Reign of Charles I. (Continued.) page 5

Numbers of both lords and commons continued to steal away to the king, especially, says May, 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 most 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 Lincolnshire 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 sod} lord Strange, embraced the side of royalty; and the first blood in this war was shed by lord Strange endeavouring to secure Manchester, where he was: repulsed and driven out. Great expectations were entertained by the royalists of the assistance of the numerous catholics in Lancashire and Cheshire, but they were either indifferent or overawed. In the west of England Charles had a strong party, Charles, in his commission of array, had appointed the marquis of Hertford lieutenant-general of the west, including seven counties in Wales, and the second skirmish took place in Somersetshire, between him and the deputy-lieutenant of the county, where ten men were killed and many wounded.

No exertions were spared by the parliament at the same lime to induce the king to come to an arrangement; but he -showed that he was at heart totally unchanged, for he replied to their overtures by still insisting that the lord Kimbolton and the five members of the commons should be given up to him, as well as alderman Pennington, the lord mayor of London, and captain Venn, commander of the train-bands. He demanded indictments of high treason against the earls of Essex, Warwick, and Stamford, Sir John Hotham, major-general Skippon, and all who had dared to put in force the ordinance of parliament for the raising of the militia. Yet at the same time he was in secret negotiation with Hotham for the betrayal of Hull; and Hotham sullied that reputation for patriotic bravery which he had acquired, by listening to him. He was, however, stoutly resisted by the inhabitants, the garrison, and his own son. The king then invested Hull, and intrigued with some traitors within to set fire to the town, so that he might assault it in the confusion. But the plot was discovered, and the incensed inhabitants made a sortie under Sir John Meldrum, and put the king's forces to a precipitate Bight.

Charles then marched away to Nottingham, where he raised his standard on the 25th of August, according to Clarendon, on the 22nd, according to Rushworth. It was a most tempestuous time; the standard, which was raised on the castle-hill, an elevated and exposed place, was blown down in the night, an ominous occurrence in the opinion of both soldiers and people, and it was three days before it could be erected again, owing to the fierceness of the wind. Besides the prostration of the standard, the condition of the king's affairs was equally discouraging. The people showed no enthusiasm in flocking to the royal banner, the arms and ammunition lid not arrive from York, and the royal arms had received a severe repulse at Coventry. News came that the earl of Essex was at the head of fifteen thousand men at Northampton, and the earl of Southampton and his other officers entreated the king to make overtures of peace to the parliament, telling him that if they refused them, it would turn the tide of popular favour against him. At first Charles listened to such counsels with anger, but at length despatched Sir John Colepepper to London to treat. But the parliament would not hear of any accommodation till the king had pulled down his standard, and withdrawn his proclamations of high treason against the earl of Essex, the accused members of parliament, and all who had supported them. In fact, all attempts at agreement were become useless, and were rendered more so by the conduct of Charles's nephew, prince Rupert, who, with his younger brother Maurice, sons of Charles's sister, Elizabeth of Bohemia, had arrived in England, and were, placed at the head of the royal cavalry. Whilst Colepepper was trying to effect a peace in London, Rupert, with that rashness which afterwards became so notorious, and so fatal to Charles's army, was making war all through the midland counties, insulting all who advocated peace, ordering rather than inviting men to the king's standard, and plundering towns and villages at will for the supply of his troopers.

About the middle of September Charles marched from Nottingham, intending to reach the west of England and unite his forces with those of the marquis of Hertford. He conducted himself in a very different manner to the fiery Rupert, or Robber, as the people named him. hg everywhere issued the most positive assurances of his love for his people, and his resolve to maintain their liberties; but these assurances were not well maintained by his actions, betraying the fact that he was playing a part. He in one place invited the train-bands to attend his march as his body-guard, but when they arrived, he expressed his doubts of their loyalty, forcibly seized their arms, and sent them away. In spite of his professions of respecting his subjects' rights, he still levied money and supplies in the old arbitrary manner. On the 20th of September he was at Shrewsbury, where he assured the inhabitants that he would never suffer an army of papists, and at the same time, the 23rd, he wrote to the earl of Newcastle, telling him that the rebellion had reached that height, that he must raise all the soldiers he could, without any regard to their religion. He received five thousand pounds in cash from the catholics of Shropshire, sold a title of baron for six thousand pounds more, and began minting money from plate brought in with great alacrity. And to put the finish to his insincerity, he despatched orders to Ireland to send him as many troops thence as they could, who were almost wholly catholic.

