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THOMAS  CAR  tY  IE 

fs*  -     .. 


Ex  Libra 
;   C.  K.  OGDEN 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


€NRY 


LETTERS   AND    SPEECHES 


WITH  ELUCIDATIONS. 


BY 


THOMAS   CARLYLE. 


IN  FIVE  VOLUMES. 

VOL.  I. 


LONDON: 
CHAPMAN  AND  HALL,  193  PICCADILLY. 


LONDON : 
IOBSON  AMD  SONS,  I'KINTBRS,  FANCRAS  F.OAD,  N  W. 


CWTleg* 
Library 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


THE  First  Edition  of  this  Work1  having,  contrary  to  expecta- 
tion, spread  itself  abroad  with  some  degree  of  impetus,  has,  us 
in  that  case  was  partly  natural,  brought  me  into  correspond- 
ence with  various  possessors  and  collectors  of  Cromwell  Let- 
ters ;  has  brought  obliging  contributions,  and  indications  true 
and  fallacious,  from  far  sources  and  from  near ;  and,  on  the 
whole,  has  disinterred  from  their  widespread  slumber  a  variety 
of  Letters  not  before  known  to  me,  or  not  before  remembered 
by  me.  With  which  new  Letters  it  became  a  rather  complex 
question  what  was  now  to  be  done. 

They  were  not,  in  general,  of  much,  or  almost  of  any  in- 
trinsic importance ;  might  here  and  there  have  saved  some 
ugly  labour  and  research,  had  they  been  known  in  time ;  but 
did  not  now,  as  it  turned  out,  tend  to  modify,  in  any  essential 
particular,  what  had  already  been  set  down,  and  sent  forth  to 
the  world  as  a  kind  of  continuous  connected  Book.  It  is  true, 
all  clearly  authentic  Letters  of  Cromwell,  never  so  unimportant, 
do  claim  to  be  preserved ;  and  in  this  Book,  by  the  title  of  it, 
are  naturally  to  be  looked  for.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  how 
introduce  them  now  ?  To  unhoop  your  cask  again,  and  try  to 
insert  new  staves,  when  the  old  staves,  better  or  worse,  do  al- 
ready hang  together,  b;what  no  cooper  will. recommend  !  Not 
to  say,  that  your  Set  of  Cromwell  Letters  can  never,  in  this 
Second  or  in  any  other  Edition,  be  considered  as  complete;  an 
uncounted  handful  of  needles  to, be  picked  from  an  unmeasured 
continent  of  hay,— ^how  can  .you  ever  assure  yourself  that  you 
have  them  all?  .-«,. ».-,»-» -•-„•.•.  > 

After  deliberation,  the  law  of  the  case  seemed-  to  be  some- 
what as  follows  :  First,  that  whatever  Letters  would  easily  fit 

•  December  18^.5. 


iv  PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

themselves  into  the  Book  as  it  stood,  —  easily,  or  even  with 
labour  if  that  were  all, — should  be  duly  admitted.  Secondly, 
that  for  such  Letters  as  tended  to  bring  into  better  relief  any 
feature  of  the  Man  or  his  Work, — much  more,  had  they  tended 
to  correct  or  alter  in  any  respect  any  feature  I  had  assigned  to 
him  or  to  it :  that  for  these  an  effort  should  be  made,  if  need- 
ful ;  even  a  considerable  effort  ;  effort,  in  fact,  to  be  limited 
only  by  this  consideration,  Not  to  damage  by  it  to  a  still  greater 
degree  the  already  extant,  and  so  by  one's  effort  accomplish 
only  loss.  Thirdly,  that  for  such  Cromwell  Letters  as  did  not 
fall  under  either  of  these  descriptions,  but  were  nevertheless 
clearly  of  his  composition,  there  should  be  an  Appendix  pro- 
vided. In  which,  without  pretension  to  commentary,  and  not 
needing  to  be  read  along  with  the  Text,  but  only  apart  from  it 
if  at  all,  they  might  at  least  stand  correctly  printed  : — they, 
and  certain  other  Pieces  of  more  doubtful  claim  ;  for  most  part 
Letters  too,  but  of  half,  or  in  some  cases  of  wholly,  official 
character  ; — if  by  chance  they  were  elucidative,  brief,  and  not 
easily  attainable  elsewhere.  Into  which  Appendix  also,  as  into 
a  loose  back-room  or  lumber-room,  not  bound  to  be  organic  or 
habitable,  bound  only  to  be  maintained  in  a  reasonably  swept 
condition,  any  still  new  Letters  of  Cromwell  might  without  cere- 
mony be  disposed. 

Upon  these  principles  this  Second  Edition  has  been  pro- 
duced. New  Letters  intercalated  into  the  Text,  and  Letters 
lying  in  loose  rank  in  the  Appendix,  all  that  I  had,  or  could 
hear  of  or  get  any  trace  of  hitherto,  are  here  given.  For  pur- 
chasers of  the  First  Edition,  the  new  matter  has  been  detached, 
printed  as  a  Supplement,  which  the  Bookseller  undertakes  to 
sell  at  prime  cost. — And  now,  having  twice  escaped  alive  from 
these  detestable  Dust-Abysses,  let  me  beg  to  be  allowed  to  con- 
sider this  my  small  act  of  Homage  to  the  Memory  of  a  Hero  as 
finished  ; — this  Second  Edition  of  Oliver's  Letters  and  Speeches 
as  the  final  one.  New  Letters,  should  such  still  turn  up,  I  will 
not,  except  they  contradict  some  statement,  or  fibre  of  a  state- 
ment, in  the  Text,  undertake  to  introduce  there  ;  but  deposit 
them  without  ceremony  in  tac  loose  lumber-room,  in  a  more  or 
less  swept  condition. 

T.  CARLYLE. 

London,  xuh  May  1846. 


TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 


THE  small  leakage  of  new  Cromwell  matter  that  has  oozed 
in  upon  me  from  the  whole  world,  since  the  date  of  that  Second 
Edition,  has  been  disposed  of  according  to  the  principles  there 
laid  down.  Some  small  half-dozen  of  Authentic  new  Letters, 
pleasantly  enough  testifying  (once  they  were  cleared  into  legi- 
bility) how  every  new  fact  fits  into  perfect  pree'stablished  cor- 
respondence with  all  old  facts,  but  not  otherwise  either  pleasant 
or  important,  have  come  to  me  ;  one  or  two  of  these,  claiming 
more  favour,  or  offering  more  facility,  have  been  inserted  into 
the  Text ;  the  rest,  as  was  my  bargain  in  regard  to  all  of  them, 
have  been  sent  to  the  Appendix.  In  Text  or  Appendix  there 
they  stand,  duly  in  their  places  ;  they,  and  what  other  smallest 
of  authentic  glimmerings  of  additional  light  (few  in  number, 
infinitesimally  small  in  moment)  came  to  me  from  any  quarter : 
all  new  acquisitions  have  been  punctually  inserted  ; — generally 
indicated  as  new,  where  they  occur  ;  too  insignificant  for  enu- 
merating here,  or  indeed  almost  for  indicating  at  all. 

On  the  whole,  I  have  to  say  that  the  new  Contributions  to 
this  Third  Edition  are  altogether  slight  and  insignificant,  pro- 
perly of  no  real  moment  whatever.  Nay,  on  looking  back,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  new  Contributions  to  any  Edition  have 
been  slight ;  that,  for  learning  intelligibly  what  the  Life  of 
Cromwell  was,  the  First  Edition  is  still  perhaps  as  recommend- 
able  a  Book  as  either  of  its  followers.  Exposed,  since  that,  to 
the  influx  of  new  Cromwell  matter  from  all  the  world,  one  finds 
it  worth  observing  how  little  of  the  smallest  real  importance 
has  come  in  ;  what  of  effort  has  had  to  expend  itself,  not  in 
improving  the  Book  as  a  practical  Representation  of  Cromwell's 
Existence  in  this  world,  but  in  hindering  it  from  being  injured 
as  such, — from  being  swollen  out  of  shape  by  superfluous  de- 


vl  PREFACE  TO  THIRD  EDITION. 

tails,  defaced  with  dilettante  antiquarianisms,  nugatory  tagrags ; 
and,  in  short,  turned  away  from  its  real  uses,  instead  of  fur- 
thered towards  them.  An  ungrateful  kind  of  effort,  and  grow- 
ing ever  more  so,  the  longer  it  lasts  ; — but  one  to  which  the 
Biographer  of  Cromwell  by  this  method  has  to  submit,  as  to  a 
clear  law  of  nature,  with  what  cheerfulness  he  can. 

Certain  Dictionary  Lists,  not  immediately  connected  with 
Oliver,  but  useful  for  students  of  this  Historical  Period,  a  List 
of  the  Long  Parliament,  and  Lists  of  the  Association  Committees; 
farther,  a  certain  Contribution  called  The  Squire  Papers,  which 
is  for  the  present,  and  must  for  a  long  time  remain,  of  doubtful 
authenticity  to  the  world  :  these  I  have  subjoined  to  the  Second1 
Volume,  which  offered  space  for  such  a  purpose ;  but  have 
been  careful,  in  Text,  Appendix,  Index,  to  make  no  reference 
to  them,  to  maintain  a  perfect  separation  between  all  parts  of 
the  Book  and  them,  and  to  signify  that  these  are  not  even  an 
Appendix,  or  thing  hooked-on,  but  rather  a  mere  Adjacency, 
or  thing  in  some  kind  of  contact, — kind  of  contact  which  can 
at  any  moment  be  completely  dissolved,  by  the  very  Bookbinder 
if  he  so  please. 

And  in  general,  for  the  reader's  sake,  let  me  again  say 
plainly  that  all  these  Appendixes  and  Adjuncts  are  insignifi- 
cant ;  that  the  Life  of  Cromwell  lies  in  the  Text ;  and  that  a 
serious  reader,  if  he  take  advice  of  mine,  will  not  readily  stir 
from  that  on  any  call  of  the  Appendixes  &c.,  which  can  only 
be  a  call  towards  things  unessential,  intrinsically  superfluous, 
if  extrinsically  necessary  here,  and  worthy  only  of  a  later  and 
more  cursory  attention,  if  of  any  whatever,  from  him. 

'T.  c 

London,  i6th  October  1849. 


•  The  Lists  will  be  given  at  the  end  of  the  Third  Volume  in  the  present  Edition  ; 
the  Squire  J'afert  arc  adjoined  to  the  Second  Volume. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  I.  Anti-Dryasdust i 

„  II.  Of  the  Biographies  of  Oliver  .  .  .10 
„  III.  Of  the  Cromwell  Kindred  .  .  .17 
,,  IV.  Events  in  Oliver's  Biography  .  .  .29 
,,  V.  Of  Oliver's  Letters  and  Speeches  .  .  64 


PART  I. 

TO  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR.     1636-42. 

LETTER  I.  To  Mr.  Storie :  St.  Ives,  n  Jan.  1635-6     .       73 

Lectureship  in  Huntingdonshire. 

„      II.  To  Mrs.  St.  John:   Ely,  13  Oct.  1638          .        81 

Personal  Affairs. 

Two  YEARS 89 

LETTER  III.  To  Mr.  Willingham :  London,  Feb.  1640-1        92 
The  Scots  Demands. 

IN  THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT 95 


viii  CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 

PART  II. 

TO  THE  END  OF  THE  FIRST  CIVIL  WAR. 

PRELIMINARY 99 

LETTER  IV.  To  R.  Barnard,  Esq. :  Huntingdon,  23  Jan. 

1642-3 in 

A  Domiciliary  Visit. 

CAMBRIDGE 112 

COM.  CANT.  (' Cambridgeshire  To  wit')         .         .         .     113 
Contribution  at  Fen  Drayton. 

LETTER  V.  To  Suffolk  Committee :  Cambridge,  10  March 

1642-3 115 

Captain  Nelson :  Money  wanted. 

LOWESTOFF Il6 

LETTER  VI.  To  the  Mayor  of  Colchester  :  Cambridge, 

23  March  1642-3      .         .         .         .121 
Captain  Dodsworth :  Money  and  more  Men. 

„      VII.  To  Sir  J.  Burgoyne  :  Huntingdon,  10  April 

1643        •  •      1*3 

To  assist  against  the  Camdeners. 

,,    VIII.  To  R.Barnard,  Esq. :  Huntingdon,  17  April 

1643 I24 

Barnard  may  return.  • 

„        IX.  To  Lincoln  Committee:  Lincolnshire,  3  May 

1643 I26 

Rendezvous  for  Newark. 

„         X.   Unknown:  Grantham,  13  May  1643         .     128 
Skirmish  at  Grantham. 

„        XI.  To  the  Mayor  of  Colchester  :  Lincolnshire, 

28  May  1643  .         .         .   •  .130 

Wants  more  Men. 

,,      XII.  To  Cambridge  Commissioners:    Hunting- 
don, 31  July  1643    .         .         .         .133 

Action  at  Gainsborough. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME   I.  ix 

PAGE 

LETTER  XIII.   Unknown:  Huntingdon,  2  Aug.  1643    .      138 
Help  from  Young  Men  and  Maids. 

„         XIV.  To  Cambridge  Commissioners  :  Hunting- 
don, 6  Aug.  1643      •          •          •  139 
Lincoln  lost :  To  rendexvous  instantly. 

„  XV.   To  the  same:  Peterborough,  8  Aug.  1 643      141 

Urgent  for  Men  and  Money. 

„         XVI.   To  Suffolk  Committee :  Cambridge,  Sept. 

1643  ......      146 

Mr.  Margery  recommended. 

,,       XVII.   To  O.  St.  John,  Esq.  :   Eastern  Associa- 
tion, ii  Sept.  1643  ....      147 

Much  Want  of  Money  :  the  Ironsides. 

,,     XVIII.  To  Suffolk  Committee:  Holland,  Lincoln- 
shire, 28  Sept.  1643  •         •         •      "So 
Malignants'  Horses. 

WINCEBV  FIGHT        .         .         .         .         .         .         .154 

LETTER  XIX.  To  Rev.  Mr.  Hitch:  Ely,  lojan.  1643-4     158 

Ely  Cathedral. 

,,          XX.   To  Major-General  Crawford:  Cambridge, 

10  March  1643-4      .          .          .  159 

Admonition  in  behalf  of  Packer. 

XXL   To  Col.  Walton:  York,  5  July  1644       .      165 
Marston  Moor. 

,,      XXII.  To  Ely  Committee :  Lincoln,  i  Sept.  1644     169 
Prisoners  unduly  discharged.    Affairs  of  the  Isle. 

„    XXIII.  To  Col.  Walton :  Sleaford,  6  or  5  Sept. 

1644  .  -170 

Essex  in  Cornwall. 

THREE  FRAGMBKTS  OF  SPEECHES.    Self-denying  Ordin- 
ance         172 

LETTER  XXIV.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax :  Salisbury,  9  April 

1645  •  •     J77 

Proceedings  in  the  West :  Goring,  Greenvil,  Rupert. 


x  CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 

fAGB 

LETTER  XXV.    To    Committee    of   Both    Kingdoms : 

Blctchington,  25  April  1645      .         .180 

Action  at  Islip  Bridge. 

„       XXVI.    To  Governor  R.  Burgess  :   Farringdon, 

29  April  1645          .         .         .         .182 
Attack  on  Farringdon  Garrison ; — (Action  at  Bamp- 
ton  the  day  before.) 

„     XXVII.    To  the  same  :  same  date     .         .         .183 
Same  subject. 

„    XXVIII.    To  Sir  T.  Fairfax  :  Huntingdon,  4  June 

1645 184 

Affairs  at  Ely. 

BY  EXPRESS 186 

LETTER  XXIX.  To  Hon.  W.  Lenthall :  Harborough,  14 

June  1645 188 

Battle  of  Nascby. 

„         XXX.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax  :  Shaftesbury,  4  Aug. 

1645    •  ....      194 

The  Clubmen. 

XXXI.  To  Hon.  W.  Lenthall :  Bristol,  14  Sept. 

1645 *9S 

Storm  of  Bristol. 

„      XXXII.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax  :  Winchester,  6  Oct. 

1645    .         .         .         .         .         .     207 

Taking  of  Winchester.  * 

„    XXXIII.  To  Hon.  W.  LenthaD  :  Basingstoke,  14 

Oct.  1645     .         .         .         .  •       .     209 
.     ,  Rasing  House  stormed. 

„     XXXIV.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax  :  Wallop,  16  October 

1645  -i        ^  .  *  .       214 

Marching  to  lbe,^%y     ,  .  :  *     ,* 

„    -  XXXV.  To  Hon.  W.  Lenthall  •   Salisbury,   1 7 

Oct.  1645     •  «  •.._.;  «     ?1<? 

Surrender  of  I Angford  House. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I.  xi 

PART  III. 

BETWEEN  THE  TWO  CIVIL  WARS.     1646-48. 

PAGE 

LETTER  XXXVI.  To  T.  Knyvett,  Esq. :  London,  27  July 

1646  .  .  .  .  .221 

Parishioners  of  Hapton. 

„      XXXVII.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax:  London,  31  July 

1646  .....      223 

Adjutant  Fleming. 

„    XXXVIII.  To  the  same  :  London,  10  Aug.  1646     224 

News :  Commissioners  to  the  King  and  Scotch  Army 
have  returned. 

„        XXXIX.  To  J.  Rushworth,  Esq.:   London,   26 

Aug.  1646  .....      227 
On  behalf  of  Major  Henry  Lilburn. 

,,  XL.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax  :   London,   6  Oct. 

1646 228 

Staffordshire  Committee-men. 

„  XLI.  To  Mrs.  Ireton  :  London,  25  October 

1646  .....      229 

Fatherly  Advice. 

„  XLII.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax:  London,  21  Dec. 

1646  .          .          .          .          .231 

News,  by  Skippon :  Agreement  with  the  Scots  con- 
cluded ;  City  disaffected  to  Army. 

„  XLI  1 1.   To   the    same:    London,    n    March 

1646-7 235 

Army  matters  ;  City  still  more  disaffected. 

„  XLIV.  To   the    same  :    London,    19    March 

1646-7         .....      236 

Encloses  an  Order  to  the  Army,  Not  to  come  within 
Twenty-five  miles  of  London. 

ARMY  MANIFESTO  '   .  ~  .  .         ."*   238 

LETTER  XLV.  To  Archbishop  of  York  :  Putney,  i  Sept. 

1647   •  .'••     ^"255 

Williams  in  Conway  Castle, 


xii  CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 

PACK 

LETTER  XLVI.  To  Col.  Jones:  Putney,  14  Sept.  1647  .     257 
Congratulates  on  the  Victory  at  Dungan  Hill. 

„      XLVI  I.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax:  Putney,  1 3  Oct.  1647     259 

Captain  Midctlcton,  Court-Martial. 

„    XLVIII.  To  the  same  :  Putney,  22  Oct.  1647    .     261 
Col.  Overton  for  Hull  Garrison. 

XLIX.  To  Hon.  W.  Lenthall :  Hampton  Court, 

1 1  Nov.  1647        ....     263 

King's  Escape  from  Hampton  Court. 

„  L.  To  Col.  Whalley :  Putney,  Nov.  1647    .     265 

The  same. 

LI.  To  Dr.  T.  Hill:  Windsor,  23  Dec.  1647     266 
Interceding  for  a  Young  Gentleman. 

„  LIT.  To   Col.    Hammond  :    London,    3  Jan. 

1647-8          ...  .     268 

Concerning  the  King  in  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

„  LIII.  To  Colonel  Norton:   London,  25  Feb. 

1647-8 271 

On  Richard  Cromwell's  Marriage. 

LIV.  To  Sir  T.  Fairfax  :   London,  7  March 

1647-8          .  .     275 

Has  been  dangerously  ill. 

FREE  OFFER 276 

LETTER  LV.  To  Col.  Norton:  Farnham,  28  March  t648     277 
Richard  Cromwell's  Marriage. 

„      LVI.  To  the  same  :  London,  3  April  1648        .     379 
The  same. 

,,    LVII.  To  Col.  Hammond  :  London,  6  April  1648     282 
Isle-of-Wjght  Business :  King  intends  Escape. 

„  LVI  1 1.  To  Col.  Kcnrick :  London,  18  April  1648     183 

Recommends  the  Dearer  for  Lmp'.oyanent. 

GRAYER-MEETING 284 


OLIVER  CROMWELL'S 
LETTERS  AND  SPEECHES. 


INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER  I. 

ANTI-DRYASDUST. 

WHAT  and  how  great  arc  the  interests  which  connect  them- 
selves with  the  hope  that  England  may  yet  attain  to  some  prac- 
tical belief  and  understanding  of  its  History  during  the  Seven- 
teenth Century,  need  not  be  insisted  on  at  present ;  such  hope 
being  still  very  distant,  very  uncertain.  We  have  wandered  far 
away  from  the  ideas  which  guided  us  in  that  Century,  and  indeed 
which  had  guided  us  in  all  preceding  Centuries,  but  of  which 
that  Century  was  the  ultimate  manifestation :  we  have  wandered 
very  far  ;  and  must  endeavour  to  return,  and  connect  ourselves 
therewith  again  !  It  is  with  other  feelings  than  those  of  poor 
peddling  Dilettantism,  other  aims  than  the  writing  of  successful 
or  unsuccessful  Publications,  that  an  earnest  man  occupies  him- 
self in  those  dreary  provinces  of  the  dead  and  buried.  The  last 
glimpse  of  the  Godlike  vanishing  from  this  England  ;  conviction 
and  veracity  giving  place  to  hollow  cant  and  formulism, — an- 
tique '  Reign  of  God,'  which  all  true  men  in  their  several,  dia- 
lects and  modes  have  always  striven  for,  giving  place  to  modem 

VOL.  I.  B 


a  INTRODUCTION. 

Reign  of  the  No-God,  whom  men  name  Devil :  this,  in  its  mul- 
titudinous meanings  and  results,  is  a  sight  to  create  reflections 
in  the  earnest  man  !  One  wishes  there  were  a  History  of  Eng- 
lish Puritanism,  the  last  of  all  our  Heroisms  ;  but  sees  small 
prospect  of  such  a  thing  at  present. 

'  Few  nobler  Heroisms,"  says  a  well-known  Writer  long  occu- 
pied on  this  subject,  '  at  bottom  perhaps  no  nobler  Heroism  ever 
'  transacted  itself  on  this  Earth  ;  and  it  lies  as  good  as  lost  to 
'  us  ;  overwhelmed  under  such  an  avalanche  of  Human  Stupi- 
'  dities  as  no  Heroism  before  ever  did.  Intrinsically  and  extrin- 
'  sically  it  may  be  considered  inaccessible  to  these  generations. 
'  Intrinsically,  the  spiritual  purport  of  it  has  become  inconceiv- 

•  able,  incredible  to  the  modern  mind.    Extrinsically,  the  docu- 
'  ments  and  records  of  it,  scattered  waste  as  a  shoreless  chaos, 

•  are  not  legible.  They  lie  there,  printed,  written,  to  the  extent 
'  of  tons  and  square  miles,  as  shot-rubbish ;  unedited,  unsorted, 
1  not  so  much  as  indexed ;  full  of  ever)'  conceivable  confusion  ; 
'  — yielding  light  to  very  few ;  yielding  darkness,  in  several 
'  sorts,  to  very  many.    Dull  Pedantry,  conceited  idle  Dilettant- 
'  ism, — prurient  Stupidity  in  what  shape  soever, — is  darkness 
'  and  not  light !    There  are  from  Thirty  to  Fifty  Thousand  un- 
'  read  Pamphlets  of  the  Civil  War  in  the  British  Museum  alone : 
'  huge  piles  of  mouldering  wreck,  wherein,  at  the  rate  of  pcr- 
'  haps  oae  pennyweight  per  ton,  lie  things  memorable.     They 
1  lie  preserved  there,  waiting  happier  days  ;  «nder  present  con- 
'  ditions  they  cannot,  except  for  idle  purposes,  for  dilettante 
'  excerpts  and  suchlike,  be  got  examined.     The  Rushworths, 
'  Whitlockcs,  Nalsons,  Thurloes  ;  enormous  folios^  these  and 
'  many  others  have  been  printed,    and  some  of  them  again 
'  printed,  but  never  yet  edited, — edited  as  you  edit  wagonloads 
'  of  broken  bricks  and  dry  mortar,  simply  by  tumbling  up  the 
'  wagon  !  Not  one  of  those  monstrous  old  volumes  has  so  much 
'  as  an  available  Index.   It  is  the  general  rule  of  editing  on  this 
'  matter.     If  your  editor  correct  the  press,  it  is  an  honourable 

•  distinction  to  him. 

'  Those  dreary  old  records,  they  were  compiled  nt  first  by 

•  Human  Insight,  in  part ;  and  in  great  part,  by  Human  Stu- 
1  pidity  withal ; — but  then  it  was  by  Stupidity  in  a  laudable 
'  diligent  state,  and  doing  its  best ;  which  was  something  : — 

•  and,  alas,  tliey  have  been  successively  elaborated  by  Human 
1  Stupidity  in  the  idle  state,  falling  idler  and  idler,  and  only  pre- 


ANTI-DRYASDUST.  3 

'  tending  to  be  diligent ;  whereby  now,  for  us,  in  these  late  days, 
1  they  have  grown  very  dim  indeed  !  To  Dryasdust  Printing- 
'  Societies,  and  suchlike,  they  afford  a  sorrowful  kind  of  pa- 
1  bulum  ;  but  for  all  serious  purposes,  they  are  as  if  non-extant; 
1  might  as  well,  if  matters  are  to  rest  as  they  are,  not  have  been 
'  written  or  printed  at  all.  The  sound  of  them  is  not  a  voice, 
'  conveying  knowledge  or  memorial  of  any  earthly  or  heavenly 
'  thing  ;  it  is  a  wide-spread  inarticulate  slumberous  mumble- 
'  ment,  issuing  as  if  from  the  lake  of  Eternal  Sleep.  Craving 'for 
'  oblivion,  for  abolition  and  honest  silence,  as  a  blessing  in  com- 
'  parison  ! — 

1  This  then,'  continues  our  impatient  friend,  '  is  the  Elysium 
'  we  English  have  provided  for  our  Heroes  !  The  Rushworthian 
'  Elysium.  Dreariest  continent  of  shot-rubbish  the  eye  ever  saw. 
'  Confusion  piled  on  confusion  to  your  utmost  horizon's  edge  : 
'  obscure,  in  lurid  twilight  as  of  the  shadow  of  Death  ;  track- 
'  less,  without  index,  without  finger-post,  or  mark  of  any  human 
'  foregoer  ; — where  your  human  footstep,  if  you  are  still  human, 
'  echoes  bodeful  through  the  gaunt  solitude,  peopled  only  by 
'  somnambulant  Pedants,  Dilettants,  and  doleful  creatures,  by 
'  Phantasms,  errors,  inconceivabilities,  by  Nightmares,  paste- 
'  board  Norroys,  griffins,  wiverns,  and  chimeras  dire  !  There, 
'  all  vanquished,  overwhelmed  under  such  waste  lumber-moun- 
'  tains,  the  wreck  and  dead  ashes  of  some  six  unbelieving  gene- 
'  rations,  does  the  Age  of  Cromwell  and  his  Puritans  lie  hidden 
'  from  us.  This  is  what  we,  for  our  share,  have  been  able  to 
'  accomplish  towards  keeping  our  Heroic  Ones  in  memoiy.  By  7 
'  way  of  sacred  poet  they  have  found  voluminous  Dryasdust, 
'  and  his  Collections  and  Philosophical  Histories. 

'  To  Dryasdust,  who  wishes  merely  to  compile  torpedo  His- 
'  tories  of  the  philosophical  or  other  sorts,  and  gain  immortal 
'  laurels  for  himself  by  writing  about  it  and  about  it,  all  this  is 
'  sport ;  but  to  us  who  struggle  piously,  passionately,  to  behold, 
'  if  but  in  glimpses,  the  faces  of  our  vanished  Fathers,  it  is 
'  death  !  —  O  Dryasdust,  my  voluminous  friend,  had  Human 
'  Stupidity  continued  in  the  diligent  state,  think  you  it  had  ever 
'  come  to  this  ?  Surely  at  least  you  might  have  made  an  Index 
'  for  these  huge  books  !  Even  your  genius,  had  you  been  faith- 
'  ful,  was  adequate  to  that.  Those  thirty  thousand  or  fifty  thott- 
'  sand  old  Newspapers  and  Pamphlets  of  the  King's  Library,  it 
1  is  you,  my  voluminous  friend,  that  should  have  sifted  tltem, 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

4  many  long  years  ago.  Instead  of  droning  out  these  melancholy 
'  scepticisms,   constitutional  philosophies,   torpedo   narratives, 

•  you  should  have  sifted  those  old  stacks  of  pamphlet-matter  for 
4  us,  and  have  had  the  metal  grains  lying  here  accessible,  and 
'  the  dross-heaps  lying  there  avoidable  ;  you  had  done  the  human 
1  memory  a  service  thereby  ;  some  human  remembrance  of  this 
'  matter  had  been  more  possible  !' 

Certainly  this  description  does  not  want  for  emphasis :  but 
all  ingenuous  inquirers  into  the  Past  will  say  there  is  too  much 
truth  in  it.  Nay,  in  addition  to  the  sad  state  of  our  Historical 
Books,  and  what  indeed  is  fundamentally  the  cause  and  origin 
of  that,  our  common  spiritual  notions,  if  any  notion  of  ours  may 
still  deserve  to  be  called  spiritual,  are  fatal  to  a  right  under- 
standing of  that  Seventeenth  Century.  The  Christian  Doctrines 
which  then  dwelt  alive  in  every  heart,  have  now  in  a  manner 
died  out  of  all  hearts, — very  mournful  to  behold  ;  and  are  not 
the  guidance  of  this  world  any  more.  Nay  worse  still,  the  Cant 
of  them  does  yet  dwell  alive  with  us,  little  doubting  that  it  is 
Cant ; — in  which  fatal  intermediate  state  the  Eternal  Sacred- 
ness  of  this  Universe  itself,  of  this  Human  Life  itself,  has  fallen 
dark  to  the  most  of  us,  and  we  think  that  too  a  Cant  and  a 
Creed.  Thus  the  old  names  suggest  new  things  to  us, — not 
august  and  divine,  but  hypocritical,  pitiable,  detestable.  The 
old  names  and  similitudes  of  belief  still  circulate  from  tongue 
to  tongue,  though  now  in  such  a  ghastly  condition  :  not  as  com- 
mandments of  the  Living  Cod,  which  we  must  do,  or  perish 
eternally  ;  alas,  no,  as  something  very  different  from  that!  Here 
properly  lies  the  grand  unintelligibility  of  the  Seventeenth  Cen- 
tury for  us.  From  this  source  has  proceeded  our  maltreatment 
of  it,  our  miscditings,  miswritings,  and  nil  the  other  '  avalanche 
of  Human  Stupidity,'  wherewith,  as  our  impatient  friend  com- 
plains, we  have  allowed  it  to  be  overwhelmed.  We  have  allowed 
some  other  things  to  be  overwhelmed !  Would  to  Heaven  that 
were  the  worst  fruit  we  had  gathered  from  our  Unbelief  and  our 
Cant  of  Belief ! — Our  impatient  friend  continues  : 

'  I  have  known  Nations  altogether  destitute  of  printer's-typcs 

•  and  learned  appliances,  with  nothing  better  than  old  songs, 
'  monumental  stoneheaps  and  Ouipo-thrums  to  keep  record  by, 
'  who  had  truer  memory  of  their  memorable  things  than  this  ! 

•  Truer  memory,  I  say  :  for  at  least  the  voice  of  their  Past  Hc- 
'  roisms,  if  indistinct,  and  all  awry  J>s  to  dates  and  statistics,  was 


ANTI-DRYASDUST.  5 

'  still  melodious  to  those  Nations.  The  body  of  it  might  be  dead 
1  enough  ;  but  the  soul  of  it,  partly  harmonised,  put  in  real  ac- 
'  cordance  with  the  "  Eternal  Melodies,"  was  alive  to  all  hearts, 
1  and  could  not  die.  The  memory  of  their  ancient  Brave  Ones 
'  did  not  rise  like  a  hideous  huge  leaden  vapour,  an  amorphous 
'  emanation  of  Chaos,  like  a  petrifying  Medusa  Spectre,  on  those 
'  poor  Nations  :  no,  but  like  a  Heaven's  Apparition,  which  it 
'  was,  it  still  stood  radiant  beneficent  before  all  hearts,  calling 
'  all  hearts  to  emulate  it,  and  the  recognition  of  it  was  a  Psalm 
'  and  Song.  These  things  will  require  to  be  practically  medi- 
'  tated  by  and  by.  Is  human  Writing,  then,  the  art  of  burying 
'  Heroisms  and  highest  Facts  in  Chaos  ;  so  that  no  man  shall 
'  henceforth  contemplate  them  without  horror  and  aversion,  and 
'  danger  of  locked-jaw  ?  What  does  Dryasdust  consider  that  he 
'  was  born  for ;  that  paper  and  ink  were  made  for  ? 

'  It  is  very  notable,  and  leads  to  endless  reflections,  how  the 
1  Greeks  had  their  living  Iliad,  where  we  have  such  a  deadly 
1  indescribable  Cromwelliad.  The  old  Pantheon,  home  of  all 
'  the  gods,  has  become  a  Peerage-Book, — with  black  and  white 
'  surplice-controversies  superadded,  not  unsuitably.  The  Greeks 
'  had  their  Homers,  Hesiods,  where  we  have  our  Rymers,  Rush- 
'  worths,  our  Norroys,  Garter  -  Kings,  and  Bishops  Cobweb. 
'  Very  notable,  I  say.  By  the  genius,  wants  and  instincts  and 
'  opportunities  of  the  one  People,  striving  to  keep  themselves 
'  in  mind  of  what  was  memorable,  there  had  fashioned  itself,  in 
'  the  effort  of  successive  centuries,  a  Homer's  Iliad :  by  those 
'  of  the  other  People,  in  successive  centuries,  a  Collins 's  Peerage 
1  improved  by  Sir  Egerton  Brydges.  By  their  Pantheons  ye  shall 
'  know  them  !  Have  not  we  English  a  talent  for  Silence  ?  Our 
1  very  Speech  and  Printed-Speech,  such  a  force  of  torpor  dwell- 
'  ing  in  it,  is  properly  a  higher  power  of  Silence.  There  is  no 
'  Silence  like  the  Speech  you  cannot  listen  to  without  danger 
'  of  locked-jaw  !  Given  a  divine  Heroism,  to  smother  it  well  in 
'  human  Dulness,  to  touch  it  with  the  mace  of  Death,  so  that 
1  no  human  soul  shall  henceforth  recognise  it  for  a  Heroism, 
'  but  all  souls  shall  fly  from  it  as  from  a  chaotic  Torpor,  an  In- 
'  sanity  and  Horror, — I  will  back  our  English  genius  against 
'  the  world  in  such  a  problem  ! 

'  Truly  we  have  done  great  things  in  that  sort ;  down  from 
1  Norman  William  all  the  way,  and  earlier  :  and  to  the  English 
4  mind  at  this  hour,  the  past  History  of  England  is  little  other 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

•  than  a  dull  dismal  labyrinth,  in  which  the  English  mind,  if 
4  candid,  will  confess  that  it  has  found  of  knowablc  (meaning 
'  even  conceivable),  of  lovable,  or  memorable, — next  to  nothing. 
4  As  if  we  had  done  no  brave  thing  at  all  in  this  Earth  ; — as 
4  if  not  Men  but  Nightmares  had  written  of  our  History!  The 
1  English,  one  can  discern  withal,  have  been  perhaps  as  brave 
4  a  People  as  their  neighbours  ;  perhaps,  for  Valour  of  Action 
'  and  true  hard  labour  in  this  Earth,  since  brave  Peoples  were 
'  first  made  in  it,  there  has  been  none  braver  anywhere  or  any- 
'  when  : — but,  also,  it  must  be  owned,  in  Stupidity  of  Speech 
1  they  have  no  fellow !  What  can  poor  English  Heroisms  do  in 
4  such  case,  but  fall  torpid  into  the  domain  of  the  Nightmares? 
4  For  of  a  truth,  Stupidity  is  strong,  most  strong.  As  the  Poet 
4  Schiller  sings  :  "Against  Stupidity  the  very  gods  fight  unvic- 
4  torious."  There  is  in  //  an  opulence  of  murky  stagnancy,  an 
4  inexhaustibility,  a  calm  infinitude,  which  will  baffle  even  the 
4  gods, — which  will  say  calmly,  "Yes,  try  all  your  lightnings 
4  here  ;  see  whether  my  dark  belly  cannot  hold  them  !" 

"  Mit  der  Dummheit  kampfcn  Cotter  selbst  vergebens.'" 

Has  our  impatient  friend  forgotten  that  it  is  Destiny  withal 
as  well  as  '  Stupidity ;'  that  such  is  the  case  more  or  less  with 
Human  History  always  !  By  very  nature  it  is  a  labyrinth  and 
chaos,  this  that  we  call  Human  History  ;  an  abatis  of  trees  and 
brushwood,  a  world-wide  jungle,  at  once  growing  and  dying. 
Under  the  green  foliage  and  blossoming  fruit-trees  of  Today, 
there  lie,  rotting  slower  or  faster,  the  forests  of  all  other  Years 
and  Days.  Some  have  rotted  fast,  plants  of  annual  growth,  and 
are  long  since  quite  gone  to  inorganic  mould;  others  are  like  the 
aloe,  growths  that  last  a  thousand  or  three  thousand  years.  You 
will  find  them  in  all  stages  of  decay  and  preservation ;  down  deep 
to  the  beginnings  of  the  History  of  Man.  Think  where  our  Al- 
phabetic Letters  came  from,  where  our  Speech  itself  came  from; 
the  Cookeries  we  live  by,  the  Masonries  we  lodge  under  !  You 
will  find  fibrous  roots  of  this  day's  Occurrences  among  the  dust 
of  Cadmus  and  Trismcgistus,  of  Tubalcain  and  Triptolemus  ; 
the  tap-roots  of  them  are  with  Father  Adam  himself  and  the 
cinders  of  Eve's  first  fire  !  At  bottom,  there  is  no  perfect  His- 
tory; there  is  none  such  conceivable. 

All  past  Centuries  have  rotted  down,  and  gone  confusedly 
dumb  and  quiet,  even  as  that  Seventeenth  is  now  threatening 


ANTI-DRYASDUST.  7 

to  do.  Histories  are  as  perfect  as  the  Historian  is  wise,  and 
is  gifted  with  an  eye  and  a  soul !  For  the  leafy  blossoming 
Present  Time  springs  from  the  whole  Past,  remembered  and 
unrememberable,  so  confusedly  as  we  say  : — and  truly  the  Art 
of  History,  the  grand  difference  between  a  Dryasdust  and  a 
sacred  Poet,  is  very  much  even  this  :  To  distinguish  well  what 
does  still  reach  to  the  surface,  and  is  alive  and  frondent  for  us  ; 
and  what  reaches  no  longer  to  the  surface,  but  moulders  safe 
underground,  never  to  send  forth  leaves  or  fruit  for  mankind 
any  more  :  of  the  former  we  shall  rejoice  to  hear ;  to  hear  of 
the  latter  will  be  an  affliction  to  us  ;  of  the  latter  only  Pedants 
and  Dullards,  and  disastrous  ;;2#/rfactors  to  the  world,  will  find 
good  to  speak.  By  wise  memory  and  by  wise  oblivion  :  it  lies 
all  there  !  Without  oblivion,  there  is  no  remembrance  possible. 
When  both  oblivion  and  memory  are  wise,  when  the  general 
soul  of  man  is  clear,  melodious,  true,  there  may  come  a  modern 
Iliad  as  memorial  of  the  Past :  when  both  are  foolish,  and  the 
general  soul  is  overclouded  with  confusions,  with  unveracities 
and  discords,  there  is  a  '  Rushworthian  chaos.'  Let  Dryasdust 
be  blamed,  beaten  with  stripes  if  you  will ;  but  let  it  be  with 
pity,  with  blame  to  Fate  chiefly.  Alas,  when  sacred  Priests  are 
arguing  about  '  black  and  white  surplices  ;'  and  sacred  Poets 
have  long  professedly  deserted  Truth,  and  gone  a  woolgathering 
after  '  Ideals'  and  suchlike,  what  can  you  expect  of  poor  secular 
Pedants  ?  The  labyrinth  of  History  must  grow  ever  darker, 
more  intricate  and  dismal;  vacant  cargoes  of  'Ideals'  will 
arrive  yearly,  to  be  cast  into  the  oven  ;  and  noble  Heroisms  of 
Fact,  given  up  to  Dryasdust,  will  be  buried  in  a  very  disastrous 
manner ! — 

But  the  thing  we  had  to  say  and  repeat  was  this,  That 
Puritanism  is  not  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  but  of  the  Seven- 
teenth ;  that  the  grand  unintelligibility  for  us  lies  there.  The 
Fast-day  Sermons  of  St.  Margaret's  Church  Westminster,  in 
spite  of  printers,  are  all  grown  dumb  !  In  long  rows  of  little 
dumpy  quartos,  gathered  from  the  bookstalls,  they  indeed  stand 
here  bodily  before  us :  by  human  volition  they  can  be  read,  but 
not  by  any  human  memory  remembered.  We  forget  them  as 
soon  as  read  ;  they  have  become  a  weariness  to  the  soul  of 
man.  They  are  dead  and  gone,  they  and  what  they  shadowed ; 
the  human  soul,  got  into  other  latitudes,  cannot  now  give  har- 
bour to  them.  Alas,  and  did  not  the  honourable  Houses  of 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

Parliament  listen  to  them  with  rapt  earnestness,  as  to  an  indis- 
putable message  from  Heaven  itself?  Learned  and  painful 
Dr.  Owen,  learned  and  painful  Dr.  Burgess  ;  Stephen  Mar- 
shall, Mr.  Spurstow,  Adoniram  Byficld,  Hugh  Peters,  Philip 
Nyc  :  the  Printer  has  done  for  them  what  he  could,  and  Mr. 
Speaker  gave  them  the  thanks  of  the  House:  —  and  no  most 
astonishing  Review-Article,  or  tenth-edition  Pamphlet,  of  our 
day  can  have  half  such  'brilliancy,'  such  'spirit,'  'eloquence,' 
— such  virtue  to  produce  belief,  which  is  the  highest  and  in 
reality  the  only  literary  success, — as  these  poor  little  dumpy 
quartos  once  had.  And  behold,  they  are  become  inarticulate 
quartos;  spectral;  and  instead  of  speaking,  do  but  screech  and 
gibber !  All  Puritanism  has  grown  inarticulate ;  its  fervent 
preachings,  prayings,  pamphleteerings  are  sunk  into  one  indis- 
criminate moaning  hum,  mournful  as  the  voice  of  subterranean 
winds.  So  much  falls  silent :  human  Speech,  unless  by  rare 
chance  it  touch  on  the  '  Eternal  Melodies,'  and  harmonise  with 
them  ;  human  Action,  Interest,  if  divorced  from  the  Eternal 
Melodies,  sinks  all  silent.  The  fashion  of  this  world  passeth 
away. 

The  Age  of  the  Puritans  is  not  extinct  only  and  gone  away 
from  us,  but  it  is  as  if  fallen  beyond  the  capabilities  of  Memory 
herself;  it  is  grown  unintelligible,  what  we  may  call  incredible. 
Its  earnest  Purport  awakens  now  no  resonance  in  our  frivolous 
hearts.  We  understand  not  even  in  imagination,  one  of  a  thou- 
sand of  us,  what  it  ever  could  have  meant.  It  seems  delirious, 
delusive  ;  the  sound  of  it  has  become  tedious  as  a  tale  of  past 
stupidities.  Not  the  body  of  heroic  Puritanism  only,  which  was 
bound  to  die,  but  the  soul  of  it  also,  which  was  and  should 
have  been,  and  yet  shall  be  immortal,  has  for  the  present  passed 
away.  As  Harrison  said  of  his  Banner,  and  Lion  of  the  Tribe 
of  Judah  :  "Who  shall  rouse  him  up  ?" — 

'  For  indisputably,"  exclaims  the  above-cited  Author  in  his 
vehement  way,  '  this  too  was  a  Heroism ;  and  the  soul  of  it  re- 
1  mains  part  of  the  eternal  soul  of  things  !  Here,  of  our  own 
'  land  and  lineage,  in  practical  English  shape,  were  Heroes  on 
1  the  Earth  once  more.  Who  knew  in  every  fibre,  and  with 
1  heroic  daring  laid  to  heart,  That  an  Almighty  Justice  does 
•  verily  rule  this  world  ;  that  it  is  good  to  fight  on  God's  side, 
'  and  bad  to  fight  on  the  Devil's  side  !  The  essence  of  all  He- 
'  roisms  and  Veracities  that  have  been,  or  that  will  be, — Per- 


ANTI-DRYASDUST.  9 

'  haps  it  was  among  the  nobler  and  noblest  Human  Heroisms, 
1  this  Puritanism  of  ours  :  but  English  Dryasdust  could  not 
'  discern  it  for  a  Heroism  at  all  ; — as  the  Heaven's  lightning, 
'  born  of  its  black  tempest,  and  destructive  to  pestilential  Mud- 
'  giants,  is  mere  horror  and  terror  to  the  Pedant  species  every- 
'  where  ;  which,  like  the  owl  in  any  sudden  brightness,  has  to 
1  shut  its  eyes, — or  hastily  procure  smoked-spectacles  on  an 
'  improved  principle.  Heaven's  brightness  would  be  intolerable 
1  otherwise.  Only  your  eagle  dares  look  direct  into  the  firc- 
'  radiance;  only  your  Schiller  climbs  aloft  "to  discover  whence 
'  the  lightning  is  coming."  "  Godlike  men  love  lightning,"  says 
'  one.  '  Our  old  Norse  fathers  called  it  a  God  ;  the  sunny 
'  blue-eyed  Thor,  with  his  all-conquering  thunder-hammer, — 
'  who  again,  in  calmer  season,  is  beneficent  Summer-heat.  God- 
1  less  men  love  it  not ;  shriek  murder  when  they  see  it ;  shut- 
'  ting  their  eyes,  and  hastily  procuring  smoked-spectacles.  O 

'  Dryasdust,  thou  art  great  and  thrice-great !' 

'  But,  alas,'  exclaims  he  elsewhere,  getting  his  eye  on  the 
real  nodus  of  the  matter,  '  what  is  it,  all  this  Rushworthian  in- 
'  articulate  rubbish-continent,  in  its  ghastly  dim  twilight,  with 
'  its  haggard  wrecks  and  pale  shadows  ;  what  is  it,  but  the 
'  common  Kingdom  of  Death  ?  This  is  what  we  call  Death, 
'  this  mouldering  dumb  wilderness  of  things  once  alive.  Behold 
'  here  the  final  evanescence  of  Formed  human  things ;  they  had 
'  form,  but  they  are  changing  into  sheer  formlessness ; — ancient 
'  human  speech  itself  has  sunk  into  unintelligible  maundering. 
•This  is  the  collapse, — the  etiolation  of  human  features  into 
'  mouldy  blank ;  ^solution ;  progress  towards  utter  silence  and 
'  disappearance  ;  disastrous  ever-deepening  Dusk  of  Gods  and 

'  Men! Why  has  the  living  ventured  thither,  down  from 

'  the  cheerful  light,  across  the  Lethe-swamps  and  Tartarean 
'  Phlegethons,  onwards  to  these  baleful  halls  of  Dis  and  the 
'  three-headed  Dog  ?  Some  Destiny  drives  him.  It  is  his  sins, 
'  I  suppose  : — perhaps  it  is  his  love,  strong  as  that  of  Orpheus 
'  for  the  lost  Eurydice,  and  likely  to  have  no  better  issue  !' — 

Well,  it  would  seem  the  resuscitation  of  a  Heroism  from  the 
Past  Time  is  no  easy  enterprise.  Our  impatient  friend  seems 
really  getting  sad  !  We  can  well  believe  him,  there  needs  pious 
love  in  any  '  Orpheus'  that  will  risk  descending  to  the  Gloomy 
Halls ;— descending,  it  may  be,  and  ironting  Cerberus  and  Dis, 


io  INTRODUCTION. 

to  no  purpose  V  For  it  oftenest  proves  so  ;  nay,  as  the  Mytho- 
logists  would  teach  us,  always.  Here  is  another  Mythus.  Bal- 
der the  white  Sungocl,  say  our  Norse  Skalds,  Balder,  beautiful 
as  the  summer-dawn,  loved  of  Gods  and  men,  was  dead.  His 
Brother  Hcrmodcr,  urged  by  his  Mother's  tears  and  the  tears  of 
the  Universe,  went  forth  to  seek  him.  He  rode  through  gloomy 
winding  valleys,  of  a  dismal  leaden  colour,  full  of  howling  winds 
and  subterranean  torrents ;  nine  days  ;  ever  deeper,  down  to- 
wards Hela's  Death-realm :  at  Lonesome  Bridge,  which,  with 
its  gold  gate,  spans  the  River  of  Moaning,  he  found  the  Por- 
tress, an  ancient  woman,  called  Modgudr,  '  the  Vexer  of  Minds,' 
keeping  watch  as  usual :  Modgudr  answered  him,  "Yes,  Balder 
passed  this  way;  but  he  is  not  here;  he  is  down  yonder, — far, 
still  far  to  the  North,  within  Hela's  Gates  yonder."  Hermoder 
rode  on,  still  dauntless,  on  his  horse,  named  '  Swiftness*  or 
•  Mane  of  Gold;'  reached  Hela's  Gates;  leapt  sheer  over  them, 
mounted  as  he  was ;  saw  Balder,  the  very  Balder,  with  his  eyes : 
— but  could  not  bring  him  back!  The  Nornas  were  inexorable; 
Balder  was  never  to  come  back.  Balder  beckoned  him  mourn- 
fully a  still  adieu  ;  Nanna,  Baldcr's  Wife,  sent  '  a  thimble'  to 

her  mother  as  a  memorial :  Balder  never  could  return  ! .-Is 

not  this  an  emblem  ?  Old  Portress  Modgudr,  I  take  it,  is  Dry- 
asdust in  Norse  petticoat  and  hood ;  a  most  unlovely  beldarat, 
the  '  Vexer  of  Minds' ! 

We  will  here  take  final  leave  of  our  impatient  friend,  occu- 
pied in  this  almost  desperate  enterprise  of  his  ;  we  will  wish 
him,  which  it  is  very  easy  to  do,  more  patience,  and  bettor 
success  than  he  seems  to  hope.  And  now  to  our  own  small 
enterprise,  and  solid  despatch  of  business  in  plain  «prose  I 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF  THE  BIOGRAPHIES  OF  OLIVER. 

OURS  is  a  very  small  enterprise,  but  seemingly  a  useful  one; 
preparatory  perhaps  to  greater  and  more  useful,  on  this  same 
matter :  The  collecting  of  the  Letters  and  Speeches  of  Oliver 
Cromwell,  and  presenting  them  in  natural  sequence,  with  the 
still  possible  elucidation,  to  ingenuous  readers.  This  is  a. thing 
that  can  be  done ;  and  after  some  reflection,  it  has  appeared 
worth  doing.  No  great  thing  :  one  other  dull  Book  added  to 


BIOGRAPHIES  OF  OLIVER.  II 

the  thousand,  dull  every  one  of  them,  which  have  been  issued 
on  this  subject !  But  situated  as  we  are,  new  Dulness  is  un- 
happily inevitable ;  readers  do  not  reascend  out  of  deep  con- 
fusions without  some  trouble  as  they  climb. 

These  authentic  utterances  of  the  man  Oliver  himself — I 
have  gathered  them  from  far  and  near ;  fished  them  up  from  the 
foul  Lethean  quagmires  where  they  lay  buried ;  I  have  washed, 
or  endeavoured  to  wash  them  clean  from  foreign  stupidities 
(such  a  job  of  buckwashing  as  I  do  not  long  to  repeat)  ;  and 
the  world  shall  now  see  them  in  their  own  shape.  Working  for 
long  years  in  those  unspeakable  Historic  Provinces,  of  which 
the  reader  has  already  had  account,  it  becomes  more  and  more 
apparent  to  one,  That  this  man  Oliver  Cromwell  was,  as  the 
popular  fancy  represents  him,  the  soul  of  the  Puritan  Revolt, 
without  whom  it  had  never  been  a  revolt  transcendently  memor- 
able, and  an  Epoch  in  the  World's  History ;  that  in  fact  he, 
more  than  is  common  in  such  cases,  does  deserve  to  give  his 
name  to  the  Period  in  question,  and  have  the  Puritan  Revolt 
considered  as  a  Cromwelliad,  which  issue  is  already  very  visible 
for  it.  And  then  farther,  altogether  contrary  to  the  popular 
fancy,  it  becomes  apparent  that  this  Oliver  was  not  a  man  of 
falsehoods,  but  a  man  of  truths;  whose  words  do  carry  a  mean- 
ing with  them,  and  above  all  others  of  that  time  are  worth 
considering,  His  words, — and  still  more  his  silences,  and  un- 
conscious instincts,  when  you  have  spelt  and  lovingly  deciphered 
these  also  out  of  his  words, — will  in  several  ways  reward  the 
study  of  an  earnest  man.  An  earnest  man,  I  apprehend,  may 
gather  from  these  words  of  Oliver's,  were  there  even  no  other 
evidence,  that  the  character  of  Oliver,  and  of  the  Affairs  he 
worked  in,  is  much  the  reverse  of  that  mad  jumble  of  '  hypo- 
crisies,' &c.  &c.,  which  at  present  passes  current  as  such. 

But  certainly,  on  any  hypothesis  as  to  that,  such  a  set  of 
Documents  may  hope  to  be  elucidative  in  various  respects. 
Oliver's  Character,  and  that  of  Oliver's  Performance  in  this 
world :  here  best  of  all  may  we  expect  to  read  it,  whatsoever 
it  was.  Even  if  false,  these  words,  authentically  spoken  and 
written  by  the  chief  actor  in  the  business,  must  be  of  prime 
moment  for  understanding  of  it.  These  are  the  words  this 
man  found  suitablest  to  represent  the  Things  themselves,  around 
him,  and  in  him,  of  which  we  seek  a  History.  The  newborn 
Things  and  Events,  as  they  bodied  themselves  forth  to  Oliver 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

Cromwell  from  the  Whirlwind  of  the  passing  Time, — this  is 
the  name  and  definition  he  saw  good  to  give  of  them.  To  get 
at  these  direct  utterances  of  his,  is  to  get  at  the  very  heart  of 
the  business  ;  were  there  once  light  for  us  in  these,  the  busi- 
ness had  begun  again  at  the  heart  of  it  to  be  luminous ! — On 
the  whole,  we  will  start  with  this  small  service,  the  Letters  and 
Speeches  of  Oliver  Cromwell  washed  into  something  of  legi- 
bility again,  as  the  preliminary  of  all.  May  it  prosper  with 
a  few  serious  readers  !  The.  heart  of  that  Grand  Puritan 
Business  once  again  becoming  visible,  even  in  faint  twilight, 
to  mankind,  what  masses  of  brutish  darkness  will  gradually 
vanish  from  all  fibres  of  it,  from  the  whole  body  and  environ- 
ment of  it,  and  trouble  no  man  any  more !  Masses  of  foul 
darkness,  sordid  confusions  not  a  few,  as  I  calculate,  which 
now  bury  this  matter  very  deep,  may  vanish  :  the  heart  of  this 
matter  and  the  heart  of  serious  men  once  again  brought  into 
approximation,  to  write  some  'History'  of  it  may  be  a  little 
easier, — for  my  impatient  friend  or  another. 

To  dwell  on  or  criticise  the  particular  Biographies  of  Crom- 
well, after  what  was  so  emphatically  said  above  on  the  gene- 
ral subject,  would  profit  us  but  little.  Criticism  of  these  poor 
Bocks  cannot  express  itself  except  in  language  that  is  painful. 
They  far  surpass  in  '  stupidity'  all  the  celebrations  any  Hero 
ever  had  in  this  world  before.  They  are  in  fact  worthy  of 
oblivion, — of  charitable  Christian  burial, 

Mark  Noble  reckons  up  some  half-dozen  '  Original  Biogra- 
phies of  Cromwell  j'1  all  of  which  and  some  more  I  have  ex- 
amined ;  but  cannot  advise  any  other  man  to  examine.  There 
are  several  laudatory,  worth  nothing  ;  which  ceased  to  be  read 
when  Charles  II.  came  back,  and  the  tables  were  turned.  The 
vituperative  are  many :  but  the  origin  of  them  all,  the  chief 
fountain  indeed  of  all  the  foolish  lies  that  have  circulated  about 
Oliver  since,  is  the  mournful  brown  little  Book  called  Flagd- 
lum,  or  the  Life  and  Death  of  O.  Cromwell,  the  late  Usurper, 
by  James  Heath  ;  which  was  got  ready  so  soon  as  possible  on 
the  back  of  the  Annus  Mirabilis  or  Glorious  Restoration,2  and 
is  written  in  such  spirit  as  we  may  fancy.  When  restored  poten- 
tates and  high  dignitaries  had  dug  up  '  above  a  hundred  buried 

1  Noble's  Cromwell,  i.  294-300.    HU  list  is  very  inaccurate  and  incomplete,  but 
not  worth  completing  or  rectifying. 

*  The  First  Edition  seems  to  be  of  1663. 


BIOGRAPHIES  OF  OLIVER.  13 

'  corpses,  and  flung  them  in  a  heap  in  St.  Margaret's  Church- 
'  yard,'  the  corpse  of  Admiral  Blake  among  them,  and  Oliver's 
old  Mother's  corpse ;  and  were  hanging  on  Tyburn  gallows,  as 
some  small  satisfaction  to  themselves,  the  dead  clay  of  Oliver, 
of  Ireton,  and  Bradshaw  ; — -when  high  dignitaries  and  poten- 
tates were  in  such  a  humour,  what  could  be  expected  of  poor 
pamphleteers  and  garreteers  ?  Heath's  poor  little  brown  lying 
Flagellum  is  described  by  one  of  the  moderns  as  a  '  Flagitium; 
and  Heath  himself  is  called  'Carrion  Heath,' — as  being  'an 
'  unfortunate  blasphemous  dullard,  and  scandal  to  Humanity  ; 
'  — blasphemous,  I  say ;  who  when  the  image  of  God  is  shining 
'  through  a  man,  reckons  it  in  his  sordid  soul  to  be  the  image 
'  of  the  Devil,  and  acts  accordingly  ;  who  in  fact  has  no  soul, 
'  except  what  saves  him  the  expense  of  salt ;  who  intrinsically 
'  is  Carrion  and  not  Humanity  :'  which  seems  hard  measure 
to  poor  James  Heath.  '  He  was  the  son  of  the  King's  Cutler," 
says  Wood,  'and  wrote  pamphlets,"  the  best  he  was  able,  poor 
man.  He  has  become  a  dreadfully  dull  individual,  in  addition 
to  all ! — Another  wretched  old  Book  of  his,  called  Chronicle  of 
the  Civil  Wars,  bears  a  high  price  in  the  Dilettante  Sale-cata- 
logues ;  and  has,  as  that  Flagellum  too  has,  here  and  there  a 
credible  trait  not  met  with  elsewhere :  but  in  fact,  to  the  ingenu- 
ous inquirer,  this  too  is  little  other  than  a  tenebrific  Book ;  can- 
not be  read  except  with  sorrow,  with  torpor  and  disgust,— and 
in  fine,  if  you  IDC  of  healthy  memory,  with  oblivion.  The  latter 
end  of  Heath  has  been  worse  than  the  beginning  was  !  From 
him,  and  his  FlageUttms  and  scandalous  Human  Platitudes,  let 
no  rational  soul  seek  knowledge. 

Among  modern  Biographies,  the  great  original  is  that  of 
Mark  Noble  above  cited  ;3  such  'original'  as  there  is:  a  Book, 
if  we  must  call  it  a  Book,  abounding  in  facts  and  pretended-facts 
more  than  any  other  on  this  subject.  Poor  Noble  has  gone  into 
much  research  of  old  leases,  marriage-contracts,  deeds  of  sale 
and  suchlike:  he  is  learned  in  parish-registers  and  genealogies, 
has  consulted  pedigrees  '  measuring  eight  feet  by  two  feet  four ;' 
goes  much  upon  heraldry  ; — in  fact,  has  amassed  a  large  heap 
of  evidences  and  assertions,  worthless  and  of  worth,  respecting 
Cromwell  and  his  Connexions  ;  from  which  the  reader,  by  his 
own  judgment,  is  to  extract  what  he  can.  For  Noble  himself  is 

3  Memoirs  of  tlie  Protectoral  Houtc  of  Cromwell,  by  the  Kev.  Mark  Noble. 
8  vols.     London,  1787. 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

a  man  of  extreme  imbecility;  his  judgment,  for  most  part,  seem- 
ing to  lie  dead  asleep ;  and  indeed  it  is  worth  little  when  broadest 
awake.  He  falls  into  manifold  mistakes,  commits  and  omits  in 
all  ways ;  plods  along  contented,  in  an  element  of  perennial  dim- 
ness, purblindness ;  has  occasionally  a  helpless  broad  innocence 
of  platitude  which  is  almost  interesting.  A  man  indeed  of  ex- 
treme imbecility ;  to  whom  nevertheless  let  due  gratitude  be 
borne. 

His  Book,  in  fact,  is  not  properly  a  Book,  but  rather  an 
Aggregate  of  bewildered  jottings  ;  a  kind  of  Cromwellian  Bio- 
graphical Dictionary,  wanting  the  alphabetical,  or  any  other, 
arrangement  or  index  :  which  latter  want,  much  more  remedi- 
able than  the  want  of  judgment,  is  itself  a  great  sorrow  to  the 
reader.  Such  as  it  is,  this  same  Dictionary  without  judgment 
and  without  arrangement,  '  bad  Dictionary  gone  to  pie,'  as  we 
may  call  it,  is  the  storehouse  from  which  subsequent  Biogra- 
phies have  all  furnished  themselves.  The  reader,  with  continual 
vigilance  of  suspicion,  once  knowing  what  man  he  has  to  do 
with,  digs  through  it,  and  again  through  it ;  covers  the  margins 
of  it  with  notes  and  contradictions,  with  references,  deductions, 
rectifications,  execrations, — in  a  sorrowful,  but  not  entirely  un- 
profitable manner.  Another  Book  of  Noble's,  called  Lives  of 
the  Regicides,  written  some  years  afterwards,  during  the  French 
Jacobin  time,  is  of  much  more  stupid  character  ;  nearly  mean- 
ingless indeed ;  mere  water  bewitched ;  which  no  man  need  buy 
or  read.  And  it  is  said  he  has  a  third  Book,  on  some  other 
subject,  stupider  still ;  which  latter  point,  however,  may  be  con- 
sidered questionable. 

For  the  rest,  this  poor  Noble  is  of  very  impartial  mind  re- 
specting Cromwell ;  open  to  receive  good  of  him,  and  to  receive 
evil,  even  inconsistent  evil :  the  helpless,  incoherent,  but  placid 
and  favourable  notion  he  has  of  Cromwell  in  1787  contrasts 
notably  with  that  which  Carrion  Heath  had  gathered  of  him  iti 
1663.  For,  in  spite  of  the  stupor  of  Histories,  it  is  beautiful, 
once  more,  to  see  how  the  Memory  of  Cromwell,  in  its  huge  in- 
articulate significance,  not  able  to  speak  a  wise  word  for  itself 
to  any  one,  has  nevertheless  been  steadily  growing  clearer  and 
clearer  in  the  popular  English  mind  ;  how  frofrt  the  day  when 
high  dignitaries  arid  pamphleteers  of  the  Carrion  species  did 
their  ever-memorable  feat  at  Tyburn,  onwards  to  this  day,  the 
progress  does  not  stop. 


BIOGRAPHIES  OF  OLIVER.  15 

In  l698,4  one  of  the  earliest  words  expressly  in  favour  of 
Cromwell  was  written  by  a  Critic  of  Ludlow  s  Memoirs.  The 
anonymous  Critic  explains  to  solid  Ludlow  that  he,  in  that 
solid  but  somewhat  wooden  head  of  his,  had  not  perhaps  seen 
entirely  into  the  centre  of  the  Universe,  and  workshop  of  the 
Destinies  ;  that,  in  fact,  Oliver  was  a  questionable  uncommon 
man,  and  he  Ludlow  a  common  hanclfast,  honest,  dull  and  in- 
deed partly  wooden  man, — in  whom  it  might  be  wise  to  form 
no  theory  at  all  of  Cromwell.  By  and  by,  a  certain  '  Mr.  Banks,' 
a  kind  of  Lawyer  and  Playwright,  if  I  mistake  not,  produced  a 
still  more  favourable  view  of  Cromwell,  but  in  a.  work  otherwise 
of  no  moment ;  the  exact  date,  and  indeed  the  whole  substance 
of  which  is  hardly  worth  remembering.5 

The  Letter  of  '  John  Maidston  to  Governor  Winthrop,' — 
Winthrop  Governor  of  Connecticut,  a  Suffolk  man,  of  much 
American  celebrity, — is  dated  1659;  but  did  not  come  into 
print  till  1742,  along  with  Thurloe's  other  Papers.0  Maidston 
had  been  an  Officer  in  Oliver's  Household,  a  Member  of  his 
Parliaments,  and  knew  him  well.  An  Essex  man  he ;  probably 
an  old  acquaintance  of  Winthrop's  ;  visibly  a  man  of  honest 
affections,  of  piety,  decorum  and  good  sense.  Whose  loyalty  to 
Oliver  is  of  a  genuine  and  altogether  manful  nature,- — mostly 
silent,  as  we  can  discern.  His  Letter  gives  some  really  lucid 
traits  of  those  dark  things  and  times  ;  especially  a  short  por- 
traiture of  the  Protector  himself,  which,  the  more  you  know 
him,  you  ascertain  the  more  to  be  a  likeness.  Another  Officer 
of  Oliver's  Household,  not  to  be  confounded  with  this  Maidston, 
but  a  man  of  similar  position  and  similar  moral  character  to 
Maidston's  ;  a  'Groom  of  the  Bedchamber,'  whose  name  one 
at  length  dimly  discovers  to  be  Harvey, 7  not  quite  unknown 
otherwise  ;  is  also  well  worth  listening  to  on  this  matter.  He, 
in  1659,  a  fgw  months  before  Maidston  wrote,  had  published  a 
credible  and  still  interesting  little  Pamphlet,  Passages  concerning 
his  late  Highness  s  last  Sickness;  to  which,  if  space  permit,  we 

4  So  dated  in  Somers  Tracts  (London,  iSn),  vi.  416, — but  liable  to  correction  if 
needful.  Poor  Noble  (i.  297)  gives  the  same  date,  and  then  placidly,  in  the  next  line, 
subjoins  a  fact  inconsistent  with  it.  As  his  m:\nner  is! 

3  Short  Critical  Review  of  the  Life  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  by  a  Gentleman  of  the 
Middle  Temple.  London,  1739. 

fl  Thurloe,  i.  763-8 ; — and  correct  NoMe,  i.  94. 

7  The  'Cofferer,'  elsewhere  called  Steward  of  the  Household,  13  'Mr.  Maid- 
ston:' ' Gentlemen  of. the  JicJ.chamber,  Mr.  Charles  Harvey,  Air.  Underwood.' 
Prestwick's  Fmteral  of  the  Protector  (reprinted  in  Forster's  British  Statesmen, 
v.  43(5,  &c.). 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

shall  elsewhere  refer.  In  these  two  little  off-hand  bits  of  writ- 
ing, by  two  persons  qualified  to  write  nnd  witness,  there  is  a 
clear  credibility  for  the  reader  ;  and  more  insight  obtainable  as 
to  Oliver  and  his  ways  than  in  any  of  the  express  Biographies. 

