The battle of Naseby was fought between nearly equal numbers. Prince Rupert first broke the opposite wing of the cncmy, but pursued too far. Cromwell bore down the wing of the royalists opposite to his own, but wisely left a detachment to pursue them, and turned upon the centre, where the royal infantry and Fairfax were continuing a doubtful combat. When Rupert re turned, the battle was irretrievable. The king called out, in vain, to make but one charge more, and the day was their own ; but his artillery and baggage were lost; and his infantry ruined. Fairfax improved the victory by uninterrupted successes ; Leicester, Bath, Bridge water, and other strong places, fell rapidly into hfs hands. Prince Rupert, who had thrown himself into Bristol, surrendered the place while the walls were en tire ; after which, the victors dividing, Cromwell re duced the Devises, Winchester, and Basinghouse ; and Fairfax turning westward, captured the towns of the royalists, and surrounded their fugitive army in Corn wall.
The king, who had fled after the fatal field of Naseby with the remnant of his cavalry into \Vales, returned with the fruitless design of joining Montrose in Scot land ; but as every avenue to the north was shut against him, his last effort was to relieve the city of Hereford, besieged by the parliamentary forces, who were defi cient in cavalry to cover the besieging army. Attempting to relieve Chester, also, he was defeated by general Doyntz, and after again escaping into Wales, lie return ed to Oxford in despair.
.Montrose, who gained two brilliant victories over the Covenanters at Alford and Aldern, was, at this time, the forlorn hope of the royal cause. Descending from the mountains after these victories with 6000 men, he ad vanced across the Forth, marking his progress with butchery and devastation. Baillie opposed him at Kil syth with equal numbers ; but a battle took place, in which no quarter seems to have been given to the Co venanters, and they lost above 4000 out of 6000 men. Presuming in his success, Montrose advanced to the borders of Scotland, though with numbers diminished by the retreat of the Highlanders, who went to secure their plunder among the hills, and was surprised and defeated by David Leslie, within a mile of Selkirk, among the woods of Philiphaugh. He escaped Nvith difficulty, at tended by 200 horse, and secured himself among fastnesses of Athol ; but his reputation was ruined among the Highlanders, and his chief followers, after the slaughter of his army, were consigned to the scaf fold.
To conclude the misfortunes of this campaign, the unpopular aid of the Irish Catholics, on which Charles had so much relied, was not only disappointed, but pre maturely exposed to public hatred. The titular Catho lic bishop of Tuam, having been killed by the Scotch at Sligo, a paper was discovered upon his person, contain ing articles secretly concluded between the king and the Catholics ; so likely to be offensive to English Pro testants, that it was thought unfit that Ormond, the king's lieutenant in Ireland, should appear in the trans action. By these articles, the possession of the church, and its revenues in Ireland, were to be given to the Ca tholics, who, in return, were to supply the king with 10,000 men. Glamorgan, an Irish peer, had been com missioned by the king to make these terms with the Catt,olic leaders; but they were not to be acknowledged publicly for the present. Glamorgan was arrested by the king's orders, when the articles were first found ; and the king's knowledge of the treaty, which was de clared to be a forgery, is still denied by the writers in Charles's favour. But the silence of Clarendon on the subject, and his expressions in his private correspon dence, as well as the whole aspect of the business, make it incredible that Charles did not conclude the treaty, whatever might be his intentions with regard to fulfilling it.
Fairfax was approaching with a powerful force to Ox ford. when Charles, who had no choice but to escape or
be surrounded, adopted the resolution of flying to the Scottish army. To every proposal which he had sent the parliament of treating for peace, they had answered, that they were preparing bills, of which his acceptance would afford the surest pledge of his desire to surren der. This was indeed bidding him surrender at discre tion ; but after the transactions which have been re corded, what terms approaching to equality could Charles expect ? With two attendants, Dr Hudson and Mr Ash burnham, and disguised as the servant of the latter, Charles reached the Scottish camp at Newark, haN ing passed through several cross roads, and having once approached so near to London as Harrow on the Hill, not 11 ithout some thoughts of entering his capital, and trusting to the generosity of the parliament. This re solution, though adopted in desperate circumstances, was still connected with hopes of dividing his enemies, and of profiting by dissensions, of which few princes, in such a situation, would perhaps have failed to avail them selves. The Presbyterian church government, sanction ed by the assembly of divines at 'Westminster, and by the general assembly of Scotland, had been adopted in England ; but the parliament refused to render the church supreme and independent of the state. The In dependents combined with the Erastians in parliament, to procure a charitable indulgence of conscience, which the English, as well as Scotch Presbyterians resisted, as incompatible with the covenant. Besides this, there were causes of deep offence to exasperate the Scotch : their pay and supplies were long neglected ; their cau tionary garrisons in the north were demanded back ; and their free quarters were refused. Since the battle of Naseby, the Presbyterian, and with that the Scottish in fluence, had declined in England. Charles had already maintained secret negotiations with the two factions. In a confidential letter to lord he expressed his ex pectation of "drawing either the Presbyterians or the Independents to side with him for extirpating each other, so that (says he) I shall really be king again." In an intercepted letter, written by the king to Or mond, Charles was found to declare, that he threw him self on the Scottish army, on the assurance of their as sistance to restore his prerogative, and to join with Montrose, and compel the English parliament to peace. There is extant, on the other hand, a declaration of the Scottish commissioners, disclaiming, in the strongest terms, any public or private agreement whatsoever with the king. This was open, if a falsehood, to immediate detection. An agreement, it is true, had been concerted by the means of Montreville, the French ambassador, in which the English Presbyterians were consulted, by which the Scotch were to escort their monarch to their camp ; but the treaty was broken, by the Scotch refus ing to co-operate with Montrose, and by the want of the king's explicit promise to confirm the Presbyterian church. it may be believed, therefore, that the Scotch were sincere in their declaration to the English parlia ment ; that Charles came among them, in consequence of no stipulation on their side to take part with him against their ancient allies ; and whatever discontents might have arisen with England, such a stipulation to support Charles, without his unequivocal promise to grant them the objects for which they had taken arms, would have been at best romantic itnpolicy. The Scotch continued, therefore, stedlast to their original engage ments ; and though they withdrew to Newcastle, to pre vent their return home being intercepted by the English, they obtained Charles's order for the surrender of New ark, they guarded his person with vigilance and cold respect, and professed their resolution to avail them selves of the possession of it, to obtain their desired uni formity of religion, and a durable peace.