The History of England, from the Accession of James the Second - Volume 1 - Thomas Babington Macaulay (novel books to read TXT) 📗
- Author: Thomas Babington Macaulay
Book online «The History of England, from the Accession of James the Second - Volume 1 - Thomas Babington Macaulay (novel books to read TXT) 📗». Author Thomas Babington Macaulay
/> destitute of the wisdom and civil courage which had been
conspicuous in their deceased leader. Some of them were honest,
but fanatical, Independents and Republicans. Of this class
Fleetwood was the representative. Others were impatient to be
what Oliver had been. His rapid elevation, his prosperity and
glory, his inauguration in the Hall, and his gorgeous obsequies
in the Abbey, had inflamed their imagination. They were as well
born as he, and as well educated: they could not understand why
they were not as worthy to wear the purple robe, and to wield the
sword of state; and they pursued the objects of their wild
ambition, not, like him, with patience, vigilance, sagacity, and
determination, but with the restlessness and irresolution
characteristic of aspiring mediocrity. Among these feeble copies
of a great original the most conspicuous was Lambert.
On the very day of Richard's accession the officers began to
conspire against their new master. The good understanding which
existed between him and his Parliament hastened the crisis. Alarm
and resentment spread through the camp. Both the religious and
the professional feelings of the army were deeply wounded. It
seemed that the Independents were to be subjected to the
Presbyterians, and that the men of the sword were to be subjected
to the men of the gown. A coalition was formed between the
military malecontents and the republican minority of the House of
Commons. It may well be doubted whether Richard could have
triumphed over that coalition, even if he had inherited his
father's clear judgment and iron courage. It is certain that
simplicity and meekness like his were not the qualities which the
conjuncture required. He fell ingloriously, and without a
struggle. He was used by the army as an instrument for the
purpose of dissolving the Parliament, and was then contemptuously
thrown aside. The officers gratified their republican allies by
declaring that the expulsion of the Rump had been illegal, and by
inviting that assembly to resume its functions. The old Speaker
and a quorum of the old members came together, and were
proclaimed, amidst the scarcely stifled derision and execration
of the whole nation, the supreme power in the commonwealth. It
was at the same time expressly declared that there should be no
first magistrate, and no House of Lords.
But this state of things could not last. On the day on which the
long Parliament revived, revived also its old quarrel with the
army. Again the Rump forgot that it owed its existence to the
pleasure of the soldiers, and began to treat them as subjects.
Again the doors of the House of Commons were closed by military
violence; and a provisional government, named by the officers,
assumed the direction of affairs.
Meanwhile the sense of great evils, and the strong apprehension
of still greater evils close at hand, had at length produced an
alliance between the Cavaliers and the Presbyterians. Some
Presbyterians had, indeed, been disposed to such an alliance even
before the death of Charles the First: but it was not till after
the fall of Richard Cromwell that the whole party became eager
for the restoration of the royal house. There was no longer any
reasonable hope that the old constitution could be reestablished
under a new dynasty. One choice only was left, the Stuarts or the
army. The banished family had committed great faults; but it had
dearly expiated those faults, and had undergone a long, and, it
might be hoped, a salutary training in the school of adversity.
It was probable that Charles the Second would take warning by the
fate of Charles the First. But, be this as it might, the dangers
which threatened the country were such that, in order to avert
them, some opinions might well be compromised, and some risks
might well be incurred. It seemed but too likely that England
would fall under the most odious and degrading of all kinds of
government, under a government uniting all the evils of despotism
to all the evils of anarchy. Anything was preferable to the yoke
of a succession of incapable and inglorious tyrants, raised to
power, like the Deys of Barbary, by military revolutions
recurring at short intervals. Lambert seemed likely to be the
first of these rulers; but within a year Lambert might give place
to Desborough, and Desborough to Harrison. As often as the
truncheon was transferred from one feeble hand to another, the
nation would be pillaged for the purpose of bestowing a fresh
donative on the troops. If the Presbyterians obstinately stood
aloof from the Royalists, the state was lost; and men might well
doubt whether, by the combined exertions of Presbyterians and
Royalists, it could be saved. For the dread of that invincible
army was on all the inhabitants of the island; and the Cavaliers,
taught by a hundred disastrous fields how little numbers can
effect against discipline, were even more completely cowed than
the Roundheads.
