L The king received with the loud eft acclamations. The States-general in a body, and afterwards the states of Holland apart, performed their compliments with the greatest folemnity. The king omitted not to confirm the fubftance of his declarations to the commiffioners, who were dispatched to attend him into his native dominions. Montague, the English admiral, waited upon his majefty to inform him, embarks at that the fleet expected his orders at Scheveling. The duke Scheeling, of York immediately repaired on board, and took the comat Dover. mand as lord high-admiral. The king went on board; and, landing at Dover, was received by the general, whom he May 29. tenderly embraced. On the 29th of May, which was his He enters birth-day, he entered London amidst universal accla 1 and lands London. mations. CHA P. IX. A.D.1660. New miwiftry. WHEN Charles afcended the throne, he was thirty W years of age, poffeffed of a vigorous and graceful perfon, and of an elegant addrefs. His whole behaviour was well calculated to fupport and increase popularity. Accustomed, during his exile, to live on the most intimate terms with his courtiers, he carried the fame endearing familiarities to the throne; and, from the levity of his temper, no refentment of former injuries was dreaded. From the whole tenor of his actions and difcourfe, he feemed defirous of finking the memory of all paft animofities in oblivion, and of uniting men of every denomination in a cordial attachment to their prince and their native country. The king, without any regard to former diftinctions, admitted into his council the most eminent men of the nation. The prefbyterians, equally with the royalifts, fhared this honour. Sir Edward Hyde, who had attended him in his exile, was now created a peer, by the title of lord Clarendon, and appointed lord chancellor, and first minifter of ftate. The marquis, afterwards created duke of Ormond, was appointed lord-fteward of the houshold, the earl of Southampton high-treasurer, and fir Edward Nicholas fecretary of ftate. Admiral Montague Montague received the title of earl of Sandwich. Monk, who had performed such signal services, was created duke of Albemarle. The king, in his declaration at Breda, had promifed an A of inindemnity to all criminals but those who should be excepted demnity. by parliament; and he now iffued a proclamation, declaring, that fuch of the late king's judges as did not furrender themselves prisoners within fourteen days fhould receive no pardon. Nineteen furrendered themselves, fome were taken in their flight, and others efcaped beyond fea, The commons feemed more inclined to lenity than the lords. The upper house, inflamed by the ill ufage which they had received, were refolved, befide the late king's judges, to except every one who had fat in any high court of juftice, Nay, the earl of Bristol moved, that no pardon might be granted to those who had any wife contributed to the king's death. So wide an exception, in which every one who had served the parliament might be comprehended, gave a general alarm; but the king foon diffipated their fears. He came to the house of peers, and, in the most earnest terms, urged the act of general indemnity; a measure which was received with great fatisfaction and applaufe. The act, therefore, paffed both houses, and foon received the royal affent. Those who had an immediate hand in the late king's death were there excepted. Even Cromwell, Ireton, Bradshaw, and others now dead, were attainted, and their eftates forfeited. Vane and Lambert, though none of the regicides, were also excepted. St. John, and feventeen perfons more, were deprived of all benefit from this act, if they ever accepted any public employment. All who had fat in any illegal high court of justice were disabled from bearing offices. These were all the feverities which followed fuch flagrant violations of the laws and conftitutions of the kingdom. The next business of the parliament was the fettlement Settlement of the king's revenue. The tenures of wards and liveries of the rehad long been regarded as a grievous burden by the nobi- venue. lity and gentry. Several attempts had been made, during the reign of James, to purchase not only this prerogative, but that of purveyance; and two hundred thousand pounds had then been offered to the crown in lieu of them. a-year Wardships and purveyance had been utterly abolished by the republican parliament; and even in the prefent parliament, before the king arrived in England, a bill had been introduced, offering him a compenfation for the emoluments of these prerogatives. A hundred thousand pounds N 3 a-year Trial and execution cides. a-year was the fum agreed to; and half of the excise was fettled in perpetuity upon the crown, as the fund whence this revenue should be levied. The bargain might be efteemed hard; and it was chiefly the neceflity of the king's fituation which induced him to give it his confent. Tonnage and poundage, with the other half of the excise, were granted to the king during life. The parliament even proceeded fo far as to vote, that the fettled revenue of the crown, for all charges, should be one million two hundred thousand pounds a-year; a fum greater than any English monarch had ever before enjoyed. But the deficiency of this allowance appears from the chancellor's calculation, according to which, the fum of eight hundred thousand pounds a-year was requifite for the fleet and other articles, which formerly, while the military force of the princes on the continent was lefs powerful, coft the crown but eighty thousand pounds. In all the temporary fupplies which the parliament voted, they difcovered the fame frugality. Even towards difbanding the army, fo formidable in itself, the commons discovered great jealoufy in granting the neceffary fum. During the recefs of parliament, the public attention was turned to the trial and execution of the regicides. of the regi General Harrifon, who was first brought to his trial, pleaded his caufe with that undaunted firmness which had diftinguished him through life. What he had done, he faid, was