That  anonymous  Life  of  Cromwell,  which  Noble  very  ignor- 
antly  ascribes  to  Bishop  Gibson,  which  is  written  in  a  neutral 
spirit,  as  an  impartial  statement  of  facts,  but  not  without  a 
secret  decided  leaning  to  Cromwell,  came  out  in  1724.  It  is 
the  Life  of  Cromwell  found  commonly  in  Libraries  i8  it  went 
through  several  editions  in  a  pure  state ;  and  I  have  seen  a 
'  fifth  edition'  with  foreign  intermixtures,  '  printed  at  Birming- 
ham in  1 778,'  on  gray  paper,  seemingly  as  a  Book  for  Hawkers. 
The  Author  of  it  was  by  no  means  '  Bishop  Gibson,'  but  one 
Kimber,  a  Dissenting  Minister  of  London,  known  otherwise  as 
a  compiler  of  books.  He  has  diligently  gathered  from  old  News- 
papers and  other  such  sources  ;  narrates  in  a  dull,  steady,  con- 
'cise,  but  altogether  unintelligent  manner ;  can  be  read  without 
offence,  but  hardly  with  any  real  instruction.  Image  of  Crom- 
well's self  there  is  none,  express  or  implied,  in  this  Book ;  for 
the  man  himself  had  none,  and  did  not  feel  the  want  of  any  : 
nay  in  regard  to  external  facts  also,  there  are  inaccuracies 
enough, — here  too,  what  is  the  general  rule  in  these  books, 
you  can  find  as  many  inaccuracies  as  you  like  :  dig  where  you 
please,  water  will  come !  As  a  crown  to  all  the  modern  Bio- 
graphies of  Cromwell,  let  us  note  Mr.  Forster's  late  one  -.9  full 
of  interesting  original  excerpts,  and  indications  of  what  is  nota- 
bles! in  the  old  Books  ;  gathered  and  set  forth  with  real  merit, 
with  energy  in  abundance  and  superabundance  ;  amounting  in 
result,  \vc  may  say,  to  a  vigorous  decisive  tearing-up'of  all  the 
old  hypotheses  on  the  subject,  and  an  opening  of  the  general 
mind  for  new. 

Of  Cromwell's  actual  biography,  from  these  and  from  all 
Books  and  sources,  there  is  extremely  little  to  be  known.  It 
is  from  his  own  words,  as  I  have  ventured  to  believe,  from  his 
own  Letters  and  Speeches  well  read,  that  the  world  may  first 
obtain  some  dim  glimpse  of  the  actual  Cromwell,  and  sec  him 
darkly  face  to  face.  What  little  is  otherwise  asccrtainable, 
cleared  from  the  circumambient  inanity  and  insanity,  may  be 

8  The  l.iff  rf  Oliver  Cronn»fUt  l-erd_rn>tfetor  ff  Ike  Ci'ntttr.niwa/tJi :  /*//ur. 

tially  collected  £-v.    London,  172.4.     I>i>tinKiti:-hed  nlw  l>y  a  not  intolerable  Portrait. 

•  UtatettncncJ  ilit  Cctitmonu>ealtk,  by  John  Former  (London,  1840),  vol*.  iv.  and  v. 


THE  CROMWELL  KINDRED.  17 

Stated  in  brief  compass.    So  much  as  precedes  the  earliest  still 
extant  Letters,  I  subjoin  here  in  the  form  most  convenient. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  CROMWELL  KINDRED. 

OLIVER  CROMWELL,  afterwards  Protector  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  England,  was  born  at  Huntingdon,  in  St.  John's 
Parish  there,  on  the  25th  of  April  1599.  Christened  on  the 
29th  of  the  same  month  ;  as  the  old  Parish-registers  of  that 
Church  still  legibly  testify.1 

His  Father  was  Robert  Cromwell,  younger  son  of  Sir  Henry 
Cromwell,  and  younger  brother  of  Sir  Oliver  Cromwell,  Knights 
both  ;  who  dwelt  successively,  in  rather  sumptuous  fashion,  at 
the  Mansion  of  Hinchinbrook  hard  by.  His  Mother  was  Eliza- 
beth Steward,  daughter  of  William  Steward,  Esquire,  in  Ely ; 
an  opulent  man,  a  kind  of  hereditary  Farmer  of  the  Cathedral 
Tithes  and  Church  lands  round  that  city ;  in  which  capacity 
his  son,  Sir  Thomas  Steward,  Knight,  in  due  time  succeeded 
him,  resident  also  at  Ely.  Elizabeth  was  a  young  widow  when 
Robert  Cromwell  married  her :  the  first  marriage,  to  one  '  Wil- 
liam Lynne,  Esquire,  of  Bassingbourne  in  Cambridgeshire,"  had 
lasted  but  a  year  :  husband  and  only  child  are  buried  in  Ely 
Cathedral,  where  their  monument  still  stands ;  the  date  of  their 
deaths,  which  followed  near  on  one  another,  is  15  8g.~  The 
exact  date  of  the  young  widow's  marriage  to  Robert  Cromwell 
is  nowhere  given;  but  seems  to  have  been  in  I59I.3  Our 
Oliver  was  their  fifth  child  ;  their  second  boy  ;  but  the  first 
soon  died.  They  had  ten  children  in  all ;  of  whom  seven  came 
to  maturity,  and  Oliver  was  their  only  son.  I  may  as  well 
print  the  little  Note,  smelted  long  ago  out  of  huge  dross-heaps 
in  Noble's  Book,  that  the  reader  too  may  have  his  small  benefit 
of  it* 

This  Elizabeth  Steward,  who  had  now  become  Mrs.  Robert 

1  Noble,  i.  92.  *  Ibid.  ii.  198,  and  MS.  penes  me.  3  Ibid.  i.  88. 

4  OLIVER  CROMWELL'S  BROTHERS  AND  SISTERS. 

Oliver's  Mother  had  been  a  widow  (Mrs.  Lynne  of  Bassingbourne)  before  marry- 
ing Robert  Cromwell  ;  neither  her  age  nor  his  is  discoverable  here. 

i.  First  child  (seemingly),  Joan,  baptised  24th  September  1592  ;  she  died  in  1600 
(Noble,  i.  88). 

a.  Elizabeth,  i4th  October  1393  ;  died  unmarried,  thinks  Noble,  in  1672,  at  Ely. 

VOL.  I.  C 


1 8  INTRODUCTION. 

Cromwell,  was,  say  the  genealogists,  '  indubitably  descended 
from  the  Royal  Stuart  Family  of  Scotland  ;'  and  could  still 
count  kindred  with  them.  '  From  one  Walter  Steward,  who  had 
accompanied  Prince  James  of  Scotland,'  when  our  inhospitable 
politic  Henry  IV.  detained  the  poor  Prince,  driven  in  by  stress 
of  weather  to  him  here.  Walter  did  not  return  with  the  Prince 
to  Scotland  ;  having  '  fought  tournaments,' — having  made  an 
advantageous  marriage-settlement  here.  One  of  his  descend- 
ants, Robert  Steward,  happened  to  be  Prior  of  Ely  when  Henry 
VIII.  dissolved  the  Monasteries;  and  proving  pliant  on  that 
occasion,  Robert  Steward,  last  Popish  Prior,  became  the  first 
Protestant  Dean  of  Ely,  and — 'was  remarkably  attentive  to  his 
family,'  says  Noble.  The  profitable  Farming  of  the  Tithes  at 
Ely,  above  mentioned ;  this,  and  other  settlements,  and  good 
dotations  of  Church  lands  among  his  Nephews,  were  the  fruits 
of  Robert  Steward's  pliancy  on  that  occasion.  The  genealogists 
say,  there  is  no  doubt  of  this  pedigree  ; — and  explain  in  intri- 
cate tables,  how  Elizabeth  Steward,  Mother  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well, was  indubitably  either  the  ninth,  or  the  tenth,  or  some 
other  fractional  part  of  half  a  cousin  to  Charles  Stuart,  King  of 
England. 

Howsoever  related  to  Charles  Stuart  or  to  other  parties, 
Robert  Cromwell,  younger  son  of  the  Knight  of  Hinchinbrook, 
brought  her  home,  we  see,  as  his  Wife,'  to  Huntingdon,  about 
1591  ;  and  settled  with  her  there,  on  such  portion,  with  such 
prospects  as  a  cadet  of  the  House  of  Hinchinbrook  might  have. 
Portion  consisting  of  certain  lands  and  messuages  round  and  in 
that  Town  of  Huntingdon, — where,  in  the  current  name  '  Crom- 
well's Acre,'  if  not  in  other  names  applied  to  lands  and  mes- 
suages there,  some  feeble  echo  of  him  and  his  possessions  still 


—See  Appendix,  No.  23,  a  Letter  in  regard  to  her,  which  has  turned  up.     (ffctt  <•/ 
1857.) 

3.  Henry ,  31*1  August  1595  ;  died  youny,  'before  1617.' 

4.  Catherine,  7th  February  1596-7 ;  married  to  Whfotone,  a  Parliamentary  Officer ; 
then  to  Colonel  Jones.  . 

5.  OLIVER,  born  2sth  April  1399. 

6.  Margaret,  viA  February  1600-1 ;  she  became  Mr*.  Wanton,  or  Walton,  Hunt- 
ingdonshire; her  son  was  killed  at  Marston  Moor,— as  we  shall  sec. 

7.  Anna,  ad  January  1602-3  '•  Mrs.   Sewster.  Huntingdonshire  ;  died  1st  Novem- 
ber 1646: — her  Urother  Oliver  had  just  ended  the  'first  Civil  War'  then. 

8.  Jane,  igth January  1605-6;  Airs.  Uesborow,  Cambridgeshire;  died,  ttemingly, 
in  1656. 

9.  Robert,  i8th  January  1608-9  ;  died  same  April. 

10.  Kohina,  so  named  for  the  above  Robert :  uncertain  date  :  became  Mr*.  Dr. 
French  ;  then  wife  of  Bishop  Wilkins  ;  her  daughter  by  French,  her  one  child,  wa» 
married  to  Archbishop  '1  illotson. 


THE  CROMWELL  KINDRED.  19 

survives,  or  seems  to  survive.  These  lands  he  himself  farmed  : 
the  income  in.  all  is  guessed  or  computed  to  have  been  about 
3OO/.  a-year ;  a  tolerable  fortune  in  those  times ;  perhaps  some- 
what like  looo/.  now.  Robert  Cromwell's  Father,  as  we  said, 
and  then  his  elder  Brother,  dwelt  successively  in  good  style  at 
Hinchinbrook  near  by.  It  was  the  Father  Sir  Henry  Cromwell, 
who  from  his  sumptuosity  was  called  the  "Golden  Knight," 
that  built,  or  that  enlarged,  remodelled  and  as  good  as  built, 
the  Mansion  of  Hinchinbrook  ;  which  had  been  a  Nunnery 
while  Nunneries  still  were:  it  was  the  son,  Sir  Oliver,  likewise 
an  expensive  man,  that  sold  it  to  the  Montagues,  since  Earls 
of  Sandwich,  whose  seat  it  still  is.  A  stately  pleasant  House, 
among  its  shady  lawns  and  expanses,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Ouse  river,  a  short  half  mile  west  of  Huntingdon ; — still  stands 
pretty  much  as  Oliver  Cromwell's  Grandfather  left  it ;  rather 
kept  good  and  defended  from  the  inroads  of  Time  and  Accident, 
than  substantially  altered.  Several  Portraits  of  the  Cromwells, 
and  other  interesting  portraits  and  memorials  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  subsequent  centuries,  are  still  there.  The  Cromwell 
blazonry  'on  the  great  bay  window,'  which  Noble  makes  so 
much  of,  is  now  gone,  destroyed  by  fire  ;  has  given  place  to 
Montague  blazonry ;  and  no  dull  man  can  bore  us  with  that  any 
more. 

Huntingdon  itself  lies  pleasantly  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
Ouse  ;  sloping  pleasantly  upwards  from  Ouse  Bridge,  which 
connects  it  with  the  old  village  of  Godmanchester ;  the  Town 
itself  consisting  mainly  of  one  fair  street,  which  towards  the 
north  end  of  it  opens  into  a  kind  of  irregular  market-place,  and 
then  contracting  again  soon  terminates.  The  two  churches  of 
All-Saints  and  St.  John's,  as  you  walk  up  northward  from  the 
Bridge,  appear  successively  on  your  left ;  the  churchyards  flanked 
with  shops  or  other  houses.  The  Ouse,  which  is  of  very  circular 
course  in  this  quarter,  'winding  as  if  reluctant  to  enter  the  Fen- 
country,'  says  one  Topographer,  has  still  a  respectable  drab- 
colour,  gathered  from  the  clays  of  Bedfordshire  ;  has  not  yet 
the  Stygian  black  which  in  a  few  miles  farther  it  assumes  for 
good.  Huntingdon,  as  it  were,  looks  over  into  the  Fens  ;  God- 
manchester, just  across  the  river,  already  stands  on  black  bog. 
The  country  to  the  East  is  all  Fen  (mostly  unreclaimed  in  Oliver's 
time,  and  still  of  a  very  dropsical  character);  to  the  West  it  is 
hard  green  ground,  agreeably  broken  into  little  heights,  duly 


ao  INTRODUCTION. 

fringed  with  wood,  and  bearing  marks  of  comfortable  long-con- 
tinued cultivation.  Here,  on  the  edge  of  the  firm  green  land, 
and  looking  over  into  the  black  marshes  with  their  alder-trees 
and  willow-trees,  did  Oliver  Cromwell  pass  his  young  years. 
Drunken  Barnabee,  who  travelled,  and  drank,  and  made  Latin 
rhymes,  in  that  country  about  1635,  through  whose  glistening 
satyr-eyes  one  can  still  discern  this  and  the  other  feature  of  the 
Fast,  represents  to  us  on  the  height  behind  Godmanchester,  as 
you  approach  the  scene  from  Cambridge  and  the  south,  a  big 
Oak-tree, — which  has  now  disappeared,  leaving  no  notable 
successor. 

Veni  Godmanchester,  uti 
Ut  Ixion  caftus  nute, 
Sic,  &v . 

And  he  adds  in  a  Note, 

Quercus  anilis  erat,  tamen  eminus  oppida  special  ; 
Stirpe  viam  monstrat,  plumea  fronae  tegit; — 

Or  in  his  own  English  version, 

An  aged  Oak  takes  of  this  Town  survey. 

Finds  birds  their  nests,  telb  passengers  their  way.' 

If  Oliver  Cromwell  climbed  that  Oak-tree,  in  quest  of  bird-nests 
or  boy-adventures,  the  Tree,  or  this  poor  ghost  of  it,  may  still 
have  a  kind  of  claim  to  memory. 

The  House  where  Robert  Cromwell  dwelt,  where  his  son 
Oliver  and  all  his  family  were  born,  is  still  familiar  to  every 
inhabitant  of  Huntingdon  :  but  it  has  been  twice  rebuilt  since 
that  date,  and  now  bears  no  memorial  whatever  which  even 
Tradition  can  connect  with  him.  It  stands  at  the  upper  or 
northern  extremity  of  the  Town, — beyond  the  Market-place  we 
spoke  of ;  on  the  left  or  river-ward  side  of  the  street.  It  is  at 
present  a  solid  yellow  brick  house,  with  a  walled  court-yard  ; 
occupied  by  some  townsman  of  the  wealthier  sort.  The  little 
Brook  of  Hinchin,  making  its  way  to  the  Ouse  which  is  not  far 
off,  still  flows  through  the  court-yard  of  the  place, — offering  a 
convenience  for  malting  or  brewing,  among  other  things.  Some 
vague  but  confident  tradition  as  to  Brewing  attaches  itself  to 
this  locality ;  and  traces  of  evidence,  I  understand,  exist  that  de- 
fore  Robert  Cromwell's  time,  it  had  been  employed  as  a  Brewery : 
but  of  this  or  even  of  Robert  Cromwell's  own  brewing,  there  is, 

*  BartMta  Itimrarium  (London,  1818),  p.  96. 


THE  CROMWELL  KINDRED.  21 

at  such  a  distance,  in  such  an  element  of  distracted  calumny, 
exaggeration  and  confusion,  little  or  no  certainty  to  be  had. 
Tradition,  'the  Rev.  Dr.  Lort's  Manuscripts,'  Carrion  Heath, 
and  such  testimonies,  are  extremely  insecure  as  guides !  Thomas 
Harrison,  for  example,  is  always  called  '  the  son  of  a  Butcher ;' 
which  means  only  that  his  Father,  as  farmer  or  owner,  had 
grazing-lands,  down  in  Staffordshire,  wherefrom  naturally  enough 
proceeded  cattle,  fat  cattle  as  the  case  might  be, — well  fatted,  I 
hope.  Thomas  Cromwell,  Earl  of  Essex  in  Henry  Eighth's  time, 
is  in  like  manner  called  always  '  the  son  of  a  Blacksmith  at 
Putney  ;' — and  whoever  figures  to  himself  a  man  in  black  apron 
with  hammer  in  hand,  and  tries  to  rhyme  this  with  the  rest  of 
Thomas  Cromwell's  history,  will  find  that  here  too  he  kas  got 
into  an  insolubility.  '  The  splenetic  credulity  and  incredulity, 
'  the  calumnious  opacity,  the  exaggerative  ill-nature,  and  general 
'  flunkyism  and  stupidity  of  mankind,'  says  my  Author,  'are 
'  ever  to  be  largely  allowed  for  in  such  circumstances.'  We 
will  leave  Robert  Cromwell's  brewing  in  a  very  unilluminated 
state.  Uncontradicted  Tradition,  and  old  printed  Royalist  Lam- 
poons, do  call  him  a  Brewer  :  the  Brook  of  Hinchin,  running 
through  his  premises,  offered  clear  convenience  for  malting  or 
brewing  ; — in  regard  to  which,  and  also  to  his  Wife's  assiduous 
management  of  the  same,  one  is  very  willing  to  believe  Tradition. 
The  essential  trade  of  Robert  Cromwell  was  that  of  managing 
those  lands  of  his  in  the  vicinity  of  Huntingdon  :  the  grain  of 
them  would  have  to  be  duly  harvested,  thrashed,  brought  to 
market ;  whether  it  was  as  corn  or  as  malt  that  it  came  to 
market,  can  remain  indifferent  to  us. 

For  the  rest,  as  documents  still  testify,  this  Robert  Crom- 
well, did  Burgh  and  Quarter-Session  duties ;  was  not  slack  but 
moderately  active  as  a  country-gentleman  ;  sat  once  in  Parlia- 
ment in  his  younger  years  ;6  is  found  with  his  elder  or  other 
Brothers  on  various  Public  Commissions  for  Draining  the  Fens 
of  that  region,  or  more  properly  for  inquiring  into  the  possi- 
bility of  such  an  operation ;  a  thing  much  noised  of  then ;  which 
Robert  Cromwell,  among  others,  reported  to  be  very  feasible, 
very  promising,  but  did  not  live  to  see  accomplished,  or  even 
attempted.  His  social  rank  is  sufficiently  indicated ; — and  much 
flunkyism,  falsity  and  other  carrion  ought  to  be  buried !  Better 
than  all  social  rank,  he  is  understood  to  have  been  a  wise,  de- 

6  '3310  Eliz. :'  Feb.— April  1593  (Noble,  i.  83  ;  from  Willis). 


2>  INTRODUCTION. 

vout,  stedfast  and  worthy  man,  and  to  have  lived  a  modest  and 
manful  life  in  his  station  there. 

Besides  the  Knight  of  Hinchinbrook,  he  had  other  Brothers 
settled  prosperously  in  the  Fen  regions,  where  this  Cromwell 
Family  had  extensive  possessions.  One  Brother  Henry  was 
'  seated  at  Upwood,'  a  fenny  district  near  Ramsey  Mere  ;  one 
of  his  daughters  came  to  be  the  wife,  second  wife,  of  Oliver  St. 
John,  the. Ship-money  Lawyer,  the  political  'dark-lantern,'  as 
men  used  to  name  him ;  of  whom  we  shall  hear  farther.  Ano- 
ther Brother  'was  seated'  at  Biggin  House  between  Ramsey  and 
Upwood ;  a  moated  mansion,  with  ditch  and  painted  paling 
round  it.  A  third  Brother  was  seated  at — my  informant  knows 
not  where!  In  fact  I  had  better,  as  before,  subjoin  the  little 
smelted 'Note  which  has  already  done  its  duty,  and  let  the  reader 
make  of  that  what  he  can. 7  Of  our  Oliver's  Aunts  one  was  Mrs. 

7  OLIVER'S  UNCLES. 

i.  Sir  Oliver  of  Hinchinbrook :  his  eldest  son  John,  born  in  1589  (ten  year*  older 
than  our  Oliver),  went  into  the  army,  '  Colonel  of  an  English  regiment  in  the  Dutch 
service  :'  this  is  the  Colonel  Cromwell  who  is  said,  or  fabled,  to  have_  sought  a  mid- 
night interview  with  Oliver,  in  the  end  of  1648,  for  the  purpose  of  buying-pff  Charles 
I. ;  to  have  '  laid  his  hand  on  his  sword,'  &c.  &c.  The  story  is  in  Noble,  L  51  ;  with 
no  authority  but  that  of  Carrion  Heath.  Other  sons  of  his  were  soldiers,  Royalists 
these :  there  are  various  Cousin  Cromwells  that  confusedly  turn-up  on  both  sides  of 
the  quarrel. — Robert  Cromwel^  our  Oliver's  Father,  was  the  next  Brother  of  the 
Hinchinbrook  Knight.  The  third  Brother,  second  uncle,  was 

a.  Henry  Cromwell,  of  Upwcod  near  Ramsey  Mere  :  adventurer  in  the  Virginia 
Company:  sat  in  Parliament  1603-1611  ;  one  of  his  daughters  Mrs.  St.  John.  Died 
1630  (Noble,  i.  28). 

3.  Richard  :  '  buys  in  1607'  a  bit  of  ground  in  Huntingdon  :  died  'at  Ramsey,' 
1628 ;  was  Member  for  Huntingdon  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  time  : — Lived  in  Ramsey  ? 
Is  buried  at  Upwood. 

4.  Sir  Philip:  Biggin  House;  knighted  at  Whitehall,  1604  (Noble,  L  31).     His 
second  son,  Philip,  was  in  Colonel  Ingoldsby's  regiment,;  —  wounded  at  the  storm  of 
Bristol,  in  1645.     Third  son,  Thomas,  was  in  Irclanq^with  Stratford  (signs  Mont- 
norris's  death-warrant  there,  in  1630);  lived  afterwards",  m  Condon  :  became  Major, 
and  then  Colonel,  in  the  Kingi  Army.    Fourth  son,  Oliver,  was  in  the  Parliamentary 
Army ;  had  watched  the  King  in  the  Isle  of  Wight. — went  with  his  cousin,  our  Oliver, 
to  Ireland  in  1649,  and  died  or  was  killed  there.     Fifth  son,  Robert,  'poisoned  his 
Master,  an  Attorney,  and  was  hanged  at  London'— -if  there  be  truth  in  '  Heath's 
Flagellant  (Noble,  i.  35)  '  and  some  Pedigrees ;' — year  not  given  ;  say  about  163^, 
when  the  lad,  '  born  1617,'  was  in  his  i8th  year?    I  have  found  no  hint  of  this  affair  in 
any  other  quarter,  not  in  the  wildest  Royalist- Birkenhead  or  Walker's- Independency 
lampoon  ;  and  consider  it  very  possible  that  a  Robert  Cromwell  having  suffered  '  for 
poisoning  an  Attorney,'  he  may  have  been  called  the  cousin  of  Cromwell  by  '  Heath 
and  some  Pedigrees.'  But  of  course  anybody  can  '  poison  an  Attorney,'  and  be  hanged 
for  it  1  

Oliver's  Aunt  Elizabeth  was  married  to  William  Hampclcn  of  Great  Hamptlen, 
Bucks  (year  not  given.  Noble,  i.  36,  nor  at  p.  68  of  vol.  ii.  :  nor  in  Lord  Nug_ent'» 
Memorial!  of  Hampdcn)  :  he  died  in  1597  ;  she  survived  him  67  years,  continuing  a 
widow  (Noble,  ii.  69).  Buried  in  Great  Hampden  Church,  1664,  aged  90.  She  had 
two  sons,  John  and  Richard:  John,  born  1594, — Richard,  an  Olivcrian  too,  died  in 
1659  (Noble,  ii.  TO). 

Aunt  Joan  (elder  than  Elizabeth)  was  'Lady  Barrington  :'  Aunt  France*  (younger) 
wa»  Mrs.  Whalley.  Richard  Whalley  of  Kerton,  Notts ;  a  man  of  mark ;  sheriff,  &c. , 


THE  CROMWELL  KINDRED.  33 

Hampden  of  Great  Hampden,  Bucks :  an  opulent,  zealous  per- 
son, not  without  ambitions ;  already  a  widow  and  mother  of  two 
Boys,  one  of  whom  proved  very  celebrated  as  JOHN  HAMPDEN; 
— she  was  Robert  Cromwell's  Sister.  Another  Cromwell  Aunt 
of  Oliver's  was  married  to  'Whalley,  heir  of  the  Whalley  family 
in  Notts;'  another  to  the  'heir  of  the  Dunches  of  Pusey,  in  Berk- 
shire ;'  another  to — In  short  the  stories  of  Oliver's  '  poverty,'  if 
they  were  otherwise  of  any  moment,  are  all  false  ;  and  should 
be  mentioned  here,  if  still  here,  for  the  last  time.  The  family 
was  of  the  rank  of  substantial  gentry,  and  duly  connected  with 
such  in  the  counties  round,  for  three  generations  back.  Of  the 
numerous  and  now  mostly  forgettable  cousinry  we  specify  far- 
ther only  the  Mashams  of  Otes  in  Essex,  as  like  to  be  of  some 
cursory  interest  to  us  by  and  by. 

There  is  no  doubt  at  all  but  Oliver  the  Protector's  family 
was  related  to  that  of  Thomas  Cromwell,  Earl  of  Essex,  the 
Putney  '  Blacksmith's*  or  Iron-master's  son,  transiently  men- 
tioned above ;  the  Malleus  Monachorum,  or,  as  old  Fuller  ren- 
ders it,  '  Mauler  of  Monasteries,'  in  Henry  Eighth's  time.  The 
same  old  Fuller,  a  perfectly  veracious  and  most  intelligent  per- 
son, does  indeed  report  as  of  '  his  own  knowledge,'  that  Oliver 
Protector,  once  upon  a  time  when  Bishop  Goodman  came  dedi- 
cating to  him  some  unreadable  semi-popish  jargon  about  the 
'  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity,'  and  some  adulation  about  'his 
'  Lordship's  relationship  to  the  former  great  Purifier  of  the 
'  Church,'  and  Mauler  of  Monasteries, — answered  impatiently, 
"My  family  has  no  relation  to  his!"  This  old  Fuller  reports,  as 
of  his  own  knowledge.  I  have  consulted  the  unreadable  semi- 
popish  jargon,  for  the  sake  of  that  Dedication;  I  find  that  Oliver's 
relationship  to  Thomas  Cromwell  is  in  any  case  stated  wrong 
there,  not  right :  I  reflect  farther  that  Bishop  Goodman,  oftener 
called  '  Bishop  Badman'  in  those  times,  went  over  to  Popery ; 
had  become  a  miserable  impoverished  old  piece  of  confusion, 


three  wives,  children  only  by  his  second,  this  'Aunt  Fanny."  Three  children: — 
Thomas  Whalley  (no  years  given,  Noble,  ii.  141)  died  in  his  father's  lifetime  ;  left  a 
son  who  was  a  kind  of  Royalist,  but  yet  had  a  certain  acceptance  with  Oliver  too. 
Edward  Whalley,  the  famed  'Colonel,'  and  Henry  Whalley,  'the  Judge-Advo- 
cate :'  wretched  biographies  of  these  two  are  in  Noble,  pp.  141,  143-56.  Colonel 
Whalley  and  Colonel  Goff,  after  the  Restoration,  fled  to  New  England;  lived  in 
'caves'  there,  and  had  a  sore  time  of  it*  J**1"  England,  iu  a  vague  manner,  still  re 
members  them. 

Enough  of  tho  Cousinry ! — 


24.  INTRODUCTION. 

and  at  this  time  could  appear  only  in  the  character  of  begging 
bore, — when,  at  any  rate,  for  it  was  in  the  year  1653,  Oliver 
himself,  having  just  turned  out  the  Long  Parliament,8  was  busy 
enough  !  I  infer  therefore  that  Oliver  said  to  him  impatiently, 
without  untruth,  "  You  are  quite  wrong  as  to  all  that :  good 
morning !" — and  that  old  Fuller,  likewise  without  untruth,  re- 
ports it  as  above. 

But,  at  any  rate,  there  is  other  very  simple  evidence  entirely 
conclusive.  Richard  or  Sir  Richard  Cromwell,  great-grandfather 
of  Oliver  Protector,  was  a  man  well  known  in  his  day;  had  been 
very  active  in  the  work  of  suppressing  monasteries;  a  righthand 
man  to  Thomas  the  Mauler  :  and  indeed  it  was  on  Monastic 
Property,  chiefly  or  wholly,  that  he  had  made  for  himself  a 
sumptuous  estate  in  those  Fen  regions.  Now,  of  this  Richard 
Cromwell  there  arc  two  Letters  to  Thomas  Cromwell,  '  Vicar- 
General,'  Earl  of  Essex,  which  remain  yet  visible  among  the 
Manuscripts  of  the  British  Museum ;  in  both  of  which  he  signs 
himself  with  his  own  hand,  'your  most  boundcn  Nephew,' — an 
evidence  sufficient  to  set  the  point  at  rest.  Copies  of  the  Let- 
ters are  in  my  possession  ;  but  I  grudge  to  inflict  them  on  the 
reader.  One  of  them,  the  longer  of  the  two,  stands  printed,  with 
all  or  more  than  all  its  original  misspelling  and  confused  ob- 
scurity, in  Noble  :9  it  is  dated  'Stamford,'  without  day  or  year; 
but  the  context  farther  dates  it  as  contemporary  with  the  Lin- 
colnshire Rebellion,  or  Anti-Reformation  riot,  which  was  directly 
followed  by  the  more  formidable  'Pilgrimage  of  Grace'  in  York- 
shire to  the  like  effect,  in  the  autumn  of  I536.10  Richard,  in 
company  with  other  higher  official  persons,  represents  himself 
as  straining  every  nerve  to  beat  down  and  extinguish  this  trai- 
torous fanatic  flame,  kindled  against  the  King's  Majesty  and  his 
Reform  of  the  Church;  has  an  eye  in  particular  to  a  certain  Sir 
John  Thymbleby  in  Lincolnshire,  whom  he  would  fain  capture 

•  The  date  of  Goodman's  Book  is  asth  June  1653;  here  is  the  correct  title  of  it 
(King's  Pamphlets,  small  -jto,  no.  73,  <>  i):  'The  two  Jjreat  Mysteries  of  Christian 
Religion  j  the  Ineffable  Trinity  and  Wonderful  Incarnation  :  by  G.  G.  G.'  (meaning 
Godfrey  Goodman,  Gloccstrcnsis).  Unfortunate  persons  who  have  read  I-aud  t 
writings  are  acquainted  with  this  IHshop  Goodman,  or  Madman  ;  he  died  a  declared 


their  subsistence  there  !    This  is  the  part  of  the  Dedication  that  concerns  us: 

'To  his  Excellency  my  Lord  Oliver  Cromwell,  Lord  General.     My  Lord, —  Fifty 
'years  since,  the  name  of  Socinus,'  &C. — '  Knowing  that  the  Lord  Cromwell  (your 
'  Lordship's  great  uncle)  was  then  in  great  favour,'  &c.        '  GODFREE  GOODMAN,' 
9  i.  343.  i°  Herbert  (in  Kcnnet,  ii.  304-5). 


THE  CROMWELL  KINDRED.  25 

as  a  ringleader ;  suggests  that  the  use  of  arms  should  be  pro- 
hibited to  these  treasonous  populations,  except  under  conditions ; 
— and  seems  hastening  on,  with  almost  furious  speed ;  towards 
Yorkshire  and  the  Pilgrimage  of  Grace,  we  may  conjecture.  The 
second  Letter,  also  without  date  except  '  Tuesday,'  shadows  to 
us  an  official  man,  again  on  business  of  hot  haste  ;  journeying 
from  Monastery  to  Monastery;  finding  this  Superior  disposed 
to  comply  with  the  King's  Majesty,  and  that  other  not  disposed, 
but  capable  of  being  made  so ;  intimates  farther  that  he  will  be 
at  his  own  House  (presumably  Hinchinbrook),  and  then  straight- 
way 'home,' and  will  report  progress  to  my  Lord  in  person.  On 
the  whole,  as  this  is  the  earliest  articulate  utterance  of  the  Oliver 
Family;  and  casts  a  faint  glimmer  of  light,  as  from  a  single 
flint-spark,  into  the  dead  darkness  of  the  foregone  century;  and 
touches  withal  on  an  acquaintance  of  ours,  the  'Prior  of  Ely,' 
• — Robert  Steward,  last  Popish  Prior,  first  Protestant  Dean  of 
Ely,  and  brother  of  Mrs.  Robert  Cromwell's  ancestor,  which 
is  curious  to  think  of, — we  will  give  the  Letter,  more  especi- 
ally as  it  is  very  short : 

"  To  my  Lord  Cromwell. 

"  I  have  me  most  humbly  commended  unto  your  Lordship. 
"  I  rode  on  Sunday  to  Cambridge  to  my  bed  ;n  and  the  next 
"  morning  was  up  betimes,  purposing  to  have  found  at  Ely  Mr. 
"  Pollard  and  Mr.  Williams.  But  they  were  departed  before 
"  my  coming  :  and  so,  '  they'  being  at  dinner  at  Somersham 
"  with  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  I  overtook  them  'there.'12  At  which 
"  time,  I  opened  your  pleasure  unto  them  in  everything.  Your 
"  Lordship,  I  think,  shall  shortly  perceive  the  Prior  of  Ely  to 
"  be  of  a  froward  sort,  by  evident  tokens  ;13  as,  at  our  coming 
"  home,  shall  be  at  large  related  unto  you. 

"  At  the  writing  hereof  we  have  done  nothing  at  Ramsey  ; 
"  saving  that  one  night  I  communed  with  the  Abbot  ;  whom 
"  I  found  conformable  to  everything,  as  shall  be  at  this  time 
"  put  in  act.14  And  then,  as  your  Lordship's  will  is,  as  soon 
"  as  we  have  done  at  Ramsey,  we  go  to  Peterborough.  And 

11  From  London,  we  suppose. 

12  The  words  within  single  commas,  'they*  and  'there,'  are  added  for  bringing  out 
the  sense  ;  a  plan  we  shall  follow  in  all  the  Original  Letters  of  this  Collection. 

«  He  proved  tameable,  Sir  Richard,— and  made  your  Great-grandson  rich,  for  on« 
Conseouence  ot  that ! 

l*  Brought  to  legal  black-on-white. 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

"  from  thence  to  my  House ;  and  so  home.13     The  which,  I 
"  trust,  shall  be  at  the  farthest  on  this  day  come  seven  days. 
"That  the  Blessed  Trinity  preserve  your  Lordship's  health! 
"Your  Lordship's  most  bounden  Nephew, 

"  RICHARD  CROMWELL. 

"  From  Ramsey,  on  Tuesday  in  the  morning." I0 

The  other  Letter  is  still  more  express  as  to  the  consan- 
guinity; it  says,  among  other  things,  'And  longer  than  I  may 
'  have  heart  so,  as  my  most  bounden  duty  is,  to  serve  the  King's 
'  Grace  with  body,  goods,  and  all  that  ever  I  am  able  to  make ; 
'  and  your  Lordship,  as  Nature  and  also  your  manifold  kind- 
'  ness  bindeth, — I  beseech  God  I  no  longer  live.'  'As  Nature 
bindeth*  Richard  Cromwell  then  thanks  him,  with  a  bow  to 
the  very  ground,  for  '  my  poore  \vyef,'  who  has  had  some  kind 
remembrance  from  his  Lordship  ;  thinks  all  '  his  travail  but  a 
'  pastime;' and  remains,  'at  Stamford  this  Saturday  at  eleven  of 
'  the  clock,  your  humble  Nephew  most  bounden,'  as  in  the  other 
case.  A  vehement,  swift-riding  man !  Nephew,  it  has  been  sug- 
gested, did  not  mean  in  Henry  the  Eighth's  time  so  strictly  as 
it  now  does,  brother's  or  sister's  son ;  it  meant  nepos  rather,  or 
kinsman  of  a  younger  generation  :  but  on  all  hypotheses  of  its 
meaning,  the  consanguinity  of  Oliver  Protector  of  England  and 
Thomas  Mauler  of  Monasteries  is  not  henceforth  to  be  doubted. 

Another  indubitable  thing  is,  That  this  Richard,  your  Nephew 
most  bounden,  has  signed  himself  in  various  Lawdecds  and  No- 
tarial papers  still  extant,  '  Richard  Cromwell  alias  Williams ;' 
also  that  his  sons  and  grandsons  continued  to  sign  Cromwell 
alias  Williams  ;  and  even  that  our  Oliver  himself  in  his  youth 
has  been  known  to  sign  so.  And  then  a  third  indubitable  thing 
on  this  matter  is,  That  Leland,  an  exact  man,  sent  out  by 
Authority  in  those  years  to  take  cognisance,  and  make  report, 
of  certain  points  connected  with  the  Church  Establishments  in 
England,  and  whose  well-known  Itinerary  is  the  fruit  of  that 
survey,  has  written  in  that  Work  these  words  ;  under  the  head, 
'  Commotes1''  in  Glamorganshire  :' 

•*  To  London. 

18  Mss.  Cotton.  Cleopatra  K.  IV.  p.  204  b.  The  envelope  and  address  are  not 
here  ;  but  this  docket  of  address,  given  in  a  sixteenth-century  hand,  and  otherwise 
Indicated  by  the  text,  is  not  doubtful.  The  signature  alone,  and  line  preceding  that, 
are  in  Richard's  hand.  In  the  Letter  printed  by  Noble  the  address  remains,  in  tha 
hand  of  Richard's  clerk. 

17  Commoto  is  the  Welsh  word  Cvonrwd,  now  obsolete  as  an  official  division, 
equivalent  \x>  cantrtd,  hundred.  Kibworth  Commote  is  now  Kibbor  Hundred. 


THE  CROMWELL  KINDRED.  27 

'  Kibworth  lieth,'  extendeth,  '  from  the  mouth  of  Remny  up 
'  t«  an  Hill  in  the  same  Commote,  called  Kevenon,  a  six  miles 
'  from  the  mouth  of  Remny.  This  Hill  goeth  as  a  wall  over- 
'  thwart  betwixt  the  Rivers  of  Thave  and  Remny.  A  two  miles 
'  from  this  Hill  by  the  south,  and  a  two  miles  from  Cardiff,  be 
'  vestigia  of  a  Pile  or  Manor  Place  decayed,  at  Egglis  Newith 
'  in  the  Parish  of  Llandaff.13  On  the  south  side  of  this  Hill 
'  was  born  Richard  Williams  alias  Cromwell,  in  the  Parish  of 
'  Llanilsen.'^ 

That  Richard  Cromwell,  then,  was  of  kindred  to  Thomas 
Cromwell ;  that  he,  and  his  family  after  him,  signed  '  alias 
Williams  ;'  and  that  Leland,  an  accurate  man,  said  and  printed, 
in  the  official  scene  where  Richard  himself  was  living  and  con- 
spicuous, He  was  born  in  Glamorganshire  :  these  three  facts  are 
indubitable  ; — but  to  these  three  we  must  limit  ourselves.  For, 
as  to  the  origin  of  this  same  'alias  Williams,'  whether  it  came 
from  the  general  '  Williamses  of  Berkshire,'20  or  from  '  Morgan 
'  Williams  a  Glamorganshire  gentleman  married  to  the  sister  of 
'  Thomas  Cromwell,'  or  from  whom  or  what  it  came,  we  have  to 
profess  ourselves  little  able,  and  indeed  not  much  concerned  to 
decide.  Williamses  are  many  :  there  is  Richard  Cromwell,  in 
that  old  Letter,  hoping  to  breakfast  with  a  Williams  at  Ely, — 
but  finds  both  him  and  Pollard  gone  !  Facts,  even  trifling 
facts,  when  indisputable  may  have  significance  ;  but  Welsh 
Pedigrees,  'with  seventy  shields  of  arms,'  '  Glothian  Lord  of 
'  Povvys'  (prior  or  posterior  to  the  Deluge),  though  '  written  on 
'  a  parchment  eight  feet  by  two  feet  four,  bearing  date  1602, 
'  and  belonging  to  the  Miss  Cromwells  of  Hampstead,'21  are 
highly  unsatisfactory  to  the  ingenuous  mind  !  We  have  to  re- 
mark two  things  :  First,  that  the  Welsh  Pedigree,  with  its 
seventy  shields  and  ample  extent  of  sheepskin,  bears  date  Lon- 
don, 1602  ;  was  not  put  together,  therefore,  till  about  a  hun- 
dred years  after  the  birth  of  Richard,  and  at  a  great  distance 
from  the  scene  of  that  event  :  circumstances  which  affect  the 

18  '  Egglis  Newith'  is  Eg-lwys  Newydii,  New  Church,  as  the  Welsh  peasants  still 
name  it,  though  officially  it  is  now  called  White  Church.  River  'Thavc'  means 
Taff.  The  description  of  the  wall-like  Hill  between  the  two  streams,  Taff  and  Remny, 
is  recognisably  correct :  Kevenon,  spelt  Ccvn-on,  'Ash-tree  ridge,'  is  still  the  name  of 
the  Hill. 

.  19  Noble,  i.  238,  collated  with  Leland  (Oxford,  1769),  iv.  fol.  56,  pp.  37,  38. 
Leland  gathered  his  records  '  in  six  years,'  between  1533  and  15413  ;  he  died,  endea- 
vouring to  assort  them,  in  1552.  They  were  long  afterwards  published  by  Hearne. 

»  Biographia  BritaHnica  (London,  1789),  iv.  474. 

»>  Noble,  i.  i. 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

unheraldic  mind  with  some  misgivings.  Secondly,  that  'learned 
Dugdale,"  upon  whom  mainly,  apart  from  these  uncertain  Welsh 
sheepskins,  the  story  of  this  Welsh  descent  of  the  Cromwells 
seems  to  rest,  has  unfortunately  stated  the  matter  in  two  dif- 
ferent ways, — as  being,  and  then  also  as  not  being, — in  two 
places  of  his  learned  Lumber-Book.25  Which  circumstance 
affects  the  unheraldic  mind  with  still  fataler  misgivings, — and 
in  fact  raises  irreprcssibly  the  question  and  admonition,  "What 
"  boots  it  ?  Leave  the  vain  region  of  blazonry,  of  rusty  broken 
"  shields  and  genealogical  marine-stores  ;  let  it  remain  forever 
"  doubtful !  The  Fates  themselves  have  appointed  it  even  so. 
"  Let  the  uncertain  Simulacrum  of  a  Glothian,  prior  or  pos- 
"  terior  to  Noah's  Deluge,  hover  between  us  and  the  utteY  Void  ; 
"  basing  himself  on  a  dust-chaos  of  ruined  heraldries,  lying 
"  genealogies,  and  saltires  cheeky,  the  best  he  can  !" 

The  small  Hamlet  and  Parish  Church  of  Cromwell,  or 
Crumwell  (the  Well  of  Cnim,  whatever  that  may  be),  still 
stands  on  the  Eastern  edge  of  Nottinghamshire,  not  far  from 
the  left  bank  of  the  Trent ;  simple  worshippers  still  doing  in 
it  some  kind  of  divine  service  every  Sunday.  From  this,  with- 
out any  ghost  to  teach  us,  we  can  understand  that  the  Cromwell 
kindred  all  got  their  name, — in  very  old  times  indeed.  From 
torpedo  rubbish-records  we  learn  also,  without  great  difficulty, 
that  the  Barons  Cromwell  were  summoned  to  Parliament  from 
Edward  Second's  time  and  downward  ;  that  they  had  their  chief 
scat  at  Tattershall  in  Lincolnshire  ;  that  there  were  Cromwells 
of  distinction,  and  of  no  distinction,  scattered  in  reasonable 
abundance  over  that  Fen-country, — Cromwells  Sheriffs  of  their 
Counties  there  in  Richard's  own  time.2*  The  Putney  Black- 
smith, Father  of  the  Malleus,  or  Hammer  that  smote  Monas- 
teries on  the  head, — a  Figure  worthy  to  take  his  place  beside 
Hephaistos,  or  Smith  Mimer,  if  we  ever  get  a  Pantheon  in  this 
Nation, — was  probably  enough  himself  a  Fen-country  man  ; 
one  of  the  junior  branches,  who  came  to  live  by  metallurgy  in 
London  here.  Richard,  also  sprung  of  the  Fens,  might  have 
been  his  kinsman  in  many  ways,  have  got  the  name  of  Williams 
in  many  ways,  and  even  been  born  on  the  Hill  behind  Cardiff, 
independently  of  Glothian.  Enough  :  Richard  Cromwell,  on 
a  background  of  heraldic  darkness,  rises  clearly  visible  to  us ; 

n  Duedalc's  Baronagt,  ii.  374,  393. 

*>  Fuller's  Wortkiet,  §  Cambridgeshire,  &C. 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  29 

a  man  vehemently  galloping  to  and  fro,  in  that  sixteenth  cen- 
tury ;  tourneying  successfully  before  King  Harry,24  who  loved 
a  man  ;  quickening  the  death-agonies  of  Monasteries  ;  growing 
great  on  their  spoil ;— and  fated,  he  also,  to  produce  another 
Malleus  Cromwell  that  smote  a  thing  or  two.  And  so  we  will 
leave  this  matter  of  the  Birth  and  Genealogy. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY. 

THE  few  ascertained,  or  clearly  imaginable,  Events  in  Oli- 
ver's Biography  may  as  well  be  arranged,  for  our  present  pur- 
pose, in  the  form  of  annals. 

1603. 

Early  in  January  of  this  year,  the  old  Grandfather,  Sir 
Henry,  '  the  Golden  Knight,'  at  Hinchinbrook,  died  :a  our 
Oliver,  not  quite  four  years  old,  saw  funeralia  and  crapes,  saw 
Father  and  Uncles  with  grave  faces,  and  understood  not  well 
what  it  meant, — understood  only,  or  tried  to  understand,  that 
the  good  old  Grandfather  was  gone  away,  and  would  never  pat 
his  head  any  more.  The  maternal  Grandfather,  at  Ely,  was 
yet,  and  for  above  a  dozen  years  more,  living. 

The  same  year,  four  months  afterwards,  King  James,  coming 
from  the  North  to  take  possession  of  the  English  crown,  lodged 
two  nights  at  Hinchinbrook  ;  with  royal  retinue,  with  immense 
sumptuosities,  addressings,  knight-makings,  ceremonial  exhibi- 
tions ;  which  must  have  been  a  grand  treat  for  little  Oliver. 
His  Majesty  came  from  the  Belvoir-Castle  region,  '  hunting  all 
the  way,'  on  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday  27th  April  1603  ;  and 
set  off,  through  Huntingdon  and  Godmanchester,  towards  Roy- 
ston,  on  Friday  forenoon.2  The  Cambridge  Doctors  brought 
him  an  Address  while  here ;  Uncle  Oliver,  besides  the  ruin- 
ously splendid  entertainments,  gave  him  hounds,  horses  and  as- 
tonishing gifts  at  his  departure.  In  return  there  were  Knights 

M  Stowe's  Chronicle  (London,  1631),  p.  580 ;  Stqwe's  Survey,  Holinshed,  &c. 

1  Poor  Noble,  unequal  sometimes  to  the  copying  of  a  Parish-register,  with  his 
judgment  asleep,  dates  this  event  1603-4  (at  p.  20,  vol.  i.),  and  then  placidly  (at  p.  40) 
states  a  fact  inconsistent  therewith. 

3  Stowe's  Chronicle,  812,  &c. 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

created,  Sir  Oliver  first  of  the  batch,  we  may  suppose  ;  King 
James  had  decided  that  there  should  be  no  reflection  for  the 
want  of  Knights  at  least.  Among  the  large  batches  manufac- 
tured next  year  was  Thomas  Steward  of  Ely,  henceforth  Sir 
Thomas,  Mrs.  Robert  Cromwell's  Brother,  our  Oliver's  Uncle. 
Hinchinbrook  got  great  honour  by  this  and  other  royal  visits ; 
but  found  it,  by  and  by,  a  dear-bought  honour. — 

Oliver's  Biographers,  or  rather  Carrion  Heath  his  first  Bio- 
grapher whom  the  others  have  copied,  introduce  various  talcs 
into  these  early  years  of  Oliver  :  of  his  being  run  away  with  by 
an  ape  along  the  leads  of  Hinchinbrook,  and  England  being  all 
but  delivered  from  him,  had  the  Fates  so  ordered  it ;  of  his 
seeing  prophetic  spectres  ;  of  his  robbing  orchards,  and  fighting 
tyrannously  with  boys  ;  of  his  acting  in  School  Plays  ;  of  his  &c. 
&c. — The  whole  of  which,  grounded  on  'Human  Stupidity'  and 
Carrion  Heath  alone,  begs  us  to  give  it  Christian  burial  once 
for  all.  Oliver  attended  the  Public  School  of  Huntingdon,  which 
was  then  conducted  by  a  worthy  Dr.  Beard,  of  whose  writing 
I  possess  a  Book,3  of  whom  we  shall  hear  again  :  he  learned,  to 
appearance  moderately  well,  what  the  sons  of  other  gentlemen 
were  taught  in  such  places  ;  went  through  the  universal  desti- 
nies which  conduct  all  men  from  childhood  to  youth,  in  a  way 
not  particularised  in  any  one  point  by  an  authentic  record. 
Readers  of  lively  imagination  can  follow  him  on  his  bird-nesting 
expeditions,  to  the  top  of  '  Barnabee's  big  Tree,'  and  else- 
whither, if  they  choose  ;  on  his  fen-fowling  expeditions,  social 
sports  and  labours  manifold  ;  vacation-visits  to  his  Uncles,  to 
Aunt  Hampden  and  Cousin  John  among  others  :  all  these  things 
must  have  been  ;  but  how  they  specially  were  is  forever  hidden 
from  all  men.  He  had  kindred  of  the  sort  above  specified  ; 
parents  of  the  sort  above  specified,  rigorous  yet  affectionate  per- 
sons, and  very  religious,  as  all  rational  persons  then  were.  He 
had  two  sisters  elder,  and  gradually  four  younger  ;  the  only  boy 
among  seven.  Readers  rflujjt  fancy  his  growth  there,  in  the 

3   The  Theatre  pf  CVvff  yniffittfti/s :  ly  Thptnas  P>\-.rd,  Pxf.irjef  Divinity,  ami 

sed 


-A  kindly 

ingenious  little  Book  ;  still  partly  readable,  almost_loyable  ;_  some  thin  but  real  vein 
of  perennial  ingenuity  and  goodness  recognisable  in  it.  What  one  might  call  a  Set 
of  '  Percy- Anecdotes ;'  but  Anecdotes  authentic,  solemnly  select,  and  with  a  purpose : 
'  Percy-Anecdotes'  for  a  more  earnest  Century  than  ours  1  Dedicated  to  the  Mayoi 
and  Hurge&scs  of  Huntingdon, — for  sundry  good  reasons ;  among  others,  '  because, 
Mr.  Mayor,  you  were  my  scholar,  sod  brought  up  in  my  house.' 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  31 

North  end  of  Huntingdon,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Seventeenth 
Century,  as  they  can. 

In  January  i6o3-4,4  was  held  at  Hampton  Court  a  kind  of 
Theological  Convention,  of  intense  interest  all  over  England, 
and  doubtless  at  Huntingdon  too  ;  now  very  dimly  known,  if  at 
all  known,  as  the  'Hampton-Court  Conference.'  It  was  a  meet- 
ing for  the  settlement  of  some  dissentient  humours  in  religion. 
The  Millennary  Petition, — what  we  should  now  call  the  '  Mon- 
ster Petition,'  for  the  like  in  number  of  signatures  was  never 
seen  before, — signed  by  near  a  thousand  Clergymen,  of  pious 
straitened  consciences  :  this  and  various  other  Petitions  to  his 
Majesty,  by  persons  of  pious  straitened  consciences,  had  been 
presented  ;  craving  relief  in  some  ceremonial  points,  which,  as 
they  found  no  warrant  for  them  in  the  Bible,  they  suspected 
(with  a  very  natural  shudder  in  that  case)  to  savour  of  Idol- 
worship  and  Mimetic  Dramaturgy,  instead  of  God-worship,  and 
to  be  very  dangerous  indeed  for  a  man  to  have  concern  with  ! 
Hampton-Court  Conference  was  accordingly  summoned.  Four 
world-famous  Doctors,  from  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  represented 
the  pious  straitened  class,  now  beginning  to  be  generally  con- 
spicuous under  the  nickname  Puritans.  The  Archbishop,  the 
Bishop  of  London,  also  world-famous  men,  with  a  considerable 
reserve  of  other  bishops,  deans  and  dignitaries,  appeared  for 
the  Church  by  itself  Church.  Lord  Chancellor,  the  renowned 
Egerton,  and  the  highest  official  persons,  many  lords  and  cour- 

4  Here,  more  fitly  perhaps  than  afterwards,  it  may  he  brought  to  mind,  that  the 
English  year  in  those  times  did  not  begin  till  March  ;  that  New- Year's  Day  was  the 
psth  of  March.  So  in  England,  at  that  time,  in  all  records,  writings  and  books;  as 
indeed  in  official  records  it  continued  so  till  1752.  In  Scotland  it  was  already  not  so; 
the  year  began  with  January  there  ever  since  1600  ; — as  in  all  Catholic  countries  it 
had  done  ever  since  the  Papal  alteration  of  the  Style  in  1582  ;  and  as  in  most  Protes- 
tant countries,  excepting  England,  it  soon  after  that  began  to  do.  Scotland  in  respect 
of  tlie  day  of  the  month  still  followed  the  Old  Style. 

'New- Year's  Day  the  25th  of  March  :'  this  is  the  whole  compass  of  the  fact ;  with 
which  a  reader  in  those  old  books  has,  not  without  more  difficulty  than  he  expects,  to 
familiarise  himself.  It  has  occasioned  more  misdatings  and  consequent  confusions  to 
modern  editorial  persons  than  any  other  as  simple  circumstance.  So  learned  a  man 
as  Whitaker  Historian  of  Whalley,  editing  Sir  George  Radclijfe's  Correspondence 
(London,  1810),  with  the  lofty  air  which  sits  well  on  him  on  other  occasions,  has  alto- 
gether forgotten  the  above  small  circumstance  :  in  consequence  of  which  we  have 
Oxford  Carriers  dying  in  January,  or  the  first  half  of  March,  and  to  our  great  amaze- 
ment going  on  to  forward  butter-boxes  in  the  May  following  ; — and  similar  miracles 
not  a  few  occurring :  and  in  short  the  whole  Correspondence  is  jumbled  to  pieces  ; 
a  du«  bit  of  topsy-turvy  being  introduced  into  the  Spring  of  every  year  ;  and  the 

learned  Editor  sits,  with  his  lofty  air,  presiding  over  mere  Chaos  come  again  ! In 

the  text  here,  we  of  course  translate  into  the  modern  year,  but  leaving  the  day  of  the 
month  as  we  find  it ;  and  if  for  greater  assurance  both  forms  be  written  down,  as  for 
instance  1603-4,  the  last  figure  is  always  the  modern  one  ;  1603-4  means  1604  for  our 
calendar. 


33  INTRODUCTION. 

tiers  with  a  tincture  of  sacred  science,  in  fact  the  flower  of 
England,  appeared  as  witnesses  ;  with  breathless  interest.  The 
King  himself  presided  ;  having  real  gifts  of  speech,  and  being 
very  learned  in  Theology, — which  it  was  not  then  ridiculous 
but  glorious  for  him  to  be.  More  glorious  than  the  monarchy 
of  what  we  now  call  Literature  would  be  ;  glorious  as  the  faculty 
of  a  Goethe  holding  visibly  of  Heaven  :  supreme  skill  in  Theo- 
logy then  meant  that.  To  know  God,  ®s6f,  the  Maker, — to 
know  the  divine  Laws  and  inner  Harmonies  of  this  Universe, 
must  always  be  the  highest  glory  for  a  man  !  And  not  to  know 
them,  always  the  highest  disgrace  for  a  man,  however  common 
it  be  ! — 

Awful  devout  Puritanism,  decent  dignified  Ceremonialism 
(both  always  of  high  moment  in  this  world,  but  not  of  equally 
high),  appeared  here  facing  one  another  for  the  first  time.  The 
demands  of  the  Puritans  seem  to  modern  minds  very  limited 
indeed  :  That  there  should  be  a  new  correct  Translation  of  the 
Bible  (granted},  and  increased  zeal  in  teaching  (omitted} ;  That 
« lay  impropriations'  (tithes  snatched  from  the  old  Church  by 
laymen)  might  be  made  to  yield  a  '  seventh  part*  of  their  amount, 
towards  maintaining  ministers  in  dark  regions  which  had  none 
(refused}  ;  That  the  Clergy  in  districts  might  be  allowed  to  meet 
together,  and  strengthen  one  another's  hands  as  in  old  times 
(refused  with  indignation} ; — on  the  whole  (if  such  a  thing  durst 
be  hinted  at,  for  the  tone  is  almost  inaudibly  low  and  humble), 
That  pious  straitened  Preachers,  in  terror  of  oflending  God  by 
Idolatry,  and  useful  to  human  souls,  might  not  be  cast  out  of 
their  parishes  for  genuflexions,  white  surplices  and  suchlike,  but 
allowed  some  Christian  liberty  in  mere  external  thjngs  :  these 
were  the  claims  of  the  Puritans  ; — but  his  Majesty  eloquently 
scouted  them  to  the  winds,  applauded  by  all  bishops,  and  dig- 
nitaries lay  and  clerical ;  said,  If  the  Puritans  would  not  con- 
form, he  would  '  hurry  them  out  of  the  country  ;' — and  so  sent 
Puritanism  and  the  Four  Doctors  home  again,  cowed  into  silence 
for  the  present.  This  was  in  January  1 6o4.3  News  of  this, 
speech  enough  about  it,  could  not  fail  in  Robert  Cromwell's 
house  among  others.  Oliver  is  in  his  fifth  year, — always  a  year 
older  than  the  Century. 

In  November  1605,  there  likewise  came  to  Robert  Crom- 
well's house,  no  question  of  it,  news  of  the  thrice-unutterable 

•  Nod's  Hutory  oftht  Puritans  (London,  1754),  i.  411. 


EVENTS   IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  33 

Gunpowder  Plot.  Whereby  King,  Parliament,  and  God's  Gospel 
in  England,  were  to  have  been,  in  one  infernal  moment,  blown 
aloft ;  and  the  Devil's  Gospel,  and  accursed  incredibilities,  idola- 
tries, and  poisonous  confusions  of  the  Romish  Babylon,  substi- 
tuted in  their  room  !  The  eternal  Truth  of  the  Living  God  to 
become  an  empty  formula,  a  shamming  grimace  of  the  Three- 
hatted  Chimera  !  These  things  did  fill  Huntingdon  and  Robert 
Cromwell's  house  with  talk  enough,  in  the  winter  of  Oliver's 
sixth  year.  And  again,  in  the  summer  of  his  eleventh  year,  in 
May  1610,  there  doubtless  failed  not  news  and  talk,  How  the 
Great  Henry  was  stabbed  in  Paris  streets  ;  assassinated  by  the 
Jesuits  ; — black  sons  of  the  scarlet  woman,  murderous  to  soul 
and  to  body. 

Other  things,  in  other  years,  the  diligent  Historical  Student 
will  supply  according  to  faculty.  The  History  of  Europe,  at  that 
epoch,  meant  essentially  the  struggle  of  Protestantism  against 
Catholicism, — a  broader  form  of  that  same  struggle,  of  devout 
Puritanism  against  dignified  Ceremonialism,  which  forms  the 
History  of  England  then.  Henry  the  Fourth  of  France,  so  long 
as  he  lived,  was  still  to  be  regarded  as  the  head  of  Protestant- 
ism ;  Spain,  bound  up  with  the  Austrian  Empire,  as  that  of 
Catholicism.  Henry's  '  Grand  Scheme'  naturally  strove  to  carry 
Protestant  England  along  with  it ;  James,  till  Henry's  death, 
held  on,  in  a  loose  way,  by  Henry  ;  and  his  Political  History, 
so  far  as  he  has  any,  may  be  considered  to  lie  there.  After 
Henry's  death,  he  fell  off  to  'Spanish  Infantas,'  to  Spanish  in- 
terests; and,  as  it  were,  ceased  to  have  any  History,  nay  began 
to  have  a  negative  one. 

Among  the  events  which  Historical  Students  will  supply  for 
Robert  Cromwell's  house,  and  the  spiritual  pabulum  of  young 
Oliver,  the  Death  of  Prince  Henry  in  1 61 2,c  and  the  prospective 
accession  of  Prince  Charles,  fitter  for  a  ceremonial  Archbishop 
than  a  governing  King,  as  some  thought,— -will  not  be  forgotten. 
Then  how  the  Elector  Palatine  was  married ;  and  troubles  began 
to  brew  in  Germany;  and  little  Dr.  Laud  was  made  Archdeacon 
of  Huntingdon  ; — such  news  the  Historical  Student  can  supply. 
And  on  the  whole,  all  students  and  persons  can  know  always 
that  Oliver's  mind  was  kept  full  of  news,  and  never  wanted  for 
pabulum  !  But  from  the  day  of  his  Birth,  which  is  jotted  down, 

6  6th  Nov.  (Camden's  Annals), 
VOL.  I,  D 


34  INTRODUCTION. 

as  above,  in  the  Parish-register  of  St.  John's  Huntingdon,  there 
is  no  other  authentic  jotting  or  direct  record  concerning  Oliver 
himself  to  be  met  with  anywhere,  till  in  the  Admission-Book  of 
Sidney-Sussex  College,  Cambridge,  we  come  to  this,* 

1616. 

'A  Festo  Annunciationis  ad  Festum  Sancti  Michaelis  Arch* 
angeli,  1616:'  such  (meaning  merely,  From  New-year's-day,  or 
2$t/t  March,  to  2<)th  September)  is  the  general  Heading  of  the 
List  of  Scholars,  orAdmissi,  for  that  Term  ;  —  and  first  in  order 
there  stands,  '  Oliverius  Cromwell  Huntingdoniensis  admissus 
'  act  commeatum  Sociorum,  Aprilis  vtcesimo  tertioj  Tutore  Ma- 
'  gistro  Ricardo  Howlet  :  Oliver  Cromwell  from  Huntingdon 
admitted  Fellow  Commoner,  2  3d  April  1  6  1  6  ;  Tutor  Mr.  Richard 
Howlet.  —  Between  which  and  the  next  Entry  some  zealous  in- 
dividual of  later  date  has  crowded-in  these  lines:  '  Hie  fuit 
'  grandis  ille  Impostor,  Carnifex  perditissimus,  qui  pientissimo 
'  Rege  Carolo  Primo  nefarid  ccede  sublato,  ipsum  usurpavit 
'  Thronnm,  et  Tria  Regna  per  quinque  ferine  annorum  spatium, 
'  sub  Pro  tec  ton  's  nomine,  indomita  tyrannide  vexavit.'  Had  the 
zealous  individual  specifically  dated  this  entry,  it  had  been  a 
slight  improvement,  —  on  a  thing  not  much  improvable.  We  can 
guess,  After  1660,  and  not  long  after. 

Curious  enough,  of  all  days,  on  this  same  day  Shakspeare, 
as  his  stone  monument  still  testifies,  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  died  : 

Obiit  Anno  Domini  1616. 
Die  23  Apr.* 


While  Oliver  Cromwell  was  entering  himself  of  Sidney-Sussex 
College,  William  Shakspeare  was  taking  his  farewell  of  this 
world.  Oliver's  Father  had,  most  likely,  come  with  him  ;  it  is 
but  some  fifteen  miles  from  Huntingdon  ;  you  can  go  and  come 
in  a  day.  Oliver's  Father  saw  Oliver  write  in  the  Album  at  Cam- 
bridge :  at  Stratford,  Shakspearc's,Ann  Hathaway  was  weeping 
over  his  bed.  The  first  world-great  thing  that  remains  of  Eng- 
lish History,  the  Literature  of  Shakspeare,  was  ending  ;  the 
second  world-great  thing  that  remains  of  English  History,  the 
armed  Appeal  of  Puritanism  to  the  Invisible  God  of  Heaven 
against  many  very  visible  Devils,  on  Earth  and  Elsewhere,  was, 

7  Noble,  L  254  ;—  corrected  by  the  College  Book  iti«lC 

8  Collier's  L\f€  of  Skaksftart  QLxndxfa,  1845),  p.  353. 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  35 

so  to  speak,  beginning.    They  have  their  exits  and  their  en- 
trances.    And  one  People,  in  its  time,  plays  many  parts. 

Chevalier  Florian,  in  his  Life  of  Cervantes,  has  remarked 
that  Shakspeare's  death-day,  23d  of  April  1616,  was  likewise 
that  of  Cervantes  at  Madrid.  '  Twenty-third  of  April'  is,  sure 
enough,  the  authentic  Spanish  date  :  but  Chevalier  Florian  has 
omitted  to  notice  that  the  English  twenty-third  is  of  Old  Style. 
The  brave  Miguel  died  ten  days  before  Shakspeare ;  and  already 
lay  buried,  smoothed  right  nobly  into  his  long  rest.  The  His- 
torical Student  can  meditate  on  these  things. — 

In  the  foregoing  winter,  here  in  England,  there  was  much 
trying  of  Ker  Earl  of  Somerset  and  my  Lady  once  of  Essex, 
and  the  poisoners  of  Overbury  ;  and  before  Christmas  the  in- 
ferior murderers  and  infamous  persons  were  mostly  got  hanged ; 
and  in  these  very  days,  while  Oliver  began  his  studies,  my  Lord 
of  Somerset  and  my  Lady  were  tried,  and  not  hanged.  And 
Chief-Justice  Coke,  Coke  upon  Lyttleton,  had  got  into  difficulties 
by  the  business.  And  England  generally  was  overspread  with 
a  very  fetid  atmosphere  of  Court-news,  murders,  and  divorce- 
cases,  in  those  months  ;  which  still  a  little  affects  even  the 
History  of  England.  Poor  Somerset  Ker,  King's  favourite,  'son 
of  the  Laird  of  Ferniehirst,'  he  and  his  extremely  unedifying 
affairs, — except  as  they  might  transiently  affect  the  nostrils  of 
some  Cromwell  of  importance, — do  not  much  belong  to  the 
History  of  England  !  Carrion  ought  at  length  to  be  buried. 
Alas,  if  '  wise  memory'  is  ever  to  prevail,  there  is  need  of  much 
'  wise  oblivion'  first. — 

Oliver's  Tutor  in  Cambridge,  of  whom  legible  History  and  I 
know  nothing,  was  '  Magister  Richard  Howlet  :'  whom  readers 
must  fancy  a  grave  ancient  Puritan  and  Scholar,  in  dark  anti- 
quarian clothes  and  dark  antiquarian  ideas,  according  to  their 
faculty.  The  indubitable  fact  is,  that  he  Richard  Howlet  did, 
in  Sidney- Sussex  College,  with  his  best  ability,  endeavour  to 
infiltrate  something  that  he  called  instruction  into  the  soul  of 
Oliver  Cromwell  and  of  other  youths  submitted  to  him  :  but 
how,  of  what  quality,  with  what  method,  with  what  result,  will 
remain  extremely  obscure  to  every  one.  In  spite  of  mountains 
of  books,  so  are  books  written,  all  grows  very  obscure.  About 
this  same  date,  George  Radcliffc,  Wentwoith  Strafford's  George, 
at  Oxford,  finds  his  green-baize  table-cover,  which  his  mother 
had  sent  him,  too  small  has  it  cut  into  '  stockings/  and  goes 


36  INTRODUCTION. 

about  with  the  same.9  So  unfashionable  were  young  Gentlemen 
Commoners  !  Queen  Elizabeth  was  the  first  person  in  this 
country  who  ever  wore  knit  stockings. 

1617. 

In  March  of  this  year,  1617,  there  was  another  royal  visit 
at  Hinchinbrook.10  But  this  time,  I  conceive,  the  royal  enter- 
tainment would  be  much  more  moderate ;  Sir  Oliver's  purse 
growing  lank.  Over  in  Huntingdon,  Robert  Cromwell  was  lying 
sick,  somewhat  indifferent  to  royal  progresses. 

