300 they had resolv'd of no . more addresses to be made to the king. And now nothing was agitated with more violence then a new per- -sonall treaty with honor and fi-eedome; and even his comming to the city, before any security given, was labour'd for, but that prevail'd not. Such were the heates of the two parties, that Mr. Hollis challeng'd Ireton, even in the house; out of which they both went to have fought, but that one who sate neere them overheard the wicked whisper, and prevented the execution of it. m Amidst these things, at last a treaty was sent to the king, by commissioners, who went from both houses, to the Isle of Wight, and although there were some honorable persons in this commission, yett it cannot be denied, but that they were carried away b,Y the other, and concluded upon most dangerous termes, an agreement with the king. l-Ie would not give up bishops, but only lease out their revenues; and upon the whole, such were the termes, upon which the king was to be restor'd, that the whole cause was evidently given up to him. Only one thing he. assented to, to acknowledge himselfe guilty of the blood spilt in the late warre, with this proviso, that if the agreement were not ratified by the house, then this concession should be of no force against him. ' The commissioners that treated with him had bene caiol'd and biassed with the promises of greate honors and offices to every one of them, and so they brought back their treaty to be confirm' cl by the houses; where there was a very high dispute about them, and they sate up most part of the night, when at length it was voted to accept his concessions, the dissenting party being fewer then the other that · were carried on in the faction. Coli. Hutchinson was that night m ClarenUon pretends Ireton wo~ld not fight.-Surely Ludlow knew him best, and he says h e would ! n .Certainly there are many strange things to be found in the history of diplomacy, but perhaps none so strange as that an assertion should be admitted to be provisionally tnu.
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