the present day, of great commercial importance.]

The king paused. He was distressed with perplexity and doubt. At
length he said, "They have promised _me_, and I have promised _them_,
and I will not break the promise first." "Your majesty means by _they_
and _them_, the Parliament, I suppose?" "Yes, I do." "But the scene is
now changed. The Parliament have no longer any power to protect you.
The danger is imminent, and the circumstances absolve your majesty
from all obligation."

But the king could not be moved. He said, come what may, he would not
do any thing that looked like a breaking of his word. He would dismiss
the subject and go to bed, and enjoy his rest as long as he could.
His friends told him that they feared it would not be long. They
seemed very much agitated and distressed. The king asked them why they
were so much troubled. They said it was to think of the extreme danger
in which his majesty was lying, and his unwillingness to do any thing
to avert it. The king replied, that if the danger were tenfold more
than it was, he would not break his word to avert it.

The fears of the king's friends were soon realized. The next morning,
at break of day, he was awakened by a loud knocking at his door. He
sent one of his attendants to inquire what it meant. It was a party of
soldiers come to take him away. They would give him no information in
respect to their plans, but required him to dress himself immediately
and go with them. They mounted horses at the gate of the castle. The
king was very earnest to have his friends accompany him. They allowed
one of them, the Duke of Richmond, to go with him a little way, and
then told him he must return. The duke bade his master a very sad and
sorrowful farewell, and left him to go on alone.

[Illustration: RUINS OF CARISBROOKE CASTLE.]

The escort which were conducting him took him to Hurst Castle. The
Parliament passed a vote condemning this proceeding, but it was too
late. The army concentrated their forces about London, took possession
of the avenues to the houses of Parliament, and excluded all those
members who were opposed to them. The remnant of the Parliament which
was left immediately took measures for bringing the king to trial.

The House of Commons did not dare to trust the trial of the king to
the Peers, according to the provisions of the English Constitution,
and so they passed an ordinance for attainting him of high treason,
and for appointing _comm