domestic chaplain, Mr. Rutter, then archdeacon, and afterwards bishop of Man; and also another gentleman, who had hitherto been attached to his person, by whose excellent disposition due provision was made for the defence of that place, of which the siege was very soon renewed, and the house was at length taken, after an obstinate resistance.

CHAP. VI.

Continuation of the History of the Earl to his Death-The Island surrendered to the Parliament-Restored to Charles, Earl of Derby, on the Accession of Charles II.-Trial and Execution of Captain Christian-The Manx obtain the Act of Settlement from Earl William, on whose Death the Island passes into the Athol Family-and is finally invested in the Crown of Great Britain.

FROM the time of the earl's return to the Isle of Man, till the year 1651, he and his family reposed in peaceful seclusion, and the benefits attending his residence were widely diffused amongst his subjects. Until this time the Manx had scarcely known the use of coin as a

circulating medium, none having ever been issued in the island, and but little brought from other countries: hitherto the rents had been paid in corn or cattle; and the little commerce carried on had been maintained by barter: but as many people besides those immediately attached to Lord Derby sought shelter here from the disturbances in England, the prosperity of the community was greatly advanced, and a striking improvement in the manners and habits of society took its date from this era.

As to the earl himself, his state and his means were much curtailed by the sequestration of his vast possessions, a small part only of which he, or rather his children recovered in 1646, being sent over by him for that purpose, in consequence of an act of parliament then passed for compounding with delinquents; under which his seat and lands at Knowsley were restored to the use of his family and he was further informed, that on his submission to the existing government, the whole property should be refunded: but this he absolutely rejected, and at length the short gleam of peace was clouded over by the renewed malice of Bradshaw, commonly called the bloody president, who instigated the parliament forces against the family, on account of the resistance of the earl, who detained the Isle

of Man, in defiance of their orders: and in consequence, the two ladies, his daughters, Catharine and Amelia, were made prisoners in Liverpool, whither they had fled from Knowsley on the first alarm, intending to proceed to the island; and so deplorably were these illustrious persons reduced, that they were even obliged to solicit their daily bread, from people almost as necessitous as themselves. Upon a complaint made to General Fairfax, by the unhappy sufferers, he sent a message in writing to the earl, purporting, that if he would deliver the island to the parliament, his children should not only be set at liberty, but he should peaceably return to the enjoyment of his English estates: to which his lordship returned this answer:

"That he was greatly afflicted by the sufferings of his children! that it was not the course of great or noble minds to punish innocent children for their fathers' offences; and that it would be clemency in Sir Thomas Fairfax to send them back to him, or to Holland or France; but if he could do none of these, his children must submit to the mercy of Almighty God, but should never be redeemed by his disloyalty."*

* There is another letter upon record in the Manx Statute

I

And thus they continued prisoners for eighteen months, until Charles II. having been crowned king in Scotland, was enabled to make an attempt on England, and invited Lord Derby to join him there. The earl immediately took his departure with a train of three hundred gentlemen, who had accompanied him in his retreat, and now gladly exchanged a scene of quiet and safety, for another effort in the royal cause.*

Book, dated 1649, addressed by the earl to Lieutenant-General Ireton, in answer to similar offers made to him, as follows:

«. Sir,

"I received your letter with indignation, and return you this answer, that I cannot but wonder whence you could gather any hopes from me, that I should, like you, prove treacherous to my sovereign, since you cannot but be sensible of my former actings in his late Majesty's service, from which principles of loyalty, I am no wit departed. I scorn your proffers, disdain your favor, and abhor your treason, and am so far from delivering up this island to your advantage, that I will keep it to the utmost of my power and your destruction, take this final answer, and forbear any further solicitation: but if you trouble me with any more messages, I will burn the paper, and hang the bearer."

Lord Derby returns a second time to England, Anno