is a chief motive of this my intention. Wherefore, to conclude, if you will hold me strictly to my engagement, I cannot go from it; but if you will suspend it until another occasion, ye will do me a great pleasure.

so I rest

And

Your assured friend,

CHARLES R.

Berwick, 9th July, 1639.

Charles I. to Lord Wentworth.1

Wentworth,

Hen. Bruce hath delivered yours of the 3rd of July, and likewise had full discourse with me of all those affairs; and though I esteem him a better soldier than a statesman, yet he has made me some propositions in the polite way, somewhat mixed with the martial, not to be despised, yet not to be hastily embraced without such a good commentary as you are able to make on them.

This cause only I confess were too slight to draw you, though but for a time, from your weighty charge; but I have much more, and indeed too much to desire your attendance and counsel for some time, which I think not fit to express by letter more than this. The Scots' Covenant 2 begins to spread too far: yet for all this, I

1 Earl of Strafford's Letters, vol. ii. p. 372. On the king's return, the Scottish affairs were submitted to the consideration of a committee, consisting of archbishop Laud, the marquis of Hamilton, and Wentworth. The latter exhibited his usual impetuosity.

2 Two or three days after this letter, Charles sent his instructions to

Traquair, of which, says Burnet, Hamilton wrote to a Covenanter,

46

That if they were not worse than devils, they would rest satisfied."

will not have you take notice that I have sent for you, but pretend some other occasion of business, as to be present at the chancellor's appeal, or what you will else; whom since I have named, I must tell you freely, I would wish ye would send him over without delay, if he have performed most, though not all (his friends pretend all) which I enjoined him to do before his departure; if yet he stood not in some high contempt, which if it be, were most fit to be made clearly appear. It is very well done to go on with the Scotmans' oath. So I rest

Your most assured friend,

Berwick, 23rd July, 1639.1

CHARLES R.

Charles I. to the Earl of Traquair.2

Right trusty, we have hitherto commanded Hamilton to answer several of your letters; but that of the 16th of

1 Received 5th of August, at Naas.

2 MS. Harl. 841, f. 112. The earl of Traquair was the royal commissioner in Scotland. Charles thus writes to the bishop of St. Andrews:“We do in part approve of what you have advised concerning the prorogating of the assembly and parliament, and must acknowledge it to be grounded upon reason enough, were reason only to be thought on in this business. But, considering the present estate of our affairs, and what we have promised in the articles of pacification, we may not (as we conceive) without great prejudice to ourself and service, condescend thereunto. Wherefore we are resolved, nay, rather necessitated, to hold the assembly and parliament at the time and place appointed. And for that end, we have nominated the earl of Traquair our commissioner, to whom we have given instructions, not only how to carry himself at the same; but a charge also to have a special care of your lordships and those of the inferior clergy, who have suffered for their duty to God and obedience to our commands. And we do hereby assure you, that it shall still be one of our chiefest studies how to rectify and establish the government of that church aright, and to repair your losses; which we desire you to be most confident of."-Harl. MSS.

August being of more weight than any of your former, we have thought fit to answer it ourself.

And, whereas you say that nothing will satisfy them, except in terminis the last assembly be named and ratified, or that way be given to the discharging of episcopacy as abjured in that church, as contrary to the confession of faith 1580, and the constitutions of the same; you being yet in some hope that the word abjured may be gotten changed, and that in drawing up the words of the act, it be only condemned, as contrary to the constitution of that church. We in this point leave you to your instructions, they being full, if you consider what we have said concerning episcopacy and the subscribing the confession of faith 1580: we thinking it fit hereupon to declare unto you that, let their madness be what it will, farther than we have declared in our instructions we will

not go.

For the service-book, and book of canons, though we have been and are content it be discharged, yet we will never give our voice nor assent that they be condemned, as containing divers heads of popery and superstition. In like manner, though we have been and are content that the high commission be discharged, yet we will never acknowledge that it is without law, or destructive to the civil and ecclesiastical judicatories of that our kingdom, nor that the five articles of Perth, though discharged with our approbation, be condemned, as contrary to the foresaid confession. As concerning the late assemblies, we cannot give our consent to have them declared null, since they were so notoriously our father (of happy

memory) his acts; it seeming strange that we having condescended' to the taking away all these things that they complained on, which were done in those assemblies, they will not be content therewith, without laying an aspersion on our father's actions.

Wherefore, if the assembly will, in despite of your endeavours, conclude contrary to this, you are to protest against their proceedings in these points, and be sure not to ratify them in parliament.

Concerning the yearly indicting of general assemblies, and the confession of faith, we commanded Hamilton in his of the 16th to answer this point, to this effect,-that we think it infinitely to our prejudice, that we should assent to tie ourself to the keeping yearly of their assemblies, not needing to repeat the reasons, they being well enough known unto you; seeing at Berwick it was conceived upon debate of that point, that you having power to indict a new one within the year, would save that dispute; which you are by all means to eschew. But, if that will not give satisfaction, you are by no means to give your assent to any such act, nor ratify the same in parliament.

The article in your instructions, which is only that the Covenant, in 1580, shall be subscribed, you must have an especial care of, and how you proceed therein ; that the bond be the same which was in our father's

1 Agreed; consented.

2 Of. Now a barbarous vulgarism. What would be thought, if Queen Victoria told her parliament she had many matters to complain on?

time, mutatis mutandis; and that you give your consent no otherwise to the interpretations thereof, than may stand with our future intentions well known to you, nor is the same to be otherwise ratified in parliament.

Thus, you have our pleasure fully signified in every particular of your letter, which you will find no ways contrary to our resolution taken at Berwick, and our instructions given you there. But, if the madness of our subjects be such, that will not rest satisfied with what we have given you power and authority to condescend to, which, notwithstanding all their insolences, we shall allow you to make good to them; we take God to witness that, what misery soever fall to that country hereafter, it is no fault of ours, but their own procurement. And hereupon we do command you that, if you cannot compose this business according to our instructions, and what we have now written, that you prorogue the parliament till the next Spring; and that you think upon some course how you may make publickly known to all our subjects, what we had given you power to condescend to. And, because it is not improbable that this may produce a present rupture, you are to warn and assist Ruthven for the defence of the castle of Edinburgh, and to take, in general, the like care of all our houses and forts in that kingdom; and likewise to advertise all such as are affected to our service, that timously they may secure themselves. And so we bid you heartily farewell.

20th August, 1639.

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