104 THE EARL OF STRAFFORD. grandfather. Never were heard such piteous cries at the death of one man as at Master Hampden's. THE EARL OF STRAFFORD. 1. AMONG those who took the side of Charles, none was better known than Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. In the early struggle against the king he had taken the side of the Parliament. He said once,' We must vindicate our ancient liberties; we must reinforce the laws made by our ancestors; we must so put a stamp upon them as no licentious spirit shall dare hereafter to invade them.' At a later time he said, 'If he did not faithfully insist for the common liberty of the subjects to be preserved whole and entire, it was his desire that he might be set as a beacon on a hill for all men else to wonder at.' 2. But he had no belief in the power of Parliament to govern. His mind was stern and severe. He thought that most good was done when everything was in the hands of one man. He was sent to govern Ireland for the king, and here he was able to show his temper. ruled the country well, but was harsh and cruel. He He roused the king to strong measures. His favourite word was 'Thorough,' by which he meant that half measures were no good. 3. The king summoned Strafford to England to help him. But the Parliament soon found that if they were to have their way they must get rid of him as they had got rid of Buckingham. When the famous Parliament met, which is called the Long Parliament, their first act was to attack Strafford. He was accused of high treason. 'With speed he comes down to the House of Lords, calls rudely at the door, and with a proud glooming look makes towards his place at the board head. But at once many bid him leave the House, so he is forced in confusion to go toward the door till he is called.' He was then committed to the Tower. He offered to speak, but was commanded to be gone without a word. He made his way to his coach through a number of people, no man capping to him before whom that morning the greatest of all England would have stood uncovered. He said to those who stood by that he was accused of a small matter. 'Yes,' they replied; 'high treason is a small matter.' 4. Strafford was accused of high treason, found guilty, and condemned to death. Charles had promised that his life should be preserved, and Strafford had confidence in the king, for whom he had done so much. But the king was weak, and the queen did not wish her husband to suffer, so she persuaded him to give way, and he yielded his consent. In the weak letter which Charles wrote to the Parliament, he added that if he must die it would be mercy to reprieve him for a few days. 106 OLIVER CROMWELL. 5. Strafford now knew that no trust was to be placed in princes, and prepared to meet his fate. When his friends warned him of danger from the crowd that surrounded the scaffold, he said, 'I know how to look death in the face, and the people too.' He made a speech to those assembled, and said at the close, 'I thank God I am no more afraid of death, but as cheerfully put off my doublet at this time as ever I did when I went to bed.' After the axe fell there was a shout of joy, but Charles never recovered the disgrace of having so basely betrayed his servant. 1. OLIVER CROMWELL is one of the greatest names in English history. When the quarrel between Charles and his Parliament became so bitter that it could only be fought out with the sword, Cromwell was the chief director of everything that took place. He was born in the eastern counties, and there he made the stoutest resistance to the king. 2. When he found the king was strong in cavalry, and that the Royalist gentlemen could not be beaten by the troops of the Parliament opposed to them, he formed a company of horse called Ironsides. They were all religious, God-fearing men, as Cromwell said, 'with a spirit in them.' With these he won the battles of Marston Moor and Naseby. Of the last battle he wrote: 'I can say this of Naseby, that when I saw the enemy draw up and march in gallant order towards us, and we a company of poor ignorant men, to seek to order our battle, the general having commanded me to order all the horse, I could not, riding alone about my business, but smile out to God in praises, in assurance of victory, because God would by things that are not bring to naught things that are, of which I had good assurance, and God did it.' 3. He was the chief adviser of putting King Charles to death. Charles had deserved punishment, because he so often broke his word and could not be trusted, but it is a question whether it would not have been better to have preserved his life. 4. After the death of Charles, Cromwell first subdued Scotland, then Ireland; after this he came to rule over England, which was a hard task. He founded one Parliament after another, but was obliged to dissolve them. Some people wished him to be king. This he steadily refused, and only took the title of Lord Protector. He was quite as powerful as any king of England had ever been. As he had won his position by war, so his power depended upon the army, and he was obliged to govern the country by soldiers. This is not the way in which English people like to be governed. 5. He had great authority, not only at home, but in foreign countries. He made war against Spain, and protected Protestants all over the world. It was said that he held the keys of Europe at his girdle. 6. The end of his life was very sad. He felt that he 108 CHARLES THE FIRST'S FUNERAL. had failed in the work he had striven to perform. The great body of the nation was opposed to him, and many wished to have the king back again. Plots were formed against his life, and he lived in constant fear of being killed. This preyed upon his health, and he was seized with a deadly fever. The Quaker, George Fox, who went to see him at Hampton Court, tells us: Before I met him, as he rode at the head of his Life Guards, I saw and felt a waft of death go forth against him, and when I came to him, he looked like a dead man.' 7. He struggled hard at the end of his life to do what would secure a peaceful government to England after his death. But it was too late; he gave in at last, and said, 'I would be willing to live to be farther serviceable to God and His people, but my work is done.' A great storm swept over the country, tearing off roofs and throwing Three days after this his spirit passed down great trees. CHARLES THE FIRST'S FUNERAL. THE castle clock had tolled midnight; And silent, by the torches' light, |