King  James,  this  time,  was  returning  northward  to  visit  poor 
old  Scotland  again,  to  get  his  Pretended-Bishops  set  into  ac- 
tivity, if  he  could.  It  is  well  known  that  he  could  not,  to  any 
satisfactory  extent,  neither  now  nor  afterwards  :  his  Pretended- 
Bishops,  whom  by  cunning  means  he  did  get  instituted,  had 
the  name  of  Bishops,  but  next  to  none  of  the  authority,  of  the 
respect,  or,  alas,  even  of  the  cash,  suitable  to  the  reality  of  that 
office.  They  were  by  the  Scotch  People  derisively  called  Tul- 
chan  Bishops. — Did  the  reader  ever  see,  or  fancy  in  his  mind, 
a  Tulchan  ?  A  Tulchan  is,  or  rather  was,  for  the  thing  is  long 
since  obsolete,  a  Calf-skin  stuffed  into  the  rude  similitude  of  a 
Calf, — similar  enough  to  deceive  the  imperfect  perceptive  organs 
of  a  Cow.  At  milking-time  the  Tulchan,  with  head  duly  bent, 
was  set  as  if  to  suck  ;  the  fond  cow  looking  round  fancied  that 
her  calf  was  busy,  and  that  all  was  right,  and  so  gave  her  milk 
freely,  which  the  cunning  maid  was  straining  in  white  abundance 
into  her  pail  all  the  while  !  The  Scotch  milkmaids  in  those 
days  cried,  "  Where  is  the  Tulchan  ;  is  the  Tulchan  ready  ?" 
So  of  the  Bishops.  Scotch  Lairds  were  eager  enough  to  '  milk' 
the  Church  Lands  and  Tithes,  to  get  the  rents  out  of  them  freely, 
which  was  not  always  easy.  They  were  glad  to  construct  a 
Form  of  Bishops  to  please  the  King  and  Church,  and  make  the 
milk  come  without  disturbance.  The  reader  now  knows  what 
a  Tulchan  Bishop  was.  A  piece  of  mechanism  constructed  not 

9  "  University  College,  Oxford,  4lh  Dec.  1610. 

"Loving  Mother, — •  •  Send  also,  I  pray  you,  by  Briggs"  (this  is  Briggs  the 
Carrier,  who  dies  in  January,  and  continues  forwarding  butter  in  May),  "  a  green 
"  table-cloth  of  a  yard  and  half  a  quarter,  and  two  linen  table-cloths.  •  •  If  the 
"  green  table-cloth  be  too  little,  I  will  make  a  pair  of  warm  stockings  of  it.  •  * — Thu* 
"  remembering  my  humble  duty,  I  take  my  leave.— Your  loving  Son, 

"GEORGE  KADCLIFFK." 

Radcliffe'i  Letters,  by  Whiukcr  (London,  1810),  p.  64-5. 
»  Camden'sXtt««&;  Nichols's  Pngrtite*. 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  37 

without  difficulty,  in  Parliament  and  King's  Council,  among  the 
Scots  ;  and  torn  asunder  afterwards  with  dreadful  clamour,  and 
scattered  to  the  four  winds,  so  soon  as  the  Cow  became  awake 
to  it ! — 

Villiers  Buckingham,  the  new  favourite,  of  whom  we  say 
little,  was  of  the  royal  party  here.  Dr.  Laud,  too,  King's  Chap- 
lain, Archdeacon  of  Huntingdon,  attended  the  King  on  this 
occasion  ;  had  once  more  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Huntingdon, 
the  cradle  of  his  promotions,  and  the  birthplace  of  Oliver.  In 
Scotland,  Dr.  Laud,  much  to  his  regret,  found  "no  religion  at 
all,"  no  surplices,  no  altars  in  the  east  or  anywhere;  no  bowing, 
no  responding  ;  not  the  smallest  regularity  of  fuglemanship  or 
devotional  drill-exercise;  in  short  "no  religion  at  all  that  I 
could  see," — which  grieved  me  much.11 

What  to  us  is  greatly  more  momentous  :  while  these  royal 
things  went  on  in  Scotland,  in  the  end  of  this  same  June  at 
Huntingdon,  Robert  Cromwell  died.  His  Will  is  dated  6th 
June.12  His  burial-day  is  marked  in  the  Church  of  All-Saints, 
24th  June  1617.  For  Oliver,  the  chief  mourner,  one  of  the  most 
pregnant  epochs.  The  same  year,  died  his  old  Grandfather 
Steward,  at  Ely.  Mrs.  Robert  Cromwell  saw  herself  at  once 
fatherless  and  a  second  time  widowed  in  this  year  of  bereave- 
ment. Left  with  six  daughters  and  an  only  son,  of  whom  three 
were  come  to  years. 

Oliver  was  now,  therefore,  a  young  heir  ;  his  age  eighteen 
last  April.  How  many  of  his  Sisters,  or  whether  any  of  them, 
were  yet  settled,  we  do  not  learn  from  Noble's  confused  search- 
ing of  records  or  otherwise.  Of  this  Huntingdon  household, 
and  its  new  head,  we  learn  next  to  nothing  by  direct  evidence ; 
but  can  decisively  enough,  by  inference,  discern  several  things. 
'  Oliver  returned  no  more  to  Cambridge.'  It  was  now  fit  that 
he  should  take  his  Father's  place  here  at  Huntingdon,  that  he 
should,  by  the  swiftest  method,  qualify  himself  in  some  degree 
for  that. 

The  universal  very  credible  tradition  is,  that  he,  '  soon 
after,'  proceeded  to  London,  to  gain  some  knowledge  of  Law. 
'  Soon  after'  will  mean  certain  months,  we  know  not  how  many, 
after  July  1617.  Noble  says,  he  was  entered  '  oi  Lincoln's 
Inn.'  The  Books  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  of  Gray's  Inn,  of  all  the 
Inns  of  Court  have  been  searched ;  and  there  is  no  Oliver  Crom- 

»  Vfluutoa.' s  Laud  (London,  1695),  pp.  97,  109,  138.  "  Noble,  i.  84. 


38  INTRODUCTION. 

well  found  in  them.  The  Books  of  Gray's  Inn  contain  these 
Cromwell  Names,  which  are  perhaps  worth  transcribing : 

Thomas  Cromwell.  1524  ;  Francis  Cromwell,  1561 ; 
Gilbert  Cromwell,  1609;  Henry  Cromwell,  1620; 
Henry  Cromwell,  221!  February  1653. 

The  first  of  which  seems  to  me  probably  or  possibly  to  mean 
Thomas  Cromwell  M 'aliens  Alonachoruin,  at  that  time  returned 
from  his  Italian  adventures,  and  in  the  service  of  Cardinal 
Wolscy  ; — taking  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the  '  readers,'  old 
Benchers  who  then  actually  read,  and  of  learning  Law.  The 
Henry  Cromwell  of  February  1653-4  is  expressly  entered  as 
'  Second  sonne  to  his  Highness  Oliver,  Lord  Protector :'  an 
interesting  little  fact,  since  it  is  an  indisputable  one.  For  the 
rest,  Henry  Cromwell  was  already  a  Colonel  in  the  Army  in 
1651  ;13  in  1654,  during  the  spring  months  he  was  in  Ireland; 
in  the  month  of  June  he  was  at  Chippenham  in  Cambridgeshire 
with  his  father-in-law,  being  already  married  ;'*  and  next  year 
he  went  again  on  political  business  to  Ireland,  where  he  before 
long  became  Lord  Deputy:15  if  for  a  while,  in  the  end  of  1654, 
he  did  attend  in  Gray's  Inn,  it  can  only  have  been,  like  his 
predecessor  the  Malleus,  to  gain  some  inkling  of  Law  for  general 
purposes  ;  and  not  with  any  view  towards  Advocateship,  which 
did  not  lie  in  his  course  at  all,  and  was  never  very  lovely  either 
to  his  Father  or  himself.  Oliver  Cromwell's,  as  we  said,  is  not 
a  name  found  in  any  of  the  Books  in  that  period. 

Whence  is  to  be  inferred  that  Oliver  was  never  of  any  Inn; 
that  he  never  meant  to  be  a  professional  Lawyer ;  that  he  had 
entered  himself  merely  in  the  chambers  of  some'  learned  gen- 
tleman, with  an  eye  to  obtain  some  tincture  of  Law,  for  doing 
County  Magistracy,  and  the  other  duties  of  a  gentleman  citizen, 
in  a  reputable  manner.  The  stories  of  his  wild  living  while  in 
Town,  of  his  gambling  and  so  forth,  rest  likewise  exclusively 
on  Carrion  Heath  ;  and  solicit  oblivion  and  Christian  burial 
from  all  men.  We  cannot  but  believe  he  did  go  to  Town  to 
gain  some  knowledge  of  Law.  But  when  he  went,  how  long  he 

15  Old  Newspaper,  in  CronnveUiana,  p.  pt. 

»  '  loth  May  1653, — Mr.  Henry  Cromwell  to  F.liTabeth  Rimcl'  (Registers  of  Ken- 
sington Church,  in  Faulkcncr's  Hutory  of  Kensington,  p.  360). 

11  Here  arc  the  successive  dates :  4th  March  1653-4,  lie  arrives  at  Dublin  (Thur- 
loe'i  Staff  ruf-frs,  ii.  149) ;  is  at  Chippenhnm,  iSth  June  1654  {ib.  ii.  381);  arrive, at 
Chester  on  his  way  to  Ireland  again,  aid  June  1655  (ib.  iii.  581); — produces  his  com- 
mission  as  Lord  Deputy,  24th  or  25111  November  1657  (Noble,  i.  903). 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  39 

stayed,  cannot  be  known  except  approximately  by  years ;  under 
whom  he  studied,  with  what  fruit,  how  he  conducted  himself 
as  a  young  man  and  law-student,  cannot  be  known  at  all.  Of 
evidence  that  he  ever  lived  a  wild  life  about  Town  or  elsewhere, 
there  exists  no  particle.  To  assert  the  affirmative  was  then  a 
great  reproach  to  him  ;  fit  for  Carrion  Heath  and  others  :  it 
would  be  now,  in  our  present  strange  condition  of  the  Moral 
Law,  one  knows  not  what.  With  a  Moral  Law  gone  all  to  such 
a  state  of  moonshine;  with  the  hard  Stone-tables,  the  god-given 
Precepts  and  eternal  Penalties,  dissolved  all  in  cant  and  mealy- 
mouthed  official  flourishings, — it  might  perhaps,  with  certain 
parties,  be  a  credit ;  the  admirers  and  the  censurers  of  Crom- 
well have  alike  no  word  to  record  on  the  subject. 

1618. 

Thursday,  2Qth  October  1618.  This  morning,  if  Oliver, 
as  is  probable,  were  now  in  Town  studying  Law,  he  might  be 
eye-witness  of  a  great  and  very  strange  scene ;  the  last  scene 
in  the  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh. ]G  Raleigh  was  beheaded  in 
Old  Palaceyard ;  he  appeared  on  the  scaffold  there  '  about  eight 
o'clock'  that  morning ;  '  an  immense  crowd,'  all  London,  and 
in  a  sense  all  England,  looking  on.  A  cold  hoarfrosty  morning. 
Earl  of  Arundel,  now  known  to  us  by  his  Greek  Marbles;  Earl 
of  Doncaster  ('Sardanapalus'  Hay,  ultimately  Earl  of  Carlisle)  ; 
these  with  other  earls  and  dignitaries  sat  looking  through  win- 
dows near  by ;  to  whom  Raleigh  in  his  last  brief  manful  speech 
appealed,  with  response  from  them.  He  had  failed  of  finding 
Eldorados  in  the  Indies  lately  ;  he  had  failed,  and  also  suc- 
ceeded, in  many  things  in  his  time  :  he  returned  home  '  with 
his  brain  and  his  heart  broken,'  as  he  said  ; — and  the  Span- 
iards, who  found  King  James  willing,  now  wished  that  he  should 
die.  A  very  tragic  scene.  Such  a  man,  with  his  head  grown 
gray  ;  with  his  strong  heart  '  breaking,' — still  strength  enough 
in  it  to  break  with  dignity.  Somewhat  proudly  he  laid  his  old 
gray  head  on  the  block  ;  as  if  saying,  in  better  than  words, 
"  There  then  !"  The  Sheriff  offered  to  let  him  warm  himself 
again,  within  doors  again  at  a  fire.  "  Nay,  let  us  be  swift," 
said  Raleigh  ;  "  in  few  minutes  my  ague  will  return  upon  me, 
"  and  if  I  be  not  dead  before  that,  they  will  say  I  tremble  for 
"  fear." — It  Oliver,  among  the  '  immense  crowd,'  saw  this  scene, 

18  Camdcn  ;  Biog,  Brilatt. 


40  INTRODUCTION. 

as  is  conceivable  enough,  he  would  not  want  for  reflections 
on  it. 

What  is  more  apparent  to  us,  Oliver  in  these  days  is  a 
visitor  in  Sir  James  Bourchier's  Town  residence.  Sir  James 
Bourchier,  Knight,  a  civic  gentleman ;  not  connected  at  all  with 
the  old  Bourchiers  Earls  of  Essex,  says  my  heraldic  friend  ; 
but  seemingly  come  of  City  merchants  rather,  who  by  some  of 
their  quartcrings  and  cognisances  appear  to  have  been  '  Fur- 
riers,' says  he  : — Like  enough.  Not  less  but  more  important, 
it  appears  this  Sir  James  Bourchier  was  a  man  of  some  opu- 
lence, and  had  daughters  ;  had  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  not  with- 
out charms  for  the  youthful  heart.  Moreover  he  had  landed 
property  near  Felsted  in  Essex,  where  his  usual  residence  was. 
Felsted,  where  there  is  still  a  kind  of  School  or  Free-School, 
which  was  of  more  note  in  those  days  than  now.  That  Oliver 
visited  in  Sir  James's  in  Town  or  elsewhere,  we  discover  with 
great  certainty  by  the  next  written  record  of  him. 

1620. 

The  Registers  of  St.  Giles's  Church,  Cripplegate,  London, 
are  written  by  a  third  party  as  usual,  and  have  no  autograph 
signatures;  but  in  the  List  of  Marriages  for  'August  1620,' 
stand  these  words,  still  to  be  read  sic  : 

'  Oliver  Cromwell  to  Elizabeth  Bourcher.    aa.' 

Milton's  burial-entry  is  in  another  Book  of  the  same  memorable 
Church,  '  12  Nov.  1674;'  where  Oliver  on  the  22d  of  August 
1620  was  married. 

Oliver  is  twenty-one  years  and  four  months  old  on  this  his 
wedding-day.  He  repaired,  speedily  or  straightway  we  believe, 
to  Huntingdon,  to  his  Mother's  house,  which  indeed  was  now 
his.  His  Law-studies,  such  as  they  were,  had  already  ended,  we 
infer  :  he  had  already  set  up  house  with  his  Mother  ;  and  was 
now  bringing  a  wife  home  ;  the  due  arrangements  for  that  end 
having  been  completed.  Mother  and  Wife  were  to  live  together ; 
the  Sisters  had  got  or  were  getting  married, — Noble's  researches 
and  confused  jottings  do  not  say  specially  when  :  the  Son,  as 
new  head  of  the  house,  an  inexperienced  head,  but  a  teachable, 
ever-learning  one,  was  to  take  his  Father's  place  ;  and  with  a 
wise  Mother  and  a  good  Wife,  harmonising  tolerably  well  we 
shall  hope,  was  to  manage  as  he  best  might.  Here  he  continued, 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  41 

unnoticeable  but  easily  imaginable  by  History,  for  almost  ten 
years :  farming  lands ;  most  probably  attending  quarter-sessions ; 
doing  the  civic,  industrial,  and  social  duties,  in  the  common 
way  ; — living  as  his  Father  before  him  had  done.  His  first 
child  was  born  here,  in  October  1621  ;  a  son,  Robert,  baptised 
at  St.  John's  Church  on  the  I3th  of  the  month,  of  whom  no- 
thing farther  is  known.1"  A  second  child,  also  a  son,  Oliver, 
followed,  whose  baptismal  date  is  6th  February  1623,  of  whom 
also  we  have  almost  no  farther  account, — except  one  that  can 
be  proved  to  be  erroneous.18  The  List  of  his  other  children 
shall  be  given  by  and  by. 

1623. 

In  October  1623,  there  was  an  illumination  of  tallow  lights, 
a  ringing  of  bells,  and  gratulation  of  human  hearts  in  all  Towns 
in  England,  and  doubtless  in  Huntingdon  too  ;  on  the  safe 
return  of  Prince  Charles  from  Spain  without  the  Infanta. J9  A 
matter  of  endless  joy  to  all  true  Englishmen  of  that  day,  though 
no  Englishman  of  this  day  feels  any  interest  in  it  one  way  or 
the  other.  But  Spain,  even  more  than  Rome,  was  the  chosen 
throne  of  Popery  ;  which  in  that  time  meant  temporal  and 
eternal  Damnability,  Falsity  to  God's  Gospel,  love  of  prosper- 
ous Darkness  rather  than  of  suffering  Light, — infinite  baseness 
rushing  short-sighted  upon  infinite  peril  for  this  world  and  for 
all  worlds.  King  James,  with  his  worldly-wise  endeavourings 
to  marry  his  son  into  some  first-rate  family,  never  made  a  falser 
calculation  than  in  this  grand  business  of  the  Spanish  Match. 
The  soul  of  England  abhorred  to  have  any  concern  with  Spain 
or  things  Spanish.  Spain  was  as  a  black  Domdaniel,  which, 
had  the  floors  of  it  been  paved  with  diamonds,  had  the  Infanta 
of  it  come  riding  in  such  a  Gig  of  Respectability  as  was  never 
driven  since  Phaeton's  Sun-chariot  took  the  road,  no  honest 
English  soul  could  wish  to  have  concern  with.  Hence  England 

17  Date  of  his  burial  discovered  lately,  in  the  old  Parish-Register  of  Felsted 
in  Kssex  ;  recorded  in  peculiar  terms,  and  specially  in  the  then  Vicar's  hand : 
'  Rcbertiis  CraitKvcll,  Filius  honorandi  viri  AI<>''  (Militis)  '  Olivcris  Cromwell  et 
Elizabetlue  Uxoris  ejus,  sepiiltusfuit  31°  die  Mail  1639.  Et  Robertas f nit  eximiZ 
•tins  -'livenis,  Dexm  timens  siifira  miiZios.'  (See  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  209, 
January  1856,  p.  54.)  So  that  Oliver's  first  great  loss  in  his  Family  was  of  this  Eldest 
Son,  then  in  his  i8th  year ;  not  of  a  Younger  one  as  was  hitherto  supposed.  (Note  of 
1857.) 

13  Noble,  i.  134. 

13  H.  L.  (Hamond  1'Estrange),  Reigtt  of  King  Charles  (London,  1656),  p,  3. 
"October  5th,'  the  Prince  arrived. 


43  INTRODUCTION. 

illuminated  itself.  The  articulate  tendency  of  this  Solomon 
King  had  unfortunately  parted  company  altogether  with  the  in- 
articulate but  ineradicable  tendency  of  the  Country  he  presided 
over.  The  Solomon  King  struggled  one  way  ;  and  the  Eng- 
lish Nation  with  its  very  life-fibres  was  compelled  to  struggle 
another  way.  The  rent  by  degrees  became  wide  enough  ! 

For  the  present,  England  is  all  illuminated,  a  new  Parlia- 
ment is  summoned  ;  which  welcomes  the  breaking  of  the  Spanish 
Match,  as  one  might  welcome  the  breaking  of  a  Dr.  Faustus's 
Bargain,  and  a  deliverance  from  the  power  of  sorcerers.  Uncle 
Oliver  served  in  this  Parliament,  as  was  his  wont,  for  Hunting- 
donshire. They  and  the  Nation  with  one  voice  impelled  the 
poor  old  King  to  draw  out  his  fighting  tools  at  last,  and  beard 
this  Spanish  Apollyon,  instead  of  making  marriages  with  it 
No  Pitt's  crusade  against  French  Sansculottism  in  the  end  of 
the  Eighteenth  Century  could  be  so  welcomed  by  English  Pre- 
servers of  the  Game,  as  this  defiance  of  the  Spanish  Apollyon 
was  by  Englishmen  in  general  in  the  beginning  of  the  Seven- 
teenth. The  Palatinate  was  to  be  recovered,  after  all  ;  Protest- 
antism, the  sacred  cause  of  God's  Light  and  Truth  against  the 
Devil's  Falsity  and  Darkness,  was  to  be  fought  for  and  secured. 
Supplies  were  voted  ;  '  drums  beat  in  the  City*  and  elsewhere, 
as  they  had  done  three  years  ago,co  to  the  joy  of  all  men,  when 
the  Palatinate  was  first  to  be  '  defended  :'  but  now  it  was  to  be 
'  recovered  ;'  now  a  decisive  effort  was  to  be  made.  The  issue, 
as  is  well  known,  corresponded  ill  with  these  beginnings.  Count 
Mansfcldt  mustered  his  levies  here,  and  set  sail  ;  but  neither 
France  nor  any  other  power  would  so  much  as  let  him  land. 
Count  Mansfeldt's  levies  died  of  pestilence  in  their  ships;  'their 
bodies,  thrown  ashore  on  the  Dutch  coast,  were  eaten  by  hogs,' 
till  half  the  armament  was  dead  on  shipboard  :  nothing  came 
of  it,  nothing  could  come.  With  a  James  Stuart  for  General- 
issimo, there  is  no  good  fighting  possible.  The  poor  King  him- 
self soon  after  died  ;sl  left  the  matter  to  develop  itself  in  other 
still  fataler  ways. 

In  those  years  it  must  be  that  Dr.  Simcott,  Physician  in 
Huntingdon,  had  to  do  with  Oliver's  hypochondriac  maladies. 
He  told  Sir  Philip  Warwick,  unluckily  specifying  no  date,  or 
none  that  has  survived,  "he  had  often  been  sent  ior  at  mid- 


30  Tith  June  1630  (Caniden's 

»'  Sunday,  2;ih  March  1625  (W'lson,  «»  Kennct,  il  790). 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY,  43 

night ;"  Mr.  Cromwell  for  many  years  was  very  "  splenetic" 
(spleen-struck),  often  thought  he  was  just  about  to  die,  and  also 
"  had  fancies  about  the  Town  Cross."22  Brief  intimation  ;  of 
which  the  reflective  reader  may  make  a  great  deal.  Samuel 
Johnson  too  had  hypochondrias ;  all  great  souls  are  apt  to  have, 
— and  to  be  in  thick  darkness  generally,  till  the  eternal  ways 
and  the  celestial  guiding-.stars  disclose  themselves,  and  the  vague 
Abyss  of  Life  knit  itself  up  into  Firmaments  for  them.  Tempta- 
tions in  the  Wilderness,  Choices  of  Hercules,  and  the  like,  in 
succinct  or  loose  form,  are  appointed  for  every  man  that  will 
assert  a  soul  in  himself  and  be  a  man.  Let  Oliver  take  comfort 
in  his  dark  sorrows  and  melancholies.  The  quantity  of  sorrow 
he  has,  does  it  not  mean  withal  the  quantity  of  sympathy  he  has, 
the  quantity  of  faculty  and  victory  he  shall  yet  have  ?  Our  sor- 
row is  the  inverted  image  of  our  nobleness.  The  depth  of  our 
despair  measures  what  capability  and  height  of  claim  we  have 
to  hope.  Black  smoke  as  of  Tophet  rilling  all  your  universe,  it 
can  yet  by  true  heart  -energy  become  flame,  and  brilliancy  of 
Heaven.  Courage ! 

It  is  therefore  in  these  years,  undated  by  History,  that  we 
must  place  Oliver's  clear  recognition  of  Calvinistic  Christianity ; 
what  he,  with  unspeakable  joy,  would  name  his  Conversion ;  his 
deliverance  from  the  jaws  of  Eternal  Death.  Certainly  a  grand 
epoch  for  a  man  :  properly  the  one  epoch  ;  the  turning-point 
which  guides  upwards,  or  guides  downwards,  him  and  his  acti- 
vity forevermore.  Wilt  thou  join  with  the  Dragons  ;  wilt  thou 
join  with  the  Gods  ?  Of  thee  too  the  question  is  asked; — whe- 
ther by  a  man  in  Geneva  gown,  by  a  man  in  '  Four  surplices 
at  Allhallowtide,"  with  words  very  imperfect ;  or  by  no  man  and 
no  words,  but  only  by  the  Silences,  by  the  Eternities,  by  the 
Life  everlasting  and  the  Death  everlasting.  That  the  '  Sense  of 
difference  between  Right  and  Wrong'  had  filled  all  Time  and  all 
Space  for  man,  and  bodied  itself  forth  into  a  Heaven  and  Hell 
for  him  :  this  constitutes  the  grand  feature  of  those  Puritan,  Old- 
Christian  Ages  ;  this  is  the  element  which  stamps  them  as  He- 
roic, and  has  rendered  their  works  great,  manlike,  fruitful  to  all 
generations.  It  is  by  far  the  memorablest  achievement  of  our 
Species  ;  without  that  element,  in  some  form  or  other,  nothing 
of  Heroic  had  ever  been  among  us. 

33  Sir  Philip  Warwick's  Memoirs  (London,  1701),  p.  349. 


44  INTRODUCTION. 

For  many  centuries,  Catholic  Christianity,  a  fit  embodiment 
of  that  divine  Sense,  had  been  current  more  or  less,  making  the 
generations  noble  :  and  here  in  England,  in  the  Century  called 
the  Seventeenth,  we  see  the  last  aspect  of  it  hitherto, — not  the 
last  of  all,  it  is  to  be  hoped.  Oliver  was  henceforth  a  Christian 
man  ;  believed  in  God,  not  on  Sundays  only,  but  on  all  days, 
in  all  places  and  in  all  cases. 

1624. 

The  grievance  of  Lay  Impropriations,  complained  of  in  the 
Hampton-Court  Conference  twenty  years  ago,  having  never  been 
abated,  and  many  parts  of  the  country  being  still  thought  in- 
sufficiently supplied  with  Preachers,  a  plan  was  this  year  fallen 
upon  to  raise  by  subscription,  among  persons  grieved  at  that 
state  of  matters,  a  Fund  for  buying-in  such  Impropriations  as 
might  offer  themselves  ;  for  supporting  good  ministers  therewith, 
in  destitute  places  ;  and  for  othenvise  encouraging  the  ministerial 
work.  The  originator  of  this  scheme  was  'the  famous  Dr.  Pres- 
ton,"*'3 a  Puritan  College  Doctor  of  immense  'fame'  in  those  and 
in  prior  years  ;  courted  even  by  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and 
tempted  with  the  gleam  of  bishoprics  ;  but  mouldering  now  in 
great  oblivion,  not  famous  to  any  man.  His  scheme,  however, 
was  found  good.  The  wealthy  London  Merchants,  almost  all  of 
them  Puritans,  took  it  up  ;  and  by  degrees  the  wealthier  Puritans 
over  England  at  large.  Considerable  ever-increasing  funds  were 
subscribed  for  this  pious  object ;  were  vested  in  '  Feoffees,'— 
who  afterwards  made  some  noise  in  the  world,  under  that  name. 
They  gradually  purchased  some  Advowsons  or  Impropriations, 
such  as  came  to  market ;  and  hired,  or  assisted  in  hiring,  a  great 
many  '  Lecturers,"  persons  not  generally  in  full  '  Priest's-orders' 
(having  scruples  about  the  ceremonies),  but  in  '  Deacon's'  or 
some  other  orders,  with  permission  to  preach,  to  'lecture,'  as 
it  was  called  :  whom  accordingly  we  find  lecturing  in  various 
places,  under  various  conditions,  in  the  subsequent  years  ; — 
often  in  some  market-town,  '  on  market-day  ;'  on  '  Sunday-after- 
noon," as  supplemental  to  the  regular  Priest  when  he  might 
happen  to  be  idle,  or  given  to  black  and  white  surplices  ;  or  as 
'  running  Lecturers,'  now  here,  now  there,  over  a  certain  district. 
They  were  greatly  followed  by  the  serious  part  of  the  commu- 

»  Hcylin's  Lift  q/  Laud. 


EVENTS   IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  45 

nity  ;  and  gave  proportional  offence  in  other  quarters.  In  some 
years  hence,  they  had  risen  to  such  a  height,  these  Lecturers, 
that  Dr.  Laud,  now  come  into  authority,  took  them  seriously  in 
hand,  and  with  patient  detail  hunted  them  mostly  out ;  nay 
brought  the  Feoffees  themselves  and  their  whole  Enterprise  into 
the  Star-chamber,  and  there,  with  emphasis  enough,  and  heavy 
damages,  amid  huge  rumour  from  the  public,  suppressed  them. 
This  was  in  1633;  a  somewhat  strong  measure.  How  would 
the  Public  take  it  now,  if, — we  say  not  the  gate  of  Heaven,  but 
the  gate  of  the  Opposition  Hustings  were  suddenly  shut  against 
mankind, — if  our  Opposition  Newspapers,  and  their  morning 
Prophesyings,  were  suppressed  ! — That  Cromwell  was  a  contri- 
butor to  this  Feoffee  Fund,  and  a  zealous  forwarder  of  it  ac- 
cording to  his  opportunities,  we  might  already  guess  ;  and  by 
and  by  there-will  occur  some  vestige  of  direct  evidence  to  that 
effect. 

Oliver  naturally  consorted  henceforth  with  the  Puritan  Clergy 
in  preference  to  the  other  kind  ;  zealously  attended  their  minis- 
try, when  possible  ; — consorted  with  Puritans  in  general,  many 
of  whom  were  Gentry  of  his  own  rank,  some  of  them  Nobility 
of  much  higher  rank.  A  modest  devout  man,  solemnly  intent 
'  to  make  his  calling  and  his  election  sure  ;'  to  whom,  in  credible 
dialect,  the  Voice  of  the  Highest  had  spoken.  Whose  earnest- 
ness, sagacity  and  manful  worth  gradually  made  him  conspicu- 
ous in  his  circle  among  such. — The  Puritans  were  already  nu- 
merous. John  Hampdcn,  Oliver's  Cousin,  was  a  devout  Puritan, 
John  Pym  the  like  ;  Lord  Brook,  Lord  Say,  Lord  Montague, — 
Puritans  in  the  better  ranks,  and  in  every  rank,  abounded.  Al- 
ready, either  in  conscious  act  or  in  clear  tendency,  the  far  greater 
part  of  the  serious  Thought  and  Manhood  of  England  had  de- 
clared itself  Puritan. 

1625. 

Mark  Noble,  citing  Willis's  Notitia,  reports  that  Oliver  ap- 
peared this  year  as  Member  'for  Huntingdon'  in  King  Charles's 
first  Parliament.24  It  is  a  mistake  ;  grounded  on  mere  blunders 
and  clerical  errors.  Browne  Willis,  in  his  Notitia  Parliament- 
aria,  does  indeed  specify  as  Member  for  Huntingdon.?///;^  an 
1  Oliver  Cromwell,  Esq.,'  who  might  be  our  Oliver.  But  the 

**  Noble,  i.  100. 


46  INTRODUCTION. 

usual  member  in  former  Parliaments  is  Sir  Oliver,  our  Oliver's 
Uncle.  Browne  Willis  must  have  made,  or  have  copied,  some 
slip  of  the  pen.  Suppose  him  to  have  found  in  some  of  his 
multitudinous  parchments,  an  '  Oliver  Cromwell,  Knight  of  the 
Shire:'  and  in  place  of  putting  in  the  'Sir,1  to  have  put  in 
'  Esq.  ;'  it  will  solve  the  whole  difficulty.  Our  Oliver,  when  he 
indisputably  did  afterwards  enter  Parliament,  came  in  for  Hunt- 
ingdon Town;  so  that,  on  this  hypothesis,  he  must  have  first 
been  Knight  of  the  Shire,  and  then  have  sunk  (an  immense  fall 
in  those  days)  to  be  a  Burgh  Member ;  which  cannot  without 
other  ground  be  credited.  What  the  original  Chancery  Parch- 
ments say  of  the  business,  whether  the  error  is  theirs  or  Browne 
Willis's,  I  cannot  decide :  on  inquiry  at  the  Roll's  Office,  it 
turns  out  that  the  Records,  for  some  fifty  years  about  this  period, 
have  vanished  "  a  good  while  ago."  Whose  error  it  may  be,  we 
know  not ;  but  an  error  we  may  safely  conclude  it  is.  Sir  Oliver 
was  then  still  living  at  Hinchinbrook,  in  the  vigour  of  his  years, 
no  reason  whatever  why  he  should  not  serve  as  formerly  ;  nay, 
if  he  had  withdrawn,  his  young  Nephew,  of  no  fortune  for  a 
Knight  of  the  Shire,  was  not  the  man  to  replace  him.  The  Mem- 
bers for  Huntingdon  Town  in  this  Parliament,  as  in  the  pre- 
ceding one,  are  a  Mr.  Mainwaring  and  a  Mr.  St.  John.  The 
County  Members  in  the  preceding  Parliament,  and  in  this  too 
with  the  correction  of  the  concluding  syllable  in  this,  are  '  Ed- 
ward Montague,  Esquire,'  and  '  Oliver  Cromwell,  Knight.' 

1626. 

In  the  Ashmole  Museum  at  Oxford  stands  catalogued  a 
'  Letter  from  Oliver  Cromwell  to  Mr.  Henry  Downhall,  at  St. 
'John's  College,  Cambridge;  dated,  Huntingdon,  14  October 
'  1626  ;'24  which  might  perhaps,  in  some  very  faint  way,  have 
elucidated  Dr.  Simcott  and  the  hypochondrias  for  us.  On  ap- 
plying to  kind  friends  at  Oxford  for  a  copy  of  this  Letter,  I 
learn  that  there  is  now  no  Letter,  only  a  mere  selvage  of  paper, 
and  a  leaf  wanting  between  two  leaves.  It  was  stolen,  none 
knows  when  ;  but  stolen  it  is  ; — which  forces  me  to  continue 
my  Introduction  some  nine  years  farther,  instead  of  ending  it 
at  this  point.  Did  some  zealous  Oxford  Doctor  cut  the  Letter 
out,  as  one  weeds  a  hemlock  from  a  parsley-bed ;  that  so  the 

K  Ucdlcian  Library  :  Cfdittt  Mss,  Ashmeltani,  DO.  £398. 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  47 

Ashmole  Museum  might  be  cleansed,  and  yield  only  pure  nutri- 
ment to  mankind  ?  Or  was  it  some  collector  of  autographs, 
eager  beyond  law  ?  Whoever  the  thief  may  be,  he  is  probably 
dead  long  since  ;  and  has  answered  for  this, — and  also,  we  may 
fancy,  for  heavier  thefts,  which  were  likely  to  be  charged  upon 
him.  If  any  humane  individual  ever  henceforth  get  his  eye  upon 
the  Letter,  let  him  be  so  kind  as  send  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Pub- 
lishers of  this  Book,  and  no  questions  will  be  asked.26 

1627. 

A  Deed  of  Sale,  dated  2oth  June  1627,  still  testifies  that 
Hinchinbrook  this  year  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Crom- 
wells  into  those  of  the  Montagues.27  The  price  was  3ooo/.  ; 
curiously  divided  into  two  parcels,  down  to  shillings  and  pence, 
— one  of  the  parcels  being  already  a  creditor's.  The  Purchaser 
is  '  Sir  Sidney  Montague,  Knight,  of  Barnwell,  one  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's Masters  of  the  Requests.'  Sir  Oliver  Cromwell,  son  of 
the  Golden  Knight,  having  now  burnt  out  his  splendour,  dis- 
appeared in  this  way  from  Hinchinbrook  ;  retired  deeper  into 
the  Fens,  to  a  place  of  his  near  Ramsey  Mere,  where  he  con- 
tinued still  thirty  years  longer  to  reside,  in  an  eclipsed  manner. 
It  was  to  this  house  at  Ramsey  that  Oliver,  our  Oliver,  then 
Captain  Cromwell  in  the  Parliament's  service,  paid  the  domi- 
ciliary visit  much  talked  of  in  the  old  Books.  The  reduced 
Knight,  his  Uncle,  was  a  Royalist  or  Malignant ;  and  his  house 
had  to  be  searched  for  arms,  for  munitions,  for  furnishings  of 
any  sort,  which  he  might  be  minded  to  send  off  to  the  King, 
now  at  York,  and  evidently  intending  war.  Oliver's  dragoons 
searched  with  due  rigour  for  the  arms  ;  while  the  Captain  re- 
spectfully conversed  with  his  Uncle  ;  and  even  '  insisted'  through 
the  interview,  say  the  old  Books,  '  on  standing  uncovered :'  which 
latter  circumstance  may  be  taken  as  an  astonishing  hypocrisy 
in  him,  say  the  old  blockhead  Books.  The  arms,  munitions, 
furnishings  were  with  all  rigour  of  law,  not  with  more  rigour 
and  not  with  less,  carried  away ;  and  Oliver  parted  with  his 
Uncle,  for  that  time,  not  '  craving  his  blessing,'  I  think,  as  the 
old  blockhead  Books  say  ;  but  hoping  he  might,  one  day,  either 
get  it  or  a  better  than  it,  for  what  he  had  now  done.  Oliver, 
while  in  military  charge  of  that  country,  had  probably  repeated 

JG  Letter  found,  worth  nothing :  Appendix,  No.  r.  (Note  to  Second  Edition,) 
y>  Noble,  L  43. 


48  INTRODUCTION. 

visits  to  pay  to  his  Uncle ;  and  they  know  little  of  the  man  or 
of  the  circumstances,  who  suppose  there  was  any  likelihood 
or  any  need  of  cither  insolence  or  hypocrisy  in  the  course  of 
these. 

As  for  the  old  Knight,  he  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of 
easy  temper  ;  given  to  sumptuosity  of  hospitality  ;  and  averse 
to  severer  duties.ca  When  his  eldest  son,  who  also  showed  a 
turn  for  expense,  presented  him  a  schedule  of  debts,  craving 
aid  towards  the  payment  of  them,  Sir  Oliver  answered  with  a 
bland  sigh,  "  I  wish  they  were  paid."  Various  Cromwclls,  sons 
of  his,  nephews  of  his,  besides  the  great  Oliver,  took  part  in 
the  Civil  War,  some  on  this  side,  some  on  that,  whose  indis- 
tinct designations  in  the  old  Books  are  apt  to  occasion  mistakes 
with  modern  readers.  Sir  Oliver  vanishes  now  from  Hinchin- 
brook,  and  all  the  public  business  records,  into  the  darker  places 
of  the  Fens.  His  name  disappears  from  Willis  : — in  the  next 
Parliament,  the  Knight  of  the  Shire  for  Huntingdon  becomes, 
instead  of  him,  '  Sir  Capell  Bedall,  Baronet.'  The  purchaser 
of  Hinchinbrook,  Sir  Sidney  Montague,  was  brother  of  the  first 
Earl  of  Manchester,  brother  of  the  third  Lord  Montague  of 
Boughton;  and  father  of  'the  valiant  Colonel  Montague,"  valiant 
General  Montague,  Admiral  Montague,  who,  in  an  altered  state 
of  circumstances,  became  first  Earl  of  Sandwich,  and  perished, 
with  a  valour  worthy  of  a  better  generalissimo  than  poor  James 
Duke  of  York,  in  the  Seafight  of  Solebay  (Southwold  Bay,  on 
the  coast  of  Suffolk)  in  1672.^ 

In  these  same  years,  for  the  dates  and  all  other  circum- 
stances of  the  matter  hang  dubious  in  the  vague,  there  is  record 
given  by  Dugdalc,  a  man  of  very  small  authority  on  these  Crom- 
well matters,  of  a  certain  suit  instituted,  in  the  King's  Council, 
King's  Court  of  Requests,  or  wherever  it  might  be,  by  our 
Oliver  and  other  relations  interested,  concerning  the  lunacy  of 
his  Uncle,  Sir  Thomas  Steward  of  Ely.  It  seems  they  alleged, 
This  Uncle  Steward  was  incapable  of  managing  his  affairs,  and 
ought  to  be  restrained  under  guardians.  Which  allegation  of 
theirs,  and  petition  grounded  on  it,  the  King's  Council  saw 
good  to  deny :  whereupon — Sir  Thomas  Steward  continued  to 
manage  his  affairs,  in  an  incapable  or  semi-capable  manner ; 
and  nothing  followed  upon  it  whatever.  Which  proceeding  of 

28  Fuller's  Worthitf,\  Huntingd'Jnshjre. 
»  Collins' s  Pierage  (London,  1741),  ii.  aS6^. 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  49 

Oliver's,  if  there  ever  was  such  a  proceeding,  we  are,  according 
to  Dugdale,  to  consider  an  act  of  villany, — if  we  incline  to  take 
that  trouble.  What  we  know  is,  That  poor  Sir  Thomas  himself 
did  not  so  consider  it  ;  for,  by  express  testament  some  years 
afterwards,  he  declared  Oliver  his  heir  in  chief,  and  left  him 
considerable  property,  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  So  that 
there  is  this  dilemma:  If  Sir  Thomas  was  imbecile,  then  Oliver 
was  right;  and  unless  Sir  Thomas  was  imbecile,  Oliver  was  not 
wrong  !  Alas,  all  calumny  and  carrion,  does  it  not  incessantly 
cry,  "Earth,  oh,  for  pity's  sake,  a  little  earth  1" 

1628. 

Sir  Oliver  Cromwell  has  faded  from  the  Parliamentary  scene 
into  the  deep  Fen-country,  but  Oliver  Cromwell,  Esq.,  appears 
there  as  Member  for  Huntingdon,  at  Westminster  on  'Monday 
the  1 7th  of  March'  1627-8.  This  was  the  Third  Parliament 
of  Charles  :  by  much  the  most  notable  of  all  Parliaments  till 
Charles's  Long  Parliament  met,  which  proved  his  last. 

Having  sharply,  with  swift  impetuosity  and  indignation, 
dismissed  two  Parliaments,  because  they  would  not  '  supply' 
him  without  taking  '  grievances'  along  with  them  ;  and  mean- 
while and  afterwards,  having  failed  in  every  operation  foreign 
and  domestic,  at  Cadiz,  at  Rhd,  at  Rochelle ;  and  having  failed, 
too,  in  getting  supplies  by  unparliamentary  methods,  Charles 
'  consulted  with  Sir  Robert  Cotton  what  was  to  be  done  ;'  who 
answered,  Summon  a  Parliament  again.  So  this  celebrated 
Parliament  was  summoned.  It  met,  as  we  said,  in  March 
1628,  and  continued  with  one  prorogation  till  March  1629. 
The  two  former  Parliaments  had  sat  but  a  few  weeks  each,  till 
they  were  indignantly  hurled  asunder  again;  this  one  continued 
nearly  a  year.  Wentworth  (Strafford)  was  of  this  Parliament ; 
Hampden  too,  Selden,  Pym,  Holies,  and  others  known  to  us  : 
all  these  had  been  of  former  Parliaments  as  well;  Oliver  Crom- 
well, Member  for  Huntingdon,  sat  there  for  the  first  time. 

It  is  very  evident,  King  Charles,  baffled  in  all  his  enter- 
prises, and  reduced  really  to  a  kind  of  crisis,  wished  much  this 
Parliament  should  succeed ;  and  took  what  he  must  have  thought 
incredible  pains  for  that  end.  The  poor  King  strives  visibly 
throughout  to  control  himself,  to  be  soft  and  patient ;  inwardly 
writhing  and  rustling  with  royal  rage.  Unfortunate  King,  we 
see  him  chafing,  stamping, — a  very  fiery  steed,  but  bridled, 

VOL.  I.  E 


50  INTRODUCTION. 

check-bitted,  by  innumerable  straps  and  considerations;  strug- 
gling much  to  be  composed.  Alas,  it  would  not  do.  This 
Parliament  was  more  Puritanic,  more  intent  on  rigorous  Law 
and  divine  Gospel,  than  any  other  had  ever  been.  As  indeed 
all  these  Parliaments  grow  strangely  in  Puritanism ;  more  and 
ever  more  earnest  rises  from  the  hearts  of  them  all,  "  O  Sacred 
Majesty,  lead  us  not  to  Antichrist,  to  Illegality,  to  temporal 
and  eternal  Perdition  !"  The  Nobility  and  Gentry  of  England 
were  then  a  very  strange  body  of  men.  The  English  Squire 
of  the  Seventeenth  Century  clearly  appears  to  have  believed  in 
God,  not  as  a  figure  of  speech,  but  as  a  very  fact,  very  awful 
to  the  heart  of  the  English  Squire.  '  He  wore  his  Bible-doc- 
'  trine  round  him,"  says  one,  'as  our  Squire  wears  his  shot-belt; 
4  went  abroad  with  it,  nothing  doubting.'  King  Charles  was 
going  on  his  father's  course,  only  with  frightful  acceleration  : 
he  and  his  respectable  Traditions  and  Notions,  clothed  in  old 
sheepskin  and  respectable  Church-tippets,  were  all  pulling  one 
way  ;  England  and  the  Eternal  Laws  pulling  another ; — the 
rent  fast  widening  till  no  man  could  heal  it. 

This  was  the  celebrated  Parliament  which  framed  the  Peti- 
tion of  Right,  and  set  London  all  astir  with  '  bells  and  bonfires' 
at  the  passing  thereof;  and  did  other  feats  not  to  be  particu- 
larised here.  Across  the  murkiest  element  in  which  any  great 
Entity  was  ever  shown  to  human  creatures,  it  still  rises,  after 
much  consideration,  to  the  modern  man,  in  a  dim  but  undeni- 
able manner,  as  a  most  brave  and  noble  Parliament.  The  like 
of  which  were  worth  its  weight  in  diamonds  even  how; — but  has 
grown  very  unattainable  now,  next  door  to  incredible  now.  We 
have  to  say  that  this  Parliament  chastised  sycophant  Priests, 
Mainwaring,  Sibthorp,  and  other  Arminian  sycophants,  a  dis- 
grace to  God's  Church ;  that  it  had  an  eye  to  other  still  more 
elevated  Church- Sycophants,  as  the  mainspring  of  all  ;  but 
was  cautious  to  give  offence  by  naming  them.  That  it  care- 
fully '  abstained  from  naming  the  Duke  of  Buckingham.'  That 
it  decided  on  giving  ample  subsidies,  but  not  till  there  were 
reasonable  discussion  of  grievances.  That  in  manner  it  was 
most  gentle,  soft-spoken,  cautious,  reverential ;  and  in  substance 
most  resolute  and  valiant.  Truly  with  valiant  patient  energy, 
in  a  slow  stedfast  English  manner,  it  carried,  across  infinite 
contused  opposition  and  discouragement,  its  Petition  of  Right, 
and  what  else  it  had  to  carry.  Four  hundred  brave  men, — ; 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  51 

brave  men  and  true,  after  their  sort !  One  laments  to  find  such 
a  Parliament  smothered  under  Dryasdust's  shot-rubbish.  The 
memory  of  it,  could  any  real  memory  of  it  rise  upon  honourable 
gentlemen  and  us,  might  be  admonitory, — would  be  astonish- 
ing at  least.  We  must  clip  one  extract  from  Rush  worth's  huge 
Rag-fair  of  a  Book  ;  the  mournfulest  torpedo  rubbish-heap,  of 
jewels  buried  under  sordid  wreck  and  dust  and  dead  ashes,  one 
jewel  to  the  wagon-load ; — and  let  the  reader  try  to  make  a 
visual  scene  of  it  as  he  can.  Here,  we  say,  is  an  old  Letter, 
which  '  old  Mr.  Chamberlain  of  the  Court  of  Wards,'  a  gentle- 
man entirely  unknown  to  us,  received  fresh  and  new,  before 
breakfast,  on  a  June  morning  of  the  year  1628  ;  of  which  old 
Letter  we,  by  a  good  chance,30  have  obtained  a  copy  for  the 
reader.  It  is  by  Mr.  Thomas  Alured,  a  good  Yorkshire  friend, 
Member  for  Malton  in  that  county  ; — written  in  a  hand  which, 
if  it  were  not  naturally  stout,  would  tremble  with  emotion. 
Worthy  Mr.  Alured,  called  also  '  Al'red'  or  '  Aldred ;'  uncle  or 
father,  we  suppose,  to  a  'Colonel  Alured,'  well  known  afterwards 
to  Oliver  and  us :  he  writes  ;  we  abridge  and  present,  as  follows : 

"  Friday,  6th  June  1628. 

"  Sir,  — Yesterday  was  a  day  of  desolation  among  us  in 
"  Parliament ;  and  this  day,  we  fear,  will  be  the  day  of  our 
"  dissolution. 

"  Upon  Tuesday  Sir  John  Eliot  moved  that  as  we  intended 
"  to  furnish  his  Majesty  with  money,  we  should  also  supply 
"  him  with  counsel.  Representing  the  doleful  state  of  affairs, 
"  he  desired  there  might  be  a  Declaration  made  to  the  King, 
"  of  the  danger  wherein  the  Kingdom  stood  by  the  decay  and 
"  contempt  of  religion,  by  the  insufficiency  of  his  Ministers,  by 
"  the"  &c.  &c.  "  Sir  Humphrey  May,  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy, 
"  said,  'it  was  a  strange  language;'  yet  the  House  commanded 
"  Sir  John  Eliot  to  go  on.  Whereupon  the  Chancellor  desired, 
"  '  If  he  went  on,  he  the  Chancellor  might  go  out.'  They  all 
"  bade  him  'begone  :'  yet  he  stayed,  and  heard  Sir  John  out. 
"  The  House  generally  inclined  to  such  a  Declaration;  which 
"  was  accordingly  resolved  to  be  set  about. 

"  But  next  day,  Wednesday,  we  had  a  Message  from  his 

3°  Rushworth's  Historical  Collections  (London,  1682),  i.  609-10.  (Note,  vols.  ii 
and  iii.  of  this  Copy  are  oi  1680,  a  prior  edition  seemingly ;  iv.  and  v.  of  1692 ;  vi.  and 
yii.  of  1701  ;  viii.,  Straftord's  Trial,  of  1700.) 


52  INTRODUCTION. 

"  Majesty  by  the  Speaker,  That  as  the  Session  was  positively 
"  to  end  in  a  week,  we  should  husband  the  time,  and  despatch 

"  our  old  businesses  without  entertaining  new!" Intending 

nevertheless  "  to  pursue  our  Declaration,  we  had,  yesterday, 
"  Thursday  morning,  a  new  Message  brought  us,  which  I  have 
"  here  enclosed.  Which  requiring  us  Not  to  cast  or  lay  any 
"  aspersion  iipon  any  Minister  of  his  Majesty,  the  House  was 
"  much  affected  thereby."  Did  they  not  in  former  times  pro- 
ceed by  fining  and  committing  John  of  Gaunt,  the  King's  own 
son ;  had  they  not,  in  very  late  times,  meddled  with  and  sen- 
tenced the  Lord  Chancellor  Bacon  and  others  ?  What  are  we 
arriving  at ! — 

"  Sir  Robert  Philips  of  Somersetshire  spake,  and  mingled 
"  his  words  with  weeping.  Mr.  Pym  did  the  like.  Sir  Edward 
"  Cook"  (old  Coke  upon  Lyttleton),  "  overcome  with  passion, 
"  seeing  the  desolation  likely  to  ensue,  was  forced  to  sit  down 
"  when  he  began  to  speak,  by  the  abundance  of  tears."  Oh, 
Mr.  Chamberlain  of  the  Court  of  Wards,  was  the  like  ever  wit- 
nessed ?  "  Yea,  the  Speaker  in  his  speech  could  not  refrain 
"  from  weeping  and  shedding  of  tears.  Besides  a  great  many 
"  whose  grief  made  them  dumb.  But  others  bore  up  in  that 
"  storm,  and  encouraged  the  rest."  We  resolved  ourselves 
into  a  Committee,  to  have  freer  scope  for  speech  ;  and  called 
Mr.  Whitby  to  the  chair. 

The  Speaker,  always  in  close  communication  with  his  Ma- 
jesty, craves  leave  from  us,  with  much  humility,  to  withdraw 
"  for  half  an  hour ;"  which,  though  we  knew  well  whither  he 
was  going,  was  readily  granted  him.  It  is  ordered,  "  No  other 
man  leave  the  House  upon  pain  of  going  to  the  Tower."  And 
now  the  speaking  commences,  "freer  and  frequenter,"  being  in 
Committee,  and  old  Sir  Edward  Coke  tries  it  again. 

"  Sir  Edward  Cook  told  us,  '  He  now  saw  God  had  not  ac- 
"  cepted  of  our  humble  and  moderate  carriages  and  fair  pro- 
"  ceedings ;  and  he  feared  the  reason  was,  We  had  not  dealt 
"  sincerely  with  the  King  and  Country,  and  made  a  true  repre- 
"  sentation  of  the  causes  of  all  those  miseries.  Which  he,  for 
"  his  part,  repented  that  he  had  not  done  sooner.  And  there- 
"  fore,  not  knowing  whether  he  should  ever  again  speak  in 
"  this  House,  he  would  now  do  it  freely ;  and  so  did  here  pro- 
"  test,  That  the  author  and  cause  of  all  those  miseries  was — 
"  THE  DUKE  OF  BUCKINGHAM.'  Which  was  entertained  and 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  53 

"  answered  with  a  cheerful  acclamation  of  the  House."  (Yea, 
yea  !  Well  moved,  well  spoken  !  Yea,  yea  !)  "  As,  when  one 
"  good  hound  recovers  the  scent,  the  rest  come  in  with  full 
"  cry  ;  so  they  (we)  pursued  it,  and  everyone  came  home,  and 
"  laid  the  blame  where  he  thought  the  fault  was," — on  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  to  wit.  "  And  as  we  were  putting  it 
"  to  the  question,  Whether  he  should  be  named  in  our  intended 
"  Remonstrance  as  the  chief  cause  of  all  our  miseries  at  home 
"  and  abroad, — the  Speaker,  having  been,  not  half  an  hour, 
"  but  three  hours  absent,  and  with  the  King,  returned  ;  bring- 
"  ing  this  Message,  That  the  House  should  then  rise  (being 
"  about  eleven  o'clock),  adjourn  till  the  morrow  morning,  and 
"  no  Committees  to  sit,  or  other  business  to  go  on,  in  the  in- 
"  terim."  And  so,  ever  since,  King's  Majesty,  Speaker,  Duke 
and  Councillors,  they  have  been  meditating  it  all  night ! 

"What  we  shall  expect  this  morning,  therefore,  God  of 
"  Heaven  knows!  We  shall  meet  betimes  this  morning;  partly 
"  for  the  business'  sake  ;  and  partly  because,  two  days  ago,  we 
"  made  an  order,  That  whoever  comes  in  after  Prayers  shall 
"  pay  twelvepence  to  the  poor. 

"Sir,  excuse  my  haste  : — and  let  us  have  your  prayers  ; 
"  whereof  both  you  and  we  have  need.  I  rest, — affectionately 
"  at  your  service,  THOMAS  ALURED." 

This  scene  Oliver  saw,  and  formed  part  of;  one  of  the 
memorablest  he  was  ever  in.  Why  did  those  old  honourable 
gentlemen  'weep'?  How  came  tough  old  Coke  upon  Lyttle- 
ton,  one  of  the  toughest  men  ever  made,  to  melt  into  tears  like 
a  girl,  and  sit  down  unable  to  speak  ?  The  modern  honourable 
gentleman  cannot  tell.  Let  him  consider  it,  and  try  if  he  can 
tell !  And  then,  putting  off  his  Shot-belt,  and  striving  to  put 
on  some  Bible-doctrine,  some  earnest  God's  truth  or  other, — 
try  if  he  can  discover  why  he  cannot  tell ! — 

The  Remonstrance  against  Buckingham  was  perfected  ;  the 
hounds  having  got  all  upon  the  scent.  Buckingham  was  ex- 
pressly 'named,' — a  daring  feat:  and  so  loud  were  the  hounds, 
and  such  a  tune  in  their  baying,  his  Majesty  saw  good  to  con- 
firm, and  ratify  beyond  shadow  of  cavil,  the  invaluable  Petition 
of  Right,  and  thereby  produce  'bonfires,'  and  bob-majors  upon 
all  bells.  Old  London  was  sonorous  ;  in  a  blaze  with  joy-fires. 
Soon  after  which,  this  Parliament,  as  London,  and  England,  and 


54  INTRODUCTION. 

it,  all  still  continued  somewhat  too  sonorous,  was  hastily,  with 
visible  royal  anger,  prorogued  till  October  next, — till  January 
as  it  proved.  Oliver,  of  course,  went  home  to  Huntingdon  to 
his  harvest-work;  England  continued  simmering  and  sounding 
as  it  might. 

The  day  of  prorogation  was  the  26th  of  June.31  One  day 
in  the  latter  end  of  August,  John  Felton,  a  short  swart  Suffolk 
gentleman  of  military  air,  in  fact  a  retired  lieutenant  of  grim 
serious  disposition,  went  out  to  walk  in  the  eastern  parts  of 
London.  Walking  on  Tower  Hill,  full  of  black  reflections  on 
his  own  condition,  and  on  the  condition  of  England,  and  a 
Duke  of  Buckingham  holding  all  England  down  into  the  jaws 
of  ruin  and  disgrace, — John  Felton  saw,  in  evil  hour,  on  some 
cutler's  stall  there,  a  broad  sharp  hunting-knife,  price  one  shil- 
ling. John  Felton,  with  a  wild  flash  in  the  dark  heart  of  him, 
bought  the  said  knife  ;  rode  down  to  Portsmouth  with  it,  where 
the  great  Duke  then  was  ;  struck  the  said  knife,  with  one  fell 
plunge,  into  the  great  Duke's  heart.  This  was  on  Saturday  the 
23d  of  August  of  this  same  year.58 

Felton  was  tried ;  saw  that  his  wild  flashing  inspiration 
had  been  not  of  God,  but  of  Satan.  It  is  known  he  repented  : 
when  the  death-sentence  was  passed  OR  him,  he  stretched  out 
his  right  hand  ;  craved  that  this  too,  as  some  small  expiation, 
might  first  be  stricken  off ;  which  was  denied  him,  as  against 
law.  He  died  at  Tyburn  ;  his  body  was  swinging  in  chains  at 
Portsmouth  ; — and  much  else  had  gone  awry,  when  the  Parlia- 
ment reassembled,  in  January  following,  and  Oliver  came  up  to 
Town  again. 

1629. 

The  Parliament  Session  proved  very  brief;  but  very  ener- 
getic, very  extraordinary.  '  Tonnage  and  Poundage,'  what  we 
now  call  Customhouse  Duties,  a  constant  subject  of  quarrel 
between  Charles  and  his  Parliaments  hitherto,  had  again  been 
levied  -without  Parliamentary  consent ;  in  the  teeth  of  old  Tal- 
lagia  tton  concedcndo,  nay  even  of  the  late  solemnly-confirmed 
Petition  of  Right ;  and  naturally  gave  rise  to  Parliamentary 
consideration.  Merchants  had  been  imprisoned  for  refusing 

31  Commons  Journals,  i.  910. 

31  Clarendon  (i.  68)  :  Humoiul  1'Estrange  (p.  90)  ;  D'Ewcs  (MS.  Autobiography), 
&c.  ;  nil  of  whom  report  the  minute  circumstances  ot  the  assassination,  not  one  oi 
them  agreeing  completely  with  another. 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  55 

to  pay  it ;  Members  of  Parliament  themselves  had  been  '  su- 
pcena'd:'  there  was  a  very  ravelled  coil  to  deal  with  in  regard 
to  Tonnage  and  Poundage.  Nay  the  Petition  of  Right  itself 
had  been  altered  in  the  Printing  ;  a  veiy  ugly  business  too. 

In  regard  to  Religion  also,  matters  looked  equally  ill.  Syco- 
phant Mainwaring,  just  censured  in  Parliament,  had  been  pro- 
moted to  a  fatter  living.  Sycophant  Montague,  in  the  like 
circumstances,  to  a  Bishopric  :  Laud  was  in  the  act  of  con- 
secrating him  at  Croydon,  when  the  news  of  Buckingham's 
death  came  thither.  There  needed  to  be  a  Committee  of  Re- 
ligion. The  House  resolved  itself  into  a  Grand  Committee  of 
Religion  ;  and  did  not  want  for  matter.  Bishop  Neile  of  Win- 
chester, Bishop  Laud  now  of  London,  were  a  frightfully  cere- 
monial pair  of  Bishops  ;  the  fountain  they  of  innumerable  tend- 
encies to  Papistry  and  the  old -clothes  of  Babylon  !  It  was 
in  this  Committee  of  Religion,  on  the  nth  day  of  February 
1628-9,  that  Mr.  Cromwell,  Member  for  Huntingdon,  stood  up 
and  made  his  first  Speech,  a  fragment  of  which  has  found  its 
way  into  History,  and  is  now  known  to  all  mankind.  He  said, 
"  He  had  heard  by  relation  from  one  Dr.  Beard"  (his  old 
Schoolmaster  at  Huntingdon),  "that  Dr.  Alablastcr  had  preached 
"  flat  Popery  at  Paul's  Cross ;  and  that  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
"  Chester"  (Dr.  Neile)  "had  commanded  him  as  his  Diocesan, 
"  He  should  preach  nothing  to  the  contrary.  Mainwaring,  so 
"justly  censured  in  this  House  for  his  sermons,  was  by  the 
"  same  Bishop's  means  preferred  to  a  rich  living.  If  these  are 
"  the  steps  to  Church-preferment,  what  are  we  to  expect  ?"33 

Dr.  Beard,  as  the  reader  knows,  is  Oliver's  old  Schoolmaster 
at  Huntingdon  ;  a  grave,  speculative,  theological  old  gentleman, 
seemingly, — and  on  a  level  with  the  latest  news  from  Town. 
Of  poor  Dr.  Alablaster  there  may  be  found  some  indistinct, 
and  instantly  forgettable  particulars  in  Wood's  Athena.  Paul's 
Cross,  of  which  I  have  seen  old  Prints,  was  a  kind  of  Stone 
Tent,  'with  leaden  roof,'  at  the  north-east  corner  of  Paul's  Ca- 
thedral, where  Sermons  were  still,  and  had  long  been,  preached 
in  the  open  air  ;  crowded  devout  congregations  gathering  there, 
with  forms  to  sit  on,  if  you  came  early.  Queen  Elizabeth  used 
to  'tune  her  pulpits,'  she  said,  when  there  was  any  great  thing 
on  hand ;  as  Governing  Persons  now  strive  to  tune  their  Morning 
Newspapers.  Paul's  Cross,  a  kind  of  Times  Newspaper,  but 

33  Parliamentary  History  (London,  1763),  viii.  289. 


56  INTRODUCTION. 

edited  partly  by  Heaven  itself,  was  then  a  most  important  entity ! 
Alablastcr,  to  the  horror  of  mankind,  was  heard  preaching  '  flat 
Popery'  there, — '  prostituting  our  columns,'  in  that  scandalous 
manner !  And  Neile  had  forbidden  him  to  preach  against  it : 
1  what  are  we  to  expect  ?' 

The  record  of  this  world-famous  utterance  of  Oliver  still 
lies  in  manuscript  in  the  British  Museum,  in  Mr.  Crcwe's  Note- 
book, or  another's  :  it  was  first  printed  in  a  wretched  old  Book 
called  Ephemeris  Parliamentaria,  professing  to  be  compiled  by 
Thomas  Fuller  ;  and  actually  containing  a  Preface  recognisable 
as  his,  but  nothing  else  that  we  can  so  recognise :  for  '  quaint 
old  Fuller"  is  a  man  of  talent ;  and  this  Book  looks  as  if  com- 
piled by  some  spiritual  Nightmare,  rather  than  a  rational  Man. 
Probably  some  greedy  Printer's  compilation  ;  to  whom  Thomas, 
in  ill  hour,  had  sold  his  name.  In  the  Commons  Journals,  of 
that  same  day,  we  are  farther  to  remark,  there  stands,  in  per- 
ennial preservation,  this  notice  :  '  Upon  question,  Ordered,  That 
'  Dr.  Beard  of  Huntingdon  be  written  to  by  Mr.  Speaker,  to 
'  come  up  and  testify  against  the  Bishop  ;  the  order  for  Dr. 
'  Beard  to  be  delivered  t»  Mr.  Cromwell."  The  first  mention 
of  Mr.  Cromwell's  name  in  the  Books  of  any  Parliament. — 

A  new  Remonstrance  behoves  to  be  resolved  upon  ;  Bishops 
Neile  and  Laud  are  even  to  be  named  there.  Whereupon,  be- 
fore they  could  get  well  'named,'  perhaps  before  Dr.  Beard 
had  well  got  up  from  Huntingdon  to  testify  against  them,  the 
King  hastily  interfered.  This  Parliament,  in  a  fortnight  more, 
was  dissolved  ;  and  that  under  circumstances  of  the  most  un- 
paralleled sort.  For  Speaker  Finch,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a 
Courtier,  in  constant  communication  with  the  Kiqg  :  one  day 
while  these  high  matters  were  astir,  Speaker  Finch  refused  to 
'  put  the  question"  when  ordered  by  the  House  !  He  said  he 
had  orders  to  the  contrary ;  persisted  in  that ; — and  at  last 
took  to  weeping.  What  was  the  House  to  do  ?  Adjourn  for 
two  days,  and  consider  what  to  do!  On  the  second  day,  which 
was  Wednesday,  Speaker  Finch  signified  that  by  his  Majesty's 
command  they  were  again  adjourned  till  Monday  next.  On 
Monday  next,  Speaker  Finch,  still  recusant,  would  not  put  the 
former  nor  indeed  any  question,  having  the  King's  order  to 
adjourn  again  instantly.  He  refused  ;  was  reprimanded,  men- 
aced ;  once  more  took  to  weeping ;  then  started  up  to  go  his 
ways.  But  young  Mr.  Holies,  Derail  Holies,  the  Earl  of  Clare's 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  57 

second  son,  he  and  certain  other  honourable  members  were 
prepared  for  that  movement  :  they  seized  Speaker  Finch,  set 
him  down  in  his  chair,  and  by  main  force  held  him  there  !  A 
scene  of  such  agitation  as  was  never  seen  in  Parliament  before. 
'  The  House  was  much  troubled.'  "  Let  him  go  !"  cried  certain 
Privy  Councillors,  Majesty's  Ministers  as  we  should  now  call 
them,  who  in  those  days  sat  in  front  of  the  Speaker;  "Let 
Mr.  Speaker  go!"  cried  they  imploringly.  —  "No!"  answered 
Holies  ;  "  God's  wounds,  he  shall  sit  there  till  it  please  the 
House  to  rise  !"  The  House,  in  a  decisive  though  almost  dis- 
tracted manner,  with  their  Speaker  thus  held  down  for  them, 
locked  their  doors  ;  redacted  Three  emphatic  Resolutions,  their 
Protest  against  Arminianism,  against  Papistry,  against  illegal 
Tonnage  and  Poundage  ;  and  passed  the  same  by  acclamation ; 
letting  no  man  out,  refusing  to  let  even  the  King's  Usher  in  ; 
then  swiftly  vanishing  so  soon  as  the  resolutions  were  passed, 
for  they  understood  the  Soldiery  was  coming.34  For  which 
surprising  procedure,  vindicated  by  Necessity  the  mother  of 
Invention  and  supreme  of  Lawgivers,  certain  honourable  gen- 
tlemen, Denzil  Holies,  Sir  John  Eliot,  William  Strode,  John 
Selden,  and  others  less  known  to  us,  suffered  fine,  imprison- 
ment and  much  legal  tribulation  :  nay  Sir  John  Eliot,  refusing 
to  submit,  was  kept  in  the  Tower  till  he  died. 

This  scene  fell  out  on  Monday  2d  of  March  1629.  Directly 
on  the  back  of  which,  we  conclude,  Mr.  Cromwell  quitted  Town 
for  Huntingdon  again  ; — told  Dr.  Beard  also  that  he  was  not 
wanted  now  ;  that  he  might  at  leisure  go  on  with  his  Theatre 
of  God's  Judgments  now.35  His  Majesty  dissolved  the  Parlia- 
ment by  Proclamation  ;  saying  something  about  '  vipers'  that 
had  been  there. 