While the soldiers remained united, all the plots and risings of
the malecontents were ineffectual. But a few days after the
second expulsion of the Rump, came tidings which gladdened the
hearts of all who were attached either to monarchy or to liberty:
That mighty force which had, during many years, acted as one man,
and which, while so acting, had been found irresistible, was at
length divided against itself. The army of Scotland had done good
service to the Commonwealth, and was in the highest state of
efficiency. It had borne no part in the late revolutions, and had
seen them with indignation resembling the indignation which the
Roman legions posted on the Danube and the Euphrates felt, when
they learned that the empire had been put up to sale by the
Praetorian Guards. It was intolerable that certain regiments
should, merely because they happened to be quartered near
Westminster, take on themselves to make and unmake several
governments in the course of half a year. If it were fit that the
state should be regulated by the soldiers, those soldiers who
upheld the English ascendency on the north of the Tweed were as
well entitled to a voice as those who garrisoned the Tower of
London. There appears to have been less fanaticism among the
troops stationed in Scotland than in any other part of the army;
and their general, George Monk, was himself the very opposite of
a zealot. He had at the commencement of the civil war, borne arms
for the King, had been made prisoner by the Roundheads, had then
accepted a commission from the Parliament, and, with very slender
pretensions to saintship, had raised himself to high commands by
his courage and professional skill. He had been an useful servant
to both the Protectors, and had quietly acquiesced when the
officers at Westminster had pulled down Richard and restored the
Long Parliament, and would perhaps have acquiesced as quietly in
the second expulsion of the Long Parliament, if the provisional
government had abstained from giving him cause of offence and
apprehension. For his nature was cautious and somewhat sluggish;
nor was he at all disposed to hazard sure and moderate advantages
for the chalice of obtaining even the most splendid success. He
seems to have been impelled to attack the new rulers of the
Commonwealth less by the hope that, if he overthrew them, he
should become great, than by the fear that, if he submitted to
them, he should not even be secure. Whatever were his motives, he
declared himself the champion of the oppressed civil power,
refused to acknowledge the usurped authority of the provisional
government, and, at the head of seven thousand veterans, marched
into England.
This step was the signal for a general explosion. The people
everywhere refused to pay taxes. The apprentices of the City
assembled by thousands and clamoured for a free Parliament. The
fleet sailed up the Thames, and declared against the tyranny of
the soldiers. The soldiers, no longer under the control of one
commanding mind, separated into factions. Every regiment, afraid
lest it should be left alone a mark for the vengeance of the
oppressed nation, hastened to make a separate peace. Lambert, who
had hastened northward to encounter the army of Scotland, was
abandoned by his troops, and became a prisoner. During thirteen
years the civil power had, in every conflict, been compelled to
yield to the military power. The military power now humbled
itself before the civil power. The Rump, generally hated and
despised, but still the only body in the country which had any
show of legal authority, returned again to the house from which
it had been twice ignominiously expelled.
In the mean time Monk was advancing towards London. Wherever he
came, the gentry flocked round him, imploring him to use his
power for the purpose of restoring peace and liberty to the
distracted nation. The General, coldblooded, taciturn, zealous
for no polity and for no religion, maintained an impenetrable
reserve. What were at this time his plans, and whether he had any
plan, may well be doubted. His great object, apparently, was to
keep himself, as long as possible, free to choose between several
lines of action. Such, indeed, is commonly the policy of men who
are, like him, distinguished rather by wariness than by
farsightedness. It was probably not till he had been some days in
the capital that he had made up his mind. The cry of the whole
people was for a free Parliament; and there could be no doubt
that a Parliament really free would instantly restore the exiled
family. The Rump and the soldiers were still hostile to the House
of Stuart. But the Rump was universally detested and despised.
The power of the soldiers was indeed still formidable, but had
been greatly diminished by discord. They had no head. They had
recently been, in many parts of the country, arrayed against each
other. On the very day before Monk reached London, there was a
fight in the Strand between the cavalry and the infantry. An
united army had long kept down a divided nation; but the nation
was now united, and the army was divided.
During a short time the dissimulation or irresolution of Monk
kept all parties in a state of painful suspense. At length he
broke silence, and declared for a free Parliament.
As soon as his declaration was known, the whole nation was wild
with delight. Wherever he appeared thousands thronged round him,
shouting and blessing his name. The bells of all England rang
joyously: the gutters ran with ale; and, night after night, the
sky five miles round London was reddened by innumerable bonfires.
