gave authority to Ormond, lord-lieutenant, ;
n Walker, p. 147. " Rush. vol. vii. p. 215, &c. ,j
P Ibid. vol. vii. p. 217. 219. Clarendon, vol. iv. p. 744. J
1 Rush. vol. vii. p. 249. Clarendon, vol. iv. }>. 741.
to
1646.
I CHARLES I. 67
to promise them an abrogation of all the penal laws chap. enacted against catholics ; together with the sus- ^viii. pension of Poinings' statute, with regard to some particular bills which should be agreed on. Lord ! Herbert, created Earl of Glamorgan, (though his patent had not yet passed the seals,) having occa- sion for his private affairs to go to Ireland, the King considered, that this nobleman, being a catho- lic, and allied to the best Irish families, might be of service : He also foresaw, that farther concessions with regard to religion might probably be demanded by the bigotted Irish; and that, as these concessions, however necessary, would give great scandal to the protestant zealots in his three kingdoms, it would be requisite both to conceal them during some time, and to preserve Ormond's character, by giving private orders to Glamorgan to conclude and sign these articles. But as he had a better opinion of Gla- morgan's zeal and affection for his service, than of his capacity, he enjoined him to communicate all jhis measures to Ormond ; and though the final con- clusion of the treaty must be executed only in Glamorgan's own name, he was required to be directed, in the steps towards it, by the opinion of the lord-lieutenant. Glamorgan, bigotted to his re- ligion, and passionate for the King's service, but Iguided in these pursuits by no manner of judgement pr discretion, secretly, of himself, without any com- munication with Ormond, concluded a peace with the council of Kilkenny, and agreed, in the King's name, that the Irish should enjoy all the churches of which they had ever been in possession since ithe commencement of their insurrection ; on con- dition that they should assist the King in England (with a body of ten thousand men. This transaction !was discovered by accident. The titular Archbishop of Tuam being killed by a sally of the garrison of 'Sligo, the articles of the treaty were found among I F 2 his
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
pla
m
his baggage, and were immediately published every \ where, and copies of them sent over to the English j parliament. ' The lord-lieutenant and Lord Digby, \ foreseeing the clamour which would be raised against I the King, committed Glamorgan to prison, charged i him with treason for his temerity, and maintained, , that he had acted altogether without any authority > from his master. The English parliament, however, neglected not so favourable an opportunity of re- viving the old clamour with regard to the King's i favour of popery, and accused him of deliveringj over, in a manner, the whole kingdom of Ireland tOj that hated sect. The King told them, '' That thel clu " Earl of Glamorgan having made an offer to raised wa " forces in the kingdom of Ireland, and to conduct' " them into England for His Majesty's service, had " a commission to that purpose, and to that purpose " only, and that he had no commission at all to " treat of any thing else, without the privity and ** direction of the lord-lieutenant, much less toj ** capitulate any thing concerning religion, or any *' property belonging either to church or laity."' Though this declaration seems agreeable to truth, it gave no satisfaction to the parliament ; and some historians, even at present, when the ancient bigotry is somewhat abated, are desirous of representing this very innocent transaction, in which the King was engaged by the most violent necessity, as a stain on the memory of that unfortunate Prince.*
Having lost all hope of prevailing over the rigour of the parliament, either by arms or by treaty, the only resource which remained to the King was de- rived from the intestine dissensions, which ran very high among his enemies. Presbyterians and in- dependents, even before their victory was fully
f Rush. vol. vii. p. 239. » Birch, p. 119. I | >7
* See note [B], at the end of the volume. j
completed.
CHARLES I. QC
completed, fell into contests about the division of chap. the spoil, and their religion as well as civil disputes LViii. agitated the whole kingdom. ^g46.
The Parliament, though they had early abolished episcopal authority, had not, during so long a time, substituted any other spiritual government in its place ; and their committee of religion had hitherto assumed the whole ecclesiastical jurisdiction : But they now established, by an ordinance, the presby- terian model in all its forms of congregational, das- Ecclesias- sical, provincial, and national assemblies. All the ^i<:^^ ^^- inhabitants of each parish were ordered to meet and choose elders, on whom, together with the minister, was bestowed the entire direction of all spiritual concerns within the congregation. A number of neighbouring parishes, commonly between twelve and twenty, formed a classis ; and the court, which governed this division, was composed of all the ministers, together with two, three, or four elders chosen from each parish. The provincial assembly retained an inspection over several neighbouring classes, and was composed entirely of clergymen : The national assembly was constituted in the same manner ; and its authority extended over the whole kingdom. It is probable, that the tyranny exer- cised by the Scottish clergy had given warning not to allow laymen a place in the provincial or national assemblies ; lest the nobility and more considerable gentry, soliciting a seat in these great ecclesiastical courts, should bestow a consideration upon them, and render them, in the eyes of the multitude, a rival to the parliament. In the inferior courts, the mix- ture of the laity might serve rather to temper the usual zeal of the clergy."
But though the presbyterians, by the establish- ment of parity among the ecclesiastics, were so far gratified, they were denied satisfaction in several
" Rush. vol. vii. p. 224.
other
1646.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
other points on which they were extremely intent. The assembly of divines had voted presbytery to be of divine right. The parliament refused their assent to that decision.'" Selden, Whitlocke, and other political reasoners, assisted by the independents, had prevailed in this important deliberation. They thought, that had the bigotted religionists been able to get their heavenly charter recognized, the pres- byters would soon become more dangerous to the magistrate than had ever been the prelatical clergy. These latter, while they claimed to themselves a divine right, admitted of a like origin to civil autho- rity : The former, challenging to their own order a celestial pedigree, derived the legislative power from a source no more dignified than the voluntary association of the people.
Under colour of keeping the sacraments from profanation, the clergy of all Christian sects had as- sumed what they call the power of the keys, or the right of fulminating excommunication. The example of Scotland was a sufficient lesson for the parliament to use precaution in guarding against so severe a tyranny. They determined, by a general ordinance, all the cases in which excommunication could be used. They allowed of appeals to parliament from all ecclesiastical courts. And they appointed com- missioners in every province to judge of such cases as fell not within their general ordinance.'' So much civil 'authority, intermixed with the ecclesiastical, gave disgust to all the zealots.
But nothing was attended with more universal scandal than the propensity of many in the parlia- ment towards a toleration of the protestant secta- ries. The presbyterians exclaimed, that this indul- gence made the church of Christ resemble Noah's ark, and rendered it a receptacle for all unclean beasts. They insisted, that the least of Christ's
^- Whitlocke, p. 106. Rush. vol. vii. p. 260, 261. ^ Rush. vol. V. ii. p. 210.
truth
I
CHARLES I. 71
truth was superior to all political considerations.^ chap.
They maintained the eternal obligation imposed ^
by the covenant to extirpate heresy and schism, ^g^g And they menaced all their opponents with the same rigid persecution, under which they them- selves had groaned, when held in subjection by the hierarchy.
So great prudence and reserve, in such material points, does great honour to the parliament ; and proves, that, notwithstanding the prevalency of bigotry and fanaticism, there were many members who had more enlarged views, and paid regard to the civil interests of society. These men, uniting themselves to the enthusiasts, whose genius is na- turally averse to clerical usurpations, exercised so jealous an authority over the assembly of divines, that they allowed them nothing but the liberty of tendering advice, and would not intrust them even with the power of electing their own chairman or his substitute, or of supplying the vacancies of their own members.
While these disputes were canvassed by theolo- gians, who engaged in their spiritual contests every order of the state ; the King, though he entertained hopes of reaping advantage from those divisions, was much at a loss which side it would be most for his interest to comply with. The presbyterians were, by their principles, the least averse to regal authority; but were rigidly bent on the extirpation of prelacy : The independents were resolute to lay the foundation of a republican government ; but as they pretended not to erect themselves into a na- tional church, it might be hoped, that if gratified with a toleration, they would admit the re-establish- ment of the hierarchy. So great attachment had the King to episcopal jurisdiction, that he was ever in- clined to put it in balance even with his own power and kingly office.
y Rush. vol. vii. p. 308.
But
1646.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
But whatever advantage he might hope to reap from the divisions in the parliamentary party, he v^as apprehensive, lest it should come too late to save him from the destruction with which he was instantly threateHed. Fairfax was approaching with a powerful and victorious army, and was taking the proper measures for laying siege to Oxford, which must infallibly fall into his hands. To be taken captive and led in triumph by his insolent enemies, was what Charles justly abhorred; and every insult, if not violence, was to be dreaded from that enthusiastic soldiery, who hated his person and despised his dignity. In this desperate extremity, he embraced a measure which, in any other situa- tion, might lie under the imputation of imprudence and indiscretion.
MoNTREviLLE, the Frcuch minister, interested for the King, more by the natural sentiments of hu- manity than any instructions from his court, which seemed rather to favour the parliament, had soli- cited the Scottish generals and commissioners, to give protection to their distressed sovereign; and having received many general professions and pro- mises, he had always transmitted these, perhaps with some exaggeration, to the King. From his suggestions, Charles began to entertain thoughts of leaving Oxford, and flying to the Scottish army, which at that time lay JDefore Newark. '■ He con- sidered that the Scottish nation had been fully gra- tified in all their demands ; and having already, in their own country, annihilated both episcopacy and regal authority, had no farther concessions to exact from him. In all disputes which had passed about settling the terms of peace, the Scots, he heard, had still adhered to the milder side, and had endeavour- ed to soften the rigour of the English parliament. Great disgusts also, on other accounts, had taken
^ Clarendon, vol. iv. p. 750. vol. v. p. 16.
l)lace
CHARLES I. 73
place between the nations ; and the Scots found that chap. in proportion as their assistance became less necessary, i-viii. less value was put upon them. The progress of ^ ~ the independents gave them great alarm ; and they were scandalized to hear their beloved covenant spoken of, every day, with less regard and reverence. The refusal of a divine right to presbytery, and the infringing of ecclesiastical discipline from political considerations, were, to them, the subject of much offence : And the King hoped, that, in their present disposition, the sight of their native Prince flying to them in this extremity of distress, would rouse every spark of generosity in their bosom, and procure him their favour and protection.
That he might the better conceal his intentions, orders were given at every gate in Oxford for allow- ing three persons to pass ; and in the night the King, accompanied by none but Dr. Hudson and Mr. Ash- burnham, went out at that gate which leads to London . He rode before a portmanteau, and called himself Ashburnham's servant. He passed through Henley, St. Albans, and came so near to London as Harrow- on-the-Hill. He once entertained thoughts of en- tering into that city, and of throwing himself on the mercy of the parliament. But at last, after passing through many cross roads, he arrived at the Scottish camp before Newark. "^ The parliament hearing of 5th May. his escape from Oxford, issued rigorous orders, and threatened with instant death whoever should har- bour or conceal him. ^
The Scottish eeneral and commissioners affected King goe great surprise on the appearance of the King : And scotch though they paid him all the exterior respect due to camp at his dignity, they instantly set a guard upon him, under Newark. colour of protection, and made him in reality a pri- soner. They informed the English parliament of this unexpected incident, and assured them that they
» Rushworth, vol. vii. p. 267. ^ Whitlocke, p. 209.
had
1646.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
had entered into no private treaty with the King. They applied to him for orders to Bellasis, governor of New^ark, to surrender that town, now reduced to extremity ; and the orders were instantly obeyed. And hearing that the parliament laid claim to the entire disposal of the King's person, and that the English army was making some motions towards them ; they thought proper to retire northwards, and to fix their camp at Newcastle. "
This measure was very grateful to the King; and he began to entertain hopes of protection from the • Scots. He was particularly attentive to the behaviour i of their preachers, on whom all depended. It was the mode of that age to make the pulpit the scene of news ; and on every great event, the whole Scripture was ransacked by the clergy for passages applicable to the present occasion. The first minister who preached before the King, chose these words for his text;
* And behold all the men of Israel came to the King,
* and said unto him. Why have our brethren, the
' men of Judah, stolen thee away, and have brought ;
* the King and his household, and all David's men ' with him, over Jordan ? And all the men of
* Judah answeredthemenof Israel, Because the King
* is near of kin to us ; wherefore then be ye angry
* for this matter? Have we eaten at all of the King's ' cost ; or hath he given us any gift ? And the ' men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and ' said. We have ten parts in the King, and we
* have also more right in David than ye : Why ' then did ye despise us, that our advice should not
* be first had, in bringing back our King : And ' the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than
* the words of the men of Israel." '' But the King found, that the happiness chiefly of the allusion had
«^ Rush. vol. vii. p. 271. Clarendon, vol. v. p. 23. •J 2 Sam. chap. xix. 41, 42, and 43 verses. See Clarendon, vol. v. p. 23, 24.
tempted
1646.
I CHARLES I. 75
itempted the preacher to employ this text, and that chap.
the covenanting zealots were nowise pacified towards ^^m-
him. Another preacher, after reproaching him to
his face with his misgovernment, ordered this psalm
ito be sung :
I
W/ii/ dost thou, tyrant, boast thyself.
Thy wicked deeds to praise ? \
The King stood up, and called for that psalm which begins with these words.
Have mercy, Lord, on me I pray ; For men would me devour :
The good-natured audience, in pity to fallen Majesty, showed for once greater deference to the King than to the Minister, and sung the psalm which the former had called for.^
Charles had very little reason to be pleased with his situation. He not only found himself a prisoner very strictly guarded : All his friends were kept at a distance ; and no intercourse, either by letters or conversation, was allowed him, with any one on whom he could depend, or who was suspected of any attachment towards him. The Scottish generals would enter into no confidence with him ; and still treated him with distant ceremony and feigned re- spect. And every proposal which they made him, tended farther to his abasement and to his ruin.^
They required him to issue orders to Oxford, and all his other garrisons, commanding their sur- render to the parliament : And the King, sensible that their resistance was to very little purpose, willingly complied. The terms given to most of them were honourable ; and Fairfax, as far as lay in his power, was very exact in observing them. Far from
' Whitlocke, p. 234. ' Clarendon, vol. v, p. 30.
allowing
76
CHAP. LVIII.
1646.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
allowing violence, he would not even permit insults or triumph over the unfortunate royalists ; and by his generous humanity, so cruel a civil war was ended, in appearance very calmly, between the parties.
Ormond, having received like orders, delivered Dublin, and other forts, into the hands of the parlia- mentary officers. Montrose also, after having ex- perienced still more variety of good and bad for- tune, threw down his arms and retired out of the kingdom.
The Marquis of Worcester, a man past eighty- four, was the last in England that submitted to the authority of the parliament. He defended Raglan castle to extremity ; and opened not its gates till the middle of August. Four years, a few days ex- cepted, were now elapsed, since the King first erected his standard at Nottingham.^ So long had the British nations, by civil and religious quarrels, been occupied in shedding their own blood, and laying waste their native country.
The parliament and the Scots laid their propo- sals before the King. They were such as a captive, entirely at mercy, could expect from the most inexo- rable victor : Yet were they little worse than what were insisted on before the battle of Naseby. The power of the sword, instead of ten, which the King now offered, was demanded for twenty years, toge- ther with a right to levy whatever money the parlia- ment should think proper for the support of their armies. The other conditions were, in the main, the same with those which had formerly been offered to the King.*"
Charles said, that proposals which introduced such important innovations in the constitution, de- manded time for deliberation: The commissioners replied, that he must give his answer in ten days.'
s Rushworth, vol. vi. p. 293. ' Ibid. vol. vii. p. 319.
Ibid. p. 309.
He
CHARLES I.
77
1646.
He desired to reason about the meaning and im- chap. port of some terms : They informed him, that they LViii. had no power of debate ; and peremptorily required his consent or refusal. He requested a personal treaty with the parliament : They threatened, that if he delayed compliance, the parliament would, by their own authority, settle the nation.
What the parliament was most intent upon, was, not their treaty with the King, to whom they paid little regard ; but that with the Scots. Two important points remained to be settled with that nation ; their delivery of the King, and the estimation of their arrears.
The Scots might pretend, that, as Charles was King of Scotland as well as of England, they were entitled to an equal vote in the disposal of his per- son: And that, in such a case, where the titles are equal, and the subject indivisible, the preference was due to the present possessor. The English maintained, that the King, being in England, was comprehended within the jurisdiction of that king- dom, and could not be disposed of by any foreign nation. A delicate question this, and what surely could not be decided by precedent, since such a situation is not, any where, to be found in his- tory.''
As the Scots concurred with the English, in im- posing such severe conditions on the King, that, notwithstanding his unfortunate situation, he still re- fused to accept of them ; it is certain that they did not desire his freedom : Nor could they ever intend to join lenity and rigour together, in so incon- sistent a manner. Before the settlement of terms, the administration must be possessed entirely by the parliaments of both kingdoms; and how incompa- tible that scheme with the liberty of the King, is easily imagined. To carry him a prisoner into Scot- land, where few forces could be supported to guard
•' Rushworth, vol. vii. p. 339.
him,
78 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, him, was a measure so full of inconvenience and i-vi^i- danger, that, even if the English had consented to ^Q^Q^ it, must have appeared to the Scots themselves altogether uneligible : And how could such a plan be supported in opposition to England, possessed of such numerous and victorious armies, which were, at that time, at least seemed to be, in entire union with the parliament ? The only expedient, it is ob- vious, which the Scots could embrace, if they scru- pled wholly to abandon the King, was immediately to return, fully and cordially, to their allegiance ; and, uniting themselves with the royalists in both kingdoms, endeavour, by force of arms, to reduce the English parliament to more moderate condi- tions : But, besides that this measure was full of extreme hazard ; what was it but instantly to com- bine with their old enemies against their old friends; and, in a fit of romantic generosity, overturn what, with so much expense of blood and treasure, they had, during the course of so many years, been so carefully erecting ?
But, though all these reflections occurred to the Scottish commissioners, they resolved to prolong the dispute, and keep the King as a pledge for those arrears which they claimed from England, and which they were not likely, in the present disposi- tion of that nation, to obtain by any other expedient. The sum, by their account, amounted to near two millions : for they had received little regular pay since they had entered England. And though the contributions which they had levied, as well as ! the price of their living at free quarters, must be deducted ; yet still the sum which they insisted on was very considerable. After many discussions, it was at last agreed, that, in lieu of all demands, they should accept of 400,000 pounds, one half to be paid instantly, another in two subsequent pay- ments.'
' Rushworth, vol. vii. p. 326. Pari. Hist. vol. xv. p. 236.
Great
1646.
CHARLES I. 79
Great pains were taken by the Scots (and the chap. English complied with their pretended delicacy) to LViii. make this estimation and payment of arrears ap- pear a quite different transaction from that for the delivery of the King's person : But common sense requires, that they should be regarded as one and the same. The English, it is evident, had they not been previously assured of receiving the King, would never have parted with so considerable a sum ; and, while they weakened themselves by the same measure, have strengthened a people with whom they must afterwards have so material an interest to discuss.
Thus the Scottish nation underwent, and still undergo (for such grievous stains are not easily wiped off), the reproach of selling their King, and betray- ing their Prince for money. In vain did they maintain, that this money was, on account of former services, undoubtedly their due ; that in their pre- sent situation, no other measure, without the utmost indiscretion, or even their apparent ruin, could be embraced ; and that, though they delivered their King into the hands of his open enemies, they were themselves as much his open enemies as those to whom they surrendered him, and their common ha- tred against him had long united the two parties in strict alliance with each other. They were still an- swered, that they made use of this scandalous ex- pedient for obtaining their wages ; and that after taking arms, without any provocation, against their sovereign, who had ever loved and cherished them, they had deservedly fallen into a situation, from which they could not extricate themselves, without either infamy or imprudence.
The infamy of this bargain had such an influence on the Scottish parliament, that they once voted, that the King should be protected, and his liberty insisted on. But the general assembly interposed, and pronounced, that, as he had refused to take the
covenant,
80 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, covenant, which was pressed on him, it became not •^^^^^- the godly to concern themselves about his fortunes. ^546 " After this declaration, it behoved the parliament to retract their vote. ™
Intelligence concerning the final resolution of the Scottish nation to surrender him, was brought to the King ; and he happened, at that very time, to be playing at chess." Such command of temper did he possess, that he continued his game without interruption; and none of the by-standers could perceive that the letter, which he perused, had brought him news of any consequence. The English commissioners, who, some days after, came to take him under their custody, were admitted to kiss his hands ; and he received them with the same grace and cheerfulness, as if they had travelled on no other errand than to pay court to him. The old Earl of Pembroke in particular, who was one of them, he congratulated on his strength and vigour, that he was still able, during such a season, to per- form so long a journey in company with so many young people. 1647. The King, being delivered over by the Scots to
TCr"ed ml" ^^ English commissioners, was conducted under a
by the guard to Holdenby, in the county of Northampton.
Scots. On his journey, the whole country flocked to be- hold him, moved partly by curiosity, partly by compassion and affection. If any still retained ran- cour against him, in his present condition, they passed in silence ; while his well-wishers, more generous than prudent, accompanied his march with tears, with acclamations, and with prayers for his safety." That ancient superstition likewise of desiring the King's touch in scrofulous distempers, seemed to acquire fresh credit among the people, from the general tenderness which began to prevail for this virtuous and unhappy monarch.
«" Pari. Hist. vol. xv. p. 243, 244. " Burnet's Memoirs of the
HamiltODS. " Ludlow. Herbert.
The
CHARLES I. 81
The commissioners rendered his confinement at chap. Holdenby very rigorous ; dismissing his ancient LViii. } servants, debarring him from visits, and cutting off ~~ I all communication with his friends or family. The parliament, though earnestly applied to by the King, refused to allow his chaplains to attend him, because they had not taken the covenant. The King refused to assist at the service exercised according to the directory ; because he had not as yet given his con- ! sent to that mode of worship.'' Such religious zeal prevailed on both sides ! And such was the unhappy and distracted condition to which it had reduced King and people 1
1 During the time that the King remained in the ■ Scottish army at Newcastle, died the Earl of Essex, the discarded, but still powerful and popular general , of the parliament. His death, in this conjuncture, I was a public misfortune. Fully sensible of the excesses to which affairs had been carried, and of the worse consequences which were still to be apprehended, he had resolved to conclude a peace, and to remedy, as far as possible, all those ills to which, from mistake rather than any bad intentions, he had himself so much contributed. The presby- terian, or the moderate party among the commons, found themselves considerably weakened by his death : And the small remains of authority which still adhered to the house of peers, were in a man- ner wholly extinguished.''
p Clarendon, vol. v. p. 39. Warwick, p. 298. <i Claiendon, vol. v, p. 43.
VOL. VII. Cr
[ 82 ]
I
1647.
CHAP. LIX.
Mutiny of the Army.— The King seized by Joyce.— The Army t march against the Parliament.— The Army subdue the Parha- ment.— The King flies to the Isle of Wight.—Second Civil War. —Invasion from Scotland.— The Treaty of Newport.— The Civil War and Invasion repressed.— The King seized again by the Army.— The House purged.— The King's Trial,— and Execution, — and Character.
CHAP. THHE dominion of the parliament was of short LIX. X duration. No sooner had they subdued their Sovereign, than their own servants rose against them, and tumbled them from their slippery throne. The sacred boundaries of the laws being once violated, nothing remained to confine the wild projects of zeal and ambition. And every successive revolution became a precedent for that which followed it.
In proportion as the terror of the King's power diminished, the division between independent and presbyterian became every day more apparent ; and the neuters found it at last requisite to seek shelter ' in one or the other faction. Many new writs were issued for elections, in the room of members who had died, or were disqualified by adhering to the King ; yet still the presbyterians retained the supe- riority among the commons : And all the peers, except Lord Say, were esteemed of that party. The independents, to whom the inferior sectaries adhered, predominated in the army : And the troops of the new model were universally infected with that enthusiastic spirit. To their assistance did the
independent
CHARLES I. 83
independent party among the commons chiefly trust, chap. in their projects for acquiring the ascendant over ^^'^• their antagonists. ~i647
Soon after the retreat of the Scots, the presby- terians, seeing every thing reduced to obedience, began to talk of diminishing the army : And, on pretence of easing the public burdens, they levelled a deadly blow at the opposite faction. They purposed to embark a strong detachment under Skippon and Massey, for the service of Ireland ; They openly declared their intention of making a great reduction of the remainder.' It was even imagined, that another new model of the army was projected, in order to regain to the presbyterians that superiority which they had so imprudently lost by the former.'
The army had small inclination to the service of Ireland ; a country barbarous, uncultivated, and laid waste by massacres and civil commotions ; they had less inclination to disband, and to renounce that pay, which, having earned it through fatigues and dangers, they now purposed to enjoy in ease and tranquillity. And most of the officers having risen from the dregs of the people, had no other pros- pect, if deprived of their commission, than that of returning to languish in their native poverty and obscurity. ^
These motives of interest acquired additional influence, and became more dangerous to the par- liament, from the religious spirit by which the army was universally actuated. Among the generality of men, educated in regular civilized societies, the sen- timents of shame, duty, honour, have considerable authority, and serve to counterbalance and direct the motives derived from private advantage: But, by the predominancy of enthusiasm among the
■^ Fourteen thousand men were only intended to be kept up ; 6000 horse, 6000 foot, and 2000 dragoons. Bates. ' Rushworth, vol. vii. p. 564
G 2 parliamentary
1647.
84 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, parliamentary forces, these salutary principles lost ■^^^- their credit, and were regarded as mere human inven- tions, yea, moral institutions, fitter for heathens than for Christians.* The saint, resigned over to supe- rior guidance, was at full liberty to gratify all his appetites, disguised under the appearance of pious zeal. And, besides the strange corruptions engen- dered by this spirit, it eluded and loosened all the ties of morality, and gave entire scope, and even sanction, to the selfishness and ambition which na- turally adhere to the human mind .
The military confessors were farther encouraged in disobedience to superiors, by that spiritual pride to which a mistaken piety is so subject. They were not, they said, mere janisaries ; mercenary troops inlisted for hire, and to be disposed of at the will of their paymasters." Religion and liberty were the motives which had excited them to arms ; and they had a superior right to see those blessings, which they had purchased with their blood, ensured to future generations. By the same title that the pres- byterians, in contradistinction to the royalists, had appropriated to themselves the epithet of godly, or the well- affected ^' ; the independents did now, in contradistinction to the presbyterians, assume this magnificent appellation, and arrogate all the ascen- dant, which naturally belongs to it.
Hearing of parties in the house of commons, and being informed that the minority were friends to the army, the majority enemies; the troops naturally interested themselves in that dangerous distinction, and were eager to give the superiority to their partisans. Whatever hardships they under- went, though perhaps derived from inevitable neces- sity, were ascribed to a settled design of oppressing them, and resented as an eff'ect of the animosity and malice of their adversaries.
' Rush. vol. vi. p. 134. « Ibid. vol. vii. p. 565.
'" Ibid, vol. vii. p. 474.
Not-
LIX.
1647.
! CHARLES I. 85
Notwithstanding the great revenue which chap. accrued from taxes, assessments, sequestrations, and compositions, considerable arrears were due to the army; and many of the private men, as well as officers, had near a twelvemonth's pay still owing them. The army suspected, that this deficiency was purposely contrived, in order to oblige them to live at free quarters ; and by rendering them odious to the country, serve as a pretence for disbanding , them. When they saw such members as were ' employed in committees and civil offices accumulate fortunes, they accused them of rapine and public plunder. And, as no plan was pointed out by the j commons for the payment of arrears, the soldiers dreaded, that, after they should be disbanded or embarked for Ireland, their enemies, who predomi- nated in the two houses, would entirely defraud them of their right, and oppress them with impunity.
On this ground or pretence did the first commo- Mutiny of tions begin in the army. A petition, addressed to ^'^^ ^""y- Fairfax, the general, was handed about ; craving an indemnity, and that ratified by the King, for any illegal actions, of which, during the course of the war, the soldiers might have been guilty ; together with satisfaction in arrears, freedom from pressing, relief of widows and maimed soldiers, and pay till disbanded.'' The commons, aware of what combus- tible materials the army was composed, were alarmed at this intelligence. Such a combination, they knew, if not checked in its first appearance, must be at- tended with the most dangerous consequences, and must soon exalt the military above the civil autho- rity. Besides summoning some officers to answer for this attempt, they immediately voted that the March 30. petition tended to introduce mutiny, to put conditions upon the parliament, and to obstruct the relief of
" Pari. Hist. vol. xv. p. 342.
Ireland ;
86
CHAP. LIX.
1647.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Ireland ; and they threatened to proceed against the promoters of it, as enemies to the state, and disturbers of public peace. ^ This declaration, which may be deemed violent, especially as the army had some ground for complaint, produced fatal eifects. The soldiers lamented that they were deprived of the privileges of Englishmen ; that they were not allowed so much as to represent their grievances ; that, while petitions from Essex and other places were openly encouraged against the army, their mouths were stopped ; and that they, who were the authors of liberty to the nation, were reduced, by a faction in parliament, to the most grievous servitude. '. In this disposition was the army found by Warwick, Dacres, Massey, and other commissioners, who were sent to make them proposals for entering into the service of Ireland. "■ Instead of inlisting, the gene- rality objected to the terms ; demanded an indemnity; were clamorous for their arrears : And, though they expressed no dissatisfaction against Skippon, whc was appointed commander, they discovered much stronger inclination to serve under Fairfax and Cromwell. ^ Some officers who were of the presby- terian party, having entered into engagements for this service, could prevail on very few of the soldiers to inlist under them. And, as these officers lay all under the grievous reproach of deserting the array, and betraying the interests of their companions, the rest were farther confirmed in that confederacy,' which they had secretly formed. ^
To petition and remonstrate being the most cautious method of conducting a confederacy, am application to parliament was signed by near 200 officers ; in which they made their apology with a very imperious air, asserted their right of petition- ing, and complained of that imputation thrown
II
y Pari. Hist, vol.xv. p. 344. " Ibid. vol. vii. p. 458.
" Rush. vol. vii. p. 457. ^ Ibid. vol. vii. p. 461. 556.
upon
CHARLES I. 87
upon them by the former declaration of the lower chap. house. "" The private men likewise of some regiments ^^^- sent a letter to Skippon ; in which, together with ^^^^ insisting on the same topics, they lament that designs were formed against them and many of the godly party in the kingdom ; and declare that they could not engage for Ireland, till they were satisfied in their expectations, and had their just desires granted. '' The army, in a word, felt their power, and resolved to be masters.
The parliament, too, resolved, if possible, to pre- serve their dominion ; but being destitute of power, and not retaining much authority, it was not easy for them to employ any expedient which could contribute to their purpose. The expedient which they now made use of, was the worst imaginable. They sent Skippon, Cromwell, Ireton, and Fleetwood, to the head-quarters at Saffron Waldon in Essex ; and em- powered them to make offers to the army, and inquire into the cause of its distempers. These very 7th May. generals, at least the three last, were secretly the authors of all the discontents ; and failed not to foment those disorders, which they pretended to appease. By their suggestion, a measure was embraced, which, at once, brought matters to extremity, and rendered the mutiny incurable.
In opposition to the parliament at Westminster, a military parliament was formed. Together with a council of the principal officers, which was appointed after the model of the house of peers ; a more free representative of the army was composed, by the election of two private men or inferior officers, under the title of agitators, from each troop or company. ^ By this means, both the general humour of that time was gratified, intent on plans of imaginary republics;
•^ Rush. vol. vii. p. 468, •• Idem, ibid. p. 474.
I * Idem, ibid. p. 485. Clarendon, vol. v p. 43.
' and
88 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. jj
CHAP, and an easy method contrived for conducting under- ' ^^^- hand, and propagating the sedition of the army.
This terrible court, when assembled, having first declared that they found no distempers in the army, but many grievances, under which it laboured, im- mediately voted the offers of the parliament unsatis- factory. Eight weeks' pay alone, they said, was promised ; a small part of fifty-six weeks, which they claimed as their due : No visible security was given for the remainder : And having been declared public enemies by the commons, they might hereaf- ter be prosecuted as such, unless the declaration were recalled.' Before matters came to this height, Cromwell had posted up to London, on pretence of laying before the parliament the rising discontents of the army.
The parliament made one vigorous effort more,
to try the force of their authority : They voted that
all the troops which did not engage for Ireland
should instantly be disbanded in their quarters.^
At the same time, the council of the army ordered
a general rendezvous of all the regiments, in order
to provide for their common interests. And while
they thus prepared themselves for opposition to the
parliament, they struck a blow, which at once
decided the victory in their favour.
3d June. A PARTY of fivc hundred horse appeared at Hol-
The King, dcnby, conducted by one Joyce, who had once been
Joyce. ^ ^ taylor by profession ; but was now advanced to
the rank of cornet, and was an active agitator in the
army. Without being opposed by the guard, whose
affections were all on their side, Joyce came into the
King's presence armed with pistols, and told him,
that he must immediately go along with him.
Whither'^ said the King. To the armxj, replied
Joyce. By what warrant ? asked the King. Joyce
<■ Rush, vol.vii. p. 497. 505. Whhlocke, p. 250. s Rush. vol. vii. p. 487.
pointed
CHARLES I. 89
pointed to the soldiers, whom he brought along; chap. tall, handsome, and well accoutred. Your ivarrant, ^^^• said Charles, smiling, is written in fair characters, legible icithout spelling.^ The parliamentary commis- sioners came into the room : They asked Joyce, whether he had any orders from the parliament ? He said, Ao ; From the General ? A^o : By what autho- rity he came ? He made the same reply as to the King : T/iei/ ivoulcl write, they said, to the parliament, to knoio their pleasure. You may do so, replied Joyce ; but in the mean time the King must immediately go with me. Resistance was vain. The King, after protracting the time as long as he could, went into his coach ; and was safely conducted to the army, who were hastening to their rendezvous at Triplo-Heath, near Cambridge. The parliament, informed of this event by their commissioners, were thrown into the utmost consternation.'
Fairfax himself was no less surprised at the King's arrival. That bold measure, executed by Joyce, had never been communicated to the general. The orders were entirely verbal ; and nobody avow- ed them. And while every one aftected astonish- ment at the enterprize, Cromwell, by whose counsel it had been directed, arrived from London, and put an end to their deliberations.
This artful and audacious conspirator had con- ducted himself in the parliament with such profound dissimulation, with such refined hypocrisy, that he had long deceived those, who, being themselves very dexterous practitioners in the same arts, should na- turally have entertained the more suspicion against others. At every intelligence of disorders in the army, he was moved to the highest pitch of grief and of anger. He wept bitterly : He lamented the misfortunes of his country : He advised every vio- lent measure for suppressing the mutiny ; and by
'' Whitlocke, p. 254. Warwick, p. 299.
' Rush. vol. vii. p. 514, 515. Clarendon, vol. v. p. 47.
these
1647.
90 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, these precipitate counsels, at once seemed to evince ^^^- his own sincerity, and inflamed those discontents, of which he intended to make advantage. He obtested heaven and earth, that his devoted attachment to the parliament had rendered him so odious in the army, that his life, while among them, was in the utmost danger ; and he had very narrowly escaped a conspi- racy formed to assassinate him. But information being brought that the most active officers and agi- tators were entirely his creatures, the parliamentary leaders secretly resolved, that, next day, when he should come to the house, an accusation should be entered against him, and he should be sent to the Tower.'' Cromwell, who in the conduct of his des- perate enterprises frequently approached to the very brink of destruction, knew how to make the requisite turn with proper dexterity and boldness. Being in- formed of this design, he hastened to the camp ; where he was received with acclamations, and was instantly invested with the supreme command, both of general and army.
Fairfax, having neither talents himself for cabal, nor penetration to discover the cabals of others, had given his entire confidence to Cromwell, who, by the best coloured pretences, and by the appearance of an open sincerity and a scrupulous conscience, im- posed on the easy nature of this brave and virtuous man. The council of officers and the agitators were moved altogether by Cromwell's direction, and con- veyed his will to the whole army. By his profound and artful conduct, he had now attained a situation, where he could cover his enterprises from public view ; and, seeming either to obey the commands of his su- perior officer, or yield to the movements of the sol- diers, could secretly pave the way for his future greatness. While the disorders of the army were yet in their infancy, he kept at a distance, lest his
'' Clarendon, vol. v. p, 46,
counterfeit
CHARLES I. 91
counterfeit aversion might throw a damp upon them, chap. or his secret encouragement beget suspicion in the ^^^' parhament. As soon as they came to maturity, he i647. openly joined the troops; and in the critical mo- ment, struck that important blow of seizing the King's person, and depriving the parliament of any resource of an accommodation with him. Though one vizor fell off, another still remained to cover his natural countenance. Where delay was requisite, he would employ the most indefatigable patience : Where celerity was necessary, he flew to a de- cision. And by thus uniting in his person the most opposite talents, he was enabled to combine the most contrary interests in a subserviency to his secret purposes.
The parliament, though at present defenceless, The army was possessed of many resources ; and time might ^^'^ch easily enable them to resist that violence with which pSiia- they were threatened. Without farther delibera- ment. tion, therefore, Cromwell advanced the army upon them, and arrived in a few days at St. Albans.
Nothing could be more popular than this hostility which the army commenced against the parliament. As much as that assembly was once the idol of the nation, as much was it now become the object of ge- neral hatred and aversion.
The self-denying ordinance had no longer been put in execution, than till Essex, Manchester, Waller, and the other officers of that party, had resigned their commission : Immediately after, it was laid aside by tacit consent ; and the members, sharing all offices of power and profit among them, proceeded with impunity in exercising acts of oppression on the helpless nation. Though the necessity of their situation might serve as an apology for many of their measures, the people, not accustomed to such a species of government, were not disposed to make the requisite allowances.
A SMALL
1647.
92 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. |
i
CHAP. A SMALL Supply of 100,000 pounds a year could ^^^' never be obtained by former Kings from the jealous '■. humour of parliaments ; and the English, of all na- ■ tions in Europe, were the least accustomed to taxes: ' But this parliament, from the commencement of the i war, according to some computations, had levied, in i five years, above forty millions'; yet were loaded' with debts and incumbrances, which, during that ! age, were regarded as prodigious. If these com- ! putations should be thought much exaggerated, ? as they probably are'", the taxes and impositions ■ were certainly far higher than in any former state | of the English government ; and such popular i exaggerations are, at least, a proof of popular dis- contents. I But the disposal of this money was no less the I object of general complaint against the parliament I than the levying of it. The sum of 300,000 pounds they openly took, it is affirmed ", and divided among their own members. The committees, to whom the management of the different branches of revenue was intrusted, never brought in their accounts, and had unlimited power of secreting whatever sums they pleased from the public treasure." These branches were needlessly multiplied, in order to render the revenue more intricate, to share the advantages among greater numbers, and to conceal the frauds of which they were universally suspected.''
' Clement Walker's History of the Two Juntos, prefixed to his History of Independency, p. 8. This is an author of spirit and ingenuity; and being a zealous parliamentarian, his authority is very considerable, notwith- standing the air of satire which prevails in his writings. This computation, however, seems much too large ; especially as the sequestrations, during the time of war, could not be so considerable as afterwards.
"• Yet the same sum precisely is assigned in another book, called Royal Treasury of England, p. 297.
" Clement Walker's History of Independency, p. 3. 166.
" Ibid. p. 8. P Id. Ibid.
The
LIX.
1647.
CHARLES 1. 93
The method of keeping accounts practised in the chap. exchequer was confessedly the exactest, the most ancient, the best known, and the least liable to fraud. The exchequer was, for that reason, abolished, and the revenue put under the management of a com- mittee, who were subject to no control.*'
The excise was an odious tax, formerly unknown to the nation ; and was now extended over provisions, and the common necessaries of life. Near one half of the goods and chattels, and at least one half of the lands, rents, and revenues of the kingdom had been sequestered. To great numbers of royalists, all re- dress from these sequestrations was refused : To the rest, the remedy could be obtained only by paying large compositions and subscribing the covenant, which they abhorred. Besides pitying the ruin and desolation of so many ancient and honour- able families, indifferent spectators could not but blame the hardship of punishing, with such seve- rity, actions which the law, in its usual and most undisputed interpretation, strictly required of every subject.
The severity, too, exercised against the episcopal clergy, naturally affected the royalists, and even all men of candour, in a sensible manner. By the most moderate computation', it appears, that above one half of the established clergy had been turned out to beggary and want, for no other crime than their adhering to the civil and religious principles in which they had been educated, and for their attachment to those laws under whose countenance they had at first embraced that profession. To renounce episco- pacy and the liturgy, and to subscribe the covenant,
1 Clement Walker's History of Independency, p. 8.
' See John Walker's Attempt towards recovering an Account of the Numbers and Sufferings of the Clergy. The parliament pretended to leave the sequestered clergy a fifth of their revenue ; but this author makes it sufficiently appear, that this provision, small as it is, was never regularly paid the ejected clergy.
were
1647.
94 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, were the only terms which could save them from so Lix. rigorous a fate ; and if the least mark of malig- nancy, as it was called, or affection to the King, who so entirely loved them, had ever escaped their lips, even this hard choice was not permitted. The sacred character, which gives the priesthood such authority over mankind, becoming more ve- nerable from the sufferings endured for the sake of principle by these distressed royalists, aggravated the general indignation against their persecutors.
But what excited the most universal complaint was, the unlimited tyranny and despotic rule of the country committees. During the war, the dis- cretionary power of these courts was excused from the plea of necessity : But the nation was reduced to despair, when it saw neither end put to their duration, nor bounds to their authority. These could sequester, fine, imprison, and corporally punish, without law or remedy. They interposed in questions of private property. Under colour of malignancy, they exercised vengeance against their private enemies. To the obnoxious, and sometimes the innocent, they sold their protection. And instead of one star-chamber which had been abolished, a great number were anew erected, for- tified with better pretences, and armed with more unlimited authority.'
Could any thing have increased the indignation against that slavery, into which the nation, from the too eager pursuit of liberty, had fallen, it must have been the reflection on the pretences by which the people had so long been deluded. The sanctified
« Clement Walker's History of Independency, p. 5. Hollis gives the same representation as Walker, of the plundering, oppressions, and ty- ranny of the parliament : Only, instead of laying the fault on both parties, as Walker does, he ascribes it solely to the independent faction. The presbyterians, indeed, being commonly denominated the moderate party, would probably be more inoffensive. See Rush. vol. vii. p. 598, and Pari. Hist. vol. XV. p. 230.
hypocrites,
1647.
I CHARLES I. - 95
hypocrites, who called their oppressions the spoiling chap. of the Egyptians, and their rigid severity the do- ^i^- I minion of the elect, interlarded all their iniquities |with long and frequent prayers, saved themselves ifrom blushing by their pious grimaces, and exercised, in the name of the Lord, all their cruelty on men. An undisguised violence could be forgiven : But isuch a mockery of the understanding, such an abuse of religion, were, with men of penetration, objects of peculiar resentment.
The parliament, conscious of their decay in po- pularity, seeing a formidable armed force advance upon them, were reduced to despair, and found all their resources much inferior to the present ne- cessity. London still retained a strong attachment to presbyterianism ; and its militia, which was nume- rous, and had acquired reputation in wars, had by a late ordinance been put into hands in whom the par- liament could entirely confide. This militia was now called out, and ordered to guard the lines which had been drawn round the city, in order to secure it lagainst the King. A body of horse was ordered to ibe instantly levied. Many officers, who had been 'cashiered by the new model of the army, offered Itheir service to the parliament. An army of 5000 |men lay in the north under the command of General Pointz, who was of the presbyterian faction; but these were too distant to be employed in so urgent a necessity. The forces destined for Ireland were quartered in the west ; and though deemed faithful to the parliament, they also lay at a distance. Many inland garrisons were commanded by officers of the same party ; but their troops, being so much dis- persed, could at present be of no manner of service. The Scots were faithful friends, and zealous for I presbytery and the covenant; but a long time was j required ere they could collect their forces, and 'march to the assistance of the parliament.
In
9(3 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. In this situation, it was thought more prudent to ^^^- submit, and by compliance to stop the fury of the ^^^^ enraged army. The declaration, by which the mi- litary petitioners had been voted .public enemies, 8th June, was recalled and erased from the journal-book.* This was the first symptom which the parliament gave of submission ; and the army, hoping by terror alone to effect all their purposes, stopped at St. Albans, and entered into negotiation with their masters.
Here commenced the encroachments of the mi- litary upon the civil authority. The army, in their usurpations on the parliament, copied exactly the model which the parliament itself had set them, in their recent usurpations on the crown.
Every day they rose in their demands. If one claim was granted, they had another ready, still more enormous and exorbitant ; and were deter- mined never to be satisfied. At first they pretended only to petition for what concerned themselves as soldiers : Next, they must have a vindication of their character: Then it was necessary that their enemies be punished " : At last they claimed a right of modelling the whole government, and settling the nation."^
They preserved, in words, all deference and re- spect to the parliament; but, in reality, insulted them and tyrannized over them. That assembly they pretended not to accuse : It was only evil counsellors, who seduced and betrayed it. 16th June. They proceeded so far as to name eleven mem- bers, whom, in general terms, they charged with high treason, as enemies to the army and evil
« Rush. vol. vii. p. 503. 547. Clarendon, vol. v. p. 45. " Rush, vol. vii. p. 509. » Ibid, vol, vii. p. 567. 633. Ibid,
vol. viii. p. 731.
counsellors
1647.
CHARLES I. 97
counsellors to the parliament. Their names were chap. Hollis, Sir Philip Stapleton, Sir William Lewis, Sir ^"^^• John Clotworthy, Sir William Waller, Sir John May- nard, Massey, Glyn, Long, Harley, and Nicholas.'' These were the very leaders ofthepresbyterian party.
They insisted, that these members should imme- diately be sequestered from parliament, and be thrown into prison.^ The commons replied, that they could not, upon a general charge, proceed so far. ^ The army observed to them, that the cases of Strafford and Laud were direct precedents for that purpose.* At last, the eleven members themselves, not to give occasion for discord, begged leave to retire from the house ; and the army, for the present, seemed satis- fied with this mark of submission.''
Pretending that the parliament intended to levy war upon them, and to involve the nation again in blood and confusion, they required that all new levies should be stopped. The parliament complied with this demand.'^
There being no signs of resistance, the army, in order to save appearances, removed, at the desire of the parliament, to a greater distance from Lon- don, and fixed their head quarters at Reading. They carried the King along with them in all their marches.
That Prince now found himself in a better situa- tion than at Holdenby, and had attained some greater degree of freedom, as well as of consideration, with both parties.
All his friends had access to his presence : His correspondence with the Queen was not interrupted : His chaplains were restored to him, and he was al- lowed the use of the liturgy : His children were
^ Rush. vol. vii. p. 570. y Ibid. vol. vii. p. 572.
^ Ibid. vol. vii. p. 592. * Ibid. vol. vii. p. 594.
Whitlocke, p. 259. ^ Ibid. vol. vii, p. 593, 594. •^ Rush. vol. vii. p. 572. 574.
VOL. VII. H once
1647.
98 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, once allowed to visit him, and they passed a few ^^^' days at Caversham, where he then resided. '^ He had not seen the Duke of Gloucester, his youngest son, and the Princess Elizabeth, since he left Lon- don, at the commencement of the civil disorders^ : nor the Duke of York, sence he went to the Scottish army before Newark. No private man, unacquainted with the pleasures of a court and the tumult of a camp, more passionately loved his family, than did this good Prince; and such an instance of indulgence in the army was extremely grateful to him. Crom- well, who was witness to the meeting of the royal family, confessed, that he never had been present a1 so tender a scene ; and he extremely applauded the benignity which displayed itself in the whole dispo- sition and behaviour of Charles.
That artful politician, as well as the leaders of all^ parties, payed court to the King ; and fortune, not-i withstanding all his calamities, seemed again to smile' upon him. The parliament, afraid of his forming some accommodation with the army, addressed hin]| in a more respectful style than formerly; and invitedl him to reside at Richmond, and contribute his as-i sistance to the settlement of the nation. The chief officers treated him with regard, and spake on allj occasions of restoring him to his just powers and| prerogatives. In the public declarations of the army,' the settlement of his revenue and authority were in- sisted on.' The royalists, everywhere, entertained' hopes of the restoration of monarchy ; and the fa-j vour which they universally bore to the army, con- tributed very much to discourage the parliament, and to forward their submission. i
"^ Clarendon, vol. i. p. 51, 52. 57.
* When the King applied to have his children, the parliament always' told him, that they could take as much care at London, both of their bodies and souls, as could be done at Oxford. Pari. Hist. vol. xiii. p. 127.
' Rush. vol. vii. p. 590,
I
The j
1647.
I CHARLES I. 99
The King began to feel of what consequence he chap. was. The more the national confusions increased, ^^^• the more was he confident that all parties would, at length, have recourse to his lawful authority as the only remedy for the public disorders. Voti cannot be without 7ne, said he, on several occasions : You cannot settle the nation but by mij assistance. A people without government and without liberty, a parliament without authority, an army without a legal master : Distractions every where, terrors, oppressions, convulsions : From this scene of con- fusion, which could not long continue, all men, he hoped, would be brought to reflect on that ancient government, under which they and their ancestors had so long enjoyed happiness and tranquillity.
Though Charles kept his ears open to all pro- posals, and expected to hold the balance between the opposite parties, he entertained more hopes of ac- commodation with the army. He had experienced the extreme rigour of the parliament. They pre- ^1 I tended totally to annihilate his authority : They had confined his person. In both these particulars, the army showed more indulgence.- He had a free intercourse with his friends. And in the proposals, i which the council of officers sent for the settlement '^ of the nation, they insisted neither on the abolition of episcopacy, nor of the punishment of the royalists; the two points to which the King had the most ex- u treme reluctance. And they demanded, that a fr period should be put to the present parliament ; the event for which he most ardently longed.
His conjunction too seemed more natural with the generals, than with that usurping assembly, who j had so long assumed the entire sovereignty of the I state, and who had declared their resolution still to ' continue masters. By gratifying a few persons with I
' s Warwick, p. 303. » Pari. Hist. vol. xvi. p. 40. Clarendon, vol. v.
p. 50.
!l H 2 titles
100 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, titles and preferments, he might draw over, he hoped, ^^^- the whole military power, and, in an instant, rein- 1647. state himself in his civil authority. To Ireton he offered the lieutenancy of Ireland : To Cromwell, the garter, the title of Earl of Essex, and the com- mand of the army. Negotiations to this purpose were secretly conducted. Cromwell pretended to hearken to them ; and was well pleased to keep the door open for an accommodation, if the course of events should, at any time, render it necessary. And the King, who had no suspicion that one born a pri- vate gentleman could entertain the daring ambition of seizing a sceptre transmitted through a long line of monarchs, indulged hopes that he would, at last, embrace a measure which, by all the motives of duty, interest, and safety, seemed to be recommend- ed to him.
While Cromwell allured the King by these ex- pectations, he still continued his scheme of reducino- the parliament to subjection, and depriving them of all means of resistance. To gratify the army, the parliament invested Fairfax with the title of general in chief of all the forces in England and Ireland ; and intrusted the whole military authority to a per- son who, though well inclined to their service, was no longer at his own disposal.
They voted that the troops which, in obedience to them, had enlisted for Ireland, and deserted the re- bellious army, should be disbanded, or, in o ther words, be punished for their fidelity. The forces in the north, under Pointz, had already mutinied against their general, and had entered into an association with that body of the army which was so success- fully employed in exalting the military above the civil authority. ^
That no resource might remain to the parlia- ment, it was demanded, that the militia of London
'■Rush. vol. vii.p. 620.
should
CHARLES I. 101
should be changed, the presbyterian commissioners chap. displaced, and the command restored to those who, ^^^• during the course of the war, had constantly exer- cised it. The parliament even complied with so violent a demand, and passed a vote in obedience to the army.'
By this unlimited patience they purposed to tem- porize under their present difficulties, and they hoped to find a more favourable opportunity for recover- ing their authority and influence: But the impa- tience of the city lost them all the advantage of their cautious measures. A petition against the alteration 20th July. of the militia was carried to Westminster, attended by the apprentices and seditious multitude, who be- sieged the door of the house of commons ; and by their clamour, noise, and violence, obliged them to reverse that vote, which they had passed so lately. When gratified in this pretension, they immediately dispersed, and left the parliament at liberty.""
No sooner was intelligence of this tumult con- veyed to Reading, than the army was put in mo- tion. The two houses being under restraint, they were resolved, they said, to vindicate, against the seditious citizens, the invaded privileges of parlia- ment, and restore that assembly to its just freedom of debate and counsel. In their way to London, they were drawn up on Hounslow-heath ; a formi- dable body, twenty thousand strong, and determined, without regard to laws or liberty, to pursue what- ever measures their generals should dictate to them. Here the most favourable event happened, to quicken and encourage their advance. The speakers of the two houses, Manchester and Lenthal, at- tended by eight peers, and about sixty commoners, having secretly retired from the city, presented themselves with their maces, and all the ensigns of their dignity ; and complaining of the violence put
* Rush. vol. vii. p. 629. 632. ^ Ibid. vol. vii. p. 641. 643.
Clarendon, vol, v. p. 61. Whitlocke, p. 269. CI. W^alker, p. 38.
upon
102 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, upon them, applied to the army for defence and Lix. protection. They were received with shouts and acclamations : Respect was paid to them as to the parliament of England : And the army being pro- vided with so plausible a pretence, which in all pub- lic transactions is of great consequence, advanced to chastise the rebellious city, and to reinstate the violated parliament.'
Neither Lenthal nor Manchester were esteemed independents ; and such a step in them was unex- pected. But they probably foresaw, that the army must, in the end, prevail ; and they were willing to pay court in time to that authority, which began to predominate in the nation.
The parliament, forced from their temporizing measures, and obliged to resign at once, or combat for their liberty and power, prepared themselves with vigour for defence, and determined to resist the violence of the army. The two houses immediately chose new speakers. Lord Hunsdon, and Henry Pelham : They renewed their former orders for en- listing troops : They appointed Massey to be com- mander : They ordered the train bands to man the lines : And the whole city was in a ferment, and resounded with military preparations."*
When any intelligence arrived, that the army stopped or retreated, the shout of One and all, ran with alacrity from street to street, among the citizens : When news came of their advancing, the cry of treat and capitulate, was no less loud and vehement." The terror of an universal pillage, and even massacre, had seized the timid inhabi- tants.
As the army approached, Rainsbow, being sent by the general over the river, presented himself be- fore Southwark, and was gladly received by some
' Rush. vol. vii. p. 750. Clarendon, vol. v. p. 63- »' Rush. vol. vii. p. 646. " Whitlocke, p. 265.
soldiers.
CHARLES I.
103
j soldiers, who were quartered there for its defence, chap. and who were resolved not to separate their interests ^^^• ; from those of the army. It behoved then the par- ~~[^ ; liament to submit. The army marched in triumph 6th Aug. I through the city, but preserved the greatest order, decency, and appearance of humility. They con- ducted to Westminster the two speakers, who took I their seats as if nothing had happened. The eleven ! impeached members, being accused as authors of I the tumult, were expelled ; and most of them re- i tired beyond sea: Seven peers were impeached: I The mayor, one sheriff, and three aldermen sent to I the Tower : Several citizens and officers of the i militia committed to prison : Every deed of the j parliament annulled, from the day of the tumult till j the return of the speakers : The lines about the city i levelled : The militia restored to the independents : Regiments quartered in Whitehall and the Mews : And the parliament being reduced to a regular The army formed servitude, a day was appointed of solemn subdue thanksgiving for the restoration of its liberty." men?.^"^ '^'
The independent party among the commons ex- ulted in their victory. The whole authority of the nation, they imagined, was now lodged in their hands ; and they had a near prospect of moulding the government into that imaginary republic which had long been the object of their wishes. They had se- cretly concurred in all encroachments of the military upon the civil power ; and they expected, by the terror of the sword, to impose a more perfect system of liberty on the reluctant nation. All parties, the King, the church, the parliament, the presbyterians, had been guilty of errors since the commencement of these disorders : But it must be confessed, that this delusion of the independents and republicans was, of all others, the most contrary to common sense and the established maxims of policy. Yet were the
" Rush. vol. viii. p. 797, 798, &c.
leaders
1647.
104 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, leaders of that party, Vane, Fiennes, St. John, Lix. Martin, the men in England the most celebrated for profound thought and deep contrivance ; and by their well-coloured pretences and professions, they had over-reached the whole nation. To deceive such men, would argue a superlative capacity in Crom- well ; were it not that, besides the great difference there is between dark, crooked councils and true wisdom, an exorbitant passion for rule and authority will make the most prudent overlook the dangerous consequences of such measures as seem to tend, in any degree, to their own advancement.
The leaders of the army having established their dominion over the parliament and city, ventured to bring the King to Hampton-court, and he lived, for some time, in that palace with an appearance of dignity and freedom. Such equability of temper did he possess, that, during all the variety of fortune which he underwent, no difference was perceived in his countenance or behaviour; and though a prisoner, in the hands of his most inveterate enemies, he sup- ported, towards all who approached him, the majesty of a monarch ; and that neither with less nor greater state than he had been accustomed to maintain. His manner, which was not in itself popular nor gra- cious, now appeared amiable, from its great meek- ness and equality.
The parliament renewed their application to him, and presented him with the same conditions which they had offered at Newcastle. The King declined accepting them, and desired the parliament to take the proposals of the army into consideration, and make them the foundation of the public settle- ment, p He still entertained hopes that his negotia- tions with the generals would be crowned with success; though every thing, in that particular, daily bore a worse aspect. Most historians have thought that Cromwell never was sincere in his
•' Rush, vol. viii. p. 810.
professions ;
1647.
CHARLES I. 105
professions ; and that, having by force rendered him- chap. self master of the King's person, and, by fair pre- ^^■^* tences, acquired the countenance of the royalists, he had employed these advantages to the enslaving of the parliament ; and afterwards thought of nothing but the establishment of his own unlimited authority, with which he esteemed the restoration, and even life of the King, altogether incompatible. This opinion, so much warranted by the boundless am- bition and profound dissimulation of his character, meets with ready belief; though it is more agree- I able to the narrowness of human views, and the darkness of futurity, to suppose that this daring usurper was guided by events, and did not as yet foresee, with any assurance, that unparalleled great- ness which he afterwards attained. Many writers of that age have asserted,* that he really intended to make a private bargain with the King ; a measure I which carried the most plausible appearance both for his safety and advancement : But that he found insuperable difficulties in reconciling to it the wild humours of the army. The horror and antipathy of these fanatics had, for many years, been artfully fomented against Charles ; and though their prin- , ciples were on all occasions easily warped and eluded I by private interest, yet was some colouring requi- site, and a flat contradiction to all former profes- sions and tenets could not safely be proposed to them. It is certain, at least, that Cromwell made use of this reason, why he admitted rarely of visits from the King's friends, and showed less favour than formerly to the royal cause. The agitators, he said, had rendered him odious to the army, and had re- presented him as a traitor, who, for the sake of j private interest, was ready to betray the cause of I God to the great enemy of piety and religion. Des- perate projects, too, he asserted to be secretly form- ed, for the murder of the King ; and he pretended
* See note [C], at the eud of the volume.
much
1647.
106 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, much to dread lest all his authority, and that of the ^^^' commanding officers, would not be able to restrain these enthusiasts from their bloody purposes. '^
Intelligence being daily brought to the King, of menaces thrown out by the agitators, he began to think of retiring from Hampton-court, and of putting himself in some place of safety. The guards were doubled upon him : The promiscuous concourse of people restrained : A more jealous care exerted in attending his person : All under colour of protecting him from danger ; but really with a view of making him uneasy in his present situation. These artifices soon produced the intended eifect. Charles, who was naturally apt to be swayed by counsel, and who had not then access to any good counsel, took suddenly a resolution of withdrawing himself, though without any concerted, at least any rational, scheme for the 11th Nov. future disposal of his person. Attended only by Sir John Berkeley, Ashburnham, and Leg, he pri- vately left Hampton-court ; and his escape was not discovered till near an hour after ; when those who entered his chamber found on the table some letters directed to the parliament, to the general, and to the officer who had attended him. ' AH night he travelled through the forest, and arrived next day at Titchfield, a seat of the Earl of Southampton's, where the Countess Dowager resided, a woman of honour, to whom the King knew he might safely intrust his person. Before he arrived at this place, he had gone to the sea-coast ; and expressed great anxiety, that a ship which he seemed to look for, had not arrived ; and thence, Berkeley and Leg, who were not in the secret, conjectured, that his intention was to trans- port himself beyond sea. The King The King could not hope to remain long con- Me of ^^^ cealed at Titchfield : What measure should next be Wight. embraced was the question. Li the neighbourhood
•■ Clarendon, vol. v. p. 76. ' Rush. vol. viii. p. 871.
lay .
♦ p. 79, 80, &c.
safety.
1G47.
CHARLES I. '107
lay the Isle of Wight, of which Hammond was go- chap. vernor. This man was entirely dependent on ^^^' Cromwell. At his recommendation he had married a daughter of the famous Hampden, who, during his lifetime, had been an intimate friend of Crom- well's, and whose memory was ever respected by him. These circumstances were very unfavourable : Yet, because the governor was nephew to Dr. Hammond, the King's favourite chaplain, and had acquired a good character in the army, it was thought proper to have recourse to him in the present exi- gence, when no other rational expedient could be thought of, Ashburnham and Berkeley were des- patched to the island. They had orders not to inform Hammond of the place where the King was con- cealed, till they had first obtained a promise from him not to deliver up His Majesty, though the parliament and the army should require him; but to restore him to his liberty, if he could not protect him. This promise, it is evident, would have been a very slen- der security : Yet, even without exacting it, Ash- burnham, imprudently, if not treacherously, brought Hammond to Titchfield ; and the King was obliged to put himself into his hands, and to attend him to Carisbroke-castle, in the Isle of Wight, where, though received with great demonstrations of respect and duty, he was in reality a prisoner.
Lord Clarendon* is positive, that the King, when
he fled from Hampton-court, had no intention of
j going to this island ; and indeed all the circumstances
i of that historian's narrative, which we have here
I followed, strongly favour this opinion. But there
I remains a letter of Charles's to the Earl of Laneric,
I secretary of Scotland, in which he plainly intimates,
that that measure was voluntarily embraced ; and
even insinuates, that if he had thought proper, he
might have been in Jersey, or any other place of
1647.
108 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, safety.* Perhaps he still confided in the promises i^ix- of the generals ; and flattered himself that, if he were removed from the fury of the agitators, by which his life was immediately threatened, they would execute what they had so often promised in his favour.
Whatever may be the truth in this matter, for it is impossible fully to ascertain the truth, Charles never took a weaker step, nor one more agreeable to Cromwell and all his enemies. He was now lodged in a place, removed from his partisans, at the disposal of the army, whence it would be very difficult to deliver him, either by force or artifice. And though it was always in the power of Cromwell, whenever he pleased, to have sent him thither ; yet, such a measure, without the King's consent, would have been very invidious, if not attended with some danger. That the King should voluntarily throw himself into the snare, and thereby gratify his im- placable persecutors, was to them an incident pecu- liarly fortunate, and proved in the issue very fatal to him.
Cromwell being now entirely master of the par- liament, and free from all anxiety with regard to the custody of the King's person, applied himself seriously to quell those disorders in the army, which he himself had so artfully raised, and so successfully employed against both King and parliament. In order to engage the troops into a rebellion against their masters, he had encouraged an arrogant spirit among the inferior officers and private men ; and the camp, in many respects, carried more the ap- pearance of civil liberty than of military obedience. The troops themselves were formed into a kind of republic ; and the plans of imaginary republics, for the settlement of the state, were every day the to- pics of conversation among these armed legislators.
* See Note [D], at the end of the volume.
Royalty
1647.
CHARLES I. 109
Royalty it was agreed to abolish : Nobility must be c hap. set aside : Even all ranks of men be levelled ; and ^^^' an universal equality of property, as well as of power, be introduced among the citizens. The saints, they said, were the salt of the earth : An entire parity had place among the elect : And, by the same rule, that the apostles were exalted from the most ignoble professions, the meanest centinel, if enlightened by the Spirit, was entitled to equal regard with the greatest commander. In order to wean the soldiers from these licentious maxims, Cromwell had issued orders for discontinuing the meetings of the agitators ; and he pretended to pay entire obedience to the parliament, whom, being now fully reduced to subjection, he purposed to make, for the future, the instruments of his authority. But the Levellers, for so that party in the army was called, having experienced the sweets of dominion, would not so easily be deprived of it. They secretly continued their meetings: They asserted, that their officers, as much as any part of the church or state, needed reformation: Several regiments joined in seditious remonstrances and petitions.''' Separate ren- dezvouses were concerted : And every thing tended to anarchy and confusion. But this distemper was soon cured by the rough, but dextrous hand of Cromwell. He chose the opportunity of a review, that he might display the greater boldness and spread the terror the wider. He seized the ringleaders be- fore their companions : Held in the field a council of war : Shot one mutineer instantly : And struck such dread into the rest, that they presently threw down the symbols of sedition, which they had dis- played, and thenceforth returned to their wonted discipline and obedience.''
Cromwell had great deference for the counsels of Ireton ; a man who, having grafted the soldier on the
'•" Rush. vol. viii. p. 845. 859.
^ Idem, ibid. p. 875. Clarendon, vol. v. p. 87.
lawyer.
110 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
c H A P. lawyer, the statesman on the saint, had adopted such Lix. principles as were fitted to introduce the severest ^^47 tyranny, while they seemed to encourage the most unbounded license in liuman society. Fierce in his nature, though probably sincere in his intentions, he purposed by arbitrary power to establish liberty, and in prosecution of his imagined religious pur- poses, he thought himself dispensed from all the ordinary rules of morality by which inferior mortals must allow themselves to be governed. From his suggestion, Cromwell secretly called, at Windsor, a council of the chief officers, in order to deliberate concerning the settlement of the nation, and the fu- ture disposal of the King's person. ^ In this con- ference, which commenced with devout prayers, poured forth by Cromwell himself, and other in- spired persons, (for the officers of this army received inspiration with their commission,) was first opened the daring and unheard-of counsel, of bringing the King to justice, and of punishing, by judicial sen- tence, their sovereign, for his pretended tyranny and mal-ad ministration. While Charles lived, even though restrained to the closest prison, conspiracies, they knew, and insurrections, would never be want- ing in favour of a Prince, who was so extremely re- vered and beloved by his own party, and whom the nation in general began to regard with great affec- tion and compassion. To murder him privately wuo exposed to the imputation of injustice and cruelty, aggravated by the baseness of such a crime ; and every odious epithet of Traitor and Assassin would, by the general voice of mankind, be indisputably as- cribed to the actors in such a villainy. Some un- expected procedure must be attempted, which would astonish the world by its novelty, would bear the semblance of justice, and would cover its barbarity] by the audaciousness of the enterprise. Striking in
y Clarendon, vol. v. p, 92.
with
CHARLES I. Ill
with the fanatical notions of the entire equality of chap. mankind, it would ensure the devoted obedience of ^^^- the army, and serve as a general engagement against 1647. the royal family, whom, by their open and united -deed, they would so heinously affront and injure.^
This measure, therefore, being secretly resolved on, it was requisite, by degrees, to make the parlia- ment adopt it, and to conduct them from violence to violence, till this last act of atrocious iniquity should seem in a manner wholly inevitable. The King, in order to remove those fears and jealousies, which were perpetually pleaded as reasons for every inva- sion of the constitution, had offered, by a message sent from Carisbroke-castle, to resign, during his own life, the power of the militia and the nomination to all the great offices ; provided that, after his demise, these prerogatives should revert to the crown.'' But the parliament acted entirely as victors and enemies; and, in all their transactions with him, paid no longer any regard to equity or reason. At the insti- gation of the independents and army, they neglect- ed this offer, and framed four proposals, which they sent him as preliminaries ; and, before they would deign to treat, they demanded his positive assent to all of them. By one, he was required to invest the parliament with the military power for twenty years, together with an authority to levy whatever money jhould be necessary for exercising it: And even after the twenty years should be elapsed, they reserved a right of resuming the same authority, whenever they
^ The following was a favourite text among the enthusiasts of that age . " Let the high praises of God be in the mouths of his saints, and a two- " fold sword in their hands, to execute vengeance upon the heathen and " punishment upon the people ; to bind their kings with chains, and their " nobles with fetters of iron ; to execute upon them the judgements written : " This honour have all his saints." Psalm cxlix. ver. 6, 7, 8, 9. Hugh Peters, the mad chaplain of Cromwell, preached frequently upon this text.
a Rush. vol. viii. p. 880,
should
1647.
112 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, should declare the safety of the kingdom to require ^^^- it. By the second, he was to recal all his proclama- tions and declarations against the parliament, and acknowledge that assembly to have taken arms in their just and necessary defence. By the third, he was to annul all the acts, and void all the patents of peerage, which had passed the geat seal, since it had been carried from London by Lord-keeper Littleton; and at the same time, renounce for the future the power of making peers without consent of parlia- ment. By the fourth, he gave the two houses power to adjourn as they thought proper : A demand seemingly of no great importance ; but contrived by the independents, that they might be able to remove the parliament to places where it should remain in perpetual subjection to the army. ^ 1648. j'jj J. King regarded the pretension as unusual and
exorbitant, that he should make such concessions, while not secure of any settlement; and should blindly trust his enemies for the conditions which they were afterwards to grant him. He required, therefore, a personal treaty with the parliament, and desired, that all the terms on both sides should be adjusted, before any concession on either side should be insisted on. The republican party in the house pretended to take fire at this answer ; and openly inveighed, in violent terms, against the person and government of the King; whose name, hitherto, had commonly, in all debates, been mentioned with some degree of reverence. Ireton, seeming to speak the sense of the army, under the appellation of many thousand godly men, who had ventured their lives in defence of the parliament, said, that the King, by denying the four bills, had refused safety and protection to his people; that their obe- dience to him was but a reciprocal duty for his protection of them ; and that, as he had failed on
'> Clarendon, vol. v. p. 88.
his
CHARLES I. 113
his part, they were freed from all obligations to chap. allegiance, and must settle the nation without con- ^^^• suiting any longer so misguided a Prince. " Crom- well, after giving an ample character of the valour, good aifections, and godliness of the army, sub- joined, that it was expected the parliament should guide and defend the kingdom by their own power and resolutions, and. not accustom the people any- longer to expect safety and government from an ob- stinate man, whose heart God had hardened ; that those who, at the expense of their blood, had hither- to defended the parliament from so many dangers, would still continue, with fidelity and courage, to protect them against all opposition in this vigorous measure. " Teach them not," added he, " by your " neglecting your own safety and that of the king- " dom (in which theirs too is involved), to imagine '' themselves betrayed, and their interests aban- *' doned to the rage and malice of an irreconcileable ** enemy, whom, for your sake, they have dared to *' provoke. Beware, (and at these words he laid his *' hand on his sword,) beware, lest despair cause ** them to seek safety by some other means than *' by adhering to you, who know not how to consult *' your own safety."'' Such arguments prevailed, though ninety-one members had still the courage to oppose. It was voted that no more addresses be isth Jan. made to the King, nor any letters or messages be received from him ; and that it be treason for any one, without leave of the two houses, to have any intercourse with him. The lords concurred in the same ordinance. ""
By this vote of non-addresses, (so it was called,) the King \vas in reality dethroned, and the whole constitution formally overthrov/n. So violent a measure was supported by a declaration of the
c CI. Walker, p. 70. ^ Idem, ibid,
« Rush. vol. viii. p. 965. 967.
VOL. VII. I commons.
114 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, commons no less violent. The blackest calumnies ux. were there thrown upon the King ; such as, even in their famous remonstrance, they thought proper to omit, as incredible and extravagant : The poisoning of his father, the betraying of Rochelle, the contriv- ing of the Irish massacre. ^ By blasting his fame, had that injury been in their power, they formed a very proper prelude to the executing of violence on his person.
No sooner had the King refused his assent to the four bills, than Hammond, by orders from the army, removed all his servants, cut off his corre- spondence with his friends, and shut him up in close confinement. The King afterwards shewed to Sir Philip Warwick a decrepid old man, who, he said, was employed to kindle his fire, and was the best company he enjoyed, during several months that this rigorous confinement lasted. ^ No amusement was allowed him, nor society, which might relieve his anxious thoughts : To be speedily poisoned or assassinated was the only prospect which he had every moment before his eyes : For he entertained no apprehension of a judicial sentence and execution; an event of which no history hitherto furnished an example. Meanwhile, the parliament was very industrious in publishing, from time to time, the intelligence which they received from Hammond ; how cheerful the King was, how pleased with every one that approached him, how satisfied in his pre- sent condition ^ : As if the view of such benignity and constancy had not been more proper to inflame, than allay, the general compassion of the people. The great source whence the King derived conso- lation amidst all his calamities, was undoubtedly religion ; a principle which, in him, seems to have contained nothing fierce or gloomy, nothing which
' Rush. vol. viii. p. 998. Clarendon, vol. v. p. 93.
e Warwick, p. 329. ^ Rush. vol. viii. p. 989.
enraged
CHARLES I. 115
enraged him against his adversaries, or terrified him chap. with the dismal prospect of futurity. While every ^^'^• thing around him bore a hostile aspect; while friends, family, relations, whom he passionately loved, were placed at a distance, and unable to serve him ; he reposed himself with confidence in the arms of that Being who penetrates and sustains all nature, and whose severities, if received with piety and resignation, he regarded as the surest pledges of unexhausted favour.
The parliament and army, meanwhile, enjoyed Second not in tranquillity that power which they had ob- ^'^'^ ^^'^''• tained with so much violence and injustice. Com- binations and conspiracies, they were sensible, were every where forming around them ; and Scotland, whence the King's cause had received the first fatal disaster, seemed now to promise its support and assistance.
Before the surrender of the King's person at Newcastle, and much more since that event, the subjects of discontent had been daily multiplying between the two kingdoms. The independents, who began to prevail, took all occasions of mortify- ing the Scots, whom the presbyterians looked on with the greatest affection and veneration. When the Scottish commissioners, who, joined to a com- mittee of English lords and commons, had managed the war, were ready to depart, it was proposed in parliament to give them thanks for their civilities and good offices. The independents insisted, that the words good offices should be struck out; and thus the whole brotherly friendship and intimate alliance with the Scots resolved itself into an ac- knowledgement of their being well-bred gentlemen.
The advance of the army to London, the sub- jection of the parliament, the seizing of the King at Holdenby, his confinement in Carisbroke castle, were so many blows sensibly felt by that nation, as threatening the final overthrow of presbytery, to
I 2 which
IIQ HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, which they were so passionately devoted. The Lix. covenant was profanely called, in the house of com- jg4Q_ mons, an almanack out of date ' ; and that impiety, though complained of, had passed uncensured. In- stead of being able to determine and establish ortho- doxy by the sword and by penal statutes, they saw the sectarian army, who were absolute masters, claim an unbounded liberty of conscience, which the pres- byterians regarded with the utmost abhorrence. All the violences put on the King they loudly blamed, as repugnant to the covenant, by which they stood engaged to defend his royal person. And those very actions of which they themselves had been guilty, they denominated treason and rebellion, when executed by an opposite party.
The Earls of Loudon, Lauderdale, and Laneric, who were sent to London, protested against the four bills ; as containing too great a diminution of the King's civil power, and providing no security for religion. They complained, that notwithstanding this protestation, the bills were still insisted on ; contrary to the solemn league, and to the treaty between the two nations. And when they accom- panied the English commissioners to the isle of Wight, they secretly formed a treaty with the King, for arming Scotland in his favour. " Invasion Three parties, at that time, prevailed in Scot- land ^^°^' ^^^^ '• "The Royalists, who insisted upon the restora- ation of the King's authority, without any regard to religious sects or tenets: Of these Montrose, though absent, was regarded as the head. The rigid pres- ■byterimis, who hated the King, even more than they abhorred toleration ; and who determined to give him no assistance till he should subscribe the covenant : These were governed by Argyle. The moderate presbyterians, who endeavoured to recon- cile the interests of religion and of the crown, and
> Cl. Walker, p. 80. ■* Clarendon, vol. v. p. 101.
hoped,
1648.
CHARLES I. 117
hoped, by supporting the presbyterian party in Eng- c h ap. land, to suppress the sectarian army, and to reinstate ^^^• the parliament, as well as the King, in their just freedom and authority : The two brothers, Hamilton and Laneric, were leaders of this party.
When Pendennis castle was surrendered to the parliamentary army, Hamilton, who then obtained his liberty, returned into Scotland ; and being ge- nerously determined to remember ancient favours, more than recent injuries, he immediately embraced, with zeal and success, the protection of the royal cause. He obtained a vote from the Scottish parlia- ment to arm 40,000 men in support of the King's authority, and to call over a considerable body under Monro, who commanded the Scottish forces in Ulster. And though he openly protested, that the covenant was the foundation of all his measures, he secretly entered into correspondence with the English royalists. Sir Marmaduke Langdale and Sir Philip Musgrave, who had levied considerable forces in the north of England.
The general assembly who sat at the same time, and was guided by Argyle, dreaded the consequence of these measures, and foresaw that the opposite party, if successful, would effect the restoration of monarchy, without the establishment of presbytery, in England. To join the King before he had sub- scribed the covenant was, in their eyes, to restore him to his honour before Christ had obtained his ' ; and they thundered out anathemas against every one who paid obedience to the parliament. Two supreme independent judicatures were erected in the king- dom ; one threatening the people with damnation and eternal torments ; the other with imprisonment, banishment, and military execution. The people were distracted in their choice ; and the arma- ment of Hamilton's party, though seconded by
' Whitlocke, p. 305.
all
1648.
118 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, all the civil power, went on but slowly. Theroyal- ^i^- ists he would not as yet allow to join him, lest he might give offence to the ecclesiastical party ; though he secretly promised them trust and pre- ferment as soon as his army should advance into England.
While the Scots were making preparations for the invasion of England, every part of that king- dom was agitated with tumults, insurrections, con- spiracies, discontents. It is seldom that the people gain any thing by revolutions in government ; be- cause the new settlement, jealous and insecure, must commonly be supported with more expense and severity than the old : But on no occasion was the truth of this maxim more sensibly felt, than in the present situation of England. Complaints against the oppression of ship-money, against the tyranny of the star-chamber, had roused the people to arms : And having gained a complete victory over the crown, they found themselves loaded with a mul- tiplicity of taxes, formerly unknown : And scarcely an appearance of law and liberty remained in the administration. The presbyterians, who had chiefly supported the war, were enraged to find the prize, just when it seemed within their reach, snatched by violence from them. The royalists, disappointed in their expectations, by the cruel treatment Avhich the King now received from the army, were strongly animated to restore him to liberty, and to recover the advantages which they had unfortunately lost. All orders of men were inflamed with indignation at seeing the military prevail over the civil power, and King and parliament at once reduced to sub- jection by a mercenary army. Many persons of family and distinction had, from the beginning of the war, adhered to the parliament : But all these were, by the new party, deprived of authority ; and every oflice was intrusted to the most ignoble part of the nation. A base populace exalted above
their
1648.
CHARLES I. 119
their superiors : Hypocrites exercising iniquity un- chap. der the vizor of religion : These circumstances pro- ^^^• mised not much liberty or lenity to the people; and these were now found united in the same usurped and illegal administration.
Though the whole nation seemed to combine in their hatred of military tyranny, the ends which the several parties pursued were so different, that little concert was observed in their insurrections. Lang- horne, Poyer, and Powel, presby terian officers, who commanded bodies of troops in Wales, were the first that declared themselves ; and they drew toge- ther a considerable army in those parts, which were extremely devoted to the royal cause. An insur- rection was raised in Kent by young Hales and the Earl of Norwich. Lord Capel, Sir Charles Lucas, Sir George Lisle, excited commotions in Essex. The Earl of Holland, who had several times changed sides since the commencement of the civil wars, endeavoured to assemble forces in Surrey. Pomfret castle in Yorkshire was surprised by Maurice. Lang- dale and Musgrave were in arms, and masters of Berwick and Carlisle in the north.
What seemed the most dangerous circumstance, the general spirit of discontent had seized the fleet. Seventeen ships, lying in the mouth of the river, de- clared for the King ; and putting Rainsborow, their admiral, ashore, sailed over to Holland, where the Prince of Wales took the command of them.'"
The English royalists exclaimed loudly against Hamilton's delays, which they attributed to a re- fined policy in the Scots; as if their intentions were, that all the King's party should first be suppressed, and the victory remain solely to the presbyterians. Hamilton, with better reason, complained of the precipitate humour of the English royalists, who, by
"• Clarendon, vol. v, p. 137.
their
L
LIX.
1648.
120 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, their ill-timed insurrections, forced him to march his army before his levies were completed, or his preparations in any forwardness.
No commotions beyond a tumult of the appren- tices, which was soon suppressed, v.ere raised in London : The terror of the army kept the citizens in subjection. The parliament was so overawed, that they declared the Scots to be enemies, and all who joined them traitors. Ninety members, how- ever, of the lower house, had the courage to dissent from this vote.
Cromwell, and the military council, prepared themselves with vigour and conduct for defence. The establishment of the army was at this time, 26,000 men ; but by enlisting supernumeraries, the regiments were greatly augmented, and commonly consisted of more than double their stated comple- ment." Colonel Horton first attacked the revolted troops in Wales, and gave them a considerable de- feat. The remnants of the vanquished threw them- selves into Pembroke, and were there closely be- sieged, and soon after taken by Cromwell. Lambert was opposed to Langdale and Musgrave in the north, and gained advantages over them. Sir Michael Livesey defeated the Earl of Holland at Kingston, and, pursuing his victory, took him pri- soner at St. Neot's. Fairfax, having routed the Kentish royalists at Maidstone, followed the broken army : And when they joined the royalists of Essex, and threw themselves into Colchester, he laid siege to that place, which defended itself to the last ex- tremity. A new fleet was manned and sent out under the command of Warwick, to oppose the re- volted ships of which the Prince had taken the command.
While the forces were employed in all quarters, the parliament regained its liberty, and began to
n VVhitlocke, p. 234."
act
CHARLES I. 121
act with its wonted courage and spirit. The mem- chap. bers who had withdrawn, from terror of the army, -'"^^• returned ; and infusing boldness into their compa- "7171 ' nions, restored to the presbyterian party the ascen- dant which it had formerly lost. The eleven im- peached members were recalled, and the vote, by which they were expelled, was reversed. The vote too of non-addresses was repealed ; and commis- sioners, five peers, and ten commoners, were sent to Newport in the isle of Wight, in order to treat with the King.° He was allowed to summon se- veral of his friends and old counsellors, that he might have their advice in this important transac- tion. ^ The theologians on both sides, armed with their syllogisms and quotations, attended as auxilia- ries.'' By them the flame had first been raised; and their appearance was but a bad prognostic of its extinction. Any other instruments seemed better adapted for a treaty of pacification.
When the King presented himself to this com- lathSept. pany, a great and sensible alteration was remarked Treaty of in his aspect, from what it appeared the year before, ^^^P^*"^- when he resided at Hampton-Court. The moment his servants had been removed, he had laid aside all care of his person, and had allowed his beard and hair to grow, and to hang dishevelled and neglected. His hair was become almost entirely grey ; either from the decline of years, or from that load of sorrows, under which he laboured, and which, though borne with constancy, preyed inwardly on his sensible and tender mind. His friends beheld with compassion, and perhaps even his enemies, that gre^y and discrowned head, as he himself terms it, in a copy of verses, which the truth of the senti- ment, rather than any elegance of expression, ren- ders very pathetic." Having in vain endeavoured
0 Clarendon, vol. v. p. 180. Sir Edward Walker's perfect copies, p. 6. Pibiil. p. 8. 'i IJjid. p. 8. 38. 'Burnet's Memoirs of
Hamilton.
by
122 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, by courage to defend his throne from his armed ^^^' adversaries, it now behoved him, by reasoning and persuasion, to save some fragments of it from these peaceful, and no less implacable negotiators.
The vigour of the King's mind, notwithstanding the seeming decline of his body, here appeared un- broken and decayed. The parliamentary com- missioners would allow none of his counsel to be present, and refused to enter into reasoning with any but himself. He alone, during the transactions of two months, was obliged to maintain the argument against fifteen men of the greatest parts and capa- city in both houses ; and no advantage was ever ob- tained over him.' This was the scene, above all others, in which he was qualified to excel. A quick conception, a cultivated understanding, a chaste elocution, a dignified manner; by these accomplish- ments he triumphed in all discussions of cool and temperate reasoning. The Kitig is much changed, said the Earl of Salisbury to Sir Philip Warwick: He is exti^emely improved of late. No, replied Sir Philip ; he was always so : But you are now at last sensible of it.^ Sir Henry Vane, discoursing with his fellow-commissioners, drew an argument from the King's uncommon abilities, why the terms of pacification must be rendered more strict and rigid." But Charles's capacity shone not equally in action as in reasoning.
The first point insisted on by the parliamentary commissioners, was the Kings recalling all his proclamations and delarations against the parlia- ment, and the acknowledging that they had taken arms in their own defence. He frankly offered the former concession ; but long scrupled the latter. The falsehood, as well as indignity, of that acknow- ledgment, begat in his breast an extreme reluctance
* Herbert's Memoirs, p. 72. ' Warwick, p. 324.
" Clarendon. Sir Edward Walker, p. 319.
•against
CHARLES I. 123
against it. The King had no doubt, in some parti- chap. culars of moment, invaded, from a seeming neces- L^^- sity, the privileges of his people : But having re- ~~ nounced all claim to these usurped powers, having confessed his errors, and having repaired every breach in the constitution, and even erected new- ramparts in order to secure it ; he could no longer, at the commencement of the war, be represented as the aggressor. However it might be pretended, that the former display of his arbitrary inclinations, or rather his monarchical principles, rendered an offensive or preventive war in the parliament prudent and reasonable ; it could never, in any propriety of speech, make it be termed a de- fensive one. But the parliament, sensible that the letter of the law condemned them as rebels and traitors, deemed this point absolutely neces- sary for their future security : And the King, finding that peace could be obtained on no other terms, at last yielded to it. He only entered a protest, which was admitted ; that no concession made by him should be valid, un- less the whole treaty of pacification were con- cluded.^
He agreed that the parliament should retain, during the term of twenty years, the power over the militia and army, and that of levying what money they pleased for their support. He even yielded to them the right of resuming, at any time after- wards, this authority, whenever they should declare such a resumption necessary for public safety. In effect, the important power of the sword was for ever ravished from him and his successors. '^
He agreed, that all the great offices, during twenty years, should be filled by both houses of parliament.^ He relinquished to them the entire government of Ireland, and the conduct of the war
* Walker, p. 11, 12. 24. ^ Ibid. p. 51. y Ibid. p. 78.
there.
1G48.
124 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
c II A P. there. '"" He renounced the power of the wards, , I-IX- and accepted of 100,000 pounds a year in lieu of \ ~ it.'' He acknowledged the validity of their great sea], and gave up his own.'' He abandoned the power of creating peers without consent of parlia- ment : And he agreed that all the debts, contracted in order to support the war against him, should be paid by the people.
So great were the alterations made on the Eng- lish constitution by this treaty, that the King said, not without reason, that he had been more an ene- my to his people by these concessions, could he have prevented them, than by any other action of his life.
Of all the demands of the parliament, Charles refused only two. Though he relinquished almost every power of the crown, he would neither give up his friends to punishment, nor desert, what he esteemed his religious duty. The severe repent- ance, which he had undergone, for abandoning Strafford, had, no doubt, confirmed him in the resolution never again to be guilty of a like error. His long solitude and severe afflictions had contri- buted to rivet him the more in those religious prin- ciples, which had ever a considerable influence over him. His desire, however, of finishing an accom- modation induced him to go as far in both these particulars, as he thought any-wise consistent with his duty.
The estates of the royalists being, at that time, almost entirely under sequestration, Charles, who could give them no protection, consented that they should pay such compositions as they and the par- liament could agree on, and only begged that they might be made as moderate as possible. He had not the disposal of offices; and it seemed but a small sacrifice to consent, that a certain number of
' Walker, p. 45. •> Ibid. p. 69. 77. b ibid. p. 56. 68
his
CHARLES 1. 125
his friends should be rendered incapable of public chat.
employments.'' But when the parliament demanded " " '
a bill of attainder and banishment against seven 1543 persons, the Marquis of Newcastle, Lord Digby, Lord Biron, Sir Marmaduke Langdale, Sir Richard Granville, Sir Francis Doddington, and Judge Jenkins, the King absolutely refused compliance : Their banishment for a limited time he was v/illing to agree to.''
