had as complete a civil and military organization as if it had been an independent republic.  Each citizen had his company; and the companies, which now seem to exist only for the sake of epicures and of antiquaries, were then formidable brotherhoods, the members of which were almost as closely bound together as the members of a Highland clan.  How strong these artificial ties were, the numerous and valuable legacies anciently bequeathed by citizens to their corporations abundantly prove.  The municipal offices were filled by the most opulent and respectable merchants of the kingdom.  The pomp of the magistracy of the capital was inferior only to that which surrounded the person of the sovereign.  The Londoners loved their city with that patriotic love which is found only in small communities, like those of ancient Greece, or like those which arose in Italy during the middle ages.  The numbers, the intelligence, the wealth of the citizens, the democratical form of their local government, and their vicinity to the Court and to the Parliament, made them one of the most formidable bodies in the kingdom.  Even as soldiers they were not to be despised.  In an age in which war is a profession, there is something ludicrous in the idea of battalions composed of apprentices and shopkeepers, and officered by aldermen.  But in the early part of the seventeenth century, there was no standing army in the island; and the militia of the metropolis was not inferior in training to the militia of other places.  A city which could furnish many thousands of armed men, abounding in natural courage, and not absolutely untinctured with military discipline, was a formidable auxiliary in times of internal dissension.  On several occasions during the civil war, the trainbands of London distinguished themselves highly; and at the battle of Newbury, in particular, they repelled the fiery onset of Rupert, and saved the army of the Parliament from destruction.

The people of this great city had long been thoroughly devoted to the national cause.  Many of them had signed a protestation in which they declared their resolution to defend the privileges of Parliament.  Their enthusiasm had, indeed, of late begun to cool.  But the impeachment of the five members, and the insult offered to the House of Commons, inflamed them to fury.  Their houses, their purses, their pikes, were at the command of the representatives of the nation.  London was in arms all night.  The next day the shops were closed; the streets were filled with immense crowds; the multitude pressed round the King’s coach, and insulted him with opprobrious cries.  The House of Commons, in the meantime, appointed a committee to sit in the city, for the purpose of inquiring into the circumstances of the late outrage.

The members of the committee were welcomed by a deputation of the common council, Merchant Taylors’ Hall, Goldsmiths’ Hall, and Grocers’ Hall, were fitted up for their sittings.  A guard of respectable citizens, duly relieved twice a day, was posted at their doors.  The sheriffs were charged to watch over the safety of the accused members, and to escort them to and from the committee with every mark of honour.