and clergy, dissolved it; and never after suffered the people freely to elect their representatives: but nominated certain eminent persons himself instead thereof, which is called, L'Assembly des Notabiles, or the assembly of chief, or principal men; and the methods proposed to avoid parliaments were: 5. 1. To have a fortress in every considerable town. 2. To cause highways to be made through all such towns. 3. To make none of the inhabitants governors of those fortresses. 4. To let none pass through those towns without a ticket. 5. To have the names of all lodgers taken by innkeepers. 6. To impose a general oath upon the subjects, not to oppose any of these contrivances. And to increase the King's revenue, the advice was, 1. To demand the tenth part of every man's estate. 2. To buy-in all leases upon the crown lands. 3. To take the benefit of salt into his own hands. 4. To demand a rate for sealing the weights every year. To lay a Tax upon wools. 6. Upon every lawyer's fee. 7. Upon inns and victualling houses for a license. 8. Upon all cattle-flesh, and horses sold in the market. 9. Upon all lands alienated. 10. To set a rate upon all Offices in his majesty's grant. 11. To reduce his majesty's houshold to board wages. 12. To lay a tax upon white meats on fasting days. 13. To lay an imposition upon the papist's lands. 14. To advance some hundreds of persons to honours. 15. To prohibit excess in apparel, which would save the gentry more money, than what they were taxed would amount to. In the year 1629, one Bellingham was arrested in Fleet-street, and several gentlemen of the Temple attempting his rescue, divers of them were wounded, and some imprisoned; which so increased the tumult, that the Templers made a barricado at St. Dunstan's church, being about six hundred in number, and the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs coming against them with a company of the train'd bands, they boldly resisted them, killing five of them, and wounding near a hundred; but in the end being dispersed, two of them, that is, captain Stamford and captain Ashurst were hanged, though great intercession was made to the king, for Stamford's life; who answered, that since he had been formerly pardoned for a murder, and had committed another, a course ought to be taken to prevent a third. Upon May 29, 1630, the Queen was delivered of a son at St. James's who was christened Charles; and preserved by Providence, to succeed his father in these three kingdoms, as his rightful inheritance, after the miseries of a long and tedious exile from his native country, unto which he was at length happily restored, with the general consent and acclamation of the whole kingdom. The King of France, and the Prince Elector Palatine, represented by the duke of Lenox, and the marquis Hamilton, were his godfathers, and the Queen mother of France; represented by the Dutchess of Richmond, his godmother: it was observed that at his nativity a star was seen at noon-day, which might portend some extraordinary passages of this prince's life. About this ton was sentenc'd ber, to have his forehead stigmacropt, his nose ing a book called wherein he exparliament under the fifth the Queen, the Heth,aCanaanite which sentence inflicted on him. DR. LEIGHTON. time, Dr. Leigh. in the Star Chambody whipt, his tized, his ears slit; for publishSion's Plea: horted the late smite the bishops rib; and called daughter of and Idolatress: was accordingly Papists presum'd day to say Mass the Lords Chief who Church; on St. Stephen's in Dublin, while Justices were at having notice the priests' cruto be ments, Popish Aldermen not assisting the imprisoned for Papists making Mayor: but some a tumult, rescued the priests, whom the guards again forced to deliver back. Upon information of this riot and insolency, fifteen houses were by special order from the council seized upon for his Majesty's use; and the priests and friars so disturbed, that two of them hanged themselves. Neither did the Papists agree together, for there were great contests in England between the Jesuits and secular priests. い The Earl of Essex had many years before married the Lady Howard, who complaining of his insufficiency for marriage duties, the cause was brought to a trial; and it being made appear by a jury of midwives and the Earl's own confession, that he never could, and believed he never should, carnally know her; thereupon sentence of divorce between him and his lady was pronounced by the Bishops: however the Eart was resolved to try his fortune once more, and therefore upon his return out of the Low Countries, where he had been for some time a soldier, he now married a daughter of Sir William Paulet of Wiltshire; but a while after she objecting the same cause of complaint, desired likewise to be divorced from him; which the Earl easily consented to, and it was done accordingly. In the year 1631, and the 7th of his Majesty's reign, Mervin Lord Audly, and Earl of Castlehaven, was tried by his peers upon the petition of his own son and heir, for Rape and Sodomy; many unnatural and beastly actions being proved against him: whereupon he received sentence to be hanged, but had the favour to be beheaded at Tower-hill. This Earl was born of a very honourable family, and educated in the Protestant Religion, but turned Papist to have the more liberty to commit wickedness: in which he grew to so great a height, that he impudently declared in the presence of some Lords, as others had their several delight; some in one thing, some in another; so his whole delight was in damning souls, by enticing Men to such acts as might surely effect it. About this time, Sir Giles Allington was convented for marrying his own niece, and was fined twelve thousand pounds to the King, and to give twenty thousand pounds bond never to cohabit, or come in private with his niece again; and both of them to do penance at St. Paul's Cross, or St. Mary's in Cambridge, which they accordingly did. The Protestants were very much discontented in Ireland, that the Papists were discharged from paying the state penalty of twelve pence a Sunday for not