the most guilty of his enemies, and left hopes of favour to his most violent opponents. He even seemed desirous of losing the memory of all past animosities, and uniting every party in an affection for their prince and their country. He discovered also a great prudence in the composition of his council, by adınitting only into it men of eminent abili ties, without consulting his personal affection or disaffection towards them, nor taking any notice of their late opinions or party. The presbyterians equally shared this honour with the royalists. Annesley was created earl of Anglesey; Ashley Cooper, lord Ashley; Denzel Hollis, lord Hollis. The earl of Manchester was appointed lord Chamberlain ; lord Say, privy seal; and two presbyterian clergymen were even made chaplains to the king. Admiral Montague was created earl of Sandwich; Monk, earl of Albemarle; and the king ever treated him with great marks of distinction.

Charles's good sense was no less conspicuous in the choice of his ministers; and this was the important circumstance which chiefly satisfied the nation, and prognosticated future happiness and tranquillity. Sir Edward Hyde, created earl of Clarendon, was chancellor and prime minister; the marquis of Ormond was created duke, and appointed steward of the household; the earl of Southampton, high treasurer; sir Edward Nicholas, secretary of state. These men, united together in friendship and in the same laudable inclinations, reciprocally supported each other's credit, and promoted, as much as the circumstances would allow, the new settlement of government in all its several branches, and the prosperity of public affairs.

The parliament entered immediately into good correspondence with the king, and treated him with the same dutiful regard which was usually paid to his predecessors before the rebellion. As they had

Both

been summoned without the king's orders, they received at first the title of a Convention, and were not called a Parliament till his majesty had passed an act for that purpose. All judicial proceedings transacted in the name of the commonwealth or protector, were ratified by a general law. houses acknowledging the guilt of the rebellion, gratefully received, in their own name, and in that of all the subjects, his majesty's gracious pardon and indemnity. A proclamation was issued declaring, that such of the late king's judges as did not yield themselves prisoners in fourteen days, should receive no pardon. Nineteen obeyed, some were taken in their flight, others escaped beyond sea.

It was moved in the house of peers, that all the king's judges and members of any high court of justice, should be excepted from the indemnity. So wide an exception spread general alarm, which the king soon dissipated by going to the upper house, where, in the most earnest terms, he passed the act of general indemnity, urging both the neces sity of it, and the obligation of his promises, which he would ever hold as sacred, since he probably owed to them the satisfaction he now enjoyed of meeting his people in parliament. This measure was as much applauded as it deserved to be, and the satisfaction it produced consolidated more and more the king's popularity.

After repeated solicitations the act of indemnity passed both houses, and immediately received the royal assent. Those who had an immediate hand in the late king's death were there excepted. Oliver Cromwell, Ireton, Bradshaw, Vane, Lambert, and others, now dead, were attainted, and their estates forfeited. Their bodies, by order of both houses, were dug from their graves, dragged to Tyburn, and after hanging from ten o'clock in the morning to the setting of the sun, buried under the gallows.

The members of the high courts of justice were disabled from holding any offices.

The next business which the parliament was to provide for, was the settlement of the king's revenue. They granted him one hundred thousand pounds ayear in lieu of the tenures of wards and liveries ; they assigned one half of the excise for the payment of that sum; they also granted him the other part of the excise, with tonnage and poundage during life; and the whole revenue of the crown for all charges was fixed at one million two hundred thousand pounds a-year; but the funds they assigned for it would scarcely yield two thirds of that sum; they left the care of providing for the balance to the future consideration of parliament.

The disbanding of the army was necessary for the security both of king and parliament, yet the commons shewed great jealousy in granting the sums requisite for it. An assessment of seventy thousand pounds a-month was imposed, to continue only three months; and all the sums that were levied for that purpose by a post bill and new assessments, were still granted by parcels, as if they were anxious of putting too much money at once into the king's hands. When they had proceeded so far in the settlement of the nation, the king came to the upper house, September 13th, and ordered the parliament to adjourn themselves to the 6th of November. On the same day the duke of Gloucester, the king's brother, unexpectedly died with the small pox, in the twentieth year of his age. Charles was never so deeply affected by any incident of his life.

During the recess the trial and condemnation of the regicides took place. Six of the late king's judges, Harrison, Scot, Carew, Clement, Jones, and Scrope; together with Axtel, who had guarded the high court of justice; Hacker, who commanded on the day of the king's execution; Coke, the solicitor

for the people of England, and Hugh Peters, the fanatical preacher, who compelled the army to regicide, were condemned and executed. The nineteen judges who had surrendered themselves prisoners on the king's proclamation, were equally sentenced to death, but they were reprieved, and dispersed into several prisons.

The princess of Orange having come to England to share in the happiness attending the restoration of her family, soon after sickened and died.

The queen mother pays a visit to her son, and obtains his consent to the marriage of the princess Henrietta with Monsieur, the brother to the king of France; its celebration took place on the 1st of April, 1661.

The parliament meets November 6th, and establishes the post office, wine licences, and some articles of the revenue. They grant more assessments, and some arrears for paying and disbanding the army. No more troops were retained than the regiment of general Monk; but the king established a company of horse-guards and another of foot-guards to attend his majesty. This was the first appearance of a regular standing army, or rather armed force in England, as the preceding kings of England had no other permanent military band about them than the yeomen of the king's guards instituted by Henry VII. in 1486, at first to the number of fifty, and afterwards of one hundred; and the honourable band of forty gentlemen pensioners, established in 1509. After a sitting of nearly two months, in which all business had been dispatched with as much activity as unanimity, the king thought proper to dissolve them, and addressed them with a speech full of the most gracious expressions.

Charles, who during his exile had paid entire deference to the counsels of Clarendon, continued still to submit to the direction of this faithful ser

vant, and had new motives every day to congratu late himself for having so well placed his confidence. Besides his constant care and assiduity in the business of his office, he was indefatigable in moderating the forward zeal of the royalists and their inclination for revenge; while he satisfied the opposite party by preserving inviolate all the king's engagements towards them. This worthy minister, at this juncture, unexpectedly found himself nearly allied to the royal family by the marriage of Anne Hyde, his daughter, with the duke of York. The prince, while abroad, had paid his addresses to that lady, a woman of spirit and fine accomplishments, and under promise of marriage he had succeeded in subduing all her virtuous scruples. The king, before he came to England,had refused his consent, and endeavoured to dissuade his brother, which made him not own it for some months after the marriage, when Charles consented to acknowledge it in regard to his friend and minister, who had been ignorant of these engage

ments.

As any attempt of the parliament to give the least superiority to presbyterianism would have been sufficient to involve again the nation in blood and confusion, the commons had wisely postponed the examination of all religious controversy, and had left the settlement of the church to the king, according to the ancient laws.

The king at first used great moderation in the execution of the laws. Nine bishops, who still remained, were immediately restored to their sees; all the ejected clergy recovered their livings; the liturgy was again admitted into the churches. At the same time a declaration was issued, in which the king promised that he would provide suffragan bishops for the larger dioceses; that the prelates should be all of them regular and constant preachers; that they should not confer ordination nor exercise