I. and learn their duty from St. John Baptist's advice, 'to do CHARLES violence to no man.' After this they make no scruple to tell them, that if they persist in their proceedings, 'their sin will Luke iii. 14. find them out."" And here to do justice to the memory of these ministers, I shall give the reader a list of their names, which stands thus: Thomas Gataker, pastor of Rotherhithe. Num. xxxii. 23. Arthur Jackson, pastor of Michael's, Wood-street. . Henry Robrough, pastor of Leonard's, Eastcheap. Nicholas Profot, minister of the Word at Foster's. Thomas Case, minister of Maudlin's, Milk-street. Stanly Gower, minister of the Gospel at Martin's, Ludgate. Andrew Janeway, of Allhallows-on-the-Wall. Samuel Clark, minister of Bennet Fink. Thomas Clandon, pastor of Allhallows, Barking. John Wale, minister of Michael's, Cornhill. James Nalton, pastor of Leonard's, Foster-lane. William Jenkin, pastor of Christchurch. Elidad Blackwell, pastor of Allhallows, Undershaft. Matthew Haviland, minister of Trinity-parish. Ralph Robinson, pastor of Mary's, Woolnoth. William Blackmore, pastor of Peter's, Cornhill. Francis Peck, pastor of Nicholas Acons. Stephen Watkins, minister of the Gospel at Saviour's, Southwark. William Wickins, pastor of Andrew Hubbard. John Wallis, minister of Martin's, Ironmonger-lane. Thomas Manton, minister of Stoke Newington. C Thomas Watson, pastor of Stephen's, Walbrook. Thomas Whately, pastor of Mary's, Woolchurch. Benjamin Needler, pastor of Margaret's Moses. Robert Matthew, minister of Andrew's, Wardrobe. This address was handsome, it was plain-dealing; it was a bold reprimand of a victorious army, and exposed the villainy of the Independent faction with advantage enough. But these men were impenetrably hardened, and out of the reach of admonition: they, like "the deaf adder, refused to hear the voice of the charmer; charm he never so wisely." To return. On the 28th of January, at night, and not sooner, Juxon, bishop of London, was admitted to assist his Warwick's majesty in his devotions. On Tuesday following the execrable Memoirs. murder was committed on the side of the Banqueting-house, at Whitehall. The king appeared on the scaffold undisturbed, both in aspect and motion, supported his character to the last minute, and declared himself of the communion of the Church of England, as it was settled in the time of his father, king James. To shut up this melancholy scene in a word or two of general description: he was a prince of great abilities, equal and dispassionate in his temper, and remarkably regular in his private life. He never entered on his diversions abroad till he had first paid his duty to God at the public prayers. He was likewise very strict in observing the hours for his cabinet devotion. He would not endure any licentious jests, any rallying farther of of religion, though never so much recommended by pleasantry and wit. He was well furnished with capacity and resolution Something his cha racter. I. to advise at the council-board, and execute in the field. One CHARLES of his greatest misfortunes seems to have been an excess of clemency of this the pacification at Berwick was a fatal instance. He had likewise too modest a sense of his judgment and sufficiency: this diffidence made him sometimes over-ruled by other men's opinions, worse grounded than his own. The extent of his knowledge, the force of his reasoning, and the nobleness of his manner, are sufficiently discovered in his printed works. The beautiful turn and lustre of his compositions are seldom met with in English authors of that age. To conclude: the lord-chancellor Clarendon, who knew him very well, gives him the character of "the worthiest gentleman, the best master, the best friend, the best husband, the best father, and the best Christian, that the age in which he lived produced.” Hist. of the Rebellion, This prince left issue three sons, Charles, prince of Wales, vol. 3. who succeeded him; James, duke of York, afterwards king of England; and Henry, duke of Gloucester, who died soon after the Restoration. His daughters were, the princess Mary, married to the prince of Orange; Elizabeth, who died during the Usurpation, at Carisbrook castle, in the Isle of Wight; and Henrietta, married to the duke of Orleans. NOTE. To the account which Collier has given us of the melancholy fate of Charles I., we add the following illustrations from Lingard and other historians :— "As the day of trial approached, Charles resigned the hopes which he had hitherto indulged and his removal to Whitehall (January 19th) admonished him to prepare for that important scene in which he was soon to appear. Without information or advice, he could only resolve to maintain the port and dignity of a king, to refuse the authority of his judges, and to commit no act unworthy of his exalted rank and that of his ancestors. On the 20th of January the commissioners appointed by the act assembled in the painted chamber, and proceeded in state to the upper end of Westminster-hall. A chair of crimson velvet had been placed for the lord-president, John Bradshaw, serjeant-atlaw the others, to the number of