It  was  the  last  Parliament  in  England  for  above  eleven 
years.  The  King  had  taken  his  course.  The  King  went  on 
raising  supplies  without  Parliamentary  law,  by  all  conceivable 
devices  ;  of  which  Shipmoney  may  be  considered  the  most  ori- 
ginal, and  sale  of  Monopolies  the  most  universal.  The  mono- 
poly of  'soap'  itself  was  very  grievous  to  men.3*5  Your  soap  was 
dear,  and  it  would  not  wash,  but  only  blister.  The  ceremonial 
Bishops,  Bishop  or  Archbishop  Laud  now  chief  of  them, — they, 

34  Rushworth,  i.  667-9. 

35  Third  Edition,  '  increased  with  many  new  examples,'  in  1631. 
*  See  many  old  Pamphlets. 


5$  INTRODUCTION. 

o,n  their  side,  went  on  diligently  hunting  out  '  Lecturers,'  erect- 
ing 'altars  in  the  east-end  of  churches  ;'  charging  all  clergymen 
to  have,  in  good  repair  and  order,  '  Four  surplices  at  Allhallow- 
tide.'37  Vexations  spiritual  and  fiscal,  beyond  what  we  can  well 
fancy  now,  afflicted  the  souls  of  men.  The  English  Nation  was 
patient ;  it  endured  in  silence,  with  prayer  that  God  in  justice 
and  mercy  would  look  upon  it.  The  King  of  England  with  his 
chief-priests  was  going  one  way ;  the  Nation  of  England  by 
eternal  laws  was  going  another  :  the  split  became  too  wide  for 
healing.  Oliver  and  others  seemed  now  to  have  done  with  Par- 
liaments ;  a  royal  Proclamation  forbade  them  so  much  as  to 
speak  of  such  a  thing. 

1630. 

In  the  '  new  charter'  granted  to  the  Corporation  of  Hunting- 
don, and  dated  8th  July  1630,  Oliver  Cromwell,  Esquire,  Tho- 
mas Beard,  D.D.  his  old  Schoolmaster,  and  Robert  Barnard, 
Esquire,  of  whom  also  we  may  hear  again,  are  named  Justices 
of  the  Peace  for  that  Borough.38  I  suppose  there  was  nothing 
new  in  this  nomination  ;  a  mere  confirming  and  continuing  of 
what  had  already  been.  But  the  smallest  authentic  fact,  any 
undoubted  date  or  circumstance  regarding  Oliver  and  his  affairs, 
is  to  be  eagerly  laid  hold  of. 

1631. 

In  or  soon  after  1631,  as  we  laboriously  infer  from  the  im- 
broglio records  of  poor  Noble,  Oliver  decided  on  an  enlarged 
sphere  of  action  as  a  Farmer ;  sold  his  properties  in  Hunting- 
don, all  or  some  of  them  ;  rented  certain  grazing-lands  at  St. 
Ivcs,  five  miles  down  the  River,  eastward  of  his  native  place, 
and  removed  thither.  The  Deed  of  Sale  is  dated  7th  May 
1631  ;*9  the  properties  are  specified  as  in  the  possession  of 
himself  or  his  Mother  ;  the  sum  they  yielded  was  I  Soo/.  With 
this  sum  Oliver  stocked  his  Grazing-Farm  at  St.  Ives.  The 
Mother,  we  infer,  continued  to  reside  at  Huntingdon,  but  with- 
drawn now  from  active  occupation,  into  the  retirement  befitting 
a  widow  advanced  in  years.  There  is  even  some  gleam  of  evi- 
dence to  that  effect :  her  properties  are  sold  ;  but  Oliver's  chil- 
dren born  to  him  at  St.  Ives  are  still  christened  at  Huntingdon, 

»7  Laud'*  Diary,  ia  Wharton's  Laud.          *»  Noble,  L  102.         »  Ibid.  i.  103-4. 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  59 

in  the  Church  he  was  used  to  ;  which  may  mean  also  that  their 
good  Grandmother  was  still  there. 

Properly  this  was  no  change  in  Oliver's  old  activities  ;  it 
was  an  enlargement  of  the  sphere  of  them.  His  Mother  still 
at  Huntingdon,  within  few  miles  of  him,  he  could  still  superin- 
tend and  protect  her  existence  there,  while  managing  his  new 
operations  at  St.  Ives.  He  continued  here  till  the  summer  or 
spring  of  i636.40  A  studious  imagination  may  sufficiently  con- 
struct the  figure  of  his  equable  life  in  those  years.  Diligent 
grass-farming  ;  mowing,  milking,  cattle-marketing  :  add  '  hypo- 
chondria,' fits  of  the  blackness  of  darkness,  with  glances  of  the 
brightness  of  very  Heaven  ;  prayer,  religious  reading  and  me- 
ditation ;  household  epochs,  joys  and  cares  : — we  have  a  solid 
substantial  inoffensive  Farmer  of  St.  Ives,  hoping  to  walk  with 
integrity  and  humble  devout  diligence  through  this  world  ;  and, 
by  his  Maker's  infinite  mercy,  to  escape  destruction,  and  find 
eternal  salvation,  in  wider  Divine  Worlds.  This  latter,  this  is 
{he  grand  clause  in  his  Life,  which  dwarfs  all  other  clauses. 
Much  wider  destinies  than  he  anticipated  were  appointed  him 
on  Earth  ;  but  that,  in  comparison  to  the  alternative  of  Heaven 
or  Hell  to  all  Eternity,  was  a  mighty  small  matter. 

The  lands  he  rented  are  still  there,  recognisable  to  the 
Tourist ;  gross  boggy  lands,  fringed  with  willow-trees,  at  the 
east  end  of  the  small  Town  of  St.  Ives,  which  is  still  noted  as 
a  cattle-market  in  those  parts.  The  '  Cromwell  Barn,'  the  pre- 
tended 'House  of  Cromwell,'  the  &c.  &c.  are,  as  is  usual  in 
these  cases,  when  you  come  to  try  them  by  the  documents,  a 
mere  jumble  of  incredibilities,  and  oblivious  human  platitudes, 
distressing  to  the  mind. 

But  a  Letter,  one  Letter  signed  Oliver  Cromwell  and  dated 
St.  Ives,  does  remain,  still  legible  and  undubitable  to  us.  What 
more  is  to  be  said  on  St.  Ives  and  the  adjacent  matters  will 
best  arrange  itself  round  that  Document.  One  or  two  entries 
here,  and  we  arrive  at  that,  and  bring  these  imperfect  Introduc- 
tory Chronicles  to  a  close. 

1632. 

In  January  of  this  year  Oliver's  seventh  child  was  born  to 
him  ;  a  boy,  James  ;  who  died  the  day  after  baptism.  There 
remained  six  children,  of  whom  one  other  died  young  ;  it  is 

<0  Noble,  i.  106. 


6o  INTRODUCTION. 

not  known  at  what  date.  "Here  subjoined  is  the  List  of  them, 
and  of  those  subsequently  born  ;  in  a  Note,  elaborated,  as  be- 
fore, from  the  imbroglios  of  Noble.41 

This  same  year,  William  Prynne  first  began  to  make  a  noise 
in  England.  A  learned  young  gentleman  '  from  Swainswick, 
near  Bath,'  graduate  of  Oxford,  now  '  an  Outer  Barrister  of 
Lincoln's  Inn ;'  well  read  in  English  Law,  and  full  of  zeal  for 
Gospel  Doctrine  and  Morality.  He,  struck  by  certain  flagrant 
scandals  of  the  time,  especially  by  that  of  Play-acting  and 
Masking,  saw  good,  this  year,  to  set  forth  his  Histriomastix, 

*'  OLIVER  CROMWELL'S  CHILDREN. 
(Married  to  Elizabeth  Bourchier,  aid  August  1620.) 

1.  Robert ',  baptised  >3th  October  1621.    Named  for  his  Grandfather.    No  farther 
Account  of  him  (except,  now,  supra,  p.  41  n.);  he  died  before  ripe  years. 

2.  Oliver  ;  baptised  6th  February  1662-3  :  went  to  Foisted  School.     '  Captain  in 
Harrison's  Regiment,' — no.     At  Peterborough  in  1643  (Noble,  i.  131-4).     He  died,  or 
was  killed  during  the  War  ;  date  and  place  not  yet  discoverable.     Noble  says  it  was 
at  Appleby ;  referring  to  Whitlocke.     Whitlocke  (p.  318  of  ist  edition,  322  of  2d), 
on  ransacking  the  old  Pamphlets,  turns  out  to  be  indisputably  in  error.  The  Protector 
on  his  deathbed  alludes  to  this  Oliver's  death :  "  It  went  to  my  heart  like  a  dagger, 
indeed  it  did." 


June  1652, — at  random  seemingly).     Died  at  Stoke  Newington,  near  London,  Sep- 
tember 1681. 

4.  Richard ;  born  4th  October  1626.     At  Felsted  School     '  In  Lincoln's  Inn,  27th 
May  1647:'  an  error?    Married,  in  1649,   Richard  Mayor's  daughter,  of  Hursley, 
Hants.     First  in  Parliament,  1654.     Protector,  1658.     Dies,  pour  idle  Triviality,  at 
Cheshunt,  i2th  July  1712. 

5.  Henry ;  baptised  at  All-Saints  (the  rest  are  at  St.  John's),  Huntingdon,  aoth 
January  1627-8.     Felsted  School.    In  the  army  at  sixteen.     Captain,  under  Harrison 
I  think,  in  1647.     Colonel  in  1649,  and  in  Ireland  with  his  Father.     Lord  Deputy 
there  in  1657.     In  1660  retired  to  Spinney  Abbey,  '  near  Soham,'  nearer  Wicken,  in 
Cambridgeshire.      Foolish  story- of  Charles  II.  and  the  'stable-fork' there  (Noble,  i. 
212).     Died  23d  March  1673-4  ;  buried  in  Wicken  Church.     A  brave  man  and  true  : 
had  he  been  named  Protector,  there  had,  most  likely,  been  quite  another  History  of 
England  to  write,  at  present  I 

6.  Elizabeth ;  baptised  21!  July  1629.     Mrs.  Claypole,  1645-6.     Died  at  3  in  the 
morning,  Hampton-Court,  6th  August  1658, — four  weeks  before  her  Father.       A 
graceful,  brave  and  amiable  woman.     The  lamentation  about  Dr.  He  wit  and  '  blood- 
shed' (in  Clarendon  and  others)  is  fudge. 

At  St.  Ives  and  Ely: 

7.  James;  baptised  8th  January  1631-2  ;  died  next  day. 

8.  Mary  ;  baptised  (at  Huntingdon  still)  9th  February  1636-7,  Lady  Fauconberg, 
1 8th   November   1657.     Dean  Swift  knew  her:    'handsome  and  like  her   Father.' 
(Journal  to  Stella,     I3th  Nov.   1710.')     Died  I4th  March  1712  (1712-3?  is  not  de- 
cided in  Noble).     Richard  died  within  a  few  months  of  her. 

9.  Frances;  baptised  (at  Kly  now)  6th  December  1638.     'Charles  II.   was  for 
marrying  her  :'  not  improbable.     Married  Mr.    Rich,   Karl  of  Warwick's  grandson, 
nth   November  1657:   he  died  in  three  months,   i6th  February  1657-8.     No  child 
by  Rich.     Married  Sir  John  RusscI,  —  the  Checqucrs  Russels.     Died  27th  January 
1710-20. 

In  all,  5  sons  and  4  daughters;  of  whom  3  sons  and  all  the  daughters  came  to 
maturity. 

The  Protector's  Widow  died  at  Norborough,  her  son-in-law  Claypolc's  place  (now 
ruined,  patched  into  a  farmhouse  ;  near  Market-Deeping  ;  it  is  itself  in  Northamp- 
tonshire), 8th  October  1672. 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  61 

or  Player's  Scourge  ;  a  Book  still  extant,  but  never  more  to  be 
read  by  mortal.  For  which  Mr.  William  Prynne  himself,  before 
long,  paid  rather  dear.  The  Book  was  licensed  by  old  Arch- 
bishop Abbot,  a  man  of  Puritan  tendencies,  but  now  verging 
towards  his  end.  Peter  Heylin,  '  lying  Peter'  as  men  sometimes 
call  him,  was  already  with  hawk's  eye  and  the  intensest  interest 
reading  this  now  unreadable  Book,  and,  by  Laud's  direction, 
taking  excerpts  from  the  same. — 

It  carries  our  thought  to  extensive  world-transactions  over 
sea,  to  reflect  that  in  the  end  of  this  same  year,  '  6th  November 
1 632, 'the  great  Gustavus  died  on  the  Field  ofLiitzen  ;  fighting 
against  Wallenstein  ;  victorious  for  the  last  time.  While  Oliver 
Cromwell  walked  peacefully  intent  on  cattle-husbandry,  that 
winter-day,  on  the  grassy  banks  of  the  Ouse  at  St.  Ives,  Gus- 
tavus Adolphus,  shot  through  the  back,  was  sinking  from  his 
horse  in  the  battle-storm  far  off,  with  these  words  :  "  Ich  habe 
" genug,  Bruder;  rettc  Dich.  Brother,  I  have  got  enough; 
"  save  thyself."4- 

On  the  igth  of  the  same  month,  November  1632,  died  like- 
wise Frederick  Elector  Palatine,  titular  King  of  Bohemia,  hus- 
band of  King  Charles's  sister,  and  father  of  certain  Princes, 
Rupert  and  others,  who  came  to  be  well  known  in  our  History. 
Elizabeth,  the  Widow,  was  left  with  a  large  family  of  them  in 
Holland,  very  bare  of  money,  of  resource,  or  immediate  hope  ; 
but  conducted  herself,  as  she  had  all  along  done,  in  a  way  that 
gained  much  respect.  '  Allcs  fiir  Ruhm  und  Ihr,  All  for  Glory 
and  Her,'  were  the  words  Duke  Bernhard  of  Weimar  carried  on 
his  Flag,  through  many  battles  in  that  Thirty-Years  War.  She 
was  of  Puritan  tendency  ;  understood  to  care  little  about  the 
Four  surplices  at  Allhallowtide,  and  much  for  the  root  of  the 
matter. 

Attorney-General  Noy,  in  these  months,  was  busy  tearing 
up  the  unfortunate  old  manufacturers  of  soap  ;  tormenting  man- 
kind very  much  about  soap.43  He  tore  them  up  irresistibly, 
reduced  them  to  total  ruin  ;  good  soap  became  unattainable. 

1633- 

In  May  1633,  the  second  year  of  Oliver's  residence  in  this 
new  Farm,  the  King's  Majesty,  with  train  enough,  passed  through 
Huntingdonshire,  on  his  way  to  Scotland  to  be  crowned.  The 

43  Schiller,  Gcschichte  des  -yyahrigen  Krieges.         4J  Rushworth,  ii.  135,  253,  &c. 


62  INTRODUCTION. 

loud  rustic  of  him  disturbing,  for  a  day,  the  summer  husband- 
ries and  operations  of  mankind.  His  ostensible  business  was 
to  be  crowned  ;  but  his  intrinsic  errand  was,  what  his  Father's 
formerly  had  been,  to  get  his  Pretended -Bishops  set  on  foot 
there  ;  his  Tulchans  converted  into  real  Calves  ; — in  which,  as 
we  shall  see,  he  succeeded  still  worse  than  his  Father  had  done. 
Dr.  Laud,  Bishop  Laud,  now  near  upon  Archbishophood,  at- 
tended his  Majesty  thither  as  formerly  ;  still  found  'no  religion* 
there,  but  trusted  now  to  introduce  one.  The  Chapel  at  Holy- 
rood-house  was  fitted  up  with  every  equipment  textile  and  me- 
tallic ;  and  little  Bishop  Laud  in  person  '  performed  the  service,' 
in  a  way  to  illuminate  the  benighted  natives,  as  was  hoped, — 
show  them  how  an  Artist  could  do  it.  He  had  also  some  dread- 
ful travelling  through  certain  of  the  savage  districts  of  that 
country. 

Crossing  Huntingdonshire,  on  this  occasion,  in  his  way 
Northward,  his  Majesty  had  visited  the  Establishment  of  Ni- 
cholas Ferrar  at  Little  Gidding,  on  the  western  border  of  that 
county.44  A  surprising  Establishment,  now  in  full  flower  ; 
wherein  above  fourscore  persons,  including  domestics,  with 
Ferrar  and  his  Brother  and  aged  Mother  at  the  head  of  them, 
had  devoted  themselves  to  a  kind  of  Protestant  Monachism,  and 
were  getting  much  talked  of  in  those  times.  They  followed 
celibacy,  and  merely  religious  duties  ;  employed  themselves  in 
'  binding  of  Prayer-books,'  embroidering  of  hassocks,  in  alms- 
giving also,  and  what  charitable  work  was  possible  in  that  de- 
bert  region ;  above  all,  they  kept  up,  night  and  day,  a  continual 
repetition  of  the  English  Liturgy;  being  divided  into«relays  and 
watches,  one  watch  relieving  another  as  on  shipboard ;  and 
never  allowing  at  any  hour  the  sacred  fire  to  go  out.  This 
also,  as  a  feature  of  the  times,  the  modern  reader  is  to  medi- 
tate. In  Izaac  Walton's  Lives  there  is  some  drowsy  notice  of 
these  people,  not  unknown  to  the  modern  reader.  A  far  livelier 
notice;  record  of  an  actual  visit  to  the  place,  by  an  Anonymous 
Person,  seemingly  a  religious  Lawyer,  perhaps  returning  from 
Circuit  in  that  direction,  at  all  events  a  most  sharp  distinct 
man,  through  whose  clear  eyes  we  also  cau  still  look ; — is  pre- 
served by  Hearne  in  very  unexpected  neighbourhood.45  The 

4t  Kushworth,  ii.  178. 

**  Tlionuc  Caii  Viiitlicia:  Antiquitatit  Acttdemia  OxffKifHsis  (Oxf.  1730),  it.  702- 
744.  There  nr«  two  Lives  of  Ferrar  ;  considerable  writings  about  him  ;  but,  cxcr;  t 
this,  uothiiij  that  much  deserves 


EVENTS  IN  OLIVER'S  BIOGRAPHY.  K$ 

Anonymous  Person,  after  some  survey  and  communing,  sug- 
gested to  Nicholas  Ferrar,  "  Perhaps  he  had  but  assumed  all 
"  this  ritual  mummery,  in  order  to  get  a  devout  life  led  peace- 
"  ably  in  these  bad  times  ?"  Nicholas,  a  dark  man,  who  had 
acquired  something  of  the  Jesuit  in  his  Foreign  travels,  looked 
at  him  ambiguously,  and  said,  "  I  perceive  you  are  a  person 
who  know  the  world !"  They  did  not  ask  the  Anonymous  Per- 
son to  stay  dinner,  which  he  considered  would  have  been  agree 

able. 

Note  these  other  things,  with  which  we  are  more  immedi- 
ately concerned.  In  this  same  year  the  Feoffees,  with  their 
Purchase  of  Advowsons,  with  their  Lecturers  and  Running  Lec- 
turers, were  fairly  rooted  out,  and  flung  prostrate  into  total 
ruin  ;  Laud  having  set  Attorney-General  Noy  upon  them,  and 
brought  them  into  the  Starchamber.  'God  forgive  thejti?  writes 
Bishop  Laud,  '  and  grant  me  patience  !' — on  hearing  that  they 
spake  harshly  of  him  ;  not  gratefully,  but  ungratefully,  for  all 
this  trouble  he  took!  In  the  same  year,  by  procurement  of  the 
same  zealous  Bishop  hounding-on  the  same  invincible  Attorney- 
General,  William  Prynne,  our  unreadable  friend,  Peter  Heylin 
having  read  him,  was  brought  to  the  Starchamber ;  to  the  Pil- 
lory, and  had  his  ears  cropt  off,  for  the  first  time  ; — who  also, 
strange  as  it  may  look,  manifested  no  gratitude,  but  the  con- 
trary, for  all  that  trouble  !46 

1634. 

In  the  end  of  this  the  third  year  of  Oliver's  abode  at  St. 
Ives,  came  out  the  celebrated  Writ  of  Shipmoney.  It  was  the 
last  feat  of  Attorney-General  Noy:  a  morose,  amorphous,  cynical 
Law-Pedant,  and  invincible  living  heap  of  learned  rubbish ;  once 
a  Patriot  in  Parliament,  till  they  made  him  Attorney-General, 
and  enlightened  his  eyes  :  who  had  fished-up  from  the  dust- 
abysses  this  and  other  old  shadows  of  '  precedents,'  promising 
to  be  of  great  use  in  the  present  distressed  state  of  the  Finance 
Department.  Parliament  being  in  abeyance,  how  to  raise  money 
was  now  the  grand  problem.  Noy  himself  was  dead  before  the 
Writ  came  out ;  a  very  mixed  renown  following  him.  The 
Vintners,  says  Wood,  illuminated  at  his  death,  made  bonfires, 
and  '  drank  lusty  carouses  :'  to  them,  as  to  every  man,  he  had 
been  a  sore  affliction.  His  heart,  on  dissection,  adds  old  An- 

43  Rushworth ;  Wharton's  Laud 


64  INTRODUCTION. 

thony,  was  found  'all  shrivelled  up  like  a  leather  penny-puree;' 
which  gave  rise  to  comments  among  the  Puritans. 4?  His  brain, 
said  the  pasquinades  of  the  day,  was  found  reduced  to  a  mass 
of  dust,  his  heart  was  a  bundle  of  old  sheep-skin  writs,  and  his 
belly  consisted  of  a  barrel  of  soap.48  Some  indistinct  memory 
of  him  still  survives,  as  of  a  grisly  Law  Pluto,  and  dark  Law 
Monster,  kind  of  Infernal  King,  Chief  Enchanter  in  the  Dom- 
daniel  of  Attorneys  ;  one  of  those  frightful  men,  who,  as  his 
contemporaries  passionately  said  and  repeated,  dare  to  •  decree 
injustice  by  a  law* 

The  Shipmoney  Writ  has  come  out,  then  ;  and  Cousin 
Hampden  has  decided  not  to  pay  it ! — As  the  date  of  Oliver's 
St.  Ives  Letter  is  1635-6,  and  we  are  now  come  in  sight  of 
that,  we  will  here  close  our  Chronology. 


CHAPTER  V. 
OF  OLIVER'S  LETTERS  AND  SPEECHES. 

LETTERS  and  authentic  Utterances  of  Oliver  lie  scattered, 
in  print  and  manuscript,  in  a  hundred  repositories,  in  all  varie- 
ties of  condition  and  environment.  Most  of  them,  all  the  im- 
portant of  them,  have  already  long  since  been  printed  and  again 
printed  ;  but  we  cannot  in  general  say,  ever  read  :  too  often  it 
is  apparent  that  the  very  editor  of  these  poor  utterances  had, 
if  reading  mean  understanding,  never  read  them.  They  stand 
in  their  old  spelling ;  mispunctuated,  misprinted,  unQlucidated, 
unintelligible, — defaced  with  the  dark  incrustations  too  well 
known  to  students  of  that  Period.  The  Speeches  above  all, 
as  hitherto  set  forth  in  The  Somers  Tracts,  in  The  Milton  Stale- 
Papers,  in  Burtons  Diary,  and  other  such  Books,  excel  human 
belief :  certainly  no  such  agglomerate  of  opaque  confusions, 
printed  and  reprinted  ;  of  darkness  on  the  back  of  darkness, 
thick  and  threefold  ;  is  known  to  me  elsewhere  in  the  history 
of  things  spoken  or  printed  by  human  creatures.  Of  these 
Speeches,  all  except  one,  which  was  published  by  authority  at 
the  time,  I  have  to  believe  myself,  not  very  exultingly,  to  be 
the  first  actual  reader  for  nearly  two  Centuries  past. 

47  Wood's  /4/>bft<r  (Bliss'i  edition,  London,  1815),  ii.  $8> 
*•  Rushworth. 


OF  OLIVER'S  I  BETTERS  AND  SPEECHES.       65 

Nevertheless  these  Documents  do  exist,  authentic  though 
defaced  ;  and  invite  everyone  who  would  know  that  Period,  to 
study  them  till  they  become  intelligible  again.  The  words  of 
Oliver  Cromwell, — the  meaning  they  had,  must  be  worth  re- 
covering, in  that  point  of  view.  To  collect  these  Letters  and 
authentic  Utterances,  as  one's  reading  yielded  them,  was  a 
comparatively  grateful  labour  ;  to  correct  them,  elucidate  and 
make  them  legible  again,  was  a  good  historical  study.  Surely 
1  a  wise  memory'  would  wish  to  preserve  among  men  the  written 
and  spoken  words  of  such  a  man  ; — and  as  for  the  '  wise  obli- 
vion,' that  is  already,  by  Time  and  Accident,  done  to  our  hand. 
Enough  is  already  lost  and  destroyed ;  we  need  not,  in  this  par- 
ticular case,  omit  farther. 

Accordingly,  whatever  words  authentically  proceeding  from 
Oliver  himself  I  could  anywhere  find  yet  surviving,  I  have  here 
gathered  ;  and  will  now,  with  such  minimum  of  annotation  as 
may  suit  that  object,  offer  them  to  the  reader.  That  is  the 
purport  of  this  Book.  I  have  ventured  to  believe  that,  to  cer- 
tain patient  earnest  readers,  these  old  dim  Letters  of  a  noble 
English  Man  might,  as  they  had  done  to  myself,  become  dimly 
legible  again  ;  might  dimly  present,  better  than  all  other  evi- 
dence, the  noble  figure  of  the  Man  himself  again.  Certainly 
there  is  Historical  instruction  in  these  Letters  : — Historical, 
and  perhaps  other  and  better.  At  least,  it  is  with  Heroes  and 
god-inspired  men  that  I,  for  my  part,  would  far  rather  con- 
verse, in  what  dialect  soever  they  speak !  Great,  ever  fruitful ; 
profitable  for  reproof,  for  encouragement,  for  building -up  in 
manful  purposes  and  works,  are  the  words  of  those  that  in  their 
day  were  men.  I  will  advise  serious  persons,  interested  in  Eng- 
land past  or  present,  to  try  if  they  can  read  a  little  in  these 
Letters  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  a  man  once  deeply  interested  in  the 
same  object.  Heavy  as  it  is,  and  dim  and  obsolete,  there  may 
be  worse  reading,  for  such  persons  in  our  time. 

For  the  rest,  if  each  Letter  took  dim,  and  have  little  light, 
after  all  study; — yet  let  the  Historical  reader  reflect,  such  light 
as  it  has  cannot  be  disputed  at  all.  These  words,  expository 
of  that  day  and  hour,  Oliver  Cromwell  did  see  fittest  to  be 
written  down.  The  Letter  hangs  there  in  the  dark  abysses  of 
the  Past:  iflike  a  star  almost  extinct,  yet  like  a  real  star;  fixed; 
about  which  there  is  no  cavilling  possible.  That  autograph  Let- 

VOL.  I.  F 


66  INTRODUCTION. 

ter,  it  was  once  all  luminous  as  a  burning  beacon,  every  word 
of  it  a  live  coal,  in  its  time;  it  was  once  a  piece  of  the  general 
fire  and  light  of  Human  Life,  that  Letter !  Neither  is  it  yet 
entirely  extinct  :  well  read,  there  is  still  in  it  light  enough  to 
exhibit  its  own  self;  nay  to  diffuse  a  faint  authentic  twilight 
some  distance  round  it.  Heaped  embers  which  in  the  daylight 
looked  black,  may  still  look  red  in  the  utter  darkness.  These 
Letters  of  Oliver  will  convince  any  man  that  the  Past  did  exist ! 
By  degrees  the  combined  small  twilights  may  produce  a  kind 
of  general  feeble  twilight,  rendering  the  Past  credible,  theGhosts 
of  the  Past  in  some  glimpses  of  them  visible!  Such  is  the  effect 
of  contemporary  letters  always  ;  and  I  can  very  confidently  re- 
commend Oliver's  as  good  of  their  kind.  A  man  intent  to  force 
for  himself  some  path  through  that  gloomy  chaos  called  History 
of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  and  to  look  face  to  face  upon  the 
same,  may  perhaps  try  it  by  this  method  as  hopefully  as  by 
another.  Here  is  an  irregular  row  of  beacon-fires,  once  all 
luminous  as  suns  ;  and  with  a  certain  inextinguishable  erubes- 
cence  still,  in  the  abysses  of  the  dead  deep  Night.  Let  us  look 
here.  In  shadowy  outlines,  in  dimmer  and  dimmer  crowding 
forms,  the  very  figure  of  the  old  dead  Time  itself  may  perhaps 
be  faintly  discernible  here  ! — 

I  called  these  Letters  good, — but  withal  only  good  of  their 
kind.  No  eloquence,  elegance,  not  always  even  clearness  of 
expression,  is  to  be  looked  for  in  them.  They  are  written  with 
far  other  than  literary  aims  ;  written,  most  of  them,  in  the  very 
flame  and  conflagration  of  a  revolutionary  struggle,  and  with  an 
eye  to  the  despatch  of  indispensable  pressing  business  alone  : 
but  it  will  be  found,  I  conceive,  that  for  such  end  they  are  well 
written.  Superfluity,  as  if  by  a  natural  law  of  the  case,  the 
writer  has  had  to  discard  ;  whatsoever  quality  can  be  dispensed 
with  is  indifferent  to  him.  With  unwieldy  movement,  yet  with 
a  great  solid  step  he  presses  through,  towards  his  object ;  has 
marked  out  very  decisively  whai  the  real  steps  towards  it  are  ; 
discriminating  well  the  essential  from  the  extraneous ; — forming 
to  himself,  in  short,  a  true,  not  an  untrue  picture  of  the  busi- 
ness that  is  to  be  done.  There  is,  in  these  Letters,  as  I  have 
said  above,  a  silence  still  more  significant  of  Oliver  to  us  than 
any  speech  they  have.  Dimly  we  discover  features  of  an  In- 
telligence, and  Soul  of  a  Man,  greater  than  any  speech.  The 


OF  OLIVER'S  LETTERS  AND  SPEECHES.       67 

Intelligence  that  can,  with  full  satisfaction  to  itself,  come  out 
in  eloquent  speaking,  in  musical  singing,  is,  after  all,  a  small 
Intelligence.  He  that  works  and  does  some  Poem,  not  he  that 
merely  says  one,  is  worthy  of  the  name  of  Poet.  Cromwell, 
emblem  of  the  dumb  English,  is  interesting  to  me  by  the  very 
inadequacy  of  his  speech.  Heroic  insight,  valour  and  belief, 
without  words, — how  noble  is  it  in  comparison  to  the  adroitest 
flow  of  words  without  heroic  insight ! — 

I  have  corrected  the  spelling  of  these  Letters ;  I  have  punc- 
tuated, and  divided  them  into  paragraphs,  in  the  modern  man- 
ner. The  Originals,  so  far  as  I  have  seen  such,  have  in  general 
no  paragraphs  :  if  the  Letter  is  short,  it  is  usually  found  written 
on  the  first  leaf  of  the  sheet ;  often  with  the  conclusion,  or 
some  postscript,  subjoined  crosswise  on  the  margin, — indicating 
that  there  was  no  blotting-paper  in  those  days  ;  that  the  hasty 
writer  was  loath  to  turn  the  leaf.  Oliver's  spelling  and  pointing 
are  of  the  sort  common  to  educated  persons  in  his  time  ;  and 
readers  that  so  wish,  may  have  specimens  of  him  in  abundance, 
and  of  all  due  dimness,  in  many  printed  Books  :  but  to  us, 
intent  here  to  have  the  Letters  read  and  understood,  it  seemed 
very  proper  at  once  and  altogether  to  get  rid  of  that  encum- 
brance. Would  that  the  rest  were  all  as  easily  got  rid  of !  Here 
and  there,  to  bring  out  the  struggling  sense,  I  have  added  or 
rectified  a  word, — but  taken  care  to  point  out  the  same  ;  what 
words  in  the  Text  of  the  Letters  are  mine,  the  reader  will  find 
marked  off  by  single  commas  :  it  was  of  course  my  supreme 
duty  to  avoid  altering,  in  any  respect,  not  only  the  sense,  but 
the  smallest  feature  in  the  physiognomy,  of  the  Original.  And  so, 
'  a  minimum  of  annotation*  having  been  added,  what  minimum 
would  serve  the  purpose, — here  are  the  Letters  and  Speeches  of 
Oliver  Cromwell;  of  which  the  reader,  with  my  best  wishes, 
but  not  wjth  any  very  high  immediate  hope  of  mine  in  that 
particular,  is  to  make  what  he  can. 

Surely  it  is  far  enough  from  probable  that  these  Letters  of 
Cromwell,  written  originally  for  quite  other  objects,  and  selected 
not  by  the  Genius  of  History,  but  by  blind  Accident  which  has 
saved  them  hitherto  and  destroyed  the  rest,-— -  can  illuminate 
For  a  modern  man  this  Period  of  our  Annals,  which  for  all  mo- 
derns, We  may  say,  has  'become  a  gulf  of  bottomless  darkness  ! 
Net  so  easily  will  tne  modern  man  ddmesticate  himself  in  a 


63  INTRODUCTION. 

scene  of  things  every  way  so  foreign  to  him.  Nor  could  any 
measurable  exposition  of  mine,  on  this  present  occasion,  do  much 
to  illuminate  the  dead  dark  world  of  the  Seventeenth  Century, 
into  which  the  reader  is  about  to  enter.  He  will  gradually  get 
to  understand,  as  I  have  said,  that  the  Seventeenth  Century 
did  exist ;  that  it  was  not  a  waste  rubbish-continent  of  Rush- 
worth-Nalson  State-papers,  of  Philosophical  Scepticisms,  Dilet- 
tantisms, Dryasdust  Torpedoisms ; — but  an  actual  flesh-and- 
blood  Fact ;  with  colour  in  its  cheeks,  with  awful  august  heroic 
thoughts  in  its  heart,  and  at  last  with  steel  sword  in  its  hand ! 
Theoretically  this  is  a  most  small  postulate,  conceded  at  once 
by  everybody;  but  practically  it  is  a  very  large  one,  seldom  or 
never  conceded  ;  the  due  practical  conceding  of  it  amounts  to 
much,  indeed  to  the  sure  promise  of  all. — I  will  venture  to  give 
the  reader  two  little  pieces  of  advice,  which,  if  his  experience 
resemble  mine,  may  prove  furthersome  to  him  in  this  inquiry  : 
they  include  the  essence  of  all  that  I  have  discovered  respect- 
ing it. 

The  first  is,  By  no  means  to  credit  the  wide-spread  report 
that  these  Seventeenth -Century  Puritans  were  superstitious 
crack-brained  persons  ;  given  up  to  enthusiasm,  the  most  part 
of  them  ;  the  minor  ruling  part  being  cunning  men,  who  knew 
how  to  assume  the  dialect  of  the  others,  and  thereby,  as  skilful 
Macchiavels,  to  dupe  them.  This  is  a  wide-spread  report ;  but 
an  untrue  one.  I  advise  my  reader  to  try  precisely  the  oppo- 
site hypothesis.  To  consider  that  his  Fathers,  who  had  thought 
about  this  world  very  seriously  indeed,  and  with  very  consider- 
able thinking  faculty  indeed,  were  not  quite  so  far  behindhand 
m  their  conclusions  respecting  it.  That  actually  their  '  en- 
thusiasms,' if  well  seen  into,  were  not  foolish  but  wise.  That 
Macchiavelism,  Cant,  Official  Jargon,  whereby  a  man  speaks 
openly  what  he  does  not  mean,  were,  surprising  as  it  may  seem, 
much  rarer  then  than  they  have  ever  since  been.  Really  and 
truly  it  may  in  a  manner  be  said,  Cant,  Parliamentary  and 
other  Jargon,  were  still  to  invent  in  this  world.  O  Heavens, 
one  could  weep  at  the  contrast !  Cant  was  not  fashionable  at 
all ;  that  stupendous  invention  of  '  Speech  for  the  purpose  of 
concealing  Thought'  was  not  yet  made.  A  man  wagging  the 
tongue  of  him,  as  if  it  were  the  clapper  of  a  bell  to  be  rung  for 
economic  purposes,  and  not  so  much  as  attempting  to  convey 


OF"OL1VER'S  LETTERS  AND  SPEECHES.       69 

any  inner  thought,  if  thought  he  have,  of  the  matter  talked  of, 
— would  at  that  date  have  awakened  all  the  horror  in  men's 
minds,  which  at  all  dates,  and  at  this  date  too,  is  due  to  him. 
The  accursed  thing  !  No  man  as  yet  dared  to  do  it ;  all  men 
believing  that  God  would  judge  them.  In  the  History  of  the 
Civil  War  far  and  wide,  I  have  not  fallen-in  with  one  such  phe- 
nomenon. Even  Archbishop  Laud  and  Peter  Heylin  meant 
what  they  say ;  through  their  words  you  do  look  direct  into  the 
scraggy  conviction  they  have  formed  : — or  if  '  lying  Peter'  do 
lie,  he  at  least  knows  that  he  is  lying  !  Lord  Clarendon,  a  man 
of  sufficient  unveracity  of  heart,  to  whom  indeed  whatsoever  has 
direct  veracity  of  heart  is  more  or  less  horrible,  speaks  always 
in  official  language  ;  a  clothed,  nay  sometimes  even  quilted 
dialect,  yet  always  with  some  considerable  body  in  the  heart  of 
it,  never  with  none  !  The  use  of  the  human  tongue  was  then 
other  than  it  now  is.  I  counsel  the  reader  to  leave  all  that  of 
Cant,  Dupery,  Macchiavelism,  and  so  forth,  decisively  lying  at 
the  threshold.  He  will  be  wise  to  believe  that  these  Puritans  do 
mean  what  they  say,  and  to  try  unimpeded  if  he  can  discover 
what  that  is.  Gradually  a  very  stupendous  phenomenon  may 
rise  on  his  astonished  eye.  A  practical  world  based  on  Belief 
in  God ; — such  as  many  centuries  had  seen  before,  but  as  never 
any  century  since  has  been  privileged  to  see.  It  was  the  last 
glimpse  of  it  in  our  world,  this  of  English  Puritanism  :  very 
great,  very  glorious ;  tragical  enough  to  all  thinking  hearts  that 
look  on  it  from  these  days  of  ours. 

My  second  advice  is,  Not  to  imagine  that  it  was  Consti- 
tution, '  Liberty  of  the  people  to  tax  themselves,'  Privilege  of 
Parliament,  Triennial  or  Annual  Parliaments,  or  any  modirica- 
tion  of  these  sublime  Privileges  now  waxing  somewhat  faint  in 
our  admirations,  that  mainly  animated  our  Cromwells,  Pyms, 
and  Hampdens  to  the  heroic  efforts  we  still  admire  in  retro- 
spect. Not  these  very  measurable  '  Privileges,'  but  a  far  other 
and  deeper,  which  could  not  be  measured;  of  which  these,  and 
all  grand  social  improvements  whatsoever,  are  the  corollary. 
Our  ancient  Puritan  Reformers  were,  as  all  Reformers  that  will 
ever  much  benefit  this  Earth  are  always,  inspired  by  a  Heavenly 
Purpose.  To  see  God's  own  Law,  then  universally  acknow- 
ledged for  complete  as  it  stood  in  the  holy  Written  Book,  made 
good  in  this  world  ;  to  see  this,  or  the  true  unwearied  aim  and 


yo  INTRODUCTION. 

struggle  towards  this :  it  was  a  thing  worth  living  for  and  dying 
for  !  Eternal  Justice  ;  that  God's  Will  be  done  on  Earth  as  it 
is  in  Heaven  :  corollaries  enough  will  flow  from  that,  if  that  be 
there  ;  if  that  be  not  there,  no  corollary  good  for  much  will 
flow.  It  was  the  general  spirit  of  England  in  the  Seventeenth 
Century.  In  other  somewhat  sadly  disfigured  form  we  have 
seen  the  same  immortal  hope  take  practical  shape  in  the  French 
Revolution,  and  once  more  astonish  the  world.  That  England 
should  all  become  a  Church,  if  you  like  to  name  it  so:  a  Church 
presided  over  not  by  sham-priests  in  '  Four  surplices  at  AH- 
hallowtide,"  but  by  true  god-consecrated  ones,  whose  hearts 
the  Most  High  had  touched  and  hallowed  with  his  fire  : — this 
was  the  prayer  of  many,  it  was  the  godlike  hope  and  effort  of 
some. 

Our  modern  methods  of  Reform  differ  somewhat, — as  in- 
deed the  issue  testifies.  I  will  advise  my  reader  to  forget  the 
modern  methods  of  Reform ;  not  to  remember  that  he  has  ever 
heard  of  a  modern  individual  called  by  the  name  of  Reformer, 
if  he  would  understand  what  the  old  meaning  of  the  word  was. 
The  Cromwells,  Pyms,  Hampdens,  who  were  understood  on 
the  Royalist  side  to  be  firebrands  of  the  Devil,  have  had  still 
worse  measure  from  the  Dryasdust  Philosophies,  and  sceptical 
Histories,  of  later  times.  They  really  did  resemble  firebrands 
of  the  Devil,  if  you  looked  at  them  through  spectacles  of  a  cer- 
tain colour.  For  fire  is  always  fire.  But  by  no  spectacles,  only 
by  mere  blinders  and  wooden-eyed  spectacles,  can  the  flame-girt 
Heavcn's-messenger  pass  for  a  poor  mouldy  Pedant  and  Con- 
stitution-monger, such  as  this  would  make  him  out  to  be  ! 

On  the  whole,  say  not,  good  reader,  as  is  often  done,  "  It 
was  then  all  one  as  now."  Good  reader,  it  was  considerably 
different  then  from  now.  Men  indolently  say,  "  The  Ages  are 
"  all  alike  ;  ever  the  same  sorry  elements  over  again,  in  new 
"  vesture ;  the  issue  of  it  always  a  melancholy  farce-tragedy, 
"  in  one  Age  as  in  another!"  Wherein  lies  very  obviously  a 
truth  ;  but  also  in  secret  a  very  sad  error  withal.  Sure  enough, 
the  highest  Life  touches  always,  by  large  sections  of  it,  on  the 
vulgar  and  universal :  he  that  expects  to  see  a  Hero,  or  a 
Heroic  Age,  step  forth  into  practice  in  yellow  Drury-lane  stage- 
boots,  and  speak  in  blank  verse  for  itself,  will  look  long  in 
vain.  Sure  enough,  in  the  Heroic  Century  as  in  the  Unheroic, 


OF  OLIVER'S  LETTERS  AND  SPEECHES.       71 

knaves  and  cowards,  and  cunning  greedy  persons  were  not 
wanting, — were,  if  you  will,  extremely  abundant.  But  the 
question  always  remains,  Did  they  lie  chained,  subordinate  in 
this  world's  business  ;  coerced  by  steel-whips,  or  in  whatever 
other  effectual  way,  and  sent  whimpering  into  their  due  subter- 
ranean abodes,  to  beat  hemp  and  repent ;  a  true  never-ending 
attempt  going  on  to  handcuff,  to  silence  and  suppress  them  ? 
Or  did  they  walk  openly  abroad,  the  envy  of  a  general  valet- 
population,  and  bear  sway  ;  professing,  without  universal  ana- 
thema, almost  with  general  assent,  that  they  were  the  Orthodox 
Party,  that  they,  even  they,  were  such  men  as  you  had  right  to 
look  for? — 

Reader,  the  Ages  differ  greatly,  even  infinitely,  from  one 
another.  Considerable  tracts  of  Ages  there  have  been,  by  far 
the  majority  indeed,  wherein  the  men,  unfortunate  mortals, 
were  a  set  of  mimetic  creatures  rather  than  men  ;  without 
heart-insight  as  to  this  Universe,  and  its  Heights  and  Abysses  ; 
without  conviction  or  belief  of  their  own  regarding  it,  at  all ; — 
who  walked  merely  by  hearsays,  traditionary  cants,  black  and 
white  surplices'  and  inane  confusions  ; — whose  whole  Existence 
accordingly  was  a  grimace  ;  nothing  original  in  it,  nothing 
genuine  or  sincere  but  this  only,  Their  greediness  of  appetite 
and  their  faculty  of  digestion.  Such  unhappy  Ages,  too 
numerous  here  below,  the  Genius  of  Mankind  indignantly 
seizes,  as  disgraceful  to  the  Family,  and  with  Rhadamanthine 
ruthlessness  —  annihilates  ;  tumbles  large  masses  of  them 
swiftly  into  Eternal  Night.  These  are  the  Unheroic  Ages  ; 
which  cannot  serve,  on  the  general  field  of  Existence,  except 
as  dust,  as  inorganic  manure.  The  memory  of  such  Ages 
fades  away  forever  out  of  the  minds  of  all  men.  Why  should 
any  memory  of  them  continue  ?  The  fashion  of  them  has 
passed  away  ;  and  as  for  genuine  substance,  they  never  had 
any.  To  no  heart  of  a  man  any  more  can  these  Ages  become 
lovely.  What  melodious  loving  heart  will  search  into  their 
records,  will  sing  of  them,  or  celebrate  them  ?  Even  torpid 
Dryasdust  is  forced  to  give  over  at  last,  all  creatures  declining 
to  hear  him  on  that  subject  ;  whereupon  ensues  composure 
and  silence,  and  Oblivion  has  her  own. 

Good  reader,  if  you  be  wise,  search  not  for  the  secret  of 
Heroic  Ages,  which  have  done  great  things  in  this  Earth, 


72  INTRODUCTION. 

among  their  falsities,  their  greedy  quackeries  and  ////heroisms  ! 
It  never  lies  and  never  will  lie  there.  Knaves  and  quacks, — 
alas,  we  know  they  abounded  :  but  the  Age  was  Heroic  even 
because  it  had  declared  war  to  the  death  with  these,  and  would 
have  neither  truce  nor  treaty  with  these  ;  and  went  forth,  flame- 
crowned,  as  with  bared  sword,  and  called  the  Most  High  to 
witness  that  it  would  not  endure  these  !-i — —But  now  for  the 
Letters  of  Cromwell  themselves. 


PART  FIRST. 

TO  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

1636-1642. 


LETTER   I. 

ST.  IVES,  a  small  Town  of  perhaps  fifteen  hundred  souls,  stands 
on  the  left  or  Northeastern  bank  of  the  River  Ouse,  in  flat 
grassy  country,  and  is  still  noted  as  a  Cattle-market  in  those 
parts.  Its  chief  historical  fame  is  likely  to  rest  on  the  follow- 
ing one  remaining  Letter  of  Cromwell's,  written  there  on  the 
Ilth  of  January  1635-6. 

The  little  Town,  of  somewhat  dingy  aspect,  and  very  quies- 
cent except  on  market-days,  runs  from  Northwest  to  Southeast, 
parallel  to  the  shore  of  the  Ouse,  a  short  furlong  in  length  :  it 
probably,  in  Cromwell's  time,  consisted  mainly  of  a  row  of 
houses  fronting  the  River;  the  now  opposite  row,  which  has 
its  back  to  the  River,  and  still  is  shorter  than  the  other, 
still  defective  at  the  upper  end,  was  probably  built  since.  In 
that  case,  the  locality  we  hear  of  as  the  '  Green'  of  St.  Ives 
would  then  be  the  space  which  is  now  covered  mainly  with 
cattle-pens  for  market-business,  and  forms  the  middle  of  the 
street.  A  narrow  steep  old  Bridge,  probably  the  same  which 
Cromwell  travelled,  leads  you  over,  westward,  towards  God- 
manchester,  where  you  again  cross  the  Ouse,  and  get  into 
Huntingdon.  Eastward  out  of  St.  Ives,  your  route  is  towards 
Earith,  Ely  and  the  heart  of  the  Fens. 

At  the  upper  or  Northwestern  extremity  of  the  place  stands 
the  Church  ;  Cromwell's  old  fields  being  at  the  opposite  extre- 
mity. The  Church  from  its  Churchyard  looks  down  into  the 


74  PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.         ..  J«. 

very  River,  which  is  fenced  from  it  by  a  brick  wall.  The 
Ouse  flows  here,  you  cannot  without  study  tell  in  which  direc- 
tion, fringed  with  gross  reedy  herbage  and  bushes  ;  and  is  of 
the  blackness  of  Acheron,  streaked  with  foul  metallic  glitterings 
and  plays  of  colour.  For  a  short  space  downwards  here,  the 
banks  of  it  are  fully  visible  ;  the  western  row  of  houses  being 
somewhat  the  shorter,  as  already  hinted :  instead  of  houses  here, 
you  have  a  rough  wooden  balustrade,  and  the  black  Acheron  of 
an  Ouse  River  used  as  a  washing-place  or  watering-place  for 
cattle.  The  old  Church,  suitable  for  such  a  population,  stands 
yet  as  it  did  in  Cromwell's  time,  except  perhaps  the  steeple  and 
pews ;  the  flagstones  in  the  interior  are  worn  deep  with  the  pac- 
ing of  many  generations.  The  steeple  is  visible  from  several 
miles  distance  ;  a  sharp  high  spire,  piercing  far  up  from  amid 
the  willow-trees.  The  country  hereabouts  has  all  a  clammy 
look,  clayey  and  boggy ;  the  produce  of  it,  whether  bushes  and 
trees,  or  grass  and  crops,  gives  you  the  notion  of  something 
lazy,  dropsical,  gross. — This  is  St.  Ives,  a  most  ancient  Cattle- 
market  by  the  shores  of  the  sable  Ouse,  on  the  edge  of  the  Fen- 
country  ;  where,  among  other  things  that  happened,  Oliver 
Cromwell  passed  five  years  of  his  existence  as  a  Farmer  and 
Grazier.  Who  the  primitive  Ives  himself  was,  remains  pro- 
blematic ;  Camden  says  he  was  '  Ivo  a  Persian  ;' — surely  far 
out  of  his  road  here  !  From  him  however,  Phantasm  as  he  is 
(being  indeed  Nothing, — except  an  ancient  '  stone-coffin,'  with 
bones,  and  tatters  of  '  bright  cloth'  in  it,  accidentally  ploughed 
up  in  this  spot,  and  acted  on  by  opaque  human  wonder,  miracu- 
lous 'dreams,'  and  the  'Abbot  of  Ramsey'),1  Chirrch  and  Vil- 
lage indisputably  took  rise  and  name  ;  about  the  Year  1000  or 
later ; — and  have  stood  ever  since  ;  being  founded  on  Cattle- 
dealing  and  the  firm  Earth  withal.  Ives  or  Yves,  the  worthy 
Frenchman,  Bishop  of  Chartres  in  the  time  of  our  Henry  Beau 
clerk ;  neither  he  nor  the  other  French  Yves,  Patron  Saint  o 
Attorneys,  have  anything  to  do  with  this  locality  ;  but  miracu 
lous  '  Ivo  the  Persian  Bishop'  and  that  anonymous  stone-coffin 
alone. — 

Oliver,  as  we  observed,  has  left  hardly  any  memorial  of  him- 
self at  St.  Ives.  The  ground  he  farmed  is  still  partly  capable 
of  being  specified,  certain  records  or  leases  being  still  in  exist- 

1  His  Legend  (De  Beato  Y-cotie.  EfUcofe  Persd),  with  due  details,  in  Bollandu'., 
Acta  Sanetontm,  Junii,  torn  ii  (Vcn«Un,  1742),  pp.  988-93. 


»636.  LETTER  I.    ST.  IVES.  75 

ence.  It  lies  at  the  lower  or  Southeast  end  of  the  Town  ;  a 
stagnant  flat  tract  of  land,  extending  between  the  houses  or 
rather  kitchen-gardens  of  St.  Ives  in  that  quarter,  and  the  banks 
of  the  River,  which,  very  tortuous  always,  has  made  a  new  bend 
here.  If  well  drained,  this  land  looks  as  if  it  would  produce 
abundant  grass,  but  naturally  it  must  be  little  other  than  a  bog. 
Tall  bushy  ranges  of  willow-trees  and  the  like,  at  present,  divide 
it  into  fields  ;  the  River,  not  visible  till  you  are  close  on  it, 
bounding  them  all  to  the  South.  At  the  top  of  the  fields  next 
to  the  Town  is  an  ancient  massive  Barn,  still  used  as  such  ; 
the  people  call  it  '  Cromwell's  Barn  :' — and  nobody  can  prove 
that  it  was  not  his  !  It  was  evidently  some  ancient  man's  or 
series  of  ancient  men's. 

Quitting  St.  Ives  Fen-ward  or  Eastward,  the  last  house  of 
all,  which  stands  on  your  right  hand  among  gardens,  seemingly 
the  best  house  in  the  place,  and  called  Slepe  Hall,  is  confidently 
pointed  out  as  '  Oliver's  House.'  It  is  indisputably  Slepe-Hall 
House,  and  Oliver's  Farm  was  rented  from  the  estate  of  Slepe 
Hall.  It  is  at  present  used  for  a  Boarding-school :  the  worthy 
inhabitants  believe  it  to  be  Oliver's ;  and  even  point  out  his 
'  Chapel'  or  secret  Puritan  Sermon-room  in  the  lower  story  of 
the  house  :  no  Sermon-room,  as  you  may  well  discern,  but  to 
appearance  some  sort  of  scullery  or  wash-house  or  bake-house. 
"  It  was  here  he  used  to  preach,"  say  they.  Courtesy  forbids 
you  to  answer,  "  Never  !"  But  in  fact  there  is  no  likelihood 
that  this  was  Oliver's  House  at  all :  in  its  present  state  it  does 
not  seem  to  be  a  century  old  ;2  and  originally,  as  is  like,  it 
must  have  served  as  residence  to  the  Proprietors  of  Slepe-Hall 
estate,  not  to  the  Farmer  of  a  part  thereof.  Tradition  makes 
a  sad  blur  of  Oliver's  memory  in  his  native  country  !  We 
know,  and  shall  know,  only  this,  for  certain  here,  That  Oliver 
farmed  part  or  whole  of  these  Slepe-Hall  Lands,  over  which 
the  human  feet  can  still  walk  with  assurance  ;  past  which  the 
River  Onse  still  slumberously  rolls,  towards  Earith  Bulwark 
and  the  Fen-country.  Here  of  a  certainty  Oliver  did  walk  and 
look  about  him  habitually,  during  those  five  years  from  1631 
to  1636  ;  a  man  studious  of  many  temporal  and  many  eternal 
things.  His  cattle  grazed  here,  his  ploughs  tilled  here,  the 
heavenly  skies  and  infernal  abysses  overarched  and  under- 
arched  him  here. 

*  Noble,  L  102,  106. 


76          PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.         „  J«. 

In  fact  there  is,  as  it  were,  nothing  whatever  that  still 
decisively  to  every  eye  attests  his  existence  at  St.  Ives,  except 
the  following  old  Letter,  accidentally  preserved  among  the 
Harley  Manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum.  Noble,  writing  in 
1787,  says  the  old  branding-irons,  '  O.  C,'  for  marking  sheep, 
were  still  used  by  some  Farmer  there ;  but  these  also,  many 
years  ago,  are  gone.  In  the  Parish-Records  of  St.  Ives,  Oliver 
appears  twice  among  some  other  ten  or  twelve  respectable  rate- 
payers ;  appointing,  in  1633  and  1634,  for  '  St.  Ives  cum  Slepa* 
fit  annual  overseers  for  the  '  Highway  and  Green  :' — one  of  the 
Oliver  signatures  is  now  cut  out.  Fifty  years  ago,  a  vague 
old  Parish-clerk  had  heard  from  very  vague  old  persons,  that 
Mr.  Cromwell  had  been  seen  attending  divine  service  in  the 
Church  with  'a  piece  of  red  flannel  round  his  neck,  being  sub- 
ject to  inflammation.'3  Certain  letters  'written  in  a  very  kind 
style  from  Oliver  Lord  Protector  to  persons  in  St.  Ives,'  do 
not  now  exist ;  probably  never  did.  Swords  '  bearing  the 
initials  of  O.  C.,'  swords  sent  down  in  the  beginning  of  1642, 
when  War  was  now  imminent,  and  weapons  were  yet  scarce, 
—do  any  such  still  exist  ?  Noble  says  they  were  numerous 
in  1787  ;  but  nobody  is  bound  to  believe  him.  Walker*  testi- 
fies that  the  Vicar  of  St.  Ives,  Rev.  Henry  Downhall,  was 
ejected  with  his  curate  in  1642  ;  an  act  which  Cromwell  could 
have  hindered,  had  he  been  willing  to  testify  that  they  were 
fit  clergymen.  Alas,  had  he  been  able  1  He  attended  them 
in  red  flannel,  but  had  not  exceedingly  rejoiced  in  them,  it 
would  seem. — There  is,  in  short,  nothing  that  renders  Crom- 
well's existence  completely  visible  to  us,  even  through  the 
smallest  chink,  but  this  Letter  alone,  which,  copied  from  the 
Museum  Manuscripts,  worthy  Mr.  Harris5  has  printed  for  all 
people.  We  slightly  rectify  the  spelling,  and  reprint. 

3  See  Noble:  his  confused  gleanings  and  speculations  concerning  St.  Ives  are  to 
be  found,  L  105-6,  and  again,  i.  358-61. 

*  Suffering?  cftlie  Clergy.     See  also  Appendix,  No,  i. 

*  Life  pf  Cromwell:  a  blind  farrago,  published  in  1761,  *_afterthe  manner  of  Mr. 
Bayle,' — a  very  bad  '  manner,'  more  especially  when  a  Harris  presides  over  it !    Vet 
poor  Harris's  Book,  his  three  Books  (on  Cromwell,  Charles  and  James  I.)  have  worth : 
cartloads  of  Excerpts,  carefully  transcribed, — and  edited,  in  the  way  known  to  us, 
'  by  shoving-up  the  shafts.'  The  increasing  interest  of  the  subject  brought  even  these 
to  a  second  edition  in  1814. 


t636.  LETTER  I.    ST.   IVES.  77 

To  my  very  loving  friend  Mr.  Storie,  at  the  Sign  of  tht  Dog 
in  the  Royal  Exchange,  London  :  Deliver  these, 

MR.  STORIE,  St.  Ives,  nth  January  1635. 

Amongst  the  catalogue  of  those  good  works 
which  your  fellow-citizens  and  our  countrymen  have  done, 
this  will  not  be  reckoned  for  the  least,  That  they  have  pro- 
vided for  the  feeding  of  souls.  Building  of  hospitals  pro- 
vides for  men's  bodies ;  to  build  material  temples  is  judged 
a  work  of  piety ;  but  they  that  procure  spiritual  food,  they 
that  build-up  spiritual  temples,  they  are  the  men  truly  cha- 
ritable, truly  pious.  Such  a  work  as  this  was  your  erecting 
the  Lecture  in  our  Country ;  in  the  which  you  placed  Dr. 
Wells,  a  man  of  goodness  and  industry,  and  ability  to  do 
good  every  way ;  not  short  of  any  I  know  in  England  :  and 
I  am  persuaded  that,  sithence  his  coming,  the  Lord  hath 
by  him  wrought  much  good  among  us. 

It  only  remains  now  that  He  who  first  moved  you  to 
this,  put  you  forward  in  the  continuance  thereof :  it  was  the 
Lord ;  and  therefore  to  Him  lift  we  up  our  hearts  that  He 
would  perfect  it.  And  surely,  Mr.  Storie,  it  were  a  piteous 
thing  to  see  a  Lecture  fall,  in  the  hands  of  so  many  able 
and  godly  men,  as  I  am  persuaded  the  founders  of  this  are ; 
in  these  times,  wherein  we  see  they  are  suppressed,  with 
too  much  haste  and  violence,  by  the  enemies  of  God  his 
Truth.  Far  be  it  that  so  much  guilt  should  stick  to  your 
hands,  who  live  in  a  City  so  renowned  for  the  clear  shining 
light  of  the  Gospel.  You  know,  Mr.  Storie,  to  withdraw 
the  pay  is  to  let  fall  the  Lecture  :  for  who  goeth  to  warfare 
at  his  own  cost  ?  I  beseech  you  therefore  in  the  bowels  of 
Jesus  Christ,  put  it  forward,  and  let  the  good  man  have  his 
pay.  The  souls  of  God's  children  will  bless  you  for  it ;  and 
so  shall  I ;  and  ever  rest,  your  loving  Friend  in  the  Lord, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL, 


78          PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.         »  JM. 

Commend  my  hearty  love  to  Mr.  Busse,  Mr.  Deadly,  and 
my  other  good  friends.  I  would  have  written  to  Mr.  Busse ; 
but  I  was  loath  to  trouble  him  with  a  long  letter,  and  I 
feared  I  should  not  receive  an  answer  from  him :  from  you 
I  expect  one  so  soon  as  conveniently  you  may.  Vale* 

Such  is  Oliver's  first  extant  Letter.  The  Royal  Exchange 
has  been  twice  burned  since  this  piece  of  writing  was  left  at 
the  Sign  of  the  Dog  there.  The  Dog  Tavern,  Dog  Landlord, 
frequenters  of  the  Dog,  and  all  their  business  and  concernment 
there,  and  the  hardest  stone  masonry  they  had,  have  vanished 
irrecoverable.  Like  a  dream  of  the  Night ;  like  that  transient 
Sign  or  Effigies  of  the  Talbot  Dog,  plastered  on  wood  with 
oil  pigments,  which  invited  men  to  liquor  and  house-room  in 
those  days !  The  personages  of  Oliver's  Letter  may  well  be 
unknown  to  us. 

Of  Mr.  Story,  strangely  enough,  we  have  found  one  other 
notice  :  he  is  amongst  the  Trustees,  pious  and  wealthy  citizens 
of  London  for  most  part,  to  whom  the  sale  of  Bishops'  Lands 
is,  by  act  of  Parliament,  committed,  with  many  instructions 
and  conditions,  on  the  Qth  of  October  1 646.6  'James  Story* 
is  one  of  these  ;  their  chief  is  Alderman  Fowke.  From  Oliver's 
expression,  'our  Country,'  it  may  be  inferred  or  guessed  that 
Story  was  of  Huntingdonshire :  a  man  who  had  gone  up  to 
London,  and  prospered  in  trade,  and  addicted  himself  to  Pu- 
ritanism ; — much  of  him,  it  is  like,  will  never  be  known  !  Of 
Busse  and  Beadly  (unless  Busse  be  a  misprint  for  Bunse,  Al- 
derman Bunce,  another  of  the  above  'Trustees'),  there  remains 
no  vestige. 

Concerning  the  '  Lecture,'  however,  the  reader  will  r9caU 
what  was  said  above,  of  Lecturers,  and  of  Laud's  enmity  to 
them  ;  of  the  Feoffees  who  supported  Lecturers,  and  of  Laud'* 
final  suppression  and  ruin  of  those  Feoffees  in  1633.  Mr. 
Story's  name  is  not  mentioned,  in  the  Ljjt  of  the  specific  Feojf» 
fees  ;  but  it  need  not  be  doubted  he  was  a  contributor  to  thejr 

*  Harris  (London,  1814),  p.  is.  This  Letter,  for  which  Harris,  in  1761,  thanks 
'  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum.'  is  not  now  ditcoverutlo  in  Urn  Establishment  : 
'a  V.-.IP  h  of  three  hours  through  all  the  Catalogues,  assisted  '»y  one  of  thj  ( 
rcporu  it  -;lf  to  me  as  fruitless,  v  —  Does  exist  safe,  nevertheless  (Sloan 
DO.  sojs,  f-  125,  i  venerable  brown  Autograph) ;  and,  ia  the  'Jicw  Cuak/jjua'- 
better  indicated.  '  UuJie'  is  by  no  BMona  '  Bflfe/  at  Sale  have  <*ft£ctufei 
ty  Tkird  E.hllan.) 

.6  iToobcU's  #a*  <*Mf0rii&Wnr«  (London,  1658  ,  p.  99. 


i536.  LETTER  I.    ST.  IVES.  79 

fund,  and  probably  a  leading  man  among  the  subscribers.  By 
the  light  of  this  Letter  we  may  dimly  gather  that  they  still  con- 
tinued to  subscribe,  and  to  forward  Lectureships  where  pos- 
sible, though  now  in  a  less  ostentatious  manner. 

It  appears  there  was  a  Lecture  at  Huntingdon  :  but  his 
Grace  of  Lambeth,  patiently  assiduous  in  hunting  down  such 
objects,  had  managed  to  get  that  suppressed  in  1633,7  or  at 
least  to  get  the  King's  consent  for  suppressing  it.  This  in  1633. 
So  that  '  Mr.  Wells'  could  not,  in  1636,  as  my  imbecile  friend 
supposes,8  be  '  the  Lecturer  in  Huntingdon,'  wherever  else  he 
might  lecture.  Besides  Mr.  Wells  is  not  in  danger  of  suppres- 
sion by  Laud,  but  by  want  of  cash  !  Where  Mr.  Wells  lectured, 
no  mortal  knows,  or  will  ever  know.  Why  not  at  St.  Ives  on 
the  market-days  ?  Or  he  might  be  a  '  Running  Lecturer,'  not 
tied  to  one  locality  :  that  is  as  likely  a  guess  as  any. 

Whether  the  call  of  this  Wells  Lectureship  and  Oliver's 
Letter  got  due  return  from  Mr.  Story  we  cannot  now  say ;  but 
judge  that  the  Lectureship, — as  Laud's  star  was  rapidly  on  the 
ascendant,  and  Mr.  Story  and  the  Feoffees  had  already  lost 
i,8oo/.  by  the  work,  and  had  a  fine  in  the  Starchamber  still 
hanging  over  their  heads, — did  in  fact  come  to  the  ground,  and 
trouble  no  Archbishop  or  Market  Cattle-dealer  with  God's  Gospel 
any  more.  Mr.  Wells,  like  the  others,  vanishes  from  History, 
or  nearly  so.  In  the  chaos  of  the  King's  Pamphlets  one  seems 
to  discern  dimly  that  he  sailed  for  New  England,  and  that  he 
returned  in  better  times.  Dimly  once,  in  1641  or  1642,  you 
catch  a  momentary  glimpse  of  a  '  Mr.  Wells'  in  such  predica- 
ment, and  hope  it  was  this  Wells, — preaching  for  a  friend,  '  in 
the  afternoon,'  in  a  Church  in  London. 9 

Reverend  Mark  Noble  says,  the  above  Letter  is  very  curious, 
and  a  convincing  proof  how  far  gone  Oliver  was,  at  that  time, 
in  religious  enthusiasm.10  Yes,  my  reverend  imbecile  friend, 
he  is  clearly  one  of  those  singular  Christian  enthusiasts,  who 
believe  that  they  have  a  soul  to  be  saved,  even  as  you  do,  my 
reverend  imbecile  friend,  that  you  have  a  stomach  to  be  satisfied, 
— and  who  likewise,  astonishing  to  say,  actually  take  some 
trouble  about  that.  Far  gone  indeed,  my  reverend  imbecile 
friend ! 

This,  then,  is  what  we  know  of  ©liver  at  St.  Ives.  He  wrote 

7  Whartqn's  LctMd  (London,  1695),  p.  $vf.  a  Noble,  i.  359. 

9  Old  Pamphlet :  Title  mislaid  and  forgotten.  10  Nobft,  L  rg$. 


8o          PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.        ..  Jan. 

the  above  Letter  there.  He  had  sold  his  Properties  in  Hunting- 
don for  i,8oo/.;  with  the  whole  or  with  part  of  which  sum  he 
stocked  certain  Grazing-Lands  on  the  Estate  of  Slepe  Hall,  and 
farmed  the  same  for  a  space  of  some  five  years.  How  he  lived 
at  St.  Ives  :  how  he  saluted  men  on  the  streets  ;  read  Bibles  ; 
sold  cattle  ;  and  walked,  with  heavy  footfall  and  many  thoughts, 
through  the  Market  Green  or  old  narrow  lanes  in  St.  Ives,  by 
the  shore  of  the  black  Ouse  River, — shall  be  left  to  the  reader's 
imagination.  There  is  in  this  man  talent  for  farming ;  there 
are  thoughts  enough,  thoughts  bounded  by  the  Ouse  River, 
thoughts  that  go  beyond  Eternity, — and  a  great  black  sea  of 
things  that  he  has  never  yet  been  able  to  think, 

I  count  the  children  he  had  at  this  time  ;  and  find  them 
six :  Four  boys  and  two  girls ;  the  eldest  a  boy  of  fourteen,  the 
youngest  a  girl  of  six  ;  Robert,  Oliver,  Bridget,  Richard,  Henry, 
Elizabeth.  Robert  and  Oliver,  I  take  it,  are  gone  to  Felsted 
School,  near  Bourchier  their  Grandfather's  in  Essex.  Sir  Thomas 
Bourchier  the  worshipful  Knight,  once  of  London,  lives  at  Fel- 
sted ;  Sir  William  Masham,  another  of  the  same,  lives  at  Otes 
hard  by,  as  we  shall  see. 

