There was a general amnesty, and among those who
obtained their liberty was the Earl of Montrose, who had been imprisoned
in May for making terms with the king. In November, 1641, Charles left
Scotland for London, to face the English Parliament. He can scarcely
have hoped for Scottish aid, and when, a few months later, he was on the
verge of hostilities and made a request for assistance, it was twice
refused.
With the general course of the Great Rebellion we are not here
concerned. It is important for our purpose to notice that it affected
Scotland in two ways. The course of events converted, on the one hand,
the Episcopalian party into a Royalist party, and placed at its head the
Covenanter, Montrose. On the other hand, the National Covenant was
transformed into the Solemn League and Covenant, which had for its aim
the establishment of Presbytery in England as well as in Scotland. This
"will o' the wisp" of covenanted uniformity led the Scottish Church into
somewhat strange places. As early as January, 1643, Montrose had offered
to strike a blow for the king in Scotland, but Charles would not take
the responsibility of beginning the strife. In August negotiations began
for the extension of the covenant to England. The Solemn League and
Covenant, which provided for the abolition of Episcopacy in England, was
adopted by the Convention of Estates at Edinburgh on August 17th, and in
the following month it passed both Houses of Parliament in England, and
was taken both by the House of Commons and by the Assembly of Divines at
Westminster.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193