RELiGioisr was the fatal point about which the differences had arisen ; and of all others, it was the least susceptible of composition or moderation be- tween the contending parties. The parliament in- sisted on the establishment of presbytery, the sale of the chapter lands, the abolition of all forms of prayer, and strict laws against catholics. The King offered to retrench every thing which he did not esteem of apostolical institution : He was willing to abolish archbishops, deans, prebends, canons : He offered, that the chapter lands should be let at low leases during ninety-nine years : He consented, that the present church government should continue dur- ing three years. ^ After that time, he required not that any thing should be restored to bishops but the power of ordination, and even that power to be ex- ercised by advice of the presbyters. ' If the parlia- ment, upon the expiration of that period, stili insisted on their demand, all other branches of episcopal juris-, diction were abolished, and a new form of church government must, by common consent, be esta- blished. The book of common prayer he was willing to renounce, but required the liberty of using some other liturgy in his own chapel.^ A demand which, though seemingly reasonable, jwas positively refused by the parliament.
« Walker, p. 61. ^ Ibid. p. 91. 93, ' « Ibid. p. 29.
35. 49. f Ibid. p. 65. s Ibid. p. 75. 82. Rush,
vol. viii. p. 1323.
In
12(5 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. In the dispute on these articles, one is not sur- J^i^- prised, that two of the parliamentary theologians
should tell the Kino-, That if he did not consent to
the utter abolition of episcopacy, he would be damned. But it is not without some indignation that we read the following vote of the lords and commons : *' The houses, out of their detestation to that abo- ** minable idolatry used in the mass, do declare ** that they cannot admit of, or consent unto, any ** such indulgence in any law, as is desired by his ** Majesty, for exempting the Queen and her family ** from the penalties to be enacted against the exer- ** cise of the mass."'' The treaty of marriage, the regard to the Queen's sex and high station, even common humanity ; all considerations were under- valued, in comparison of their bigotted prejudices*. It was evidently the interest both of King and parliament, to finish their treaty with all expedition ; and endeavour, by their combined force, to resist, if possible, the usurping fury of the army. It seemed even the interest of the parliament, to leave in the King's hand a considerable share of authority, by which he might be enabled to protect them and him- self from so dangerous an enemy. But the terms on which they insisted were so rigorous, that the King, fearing no worse from the most implacable enemies, was in no haste to come to a conclusion. And so great was the bigotry on both sides, that they were willing to sacrifice the greatest civil interests, rather than relinquish the most minute of their theological contentions. From these causes, assisted by the artifice of the independents, the treaty was spun out to such a length, that the invasions and insurrections were every were subdued ; and the army had leisure to execute their violent and sanguinary purposes.
Civil war HAMILTON, having entered England with a nu-
and inva- merous, though undisciplined, army, durst not
sion re- pressed.
'' Walker, p. 71. * See note [E], at the end of the volume.
unite
CHARLES I. 127
unite his forces with those of Langdale ; because the chap. English royalists had refused to take the covenant ; ^^^' and the Scottish presbyterians, though engaged for ^g^g the King, refused to join them on any other terms. The two armies marched together, though at some distance; nor could even the approach of the par- liamentary army, under Cromwell, oblige the cove- nanters to consult their own safety, by a close union with the royalists. When principles are so absurd and so destructive of human society it may safely be averred, that the more sincere and the more disin- terested they are, they only become the more ridi- culous and the more odious.
Cromwell feared not to oppose 8000 men, to the numerous armies of 20,000, commanded by Ha- milton and Langdale. He attacked the latter by surprise, near Preston in Lancashire'' ; and, though the royalists made a brave resistance, yet, not being succoured in time by their confederates, they were almost entirely cut in pieces. Hamilton was next attacked, put to rout, and pursued to Utoxeter, where he surrendered himself prisoner. Cromwell '' followed his advantage ; and, marching into Scot- land with a considerable body, joined Argyle, who ij was also in arms ; and having suppressed Laneric, '' Monro, and other moderate presbyterians, he placed the power entirely in the hands of the violent party. , , The ecclesiastical authority, exalted above the civil, ,fi exercised the severest vengeance on all who had a share in Hamilton's engagement, as it was called ; nor could any of that party recover trust, or even ill live in safety, but by doing solemn and public penance for taking arms, by authority of parlia- ment, in defence of their lawful sovereign.
The Chancellor London, who had, at first/ countenanced Hamilton's enterprise, being terrified mw .-m * with the menaces of the clergy, ha<i, some tiia©. "'^''°' ^"^
^ 17th of August.
before.
128 HJSTOllY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, before, gone over to the other party ; and he now ^^- openly in the church, though invested with the ^^^3 highest civil character in the kingdom, did penance for his obedience to the parliament, which he termed \ a carnal self-seeking. He accompanied his penance ) with so many tears, and such pathetical addresses , to the people for their prayers in this his uttermost \ sorrow and distress, that an universal weeping j and lamentation took place among the deluded j audience.^
The loan of great sums of money, often to the ruin of families, was exacted from all such as lay . under any suspicion of favouring the King's party ; [ though their conduct had been ever so inoffensive. I This was a device, fallen upon by the ruling party, in order, as they said, to reach Heart Malignants."^ Never, in this island, was known a more severe and arbitrary government, than was generally exercised by the patrons of liberty in both kingdoms.
The siege of Colchester terminated in a manner no less unfortunate than Hamilton's engagement, for the royal cause. After suffering the utmost ex- tremities of famine, after feeding on the vilest ali- ments ; the garrison desired, at last, to capitulate. Fairfax required them to surrender at discretion ; and he gave such an explanation to these terms, as to reserve to himself power, if he pleased, to put them all instantly to the sword. The officers en- deavoured, though in vain, to persuade the soldiers, by making a vigorous sally, to break through, at least to sell their lives as dear as possible. They were obliged " to accept of the conditions offered ; and Fairfax, instigated by Ireton, to whom Crom- well, in his absence, had consigned over the govern- ment of the passive general, seized Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle, and resolved to make them instant sacrifices to military justice. This unusual severity was loudly exclaimed against by all the
' Whitlocke, p. 360. "' Guthrey. " 13th of August.
prisoners.
1648.
CHARLES I. 129
prisoners. Lord Capel, fearless of danger, reproached chap. Ireton with it ; and challenged him, as they were all ^^^* engaged in the same honourable cause, to exercise the same impartial vengeance on all of them. Lucas was first shot, and he himself gave orders to fire, with the same alacrity as if he had commanded a platoon of his own soldiers. Lisle instantly ran and kissed the dead body, then cheerfully presented himself to a like fate. Thinking that the soldiers, destined for his execution, stood at too great a distance, he called to them to come nearer : One of them replied, FU warrant you, Sir, well hit you : He answered, smiling. Friends, I have been nearer you when you have missed me. Thus perished this gene- rous spirit, not less beloved for his modesty and humanity, than esteemed for his courage and mili- tary conduct.
Soon after, a gentleman appearing in the King's presence, clothed in mourning for Sir Charles Lucas; that humane Prince, suddenly recollecting the hard fate of his friends, paid them a tribute, which none of his own unparalleled misfortunes ever extorted from him : He dissolved into a flood of tears. °
By these multiplied successes of the army, they had subdued all their enemies ; and none remained but the helpless King and parliament, to oppose their violent measures. From Cromwell's suggestion, a remonstrance was drawn by the council of general officers, and sent to the parliament. They there complain of the treaty with the King ; demand his punishment for the blood spilt during the war; require a dissolution of the present parliament, and assert, that though servants, they are entitled to represent these important points to their masters, who are themselves no better than servants and trus- tees of the people. At the same time, they advanced
" Whitlocke.
VOL. VII. K with
J 30 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, with the army to Windsor, and sent Colonel Eure Lix. to seize the King's person at Newport, and convey
' him to Hurst-castle in the neighbourhood, where he
The^K^ng ^as detained in strict confinement.
seized This measure being foreseen some time before,
again by ^j^g King was cxhortcd to make his escape, which ® ^'^™^* was conceived to be very easy : But having given his word to the parliament not to attempt the reco- very of his liberty during the treaty, and three weeks after, he would not, by any persuasion, be induced to hazard the reproach of violating that promise. In vain was it urged, that a promise given to the parliament could no longer be binding ; since they could no longer afford him protection from violence threatened him by other persons, to whom he was bound by no tie or engagement. The King would indulge no refinements of casuistry, however plau- sible, in such delicate subjects ; and was resolved, that what depredations soever fortune should com- mit upon him, she never should bereave him of his honour.^
The parliament lost not courage, notwithstanding the danger with which they were so nearly menaced. Though without any plan for resisting military usurpations, they resolved to withstand them to the uttermost ; and rather to bring on a violent and visible subversion of government, than lend their authority to those illegal and sanguinary measures which were projected. They set aside the remon- strance of the army, without deigning to answer it ; they voted the seizing of the King's person to be without their consent, and sent a message to the general, to know by what authority that enterprise had been executed ; and they issued orders, that the army should advance no nearer to London.
Ho L LIS, the present leader of the presbyterians, was a man of unconquerable intrepidity ; and many
P Col. Cooke's Memoirs, p. 174. Rush. vol. viii. p. 1347.
others
CHARLES I. 131
others of that party seconded his magnanimous chap. spirit. It was proposed by them, that the generals ^^^' and principal officers should, for their disobedience i648. and usurpations, be proclaimed traitors by the parliament.
But the parliament was dealing with men, who would not be frightened by words, nor retarded by any scrupulous delicacy. The generals, under the name of Fairfax, (for he still allowed them to em- ploy his name,) marched the army to London, and placing guards in Whitehall, the Mews, St. James's, Durham-house, Covent-garden, and Palace-yard, surrounded the parliament with their hostile arma- ments.
The parliament, destitute of all hopes of prevail- ing, retained, however, courage to resist. They attempted, in the face of the army, to close their treaty with the King ; and though they had formerly voted his concessions with regard to the church and delinquents to be unsatisfactory, they now took into consideration the final resolution with regard to the whole. After a violent debate of three days, it was carried, by a majority of 129 against 83, in the house of commons, that the King's concessions were a foundation for the houses to proceed upon in the settlement of the kingdom.
Next day, when the commons were to meet. Colonel Pride, formerly a drayman, had environed the house with two regiments ; and, directed by Lord ^^^ ^ GreyofGroby, he seized in the passage forty-one The home members of the presbyterian party, and sent them to purged. a low room, which passed by the appellation oihell; whence they were afterwards carried to several inns. Above 160 members more were excluded; and none were allowed to enter but the most furious and the most determined of the independents ; and these exceeded not the number of fifty or sixty. This invasion of the parliament commonly passed under
K 2 the
132 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, the name of Colofiel Prides purge; so much disposed
^^^- was the nation to make merry with the dethroning
1648. of those members, who had violently arrogated the
whole authority of government, and deprived the
King of his legal prerogatives.
The subsequent proceedings of the parliament, if this diminutive assembly deserve that honourable name, retain not the least appearance of law, equity, or freedom. They instantly reversed the former vote, and declared the King's concessions unsatis- factory. They determined that no member, absent at this last vote, should be received, till he subscribed it as agreeable to his judgement. They renewed their former vote of non-addresses. And they committed to prison Sir William Waller, Sir John Clotworthy, the generals Massey, Brown, Copley, and other leaders of the presbyterians. These men by their credit and authority, which was then very high, had, at the commencement of the war, supported the parliament ; and thereby prepared the way for the greatness of the present leaders, who, at that time, were of small account in the nation.
The secluded members having published a paper, containing a narrative of the violence which had been exercised upon them, and a protestation, that all acts were void, which from that time had been transacted in the house of commons ; the remaining members encountered it with a declaration in which they pro- nounced it false, scandalous, seditious, and tending to the destruction of the visible and fundamental government of the kingdom.
These sudden and violent revolutions held the whole nation in terror and astonishment. Every man dreaded to be trampled under foot, in the con- tention between those mighty powers which disputed for the sovereignty of the state. Many began to withdraw their effects beyond sea : Foreigners scrupled to give any credit to a people, so torn
by
CHARLES I. 133
by domestic faction, and oppressed by military chap. usurpation : Even the internal commerce of the ^^^• kingdom began to stagnate. And in order to ~~~[^ remedy these growing evils, the generals, in the name of the army, published a declaration, in which they expressed their resolution of supporting law and justice. "^
The more to quiet the minds of men, the council of officers took into consideration a scheme, called The agreement of the people ; being the plan of a re- public, to be substituted in the place of that govern- ment which they had so violently pulled in pieces. Many parts of this scheme, for correcting the ine- qualities of the representative, are plausible, had the nation been disposed to receive it, or had the army intended to impose it. Other parts are too perfect for human nature, and savour strongly of that fana- tical spirit so prevalent throughout the kingdom.
The height of all iniquity and fanatical extrava- gance yet remained ; the public trial and execution of their sovereign. To this period was every measure precipitated by the zealous independents. The par-' liamentary leaders of that party had intended that the army, themselves, should execute that daring enterprise ; and they deemed so irregular and law- less a deed best fitted to such irregular and lawless instruments.' But the generals were too wise to load themselves singly with the infamy which, they knew, must attend an action so shocking to the ge- neral sentiments of mankind. The parliament, they were resolved, should share with them the reproach of a measure which was thought requisite for the ad- vancement of their common ends of safety and am- bition. In the house of commons, therefore, a com- mittee was appointed to bring in a charge against the King. On their report a vote passed, declaring
1 Rush. vol. viii. p. 1364. ' Whitlocke.
it
134 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, it treason in a King to levy war against his parliament, ^^^' and appointing a High Court of Justice, to try "~i648 Charles for this new invented treason. This vote was sent up to the house of peers.
The house of peers, during the civil wars, had, all along, been of small account ; but it had lately, since the King's fall, become totally contemptible; and very few members 'vs^ould submit to the mor- tification of attending it. It happened, that day, to be fuller than usual, and they were assembled, to the number of sixteen. Without one dissenting voice, and almost without deliberation, they instant- ly rejected the vote of the lower house, and adjourn- ed themselves for ten days ; hoping that this delay would be able to retard the furious career of the commons. 1649, The commons were not to be stopped by so small
an obstacle. Having first established a principle, which is noble in itself, and seems specious, but is belied by all history and experience. That the people are the origin of all just poiver ; they next declared, that the commons of England, assembled in parlia- ment, being chosen by the people, and representing them, are the supreme authority of the nation, and that whatever is enacted and declared to be law by the commons, hath the force of law, without the 4ih Jan. conscnt of King or house of peers. The ordinance for the trial of Charles Stuart, King of England, so they called him, was again read, and unanimously assented to.
In proportion to the enormity of the violences and usurpations, were augmented the pretences of sanctity among those regicides. '* Should any one *' have voluntarily proposed," said Cromwell in j the house, " to bring the King to punishment, I
should have regarded him as the greatest traitor;
but, since Providence and necessity have cast
us upon it, I will pray to God for a blessing
'* on
CHARLES I. 135
** on your counsels; though I am not prepared to chap. " give you any advice on this important occasion. ^^^' " Even I myself," subjoined he, " when I was lately ^g^^ " offering up petitions for His Majesty's restoration, " felt my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, " and considered this preternatural movement as " the answer which Heaven, having rejected the ** King, had sent to my supplications."
j A WOMAN of Hertfordshire, illuminated by pro- phetical visions, desired admittance into the military council, and communicated to the officers a revela-
! tion, which assured them that their measures were consecrated from above, and ratified by a heavenly
I sanction. This intelligence gave them great com-
i fort, and much confirmed them in their present resolutions.'
Colonel Harrison, the son of a butcher, and the most furious enthusiast in the army, was sent with a strong party to conduct the King to London. At Windsor, Hamilton, who was there detained a pri- soner, was admitted into the King's presence ; and falling on his knees, passionately exclaimed. My dear Master ! — / have indeed been so to you, replied Charles, embracing him. No farther intercourse was allowed between them. The King was instantly hurried away. Hamilton long followed him with his eyes, all suffused in tears, and prognosticated, that in this short salutation, he had given the last adieu to his sovereign and his friend.
Charles himself was assured, that the period of his life was now approaching ; but notwithstanding all the preparations which were making, and the intelligence which he received, he could not, even yet, believe that his enemies really meant to con- elude their violences by a public trial and execution. A private assassination he every moment looked for; and though Harrison assured him, that his
* Whitlocke, p. 360.
apprehensions
1649.
136 HISTORY OF* GflEAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, apprehensions were entirely groundless, it was by ^^^- that catastrophe, so frequent with dethroned Prin- ces, that he expected to terminate his life. In appearance, as well as in reality, the King was now dethroned. All the exterior symbols of sovereignty were withdrawn, and his attendants had orders to serve him without ceremony. At first, he was shocked with instances of rudeness and familiarity, to which he had been so little accustomed. Nothing so contemptible as a despised Prince ! was the reflec- tion which they suggested to him. But he soon reconciled his mind to this, as he had done to his other calamities.
All the circumstances of the trial were now ad- justed; and the high court of justice fully constituted. It consisted of 133 persons as named by the com- mons ; but there scarcely ever sat above 70 : So difficult was it, notwithstanding the blindness of | prejudice and the allurements of interest, to engage men of any name or character in that criminal measure. Cromwell, Ireton, Harrison, and the chief oflScers of the army, most of them of mean birth, were members, together with some of the lower house, and some citizens of London. The twelve judges were at first appointed in the number: But as they had aflftrmed, that it was contrary to all the ideas of English law to try the King for treason, by whose authority all accusations for treason must necessarily be conducted ; their names, as well as those of some peers, were afterwards struck out. Bradshaw, a lawyer, was chosen president. Coke was appointed solicitor, for the people of England. Dorislaus, Steele, and Aske, were named assistants. The court sat in Westminster-hall.
It is remarkable, that, in calling over the court, when the crier pronounced the name of Fairfax, which had been inserted in the number, a voice came from one of the spectators, and cried. He has moi^e wit than to be here. When the charge was read against
the
CHARLES 1. 137
the King, In the name of the people of England ; the chap. same voice exclaimed, not a tenth part ofthe7n. Axtel ^^^' the officer, who guarded the court, giving orders to 1649. fire into the box whence these insolent speeches came ; it was discovered that Lady Fairfax was there, and that it was she who had had the courage to utter them. She was a person of noble extrac- tion, daughter of Horace, Lord Vere of Tilbury ; but being seduced, by the violence of the times, she had long seconded her husband's zeal against the royal cause, and was now, as well as he, struck with ab- horrence at the fatal and unexpected consequence of all his boasted victories.
The pomp, the dignity, the ceremony of this The transaction corresponded to the greatest conception ^^f^ that is suggested in the annals of human kind ; the delegates of a great people sitting in judgement upon their supreme magistrate, and trying him for his misgovernment and breach of trust. The solicitor, in the name of the commons, represented, that Charles Stuart, being admitted King of England, and intrusted with a limited power ; yet nevertheless from a wicked design to erect an unlimited and tyrannical government, had traitorously and mali- ciously levied war against the present parliament, and the people whom they represented, and was therefore impeached as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and a public and implacable enemy to the common- wealth. After the charge was finished, the president directed his discourse to the King, and told him, that the court expected his answer.
The King, though long detained a prisoner, and now produced as a criminal, sustained, by his mag- nanimous courage, the majesty of a monarch. With great temper and dignity, he declined the authority of the court, and refused to submit himself to their jurisdiction. He represented, that having been en- gaged in treaty with his two houses of parliament, and having finished almost every article, he had
expected
1649.
.gg HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, expected to be brought to his capital in another Lix. manner, and ere this time, to have been restored to his power, dignity, revenue, as well as to his per- sonal liberty : That he could not now perceive any appearance of the upper house, so essential a mem- ber of the constitution ; and had learned, that even the commons, whose authority was pretended, were subdued by lawless force, and were bereaved of their liberty : That he himself was their native heredi- tary King ; nor was the whole authority of the state, though free and united, entitled to try him, who derived his dignity from the Supreme Majesty of heaven: That, admitting those extravagant prin- ciples which levelled all orders of men, the court could plead no power delegated by the people; unless the consent of every individual, down to the meanest and most ignorant peasant, had been pre- viously asked and obtained : That he acknowledged, without scruple, that he had a trust committed to him, and one most sacred and inviolable ; he was intrusted with the liberties of his people, and would not now betray them, by recognizing a power founded on the most atrocious violence and usurpation : That having taken arms, and frequently exposed his life in defence of public liberty, of the consti- tution, of the fundamental laws of the kingdom, he was willing, in this last and most solemn scene, to seal with his blood those precious rights for which, though in vain, he had so long contended : That those who arrogated a title to sit as his judges, were born his subjects, and born subjects to those laws, which determined. That the King can do yio wrong : That he was not reduced to the necessity of shel- tering himself under this general maxim, which guards every English monarch, even the least de- serving; but was able, by the most satisfactory reasons, to justify those measures, in which he had been engaged : That to the whole world, and even to them, his pretended judges, he was desirous, if
called
CHARLES I. 139
called upon in another manner, to prove the inte- chap. grity of his conduct, and assert the justice of those ^^^" defensive arms, to w^hich, unwillingly and unfortu- ~T^ nately, he had had recourse : But that, in order to preserve a uniformity of conduct, he must at present forego the apology of his innocence ; lest, by ratify- ing an authority, no better founded than that of robbers and pirates, he be justly branded as the betrayer, instead of being applauded as the martyr, of the constitution.
The president, in order to support the majesty of the people, and maintain the superiority of his court above the prisoner, still inculcated, that he must not decline the authority of his judges ; that they over- ruled his objections ; that they were delegated by the people, the only source of every lawful power ; and that Kings themselves acted but in trust from that community, which had invested this high court of justice with its jurisdiction. Even according to those principles, which in his present situation he was perhaps obliged to adopt, his behaviour in ge- neral will appear not a little harsh and barbarous ; but when we consider him as a subject, and one too of no high character, addressing himself to his unfor- tunate sovereign, his style will be esteemed; to the last degree, audacious and insolent.
Three times was Charles produced before the court, and as often declined their jurisdiction. On the fourth, the judges having examined some wit- nesses, by whom it was proved that the King had appeared in arms against the forces commissioned by the parliament ; they pronounced sentence against him. He seemed very anxious, at this time, to be admitted to a conference with the two houses ; and it was supposed, that he intended to resign the crown to his son : But the court refused compliance, and 27th Jan. considered that request as nothing but a delay of justice.
It
140 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. It is confessed, that the King's behaviour, during
• this last scene of his life, does honour to his me-
jg^g mory ; and that in all appearances before his judges, he never forgot his part, either as a Prince or as a man. Firm and intrepid, he maintained, in each reply, the utmost perspicuity and justness both of thought and expression : Mild and equable, he rose into no passion at that unusual authority which was assumed over him. His soul, without effort or affectation, seemed only to remain in the situation familiar to it, and to look down with contempt on all the efforts of human malice and iniquity. The soldiers, instigated by their superiors, were brought; though with difficulty, to cry aloud for justice : Poor souls ! said the King to one of his attendants ; for a little money they would do as inuch against their com- manders.^ Some of them were permitted to go the utmost length of brutal insolence, and to spit in his face, as he was conducted along the passage to the court. To excite a sentiment of piety was the only effect which this inhuman insult was able to produce upon him.
The people, though under the rod of lawless unlimited power, could not forbear, with the most ardent prayers, pouring forth their wishes for his preservation ; and, in his present distress, they avowed him, by their generous tears, for their mo- narch, whom, in their misguided fury, they had before so violently rejected. The King was softened at this moving scene, and expressed his gratitude for their dutiful affection. One soldier, too, seized by contagious sympathy, demanded from heaven a bles- sing on oppressed and fallen majesty : His officer, overhearing the prayer, beat him to the ground in the King's presence. The punishment, methinks, e.v- ceeds the offence : This was the reflection which Charles formed on that occasion."
' Rushworth, vol. viii. p. 1425. " Warwick, p. 339.
As
CHARLES I. 141
As soon as the intention of trying the King was i:ua.p. known in foreign countries, so enormous an action -'^^^^• was exclaimed against by the general voice of reason ~~ and humanity ; and all men, under whatever form of government they were born, rejected this example, as the utmost effort of undisguised usurpation, and the most heinous insult on law and justice. The French ambassador, by orders from his court, inter- posed in the King's behalf: The Dutch employed their good offices : The Scots exclaimed and pro- tested against the violence : The Queen, the Prince, wrote pathetic letters to the parliament. All soli- citations were found fruitless with men whose reso- lutions were fixed and irrevocable.
Four of Charles's friends, persons of virtue and dignity, Richmond, Hertford, Southampton, Lin- desey, applied to the commons. They represented that they were the King's counsellors, and had con- curred, by their advice, in all those measures which were now imputed as crimes to their royal master : That in the eye of the law, and according to the dictates of common reason, they alone were guilty, and were alone exposed to censure for every blame- able action of the Prince : And that they now pre- sented themselves, in order to save, by their own punishment, that precious life, which it became the commons themselves, and every subject, with the utmost hazard, to protect and defend.'^ Such a generous effort tended to their honour ; but contri- buted nothing towards the King's safety.
The people remained in that silence and asto- nishment which all great passions, when they have not an opportunity of exerting themselves, naturally produce in the human mind. The soldiers being incessantly plied with prayers, sermons, and exhor- tations, were wrought up to a degree of fury, and imagined, that in the acts of the most extreme
'^ Perinchef, p. 85. Lloyde, p. 31 9-.
disloyalty
1649.
142 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, disloyalty towards their Prince, consisted their Lix. greatest merit in the eye of heaven. "
Three days were allowed the King between his sentence and his execution. This interval he passed with great tranquillity, chiefly in reading and de- votion. All his family that remained in England were allowed access to him. It consisted only of the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Gloucester ; for the Duke of York had made his escape. Glou- cester was little more than an infant : The Princess, notwithstanding her tender years, showed an ad- vanced judgement ; and the calamities of her family had made a deep impression upon her. After many pious consolations and advices, the King gave her in charge to tell the Queen, that, during the whole course of his life, he had never once, even in thought, failed in his fidelity towards her ; and that his conjugal tenderness and his life should have an equal duration.
To the young Duke, too, he could not forbear giving some advice, in order to season his mind with early principles of loyalty and obedience to- wards his brother, who was so soon to be his sove- reign. Holding him on his knee, he said, '* Now " they will cut off thy father's head." At these words the child looked very stedfastly upon him. Mark, child ! what I say : They will cut off my head ! and perhaps make thee a King : But mark what I say, thou must not be a King, as long as ** thy brothers Charles and James are alive. They " will cut off thy brothers' heads, when they can *' catch them! And thy head too they will cut off ** at last ! Therefore, I charge thee, do not be made ** a King by them !" The Duke, sighing, replied, " I will be torn in pieces first !" So determined an answer, from one of such tender years, filled the King's eyes with tears of joy and admiration.
" Burnet's History of his own Times.
Every
it
CHARLES I. 143
Every night, during this interval, the King slept chap. sound as usual ; though the noise of workmen, em- ^i^* ployed in framing the scaffold, and other prepara- tions for his execution, continually resounded in his ears. ^ The morning of the fatal day he rose early ; and calling Herbert, one of his attendants, he bade him employ more than usual care in dressing him, and preparing him for so great and joyful a so- lemnity. Bishop Juxon, a man endowed with the 30th Jan. same mild and steady virtues by which the King himself was so much distinguished, assisted him in his devotions, and paid the last melancholy duties to his friend and sovereign.
The street before Whitehall was the place des- Andexe- tined for the execution : For it was intended, by cuuon. choosing that very place, in sight of his own pa- lace, to display more evidently the triumph of po- pular justice over royal majesty. When the King- came upon the scaffold, he found it so surrounded with soldiers, that he could not expect to be heard by any of the people : he addressed therefore his discourse to the few persons who were about him ; particularly Colonel Tomlinson, to whose care he had lately been committed, and upon whom, as upon many others, his amiable deportment had wrought an entire conversion. He justified his own inno- cence in the late fatal wars, and observed that he had not taken arms till after the parliament had en- listed forces ; nor had he any other object in his warlike operations, than to preserve that authority entire, which his predecessors had transmitted to him. He threw not, however, the blame upon the parliament ; but was more inclined to think that ill-instruments had interposed, and raised in them fears and jealousies with regard to his intentions. Though innocent towards his people, he acknow- ledged the equity of his execution in the eyes of his
y Clement Walker's History of Independency.
Maker ;
144 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. Maker; and observed, that an unjust sentence, ^^^- which he had suffered to take effect, was now 1549 punished by an unjust sentence upon himself. He forgave all his enemies, even the chief instruments of his death ; but exhorted them and the whole na- tion to return to the ways of peace, by paying obe- dience to their lawful sovereign, his son and suc- <:essor. When he was preparing himself for the block. Bishop Juxon called to him : " There is. Sir, ** but one stage more, which, though turbulent and ^' troublesome, is yet a very short one. Consider, " it will soon carry you a great way ; it will carry *' you from earth to heaven ; and there you shall " find, to your great joy, the prize to which you " hasten, a crown of glory." " I go," replied the King, " from a corruptible to an incorruptible " crown ; where no disturbance can have place." At one blow was his head severed from his body. A man in a vizor performed the office of execu- tioner : Another, in a like disguise, held up to the spectators the head streaming with blood, and cried • aloud, T/iis is the head of a traitor !
It is impossible to describe the grief, indignation, and astonishment, which took place, not only among the spectators, who were overwhelmed with a flood of sorrow, but throughout the whole nation, as soon as the report of this fatal execution was con- veyed to them. Never monarch, in the full tri- umph of success and victory, was more dear to his people, than his misfortunes and magnanimity, his patience and piety, had rendered this unhappy Prince. In proportion to their former delusions, which had animated them against him, was the vio- lence of their return to duty and affection ; while each reproached himself, either with active disloy- alty towards him, or with too indolent defence of his oppressed cause. On weaker minds, the effect of these complicated passions was prodigious. Wo- men are said to have cast forth the untimely fruit of
their
CHARLES I. 145
their womb : Others fell into convulsions, or sunk chap. into such a melancholy as attended them to their ^^^' grave : Nay, some, unmindful of themselves, as 1649. though they could not or would not survive their beloved Prince, it is reported, suddenly fell down dead. The very pulpits were bedewed with un- suborned tears ; those pulpits, which had formerly thundered out the most violent imprecations and anathemas against him. And all men united in their detestation of those hypocritical parricides, who, by sanctified pretences, had so long disguised their treasons, and in this last act of ininuity had thrown an indelible stain upon the nation.
A FRESH instance of hypocrisy was displayed the very day of the King's death. The generous Fair- fax, not content with being absent from the trial, had used all the interest which he yet retained, to prevent the execution of the fatal sentence; and had even employed persuasion with his own regiment, though none else would follow him, to rescue the King from his disloyal murderers. Cromwell and Ireton, informed of this intention, endeavoured to convince him that the Lord had rejected the King; and they exhorted him to seek by prayer some di- rection from heaven on this important occasion : But they concealed from him that they had already signed the warrant for the execution. Harrison was the person appointed to join in prayer with the un- wary general. By agreement, he prolonged his doleful cant, till intelligence arrived, that the fatal blow was struck. He then rose from his knees, and insisted with Fairfax, that this event was a mira- culous and providential answer, which heaven had sent to their devout supplications.^
It being remarked, that the King, the moment before he stretched out his neck to the executioner, had said to Juxon, with a very earnest accent, the
' Herbert, p. 135.
VOL. VII. L single
146 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, single word Remember; great mysteries were sup- ^^' posed to be concealed under that expression ; and the generals vehemently insisted with the prelate, that he should inform them of the King's meaning. Juxon told them, that the King, having frequently charged him to inculcate on his son the forgiveness of his murderers, had taken this opportunity, in the last moment of his life, when his commands, he supposed, would be regarded as sacred and inviolable, to reiterate that desire ; and that his mild spirit thus terminated its present course, by an act of benevo- lence towards his greatest enemies.
The character of this Prince, as that of most men, if not of all men, was mixed ; but his virtues I predominated extremely above his vices, or, more
properly speaking, his imperfections : For scarce any of his faults rose to that pitch as to merit the appellation of vices. To consider him in the most favourable light, it may be affirmed that his dig- nity was free from pride, his humanity from weak- ness, his bravery from rashness, his temperance from austerity, his frugality from avarice : All these virtues, in him, maintained their proper bounds, and merited unreserved praise. To speak the most harshly of him, we may affirm, that many of his good qualities were attended with some latent frailty, which, though seemingly inconsiderable, was able, when seconded by the extreme malevolence of his fortune, to disappoint them of all their influence : His beneficent disposition was clouded by a manner not very gracious ; his virtue was tinctured with superstition ; his good sense was disfigured by a deference to persons of a capacity inferior to his own ; and his moderate temper exempted him not from hasty and precipitate resolutions. He deserves the epithet of a good, rather than of a great man; and was more fitted to rule in a regular established government, than either to give way to the en- croachments of a popular assembly, or finally to
subdue
1649.
CHARLES \. 147
subdue their pretensions. He wanted suppleness and chap. dexterity sufficient for the first measure: He was not ^^^• endowed with the vigour requisite for the second. Had he been born an absolute Prince, his humanity and good sense had rendered his reign happy and his memory precious : Had the limitations on preroga- tive been in his time quite fixed and certain, his integrity had made him regard, as sacred, the boun- daries of the constitution. Unhappily, his fate threw him into a period when the precedents of many former reigns savoured strongly of arbitrary power, and the genius of the people ran violently towards liberty. And if his political prudence was not sufficient to extricate him from so perilous a situa- tion, he may be excused ; since even after the event, when it is commonly easy to correct all errors, one is at a loss to determine what conduct, in his circum- stances, could have maintained the authority of the crown, and preserved the peace of the nation. Ex- posed, without revenue, without arms, to the assault of furious, implacable, and bigotted factions, it was never permitted him, but with the most fatal conse- quences, to commit the smallest mistake ; a condi- tion too rigorous to be imposed on the greatest human capacity.
Some historians have rashly questioned the good faith of this Prince : But, for this reproach, the most malignant scrutiny of his conduct, which in every circumstance is now thoroughly known, affords not any reasonable foundation. On the contrary, if we consider the extreme difficulties to which he was so frequently reduced, and compare the sincerity of his professions and declarations ; we shall avow, that probity and honour ought justly to be numbered among his most shining qualities. In every treaty, those concessions which he thought he could not in conscience maintain, he never could, by any motive or persuasion, be induced to make. And though some violations of the petition of right
l2 may
148 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, may perhaps be imputed to him ; these are more to
^^^ be ascribed to the necessity of his situation, and to
the lofty ideas of royal prerogative, which, from
former established precedents, he had imbibed, than
to any failure in the integrity of his principles.*
This Prince was of a comely presence; of a sweet, but melancholy aspect. His face was regular, hand- some, and well-complexioned ; his body strong, healthy, and justly proportioned ; and being of a middle stature, he was capable of enduring the greatest fatigues. He excelled in horsemanship and other exercises ; and he possessed all the exterior, as well as many of the essential qualities, which form an accomplished Prince.
The tragical death of Charles begat a question, whether the people, in any case, were entitled to judge and to punish their sovereign ; and most men, regarding chiefly the atrocious usurp- ation of the pretended judges, and the merit of the virtuous Prince who suffered, were inclined to con- demn the republican principle as highly seditious and extravagant : But there still were a few who, abstracting from the particular circumstances of this case, were able to consider the question in general, and were inclined to moderate, not contradict, the prevailing sentiment. Such might have been their reasoning. If ever, on any occasion, it were laud- able to conceal truth from the populace, it must be confessed, that the doctrine of resistance affords such an example ; and that all speculative reasoners ought to observe, with regard to this principle, the same cautious silence, which the laws in every species of government have ever prescribed to themselves. Government is instituted in order to restrain the fury and inj ustice of the people ; and being always founded on opinion, not on force, it is dangerous to weaken, by these speculations, the reverence which the
* See note [F], at the end of the volume.
multitude
1649.
CHARLES I. 149
multitude owe to authority, and to instruct them be- chap. forehand, that the case can ever happen, when they ^^^• may be freed from their duty of allegiance. Or should it be found impossible to restrain the license of human disquisitions, it must be acknowledged, that the doctrine of obedience ought alone to be inculcated, and that the exceptions, which are rare, ought seldom or never to be mentioned in popular reasonings and discourses. Nor is there any danger, that mankind, by this prudent reserve, should uni- versally degenerate into a state of abject servitude. When the exception really occurs, even though it be not previously expected and descanted on, it must, from its very nature, be so obvious and undisputed, as to remove all doubt, and overpower the restraint, however great, imposed by teaching the general doctrine of obedience. But between resisting a Prince and dethroning him, there is a wide interval ; and the abuses of power, which can warrant the latter violence, are greater and more enormous than those which will justify the former. History, however, supplies us with examples even of this kind ; and the reality of the supposition, though, for the future, it ought ever to be little looked for, must, by all candid inquirers, be acknowledged in the past. But between dethroning a Prince and punishing him, there is another very wide interval ; and it were not strange, if even men of the most enlarged thought should question, whether human nature could ever in any monarch reach that height of depravity, as to warrant, in revolted subjects, this last act of ex- traordinary jurisdiction. That illusion, if it be an illusion, which teaches us to pay a sacred regard to the persons of princes, is so salutary, that to dissipate it by the formal trial and punishment of a sovereign, will have more pernicious effects upon the people, than the example of justice can be supposed to have a beneficial influence upon princes, by checking their career of tyranny. It is dangerous, also, by
these
150 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, these examples to reduce princes to despair, or bring ^i^- matters to such extremities against persons endowed 1649. with great power, as to leave them no resource, but in the most violent and most sanguinary counsels. This general position being established, it must how- ever be observed, that no reader, almost of any party or principle, was ever shocked, when he read in ancient history, that the Roman senate voted Nero, their absolute sovereign, to be a public enemy, and, even without trial, condemned him to the severest and most ignominious punishment ; a punishment from which the meanest Roman citizen was, by the laws, exempted. The crimes of that bloody tyrant are so enormous, that they break through all rules ; and extort a confession, that such a dethroned Prince is no longer superior to his people, and can no longer plead, in his own defence, laws, which were esta- blished for conducting the ordinary course of admi- nistration. But when we pass from the case of Nero to that of Charles, the great disproportion, or rather total contrariety, of character immediately strikes us ; and we stand astonished, that, among a civilized people, so much virtue could ever meet with so fatal ; a catastrophe. History, the great mistress of wisdom, { furnishes examples of all kinds ; and every pru- I dential, as well as moral precept, may be authorised by those events, which her enlarged mirror is able to present to us. From the memorable revolutions which passed in England during this period, we may naturally deduce the same useful lesson, which Charles himself, in his later years, inferred, that it is dangerous for Princes, even from the appear- ance of necessity, to assume more authority than the laws have allowed them. But it must be con- fessed that these events furnish us with another instruction, no less natural, and no less useful, concerning the madness of the people, the furies of fanaticism, and the danger of mercenary ar- mies.
In
CHARLES I. 151
In order to close this part of the British history, chap. it is also necessary to relate the dissolution of the ^^^- monarchy in England : That event soon followed i649. upon the death of the monarch. When the peers met, on the day appointed in their adjournment, they eth Feb. entered upon business and sent down some votes to the commons, of which the latter deigned not to take the least notice. In a few days the lower house passed a vote that they would make no more ad- dresses to the house of peers, nor receive any from them ; and that that house was useless and dangerous, and was therefore to be abolished. A like vote passed with regard to the monarchy ; and it is re- markable, that Martin, a zealous republican, in the debate on this question, confessed, that if they de- sired a King, the last was as proper as any gentle- man in England. ^ The commons ordered a new great seal to be engraved, on which that assembly was represented, with this legend, on th e first year
OF FREEDOM, BY GOd's BLESSING, RESTORED, 1648.
The forms of all public business were changed, from the King's name, to that of the keepers of the liber- ties of England.'' And it was declared high trea- son to proclaim, or any otherwise acknowledge, Charles Stuart, commonly called Prince of Wales.
The commons intended, it is said, to bind the Princess Elizabeth apprentice to a button-maker : The Duke of Gloucester was to be taught some other mechanical employment. But the former soon died ; of grief, as is supposed, for her father's tragical end : The latter was, by Cromwell, sent beyond sea.
The King's statue, in the Exchange, was thrown down; and on the pedestal these words were
•> Walker's History of Independency, part 2.
•^ The Court of King's Bench was called the Court of Public Bench. So cautious on this head were some of the republicans, that, it is pre- tended, in reciting the Lord's prayer, they would not say thy kingdom come, but always thy commonwealth come-
inscribed :
1649.
]52 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, inscribed: Exit tyrannus, regum ultimus ; The Lix. tyrant is gone, the last of the Kings.
Duke Hamilton was tried by a new high court of justice, as Earl of Cambridge in England ; and condemned for treason. This sentence, which was certainly hard, but which ought to save his memory from all imputations of treachery to his master, was executed on a scaffold erected before Westminster- hall. Lord Capel underwent the same fate. Both these noblemen had escaped from prison, but were afterwards discovered and taken. To all the solicita- tions of their friends for pardon, the generals and par- liamentary leaders still replied, that it was certainly the intention of Providence they should suffer ; since it had permitted them to fall into the hands of their enemies, after they had once recovered their liberty.
The Earl of Holland lost his life by a like sentence. Though of a polite and courtly behaviour, he died lamented by no party. His ingratitude to the King, and his frequent changing of sides, were regarded as great stains on his memory. The Earl of Nor- wich, and Sir John Owen, being condemned by the same court, were pardoned by the commons.
The King left six children; three males, Charles, born in 1630, James Duke of York, born in 1633, Henry, Duke of Gloucester, born in 1641 ; and three females, Mary, Princess of Orange, born 1631, Elizabeth, born 1635, and Henrietta, afterwards Dutchess of Orleans, born at Exeter, 1644.
The Archbishops of Canterbury in this reign were Abbot and Laud : The lord-keepers, Williams, bishop of Lincoln, Lord Coventry, Lord Finch, Lord Littleton, and Sir Richard Lane ; the high admirals, the Duke of Buckingham, and the Earl of Northum- berland ; the treasurer, the Earl of Marlborough, the Earl of Portland, Juxon, bishop of London, and Lord Cottington ; the secretaries of state. Lord Conway, Sir Albertus Moreton, Coke, Sir Henry
Vane,
CHARLES I, 153
Vane, Lord Falkland, Lord Digby, and Sir Edward chap. Nicholas. ■^^^•
It may be expected, that we should here mention ~7Z the Icon BasHike, a work published in the King's name a few days after his execution. It seems almost impossible, in the controverted parts of history, to say any thing which will satisfy the zealots of both parties : But with regard to the ge- nuineness of that production, it is not easy for an historian to fix any opinion which will be entirely to his own satisfaction. The proofs brought to evince that this work is or is not the King's are so convincing, that if an impartial reader peruse any one side apart**, he will think it impossible, that arguments could be produced, sufficient to coun- terbalance so strong an evidence : And when he compares both sides, he will be some time at a loss to fix any determination. Should an absolute sus- pense of judgement be found difficult or disagree- able in so interesting a question, I must confess, that I much incline to give the preference to the arguments of the royalists. The testimonies which prove that performance to be the King's, are more numerous, certain, and direct, than those on the other side. This is the case, even if we consider the external evidence : But when we weigh the internal, derived from the style and composition, there is no manner of comparison. These medita- tions resemble, in elegance, purity, neatness, and simplicity, the genius of those performances which we know with certainty to have flowed from the
^ See, on the one hand, Toland's Amyntor, and, on the other, Wag- stafiFe's Vindication of the royal Martyr, with Young's addition. We may remark, that Lord Clarendon's total silence with regard to this sub- ject, in so fall a history, composed in vindication of the King's measures and character, forms a presumption on Toland's side, and a presumption of which that author was ignorant ; the works of the noble historian not being then published. Bishop Burnet's testimony too must be allowed of some weight against the Icon.
royal
1649.
154 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, royal pen: But are so unlike the bombast, per- ^^^- plexed, rhetorical, and corrupt style of Dr. Gauden, to whom they are ascribed, that no human testi- mony seems sufficient to convince us that he was the author. Yet all the evidences which would rob the King of that honour, tend to prove that Dr. Gauden had the merit of writing so fine a perform- ance, and the infamy of imposing it on the world for the King's.
It is not easy to conceive the general compassion excited towards the King, by the publishing, at so critical a juncture, a work so full of piety, meek- ness, and humanity. Many have not scrupled to ascribe to that book the subsequent restoration of the royal family. Milton compares its effects to those which were wrought on the tumultuous Ro- mans by Anthony's reading to them the will of Csesar. The Icon passed through fifty editions in a twelvemonth ; and independent of the great interest taken in it by the nation, as the supposed produc- tion of their murdered sovereign, it must be acknow- ledgd the best prose composition, which, at the time of its publication, was to be found in the English language.
[ 155 ]
CHAP. LX. THE COMMONWEALTH.
State of England— of Scotland— of Ireland. —Levellers suppressed. — Siea'e of Dublin raised.— Tredah stormed. — Covenanters. — Montrose taken prisoner — executed. — Covenanters. — Battle of Dunbar — of Worcester. — King's Escape. — The Commonwealth. — Dutch War. — Dissolution of the Parliament.
THE confusions which overspread England after ^J*^^'- the murder of Charles I. proceeded as well '__
from the spirit of refinement and innovation, which ^g^g agitated the ruling party, as from the dissolution state of of all that authority, both civil and ecclesiastical, ^"s'^"'^- by which the nation had ever been accustomed to be governed. Every man had framed the mo- del of a republic, and however new it was, or fantastical, he was eager in recommending it to his fellow-citizens, or even imposing it by force upon them. Every man had adjusted a system of reli- gion, which, being derived from no traditional au- thority, was peculiar to himself; and being founded on supposed inspiration, not on any principles of human reason, had no means, besides cant and low rhetoric, by which it could recommend itself to others. The levellers insisted on an equal distri- bution of power and property, and disclaimed all dependence and subordination. The millenarians or fifth monarchy men required, that government it- self should be abolished, and all human powers be
laid
156 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, laid in the dust, in order to pave the way for the ^^' dominion of Christ, whose second coming they sud- ig49 denly expected. The Antinomians even insisted, that the obligations of morality and natural law were suspended, and that the elect, guided by an internal principle more perfect and divine, were su- perior to the beggarly elements of justice and huma- nity. A considerable party declaimed against tithes and hireling priesthood, and were resolved that the magistrate should not support by power or revenue any ecclesiastical establishment. Another party in- veighed against the law and its professors ; and on pretence of rendering more simple the distribution of justice, were desirous of abolishing the whole system of English jurisprudence, which seemed in- terwoven with monarchical government. Even those among the republicans who adopted not such ex- travagancies were so intoxicated with their saintly character, that they supposed themselves possessed of peculiar privileges ; and all professions, oaths, laws, and engagements had, in a great measure, lost their influence over them. The bands of so- ciety were every where loosened ; and the irre- gular passions of men were encouraged by specu- lative principles, still more unsocial and irregular.
The royalists, consisting of the nobles and more considerable gentry, being degraded from their au- thority, and plundered of their property, were in- flamed with the highest resentment and indignation against those ignoble adversaries, who had reduced them to subjection. The presbyterians, whose cre- dit had first supported the arms of the parliament, were enraged to find that, by the treachery or su- perior cunning of their associates, the fruits of all their successful labours were ravished from them. The former party, from inclination and principle, zealously attached themselves to the son of their unfortunate monarch, whose memory they respected,
and
1649.
THE COMMONWEALTH. ]57
and whose tragical death they deplored. The latter chap. cast their eye towards the same object ; but they had ^^^ still many prejudices to overcome, many fears and jealousies to be allayed, ere they could cordially entertain thoughts of restoring the family, which they had so grievously offended, and whose principles they regarded with such violent abhorrence.
The only solid support of the republican inde- pendent faction, which, though it formed so small a part of the nation, had violently usurped the govern- ment of the whole, was a numerous army of near fifty thousand men. But this army, formidable from its discipline and courage, as well as its numbers, was actuated by a spirit that rendered it dangerous to the assembly which had assumed the command over it. Accustomed to indulge every chimera in politics, every phrenzy in religion, the soldiers knew little of the subordination of citizens, and had only learned, from apparent necessity, some maxims of military obedience. And while they still maintained that all those enormous violations of law and equity, of which they had been guilty, were justified by the success with which Providence had blessed them ; they were ready to break out into any new disorder, wherever they had the prospect of a like sanction and authority.
What alone gave some stability to all these un- settled humours was, the great influence both civil and military acquired by Oliver Cromwell. This man, suited to the age in which he lived, and to that alone, was equally qualified to gain the affection and confidence of men, by what was mean, vulgar, and ridiculous in his character; as to command their obedience by what was great, daring, and enter- prising. Familiar even to buffoonery with the meanest centinel, he never lost his authority: Trans- ported to a degree of madness with religious ecsta- sies, he never forgot the political purposes to which
they
1649.
158 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, they might serve. Hating monarchy, while a sub- ^^- ject ; despising liberty, while a citizen ; though he ■ retained for a time all orders of men under a seeming obedience to the parliament; he was secretly paving the way, by artifice and courage, to his own un- limited authority.
The parliament, for so we must henceforth call a small and inconsiderable part of the house of com- mons, having murdered their sovereign with so many appearing circumstances of solemnity and justice, and so much real violence and even fury, began to assume more the air of a civil, legal power, and to enlarge a little the narrow bottom upon which they stood. They admitted a few of the excluded and absent members, such as were liable to least exception ; but on condition that these members should sign an approbation of whatever had been done in their absence with regard to the King's trial : And some of them were willing to ac- quire a share of power on such terms : The greater partdisdainedtolend their authority to such apparent usurpations. They issued some writs for new elec- tions, in places where they hoped to have interest enough to bring in their own friends and dependents. They named a council of state, thirty-eight in number, to whom all addresses were made, who gave orders to all generals and admirals, who exe- cuted the laws, and who digested all business before it was introduced into parliament.' They pretended to employ themselves entirely in adjusting the laws, forms, and plan of a new representative; and as soon as they should have settled the nation, they
« Their names were, the Earls of Denbigh, Mulgrave, Pembroke, Salis- bury, Lords Grey and Fairfax, Lisle, RoUes, St. John, Wilde, Bradshaw, Cromwell, Skippon, Pickering, Massam, Haselrig, Harrington, Vane jun. Danvers, Armine, Mildmay, Constable, Pennington, Wilson, Whitlocke, Martin, Ludlow, Stapleton, Hevingham, Wallop, Hutchinson, Bond, Popham, Valentine, Walton, Scot, Purefoy, Jones.
professed
land.
' THE COMMONWEALTH. 159
professed their intention of restoring the power to chap. the people, from whom they acknowledged they had ^^• entirely derived it. ~
The commonwealth found every thing in England composed into a seeming tranquillity by the terror of their arms. Foreign powers, occupied in wars among themselves, had no leisure or inclination to interpose in the domestic dissensions of this island. The young King, poor and neglected, living some- times in Holland, sometimes in France, sometimes in Jersey, comforted himself amidst his present dis- tresses with the hopes of better fortune. The si- tuation alone of Scotland and Ireland gave any im- mediate inquietude to the new republic.
After the successive defeats of Montrose and pfScot- Hamilton, and the ruin of their parties, the whole authority in Scotland fell into the hands of Argyle and the rigid churchmen, that party which was most averse to the interests of the royal family. Their enmity, however, against the independents, who had prevented the settlement of presbyterian discipline in England, carried them to embrace op- posite maxims in their political conduct. Though invited by the English parliament to model their government into a republican form, they resolved still to adhere to monarchy, which had ever pre- vailed in their country, and which, by the express terms of their covenant, they had engaged to defend. They considered besides, that as the property of the kingdom lay mostly in the hands of great families, it would be difficult to establish a commonwealth, or without some chief magistrate, invested with royal authority, to preserve peace or justice in the com- munity. The execution, therefore, of the King, against which they had always protested, having oc- casioned a vacancy of the throne, they immediately proclaimed his son and successor, Charles II. ; but upon condition " of his good behaviour and strict " observance of the covenant, and his entertaining
" no
land
160 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, "no Other persons about him but such as were ^^' •' godly men and faithful to that obligation." These 1649. unusual clauses, inserted in the very first acknow- ledgement of their Prince, sufficiently showed their intention of limiting extremely his authority. And the English con>monwealth, having no pretence to interpose in the affairs of that kingdom, allowed the Scots for the present to take their own measures in settling their government.
Of Ire- The dominion which England claimed over Ire-
land, demanded more immediately their efforts for subduing that country. In order to convey a just notion of Irish affairs, it will be necessary to look backwards some years, and to relate briefly those transactions which had passed during the memorable revolutions in England. When the late King agreed to that cessation of arms with the popish rebels, ^ which was become so requisite, as well for the security of the Irish protestants as for promoting his interests in England, the parliament, in order to blacken his conduct, reproached him with fa- vouring that odious rebellion, and exclaimed loudly against the terms of the cessation. They even went so far as to declare it entirely null and invalid, be- cause finished without their consent; and to this de- claration the Scots in Ulster, and the Earl of Inchi- quin, a nobleman of great authority in Munster, professed to adhere. By their means the war was still kept alive ; but as the dangerous distractions in England hindered the parliament from sending any considerable assistance to their allies in Ireland, the Marquis of Ormond, lord-lieutenant, being a na- tive of Ireland, andaperson endowed with great pru- dence and virtue, formed a scheme for composing the disorders of his country, and for engaging the rebel Irish to support the cause of his royal master. There were many circumstances which strongly invited j
f 1643.
the
1649,
THE COMMONWEALTH. 161
the natives of Ireland to embrace the Kinglgr;jparty. chap. The maxims of that Prince had always '^--c lUm to ^^" give a reasonable indulgence to the catholics through- out all his dominions ; and one principal ground of that enmity, which the puritans professed against him, was this tacit toleration. The parliament, on the contrary, even when unprovoked, had ever menaced the papists with the most rigid restraint, if not a total extirpation ; and immediately after the commencement of the Irish rebellion, they put to sale all the estates of the rebels, and had engaged the public faith for transferring them to the adven- turers, who had already advanced money upon that security. The success, therefore, which the arms of the parliament met with at Naseby, struck a just terror into the Irish ; and engaged the council of Kilkenny, composed of deputies from all the catholic counties and cities, to conclude a peace with the Marquis of Ormond.^ They professed to return to their duty and allegiance, engaged to furnish ten thousand men for the support of the King's autho- rity in England, and were content with stipulating, in return, indemnity for their rebellion and tolera- tion of their religion.
Ormond, not doubting but a peace, so advanta- geous and even necessary to the Irish, would be strictly observed, advanced with a small body of troops to Kilkenny, in order to concert measures for common defence with his new allies. The pope had sent over to Ireland a nuncio, Rinuccini, an Italian; and this man, whose commission empowered him to direct the spiritual concerns of the Irish, was emboldened, by their ignorance and bigotry, to assume the chief authority in the civil government. Foreseeing that a general submission to the lord- lieutenant would put an end to his own influence, he
s 1646.
VOL, VII. M conspired^
162 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, conspired with Owen O'Neal, who commanded the ^^- native Irish, in Ulster, and who bore a great jealousy J 649. to Preston, the general chiefly trusted by the council of Kilkenny. By concert, these two malecontents secretly drew forces together, and were ready to fall on Ormond, who remained in security, trusting to the pacification so lately concluded with the rebels. He received intelligence of their treachery, made his retreat with celerity and conduct, and sheltered his small army in Dublin and the other fortified towns, which still remained in the hands of the protestants. The nuncio, full of arrogance, levity, and ambi- tion, was not contented with this violation of treaty. He summoned an assembly of the clergy at Water- ford, and engaged them to declare against that pacification, which the civil council had concluded with their sovereign. He even thundered out a sentence of excommunication against all who should adhere to a peace, so prejudicial, as he pretended, to the catholic religion ; and the deluded Irish, ter- rified with his spiritual menaces, ranged themselves every where on his side, and submitted to his autho- rity. Without scruple, he carried on war against the lord-lieutenant, and threatened with a siege the protestant garrisons, which were, all of them, very ill provided for defence.
Meanwhile, the unfortunate King was necessi- tated to take shelter in the Scottish army ; and being there reduced to close confinement, and secluded from all commerce with his friends, despaired that his authority, or even his liberty, would ever be restored to him. He sent orders to Ormond, if he could not defend himself, rather to submit to the English than to the Irish rebels ; and accordingly the lord-lieutenant, being reduced to extremities, delivered up Dublin, Tredah, Dundalk, and other garrisons, to Colonel Michael Jones, who took possession of them in the name of the English
parliament.
1649.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 163
parliament. Ormond himself went over to England, ch a v. was admitted into the King's presence, received a ^^' grateful acknowledgement for his past services, and during some time lived in tranquillity near London. But being banished, with the other royalists, to a distance from that city, and seeing every event turn out unfortunately for his royal master, and threaten him with a catastrophe still more direful, he thought proper to retire into France, where he joined the Queen and the Prince of Wales.
In Ireland, during these transactions, the authority of the nuncio prevailed without control among all the catholics ; and that prelate, by his indiscretion and insolence, soon made them repent of the power with which they had intrusted him. Prudent men like- wise were sensible of the total destruction which was hanging over the nation from the English parlia- ment, and saw no resource or safety but in giving* support to the declining authority of the King. The Earl of Clanricarde, a nobleman of an ancient family, a person too of merit, who had ever preserved his loyalty, was sensible of the ruin which threatened his countrymen, and was resolved, if possible, to prevent it. He secretly formed a combination among the catholics ; he entered into a correspondence with Inchiquin, who preserved great authority over the protestants in Munster ; he attacked the nuncio, whom he chased out of the island ; and he sent to Paris a deputation, inviting the lord-lieutenant to return, and take possession of his government.
Ormond, on his arrival in Ireland, found the kingdom divided into many factions, among which either open war or secret enmity prevailed. The authority of the English parliament was established in Dublin, and the other towns, which he himself had delivered into their hands. O'Neal maintained his credit in Ulster ; and having entered into a secret correspondence with the parliamentary generals, was
M 2 more
1649.
164 ISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, more intent on schemes for his own personal ^^- safety, than anxious for the preservation of his country or religion. The other Irish, divided be- tween their clergy, who were averse to Ormond, and their nobility, who were attached to him, were very uncertain in their motions and feeble in their mea- sures. The Scots in the north, enraged, as well as their other countrymen, against the usurpations of the sectarian army, professed their adherence to the King ; but were still hindered, by many prejudices, from entering into a cordial union with his lieu- tenant. All these distracted councils and contrary humours checked the progress of Ormond, and en- abled the parliamentary forces in Ireland to maintain their ground against him. The republican faction, meanwhile, in England, employed in subduing the revolted royalists, in reducing the parliament to subjection, in the trial, condemnation and execution of their sovereign, totally neglected the supplying of Ireland, and allowed Jones, and the forces in Dublin, to remain in the utmost weakness and necessity. The lord-lieutenant, though surrounded with diffi- culties, neglected not the favourable opportunity of promoting the royal cause. Having at last assem- bled an army of 16,000 men, he advanced upon the parliamentary garrisons. Dundalk, where Monk commanded, was delivered up by the troops, who mutinied against their governor. Tredah, Newry, and other forts, were taken. Dublin was threatened with a siege ; and the affairs of the lieutenant appeared in so prosperous a condition, that the young King entertained thoughts of coming in person into Ireland.
When the English commonwealth was brought to some tolerable settlement, men began to cast their eyes towards the neighbouring island. During the contest of the two parties, the government of Ireland had remained a great object of intrigue ; and the
presbyterians
THE COMMONWEALTH. 165
presbyterians endeavoured to obtain the lieutenancy chap. for Waller, the independents for Lambert. After the ^^• execution of the King, Cromwell himself began to ~j^ aspire to a command, where so much glory, he saw, might be won, and so much authority acquired In March i5. his absence, he took care to have his name proposed to the council of state ; and both friends and enemies concurred immediately to vote him into that impor- tant office : The former suspected that the matter had not been proposed merely by chance, without his own concurrence ; the latter desired to remove him to a distance, and hoped, during his absence, to gain the ascendant over Fairfax, whom he had so long blinded by his hypocritical professions. Crom- well, himself, when informed of his election, feigned surprise, and pretended, at first, to hesitate, with regard to the acceptance of the command. And Lambert, either deceived by his dissimulation, or in his turn, feigning to be deceived, still continued, notwithstanding this disappointment, his friendship and connections with Cromwell.
The new lieutenant immediately applied himself with his wonted vigilance to make preparations for his expedition. Many disorders in England it behoved him previously to compose. All places were full of danger and inquietude. Though men, asto- nished with the successes of the army, remained in seeming tranquillity, symptoms of the greatest discon- tent every where appeared. The English, long ac- customed to a mild administration, and unacquainted with dissimulation, could not conform their speech and countenance to the present necessity, or pretend attachment to a form of government, which they generally regarded with such violent abhorrence. It was requisite to change the magistracy of London, and to degrade, as well as punish, the mayor and some of the aldermen, before the proclamation for the abolition of monarchy could be published in the city. An engagement being framed to support the
common-
160 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.^
c II A ?. commonwealth without King or house of peers, the ^^- army was, with some difficulty, brought to subscribe
1649.
it ; but though it was imposed upon the rest of the nation, under severe penalties, no less than putting all who refused out of the protection of law ; such obstinate reluctance was observed in the people, that even the imperious parliament was obliged to desist from it. The spirit of fanaticism, by which that assembly had at first been strongly supported, was now turned, in a great measure, against them. The pulpits being chiefly filled with presbyterians, or disguised royalists, and having long been the scene of news and politics, could by no penalties be restrained from declarations unfavourable to the established government. Numberless were the extravagancies which broke out among the people. Everard, a disbanded soldier, having preached that the time was now come when the community of goods would be renewed among Christians, led out his followers to take possession of the land ; and being carried before the general, he refused to salute him; because he was but his fellow-creature. '' What seemed more dangerous, the army itself was infected with like humours.* Though the levellers had for a time been suppressed, by the audacious spirit of Crom- I well, they still continued to propagate their doctrines among the private men and inferior officers, who pretended a right to be consulted, as before, in the j administration of the commonwealth. They now practised against their officers, the same lesson which they had been taught against the parlia- ment. They framed a remonstrance, and sent five agitators to present it to the general and council of war : These were cashiered with ignominy by sentence of a court-martial. One Lockier, having carried his sedition farther, was sentenced to death ; but this punishment was so far from quelling the mutinous
•• Whitlocke, * See note [G], at the end of the volume.
spirit,
THE COMMONWEALTH. 167
spirit, that above a thousand of his companions showed c u a p. their adherence to him, by attending his fmieral, and ^^ wearing in their hats black and sea-green ribbons, i649. by way of favours. About four thousand assem- bled at Burford, under the command of Thomson, Levellers a man formerly condemned for sedition by a court- ^^pp*"^*^" martial, but pardoned by the general. Colonel Reynolds, and afterwards Fairfax and Cromwell, fell May. upon them, while unprepared for defence, and seduced by the appearance of a treaty. Four hun- dred were taken prisoners : Some of them capitally punished : The rest pardoned : And this tumul- tuous spirit, though it still lurked in the army, and broke out from time to time, seemed for the present to be suppressed. ' >?-- .r.^;
Petitions, framed in the same spirit of opposition, were presented to the parliament by Lieutenant-colo- nel Lilburn, the person who, for dispersing seditious libels, had formerly been treated with such severity by the star-chamber. His liberty was, at this time, as ill-relished by the parliament, and he was thrown into prison, as a promoter of sedition and disorder in the commonwealth. The women applied by petition for his release ; but were now desired to mind their household affairs, and leave the govern- ment of the state to the men. From all quarters, the parliament was harassed with petitions of a very free nature, which strongly spoke the sense of the nation, and proved how ardently all men longed for the restoration of their laws and liberties. Even in a feast, which the city gave to the parliament and council of state, it was deemed a requisite precau- tion, if we may credit Walker and Dugdale, to swear all the cooks, that they would serve nothing but wholesome food to them.
The parliament judged it necessary to enlarge the laws of high-treason beyond those narrow bounds, within which they had been confined during the
monarchy.
1649.
168 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, monarchy. They even comprehended verbal oiFen- ^^* ces, nay intentions, though they had never appeared in any overt-act against the state. To affirm the pre- sent government to be an usurpation, to assert that the parliament or council of state were tyrannical or illegal, to endeavour subverting their authority, or stirring up sedition against them; these offences were declared to be high- treason. The power of imprison- ment, of which the petition of right had bereaved the King, it was now found necessary to restore to the council of state ; and all the jails in England were filled with men whom the jealousies and fears of the ruling party had represented as dangerous.'' The taxes, continued by the new government, and which, being unusual, were esteemed heavy, increased the general ill-will under which it laboured. Besides the customs and excise, ninety thousand pounds a-month were levied on land for the subsistence of the army. The sequestrations and compositions of the royalists, the sale of the crown lands, and of the dean and chapter lands, though they yielded great sums, were not sufficient to support the vast ex- penses, and, as was suspected, the great depreda- tions of the parliament and of their creatures. '
Amidst all these difficulties and disturbances, the steady mind of Cromwell, without confusion or embarrassment, still pursued its purpose. While he was collecting an army of twelve thousand men in the west of England, he sent to Ireland, under Reynolds and Venables, a reinforcement of four thousand horse and foot, in order to strengthen Jones, and enable him to defend himself against the Marquis of Ormond, who lay at Finglass, and was making preparations for the attack of Dublin. Inchiquin, who had now made a treaty with the
^ History of Independency, part ii. ' Pari. History,
vol.xix. p. 136. 176.
King's
THE COMMONWEALTH. 169
King's lieutenant, having, with a separate body, chap. taken Tredah and Dundalk, gave a defeat to Offar- _^'_^ rell, who served under O'Neal, and to young Coot, ~~ who commanded some parliamentary forces. After he had joined his troops to the main army, with whom, for some time, he remained united, Ormond passed the river LifFy, and took post at Rathmines, two miles from Dublin, with a view of commencing the siege of that city. In order to cut off all farther supply from Jones, he had begun the reparation of an old fort which lay at the gates of Dublin ; and being exhausted with continual fatigue for some days, he had retired to rest, after leaving orders to keep his forces under arms. He was suddenly 2d Aug. awaked with the noise of firing ; and, starting from his bed, saw every thing already in tumult and confusion. Jones, an excellent officer, formerly a lawyer, had sallied out with the reinforcement newly arrived ; and, attacking the party employed in repairing the fort, he totally routed them, pur- sued the advantage, and fell in with the army, which had neglected Ormond's orders. These he soon threw into disorder; put them to flight, in spite of all the efforts of the lord-lieutenant ; chased them off the field ; seized all their tents, baggage, ammunition; and returned victorious to Dublin, ^mf after killing a thousand men, and taking above two raised. thousand prisoners."
This loss, which threw some blemish on the mi- litary character of Ormond, was irreparable to the royal cause. That numerous army which, with so much pains and difficulty, the lord-lieutenant had been collecting for more than a year, was dispersed in a moment. Cromwell soon after arrived in Dub- Aug. i5, lin, where he was welcomed with shouts and re- joicings. He hastened to Tredah. That town was well fortified : Ormond had thrown into it a good
1' Pari. Hist. vol. xix. p. 165.
garrison
170
CHAP. LX.
1649.
Sept.
Tredah
stormed.
October.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
garrison of three thousand men, under Sir i^rthur Aston, an officer of reputation. He expected that Tredah, lying in the neighbourhood of Dublin, would first be attempted by Cromwell, and he was desirous to employ the enemy some time in that siege, while he himself should repair his broken forces. But Cromwell knew the importance of des- patch. Having made a breach, he ordered a general assault. Though twice repulsed with loss, he re- newed the attack, and himself, along with Ireton, led on his men. All opposition was overborne by the furious valour of the troops. The town was taken sword in hand ; and, orders being issued to give no quarter, a cruel slaughter was made of the garrison. Even a few, who were saved by the sol- diers, satiated with blood, were next day miserably butchered by orders from the general. One person alone of the garrison, escaped to be a messenger of this universal havock and destruction.
Cromwell pretended to retaliate by this severe execution the cruelty of the Irish massacre : But he well knew, that almost the whole garrison was Eng- lish ; and his justice was only a barbarous policy, in order to terrify all other garrisons from resistance. His policy, however, had the desired effect. Having led the army without delay to Wexford, he began to batter the town. The garrison, after a slight defence, offered to capitulate ; but, before they obtained a cessation, they imprudently neglected their guards ; and the English army rushed in upon them. The same severity was exercised as at Tredah.
Every town before which Cromwell presented himself, now opened its gates without resistance. Ross, though strongly garrisoned, was surrendered by Lord Taffe. Having taken Estionage, Cromwell threw a bridge over the Barrow, and made himself master of Passage and Carrie. The English had no farther difficulties to encounter than what arose
from
«
THE COMMON WEALtfl. 171
from fatigue and the advanced season. Fluxes and chap. contagious distempers crept in among the soldiers, ^^' who perished in great numbers. Jones himself, i649. the brave governor of Dublin, died at Wexford. And Cromwell had so far advanced with his de- cayed army, that he began to find it difficult, either to subsist in the enemies' country, or retreat to his own garrisons. But while he was in these Novemb. straits, Corke, Kinsale, and all the English garri- sons in Munster, deserted to him, and opening their gates, resolved to share the fortunes of their victorious countrymen.
This desertion of the English put an end to Or* mond's authority, which was already much dimi- nished by the misfortunes at Dublin, Tredah, and Wexford. The Irish, actuated by national and e- ligious prejudices, could no longer be kept in obe- dience by a protestant governor, who was so un- successful in all his enterprises. The clergy renewed their excommunications against him and his adhe- rents, and added the terrors of superstition to those which arose from a victorious enemy. Cromwell, having received a reinforcement from England, again took the field early in the spring. He made himself master of Kilkenny and Clonmel, the only places where he met with any vigorous resistance. The whole frame of the Irish union being in a man- ner dissolved, Ormond soon after left the island, and delegated his authority to Clanricarde, who found affairs so desperate as to admit of no remedy. The Irish were glad to embrace banishment as a re- fuge. Above 40,000 men passed into foreign ser- vice ; and Cromwell, well pleased to free the island from enemies, who never could be cordially recon- ciled to the English, gave them full liberty and leisure for their embarkation.
While Cromwell proceeded with such uninter- rupted success in Ireland, which in the space of
nine
1649.
172 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, nine months he had almost entirely subdued, fortune LX. ^g^g preparing for him a new scene of victory and triumph in Scotland. Charles was at the Hague when Sir Joseph Douglas brought him intelligence that he was proclaimed King by the Scottish parlia- ment. At the same time, Douglas informed him of the hard conditions annexed to the proclamation, and extremely damped that joy which might arise from his being recognized sovereign in one of his kingdoms. Charles too considered, that those who pretended to acknowledge his title were at that very time in actual rebellion against his family, and would be sure to intrust very little authority in his hands, and scarcely would afford him personal liberty and security. As the prospect of affairs in Ire- land was at that time not unpromising, he intended rather to try his fortune in that kingdom, from which he expected more dutiful submission and obedience.
Meanwhile, he found it expedient to depart from Holland. The people in the United Provinces were much attached to his interests. Besides his connexion with the family of Orange, which was extremely beloved by the populace, all men regarded with compassion his helpless condition, and expressed the greatest abhorrence against the murder of his father: a deed to which nothing, they thought, but the rage of fanaticism and faction could have im- pelled the parliament. But though the public in general bore great favour to the King, the States were uneasy at his presence. They dreaded the parliament, so formidable by their power, and so prosperous in all their enterprises. They apprehend- ed the most precipitate resolutions from men of such violent and haughty dispositions. And, after the murder of Dorislaus, they found it still more necessary to satisfy the English commonwealth, by removing the King to a distance from them.
Dorislaus,
THE COMMONWEALTH. 17g
DoRisLAUs, though a native of Holland, had chap. lived long in England; and being employed as ^x. assistant "'to the high court of justice which con- ^^qso. demned the late King, he had risen to great credit and favour with the ruling party. They sent him envoy to Holland ; but no sooner had he arrived at the Hague, than he was set upon by some royalists, chiefly retainers to Montrose. They rushed into the room, where he was sitting with some company ; dragged him from the table ; put him to death as the first victim to their murdered sovereign ; very leisurely and peaceably separated themselves ; and, though orders were issued by the magistrates to arrest them, these were executed with such slow- ness and reluctance, that the criminals had all of them the opportunity of making their escape.
Charles, having passed some time at Paris, where no assistance was given him, and even few civilities were paid him, made his retreat into Jersey, where his authority was still acknowledged. Here Winram, laird of Liberton, came to him as deputy from the committee of estates in Scotland, and in- formed him of the conditions to which he must ne- cessarily submit before he could be admitted to the exercise of his authority. Conditions more severe were never imposed by subjects upon their sove- reign ; but as the affairs of Ireland began to decline, and the King found it no longer safe to venture himself in that island, he gave a civil answer to Winram, and desired commissioners to meet him at Breda, in order to enter into a treaty with regard to these conditions. ; ^^diiu
The Earls of Cassilis and Lothian, Lord Burley, Cove- the laird of Liberton, and other commissioners, ar- n^nters. rived at Breda; but without any power of treating: The King must submit, without reserve, to the terms imposed upon him. The terms were, that he should issue a proclamation, banishing from court
all
174 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, all excommunicated persons, that is, all those who, Lx. either under Hamilton or Montrose, had ventured their lives for his family; that no English subject, who had served against the parliament, should be allowed to approach him ; that he should bind him- self by his royal promise to take the covenant ; that he should ratify all acts of parliament, by which . presbyterian government, the directory of worship, the confession of faith, and the catechism, were established ; and that in civil affairs he should en- tirely conform himself to the direction of parliament, and in ecclesiastical to that of the assembly. These proposals, the commissioners, after passing some time in sermons and prayers, in order to express the more determined resolution, very solemnly delivered to the King.
The King''s friends were divided with regard to the part which he should act in this critical conjunc- ture. Most of his English counsellors dissuaded him from accepting conditions so disadvantageous and dishonourable. They said, that the men who now governed Scotland were the most furious and bigotted of that party, which, notwithstanding his gentle government, had first excited a rebellion against the late King ; after the most unlimited con- cessions, had renewed their rebellion, and stopped the progress of his victories in England ; and after he had intrusted his person to them in his uttermost distress, had basely sold him, together with their own honour, to his barbarous enemies : That they had as yet shown no marks of repentance, and even in the terms which they now proposed, displayed the same antimonarchical principles, and the same jealousy of their sovereign, by which they had ever been actuated : That nothing could be more dis- honourable than that the King, in his first enterprise, should sacrifice, merely for the empty name of roy- alty, those principles for which his father had died a
martyr.
1650.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 175
martyr, and in which he himself had been strictly chap. educated : That by this hypocrisy he might lose the ^^- royalists, who alone were sincerely attached to him ; but never would gain the presbyterians, who were averse to his family and his cause, and would ascribe his compliance merely to policy and necessity: That the Scots had refused to give him any assurances of their intending to restore him to the throne of Eng- land ; and could they even be brought to make such an attempt, it had sufficiently appeared, by the event of Hamilton's engagement, how unequal their force was to so great an enterprise : That on the first check which they should receive, Argyle and his partisans would lay hold of the quickest expedient for reconciling themselves to the English parliament, and would betray the King, as they had done his father, into the hands of his enemies : And that, however desperate the royal cause, it must still be regarded as highly imprudent in the King to make a sacrifice of his honour ; where the sole purchase was to endanger his life or liberty.
The Earl of Laneric, now Duke of Hamilton, the Earl of Lauderdale, and others of that party, who had been banished their country for the late engagement, were then with the King ; and being desirous of returning home in his retinue, they joined the opinion of the young Duke of Bucking- ham, and earnestly pressed him to submit to the conditions required of him. It was urged that nothing would more gratify the King's enemies than to see him fall into the snare laid for him, and by so scrupulous a nicety leave the possession of his dominions to those who desired but a pretence for excluding him : That Argyle, not daring so far to oppose the bent of the nation as to throw off all allegiance to his sovereign, had embraced this ex- pedient, by which he hoped to make Charles de- throne himself, and refuse a kingdom which was offered him : That it was not to be doubted but the
same
176 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, same national spirit, assisted by Hamilton and his ^^' party, would rise still higher in favour of their 1650. Prince after he had intrusted himself to their fidelity, and would much abate the rigour of the conditions now imposed upon him : That whatever might be the present intentions of the ruling party, they must ■unavoidably be engaged in a war with England, and must accept the assistance of the King's friends of all parties, in order to support themselves against a power so much superior : That how much soever a steady, uniform conduct might have been suitable to the advanced age and strict engagements of the late King, no one would throw any blame on a young Prince for complying with conditions which necessity had extorted from him: That even the rigour of those principles professed by his father, though with some it had exalted his character, had been extremely prejudicial to his interests ; nor could any thing be more serviceable to the royal cause, than to give all parties room to hope for more equal and more indulgent maxims of govern- ment: And that, where affairs were reduced to so desperate a situation, dangers ought little to be re- garded ; and the King's honour lay rather in show- ing some early symptoms of courage and activity, than in choosing strictly a party among theological controversies, with which, it might be supposed, he was as yet very little acquainted.
These arguments, seconded by the advice of the Queen-mother, and of the Prince of Orange, the King's brother-in-law, who both of them thought it ridiculous to refuse a kingdom merely from regard to episcopacy, had great influence on Charles. But w^hat chiefly determined him to comply, was the account brought him of the fate of Mon- trose, who, with all the circumstances of rage and contumely, had been put to death by his zeal- ous countrymen. Though in this instance the King saw, more evidently, the furious spirit by
which
(1
J
1650.
THE COMMONWEALTH. I77
which the Scots were actuated, he had now no far- chap. ther resource, and was obliged to grant whatever ^• was demanded of him.
Montrose, having laid down his arms at the command of the late King, had retired into France, and, contrary to his natural disposition, had lived for some time inactive at Paris. He there became acquainted with the famous Cardinal de Retz; and that penetrating judge celebrates him in his me- moirs as one of those heroes, of whom there are no longer any remains in the world, and who are only to be met with in Plutarch. Desirous of improving his martial genius, he took a journey to Germany, was caressed by the Emperor, received the rank of mareschal, and proposed to levy a regiment for the imperial service. While employed for that pur- pose in the Low Countries, he heard of the tragical death of the King; and at the same time received from his young master a renewal of his commission of captain-general in Scotland." His ardent and daring spirit needed but this authority to put him in action. He gathered followers in Holland and the north of Germany, whom his great reputation allured to him. The King of Denmark and Duke of Holstein sent him some small supply of money ; the Queen of Sweden furnished him with arms ; the Prince of Orange with ships ; and Montrose, hastening his enterprise, lest the King's agreement with the Scots should make him revoke his com- mission, set out for the Orkneys with about 500 men, most of them Germans. These were all the preparations which he could make against a king- dom, settled in domestic peace, supported by a disciplined army, fully apprized of his enterprise, and prepared against him. Some of his retainers having told him of a prophecy, that to him and him alone it was reserved to restore the King's authority
" Burnet. Clarendon, «, ?l
VOL. VII. N in
178
CHAP. LX.
1650.
Montrose
taken
prisoner.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
m all Ms dominions; he lent a willing ear to sugges- tions which, however ill-grounded or improbable, were so conformable to his own daring character.
He armed several of the inhabitants of the Ork- neys, though an unwarlike people, and carried them over with him to Caithness; hoping that the general affection to the King's service, and the fame of his former exploits, would make the High- landers flock to his standard. But all men were now harassed and fatigued with wars and disorders: Many of those who formerly adhered to him, had been severely punished by the covenanters : And no prospect of success was entertained in opposition to so great a force as was drawn together against him. But however weak Montrose's army, the memory of past events struck a great terror into the com- mittee of estates. They immediately ordered Lesley and Holborne to march against him with an army of 4000 men. Strahan was sent before, with a body of cavalry to check his progress. He fell unex- pectedly on Montrose, who had no horse to bring him intelligence. The royalists were put to flight ; all of them either killed or taken prisoners; and Montrose himself, having put on the disguise of a peasant, was perfidiously delivered into the hands of his enemies, by a friend to whom he had intrusted his person.
All the insolence, which success can produce in ungenerous minds, was exercised by the covenanters against Montrose, whom they so much hated and so much dreaded. Theological antipathy farther increased their indignities towards a person, whom they regarded as impious, on account of the ex- communication which had been pronounced against him. Lesley led him about for several days in the same low habit under which he had disguised himself. The vulgar, wherever he passed, were instigated to reproach and vilify him. When he came to Edinburgh, every circumstance of elaborate
rage
1650.
THE COMMONWEALTH. I79
rage and msult was put in practice by order of the chap. parliament. At the gate of the city he was met by ^^• the magistrates, and put into a new cart, purposely made with a high chair or bench, where he was placed, that the people might have a full view of him. He was bound with a cord, drawn over his breast and shoulders, and fastened through holes made in the cart. The hangman then took off the hat of the noble prisoner, and rode himself before the cart in his livery, and with his bonnet on ; the other officers, who were taken prisoners with the Marquis, walking two and two before them.
The populace, more generous and humane, when they saw so mighty a change of fortune in this great man, so lately their dread and terror, into whose hands the magistrates, a few years before, had deli- vered on their knees the keys of the city, were struck with compassion, and viewed him with silent tears and admiration. The preachers, next Sunday, exclaimed against this movement of rebel nature, as they termed it ; and reproached the people with their profane tenderness towards the capital enemy of piety and religion.
When he was carried before the parliamentj which was then sitting, Loudon, the chancellor, in a violent declamation, reproached him with the breach of the national covenant, which he had subscribed ; his rebellion against God, the King, and the king- dom ; and the many horrible murders, treasons, and impieties, for which he was now to be brought to condign punishment. Montrose, in his answer, maintained the same superiority above his enemies, to which, by his fame and great actions, as well as by the consciousness of a good cause, he was justly entitled. He told the parliament, that since the King, as he was informed, had so far avowed their authority, as to enter into a treaty with them, he now appeared uncovered before their tribunal ; a respect
N 2 which,
1650.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
which, while they stood in open defiance to their sovereign, they would in vain have required of him. That he acknowledged, with infinite shame and re- morse, the errors of his early conduct, when their plausible pretences had seduced him to tread with them the paths of rebellion, and bear arms against his Prince and country. That his following services, he hoped, had sufficiently testified his repentance ; and his death would now atone for that guilt, the only one with which he could justly reproach him- self. That in all his warlike enterprises he was warranted by that commission, which he had re- ceived from his and their master, against whose law- ful authority they had erected their standard. That to venture his life for his sovereign was the least part of his merit : He had even thrown down his arms in obedience to the sacred commands of the King ; and had resigned to them the victory, which, in defiance of all their efforts, he was still enabled to dispute with them. That no blood had ever been shed by him but in the field of battle ; and many persons were now in his eye, many now dared to pronounce sentence of death upon him. whose life, forfeited by the laws of war, he had formerly saved from the fury of the soldiers. That he was sorry to find no better testimony of their return to alle- giance than the murder of so faithful a subject, in whose death the King's commission must be, at once, so highly injured and affronted. That as to himself, they had in vain endeavoured to vilify and degrade him by all their studied indignities : The justice of his cause, he knew, would ennoble any fortune ; nor had he other affliction than to see the authority of his Prince, with which he was invested, treated with so much ignominy. And that he now joyfully followed, by a like unjust sentence, his late sovereign; and should be happy if, in his future destiny, he could follow him to the same
blissful
THE COMMONWEALTH.
blissful mansions, where his piety and humane vir- tues had already, without doubt, secured him an eternal recompense.
Montrose's sentence was next pronounced against him, " That he, James Graham, (for this was the " only name they vouchsafed to give him,) should " next day be carried to Edinburgh cross, and ** there be hanged on a gibbet, thirty feet high, ** for the space of three hours : Then be taken " down, his head be cut off upon a scaffold, and *' affixed to the prison : His legs and arms be stuck " up on the four chief towns of the kingdom: His " body be buried in the place appropriated for com- *' mon malefactors ; except the church, upon his " repentance, should take off his excommunica- " tion."
The clergy, hoping that the terrors of immedi- ate death had now given them an advantage over their enemy, flocked about him, and insulted over his fallen fortunes. They pronounced his damna- tion, and assured him, that the judgement, which he was so soon to suffer, would prove but an easy prologue to that which he must undergo hereafter. They next offered to pray with him : But he was too well acquainted with those forms of imprecation which they called prayers. " Lord, vouchsafe yet *' to touch the obdurate heart of this proud incor- " rigible sinner ; this wicked, perjured, traitorous, " and profane person, who refuses to hearken to *' the voice of thy church." Such were the peti- tions, which he expected they would, according to custom, offer up for him. He told them, that they were a miserably deluded and deluding people; and would shortly bring their country under the most insupportable servitude, to which any nation had ever been reduced. " For my part," added he, *' I am much prouder to have my head affixed " to the place where it is sentenced to stand, than " to have my picture hang in the King's bed-
" chamber.
1650.
82 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
:hap. ** chamber. So far irom being sorry that my LX. (c quarters are to be sent to four cities of the king- "~T " dom ; I wish I had limbs enow to be dispersed *' into all the cities of Christendom, there to re- ** main as testimonies in favour of the cause for ** which 1 suffer." This sentiment, that very even- ing, while in prison, he threw into verse. The poem remains ; a signal monument of his heroic spirit, and no despicable proof of his poetical genius, list May. Now was led forth, amidst the insults of his enemies and the tears of the people, this man of illustrious birth, and of the greatest renown in the nation, to suffer, for his adhering to the laws of his country and the rights of his sovereign, the igno- minious death destined to the meanest malefactor. Every attempt, which the insolence of the govern- ing party had made to subdue his spirit, had hitherto proved fruitless : They made yet one effort more, in this last and melancholy scene, when all enmity, arising from motives merely human, is commonly softened and disarmed. The executioner brought that book, which had been published in elegant Latin, of his great military actions, and tied it by a cord about his neck. Montrose smiled at this new instance of their malice. He thanked them, however, for their officious zeal ; and said, that he bore this testimony of his bravery and loyalty with more pride than he had ever worn the garter. Executed. Having asked, whether they had any more indig- nities to put upon him, and renewing some devout ejaculations, he patiently endured the last act of the executioner.
Thus perished, in the thirty-eighth year of his age, the gallant Marquis of Montrose ; the man whose military genius, both by valour and con- duct, had shone forth beyond any which, during these civil disorders, had appeared in the three kingdoms. The finer arts too, he had in his youth successfully cultivated ; and whatever was sublime,
elegant.
i
THE COMMONWEALTH. 183
elegant, or noble, touched his great soul. Nor was chap. he insensible to the pleasures either of society or of ^^• love. Something, however, of the vast and un- bounded characterised his actions and deportment ; and it was merely by an heroic effort of duty, that he brought his mind, impatient of superiority, and even of equality, to pay such unlimited submission to the will of his sovereign.
The vengeance of the covenanters was not satis- fied with Montrose's execution. Urrey, whose incon- stancy now led him to take part with the King, suf- fered about the same time : Spotiswood of Daersie, a youth of eighteen, Sir Francis Hay of Dalgetie, and Colonel Sibbald, all of them of birth and cha- racter, underwent a like fate. These were taken prisoners with Montrose. The Marquis of Huntley, about a year before, had also fallen a victim to the severity of the covenanters.
The past scene displays in a full light the bar barity of this theological faction : The sequel will sufficiently display their absurdity.
The King, in consequence of his agreement with 23d June. the commissioners of Scotland, set sail for that coun- try ; and being escorted by seven Dutch ships of war, who were sent to guard the herring fishery, he arrived in the frith of Cromarty. Before he was permitted to land, he was required to sign the co- venant ; and many sermons and lectures were made him, exhorting him to persevere in that holy con- federacy." Hamilton, Lauderdale, Dumfermling, and Covenant- other noblemen of that party whom they called Engagers, were immediately separated from him, and obliged to retire to their houses, where they lived in a private manner without trust or autho- rity. None of his English friends, who had served his father, were allowed to remain in the kingdom.
° Sir Edward Walker's Historical Discourses, p. 159.