•Cromwell  at  the  time  of  writing  this  Letter  was,  as  he  him- 
self might  partly  think  probable,  about  to  quit  St.  Ives.  His 
mother's  brother  Sir  Thomas  Steward,  Knight,  lay  sick  at  Ely 
in  those  very  days.  Sir  Thomas  makes  his  will  in  this  same 
month  of  January,  leaving  Oliver  his  principal  heir ;  and  on 
the  3Oth  it  was  all  over,  and  he  lay  in  his  last  home  :  '  Buried 
in  the  Cathedral  of  Ely,  30  January  1635-6.' 

Worth  noting,  and  curious  to  think  of,  since  it  is  indisput- 
able :  On  the  very  day  while  Oliver  Cromwell  was  Vriting  this 
Letter  at  St.  Ives,  two  obscure  individuals,  '  Peter  Aldridge  and 
Thomas  Lane,  Assessors  of  Shipmoney,'  over  in  Buckingham- 
shire, had  assembled  a  Parish  Meeting  in  the  Church  of  Great 
Kimble,  to  assess  and  rate  the  Shipmoney  of  the  said  Parish  : 
there,  in  the  cold  weather,  at  the  foot  of  the  Chiltern  Hills, 
'  ii  January  1635,'  the  Parish  did  attend,  'John  Hampden, 
Esquire,'  at  the  head  of  them,  and  by  a  Return  still  extant,11 
refused  to  pay  the  same  or  any  portion  thereof, — witness  the 
above  'Assessors,'  witness  also  two  '  Parish  Constables'  whom 
we  remit  from  such  unexpected  celebrity.  John  Hampden's 

)i  Facsimile  Engraving  of  it  in  Lord  Nugent'*  Memoriait  of  Hampden  (London. 


«636.  LETTER  II.    ELY.  81 

share  for  this  Parish  is  thirty-one  shillings  and  sixpence ;  for 
another  Parish  it  is  twenty  shillings  ;  on  which  latter  sum,  not 
on  the  former,  John  Hampdcn  was  tried. 


LETTER   II. 

OLIVER  removed  to  Ely  very  soon  after  writing  the  fore- 
going Letter.  There  is  a  'receipt  for  io/.'  signed  by  him, 
dated  'Ely,  io  June  1636  ;?1  and  other  evidence  that  he  was 
then  resident  there.  He  succeeded  to  his  Uncle's  Farming  of 
the  Tithes  ;  the  Leases  of  these,  and  new  Leases  of  some  other 
small  lands  or  fields  granted  him,  are  still  in  existence.  He 
continued  here  till  the  time  of  the  Long  Parliament ;  and  his 
Family  still  after  that,  till  some  unascertained  date,  seemingly 
about  1647,2  when  it  became  apparent  that  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment was  not  like  to  rise  for  a  great  while  yet,  and  it  was 
judged  expedient  that  the  whole  household  should  remove  to 
London.  His  Mother  appears  to  have  joined  him  in  Ely  ; 
she  quitted  Huntingdon,  returned  to  her  native  place,  an  aged 
grandmother, — was  not,  however,  to  end  her  days  there. 

As  Sir  Thomas  Steward,  Oliver's  Uncle,  farmed  the  tithes 
of  Ely,  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  he,  and  Oliver  after  him, 
occupied  the  house  set  apart  for  the  Tithe-Farmer  there  ;  as 
Mark  Noble,  out  of  dim  Tradition,  confidently  testifies.  This 
is  '  the  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Page  ;'3  under  which  name, 
much  better  than  under  that  of  Cromwell,  the  inhabitants  ol 
Ely  now  know  it.  The  House,  though  somewhat  in  a  frail 
state,  is  still  standing;  close  to  St.  Mary's  Churchyard;  at  the 
corner  of  the  great  Tithe-barn  ot  Ely,  or  great  Square  of  tithe- 
barns  and  offices, — which  '  is  the  biggest  barn  in  England  but 
one,'  say  the  Ely  people.  Of  this  House,  for  Oliver's  sake, 
some  Painter  will  yet  perhaps  take  a  correct  likeness  : — it  is 
needless  to  go  to  Stuntney,  out  on  the  Soham  road,  as  Oliver's 
Painters  usually  do  ;  Oliver  never  lived  there,  but  only  his 
Mother's  cousins  !  Two  years  ago  this  House  in  Ely  stood 
empty ;  closed  finally  up,  deserted  by  all  the  Pages,  as  '  the 

1  Noble,  i.  107. 

2  See  Appendix,  No.  8,  last  Letter  there.     (Note  to  Third  Edition.) 

3  Noble,  i.  106. 

VOL.  I.  G 


82          PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.         ,3Oct. 

Commutation  of  Tithes'  had  rendered  it  superfluous  :  this  year 
( 1 845),  I  find  it  is  an  Alehouse,  with  still  some  chance  of  stand- 
ing. It  is  by  no  means  a  sumptuous  mansion  ;  but  may  have 
conveniently  held  a  man  of  three  or  four  hundred  a  year,  with 
his  family,  in  those  simple  times.  Some  quaint  air  of  gentility 
still  looks  through  its  ragged  dilapidation.  It  is  of  two  stories, 
more  properly  of  one  and  a  half;  has  many  windows,  irregular 
chimneys  and  gables.  Likely  enough  Oliver  lived  here;  likely 
his  Grandfather  may  have  lived  here,  his  Mother  have  been 
born  here.  She  was  now  again  resident  here.  The  tomb  of 
her  first  husband  and  child,  Johannes  Lynne  and  poor  little 
Catharina  Lynne,  is  in  the  Cathedral  hard  by.  '  Such  are  the 
changes  which  fleeting  Time  procureth.' — 

The  Second  extant  Letter  of  Cromwell's  is  dated  Ely,  Oc- 
tober 1638.*  It  will  be  good  to  introduce,  as  briefly  as  possi- 
ble, a  few  Historical  Dates,  to  remind  the  reader  what  o'clock 
on  the  Great  Horologe  it  is,  while  this  small  Letter  is  a-writing. 
Last  year  in  London  there  had  been  a  very  strange  spectacle ; 
and  in  three  weeks  after,  another  in  Edinburgh,  of  still  more 
significance  in  English  History. 

On  the  soth  of  June  1637,  in  Old  Palaceyard,  three  men, 
gentlemen  of  education,  of  good  quality,  a  Barrister,  a  Physician 
and  a  Parish  Clergyman  of  London  were  set  on  three  Pillories; 
stood  openly,  as  the  scum  of  malefactors,  for  certain  hours  there ; 
and  then  had  their  ears  cut  off, — bare  knives,  hot  branding-irons, 
— and  their  cheeks  stamped  'S.  L.,'  Seditious  Libeller  ;  in  the 
sight  of  a  great  crowd,  'silent'  mainly,  and  looking  'pale.'3  The 
men  were  our  old  friend  William  Prynne, — poor  Prynne,  who 
had  got  into  new  trouble,  and  here  lost  his  cars  a  second  and 
final  time,  having  had  them  '  sewed  on  again'  before  :  William 
Prynne,  Barrister  ;  Dr.  John  Bastwick  ;  and  the  Rev.  Henry 
Burton,  Minister  of  Friday-street  Church.  Their  sin  was  against 
Laud  and  his  surplices  at  Allhallowtidc,  not  against  any  other 
man  or  thing.  Prynne,  speaking  to  the  people,  defied  all  Lam- 
beth, with  Rome  at  the  back  of  it,  to  argue  with  him,  William 
Prynne  alone,  that  these  practices  were  according  to  the  Law 
of  England;  "and  if  I  fail  to  prove  it,"  said  Prynne,  "let  them 
hang  my  body  at  the  door  of  that  Prison  there,"  the  Gate-house 

*  In  Appendix,  No.  i,  another  Note  of  his.     (Third  Editi**,) 
4  State  Trials  (Cobbctt's,  London,  1809),  iii.  746. 


t63S.  LETTER  II.    ELY.  83 

Prison.  'Whereat  the  people  gave  a  great  shout,' — somewhat 
of  an  ominous  one,  I  think.  Bastwick's  wife,  on  the  scaffold, 
received  his  ears  in  her  lap,  and  kissed  him.6  Prynne's  ears 
the  executioner  '  rather  sawed  than  cut.'  "  Cut  me,  tear  me," 
cried  Prynne  ;  "  I  fear  thee  not ;  I  fear  the  fire  of  Hell,  not 
thee  !"  The  June  sun  had  shone  hot  on  their  faces.  Burton, 
who  had  discoursed  eloquent  religion  all  the  while,  said,  when 
they  carried  him,  near  fainting,  into  a  house  in  King-street, 
"  It  is  too  hot  to  last." 

Too  hot  indeed.  For  at  Edinburgh,  on  Sunday  the  23d  of 
July  following,  Archbishop  Laud  having  now,  with  great  effort 
and  much  manipulation,  got  his  Scotch  Liturgy  and  Scotch 
Pretended-Bishops  ready,?  brought  them  fairly  out  to  action, 
— and  Jenny  Geddes  hurled  her  stool  at  their  head.  "  Let  us 
read  the  Collect  of  the  Day,"  said  the  Pretended-Bishop  from 
amid  his  tippets; — "  De'il  colic  the  wame  of  thee!"  answered 
Jenny,  hurling  her  stool  at  his  head.  "Thou  foul  thief,  wilt 
thou  say  mass  at  my  lug  ?"8  I  thought  we  had  got  done  with 
the  mass  some  time  ago; — and  here  it  is  again!  "A  Pape,  a 
Pape!"  cried  others:  "Stane  him!"9 — In  fact  the  service  could 
not  go  on  at  all.  This  passed  in  St.  Giles's  Kirk,  Edinburgh, 
on  Sunday  23d  July  1637.  Scotland  had  endured  much  in  the 
bishop  way  for  above  thirty  years  bygone,  and  endeavoured  to 
say  nothing,  bitterly  feeling  a  great  deal.  But  now,  on  small 
signal,  the  hour  was  come.  All  Edinburgh,  all  Scotland,  and 
behind  that  all  England  and  Ireland,  rose  into  unappeasable 

r>  Towers' s  British  Biography. 

1  Rushworih,  ii.  321,  343  ;  iii.  Appendix,  153-5  I  &c. 

8 '  No  sooner  was  the  Book  opened  by  the  Dean  of  Edinburgh,  but  a  num- 
ber of  the  meaner  sort,  with  clapping  of  their  hands  and  outcries,  made  a  great 
uproar ;  and  one  of  them,  called  jane  or  Janot  Caddis  (yet  living  at  the  writing 
of  this  relation),  flung  a  little  folding-stool,  whereon  she  sat,  at  the  Dean's  head, 
saying,  "Out,  thou  false  thief!  dost  thou  say  the  mass  at  my  lug?"     Which  was 
followed  with  so  great  a  noise,'  &c.    These  words  are  in  the  Continuation  of  Baker's 
Chronicle,   by  Phillips   (Milton's  Nephew) ;  fifth  edition  of  Baker  (London,  1670), 
p.  478.    They  are  not  in  the  fourth  edition  of  Baker,  1665,  which  is  the  first  that  con- 
tains the  Continuation  ;  they  follow  as  here  in  all  the  others.     Thought  to  be  the  first 
gra/e  mention  of  Jenny  Geddes  in  Printed  History;  a  heroine  still  familiar  to  Tra- 
dition everywhere  in  Scotland. 

In  a  foolish  Pamphlet,  printed  in  1661,  entitled  EdinbttrgK^t  Joy,  &c., — Joy  for 
the  Blessed  Restoration  and  Aunus  Mirabths,—  there  is  mention  made  of '  the  im- 
mortal Jenet  Geddis,'  whom  the  writer  represents  as  rejoicing  exceedingly  in  that 
miraculous  event ;  she  seems  to  be  a  well-known  person,  keeping  'a  cabbage-stall  at 
the  Tron  Kirk,'  at  that  date.  Burns,  in  his  Highland  Tour,  named  his  mare  Jenny 
Geddes.  Helen  of  Troy,  for  practical  importance  in  Human  History,  is  bin  a  small 
Heroine  to  Jenny  : — but  she  has  been  luckier  in  the  recording! — For  these  bibliogra- 
phical notices  I  am  indebted  to  the  friendliness  of  Mr.  David  Laing  of  the  Signet 


Library,  Edinburgh. 

V  Kushworth,  Rennet,  Balfour. 


34          PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.        ,3Oct 

commotion  on  the  flight  of  this  stool  of  Jenny's  ;  and  his  Grace 
of  Canterbury,  and  King  Charles  himself,  and  many  others  had 
lost  their  heads  before  there  could  be  peace  again.  The  Scotch 
People  had  sworn  their  Covenant,  not  without  'tears;'  and  were 
in  these  very  days  of  October  1638,  while  Oliver  is  writing  at 
Ely,  busy  with  their  whole  might  electing  their  General  Assem- 
bly, to  meet  at  Glasgow  next  month.  I  think  the  Tulchan  Appara- 
tus is  likely  to  be  somewhat  sharply  dealt  with,  the  Cow  having 
become  awake  to  it!  Great  events  are  in  the  wind;  out  of  Scot- 
land vague  news,  of  unappeasable  commotion  risen  there. 

In  the  end  of  that  same  year,  too,  there  had  risen  all  over 
England  huge  rumour  concerning  the  Shipmoney  Trial  at  Lon- 
don. On  the  6th  of  November  1637,  this  important  Process 
of  Mr.  Hampden's  began.  Learned  Mr.  St.  John,  a  dark  tough 
man,  of  the  toughness  of  leather,  spake  with  irrefragable  law- 
eloquence,  law-logic,  for  three  days  running,  on  Mr.  Hampdcn's 
side  ;  and  learned  Mr.  Holborn  for  three  other  days  ; — pre- 
served yet  by  Rushworth  in  acres  of  typography,  unreadable 
now  to  all  mortals.  For  other  learned  gentlemen,  tough  as 
leather,  spoke  on  the  opposite  side  ;  and  learned  judges  anim- 
adverted ; — at  endless  length,  amid  the  expectancy  of  men. 
With  brief  pauses,  the  Trial  lasted  for  three  weeks  and  three 
days.  Mr.  Hampden  became  the  most  famous  man  in  Eng- 
land,10— by  accident  partly.  The  sentence  was  not  delivered 
till  April  1638  ;  and  then  it  went  against  Mr.  Hampden:  judg- 
ment in  Exchequer  ran  to  this  effect,  '  Consideratum  est  per 
eosdem  Barones,  quod  pradicttts  yohannes  Hampden  de  iisdem 
viginti  solidis  oncretur,'  He  must  pay  the  Twenty  shillings,  'ft 
inde  satisfaciat.'^  No  hope  in  Law-Courts,  then';  Petition  of 
Right  and  Tallagio  non  coiuedendo  have  become  an  old  song. 
If  there  be  not  hope  in  Jenny  Gcddes's  stool  and  '  De'il  colic 
the  wame  of  thee,"  we  are  in  a  bad  way  ! — 

During  which  great  public  Transactions,  there  had  been  in 
Cromwell's  own  Fen-country  a  work  of  immense  local  celebrity 
going  on  :  the  actual  Drainage  of  the  Fens,  so  long  talked 
about ;  the  construction,  namely,  of  the  great  Bedford  Level, 
to  carry  the  Ouse  River  direct  into  the  sea  ;  holding  it  forcibly 
aloft  in  strong  embankments,  for  twenty  straight  miles  or  so  ; 
not  leaving  it  to  meander  and  stagnate,  and  in  the  wet  season 
drown  the  country,  as  heretofore.  This  grand  work  began, 

M  Clarendon.  "  Rushworth,  iii.  Appendix,  159-216;  ib.  ii.  480. 


1638.  LETTER  II.    ELY.  85 

Dryasdust  in  his  bewildered  manner  knows  not  when  ;  but  it 
'  went  on  rapidly,'  and  had  ended  in  i637.ie  Or  rather  had 
appeared,  and  strongly  endeavoured,  to  end  in  1637  ;  but  was 
not  yet  by  any  means  settled  and  ended ;  the  whole  Fen-region 
clamouring  that  it  could  not,  and  should  not,  end  so.  In  which 
wide  clamour,  against  injustice  done  in  high  places,  Oliver 
Cromwell,  as  is  well  known,  though  otherwise  a  most  private 
quiet  man,  saw  good  to  interfere  ;  to  give  the  universal  inarti- 
culate clamour  a  voice,  and  gain  a  remedy  for  it.  He  approved 
himself,  as  Sir  Philip  Warwick  will  testify,13  'a  man  that  would 
set  well  at  the  mark,'  that  took  sure  aim,  and  had  a  stroke  of 
some  weight  in  him.  We  cannot  here  afford  room  to  disen- 
tangle that  affair  from  the  dark  rubbish-abysses,  old  and  new, 
in  which  it  lies  deep  buried :  suffice  it  to  assure  the  reader  that 
Oliver  did  by  no  means  'oppose'  the  Draining  of  the  Fens,  but 
was  and  had  been,  as  his  Father  before  him,  highly  favourable 
to  it ;  that  he  opposed  the  King  in  Council  wishing  to  do  a 
public  injustice  in  regard  to  the  Draining  of  the  Fens  ;  and  by 
a  'great  meeting  at  Huntingdon,'  and  other  good  measures, 
contrived  to  put  a  stop  to  the  same.  At  a  time  when,  as  Old 
Palaceyard  might  testify,  that  operation  of  going  in  the  teeth 
of  the  royal  will  was  somewhat  more  perilous  than  it  would  be 
now  !  This  was  in  1638,  according  to  the  good  testimony  of 
Warwick.14  Cromwell  acquired  by  it  a  great  popularity  in  the 
Fen-country,  acquired  the  name  or  nickname  'Lord  of  the  Fens ;' 
and  what  was  much  more  valuable,  had  done  the  duty  of  a 
good  citizen,  whatever  he  might  acquire  by  it.  The  disastrous 
public  Events  which  soon  followed  put  a  stop  to  all  farther 
operations  in  the  Fens  for  a  good  many  years. 

These  clamours  of  local  grievance  near  at  hand,  these  rum- 
ours of  universal  grievance  from  the  distance, — they  were  part 
of  the  Day's  noises,  they  were  sounding  in  Cromwell's  mind, 
along  with  many  others  now  silent,  while  the  following  Letter 
went  off  towards  '  Sir  William  Masham's  House  called  Otes,  in 
Essex,' in  the  year  1638. — Of  Otes  and  the  Mashams  in  Essex, 
there  must  likewise,  in  spite  of  our  strait  limits,  be  a  word  said. 
The  Mashams  were  distant  Cousins  of  Oliver's  ;  this  Sir  William 

'2  Dugdale's  Hist,  of  Embankments ;  Cole's,  Wells'*,  &c.  &c.  Hist,  of  the  Ft**. 
13  Warwick's  Memoirs  (London,  1701),  p.  250. 
'*  Ibid.  :  pooi  Noble  blunders,  as  he  is  ant  to  do. 


86          PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.         »3Oct. 

Masham,  or  Massam  as  he  is  often  written,  proved  a  conspi- 
cuous busy  man  in  the  Politics  of  his  time ;  on  the  Puritan 
side ; — rose  into  Oliver's  Council  of  State  at  last.13  The  Ma- 
shams  became  Lords  Masham  in  the  next  generations,  and  so 
continued  for  a  while ;  one  Lady  Masham  was  a  daughter  of 
Philosopher  Cudworth,  and  is  still  remembered  as  the  friend  of 
John  Locke,  whom  she  tended  in  his  old  days  ;  who  lies  buried, 
as  his  monument  still  shows,  at  the  Church  of  High  Laver,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  which  Otes  Mansion  stood.  High  Laver, 
Essex,  not  far  from  Harlow  Station  on  the  Northeastern  Rail- 
way. The  Mashams  are  all  extinct,  and  their  Mansion  is  swept 
away  as  if  it  had  not  been.  '  Some  forty  years  ago,'  says  my 
kind  informant,  '  a  wealthy  Maltster  of  Bishop's  Stortford  be- 
'  came  the  proprietor  by  purchase  ;  and  pulled  the  Manorhouse 
1  down  ;  leaving  the  outhouses  as  cottages  to  some  poor  people." 
The  name  Otes,  the  tomb  of  Locke,  and  this  undestroyed  and 
now  indestructible  fraction  of  Rag-paper  alone  preserve  the 
memory  of  Mashamdom  in  this  world.  We  modernise  the  spell- 
ing ;  let  the  reader,  for  it  may  be  worth  his  while,  endeavour 
to  modernise  the  sentiment  and  subject  matter. 

There  is  only  this  farther  to  be  premised,  That  St.  John,  the 
celebrated  Shipmoney  Barrister,  has  married  for  his  second  wife 
a  Cousin  of  Oliver  Cromwell's,  a  Daughter  of  Uncle  Henry's, 
whom  we  knew  at  Upwood  long  ago  ;1(5  which  Cousin,  and  per- 
haps her  learned  husband  reposing  from  his  arduous  law-duties 
along  with  her,  is  now  on  a  Summer  or  Autumn  visit  at  Otes, 
and  has  lately  seen  Oliver  there. 

To  my  belowd  Cousin  Mrs.  St.  John,  at  Sir  William  Masham 
his  House  called  O/es,  in  Essex :  Present  these. 

DEAR  COUSIN,  Ely,  i3lh  October  1638. 

I  thankfully  acknowledge  your  love  in 
your  kind  remembrance  of  me  upon  this  opportunity.  Alas, 
you  do  too  highly  prize  my  lines,  and  my  company.  I  may 
be  ashamed  to  own  your  expressions,  considering  how  un- 
profitable I  am,  and  the  mean  improvement  of  my  talent 

"  His  Great-grandson's  -wife  was,  withal,  a  famous  woman  ;  the  Abigail  Masham 
of  Queen  Anne. — most  renowned  of  Waiting-women,  or  'Abigail*.'  in  English  His- 
tory! (Nott  0/1869.) 

'•  Antca,  p.  22. 


i«38.  LETTER  II.    ELY.  87 

Yet  to  honour  my  God  by  declaring  what  He  hath  done 
for  my  soul,  in  this  I  am  confident,  and  I  will  be  so.  Truly, 
then,  this  I  find  :  That  He  giveth  springs  in  a  dry  barren 
wilderness  where  no  water  is.  I  live,  you  know  where, — 
in  Meshec,  which  they  say  signifies  Prolonging ;  in  Kedar, 
which  signifies  Blackness :  yet  the  Lord  forsaketh  me  not. 
Though  He  do  prolong,  yet  He  will  I  trust  bring  me  to  His 
tabernacle,  to  His  resting-place.  My  soul  is  with  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  Firstborn,  my  body  rests  in  hope ;  and  if 
here  I  may  honour  my  God  either  by  doing  or  by  suffering, 
I  shall  be  most  glad. 

Truly  no  poor  creature  hath  more  cause  to  put  himself 
forth  in  the  cause  of  his  God  than  I.  I  have  had  plentiful 
wages  beforehand ;  and  I  am  sure  I  shall  never  earn  the 
least  mite.  The  Lord  accept  me  in  His  Son,  and  give  me 
to  walk  in  the  light, — and  give  us  to  walk  in  the  light,  as 
He  is  the  light !  He  it  is  that  enlighteneth  our  blackness, 
our  darkness.  I  dare  not  say,  He  hideth  His  face  from  me. 
He  giveth  me  to  see  light  in  His  light.  One  beam  in  a 
dark  place  hath  exceeding  much  refreshment  in  it : — blessed 
be  His  Name  for  shining  upon  so  dark  a  heart  as  mine  ! 
You  know  what  my  manner  of  life  hath  been.  Oh,  I  lived 
in  and  loved  darkness,  and  hated  light;  I  was  a  chief,  the 
chief  of  sinners.  This  is  true :  I  hated  godliness,  yet  God 
had  mercy  on  me.  O  the  riches  of  His  mercy  !  Praise 
Him  for  me; — pray  for  me,  that  He  who  hath  begun  a  good 
work  would  perfect  it  in  the  day  of  Christ. 

Salute  all  my  friends  in  that  Family  whereof  you  are 
yet  a  member.  I  am  much  bound  unto  them  for  their  love. 
I  bless  the  Lord  for  them;  and  that  my  Son,  by  their  pro- 
curement, is  so  well.  Let  him  have  your  prayers,  your 
counsel ;  let  me  have  them. 

Salute  your  Husband  and  Sister  from  me : — He  is  not 
a  man  of  his  word  !  He  promised  to  write  about  Mr.  Wrath 


88  PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.         ,3oet 

of  Epping;  but  as  yet  I  receive  no  letters:— put  him  in 
mind  to  do  what  with  conveniency  may  be  done  for  the 
poor  Cousin  I  did  solicit  him  about 

Once  more  farewell.  The  Lord  be  with  you  :  so  prayeth 
your  truly  loving  Cousin,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

There  are  two  or  perhaps  three  sons  of  Cromwell's  at  Fd- 
sted  School  by  this  time:  a  likely  enough  guess  is,  that  he  might 
have  been  taking  Dick  over  to  Felstcd  on  that  occasion  when 
he  came  round  by  Otes,  and  gave  such  comfort  by  his  speech 
to  the  pious  Mashams,  and  to  the  young  Cousin,  now  on  a 
summer  visit  at  Otcs.  What  glimpses  of  long-gone  summers ;  of 
long-gone  human  beings  in  fringed  trouser-breeches,  in  starched 
ruff,  in  hood  and  fardingale ; — alive  they,  within  their  antiqua- 
rian costumes,  living  men  and  women  ;  instructive,  very  inte- 
resting to  one  another !  Mrs.  St.  John  came  down  to  breakfast 
every  morning  in  that  summer  visit  of  the  year  1638,  and  Sir 
William  said  grave  grace,  and  they  spake  polite  devout  things 
to  one  another  ;  and  they  are  vanished,  they  and  their  things  and 
speeches, — all  silent,  like  the  echoes  of  the  old  nightingales  that 
sang  that  season,  like  the  blossoms  of  the  old  roses.  O  Death, 
O  Time ! — 

For  the  soul's  furniture  of  these  brave  people  is  grown  not 
less  unintelligible,  antiquarian,  than  their  Spanish  boots  and 
lappet  caps.  Reverend  Mark  Noble,  my  reverend  imbecile 
friend,  discovers  in  this  Letter  evidence  that  Oliver  was  once 
a  very  dissolute  man  ;  that  Carrion  Heath  spake  truth  in  that 
Flagcllum  Balderdash  of  his.  O  my  reverend  imbecile  friend, 
hadst  thou  thyself  never  any  moral  life,  but  only  a  sensitive 
and  digestive  ?  Thy  soul  never  longed  towards  the  serene 
heights,  all  hidden  from  thee  ;  and  thirsted  as  the  hart  in  dry 
places  wherein  no  waters  be?  It  was  never  a  sorrow  for  thee 
that  the  eternal  pole-star  had  gone  out,  veiled  itself  in  dark 
clouds  ; — a  sorrow  only  that  this  or  the  other  noble  Patron  for- 
got thee  when  a  living  fell  vacant  ?  I  have  known  Christians, 
Moslems,  Methodists, — and,  alas,  also  reverend  irreverent  Apes 
by  the  Dead  Sea  ! 

O  modern  reader,  dark  as  this  Letter  may  seem,  I  will  ad- 
vise thee  to  make  an  attempt  towards  understanding  it.  There 

•  Thurloe's  Statt  Paftrt  (London,  1741),  i.  L 


1638.  TWO  YEARS.  89 

is  in  it  a  '  tradition  of  humanity'  worth  all  the  rest.  Indisputable 
certificate  that  man  once  had  a  soul ;  that  man  once  walked 
with  God, — his  little  Life  a  sacred  island  girdled  with  Eterni- 
ties and  Godhoods.  Was  it  not  a  time  for  heroes  ?  Heroes  were 
then  possible.  I  say,  thou  shalt  understand  that  Letter ;  thou 
also,  looking  out  into  a  too  brutish  world,  wilt  then  exclaim 
with  Oliver  Cromwell, — with  Hebrew  David,  as  old  Mr.  Rouse 
of  Truro,  and  the  Presbyterian  populations,  still  sing  him  m 
the  Northern  Kirks  : 

Woe's  me  that  I  in  Meshec  am 

A  sojourner  so  long, 
Or  that  I  in  the  tents  do  dwell 

To  Kedar  that  belong  ! 

Yes,  there  is  a  tone  in  the  soul  of  this  Oliver  that  holds  of  the 
Perennial.  With  a  noble  sorrow,  with  a  noble  patience,  he  longs 
towards  the  mark  of  the  prize  of  the  high  calling.  He,  I  think, 
has  chosen  the  better  part.  The  world  and  its  wild  tumults, — if 
they  will  but  let  him  alone  !  Yet  he  too  will  venture,  will  do 
and  suffer  for  God's  cause,  if  the  call  come.  What  man  with 
better  reason?  He  hath  had  plentiful  wages  beforehand;  snatched 
out  of  darkness  into  marvellous  light :  he  will  never  earn  the 
least  mite.  Annihilation  of  self ;  Selbsttodtung,  as  Novalis  calls 
it ;  casting  yourself  at  the  footstool  of  God's  throne,  "  To  live 
or  to  die  forever;  as  Thou  wilt,  not  as  I  will."  Brother,  hadst 
thou  never,  in  any  form,  such  moments  in  thy  history  ?  Thou 
knowest  them  not,  even  by  credible  rumour  ?  Well,  thy  earthly 
path  was  peaceabler,  I  suppose.  But  the  Highest  was  never  in 
thee,  the  Highest  will  never  come  out  of  thee.  Thou  shalt  at 
best  abide  by  the  stuff;  as  cherished  housedog,  guard  the  stuff, 
— perhaps  with  enormous  gold-collars  and  provender  :  but  the 
battle,  and  the  hero-death,  and  victory's  fire-chariot  carrying 
men  to  the  Immortals,  shall  never  be  thine.  I  pity  thee ;  brag 
not,  or  I  shall  have  to  despise  thcc. 


TWO   YEARS. 

SUCH  is  Oliver's  one  Letter  from  Ely.  To  guide  us  a  little 
through  the  void  gulf  towards  his  next  Letter,  we  will  here  in- 
tercalate the  following  small  fractions  of  Chronology'. 


90  PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.          ** 

1639. 

May — fitly.  The  Scots  at  their  Glasgow  Assembly1  had 
rent  their  Tulchan  Apparatus  in  so  rough  a  way,  and  otherwise 
so  ill  comported  themselves,  his  Majesty  saw  good,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  this  year,  immense  negotiation  and  messaging  to  and 
fro  having  proved  so  futile,  to  chastise  them  with  an  Army.  By 
unheard-of  exertions  in  the  Extra-Parliamentary  way,  his  Ma- 
jesty got  an  Army  ready ;  marched  with  it  to  Berwick, — is  at 
Newcastle,  8th  May  1 639.2  But,  alas,  the  Scots,  with  a  much 
better  Army,  already  lay  encamped  on  Dunse  Law  ;  every  noble- 
man with  his  tenants  there,  as  a  drilled  regiment,  round  him ; 
old  Fieldmarshal  Lesley  for  their  generalissimo ;  at  every  Colo- 
nel's tent  this  pennant  flying,  For  Christ's  Crown  and  Covenant: 
there  was  no  fighting  to  be  thought  of.3  Neither  could  the  Paci- 
fication there  patched  up  be  of  long  continuance.  The  Scots 
disbanded  their  soldiers  ;  but  kept  the  officers,  mostly  Gustavus- 
Adolphus  men,  still  within  sight. 

1640. 

The  Scotch  Pacification,  hastily  patched  up  at  Dunse  Hill, 
did  not  last ;  discrepancies  arose  as  to  the  practical  meaning 
of  this  and  the  other  clause  in  it.  Discrepancies  which  the 
farther  they  were  handled,  embroiled  themselves  the  more.  His 
Majesty  having  burnt  Scotch  paper  Declarations  '  by  the  hands 
of  the  common  hangman,'  and  almost  cut  off  the  poor  Scotch 
Chancellor  Loudon's  head,  and  being  again  resolute  to  chastise 
the  rebel  Scots  with  an  Army,  decides  on  summoning  a  Parlia- 
ment for  that  end,  there  being  no  money  attainable  otherwise. 
To  the  great  and  glad  astonishment  of  England  ;  which,  at  one 
time,  thought  never  to  have  seen  another  Parliament !  Oliver 
Cromwell  sat  in  this  Parliament  for  Cambridge  ;4  recommended 
by  Hampden,  say  some ;  not  needing  any  recommendation  in 
those  Fen -countries,  think  others.  Oliver's  Colleague  was  a 
Thomas  Meautys,  Esquire.  This  Parliament  met,  I3th  April 
1 640  :  it  was  by  no  means  prompt  enough  with  supplies  against 
the  rebel  Scots  ;  the  King  dismissed  it  in  a  huff,  5th  May;  after 
a  Session  of  three  weeks  :  Historians  call  it  the  Short  Parlia- 


1  nor.  103)!;  mimes  4,ttttrt  (c,ainD\irgn,  1041;,  i.  110-170. 
1  Kush  worth,  iiL  930. 

*  Ib.  iii.  026-49  ;  Baillie,  L  184-331 ;  King's  Army  'dismissed'  (flfttr  Pacification) 
»4th  June  (Rushworth,  iil  946). 


KMO.  TWO  YEARS.  91 

went.  His  Majesty  decides  on  raising  money  and  an  Army  'by 
other  methods  ;'  to  which  end,  Wentworth,  now  Earl  Strafford 
and  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  who  had  advised  that  course 
in  the  Council,  did  himself  subscribe  2o,ooo/.  Archbishop  Laud 
had  long  ago  seen  '  a  cloud  rising'  against  the  Four  surplices  at 
Allhallowtide  ;  and  now  it  is  covering  the  whole  sky,  in  a  most 
dismal  and  really  thundery-looking  manner. 

His  Majesty  by  'other  methods,'  commission  of  array,  be- 
nevolence, forced-loan,  or  how  he  could,  got  a  kind  of  Army  on 
foot,5  and  set  it  marching  out  of  the  several  Counties  in  the 
South  towards  the  Scotch  Border  :  but  it  was  a  most  hopeless 
Army.  The  soldiers  called  the  affair  a  Bishops'  War;  they 
mutinied  against  their  officers,  shot  some  of  their  officers  :  in 
various  Towns  on  their  march,  if  the  Clergyman  were  reputed 
Puritan,  they  went  and  gave  him  three  cheers  ;  if  of  Surplice 
tendency,  they  sometimes  threw  his  furniture  out  of  window.6 
No  fighting  against  poor  Scotch  Gospellers  was  to  be  hoped  for 
from  these  men. — Meanwhile  the  Scots,  not  to  be  behindhand, 
had  raised  a  good  Army  of  their  own  ;  and  decided  on  going 
into  England  with  it,  this  time,  '  to  present  their  grievances  to 
the  King's  Majesty.'  On  the  2oth  of  August  1640,  they  cross 
the  Tweed  at  Coldstream  ;  Montrose  wading  in  the  van  of  them 
all.  They  wore  uniform  of  hodden  gray,  with  blue  caps  ;  and 
each  man  had  a  moderate  haversack  of  oatmeal  on  his  back.7 

A^^gust  28t/i.  The  Scots  force  their  way  across  the  Tyne, 
at  Newburn,  some  miles  above  Newcastle ;  the  King's  Army 
making  small  fight,  most  of  them  no  fight ;  hurrying  from  New- 
castle, and  all  town  and  country  quarters,  towards  York  again, 
where  his  Majesty  and  Strafford  were.8  The  Bishops  War\\a.s 
at  an  end.  The  Scots,  striving  to  be  gentle  as  doves  in  their  be- 
haviour, and  publishing  boundless  brotherly  Declarations  to  all 
the  brethren  that  loved  Christ's  Gospel  and  God's  Justice  in 
England, — took  possession  of  Newcastle  next  day  ;  took  posses- 
sion gradually  of  all  Northumberland  and  Durham, — and  stayed 
there,  in  various  towns  and  villages,  about  a  year.  The  whole 
body  of  English  Puritans  looked  upon  them  as  their  saviours  : 
some  months  afterwards,  Robert  Baillie.  heard  the  London  ballad- 
singers,  on  the  streets,  singing  copiously  with  strong  lungs, 
"Gramercy,  good  Master  Scot,"  by  way  of  burden.9 

8  Rushworth,  iii.  1241.        6  Vicars's  Parliamentary  Chronicle  (Lond.  1644),  p.  20. 
'Old  Pamphlets,  •  Rushworth,  iii.  1236,  &c.  9  Baillie's  Letters, 


93  PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.          ,*,. 

His  Majesty  and  Strafford,  in  a  fine  frenzy  at  this  turn  of 
affairs,  found  no  refuge,  except  to  summon  a  '  Council  of  Peers,' 
to  enter  upon  a  '  Treaty'  with  the  Scots ;  and  alas,  at  last,  sum- 
mon a  New  Parliament.  Not  to  be  helped  in  any  way.  Twelve 
chief  Peers  of  the  summoned  '  Council'  petitioned  for  a  Parlia- 
ment ;  the  City  of  London  petitioned  for  a  Parliament,  and 
would  not  lend  money  otherwise.  A  Parliament  was  appointed 
for  the  3d  of  November  next ; — whereupon  London  cheerfully 
lent  2oo,ooo/.  ;  and  the  treaty  with  the  Scots  at  Ripon,  1st  Oc- 
tober i64o,10  by  and  by  transferred  to  London,  went  peaceably 
on  at  a  very  leisurely  pace.  The  Scotch  Army  lay  quartered  at 
Newcastle,  and  over  Northumberland  and  Durham,  on  an  allow- 
ance of  8$ot.  a-day  ;  an  Army  indispensable  for  Puritan  objects ; 
no  haste  in  finishing  its  Treaty.  The  English  Army  lay  across 
in  Yorkshire  ;  without  allowance  except  from  the  casualties  of 
the  King's  Exchequer ;  in  a  dissatisfied  manner,  and  occasion- 
ally getting  into  '  Army-Plots.' 

This  Parliament,  which  met  on  the  3d  of  November  1 640, 
has  become  very  celebrated  in  History  by  the  name  of  the  Long 
Parliament.  It  accomplished  and  suffered  very  singular  desti- 
nies ;  suffered  a  Pride's  Purge,  a  Cromwell's  Ejectment ;  suffered 
Reinstatements,  Re-ejectments  ;  and  the  Rump  or  Fag-end  of  it 
did  not  finally  vanish  till  i6th  March  1659-60.  Oliver  Crom- 
well sat  again  in  this  Parliament  for  Cambridge  Town  ;  Mcautys, 
his  old  Colleague,  is  now  changed  for  'John  Lowry,  Esquire,'11 
probably  a  more  Puritanic  man.  The  Members  for  Cambridge 
University  are  the  same  in  both  Parliaments. 


LETTER   III. 

To  my  loving  friend  Mr.  Willingham,  at  his  House  in 
Swith'rts  Lane:  These. 

SlR,  '  London,  February  1640.' ' 

I  desire  you  to  send  me  the  Reasons  of  the 
Scots  to  enforce  their  desire  of  Uniformity  in  Religion,  ex- 

10  Rushworth,  iii,  1382. 

11  Willis  :  Rush\vorth,  iv.  3.    Sec  Cooper's  Aiuials  of  Canibridgt  (London,  1845), 
iii.  303-4- 

'  The  words  within  single  commas^  here  AS  always  in  the  Text  of  Cromwell's  Let- 
ters, are  mine,  not  his  ;  th«  date  in  this  instance  is  conjectural  or  inferential. 


t64i.  LETTER  III.    ANTI-EPISCOPACY.  93 

pressed  in  their  8th  Article;  I  mean  that  which  I  had  before 
of  you.  I  would  peruse  it  against  we  fall  upon  that  Debate, 
which  will  be  speedily.  Yours,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

There  is  a  great  quantity  of  intricate  investigation  requisite 
to  date  this  small  undated  Note,  and  make  it  entirely  trans- 
parent !  The  Scotch  Treaty,  begun  at  Ripon,  is  going  on, — 
never  ended  :  the  agitation  about  abolishing  Bishops  has  just 
begun,  in  the  House  and  out  of  it. 

On  Friday  nth  December  1640,  the  Londoners  present 
their  celebrated  '  Petition,'  signed  by  15,000  hands,  craving  to 
have  Bishops  and  their  Ceremonies  radically  reformed.  Then 
on  Saturday  23d  January  1640-1,  comes  the  still  more  cele- 
brated '  Petition  and  Remonstrance  from  700  Ministers  of  the 
Church  of  England,'2  to  the  like  effect.  Upon  which  Docu- 
ments, especially  upon  the  latter,  ensue  strenuous  debatings,3 
ensues  a  '  Committee  of  Twenty-four  ;'  a  Bill  to  abolish  Super- 
stition and  Idolatry  ;  and,  in  a  week  or  two,  a  BilL  to  takeaway 
the  Bishops'  Votes  in  Parliament :  Bills  recommended  by  the 
said  Committee.  A  diligent  Committee  ;  which  heard  much 
evidence,  and  theological  debating,  from  Dr.  Burgess  and  others. 
Their  Bishops  Bill,  not  without  hot  arguing,  passed  through  the 
Commons  ;  was  rejected  by  the  Lords  ; — took  effect,  however, 
in  a  much  heavier  shape,  within  year  and  day.  Young  Sir 
Ralph  Varney,  son  of  Edmund  the  Standard-bearer,  has  pre- 
served very  careful  Notes  of  the  theological  revelations  and  pro- 
found arguments,  heard  in  this  Committee  from  Dr.  Burgess 
and  others  ;  intensely  interesting  at  that  time  to  all  ingenuous 
young  gentlemen  ;  a  mere  torpor  now  to  all  persons. 

In  fact,  the  whole  world,  as  we  perceive,  in  this  Spring  of 
1641,  is  getting  on  fire  with  episcopal,  anti-episcopal  emotion  ; 
and  the  Scotch  Commissioners,  with  their  Desire  of  Uniformity, 
are  naturally  the  centre  of  the  latter.  Bishop  Hall,  Smectym- 
nuus,  and  one  Mr.  Milton  'near  St.  Bride's  Church,'  are  all 
getting  their  Pamphlets  ready. — The  assiduous  contemporary 
individual  who  collected  the  huge  stock  of  loose  Printing  now 
known  as  King's  Pamphlets  in  the  British  Museum,  usually 

*  Harris,  p.  517  ;  Sloanc  MSS.  no.  2035,  f.  126. 

*  Commons  Journals,  ii.  72. 

8  Ibid.  ii.  81  ;  8th  and  gth  of  February.     See  Baillie's  Letters,  i.  302  ;  and  Rush- 
worth,  iv.  93  and  174. 


94  PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.          ,<„,. 

writes  the  date  on  the  title-page  of  each  ;  but  has,  with  a  curi- 
ous infelicity,  omitted  it  in  the  case  of  Milton's  Pamphlets, 
which  accordingly  remain  undateable  except  approximately. 

The  exact  copy  of  the  Scotch  Demands  towards  a  Treaty  1 
have  not  yet  met  with,  though  doubtless  it  is  in  print  amid  the 
unsorted  Rubbish-Mountains  of  the  British  Museum.  Notices 
of  it  are  to  be  seen  in  Baillic,  also  in  Rushworth.4  The  first 
Seven  Articles  relate  to  secularities  ;  payment  of  damages  ;  pun- 
ishment of  incendiaries,  and  so  forth  :  the  Seventh  is  the  '  re- 
calling' of  the  King's  Proclamations  against  the  Scots.  The 
Eighth,  '  anent  a  solid  peace  betwixt  the  Nations,1  involves  this 
matter  of  Uniformity  in  Religion,  and  therefore  is  of  weightier 
moment.  Baillie  says  :  '  For  the  Eighth  great  Demand  some 
days  were  spent  in  preparation.'  The  Lords  would  have  made 
no  difficulty  about  dismantling  Berwick  and  Carlisle,  or  such- 
like ;  but  finding  that  the  other  points  of  this  Eighth  Article 
were  to  involve  the  permanent  relations  of  England,  they  de- 
layed. 'We  expect  it  this  very  day,-'  says  Baillic  (28th  Feb- 
ruary 1640-1).  Oliver  Cromwell  also  expects  it  this  very  day, 
or  '  speedily,1 — and  therefore  writes  to  Mr.  Willingham  for  a 
sight  of  the  Documents  again. 

Whoever  wishes  to  trace  the  emergence,  re-emergence,  slow 
ambiguous  progress  and  dim  issue  of  this  '  Eighth  Article,' 
may  consult  the  opaque  but  authentic  Commons  Journals,  and 
strive  to  elucidate  the  same  by  poor  old  brown  Pamphlets,  in 
the  places  cited  below.3  It  was  not  finally  voted  in  the  affir- 
mative till  the  middle  of  May  ;  and  then  still  it  was  far  from 
being  ended.  It  ended,  properly,  in  the  Summoning  of  a  'West- 
minster Assembly  of  Divines,"  To  ascertain  for  us  Iwu  'the  two 
Nations'  may  best  attain  to  '  Uniformity  of  Religion.' 

This  '  Mr.  Willingham  my  loving  friend,'  of  whom  I  have 
found  no  other  vestige  anywhere  in  Nature,  is  presumably  a 
London  Puritan  concerned  in  the  London  Petition  and  oilier 
such  matters,  to  whom  the  Member  for  Cambridge,  a  man  of 
known  zeal,  good  connexion,  and  growing  weight,  is  worth  con- 
vincing. 

Oliver  St.  John  the  Shipmoney  Lawyer,  now  Member  for 

4  r.aillle,  L  307,  and  antca  et  postea  :  Rutbwortli,  iv.  166. 

4  Conniiflnt  Journals,  u.  84,  85  ;  Diurnal  Occurrences  in  far/lament  (Printed 
for  William  Cooke.  London,  1641,— often  crroneou*  as  to  the  day),  icth  February, 
7th  M^rch,  151)1  May. 


,«4i.  IN  THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT.  95 

Totness,  has  lately  been  made  Solicitor-General ;  on  the  2d  of 
February  1640-1,  D'Ewes  says  of  him,  'newly  created;'0  a 
date  worth  attending  to.  Strafford's  Trial  is  coming  on  ;  to 
begin  on  the  22d  of  March  :  Strafford  and  Laud  are  safe  in 
the  Tower  long  since  ;  Finch  and  Windebank,  and  other  De- 
linquents in  high  places,  have  fled  rapidly  beyond  seas. 


IN  THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT. 

THAT  little  Note,  despatched  by  a  servant  to  Swithin's  Lane 
in  the  Spring  of  1641,  and  still  saved  by  capricious  destiny  while 
so  much  else  has  been  destroyed, — is  all  of  Autographic  that 
Oliver  Cromwell  has  left  us  concerning  his  proceedings  in  the 
first  three-and-twenty  months  of  the  Long  Parliament.  Months 
distinguished,  beyond  most  others  in  History,  by  anxieties  and 
endeavours,  by  hope  and  fear  and  swift  vicissitude,  to  all  Eng- 
land as  well  as  him  :  distinguished  on  his  part  by  much  Parlia- 
mentary activity  withal;  of  which,  unknown  hitherto  in  His- 
tory, but  still  capable  of  being  known,  let  us  wait  some  other 
opportunity  of  speaking.  Two  vague  appearances  of  his  in  that 
scene,  which  are  already  known  to  most  readers,  we  will  set  in 
their  right  date  and  place,  making  them  faintly  visible  at  last  ; 
and  therewith  leave  this  part  of  the  subject. 

In  D'Ewcs's  Manuscript  above  cited1  are  these  words,  re- 
lating to  Monday  yth  November  1640,  the  sixth  day  of  the  Long 
Parliament :  '  Mr.  Cromwell  delivered  the  Petition  of  John  Lil- 
burn,' — young  Lilburn,  w:ho  had  once  been  Prynne's  amanu- 
ensis, among  other  things,  and  whose  'whipping  with  200  stripes 
from  Westminster  to  the  Fleet  Prison,'  had  already  rendered 
him  conspicuous.  This  is  the  record  of  D'Ewcs.  To  which 
let  us  now  annex  the  following  well-known  passage  of  Sir  Philip 
Warwick  ;  and  if  the  reader  fancy  the  Speeches  on  the  previous 
Saturday,2  and  how  the  'whole  of  this  Monday  was  spent  in 
hearing  grievances'  of  the  like  sort,  some  dim  image  of  a  strange 
old  scene  may  perhaps  rise  upon  him. 

6  Sir  Simond  D'Ewes' s  Notes  nf  the  Long  Parliament  (Harlcian  MSS.,  nos.  162-6), 
fol.  189  a  ;  p.  156  of  Transcript  penes  me. 

1  D'Ewes,  fol.  4. 

2  Commons  Journals,  7th  Nov.  1640 ;  Rushworth,  iv.  24,  &C. 


96  PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.          ,<4«. 

•The  first  time  I  ever  took  notice  of  Mr.  Cromwell,'  says 
Warwick,  •  was  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  Parliament  held  in 

•  November  1 640 ;  when  I,"  Member  for  Radnor,  •  vainly  thought 
1  myself  a  courtly  young  gentleman, — for  we  courtiers  valued 
'  ourselves  much  upon  our  good  clothes  !  I  came  into  the  House 
4  one  morning,'  Monday  morning,  'well  clad  ;  and  perceived  a 
'  gentleman  speaking,  whom  I  knew  not, — very  ordinarily  ap- 
'  parelled  ;  for  it  was  a  plain  cloth  suit,  which  seemed  to  have 
'  been  made  by  an  ill  country-tailor  ;  his  linen  was  plain,  and 
'  not  very  clean  ;  and  I  remember  a  speck  or  two  of  blood  upon 
'  his  little  band,  which  was  not  much  larger  than  his  collar. 
'  His  hat  was  without  a  hatband.      His  stature  was  of  a  good 
'  size  ;  his  sword  stuck  close  to  his  side  :  his  countenance  swoln 
4  and  reddish,  his  voice  sharp  and  untuneable,  and  his  eloquence 
4  full  of  fervour.     For  the  subject  matter  would  not  bear  much 
4  of  reason;  it  being  on  behalf  of  a  servant  of  Mr.  Prynne's  who 
1  had  dispersed  Libels  ;' — yes,  Libels,  and  had  come  to  Palace- 
yard  for  it,  as  we  saw  :  4 1  sincerely  profess,  it  lessened  much  my 
'  reverence  unto  that  Great  Council,  for  this  gentleman  was 
4  very  much  hearkened  unto  ;'3  which  was  strange,  seeing  he 
had  no  gold  lace  to  his  coat,  nor  frills  to  his  band  ;  and  other- 
wise, tome  in  my  poor  featherhead,  seemed  a  somewhat  unhandy 
gentleman ! 

The  reader  may  take  what  of  these  Warwick  traits  he  can 
along  with  him,  and  also  omit  what  he  cannot  take  ;  for  though 
Warwick's  veracity  is  undoubted,  his  memory  after  many  years, 
in  such  an  element  as  his  had  been,  may  be  questioned.  The 
' band,'  we  may  remind  our  readers,  is  a  linen  tippet,  properly 
the  shirt-collar  of  those  days,  which,  when  the  hjfir  was  worn 
long,  needed  to  fold  itself  with  a  good  expanse  of  washable  linen 
over  the  upper-works  of  the  coat,  and  defend  these  and  their  vel- 
vets from  harm.  The  '  specks  of  blood,'  if  not  fabulous,  we, 
not  without  general  sympathy,  attribute  to  bad  razors  :  as  for 
the  '  hatband,'  one  remarks  that  men  did  not  speak  with  their 
hats  on;  and  therefore  will,  with  Sir  Philip's  leave,  omit  that. 
The  4  untuneable  voice,'  or  what  a  poor  young  gentleman  in 
these  circumstances  would  consider  as  such,  is  very  significant 
to  us. 

Here  is  the  other  vague  appearance ;  from  Clarendon's  Life.4 

•  He,'  Mr.  Hyde,  afterwards  Lord  Clarendon,  '  was  often  heard 

•  Warwick,  p.  847.  «  i  78  (Oxford,  1761). 


1641.  IN  THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT.  97 

'  to  mention  one  private  Committee,  in  which  he  was  put  acci- 
1  dentally  into  the  chair ;  upon  an  Enclosure  which  had  been 
'  made  of  great  wastes,  belonging  to  the  Queen's  Manors,  with- 
'  out  the  consent  of  the  tenants,  the  benefit  whereof  had  been 
'  given  by  the  Queen  to  a  servant  of  near  trust,  who  forthwith 
'  sold  the  lands  enclosed  to  the  Earl  of  Manchester,  Lord  Privy 
'  Seal ;  who  together  with  his  Son  Mandevil  were  now  most 
'  concerned  to  maintain  the  Enclosure  ;  against  which,  as  well 
'  the  inhabitants  of  other  manors,  who  claimed  Common  in 
'  those  wastes,  as  the  Queen's  tenants  of  the  same,  made  loud 
'  complaints,  as  a  great  oppression,  carried  upon  them  with  a 
'  very  high  hand,  and  supported  by  power. 

'  The  Committee  sat  in  the  Queen's  Court ;  and  Oliver  Crom- 
'  well  being  one  of  them,  appeared  much  concerned  to  counten- 
1  ance  the  Petitioners,  who  were  numerous  together  with  their  Wit- 
'  nesses  ;  the  Lord  Mandevil  being  likewise  present  as  a  party, 
'  and  by  the  direction  of  the  Committee  sitting  covered.  Crom- 
'  well,  who  had  never  before  been  heard  to  speak  in  the  House 
'  of  Commons,' — at  least  not  by  me,  though  he  had  often  spoken, 
and  was  very  well  known  there, — '  ordered  the  Witnesses  and 
'  Petitioners  in  the  method  of  the  proceeding  ;  and  seconded, 
'  and  enlarged  upon  what  they  said,  with  great  passion  ;  and  the 
'  Witnesses  and  persons  concerned,  who  were  a  very  rude  kind 
'  of  people,  interrupted  the  Counsel  and  Witnesses  on  the  other 
'  side,  with  great  clamour,  when  they  said  anything  that  did  not 
'  please  them  ;  so  that  Mr.  Hyde  (whose  office  it  was  to  oblige 
'  men  of  all  sorts  to  keep  order)  was  compelled  to  use  some 
'  sharp  reproofs,  and  some  threats,  to  reduce  them  to  such  a 
'  temper  that  the  business  might  be  quietly  heard.  Cromwell, 
'  in  great  fury,  reproached  the  Chairman  for  being  partial,  and 
'  that  he  discountenanced  the  Witnesses  by  threatening  them  : 
'  the  other  appealed  to  the  Committee  ;  which  justified  him,  and 
'  declared  that  he  behaved  himself  as  he  ought  to  do  ;  which 
•more  inflamed  him,'  Cromwell,  'who  was  already  too  much 
'  angry.  When  upon  any  mention  of  matter-of-fact,  or  of  the 
'  proceeding  before  and  at  the  Enclosure,  the  Lord  Mandevil 

•  desired  to  be  heard,  and  with  great  modesty  related  what  had 
4  been  done,  or  explained  what  had  been  said,  Mr.  Cromwell  did 
«  answer,  and  reply  upon  him  with  so  much  indecency  and  rude- 
'  ness,  and  in  language  so  contrary  and  offensive,  that  every  man 

•  would  have  thought,  that  as  their  natures  and  their  manners 

VOL.  I.  H 


98  PART  I.    BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR.          i«4«. 

'  were  as  opposite  as  it  is  possible,  so  their  interest  could  never 
'  have  been  the  same.  In  the  end,  his  whole  carriage  was  so 
'  tempestuous,  and  his  behaviour  so  insolent,  that  the  Chairman 

•  found  himself  obliged  to  reprehend  him  :  and  to  tell  him, 

•  That  if  he'  Mr.  Cromwell  '  proceeded  in  the  same  manner, 
'  he'  Mr.  Hyde  '  would  presently  adjourn  the  Committee,  and 
'  the  next  morning  complain  to  the  House  of  him.     Which  he 
'  never  forgave ;  and  took  all  occasions  afterwards  to  pursue 
4  him  with  the  utmost  malice  and  revenge,  to  his  death, ' — not 
Mr.  Hyde's,  happily,  but  Mr.  Cromwell's,  who  at  length  did 
cease  to  cherish  '  malice  and  revenge"  against  Mr.  Hyde  ! 

Tracking  this  matter,  by  faint  indications,  through  various 
obscure  courses,  I  conclude  that  it  related  to  '  the  Soke  of 
Somersham,'5  near  St.  Ives  ;  and  that  the  scene  in  the  Queen's 
Court  probably  occurred  in  the  beginning  of  July  i64i.6  Crom- 
well knew  this  Soke  of  Somersham,  near  St.  Ives,  very  well  ; 
knew  these  poor  rustics,  and  what  treatment  they  had  got ;  and 
wished,  not  in  the  imperturbablest  manner  it  would  seem,  to 
see  justice  done  them.  Here  too,  subtracting  the  due  subtra- 
hend from  Mr.  Hyde's  Narrative,  we  have  a  pleasant  visuality 
of  an  old  summer  afternoon  '  in  the  Queen's  Court'  two  hundred 
years  ago. 

Cromwell's  next  Letters  present  him  to  us,  not  debating,  or 
about  to  debate,  concerning  Parliamentary  Propositions  and 
Scotch  '  Eighth  Articles,"  but  with  his  sword  drawn  to  enforce 
them  ;  the  whole  Kingdom  divided  now  into  two  armed  conflict- 
ing masses,  the  argument  to  be  by  pike  and  bullQt  henceforth. 

*  Commons  Journals,  ii.  179. 

8  Ibid  87,  150,  172/192,  215,  218,  319,— the  dates  extend  from  i/tb  February  tc 
tist  July  1641. 


PART  SECOND. 

TO  THE  END  OF  THE  FIRST  CIVIL  WAR. 
1642-1646. 


PRELIMINARY. 

THERE  is  therefore  a  great  dark  void,  from  February  1641  to 
January  1643,  through  which  the  reader  is  to  help  himself  from 
Letter  III.  over  to  Letter  IV.,  as  he  best  may.  How  has  pacific 
England,  the  most  solid  pacific  country  in  the  world,  got  all 
into  this  armed  attitude;  and  decided  itself  to  argue  henceforth 
by  pike  and  bullet  till  it  get  some  solution?  Dryasdust,  if  there 
remained  any  shame  in  him,  ought  to  look  at  those  wagonloads 
of  Printed  Volumes,  and  blush  !  We,  in  great  haste,  offer  the 
necessitous  reader  the  following  hints  and  considerations. 

It  was  mentioned  above  that  Oliver  St.  John,  the  noted 
Puritan  Lawyer,  was  already,  in  the  end  of  January  1641,  made 
Solicitor-General.  The  reader  may  mark  that  as  a  small  fraction 
of  an  event  showing  itself  above  ground,  completed  ;  and  in- 
dicating to  him  a  grand  subterranean  attempt  on  the  part  of 
King  Charles  and  the  Puritan  Leaders,  which  unfortunately 
never  could  become  a  fact  or  event.  Charles,  in  January  last  or 
earlier  (for  there  are  no  dates  discoverable  but  this  of  St.  John's), 
perceiving  how  the  current  of  the  Nation  ran,  and  what  a  hum- 
our men  were  getting  into,  had  decided  on  trying  to  adopt  the 
Puritan  leaders,  Pym,  Hampden,  Holies  and  others,  as  what 
we  should  now  call  his  '  Ministers  :'  these  Puritan  men,  under 
the  Earl  of  Bedford  as  chief,  might  have  hoped  to  become  what 
we  should  now  call  a  '  Majesty's  Ministry,'  and  to  execute  peace- 


ioo  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  »«»•. 

ably,  with  their  King  presiding  over  them,  what  reforms  had 
grown  inevitable.  A  most  desirable  result,  if  a  possible  one  ; 
for  of  all  men  these  had  the  least  notion  of  revolting,  or  rebel- 
ling against  their  King ! 

This  negotiation  had  been  entered  into,  and  entertained  as 
a  possibility  by  both  parties :  so  much  is  indubitable ;  so  much 
and  nothing  more,  except  that  it  ended  without  result.1  It 
would  in  our  days  be  the  easiest  negotiation  ;  but  it  was  then 
an  impossible  one.  For  it  meant  that  the  King  should  content 
himself  with  the  Name  of  King,  and  see  measures  the  reverse 
of  what  he  wished  and  willed  take  effect  by  his  sanction. 
Which,  in  sad  truth,  had  become  a  necessity  for  Charles  I.  in 
the  England  of  1641.  His  tendency  and  effort  has  long  been 
the  reverse  of  England's ;  he  cannot  govern  England,  whatever 
he  may  govern  !  And  yet  to  have  admitted  this  necessity, — 
alas,  was  it  not  to  have  settled  the  whole  Quarrel,  without  the 
eight-and-forty  years  of  fighting,  and  confused  bickering  and 
oscillation,  which  proved  to  be  needful  first?  The  negotiation 
dropped ;  leaving  for  visible  result  only  this  appointment  of  St. 
John's.  His  Majesty  on  that  side  saw  no  course  possible  for 
him. 

Accordingly  he  tried  it  in  the  opposite  direction,  which  also, 
on  failure  by  this  other,  was  very  natural  for  him.  He  entered 
into  secret  tamperings  with  the  Officers  of  the  English  Army  ; 
which,  lying  now  in  Yorkshire,  ill-paid,  defeated,  and  in  neigh- 
bourhood of  a  Scotch  Army  victoriously  furnished  with  8507. 
a-day,  was  very  apt  for  discontent.  There  arose  a  '  first  Army- 
Plot'  for  delivering  Strafford  from  the  Tower  ;  then  a  second 
Army-Plot  for  some  equally  wild  achievement,  tending  to  de- 
liver Majesty  from  thraldom,  and  send  this  factious  Parliament 
about  its  business.  In  which  desperate  schemes,  though  his 
Majesty  strove  not  to  commit  himself  beyond  what  was  neces- 
sary, it  became  and  still  remains  indubitable  that  he  did  parti- 
cipate; — as  indeed,  the  former  course  of  listening  to  his  Parlia- 
ment having  been  abandoned,  this  other  of  coercing  or  awing 
it  by  armed  force  was  the  only  remaining  one. 

These  Army-Plots,  detected  one  after  another,  and  investi- 
gated and  commented  upon,  with  boundless  interest,  in  Parlia- 
ment and  out  of  it,  kept  the  Summer  and  Autumn  of  1641  in 
continual  alarm  and  agitation  ;  taught  all  Opposition  persons, 

I  Whitlocke,  Clarendon ;  ice  Forstcr's  Statttmen,  ii.  150-7. 


xd4i.  PRELIMINARY.  101 

and  a  factious  Parliament  in  general,  what  ground  they  were 
standing  on  ; — and  in  the  factious  Parliament  especially,  could 
not  but  awaken  the  liveliest  desire  of  having  the  Military  Force 
put  in  such  hands  as  would  be  safe  for  them.  '  The  Lord- 
Lieutenants  of  Counties,'  this  factious  Parliament  conceived  an 
unappeaseable  desire  of  knowing  who  these  were  to  be  : — this 
is  what  they  mean  by  '  Power  of  the  Militia  ;'  on  which  point, 
as  his  Majesty  would  not  yield  a  jot,  his  Parliament  and  he, — 
the  point  becoming  daily  more  important,  new  offences  daily 
accumulating,  and  the  split  ever  widening, — ultimately  rent 
themselves  asunder,  and  drew  swords  to  decide  it. 

Such  was  the  well-known  consummation  ;  which  in  Crom- 
well's next  Letter  we  find  to  have  arrived.  Here  are  a  few  dates 
which  may  assist  the  reader  to  grope  his  way  thither.  From 
'  Mr.  Willingham  in  Swithin's  Lane'  in  February  1641,  to  the 
Royal  Standard  at  Nottingham  in  August  1642,  and  '  Mr.  Bar- 
nard at  Huntingdon'  in  January  1643,  which  is  our  next  stage, 
there  is  a  long  vague  road  ;  and  the  lights  upon  it  are  mostly 
a  universal  dance  of  will-o'-wisps,  and  distracted  fire-flies  in  a 
state  of  excitement — not  good  guidance  for  the  traveller  ! 

1641. 

Monday  ^d  May.  Strafford's  Trial  being  ended,  but  no 
sentence  yet  given,  Mr.  Robert  Baillie,  Minister  of  Kilwinning, 
who  was  here  among  the  Scotch  Commissioners  at  present,  saw 
in  Palaceyard,  Westminster,  '  some  thousands  of  Citizens  and 
Apprentices'  (Miscellaneous  Persons  and  City  Shopmen,  as  we 
should  now  call  them),  who  rolled  about  there  'all  day,'  bel- 
lowing to  eveiy  Lord  as  he  went  in  or  came  out,  '  with  a  loud 
and  hideous  voice :'  "Justice  on  Strafford !  Justice  on  Traitors  I"2 
— which  seemed  ominous  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baillie. 

In  which  same  hours,  amid  such  echoes  from  without,  the 
honourable  House  of  Commons  within  doors,  all  in  great  tremor 
about  Army-Plots,  Treasons,  Death-perils,  was  busy  redacting 
a  '  Protestation  ;'  a  kind  of  solemn  Vow,  or  miniature  Scotch 
Covenant,  the  first  of  a  good  many  such  in  those  earnest  agi- 
tated times, — to  the  effect  :  "  We  take  the  Supreme  to  witness 
that  we  will  stand  by  one  another  to  the  death  in  prosecution 
of  our  just  objects  here;  in  defence  of  Law,  Loyalty  and  Gospel 
here."  To  this  effect ;  but  couched  in  very  mild  language, 

'  Baillie,  i.  351. 


102  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,641. 

and  with  a  '  Preamble,'  in  which  our  Terror  of  Army-Plots,  the 
moving  principle  of  the  affair,  is  discreetly  almost  shaded  out 
of  sight ;  it  being  our  object  that  the  House  should  be  '  unani- 
mous' in  this  Protestation.  As  accordingly  the  House  was ; 
the  House,  and  to  a  great  extent  the  Nation.  Hundreds  of 
honourable  Members,  Mr.  Cromwell  one  of  them,  sign  the  Pro- 
testation this  day ;  the  others  on  the  following  days :  their  names 
all  registered  in  due  succession  in  the  Books.3  Nay,  it  is  or- 
dered that  the  whole  Nation  be  invited  to  sign  it ;  that  each 
honourable  Member  send  it  down  to  his  constituents,  and  invite 
them  to  sign  it.  Which,  as  we  say,  the  constituents,  all  the  re- 
forming part  of  them,  everywhere  in  England,  did;  with  a  feeling 
of  solemnity  very  strange  to  the  modern  mind.  Striking  terror 
into  all  Traitors  ;  quashing  down  Army-Plots  for  the  present, 
and  the  hopes  of  poor  Strafford  forever.  A  Protestation  held 
really  sacred  ;  appealed  to,  henceforth,  as  a  thing  from  which 
there  was  no  departing.  Cavalcades  of  Freeholders,  coming 
up  from  the  country  to  petition  the  Honourable  House, — for 
instance,  the  Four-thousand  Petitioners  from  Buckinghamshire, 
about  ten  months  hence, — rode  with  this  Protestation  '  stuck  in 
their  hats.'4  A  very  great  and  awe-inspiring  matter  in  those 
days  L  till  it  was  displaced  by  greater  of  the  like  kind, — Solemn 
League  and  Covenant,  and  others.3 

Monday  next,  loth  May,  his  Majesty  accordingly  signed 
sentence  on  Strafford ;  who  was  executed  on  the  Wednesday 
following.  No  help  for  it.  A  terrible  example ;  the  one 
supremely  able  man  the  King  had. 

On  the  same  Monday  loth  May,  his  Majesty  signed  like- 
wise another  Bill,  That  this  Parliament  should  not  be  dissolved 
without  its  own  consent.  A  Bill  signed  in  order  that  the  City 
might  lend  him  money  on  good  Security  of  Parliament ;  money 
being  most  prcssingly  wanted,  for  our  couple  of  hungry  Armies 
Scotch  and  English,  and  other  necessary  occasions.  A  Bill 
which  seemed  of  no  great  consequence  except  financial ;  but 
which,  to  a  People  reverent  of  Law,  and  never,  in  the  wildest 
clash  of  battle-swords,  giving  up  its  religious  respect  for  the 
constable's  baton,  proved  of  infinite  consequence.  His  Majesty's 
hands  are  tied  ;  he  cannot  dismiss  this  Parliament,  as  he  has 
done  the  others, — no,  not  without  its  own  consent. 

