as any in the world; and all men who know anything of war, know good officers presently make a good army.

Things being thus huddled up, the English came back to York, where the army separated, and the Scots went home to increase theirs; for I easily foresaw, that peace was the farthest thing from their thoughts.

CHAPTER IX.

WAR BREAKS OUT AGAIN IN THE NORTH-I JOIN THE KING'S ARMY-ACTION WITH THE SCOTS, IN WHICH THEY ARE VICTORIOUS GREAT DISCONTENTS IN ENGLANDCHARACTER OF THE KING-I AM SENT ON A MESSAGE TO THE SCOTCH ARMY-THE KING IS REDUCED TO SUBMIT TO THEIR TERMS-ENCROACHMENTS OF THE PARLIAMENT -THE GATES OF HULL SHUT AGAINST THE KING-THE KING RAISES AN ARMY-LOYALTY OF THE ENGLISH GENTRY.

THE next year the flame broke out again; the king drew his forces down into the north, as before, and expresses were sent to all the gentlemen that had commands, to be at the place by the 15th of July. As I had accepted of no command in the army, so I had no inclination at all to go; for I foresaw there would be nothing but disgrace attending it. My father observing such an alteration in my usual forwardness, asked me one day, what was the matter, that I, who used to be so forward to go into the army, and so eager to run abroad to fight, now showed no inclination to appear when the service of the king and country called me to it? I told him I had as much zeal as ever for the king's service, and for the country too; but he knew a soldier could not abide to be beaten; and being from thence a little more inquisitive, I told him the observations I had made in the Scots' army, and the people I had conversed with there; And sir, says I, assure yourself, if the king offers to fight them, he will be beaten; and I don't love to engage when my judgment tells me beforehand I shall be worsted; and, as I had foreseen, it came to pass; for the Scots resolving to

3

THE KING ACTS WITHOUT A PARLIAMENT.

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proceed, never stood upon the ceremony of aggression, as before, but on the 20th of August they entered England with

their army.

However, as my father desired, I went to the king's army, which was then at York, but not gotten all together: the king himself was at London, but upon this news takes post for the army, and advancing a part of his forces, he posted the Lord Conway and Sir Jacob Astley, with a brigade of foot and some horse, at Newborn, upon the river Tyne, to keep the Scots from passing that river.

The Scots could have passed the Tyne without fighting; but, to let us see that they were able to force their passage, they fall upon this body of men; and, notwithstanding all the advantages of the place, they beat them from the post, took their baggage and two pieces of cannon, with some prisoners. Sir Jacob Astley made what resistance he could, but the Scots charged with so much fury, and being also overpowered, he was soon put into confusion. Immediately the Scots made themselves masters of Newcastle, and the next day of Durham, and laid those two counties under intolerable contributions.

Now was the king absolutely ruined; for among his own people the discontents before were so plain, that had the clergy had any forecast, they would never have embroiled him with the Scots, till he had fully brought matters to an understanding at home; but the case was thus :-The king, by the good husbandry of Bishop Juxon, his treasurer, had a million of ready money in his treasury, and, upon that account, having no need of a parliament, had not called one in twelve years; and perhaps had never called another, if he had not, by this unhappy circumstance, been reduced to a necessity of it; for now this ready money was spent in two foolish expeditions, and his army appeared in a condition not fit to engage the Scots; the detachment under Sir Jocob Astley, which were of the flower of his men, had been routed at Newborn, and the enemy had possession of two entire counties.

All men blamed Laud for prompting the king to provoke the Scots, a headstrong nation, and zealous for their own way of worship; and Laud himself found, too late, the consequences of it, both to the whole cause and to himself; for the Scots whose native temper is not easily to forgive an

injury, pursued him by their party into England, and never gave it over, till they laid his head on the block.

The ruined country now clamoured in his majesty's ears with daily petitions, and the gentry of other neighbouring counties cry out for peace and a parliament. The king embarrassed with these difficulties, and quite empty of money, calls a great council of the nobility at York, and demands their advice, which any one could have told him before, would be to call a parliament.

I cannot, without regret, look back upon the misfortune of the king, who, as he was one of the best princes in his personal conduct that ever reigned in England, had yet some of the greatest unhappinesses in his conduct as a king, that ever prince had, and the whole course of his life demonstrated it.

1. An impolitic honesty. His enemies called it obstinacy: but as I was perfectly acquainted with his temper, I cannot but think it was his judgment, when he thought he was in the right, to adhere to it as a duty, though against his interest. 2. Too much compliance when he was complying.

