The Beginning of the End



On this date in sixteen hundred and forty seven

A king was seized by his own army for treason

And after imprisonment and a trial in the courts

Two years later, his life would come to nought



Charles the First had a twenty-four year reign

During which time he inflamed again and again

Suspending Parliament, then calling it back ...

Then sacking it again, when they fell off his track



And when there was no longer any money ...

He created income by taxing ship ports - funny!

Then after war between Roundheads and Cavaliers

The King finally surrendered to his Scottish peers



Who delivered him back to the British Parliament

On this very date, but he then made his escapement

Seeking refuge on the Isle of Wight in the Channel

Until the Rump Parliament convened, Independents all ...



And he was sentenced to death as an enemy of the People 

Bringing about protests from many directions, all in all

Including Scotland, France and the Netherlands ...

But the protests were unheeded, and so the axeman



Would sever the King's head from the rest of his body

And then Cromwell would be elevated, after prodding)

To be Lord General of the British Commonwealth ...

And then - Lord Protector, till his decline in health ...



A position Oliver's son, Richard, would then inherit

But it was something for which the man had no merit

And so, two years later, Charles the Second would be

Instituted upon the throne, and was not made to flee



- Tristram



© Christopher W. Thomas

10:45pm Fri. June 4th, 1999