falling off again as hath already been observed He became so strangely elated that nothing then to be done could give satisfaction to his ambitious and unlimited desires But here I shall also observe that notwithstanding the strong factions into which these men were then divided had begot a perfect hatred of each to other as the many printed pamphlets then spread abroad do sufficiently shew Nevertheless for the utter eradicating of the Religion by Law establish'd in the Church of England which themselves had at first 3. May 1641. solemnly protested to maintain about this time they all agree'd together in framing an Ordinance for the establishing of Presbytery containing a particular form and order of church-Church-government in their congregational Classical Provincial and National Assemblies In which the Lay Elders constituted at that time in all the Parishes throughout the City of London are expresly nominated with direction for the setling of all others throughout England and Wales and limitation of their powers unto the sharp and rigorous penalties whereof all conscientious and orthodox Protestants of the Church of England were to be subject but the Independent brood consisting of all sorts of Schismaticks and Sectaries under the notion of Godly-men and tender conscienced to be at liberty ¶ And now to proceed As I have already taken notice that a personal Treaty with the King was voted by the Members at Westminster I shall here observe that all things being prepared for the same it began at Newport in the Isle of Wight upon the 18th of September the chief persons permitted to attend his Majesty there being these the Duke of Richmond the Marquess of Hertford the Earl of Lindsey and Earl of Southampton Gentlemen of his Bedchamber the Bishops of London and Salisbury Dr. Sheldon Dr. Hamond Dr. Oldsworth Dr. Sanderson Dr. Turner and Dr. Heywood Chaplains Sir Thomas Gardner Sir Orlando Bridgman Sir Robert Holburne Mr. Gessrey Palmer Mr. Thomas Cooke and Mr. Iohn Vaughan Lawyers The Members at Westminster imploying these the Earls of Northumberland Salisbury Middlesex the Viscount Say the Lord Wenman Denzil Holles and William Pierpont Esquires Sir Henry Vane junior Sir Harbotle Grymston Mr. Samuel Brown Sir Iohn Potts Mr. Crew Serjeant Glyn and Mr. Bulkley These other Divines for the King being afterwards added viz. Dr. Iames Vsher Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland and Dr. Ferne And for the Parliament Mr. Stephen Marshal Mr. Richard Vines Mr. Lazarus Seaman and Mr. Ioseph Caryll But withall as it is now most evident to the world that there was never any real purpose on the part of the Grandees at Westminster that the Treaty formerly at Uxbridge should take any good effect so was there less expectation here the King being then their prisoner and all his forces come to nothing for though they then gave way to this Treaty they were at that very time contriving and framing the formality of his absolute destruction of which the symptoms were visible enough during the whole continuance of that Treaty by sundry Petitions to the Members at Westminster all declaming bitterly against it Which Petitions as 't is well known were first fram'd by the Grandees themselves and then sent amongst the people to be subscribed according to their usual practice In most whereof it was desired that all Delinquents without exception might be brought to condigne punishment one whereof concluding thus from Psalm 149. ver 6 7 8 and 9. Let the high prayses of God be in the mouths of his Saints and a twofold 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 Iudgments written This Honour have all his Saints Besides it is farther to be observ'd that after the destruction of this Scottish-Army at Preston and the reducing of Colchester Cromwell went into Scotland where he not onely laid the plot with the Marquess of Argyle for the destruction of the King and extirpation of Monarchy but by his help in the contrivance of that unparalel'd murther agree'd in the formalities conducing thereto ¶ And now as to this Treaty in the Isle of Wight 't is sufficiently known that it was on His Majestie 's part totally and singly managed by himself against all those subtile persons above-mentioned the Houses at Westminster not permitting him to have any assistant therein either Divines or others Also that it was perform'd by him with so much judgment gravity meekness and curtesie as not onely much astonisht but made converts of some that had been his greatest Enemies and were then his Antagonists there Wherein to manifest his earnest desires for the peace of those distracted Realms he was contented to devest himself totally in effect of his own Regal power for life and to trust those insatiable men with the exercise thereof as is apparently to be seen by the particular Articles then assented to by him viz. 1. As to the Militia he consented thereto as 't was required by their Proposition 2. For Episcopacy though he could not consent to the utter abolishing thereof yet he offered that it might be regulated and reduced to the primative usage and so setled and continued in the Church And in order thereto that it might be enacted that the Bishops should not act without the Council and assistance of the Presbyters in the exercises of Ordination and Iurisdiction and therefore desired the consent of the Houses in the one that he might the more freely give his assent unto the other Offering to lessen the extent or multiply the number of the Diocesses as should be agreed upon by both Houses 3. As to Bishops lands that he could not consent to the alienation of them but offred what he had done before for satisfaction of the Purchasers and Contracters which was for the enjoyment of them for a certain time being therein seconded by the opinion of many Divines who differ in other things that the alienation of them would be no less than Sacriledge 4. That he would confirm their Ordinance for the calling and sitting of the Assembly of Divines 5. That he would confirm the form of Church-government presented to him with the Directory and repeal those Statutes which enjoyn'd the use of Common Prayer and all this for three years provided that a consultation should be had between the Assembly of Divines and twenty of His Majestie 's nomination added to them in the mean time for the farther setling of the Church at the end of those three years and that Himself and His might have the use of the Comâ—â—prayer But for the new Articles of Religion His Majesty haveing not had time sufficient as yet for consideration of so weighty matters as concern Faith and Doctrine desired that that part of the Proposition might for the present be omitted 6. That he would confirm the Ordinance for â—wordsâ— better observation of the Lord's day provided that
if it ever came to the question his party in the House being then too weak for the other that having first sent his Souldiers to shut up the Parliament doors and to signifie to the Members that he would meet them again in the Painted-Chamber he came thither accordingly and with a stern but troubled Countenance said that at his last being there he did acquaint them with the Rise of that Government which had so call'd him thither and with the Authority thereof as also that he then acknowledg'd they were a free Parliament And so you are quoth he whilst you own the Government and Authority which call'd you hither But discerning what they drove at which toucht him so near he farther plainly told them that he now came to magnifie his Office which before he had not been apt to do saying that if God would not bear it up let it sink Adding also that if a duty were incumbent on him to bear his own testimony unto it which in modesty he had till then forborn he was in some measure necessitated thereunto Then he went on and affirmed that he called not himself to that place but that his calling was from God and the people of these Nations and that his calling being such God and the people should take it from him else he would not part with it To manifest therefore that such was his Call he proceeded and said that being a Gentleman by birth he had been called to several imployments in the Nation First in Parliament then in the late Wars Which being ended by that great Victory at Worcester he said he did hope to have god leave for retiring to a private life and beg'd again and again to be dismissed of his charge calling God above as witness thereto but