going to church; whereby their number was wonderfully increased. Whereupon the King recalled the Lords Justices, who then governed that kingdom, and sent Viscount Wentworth (afterwards Earl of Strafford) thither as Lord Deputy, as judging that these distempers would be better composed under a single government. In the year 1633, and the 9th of his Majesty's reign, the King made a journey into Scotland, attended with several of the nobility and persons of quality; and on June 18 was solemnly crowned King at Edinborough; which solemnity being finished, the King calls a parliament, and passeth an act for ratification of the old acts; though some affirmed, that the confirmation of episcopacy was intended thereby, and therefore (though in vain) opposed it; upon which one of those persons became awhile after principal man among the covenanters ; in this Scottish parliament, that nation shewed then some signs of disaffection to the King, by reason of several acts which then passed; and the generality of the people (who without doubt were influenced by the greater malecontents) would not suffer the Bishop of Dumblain, Dean of the King's Private Chapel there, to perform prayers twice a day after the English manner; neither durst they receive the Communion on their knees, nor wear a surplice upon Sundays and Holidays. Not long before his Majesty went to Scotland, being desirous if possible to have prevented that trouble, the King writ to a Scotish Lord who was entrusted with that Crown, to bring it into England, that he might be crowned here; but the Lord returned answer, that he durst not be so false to his trust, that if his Majesty would be pleased to accept thereof in Scotland, he should find those his people ready to yield him the highest honour; but if he should long defer that duty, they might perhaps be inclined to make choice of another King. A very strange and unusual answer from a subject to a prince. October 13, 1633, the Queen was delivered of her second son, who was baptized James, and designed Duke of York; and about that time died George Abbot Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and William Laud Bishop of London was elected into his place. In the year 1634, the English coasts were very much infested by pirates, and the fishing trade almost engrossed by the Hollanders, and His Majesty having occasion for money to regain his absolute dominion over the British Seas, the design of ship-money was first set on foot; and Attorney General Noy being consulted about it, he out of some old records finds an ancient precedent of raising a tax upon the nation by the authority of the King alone, for setting out a navy in case of danger; which was thereupon accordingly put in execution, and by this tax the King raised by writ above twenty thousand pounds a month, though not without great discontent both among Clergy and Laity. The discontents in Scotland began to increase, and a book was published charging the King with indirect proceedings in the last parliament, and a tendency to the Romish belief, and to blow up the Scotch sparks to a flame, Cardinal Richlieu sent over his chaplain and another gentleman, to heighten their discontents; the author of that book was seized, and found to be abetted by the Lord Balmerino, the treacherous son of a perfidious father; who was thereupon arraigned by his peers, and sentenced to death, but par doned by the King. At this time, Gregory Panzani, a priest, was sent over by the Pope with a commission of Oyer and Terminer to decide the difference between the Jesuits and Secular Priests, and insinuating himself into the favour of Lord Cottington, and Secretary Windebank, he endeavours to discover how far the King might be persuaded about giving toleration to the Popish religion; as to allow them a Popish Bishop to reside here, but nominated and limited by the King; and that the Pope might send a Nuncio to the Queen; but having made some agreement between the Jesuits and Priests, Panzani returned to Rome, and left the further transacting of the business to Seignior Con, who staid in his room. In the year 1635, a noble fleet was fitted out, by the supply of ship-money, consisting of forty sail, under the Earl of Lindsey, to scour the seas from pirates; at which time the French and Hollanders had confederated against the Spaniards in Flanders both by land and sea; but the English Fleet removed the Hollanders from before Dunkirk, and the common people enraged by the French insolencies at Land, rose up against them, and assisted the Spaniards to expel them the country. One Thomas Par, of Shropshire, a man almost an hundred and three score years old, was this year brought to London by the Earl of Arundel, as a rarity or miracle, where he died soon after; though it is very probable he might have lived much longer, if he had continued at home, for his removal from his own air, change of diet, and the tediousness of so long a journey, may be supposed to have hastened his end. December 28, 1634, the Lady Elizabeth, the King's second daughter was born; and to congratulate the Queen's happy delivery, the Hollanders sent an ambassador with a present of an extraordinary value, that is, a massy piece of ambergrease, two large and almost transparent China dishes, a clock of most excellent workmanship, which was made by Rodulphus Emperor of Germany; and likewise several curious pieces of painting. Dr. William Juxon, bishop of London, about this time was made Lord Treasurer in the place of the Lord Weston Earl of Portland, deceased. And now great differences arose about Church matters, chiefly occasioned by Archbishop Laud's strict and zealous enjoyning of ceremonies, as placing the communion-table at the east end of the Church, upon an ascent with rails, altar-fashion; with many other things not formerly strictly insisted on, and now vehemently opposed by those who were usually called Puritans or Nonconformists, which caused them to be charged with faction; yet some of the Episcopal party asserted, that the communion-table ought to stand in the middle of the quire according to the primitive example; and |