prising revolution, to mount the throne of his ancestors in peace and triumph. It was to general Monk that the king was to owe his restoration, and the three kingdoms the termination of their bloody dissensions. Of this man it will be proper to give some

account.

George Monk, descended from an honourable but declining family in Devonshire, was properly a soldier of fortune. He had acquired military experience in Flanders, that great school of war to all the European nations; and though free from superstition and enthusiasm, and remarkably cool in regard to party, he had distinguished himself in the royal cause, during the civil wars of England, as colonel in the service of Charles I.; but being taken prisoner, and committed to the Tower, where he endured for above two years all the rigours of poverty and imprisonment, he was at last persuaded by Cromwell to enter into the service of the parliament, and sent, according to his agreement, to act against the Irish rebels; a command which, he flattered himself, was reconcileable to the strictest principles of honour. Having once, however, engaged with the parliament, he was obliged to obey orders, and found himself necessitated to act both against the marquis of Ormond in Ireland and against Charles II. in Scotland. On the reduction of the latter kingdom, he was gratified with the supreme command; and by the equity and justice of his administration, he acquired the good-will of the Scots, at the same time that he kept their restless spirit in awe, and secured the attachment of his army'.

The connexions which Monk had formed with Oliver kept him faithful to Richard Cromwell; and not being prepared for opposition, when the long parliament was restored, he acknowledged its authority, and was continued in his command. But no sooner was the parliament expelled by the army, than he protested against the violence and resolving, as he pretended, to vindicate the invaded privileges of that body, though in reality he was disposed to effect the restoration of his sovereign, he collected his scattered forces, and declared his intention of marching into England. The Scots furnished him with a small, but seasonable supply of money, and he advanced toward the borders of the two kingdoms with a body of six thousand

1 Gumble's Life of Monk.-Ludlow's Memoirs.-Monk is said to have advised Cromwell to attack the Scots at Dunbar, even before they had left their mountainous situation. "They," observed he, in support of his opinion, "have numbers and the hills, we discipline and despair!"--a sentiment truly military, and devoid of that fanaticism which governed Cromwell on the occasion.

men. Lambert, he soon learned, was coming northward with a superior army; and, to gain time, he proposed an accommodation. The committee of safety fell into the snare. A treaty was signed by Monk's commissioners; but he refused to ratify it, under pretence that they had exceeded their powers, and drew the committee into a new negotiation.

Dec. 26.

In the mean time Haselrig and Morley took possession of Portsmouth, and declared for the parliament. That assembly was restored and, without taking any notice of Lambert, the commons sent orders to the forces under his command immediately to repair to certain garrisons which were appointed for their quarters. Lambert, being now deserted by the greater part of his troops, was sent to the Tower. A.D. The other officers, who had formerly been cashiered by 1660. the parliament, but who had resumed their commands, were confined to their houses; and sir Henry Vane, and some other members, who had concurred with the committee of safety, were ordered into a like confinement. Monk continued to advance with his army; and, at last, took up his quarters at Westminster. When introduced to the house, he declared, that, while on his march, he observed an anxious expectation of a settlement among all ranks of men; that they had no hope of such a blessing but from the dissolution of the present parliament, and the summoning of a new one, free and full; which meeting without oaths or engagements, might finally give contentment to the nation. And it would be sufficient, he added, for public security, as well as for liberty, if the fanatical party and the royalists were excluded 1.

This speech, though not very agreeable to the assembly to which it was addressed, diffused general joy among the people. The hope of peace and concord broke, like the morning sun, from the darkness in which the nation was involved, and the memory of past calamities disappeared. The royalists and the presbyterians seemed to have but one wish, and equally to lament the dire effects of their calamitous divisions. The republican parliament, though reduced to despair, made a last effort for the recovery of its dominion. A committee was sent with offers to the general. Proposals were even made by some, though enemies to a supreme magistrate, for investing him with the dignity of a protector; so great were their apprehensions of the royal resentment, or the fury of the people! He refused to hear

Gumble's Life of Monk.

them except in the presence of the secluded members; and having, in the mean time, opened a correspondence with the city of London, and placed its militia in sure hands, he pursued every measure proper for the settlement of the nation, though he still pretended to maintain republican principles.

The secluded members, encouraged by the general's declara

tion, went to the house of commons, and entering withFeb. 21. out obstruction, immediately found themselves to be the majority. They began with repealing the ordinances by which they had been excluded; they renewed the general's commission and enlarged his powers; they established a council of state, consisting chiefly of those men who, during the civil war, had made a figure among the presbyterians; and after other expedient and seasonable votes issued writs for a new parliament'.

