156 



CHARLES. 



reign; renewed an attempt for excluding bishops 

 from the house of lords ; passed ordinances against su- 

 I'rrstitious practices; and so inflamed the popular 

 odium against the Episcopal orders, as to intimidate its 

 members from attending to their duty in parliament. 



At length, it being apparent that either the zealous 

 adherent of prerogative, or those who were anxious 

 to establish the government upon a more democratic 

 basis, must give way, Charles, instigated, it is sup- 

 posed, by tile injudicious advice of his queen and lord 

 Digby, caused his attorney-general to enter, in the 

 house of peers, an accusation against five leading 

 members of the commons, and sent a serpeanUii- 

 arms to the house to demand them. Receiving an 

 evasive answer, he, the next day, proceeded himself to 

 the house, with an armed retinue, to seize their per- 

 sons. Aware of this intention, they had previously 

 withdrawn ; but the king's appearance with a guard 

 caused the house to break up in great disorder 

 and indignation. The accused members retired into 

 t IK- city, where a committee of the house was ap- 

 pointed to sit, and the city militia was mustered un- 

 der a commander appointed by parliament, which 

 also demanded the control of the army. Here the 

 king made his last stand, the matter having now ar- 

 rived at a point wlu'ch arms alone could decide. The 

 queen fled to Holland to procure ammunition, and 

 Cliarles, with the prince of Wales, proceeded north- 

 wards, and, for a time, fixed his residence at York. 

 The king was received in his progress with great de- 

 monstrations of loyalty from the gentry ; and many 

 eminent and virtuous characters, who had been the 

 conscientious opposers of his arbitrary measures in 

 the first instance, now joined his party. On the other 

 hand, all the Puritans, the inhabitants of the great 

 trading towns, and those who had adopted republican 

 notions of government, sided with the parliament ; 

 and in no public contest was more private and pub- 

 lic virtue ranged on both sides, however alloyed, as 

 in all such cases, with ambition, bigotry, and the 

 baser passions. The first action of consequence was 

 the battle of Edge-hill, which, although indecisive, 

 enabled the king to approach London, and produce 

 considerable alarm. He then retired to Oxford, and 

 negotiations were entered into which proved unavail- 

 ing. Nothing decisive, however, happened against 

 the royal side, until the battle of Marston-moor, in 

 1644, which was gained chiefly by the skill and va- 

 lour of Cromwell. The succeeding year completed 

 the ruin of the king's affairs, by the loss of the cele- 

 brated battle of Naseby. 



Thenceforward a series of disasters attended his ar- 

 mies throughout the kingdom, and he took the resolu- 

 tion of throwing himselfinto the hands of the Scottish 

 army, then lying before Newark. He was received 

 with respect, although placed under guard as a pri- 

 soner ; and, a series of abortive negotiations ensuing, 

 an agreement was made with the parliament to sur- 

 render him to their commissioners, on the payment 

 of a large sum, claimed as arrears by the Scottish 

 army. The king was accordingly surrendered to the 

 commissioners appointed, and was carried, in the first 

 place, to Holmby-house, in Northamptonshire ; sub- 

 sequently, to the head-quarters of the army at Read- 

 ing, and, soon after, to Hampton-court, where he was 

 treated with no small portion of the respect exacted 

 by his station. In tne mean time, however, the army 

 and Independents becoming all-powerful, he was led 

 into some fears for his personal safety, and, making 

 liis escape with a few attendants, proceeded to the 

 southern coast. Not meeting a vessel, as he expect- 

 ed, he crossed over to the Isle of Wight, and put 

 himself into the hands of Hammond, the governor, a 

 creature of Cromwell's, by whom he was lodged in 

 Carisbrook castle. 



While in this remote situation, the Scots, ashamed 

 of the manner in which they had delivered him up, 

 and indignant at the proceedings of the English 

 marched a considerable i-nny to his relief, under the 

 duke of Hamilton. This force, although strengthen- 

 ed by a large body of English royalists, was entirely 

 routed and dispersed by Cromwell, as were the in- 

 surgents in Kent and Essex by Fairfax. During this 

 employment of the army and its leaders, anew nego- 

 tiation was opened with the king in the Isle of WJJgfij 

 who agreed to nearly everything demanded of him, 

 except the abolition of Episcopacy ; and so much had 

 it now become the interest of the parliament itself to 

 comply with him, that a vote was at length carried, 

 that the king's concessions were a sufficient ground 

 for a treaty. The triumpliant army, however, on its 

 return, cleared the house by force of all the members 

 opposed to its views ; and, thereby procuring a re- 

 versal of this vote, the king's person was again seized, 

 and, being brought from the Isle of Wight to Hurst 

 castle, preparations were made for trying him on the 

 capital charge of liigh treason against the people. As 

 the house orlords refused to concur in a vote for this 

 purpose, the commons declared its concurrence un- 

 necessary; and the, king, being conducted to London, 

 and stripped of all ensigns of royalty, was brought 

 before the court of justice, specially erected for this 

 unprecedented trial, on the 20th of Jan., 1649. 



The behaviour of Charles had been calm and dig- 

 nified throughout his adversity, and in no respect was 

 it more so than on this occasion. Three times he ob- 

 jected to the authority of the court, when brought 

 before it, and supported his refusal by clear and co- 

 gent arguments. At length, evidence being heard 

 against nim, on the proof that he had appeared in 

 arms against the parliamentary forces, sentence of 

 death was pronounced against him. He requested a 

 conference with both houses, which was rejected, and 

 only three days were allowed him to prepare for his 

 fete. As he left the tribunal, he was insulted by a 

 portion of the soldiery, and other base and unpardon- 

 able indignities were offered to him, which he bore 

 with dignified equanimity. The interposition of fo- 

 reign powers, the devotion of friends and ministers, 

 who sought to save him by taking all the blame upon 

 themselves, were vain. After passing three days, be- 

 tween his condemnation and execution, in religious 

 exercises, and in tender interviews with his friends 

 and family, he was led to the scaffold. His execution 

 took place before the banqueting-house, Whitehall, 

 on the 30th of Jan., 1649, where, after addressing the 

 people around him with great firmness and compo- 

 sure, the ill-fated king submitted to the fetal stroke. 



Thus died Charles I., in the forty-ninth year of his 

 age, than whom few kings have been more distin- 

 guished for the virtues which ornament and dignify 

 private life. He was, in an eminent degree, tempe- 

 rate, chaste, and religious, and, although somewhat 

 cold and reserved in demeanour, was, in feet, highly 

 kind and affectionate, and secured the warmest at- 

 tachment of those who had access to him. His talents 

 were also considerable ; but he shone more in suffer- 

 ing than in acting, and was deficient in the decision 

 and self-reliance, which are necessary to superior ex- 

 ecutive ability. His mind was cultivated by letters, 

 and a taste for the polite arts, particularly painting, 

 the professors of which he munificently encouraged ; 

 and the collections of works of art, which he made 

 in his prosperity, show great judgment in the selec- 

 tion. He had also a feeling for poetry, and wrote in 

 a good style in prose, without reference to the famous 

 Eikon Basilike, his claim to which is now generally 

 disputed. To all these personal and private acquire- 

 ments, he joined a graceful figure and pleasing coun- 

 tenance, and, under happier circumstances, would 



