to effect all their purposes, halted at St. Alban's, and entered into negociation with their masters.

The army, in their usurpations on the parliament, copied exactly the model which the parliament had set them, in their recent usurpations on the crown. Every day they rose in their demands, and one concession only paved the way to another still more exorbitant. At last, seeing no danger of resistance, in order to save appearances, they removed to a greater distance from London, and fixed their head-quarters at Reading.

Charles, who was constantly carried with them, found his situation much more comfortable than at Holdenby. His friends and children were allowed access to him, and both Cromwell and the parliament paid court to him; and so confident did he appear that all parties would find it for their interest to have recourse to his lawful authority, that on several occasions he observed, "You cannot be without me, you cannot settle the nation but by my assistance."

Charles, however, though he wished to hold the balance between the opposite factions, placed his chief reliance on the army at this period; and to bring it over to his interest, he made the most splendid offers to Cromwell and Ireton. The former seemed to listen to his proposals, but probably he had already conceived views of higher ambition than to be the first of subjects.

Cromwell systematically pursued his plan of humbling the parliament, and of being left in England without a competitor. A petition being presented by the apprentices and seditious multitude, against some decrees of parliament, and the house being obliged to retract its votes, VOL. XX.

X

the army, under pretence of restoring both houses to liberty, advanced to Hounslow, where Manchester and Lenthal, the two speakers, having secretly retired, by collusion, presented themselves with all the ensigns of their dignity, and complained of the violence that had been put upon them.

The two speakers were gladly received, and being conducted to Westminster by a military force, every act which had passed in their absence was annulled; and the party which espoused the interests of the army became completely triumphant.

The generals having now established their do minion over the city and parliament, ventured to bring the king to Hampton-Court; but, finding his prospects daily became worse, from the insolence of the agitators, which rose in propor tion to their success, and despairing of bringing Cromwell over to his views, he adopted the sudden and impolitic resolution of withdrawing, attended only by sir John Berkely, Ashburnham, and Legge. Next day he reached Tichfield; but, sensible that he could not long remain concealed there, he imprudently committed himself into the hands of Hammond, governor of the Isle of Wight, a mere creature of Cromwell's, by whom he was carried to Carisbrooke castle, and confined a prisoner, though treated with the externals of duty and respect.

Cromwell, now free from all anxiety in regard to the custody of the king's person, and awed by no authority, applied himself seriously to quell the disorders of the army, which himself had so diligently raised. He issued orders for discontinuing the meetings of the agitators; but these levellers, as they were called, making a show of resistance, Cromwell, in a moment of a review, seized the ringleaders before their companions, caused one mutineer to be shot instantly, and struck such terror into the rest, that they quietly returned to discipline and obedience.

Cromwell, who paid great deference to the counsels of Ireton, a man who had grafted the soldier on the lawyer, and the statesman on the saint, by his suggestion called a council of officers at Windsor, where they first opened the daring design of bringing their sovereign to condign • punishment for mal-administration. But the time for carrying this into execution was not yet arrived, though it was hastened by the intemperance of parliament, whose motions Cromwell directed.

That assembly, in their transactions with Charles, no longer paid any regard to reason or equity. They transmitted him four proposals, to which he was to give his positive assent before they would deign to treat. The first was, that he should invest parliament with the military power for twenty years; the second, that he should recal all his proclamations and declarations against the parliament, and acknowledge that they had taken up arms in their just and necessary defence; the third, that he should annul all the acts, and void all the patents of peerage which had passed the great seal since the commencement of the civil wars; and the fourth was, that he should give the two houses liberty to adjourn as they thought proper.

Charles, though a prisoner, regarded these demands as exorbitant, especially as there was

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1648.

no security that these concessions should lead to any final settlement. The repub

licans took fire at this remark; and Cromwell, after expatiating on the valour and godliness of the army, added, "Teach them not, by your neglecting your own safety and that of the kingdom, to imagine themselves betrayed, and their interests abandoned 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."

Ninety-one members, however, had still the virtue and the courage to oppose this military threat; but the majority decided, that no more addresses were to be made to the king, and that it should be high-treason for any person to correspond with him without a licence from parlia

ment.

By this vote the king was actually dethroned; but the parliament and the army enjoyed not in tranquillity that power which, with so much injustice and violence, they had obtained.

The Scots, alarmed at the subjection of parliament to the army, and the confinement of the king, had resolved to arm 40,000 men in support of their native prince, and secretly entered into correspondence with the English royalists, who excited insurrections in several parts of the kingdom. At the same time, seventeen ships lying at the mouth of the river, declared for the king, and setting their admiral ashore, sailed to Holland, where the prince of Wales took the command of them.

Cromwell and his military council, however, prepared themselves with vigour and conduct for defence; and, during this interval, parliament having regained some share of liberty, repealed the vote for non-addressing, and five peers and ten commoners were sent to Newport in the Isle of Wight, as commissioners to treat with Charles.

From the time that the king had been a prisoner he had totally neglected his person; his beard was suffered to grow long, and his hair, either from the decline of years, or the load of sorrow with which he was oppressed, was turned quite grey. But the vigour of his mind was still unbroken; and alone and unsupported for two months, he maintained an argument against fif teen men of the greatest parts and capacity in both houses, without suffering any advantage to be taken of him. He offered to recal all his proclamations, and to acknowledge that parliament had taken arms in their own defence; he agreed that assembly should retain for twenty years the power over the militia and the army, and of levying what money they pleased, with the liberty to fill all the great offices of state; but two demands he positively resisted. He would neither give up his friends to punishment, nor agree to abolish episcopacy, though he was willing to temper it.

Meanwhile, Hamilton having entered England with a numerous, but undisciplined army, Cromwell did not hesitate to attack him with far inferior forces; and having put his troops to the route, and forced him to surrender, followed up his advantage, and in his turn entered Scotland, where he exercised the most tyrannical power,