I made up his mind that the Royalist cause was the I strongest, and that Richard was not fitted to give sta- j bility to the government; and though when circum- ' stances compelled him to act he declared for the Par- liament against the army and decided upon marching to London, there were many, even at the time when he tluis declared himself, who altogether discredited I his sincerity, and believed him to be at heart a Royalist, seeking to restore the king as soon as it might be done with safety; and there is reason to suppose that he even then was determined to promote the Restoration. We give Mr. Ilallam's opinion on this point: "I in- cline, upon the whole, to believe that Monk, not ac- j customed to respect the Rump Parliament, and inca- pable, both by his temperament and by the course of 1 his life, of any enthusiasm for the name of liberty, had satisfied himself as to the expediency of the king's restoration from the time that the Cromwells ha<l sunk below his power to assist them ; though his jjrojects j were still subservient to his own security, which he was resolved not to forfeit by any premature declara- tion or unsuccessful enterprise" {Const. Hist, ii, 384). When Monk arrived in London he was lodged in the apartments of the prince of Wales. He addressed the Parliament, was invited to occupy his place there, was made a member of the council of state, and charged I with the executive power. With his usual address, he continued to use the power of his army as a means of I awing Parliament, and the assertion of duty owed to the Parliament as a means of controlling his army. At length in IGGO the "Rump" became so unpopular, and the cries for a free Parliament so loud, that the city of London refused the payment of taxes. Jlonk obeyed an order from the Parliament to march into the city and subdue it; but his subservience to them did not last long. He sent them a harsh letter, ordering them innnediatcly to fill up the vacant seats, fixing a time for their dissolution, and the Gth of May for the elec- tion of a new and free Parliament^ The restored mem- bers appointed him general of the forces of England, Scotland, and Ireland ; and the Republicans, as a last resource, listened to his continued protestations against the king, the House of Lords, and the bishops, and al- lied themselves to him. Every day his personal power increased ; he was offered the Protectorate, which he declined ; continuing the line of conduct he had always followed — "that is to say, steadfast in var^-ing his lan- guage according to the individual — he gave no handle to any definite opinions with respect to himself." The expectation of the Restoration daily increased, and some indications in the conduct of Monk, who was gradually dismissing persons and removing objects that might prove obnoxious to the king, showed plain- ly that the event was not far distant. Moreover, the Presliyterians were in constant communication with Monk, and this of itself speaks volumes. They were in favor of Charles's restoration, and in Monk thoy found a ready helper. He was warmly attached to them, and thus may have been easih' persuaded to throw his infiuence in favor of the exiled king. That he preferred Presbyterianism to the Episcopal Church ho had not feared to declare in one of his speeches in Parliament, when, after repeated declarations in fa- vor of a republic, he yet dared to speak for Prcsl)yteri- anism. Said he, " As to a government in the Cliurch, moderate, not rigid, Presbyterianism appears at pres- ent to be the most indifferent and acceptable way to the Church's settlement" (Pari. J/lst. iii, 1580). ' At length the farce was brought to a close, and Monk openly declared for the king. It was on the IDth of March when the royal requests for his assistance came, and to royal iiromisos of high reward he yielded, agreed to the king's return, and directed the manner in which he wished it to lie brought about. The king, by Monk's advice, went from Brussels to Breda, and on the 1st of May sent letters to the new Parliament drawn up as Monk desired, and the king was immedi-
MONK
499
MONKS, EASTERN
ately acknowledged and proclaimed. On the 23d of May, Monk received him on the beach at Dover, was embraced hy him, and addressed with great affection. Monk obtained many offices and titles, of which the principal was the duke of Albemarle. As such he changed again to be an Episcopalian, after he had in turn worshipped as Independent and Presbj-terian, and by this change forever set at rest all hopes for the disestablishment of the Episcopal Church. The fail- ure of the Independent and Presbyterian cause may thus be truly laid to Monk, and he therefore figures in no inconsiderable way in the ecclesiastical as well as political history of England, and even of Great Britain. From this time forth but little influence remained to him except as he wielded it through the king. He went to sea again in 1GG6, against his old enemies the Dutch, and maintained his reputation for courage and con- duct. Ho died in 1670. "Monk," says one of his bi- ographers, "had strong nerves, strong common-sense, a cold heart, an accommodating conscience, a careful tongue, an unchanging countenance, and an imper- turbable temper. He sliowed considerable skill in civil government as well as in military affairs. He had shrewdness enough to see what was best for the nation's interest; and, if it also promoted his own, he had ability and vigor enough to bring it to pass. He was never unsettled by enthusiasm in determining his ends, and he was never checked by principle in choos- ing his means." M. Guizot would hardlj' concede all this. He acknowledges that Monk " was a man capa- ble of great things," but confesses that "he had no greatness of soul." It certainly was not to England's interest to restore Charles, but he only brought him back because he was disappointed in Richard Crom- well, and dared not himself assume the reins of the government. See Clarendon, Hist. Rehellion and Civil Wars of England, vii, 373 sq. ; Skinner, Life of Monk; Gmzot, Memoirs of Monk, ah\y edited by the late lord Wharncliffe ; Maseres's Tracts; Pepys and Evelj'n, Memoirs ; Stoughton, Eccles. Hist. Chwch of England (Restoration), i,"44 sq. ; Hallam, Const. Hist. p. 393-406 ; Macaulay, JJist. of England, i, 143-146, 296 ; Stephen, Hist, of 'the Church of Scotland, ii, 350, 370, 376, 380; State Papers of Charles II (Lond. 1866) ; Retrospectice Review, vol. xiii (1826). (J. H. W.)