No man but himself would have denied, what at sometimes he denied, and have granted what at other times he granted; and this uncertainty of council proceeded from two things:

1. The heat of the clergy, to whom he was exceedingly devoted, and for whom indeed he ruined himself.

2. The wisdom of his nobility.

Thus, when the counsel of his priests prevailed, all was fire and fury; the Scots were rebels, and must be subdued, and the parliament's demands were to be rejected as exorbitant. But whenever the king's judgment was led by the grave and steady advice of his nobility and counsellors, he was always inclined by them to temperate his measures between the two extremes; and had he gone on in such a temper, he had never met with the misfortunes which afterwards attended him, or had so many thousands of his friends lost their lives and fortunes in his service.

I am sure, we that knew what it was to fight for him, and that loved him better than any of the clergy could pretend to, have had many a consultation how to bring over our master from so espousing their interest, as to ruin himself for it; but it was in vain.

A FLEET SENT OUT AGAINST THE SCOTS.

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I took this interval, when I sat still and only looked on, to make these remarks, because I remember the best friends the king had were at this time of that opinion, that it was an unaccountable piece of indiscretion, to commence a quarrel with the Scots, a poor and obstinate people, for a ceremony and book of church discipline, at a time when the king stood but upon indifferent terms with his people at home.

The consequence was, it put arms into the hands of his subjects to rebel against him; it embroiled him with his parliament in England, to whom he was fain to stoop in a fatal and unusual manner to get money, all his own being spent, and so to buy off the Scots, whom he could not beat off.

I cannot but give one instance of the unaccountable politics of his ministers. If they overruled this unhappy king to it, with design to exhaust and impoverish him, they were the worst of traitors; if not, the grossest of fools. They prompted the king to equip a fleet against the Scots, and to put on board it five thousand landmen. Had this been all, the design had been good, that while the king had faced the army upon the borders, these five thousand landing in the frith of Edinburgh, might have put that whole nation into disorder. But, in order to this, they advise the king to lay out his money in fitting out the biggest ships he had; and the Royal Sovereign, the biggest ship the world had ever seen, which cost him no less than 100,000l. was now built, and fitted out for this voyage.

This was the most incongruous and ridiculous advice that could be given, and made us all believe we were betrayed, though we knew not by whom.

To fit out ships of a hundred guns to invade Scotland, which had not one man-of-war in the world, nor any open cenfederacy with any prince or state that had any fleet! it was a most ridiculous thing. A hundred sail of Newcastle colliers, to carry the men, with their stores and provisions, and ten frigates of forty guns each, had been as good a fleet as reason and the nature of the thing could have made tolerable.

Thus things were carried on, till the king, beggared by the mismanagement of his counsels, and beaten by the Scots, was driven to the necessity of calling a parliament in England.

It is not my design to enter into the feuds and brangles of this parliament. I have noted by observations of their

mistakes, who brought the king to this happy necessity of calling them.

His majesty had tried parliaments upon several occasions before, but never found himself so much embroiled with them but he could send them home, and there was an end of it; but as he could not avoid calling these, so they took care to put him out of a condition to dismiss them.

The Scots' army was now quartered upon the English. The counties, the gentry, and the assembly of lords at York, petitioned for a parliament.

The Scots presented their demands to the king, in which it was observed, that matters were concerted between them and a party in England; and I confess, when I saw that, I began to think the king in an ill case; for, as the Scots pretended grievances, we thought, the king redressing those grievances, they could ask no more; and therefore all men advised the king to grant their full demands. And whereas the king had not money to supply the Scots in their march home, I know there were several meetings of gentlemen with a design to advance considerable sums of money to the king to set him free, and in order to reinstate his majesty, as before. Not that we ever advised the king to rule without a parliament, but we were very desirous of putting him out of the necessity of calling them, at least, just then.

But the eighth article of the Scots' demands expressly required, That an English parliament might be called to remove all obstructions of commerce, and to settle peace, religion, and liberty; and in another article they tell the king, the 24th of September, being the time his majesty appointed for the meeting of the peers, will make it too long ere the parliament meet.

And in another, That a parliament was the only way of settling peace, and bringing them to his majesty's obedience.

When we saw this in the army, it was time to look about. Everybody perceived that the Scots' army would call an English parliament; and whatever aversion the king had to it, we all saw he would be obliged to comply with it; and now they all began to see their error, who advised the king to this Scotch war.

While these things were transacting, the assembly of the peers met at York; and by their advice a treaty was begun with the Scots. I had the honour to be sent with the first message, which was in writing.