Northampton. Hampden caught Lord Berkshire as he was preparing to execute the commission of array in Oxfordshire. Berkshire protested his innocence, and assured Hampden that he had done nothing. Hampden replied that he had been sent to prevent him from doing anything, and despatched him a prisoner to London. Cromwell did even better service by seizing the college plate as it was being sent away from Cambridge to enrich the royal army-chest.1 standard to be set up. That the King must take the field had been for some time resolved at York. The Royal Standard must be set up as the Aug 12. sign that all loyal subjects were to rally round their The Royal King in his march against the traitors; but Charles's means were scanty, and as yet his troops were few. There was much discussion what place should be chosen for the display. Lord Strange begged the King to take refuge in Lancashire. In that county, he said, his tenants and allies would soon enable him to support his master with a force of 10,000 men.2 Others suggested York. The King's sanguine temperament gave the preference to Nottingham, though he had received but a cold reception in that town on two previous visits. He wished to open the campaign as near to London as possible, and he still hoped to hear that Hertford had made himself master of the western counties, and had been able to hold out a helping hand to Goring. On the 12th he issued a proclamation inviting his loyal subjects to rally round the Standard, which was to be set up on the 22nd at Nottingham.3 Charles was still unable to divest himself of the belief that his mere presence would turn all hearts towards him. On the 20th he appeared before the walls of Coventry and demanded admission. He was told that he might come in alone if he chose, but that he must not bring his soldiers with him. While he was attempting to force an entrance a sally from the town drove off his men, and some of his Aug. 20. Charles summons Coventry. 'Mountefort to Potts, Aug. Crane to Potts, Aug. 19 (incorrectly catalogued as Aug. 9). Tanner MSS. lxiii. fol. 116, 125. L. J. v. 307. Memoirs of the House of Stanley, 72. • Clarendon, v. 444. Proclamation, Aug. 12. Bailey's Annals of Nottinghamshire, App. vii. followers were killed.' On the morning of the 22nd, leaving his troops behind him, he rode off for Nottingham. Aug. 22. When he reached Nottingham in the afternoon, the Standard was borne out from the Castle. It had been entrusted to the charge of the Knight Marshal, Sir Edmund Verney." With the King were the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, and the fiery Rupert, who, with his brother, had lately landed in England, to devote himself heart and soul to his uncle's service. Even at this solemn moment Charles gave signs of that infirmity of purpose which weighed so heavily upon him. The Standard had been fixed in the ground, and the herald at 1 Giustinian to the Doge, Aug. 26, Venice Transcripts, R. O. 2 "The King," writes Verney's niece on the 23rd of her uncle, "hath given him the Standard." Dorothy Leeke to Sir R. Verney, Aug. 23, Verney MSS. This, and the letter from a gentleman printed by Bailey, 663, settles the question of the date of the erection of the Standard. Bailey-whose copy contains a serious misprint of "I came on Wednesday night last to Nottingham," instead of "I came on Wednesday night last from the Court at Nottingham," as it stands in the original (669)—with some reason conjectures the author to have been John Hutchinson. At all events he was an eye-witness. Rushworth's description is copied from a pamphlet of the time, A true and exact relation of the manner of His Majesty's setting up of the Standard at Nottingham, on Wednesday, the 22n.l of August. So at least the title stands in Bailey's reprint (665). Wednesdlay is no doubt a misprint, as the pamphlet itself states Monday, the 22nd, to have been the day. The curious thing is that the description of the Standard is entirely different in the pamphlet and in the letter. The only way of reconciling the two accounts is to suppose that the narrative in the pamphlet was made up in London from various sources of local information. The Standard which Verney carried at Edgehill must have been a different one from that which required twenty supporters, and the informant of the author of the pamphlet perhaps described this smaller banner. Clarendon's story of the Standard being blown down in the night after it was set up has been, of late, rejected as inconsistent with the narrative in Rushworth. After all, however, it appears to have been true, though Clarendon antedated the story for the sake of effect. In Special Passages (E. 115, 21) we are told that the Standard was this week blown down at Nottingham, and a flag set up.' Thomason's date for this pamphlet is Sept. 6; so that the Standard must have been up for more than a week before it was blown down. The King corrects.his proclama. tion. arms was about to read a proclamation denouncing Essex as a traitor. A flourish of trumpets was to prelude this announcement. Before a note was sounded, Charles was struck with a suspicion that the wording of the proclamation might be in some respects defective. Calling for the paper, he corrected its phraseology.' The herald to whom it was returned had some difficulty in picking out the words so hastily inserted. When he had struggled hesitatingly to the end, those who stood around threw their hats into the air, shouting loudly, "God save King Charles and hang up the Roundheads," in a tempest of loyal emotion. The Civil War, which had been practically begun when Hotham shut the gates of Hull against the King, was now openly avowed. England was about to learn through suffering that wisdom which was to be found in neither of the opposing ranks. 1 Readers of the despatches amongst the Foreign State Papers will be familiar with Charles's numerous verbal corrections, showing his sensitiveness in point of style.. APPENDIX. I. Financial Tables. IT is, I fear, altogether impossible to obtain a complete account of the revenue due, and the expenditure incurred in each year. The amounts of revenue received and of payments actually made can easily be calculated; but they would serve no useful purpose, as a great part of them would consist in the former case of anticipated revenue of future years, and in the latter case of arrears due in former years. I am, however, able to give an analysis of the estimated revenue and expenditure for several years, which will give at least an idea of the financial situation. Besides the expenditure thus given there was always an extraordinary expenditure going on. Something, too, must be allowed for the variety of opinion in the estimators. Of the considerable increase shown in the year 1635, for instance, no less than 50,000l. is a mere matter of account, 20,000l. for interest being inserted, which had been taken as extraordinary expenditure in former years, and 30,330%. in the Cofferers' Account being balanced by the composition for purveyance entered for the first time as revenue, and not appearing before. A considerable number of the heads, as given in the MSS., have been put together in Tables, to make comparison easy. |