his majesty's obedience, as the assistance of the army formerly under lord Inchiquin's command, and the advantage of trade with the towns possessed by him; that his majesty would be able, in part, to ease them of the burden of the war, by sup, plies of money, arms, and ammunition; and that whilst the rebels' forces were bent against them, occasion would be taken to raise some diversion in England or out of Scotland; and finding lord Inchiquin's forces, which, to their excessive charge, they had supplied all the summer, now turned against them, and the towns become garrisons to their enemies, from whence to annoy them by sea and land; no supplies at all from abroad, and no diversion in England, though Cromwell and Ireton, the supposed heads of the rebels, were removed from thence; all these disappointments of their hopes, aggravated by the enforced spoil of a successless army, began to breed in them such aversion," says he, "to his majesty's authority, and to myself, to whom all their misfortunes, the negligence, cowar dice, and treachery of others, are attributed, that I am told, it was in agitation with the violent party of the clergy, and others set on by lord Antrim, to procure a protestation against my government." This letter is dated December 15, 1649, and the clergy's censure and declaration were not published till September following; so that it could be no such surprise upon his excellency, as is pretended,

CHAP. XXVIII.

The king is invited to go to Scotland.

ABOUT this time, the king was proclaimed in Scotland, and commissioners were sent from thence to invite him over to that kingdom; but upon such conditions, as were utterly inconsistent, not only with the dignity and good faith of a king, but even with the honor and integrity of a gentleman. "These commissioners were the earl of Cassels, two burgesses, and four presbyterian divines. To give the better assurances of their good intentions to his service, immediately before their coming out of Scotland, the marquis of Huntley was put to death, for no other crime than his loyalty to the king.”

1 Cart. Collect. Orig. Pap, vol, i. p. 268.

The marquis of Ormend, still in Ireland, was consulted upon this, as indeed, he was upon every other important concern of his majesty. But that he did not always deliver his opinion, with such candor and sincerity as were suitable to the confidence reposed in him, is but too apparent, from his own letters on that occasion. In some of them to secretary Nicholas, who, he knew, was averse to that measure, he seems to have clearly foreseen all the evils that were likely to attend it; for he tells him, that, "unless his majesty was resolved to deliver up both himself and his people to the covenant and presbytery, he would not go to Scotland; and that the covenant was inconsistent with the peace he had concluded with the Irish, and which his majesty had confirmed." But from what we find in a private letter of lord Byron's, who was then with the king at Breda, to his excellency, it appears that he secretly abetted, and promoted, that design. For lord Byron told him, "that, in order to what he found was his lordship's opinion, concerning his majesty's conjunction with the Scots, he had contributed his best endeavors to the effecting of it; and that his majesty would begin his journey in a few days, and had commanded him (Byron) to attend him thither." And the king himself, in a letter to the marquis, January 16th, 1649,, says, “you will perceive by my public letter, that I have resolved of a treaty with my subjects of Scotland, whereunto I was principally induced by that relation which Harry Seymour made to me, from you, of the state of things in Ireland."*

3

Accordingly, his majesty, having agreed with the Scotch. commissioners, left Breda, and arrived in Scotland, on the 23d of June, 1650, O. S. but before they suffered him to land,s

2 Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 607.

3 Cart. Orig. Papers, vol. i. p. 333.

4 Ib. vol. ii. p. 423.

5 Sir Edward Walker's Historic. Discours.

• And Seymour himself, in a letter to the marquis of Ormond of the 15th of March following, tells him, "that his arrival from Ireland was so seasonable as tointerrupt the breach with the Scots, which was in a very forward way, proceeding from the misinformations of the marquis's successes; but that his excellency's truer informations by him, not only changed that design, but gave a dispatch in two days to Mr. Windram, the Scots' commissioner, which he had in vain solicited six weeks before, without the least advance."-Cart. Collect. of Orig. Pap. vol. i.p. 375.

they obliged him to sign both the covenants, national and solemn. And, in about two months after, he was prevailed upon to publish a declaration, "that he would have no enemies but the enemies of the covenant; and that he did detest, and abhor all popery, superstition and idolatry, together with prelacy; resolving not to tolerate, much less to allow those, in any part of his dominions, and to endeavor the extirpation thereof to the utmost of his power." And with regard to the peace lately concluded with the confederates, and confirmed by himself, he expressly pronounced it* null and void; adding, "that he was convinced in his conscience of the sinfulness and unlawfulness of it, and of allowing them (the confederates) the liberty of the popish religion; for which he did, from his heart, desire to be deeply humbled before the Lord; and for having sought unto such unlawful help, for the restoring of him to his throne."