•  Continent  Journalt,  ii.  132-3,  &c. ;  Rushworth,  iv.  241-4. 

•  nth  January  1641-3  ;  Rushwortli,  iv.  486. 

•  Copy  of  it,  sent  to  Cambridge :  Appendix,  No.  3. 


1641.  PRELIMINARY.  103 

August  loth.  Army-Plotters  having  fled  beyond  seas;  the 
Bill  for  Triennial  Parliaments  being  passed  ;  the  Episcopacy- 
Bill  being  got  to  sleep  ;  and  by  the  use  of  royal  •varnish  a  kind 
of  composure,  or  hope  of  composure,  being  introduced  :  above 
all  things,  money  being  now  borrowed  to  pay  the  Armies  and 
disband  them, — his  Majesty,  on  the  loth  of  the  month,6  set  out 
for  Scotland.  To  hold  a  Parliament,  and  compose  matters 
there,  as  his  Majesty  gave  out.  To  see  what  old  or  new  ele- 
ments of  malign  Royalism  could  still  be  awakened  to  life  there, 
as  the  Parliament  surmised,  who  greatly  opposed  his  going. — 
Mr.  Cromwell  got  home  to  Ely  again,  for  six  weeks,  this  au- 
tumn; there  being  a  recess  from  Qth  September  when  the  busi- 
ness was  got  gathered  up,  till  2oth  October  when  his  Majesty 
was  expected  back.  An  Interim  Committee,  and  Pym,  from 
his  'lodging  at  Chelsea,'?  managed  what  of  indispensable  might 
turn  up. 

November  ist.  News  came  to  London,  to  the  re-assembled 
Parliament,8  that  an  Irish  Rebellion,  already  grown  to  be  an 
Irish  Massacre,  had  broken  out.  An  Irish  Catholic  imitation 
of  the  late  Scotch  Presbyterian  achievements  in  the  way  of  'reli- 
gious liberty  ;' — one  of  the  best  models,  and  one  of  the  worst 
imitations  ever  seen  in  this  world.  Erasmus's  Ape,*observing 
Erasmus  shave  himself,  never  doubted  but  it  too  could  shave. 
One  knows  what  a  hand  the  creature  made  of  itself,  before  the 
edgetool  could  be  wrenched  from  it  again  !  As  this  poor  Irish 
Rebellion  unfortunately  began  in  lies  and  bluster,  and  proceeded 
in  lies  and  bluster,  hoping  to  make  itself  good  that  way,  the 
ringleaders  had  started  by  pretending  or  even  forging  some 
warrant  from  the  King  ;  which  brought  much  undeserved  sus- 
picion on  his  Majesty,  and  greatly  complicated  his  affairs  here 
for  a  long  while. 

November  22</.  The  Irish  Rebellion  blazing  up  more  and 
more  into  an  Irish  Massacre,  to  the  terror  and  horror  of  all 
antipapist  men  ;  and  in  England,  or  even  in  Scotland,  except 
by  the  liberal  use  of  varnish,  nothing  yet  being  satisfactorily 
mended,  nay  all  things  hanging  now,  as  it  seemed,  in  double 
and  treble  jeopardy, — the  Commons  had  decided  on  a  '  Grand 
Petition  and  Remonstrance,'  to  set  forth  what  their  griefs  and 
necessities  really  were,  and  really  would  require  to  have  done 

6  Wharton's  Land,  p.  fc.  ?  His  Report,  Commons  Journak,  u.  289. 

8  Laud,  p.  62  ;  Commons  Journals,  in  die. 


104  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,84.. 

for  them.  The  Debate  upon  it,  very  celebrated  in  those  times, 
came  on  this  day,  Monday  22d  November.  9  The  longest  De- 
bate ever  yet  known  in  Parliament ;  and  the  stormiest, — nay, 
had  it  not  been  for  Mr.  Hampden's  soft  management,  '  we  had 
liked  to  have  sheathed  our  swords  in  each  other's  bowels,'  says 
Warwick  ;  which  I  find  otherwise  to  be  true.  The  Remon- 
strance passed  by  a  small  majority.  It  can  be  read  still  in 
Rushworth,10  drawn  up  in  precise  business  order  ;  the  whole 
206  Articles  of  it, — every  line  of  which  once  thrilled  electrically 
into  all  men's  hearts,  as  torpid  as  it  has  now  grown.  '  The 
'  chimes  of  Margaret's  were  striking  two  in  the  morning  when 
'  we  came  out.' — It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Oliver,  '  coming 
down  stairs,"  is  reported  to  have  said,  He  would  have  sold  all 
and  gone  to  New  England,  had  the  Remonstrance  not  passed  ;u 
— a  vague  report,  gathered  over  dining-tables  long  after,  to 
which  the  reader  need  not  pay  more  heed  than  it  merits.  His 
Majesty  returned  from  Scotland  on  the  Thursday  following,  and 
had  from  the  City  a  thrice-glorious  Civic  Entertainment.12 

December  loth.  The  Episcopal  business,  attempted  last 
Spring  in  vain,  has  revived  in  December,  kindled  into  life  by  the 
Remonstrance  ;  and  is  raging  more  fiercely  than  ever;  crowds 
of  Citizens  petitioning,  Corporation  '  going  in  sixty  coaches'  to 
petition  ;13  the  Apprentices,  or  City  Shopmen,  and  miscellaneous 
persons,  petitioning  : — Bishops  '  much  insulted*  in  Palaceyard 
as  they  go  in  or  out.  Whereupon  hasty  Welsh  Williams,  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  once  Bishop  of  Lincoln  and  Lord  Keeper,  he 
with  Eleven  too  hasty  Bishops,  Smectymnuus  Hall  being  one 
of  them,  give  in  a  Protest,  on  this  loth  of  December,1*  That 
they  cannot  get  to  their  place  in  Parliament ;  that  all  shall  be 
null  and  void  till  they  do  get  there.  A  rash  step ;  for  which, 
on  the  3oth  of  the  same  month,  they  are,  by  the  Commons, 
voted  guilty  of  Treason  ;  and  '  in  a  cold  evening,'  with  small 
ceremony,  arc  bundled,  the  whole  dozen  of  them,  into  the  Tower. 
For  there  is  again  rioting,  again  are  cries  •  loud  and  hideous ;' 
— Colonel  Lunsford,  a  truculent  one-eyed  man,  having  '  drawn 
hte  sword'  upon  the  Apprentices  in  Westminster  Hall,  and 
truculently  slashed  some  of  them  ;  who  of  course  responded  in 
a  loud  and  hideous  manner,  by  tongue,  by  fist,  and  single-stick; 
nay,  on  the  morrow,  28th  of  December, )5  they  came  marching 

•  Comment  Journals,  in  die  :  D'Ewcs  MSS.  f.  179  b. 

10  Rushworth,  iv.  438-51  ;  see  also  436-7.  "  Clarendon. 

IJ  Rushworth,«v.  429.       "  Vicars,  p.  56.        M  Ru»hworth,  iv.  467.        '*  Ib.  iv.  464. 


i64*.  PRELIMINARY.  105 

many  thousands  strong,  with  sword  and  pistol,  out  of  the  City. 
"  Slash  us  now  !  while  we  wait  on  the  Honourable  House  for 
an  answer  to  our  petition  !" — and  insulted  his  Majesty's  Guard 
at  Whitehall.  What  a  Christmas  of  that  old  London,  of  that 
old  year  !  On  the  6th  of  February  following,  Episcopacy  will 
be  voted  down,  with  blaze  of 'bonfires,'  and  'ringing'  of  all 
the  bells, — very  audible  to  poor  old  Dr.  Laud16  over  in  the 
Tower  yonder. 

1642. 

January  ^th.  His  Majesty  seeing  these  extremities  arrive,  ' 
and  such  a  conflagration  begin  to  blaze,  thought  now  the  time 
had  come  for  snatching  the  main  livecoals  away,  and  so  quench- 
ing the  same.  Such  coals  of  strife  he  counts  to  the  number  of 
Five  in  the  Commons  House,  and  One  in  the  Lords  :  Pym, 
Hampden,  Haselrig,  with  Holies  and  Strode  (who  held  down 
the  Speaker  fourteen  years  ago),  these  are  the  Five  Commons  ; 
Lord  Kimbolton,  better  known  to  us  as  Mandevil,  Oliver's 
friend,  of  the  '  Soke  of  Somersham,'  and  Queen's-Court  Com- 
mittee, he  is  the  Lord.  His  Majesty  flatters  himself  he  has 
gathered  evidence  concerning  these  individual  firebrands,  That 
they  'invited  the  Scots  to  invade  us'  in  1640:  he  sends,  on 
Monday  3d  January,17  to  demand  that  they  be  given  up  to  him 
as  Traitors.  Deliberate,  slow  and,  as  it  were,  evasive  reply. 
Whereupon,  on  the  morrow,  he  rides  down  to  St.  Stephen's 
himself,  with  an  armed  very  miscellaneous  force,  of  Five-hun- 
dred or  of  Three-hundred  truculent  braggadocio  persons  at  his 
back  ;  enters  the  House  of  Commons,  the  truculent  persons 
looking  in  after  him  from  the  lobby, — with  intent  to  seize  the 
said  Five  Members,  five  principal  hot  coals  ;  and  trample  them 
out,  for  one  thing.  It  was  the  fatalest  step  this  poor  King 
ever  took.  The  Five  Members,  timefully  warned,  were  gone 
into  the  City  ;  the  whole  Parliament  removed  itself  into  the 
City,  '  to  be  safe  from  armed  violence.'  From  London  City, 
and  from  all  England,  rose  one  loud  voice  of  lamentation,  con- 
demnation :  Clean  against  law  !  Paint  an  inch  thick,  there  is, 
was,  or  can  be,  no  shadow  of  law  in  this.  Will  you  grant  us 
the  Militia  now;  we  seem  to  need  it  now! — His  Majesty's  sub- 
sequent stages  may  be  dated  with  more  brevity. 

January  \oth.    The  King  with  his  Court  quits  Whitehall ; 

16  Wharton's  Laud,  p.  62 ;  see  also  p.  65.  t7  Commons  JonrtMh,  ii.  367. 


io6  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,<s«* 

the  Five  Members  and  Parliament  purposing  to  return  tomor- 
row, with  the  whole  City  in  arms  round  them.18  He  left 
Whitehall ;  never  saw  it  again  till  he  came  to  lay  down  his 
head  there. 

March  <)th.  The  King  has  sent  away  his  Queen  from 
Dover,  '  to  be  in  a  place  of  safety," — and  also  to  pawn  the 
Crown  Jewels  in  Holland,  and  get  him  arms.  He  returns 
Northward  again,  avoiding  London.  Many  Messages  between 
the  Houses  of  Parliament  and  him  :  "Will  your  Majesty  grant 
us  Power  of  the  Militia  ;  accept  this  list  of  Lord-Lieutenants  ?" 
On  the  gth  of  March,  still  advancing  Northward  without  affirm- 
ative response,  he  has  got  to  Newmarket ;  where  another  Mess- 
age overtakes  him,  earnestly  urges  itself  upon  him:  Could  not 
your  Majesty  please  to  grant  us  Power  of  the  Militia  for  a 
limited  time  ?  "  No,  by  God  !"  answers  his  Majesty,  "not  for 
an  hour  !"J9 — On  the  igth  of  March  he  is  at  York  ;  where  his 
Hull  Magazine,  gathered  for  service  against  the  Scots,  is  lying 
near ;  where  a  great  Earl  of  Newcastle,  and  other  Northern 
potentates,  will  help  him;  where  at  least  London  and  its  Purit- 
anism, now  grown  so  fierce,  is  far  off. 

There  we  will  leave  him  ;  attempting  Hull  Magazine,  in 
vain  ;  exchanging  messages  with  his  Parliament ;  messages, 
missives,  printed  and  written  Papers  without  limit: — Law- 
pleadings  of  both  parties  before  the  great  tribunal  of  the  Eng- 
lish Nation,  each  party  striving  to  prove  itself  right,  and  within 
the  verge  of  Law  :  preserved  still  in  acres  of  typography,  once 
thrillingly  alive  in  every  fibre  of  them ;  now  a  mere  torpor, 
readable  by  few  creatures,  not  remembcrable  by  any.  It  is  too 
clear  his  Majesty  will  have  to  get  himself  an  army,  by  Com- 
mission of  Array,  by  subscriptions  of  loyal  plate,  pawning  of 
crown  jewels,  or  how  he  can.  The  Parliament  by  all  methods 
is  endeavouring  to  do  the  like.  London  subscribed  '  Horses 
and  Plate,'  every  kind  of  plate,  even  to  women's  thimbles,  to 
an  unheard-of  amount  ;?0  and  when  it  came  to  actual  enlisting, 
in  London  alone  there  were  '  Four-thousand  enlisted  in  a  day.'81 
Four-thci'sand,  some  call  it  Five-thousand,  in  a  day  :  the  reader 
may  meditate  that  one  fact.  Royal  messages,  Parliamentary 
messages ;  acres  of  typography  thrillingly  alive  in  every  fibre 

•8  Vicars,  p.  64.  u  Rushwortli,  iv.  333. 

10  Vicars,  pp.  03,  109 ;  Me  Comment  Journals,  loth  June  1641. 

31  Wood's  A  tfienae,  lii.  193. 


.642.  PRELIMINARY.  107 

of  them, — these  go  on  slowly  abating,  and  military  preparations 
go  on  steadily  increasing  till  the  23d  of  October  next.  The 
King's  '  Commission  of  Array  for  Leicestershire'  came  out  on 
the  1 2th  of  June,  commissions  for  other  counties  following  as 
convenient ;  the  Parliament's  '  Ordinance  for  the  Militia,' rising 
cautiously  pulse  after  pulse  towards  clear  emergence,  had  at- 
tained completion  the  week  before.22  The  question  puts  itself 
to  every  English  soul,  Which  of  these  will  you  obey  ? — and  in 
all  quarters  of  English  ground,  with  swords  getting  out  of  their 
scabbards,  and  yet  the  constable's  baton  still  struggling  to  rule 
supreme,  there  is  a  most  confused  solution  of  it  going  on. 

Of  Oliver  in  these  months  we  find  the  following  things 
noted ;  which  the  imaginative  reader  is  to  spread  out  into  sig- 
nificance for  himself  the  best  he  can. 

February  "jth.  '  Mr.  Cromwell,'  among  others,  '  offers  to 
'  lend  Three-hundred  Pounds  for  the  service  of  the  Common- 
'  wealth,'23 — towards  reducing  the  Irish  Rebellion,  and  relieving 
the  afflicted  Protestants  there,  or  here.  Rushworth,  copying 
a  List  of  such  subscribers,  of  date  gth  April  1 642,  has  Crom- 
well's name  written  down  for  '  5oo/.'2* — seemingly  the  same 
transaction  ;  Mr.  Cromwell  having  now  mended  his  offer  :  or 
else  Mr.  Rushworth,  who  uses  the  arithmetical  cipher  in  this 
place,  having  misprinted.  Hampden's  subscription  there  is 
i.ooo/.  In  Mr.  Cromwell  it  is  clear  there  is  no  backwardness, 
far  from  that ;  his  activity  in  these  months  notably  increases. 
In  the  UEives  MSS.25  he  appears  and  reappears ;  suggesting 
this  and  the  other  practical  step,  on  behalf  of  Ireland  oftenest ; 
in  all  ways  zealously  urging  the  work. 

July  i$th.  '  Mr.  Cromwell  moved  that  we  might  make  an 
•  order  to  allow  the  Townsmen  of  Cambridge  to  raise  two  Com- 
'  panics  of  Volunteers,  and  to  appoint  Captains  over  them.'26 
On  which  same  day,  i5th  July,  the  Commons  Clerk  writes 
these  words  :  '  Whereas  Mr.  Cromwell  hath  sent  down  arms 
1  into  the  County  of  Cambridge,  for  the  defence  of  that  County, 
'  it  is  this  day  ordered,'27 — that  he  shall  have  the  '  ioo/.'  ex- 
pended on  that  service  repaid  him  by  and  by.  Is  Mr.  Crom- 
well aware  that  there  lies  a  colour  of  high  treason  in  all  this  ; 

2*  Husbands  the  Printer's  First  Collection  (Lond.  1643),  pp.  346,  331. 
*3  Commons  Journals,  ii.  408.  al  Rushworth,  iv.  564. 

K  February — July  1642.  '*s  D'Ewes  MSS.  f.  658-661. 

*7  Commons  Journals,  ii.  674. 


io8  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,«** 

risk  not  of  one's  purse  only,  but  of  one's  head  ?  Mr.  Crom- 
well is  aware  of  it,  and  pauses  not.  The  next  entry  is  still 
stranger. 

August  i5///.    '  Mr.  Cromwell  in  Cambridgeshire  has  seized 
the  Magazine  in  the  Castle  at  Cambridge  ;  and  hath  hindered 

•  the  carrying  of  the  Plate  from  that  University  ;  which,  as 

*  some  report,  was  to  the  value  of  2o,ooo/.   or  thereabouts.' 
So  does  Sir  Philip  Staplcton,  member  for  Aldborough,  member 
also  of  our  new  '  Committee  for  Defence  of  the   Kingdom,' 
report  this  day.    For  which  let  Mr.  Cromwell  have  indemnity.88 
— Mr.  Cromwell  has  gone  down  into  Cambridgeshire  in  person, 
since  they  began  to  train  there,  and  assumed  the  chief  man- 
agement,— to  some  effect,  it  would  appear. 

The  like  was  going  on  in  all  shires  of  England ;  wherever 
the  Parliament  had  a  zealous  member,  it  sent  him  down  to  his 
shire  in  these  critical  months,  to  take  what  management  he 
could  or  durst.  The  most  confused  months  England  ever  saw. 
In  every  shire,  in  every  parish ;  in  courthouses,  alehouses, 
churches,  markets,  wheresoever  men  were  gathered  together, 
England,  with  sorrowful  confusion  in  every  fibre,  is  tearing 
itself  into  hostile  halves,  to  carry  on  the  voting  by  pike  and 
bullet  henceforth. 

Brevity  is  very  urgent  on  us,  nevertheless  we  must  give  this 
other  extract.  Bramston  the  Shipmoney  Judge,  in  trouble  with 
the  Parliament  and  sequestered  from  his  place,  is  now  likely  to 
get  into  trouble  with  the  King,  who  in  the  last  days  of  July  has 
ordered  him  to  come  to  York  on  business  of  importance.  Judge 
Bramston  sends  his  two  sons,  John  and  Frank,,  fresh  young 
men,  to  negotiate  some  excuse.  They  ride  to  York  in  three 
days;  stay  a  day  at  York  with  his  Majesty;  then  return,  'on  the 
same  horses,'  in  three  days, — to  Skreens  in  Essex  ;  which  was 
good  riding.  John,  one  of  them,  has  left  a  most  watery  inco- 
herent Autobiography t  now  printed,  but  not  edited, — nor  worth 
editing,  except  by  fire  to  ninety-nine  hundrcdths  of  it ;  very 
distracting  ;  in  which,  however,  there  is  this  notable  sentence  ; 
date  about  the  middle  of  August,  not  discoverable  to  a  day. 
Having  been  at  York,  and  riding  back  on  the  same  horses  in 
three  days  : 

78  Commons  youmals,  ii.  720,6.  Sc«  likewise  Tanner  MSS.  IxiiL  116;  Qutrtl* 
CaHtabrifiensis  (and  wipe  away  its  blubbering*  and  inexactitudes  a  little),  Ltft  i/ 
Dr.  Banuick,  &c.,— Cambridge  Portfolio  (London,  i84oX  ii.  386-8. 


KS4*.  PRELIMINARY.  109 

'  In  our  return  on  Sunday,  near  Huntingdon,  between  that 
'  and  Cambridge,  certain  musketeers  start  out  of  the  corn,  and 
'  command  us  to  stand  ;  telling  us  we  must  be  searched,  and 
'  to  that  end  must  go  before  Mr.  Cromwell,  and  give  account 
'  from  whence  we  came  and  whither  we  were  going.  I  asked 
'  where  Mr.  Cromwell  was  ?  A  soldier  told  us,  He  was  four 
'  miles  off.  I  said,  it  was  unreasonable  to  carry  us  out  of  our 
'  way  ;  if  Mr.  Cromwell  had  been  there,  I  should  have  willingly 
'  given  him  all  the  satisfaction  he  could  desire  ;  —  and  putting 
'  my  hand  into  my  pocket,  I  gave  one  of  them  Twelvepence, 
'  who  said,  we  might  pass.  By  this  I  saw  plainly  it  would 
'  not  be  possible  for  my  Father  to  get  to  the  King  with  his 
'  coach  ;'29  —  neither  did  he  go  at  all,  but  stayed  at  home  till  he 
died. 

September  i^th.  Here  is  a  new  phasis  of  the  business. 
In  a  '  List  of  the  Army  under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of 
Essex,'30  we  find  that  Robert  Earl  of  Essex  is  'Lord  General 
for  King  and  Parliament'  (to  deliver  the  poor  beloved  King 
from  traitors,  who  have  misled  him,  and  clouded  his  fine  under- 
standing, and  rendered  him  as  it  were  a  beloved  Parent  fallen 
insane)  ;  that  Robert  Earl  of  Essex,  we  say,  is  Lord  General 
for  King  and  Parliament  ;  that  William  the  new  Earl  of  Bed- 
ford is  General  of  the  Horse,  and  has,  or  is  every  hour  getting 
to  have,  '  seventy-five  troops  of  60  men  each  ;'  in  every  troop 
a  Captain,  a  Lieutenant,  a  Cornet  and  Quartermaster,  whose 
names  are  all  given.  In  Troop  Sixty-seven,  the  Captain  is 
'Oliver  Cromwell,'  —  honourable  member  for  Cambridge;  many 
honourable  members  having  now  taken  arms  ;  Mr.  Hampden, 
for  example,  having  become  Colonel  Hampden,  —  busy  drilling 
his  men  in  Chalgrove  Field  at  this  very  time.  But  moreover, 
in  Troop  Eight  of  Earl  Bedford's  Horse,  we  find  another 
'  Oliver  Cromwell,  Cornet  ;'  —  and  with  real  thankfulness  for 
this  poor  flint-spark  in  the  great  darkness,  recognise  him  for 
our  honourable  member's  Son.  His  eldest  Son  Oliver,31  now 
a  stout  young  man  of  twenty.  "  Thou  too,  Boy  Oliver,  thou 
"  art  fit  to  swing  a  sword.  If  there  ever  was  a  battle  worth 
"  fighting,  and  to  be  called  God's  battle,  it  is  this  ;  thou  too 
"  wilt  come  !"  How  a  staid,  most  pacific,  solid  Farmer  of 


titobiography  of  Sir  yohn  Bramston,  Knt.  (Camden  Society,  1845),  p.  86. 
.ing's  Pamphlets,  small  410,  no.  73.  3l  Antea,  p.  60. 


*  Autobio 
*>  Ki 


I  io  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  164* 

tkree-and-forty  decides  on  girding  himself  with  warlike  iron, 
and  fighting,  he  and  his,  against  principalities  and  powers,  let 
readers  who  have  formed  any  notion  of  this  man  conceive  for 
themselves. 

On  Sunday  2$d  October,  was  Edgehill  Battle,  called  also 
Keinton  Fight,  near  Keinton  on  the  south  edge  of  Warwick- 
shire. In  which  Battle  Captain  Cromwell  was  present,  and 
did  his  duty,  let  angry  Denzil  say  what  he  will.32  The  Fight 
was  indecisive  ;  victory  claimed  by  both  sides.  Captain  Crom- 
well told  Cousin  Hampden,  They  never  would  get  on  with 
a  set  of  poor  tapsters  and  town-apprentice  people  fighting 
against  men  of  honour.  To  cope  with  men  of  honour  they 
must  have  men  of  religion.  '  Mr.  Hampden  answered  me,  It 
was  a  good  notion,  if  it  could  be  executed.'  Oliver  himself  set 
about  executing  a  bit  of  it,  his  share  of  it,  by  and  by. 

« We  all  thought  one  battle  would  decide  it,'  says  Richard 
Baxter  ;33 — and  we  were  all  much  mistaken !  This  winter 
there  arise  among  certain  Counties  '  Associations'  for  mutual 
defence,  against  Royalism  and  plunderous  Rupertism  ;  a  mea- 
sure cherished  by  the  Parliament,  condemned  as  treasonable 
by  the  King.  Of  which  '  Associations,'  countable  to  the  num- 
ber of  five  or  six,  we  name  only  one,  that  of  Norfolk,  Suffolk, 
Essex,  Cambridge,  Herts ;  with  Lord  Grey  of  Wark  for  Com- 
mander ;  where,  and  under  whom,  Oliver  was  now  serving. 
This  '  Eastern  Association'  is  alone  worth  naming.  All  the 
other  Associations,  no  man  of  emphasis  being  in  the  midst  of 
them,  fell  in  few  months  to  pieces  ;  only  this  of  Cromwell's  sub- 
sisted, enlarged  itself,  grew  famous  ; — and  indeed  kept  its  own 
borders  clear  of  invasion  during  the  whole  course  of  the  War. 
Ciiver,  in  the  beginning  of  1643,  is  serving  there,  under  the 
Lord  Grey  of  Wark.  Besides  his  military  duties,  Oliver,  as 
natural,  was  nominated  of  the  Committee  for  Cambridgeshire 
in  this  Association  ;  he  is  also  of  the  Committee  for  Hunting- 
donshire, which  as  yet  belongs  to  another  'Association.'  Mem- 
ber for  the  Committee  of  Huntingdonshire  ;  to  which  also  has 
been  nominated  a  'Robert  Barnard,  Esquire,'3* — who,  how- 
ever, does  not  sit,  as  I  have  reason  to  surmise  t 

n  Vicars,  p.  198  ;  Denzil  Hollcs's  Mtmoirs  (in  Mazeres's  Tractt,  vol.  L). 
u  Ltfe  (London,  1696),  Part  L  p.  43. 

M  Husbands,  L  892 ;  see  for  the  other  particulars,  ii.  183,  327,  804,  809 ;  Comment 
Journals,  &c. 


K543.  LETTER  IV.   HUNTINGDON.  in 

LETTER  IV. 

THE  reader  recollects  Mr.  Robert  Barnard,  how,  in  1630, 
he  got  a  Commission  of  the  Peace  for  Huntingdon,  along  with 
'  Dr.  Beard  and  Mr.  Oliver  Cromwell,'  to  be  fellow  Justices 
there.  Probably  they  never  sat  much  together,  as  Oliver  went 
to  St.  Ives  soon  after,  and  the  two  men  were  of  opposite  poli- 
tics, which  in  those  times  meant  opposite  religions.  But  here 
in  twelve-years  space  is  a  change  of  many  things  ! 

To  my  assured  friend  Robert  Barnard,  Esquire:  Present  these. 

MR.  BARNARD,  '  Huntingdon,'  z^A  January  1042. 

It's  most  true,  my  Lieutenant  with  some 
other  soldiers  of  my  troop  were  at  your  House.  I  dealt  '  so' 
freely  '  as'  to  inquire  after  you ;  the  reason  was,  I  had  heard 
you  reported  active  against  the  proceedings  of  Parliament, 
and/0r  those  that  disturb  the  peace  of  this  Country  and 
the  Kingdom, — with  those  of  this  Country  who  have  had 
meetings  not  a  few.  to  intents  and  purposes  too-too  full  of 
suspect.1 

It's  true,  Sir,  I  know  you  have  been  wary  in  your  car- 
riages :  be  not  too  confident  thereof.  Subtlety  may  deceive 
you ;  integrity  never  will.  With  my  heart  I  shall  desire 
that  your  judgment  may  alter,  and  your  practice.  I  come 
only  to  hinder  men  from  increasing  the  rent, — from  doing 
hurt ;  but  not  to  hurt  any  man  :  nor  shall  I  you ;  I  hope 
you  will  give  me  no  cause.  If  you  do,  I  must  be  pardoned 
what  my  relation  to  the  Public  calls  for. 

If  your  good  parts  be  disposed  that  way,  know  me  for 
your  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Be  assured  fair  words  from  me  shall  neither  deceive  you 
of  your  houses  nor  of  your  liberty.* 

1  Country  is  equivalent  to  county  or  region ;  too-too,  in  those  days,  means  littlj 
more  than  too;  suspect  is  suspectability,  almost  as  proper  as  our  modern  suspicion. 
*  Original  in  the  possession  of  Lord  Gosford,  at  Worlingham  in  Suffolk. 


Iia  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  F.b. 

My  Copy,  two  Copies,  of  this  Letter  I  owe  to  kind  friends, 
who  have  carefully  transcribed  it  from  the  Original  at  Lord 
Gosford's.  The  present  Lady  Gosford  is  'granddaughter  of  Sir 
Robert  Barnard,1  to  whose  lineal  ancestor  the  Letter  is  ad- 
dressed. The  date  of  time  is  given  ;  there  never  was  any  date 
or  address  of  place, — which  probably  means  that  it  was  written 
in  Huntingdon  and  addressed  to  Huntingdon,  where  Robert 
Barnard,  who  became  Recorder  of  the  place,  is  known  to  have 
resided.  Oliver,  in  the  month  of  January  1642-3,  is  present  in 
the  Fen-country,  and  all  over  the  Eastern  Association,  with  his 
troop  or  troops ;  looking  after  disaffected  persons  ;  ready  to 
disperse  royalist  assemblages,  to  seize  royalist  plate,  to  keep 
down  disturbance,  and  care  in  every  way  that  the  Parliament 
Cause  suffer  no  damage.8  A  Lieutenant  and  party  have  gone 
to  take  some  survey  of  Robert  Barnard,  Esquire  ;  Robert  Bar- 
nard, standing  on  the  right  of  injured  innocence,  innocent  till 
he  be  proved  guilty,  protests  :  Oliver  responds  as  here,  in  a 
very  characteristic  way. 

It  was  precisely  in  these  weeks,  that  Oliver  from  Captain 
became  Colonel :  Colonel  of  a  regiment  of  horse,  raised  on  his 
own  principles  so  far  as  might  be,  in  that  '  Eastern  Associa- 
tion ;'  and  is  henceforth  known  in  the  Newspapers  as  Colonel 
Cromwell.  Whether  on  this  23d  of  January,  he  was  still  Cap- 
tain, or  had  ceased  to  be  so,  no  extant  accessible  record  ap- 
prises us.  On  the  2d  March  1642-3,  I  have  found  him  named 
as  '  Col.  Cromwell,'3  and  hitherto  not  earlier.  He  is  getting 
•  men  of  religion*  to  serve  in  this  Cause, — or  at  least  would  fain 
get  such  if  he  might. 


LETTER  V. 

CAMBRIDGE. 

IN  the  end  of  February  1642-3,  'Colonel'  Cromwell  is  at 
Cambridge ;  '  great  forces  from  Essex,  Norfolk  and  Suffolk' 
having  joined  him,  and  more  still  coming  in.1  There  has  been 
much  alarm  and  running  to  and  fro,  over  all  those  counties. 
Lord  Capel  hanging  over  them  with  an  evident  intent  to  plun- 

•  Appendix,  No.  4.  •  CrtnmvtUiana,  p.  a.  >  Ib.  p.  a ;  Vicars,  p.  273 


i643.  LETTER  V.    CAMBRIDGE.  113 

der  Cambridge,  generally  to  plunder  and  ravage  in  this  region ; 
as  Prince  Rupert  has  cruelly  done  in  Gloucestershire,  and  ii 
now  cruelly  doing  in  Wilts  and  Hants.  Colonel  Cromwell,  the 
soul  of  the  whole  business,  must  have  had  some  bestirring  oC 
himself;  some  swift  riding  and  resolving,  now  here,  now  there. 
Some  '  12,000  men,'  however,  or  say  even  '  23,000  men'  (for 
rumour  runs  very  high  !),  from  the  Associated  Counties,  are 
now  at  last  got  together  about  Cambridge,  and  Lord  Capel  has 
seen  good  to  vanish  again.2  '  He  was  the  first  man  that  rose 
to  complain  of  Grievances,  in  this  Parliament ;'  he,  while  still 
plain  Mr.  Capel,  member  for  Herts  :  but  they  have  made  a 
Lord  of  him,  and  the  wind  sits  now  in  another  quarter  ! — 

Lord  Capel  has  vanished;  and  the  12,000  zealous  Volun- 
teers of  the  Association  are  dismissed  to  their  counties,  with 
monition  to  be  ready  when  called  for  again.  Moreover,  to  avoid 
like  perils  in  future,  it  is  now  resolved  to  make  a  Garrison  of 
Cambridge  ;  to  add  new  works  to  the  Castle,  and  fortify  the 
Town  itself.  This  is  now  going  on  in  the  early  spring  days  of 
1643  ;  and  Colonel  Cromwell  and  all  hands  are  busy  ! — Here 
is  a  small  Document,  incidentally  preserved  to  us,  which  be- 
comes significant  if  well  read. 

Fen  Drayton  is  a  small  Village  on  the  Eastern  edge  of 
Cambridgeshire,  between  St.  Ives  and  Cambridge, — well  known 
to  Oliver.  In  the  small  Church  of  Fen  Drayton,  after  divine 
service  on  Sunday  the  I2th  of  March  1642-3,  the  following 
Warrant,  '  delivered  to  the  Churchwardings'  (by  one  Mr.  Norris, 
a  Constable,  who  spells  very  ill),  and  by  them  to  the  Curate, 
is  read  to  a  rustic  congregation, — who  sit,  somewhat  agape,  1 
apprehend,  and  uncertain  what  to  do  about  it. 

COM.  CANT.  ('  CAMBRIDGESHIRE  To  WIT'). 

To  all  and  every  the  Inhabitants  of  Fen  Drayton  in  t/u 
Hundred  of  Papworth. 

WHEREAS  we  have  been  enforced,  by  apparent  grounds 
of  approaching  danger,  to  begin  to  fortify  the  Town  of  Cam- 
bridge, for  preventing  the  Enemy's  inroad,  and  the  better 
to  maintain  the  peace  of  this  County  : 

3  Vicars  ;  Newspapers,  6th-ijth  March  (in  CreMWfllittna,  p.  *\ 
VOL.  I.  1 


U4  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  8  Mvd» 

Having  in  part  seen  your  good  affections  to  the  Cause, 
and  now  standing  in  need  of  your  further  assistance  to  the 
perfecting  of  the  said  Fortifications,  which  will  cost  at  least 
Two-thousand  pounds,  We  are  encouraged  as  well  as  neces- 
sitated to  desire  a  Freewill  Offering  of  a  Liberal  Contribu- 
tion from  you,  for  the  better  enabling  of  us  to  attain  our 
desired  ends, — viz.  the  Preservation  of  our  County ; — know- 
ing that  every  honest  and  well-affected  man,  considering  the 
vast  expenses  we  have  already  been  at,  and  our  willingness 
to  do  according  to  our  ability,  will  be  ready  to  contribute 
his  best  assistance  to  a  work  of  so  high  concernment  and  so 
good  an  end. 

We  do  therefore  desire  that  what  shall  be  by  you  freely 
given  and  collected  may  with  all  convenient  speed  be  sent 
to  the  Commissioners  at  Cambridge,  to  be  employed  to  the 
use  aforesaid.  And  so  you  shall  further  engage  us  to  be 
yours  ready  to  serve, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL. 
THOMAS  MARTYN.* 

Cambridge,  this  8th  of  Ma^ch  1643.  ('  and  Six  Others.') 

The  Thomas  Martyn,  Sir  Thomas,  and  Six  others  whom 
we  suppress,  are  all  of  the  Cambridge  Committees  of  those 
times  ;3  zealous  Puritan  men,  not  known  to  us  otherwise.  Norris 
did  not  raise  much  at  Fen  Drayton  ;  only  i/.  19^.  :»</.,  'sub- 
scribed by  Fifteen  persons,"  according  to  his  Endorsement ; — 
the  general  public  at  Fen  Drayton,  and  probably  in  ether  such 
places,  hesitates  a  little  to  draw  its  purse  as  yet !  One  way  or 
other,  however,  the  work  of  fortifying  Cambridge  was  got 
done.4  A  regular  Force  lies  henceforth  in  Cambridge :  Captains 
Flectwood,  Dcsboiow,  Whalley,  new  soldiers  who  will  become 
veterans  and  known  to  us,  are  on  service  here.  Of  course  the 
Academic  stillness  is  much  fluttered  by  the  war-drum,  and 
many  a  confused  brabble  springs  up  between  Gown  and  Garri- 

•  Coootr's  Annals  fi/ Cambridge  (Cambridge,  1845).  iii.  340. 
3  Husbands'  Second  Collcctiop  CLondo*,  |6^>,  p.  339;  Cortnttiu  J^ntflt,  in. 
153;  &c. 

«  Reported  compfeu,  ijth  July  164)  (Coojw  *  Aitnalt,  iii.  »£>). 


,643.  LETTER  V.    CAMBRIDGE.  115 

son  ;  college  tippets,  and  on  occasion  still  more  venerable 
objects,  getting  torn  by  the  business  !  The  truth  is,  though 
Cambridge  is  not  so  Malignant  as  Oxford,  the  Surplices  at  All- 
hallowtide  have  still  much  sway  there  ;  and  various  Heads  of 
Houses  are  by  no  means  what  one  could  wish  :  of  whom  accord- 
ingly Oliver  has  had,  and  still  occasionally  has,  to  send, — by 
instalments  as  the  cases  ripen, — a  select  batch  up  to  Parlia- 
ment :  Reverend  Dr.  This  and  then  also  Reverend  Dr.  That  ; 
who  are  lodged  in  the  Tower,  in  Ely  House,  in  Lambeth  or 
elsewhere,  in  a  tragic  manner,  and  pass  very  troublous  years.5 

Cambridge  continues  henceforth  the  Bulwark  and  Metro- 
polis of  the  Association ;  where  the  Committees  sit,  where  the 
centre  of  all  business  is.  '  Colonel  Cook,'  I  think,  is  Captain 
of  the  Garrison  ;  but  the  soul  of  the  Garrison,  and  of  the  Asso- 
ciation generally,  is  probably  another  Colonel.  Now  here, 
now  swiftly  there,  wherever  danger  is  to  be  fronted,  or  prompt 
work  is  to  be  done  : — for  example,  off  to  Norwich  just  now,  on 
important  businesses  ;  and,  as  is  too  usual,  very  ill  supplied 
with  money. 

LETTER  V. 

OF  Captain  Nelson  I  know  nothing  ;  seem  to  see  an  uncer- 
tain shadow  of  him  turn  up  again,  after  years  of  industrious 
fighting  under  Irish  Inchiquin  and  others,  still  a  mere  Captain, 
still  terribly  in  arrear  even  as  to  pay.6  '  It's  pity  a  Gentleman 
of  his  affections  should  be  discouraged  !'  '  The  Deputy  Lieu- 
tenants,' Suffolk  Committee,  could  be  named,  if  there  were 
roomJ  The  '  business  for  Norfolk '  we  guess  to  be,  as  usual, 
Delinquents,  —  symptoms  of  delinquent  Royalists  getting  to  a 
head. 

To  my  honoured  Friends  the  Depttty  Lieutenants  for  the 
County  of  Suffolk. 

GENTLEMEN,  Cambridge,  ioth  March  1642. 

I  am  sorry  I  should  so  often  trouble  you 
about  the  business  of  money  :  it's  no  pleasant  subject  to  be 

5  Querela.  CaMiabrigunsis,  &c  &c.  in  Cooper,  ubi  supra. 

.•  Cotttniifns  Journals,  v.  524,  530.  7  Husbands,  ii.  171,  193. 


u6  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  13  Man* 

too  frequent  upon.  But  such  is  Captain  Nelson's  occasion, 
for  want  thereof,  that  he  hath  not  wherewith  to  satisfy  for 
the  billet  of  his  soldiers ;  and  so  this  Business  for  Norfolk, 
so  hopeful  to  set  all  right  there,  may  fail.  Truly  he  hath 
borrowed  from  me,  else  he  could  not  have  paid  to  discharge 
this  Town  at  his  departure. 

It's  pity  a  Gentleman  of  his  affections  should  be  dis- 
couraged !  Wherefore  I  earnestly  beseech  you  to  consider 
him  and  the  Cause.  It's  honourable  that  you  do  so. — What 
you  can  help  him  to,  be  pleased  to  send  into  Norfolk ;  he 
hath  not  wherewith  to  pay  a  Troop  one  day,  as  he  tells  me. 
Let  your  return  be  speedy, — to  Nonvich.  Gentlemen,  com- 
mand your  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

*  P.S.'  I  hope  to  serve  you  in  my  return  :  with  your  con- 
junction, we  shall  quickly  put  an  end  to  these  businesses, 
the  Lord  assisting.* 

By  certain  official  docketings  on  this  same  Letter,  it  appears 
that  Captain  Nelson  did  receive  his  ioo/.  ;  touched  it  promptly 
on  the  morrow,  '  i  ith  March  ; — I  say  received  :  JOHN  NELSON." 
How  the  Norfolk  businesses  proceeded,  and  what  end  they 
came  to  in  Suffolk  itself,  we  shall  now  see. 


LOWESTOFF. 

THE  Colonel  has  already  had  experience  in  such  Delinquent 
matters  ;  has,  by  vigilance,  by  gentle  address,  by  swift  auda- 
city if  needful,  extinguished  more  than  one  incipient  conflagra- 
tion. Here  is  one  such  instance, — coming  to  its  sad  maturity, 
and  bearing  fruit  at  Westminster  in  these  very  hours. 

On  Monday  i$(h  March  1642-3,  Thomas  Conisby,  Es- 
quire, High  Sheriff  of  Herts,  appears  visibly  before  the  House 
of  Commons,  to  give  account  of  a  certain  'Pretended  Commis- 

•  Autograph,  in  the  po&sessU»«rfC  Meadows,  E*q  ,  Great  Healing,  Woodbruige, 
Suffolk. 


i643.  LOWESTOFF.  117 

sion  of  Array,'  which  he  had  been  attempting  to  execute  ona 
Market-day,  some  time  since,  at  St.  Albans  in  that  county.1 
Such  King's  Writ,  or  Pretended  Commission  of  Array,  the  said 
High  Sheriff  had,  with  a  great  Posse  Comitatits  round  him, 
been  executing  one  Market-day  at  St.  Albans  (date  irrecover- 
ably lost), — when  Cromwell's  Dragoons  dashed  suddenly  in 
upon  him  ;  laid  him  fast, — -not  without  difficulty  :  he  was  first 
seized  by  'six  troopers,'  but  rescued  by  his  royalist  multitude; 
then  'twenty  troopers'  again  seized  him;  'barricadoed  the  inn- 
yard  ;'2  conveyed  him  off  to  London  to  give  what  account  of  the 
matter  he  could.  There  he  is  giving  account  of  it, — a  very 
lame  and  withal  an  '  insolent'  one,  as  seems  to  the  Honourable 
House  ;  which  accordingly  sends  him  to  the  Tower,  where  he 
had  to  lie  for  several  years.  Commissions  of  Array  are  not 
handy  to  execute  in  the  Eastern  Association  at  present  !  Here 
is  another  instance  ;  general  result  of  this  ride  into  Norfolk,— 
'end  of  these  businesses,'  in  fact. 

The  '  Meeting  at  Laystoff/  or  Lowestoff  in  Suffolk,  is  men- 
tioned in  all  the  old  Books  ;  but  John  Cory,  Merchant  Burgess 
of  Norwich,  shall  first  bring  us  face  to  face  with  it.  Assiduous 
Sir  Symond  got  a  copy  of  Mr.  Cory's  Letter,3  one  of  the  thou- 
sand Letters  which  Honourable  Members  listened  to  in  those 
mornings  ;  and  here  now  is  a  copy  of  it  for  the  reader, — news 
all  fresh  and  fresh,  after  waiting  two  hundred  and  two  years. 
Colonel  Cromwell  is  in  Norwich  :  old  Norwich  becomes  visible 
and  audible,  the  vanished  moments  buzzing  again  with  old  life, 
— if  the  reader  will  read  well.  Potts,  we  should  premise,  and 
Palgrave,  were  lately  appointed  Deputy  Lieutenants  of  Norwich 
City;4  Cory  I  reckon  to  be  almost  a  kind  of  Quasi-Mayor,  the 
real  Mayor  having  lately  been  seized  for  Royalism  ;  Knyvett  of 
Ashwellthorpe  we  shall  perhaps  transiently  meet  again.  The 
other  royalist  gentlemen  also  are  known  to  antiquaries  of  that 
region,  and  what  their  '  scats'  and  connexions  were  :  but  our 
reader  here  can  without  damage  consider  merely  that  they 
were  Sons  of  Adam,  furnished  in  general  with  due  seats  and 
equipments  ;  and  read  the  best  he  can  : 

1  Co»t»tons  "Journals,  ii.  1000-1. 

2  Vicars,  p.  246  ;  May's  History  of  the  Long  Parliament  (Guizot's  French  Trans- 
lation), ii.  196. 

3  D'Ewes  MSS.  f.  1139  •  Transcript,  p.  378. 

4  Commons  Journals,  loth  December  1642. 


n8  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  i,  March 

11  To  Sir  John  Polls,  Knight  Baronet,  of  Mannington, 
"  Norfolk  :  These.     Laus  Deo. 

"  Norwich,  17*  Martii  1641.' 

11  Right  honourable  and  worthy  Sir,  —  I  hope  you  came  in 
"  due  time  to  the  end  of  your  journey  in  health  and  safety ; 
14  which  I  shall  rejoice  to  hear.  Sir,  I  might  spare  my  labour 
"  in  now  writing  ;  for  I  suppose  you  arc  better  informed  from 
•'  other  hands  ;  only  to  testify  my  respects  : 

"  Those  sent  out  on  Monday  morning,  the  I3th,  returned 
"  that  night,  with  old  Mr.  Castle  of  Raveningham,  and  some 
"  arms  of  his,  and  of  Mr.  Loudon's  of  Alby,  and  of  Captain 
"  Hamond's,  with  his  leading  staff-ensign  and  drum.  Mr. 
"  Castle  is  secured  at  Sheriff  Greenwood's.  That  night  letters 
"  from  Yarmouth  informed  the  Colonel,6  That  they  had,  that 
"  day,  made  stay  of  Sir  John  Wentworth,  and  of  one  Captain 
"  Allen  from  Lowestoff,  who  had  come  thither  to  change 
"  dollars  ;  both  of  whom  are  yet  secured  ; — and  further,  That 
"  the  Town  of  Lowestoff  had  received-in  divers  strangers,  and 
"  was  fortifying  itself. 

"  The  Colonel  advised  no  man  might  enter  in  or  out  the 
"gates  'of  Norwich,'  that  night.  And  the  next  morning, 
'  between  five  and  six,  with  his  five  troops,  with  Captain 
"  Fountain's,  Captain  Rich's,  and  eighty  of  our  Norwich  Vo- 
"  lunteers,  he  marched  towards  Lowestoff;  where  he  was  to 
"  meet  with  the  Yarmouth  Volunteers,  who  brought  four  or  five 
"  pieces  of  ordnance.  The  Town  '  of  Lowestoff  had  blocked 
"  themselves  up  ;  all  except  where  they  had  placed  their  ord- 
"  nance,  which  were  three  pieces  ;  before  which  a  chain  was 
"  drawn  to  keep  off  the  horse. 

"  The  Colonel  summoned  the  Town,  and  demanded,  If 
"  they  would  deliver-up  their  strangers,  the  Town  and  their 
"  army? — promising  them  then  favour,  if  so  ;  if  not,  none. 
"  They  yielded  to  deliver-up  their  strangers,  but  not  to  the 
"  rest.  Whereupon  our  Norwich  dragoons  crept  under  the 
"  chain  before  mentioned  ;  and  came  within  pistol-shot  of  their 
"  ordnance;  proffering  to  fire  upon  their  cannoneer, — who  fled: 
"  so  they  gained  the  two  pieces  of  ordnance,  and  broke  the 

*  Means  1643  of  our  Style.     There  are  yet  seven  day*  of  the  Old  Year  to  run. 
6  '  vi*.  Cromwell,'  adds  IXEwes. 


xd43.  LOWESTOFF.  119 

"  chain ;  and  they  and  the  horse  entered  the  Town  without 
"  more  resistance.  Where  presently  eighteen  strangers  yielded 
"  themselves  ;  among  whom  were,  of  Suffolk  men  :  Sir  T- 
"  Barker,  Sir  John  Pettus  ; — of  Norfolk:  Mr.  Knyvett  of  Ash 
"  wellthorpe,  '  whom  we  are  to  meet  again  ;'  Mr.  Richard 
"  Catelyn's  Son, — some  say  his  Father  too  was  there  in  the 
"  morning  ;  Mr.  F.  Cory,  my  unfortunate  cousin,  who  I  wish 
"  would  have  been  better  persuaded. 

"  Mr.  Brooke,  the  sometime  minister  of  Yarmouth,  and 
"  some  others,  escaped,  over  the  river.  There  was  good  store 
"  of  pistols,  and  other  arms  :  I  hear,  above  fifty  cases  of 
"  pistols.  The  Colonel  stayed  there  Tuesday  and  Wednesday 
"  night.  I  think  Sir  John  Palgrave  and  Mr.  Smith  went  yes- 
"  terday  to  Berks.  It  is  rumoured  Sir  Robert  Kemp  had 
"  yielded  to  Sir  John  Palgrave  ;  how  true  it  is  I  know  not,  for 
"  I  spoke  not  Sir  John  yesterday  as  he  came  through  Town. 
"  I  did  your  message  to  Captain  Sherwood.  Not  to  trouble 
"  you  further,  I  crave  leave;  and  am  ever  your  Worship's  at 
"  command,  JOHN  CORY. 

"  Postscriptum,  2oth  March  1642. — Right  worthy  Sir,  The 
"  abovesaid,  on  Friday,  was  unhappily  left  behind  ;  for  which 
"  I  am  sorry  ;  as  also  that  I  utterly  forgot  to  send  your  plate. 
"  On  Friday  night  the  Colonel  brought  in  hither  with  him  the 
"  prisoners  taken  at  Lowestoff,  and  Mr.  Trott  of  Beccles.  On 
"  Saturday  night,  with  one  troop,  they  sent  all  the  prisoners 
"  to  Cambridge.  Sir  John  Wentworth  is  come  off  with  the 
"  payment  of  iooo/.  On  Saturday,  Dr.  Corbett  of  Norwich, 
"  and  Mr.  Henry  Cooke?  the  Parliament-man,  and  our  old 
"  'Alderman'  Daniell  were  taken  in  Suffolk.  Last  night, 
"  several  troops  went  out ;  some  to  Lynn-ward,  it's  thought ; 
"  others  to  ThetforJ-ward,  it's  supposed, — because  they  had  a 
"  prisoner  with  them.  Sir,  I  am  in  great  haste,  and  remember 
"  nothing  else  at  present.  JOHN  CORY." 

Cory  still  adds  :  "  Sir  Richard  Berney  sent  to  me,  last 
"  night,  and  showed  and  gave  me  the  Colonel's  Note  to  testify 
"  he  had  paid  him  the  5O/." — a  forced  contribution  levied  by 
the  Association  Committee  upon  poor  Berney,  who  had  shown 

'  Corbett  is  or  was  '  Chancellor  of  Norwich  Diocese  ;'  Henry  Cooke  is  Son  of 
Coke  upon  Lyttleton, — has  left  his  place  in  Parliament,  and  got  into  dangerous 
courses. 


120  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  93  Ma«A 

himself  '  backward  :'  let  him  be  quiet  henceforth,  and  study  to 
conform. 

This  was  the  last  attempt  at  Royalism  in  the  Association 
where  Cromwell  served.  The  other  'Associations,'  no  man 
duly  forward  to  risk  himself  being  present  in  them,  had  already 
fallen,  or  were  fast  falling,  to  ruin  ;  their  Counties  had  to 
undergo  the  chance  of  War  as  it  came.  Huntingdon  County 
soon  joined  itself  with  this  Eastern  Association.8  Cromwell's 
next  operations,  as  we  shall  perceive,  were  to  deliver  Lincoln- 
shire, and  give  it  the  power  of  joining,  which  in  September 
next  took  effect.9  Lincoln,  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Essex,  Cambridge, 
Herts,  Hunts  :  these  are  thenceforth  the  •  Seven  Associated 
Counties,'  called  often  the  'Association'  simply,  which  make  a 
great  figure  in  the  old  Books,  —  and  kept  the  War  wholly  out 
of  their  own  borders,  having  had  a  man  of  due  forwardness 
among  them. 


LETTERS  VI.— VIII. 

THE  main  brunt  of  the  War,  during  this  year  1643,  is  in  the 
extreme  Southwest,  between  Sir  Ralph  Hopton  and  the  Earl  of 
Stamford  ;  and  in  the  North,  chiefly  in  Yorkshire,  between  the 
Earl  of  Newcastle  and  Lord  Fairfax.  The  Southwest,  Cornwall 
or  Devonshire  transactions  do  not  much  concern  us  in  this 
place ;  but  with  the  Yorkshire  we  shall  by  and  by  have  some 
concern.  A  considerable  flame  of  War  burns  cqnspicuous  in 
those  two  regions  :  the  rest  of  England,  all  in  a  hot  but  very 
dim  state,  may  be  rather  said  to  smoke,  everywhere  ready  for 
burning,  and  incidentally  catch  fire  here  and  there. 

Essex,  the  Lord  General,  lies  at  Windsor,  all  spring,  with 
the  finest  Parliamentary  Army  we  have  yet  had  ;  but  unluckily 
can  undertake  almost  nothing,  till  he  see.  For  his  Majesty  in 
Oxford  is  also  quiescent  mostly ;  engaged  in  a  negotiation  with 
his  Parliament;  in  a  Treaty, — of  which  Colonel  Hampden  and 
other  knowing  men,  though  my  Lord  of  Essex  cannot,  already 
predict  the  issue.  And  the  Country  is  all  writhing  in  dim  con- 
flict, suffering  manifold  distress.  And  from  his  Majesty's  head- 

•  96th  May,— Husband*,  ii.  183.  »  Ib.  p.  397. 


i643.  LETTER  VI.    CAMBRIDGE.  121 

quarters  ever  and  anon  there  darts  out,  now  hither  now  thither, 
across  the  dim  smoke-element,  a  swift  fierce  Prince  Rupert, 
plundering  and  blazing  ;  and  then  suddenly  darts  in  again  ; — 
too  like  a  streak  of  sudden//;r,  for  he  plunders,  and  even  burns, 
a  good  deal !  Which  state  of  things  Colonel  Hampden  and 
others  witness  with  much  impatience ;  but  cannot  get  the  Lord 
General  to  undertake  anything,  till  he  see. 

An  obscure  entangled  scene  of  things  ;  all  manner  of  War- 
movements  and  swift-shooting  electric  influences  crossing  one 
another,  with  complex  action  and  reaction  ; — as  happens  in  a 
scene  of  War  ;  much  more  of  Civil  War,  where  a  whole  People 
and  its  affairs  have  become  electric. — Here  are  Three  poor  Let- 
ters, reunited  at  last  from  their  long  exile,  resuscitated  after  long 
interment  :  not  in  a  very  luminous  condition  !  Vestiges  of 
Oliver  in  the  Eastern  Association  ;  which,  however  faint,  are 
welcome  to  us. 

LETTER  VI. 

THE  Essex  people,  at  least  the  Town  of  Colchester  and 
Langley  their  Captain  have,  in  some  measure,  sent  their  con- 
tingent to  Cambridge  ;  but  money  is  short.  Cromwell,  home 
rapidly  again  from  Norfolk,  must  take  charge  of  it  ;  has  an 
order  from  the  Lord  General ; — nay  it  seems  a  Great  Design  is 
in  view  ;  and  Cromwell  too,  like  Richard  Baxter  and  the  rest 
of  us,  imagines  one  grand  effort  might  perhaps  end  these  bleed- 
ing miseries. 

*  To  the  Mayor  &*c.  of  Colchester,  By  Captain  Dodsworth : 
These: 

GENTLEMEN,  '  Cambridge,'  23d  March  1642. 

Upon  the  coming  down  of  your  Townsmen 
to  Cambridge,  Captain  Langley  not  knowing  how  to  dispose 
of  them,  desired  me  to  nominate  a  fit  Captain  :  which  I  did, 
— an  honest,  religious,  valiant  Gentleman,  Captain  Dods- 
worth, the  Bearer  hereof. 

He  hath  diligently  attended  the  service,  and  much  im- 
proved his  men  in  their  exercise ;  but  hath  been  unhappy 
beyond  others  in  not  receiving  any  pay  for  himself,  and 


122  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR. 

what  he  had  for  his  soldiers  is  out  long  ago.  He  hath,  by 
his  prudence,  what  with  fair  and  winning  carriage,  what 
with  money  borrowed,  kept  them  together.  He  is  able  to 
do  so  no  longer :  they  will  presently  disband,  if  a  course 
be  not  taken. 

It's  pity  it  should  be  so  !  For  I  believe  they  are  brought 
into  as  good  order  as  most  Companies  in  the  Army.  Be- 
sides, at  this  instant  there  is  great  need  to  use  them  ;  I  have 
received  a  special  command  from  my  Lord  General,  To 
advance  with  what  force  we  can,  to  put  an  end,  if  it  may 
be,  to  this  Work, — God  so  assisting,  from  whom  all  help 
cometh. 

I  beseech  you,  therefore,  consider  this  Gentleman,  and 
the  soldiers  ;  and  if  it  be  possible,  make  up  his  Company  a 
Hundred-and-twenty ;  and  send  them  away  with  what  ex- 
pedition is  possible.  It  may,  through  God's  blessing,  prove 
very  happy.  One  month's  pay  may  prove  all  your  trouble. 
I  speak  to  wise  men : — God  direct  you.  I  rest,  yours  to 
serve  you,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

The  present  Great  Design,  though  it  came  to  nothing,  is 
not  without  interest  for  us.  Some  three  days  before  the  date 
of  this  Letter,  as  certain  Entries  in  the  Commons  Journals  still 
testify,1  there  had  risen  hot  alarm  in  Parliament ;  my  Lord 
General  writing  from  Windsor,  '  at  three  in  the  morning:'  Prince 
Rupert  out  in  one  of  his  forays  ;  in  terrible  force  before  the 
Town  of  Aylesbury  :  ought  not  one  to  go  and  fight  him  ? — . 
Without  question !  eagerly  answer  Colonel  Hampden  and  others : 
Fight  him,  beat  him  ;  bv,-at  more  than  him !  Why  not  rise 
heartily  from  Windsor  with  this  fine  Army;  calling  the  Eastern 
Association  and  all  friends  to  aid  us;  and  storm-in  upon  Oxford 
itself?  It  may  perhaps  quicken  the  negotiations  there  ! — 

This  Design  came  to  nothing,  and  soon  sank  into  total  ob- 
scurity again.  But  it  seems  Colonel  Hampden  did  entertain 
such  a  Design,  and  even  take  some  steps  in  it.  And  this  Let- 

•  Morant's  History  of  Colctusttr  (London,  1748),  book  L  p.  55;  'from  the  Ori- 
ginal,' he  says,  but  not  where  that  was  or  is. 
1  Commons  Journals,  iii.  10,  12. 


i643.  LETTER  VII.    HUNTINGDON.  123 

ter  of  Oliver's,  coupled  with  the  Entries  in  the  Commons  Jour- 
nals, is  perhaps  the  most  authentic  propf  we  yet  have  of  that 
fact  ;  an  interesting  fact,  which  has  rested  hitherto  en  the  vague 
testimony  of  Clarendon,2  who  seems  to  think  the  Design  might 
have  succeeded.  But  it  came  to  nothing  ;  Colonel  Hampden 
could  not  rouse  the  Lord  General  to  do  more  than  '  write  at 
three  in  the  morning,'  and  send  'special  commands,1  for  the 
present. 


LETTER  VII. 

AND  now  here  is  a  new  horde  of  '  Plunderers'  threatening 
the  Association  with  new  infall  from  the  North.  The  old  News- 
papers call  them  'Camdeners;'  followers  of  a  certain  Noel,  Vis- 
count Camden,  from  Rutlandshire  ;  who  has  seized  Stamford, 
is  driving  cattle  at  a  great  rate,  and  fast  threatening  to  become 
important  in  those  quarters. — '  Sir  John  Burgoyne'  is  the  Bur- 
goync  of  Potton  in  Bedfordshire,  chief  Committee-man  in  that 
County  :  Bedford  is  not  in  our  Association  ;  but  will  perhaps 
lend  us  help  in  this  common  peril. 

'  To  my  honoured  Friend  Sir  John  Burgoyne,  Baronet :  These? 

SlR,  '  Huntingdon,'  loth  April  1643. 

These  Plunderers  draw  near.  I  think  it  will 
do  v/ell  if  you  can  afford  us  any  assistance  of  Dragooners, 
to  help  in  this  great  Exigence.  We  have  here  about  Six 
or  Seven  Troops  of  Horse  :  such,  I  hope,  as  will  fight.  It's 
happy  to  resist  such  beginnings  betimes. 

If  you  can  contribute  anything  to  our  aid,  let  us  speedily 
participate  thereof.  In  the  mean  time,  and  ever,  command 
your  humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL."' 

Concerning  these  Camdeners  at  Stamford  and  elsewhere, 
so  soon  as  Colonel  Cromwell  has  got  himself  equipt,  we  shall 
hear  tidings  again.  Meanwhile,  say  the  old  Newspapers,3  'there 

y  History  of  tJie  Rebellion  (Oxford,  1819),  ii.  319  ;  see  also  May's  Long  Parlia- 
ment (Masercs's  edition,  London,  1812),  p.  192. 

*  Communicated  (from  an  old  Copy)  by  H.  C.  Cooper,  Esq.,  Cambridge. 
3  In  Cooper's  Anttals,  iii.  343. 


124  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,7  April 

•  is  a  regiment  of  stout  Northfolk  blades  gone  to  Wisbeach, 
'  Croyland,  and  so  into  Holland'  of  Lincolnshire,  '  to  preserve 
'  those  parts,' — if  they  may.  Colonel  Cromwell  will  follow  ; 
and  give  good  account  of  that  matter  by  and  by. 

Lincolnshire  in  fact  ought  to  be  all  subdued  to  the  Parlia- 
ment ;  added  to  the  Association.  We  could  then  cooperate 
with  Fairfax  across  the  H  umber,  and  do  good  service !  So 
reason  the  old  Committees,  as  one  dimly  ascertains. — The  Par- 
liament appointed  a  Lieutenant  of  Lincolnshire,  Lord  Wil- 
loughby  of  Parham,  a  year  ago  ;4  but  he  is  much  infested  with 
Camdeners,  with  enemies  in  all  quarters,  and  has  yet  got  no 
secure  footing  there.  Cromwell's  work,  and  that  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, for  the  next  twelvemonth,  as  we  shall  perceive,  was 
that  of  clearing  Lincolnshire  from  enemies,  and  accomplishing 
this  problem. 

LETTER  VIII. 

MEANWHILE  enter  Robert  Barnard,  Esquire,  again.  Bar- 
nard, getting  ever  deeper  into  trouble,  has  run  up  to  Town  ; 
has  been  persuading  my  Lord  of  Manchester  and  others,  That 
he  is  not  a  disaffected  man  ;  that  a  contribution  should  not  be 
inflicted  on  him  by  the  County  Committee. 

To  my  very  loving  Friend  Robert  Barnard,  Esquire  : 
Present  these. 

oIR,  '  Huntingdon,'  171*1  April  1643. 

I  have  received  two  Letters,  one  from  my 
Lord  of  Manchester,  the  other  from  yourself;  much  to  the 
same  effect :  I  hope  therefore  one  answer  will  serve  them 
both. 

Which  is  in  short  this  :  That  we  know  you  are  disaffected 
to  the  Parliament ; — and  truly  if  the  Lords,  or  any  Friends, 
may  take  you  off  from  a  reasonable  Contribution,  for  my 
part  I  should  be  glad  to  be  commanded  to  any  other  em- 
ployment Sir,  you  may,  if  you  will,  "  come  freely  into  the 

«  Commons  Journals  (p.  497),  asth  March  1642.     New  encouragement  and  «anc- 
tion  given  him  (Rushworth,  v.  108),  of  date  9th  Jan.  1643-3. 


1643.  LETTERS  IX.— XI.  125 

country  about  your  occasions."     For  my  part,  I  have  pro- 
tected you  in  your  absence ;  and  shall  do  so  to  you. 

This  is  all, — but  that  I  am  ready  to  serve  you,  and  rest, 
your  loving  friend,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Let  Barnard  return,  therefore ;  take  a  lower  level,  where 
the  ways  are  more  sheltered  in  stormy  weather  ; — and  so  save 
himself,  and  '  become  Recorder  after  the  Restoration.'  Subtlety 
may  deceive  him  ;  integrity  never  will ! — 


LETTERS  IX.— XL 

CROMWELL,  we  find,  makes  haste  to  deal  with  these  '  Cam- 
deners.'  His  next  achievement  is  the  raising  of  their  Siege  of 
Croyland  (in  the  end  of  April,  exact  date  not  discoverable)  ; 
concerning  which  there  are  large  details  in  loud-spoken  Vicars  :l 
How  the  reverend  godly  Mr.  Ram  and  godly  Sergeant  Home, 
both  of  Spalding,  were  '  set  upon  the  walls  to  be  shot  at,'  when 
the  Spalding  people  rose  to  deliver  Croyland  ;  how  '  Colonel 
Sir  Miles  Hobart'  and  other  Colonels  rose  also  to  deliver  it, — 
and  at  last  how  '  the  valiant  active  Colonel  Cromwell'  rose,  and 
did  actually  deliver  it.2 

Cromwell  has  been  at  Lynn,  he  has  been  at  Nottingham,  at 
Peterborough,  where  the  Soldiers  were  not  kind  to  the  Cathe- 
dral and  its  Surplice-furniture  :3  he  has  been  here  and  then 
swiftly  there  ;  encountering  many  things.  For  Lincolnshire  is 
not  easy  to  deliver ;  dangers,  intricate  difficulties  abound  in 
those  quarters,  and  are  increasing.  Lincolnshire,  infested  with 
infalls  of  Camdeners,  has  its  own  Malignancies  too  ; — and, 
much  more,  is  sadly  overrun  with  the  Marquis  of  Newcastle's 
Northern  '  Popish  Army'  at  present.  An  Army  '  full  of  Papists,' 
as  is  currently  reported ;  officered  by  renegade  Scots,  '  Sir  John 
Henderson,'  and  the  like  unclean  creatures.  For  the  Marquis, 

*  Gentleman's  Magazine  (London,  1791),  Ixi.  44 :  no  notice  whence,  no  criticism 
or  commentary  there :  Letter  undoubtedly  genuine. 

1   '  Thou  that  with  ale,  or  viler  liquors, 

Didst  inspire  Withers,  Prynne  and  Vicars' 

Hudibras,  canto  i.  645. 
2  Vicars,  p.  322-5  ;  Newspapers  (zsth  April — zd  May),  in  Cro»cwellia,Ka,  p.  4. 

*  Royalist  Newspapers  (in  Cromwelliana,  p.  4) ;  Qutrtla  Canted. ;  &e.  &c. 


126  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  May 

in  spite  of  the  Fairfaxes,  has  overflowed  Yorkshire ;  flowed  across 
the  Humber  ;  has  fortified  himself  in  Newark-on-Trcnt,  and  is 
a  sore  affliction  to  the  well-affected  thereabouts.  By  the  Queen's 
interest  he  is  now,  from  Earl,  made  Marquis,  as  we  see.  For 
indeed,  what  is  worst  of  all,  the  Queen  in  late  months  has 
landed  in  these  Northern  parts,  with  Dutch  ammunition  pur- 
chased by  English  Crown  Jewels  ;  is  stirring  up  all  manner  of 
'  Northern  Papists'  to  double  animation  ;  tempting  Hothams 
and  other  waverers  to  meditate  treachery,  for  which  they  will 
pay  dear.  She  is  the  centre  of  these  new  perils.  She  inarches 
Southward,  much  agitating  the  skirts  of  the  Eastern  Associa- 
tion ;  joins  the  King  '  on  Keinton  field'  or  Edgehill  field,  where 
he  fought  last  autumn. — She  wras  impeached  of  treason  by  the 
Commons.  She  continued  in  England  till  the  following  sum- 
mer ;*  then  quitted  it  for  long  years. 

