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Athenæ

gave very much. This appeared more after the duke of Buckingham's death, after which

thofe

(P) Wood's Bible (p), and was at the pains of drawing inftructions Oxon. vol. for his archbishops Abbot and Laud, perufing the acii. c. 701. counts they gave of their provinces, and writing marginal notes on them, in which he discovered his bigotry, fuperftition, and attachment to the priesthood.

I will have no preeft have anie neceffity of a lay dependancie,' fays he in one of them. In a fecond, remarking on Laud's acquainting him that there were some Brownifts in his diocefs, and that the only remedy was to make the chief feducers be driven to abjure the kingdom, he fays, Informe me of the particulars, and I ⚫ fhall command the judges to make them abjure.' I will add only a third, which was made by him upon a complaint against five ministers for not catechifing: 'I defire, fays he, to know the certainty of this (9).' In fhort, whoever would know the littleness of the mind of counts of Charles, and the attention he paid to trifles, cannot do his province better than read his inftructions about church-matters, to the king, and his remarks on the accounts he received concerning Laud's trou- them. But to go on.-When his majesty was at New

(9) The

annual ac

at the end of

bles and trial, by Wharton, Lond. fol. 1695.

(r) King Charles's

works, p.76.

caftle, in the year 1646, he engaged in a controverfy with Mr. Alexander Henderfon, a Scotch divine, concerning the change of church-government; in which, after the manner of polemical divines, he debates ftrenuously against prefbytery; declares his opinion that church-government is an effential; that it was of fuch confequence, as, by the alteration of it, we fhould deprive ourselves of a lawful priesthood; and then, fays he, how the facraments can be duly adminiftred, is eafy to judge (r). When the king was at Holdenby, April 23, 1647, he propounded to the parliament's commiffioners the following quære, Why the new reformers discharge the keeping of Eafter? The reason for this quære is, I conceive, the celebration of this feaft was inftituted by the fame authority which changed the Jewish Sabbath-day into the Lord's-day, or Sunday; for it will not be found in Scripture where Saturday is difcharged to be kept, or turned

into

those showers fell very rarely; and he paused too long in giving; which made those to whom he gave, lefs fenfible of the benefit. He kept ftate to the full, which

into the Sunday: wherefore it must be the church's authority that changed the one, and inftituted the other. Therefore my opinion is, that those who will not keep this feaft, may as well return to the obfervation of Saturday, and refufe the weekly Sunday. When any body can fhew me that I am in an errour, I fhall not be ashamed to confess and amend it; till when you know my mind.

C. R. () () King

91.

And at the treaty of Newport, Oct. 2, 1648, we find Charles's his majefty employing his pen on the fame fubject that works, p. he had debated before with Henderson at Newcastle. In fhort, Charles had a good deal of the difputatious temper of his father, and the fame itch after the loweft of theological controverfies. For how poor a thing is it for a prince to attend to the reafons which are urged for or against epifcopacy by polemical divines? How weak to imagine church-government to be an effential, or that the facraments cannot be duly adminiftred but by the priesthood, ordained in a particular way? A man in Charles's fituation, one would have thought, fhould have ftudied to have gained friends, to have brought over foes, to have owned and palliated past misconduct, and to have yielded in time to fuch conceffions as might have made him great and his people happy. But to trifle away time on things below a wife man's regard, any farther than as they afford matter of diverfion, in his very critical circumftances, was inexcufable weakness, and a debasement of character beyond example. 'Tis true, these were the controversies of the age: but controverfies of this kind are fit only at all times for the idle, and therefore wholly unworthy of a prince when his crown was at ftake, and even his very life in danger.

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(t) War

wick, p. 34.

made his court very orderly; no man prefuming to be seen in a place where he had no pretence to be.

Whether he had much fenfibility of temper, may, perhaps, juftly be made a queftion (s):

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(s) Whether he had much fenfibility of temper, may, perhaps, justly be made a queftion.] There are feveral facts recorded of Charles, which feem to fhew him not overftocked with compaffion at the misfortunes of others, or touched with their calamities. The manner in which he received the news of the murder of Buckingham, has, I know, been looked on as proof of his great piety and devotion; though it might, perhaps, with the fame fine imagination, have been made an evidence of his want of feeling. The news [ Buckingham's death] foon came to court, and the king understood it whilst he was at his morning public devotion, and there he gave an evidence of his compofed mind; for he expreft no paffion, till the service was ended; and then he retired, ' and was very sensible of it (t).' This is plainly and naturally told. Let us now fee it decorated. His majefty was at the public prayers of the church, when fir John Hippefly came into the room, with a troubled countenance, and without any pause, in respect of the exercise they were performing, went directly to the king, and whispered in his ear what had fallen out. His majefty continued unmoved, and without the least < change in his countenance, till prayers were ended; ' when he fuddenly departed to his chamber, and threw himself upon his bed, lamenting, with much paffion, and with abundance of tears, the lofs he had of an ex'cellent fervant, and the horrid manner in which he had 'been deprived of him: and he continued in this me(u) Claren-lancholic difcompofure of mind many days (u).' This lamenting, with much paffion and abundance of tears, seems to be an embellishment of the writer; for in Mr. Waller's fine poem, addressed to his majesty on this occa fion, we find not a hint of it; but the whole turns on

don, vol. i.

