Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 3.djvu/300

286 evenings he left his bed-chamber betwixt five and six o'clock, and went to prayers, and thence to supper. On one of these evenings, Thursday, the 11th of November, colonel Whalley, finding the king much later than usual in leaving his chamber, became uneasy, went thither, and found him gone. On the table he had left some letters, one to the parliament, another to the commissioners, and a third to colonel Whalley. In the letter to the parliament, he said liberty was as necessary to kings as others; that he had endured a long captivity in the hope that it might lead to a good peace, but that as it did not, he had withdrawn himself; that wherever he might be, he should earnestly desire a satisfactory agreement without further bloodshed, and was ready to break through his cloud of retirement, and show himself Pater patriæ, whenever he could be heard with honour, freedom, and safety.

It appeared that he had escaped by the way of Paradise, a place so called in the gardens; his cloak was found lying in the gallery, and there were tramplings about a back gate leading to the waterside. Legge accompanied him down the backstairs, and Ashburnham and Berkeley joined them at the gate. The night was dark and stormy, which favoured their escape. They crossed the river at Thames Ditton, and made for Sutton, in Hampshire, where they had horses in readiness. Why they had not provided horses at a nearer point does not appear. In the night they lost their way in the forest, and reaching Sutton only at day break, and hearing that a county committee on parliamentary business was sitting there, they got out their horses, and rode away towards Southampton.

That night Cromwell was aroused from his bed at Putney, with a startling express that the king had escaped. He despatched a letter to the speaker, Lenthal, that night, dated twelve o'clock, with the news for parliament, and the news was the next morning announced to both houses. The confusion may be imagined; orders were issued to close all the ports, and all who concealed the place of the king's retreat, or harboured his person, were declared guilty of high treason, and menaced with loss of all their estate, and with death without mercy. On the 13th, colonel Whalley gave a narrative to the lords of the particulars of his escape as far as known. It appeared that the repeated howling of a greyhound in the king's chamber, first assured them that he could not be there, and in his letter to Whalley, he desired him to send this black bitch to the duke of Richmond. On Monday the 15th, a letter from colonel Hammond, from the Isle of Wight, much to the relief of parliament and army, announced that the absconded king was safe in his hands at Carisbrook Castle.

Both Ashburnham and Berkeley have left narratives of the escape, which, however, differ greatly in many particulars; but the following particulars appear to be pretty near the truth:—That on approaching Southampton, the king appeared apprehensive of proceeding to the Isle of Wight, till he knew how the governor would receive him, and therefore they proceeded to lord Southampton's, at Tichfield, where the mother of lord Southampton was, and to whom Charles at once made himself known, having perfect confidence in her honour. He sent Ashburnham to see after the mysterious ship, who returned, not having been able to find any such ship, and so being refreshed, the king sent on Ashburnham and Berkeley to the Isle of Wight, to sound the governor. On informing him that the king had escaped, and proposed to come to him, colonel Hammond turned very pale, and trembled very much, exclaiming that they had ruined him by bringing the king to him, for his loyalty and regard for the king was such, that he could not willingly do anything to his injury, at the same time that he was placed in a great trust by the parliament, and was bound in honour and duty not to betray it. Both of the narrators confess that they did not think it proper, under the circumstances, that the king should trust himself to the governor, as well they might not; yet when colonel Hammond demanded where the king was, they were weak enough to tell him. The governor immediately proposed to go to the king, to which they strangely consented, on condition that he should take no other person with him. Yet, say they, at Cowes Castle he took Basket, the governor of the castle, with him. These unaccountable messengers then put back across the Solent, and arriving at Tichfield, Ashburnham went up and told his majesty what he had done, the others staying below. When Charles heard that they had brought the governor, he exclaimed, "O Jack, thou hast undone me!" Ashburnham, hearing that, fell into a violent fit of weeping, and told Charles that he had not brought him without providing a remedy. The king insisted on knowing what that was, and Ashburnham said that the governor and Basket were but two; if he disapproved of seeing them, he would go down and kill them both; that he had considered it, and settled that to be the best, because he felt sure that the governor would have sent spies after them and seized the king, but now he would prevent that.

The king, hearing that, paced the room some time, and said he had sent to engage a ship at Southampton, and expected every minute to hear of it, and in that case he would contrive to get away, but he would not hear of the murder of Hammond; and after waiting two hours, and no ship arriving, and Hammond growing impatient, he allowed him to come up. The king told Hammond that he had come to put himself in his care, believing him loyal, and one that would not betray him. Hammond expressed himself as highly honoured by his majesty's confidence, but would only promise to do all he could for his majesty consistent with his duty as a man of honour. There was, however, nothing for it now but to go with him, Charles and his attendants probably thinking they could win him over. Charles was conducted to Carisbrook with all respect, and was much comforted on the way by gentlemen who flocked to see him, and assured him that the whole island was in his favour except the governors of the forts and Hammond's captains. Charles was treated most courteously by Hammond, and suffered to ride about the island, where he saw no measures taken to prevent his escape, if he desired it, so delicately did Hammond manage the matter; though he proved himself, when the trial was made, to have taken all necessary precaution for his prisoner's security. Charles was greatly pleased with the apparent result of his flight. Charles's friends at a distance were equally satisfied by his representations, and Hammond and his officers appeared to have no greater desire than that he and the parliament