expressing that he could not therein obtain what his Soul long'd for And farther added that he pressed the Parliament as a Member to put a period to themselves again and again nay ten and twenty times over and said that he told them that the Nation loathed their sitting and that so far as he could discern that when they were dissolved there was no visible repining at it no not so much as the Barking of a Dog Affirming that they aim'd to have perpetuated their sitting to the Worlds end and that under their arbitrary power poor men were driven like flocks of sheep to confiscation of goods and estates Also that the seeming remedy which those Members then offered was to have had a succession of Parliaments always sitting whereby the Liberties Int'rests and Lives of the People should still have been judg'd by an arbitrary power Likewise that the remedy by so dissolving them as they had been was fitted to the disease And that thereupon he desiring to see if a few called together for some short space of time might not put the Nation into some way of certain settlement he therefore called those persons together out of the several parts of the Nation and this he did that he might have had an opportunity to lay down the Power which was then in his hands wherein he appealed to God as he said before persons who knew God and what Conscience was as also what it was to Lye before God A desire he said sinful enough he was afraid to be quit of that Power which God had most providentially put into his hands before he called for it again and before those honest ends of their fighting were attained and setled he being by Act of Parliament General of all the Forces in England Scotland and Ireland But that meeting not answering the hopes of it and they bringing him an Instrument of Resignation of that Authority so placed upon them whereof he professed he knew nothing before it was brought and tendred to him he was then exceedingly to seek what to do his Power then being as General of all the Forces in the three Nations as boundless as before At length therefore as he said divers Gentlemen consulting seriously together did frame that model of the then present Government he being not at all privy to their Councils and having so done told him that except he would undertake the same Blood and Confusion for lack of a settlement would break in upon them Yet nevertheless that notwithstanding this their offer he denyed it again and again till at length weighing that it did not put him into an higher capacity than he was in before being also bounded and limited as appeared by the Instrument he then accepted it instancing the publick formality of that his acceptance in the great Hall at Westminster and in the presence of the then Lord Mayor of London Aldermen c. and divers Persons of quality Adding that what he had then expressed was a Narrative discovering to them the series of Providence and Transaction which had led him into that condition Then he went on and said that he did not bear witness to himself being far from alluding to him that said so but that he had a cloud of witnesses instancing the Officers of the Armies in the three Nations as appeared by their respective Remonstrances and the consent of those persons that had somewhat to do in the World who had been instrumental by God to fight down the Enemies of God and his People in the three Nations Likewise that for farther witness he had the City of London manifested by their congratulatory Entertainment of him at Grocers-Hall upon Ashwednesday 1653. And of the Grand-Iuries from several Counties Also of the Iudges who received Commissions from him and all the Iustices of Peace in England Nay all the People in England he said were his Witnesses and many in Ireland and Scotland Moreover all the Shireeves and all that came in upon Processes Issued out by the Shireeves yea the return of Elections to the Clerk of the Crown by the Inhabitants of all the Counties Cities and Boroughs and lastly themselves as returned upon those Elections the Instrument of Government being distinctly read at all places of such Elections wherein was that special proviso viz. that the persons so chose should not have power to alter the Government as then setled in one single Person and a Parliament Farther adding that he was then in possession of the Government by a good right from God and Men and that he did not know why he might not ballance that providence as in the sight of God with any Hereditary-Int'rest as being less subject to those cracks and flaws they are commonly incident to and which had cost so much Blood He told them likewise what Liberty of Conscience they had by that Government and that all the Money of this Nation would not have tempted men to fight if they had not had hopes of Liberty better than from Episcopacy or Presbytery Concluding that considering that this Government was thus owned of God approved by men and testified to as afore hath been said that in relation to the good of these Nations and
whose endeavours were to kindle that combustion in England which they had in so great a measure effected in Ireland and which nothing could do as they said but the granting that Petition Which Petition together with an Ordinance of both Houses setting forth a most dangerous and desperate design upon the House of Commons and many discoveries importing fears of rebellious Insurrections by Papists and other ill affected persons in this Kingdom they then exhibited Whose answer thereunto being that for the City of London and other Corporations which by any antient Charters had power of ordering the Militia he conceiv'd it unfit to alter their government but that he could not consent to the indefinite time propounded for this Posture Whereupon they forthwith voted this Answer to be a flat denial and that his Majesties advisers thereto were Enemies to the State and mischeivous Projectors against the defence of the Kingdom Also that this denial was of such dangerous consequence that it would hazard the peace and safety of all his Kingdoms unless some speedy remedy were applyed by the Parliament And immediately dispatch'd another Petition to his Majesty then at Theobalds wherein they protested that if he did not speedily pass his assent to the satisfaction of their desires they should be inforced by authority of both Houses to dispose thereof and that they did accordingly so resolve to do Farther voting that the Kingdom should be forthwith put into a Posture of defence by Authority of both Houses that the Navy should be speedily rigg'd and a Declaration of their just Fears and Jealousies speedily drawn up with the grounds of their former votes for putting the Kingdom into a Posture by authority of both Houses to clear the Parliament of all mistrusts And to carry out all this under colour of the Peoples desires New Petitions were brought from several Counties viz. one from Staffordsh pretending such dread of the Papists rising there that every man was constrain'd to stand upon his Guard not daring to go to Church unarm'd Others from Worcestersh Berksh Norfolk Norwich Lynne Royston Salop all of them earnestly desiring this Posture of Defence And the very next day the Ordinance for ordering the Militia of the Kingdom by authority of both Houses sent to his Majesty 22 Febr. was assented to by the Lords and thereupon new Lieutenants were assign'd throughout all England and Wales And having in a grand Committee at Merchant-Taylers Hall contrived the Declaration mention'd in their Votes of March the second wherein they made a very great noise of a design to alter Religion in this Kingdom and that the wars with Scotland and Ireland were framed to that end they presented the same to his Majesty at Newmarket within few days after voting the King's Commissions of Lieutenancies in the several Counties illegal as also that there was an urgent and inevitable Necessity for putting his Majesties Subjects into a Posture of Defence and that the Ordinances of both Houses for the Militia being obliging to the People ought to be obeyed by the Fundamental Laws of this Kingdom And lastly that the Earl of Warwick should be appointed Vice-Admiral of his Majesties Ships And having now by these their exorbitant courses together with the Tumults so much endangered his Majesties Royal person that he was forced for safety of himself and the Prince to retire into the North they voted that they would go on with their former Votes concerning the Militia