P. 30.

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tion: though certain it is, he had not learned

the devotion of Charles, the unmovedness of his mind,
and his kindness to the duke's family.

• He that with thine fhall weigh good David's deeds,
• Shall find his paffion, not his love exceeds:
'He curft the mountains where his brave friend dy'd,
But let falfe Ziba with his heir divide:

• Where thy immortal love to thy bleft friends,
• Like that of heav'n, upon their feed descends.
• Such huge extremes inhabit thy great mind,

Godlike, unmov'd; and yet like woman kind.' The following paffage is from Whitlock, of which the reader will judge. Prince Rupert, at Cirencester, took 1100 prisoners, and 3000 arms. These prisoners ' were led in much triumph to Oxford, where the king and lords looked on them, and too many fmiled at their mifery, being tied together with cords, almoft naked, beaten, and driven along like dogs. Among them was a proper handsome man, of a very white fkin, where it could be feen for the blood of his ' wounds: he not being able to go, was fet naked upon the bare back of an horfe, his wounds gaping, and his body smeared with blood; yet he fat upright upon the horfe, with an undaunted countenance, and, when near the king, a brawling woman cried out to him, Ah you traitorly rogue, you are well enough ferved: he, with a fcornful look towards her, anfwered, You bafe whore and instantly dropped off dead from his horfe (w).- He was feldom, in the times of war, (w) Whitfeen to be forrowful for the flaughter of his people or lock's mefoldiers, or indeed any thing else (fays Lilly), whether by nature or custom his heart was hardened, I leave Lond. 17320 for others to judge. When unfortunately the parlia⚫ment had loft fome of their men in the Weft, at Marlborough and the Devizes, and they brought in a miferable condition, without hofe or fhoes, or scarce cloaths, into Oxford as a triumph, he was content to be a fpectator of their calamities; but gave neither orF 2 der

morials, P.

67, fol.

(x) Life and
death of K.

Charles,
P. 14.

(T) learned to facrifice to the graces. Much

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der for their relief, or commands for ease of their fufferings nay, it was noted by fome there present, he rejoiced in their fad affliction (x). Indeed, fir Philip Warwick affures us, that the king being informed of Mr. Hambden's being wounded, would have fent him over any chirurgeon of his, if any had been wanting: for (adds he, as the motive) he looked upon his intereft, if he could gain his affection, as a powerful C means of begetting a right understanding betwixt him (y)Memoirs, and his two houses (y).' What lord Clarendon therefore meant by afcribing to this monarch a tenderness and compaffion of nature, which reftrained him from ever doing a hard-hearted thing (x); what, I fay, he meant by this, will not be eafily known by thofe who confider this king's actions.

P. 241.

(x) Vol. v. p. 256.

(T) He had not learned to facrifice to the graces.] Politeness and civility, affability and good-nature, though not perhaps effentially neceffary to form the character of an honeft man or a good prince, yet are they undoubtedly very ornamental, and the want of them occafions many vexations. A prince fhould be eafy of access, kind in his expreffions, infinuating in his behaviour; in fhort, his words and actions fhould fhew the well-bred, good-natured man. But nothing was at a farther distance from this than the behaviour of Charles. Burnet tells us,

he had a grave reserved deportment, in which he forC got the civilities and the affability that the nation naturally loved, and to which they had been long accustomed. Nor did he, in his outward deportment, take any pains to oblige any persons whatsoever: fo far from that, he had fuch an ungracious way of fhewing favour, that the manner of beftowing it was al(a) Hiftory moft as mortifying as the favour was obliging (a).' In a letter to his queen, dated 4 May, 1645, he ftiles fir Thomas Fairfax (a man of as meek and humble car(b) Memo- riage, fays Whitlock, as ever I faw in great (b) employrials, p. 204. ment) the rebels new brutish general (c).'-It was natural enough for him to ftile the parliament at Westmin

of his own

times, p.25.

(c) King's

cabinet, p.3.

fter,

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