which put the King upon thoughts of providing for his own safety and therefore on the 13. of April he went out of Oxford in a disguise with Parson Hudson waiting upon Mr. Iohn Ashburnham and upon the 6. os May got to the Scots Army before Newark Soon after which Sir Thomas Glenham surrendred the City of Oxford to General Fairfax upon the 24. of Iune 1646. The Duke of York was carried from thence to Saint Iames's where he met with his Sister the Princesse Henrietta Maria who was sent thither from the surrender of Exceter but was shortly after conveyed from Oatlands over to her Mother in France by her Governesse the Lady Dalkeith From the Island of Scilly the Prince removed to that of Guernsey where he had not long been but an Ordinance is put out against him in the nature of a Ban prohibiting all persons to repair to him or correspond with him by letter or otherwise upon pain of death without mercy Whereupon his abode here being so uncomfortable he betakes himself for France to visit his Mother and that Court there he was received with great demonstration of joy by all parties excepting the dissembling Cardinal Mazarine who though he pretended much respect yet was he inwardly glad to see him in distresse and exile From hence the Queen being willing to comply with the active desires of her Son which inclin'd him to break through these clouds of misery and retirement which seem'd wholly to obscure him writes to the King by Major Bosvil requesting him to permit the Prince to go into the field with his Uncle the Duke of Orleans that summer in the head of a French Army that was then design'd for an expedition into Flanders against the Spaniard To which his Majesty refus'd to condescend partly for that he judg'd it an imployment below a Prince of Great Britain to serve any other King but his own whose pay and orders were once receiv'd by a Roman Caesar and partly because he knew not how soon his service might be necessary for his own Couhtrey and therefore he commands him to wave that design and await his further instructions In the mean time it pleased the King of kings to lay his hand upon him and visit him with an intermitting Fever which continued upon him for the space of some weeks 'till by the divine blessing upon the Physitian 's care he was recover'd to perfect health Soon after which he receiv'd a Commission from his Royal Father to be Generalissimo of all the Loyal forces that survived of the late unsuccessefull battels and garrisons While he is advising about this affair the Kingdom of Scotland out of tendernesse of the Prince's safety honour and conscience move the King That his Son the present hope and future happinesse of these Nations might not be exposed in his youth to the dangers which encompassed him in the French Court particularly in reference to his Religion the perversion of which might have fatal consequences in these three Kingdomes Whereupon his Majesty from Newcastle whether the Scots fearing least General Fairfax should fall upon them and compel them to deliver him up retir'd with him writes to him That he should wait upon his Mother and obey her dutifully in all things Religion only excepted and that he should not stir any whether without his directions The Scots also by their Committee of Estates write themselves to the Prince to invite him thither Professing that none of the late calamities except those that had befallen his Royal Father afflicted them more then his Highnesse's absence And seeing their Forces had entred England to doe their duty to Religion his Majesty and his Highnesse they humbly desire he would please to honour and countenance their pious and loyal endeavours with his gracious presence for whose honour safety and freedome they engage the publick Faith of that Kingdome Signed Crawford Lindsey In Answer to this he desires the Earle of Louderdail to return his acknowledgements to the States of Scotland and assure them he would doe nothing misbecoming a good Prince or unsuitable to their civility But the Prince in pursuance of his instructions negotiating in behalf of his Father's affairs in the French Court by his Mother's assistance whom her nearnesse of bloud great deserts and low condition made powerfull there prevails with the French to advance ten thousand pounds for the Marquesse of Ormond towards the furtherance of his Majestie 's affairs in Ireland as an earnest of greater matters And some remainders of his Cornish Forces getting to a head others upon order marching to him out of Ireland he goes to meet them at the Island of Iersey with such Forces as he had gotten together beyond sea especially in France by his Mother's means and in Holland by the mediation of his young Brother in Law VVilliam of Nassaw Prince of Orange who about this time succeeded his Father Henry in the dignity of General and Admiral of the United Provinces He possessed himself likewise of some Vessels in the Island adding others to them which he hired in France While his Highnesse lay here a Letter is sent to him from the Parliament by the hands of Colonel Russel their Governour of Guernsey which lyes six or seven Leagues distant from