With the King at Oxford: A Tale of the Great RebellionChurch, Alfred John
History
With the King at Oxford: A Tale of the Great Rebellion
Church, Alfred John
Great Britain -- History -- Civil War, 1642-1649 -- Fiction
It was concluded, therefore, that night that we should go; but that
there was no present need to depart. But it was needful that I should
go for awhile to my brother at Enstone, and this without delay, and
returned to Master Ellgood's home about the twentieth of November.
Then again eight days after we set out for London and came thither on
the second day of December, and found a lodging with my kinsman
Rushworth, of whom I have written in the relation of my school days.
The next day, being Sunday, we worshipped at the chapel of the Savoy,
where Dr. Thomas Fuller preached the sermon; a most learned, witty,
and eloquent discourse, and marvellously bold--the condition of the
kingdom, wherein the King's enemies were supreme, being considered.
His text was 1 Samuel xv. 22. "_For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft_;" which he enforced with much plainness of speech, so
that I marvelled that he was neither presently hindered from speaking
nor afterwards visited. But the good Doctor is no respecter of
persons, for did he not, being appointed preacher by the Parliament,
discourse before them on these words (spoken by Mephibosheth to David
concerning Ziba): "_Yea let him take all, so that my lord the King
come again in peace_," to their no small discontent?
The day following we went to the House of Commons, being bestowed by
favour of one of the ushers under one of the galleries. 'Tis a noble
chamber, and the circumstances of the assembly, the Speaker, for
example, with his mace, majestic; but itself, methinks, scarce a match
in dignity for its surroundings, the members sitting for the most part
as if they cared nought for that which was being done, so loudly did
they talk with each other and laugh; but if one of greater note rose
to speak there was straightway silence. As for us, we listened with
all our ears, and that for many hours, for the House, meeting at ten
of the clock in the fore-noon, prolonged its sitting till nine of the
clock in the morning of the day following, nor did we, save for
refreshment's sake for a few minutes, leave our place. It was a
marvellous strange scene, for sometimes it would seem as if all the
House were asleep, some one speaking of whom none took any heed; then
again there would be almost a tumult, angry crying out and stamping
with the feet, so that one had almost thought the members ready to fly
at each other's throats. And above the great torches flared, making a
mighty smoke and heat, so that though the air outside was cold and
frosty, within the heat was like to suffocate. At the last, all being
wearied out (and some of the older sort had been long asleep), the
House came to a division, the question being one that touched the late
conferences with the King, and the resolution to be determined being
this: "That the King's concessions to the Parliament are sufficient
grounds for settling the peace of the kingdom." And this resolution
was carried by the majority of voices, the Ayes being one hundred and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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