But the earl of Essex was carefully watching the king's progress; he had sent him the parliamentary proposals of accommodation, which he refused to receive from what he called a set of traitors. Essex reached Worcester in his march to cut off the king's movement towards London, just as prince Rupert and colonel Sandys had had a skirmish in that town, from which Rupert was forced to fly. There Essex lay still for three weeks, till at length Charles, encouraged by his inaction, ventured to quit Shrewsbury on the 20th of October, and by a bold march by Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Kenilworth, actually shot past Essex's position on the road to London. The parliamentary general, however, gave quick pursuit, and on the 22nd reached Keinton, in Warwickshire, just as the king encamped on Edge Hill, close above him.

Charles had the way open, but a council of war advised the attack of Essex, who had marched at such a rate, that a great part of his forces were left behind. On the following morning, the 23rd of October - it was Sunday - Essex accordingly found the royal army drawn up in order of battle on the heights of Edge Hill. It was a serious disadvantage to the parliamentary army to have to charge up hill, and both parties were loth to strike the first blow. They remained, therefore, looking at each other till about two o'clock at noon, On the royal side, Charles was on the field in complete armour, and encouraging the soldiers by a cheerful speech. He held the title of generalissimo of his own forces, the earl of Lindsay was his general, an experienced soldier, who had fought side by side in the foreign wars with Essex, to whom he was now opposed. So much, however, was he disgusted with the youthful insolence of prince Rupert, that he gave himself no further trouble than to command his own regiment. Sir Jacob Astley was major-general of the horse under Lindsay, prince Rupert commanding the right wing of the horse, and lord Wilmot the left, two reserves of horse being also under the command of lord Digby and Sir John Byron. In numbers, both of horse and foot, the royal army exceeded that which Essex had on the field; but Essex had a better train of artillery.

Essex had drawn out his army at the foot of the hill in the broad Vale of the Red Horse. Sir John Meldrum, who had so lately chased the king's forces from Hull, led the van. Three regiments of horse were posted on the right, commanded by Sir Philip Stapleton and Sir William Balfour. On the left were the twenty troops of horse under Sir James Ramsay. In the centre, behind the cavalry, were posted the infantry, Essex's own regiment occupying the main position, flanked by two reserves of horse under lord Brooke and Denzell Hollis.

At two o'clock, according to one historian, Essex commanded his artillery to fire on the enemy. According to another, the cavaliers grew impatient of inaction, and demanded to be led against the foe; and the king firing a cannon with his own hand as a signal for the assault, the royalists began to descend the hill. When they came within musket shot, their spirits were greatly raised by seeing Sir Faithful Fortescue fire his pistol into the ground, and range himself with two troops of horse on their side. The parliamentary cavalry made a charge on the king's centre, and endeavoured to seize the standard, but could not resist the pikes of the royalists. Prince Rupert made a, furious charge on the left wing of the parliamentarians, broke it, and pursued it in headlong chase into the village of Keinton, where finding the baggage of the enemy, he allowed his men an hour to plunder it. This uncalculating conduct on the part of Rupert continued through the whole war, and no amount of experience of the disastrous results of it ever cured him of it in the least. Put him at the head of a body of horse, and such was his valour and impetuosity, that he would carry all before him, but ha was rarely seen again in the field till the battle was over, when he returned from the headlong chase, often to find his friends totally defeated. To-day, during his absence, the main bodies of infantry were led into action by Essex and Lindsay, each marching on foot at the head of his men. The steady valour of the roundheads astonished the cavaliers. The left wing of Charles's army, under lord Wilmot, sought refuge behind a body of pikemen, but Balfour, one of the commanders of the parliamentary right wing, wheeled his regiment round on the flank of the king's infantry, broke through two divisions, and seized a battery of cannon. In another part of the field the king's guards displayed extraordinary valour, and forced back all that were opposed to them. Essex perceiving it, ordered two regiments of infantry and a squadron of horse to charge them in front and flank, and at the same time Balfour, abandoning the guns he had captured, attacked them in the rear. They were now overpowered and broke. Sir Edward Varney, the standard-bearer, was killed, and the standard taken; but this being intrusted by Essex to his secretary, Chambers, was, by treachery or mistake, given up to a captain Smith, one of the king's officers, whom Charles, for this service, made a baronet on the field. Charles beheld with dismay his guards being cut to piece? by overwhelming numbers, and advanced at the head of tli reserve to their rescue. At this moment Rupert returned from his chase, and the remnant of the guards was saved. Lord Lindsay had received a mortal wound, his son, lord Willoughby, and colonel Vavasour, were taken prisoners in endeavouring to rescue him, and colonel Monroe and other officers had fallen. Had Rupert returned on having put to the route the parliamentary right wing, all this might have been prevented. As it was, a check was given to the vehemence of the roundheads, the firing ceased, and both armies having stood looking at each other till the darkness fell, each drew off, the royalists back to their hill, the parliamentarians to the village of Keinton.