It was with reluctance that they consented to receive
him at all; and, when at last he sought an asylum in their army, he came
thither, not allured by invitation from them, but driven by necessity and
despair. 2. If the delivery of the royal person, connected as it was with
the receipt of L200,000, bore the appearance of a sale, it ought to be
remembered, that the accounts between the two nations had been adjusted in
the beginning of September; that for four months afterwards the Scots never
ceased to negotiate in favour of Charles; nor did they resign the care of
his person, till the votes of the English parliament compelled them to make
the choice between compliance or war. It may be, that in forming their
decision their personal interest was not forgotten; but there was another
consideration which had no small weight even with the friends of the
monarch. It was urged that by suffering the king to reside at Holmby, they
would do away with the last pretext for keeping on foot the army under
the command of Fairfax; the dissolution of that army would annihilate the
influence of the Independents, and give an undisputed ascendancy to the
Presbyterians; the first the declared enemies, the others the avowed
advocates of Scotland, of the kirk, and of the king; and the necessary
consequence must be, that the two parliaments would be left at liberty
to arrange, in conformity with the covenant, both the establishment of
religion and the restoration of the throne.
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