were seized and tried by a court martial. They were all condemned, and his two friends were executed on gibbets erected before their own doors. He himself had been condemned to the same fate ; but he found means to interest the puritanical preachers in his welfare, by affecting to receive their devout exhortations with humility and reverence; he was thus permitted to redeem his life by a fine of ten thousand pounds.

The severity exercised against Waller's conspiracy, increased the authority of parliament, and enabled them to display the most rigorous means to prevent like attempts for the future. Whoever incurred their displeasure, or was exposed to their suspicion, was committed to prison and prosecuted for delinquency. After all the old jails were full, many new ones were erected; and even the ships were crowded with royalists, both gentry and clergy, who languished below decks and perished in those unhealthy confinements. They imposed taxes, the heaviest and of the most unusual nature, by an ordinance of the two houses; they voted a commission for sequestration, and they seized, wherever they had power, the revenues of all the king's party. A covenant, as a test, was taken by the lords and commons, and imposed on their army, and on all who lived within their quarters; the covenanters there vow, that they will never lay down their arms so long as the papists, now in open war against the parliament, shall by force of arms be protected from justice; and they promise to assist to the utmost the forces raised by both houses, against those levied by the king. But by the progress of the king's arms, a cry for peace was renewed with more violence than ever. Crowds of women with a petition for that purpose flocked about the house, and were so clamorous that orders were given for their dispersion, and some of them were killed in the fray. Many

peers deserted the parliament and went to Oxford. Northumberland retired to his country seat; Essex himself shewed extreme dissatisfaction, and exhorted the parliament to make peace. The upper house sent down terms of accommodation more moderate than had been hitherto insisted on. It even passed by a majority among the commons that these proposals should be transmitted to the king.

In order to dispel this threatening storm, a pe tition against peace was framed in the city and presented by the factious mayor Pennington, attended by multitudes, who renewed their former menaces against the moderate party. The puritanical pulpits thundered, and rumours were spread of twenty thousand Irish who had landed, and were to cut the throat of every protestant. The majority was again turned against peace, and every preparation was made for resistance, and for the immediate relief of Gloucester, on which all the hopes of parlia ment for success in the war so much depended.

The garrison of Gloucester was reduced to the last extremity, and the governor did not fail to represent from time to time, that unless speedily relieved, he should be compelled, from the extreme want of provisions and ammunition, to open his gates to the enemy. The parliament voted accordingly that an army should be levied under sir Wil liam Waller, notwithstanding his late misfortunes. They appointed the earl of Manchester general of some of the eastern associated counties, and ordered an army to be levied under his command. But above all, they provided for Essex's army being put in condition to march against the king. They again excited their preachers to furious decla mations against the royal cause. They even employed the expedient of pressing, though lately abolished by a law for which they had strenuously contended; and they engaged the city to send four

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regiments of their militia to the relief of Gloucester. Meanwhile, all shops were ordered to be shut, and the event of that important enterprize was generally expected with the utmost anxiety.

Essex marched to Gloucester with a well appointed army of fourteen thousand men, and obliged the king to raise the siege, when the garrison had only one barrel of powder left and no provisions. But after the relief of Gloucester, another difficulty remained; Essex had his retreat to accomplish in face of an army much superior to his own in cavalry. When he reached Newbury, he found the king posted in his front, which rendered an action unavoidable. He prepared for it with great presence of mind, (September 20.) Though his horse was several times broken, his infantry maintained themselves in firm array. The militia of London on this occasion, equalled what could be expected from veteran forces. Night put an end to the battle, and left the victory undecided. Essex proceeded on his march to London, and the king, who closely followed him, obtained no other advantage than the re-capture of Reading.

This acquisition was more than balanced by the irreparable loss of Lucius Cary, viscount Falkland, secretary of state, who by his eminent talents, prudence, and energy, was the most essential member of the king's council, and the ablest supporter of his

cause.

The loss sustained on both sides in the battle of Newbury, and the advanced season, obliged the armies to retire into winter quarters.

In the north, the great interest and popularity of the earl, now created marquis of Newcastle, raised during the summer, a considerable force for the king, and great hopes were entertained from that quarter. There appeared, however, in opposition to him, two men, on whom the event of the war final

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ly depended. These were sir Thomas Fairfax, son of the lord of that name, and Oliver Cromwell. The former gained a considerable advantage at Wakefield over a detachment of royalists; the latter obtained a victory at Gainsborough, over a party commanded by the gallant Cavendish, who was killed in the action. But these defeats were more than fully compensated by the total rout of lord Fairfax at Atherton-moor, and the dispersion of his army. Newcastle, after this victory, laid siege before Hull with an army of fifteeen thousand men. Hotham was no longer governor of this place. He and his son, partly from a jealousy entertained of lord Fairfax, partly repenting of their engagements against the king, had entered into a correspondence with Newcastle, and had expressed an intention of delivering Hull into his hands. But their conspiracy being detected, they were arrested and sent to London, where they were sentenced to death and executed.

Newcastle having carried on the attack of Hull for some time, was beat off by a rally of the garrison, and obliged to raise the siege. About the same time, Manchester, who advanced from the associated countries, having joined Cromwell and the young Fairfax, obtained a considerable victory over the royalists at Horncastle, where these two officers made themselves conspicuous by their conduct and gallantry. The king's party, however, still remained much superior in those parts of England, and had it not been for the garrison of Hull, which kept Yorkshire in awe, a junction of the northern forces with the army in the south might have taken place, and had probably enabled the king, instead of attacking Gloucester, to march directly to London and put an end to the war.

As the issue of that bloody intestine war becanie every day more doubtful, the parliament had re

course for assistance to Scotland, and the king to Ireland.

The two houses having made a new great seal, declared, that all letters patent and grants, passed the great seal by the king after May 22nd, 1642, should be void; and that henceforward their own great seal should be of the same authority as any great seal of England had formerly been, and committed the custody of it to the earls of Bolingbroke and Kent. The rebels also seized the regalia and plate in Westminster abbey, and being desired to leave a single cup for the communion, they answered, a wooden dish would serve the turn.

The popular party in England, to allure the Scottish covenanters, had early declared their wishes for ecclesiastical reformation. In the mean time the covenanters had the greatest apprehensions that should the king be able by force of arms to prevail over the parliament of England, and re-establish his authority, he would retract all those concessions, which, with so many circumstances of violence and indignity, the Scots had extorted from him.

The parliament of England had ever invited the Scots from the beginning of the civil dissentions, to interpose their mediation, which they knew would be so little favourable to the king; and for that very reason, Charles, with the least offensive expression had declined it. The English parliament being now fallen into great distress by the progress of the royal arms, they sent commissioners to Edinburgh, with ample powers to treat for a nearer union and confederacy with the Scottish nation. Vane, a man of great capacity, eloquence, address, and dissimulation, was chiefly trusted in this negociation, and, by his persuasion, was framed at Edinburgh that solemn league and covenant, which effaced all former protestations and vows taken in both kingdoms. In