Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/290

 282 CHARLES (ENGLAND) land after the downfall of Richard Cromwell's government, Charles stationed himself at Calais in August, 1659; but it was not till April, 1660, that he succeeded during his stay at Breda in opening a negotiation with Gen. Monk. Having transmitted to parliament a document called the declaration of Breda, con- taining specific pledges as to his future conduct and principles of government, his restoration to the throne of England was voted on May 1, and on May 8 he was proclaimed king in London, which city he entered May 29, having departed from the Hague six days before. His journey to London was one continued triumph ; and the whole of the country through which it passed bore the aspect of a universal fair day. So great was the rapture of loyalty with which Charles was received, that, with his usual wit, he observed to some one of his company that he could not see for the life of him why he had stayed away so long, when everybody seemed so charmed that he was at length come back. He was received with open arms, and rein- stated without being asked to give a guarantee or to make a concession. In the general joy at the restoration, many acts were popular, or not unpopular, which at another time would have caused great indignation. There was little general excitement when the Presbyterian ministers were ejected from their livings in August, 1662. The first really unpopular acts of the king were his declaration of indulgence to Catholics, and the surrender of Dunkirk, toward the close of 1662. This fortress, won by. the valor of the Cromwellian soldiery, which was regarded as a compensation for the loss of Calais, was ignominiously sold to the French. The declaration of Breda had left the question of church lands which had been sold during the protectorate to be settled by parliament ; but by the management of Clar- endon parliament adjourned without settling it, and the result was the vitiating of all such sales and the entire restoration of the lands, the buyers having no redress in the courts. The king had made the most general promises of pardon and amnesty, and even the regicide judges were invited to trust to his honorable clemency ; but with the concurrence of parlia- ment, and in truth by act of parliament, they were excepted from the indemnity, even those who surrendered themselves, and all but a few who escaped were either imprisoned for life, or hanged, drawn, and quartered. By vote of the commons, the bodies of Cromwell, Brad- shaw, and Ireton were disinterred, and hanged upon the gibbet at Tyburn. The duke of Ar- gyle was executed in Scotland, and Sir Henry Vane in England; and the excessive zeal for episcopacy of Clarendon and the rough cruelty of Claverhouse made 'this a reign of bitter reli- gious persecution. The more moderate Pres- byterians, led by Baxter, were persuaded at first that the king would be friendly to them, but were bitterly undeceived. On May 20, 1662, Charles was married to Catharine of Braganza, daughter of John IV. of Portu- gal, a virtuous and amiable princess; but he soon outraged her by presenting to her his avowed mistress. The poor queen fainted and the blood gushed from her nose, but Clarendon at length persuaded her to submit to the in- sult, and her spirit was utterly broken. The unblushing licentiousness of the court was a scandal to the world, even in that day of reac- tion against Puritan severity. Its excessive extravagance so far exceeded even the liberal grants made by parliament for the royal ex- penses, that there was general wonder and in- quiry where the money was obtained ; and in 1664 there was so much gossip in the London coffee houses about money from France, that some of these were closed by order of the gov- ernment as places of treasonable talk. War broke out with Holland in February, 1665, followed by rupture with France ; while par- liament continued to legislate against religious nonconformists. In the summer of this year London was desolated with the plague ; and in September, 1666, a terrible conflagration com- pleted the work of destruction. The war with the Dutch brought little glory, and in 1667 their ships broke into the Medway and block- aded the Thames. On July 31 a treaty of peace was concluded at Breda. This was followed by the dismissal of Clarendon, through the in- trigues, it is believed, of the king's mistress. He was followed after a short interval by the ministry known as the Cabal. In January, 1668, Sir William Temple effected the triple alliance between England, Holland, and Swe- den. The king announced this to parliament, and it gave great satisfaction to the nation, being in truth the best public act since the restoration. Unhappily, at this very time, he was negotiating a clandestine treaty with Louis XIV., which was to make England wholly subservient to the French king; and when Sir William came home in the autumn of 1670, he was coldly received by the ministers and king, and retired from public life. To supply money to the king and ministry, the exchequer was closed, and the regular payments of over a million pounds then due were suspended by proclamation for a year. A financial panic and great distress ensued. It was decided to capture a fleet of Dutch ships, but the Dutch convoy beat off the English admiral. On March 17,1672, war was declared against Holland, and a declaration from France was issued at the same time. The pretexts for war were trifling. The first important battle, in Southwold bay, May 28, gave little advantage to either side. The French meantime were victorious on land. But the young prince of Orange proved the deliverer of his country. The war dragged on for two years, when a separate peace was made between England and Holland, the war on the part of France still continuing. Meantime Charles made a declaration of indulgence in religion, suspending all penal laws in religious matters, in consequence of which many prison-