Let  the  following  Three  Letters, — one  of  which  is  farther 
distinguished  as  the  first  of  Cromwell's  ever  published  in  the 
Newspapers, — testify  what  progress  he  is  making  in  the  difficult 
problem  of  delivering  Lincolnshire  in  this  posture  of  affairs. 


LETTER  IX. 

THERE  was  in  those  weeks,  as  we  learn  from  the  old  News- 
papers, a  combined  plan,  of  which  Cromwell  was  an  element, 
for  capturing  Newark  ;  there  were  several  such  ;  but  this  and 
all  the  rest  proved  abortive,  one  element  or  another  of  the  com- 
bination always  failing.  That  Cromwell  was  not  the  failing 
element  we  could  already  guess,  and  may  now  definitely  read. 

•  Lord  Grey,"  be  it  remembered,  is  Lord  Grey  of  Groby, 
once  Military  Chief  of  the  Association, — though  now  I  think 
employed  mainly  elsewhere,  nearer  home:  a  Leicestershire  man; 
as  are  '  Hastings'  and  '  Hartop:'  well  known  all  of  them  in  the 
troubles  of  that  County.  Hastings,  strong  for  the  King,  holds 
•  Ashby-de-la-Zouch,  which  is  his  Father's  House,  well  fortified;'4 
and  shows  and  has  shown  himself  a  pushing  man.  '  His  Excel- 
lency' is  my  Lord  General  Essex.  '  Sir  John  Gell'  is  Member 
and  Commander  for  Derbyshire,  has  Derby  Town  for  Garrison. 
The  Derbyshire  forces,  the  Nottinghamshire  forces,  the  Asso- 

4  From  February  1643-3  till  July  1644  (Clarendon,  iii.  195  ;  Ruihworth,  v.  614). 
*  ClartDddn,  u.  to*. 


,643-  LETTER  IX.    LINCOLNSHIRE.  127 

ciation  forces  :  if  all  the   '  forces'  could  but  be  united  !     But 
they  never  rightly  can. 

'  To  the  Honourable  ike  Committee  at  Lincoln :  These? 

MY  LORDS  AND  GENTLEMEN,  '  Lincolnshire;  3a  .May  i643. 

I  must  needs  be  hardly  thought  on ;  because 
I  am  still  the  messenger  of  unhappy  tidings  and  delays  con- 
cerning you, — though  I  know  my  heart  is  to  assist  you  with 
all  expedition ! 

My  Lord  Grey  hath  now  again  failed  me  of  the  ren- 
dezvous at  Stamford, — notwithstanding  that  both  he  and 
I  received  Letters  from  his  Excellency,  commanding  us  both 
to  meet,  and,  together  with  Sir  John  Gell  and  the  Notting- 
ham forces,  to  join  with  you.  My  Lord  Grey  sent  Sir  Ed- 
ward Hartop  to  me,  To  let  me  know  he  could  not  meet 
me  at  Stamford  according  to  our  agreement ;  fearing  the 
exposing  of  Leicester  to  the  forces  of  Mr.  Hastings  and 
some  other  Troops  drawing  that  way. 

Believe  it,  it  were  better,  in  my  poor  opinion,  Leicester 
were  not,  than  that  there  should  not  be  found  an  immediate 
taking  of  the  field  by  our  forces  to  accomplish  the  common 
ends.  Wherein  I  shall  deal  as  freely  with  him,  when  I  meet 
him,  as  you  can  desire.  I  perceive  Ashby-de-la-Zouch  sticks 
much  with  him.  I  have  offered  him  now  another  place  of 
meeting  ;6  to  come  to  which  I  suppose  he  will  not  deny 
me  ;  and  that  to  be  tomorrow.  If  you  shall  therefore  think 
fit  to  send  one  over  unto  us  to  be  with  us  at  night, — you 
do  not  know  how  far  we  may  prevail  with  him  :  To  draw 
speedily  to  a  head,  with  Sir  John  Gell  and  the  other  forces, 
where  we  may  all  meet  at  a  general  rendezvous,  to  the  end 
you  know  of.  And  then  you  shall  receive  full  satisfaction 
concerning  my  integrity;7 — and  if  no  man  shall  help  you, 

s  Name,  not  &o  fit  to  be  Qjfl'icu.  for  four  of  accidents,  is  very  much  unknown  now  1 
*  Means  '  that  the  blame  was  not  in  Die.' 


128  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  .3  M.y 

yet  will  not  I  be  wanting  to  do  my  duty,  God  assist- 
ing me. 

If  we  could  unite  those  forces  '  of  theirs ;'  and  with  them 
speedily  make  Grantham  the  general  rendezvous,  both  of 
yours  and  ours,  I  think  it  would  do  well.  I  shall  bend  my 
endeavours  that  way.  Your  concurrence  by  some  able  in- 
strument to  solicit  this,  might  probably  exceedingly  hasten 
it ; .  especially  having  so  good  a  foundation  to  work  upon  as 
my  Lord  General's  commands.  Our  Norfolk  forces,  which 
will  not  prove  so  many  as  you  may  imagine  by  six  or  seven 
hundred  men,  will  lie  conveniently  at  Spalding ;  and,  I  am 
confident,  be  ready  to  meet  at  Grantham  at  the  general 
rendezvous. 

I  have  no  more  to  trouble  you ;  but  begging  of  God 
to  take  away  the  impediments  that  hinder  our  conjunction, 
and  to  prosper  our  designs,  take  leave.  Your  faithful  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Some  rendezvous  at  Grantham  does  take  place,  some 
uniting  of  forces,  more  or  fewer  ;  and  strenuous  endeavour 
thereupon.  As  the  next  Letter  will  testify. 


LETTER  X. 

THIS  Letter  is  the  first  of  Cromwell's  ever  published  in  the 
Newspapers.  'That  valiant  soldier  Colonel  Cromwell'  has 
written  on  this  occasion  to  an  official  Person  of  name  not  now 
discoverable  : 

To :  These: 

SlR,  '  Grantham,  i3th  May  1643.' 

God  hath  given  us,  this  evening,  a  glorious 
victory  over  our  enemies.  They  were,  as  we  are  informed, 
one-and-twenty  colours  of  horse-troops,  and  three  or  four 
of  dragoons. 

*  Tanner  MSS.  (Oxford).  Lxii.  94 :  the  address  lost,  the  date  of  pUc<  never  given  ; 
the  former  Clearly  restorable  from  Commons  yonr*nli,  ii.  75. 


!643.  LETTER  X.    GRANTHAM.  129 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  when  we  drew  out ;  they 
came  and  faced  us  within  two  miles  of  the  town.  So  soon 
as  we  had  the  alarm,  we  drew  out  our  forces,  consisting  of 
about  twelve  troops, — whereof  some  of  them  so  poor  and 
broken,  that  you  shall  seldom  see  worse  :  with  this  handful 
it  pleased  God  to  cast  the  scale.  For  after  we  had  stood 
a  little,  above  musket-shot  the  one  body  from  the  other; 
and  the  dragooners  had  fired  on  both  sides,  for  the  space 
of  half  an  hour  or  more ;  they  not  advancing  towards  us, 
we  agreed  to  charge  them.  And,  advancing  the  body  after 
many  shots  on  both  sides,  we  came  on  with  our  troops  a 
pretty  round  trot ;  they  standing  firm  to  receive  us  :  and  our 
men  charging  fiercely  upon  them,  by  God's  providence  they 
were  immediately  routed,  and  ran  all  away,  and  we  had 
the  execution  of  them  two  or  three  miles. 

I  believe  some  of  our  soldiers  did  kill  two  or  three  men 
apiece  in  the  pursuit ;  but  what  the  number  of  dead  is  we 
are  not  certain.  We  took  forty-five  Prisoners,  besides  divers 
of  their  horse  and  arms,  and  rescued  many  Prisoners  whom 
they  had  lately  taken  of  ours ;  and  we  took  four  or  five  of 
their  colours.  '  I  rest'  *  * 

'  OLIVER  CROMWELL.'* 

On  inquiry  at  Grantham,  there  is  no  vestige  of  tradition  as 
to  the  scene  of  this  skirmish  ;  which  must  have  been  some 
two  miles  out  on  the  Newark  road.  Thomas  May,  a  veracious 
intelligent  man,  but  vague  as  to  dates,  mentions  two  notable 
skirmishes  of  Cromwell's  'near  to  Grantham,'  in  the  course  of 
this  business  ;  one  especially  in  which  '  he  defeated  a  strong 
'  party  of  the  Newarkers,  where  the  odds  of  number  on  their 
'  side  was  so  great  that  it  seemed  almost  a  miraculous  victory :' 
that  probably  is  the  one  now  in  question.  Colonel  Cromwell, 
we  farther  find,  was  very  '  vigilant  of  all  sallies  that  were  made, 
'  and  took  many  men  and  colours  at  several  times  ;'8  and  did 

*  Perfect  Diurnal  of  the  Passages  in  Parliament,  zzd-jgth  May  1643  ;  completed 
from  Vicars,  p.  332,  whose  copy,  howevsr,  is  not,  except  as  to  sense  and  facts,  to  be 
relied  on. 

6  History  af  Long  Parliament,  p.  208, 

VOL.  I  K 


130  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  »3  M.y 

what  was  in  Colonel  Cromwell ; — but  could  not  take  Newark 
at  present.  One  element  or  other  of  the  combination  always 
fails.  Newark,  again  and  again  besieged,  did  not  surrender 
until  the  end  of  the  War.  At  present,  it  is  terribly  wet  weather, 
for  one  thing  ;  '  thirteen  days  of  continual  rain.' 

The  King,  as  we  observed,  is  in  Oxford  :  Treaty,  of  very 
slow  gestation,  came  to  birth  in  March  last,  and  was  carried  on 
there  by  Whitlocke  and  others  till  the  beginning  of  April  ;  but 
ended  in  absolute  nothing.9  The  King  still  continues  in 
Oxford, — his  head-quarters  for  three  years  to  come.  The 
Lord  General  Essex  did  at  one  time  think  of  Oxford,  but  pre- 
ferred to  take  Reading  first ;  is  lying  now  scattered  about 
Thame,  and  Brickhill  in  Buckinghamshire,  much  drenched 
with  the  unseasonable  rains,  in  a  very  dormant,  discontented 
condition.10  Colonel  Hampden  is  with  him.  There  is  talk  of 
making  Colonel  Hampden  Lord  General.  The  immediate 
hopes  of  the  world,  however,  are  turned  on  '  that  valiant 
soldier  and  patriot  of  his  country'  Sir  William  Waller,  who  has 
marched  to  discomfit  the  Malignants  of  the  West. 

On  the  4th  of  this  May,  Cheapside  Cross,  Charing  Cross, 
and  other  Monuments  of  Papist  Idolatry  were  torn  down  by 
authority,  'troops  of  soldiers  sounding  their  trumpets,  and  all 
the  people  shouting ;'  the  Book  of  Sports  was  also  burnt  on 
the  ruins  of  the  same.11  In  which  days,  too,  all  the  people  are 
working  at  the  Fortification  of  London. 


LETTER  XI. 

THE  'great  Service,'  spoken  of  in  this  Letter,  we  must  still 
understand  to  be  the  deliverance  of  Lincolnshire  in  general;  or 
if  it  were  another,  it  did  not  take  effect.  No  possibility  yet  of 
getting  over  into  Yorkshire  to  cooperate  with  the  Fairfaxes, — 
though  they  much  need  help,  and  there  have  been  speculations 
of  that  and  of  other  kinds.13  For  the  War-tide  breaks  in  very 
irregular  billows  upon  our  shores  ;  at  one  time  we  are  pretty 
clear  of  Newark  and  its  Northern  Papists;  and  anon  'the 
Oucen  has  got  into  Newark,'  and  we  are  like  to  t*  submerged 

9  Wliitloclce.  ist  edition,  pp.  $3-5  :  Husbands,  it  48-119. 
'•  Rtishwortn,  v.  390  ;  May,  p.  197. 

11  Lithzow  (in  Sontei-s  Tracts,  iv.  536)  ;  Vicars  (date  incorrect.,  p.  317. 
!t  Old  Newspapers  (301)1  May— iath  June  1641),  in  CnMwtniaihi,  p.  ft 


1643-  LETTER  XI.    LINCOLNSHIRE.  131 

by  them.  As  a  general  rule,  intricate  perilous  difficulties  abound ; 
and  cash  is  scarce.  The  Fairfaxes,  meanwhile,  last  week,  have 
gained  a  Victory  at  Wakefield  ;13  which  is  a  merciful  encourage- 
ment. 


*  To  the  Mayor  &c.  of  Colchester :  These! 

GENTLEMEN,  '  Lincolnshire,'  23th  May  1643. 

I  thought  it  my  duty  once  more  to  write 
unto  you  For  more  strength  to  be  speedily  sent  unto  us, 
for  this  great  Service. 

I  suppose  you  hear  of  the  great  Defeat  given  by  my 
Lord  Fairfax  to  the  Newcastle  Forces  at  Wakefield.  It  was 
a  great  mercy  of  God  to  us.  And  had  it  not  been  bestowed 
upon  us  at  this  very  present,  my  Lord  Fairfax  had  not 
known  how  to  have  subsisted.  We  assure  you,  should  the 
Force  we  have  miscarry,  —  expect  nothing  but  a  speedy 
march  of  the  Enemy  up  unto  you. 

Why  you  should  not  strengthen  us  to  make  us  subsist, 
— judge  you  the  danger  of  the  neglect ;  and  how  inconve- 
nient this  improvidence,  or  unthrift,  may  be  to  you  !  I  shall 
never  write  but  according  to  my  judgment :  I  tell  you  again, 
It  concerns  you  exceedingly  to  be  persuaded  by  me.  My 
Lord  Newcastle  is  near  Six-thousand  foot,  and  above  Sixty 
troops  of  horse ;  my  Lord  Fairfax  is  about  Three-thousand 
foot,  and  Nine  troops  of  horse ;  and  we  have  about  Twenty- 
four  troops  of  horse  and  dragooners.  The  Enemy  draws 
more  to  the  Lord  Fairfax  :  our  motion  and  yours  must  be 
exceeding  speedy,  or  else  it  will  do  you  no  good  at  all. 

If  you  send,  let  your  men  come  to  Boston.  I  beseech 
you  hasten  the  supply  to  us  : — forget  not  money  !  I  press 
not  hard ;  though  I  do  so  need  that,  I  assure  you,  the  foot 
and  dragooners  are  ready  to  mutiny.  Lay  not  too  much 

»  zist  May  1643 :  Letter  by  Lord  Fairfax  (in  Rushwtfrth,  V.  268) ;  Skort  Mtttio- 
rials,  by  the  youngw  Fairfax  fin  Somers  Tracts,  v.  380). 


132  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,8  M.y 

upon  the  back  of  a  poor  gentleman,  who  desires,  without 
much  noise,  to  lay  down  his  life,  and  bleed  the  last  drop 
to  serve  the  Cause  and  you.  I  ask  not  your  money  for 
myself:  if  that  were  my  end  and  hope, — viz.  the  pay  of  my 
place, — I  would  not  open  my  mouth  at  this  time.  I  desire 
to  deny  myself;  but  others  will  not  be  satisfied.  I  beseech 
you  hasten  supplies.  Forget  not  your  prayers.  Gentle- 
men, I  am  yours,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

'Lay  not  too  much  upon  a  poor  gentleman,' — who  is  really 
doing  what  he  can  ;  shooting  swiftly,  now  hither,  now  thither, 
wheresoever  the  tug  of  difficulty  lies  ;  struggling  very  sore,  as 
beseems  the  Son  of  Light  and  Son  of  Adam,  not  to  be  van- 
quished by  the  mud-element ! 

Intricate  struggles  ;  sunk  almost  all  in  darkness  now : — of 
which  take  this  other  as  a  token,  gathered  still  luminous  from 
the  authentic  but  mostly  inane  opacities  of  the  Commons 
Journals  ,-14  '21  June  1643,  Mr.  Pym  reports  from  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Safety  of  the  Kingdom,'  our  chief  authority  at  pre- 
sent, to  this  effect,  That  Captain  Hotham,  son  of  the  famed 
Hull  Hotham,  had,  as  appeared  by  Letters  from  Lord  Grey 
and  Colonel  Cromwell,  now  at  Nottingham,  been  behaving 
very  ill  ;  had  plundered  divers  persons  without  regard  to  the 
side  they  were  of;  had,  on  one  occasion,  'turned  two  pieces  of 
ordnance  against  Colonel  Cromwell ;'  nay,  once,  when  Lord 
Grey's  quartermaster  was  in  some  huff  with  Lord  .Grey  '  about 
oats,'  had  privily  offered  to  the  said  quartermaster  that  they 
two  should  draw  out  their  men,  and  have  a  right  for  it  with 
Lord  Grey; — not  to  speak  of  frequent  correspondences  with 
Newark,  with  Newcastle,  and  the  Queen  now  come  back  from 
Holland  :  wherefore  he  is  arrested  there  in  Nottingham,  and 
locked  up  for  trial. 

This  was  on  the  Wednesday,  this  report  of  Pym's  :  and, 
alas,  while  Pym  reads  it,  John  Hampden,  mortally  wounded 
four  days  ago  in  a  skirmish  at  Chalgrovc  Field,  lies  dying  at 
Thame  ; — died  on  the  Saturday  following  ! 

•  Mortnt's  tfitloty  q/Colctittttr,  book  i.  p.  5^  M  u>   xjt. 


1643.  LETTER  XII.    HUNTINGDON. 


LETTERS  XII.— XV. 

'  On  Thursday  July  the  27th,'  on,  or  shortly  before  that  ^y, 
'  news  reach  London'  that  Colonel  Cromwell  has  taken  Stam- 
ford,— retaken  it,  I  think  ;  at  all  events  taken  it.  Whereupon 
the  Cavaliers  from  Newark  and  Belvoir  Castle  came  hovering 
about  him  :  he  drove  them  into  Burleigh  House,  near  by,  and 
laid  siege  to  the  same;  'at  three  in  the  morning,'  battered  it 
with  all  his  shot,  and  stormed  it  at  last.1  Which  is  '  a  good 
help  we  have  had  this  week.' 

On  the  other  hand,  at  Gainsborough  we  are  suffering  siege  ; 
indisputably  the  Newarkers  threaten  to  get  the  upper  hand  in 
that  quarter  of  the  County.  Here  is  Cromwell's  Letter, — 
happily  now  the  original  itself; — concerning  Lord  Willoughby 
of  Parham,  and  the  relief  of  Gainsborough  '  with  powder  and 
match.' 

LETTER  XII. 

IN  Rushworth  and  the  old  Newspaper  copies  of  this  Letter, 
along  with  certain  insignificant,  perhaps  involuntary  variations, 
there  are  two  noticeable  omissions  ;  the  whole  of  the  first 
paragraph,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  the  last,  omitted  for  cause 
by  the  old  official  persons  ;  who  furthermore  have  given  only 
the  virtual  address  '  To  the  Committee  of  the  Association  sitting 
at  Cambridge,'  not  the  specific  one  as  here  : 

To  my  noble  Friends,  Sir  Edmund  Bacon,  Knight  and  Baronet, 
Sir  William  Spring,  Knight  and  Baronet,  Sir  Thomas 
Barnardiston,  Knight,  and  Maurice  Barrow,  Esquire: 
Present  these. 

GENTLEMEN,  Huntingdon,  sist  July  1643. 

No  man  desires  more  to  present  you  with 
encouragement  than  myself,  because  of  the  forwardness  I 
find  in  you, — to  your  honour  be  it  spoken, — to  promote  this 
great  Cause.  And  truly  God  follows  us  with  encourage- 

1  Vicars ;  Newspapers  (in  Cromwelliana,  p.  6), 


134  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  3,  J«»7 

ments,  who  is  the  God  of  blessings : — and  I  beseech  you 
let  Him  not  lose  His  blessings  upon  us !  They  come  in 
season,  and  with  all  the  advantages  of  heartening :  as  if 
God  should  say,  "Up  and  be  doing,  and  I  will  stand  by 
you,  and  help  you  !"  There  is  nothing  to  be  feared  but  our 
own  sin  and  sloth.2 

It  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to  give  your  servant  and  sol- 
diers a  notable  victory  now  at  Gainsborough.  I  marched 
after  the  taking  of  Burleigh  House  upon  Wednesday  to 
Grantham,  where  I  met  about  300  horse  and  dragooners 
of  Nottingham.  With  these,  by  agreement,  we  met  the 
Lincolners  at  North  Scarle,  which  is  about  ten  miles  from 
Gainsborough,  upon  Thursday  in  the  evening ;  where  we 
tarried  until  two  of  the  clock  in  the  morning ;  and  then 
with  our  whole  body  advanced  towards  Gainsborough. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  Town,  we  met  a  for- 
lorn hope  of  the  enemy  of  near  100  horse.  Our  dragooners 
laboured  to  beat  them  back;  but  not  alighting  off  their 
horses,  the  enemy  charged  them,  and  beat  some  four  or  five 
of  them  off  their  horses  :  our  horse  charged  them,  and  made 
them  retire  unto  their  main  body.  We  advanced,  and  came 
to  the  bottom  of  a  steep  hill :  we  could  not  well  get  up  but 
by  some  tracks ;  which  our  men  essaying  to  dq,  a  body  of 
the  enemy  endeavoured  to  hinder;  wherein  we  prevailed, 
and  got  the  top  of  the  hill.  This  was  done  by  the  Lin- 
coiners,  who  had  the  vanguard. 

When  we  all  recovered  the  top  of  the  hill,  we  saw  a 
great  Body  of  the  enemy's  horse  facing  us,  at  about  a  mus- 
ket-shot or  less  distance ;  and  a  good  Reserve  of  a  full  regi- 
ment of  horse  behind  it.  We  endeavoured  to  put  our  men 
into  as  good  order  as  we  could.  The  enemy  in  the  mean 
time  advanced  towards  us,  to  take  us  at  disadvantage  ;  but 
in  such  order  as  we  were,  we  charged  their  great  body,  I 

1  This  paragraph  is  omitted  in  Rushworth  and  the  Newspapers. 


1643.  LETTER  XII.    HUNTINGDON.  135 

having  the  right  wing ;  we  came  up  horse  to  horse ;  where 
we  disputed  it  with  our  swords  and  pistols  a  pretty  time; 
all  keeping  close  order,  so  that  one  could  not  break  the 
other.  At  last,  they  a  little  shrinking,  our  men  perceiving 
it,  pressed-in  upon  them,  and  immediately  routed  this  whole 
body ;  some  flying  on  one  side  and  others  on  the  other  of 
the  enemy's  Reserve ;  and  our  men,  pursuing  them,  had 
chase  and  execution  about  five  or  six  miles. 

I  perceiving  this  body  which  was  the  Reserve  standing 
still  unbroken,  kept  back  my  Major,  Whalley,  from  the 
chase ;  and  with  my  own  troop  and  the  other  of  my  regi- 
ment, in  all  being  three  troops,  we  got  into  a  body.  In 
this  Reserve  stood  General  Cavendish ;  who  one  while  faced 
me,  another  while  faced  four  of  the  Lincoln  troops,  which 
was  all  of  ours  that  stood  upon  the  place,  the  rest  being 
engaged  in  the  chase.  At  last  General  Cavendish  charged 
the  Lincolners,  and  routed  them.  Immediately  I  fell  on 
his  rear  with  my  three  troops ;  which  did  so  astonish  him, 
that  he  gave  over  the  chase,  and  would  fain  have  delivered 
himself  from  me.  But  I  pressing  on  forced  them  down  a 
hill,  having  good  execution  of  them  ;  and  below  the  hill, 
drove  the  General  with  some  of  his  soldiers  into  a  quag- 
mire ;  where  my  Captain-lieutenant  slew  him  with  a  thrust 
under  his  short  ribs.  The  rest  of  the  body  was  wholly 
routed,  not  one  man  staying  upon  the  place. 

We  then,  after  this  defeat  which  was  so  total,  relieved 
the  Town  with  such  powder  and  provision  as  we  brought. 
Which  done,  we  had  notice  that  there  were  six  troops  of 
horse  and  300  foot  on  the  other  side  of  the  Town,  about  a 
mile  off  us  :  we  desired  some  foot  of  my  Lord  Willoughby's, 
about  400 ;  and,  with  our  horse  and  these  foot,  marched 
towards  them  :  when  we  came  towards  the  place  where  their 
horse  stood,  we  beat  back  with  my  troops  about  two  or 


136  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  j,  July 

three  troops  of  the  enemy's,  who  retired  into  a  small  village 
at  the  bottom  of  the  hill.  When  we  recovered  the  hill,  we 
saw  in  the  bottom,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  us,  a 
regiment  of  foot ;  after  that  another ;  after  that  the  Marquis 
of  Newcastle's  own  regiment;  consisting  in  all  of  about  50 
foot  colours,  and  a  great  body  of  horse ; — which  indeed  was 
Newcastle's  Army.  Which,  coming  so  unexpectedly,  put  us 
to  new  consultations.  My  Lord  Willoughby  and  I,  being 
in  the  Town,  agreed  to  call-off  our  foot.  I  went  to  bring 
them  off:  but  before  I  returned,  divers  of  the  foot  were 
engaged ;  the  enemy  advancing  with  his  whole  body.  Our 
foot  retreated  in  disorder;  and  with  some  loss  got  the  Town; 
where  now  they  are.  Our  horse  also  came  off  with  some 
trouble ;  being  wearied  with  the  long  fight,  and  their  horses 
tired  ;  yet  faced  the  enemy's  fresh  horse,  and  by  several 
removes  got  off  without  the  loss  of  one  man ;  the  enemy 
following  the  rear  with  a  great  body.  The  honour  of  this 
retreat  is  due  to  God,  as  also  all  the  rest :  Major  Whalley 
did  in  this  carry  himself  with  all  gallantry  becoming  a  gen- 
tleman and  a  Christian. 

Thus  you  have  this  true  relation,  as  short  as  I  could. 
What  you  are  to  do  upon  it,  is  next  to  be  considered.3  If 
I  could  speak  words  to  pierce  your  hearts  with  the  sense 
of  our  and  your  condition,  I  would  !  If  you  will  raise  2,000 
Foot  at  present  to  encounter  this  Army  of  Newcastle's,  to 
raise  the  siege,  and  to  enable  us  to  fight  him, — we  doubt 
not,  by  the  grace  of  God,  but  that  we  shall  be  able  to  re- 
lieve the  Town,  and  beat  the  Enemy  on4  the  other  side  of 
Trent.  Whereas  if  somewhat  be  not  done  in  this,  you  will 
see  Newcastle's  Army  march  up  into  your  bowels ;  being 
now,  as  it  is,  on  this  side  Trent.  I  know  it  will  be  diffi- 
cult to  raise  thus  many  in  so  short  time :  but  let  me  assure 

1  The  rest  of  this  paragraph,  all  except  the  last  sentence,  is  omitted :  Postscript, 
loo,  omitted. 
4  Meaas  '  to.' 


.643.  LETTER  XII.    HUNTINGDON.  137 

you,  it's  necessary,  and  therefore  to  be  done.  At  least  do 
what  you  may,  with  all  possible  expedition  !  I  would  I  had 
the  happiness  to  speak  with  one  of  you  : — truly  I  cannot 
come  over,  but  must  attend  my  charge ;  the  Enemy  is  vigil- 
ant. The  Lord  direct  you  what  to  do.  Gentlemen,  I  am 
your  faithful  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

P.S.  Give  this  Gentleman  credence  :  he  is  worthy  to  be 
trusted,  he  knows  the  urgency  of  our  affairs  better  than  my- 
self. If  he  give  you  intelligence,  in  point  of  time,  of  haste 
to  be  made, — believe  him :  he  will  advise  for  your  good.* 

About  two  miles  south  of  Gainsborough,  on  the  North- 
Scarle  road,  stands  the  Hamlet  and  Church  of  Lea ;  near 
which  is  a  '  Hill,'  or  expanse  of  upland,  of  no  great  height,  but 
sandy,  covered  with  furze,  and  full  of  rabbit-holes,  the  ascent 
of  which  would  be  difficult  for  horsemen  in  the  teeth  of  an 
enemy.  This  is  understood  to  be  the  'Hill'  of  the  fight  referred 
to  here.  Good  part  of  it  is  enclosed,  and  the  ground  much 
altered,  since  that  time  ;  but  one  of  the  fields  is  still  called 
'  Redcoats  Field,'5  and  another  at  some  distance  nearer  Gains- 
borough '  Graves  Field  ;'  beyond  which  latter,  '  on  the  other 
'  or  western  face  of  the  Hill,  a  little  over  the  boundary  of  Lea 
'  Parish  with  Gainsborough  Parish,  on  the  left  hand  (as  you  go 
'  North)  between  the  Road  and  the  River,'  is  a  morass  or 
meadow  still  known  by  the  name  of  Cavendish's  Bog,  which 
points-out  the  locality.6 

Of  the  '  Hills'  and  '  Villages'  rather  confusedly  alluded  to 
in  the  second  part  of  the  Letter,  which  probably  lay  across 
Trent  Bridge  on  the  Newark  side  of  the  river,  I  could  obtain 
no  elucidation,  —  and  must  leave  them  to  the  guess  of  local 
antiquaries  interested  in  such  things.? 

'General  Cavendish,'  whom  some  confound  with  the  Earl 
of  Newcastle's  brother,  was  his  Cousin,  'the  Earl  of  Devon- 
shire's second  son  ;'  an  accomplished  young  man  of  three-and- 
twenty  ;  for  whom  there  was  great  lamenting  ;  —  indeed  a 

*  Rushworth,  v.  278  ; — given  now  (Third  Edit ioti)  according  to  Autograph  in  the 
possession  of  Dawson  Turner,  Esq.,  Great  Yarmouth.     (Papers  of  Norfolk  Archaeo- 
logical Society,  Jan.  1848;  and  A t/ienautit,  London,  nth  March  1848.) 

*  See  Squire  Papers,  no.  x.xxiv.,  end  of  vol.  ii.  6  MS.  penes  me. 
1  Two  other  Letters  on  this  Gainsborough  Action,  in  Appendix,  No.  5. 


138  •    PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,AU«. 

general  emotion  about  his  death,  of  which  we,  in  these  radical 
times,  very  irreverent  of  human  quality  itself,  and  much  more 
justly  of  the  dresses  of  human  quality,  cannot  even  with  effort 
form  any  adequate  idea.  This  was  the  first  action  that  made 
Cromwell  to  be  universally  talked  of :  He  dared  to  kill  this 
honourable  person  found  in  arms  against  him !  '  Colonel 
'  Cromwell  gave  assistance  to  the  Lord  Willoughby,  and  per- 
'  formed  very  gallant  service  against  the  Earl  of  Newcastle's 
'  forces.  This  was  the  beginning  of  his  great  fortunes,  and 
1  now  he  began  to  appear  in  the  world.'8 

Waller  has  an  Elegy,  not  his  best,  upon  '  Charles  Ca'n- 
dish/9  It  must  have  been  written  some  time  afterwards:  poor 
Waller,  in  these  weeks,  very  narrowly  escapes  death  himself, 
on  account  of  the  '  Waller  Plot ;' — makes  an  abject  submis- 
sion;  pays  io,ooo/.  fine  ;  and  goes  upon  his  travels  into  for- 
eign parts ! — 


LETTER  XIII. 

HERE  meanwhile  is  a  small  noteworthy  thing.  Consider 
these  'Young  Men  and  Maids,'  and  that  little  joint-stock  com- 
pany of  theirs  !  Amiable  young  persons,  may  it  prosper  with 
you  !  Twelve-score  pounds  and  so  many  stand  of  muskets, — 
well,  this  little  too,  in  the  great  Cause,  will  help.  For  a  pure 
preached  Gospel,  and  the  ancient  liberties  of  England,  who 
would  not  try  to  help  ?  Fine  new  cloaks  and  fardingales  are 
good  ;  but  a  company  of  musketeers  busy  on  the  right  side, 
how  much  better ! — Colonel  Cromwell,  now  home  again,  has 
received  a  Deputation  on  the  matter ;  and  suggests  improve- 
ments. '  Country'  which  will  take  your  muskets,  means 
County.  Three  pounds,  we  perceive  by  calculation,  will  buy  a 
war-saddle  and  pistols.  Who  the  'Sir'  is,  gucssable  as  some 
Chairman  of  this  '  Young  Men  and  Maids'  Society  ;  and  in 
what  Town  he  sits,  whether  in  Huntingdon  itself  or  in  another, 
— must  remain  forever  uncertain.  His  Address,  by  negligence, 
has  vanished  ;  his  affair  wholly  has  vanished  ;  the  body  of  it 
gone  all  to  air,  and  only  the  soul  of  it  now  surviving,  and  like 
to  survive  ! 

*  \Vliitlocke  (ist  edition,  London,  i6Sj,— as  always,  unless  ike  contrary  be  speci- 
fied), p.  68. 

v  Fenian's  Waller,  p.  909. 


1643.  LETTER  XIII.    HUNTINGDON.  139 


oIR,  '  Huntingdon,"  2cl  August  1643. 

I  understand  by  these  Gentlemen  the  good 
affections  of  your  Young  Men  and  Maids  ;  for  which  God 
is  to  be  praised. 

I  approve  of  the  business  :  only  I  desire  to  advise  you 
that  your  "  foot  company''  may  be  turned  into  a  troop  of 
horse;  which  indeed  will,  by  God's  blessing,  far  more  ad- 
vantage the  Cause  than  two  or  three  companies  of  foot  ; 
especially  if  ypur  men  be  honest  godly  men,  which  by  all 
means  I  desire.  I  thank  God  for  stirring-up  the  youth  to 
cast-in  their  mite,  which  I  desire  may  be  employed  to  the 
best  advantage  ;  therefore  my  advice  is,  that  you  would  em- 
ploy your  Twelve-score  Pounds  to  buy  pistols  and  saddles, 
and  I  will  provide  Four-score  horses  ;  for  4oo/.  more  will 
not  raise  a  troop  of  horse.  As  for  the  muskets  that  are 
bought,  I  think  the  Country  will  take  them  of  you.  Pray 
raise  honest  godly  men,  and  I  will  have  them  of  my  regi- 
ment. As  for  your  Officers,  I  leave  it  as  God  shall  or  hath 
directed  to  choose  ;  —  and  rest,  your  loving  friend, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 


LETTER  XIV. 

GAINSBOROUGH  was  directly  taken,  after  this  relief  of  it; 
Lord  Willoughby  could  not  resist  the  Newarkers  with  New- 
castle at  their  head.  Gainsborough  is  lost,  Lincoln  is  lost; 
unless  help  come  speedily,  all  is  like  to  be  lost.  The  following 
Letter,  with  its  enclosure  from  the  Lord  Lieutenant  Willoughby 
of  Parham,  speaks  for  itself.  Read  the  Enclosure  first. 

*  Fairfax  Correspondence  (London,  1849),  iii.  56:  the  Original  is  Autograph;  ad- 
dress quite  gjone;  docketed  'Colonel  Cromwell's  Letter  to'  (in  regard  to)  'the  Bache- 
lors and  Maids,  ad  August  1643,  from  Huntingdon.' 


140  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  6  Aug 

'•  To  my  noble  Friend  Colonel  Cromwell,  at  Huntingdon  : 
These. 

"  Boston,  sth  August  1643. 

"  NOBLE  SIR, — Since  the  business  of  Gainsborough,  the 
"  hearts  of  our  men  have  been  so  deaded  that  we  have  lost 
44  most  of  them  by  running  away.  So  that  we  were  forced  to 
44  leave  Lincoln  upon  a  sudden  : — and  if  I  had  not  done  it 
"  then,  I  should  have  been  left  alone  in  it.  So  that  now  I  am 
"  at  Boston  ;  where  we  are  very  poor  in  strength  ; — so  that 
"  without  some  speedy  supply,  I  fear  we  shall  not  hold  this 
41  long  neither. 

"  My  Lord  General,  I  perceive,  hath  writ  to  you,  To  draw 
44  all  the  forces  together.  I  should  be  glad  to  see  it  :  for  if 
"  that  will  not  be,  there  can  be  no  good  to  be  expected.  If  you 
44  will  endeavour  to  stop  my  Lord  of  Newcastle,  you  must  pre- 
"  sently  draw  them  to  him  and  fight  him!  For  without  we  be 
"  masters  of  the  field,  we  shall  be  pulled  out  by  the  ears,  one 
"  after  another. 

41  The  Foot,  if  they  will  come  on,  may  march  very  securely 
44  to  Boston  ;  which,  to  me,  will  be  very  considerable  to  your 
44  Association.  For  if  the  Enemy  get  that  Town,  which  is  now 
"  very  weak  for  defence  for  want  of  men,  I  believe  they  will 
"  not  be  long  out  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk. 

"  I  can  say  no  more  :  but  desire  you  to  hasten  ; — and  rest, 
41  your  servant,  FRANCIS  WILLOUGHBY."JO 

To  my  honoured  Friends  the  Commissioners  at  Cambridge: 

These  present. 
GENTLEMEN,  Huntingdon,  6th  August  1643. 

You  see  by  this  Enclosed  how  sadly  your 
affairs  stand.  It's  no  longer  Disputing,  but  Out  instantly 
all  you  can  !  Raise  all  your  Bands;11  send  them  to  Hunt- 
ingdon;— get  up  what  Volunteers  you  can;  hasten  your 
Horses. 

Send  these  Letters  to  Norfolk,  Suffolk  and  Essex,  with- 

w  Baker  MSS.  (Trinity -College  Library,  Cambridge),  xxxiv.  439;  u  in  Tinner 
tus.  top,  together  with  the  following. 
"  Trainband*. 


i643.  LETTER  XV.    PETERBOROUGH.  141 

out  delay.  I  beseech  you  spare  not,  but  be  expeditious  and 
industrious  !  Almost  all  our  Foot  have  quitted  Stamford  : 
there  is  nothing  to  interrupt  an  Enemy,  but  our  Horse,  that 
is  considerable.  You  must  act  lively ;  do  it  without  dis- 
traction. Neglect  no  means  ! — I  am,  your  faithful  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

In  the  Commons  Journals,  August  4/^,12  are  various 
Orders,  concerning  Colonel  Cromwell  and  his  aflairs,  of  a  com- 
fortable nature  :  as,  '  That  he  shall  have  the  Three-thousand 
'  Pounds,  already  levied  in  the  Associated  Counties,  for  pay- 
'  ment  of  his  men  ;'  likewise  privilege  of  '  Free  Quarter  on  the 
'  march  he  is  now  upon  ;'  and  lastly,  '  That  the  Six  Associated 
'  Counties  do  forthwith  raise  Two-thousand  men  more'  for  his 
behoof  and  that  of  the  Cause.  On  which  occasion  Speaker 
Lenthall,  as  we  otherwise  find,  writes  to  him  on  the  part  of  the 
House,  in  these  encouraging  terms  :  '  The  House  hath  com- 
'  manded  me  to  send  you  these  enclosed  Orders  ;  and  to  let 
'  you  know  that  nothing  is  more  repugnant  to  the  sense  of  this 
'  House,  and  dangerous  to  this  Kingdom,  than  the  unwilling- 
'  ness  of  their  forces  to  march  out  of  their  several  Counties.' — 
'  For  yourself,  they  do  exceedingly  approve  of  your  faithful 
1  endeavours  to  God  and  the  Kingdom.'13 


LETTER  XV. 

THE  Committee's  answer,  'my  return  from  you,'  will  find 
Cromwell  at  Stamford  ;  to  which,  as  to  the  place  of  danger,  he 
is  already  speeding  and  spurring.  Here  is  his  next  Letter  to 
these  Honoured  Friends  : 

To  my  honoured  Friends  the  Commissioners  at  Cambridge  : 
These  present. 

GENTLEMEN,  '  Peterborough,'  8th  August  1643. 

Finding  our  foot  much  lessened  at  Stamford, 
and  having  a  great  train  and  many  carriages,  I  held  it  not 

*  Cooper's  Anmh  a/ Ca.;r.3r:2g?,  iii.  355  ;  Tanner  M££.  !xii.  zip. 

®  <?ornmeru  Journals,  iii.  153.  13  Tanner  »iss.  Ixii.  (i.),  as*. 


142  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  IA»* 

safe  to  continue  there,  but  presently  after  my  return  from 
you,  I  ordered  the  foot  to  quit  that  place  and  march  into 
Holland,  '  to  Spalding ;'  which  they  did  on  Monday  last.14 
I  was  the  rather  induced  so  to  do  because  of  the  Letter  I 
received  from  my  Lord  Willoughby,  a  copy  whereof  I  sent 
you. 

I  am  now  at  Peterborough,  whither  I  came  this  after- 
noon. I  was  no  sooner  come  but  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wood 
sent  me  word,  from  Spalding,  That  the  Enemy  was  march- 
ing, with  twelve  flying  colours  of  horse  and  foot,  within  a 
mile  of  Swinstead  :t  so  that  I  hope  it  was  a  good  providence 
of  God  that  our  foot  were  at  Spalding. 

It  much  concerns  your  Association,  and  the  Kingdom, 
that  so  strong  a  place  as  Holland  is  be  not  possessed  by 
them.  If  you  have  any  foot  ready  to  march,  send  them 
away  to  us  with  all  speed.  I  fear  lest  the  Enemy  should 
press  in  upon  our  foot : — he  being  thus  far  advanced  to- 
wards you,  I  hold  it  very  fit  that  you  should  hasten  your 
horse  at  Huntingdon,  and  what  you  can  speedily  raise  at 
Cambridge,  unto  me.  I  dare  not  go  into  Holland  with  my 
horse,  lest  the  enemy  should  advance  with  his  whole  body 
of  horse,  this  way,  into  your  Association ;  but  remain  ready 
here,  endeavouring15  my  Lord  Grey's  and  the  Northampton- 
shire horse  towards  me  ;  that  so,  if  we  be  able,  we  may  fight 
the  enemy,  or  retreat  unto  you,  with  our  whole  strength. 
I  beseech  you  hasten  your  levies,  what  you  can ;  especially 
those  of  foot !  Quicken  all  our  friends  with  new  letters 
upon  this  occasion ;— which  I  believe  you  will  find  to  be 
a  true  alarm.  The  particulars  I  hope  to  be  able  to  inform 
you  speedily  of,  more  punctually ;  having  sent,  in  all  haste, 
to  Colonel  Wood  for  that  purpose. 

The  money  I  brought  with  me  is  so  poor  a  pittance 
when  it  comes  to  be  distributed  amongst  all  my  troops  that, 

'«  Yesterday.  "  '  but  am  i^ady  eflde*vtUriaf,'  IB  6rfj. 


j643.  EASTERN  ASSOCIATION.  143 

considering  their  necessity, — it  will  not  half  clothe  them, 
they  were  so  far  behind,  —  if  we  have  not  more  money 
speedily,  they  -will  be  exceedingly  discouraged.  I  am  sorry 
you  put  me  to  it  to  write  thus  often.  It  makes  it  seem  a 
needless  importunity  in  me  ;  whereas,  in  truth,  it  is  a  con- 
stant neglect  of  those  that  should  provide  for  us.  Gentle- 
men, make  them  able  to  live  and  subsist  that  are  willing  to 
spend  their  blood  for  you ! — I  say  no  more  ;  but  rest,  your 
faithful  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Sir  William  Waller,  whom  some  called  William  the  Con- 
queror, has  been  beaten  all  to  pieces  on  Lansdown  Heath, 
about  three  weeks  ago.  The  Fairfaxes  too  are  beaten  from  the 
field  ;  glad  to  get  into  Hull, — which  Hotham  the  Traitor  was 
about  delivering  to  her  Majesty,  when  vigilant  persons  laid 
him  fast.16  And,  in  the  end  of  May,  Earl  Stamford  was 
defeated  in  the  Southwest ;  and  now  Bristol  has  been  suddenly 
surrendered  to  Prince  Rupert, — for  which  let  Colonel  Nathaniel 
Fiennes  (says  Mr.  Prynne,  still  very  zealous)  be  tried  by  Court- 
Martial,  and  if  possible,  shot. 


LETTERS  XVI.— XVIII. 

IN  the  very  hours  while  Cromwell  was  storming  the  sand-hill 
near  Gainsborough  'by  some  tracks,'  honourable  gentlemen  at 
St.  Stephen's  were  voting  him  Governor  of  the  Isle  of  Ely. 
Ely  in  the  heart  of  the  Fens,  a  place  of  great  military  capabi- 
lities, is  much  troubled  with  'corrupt  ministers,'  with  'corrupt 
trainbands,'  and  understood  to  be  in  a  perilous  state  ;  where- 
fore they  nominate  Cromwell  to  take  charge  of  it.1  We  under- 
stand his  own  Family  to  be  still  resident  in  Ely. 

*  Fairfax  Correspondence,  iii.  58. 

1s  Of  Hotham :  291)1  June  1643  (Ktishworth,  v.  275-6) ; — of  the  Fairfaxes,  at  Ad  Jer» 
ton  Moor:  301)1  June  (ib.  279); — of  Waller:  i3th  July  (ib.  t3;  ;  Clarendon,  ii.  376-9). 
Stratton  Fight  in  Cornwall,  defeat  of  Stamford  by  Hopton,  was  i6th  May;  Bristol  is 
zzd  July  (Rushworth,  v.  2^1,  284). 

'  Commons  Journals,  iii.  186  (of  28th  July  1643);  ib.  153,  167,  180,  &c.  to  657  (gth 
October  1644). 


144  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,.AU». 

The  Parliament  affairs,  this  Summer,  have  taken  a  bad 
course  ;  and,  except  it  be  in  the  Eastern  Association,  look  every- 
where declining.  They  have  lost  Bristol,  their,  footing  in  the 
Southwest  and  in  the  North  is  mostly  gone ;  Essex's  Army  has 
melted  away,  without  any  action  of  mark  all  Summer,  except 
the  loss  of  Hampden  in  a  skirmish.  In  the  beginning  of  August 
the  King  breaks  out  from  Oxford,  very  clearly  superior  in  force ; 
goes  to  settle  Bristol ;  and  might  thence,  it  was  supposed,  have 
marched  direct  to  London,  if  he  had  liked.  He  decides  on 
taking  Gloucester  with  him  before  he  quit  those  parts.  The 
Parliament,  in  much  extremity,  calls  upon  the  Scots  for  help ; 
who,  under  conditions,  will  consent. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  was  rather  thought  a  piece  of 
heroism  in  our  old  friend  Lord  Kimbolton,  or  Mandevil,  now 
become  Earl  of  Manchester,  to  accept  the  command  of  the 
Eastern  Association  :  he  is  nominated  '  Sergeant-Major  of  the 
Associated  Counties,'  loth  August  1643  ;  is  to  raise  new  force, 
infantry  and  cavalry  ;  has  four  Colonels  of  Horse  under  him  ; 
Colonel  Cromwell,  who  soon  became  his  second  in  command, 
is  one  of  them  ;  Colonel  Norton,  whom  we  shall  meet  after- 
wards, is  another.2  '  The  Associated  Counties  are  busy  listing," 
intimates  the  old  Newspaper ;  'and  so  soon  as  their  harvest  is 
1  over,  which  for  the  present  much  retardeth  them,  the  Earl  of 
'  Manchester  will  have  a  very  brave  and  considerable  Army,  to 
'  be  a  terror  to  the  Northern  Papists,'  Newarkers  and  New- 
castles,  '  if  they  advance  Southward.'3  When  specially  it  was 
that  Cromwell  listed  his  celebrated  body  of  Ironsides  is  of  course 
not  to  be  dated,  though  some  do  carelessly  date  h,  as  from  the 
very  '  beginning  of  the  War  ;'  and  in  Bates*  and  others  are  to 
be  found  various  romantic  details  on  the  subject,  which  deserve 
no  credit.  Doubtless  Cromwell,  all  along,  in  the  many  changes 
his  body  of  men  underwent,  had  his  eye  upon  this  object  of 
getting  good  soldiers  and  dismissing  bad ;  and  managed  the 
matter  by  common  practical  vigilance,  not  by  theatrical  clap- 
traps as  Dr.  Bates  represents.  Some  months  ago,  it  was  said 
in  the  Newspapers,  of  Colonel  Cromwell's  soldiers,  '  not  a  man 
swears  but  he  pays  his  twelvepence  ;'  no  plundering,  no  drink- 
ing, disorder,  or  impiety  allowed.5  We  may  fancy,  in  this  new 

•  Cfir.iKoiu  Journals,  iii.  195,  too:  Husbands,  ii.  sZS.  176-8. 

*  20lh  August  1643,  Crornifiliiana,  p.  7. 

4  EUiulivt  Metvvm.  *  May  i#* j,  Cremv.<e?iimxt,  p.  5. 


»643-  EASTERN  ASSOCIATION.  145 

levy,  as  Manchester's  Lieutenant  and  Governor  of  Ely,  when 
the  whole  force  was  again  winnowed  and  sifted,  he  might  com- 
plete the  process,  and  see  his  Thousand  Troopers  ranked  before 
him,  worthy  at  last  of  the  name  of  Ironsides.  They  were  men 
that  had  the  fear  of  God  ;  and  gradually  lost  all  other  fear 
"Truly  they  were  never  beaten  at  all,"  says  he. — Meanwhile: 

1643. 

August  2ist.  The  shops  of  London  are  all  shut  for  cer- 
tain days  :6  Gloucester  is  in  hot  siege  ;  nothing  but  the  obdurate 
valour  of  a  few  men  there  prevents  the  King,  with  Prince  Ru- 
pert, called  also  Prince  Robert  and  Prince  Robber,  from  riding 
roughshod  over  us.7  The  City,  with  much  emotion,  ranks  its 
Trained  Bands  under  Essex ;  making  up  an  Army  for  him,  de- 
spatches him  to  relieve  Gloucester.  He  marches  on  the  26th  ; 
steadily  along,  in  spite  of  rainy  weather  and  Prince  Rupert ; 
westward,  westward:  on  the  night  of  the  tenth  day,  September 
5th,  the  Gloucester  people  see  his  signal-fire  flame  up,  amid 
the  dark  rain,  '  on  the  top  of  Presbury  Hill ;' — and  understand 
that  they  shall  live  and  not  die.  The  King  '  fired  his  huts,' 
and  marched  off  without  delay.  He  never  again  had  any  real 
chance  of  prevailing  in  this  War.  Essex,  having  relieved  the 
West,  returns  steadily  home  again,  the  King's  forces  hanging 
angrily  on  his  rear ;  at  Newbury  in  Berkshire,  he  had  to  turn 
round,  and  give  them  battle, — First  Newbury  Battle,  2oth  Sep- 
tember 1 643,  — wherein  he  came  off  rather  superior.8  Poor 
Lord  Falkland,  in  his  'clean  shirt,'  was  killed  here.  This 
steady  march,  to  Gloucester  and  back  again,  by  Essex,  was  the 
chief  feat  he  did  during  the  War ;  a  considerable  feat,  and  very 
characteristic  of  him,  the  slow-going,  inarticulate,  indignant, 
somewhat  elephantine  man. 

Here,  however,  in  the  interim,  are  some  glimpses  of  the 
Associated  Counties ;  of  the  'listing'  that  now  goes  on  there,  a 
thing  attended  with  its  own  confused  troubles. 

6  Rushworth,  v.  291. 

1  See  Webb's  Bibliotheca  Gloucestrensis,  a  Collection  &c.  (Gloucester,  1825),  or 
Corbet's  contemporary  Siege  oj  Gloucester  (Somers  Tracts,  v.  296),  which  forms  the 
main  substance  of  Mr.  Webb's  Book. 

8  Clarendon,  ii.  460;  Whitlocke,  p.  70. 


VOL.  I. 


146  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  s*p«. 

LETTER  XVI. 

LETTER  Sixteenth  is  not  dated  at  all;  but  incidentally  names 
its  place  ;  and  by  the  tenor  of  it  sufficiently  indicates  these  au- 
tumn days,  first  days  of  September,  as  the  approximate  time. 
'  Our  handful,'  to  be  known  by  and  by  as  Ironsides,  they  are 
ready  and  steady  ;  but  we  see  what  an  affair  the  listing  of  the 
rest  is  :  cash  itself  like  to  be  dreadfully  short ;  men  difficult  to 
raise,  worth  little  when  raised ; — add  seizure  of  Malignant  neigh- 
bours' horses,  proclamations,  reclamations,  and  the  Lawyers' 
tongues,  and  all  men's,  everywhere  set  wagging  !  Spring  and 
Barrow  are  leading  Suffolk  Committee-men,  whom  we  shall  sec 
again  in  that  capacity.  Of  Captain  Margery,  elsewhere  than 
in  that  Suffolk  Troop  now  mustering,  I  know  nothing  ;  but 
Colonel  Cromwell  knows  him,  can  recommend  him  as  a  man 
worth  something  :  if  Margery,  to  mount  himself  in  this  pressure, 
could  'raise  the  horses  from  Malignant s,'  in  some  measure, — 
were  it  not  well  ? 

To  my  noble  Friends,  Sir  William  Spring,  Knight  and  Baro- 
net, and  Maurice  Harrow^  Esquire :  Present  these. 

GENTLEMEN,  '  Cambridge,  —  September  1643.' 

I  have  been  now  two  days  at  Cambridge,  in 
expectation  to  hear  the  fruit  of  your  endeavours  in  Suffolk 
towards  the  public  assistance.  Believe  it,  you  will  hear  of 
a  storm  in  few  days  !  You  have  no  Infantry  at  all  consi- 
derable ;  hasten  your  Horses  ; — a  few  hours  may  undo  you, 
neglected. — I  beseech  you  be  careful  what  Captains  of  Horse 
you  choose,  what  men  be  mounted  :  a  few  honest  men  are 
better  than  numbers.  Some  time  they  must  have  for  exer- 
cise. If  you  choose  godly  honest  men  to  be  Captains  of 
Horse,  houest  men  will  follow  them  ;  and  they  will  be  care- 
ful to  mount  such. 

The  King  is  exceeding  strong  in  the  West.  If  you  be 
able  to  foil  a  force  at  the  first  coming  of  it,  you  will  have 
reputation;  and  that  is  of  great  advantage  in  our  affairs. 


.643.     LETTER  XVII.    EASTERN  ASSOCIATION.      147 

God  hath  given  it  to  our  handful ;  let  us  endeavour  to  keep 
it.  I  had  rather  have  a  plain  russet-coated  Captain  that 
knows  what  he  fights  for,  and  loves  what  he  knows,  than 
that  which  you  call  "  a  Gentleman"  and  is  nothing  else.  I 
honour  a  Gentleman  that  is  so  indeed  ! — 

I  understand  Mr.  Margery  hath  honest  men  will  follow 
him  :  if  so,  be  pleased  to  make  use  of  him ;  it  much  con- 
cerns your  good  to  have  conscientious  men.  I  understand 
that  there  is  an  Order  for  me  to  have  3,ooo/.  out  of  the 
Association;  and  Essex  hath  sent  their  part,  or  near  it. 
I  assure  you  we  need  exceedingly.  I  hope  to  find  your 
favour  and  respect.  I  protest,  if  it  were  for  myself,  I  would 
not  move  you.  That  is  all,  from  your  faithful  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

P.S.  If  you  send  such  men  as  Essex  hath  sent,  it  will  be 
to  little  purpose.  Be  pleased  to  take  care  of  their  march ; 
and  that  such  may  come  along  with  them  as  will  be  able  to 
bring  them  to  the  main  Body ;  and  then  I  doubt  not  but 
we  shall  keep  them,  and  make  good  use  of  them. — I  beseech 
you,  give  countenance  to  Mr.  Margery  !  Help  him  in  rais- 
ing his  Troop  ;  let  him  not  want  your  favour  in  whatsoever 
is  needial  for  promoting  this  work;  —  and  command  your 
servant.  Ii  he  can  raise  the  horses  from  Malignants,  let 
him  have  your  warrant :  it  will  be  of  special  service.* 


LETTER  XVI  I. 

LISTING  still ;  and  with  more  trouble  than  ever.  Matters 
go  not  well :  '  Nobody  to  put-on,'  nobody  to  push ;  cash  too  is 
and  remains  defective  : — here,  however,  is  another  glimpse  of 
the  Ironsides,  first  specific  glimpse,  which  is  something. 

*  Original  in  the  possession  of  Dawson  Turner,  Esq.,  Great  Yarmouth  ;  printed  in 
Papers  of  Norfolk  Archaeological  Society  (Norwich,  January  1848). 


148  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  n    :, t 

To  my  hotioured  Friend  Oliver  St.  Jo/in,  Esquire,  at  Lincoln's 
Inn:  These  present. 

SlR,  '  Eastern  Association,'  nth  Sept.  '1643.' 

Of  all  men  I  should  not  trouble  you  with 
money  matters, — did  not  the  heavy  necessities  my  Troops 
are  in,  press  me  beyond  measure.  I  am  neglected  exceed- 
ingly ! 

I  am  now  ready  for9  my  march  towards  the  Enemy; 
who  hath  entrenched  himself  over  against  Hull,  my  Lord 
Newcastle  having  besieged  the  Town.  Many  of  my  Lord 
of  Manchester's  Troops  are  come  to  me  :  very  bad  and 
mutinous,  not  to  be  confided  in ; — they  paid  to  a  week 
almost ;  mine  noways  provided-for  to  support  them,  except 
by  the  poor  Sequestrations  of  the  County  of  Huntingdon  ! 
— My  Troops  increase.  I  have  a  lovely  company;  you 
would  respect  them,  did  you  know  them.  They  are  no 
"Anabaptists;"  they  are  honest  sober  Christians:  —  they 
expect  to  be  used  as  men  ! 

If  I  took  pleasure  to  write  to  the  House  in  bitterness, 
I  have  occasion.  '  Of  the  3,ooo/.  allotted  me,  I  cannot  get 
the  Norfolk  part  nor  the  Hertfordshire  :  it  was  gone  before 
I  had  it. — I  have  minded  your  service  to  forgetfulness  of  my 
own  and  Soldiers'  necessities.  I  desire  not  to  seek  myself: 
— '  buf  I  have  little  money  of  my  own  to  help  my  Soldiers. 
My  estate  is  little.  I  tell  you,  the  business  of  Ireland  and 
England  hath  had  of  me,  in  money,  between  Eleven  and 
Twelve  Hundred  pounds  ;  —  therefore  my  Private  can  do 
little  to  help  the  Public.  You  have  had  my  money  :  I  hope 
in  God  I  desire  to  venture  my  akin.  So  do  mine.  Lay 
weight  upon  their  patience ;  but  break  it  not !  Think  of 
that  which  may  be  a  real  help.  I  believe  5,ooo/.10  is  due. 

•  '  upon'  crossed  out  as  ambiguous ;  '  ready  for'  written  over  u. 
•  Erased,  as  not  the  correct  sum. 


t«43.     LETTER  XVII.    EASTERN  ASSOCIATION.     149 

If  you  lay  aside  the  thought  of  me  and  my  Letter,  I 
expect  no  help.  Pray  for  your  true  friend  and  servant,  . 

OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

'  P.S.'  There  is  no  care  taken  how  to  maintain  that  Force 
of  Horse  and  Foot  raised  and  a-raising  for  my  Lord  of  Man- 
chester. He  hath  not  one  able  to  put-on  '  that  business.' 
The  Force  will  fall  if  some  help  not.  Weak  counsels  and 
weak  actings  undo  all ! — \two  words  crossed  ouf\  \ — all  will 
be  lost,  if  God  help  not !  Remember  who  tells  you.* 

In  Lynn  Regis  there  arose  'distractions,'  last  Spring;  dis- 
tractions ripening  into  open  treason,  and  the  seizure  of  Lynn 
by  Malignant  forces, — Roger  L'Estrange,  known  afterwards  as 
Sir  Roger  the  busy  Pamphleteer,  being  very  active  in  it.  Lynn 
lies  strong  amid  its  marshes  ;  a  gangrene  in  the  heart  of  the 
Association  itself.  My  Lord  of  Manchester  is  now,  with  all 
the  regular  Foot,  and  what  utmost  effort  of  volunteers  the  Coun- 
try can  make,  besieging  Lynn,  does  get  it,  at  last,  in  a  week 
hence.  Ten  days  hence  the  Battle  of  Newbury  is  got ;  and 
much  joy  for  Gloucester  and  it.  But  here  in  the  Association, 
with  such  a  weight  of  enemies  upon  us,  and  such  a  stagnancy 
and  staggering  want  of  pith  within  us,  things  still  look  extremely 
questionable  ! — 

Monday,  25^  September.  The  House  of  Commons  and 
the  Assembly  of  Divines  take  the  Covenant,  the  old  Scotch 
Covenant,  slightly  modified  now  into  a  '  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant ;'  in  St.  Margaret's  Church,  Westminster.11  They 
lifted  up  their  hands  seriatim,  and  then  '  stept  into  the  chancel 
to  sign.'  The  List  yet  remains  in  Rush  worth, — incorrect  in 
some  places.  There  sign  in  all  about  220  Honourable  Mem- 
bers that  day.  The  whole  Parliamentary  Party,  down  to  the 
lowest  constable  or  drummer  in  their  pay,  gradually  signed.  It 
was  the  condition  of  assistance  from  the  Scotch  ;  who  are  now 
calling  out  'all  fencible  men  from  sixteen  to  sixty,'  for  a  third 
expedition  into  England.  A  very  solemn  Covenant,  and  Vow 
of  all  the  People  ;  of  the  awfulness  of  which,  we,  in  these  days 

*  Additional  Ayscough  MSS.  5013,  art  25:  printed,  with  some  errors,  in  Annual 
Register,  xxxv.  358. 

11  Commons  Journals,  iii.  253-4;  Rushworth  (incorrect  in  various  particulars,— 
unusual  with  Rushworth),  v.  475,  480 ;  the  Covanant  itself,  ib.  478. 


150  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  »a  Sepc 

of  Custom-house  oaths  and  loose  regardless  talk,  cannot  form 
the  smallest  notion. — Duke  Hamilton,  seeing  his  painful  Scotch 
diplomacy  end  all  in  this  way,  flies  to  the  King  at  Oxford, — is 
there  '  put  under  arrest,'  sent  to  Pendennis  Castle  near  the 
Land's  End.1* 


LETTER  XVIII. 

IN  Rushworth's  List  of  Members  covenanting  in  St.  Mar- 
garet's Church  on  Monday  September  25th,  the  name  of  Oliver 
Cromwell  stands  visible  :  but  it  is  an  error  ;  as  this  Letter  and 
other  good  evidences  still  remain  to  show.  Indeed  some  sin- 
gular oscitancy  must  have  overtaken  the  watchful  Rushworth, 
on  that  occasion  of  the  Covenant ;  or  what  is  likelier,  some  in- 
extricable shuffle  had  got  among  his  Paper-masses  there,  when 
he  came  to  redact  them  long  after, — the  indefatigable  painful 
man  !  Thus  he  says  furthermore,  and  again  says,  the  signing 
took  place  'on  September  22d,"  which  was  Friday;  whereas 
the  Rhadamanthine  Commons  Journals  still  testify,  that  on 
Friday  September  22d  there  was  merely  order  and  appointment 
made  to  sign  on  the  25th;  and  that  the  signing  itself  took 
place,  accordingly,  on  Monday  September  2 5th,  as  we  have 
given  it.  With  other  errors, — incident  to  the  exactest  Rush- 
worth,  when  his  Paper-masses  get  shuffled ! — Here  is  another 
entry  of  his,  confirmable  beyond  disputing  ;  which  is  of  itself 
fatal  to  that  of  '  Oliver  Cromwell'  among  '  those  who  signed  the 
Covenant  that  day.'  Oliver  Cromwell  had  quite  other  work  to 
do  than  signing  of  Covenants,  many  miles  away  from  him  just 
now  ;  and  indeed,  I  guess,  did  not  sign  this  one  for  many  days 
and  weeks  to  come;  not  till  he  got  to  his  place  in  Parliament 
again,  with  more  leisure  on  his  hands  than  now. 

Tuesday,  •  26/A  September.  The  Lord  Willoughby'  of  Par- 
ham  'and  Colonel  Cromwell  came  to  Hull,  to  consult  with  the 
'  Lord  .Fairfax ;  but  made  no  stay :  and  the  same  day,  Sir 
1  ThomasFairfax  crossed  H  timber  with  Twenty  Troops  of  Horse, 
'  to  join  with  Cromwell's  forces  in  Lincolnshire.'13  For  the 
Marquis  of  Newcastle  is  begirdling,  and  ever  more  closely  be- 
sieging, the  Lord  Fairfax  in  Hull ;  which  has  obliged  him  to 
ship  his  brave  Son,  with  all  the  horse,  across  the  Humber,  in 

•-  Uumet,  Memoirt  f/tto  DnJttt «/  Hamilton,  U  Ruilixvorth,  T.  aia, 


i643.        LETTER  XVIII.    HOLLAND,   LINCOLN.        151 

this  manner  :  horse  are  useless  here  ;  under  the  Earl  of  Man- 
chester, on  the  other  side,  they  may  be  of  use. 

The  landing  took  place  at  Saltfleet  that  same  afternoon,  say 
the  Newspapers  :  here  now  is  what  followed  thereupon, — suc- 
cessful though  rather  dangerous  inarch  into  the  safe  parts  of 
Lincolnshire,  and  continuance  of  the  drillings,  fightings,  and 
enlistments  there.  Committee-men  '  Spring  and  Barrow'  are 
known  to  us  ;  of  Margery  and  '  the  Malignants'  horses'  we  have 
also  had  some  inkling  once. 

To  his  honoured  friends,  Sir  William  Spring  and  Mr,  Bar- 
row :  These  present. 

GENTLEMEN,  '  Holland,  Lincolnshire/  2oth  Sept.  1643. 

It  hath  pleased  God  to  bring  off  Sir  Thomas 
Fairfax  his  Horse  over  the  river  from  Hull,  being  about 
One-and-twenty  Troops  of  Horse  and  Dragoons.  The  Lin- 
colnshire horse  laboured  to  hinder  this  work,  being  about 
Thirty-four  Colours  of  Horse  and  Dragoons  :  we  marched  up 
to  their  landing-place,  and  the  Lincolnshire  Horse  retreated. 
After  they  were  come  over,  we  all  marched  towards  Hol- 
land ;  and  when  we  came  to  our  last  quarter  upon  the  edge 
of  Holland,  the  Enemy  quartered  within  four  miles  of  us, 
and  kept  the  field  all  night  with  his  whole  body  :  his  intend- 
ment,  as  we  conceive,  was  to  fight  us ; — or  hoping  to  inter- 
pose betwixt  us  and  our  retreat ;  having  received,  to  his 
Thirty- four  Colours  of  Horse,  Twenty  fresh  Troops,  ten 
Companies  of  '  Dragoons  ;'14  and  about  a  Thousand  Foot, 
being  General  King's  own  Regiment.  With  these  he  at- 
tempted our  guards  and  our  quarters  ;  and,  if  God  had  not 
been  merciful,  had  ruined  us  before  we  had  known  of  it ; 
the  Five  Troops  we  set  to  keep  the  watch  failing  much  of 
their  duty.  But  we  got  to  horse;  and  retreated  in  good 
order,  with  the  safety  of  all  our  Horse  of  the  Association ; 
not  losing  four  of  them  that  I  hear  of,  and  we  got  five  of 

>«  Word  torn. 


152  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,s  Sept 

theirs.  And  for  this  we  are  exceedingly  bound  to  the  good- 
ness of  God,  who  brought  our  troops  off  with  so  little  loss. 

I  write  unto  you  to  acquaint  you  with  this ;  the  rather 
that  God  may  be  acknowledged;  and  that  you  may  help 
forward,  in  sending  such  force  away  unto  us  as  lie  unprofit- 
ably  in  your  country.  And  especially  that  Troop  of  Cap- 
tain Margery's,  which  surely  would15  not  be  wanting,  now 
we  so  much  need  it ! 