Also that when the Lords and Commons in Parliament should declare what the Laws of the Land be to Question it was a high breach of the Privilege of Parliament After this within few days they sent a Petition to York which was there presented to his Majesty by the Lord Willoughby of Parham and others wherein they alledged that his Majesties denial to their petition for disposing the Militia was a great hinderance to their other proceedings and justified the Tumults at Westminster by taxing his Majesty with denial of such a Guard to them as they might confide in aspersing his Government for many continued Acts of violation of Laws c. And to keep the people still awake by allarming them with new dangers they caused Letters to be read in the House which were said to come from Amsterdam intimating intelligence from Denmark of a great Army ready prepared there to be transported for England and to land at Hull upon some dangerous enterprize The like Letter pretended to come from Newmarket then produced and another from France Whereupon having receiv'd a Petition from the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Common-Council of London in which great Thanks was given to the House for ordering the Militia of the City as they had done with their resolutions therein signified to obey the same As also another from the Cinque-Ports desiring that those places might be strongly guarded and fortified and the Kingdom put into a Posture they ordered that every of his Majesties Forts and Castles should be presently fortified with an Hundred men of the Trained Bands next adjoining to them and ten pieces of Ordinance to each place Also that no Forces should be admitted into Hull without the consent of the Lords and Commons and that Instructions should be sent thither for the farther fortifying of that place Likewise upon another pretended discovery made by one Mr. Cartwright and the Speaker of the House of Commons that they were advertised by Letters from France of an Army preparing there to come for England or Ireland the Lords sent a message to the Commons to let them know that they had designed the Earl of Warwick Vice-Admiral of the Fleet. Whereupon both Houses joyn'd in a Message to the King to inform him of the grounds and reasons of their sending out that Earl as Vice-Admiral without his Majesties consent The King therefore discerning that they had got the Royal Navy into their hands thought it high time to make sure of his Magazine which had been laid up at Hull about two years before part for the service of Ireland and the rest for the security of the North and accordingly rode from York thither for the disposal thereof But when he came to the Gates of that Town Sir Iohn Hotham a member of the House of Commons being a confiding man with the factious party there and by their contrivance got privately thither with Souldiers refused him entrance affirming that in so doing he had the authority of Parliament to bear him out For which insolent act he was declared traiterous by his Majesty and by a special Message so signifyed to both Houses with demand of Justice against him according to the Laws But instead thereof they forthwith not only publish'd a bold Declaration with Votes and order of assistance in the name of both Houses of Parliament justifying Hotham therein
make him increase his plagues upon us and to punish us seven times more because we continue to walk contrary unto him 2. That the Lord's hand is still stretched out against us in the Iudgment of the Pestilence which spreads not onely in several parts of the Country but continueth and increaseth in many of the most eminent Cities of the Kingdome 3. The great danger that threatens Religion and the work of Reformation in these Kingdomes for the number power and policy of the Secretaries in England which are like not onely to interupt the progress of uniformity and the establishment of the Ordinances of God in their beauty and perfection but to overturn the foundation already laid and all that hath been built thereupon with the expence of so much bloud and pains And therefore we are earnestly to pray to the Lord that the solemn League and Covenant may be kept fast and inviolable notwithstanding all the purposes and endeavours of open Enemies and secret underminigs to the contrary We are to intreat the Lord on the behalf of the King's Majesty that he may be reconcil'd to God and that he may be now furnished with wisdome and councill from above that he be not involved in new snares to the endangering of himself and these Kingdomes but that his Heart may incline to such resolutions as will contribute for setling of Religion and Righteousness We are also to intreat the Lord on the behalf of the Parliament of England of the Synod of Divines and of all such in that Land as do unfeignedly mind the work of God that they may not be discouraged nor swerve in the day of temptation but that every of them in their Stations and according to their places and callings may be furnished with Light and Strength from Heaven for doing of their duty with faithfulness and zeal We are to supplicate for direction to our Committee of Estates that they may discern the times and know what is fitting to be done for securing our selves and encouraging our Brethren We are to pray for a Spirit of Light of Love unto our Assembly that they may be instrumental in preserving Truth and advancing Holiness amongst our selves and for carrying on the work of God amongst our Neighbours That the Lord would pour out upon all sorts of persons in these Kingdomes a Spirit of Grace and Supplication that it may repent us of all our Iniquities and that we may be reconcil'd unto the Lord that so all tokens of his wrath may be removed from amongst us and he may bless us with the sweet fruits of Truth and Peace It cannot easily be thought but that the Scots did somewhat more than fast and pray considering the desperate condition wherein their Covenanting-Brethren especially at Westminster and in London then stood and that the great work of Reformation as they call'd it lay in such hazard But at such a distance what more could soon be expected than that they should by the help of the zealous Preachers earnestly incite the Covenanters in London to bestir themselves and put more courage into those drooping Members who after the late purge were then left in the House which for certain they under-hand in some sort did and were like enough above board to have done much more considering that by an Ordinance of May the 4th then past the Militia of that great City was established in the hands of such persons as were nominated by the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Common-Council there To secure themselves therefore against this iminent danger the Army were necessitated by picking a quarrel with the City to wrest the Militia out of their hands and then totally to cleanse the House at Westminster of the remaining Presbyterean-humour by a stronger purge then it formerly had In order whereunto there was a Letter forthwith sent from General Fairfax and the Army together with a Remonstrance to the Houses at Westminster demanding the Militia of the City to be put into their Hands Whereupon the House of Commons tamely and readily voted the repealing of that Ordinance of May the 4th and presently passed a new Ordinance for reviving the old Militia and transmitted it to the Lords Which unexpected change caused the City to meet in Common-Council and to resolve of Petitioning the Parliament again therein within two days following And so they did by their Sheriffs and some of the Common-Council But to second this Petition there followed them within three hours some thousands of Apprentices and other stout fellows with another Petition whereby they claim'd the Militia as the Citie 's Birthright by sundry Charters confirm'd in former Parliaments for defence whereof they alledg'd that they had adventured their Lives as far as the Army and thereupon desired that the Militia might be put again into the same Hands in which it was put with the Parliament and Citie 's consent upon the 4th of May. And this they did in so tumultuous a fashion that the Lords who were then but seven in number presently granted it And having so done and sent it to the Commons slipping out by a postern went themselves away by water But the Commons having no mind to displease the Army refus'd to do the like and angrily bad the Apprentices to be gone intending