What opinion one of his majesty's own secretaries had of this declaration, appears from his letter to the marquis of Or mond, January 25th, 1650, "when I consider," says he, "this infamous declaration, which the Scots compelled the king to publish, and are still resolved to have his majesty make good (though not only all the king's party, but even strangers that have any sense of honor, or conscience, declaim against it), I cannot so much as hope, that they intend any good or safety to his majesty, whom they have so wickedly and notoriously abused.” Most certain it is, that after this declaration was known in England," "many people there, who were before averse to the parliament's measures, freely and voluntarily enlisted in their armies to fight against the Scots."

6 Cart. Orig. Pap. vol. i. p. 400.

7 Id. ib. p. 417.

❖ "Nothing could be more convenient for the congregation of prelates, (soon after assembled at James-town) and their purpose of enflaming the people, than this virulent declaration. They imputed it entirely to the representations of the marquis of Ormond."-Lel. Hist, of Irel. vol. iij. p. 376.

CHAP. XXIX.

The king secretly regrets this measure.

HIS majesty did dot become guilty, all at once, of this open violation of the public faith.'" Before he left Breda he yielded thus far to the Scotch commissioners, that if a free parliament in the kingdom of Scotland should so think fitting, he would then find some way, how with honor and justice, he might make void the Irish peace. In the mean time his majesty would by no means permit that any such thing should be inserted in the body of the articles of agreement; and it was concluded, that that business should remain in a distinct paper in the earl of Cassell's hands, in regard of the dishonor it. might bring on the marquis of Ormond, and his majesty's friends in Ireland. No sooner was this done, but his majesty labored immediately to inform Ormond of what had passed; and Mr. Richard Weston was dispatched, on the 16th of May, from Breda, and one hundred and fifty pounds given him to defray his charges. But when his majesty came into Scotland, he found him there, alleging, "that he was not permitted by the Scots to proceed in his journey; at which his majesty was exceedingly troubled, but saw plainly it was a contrivance between him (Weston), lord Wilmot and the Scots.

"After his majesty had put to sea, the Scotch commissioners shewed him new and higher propositions from the kingdom of Scotland; which were, that unless his majesty would immediately take the covenant, and, in terminis, break the peace with the Irish, he was not to be received into Scotland; at which he was so much disgusted, that he resolved to lay aside all thoughts of going thither, upon such terms. But, overcome with the entreaties of his servants, he yielded in terminis, to the breach of the peace with the Irish, conditionally, that it should not be published, until his majesty had acquainted the marquis of Ormond and his friends in Ireland with it."

At the same time that the Scots detained Weston in Scotland, and by that means prevented Ormond's earlier and par ticular knowledge of this transaction,3 "they dispatched se veral of their ministers to the Laggan and Clanboys in the

Cart, Collect. Orig. Pap. vol. i. p. 391 2 Ib. 3 Id, ib. vol. ji, fal. 111.

north of Ireland;" who, doubtless, proclaimed aloud the news of the king's having consented to take the covenant,* and to declare the late peace void; being assured, that nothing could more alienate the affections of the Irish from his majesty, or set them at greater variance among themselves, than such intelligence. In May, 1650, the marquis of Ormond had+ "heard by reports, which he thought probable, that the king had agreed with the Scots." And he afterwards expressed his apprehension," that great advantage was left to such as were industrious to draw the Irish from their allegiance, by infusing into them a belief, that his majesty, having taken, or approved, the covenant, they were deprived of the benefit of the peace, and left to the extirpation, which the covenant proposes, of their religion and persons."

CHAP. XXX.

Proceedings of the bishops at James-town.

THE confederates being now alarmed by repeated accounts of the king's having taken the covenant, not without a well grounded suspicion, that Ormond had approved of, and advised, that measure; several of the bishops assembled at James-town, in order to consult what was fit to be done on só important an emergency; where taking into consideration, the sad condition to which their nation and religion must necessarily be reduced by such an event; and mindful of a resolution they had formerly,† with good reason, entered into, that in case of a breach or disavowal of the peace, on the part of his majesty or lord lieutenant, they would return to their original confederacy, as the likeliest means to hinder their people from Ib. vol. ii. fol. 442.

4 Cart. Orig. Pap.

* The marquis of Ormond in a letter from Ennis, June 25, 1650, says, "that the report of his majesty's being then agreed with his subjects of Scot land, was given out among the rebels,"-Cart. Orig. Pap. vol. ii. p. 433.

t "On account of the king's disavowal of Glamorgan's peace, and his being prevailed on by the Scots to make void that which had been concluded with the marquis of Ormond in 1646, by his own reiterated commands.