the two parties were growing angry with one another, a rebellion broke out in Ireland. The Irish of Ulster, whose lands had been taken away in James's reign, drove out the English and Scottish colonists who were in possession of those lands. The Irish knew that they had been wronged, and they were ignorant and cruel. They murdered a great many of the colonists, and stripped a great number of men and women of their clothes, leaving them to wander naked through the country in the cold winter nights. The story was bad enough as it really was, but it was far worse as it was told in England. The Parliament resolved that an army must be sent to Ireland. Unhappily when the soldiers arrived they treated the Irish without mercy, and massacred not only men, but even women and children.

5. The Grand Remonstrance and the Attempt on the Five Members.-Pym and his friends in the House of Commons were afraid lest if the king appointed the officers of this army he would be able to use it against Parliament as well as against the Irish. They therefore drew up a long paper called the Grand Remonstrance in which they found fault with all that Charles had done since the beginning of his reign, and asked him never to appoint any ministers except such as Parliament should approve of. They also asked him to allow a number of clergymen to meet to consider what alterations should be made in the Prayer Book. Charles refused to do this, and though the greater number of the Commons were against him, the greater number of the Lords were for him. The mob from the City came to threaten

the Lords, and especially the bishops.

6

Charles determined to accuse five members of the House of Commons and one member of the House of Lords as traitors for having resisted his authority. The House of Commons refused to deliver them up, and the king came to the House to take them, followed by three or four hundred armed men. When he reached the House he looked round, and found that the five members were gone. He commanded the speaker to tell him where they were. Sir,' said the speaker, 'I have neither eyes to see, nor ears to hear, save as this House shall please to direct me.' The king left the House without discovering where the five members were. The next day he learned that they were in the City, and he went there to take them. The citizens refused to give them up. A few days later the citizens in arms escorted them back to Westminster. Charles left London rather than see the triumph of his enemies.

6. Breach between the King and the Parliament.– For some months the king and the House of Commons argued with one another. The Commons did not trust the king. They thought he would bring foreign soldiers into England to attack them, and they asked him to let the Parliament appoint the officers of the militia. As there was As there was no regular army in England then, the country was defended by men who were drilled for a few days every year, and spent the rest of their time in looking after their farms or keeping their shops. These men were called the militia. If an enemy invaded the country these men were bound to come together to resist him. Up

to this time their commanders had been appointed by the king, but the House of Commons were too much afraid of the king to allow these to be appointed by him any longer. Charles would not give up his right of appointing the officers. He went to York and summoned his faithful subjects to join him there.

Nearly half the House of Commons and more than half the House of Lords supported him. Some of these men were ready to fight for him because he was the king, but a great many more fought for him because they did not want to see the Prayer Book altered. At last, in August 1642, he set up his standard at Nottingham, as a sign that he in

tended to march against Parliament. The civil war had begun. Those who took the side of the king were known as Cavaliers, meaning horsemen, or gentlemen; whilst those who took the side of the

Parliament were nicknamed Roundheads, because being Puritans they cut their hair short.

7. The Beginning of the first Civil War.-For some time the King prospered. The first battle was fought at Edgehill. Neither side gained the victory, but as the Parliamentarians retreated, the king had

the advantage. He entered Oxford and made it his head-quarters for the rest of the war. Then he marched towards London and reached Brentford. The citizens of London took arms and went to Turnham Green. The two armies looked at one another, but there was no fighting. If the king had taken London the war would have been over, as the London merchants were so rich that the Parliament could not have paid its army without their help. The next year, 1643, sometimes one had the better, and sometimes the other. Hampden was killed on the side of the Parliament, and Falkland on the side of the king. On the whole, however, the king gained more than he lost. The whole of the north and west of England was in his hands. At the end of the year Pym died worn out with anxiety. So little chance did the Parliament appear to have that its leaders invited the Scots to help them. In 1644 the Scots crossed the border and joined an English army. The two forces together completely defeated the king's army in the north at Marston Moor near York. From this time the king began to lose ground.

8. Presbyterians and Independents.-Amongst the Puritans themselves there were now two parties. The greater number of the members of the House of Commons who had taken part against the king were Presbyterians. They had ordered that there should be no more bishops in the Church, and that the Prayer Book should not be used any more, but they were not at all willing that congregations should meet to hear doctrines preached of which