XI. 1647. CHAP. the same time, in anticipation of the fate which then seemed probable. All these, which are preserved and published in the Clarendon State Papers, are of much interest.* His letter to his wife, to be delivered after his death, breathes only the tenderest and most considerate affection. In his will he bequeathed every thing to her; committing his children wholly to her care; and entreating, for her and his children, the assistance and advice of Lords Capel and Hopton, Secretary Nicholas, his cousin Sergeant Hyde, and Mr. Jeffery Palmer; desires that his children may "con"tinue an entire friendship with the children of Secretary Nicholas;" "and, likewise," he added, "that my sons may seasonably be instructed to "all respect and kindness towards the children of "" my dear lord, the Lord Falkland, with whom I "had a most perfect and blameless friendship:" a remarkable and sincere indication of that respect and devotion for the memory of his distinguished friend which is expressed so eloquently in his other writings. 66 It was under this hard combination of adverse circumstances, that Hyde laboured during his residence in Jersey yet his spirit was undismayed, his industry unrepressed, and his mind tranquil and even cheerful. He derived his chief solace from literary occupations, and the friendship of Sir George Carteret. He was invited by Carteret, after Lord Hopton's departure, to remove from the town, and * Clar. State Papers, ii. 351–364. 66 an offer CHAP. to live with him in the Castle Elizabeth, While preparing his celebrated history of the past, he kept a watchful eye upon passing events; and wrote, in behalf of the King, an answer to the Parliament's declaration of February 15th, 1648, published after their vote, "that no more addresses should be made to the King," in consequence of his refusal, when in the Isle of Wight, to give assent to the four articles sent to him from the Parliament. The time was long past when the mighty contest could be decided by words, and when all that the eloquence of man could urge might be expected to alter the stubborn will of the parliamentary leaders. But it was possible that, in defence of the King, a pathetic appeal might, as the writer says, "work upon the affec"tions of the people," in whom the sufferings and helpless condition of the Sovereign, and impatience under the yoke of their new masters, had produced a return of feeling favourable to the royal cause. XL 1648. CHAP. XII. THE KING IS DELIVERED UP ΤΟ THE PARLIAMENT. — IS CHAP. 1647. 1647-1649. IN January, 1647, Charles was delivered by the Scotch into the hands of the English Parliament; and, about the same time, the English Parliament paid a sum of money to the Scotch, -a coincidence which has exposed that nation to the reproach of having sold their Sovereign. All, however, that can be fairly imputed is, that the Scotch were willing to use the King as security for the payment of a just debt. Four hundred thousand pounds were due for arrears; and the payment had been voted by the Commons in the preceding months of August and September. The King was carried by the English commissioners to Holdenby, in Northamptonshire, and there kept in strict seclu XII. 1647. sion. Thus, for the first time, did the Parliament CHAP. become possessed of the person of the King, - of almost all that, hitherto, had seemed wanting to confirm their power. But, at this period of their triumph, their power was tottering before that greater power which they had called into being. They had subdued the King by the instrumentality of the army, and the army was now ready to subdue its employers. The Parliament, no longer needing a large military force in England, wished to send a portion to Ireland, and to disband the remainder. But these propositions were distasteful to the soldiery: latterly, too, they had been ill paid; and large arrears were due, while the civil servants of the Parliament were accumulating wealth. Disaffection increased, and, in March, 1647, broke out in mutiny. A petition was addressed to the Commander-in-chief, demanding satisfaction with regard to arrears of pay, and other points. The Parliament voted the petition mutinous, and its promoters enemies to the state. The flame only burnt more fiercely in consequence of this vote; and a reply was sent, signed by numerous officers of the army, asserting the right of petition, and complaining of the injurious language of the parliamentary declaration. The powerless and terrified Parliament sent Cromwell, Ireton, Fleetwood, and Skippon, to the army, on a commission of negotiation and inquiry. They entrusted their cause to that master spirit, the idol of the soldiers, by whom it is believed the discontents of the army XII. 1647. CHAP. had been secretly fomented*; and from that hour their doom was sealed-their power had departed. With the consent of the commissioners, a military convention was formed, a mutinous organisation was sanctioned; and the result was, a declaration that in the army were found no distempers, but many grievances, and that the offers of the Parlia ment were unsatisfactory. Cromwell returned to the Parliament to report the ill success of his mission; and meanwhile a blow was struck, and probably by his secret direction, which rendered the ascendency of the army no longer questionable. + The army had, in April, attempted a secret negotiation with the King; offering, if he would place himself in their hands, to restore him to "his "honour, crown, and dignity,"-an offer which the King had declined. Fair means had failed; others must, therefore, be employed to get the King within their power; and, on the 3d of June, when the Parliament were preparing submission to the army, by voting that the declaration against them should be erased from the Journals, a deed was done which placed the prostrate Parliament still more at the mercy of the troops. Cornet Joyce, armed with no written authority, but with a body of 500 horse, whom he exhibited as his warrant, repaired to Holdenby, and carried off the King to the head quarters at Triplow Heath. ‡ Ludlow's Memoirs, i. 189. Thurloe's State Papers, ii. 94. + Clarendon State Papers, ii. 365. Ludlow says, that Joyce had an order in writing from the agitators (Ludlow,i. 191.); but Joyce, if he had it, does not seem to have acknowledged it. Hollis states that Joyce's enterprise was arranged at a secret |