The
ers.
I
1650.
134 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. The King himself found that he was considered as ^^- a mere pageant of state, and that the few remains of royalty which he possessed, served only to draw on him the greater indignities. One of the quar- ters of Montrose, his faithful servant, who had borne his commission, had been sent to Aberdeen, and was still allowed to hang over the gates when he passed by that place, p The general assembly, and afterwards the committee of estates and the army, who were entirely governed by the assembly, set iforth a public declaration, in which they pro- tested, " that they did not espouse any malignant " quarrel or party, but fought merely on their *' former grounds or principles ; that they disclaim- *' ed all the sins and guilt of the King, and of his ** house ; nor would they own him or his interest, ** otherwise than with a subordination to God, and " so far as he owned and prosecuted the cause of ** God, and acknowledged the sins of his house, and *' of his former ways." ''
The King, lying entirely at mercy, and having no assurance of life or liberty, farther than was agreeable to the fancy of these austere zealots, was constrained to embrace a measure, which nothing but the necessity of his affairs, and his great youth 16th Aug. ^^^ inexperience, could excuse. He issued a de- claration, such as they required of him." He there gave thanks for the merciful dispensations of Provi- dence, by which he was recovered from the snare of evil counsel, had attained a full persuasion of the righteousness of the covenant, and was induced to cast himself and his interests wholly upon God. He desired to be deeply humbled and afflicted in spirit, because of his father's following wicked measures, opposing the covenant and the work of reformation, and shedding the blood of God's people throughout
p Sir Edward Walker's Historical Discourses, p. 160. 1 Ibid. p. 166, 167. ' Ibid. p. 170.
all
1650.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 185
all his dominions. He lamented the idolatry of his chap. mother, and the toleration of it in his father's house; -^^• a matter of great offence, he said, to all the protes- tant churches, and a great provocation to him who is a jealous God, visiting the sins of the father upon the children. He professed, that he would have no enemies but the enemies of the covenant ; and that he detested all popery, superstition, prelacy, heresy, schism, and profaneness : And was resolved not to tolerate, much less to countenance, any of them in any of his dominions. He declared, that he should never love or favour those who had so little con- science as to follow his interests, in preference to the gospel and the kingdom of Jesus Christ. And he expressed his hope, that, whatever ill success his former guilt might have drawn upon his cause, yet now, having obtained mercy to be on God's side, and to acknowledge his own cause subordinate to that of God, divine providence would crown his arms with victory.
Still the covenanters and the clergy were diffi- dent of the King's sincerity. The facility which he discovered in yielding whatever was required of him, made them suspect, that he regarded his concessions merely as ridiculous farces, to which he must of necessity submit. They had another trial prepared for him. Instead of the solemnity of his coronation, which was delayed, they were resolved that he should pass through a public humiliation, and do penance before the whole people. They sent him twelve articles of repentance, which he was to acknowledge ; and the King had agreed, that he would submit to this indignity. The various trans- gressions of his father and grandfather, together with the idolatry of his mother, are again enume- rated and aggravated in these articles ; and farther declarations were insisted on, that he sought the re- storation of his rights for the sole advancement of
religion.
186 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, religion, and in subordination to the kingdom of
^•__ Christ/ In short, having exalted the altar above
i65o_ the throne, and brought royalty under their feet, the clergy were resolved to trample on it, and vilify it, by every instance of contumely, which their pre- sent influence enabled them to impose upon their unhappy Prince.
Charles in the mean time found his authority entirely annihilated, as well as his character degraded. He was consulted in no public measure. He was not called to assist at any councils. His favour was sufficient to discredit any pretender to office or advancement. All efforts which he made to unite the opposite parties, increased the suspicion which the covenanters had entertained of him, as if he were not entirely their own. Argyle, who by sub- tilties and compliances was partly led and partly governed by this wild faction, still turned a deaf ear to all advances which the King made to enter into confidence with him. Malignants and Engagers continued to be the objects of general hatred and persecution ; and whoever was obnoxious to the clergy, failed not to have one or other of these epi- thets affixed to him. The fanaticism which pre- vailed, being so full of sour and angry principles, and so overcharged with various antipathies, had acquired a new object of abhorrence : These were the Sorcerers. So prevalent was the opinion of witchcraft, that great numbers, accused of that crime, were burnt by sentence of the magistrates, throughout all parts of Scotland. In a village near Berwick, which contained only fourteen houses, fourteen persons were punished by fire ' ; and it became a science, every where much studied and cultivated, to distinguish a true witch by proper trials and symptoms."
ii^ * Sir Edward Walker's Historical Discourses, p. 178.
' Whillocke, p. 404. 408. " Ibid. p. 396. 418.
The
THE COMMONWEALTH. ' 187
The advance of the English army under Crom- chap. well was not able to appease or soften the animosities '
among the parties in Scotland. The clergy were ^g^^, still resolute to exclude all but their most zealous adherents. As soon as the English parliament found that the treaty between the King and the Scots would probably terminate in an accommodation, they made preparations for a war, which, they saw, would in the end prove inevitable. Cromwell, hav- ing broken the force and courage of the Irish, was sent for; and he left the command of Ireland to Ireton, who governed that kingdom in the charac- ter of deputy, and with vigilance and industry per- severed in the work of subduing and expelling the natives.
It was expected that Fairfax, who still retained the name of general, would continue to act against Scotland, and appear at the head of the forces ; a station for which he was well qualified, and where alone he made any figure. But Fairfax, though he had allowed the army to make use of his name in murdering their sovereign, and offering violence to the parliament, had entertained insurmountable scruples against invading the Scots, whom he con- sidered as zealous presbyterians, and united to Eng- land by the sacred bands of the covenant. He was farther disgusted at the extremities into which he had already been hurried ; and was confirmed in his repugnance by the exhortations of his wife, who had great influence over him, and was herself much governed by the presbyterian clergy. A committee of parliament was sent to reason with him ; and Cromwell was of the number. In vain did they urge that the Scots had first broken the covenant by their invasion of England under Hamilton ; and that they would surely renew their hostile attempts, if not prevented by the vigorous measures of the commonwealth. Cromwell, who knew the rigid inflexibility of Fairfax in every thing which he
regarded
188 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, regarded as matter of principle, ventured to solicit ^^' him with the utmost earnestness ; and went so 165Q far as to shed tears of grief and vexation on the oc- casion. No one could suspect any ambition in the man who laboured so zealously to retain his general in that high office which, he knew, he himself was alone entitled to fill. The same warmth of temper which made Cromwell a frantic enthusiast, rendered him the most dangerous of hypocrites ; and it was to this turn of mind, as much as to his courage and capacity, that he owed all his wonderful successes. By the contagious ferment of his zeal, he engaged every one to co-operate with him in his measures ; and entering easily and affectionately into every part which he was disposed to act, he was enabled, even after multiplied deceits, to cover, under a tempest of passion, all his crooked schemes and pro- found artifices.
Fairfax having resigned his commission, it was bestowed on Cromwell, who was declared captain- general of all the forces in England. This com- mand, in a commonwealth, which stood entirely by arms, was of the utmost importance ; and was the chief step which this ambitious politician had yet made towards sovereign power. He immediately marched his forces, and entered Scotland with an army of 1 6,000 men.
The command of the Scottish army was given to Lesley, an experienced officer, who formed a very proper plan of defence. He entrenched him- self in a fortified camp between Edinburgh and Leith, and took care to remove from the counties of Merse and the Lothians every thing which could serve to the subsistence of the English army. Crom- well advanced to the Scotch camp, and endeavoured by every expedient to bring Lesley to a battle : The prudent Scotchman knew that, though superior in numbers, his army was much inferior in discipline to the English ; and he carefully kept himself within
his
1650.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 189
his entrenchments. By skirmishes and small ren- chap, counters he tried to confirm the spirits of his soldiers; ^^• and he was successful in these enterprises. His army daily increased both in numbers and courage. The King came to the camp ; and having exerted himself in an action, gained on the affections of the soldiery, who were more desirous of serving under a young Prince of spirit and vivacity, than under a committee of talking gown-men. The clergy were alarmed. They ordered Charles immediately to leave the camp. They also purged it carefully of about 4000 Maligiiants and Engagers, whose zeal had led them to attend the King, and who were the soldiers of chief credit and experience in the nation." They then concluded, that they had an army composed entirely of saints, and could not be beaten. They murmured extremely, not only against their prudent general, but also against the Lord, on account of his delays in giving them deliverance "" ; and they plainly told him, that if he would not save them from the English sectaries, he should no longer be their God. ^ An advantage having offered itself on a Sunday, they hindered the general from making use of it, lest he should involve the nation in the guilt of sabbath-breaking.
Cromwell found himself in a very bad situation. He had no provisions but what he received by sea. He had not had the precaution to bring these in sufficient quantities ; and his army was reduced to difiiculties. He retired to Dunbar. Lesley followed him, and he encamped on the heights of Lammermure, which overlook that town. There lay many difficult passes between Dunbar and Berwick, and of these Lesley had taken possession. The English general was reduced to extremities. He had even embraced a resolution of sending by sea all his foot and
'^ Sir Edw. Walker, p. 165. " Id. p. 168.
y Whitlocke, p. 449.
artillery
1650.
190 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, artillery to England, and of breaking through, at ^^' all hazards, with his cavalry. The madness of the Scottish ecclesiastics saved him from this loss and dishonour.
Night and day the ministers had been wrestling with the Lord in prayer, as they termed it; and they fancied that they had at last obtained the victory. Revelations, they said, were made them, that the sectarian and heretical army, together with Agag, meaning Cromwell, was delivered into their hands. Upon the faith of these visions, they forced their general, in spite of his remonstrances, to descend into the plain, with a view of attacking the English in their retreat. Cromwell, looking through a glass,
Dunbar- saw the enemy's camp in motion ; and foretold, without the help of revelations, that the Lord had delivered them into his hands. He gave orders im-
3d Sept. mediately for an attack. In this battle it was easily observed that nothing, in military actions, can sup- ply the place of discipline and experience ; and that, in the presence of real danger, where men are not accustomed to it, the fumes of enthusiasm presently dissipate, and lose their influence. The Scots, though double in number to the English, were soon put to flight, and pursued with great slaughter. The chief, if not only, resistance was made by one regiment of Highlanders, that part of the army which was the least infected with fanaticism. No victory could be more complete than this which was obtained by Cromwell. About 3000 of the enemy were slain, and 9000 taken prisoners. Cromwell pursued his advantage, and took possession of Edinburgh and Leith. The remnant of the Scottish army fled to Stirling. The approach of the winter season, and an ague, which seized Cromwell, kept him from push- ing the victory any farther.
The clergy made great lamentation, and told the Lord, that to them it was little to sacrifice their lives and estates, but to him it was a great loss to suff'er
his
1650.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 191
his elect to be destroyed/ They published a de- chap. claration, containing the cause of their late misfor- L^- tunes. These visitations they ascribed to the manifold provocations of the King's house, of which they feared he had not yet thoroughly repented; the secret intrusion of malignants into the King's family, and even into the camp ; the leaving of a most ma- lignant and profane guard of horse, who, being sent for to be purged, came two days before the defeat, and were allowed to fight with the army; the own- ing of the King's quarrel by many without subordi- nation to religion and liberty ; and the carnal self- seeking of some, together with the neglect of fami- ly prayers by others.
Cromwell, having been so successful in the war of the sword, took up the pen against the Scottish ecclesiastics. He wrote them some polemical letters, in which he maintained the chief points of the in- dependent theology. He took care likewise to retort on them their favourite argument of providence ; and asked them. Whether the Lord had not declared against them? But the ministers thought that the same events, which to their enemies were judgements, to them were trials ; and they replied, that the Lord had only hid his face, for a time, from Jacob. But Cromwell insisted, that the appeal had been made to God in the most express and solemn manner, and that, in the fields of Dunbar, an irrevocable decision had been awarded in favour of the English army."
The
^ Sir Edward Walker.
a This is the best of Cromwell's wretched compositions that remains, and we shall here extract a passage out of it. " You say you have " not so learned Christ as to hang the equity of your cause upon events. " We could wish that blindness had not been upon your eyes to all " those marvellous dispensations which God hath wrought lately in " England. But did not you solemnly appeal and pray? Did not we " do so too? And ought not we and you to think, with fear and " trembling, of the hand of the great God, in this mighty and strange
" appearance
1651.
192 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. The defeat of the Scots was regarded by the Khig l-X- as a fortunate event. The armies, which fought on both sides, were almost equally his enemies ; and the vanquished were now obliged to give him some more authority, and apply to him for support. The par- liament was summoned to meet at St. Johnstone's. Hamilton, Lauderdale, and all the Engagers, were admitted into court and camp, on condition of doing public penance, and expressing repentance for their late transgressions. Some malignants also crept in under various pretences. The intended humiliation or penance of the King was changed into the cere- mony of his coronation, which was performed at Jan. Scone with great pomp and solemnity. But amidst all this appearance of respect, Charles remained in the hands of the most rigid covenanters : And though treated with civility and courtesy by Argyle, a man of parts and address, he was little better than a pri- soner, and was still exposed to all the rudeness and pedantry of the ecclesiastics.
This young Prince was in a situation which very ill suited his temper and disposition. All those good qualities which he possessed, his affability, his wit, his gaiety, his gentleman-like, disengaged behaviour, were here so many vices ; and his love of ease, liber- ty, and pleasure, was regarded as the highest enor- mity. Though artful in the practice of courtly
" appearance of his, but can slightly call it an event ? Were not both " your and our expectations renewed from time to time, while we " waited on God, to see which way he would manifest himself upon our *' appeals? And shall we, after all these our prayers, fastings, tears, " expectations, and solemn appeals, call these mere events? Ihe Lord " pity you. Surely we fear, because it has been a merciful and a gracious " deliverance to us.
" I beseech you in the bowels of Christ, search after the mind of the " Lord in it towards you, and we shall help you by our prayers that you " may find it. For yet, if we know our heart at all, our bowels do in " Christ yearn after the godly in Scotland."
Thurloe, vol. i. p. 158.
dissimulation.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 193
dissimulation, the sanctified style was utterly unknown chap.
to him, and he never could mould his deportment into *
that starched grimace which the covenanters required ^g^j as an infallible mark of conversion. The Duke of Buckingham was the only English courtier allowed to attend him; and, by his ingenious talent for ridicule, he had rendered himself extremely agreeable to his master. While so many objects of derision sur- rounded them, it was difficult to be altogether insen- sible to the temptation, and wholly to suppress the laugh. Obliged to attend from morning to night at prayers and sermons, they betrayed evident symp- toms of weariness or contempt. The clergy never could esteem the King sufficiently regenerated : And by continual exhortations, remonstrances, and repri- mands, they still endeavoured to bring him to a juster sense of his spiritual duty.
The King's passion for the fair could not alto- gether be restrained. He had once been observed using some familiarities with a young woman ; and a committee of ministers was appointed to reprove him for a behaviour so unbecoming a covenanted monarch. The spokesman of the committee, one Douglas, began with a severe aspect, informed the King that great scandal had been given to the godly, enlarged on the heinous nature of sin, and concluded with exhorting his Majesty, whenever he was dis- posed to amuse himself, to be more careful, for the future, in shutting the windows. This delicacy, so unusual to the place, and to the character of the man, was remarked by the King, and he never for- got the obligation.
The King, shocked at all the indignities, and, per- haps, still more tired with all the formalities, to which he was obliged to submit, made an attempt to regain his liberty. General Middleton, at the head of some royalists, being proscribed by the covenanters, kept in the mountains, expecting some opportunity of serving his master. The King resolved to join this
VOL. VII. o body. .
1651.
194 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. body. He secretly made his escape from Argyle, and LX. fled towards the Highlands. Colonel Montgomery, with a troop of horse, was sent in pursuit of him. He overtook the King, and persuaded him to return. The royalists being too weak to support him, Charles was the more easily induced to comply. This incident procured him, afterwards, better treat- ment and more authority ; the covenanters being afraid of driving him, by their rigours, to some desperate resolution. Argyle renewed his courtship to the King, and the King, with equal dissimulation, pretended to repose great confidence in Argyle. He even went so far as to drop hints of his in- tention to marry that nobleman's daughter: But he had to do with a man too wise to be seduced by such gross artifices.
As soon as the season would permit, the Scottish army was assembled under Hamilton and Lesley ; and the King was allowed to join the camp. The forces of the western counties, notwithstanding the imminent danger which threatened their country, were resolute not to unite their cause with that of an army which admitted any engagers or malignants among them ; and they kept in a body apart under Ker. They called themselves the Protesters ; and their frantic clergy declaimed equally against the King and against Cromwell. The other party were denominated Resolutioners ; and these distinctions continued long after to divide and agitate the kingdom.
Charles encamped at the Torwood; and his generals resolved to conduct themselves by the same cautious maxims, which, so long as they were embraced, had been successful during the former campaign. The town of Stirling lay at his back, and the whole north supplied him with provisions. Strong entrenchments defended his front; and it was in vain that Cromwell made every attempt to bring him to an engagement. After losing much time,
the
THE COMMONWEALTH. 195
the English general sent Lambert over the frith into chap. Fife, with an intention of cutting off the provisions ^^' of the enemy. Lambert fell upon Holborne and ^g^^ Brown, who commanded a party of the Scots, and put them to rout with great slaughter. Cromwell also passed over, with his whole army ; and lying at the back of the King, made it impossible for him to keep his post any longer.
Charles, reduced to despair, embraced a resolu- tion worthy of a young Prince contending for empire. Having the way open, he resolved immediately to march into England ; where he expected that all his friends, and all those who were discontented with the present government, would flock to his standard. He persuaded the generals to enter into the same views; and with one consent, the army, to the number of 14,000 men, rose from their camp, and advanced by great journeys towards the south.
Cromwell was surprised at this movement of the royal army. Wholly intent on offending his enemy, he had exposed his friends to imminent danger, and saw the King with numerous forces marching into England; where his presence, from the general hatred which prevailed against the parliament, was capable of producing some great revolution. But if this conduct was an oversight in Cromwell, he quickly repaired it by his vigilance and activity. He des- patched letters to the parliament, exhorting them not to be dismayed at the approach of the Scots : He sent orders every where for assembling forces to oppose the King : He ordered Lambert with a body of cavalry to hang upon the rear of the royal army, and infest their march : And he himself, leaving Monk with 7000 men to complete the reduction of Scotland, followed the King with all the expedition possible.
Charles found himself disappointed in his ex- pectations of increasing his army. The Scots, terrified
o 2 at
196
CHAP. LX.
1651.
3d Sept.
Battle of Worces- ter.
The
King's
escape.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
at the prospect of so hazardous an enterprise fell off in great numbers. The English presbyterians, having no warning given them of the King's approach, were not prepared to join him. To the royalists, this measure was equally unexpected ; and they were farther deterred from joining the Scottish army, by the orders which the committee of ministers had issued, not to admit any, even in this desperate ex- tremity, who would not subscribe the covenant. The Earl of Derby leaving the isle of Man, where he had hitherto maintained his independence, was employed in levying forces in Cheshire and Lancashire ; but was soon suppressed by a party of the parliamentary army. And the King, when he arrived at Worcester, found that his forces, extremely harassed by a hasty and fatiguing march, were not more numerous than when he rose from his camp in the Torwood.
Such is the influence of established government, that the commonwealth, though founded in usurp- ation the most unjust and unpopular, had authority sufficient to raise every where the militia of the counties ; and these, united with the regular forces, bent all their efl"orts against the King. With an army of about 30,000 men, Comwell fell upon Wor- cester ; and attacking it on all sides, and meeting with little resistance, except from Duke Hamilton and General Middleton, broke in upon the disordered royalists. The streets of the city were strewed with dead. Hamilton, a nobleman of bravery and honour, was mortally wounded ; Massey wounded and taken prisoner; the King himself, having given many proofs of personal valour, was obliged to fly. The whole Scottish army was either killed or taken pri- soners. The country people, inflamed with national antipathy, put to death the few that escaped from the field of battle.
The King left Worcester at six o'clock in the afternoon, and, without halting, travelled about
twenty-
THE COMMOMWEALTH. . 197
twenty -six miles, in company with fifty or sixty of ^^x^^"
his friends. To provide for his safety, he thought it i
best to separate himself from his companions ; and lesi. he left them without communicating his intentions to any of them. By the Earl of Derby's directions, he went to Boscobel, a lone house, in the borders of Staffordshire, inhabited by one Penderell, a fanner. To this man Charles intrusted himself. The man had dignity of sentiments much above his condition; and though death was denounced against all who con- cealed the King, and a great reward promised to any one who should betray him, he professed and maintained unshaken fidelity. He took the assistance of his four brothers, equally honourable with himself; and, having clothed the King in a garb like their own, they led him into the neighbouring wood, put a bill into his hand, and pretended to employ them- selves in cutting faggots. Some nights he lay upon straw in the house, and fed on such homely fare as it afforded. For a better concealment, he mounted upon an oak, where he sheltered himself among the leaves and branches for twentv-four hours. He saw several soldiers pass by. All of them were intent in search of the King ; and some expressed, in his hearing, their earnest wishes of seizing him. This tree was afterwards denominated the Royal Oak ; and for many years was regarded by the neighbour- hood with great veneration.
Charles was in the midle of the kingdom, and could neither stay in his retreat, nor stir a step from it, without the most imminent danger. Fears, hopes, and party zeal, interested multitudes to discover him ; and even the smallest indiscretion of his friends might prove fatal. Having joined Lord Wilmot, who was skulking in the neighbourhood, they agreed to put themselves into the hands of Colonel Lane, a zealous royalist, who lived at Bentley, not many miles distant. The Kings feet were so hurt by walking about in heavy boots or countrymen's shoes
which
1651.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
which did not fit him, that he was obliged to mount on horseback ; and he travelled in this situation to Bentley, attended by the Penderells, who had been so faithful to him. Lane formed a scheme for his journey to Bristol, where, it was hoped, he would find a ship, in which he might transport himself. He had a near kinswoman, Mrs. Norton, who lived within three miles of that city, and was with child, very near the time of her delivery. He obtained a pass (for, during those times of confusion, this precaution was requisite) for his sister, Jane Lane, and a servant to travel towards Bristol, under pretence of visiting and attending her relation. The King rode before the lady, and personated the servant.
When they arrived at Norton's, Mrs. Lane pre- tended that she had brought along, as her servant, a poor lad, a neighbouring farmer's son, who was ill of an ague ; and she begged a private room for him, where he might be quiet. Though Charles kept himself retired in this chamber, the butler, one Pope, soon knew him : The King was alarmed, but made the butler promise that he would keep the secret from every mortal, even from his master ; and he was faithful to his engagement.
No ship, it was found, would, for a month, set sail from Bristol, either for France or Spain ; and the King was obliged to go elsewhere for a passage. He intrusted himself to Colonel Windham of Dor- setshire, an affectionate partisan of the royal family : The natural effect of the long civil wars, and of the furious rage to which all men were wrought up in their different factions, was, that every one's inclina- tions and affections were thoroughly known, and even the courage and fidelity of most men, by the variety of incidents, had been put to trial. The royalists too, had, many of them, been obliged to make con- cealments in their houses for themselves, their friends, or more valuable effects; and the arts of eluding the
enemy
1651.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 199
enemy had been frequently practised. All these chap. circumstances proved favourable to the King in the ^^• present exigency. As he often passed through the hands of catholics, the Priest's Hole, as they called it, the place where they were obliged to conceal their persecuted priests, was sometimes employed for sheltering their distressed sovereign.
Windham, before he received the King, asked leave to intrust the important secret to his mother, his wife, and four servants, on whose fidelity he could rely. Of all these, no one proved wanting either in honour or discretion. The venerable old matron, on the reception of her royal guest, expressed the utmost joy, that having lost, without regret, three sons and one grand-child in defence of his father, she was now reserved, in her declining years, to be instru- mental in the preservation of himself. Windham told the King, that Sir Thomas, his father, in the year 1636, a few days before his death, called to him his five sons: " My children," said he, ** we have '* hitherto seen serene and quiet times under our *' three last sovereigns : But I must now warn you " to prepare for clouds and storms. Factions arise *' on every side, and threaten the tranquillity of your " native country. But, whatever happen, do you " faithfully honour and obey your Prince, and adhere " to the crown. I charge you never to forsake the " crown, though it should hang upon a bush." " These last words," added Windham, ** made ** such impressions on all our breasts, that the many ** afflictions of these sad times could never efface ** their indelible characters." From innumerable instances it appears, how deep-rooted in the minds of the English gentry of that age was the principle of loyalty to their sovereign ; that noble and generous principle, inferior only in excellence to the more enlarged and more enlightened affection towards a legal constitution. But during those times of mili- tary usurpation, these passions were the same.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
The King continued several days in Windham's
house : And all his friends in Britain, and in every
i65i~ V^^^ ^^ Europe, remained in the most anxious sus- pense with regard to his fortunes : No one could conjecture whether he were dead or alive ; and the report of his death being generally believed, happily relaxed the vigilant search of his enemies. Trials were made to procure a vessel for his escape ; but he still met with disappointments. Having left Wind- ham's house, he was obliged again to return to it. He passed through many other adventures ; assumed different disguises ; in every step was exposed to imminent perils ; and received daily proofs of uncor- rupted fidelity and attachment. The sagacity of a smith, who remarked that his horse's shoes had been made in the north, not in the west, as he pretended, once detected him ; and he narrowly escaped. At Shoreham, in Sussex, a vessel was at last found, in which he embarked. He had been known to so many, that if he had not set sail in that critical moment, it had been impossible for him to escape. After one and forty days' concealment, he arrived safely at Fescanip in Normandy. No less than forty men and women had, at different times, been privy to his concealment and escape. *"
The battle of Worcester afforded Cromwell what he called his crowning mercy." So elated was he, that he intended to have knighted, in the field, two of his generals, Lambert and Fleetwood ; but was dissuaded by his friends from exerting this act of regal authority. His power and ambition were too great to brook submission to the empty name of a republic, which stood chiefly by his influence, and was supported by his victories. How early he en- tertained thoughts of taking into his hand the reins of government is uncertain. We are only assured, that
^ Healhe's Chronicle, p. 301. <• Pari. Hist. vol. xx. p. 47.
he
THE COMMONWEALTH. 201
he now discovered to his intimate friends these aspir- chap. ing views; and even expressed a desire of assuming ______
the rank of King, which he had contributed, with ^55^ such seeming zeal, to abolish. '^
The little popularity and credit acquired by the ii^ecom- republicans farther stimulated the ambition of this wealth. enterprising politician. These men had not that large thought, nor those comprehensive views, which might qualify them for acting the part of legislators : Selfish aims and bigotry chiefly engrossed their attention. They carried their rigid austerity so far as to enact a law, declaring fornication, after the first act, to be felony, without benefit of clergy. '' They made small progress in that important work, which they professed to have so much at heart, the settling of a new model of representation, and fixing a plan of government. The nation began to appre- hend that they intended to establish themselves as a perpetual legislature, and to confine the whole power to 60 or 70 persons, who called themselves the parliament of the commonwealth of England. And while they pretended to bestow new liberties upon the nation, they found themselves obliged to infringe even the most valuable of those which, through time immemorial, had been transmitted from their ancestors. Not daring to intrust the trials of treason to juries, who, being chosen indif- ferently from among the people, would have been little favourable to the commonwealth, and would have formed their verdict upon the ancient laws, they eluded that noble institution, by which the government of this island has ever been so much distinguished. They had evidently seen in the trial of Lilburn what they could expect from juries.
d Whitlocke,p. 523. « Scobel, p.l21. A bill was introduced
into the house against painting, patches, and other immodest dress of women ; but it did not pass. Pari. Hist. vol. \ix. p. 263.
This
202 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. This man, the most turbulent, but the most up- LX. right and courageous, of human kind, was tried 77 for a transgression of the new statute of treasons : But though he was plainly guilty, he was acquit- ted, to the great joy of the people. Westminster- hall, nay the whole city, rang with shouts and acclamations. Never did any established power receive so strong a declaration of its usurpation and invalidity ; and from no institution, besides the admirable one of juries, could be expected this magnanimous effort.
That they might not for the future be exposed to affronts, which so much lessened their authority, the parliament erected a high court of justice, which was to receive indictments from the council of state. This court was composed of men devoted to the ruling party, without name or character, determined to sacrifice every thing to their own safety or ambition. Colonel Eusebius Andrews and Colonel Walter Slingsby were tried by this court for con- spiracies, and condemned to death. They were royalists, and refused to plead before so illegal a jurisdiction. Love, Gibbons, and other presbyteri- ans, having entered into a plot against the republic, were also tried, condemned, and executed. The Earl of Derby, Sir Timothy Featherstone, Bemboe, being taken prisoners after the battle of Worcester, were put to death by sentence of a court martial ; a method of proceeding declared illegal by that very petition of right, for which a former parliament had so strenuously contended, and which, after great efforts, they had extorted from the King.
Excepting their principles of toleration. , the maxims by which the republicans regulated eccle- siastical affairs no more prognosticated any durable settlement, than those by which they conducted their civil concerns. The presbyterian model of congre- gation, classes, and assemblies, was not allowed to
be
1651.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 203
be finished : It seemed even the intention of many chap. leaders in the parliament to admit of no esta- ^'^• blished church, and to leave every one, without any guidance of the magistrate, to embrace whatever sect, and to support whatever clergy, were most agreeable to him.
The parliament went so far as to make some approaches, in one province, to their independent model. Almost all the clergy of Wales being ejected as malignants, itinerant preachers with small salaries were settled, not above four or five in each county ; and these being furnished with horses at the public expense, hurried from place to place, and carried, as they expressed themselves, the glad tidings of the gospel.^ They were all of them men of the lowest birth and education, who had deserted mechanical trades, in order to follow this new profession. And in this particular, as well as in their wandering life, they pretended to be more truly apostolical.
The republicans, both by the turn of their dispo- sition, and by the nature of the instruments which they employed, were better qualified for acts of force and vigour, than for the slow and deliberate work of legislation. Notwithstanding the late wars and bloodshed, and the present factions, the power of England had never, in any period, appeared so formidable to the neighbouring kingdoms as it did at this time, in the hands of the commonwealth. A numerous army served equally to retain every one in implicit subjection to established authority, and to strike a terror into foreign nations. The power of peace and war was lodged in the same hands with that of imposing taxes ; and no differ- ence of views, among the several members of the legislature, could any longer be apprehended. The present impositions, though much superior to what
^ Dr. John Walker's Attempt, p. 147, & seq.
had
204 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, had ever formerly been experienced, were in reality ^^' moderate, and what a nation so opulent could easily ^g5^ bear. The military genius of the people had, by the civil contests, been roused from its former lethargy; and excellent officers were formed in every branch of service. The confusion into which all things had been thrown, had given opportunity to men of low stations to break through their obscurity, and to raise themselves by their courage to commands which they were well qualified to exercise, but to which their birth could never have entitled them. And while so great a power was lodged in such active hands, no wonder the republic v/as successful in all its enterprises.
Blake, a man of great courage and a generous disposition, the same person who had defended Lyme and Taunton with such unshaken obstinacy against the late King, was made an admiral ; and though he had hitherto been accustomed only to land-service, into which too he had not entered till past fifty years of age, he soon raised the naval glory of the nation to a greater height than it had ever attained in any former period A fleet was put under his command, and he received orders to pursue Prince Rupert, to whom the King had in- trusted that squadron which had deserted to him. Rupert took shelter in Kinsale ; and, escaping thence, fled towards the coast of Portugal. Blake pursued and chased him into the Tagus, where he intended to make an attack upon him. But the King of Portugal, moved by the favour which, throughout all Europe, attended the royal cause, refused Blake admittance, and aided Prince Rupert in making his escape. - To be revenged of this partiality, the English admiral made prize of twenty Portuguese ships richly laden ; and he threatened still farther vengeance. The King of Portugal, dreading so dangerous a foe to his newly-acquired
dominion,
THE COMMONWEALTH. 205
dominion, and sensible of the unequal contest in ^^^^'
which he was engaged, made all possible submissions [
to the haughty republic, and was at last admitted ^651, to negotiate the renewal of his alliance with Eng- land. Prince Rupert, having lost a great part of his squadron on the coast of Spain, made sail towards the West Indies, His brother, Prince Maurice, was there shipwrecked in a hurricane. Every where this squadron subsisted by privateering, sometimes on English, sometimes on Spanish vessels. And Rupert at last returned to France, where he disposed of the remnants of his fleet, together with his prizes.
All the settlements in America, except New England, which had been planted entirely by the puritans, adhered to the royal party, even after the settlement of the republic ; and Sir George Ayscue was sent with a squadron to reduce them. Bermu- das, Antigua, and Virginia, were soon subdued. Barbadoes, commanded by Lord Willoughby of Parham, made some resistance ; but was at last ob- liged to submit.
With equal ease were Jersey, Guernsey, Scilly, and the Isle of Man, brought under subjection to the republic ; and the sea, which had been much infested by privateers from these islands, was ren- dered safe to the English commerce. The Countess of Derby defended the Isle of Man ; and with great reluctance yielded to the necessity of surrendering to the enemy. This lady, a daughter of the illustrious house of Trimoille, in France, had, during the civil war, displayed a manly courage by her obstinate defence of Latham-house against the parliamentary forces ; and she retained the glory of being the last person in the three kingdoms, and in all their de- pendent dominions, who submitted to the victorious commonwealth.*
* See note [H], at the end of the volume.
Ireland
1651.
206 ' HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. Ireland and Scotland were now entirely sub- ^^- jected and reduced to tranquillity. Ireton, the new deputy of Ireland, at the head of a numerous army, 30,000 strong, prosecuted the work of subduing the revolted Irish ; and he defeated them in many ren- counters, which, though of themselves of no great moment, proved fatal to their declining cause. He punished without mercy all the prisoners who had any hand in the massacres. Sir Phelim O'Neale, among the rest, was, some time after, brought to the gibbet, and suffered an ignominious death, which he had so well merited by his inhuman cruelties. Limerick, a considerable town, still remained in the hands of the Irish ; and Ireton, after a vigorous siege, made himself master of it. He was here in- fected with the plague, and shortly after died ; a memorable personage, much celebrated for his vigi- lance, industry, capacity, even for the strict execution of justice in that unlimited command which he pos- sessed in Ireland. He was observed to be inflexible in all his purposes ; and it was believed by many, that he was animated with a sincere and passionate love of liberty, and never could have been induced by any motive to submit to the smallest appearance of regal government. Cromwell appeared to be much affected by his death; and the republicans, who reposed great confidence in him, were inconsolable. To shew their regard for his merit and services, they bestowed an estate of two thousand pounds a- year on his family, and honoured him with a mag- nificent funeral at the public charge. Though the established government was but the mere shadow of a commonwealth, yet was it beginning, by proper arts, to encourage that public spirit which no other species of civil polity is ever able fully to inspire.
The command of the army in Ireland devolved on Lieutenant-General Ludlow. The civil government of the island was intrusted to commissioners.
Ludlow
THE COMMONWEALTH. 207
Ludlow continued to push the advantages against the chap. Irish, and every where obtained an easy victory. That ^^• unhappy people, disgusted with the King on account ""^^^ of those violent declarations against them and their religion, which had been extorted by the Scots, applied to the King of Spain, to the Duke of Lor- raine, and found assistance no where. Clanricarde, unable to resist the prevailing power, made submis- sions to the parliament, and retired into England, where he soon after died. He was a steady catholic ; but a man much respected by all parties.
The successes which attended Monk in Scotland were no less decisive. That able general laid siege to Stirling castle ; and, though it was well provided for defence, it was soon surrendered to him. He there became master of all the records of the king- dom ; and he sent them to England. The Earl of Leven, the Earl of Crawford, Lord Ogilvy, and other noblemen, having met near Perth, in order to concert measures for raising a new army, were sud- denly set upon by Colonel Alured, and most of them taken prisoners. Sir Philip Musgrave, with some Scots, being engaged at Dumfries in a like enterprise, met with a like fate. Dundee was a town well fortified, supplied with a good garrison under Lumisden, and full of all the rich furniture, the plate, and money of the kingdom, which had been sent thither as to a place of safety. Monk appeared before it ; and having made a breach, gave a general assault. He carried the town; and follow- ing the example and instructions of Cromwell, put all the inhabitants to the sword, in order to strike a general terror into the kingdom. Warned by this example, Aberdeen, St. Andrews, Inverness, and other towns and forts, yielded, of their own accord, to the enemy. Argyle made his submissions to the English commonwealth ; and excepting a few roy- alists, who remained some time in the mountains,
under
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
under the Earl of Glencairn, Lord Balcarras, and General Middleton, that kmgdom, which had hi- therto, through all ages, by means of its situation, poverty, and valour, maintained its independence, was reduced to total subjection.
The English parliament sent Sir Harry Vane, St. John, and other commissioners, to settle Scot- land. These men, who possessed little of the true spirit of liberty, knew how to maintain the appear- ance of it ; and they required the voluntary consent of all the counties and towns of this conquered king- dom, before they would unite them into the same commonwealth with England. The clergy protested ; because, they said, this incorporating union would draw along with it a subordination of the church to the state in the things of Christ.'' English judges, joined to some Scottish, were appointed to determine all causes; justice was strictly administered ; order and peace maintained ; and the Scots, freed from the tyranny of the ecclesiastics, were not much dissatis- fied with the present government. * The prudent conduct of Monk, ^a man who possessed a capacity for the arts both of peace and war, served much to reconcile the minds of men, and to allay their pre- judices. ig52. ^ Y the total reduction and pacification of the British
Dutch war. dominions, the parliament had leisure to look abroad, and to exert their vigour in foreign enterprises. The Dutch were the first that felt the weight of their arms.
During the life of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, the Dutch republic had maintained a neu- trality in the civil wars of England, and had never interposed, except by her good offices, between the contending parties. When William, who had married an English princess, succeeded to his fa- ther's commands and authority'', the States, both
•> Whitlocke, p. 496. Heathe's Chronicle, p. 307.
* See note [I], at the end of the volume. ^ 1647.
before
LX.
1652.
THE COMMONWEALTH.
before and after the execution of the late King, were chap, accused of taking steps more favourable to the royal cause, and of betraying a great prejudice against that of the parliament. It was long before the envoy of the EnoJish commonwealth could obtain an audience of the States-general. The murderers of Dorislaus were not pursued with such rigour as the parliament expected. And much regard had been paid to the King, and many good offices performed to him, both by the public, and by men of all ranks in the United Provinces.
After the death of William, Prince of Orange', which was attended with the depression of his party and the triumph of the Dutch republicans, the par- liament thought that the time was now favourable for cementing a closer confederacy with the States. St. John, chief justice, who was sent over to the Hague, had entertained the idea of forming a kind of coalition between the two republics, which would have rendered their interests totally inseparable; but fearing that so extraordinary a project would not be relished, he contented himself with dropping some hints of it, and openly went no farther than to pro- pose a strict defensive alliance between England and the United Provinces, such as has now, for near seventy years, taken place between these friendly powers.™ But the States, who were unwilling to form a nearer confederacy with a government whose measures were so obnoxious, and whose situation seemed so precarious, offered only to renew the former alliances with England. And the haughty St. John, disgusted with this disappointment, as well as incensed at many affronts, which had been offered him with impunity, by the retainers of the Palatine and Orange families^ and indeed by the populace in general, returned into England, and endeavoured to foment a quarrel between the republics.
' On October 17, 1650. "' Thurloe, vol. i. p. 182.
VOL. VII. p The
1652.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
The movements of great states are often di- rected by as slender springs as those of individuals. Though war, with so considerable a naval power as the Dutch, who were in peace with all their other neighbours, might seem dangerous to the yet un- settled commonwealth, there were several motives which at this time induced the English parliament to embrace hostile measures. Many of the mem- bers thought that a foreign war would serve as a pretence for continuing the same parliament, and delaying the new model of a representative, with which the nation had so long been flattered. Others hoped that the war would furnish a reason for maintaining, some time longer, that numerous stand- ing army, which was so much complained of." On the other hand, some who dreaded the increas- ing power of Cromwell, expected that the great ex- pense of naval armaments would prove a motive for diminishing the military establishment. To divert the attention of the public from domestic quarrels towards foreign transactions, seemed, in the present disposition of men's minds, to be good policy. The superior power of the English com- monwealth, together with its advantages of situation, promised success ; and the parliamentary leaders hoped to gain many rich prizes from the Dutch, to distress and sink their flourishing commerce, and by victories to throw a lustre on their own establishment, which was so new and unpopular. All these views, enforced by the violent spirit of St. John, who had great influence over Cromwell, determined the par- liament to change the purposed alliance into a furious war against the United Provinces.
To cover these hostile intentions, the parliament, under pretence of providing for the interests of com- merce, embraced such measures as they knew would
" We are told in the Life of Sir Harry Vane, that that famous republican opposed the Dutch war, and that it was the military gentlemen chiefly who supported that measure.
give
THE COMMONWEALTH. 211
give disgust to the States. They framed the famous chap. act of navigation ; which prohibited all nations from ^^• importing into England in their bottoms any com- "7652? modity which was not the growth and manufacture of their own country. By this law, though the terms in which it was conceived were general, the Dutch were principally affected ; because their coun- try produces few commodities, and they subsist chiefly by being the general carriers and factors of Europe. Letters of reprisal were granted to several merchants, who complained of injuries, which, they pretended, they had received fram the States ; and above eighty Dutch ships fell into their hands, and were made prizes. The cruelties committed on the English at Amboyna, which were certainly enor- mous, but which seemed to be buried in oblivion by a thirty years' silence, were again made the ground of complaint. And the allowing the mur- derers of Dorislaus to escape, and the conniving at the insults to which St. John had been exposed, were represented as symptoms of an unfriendly, if not a hostile, disposition in the States.
The States, alarmed at all these steps, sent orders to their ambassadors to endeavour the renewal of the treaty of alliance, which had been broken off by the abrupt departure of St. .John. Not to be unprepared, they equipped a fleet of a hundred and fifty sail, and took care, by their ministers at Lon- don, to inform the council of state of that arma- ment. This intelligence, instead of striking terror into the English republic, was considered as a me- nace, and farther confirmed the parliament in their hostile resolutions. The minds of men in both states were every day more irritated against each other ; and it was not long before these humours broke forth ^ into action.
Tromp, an admiral of great renown, received from the States the command of a fleet of forty-
P 2 two
1652.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
two sail, in order to protect the Dutch navigation against the privateers of the English. He was forced, by stress of weather, as he alleged, to take shelter in the road of Dover, where he met with Blake, who commanded an English fleet much in- ferior in number. Who was the aggressor in the action, which ensued between these two admirals, both of them men of such prompt and fiery dis- positions, it is not easy to determine ; since each of them sent to his own state a relation totally opposite in all its circumstances to that of the other, and yet supported by the testimony of every captain in his fleet. Blake pretended that, having giving a signal to the Dutch admiral to strike, Tromp, instead of complying, fired a broadside at him. Tromp asserted that he was preparing to strike, and that the Eng- lish admiral, nevertheless, began hostilities. It is certain that the admiralty of Holland, who are dis- tinct from the council of state, had given Tromp no orders to strike, but had left him to his own dis- cretion with regard to that vain but much contested ceremonial. They seemed willing to introduce the claim of an equality with the new commonwealth, and to interpret the former respect paid the Eng- lish flag as a deference due only to the monarchy. This circumstance forms a strong presumption against the narrative of the Dutch admiral. The whole Orange party, it must be remarked, to which Tromp was suspected to adhere, were desirous of a war with England.
Blake, though his squadron consisted only of fifteen vessels, reinforced, after the battle began, by eight under Captain Bourne, maintained the fight with bravery for five hours, and sunk one ship of the enemy, and took another. Night parted the combatants, and the Dutch fleet retired towards the coast of Holland. The populace of London were enraged, and would have insulted the Dutch
ambassadors.
1652.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 213
ambassadors, who lived at Chelsea, had not the council of state sent guards to protect them.
When the States heard of this action, of which the consequences were easily foreseen, they were in the utmost consternation. They immediately despatched Paw, pensionary of Holland, as their ambassador ex- traordinary to London, and ordered him to lay before the parliament the narrative which Tromp had sent of the late rencounter. They entreated them, by all the bands of their common religion and common liberties, not to precipitate themselves into hostile measures, but to appointcommissioners, who should examine every circumstance of the action, and clear up the truth, which lay in obscurity. And they pre- tended that they had given no orders to their admiral to offer any violence to the English, but would se- verely punish him, if they found, upon inquiry, that he had been guilty of an action which they so much disapproved. The imperious parliament would hearken to none of these reasons or remonstrances. Elated by the numerous successes which they had obtained over their domestic enemies, they thought that every thing must yield to their fortunate arms ; and they gladly seized the opportunity which they sought, of making war upon the States. They de- manded that, without any farther delay or inquiry, reparation should be made for all the damages which the English had sustained. And when this demand was not complied with, they depatched orders for commencing war against the United Provinces.
Blake sailed northwards with a numerous fleet, and fell upon the herring busses, which were escorted by twelve men of war. All these he either took or dispersed. Tromp followed him with a fleet of above a hundred sail. When these two admirals were within sight of each other, and preparing for battle, a furious storm attacked them. Blake took shelter in the English harbours. The Dutch fleet was dis- persed, and received great damage.
Sir
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Sir George Ayscue, though he commanded only forty ships, according to the English accounts, en- gaged, near Plymouth, the famous De Ruiter, who had under him fifty ships of war, with thirty mer- chantmen. The Dutch ships were indeed of inferior force to the English. De Ruiter, the only admiral in Europe, who has attained a renown equal to that of the greatest general, defended himself so well, that Ayscue gained no advantage over him. Night parted them in the greatest heat of the action. De Ruiter next day sailed off with his convoy. The English fleet had been so shattered in the fight, that it was not able to pursue.
Near the coast of Kent, Blake, seconded by Bourne and Pen, met a Dutch squadron nearly equal in numbers, commanded by De Witte and De Ruiter. A battle was fought much to the disadvan- tage of the Dutch. Their rear-admiral was boarded and taken. Two other vessels were sunk, and one blown up. The Dutch next day made sail towards Holland.
The English were not so successful in the Me- diterranean, Van Galen, with much superior force, attacked Captain Badily, and defeated him. He bought, however his victory with the loss of his life.
Sea-fights are seldom so decisive as to disable the vanquished from making head in a little time against the victors. Tromp, seconded by De Ruiter, met, near the Goodwins, with Blake, whose fleet was inferior to the Dutch, but who resolved not to decline the combat. A furious battle commenced, where the admirals on both sides, as well as the in- ferior oflScers and seamen, exerted great bravery. In this action the Dutch had the advantage. Blake himself was wounded. The Garland and Bonaven- ture were taken. Two ships were burned, and one sunk ; and night came opportunely to save the English fleet. After this victory, Tromp, in a
bravado,
1632. 1653.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 215
bravado, fixed a broom to his main-mast, as if he c h a p. were resolved to sweep the sea entirely of all English ^^• vessels.
Great preparations were made in England, in order to wipe off this disgrace. A gallant fleet of eighty sail was fitted out. Blake commanded, and Dean under him, together with Monk, who had been sent for from Scotland. When the English lay off Peb. i8. Portland, they descried, near break ofday, aDutch fleet of seventy-six vessels, sailing up the channel, along with a convoy of 300 merchantmen, who had received orders to wait at the Isle of Rhe, till the fleet should arrive to escort them. Tromp, and under him, De Ruiter, commanded the Dutch. This battle was the most furious that had yet been fought between these warlike and rival nations. Three days was the combat continued with the utmost rage and obstinacy ; and Blake, who was victor, gained not more honour than Tromp, who was vanquished. The Dutch admiral made a skilful retreat, and saved all the merchant ships, except thirty. He lost, how- ever, eleven ships of war, had 2000 men slain, and near 1500 taken prisoners. The English, though many of their ships were extremely shattered, had but one sunk. Their slain were not much inferior in number to those of the enemy.
All these successes of the English were chiefly owing to the superior size of their vessels ; an ad- vantage which all the skill and bravery of the Dutch admirals could not compensate. By means of ship- money, an imposition which had been so much complained of, and in some respects with reason, the late King had put the navy into a situation which it had never attained in any former reign ; and he ventured to build ships of a size which was then unusual. But the misfortunes which the Dutch met with in battle, were small in comparison of those which their trade sustained from the English.
Their
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Their whole commerce by the chamiel was cut off; even that to the Baltic was much infested by Eng- lish privateers. Their fisheries were totally suspended. A great number of their ships, above 1600, had fallen into the hands of the enemy. And all this distress they suffered, not for any national interests or necessity ; but from vain points of honour and personal resentments, of which it was difficult to give a satisfactory account to the public. They re- solved, therefore, to gratify the pride of the parlia- ment, and to make some advances towards peace. They met not, however, with a favourable reception ; and it was not without pleasure that they learned the dissolution of that haughty assembly, by the violence of Cromwell ; an event from which they expected a more prosperous turn to their affairs.
The zealous republicans in the parliament had not been the chief or first promoters of the war; but when it was once entered upon, they endeavoured to draw from it every possible advantage. On all occasions they set up the fleet in opposition to the army, and celebrated the glory and successes of their naval armaments. They insisted on the intolerable expense to which the nation was subjected, and urged the necessity of diminishing it, by a reduction of the land forces. They had ordered some regi- ments to serve on board the fleet in the quality of marines. And Cromwell, by the whole train of their proceedings, evidently saw that they had entertained a jealousy of his power and ambition, and were re- solved to bring him to a subordination under their authority. Without scruple or delay he resolved to prevent them.
On such firm foundations was built the credit of this extraordinary man, that though a great master of fiaud and dissimulation, he judged it superfluous to employ any disguise in conducting this bold en- terprise. He summoned a general council of officers;
and
THE COMMONWEALTH.
and immediately found that they were disposed to receive whatever impressions he was pleased to give them. Most of them were his creatures, had owed their advancement to his favour, and re- lied entirely upon him for their future preferment. The breach being already made between the mili- tary and civil powers, when the late King was seized at Holdenby ; the general officers regarded the parliament as at once their creature and their rival ; and thought that they themselves were entitled to share among them those offices and riches, of which its members had so long kept possession. Harrison, Rich, Overton, and a few others who retained some principle, were guided by notions so extrava- gant, that they were easily deluded into measures the most violent and most criminal. And the whole army had already been guilty of such illegal and atrocious actions, that they could entertain no farther scruple with regard to any enterprise which might serve their selfish or fanatical purposes.
In the council of officers it was presently voted to frame a remonstrance to the parliament. After com- plaining of the arrears due to the army, they there desired the parliament to reflect how many years they had sitten, and what professions they had form- erly made of their intentions to new model the repre- sentative, and establish successive parliaments, who might bear the burden of national affairs, from which they themselves would gladly, after so much danger and fatigue, be at last relieved. They confessed that the parliament had achieved great enterprises, and had surmounted mighty difficulties ; yet was it an injury, they said, to the rest of the nation to be excluded from bearing any part in the service of their country. It was now full time for them to give place to others ; and they therefore desired them, after settling a council who might execute the laws during the interval, to summon a new parliament,
and
1653.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
and establish that free and equal government, which
they had so long promised to the people.
53 The parliament took this remonstrance in ill
part, and made a sharp reply to the council of offi- cers. The officers insisted on their advice ; and by mutual altercation and opposition the breach became still wider between the army and the commonwealth. ^^- Cromwell, finding matters ripe for his purpose, called a council of officers, in order to come to a determination with regard to the public settlement. As he had here many friends, so had he also some opponents. Harrison having assured the council that the general sought only to pave the way for the government of Jesus and his saints, Major Streater briskly replied, that Jesus ought then to come quickly : For if he delayed it till after Christ- mas, he would come too late ; he would find his place occupied. While the officers were in debate. Colonel Ingoldsby informed Cromwell, that the par- liament was sitting, and had come to a resolution not to dissolve themselves, but to fill up the house by new elections ; and was at that very time engaged in deliberations with regard to this expedient. Crom- well, in a rage, immediately hastened to the house, and carried a body of 300 soldiers along with him. Some of them he placed at the door, some in the lobby, some on the stairs. He first addressed him- self to his friend St. John, and told him, that he had come with a purpose of doing what grieved him to the very soul, and what he had earnestly with tears besought the Lord not to impose upon him : But there was a necessity, in order to the glory of God and good of the nation. He sat down for some time, and heard the debate. He beckoned Harrison, and told him, that he now judged the parliament ripe for a dissolution. " Sir," said Harrison, "the " work is very great and dangerous ; I desire you ** seriously to consider, before you engage in it."
" You
THE COMMONWEALTH. 2 19
** You say well," replied the General ; and there- chap. upon sat still about a quarter of an hour. When ^^' the question was ready to be put, he said again to ^g^g Harrison, '* This is the time : I must do it." And suddenly starting up, he loaded the parliament with the vilest reproaches, for their tyranny, ambition, oppression, and robbery of the public. Then stamp- ing with his foot, which was a signal for the soldiers to enter, '* For shame," said he to the parliament, *' get you gone ; give place to honester men ; to *' those who will more faithfully discharge their *' trust. You are no longer a parliament : I tell " you, you are no longer a parliament. The Lord ** has done with you : He has chosen other instru- ** ments for carrying on his work." Sir Harry Vane exclaiming against this proceeding, he cried with a loud voice, " O Sir Harry Vane, Sir Harry " Vane ! The Lord deliver me from Sir Harry Vane !" Taking hold of Martin by the cloak, ** Thou art a whoremaster," said he. To another, " Thou art an adulterer." To a third, " Thou art " a drunkard and a glutton ;" "And thou an ex- " tortioner," to a fourth. He commanded a soldier to seize the mace. "What shall we do with this "bauble? Here take it away. It is you," said he, addressing himself to the house, " that have " forced me upon this. I have sought the Lord " night and day, that he would rather slay me than " put me upon this work." Having commanded the soldiers to clear the hall, he himself went out the last, and ordering the doors to be locked, de- parted to his lodgings in Whitehall.
In this furious manner, which so well denotes his genuine character, did Cromwell, without the least opposition, or even murmur, annihilate that famous assembly which had tilled all Europe with the renown of its actions, and with astonishment at its crimes, and whose commencement was not more
ardently
1653
;20 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
: H A P. ardently desired by the people than was its final dis- ^"^- solution. All parties now reaped successively the melancholy pleasure of seeing the injuries which they had suffered, revenged on their enemies ; and that too by the same arts which had been practised against them. The King had, in some instances, stretched his prerogative beyond its just bounds ; and aided by the church, had well nigh put an end to all the liberties and privileges of the nation. The presbyterians checked the progress of the court and clergy, and excited, by cant and hypocrisy, the po- pulace, first to tumults, then to war, against the. King, the peers, and all the royalists. No sooner had they reached the pinnacle of grandeur, than the independents, under the appearance of still greater sanctity, instigated the army against them, and reduced them to subjection. The independents, amidst their empty dreams of liberty, or rather of dominion, were oppressed by the rebellion of their own servants, and found themselves at once exposed to the insults of power and hatred of the people. By recent, as well as all ancient, example, it was become evident, that illegal violence, with whatever pretences it may be covered, and whatever object it may pursue, must inevitably end at last in the arbi- trary and despostic government of a single person.
[ 221 ]
CHAP. LXI.
Cromwell's Birth and private Life. — Barebone's Parliament.— Cromwell made Protector. — Peace with Holland. — A new Parliament. — Insurrection of the Royalists. — State of Europe. — War with Spain. — Jamaica conquered, — Success and Death of Admiral Blake. — Domestic Administration of Cromwell. — Humble Petition and Advice. — Dunkirk taken, — Sickness of of the Protector, — His Death and Character.
QLIVER CROMWELL, in whose hands the chap. ^-^ dissolution of the parliament had left the ^xi. whole power, civil and military, of three king- doms, was born at Huntingdon, the last year of crom-^ the former century, of a good family; though he weii'sbirtii himself, being the son of a second brother, inhe- vafeK rited but a small estate from his father. In the course of his education he had been sent to the uni- versity ; but his genius was found little fitted for the calm and elegant occupations of learning, and he made small proficiencies in his studies. He even threw himself into a dissolute and disorderly course of life ; and he consumed in gaming, drinking, debauchery, and country riots, the more early years of his youth, and dissipated part of his patrimony. All of a sudden the spirit of reformation seized him; he married, afiected a grave and composed behaviour, entered into all the zeal and rigour of the puritanical party, and offered to restore to every
one
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
one whatever sums he had formerly gained by gammg. The same vehemence of temper, which had transported him into the extremes of pleasure, now distinguished his religious habits. His house was the resort of all the zealous clergy of the party; and his hospitality, as well as his liberalities to the silenced and deprived ministers, proved as charge- able as his former debaucheries. Though he had acquired a tolerable fortune by a maternal uncle, he found his affairs so injured by his expenses, that he was obliged to take a farm at St. Ives, and apply himself, for some years, to agriculture as a profes- sion. But this expedient served rather to involve him in farther debts and difficulties. The long- prayers which he said to his family in the morning, and again in the afternoon, consumed his own time and that of his ploughmen ; and he reserved no leisure for the care of his temporal affairs. His active mind, superior to the low occupations to which he was condemned, preyed upon itself ; and he indulged his imagination in visions, illumina- tions, revelations ; the great nourishment of that hypochondriacal temper to which he was ever sub- ject. Urged by his wants and his piety, he had made a party with Hambden, his near kinsman, who was pressed only by the latter motive, to trans- port himself into New England, now become the retreat of the more zealous among the puritanical party ; and it was an order of council which obliged them to disembark and remain in England. The Earl of Bedford, who possessed a large estate in the Fen Country, near the Isle of Ely, having under- taken to drain these morasses, was obliged to apply to the King ; and by the powers of the prerogative, he got commissioners appointed, who conducted that work, and divided the new acquired land among the several proprietors. He met with opposition from many, among whom Cromwell distinguished
himself ;
I
\
^ THE COMMONWEALTH. 223
himself; and this was the first public opportunity chap. which he had met with of discovering the factious LXi. zeal and obstinacy of his character.
From accident and intrigue he was chosen by the town of Cambridge member of the long parliament. His domestic affairs were then in o-reat disorder; and he seemed not to possess any talents which could qualify him to rise in that public sphere into which he was now at last entered. His person was ungraceful, his dress slovenly, his voice untuneable, his elocution homely, tedious, obscure, and em- barrassed. The fervour of his spirit frequently prompted him to rise in the house ; but he was not heard with attention : His name, for above two years, is not to be found oftener than twice in any committee ; and those committees, into which he was admitted, were chosen for affairs which would I more interest the zealots than the men of business. In comparison of the eloquent speakers and fine gentlemen of the house, he was entirely overlooked ; and his friend Hambden alone was acquainted with the depth of his genius, and foretold that, if a civil war should ensue, he would soon rise to eminence and distinction.
Cromwell himself seems to have been conscious where his strength lay ; and partly from that motive, partly from the uncontrollable fury of his zeal, he always joined that party which pushed every thing to extremities against the King. He was active in promoting the famous remonstrance, which was the signal for all the ensuing commotions; and when, after a long debate, it was carried by a small ma- jority, he told Lord Falkland, that if the question had been lost, he was resolved next day to have converted into ready money the remains of his for- tune, and immediately to have left the kingdom. Nor was this resolution, he said, peculiar to him- self: Many others of his party he knew to be equally determined.
He .
HISTORY OF GREAT BRTTAIN.
He was no less than forty- three years of age when he first embraced the military profession ; and by force of genius, without any master, he soon became an excellent officer ; though perhaps he never reached the fame of a consummate com- mander. He raised a troop of horse ; fixed his quarters in Cambridge ; exerted great severity to- wards that university, which zealously adhered to the royal party ; and showed himself a man who would go all lengths in favour of that cause which he had espoused. He would not allow his soldiers to perplex their heads with those subtleties of fight- ing by the King's authority against his person, and of obeying his Majesty's commands signified by both houses of parliament : He plainly told them that, if he met the King in battle, he would fire a pistol in his face as readily as against any other man. His troop of horse he soon augmented to a regiment ; and he first instituted that discipline and inspired that spirit, which rendered the parliamentary armies in the end victorious. "Your troops," said he to Hambden, according to his own account", "are most of them old decayed serving men and tap- sters, and such kind of fellows ; the King's forces are composed of gentlemen's younger sons and persons of good quality. And do you think that the mean spirits of such base and low fel- lows as ours will ever be able to encounter gen- tlemen, that have honour and courage and reso- lution in them? You must get men of spirit, and take it not ill that I say, of a spirit that is likely to go as far as gentlemen will go, or else I am sure you will still be beaten, as you have " hitherto been, in every encounter." He did as he proposed. He inlisted the sons of freeholders and farmers. He carefully invited into his regiment all the zealous fanatics throughout England. When
« Conference held at Whitehall.
they
it
a
i(
*(
THE COMMONWEALTH.
they were collected in a body, their enthusiastic chap. spirit still rose to a higher pitch. Their colonel, from ^^^'
his own natural character, as well as from policy, 1653. was sufficiently inclined to increase the flame. He preached, he prayed, he fought, he punished, he rewarded. The wild enthusiasm, together with va- lour and discipline, still propagated itself; and all men cast their eyes on so pious and so successful a leader. From low commands he rose with great rapidity to be really the first, though in appearance only the second, in the army. By fraud and vio- lence, he soon rendered himself the first in the state. In proportion to the increase of his authority, his talents always seemed to expand themselves ; and he displayed every day new abilities, which had lain dormant till the very emergence by which they were called forth into action. All Europe stood asto- nished to see a nation so turbulent and unruly, who, for some doubtful encroachments on their privileges, had dethroned and murdered an excellent Prince, descended from a long line of monarchs, now at last subdued and reduced to slavery by one, who, a few years before, was no better than a private gentle- man, whose name was not known in the nation, and who was little regarded even in that low sphere to which he had always been confined.
The indignation, entertained by the people against an authority founded on such manifest usurpation, was not so violent as might naturally be expected. Congratulatory addresses, the first of the kind, were made to Cromwell by the fleet, by the army, even by many of the chief corporations and counties of England ; but especially by the several congrega- tions of saints, dispersed throughout the kingdom.^ The royalists, though they could not love the man who had embrued his hands in the blood of their
P See Milton's State Papers.
VOL. VII. Q Sovereign,
1653.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Sovereign, expected more lenity from him, than from the jealous and imperious republicans who had hi- therto governed. The presbyterians were pleased to see those men, by whom they had been outwitted and expelled, now in their turn expelled and outwitted by their own servant ; and they applauded him for this last act of violence upon the parliament. These two parties composed the bulk of the nation, and kept the people in some tolerable temper. All men like- wise, harassed with wars and factions, were glad to see any prospect of settlement : And they deemed it less ignominious to submit to a person of such admirable talents and capacity, than to a few ignoble enthusiastic hypocrites, who, under the name of a republic, had reduced them to a cruel subjection.
The republicans, being dethroned by Cromwell, were the party whose resentment he had the greatest reason to apprehend. That party, besides the inde- pendents, contained two sets of men, who are seem- ingly of the most opposite principles, but who were then united by a similitude of genius and of cha- racter. The first and most numerous were the millenarians, or fifth monarchy men, who insisted, that dominion being founded in grace, all distinc- tion in magistracy must be abolished, except what arose from piety and holiness ; who expected sud- denly the second coming of Christ upon earth ; and who pretended, that the saints in the mean while, that is, themselves, were alone entitled to govern. The second were the deists, who had no other object than political liberty, who denied entirely the truth of revelation, and insinuated, that all the various sects, so heated against each other, were alike founded in folly and in error. Men of such daring- geniuses were not contented with the ancient and legal forms of civil government ; but challenged a degree of freedom beyond what they expected ever to enjoy under any monarchy. Martin, Challoner,
Harrington,
1653.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 227
Harrington, Sidney, Wildman, Nevil, were esteem- chap. ed the heads of this small division. ^^^
The deists were perfectly hated by Cromwell, be- cause he had no hold of enthusiasm, by which he could govern or over-reach them ; he therefore treated them with great rigour and disdain, and usually denominated them the heathens. As the millenarians had a great interest in the army, it was much more important for him to gain their confi- dence; and their size of understanding afforded him great facility in deceiving them. Of late years, it had been so usual a topic of conversation to discourse of parliaments and councils and senates, and the sol- diers themselves had been so much accustomed to enter into that spirit, that Cromwell thought it re- quisite to establish something which might bear the face of a commonwealth. He supposed, that God, in his providence, had thrown the whole right, as well as power, of government into his hands ; and with- out any more ceremony, by the advice of his coun- cil of officers, he sent summons to a hundred and twenty-eight persons of different towns and counties of England, to five of Scotland, to six of Ireland. He pretended, by his sole act and deed, to devolve upon these the whole authority of the state. This Barebone's legislative power they were to exercise during fifteen ^^^^~ months, and they were afterwards to choose the same number of persons who might succeed them in that high and important office.
There were great numbers at that time, who made it a principle always to adhere to any power which was uppermost, and to support the esta- blished government. This maxim is not peculiar to the people of that age ; but what may be esteemed peculiar to them is, that there prevailed a hypocri- tical phrase for expressing so prudential a conduct : It was called a waiting upon Providence. When Providence, therefore, was so kind as to bestow on
Q 2 these
223 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, these men, now assembled together, the supreme LXi. authority, they must have been very ungrateful, if, in their turn, they had been wanting in complai- sance towards her. They immediately voted them- selves a parliament ; and having their own consent, as well as that of Oliver Cromwell, for their legisla- tive authority, they now proceeded very gravely to the exercise of it.
In this notable assembly were some persons of the rank of gentlemen ; but the far greater part were low mechanics ; fifth monarchy men, anabap- tists, antinomians, independents ; the very dregs of the fanatics. They began with seeking God by prayer: This office was performed by eight or ten gifted men of the assembly; and with so much success, that, according to the confession of all, they had never before, in any of their devotional exercises, enjoyed so much of the holy spirit as was then communicated to them.'' Their hearts were, no doubt, dilated when they considered the high dignity to which they sup- posed themselves exalted. They had been told by Cromwell, in his first discourse, that he never looked to see such a day, when Christ should be so owned.' They thought it, therefore, their
duty
1 Pail. Hist. vol. XX. p. 182.
f These are his expressions : " Indeed, I have but one word more " to say to you, though in that perhaps I shall show my weakness: " It is by way of encouragement to you in this work ; give me leave to " begin thus : I confess I never looked to have seen such a day as this, " it may be nor you neither, when Jesus Christ should be so owned as he " is at this day and in this work. Jesus Christ is owned this day by your |
" call, and you own him by your willingness to appear for him, and you " manifest this (as far as poor creatures can do) to be a day of the power 1 1 " of Christ. I know you will remember that scripture, he makes his people \ | " willing in the day of his power. God manifests it to be the day of the " power of Christ, having through so much blood and so much trial as 'i
" has been upon this nation, he makes this one of the greatest mercies, " next to his own son, to have his people called to the supreme authority. " God hath owned his son, and hath owned you, and hath made you to " own him. I confess, I never looked to have seen such a day ; I did not."
I suppose
THE COMMONWEALTH. 229
duty to proceed to a thorough reformation, and to chap. pave the way for the reign of the Redeemer, and for ^^^• that great work which, it was expected, the Lord ^ was to bring forth among them. All fanatics being consecrated by their own fond imaginations, natu- rally bear an antipathy to the ecclesiastics, who claim a .peculiar sanctity, derived merely from their office and priestly character. This parlia- ment took into consideration the abolition of the clerical function, as savouring of popery ; and the taking away of tithes, which they called a relick of Judaism. Learning, also, and the universities, were deemed heathenish and unnecessary : The common law was denominated a badge of the con- quest and of Norman slavery ; and they threatened the lawyers with a total abrogation of their pro- fession. Some steps were even taken towards an abolition of the chancery ', the highest court of judicature in the kingdom ; and the Mosaical law was intended to be established as the sole system of English jurisprudence.*
Of all the extraordinary schemes adopted by these legislators, they had not leisure to finish any, except that which established the legal solemnization of marriage by the civil magistrate alone, without the interposition of the clergy. They found them- selves exposed to the derision of the public. Among the fanatics of the house, there was an active member, much noted for his long prayers, ser- mons, and harangues. He was a leather-seller in London : His name, Praise-God Barebone. This
I suppose at this passage he cried : For he was very much given to weep- ing, and could at any time shed abundance of tears. The rest of the speech may be seen among Milton's State Papers, page 106. It is very curious, and full of the same obscurity, confusion, embairassment, and absurdity, which appear in almost all Oliver's productions.
" Whitlocke, p. 543. 548. « Conference held at Whitehall.
ridiculous
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
ridiculous name, which seems to have been chosen by some poet or allegorist to suit so ridiculous a per- sonage, struck the fancy of the people ; and they commonly affixed to this assembly the appellation of Barebone's parliament."
The Dutch ambassadors endeavoured to enter into negotiation with this parliament ; but though protestants and even presbyterians, they met with a bad reception from those who pretended to a sanc- tity so much superior. The Hollanders were re- garded as worldly-minded men, intent only on commerce and industry ; whom it was fitting the saints should first extirpate, ere they undertook that great work, to which they believed them- selves destined by Providence, of subduing Anti- christ, the man of sin, and extending, to the uttermost bounds of the earth, the kingdom of the
" It was usual for the pretended saints at that time to change their names from Henry, Edward, Anthony, William, which they regarded as heathenish, into others more sanctified and godly : Even the Nevr Testament names, James, Andrew, John, Peter, were not held in such regard as those which were borrowed from the Old Testament, Ilezekiah, Habbakuk, Joshua, Zerobabel. Sometimes a whole godly sentence was adopted as a name. Here are the names of a jury said to be enclosed in the county of Sussex about that time.
Accepted, Trevor of Norsham.
Redeemed, Compton of Battle.
Faint not, Hewit of Heathiield.
Make Peace, Heaton of Hare.
God Reward, Smart of Five- hurst.
Standfast on High, Stringer of Crowhurst.
Earth, Adams of Warbleton.
Called, Lower of the same.
Kill Sin, Pimple of Witham.
Return, Spelman of Watling. Be Faithful, Joiner of Britling. Fly Debate, Roberts of the same. Fight the good Fight of Faith,
White of Emer. More Fruit, Fowler of East Had-
ley. Hope for, Bending of the same. Graceful, Harding of Lewes. Weep not. Billing of the same. Meek, Brewer of Okeham.
See Brome's Travels into England, p. 279. " Cromwell," says Cleveland, " hath beat up his drums clean through the Old Testament. You may " learn the genealogy of our Saviour by the means of his regiment, " The muster-master has no other list than the first chapter of St. ** Matthew." The brother of this Praise-god Barebone had for name, If Christ had not died for you, you had been damned, Barebone. But the people, tired of this long name, retained only the last word, and commonly gave him the appellation of Damned Barebone.
Redeemer.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 231
Redeemer.'' The ambassadors finding themselves chap. proscribed, not as enemies of England, but of
Christ, remained in astonishment, and knew not less. which was most to be admired, the implacable spirit or egregious folly of these pretended saints.
Cromwell began to be ashamed of his legislature. If he ever had any design in summoning so pre- posterous an assembly, beyond amusing the populace and the army, he had intended to alarm the clergy and lawyers; and he had so far succeeded as to make them desire any other government, which might secure their professions, now brought into danger by these desperate fanatics. Cromwell him- self was dissatisfied, that the parliament, though they had derived all their authority from him, began to pretend power from the Lord", and to insist already on their divine commission. He had been careful to summon in his writs several per- sons entirely devoted to him. By concert, these met early ; and it was mentioned by some among them, that the sitting of this parliament any longer would be of no service to the nation. They hastened, i^tb Dec. therfore, to Cromwell, along with Rouse, their speaker ; and, by a formal deed or assignment, re- stored into his hands that supreme authority which they had so lately received from him. General Harrison and about twenty more remained in the house ; and that they might prevent the reign of the saints from coming to an untimely end, they placed one Moyer in the chair, and began to draw up protests. They were soon interrupted by Colonel White, with a party of soldiers. He asked them what they did there ? " We are seeking the Lord," said they. " Then you may go elsewhere," re- plied he: " For to my certain knowledge, he has ** not been here these many years."
" Thurloe, vol. i. p. 273. 591. Also Stubbe,p. 91, 92, " Thurloe, vol. i. p. 393.
Th^
32 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
HAP. The military being now in appearance, as well ^^^' as in reality, the sole power which prevailed in the nation, Cromwell thou ght fit to indulge in a new fancy : For he seems not to have had any deliberate plan in all these alterations. Lambert, his creature, who, under the appearance of obsequiousness to him, indulged an unbounded ambition, proposed in a council of officers to adopt another scheme of go- vernment, and to temper the liberty of a common- wealth by the authority of a single person, who should be known by the appellation of Protector. romweii Without delay, he prepared what was called the ade Pro- instrumerit of government , containing the plan of ^^^^' this new legislature ; and as it was supposed to be agreeable to the general, it was immediately voted by the council of officers. Cromwell was declared Protector; and with great solemnity installed in that high office.
So little were these men endowed with the spirit of legislation, that they confessed, or rather boasted, that they had employed only four days in drawing this instrument, by which the whole government of three kingdoms was pretended to be regulated and adjusted to all succeeding generations. There ap- pears no difficulty in believing them ; when it is considered how crude and undigested a system of civil polity they endeavoured to establish. The chief articles of the instrument are these : A council was appointed, which was not to exceed twenty- one, nor be less than thirteen, persons. These were to enjoy their office during life or good behaviour ; and in case of a vacancy, the remaining members named three, of whom the Protector chose one. The Protector was appointed supreme magistrate of the commonwealth : In his name was all justice to be administered ; from him were all magistracy and honours derived ; he had the power of pardon- ing all crimes, excepting murder and treason; to him the benefit of all forfeitures devolved.
The
1653.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 233
The right of peace, war, and alliance, rested in him; chap. but in these particulars he was to act by the advice ^^^• and with the consent of his council. The power of the sword was vested in the Protector jointly with the parliament, while it was sitting, or with the council of state in the intervals. He was obliged to summon a parliament every three years, and allow them to sit five months, without adjournment, proro- gation, or dissolution. The bills, which they passed, were to be presented to the Protector for his assent ; but if within twenty days it were not obtained, they were to become laws by the authority alone of par- liament. A standing army for Great Britain and Ireland was established, of 20,000 foot and 10,000 horse ; and funds were assigned for their support. These were not to be diminished without the consent of the Protector ; and in this article alone he as- sumed a negative. During the intervals of parlia- ment, the Protector and council had the poyver of enacting laws, which were to be valid till the next meeting of parliament. The chancellor, treasurer, admiral, chief governors of Ireland and Scotland, and the chief justices of both the benches, must be chosen with the approbation of parliament ; and in the intervals, with the approbation of the council, to be afterwards ratified by parliament. The Protector was to enjoy his office during life ; and on his death, the place was immediately to be supplied by the council. This was the instrument of government enacted by the council of officers, and solemnly sworn to by Oliver Cromwell. The council of state, named by the instrument, were fifteen men entirely devoted to the Protector, and by reason of the opposition among themselves in party and principles, not likely ever to combine against him.
Cromwell said that he accepted the dignity of Protector, merely that he might exert the duty of a constable, and preserve peace in the nation. Affairs
indeed
}4 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
HAP. indeed were brought to that pass by the furious ■^^^- animosities of the several factions, that the extensive authority and even arbitrary power of some first magistrate was become a necessary evil, in order to keep the people from relapsing into blood and con- fusion. The independents were too small a party ever to establish a popular government, or intrust the nation, where they had so little interest, with the free choice of its representatives. The presbyterians had adopted the violent maxims of persecution; in- compatible at all times with the peace of society, much more with the wild zeal of those numerous sects which prevailed among the people. The royal- ists were so much enraged by the injuries which they had suffered, that the other prevailing parties would never submit to them, who, they knew, were enabled, merely by the execution of the ancient laws, to take severe vengeance upon them. Had Cromwell been guilty of no crime but this temporary usurpation, the plea of necessity and public good, which he alleged, might be allowed, in every view, a reasonable excuse for his conduct.
During the variety of ridiculous and distracted scenes, which the civil government exhibited in Eng- land, the military force was exerted with vigour, con- duct, and unanimity ; and never did the kingdom appear more formidable to all foreign nations. The English fleet, consisting of a hundred sail, and com- manded by Monk and Dean, and under them by Pen and Lawson, met, near the coast of Flanders, with the Dutch fleet, equally numerous, and commanded by Tromp. The two republics were not inflamed by any national antipathy, and their interests very little interfered : Yet few battles have been disputed with more fierce and obstinate courage than were those many naval combats which were fought during this short, but violent war. The desire of remaining sole lords of the ocean animated these states to an
honourable
THE COMMONWEALTH. 235
honourable emulation against each other. After a chap. battle of two days, in the first of which Dean was ^^^' killed, the Dutch, inferior in the size of their ships, 1553. were obliged, with great loss, to retire into their harbours. Blake, towards the end of the fight, joined his countrymen with eighteen sail. The English fleet lay off the coast of Holland, and totally interrupted the commerce of that republic.
The ambassadors whom the Dutch had sent over to England, gave them hopes of peace. But as they could obtain no cessation of hostilities, the States, unwilling to suffer any longer the loss and dishonour of being blockaded by the enemy, made the utmost efforts to recover their injured honour. Never on any occasion did the power and vigour of that re- public appear in a more conspicuous light. In a few weeks they had repaired and manned their fleet; and they equipped some ships of a larger size than any which they had hitherto sent to sea. Tromp issued out, determined again to fight the victors, and to die rather than to yield the contest. He met with the enemy, commanded by Monk ; and both sides immediately rushed into the combat. Tromp, gal- Juiy29. lantly animating his men, with his sword drawn, was shot through the heart with a musket ball. This event alone decided the battle in favour of the English. Though near thirty ships of the Dutch were sunk and taken, they little regarded this loss compared with that of their brave admiral.
Meanwhile the negotiations for peace were con- tinually advancing. The States, overwhelmed with the expense of the war, terrified by their losses and mortified by their defeats, were extremely de- sirous of an accommodation with an enemy whom they found, by experience, too powerful for them. The King having shown an inclination to serve on board their fleet ; though they expressed their sense of the honour intended them, they declined an
offer
36 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
;hap. offer which might inflame the quarrel with the ^^^- English commonwealth. The great obstacle to the peace was found, not to be any animosity on the part of the English ; but, on the contrary, a desire, too earnest, of union and confederacy. Cromwell had revived the chimerical scheme of a coalition with the United Provinces ; a total conjunction of govern- 1654. ment, privileges, interests, and councils. This pro- ject appeared so wild to the States, that they won- thAinii. dered any man of sense could ever entertain it ; and they refused to enter into conferences with regard to a proposal, which could serve only to delay any 'ace with practicable scheme of accommodation. The peace jiiand. -wras ^t last signed by Cromwell, now invested with the dignity of Protector ; and it proves sufficiently, that the war had been impolitic, since, after the most signal victories, no terms more advantageous could be obtained. A defensive league was made between the two republics. They agreed each of them to banish the enemies of the other ; those who had been concerned in the massacre of Amboyna were to be punished if any remained alive ; the honour of the flag was yielded to the English ; eighty-five thousand pounds were stipulated to be paid by the Dutch East India Company for losses which the English company had sustained; and the island of Polerone in the East Indies was promised to be ceded to the latter.
Cromwell, jealous of the connections between the royal family and that of Orange, insisted on a se- parate article ; that neither the young Prince nor any of his family should ever be invested with the dignity of Stadtholder. The Province of Holland, strongly prejudiced against the office, which they esteemed dangerous to liberty, secretly ratified this article. The Protector, knowing that the other provinces would not be induced to make such a concession, was satisfied with this security.
The
I
1654.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 237
The Dutch war being successful, and the peace rea- chap. sonable, brought credit to Cromwell's administration. ^^^' An act of justice, which he exercised at home, gave likewise satisfaction to the people ; though the regu- larity of it may, perhaps, appear somewhat doubt- ful. Don Pantaleon Sa, brother to the Portuguese ambassador, and joined with him in the same com- mission^ , fancying himself to be insulted, came upon the exchange, armed and attended by several ser- vants. By mistake, he fell on a gentleman, whom he took for the person that had given him the offence ; and having butchered him with many wounds, he and all his attendants took shelter in the house of the Portuguese ambassador, who had connived at this base enterprise.^ The populace surrounded the house, and threatened to set fire to it. Cromwell sent a guard, who seized all the criminals. They were brought to trial: And notwithstanding the opposition of the ambassador, who pleaded the privileges of his office, Don Pantaleon was executed on Tower-hill. The laws of nations were here plainly violated : But the crime committed by the Portuguese gentleman was, to the last degree, atrocious ; and the vigorous chastisement of it, suiting so well to the undaunted character of Cromwell, was univer- sally approved of at home, and admired among foreign nations. The situation of Portugal obliged that court to acquiesce ; and the ambassador soon after signed with the Protector a treaty of peace and alliance, which was very advantageous to the En- glish commerce.
Another act of severity, but necessary in his situation, was, at the very same time, exercised by the Protector, in the capital punishment of Gerard and Vowel, two royalists, who were accused of conspiring against his life. He had erected a high court of justice for their trial ; an infringement of
y Thurloe, vol. ii. p. 429. * Ibid. vol. i. p. 616.
the
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
the ancient laws, which at this time was become familiar, but one to which no custom or precedent could reconcile the nation. Juries were found altogether unmanageable. The restless Lilburn, for new offences, had been brought to a new trial ; and had been acquitted with new triumph and exulta- tion. If no other method of conviction had been devised during this illegal and unpopular govern- ment, all its enemies were assured of entire impunity. The Protector had occasion to observe the preju- dices entertained against his government by the disposition of the parliament, which he summoned on the third of September, that day of the year on which he gained his two great victories of Dunbar and Worcester, and which he always regarded as fortunate for him. It must be confessed, that, if we are left to gather Cromwell's intentions from his in- strument of government, it is such a motley piece, that we cannot easily conj ecture, whether he seriously meant to establish a tyranny or a republic. On one hand, a first magistrate, in so extensive a government, seemed necessary both for the dignity and tranquillity of the state; and the authority, which he assumed as Protector, was, in some respects, inferior to the prerogatives, which the laws intrusted and still intrust to the King. On the other hand, the legis- lative power, which he reserved to himself and council, together with so great an army, independent of the parliament, were bad prognostics of his intention to submit to a civil and legal constitution. But if this were not his intention, the method in which he distributed and conducted the elections, being so favourable to liberty, forms an inconsistency which is not easily accounted for. He deprived of their right of election all the small boroughs, places the most exposed to influence and corruption. Of 400 members, which represented England, 270 were chosen by the counties. The rest were elected by London, and the more considerable corporations.
The
1634.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 239
The lower populace too, so easily guided or deceived, chap. were excluded from the elections : An estate of 200 ^^^ pounds value was necessary to entitle any one to a vote. The elections of this parliament were con- ducted with perfect freedom ; and, excepting that such of the royalists as had borne arms against the parliament and all their sons were excluded, a more fair representation of the people could not be de- sired or expected. Thirty members were returned from Scotland ; as many from Ireland.
The Protector seems to have been disappointed, when he found that all these precautions, which were probably nothing but covers to his ambition, had not procured him the confidence of the public. Though CromwelFs administration was less odious to every party, than that of any other party, yet was it en- tirely acceptable to none. The royalists had been instructed by the King to remain quiet, and to cover themselves under the appearance of republicans; and they found in this latter faction such inveterate hatred against the Protector, that they could not wish for more zealous adversaries to his authority. It was maintained by them, that the pretence of liberty and popular election was but a new artifice of this great deceiver, in order to lay asleep the deluded nation, and give himself leisure to rivet their chains more securely upon them : That in the in- strument of government be openly declared his intention of still retaining the same mercenary army, by whose assistance he had subdued the ancient established government, and who would with less scruple obey him, in overturning, whenever he should please to order them, that new system, which he himself had been pleased to model: That being sensible of the danger and uncertainty of all military government, he endeavoured to intermix some ap- pearance, and but an appearance, of civil administra- tion, and to balance the army by a seeming consent
of
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
of the people. That the absurd trial, which he had made, of a parliament elected by himself, ap- pointed perpetually to elect their successors, plainly proved, that he aimed at nothing but temporary expedients, was totally averse to a free republican government, and possessed not that mature and deli- berate reflection, which could qualify him to act the part of a legislator : That his imperious character, which had betrayed itself in so many incidents, could never seriously submit to legal limitations ; nor would the very image of popular government be longer upheld than while conformable to his arbi- trary will and pleasure : And that the best policy was to oblige him to take off the mask at once ; and either submit entirely to that parliament, which he had summoned, or, by totally rejecting its authority, leave himself no resource but in his seditious and enthusiastic army.
In prosecution of these views, the parliament, hav- ing heard the Protector's speech, three hours long, and having chosen Lenthal for their speaker, immedi- ately entered into a discussion of the pretended instru- ment of government, and of that authority which Cromwell, by the title of Protector, had assumed over the nation. The greatest liberty was used in arraigning this new dignity ; and even the personal character and conduct of Cromwell escaped not without censure. The utmost that could be obtained by the officers and by the court party, for so they were called, was to protract the debate by arguments and long speeches, and prevent the decision of a question, which, they were sensible, would be carried against them by a great majority. The Protector, surprised and en- raged at this refractory spirit in the parliament, which however he had so much reason to expect, sent for them to the painted chamber, and with an air of
great
» Thurloe, vol. ii.p, 588.
1654.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 241
great authority inveighed against their conduct, chap. He told them, that nothing could be more absurd ^^^' than for them to dispute his title ; since the same instrument of government which made them a par- liament, had invested him with the protectorship ; that some points in the new constitution were sup- posed to be fundamentals, and were not, on any pretence, to be altered or disputed ; that among these were the government of the nation by a single person and a parliament, their joint authority over the army and militia, the succession of new parlia- ments, and liberty of conscience ; and that, with re- gard to these particulars, there was reserved to him a negative voice, to which, in the other circum- stances of government, he confessed himself nowise entitled.
The Protector now found the necessity of exact- ing a security which, had he foreseen the spirit of
11 the house, he would with better grace have required at their first meeting. ^ He obliged the members to sign a recognition of his authority, and an en- gagement not to propose or consent to any alter- ation in the government, as it was settled in a single
I person and a parliament ; and he placed guards at the door of the house, who allowed none but sub- scribers to enter. Most of the members, after some hesitation, submitted to this condition ; but retained the same refractoxy spirit which they had discovered in their first debates. The instrument of govern- ment was taken in pieces, and examined, article by article, with the most scrupulous accuracy : Very free topics were advanced with the general appro- bation of the house: And during the whole course of their proceedings, they neither sent up one bill to the Protector, nor took any notice of him. Being informed, that conspiracies were entered into be- tween the members and some malecontent officers,
b Thurloe, vol. ii. p. 620.
VOL. VII. R he
J42 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, he hastened to the dissolution of so dangerous an ^^^- assembly. By the instrument of government, to which he had sworn, no parliament could be dis- solved till it had sitten five months ; but Cromwell pretended, that a month contained only twenty-eight days, according to the method of computation prac- tised in the paying the fleet and army. The full time, therefore, according to this reckoning, being elapsed, the parliament was ordered to attend the Protector, who made them a tedious, confused, angry harangue, and dismissed them. Were we to judge of Cromwell's capacity by this, and indeed by all |b his other compositions, we should be apt to enter- f tain no very favourable idea of it. But in the great variety of human geniuses, there are some which, though they see their object clearly and distinctly in general, yet, when they come to unfold its parts by discourse or writing, lose that luminous concep- tion which they had before attained. All accounts agree in ascribing to Cromwell, a tiresome, dark, unintelligible elocution, even when he had no in- tention to disguise his meaning : Yet no man's actions were ever, in such a variety of difficult incidents, more decisive and judicious.
