his declining age, having liv'd in a continual uninterrupted peace his whole life, except some collateral aids he had sent his son-in-law. As soon as he expir'd the Privy Council sat, and in less than a quarter of an hour King Charles was proclaim'd at Theobalds Court Gate, by Sir Edwin Zouch, Knight Marshal, Mr. Secretary Conway dictating to him, that "whereas it has pleas'd God to take to his mercy our most gracious Sovereign King James of famous memory, We proclaim Prince Charles, his rightful and indubitable heir, to be King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, etc." The Knight Marshal mistook, saying "his rightful and dubitable heir," but he was rectified by the Secretary. This being done I took my horse instantly and came to London first except one, who was come a little before me, insomuch that I found the gates shut. His now Majesty took coach, and the Duke of Buckingham was with him, and came to St. James'. In the evening he was proclaim'd at Whitehall-gate, in Cheapside, and other places in a sad shower of rain; and the weather was suitable to the condition wherein he finds the kingdom, which is cloudy; for he ties of the new is left engaged in a war with a potent prince, the people by king long desuetude unapt for arms, the fleet royal in quarter repair, himself without a queen, his sister without a country, the crown pitifully laden with debts, and the purse of the state lightly ballasted, tho' it never had better opportunity to be rich than it had these last twenty years. But God Almighty, I hope, will make him emerge, and pull this island out of all these plunges, and preserve us from worser times. The difficul The plague is begun in Whitechapel, and as they say, in the same house, on the same day of the month, with the same number that dy'd twenty-two years since, when Queen Elizabeth departed. There are great preparations for the funeral, and there is a design to buy all the cloth for mourning white and then to put it to the dyers in gross, which is like to save the crown a good deal of money. The drapers murmur extremely at the Lord Cranfield for it. I am not settled yet in any stable condition, but I lie windbound at the Cape of Good Hope, expecting some gentle gale to launch out into any employment. So, with my love to all my brothers and sisters at the Bryn, and near Brecknock, I humbly crave a continuance of your prayers and blessing to The conflict between king and parliament broke out again, immediately after the accession of Charles I, as shown in the following extract from the autobiography of Sir Simonds D'Ewes. ment of Charles I ... The present parliament, which had been adjourned or 270. The disprorogued on July 11th, at London, to begin again at Oxford pute concerning Buckingon August 1st, was now suddenly and unexpectedly dissolved, ham in the to the great grief of all good subjects that loved true religion, first parliatheir king, and the commonwealth. For this, being the first parliament of our royal Charles, should have been a happy (1625) occasion and means to have united and settled the affections of prince and people in a firm concord and correspondence. The duke of Buckingham, a most unfortunate man, being now questioned for sundry particulars, would rather hazard the final overthrow of the public than endeavor to purge himself. and justify his actions by a speedy and humble defense. And a happy moderation doubtless it had been in the House of Commons, if at that meeting they had winked at the duke's errors and fallen upon the consideration of many particulars in church and commonwealth, which more needed their help and assistance. But what the Divine Providence hath decreed must come to pass. The preamble to the impeachment of Buckingham, and parts of the speeches made in its support by certain members of the House of Commons before the House of Lords follow here. The articles of impeachment are far too long for insertion, but the long list of offices granted 271. Pre to Buckingham by the king's favor shows one reason for resentment to him. The sudden dissolution of parliament by the king, June 15, 1626, brought the trial of the impeachment to an end. For the speedy redress of great evils and mischiefs and of amble to the the chief cause of these evils and mischiefs, which this kingimpeachdom of England now grievously suffereth and of late years hath Buckingham suffered; and to the honour and safety of our sovereign lord the (1626) ment of king, and of his crown and dignity, and to the good and welfare of his people, the Commons in this present parliament by the authority of our said sovereign lord the king assembled, do by this their bill shew and declare against George, duke, marquess, and earl of Buckingham, earl of Coventry, viscount Villiers, baron of Whaddon, great admiral of the kingdoms of England and Ireland and of the principality of Wales and of the dominions and islands of the same, of the town of Calais and of the marches of the same, and of Normandy, Gascoigne, and Guienne, general governor of the seas and ships of the said kingdom, lieutenant general, admiral, captain general, and governor of his Majestie's royal fleet and army lately set forth, master of the horse of our sovereign lord the king, lord warden, chancellor, and admiral of the Cinque Ports, and of the members thereof, constable of Dover Castle, justice in eyre of all the forests and chases on this side the river Trent, constable of the Castle of Windsor, gentleman of his Majesties bedchamber, one of his Majesties most honourable privy council in his realms, both in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and knight of the most honourable Order of the Garter; the misdemeanours, misprision, offences, crimes, and other matters, comprised in the article following; and him the said duke do accuse and impeach of the said misdemeanours, misprisions, offences, and crimes. . . . The bitter antagonism to Buckingham is shown in the two following extracts from speeches delivered by Sir Dudley Digges and Sir John Eliot during the impeach ment. impeachment Your lordships have heard in the labors of these two days 272. Extracts spent in this service, a representation from the knights, citi- from zens, and burgesses of the Commons House of parliament, of speeches their apprehension of the present evils and dangers of this kingdom; of the cause of the same; and of the application of them to the duke of Buckingham, so clearly and fully as I presume your lordships expect I should rather conclude than adde anything to his charge. Your lordships have heard how his ambition was expressed in procuring and getting into his hands the greatest offices of strength and power of this kingdom, by what means he had attained them, and how money stood for merit. There needs no argument to prove this but the common sense of the miseries and misfortunes which we suffer. . . . My lords, I have done. You see the man. Only this which was conceived by the knights, citizens, and burgesses should be boldly by me spoken, that by him came all these evils, in him we finde the cause, and on him we expect the remedies, and to this end we met your lordships in conference; to which, as your wisdom invites us, so we cannot doubt, but in your lordships' wisdom, greatness, and power we shall in due time. finde judgment as he deserves. A glimpse of the sessions of the parliament that passed the Petition of Right is obtained in the following letter from a gentlemen then living in Oxford to a friend in France. to Sir Martin What news we received on Saturday you shall find enclosed, 273. Rev. and with it the king's speech on Monday before. I saw also Joseph Mead the keeper's preamble, and the petition for unbilleting of Stuteville soldiers; but because they were long, and I had no scribe to (April 28, write them, I have not furnished you with them. And, alas! 1628) what delight could you find in reading them, when you must hear that since that time all is grown woful and desperate? I have not yet seen this day's letters; yet all that come from London tell us that the parliament is not like to hold above three or four days; that the greater part of the Lords stand 274. Extracts for the king's prerogative against the subjects' liberties; that The Petition of Right, with its reference to the Great Charter, its bold assertion of the rights of the people, and the restrictions on royal power which the king was forced to accept, is one of the most important documents in English history. Humbly show unto our sovereign lord the king, the Lords from the Peti- spiritual and temporal, and Commons in parliament assembled, tion of Right that whereas it is declared and enacted by a statute made in (1628) the time of the reign of King Edward the First, commonly called Statutum de Tallagio non Concedendo, that no tallage or aid shall be laid or levied by the king or his heirs in this realm, without the good will and assent of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights, burgesses, and other the freemen of the commonalty of this realm. And where also by the statute called The Great Charter of the Liberties of England it is declared and enacted, that no freeman may be taken or imprisoned or be disseised of his |