Iersey The effect of it was to desire him for his Father's his own and the three Kingdomes sake to return to them where he should find all due respects Subjects could afford or his H ghnesse expect The Design was to get the person of the Prince into their hands as the Scots had that of the King but it took no effect the Prince proceeding to manage his affairs by sea and land to such advantage as might â—nable his Royal Father to stand in the approaching Treaty on such termes as might consist with his Conscience and his Honour On Iuly the 27. following sixteen General Propositions with sundry Qualifications were presented to the King at Newcastle by the Earles of Pembroke Suffolk c. who were limited to ten dayes which the King judging unreasonable refused to consent to and defir'd to come to London and treat personally After which the Scots general Assembly send a Remonstrance to his Majesty desiring him to settle matters in England according to the COVENANT and to signe the Parliaments Propositions And Chancellor Lowdon told him plainly there was no other means for him to close with his Two Houses And moreover if he lost England he should not be admitted to reign in Scotland But the King still persisting in his denyal the Scots who had hitherto some what sharply disputed about the disposall of his Person are content upon the receit of a good summe of Money to depart home and leave the King in the power of the Parliament who voted him to Holmby House and sent Commissioners to receive and convey him thither where he arriv'd on the 17. of February 1646 7. The War was now totally finished and dissentions brake out between the Parliament
them There his Majesty hop'd to have gotten convenience of transportation into France but his expectations fail'd him for no Master of a Vessel durst undertake to waft over any single person unlesse he knew certainly beforehand what he were So that it being a Town of great resort his Majesty was enforc'd to depart from it Whither he went afterwards is not hitherto certainly known Nor ha's it pleas'd his Majesty or that Lady to discover to any Severall passages are written to have hapned indangering his discovery both at Bristol and elsewhere but the relators have not the least ground for any of them and have rather chosen to gratify vulgar readers with impertinent fictions then to confesse their ignorance of that which they did not and cannot yet know The loyall Lady in all her journeys with his Majesty comported her self with extraordinary prudence and fidelity expressing her observance as often as opportunity safely permitted it and at other times acting her part in the disguise with much caution and discretion A further relation of his Majestie 's progresse in England and the manner of his transportation into France assoon as it comes to our hands from the honorable person who besides his Majesty is now alone able to impart it shall be presented to the world In the mean time I am glad I can record that he took ship at Brighthempston in Sussex about the end of October 1651. and having by the Divine Providence escaped the greatest dangers imaginable in England and some too upon the Sea landed safely at Diep in Normandy where he stay'd not but went forthwith to Roan and from thence dispatch'd Letters to Paris to give notice of his arrival and in the interim was furnisht with accommodations befitting his quality by the Duke of Longueville Intelligence of his safe arrivall being brought to Paris the Duke of Orleance his Majestie 's noble and generous Uncle sent his own Coach for him which met him on the way as far as Magny and coming nearer the City he was met by a company of Nobles and Gentlemen and conducted to the Louvre Entertainment was there forthwith provided for him and the Queen his Mother and the Duke of Orleance visited him the same night The next day also the Duke of Orleance and Madamoiselle his daughter visited him together with the Dukes of Beaufort and Guise Marshal Turein and other of the great Peers and Nobles of France congratulating his happy deliverance Nor was it long before the King of France and the Queen Mother did the like expressing their regret for his Majestie 's disasters and the great interest they took in his safety Thus I have drawn into as narrow compasse as I could the particulars and circumstances of his Majestie 's preservation in each of which is remarkable his great patience and goodnesse and withall his exemplary fortitude in undergoing the greatest calamities that could befall a Prince on this side death I have perhaps made too long a story of it for this little Volume but it was for the Reader 's sake who I hope will be stirr'd up by it to praise the King of kings that deliver'd his Anointed from becoming a prey to those that thirsted after his bloud Certainly not only we but even the succeeding generations will have cause to blesse the Divine Providence for that in the midst of his judgements upon these Nations he was pleased to preserve so precious a mercy for them in store to the end that having been sufficiently chasten'd with the Scorpions of bloudy and tyrannical Governours for