ENGLAND.] STRAFFORD. sent the danger of his appearing among so many enraged enemies. The king promised him protection, and assured him that not a hair of his head should be touched by the parliament. So little did this unhappy monarch then foresee the near subversion of his own authority-and that, as a fatal and most convincing proof of it, he was so soon to sign the death-warrant of the man, whom he thus pledged his royal word to support. No sooner had the earl arrived in London, than a concerted attack was made upon him in the House of Commons. Pym, in a long and studied oration, enumerated all the grievances under which the nation laboured, from which he inferred an intention in the minister of subverting the form of government, and the ancient laws and liberties of the kingdom; some instances of imperious expressions and actions he also cited; and entering into a more personal attack on the minister, endeavoured to expose his private character and manners. It should seem, that the austere genius of Strafford, occupied in the pursuits of ambition, had not rendered his breast altogether inaccessible to the tender passions, or secured him from the dominion of the fair sex-and, in that sullen age, the irregularities of pleasure were more reproachful than the most odious crimes. Nothing more effectually proves the absence of any criminal act in the administration of Strafford, than that the popular orator of the commons should thus have had recourse to charges of so personal and private a nature. But the torrent of prejudice against him was irresistible—his impeachment was voted-immediately carried up to the Lords-and Strafford, who had just entered the House of Peers, little expecting so speedy a prosecution, was ordered into custody, with every mark of animosity in his judges, as well as in his prosecutors. An accusation, carried on by the united effort of three kingdoms against one man, unprotected by power, unassisted by counsel, and discountenanced by authority, was likely to prove a very unequal contest; yet such was the capacity, genius, and presence of mind, displayed by this magnanimous statesman, that, while argument, and reason, and law, were attended to, he obtained an undisputed victory-and he perished at last, overwhelmed, but still unsubdued, by the open and undisguised violence of his fierce and unrelenting antagonists. Though four months were employed in framing the twenty-eight articles of his impeachment, and though all Strafford's answers were unpremeditated and extemporary, it appears, upon examination, not only that he was free from the crime of treason, of which there is not the least appearance, but that his conduct, making allowance for human infirmities, was innocent, and even laudable. He repelled the accusation of treason to the state with successful argumentvictoriously refuted every charge, mixing modesty and humility with firmness and vigour and under any other judges, and in better times, must necessarily have been acquitted. He thus pathetically concluded a long and able speech, previous to the sentence being passed by his peers:-" My lords, I have now troubled your lordships a great deal longer than I should have done. Were it not for the interest of those pledges, which a saint in heaven has left me, I should be loth"-here he pointed to his children, oppressed by tears-" What I forfeit for myself is nothing-but, I confess, that my indiscretion should forfeit for them, wounds me very deeply. You will be pleased to pardon my infirmity-something I should have said-but, I see I shall not be able, and therefore I shall leave it. And now, my lords, I thank God, I have been by his blessing sufficiently instructed in the extreme vanity of all temporary enjoyments, compared to our ENGLAND.] STRAFFORD. eternal duration. And so, my lords, even so, with all humility, and with all tranquillity of mind, I submit, clearly and freely, to your judgments; and whether that righteous doom shall be life or death, I shall repose myself, full of gratitude and confidence, in the arms of the great Author of my existence."—" Certainly," says Whitlocke, (and the remark, coming from an enemy of Strafford, is conclusive, as to the character and innocence of the fallen minister) "never any man acted such a part, on such a theatre, with more wisdom, constancy, and eloquence, with greater reason, judgment, and temper, and with a better grace in all his words and actions, than did this great and excellent person-and he moved the hearts of all his auditors, some few excepted, to remorse and pity.” But these atrocious few prevailed—a small majority of those of his peers, who could be induced, by threats or persuasions, to attend on the last day of his trial, adjudged him guilty, and nothing remained but to extort the king's consent. The situation of Charles was painful in the extreme. He must either sacrifice a man whom he knew to be innocent, and whose only crime was the most implicit devotion to his person and authority—or, by surrendering this illustrious victim to the fury of his enemies, prevent, if possible, the horrors of a civil war. The queen, who, it is said, had never favoured Strafford, terrified with the apprehension of so mighty a danger, was in tears, and pressed him to satisfy his people in this demand, which, it was hoped, would finally content them. Juxon alone, the pious Bishop of London, whose courage was not inferior to his other virtues, advised him, if in his conscience he did not approve of the bill for the execution of Strafford, by no means to assent to it. Strafford himself, apprised of this irresolution in his royal master, took a very extraordinary step, which, if his motives could be as easily authenticated, as they are appa rently great and magnanimous, would have raised his character to as high a pitch of virtue as it is possible for human nature to attain, and ranked his name with the self-devoted Decii of old. He wrote a letter, in which he intreated the king, for the sake of public peace, to put an end to his unfortunate, though innocent life. "In this," added he, « my consent will more acquit you to God, than all the world besides. To a willing man there is no injury— and as, by God's grace, I forgive all the world, with a calmness and meekness, of infinite contentment to my dislodging soul-So, Sir, to you I can resign the life of this world, with all imaginable cheerfulness, in the just acknowledgment of your exceeding favours." Perhaps, he hoped that this unusual instance of magnanimity would engage the king still more strenuously to protect him.-Perhaps, surrounded as he was by enemies, he absolutely despaired of escaping the dangers by which he was every way environed. Such a step was not unworthy of the great mind of Strafford, and he was certainly capable of so nable an act of disinterestedness-but we are compelled to add, that when Carleton informed him of the final resolution which necessity had extorted from the king, he started, seemed surprised, and exclaimed in the words of the scripture-Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, for in them there is no salvation. He, however, soon recalled his courage, and prepared for death. In passing from his apartments to Tower-hill, where the scaffold was erected, he stopped under the windows of Laud, who was then in confinement, under a similar charge of treason, and entreated the assistance of his prayers in those awful moments. The aged primate, dissoived in tears, and having pronounced, with a faultering voice, a tender blessing on his departing friend, sunk into the arms of his attendants. Strafford, still superior ENGLAND.] STRAFFORD. to his fate, moved on with an elated countenance, and with an air even of greater dignity than usually attended him. His discourse on the scaffold was full of decency and courage." He feared," he said, "that the omen was bad for the intended reformation of the state, that it commenced with the shedding of innocent blood." Having bid a last adieu to his brother, who attended him, and sent a blessing to his children, who were absent," And now," said he, "I have nigh done! one stroke will make my wife a widow, my dear children orphans, deprive my poor servants of an indulgent master, and separate me from an affectionate brother, and all my friends. But let God be to you, and them, all in all." Going to disrobe, and prepare himself for the block, "I thank God," said he, "that I am no wise afraid of death, nor am daunted with any terrors, but do as cheerfully lay down my head, at this time, as ever I did when going to repose." At one blow a period was put to his existence. Thus perished, in the 49th year of his age, one of the most eminent persons that have appeared in England. His character, as might be expected, has been severely handled by our zealous republican writers; but by none has it been more completely mangled than by the late Mrs. Macauley, who, in her democratic rage, allows him neither virtue nor talents. But his abilities, as a statesman, and his unshaken attachment to his master, were the chief causes of his ruin; and in the subsequent proceedings of that parliament, to whose vindictive resentment he fell a sacrifice, may be found the best apology for his administration. A certain degree of vigour, and more perhaps than Strafford exerted, was necessary to preserve the church and monarchy from the ravages of those civil and religious enthusiasts who soon overturned both. Though his death was loudly demanded as a satisfaction |