from the impulfes of the fpirit of God. He would not, he faid, for any benefit to himself, hurt a hair of the pooreft man or woman upon earth; and, during the ufurpation of Cromwell, when all the rest of the world acknowleged his right, or fubmitted to his power, he had boldly upbraided the ufurper to his face. Harrifon's death was marked with the fame admirable conftancy which he difplayed at his trial. Carew, Coke, Peters, Scot, Clement, Scrope, Jones, Hacker, and Axtell, fhared the fame fate. They all fuffered not only with paffive fortitude, but with the resolution of men who confidered the act for which they were condemned as highly meritorious. Some circumftances of barbarity attended the execution of those criminals. Harrison's entrails were torn out, and thrown into the fire before he expired. His head was fixed on the fledge that drew Coke and Peters to the place of execution, with the face turned towards them. The executioner, having mangled Coke, approached Peters, befmeared with the blood of his friend, and asked how he liked that work. Peters, viewing him with an an air of scorn, replied, "You have butchered a fervant of God in my fight; but I defy your cruelty." The reft of the king's judges were reprieved, and afterwards difperfed into feveral prifons. and the Those transactions were foon followed by the death of Death of the duke of Gloucefter, in the twentieth year of his age; the duke of a prince of the most promifing hopes, and tenderly be- Gloucester, loved by the king. The princefs of Orange having come to England in order to partake of the joy attending the Orange. princess of reftoration of her family, foon after fickened and died. Princess The queen-mother paid a vifit to her fon, and obtained Henrietta his confent to the marriage of the princess Henrietta with married to the duke of Orleans, brother to the French king. the duke of Orleans. After a recefs of near two months, both houfes met, Dec 29. and proceeded in the great work of the national fettlement. Difolution Bufiness, being carried on with unanimity, was foon dif- of the conpatched; and, after they had fat near two months, the king, in a fpeech full of the most gracious expreflions, thought proper to diffolve the parliament. vention parliament. The councils of Charles were at this time chiefly directed by Clarendon, who conducted himself with wisdom and justice, and endeavoured to promote equally the interests of prince and people. Actuated by these principles, he now haftened to difband the army. When the king reviewed those veteran troops, he was ftruck with their discipline and martial appearance; and being fenfible that regular forces are most useful instruments of fovereign power, he poffeffed a defire of finding expedients to retain them. But his wife minifter fet before him the danger which might arise from the mutinous habits in which they had lived fo many years; and he convinced the king that, until they were disbanded, he never could confider himself as fecurely fixed on the throne. The only troops retained The army, were a few guards and garrifons, confifting of about a except thousand horfe and four thousand foot. This was the fome firft appearance, under the monarchy, of a regular ftand- garrifons, ing army in England. Clarendon was now nearly allied to the royal family. His daughter, Anne Hyde, a woman of spirit and fine accomplishments, had hearkened, while abroad, to addreffes from the duke of York, and, under promife of marriage, had fecretly admitted him to her bed. Some time after the Reftoration her pregnancy appeared, and though many endeavoured to perfuade the king from confenting to fo unequal an alliance, Charles, from a regard to his N 4 friend guards and disbanded. friend and minifter, who had been ignorant of these engagements, permitted his brother to marry her *. Clarendon expreffed great uneasiness at the honour which he had obtained; and faid, that by being elevated fo much above his rank, he thence dreaded a more fudden downfal. Of the bishops alive, and these All the ejected The laws, which established bishops and the liturgy, were as yet unrepealed by any legal authority; and any attempt of the parliament, by new acts, to abolith epifcopacy, and to give the fuperiority to prefbyterianism, had been fufficient to involve the nation again in blood and confufion. Moved by thefe views, the commons had wifely poftponed the examination of all religious controverfy, and had left the fettlement of the church to the king and to the ancient laws. Charles at firft ufed great moderation in the execution of the laws. who had been difplaced, nine remained were immediately restored to their fees. clergy recovered their livings, and the liturgy was again admitted into the churches. But at the fame time, in otder to give contentment to the prefbyterians, a declaration was iffued, in which the king promised, that he would provide fuffragan bishops for the larger dioceses; that all the prelates fhould be regular and conftant preachers; that they should not confer ordination, or exercife any jurifdiction, without the advice or affistance of prefbyters, chofen by the diocefe; that fuch alterations fhould be made in the liturgy as would render it totally unexceptionable; and that the furplice, the cross in baptifm, and bowing at the name of Jefus, fhould not be rigidly infifted on. This declaration was iffued by the king as head of the church; and if he affumed, in many parts of it, a legislative authority in ecclefiaftical matters, it appeared to be juftifiable upon the principle of neceffity, when the whole fabric of the ftate had been disjointed by the late convulfions, and required the moderating hand of the chief magiftrate to restore it to its former condition. But this appearance of moderation and neutrality was not able to remove the apprehensions, or restrain the enthusiasm, of a few men, who were impelled by a fpecies of fanaticism, remarkable even in thofe times of religious extravagance. One Venner, a defperate enthufiaft, who had often confpired against Cromwell, and had as often King James's Memoirs, been |