Even those among the republicans, who adopted not fuch 'extravagancies, were fo intoxicated with their faintly cha'racter, that they supposed themselves poffeffed of peculiar 'privileges; and profeffions, oaths, laws, and engagements had, in a great measure, loft their influence over them. The bands of fociety were every where loofened; and the irregular paffions of men were encouraged by fpeculative principles, ftill more unfocial and irregular. The royalifts, confifting of the nobles and more confiderable gentry, being degraded from their authority and 'plundered of their property, were inflamed with the highest ⚫ refentment and indignation against those ignoble adversaries, who had reduced them to fubjection. The prefbyterians, whofe credit had firft fupported the arms of the parliament, 'were enraged to find, that, by the treachery or superior cunning of their affociates, the fruits of all their fuccefsful labours were ravished from them. The former party, from • inclination and principle, zealously attached themselves to the fon of their unfortunate monarch, whofe memory they • respected, and whose tragical death they deplored. The latter caft their eyes towards the fame object; but they had ftill many prejudices to overcome, many fears and jealoufies to be allayed, ere they [could cordially entertain thoughts of restoring that family, whom they had fo grievously offended, and whofe principles they regarded with such 'violent abhorrence. But The only folid fupport of the republican independent faction, which, though it formed fo fmall a part of the nation, had violently ufurped the government of the whole, was a numerous army of about fifty thousand men. this army, formidable from its discipline and courage, as well ' as its numbers, was actuated by a spirit, that rendered it extremely dangerous to the affembly, which had affumed the ⚫ command over it. Accustomed to indulge every chimera in 'politics, every frenzy in religion, the foldiers knew little of the fubordination of citizens, and had only learned, from apparent neceffity, fome maxims of military obedience. And while they fill maintained, that all those enormous violations of law and equity, of which they had been guilty, ' were were juftified by the fuccefs with which providence had • blessed them; they were ready to break out into any new ⚫ diforders, where-ever they had the profpect of a like fanction • and authority. • What alone gave fome poize and stability to all these unfettled humours, was the great influence, both civil and military, acquired by Oliver Cromwel. This man, fuited to the age in which he lived, and to that alone, was equally qualified to gain the affection and confidence of men, by what was mean, vulgar, and ridiculous in his character; as to command their obedience by what was great, daring, and enterprizing. Familiar even to buffoonery with the • meanest sentinel, he never loft his authority: transported to < a degree of madness with religious extafies, he never for< got the political purposes, to which they might fserve. Hating monarchy, while a fubject; defpifing liberty, while ' a citizen; though he retained for a time all orders of men < under a feeming obedience to the parliament; he was fecretly paving the way, by artifice and courage, to his own un• limited authority. The parliament, for fo we must call henceforth a small and • inconfiderable part of the House of Commons, having mur<dered their fovereign with fo many appearing circumstances ⚫ of folemnity and juftice, and fo much real violence and even fury, began to affume more the air of a civil, legal power, and to enlarge a little the narrow bottom, upon which they 'ftood. A few of the excluded and abfent members, such as 'were liable to least exception, they admitted; but on con'dition, that they should fign an approbation of whatever had been done in their abfence with regard to the king's trial: And fome of them were willing to acquire a fhare of power ' on fuch terms: The greatest part disdained to lend their au"thority to fuch apparent ufurpations. Some writs they iffued for elections, where they hoped to have interest enough 'to bring in their own friends and dependents. They named a council of ftate to the number of thirty-eight, to whom all addreffes were made, who gave orders to all generals and admirals, who executed the laws, and who digested all • bufi *bufinefs before it was introduced into parliament. ** They "pretended to employ themselves entirely in adjusting the laws, forms, and methods of a new reprefentative; and as soon as they should have fettled the nation, they profeffed their in'tention of restoring the power to the people, from whom, they acknowledged, they had entirely derived it. The fate of the gallant marquifs of Montrofe, is patheti cally related (p. 17.) All the infolence which success can pro⚫duce in ungenerous minds, was exercised by the covenanters against Montrofe, whom they fo much hated and fo much. dreaded. Theological antipathy farther increased their indignities towards a perfon, whom they regarded as execrable on account of the excommunication, which had been pronounced against him. Leftey led him about for several days in the fame low habit, under which he had disguised himfelf. The vulgar, wherever he paffed, were instigated, tho' fometimes with reluctance, to reproach and vilify him. When he came to Edinburgh, every circumftance of elaborate rage and infult was put in practice by the order of the parliament. At the eaftern gate of the city, he was met by the magiftrates, and put into a new cart, purposely