sixty-six, ranged themselves on either side, on benches covered with scarlet; at the feet of the president sat two clerks at a table, on which lay the sword and mace; and directly opposite stood a chair intended for the king. After the preliminary formalities of reading the commission, and calling over the members, Bradshaw ordered the prisoner to be introduced 1. "Charles was received at the door by the serjeant-at-arms, and conducted by him "The commissioners, according to the act (for bills passed by the commons alone were now denominated acts), were in number 133, chosen out of the lower house, the inns of court, the city, and the army. In one of their first meetings they chose Bradshaw for their president. He was a native of Cheshire, bred to the bar, had long practised in the Guildhall, and two terms before had been made serjeant. In the first list of commissioners his name did not occur; but on the rejection of the ordinance by the upper house, the names of six lords were erased, and his name with those of five others was substituted. He obtained for the reward of his services the estate of lord Cottington, the chancellorship of the duchy of Lancaster, and the office of president of the council." within the bar. His step was firm,-his countenance erect and unmoved. He did not uncover; but first seated himself, then arose, and surveyed the court with an air of superiority, which abashed and irritated his enemies. While the clerk read the charge, he appeared to listen with indifference; but a smile of contempt was seen to quiver on his lips at the passage which described him as 'a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public and implacable enemy to the commonwealth of England.' At the conclusion Bradshaw called on him to answer; but he demanded by what lawful authority he had been brought thither. He was king of England, and acknowledged no superior upon earth; the crown which he had received from his ancestors he would transmit, unimpaired by any act of his, to his posterity. His case was the case of all the people of England; for if force without law could alter the fundamental laws of the kingdom, there was no man who could be secure of his life or liberty for an hour. He was told that the court sat by the authority of the house of commons. But where, he asked, were the lords ? Were the commons the whole legislature? Were they free? Were they a court of judicature? Could they confer on others a jurisdiction which they did not possess themselves? He would never acknowledge an usurped authority. It was a duty imposed upon him by the Almighty to disown every lawless power that invaded either the rights of the crown or the liberties of the subject. Such was the substance of his discourses delivered on three different days, and amidst innumerable interruptions from the president, who would not suffer the jurisdiction of the court to be questioned, and at last ordered the default and contempt of the prisoner' to be recorded. let; "The two following days the court sat in private, to receive evidence that the king had commanded in several engagements, and to deliberate on the form of judgment to be pronounced. On the third (January 27th) Bradshaw took his seat, dressed in scarand Charles immediately demanded to be heard. He did not mean, he said, on this occasion either to acknowledge or deny the authority of the court; his object was to ask a favour, which would spare them the commission of a great crime, and restore the blessing of tranquillity to his people. He asked permission to confer with a joint committee of the lords and commons. The president replied, that the proposal was not altogether new, though it was now made for the first time by the king himself: that it pre-supposed the existence of an authority co-ordinate with that of the commons, which could not be admitted; that its object could only be to delay the proceedings of the court, now that judgment was to be pronounced. Here he was interrupted by the earnest expostulation of colonel Downes, one of the members. The king was immediately removed; the commissioners adjourned into a neighbouring apartment, and almost an hour was spent in private and animated debate. Had the conference been granted, Charles would have proposed (so at least it was understood) to resign the crown in favour of the prince of Wales. "When the court resumed, Bradshaw announced to him the refusal of his request, and proceeded to animadvert in harsh and unfeeling language on the principal events of his reign. The meek spirit of the prisoner was roused; he made an attempt to speak, but he was immediately silenced with the remark, that the time for his defence was past; that he had spurned the numerous opportunities offered him by the indulgence of the court; and that nothing remained for his judges but to pronounce sentence: for they had learned from Holy Writ, that 'to acquit the guilty was of equal abomination as to condemn the innocent.' The charge was again read, and was followed by the judgment, 'that the court being satisfied in conscience that he, the said Charles Stuart, was guilty of the crimes of which