you shall have more certainty by my next. I have sent for arms to Holland for ten thousand foot and two thousand horse; for my ships they are ready, and I have given order to send the three for the coast of Ireland immediately, under pretence to defend our fishermen. Last of all, which indeed is most of all, I have consulted with the Treasurer and Chancellor of the Exchequer for money for this year's expedition, which I estimate at two hundred thousand pounds sterling, which they doubt not to furnish me withal. More I have done, but these are the chief heads.

Now, for your advice, I desire to know whether you think it fit that I should send six thousand landmen with the fleet that goes to the Firth, or not. For, since you cannot secure me my castle of Edinburgh, it is a question whether you can secure the landing of those men, and if with them you can make you master of Leith, to fortify and keep it. Of this I desire you to send me your resolution with all speed. I leave it to your consideration whether you will not think it fit to see if you can make all the guns of the castle of Edinburgh unserviceable for anybody, since they cannot be useful for me. Thus, you may see that I intend not to yield to the demands of these traitors, the covenanters, who I think will declare themselves so by their actions, before I shall do it by my proclamation, which I shall not be sorry for, so that it be without the personal hurt of you, or any other of my honest servants, or the taking of any English place. This is to show you that I care not for their affronting or disobeying of my declaration, so that

it

go

not to open

mischief, and that I have some time for

to end my preparations. So I rest,

Your assured, constant friend,

Greenwich, 20th June, 1638.

CHARLES R.

Charles I. to the Marquis of Hamilton.1 Hamilton,

I must needs thank you that you stand so close and constantly to my grounds; and you deserve the more, since your fellow-councillors do rather dishearten than help you in this business: for which, I swear, I pity you much. There be two things in your letter that require answering; to wit, the answer to their petition, and concerning the explanation of their damnable covenant. For the first, the telling you that I have not changed my mind in this particular is answer sufficient, since it was both foreseen by me, and fully debated between us two before your down-going. And for the other, I will only say, that so long as this covenant is in force (whether it be with or without an explanation) I have no more power in Scotland than as a Duke of Venice, which I will rather die than suffer.

1 Harleian MSS. No. 841. See Burnet, p. 60. "The Marquis did again send a new despatch, much of the same strain with the former, before he had received this the letter representing the great hazards he apprehended from a breach, and that he feared the king would be faintly followed by the English: withal, he gave the king a large account of the explanation offered to that part of the covenant, by which they were bound to mutual defence, to which his majesty wrote the following answer."

Yet I commend the giving ear to the explanation, or anything else, to win time, which now, I see, is one of your chiefest cares: wherefore I need not recommend it to you. Another I know is, to show the world clearly that my taking of arms is to suppress rebellion, and not to impose novelties, but that they are the seekers of them.

Wherefore, if upon the publishing of my declaration, a protestation should follow, I should think it would rather do right than wrong to my cause. And for their calling a parliament or assembly without me, I should not much be sorry for it; for it would the more loudly declare them traitors, and the more justify my actions. Therefore, in my mind, my declaration would not be long delayed; but this is a bare opinion and no command.

Lastly, my resolution is to come myself in person, accompanied like myself. Sea-forces nor Ireland shall not be forgotten, the particulars of which I leave to the comptroller's relation, as I do two particulars to the archbishop of Canterbury, which you forgot to mention in my letter, and so I rest your assured constant friend, CHARLES R.

Greenwich, the 25th of June, 1638.

Charles I. to Lord Wentworth. 1

Wentworth,

Though I am in debt to you for three letters, yet there is little to answer, most of them being narrations, and for that which concerns the army, be

Earl of Strafford's Letters, vol. ii. p. 211.

cause your despatch to secretary Coke made me direct him fully in that particular, I refer you to him; so that I conceive there rests nothing but the particular of the earl of Antrim to answer, whose professions have been so free and noble at this time, that (as I have promised) indeed, he deserves to be recommended unto you, which at his coming over to you, I wish you to take notice of to him. But to have the command of a magazine of arms, I leave to you and the council there to judge how far ye will trust any one of that kind, of his profession in religion. To conclude this, I would have you favour and countenance him as much as any one of his profession in religion. There is one other at this time which I am to recommend unto you of a far different humour, to wit, the Lord Castle-Stewart, whom really I leave you to judge whether he or his suit be fit to be favoured, or not; only this, his mother's son deserves to be countenanced if his comportments merit not the contrary. So farewell. Your assured friend,

Woodstock, 30th of August, 1638.

CHARLES REX.

Charles I. to the Marquis of Hamilton.2 Hamilton,

I see by yours of the 27th of September, that the malignity of the covenanters is greater than 1 A quaint but not uncommon phrase, not generally used even at that period in the best circles of society. "That would hang us all, every mother's son," exclaim the honest workmen of Athens, when Bottom, the weaver, suggests that the roaring of the lion might "fright the duchess and the ladies." See the "Midsummer Night's Dream," Act I, scene 2. 2 Harl, MS. 841.

ever; so that if you, who are my true servants, do not use extraordinary care and industry, my affairs in that kingdom are likely to grow worse than better. Therefore you, that do your endeavours accordingly, deserve the more praise, and your opposers the more punishment; and, in my mind, this last protestation deserves more than anything yet that they have done; for, if raising of sedition be treason, this can be judged no less; and, methinks, if the College of Justice have signed any covenant, (which I hope they have, for I hear nothing in the contrary) it were no impossible thing to get them to do me justice in this particular. And this I will say confidently, that, until the adherers to this last protestation be declared traitors, nothing will go as it ought in that kingdom. I say not this to alter your course, but only to show my opinion of the state of affairs.

As for the danger that episcopal government is in, I do not hold it so much as you do; for I believe that the number of those that are against episcopacy, who are not in their hearts against monarchy, is not so considerable as you take it.

And for this general assembly, though I can expect no good from it, yet I hope you may hinder much of the

1 In a letter dated on October 29th, the king says to Hamilton, "I did not think that you would have met with so much opposition within your own bounds, since, as I thought, you passed well over a greater difficulty, to wit, the peevishness of the council, The cause of this, I judge, to be, that you did not make so much opposition against the protestation as it deserved, though I believe as much as you could," 2 Charles refers to the protest which was drawn up by the Scots, in answer to his proclamation, wherein they declare that to obey the king would be tantamount to disobeying God and their consciences.