to, and in acceptance of, that expedient:-thereby, I say, you had, though with a little check, another opportunity renewed unto you to have made this nation as happy as it could have been if everything had smoothly run on from that first hour of your meeting. And indeed-you will give me liberty of my thoughts and hopes-I did think, as I have formerly found in that way that I have been engaged in as a soldier, that some affronts put upon us, some disasters at the first, have made way for very great and happy successes; and I did not at all despond but the stop put upon you, in like manner, would have made way for a blessing from God. That interruption being, as I thought, necessary to divert you from violent and destructive proceedings; to give time for better deliberations ;-whereby leaving the government as you found it, you might have proceeded to have made those good and wholesome laws which the people expected from you, and might have answered the grievances, and settled those other things proper to you as a Parliament: for which you would have had thanks from all that entrusted you.

What hath happened since that time I have not taken public notice of; as declining to intrench on Parliament privileges. For sure I am you will all bear me witness, that from your entering into the House upon the recognition, to this very day, you have had no manner of interruption or hinderance of mine in proceeding to what blessed issue the heart of a good man could propose to himself—to this very day none. You see you have me very much locked up, as to what you have transacted among yourselves, from that time to this. But some things I shall take liberty to speak of to you.

As I may not take notice what you have been doing; so I think I have a very great liberty to tell you that I do not know what you have been doing! I do not know whether you have been alive or dead. I have not once heard from you all this time; I have not: and that you all know. If that be a fault that I have not, surely it hath not been mine!-If I have had any melancholy thoughts, and have sat down by them-why might it not have been very lawful for me to think that I was a person judged unconcerned in all these businesses? I can assure you I have not so reckoned myself! Nor did I reckon myself unconcerned in you. And so long as any just patience

could support my expectation, I would have waited to the uttermost to have received from you the issue of your consultations and resolutions. I have been careful of your safety, and the safety of those that you represented, to whom I reckon myself

a servant.

But what messages have I disturbed you withal? What injury or indignity hath been done, or offered, either to your persons or to any privileges of Parliament, since you sat? I looked at myself as strictly obliged by my oath, since your recognizing the government in the authority of which you were called hither and sat, to give you all possible security, and to keep you from any unparliamentary interruption. Think you I could not say more upon this subject, if I listed to expatiate thereupon? But because my actions plead for me, I shall say no more of this. I say, I have been caring for you, for your quiet sitting; caring for your privileges, as I said before, that they might not be interrupted; have been seeking of God, from the great God a blessing upon you, and a blessing upon these nations. I have been consulting if possibly I might, in anything, promote, in my place, the real good of this Parliament, of the hopefulness of which I have said so much unto you. And I did think it to be my business rather to see the utmost issue, and what God would produce by you, than unseasonably to intermeddle with you.

But, as I said before, I have been caring for you, and for the peace and quiet of these nations: indeed I have; and that I shall a little presently manifest unto you. And it leadeth me to let you know somewhat-which, I fear, I fear, will be, through some interpretation, a little too justly put upon you; whilst you have been employed as you have been, and—in all that time expressed in the government, in that government, I say in that government-have brought forth nothing that you yourselves say can be taken notice of without infringement of your privileges. I will tell you somewhat, which, if it be not news to you, I wish you had taken very serious consideration

3

'An embarrassed sentence; characteristic of His Highness. "You have done nothing noticeable upon this Somewhat' that I am about to speak of-nor, indeed, it seems upon any Somewhat,-and this was one you may, without much interpretation,' be blamed for doing nothing upon."

"Government" means instrument of gov ernment: "the time expressed" therein is five months-now, by my way of calculating it, expired! Which may account for the embarrassed iteration of the phrase, on His Highness's part.-[Carlyle's note.]

of. If it be news, I wish I had acquainted you with it sooner. And yet if any man will ask me why I did it not, the reason is given already: Because I did make it my business to give you no interruption.

There be some trees that will not grow under the shadow of other trees: There be some that choose-a man may say so by way of allusion-to thrive under the shadow of other trees. I will tell you what hath thriven-I will not say what you have cherished, under your shadow; that were too hard. Instead of peace and settlement-instead of mercy and truth being brought together, and righteousness and peace kissing each other, by your reconciling the honest people of these nations, and settling the woful distempers that are amongst us; which had been glorious things and worthy of Christians to have proposed-weeds and nettles, briers and thorns have thriven under your shadow! Dissettlement and division, discontent and dissatisfaction; together with real dangers to the whole-have been more multiplied within these five months of your sitting, than in some years before! Foundations have also been laid for the future renewing of the troubles of these nations by all the enemies of them abroad and at home. Let not these words seem too sharp: for they are true as any mathematica! demonstrations are or can be. I say, the enemies of the peace of these nations abroad and at home, the discontented humors throughout these nations-which products I think no man will grudge to call by that name, of briers and thorns-they have nourished themselves under your shadow!

