Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 38.djvu/154

 the request of the lords justices, appointed Lord Lambert instead (ib. ii. 347 ;, ii. 44). Though he failed to obtain this public recognition of his services, he had gained the confidence of his men, and was 'the most beloved by the soldiers of any officer in the army' (, iii. 43).

Even before the cessation of September 1643 Monck had obtained leave to return to England, possibly on account of the death of his father. His refusal to take the oath which Ormonde imposed on the Irish army before it was transported to England to serve Charles I proceeded, according to Carte, from a desire to consult his patron, the Earl of Leicester, or to obtain his arrears from the parliament before again entering the king's service, nor did it prevent Ormonde granting him a pass. But some loose talk of Lord Lisle's about the possibility of gaining over Monck to the parliamentary cause, and a message which Pym had sent to Monck with that object, drew suspicion upon him. Ormonde consequently sent him under safe custody to Bristol till the king's pleasure should be known, at the same time telling the governor that Monck was a person ' that hath very well deserved in the service of this kingdom,' and that 'no unworthy thing ' was laid to his charge. The governor allowed him to go to Oxford to justify himself, which he succeeded in doing without difficulty. In his interview with Charles I he frankly criticised the conduct of the war in Ireland, and asserted that ten thousand men properly disciplined and equipped, and commanded by officers of experience, could bring it to a conclusion (ib. iii. 37, v. 504, 525 ;, p. 17).

His old regiment had been given to his second in command, but he obtained a commission to raise a new one. He rejoined the army just before its defeat by Fairfax at Nantwich (25 Jan. 1644), fought as a volunteer at the head of his old regiment, and was taken prisoner. On 8 July he was brought to the bar of the House of Commons, charged with high treason, and committed to the Tower, where he remained for two years, find- ing it very difficult even to subsist (, p. 23 ;, Original Letters, i. 38, 41 ; Commons' Journals, iii. 554). His elder brother, Thomas, who was not rich, and was actively engaged in the king's cause, sent him 50l. In a letter begging for another 50l., on the score of his great necessities, Monck adds : ' I shall entreat you to be mindful of me concerning my exchange ; for I doubt all my friends have forgotten me.' Prince Rupert made an attempt to get him exchanged for Sir Robert Pye [q. v.], and the king sent him 100l., a gift which he often mentioned with gratitude in later days (, p. 20;, p. xix; Hist. M8S. Comm. 6th Rep. gratitude in later days (, p. 20; p. xix : ''Hist. MSS. Comm''. 6th Rep. p. 63; Cal. of Compounders, p. 1366; Notes and Queries, 8th ser. iv. 241).

In September 1646, when Ormonde was negotiating with the parliament, one of his requests was that Monck and some other imprisoned officers might be released and sent over to Ireland, ' being men that knew the country and were experienced in the service, and therefore fitter to be employed than others' (, iii. 270). For the same reason, when the parliament took the Irish war into its own hands, it decided to employ Monck. On 1 July he obtained leave to go beyond seas, on condition of taking the 'negative oath.' But Lord Lisle, who was chosen by parliament lord-lieutenant of Ireland, persuaded Monck to offer to serve there. On 12 Nov. 1646 Lisle reported to the lords from the Derby House committee that Monck had engaged his honour that he would faithfully serve the parliament if he were employed in Ireland ; and, moreover, that he had taken the negative oath, was willing to take the covenant, and was ready to start at a moment's notice (Commons' Journals, iv. 595, 720 ; Lords' Journals, viii. 562). The offer was accepted, and there can be little doubt that Monck actually did take the covenant, though the fact has been much disputed (, Great Civil War, iii. 352 ;, Life of Monck, ed. Wovtley, p. 39). A royalist tradition represents Monck before he left the Tower as solemnly begging the blessing of his fellow-prisoner, Dr. Wren, and pledging himself never to be an enemy to the king. Whether the story is true or not, Monck, like Lord Broghill and others, certainly drew a distinction between bearing arms against the Irish rebels and bearing arms against the king. But once embarked in the service of the parliament, military honour led him to be unswervingly faithful to the government whose pay he took (, Life of John Barwick, p. 267). In February 1647 Monck set out with Lord Lisle for Munster, with the rank of adjutant-general, returning in April, when Lisle's commission expired. Parliament now determined to divide the command, assigning the government of Leinster to Michael Jones [q. v.], and that of Ulster to Monck (, iii. 324, 331 ;, p. 25 ; Lords' Journals, ix. 336).

During the next two years Monck's ability was chiefly shown by the skill with which he contrived to maintain his position and to provide for his men in a ravaged and barren country. In October 1647, and again in August 1648, he joined Jones, and the two