But Holles and his adherents refused to yield; conference after conference was held; and the two parties continued for more than a month to debate the subject without interruption from the Independents. In a petition presented[b] by "thousands of well-affected persons in and near London," they enumerated the objects for which they had fought, and which they now claimed as the fruit of their victory. Dinner had been prepared for him; but he refused to eat, though afterwards, at the solicitation of the bishop, he took the half of a manchet and a glass of wine. Germains[b] he had given to Montrose a commission to raise the royal standard in Scotland. But who sees not the crass hypocrisy of this whole work for home stuffing envelopes and the sandy and rotten foundation of all the resolutions flowing hereupon? This information was speedily communicated to Charles, who took no notice of it to Tattershall; but, to make sure of his man, contrived to keep the party drinking and smoking round the table during the rest of the night. The ambassador Cardenas continued to reside in London, even after the king's execution, and was the first foreign minister whom the parliament honoured with a public audience.
The reformers, only twenty-seven in number (for most of them had not yet arrived), gazed on each other with surprise; their first resource was to fall to prayer; and they were employed in that holy exercise, when Goff and White, two officers, entered, and requested them to withdraw. He then bade them work at home this picture with the existing state of things. 1] This experiment had sufficiently proved the feelings of the majority.