And that I may clearly be understood: They have taken their opportunities from your sitting, and from the hopes they had, which with easy conjecture they might take up and conclude that there would be no settlement; and they have framed their designs, preparing for the execution of them accordingly. Now whether which appertains not to me to judge of, on their behalf-they had any occasion ministered for this, and from whence they had it, I list not to make any scrutiny or search. But I will say this: I think they had it not from me. I am sure they had not from me. From whence they had, is not my business now to discourse: but that they had is obvious to every man's sense. What preparations they have made, to be executed in such a season as they thought fit to take their opportunity

from: that I know, not as men know things by conjecture, but by certain demonstrable knowledge. That they have been for some time past furnishing themselves with arms; nothing doubting but they should have a day for it; and verily believing that, whatsoever their former disappointments were, they should have more done for them by and from our own divisions, than they were able to do for themselves. I desire to be understood that, in all I have to say of this subject, you will take it that I have no reservation in my mind as I have not-to mingle things of guess and suspicion with things of fact: but "that" the things I am telling of are fact; things of evident demonstration.

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These weeds, briers and thorns-they have been preparing, and have brought their designs to some maturity, by the advantages given to them, as aforesaid, from your sittings and proceedings. But by the waking eye that watched over that cause that God will bless, they have been, and yet are, disappointed. And having mentioned that cause, I say, that slighted cause let me speak a few words in behalf thereof; though it may seem too long a digression. Whosoever despiseth it, and will say, It is non causa pro causa, a cause without a cause " -the all-searching eye before mentioned will find out that man; and will judge him, as one that regardeth not the works of God nor the operations of His hands! For which God hath threatened that He will cast men down, and not build them up. That man who, because he can dispute, will tell us he knew not when the cause began, nor where it is; but modelleth it according to his own intellect; and submits not to the appearances of God in the world; and therefore lifts up his heel against God, and mocketh at all His providences; laughing at the observations, made up not without reason and the Scriptures, and by the quickening and teaching Spirit which gives life to these other; -calling such observations "enthusiasms": such men, I say, no wonder if they "stumble and fall backwards, and be broken and snared and taken," by the things of which they are so wilfully and maliciously ignorant! The Scriptures say, "The rod has a voice, and He will make Himself known by the judgments which He executeth." And do we not think He will, and does, by the providences of mercy and kindness which He hath for Isaiah xxviii. 13. A text that had made a great impression upon Cromwell.

His people and their just liberties; "whom He loves as the apple of His eye"? Doth He not by them manifest Himself? And is He not thereby also seen giving kingdoms for them, “giving men for them, and people for their lives ”—as it is in Isaiah forty-third? Is not this as fair a lecture and as clear speaking as anything our dark reason, left to the letter of the Scriptures, can collect from them? By this voice has God spoken very loud on behalf of His people, by judging their enemies in the late war, and restoring them a liberty to worship, with the freedom of their consciences, and freedom in estates and persons when they do so. And thus we have found the cause of God by the works of God; which are the testimony of God. Upon which rock whosoever splits shall suffer shipwreck. But it is your glory—and it is mine, if I have any in the world concerning the interest of those that have an interest in a better world-it is my glory that I know a cause which yet we have not lost; but do hope we shall take a little pleasure rather to lose our lives than lose! But you will excuse this long digression.

I say unto you, whilst you have been in the midst of these transactions, that party, that Cavalier party-I could wish some of them had thrust in here, to have heard what I say-have been designing and preparing to put this nation in blood again, with a witness. But because I am confident there are none of that sort here, therefore I shall say the less to that. Only this I must tell you: They have been making great preparations of arms; and I do believe it will be made evident to you that they have raked out many thousands of arms, even all that this city could afford, for divers months last past. But it will be said, "May we not arm ourselves for the defence of our houses? Will anybody find fault for that?" Not for that. But the reason for their doing so hath been as explicit, and under as clear proof, as the fact of doing so. For which I hope, by the justice of the land, some will, in the face of the nation, answer it with their lives: and then the business will be pretty well out of doubt. Banks of money have been framing, for these and other such like uses. Letters have been issued with privy seals to as great persons as most are in the nation, for the advance of money-which "letters" have been discovered to us by the

Isaiah xliii. 3, 4.