1639 Aberdeen. HUNTLY'S CAPTURE. 5 Montrose's language was that of a man seeking for a pretext to excuse in his own eyes a breach of his plighted April 12. Huntly at word. He began by preferring unexpected demands. Would Huntly pay the expenses of the Covenanting April 13. army? Would he seize certain Highland robbers in the neighbourhood? Would he give the hand of friendship to his brother's murderer, Crichton of Frendraught? The last request could only be made to be refused. Between Crichton and Huntly lay the bitter memory of the night when the young Lord Meldrum, coming on an errand of mercy, was decoyed into the Tower of Frendraught, only to be awakened by the roaring flames. Montrose's request was met, as it could not but have been met, with an unhesitating refusal. "My Lord," said Montrose, "seeing we are al! now friends, will ye go south to Edinburgh with us?” After some further conversation, Huntly asked a plain question: Was he to go as a captive, or of his own free will? "Make your choice," was Montrose's reply. In that case, said Huntly, he would rather not go as a captive. The form of liberty made little difference to the fact of compulsion. Montrose may have been, as has been suggested, overruled by the committee by which he was controlled; but whether this were the case or not, he had played but a mean and shabby part. Huntly carried to Edinburgh. It had been intended that Huntly should have been accompanied by his two eldest sons-Lord Gordon and Lord Aboyne-who alone of his numerous family had reached man's estate. Aboyne asked leave to go home and fetch money for his journey; and Montrose, ashamed perhaps of his treatment of the family, gave the required permission on promise of a quick return. Aboyne, regardless of an engagement made to one whose faith had not been kept, took the opportunity to place himself beyond the reach of pursuit. His father and elder brother were conducted to Edinburgh. There Huntly was pressed to take the Covenant. "For my own part," he replied, "I am in your power, and resolved not to leave that foul title of traitor as an inheritance upon my posterity. You may take my Aboyne's escape. April 20. Huntly refuses to sign the Covenant. head from my shoulders, but not my heart from my Sovereign." 1 March 30. York. On March 30, the day on which Montrose entered Aberdeen, the King rode into York. Already as he had journeyed northwards he had been met by bad news from The King at Scotland. He would soon learn that Montrose had brought ruin upon his whole plan of operations. The party which Hamilton had promised him in Scotland was incapable of affording any serious assistance. Charles must fall back on Wentworth's plan now. If Scotland was to be conquered, it must be conquered by a purely English force, and he already knew that, if it was comparatively easy to raise the troops which he required, it was a task of enormous difficulty to pay them. The first impulse of every Government in financial straits was to apply to the City of London. In February the citizens February. had therefore been asked for a free contribution. The City After a month's delay it was found that no more than asked for money. 4,800l. had been paid, in spite of the personal entreaty of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen. A fresh and more urgent appeal in March produced a bare 200/. in addition. The whole amount was so small that it was contemptuously refused.3 March. Attempts to gain popu In spite of this discouraging experience, the demand for a free contribution to be extended to the whole country was agreed upon by the Council in the King's presence before he left London. In order to increase the chance of a favourable response, a proclamation was issued by which a considerable number of the new monopolies were revoked. Several, however, remained in force, and amongst these were some of the most obnoxious. To provide for immediate necessities, the Mastership of the Rolls had been put larity. 1 Gordon, ii. 232. Spalding, i. 168. 2 Coke to Windebank, March 31, S. P. Dom. ccccxv. 78. Common Council Journal Book, Feb. 16, March 15, 21, xxxviii 208 b; 229, 297. Rossingham's News-Letter, April 2, Add. MSS. 11,045, fol. 9. The Council to the King, April 5, Melbourne MSS. • Rushworth, iii. 910, 915. 1639 THE GENERAL CONTRIBUTION. up to auction. Sir Charles Cæsar bade higher than his competitors, and obtained the prize for 15,000l.1 Sale of the Mastership of the Rolls. On April 9 the request was made to the country at large for the payment of that which, in spite of the April 9. Petition of Right, was a benevolence in all but the A general contribution name. The Council itself was doubtful of success.2 It was a bad omen for the success of the contribution, that ship-money was coming in more slowly than ever. Though only 69,000l. had been required this year, on April 13 the payments had not exceeded 17,000/.3 demanded. Want of money. treachery. At the beginning of April, therefore, Charles found himself at York with an insufficient army, and with very little assurance that he would be able to find money to pay even that army for more than a limited time. As news of the disasters in Scotland dropped in, the cry of treachery was Suspicions of lightly raised. Charles himself imagined that the hand of Richelieu was to be seen in all that had occurred. Others threw the blame on the Scots themselves. When the capture of Edinburgh Castle was announced, Dorset told Hamilton in full council that he deserved to lose his head as a traitor. Nothing but treason could be accepted as the explanation of Huntly's tame surrender of Aberdeen. Traquair had no sooner set foot in York than he was placed under arrest for the loss of Dalkeith, though he was set free after a short detention. At the English Court it was impossible to judge fairly of the difficulties of Scottish loyalists abandoned to themselves amidst the waves of a great national movement, it not being the fashion at the English Court to believe that there was any national movement in Scotland at all. Treachery undoubtedly existed; but it was the treachery of the Scottish gentlemen of the bedchamber, who listened to Charles's un 'Garrard to Conway, March 28, S. P. Dom. ccccxv. 