The electing of a discontented parliament is a proof of a discontented nation : The angry and ab- rupt dissolution of that parliament is always sure to increase the general discontent. .The members of this assembly, returning to their counties, propa- gated that spirit of mutiny which they had exerted in the house. Sir Harry Vane and the old repub- licans, who maintained the indissoluble authority of the long parliament, encouraged the murmurs against the present usurpation ; though they acted so cautiously as to give the Protector no handle against them. Wildman and some others of that party carried still farther their conspiracies against the Protector's authority. The royalists, observing this general ill-will towards the establishment, could
no
THE COMMONWEALTH. 243
no longer be retained in subjection; but fancied chap. that every one who was dissatisfied like them, had ^^^^• also embraced the same views and inclinations. ~ They did not consider that the old parliamentary party, though many of them were displeased with Cromwell, who had dispossessed them of their power, were still more apprehensive of any success to the royal cause ; whence, besides a certain pros- pect of the same consequence, they had so much reason to dread the severest vengeance for their past transgressions.
In concert with the King' a conspiracy, was en- insunec-
o - i _ J _ . _ tionofthr
royalists.
tered into by the royalists throughout England, and *'°"*^^^^^
a day of general rising appointed. Information of this design was conveyed to Cromwell. The Pro- tector's administration was extremely vigilant. — Thurloe; his secretary, had spies every where. Manning, who had access to the King's family, kept a regular correspondence with him. And it was not difficult to obtain intelligence of a con- federacy, so generally diffused among a party who valued themselves more on zeal and courage, than on secrecy and sobriety. Many of the royalists were thrown into prison. Others, on the approach of the day, were terrified with the danger of the undertaking, and remained at home. In one place alone the conspiracy broke into action. Penruddoc, nth Mar, Groves, Jones, and other gentlemen of the west, entered Salisbury with about 200 horse ; at the very time when the sheriff and judges were holding the assizes. These they made prisoners; and they pro- claimed the King. Contrary to their expectations, they received no accession of force ; so prevalent was the terror of the established government. Hav- ing in vain wandered about for some time, they were totally discouraged ; and one troop of horse was able at last to suppress them. The leaders of the conspiracy, being taken prisoners, were capitally
R 2 punished.
1655.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
punished. The rest were sold for slaves, and trans- ported to Barbadoes.
The easy subduing of this insurrection, which, by the boldness of the undertaking, struck at first a great terror into the nation, was a singular felicity to the Protector ; who could not, without danger, have brought together any considerable body of his mutinous army, in order to suppress it. The very insurrection itself he regarded as a fortunate event ; since it proved the reality of those conspiracies, which his enemies, on every occasion, represented as mere fictions, invented to colour his tyrannical severities. He resolved to keep no longer any terms with the royalists, who, though they were not per- haps the most implacable of his enemies, were those whom he could oppress under the most plausible pretences, and who met with least countenance and protection from his adherents. He issued an edict, with the consent of his council, for exacting the tenth penny from that whole party ; in order, as he pretended, to make them pay the expenses to which their mutinous disposition continually exposed the public. Without regard to compositions, articles of capitulation, or acts of indemnity, all the royalists, however harassed with former oppressions, were obliged anew to redeem themselves by great sums ©f money ; and many of them were reduced by these multiplied disasters to extreme poverty. Whoever was known to be disaffected, or even lay under any suspicion, though no guilt could be proved against him, was exposed to the new exaction.
In order to raise this imposition, which com- monly passed by the name of decimation, the Pro- tector instituted twelve major-generals; and divided the whole kingdom of England into so many mili- tary jurisdictions. " These men, assisted by com- missioners, had power to subject whom they pleased
« Pari. Hist. vol. xx. p. 433.
to
THE COMMONWEALTH. 245
to decimation, to levy all the taxes imposed by the chap. Protector and his council, and to imprison any per- ^^^' son who should be exposed to their jealousy or sus- ^g^^ picion ; nor was there any appeal from them but to the Protector himself and his council. Under co- lour of these powers, which were sufficiently exor-- bitant, the major-generals exercised an authority' still more arbitrary, and acted as if absolute masters of the property and person of every subject. All reasonable men now concluded, that the very masque of liberty was thrown aside, and that the nation was for ever subject to military and despotic govern-^ ment, exercised not in the legal manner of Euro- pean nations, but according to the maxims of eastern tyranny. Not only the supreme magistrate owed his authority to illegal force and usurpation : He had parcelled out the people into so many subdivisions of slavery, and had delegated to his inferior ministers the same unlimited authority which he himself had so violently assumed.
A GOVERNMENT totally military and despotic is almost sure, after some time, to fall into impotence and languor : But when it immediately succeeds a legal constitution, it may, at first, to foreign na- tions, appear very vigorous and active, and may exert with more unanimity that power, spirit, and riches, which had been acquired under a better form. It seems now proper, after so long an in- state of terval, to look abroad to the general state of Eu- ^^"'^°P«- rope, and to consider the measures which England at this time embraced in its negotiations with the neighbouring Princes. The moderate temper and unwarlike genius of the two last Princes, the ex- treme difficulties under which they laboured at home, and the great security which they enjoyed from foreign enemies, had rendered them negligent of the transactions on the continent ; and England, during their reigns, had been in a manner over- •; looked in the general system of Europe. The bold
and
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
and restless genius of the Protector led him to ex- tend his alliances and enterprises to every part of Christendom ; and partly from the ascendant of his magnanimous spirit, partly from the situation of foreign kingdoms, the weight of England, even under its most legal and bravest Princes, was never more sensibly felt than during this unjust and vio- lent usurpation.
A WAR of thirty years, the most signal and most destructive that had appeared in modern annals, was at last finished in Germany*^ ; and by the treaty of Westphalia, were composed those fatal quarrels which had been excited by the Palatine's precipitate acceptance of the crown of Bohemia. The young Palatine was restored to part of his dignities and of his dominions.'' The rights, privileges, and au- thority of the several members of the Germanic body were fixed and ascertained : Sovereign Princes and free states were in some degree reduced to obe- dience under laws : And by the valour of the heroic Gustavus, the enterprises of the active Richelieu, the intrigues of the artful Mazarine, was in part eftected, after an infinite expense of blood and trea- sure, what had been fondly expected and loudly demanded from the feeble efforts of the pacific James, seconded by the scanty supplies of his jea- lous parliaments.
Sweden, which had acquired by conquest large dominions in the north of Germany, was engaged in enterprises which promised her, from her success and valour, still more extensive acquisitions on the side both of Poland and of Denmark. Charles X. who had mounted the throne of that kingdom after the voluntary resignation of Christina, being stimu- lated by the fame of Gustavus, as well as by his own martial disposition, carried his conquering
*■ In 1648. « This Prince, during the civil wars, had
sivich neglected his uncle, and paid court to the parliament. He accepted of a pension of £8000 a year from iheni, and took a place in their assembly of divines.
arms
THE COMMONWEALTH, 247
arms to the south of the Baltic, and gained the c n a p. celebrated battle of Warsaw, which had been obsti- ^^^- nately disputed during the space of three days. The 1055. Protector, at the time his alliance was courted by every power in Europe, anxiously courted the alli- ance of Sweden ; and he was fond of forming a con- federacy with a protestant power of such renown, even though it threatened the whole north with con- quest and subjection.
The transactions of the parliament and Protector with France had been various and complicated. The emissaries of Richelieu had furnished fuel to the flame of rebellion, when it first broke 6ut in Scot- land ; but after the conflagration had diff'used itself, the French court, observing the materials to be of themselves sufliciently combustible, found it unne- cessary any longer to animate the British malecon- tents to an opposition of their sovereign. On the contrary, they offered their mediation for compos- ing these intestine disorders ; and their ambassadors, from decency, pretended to act in concert with the court of England, and to receive directions from a Prince with whom their master was connected by so near an affinity. Meanwhile, Richelieu died ; • and soon after him the French King, Louis XIII. leaving his son, an infant four years old, and his widow, Anne of Austria, regent of the kingdom. Cardinal Mazarine succeeded Richelieu in the mi- nistry ; and the same general plan of policy, though by men of such opposite characters, was still con- tinued in the French councils. The establishment of royal authority, the reduction of the Austrian family, were pursued with ardour and success ; and every year brought an accession of force and gran- deur to the French monarchy. Not only battles were won, towns and fortresses taken ; the genius too of the nation seemed gradually to improve, and to compose itself to the spirit of dutiful obedience and of steady enterprise. A Cond6, a Turenne,
were
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
were formed ; and the troops, animated by their, valour, and guided by their discipline, acquired every day a greater ascendant over the Spaniards. All of a sudden, from some intrigues of the court, and some discontents in the courts of judicature, intestine commotions w^ere excited, and every thing relapsed into confusion. But these rebellions of the French, neither ennobled by the spirit of liberty, nor disgraced by the fanatical extravagances vs^hich distinguished the British civil vs^ars, were conducted with little bloodshed, and made but a small impres- sion on the minds of the people. Though seconded by the force of Spain, and conducted by the Prince of Conde, the malecontents, in a little time, were either expelled or subdued ; and the French mo- narchy, having lost a few of its conquests, re- turned with fresh vigour to the acquisition of new dominion.
The Queen of England and her son, Charles, during these commotions, passed most of their time at Paris; and notwithstanding their near connection of blood, received but few civilities, and still less support, from the French court. Had the Queen- regent been ever so much inclined to assist the Eng- lish Prince, the disorders of her own affairs would, for a long time, have rendered such intentions im- practicable. The banished Queen had a moderate pension assigned her ; but it was so ill paid, and her credit ran so low, that, one morning, when the Cardinal de Retz waited on her, she informed him that her daughter, the Princess Henrietta, was ob- liged to lie a-bed, for want of a fire to warm her. To such a condition was reduced, in the midst of Paris, a Queen of England, and daughter of Henry IV. of France !
The English parliament, however, having assumed the sovereignty of the state, resented the counte- nance, cold as it was, which the French court gave to the unfortunate monarch. On pretence of injuries,
of
THE COMMONWEALTH. 249
of which the English merchants complained, they chap. issued letters of reprisal upon the French; and ^^^ Blake went so far as to attack and seize the whole 1655. squadron of ships, which were carrying supplies to Dunkirk, then closely besieged by the Spaniards. That town, disappointed of these supplies, fell into the hands of the enemy. The French ministers soon found it necessary to change their measures. They treated Charles with such affected indifference, that he thought it more decent to withdraw and prevent the indignity of being desired to leave the kingdom. He went first to Spaw, thence he retired to Cologne ; where he lived two years on a small pension, about 6000 pounds a-year, paid him by the court of France, and on some contributions sent him by his friends in England. In the management of his family, he discovered a disposition to order and economy; and his temper, cheerful, careless, and sociable, was more than a sufficient compensation for that empire of which his enemies had bereaved him. Sir Edward Hyde, created lord chancellor, and the Marquis of Ormond, were his chief friends and confidants.
If the French ministry had thought it prudent to bend under the English parliament, they deemed it still more necessary to pay deference to the Protector, when he assumed the reins of government. Cardinal Mazarine, by whom all the councils of France were directed, was artful and vigilant, supple and patient, false and intriguing ; desirous rather to prevail by dexterity than violence, and placing his honour more in the final success of his measures, than in the splendour and magnanimity of the means which he employed. Cromwell, by his imperious character, rather than by the advantage of his situation, ac- quired an ascendant over this man ; and every pro- posal made by the Protector, however unreasonable in itself, and urged with whatever insolence, met with a ready compliance from the politic and timid
cardinal.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
cardinal. Bourdeaux was sent over to England as minister; and all circumstances of respect were paid to the daring usurper, who had embrued his hands in the blood of his sovereign, a Prince so nearly re- lated to the royal family of France. With indefati- gable patience did Bourdeaux conduct this negotia- tion, which Cromwell seemed entirely to neglect ; and though privateers, with English commissions, committed daily depredations on the French com- merce. Mazarine was content, in hopes of a fortu- nate issue, still to submit to these indignities. ^
The court of Spain, less connected with the unfortunate royal family, and reduced to greater distress than the French monarchy, had been still more forward in her advances to the prosperous parliament and Protector. Don Alonzo de Carde- nas, the Spanish envoy, was the first public minister who recognized the authority of the new republic ; and in return for this civility, Ascham was sent envoy into Spain by the parliament. No sooner had this Minister arrived in Madrid, than some of the banished royalists, inflamed by that inveterate hatred which animated the English factions, broke into his chamber, and murdered him, together with his secretary. Immediately they took sanctuary in the churches; and assisted by the general favour, which every where attended the royal cause, were enabled, most of them, to make their escape. Only one of the criminals suffered death ; and the parliament seemed to rest satisfied with this atone- ment.
Spain, at this time, assailed every where by vigorous enemies from without, and labouring under
f Thurloe, vol. iii. p. 103. 619. 653. In the treaty, which was signed after long negotiation, the Protector's name was inserted before the French King's in that copy which remained in England. Thurloe, vol.vi. p. 116. See farther, vol. vii. p. 178.
many
THE COMMONWEALTH. 251'
many internal disorders, retained nothing of her chap/j former grandeur, except the haughty pride of her ^^^' counsels, and the hatred and jealousy of her neighs "^655 bours. Portugal had rebelled, and established her monarchy in the house of Braganza : Catalonia, complaining of violated privileges, had revolted to France: Naples was shaken with popular convul-;, sions: The Low Countries were invaded with suitr perior forces, and seemed ready to change theifi, master : The Spanish infantry, anciently so forniiff^ dable, had been annihilated by Cond6 in the fields of Rocroy : And though the same Prince, banished France, sustained, by his activity and valour, the ^
falling fortunes of Spain, he could only hope to protract, not prevent, the ruin with which thafe: monarchy was visibly threatened. ; -
Had Cromwell understood and regarded the inter- ests of his country, he would have supported the declining condition of Spain against the dangerous ambition of France, and preserved that balance of power, on which the greatness and security of England so much depend. Had he studied only his own interests, he would have maintained an exact neutrality between those great monarchies ; nor would he have hazarded his ill-acquired and un- settled power, by provoking foreign enemies, who might lend assistance to domestic faction, and over- turn his tottering throne. But his magnanimity uft?^ dervalued danger : His active disposition, and avidity of extensive glory, made him incapable of repose;^ And as the policy of men is continually warped b.^j their temper, no sooner was peace made with Hol- land, than he began to deliberate what new ei^emy, he should invade with his victorious arms.
The extensive empire and yet extreme weakness War with of Spain in the "West Indies ; the vigorous courage P^'"* and great naval power of England ; were circumr.! stances which, when compared, excited the ambition
of
355.
2 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
iAP. of the enterprising Protector, and made him hope '^^- that he might, by some gainful conquest, render for ever illustrious that dominion which he had assumed over his country. Should he fail of these durable acquisitions, the Indian treasures, which must every year cross the ocean to reach Spain, were, he thought, a sure prey to the English navy, and would support his military force, without his laying new burthens on the discontented people. From France a vigorous resistance must be expected : No plunder, no con- quests, could be hoped for: The progress of his arms, even if attended with success, must there be slow and gradual: And the advantages acquired, however real, would be less striking to the multi- tude, whom it was his interest to allure. The royal family, so closely connected with the French mo- narch, might receive great assistance from that neighbouring kingdom; and an army of French protestants, landed in England, would be able, he ^ dreaded, to unite the most opposite factions against the present usurpation. ^
These motives of policy were probably seconded by his bigotted prejudices ; as no human mind ever contained so strange a mixture of sagacity and ab- surdity, as that of this extraordinary personage. The Swedish alliance, though much contrary to the in- terests of England, he had contracted merely from his zeal for protestantism '' ; and Sweden being closely connected with France, he could not hope to maintain that confederacy, in which he so much prided himself, should a rupture ensue between England and this latter kingdom. * The hugonots, he expected, would meet with better treatment,
6 See the account 6f the negotiations witli France and Spain, by Thurloe, vol. i. p. 759.
*■ He proposed to Sweden a general league and confederacy of all the pro- testants. Whitlocke, p. 620. Thurloe, vol. vii. p. 1. In order to judge of the maxims by which he conducted his foreign politics, see farther, Thurloe, vol. iv. p. 295. 343. 443, vol. vii. p. 174.
* Thurloe, vol. i. p. 759.
while
THE COMMONWEALTH.
while he engaged in a close union with their sove- chap reign. '' And as the Spaniards were much more __J^_ papists than the French, were much more exposed ^5^5 to the old puritanical hatred \ and had even erected the bloody tribunal of the inquisition, whose rigours they had refused to mitigate on Cromwell's solici- tation " ; he hoped that a holy and meritorious war with such idolaters could not fail of protection from heaven." A preacher likewise, inspired, as was supposed, by a prophetic spirit, bid him go and prosper : calling him a stone cut out of the moun- tains without hands, that would break the pride of the Spaniard, crush Antichrist, and make way for the purity of the Gospel over the tvhole world."
Actuated equally by these bigotted, these am- bitious, and these interested motives, the Protector equipped two considerable squadrons; and while he was making those preparations, the neighbouring states, ignorant of his intentions, remained in sus- pense, and looked with anxious expectation on what side the storm should discharge itself. One of these squadrons, consisting of thirty capital ships, was sent into the Mediterranean under Blake, whose fame was now spread over Europe. No English fleet, except during the Crusades, had ever before sailed in those seas ; and from one extremity to the other, there was no naval force, Christian or Mahometan, able to resist them. The Roman Pontiff, whose weakness and whose pride equally provoked attacks, dreaded invasion from a power which professed the most inveterate enmity against him, and which so little regulated its movements by the usual motives of interest and prudence. Blake, casting anchor before Leghorn, demanded and obtained from the Duke
'' Thurloe, vol. i. t). 759. ' Id. ibid-
"' Id. ibid. Doia Alonzo said, that the Indian trade and the in- quisition were his master's two eyes, and the Protector insisted upor\ the putting out both of them at once.
" Carrington, p. 191. "Bates.
of
HISTORt OF GREAT BRITAIN.
of Tuscany reparation for some losses which the English commerce had formerly sustained from him. He next sailed to Algiers, and compelled the Dey to make peace, and to restrain his piratical subjects from farther violences on the English. He presented himself before Tunis ; and having there made the same demands, the Dey of that republic bade him look to the castles of Porto Farino and Goletta, and do his utmost. Blake needed not to be roused by such a bravado : He drew his ships close up to the castles, and tore them in pieces with his artillery. He sent a nu- merous detachment of sailors in their long-boats into the harbour, and burned every ship which lay there. This bold action, which its very temerity, perhaps, rendered safe, was executed with little loss, and filled all that part of the world with the renown of English valour.
The other squadron was not equally successful. It was commanded by Pen, and carried on board 4000 men, under the command of Venables. About 5000 more joined them from Barbadoes and St. Christopher's. Both these officers were inclined to the King's service ;p and it is pretended that Crom- well was obliged to hurry the soldiers on board, in order to prevent the execution of a conspiracy which had been formed among them, in favour of the exiled family. '' The ill success of this enterprise may justly be ascribed, as much to the injudicious schemes of the Protector, who planned it, as to the bad execution of the officers by whom it was con- ducted. The soldiers were the refuse of the whole army : The forces, inlisted in the West Indies, were the most profligate of mankind : Pen and Venables were of incompatible tempers : The troops were liot furnished with arms fit for such an expedition : Their provisions were defective both in quantity
p Clarendon. <« Vita D. Berwici, p. 124,
and
THE COMMONWEALTH. 255
and quality : All hopes of pillage, the best incentive chap. to valour among such men, were refused the sol- ^^^• diers and seamen : No directions or intelligence ^^.^ were given to conduct the officers in their enter- prise : And at the same time they were tied down to follow the advice of commissioners who discon- certed them in all their projects. '
It was agreed by the admiral and general to at- Apiii 13. tempt St. Domingo, the only place of strength in the island of Hispaniola. On the approach of the English, the Spaniards, in a fright, deserted their houses, and fled into the woods. Contrary to the opinion of Venables, the soldiers were disembarked, without guides, ten leagues distant from the town. They wandered four days through the woods without pro- visions, and, what was still more intolerable in that sultry climate, without water. The Spaniards reco- vered spirit, and attacked them. The English, dis- couraged with the bad conduct of their officers, and scarcely alive from hunger, thirst, and fatigue, were unable to resist. An inconsiderable number of the enemy put the whole array to rout, killed 600 of them, and chased the rest on board their vessels.
The English commanders, in order to atone as much as possible for this unprosperous attempt, bent their course to Jamaica, which was surrendered to them without a blow. Pen and Venables returned to England, and were both of them sent to the Tower by the Protector, who, though commonly master of his fiery temper, was thrown into a violent passion at this disappointment. He had made a conquest of greater importance than he was himself at that time aware of; yet was it much inferior to the vast projects which he had formed. He gave orders, however, to support it by men and money; and that island has ever since remained in the hands of the
■■ Bnrchet's Naval History. See also Carte's Collection, vol. ii. p. 46, 47. Thurloe, vol. iii. p. 503.
' English ;
,0 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
English ; the chief acquisition which they owe to the enterprising spirit of Cromwell.
As soon as the news of this expedition, which was an unwarrantable violation of treaty, arrived in Europe, the Spaniards declared war against Eng- land, and seized all the ships and goods of English merchants, of which they could make themselves masters. The commerce with Spain, so profitable to the English, was cut oiF; and near 1500 vessels, it is computed', fell in a few years into the hands of the enemy. Blake, to whom Montague was now joined in command, after receiving new orders, pre- pared himself for hostilities against the Spaniards.
Several sea officers, having entertained scruples of conscience with regard to the justice of the Spanish war, threw up their commissions and re- tired.' No commands, they thought, of their su- periors, could justify a war, which was contrary to the principles of natural equity, and which the civil magistrate had no right to order. Individuals, they maintained, in resigning to the public their natural liberty, could bestow on it only what they them- selves were possessed of, a right of performing lawful actions, and could invest it with no autho- rity of cominanding what is contrary to the decrees of heaven. Such maxims, though they seem rea- sonable, are perhaps too perfect for human nature ; and must be regarded as one effect, though of the most innocent and even honourable kind, of that spirit, partly fanatical, partly republican, which pre- dominated in England.
Blake lay some time off Cadiz, in expectation of intercepting the Plate fleet, but was at last ob- liged, for want of water, to make sail towards Por- tugal. Captain Stayner, whom he had left on the coast with a squadron of seven vessels, came in
" Thurloe, vol. iv. p. 135. World's Mistake in Oliver Cromwell, iti the Harl. Miscel. vol. i. ' Thurloe, vol, iv. p. 570. 589.
sight
THE COMMONWEALTH. 257
sight of the galleons, and immediately set sail to c H a p. pursue them. The Spanish admiral ran his ship ^^^• ashore : Two others followed his example : The ~^ English took two ships valued at near two millions sept. of pieces of eight. Two galleons were set on tire; and the Marquis of Badajox, viceroy of Peru, with his wife, and his daughter betrothed to the young- Duke of Medina Celi, were destroyed in them. The Marquis himself might have escaped ; but seeing these unfortunate women, astonished with danger, fall in a swoon, and perish in the flames, he rather chose to die with them, than drag out a life embittered with the remembrance of such dismal scenes." When the treasures gained by this enter- prise arrived at Portsmouth, the Protector, from a spirit of ostentation, ordered them to be transported by land to London.
The next action against the Spaniards was more honourable, though less profitable to the nation. Blake, having heard that a Spanish fleet of sixteen ships, much richer than the former, had take shel- ter in the Canaries, immediately made sail towards them. He found them in the bay of Santa Cruz, disposed in a formidable posture. The bay was se- cured with a strong castle, well provided with can- non, besides seven forts in several parts of it, all united by a line of communication, manned with musqueteers. Don Diego Diagues, the Spanish admiral, ordered all his smaller vessels to moor close to the shore, and posted the larger galleons farther off, at anchor, with their broadsides to the sea.
Blake was rather animated than daunted with this appearance. The wind seconded his courage, and blowing full into the bay, in a moment brought him among the thickest of his enemies. After a resistance of four hours, the Spaniards yielded to English valour, and abandoned their ships, which
" Thurloe, vol. v. p. 443.
VOL. VII. s were
8 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
HAP. were set on fire, and consumed with all their trea- ^^^' sure. The greatest danger still remained to the 65t,, English. They lay under the fire of the castles and all the forts, which must in a little time have torn them in pieces. But the wind suddenly shifting, carried them out of the bay ; where they left the Spaniards in astonishment at the happy temerity of their audacious victors, d death This was the last and greatest action of the gallant uimirai Blake. He was consumed with a dropsy and scurvy, and hastened home, that he might yield up his breath in his native country, which he had so much adorned by his valour. As he came within sight of land, he expired,''' Never man, so zealous for a faction, was so much respected and esteemed even by the oppo- site factions. He was by principle an inflexible republican ; and the late usurpations, amidst all the trust and caresses which he received from the ruling powers, were thought to be very little grateful to him. It is still our duty, he said to the seamen, to Jight for our country, into what hatu/s soever the go- vernment may fall. Disinterested, generous, liberal; ambitious only of true glory, dreadful only to his avowed enemies ; he forms one of the most perfect characters of the age, and the least stained with those errors and violences which were then so pre- dominant. The Protector ordered him a pompous funeral at the public charge : But the tears of his countrymen were the most honourable panegyric on his memory.
The conduct of the Protector in foreign affairs, though imprudent and impolitic, was full of vigour and enterprise, and drew a consideration to his country, which, since the reign of Elizabeth, it seemed to have totally lost. The great mind of this successful usurper was intent on spreading the re- nown of the English nation ; and while he struck
'' 20th of April, 1657.
mankind
I
THE COMMONWEALTH. 259
mankind with astonishment at his extraordinary chap. fortune, he seemed to ennoble, instead of debasing, -^^^• that people whom he had reduced to subjection. It ^g^g was his boast, that he would render the name of an Englishman as much feared and revered as ever was that of a Roman; and as his countrymen found some reality in these pretensions, their national vanity being gratified, made them bear with more patience all the indignities and calamities under which they laboured.
It must also be acknowledged, that the Protector, JJ*J^^f^f in his civil and domestic administration, displayed as tration of great regard both to justice and clemency, as his Cromwell. usurped authority, derived from no law, and founded only on the sword, could possibly permit. All the chief offices in the courts of judicature were filled with men of integrity : Amidst the virulence of faction, the decrees of the judges were upright and impartial : And to every man but to himself, and to himself except where necessity required the contrary, the law was the great rule of conduct and behaviour. Vane and Lilburn, whose credit with the republicans and levellers he dreaded, were in- deed for some time confined to prison : Cony, who refused to pay illegal taxes, was obliged by menaces to depart from his obstinacy : High courts of jus- tice were erected to try those who had engaged in conspiracies and insurrections againstthe Protector's authority, and whom he could not safely commit to the verdict of juries. But these irregularities were deemed inevitable consequences of his illegal autho- rity. And though often urged by his officers, as is pretended ", to attempt a general massacre of the royalists, he always with horror rejected such san- guinary counsels.
In the army was laid the sole basis of the Pro- tector's power; and in managing it consisted the
" Clarendon, Life of Dr. Berwick, &c.
s 2 chief
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
chief art and delicacy of his government. The sol- diers were held in exact discipline ; a policy which both accustomed them to obedience, and made them less hateful and burdensome to the people. He augmented their pay ; though the public ne- cessities sometimes obliged him to run in arrears to them. Their interests, they were sensible, were closely connected with those of their general and protector. And he entirely commanded their affec- tionate regard, by his abilities and success in almost every enterprise which he had hitherto undertaken. But all military government is precarious ; much more where it stands in opposition to civil establish- ments; and still more where it encounters religious prejudices. By the wild fanaticism which he had nourished in the soldiers, he had seduced them into measures, for which, if openly proposed to them, they would have entertained the utmost aversion. But this same spirit rendered them more difficult to be governed, and made their caprices terrible even to that hand which directed their movements. So often taught, that the office of King was an usur- pation upon Christ, they were apt to suspect a Pro- tector not to be altogether compatible with that divine authority. Harrison, though raised to the highest dignity, and possessed of Cromwell's confi- dence, became his most inveterate enemy as soon as the authority of a single person was established, against which that usurper had always made such violent protestations. Overton, Rich, Okey, offi- cers of rank in the army, were actuated with like principles, and Cromwell was obliged to deprive them of their commissions. Their influence, which was before thought unbounded among the troops, seemed from that moment to be totally annihi- lated.
The more effectually to curb the enthusiastic and seditious spirit of the troops, Cromwell established a kind of militia in the several counties. Companies
of
;
THE COMMONWEALTH. 261
of infantry and cavalry were inlisted under proper chap. officers, regular pay distributed among them, and a _J^' resource by that means provided both against the ~\^q insurrections of the royalists, and mutiny of the army.
Religion can never be deemed a point of small consequence in civil government : But during this period, it may be regarded as the great spring of men's actions and determinations. Though trans- ported, himself, with the most frantic whimsies, Cromwell had adopted a scheme for regulating this principle in others, which was sagacious and po- litical. Being resolved to maintain a national church, yet determined neither to admit episcopacy nor presbytery, he established a number of commission- ers, under the name of tryerst partly laymen, partly ecclesiastics, some presbyterians, some indepen- dents. These presented to all livings, which were formerly in the gift of the crown ; they examined and admitted such persons as received holy orders; and they inspected the lives, doctrine, and behaviour of the clergy. Instead of supporting that union between learning and theology, which has so long been attempted in Europe, these tryers embraced the latter principle in its full purity, and made it the sole object of their examination. The candi- dates were no more perplexed with questions con- cerning their progress in Greek and Roman erudi- tion ; concerning their talent for profane arts and sciences : The chief object of scrutiny regarded their advances in grace, and fixing the critical moment of their conversion.
With the pretended saints of all denominations Cromwell was familiar and easy. Laying aside the state of Protector, which, on other occasions, he well knew how to maintain, he insinuated to them, that nothing but necessity could ever oblige him to invest himself with it. He talked spiritually to them ; he sighed, he wept, he canted, he prayed.
He
1656.
262 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. He even entered with them into an emulation of LXi. ghostly gifts ; and these men, instead of grieving to be outdone in their own way, were proud that his Highness, by his princely example, had dignified those practices in which they themselves were daily occupied.^
If Cromwell might be said to adhere to any par- ticular form of religion, they were the independents who could chiefly boast of his favour ; and it may be affirmed, that such pastors of that sect, as were not passionately addicted to civil liberty, were all of them devoted to him.
The presbyterian clergy also, saved from the ra- vages of the anabaptists and millenarians, and en- joying their establishments and tithes, were not averse to his government ; though he still enter- tained a great jealousy of that ambitious and restless spirit by which they were actuated. He granted an unbounded liberty of conscience to all but catho- lics and prelatists ; and by that means he both at- tached the wild sectaries to his person, and employ- ed them in curbing the domineering spirit of the pres- byterians. " I am the only man," he was often heard to say, " who has known how to subdue that inso- '* lent sect, which can suffer none but itself."
The protestant zeal which possessed the presby- terians and independents, was highly gratified by the haughty manner in which the Protector so successfully supported the persecuted protestants throughout all Europe. Even the Duke of Savoy,
y Cromwell followed, though but in part, the advice which he received from General Harrison at the time when the intimacy and endearment most strongly subsisted betwixt them. " Let the waiting upon Jehovah," said that military saint, " be the greatest and most considerable business " you have every day : Reckon it so, more than to eat, sleep, and council " together. Run aside sometimes from your company, and get a word " with the Lord. Why should not you have three or four precious souls " always standing at your elbow, with whom you might now and then turn " into a coiner? I have found refreshment and mercy in such away."
Milton's State Papers, p. 12.
so
THE COMMOx\WEALTH.
263
1656.
SO remote a power, and so little exposed to the naval chap. force of England, was obliged, by the authority of ^^^• France, to comply with his mediation, and to tole- rate the protestants of the valleys, against whom that Prince had commenced a furious persecution. France itself was constrained to bear not only with the religion, but even, in some instances, with the seditious insolence, of the hugonots ; and when the French court applied for a reciprocal toleration of the catholic religion in England, the Protector, who arrogated in every thing the superiority, would hearken to no such proposal. He had entertained a project of instituting a college, in imitation of that at Rome, for the propagation of the faith ; and his apostles, in zeal, though not in unanimity, had cer- tainly been a full match for the catholics.
Cromwell retained the church of England in constraint ; though he permitted its clergy a little more liberty than the republican parliament had formerly allowed. He was pleased that the superior lenity of his administration should in every thing be remarked. He bridled the royalists, both by the • army which he retained, and by those secret spies which he found means to intermix in all their coun- sels. Manning being detected and punished with death, he corrupted Sir Richard Willis, who was much trusted by Chancellor Hyde and all the royal- ists ; and by means of this man he was let into every design and conspiracy of the party. He could disconcert any project, by confining the persons who were to be the actors in it ; and as he restored them afterwards to liberty, his severity passed only for the result of general jealousy and suspicion. The secret source of his intelligence remained still unknown and unsuspected.
Conspiracies for an assassination he was chiefly afraid of; these being designs which no prudence or vigilance could evade. Colonel Titus, under the name of i^llen, had written a spirited discourse,
exhorting
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
elxhortmg every one to embrace this method of ven- geance ; and Cromwell knew that the inflamed minds of the royal party were sufficiently disposed to put the doctrine in practice against him. He openly told them, that assassinations were base and odious, and he never would commence hostilities by so shameful an expedient ; but if the first attempt or provocation came from them, he would retaliate to the uttermost. He had instruments, he said, whom he could employ ; and he never would desist till he had totally exterminated the royal family. This menace, more than all his guards, contributed to the security of his person.*
^<^ There was no point about which the Protector was more solicitous than to procure intelligence. This article alone, it is said, cost him sixty thousand pounds a year. Postmasters, both at home and abroad, were in his pay : Carriers were searched or bribed : Secretaries and clerks were corrupted : The greatest zealots in all parties were often those who conveyed private information to him : And nothing could escape his vigilant inquiry. Such at least is the representa- tion made by historians of Cromwell's administration : But it must be confessed, that if we may judge by those volumes of Thurloe's papers, which have been lately published, this affair, like many others, has been greatly magnified. We scarcely find, by that collec- tion, that any secret counsels of foreign states, except those of Holland, which are not expected to be con- cealed, were known to the Protector.
The general behaviour and deportment of this man, who had been raised from a very private station, who had passed most of his youth in the country, and who was still constrained so much to frequent bad company, was such as might befit the greatest monarch. He maintained a dignity without either affectation or ostentation ; and supported with all strangers that high idea with which his great
* See note [K], at the end of the volume.
exploits
THE COMMONWEALTH. »?► 265
exploits and prodigious fortune had impressed them. chap. Among his ancient friends he could relax himself; ^^^• and by trifling and amusement, jesting and making "^ele" verses, he feared not exposing himself to their most familiar approaches. ^ With others, he sometimes pushed matters to the length of rustic buffoonery ; and he would amuse himself by putting burning coals into the boots and hose of the officers who at- tended him. "" Before the King's trial, a meeting was agreed on between the chiefs of the republican party and the general officers, in order to concert the model of that free government which they were to substitute in the room of the monarchical consti- tution, now totally subverted. After debates on this subject, the most important that could fall un- der the discussion of human creatures, Ludlow tells us, that Cromwell, by way of frolic, threw a cushion at his head; and when Ludlow took up another cushion in order to return the compliment, the general ran down stairs, and had almost fallen in the hurry. When the high court of justice was signing the warrant for the execution of the King, a matter, if possible, still more serious, Cromwell, taking the pen in his hand, before he subscribed his name, bedaubed with ink the face of Martin, who sat next him. And the pen being delivered to Martin, he practised the same frolic upon Crom- well." He frequently gave feasts to his inferior officers ; and when the meat was set upon the table, a signal was given ; the soldiers rushed in upon them ; and with much noise, tumult, and confusion, ran away with all the dishes, and disappointed the guests of their expected meal. "*
That vein of frolic and pleasantry which made a part, however inconsistent, of Cromwell's charac- ter, was apt sometimes to betray him into other in- consistencies, and to discover itself even where
a Whitlocke, p. 647. •' Bates.
• Trial of the Riegicides. '^ Bates.
religion
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
religion might seem to be a little concerned. It is a tradition, that, one day, sitting at table, the Protector had a bottle of wine brought him, of a kind which he valued so highly, that he must needs open the bottle himself: But in attempting it, the cork-screw dropt from his hand. Immediately his courtiers and generals flung themselves on the floor to re- cover it. Cromwell burst out a-laughing. Should any fool, said he, put in his head at the door, he would fancy, from your posture, that you ivere seek- ing the Lord ; and you are only seeki?ig a cork-screw.
Amidst all the unguarded play and buflbonery of this singular personage, he took the opportunity of remarking the characters, designs, and weak- nesses of men ; and he would sometimes push them, by an indulgence in wine, to open to him the most secret recesses of their bosom. Great regularity however, and even austerity of manners, were always maintained in his court ; and he was careful never by any liberties to give offence to the most rigid of the godly. Some state was upheld ; but with little expense, and without any splendour. The nobi- lity, though courted by him, kept at a distance, and disdained to intermix with those mean persons who were the instruments of his government. Without departing from economy, he was generous to those who served him ; and he knew how to find out and engage in his interests every man possessed of those talents which any particular employment demanded. His generals, his admirals, his judges, his ambassa- dors, were persons who contributed, all of them in their several spheres, to the security of the Protector, and to the honour and interest of the nation.
Under pretence of uniting Scotland and Ireland in one commonwealth with England, Cromwell had reduced those kingdoms to a total subjection ; and he treated them entirely as conquered provinces. The civil administration of Scotland was placed in a council, consisting mostly of English, of which Lord
Broghil
1656.
THE COMMONWEALTHiT^fH '267
Broghil was president. Justice was administered chap. by seven judges, four of whom were English. In ^^^' order to curb the tyrannical nobility, he both abo- lished all vassalage % and revived the office of justice of peace, which King James had introduced, but was not able to support/ A long line of forts and garrisons was maintained throughout the kingdom. An army of 10,000 men^ kept every thing in peace and obedience ; and neither the banditti of the moun- tains, nor the bigots of the low countries, could in- dulge their inclination to turbulence and disorder. He courted the presbyterian clergy ; though he nou- rished that intestine enmity which prevailed between the resolutioners and protesters ; and he found that very little policy was requisite to foment quarrels among theologians. He permitted no church assem- blies ; being sensible that from thence had proceed- ed many of the past disorders. And, in the main, the Scots were obliged to acknowledge, that never before, while they enjoyed their irregular factious liberty, had they attained so much happiness as at present when reduced to subjection under a foreign nation.
The Protector's administration of Ireland was more severe and violent. The government of that island was first intrusted to Fleetwood, a notorious fanatic, who had married Ireton's widow ; then to Henry Cromwell, second son of the Protector, a young man of an amiable, mild disposition, and not destitute of vigour and capacity. Above five millions of acres, forfeited either by the popish re- bels or by the adherents of the King, were divided partly among the adventurers, who had advanced money to the parliament, partly among the English soldiers, who had arrears due to them. Examples of a more sudden and violent change of property are scarcely to be found in any history. An order
« Whitlocke, p. 570. • Thurloe, vol. iv. p. 57.
5 Thurloe, vol. vi. p. 557.
was
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
was even issued to confine all the native Irish to the province of Connaught, where they would be shut up by rivers, lakes, and mountains ; and could not, it was hoped, be any longer dangerous to the Eng- lish government : But this barbarous and absurd policy, which, from an impatience of attaining imme- diate security, must have depopulated all the other provinces, and rendered the English estates of no value, was soon abandoned as impracticable.
Cromwell began to hope that, by his adminis- tration, attended with so much lustre and success abroad, so much order and tranquillity at home, he had now acquired such authority as would enable him to meet the representatives of the nation, and would assure him of their dutiful compliance with his government. He summoned a parliament ; but, not trusting altogether to the good-will of the people, he used every art, which his new model of representation allowed him to employ, in order to influence the elections, and fill the house with his own creatures. Ireland, being entirely in the hands of the army, chose few but such officers as were most acceptable to him. Scotland showed a like compliance ; and as the nobility and gentry of that kingdom regarded their attendance on English par- liaments as an ignominious badge of slavery, it was, on that account, more easy for the officers to pre- vail in the elections. Notwithstanding all these pre- cautions, the Protector still found that the majority would not be favourable to him. He set guards, therefore, on the door, who permitted none to enter but such as produced a warrant from his council ; and the council rejected about a hundred, who either refused a recognition of the Protector's government, or were on other accounts obnoxious to him. These protested against so egregious a vio- lence, subversive of all liberty ; but every applica- tion for redress was neglected both by the council and the parliament.
The
THE COMMONWEALTH. 269
The majority of the parliament, by means of chap. these arts and violences, was now at last either ^^i- friendly to the Protector, or resolved by their com- 771 pliance to adjust, if possible, this military govern- ment to their laws and liberties. They voted a renun- ciation of all title in Charles Stuart, or any of his family ; and this was the first act, dignified with the appearance of national consent, which had ever had that tendency. Colonel Jephson, in order to sound the inclinations of the house, ventured to move, that the parliament should bestow the crown on Crom- well ; and no surprise or reluctance was discovered on the occasion. When Cromwell afterwards asked Jephson what induced him to make such a motion ; " As long," said Jephson, " as I have the honour to " sit in parliament, I must follow the dictates of *' my own conscience, whatever offence I may be " so unfortunate as to give you." " Get thee gone," said Cromwell, giving him a gentle blow on the shoulder, " get thee gone, for a mad fellow as thou art."
In order to pave the way to this advancement, for which he so ardently longed, Cromwell resolved to sacrifice his major-generals, whom he knew to be extremely odious to the nation. That measure was also become necessary for his own security. All government, purely military, fluctuates perpetually, between a despotic monarchy and a despotic aristo- cracy, according as the authority of the chief com- mander prevails, or that of the officers next him in rank and dignity. The major-generals, being pos- sessed of so much distinct jurisdiction, began to establish a separate title to power, and had rendered themselves formidable to the Protector himself; and for this inconvenience, though he had not foreseen it, he well knew, before it was too late, to provide a proper remedy. Claypole, his son-in-law, who pos- sessed his confidence, abandoned them to the plea- sure of the house ; and though the name was still
retained,
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
retained, it was agreed to abridge, or rather entirely
annihilate, the power of the major-generals.
1656. At length, a motion in form was made by
Alderman Pack, one of the city members, for in- vesting the Protector with the dignity of King. This motion, at first, excited great disorder, and divided the whole house into parties. The chief opposition came from the usual adherents of the Protector, the major-generals, and such officers as depended on them. Lambert, a man of deep intrigue, and of great interest in the army, had long enter- tained the ambition of succeeding Cromwell in the protectorship ; and he foresaw, that if the monarchy were restored, hereditary right would also be esta- blished, and the crown be transmitted to the posterity of the Prince first elected. He pleaded, therefore, conscience ; and rousing all those civil and religious jealousies against kingly government, which had been so industriously encouraged among the soldiers, and which served them as a pretence for so many vio- lences, he raised a numerous and still more formida- ble party, against the motion.
On the other hand, the motion was supported by every one who was more particularly devoted to the Protector, and who hoped, by so acceptable a mea- sure, to pay court to the prevailing authority. Many persons also, attached to their country, despaired of ever being able to subvert the present illegal establish- ment ; and were desirous, by fixing it on ancient foundations, to induce the Protector, from views of his own safety, to pay a regard to the ancient laws and liberties of the kingdom. Even the royalists imprudently joined in the measure; and hoped that, when the question regarded only persons, not forms of government, no one would any longer balance between the ancient royal family and an ignoble usurper, who, by blood, treason, and perfidy, had made his way to the throne. The bill was voted by a considerable majority ; and a committee was
appointed
THE COMMONWEALTH. 271
appointed to reason with the Protector, and to over- chap. come those scruples which he pretended against ac- ^^^' cepting so liberal an offer. "7Z
The conference lasted for several days. The com- gth April. mittee urged, that all the statutes and customs of England were founded on the supposition of regal authority, and could not, without extreme violence, be adjusted to any other form of government : That a Protector, except during the minority of a King, was a name utterly unknown to the laws ; and no' man was acquainted with the extent or limits of his authority : That if it were attempted to define every part of his jurisdiction, many years, if not ages, would be required for the execution of so compli- cated a work ; if the whole power of the King were at once transferred to him, the question was plainly about a name, and the preference was indisputably due to the ancient title : That the English constitution was more anxious concerning the form of govern- ment than concerning the birth-right of the first magistrate, and had provided, by an express law of Henry VII., for the security of those who act in defence of the King in being, by whatever means he might have acquired possession: That it was extremely the interest of all his Highness's friends, to seek the shelter of this statute ; and even the people in ge- neral were desirous of such a settlement, and in all juries were with great difficulty induced to give their verdict in favour of a Protector : That the great source of all the late commotions had been the jealousy of liberty ; and that a republic, together with a Protector, had been established, in order to provide farther securities for the freedom of the con- stitution ; but that by experience the remedy had been found insufficient, even dangerous and perni- cious ; since every undeterminate power, such as that of a Protector, must be arbitrary; and the more arbitrary, as it was contrary to the genius and inclination of the people.
The
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
The difficulty consisted not in persuading Crom- well. He was sufficiently convinced of the solidity of these reasons; and his inclination, as well as judge- ment, was entirely on the side of the committee. But how to bring over the soldiers to the same way of thinking was the question. The office of King had been painted to them in such horrible colours, that there were no hopes of reconciling them sud- denly to it, even though bestowed upon their general, to whom they were so much devoted. A contra- diction, open and direct, to all past professions, would make them pass, in the eyes of the whole nation, for the most shameless hypocrites, inlisted, by no other than mercenary motives, in the cause of the most perfidious traitor. Principles, such as they were, had been encouraged in them by every consideration, human and divine ; and though it was easy, where interest concurred, to deceive them by the thinnest disguises, it might be found dangerous at once to pull off the mask, and to show them, in a full light, the whole crime and deformity of their conduct. Suspended between these fears, and his own most ardent desires, Cromwell protracted the time, and seemed still to oppose the reasonings of the com- mittee ; in hopes that by artifice he might be able to reconcile the refractory minds of the soldiers to his new dignity.
While the Protector argued so much in contra- diction, both to his judgement and inclination, it is no wonder that his elocution, always confused, embar- rassed, and unintelligible, should be involved in ten- fold darkness, and discover no glimmering of com- mon sense or reason. An exact account of this conference remains, and may be regarded as a great curiosity. The members of the committee, in their reasonings, discover judgement, knowledge, elocu- tion : Lord Broghil, in particular, exerts himself on this memorable occasion. But what a contrast, when we pass to the Protector's re])lies ! After so
singular
^ (
I
I
1657.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 273
singular a manner does nature distribute her talents, chap. that in a nation abounding with sense and learning, ^-^^^ a man who, by superior personal merit alone, had made his way to supreme dignity, and had even obliged the parliament to make him a tender of the crown, was yet incapable of expressing him- self on this occasion, but in a manner which a peasant of the most ordinary capacity would justly be ashamed of.''
The opposition which Cromwell dreaded, was not that which came from Lambert and his adhe- rents, whom he now regarded as capital enemies, and whom he was resolved, on the first occasion, to
•■ We shall pioduce any passage at random: For his discourse is all of a piece. " I confess, for it behoves me to deal plainly with you, I must " confess, I would say, I hope, I may be understood in this ; for indeed " I must be tender what I say to sucli an audience as this ; I say I would " be understood, that in this argument I do not make parallel betwixt " men of a different mind and a parliament, which shall have their de- " sires. I know there is no comparison, nor can it be urged upon me, " that my words have the least colour that way, because the parliament " seems to give liberty to me to say any thing to you ; as that, that is a "tender of my humble reasons and judgement and opinioai to them ; and *' if I think they are such, and will be such to them, and are faithful ser- " vants, and will be so to the supreme authority, and the legislative, " wheresoever it is : If, I say, I should not tell you ; knowing their minds " to be so, I should not be faithful, if I should not tell you so, to the end "you may report it to the parhament : 1 shall say something for myself, " for my own mind, I do profess it, I am not a man scrupulous about " words or names of such ttiings I have not : But as 1 have the word of " God, and I hope I shall ever have it, for the rule of my conscience, " for my informations ; so truly men that have been led in dark paths, " through the providence and dispensation of God ; why, surely, it is not " to be objected to a man ; for who can love to walk in the dark 't But " Providence does so dispose. And though a man may impute his own " folly and blindness to providence sinfully, yet it must be at my peril ; " the case may be that it is the providence of God that doth lead men " in darkness ; I must need say, that I have had a great deal of expe- " rience of providence, and though it is no rule without or against, the " word, yet it is a very good expositor of the word in many casos.*' Conference at Whitehall. The great defect in Oliver's speeches consists, not in his want of elocution, but in his want of ideas. The sagacity of his actions, and the absurdity of his discourse, form the most prodigious contrast that ever was known. The coUfection of all his speeches, letters, sermons, (for he also wrote sermons,) would make a great curiosity, and, with a few exceptions, might justly pass for one of the most nonsensical books in the world.
vdi'^I'^vii. T deprive
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
deprive of all power and authority : It was that which he met with in his own family, and from men, who, by interest as well as inclination, were the most devoted to him. Fleetwood had married his daughter : Desborow, his sister : Yet these men, actuated by principle alone, could by no persuasion, artifice, or entreaty, be induced to consent, that their friend and patron should be invested with regal dignity. They told him that, if he accepted of the crown, they would instantly throw up their commissions, and never afterwards should have it in their power to serve him.' Colonel Pride pro- cured a petition against the office of King, signed by a majority of the officers who were in London and the neighbourhood. Several persons, it is said, had entered into an engagement to murder the Protector within a few hours after he should have accepted the offer of the parliament. Some sudden mutiny in the army was justly dreaded. And upon the whole, Cromwell, after the agony and perplexity of long doubt, was at last obliged to refuse that crown, which the representatives of the nation, in the most solemn manner, had tendered to him. Most historians are inclined to blame his choice ; but he must be allowed the best judge of his own situation. And in such complicated subjects, the alteration of a very minute circumstance, unknown to the spectator, will often be sufficient to cast the balance, and render a determination, which, in itself, may be uneligible, very prudent, or even absolutely necessary to the actor.
A DREAM or prophecy. Lord Clarendon mentions, which he affirms, (and he must have known the truth,) was universally talked of, almost from the beginning of the civil wars, and long before Cromwell was so considerable a person as to bestow upon it any degree of probability. In this prophecy it was
' Thurloe, vol. vi. p. 261.
foretold
THE COMMONWEALTH. 275
foretold that Cromwell should be the greatest man chap. in England, and would nearly, but never would ^^^• fully, mount the throne. Such a prepossession pro- ~~.7Z bably arose from the heated imagination, either of himself or of his followers ; and as it might be one cause of the great progress which he had already made, it is not an unlikely reason which may be assigned for his refusing, at this time, any farther elevation.
The parliament, when the regal dignity was re- jected by Cromwell, found themselves obliged to retain the name of a commonwealth and protector ; and as the government was hitherto a manifest usurpation, it was thought proper to sanctify it by a seeming choice of the people and their repre- sentatives. Instead of the instrument of government, which was the work of the general officers alone, an humble petition and advice was framed, and offered Humble to the Protector, by the parliament. This was re- ^^^^^ presented as the great basis of the republican esta- vice. blishment, regulating and limiting the powers of each member of the constitution, and securing the liberty of the people to the most remote posterit}^ By this deed, the authority of Protector was, in some parti- culars, enlarged : In others, it was considerably diminished. He had the power of nominating his successor ; he had a perpetual revenue assigned him, a million a year for the pay of the fleet and army, three hundred thousand pounds for the sup- port of civil government ; and he had authority to name another house, who should enjoy their seats during life, and exercise some functions of the former house of peers. But he abandoned the power assumed in the intervals of parliament, of framing laws with the consent of his council ; and he agreed that no members of either house should be excluded but by the consent of that house of which they were members. The other articles were, in the main, the same as in the instrument of
T 2 government.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
government. The instrument of government Crom- well had formerly extolled, as the most perfect work of human invention : He now represented it as a rotten plank, upon which no man could trust himself without sinking. Even the humble petition and ad- vice, which he extolled in its turn, appeared so lame and imperfect, that it was found requisite, this very session, to mend it by a supplement ; and after all, it may be regarded as a crude and undigested model of government. It was, however, accepted for the voluntary deed of the whole people in the three united nations ; and Cromwell, as if his power had just commenced from this popular consent, was anew inaugurated in Westminster-hall, after the most so- lemn and most pompous manner.
The parliament having adjourned itself, the Pro- tector deprived Lambert of all his commissions ; but still allowed him a considerable pension of 2000 pounds a-year, as a bribe for his future peaceable deportment. Lambert's authority in the army, to the surprise of every body, was found immediately to expire with the loss of his commission. Packer and some other officers, whom Cromwell suspected, were also displaced.
Richard, eldest son of the Protector, was brought to court, introduced into public business, and thence- forth regarded by many as his heir in the protector- ship ; though Cromwell sometimes employed the gross artifice of flattering others with hopes of the succes- sion. Richard was a person possessed of the most peaceable, inoffensive,unambitious character, and had hitherto lived contentedly in the country on a small estate which his wife had brought him. All the activity which he discovered, and which never was great, was however exerted to beneficent purposes : At the time of the King's trial, he had fallen on his knees before his father, and had conjured him, by every tie of duty and humanity, to spare the life of that monarch. Cromwell had two daughters
unmarried :
1657.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 277
unmarried : One of them he now gave in marriage to the chap. grandson and heir of his great friend, the Earl of War- ^^^• wick, with whom he had, in every fortune, preserved an uninterrupted intimacy and good correspondence. The other he married to the Viscount Fauconberg, of a family formerly devoted to the royal party. He was ambitious of forming connections with the no- bility ; and it was one chief motive for his desiring the title of King, that he might replace every thing in its natural order, and restore to the ancient fami- lies the trust and honour of which he now found himself obliged, for his own safety, to deprive them.
The parliament was again assembled; consisting, igsg. as in the times of monarchy, of two houses, the 20th Jan. commons and the other house. Cromwell, during the interval, had sent writs to his house of peers, which consisted of sixty members. They were composed of five or six ancient peers, of several gentlemen of fortune and distinction, and of some officers, who had risen from the meanest stations. None of the ancient peers, however, though sum- moned by writ, would deign to accept of a seat, which they must share with such companions as were as&igned them. The Protector endeavoured, at first, to maintain the appearance of a legal magistrate. He placed no guard at the door of either house : But soon found, how incompatible liberty is, with military usurpations. By bringing so great a number of his friends and adherents into the other house, he had lost the majority among the national repre- sentatives. In consequence of a clause in the humble petition and advice, the commons assumed a power of re-admitting those members whom the council had formerly excluded. Sir Arthur Hazelrig and some others, whom Cromwell had created lords, rather chose to take their seat with the commons. An in- contestable majority now declared themselves against the Protector ; and they refused to acknowledge
the
278 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, the jurisdiction of that other house which he had
T V T
^^^" established. Even the vahdity of the humble peti-
~658 ^^^^ ^^^ advice was questioned ; as being voted by a parliament which lay under force, and which was deprived, by military violence, of a considerable number of its members. The Protector, dreading combinations between the parliament and the male- contents in the army, resolved to allow no leisure for forming any conspiracy against him ; and, with 4th Feb. cxprcssions of great displeasure, he dissolved the parliament. When urged by Fleetwood, and others of his friends, not to precipitate himself into this rash measure, he swore by the living God, that they should not sit a moment longer.
These distractions at home were not able to take off the Protector's attention from foreign aifairs ; and in all his measures he proceeded with the same vigour and enterprise, as if secure of the duty and attach- ment of the three kingdoms. His alliance with Sweden he still supported ; and he endeavoured to assist that crown in its successful enterprises, for reducing all its neighbours to subjection, and render- ing itself absolute master of the Baltic. As soon as Spain declared war against him, he concluded a peace and an alliance with France, and united him- self in all his counsels with that potent and ambitious kingdom. Spain, having long courted, in vain, the friendship of the successful usurper, was reduced at last to apply to the unfortunate Prince. Charles formed a league with Philip, removed his small court to Bruges in the Low Countries, and raised four regiments of his own subjects, whom he employed in the Spanish service. The Duke of York, who had, with applause, served some campaigns in the French army, and who had merited the particular esteem of Marshal Turenne, now joined his brother, and con- tinued to seek military experience under Don John of Austria, and the Prince of Cond6.
The
THE COMMONWEALTH. 279
The scheme of foreign politics, adopted by the chap. Protector, was highly imprudent, but was suitable ^^^" to that magnanimity and enterprise, with which he ^ was so signally endowed. He was particularly de- sirous of conquest and dominion on the continent '' ; and he sent over into Flanders six thousand men under Reynolds, who joined the French army com- manded by Turenne. In the former campaign, Mardyke was taken, and put into the hands of the English. Early this campaign, siege was laid to Dunkirk ; and when the Spanish army advanced to relieve it, the combined armies of France and Eng- land marched out of their trenches, and fought the battle of the Dunes, where the Spaniards were to- tally defeated.^ The valour of the English was much remarked on this occasion. Dunkirk, being soon taken!^^ after surrendered, was by agreement delivered to Cromwell. He committed the government of that important place to Lockhart, a Scotchman of abili- ties, who had married his niece, and was his ambas- sador at the court of France.
This acquisition was regarded by the Protector
^ He aspired to get possession of Elsinore and the passage of the Sound. See World's Mistake in Oliver Cromwell. He also endeavoured to get pos- session of Bremen. Thurloe, vol. vi. p. 478.
' It was remarked by the saints of that time, that the battle was fought on a day which was held for a fast in London, so that as Fleetwood said (Thurloe, vol. vii. p. 159.) while we were praying, they were fighting, and the Lord hath given a signal answer. The Lord has not only owned us in our work there, but in our waiting upon him in a way of prayer, which is indeed our old experienced approved way in all streights and dif- ficulties. Cromwell's Letter to Blake and Montague, his brave admirals, is remarkable for the same spirit. Thurloe, vol. iv. p. 744. You have, says he, as I verily believe and am persuaded, a plentiful stock of prayers going for you daily, sent up by the soberest and most approved ministers and Christians in this nation, and, notwithstanding some discouragements, very much wrestling of faith for you, which are to us, and I trust will be to you, matter of great encouragement. But notwithstanding all this, it will be good for you and us to deliver up ourselves and all our affairs to the disposition of our all-wise Father, who not only out of prerogative, but because of his goodness, wisdom, and truth, ought to be resigned unto by his creatures, especially those who are children of his begetting through the spirit, &c.
as
1658,
280 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, as the means only of obtaining farther advantages. ^^^- He was resolved to concert measures with the French court for the final conquest and partition of the Low Countries.'" Had he lived much longer, and main- tained his authority in England, so chimerical, or rather so dangerous, a project would certainly have been carried into execution. And this first and principal step towards more extensive conquest, which France, during a whole century, has never yet been able, by an infinite expense of blood and treasure, fully to attain, had at once been accom- plished by the enterprising, though unskilful, poli- tics of Cromwell.
During these transactions, great demonstrations of mutual friendship and regard passed between the French King and the Protector. Lord Fauconberg, Cromwell's son-in-law, was despatched to Louis, then in the camp before Dunkirk , and was received with the regard usually paid to foreign Princes by the French court." Mazarine sent to London his nephew Mancini, along with the Duke of Crequi ; and expressed his regret, that his urgent affairs should deprive him of the honour which he had long wished for, of paying, in person, his respects to the greatest man in the world."
The Protector reaped little satisfaction from the success of his arms abroad : The situation in which he stood at home, kept him in perpetual uneasiness and inquietude. His administration, so expensive both by military enterprises and secret intelligence, had exhausted his revenue, and involved him in a considerable debt. The royalists, he heard, had renewed their conspiracies for a general insurrection; and Ormond was secretly come over with a view of
» Thurloe, vol. i. p. 762. " Ibid. vol. vii. p. 151. 158.
" In reality the cardinal had not entertained so high an idea of Crom- well. He used to say, that he was a fortunate madman. Vie de Crom- well par Raguenet. See also Carte's Collection, vol. ii. p. 81. Gumble's Life of Monk, p. 93. World's Mistake in O. Cromwell.
concerting
1658.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 281
concerting measures for the execution of this pro- chap. ject. Lord Fairfax, Sir William Waller, and many ^-^^^
I heads of the presbyterians, had secretly entered into the engagement. Even the army was infected with the general spirit of discontent ; and some sudden and dangerous eruption was every moment to be dreaded from it. No hopes remained, after his vio- lent breach with the last parliament, that he should ever be able to establish, with general consent, a legal settlement, or temper the military with any mixture of civil authority. All his arts and policy were exhausted ; and having so often, by fraud and false pretences, deceived every party, and almost every individual, he could no longer hope, by re- peating the same professions, to meet with equal confidence and regard.
However zealous the royalists, their conspiracy took not effect: Willis discovered the whole to the Protector. Ormond was obliged to fly, and he deemed himself fortunate to have escaped so vigilant an administration. Great numbers were thrown into prison. A high court of justice was anew erected for the trial of those criminals whose guilt was most ap- parent. Notwithstanding the recognition of his au- thority by the last parliament, the Protector could not as yet trust to an unbiassed jury. Sir Henry Slingsby, and Dr. Huet, were condemned and be- headed. Mordaunt, brother to the Earl of Peter- borow, narrowly escaped. The numbers for his condemnation and his acquittal were equal ; and just as the sentence was pronounced in his favour. Colonel Pride, who was resolved to condemn him, came into court. Ashton, Storey, and Bestley, were hanged in different streets of the city.
The conspiracy of the millenarians in the army struck Cromwell with still greater apprehensions. Harrison and the other discarded officers of that party could not remain at rest. Stimulated equally
by
1658,
282 - HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, by revenge, by ambition, and by conscience, they i-xi. still harboured in their breast some desperate pro- ject; and there wanted not officers in the army, who, from like motives, were disposed to second all their undertakings. The levellers and agitators had been encouraged by Cromwell to interpose with their advice in all political deliberations ; and he had even pretended to honour many of them with his intimate friendship, while he conducted his daring enterprises against the King and the parliament. It was a usual practice with him, in order to fami- liarize himself the more with the agitators, who were commonly corporals or Serjeants, to take them to bed with him, and there, after prayers and exhor- tations, to discuss together their projects and prin- ciples, political as well as religious. Having as- sumed the dignity of Protector, he excluded them from ail his councils, and had neither leisure nor inclination to indulge them any farther in their wonted familiarities. Among those who were en- raged at this treatment was Sexby, an active agita- tor, who now employed against him all that restless industry which had formerly been exerted in his fa- vour. He even went so far as to enter into a cor- respondence with Spain ; and Cromwell, who knew the distempers of the army, was justly afraid of some mutiny, to which a day, an hour, an instant, might provide leaders.
Of assassinations likewise he was apprehensive, from the zealous spirit which actuated the soldiers. Sindercome had undertaken to murder him; and by the most unaccountable accidents, had often been prevented from executing his bloody purpose. His design was discovered ; but the Protector could never find the bottom of the enterprise, nor detect any of his accomplices. He was tried by a jury ; and notwithstanding the general odium attending that crime, notwithstanding the clear and full proof
of
LXI.
1658.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 283
of his guilt, so little conviction prevailed of the Pro- chap, tector's right to the supreme government, it was with the utmost difficulty p that this conspirator was condemned. When every thing was prepared for his execution, he was found dead ; from poison, as is supposed, which he had voluntarily taken.
The Protector might better have supported those fears and apprehensions which the public distempers occasioned, had he enjoyed any domestic satisfac- tion, or possessed any cordial friend of his own family, in whose bosom he could safely have unload- ed his anxious and corroding cares. But Fleetwood, his son-in-law, actuated by the wildest zeal, began to estrange himself from him ; and was enraged to discover that Cromwell, in all his enterprises, had entertained views of promoting his own grandeur, more than of encouraging piety and religion, of which he made such fervent professions. His eldest daughter, married to Fleetwood, had adopted re- publican principles so vehement, that she could not with patience behold power lodged in a single per- son, even in her indulgent father. His other daugh- ters were no less prejudiced in favour of the royal cause, and regretted the violences and iniquities into which, they thought, their family had so unhap- pily been transported. Above all, the sickness of Mrs. Claypole, his peculiar favourite, a lady endu- ed with many humane virtues and amiable accom- plishments, depressed his anxious mind, and poi- soned all his enjoyments. She had entertained a high regard for Dr. Huet, lately executed ; and be- ing refused his pardon, the melancholy of her temper, increased by her distempered body, had prompted her to lament to her father all his san- guinary measures, and urge him to compunction for those heinous crimes into which his fatal ambi- tion had betrayed him. Her death, which followed
f Thurloe, vol. vi. p. 53.
soon
1658.
284 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, soon after, gave new edge to every word which she ^^^' had uttered.
All composure of mind was now for ev^r fled from the Protector: He felt that the grandeur which he had attained with so much guilt and cou- rage, could not ensure him that tranquillity which it belongs to virtue alone, and moderation, fully to ascertain. Overwhelmed with the load of public affairs, dreading perpetually some fatal accident in his distempered government, seeing nothing around him but treacherous friends or enraged enemies, possessing the confidence of no party, resting his title on no principle, civil or religious, he found his power to depend on so delicate a poize of fac- tions and interests, as the smallest event was able, without any preparation, in a moment to overturn. Death too, which with such signal intrepidity he had braved in the field, being incessantly threatened by the poniards of fanatical or interested assassins, was ever present to his terrified apprehension, and haunted him in every scene of business or repose. Each action of his life betrayed the terrors under which he laboured. The aspect of strangers was uneasy to him : With a piercing and anxious eye he surveyed every face to which he was not daily ac- customed. He never moved a step without strong guards attending him : He wore armour under his clothes, and farther secured himself by offensive weapons, a sword, falchion, and pistols, which he always carried about him. He returned from no place by the direct road, or by the same way which he went. Every journey he performed with hurry and precipitation. Seldom he slept above three nights together in the same chamber : And he never let it be known beforehand what chamber he in- tended to chuse, nor intrusted himself in any which was not provided with back doors, at which centinels were carefully placed. Society terrified him,
while
LXI.
1658.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 285
while he reflected on his numerous, unknown, and C ha p. implacaole enemies : Solitude astonished him, by withdrawing that protection which he found so necessary for his security.
His body also, from the contagion of his anxious sickness mind, began to be affected; and his health seemed of the Pro- sensibly to decline. He was seized with a slow fever, which changed into a tertian ague. For the space of a week, no dangerous symptoms appeared ; and in the intervals of the fits he was able to walk abroad. At length the fever increased, and he himself began to entertain some thoughts of death, and to cast his eye towards that future existence, whose idea had once been intimately present to him ; though since, in the hurry of affairs, and in the shock of wars and factions, it had, no doubt, been considerably obli- terated. He asked Goodwin, one of his preachers, if the doctrine were true, that the elect could never fall or suffer a final reprobation. " Nothing more ** certain," replied the preacher. " Then am I safe," said the Protector : " For I am sure that once I was " in a state of grace."
His physicians were sensible of the perilous condi- tion to which his distemper had reduced him : But his chaplains, by their prayers, visions, and revela- tions, so buoyed up his hopes, that he began to be- lieve his life out of all danger. A favourable answer, it was pretended, had been returned by heaven to the petitions of all the godly ; and he relied on their asseverations much more than on the opinion of the most experienced physicians. " I tell you," he cried with confidence to the latter, '' I tell you, I shall not " die of this distemper: I am well assured of my " recovery. It is promised by the Lord, not only to " my supplications, but to those of men who hold a " stricter commerce and more intimate correspon- *' dence with him. Ye may have skill in yourpro- *' fession ; but nature can do more than all the
" physicians
1658.
286 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. ** physicians in the world, and God is far above LXi. . << nature."'' Nay, to such a degree of madness did !
their enthusiastic assurances amount, that upon a fast dav, which was observed on his account both at Hampton-court, and at Whitehall, they did not so much pray for his health, as give thanks for the undoubted pledges which they had received of his recovery. He himself was overheard offering up his addresses to heaven ; and so far had the illusions of fanaticism prevailed over the plainest dictates of natural morality, that he assumed more the character of a mediator, in interceding for his people, than that of a criminal, whose atrocious violation of social duty had, from every tribunal, human and divine, merited the severest vengeance.
Meanwhile all the symptoms began to wear a more fatal aspect ; and the physicians were obliged to break silence, and to declare, that the Protector could not survive the next fit with which he was threatened. The council was alarmed. A deputation was sent to know his will with regard to his successor. His senses were gone, and he could not now express his intentions. They asked him whether he did not mean that his eldest son, Richard, should succeed him in the Protectorship. A simple affirmative was, or seemed to be, extorted from him. Soon after, on the 3d of September, that very day which he had always considered as the most fortunate for him, he
His death, expired. A violent tempest, which immediately suc- ceeded his death, served as a subject of discourse to the vulgar. His partisans, as well as his enemies, were fond of remarking this event; and each of them endeavoured, by forced inferences, to interpret it as a confirmation of their particular prejudices.
and cha- The writers, attached to the memory of this won- derful person, make his character, with regard to
1 Bates; See also Thurloe, vol. vii. p. 355. 416.
abilities.
racter.
THE COMMONWEALTH.
287
1658.
abilities, bear the air of the most extravagant pane- chap. gyric : His enemies form such a representation of ^^i- his moral qualities as resembles the most virulent in- vective. Both of them, it must be confessed, are supported by such striking circumstances in his con- duct and fortune, as bestow on their representation a great air of probability. " What can be more ex- traordinary," it is said', " than that a person of private birth and education, no fortune, no emi- nent qualities of body, which have sometimes, nor shining talents of mind, which have often raised men to the highest dignities, should have the cou- rage to attempt, and the abilities to execute, so great a design as the subverting one of the most ancient and best established monarchies in the world ? That he should have the power and bold- ness to put his Prince and master to an open and infamous death ? Should banish that numerous and strongly allied family ? Cover all these teme- rities under a seeming obedience to a parliament, in whose service he pretended to be retained? Trample too upon that parliament in their turn, and scornfully expel them as soon as they gave him ground of dissatisfaction? Erect in their place the dominion of the saints, and give reality to the most visionary idea, which the heated ima- gination of any fanatic was ever able to entertain? Suppress again that monster in its infancy, and openly set up himself above all things that ever were called sovereign in England? Overcome first all his enemies by arms, and all his friends afterwards by artifice ? Serve all parties patiently for a while, and command them victoriously at last? Over-run each corner of the three nations, and subdue, with equal facility, both the riches of the south, and the poverty of the north?
■• Cowley's Discourses: This passage is altered in some particulars from the original.
t<
Be
1658.
288 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. "Be feared and courted by all foreign princes, ^^- " and be adopted a brother to the gods of the ** earth ? Call together parliaments with a word of *' his pen, and scatter them again with the breath of " his mouth? Reduce to subjection a warlike and *' discontented nation, by means of a mutinous ar- " my ? Command a mutinous army by means of " seditious and factious officers ? Be humbly and *' daily petitioned, that he would be pleased, at the " rate of millions a-year, to be hired as master of " those who had hired him before to be their ser- " vant ? Have the estates and lives of three nations ** as much at his disposal as was once the little in- *• heritance of his father, and be as noble and liberal " in the spending of them ? And lastly (for there is ** no end of enumerating every particular of his " glory), with one word bequeath all this power " and splendour to his posterity ? Die possessed of " peace at home, and triumph abroad ? Be buried " among kings, and with more than regal solemnity ; ** and leave a name behind him not to be extin- " guished but with the whole world ; which as it " was too little for his praise, so might it have been " for his conquests, if the short line of his mortal ** life could have stretched out to the extent of his *' immortal designs."
My intention is not to disfigure this picture, drawn by so masterly a hand : I shall only endeavour to remove from it somewhat of the marvellous ; a circumstance, which, on all occasions, gives much ground for doubt and suspicion. It seems to me, that the circumstance of Cromwell's life, in which his abilities are principally discovered, is his rising from a private station, in opposition to so many rivals, so much advanced before him, to a high command and authority in the army. His great courage, his signal military talents, his eminent dexterity and ad- dress, were all requisite for this important acquisition.
Yet
THE COMMONWEALTH. 289
Yet will not this promotion appear the effect of chap, supernatural abilities, when we consider, that Fair- ^^^• fax himself, a private gentleman, who had not the ~~[^ advantage of a seat in parliament, had, through the same steps, attained even a superior rank, and, if endued with common capacity and penetration, had been able to retain it. To incite such an army to rebellion against the parliament, required no un- common art or industry : To have kept them in obedience had been the more difficult enterprise. When the breach was once formed between the military and civil powers, a supreme and absolute authority, from that moment, is devolved on the general ; and if he be afterwards pleased to employ artifice or policy, it may be regarded on most oc- casions as great condescension, if not as superfluous caution. That Cromwell was ever able really to blind or over-reach either the King or the republi- cans, does not appear : As they possessed no means of resisting the force under his command, they were glad to temporize with him, and, by seeming to be deceived, wait for opportunities of freeing them- selves from his dominion. If he seduced the mili- tary fanatics, it is to be considered that their in- terests and his evidently concurred, that their igno- rance and low education exposed them to the grossest imposition, and that he himself was at bottom as frantic an enthusiast as the worst of them, and, in order to obtain their confidence, needed but to dis- play those vulgar and ridiculous habits, which he had early acquired, and on which he set so high a value. An army is so forcible, and at the same time so coarse a weapon, that any hand which wields it may, without much dexterity, perform any operation, and attain any ascendant in human society.
The domestic administration of Cromwell, though it discovers great abilities, was conducted without any plan either of liberty or arbitrary power : Perhaps,
VOL. VII. u his
1658.
290 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, his difficult situation admitted of neither. His ^^^' foreign enterprises, though full of intrepidity, were pernicious to national interest, and seem more the result of impetuous fury or narrow prejudices, than of cool foresight and deliberation. An eminent personage, however, he was in many respects, and even a superior genius ; but unequal and irregular in his operations. And though not defective in any talent, except that of elocution, the abilities which in him were most admirable, and which most contributed to his marvellous success, were the magnanimous resolution of his enterprises, and his peculiar dexterity in discovering the characters, and practising on the weaknesses, of mankind.
If we survey the moral character of Cromwell with that indulgence which is due to the blindness and infirmities of the human species, we shall not be inclined to load his memory with such violent re- proaches as those which his enemies usually throw upon it. Amidst the passions and prejudices of that period, that he should prefer the parliamentary to the royal cause, will not appear extraordinary; since, even at present, some men of sense and knowledge are disposed to think that the question, with regard to the justice of the quarrel, may be regarded as doubtful and uncertain. The murder of the King, the most atrocious of all his actions, was to him covered under a mighty cloud of republican and fanatical illusions ; and it is not impossible, but he might believe it, as many others did, the most me- ritorious action that he could perform. His sub- sequent usurpation was the effect of necessity, as well as of ambition ; nor is it easy to see, how the various factions could at that time have been re- strained, without a mixture of military and arbitrary authority. The private deportment of Cromwell, as a son, a husband, a father, a friend, is exposed to no considerable censure, if it does not rather merit praise. And, upon the whole, his character does
not
THE COMMONWEALTH. 29 J
not appear more extraordinary and unusual by the chap. mixture of so much absurdity with so much pene- ^^^* tration, than by his tempering such violent ambi- "TessT^ tion and such enraged fanaticism with so much re- gard to justice and humanity.
Cromwell was in the fifty-ninth year of his age when he died. He was of a robust frame of body, and of a manly, though not of an agreeable aspect. He left only two sons, Richard and Henry ; and three daughters, one married to General Fleetwood, another to Lord Fauconberg, a third to Lord Rich. His father died when he was very young. His mother lived till after he was Protector ; and, contrary to her orders, he buried her with great pomp in West- minster Abbey. She could not be persuaded that his power or person were ever in safety. At every noise which she heard, she exclaimed that her son was murdered ; and was never satisfied that he was alive, if she did not receive frequent visits from him. She was a decent woman, and, by her fru- gality and industry, had raised and educated a nu- merous family upon a small fortune. She had even been obliged to set up a brewery at Huntingdon, which she managed to good advantage. Hence Cromwell, in the invectives of that age, is often stigmatized with the name of the brewer. Ludlow, by way of insult, mentions the great accession, which he would receive to his royal revenues upon his mother's death, who possessed a jointure of sixty pounds a year upon his estate. She was of a good family, of the name of Stuart ; remotely allied, as is by some supposed, to the royal family.
u 2
[ 292 ]
CHAP LXII.
CHAP. LXII.
Richard acknowledged Protector. — A Parliament. — Cabal of Wal- lingford House. — Richard deposed. — Long Parliament or Rump restored. — Conspiracy of the Royalists. — Insurrection. — Sup- pressed.— Parliament expelled. — Committee of Safety. — Foreign Affairs. — General Monk. — Monk declares for the Parliament. — Parliament restored. — Monk enters London, declares for a free Parliament. — Secluded Members restored. — Lone: Parliament dissolved. — New Parliament. — The Restoration. — Manners and Arts.
A LL the arts of Cromwell's policy had been so
-^^ often practised, that they began to lose their
1658. effect ; and his power, instead of being confirmed by time and success, seemed every day to become more uncertain and precarious. His friends the most closely connected with him, and his coun- sellors the most trusted, were entering into cabals against his authority ; and with all his penetration into the characters of men, he could not find any ministers on whom he could rely. Men of probity and honour, he knew, would not submit to be the instruments of an usurpation violent and illegal : Those who were free from the restraint of principle, might betray, from interest, that cause, in which, from no better motives, they had inlisted themselves. Even those on whom he conferred any favour, never deemed the recompense an equivalent for the sacrifices which they made to obtain it : Whoever
was
1658.
THE COMMONWEALTH. . 293
was refused any demand, justified his anger by the chap. specious colours of conscience and of duty. Such ^^^^• difficulties surrounded the Protector, that his dying at so critical a time is esteemed by many the most fortunate circumstance that ever attended him ; and it was thought, that all his courage and dexterity could not much longer have extended his usurped administration.
But when that potent hand was removed, which conducted the government, every one expected a sudden dissolution of the unwieldy and ill-jointed fabric. Richard, a young man of no experience, educated in the country, accustomed to a retired life, unacquainted with the officers, and unknown to them, recommended by no military exploits, endear- ed by no familiarities, could not long, it was thought, maintain that authority which his father had acquired by so many valorous achievements, and such signal successes. And when it was observed, that he pos- sessed only the virtues of private life, which in his situation were so many vices ; that indolence, in- capacity, irresolution, attended his facility and good nature ; the various hopes of men were excited by the expectation of some great event or revolution. For some time, however, the public was disappointed in this opinion. The council recognized the succes- Richard sion of Richard : Fleetwood, in whose favour it was j^^j^^^^" supposed Cromwell had formerly made a will, re- Protector. nounced all claim or pretension to the protectorship : Henry, Richard's brother, who governed Ireland with popularity, ensured him the obedience of that king- dom : Monk, whose authority was well established in Scotland, being much attached to the family of Cromwell, immediately proclaimed the new Protec- tor : The army, every where, the fleet, acknowledged his title : Above ninety addresses, from the counties and most considerable corporations, congratulated him on his accession, in all the terms of dutiful
allegiance :
294
CHAP. LXIT.
1658.
A parlia- iii-ent.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
allegiance
1659.
7lh J
HIl.
Foreign ministers were forward in pay- ing him the usual compliments : And Richard, whose moderate, unambitious character never would have led him to contend for empire, was tempted to ac- cept of so rich an inheritance, which seemed to be tendered to him by the consent of all mankind.
It was found necessary to call a parliament, in order to furnish supplies, both for the ordinary admi- nistration, and for fulfilling those engagements with foreign Princes, particularly Sweden, into which the late Protector had entered. In hopes of obtaining greater influence in elections, the ancient right was restored to all the small boroughs ; and the counties were allowed no more than their usual members. The house of peers, or the other house, consisted of the same persons that had been appointed by Oliver.
All the commons, at first, signed, without hesita- tion, an engagement not to alter the present govern- ment. They next proceeded to examine the humble petition and advice ; and after great opposition and many vehement debates, it was at length, with much difficulty, carried by the court-party to confirm it. An acknowledgement too of the authority of the other house was extorted from them ; though it was resolved not to treat this house of peers with any greater respect than they should return to the com- mons. A declaration was also made, that the esta- blishment of the other house should nowise pre- judice the right of such of the ancient peers as had, from the beginning of the war, adhered to the parlia- ment. But in all these proceedings, the opposition among the commons was so considerable, and the debates were so much prolonged, that all business was retarded, and great alarm given to the partisans of the young Protector.
But there was another quarter from which greater dangers were justly apprehended. The most consi- derable officers of the army, and even Fleetwood,
brother-
THE COMMONWEALTH. 295
brother-in-law to the Protector, were entering into chap. cabals against him. No character in human society ^^^^" is more dangerous than that of the fanatic ; because, ~~[^ if attended with weak judgement, he is exposed to the suggestion of others ; if supported by more discernment, he is entirely governed by his own illusions, which sanctify his most selfish views and passions. Fleetwood was of the former species ; and as he was extremely addicted to a republic, and even to the fifth monarchy or dominion of the saints, it was easy for those, who had insinuated themselves into his confidence, to instil disgusts against the dignity of Protector. The whole republican party in the army, which was still considerable, Fitz, Mason, Moss, Farley, united themselves to that general. The officers too of the same party, whom Cromwell had discarded, Overton, Ludlow, Rich, Okey, Alured, began to appear, and to recover that authority, which had been only for a time sus- pended. A party likewise, who found themselves eclipsed in Richard's favour, Sydenham, Kelsey, Berry, Haines, joined the cabal of the others. Even Desborow, the Protector's uncle, lent his authority to that faction. But above all, the intrigues of Lambert, who was now roused from his retreat, in- flamed all those dangerous humours, and threatened the nation with some great convulsion. The dis- contented officers established their meetings in Fleetwood's apartments ; and because he dwelt in Cabal of Wallingford-house, the party received a denomina- ™'"^' tion from that place. house.
Richard, who possessed neither resolution nor penetration, was prevailed to give an unguarded consent for calling a general council of officers, who might make him proposals, as they pretended, for the good of the army. No sooner were they assem- bled than they voted a remonstrance. They there lamented, that the good old cause, as they termed it,
that
296 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, that is, the cause for which they had engaged against _^3ai^ the late King, was entirely neglected ; and they pro- 1659. posed, as a remedy, that the whole military power should be intrusted to some person, in whom they might all confide. The city militia, influenced by two aldermen, Tichburn and Ireton, expressed the same resolution of adhering to the good old cause.
The Protector was justly alarmed at those move- ments among the officers. The persons in whom he chiefly confided were, all of them, excepting Brog- hil, men of civil characters and professions ; Fien- nes, Thurloe, Whitlocke, Wolseley ; who could only assist him with their advice and opinion. He pos- sessed none of those arts which were proper to gain an enthusiastic army. Murmurs being thrown out against some promotions which he had made. Would you have me, said he, prefer none but the godly ? Here is Dick Ingoldsby, continued he, who can neither pray nor preach ; yet will I trust him before ye all.'' This imprudence gave great oflence to the pretended saints. The other qualities of the Protector were correspondent to these sentiments : He was of a gentle, humane, and generous disposition. Some of his party ofl'ering to put an end to those intrigues by the death of Lambert, he declared, that he would not purchase power or dominion by such sanguinary measures.
The parliament was no less alarmed at the mi- litary cabals. They voted that there should be no meeting or general council of officers, except with the Protector's consent, or by his orders. This vote brought affairs immediately to a rupture. The officers hastened to Richard and demanded of him the dissolution of the parliament. Desborow, a man of a clownish and brutal nature, threatened him, if he should refuse compliance. The Protector wanted the resolution to deny, and possessed
= Ludlow.
little
THE COMMONWEALTH. 297
little ability to resist. The parliament was dissol- chap. ved ; and by the same act the Protector was, by every ^^^^' one, considered as effectually dethroned. Soon ^g-g after he signed his demission in form. April 22.
Henry, the deputy of Ireland, was endowed with J^^^^'^j the same moderate disposition as Richard ; but as ^^°^ he possessed more vigour and capacity, it was ap- prehended that he might make resistance. His popularity in Ireland was great ; and even his per- sonal authority, notwithstanding his youth, was considerable. Had his ambition been very eager, he had, no doubt, been able to create disturbance : But being threatened by Sir Hardress Waller, Colo- nel John Jones, and other officers, he very quietly resigned his command, and retired to England. He had once entertained thoughts, which he had not resolution to execute, of proclaiming the King in Dublin. ^
Thus fell suddenly, and from an enormous height, but by a rare fortune without any hurt or injury, the family of the Cromwells. Richard continued to possess an estate, which was moderate, and bur- dened too with a large debt, which he had con- tracted for the interment of his father. After the restoration, though he remained unmolested, he thought proper to travel for some years ; and at Pezenas in Languedoc he was introduced, under a borrowed name, to the Prince of Conti. That Prince talked of English aifairs, broke out into admiration of Cromwell's courage and capacity. ** But as for that poor pitiful fellow, Richard," said he, *' what has become of him ? How could he be *' such a blockhead as to reap no greater benefit *' from all his father's crimes and successes?" Richard extended his peaceful and quiet life to an extreme old age, and died not till the latter end of Queen Anne's reign. His social virtues, more
' Carte's Collections, vol. ii, p. 243.
valuable
LXII.
1659.
298 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
c H A P. valuable than the greatest capacity, met with a re- compense more precious than noisy fame, and more suitable, contentment and tranquillity.
The council of officers, now possessed of supreme authority, deliberated what form of government they should establish. Many of them seemed inclined to exercise the power of the sword in the most open manner; but as it was apprehended that the people would with great difficulty be induced to pay taxes, levied by arbitrary will and pleasure ; it was agreed to preserve the shadow of civil administration, and to revive the long parliament, which had been expelled by Cromwell. That assembly could not be dissolved, it was asserted, but by their own consent ; and violence had interrupted, but was not able to destroy, their right to government. The officers also ex- pected that, as these members had sufficiently felt their own weakness, they would be contented to act in subordination to the military commanders, and would thenceforth allow all the authority to remain where the power was so visibly vested.
The officers applied to Lenthal, the speaker, and proposed to him, that the parliament should resume their seats. Lenthal was of alow, timid spirit; and, being uncertain what issue might attend these mea- sures, was desirous of evading the proposal. He replied, that he could by no means comply with the desire of the officers ; being engaged in a business of far greater importance to himself, which he could not omit on any account, because it concerned the salvation of his own soul. The officers pressed him to tell what it might be. He was preparing, he said, to participate of the Lord's supper, which he resolved to take next Sabbath. They insisted, that mercy was preferable to sacrifice, and that he could not better prepare himself for that great duty, than by contributing to the public service. All their remon- strances had no effect. However, on the appointed day, the speaker being informed that a quorum of
the
1659.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 299
the house was likely to meet, thought proper, not- chap. withstanding- the salvation of his soul, as Ludlow ^xii. observes, to join them; and the house immediately proceeded upon business. The secluded members attempted, but in vain, to resume their seats among them.
The numbers of this parliament were small, little Long par- exceeding seventy members : Their authority in the JlrTm"'' nation, ever since they had been purged by the army, restored! was extremely diminished ; and after their expulsion had been totally annihilated : But being all of them men of violent ambition ; some of them men of ex- perience and capacity ; they were resolved, since they enjoyed the title of the supreme authority, and observed that some appearance of a parliament was requisite for the purposes of the army, not to act a subordinate part to those who acknowledged them- selves their servants. They chose a council, in which they took care that the officers of Wallingford-house should not be the majority : They appointed Fleet- wood lieutenant-general, but inserted in his commis- sion, that it should only continue during the pleasure of the house: They chose seven persons who should nominate to such commands as became vacant: And they voted that all commissions should be received from the speaker, and be assigned by him in the name of the house. These precautions, the ten- dency of which was visible, gave great disgust to the general officers ; and their discontent would imme- diately have broken out into some resolution fatal to the parliament, had it not been checked by the ap- prehensions of danger from the common enemy.
The bulk of the nation consisted of royalists and presbyterians; and to both these parties the dominion of the pretended parliament had ever been to the last degree odious. When that assembly was ex- pelled by Cromwell, contempt had succeeded to hatred ; and no reserve had been used in expressing
the
300 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, the utmost derision against the impotent ambition LXii. Qf these usurpers. Seeing them reinstated in au- ^659^ thority, all orders of men felt the highest indignation, together with apprehensions, lest such tyrannical rulers should exert their power by taking vengeance upon their enemies, who had so openly insulted them. A secret reconciliation, therefore, was made between the rival parties, and it was agreed, that, burying former enmities in oblivion, all efforts should be used for the overthrow of the rump ; so they called the parliament, in allusion to that part of the animal body. The presbyterians, sensible from experience that their passion for liberty, however laudable, had carried them into unwarrantable excesses, were willing to lay aside ancient jealousies, and, at all hazards, to restore the royal family. The nobility, the gentry, bent their passionate endeavours to the same enterprise, by which alone tliey could be re- deemed from slavery. And no man was so remote from party, so indifterent to public good, as not to feel the most ardent wishes for the dissolution of that tyranny which, whether the civil or the military part of it were considered, appeared equally oppres- sive and ruinous to the nation.
