regal power; that they had attempted to draw his late army to disobedience of his commands, and to side with them against his majesty'; that they had endeavoured, as far as in them lay, by force and terror to compel the parliament to join with them, and to that end, had actually raised and countenanced tumults against the king and parliament. A serjeant at arms in the king's name demanded of the house of commons the five impeached members, and was sent back without any positive answer. Messengers were employed to search for them and arrest them. The lodgings, trunks, and studies of some of them were visited and sealed up. Upon which the commons issued an order, " that it should "be lawful for any member, against whom such "acts of violence should be attempted, to stand

upon his guard and make resistance, to require "the aid of the next constable, for whom, as for 66 any other person, it should be lawful to assist "him according to the protestation taken to defend "the privileges of parliament."

The next day in the afternoon the king himself came to the house of commons, and commanding all his attendants to wait at the door and give offence to no man; he entered the house, took the chair of the speaker, and told them that he came to see if any of those persons he had accused were there, for he was resolved to have them wheresoever he should find them; he then asked the speaker if they were in the house, and receiving no answer, he looked about and said, "he perceived the birds "were all flown, but expected they should be sent to him as soon as they returned thither, assuring "them, on the word of a king, that he never in"tended any force, but would proceed against them “in a fair and legal way.'

"

The commons were in the utmost disorder, and when the king was departing, some members cried aloud, so as he might hear them, "Privilege!

"privilege!" That evening the impeached members took shelter in the city, which was their fortress. The inhabitants were the whole night in arms, and some of them, probably appointed for that purpose, ran from door to door, crying out that the Cavaliers were coming to burn the city, and that the king himself was at their head.

Next morning Charles sent to the mayor, and ordered him to call a common council immediately. About ten o'clock he himself, attended only by three or four lords, went to Guildhall. He told the common council that he was come to them without any guard, to show how much he relied on their affection; that he would proceed in a legal way against certain men whom he had accused of high treason, and therefore presumed that they would not meet with protection in the city. After many other gracious expressions, he told one of the sheriffs, who, of the two was thought the least inclined to his service, that he would dine with him. When he departed the hall, instead of the applause he expected, he heard the cry of "Privilege of parliament !" resounding from all quarters. One of the populace more insolent than the rest drew nigh to his coach, and threw into it a paper where were written the words, "To your tents, O Israel!" which had been employed by the mutinous Israelites, when they abandoned Rehoboam, their rash and ill-counselled sovereign.

The king was soon tired and discouraged by the unsuccessfulness of all his attempts in this important accusation, so suddenly entered upon, without concert, deliberation, or reflection. This rash measure had been suggested by lord Digby, a man of fine parts, but full of levity, and hurried on by precipitate passions. The queen herself and the ladies of the court had represented likewise, that if the king exerted the vigour and displayed the majesty of a monarch, the daring usurpations of his subjects

would shrink before him. But the result proved just the reverse; it diverted the people's minds from the odious prosecution against the bishops, and drew upon the king the general animadversion which had manifested itself against the parliament. From the speech he had lately addressed to the house of commons, was inferred an intention of offering violence to the parliament, by seizing by force the accused members in the very house, and murdering all who should make resistance; and that unparalleled breach of privilege, as it was called, was still ascribed to the counsel of papists and their adherents. These expressions repeated in all speeches and popular pamphlets, spread the deepest consternation throughout the kingdom, and gave credit to the most absurd stories of new conspiracies and imminent dangers. When the people were thus wrought up to a sufficient degree of rage it was thought proper that the accused members should with a triumphant and military procession, take their seats in the house. The river was covered with boats and other vessels laden with small pieces of ordnance, and prepared for fight. The five accused members at the head of a tumultuary army, were conducted to Westminster hall; and when the populace by land and by water passed Whitehall, they still asked with insulting shouts what has become of the king and his Cavaliers? and where are they fled?

The king retired to Hampton court, and two days after to Windsor, overwhelmed with grief, shame, and remorse. His distressed situation he could no longer impute to the rigour of destiny, or the malignity of enemies. His own indiscretion and precipitancy must bear the blame of all disasters that should henceforth befal him. In vain did he offer to wave for the present all thoughts of prosecution, and even to pardon those he had accused; they were resolved to accept of no satisfaction. They were encouraged by turbulent petitions from

the capital and from many counties. The porters, whose number amounted to fifteen thousand, and the beggars followed the example; the very market-women were seized with the same rage; a brewer's wife, followed by many thousands of her sex, brought a petition to the house, expressing their terror of the papists and prelates. Pym came to the door, and having thanked these female zealots, begged that their prayers for the success of the commons might follow their petition. Such were the low arts of popularity employed to incite the credulous people to civil discord and convulsions.

The

The terror and despondency of the king's party soon became general. The peers themselves yielded to the torrent; many bills sent up by the commons and stopped in the upper house, were now passed and presented for the royal assent. queen too, being secretly threatened with an impeachment, and finding no resource in her husband's protection, was preparing to retire into Holland, and she prevailed upon the king to pass these bills, in hopes of facilitating her escape, by appeasing for a time the rage of the multitude.

These concessions as all the preceding ones, became the foundation of demands still more exorbitant. From the weakness of the king's disposition and situation, the commons believed that he could not now refuse them any thing; and they regarded the least moment of relaxation in their invasion of royal authority as highly impolitic. They carried up an impeachment against Herbert, attorney-general, for obeying the king's commands in accusing their members; and they prosecuted with great vigour their plan for organizing the militia, on which they rested all future hopes of an uncontrolled authority. They sent an injunction to Goring, governor of Portsmouth, to obey no orders but such as he should receive from parliament.

The severe votes passed in the beginning of this

session against lieutenants and their deputies, on no other ground than their having assumed the usual powers exercised by their predecessors, had not left to any magistrate a military authority, sufficient for the defence and security of the nation. A bill was now passed, which restored to them the same powers of which the votes of the commons had bereaved them, but at the same time, the names of all the lieutenants were inserted in the bill; and these consisted entirely of men in whom the parliament could confide; as by the express terms of the bill, they were declared to be accountable to them for their conduct, and not to the king.

Charles went with the queen to Dover, where she embarked for Holland with the princess of Orange, (February 23.) He then returned to Greenwich, and sent for the prince of Wales and the duke of York to come to him. During his majesty's stay at Dover, he received the bills abovementioned, which were so completely destructive of royal authority, that the commons justly regarded them as the last they should ever have occasion to make, if the king could be prevailed on to give his assent to them. Here Charles ventured to put a stop to his concessions, not however by a refusal, but only by a delay. He replied, that he had not now leisure to consider a matter of such great importance, and must, therefore, postpone his answer till his return. The parliament immediately dispatched another message to him with solicitations still more importunate. They insisted that it was their duty to see a measure so necessary for public safety put into execution, and they affirmed that in many counties the people had applied to them for this purpose; and, in some places were of themselves, and by their own authority, providing against those urgent dangers with which they were threatened.

Even after this insolence the king durst not ven