ts and liberties were secured. A vast
majority of all the population of Scotland--gentlemen, clergy,
citizens, and laborers, men, women, and children--assembled in the
church, and swore fealty to the covenant. Force, of course, was
necessary to reduce the rebels, and civil war commenced in Scotland.
But war increased the necessities of the king, and he was compelled to
make peace with the insurgent army.

Eleven years had now elapsed since the dissolution of the last
parliament, during which the king had attempted to rule without one,
and had resorted to all the expedients that the ingenuity of the crown
lawyers could suggest, in order to extort money. Imposts fallen into
desuetude, monopolies abandoned by Elizabeth, royal forests extended
beyond the limits they had in feudal times, fines past all endurance,
confiscations without end, imprisonments, tortures, and
executions,--all marked these eleven years. The sum for fines alone,
in this period, amounted to more than two hundred thousand pounds. The
forest of Rockingham was enlarged from six to sixty miles in circuit,
and the earl of Salisbury was fined twenty thousand pounds for
encroaching upon it. Individuals and companies had monopolies of salt,
soap, coals, iron, wine, leather, starch, feathers, tobacco, beer,
distilled liquors, herrings, butter, potash, linen cloth, rags, hops,
gunpowder, and divers other articles, which, of course, deranged the
whole trade of the country. Prynne was fined ten thousand pounds, and
had his ears cut off, and his nose slit, for writing an offensive
book; and his sufferings were not greater than what divers others
experienced for vindicating the cause of truth and liberty.

At last, the king's necessities compelled him to summon another
parliament. He had exhausted every expedient to raise money. His army
clamored for pay; and he was overburdened with debts.

[Sidenote: Long Parliament.]

On the 13th of April, 1640, the new parliament met. It knew its
strength, and was determined now, more than ever, to exercise it. It
immediately took the power into its own hands, and from remonstrances
and petitions it proceeded to actual hostilities; from the
denunciation of injustice and illegality, it proceeded to trample on
the constitution itself. It is true that the members were irritated
and threatened, and some of their number had been seized and
imprisoned. It is true that the king continued his courses, and was
resolved on enforcing