MoRDAUNT, who had so narrowly escaped on his trial before the high court of justice, seemed rather animated than daunted with past danger ; and having, by his resolute behaviour, obtained the highest confidence of the royal party, he was now become the centre of all their conspiracies. In many counties, a resolution was taken to rise in arms. Lord Willoughby of Parham, and Sir Horatio Townshend, undertook to secure Lynn ; General Massey engaged to seize Gloucester; Lord Newport, Littleton, and other gentlemen, conspired to take possession of Shrewsbury ; Sir George Booth, of Chester ; Sir Thomas Middleton, of North Wales ; Arundel, Pollar, Granville, Trelawney, of Plymouth
and
THE COMMONWEALTH. 301
and Exeter. A day was appointed for the execution chap. of all these enterprises. And the King, attended by ^^^'^• the Duke of York, had secretly arrived at Calais, "~JI7^ with a resolution of putting himself at the head of his loyal subjects. The French court had promised to supply him with a small body of forces, in order to countenance the insurrections of the English.
This combination was disconcerted by the infide- lity of Sir Richard Willis. That traitor continued with the parliament the same correspondence which he had begun with Cromwell. He had engaged to reveal all conspiracies, so far as to destroy their effect ; but reserved to himself, if he pleased, the power of concealing the conspirators. He took care never to name any of the old genuine cavaliers, who had zealously adhered, and were resolved still to adhere, to the royal cause in every fortune. These men he esteemed ; these he even loved. He betrayed only the new converts among the pres- byterians, or such lukewarm royalists, as, discou- raged with their disappointments, were resolved to expose themselves to no more hazards. A lively proof how impossible it is, even for the most cor- rupted minds, to divest themselves of all regard to morality and social duty !
Many of the conspirators in the different counties July. were thrown into prison : Others, astonished at such symptoms of secret treachery, left their houses, or remained quiet : The most tempestuous weather pre- vailed during the whole time appointed for the ren- dezvouses : Insomuch that some found it impossi- ble to join their friends, and others were dismayed with fear and superstition at an incident so unusual during the summer season. Of all the projects, the only one which took effect was that of Sir George Booth for the seizing of Chester. The Earl of Derby, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Mr. Lee, Co- lonel Morgan, entered into this enterprise. Sir ,
William
1659.
302 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. William Middleton joined Booth with some troops
T VYT ^
1.A11. from North-Wales ; and the malecontents were powerful enough to subdue all in that neighbour- hood who ventured to oppose them. In their de- claration they made no mention of the King : They only demanded a free and full parliament.
The parliament was justly alarmed. How com- bustible the materials, they well knew ; and the fire was now fallen among them. Booth was of a fa- mily eminently presbyterian ; and his conjunction with the royalists they regarded as a dangerous symptom. They had many officers whose fidelity they could more depend on than that of Lambert : But there was no one in whose vigilance and capa- city they reposed such confidence. They commis- sioned him to suppress the rebels. He made incre- dible haste. Booth imprudently ventured himself out of the walls of Chester, and exposed, in the open field, his raw troops against these hardy vete- suppress- ^ans. He was soon routed and taken prisoner. His whole army was dispersed. And the parliament had no farther occupation than to fill all the jails with their open or secret enemies. Designs were even entertained of transporting the loyal families to Bar- badoes, Jamaica, and the other colonies ; lest they should propagate in England children of the same malignant afi'ections with themselves.
This success hastened the ruin of the parliament. Lambert, at the head of a body of troops, was no less dangerous to them than Booth. A thousand pounds, which they sent him to buy a jewel, were employed by him in liberalities to his officers. At his instigation they drew up a petition, and trans- mitted it to Fleetwood, a weak man, and an honest, if sincerity in folly deserve that honourable name. The import of this petition was, that Fleetwood should be made commander-in-chief, Lambert major- general, Desborow lieutenant-general of the horse.
Monk
THE COMMONWEALTH. 303
Monk major-general of the foot. To which a de- chap. mand was added, that no officer should be dismissed Lxii. from his command but by a court-martial. ~T7Z
J 1659
The parliament, alarmed at the danger, imme- diately cashiered Lambert, Desborow, Berry, Clarke, Barrow, Kelsey, Cobbet. Sir Arthur Hazelrig pro- posed the impeachment of Lambert for high treason. Fleetwood's commission was vacated, and the com- mand of the army was vested in seven persons, of whom that general was one. The parliament voted, that they would have no more general officers. And they declared it high treason to levy any money without consent of parliament.
But these votes were feeble weapons in opposi- tion to the swords of the soldiery. Lambert drew some troops together, in order to decide the con- troversy. Okey, who was leading his regiment to the assistance of the parliament, was deserted by them. Morley and Moss brought their regiments into Palace-yard, resolute to oppose the violence of Lambert. But that artful general knew an easy isth Oct. way of disappointing them. He placed his soldiers in the streets which lead to Westminster-hall. — When the speaker came in his coach, he ordered Pariia- the horses to be turned, and very civilly conducted Sd!''' him home. The other members were, in like man- ner, intercepted. And the two regiments in Palace- yard, observing that they were exposed to derision, peaceably retired to their quarters. A little before this bold enterprise, a solemn fast had been kept by the army ; and it is remarked, that this ceremony was the usual prelude to every signal violence which they committed.
The officers found themselves again invested with supreme authority, of which they intended for ever to retain the substance, however they might bestow on others the empty shadow or appearance. They elected a committee of twenty-three persons, 26th Oct. of whom seven were officers. These they pretended
to
304
CHAP LXII.
1659. Commit- tee of safety.
Foreign affairs.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
. to invest with sovereign authority ; and they called them a committee of safety. They spoke every v^here of summoning a parliament chosen by the people ; but they really took some steps towards assembling a military parliament, composed of officers elected from every regiment in the service. " Throughout the three kingdoms there prevailed nothing but the melancholy fears, to the nobility and gentry, of a bloody massacre and extermination ; to the rest of the people, of perpetual servitude, beneath those sanctified robbers, whose union and whose divisions would be equally destructive, and who, under pre- tence of superior illuminations, would soon extir- pate, if possible, all private morality, as they had already done all public law and justice, from the British dominions.
During the time that England continued in this distracted condition, the other kingdoms of Europe were hastening towards a composure of those diffe- rences by which they had so long been agitated. The parliament, while it preserved authority, in- stead of following the imprudent politics of Crom- well, and lending assistance to the conquering Swede, embraced the maxims of the Dutch commonwealth, and resolved, in conjunction with that state, to mediate by force an accommodation between the northern crowns. Montague was sent with a squa- dron to the Baltic, and carried with him as ambas- sador Algernon Sidney, the celebrated republican. Sidney found the Swedish monarch employed in the siege of Copenhagen, the capital of his enemy ; and was highly pleased, that, with a Roman arrogance, he could check the progress of royal victories, and dis- play, in so singular a manner, the superiority of free- dom above tyranny. With the highest indignation, the ambitious Prince was obliged to submit to the imperious mediation of the two commonwealths. — '* It is cruel," said he, " that laws should be
" Ludlow.
prescribed
THE COMMONWEALTH. 305
''prescribed me by parricides and pedlars." But chap. his whole army was enclosed in an island, and might L^^^- be starved by the combined squadrons of England ~ and Holland. He was obliged, therefore, to quit Vj
his prey, when he had so nearly gotten possession of it ; and having agreed to a pacification with Den- mark, he retired into his own country, where he soon after died.
The wars between France and Spain were also concluded by the treaty of the Pyrenees. These animosities had long been carried on between the rival states, even while governed by a sister and bro- ther, who cordially loved and esteemed each other. But politics, which had so long prevailed over these friendly affections, now at last yielded to their in- fluence ; and never was the triumph more full and complete. The Spanish Low Countries, if not every part of that monarchy, lay almost entirely at the mercy of its enemy. Broken armies, disordered finances, slow and irresolute counsels ; by these re- sources alone were the dispersed provinces of Spain defended against the vigorous power of France. But the Queen-regent, anxious for the fate of her brother, employed her authority with the cardinal to stop the progress of the French conquests, and put an end to a quarrel which, being commenced by ambition, and attended with victory, was at last concluded with moderation. The young monarch of France, though as- piring and warlike in his character, was at this time en- tirely occupied in the pleasures of love and gallantry, and had passively resigned the reins of empire into the hands of his politic minister. And he remained an unconcerned spectator; while an opportunity for conquest was parted with, which he never was able, during the whole course of his active reign, fully to retrieve.
The ministers of the two crowns, Mazarine and Don Louis de Haro, met at the foot of the Pyrenees, in the Isle of Pheasants, a place which was supposed
VOL. VII. X to
306 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, to belong to neither kingdom. The negotiation LXii. being brought to an issue by frequent conferences
1659.
between the ministers, the monarchs themselves agreed to a congress ; and these two splendid courts appeared in their full lustre amidst those savage mountains. Philip brought his daughter, Mary The- rese, along with him ; and giving her in marriage to his nephew, Louis, endeavoured to cement by this new tie the incompatible interests of the two monar- chies. The French King made a solemn renuncia- tion of every succession, which might accrue to him in right of his consort ; a vain formality, too weak to restrain the ungoverned ambition of Princes,
The affairs of England were in so great disorder, that it was not possible to comprehend that kingdom in the treaty, or adjust measures with a power which was in suchincessantfluctuation. The King, reduced to despair by the failure of all enterprises for his restoration, was resolved to try the weak resource of foreign succours; and he went to the Pyrenees at the time when the two ministers were in the midst of their negotiations. Don Louis received him with that generous civility peculiar to his nation ; and expressed great inclination, had the low condition of Spain allowed him, to give assistance to the dis- tressed monarch. The cautious Mazarine, pleading the alliance of France with the English common- wealth, refused even to see him ; and though the King ' offered to marry the cardinal's niece"^, he could, for the present, obtain nothing but empty professions of respect, and protestations of services. The condition ] of that monarch, to all the world, seemed totally desperate. His friends had been baffled in every attempt for his service : The scaff'old had often streamed with the blood of the more active royalists : | The spirits of many were broken with tedious im- [ prisonments : The estates of all were burdened by |
" K. James's Memoirs.
the
THE COMMONWEALTH. 307
the fines and confiscations which had been levied upon C li a v. them: No one durst openly avow himself of that ^-^^'^ party : And so small did their number seem to a su- "TTZ
n • ^ • 1 1111 • 105y.
perncial view, that, even should the nation recover its liberty, which was deemed nowise probable, it was judged uncertain what form of government it would embrace. But amidst all these gloomy pros- pects, fortune, by a surprising revolution, was now paving the way for the King to mount, in peace and triumph, the throne of his ancestors. It was by the prudence and loyalty of General Monk, that this happy change was at last accomplished.
George Monk, to whom the fate was reserved of ^^^"^"^^^ re-establishing monarchy, and finishing the bloody dissensions of three kingdoms, was the second son of a family in Devonshire, ancient and honourable, but lately, from too great hospitality and expense, somewhat fallen to decay. He betook himself, in early youth, to the profession of arms ; and was en- gaged in the unfortunate expeditions to Cadiz and the Isle of Rhe. After England had concluded peace with all her neighbours, he sought military experience in the Low Countries, the great school of war to all the European nations ; and he rose to the command of a company under Lord Goring. This company consisted of 200 men, of whom a hundred were volunteers, often men of family and fortune, sometimes noblemen who lived upon their own in- come in a splendid manner. Such a military turn at that time prevailed among the English !
When the sound of war was first heard in this island. Monk returned to England, partly desirous of promotion in his native country, partly disgusted with some ill usage from the States, of which he found reason to complain. Upon the Scottish paci- fication, he was employed by the Earl of Leicester against the Irish rebels ; and having obtained a regi- ment, was soon taken notice of, for his military skill, and for his calm and deliberate valour. Without
X 2 ostentation,
308 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, ostentation, expense, or caresses, merely by his hu- LXii. mane and equal temper, he gained the good-will of the soldiery; who, with a mixture of familiarity and affection, usually called him honest George Monk ; an honourable appellation, which they still continued to him, even during his greatest elevation. He was remarkable for his moderation in party ; and while all around him were inflamed into rage against the opposite faction, he fell under suspicion from the candour and tranquillity of his behaviour. When the Irish army was called over into England, surmises of this kind had been so far credited, that he had even been suspended from his command, and ordered to Oxford that he might answer the charge laid against him. His established character for truth and sincerity here stood him in great stead ; and upon his earnest protestations and declarations, he was soon restored to his regiment, v/hich he joined at the siege of Nantwich. The day after his ar- rival, Fairfax attacked and defeated the royalists, commanded by Biron ; and took Colonel Monk prisoner. He was sent to the Tower, where he en- dured, above two years, all the rigours of poverty and confinement. The King, however, was so mind- ful as to send him, notwithstandinghis own difficulties, a present of 100 guineas ; but it was not till after the royalists were totally subdued, that he recovered his liberty. Monk, however distressed, had always refused the most inviting offers from the parliament : But Cromwell, sensible of his merit, having solicited him to engage in the wars against the Irish, who were considered as rebels both by King and parlia- ment ; he was not unwilling to repair his broken fortunes by accepting a command which, he flattered himself, wasreconcileable to the strictest principles of honour. Having once engaged with the parlia- ment, he was obliged to obey orders; and found himself necessitated to fight, both against the Mar- quis of Orrnond in Ireland, and against the King
himself
THE COMMONWEALTH. 3O9
himself in Scotland. Upon the reduction of the chap. latter kingdom, Monk was left with the supreme ^^^^• command ; and by the equality and justice of his ~77Z administration, he was able to give contentment to that restless people, now reduced to subjection by a nation whom they hated. No less acceptable was his authority to the officers and soldiers ; and fore- seeing that the good-will of the army under his command might some time be of great service to him, he had, with much care and success, culti- vated their friendship.
The connections which he had formed with Crom- well, his benefactor, preserved him faithful to Richard, who had been enjoined by his father to follow in every thing the directions of General Monk. When the long parliament was restored. Monk, who was not prepared for opposition, acknowledged their authority, and was continued in his command, from which it would not have been safe to attempt dis- lodging him. After the army had expelled the Monk de- parliament, he protested against the violence, and blares for resolved, as he pretended, to vindicate their invaded men?.^'^^^ privileges. Deeper designs, either in the King's fa- vour or his own, were, from the beginning, suspected to be the motive of his actions,
A RivALSHip had long subsisted between him and Lambert ; and every body saw the reason why he opposed the elevation of that ambitious general, by whose success his own authority, he knew, would soon be subverted. But little friendship had ever subsisted between him and the parliamentary leaders ; and it seemed no wise probable that he intended to employ his industry, and spend his blood, for the advancement of one enemy above another. How early he entertained designs for the King's resto- ration, we know not with certainty : It is likely, that as soon as Richard was deposed, he foresaw, that without such an expedient, it would be impossible ever to bring the nation lo a regular settlement. His
elder
1659.
310 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, elder and younger brothers were devoted to the LXii. royal cause : The Granvilles, his near relations, and all the rest of his kindred, were in the same in- terests : He himself was intoxicated with no fumes of enthusiasm, and had maintained no connections with any of the fanatical tribe. His early engage- ments had been with the King, and he had left that service without receiving any disgust from the royal family. Since he had inlisted himself with the op- posite party, he had been guilty of no violence or rigour, which might render him obnoxious. His re- turn, therefore, to loyalty, was easy and open ; and nothing could be supposed to counterbalance his na- tural propensity to that measure, except the views of his own elevation, and the prospect of usurping the same grandeur and authority which had been assumed by Cromwell. But from such exorbitant, if not impossible projects, the natural tranquillity and moderation of his temper, the calmness and so- lidity of his genius, not to mention his age, now upon the decline, seem to have set him at a dis- tance. Cromwell himself, he always asserted % could not long have maintained his usurpation ; and any other person even equal to him in genius, it was ob- vious, would now find it more difficult to practise arts, of which every one, from experience, was sufficiently aware. It is more agreeable, therefore, to reason as well as candour, to suppose that Monk, as soon as he put himself in motion, had entertained views of effecting the King's restoration ; nor ought any ob- jections, derived from his profound silence even to Charles himself, be regarded as considerable. His temper was naturally reserved ; his circum- stances required dissimulation ; the King, he knew, was surrounded with spies and traitors ; and upon the whole, it seems hard to interpret that conduct, which ought to exalt our idea of his prudence, as a disparagement of his probity.
- Gumble's Life of Monk, n. 03.
Sir
THE COMMONWEALTH, 31 i
Sir John Granville, hoping that the general chap. would engage in the King's service, sent into Scot- •^^"' land his younger brother, a clergyman, Dr. Monk, 1559. vs^ho carried him a letter and invitation from the King. When the Doctor arrived, he found that his brother was then holding a council of officers, and was not to be seen for some hours. In the mean time, he was received and entertained by Price, the general's chaplain, a man of probity, as well as a partisan of the King's. The doctor, having an entire confidence in the chaplain, talked very freely to him about the object of his journey, and engaged him, if there should be occasion, to second his ap- plications. At last, the general arrives ; the brothers embrace ; and after some preliminary observations, the doctor opens his business. Monk interrupted him, to know whether he had ever before to any body mentioned the subject. '* To nobody," re- plied his brother, " but to Price, whom I know to " be entirely in your confidence." The general, altering his countenance, turned the discourse, and would enter into no farther confidence with him, but sent him away with the first opportunity. He would not trust his own brother the moment he knew that he had disclosed the secret ; though to a man whom he himself could have trusted. ^
His conduct, in all other particulars, was full of ,
the same reserve and prudence ; and no less was re- quisite for effecting the difficult work which he had undertaken. All the officers in his army, of whom he entertained any suspicion, he immediately ca- shiered : Cobbet, who had been sent by the com- mittee of safety, under pretence of communicating their resolutions to Monk, but really with a view of debauching his army, he committed to custody : He drew together the several scattered regiments : He summoned an assembly, somewhat resernbling a convention of states ; and having communicated
>' Lord Lansdowne's defence of General Monk.
to
312 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, to them his resolution of marching into England, LXii. jjg received a seasonable, though no great supply of
1659. i^^<i»ey. ^ , ^ , . ^ ^
Hearing that Lambert was advancmg northward with his army. Monk sent Cloberry and two other commissioners to London, with large professions of his inclination to peace, and with offers of terms for an accommodation. His chief aim was to gain time, and relax the preparations of his enemies. The committee of safety fell into the snare. A treaty was signed by Monk's commissioners ; but he refused to ratify it, and complained that they had exceeded their powers. He desired, however, to enter into a new negotiation at Newcastle. The committee willingly accepted this fallacious offer. November. Mean WHILE these military sovereigns found them- selves surrounded on all hands with inextricable difficulties. The nation had fallen into total anar- chy ; and by refusing the payment of all taxes, re- duced the army to the greatest necessities. While Lambert's forces were assembling at Newcastle, Ha- zelrig and Morley took possession of Portsmouth, and declared for the parliament. A party, sent to suppress them, was persuaded by their commander to join in the same declaration. The city appren- tices rose in a tumult, and demanded a free parlia- ment. Though they were suppressed by Colonel Hewson, a man who, from the profession of a cobler, had risen to a high rank in the army, the city still discovered symptoms of the most dangerous dis- content. It even established a kind of separate government, and assumed the supreme authority within itself. Admiral Lawson, with his squa- dron, came into the river, and declared for the parliament. Hazelrig and Morley, hearing of this important event, left Portsmouth, and advanced towards London. The regiments near that city, being solicited by their old officers, who had been cashiered by the committee of safety, revolted
again
THE COMMONWEALTH. 313
again to the parliament. Desborow's regiment, chap.
being sent by Lambert to support his friends, no ^_^
sooner arrived at St. Albans than it declared for ^g^g, the same assembly.
Fleetwood's hand was found too weak and un- stable to support this ill-founded fabric, which, every where around him, was falling into ruins. When he received intelligence of any murmurs among the soldiers, he would prostrate himself in prayer, and could hardly be prevailed with to join the troops. Even when among them, he would, in the midst of any discourse, invite them all to prayer, and put himself on his knees before them. If any of his friends exhorted him to more vigour, they could get no other answer, than that God had spitten in his face and would not hear him. Men now ceased to wonder, why Lambert had promoted him to the office of general, and had contented himself with the second command in the army.
Lenthal, the speaker, being invited by the offi- ^^^^^[ ^ cers, again assumed authority, and summoned to- gether the parliament, which twice before had been expelled with so much reproach and ignominy. As Parliament soon as assembled, they repealed their act against ^^^^o'"*^'^' the payment of excise and customs ; they appointed commissioners for assigning quarters to the army ; and, without taking any notice of Lambert, they sent orders to the forces under his command im- mediately to repair to those quarters which were appointed them.
Lambert was now in a very disconsolate con- 1660. dition. Monk, he saw, had passed the Tweed at ^^"' ^* Coldstream, and was advancing upon him. His own soldiers deserted him in great multitudes, and joined the enemy. Lord Fairfax, too, he heard, had raised forces behind him, and had possessed him- self of York, without declaring his purpose. The last orders of the parliament so entirely stripped
him
314 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, him of his army, that there remained not with ^^^^' him above a hundred horse : All the rest went 1660. to their quarters with quietness and resignation ; and he himself was, some time after, arrested and committed to the Tower. The other officers, who had formerly been cashiered by the parliament, and who had resumed their commands, that they might subdue that assembly, were again cashiered and confined to their houses. Sir Harry Vane and some members, who had concurred with the committee of safety, were ordered into a like con- finement. And the parliament now seemed to be again possessed of more absolute authority than ever, and to be without any danger of opposition or control.
The republican party was at this time guided by two men, Hazelrig and Vane, who were of op- posite characters, and mortally hated each other. Hazelrig, who possessed greater authority in the parliament, was haughty, imperious, precipitate, vain-glorious ; without civility, without prudence ; qualified only by his noisy, pertinacious obstinacy, to acquire an ascendancy in public assemblies. Vane was noted, in all civil transactions, for tem- per, insinuation, address, and a profound judge- ment; in all religious speculations, for folly and extravagance. He was a perfect enthusiast; and fancying that he was certainly favoured with in- spiration, he deemed himself, to speak in the lan- guage of the times, to be a man above ordinances, and, by reason of his perfection, to be unlimited and unrestrained by any rules, which govern inferior mortals. These whimsies, mingling with pride, had so corrupted his excellent understanding, that some- times he thought himself the person deputed to reign on earth for a thousand years over the whole congregation of the faithful.^
" Clarendon.
Monk,
THE COMMONWEALTH. 3 15
Monk, though informed of the restoration of the chap, parliament, from whom he received no orders, still ^^^^' advanced with his army, which was near 6000 men : leeo. The scattered forces in England were above five times more numerous. Fairfax, who had resolved to declare for the King, not being able to make the general open his intentions, retired to his own house in Yorkshire. In all counties through which Monk passed, the prime gentry flocked to him with addresses ; expressing their earnest desire, that he would be instrumental in restoring the nation to peace and tranquillity, and to the enjoyment of those liberties, which by law were their birth- right, but of which, during so many years, they had been fatally bereaved : And that, in order to this salutary purpose, he would prevail, either for the restoring of those members who had been se- cluded before the King's death, or for the election of a new parliament, who might legally, and by general consent, again govern the nation. Though Monk pretended not to favour these addresses, that ray of hope, which the knowledge of his character and situation afforded, mightily animated all men. The tyranny and the anarchy, which now equally oppressed the kingdom ; the experience of past distractions, the dread of future convulsions, the in- dignation against military usurpation, against sanc- tified hypocrisy : All these motives had united every party, except the most desperate, into ardent wishes for the King's restoration, the only remedy for all these fatal evils.
Scot and Robinson were sent as deputies by the parliament, under pretence of congratulating the general, but in reality to serve as spies upon him. The city despatched four of their principal citizens to perform like compliments ; and at the same time to confirm the general in his inclination to a free parliament, the object of all men's prayers and endeavours. The authority of Monk could scarcely
secure
3J6
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP LXII.
1660.
secure the parliamentary deputies from those insults, which the general hatred and contempt towards their masters drew from men of every rank and denomination.
Monk continued his march with few interrup- tions till he reached St. Albans. He there sent a message to the parliament ; desiring them to remove from London those regiments which, though they now professed to return to their duty, had so lately offered violence to that assembly. This message was unexpected, and exceedingly perplexed the house. Their fate, they found, must still depend on a mercenary army ; and they were as distant as ever from their imaginary sovereignty. However, they found it necessary to comply. The soldiers made more difficulty. A mutiny arose among them. One regiment, in particular, quartered in Somerset- house, expressly refused to yield their place to the northern army. But those officers who would gladly, on such an occasion, have inflamed the quarrel, were absent or in confinement ; and for want of leaders, S^Lon"-' ^^^® soldiers were at last, with great reluctance, ob- don. liged to submit. Monk with his army took quarters
in Westminster,
The general was introduced to the house ; and thanks were given him by Lenthal for the eminent services which he had done his country. Monk was a prudent not an eloquent speaker. He told the house, that the services, which he had been enabled to perform, were no more than his duty, and merited not such praises as those with which they were pleased to honour him : That among many persons of greater worth, who bore their com- mission, he had been employed as the instrument of Providence for effecting their restoration ; but he considered this service as a step only to more important services, which it was their part to ren- der to the nation : That while on his march, he observed all ranks of men, in all places, to be
in
Feb. 3.
Feb. 6.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 317
ill earnest expectation of a settlement, after the vio- chap. lent convulsions to which they had been exposed ; ^^^^" and to have no prospect of that blessing but from "~|^ the dissolution of the present parliament, and from the summoning of a new one, free and full, who, meeting without oaths or engagements, might finally give contentment to the nation : That applications had been made to him for that purpose; but that he, sensible of his duty, had still told the petitioners, that the parliament itself, which was now free, and would soon be full, was the best judge of all these measures, and that the whole community ought to acquiesce in their determination : That though he expressed himself in this manner to the people, he must now freely inform the house, that the fewer engagements were exacted, the more comprehensive would their plan prove, and the more satisfaction would it give to the nation : And that it was suffi- cient for public security, if the fanatical party and the royalists were excluded ; since the principles of these factions were destructive either of government or of liberty.
This speech, containing matter which was both agreeable and disagreeable to the house as well as to the nation, still kept every one in suspense, and upheld that uncertainty, in which it seemed the general's interest to retain the public. But it was impossible for the kingdom to remain long in this doubtful situation : The people, as well as the par- liament, pushed matters to a decision. During the late convulsions, the payment of taxes had been in- terrupted ; and though the parliament, upon their assembling, renewed the ordinances for impositions, yet so little reverence did the people pay to those legislators, that they gave very slow and unwilling- obedience to their commands. The common-coun- cil of London flatly refused to submit to an assess- ment required of them ; and declared that, till a
free
1660.
318 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, free and lawful parliament imposed taxe.s, they LXii. never should deem it their duty to make any pay- ment. This resolution, if yielded to, would imme- diately have put an end to the dominion of the parliament : They were determined, therefore, up- on this occasion, to make at once a full experi- ment of their own power, and of their general's obedience. i)tii Feb. Monk received orders to march into the city ; to seize twelve persons, the most obnoxious to the par- liament ; to remove the posts and chains from all the streets ; and to take down and break the port- cullises and gates of the city : And very few hours were allowed him to deliberate upon the execution of these violent orders. To the great surprise and consternation of all men, Monk prepared himself for obedience. Neglecting the entreaties of his friends, the remonstrances of his officers, the cries of the people, he entered the city in a military manner ; he apprehended as many as he could of the proscrib- ed persons, whom he sent to the Tower; with all the circumstances of contempt, he broke the gates and portcullises ; and having exposed the city to the scorn and derision of all who hated it, he returned in triumph to his quarters in Westminster.
No sooner had the general leisure to reflect, than he found, that this last measure, instead of being a continuation of that cautious ambiguity, which he had hitherto maintained, was taking party with- out reserve, and laying himself, as well as the na- tion, at the mercy of that tyrannical parliament, whose power had long been odious, as their per- sons contemptible to all men. He resolved, there- fore, before it were too late, to repair the dangerous mistake into which he had been betrayed, and to show the whole world, still more without reserve, that he meant no longer to be the minister of vio-
Teb. 11. lence and usurpation. After complaining of the
odious
THE COMMONWEALTH. 319
odious service in which he had been employed, he chap. wrote a letter to the house, reproaching them, as ^^^^" well with the new cabals which they had formed ~T7Io with Vane and Lambert, as with the encouragement given to a fanatical petition presented by Praise-god Barebone ; and he required them, in the name of the citizens, soldiers, and whole commonwealth, to issue writs within a week for the filling of their house, and to fix the time for their own dissolution and the assembling of a new parliament. Having Declares despatched this letter, which might be regarded, he parila-"^^^ thought, as an undoubted pledge of his sincerity, he ment. marched with his army into the city, and desired Allen, the mayor, to summon a common-council at Guildhall. He there made many apologies for the indignity which, two days before, he had been obliged to put upon them ; assured them of his perseverance in the measures which he had adopt- ed ; and desired that they might mutually plight their faith for a strict union between city and army, in every enterprise for the happiness and settlement of the commonwealth.
It would be difficult to describe the joy and ex- ultation which displayed itself throughout the city, as soon as intelligence was conveyed of this happy measure embraced by the general. The prospect of peace, concord, liberty, justice, broke forth at once, from amidst the deepest darkness in which the nation had ever been involved. The view of past calamities no longer presented dismal prognos- tics of the future : It tended only to enhance the general exultation for those scenes of happiness and tranquillity, which all men now confidently pro- mised themselves. The royalists, the presbyterians, forgetting all animosities, mingled in common joy and transport, and vowed never more to gratify the ambition of false and factious tyrants, by their ca- '
lamitous divisions. The populace, more outrage- ous in their festivity, made the air resound with
acclamations.
320
CHAP. LXII.
1660.
Feb. 21. Secluded members restored.
March 16. Long par- liament
dissolved.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
acclamations, and illuminated every street with sig- nals of jollity and triumph. Applauses of the gene- ral were every where intermingled with detestation against the parliament. The most ridiculous inven- tions were adopted, in order to express this latter passion. At every bonfire, rumps were roasted, and where these could no longer be found, pieces of flesh were cut into that shape ; and the funeral of the parliament (the populace exclaimed) was cele- brated by these symbols of hatred and derision.
The parliament, though in the agonies of de- spair, made still one effort for the recovery of their dominion. They sent a committee with offers to gain the general. He refused to hear them, ex- cept in the presence of some of the secluded mem- bers. Though several persons, desperate from guilt and fanaticism, promised to invest him with the dignity of supreme magistrate, and to support his government, he would not hearken to such wild proposals. Having fixed a close correspondence with the city, and established its militia in hands whose fidelity could be relied on, he returned with his army to Westminster, and pursued every proper measure for the settlement of the nation. While he still pretended to maintain republican principles, he was taking large steps towards the re-establishment of the ancient monarchy.
The secluded members, upon the general's invi- tation, went to the house, and, finding no longer any obstruction, they entered, and immediately ap- peared to be the majority: Most of the independents left the place. The restored members first re- pealed all the ordinances by which they had been excluded : They gave Sir George Boothe and his party their liberty and estates : They renewed the general's commission, and enlarged his powers : They fixed an assessment for the support of the fleet and army : And having passed these votes for the present composure of the kingdom, they dissolved
themselves,
THE COMMONWEALTH. 321
themselves, and issued writs for the immediate as- chap, sembling of a new parliament. This last measure ^^^^' had been previously concerted with the genera], leeo. who knew that all men, however different in ajffec- tions, expectations, and designs, united in the detestation of the long parliament,
A COUNCIL of state was established, consisting of men of character and moderation ; most of whom, during the civil wars, had made a great figure among the presbyterians. The militia of the king- dom was put into such hands as would promote order and settlement. These, conjoined with Monk's army, which lay united at London, were esteemed a sufficient check on the more numerous, though dispersed army, of whose inclinations there was still much reason to be diffident. Monk, however, was every day removing the more obnoxious officers, and bringing the troops to a state of discipline and obedience.
Overton, governor of Hull, had declared his reso- lution to keep possession of that fortress till the com- ing of King Jesus : But when Alured produced the authority of parliament for his delivering the place to Colonel Fairfax, he thought proper to comply.
Montague, who commanded the fleet in the Baltic, had entered into the conspiracy with Sir George Boothe ; and pretending want of provisions, had sailed from the sound towards the coast of England, with an intention of supporting that in- surrection of the royalists. On his arrival, he re- ceived the news of Boothe's defeat, and the total failure of the enterprise. The great difficulties, to which the parliament was then reduced, allowed them no leisure to examine strictly the reasons which he gave for quitting his station; and they allowed him to retire peaceably to his country-house. The council of state now conferred on him, in con- junction with Monk, the command of the fleet ;
VOL. VII. y and
1660.
322 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, and secured the naval as well as militarv force, in
T V TT »/ '
hands favourable to the public settlement.
Notwithstanding all these steps which were taken towards the re- establishment of monarchy, Monk still maintained the appearance of zeal for a commonwealth, and hitherto allowed no canal of correspondence between himself and the King to be opened. To call a free parliament, and to restore the royal family, were visibly, in the present dispo- sition of the kingdom, one and the same measure : Yet would not the general declare, otherwise than by his actions, that he had adopted the King's in- terests ; and nothing but necessity extorted at last the confession from him. His silence, in the com- mencement of his enterprise, ought to be no objec- tion to his sincerity ; since he maintained the same reserve, at a time, when, consistent with common sense, he could have entertained no other purpose.*
There was one Morrice, a gentleman of Devon- shire, of a sedentary, studious disposition, nearly related to Monk, and one who had always main- tained the strictest intimacy with him. With this friend alone did Monk deliberate concerning that great enterprise which he had projected. Sir John Granville, who had a commission from the King, applied to Morrice for access to the general; but received for answer, that the general desired him to communicate his business to Morrice. Granville, though importunately urged, twice refused to de- liver his message to any but Monk himself; and this cautious politician, finding him now a person, whose secrecy could be safely trusted, admitted him to his presence, and opened to him his whole intentions. Still he scrupled to commit any thing to writing ^ : He delivered only a verbal message by Granville ; assuring the King of his services, '
* See note [L], at the end of the volume. *> Lansdowne. Clarendon.
giving,
THE COMMONWEALTH. 323
giving advice for his conduct, and exhorting him chap.
instantly to leave the Spanish territories, and retire
into Holland. He w^as apprehensive lest Spain -^qqq might detain him as a pledge for the recovery of Dunkirk and Jamaica. Charles followed these di- rections, and very narrowly escaped to Breda. Had he protracted his journey a few hours, he had cer- tainly, under pretence of honour and respect, been arrested by the Spaniards.
Lock HART, who was governor of Dunkirk, and no wise averse to the King's service, was applied to on this occasion. The state of England was set be- fore him, the certainty of the restoration represent- ed, and the prospect of great favour displayed, if he would anticipate the vows of the kingdom, and receive the King into his fortress. Lockhart still replied, that his commission was derived from an English parliament, and he would not open his gates but in obedience to the same authority ."^ This scruple, though in the present emergence it approaches towards superstition, it is difficult for us entirely to condemn.
The elections for the new parliament went every where in favour of the King's party. This was one of those popular torrents, where the most indifferent, or even the most averse, are transported with the general passion, and zealously adopt the sentiments of the community to which they belong. The en- thusiasts themselves seemed to be disarmed of their fury ; and between despair and astonishment, gave way to those measures, which, they found, it would be impossible for them, by their utmost efforts, to withstand. The presbyterians and the royalists, being united, formed the voice of the nation, which, without noise, but with infinite ardour, called for the King's restoration. The kingdom was almost entirely in the hands of the former party ; and some
« Burnel.
y 2 zealous
1660.
324 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, zealous leaders among them began to renew the de LXTi. mand of those conditions, which had been re- quired of the late King in the treaty of Newport : But the general opinion seemed to condemn all those rigorous and jealous capitulations with their sove- reign. Harassed with convulsions and disorders, men ardently longed for repose, and were terrified at the mention of negotiations or delays, which might afford opportunity to the seditious army still to breed new confusion. The passion too for liber- ty having been carried to such violent extremes, and having produced such bloody commotions, began, by a natural movement, to give place to a spirit of loyalty and obedience ; and the public was less zealous in a cause, which was become odious on account of the calamities which had so long attended it. After the legal concessions made by the late King, the constitution seemed to be sufficiently secured ; and the additional conditions insisted on, as they had been framed during the greatest ardour of the contest, amounted rather to annihilation than a limitation of monarchy. Above all, the general was averse to the mention of conditions ; and re- solved that the crown which he intended to restore, should be conferred on the King entirely free and unencumbered. Without farther scruple, therefore, or jealousy, the people gave their voice in elections for such as they knew to entertain sentiments favour- able to monarchy ; and all paid court to a party which, they foresaw, was soon to govern the nation. Though the parliament had voted, that no one should be elected, who had himself or whose father had borne arms for the late King ; little regard was any where paid to this ordinance. The leaders of the presbyterians, the Earl of Manchester, Lord Fair- fax, Lord Robarts, Hollis, Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Annesley, Lewis, were determined to atone for past transgressions, by their present zeal for the royal interests ; and from former merits, successes,
and
1660.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 325
and sufferings, they had acquired with their party chap. the highest credit and authority. ^^*^-
The affairs of Ireland were in a condition no less favourable to the King. As soon as Monk declared against the English army, he despatched emissaries into Ireland, and engaged the officers in that king- dom to concur with him in the same measures. Lord Broghil, president of Munster, and Sir Charles Coote, president of Connaught, went so far as to enter into a correspondence with the King, and to promise their assistance for his restoration. In con- junction with Sir Theophilus Jones, and other offi- cers, they took possession of the government and excluded Ludlow, who was zealous for the rump- parliament, but whom they pretended to be in a confederacy with the committee of safety. They kept themselves in readiness to serve the King ; but made no declarations, till they should see the turn which affairs took in England.
But all these promising views had almost been blasted by an untoward accident. Upon the admis- sion of the secluded members, the republican party, particularly the late King's judges, were seized with the justest despair, and endeavoured to infuse the same sentiments into the army. By themselves or their emissaries, they represented to the soldiers, that all those brave actions, which had been per- formed during the war, and which were so meri- torious in the eyes of the parliament, would no doubt be regarded as the deepest crimes by the royalists, and would expose the army to the severest ven- geance. That in vain did that party make professions of moderation and lenity : The King's death, the execution of so many of the nobility and gentry, the sequestration and imprisonment of the rest, were in their eyes crimes so deep, and offences so per- sonal, as must be prosecuted with the most implaca- ble resentment. That the loss of all arrears, and the
cashiering
1660.
326 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, cashiering of every officer and soldier, were the LXli. lightest punishment which must be expected : After the dispersion of the army, no farther protection re- mained to them, either for life or property, but the clemency of enraged victors. And that, even if the most perfect security could be obtained, it were in- glorious to be reduced, by treachery and deceit, to subjection under a foe, who, in the open field, had so often yielded to their superior valour.
After these suggestions had been infused into the army, Lambert suddenly made his escape from the To-wer, and threw Monk and the council of state into great consternation. They knew Lambert's vigour and activity ; they were acquainted with his popularity in the army ; they were sensible, that, though the soldiers had lately deserted him, they sufficiently expressed their remorse and their detes- tation of those, who, by false professions, they found, had so egregiously deceived them. It seemed neces- sary, therefore, to employ the greatest celerity in ' suppressing so dangerous a foe : Colonel Ligoldsby, who had been one of the late King's judges, but who
22d April, was uow entirely engaged in the royal cause, was despatched after him. He overtook him at Daventry, while he had yet assembled but four troops of horse. One of them deserted him. Another quickly followed the example. He himself, endeavouring to make his escape, was seized by Ingoldsby, to whom he made submissions not suitable to his former character of spirit and valour. Okey, Axtel, Cobbet, Crede, and other officers of that party, were taken prisoners with him. All the roads were full of soldiers hastening to join them. In a few days they had been formidable, and it was thought, that it might prove dangerous for Monk himself to have assembled any considerable body of his republican army for their suppression : So that nothing could be more happy than the sud-
den extinction of this rising flame.
When
THE COMMONWEALTH. 327
When the parliament met, they chose Sir Harbottle chap. Grimstone speaker, a man who, though he had for ^^"- some time concurred with the late parliament, had ^^^^ long been esteemed affectionate to the King's ser- 25th Apr. vice. The great dangers incurred during former usurpations, joined to the extreme caution of the general, kept every one in awe ; and none dared, for some days, to make any mention of the King. The members exerted their spirit chiefly in bitter invectives against the memory of Cromwell, and in execrations against the inhuman murder of their late sovereign. At last, the general, having sufficiently ^g^ May. sounded their inclinations, gave directions to A nnesley president of the council, to inform them, that one Sir John Granville, a servant of the King's, had been sent over by His Majesty, and was now at the door with a letter to the commons. The loudest acclama- The resto- tions were excited by this intelligence. Granville was '^^^'^"' called in : The letter, accompanied with a declaration, greedily read : Without one moment's delay, and without a contradictory vote, a committee was ap- pointed to prepare an answer : And, in order to spread the same satisfaction throughout the kingdom, it was voted that the letter and declaration should immediately be published.
The people, freed from the state of suspense in which they had so long been held, now changed their anxious hope for the unmixed effusions of joy; and displayed a social triumph and exultation, which no private prosperity, even the greatest, is ever able fully to inspire. Traditions remain of men, particu- larly of Oughtred, the mathematician, who died of pleasure, when informed of this happy and surprising event. The King's declaration was well calculated to uphold the satisfaction inspired by the prospect of public settlement. It offered a general amnesty to all persons whatsoever; and that without any exceptions but suchas should afterwards be made by parliament:
It
328 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. It promised liberty of conscience; and a concur- Lxii. j-ence in any act of parliament, which, upon mature deliberation, should be offered for insurino: that indulgence : It submitted to the arbitration of the same assembly the inquiry into all grants, purchases, and alienations : And it assured the soldiers of all their arrears, and promised them, for the future, the same pay which they then enjoyed.
The lords perceiving the spirit by which the kingdom, as well as the commons, was animated, hastened to reinstate themselves in their ancient authority, and to take their share in the settlement of the nation. They found the doors of their house open; and all were admitted; even such as had formerly been excluded on account of their pre- tended delinquency.
8th May. TiiE two houscs attended, while the King was proclaimed with great solemnity, in Palace-yard, at Whitehall, and at Temple-bar. The commons voted 500 pounds to buy a jewel for Granville, who had brought them the King's gracious messages : A present of 50,000 pounds was conferred on the King, 10,000 pounds on the Duke of York, 5,000 pounds on the Duke of Gloucester. A committee of lords and commons was despatched to invite His Majesty to return and take possession of the government. The rapidity with which all these events were con- ducted was marvellous, and discovered the passionate zeal and entire unanimity of the nation. Such an impatience appeared, and such an emulation, in lords, and commons, and city, who should make the most lively expressions of their joy and duty ; that, as the noble historian expresses it, a man could not but wonder where those people dwelt, who had done all the mischief, and kept the King so many years from enjoying the comfort and support of such ex- cellent subjects. The King himself said, that it must surely have been his own fault that he had not
sooner
1660.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 329
sooner taken possession of the throne; since he chap. found every body so zealous in promoting his happy ^^^^- restoration. ' "
The respect of foreign powers soon followed the submission of the King's subjects. Spain invited him to return to the Low Countries, and embark in some of her maritime towns. France made pro- testations of affection and regard, and offered Calais for the same purpose. The States-general sent de- puties with a like friendly invitation. The King resolved to accept of this last offer. The people of the republic bore him a cordial affection ; and poli- tics no longer restrained their magistrates from pro- moting and expressing that sentiment. As he passed from Breda to the Hague, he was attended by numerous crowds, and was received with the loudest acclamations ; as if themselves, not their rivals in power and commerce, were now restored to peace and security. The States-general, in a body, and afterwards the States of Holland apart, per- formed their compliments with the greatest solem- nity. Every person of distinction was ambitious of being introduced to his Majesty ; all ambassadors and public ministers of Kings, Princes, or States, repaired to him, and professed the joy of their masters in his behalf: So that one would have thought, that from the united efforts of Christendom had been derived this revolution, which diffused every where such universal satisfaction.
The English fleet came in sight of Scheveling. Montague had not waited for orders from the par- liament ; but had persuaded the officers, of them- selves, to tender their duty to His Majesty. The Duke of York immediately went on board, and took the command of the fleet as high admiral.
When the King disembarked at Dover, he was met by the general, whom he cordially embraced. Never subject, in fact, probably in his intentions,
had
330 HIS^rORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, had deserved better of his King and country. In L-^^^- the space of a few months, without effusion of blood, ^y ^^^^ cautious and disinterested conduct alone, he had bestowed settlement on three kingdoms, which had long been torn with the most violent convulsions : And having obstinately refused the most inviting conditions offered him by the King, as well as by every party in the kingdom, he freely restored his injured master to the vacant throne. The King 29th May. entered Londi^n on the 29th of May, which was also his birth-day. The fond imaginations of men interpreted as a happy omen the concurrence of two such joyful periods.
'Sfr^^^^^^'^^i^r^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-^^i!^^^^
. At this era, it may be proper to stop a moment, and take a general survey of the age, so far as re- gards manners, finances, arms, commerce, arts, and sciences. The chief use of history is, that it affords materials for disquisitions of this nature ; and it seems the duty of an historian to point out the proper inferences and conclusions. Manners No people could undergo a change more sudden and arts, and entire in their manners, than did the English nation during this period. From tranquillity, con- cord, submission, sobriety, they passed in an instant to a state of faction, fanaticism, rebellion, and almost frenzy. The violence of the English parties ex- ceeded any thing which we can now imagine : Had they continued but a little longer, there was just reason to dread all the horrors of the ancient mas- sacres and proscriptions. The military usurpers, whose authority was founded on palpable injustice, and was supported by no national party, would have
been
THE COMMONWEALTH. 331
been impelled by rage and despair into such san- chap. guinary measures ; and if these furious expedients ^^^^' had been employed on one side, revenge would na- iggo. turally have pushed the other party, after a return of power, to retaliate upon their enemies. No social in- tercourse was maintained between the parties ; no marriages or alliances contracted. The royalists, though oppressed, harassed, persecuted, disdained all affinity with their masters. The more they were reduced to subjection, the greater superiority did they affect above those usurpers, who by violence and injustice had acquired an ascendant over them. The manners of the two factions were as opposite as those of the most distant nations. " Your friends, " the Cavaliers," said a parliamentarian to a royalist, " are very dissolute and debauched." " True," replied the royalist, " they have the infirmities of "men: But your friends, the Roundheads, have '* the vices of devils, tyranny, rebellion, and spi- " ritual pride." '^ Riot and disorder, it is certain, notwithstanding the good example set them by Charles I., prevailed very much among his partisans. Being commonly men of birth and fortune, to whom excesses are less pernicious than to the vulgar, they were too apt to indulge themselves in all pleasures, particularly those of the table. Opposition to the rigid preciseness of their antagonists increased their inclination to good fellowship ; and the character of a man of pleasure was affected among them, as a sure pledge of attachment to the church and mo- narchy. Even when ruined by confiscations and sequestrations, they endeavoured to maintain the appearance of a careless and social jollity. ** As *' much as hope is superior to fear," said a poor and merry cavalier, *' so much is our situation preferable " to that of our enemies. We laugh while they " tremble."
^ Sir Philip Warwick.
The
1660.
332 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. The gloomy enthusiasm which prevailed among ^^^^- the parliamentary party, is surely the most curious spectacle presented by any history ; and the most instructive, as well as entertaining, to a philosophical mind. All recreations were, in a manner, sus- pended by the rigid severity of the presbyterians and independents. Horse-races and cock-matches were prohibited as the greatest enormities." Even bear-baiting was esteemed heathenish and un- christian : The sport of it, not the inhumanity, gave offence. Colonel Hewson, from his pious zeal, marched with his regiment into London, and de- stroyed all the bears, which were there kept for the diversion of the citizens. This adventure seems to have given birth to the fiction of Hudibras. Though the English nation be naturally candid and sincere, hypocrisy prevailed among them beyond any example in ancient or modern times. The religious hypo- crisy, it may be remarked, is of a peculiar nature ; and being generally unknown to the person him- self, though more dangerous, it implies less false- hood than any other species of insincerity. The Old- Testament, preferably to the New, was the favourite of all the sectaries. The eastern poetical style of that composition made it more easily susceptible of a turn which was agreeable to them.
We have had occasion, in the course of this work, to speak of many of the sects which prevailed in England : To enumerate them all would be impos- sible. The quakers, however, are so considerable, at least so singular, as to merit some attention ; and as they renounced by principle the use of arms, they never made such a figure in public transactions as to enter into any part of our narrative.
The religion of the quakers, like most others, began with the lowest vulgar, and, in its progress, came at last to comprehend people of better quality
• Killing no Murder.
and
THE COMMONWEALTH. 333
and fashion. George Fox, born at Drayton in Lan- chap. cashire, in 1624, was the founder of this sect. He ^^^^• was the son of a weaver, and was himself bound ap- "leeoT" prentice to a shoe-maker. Feeling a stronger impulse towards spiritual contemplations than towards that mechanical profession, he left his master, and went about the country clothed in a leathern doublet, a dress which he long affected, as well for its singularity as its cheapness. That he might wean himself from sublunary objects, he broke off all connections with his friends and family, and never dwelt a moment in one place ; lest habit should beget new connections, and depress the sublimity of his aerial meditations. He frequently wandered into the woods, and passed whole days in hollow trees, without company, or any other amusement than his Bible. Having reached that pitch of perfection as to need no other book, he soon advanced to another state of spiritual progress, and began to pay less regard even to that divine composition itself. His own breast, he imagined, was full of the same inspiration which had guided the prophets and apostles themselves ; and by this in- ward light must every spiritual obscurity be cleared, by this living spirit must the dead letter be animated. When he had been sufficiently consecrated in his own imagination, he felt that the fumes of self-ap- plause soon dissipate, if not continually supplied by the admiration of others ; and he began to seek proselytes. Proselytes were easily gained at a time when all men's affections were turned towards reli- gion, and when the most extravagant modes of it were sure to be most popular. All the forms of ceremony, invented by pride and ostentation. Fox and his disciples, from a superior pride and osten- tation, carefully rejected : Even the ordinary rites of civility were shunned, as the nourishment of carnal vanity and self-conceit. They would bestow no titles of distinction : The name of friend was the only
salutation
LXII.
1660.
334 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, salutation with which they indiscriminately accosted every one. To no person would they make a bow, or move their hat, or give any signs of reverence. Instead of that affected adulation, introduced into modern tongues, of speaking to individuals as if they were a multitude, they returned to the simplicity of ancient languages ; and thou and thee were the only expressions which, on any consideration, they could be brought to employ.
Dress too, a material circumstance, distinguished the members of this sect. Every superfluity and or- nament was carefully retrenched : No plaits to their coat, no buttons to their sleeves : No lace, no ruffles, no embroidery. Even a button to the hat, though sometimes useful, yet not being always so, was uni- versally rejected by them with horror and detestation.
The violent enthusiasm of this sect, like all high passions, being too strong for the weak nerves to sustain, threw the preachers into convulsions, and shakings, and distortions in their limbs ; and they thence received the appellation of quakers. Amidst the great toleration which was then granted to all sects, and even encouragement given to all innova- tions, this sect alone sufl'ered persecution. From the fervour of their zeal, the quakers broke into churches, disturbed public worship, and harassed the minister and audience with railing and reproaches. When carried before a magistrate, they refused him all re- verence, and treated him with the same familiarity as if he had been their equal. Sometimes they were thrown into mad-houses, sometimes into prisons : Sometimes whipped, sometimes pilloried. The pa- tience and fortitude with which they suffered, begat compassion, admiration, esteem. '^ A supernatural
spirit
f The following story is told by Whitlocke, p. 599. Some quakers at Hasington in Northumberland coming to the minister on the Sabbath-day, and speaking to him, the people fell upon the quakers,
and
THE COMMONWEALTH. 335
spirit was believed to support them under those suf- chap. ferings, which the ordinary state of humanity, freed ^^"- from the illusions of passion, is unable to sustain. "leeoT"
The quakers crept into the army: But as they preached universal peace, they seduced the military zealots from their profession, and would soon, had they been suffered, have put an end, without any de- feat or calamity, to the dominion of the saints. These attempts became a fresh ground of persecution, and a new reason for their progress among the people.
Morals with this sect were carried, or affected to be carried, to the same degree of extravagance as re- ligion. Give a quaker a blow on one cheek, he held up the other : Ask his cloak, he gave you his coat also: The greatest interest could not engage him, in any court of judicature, to swear even to the truth: He never asked more for his wares than the precise sum which he was determined to accept. This last maxim is laudable, and continues still to be reli- giously observed by that sect.
No fanatics ever carried farther the hatred to cere- monies, forms, orders, rites, and positive institutions. Even baptism and the Lord's supper, by all other sects believed to be interwoven with the very vitals of Christianity, were disdainfully rejected by them. The very Sabbath they profaned. The holiness of churches they derided ; and they would give to these sacred edifices no other appellation than that of shops or steeple- houses. No priests were admitted into their sect: Every one had received from immediate illumi- nation a character much superior to the sacerdotal. When they met for divine worship, each rose up in
and almost killed one or two of them, who, going out, fell on their knees, and prayed God to pardon the people, who knew not what they did ; and afterwaids speaking to the people, so convinced them of the evil they had done in beating them, that the country people fell a quar- relling, and beat one another more than they had before beaten the quakers.
his
1660.
336 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, his place, and delivered the extemporary inspirations LXii. of the Holy Ghost : Women were also admitted to teach the brethren, and were considered as proper vehicles to convey the dictates of the Spirit. Some- times a great many preachers were moved to speak at once : Sometimes a total silence prevailed in their congregations.
Some quakers attempted to fast forty days in imi- tation of Christ ; and one of them bravely perished in the experiment.^ A female quaker came naked into the church, where the Protector sat; being moved by the spirit, as she said, to appear as a sign to the people. A number of them fancied, that the renovation of all things had commenced, and that clothes were to be rejected, together with other su- perfluities. The sufferings which followed the prac- tice of this doctrine, were a species of persecution not well calculated for promoting it.
James NAYLORwasaquaker,notedfor blasphemy, or rather madness, in the time of the protectorship. He fancied that he himself was transformed into Christ, and was become the real saviour of the world; and in consequence of this frenzy, he endeavoured to imitate many actions of the Messiah related in the Evangelists. As he bore a resemblance to the com- mon pictures of Christ, he allowed his beard to grow in a like form : He raised a person from thedead^ : He was ministered unto by women': He entered Bristol, mounted on a horse : I suppose, from the difficulty in that place of finding an ass : His disciples spread their garments before him, and cried, " Hosannah to the " highest; holy, holy is the Lord God of Sabbaoth." When carried before the magistrate, he would give no other answer to all questions than " thou hast
g Whitlocke, p. 624.
'• Harleian Miscellany, vol. 6, p. 399. One Dorcas Barberry made
oath before a magistrate, that she had been dead two days, and that
Naylor had brought her to life. ' Id. ibid.
** said
1660.
THE COMMONWEALTH. 337
^•^ said it." What is remarkable, the parliament chap, thought that the matter deserved their attention. LXH. Near ten days they spent in inquiries and debates about him, ^ They condemned him to be pilloried, whipped, burned in the face, and to have his tongue bored through with a red-hot iron. AH these severities he bore with the usual patience. So far his delusion supported him. But the sequel spoiled all. He was sent to Bridewell, confined to hard labour, fed on bread and water, and debarred from all his disciples, male and female. His illusion dissipated, and after some time he was contented to .come out an ordinary man, and return to his usual occupations..
The chief taxes in England, during the time of th.e commonwealth, were the monthly assessments, the excise, and the customs. The assessments were Jevied on personal estates, as well as on land ' ; and .commissioners were appointed in each county for jating the individuals. The highest assessment .amounted to 120,000 pounds a month in England ; the lowest was 35,000. The assessments in Scotland were sometimes 10,000 pounds ^-mopth ™ ; Qoifir monly 6000, Those ii\ Ireland 9000. At a me^- dium this tax might have afforded about a million ar year. The excise, during the civil wars, was levied on bread, flesh-meat, <is well as beer, ale, strong watersj and many other commodities. After (the King was sybdued, bread and flesh-ineat wer^ exenipted from expise. The pusfoms on exporta- ition were lowered in 165^, " Jn 1650, comn^ission'' jers were appointed to Ipyy both customs and excis^es, rCromwell in 1657 returned to th,e old pr^p^ tiee of farming.. Eleven hundred thousand pounds were then offered, both for customs and excise; a grpatpr sum thsm had eypr Ibe.en leyied Jby tk^ .com^ missioners " ; Tb# whole .of 3th^ X^xes ^mm^ thaj
'' Thurloe, vol. y. p. 708. ' J S.coi)d^ p, 45.9, ^ TbH.!lQ«^
>ToL ii. ,p, 476.. ? S.cobei, p> 37^, *> Jjiiytlpe, vo^, ^y^, f,. A$!$,
vou yji, ■ z pmml
338 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, period might at a medium amount to above two L^^^- millions a-year ; a sum which, though moderate, ^ggo much exceeded the revenue of any former King. ^ Sequestrations, compositions, sale of crown and church lands, and of the lands of delinquents, yielded also considerable sums, but very difficult to be estimated. Church lands are said to have been sold for a million. "> None of these were ever valued at above ten or eleven years' purchase.' The estates of delinquents amounted to above 200,000 pounds a-year. ' Cromwell died more than two millions in debt*; though the parliament had left him in the treasury above 500,000 pounds ; and in stores, the value of 700,000 pounds. "
The committee of danger in April 1648 voted to raise the army to 40,000 men. "' The same year, the pay of the army was estimated at 80,000 pounds a-month. " The establishment of the army in 1652 was, in Scotland, 15,000 foot, 2580 horse, 560 dra- goons ; in England, 4700 foot, 2520 horse, garri- sons 6154. In all, 31,519, besides officers, y The army in Scotland was afterwards considerably re- duced. The army in Ireland was not much short of 20,000 men ; so that, upon the whole, the com- monwealth maintained in 1652 a standing army of more than 50,000 men. Its pay amounted to a " yearly sum of 1,047,715 pounds. "" Afterwards the Protector reduced the establishment to 30,000 men, as appears by the Instrument of Government and Humble Petition and Advice. His frequent enter- prises obliged him from time to time to augment them. Richard had on foot in England an army of 13,258 men, in Scotland 9506, in Ireland about
Pit appears that the late King's revenue, from 1637 to the meeting of the Long Parliament, was only 900,000 pounds, of which 200,000 may be esteemed illegal. i Dr. Walker, p. 14. ■■ Thurloe, vol. i. p. 753.
•* Ibid. vol. ii. p. 414. ' Ibid. vol. vii, p. 667.
" World's Mistake in Oliver Cromwell. "■" Whitlocke, p. 298.
" Ibid. p. 378. y Journal, 2d December, 1652. ^ Id. Ibid.
10,000
THE COMMONWEALTH. 339
10,000 men, " The foot soldiers had commonly chap. a shilling a-day.'' The horse had two shillings and ^^^^' six-pence ; so that many gentlemen and younger brothers of good family inlisted in the Protector's cavalry. " No wonder that such men were averse from the re-establishment of civil government, by which, they well knew, they must be deprived of so gainful a profession.
At the time of the battle of Worcester, the par- liament had on foot about 80,000 men, partly mili- tia, partly regular forces. The vigour of the com- monwealth, and the great capacity of those mem- bers who had assumed the government, never at any time appeared so conspicuous. ''
The whole revenue of the public, during the pro- tectorship of Richard, was estimated at 1,868,717 pounds : His annual expenses at 2,201,540 pounds. An additional revenue was demanded from parlia- ment. *
The commerce and industry of England increased extremely during the peaceable period of Charles's reign : The trade to the East-Indies and to Guinea became considerable. The English possessed almost the sole trade with Spain. Twenty thousand cloths were annually sent to Turkey. ' Commerce met with interruption, no doubt, from the civil wars and convulsions which afterwards prevailed; though it soon recovered after the establishment of the com- monwealth. The war with the Dutch, by distressing the commerce of so formidable a rival, served to encourage trade in England : The Spanish war was to an equal degree pernicious. All the effects of the English merchants, to an immense value, were confiscated in Spain. The prevalence of de- mocratical principles engaged the country gentlemen
a Journal, 6th of April, 1659. •> Thurloe, vol. i. p. 395.
vol. ii. p. 414. "^ Gumble's Life of Monk.
•» Whitlocke, p. 477. * Journal, 7th April, 1659.
f Strafford's Letters, vol.i. p. 421. 423. 430. 467.
z 2 to
1660.
340 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, to bind their sons apprentices to merchants"; and LXii. commerce has ever since been more honourable in England than in any other European kingdom. The exclusive companies, which formerly confined trade, were never expressly abolished by any ordi- nance of parliament during the commonwealth ; but as men paid no regard to the prerogative whence the charters of these companies were de- rived, the monoply was gradually invaded, and commerce increased by the increase of liberty. In- terest in 1650 was reduced to six per cent.
The customs in England, before the civil wars, are said to have amounted to 500,000 pounds a-year'' : A sum ten times greater than during the best period in Queen Elizabeth's reign : But there is probably some exaggeration in this matter.
The post-house in 1653 was farmed at 10,000 pounds a-year, whicH was deemed a considerable sum for the three kingdoms. Letters paid only about half their present postage.
From 1619 to 1638, there had been coined 6,900,042 pounds. From 1638 to 1657, the coin- age amounted to 7,733,521 pounds.' Dr. Dave- nant has told us from the registers of the mint, that between 1558 and 1659, there had been coined 19,832,476 pounds in gold and silver.
The first mention of tea, coffee, and chocolate, is about 1660. ^ Asparagus, artichokes, cauliflower, and a variety of sallads, were about the same time introduced into England. '
The colony of New England increased by means of the puritans, who fled thither, in order to free themselves from the constraint which Laud and the church party had imposed upon them ; and, before the commencement of the civil wars, it is supposed
« Clarendon. •> Lewis Robert's Treasure of Traffick.
' Happy Future State of England. ^ Anderson, vol. ii. p. 1 1 1.
' Id. Ibid.
to
tHE COMMON WEALTH. 341
to have contained 25,000 souls. '" For a like reason chap. the catholics, afterwards, who found themselves ex- ^^^^' posed to many hardships, and dreaded still worse leeo. treatment, went over to America in great numbers, and settled the colony of Maryland.
Before the civil wars, learning and the fine arts were favoured at court, and a good taste began to prevail in the nation. The King loved pictures, some- times handled the pencil himself, and was a good judge of the art. The pieces of foreign masters were bought up at a vast price ; and the value of pictures doubled in Europe by the emulation between Charles and Philip IV. of Spain, who were touched with the same elegant passion. Vandyke was caressed and enriched at court. Inigo Jones was master of the King's buildings ; though afterwards persecuted by the parliament, on account of the part which he had in rebuilding St. Paul's, and for obeying some orders of council, by which he was directed to pull down houses, in order to make room for that edifice. Laws, who had not been surpassed by any musician before him, was much beloved by the King, who called him the father of music. Charles was a good judge of writing, and was thought by some more anxious with regard to purity of style than became a monarch. " Notwithstanding his narrow revenue, and his freedom from all vanity, he lived in such magnificence, that he possessed four-and-twenty palaces, all of them elegantly and completely furnished; insomuch that, when he removed from one to another, he was not obliged to transport any thing along with him.
Cromwell, though himself a barbarian, was not insensible to literary merit. Usher, notwithstanding his being a bishop, received a pension from him. Marvel and Milton were in his service. Waller, who was his relation, was caressed by him. That poet
"' British Empire ia America, vol. i. p. 372. " Burnet,
always
342
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
1660.
CHAP always said, that the Protector himself was not so LXii. wholly illiterate as was commonly imagined. He gave a hundred pounds a-year to the divinity pro- fessor at Oxford ; and an historian mentions this bounty as an instance of his love of literature. ° He intended to have erected a college at Durham for the benefit of the northern counties.
Civil wars, especially when founded on principles of liberty, are not commonly unfavourable to the arts of eloquence and composition; or rather, by presenting nobler and more interesting objects, they amply compensate that tranquillity of which they bereave the Muses. The speeches of the parlia- mentary orators during this period are of a strain much superior to what any former age had produced in England; and the force and compass of our tongue were then first put to trial. It must, however, be con- fessed, that the wretched fanaticism which so much infected the parliamentary party, was no less destruc- tive of taste and science, than of all law and order. Gaiety and wit were proscribed : Human learning- despised : Freedom of inquiry detested : Cant and hypocrisy alone encouraged. It was an article posi- tively insisted on in the preliminaries to the treaty of Uxbridge, that all play-houses should for ever be abolished. Sir John Davenant, says Whitlocke, ^ speaking of the year 1658, published an opera, not- withstanding the nicety of the times. All the King's furniture was put to sale : His pictures, dis- posed of at very low prices, enriched all the collec- tions in Europe : The cartoons, when complete, were only appraised at 300 pounds, though the whole col- lection of the King's curiosities was sold at above 50,000. "> Even the royal palaces were pulled in pieces, and the materials of them sold. The very library and medals at St. James's were intended by
" Neale's History of the Puritans, vol, iv. p. 123. P P. 639. 1 Pari. Hist. vol. xix. p. 83.
the
THE COMMONWEALTH. 343
the generals to be brought to auction, in order to pay chap. the arrears of some regiments of cavalry quartered LXii. near London : But Selden, apprehensive of the loss, "~~ engaged his friend Whitlocke, then lord-keeper for the commonwealth, to apply for the office of librarian. This expedient saved that valuable collection.
It is, however, remarkable, that the greatest genius by far that shone out in England during this period, was deeply engaged with these fanatics, and even prostituted his pen in theological controversy, in factious disputes, and in justifying the most violent measures of the party. This was John Milton, whose poems are admirable, though liable to some objections ; his prose writings disagreeable, though not altogether defective in genius. Nor are all his poems equal : His Paradise Lost, his Comus, and a few others, shine out amidst some flat and in- sipid compositions : Even in the Paradise Lost, his capital performance, there are very long passages, amounting to near a third of the work, almost wholly destitute of harmony and elegance, nay, of all vigour of imagination. This natural inequality in Milton's genius was much increased by the in- equalities in his subject ; of which some parts are of themselves the most lofty that can enter into human conception ; others would have required the most laboured elegance of composition to support them. It is certain, that this author, when in a happy mood, and employed on a noble subject, is the most wonderfully sublime of any poet in any language; Homer and Lucretius and Tasso not excepted. More concise than Homer, more simple than Tasso, more nervous than Lucretius ; had he lived in a later age, and learned to polish some rudeness in his verses ; had he enjoyed better for- tune, and possessed kisure to watch the returns of genius in himself, he had attained the pinnacle of perfection, and borne away the palm of epic poetry.
It
1660.
344 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
c 11 A P. It is well known, that Milton never enjoyed hi ^^^^' his lifetime the repuation which he deserved. His Paradise Lost was ' long neglected: Prejudices against an apologist for the regicides, and against a work not wholly purged from the cant of former times, kept the ignorant world from perceiving the prodigious merit of that performance. Lord Somers, by encouraging a good edition of it, about twenty years after the author's death, first brought it into request ; and Tonson, in his dedication of a smaller edition, speaks of it as a work just beginning to be known. Even during the prevalence of Milton's party, he seems never to have been much regarded; and Whitlocke' talks of one Milton, as he calls him, a blind man, who was employed in translating a treaty with Sweden into Latin. These forms of expression are amusing to posterity, who consider how obscure Whitlocke himself, though lord- keeper and ambassador, and indeed a man of great abilities and merit, has become in comparison of Miltoli.
It is not strange that Milton received no encou- ragement after the restoration : It is more to be' admired that he escaped with his life. Many of the cavaliers blamed extremely that lenity towards him, which was so honourable in the King, and so advantageous to posterity. It is said, that he had saved Davenant's life during the protectorship ; and .Davenant, in return, afforded him like protection after the restoration ; being sensible that men of letters ought always to regard their sympathy of taste as a more powerful band of union, than any diffe- rence of party or opinion as a source of animosity. It was during a state of poverty, blindness, disgrace, danger, and old age, that Milton composed his wonderful poem, which not only surpassed all the
' p. 633.
performances
TilE COMMON W£ALT'h\ 345
performances of his contemporaries, but all the coiri- chap. positions Which had flowed from his pen during the ^^"- vigour of his age and the height of his prosperity, ^^g^ This circumstance is not the least remarkable of all those which attend that great genius. He died in 1674, aged 66.
Waller was the first refiner of English poetry, at least of English rhyme ; but his performances still abound with many faults, and, what is more! material, they contain but feeble and superficial beauties. Gaiety, wit, and ingenuity, are their rul- ing character : They aspire not to the sublime ; still less to the pathetic. They treat of love, without making us feel any tenderness ; and abound in pane- gyric, without exciting admiration. The panegyric, however, on Cromwell, contains more force than we should expect from the other compositions of this poet.
Waller was born to an ample fortune, was early introduced to the court, and lived in the best company. He possessed talents for eloquence as well as poetry ; and till his death, which happened in a good old age, he was the delight of the house of commons. The errors of his life proceeded more from Want of courage, than of honour or integrity. He died in 1687, aged 82.
Cowley is an author extremely corrupted by the bad taste of his age ; but had he lived even in the purest times of Greece or Rome, he must always have been a very indifferent poet. He had no ear for harmony ; and his verses are only known to be such by the rhyme which terminates them. In his rugged untuneable numbers are conveyed senti- ments the most strained and distorted ; long-spun allegories, distant allusions, and forced conceits. Great ingenuity, however^ and vigour of thought^ sometimes break out amidst those unnatural concep- tions : A few anacreontics surprise us by their ease and gaiety : His prose writings please, by the honesty
and
346 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, and goodness which they express, and even by their ^^^^- spleen and melancholy. This author was much more 1660. praised and admired during his life-time, and cele- brated after his death, than the great Milton. He died in 1667, aged 49.
Sir John Denham, in his Cooper's Hill, (for none of his other poems merit attention,) has a loftiness and vigour, which had not before him been attained by any English poet who wrote in rhyme. The me- chanical difficulties of that measure retarded its im- provement. Shakespeare, whose tragic scenes are sometimes so wonderfully forcible and expressive, is a very indifferent poet when he attempts to rhyme. Precision and neatness are chiefly wanting in Den- ham. He died in 1688, aged 73.
No English author in that age was more cele- brated both abroad and at home, than Hobbes : In our time he is much neglected : A lively instance, how precarious all reputations founded on reason- ing and philosophy ! A pleasant comedy which paints the manners of the age, and exposes a faith- ful picture of nature, is a durable work, and is trans- mitted to the latest posterity. But a system, whe- ther physical or metaphysical, commonly owes its success to its novelty ; and is no sooner canvassed with impartiality, than its weakness is discovered. Hobbes's politics are fitted only to promote tyranny, and his ethics to encourage licentiousness. Though an enemy to religion, he partakes nothing of the spirit of scepticism ; but is as positive and dogmati- cal as if human reason, and his reason in particular, could attain a thorough conviction in these subjects. Clearness and propriety of style are the chief excel- lencies of Hobbes's writings. In his own person he is represented to have been a man of virtue ; a cha- racter nowise surprising, notwithstanding his liber- tine system of ethics. Timidity is the principal fault with which he is reproached : He lived to an extreme old age, yet could never reconcile himself
to
THE COMMONWEALTH. 347
to the thoughts of death. The boldness of his opi- chap. nions and sentiments form a remarkable contrast ^^^^' to this part of his character. He died in 1679, igeo. aged 91.
Harrington's Oceana was well adapted to that age, when the plans of imaginary republics were the daily subjects of debate and conversation ; and even in our time, it is justly admired as a work of genius and invention. The idea, however, of a perfect and immortal commonwealth will always be found as chimerical as that of a perfect and immor- tal man. The style of this author wants ease and fluency ; but the good matter, which his work con- tains, makes compensation. He died in 1G77, aged 66.
Harvey is entitled to the glory of having made, by reasoning alone, without any mixture of accident, a capital discovery in one of the most important branches of science. He had also the happiness of establishing at once his theory on the most solid and convincing proofs'; and posterity has added little to the arguments suggested by his industry and ingenuity. His treatise of the circulation of the blood is farther embellished by that warmth and spirit which so naturally accompany the genius of invention. This great man was much favoured by Charles I. who gave him the liberty of using all the deer in the royal forests for perfecting his discoveries on the generation of animals. It was remarked, that no physician in Europe, who had reached forty years of age, ever, to the end of his life, adopted Harvey's doctrine of the circulation of the blood, and that his practise in London diminished extreme- ly, from the reproach drawn upon him by that great and signal discovery. So slow is the progress of truth in every science, even when not opposed by factious or superstitious prejudices ! He died in 1657, aged 79.
This
1660.
348 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. This age affords great materials for history; but ^^^^- did not produce any accomplished historian. Cla- rendon, however, will always be esteemed an enter- taining writer, even independent of our curiosity to know the facts which he relates. His style is prolix and redundant, and suffocates us by the length of its periods : But it discovers imagination and senti- ment, and pleases us at the same time that w^e dis- approve of it. He is more partial in appearance than in reality : For he seems perpetually anxious to apologize for the King ; but his apologies are often well grounded. He is less partial in his rela- tion of facts, than in his account of characters : He was too honest a man to falsify the former ; his af- fections were easily capable, unknown to himself, of disguising the latter. An air of probity and goodness runs through the whole work ; as these qualities did, in reality, embellish the whole life of the author. He died in 1674, aged 66.
These are the chief performances which engage the attention of posterity. Those numberless pro- ductions, with which the press then abounded ; the cant of the pulpit, the declamations of party, the subtilties of theology, all these have long ago sunk in silence and oblivion. Even a writer, such as Selden, whose learning was his chief excellency ; or Chillingworth, an acute disputant against the papists; will scarcely be ranked among the classics of our language or country.
[ 349 J
CHAP. LXIII.
CHARLES II.
New Ministry. — Act of Indemnity. — Settlement of the Revenue. — - Trial and Execution of the Regicides. — Dissolution of the Con- vention.— Parliament.— Prelacy restored. — Insurrection of the Millenarians. — Affairs of Scotland. — Conference at the Savoy. — ' Arguments for and against a Comprehension. — A new Parlia- ment.— Bishops' Seats restored. — Corporation Act. — Act of Uniformity. — King's Marriage. — ^Trial of Vane — and Execution. — Presbyterian Clergy ejected. — Dunkirk sold to the French. — - Declaration of Indulgence. — Decline of Clarendon's Credit.
CHARLES II. when he ascended the throne of chap. his ancestors, was thirty years of age. He lxiii. possessed a vigorous constitution, a fine shape, a manly figure, a graceful air; and though his fea- tures were harsh, yet was his countenance in the main lively and engaging. He was in that period of life, when there remains enough of youth to ren- der the person amiable, without preventing that au- thority and regard which attend the years of expe- rience and maturity. Tenderness was excited by the memory of his recent adversities. His present prosperity was the object rather of admiration than of envy. And as the sudden and surprising revolution,
which
350 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, which restored him to his regal rights, had also LXiil. restored the nation to peace, law, order, and li- "7 berty ; no Prince ever obtained a crown in more favourable circumstances, or was more blest with the cordial affection and attachment of his sub- jects.
This popularity the King, by his whole demeanour and behaviour, was well qualified to support and to increase. To a lively wit and quick comprehen- sion, he united a just understanding and a general observation both of men and things. The easiest manners, the most unaffected politeness, the most engaging gaiety, accompanied his conversation and address. Accustomed, during his exile, to live among his courtiers rather like a companion than a monarch, he retained, even while on the throne, that open affability which was capable of reconcil- ing the most determined republicans to his royal dignity. Totally devoid of resentment, as well from the natural lenity as carelessness of his temper, he insured pardon to the most guilty of his enemies, and left hopes of favour to his most violent oppo- nents. From the whole tenour of his actions and discourse, he seemed desirous of losing the memory of past animosities, and of uniting every party in an affection for their Prince and their native country. New mi- Into his council were admitted the most eminent nistry. jj,en of tlic nation, without regard to former distinc- tions : The Presbyterians, equally with the royalists, shared this honour. Annesley was also created Earl of Anglesey ; Ashley Cooper, Lord Ashley ; Denzil Hollis, Lord Mollis. The Earl of Manchester was appointed lord chamberlain, and Lord Say, privy- seal. Calamy and Baxter, presbyterian clergymen, were even made chaplains to the King.
Admiral Montague, created Earl of Sandwich, was entitled, from his recent services, to great fa- vour ; and he obtained it. Monk, created Duke of Albemarle, had performed such signal services,
that.
CHARLES II.
351
1660,
that, according to a vulgar and malignant observa- chap. tion, he ought rather to have expected hatred and lxiii. ingratitude : Yet was he ever treated by the King with great marks of distinction. Charles's dispo- sition, free from jealousy ; and the prudent beha- viour of the general, who never over-rated his me- rits ; prevented all those disgusts which naturally arise in so delicate a situation. The capacity too of Albemarle was not extensive, and his parts were more solid than shining. Though he had distin- guished himself in inferior stations, he was ima- gined, upon familiar acquaintance, not to be wholly equal to those great achievements, which fortune, united to prudence, had enabled him to perform; and he appeared unfit for the court, a scene of life to which he had never been accustomed. Morrice, his friend, was created secretary of state, and was sup- ported more by his patron's credit than by his own abilities or experience.
But the choice which the King at first made of his principal ministers and favourites, was the cir- cumstance which chiefly gave contentment to the nation, and prognosticated future happiness and tranquillity. Sir Edward Hyde, created Earl of Clarendon, was chancellor and prime minister : The Marquis, created Duke of Ormond, was steward of the household : The Earl of Southampton, high treasurer : Sir Edward Nicholas, secretary of state. These men, united together in friendship, and com- bining in the same laudable inclinations, supported each other's credit, and pursued the interests of the public.
Agreeable to the present prosperity of public affairs, was the universal joy and festivity diffused throughout the nation. The melancholy austerity of the fanatics fell into discredit, together with their principles. The royalists, who had ever affected a contrary disposition, found in their recent success new motives for mirth and gaiety ; and it now
belonged
352
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
1660,
CHAP, belonged to them to give repute and fashion to their LXiiL ijianners. From past experience it had sufficiently appeared, that gravity was very distinct from wis- dom, formality from virtue, and hypocrisy from religion. The King himself, who bore a strong propensity to pleasure, served, by his powerful and engaging example, to banish those sour and malign nant humours, which had hitherto engendered such confusion. And though the just bounds were un^ doubtedly passed, when men returned from their former extreme ; yet was the public happy in ex- changing vices, pernicious to society, for disorders, hurtful chiefly to the individuals themselves who were guilty of them.
It required some time before the several parts of the state, disfigured by war and faction, could re- cover their former arrangement ; But the parliament immediately fell into good correspondence with the King, and they treated him with the same du- tiful regard which had usually been paid to his pre- decessors. Being summoned without the King's consent, they received, at first, only the title of a convention; and it was not till he passed an act for that purpose, that they were called by the appella- tion of parliament. All judicial proceedings, trans- acted in the name of the commonwealth or protec- tor, were ratified by a new law. And both houses, acknowledging the guilt of the former rebellion, gratefully received, in their own name, and in that of all the subjects, his Majesty's gracious pardon and indemnity.
The King, before his restoration, being afraid of reducing any of his enemies to despair, and at the same time unwilling that such enormous crimes as had been committed, should receive a total impu- nity, had expressed himself very cautiously in his declaration of Breda, and had promised an indem- nity to all criminals but such as should be excepted by parliament. He now issued a proclamation,
declaring
A-et of in^ <«iejnnity.
CHARLES II. 353
declaring that such of the late King's judges as did chap. not yield themselves prisoners within fourteen days ____ should receive no pardon. Nineteen surrendered ~~iqqq themselves: Some were taken in their flight: Others escaped beyond sea.
The commons seemed to have been more inclined to lenity than the lords. The upper house, in- flamed by the ill usage which they had received, were resolved, besides the late King's judges, to ex- cept every one who had sitten in any high court of justice. Nay, the Earl of Bristol moved, that no pardon might be granted to those who had any wise contributed to the King's death. So wide an ex- ception, in which every one who had served the parliament might be comprehended, gave a general alarm ; and men began to apprehend, that this mo- tion was the effect of some court artifice or intrigue. But the King soon dissipated these fears. He came to the house of peers ; and, in the most earnest terms, passed the act of general indemnity. He urged both the necessity of the thing, and the obli- gation of his former promise : A promise, he said, which he would ever regard as sacred ; since to it he probably owed the satisfaction, which at present he enjoyed, of meeting his people in parliament. This measure of the King's was received with great applause and satisfaction.
After repeated solicitations, the act of indem- nity passed both houses, and soon received the royal assent. Those who had an immediate hand in the late King's death, were there excepted : Even Crom- well, Ireton, Bradshaw, and others now dead, were attainted, and their estates forfeited. Vane and Lambert, though none of the regicides, were also excepted. St. John and seventeen persons more were deprived of all benefit from this act, if they ever accepted any public employment. All who had sitten in any illegal high court of justice were
VOL. VII. A A disabled
354
CHAP. LXIII.
1660.
Settle- ment of the reve- nue.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
disabled from bearing offices. These were all the severities which followed such furious civil wars and convulsions.
Th e next business was the settlement of the King's revenue. In this work, the parliament had regard to public freedom, as well as to the support of the crown. The tenures of wards and liveries had long been regarded as a grievous burden by the nobility and gentry : Several attempts had been made during the reign of James to purchase this prerogative, to- gether with that of purveyance; and 200,000 pounds a year had been offered that prince in lieu of them : Wardships and purveyance had been utterly abolished by the republican parliament : And even in the pre- sent parliament, before the King arrived in England, a bill had been introduced, offering him a compen- sation for the emoluments of these prerogatives. A hundred thousand pounds a year was the sum agreed to ; and half of the excise was settled in perpetuity upon the crown, as the fund whence this revenue should be levied. Though that impost yielded more profit, the bargain might be esteemed hard; and it was chiefly the necessity of the King's situation which induced him to consent to it. No request of the parliament, during the present joy, could be refused them.
Tonnage and poundage and the other half of the excise were granted to the King during life. The parliament even proceeded so far as to vote that the settled revenue of the crown for all charges should be 1,200,000 pounds a year ; a sum greater than any English monarch had ever before enjoyed. But as all the princes of Europe were perpetually aug- menting their military force, and consequently their expense, it became requisite that England, from motives both of honour and security, should bear some proportion to them, and adapt its revenue to the new system of politics which prevailed.
According
CHARLES II 355
Accordino- to the chancellor's computation, a charge chap. of 800,000 pounds a year was at present requisite ^ for the fleet and other articles, which formerly cost ^g^^ the crown but eighty thousand.
Had the parliament, before restoring the King, insisted on any farther limitations than those which the constitution already imposed; besides the danger of reviving former quarrels among parties; it would seem that their precaution had been entirely super- fluous. By reason of its slender and precarious re- venue, the crown in effect was still totally depen- dent. Not a fourth part of this sum, which seemed requisite for public expenses, could be levied with- out consent of parliament ; and any concessions, had they been thought necessary, might, even after the restoration, be extorted by the commons from their necessitous Prince. This parliament showed no in- tention of employing at present that engine to any such purposes ; but they seemed still determined not to part with it entirely, or to render the revenues of the crown fixed and independent. Though they voted in general, that 1,200,000 pounds a year should be settled on the King, they scarcely assigned any funds which could yield two-thirds of that sum. And they left the care of fulfilling their engagements to the future consideration of parliament.
In all the temporary supplies which they voted, they discovered the same cautious frugality. To disband the army, so formidable in itself, and so much accustomed to rebellion and changes of go- vernment, was necessary for the security both of King and parliament; yet the commons showed great jealousy in granting the sums requisite for that end. An assessment of 70,000 pounds a-month was im- posed ; but it was at first voted to continue only three months : And all the other sums, which they levied for that purpose, by a poll-bill and new assessments, were still granted by parcels; as if they
A A 2 were
356 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, were not, as yet, well assured of the fidelity of the LXlii. hand to which the money was intrusted. Having proceeded so far in the settlement of the nation, the parliament adjourned itself for some time. Sept. 13. During the recess of parliament, the object Trial and which chiefly interested the public, was the trial of Ae^regi- ^^^ Condemnation of the regicides. The general cides. indignation, attending the enormous crime of which these men had been guilty, made their sufferings the subject of joy to the people : But in the peculiar circumstances of that action, in the prejudices of the times, as well as in the behaviour of the criminals, a mind, seasoned with humanity, will find a plenti- ful source of compassion and indulgence. Can any one, without concern for human blindness and ig- norance, consider the demeanour of General Harri- son, who was first brought to his trial ? With great courage and elevation of sentiment, he told the court, that the pretended crime, of which he stood accused, was not a deed performed in a corner : The sound of it had gone forth to most nations ; and in the singular and marvellous conduct of it had chiefly appeared the sovereign power of heaven. That he himself, agitated by doubts, had often, with passionate tears, ofl'ered up his addresses to the divine Majesty, and earnestly sought for light and conviction : He had still received assurance of a heavenly sanction, and returned from these de- vout supplications with more serene tranquillity and satisfaction. That all the nations of the earth were, in the eyes of their Creator, less than a drop of water in the bucket ; nor were their erroneous judge- ments aught but darkness, compared with divine illuminations. That these frequent illapses of the Divine Spirit he could not suspect to be interested illusions ; since he was conscious, that for no tem- poral advantage, would he ofler injury to the poorest man or woman that trod upon the earth. That all
the
CHARLES II. 357
the allurements of ambition, all the terrors of im- chap.
T "VTTT
prisonment, had not been able, during the usurpation ;_
of Cromwell, to shake his steady resolution, or bend leeo. him to a compliance with that deceitful tyrant. And that, when invited by him to sit on the right hand of the throne, when offered riches and splen- dour and dominion, he had disdainfully rejected all temptations ; and, neglecting the tears of his friends and family, had still, through every danger, held fast his principles and his integrity.
Scot, who was more a republican than a fanatic, had said in the house of commons, a little before the restoration, that he desired no other epitaph to be inscribed on his tomb-stone than this; Here lies Thomas Scot, who adjudged the King to death. He supported the same spirit upon his trial.
Carew, a millenarian, submitted to his trial, saving to our Lord Jesus Christ his right to the govern- ment of these kingdoms. Some scrupled to say, ac- cording to form, that they would be tried by God and their country ; because God was not visibly present to judge them. Others said, that they would be tried by the word of God.
No more than six of the late King's judges, Har- rison, Scot, Carew, Clement, Jones, and Scrope, were executed : Scrope alone, of all those who came in upon the King's proclamation. He was a gentle- man of good family and of a decent character: But it was proved, that he had a little before, in conver- sation, expressed himself as if he were nowise con- vinced of any guilt, in condemning the King. Axtel, who had guarded the high court of justice. Hacker, who commanded on the day of the King's execution. Coke, the solicitor for the people of England, and Hugh Peters, the fanatical preacher, who inflamed the army and impelled them to regicide : All these were tried, and condemned, and suffered with the King's judges. No saint or confessor ever went to martyrdom with more assured confidence of heaven
than
358 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, than was expressed by those criminals, even when LXiil. ^]^g terrors of immediate death, joined to many in- ~~ disrnities, were set before them. The rest of the
1660 ®
King's judges, by an unexampled lenity, were reprieved ; and they were dispersed into several prisons. Sept. 13. This punishment of declared enemies interrupted not the rejoicings of the court : But the death of ihe Duke of Gloucester, a young prince of promising hopes, threw a great cloud upon them. The King, by no incident in his life, was ever so deeply affected. Gloucester was observed to possess united the good qualities of both his brothers : The clear judgement and penetration of the King ; the industry and ap- plication of the Duke of York, He was also believed to be affectionate to the religion and constitution of his country. He was but twenty years of age, when the smail-pox put an end to his life.
