The Life of John Milton Volume 3 1643-1649: Narrated in Connexion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His TimeMasson, David
Religion
The Life of John Milton Volume 3 1643-1649: Narrated in Connexion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His Time
Masson, David
Milton, John, 1608-1674; Poets, English -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- Biography
now Earl of Leven, Scottish commander-in-chief for the third time, and
tolerably well acquainted already with the North of England? Second in
command to him, as Lieutenant-general of the Foot, was William Baillie,
of Letham, in this post for the second time; and the Major-general, with
command of the horse was David Leslie, a third Gustavus-Adolphus man,
and, though a namesake of the commander-in-chief, only distantly related
to him. The marquis of Argyle accompanied the invaders, nominally as
Colonel of a troop of horse; and among the other colonels of foot or
horse were the Earls of Cassilis, Lindsay, Loudoun, Buccleugh,
Dunfermline, Lothian, Marischal, Eglinton, and Dalhousie. The expenses of
the army, averaging 1,000_l._ per diem (6_d._ a day for each
common foot-soldier, 8_d._ for a horse-soldier, and so on upwards)
were, by agreement, to be charged to England. [Footnote: Rushw. V. 604-7;
Parl. Hist. III. 200, 201; Baillie, II. 100 and 137.]
The condition on which the Scots had consented thus to aid the English
Parliament must not be forgotten. It was the agreement of the two nations
in one and the same religious Covenant. In all the negotiations that had
been going on between London and Edinburgh, the Scots had always assumed
the fulfilment of this condition on the part of the English. And, so far,
we have seen, it had already been fulfilled. Since September 1643, when
Henderson's Covenant had first been proposed to the English Parliament
and the Westminster Assembly, and the Commons and the Westminster Divines
had set the example by swearing to it collectively in one of the London
churches, "the Covenant" had been a phrase familiar to the English mouth.
In all the miscellaneous activity of the Parliament for the detection and
disabling of "Malignants," there had been no instrument more effective or
more commonly used. There were other tests and oaths by which the
"malignants" might be distinguished from the "well-affected"; but the
taking or not taking of the Solemn League and Covenant was the test
paramount. Wherever the Parliament had power it had been in operation.
Since December 20, for example, it had been the law that no one could be
a Common Councilman of the City of London who had not subscribed to the
Covenant. Still, in this matter of subscription to the Covenant, the
English, both as the larger nation and as the less accustomed to
Covenants, had remained considerably in arrear of the Scots; and, when
the Scots actually did make their appearance in England, there was a
sudden refreshing of the memory of the English Parliament on the subject,
and a sudden exertion to make up the arrears. "The Scots are among us on
the supposition that we have all taken the Covenant; and lo! we have not
yet all taken it," was virtually the exclamation of the Parliament.
Accordingly, that all might be brought in, that there might be no escape,
and that there might remain to all time coming a vast register of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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