to rise and adjourn themselves Which purpose of theirs being discern'd by those youngsters was by them soon prevented by shutting up their doors and peremptorily requiring their complyance with the Lords The Commons therefore seeing themselves in this streight did at length with much unwillingness yeild to the importunity of these their bold Suitors and not onely so but were by them forc't to pass a farther vote which was that the King should be admitted to come to London to treat But this uproar being made known to the Grandees of the Army the greatest advantage imaginable was made thereof For the confiding Members being thereupon sent for to the Army fled to the Head-Quarters at Windsore within three days after the Speaker also bearing them Company who having cousened the State of vast sums of Money was threatned with an Impeachment if he did not come with them Of the House of Commons that so fled to the Army the number was said to be above fourty and of the Lords which came after the names were these viz. the Earls of Northumberland Warwick Manchester Salisbury Kent Moulgrave the Viscount Say and Sele the Lords Grey of Warke Wharton and Howard of Escrick Of the House of Lords that stay'd the Lord Willoughby of Parham was made Speaker But of the Commons there was about one hundred and fourty who coming to the House and missing their old Speaker and the Serjeant at Mace which usually attended chose Mr. Henry Pelham to be their new Speaker and another Serjeant to attend him Which number being all of the old Covenanting flock and yet not further illuminated proceeded to doe and act as a Parliament first
was it will not be amiss to consider that Letter written by the Commissioners of Scotland unto the two Houses at Westminster dated the sixth of November then past in reference to the King together with that Answer of the Commissioners of the general Assembly of the Kirk unto certain Proposals made to them anno 1646. touching the King's coming into that Realm upon his exclusion from the Government in England in case of his leaving them without taking the Covenant he being then at Newcastle in custody of the dear Brethren of that Realm Being thus got away from Hampton Court he arrived in the Isle of Wiht upon the thirteenth of November whence incessantly desiring a safe and well-grounded Peace to these Kingdoms he soon sent another Message to the Members at Westminster wherein to shorten that Work he expressed his mind to this effect viz. That conceiving himself to be at much more freedom and security than formerly he thought it necessary to offer such Grounds to the two Houses for that purpose which upon due examination of all Interests might best conduce thereto And therefore as to the abolishing of Arch-Bishops Bishops c. he could not consent to it as he was a Christian and a King first being satisfied in his Iudgment that this Order was placed in the Church by the Apostles themselves and that ever since that time it had continued in all Christian Churches throughout the World till this last Century of years And in this Church in all times of Change and Reformation it had been upheld by the wisedom of his Ancestors as the great Preserver of Doctrine Discipline and Order in the Service of God Next as a King at his Coronation that he had not onely taken a solemn Oath but that himself and his predecessors in their confirmation of the great Charter had inseperably woven the Right of the Church into the Liberties of the rest of the Subjects Nevertheless was willing that it should be provided that the particular Bishops might perform the several Duties of their Callings both by their personal Residence and frequent Preaching in their Diocese as also that they should exercise no Act of Iurisdiction or Ordination without the consent of the Presbyters and to limit their powers that they might not be grievous to tender Consciences Moreover that he could not consent to the Alienation of the Church-lands it being a Sin of the highest Sacrilege conceiving it also to be a prejudice to the publick good many of his Subjects having the benefit of renewing Leases at much easier rates than if those Possessions were in the hands of private men besides the discouragement that it would be to all Learning and Industry when such eminent Rewards shall be taken away yet considering the great distemper concerning Church-Discipline and that the Presbyterean-Government was then in practice to eschew confusion as much as might be and for satisfaction of the two Houses of Parliament was content that the said Government should be legally permitted to stand in the same condition it then was for three years Provided that himself and those of his Iudgement or any other who could not in Conscience submit thereto might not be obliged to comply therewith but have free practice of their own profession And that a free Consultation and Debate might be had with their Divines at Westminster twenty of his Majestie 's nomination being added to them whereby it might be determined by his said Majesty and the two Houses how the Church-Government after that time should be setled or sooner if differences might be agreed as should be most agreeable to the Word of God with full Liberty to all those who should differ upon consciencious grounds from that settlement Provided that it might not be understood to tolerate those of the Popish-profession nor to exempt those from the penalty of the Laws or tolerate Atheism or Blasphemy 2. As to the Militia though it was undoubtedly the inherent right of the Crown yet to evidence his desire to secure the performance of such Agreement as should be made in order to a Peace his Majesty was content that during his whole reign it should be disposed of by his two Houses of Parliament 3. As to the Arrears of the Army that he should concur in any thing that might be done without violation of his Conscience and Honour 4. As to the Disposal of the great Offices of State and Naming of Privy-Councillers he offered the disposing of them for the whole time of his reign by the two Houses of Parliament 5. For the Court of Wards and Liveries that it should be taken away so as a full recompence might be setled on his Majesty his Heirs and Successors in perpetuity 6. That he would consent to the making of all Oaths Declarations and Proclamations against both or either House of Parliament null and void So likewise of all Indictments and other proceedings against any person for adhering unto them And that he would pass a general Act of Oblivion 7. That for Ireland he would give satisfaction to them 8. That as to such Acts and Grants passed under his great Seal since the 22th of May 1642. and confirming such as had been passed under that made by the two Houses he would give satisfaction in what might reasonably be desired 9. That for confirmation of all these and whatsoever else might be proposed by the two Houses and also of what he should propose on his own part he did earnestly desire a personal Treaty at London with Honour Freedom and Safety 10. And that the Proposals of the Army concerning the Succession of Parliaments and their due Elections should be taken into consideration 11. So likewise that as to what concern'd the Kingdom of Scotland he would apply himself to give all reasonable satisfaction After the sending of this Message by his Majesty the next thing observable that hapned was a Petition through the influence of the Presbytereans presented to the two Houses at Westminster by the Common-Council of the City of London acknowledging the Parliament for by that Title they then call'd those Members sitting at Westminster to be the Supream Power in this Kingdom and inter alia praying that the Covenant might be duly observed No wonder then that his Majestie 's gracious Message of November the xvjth was so little regarded as that he had no Answer at all thereto upon the sixth of December following he therefore put them in mind of it still pressing for a personal Treaty Whereunto insted of an Answer they sent him four Bills to be assented unto by him as preparatory to a Treaty These were those four Dethroning Bills which if passed into Acts as they required might have saved the labour of a Treaty Unto which for Answer his Majesty made these most prudent and rational Observations 1. That the Commissioners of Scotiand had openly protested against them 2. To allow of that great Seal made by them without his