The Princess of Orange, having come to England, in order to partake of the joy attending the resto- ration of her family, with whom she lived in great friendship, soon after sickened and died. The Queen- mother paid a visit to her son ; and obtained his consent to the marriage of the Princess Henrietta with the Duke of Orleans, brother to the French King. Nov. 6. After a recess of near two months, the parlia-
ment met, and proceeded in the great work of the national settlement. They established the post- offtce, wine-licenses, and some articles of the reve- nue. They granted more assessments, and some arrears, for paying and disbanding the army. Busi- ness being carried on with great unanimity, was Dissoiu- soon despatched : And after they had sitten two the"con- nionths, the King, in a speech full of the most gra- vention cious cxprcssious, thought proper to dissolve them. parha- This house of commous had been chosen during
Dec. 29. t^6 reign of the old parliamentary party ; and though many royalists had crept in amongst them, yet
did
1660.
CHARLES II. 359
did it chiefly consist of presbyterians, who had not chap. yet entirely laid aside their old jealousies and prin- ^^^^i- ciples. Lenthal, a member, having said, that those who first took arms, against the King, were as guilty as those who afterwards brought him to the scaffold, was severely reprimanded by order of the house ; and the most violent efforts of the long parliament, to secure the constitution, and bring delinquents to justice, were in effect vindicated and applauded/- The claim of the two houses to the militia, the first ground of the quarrel, however exorbitant an usur- pation, was never expressly resigned by this parlia- ment. They made all grants of money with a very sparing hand. Great arrears being due by the Pro- tectors to the fleet, the army, the navy-office, and every branch of service; this whole debt they threw upon the crown, without establishing funds sufficient for its payment. Yet notwithstanding this jealous care, expressed by the parliament, there prevails a story, that Popham, having sounded the disposition of the members, undertook to the Earl of Southamp- ton to procure, during the King's life, a grant of two millions a-year, land-tax ; a sum which, added to the customs and excise, would for ever have rendered this Prince independent of his people. Southampton, it is said, merely from his affection to the King, had unwaringly embraced the offer ; and it was not till he communicated the matter to the chancellor, that he was made sensible of its pernicious tendency. It is not improbable, that such an offer might have been made, and been hearkened to ; but it is nowise probable that all the interest of the court would ever, with this house of commons, have been able to make it effectual. Clarendon showed his prudence, no less than his integrity, in entirely rejecting it.
* Journals, vol. viii. p. 24.
The
1660.
360 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. The chancellor, from the same principles of LXill. conduct, hastened to disband the army. When the King reviewed these veteran troops, he was struck with their beauty, order, discipline, and mar- tial appearance ; and being sensible, that regular forces are most necessary implements of royalty, h6 expressed a desire of finding expedients still to retain them. But his wise minister set before him the dangerous spirit by which these troops were actuated, their enthusiastic genius, their habits of rebellion and mutiny ; and he convinced the King, that till they were disbanded, he never could esteem himself securely established on his throne. No more troops were retained than a few guards and garrisons, about 1000 horse, and 4000 foot. This was the first appearance, under the monarchy, of a regular standing army in this island. Lord Mordaunt said, that the King, being possessed of that force, might now look upon himself as the most considerable gentleman in England.* The fortifica- tions of Gloucester, Taunton, and other towns, which had made resistance to the King during the civil wars, were demolished.
Clarendon not only behaved with wisdom and justice in the office of chancellor ; all the counsels, which he gave the King, tended equally to promote the interest of Prince and people. Charles, accus- tomed in his exile to pay entire deference to the judgement of this faithful servant, continued still to submit to his direction; and for some time no minister was ever possessed of more absolute autho- rity. He moderated the forward zeal of the roy- alists, and tempered their appetite for revenge. With the opposite party, he endeavoured to preserve invio- late all the King's engagements : He kept an exact
• King James's Memoirs. The Prince says, that Venner's insurrection furnished a reason or pretence for keeping up the guards, which were intended at first to have been disbanded with the rest of the army.
register
CHARLES II. 3gl
register of the promises which had been made for chap. any service, and he employed all his industry to fulfil LXiii. them. This good minister was now nearly allied to "Teeo. the royal family. His daughter, Ann Hyde, a wo- man of spirit and fine accomplishments, had hearken- ed, while abroad, to the addresses of the Duke of York, and, under promise of marriage, had secretly admitted him to her bed. Her pregnancy appeared soon after the restoration ; and though many endea- voured to dissuade the King from consenting to so unequal an alliance, Charles, in pity to his friend and minister, who had been ignorant of these en- gagements, permitted his brother to marry her." Clarendon expressed great uneasiness at the honour which he had obtained ; and said, that by being elevated so much above his rank, he thence dreaded a more sudden downfal.
Most circumstances of Clarendon's administra- Prelacy tion have met with applause : His maxims alone in "^^^^^^^ * the conduct of ecclesiastical politics have by many been deemed the effect of prejudices narrow and bigotted. Had the jealousy of royal power prevailed so far with the convention parliament, as to make them restore the King with strict limitations, there is no question but the establishment of presby terian discipline had been one of the conditions most rigidly insisted on. Not only that form of ecclesias- tical government is more favourable to liberty than to royal power: It was likewise, on its own ac- count, agreeable to the majority of the house of commons, and suited their religious principles. But as the impatience of the people, the danger of de- lay, the general disgust towards faction, and the authority of Monk, had prevailed over that jealous project of limitations, the full settlement of the hierarchy, together with the monarchy, was a neces- sary and infallible consequence. All the royalists
'" King James's Meraoira.
were
LXIII.
1660,
362 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, were zealous for that mode of religion ; the merits of the episcopal clergy towards the King, as well as their sufferings on that account, had been great ; the laws which established bishops and the liturgy were as yet unrepealed by legal authority ; and any attempt of the parliament, by new acts, to give the superiority to presbyterianism, had been sufficient to involve the nation again in blood and confusion. Moved by these views, the commons had wisely postponed the examination of all religious contro- versy, and had left the settlement of the church to the King and to the ancient laws.
The King at first used great moderation in the execution of the laws. Nine bishops still remained alive; and these were immediately restored to their sees : All the ejected clergy recovered their livings: The liturgy, a form of worship, decent and not without beauty , was again admitted into the churches : But, at the same time, a declaration was issued, in order to give contentment to the presbyterians, and preserve an air of moderation and neutrality.''' — In this declaration, the King promised that he would provide suffragan bishops for the larger dioceses ; that the prelates should, all of them, be regular and constant preachers ; that they should not confer ordination, or exercise any jurisdiction, without the advice and assistance of presbyters, chosen by the diocese ; that such alterations should be made in the liturgy as would render it totally unexceptionable ; that, in the mean time, the use of that mode of worship should not be imposed on such as were unwilling to receive it ; and that the surplice, the cross in baptism, and bowing at the name of Jesus, should not be rigidly insisted on. This declaration was issued by the King as head of the church ; and he plainly assumed, in many parts of it, a legislative authority in ecclesiastical matters.
* Pari. Hist, vol. xxiii. p. 173.
But
CHARLES II. 363
But the English government, though more exactly chap. defined by late contests, was not as yet reduced, in ^^^^^- every particular, to the strict limits of law. And iggo. if ever prerogative was justifiably employed, it seem- ed to be on the present occasion, when all parts of the state were torn with past convulsions, and re- quired the moderating hand of the chief magistrate to reduce them to their ancient order.
But though these appearances of neutrality were maintained, and a mitigated episcopacy only seemed to be insisted on, it was far from the intention of the ministry always to preserve like regard to the pres- byterians. The madness of the fifth-monarchy men lugu^eg, afforded them a pretence for departing from it. tionof Venner, a desperate enthusiast, who had often con- the miUe- spired against Cromwell, having, by his zealous lectures, inflamed his own imagination and that of his followers, issued forth at their head into the streets of London, They were to the number of sixty, completely armed, believed themselves invulne- rable and invincible, and firmly expected the same success which had attended Gideon and other heroes of the Old Testament. Every one at first fled before them. One unhappy man, who, being questioned, said, " He was for God and King Charles," was in- stantly murdered by them. They went triumphantly from street to street, every where proclaiming King Jesus, who, they said, was their invisible leader. At length, the magistrates, having assembled some train- bands, made an attack upon them. They defended themselves with order, as well as valour ; and, after killing many of the assailants, they made a regular retreat into Cane-wood, near Hampstead. Next morning they were chased thence by a detachment of the guards ; but they ventured again to invade the city, which was not prepared to receive them. After committing great disorder, and traversing almost every street of that immense capital, they
retired
364
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. LXIII.
1660.
Affairs of Scotland.
retired into a house, which they were resolute to defend to the last extremity. Being surrounded, and the house untiled, they were fired upon from every side, and they still refused quarter. The people rushed in upon them, and seized the few who were alive. These were tried, condemned, and executed; and to the last they persisted in affirming, that if they were deceived, it was the Lord that had deceived them.
Clarendon and the ministry took occasion, from this insurrection, to infer the dangerous spirit of the presbyterians, and of all the sectaries : But the madness of the attempt sufficiently proved, that it had been undertaken by no concert, and never could have proved dangerous. The well-known hatred, too, which prevailed between the presbyterians and the other sects, should have removed the former from all suspicion of any concurrence in the enterprise. But as a pretence was wanted, besides their old demerits, for justifying the intended rigours against all of them, this reason, however slight, was greedily laid hold of.
Affairs in Scotland hastened with still quicker steps than those in England towards a settlement and a compliance with the King. It was deliberated in the English council, whether that nation should be restored to its liberty, or whether the forts erected by Cromwell should not still be upheld, in order to curb the mutinous spirit by which the Scots, in all ages, had been so much governed ? Lauderdale, who, from the battle of Worcester to the restoration, had been detained prisoner in the Tower, had consi- derable influence with the King; and he strenuously opposed this violent measure. He represented, that it was the loyalty of the Scottish nation, which had engaged them in an opposition to the English rebels ; and to take advantage of the calamities into which, on that account, they had fallen, would be regarded as
the
CHARLES II. 365
the highest injustice and ingratitude : That the spirit c hap. of that people was now fully subdued by the servi- ^^m- tude under which the usurpers had so long held ~~^77q them, and would of itself yield to any reasonable compliance with their legal sovereign, if by this means they recovered their liberty and indepen- dence : That the attachment of the Scots towards their King, whom they regarded as their native Prince, was naturally much stronger than that of the English ; and would afford him a sure resource, in case of any rebellion among the latter : That repub- lican principles had long been, and still were, very prevalent with his southern subjects, and might again menace the throne with new tumults and resistance: That the time would probably come, when the King, instead of desiring to see English garrisons in Scot- land, would be better pleased to have Scottish garrisons in England, who, supported by English pay, would be found to curb the seditious genius of that opulent nation : And that a people, such as the Scots, governed by a few nobility, would more easily be reduced to submission under monarchy, than one like the English, who breathed nothing but the spirit of democratical equality.
These views induced the King to disband all the 1661. forces in Scotland, and to raze all the forts which ^^^ ^"' had been erected. General Middleton, created Earl of that name, was sent commissioner to the parlia- ment, which was summoned. A very compliant spirit was there discovered in all orders of men. The commissioner had even sufficient influence to obtain an act, annulling, at once, all laws which had passed since the year 1633, on pretext of the violence which, during that time, had been employed against the King and his father, in order to procure their assent to these statutes. This was a very large, if not an unexampled concession ; and, together with many dangerous limitations, overthrew some useful
barriers
1661.
366 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, barriers which had been erected to the constitution.
LXiil. gy^ tijg ^j(jg y^Q.s now running strongly towards mo- narchy ; and the Scottish nation plainly discovered, that their past resistance had proceeded more from the turbulence of their aristocracy, and the bigotry of their ecclesiastics, than from any fixed passion towards civil liberty. The lords of articles were restored, with some other branches of prerogative ; and royal authority, fortified with more plausible claims and pretences, was, in its full extent, re- established in that kingdom.
The prelacy, likewise, by the abrogating of every statute enacted in favour of presbytery, was thereby tacitly restored ; and the King deliberated what use he should make of this concession. Lauderdale, who at bottom was a passionate zealot against episcopacy, endeavoured to persuade him, that the Scots, if gratified in this favourite point of ecclesiastical government, would, in every other demand, be en- tirely compliant with the King. Charles, though he had no such attachment to prelacy as had influenced his father and grandfather, had suffered such in- dignities from the Scottish presbyterians, that he ever after bore them a hearty aversion. He said to Lauderdale, that presbyterianism, he thought, was not a religion for a gentleman; and he could not consent to its farther continuance in Scotland. Middleton too and his other ministers persuaded him that the nation in general was so disgusted with the violence and tyranny of the ecclesiastics, that any alteration of church government would be univer- sally grateful. And Clarendon, as well asOrmond, dreading that the presbyterian sect, if legally esta- blished in Scotland, would acquire authority in England and Ireland, seconded the application of these ministers. The resolution was therefore taken to restore prelacy; a measure afterwards attended with many and great inconveniences : But whether
in
1661.
CHARLES II. 367
in this resolution Charles chose not the lesser evil, chap. it is very difficult to determine. Sharp, who had been LXiii. commissioned by the presbyterians in Scotland to manage their interest with the King, was persuaded to abandon that party; and, as a reward for his com- pliance, was created Archbishop of St. Andrews. The conduct of ecclesiastical affairs was chiefly in- trusted to him ; and as he was esteemed a traitor and a renegade by his old friends, he became on that account, as well as from the violence of his conduct, extremely obnoxious to them.
Charles had not promised to Scotland any such indemnity as he had insured to England by the de- claration of Breda: And it was deemed more political for him to hold over men's heads, for some time, the terror of punishment, till they should have made the requisite compliances with the new government. Though neither the King's temper nor plan of admi- nistration led him to severity, some examples, after such a bloody and triumphant rebellion, seemed necessary ; and the Marquis of Argyle, and one Guthry, were pitched on as the victims. Two acts of indemnity, one passed by the late King, in 1641, another by the present in 1651, formed, it was thought, invincible obstacles to the punishment of Argyle ; and barred all inquiry into that part of his conduct which might justly be regarded as the most exceptionable. Nothing remained but to try him for his compliance with the usurpation ; a crime com- mon to him with the whole nation, and such a one as the most loyal and affectionate subject might frequently by violence be obliged to commit. To make this compliance appear the more voluntary and hearty, there were produced in court, letters which he had written to Albemarle, while that general commanded in Scotland, and which contained ex- pressions of the most cordial attachment to the es- tablished government. But besides the general indignation excited by Albemarle's discovery of
this
1661.
368 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CH A P. this private correspondence, men thought, that even LXiii. the highest demonstrations of affection might, dur- ing jealous times, be exacted as a necessary mark of compliance from a person of such distinction as Argyle, and could not, by any equitable construc- tion, imply the crime of treason. The parliament, however, scrupled not to pass sentence upon him; and he died with great constancy and courage. As he was universally known to have been the chief instrument of the past disorders and civil wars, the irregularity of his sentence, and several ini- quitous circumstances in the method of conducting his trial, seemed, on that account, to admit of some apology. Lord Lome, son of Argyle, having ever preserved his loyalty, obtained a gift of the for- feiture. Guthry was a seditious preacher, and had personally affronted the King: His punishment gave surprise to nobody. Sir Archibald Johnstone, of Warriston, was attainted and fled ; but was seized in France about two years after, brought over, and executed. He had been very active during all the late disorders, and was even sus- pected of a secret correspondence with the English regicides.
Besides these instances of compliance in the Scottish parliament, they voted an additional re- venue to the King, of 40,000 pounds a year, to be levied by way of excise. A small force was pur- posed to be maintained by this revenue, in order to prevent like confusions with those to which the kingdom had been hitherto exposed. An act was also passed, declaring the covenant unlawful, and its obligation void and null.
In England, the civil distinctions seemed to be abolished by the lenity and equality of Charles's ad- ministration. Cavalier and Round-head were heard of no more : All men seemed to concur in submitting to the King's lawful prerogatives, and in cherishing the just privileges of the people and of parliament.
Theological
CHARLES II.
Theological controversy alone still subsisted, and kept alive some sparks of that flame which had throM^n the nation into combustion. While catholics, independents, and other sectaries, w^ere content with entertaining some prospect of toleration ; prelacy and presbytery struggled for the superiority, and the hopes and fears of both parties kept them in agitation. A conference was held in the Savoy between twelve bishops and twelve leaders among the presbyterian ministers, with an intention, at least on pretence, of bringing about an accommodation between the par- ties. The surplice, the cross in baptism, the kneeling at the sacrament, the bowing at the name of Jesus, were anew canvassed ; and the ignorant multitude were in hopes that so many men of gravity and learning could not fail, after deliberate argumentation, to agree in all points of controversy : They were surprised to see them separate more inflamed than ever, and more confirmed in their several prejudices. To enter into particulars would be superfluous. Disputes concern- ing religious forms are, in themselves, the most frivo- lous of any ; and merit attention only so far as they have influence on the peace and order of civil society. The King's declaration had promised, that some endeavours should be used to effect a comprehension of both parties ; and Charles's own indifference with regard to all such questions seemed a favourable circumstance for the execution of that project. The partisans of a comprehension said, that the presby- terians, as well as the prelatists, having felt by ex- perience the fatal effects of obstinacy and violence, were now well disposed towards an amicable agree- ment : That the bishops, by relinquishing some part of their authority, and dispensing with the most exceptionable ceremonies, would so gratify their adversaries as to obtain their cordial and affectionate compliance, and unite the whole nation in one faith and one worship : That by obstinately insisting on VOL. VII. B B forms.
369
CHAP. LXIII.
1661.
Confer- ence at the Savoy, March 25.
Argu- ments for and
against a compre- hension.
1661.
\,
370 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CH A P. forms, in themselves insignificant, an air of impor- ■^^^^- tance was bestowed on them, and men were taught to continue equally obstinate in rejecting them : That the presbyterian clergy would go every reason- able length, rather than, by parting with their livings, expose themselves to a state of beggary, at' best of dependence : And that if their pride were flattered by some seeming alterations, and a pretence given them for affirming that they had not abandoned their former principles, nothing farther was wanting to produce a thorough union between those two parties which comprehended the bulk of the nation.
It was alleged, on the other hand, that the dif- ference between religious sects was founded, not on principle, but on passion ; and till the irregular affections of men could be corrected, it was in vain to expect, by compliances, to obtain a perfect una- nimity and comprehension : That the more insigni- ficant the objects of dispute appeared, with the more certainty might it be inferred, that the real ground of dissension was different from that which was universally pretended : That the love of novelty, the pride of argumentation, the pleasure of making proselytes, and the obstinacy of contradiction, would for ever give rise to sects and disputes ; nor was it possible that such a source of dissension could ever, by any concessions, be entirely exhausted : That the church, by departing from ancient practices and principles, would tacitly acknowledge herself guilty of error, and lose that reverence, so requisite for preserving the attachment of the multitude : And that if the present concessions (which was more than probable) should prove ineffectual, greater must still be made ; and in the issue, discipline would be despoiled of all its authority, and worship of all its decency, without obtaining that end which had been so fondly sought for by these dangerous indulgences.
The
CHARLES If. 37 J
The ministry were inclined to give the preference chap. to the latter arguments ; and were the more confirmed LXiil. in that intention by the disposition which appeared in the parliament lately assembled. The royalists and ^^^^' zealous churchmen were at present the popular party in the nation, and, seconded by the efforts of the court, had prevailed in most elections. Not more a new than fifty-six members of the presby terian party had pariia- obtained seats in the lower house " ; and these were ^triviay. not able either to oppose or retard the measures of the majority. Monarchy, therefore, and episcopacy, were now exalted to as great power and splendour as they had lately suffered misery and depression. Sir Edward Turner was chosen speaker.
An act was passed for the security of the King's person and government. To intend or devise the King's imprisonment, or bodily harm, or deposition, or levying war against him, was declared, during the lifetime of his present Majesty, to be high treason. To affirm him to be a papist or heretic, or to endea- vour by speech or writing to alienate his subjects' affections from him ; these offences were made suf- ficient to incapacitate the person guilty from holding any employment in church or state. To maintain that the long parliament is not dissolved, or that either or both houses, without the King, are pos- sessed of legislative authority, or that the covenant is binding, was made punishable by the penalty of premunire.
The covenant itself, together with the act for erecting the high court of justice, that for subscrib- ing the engagement, and that for declaring England a commonwealth, were ordered to be burnt by the hands of the hangman. The people assisted with great alacrity on this occasion.
The abuses of petitioning in the preceding reign had been attended with the worst consequences ; and to prevent such irregular practices for the future, it
" Carte's Answer to the Bystander, p. 79.
B B 2 was
372 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, was enacted, that no more than twenty hands should LXili. |3g fixed to any petition, unless with the sanction of three justices, or the major part of the grand jury; ^^^^" and that no petition should be presented to the King or either house by above ten persons. The penalty annexed to a transgression of this law was a fine of a hundred pounds and three months' imprison- ment. Bishops' The bishops, though restored to their spiritual
seats re. authority, were still excluded from parliament by ^^°'^'*" the law which the late King had passed immediately before the commencement of the civil disorders. Great violence, both against the King and the house of peers, had been employed in passing this law ; and on that account alone the partisans of the church were provided with a plausible pretence for repealing it. Charles expressed much satisfaction, when he gave his assent to the act for that purpose. It is certain, that the authority of the crown, as well as that of the church, was interested in restoring the prelates to their former dignity. But those who deemed every acquisition of the Prince a detriment to the people, were apt to complain of this instance of complaisance in the parliament. 20th Nov After an adjournment of some months, the par- liament was again assembled, and proceeded in the same spirit as before. They discovered no design of restoring, in its full extent, the ancient prerogative of the crown : They were only anxious to repair all those breaches, which had been made, not by the love of liberty, but by the fury of faction and civil war. The power of the sword had, in all ages, been allowed to be vested in the crown ; and though no law conferred this prerogative, every parliament, till the last of the preceding reign, had willingly sub- mitted to an authority more ancient, and therefore more sacred, than that of any positive statute. It was now thought proper solemnly to relinquish the violent pretensions of that parliament, and to
acknowledge.
CHARLES II. 373
acknowledge, that neither one house, nor both houses, chap. independent of the King, were possessed of any mi- ^^^^^- litary authority. The preamble to this statute went 1661. so far as to renounce all right even of defensive arms against the King ; and much observation has been made with regard to a concession esteemed so singular. Were these terms taken in their full lite- ral sense, they imply a total renunciation of limita- tions to monarchy, and of all privileges in the subject, independent of the will of the sovereign. For as no rights can subsist without some remedy, still less rights exposed to so much invasion from tyranny, or even from ambition; if subjects must never resist, it follows, that every Prince, without any effort, policy, or violence, is at once rendered absolute and uncontrollable : The sovereign needs only issue an edict, abolishing every authority but his own ; and all liberty from that moment is in effect annihilated. But this meaning it were absurd to impute to the present parliament, who, though zealous royalists, showed in their measures that they had not cast off all regard to national privileges. They were pro- bably sensible, that to suppose in the sovereign any such invasion of public liberty is entirely unconsti- tutional ; and that therefore expressly to reserve, upon that event, any right of resistance in the sub- ject, must be liable to the same objection. They had seen that the long parliament, under colour of defence, had begun a violent attack upon kingly power ; and, after involving the kingdom in blood, had finally lost that liberty for which they had so imprudently contended. They thought, perhaps erroneously, that it was no longer possible, after such public and such exorbitant pretensions, to persevere in that prudent silence hitherto maintained by the laws ; and that it was necessary, by some positive de- claration, to bar the return of like inconveniences. When they excluded, therefore, the right of defence,
they
374
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
1661.
Corpora- tion act.
CHAP, they supposed, that the constitution remaining firm ^^i^^- upon its basis, there never really could be an attack made by the sovereign. If such an attack was at any time made, the necessity was then extreme : And the case of extreme and violent necessity, no laws, they thought, could comprehend; because to such a necessity no laws could beforehand point out a pro- per remedy.
The other measures of this parliament still dis- covered a more anxious care to guard against rebel- lion in the subject than encroachments in the crown : The recent evils of civil war and usurpation had naturally increased the spirit of submission to the monarch, and had thrown the nation into that dangerous extreme. During the violent and jealous government of the parliament and of the Protectors, all magistrates, liable to suspicion, had been ex- pelled the corporations: and none had been ad- mitted, who gave not proofs of affection to the ruling powers, or who refused to subscribe the covenant. To leave all authority in such hands seemed dangerous ; and the parliament, therefore, empowered the King to appoint commissioners for regulating the corporations, and expelling such ma- gistrates as either intruded themselves by violence, or professed principles dangerous to the constitution, civil and ecclesiastical. It was also enacted, that all magistrates should disclaim the obligation of the covenant, and should declare, both their belief, that it was not lawful, upon any pretence whatsoever, to resist the King, and their abhorrence of the traitorous position of taking arms by the King's authority against his person, or against those who were commissioned by him.
The care of the church was no less attended to by this parliament, than that of monarchy ; and the bill of uniformity was a pledge of their sincere attachment to the episcopal hierarchy, and of their
antipathy
1662 Act of unifor- mity.
1662.
CHARLES 11. 375
antipathy to presbyterianism. Different parties, chap. however, concurred in promoting this bill, which lxiii. contained many severe clauses. The independents and other sectaries, enraged to find all their schemes subverted by the presbyterians, who had once been their associates, exerted themselves to disappoint that party of the favour and indulgence, to which, from their recent merits in promoting the restora- tion, they thought themselves justly entitled. By the presbyterians, said they, the war was raised : By them was the populace first incited to tumults : By their zeal, interest, and riches, were the armies supported : By their force was the King subdued : And if, in the sequel, they protested against those extreme violences, committed on his person by the military leaders, their opposition came too late, after having supplied these usurpers with the power and the pretences, by which they maintained their san- guinary measures. They had indeed concurred with the royalists in recalling the King : But ought they to be esteemed, on that account, more affectionate to the royal cause ? Rage and animosity, from dis- appointed ambition, were plainly their sole motives; and if the King should now be so imprudent as to distinguish them by any particular indulgences, he would soon experience from them the same hatred and opposition which had proved so fatal to his father.
The catholics, though they had little interest in the nation, were a considerable party at court; and from their services and sufferings during the civil wars, it seemed but just to bear them some favour and regard. These religionists dreaded an entire union among the protestants. Were they the sole nonconformists in the nation, the severe exe- cution of penal laws upon their sect seemed an in- fallible consequence ; and they used, therefore, all their interest to push matters to extremity against
the
376 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
C HAP. the presbyterians, who had formerly been their most LXiil. severe oppressors, and whom they now expected for 1662. their companions in affliction. The Earl of Bristol, who, from conviction, or interest, or levity, or com- plaisance for the company with whom he lived, had changed his religion during the King's exile, was regarded as the head of this party.
The church party had, during so many years, suffered such injuries and indignities from the sec- taries of every denomination, that no moderation, much less deference, was on this occasion to be expected in the ecclesiastics. Even the laity of that communion seemed now disposed to retaliate upon their enemies, according to the usual measures of party justice. This sect or faction (for it par- took of both) encouraged the rumours of plots and conspiracies against the government ; crimes which, without any apparent reason, they imputed to their adversaries. And, instead of enlarging the terms of communion, in order to comprehend the pres- byterians, they gladly laid hold of the prejudices which prevailed among that sect, in order to eject them from their livings. By the bill of uniformity it was required that every clergyman should be re-ordained, if he had not before received episcopal ordination ; should declare his assent to every thing contained in the Book of Common Prayer; should take the oath of canonical obedience ; should abjure the solemn league and covenant ; and should renounce the principle of taking arms, on any pretence whatsoever, against the King.
This bill reinstated the church in the same condition in which it stood before the com- mencement of the civil wars ; and as the old persecuting laws of Elizabeth still subsisted in their full rigour, and new clauses of a like na- ture were now enacted, all the King's promises
of
16 62.
CHARLES II. 377
of toleration and of indulgence to tender con- chap. sciences were thereby eluded and broken. It is LXiii. true, Charles, in his declaration from Breda, had expressed his intention of regulating that indul- gence by the advice and authority of parliament : But this limitation could never reasonably be ex- tended to a total infringement and violation of his engagements. However, it is agreed, that the King- did not voluntarily concur with this violent measure, and that the zeal of Clarendon and of the church party among the commons, seconded by the intrigues of the catholics, was the chief cause which extorted his consent.
The royalists, who now predominated, were very ready to signalize their victory, by establishing those high principles of monarchy which their antagonists had controverted : But when any real power or revenue was demanded for the crown, they were neither so forward nor so liberal in their concessions as the King would gladly have wished. Though the parliament passed laws for regulating the navy, they took no notice of the army ; and declined giving their sanction to this dangerous innovation. The King's debts were become intolerable; and the com- mons were at last constrained to vote him an extra- ordinary supply of 1,200,000 pounds, to be levied by eighteen monthly assessments. But besides that this supply was much inferior to the occasion, the King was obliged earnestly to solicit the commons, before he could obtain it ; and, in order to con- vince the house of its absolute necessity, he desired them to examine strictly into all his receipts and disbursements. Finding likewise upon inquiry, that the several branches of revenue fell much short of the sums expected, they at last, after much delay, voted a new imposition of two shillings on each hearth ; and this tax they settled on the King during life. The whole established revenue, however, did
not
378 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, not, for many years, exceed a million ^ ; a sum con-
Lxiii. fessedly too narrow for the public expenses. A
^652. v^^y rigid frugality at least, which the King seems
to have wanted, would have been requisite to make it
suffice for the dignity and security of government.
May 19. After all business was despatched, the parliament was prorogued.
King's Before the parliament rose, the court was em-
marnage. pj^yg^j jjj making preparations for the reception of the new Queen, Catharine of Portugal, to whom the King was betrothed, and who had just landed at Portsmouth. During the time that the Protector carried on the war with Spain, he was naturally led to support the Portuguese in their revolt ; and he engaged himself by treaty to supply them with 10,000 men for their defence against the Spaniards. On the King's restoration, advances were made by Portugal for the renewal of the alliance ; and in order to bind the friendship closer, an offer was made of the Portuguese Princess, and a portion of 500,000 pounds, together with two fortresses, Tan- giers in Africa, and Bombay in the East Indies. Spain, who, after the peace of the Pyrenees, bent all her force to recover Portugal, now in appearance abandoned by France, took the alarm, and endea- voured to fix Charles in an opposite interest. The catholic King offered to adopt any other Princess as a daughter of Spain, either the Princess of Parma, or, what he thought more popular, some protestant Princess, the daughter of Denmark, Saxony, or Orange : And on any of these, he promised to con- fer a dowry equal to that which was offered by Por- tugal. But many reasons inclined Charles rather to accept of the Portuguese proposals. The great disorders in the government and finances of Spain made the execution of her promises be much
y D'Estrades,25th July, 1661, Mr. Ralph's History, vol. i. p. 176.
doubted ;
CHARLES II. 379
doubted ; and the King's urgent necessities demanded chap.
some immediate supply of money. The interest of '__
the English commerce likewise seemed to require ^gg2. that the independency of Portugal should be sup- ported, lest the union of that crown with Spain should put the whole treasures of America into the hands of one potentate. The claims, too, of Spain upon Dunkirk and Jamaica, rendered it impossible, without farther concessions, to obtain the cordial friendship of that power : And, on the other hand, the offer made by Portugal, of two such consider- able fortresses, promised a great accession to the naval force of England. Above all, the proposal of a protestant Princess was no allurement to Charles, whose inclinations led him strongly to give the pre- ference to a catholic alliance. According to the most probable accounts % the resolution of marrying the daughter of Portugal was taken by the King, unknown to all his ministers ; and no remonstrances could prevail with him to alter his intentions. When the matter was laid before the council, all voices concurred in approving the resolution ; and the parliament expressed the same complaisance. And thus was concluded, seemingly with universal May 21. consent, the inauspicious marriage with Catharine, a Princess of virtue, but who was never able, either by the graces of her person or humour, to make herself agreeable to the King. The report, how- ever, of her natural incapacity to have children
J Carte's Orraond, vol. ii. p. 254, This account seems better supported than that in Ablancourt's Memoirs, that the chancellor chiefly pushed the Portuguese alliance. The secret transactions of the court of England could not be supposed to be much known to a French resident at Lisbon : And whatever opposition the chancellor might make, he would certainly endea- vour to conceal it from the Queen and all her family, and even in the par- liament and council would support the resolution already taken. Clarendon himself says, in his Memoirs, that he never either opposed or promoted the Portu- guese match.
seems
1662,
380 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, seems to have been groundless ; since she was twice Lxiii. declared to be pregnant.''
The festivity of these espousals was clouded by the trial and execution of criminals. Berkstead, Cobbet, and Okey, three regicides, had escaped beyond sea ; and, after wandering some time concealed in Germany, came privately to Delft, having appointed their families to meet them in that place. They were discovered by Downing, the King's resident in Holland, who had formerly served the Pro- tector and commonwealth in the same station, and who once had even been chaplain to Okey's regiment. He applied for a warrant to arrest them. It had been usual for the States to grant these warrants ; though, at the same time, they had ever been careful secretly to advertise the persons, that they might be enabled to make their escape. This precaution was eluded by the vigilance and de- spatch of Downing. He quickly seized the crimi- nals, hurried them on board a frigate which lay off the coast, and sent them to England. These three men behaved with more moderation and sub- mission, than any of the other regicides who had suffered. Okey in particular, at the place of exe- cution, prayed for the King, and expressed his in- tention, had he lived, of submitting peaceably to the established government. He had risen during the wars from being a chandler in London to a high rank in the army; and in all his conduct appeared to be a man of humanity and honour. In consider- ation of his good character and of his dutiful beha- viour, his body was given to his friends to be buried.
The attention of the public was much engaged by the trial of two distinguished criminals,
* Lord Lansdowne's Defence of General Monk, Temple, vol. ii. p- 154.
Lambert
CHARLES II. ■ 381
Lambert and Vane. These men, though none of the c h ap. late King's judges, had been excepted from the ^^^"•
general indemnity, and committed to prison. The
convention-parliament, however, was so favourable to them, as to petition the King, if they should be found guilty, to suspend their execution : But this new parliament, more zealous for monarchy, applied for their trial and condemnation. Not to revive Trial of disputes, which were better buried in oblivion, the ^'"""^ ' indictment of Vane did not comprehend any of his actions during the war between the King and parlia- ment : It extended only to his behaviour after the late King's death, as member of the council of state, and secretary of the navy, where fidelity to the trust reposed in him required his opposition to monarchy.
Vane wanted neither courage nor capacity to avail himself of this advantage. He .urged, that, if a compliance with the government, at that time established in England, and the acknowledging of its authority, were to be regarded as criminal, the whole nation had incurred equal guilt, and none would remain, whose innocence could entitle them to try or condemn him for his pretended treasons : That, according to these maxims, wherever an illegal authority was established by force, a total and universal destruction must ensue; while the usurpers proscribed one part of the nation for dis- obedience, the lawful Prince punished the other for compliance. That the legislature of England, fore- seeing this violent situation, had provided for public security by the famous statute of Henry VII. ; in which it was enacted, that no man, in case of any revolution, should ever be questioned for his obe- dience to the King in being : That whether the established government were a monarchy or a commonwealth, the reason of the thing was still the same ; nor ought the expelled Prince to think
himself
382 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
^xui^ himself entitled to allegiance, so long as he could not
afford protection : That it belonged not to private
1662, persons, possessed of no power, to discuss the title of their governors ; and every usurpation, even the most flagrant, would equally require obedience with the most legal establishment : That the controversy between the late King and his parliament was of the most delicate nature ; and men of the greatest pro- bity had been divided in their choice of the party which they should embrace : That the parliament, being rendered indissoluble but by its own consent, was become a kind of co-ordinate power with the King ; and as the case was thus entirely new and unknown to the constitution, it ought not to be tried rigidly by the letter of the ancient laws : That for his part, all the violences which had been put upon the parliament, and upon the person of the sove- reign, he had ever condemned ; nor had he once ap- peared in the house for some time before and after the execution of the King : That finding the whole government thrown into disorder, he was still re- solved, in every revolution, to adhere to the com- mons, the root, the foundation of all lawful authority : That in prosecution of this principle, he had cheer- fully undergone all the violence of Cromwell's ty- ranny ; and would now, with equal alacrity, expose himself to the rigours of perverted law and justice : That though it was in his power, on the King's re- storation, to have escaped from his enemies, he was determined, in imitation of the most illustrious names of antiquity, to perish in defence of liberty, and to give testimony with his blood for that ho- nourable cause, in which he had been inlisted : And that, besides the ties by which God and nature had bound him to his native country, he was volun- tarily engaged by the most sacred covenant, whose obligation no earthly power should ever be able to make him relinquish.
All
CHARLES II. 383
All the defence which Vane could make was chap. fruitless. The court, considering more the general ^^i^^- opinion of his active guilt in the beginning and pro- "~^2 secution of the civil wars, than the articles of trea- juneii. son charged against him, took advantage of the letter of the law, and brought him in guilty. His courage deserted him not upon his condemnation. Though timid by nature, the persuasion of a just cause supported him against the terrors of death ; while his enthusiasm, excited by the prospect of glory, embellished the conclusion of a life, which, through the whole course of it, had been so much disfigured by the prevalence of that principle. Lest pity for a courageous sufferer should make impres- sion on the populace, drummers were placed under the scaffold, whose noise, as he began to launch out ^°^ exe- in reflections on the government, drowned his voice, june'14. and admonished him to temper the ardour of his zeal. He was not astonished at this unexpected incident. In all his behaviour, there appeared a firm and ani- mated intrepidity ; and he considered death but as a passage to that eternal felicity, which he believed to be prepared for him.
This man, so celebrated for his parliamentary talents, and for his capacity in business, has left some writings behind him : They treat, all of them, of religious subjects, and are absolutely unintelligible : No traces of eloquence, or even of common sense, appear in them. A strange paradox ! did we not know, that men of the greatest genius, where they relinquish by principle the use of their reason, are only enabled, by their vigour of mind, to work themselves the deeper into error and absurdity. It was remarkable, that, as Vane, by being the chief instrument of Strafford's death, had first opened the way for that destruction which over- whelmed the nation ; so by his death he closed the scene of blood. He was the last that suffered on
account
1662.
384 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, account of the civil wars. Lambert, though con- Lxm. demned, was reprieved at the bar; and the judges declared, that, if Vane's behaviour had been equally dutiful and submissive, he would have experienced like lenity in the King. Lambert survived his con- demnation near thirty years. He was confined to the Isle of Guernsey ; where he lived contented, forgetting all his past schemes of greatness, and en- tirely forgotten by the nation : He died a Roman catholic. Presbyte- HowEVER odious Vaue and Lambert were to the rian clergy presbytcriaus, that party had no leisure to rejoice at Tug^M. their condemnation. The fatal St. Bartholomew approached ; the day when the clergy were obliged, by the late law, either to relinquish their livings, or to sign the articles required of them. A combina- tion had been entered into by the more zealous of the presbyterian ecclesiastics to refuse the subscrip- tion ; in hopes that the Bishops would not venture at once to expel so great a number of the most popular preachers. The catholic party at court, who desired a great rent among the protestants, en- couraged them in this obstinacy, and gave them hopes that the King would protect them in their refusal. The King himself, by his irresolute conduct, con- tributed, either from design or accident, to increase this opinion. Above all, the terms of subscription had been made strict and rigid, on purpose to dis- gust all the zealous and scrupulous among the pres- byterians, and deprive them of their livings. About 2000 of the clergy, in one day, relinquished their cures ; and to the astonishment of the court, sacrificed their interest to their religious tenets. Fortified by society in their sufferings, they were resolved to un- dergo any hardships, rather than openly renounce those principles, which, on other occasions, they were so apt, from interest, to warp or elude. The church enjoyed the pleasure of retaliation ; and even
pushed
CHARLES II. 385
pushed, as usual, the vengeance farther than the chap. offence. During the dominion of the parliamentary LXiir. party, a fifth of each living had been left to the ~^ ejected clergymen ; but this indulgence, though at first insisted on by the house of peers, was now refused to the presbyterians. However difficult to conciliate peace among theologians, it was hoped by many, that some relaxation in the terms of com- munion might have kept the presbyterians united to the church, and have cured those ecclesiastical factions which had been so fatal, and were still so dangerous. Bishoprics were offered to Calamy, Baxter, and Reynolds, leaders among the presby- terians ; the last only could be prevailed on to ac- cept. Deaneries and other preferments were refused by many.
The next measure of the King has not had the good fortune to be justified by any party ; but is often considered, on what grounds I shall not de- termine, as one of the greatest mistakes, if not blemishes, of his reign. It is the sale of Dunkirk Dunkirk to the French. The parsimonious maxims of the x°ench.^'^^ parliament, and the liberal, or rather careless dis- position of Charles, were ill suited to each other ; and notwithstanding the supplies voted him, his treasury was still very empty and very much indebted. He had secretly received the sum of 200,000 crowns from France, for the support of Portugal ; but the forces sent over to that country, and the fleets maintained in order to defend it, had already cost the King that sum ; and, together with it, near double the money which had been paid as the Queen's portion.'' The time fixed for pay- ment of his sister's portion to the Duke of Orleans was approaching. Tangiers, a fortress from which great benefit was expected, was become an additional
^ D'Estrades, 17th of August, 1662. There was above half of 500,000 pounds really paid as the Queen's portion,
VOL. VII. c c burden
386 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, burden to the crown; and Rutherford, who now ^^^^^' commanded in Dunkirk, had increased the charge 1662. of that garrison to a hundred and twenty thousand pounds a year. These considerations had such influence, not only on the King, but even on Cla- rendon, that this uncorrupt minister was the most forward to advise accepting a sum of money in lieu of a place which, he thought, the King, from the narrow state of his revenue, was no longer able to retain. By the treaty with Portugal, it was sti- pulated that Dunkirk should never be yielded to the Spaniards : France was therefore the only pur- chaser that remained. D'Estrades was invited over, by a letter from the chancellor himself, in order to conclude the bargain. Nine hundred thou- sand pounds were demanded. One hundred thou- sand were offered. The English by degrees lowered their demand : The French raised their offer : And the bargain was concluded at 400,000 pounds. The artillery and stores were valued at a fifth of the sum.'^ The importance of this sale was not, at that time, sufficiently known either abroad or at home.'' The French Monarch himself, so fond of acquisitions, and so good a judge of his own inter- ests, thought that he had made a hard bargain*;
<^ D'Estrades, 21st of August, 12th of September, 1662.
^ It appears, however, from many of D'Estrade's letters, particularly that of the 21st of August, 1661, that the King might have transferred Dunkirk to the parliament, who would not have refused to bear the charges of it, but were unwilling to give money to the King for that purpose. The King, on the other hand, was jealous lest the parliament :should acquire any separate dominion or authority in a branch of administration which seemed so little to belong to them : A proof that the government was not yet settled into that composure and mutual confidence which is absolutely requisite for conducting it.
« Id. 3rd of October, 1662. The chief importance indeed of Dunkirk to the English was, that it was able to distress their trade when in the hands of the French : But it was Lewis the XlVth who first made it a good sea- port. If ever England have occasion to transport armies to the continent, it must be in support of some ally whose towns serve to the same purpose as Dunkirk would, if in the hands of the English.
and
1662.
CHARLES II. 387
and this sum, in appearance so small, was the chap. utmost which he would allow his ambassador to J^^^- offer.
A NEW incident discovered such a glimpse of the King's character and principles, as, at first, the na- tion was somewhat at a loss how to interpret, but such as subsequent events, by degrees, rendered suffi- ciently plain and manifest. He issued a declaration Deciara- on pretence of mitigating the rigours contained in ^^[|,°^ ^°' the act of uniformity. After expressing his firm 26th Dec. resolution to observe the general indemnity, and to trust entirely to the affections of his subjects, not to any military power, for the support of his throne, he mentioned the promises of liberty of conscience, contained in his declaration of Breda. And he sub- joined, that, "as in the first place he had been " zealous to settle the uniformity of the church of *' England, in discipline, ceremony, and government, " and shall ever constantly maintain it : So as for *' what concerns the penalties upon those who, living " peaceably, do not conform themselves thereunto, " through scruple and tenderness of misguided " conscience, but modestly and without scandal per- ** form their devotions in their own way, he should " make it his special care, so far as in him lay, " without invading the freedom of parliament, to " incline their wisdom next approaching sessions to " concur with him in making some such act for " that purpose, as may enable him to exercise, with ** a more universal satisfaction, that power of dis- " pensing which he conceived to be inherent in " him."^ Here a most important prerogative was exercised by the King ; but under such artful re- serves and limitations as might prevent the full discussion of the claim, and obviate a breach be- tween him and his parliament. The foundation of
*■ Rennet's Register, p. 850.
c c 2 this
LXIII. 1662.
388 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, this measure lay much deeper, and was of the ut- most consequence.
The King, during his exile, had imbibed strong prejudices in favour of the catholic religion, and, according to the most probable accounts, had already been secretly reconciled in form to the church of Rome. The great zeal, expressed by the parlia- mentary party against all papists, had always, from a spirit of opposition, inclined the court, and all the royalists, to adopt more favourable sentiments to- wards that sect, which, through the whole course of the civil wars, had strenuously supported the rights of the Sovereign. The rigour, too, which the King, during his abode in Scotland, had experienced from the presbyterians, disposed him to run into the other extreme, and to bear a kindness to the party most opposite in its genius to the severity of those re- ligionists. The solicitations and importunities of the Queen-mother, the contagion of the company which he frequented, the view of a more splendid and courtly mode of worship, the hopes of indul- gence in pleasure ; all these causes operated power- fully on a youngPrince, whose careless and dissolute temper made him incapable of adhering closely to the principles of his early education. But if the thoughtless humour of Charles rendered him an easy convert to popery, the same disposition ever prevented the theological tenets of that sect from taking any fast hold of him. During his vigorous state of health, while his blood was warm and his spirits high, a contempt and disregard to all religion held possession of his mind ; and he might more properly be denominated a deist than a catholic. But in those revolutions of temper, when the love of raillery gave place to reflection, and his penetrating, but negligent understanding, was clouded with fears and apprehensions, he had starts of more sincere conviction ; and a sect, which always possessed his
inclination,
LXIII.
1662.
CHARLES II. 389
inclination, was then master of his judgement and chap. opinion. ^
But though the King thus fluctuated, during his whole reign, between irreligion, which he more openly professed, and popery, to which he retained a secret propensity, his brother, the Duke of York, had zealously adopted all the principles of that theo- logical party. His eager temper and narrow under- standing made him a thorough convert, without any reserve from interest, or doubts from reasoning and inquiry. By his application to business he had acquired a great ascendant over the King, who, though possessed of more discernment, was glad to throw the burden of affairs on the Duke, of whom he entertained little jealousy. On pretence of easing the protestant dissenters, they agreed upon a plan for introducing a general toleration, and giving the catholics the free exercise of their religion ; at least, the exercise of it in private houses. The two bro- thers saw with pleasure so numerous and popular a body of the clergy refuse conformity ; and it was hoped that, under shelter of their name, the small and hated sect of the catholics might meet with favour and protection.
But while the King pleaded his early promises of i663. toleration, and insisted on many other plausible isthFeb. topics, the parliament, who sat a little after the de- claration was issued, could by no means be satisfied with this measure. The declared intention of easing the dissenters, and the secret purpose of favouring the catholics, were equally disagreeable to them ; and in these prepossessions they were encouraged by the King's ministers themselves, particularly the chancellor. The house of commons represented to the King, that his declaration of Breda contained no
s The author confesses, that the King's zeal for popery was apt, at in- tervals, to go farther than is here supposed, as appears from many pas- sages in James the Second's Memoirs.
promise
1663.
390 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
c 11 A P. promise to the presbyterians and other dissenters, LXiii. j^i^j^. Qj^iy ^Y\ expression of his intentions, upon sup- position of the concurrence of parliament : That even if the non-conformists had been entitled to plead a promise, they had intrusted this claim, as all their other rights and privileges, to the house of commons, who were their representatives, and who now freed the King from that obligation : That it was not to be supposed that His Majesty and the houses were so bound by that declaration as to be incapacitated from making any laws which might be contrary to it : That even at the King's restoration, there were laws of uniformity in force which could not be dispensed with but by act of parliament : And that the indulgence intended would prove most pernicious both to church and state, would open the door to schism, encourage faction, disturb the public peace, and discredit the wisdom of the legisla- ture. The King did not think proper, after this re- monstrance, to insist any farther at present on the project of indulgence.
In order to deprive the catholics of all hopes, the two houses concurred in a remonstrance against them. The King gave a gracious answer ; though he scrupled not to profess his gratitude towards many of that persuasion, on account of their faith- ful services in his father's cause and in his own. A proclamation, for form's sake, was soon after issued against Jesuits and Romish priests : But care was taken, by the very terms of it, to render it ineffectual. The parliament had allowed, that all foreign priests, belonging to the two Queens, should be excepted, and that a permission for them to re- main in England should still be granted. In the proclamation, the word foreign was purposely omit- ted ; and the Queens were thereby authorised to give protection to as many English priests as they should think proper.
That
1663.
CHARLES II. 391
That the King might reap some advantage from chap. his compliances, however fallacious, he engaged the ^^i^^- commons anew into an examination of his revenue, which, chiefly by the negligence in levying it, had proved, he said, much inferior to the public charges. Notwithstanding the price of Dunkirk, his debts, he complained, amounted to a considerable sum ; and to. satisfy the commons that the money formerly granted him had not been prodigally expended, heofl"eredto lay before them the whole account of his disburse- ments. It is, however, agreed on all hands, that the King, though during his banishment he had ma- naged his small and precarious income with great order and economy, had now much abated of these virtues, and was unable to make his royal revenues suffice for his expenses. The commons, without entering into too nice a disquisition, voted him four subsidies ; and this was the last time that taxes were levied in that manner.
Several laws were made this session with regard to trade. The militia also came under consideration, and some rules were established for ordering and arming it. It was enacted, that the King should have no power of keeping the militia under arms above fourteen days in the year. The situation of this island, together with its great naval power, has always occasioned other means of security, however requisite, to be much neglected amongst us : And the parliament showed here a very superfluous jea- lousy of the King's strictness in disciplining the militia. The principles of liberty rather require a contrary jealousy.
The Earl of Bristol's friendship with Clarendon, which had subsisted with great intimacy during their exile, and the distresses of the royal party, had been considerably impaired since the restoration, by the chancellor's refusing his assent to some grants, which Bristol had applied for, to a court lady: And a
little
392
CHAP. LXIII.
1663.
Decline of Claren- don's cre- dit.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
little after, the latter nobleman, agreeably to the im- petuosity and indiscretion of his temper, broke out against the minister in the most outrageous manner. He even entered a charge of treason against him before the house of peers ; but had concerted his measures so imprudently, that the judges, when consulted, declared, that, neither for its matter, nor its form, could the charge be legally received. The articles Indeed resemble more the incoherent altercations of a passionate enemy, than a serious accusation, fit to be discussed by a court of judica- ture ; and Bristol himself was so ashamed of his conduct and defeat, that he absconded during some time. Notwithstanding his fine talents, his elo- quence, his spirit, and his courage, he could never regain the character which he lost by this hasty and precipitate measure.
But though Clarendon was able to elude this rash assault, his credit at court was sensibly declining ; and in proportion as the King found himself esta- blished on the throne, he began to alienate himself from a minister, whose character was so little suited to his own. Charles's favour for the catholics was always opposed by Clarendon, public liberty was secured against all attempts of the over-zealous roy- alists, prodigal grants of the King were checked or refused, and the dignity of his own character was so much consulted by the chancellor, that he made it an inviolable rule, as did also his friend, Southampton, never to enter into any connection with the royal mistresses. The King's favourite was Mrs. Palmer, afterwards created Dutchess of Cleveland ; a woman prodigal, rapacious, dissolute, violent, revengeful. She failed not in her turn to undermine Clarendon's credit with his master ; and her success was at this time made apparent to the whole world. Secre- tary Nicholas, the chancellor's great friend, was re- moved from his place ; and Sir Harry Bennet, his
avowed
CHARLES n. 393
avowed enemy, was advanced to that office. Ben- ^j^:^.J'- net was soon after created Lord Arlington. ^
Though the King's conduct had hitherto, since i663. his restoration, been, in the main, laudable, men of penetration began to observe, that those virtues by which he had at first so much dazzled and en- chanted the nation, had great show, but not equal solidity. His good understanding lost much of its influence by his want of application ; his bounty was more the result of a facility of disposition, than any generosity of character ; his social humour led him frequently to neglect his dignity ; his love of plea- sure was not attended with proper sentiment and decency ; and while he seemed to bear a good-will to every one that approached him, he had a heart not very capable of friendship, and he had secretly entertained a very bad opinion and distrust of man- kind. But above all, what sullied his character, in the eyes of good judges, was his negligent ingrati- tude towards the unfortunate cavaliers, whose zeal and sufferings in the royal cause had known no bounds. This conduct, however, in the King may, from the circumstances of his situation and temper, admit of some excuse ; at least, of some alleviation. As he had been restored more by the efforts of his reconciled enemies than of his ancient friends, the former pretended a title to share his favour; and being, from practice, acquainted with public business, they were better qualified to execute any trust committed to them. The King's revenues were far from being large, or even equal to his necessary expenses ; and his mistresses, and the companions of his mirth and pleasures, gained, by solicitation, every request from his easy temper. The very poverty to which the more zealous roy- alists had reduced themselves, by rendering them insignificant, made them unfit to support the King's measures, and caused him to deem them a useless
incumbrance.
1663.
394 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN,
CHAP, incumbrance. And as many false and ridiculous LXiii. claims of merit were offered, his natural indolence, averse to a strict discussion or inquiry, led him to treat them all with equal indifference. The parlia- ment took some notice of the poor cavaliers. Sixty thousand pounds were, at one time, distributed among them : Mrs. Lane also, and the Penderells, had handsome presents and pensions from the King. But the greater part of the royalists still remained in poverty and distress ; aggravated by the cruel disappointment in their sanguine hopes, and by see- ing favour and preferment bestowed upon their most inveterate foes. With regard to the act of indemnity and oblivion, they universally said, that it was an act of indemnity to the King's enemies, and of obli- vion to his friends.
[ 395 J
CHAP. LXIV.
A New Session. — Rupture with Holland. — A New Session. — • Victory of the English. — Rupture with France. — Rupture with Denmark. — New Session. — Sea-fight of four Days. — Victory of the English. — Fire of London. — Advances towards Peace, — ■ Disgrace at Chatham, — Peace of Breda. — Clarendon's Fall — and Banishment,' — State of France. — Character of Lewis XIV, — French Invasion of the Low Countries, — Negotiations. — Triple League. — Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, — Affairs of Scotland — and of Ireland,
nnHE next session of parliament discovered a con- c h a p. -*- tinuance of the same principles which had pre- ' vailed in all the foregoing. Monarchy and the church ^664 were still the objects of regard and affection. Dur- March le. ing no period of the present reign did this spirit more evidently pass the bounds of reason and moderation. The King, in his speech to the parliament, had ventured openly to demand a repeal of the triennial act ; and he even went so far as to declare that, not- withstanding the law, he never would allow any parliament to be assembled bj' the methods prescrib- ed in that statute. The parliament, without taking offence at this declaration, repealed the law ; and, in lieu of all the securities formerly provided, satis- fied themselves with a general clause, " that parlia- " ments should not be interrupted above three years " at the most." As the English parliament had now raised itself to be a regular check and control upon
royal
A new
session.
396 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
c II A P. royal power, it is evident that they ought still to
;_ have preserved a regular security for their meeting,
1664, and not have trusted entirely to the good-w^ill of the King, who, if ambitious or enterprising, had so little reason to be pleased with these assemblies. Before the end of Charles's reign, the nation had occasion to feel very sensibly the effects of this repeal.
By the act of uniformity, every clergyman, who should officiate without being properly qualified, was punishable by fine and imprisonment : But this security was not thought sufficient for the church. It was now enacted, that wherever five persons above those of the same household should assemble in a religious congregation, every one of them was liable, for the first offence, to be im- prisoned three months, or pay five pounds ; for the second, to be imprisoned six months, or pay ten pounds; and for the third, to be transported seven years, or pay a hundred pounds. The parliament had only in their eye the malignity of the sectaries : They should have carried their intention farther, to the chief cause of that malignity, the restraint under which they laboured.
The commons likewise passed a vote, that the wrongs, dishonours, and indignities, offered to the English by the subjects of the United Provinces, were the greatest obstructions to all foreign trade : And they promised to assist the King with their lives and fortunes in asserting the rights of his crown against all opposition whatsoever. This was the first open step towards the Dutch war. We must explain the causes and motives of this measure. Rupture That closc unioii and confederacy, which, dur- iTnd.^°^' ^^S ^ course of near seventy years, has subsisted, al- most without interruption or jealousy, between Eng- land and Holland, is not so much founded on the natural unalterable interests of these states, as on their terror of the growing power of the French Monarch, who, without their combination, it is
apprehended,
1664.
CHARLES II. 397
apprehended, would soon extend his dominion over chap. Europe. In the first years of Charles's reign, when ^^^^' the ambitious genius of Lewis had not, as yet, dis- played itself, and when the great force of his people was, in some measure, unknown even to themselves, the rivalship of commerce, not checked by any other jealousy or apprehension, had in England begotten a violent enmity against the neighbouring republic.
Trade was beginning, among the English, to be a matter of general concern; but notwithstanding- all their efforts and advantages, their commerce seemed hitherto to stand upon a footing, which was somewhat precarious. The Dutch, who by indus- try and frugality were enabled to undersell them in every market, retained possession of the most lucrative branches of commerce ; and the English merchants had the mortification to find that all attempts to extend their trade were still turned, by the vigilance of their rivals, to their loss and dis- honour. Their indignation increased, when they con- sidered the superior naval power of England ; the bravery of her officers and seamen, her favourable situation, which enabled her to intercept the whole Dutch commerce. By the prospect of these advan- tages they were strongly prompted, from motives less just than political, to make war upon the States; and at once to ravish from them by force what they could not obtain, or could obtain but slowly, by superior skill and industry.
The careless unambitious temper of Charles ren- dered him little capable of forming so vast a project as that of engrossing the commerce and naval power of Europe; yet could he not remain altogether in- sensible to such obvious and such tempting pros- pects. His genius, happily turned towards mecha- nics, had inclined him to study naval affairs, which, of all branches of business, he both loved the most and understood the best. Though the Dutch,
during'
398 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, during his exile, had expressed towards him more LXiv. civility and friendship, than he had received from ^"y other foreign power; the Louvestein or aristo- cratic faction, which at this time ruled the common- wealth, had fallen into close union with France; and could that party be subdued, he might hope that his nephew, the young Prince of Orange, would be re- instated in the authority possessed by his ancestors, and would bring the States to a dependence under England. His narrow revenues made it still requisite for him to study the humours of his people, which now ran violently towards war ; and it has been sus- pected, though the suspicion was not justified by the event, that the hopes of diverting some of the supplies to his private use were not overlooked by this necessitous monarch.
The Duke of York, more active and enterprising, pushed more eagerly the war with Holland. He desired an opportunity of distinguishing himself: He loved to cultivate commerce : He was at the head of a new African company, whose trade was ex- tremely checked by the settlements of the Dutch : And perhaps the religious prejudices, by which that ' Prince was always so much governed, began even so early to instil into him an antipathy against ! a protestant commonwealth, the bulwark of the i reformation. Clarendon and Southampton, observ- ! ing that the nation was not supported by any foreign ! alliance, were averse to hostilities ; but their credit ' was now on the decline. j
May 17. By tlicsc Concurring motives, the court and par- 1 liament were both of them inclined to a Dutch war. i The parliament was prorogued without voting sup- i plies : But as they had been induced, without any open application from the crown, to pass that' vote above-mentioned against the Dutch encroach- i ments, it was reasonably considered as sufficient sanction for the vigorous measures which were re-
solved on.
Dowktn<:j,
CHARLES 11. 399
Downing, the English minister at the Hague, a chap. man of an insolent impetuous temper, presented a LXiv. memorial to the States, containing- a list of those ~~~ depredations, of which the English complained. It is remarkable, that all the pretended depredations preceded the year 1662, when a treaty of league and alliance had been renewed with the Dutch ; and these complaints were then thought either so ill- grounded or so frivolous, that they had not been mentioned in the treaty. Two ships alone, the Bonaventure and the Good-hope, had been claimed by the English ; and it was agreed that the claim should be prosecuted by the ordinary course of jus- tice. The States had consigned a sum of money in case the cause should be decided against them ; but the matter was still in dependence. Gary, who was intrusted by the proprietors with the management of the law-suit for the Bonaventure, had resolved to accept of thirty thousand pounds, which were offered him ; but was hindered by Downing, who told him that the claim was a matter of state between the two nations, not a concern of private persons.'' These circumstances give us no favourable idea of the justice of the English pretensions.
Charles confined not himself to memorials and remonstrances. Sir Robert Holmes was secretly despatched with a squadron of twenty-two ships to the coast of Africa. He not only expelled the Dutch from Gape Gorse, to which the English had some pretensions : He likewise seized the Dutch settlements of Gape Verde and the Isle of Goree, together with several ships trading on the coast. And having sailed to America, he possessed himself ofNova Belgia, since called New York; a territory which James the First had given by patent to the Earl of Sitrling, but which had never been planted but by the Hollanders. When the States complained
'' Temple, vol. ii. p. 42.
of
400 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, of these hostile measures, the King, unwilling to LXiv. avow what he could not well justify, pretended to
~T~ be totally ignorant of Holmes's enterprise. He likewise confined that admiral to the Tower ; but some time after released him.
^- The Dutch, finding that their applications for re- dress were likely to be eluded, and that a ground of quarrel was industriously sought for by the Eng- mi^m'. lish, began to arm with diligence. They even ex- erted, with some precipitation, an act of vigour, which hastened on the rupture. Sir John Lawson and De Ruyter had been sent with combined squad- rons into the Mediterranean, in order to chastise the piratical states on the coast of Barbary ; and the time of their separation and return was now approaching. The States secretly despatched orders to De Ruyter, that he should take in provisions at Cadiz; and sailing towards the coast of Guinea, should retaliate on the English, and put the Dutch in possession of those settlements whence Holmes had expelled them. De Ruyter, having a consi- derable force on board, met with no opposition in Guinea, All the new acquisitions of the English, except Cape Corse, were recovered from them. They were even dispossessed of some old settlements. Such of their ships as fell into his hands were seized by De Ruyter. That admiral sailed next to America. He attacked Barbadoes, but was repulsed. He after- wards committed hostilities on Long Island.
Meanwhile, the English preparations for war were advancing with vigour and industry. The King had received no supplies from parliament; but by his own funds and credit he was enabled to equip a fleet : The city of London lent him 100,000 pounds : The spirit of the nation seconded his armaments : He himself went from port to port, inspecting with great diligence, and encouraging the work ; and in a little time the English navy was put in a formidable condition. Eight hundred
thousand
CHARLES II. 401
thousand pounds are said to have been expended chap. on this armament. When Lawson arrived, and ^^^^' communicated his suspicion of De Ruyter's enter- ^gg^ prise, orders were issued for seizing all Dutch ships; and 135 fell into the hands of the English. These were not declared prizes, till afterwards, when war was proclaimed.
The parliament, when it met, granted a supply, 24th Nov. the largest by far that had ever been given to a King session! of England, yet scarcely sufficient for the present undertaking. Near two millions and a half were voted to be levied by quarterly payments in three years. The avidity of the merchants, together with the great prospect of success, had animated the whole nation against the Dutch.
A GREAT alteration was made this session in the method of taxing the clergy. In almost all the other monarchies of Europe, the assemblies, whose consent was formerly requisite to the enacting of laws, were composed of three estates, the clergy, the nobility, and the commonalty, which formed so many members of the political body, of which the King was considered as the head. In England, too, the parliament was always represented as con- sisting of three estates ; but their separation was never so distinct as in other kingdoms. A convo- cation, however, had usually sitten at the same time with the parliament; though they possessed not a negative voice in the passing of laws, and assumed no other temporal power than that of imposing taxes on the clergy. By reason of ecclesiastical prefer- ments, which he could bestow, the King's influence over the church was more considerable than over the laity ; so that the subsidies, granted by the convo- cation, were commonly greater than those which were voted by parliament. The church, therefore, was not displeased to depart tacitly from the right of taxing herself, and allows the commons to lay
VOL. viT. D D impositions
402
CHAP. LXIV.
1664.
1665. 22d Feb.
3d June. Victoiy of the English.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
impositions on ecclesiastical revenues, as on the rest of the kingdom. In recompense, two subsidies, which the convocation had formerly granted, were re- mitted, and the parochial clergy were allowed to vote at elections. Thus the church of England made a barter of power for profit. Their convoca- tions, having become insignificant to the crown, have been much disused of late years.
The Dutch saw, with the utmost regret, a war approaching, whence they might dread the most fatal consequences, but which afforded no prospect of advantage. They tried every art of negotiation, before they would come to extremities. Their measures were at that time directed by John de Wit, a minister equally eminent for greatness of mind, for capacity, and for integrity. Though moderate in his private deportment, he knew how to adopt, in his public counsels, that magnanimity which suits the minister of a great state. It was ever his maxim, that no independent government should yield to another any evident point of reason or equity ; and that all such concessions, so far from preventing war, served to no other purpose than to provoke fresh claims and insults. By his management a spirit of union was preserved in all the provinces ; great sums were levied ; and a navy was equipped, composed of larger ships than the Dutch had ever built before, and able to cope with the fleet of England.
As soon as certain intelligence arrived of De Ruyter's enterprises, Charles declared war against the States. His fleet, consisting of 1 14 sail, besides fire-ships and ketches, was commanded by the Duke of York, and under him by Prince Rupert and the Earl of Sandwich. It had about 22,000 men on board. Obdam, who was admiral of the Dutch navy, of nearly equal force, declined not the com- bat. In the heat of action, when engaged in close
fight
1665,
CHARLES 11. 403
fight with the Duke of York, Obdam's ship blew chap. up. This accident much discouraged the Dutch, ^^i^^- who fled towards their own coast. Tromp alone, son of the famous admiral killed during the former war, bravely sustained with his squadron the efl'orts of the English, and protected the rear of his coun- trymen. The vanquished had nineteen ships sunk and taken. The victors lost only one. Sir John Lawson died soon after of his wounds.
It is affirmed, and with an appearance of reason, that this victory might have been rendered more complete, had not orders been issued to slacken sail by Brounker, one of the Duke's bed-chamber, who pretended authority from his master. The Duke disclaimed the orders; but Brounker never was sufficiently punished for his temerity.' It is allowed, however, that the Duke behaved with great bravery during the action. He was long in the thickest of the fire. The Earl of Falmouth, Lord Muskerry, and Mr. Boyle, were killed by one shot at his side, and covered him all over with their brains and gore. And it is not likely, that, in a pursuit, where even persons of inferior station, and of the most cowardly dispositions, acquire courage, a commander should feel his spirits to flag, and should turn from the
• King James, in his Memoirs, gives an account of this affair different from what we meet with in any historian. He says, that while he was asleep, Brounker brought orders to Sir John Harman, captain of the ship, to slacken sail. Sir John remonstrated, but obeyed. After some time, finding that his falling back was likely to produce confusion in the fleet, he hoisted the sail as before : So that the Prince coming soon after on the quarter-deck, and finding all things as he left them, knew nothmg of what had passed during his repose. Nobody gave him the least intimation of it. It was long after, that he heard of it by a kind of accident ; and he intended to have punished Brounker by martial law ; but just about that time, the house of commons took up the question and impeached him, which made it impossible for the Duke to punish him otherwise than by dismissing him his service. Brounker, before the house, never pretended that he had received any orders from the Duke.
D D 2 back
1665.
with France.
404 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, back of an enemy, whose force he had not been LXiv. afraid to encounter.
This disaster threw the Dutch into consternation, and determined De Wit, who was the soul of their councils, to exert his military capacity, in order to support the declining courage of his countrymen. He went on board the fleet, which he took under his command ; and he soon remedied all those dis- orders which had been occasioned by the late misfortune. The genius of this man was of the most extensive nature. He quickly became as much master of naval affairs, as if he had from his in- fancy been educated in them ; and he even made improvements in some parts of pilotage and sailing, beyond what men expert in those arts had ever been able to attain.
Rupture The misfortuncs of the Dutch determined their
allies to act for their assistance and support. The King of France was engaged in a defensive alliance with the Sates ; but as his naval force was yet in its infancy, he was entirely averse, at that time, from entering into a war with so formidable a power as England. He long tried to mediate a peace between the States, and for that purpose sent an embassy to London, which returned without effecting any thing. Lord HoUis, the English ambassador at Paris, endeavoured to draw over Lewis to the side of England ; and, in his master's name, made him the most tempting offers. Charles was content to abandon all tihe Spanish Low Countries to the French, without pretending to a foot of ground for himself; provided Lewis would allow him to pursue his advantages against the Dutch.'' But the French Monarch, though the conquest of that valuable territory was the chief object of his ambition, rejected the offer as contrary to his
I* D'Estrades, 19th December 1664.
interests :
CHARLES 11. 405
interests : He thought, that if the English had once c H a p. established an uncontrollable dominion over the sea ^^^^- and over commerce, they would soon be able to ^qq^ render his acquisitions a dear purchase to him. When De Lionne, the French secretary, assured Van Beuninghen, ambassador of the States, that this offer had been pressed on his master during six months ; " I can readily believe it," replied the Dutchman; " I am sensible that it is the interest of England.'"
Such were the established maxims at that time with regard to the interests of Princes. It must however be allowed, that the politics of Charles, in making this offer, were not a little hazardous. The extreme weakness of Spain would have rendered the French conquests easy and infallible ; but the vigour of the Dutch, it might be foreseen, would make the success of the English much more precarious. And even were the naval force of Holland totally anni- hilated, the acquisition of the Dutch commerce to England could not be relied on as a certain con- sequence ; nor is trade a constant attendant of power, but depends on many other, and some of them very delicate circumstances.
Though the King of France had resolved to sup- port the Hollanders in that unequal contest in which they were engaged ; yet he protracted his declaration, and employed the time in naval preparations, both in the ocean and the Mediterranean. The King of Denmark meanwhile was resolved not to remain an idle spectator of the contest between the maritime powers. The part which he acted was the most extraordinary : He made a secret agreement with Charles to seize all the Dutch ships in his harbours, and to share the spoils with the English, provided they would assist him in executing this measure. In order to increase his prey, he perfidiously invited the
' D'Estrades, 14th August 1665.
Dutch
406
C EAP. LXIV.
1665.
3d Aug.
Rupture
with
Denmark.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
Dutch to take shelter in his ports ; and accordingly the East-India fleet, very richly laden, had put into Bergen. Sandwich, who now commanded the Eng- lish navy (the Duke having gone ashore), despatched Sir Thomas Tiddiman with a squadron to attack them ; but whether from the King of Denmark's delay in sending orders to the governor, or, what is more probable, from his avidity in endeavouring to engross the whole booty, the English admiral, though he behaved with great bravery, failed of his purpose. The Danish governor fired upon him, and the Dutch, having had leisure to fortify them- selves, made a gallant resistance.
The King of Denmark, seemingly ashamed of his conduct, concluded with Sir Gilbert Talbot, the English envoy, an offensive alliance against the States ; and at the very same time, his resident at the Hague, by his orders, concluded an offensive alliance against England. To this latter alliance he adhered, probably from jealousy of the increasing naval power of England ; and he seized and con- fiscated all the English ships in his harbours. This was a sensible check to the advantages which Charles had obtained over the Dutch. Not only a blow was given to the English commerce ; the King of Denmark's naval force was also considerable, and threatened every moment a conjunction with the Hollanders. That Prince stipulated to assist his ally with a fleet of thirty sail ; and he received in return a yearly subsidy of 1,500,000 crowns, of which 300,000 were paid by France.
The King endeavoured to counterbalance these confederacies by acquiring new friends and allies. He had despatched Sir Richard Fanshaw into Spain, who met with a very cold reception. That mo- narchy was sunk into a state of weakness, and was menaced with an invasion from France ; yet could not any motive prevail with Philip to enter into
cordial
1665.
CHARLES II. 407
cordial friendship with England. Charles's alliance chap. with Portugal, the detention of Jamaica and Tan- LXiv. giers, the sale of Dunkirk to the French ; all these offences sunk so deep in the mind of the Spanish monarch, that no motive of interest was sufficient to outweigh them.
The Bishop of Munster was the only ally that Charles could acquire. This prelate, a man of rest- less enterprise and ambition, had entertained a violent animosity against the States; and he was easily en- gaged, by the promise of subsidies from England, to make an incursion on that republic. With a tumultuary army of near 20,000 men, he invaded her territories, and met with weak resistance. The land forces of the States were as feeble and ill- governed, as their fleets were gallant and formi- dable. But after his committing great ravages in several of the provinces, a stop was put to the pro- gre>ss of this warlike prelate. He had not mili- tary skill sufficient to improve the advantages which fortune had put into his hands : The King of France sent a body of 6000 men to oppose him : Subsidies were not regularly remitted him from England ; and many of his troops deserted for want of pay : The Elector of Brandenburgh threatened him with an invasion in his own state : And on the whole, he was glad to conclude a peace under the mediation of France. On the first surmise of his intentions. Sir William Temple was sent from London with money to fix him in his former alliance ; but found that he arrived too late.
The Dutch, encouraged by all these favourable circumstances, continued resolute to exert them- selves to the utmost in their own defence. De Ruy- ter, their great admiral, was arrived from his expe- dition to Guinea : Their Indian fleet was come home in safety : Their harbours were crowded with mer- chant ships : Faction at home was appeased : The young Prince of Orange had put himself under the
tuition
408 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP tuition of the States of Holland, and of De Wit,
LXiv. their pensionary, who executed his trust with ho-
~~7, nour and fidelity : And the animosity, which the
1 fin T ** *^
Hollanders entertained against the attack of the English, so unprovoked, as they thought it, made them thirst for revenge, and hope for better success in their next enterprise. Such vigour was exerted in the common cause, that, in order to man the fleet, all merchant ships were prohibited to sail, and even the fisheries were suspended."
The English likewise continued in the same dis- position, though another more grievous calamity had joined itself to that of war. The plague had broken out in London ; and that with such violence,
loth Oct. as to cut off, in a year, near 90,000 inhabitants. The King was obliged to summon the parliament at Oxford.
Newses- A GOOD agreement still subsisted between the
sion. King and parliament. They, on their part, unani-
mously voted him the supply demanded, twelve hundred and fifty thousand pounds, to be levied in
Five-mile- two years by monthly assessments. And he, to gra- tify them, passed the five-mile-act, which has given occasion to grievous and not unjust complaints. The church, vuider pretence of guarding monarchy against its inveterate enemies, persevered in the project of wreaking her own enmity against the non- conformists. It was enacted, that no dissenting teacher who took not the non-resistance oath above mentioned, should, except upon the road, come within five miles of any corporation, or of any place, where he had preached after the act of oblivion. The penalty was a fine of fifty pounds, and six months imprisonment. By ejecting the non-conforming clergy from their churches, and prohibiting all se- parate congregations, they had been rendered in- capable of gaining any livelihood by their spiritual
"■ Tromp's Life. D'Estrades, 5tli of Februaiy, 1665.
proiession.
CHARLES II. HOTf^iU 409
pro5ession. And now, under colour of removing ^,^^^'
them from places where their influence might be '
dangerous, an expedient was fallen upon to deprive ^gg^. them of all means of subsistence. Had not the spirit of the nation undergone a change, these violences were preludes to the most furious perse- cution. ;ij III
However prevalent the hierarchy, this law 'did not pass without opposition. Besides several peers, attached to the old parliamentary party, Southampton himself, though Clarendon's great friend, expressed his disapprobation of these measures. But the church party, not discouraged with this opposition, introt duced into the house of commons a bill for imposing the oath of non-resistance on the whole nation. It was rejected only by three voices. The parliament, 31st Oct. after a short session, was prorogued.
After France had declared war, England was 1666. evidently overmatched in force. Yet she possessed this advantage by her situation, that she lay between the 'fleets of her enemies, and might be able, by speedy and well-concerted operations, to prevent their junction. But such was the unhappy conduct of her commanders, or such want of intelligence in her ministers, that this circumstance turned rather to her prejudice. Lewis had given orders to the Duke of Beaufort, his admiral, to sail from Toulon ; and the French squadron, under his command, consisting of above forty sail", was now commonly supposed to be entering the channel. The Dutch fleet, to the number of seventy-six sail, was at sea, under the command of De Ruyter and Tromp, in order to join him. The Duke of Albemarle and Prince Rupert commanded the English fleet, which ex- ceeded not seventy-four sail. Albemarle, who, from his successes under the Protector, had too
" D'Estrades, 21st of May, 1666.
much
4 JO HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, much learned to despise the enemy, proposed to ^^^^' detach Prince Rupert with twenty ships, in order to 1666. oppose the Duke of Beaufort. Sir George Ayscue, well acquainted with the bravery and conduct of De Ruyter, protested against the temerity of this resolution: But Albemarle's authority prevailed. The remainder of the English set sail to give battle to the Dutch ; who seeing the enemy advance quickly upon them, cut their cal^les, and prepared for the combat. The battle that ensued, is one of the most memorable that we read of in story ; whether we consider its long duration, or the desperate courage Sea-fight with which it was fought. Albemarle made here of four some atonement bv his valour for the rashness of the attempt. No youth, animated by glory and ambitious hopes, could exert himself more than did this man, who was now in the decline of life, and who had reached the summit of honours. We shall not enter minutely into particulars. It will be sufficient to mention the chief events of each day's engagement. 1st June. In thefirstday. Sir William Berkeley, vice-admiral, leading the van, fell into the thickest of the enemy, was overpowered, and his ship taken. He himself was found dead in his cabin, all covered with blood. The English had the weather-gage of the enemy; but as the wind blew so hard, that they could not use their lower tier, they derived but small advan- tage from this circumstance. The Dutch shot, how- ever, fell chiefly on their sails and rigging; and few ships were sunk or much damaged. Chain- shot was at that time a new invention ; commonly attributed to De Wit. Sir John Harman exerted himself extremely on this day. The Dutch admiral, Evertz, was killed in engaging him. Darkness parted the combatants.
The second day, the wind was somewhat fallen and the combat became more steady and more ter- rible. The English now found, that the greatest
valour
CHARLES II. 4U
valour cannot compensate the superiority of nu mbers, chap. against an enemy who is well conducted, and who is not defective in courage. De Ruyter and Van .^g Tromp, rivals in glory, and enemies from faction, exerted themselves in emulation of each other ; and De Ruyter had the advantage of disengaging and saving his antagonist, who had been surrounded by the English, and was in the most imminent danger. Sixteen fresh ships joined the Dutch fleet during the action ; and the English were so shattered, that their fighting ships were reduced to twenty-eight, and they found themselves obliged to retreat towards their own coast. The Dutch followed them, and were on the point of renewing the combat, when a calm, which came a little before night, prevented the engagement.
Next morning, the English were obliged to con- tinue their retreat; and a proper disposition was made for that purpose. The shattered ships were ordered to stretch a-head ; and sixteen of the most entire followed them in good order, and kept the enemy in awe. Albemarle himself closed the rear, and pre- sented an undaunted countenance to his victorious foes. The Earl of Ossory, son of Ormond, a gallant youth, who sought honour and experience in every action throughout Europe, was then on board the admiral. Albemarle confessed to him his intention rather to blow up his ship and perish gloriously, than yield to the enemy. Ossory applauded this desperate resolution.
About two o'clock, the Dutch had come up witU their enemy, and were ready to renew the fight ; when a new fleet was descried from the south, crowding all their sail to reach the scene of action. The Dutch flattered themselves that Beaufort was arrived, to cut ofl" the retreat of the vanquished : The English hoped that Prince Rupert had come, to turn the scale of action. Albemarle, who had
received
1666.
412 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, received intelligence of the Prince's approach, bent • his course towards him. Unhappily, Sir George Ayscue, in a ship of a hundred guns, the largest in the fleet, struck on the Galloper sands, and could receive no assistance from his friends, who were hastening to join the reinforcement. He could not even reap the consolation of perishing with honour, and revenging his death on his enemies. They were preparing fireships to attack him, and he was obliged to strike. The English sailors, seeing the necessity, with the utmost indignation surrendered themselves prisoners.
Albemarle and Prince Rupert were now deter- mined to face the enemy ; and next morning the battle began afresh, with more equal force than ever, and with equal valour. After long cannon- ading, the fleets came to a close combat ; which was continued with great violence, till parted by a mist. The English retired first into their har- bours.
Though the English, by their obstinate courage, reaped the chief honour in this engagement, it is somewhat uncertain who obtained the victory. The Hollanders took a few ships, and having some ap- pearances of advantage, expressed their satisfaction by all the signs of triumph and rejoicing. But as the English fleet was repaired in a little time, and put to sea more formidable than ever, together with many of those ships which the Dutch had boasted to have burned or destroyed ; all Europe saw, that those two brave nations were engaged in a contest, which was not likely, on either side, to prove de- cisive.
It was the conjunction alone of the French, that could give a decisive superiority to the Dutch. In order to facilitate this conjunction, De Ruyter, having repaired his fleet, posted himself at the mouth of the Thames. The English, under Prince Rupert
and
CHARLES II. 413
and Albemarle, were not lon^ in coming to the chap.
TXTV
attack. The numbers of each fleet amounted to
about eighty sail ; and the valour and experience of leee. the commanders, as well as of the seamen, rendered ^^^ •'"'y- the engagement fierce and obstinate. Sir Thomas of the Allen, who commanded the white squadron of the English. English, attacked the Dutch van, which he entirely routed ; and he killed the three admirals who com- manded it. Van Tromp engaged Sir Jeremy Smith ; and during the heat of action, he was separated from De Ruyter and the main body, whether by accident or design was never certainly known. De Ruyter, with conduct and valour, maintained the combat against the main body of the English ; and though overpowered by numbers, kept his station, till night ended the engagement. Next day, finding the Dutch fleet scattered and discouraged, his high spirit submitted to a retreat, which yet he conducted with such skill, as to render it equally honourable to himself as the greatest victory. Full of indig- nation, however, at yielding the superiority to the enemy, he frequently exclaimed, " My God! what " a wretch am I! Among so many thousand bullets, " is there not one to put an end to my miserable " life?" One De Witte, his son-in-law, who stood near, exhorted him, since he sought death, to turn upon the English, and render his life a dear pur- chase to the victors. But De Ruyter esteemed it more worthy a brave man to persevere to the utter- most, and, as long as possible, to render service to his country. All that night and next day, the English pressed upon the rear of the Dutch ; snd it was chiefly by the redoubled efforts of De Ruyter, that the latter saved themselves in their harbours.
The loss sustained by the Hollanders in this ac- tion was not very considerable ; but as violent ani- mosities had broken out between the two admirals, who engaged all the officers on one side or other,
the
1666.
414 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, the consternation, which took place, was great among ^^^^- the provinces. Tromp's commission was at last taken from him ; but though several captains had mis- behaved, they were so effectually protected by their friends in the magistracy of the towns, that most of them escaped punishment, many were still continued in their commands.
The English now rode incontestable masters of the sea, and insulted the Dutch in their harbours. A detachment under Holmes was sent into the road of Vlie, and burned a hundred and forty merchant- men, two men of war, together with Brandaris, a large and rich village on the coast. The Dutch merchants, who lost by this enterprise, uniting them- selves to the Orange faction, exclaimed against an administration, which, they pretended, had brought such disgrace and ruin on their country. None but the firm and intrepid mind of De Wit could have supported itself under such a complication of calamities.
The King of France, apprehensive that the Dutch would sink under their misfortunes ; at least, that De Wit, his friend, might be dispossessed of the administration, hastened the advance of the Duke of Beaufort. The Dutch fleet likewise was again equipped ; and under the command of De Ruyter, cruised near the straits of Dover. Prince Rupert with the English navy, now stronger than ever, came full sail upon them. The Dutch admiral thought proper to decline the combat, and retired into St. John's road near Bulloigne. Here he shel- tered himself, both from the English, and from a furious storm which arose. Prince Rupert too was obliged to retire into St. Helens ; where he staid some time, in order to repair the damages which he had sustained. Meanwhile the Duke of Beaufort proceeded up the channel, and passed the English lieet unperceived ; but he did not find the Dutch, as he expected. De Ruyter had been seized with a
fever :
on.
CHARLES It. 415
fever: Many of the chief officers had fallen into Chap. sickness; A contagious distemper was spread through LXiv. the fleet : And the States thought it necessary to "^666 recal them into their harbours, before the enemy could be refitted. The French King, anxious for his navy, which, v/ith so much care and industry, he had lately built, despatched orders to Beaufort, to make the best of his way to Brest. That ad- miral had again the good fortune to pass the Eng- lish. One ship alone, the Ruby, fell into the hands of the enemy.
While the war continued without any decisive 3d Sept. success on either side, a calamity happened in Lon- J^^^^^^ don, which threw the people into great consterna- tion. Fire, breaking out in a baker's house near the bridge, spread itself on all sides with such ra- pidity, that no efforts could extinguish it, till it laid in ashes a considerable part of the city. The inha- bitants, without being able to provide effectually for their relief, were reduced to be spectators of their own ruin ; and were pursued from street to street by the flames, which unexpectedly gathered round them. Three days and nights did the fire advance ; and it was only by the blowing up of houses, that it was at last extinguished. The King and Duke used their utmost endeavours to stop the progress of the flames ; but all their industry was unsuccessful. — About four hundred streets, and thirteen thousand houses, were reduced to ashes.
The causes of this calamity were evident. The narrow streets of London, the houses built entirely of wood, the dry season, and a violent east wind which blew ; these were so many concurring cir- cumstances, which rendered it easy to assign the reason of the destruction that ensued. But the people were not satisfied with this obvious account. Prompted by blind rage, some ascribed the guilt to the republicans, others to the catholics ; though
it
1666.
416 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, it is not easy to conceive how the burning of Lon- LXiv. ^Q^ could serve the purposes of either party. As the papists were the chief objects of public detesta- tion, the rumour, which threw the guilt on them, was more favourably received by the people. No proof, however, or even presumption, after the strictest inquiry by a committee of parliament, ever appeared to authorise such a calumny ; yet, in order to give countenance to the popular prejudice, the inscription engraved by authority on the monument, ascribed this calamity to that hated sect. This clause was erased by order of King James, when he came to the throne ; but after the revolution it was replaced. So credulous, as well as obstinate, are the people, in believing every thing which flatters their prevailing passion !
The fire of London, though at that time a great calamity, has proved in the issue beneficial both to the city and the kingdom. The city was rebuilt in a very little time ; and care was taken to make the streets wider and more regular than before. A dis- cretionary power was assumed by the King to regu- late the distribution of the buildings, and to forbid the use of lath and timber, the materials of which the houses were formerly composed. The necessity was so urgent, and the occasion so extraordinary, that no exceptions were taken at an exercise of au- thority, which otherwise might have been deemed illegal. Had the King been enabled to carry his power still farther, and made the houses be rebuilt with perfect regularity, and entirely upon one plan ; he had much contributed to the convenience, as well as embellishment, of the city. Great advan- tages, however, have resulted from the alterations ; though not carried to the full length. London became much more healthy after the fire. The plague, which used to break out with great fury twice or thrice every century, and indeed was always
lurking
CHARLES II. 417
lurking* ill soliie ^<6bmer or other of the city, has chap.
