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wards the first former of the royal society, and its first president; and while he lived, he was the life and soul of that body. He had an equality of temper in him that nothing could alter; and was in practice the only stoic I ever knew. He had a great tincture of one of their principles; for he was much for absolute decrees. He had a most diffused love to all mankind, and he delighted in every occasion of doing good, which he managed with great discretion and zeal. He had a superiority of genius and comprehension to most men: and had the plainest, but with all the softest, way of reproving, chiefly young people, for their faults, that I ever met with. [And upon this account, as well as upon all the care and affection he expressed unto me, I have ever reckoned, that, next to my father, I owed more to him, than to any other man. Therefore I have enlarged upon his character; and yet I am sure I have rather said too little than too much.] Sir Robert Murray was in such credit in that little army, that lord Glencairn took a strange course to break it, and to ruin him. A letter was pretended to be found at Antwerp, as writ by him to William Murray of the bed-chamber, that had been whipping-boy to king Charles the first, and upon that had grown up to a degree of favour and confidence that was very particular: [and, as many thought, was as ill used, as it was little deserved.] had a lewd creature there, whom he turned off: 60 and she, to be revenged on him, framed this plot against him. This ill forged letter gave an account of a bargain sir Robert had made with Monk for killing the king, which was to be executed by Mr. Murray so he prayed him in his letter to make

He

haste, and dispatch it. This was brought to the earl of Glencairn: so sir Robert was severely questioned upon it, and put in arrest: and it was spread about through a rude army that he intended to kill the king, hoping, it seems, that some of these wild people, believing it, would have fallen upon him without using any forms. Upon this occasion sir Robert practised in a very eminent manner his true Christian philosophy, without shewing so much as a cloud in his whole behaviour.

The earl of Belcarras left the Highlands, and went to the king; and shewed him the necessity of sending a military man to command that body, to whom they would submit more willingly than to any of the nobility. Middletoun was sent over, who was a gallant man, and a good officer: he had first served on the parliament's side: but he turned over to the king, and was taken at Worcester fight, but made his escape out of the Tower. He, upon his coming over, did for some time lay the heats that were among the Highlanders; and made as much of that face of an army for another year as was possible.

sent to the

Drumond was sent by him to Paris with an in- Messages vitation to the king to come among them: for they king. had assurances sent them, that the whole nation was in a disposition to rise with them: and England was beginning to grow weary of their new government, the army and the parliament being on ill terms. The English were also engaged in a war with the states: and the Dutch upon that account might be inclined to assist the king to give a diversion to their enemies forces. Drumond told me, that upon his coming to Paris he was called to the little council that was then about the king: and

when he had delivered his message, chancellor Hide asked him how the king would be accommodated, if he came among them? He answered, not so well as was fitting, but they would all take care of him to furnish him with every thing that was necessary. He wondered that the king did not check the chancellor in his demand: for he said, it looked strange to him, that when they were hazarding their lives to help him to a crown, he should be concerned for accommodation. He was sent back with good words and a few kind letters. In the end of the year 1654 Morgan marched into the Highlands, and had a small engagement with Middletoun, which broke that whole matter, of which all people were grown 61 weary; for they had no prospect of success, and the low countries were so overrun with robberies on the pretence of going to assist the Highlanders, that there was an universal joy at the dispersing of that little unruly army.

The state of
Scotland

After this the country was kept in great order: during the some castles in the Highlands had garrisons put in usurpation. them, that were so careful in their discipline, and

so exact to their rules, that in no time the Highlands were kept in better order than during the usurpation. There was a considerable force of about seven or eight thousand men kept in Scotland: these were paid exactly, and strictly disciplined. The pay of the army brought so much money into the kingdom, that it continued all that while in a very flourishing state. Cromwell built three citadels, at Leith, Air, and Inverness, besides many little forts. There was good justice done, and vice was suppressed and punished; so that we always reckon those eight years of usurpa

tion a time of great peace and prosperity. There was also a sort of union of the three kingdoms in one parliament, where Scotland had its representative. The marquis of Argile went up one of our commissioners.

among the

ers.

The next scene I must open relates to the Disputes church, and the heats raised in it by the public re-covenantsolutions, and the protestation made against them. New occasions of dispute arose. A general assembly was in course to meet; and sat at St. Andrew's: so the commission of the kirk wrote a circular letter to all the presbyteries, setting forth all the grounds of their resolutions, and complaining of those who had protested against them; upon which they desired that they would choose none of those who adhered to the protestation to represent them in the next assembly. This was only an advice, and had been frequently practised in the former years: but now it was highly complained of, as a limitation on the freedom of elections, which inferred a nullity on all their proceedings: so the protestors renewed their protestation against the meeting upon a higher point, disowning that authority which hitherto they had magnified as the highest tribunal in the church, in which they thought Christ was in his throne. Upon this a great debate followed, and many books were written in a course of several years. The public men said, this was the destroying of presbytery, if the lesser number did not submit to the greater it was a sort of prelacy, if it was pretended that votes ought rather to be weighed than counted: parity was the essence of their constitution: and in

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this all people saw they had clearly the better of the argument. The protestors urged for themselves, that, since all protestants rejected the pretence of infallibility, the major part of the church might fall 62 into errors, in which case the lesser number could not be bound to submit to them: they complained of the many corrupt clergymen who were yet among them, who were leavened with the old leaven, and did on all occasions shew what was still at heart, notwithstanding all their outward compliance: (for the episcopal clergy, that had gone into the covenant and presbytery to hold their livings, struck in with great heat to inflame the controversy: and it appeared very visibly, that presbytery, if not held in order by the civil power, could not be long kept in quiet) if in the supreme court of judicature the majority did not conclude the matter, it was not possible to keep up their beloved parity: it was confessed that in doctrinal points the lesser number was not bound to submit to the greater: but in the matters of mere government it was impossible to maintain the presbyterian form on any other bot

tom.

As this debate grew hot, and they were ready to break out into censures on both sides, some were sent down from the commonwealth of England to settle Scotland: of these sir Henry Vane was one. The resolutioners were known to have been more in the king's interest: so they were not so kindly looked on as the protestors. Some of the English juncto moved, that pains should be taken to unite the two parties. But Vane opposed this with much zeal: he said, would they heal the wound that they had given themselves, which weakened them so

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