Life of John Milton, vol 3, 1643-1649 | Page 3

Hamilton's Scottish Army: Arrival of the Prince of Wales off the Southeast Coast: Blockade of the Thames--Consternation of the Londoners: Faintheartedness of Parliament: New Hopes of the Presbyterians: their Ordinance against Heresies and Blasphemies: their Leanings to the King: Independents in a struggling minority: Charge of Treason against Cromwell in his absence--The Three Days' Battle of Preston and utter Defeat of the Scots by Cromwell: Surrender of Colchester to Fairfax: Return of the Prince of Wales to Holland: Virtual End of THE SECOND CIVIL WAR-- Parliamentary Treaty with the King at Newport: Unsatisfactory Results-- Protests against the Treaty by the Independents--Disgust of the Army with the Treaty: Revocation of their Concordat with Parliament, and Resolution to seize the Political Mastery: Formation of a Republican Party-- Petitions for Justice on the King: The _Grand Army Remonstrance_-- Cromwell in Scotland: Restoration of the Argyle Government there: Cromwell at Pontefract: His Letter to Hammond--The King removed from the Isle of Wight to Hurst Castle--The Army again in possession of London
II. Troubles in the Barbican Household: Christopher Milton's Composition Suit: Mr. Powell's Composition Suit: Death of Mr. Powell: His Will: Death of Milton's Father--Sonnet XIV. and Ode to John Rous--Italian Reminiscences: Lost Letters from Carlo Dati of Florence: Milton's Reply to the last of them--Pedagogy in the Barbican: List of Milton's known Pupils: Lady Ranelagh--Educational Reform still a Question: Hartlib again: The Invisible College: Young Robert Boyle and William Petty-- Removal from Barbican to High Holborn--Meditations and Occupations in the House in High Holborn: Milton's Sympathies with the Army Chiefs and the Expectant Republicans--Still under the Ban of the Presbyterians: Testimony of the London Ministers against Heresies and Blasphemies: Milton in the Black List--Another Letter from Carlo Dati: Translation of Nine Psalms from the Hebrew--Milton through the Second Civil War: His personal Interest in it, and Delight in the Army's Triumph: His Sonnet to Fairfax--Birth of Milton's Second Child: Another Letter from Carlo Dati
III. The Two Houses in the Grasp of the Army: Final Efforts for the King: Pride's Purge and its Consequences--The King brought from Hurst Castle to Windsor: Ordinance for his Trial passed by the Commons alone: Constitution of the Court--The Trial in Westminster Hall: Incidents of the Seven successive Days: The Sentence--Last Three Days of Charles's Life: His Execution and Burial

BOOK I.
JULY 1643--MARCH 1643-4.
_HISTORY_:--FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY: CIVIL WAR AND THE LONG PARLIAMENT CONTINUED.
_BIOGRAPHY_:--MILTON STILL IN ALDERSGATE STREET: HIS MARRIAGE MISFORTUNE: HIS FIRST DIVORCE TREATISE.

CHAPTER I
THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY IN SESSION--THE SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT: SCOTTISH COMMISSIONERS IN THE ASSEMBLY--DEBATES ON CHURCH-GOVERNMENT: APOLOGETICAL NARRATION OF THE INDEPENDENTS--PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS--SCOTTISH AUXILIARY ARMY IN ENGLAND.
The Westminster Assembly held its first formal meeting in Henry the Seventh's Chapel on Saturday, July 1, 1643, after the impressive opening ceremonial of a sermon preached before a great congregation in the Abbey Church by the appointed Prolocutor, Dr. Twisse, on the text John xiv. 18, "_I will not leave you comfortless_!" About 69 of the members were present at that first meeting, many who attended afterwards not having yet come up from the country. Among the 69 were the few of "the Episcopal persuasion" who afterwards dropped off; and these were conspicuous by their canonical dresses among the bulk of the members in all sorts of plain Puritan suits. The average attendance subsequently seems to have been from 60 to 80. The place of meeting for some time continued to be King Henry the Seventh's Chapel; but this was changed, when the weather grew colder, for the celebrated Jerusalem Chamber, also in the close vicinity of the Houses of Parliament. [Footnote: The Ordinance of Parliament authorizing the change of the place of meeting to the Jerusalem Chamber is dated Sept. 23, 1643 see Lords Journals for that day] None but members of the Assembly were allowed to be present, and there was no deviation from this rule except on the very rarest occasions and by special authority from Parliament. The Assembly sat commonly from nine in the morning till one or two P.M. The Prolocutor sat at one end of the room on a raised chair; his two Assessors were near him; and a table ran through the whole length of the room, at one end of which sat the Scribes, close to the Prolocutor, while the members were seated in tiers at the sides and other end. The forms of debate and voting were very much those of the House of Commons. Besides the meetings of the Assembly as such, there were afternoon meetings of Committees for the preparation of business for the Assembly. There were three such chief Standing Committees, to one or other of which every member belonged. [Footnote: Lightfoot's Notes of Assembly Works (ed. 1824), Vol. XIII, pp. 4, 5; and Baillie, II. 107-109]
FIRST BUSINESS OF THE ASSEMBLY: REVISION OF THE ARTICLES.
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