Hamilton with his Army being utterly routed at Preston in Lancashire and in his flight at Uttoxeter in Staffordshire taken prisoner Colchester lastly which had held out with great hardship expecting relief from Duke Hamilton was forc't to surrender and submit whereupon Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George L'isle were immediately sacrificed to the rage of these merciless men the Lord Capell made prisoner and the Townsmen fined at fourteen thousand pounds But those black clouds before they were thus disperst betokening a suddain storm put these new Saints for their more security upon some desperate thoughts of taking away the King's life To which end one Captain Rolfe was imploy'd by them as himself did confess to remove his Majesty out of the way by poison or any other means forasmuch as it would highly conduce to their affairs Whether it was by Reason that Osburne a confident of Rolfe's had discovered the design or that upon more considerate thoughts they took other resolutions it is hard to say but the execution of that murther was then at present laid aside Many were the petitions at that time to the Members at Westminster from sundry parts all pressing earnestly for a personal Treaty yea some of them from such as they durst hardly displease as from the Masters of the Trinity House Captains of Ships and Sea-men and another from the City of London ¶ There is no doubt but that the Presbyterean-members were private well-wishers if not contrivers of this third Scottish Invasion though by the prevalency of the other faction a Vote was passed in the House of Commons that the Scottish-Army under the command of Duke Hamilton were Enemies and that they should accordingly proceed against them In which argument the Independents were so fierce that when it was objected by one that he thought the Lords would not concur therein Reply was made That the House of Commons being the Representative of the people had power to act without the Lords for the peoples safety in case the Lords deserted their Trust. Nevertheless whether it was the courage that the Presbytereans then took by reason of Duke Hamilton's Invasion and those other disturbances before-mention'd or whether it was the doubts the Independents had of the dangers which these approaching troubles might produce 't is hard to say Sure it is that after much debate and many Arguments it was resolved That his Majesty in person should be treated with by Commissioners of both Houses of Parliament in the Isle of Wight upon the whole matter of the Propositions at Hampton-court for settling the peace of the Kingdome Which Vote with other circumstances did then make such a change in the face of things that the City of London began to assume the power of their own Militia and listed men saying they did it by the Law of self Defence warranted by the Law of God of Nature and of the Land and by a farther Authority which would make little for the advantage of the Parliament to question Which so startled the Members at Westminster that resuming their old Presbyterean-cloak they forthwith dispatch't Letters to the Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland setting forth what the Parliament had done in the way of setling peace reforming the Church and Universities and maintaining the Covenant and union betwixt the two Nations complaining of Duke Hamilton's Invasion under colour of authority from the Parliament of that Kingdome And though the Brethren of Scotland grounded this their third Invasion upon the Covenant the Independent-members at Westminster utterly denied that their assertion affirming stoutly that the Scots had broke the Covenant therein yea that in so doing they had set the English at Liberty from it and that the Covenant was no more jure divino than Presbytery To which was answered by the Presbytereans for concerning this point there grew a tough dispute in the House betwixt those two Parties that the large Treaty contained the League between the two Nations so did not the Covenant which was a vow made unto God with their Hands lifted up to Heaven for the maintenance and observation of the ends and principles expressed in the Covenant from which no power on earth could absolve them And that though the Covenant was not jure divino yet the keeping of it after they had taken it was jure divino it being the revealed will of God that they should not offer unto him the sacrifice of fools a Covenant to day and break it to morrow But to this some of the more zealous replied that the Covenant was originally framed to satisfie the Brethren of Scotland upon the first bringing in of their Army hither to help the Lord against the mighty without which the Scots would not have come in to their assistance And that work being over they were not at all obliged by the Covenant any further it being to be laid aside as an Almanack out of date And therefore to strengthen themselves the more there were private Listings of the Schismaticks and Antimonarchists in London Which did so awaken the Presbyterean-Saints in that City that they complain'd to the House of Commons representing the danger thereof saying that if the Houses did not give them leave to look to their safety they must have recourse to the Law of Nature and act in their Militia without the Houses in order to self Defence allowable by all Laws and practised by that very Parliament against the King and likewise by Fairfax his Army against the Parliament Unto which words there were such high exceptions taken that some of the fiery-spirited Independents replied that the Parliament having fought with the King for the Militia and gotten it by the Sword no other Interest upon any title whatsoever should dare to lay claim to any part of it Upon which Doctrine they practised to purpose as by and by will appear CHAP. XXIX THE next thing whereof I am in order of time to take notice is that this fatal and absolute destruction of the Scottish-Army under the command of Duke Hamilton by Lieutenant General Cromwell at that time Commander of the Parliament's forces Fairfax having declin'd to serve against the Brethren was not by any formal Battel but rather a beating up of Quarters and some slight Skyrmishes and that it was then chiefly attributed to the over-confidence which Duke Hamilton had in the strength of his own Countrymen exposing those English which were Commanded by the truly noble Sir Marmaduke Langdale to be over powred by the Enemy thereby expecting an absolute Conquest through his own puissance and so to have reapt the whole honour of restoring the King if he ever had any such intent So that Cromwell being now triumphant over the whole Scottish-Army which was the most formidable of any then on foot against them and not long after over those right valiant and loyall persons at Colchester The Ships also which went over to the Prince
while upheld by some few and much art used for perpetuating his Dominion first by procure Congratulations from all the Souldiery in England Scotland and Ireland Secondly from all the Independent Congregational-Assemblies Thirdly from the most eminent of the London Ministers as also from the French Dutch and Italian Churches and lastly from most of the Counties Cities and chief Towns in England all of them engaging to live and dye with this youngster In many of which solemn Congratulatory Addresses being highly magnified for his Wisdom nobleness of mind and lovely Composition of Body his Father Oliver was compared to Moses Zerubabel Ioshua Gideon Elijah to the Chariots and Horsemen of Israel to David Solomon and Hezekiah Likewise to Constantine the Great and to whomsoever else that either the Sacred Scripture or any other History had celebrated for their Piety and Goodness Insomuch as it was then by most men thought that this their late framed Government might be durable enough against the disturbance of any opposers But so active and earnest were the Fanaticks against it that they spared not their utmost industry for the supplanting thereof And discerning Fleetwood then General of the Army to be very much a friend unto all of their party unto him they made addresses for furtherance of their design speciously suggesting that the Office of Protector being at the disposal of Cromwel was to him alone intended though Richard had been Proclaimed by some few of the Council And to the end that the Souldiers might likewise incline to their side they put them on to require the auditing of their Arrears two pence a week having been withheld of