65. Ressingham's News-Letter, 'April 2, Add. MSS. 11,045, fol. 9. 2 Windebank wrote that the Council had represented the doubts entertained in it 'considering how ill an operation those' letters 'had which were sent to the City.' Windebank to Coke, Ap il 7, Melbourne MSS. Account of the Treasurers of the Navy, April 13, S. P. Dom. ccccxvii. 90. across the Border. guarded talk, and forwarded his secrets to their countrymen In this way the Scots received intelligence of every decision almost as soon as it was taken.1 Antrim's proposed expedition. Wentworth's From Ireland, too, the news was not encouraging. Charles had confidently looked to the Earl of Antrim to land 10,000 men in the Western Highlands in order to overpower Argyle. Wentworth called Antrim before him, cross-examined him as to his means and intentions, and reported to the King that the Earl had neither 10,000 men at his disposal, nor the capacity to guide such a view of the force if it were entrusted to his charge. Wentworth's situation. view of the situation was very much what it had been the year before. He knew, what Charles did not know, that it was impossible to improvise an army. He considered that Charles's officers were as inexperienced as his men. Looking at Arundel and Holland, he found it hard to understand that men were born great captains and generals.' He did not think that they were likely to become so on a day's warning. The best thing he thought would be for the army to keep the Scots in check on the Borders, attending to its own drill and discipline, whilst the fleet blockaded the Scottish ports. If Berwick and Carlisle were well secured, it might keep our blue bonnet to his own peck of oatmeal-which they say the lay elder is to provide every soldier of, with a satchel to put it in without tasting of our better fare, lest he might grow too much in love with it.' Such a plan would doubtless require more money than the King had at his disposal. It could not be, however, that Englishmen would grudge five or six months' service at their own cost. When the winter came it would be necessary to think of a constant revenue,' or, in other words, to summon Parliament.3 If only Englishmen had felt towards April 8 Con to Barberini, March 29, Add. MSS. 15,392, fol. 100. Smith to Pennington, April 4. Arundel to Windebank, April 4, S. P. Dom. ccccxvii. 26, 29. Rossingham's News-Letter, Nov. 23, Add. MSS. 1,105, fol. 14. 2 Wentworth to Windebank, March 20, Strafford Letters, ii. 300. He had already written: "For Parliament I see not how that can be this summer, it being resolved His Majesty will be at York so early in the 1639 A TEMPTATION OFFERED. 9 the Scottish insurgents as Wentworth felt, there could be no question of the wisdom of his advice. go to the Firth of Charles was too impatient for immediate success to be guided by such counsels. The news of the surrender of Aberdeen reached him on April 4. If it was useless April 4. Hamilton to to send Hamilton to Aberdeen, he might be sent elsewhere. Nothing could eradicate from Charles's mind the notion that, if he could only pierce through the hostile crust, he would find a loyal Scottish nation beneath. Hamilton was therefore to betake himself with his three regi ments to the Firth of Forth, to make one more appeal to the people of Scotland against their leaders. It would be long before Charles could be brought to open his eyes to the fact that he was contending against Scotland itself. April 7. The new proclamation. On April 7, therefore, a new proclamation was drawn up to enlighten the eyes of the misguided peasants and tradesmen of Scotland. In it Charles assured his subjects of his intention to stand by the promises made in his name at Glasgow. Nineteen of the leaders-Argyle, Rothes, Montrose, Leslie, and others-were excepted from pardon, though a promise was added that if they submitted within four-and-twenty hours after the publication of the proclamation, their cases should be taken into favourable consideration. After that time had elapsed, a price would be set on their heads, to be paid to anyone who put them to death. A free pardon should be granted to all others who had participated in rebellion. More than this, all vassals and tenants of persons in rebellion were to keep their rents in their own hands, one-half to be paid to the King, and the other to be retained by themselves. All tenants of rebels taking the King's side were to receive a long lease of their lands from the Crown at two-thirds of their present rent. Disloyal tenants of a loyal landlord were to be expelled from their holdings. In one respect, this proApril 10. clamation was modified before it was finally issued. Modification The Scots about the King remonstrated against the clamation. clauses offering a reward for assassination, and he of the pro spring' Wentworth to Northumberland, Feb. 10, Strafford Letters, II. 279. |