• • • ■ r v T\/
scarcely ever appeared since that calamity. ' .J
The parliament met soon after, and gave the ^-^-^^ sanction of law to those regulations made by royal authority; as well as appointed commissioners for deciding all such questions of property, as might arise from the fire. They likewise voted a supply of 1,800,000 pounds to be levied, partly by a poll^ bill, partly by assessments. Though their inquiry brought out no proofs, which could fix on the ])a- pists the burning of London, the general aversion against that sect still prevailed ; and complaints were made, probably without much foundation, of its dangerous increase. Charles, at the desire Of the commons, issued a proclamation for the banish- ment of all priests and Jesuits ; but the bad execu- tion of this, as well as of former edicts, destroyed all confidence in his sincerity, whenever he pretended an aversion towards the catholic religion. Whe- ther suspicions of this nature had diminished the King's popularity, is uncertain ; but it appears, that the supply was voted much later than Charles ex- pected, or even than the public necessities seemed to require. The intrigues of the Duke of Bucking- ham, a man who wanted only steadiness to render him extremely dangerous, had somewhat embarrass- ed the measures of the court ; and this was the first time that the King found any considerable reason to complain of a failure of confidence in this house of commons. The rising symptoms of ill-humour tended, no doubt, to quicken the steps which were already making towards a peace with foreign enemies.
Charles began to be sensible, that all the ends ^^^^^^^^ for which the war had been undertaken, were likely peace. ^ to prove entirely abortive. The Dutch, even when single, had defended themselves with vigour, and were every day improving in their military skill and preparations. Though their trade had suffered VOL. VII. E E extremely,
1667.
418 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, extremely, their extensive credit enabled them to ■ levy great sums ; and while the seamen of England loudly complained of want of pay, the Dutch navy was regularly supplied with money and every thing requisite for its subsistence. As two power- ful Kings now supported them, every place, from the extremity of Norway to the coasts of Bay- onne, was become hostile to the English. And Charles, neither fond of action, nor stimulat- ed by any violent ambition, earnestly sought for means of restoring tranquillity to his people, dis- gusted with a war, which, being joined with the plague and fire, had proved so fruitless and destructive.
The first advances towards an accommodation were made by England. When the King sent for the body of Sir William Berkeley, he insinuated to the States his desire of peace on reasonable terms ; and their answer corresponded in the same amicable intentions. Charles, however, to maintain the ap- pearance of superiority, still insisted that the States should treat at London ; and they agreed to make him this compliment so far as concerned them- selves : But being engaged in an alliance with two crowned heads, they could not, they said, prevail with these to depart in that respect from their dig- nity. On a sudden, the King went so far on the other side as to offer the sending of ambassadors to the Hague ; but this proposal, which seemed ho- nourable to the Dutch, was meant only to divide and distract them, by affording the English an op- portunity to carry on cabals with the disaffected party. The offer was therefore rejected ; and con- ferences were secretly held in the Queen-mother's apartments at Paris, where the pretensions of both parties were discussed. The Dutch made equitable proposals ; either that all things should be restored to the same condition in which they stood before the war ; or that both parties should continue in
possession
LXIV.
1667.
CHARLES II. 419
possession of their present acquisitions. Charles chap. accepted of the latter proposal ; and almost every thing was adjusted, except the disputes with regard to the Isle of Polerone. This island lies in the East Indies, and was formerly valuable for its produce of spices. The English had been masters of it : But were dispossessed at the time when the violences were committed against them at Amboyna. Crom- well had stipulated to have it restored ; and the Hollanders, having first entirely destroyed all the spice trees, maintained, that they had executed the treaty, but that the English had been anew expelled during the course of the war. Charles renewed his pretensions to this island ; and as the reasons on both sides began to multiply, and seemed to require a long discussion, it was agreed to transfer the treaty to some other place ; and Charles made choice of Breda.
Lord Hollis and Henry Coventry were the Eng- lish ambassadors. They immediately desired, that a suspension of arms should be agreed to, till the several claims should be adjusted: But this pro- posal, seemingly so natural, was rejected by the credit of De Wit. That penetrating and active mi- nister, thoroughly acquainted wirh the characters of Princes and the situation of affairs, had discovered an opportunity of striking a blow, which might at once restore to the Dutch the honour lost during the war, and severely revenge those injuries, which he ascribed to the wanton ambition and injustice of the English.
Whatever projects might have been formed by Charles for secreting the money granted him by parliament, he had hitherto failed in his intention. The expenses of such vast armaments had exhaust- ed all the supplies ° ; and even a great debt was
contracted
" The Dutch had spent on the war near 40 millions of livres a-year, above three millions sterling : A much greater sum than had been granted by the English parhament. D'Estrades, 24th of December, 1665 ; 1st of
E E 2 January,
LXIV.
1667.
420 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, contracted to the seamen. The King therei'ore was resolved to save, as far as possible, the last supply of 1,800,000 pounds; and to employ it for pay- ment of his debts, as well those which had been occasioned by the war, as those which he had for- merly contracted. He observed that the Dutch had been with great reluctance forced into the war, and that the events of it were not such as to inspire them with great desire of its continuance. The French, he knew, had been engaged into hostilities by no other motive than that of supporting their ally ; and were now more desirous than ever of putting an end to the quarrel. The differences be- tween the parties were so inconsiderable, that the conclusion of peace appeared infallible ; and no- thing but forms, at least some vain points of ho- nour, seemed to remain for the ambassadors at Breda to discuss. In this situation, Charles, moved by an ill-timed frugality, remitted his preparations, and exposed England to one of the greatest affronts which it has ever received. Two small squadrons alone were equipped ; and during a war with such potent and martial enemies, every thing was left almost in the same situation as in times of the most profound tranquillity.
De Wit protracted the negotiations at Breda, and hastened the naval preparations. The Dutch fleet appeared in the Thames under the command of De Ruyter, and threw the English into the utmost consternation. A chain had been drawn across the river Medway ; some fortifications had been added to Sheerness and Upnore castle : But all these pre- parations were unequal to the present necessity. Sheerness was soon taken ; nor could it be saved bv the valour of Sir Edward Sprague, who defended
January, 1666. Temple, vol. i. p. 71 . It was piobably the want of money which engaged the King to pay the seamen with tickets ; a contrivance which proved so much to their loss.
it.
CHARLE.S II. 421
it. Having the advantage of a spring tide and an chap. easterly wind, the Dutch pressed on and broke the lxiv. chain, though fortified by some ships which had "Teee^ been there sunk by orders of the Duke of Albemarle. lothJune. They burned the three ships which lay to guard the Disgrace chain, the Matthias, the Unity, and the Charles the atchat- Fifth. After damaging several vessels, and possess- '^^™- ing themselves of the hull of the Royal Charles, which the English had burned, they advanced, with six men of war and live fire-ships, as far as Upnore castle, where they burned the Royal Oak, the Loyal London, and the Great James. Captain Douglas, who commanded on board the Royal Oak, perished in the flames, though he had an easy opportunity of escaping. " Never was it known," he said, " that " a Douglas had left his post without orders."'' The Hollanders fell down the Medway without re- ceiving any considerable damage ; and it was appre bended, that they might next tide sail up the Thames, and extend their hostilities even to the bridge of London. Nine ships were sunk at Woolwich, four at Blackwall : Platforms were raised in many places, furnished with artillery : The train-bands were called out; and every place w^as in a violent agitation. The Dutch sailed next to Portsmouth, where they made a fruitless attempt : They met with no better success at Plymouth : They insulted Harwich : They sailed again up the Thames as far as Tilbury, where they were repulsed. The whole coast was in alarm ; and had the French thought proper at this time to join the Dutch fleet and to invade England, conse- quences the most fatal might justly have been ap- prehended. But Lewis had no intention to push the victory to such extremities. His interest required that a balance should be kept between the two mari- time powers ; not that an uncontrolled superiority should be given to either.
p Temple, vol. ii. p. 41.
Great
1667.
422 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. Great indignation prevailed among the Eng- LXiv. j-j5,|^ ^Q ggg ^j^ enemy, whom they regarded as infe-
rior, whom they had expected totally to subdue, and over whom they had gained many honourable ad- vantages, now of a sudden ride undisputed masters of the ocean, burn their ships in their very harbours, fill every place with confusion, and strike a terror into the capital itself. But though the cause of all these disasters could be ascribed neither to bad for- tune, to the misconduct of admirals, nor to the ill- behaviour of seamen, but solely to the avarice, at least to the improvidence, of the government ; no dangerous symptoms of discontent appeared, and no attempt for an insurrection was made by any of those numerous sectaries, who had been so openly branded for their rebellious principles, and who upon that supposition had been treated with such severity.''
In the present distress, two expedients were em- braced : An army of 12,000 men was suddenly levied ; and the parliament, though it lay under pro- rogation, was summoned to meet. The houses were very thin ; and the only vote which the commons passed, was an address for breaking the army; which was complied with. This expression of jealousy showed the court what they might expect from that assembly ; and it was thought more prudent to pro- rogue them till next winter. loth July. But the signing of the treaty at Breda extricated Peace of thg King from his present difficulties. The English ambassadors received orders to recede from those demands, which, however frivolous in themselves, could not now be relinquished, without acknow- ledging a superiority in the enemy. Polerone remained with the Dutch ; satisfaction for the ships,
1 Some nonconformists, however, both in Scotland and England, had kept a correspondence with the States, and had entertained projects for insurrections, but they were too weak even to attempt the execution of them. D'Estrades, 13th October, 1665.
Bonaventure
CHARLES II. 423
Bonaventure and Good-hope, the pretended grounds chap. of the quarrel, was no longer insisted on : Acadie LXiv. was yielded to the French. The acquisition of ~^ New- York, a settlement so important by its situa- tion, was the chief advantage which the English reaped from a war, in which the national character of bravery had shone out with lustre, but where the misconduct of the government, especially in the conclusion, had been no less apparent.
To appease the people by some sacrifice seemed 9^^^^"',, requisite before the meeting of parliament ; and the prejudices of the nation pointed out the victim. The chancellor was at this time much exposed to the hatred of the public, and of every party which di- vided the nation. All the numerous sectaries re- garded him as their determined enemy ; and ascrib- ed to his advice and influence those persecuting laws to which they had lately been exposed. The ca- tholics knew, that while he retained any authority, all their credit with the King and the Duke would be entirely useless to them, nor must they ever ex- pect any favour or indulgence. Even the royalists, disappointed in their sanguine hopes of preferment, threw a great load of envy on Clarendon, into whose hands the King seemed at first to have resigned the whole power of government. The sale of Dunkirk, the bad payment of the seamen, the disgrace at Chatham, the unsuccessful conclusion of the war ; all these misfortunes were charged on the chancellor, who, though he had ever opposed the rupture with Holland, thought it still his duty to justify what he could not prevent. A building, likewise, of more expense and magnificence than his slender fortune could afford, being unwarily undertaken by him, much exposed him to public reproach, as if he had acquired great riches by corruption. The popu- lace gave it commonly the appellation of Dunkirk- House.
The
1667.
424 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. The King himself, who had always more revered ^^^^'- than loved the chancellor, was now totally estranged from him. Amidst the dissolute manners of the court, that minister still maintained an inflexible dig- nity, and would not submit to any condescensions, which he deemed unworthy of his age and character. Buckingham, a man of profligate morals, happy in his talent for ridicule, but exposed in his own con- duct to all the ridicule which he threw on others, still made him the object of his raillery, and gradual- ly lessened in the King that regard which he bore to his minister. When any difficulties arose either for want of power or money, the blame was still thrown on him, who, it was believed, had carefully at the restoration checked all lavish concessions to the King. And what perhaps touched Charles more nearly, he found in Clarendon, it is said, obstacles to his pleasures, as well as to his ambition.
The King, disgusted with the homely person of his consort, and desirous of having children, had hearkened to proposals of obtaining a divorce, on pretence either of her being pre-engaged to another, or of having made a vow of chastity before her marriage. He was further stimulated by his passion for Mrs. Stuart, daughter of a Scotch gentleman; a lady of great beauty, and whose virtue he had hither- to found impregnable : But Clarendon, apprehensive of the consequences attending a disputed title, and perhaps anxious for the succession of his own grand- children, engaged the Duke of Richmond to marry Mrs. Stuart, and thereby put an end to the King's hope. It is pretended that Charles never forgave this disappointment.
When politics, therefore, and inclination both concurred to make the King sacrifice Clarendon to popular prejudices, the memory of his past services was not able any longer to delay his fall. The great seal was taken from him, and given to Sir
Orlando
CHAliLES II. 425
Orlando Bridgenian, by the title of Lord Keeper, chap. Southampton, the treasurer, was now dead, who had LXiv. persevered to the utmost in his attachments to the chancellor. The last time he appeared at the coun- cil table, he exerted his friendship with a vigour, which neither age nor infirmities could abate. " This man," said he, speaking of Clarendon, " is a true protestant and an honest Englishman ; '' and while he enjoys power, we are secure of our " laws, liberties, and religion. I dread the conse- " qnences of his removal."
But the fall of the chancellor was not sufficient to gratify the malice of his enemies : His total ruin was resolved on. The Duke of York in vain exerted his interest in behalf of his father-in-law. Both Prince and people united in promoting that violent measure ; and no means were thought so proper for ingratiating the court with a parliament, which had so long been governed by that very minister, who was now to be the victim of their prejudices.
Some popular acts paved the way for the session; and the parliament, in their first address, gave the King thanks for these instances of his goodness, and among the rest, they took care to mention his dis- mission of Clarendon. The King, in reply, assured the houses that he would never again employ that nobleman in any public office whatsoever. Imme- diately the charge against him was opened in the house of commons by Mr. Seymour, afterwards Sir Edward, and consisted of seventeen articles. The house, without examining particulars, farther than hearing general affirmations that all would be proved, immediately voted his impeachment. Many of the articles' we know to be either false or frivolous; and such of them as we are less acquainted with, we may fairly presume to be no better grounded.
•■ See note [Ml, at the end of the volume.
His
1667.
426 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. His advising the sale of Dunkirk seems the heaviest LXiv. r^jj(^ truest part of the charge ; but a mistake in judgement, allowing it to be such, where there appear no symptoms of corruption or bad intentions, it would be very hard to impute as a crime to any minister. The King's necessities, which occasioned that measure, cannot, with any appearance of reason, be charged on Clarendon ; and chiefly proceeded from the over-frugal maxims of the parliament itself, in not granting the proper supplies to the crown.
When the impeachment was carried up to the peers, as it contained an accusation of treason in general, without specifying any particulars, it seemed not a sufficient ground for committing Clarendon to custody. The precedents of Strafford and Laud were not, by reason of the violence of the times, deemed a proper authority ; but as the commons still in- sisted upon his commitment, it was necessary to appoint a free conference between the houses. The lords persevered in their resolution ; and the com- mons voted this conduct to be an obstruction to public justice, and a precedent of evil and dangerous tendency. They also chose a committee to draw up a vindication of their own proceedings.
Clarendon, finding that the popular torrent, united to the violence of power, ran with im- petuosity against him, and that a defence, offered to such prejudiced ears, would be entirely ineffectual, thought proper to withdraw. At Calais he wrote a paper addressed to the house of lords. He there said, that his fortune, which was but moderate, had been gained entirely by the lawful, avowed profits of his office, and by the voluntary bounty of the King ; that during the first years after the restoration he had always concurred in opinion with the other counsellors, men of such reputation that no one could entertain suspicions of their wisdom or inte- grity ; that his credit soon declined, and however
he
CHARLES II. 427
he might disapprove some measures, he found it chap vain to oppose them ; that his repugnance to the LXi^* Dutch war, the source of all the public grievances, ~~ri^7~ was always generally known, as well as his disappro- bation of many unhappy steps taken in conducting it; and that whatever pretence might be made of public offences, his real crime, that which had exasperated his powerful enemies, was his frequent opposition to exorbitant grants, which the importunity of suitors had extorted from His Majesty.
The lords transmitted this paper to the commons under the appellation of a libel; and by a vote of both houses, it was condemned to be burned by the hands of the hangman. The parliament next pro- ceeded to exert their legislative power against Cla- rendon, and passed a bill of banishment and incapa- ciaren- citv, which received the royal assent. He retired ^^"'^ ^^-
. ' T-i 1 1 T 1 • • ^ nishment.
into Trance, where he lived in a private manner. He survived his banishment six years ; and he em- ployed his leisure chiefly in reducing into order the History of the Civil Wars, for which he had before collected materials. The performance does honour to his memory ; and except Whitlocke's Memorials, is the most candid account of those times, composed by any cotemporary author.
Clarendon was always a friend to the liberty and constitution of his country. At the commencement of the civil wars, he had entered into the late King's service, and was honoured with a great share in the esteem and friendship of that monarch : He was pursued with unrelenting animosity by the long parliament: He had shared all the fortunes, and directed all the counsels of the present King during his exile : He had been advanced to the highest trust and offices after the restoration : Yet all these circumstances, which might naturally operate with such force, either on resentment, gratitude, or ambition, had no influence on his uncorrupted
mind.
428
CHAP. LXIV.
1667.
1668.
State of France.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
mind. It is said, that when he lirst engaged in the study of the law, his father exhorted him with great earnestness to shun the practice too common in that profession, of straining every point in favour of pre- rogative, and perverting so useful a science to the oppression of liberty : And in the midst of these rational and virtuous counsels, which he reiterated, he was suddenly seized with an apoplexy, acd ex- pired in his son's presence. This circumstance gave additional weight to the principles which he incul- cated.
The combination of King and subject to oppress so good a minister aftords, to men of opposite dis- positions, an equal occasion of inveighing against the ingratitude of Princes, or ignorance of the people. Charles seems never to have mitigated his resentment against Clarendon ; and the national prejudices pur- sued him to his retreat in France. A company of English soldiers, beingquartered nearhim, assaulted his house, broke open the doors, gave him a danger- ous wound on the head, and would have proceeded to the last extremities, had not their officers, hearing of the violence, happily interposed.
The next expedient which the King embraced in order to acquire popularity, is more deserving of praise; and, had it been steadily pursued, would probably have rendered his reign happy, certainly his memory respected. It is the Triple Alliance of which I speak; a measure which gave entire satisfac- tion to the public.
The glory of France, which had long been eclipsed, either by domestic factions, or by the superior force of the Spanish monarchy, began now to break out with great lustre, and to engage the attention of the neighbouring nations. The independent power and mutinous spirit of the nobility were subdued: The popular pretensions of the parliament restrained : The Hugonot party reduced to subjection : That
extensive
CHARLES 11. 429
extensive and fertile country, enjoying every advan- chap. tage both oi' climate and situation, was fully peopled L^^^- with ingenious and industrious inhabitants : And "^668 while the spirit of the nation discovered all the vi- gour and bravery requisite for great enterprises, it was tamed to an entire submission under the will of the sovereign.
The sovereign who now filled the throne was well Character adapted, by his personal character, both to increase ^Vv^^'^ and to avail himself of these advantasres. Lewis XIV. endowed with every quality which could enchant the people, possessed many which merit the approbation of the wise. The masculine beauty of his person was embellished with a noble air: The dignity of his behaviour was tempered with affability and polite- ness : Elegant without eflfeminacy, addicted to plea- sure without neglecting business, decent in his very vices, and beloved in the midst of arbitrary power, he surpassed all contemporary monarchs, as in grandeur, so likewise in fame and glory.
His ambition, regulated by prudence, not by justice, had carefully provided every means of con- quest; and before he put himself in motion, he seemed to have absolutely ensured success. His finances v/ere brought into order : A naval power created : His armies increased and disciplined : Ma- gazines and military stores provided : And though the magnificence of his court was supported beyond all former example, so regular was the economy observed, and so willingly did the people, now en- riched by arts and commerce, submit to multiplied taxes, that his military force much exceeded what in any preceding age had ever been employed by any European monarch.
The sudden decline and almost total fall of the Spanish monarchy, opened an inviting field to so enterprising a Prince, and seemed to promise him easy and extensive conquests. The other nations of Europe, feeble or ill governed, were astonished at
the
1668.
430 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, the greatness of his rising empire ; and all of them Lxiv. ^,^g^ their eyes towards England, as the only power which could save them from that subjection with which they seemed to be so nearly threatened.
The animosity which had anciently subsisted be- tween the English and French nations, and which had been suspended for above a century by the jea- lousy of Spanish greatness, began to revive and to exert itself. The glory of preserving the balance of Europe, a glory so much founded on justice and humanity, flattered the ambition of England ; and the people were eager to provide for their own future security, by opposing the progress of so hated a rival. The prospect of embracing such measures had contributed, among other reasons, to render the peace of Breda so universally acceptable to the na- tion. By the death of Philip IV. King of Spain, an inviting opportunity, and some very slender pre- tences, had been afforded to call forth the ambition of Lewis.
At the treaty of the Pyrenees, when Lewis es- poused the Spanish Princess, he had renounced every title of succession to every part of the Spanish monarchy ; and this renunciation had been couched in the most accurate and most precise terms that language could afford. But on the death of his father-in-law, he retracted his renunciation, and pretended that natural rights, depending on blood and succession, could not be annihilated by any extorted deed or contract. Philip had left a son, Charles IL of Spain; but as the Queen of France was of a former marriage, she laid claim to a con- siderable province of the Spanish monarchy, even to the exclusion of her brother. By the customs of some parts of Brabant, a female of a first marriage was preferred to a male of a second, in the succession to private inheritances ; and Lewis thence inferred, that his Queen had acquired a right to the dominion of that important dutchy.
A CLAIM
CHARLES II. 431
A CLAiiM of this nature was more properly sup- chap. ported by military force than by argument and rea- LXiv. soning-. Lewis appeared on the frontiers of the Netherlands with an army of 40,000 men, com- French in- manded by the best generals of the age, and pro- ^asion of vided with every thing necessary for action. The countries. Spaniards, though they might have foreseen this measure, were totally unprepared. Their towns, without magazines, fortifications, or garrisons, fell into the hands of the French King, as soon as he presented himself before them. Athe, Lisle, Tour- nay, Oudenarde, Courtray, Charleroi, Binche, were immediately taken : And it was visible that no force in the Low Countries was able to stop or retard the progress of the French arms.
This measure, executed with such celerity and success, gave great alarm to almost every court in Europe. It had been observed with what dignity, or even haughtiness, Lewis, from the time he began to govern, had ever supported all his rights and pretensions. D'Estrades, the French ambassador, and Watteville, the Spanish, having quarrelled in London, on account of their claims for precedency, the French Monarch was not satisfied till Spain sent to Paris a solemn embassy, and promised never more to revive such contests. Crequi, his ambassador at Rome, had met with an affront from the Pope's guards: The Pope, Alexander VIL, had been con- strained to break his guards, to send his nephew to ask pardon, and to allow a pillar to be erected in Rome itself, as a monument of his own humilia- tion. The King of England too had experienced the high spirit and unsubmitting temper of Lewis. A pretension to superiority in the English flag having been advanced, the French Monarch remonstrated with such vigour, and prepared himself to resist with such courage, that Charles found it more prudent to desist from his vain and antiquated claims. "The
" King
432
C H A P. LXIV.
1668.
Negotia- tions .
were still engaged, against England
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
" King of England," said Lewis to his ambassador, D'Estrades, " may know my force, but he knows not " the sentiments of my heart: Every thing apjDears " to me contemptible in comparison of glory." ^ These measures of conduct had given strong indica- tions of his character : But the invasion of Flanders discovered an ambition which, being supported by such overgrown power, menaced the general liberties of Europe.
As no state lay nearer the danger, none was seized with more terror than the United Provinces. They
together with France, in a war and Lewis had promised them that he would take no step against Spain without previously informing them : But, contrary to this assurance, he kept a total silence, till on the very point of entering upon action. If the renunciation made at the treaty of the Pyrenees was not valid, it was foreseen, that upon the death of the King of Spain, a sickly infant, the whole monarchy would be claimed by Levv^is, after which it would be vainly expected to set bounds to his pretensions. Charles, acquainted with these well-grounded apprehensions of the Dutch, had been the more obstinate in insisting on his own conditions at Breda ; and by delaying to sign the treaty, had imprudently exposed himself to the signal disgrace which he received at Chatham. De Wit, sensible that a few weeks' delay would be of no consequence in the Low Countries, took this opportunity of striking an important blow, and of finishing the war with honour to himself and to his country.
Negotiations, meanwhile, commenced for the saving of Flanders ; but no resistance was made to the French arms. The Spanish ministers exclaimed every where against the flagrant inj ustice of Lewis's preten- sions, and represented it to be the interest of every
• 25th of January, 1662.
power
CHARLES 11. 433
power ill Europe, even more than of Spain itself, chap. to prevent his conquest of the Low Countries. The LXiv. Emperor and the German Princes discovered evident ~ symptoms of discontent ; but their motions were slow and backward. The States, though terrified at the prospect of having their frontier exposed to so formidable a foe, saw no resource, no means of safety. England indeed seemed disposed to make opposition to the French ; but the variable and im- politic conduct of Charles kept that republic from making him any open advances, by which she might lose the friendship of France, without ac- quiring any new ally. And though Lewis, dread- ing a combination of all Europe, had offered terms of accommodation, the Dutch apprehended, lest these, either from the obstinacy of the Spaniards, or the ambition of the French, should never be carried into execution.
Charles resolved with great prudence to take the first step towards a confederacy. Sir William Temple, his resident at Brussels, received orders to go secretly to the Hague, and to concert with the States, the means of saving the Netherlands. This man, whom philosophy had taught to despise the world, without rendering him unfit for it, was frank, open, sincere, superior to the little tricks of vulgar politicians : And meeting in De Wit with a man of the same generous and enlarged sentiments, he im- mediately opened his master's intentions, and pressed a speedy conclusion. A treaty was from the first negotiated between these two statesmen with the same cordiality as if it were a private transaction between intimate companions. Deeming the inter- ests of their country the same, they gave full scope to that sympathy of character which disposed them to an entire reliance on each other's professions and engagements. And though jealousy against the house of Orange might inspire De Wit with an aversion to a strict union with England, he
VOL. VII. F F generously
1668.
434 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, generously resolved to sacrifice all private consider-
^^^^' ations to the public service.
Temple insisted on an offensive league between England and Holland, in order to oblige France to relinquish all her conquests : But De Wit told him, that this measure was too bold and precipitate to be agreed to by the States. He said, that the French were the old and constant allies of the republic ; and, till matters came to extremities, she never would deem it prudent to abandon a friendship so well established, and rely entirely on a treaty with England, which had lately w^aged so cruel a war against her : That ever since the reign of Elizabeth, there had been such a fluctuation in the English councils, that it was not possible, for two years to- gether, to take any sure or certain measures with that kingdom: That though the present ministry, having entered into views so conformable to national interest, promised greater firmness and constancy, it might still be unsafe, in a business of such conse- quence, to put entire confidence in them: That the French Monarch was young, haughty, and power- ful ; and if treated in so imperious a manner, would expose himself to the greatest extremities rather than submit : That it was sufficient, if he could be constrained to adhere to the ofi'ers which he himself had already made ; and if the remaining provinces of the Low Countries could be thereby saved from the danger with which they were at present threat- ened : And that the other powers, in Germany and the north, whose assistance they might expect, would be satisfied with putting a stop to the French conquests, without pretending to recover the places already lost.
The English minister was content to accept of the terms proposed by the pensionary. Lewis had offered to relinquish all the Queen's rights, on con- dition either of keeping the conquests which he had made last campaign, or of receiving, in lieu of them,
Franche-comt^,
CHARLES II. 435
Franche-comt6, together with Cambray, Aire, and chap. St. Omers. De Wit and Temple founded their ^^^^• treaty upon this proposal. They agreed to offer "TeesT^ their mediation to the contending powers, and oblige France to adhere to this alternative, and Spain to accept of it. If Spain refused, they agreed, that France should not prosecute her claim by arms, but leave it entirely to England and Holland to employ force for making the terms effectual. And the remainder of the Low Countries they thence- forth guaranteed to Spain. A defensive alliance was likewise concluded between Holland and Eng- land.
The articles of this confederacy were soon ad- justed by such candid and able negotiators : But the greatest difficulty still remained. By the constitution of the republic, all the towns in all the provinces must give their consent to every alliance ; and be- sides that this formality could not be despatched in less than two months, it was justly to be dreaded, that the influence of France would obstruct the passing of the treaty in some of the smaller cities. D'Estrades, the French ambassador, a man of abi- lities, hearing of the league which was on the car- pet, treated it lightly: "Six weeks hence," said he, "we shall speak to it." To obviate this diffi- culty, De Wit had the courage, for the public good, to break through the laws in so fundamental an ar- ticle ; and by his authority, he prevailed with the States General at once to sign and ratify the league: isth Jan. Though they acknowledged that, if that measure should displease their constituents, they risked their heads by this irregularity. After sealing, all parties embraced with great cordiality. Temple cried out, At Breda, as friends: Here, as brothers. And De Wit added, that now the matter was finished, it looked like a miracle.
Room had been left in the treaty for the accession Triple of Sweden, which was soon after obtained ; and thus ^^^^"
F F 2 was
436 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, was concluded in five days the triple league; an LXiv. event received w^ith equal surprise and approbation by the world. Notwithstanding the unfortunate conclusion of the last war, England now appeared in her proper station, and, by this wise conduct, had recovered all her influence and credit in Europe. Temple likewise received great applause ; but to all the compliments made him on the occasion, he mo- destly replied, that to remove things from their centre, or proper element, required force and labour ; but that of themselves they easily returned to it.
The French Monarch was extremely displeased with this measure. Not only bounds were at pre- sent set to his ambition : Such a barrier was also raised as seemed for ever impregnable. And though his own offer was made the foundation of the treaty, he had prescribed so short a time for the acceptance of it, that he still expected, from the delays and reluctance of Spain, to find some opportunity of elud- ing it. The court of Madrid showed equal displea- sure. To relinquish any part of the Spanish pro- vinces, in lieu of claims so apparently unjust, and these urged with such violence and haughtiness, in- spired the highest disgust. Often did the Spaniards threaten to abandon entirely the Low Countries, rather than submit to so cruel a mortification ; and they endeavoured, by this menace, to terrify the mediating powers into more vigorous measures for their support. But Temple and De Wit were better acquainted with the views and interests of Spain. They knew, that she must still retain the Low Countries, as a bond of connexion with the other European powers, who alone, if her young monarch should happen to die without issue, could insure her independency against the pretensions of France. They still urged, therefore, the terms of the triple league, and threatened Spain with war in case of refusal. The plenipotentiaries of all the powers met at Aix-la-Chapelle. Temple was minister for
England ;
CHARLES II.
437
England; Van Beuninghen for Holland; D'Ohna chap. for Sweden. LXiv. '
Spain at last, pressed on all hands, accepted of
the alternative offered; but in her very compliance, ^^^^" she gave strong symptoms of ill-humour and dis- content. It had been apparent, that the Hollanders, entirely neglecting the honour of the Spanish mo- narchy, had been anxious only for their own se- curity; and, provided they could remove Lewis to a distance from their frontier, were more indifferent what progress he made in other places. Sensible of these views, the Queen-regent of Spain resolved still to keep them in an anxiety, which might for the future be the foundation of an union more intimate than they were willing at present to enter into. Franche-comt^, by a vigorous and well-concerted Treaty of plan of the French King, had been conquered, in chapeiie. fifteen days, during a rigorous season, and in the midst of winter. She chose, therefore, to recover this province, and to abandon all the towns con- quered in Flanders during the last campaign. By this means Lewis extended his garrisons into the heart of the Low Countries ; and a very feeble barrier remained to the Spanish provinces.
But notwithstanding the advantages of his situ- ation, the French Monarch could entertain small hopes of ever extending his conquests on that quar- ter which lay the most exposed to his ambition, and where his acquisitions were of most importance. The triple league guaranteed the remaining pro- vinces of Spain; and the Emperor and other powers of Germany, whose interest seemed to be intimately concerned, were invited to enter into the same con- federacy. Spain herself, having about this time, under the mediation of Charles, made peace on equal terms with Portugal, might be expected to exert more vigour and opposition to her haughty and triumphant rival. The great satisfaction ex- pressed in England, on account of the counsels now
embraced
438
CHAP. LXIV.
1668.
Affairs of Scotland.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
embraced by the court, promised the hearty concur- rence of parliament in every measure which could be proposed for opposition to the grandeur of France. And thus all Europe seemed to repose herself with security under the wings of that power- ful confederacy, which had been so happily formed for her protection. It is now time to give some account of the state of affairs in Scotland and in Ireland.
The Scottish nation, though they had never been subject to the arbitrary power of their Prince, had but very imperfect notions of law and liberty ; and scarcely in any age had they ever enjoyed an admi- nistration, which had confined itself within the pro- per boundaries. By their final union alone with England, their once hated adversary, they have happily attained the experience of a government perfectly regular, and exempt from all violence and injustice. Charles, from his aversion to business, had intrusted the affairs of that country to his ministers, particularly Middleton ; and these could not forbear making very extraordinary stretches of authority.
There had been intercepted a letter, written by Lord Lome to Lord DufFus, in which, a little too plainly, but very truly, he complained, that his enemies had endeavoured by falsehood to prepossess the King against him. But he said, that he had now discovered them, had defeated them, and had gained the person, meaning the Earl of Clarendon, upon whom the chief of them depended. This letter was produced before the parliament ; and Lome was tried upon an old, tyrannical, absurd law against Leasing-rnaking ; by which it was rendered criminal to belie the subjects to the King, or create in him an ill opinion of them. He was condemned to die : But Charles was much displeased with the sentence, and granted him a pardon. '
Burnet, p. 149.
It
1668.
CHARLES II. 439
It was carried in parliament, that twelve persons, chap, without crime, witness, trial, or accuser, should be LXiv. declared incapable of all trust or office ; and to ren- der this injustice more egregious, it was agreed, that these persons should be named by ballot : A method of voting which several republics had adopted at elections, in order to prevent faction and intrigue ; but which could serve only as a cover to malice and iniquity in the inflicting of punishments. Lauder- dale, Crawford, and Sir Robert Murray, among others, were incapacitated : But the King, who dis- approved of this injustice, refused his assent.*
An act was passed against all persons, who should move the King for restoring the children of those who were attainted by parliament ; an unheard of restraint on applications for grace and mercy. No penalty was affixed ; but the act was but the more violent and tyrannical on that account. The court- lawyers had established it as a maxim, that the as^ signing of a punishment was a limitation of the crown: Whereas a law, forbidding any thing, though without a penalty, made the offenders criminal. And in that case, they determined, that the pu- nishment was arbitrary ; only that it could not extend to life. Middleton as commissioner passed this act ; though he had no instructions for that purpose.
An act of indemnity passed ; but at the same time it was voted, that all those who had offended during the late disorders, should be subjected to fines ; and a committee of parliament was appointed for imposing them. These proceeded without any regard to some equitable rules, which the King had prescribed to them." The most obnoxious compounded secretly. No consideration was had, either of men's riches, or of the degrees of their guilt ; no proofs were produced : Inquiries were
' Burnet, p. 152. " Id. p. 147.
not
44G HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, not SO much as made: But as fast as information ^^ • was given in against any man, he was marked down ^ggg for a particular fine : And all was transacted in a secret committee. When the list was read in par- liament, exceptions were made to several : Some had been under age during the civil wars ; some had been abroad. But it was still replied, that a proper time would come, when every man should be heard in his own defence. The only intention, it was said, of settmg the fines was, that such persons should have no benefit by the act of indemnity, unless they paid the sum demanded : Every one that chose to stand upon his innocence, and renounce the benefit of the indemnity, might do it at his peril. It was well known, that no one would dare so far to set at defiance so arbitrary an administration. The King wrote to the council, ordering them to supersede the levying of those fines: But Middleton found means, during some time, to elude these orders. "" And at last, the King obliged his ministers to com- pound for half the sums which had been imposed. In all these transactions, and in most others, which passed during the present reign, we still find the moderating hand of the King, interposed to protect the Scots from the oppressions which their own countrymen, employed in the ministry, were desirous of exercising over them.
But the chief circumstance, whence were derived all the subsequent tyranny and disorders in Scotland, was the execution of the laws for the establishment of episcopacy ; a mode of government, to which a great part of the nation had entertained an insur- mountable aversion. The rights of patrons had for some years been abolished ; and the power of electing ministers had been vested in the kirk-session, and lay-elders. It was now enacted, that all incumbents, who had been admitted upon this title, should
* Burnet, p. 201.
receive
CHARLES 11. 441
receive a presentation from the patron, and should chap. be instituted anew by the bishop, under the penalty ____J__ of deprivation. The more rigid presbyterians con- ^ggg certed measures among themselves, and refused obedience : They imagined that their number would protect them. Three hundred and fifty parishes, above a third of the kingdom, were at once declared vacant. The western counties chiefly were obstinate in this particular. New ministers were sought for all over the kingdom ; and no was so ignorant or vicious as to be rejected. The people, who loved extremely and respected their former teachers ; men remarkable for the severity of their manners, and their fervour in preaching ; were inflamed against these intruders, who had obtained their livings under such invidious circumstances, and who took no care, by the regularity of their manners, to soften the prejudices entertained against them. Even most of those who retained their livings by compliance, fell under the imputation of hypocrisy, either by their showing a disgust to the new model of ecclesiastical government, which they had acknowledged ; or, on the other hand, by declaring that their former ab- horrence to presbytery and the covenant had been the result of violence and necessity. And as Middle- ton and the new ministry indulged themselves in great riot and disorder, to which the nation had been little accustomed, an opinion universally prevailed, that any form of religion, off'ered by such hands, must be profane and impious.
The people, notwithstanding their discontents, were resolved to give no handle against them, by the least symptom of mutiny or sedition : But this submissive disposition, instead of procuring a miti- gation of the rigours, was made use of as an argument for continuing the same measures, which, by their vigour, it was pretended, had produced so prompt an obedience. The King, however, was disgusted
with
1668.
442 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, with the violence of Middleton ^ ; and he made Rothes Lxiv. commissioner in his place. This nobleman was already president of the council ; and soon after was made lord-keeper and treasurer. Lauderdale still continued secretary of state, and commonly resided at London. Affairs remained in a peaceable state, till the se- vere law was made in England against conventicles. ^ The Scottish parliament imitated that violence, by passing a like act. A kind of high commission court was appointed by the privy-council, for exe- cuting this rigorous law, and for the direction of ecclesiastical affairs. But even this court, illegal as it might be deemed, was much preferable to the method next adopted. Military force was let loose by the council. Wherever the people had generally forsaken their churches, the guards were quartered throughout the country. Sir James Turner com- manded them, a man whose natural ferocity of temper was often inflamed by the use of strong liquors. He went about and received from the clergy lists of those who absented themselves from church or were supposed to frequent conventicles. Without any proof or legal conviction, he de- manded a fine from them, and quartered soldiers on the supposed delinquents, till he received pay- ment. As an insurrection was dreaded during the Dutch war, new forces were levied, and intrusted to the command of Dalziel and Drummond ; two officers who had served the King during the civil wars, and had afterwards engaged in the service of Russia, where they had increased the native cruelty of their disposition. A full career was given to their tyranny by the Scottish ministry. Represen- tations were made to the King against these enor- mities. He seemed touched with the state of the country ; and besides giving orders that the eccle- siastical commission should be discontinued, he
y Burnet, p. 202. '1664.
signified
CHARLES II. 443
signified his opinion, that another way of proceeding *"j^f/'
was necessary for his service/ L
This lenity of the King's came too late to remedy lees. the disorders. The people, inflamed with bigotry, and irritated by ill usage, rose in arms. They were instigated by Guthry, Semple, and other preachers. They surprised Turner in Dumfries, and resolved to have him put to death ; but finding, that his orders, which fell into their hands, were more vio- lent than his execution of them, they spared his life. At Laneric, after many prayers, they renewed the covenant, and published their manifesto ; in which they professed all submission to the King : They desired only the re-establishment of presbytery and of their former ministers. As many gentlemen of their party had been confined on suspicion ; Wal- lace and Learmont, two officers, who had served, but in no high rank, were intrusted by the populace with the command. Their force never exceeded two thousand men ; and though the country in general bore them favour, men's spirits were so sub- dued, that the rebels could expect no farther acces- sion of numbers. Dalziel took the field to oppose their progress. Their number was now diminished to 800; and these having advanced near Edin- burgh, attempted to find their way back into the west by Pentland Hills. They were attacked by the King's forces.^ Finding that they could not escape, they stopped their march. Their clergy endeavoured to infuse courage into them. After singing some psalms, the rebels turned on the enemy ; and being assisted by the advantage of the ground, they received the first charge very reso- lutely. But that was all the action : Immediately they fell into disorder, and fled for their lives. About forty were killed on the spot, and a hundred and thirty taken prisoners. The rest, favoured by
» Burnet, p. 213. ^ 28lh November, 1666.
the
1668.
444 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, the night, and by the weariness, and even by the ^^^^' pity of the King's troops, made their escape.
The oppressions which these people had suffered, the delusions under which they laboured, and their inoffensive behaviour during the insurrection, made them the objects of compassion. Yet were the King's ministers, particularly Sharpe, resolved to take severe vengeance. Ten were hanged on one gibbet at Edinburgh : Thirty-five before their own doors in different places. These criminals might all have saved their lives, if they would have renounced the covenant. The executions were going on, when the King put a stop to them. He said, that blood enough had already been shed ; and he wrote a letter to the privy-council, in which he ordered that such of the prisoners as should simply promise to obey the laws for the future, should be set at liberty, and that the incorrigible should be sent to the plantations.*^ This letter was brought by Burnet, Archbishop of Glasgow ; but not being immediately delivered to the council by Sharpe the president'', one Maccail had in the interval been put to the torture, under which he expired. He seemed to die in an ecstasy of joy. " Farewell, sun, " moon, and stars ; farewell, world, and time ; fare- '* well, weak and frail body : Welcome, eternity ; " welcome, angels and saints ; welcome. Saviour of " the world ; and welcome, God, the judge of all !" Such were his last words; and these animated speeches he uttered with an accent and manner, which struck all the bystanders with astonish- ment.
Affairs of The Settlement of Ireland after the restoration, was a work of greater difficulty than that of Eng- land, or even of Scotland. Not only the power, during the former usurpations, had there been vested in the King's enemies : The whole property, in a
•^ Burnet, p. 237. " Wodiow's History, vol. i. p. 255.
manner.
Ireland.
LXIV
1668.
CHARLES 11. 445
manner, of the kingdom, had also been changed; chap. and it became necessary to redress, but with as little violence as possible, many grievous hardships and iniquities, which were there complained of.
The Irish catholics had, in 1648, concluded a treaty with Ormond, the King's lieutenant, in which they had stipulated pardon for their past rebellion, and had engaged, under certain conditions, to assist the royal cause : And though the violence of the priests and the bigotry of the people had prevented, in a great measure, the execution of this treaty ; yet were there many, who having strictly, at the hazard of their lives, adhered to it, seemed on that account well entitled to reap the fruits of their loyalty. Cromwell, having without distinction expelled all the native Irish from the three provinces of Munster, Leinster, and Ulster, had confined them to Con- naught and the county of Clare ; and among those who had thus been forfeited, were many whose in- nocence was altogether unquestionable. Several protestants, likewise, and Ormond among the rest, had all along opposed the Irish rebellion; yet having afterwards embraced the King's cause against the parliament, they were all of them at- tainted by Cromwell And there were many officers who had, from the commencement of the insurrec- tion, served in Ireland, and who, because they would not desert the King, had been refused all their arrears by the English commonwealth.
To all these unhappy sufferers some justice seemed to be due : But the difficulty was to find the means of redressing such great and extensive iniquities. Al- most all the valuable parts of Ireland had been mea- sured out and divided, either to the adventurers, who had lent money to the parliament for the suppression of the Irish rebellion, or to the soldiers who had re- ceived land in lieu of their arrears. These could not be dispossessed, because they were the most powerful and only armed part of Ireland; because it was
requisite
1668.
446 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, requisite to favour them, in order to support the Lxiv. protestant and English interest in that kingdom ; and because they had generally, with a seeming zeal and alacrity, concurred in the King's restoration. The King, therefore, issued a proclamation, in which he promised to maintain their settlement, and at the same time engaged to give redress to the innocent sufferers. There was a quantity of land as yet un- divided in Ireland ; and from this and some other funds, it was thought possible for the King to fulfil both these engagements.
A COURT OF CLAIMS was crcctcd, consisting alto- gether of English commissioners, who had no con- nection with any of the parties, into which Ireland was divided. Before these were laid four thousand claims of persons craving restitution on account of their innocence ; and the commissioners had found leisure to examine only six hundred. It already appeared, that, if all these were to be restored, the funds, whence the adventurers and soldiers must get reprisals, would fall short of giving them any tolerable satisfaction. A great alarm and anxiety seized all ranks of men : The hopes and fears of every party were excited : These eagerly grasped at recovering their paternal inheritance : Those were resolute to maintain their new acqui- sitions.
The Duke of Ormond was created lord-lieutenant; being the only person, whose prudence and equity could compose such jarring interests. A parliament was assembled at Dublin ; and as the lower house was almost entirely chosen by the soldiers and ad- venturers, who still kept possession, it was extremely favourable to that interest. The house of peers showed greater impartiality.
An insurrection was projected, together with a surprisal of the castle of Dublin, by some of the disbanded soldiers; but this design was happily de- feated by the vigilance of Ormond. Some of the
criminals
1668.
CHARLES II. 447
criminals were punished. Blood, the most desperate chap. of them, escaped into England. LXiv.
But affairs could not long remain in the confu- sion and uncertainty into which they had fallen. All parties seemed willing to abate somewhat of their pretensions, in order to attain some stability ; and Ormond interposed his authority for that pur- pose. The soldiers and adventurers agreed to re- linquish a third of their possessions ; and as they had purchased their lands at very low prices, they had reason to think themselves favoured by this composition. All those, who had been attainted on account of their adhering to the King, were re- stored, and some of the innocent Irish. It was a hard situation, that a man was obliged to prove himself innocent in order to recover possession of the estate which he and his ancestors had ever en- joyed: But the hardship was augmented, by the difficult conditions annexed to this proof. If the per- son had ever lived in the quarters of the rebels, he was not admitted to plead his innocence ; and he was, for that reas-on alone, supposed to have been a rebel. The heinous guilt of the Irish nation made men the more readily overlook any iniquity, which might fall on individuals ; and it was considered, that, though it be always the interest of all good governments to prevent injustice, it is not always possible to remedy it, after it has had a long course, and has been at- tended with great successes.
Ireland began to attain a state of some com- posure when it was disturbed by a violent act, passed by the English parliament, which prohibited the importation of Irish cattle into England.* Ormond remonstrated strongly against the law. He said, that the present trade, carried on between England ' and Ireland, was extremely to the advantage of the former kingdom, which received only provisions,
■I
« In 1666.
5 or
1668.
448 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, or rude materials, in return for every species of Lxiv. manufacture : That if the cattle of Ireland were prohibited, the inhabitants of that island had no other commodity by which they could pay Eng- land for their importations, and must have recourse to other nations for a supply : That the industrious inhabitants of England, if deprived of Irish provi- sions, which made living cheap, would be obliged to augment the price of labour, and thereby render their manufactures too dear to be exported to foreign markets : That the indolent inhabitants of Ireland, finding provisions fall almost to nothing, would never be induced to labour, but would per- petuate to all generations their native sloth and bar- barism : That by cutting off almost entirely the trade between the kingdoms, all the natural bands of union were dissolved, and nothing remained to keep the Irish in their duty but force and violence : And that, by reducing that kingdom to extreme poverty, it would be even rendered incapable of maintaining that military power, by which, during its well-grounded discontents, it must necessarily be retained in subjection.
The King was so much convinced of the justness of these reasons, that he used all his interest to oppose the bill, and he openly declared, that he could not give his assent to it with a safe conscience. But the commons were resolute in their purpose. Some of the rents of England had fallen of late years, which had been ascribed entirely to the im- portation of Irish cattle : Several intrigues had con- tributed to inflame that prejudice, particularly those of Buckingham and Ashley, who were desirous of giving Ormond disturbance in his government : And the spirit of tyranny, of which nations are as susceptible as individuals, had extremely animated the English to exert their superiority over their dependent state. No afl"air could be conducted with greater violence than this was by the commons.
They
CHARLES II. 449
They even went so far in the preamble of the bill, as chap. to declare the importation of Irish cattle to be a _^^^ nuisance. By this expression they gave scope to their ~^~ passion, and at the same time barred the King's prerogative, by which he might think himself entitled to dispense with a law so full of injustice and bad policy. The lords expunged the word ; but as the King was sensible that no supply would be given by the commons, unless they were gratified in their prejudices, he was obliged both to employ his in- terest with the peers for making the bill pass, and to give the royal assent to it. He could not, how- ever, forbear expressing his displeasure at the jea- lousy entertained against him, and at the intention which the commons discovered of retrenching his prerogative.
This law brought great distress for some time upon the Irish ; but it has occasioned their apply- ing with greater industry to manufactures, and has proved in the issue beneficial to that kingdom.
VOL. vir. GO
[450 ]
CHAP. LXV.
A Parliament. — The Cabal — their Characters — their Counsels. — Alliance with France. — A Parliament. — Coventry Act. — Blood's Crimes. — 'Duke declares himself Catholic. — Exchequer shut. — — Declaration of Indulgence. — Attack of the Smyrna Fleet. — War declared with Holland. — Weakness of the States. — Battle of Solebay. — Sandwich killed. — Progress of the French. — Conster- nation of the Dutch. — Prince of Orange Stadtholder. — Massacre of the De Wits. — Good Conduct of the Prince. — A Parliament. Declaration of Indulgence recalled. — Sea-fight. — Another Sea- fight. — Another Sea-fight. — Congress of Cologne. — A Parlia- ment.— Peace with Holland.
^i5tv^' ^|INCE the restoration, England had attained a
1_ ^ situation which had never been experienced in
1668. any former period of her government, and which seemed the only one that could fully ensure, at once, her tranquillity and her liberty : The King was in continual want of supply from the parlia- ment : And he seemed willing to accommodate him- self to that dependent situation. Instead of reviving those claims of prerogative, so strenuously insisted on by his predecessors, Charles had strictly confined himself within the limits of law, and had courted, by every art of popularity, the affections of his subjects. Even the severities, however blameable, which he had exercised against non- conformists, are
to
CHARLES II. 451
to be considered as expedients by which he strove chap.
to ingratiate himself with that party which predo- ^[i_
minated in parliament. But notwithstanding these ^ggg promising appearances, there were many circum- stances which kept the government from resting steadily on that bottom on which it was placed. The crown having lost almost all its ancient demesnes, relied entirely on voluntary grants of the people; and the commons, not fully accustomed to this new situation, were not yet disposed to supply with sufficient liberality the necessities of the crown. They imitated too strictly the example of their pre- decessors in a rigid frugality of public money ; and neithersufficiently considered the indigent condition of their Prince, nor the general state of Europe ; where every nation, by its increase both of magni- ficence and force, had made great additions to all public expenses. Some considerable sums, indeed, were bestowed on Charles ; and the patriots of that age, tenacious of ancient maxims, loudly upbraided the commons with prodigality: But if we may judge by the example of a later period, when the govern- ment has become more regular, and the harmony of its parts has been more happily adjusted, the parliaments of this reign seem rather to have merited a contrary reproach.
The natural consequence of the poverty of the crown was, besides feeble irregular transactions in foreign affairs, a continual uncertainty in its do- mestic administration. No one could answer with any tolerable assurance for the measures of the house of commons. Few of the members were attached to the court by any other band than that of inclination. Royalists, indeed^ in their prin- ciples, but unexperienced in business, they lay ex- posed to every rumour or insinuation ; and were driven by momentary gusts or currents, no less than the populace themselves. Even the attempts
G G 2 made
452 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, made to gain an ascendant over them by offices, ^^^- and, as it is believed, by bribes and pensions, 1668. were apt to operate in a manner contrary to what was intended by the ministers. The novelty of the practice conveyed a general, and indeed a just alarm; while, at the same time, the poverty of the crown rendered this influence very limited and pre- carious.
The character of Charles was ill fitted to remedy those defects in the constitution. He acted in the administration of public affairs as if government were a pastime rather than a serious occupation ; and by the uncertainty of his conduct, he lost that authority which could alone bestow constancy on the fluctuating resolutions of the parliament. His expenses too, which sometimes, perhaps, exceeded the proper bounds, were directed more by inclina- tion than by policy ; and while they increased his dependence on the parliament, they were not calcu- lated fully to satisfy either the interested or disin- terested part of that assembly. sthofFe- The parliament met, after a long adjournment; A^JSiia- ^^^ ^^^ ^^"^ promised himself every thing from ment. the attachment of the commons. All his late mea- sures had been calculated to acquire the good will of his people ; and, above all, the triple league, it was hoped, would be able to efface all the disagreeable impressions left by the unhappy conclusion of the Dutch war. But a new attempt made by the court, and a laudable one too, lost him, for a time, the effect of all these endea- vours. Buckingham, who was in great favour with the King, and carried on many intrigues among the commons, had also endeavoured to support connections with the non-conformists ; and he now formed a scheme, in concert with the lord keeper, Sir Orlando Bridgeman, and the chief justice, Sir Matthew Hale, two worthy patriots,
to
CHARLES II. 453
to put an end to those severities under which these chap. religionists had so long laboured. It was pro- ^^^' posed to reconcile the presbyterians by a compre- ^ggg^ hension, and to grant a toleration to the indepen- dents and other sectaries. Favour seems not, by this scheme, as by others embraced during the present reign, to have been intended the catholics : Yet were the zealous commons so disgusted, that they could not be prevailed on even to give the King thanks for the triple league, however laudable that measure was then, and has ever since been, esteemed. They immediately voted an address for a proclama- tion against conventicles. Their request was com- plied with ; but as the King still dropped some hints of his desire to reconcile his protestant sub- jects, the commons passed a very unusual vote, that no man should bring into the house any bill of that nature. The King in vain reiterated his soli- citations for supply ; represented the necessity of equipping a fleet ; and even offered, that the money which they should grant should be collected and issued for that purpose by commissioners ap- pointed by the house. Instead of complying, the commons voted an inquiry into all the miscar- riages during the late war ; the slackening of sail after the Duke's victory from false orders delivered by Brounker, the miscarriage at Bergen, the division of the fleet under Prince Rupert and Albemarle, the disgrace at Chatham. Brounker was expelled the house, and ordered to be impeached. Com- missioner Pet, who had neglected orders issued for the security of Chatham, met with the same fate. These impeachments were never prosecuted. The house at length, having been indulged in all their prejudices, were prevailed with to vote the King three hundred and ten thousand pounds, by an im- position on wine and other liquors ; after which they were adjourned. '
ot Public
1668.
ilh May.
454 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. Public business, besides being retarded by the ^^^* disgust of the commons against the tolerating maxims of the court, met with obstructions this session from a quarrel between the two houses.
mt*^^ Skinner, a rich merchant in London, having suffer- ed some injuries from the East India company, laid the matter by petition before the house of lords, by whom he was relieved in costs and damages to the amount of live thousand pounds. The commons voted, that the lords, in taking cognizance of this affair, originally, without any appeal from inferior courts, had acted in a manner not agreeable to the laws of the land, and tending to deprive the subject of the right, ease, and benefit due to him by these laws ; and that Skinner, in prosecuting the suit after this manner, had infringed the privileges of the commons : For which offence they ordered him to be taken into custody. Some conferences ensued between the houses ; where the lords were tenacious of their right of judicature, and maintained that the method in which they had exercised it was quite regular. The commons rose into a great ferment ; and went so far as to vote, that " whoever should ** be aiding or assisting in putting in execution the ** order or sentence of the house of lords, in the *' case of Skinner against the East-India company, should be deemed a betrayer of the rights and liberties of the commons of England, and an in- *' fringer of the privileges of the house of commons." They rightly judged, that it would not be easy, after this vote, to find any one who would venture to in- cur their indignation. The proceedings indeed of the lords seem in this case to have been unusual, and without precedent. 1669. The King's necessities obliged him again to as-
October. semble the parliament, who showed some disposi- tion to relieve him. The price, however, which he must pay for this indulgence, was his yielding
to
i(
CHARLES II. 455
to new laws against conventicles. His complaisance chap. in this particular contributed more to gain the com- ^^^' mons, than all the pompous pretences of support- ^ggg ing the triple alliance, that popular measure by which he expected to make such advantage. The quarrel between the two houses was revived ; and as the commons had voted only four hundred thou- sand pounds, with which the King was not satisfied, he thought proper, before they had carried their vote into a law, to prorogue them. The only busi- nth of ness finished this short session was the receiving ^^'^^ of the report of the committee appointed for exa- mining the public accounts. On the first inspec- tion of this report, there appears a great sum, no less than a million and a half, unaccounted for ; and the natural inference is, that the King had much abused the trust reposed in him by parlia- ment. But a more accurate inspection of particulars serves, in a great measure, to remove this impu- tation. The King, indeed, went so far as to tell the parliament from the throne, " That he had fully *' informed himself of that matter, and did affirm, " that no part of those monies v^^hicli they had " given him had been diverted to other uses, but, " on the contrary, besides all those supplies, a very " great sum had been raised out of his standing re- " venue and credit, and a very great debt con- *' tracted; and all for the war." Though artificial pretences have often been employed by Kings in their speeches to parliament, and by none more than Charles, it is somewhat difficult to suspect him of a direct lie and falsehood. He must have had some reasons, and perhaps not unplausible ones, for this affirmation, of which all his hearers, as they had the accounts lying before them, were at that time com- petent judges.*
The method which all parliaments had hitherto followed was, to vote a particular sum for the
* See note [N], at the end of the volume,
supply,
1669.
456 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, supply, without any distinction, or any appropri- ^^^' ation to particular services. So long as the de- mands of the crown were small and casual, no great inconveniences arose from this practice. But as all the measures of government were now changed, it must be confessed, that, if the King made a just application of public money, this inaccurate method of proceeding, by exposing him to suspicion, was prejudicial to him. If he were inclined to act otherwise, it was equally hurtful to the people. For these reasons, a contrary practice, during all the late reigns, has constantly been followed by the commons. 1670. When the parliament met after the prorogation,
14th Feb. they entered anew upon the business of supply, and granted the King an additional duty, during eight years, of twelve pounds on each tun of Spanish wine imported, eight on each tun of French. A law also passed empowering him to sell the fee-farm rents ; the last remains of the demesnes, by which the an- cient Kings of England had been supported. By this expedient, he obtained some supply for his present necessities, but left the crown, if possible, still more dependent than before. How much money might be raised, by these sales, is uncertain ; but it could not be near one million eight hundred thousand pounds ; the sum assigned by some writers. *
The act against conventicles passed, and received the royal assent. It bears the appearance of mitigat- ing the former persecuting laws; but, if we may judge by the spirit, which had broken out almost every ses- sion during this parliament, it was not intended as any favour to the non-conformists. Experience pro- bably had taught, that laws over rigid and severe could not be executed. By this act the hearer in a
^ Mr. Carte, in his Vindication of the Answer to the Bystander, p. 99, says that the sale of the fee-farm rents would not yield above one hundred thousand pounds, and his reasons appear well founded.
conventicle
CHARLES II. 457
conventicle (that is, in a dissenting assembly, where chap. more than five v^ere present, besides the family,) l^^- was fined five shillings for the first off'ence, ten for the second ; the preacher twenty pounds for the first ofience, forty for the second. The person, in whose house the conventicle met, was amerced a like sum with the Dreacher. One clause is remark-
k.
able ; that, if any dispute should arise with regard to the interpretation of any part of the act, the judges should always explain the doubt in the sense least favourable to conventicles, it being the in- tention of parliament entirely to suppress them. Such was the zeal of the commons, that they violated the plainest and most established maxims of civil policy, which require that, in all criminal prosecu- tions, favour should always be given to the prisoner.
The aff'air of Skinner still remained a ground of quarrel between the two houses ; but the King pre- vailed with the peers to accept of the expedient pro- posed by the commons, that a general razure should be made of all the transactions with regard to that disputed question.
Some attempts were made by the King to effect a union between England and Scotland : Though they were too feeble to remove all the difficulties which obstructed that useful and important under- taking. Commissioners were appointed to meet, in order to regulate the conditions ; but the design, chiefly by the intrigues of Lauderdale, soon after came to nothing.
The King, about this time, began frequently to attend the debates of the house of peers. He said, that they amused him, and that he found them no less entertaining than a play. But deeper designs were suspected. As he seemed to interest himself extremely in the case of Lord Roos, who had ob- tained a divorce from his wife on the accusation of adultery, and applied to parliament for leave to marry again; people imagined, that Charles intended
to
458 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, to make a precedent of the case, and that some •^^^- other pretence would be found for getting rid of 1670. the Queen. Many proposals to this purpose, it is said, were made him by Buckingham : But the King, how little scrupulous soever in some respects, was incapable of any action harsh or barbarous ; and he always rejected every scheme of this nature. A suspicion, however, of such intentions, it was ob- served, had, at this time, begotten a coldness be- tween the two royal brothers.
We now come to a period, when the King's counsels, which had hitherto, in the main, been good, though negligent and fluctuating, became, during some time, remarkably bad, or even crimi- nal ; and breeding incurable jealousies in all men, were followed by such consequences as had almost terminated in the ruin both of Prince and people. Happily, the same negligence still attended him ; and, as it had lessened the influence of the good, it also diminished the effect of the bad, measures which he embraced.
It was remarked, that the committee of council, established for foreign affairs, was entirely changed ; and that Prince Rupert, the Duke of Ormond, Se- cretary Trevor, and Lord-Keeper Bridgeman, men in whose honour the nation had great confidence, were never called to any deliberations. The whole secret was intrusted to five persons, Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale. These
The Cabal, men wcrc known by the appellation of the Cabal, a word which the initial letters of their names hap- pened to compose. Never was there a more dan- gerous ministry in England, nor one more noted for pernicious counsels.
Their cha- LoRD Ashley, soou after known by the name of Earl of Shaftesbury, was one of the most remarkable characters of the age, and the chief spring of all the succeeding movements. During his early youth, he had engaged in the late King's party ; but being- disgusted
racters.
1670.
CHARLES 11. 459
disgusted with some measures of Prince Maurice, he chap. soon deserted to the parliament. He insinuated ^^^' himself into the confidence of Cromwell ; and, as he had great infiuenc e with the presbyterians, he was serviceable in supporting, with his party, the au- thority of that usurper. He employed the same credit, in promoting the restoration, and on that ac- count both deserved and acquired favour with the King. In all his changes, he still maintained the character of never betraying those friends whom he deserted ; and whichever party he joined, his great capacity and singular talents soon gained him their confidence, and enabled him to take the lead among them. No station could satisfy his ambition, no fa- tigues were insuperable to his industry. Well ac- quainted with the blind attachment of faction, he surmounted all sense of shame : And relying on the subtilty of his contrivances, he was not startled with enterprises the most hazardous and most criminal. His talents, both of public speaking and private insinuation, shone out in an eminent degree ; and amidst all his furious passions, he possessed a sound judgement of business, and still more of men. Though fitted by nature for beginning and pushing the greatest undertakings, he was never able to conduct any to a happy period ; and his eminent abilities, by reason of his insatiable desires, were equally dangerous to himself, to the Prince, and to the people.
The Duke of Buckingham possessed all the ad- vantages, which a graceful person, a high rank, a splendid fortune, and a lively wit could bestow; but by his wild conduct, unrestrained either by pru- dence or principle, he found means to render him- self in the end odious and even insignificant. The least interest could make him abandon his honour ; the smallest pleasure could seduce him from his interest ; the most frivolous caprice was sufficient to
counterbalance
(,4^0 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. '
CHAP, counterbalance his pleasure. By his want of se-
T XV •
^_ cresy and constancy, he destroyed his character in|
1670. public life ; by his contempt of order and economy, he dissipated his private fortune ; by riot and de- bauchery, he ruined his health ; and he remained at last as incapable of doing hurt, as he had ever been little desirous of doing good, to mankind.
The Earl, soon after created Duke, of Lauder- dale, was not defective in natural, and still less in acquired talents ; but neither was his address grace- ful nor his understanding just. His principles, or more properly speaking his prejudices, were obsti- nate, but unable to restrain his ambition : His ambi- tion was still less dangerous than the tyranny and violence of his temper. An implacable enemy, but a lukewarm friend ; insolent to his inferiors, but ab- ject to his superiors ; though in his whole character and deportment he was almost diametrically oppo- site to the King, he had the fortune, beyond any other minister, to maintain, during the greater part of his reign, an ascendant over him.
The talents of parliamentary eloquence and in- trigue had raised Sir Thomas Clifford ; and his dar- ing impetuous spirit gave him weight in the King's councils. Of the whole cabal, Arlington was the least dangerous, either by his vices or his talents. His judgement was sound, though his capacity was but moderate; and his intentions were good, though he wanted courage and integrity to persevere in them. Together with Temple and Bridgeman, he had been a great promoter of the triple league ; but he threw himself, with equal alacrity, into opposite measures, when he found them agreeable to his mas- ter. Clifford and he were secretly catholics : Shaftesbury, though addicted to astrology, was reckoned a deist : Buckingham had too little reflec- tion to embrace any steady principles : Lauderdale had long been a bigotted and furious presbyterian ;
and
I
CHARLES II. 4^1
and the opinions of that sect still kept possession chap. of his mind, how little soever they appeared in his ^^^• conduct.
The dark counsels of the cabal, though from the xheir first they gave anxiety to all men of reflection, counsels. were not thoroughly known but by the event. Such seem to have been the views which they, in con- currence with some catholic courtiers, who had the ear of their sovereign, suggested to the King and the Duke, and which these Princes too greedily embraced. They said, that the parliament, though the spirit of party, for the present, attached them to the crown, were still more attached to those powers and privileges which their predecessors had usurped from the sovereign : That after the first flow of kindness was spent, they had discovered evident symptoms of discontent ; and would be sure to turn against the King all the authority which they yet retained, and still more those pretensions which it was easy for them in a moment to revive : That they not only kept the King in dependence by means of his precarious revenue, but had never discovered a suitable generosity, even in those temporary sup- plies which they granted him : That it was high time for the Prince to rouse himself from his le- thargy, and to recover that authority which his pre- decessors, during so many ages, had peaceably en- joyed : That the great error or misfortune of his father was the not having formed any close con- nection with foreign Princes, who, on the breaking out of the rebellion, might have found their interest in supporting him : That the present alliances, be- ing entered into with so many weaker potentates, who themselves stood in need of the King's protec- tion, could never serve to maintain, much less aug- ment, the royal authority : That the French Mo- narch alone, so generous a Prince, and by blood so nearly allied to the King, would be found both able and willing, if gratified in his ambition, to defend
the
1670.
462 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, the common cause of Kings against usurping sub- ^^^ • jects : That a war, undertaken against Holland by the united force of two such mighty potentates, would prove an easy enterprise, and would serve all the purposes which were aimed at : That, under pre- tence of that war, it would not be difficult to levy a military force, without which, during the prevalence of republican principles among his subjects, the King would vainly expect to defend his prerogative : That his naval power might be maintained, partly by the supplies, which, on other pretences, would previ- ously be obtained from parliament ; partly by subsi- dies from France ; partly by captures, v/hich might easily be made on that opulent republic : That, in such a situation, attempts to recover the lost autho- rity of the crown would be attended with success ; nor would any malecontents dare to resist a Prince fortified by so powerful an alliance ; or, if they did, they would only draw more certain ruin on them- selves and on their cause : And that, by subduing the States, a great step would be made towards a reformation of the government ; since it was apparent, that that republic, by its fame and grandeur, fortified, in his factious subjects, their attachment to what they vainly termed their civil and religious liberties.
These suggestions happened fatally to concur with all the inclinations and prejudices of the King ; his desire of more extensive authority, his propen- sity to the catholic religion, his avidity for money. He seems likewise, from the very beginning of his leign, to have entertained great jealousy of his own subjects, and, on that account, a desire of fortifying himself by an intimate alliance with France. So early as 1664, he had offered the French Monarch to allow him, without opposition, to conquer Flanders, provided that Prince would engage to furnish him with ten thousand infantry, and a suitable number of cavalry, in case of any rebellion in England.^ As no
fD'Estrades, 2lst July, 1667.
dangerous
CHARLES II. 463
dangerous symptoms at that time appeared, we are chap. left to conjecture, from this incident, what opinion ^^^• Charles had conceived of the factious disposition of ~I77~'
hi ^ 1d70.
is people.
Even during the time when the triple alliance was the most zealously cultivated, the King never seems to have been entirely cordial in those salutary mea- sures, but still to have cast a longing eye towards the French alliance. Clifford, who had much of his confidence, said imprudently, " Notwithstanding all '' this joy, we must have a second war with Holland." The accession of the Emperor to that alliance had been refused by England on frivolous pretences. And many unfriendly cavils were raised against the States with regard to Surinam and the conduct of the East-India company.* But about April, 1669, the strongest symptoms appeared of those fatal measures which were afterwards more openly pursued.
De Wit, at that time, came to Temple, and told him, that he paid him a visit as a friend, not as a minister. The occasion was, to acquaint him with a conversation which he had lately had with Puffen- dorf the Swedish agent, who had passed by the Hague in the way from Paris to his own country. The French ministers, Puffendorf said, had taken much pains to persuade him, that the Swedes would very ill find their account in those measures which they had lately embraced : That Spain would fail them in all her promises of subsidies ; nor would Holland alone be able to support them : That England would certainly fail them, and had already adopted counsels directly opposite to those which by the triple league she had bound herself to pursue : And that the resolution was not the less fixed and certain, because the secret was as yet communicated to very few, either in the French or English court. When Puf- fendorf seemed incredulous, Turenne showed him a letter from Colbert de Crossy, the French minister
* See note [O], at the end of the volume.
at
464 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, at London ; in which, after mentioning the success Lxv. Q.f jjjg negotiations, and the favourable disposition of the chief ministers there, he added, "And I have 1670. ft ^^ j^g^ made them sensible of the full extent of *' His Majesty's bounty."'' From this incident it appears, that the infamous practice of selling them- selves to foreign Princes, a practice which, notwith- standing the malignity of the vulgar, is certainly rare among men in high office, had not been scru- pled by Charles's ministers, who even obtained their master's consent to this dishonourable corruption.
But while all men of penetration, both abroad and at home, were alarmed with these incidents, the visit which the King received from his sister, the Dutchess of Orleans, was the foundation of still stronger sus- picions. Lewis, knowing the address and insinua- tion of that amiable Princess, and the great influence which she had gained over her brother, had engaged her to employ all her good offices, in order to de- tach Charles from the triple league, which, he knew, had fixed such insurmountable barriers to his ambi- tion ; and he now sent her to put the last hand to the plan of their conjunct operations. That he might the better cover this negotiation, he pretended to visit his frontiers, particularly the great works which he had undertaken at Dunkirk ; and he car- ried the Queen and the whole court along with him. 29th May. Whilehc remained on the opposite shore, the Dutchess of Orleans went over to E'^gland ; and Charles met her at Dover, where they passed ten days together in great mirth and festivity. By her artifices and Alliance carcsscs, she prevailed on Charles to relinquish the France. most Settled maxims of honour and policy, and to finish his engagements with Lewis for the destruc- tion of Holland ; as well as for the subsequent change of religion in England.
But Lewis well knew Charles's character, and the usual fluctuation of his councils. In order to fix him
*" Temj.le, vol. ji. p. 179.
in
CHARLES II.
465
1670.
in the French interests, he resolved to bind him by CH^p. the ties of pleasure, the only ones which with him ^^v. were irresistible ; and he made him a present of a French mistress, by whose means he hoped, for the future, to govern him. The Dutchess of Orleans brought with her a young lady of the name of Queroiiaille, whom the King carried to London, and soon after created Dutchess of Portsmouth. He was extremely attached to her during the whole course of his life : And she proved a great means of sup- porting his connections with her native country.
The satisfaction which Charles reaped from his new alliance, received a great check by the death of his sister, and still more by those melancholy cir- cumstances which attended it. Her death was sudden, after a few days' illness ; and she was seized with the malady upon drinking a glass of succory water. Strong suspicions of poison arose in the court of France, and were spread all over Europe; and as her husband had discovered many symptoms of jealousy and discontent on account of her conduct, he was universally believed to be the author of the crime. Charles himself, during some time, was en- tirely convinced of his guilt ; but upon receiving the attestation of physicians, who, on opening her body, found no foundation for the general rumour, he was, or pretended to be, satisfied. The Duke of Orleans, indeed, did never, in any other circumstance of his life, betray such dispositions as might lead him to so criminal an action ; and a lady, it is said, drank the remains of the same glass, without feeling any incon- venience. The sudden death of Princes is com- monly accompanied with these dismal surmises ; and therefore less weight is in this case to be laid on the suspicions of the public.
Charles, instead of breaking with France upon this incident, took advantage of it to send over Buckingham, under pretence of condoling with the Duke of Orleans, but in reality to concert farther
VOL. VII. H H measures
46G HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, measures for the projected war. Never ambassador LXV. received greater caresses. The more destructive the
present measures were to the interests of England,
^^^^' the more natural was it for Lewis to load with civilities, and even with favours, those whom he could engage to promote them.
The journey of Buckingham augmented the sus- picions in Holland, which every circumstance tended still farther to confirm. Lewis made a sudden irruption into Lorraine ; and though he missed seizing the Duke himself, who had no surmise of the danger, and who narrowly escaped, he was soon able, without resistance, to make himself master of the whole country. The French Monarch was so far unhappy, that, though the most tempting oppor- tunities offered themselves, he had not commonly so much as the pretence of equity and justice to cover his ambitious measures. This acquisition of Lorraine ought to have excited the jealousy of the contracting powers in the triple league, as much as an invasion of Flanders itself; yet did Charles turn a deaf ear to all remonstrances made him upon that subject.
But what tended chiefly to open the eyes of De Wit and the States, with regard to the measures of England, was the sudden recall of Sir William Temple. This minister had so firmly established his character of honour and integrity, that he was believed incapable even of obeying his master's com- mands, in promoting measures which he esteemed pernicious to his country ; and so long as he remained in employment, De Wit thought himself assured of the fidelity of England. Charles was so sensible of this prepossession, that he ordered Temple to leave his family at the Hague, and pretended, that that minister would immediately return after having conferred with the King about some business, where his negotiation had met with obstructions. De Wit made the Dutch resident inform the English court,
that
CHARLES II. 467
that he should consider the recall of Temple as an chap. express declaration of a change of measures in Eng- ^^^• land ; and should even know what interpretation to ""leroT put upon any delay of his return.
While these measures were secretly in agitation, 24th Oct. the parliament met according to adjournment. The ^en?''^' King made a short speech, and left the business to be enlarged upon by the keeper. That minister much insisted on the King's great want of supply; the mighty increase of the naval power of France, now triple to what it was before the last war with Hol- land ; the decay of the English navy ; the necessity of fitting out next year a fleet of fifty sail; the obli- gations which the King lay under by several treaties to exert himself for the common good of Christen- dom. Among other treaties, he mentioned the triple alliance, and the defensive league with the States.
The artifice succeeded. The house of commons, entirely satisfied with the King's measures, voted him considerable supplies. A land tax for a year was imposed of a shilling a pound ; two shillings a pound on two thirds of the salaries of offices; fifteen shillings on every hundred pounds of bankers' money and stock ; an additional excise upon beer for six years, and certain impositions upon law proceedings for nine years. The parliament had never before been in a more liberal humour ; and never surely was it less merited by the counsels of the King and of his ministers.*
The
' This year, on the third of January, died George Monk, Duke of Albe- marle, at Newhall in Essex, after a languishing illness, and in the sixty- third year of his age. He left a great estate of 15,000/. a year in land, and 60,000/. in money, acquired by the bounty of the ;^ing, and increased by his own frugality in his later years. Bishop Burnet, who, agreeably to his own factious spirit, treats this illustrious personage with great malignity, reproaches him with avarice. But as he appears not to have been in the least tainted with rapacity, his frugal conduct may more candidly be im- puted to the habits acquired in early life, while he was possessed of a very narrow fortune. It is indeed a singular proof of the strange power of faction, that any malignity should pursue the memory of a nobleman,
the
H H 2
4(jg HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. The commons passed another bill for laying a Lxv. duty on tobacco, Scotch salt, glasses, and some
" other commodities. Against this bill the merchants
of London appeared by petition before the house of lords. The lords entered into their reasons, and began to make amendments on the bill sent up by the commons. This attempt was highly resented by the lower house, as an encroachment on the right, which they pretended to possess alone, of granting money to the crown. Many remonstrances passed between the two houses ; and by their altercations
22d April, the King was obliged to prorogue the parliament ; and he thereby lost the money which was intended him. This is the last time that the peers have revived any pretensions of that nature. Ever since, the privilege of the commons, in all other places except in the house of peers, has passed for uncon- troverted.
There was a private affair, which, during this ses- sion, disgusted the house of commons, and required some pains to accommodate it. The usual method of those who opposed the court in the money bills was, if they failed in the main vote, as to the extent of the supply, to levy the money upon such funds as they expected would be unacceptable, or would
the tenor of whose life was so unexceptionable, and who, by restoring the ancient and legal and free government to three kingdoms, plunged in the most destructive anarchy, may safely be said to be the subject in these islands, who, since the beginning of time, rendered the most durable and most essential services to his native country. The means also, by which he achieved his great undertakings, were almost entirely unexceptionable. His temporary dissimulation, being absolutely necessary, could scarcely be blameable. He had received no trust from that mongrel, pretended usurp- ing parliament whoAi he dethroned; therefore could betray none. He even refused to carry his dissimulation so far as to take an oath of abjura- tion against the King. 1 confess, however, that the Rev. Dr. Douglas has shown me, from the Clarendon papers, an original letter of his to Sir Arthur Hazelrig, containing very earnest, and certainly false protestations, of his zeal for a commonwealth. It is to be lamented that so worthy a man, and of such plain manners, should ever have found it necessary to carry his dissimulation to such a height. His family ended with his son.
prove
CHARLES II. 469
prove deficient. It was proposed to lay an imposi- chap. tion upon playhouses : The courtiers objected, that ^^^' the players were the King's servants, and a part of ^^^^ his pleasure. Sir John Coventry, a gentleman of the country party, asked, " whether the King's " pleasure lay among the male or the female ** players ?" This stroke of satire was aimed at Charles, who, besides his mistresses of higher qua- lity, entertained at that time two actresses, Davis and Nell Gwin. The King received not the raillery with the good humour which might have been ex- pected. It was said, that this being the first time that respect to Majesty had been publicly violated, it was necessary, by some severe chastisement, to make Coventry an example to all who might incline to tread in his footsteps. Sands, Obrian, and some other officers of the guards, were ordered to way-lay him, and to set a mark upon him. He defended himself with bravery, and after wounding several of the assailants, was disarmed with some difficulty. They cut his nose to the bone, in order, as they said, to teach him what respect he owed to the King. The commons were inflamed by this indignity oflered to one of their members, on account of words spoken in the house. They passed a law, which Coventry made it capital to maim any person ; and they enacted, that those criminals, who had assaulted Coventry, should be incapable of receiving a par- don from the crown.
There was another private afl'air transacted about this time, by which the King was as much exposed to the imputation of a capricious lenity, as he was here blamed for unnecessary severity. Blood, a dis- banded officer of the Protector's, had been engaged in the conspiracy for raising an insurrection in Ire- land ; and on account of this crime he himself had been attainted, and some of his accomplices capitally punished. The daring villain meditated revenge Blood's upon Ormond, the lord lieutenant. Having by "™e^-
artifice
470 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, artifice drawn off the Duke's footmen, he attacked his ^^^- coach in the night time, as it drove along St. James's 1671 street in London; and he made himself master of his person. He might here have finished the crime, had he not meditated refinements in his vengeance : He was resolved to hang the Duke at Tyburn ; and for that purpose bound him, and mounted him on horseback behind one of his companions. They were advanced a good way into the fields ; when the Duke, making efforts for his liberty, threw himself to the ground, and brought down with him the as- sassin to whom he was fastened. They were strug- gling together in the mire, when Ormond's servants, whom the alarm had reached, came and saved him. Blood and his companions, firing their pistols in a hurry at the Duke, rode off", and saved themselves by means of the darkness.
Buckingham was at first, with some appearances of reason, suspected to be the author of this attempt. His profligate character, and his enmity against Or- mond, exposed him to that imputation. Ossory soon after came to court ; and seeing Buckingham stand by the King, his colour rose, and he could not for- bear expressing himself to this purpose: " My lord, " I know well that you are at the bottom of this late ** attempt upon my father : But I give you warning; '* if by any means he come to a violent end, I shall ** not be at a loss to know the author: T shall con- * ' sider you as the assassin : I shall treat you as such ; " and wherever 1 meet you, I shall pistol you, "though you stood behind the King's chair; and *' I tell it you in His Majesty's presence, that you "may be sure I shall not fail of performance."'' If there was here any indecorum, it was easily ex- I cused in a generous youth, when his father's life was ' exposed to danger.
A LITTLE after. Blood formed a design of carrying |
■< Carte's Orraond, vol. ii. p. 225. I
off i
LXV.
1671.
CHARLES II. 471
off the crown and regalia from the Tower ; a design c il a p. to which he was prompted, as well by the surprising boldness of the enterprise, as by the views of profit. He was near succeeding. He had bound and wounded Edwards, the keeper of the jewel-office, and had gotten out of the Tower with his prey ; but was overtaken and seized, with some of his asso- ciates. One of them was known to have been con- cerned in the attempt upon Ormond ; and Blood was immediately concluded to be the ring-leader. When questioned, he frankly avowed the enterprise; but refused to tell his accomplices. " The fear " of death," he said, " should never engage him ** either to deny guilt, or betray a friend." All these extraordinary circumstances made him the general subject of conversation; and the King was moved, by an idle curiosity, to see and speak with a person so noted for his courage and his crimes. Blood might now esteem himself secure of pardon ; and he wanted not address to improve the oppor- tunity. He told Charles that he had been engaged, with others, in a design to kill him with a carabine above Battersea, where His Majesty often went to bathe : That the cause of this resolution was the severity exercised over the consciences of the godly, in restraining the liberty of their religious assemblies : That when he had taken his stand among the reeds, full of these bloody resolutions, he found his heart checked with an awe of Majesty ; and he not only relented himself, but diverted his associates from their purpose : That he had long ago brought him- self to an entire indifference about life, which he now gave for lost ; yet could he not forbear warning the King of the danger which might attend his exe- cution : That his associates had bound themselves by the strictest oaths to revenge the death of any of the confederacy ; and that no precaution or power could secure any one from the effects of their des- perate resolutions.
Whether
1671.
472 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. Whether these considerations excited fear or ^^^- admiration in the King, they confirmed his resolu- tion of granting a pardon to Blood ; but he thought it a point of decency first to obtain the Duke of Ormond's consent. Arlington came to Ormond in the King's name, and desired that he would not prosecute Blood, for reasons which he was com- manded to give him. The Duke replied, that his Majesty's commands were the only reasons that could be given ; and being sufficient, he might there- fore spare the rest. Charles carried his kindness to Blood still farther : He granted him an estate of five hundred pounds a-year in Ireland ; he encou- raged his attendance about his person ; he showed him great countenance ; and many applied to him for promoting their pretensions at court. And while old Edwards, who had bravely ventured his life, and had been wounded in defending the crown and re- galia, was forgotten and neglected, this man, who deserved only to be stared at, and detested as a monster, became a kind of favourite.
Errors of this nature in private life have often as bad an influence as miscarriages in which the pub- lic is more immediately concerned. Another inci- dent happened this year, which infused a general displeasure, and still greater apprehensions into all men. The Dutchess of York died; and in her last sickness, she made open profession of the Romish religion, and finished her life in that communion. Duke of This put an end to that thin disguise which the Duke York de- jj^d hitherto worn ; and he now openly declared his himself couvcrsiou to the church of Rome. Unaccountable catholic, terrors of popery, ever since the accession of the house of Stuart, had prevailed throughout the nation ; but these had formerly been found so groundless, and had been employed to so many bad purposes, that surmises of this nature were likely to meet with the less credit among all men of sense ; and nothing but the Duke's imprudent bigotry could have convinced
the
1671.
CHARLES U. 473
the whole nation of his change of religion. Popery, chap. which had hitherto been only a hideous spectre, was ^^^• now become a real ground of terror ; being openly and zealously embraced by the heir to the crown, a Prince of industry and enterprise ; while the King himself was not entirely free from like suspicions.
It is probable, that the new alliance with France inspired the Duke with the courage to make open profession of his religion, and rendered him more careless of the affections and esteem of the English. This alliance became every day more apparent. Temple was declared to be no longer ambassador to the States; and Downing, whom the Dutch re- garded as the inveterate enemy of their republic, was sent over in his stead. A ground of quarrel was sought by means of a yacht, despatched for Lady Temple. The captain sailed through the Dutch fleet which lay on their own coasts ; and he had orders to make them strike, to fire on them, and to persevere till they should return his fire. The Dutch Admiral, Van Ghent, surprised at this bra- vado, came on board the yacht, and expressed his willingness to pay respect to the British flag, ac- cording to former practice : But that a fleet, on their own coasts, should strike to a single vessel, and that not a ship of war, was, he said, such an innovation, that he durst not, without express orders, agree to it. The captain thinking it dangerous, as well as absurd, to renew firing in the midst of the Dutch fleet, continued his course ; and, for that neglect of orders, was committed to the Tower.
This incident, however, furnished Downing with a new article to increase those vain pretences, on which it was purposed to ground the intended rup- ture. The English court delayed several months before they complained ; lest, if they had demanded satisfaction more early, the Dutch might have had time to grant it. Even when Downing delivered his memorial, he was bound by his instructions not to accept of any satisfaction after a certain number
of
474 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
c H A i\ of days ; a very imperious manner of negotiating, ^^^- and impracticable in Holland, where the forms of 1671 the republic render delays absolutely unavoidable. An answer, however, though refused by Downing, was sent over to London ; with an ambassador ex- traordinary, who had orders to use every expedient that might give satisfaction to the court of England. That court replied, that the answer of the Holland- ers was ambiguous and obscure ; but they would not specify the articles or expressions which were liable to that objection. The Dutch ambassador desired the English ministry to draw the answer in what terms they pleased, and he engaged to sign it. The English ministry replied, that it was not their busi- ness to draw papers for the Dutch. The ambassa- dor brought them the draught of an article, and asked them whether it were satisfactory : The Eng- lish answered that, when he had signed and delivered it, they would tell him their mind concerning it. The Dutchman resolved to sign it at a venture ; and on his demanding a new audience, an hour was ap- pointed for that purpose : But when he attended, the English refused to enter upon business, and told him, that the season for negotiating was now past.'' 1672. Long and frequent prorogations were made of
the parliament ; lest the houses should declare them- selves with vigour against counsels so opposite to the inclination as well as interests of the public. Could we suppose that Charles, in his alliance against Holland, really meant the good of his people, that measure must pass for an extraordinary, nay, a romantic strain of patriotism, which could lead him, in spite of all difficulties, and even in spite of
k England's Appeal, p. 22. This year, on the 12th of November, died, in his retreat, and in the 60th year of his age, Thomas Lord Fairfax, who performed many great actions, without being a memorable personage, and allowed himself to be carried into many criminal enterprises, with the best and most upright intentions. His daughter and heir was married to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.
themselves.
CHARLES II. 475
themselves, to seek the welfare of the nation. But chap. every step which he took in this affair, became a proof ^^'__ to all men of penetration, that the present war was ^^^^^ intended against the religion and liberties of his own subjects, even more than against the Dutch them- selves. He now acted in every thing, as if he were already an absolute monarch, and was never more to lie under the control of national assemblies.
The long prorogations of parliament, if they freed the King from the importunate remonstrances of that assembly, were, however, attended with this inconvenience, that no money could be procured to carry on the military preparations against Holland. Under pretence of maintaining the triple league, which at that very time he had firmly resolved to break, Charles had obtained a large supply from the commons ; but this mone^ was soon exhausted by debts and expenses. France had stipulated to pay two hundred thousand pounds a-year during the war; but that supply was inconsiderable, compared to the immense charge of the English navy. It seemed as yet premature to venture on levying money, without consent of parliament; since the power of taxing themselves was the privilege, of which the English were, with reason, particularly jealous. Some other resource must be fallen on. The King had declared, that the staff of treasurer was ready for any one that could find an expedient for supplying the present necessities. Shaftesbury dropped a hint to Clifford, which the latter immediately seized, and carried to the King, who granted him the promised reward, to- gether with a peerage. This expedient was the shutting up of the exchequer, and the retaining of all the payments which should be made into it.