he had been accused, did adjudge him as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of the nation, to be put to death by the severing of his head from his body.' The king heard it in silence; sometimes smiling with contempt, sometimes raising his eyes to heaven, as if he appealed from the malice of man to the justice of the Almighty. At the conclusion, the commissioners rose in a body to testify their assent, and Charles made a last and more earnest effort to speak; but Bradshaw ordered him to be removed, and the guards hurried him out of the hall. "During this trial, a strong military force had been kept under arms to suppress any demonstration of popular feeling in favour of the king. On the first day, when the name of Fairfax, as one of the commissioners, was called, a female voice cried from the gallery, 'He has more wit than to be here.' On another occasion, when Bradshaw CHARLES attributed the charge against the king to the consentient voice of the people of England, 1. the same female voice exclaimed, 'No, not one-tenth of the people.' A faint murmur of approbation followed, but was instantly suppressed by the military. The speaker was recognised to be lady Fairfax, the wife of the commander-in-chief; and these affronts probably on that account were suffered to pass unnoticed. "When Coke, the solicitor-general, opened the pleadings, the king gently tapped him on the shoulder with his cane, crying, 'Hold! hold!' At the same moment the silver head of the cane fell off, and rolled on the floor. It was an accident which might have happened at any time; but in this superstitious age it could not fail to be taken for an omen. Both his friends and enemies interpreted it as a presage of his approaching decapitation. "On one day, as the king entered the court, he heard behind him the cry of 'justice, justice.' On another, as he passed between two lines of soldiers, the word 'execution' was repeatedly sounded in his ears. He bore these affronts with patience; and on his return said to Herbert, 'I am well assured that the soldiers bear me no malice. The cry was suggested by their officers, for whom they would do the like, if there were occasion.' "On his return from the hall, men and women crowded behind the guards, and called aloud, God preserve your majesty.' But one of the soldiers venturing to say, 'God bless you, sir,' received a stroke on the head from an officer with his cane. 'Truly,' said the king, I think the punishment exceeded the offence.' "By his conduct during these proceedings, Charles had exalted his character even in the estimation of his enemies; he had now to prepare himself for a still more trying scene, to nerve his mind against the terrors of a public and ignominious death. But he was no longer the man he had been before the civil war. Affliction had chastened his mind he had learned from experience to submit to the visitations of Providence; and he sought and found strength and relief in the consolations of religion. The next day, the Sunday (January 28), was spent by him at St. James's, by the commissioners at Whitehall. They observed a fast, preached on the judgments of God, and prayed for a blessing on the commonwealth. He devoted his time to devotional exercises in the company of Herbert and of Dr. Juxon, bishop of London, who at the request of Hugh Peters (and it should be recorded to the honour of that fanatical preacher) had been permitted to attend the monarch. His nephew, the prince elector, the duke of Richmond, the marquis of Hertford, and several other noblemen, came to the door of his bed-chamber, to pay their last respects to their sovereign: but they were told in his name that he thanked them for their attachment, and desired their prayers; that the shortness of his time admonished him to think of another world: and that the only moments which he could spare must be given to his children. These were two,-the princess Elizabeth and the duke of York; the former wept for her father's fate: the latter, too young to understand the cause, joined his tears through sympathy. Charles placed them on his knees, gave them such advice as was adapted to their years, and seemed to derive pleasure from the pertinency of their answers. In conclusion he divided a few jewels between them, kissed them, gave them his blessing, and hastily retired to his devotions. "On the last night of his life he slept soundly about four hours; and early in the morning awakened Herbert, who lay on a pallet by his bed-side. This,' he said, 'is my second marriage-day (January 30th). I would be as trim as may be; for before night I hope to be espoused to my blessed Jesus.' He then pointed out the clothes which he meant to wear, and ordered two shirts, on account of the severity of the weather. For,' he observed, 'were I to shake through cold, my enemies would attribute it to fear. I would have no such imputation. I fear not death. Death is not terrible to me. I bless my God I am prepared 1.' "I may here insert an anecdote, which seems to prove that Charles attributed his misfortunes in a great measure to the counsels of archbishop Laud. On the last night |