fonably affured, that He fhould have nothing preffed upon him that should be ungrateful, with Reference to the Church or State.

Ir is true, the Prefbyterians were very numerous in Particularly the House, and many of them Men of good Parts, of the Prefeyterian Party and had a great Party in the Army, and a greater in in it. the City, and except with Reference to Epifcopacy were defirous to make themselves grateful to the King in 9) the fettling all his Intereft, and efpecially in vindicating themselves from the odious Murder of the King by loud and paffionate Inveighing against that monftrous Parricide, and with the highest Animofity denouncing the fevereft Judgments not only against thofe who were immediately guilty of it, but against those principal Perfons who had most notoriously adhered to Cromwell in the Administration of his Government, that is, most eminently opposed them and their Faction. They took all Occasions to declare, "that the "Power and Interest of the Party had been the chief "Means to bring Home the King;" and ufed all poffible Endeavours that the King might be perfuaded to think fo too, and that the very Covenant had at last done him Good and expedited his Return, by the causing it to be hung up in Churches, from whence Cromwell had caft it out, and their Ministers preffing upon the Confcience of all thofe who had taken it, "that They were bound by that Claufe which con"cerned the Defence of the King's Perfon, to take

up Arms, if Need were, on his Behalf, and to re"ftore him to his rightful Government;" when the very fame Ministers had obliged them to take up Arms against the King his Father by Virtue of that Covenant, and to fight against him till They had taken him Prifoner, which produced his Murder. This Party was much displeased, that the King declared himfelf fo pofitively on Behalf of Epifcopacy, and would hear no other Prayers in his Chapel than thofe contained in the Book of Common Prayer, and that all those Formalities and Solemnities were now again refumed and practifed,

practifed, which They had caused to be abolished for fo many Years paft. Yet the King left all Churches to their Liberty, to ufe fuch Forms of Devotion which They liked beft; and fuch of their chief Preachers who defired it, or were defired by their Friends, were admitted to preach before him, even without the Surplice, or any other Habit than They made choice of. But this Connivance would not do their Business : Their Preaching made no Profelytes who were not fo before; and the Refort of the People to thofe Churches, where the Common Prayer was again introduced, was Evidence enough of their Inclinations; and They faw the King's Chapel always full of thofe, who had ufed to poffefs the chief Benches in their Affemblies: So that it was manifeft that Nothing but the fupreme Authority would be able to fettle their Difcipline; Which urges and therefore with their usual Confidence They were of Ecclefiafti- very importunate in the House of Commons," that cal Govern-"the Ecclefiaftical Government might be settled and ment accord remain according to the Covenant, which had been "practifed many Years, and fo the People generally "well devoted to it, whereas the introducing the Com

the Settlement

ing to the Covenant.

mon Prayer (with which very few had ever been "acquainted or heard it read) would very much of"fend the People, and give great Interruption to the "compofing the Peace of the Kingdom." This was urged in the House of Commons by eminent Men of the Party, who believed They had the major Part of their Mind. And their Preachers were as folicitous and induftrious to inculcate the fame Doctrine to the principal Perfons who had returned with the King, and every Day reforted to the Court as if They prefided there, and had frequent Audiences of the King to perfuade him to be of the fame Opinion; from whom They received no other Condefcenfions than They had formerly had at the Hague, with the fame gracious Affability and Expreffions to their Perfons. THAT Party in the House that was in Truth devoted to the King, and to the old Principles of Church

and

and of State, which every Day increased, thought not fit fo to cross the Presbyterians as to make them defperate in their Hopes of Satisfaction, but, with the Concurrence with those who were of contrary Fac(10) tions, diverted the Argument by propofing other Subjects of more immediate Relation to the publick Peace, as the Act of Indemnity which every Man impatiently longed for, and the raising Money towards the Payment of the Army and the Navy, without which that unfupportable Charge could not be leffened, to be first confidered and dispatched; and the Model for Religion to be debated and prepared by that Committee, which had been nominated before his Majefty's Return to that Purpose; They not doubting to crofs and puzzle any pernicious Refolutions there, till Time and their own extravagant Follies fhould put fome End to their deftructive Defigns.

