but very energetic.

Tonnage and poundage-what we now call Custom-house Duties-had again been levied without parliamentary consent, in the teeth of old Tallagio non Concedendo, nay, even of the late solemnly confirmed Petition of Right. Nay, the Petition of Right itself had been altered in the printing a very ugly business too. In regard to religion, also, matters looked equally ill. The house resolved itself into a grand committee of religion, and did not want for matter. In this committee of religion, on the 11th of February, Mr. Cromwell, member for Huntingdon, stood up and made his first speech. He said, "He had heard by relation from one Dr. Beard" (Oliver's old schoolmaster at Huntingdon) "that Dr. Alablaster had preached flat popery at Paul's Cross, and that the Bishop of Winchester (Dr. Neile) had commanded him as his diocesan he should. preach nothing to the contrary." It was thereupon ordered that Dr. Beard of Huntingdon be written to by Mr. Speaker to come up and testify against the Bishop, the order for Dr. Beard to be delivered to Mr. Cromwell.

A new Remonstrance behoves to be resolved upon-Bishops Neile and Laud are even to be named there; but in a fortnight more this parliament was dissolved, and that under circumstances of the most unparalleled sort; for when these high matters were astir Mr. Speaker refused to put the question when ordered by the house. He said he had orders to the contrary, persisted in that, and at last took to weeping. A few days later he again refused; was reprimanded, menaced; once more took to weeping; then started up to go his ways. But young Mr. Holles and certain other honourable members were prepared for that movement; they seized Mr. Speaker, set him down in his chair, and by main force held him there-A scene of such agitation as was never seen in

parliament before. The house was much troubled. "Let him go!" cried certain Privy Councillors, Majesty's Ministers as we should now call them, who in those days sat in front of the Speaker. "Let Mr. Speaker go!" cried they imploringly. "No!" answered Holles; "God's wounds, he shall sit there till it please the House to rise." The House in a decisive though almost distracted manner, with their Speaker thus held down for them, locked their doors; redacted three emphatic Resolutions, their protest against Arminianism, against Papistry, against illegal Tonnage and Poundage; and passed the same by acclamation; letting no man out, refusing to let even the King's Usher in; then swiftly vanishing, for they understood the Soldiery was coming. His Majesty dissolved the Parliament by proclamation, saying something about vipers that had been there. It was the last parliament in England for about eleven years. Oliver and others seemed now to have done with parliaments; a royal proclamation forbade them so much as to speak of such a thing.-Carlyle.

THE LONG PARLIAMENT.

The parliament which met on the 3d of November, 1640, has become very celebrated in history by the name of the Long Parliament. It accomplished and suffered very singular destinies; suffered a Pride's Purge, a Cromwell's Ejectment; suffered Reinstatements, Re-ejectments; and the Rump or Fag end of it did not finally vanish till 16th March, 1660. On Friday, 11th December, the Londoners present their celebrated Petition, signed by 15,000 hands, craving to have Bishops and their ceremonies radically reformed. Then on Saturday, 23d January,

1641, comes the still more celebrated "Petition and Remonstrance from 700 Ministers of the Church of England," to the like effect. Upon which documents, especially upon the latter, ensue strenuous debatings, ensues a 'Committee of Twenty-four,' a bill to abolish Superstition and Idolatry; and in a week or two a bill to take away the Bishops' votes in parliament. Strafford's trial is coming on; to begin on the 22d of March; Strafford and Laud are safe in the Tower long since.

Sir Philip Warwick, member for Radnor, gives a picture of Cromwell in the early days of this parliament. "The first time I ever took notice of Mr. Cromwell was in the very beginning of the parliament held in November, 1640. I came into the house one morning, and perceived a gentleman speaking whom I knew not—very ordinarily apparelled; for it was a plain cloth suit, which seemed to have been made by an ill country tailor; his linen was plain, and not very clean; and I remember a speck or two of blood upon his little band, which was not much larger than his collar. His stature was of a good size; his sword stuck close to his side; his countenance swollen and reddish, his voice sharp and untuneable, and his eloquence full of fervour. I sincerely profess it lessened much my reverence unto that Great Council, for this gentleman was very much hearkened unto.".

King Charles in January or earlier, perceiving how the current of the nation ran, and what a humour men were getting into, had decided on trying to adopt the Puritan leaders, Pym, Hampden, Holles, and others, as what we should now call his 'Ministers;' these Puritan men, under the Earl of Bedford as chief, might execute peaceably with their king presiding over them what reforms. had grown inevitable. A most desirable result, if a pos

sible one; for of all men these had the least notion of revolting or rebelling against their king. This negotiation was entered into, but it ended without result. It would in our days be the easiest negotiation; but it was then an impossible one. For it meant that the king should content himself with the name of king, and see measures the reverse of what he wished and willed take effect by his sanction. Which, in sad truth, had become a necessity for Charles I. in the England of 1641. The negotiation dropped, his Majesty on that side saw no course possible for him. Accordingly he tried in the opposite direction, which also, on failure by this other, was very natural for him. He entered into secret tamperings with the officers of the English army. There arose a 'first army plot' for delivering Strafford from the Tower; then a second army plot' for some equally wild achievement, tending to deliver Majesty from thraldom, and send this factious parliament about its business.

These army plots, detected one after another, and investigated and commented on with boundless interest in parliament and out of it, kept the summer and autumn of 1641 in continual alarm and agitation; and in the factious parliament especially could not but awaken the liveliest desire of having the military force put in such hands as would be safe for them. The Lord-Lieutenants of Counties, this factious parliament conceived an unappeasable desire of knowing who these were to be: this is what they mean by 'Power of the Militia;' on which point, as his Majesty would not yield a jot, his Parliament and he—the point becoming daily more important, new offences daily accumulating, and the split ever widening-ultimately rent themselves asunder, and drew swords to decide it.

On Monday, May 3d, Strafford's trial being ended but

no sentence yet given, there were to be seen in the Palace Yard, Westminster, some thousands of citizens and apprentices, who rolled about there all day, bellowing to every lord as he went in or came out, with a loud and hideous voice, "Justice on Strafford! Justice on Traitors!" In which hours, amid such echoes from without, the honourable House of Commons within doors, all in great tremor about Army plots, Treasons, Death perils, was busy redacting a Protestation to the effect; "We take the Supreme to witness that we will stand by one another to the death in prosecution of our just objects here; in defence of Law, Loyalty, and Gospel here." Hundreds of honourable members, Mr. Cromwell one of them, sign the Protestation this day; the others on the following days. Nay, it is ordered that the whole nation be invited to sign it; that each honourable member send it down to his constituents, and invite them to sign it.

On Monday, May 10th, his Majesty signed sentence on Strafford, who was executed on the Wednesday following. No help for it. A terrible example; the one supremely able man the king had. On the same Monday, May 10th, his Majesty signed likewise another Bill, that this Parliament should not be dissolved without its own consent. His Majesty's hands are tied; he cannot dismiss this Parliament as he has done the others;-no, not without its own consent.

On November 1st news came to London to the reassembled Parliament that an Irish Rebellion, already grown to be an Irish Massacre, had broken out. The ringleaders started by pretending or even forging some warrant from the king, which brought much undeserved suspicion on his Majesty, and greatly complicated his affairs here for a long while.

On November 22d, the Irish Rebellion blazing up