their pay and not only so but to insist upon greater priviledges as Souldiers than they had enjoyed in Olivers time viz. that no Souldier should be displaced without consent of the Council of War no nor questioned for Murther Robbery or any other Offence otherwise than by the Law-Military whereby they were sure to have no little favour Likewise that it should be in the power of the Army upon all occasions to make choice of their General of all which they had first disputes with this Richard and afterwards by their Remonstrances did insist upon boldly These perrillous attempts being therefore discerned by his Highness he forthwith summoned a Parliament according to the tenor of the old Instrument which Parliament was for its greater honour to consist of two Houses thereby not doubting but to scatter these dangerous clouds and met accordingly at Westminster upon the seventh of Ianuary But consulting together instead of complying with his Highnesses designs they fell to questioning the Authority of the Other House Nor did they at all brook the Irish and Scotch sent thither as Representatives from each of those Realms Nevertheless after divers tedious and warm disputes they were at length content to transact with those who Sate in that Other House not excluding such Peers who had been faithful to the Parliament from their priviledges of being summoned as Members thereof and that they would receive any Message from them but by some of those who were Members of their own House And to the end they might by degrees bring themselves into power they attempted the asserting of their Interest in the Militia by a salvo in their Vote relating to the Fleet. Moreover to captivate the people with specious shews of alleviating their burthens they made divers formal Speeches for the taking away of all Excise as also of Tonnage and Poundage after the next three years Likewise to make shew how tender they were of the peoples Liberties they did not only set at large Colonel Overion and others which had been committed to Prison by Oliver without payment of Fees but questioned the Lieutenant of the Tower for detaining those persons there Appointing also a Committee of Inspection for Publick Accompts Which Committee Reported the Yearly incomes of England Scotland and Ireland to be eighteen hundred sixty eight thousand seven hundred and seventeen pounds and the Issues to be no less than two Millions two hundred and one thousand five hundred and forty pounds By which they saw that three hundred thirty two thousand eight hundred twenty three pounds of Debt incurred Yearly upon them by the ill management of that great Revenue which was treble to what any King of England ever enjoyed And further saw that to maintain the Conquest of Scotland they were at the Yearly charge of one hundred sixty three thousand six hundred and nineteen pounds more than the Revenue of that Kingdom did then yield unto them Other particulars they then had likewise in hand all tending to the publick benefit of the Nation forbearing to give mony beneficial Offices or rewards as formerly had been usual amongst themselves by which means the world might by degrees be wrought into a dislike of being Governed by that Military power which for so long time had Ruled the Roast and to restore the general sway of the Realm to themselves as the Representative of the People in whom according to the Presbyterian Maxim the whole Sovereign Power virtually was Which design so destructive to the Sword-mens Interest did not only disturb their minds but by doubts and jealousies at length divided their strength into Parties and Factions some of them holding their Councils at Wallingford House with the General others at White-hall with the Protector and his Confidents But in this Fraction those of Wallingford House being much the more numerous drew up a bold Representation both to the Protector and the House which so startled his Highness that he forthwith stood upon his Guard and so allarmed the House of Commons that they thereupon Voted That during the Sitting of the Parliament there should be no General Council or meeting of the Officers of the Army without direction leave and Authority of the Lord Protector and both Houses of Parliament And that no person should have and continue any Command or Trust in any of the Armies or Navies of England Scotland or Ireland or any the Dominions and Territories thereto belonging who should refuse to subscribe that he would not disturb or interrupt the free meeting in Parliament or their freedom in their Debates or Councils And to sweeten the Common-Souldiers lest they should joyn with their Officers in turning them out of Doors as they had formerly done added that they would presently take into consideration how to satisfie the Arrears of the Army with present pay and likewise to prepare and Act of Indempnity for them A great Task indeed had that Parliament then upon their Hands viz. the pleasing of the people which could no otherwise be than by alleviating their heavy burthens and satisfying the Souldiery by feeding them with mony whereon they fell seriously to consider But whilst they were intentive on these necessary works the Animosities of the Army Officers grew higher and higher against each other strict Guards being kept by
the Nobility and Gentry civilly and intimating that it would be their wisdom rather to enlarge than contract any whit of their Interest And farther told them that the fewer qualifications they did put upon succeeding Parliaments it would be the better Desiring them to be tender in imposing new Oaths for he had heard of the Oath of Abjuration alledging that there was more reason to repent of those already taken than to take farther new ones And so warning them to beware of Cavaliers and Fanaticks commending Scotland to their care and assuring them of Ireland concluded with some intimation of his thoughts for a Free-State Having thus taken his leave of the House he withdrew to his place in the Council of State Where the first thing he found under consideration was that the Citizens of London being grown somwhat unruly had stifly resolved to own no power but of a Full and Free Parliament encouraged thereto by sundry Petitions to that purpose which they had seen from several Counties refusing to pay Taxes but by consent of such a Parliament Which put the Rumpers upon this desperate exigent viz. either to reduce them to obedience by a strong hand or themselves to be reputed but the shadow of Authority In order whereunto they commanded General Monke to march thither with his Forces and to compel them to pay the Assesments Whereupon he advanced with speed to Guild-Hall and there made his demand of what the Parliament had required Which much dashing the hopes that the Citizens had otherwise of him they modestly answered that in Magna Charta confirmed by the Petition of Right and ratified by that present Parliament the day before their forcible Dissolution they were to pay no Taxes but by their consent in Parliament which at that present they had not Yet to avoid the giving him any just offence desired farther time to consider thereof Which though the General readily granted yet he wrote to the House for their farther direction Whereupon answer was forthwith returned that he should in the first place imprison Colonel Bromefield Alderman Bludworth Lieutenant Colonel Iackson Major Cox Colonel Vincent c. some of which number had attended him from the City but a little before And secondly that he should remove their Chains dig up their Posts and break down their Gates Which harsh and rough service did at first not a little startle him considering it was done partly to make tryal of his patient obedience to them and partly to occasion a certain enmity betwixt him and the City and then to cast him off by diminishing his power as he very well discerned But foreseeing the event he submitted thereto which was to enrage the Citizens throughly against the Rump and that upon the expiring of his Commission the next day after his power would be diminished by the conjunction of six others with him in equal Command Which being made known by him to his Officers who lookt for a better reward for their service concluding that the Rump would shortly lay them aside also and perpetuate their own sitting Having likewise made so sure an experiment of the Cities temper which he then knew was positive for their Liberties and Rights and concluding thereupon that he might safely put his confidence in them after private discourse had with some of the chief Citizens he first wrote his Letters to the Rumpers wishing them at last to put a period to their siting and make some certain provision for future Parliaments And thereupon marching with his Forces into the City immediately declared for a Full and Free Parliament Which raised the hearts of all people so much that they expressed their great joy by Bells Bonefires and all other testimonies of joy imaginable And having waited a while for a return to his Letter and receiving no manner of Answer thereunto he procured a Conference with some of the old Secluded Members Finding also that the settlement proposed by the Rumpers was too weak and slender to repair the breaches in Government he resolved to withdraw all force from the House and to admit those to sit there whose tempers were more moderate and therefore sending for the Secluded Members to meet him at white-hall he represented unto them what he then thought best to be done viz. The meeting of a Full and Free Parliament saying that the House should be open unto them and wishing them all happy success therein Which old Members being by this means met together again they began where they broke off in Decemb. 