It had been usual for the bankers to carry their 2d Jan. money to the Exchequer, and to advance it upon f^^^^f ^^''^'^ security of the funds, by which they were afterwards reimbursed, when the money was levied on the
public.
476 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, public. The bankers, by this traffic, got eight, some- ^^^- times ten, per cent, for sums which either had been consigned to them without interest, or which they had borrowed at six per cent. : Profits which they dearly paid for by this egregious breach of public faith. The measure was so suddenly taken, that none had warning of the danger. A general confu- sion prevailed in the city, followed by the ruin of many. The bankers stopped payment ; the mer- chants could answer no bills ; distrust took place every where, with a stagnation of commerce, by which the public was universally affected. And men, full of dismal apprehensions, asked each other, what must be the scope of those mysterious counsels, whence the parliament and all men of honour were excluded, and which commenced by the forfeiture of public credit, and an open violation of the most solemn engagements, both foreign and domestic.
Deciara- ANOTHER measure of the court contains some-
duigence". thing laudable, when considered in itself; but if we reflect on the motive whence it proceeded, as well as the time when it was embraced, it will furnish a strong proof of the arbitrary and dangerous coun- sels pursued at present by the King and his ministry. Charles resolved to make use of his supreme power in ecclesiastical matters ; a power, he said, which was not only inherent in him, but which had been
15th Mar. recoguized by several acts of parliament. By virtue of this authority, he issued a proclamation, sus- pending the penal laws enacted against all non-con- formists or recusants whatsoever ; and granting to the protestant dissenters the public exercise of their religion, to the catholics the exercise of it in private houses. A fruitless experiment, of this kind, op- posed by the parliament, and retracted by the King, had already been made a few years after the resto- ration ; but Charles expected, that the parliament, whenever it should meet, would now be tamed to
greater
1672.
CHARLES II. 477
greater submission, and would no longer dare to con- c u a p. trol his measures. Meanwhile, the dissenters, the ^^V- most inveterate enemies of the court, were mollified by these indulgent maxims ; and the catholics, under their shelter, enjoyed more liberty than the laws had hitherto allowed them.
At the same time, the act of navigation was sus- pended by royal will and pleasure : A measure which, though a stretch of prerogative, seemed use- ful to commerce, while all the seamen were employed on board the royal navy. A like suspension had been granted, during the first Dutch war, and was not much remarked ; because men had, at that time, entertained less jealousy of the crown. A proclamation was also issued, containing rigorous clauses in favour of pressing : Another full of me- naces against those who presumed to speak unduti- fully of His Majesty's measures, and even against those who heard such discourse, unless they in- formed in due time against the offenders : Another against importing or vending any sort of painted earthen ware, " except those of China, upon pain ** of being grievously fined, and suffering the utmost " punishment, which might be lawfully inflicted *' upon contemners of his Majesty's royal authoj^ " rity." An army had been levied ; and it was found that discipline could not be enforced without the exercise of martial law ; which was therefore esta- blished by order of council, though contrary to the petition of right. All these acts of power, how lit- tle important soever in themselves, savoured strongly of arbitrary government, and were nowise suitable to that legal administration, which the parliament, after such violent convulsions and civil wars, had hoped to have established in the kingdom.
It may be worth remarking, that the lord-keeper refused to affix the great seal to the declaration for suspending the penal laws ; and was for that reason, though under other pretences, removed from his
office.
478 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, office. Shaftesbury was made chancellor in his place ; Lxv. an^i ^img another member of the Cabal received the reward of his counsels.
Foreign transactions kept pace with these do- ^^^^^^ mestic occurrences. An attempt, before the de- Smyrna claration of war, was made on the Dutch Smyrna fleet. fleet by Sir Robert Holmes. This fleet consisted of seventy sail, valued at a million and a half; and the hopes of seizing so rich a prey had been a great motive for engaging Charles in the present war, and he had considered that capture as a principal resource for supporting his military enterprises. Holmes, with nine frigates and three yachts, had orders to go on this command ; and he passed Sprague in the channel, who was returning with a squadron from a cruize in the Mediterranean. Sprague informed him of the near approach of the Hollanders, and had not Holmes, from a desire of engrossing the honour and profit of the enter- prise, kept the secret of his orders, the conjunction of these squadrons had rendered the success infal- lible. When Holmes approached the Dutch, he put on an amicable appearance, and invited the 13th ar. ^(jj^j^j-al^ Van Ncss, who commanded the convoy, to come on board of him : One of his captains gave alike insidious invitation to the rear-admiral. But these officers were on their guard. They had re- ceived an intimation of the hostile intentions of the English, and had already put all the ships of war and merchant-men in an excellent posture of de- fence. Three times were they valiantly assailed by the English ; and as often did they valiantly defend themselves. In the third attack one of the Dutch ships of war was taken ; and three or four of their most inconsiderable merchant-men fell into the ene- my's hands. The rest, fighting with skill and courage, continued their course ; and, favoured by a mist, got safe into their own harbours. This at- tempt is denominated perfidious and piratical by the
Dutch
1672.
CHARLES II. 479
Dutch writers, and even by many of the English. It c h ap. merits at least the appellation of irregular ; and, as it ^^^• had been attended with bad success, it brought double shame upon the contrivers. The English ministry endeavoured to apologize for the action, by pretend- ing that it was a casual rencounter, arising from the obstinacy of the Dutch, in refusing the honours of the flag: But the contrary was so well known, that even Holmes himself had not the assurance to per- sist in this asseveration.
Till this incident the States, notwithstanding all the menaces and preparations of the English, never believed them thoroughly in earnest ; and had al- ways expected that the affair would terminate, either in some demands of money, or in some proposals for the advancement of the Prince of Orange. The French themselves had never much reckoned on assistance from England ; and scarcely could believe that their ambitious projects would, contrary to every maxim of honour and policy, be forwarded by that power which was most interested, and most able to oppose them. But Charles was too far advanced to retreat. He immediately issued a declaration of irth Mar. war against the Dutch ; and surely reasons more ^^^ ^^: ,
. • • cl9.r6cl with,
false and frivolous never were employed to justify Holland. a flagrant violation of treaty. Some complaints are there made of injuries done to the East-India Com- pany, which yet that company disavowed : The detention of some English in Surinam is mentioned ; , though it appears that these persons had voluntarily remained there : The refusal of a Dutch fleet, on their own coasts, to strike to an English yacht, is much aggravated : And to piece up all these pre- tensions, some abusive pictures are mentioned, and represented as a ground of quarrel. The Dutch were long at a loss what to make of this article ; till it was discovered, that a portrait of Cornelius de Wit, brother to the pensionary, painted by order of certain magistrates of Dort, and hung up in a
chamber
1672.
480 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, chamber of the town-house, had given occasion to ^^^ • the complaint. In the perspective of this portrait, the painter had drawn some ships on fire in a har- bour. This was construed to be Chatham, where De Wit had really oistinguished himself, and had acquired honour ; but little did he imagine, that, while the insult itself, committed in open war, had so long been forgiven, the picture of it should draw such severe vengeance upon his country. The con- clusion of this manifesto, where the King still pro- fessed his resolution of adhering to the triple alli- ance, was of a piece with the rest of it.
Lewis's declaration of war contained more dignity, if undisguised violence and injustice could merit that appellation. He pretended only, that the behaviour of the Hollanders had been such, that it did not consist with his glory any longer to bear it. That monarch's preparations were in great forwardness ; and his ambition was flattered with the most pro- mising views of success. Swedenwas detached from the triple league : The Bishop of Munster was en- gaged by the payment of subsidies to take part with France : The Elector of Cologne had entered into the same alliance ; and having consigned Bonne and other towns into the hands of Lewis, magazines were there erected ; and it was from that quarter that France purposed to invade the United Provin- ces. The standing force of that kingdom amounted to a hundred and eighty thousand men ; and with more than one half of this great army was the French King now approaching to the Dutch fron- tiers. The order, economy, and industry of Col- bert, equally subservient to the ambition of the Prince and happiness of the people, furnished un- exhausted treasures : These, employed by the un- relenting vigilance of Louvois, supplied every mi- litary preparation, and facilitated all the enterprises of the army: Cond6, Turenne, seconded by Luxem- bourg, Crequi, and the most renowned generals of
the
CHARLES II. 481
the age, conducted this army, and by their conduct chap. and reputation inspired courage into every one. The ^^^* monarch himself, surrounded with a brave nobility, ~^^^ animated his troops by the prospect of reward, or, what was more valued, by the hopes of his appro- bation. The fatigues of war gave no interruption to gaiety : Its dangers furnished matter for glory : And in no enterprise did the genius of that gallant and polite people ever break out with more distin- guished lustre.
Though De Wit's intelligence in foreign courts was not equal to the vigilance of his domestic admi- nistration, he had, long before, received many sur- mises of this fatal confederacy ; but he prepared not for defence so early, or with such industry, as the danger required. A union of England with France was evidently, he saw, destructive to the interests of the former kingdom ; and, therefore, overlooking, or ignorant of the humours and secret views of Charles, he concluded it impossible, that such pernicious pro- jects could ever really be carried into execution. Secure in this fallacious reasoning, he allowed the weakness republic to remain too long in that defenceless situ- of the ation, into which many concurring accidents had '^'^^' conspired to throw her.
By a continued and successful application to com- merce, the people were become unwarlike, and confided entirely for their defence in that mercenary army, which they maintained. After the treaty of Westphalia, the States, trusting to their peace with Spain, and their alliance with France, had broken a great part of this army, and did not support with sufficient vigilance the discipline of the troops which remained. When the aristocratic party prevailed, it was thought prudent to dismiss many of the old experienced officers, who were devoted to the house of Orange ; and their place was supplied by raw youths, the sons or kinsmen of burgomasters, by
VOL. VII. I I whose
1672.
4g2 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, whose interest the party was supported. These new Lxv. officers, relying on the credit of their friends and family, neglected their military duty ; and some of them, it is said, were even allowed to serve by de- puties, to whom they assigned a small part of their pay. During the war with England, all the forces of that nation had been disbanded : Lewis's invasion of Flanders, followed by the triple league, occasion- ed the dismission of the French regiments : And the place of these troops, which had ever had a chief share in the honour and fortune of all the wars in the Low Countries, had not been supplied by any new levies.
De Wit, sensible of this dangerous situation, and alarmed by the reports which came from all quar- ters, exerted himself to supply those defects, to which it was not easy of a sudden to provide a suitable remedy. But every proposal, which he could make, met with opposition from the Orange party, now become extremely formidable. The long and uncontrolled administration of this statesman had begotten envy : The present incidents roused up his enemies and opponents, who ascribed to his misconduct alone the bad situation of the republic : And, above all, the popular affection to the young P-rince, which had so long been held in violent constraint, and had thence acquired new accession of force, began to display itself, and to threaten the commonwealth with some great convulsion. William IIL, Prince of Orange, was in the twenty- second year of his age, and gave strong indications of those great qualities, by which his life was after- wards so much distinguished. De Wit himself, by giving him an ex-^elient education, and instructing him in all the principles of government and sound policy, had generously contributed to make his rival formidable. Dreading the precarious situation of his own party, he was always resolved, he said, by
conveying
CHARLES II.
483
1672.
conveying to the Prince the knowledge of affairs, to chap. render him capable of serving his country, if any ^^^• future emergence should ever throw the administra- tion into his hands. The conduct of William had hitherto been extremely laudable. Notwithstanding his powerful alliances with England and Branden- burg, he had expressed his resolution of depending entirely on the States for his advancement; and the whole tenor of his behaviour suited extremely the genius of that people. Silent and thoughtful ; given to hear and to inquire ; of a sound and steady un- derstanding; firm in what he once resolved, or once denied ; strongly intent on business, little on plea- sure : By these virtues he engaged the attention of all men. And the people, sensible that they owed their liberty, and very existence, to his family, and remembering, that his great uncle, Maurice, had been able, even in more early youth, to defend them against the exorbitant power of Spain, were desirous of raising this Prince to all the authority of his ances- tors, and hoped, from his valour and conduct alone, to receive protection against those imminent dangers with which they were at present threatened.
While these two powerful factions struggled for superiority, every scheme for defence was opposed, every project retarded. What was determined with difficulty, was executed without vigour. Levies in- deed were made, and the army completed to seventy thousand men ' : The Prince was appointed both general and admiral of the commonwealth, and the whole military power was put into his hands. But new troops could not of a sudden acquire discipline and experience : And the partisans of the Prince were still unsatisfied, as long as the perpetual edict, so it was called, remained in force ; by which he was excluded from the Stadtholdership, and from all share in the civil administration.
' Temple, vol. i. p. 75.
I I 2 It
1672.
484 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP. It had always been the maxim of De Wit's party ^^^- to cultivate naval affairs with extreme care, and to give the fleet a preference above the army, which they represented as the object of an unreasonable partiality in the Princes of Orange. The two vio- lent wars, which had of late been waged with Eng- land, had exercised the valour, and improved the skill of the sailors. And, above all, DeRuyter, the greatest sea-commander of the age, was closely con- nected with the Louvestein party ; and every one was disposed, with confidence and alacrity, to obey him. The equipment of the fleet was therefore hastened by De Wit ; in hopes that, by striking at first a successful blow, he might inspire courage into the dismayed States, and support his own de- clining authority. He seems to have been, in a peculiar manner, incensed against the English ; and he resolved to take revenge on them for their con- duct, of which, he thought, he himself and his country had such reason to complain. By the offer of a close alliance for mutual defence, they had seduced the republic to quit the alliance of France ; but no sooner had she embraced these measures, than they formed leagues for her destruction, with that very power which they had treacherously engaged her to offend. In the midst of full peace, nay during an intimate union, they attacked her com- merce, her only means of subsistence ; and, moved by shameful rapacity, had invaded that property, which, from a reliance on their faith, they had hoped to find unprotected and defenceless. Con- trary to their own manifest interest, as well as to their honour, they still retained a malignant re- sentment for her successful conclusion of the for- mer war ; a war which had, at first, sprung from their own wanton insolence and ambition. To repress so dangerous an enemy, would, De Wit imagined, give peculiar pleasure, and contri- bute to the future security of his country,
whose
)
»
1672.
CHARLES II. 485
whose prosperity was so much the object of general chap. envy. ^^^•
Actuated by like motives and views, De Ruyter put to sea with a formidable fleet, consisting of ninety- one ships of war and forty-four fire-ships. Cornelius de Wit was on board, as deputy from the States. They sailed in quest of the English, who were under the command of the Duke of York, and who had already joined the French under Mareschal d'Etrees. Battle of The combined fleets lay at Solebay in a very negli- ^°^f^^' gent posture ; and Sandwich, being an experienced ^ ^^' officer, had given the Duke warning of the danger ; but received, it is said, such an answer as intimated, that there was more of caution than of courage in his apprehensions. Upon the appearance of the enemy, every one ran to his post with precipitation, and many ships were obliged to cut their cables, in order to be in readiness. Sandwich commanded the van ; and though determined to conquer or to perish, he so tempered his courage with prudence, that the whole fleet was visibly indebted to him for its safety. He hastened out of the bay, where it had been easy for De Ruyter with his fire-ships to have destroyed the combined fleets, which were crowded together ; and by this wise measure gave time to the Duke of York, who commanded the main body, and to Ma- reschal d'Etrees, admiral of the rear, to disengage themselves. He himself meanwhile rushed into battle with the Hollanders ; and by presenting himself to every danger, had drawn upon him all the bravest of the enemy. He killed Van Ghent, a Dutch ad- miral, and beat off his ship : He sunk another ship, which ventured to lay him aboard : He sunk three fire-ships, which endeavoured to grapple with him : And though his vessel was torn in pieces with shot, and of a thousand men she contained, near six hun- dred were laid dead upon the deck, he continued still to thunder with all his artillery in the midst of the enemy. But another fire-ship, more fortunate than
the
486 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, the preceding, having laid hold of his vessel, her de-
^^^- struction was now inevitable. Warned by Sir Ed-
^ .^ ward Haddock, his captain, he refused to make
Sandwich his cscapc, and bravely embraced death as a shelter
killed. from that ignominy, which a rash expression of the
Duke's, bethought, had thrown upon him.
During this fierce engagement with Sandwich, De Ruyter remained not inactive. He attacked the Duke of York, and fought him with such fury for above two hours, that, of two and thirty actions, in which that admiral had been engaged, he declared this combat to be the most obstinately disputed. The Duke's ship was so shattered, that he was ob- liged to leave her, and remove his flag to another.
His squadron was overpowered with numbers; till Sir Joseph Jordan, who had succeeded to Sandwich's command, came to his assistance ; and the fight, being more equally balanced, was continued till night, when the Dutch retired, and were not fol- lowed by the English. The loss sustained by the fleets of the two maritime powers was nearly equal, if it did not rather fall more heavy on the English. The French suffered very little, because they had scarcely been engaged in the action ; and as this backwardness is not their national character, it was concluded that they had received secret orders to spare their ships, while the Dutch and English should weaken each other by their mutual animosity. Almost all the other actions during the present war tended to confirm this suspicion.
It might be deemed honourable for the Dutch to have fought with some advantage the combined fleets of two such powerful nations; but nothing less than a complete victory could serve the purpose of De Wit, or save his country from those calamities, which from every quarter threatened to overwhelm her. He had expected that the French would make their attack on the side of Maestricht, which was well fortified, and provided with a good garrison ;
but
CHARLES 11. 487
but Lewis, taking advantage of hi& alliance with chap Cologne, resolved to invade the enemy on that ^^^• frontier, which he knew to be more feeble and de- 1^72. fenceless. The armies of that elector and those of Munster, appeared on the other side of the Rhine, and divided the force and attention of the States. The Dutch troops, too weak to defend so extensive a frontier, were scattered into so many towns, that no considerable body remained in the field ; and a strong garrison was scarcely to be found in any for- tress. Lewis passed the Meuse at Viset ; and lay- 1 4th May. ing siege to Orsoi, a town of the elector of Branden- Progress burgh's, but garrisoned by the Dutch, he carried it French. in three days. He divided his army, and invested at once Burik, Wesel, Emerick, and Rhimberg, four places regularly fortified, and not unprovided with troops : In a few days all these places were surren- dered. A general astonishment had seized the Hol- landers, from the combination of such powerful Princes against the republic ; and no where was re- sistance made, suitable to the ancient glory or pre- sent greatness of the state. Governors without ex- perience commanded troops without discipline ; and despair had universally extinguished that sense of honour, by which alone, men, in such danger- ous extremities, can be animated to a valorous de- fence.
Lewis advanced to the banks of the Rhine, which 2d June. he prepared to pass. To all the other calamities of the Dutch was added the extreme drought of the season, by which the greatest rivers were much di- minished, and in some places rendered fordable. The French cavalry, animated by the presence of their Prince, full of impetuous courage, but ranged in exact order, flung themselves into the river : The infantry passed in boats : A few regiments of Dutch appeared on the other side, who were unable to make resistance. And thus was executed, without
danger.
1672.
488 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, danger, but not without glory, the passage of the ^^^- Rhine ; so much celebrated, at that time, by the flattery of the French courtiers, and transmitted to posterity by the more durable flattery of their poets.
Each success added courage to the conquerors, and struck the vanquished with dismay. The Prince of Orange, though prudent beyond his age, was but newly advanced to the command, unac- quainted with the army, unknown to them ; and all men, by reason of the violent factions which pre- vailed, were uncertain of the authority on which they must depend. It was expected, that the fort of Skink, famous for the sieges which it had for- merly sustained, would make some resistance ; but it yielded to Turenne in a few days. The same general made himself master of Arnheim, Knotzem- bourg, and Nimeguen, as soon as he appeared be- fore them. Doesbourg at the same time opened its gates to Lewis : Soon after, Harderwic, Amersfort, Campen, Rhenen, Viane, Elberg, Zwol, Cuilemberg, Wageninguen, Lochem, Woerden, fell into the enemies' hands. Groll and Deventer surrendered to the Mareschal Luxembourg, who commanded the troops of Munster. And every hour brought to the states news of the rapid progress of the French, and of the cowardly defence of their own garrisons.
The Prince of Orange, with his small and dis- couraged army, retired into the province of Hol- land ; where he expected, from the natural strength of the country, since all human art and courage failed, to be able to make some resistance. The town and province of Utrecht sent deputies, and surrendered themselves to Lewis. Naerden, a place within three leagues of Amsterdam, was seized by the Marquis of Rochfort, and, had he pushed on to Muyden, he had easily gotten
possession
1672.
CHARLES II. 489
possession of it. Fourteen stragglers of his army chap. having appeared before the gates of that town, the ^^^• magistrates sent them the keys ; but a servant maid, who was alone in the castle, having raised the draw- bridge, kept them from taking possession of that fortress. The magistrates afterwards, finding the party so weak, made them drunk, and took the keys from them. Muyden is so near to Amster- dam, that its cannon may infest the ships which enter that city.
Lewis with a splendid court made a solemn entry asthJune.
into Utrecht, full of glory, because every where
attended with success ; though more owing to the
cowardice and misconduct of his enemies, than to
his own valour or prudence. Three provinces were
already in his hands, Guelderiand, Overyssel, and
Utrecht ; Groninghen was threatened : Friezeland
was exposed : The only difficulty lay in Holland and
Zealand; and the monarch deliberated concerning
the proper measures for reducing them. Cond6 and
Turenne exhorted him to dismantle all the towns
which he had taken, except a few ; and fortifying
his main army by the garrisons, put himself in a
condition of pushing his conquests. Louvois, hoping
that the other provinces, weak and dismayed, would
prove an easy prey, advised him to keep possession
of places which might afterwards serve to retain the
people in subjection. His counsel was followed;
though it was found, soon after, to have been the
most impolitic.
Meanwhile the people throughout the republic, Conster- instead of collecting a noble indignation against the "^g^'°° °^ haughty conqueror, discharged their rage upon Dutch. their own unhappy minister, on whose prudence and integrity every one formerly bestowed the merited applause : The bad condition of the armies was laid to his charge : The ill choice of governors was as- cribed to his partiality : As instances of cowardice
multiplied,
490 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, multiplied, treachery was suspected ; and his former ^^^- connexions with France being remembered, the po- 1672. pulace believed, that he and his partisans had now combined to betray them to their most mortal enemy. The Prince of Orange, notwithstanding his youth and inexperience, was looked on as the only saviour of the state ; and men were violently driven by their fears into his party, to which they had always been led by favour and inclination.
Amsterdam alone seemed to retain some courage; and by forming a regular plan of defence, en- deavoured to infuse spirit into the other cities. The magistrates obliged the burgesses to keep a strict watch : The populace, whom want of employment might engage to mutiny, were maintained by regular pay, and armed for the defence of the public. Some ships, which lay useless in the harbour, were refitted, and stationed to guard the city : And the sluices be- ing opened, the neighbouring country, without re- gard to the damage sustained, was laid under water. All the provinces followed the example, and scru- pled not, in this extremity, to restore to the sea those fertile fields, which with great art and expense had been won from it.
The States were assembled, to consider whether any means were left to save the remains of their lately flourishing, and now distressed commonwealth . Though they were surrounded with waters, which barred all access to the enemy, their deliberations were not conducted with that tranquillity, which could alone suggest measures proper to extricate them from their present difficulties. The nobles gave their vote, that, provided their religion, li- berty, and sovereignty, could be saved, every thing else should without scruple be sacrificed to the con- queror. Eleven towns concurred in the same senti- ments. Amsterdam singly declared against all treaty with insolent and triumphant enemies : But,
notwithstanding
1672.
CHARLES II. 491
notwithstanding that opposition, ambassadors were chap. despatched to implore the pity of the two combined ^^^' monarchs. It was resolved to sacrifice to Lewis, Maestricht, and all the frontier towns which lay without the bounds of the seven provinces ; and to pay him a large sum for the charges of the war.
Lewis deliberated with his ministers Louvois and Pomponne, concerning the measures which he should embrace in the present emergence ; and fortunately for Europe, he still preferred the violent councils of the former. He offered to evacuate his conquests, on condition that all duties lately imposed on the commodities of France should be taken off: That the public exercise of the Romish religion should be permitted in the United Provinces ; the churches shared with the catholics ; and their priests maintained by appointments from the States : That all the frontier towns of the republic should be yielded to him, together with Nimeguen, Skink, Knotzem- bourg, and that part of Guelderland which lay on the other side of the Rhine ; as likewise the isle of Bommel, that of Voorn, the fortress of St. Andrew, those of Louvestein and Crevecoeur : That the States should pay him the sum of twenty millions of livres for the charges of the war : That they should every year send him a solemn embassy, and present him with a golden medal, as an acknowledgement that they owed to him the preservation of that liber- ty, which, by the assistance of his predecessors, they had formerly acquired : And that they should give entire satisfaction to the King of England : And he allowed them but ten days for the acceptance of these demands.
The ambassadors sent to London met with still worse reception : No minister was allowed to treat with them; and they were retained in a kind of confinement. But, notwithstanding this rigorous conduct of the court, the presence of the Dutch
ambassadors
LXV.
1672.
492 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, ambassadors excited the sentiments of tender com- passion, and even indignation, among the people in general, especially among* those who could foresee the aim and result of those dangerous counsels. The two most powerful monarchs, they said, in Europe, the one by land, the other by sea, have, contrary to the faith of solemn treaties, combined to exterminate an illustrious republic : What a dismal prospect does their success afford to the neighbours of the one, and to the subjects of the other? Charles had formed the triple league, in order to restrain the power of France : A sure proof that he does not now err from ignorance. He had courted and obtained the applauses of his people by that wise measure : As he now adopts contrary counsels, he must surely expect by their means to render himself independent of his people, whose sentiments are become so indif- ferent to him. During the entire submission of the nation, and dutiful behaviour of the parliament, dangerous projects, without provocation, are formed to reduce them to subjection; and all the foreign interests of the people are sacrificed in order the more surely to bereave them of their domestic liber- ties. Lest any instance of freedom should remain within their view, the United Provinces, the real barrier of England, must be abandoned to the most dangerous enemy of England ; and by an universal combination of tyranny against laws and liberty, all mankind, who have retained, in any degree, their precious, though hitherto precarious, birthrights, are for ever to submit to slavery and injustice.
Though the fear of giving umbrage to his con- federate had engaged Charles to treat the Dutch ambassadors with such rigour, he was not altogether without uneasiness, on account of the rapid and un- expected progress of the French arms. Were Hol- land entirely conquered, its whole commerce and naval force, he perceived, must become an accession
to
CHARLES II. 493
to France ; the Spanish Low Countries must soon chap. follow ; and Lewis, now independent of his ally, J^^^- would no longer think it his interest to support him ~ against his discontented subjects. Charles, though he never carried his attention to very distant conse- quences, could not but foresee these obvious events; and, though incapable of envy or jealousy, he was touched with anxiety, when he found every thing yield to the French arms, while such vigorous re- sistance was made to his own. He soon dismissed the Dutch ambassadors, lest they should cabal among his subjects, who bore them great favour: But he sent over Buckingham and Arlington, and soon after Lord Halifax, to negotiate anew with the French King, in the present prosperous situation of that monarch's affairs.
These ministers passed through Holland ; and, as they were supposed to bring peace to the distressed republic, they were every where received with the loudest acclamations. " God bless the King of ** England ! God bless the Prince of Orange ! ** Confusion to the States !" This was every where the cry of the populace. The ambassadors had se- veral conferences with the States and the Prince of Orange ; but made no reasonable advances towards an accommodation. They went to Utrecht, where they renewed the league with Lewis, and agreed, that neither of the Kings should make peace with Holland but by common consent. They next gave in their pretensions, of which the following are the principal articles : That the Dutch should give up the honour of the flag, without the least reserve or limitation ; nor should )vhole fleets, even on the coast of Holland, refuse to strike or lower their top-sails to the smallest ship, carrying the British flag : That all persons guilty of treason against the King, or of writing seditious libels, should, on complaint, be banished for ever the dominions of the States : That the Dutch should pay the King a million sterling
towards
494
CHAP. LXV.
1672.
30th June.
Prince of Orange Stadt- holder.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
towards the charges of the war, together with ten thousand pounds a-year, for permission to fish on the British seas : That they should share the In- dian trade with the English : That the Prince of Orange and his descendants should enjoy the sove- reignty of the United Provinces ; at least, that they should be invested with the dignities of Stadtholder, Admiral, and General, in as ample a manner as had ever been enjoyed by any of his ancestors : And that the Isle of Walcheren, the city and castle of Sluis, together with the isles of Cadsant, Goree, and Vorne, should be put into the King's hands, as a security for the performance of articles.
The terms proposed by Lewis bereaved the re- public of all security against any invasion by land from France : Those demanded by Charles exposed them equally to an invasion by sea from England : And when both were united, they appeared abso- lutely intolerable, and reduced the Hollanders, who saw no means of defence, to the utmost despair. What extremely augmented their distress, were the violent factions with which they continued to be every where agitated. De Wit, too pertinacious in defence of his own system of liberty, while the very being of the commonwealth was threatened, still persevered in opposing the repeal of the perpetual edict, now become the object of horror to the Dutch populace. Their rage at last broke all bounds, and bore every thing before it. They rose in an insur- rection at Dort, and by force constrained their bur- gomasters to sign the repeal, so much demanded. This proved a signal of a general revolt throughout all the provinces.
At Amsterdam, the Hague, Middlebourg, Rotter- dam, the people flew to arms, and, trampling un- der foot the authority of their magistrates, obliged them to submit to the Prince of Orange. They expelled from their office such as displeased them : They required the Prince to appoint others in their
place :
1672.
CHARLES II. 495
place : And, agreeably to the proceedings of the chap. populace in all ages, provided they might wreak ^^^" their vengeance on their superiors, they expressed great indifference for the protection of their civil liberties.
The superior talents and virtues of De Wit made him, on this occasion, the chief object of envy, and exposed him to the utmost rage of popular preju- dice. Four assassins, actuated by no other motive than mistaken zeal, had assaulted him in the streets, and after giving him many w^ounds, had left him for dead. One of them was punished : The others were never questioned for the crime. His brother, Cornelius, who had behaved with prudence and courage on board the fleet, was obliged by sickness to come ashore ; and he was now confined to his house at Dort. Some assassins broke in upon him; and it was with the utmost difficulty that his family and servants could repel their violence. At Amster- dam, the house of the brave De Ruyter, the sole resource of the distressed commonwealth, was sur- rounded by the enraged populace ; and his wife and children were for some time exposed to the most imminent danger.
One Tichelaer, a barber, a man noted for in- famy, accused Cornelius de Wit of endeavouring by bribes to engage him in the design of poisoning the Prince of Orange. The accusation, though at- tended with the most improbable, and even absurd circumstances, was greedily received by the credu- lous multitude ; and Cornelius was cited before a court of judicature. The judges, either blinded by the same prejudices, or not daring to oppose the popular torrent, condemned him to suffer the ques- tion. This man, who had bravely served his coun- try in. war, and who had been invested with the highest dignities, was delivered into the hands of the executioner, and torn in pieces by the most in- human torments. Amidst the severe agonies which he
endured,
496 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, endured, he still made protestations of his innocence, ^^^- and frequently repeated an ode of Horace, which contained sentiments suited to his deplorable con- dition :
1672.
Jiistum et tenacem 'projjositi virum, &c. ™
The judges, however, condemned him to lose his offices, and to be banished the commonwealth. The pensionary, who had not been terrified from per- forming the part of a kind brother and faithful friend during this prosecution, resolved not to desert him on account of the unmerited infamy which was en- deavoured to be thrown upon him. He came to his brother's prison, determined to accompany him to the place of his exile. The signal was given to the Massacre populacc. They rose in arms : They broke open De^Wits. ^^^ doors of the prison ; they pulled out the two brothers ; and a thousand hands vied who should first be imbrued in their blood. Even their death did not satiate the brutal rage of the multitude. They exercised on the dead bodies of those virtuous
"> Which may be thus translated :
The man, whose mind, on virtue bent. Pursues some greatly good intent,
With undiverted aim, Serene beholds the angry crowd ; Nor can their clamours, fierce and loud,
His stubborn honour tame.
Not the proud tyrant's fiercest threat, Nor storms, that from their dark retreat
The lawless surges wake ; Not Jove's dread bolt that shakes the pole, The firmer purpose of his soul
With all its power can shake.
Should Nature's frame in ruins fall. And Chaos o'er the sinking ball
Resume primaeval sway. His courage chance and fate defies. Nor feels the wreck of earth and skies
Obstruct its destin'd way. Blacklocke.
citizens.
1672.
CHARLES II. 497
citizens, indignities too shocking to be recited ; and chap. till tired with their own fury, they permitted not the ^^^* friends of the deceased to approach, or to bestow on them the honours of a funeral, silent and unattended.
The massacre of the De Wits put an end for the time to the remains of their party ; and all men, from fear, inclination, or prudence, concurred in expressing the most implicit obedience to the Prince of Orange. The republic, though half subdued by foreign force, and as yet dismayed by its misfortunes, was now firmly united under one leader, and began to collect the remains of its pristine vigour. Wil- ^lu^tofthe liam, worthy of that heroic family from which he Prince. sprang, adopted sentiments becoming the head of a brave and free people. He bent all his efforts against the public enemy : He sought not against his country any advantages which might be dangerous to civil liberty. Those intolerable conditions demanded by their insolent enemies, he exhorted the States to reject with scorn ; and by his advice they put an end to negotiations, which served only to break the courage of their fellow-citizens, and delay the assist- ance of their allies. He showed them, that the numbers and riches of the people, aided by the ad- vantages of situation, w^ould still be sufficient, if they abandoned not themselves to despair, to resist, at least retard, the progress of their enemies, and pre- serve the remaining provinces, till the other nations of Europe, sensible of the common danger, could come to their relief. He represented, that as envy at their opulence and liberty had produced this mighty combination against them, they would in vain expectby concessions to satisfy foes, whose pre- tensions were as little bounded by moderation as by justice. He exhorted them to remember the gene- rous valour of their ancestors, who yet in the in- fancy of the state preferred liberty to every human consideration; and rousing their spirits to an
VOL. VI r. K K obstinate
1672
498 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. S
CHAP, obstinate defence, repelled all the power, riches, ^^^^- and military discipline of Spain. And he professed himself willing to tread in the steps of his illustrious , predecessors, and hoped, that as they had honoured him with the same affection which their ancestors I paid to the former Princes of Orange, they would second his efforts with the same constancy and « manly fortitude.
The spirit of the young Prince infused itself into | his hearers. Those who lately entertained thoughts | of yielding their necks to subjection, were now bravely determined to resist the haughty victor, and to defend those last remains of their native soil, of which neither the irruptions of Lewis, nor the inun- dation of waters, had as yet bereaved them. Should even the ground fail them on which they might com- bat, they were still resolved not to yield the gene- rous strife ; but flying to their settlements in the Indies, erect a new empire in those remote regions, * and preserve alive, even in the climates of slavery, that liberty, of which Europe was become unworthy. Already they concerted measures for executing this extraordinary resolution ; and found that the vessels contained in their harbours could transport above | two hundred thousand inhabitants to the East Indies. j
The combined Princes, finding at last some appearance of opposition, bent all their efforts to seduce the Prince of Orange, on whose valour and conduct the fate of the commonwealth entirely de- pended. The sovereignty of the province of Hoi- 1 land was offered him, and the protection of England ! and France, to ensure him as well against the inva- sion of foreign enemies, as the insurrection of his j subjects. All proposals were generously rejected, i and the Prince declared his resolution to retire into Germany, and to pass his life in hunting on his j lands there, rather than abandon the liberty of his |
country,
1672.
CHARLES II. 499
country, or betray the trust reposed in him. When chap. Buckingham urged the inevitable destruction which ^^^- hung over the United Provinces, and asked him, whether he did not see that the commonwealth was ruined ? There is one certain means, replied the Prince, bi/ which I can be sure never to see my coun- try s ruin; I will die in the last elite ii.
The people in Holland had been much incited to expense the Princes's party, by the hopes that the King of England, pleased with his nephew's eleva- tion, would abandon those dangerous engagements into which he had entered, and would afford his protection to the distressed republic. But all these hopes were soon found to be fallacious. Charles still persisted in his alliance with France; and the combined fleets approached the coast of Holland, with an English army on board, commanded by Count Schomberg. It is pretended that an unusual tide carried them off the coast ; and that Providence thus interposed, in an extraordinary manner, to save the republic from the imminent danger to which it was exposed. Very tempestuous weather, it is certain, prevailed all the rest of the season; and the com- bined fleets either were blown to a distance, or durst not approach a coast which might prove fatal to them. Lewis, finding that his enemies gathered courage behind their inundations, and that no farther success was likely for the present to attend his arms, had retired to Versailles.
The other nations of Europe regarded the sub- jection of Holland as the forerunner of their own slavery, and retained no hopes of defending them- selves, should such a mighty accession be made to the already exorbitant power of France. The em- peror, though he lay at a distance, and was naturally slow in his undertakings, began to put himself in motion ; Brandenburgh showed a disposition to sup- port the States ; Spain had sent some forces to their
K K 2 assistance ;
1672.
500 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, assistance ; and by the present efforts of the Prince Lxv. of Orange, and the prospect of relief from their allies, a different face of affairs began already to appear. Groninghen was the first place that stopped the progress of the enemy : The Bishop of Monster was repulsed from before that town, and obliged to raise the siege with loss and dishonour. Naerden was attempted by the Prince of Orange ; but Mares- chal Luxemburgh, breaking in upon his entrench- ments, with a sudden irruption, obliged him to abandon the enterprise. ^^"^ There was no ally on whom the Dutch more re- A padia- lied for assistance, than the parliament of England, merit. which the King's necessities at last obliged him to assemble. The eyes of all men, both abroad and at home, were fixed on this session, which met after prorogations continued for near two years. It was evident how much the King dreaded the assembling of his parliament ; and the discontents universally excited by the bold measures entered into, both in foreign and domestic administration, had given but too just foundation for his apprehensions.
The King however, in his speech, addressed them with all the appearance of cordiality and confidence. He said, that he would have assembled them sooner, had he not been desirous to allow them leisure for attending their private affairs, as well as to give his people respite from taxes and impositions : That, since their last meeting, he had been forced into a war, not only just but necessary ; necessary both for the honour and interest of the nation : That in order to have peace at home, while he had war abroad, he had issued his declaration of indulgence to dis- senters, and had found many good effects to result from that measure: That he heard of some excep- tions which had been taken to this exercise of power ; but he would tell them plainly, that he was resolved to stick to his declaration; and would be much
offended
CHARLES 11. 501
offended at any contradiction: And that though a chap. rumour had been spread, as ii the new levied army ^^^' had been intended to control law and property, he 1673. regarded that jealousy as so frivolous, that he was resolved to augment his forces next spring, and did not doubt but they would consider the necessity of them in their supplies. The rest of the business he left to the chancellor.
The chancellor enlarged on the same topics, and added many extraordinary positions of his own. He told them, that the Hollanders were the common enemies of all monarchies, especially that of Eng- land, their only competitor for commerce and naval power, and the sole obstacle to their views of attain- ing an universal empire, as extensive as that of ancient Rome : That, even during their present dis- tress and danorer, thev were so intoxicated with these ambitious projects, as to slight all treaty, nay, to refuse all cessation of hostilities : That the King, in entering on this war, did no more than prosecute those maxims which had engaged the parliament to advise and approve of the last ; and he might there- fore safely say, that it was their loar : That the States being the eternal enemies of England, both by interestand inclination, the parliament had wisely judged it necessary to extirpate them, and had laid it down as an eternal maxim, that delenda est Car- thago, this hostile government by all means is to be subverted: And that though the Dutch pretended to have assurances that the parliament would furnish no supplies to the King, he was confident that this hope, in which they extremely trusted, would soon fail them.
Before the commons entered upon business, there lay before them an affair, which discovered, beyond a possibility of doubt, the arbitrary pro- jects of the King ; and the measures taken upon it proved that the house was not at present in a
disposition
1673.
502 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, disposition to submit to them. It had been thecon- ^^^' stant undisputed practice, ever since the parliament in 1604, for the house, in case of any vacancy, to issue out writsfor new elections ; and the chancellor, who, before that time, had had some precedents in his favour, had ever afterwards abstained from all exercise of that authority. This indeed was one of the first steps which the commons had taken in es- tablishing and guarding their privileges; and no- thing could be more requisite than this precaution, in order to prevent the clandestine issuing of writs, and to ensure a fair and free election. No one but so desperate a minister as Shaftesbury, who had en- tered into a regular plan for reducing the people to subjection, could have entertained thoughts of breaking in upon a practice so reasonable and so well established, or could have hoped to succeed in t^o bold an enterprise. Several members had taken their seats upon irregular writs issued by the chan- cellor; but the house was no sooner assembled, and the speaker placed in the chair, than a motion was made against them ; and the members themselves iiad the modesty to withdraw. Their election was declared null ; and new writs, in the usual form, were issued by the speaker.
The next step taken by the commons had the appearance of some more complaisance ; but in reality proceeded from the same spirit of liberty and independence. They entered a resolution, that, in order to supply His Majesty's extraordinary occasions, for that was the expression employed, they would grant eighteen months' assessment, at the rate of 70,000 pounds a month, amounting in the whole to 1,260,000 pounds. Though unwilling to come to a violent breach with the King, they would not express the least approbation of the war; and they gave him the prospect of this supply, only that they might have permission to proceed
peaceably
1673.
CHARLES 11. 503
peaceably in the redress of the other grievances, of chap. which tliey had such reason to complain. i^^y^
No grievance was more alarming, both on account of the secret views from which it proceeded, and the consequences which might attend it, than the declaration of indulo'ence. A remonstrance was im- mediately framed against that exercise of preroga- tive. The King defended his measure. The com- mons persisted in their opposition to it ; and they represented that such a practice, if admitted, might tend to interrupt the free course of the laws, and alter the legislative power, which had always been acknowledged to reside in the King and the two houses. All men were in expectation with regard to the issue of this extraordinary affair. The King seemed engaged in honour to support his measure ; and in order to prevent all opposition, he had posi- tively declared that he would support it. The commons were obliged to persevere, not only be- cause it was dishonourable to be foiled where they could plead such strong reasons, but also because, if the King prevailed in his pretensions, an end seemed to be put to all the legal limitations of the constitu- tion.
It is evident that Charles was now come to that delicate crisis which he ought at first to have fore- seen, when he embraced those desperate counsels ; and his resolutions, in such an event, ought long ago to have been entirely fixed and determined. Besides his usual guards, he had an army encamped at Blackheath, under the command of Mareschal Schomberg, a foreigner ; and many of the officers were of the catholic religion. His ally, the French King, he might expect, would second him, if force became requisite for restraining his discontented subjects, and supporting the measures which, by common consent, they had agreed to pursue. But the King was startled, when he approached so
dangerous
504
CHAP. LXV.
1673.
Declara- tion of in- dulgence recalled.
HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
dangerous a precipice as that which lay before him. Were violence once offered, there could be no return, he saw, to mutual confidence and trust with his people ; the perils attending foreign succours, es- pecially from so mighty a Prince, were sufficiently apparent ; and the success which his own arms had met with in the war, was not so great as to increase his authority, or terrify the malecontents from oppo- sition. The desire of power, likewise, which had engaged Charles in these precipitate measures, had less proceeded, we may observe, from ambition, than from love of ease. Strict limitations of the consti- tution rendered the conduct of business complicated and troublesome ; and it was impossible for him, without much contrivance and intrigue, to procure the money necessary for his pleasures, or even for the regular support of government. When the prospect, therefore, of such dangerous opposition presented itself, the same love of ease inclined him to retract what it seemed so difficult to maintain ; and his turn of mind, naturally pliant and careless, made him find little objection to a measure which a more haughty Prince would have embraced with the utmost reluctance. That he might yield with the better grace, he asked the opinion of the house of peers, who advised him to comply with the com- mons. Accordingly the King sent for the declara- tion, and with his own hands broke the seals. The commons expressed the utmost satisfaction with this measure, and the most entire duty to his Majesty. Charles assured them that he would willingly pass any law offered him, which might tend to give them satisfaction in all their just grievan- ces.
Shaftesbury, when he found the King recede at once from so capital a point, which he had publicly declared his resolution to maintain, concluded that all schemes for enlarging royal authority were vanished,
and
CHARLES 11. 505
and that Charles was utterly incapable of pursuing chap. such difficult and such hazardous measures. The ^^^' parliament, he foresaw, might push their inquiries ~^^7~ into those counsels, which were so generally odious; and the King, from the same facility of disposition, might abandon his ministers to their vengeance. He resolved, therefore, to make his peace in time with that party which was likely to predominate, and to atone for all his violences in favour of monar- chy, by like violences in opposition to it. Never turn was more sudden, or less calculated to save ap- pearances. Immediately, he entered into all the cabals of the country party ; and discovered to them, perhaps magnified, the arbitrary designs of the court, in which he himself had borne so deep a share. He was received with open arms by that party, who stood in need of so able a leader; and no questions were asked with regard to his late apostacy. The various factions into which the nation had been divided, and the many sudden revolutions to which the public had been exposed, had tended much to debauch the minds of men, and to destroy the sense of honour and decorum in their public con- duct.
But the parliament, though satisfied with the King's compliance, had not lost all those apprehen- sions, to which the measures of the court had given so much foundation. A law passed for imposing a test on all who should enjoy any public office. Be- sides taking the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and receiving the sacrament in the established church, they were obliged to abjure all belief in the doctrine of tran substantiation. As the dissenters had seconded the efforts of the commons against the King's declaration of indulgence, and seemed reso- lute to accept of no toleration in any illegal man- ner, they had acquired great favour with the par- liament; and a project was adopted to unite the
whole
506 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, whole protestant interest against the common
^^^- enemy, who now began to appear formidable. A
~~ bill passed the commons for the ease and relief of
the protestant non-conformists ; but met with
some difficulties, at least delays, in the house of
peers.
The resolution for supply was carried into a law ; as a recompense to the King for his concessions. An act, likewise, of general pardon and indemnity was passed, which screened the ministers from all farther inquiry. The parliament probably thought, that the best method of reclaiming the criminals was to show them that their case was not desperate. Even the remonstrance, which the commons voted, of their grievances, may be regarded as a proof, that their anger was, for the time, somewhat appeased. None of the capital points are there touched on ; the breach of the triple league, the French alliance, or the shutting up of the exchequer. The sole grievances mentioned are, an arbitrary imposition on coals for providing convoys, the exercise of martial law, the quartering and pressing of soldiers ; and they prayed, that, after the conclusion of the war, the whole army should be disbanded. The King gave them a gracious, though an evasive, answer.
29th Mar. When business was finished, the two houses ad- journed themselves.
Though the King had receded from his decla- ration of indulgence, and thereby had tacitly relin- quished the dispensing power, he was still resolved, notwithstanding his bad success both at home and abroad, to persevere in his alliance with France, and in the Dutch war, and consequently in all those secret views, whatever they were, which depended on those fatal measures. The money, granted by parliament, sufficed to equip a fleet, of which Prince Rupert was declared admiral : For the Duke was set aside by the test. Sir Edward Sprague and the
Earl
CHARLES II. 507
Earl of Ossory commanded under the Prince. A chap. French squadron joined them, commanded by ^^^• D'Etr^es. The combined fleets set sail towards the
1673.
coast of Holland, and found the enemy, lying at 28th May. anchor, within the sands at Schonvelt. There is a Sea-fight. natural confusion attending sea-fights, even beyond other military transactions, derived from the preca- rious operations of winds and tides, as well as from the smoke and darkness in which every thing is there involved. No wonder, therefore, that accounts of those battles are apt to contain uncertainties and contradictions ; especially when delivered by writers of the hostile nations, who take pleasure in exalting the advantages of their own countrymen, and depressing those of the enemy. All we can say with certainty of this battle is, that both sides boasted of the victory ; and we may thence infer, that the event was not decisive. The Dutch, being near home, retired into their harbours. In a week they were refitted, and presented themselves again to the combined fleets. A new action ensued, not 4th. June. more decisive than the foregoing. It was not fought ^'^'^J^^^^ with great obstinacy on either side ; but whether ^^" ^ the Dutch or the allies first retired, seems to be a matter of uncertainty. The loss in the former of these actions fell chiefly on the French, whom the English, diflident of their intentions, took care to place under their own squadrons ; and they thereby exposed them to all the fire of the enemy. There seems not to have been a ship lost on either side in the second engagement.
It was sufficient glory to De Ruyter, that, with a fleet much inferior to the combined squadrons of France and England, he could fight them without any notable disadvantage ; and it was sufficient vic- tory, that he could defeat the project of a descent in Zealand, which, had it taken place, had endangered, in the present circumstances, the total overthrow
of
508 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, of the Dutch commonwealth. Prince Rupert wa? ''"^^' also suspected not to favour the King's projects for 1673. subduing Holland, or enlarging his authority at home; and from these motives, he was thought not to have pressed so hard on the enemy, as his well- known valour gave reason to expect. It is indeed remarkable, that, during this war, though the Eng- lish, with their allies, much over-matched the Hol- landers, they were not able to gain any advantage over them ; while, in the former war, though often overborne by numbers, they still exerted themselves with the greatest courage, and always acquired great renown, sometimes even signal victories. But they were disgusted at the present measures, which they deemed pernicious to their country ; they were not satisfied in the justice of the quarrel; and they en- tertained a perpetual jealousy of their confederates, whom, had they been permitted, they would, with much more pleasure, have destroyed, than even the enemy themselves.
If Prince Rupert was not favourable to the designs of the court, he enjoyed as little favour from the court, at least from the Duke, who, though he could no longer command the fleet, still possessed the chief authority in the admiralty. The Prince complained of a total want of every thing, powder, shot, pro- visions, beer, and even water; and he went into harbour, that he might refit his ships, and supply their numerous necessities. After some weeks he was refitted, and he again put to sea. The hostile 1 ah Aug. fleets met at the mouth of the Texel, and fought sJa-iigS. ^^^^ ^^^^ battle, which, during the course of so many years, these neighbouring maritime powers have disputed with each other. De Ruyter, and under him Tromp, commanded the Dutch in this action, as in the two former : For the Prince of Orange had reconciled these gallant rivals ; and they retain- ed nothing of their former animosity, except that
emulation.
1673.
CHARLES II. 5Q9
emulation, which made them exert themselves with chap. more distinguished bravery against the enemies of L^^- their country. Brankert was opposed to D'Etrees, " De Ruyter to Prince Rupert, Tromp to Sprague. It is to be remarked, that in all actions these brave admirals last mentioned had still selected each other as the only antagonists worthy each other's valour ; and no decisive advantage had as yet been gained by either of them. They fought in this battle as if there were no mean between death and vic- tory.
D'Etrees and all the French squadron, except Rear- Admiral Martel, kept at a distance, and Bran- kert, instead of attacking them, bore down to the assistance of De Ruyter, who was engaged in furious combat with Prince Rupert. On no occasion did the Prijice acquire more deserved 4ionour : His conduct, as well as valour, shone out with signal lustre. Having disengaged his squadron from the numerous enemies with whom he was every where surrounded, and having joined Sir John Chichley, his rear-admiral, who had been separated from him, he made haste to the relief of Sprague, who was hard pressed by Tromp's squadron. The Royal Prince, in which Sprague first engaged, was so disabled, that he was obliged to hoist his flag on board the St. George ; while Tromp was for a like reason obliged to quit his ship, the Golden Lion, and go on board the Comet. The fight was re- newed with the utmost fury by these valorous rivals, and by the rear-admirals, their seconds. Ossory, rear-admiral to Sprague, was preparing to board Tromp, when he saw the St. George terribly torn, and in a manner disabled. Sprague was leaving her, in order to hoist his flag on board a third ship, and return to the charge ; when a shot, which had passed through the St. George, took his boat, and sunk her. The Admiral was drowned, to the great regret
of
1673.
510 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CiiAV. of Tromp himself, who bestowed on his valour the ^^^- deserved praises.
Prixce Rupert found affairs in this dangerous situation, and saw most of the ships in Sprague's squadron disabled from fight. The engagement however was renewed, and became very close and bloody. The Prince threw the enemy into disorder. To increase it, he sent among them two fire-ships ; and at the same time made a signal to the French to bear down; vv^hich, if they had done, a decisive vic- tory must have ensued ; but the Prince, when he saw that they neglected his signal, and observed that most of his ships were in no condition to keep the sea long, wisely provided for their safety by making easy sail towards the English coast. The victory in this battle was as doubtful, as in all the actions fought during the present war.
The turn which the aff'airs of the Hollanders took by land, was more favourable. The Prince of Orange besieged and took Naerden ; and from this success gave his country reason to hope for still more prosperous enterprises. Montecuculi, who com- manded the Imperialists on the Upper Rhine, de- ceived, by the most artful conduct, the vigilance and penetration of Turenne, and making a sudden march, set down before Bonne. The Prince of Orange's conduct was no less masterly ; while he eluded all the French generals, and leaving them behind him, joined his army to that of the Impe- rialists. Bonne was taken in a few days : Several other places in the electorate of Cologne fell into the hands of the allies : And the communication being thus cut off between France and the United Provinces, Lewis was obliged to recall his forces, and to abandon all his conquests with greater ra- pidity than he had at first made them. The taking of Maestricht was the only advantage which he gained this campaign.
A CONGRESS
CHARLES II. 511
A CONGRESS was opened at Cologne, under the chap. mediation of Sweden ; but with small hopes of sue- ^^^^• cess. The demands of the two Kings were such "77 as must have reduced the Hollanders to perpetual congress servitude. In proportion as the affairs of the States o^ Co- rose, the Kings sunk in their demands ; but the °^"^' States still sunk lower in their offers ; and it was found impossible for the parties ever to agree on any conditions. After the French evacuated Holland, the congress broke up ; and the seizure of Prince William of Furstenburgh by the Imperialists afforded the French and English a good pretence for leaving Cologne. The Dutch ambassadors, in their memo- rials, expressed all the haughtiness and disdain, so natural to a free state, which had met with such unmerited ill usage.
The parliament of Endand was now assembled, 20th Oct. and discovered much greater symptoms of ill hu- ment. mour than had appeared in the last session. They had seen for some time a negotiation of marriage carried on between the Duke of York and the Arch- dutchess of Inspruc, a catholic of the Austrian fa- mily ; and they had made no opposition. But when that negotiation failed, and the Duke applied to a Princess of the house of Modena, then in close alliance with France; this circumstance, joined to so many other grounds of discontent, raised the commons into a flame, and they remonstrated with the greatest zeal against the intended marriage. The King told them, that their remonstrance came too late ; and that the marriage was already agreed on, and even celebrated by proxy. The commons still insisted ; and proceeding to the examination of the other parts of government, they voted the standing army a grievance, and declared, that they would grant no more supply, unless it appeared, that the Dutch were so obstinate as to refuse all reasonable conditions of peace. To cut short these disagreeable
attacks,
512 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAP, attacks, the King resolved to prorogue the parlia-
Lxv. nient ; and with that intention he came unexpect-
~~ edly to the house of peers, and sent the usher to
4th Nov. summon the commons. It happened, that the speaker and the usher nearly met at the door of the house ; but the speaker being within, some of the members suddenly shut the door, and cried, To the chaii\ to the chair ; while others cried. The black rod is at the door. The speaker was hurried to the chair; and the following motions were instantly made: That the alliance with France is a grievance ; That the evil counsellors about the King are a grievance ; That the Duke of Lauderdale is a grievance, and not fit to be trusted or employed. There was a general cry. To the question, to the question : But, the usher knocking violently at the door, the speaker leaped from the chair, and the house rose in great confusion. During the interval, Shaftesbury, whose intrigues with the malecontent party were now become noto- rious, was dismissed from the office of chancellor ; and the great seal was given to Sir Heneage Finch, by the title of lord keeper. The test had incapaci- tated Clifford ; and the white staff was conferred on Sir Thomas Osborne, soon after created Earl of Danby, a minister of abilities, who had risen by his parliamentary talents. Clifford retired into the country, and soon after died, ur^t '^"^ parliament had been prorogued, in order
to give the Duke leisure to finish his marriage ; but the King's necessities soon obliged him again to as- semble them ; and by some popular acts he paved the way for the session. But all his efforts were in vain. The disgust of the commons was fixed in foundations too deep to be easily removed. They began with applications for a general fast ; by which they intimated, that the nation was in a very cala- mitous condition : They addressed against the King's guards, which they represented as dangerous to
liberty,
7th Feb.
1'674.
CHARLES II. 513
liberty, and even as illegal, since they never had yet chap. received the sanction of parliament: They took ^^^• some steps tovv^ards establishing a new and more rigorous test against popery : And, what chiefly alarmed the court, they made an attack on the members of the cabal, to whose pernicious counsels they imputed all their present grievances. Clifford was dead : Shaftesbury had made his peace with the country party, and was become their leader : Buckingham was endeavouring to imitate Shaftes- bury ; but his intentions were as yet known to very few. A motion was therefore made in the house of commons for his impeachment: He desired to be heard at the bar ; but expressed himself in so confused and ambiguous a manner, as gave little satisfaction. He was required to answer precisely to certain queries which they proposed to him. These regarded all the articles of misconduct above mentioned ; and, among the rest, the following query seems remarkable : *' By whose advice was *' the army brought up to overawe the debates and " resolutions of the house of commons?" — This shows to what length the suspicions of the house were at that time carried. Buckingham, in ail his answers, endeavoured to exculpate himself, and to load Arlington. He succeeded not in the former intention : The commons voted an address for his removal. But Arlington, who was on many ac- counts obnoxious to the house, was attacked. Articles were drawn up against him, though the impeachment was never prosecuted.
The King plainly saw that he could expect no supply from the commons for carrying on a war so odious to them. He resolved therefore to make a separate peace with the Dutch, on the terms which they had proposed, through the channel of the Spa- nish ambassador. With a cordiality, which, in the present disposition on both sides, was probably but affected, but which was obliging, he asked advice of
VOL. VII. L L
514 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP, the parliament. The parliament unanimously con-
^^' curred, both in thanks for his gracious condescen-
1674. sion, and in their advice for peace. Peace was
Peace with accordingly concluded. The honour of the flag was yielded to the Dutch in the most extensive terms : A regulation of trade was agreed to : All possessions were restored to the same condition as t3efore the war : The English planters in Surinam were allowed to remove at pleasure : And the States agreed to pay to the King the sum of eight hundred thousand patacoons, near three hundred thousand
8th Feb. pQ^^ds. Four days after the parliament was pro- rogued, the peace was proclaimed in London to the • great joy of the people. Spain had declared that she could no longer remain neuter, if hostilities were continued against Holland ; and a sensible decay of trade was foreseen, in case a rupture should ensue with that kingdom. The prospect of this loss contributed very much to increase the na- tional aversion to the present war, and to enliven the joy for its conclusion.
There was in the French service a great body of English, to the number of ten thousand men, who had acquired honour in every action, and had greatly contributed to the successes of Lewis. These troops, Charles said he was bound by treaty not to recall ; but he obliged himself to the States by a secret article, not to allow them to be recruited. His partiality to France prevented a strict execu- tion of this engagement.
NOTES
TO THE
SEVENTH VOLUME.
NOTE [A], p. 41.
T^HAT Laud's severity was not extreme, appears from this fact, that he caused the acts or records of the high commission court to be searched, and found that there had been fewer suspensions, deprivations, and other punish- ments, by three, during the seven years of his time, than in any seven years of his predecessor. Abbot ; who was notwithstanding in great esteem with the House of Com- mons. Troubles and Trials of Laud, p. 164, But Abbot was little attached to the court, and was also a puritan in doctrine, and bore a mortal hatred to the papists : Not to mention, that the mutinous spirit was rising higher in the time of Laud, and would less bear controul. The maxims, however, of his administration were the same that had ever prevailed in England, and that had place in every other European nation, except Holland, which studied chiefly the interests of commerce, and France, which was fettered by edicts and treaties. To have changed them for the modern maxims of toleration, how reasonable soever, would have been deemed a very bold and dangerous enter- prise. It is a principle advanced by President Montesquieu, that, where the magistrate is satisfied with the established
L L 2 religion.
516 NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
religion, he ought to repress the first attempts towards inno- vation, and only grant a toleration to sects that are dift'used and established. See I'Esprit des Loix, liv. 25. chap. 10. According to this principle, Laud's indulgence to the catholics, and severity to the puritans, would admit of apology. I own, however, that it is very questionable, whether persecution can in any case be justified : But, at the same time, it would be bard to give that appellation to Laud's conduct, who only enforced the act of uniformity, and expelled the clergymen that accepted of benefices, and yet refused to observe the ceremonies, which they pre- viously knew to be enjoined by law. He never refused them separate places of worship ; because they themselves would have esteemed it impious to demand them, and no less impious to allow them.
NOTE [B], p. 68.
T\R. BIRCH has written a treatise on this subject. It ■^"^ is not my business to oppose any facts contained in that gentleman's performance. I shall only produce argu- ments which prove that Glamorgan, when he received his private commission, had injunctions from the King to act altogether in concert with Ormond. (1.) It seems to be implied in the very words of the commission. Gla- morgan is empowered and authorised to treat and conclude with the confederate Roman Catholics in Ireland. " If " upon necessity (any articles) be condescended unto, " wherein the King's Lieutenant cannot so well be seen in, " as not fit for us at present publicly to own." Here no articles are mentioned, which are not fit to be communi- cated to Ormond, but only not fit for him and the King publicly to be seen in, and to avow. (2.) The King's protestation to Ormond ought, both on account of that Prince's character and the reasons he assigns, to have the greatest weight. The words are these : " Ormond, I ** cannot but add to my long letter, that, upon the word " of a Christian, I never intended Glamorgan should treat " any thing without your approbation, much less without " your knowledge^ For besides the injury to you I was
" always
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME. 517
" always diffident of his judgement (though I could not " think him so extremely weak as now to my cost I have " found) ; which you may easily perceive in a postscript " of a letter of mine to you." Carte, vol. ii. App. xxiii. It is impossible that any man of honour, however he might dissemble with his enemies, would assert a falsehood in so solemn a manner to his best friend, especially where that person must have had opportunities of knowing the truth. The letter, whose postscript is mentioned by the King, is to be found in Carte, vol. ii. App. xiii. (3.) As the King had really so low an opinion of Glamorgan's understand- ing, it is very unlikely that he would trust him with the sole management of so important and delicate a treaty. And if he had intended that Glamorgan's negotiation should have been independent of Ormond, he would never have told the latter nobleman of it, nor have put him on his guard against Glamorgan's imprudence. That the King judged aright of this nobleman's character, appears from his Centurif of Arts or Scantling of Inventions, which is a ridiculous compound of lies, chimeras, and im- possibilities, and shows what might be expected from such a man. (4.) Mr. Carte has published a whole series of the King's correspondence with Ormond, from the time that Glamorgan came into Ireland ; and it is evident that Charles all along considers the Lord Lieutenant as the person who was conducting the negotiation with the Irish. The 31st of July, 1645, after the battle of Naseby, being reduced to great straits, he writes earnestly to Ormond to conclude a peace upon certain conditions mentioned, much inferior to those granted by Glamorgan; and to come over himself with all the Irish he could engage in his service. Carte, vol. iii. No. 400. This would have been a great absurdity if he had already fixed a different canal, by which, on very different conditions, he purposed to establish a peace. On the 22dof October, as his distresses multiply, he somewhat enlarges the conditions, though they still fall short of Glamorgan's : A new absurdity ! See Carte, vol. iii. p. 411. (5.) But what is equivalent to a demonstration, that Glamorgan was conscious that he had no power to conclude a treaty on these terms, or without consulting the Lord Lieutenant, and did not even expect that the King would ratify the articles, is the de- feazance which he gave to the Irish couucil at the time of
signing
«
518 NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
signing the treaty. " The Earl of Glamorgan does no " way intend hereby to oblige His Majesty other than he " himself shall please, after he has received these 10,000 " men as a pledge and testimony of the said Roman ca- " tholics' loyalty and fidelity to His Majesty ; yet he pro- ** mises faithfully, upon his word and honour, not to " acquaint His Majesty with this defeazance, till he had
endeavoured, as far as in him lay, to induce His Majesty " to the granting of the particulars in the said articles : '* But, that done, the said commissioners discharge the said *' Earl of Glamorgan, both in honour and conscience, of " any further engagement to them therein ; though His " Majesty should not be pleased to grant the said particu- " lars in the articles mentioned ; the said Earl having given " them assurance, upon his word, honour, and voluntary " oath, that he would never, to any person whatsoever, " discover this defeazance in the interim without their *' consents." Dr. Birch, p. 96. — All Glamorgan's view was to get troops for the King's service without hurting his own honour or his master's. The wonder only is, why the Irish accepted of a treaty, which bound nobody, and which the very person who concludes it, seems to confess he does not expect to be ratified. They probably hoped, that the King would, from their services, be more easily induced to ratify a treaty which was concluded, than to consent to its conclusion. (6.) I might add, that the Lord Lieutenant's concurrence in the treaty was the more requisite ; because without it the treaty could not be car- ried into execution by Glamorgan, nor the Irish troops be transported into England : And even with Ormond's concurrence, it clearly appears, that a treaty, so ruinous to the protestant religon in Ireland, could not be executed in opposition to the zealous protestants in that kingdom. No one can doubt of this truth, who peruses Ormond's correspondence in Mr. Carte. The King was sufficiently appprized of this difficulty. It appears indeed to be the only reason why Ormond objected to the granting of high terms to the Irish catholics.
Dr. Birch, in p. 360, has published a letter of the King's to Glamorgan, where he says, " Howbeit I know " you cannot be but confident of my making good all in- " structions and promises to you and the nuncio." But it is to be remarked, that this letter is dated in April 5,
1646:
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME. 519
1646; after there had been a new negotiation entered into between Glamorgan and the Irish, and after a provisional treaty had even been concluded between them. See Dr. Birch, p. 179. The King's assurances, therefore, can plainly relate only to this recent transaction. The old treaty had long been disavowed by the King, and supposed by all parties to be annulled.
NOTE [C], p. 105.
QALMONET, Ludlow, Hollis, &c. all these, especially •^ the last, being the declared inveterate enemies of Crom- well, are the more to be credited, when they advance any fact, which may serve to apologize for his violent and criminal conduct. There prevails a story, that Cromwell intercepted a letter written to the Queen, where the King said, that he would first raise, and then destroy Cromwell. But, besides that this conduct seems to contradict the cha- racter of the King, it is, on other accounts, totally inuyorthy of credit. It is first told by Roger Coke, a very passionate and foolish historian, who wrote too so late as King Wil- liam's reign ; and even he mentions it only as a mere ru- mour or hearsay, without any known foundation. In the memoirs of Lord Broghill, we meet with another story of an intercepted letter which deserves some more attention, and agrees very well with the narration here given. It is thus related by Mr. Maurice, chaplain to Roger, Earl of Orrery: " Lord Orrery, in the time of his greatness with " Cromwell, just after he had so seasonably relieved him ** in his great distress at Clonmell, riding out of Youghall " one day with him and Ireton, they fell into discourse " about the King's death. Cromwell thereupon said more " than once, that if the King had followed his own judg- " ment, and had been attended by none but trusty servants, " he had fooled them all ; and that once they had a mind " to have closed with him; but, upon something that " happened, fell off from that design. Orrery finding " them in good humour, and being alone with them, " asked, if he might presume to desire to know, why they " would once have closed with His Majesty, and why they
*^ did
520 NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
" did not? Cromwell very freely told him, he would sa- " tisfy him in both his queries. The reason (says he) " why we would have closed with the King was this : We '* found that the Scotch and presbyterians began to be " more powerful than we, and were likely to agree with " him, and leave us in the lurch. For this reason we " thought it best to prevent them, by offering first to come " in upon reasonable conditions : But whilst our thoughts " were taken up with this subject, there came a letter to " us from one of our spies, who was of the King's bed- " chamber, acquainting us that our final doom was de- " creed that very day; that he could not possibly learn " what it was, but we might discover it, if we could but " intercept a letter sent from the King to the Queen, " wherein he informed her of his resolution : that this " letter was sewn up in the skirt of a saddle, and the " bearer of it would come with the saddle upon his head, " about ten of the clock that night to the Blue Boar in *' Holborn, where he was to take horse for Dover. The " messenger knew nothing of the letter in the saddle, " though some in Dover did. W^e were at Windsor " (said Cromwell) when we received this letter, and im- " mediately upon the receipt of it, Ireton and 1 resolved " to take one trusty fellow with us, and to go in trooper's " habits to that inn. We did so ; and leaving our man " at the gate of the inn (which had a wicket only open " to let persons in and out), to watch and give us notice ** when any man came in with a saddle, we went into a " drinking stall. We there continued drinking cans of " beer till about ten of the clock, when our centinel at the " gate gave us notice that the man with the saddle was come. We rose up presently, and just as the man was " leading out his horse saddled^ we came up to him with ** drawn swords, and told him we were to search all that " went in and out there ; but as he looked like an honest ** man, we would only search his saddle, and so dismiss " him. The saddle was ungirt; we carried it into the " stall where we had been drinking, and ripping open one *' of the skirts, we there found the letter we wanted. " Having thus got it into our hands, we delivered the man " (whom we had left with our centinel) his saddle, told " him he was an honest fellow, and bid him go about his " business ; which he did, pursuing his journey without
it
" more
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME. 521
<c
more ado, and ignorant of the harm he had suffered. We " found in the letter, that His Majesty acquainted the " Queen that he was courted by both factions, the Scotch '* presbyterians, and the army ; and that those which bade " the fairest for him should have him : But yet he thought " he should close with the Scots sooner than with the other. '' Upon this, we returned to Windsor ; and finding we were " not like to have good terms from the King, we, from that " time, vowed his destruction." " This relation, suiting " well enough with other passages and circumstances at this " time, I have inserted, to gratify the reader's curiosity." Carte's Ormond, vol. ii. p. 12.
NOTE [D], p. 108.
T^HESE are the words : " Laneric ; I wonder to hear " (if that be true) that some of my friends say, that " my going to Jersey would have much more furthered my " personal treaty, than my coming hither, for which, as I " see no colour of reason, so I had not been here, if I had " thought that fancy true, or had not been secured of a " personal treaty ; of which I neither do, nor I hope will " repent : For I am daily more and more satisfied with the " governor, and find these islanders very good, peaceable, " and quiet people. This encouragement, I have thought " not unfit for you to receive, hoping at least it may do good " upon others, though needless to you." Burnet's Memoirs of Hamilton, p. 326. See also Rushworth, part 4. vol. ii. p. 941. All the writers of that age, except Clarendon, re- present the King's going to the Isle of Wight as voluntary and intended. Perhaps the King thought it little for his credit to be trepanned into this measure, and was more willing to take it on himself as entirely voluntary. Perhaps, he thought it would encourage his friends, if they thought him in a situation which was not disagreeable to him.
NOTE
522 NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
NOTE [E], p. 126.
T'
HE King composed a letter to the Prince, in which he related the whole course of this transaction, and ac- companied his narrative with several wise, as well as pa- thetical reflections and advices. The words with which he concluded the letter, are remarkable. *' By what hath " been said, you see how long I have laboured in the " search of peace : Do not you be disheartened to tread " in the same steps. Use all worthy means to restore " yourself to your rights ; but prefer the way of peace : '' Show the greatness of your mind, rather to conquer ** your enemies by pardoning, than by punishing. If you " saw how unmanly and unchristian the implacable dis- " position is in our ill wishers, you would avoid that spirit. *' Censure me not for having parted with so much of our *' right : The price was great ; but the commodity was '* security to us, peace to our people. And I am con- '' fident that another parliament would remember, how *' useful a King's power is to a people's liberty ; of how^ " much power I divested myself, that I and they might " meet once again in a parliamentary way, in order to " agree the bounds of prince and people. Give belief to my experience, never to affect more greatness or prero- gative, than what is really and intrinsically for the good of the subjects, not the satisfaction of favourites. If you thus use it, you will never want means to be a father to all, and a bountiful Prince to any, whom you incline to be extraordinarily gracious to. You may perceive ihat all men intrust their treasure where it re- turns them interest ; and if a prince, like the sea, re- ceive and repay all the fresh streams, which the rivers intrust with him, they will not grudge, but pride them- selves to make him up an ocean. These considerations may make you as great a Prince as your father is a low " one ; and your state may be so much the more esta- " blished, as mine hath been shaken. For our subjects ** have learned, I dare say, that victories over their princes, " are but triumphs over themselves, and so will more un- " willingly hearken to changes hereafter. The English
'* nation
(e
<(
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME. 523
" nation are a sober people, however at present infatuated. " I know not but this may be the last time I may speak " to you or to the world publicly. I am sensible into what " hands I am fallen ; and yet, I bless God, I have those " inward refreshments, which the malice of my enemies " cannot perturb. I have learned to be busy myself, by " retiring into myself; and therefore can the better digest whatever befals me, not doubting but God's providence will restrain our enemies' power, and turn their fierce- ness into his praise. To conclude, if God give you suc- " cess, use it humbly, and be ever far from revenge. If " he restore you to your right on hard conditions, what- " ever you promise, keep. These men, who have violated " laws which they were bound to preserve, will find their " triumphs full of trouble. But do not you think any " thing in the world worth attaining by foul and unjust " means."
NOTE [F], p. 148.
^HE imputation of insincerity on Charles I. like most party clamours, is difficult to be removed ; though it may not here be improper to say something with regard to it. 1 shall first remark, that this imputation seems to be of a later growth than his own age; and that even his enemies, though they loaded him with many calumnies, did not insist on this accusation. Ludlow, I think, is almost the only parliamentarian, who imputes that vice to him ; and how passionate a writer he is, must be obvious to every one. Neither Clarendon, nor any other of the royalists, ever justify him from insmcerity; as not supposing that he had ever been accused of it. In the second place, his deportment and character in common life was free from that vice : He was reserved, distant, stately; cold in his address, plain in his discourse, inflexible in his principles ; wide of the caressing, insinuating manners of his son ; or the professing, talkative humour of his father. The im- putation of insincerity must be grounded on some of his public actions, which we are therefore in the third place to examine. The following are the only instances which I find cited to confirm that accusation. (1.) His vouching
Buckingham's
524 NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
Buckingham's narrative of the transactions in Spain. — But it is evident that Charles himself vias deceived: Why otherwise did he quarrel with Spain ? The following is a passage of a letter from Lord Kensington, ambassador in France, to the Duke of Buckingham, Cabbala, p. 318. " But His Highness (the Prince) had observed as great a ** weakness and folly as that, in that after they (the " Spaniards) had used him so ill, they would suffer him " to depart, which was one of the first speeches he uttered " after he came into the ship : But did he say so ? said the " Queen (of France). Yes, Madam, I will assure you, " quoth I, from the witness of mine own ears. She " smiled and replied. Indeed I heard he was used ill. So " he was, answered I, but not in his entertainment ; for " that was as splendid as that country could afford it ; " but in their frivolous delays, and in the unreasonable " conditions which they propounded and pressed, upon " the advantage which they had of his princely person." (2.) Bp. Burnett, in his History of the House of Hamilton, p, 154, has preserved a letter of the King's to the Scottish Bishops, in which he desires them not to be present at the parliament, where they would be forced to ratify the abo- lition of their own order : " For," adds the King, " we " do hereby assure you, that it shall be still one of our " chiefest studies how to rectify and establish the govern- *' ment of that church aright, and to repair your losses, *' which we desire you to be most confident of." And in another place, " You may rest secure, that though per- " haps we may give way for the present to that which " will be prejudicial both to the church and our own go- " vernment ; yet we shall not leave thinking in time how " to remedy both." But does the King say that he will arbitrarily revoke his concessions ? Does not candour re- quire us rather to suppose that he hoped his authority would so far recover as to enable him to obtain the national consent to re-establish episcopacy, which he believed so material a part of religion as well as of government? It is not easy indeed to think how he could hope to effect this purpose in any other way than his father had taken, that is, by consent of parliament. (3.) There is a passage in Lord Clarendon ; where it is said, that the King assented the more easily to the bill, which excluded the Bishops from
the
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME. 525
the House of Peers; because he thought, that that law being enacted by force, could not be valid. But the King certainly reasoned right in that conclusion. Three-fourths of the temporal peers were at that time banished by the violence of the populace : Twelve Bishops were unjustly thrown into the tower by the commons. Great numbers of the commons themselves were kept away by fear or violence : The King himself was chased from London. If all this be not force, there is no such thing. But this scruple of the King's affects only the Bishops' bill, and that against pressing. The other constitutional laws had passed without the least appearance of violence, as did indeed all the bills passed during the first year, except Strafford's attainder, which could not be recalled. The parliament, therefore, even if they had known the King's sentiments in this particular, could not, on that account, have had any just foundation of jealousy. (4.) The King's letter inter- cepted at Naseby, has been the source of much clamour. We have spoken of it already in chap. Iviii. Nothing is more usual in all public transactions than such distinctions. After the death of Charles II. of Spain, King William's ambassadors gave the Duke of Anjou the title of King of Spain : Yet at that very time King William was secretly forming alliances to dethrone him: And soon after he refused him that title, and insisted (as he had reason) that he had not acknowledged his right. Yet King William justly passes for a very sincere Prince ; and this transaction is not regarded as any objection to his character in that par- ticular. In all the negotiations at the peace of Ryswic, the French ambassadors always addressed King William as King of England ; yet it was made an express article of the treaty, that the French King should acknowledge him as such. Such a palpable difference is there between giving a title to a Prince, and positively recognising his right to it. I may add, that Charles, when he inserted that protestation in the council-books before his council, surely thought he had reason to justify his conduct. There were too many men of honour in that company to avow a palpable cheat. To which we may subjoin, that if men were as much disposed to judge of this Prince's actions with candour as severity, this precaution of entering a protest in his council-books might rather pass for a proof of scrupulous honour ; lest he should afterwards be reproached with breach of his word,
when
526 NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
when he should think proper again to declare the assembly at Westminster no parliament. (5.) The denying of his commission to Glamorgan is another instance which has been cited. This matter has been already treated in a note to chap. Iviii. That transaction was entirely innocent. Even if the King had given a commission to Glamorgan to conclude that treaty, and had ratified it, will any reasonable man in our age think it strange, that, in order to save his own life, his crown, his family, his friends, and his party, he should make a treaty with papists, and grantthem very large concessions for their religion ? (6.) There is another of the King's intercepted letters to the Queen commonly mentioned ; where it is pretended, he talked of raising and then destroy- ing Cromwell : But that story stands on no manner of foun- dation, as]we have observed in a preceding note to this chapter. In a word, the parliament, after the commencement of their violences, and still more, after beginning the civil war, had reason for their scruples and jealousies, founded on the very nature of their situation, and on the general propensity of the human mind ; not on any fault of the King's cha- racter ; who was candid, sincere, upright, as much as any man whom we meet with in history. Perhaps it would be difficult to find another character so unexceptionable in this particular.
As to the other circumstances of Charles's character, chiefly exclaimed against, namely, his arbitrary principles in government, one may venture to assert, that the greatest enemies of this Prince will not find, in the long line of his predecessors, from the Conquest to his time, any one King, except perhaps his father, whose administration was not more arbitrary and less legal, or whose conduct could have been recommended to him by the popular party them- selves, as a model, in this particular, for his government. Nor is it sufficient to say, that example and precedent can never authorise vices : Examples and precedents, uniform and ancient, can surely fix the nature of any constitution, and the limits of any form of government. There is indeed no other principle by which those land-marks or boundaries can be settled.
What a paradox in human afi'airs, that Henry VIII. should have been almost adored in his life-time, and his memory be respected : While Charles I. should, by the
same
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME. 527
same people, at no greater distance than a century, have been led to a public and ignominious execution, and his name be ever after pursued by falsehood and by obloquy ! Even at present, an historian who, prompted by his cou- rageous generosity, should venture, though from the most authentic and undisputed facts, to vindicate the fame of that prince, would be sure to meet with such treatment, as would discourage even the boldest from so dangerous, however splendid an enterprize.
NOTE [G], p. 166.
T^HE following instance of extravagance is given by Walker, in his History of Independency, Part II. p. 152. About this time, there came six soldiers into the parish church of Walton upon Thames, near twilight; Mr. Faucet, the preacher there, not having till then ended his sermon. One of the soldiers had a lanthorn in his hand, and a candle burning in it, and in the other hand four candles not lighted. He desired the parishioners to stay a while, saying, he had a message from God unto them, and thereupon offered to go into the pulpit. But the people refusing to give him leave so to do, or to stay in the church, he went into the church-yard, and there told them that he had a vision, wherein he had received a command from God to deliver his will unto them, which he was to deliver, and they to receive, upon pain of damnation; con- sisting of five lights. (1.) " That the sabbath was abo- *' lished as unnecessary, Jewish, and merely ceremonial. And here (quoth he) I should put out the first light, " but the wind is so high I cannot kindle it. (2.) That " tithes are abolished as Jewish and ceremonial, a great " burden to the saints of God, and a discouragement of ** industry and tillage. And here I should put out my " second light, &c. (3.) That ministers are abolished as " antichristian, and of no longer use, now Christ himself *' descends into the hearts of his saints, and his spirit enlight- " eneth them with revelations and inspirations. And here " I should put out my third light, &c. (4.) Magistrates " are abolished as useless, now that Christ himself is " in purity amongst us, and hath erected the kingdom
" of
((
528
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
t{
of the saints upon earth. Besides, they are tyrants and " oppressors of the liberty of the saints, and tie them to " laws and ordinances, mere hnman inventions. And " here 1 should put out my fourth light, &c. (5.) Then '' putting his hand into his pocket, and pulling out a little " Bible, he showed it open to the people, saying. Here is " a book you have in great veneration, consisting of two " parts, the Old and New Testament: I must tell you it is "abolished; it containeth beggarly rudiments, milk for " babes : But now Christ is in glory amongst us, and imparts " a farther measure of his spirit to his saints than this can " afford, I am commanded to burn it before your face, '* Then putting out the candle, he said, and here my fifth *' light is extinguished." It became a pretty common doctrine at that time, that it was unworthy of a Christian man to pay rent to his fellow-creatures ; and landlords were obliged to use all the penalties of law against their tenants, whose conscience was scrupulous.
NOTE [H], p. 205.
W^
HEN the Earl of Derby was alive, he had been sum- moned by Ireton to surrender the Isle of Man ; and he returned this spirited and memorable answ er : " I re- " ceived your letter with indignation, and with scorn return " you this answer; that I cannot but wonder whence you " should gather any hopes, that I should prove, like you, *' treacherous to my sovereign ; since you cannot be igno- " rant of my former actions in His late Majesty's service, " from which principles of loyalty I am no whit departed. " I scorn your proffers ; I disdain your favour ; I abhor *' your treason ; and am so far from delivering up this " island to your advantage, that I shall keep it to the utmost " of my power to your destruction. Take this for your " final answer, and forbear any farther solicitations ; for if '* you trouble me with any more messages of this nature, I *' will burn the paper and hang up the bearer. This is the " immutable resolution, and shall be the undoubted prac- " tice of him, who accounts it his chiefest glory to be His " Majesty's most loyal and obedient subject,
"Derby."
NOTE
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME. 529
NOTE [I], p, 208.
TT had been a usual policy of the Prebysterian eccle- siastics to settle a chaplain in the great families, who acted as a spy upon his master, and gave them intelligence of the most private transactions and discourses of the family. A signal instance of priestly tyranny, and the subjection of the nobility ! They even obliged the servants to give intelligence against their masters. VVhitlocke, p. 502. The same author, p. 512, tells the following story. The synod meeting at Perth, and citing the mi- nisters and people, who had expressed a dislike of their heavenly government, the men being out of the way, their wives resolved to answer for them. And, on the day of appearance, 120 women, with good clubs in their hands, came and besieged the church, where the reverend minis- ters sat. They sent one of their number to treat with the females, and he threatening excommunication, they basted him for his labour, kept him prisoner, and sent a party of 60, who routed the rest of the clergy, bruised their bodies sorely, and took all their baggage and 12 horses. One of the ministers, after a mile's running, taking all . creatures for his foes, meeting with a soldier, fell on his knees, who knowing nothing of the matter, asked the black-coat what he meant .? The female conquerors, hav- ing laid hold of the synod clerk, beat him till he forswore his office. Thirteen ministers rallied about four miles from the place, and voted that this village should never more have a synod in it, but be accursed ; and that though in the year 1638 and 1639, the godlywomen were cried up for stoning the bishops, yet now the whole sex should be esteemed wicked.
NOTE [K], p. 264.
A BOUT this time an accident had almost robbed the "^^ Protector of his life, and saved his enemies the trouble of all their machinations. Having got six fine Friesland coach-horses as a present from the Count of Ol- denburgh, he undertook for his amusement to diive them
VOL. VII. M M
530
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
about Hyde-park ; his secretary, Thurloe, being in the coach. The horses were startled and ran away : He was unable to command them or keep the box. He fell upon the pole, was dragged upon the ground for some time ; a pistol, which he carried in his pocket, went off; and by that singular good fortune, which ever attended him, he was taken up without any considerable hurt or bruise.
NOTE [L], p. 322.
A FTER Monk's declaration for a free parliament on the eleventh of February, he could mean nothing but the King's restoration: Yet it was long before he would open himself even to the King. This declaration was within eight days after his arrival in London. Had he ever intended to have set up for himself, he would not surely have so soon abandoned a project so inviting. He would have taken some steps which would have betrayed it. It could only have been some dissappointment, some frustrated attempt, which could have made him renounce the road of private ambition. But there is not the least symptom of such intentions. The story told of Sir An- thony Ashley Cooper, by Mr. Locke, has not any appear- ance of truth. See Lord Lansdown's Vindication, and Philips's Continuation of Baker. I shall add to what those authors have advanced, that Cardinal Mazarine wished for the King's restoration ; though he would not have ventured much to have procured it.
NOTE [M], p. 425.
nPHE articles were, that he had advised the King to govern by military power without parliaments, that he had affirmed the King to be a papist or popishly af- fected, that he had received great sums of money for pro- curing the Canary patent and other illegal patents, that he had advised and procured divers of His Majesty's subjects to be imprisoned against law, in remote islands and gar- risons, thereby to prevent their having the benefit of the law, that he had procured the customs to be farmed at under rates, that he had received great sums from the Vintners' company, for allowing them to enhance the
price
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME. 531
price of wines, that he had in a short time gained a greater estate than could have been supposed to arise from the profits of his offices, that he had introduced an arbi- trary government into his Majesty's plantations, that he had rejected a proposal for the preservation of Nevis and St. Christopher's, which was the occasion of great losses in those parts, that when he was in his Majesty's service beyond sea, he held a correspondence with Cromwell and his accomplices, that he advised the sale of Dunkirk, that he had unduly altered letters patent under the King's seal, that he had unduly decided causes in council, which should have been brought before chancery, that he had issued quo warrautos against the corporations with an in- tention of squeezing money from them, that he had taken money for passing the bill of settlement in Ireland, that he betrayed the nation in all foreign treaties, and that he was the principal adviser of dividing the fleet in June 1666.
NOTE [N], p. 455.
^^HE abstract of the report of the Brook-house com- mittee (so that committee was called) was first pub- lished by Mr. Ralph, vol. i. p. 177, from Lord Hallifax's collections, to which I refer. If we peruse their apo- logy, which we find in the subsequent page of the same author, we shall find that they acted with some malignity towards the King. They would take notice of no ser- vices performed before the 1st of September 1664. But all the King's preparations preceded that date, and, as Chancellor Clarendon told the parliament, amounted to eight hundred thousand pounds ; and the computation is very probable. This sum, therefore, must be added. The committee likewise charged seven hundred thousand pounds to the King on account of the winter and summer guaids, saved durmg two years and ten months that the war lasted. But this seems iniquitous. For though that was an usual burthen on the revenue, which was then saved ; would not the diminution of the customs during the war, be an equivalent to it ? Besides, near three hun- dred and forty thousand pounds are charged for prize- money, which perhaps the King thought he ought not to account for. 'hiese sums exceed the million and a half.
NOTE
532 NOTES TO THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
NOTE [O], p. 463.
I^OURVILLE has said in his Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 14- ^■^ 67, that Charles was never sincere in the triple al- liance; and that, having entertained a violent animosity against De Wit, he endeavoured by this artifice to detach him from the French alliance, with a view of afterwards finding an opportunity to satiate his vengeance upon him. This account, though very little honourable to the King's memory, seems probable from events, as well as from the authority of the author.
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END OF THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
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