Friends, though divided | Page 2

met at the old school down
there, six years ago. We have been dear friends always, and my only
regret has been that your laziness has prevented our being rivals, for
neither would have grudged the other victory."
"No, indeed, Herbert. But there was never a chance of that. You have
always been Mr. Gregory's prize boy, and are now head of the school;
while I have always been in his bad books. But, as you say, Herbert, we
have been dear friends, and, come what will, we'll continue so. We
cannot agree on the state of the kingdom, and shall never do so. We
have both taken our views from our parents; and indeed it seems to me
that the question is far too difficult a one for boys like us to form any
opinion of it. When we see some of the best and wisest in the land
ranging themselves on either side, it is clear that even such a wise
noddle as yours--to say nothing of a feather brain like mine--cannot

form any opinion on a subject which perplexes our elders and betters."
"That is true, Harry; but still--"
"No, no, Herbert, we will have no argument. You have the best of it
there, and I fall back upon authority. My father, the colonel, is for the
king; yours for the Parliament. He says that there are faults on both
sides, and indeed, for years he favored the Commons. The king's acts
were unconstitutional and tyrannical, and my father approved of the
bold stand which Sir George Elliot made against him. Now, however,
all this has been changed, he tells me, and the Commons seek to rule
without either king or peers. They have sought to impose conditions
which would render them the lords absolute of England, and reduce the
king to a mere puppet. They have, too, attacked the Church, would
abolish bishops, and interfere in all matters spiritual. Therefore, my
father, while acknowledging the faults which the king has committed,
and grieving over the acts which have driven the Parliament to taking
up a hostile attitude to him, yet holds it his duty to support him against
the violent men who have now assumed power, and who are aiming at
the subversion of the constitution and the loss of the country."
"I fear, also," Herbert said, "that the Commons have gone grievously
beyond their rights, although, did my father hear me say so, I should
fall under his gravest displeasure. But he holds that it is necessary that
there should be an ecclesiastical sweep, that the prelates should have no
more power in the land, that popery should be put down with an iron
hand, and that, since kings cannot be trusted to govern well, all power
should be placed in the hands of the people. My own thoughts do
incline toward his; but, as you say, when one sees men like my Lord
Falkland, who have hitherto stood among the foremost in the ranks of
those who demand that the king shall govern according to law, now
siding with him against them, one cannot but feel how grave are the
difficulties, and how much is to be said on either side. How is one to
choose? The king is overbearing, haughty, and untrue to his word. The
Parliament is stiff-necked and bent upon acquiring power beyond what
is fair and right. There are, indeed, grievous faults on both sides. But it
seems to me that should the king now have his way and conquer the

Commons, he and his descendants will henceforth govern as absolute
monarchs, and the liberty of the people will be endangered; while on
the other hand, should the Parliament gain the upper hand, they will
place on a firm basis the liberties of Englishmen, and any excesses
which they may commit will be controlled and modified by a future
parliament, for the people of England will no more suffer tyranny on
the part of the Commons than of the king; but while they cannot change
the one, it is in their power to elect whom they will, and to send up men
who will govern things moderately and wisely."
"At any rate," Harry said, "my father thinks that there is neither
moderation nor wisdom among the zealots at Westminster; and as I
hear that many nobles and country gentlemen throughout England are
of the same opinion, methinks that though at present the Parliament
have the best of it, and have seized Portsmouth, and the Tower, and all
the depots of arms, yet that in the end the king will prevail against
them."
"I trust," Herbert continued earnestly, "that there will be no fighting.
England has known no civil wars since the days of the Roses, and when
we see how France and