Those Presbyterian members of the House of Commons who had many
years before been expelled by the army, returned to their seats,
and were hailed with acclamations by great multitudes, which
filled Westminster Hall and Palace Yard. The Independent leaders
no
conspicuous in their deceased leader. Some of them were honest,
but fanatical, Independents and Republicans. Of this class
Fleetwood was the representative. Others were impatient to be
what Oliver had been. His rapid elevation, his prosperity and
glory, his inauguration in the Hall, and his gorgeous obsequies
in the Abbey, had inflamed their imagination. They were as well
born as he, and as well educated: they could not understand why
they were not as worthy to wear the purple robe, and to wield the
sword of state; and they pursued the objects of their wild
ambition, not, like him, with patience, vigilance, sagacity, and
determination, but with the restlessness and irresolution
characteristic of aspiring mediocrity. Among these feeble copies
of a great original the most conspicuous was Lambert.
On the very day of Richard's accession the officers began to
conspire against their new master. The good understanding which
existed between him and his Parliament hastened the crisis. Alarm
and resentment spread through the camp. Both the religious and
the professional feelings of the army were deeply wounded. It
seemed that the Independents were to be subjected to the
Presbyterians, and that the men of the sword were to be subjected
to the men of the gown. A coalition was formed between the
military malecontents and the republican minority of the House of
Commons. It may well be doubted whether Richard could have
triumphed over that coalition, even if he had inherited his
father's clear judgment and iron courage. It is certain that
simplicity and meekness like his were not the qualities which the
conjuncture required. He fell ingloriously, and without a
struggle. He was used by the army as an instrument for the
purpose of dissolving the Parliament, and was then contemptuously
thrown aside. The officers gratified their republican allies by
declaring that the expulsion of the Rump had been illegal, and by
inviting that assembly to resume its functions. The old Speaker
and a quorum of the old members came together, and were
proclaimed, amidst the scarcely stifled derision and execration
of the whole nation, the supreme power in the commonwealth. It
was at the same time expressly declared that there should be no
first magistrate, and no House of Lords.
But this state of things could not last. On the day on which the
long Parliament revived, revived also its old quarrel with the
army. Again the Rump forgot that it owed its existence to the
pleasure of the soldiers, and began to treat them as subjects.
Again the doors of the House of Commons were closed by military
violence; and a provisional government, named by the officers,
assumed the direction of affairs.
Meanwhile the sense of great evils, and the strong apprehension
of still greater evils close at hand, had at length produced an
alliance between the Cavaliers and the Presbyterians. Some
Presbyterians had, indeed, been disposed to such an alliance even
before the death of Charles the First: but it was not till after
the fall of Richard Cromwell that the whole party became eager
for the restoration of the royal house. There was no longer any
reasonable hope that the old constitution could be reestablished
under a new dynasty. One choice only was left, the Stuarts or the
army. The banished family had committed great faults; but it had
dearly expiated those faults, and had undergone a long, and, it
might be hoped, a salutary training in the school of adversity.
It was probable that Charles the Second would take warning by the
fate of Charles the First. But, be this as it might, the dangers
which threatened the country were such that, in order to avert
them, some opinions might well be compromised, and some risks
might well be incurred. It seemed but too likely that England
would fall under the most odious and degrading of all kinds of
government, under a government uniting all the evils of despotism
to all the evils of anarchy. Anything was preferable to the yoke
of a succession of incapable and inglorious tyrants, raised to
power, like the Deys of Barbary, by military revolutions
recurring at short intervals. Lambert seemed likely to be the
first of these rulers; but within a year Lambert might give place
to Desborough, and Desborough to Harrison. As often as the
truncheon was transferred from one feeble hand to another, the
nation would be pillaged for the purpose of bestowing a fresh
donative on the troops. If the Presbyterians obstinately stood
aloof from the Royalists, the state was lost; and men might well
doubt whether, by the combined exertions of Presbyterians and
Royalists, it could be saved. For the dread of that invincible
army was on all the inhabitants of the island; and the Cavaliers,
taught by a hundred disastrous fields how little numbers can
effect against discipline, were even more completely cowed than
the Roundheads.