their sins against their natural pious and gracious Sovereign they might in due time be restor'd to the blessings which they had forfeited under the government of his excellent Son and his posterity to the end of the world In the pursuit after this fatal battle were taken besides the Earles of Dâ—rby Lauderdale Cleaveland and his son the Lord Wentworth the Earle of Kenmore David Lâ—â—lâ—y Lieutenant General Middleton Major General Vandruske the Lord Spyne Sir VVilliam Fleming with many others of quality Of 3000. horse which fled 1000. were taken about Beudley in Staffordshire more in other places partly by souldiers and partly by rising parties of Countrey people who barberously knock'd many stragglers on the head in Yorkshire Cheshire Lancashire Shropshire and VVarwickshire Major General Massey having with many wounds upon him escaped out of the field and finding himself unable for flight yielded himself to the civility and mercy of the Countesse of Stamford to which he was induc'd upon the Account of former friendship he having been Major General under the Earle her husband in the Wars between his late Majesty and the Parliament How far this Ladie 's generosity extended I know not but her son the Lord Grey of Groby understanding it forthwith secured him as a Prisoner till his wounds were cured and then he was sent up to the Parliament and committed to the Tower from whence he escaped not long after by an ingenious wile and went into France to his Majestie The news of this victory caused great rejoycing amongst the pretended Parliament who now look't upon their new Commonwealth as founded to Eternity And to tell the World that they were the Favourites of Heaven and that God had owned their cause a day of solemn Thanksgiving was appoint'd throughout the whole Nation And indeed though there was nothing miraculous in the victory the Parliamentarians being six times the number of the Royallists yet it may be said to have been the Work of God and they the instruments of his wrath upon the people of this Land and the scourges of God as Attila that terrible destroyer of Christendome was once called Flagellum Dei The only Miracle was his Majestie 's deliverance in which the King of kings was pleased to remember mercy in judgement and give us cause to adore his Providence both in afflicting this Nation in this excellent Prince and suffering wicked Tyrants Murderers and Oppressours to prosper in the mean time preserving him in whom our hopes lay from the hands of his bloud-thirsty enemies And as if successe attended impious Armes the Garrisons of Scotland fell every day into the power of the English Sterling Castle was deliver'd to Colonel Monck while Cromwell was at VVorcester and in it great store of warlike Ammunition with many of the Royal Ensignes Old General Lesley Earle of Leven with several other Scotch Lords intending to have levied a party of men for his Majesty to have rais'd the siege of that strong and loyal Town Dundee were surprized by a party of English horse shortly after which the Town was taken by storme and the City of St. Andrews and Aberdeen with other Towns Castles and Forts surrendred upon summons On the 12. of September Cromwel entred triumphantly into London having sent the poor captive Scots thither before him and on the 16. he went to the Parliament-House and had a congratulatory Oration made to him by Lenthal the
Safety consisting chiefly of Army-Officers and some Members of the dissolved Iunto who cided with them as Vane Salwey c. The council of Officers also for satisfaction of the people put forth a Declaration concerning their late proceedings charging the Rump with high Crimes and making void their late pretended Acts. Moreover they appointed certain persons to frame a Model of Government which no question would have prov'd an excellent one when onely Sword-men and Tradesmen were to be the contrivers But that which check'd their contentment in these courses was the dissatisfaction of Gen. Monck in Scotland Letters of expostulation past to and fro between the General and Fleetwood but the English Army in the mean time prepar'd to march against him forthwith and was led towards the North by Lambert consisting of about 12000. men The General seeing them thus beforehand with him sent Commissioners to Westminster to treat yet with all march'd Southward with what Forces he could raise and fortifi'd Berwick upon Tweed The Commissioners going beyond their Instructions the General was not satisfi'd with the Treaty and therefore soon after desir'd another at New-Castle during which he call'd a Convention of Estates in Scotland who not only approved his undertaking but assisted him in it While things stood thus the City of London though they well enough lik'd the turning out of the Rump would by no means join with the Army But about the beginning of December the Apprentices and some others fram'd a Petition to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen for a Free Parliament the Souldiers understanding it interpos'd and a great hurly burly thereupon arose in the City some being slain and others wounded Fleetwood was therefore