1648. ratisfying that Vote then made viz. That the Concessions of the late King were a sufficient ground to proceed on for setling the Peace of the Kingdom Whereupon most men took courage in hope of an happy deliverance from that miserable slavery they had so long endured and in the next place Voted Monke to be Lord General of all the Forces in England Scotland and Ireland By virtue whereof he soon with much prudence disarmed the Fanaticks the Parliament in the mean time taking seasonable care to secure the Peace of the Nation by two wholsom Acts the one for the Militia whereby Gentlemen of worth and quality had opportunity to put themselves in Arms The other by raising mony for the support of such Forces as might be necessarily imployed for the Publick safety And in order to an happy Establishing of the Government upon the old Foundation did ordain that Writs should issue out for the meeting of a Full and Free Parliament upon the 25. of April then next following In the mean time constituting a Council of State of moderate men and so at last put a period to that old and unhappy Convention But notwithstanding all this the danger was not totally over for the Council of State discerning no little averseness in some Officers of the Army and some other turbulent Spirits to this hopeful settlement and thereupon requiring an Engagement from them of their peaceable demeanor were necessitated to imprison some of the most obstinate refusers amongst which Lambert was one and not the least who finding the Fanaticks most eager for another push got out of Prison and Headed that Party Which through the great vigilancy of the General being seasonably routed near Daventre in Northamptonshire the chief of them were committed to several Prisons The Parliament therefore meeting upon the 25. of April Sir Iohn Greenvile presented to both Houses a Declaration from the King then at Breda with certain Letters bearing date April 4. Which with great joy being openly Read they presently Voted His Majesties speedy return to His people the whole Navy also soon after submitting to His obedience So that within very few days following he was solemnly Proclaimed in the Cities of London and Westminster and his Arms set up in all publick places those formerly erected for the Common-Wealth and Oliver being pulled down and defaced And upon May 25.
the Peace and Quiet of his Kingdom he had done it in favour of the Protestants Touching the point of Placing and Displacing Councellors as their Demands and Colour for them were alike with our Mens so was the Kings Answer not much different It was the publick discourse of the Guisards in Paris that the Kingdom could never be setled in Peace nor the Minds of true Catholicks at ease so long as they saw the Kings Person inviron'd with non-confiding Persons and of uncertain resolutions in point of Religion The King made answer he was very willing to any thing that might conduce to the settlement of Religion and that he was heartily inclin'd to the Extirpation of Huguenots there being no Prince in Christendom that more hated and desired the Suppression of Hereticks than himself And that for those about his Person they had never suggested to him any Councils to the contrary That all Kings had ever enjoyed the free Liberty of preserving and favouring whom they pleased and to choose their Companions according to their own Gust Were it not so the liberty of Kings should be chained and limitted to that which private Men enjoy free and without restraint there being no person so mean but hath Power to live and converse with whom he please according to his own Genus and liking But if it should be proved against his Ministers that they had in any thing demeaned themselves with less Sincerity than they ought he would be ready to punish them accordingly to the quality of their Offence but would not Banish them from his Court to humour other Men. When the King by reason of the Tumults in Paris had as was said for his own Security enlarged the number of his Guard the Duke of Guise and his Partisans spread a Rumour in the City that the King had a purpose to put a Hundred and Twenty of the Principal Catholicks to Death and to put Garrisons in the chief places of the City to awe the Citizens and therefore that it was necessary for them to stand upon their Guard Upon this Succeeded the Barricados at Paris when the King was in a manner wholly in the Duke of Guises Power But yet he made a shift to slip away privately from his Palace the Louere attended only with Sixteen Gentlemen The Duke not taking care to prevent the escape whether out of Honesty of which he pretended to be the Protector or that he desired to cloak all his Designs with the Mantle of Piety and Religion or that he intended nothing more but his own safety and Reformation of the Government promising to himself that all would fall into his Lap by means of his cunning Carriage and that he needed not to make use of open Force brought the King to such a low Ebb that he must of necessity yield up himself to his Disposal and condescend to such Conditions as he desired which he doubted not but would be approved by the general consent of the People The King being desirous of an accommodation imploy'd the Queen Mother to treat with the Duke of Guise and his Adherents Which had the like success as his Majesties Message from Nottingham to those at Westminster But the Duke's demands were extream high and Exorbitant more like an absolute Conquerour than a Subject viz. That the King should declare him his Lieutenant-General over all the Provinces of his Dominions That a general Assembly of the States should be called at Paris and this Authority being then confirm'd to him by them that the Taxes and Impositions upon the People should be moderated That for removing all suspition of Innovations all Forms of Government should be setled in such a way as it might not be lawful for the King to make any alteration That the Duke D'Espernon and several other Ministers of State as persons suspected to keep Intelligence with the Hereticks and to be continually hammering out new Projects should be put out of their Places and Commands and for ever Banished from the Court That to remove the Jealousies generally conceived of too remiss Proceedings against the Hereticks the sole managery of that War should be Committed to the Duke That to take away the suspition of any Tyrannical Intentions or Actions srom the King he should dismiss his Guard of forty six and interdict them all his Majesty to return to the Court and content himself with such an ordinary Guard as his Predecessors used to have That Griglion the Captain of the Guard should be displaced and another put in his room in whom the Catholicks could confide That the forts of Provence should be consign'd to the Duke D'Aumarle and others to others of the League and that the King should deposite in the hands of certain Lords of the League six other strong Holds such as they should nominate which should be Garrison'd by them and have such Governours as were to their liking That a convenient Assignment should be made to the Cittizens of Paris for reimbursing the Expenses they had been at And that the Government of the City