While the soldiers remained united, all the plots and risings of
the malecontents were ineffectual. But a few days after the
second expulsion of the Rump, came tidings which gladdened the
hearts of all who were attached either to monarchy or to liberty:
That mighty force which had, during many years, acted as one man,
and which, while so acting, had been found irresistible, was at
length divided against itself. The army of Scotland had done good
service to the Commonwealth, and was in the highest state of
efficiency. It had borne no part in the late revolutions, and had
seen them with indignation resembling the indignation which the
Roman legions posted on the Danube and the Euphrates felt, when
they learned that the empire had been put up to sale by the
Praetorian Guards. It was intolerable that certain regiments
should, merely because they happened to be quartered near
Westminster, take on themselves to make and unmake several
governments in the course of half a year. If it were fit that the
state should be regulated by the soldiers, those soldiers who
upheld the English ascendency on the north of the Tweed were as
well entitled to a voice as those who garrisoned the Tower of
London. There appears to have been less fanaticism among the
troops stationed in Scotland than in any other part of the army;
and their general, George Monk, was himself the very opposite of
a zealot. He had at the commencement of the civil war, borne arms
for the King, had been made prisoner by the Roundheads, had then
accepted a commission from the Parliament, and, with very slender
pretensions to saintship, had raised himself to high commands by
his courage and professional skill. He had been an useful servant
to both the Protectors, and had quietly acquiesced when the
officers at Westminster had pulled down Richard and restored the
Long Parliament, and would perhaps have acquiesced as quietly in
the second expulsion of the Long Parliament, if the provisional
government had abstained from giving him cause of offence and
apprehension. For his nature was cautious and somewhat sluggish;
nor was he at all disposed to hazard sure and moderate advantages
for the chalice of obtaining even the most splendid success. He
seems to have been impelled to attack the new rulers of the
Commonwealth less by the hope that, if he overthrew them, he
should become great, than by the fear that, if he submitted to
them, he should not even be secure. Whatever were his motives, he
declared himself the champion of the oppressed civil power,
refused to acknowledge the usurped authority of the provisional
government, and, at the head of seven thousand veterans, marched
into England.
This step was the signal for a general explosion. The people
everywhere refused to pay taxes. The apprentices of the City
assembled by thousands and clamoured for a free Parliament. The
fleet sailed up the Thames, and declared against the tyranny of
the soldiers. The soldiers, no longer under the control of one
commanding mind, separated into factions. Every regiment, afraid
lest it should be left alone a mark for the vengeance of the
oppressed nation, hastened to make a separate peace. Lambert, who
had hastened northward to encounter the army of Scotland, was
abandoned by his troops, and became a prisoner. During thirteen
years the civil power had, in every conflict, been compelled to
yield to the military power. The military power now humbled
itself before the civil power. The Rump, generally hated and
despised, but still the only body in the country which had any
show of legal authority, returned again to the house from which
it had been twice ignominiously expelled.
In the mean time Monk was advancing towards London. Wherever he
came, the gentry flocked round him, imploring him to use his
power for the purpose of restoring peace and liberty to the
distracted nation. The General, coldblooded, taciturn, zealous
for no polity and for no religion, maintained an impenetrable
reserve. What were at this time his plans, and whether he had any
plan, may well be doubted. His great object, apparently, was to
keep himself, as long as possible, free to choose between several
lines of action. Such, indeed, is commonly the policy of men who
are, like him, distinguished rather by wariness than by
farsightedness. It was probably not till he had been some days in
the capital that he had made up his mind. The cry of the whole
people was for a free Parliament; and there could be no doubt
that a Parliament really free would instantly restore the exiled
family. The Rump and the soldiers were still hostile to the House
of Stuart. But the Rump was universally detested and despised.
The power of the soldiers was indeed still formidable, but had
been greatly diminished by discord. They had no head. They had
recently been, in many parts of the country, arrayed against each
other. On the very day before Monk reached London, there was a
fight in the Strand between the cavalry and the infantry. An
united army had long kept down a divided nation; but the nation
was now united, and the army was divided.
During a short time the dissimulation or irresolution of Monk
kept all parties in a state of painful suspense. At length he
broke silence, and declared for a free Parliament.
As soon as his declaration was known, the whole nation was wild
with delight. Wherever he appeared thousands thronged round him,
shouting and blessing his name. The bells of all England rang
joyously: the gutters ran with ale; and, night after night, the
sky five miles round London was reddened by innumerable bonfires.
Those Presbyterian members of the House of Commons who had many
years before been expelled by the army, returned to their seats,
and were hailed with acclamations by great multitudes, which
filled Westminster Hall and Palace Yard. The Independent leaders
no
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