men rough: the methods of expreffing refentment or diflike, at perfons or their meafures, were rather calculated to flew the averfion which men had against them, than to perfuade them of their errors on purpose to reclaim them. The enemies of Laud never meant to reclaim him from his error, but were refolutely bent upon his deftruction. He probably deferved to fuffer; his crimes were truly atrocious: but the inveterate refentment of his enemies cannot be vindicated. Nothing less than impeachment could pleafe them, and they feem to have thirfted after his blood. His impeachment was drawn up by the commons, and Mr Hollis carried it to the bar of the lords. The commons prayed that his perfon might be fequeftered, and promifed that in due time they would bring up the particulars of their charge against him; upon which he was commanded to withdraw. He was foon after this, committed to the ufher of the black rod, and ordered to be kept in fafe cuftody till the Houfe of Commons fhould deliver in their articles of impeachment. Upon the twenty-fixth of February, Meffis Pym, Hampden, and Maynard, by appointment of the commons, went to the houfe of Lords, and at the bar of the houfe prefented fourteen articles in fupport of the charge of high treafon which they had already brought against the Archbishop, which were read in presence of his Grace. The articles of impeachment were,That he had attempted to fubvert the conftitution. That he caufed fermons to be preached, -- and and pamphlets to be written, wherein the authority of parliaments was denied.-That he had interrupted the course of juftice, by threatenings, and promises to the judges.--That he himself had fold juftice. That he had made canons and impofed an oath upon the fubjects by the late convocation. That he had robbed the King of his fupremacy, by denying his ecclefiaftical jurifdiction. -That he had introduced popifh ceremonies contrary to the articles of the church, and cruelly perfecuted those who oppofed them-That he had preferred perfons to the highest places in the church, who were corrupt in their doctrine and manners.-That he had kept fuch for chaplains who were papifts, and had committed to them the care of licensing the prefs.-That he wanted to reconcile the church of England with the church of Rome.-That he had discounte nanced preaching, by depriving and fufpending orthodox minifters.-That he had divided the church of England from other proteftant churches. -That he was the author of all the late difturbances in England and Scotland. And lastly, that he intended to deprive the nation of the legiflative power, by alienating the King's heart from his parliament. When these articles were delivered, Mr Pym declared, that the commons referved to themfelves the liberty of presenting some additional articles, by which they intended to make the charge more particular and certain as to time and circumftances, and prayed their Lordships to put the cause in as quick forwardnefs as they could. When When these articles were read to Laud, he denied the charge of the commons; but notwithftanding his denial, the lords voted him to the tower, where he was carried in Mr Maxwell's coach through the city, on Monday the first of March he was carried thither amidst the clamour and infults of the mob, whom he had long provoked by his arbitrary and tyrannical hehaviour. No perfon fuffered a punishment with less fympathy and pity from the people for fome ages before, and there have been none fince his time, who have borne any rank in church or ftate who have died lefs lamented. Laud had the mortification to fee before his confinement, the greatest part of the church and ftate prifoners releafed and fet at liberty. The Bishop of Lincoln was difcharged from his imprisonment in the tower, and his fine remitted; and next day being a public fast, he appeared in the abbey church, at Westminster, and officiated as Dean. He made no complaints against his perfecutors, nor petitioned for fatisfaction. The court knew that he had reafon to oppofe their measures, and were cautious enough to prefer him to the fee of York, on purpofe that he might not join with their enemies, at a time when they were not able to vindicate themselves. Mr Prynne, Mr Burton, and Dr Baftwick, were now relieved from their confinement, upon their petition to the house of commons, and were met at fome miles diftance from London by great numbers of people on horfe-back, with rofemary and and bays in their hats, and were escorted in great triumph into the city, amidst the acclamations of multitudes, who rejoiced at their deliver ance. The commons by their refolutions, declared, that the feveral judgments paffed against them, were illegal, unjuft, and contrary to the liberty of the fubjects, and ordered their fines to be remitted, and themselves restored to their feveral profeffions and all the immunities which belonged thereto. The house decreed, that their loffes fhould be repaired out of the eftates of the Archbishop, the High Commiffioners, and thofe Lords who had voted aginft them in the ftar-chamber: but there is no account in the hiftories of those times concerning the payment of the money. Dr Leighton was fet at liberty about this time, and his fine of ten thousand pounds remitted. When his petition was read, it drew tears from the whole audience; his cafe was truly tragical. He was apprehended coming from fermon, on the feventeenth of February, by a warrant from the high-commiffion, and dragged along the streets with bills and ftaves to London houfe: he was imprisoned in Newgate, and clapt in irons, confined in a loathfome and dark dungeon, which was full of rats and mice, and deftitute of light, except what came from the roof, from whence the fnow and the rain beat upon him; he was allowed no bedding nor any place to make a fire, except the ruins of an old fmoaky chimney. In this woful dungeon he was fhut up for fifteen weeks, and no perfon permitted to come near him, till till at length his wife was admitted with much difficulty. Upon the fourth day after his commitment, the Pursuivant, with a mighty rabble of the Bishop's creatures, came to his houfe, to fearch, as they pretended, for jefuit books, and ufed his wife in a moft barbarous and inhuman manner they rifled every person and place in the house, and held a pistol to the breast of a child of five years old, threatening to kill him if he did not discover the books they pretended were in the houfe; they plundered his houfe and left him nothing, carried off all his houshold furniture and wearing apparel, of which he never received the fmallest account. At the end of fifteen weeks he was served with a fubpena, on an information laid against him, by Mr Attorney General Heath, who ufed him in the moft barbarous and cruel manner. He was at this time fick, and in the opinion of his phyficians poisoned, because all the hair came from his fkin; yet in the very height of this fickness the cruel fentence was executed upon him, which had been paft in the year one thoufand fix hundred and thirty. He received thirty-. fix ftripes upon his naked back with a triple cord, his hands in the mean time tied up to a stake, and after this was finifhed, he ftood near two hours in the pillory in the froft and fnow; then he was branded on the face, his nofe was flit, and his ears cut off; and after this barbarity was ended, he was carried by water to the fleet, where he was fhut up in a room where he never enjoyed his health; and after eight years confine ment |