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meeting at the house of a third party, a Mr. Morrice, in Covent Garden, where, unable to conceal his emotions, he assured Greenville of his determination to restore the king, but explained his difficulties, which his biographer says should "be noted with the point of a diamond." At a second meeting, Monk brought sir John his instructions, in writing, to the effect"That since by the long civil war and change of government, the minds of the soldiers in general, and a great part of the people, would be alarmed with the apprehension of his majesty's return, it was his humble advice that he would be graciously pleased to proclaim his free and general pardon to all his subjects, except to such as the parliament should esteem incapable of it. That he would prepare the minds of the army by declaring his readiness to consent to such acts as should secure the public sales and dispositions of lands, and the payment also of their arrears. And because nothing was more likely to run the people into frenzies than the fear of restraint of their several religions, he did further beseech his majesty to declare his assent for a toleration and liberty of conscience to all his subjects, who should so employ it as not to give any disturbance to the civil government. He was also instructed to request his majesty to retire from the dominions of the king of Spain into some convenient place belonging to the states of the United Provinces, where, with more freedom and security to his person, he might treat further with his parliament and people. And, lastly, Monk strictly cautioned sir John not to give his majesty any interruption, by offering any proposals to him for the reward of his service."

Sir John Greenville departed secretly from London, and embarked at Dover for Ostend. When he arrived at Brussels the lord Mordaunt, who had travelled with him, went straight to the king and informed his majesty of sir John's arrival. The king suspected that he had important news to communicate, from the fact of his coming to court; so his majesty went alone that night to sir John's lodgings: he received Monk's advice, and was satisfied of his sincerity in his favour. The king took the marquis of Ormond, the lord chancellor Hyde, and sir Edward Nicholas, into his councils; and as he now saw some rational prospect of a restoration to the throne of his ancestors, he adopted Monk's advice, removed from Brussels to Breda, where he established his court, and framed a declaration embodying all the points which the general had recommended1.

Mr. Sharp soon found, from his intimacy with Monk, and

1 Skinner's Life of Monk, pp. 273-378.

from the current of public opinion at London, that the church of England would be restored in all its former strength and beauty; he therefore shewed his friends at home, in his letter, dated March, that along with the king "moderate episcopacy, at the least, will take place here. The good party are doing what they can to keep the covenant interest on; but I fear there will be much ado to have it so. They dare not press the voting for presbyterian government, lest it bar them from being elected next parliament1." This is powerful evidence of how the public mind in England was affected towards the church; and he informed Douglas "that the sectarian interest is on the waning hand, and moderate episcopacy is setting up its head." Douglas pressed Sharp to agree to the king's restoration only

on

covenant terms;" that is, that the king should be restored to the imperial throne, upon the same conditions and under similar bondage as he had suffered during the short period of his inglorious reign in Scotland. Douglas would listen to no other terms, and applied to Lauderdale, reminding him of his own sworn obligations to that instrument; but the covenant now stank in the nostrils of all reasonable men, and as for the king he had had sufficient experience of its fruits when he was in Scotland. But even in its birth-place there had a complete reaction taken place, for Douglas says, "you will not believe what a heart-hatred they bear to the covenant, and how they fret that the parliament should have revived it. What can be expected but the pursuing the old malignant design, to the marring and defacing of the work of reformation settled here, and well advanced in the neighbour nations? I am informed that those are to have a meeting here on the 5th of April, and have no purpose to wait for a warrant, but go on with such an election as will be dissatisfying to the sober and well-affected of the nation. . . . There are three parties here who have all of them their own fears in this great crisis: the remonstrators fear that the king comes in [at all]: those above mentioned, that if he come in upon covenant terms, they be disappointed; and those who love religion and the nation, that if he come not in upon the terms of the league and covenant, his coming in will be disadvantageous to the religion and liberty of the three nations. Therefore I exhort Crawford, Lauderdale, and yourself, to deal with all earnestness that the league and covenant be settled as the only basis of the security and happiness of these nations."

Before the extirpation of the Rump, they had appointed a

1 Wodrow's Introduction, i. p. 8.

new set of judges and other officers for the government of Scotland; but Sharp's influence with Monk prevented the confirmation of their appointment. Both Monk and Sharp agreed that a Scotch committee sitting in London would rather embarrass the king's affairs than forward his restoration. In a letter to Lauderdale, Baillie says, he is "wounded to the heart" at the news from London, and asks in alarm-"Is the service-book read in the king's chapel? Has the bishop of Ely, the worst bishop of our age after Dr. Laud, preached there? Has the House of Lords passed an order for the service-book? Oh! where are we so soon? The granting to us in Scotland the confirmation of what we have, brings us just back to James Graham's [the marquis of Montrose] times. Is our covenant with England turned to Harry Martin's Almanac? Is the solemn oath of the Lords and Commons assembled in parliament, subscribed so oft by their hands to eradicate bishops, turned all to wind?... It is a scorn to tell us of moderate episcopacy, a moderate papacy! the world knows that bishops and popes could never keep caveats 1."