In the mean Time there were two Particulars, which the King with much inward Impatience, though with little outward Communication, did most defire, the difbanding the Army, and fettling the Revenue, the Course and Receipt whereof had been fo broken and perverted, and a great Part extinguished by the Sale of all the Crown-Lands, that the old Officers of the Exchequer, Auditors or Receivers, knew not how to resume their Administrations. Besides that the great Receipt of Excife and Customs was not yet vested in the King; nor did the Parliament make any Hafte to affign it, finding it neceffary to reserve it in the old Way, and not to divert it from those Affignments, which had been made for the Payment of the Army and Navy, for which until fome other Provision could be made, it was to no Purpose to mention the difbanding the one or the other, though the Charge of Both was fo vaft and unfupportable, that the Kingdom muft in a fhort Time fink under the Burden. For what concerned the Revenue and raising Money, the King was lefs folicitous, and yet there was not fo much as any Affignation made for the Support of his Vol. II. Houfhold,

C

The Nature

tion of the Army.

Houfhold, which caused a vast Debt to be contracted before taken Notice of, the Mifchief of which is hardly yet removed. He faw the Parliament every Day doing fomewhat in it, and it quickly diffolved all Bargains, Contracts and Sales, which had been of any of the Crown-Lands, fo that all that Royal Revenue (which had been too much wafted and impaired in those improvident Times which had preceded the Troubles) was entirely remitted to thofe to whom it belonged, the King and the Queen his Mother; but very little Money was returned out of the fame into the Exchequer in the Space of the first Year; fo difficult it was to reduce any Payments which had been made for fo many Years irregularly, into the old Channel and Order. And every Thing elfe of this Kind was done, how flowly foever, with as much Expedition as from the Nature of the Affair, and the Crowd in which it was neceffary to be agitated, could reasonably be expected; and therefore his Majefty was lefs troubled for thofe Inconveniencies which He forefaw must inevitably flow from thence.

BUT the Delay in difbanding the Army, how unand Inclina- avoidable foever, did exceedingly afflict him, and the more, because for many Reasons He could not urge it nor complain of it. He knew well the ill Conftitution of the Army, the Distemper and Murmuring that was in it, and how many Difeafes and Convulfions their infant Loyalty was fubject to; that how united foever their Inclinations and Acclamations feemed to be at Blackheath, their Affections were not the fame: And the very Countenances then of many Officers as well as Soldiers did fufficiently manifeft, that They were drawn thither to a Service They were not delighted in. The General, before He had formed any Refolution to himself, and only valued himself upon the Prefbyterian Intereft, had cafhiered fome Regiments and Companies which He knew not to be devoted to his Perfon and Greatnefs; and after He found it neceffary to fix his own Hopes and Depend

ance

ance upon the King, He had difmiffed many Officers (1)who He thought might be willing and able to cross his Designs and Purposes, when He 'fhould think fit to discover them, and conferred their Charges and Commands upon those who had been disfavoured by the late Powers; and after the Parliament had declared for and proclaimed the King, He cashiered others, and gave their Offices to fome eminent Commanders who had ferved the King; and gave others of the loyal Nobility Leave to lift Voluntiers in Companies to appear with them at the Reception of the King, who had all met and joined with the Army upon Blackheath in the Head of their Regiments and Companies: Yet, notwithstanding all this Providence, the old Soldiers had little Regard for their new Officers, at least had no Resignation for them; and it quickly appeared, by the felect and affected Mixtures of fullen and melancholick Parties of Officers and Soldiers, that as ill-difpofed Men of other Claffes were left as had been difbanded; and that much the greater Part fo much abounded with ill Humours, that is was not fafe to administer a general Purgation. It is true that Lambert was close Prifoner in the Tower, and as many of thofe Officers who were taken and had appeared in Arms with him when He was taken, were likewise there or in fome other Prisons, with others of the fame Complexion, who were well enough known to have the present Settlement that was intended in perfect Detestation: But this Leprofy was spread too far to have the Contagion quickly or easily extinguished. How close foever Lambert himfelf was fecured from doing Mischief, his Faction was at Liberty and very numerous; his difbanded Officers and Soldiers mingled and conversed with their old Friends and Companions, and found too many of them poffeffed with the fame Spirit; They concurred in the fame Reproaches and Revilings of the General, as the Man who had treacheroufly betrayed them, and led them into an Ambuscade from whence They knew not how