undertaken to rescue Strafforde, that he might flee to Ireland and join the army there. So desperate a plot required all the vigilance of parliament. An application was made to the king for an order to 66 science prejudiced;" which must assuredly mean the Courts of StarChamber, High Commission, &c. all which still existed, and continued to do so for some time after; and lastly, what puts the matter beyond all doubt, is, that it is grounded upon the circumstance that thousands flocked at the call of certain men in parliament, and beset the parliament and Whitehall itself-and the very first tumult, according to all authorities, including the noble historian himself, occurred on the identical third of May, in consequence of the city having been agitated with rumours of a plot, when the disclosure was made by Pym, and the protestation drawn out! Some of the principal conspirators fled within two days of that disclosure! The fact is, that it is completely established by the evidence, that the chief officers began to take offence about the money, (that occurred in the beginning of March, see Diurnal Occurrences, &c. Ed. 1641; Hailes' Let. p. 110.) that having taken an oath of secresy, they had many consultations, and fell upon petitioning for money, and other points, the heads whereof were, 1st, Concerning the bishops' functions and votes; 2d, The not disbanding of the Irish army until the Scots were disbanded too; 3d, The endeavouring to settle his majesty's revenue to that proportion it was formerly;" Percy's Letter, &c.: That first one petition, and then another, were destroyed with his majesty's knowledge, neither of them being like that preserved by Clarendon: That the one given by Clarendon was first published by his majesty long afterwards, along with a state paper, (how he had a copy of a petition which was destroyed he did not disclose,) and, as there is every reason to believe Clarendon himself the author of the state paper, (see what he says on that point in his life,) so we may conclude that he who, according to his own account, was a dexterous forger of speeches and letters, which, with the king's knowledge, he published in the name of leading members of parliament, (See his life, p. 69, 70, 136-7,) and who stands detected of such gross misrepresentation in this case, was the fabricator. It may be remarked, that all the witnesses on this subject continued afterwards to enjoy the utmost confidence of the king and his royal consort, and were advanced to high honours. The reader will find the whole evidence at the end of the volume, in note A. and he is particularly requested to compare it with Mr. Hume's statement. That gen VOL. III. I stop the ports, that the chief conspirators who were detected might not escape; but though the order was issued, one of them, Mr. Jermyn, a great favourite of the queen, was assisted by the court in quitting the kingdom. Percy, brother of the earl of Northumberland, who, with others, lay concealed, in a letter afterwards to his brother, gave such an account as might extenuate his own conduct, and as led to farther discoveries *. In this alarmed state of the public mind, it was naturally agitated with imaginary danger. Even before this, apprehensions had been entertained of the Earl of Worcester raising a body of papists, and a report had prevailed of 1500 men having been trained with arms in Lancashire. The effect of tleman ridicules the idea of marching the army to London, (he seems, however, scarcely, if ever, to have looked at the evidence ;) but this, which is a species of argument that he always uses, will never rebut the most decisive proof that the thing was contemplated; and he overlooks the circumstance of military assistance being expected from France, assistance from Catholics, &c. while the metropolis would have been in the power of the army. But is it not extraordinary that this author should give so triumphant a sneer when he so deeply censures the conduct of the royal advisers for recommending a treaty with the Scots, and retails the story told by Clarendon of Strafforde's having shown how easily they could be driven out of England? It was, however, expected, that the Scottish officers might be won over to connive at the other's march. Clarendon's statement about the plot for raising troops under the pretext of sending them to Portugal is so unsatisfactory as to leave little room for doubt of the fact. * Rush. vol. iv. p. 252, et seq. viii. p. 735, et seq. Cob. Parl. Hist. vol. ii. p. 776, et seq. "The declaration or remonstrance of the lords and commons in parliament assembled, May 19, 1642, with divers depositions and letters thereunto annexed," Husband's Collection, p. 195, et seq. Whitelocke, p. 45, 46. Journals. Diurnal Occur rences. these reports however, has been cunningly exaggerated to throw ridicule on the grand design; and the facts themselves, have, with the same view, been given out of their order*. People had been startled in November before: one James a papist, having been pressed by a Mr. Heywood a justice, to take the oaths, suddenly drew his knife and stabbed the justice, with some reproachful words for persecuting poor catholics. The perpetrator of this desperate act was afterwards believed to be insane; but the event at first startled men who were not aware of the disorder of his intellects, some believing that he would not have ventured on so bold a measure, unless he had been promised assistance from his brethren t. This, however, is represented out of place, entirely to throw discredit on the plot, as if each petty circumstance were distorted, and infinitely magnified, by faction and prejudice, at the critical moment of Strafforde's fate. The effect of all this upon the populace, led them to offer insult to the queen mother, Mary de Medicis, Queen on account both of her character and the number of papists who resorted to her. This lady, who was remarkable for her intriguing disposition, had, in in consequence of a combination with the Duke of Orleans," and the ill success of that enterprize made France too hot for her ;" and had been driven to Brussels, where she was a while caressed by Clarendon misrepresents strangely-huddling all things purposely together, whereas the report from Lancashire was made on the 10th of February preceding. Diurnal Occurrences. Some other stories told by him appear to be pure fiction. + Clar. vol. i. p. 249; now see Rush. vol. iv. p. 57. mother. the cardinal infanta; but even there she provoked so many enemies, that the general curses making her dread personal violence, induced her to seek an asylum in Holland, under the protection of the prince of Orange: as, however, she could not remain quiet, she found it necessary again to move, and in the year 1638, came into England, where, says Whitelocke, "the people were generally discontented at her coming and at her followers, which some observed to be the sword and pestilence, and that her restless spirit imbroiled all where she came The fatal influence that the queen began to acquire over her husband was generally known, and had been remarkably evinced in the late plot, in which she had been particularly active. But the queen-mother was again suspected of encouraging her daughter, and intriguing in affairs of state; and the populace of England began to treat her with the same insult which she had experienced elsewhere. The king upon this sent a message to the commons, who, while they expressed their readiness to assist his majesty in all just ways for her protection, humbly beseeched him, that as their precautions might be insufficient to save her from insult, he would move her to leave the kingdom t. She afterwards went to the Low Countries, where she died ‡. Whitelocke, p. 29. The French about court were to take arms on the advance of the troops. + Rush. vol. iv. p. 266, 267. Id. p. 292. Whitelocke, p. 47. This again is given out of its place by Mr. Hume, to cast odium upon parliament. See Laud's Diary, Oct. 19, 1638. Had parliament been otherwise disposed to abate their rigour towards Strafforde, the obstinate refusal of Charles to disband the Irish army, and the army-plot, must have inflamed them with additional keenness. The prince who could contemplate such measures, could never, after this detection, expect to recover the confidence of the people; and the leading members in either house must have been sensible that, in the event of his success in such schemes, they would be sacrificed to the royal vengeance. In the case of Elliot and others, they had a warning to a certain extent, and aggravated must have been the vengeance in proportion to their late vigorous controlment of the prerogative, and hot pursuit of the royal servants. When, therefore, some of the Straffordians, as they were called by the populace, privately urged a judgment against that criminal as for a minor offence, a judgment in which they would have concurred, it was answered, that were he voted guilty of a misdemeanour, and doomed to banishment from the royal presence, and incapacity to serve in a public station, as well as to fine and imprisonment, the king would immediately, on a dissolution of parliament, remit the punishment, and, with a general pardon, restore him to favour and place, when he would act over again all that had been so deeply as well as justly com. plained of. Indeed, after the late desperate plot, Clar. vol. i. p. 241, et seq. |