desir'd to draw his Forces out of the City but instead of doing that he placed Garrisons in several parts of it threatning to fire it if the Citizens stir'd At the same time Haselrig Morley and some other Rumpers seis'd on Portsmouth and declar'd against the Army and part of the Navy under Vice-Admiral Lawson did the like and blockt up the Thames The City in this condition would declare neither for Parliament nor Army but still desired a free Parliament which at last was consented to upon divers enslaving qualifications and proclaim'd by the Committee of Safety to begin on Ian. 24. Upon the borders all this while nothing was done the Treaty took no effect neverthelesse Gen. Monck kept from engaging nor was it possible for Lambert to draw him to it whose Forces quartered in a cold barren Country unable to march by reason of the hardnesse of the weather At length Fleetwood having treated with Lawson to no effect and his souldiers being ready to mutiny for want of pay was forced out of apprehension of worser consequence to give over ruling and the Rump slipt into the House again on Decemb. 26. late in the evening by Torch-light Upon the news hereof Lambert's Army deserted him and General Monck enter'd into England with his about the 6. of Ian. Whilst affairs were thus turbulent in England his Majesty being at Diepe in Normandy receiv'd an invitation from Don Lewis de Haro the great Spanish Minister at the Frontier of Spain Which his Majesty accepting rid post incognito through France being accompanied onely with the Lord Marquis of Ormond and the Earl of Bristol Upon information of his approach to Bayonne the Spanish Favourite went forth with a splendid Traine to meet him and upon the first sight of him alighted from his Horse and notwithstanding the inconvenience of the place in a very humble posture embraced his Majestie 's knees from whence also he conducted him riding all the way bareheaded to the best lodgings the place afforded On the next day his Majestie was visited by Mazarini whom he entertain'd with that discreet warinesse that he let him know he sufficiently understood his projects The result of his Majestie 's consultations with Don Lewis was that the Favorite in his Masters name promised him all assistance both of men and mony assoon as the conclusion of the French peace permitted Whereupon his Majesty after high caresses and treatments returned privately by Post to Paris where staying with the Queen his Mother some few dayes he departed to his former residence at Brussels This private journey occasion'd so certain a belief in the Sectarians here in power that his Majesty and the Duke of York who lay at Calis were come over into England that many persons were apprehended for them and particularly one Mr. Colt was taken and imprison'd for the Duke of York and others also for his Majesty We left Gen. Monck upon his march out of Scotland all parties had their hopes fixt upon him the Rump presuming by his assistance to quell the refractory City and the Citizens that he would enforce the Rump either to call in the Members secluded in Dec. 1648. or to fill up the House with new Elections yet none knew certainly his intentions During his March he was address'd to by several Counties for the same things that the City desir'd who also sent their Swordbearer as far as New-Castle to congratulate his coming and tender the respects and affections of the City to him Yet he gave such answers as were not satisfactory to any The Rump also sent two of their Members Robinson and Scot to wait upon him but indeed rather as spies to watch and observe him At St. Albans some Aldermen and Common-Council men of London were sent to him from the City to court him but were return'd as all others only with thanks for their respects On Friday Feb. 3. he marched into London and was lodg'd at White-hall being much caress'd by the Rump and receiv'd their thanks in the House The City continuing still their refractoriness to the Rump and perceiving they so delay'd the filling up of the House as if they never intended it on VVednesday Feb. 8. pass'd a Vote in Common Council not to pay or levy any Taxes until such time as they might have a full free Parliament This so enrag'd the Rump that they order'd the General to march with his Army into the City pull up the Chains and Posts break down the Gates and Portcullis and imprison divers Aldermen and Commissioners Which was accordingly executed the next day to the great terror and amazement not onely of the City but of the whole Nation when they heard the report of it But this consternation did not last long for the General reflecting on the odious service the Rump had put him upon and apprehending their intentions to retrench his power which indeed his Commission being that day expir'd they did accordingly joyning him with some of their Members and Officers in the supreme command of the Army on Saturday Feb. 11. drew his Army into Finsbury fields and presently after upon some conference with the Lord Mayor and some chief Citizens writ a Letter to the Iunto as from VVhite-Hall subscribed by Himself and 14. of his chief Officers wherein he