The council of state conferred the command of the fleet on Montague, whose attachment to the royal family was well known; and thus secured the naval as well as military force in hands favourable to the projected revolution. But Monk, notwithstanding all these steps toward the re-establishment of monarchy, still maintained the appearance of zeal for a commonwealth; and had never declared otherwise than by his actions, that he had adopted the king's interests. At last a critical circumstance drew a confession from him. Sir John Granville, who had a commission from Charles, applied for access to the general, and absolutely refused to communicate his business to any other person. Monk, pleased with this closeness, so conformable to his own temper, admitted Granville into his presence, and opened to him his full intentions. He refused, however, to commit any thing to writing; but delivered a verbal message, assuring the king of his services, giving advice for his conduct, and exhorting him instantly to leave the Spanish territories, lest he should be detained as a pledge for the restitution of Dunkirk and Jamaica".

The elections for the new parliament were highly favourable to the friends of monarchy, for although the parliament had voted, that no one should be elected who had himself, or whose father had borne arms for the late king, little regard was paid to this ordinance. The passion for liberty, which had been carried to such violent extremes, and produced such bloody commotions, began to give place to a spirit of loyalty and obedience. The earl of Manchester, lord Fairfax, lord Roberts, Denzil

1 Whitelocke.-Clarendon.

2 Clarendon.

Holles, sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, and other leaders of the presbyterians, resolved to atone for their past transgressions by their present zeal for the royal cause'. Nor were the affairs of Ireland in a condition less favourable to the restoration of monarchy. Lord Broghill, president of Munster, and sir Charles Coote, president of Connaught, had even gone so far as to enter into a correspondence with the king; and in conjunction with sir Theophilus Jones, and other officers, they took possession of the government, and excluded general Ludlow, an able officer, who was zealous for the parliament'.

These promising views had almost been blasted by some critical circumstances. On the admission of the secluded members into parliament, the heads of the republican faction were seized with the deepest despair, and endeavoured to rouse the army against the ruling party and while their persuasions were operating upon the troops, Lambert made his escape from the Tower. Monk and the council, acquainted with his vigour and activity, as well as with his popularity in the army, were thrown into the utmost consternation at this event. But happily colonel Ingoldsby, who was immediately dispatched after him, overtook him at Daventry, before he had assembled any considerable force, and brought him back to his place of confinement. In a few days he would have been formidable.

At the meeting of the parliament, the leading members exerted themselves chiefly in bitter invectives against the memory of Cromwell, and in execrations against the inhuman murder of the late king; no one yet daring to make any mention of the second Charles. At length the general, having sufficiently sounded the inclinations of the commons, desired the president of the council to inform them, that sir John Granville was at the door with a letter from his majesty to the parliament. The loudest acclamations resounded through the house on this intelligence. Granville was called in; and the letter, accompanied with a declaration, was eagerly read. The declaration was well calculated to promote the joy inspired by the prospect of a settlement. It offered a general amnesty, leaving particular exceptions to be made by parliament: it promised liberty of conscience: it assured the soldiers of their arrears, and the same pay they then enjoyed and it submitted to parliamentary arbitration an inquiry into all grants, purchases, and alienations3.

1 Clarendon.-Whitelocke.

2 Id. ibid.

3 Purl. Hist. vol. xxiii.

The peers, perceiving the spirit with which the nation was animated, hastened to reinstate themselves in their ancient rights, and take their share in the settlement of the government. They found the doors of their house open, and were all admitted without exception. The two houses attended while the king was proclaimed in Palace-yard, at Whitehall, and at Temple-bar; and a committee of lords and commons were dispatched to invite his majesty to return, and take possession of the kingdom. The respect of foreign powers soon followed the allegiance of his own subjects; and the formerly neglected Charles was, at the same time, invited by France, Spain, and the United Provinces, to embark at one of their sea-ports. He chose to accept the invitation of the Dutch, and had the satisfaction, as he passed from Breda to the Hague, to be received with the loudest acclamations. The states-general, in a body, made their compliments to him with the greatest solemnity: and all ambassadors and foreign ministers expressed the joy of their masters at his change of fortune'.

The English fleet came in sight of Scheveling; and Montague, who had not waited the orders of the parliament, persuaded the officers to tender their duty to their sovereign. The king went on board, and the duke of York took the command of the fleet as high-admiral. When Charles disembarked at Dover, he was received by general Monk, whom he cordially embraced, and honoured with the appellation of Father. He entered May 29. London on his birth-day, amidst the acclamations of an innumerable multitude of people, who expressed the most sincere satisfaction at the restoration of their ancient constitution and their native prince, without the effusion of blood'.

We must now, my dear Philip, take a retrospective view of the progress of navigation, commerce, and colonisation, before we carry farther the general transactions of Europe. Without such a survey, we should never be able to judge distinctly of the interests, claims, quarrels, and treaties of the several European

nations.

1 Clarendon.

2 Whitelocke.-Clarendon.