It does not appear that Lauderdale ever answered this letter; but Mr. Sharp, in almost all of his letters, even as they are garbled by Wodrow, assured his correspondents that there was not the most remote chance of the English nation ever suffering the league and covenant to be again forced upon it at the point of the bayonet; and that episcopacy would certainly be re-established there, for "the buz is loud enough- no bishop no king." The gross and indefensible insult offered to the king by the presbyterians, in compelling him to sign the Dumfermline Declaration, in which he was made to uncover his father's skirt, gave deep offence to English churchmen, and no doubt sharpened the king's own dislike to a religion which he declared was "not fit for a gentleman." Mr. Sharp informed Douglas, "some of the English episcopal party have sent messages to me twice or thrice to give them a meeting, which I have refused; and upon this I am reported both here and at Brussels to be a Scottish rigid presbyterian, making it my work to have it settled here. They sent to desire me to move nothing in prejudice of the church of England, and they would do nothing in prejudice of our church. ... The fear of rigid presbytery is talked much of here by all parties; but for my part, I apprehend no ground for it; I am afraid that something else is likely to take place in the church than rigid presbytery." Douglas was of opinion that Mr. Sharp ought to have met the

1 Letters, iii. 405.

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from the current of public opinion at London, that the church of England would be restored in all its former strength and beauty; he therefore shewed his friends at home, in his letter, dated March, that along with the king "moderate episcopacy, at the least, will take place here. The good party are doing what they can to keep the covenant interest on; but I fear there will be much ado to have it so. They dare not press the voting for presbyterian government, lest it bar them from being elected next parliament." This is powerful evidence of how the public mind in England was affected towards the church; and he informed Douglas "that the sectarian interest is on the waning hand, and moderate episcopacy is setting up its head." Douglas pressed Sharp to agree to the king's restoration only on covenant terms;" that is, that the king should be restored to the imperial throne, upon the same conditions and under similar bondage as he had suffered during the short period of his inglorious reign in Scotland. Douglas would listen to no other terms, and applied to Lauderdale, reminding him of his own sworn obligations to that instrument; but the covenant now stank in the nostrils of all reasonable men, and as for the king he had had sufficient experience of its fruits when he was in Scotland. But even in its birth-place there had a complete reaction taken place, for Douglas says, "you will not believe what a heart-hatred they bear to the covenant, and how they fret that the parliament should have revived it. What can be expected but the pursuing the old malignant design, to the marring and defacing of the work of reformation settled here, and well advanced in the neighbour nations? I am informed that those are to have a meeting here on the 5th of April, and have no purpose to wait for a warrant, but go on with such an election as will be dissatisfying to the sober and well-affected of the nation. . . . . There are three parties here who have all of them their own fears in this great crisis: the remonstrators fear that the king comes in [at all]: those above mentioned, that if he come in upon covenant terms, they be disappointed; and those who love religion and the nation, that if he come not in upon the terms of the league and covenant, his coming in will be disadvantageous to the religion and liberty of the three nations. Therefore I exhort Crawford, Lauderdale, and yourself, to deal with all earnestness that the league and covenant be settled as the only basis of the security and happiness of these nations."

Before the extirpation of the Rump, they had appointed a

1 Wodrow's Introduction, i. p. 8.

new set of judges and other officers for the government of Scotland; but Sharp's influence with Monk prevented the confirmation of their appointment. Both Monk and Sharp agreed that a Scotch committee sitting in London would rather embarrass the king's affairs than forward his restoration. In a letter to Lauderdale, Baillie says, he is "wounded to the heart" at the news from London, and asks in alarm-"Is the service-book read in the king's chapel? Has the bishop of Ely, the worst bishop of our age after Dr. Laud, preached there? Has the House of Lords passed an order for the service-book? Oh! where are we so soon? The granting to us in Scotland the confirmation of what we have, brings us just back to James Graham's [the marquis of Montrose] times. Is our covenant with England turned to Harry Martin's Almanac? Is the solemn oath of the Lords and Commons assembled in parliament, subscribed so oft by their hands to eradicate bishops, turned all to wind?... It is a scorn to tell us of moderate episcopacy, a moderate papacy! the world knows that bishops and popes could never keep caveats 1."

It does not appear that Lauderdale ever answered this letter; but Mr. Sharp, in almost all of his letters, even as they are garbled by Wodrow, assured his correspondents that there was not the most remote chance of the English nation ever suffering the league and covenant to be again forced upon it at the point of the bayonet; and that episcopacy would certainly be re-established there, for "the buz is loud enough- no bishop no king." The gross and indefensible insult offered to the king by the presbyterians, in compelling him to sign the Dumfermline Declaration, in which he was made to uncover his father's skirt, gave deep offence to English churchmen, and no doubt sharpened the king's own dislike to a religion which he declared was "not fit for a gentleman." Mr. Sharp informed Douglas, "some of the English episcopal party have sent messages to me twice or thrice to give them a meeting, which I have refused; and upon this I am reported both here and at Brussels to be a Scottish rigid presbyterian, making it my work to have it settled here. They sent to desire me to move nothing in prejudice of the church of England, and they would do nothing in prejudice of our church. . . . The fear of rigid presbytery is talked much of here by all parties; but for my part, I apprehend no ground for it; I am afraid that something else is likely to take place in the church than rigid presbytery." Douglas was of opinion that Mr. Sharp ought to have met the

1 Letters, iii. 405.

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