the sentence would have been carried into effect, but for the marquis of Hamilton, who, when the council rose, asked Strafford if he was sure of the army, and he on inquiry, finding a strong disposition to revolt prevalent, deemed it prudent not to proceed.* Charles himself would never believe in the universal prevalence of discontent, nor in the weakness of his power, when opposed to the torrent of public opinion. His courtiers represented the complaints of the people as unfounded, and the petitions as improperly obtained, and flattered his notions of the irresistible influence, as well as divine right of the crown; he in consequence, pursued rash, uncomplying measures; hated all that offered prudent and moderate counsels; thought they proceeded from a meanness of spirit, or a desire in those who offered them, to advance their own interest by sacrificing his authority, or from republican principles; † and even when he found it necessary to follow such advice, he hated those who gave it; but above all, the free representations of the house of commons were peculiarly disagreeable, and he looked forward with an abhorrent reluctance to their meeting. To avoid convoking this obnoxious assembly, he had recourse to an old, and almost obsolete expedient; he summoned a council of nobles to meet at York; and to stop the progress of the Scots, he ordered Lanark to return a conciliatory message, informing them of his having done so, and requiring them to state their demands specifically, as their supplication was too general, which he would submit to the consideration of the peers, and with their advice, return such an answer as might be consistent with his honour, and the welfare of his dominions. In reply, the Scottish chiefs repeated what they had published in their declaration; that his majesty would be graciously pleased to ratify the acts of the last parliament; that the castle of Edinburgh, and other fortresses in Scotland, should be occupied, as they were originally intended, only for the security and defence of the country; that Scottishmen in England and Ireland, should not be molested for having sub† Ibid. vol. i. p. 38. * Burnet's Hist. vol. i. p. 37. scribed the covenant, nor forced to take oaths in opposition to that engagement, and the laws of their own land; that the common incendiaries, the authors of these combustions, should be brought to punishment; the ships and goods sequestrated, restored; the expense and loss occasioned by the war, repaired, and that, with the advice and concurrence of the English parliament, the declarations denouncing them as traitors, be recalled, the frontier garrisons dismissed, all impediments to a free trade removed, and peace established on a basis not liable to yearly interruption by force, or at the pleasure of their adversaries. Neither of the parties were averse to negotiate. The king's army, inferior in numbers, and heartless in the cause, were willing to attribute their defeat to disaffection, rather than want of courage, and ready to confirm their vindication by a mutiny. Strafford alone advised the king to stake his chance upon a desperate throw, to appeal to the instinctive love of country, and the natural indignation which Englishmen must have felt at the invasion of their territory, and the exaction of contributions, and to their feelings of honour, to wipe away the disgrace their arms had suffered; but the representations of the marquis of Hamilton, and the certainty almost of a number of English noblemen being well affected to the Scots, inclined the king to the milder, although, as the event proved, not the safer plan of treating. Nor were the Scots free from difficulty and embarrassment; they were still without any co-operation from their friends in England, their provisions ran low, their cash was nearly expended, and their credit considerably under par. In these circumstances, they had been constrained for self-preservation, to depart in some degree, from the conduct they observed on their first entry into England, and levy their subsistence in the counties they occupied. The estates of the Canterburian faction, who, as the authors of the war, were objects of fair plunder, being unable to furnish supplies, Newcastle was required to contribute two hundred pounds, the county of Northumberland three hundred, and the bishopric of Durham three hundred and fifty a day, for the current expenses, and the manner in which these impositions were exacted, was beginning to exasperate the minds of the inhabitants against their friendly invaders.* The soldiers, unaccustomed to remain so long in camp, began to be afflicted with distempers arising from cold and exposure, or tired with the protracted campaign, to desert in considerable numbers, and return home. Some of the officers showed symptoms of discontent, and their union was only prevented from being broken, by the accidental discovery of a secret correspondence carried on with the king, by Montrose. This ambitious and unprincipled nobleman, who had been driven into the arms of the covenanters, by the neglect of his sovereign, was regained by his condescending affability at Berwick. His conduct had been viewed with suspicion for some time before, but during the expedition, he had behaved with great apparent zeal, and as he had ever advocated the most extreme measures in parliament, so he seemed ready to support them in the field; he was the first covenanter who set hostile foot in England, yet he had engaged in a bond with several other noblemen, to support the despotic pretensions of the king, and was holding private communication with him.