should come to an understanding with his parliament, which, they continued to assert, sought only the good of both king and people. The parliament had now, however, to see considerable defections from its own body, for many thought they were driving matters too far; that the king had conceded more than was reasonable, and that the commons were themselves aiming at inordinate power. Amongst those who had gone off to the king were the lord Falkland, Sir John Colepepper, and Mr Hyde. Falkland and Colepepper, Charles had, before leaving, made his ministers, and Hyde had long been secretly seeing the king, conveying all the news to him at night, and writing the king's declarations. The commons had for some time perceived well enough who composed those papers by the style, yet they could not directly prove it; but he was found by the earls of Essex and Holland shut up with the king at Greenwich, and by the marquis of Hamilton at Windsor. In April the king summoned Hyde to attend him at York, but even then, as if afraid of the parliament, he had gone in a very private way, pretending that he sought the country for his health; and even after reaching the neighbourhood of York, instead of openly avowing his adhesion to the royal cause, he kept himself concealed in the neighbourhood, and attended to the king's correspondence. He arrived in Yorkshire at the end of May, but before leaving London, he had contrived that the lord keeper Littleton should run off with the great seal to the king, a matter of no little importance, as it regarded the authenticity of all public documents.
Numbers of both lords and commons continued to steal away to the king, especially, says Hay, lawyers and clergy, "whose callings make them capable of easier and greater gratifications from the king than other men, and therefore apt to lean that way, where preferment lies." The commons summoned nine peers, who had gone away to York, to appear in their places in Westminster, and, on their refusing, impeached them of high treason. These were Spencer, earl of Northampton, the earls of Devonshire, Dover, Monmouth, and the lords Howard of Charlton, Rich, Grey of Ruthven, Coventry, and Capel.
On the 2nd of June the lords and commons sent proposals to the king for an amicable arrangement of the national affairs on a permanent basis; but matters had so far changed with Charles, that he was in no mood to listen. On that very day, one of the ships freighted by the queen in Holland with arms and ammunition, managed to elude the fleet, and land its supplies on the Yorkshire coast. With these, and the prospect of more, with a number of lords and courtiers around him, Charles at once dropped the humble and conciliatory tone, called the parliament a nest of caballers and traitors, who had no right to dictate to him, the descendant of a hundred kings, and protested that he would never agree to their terms if he were bound and at their mercy.
From this moment all hope of accommodation was at an end, and king and parliament went on preparing with all diligence for trying their strength at arms. The question to be decided was, whether this country should bean abject despotism or a free nation. If the parliament were worsted, then must England sink to the level of the rest of the king-ridden nations. On the part of the king, his adherents joined him on his solemn engagement to maintain the protestant religion, and to claim nothing but his rightful prerogative; on the part of the parliament, an avowal as solemn was, that they fought not against the king, but for him and his crown, as well as the liberties and privileges of the people, which were endangered by the evil counsellors of the king.
On the 10th of June the commons issued an address, receiving money and plate for maintaining the struggle, engaging to pay eight per cent, interest, and appointing Sir John Wollaston and three other aldermen of London treasurers, who were authorised to give receipts. In a very short time an immense treasure was accumulated in Guildhall, the poor contributing as freely as the rich. Charles wrote to the corporation of London, forbidding this collection, but without effect. He made an attempt also to secure the fleet, inducing the earl of Warwick to surrender the command to admiral Pennington, but only five captains consented, and these were speedily secured and superseded. On the 12th of July parliament appointed the earl of Essex commander of the army, and many members of the parliament, both lords and commons, took commissions under him. Amongst these were Sir John Merrick, lord Grey of Groby, Denzell Hollis, Sir William Waller, Hampden, and Cromwell. Hampden's regiment was clad in a green uniform, and carried a banner, having on one side his motto, "Vestigia nulla retrorsum" on the other, "God is with us."
Cromwell, who was also appointed a colonel, was extremely active in the eastern counties. The whole country was thrown into the mast wonderful state of confusion by the exertions of the noblemen and gentlemen endeavouring to seize strong places, and engage the people, some for this side, some for that. Never had there been such a state of anarchy, opposition, and rending asunder of old ties. For the most part, the southern counties and mercantile places were for the parliament—the more purely agricultural and remote districts for the king. In many, however, there was a pretty equal division of interests, and fierce contests for superiority. In Lincohishire lord Willoughby of Parham was very successful for parliament. In Essex the earl of Warwick was equally so, and Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, and the sea-coast of Sussex, were strongly parliamentary. Cromwell did wonders in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridge. In Berkshire Hampden and the earl of Holland were opposed by the earl of Berkshire, lord Lovelace, and others; but the earl of Berkshire was seized by Hampden, and sent up to the parliament. In Buckinghamshire Hampden had it nearly all his own way. Colonel Goring, who was governor of Portsmouth, after receiving a large sum from parliament to put that place in full condition of defence, betrayed it, as he had before done the royal party; but the parliament seized the earl of Portland, Goring's ally, and put the Isle of Wight into the keeping of the earl of Pembroke. Warwickshire was divided betwixt lord Brooke for the parliament, and the earl of Northampton for the king. Leicestershire betwixt the earl of Huntingdon for the king, and of Stamford for the parliament. Derbyshire was almost wholly for the king, and so on northward; yet in Yorkshire lord Fairfax was zealous for parliament, and Sir Thomas Stanley and the Egertons in Lancashire. The earl of Derby and his son, lord Strange, embraced the
