Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 10.djvu/90

 prresbyterians and independents to fall out, and so to help him to his own. While he was treating wit them he informed the queen that he would grant toleration to the catholics ‘if the pope and they will visibly and heartily engage themselves for the re-establishment of the church of England and my crown’ (Charles to the Queen, 12 March 1646, Charles I in 1646, Camd. Soc.), by which means he hoped ‘to suppress the presbyterian and independant factions.’ There was no coherence in those projects, and, like all incoherent aims, they were certain to clash one with the other.

Oxford, however, was soon too hard pressed for Charles to remain there, and though he had resolved never to grant more to the presbyterians than at the utmost a toleration, he at last, having on l3 April recorded and placed in the hands of Gilbert Sheldon a vow to restore to the church all lay impropriations held by the crown if he ever recovered his right (Clarendon MS. 2170), delivered himself on 5 May to the Scottish army at Newark. On 13 May, guarded by the Scottish army, he arrived at Newcastle.

Charles had hoped that his coming would lead to a national Scottish combination in his favour in which Montrose, who had been defeating one presbyterian arm after the other, might be inclu ed. He found the Scots wanted him to take the covenant. Charles had to do his best by such diplomatic skill as he had at command to spin out time by appearing to be desirous o peace, while resolute not to grant the terms offered to him. Some time was taken up by an epistolary discussion between himself and Alexander Henderson on the respective merits of episcopacy and presbyterianism. In vain the queen and the Scots who were politically loyal to Charles, such as Sir Robert Moray (Hamilton Papers, Camd. Soc.), urged him to ahandon episcopacy. He remained constant, though the defeat of Montrose at Philipbaugh on 3 Sept. deprived him of his last chance of armed assistance. On 4 Dec. he went so far as to suggest to his friends that he might accept presbyterianism with toleration for three years, but added that if the Scots would support his claims to temporal power, he would expunge the demand for toleration. His friends told him that the Scots wanted a permanent, not a temporary, establishment of presbyterianism, and on 20 Dec. he dropped the whole proposal, merely asking to come to London to carry on n personal negotiation.

Charles had imagined that he was playing with all parties, while in reality he had provoked all parties to come to nn understanding with one another behind his back. The Scottish parliament resolved that as he had not taken the covenant he was not wanted in Scotland, while the English parliamant appointed him a residence at Holmby House. On 30 Jan. 1647 the Scottish army marched homewards from Newcastle, receiving shortly afterwards the first installment due to them by England for their services. Charles was left behind with a party of English commissioners who had been appointed to conduct him to the residence assumed to him.

At Holmby House Charles waswell treated. He read much; his favourite books were Andrewes's ‘Sermons,' Hooker`s ‘Ecclesiastical Polity’ Shakesppeare, Spenser, Herbert, and translations of Tasso and Arioato. Before long he had the satisfaction of hearing that the independent army was falling out with the presbyterian parliament, and Just before this quarrel reached its crisis he lent in an answer to the parliamentary rorposal sent to him at Newcastle, in which lilo offered to resign the command of the militia for ten years, and to agree to the establishment of presbyterianiam for three years, permission being granted to himself and his giizusehold to use the Book of Common Prayer. He was to he allowed to name twenty divine: to sit in the Westminster Assembly to take part in the negotiations for a final settlement of church affairs. Nothing was said about tolerstion for tender consciences, an omission which shows that tha frequent offers of Charles during the civil war to make this concession merely proceeded from a sense that it was expedient to make them, and not from any conviction that they were good things in themselves.

On the morning of 3 June, before Charles could receive an answer to his proposal, a certain Cornet Joyce arrived at Holmby House with a ‘party of horse. In the evening he informed the king that he had authority from the army to carry him off. On the 4th, Charles, apparently fully satisfied, rode off with him. For some time he moved about from house to house, taking ug his abode at Hampton Court on 24 Aug. In the meanwhile the army had taken military possession of London, and had made itself master of the parliament.

Charles had already been requested to give his consent to a document drawn up by the chief officers of the army and known as ‘Heads of Proposals.' These proposals, if accepted, would have transformed the old monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, somewhat after the fashion of 1689, and would have put an end to the religious difficulty by abolishing ‘all coercive power, authority, and jurisdiction of bishops, and all other ecclesiastical officers whatsoever, extending to any