+ An act had passed the committee of war, that no person should send any letter to court, except it had been seen and approved of, by at least three of their number. Montrose, in consequence, read to the committee, several letters, which he proposed sending to some of his friends there, but in sealing them up, he enclosed, within one to Sir Richard Graham, an Some of the gentlemen who were unable to furnish their quotas of the assessment, had their cattle seized, those who were employed to collect the money, exacted double, of which they kept the one half, and through ignorance or misinformation, heavy sums were taken from friends, instead of enemies. Numbers of the lower English, disguising themselves with blue bonnets, as Scots, robbed and plundered indiscriminately, and servants of the clergy, left to take charge of their houses in their absence, carried off the property intrusted to their care, and laid the blame upon the enemy. The mayor and aldermen of Newcastle, having pled their inability to raise two hundred pounds daily, had a guard placed on their Town house, till they satisfied the commissioners. All this while securities were proffered for the monies which were levied under the name of loans. Baillie, vol. i. p. 21920. Rushworth, vol. iii. p. 124-78. + Burnet's Memoirs, p. 179. Baillie, vol. i. p. 210. other, which had not been seen, addressed to the king. When the letters were delivered, Sir Richard, opening his carelessly, the enclosure fell out. The Scotush envoy, Sir James Mercer, who was standing near, politely stooping down, lifted it, and observed the direction. On his return to the camp, he informed the general, who proposed in the committee, of which Montrose was at the time president, to send for the gentleman who had carried their letters to court, and examine him, with regard to what letters he had delivered. When called, he related to the committee what he had told the general. Seeing he was discovered, Montrose endeavoured to defend his conduct, by alleging that others did the same; but he was reminded, that the guilt of others did not excuse him; that they, if discovered, would be equally liable to censure, and was commanded to confine himself to his chamber. His first resolution was to try how many of his friends would support him, an advice from the general, however, recommending him to remain quiet, unless he wished to be tried capitally by a council of war, induced him to produce a copy of the letter he said he had written to his majesty, and crave pardon, on which the affair was hushed up, and passed over for the time, the powerful connexions, and high reputation of the earl, rendering it then impolitic to pursue it further. Amid their mutual professions for peace, both were anxious to be prepared for an opposite result. Charles ordered all the train bands north of the Trent to be called out, and to hold themselves in readiness to march at twenty-four hours notice. The counties were required to furnish provisions, arms, and ammunition were provided, and all the garrisons strengthened, and put in a state of defence. Leslie wrote to the committee at Edinburgh, for recruits, to supply the deficiencies of war, and a re-enforcement of at least five thousand men, a request with which the internal quiet of the country enabled them to comply. Four thousand foot who had been employed in the north, under lords Marischall, Home, and Lindsay, and major general Monro, were des spatched to join their brethren in England. Soon after, the earl of Argyle followed accompanied by a number of gentle men and vassais belonging to the clan, and the earl of Eglinton, who had been employed in watching the west coast, now that the danger there was over, were also commanded to keep themselves ready for marching on the first call. On the 24th of September, the great council of the peers assembled at York, in the dean's house, near the Minster. At nine o'clock in the forenoon, the king arrived, and being seated in state, informed them of the reasons which had induced him to call them together, in conformity with the practice of his predecessors in times of imminent danger. An army of rebels were now, he told them, lodged within the kingdom, and he wished their advice and assistance, to chastise their insolence, and protect his faithful subjects. Sensible, from the petition he had received since he called this meeting, that a number, if not a majority of the peers participated in the popular feelings, and that however averse, he would be obliged to comply, he naturally concluded that their first proposal would be to call a parliament, and he anticipated this by informing them, that he had already given orders to issue writs for its assembling on the 3d of November. He then desired their advice, as to what answer he should return to the petition of the rebels, and how he should treat with them; next, how his army was to be supported, till the supplies could be obtained in parliament, as it was impossible to disband it while the Scots remained in the country. To meet the first exigence, it was resolved to appoint sixteen of the most influential and popular noblemen, assisted by the earls of Traquair, Morton, and Lanark, Mr. Secretary Vane, Sir Lewis Stewart, and Sir John Burrough, persons acquainted with the laws of Scotland, and with the previous transactions, to treat with commissioners from the Scots. The last required rather longer deliberation; Strafford represented, that the royal army, amounting to twenty thousand foot, and between two and three thousand horse, with three regiments of loyal Scots, were in arrears for a fortnight's subsistence; that two hundred thousand pounds would be requisite to support them for three months, and, the king's treasury being completely drained, proposed borrowing the money from the city of London. To this motion the council consented, all the peers |