should be confer'd upon the Count of Brissac the Duke of Mayne made high Admiral and de Chatres Ldâ— Mareschall When the Duke of Guise failed of his Intentions upon the Kings Person by reason of his escape and his Design of obtaining from him as his Prisoner what Conditions he pleased was by that means crushed he bent his thoughts to the securing himself of the Command of the City of Paris For perceiving that he must now go to War with the King he knew very well that he could have no stronger Foundation than the Power and Assistance of the Parisians Therefore to assure himself of the City he got into his Hands the Bastile dispossessing Testate who held it formerly for the King but was now forc'd to surrender it into the hands of the People who instantly made the Duke Governour of it The Duke therefore loosing no time call'd the People together in a Common-Council and caused Hector Perose provost of the Merchants a place answerable to that of Lord Mayor of London to be deposed as a dependent on the King Committed him to the Bastile and made Capello Martell to be chosen Provost in his place he being a Principal Incendiary among the People and chief Minister of the League Just a Pennington for a Gurney The Duke of Guise seeing the King was got out of the toyl and that he could not bring his first Design about endeavoured to make it appear that it was done with his consent the King's Escape though it hapned by his Inadvertence Therefore with many fair words and plausible reasons laid down in several Writings both to the King and People of France he strove to make them believe that all his Actions had no other aim but the benefit of the Kingdom Allegiance and Obedience to the King and Zeal to the publick good That the Tumults in Paris were
by the disdain which he had conceived against the Inconstancy and Impertinency of the Citizens of Paris and the want of Money to pay his Souldiers was troubled much But above all the Subtilty and surliness of the Spaniard vexed him most who having caused Seignior de la Mot the Governour of Gravelin to come out of Flanders with their Forces to the confines of the Kingdom refused to let him advance one Foot further or to issue any Moneys for the maintenence of the War unless the Catholick King was first declared Protector of the Crown of France with Authority to dispose of the Principal Dignities as well Ecclesiastical as secular which they called marks of Justice whereby he desired to have Dominion and Superiority over the League Which demands seemed so Exorbitant unto him so prejudicial to the Crown and so dishonest that he could not endure to think of them himself Nor did he believe that any one Man of the Confederates from the Parisians downwards would ever condescend to Decree them Knowing that this were to put the Bridle into the King of Spaine's hands to let him carry all things to such ends as he pleased himself Nor did the Brethren of Scotland sell their Assistance at a much cheaper rate as is plainly to be seen by their Treaty of the 29th of November 1643. For their advance into England and their second demands for their managery of the Government of Ireland But on the other side his Fears of being abandoned and left alone his distrust of the Kings Sincerity in his Promises and the Antient grudge he bore to him but especially his hopes of getting the Crown for himself would not suffer him to hearken to those overtures made by the Marquess of Belin whom he sent back to his Imprisonment with some Ambiguous and General Expressions and cut off the Negotiation for any Accord So still the King seeks but the Faction declines all occasions of Peace For the People of Paris were so far Transported with Zeal to the Cause by reason of the continual denunciations from the Pulpits that there could be no Peace or accommodation made unless they would damn their own Souls that they were resolved to endure any thing rather than to hearken to an Accommodation Insomuch as many who had inconsiderately slipt a Word or two out of their Mouths saying that Accommodation was better than starving and rather Peace than a Siege were in the Rage and Fury of the People either publickly Condemn'd and Executed or without more ado thrown into the River as damn'd Miscreants Enemies of the Catholick Religion and infected with the Poyson of Heresy It is not unworthy Observation what Artifices the Heads of that Rebellion used to abuse the People During the Seige of Paris both the Duke of Mayne without and other Lords within the City imploying all their Art and Industry in giving out Reports and spreading News sometimes of a strong Power from Flanders coming to raise the Seige sometimes of great Provisions of Victual for Relief of the City sometimes of some Accident in favour of their Party Letters and Messengers coming in every day with a Mixture of true and False Reports together Which being Published in their Pulpits and divulged amongst their Guards served to feed the People for a few days And when there were certain Commissioners sent from Paris to treat with the King about an Acommodation Notwithstanding his Majesties Answer was returned in Writing with much sweetness of Language and proffer of all security and possible satisfaction upon return to their Obedience with Letters to the same effect to the Duke of Nemure and others exhorting them to Peace and assuring them that they should receive more from his Grace than they could desire Yet upon return of the Commissioners the Duke of Nemure and other great Persons dissaffected to Peace would not permit the true Copy of the Kings Answer to be Published to the People but caused Reports to be given out that the King would not have any Peace but upon condition of an absolute Submission and that the Duke of Mayne and other Lords of the League should not be included in the Pardon The King of Spaine therefore upon the Duke of Parma's Advice finding how much those of the League relyed upon his ayd and the necessity thereof endeavoured to prolong the War That by the weariness and weakness of the French he might at length compass those ends upon them which he saw it was impossible for him at first to obtain The Duke of Parma himself also to win the more upon the People when he came into France with his Army in assistance of the Leaguers considering that the name of a Spaniard was there odious strayn'd himself with all possible earnestness of Mind for to order his Army as that his Souldiers should not commit any Outrage or Oppression nor give any occasion of offence to the French The War thus Prolonged and the charge thereof grown heavy occasioned much repining in the People against the Duke of Mayne notwithstanding all his Faithful Services and Paines taken for the League against whom none complained more than the Cittizens of Paris who Accused the Duke of misgovernance of an over greediness to keep all things in his own Power and too much profuseness of other Mens Means With them Concurred the Ministers of Spain who liked not to see such a Supream Power in the hands of the Duke of whose Affection to their Designs they had no good Opinion Besides these discontents Brissonius Primier President of the Parliament at Paris who had been at first a principal Instrument for the League when he perceived as his Friends said that the ends of the Grandees were not so sincere for the publick good as he at first had conceived of them or as his Enemies reported being corrupted by large proffers made unto him on behalf of the King by some who were Prisoners in the City or as it was generally believ'd out of the Levity and Inconstancy of his nature began to favour the King's Party who taking heart unto them by means of his Protection making a considerable Body began to Plot how to bring the City to revolt and to reduce it to the Kings Obedience One of which Revolters who had been a chief Fomenter of the League being discovered for holding Intelligence and Plotting for the King was by the instigation of the Sixteen hurried to Prison But whilst they made slow proceeding to his Tryal he escaped which so vexed the Sixteen as that supposing the Judges had a hand therein they furiously raysed the People in Arms and upon the XV th of November beset all the Passes to the Palace of Justice seized upon three of the Judges Brisson Archier and Terdiu hauled them to Prison and there without any Legal Process Strangled them the same day Hang'd up their Bodies upon the Gallows next Morning and like Mad Men ran