Still he felt that he
was a captive, under promise not to leave the island till twenty days after
the conclusion of the treaty, and he soon found, in addition, that he was
not expected to treat, but merely to submit. How far the two houses might
have yielded in other circumstances is uncertain; but, under the present
superiority of the army, they dared not descend from the lofty pretensions
which they had previously put forth. The commissioners were permitted to
argue, to advise, to entreat; but they had no power to concede; their
instructions bound them to insist on the king's assent to every proposition
which had been submitted to his consideration at Hampton Court. To many of
these demands Charles made no objection; in lieu of those which he
refused, he substituted proposals of his own, which were forwarded to
the parliament, and voted unsatisfactory. He offered new expedients and
modifications; but the same answer was invariably returned, till the
necessity of his situation wrung from the unfortunate prince his
unqualified assent to most of the articles in debate. On four points only
he remained inflexible. Though he agreed to suspend for three years, he
refused to abolish entirely, the functions of the bishops; he objected to
the perpetual alienation of the episcopal lands, but proposed to grant
leases of them for lives, or for ninety-nine years, in favour of the
present purchasers; he contended that all his followers, without any
exception, should be admitted to compound for their delinquency; and he
protested that, till his conscience were satisfied of the lawfulness of the
covenant, he would neither swear to it himself, nor impose it upon others.
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