made 'with a high chair or bench, where he was placed, that the • people might have a full view of him. He was bound with a cord, drawn over his breaft and fhoulders, and faftened thro' holes made in the cart. When in this pofture, the hangman took off the hat of the noble prifoner, and rode himself before the cart in his livery and with his bonnet on; ⚫ the other officers, who were taken prisoners along with the marquifs, walking two and two before them. The populace more generous and humane, when they faw fo mighty a change of fortune in this great man, fo lately their dread and terror, into whofe hands the magiftrates, a few Their names were, the earls of Denbigh, Mulgrave, Pembroke, Salisbury, lords Grey, Fairfax, lord Grey of Groby, lord Lifle, Rolles, St. John, Wilde, Bradshaw, Cromwel, Skippon, Pickering, Maffam, Hafelrig, Harrington, Vane jun. Danvers, Armine, Mildmay, Confiable, Pennington, Wilfon, Whitlocke, Martin, Ludlow, Stapleton, Heviningbam, Wallop, Hutchinfon, Bond, Popham, Valentine, Walton, Scot, Purefoy, Jones. a few years before, had on their knees delivered the keys of the city, were ftruck with compaffion, and viewed him with filent tears and admiration. The preachers, next Sunday, • exclaimed against these movements of rebel nature, as they • expreffed it; and reproached the people with their profane • tenderness towards this capital enemy of all piety and re⚫ligion. • Montrofe himself, tho' paffionately fond of true glory, knew to despise unmerited ignominy, and, wherever he was 'carried, received with manly scorn and indifference the infults of his enemies: their ignoble behaviour he confidered as ⚫ fufficient vengeance for all their injuries. In the road, he had paffed by the earl of Southefk's house, his father in law, and was allowed to fee his children, who lived there: Not even the tenderness of this last adieu could disturb the even tenor of his heroic mind, or extort a complaint against the injuftice of men or the cruelty of fortune. • When he was carried before the parliament, which was then fitting, Loudon, the chancellor, in a violent declama⚫tion, reproached him with the breach of the national covenant, which he had fubfcribed; his rebellion against God, the king, and the kingdom; and the many horrible murders treafons, and impieties, for which he was now brought to 'condign punishment. Montrofe in his anfwer maintained 'the fame fuperiority above his enemies, to which, by his ' fame and great actions, as well as by the confcience of a good cause, he was justly entitled. He told the parliament, that fince the king, as he was informed, had fo far avowed their C authority as to enter into treaty with them, he now appeared "uncovered before their tribunal; a refpect, which, while ⚫ they stood in open defiance to their fovereign, they would in ❝ vain have required of him. That he acknowledged with infinite fhame and remorfe the errors of his early conduct, 'when their plaufible pretexts had feduced him to tread with ⚫ them the paths of rebellion, and bear arms against his prince, and country. That his following fervices, he hoped, had fufficiently teftified his repentance, and his death would now atone for that guilt, the only one with which he could justly reproach himself. That in all his warlike enterprises •he he was warranted by that commiffion, which he had received <from his and their master, against whofe lawful authority • they had erected their standard. That to venture his life for his fovereign was the leaft part of his merit: he had even thrown • down his arms in obedience to the facred commands of the king; and had refigned to them the victory, which, in defiance of all their efforts, he was ftill enabled to dispute with them. • That no blood had ever been fhed by him but in the field of • battle; and many perfons were now in his eye, many now dared to pronounce the fentence of death upon him, whofe life, forfeited by the laws of war, he had formerly faved from the fury of the foldiers. That he was forry to find no better tefti'mony of their return to allegiance than the murder of fo faithful a fubject, in whose death the king's commiffion must be at once fo highly injured and affronted. That as to himself they • had in vain endeavoured to vilify and degrade him by all their ❝ ftudied indignities: the juftice of his caufe, he knew, would ⚫ ennoble any fortune; nor had he other affliction than to see the authority of his prince, with which he was invested, treated ⚫ with so much ignominy. And that he now joyfully followed, by a like unjuft fentence, his late fovereign; and should be 6 happy, if, in his future deftiny, he could follow him to the fame blissful manfions, where his piety and humane virtues had already, without doubt, fecured him an eternal recompence. Montrofe's fentence was next pronounced against him, "That he, James Graham" (for this was the only name they ' vouchfafed him) "fhould next day be carried to Edinburgh "cross, and there be hanged on a gibbet, thirty foot high, "for the space of three hours: then be taken down, his head be cut off upon a fcaffold, and affixed to the prison: his legs "and arms be stuck up on the four chief towns of the king"dom his body be buried in the place appropriated for com"mon malefactors; except the church, upon his repentance, "fhould take off his excommunication." The clergy, hoping that the terrors of immediate death ⚫ had now given them an advantage over their enemy, flocked about him, and infulted over his fallen fortunes. They pro⚫nounced his damnation, and affured him, that the judgment, ' which |