I  hear  there  hath  been  much  exception  taken  to  Captain 
Margery  and  his  Officers,  for  taking  of  horses.  I  am  sorry 
you  should  discountenance  those  who  (not  to  make  benefit 
to  themselves,  but  to  serve  their  Country)  are  willing  to 
venture  their  lives,  and  to  purchase  to  themselves  the  dis- 
pleasure of  bad  men,  that  they  may  do  a  Public  benefit  I 
undertake  not  to  justify  all  Captain  Margery's  actions :  but 
his  own  conscience  knows  whether  he  hath  taken  the  horses 
of  any  but  Malignants ; — and  it  were  somewhat  too  hard  to 
put  it  upon  the  consciences  of  your  fellow  Deputy  Lieuten- 
ants, whether  they  have  not  freed  the  horses  of  known  Ma- 
lignants? A  fault  not  less,  considering  the  sad  estate  of 
this  Kingdom,  than  to  take  a  horse  from  a  known  Honest 
man  ;  the  offence  being  against  the  Public,  which  is  a  con- 
siderable aggravation  !  I  know  not  the  measure  every  one 
takes  of  Malignants.  I  think  it  is  not  fit  Captain  Margery 
should  be  the  judge :  but  if  he,  in  this  taking  of  horses, 
hath  observed  the  plain  character  of  a  Malignant,  and  can- 
not be  charged  for  one  horse  otherwise  taken, — it  had  been 
better  that  some  of  the  bitterness  wherewith  he  and  his 
have  been  followed  had  been  spared  !  The  horses  that  his 
Cornet10  Boulry  took,  he  will  put  himself  upon  that  issue 
for  them  all. 

If  these  men  be  accounted  "troublesome  to  the  Coun- 
try," I  shall  be  glad  you  would  send  them  all  to  me.  I'll  bid 

*  ihould.  W  '  Coronett'  in  ong 


i«43-        LETTER   XVIII.    HOLLAND,   LINCOLN.        153 

them  welcome.  And  when  they  have  fought  for  you,  and 
endured  some  Oilier  difficulties  of  war  which  your  "  hon- 
ester"  men  will  hardly  bear,  I  pray  you  then  let  them  go 
for  honest  men  !  I  protest  unto  you,  many  of  those  men 
which  are  of  your  Country's  choosing,  under  Captain  John- 
son, are  so  far  from  serving  you,  that, — were  it  not  that  I 
have  honest  Troops  to  master  them, — although  they  be  well 
paid,  yet  they  are  so  mutinous  that  I  may  justly  fear  they 
would  cut  my  throat ! — Gentlemen,  it  may  be  it  provokes 
some  spirits  to  s^e  such  plain  men  made  Captains  of  Horse. 
It  had  been  well,  that  men  of  honour  and  birth  had  entered 
into  these  employments: — but  why  do  they  not  appear? 
Who  would  have  hindered  them  ?  But  seeing  it  was  neces- 
sary the  work  must  go  on,  better  plain  men  than  none; — 
but  best  to  have  wen  patient  of  wants,  faithful  and  consci- 
entious in  their  employment.  And  such,  I  hope,  these  will 
approve  themselves  to  be.  Let  them  therefore,  if  I  be 
thought  worthy  of  any  favour,  leave  your  Country  with  your 
good  wishes  and  a  blessing.  I  am  confident  they17  will  be 
well  bestowed.  And  I  believe  before  it  be  long,  you  will  be 
in  their  debt ;  and  then  it  will  not  be  hard  to  quit  scores. 

What  arms  you  can  furnish  them  withal,  I  beseech  you 
do  it.  I  have  hitherto  found  your  kindness  great  to  me : — 
I  know  not  what  I  have  done  to  lose  it ;  I  love  it  so  well, 
and  price  it  so  high,  that  I  would  do  my  best  to  gain  more. 
You  have  the  assured  affection  of  your  most  humble  and 
faithful  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

P.S. — I  understand  there  were  some  exceptions  taken 
at  a  Horse  that  was  sent  to  me,  which  was  seized  out  of 
the  hands  of  one  Mr.  Goldsmith  of  Wilby.  If  he  be  not  by 
you  judged  a  Malignant,  and  that  you  do  not  approve  of  my 
having  of  the  Horse,  I  shall  as  willingly  return  him  again 

1T  your  wishes 


154  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,oOet 

as  you  shall  desire.  And  therefore,  I  pray  you,  signify  your 
pleasure  to  me  herein  under  your  hands.  Not  that  I  would, 
for  ten  thousand  horses,  have  the  Horse  to  my  own  private 
benefit,  saving  to  make  use  of  him  for  the  Public : — for  I 
will  most  gladly  return  the  value  of  him  to  the  State.  If 
the  Gentleman  stand  clear  in  your  judgments, — I  beg  it  as 
a  special  favour  that,  if  the  Gentleman  be  freely  willing  to 
let  me  have  him  for  my  money,  let  him  set  his  own  price :  I 
shall  very  justly  return  him  the  money.  Or  if  he  be  unwill- 
ing to  part  with  him,  but  keeps  him  for  his  own  pleasure, 
be  pleased  to  send  me  an  answer  thereof :  I  shall  instantly 
return  him  his  Horse  ;  and  do  it  with  a  great  deal  more  sa- 
tisfaction to  myself  than  keep  him. — Therefore  I  beg  it  of 
you  to  satisfy  my  desire  in  this  last  request ;  it  shall  ex- 
ceedingly oblige  me  to  you.  If  you  do  it  not,  I  shall  rest 
very  unsatisfied,  and  the  Horse  will  be  a  burden  to  me  so 
Icng  as  I  shall  keep  him.* 

The  Earl  of  Manchester,  recaptor  of  Lynn  Regis  lately,  is 
still  besieging  and  retaking  certain  minor  strengths  and  Fen  gar- 
risons,— sweeping  the  intrusive  Royalists  out  of  those  Southern 
Towns  of  Lincolnshire.  This  once  done,  his  Foot  once  joined 
to  Cromwell's  and  Fairfax's  Horse,  something  may  be  expected 
in  the  Midland  parts  too. 


WINCEBY  FIGHT. 

LINCOLNSHIRE,  which  has  now  become  one  ofthe  Associated 
Seven,1  and  is  still  much  overrun  by  Newarkers  and  Northern 
Papists,  shall  at  last  be  delivered. 

Hull  siege  still  continues,  with  obstinate  sally  and  onslaught ; 
on  the  other  hand,  Lynn  siege,  which  the  Earl  of  Manchester 
was  busy  in,  has  prosperously  ended  ;  and  the  Earl  himself, 
with  his  foot  regiments,  is  now  also  here;  united,  in  loose  quar- 

•  Original  in  the  possession  of  Dawson  Turner.  Esq.,  Great  Yarmouth ;  printed  in 
Papers  of  Norfolk  Archzolocical  Society  (Norwich,  January  1848). 
1  »oth  September  1643,  Husbands,  ii.  397. 


,643.  WINCEBY  FIGHT.  155 

ters,  with  Cromwell  and  Fairfax,  in  the  Boston  region,  and  able 
probably  to  undertake  somewhat.  Cromwell  and  Fairfax  with 
the  horse,  we  perceive,  have  still  the  brunt  of  the  work  to  do. 
Here,  after  much  marching  and  skirmishing,  is  an  account  of 
Winceby  Fight,  their  chief  exploit  in  those  parts,  which  cleared 
the  country  of  the  Newarkers,  General  Kings,  and  renegade 
Sir  John  Hendersons  ; — as  recorded  by  loud-spoken  Vicars. 
In  spite  of  brevity  we  must  copy  the  Narrative.  Cromwell 
himself  was  nearer  death  in  this  action  than  ever  in  any  other; 
the  victory  too  made  its  due  figure,  and  '  appeared  in  the  world.' 

Winceby,  a  small  upland  Hamlet,  in  the  Wolds,  not  among 
the  Fens,  of  Lincolnshire,  is  some  five  miles  west  of  Horncastle. 
The  confused  memory  of  this  Fight  is  still  fresh  there  ;  the 
Lane  along  which  the  chase  went  bears  ever  since  the  name  of 
'  Slash  Lane,'  and  poor  Tradition  maunders  about  it  as  she  can. 
Hear  Vicars,  a  poor  human  soul  zealously  prophesying  as  if 
through  the  organs  of  an  ass, — in  a  not  mendacious,  yet  loud- 
spoken,  exaggerative,  more  or  less  asinine  manner  :2 

*  *  *  'All  that  night,'  Tuesday  loth  October  1643,  'we 
'  were  drawing  our  horse  to  the  appointed  rendezvous  ;  and  the 
'  next  morning,  being  Wednesday,  my  Lord'  Manchester  'gave 
'  order  that  the  whole  force,  both  horse  and  foot,  should  be 
'  drawn  up  to  Bolingbrokc  Hill,  where  he  would  expect  the 
'  enemy,  being  the  only  convenient  ground  to  fight  with  him. 
'  But  Colonel  Cromwell  was  no  way  satisfied  that  we  should 
'  fight ;  our  hors*  being  extremely  wearied  with  hard  duty  two 
1  or  three  days  together. 

'The  enemy  also  drew,  that'  Wednesday  'morning,  their 
'  whole  body  of  horse  and  dragooners  into  the  field,  being  74 
'  colours  of  horse,  and  21  colours  of  dragoons,  in  all  95  colours. 
'  We  had  not  many  more  than  half  so  many  colours  of  horse 
'  and  dragooners  ;  but  I  believe  we  had  as  many  men, — besides 
'  our  foot,  which  indeed  could  not  be  drawn  up  until  it  was 
'  very  late.  The  enemy's  word  was  "  Cavendish  ;"  '-—he  that 
was  killed  in  the  Bog;  'and  ours  was  "Religion."  I  believe 
'  that  as  we  had  no  notice  of  the  enemy's  coming  towards  us, 
'  so  they  had  as  little  of  our  preparation  to  fight  with  them.  It 

2  Third  form  of  Vicars:  God's  Ark  overtpfifiing  the  Worlds  Waves,  or  the  Third 
Part  of  the  Parliamentary  Chronicle:  by  John  Vicars  (London,  printed  by  M.  Si- 
mons and  J.  Meccock,  1646),  p.  45.  There  are  three  editions  or  successive  forms  of 
this  Book  of  Vicars's  (see  Bliss's  Wood,  in  race):  it  is  always,  unless  the  contrary  be 
expressed,  the  second  (of  1644)  that  we  refer  to  here. 


156  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  «  Oct. 

1  was  about  twelve  of  the  clock  ere  our  horse  and  dragooncrs 
1  were  drawn  up.  After  that  we  marched  about  a  mile  nearer 
•  the  enemy  ;  and  then  we  began  to  dcsciy  him,  by  little  and 
'  little,  coming  towards  us.  Until  this  time  we  did  not  know 
1  we  should  fight ;  but  so  soon  as  our  men  had  knowledge  of 
'  the  enemy's  coming,  they  were  very  full  of  joy  and  resolution, 
'  thinking  it  a  great  mercy  that  they  should  now  fight  with  him. 
'  Our  men  went  on  in  several  bodies,  singing  Psalms.  Quartcr- 
1  master-General  Vennuyden  with  five  troops  had  the  forlorn- 
'  hope,  and  Colonel  Cromwell  the  van,  assisted  with  other  of 
'  my  Lord's  troops,  and  seconded  by  Sir  T.  Fairfax.  Both 
'  armies  met  about  Ixbie,  if  I  mistake  not  the  Town's  name,' 
— you  do  mistake,  Mr.  Vicars ;  it  is  Winceby,  a  mere  hamlet 
and  not  a  town. 

'  Both  they  and  we  had  drawn-up  our  dragooners  ;  who 
1  gave  the  first  charge ;  and  then  the  horse  fell  in.  Colonel 
'  Cromwell  fell  with  brave  resolution  upon  the  enemy,  imme- 
'  diately  after  their  dragooncrs  had  given  him  the  first  volley  ; 
'  yet  they  were  so  nimble,  as  that,  within  half  pistol-shot,  they 
1  gave  him  another:  his  horse  was  killed  under  him  at  the  first 
'  charge,  and  fell  down  upon  him  ;  and  as  he  rose  up,  he  was 
'  knocked  down  again  by  the  Gentleman  who  charged  him,  who 
'  'twas  conceived  was  Sir  Ingram  Hopton  :  but  afterwards  he' 
the  Colonel  '  recovered  a  poor  horse  in  a  soldier's  hands,  and 
'  bravely  mounted  himself  again.  Truly  this  first  charge  was 
'  so  home-given,  and  performed  with  so  much  admirable  cour- 
'  age  and  resolution  by  our  troops,  that  the  enemy  stood  not 
'  another ;  but  \vere  driven  back  upon  their  own,  body,  which 
'  was  to  have  seconded  them;  and  at  last  put  these  into  a  plain 
'  disorder ;  and  thus,  in  less  than  half  an  hour's  fight,  they 
'  were  all  quite  routed,  and" — driven  along  Slash  Lane  at  a  ter- 
rible rate,  unnecessary  to  specify.  Sir  Ingram  Hopton,  who 
had  been  so  near  killing  Cromwell,  was  himself  killed.  'Above 
a  hundred  of  their  men  were  found  drowned  in  ditches,'  in  quag- 
mires that  would  not  bear  riding  ;  the  '  dragooners  now  left  on 
foot'  were  taken  prisoners  ;  the  chase  lasted  to  Horncastle  or 
beyond  it, — and  Henderson  the  renegade  Scot  was  never  heard 
of  in  those  parts  more.  My  Lord  of  Manchester's  foot  did  not 
get  up  till  the  battle  was  over. 

This  very  day  of  Winceby  Fight,  there  has  gone  on  at  Hull 
a  universal  sally,  tough  sullen  wrestle  in  the  trenches  all  day ; 


i64j.  LETTERS  XIX.  XX.  157 

with  important  loss  to  the  Marquis  of  Newcastle ;  loss  of  ground, 
loss  of  lives,  loss  still  more  of  invaluable  guns,  brass  drakes, 
sackers,  what  not : — and  on  the  morrow  morning  the  Townsfolk, 
looking  out,  discern  with  emotion  that  there  is  now  no  Marquis, 
that  the  Marquis  has  marched  away  under  cloud  of  night,  and 
given  up  the  siege.  Which  surely  are  good  encouragements  we 
have  had  ;  two  in  one  day. 

This  will  suffice  for  Winceby  Fight,  or  Horncastle  Fight, 
of  nth  October  1643  ;3  and  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  that 
Lincolnshire  too  was  now  cleared  of  the  '  Papist  Army,"  as  we 
violently  nickname  it, — all  but  a  few  Towns  on  the  Western 
border,  which  will  be  successfully  besieged  when  the  Spring 
comes. 


LETTERS  XIX.  XX. 

IN  the  month  of  January  1643-4,  Oliver,  as  Governor  of  Ely, 
is  present  for  some  time  in  that  City ;  lodges,  we  suppose,  with 
his  own  family  there  ;  doing  military  and  other  work  of  govern- 
ment : — makes  a  transient  appearance  in  the  Cathedral  one 
day ;  memorable  to  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hitch  and  us. 

The  case  was  this.  Parliament,  which,  ever  since  the  first 
meeting  of  it,  had  shown  a  marked  disaffection  to  Surplices  at 
Allhallowtide  and  '  monuments  of  Superstition  and  Idolatry, 
and  passed  Order  after  Order  to  put  them  down, — has  in  Au- 
gust last  come  to  a  decisive  Act  on  the  subject,  and  specifically 
explained  that  go  they  must  and  shall.1  Act  of  Parliament 
which,  like  the  previous  Orders  of  Parliament,  could  only  have 
gradual  partial  execution,  according  to  the  humour  of  the  loca- 
lity ;  and  gave  rise  to  scenes.  By  the  Parliament's  directions, 
the  Priest,  Churchwardens,  and  proper  officers  were  to  do  it, 
with  all  decency  :  failing  the  proper  officers,  improper  officers, 
military  men  passing  through  the  place,  these  and  suchlike, 
backed  by  a  Puritan  populace  and  a  Puritan  soldiery,  had  to 
do  it; — not  always  in  the  softest  manner.  As  many  a  Querela, 
Peter  Hey lin's  (lying  Peter's)  History,  and  Persecutio  Undecima, 

3  Account  of  it  from  the  other  side,  in  Rushworth,  v.  282 ;  Hull  Siege,  &c.  ib.  280. 

l  28th  August  1643  (Scobell,  i.  53 ;  Commons  Jotirnals,  iii.  220) :  2d  November 
1642  (Commons  youmals,  and  Husbands,  ii.  119):  3ist  August  1641 ;  »3d  January 
1641  (Commons  youritals,  in  diebus). 


1 58  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,oj-. 

still  testifies  with  angry  tears.  You  cannot  pull  the  shirt  off  a 
man,  the  skin  off  a  man,  in  a  way  that  will  please  him  ! — Our 
Assembly  of  Divines,  sitting  earnestly  deliberative  ever  since 
June  last,8  will  direct  us  what  Form  of  Worship  we  are  to 
adopt, — some  form,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  not  grown  dramaturgic 
to  us,  but  still  awfully  symbolic  for  us.  Meanwhile  let  all 
Churches,  especially  all  Cathedrals,  be  stript  of  whatever  the 
general  soul  so  much  as  suspects  to  be  stage-property  and  prayer 
by  machinery, — a  thing  we  very  justly  hold  in  terror  and  hor- 
ror, and  dare  not  live  beside  ! — 

Ely  Cathedral,  it  appears,  had  still  been  overlooked, — Ely, 
much  troubled  with  scandalous  ministers,  as  well  as  with  dis- 
affected trainbands, — and  Mr.  Hitch,  under  the  very  eyes  of 
Oliver,  persists  in  his  Choir-service  there.  Here  accordingly  is 
an  official  Note,  copies  of  which  still  sleep  in  some  repositories. 

LETTER  XIX. 
1  To  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hitch,  at  Ely :  These? 

MR.  HlTCH,  '  Ely,'  ioth  January  1643. 

Lest  the  Soldiers  should  in  any  jt,«nultuary 
or  disorderly  way  attempt  the  reformation  01  the  Cathedral 
Church,  I  require  you  to  forbear  altogether  your  Choir-ser- 
vice, so  unedifying  and  offensive  : — and  this  as  you  shall 
answer  it,  if  any  disorder  should  arise  thereupon. 

I  advise  you  to  catechise,  and  read  and  expound  the 
Scripture  to  the  people ;  not  doubting  but  the  Parliament, 
with  the  advice  of  the  Assembly  of  Divines,  will  direct  you 
farther.  I  desire  your  Sermons  'too,'  where  usually  they 
have  been, — but  more  frequent  Your  loving  friend, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Mr.  Hitch  paid  no  attention ;  persisted  in  his  Choir-ser- 
vice : — whereupon  enter  the  Governor  of  Ely  with  soldiers, 

a  Bill  for  convocation  of  them,  read  a  third  time,  6th  January  1643-3  (Commons 
Journals,  ii.  916):  Act  itseh,  with  the  Names,  ijlh  June  1641  (Scobell,  i.  42-4). 

•  Gentleman's  Magati ne  (London,  1788),  I  via  325:  copied  from  an  old  Copy,  by 
a  Country  Rector,'  who  has  had  some  difficulty  in  reading  the  name  01  Hitch,  and 
knows  nothing  farther  about  him  or  it. 


i«44.  LETTER  XX.    CAMBRIDGE.  159 

'  with  a  rabble  at  his  heels,'  say  the  old  Querelas.  With  a  rab- 
ble at  his  heels,  with  his  hat  on,  he  walks  up  to  the  Choir  ; 
says  audibly  :  "I  am  a  man  under  Authority  ;  and  am  com- 
manded to  dismiss  this  Assembly, "• — then  draws  back  a  little, 
that  the  Assembly  may  dismiss  with  decency.  Mr.  Hitch  has 
paused  for  a  moment  ;  but  seeing  Oliver  draw  back,  he  starts 
again:  "As  it  was  in  the  beginning" — ! — "Leave  off  your 
fooling,  and  come  down,  Sir!"3  said  Oliver,  in  a  voice  still  aud- 
ible to  this  Editor  ;  which  Mr.  Hitch  did  now  instantaneously 
give  ear  to.  And  so,  'with  his  whole  congregation,'  files  out, 
and  vanishes  from  the  field  of  History. 

Friday,  igth  January.  The  Scots  enter  England  by  Ber- 
wick, 21,000  strong:  on  Wednesday  they  left  Dunbar  'up  to 
the  knees  in  snow  ;'  such  a  heart  of  forwardness  was  in  them.4 
Old  Lesley,  now  Earl  of  Leven,  was  their  General,  as  before  ; 
a  Committee  of  Parliamenteers  went  with  him.  They  soon 
drove-in  Newcastle's  '  Papist  Army'  within  narrower  quarters  ; 
in  May,  got  Manchester  with  Cromwell  and  Fairfax  brought 
across  the  Humber  to  join  them,  and  besieged  Newcastle  him- 
self in  York.  Which,  before  long,  will  bring  us  to  Marston 
Moor,  and  Letter  Twenty-first. 

In  this  same  month  of  January,  22d  day  of  it,  directly  after 
Hitch's  business,  Colonel  Cromwell,  now  more  properly  Lieu- 
tenant-General Cromwell,  Lieutenant  to  the  Earl  oi  Manchester 
in  the  Association,  transiently  appeared  in  his  place  in  Parlia- 
ment; complaining  much  of  my  Lord  Willoughby,  as  of  a  back- 
ward General,  with  strangely  dissolute  people  about  him,  a  great 
sorrow  to  Lincolnshire  ;5 — and  craving  that  my  Lord  Manchester 
might  be  appointed  there  instead :  which,  as  we  see,  was  done ; 
with  good  result. 

LETTER  XX. 

ABOUT  the  end  of  next  month,  February  1644,  the  Lieu- 
tenant-General,  we  find,  has  been  in  Gloucester,  successfully 
convoying  Ammunition  thither  ;  and  has  taken  various  strong- 
houses  by  the  road, — among  others,  Hilsden-House  in  Bucking- 
hamshire, with  important  gentlemen,  and  many  prisoners ;  which 

»  Walker's  Sufferings  of  the  Clergy  (London,  1714),  Part  ii.  p.  23. 
*  Rushworth,  v.  603-6.  *  D'Ewes  MSS.  vol.  iv.  f.  280  b. 


160  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  to  March 

latter,  '  Walloons,  French,  and  other  outlandish  men,'  appear 
in  Cambridge  streets  in  a  very  thirsty  condition  ;  and  are,  in 
spite  of  danger,  refreshed  according  to  ability  by  the  loyal 
Scholars,  and  especially  by  '  Mrs.  Cumber's  maid,'  with  a  tem- 
porary glass  of  beer.6  In  this  expedition  there  had  gone  with 
Cromwell  a  certain  Major-General  Crawford,  whom  he  has  left 
behind  in  the  Hilsden  neighbourhood;  to  whom  there  is  a  Let- 
ter, here  first  producible  to  modern  readers,  and  connected 
therewith  a  tale  otherwise  known. 

Letter  Twentieth,  which  exists  as  a  Copy,  on  old  dim  paper, 
in  the  Kimbolton  Archives,  addressed  on  the  back  of  the  sheet, 
with  all  reverence,  To  the  Earl  of  Manchester,  and  forms  a  very 
opaque  puzzle  in  that  condition, — turns  out,  after  due  study,  to 
have  been  a  Copy  by  that  Crawford  of  a  Letter  addressed  to 
himself :  Copy  hastily  written  off,  along  with  other  hasty  con- 
fused sheets  still  extant  beside  it,  for  the  Earl  of  Manchester's 
use,  on  a  certain  Parliamentary  occasion,  which  will  by  and  by 
concern  us  too  for  a  moment. 

A  '  Lieutenant-Colonel,'  Packer  I  dimly  apprehend  is  the 
name  of  him,  has  on  this  Hilsden-and-Gloucester  expedition 
given  offence  to  Major-General  Crawford ;  who  again,  in  a 
somewhat  prompt  way,  has  had  Packer  laid  under  arrest,  under 
suspension  at  Cambridge ;  in  which  state  Packer  still  painfully 
continues.  And  may,  seemingly,  continue  :  for  here  has  my 
Lord  of  Manchester  just  come  down  with  a  Parliamentary  Com- 
mission '  to  reform  the  University,'  a  thing  of  immense  noise 
and  moment,  and  '  is  employed  in  regard  of  many  occasions  ;' 
is,  in  fact,  precisely  in  these  hours,7  issuing  his  Summonses  to 
the  Heads  of  Houses  ;  and  cannot  spare  an  instant  for  Packer 
and  his  pleadings.  Crawford  is  still  in  Buckinghamshire;  never- 
theless the  shortest  way  for  Packer  will  be  to  go  to  Crawford, 
and  take  this  admonitory  Letter  from  his  superior  in  command  : 

1  To  Major-General  Crawford:  These' 

SlR,  Cambridge,  loth  March  '  1643.'* 

The  complaints  you  preferred  to  my  Lord 
against  your  Lieutenant-Colonel,  both  by  Mr.  Lee  and  your 

6  Quertla  (in  Cooper's  Annals,  iii.  370);  Crvimvelliana,  p.  8  (5th  March  1643)1 

7  nth  March  (Cooper,  iii.  371 ;  details  in  Neal,  ii.  70-89). 

•  In  Appendix,  No.  6  (infri,  voL  v.):  Letter  from  Oliver,  notably  busy,  and  not 
yet  got  to  Cambridge. 


i<544.  LETTER  XX.    CAMBRIDGE.  161 

own  Letters,  have  occasioned  his  stay  here : — my  Lord  being 
*  so'  employed,  in  regard  of  many  occasions  which  are  upon 
him,  that  he  hath  not  been  at  leisure  to  hear  him  make  his 
defence  :  which,  in  pure  justice,  ought  to  be  granted  him  or 
any  man  before  a  judgment  be  passed  upon  him. 

During  his  abode  here  and  absence  from  you,  he  hath 
acquainted  me  what  a  grief  it  is  to  him  to  be  absent  from 
his  charge,  especially  now  the  regiment  is  called  forth  to 
action :  and  therefore,  asking  of  me  my  opinion,  I  advised 
him  speedily  to  repair  unto  you.  Surely  you  are  not  well 
advised  thus  to  turn-off  one  so  faithful  to  the  Cause,  and  so 
able  to  serve  you  as  this  man  is.  Give  me  leave  to  tell  you, 
I  cannot  be  of  your  judgment ;  '  cannot  understand,'  if  a 
man  notorious  for  wickedness,  for  oaths,  for  drinking,  hath 
as  great  a  share  in  your  affection  as  one  who  fears  an  oath, 
who  fears  to  sin, — that  this  doth  commend  your  election  of 
men  to  serve  as  fit  instruments  in  this  work  ! — 

Ay,  but  the  man  "  is  an  Anabaptist."  Are  you  sure  of 
that  ?  Admit  he  be,  shall  that  render  him  incapable  to  serve 
the  Public  ?  "  He  is  indiscreet."  It  may  be  so,  in  some 
things  :  we  have  all  human  infirmities.  I  tell  you,  if  you 
had  none  but  such  "  indiscreet  men"  about  you,  and  would 
be  pleased  to  use  them  kindly,  you  would  find  as  good  a 
fence  to  you  as  any  you  have  yet  chosen. 

Sir,  the  State,  in  choosing  men  to  serve  it,  takes  no 
notice  of  their  opinions ;  if  they  be  willing  faithfully  to  serve 
it, — that  satisfies.  I  advised  you  formerly  to  bear  with  men 
of  different  minds  from  yourself :  if  you  had  done  it  when  I 
advised  you  to  it,  I  think  you  would  not  have  had  so  many 
stumblingblocks  in  your  way.  It  may  be  you  judge  other- 
wise ;  but  I  tell  you  my  mind. — I  desire  you  would  receive 
this  man  into  your  favour  and  good  opinion.  I  believe,  if 
he  follow  my  counsel,  he  will  deserve  no  other  but  respect 
from  you.  Take  heed  of  being  sharp,  or  too  easily  sharpened 

VOL.  i.  M 


i6a  PART  II.   FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  u>  March 

by  others,  against  those  to  whom  you  can  object  little  but 
that  they  square  not  with  you  in  every  opinion  concerning 
matters  of  religion.  If  there  be  any  other  offence  to  be 
charged  upon  him, — that  must  in  a  judicial  way  receive 
determination.  I  know  you  will  not  think  it  fit  my  Lord 
should  discharge  an  Officer  of  the  Field  but  in  a  regulate 
way.  I  question  whether  you  or  I  have  any  precedent  for 
that 

I  have  not  farther  to  trouble  you  : — but  rest,  your  hum- 
ble servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL/ 

Adjoined  to  this  Letter,  as  it  now  lies, — in  its  old  reposi- 
tory at  Kimbolton,  copied  and  addressed  in  the  enigmatic  way 
above  mentioned, — there  is,  written  in  a  Clerk's  hand,  but  cor- 
rected in  the  hand  which  copied  the  Letter,  a  confused  loud- 
spoken  recriminatory  Narrative,  of  some  length,  about  the 
Second  Battle  of  Newbury  ;  touching  also,  in  a  loud  confused 
way,  on  the  case  of  Packer  and  others  : — evidently  the  raw- 
material  of  the  Earl's  Speech  in  defence  of  himself  $  in  the  time 
of  the  Self-denying  Ordinances  of  which  the  reader  will  hear 
by  and  by.  Assiduous  Crawford  had  provided  the  Earl  with 
these  helps  to  prove  Cromwell  an  insubordinate  person,  and 
what  was  equally  terrible,  a  favourer  of  Anabaptists.  Of  the 
Letter,  Crawford,  against  whom  also  there  lay  accusations, 
retains  the  Original ;  but  furnishes  this  Copy  ; — of  which,  un- 
expectedly, we  too  have  now  obtained  a  reading. 

This  sharp  Letter  may  be  fancied  to  procure  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel's reinstatement ;  who,  we  have  some  intimation, 
does  march  with  his  regiment  again,  in  hopes  to  take  the  Wes- 
tern Towns  of  Lincolnshire.  Indeed  Lieutenant  -  Colonel 
Packer,  if  this  were  verily  Packer  as  he  seems  to  be,  became  a 
distinguished  Colonel  afterwards,  and  gave  Oliver  himself  some 
trouble  with  his  Anabaptistries.10  In  the  Letter  itself,  still 
more  in  the  confused  Papers  adjoined  to  it,  of  Major-General 
Crawford's  writing,  there  is  evidence  enough  of  smouldering 
fire-elements  in  my  Lord's  Eastern-Association  Army  I  The 

*  Communicated,  with  much  politeness,  by  the  Duke  of  Manchester,  from  Family 
Papers  at  Kimbolton. 

*  Rush  worth,  v.  733-6.  M  Ludlow  (London,  1781),  u.  599. 


1644-  LETTER  XX.    CAMBRIDGE.  163 

Lieutenant-General  Cromwell,  one  perceives,  is  justly  suspected 
of  a  lenity  for  Sectaries,  Independents,  Anabaptists  them- 
selves, provided  they  be  '  men  that  fear  God,'  as  he  phrases 
it.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lilburn  (Freeborn  John),  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Fleetwood  risen  from  Captaincy  now  :  these  and 
others,  in  the  Crawford  Documents,  come  painfully  to  view  in 
this  Lincolnshire  campaign  and  afterwards  ;  with  discontents, 
with  '  Petitions,'  and  one  knows  not  what  ;  all  tending  to  Sec- 
tarian courses,  all  countenanced  by  the  Lieutenant-General.11 
Most  distasteful  to  Scotch  Crawford,  to  my  Lord  of  Manches- 
ter, not  to  say  criminal  and  unforgivable  to  the  respectable 
Presbyterian  mind. 

Reverend  Mr.  Baillie  is  now  up  in  Town  again  with  the 
Scotcli  Commissioners, — for  there  is  again  a  Scotch  Commis- 
sion here,  now  that  their  Army  has  joined  us  :  Reverend  Mr. 
Baillie,  taking  good  note  of  things,  has  this  pertinent  passage 
some  six  months  hence  :  '  The  Earl  of  Manchester,  a  sweet 
'  meek  man,  did  formerly  permit  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell 
'  to  guide  all  the  Army  at  his  pleasure:  the  man  Cromwell  is  a 
'  very  wise  and  active  head' — yes,  Mr.  Robert  !  — '  universally 
'  well  beloved  as  religious  and  stout  ;  but  a  known  Indepen- 
'  dent  or  favourer  of  Sects,' — the  issues  of  which  might  have 
been  frightful !  '  But  now  our  countryman  Crawford  has  got  a 
'  great  hand  with  Manchester,  stands  high  with  all  that  are 
'  against  Sects  ;'  which  is  a  blessed  change  indeed,1'- — and 
may  partly  explain  this  Letter  and  some  other  things  to  us  ! 

Of  Major-General  Crawford,  who  was  once  a  loud-sounding 
well-known  man,  but  whose  chance  for  being  remembered 
much  longer  will  mainly  ground  itself  on  a  Letter  he  copied 
with  very  different  views,  let  us  say  here  what  little  needs  to  be 
said.  He  is  Scotch  ;  of  the  Crawfords  of  Jordan-Hill,  in  Ren- 
frewshire ;  has  seen  service  in  the  German  Wars,  and  is  deeply 
conscious  of  it  ; — paints  himself  to  us  as  a  headlong  audacious 
fighter,  of  loose  loud  tongue,  much  of  a  pedant  and  braggart, 
somewhat  given  to  sycophancy  too.  Whose  history  may  sum 
itself  up  practically  in  this  one  fact,  That  he  helped  Cromwell 
and  the  Earl  of  Manchester  to  quarrel ;  and  his  character  in 
this  other,  That  he  knew  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell  to  be  a 
coward.  This  he,  Crawford,  knew  ;  had  seen  it  ;  was  wont  to 
Assert  it,  and  could  prove  it.  Nay  once,  in  subsequent  angry 
11  MS.  by  Crawford  at  Kimbolton.  n  I'aillie,  ii.  229(i6th  Sept.  1644)1 


164  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,o  March 

months,  talking  to  the  Honourable  Dcnzil  Holies  in  Westmin- 
ster Hall,  he  asserted  it  within  earshot  of  Cromwell  himself; 
'  who  was  passing  into  the  House,  and  I  am  very  sure  did  hear 
•it,  as  intended;' — who,  however,  heard  it  as  if  it  had  been  no 
affair  of  his  at  all ;  and  quietly  walked  on,  as  if  his  affairs  lay 
elsewhere  than  there  !!3  From  which  I  too,  the  knowing 
Dcnzil,  drew  my  inferences, —  ignominious  to  the  human  cha- 
racter!—  Poor  Crawford,  after  figuring  much  among  the 
Scotch  Committee-men  and  Presbyterian  Grandees  for  a  time, 
joined  or  rejoined  the  Scotch  Army  under  Lesley  ;  and  fell  at 
the  Siege  of  Hereford  in  1645,  fighting  gallantly  I  doubt  not, 
and  was  quiet  thenceforth.14 

In  these  same  weeks  there  is  going  on  a  very  famous  Treaty 
once  more,  '  Treaty  of  Uxbridge  :'  with  immense  apparatus  of 
King's  Commissioners  and  Parliament  and  Scotch  Commis- 
sioners ;15  of  which,  however,  as  it  came  to  nothing,  there  need 
nothing  here  be  said.  Mr.  Christopher  Love,  a  young  elo- 
quent divine,  of  hot  Welsh  blood,  of  Presbyterian  tendency, 
preaching  by  appointment  in  the  place,  said,  He  saw  no  pro- 
spect of  an  agreement,  he  for  one ;  "  Heaven  might  as  well 
think  of  agreeing  with  Hell  ;"16  words  which  were  remembered 
against  Mr.  Christopher.  The  King  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  Presbyterianism,  will  not  stir  a  step  without  his  Surplices 
at  Allhallowtide  ;  there  remains  only  War  ;  a  supreme  manag- 
ing '  Committee  of  Both  Kingdoms  ;'  combined  forces,  and 
war.  On  the  other  hand,  his  Majesty,  to  counterbalance  the 
Scots,  had  agreed  to  a  '  Cessation  in  Ireland,'  sent  for  his 
'  Irish  Army'  to  assist  him  here, — and  indeed  already  got  them 
as  good  as  ruined,  or  reduced  to  a  mere  marauding  apparatus.17 
A  new  'Papist'  or  partly  'Papist  Army,'  which  gave  great 
scandal  in  this  country.  By  much  the  remarkablest  man  in  it 
was  Colonel  George  Monk ;  already  captured  at  Nantwich,  and 
lodged  in  the  Tower. 

But  now  the  Western  Towns  of  Lincolnshire  are  all  taken  ; 

11  Holles's  Memoirt :  in  Maseres's  Select  Tracts  (London,  1815),  i.  199. 

"  Wood's  Atkena  (Life,  p.  8) :  Baillie,  iL  33$  and  szpius  (correct  ib.  ii.  p.  ai8  n. 
and  Godwin,  i.  380) :  Holies ;  Scotch  Peerages ;  £c.  &c. 

14  aoth  Jan.— sth  March,  Rushworth,  v.  844-946;  Whitlocke,  p.  123-3. 

"  Wood,  iii.  381 ;  Commons  yournals,  &c. 

17  Rushworth,  v.  547  (Cessation,  ifth  September  1643) ;  v.  299-303  (Siege  of  Nant- 
wrich,  and  ruin  of  the  Irish  Army,  am  November). 


i«44.  LETTER  XXI.    MARSTON  MOOR.  165 

Manchester  with  Cromwell  and  Fairfax  are  across  the  Humber, 
joined  with  the  Scots  besieging  York,  where  Major-General 
Crawford  again  distinguishes  himself  ;18— and  we  are  now  at 
Marston  Moor. 


LETTER  XXI. 

MARSTON  MOOR. 

IN  the  last  days  of  June  1644,  Prince  Rupert,  with  an  army 
of  some  20,000  fierce  men,  came  pouring  over  the  hills  from 
Lancashire,  where  he  had  left  harsh  traces  of  himself,  to  re- 
lieve the  Marquis  of  Newcastle,  who  was  now  with  a  force  of 
6,000  besieged  in  York,  by  the  united  forces  of  the  Scots 
under  Leven,  the  Yorkshiremen  under  Lord  Fairfax,  and  the 
Associated  Counties  under  Manchester  and  Cromwell.  On 
hearing  of  his  approach,  the  Parliament  Generals  raised  the 
Siege  ;  drew  out  on  the  Moor  of  Long  Marston,  some  four 
miles  off,  to  oppose  his  coming.  He  avoided  them  by  cross- 
ing the  river  Ouse  ;  relieved  York,  Monday  ist  July;  and 
might  have  returned  successful  ;  but  insisted  on  Newcastle's 
joining  him,  and  going  out  to  fight  the  Roundheads.  The 
Battle  of  Marston  Moor,  fought  on  the  morrow  evening,  Tues- 
day 2d  July  1644,  from  7  to  10  o'clock,  was  the  result, — 
entirely  disastrous  for  him. 

Of  this  Battle,  the  bloodiest  of  the  whole  War,  I  must  leave 
the  reader  to  gather  details  in  the  sources  indicated  below  ;l 
or  to  imagine  it  in  general  as  the  most  enormous  liurly burly,  of 
fire  and  smoke,  and  steel-flashings  and  death-tumult,  ever  seen 
in  those  regions  :  the  end  of  which,  about  ten  at  night,  was 
'  Four-thousand  one-hundred-and-fifty  bodies'  to  be  buried,  and 
total  ruin  to  the  King's  affairs  in  those  Northern  parts. 

The  Armies  were  not  completely  drawn-up  till  after  five 
in  the  evening  ;  there  was  a  ditch  between  them ;  they  stood 
facing  one  another,  motionless  except  the  exchange  of  a  few 

13  Fires  a  mine  without  orders  ;  Storms-in,  hoping  to  take  the  City  himself;  and  is 
disastrously  repulsed  (Rushworth,  v.  631 ;  Kaillie,  ii.  200). 

1  King's  Pamphlets,  small  410,  no.  164  (various  accounts  by  eye-witnesses) ;  no. 
168,  one  by  Simeon  Ash,  the  Earl  of  Manchebtcr's  Chaplain  ;  no.  167,  &c. :  Rushworth, 
v.  632:  Carte's  Ormond  Papers  (London,  1739),  i.  56:  Fairfax's  Memorials  (Sonitrs 
Tracts,  v.  389),  Modern  accounts  are  numerous,  but  of  no  value. 


166  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  3  July 

cannon-shots,  for  an  hour  and  half.  Newcastle  thought  there 
would  be  no  fighting  till  the  morrow,  and  had  retired  to  his 
carriage  for  the  night.  There  is  some  shadow  of  surmise  that 
the  stray  cannon-shot  which,  as  the  following  Letter  indicates, 
proved  fatal  to  Oliver's  Nephew,  did  also,  rousing  Oliver's 
humour  to  the  charging  point,  bring  on  the  general  Battle. 
'  The  Prince  of  Plunderers,"  invincible  hitherto,  here  first  tasted 
the  steel  of  Oliver's  Ironsides,  and  did  not  in  the  least  like  it. 
'  The  Scots  delivered  their  fire  with  such  constancy  and  swift- 
'  ness,  it  was  as  if  the  whole  air  had  become  an  element  of 
'  fire,' — in  the  ancient  summer  gloaming  there. 

'  To  my  loving  Brother,  Colonel  Valentine  Walton :  These? 

DEAR  SIR,  '  Leaguer  before  York,'  5th  July  1644. 

It's  our  duty  to  sympathise  in  all  mercies ; 
and  to  praise  the  Lord  together  in  chastisements  or  trials, 
that  so  we  may  sorrow  together. 

Truly  England  and  the  Church  of  God  hath  had  a  great 
favour  from  the  Lord,  in  this  great  Victory  given  unto  us, 
such  as  the  like  never  was  since  this  War  began.  It  had 
all  the  evidences  of  an  absolute  Victory  obtained  by  the 
Lord's  blessing  upon  the  Godly  Party  principally.  We  never 
charged  but  we  routed  the  enemy.  The  Left  Wing,  which 
I  commanded,  being  our  own  horse,  saving  a  few  Scots  in 
our  rear,  beat  all  the  Prince's  horse.  God  made  them  as 
stubble  to  our  swords.  We  charged  their  regiments  of  foot 
with  our  horse,  and  routed  all  we  charged.  The  particulars 
I  cannot  relate  now ;  but  I  believe,  of  Twenty-thousand  the 
Prince  hath  not  Four- thousand  left.  Give  glory,  all  the 
glory,  to  God. — 

Sir,  God  hath  t?ken  away  your  eldest  Son  by  a  cannon- 
shot  It  brake  his  leg.  We  were  necessitated  to  have  it 
cut  off,  whereof  he  died. 

Sir,  you  know  my  own  trials  this  way  •"  but  the  Lord 

*  I  conclude,  the  poor  Boy  Oliver  has  already  fallen  in  these  Wars,— none  if  *t 
knows  where,  though  his  Father  well  knew! Note  to  THird  Edition:  In  t!ic 


i<S44.  LETTER  XXI.    MARSTON  MOOR.  167 

supported  me  with  this,  That  the  Lord  took  him  into  the 
happiness  we  all  pant  for  and  live  for.  There  is  your  pre- 
cious child  full  of  glory,  never  to  know  sin  or  sorrow  any 
more.  He  was  a  gallant  young  man,  exceedingly  gracious. 
God  give  you  His  comfort.  Before  his  death  he  was  so  full 
of  comfort  that  to  Frank  Russel  and  myself  he  could  not 
express  it,  "  It  was  so  great  above  his  pain."  This  he  said 
to  us.  Indeed  it  was  admirable.  A  little  after,  he  said, 
One  thing  lay  upon  his  spirit.  I  asked  him,  What  that  was  ? 
He  told  me  it  was,  That  God  had  not  suffered  him  to  be  any 
more  the  executioner  of  His  enemies.  At  his  fall,  his  horse 
being  killed  with  the  bullet,  and  as  I  am  informed  three 
horses  more,  I  am  told  he  bid  them,  Open  to  the  right  and 
left,  that  he  might  see  the  rogues  run.  Truly  he  was  ex- 
ceedingly beloved  in  the  Army,  of  all  that  knew  him.  But 
few  knew  him  ;  for  he  was  a  precious  young  man,  fit  for 
God.  You  have  cause  to  bless  the  Lord.  He  is  a  glorious 
Saint  in  Heaven;  wherein  you  ought  exceedingly  to  rejoice. 
Let  this  drink-up  your  sorrow  ;  seeing  these  are  not  feigned 
words  to  comfort  you,  but  the  thing  is  so  real  and  undoubted 
a  truth.  You  may  do  all  things  by  the  strength  of  Christ. 
Seek  that,  and  you  shall  easily  bear  your  trial.  Let  this 
public  mercy  to  the  Church  of  God  make  you  to  forget  your 
private  sorrow.  The  Lord  be  your  strength  :  so  prays  your 
truly  faithful  and  loving  brother,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

My  love  to  your  Daughter,  and  my  Cousin  Perceval, 
Sister  Desborow  and  all  friends  with  you.* 

Colonel  Valentine  Walton,  already  a  conspicuous  man,  and 


Squire  Papers  (Fraser1 's  Al 'agazine ;  December  1847)  is  this  passage  :  '  Meeting  Crom- 
'  well  again  after  some  absence,  just  on  the  edge  of  Marston  Brittle,  Squire  says,  "  I 
"  thought  he  looked  sad  and  wearied,  for  he  had  had  a  sad  loss ;  young  Oliver  got 
"  killed  to  death  not  long  before,  I  heard:  it  was  near  Knaresborough,  and  30  more 
"  got  killed."  '-  •  — Note  <?/"  1857 :  see  antea,  p.  41  n. 

*  Seward's  Anecdotes  (London,  1798),  i.  362;  reproduced  in  Ellis's  Original  Let- 
ten  (First  Series),  iii.  299.  '  Original  once  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Lang  ton  of  Wcl- 
beck  Street,'  says  Ellis ; — '  in  the  Bodleian  Library,'  says  Seward. 


168  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  t  Sept. 

more  so  afterwards,  is  of  Great-Staughton,  Huntingdonshire,  a 
neighbour  of  the  Earl  of  Manchester's  ;  Member  for  his 
County,  and  a  Colonel  since  the  beginning  of  the  War. 
There  had  long  been  an  intimacy  between  the  Cromwell 
Family  and  his.  His  Wife,  the  Mother  of  this  slain  youth,  is 
Margaret  Cromwell,  Oliver's  younger  Sister,  next  to  him  in  the 
family  series.  'Frank  Russel'  is  of  Chippenham,  Cambridgeshire, 
eldest  son  of  the  Baronet  there  ;  already  a  Colonel ;  soon  after- 
wards Governor  of  Ely  in  Oliver's  stead.3  It  was  the  daughter  of 
this  Frank  that  Henry  Cromwell,  some  ten  years  hence,  wedded. 
Colonel  Walton,  if  he  have  at  present  some  military  charge 
of  the  Association,  seems  to  attend  mainly  on  Parliament ;  and 
this  Letter,  I  think,  finds  him  in  Town.  The  poor  wounded 
youth  would  have  to  lie  on  the  field  at  Marston  while  the  Battle 
was  fought  ;  the  whole  Army  had  to  bivouac  there,  next  to  no 
food,  hardly  even  water  to  be  had.  That  of  '  Seeing  the  rogues 
run,'  occurs  more  than  once  at  subsequent  dates  in  these  Wars  :4 
who  first  said  it,  or  whether  anybody  ever  said  it,  must  remain 
uncertain. 

York  was  now  captured  in  a  few  days  :  Prince  Rupert  had 
lied  across  into  Lancashire,  and  so  '  south  to  Shropshire,  to 
recruit  again  ;'  Marquis  Newcastle  with  '  about  eighty  gentle- 
men,' disgusted  at  the  turn  of  affairs,  had  withdrawn  beyond 
seas.  The  Scots  moved  northward  to  attend  the  Siege  of  New- 
castle,— ended  it  by  storm  in  October  next.  On  the  24th  of 
which  same  month,  24th  October  1644,  the  Parliament  pro- 
mulgated its  Rhadamanthine  Ordinance,  To  '  hang  any  Irish 
Papist  taken  in  arms  in  this  country  i'4  a  very  severe  Ordinance, 
but  not  uncalled  for  by  the  nature  of  the  'marauding  apparatus' 
in  question  there. 


LETTERS  XXII.  XXIII. 

THE  next  Two  Letters  represent  the  Army  and  Lieutenant- 
Gcneral  got  home  to  the  Association  again  ;  and  can  be  read 
with  Httle  commentary.  '  The  Committee  for  the  Isle  of  Ely,1 
we  are  to  remark,  consists  of  Honourable  Members  connected 

'  See  Noble,  ii.  407-8,— with  vigilance  »gain»t  hi*  blunder*. 
4  Ludlow.  *  Ruihworth,  v.  783. 


,644-  LETTER  XXII.    LINCOLN.  169 

with  that  region,  and  has  its  sittings  in  London.  Of  '  Major 
Ireton1  we  shall  hear  farther  ;  '  Husband'  also  is  slightly  met 
with  elsewhere ;  and  '  Captain  Castle'  grew,  I  think,  to  be  Colo- 
nel Castle,  and  perished  at  the  Storm  of  Tredah,  some  years 
afterwards. 

LETTER  XXII. 

For  my  noble  Friends  the  Committee  for  the  Isle  of  Ely : 
Present  these. 

GENTLEMEN,  Lincoln,  ist  September  1644. 

I  understand  that  you  have  lately  released 
some  persons  committed  by  Major  Ireton  and  Captain  Hus- 
band, and  one  committed  by  Captain  Castle, — all  'committed' 
upon  clear  and  necessary  grounds  as  they  are  represented 
unto  me ;  '  grounds'  rendering  them  as  very  enemies  as  any 
we  have,  and  as  much  requiring  to  have  them  continued 
secured. 

I  have  given  order  to  Captain  Husband  to  see  them  re- 
committed to  the  hands  of  my  Marshal,  Richard  White.  And 
I  much  desire  you,  for  the  future,  Not  to  entrench  upon  me 
so  much  as  to  release  them, — or  any  committed  in  the  like 
case  by  myself,  or  my  Deputy  and  Commanders  in  the  Gar- 
rison,— until  myself  or  some  Superior  Authority1  be  satisfied 
in  the  cause,  and  do  give  order  in  allowance  of  their  enlarge- 
ment. For  I  profess  I  will  be  no  Governor,  nor  engage  any 
other  under  me  to  undertake  such  a  charge,  upon  such  weak 
terms ! — 

I  am  so  sensible  of  the  need  we  have  to  improve  the 
present  opportunity  of  our  being  masters  in  the  field  and 
having  no  Enemy  near  the  Isle,  and  to  spare  whatever 
charge  we  can  towards  the  making  of  those  Fortifications, 
which  may  render  it  more  defensible  hereafter  if  we  shall 

1  Not  inferior  1 


i;o  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.        6  or  5  Sept 

have  more  need, — I  shall  desire  you,  for  that  end,  to  ease  the 
Isle  and  Treasury  from  the  superfluous  charge  of '  having* 
Two  several  Committees  for  the  several  parts  of  the  Isle  ; 
and  that  one  Committee,  settled  at  March,  may  serve  for 
the  whole  Isle. 

Wherefore  I  wish  that  one  of  your  number  may,  in  your 
courses,  intend2  and  appear  at  that  Committee,  to  manage 
and  uphold  it  the  better  for  all  parts  of  the  Isle. 

Resting  upon  your  care  herein,  I  remain,  your  friend  to 
serve  you,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 


LETTER  XXIII. 

SLEAFORD  is  in  Lincolnshire,  a  march  farther  South. 
Lieutenant -General  Cromwell  with  the  Eastern -Association 
Horse,  if  the  'Foot'  were  once  settled,  —  might  not  he  dash 
down  to  help  the  Lieutenant-General  Essex  and  his  '  Army  in 
the  West?  Of  whom,  and  of  whose  sad  predicament  amid  the 
hills  of  Cornwall  there,  we  shall  see  the  issue  anon.  Brother 
Walton,  a  Parliament-man,  has  written,  we  perceive,  to  Crom- 
well, suggesting  such  a  thing  ;  urging  haste  if  possible.  In 
Cromwell  is  no  delay :  but  the  Eastern-Association  Army,  horse 
or  foot,  is  heavy  to  move, — beset,  too,  with  the  old  internal  dis- 
crepancies, Crawfordisms,  scandals  at  Sectaries,  and  what  not. 

For  Colonel  Valentine  Walton :  These,  in  London. 

SlR,  Slcaford,  6th  or  5th  September  '  1644.' 

We  do  with  grief  of  heart  resent  the  sad 
condition  of  our  Army  in  the  West,  and  of  affairs  there. 
That  business  has  our  hearts  with  it;  and  truly  had  we 
wings,  we  would  fly  thither !  So  soon  as  ever  my  Lord  and 

*  '  intend*  means  '  take  pains  *  March  is  a  Town  in  the  Ely  region. 

•  Old  Copy,  now  (January  1846)  on  sale  at  Mr.  Gravel's,  Pall-Mall :  printed  in 
t'te  Athrncrum  of  131(1  December  1845.    Old  copy,  such  as  the  Clerks  of  Honourable 
Members  were  wont  to  take  of  Letter*  read  in  the  House,  or  officially  elsewhere  ;— 
worth  copying  for  certain  parties,  in  a  rime  without  Newspapers  like  our*. 


i644.  LETTER  XXIII.    SLEAFORD.  i?i 

the  Foot  set  me  loose,  there  shall  be  in  me  no  want  to 
hasten  what  I  can  to  that  service. 

For  indeed  all  other  considerations  are  to  be  laid  aside 
and  to  give  place  to  it,  as  being  of  far  more  importance.  I 
hope  the  Kingdom  shall  see  that,  in  the  midst  of  our  neces- 
sities, we  shall  serve  them  without  disputes.  We  hope  to 
forget  our  wants,  which  are  exceeding  great,  and  ill  cared 
for ;  and  desire  to  refer  the  many  slanders  heaped  upon  us 
by  false  tongues  to  God, — who  will,  in  due  time,  make  it 
appear  to  the  world  that  we  study  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
honour  and  liberty  of  the  Parliament.  For  which  we  unani- 
mously fight ;  without  seeking  our  own  interests. 

Indeed,  we  never  find  our  men  so  cheerful  as  when  there 
is  work  to  do.  I  trust  you  will  always  hear  so  of  them.  The 
Lord  is  our  strength,  and  in  Him  is  all  our  hope.  Pray  for 
us.  Present  my  love  to  my  friends :  I  beg  their  prayers. 
The  Lord  still  bless  you. 

We  have  some  amongst  us  much3  slow  in  action : — if  we 
could  all  intend  our  own  ends  less,  and  our  ease  too,  our 
business  in  this  Army  would  go  on  wheels  for  expedition ! 
'  But'  because  some  of  us  are  enemies  to  rapine  and  other 
wickednesses,  we  are  said  to  be  "  factious,"  to  "  seek  to 
maintain  our  opinions  in  religion  by  force," — which  we  de- 
test and  abhor.  I  profess  I  could  never  satisfy  myself  of  the 
justness  of  this  War,  but  from  the  Authority  of  the  Parlia- 
ment to  maintain  itself  in  its  rights :  and  in  this  Cause  I 
hope  to  approve  myself  an  honest  man  and  single-hearted. 

Pardon  me  that  I  am  thus  troublesome.  I  write  but  sel- 
dom :  it  gives  me  a  little  ease  to  pour  my  mind,  in  the  midst 
of  calumnies,  into  the  bosom  of  a  friend. 

Sir,  no  man  more  truly  loves  you  than  your  brother  and 
servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

»  'much'  is  old  for  very.  *  Seward's  Anecdotes,  ut  supra,  i.  369, 


17-8  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,s  No». 

THREE  FRAGMENTS  OF  SPEECHES. 

SELF-DENYING  ORDINANCE. 

THK  following  Three  small  Fragments  of  Speeches  will  have 
to  represent  for  us  some  six  months  of  occassional  loud  debat- 
ing, and  continual  anxious  gestation  and  manipulation,  in  the 
Two  Houses,  in  the  Committee  of  Both  Kingdoms,  and  in  many 
other  houses  and  places; — the  ultimate  outcome  of  which  was 
the  celebrated  '  Self-denying  Ordinance,'  and  '  New  Model'  of 
the  Parliament's  Army;  which  indeed  brings  on  an  entirely 
New  Epoch  in  the  Parliament's  Affairs. 

Essex  and  Waller  had,  for  the  third  or  even  fourth  time, 
chiefly  by  the  exertions  of  ever-zealous  London,  been  fitted  out 
with  Annies  ;  had  marched  forth  together  to  subdue  the  West ; 
— and  ended  in  quite  other  results  than  that.  The  two 
Generals  differed  in  opinion  ;  did  not  march  long  together  : 
Essex,  urged  by  a  subordinate,  Lord  Roberts,  who  had 
estates  in  Cornwall  and  hoped  to  get  some  rents  out  of  them,1 
turned  down  thitherwards  to  the  left ;  Waller  bending  up  to 
the  right  ; — with  small  issue  either  way.  Waller's  last  action 
was  an  indecisive,  rather  unsuccessful  Fight,  or  day  of  skirmish- 
ing, with  the  King,  at  Cropredy  Bridge  on  the  border  of  Oxford 
and  Northampton  Shires,2  three  days  before  Marston  Moor. 
After  which  both  parties  separated  :  the  King  to  follow  Essex, 
since  there  was  now  no  hope  in  the  North  ;  Waller  to  wander 
London-wards,  and  gradually  'lose  his  Army  by  desertion,'  as 
the  habit  of  him  was.  As  for  the  King,  he  followed  Essex  into 
Cornwall  with  effect  ;  hemmed  him  in  among  the  hills  there, 
about  Bodmin,  Lostwithiel,  Foy,  with  continual  skirmishing, 
with  ever-growing  scarcity  of  victual ;  forced  poor  Essex  to 
escape  to  Plymouth  by  the  Fleet,3  and  leave  his  Army  to  shift 
for  itself  as  best  might  be :  the  horse  under  Balfour  to  cut 
their  way  through  ;  the  foot  under  Skippon  to  lay-down  their 
arms,  cease  to  be  soldiers,  and  march  away  '  with  staves  in 
their  hands'  into  the  wide  world.  This  surrender  was  effected 
1st  September  1644,  two  months  after  Marston  Moor.  The 

1  Clarendon.  '  391(1  June  1644,  Clarendon,  ii.  65 j. 

1  His  own  diitinct,    downright  and  somewhat  culky  Narrative,  in  Rushworth, 
v.  701. 


i644.  SELF-DENYING  ORDINANCE.  173 

Parliament's  and  Cromwell's  worst  anticipation,  in  that  quarter, 
is  fulfilled. 

The  Parliament  made  no  complaint  of  Essex  ;  with  a  kind 
of  Roman  dignity,  they  rather  thanked  him.  They  proceeded 
to  recruit  Waller  and  him,  summoned  Manchester  with  Crom- 
well his  Lieutenant-General  to  join  them  ;  by  which  three 
bodies,  making  again  a  considerable  army,  under  the  command 
of  Manchester  and  Waller  (for  Essex  lay  'sick,'  or  seeming  to 
be  sick),  the  King,  returning  towards  Oxford  from  his  victory, 
was  intercepted  at  Newbury  ;  and  there,  on  Sunday  27th  Octo- 
ber 1644,  fell  out  the  Second  Battle  of  Newbury.4  Wherein 
his  Majesty,  after  four-hours  confused  righting,  rather  had  the 
worse  ;  yet  contrived  to  march  off,  unmolested,  '  by  moonlight, 
at  10  o'clock,'  towards  Wallingford,  and  got  safe  home.  Man- 
chester refused  to  pursue  ;  though  urged  by  Cromwell,  and 
again  urged.  Nay  twelve  days  after,  when  the  King  came 
back,  and  openly  revictualled  Dennington  Castle,  an  important 
strong-place  hard  by, —  Manchester,  in  spite  of  Cromwell's 
urgency,  still  refused  to  interfere. 

They,  in  fact,  came  to  a  quarrel  here,  these  two  :— and 
much  else  that  was  represented  by  them  came  to  a  quarrel  ; 
Presbytery  and  Independency,  to  wit.  Manchester  was  re- 
ported to  have  said,  If  they  lost  this  Army  pursuing  the  King, 
they  had  no  other ;  the  King  '  might  hang  them  all.'  To 
Cromwell  and  the  thorough-going  party,  it  had  become  very 
clear  that  high  Essexes  and  Manchesters,  of  limited  notions 
and  large  estates  and  anxieties,  who  besides  their  fear  of  being 
themselves  beaten  utterly,  and  forfeited  and  'hanged,'  were 
afraid  of  beating  the  King  too  well,  would  never  end  this  Cause 
in  a  good  way.  Whereupon  ensue  some  six  months  of  very  com- 
plex manipulation,  and  public  and  private  consultation,  which 
these  Three  Fragments  of  Speeches  are  here  to  represent  for  us. 

I.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  on  Monday  2 $th  November  1644, 
Lieutenant-General  Cromwell  did,  as  ordered  on  the  Satur- 
day before,  exhibit  a  charge  against  the  Earl  of  MancSiester, 
to  this  effect : 

That  the  said  Earl  hath  always  been  indisposed  and 
backward  to  engagements,  and  the  ending  of  the  War  by 

*  Clarendon,  ii.  717. 


174  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  »SNo». 

the  sword;  and  *  always'  for  such  a  Peace  as  a  '  thorough' 
victory  would  be  a  disadvantage  to; — and  hath  declared 
this  by  principles  express  to  that  purpose,  and  '  by'  a  con- 
tinued series  of  carriage  and  actions  answerable. 

That  since  the  taking  of  York,5  as  if  the  Parliament  had 
now  advantage  fully  enough,  he  hath  declined  whatsoever 
tended  to  farther  advantage  upon  the  Enemy ;  '  hath'  ne- 
glected and  studiously  shifted-off  opportunities  to  that  pur- 
pose, as  if  he  thought  the  King  too  low,  and  the  Parliament 
too  high, — especially  at  Dennington  Castle. 

That  he  hath  drawn  the  Army  into,  and  detained  them 
in,  such  a  posture  as  to  give  the  Enemy  fresh  advantages ; 
and  this,  before  his  conjunction  with  the  other  Armies,6  by 
his  own  absolute  will,  against  or  without  his  Council  of  War, 
against  many  commands  of  the  Committee  of  Both  King- 
doms, and  with  contempt  and  vilifying  of  those  commands ; 
— acn^ since  the  conjunction,  sometimes  against  the  Councils 
of  War,  and  sometimes  by  persuading  and  deluding  the 
Council  to  neglect  one  opportunity  with  pretence  of  another, 
and  this  again  of  a  third,  and  at  last  by  persuading  '  them' 
that  it  was  not  fit  to  fight  at  all.* 

To  these  heavy  charges,  Manchester, — furnished  with  his 
confused  Crawford  Documents,  and  not  forgetting  Letter 
Twentieth  which  we  lately  read, — makes  heavy  answer,  at 
great  length,  about  a  week  after  :  of  which  we  shall  remember 
only  this  piece  of  countercharge,  How  his  Lordship  had  once, 
in  those  very  Newbury  days,  ordered  Cromwell  to  proceed  to 
some  rendezvous  with  the  horse,  and  Cromwell,  very  unsuitably 
for  a  Lieutenant-General,  had  answered,  The  horses  were  al- 
ready worn  off  their  feet ;  "  if  your  Lordship  want  to  have  the 
skins  of  the  horses,  this  is  the  way  to  get  them !" — Through 
which  small  slit,  one  looks  into  large  seas  of  general  discre- 
pancy in  those  old  months !  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell 
is  also  reported  to  have  said,  in  a  moment  of  irritation  surely, 

*  Directly  after  Marston  Moor.  «  Waller's  and  Essex's  at  Newbury. 

•  Rushworth,  v.  733  ;  Comment  Journal*,  iii.  703-5. 


•644.  SELF-DENYING  ORDINANCE.  175 

"There  would  never  be  a  good  time  in  England  till  we  had 
done  with  Lords. "1  But  the  most  appalling  report  that  now 
circulates  in  the  world  is  this,  of  his  saying  once,  "  If  he  met 
the  King  in  battle,  he  would  fire  his  pistol  at  the  King  as  at 
another  ;" — pistol,  at  our  poor  semi-divine  misguided  Father 
fallen  insane  :  a  thing  hardly  conceivable  to  the  Presbyterian 
human  mind  !8 

II.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  on  Wednesday  91/1  December, 
all  sitting  in  Grand  Committee,  '  there  was  a  general  silence 
for  a  good  space  of  time ,'  one  looking  upon  the  other  to  see 
who  -would  break  the  ice,  in  regard  to  this  delicate  point  of 
getting  our  Essexes  and  Manchesters  softly  ousted  from  the 
Army;  a  very  delicate  point  indeed / — when  Lieutcnant- 
General  Cromwell  stood  up,  and  spake  shortly  to  this  effect : 

It  is  now  a  time  to  speak,  or  forever  hold  the  tongue. 
The  important  occasion  now,  is  no  less  than  To  save  a 
Nation,  out  of  a  bleeding,  nay  almost  dying  condition  : 
which  the  long  continuance  of  this  War  hath  already 
brought  it  into;  so  that  without  a  more  speedy,  vigorous 
and  effectual  prosecution  of  the  War, — casting  off  all  lin- 
gering proceedings  like  '  those  of  soldiers-of-fortune  beyond 
sea,  to  spin  out  a  war, — we  shall  make  the  kingdom  weary 
of  us,  and  hate  the  name  of  a  Parliament. 

For  what  do  the  Enemy  say  ?  Nay,  what  do  many  say 
that  were  friends  at  the  beginning  of  the  Parliament  ?  Even 
this,  That  the  Members  of  both  Houses  have  got  great 
places  and  commands,  and  the  sword  into  their  hands, 
and,  what  by  interest  in  Parliament,  what  by  power  in  the 
Army,  will  perpetually  continue  themselves  in  grandeur,  and 
not  permit  the  War  speedily  to  end,  lest  their  own  power 
should  determine  with  it.  This  '  that'  I  speak  here  to  our 
own  faces,  is  but  what  others  do  utter  abroad  behind  our 
backs.  I  am  far  from  reflecting  on  any.  I  know  the  worth 

1  Rushworth,  v.  734.  8  Old  Pamphlets  stefius,  onwards  to  1649. 


176  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  9  Dec. 

of  those  Commanders,  Members  of  both  Houses,  who  are 
yet  in  power :  but  if  I  may  speak  my  conscience  without 
reflection  upon  any,  I  do  conceive  if  the  Army  be  not 
put  into  another  method,  and  the  War  more  vigorously  pro- 
secuted, the  People  can  bear  the  War  no  longer,  and  will 
enforce  you  to  a  dishonourable  Peace. 

But  this  I  would  recommend  to  your  prudence,  Not  to 
insist  upon  any  complaint  or  oversight  of  any  Commander- 
in-chief  upon  any  occasion  whatsoever ;  for  as  I  must  ac- 
knowledge myself  guilty  of  oversights,  so  I  know  they  can 
rarely  be  avoided  in  military  affairs.  Therefore,  waving  a 
strict  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  these  things,  let  us  apply 
ourselves  to  the  remedy;  which  is  most  necessary.  And 
I  hope  we  have  such  true  English  hearts,  and  zealous 
affections  towards  the  general  weal  of  our  Mother  Coun- 
try, as  no  Members  of  either  House  will  scruple  to  deny 
themselves,  and  their  own  private  interests,  for  the  public 
good ;  nor  account  it  to  be  a  dishonour  done  to  them,  what- 
ever the  Parliament  shall  resolve  upon  in  this  weighty 
matter.* 

III.    On  the  same  day,  seemingly  at  a  subsequent  part  of  the  de- 
bate, Lieutenant-General  Cromwell  said  likewise,  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Speaker, — I  am  not  of  the  mind  that  the  calling 
of  the  Members  to  sit  in  Parliament  will  break,  or  scatter 
our  Armies.  I  can  speak  this  for  my  own  soldiers,  that 
they  look  not  upon  me,  but  upon  you ;  and  for  you  they 
will  fight,  and  live  and  die  in  your  Cause ;  and  if  others 
be  of  that  mind  that  they  are  of,  you  need  not  fear  them. 
They  do  not  idolise  me,  but  look  upon  the  Cause  they 
fight  for.  You  may  lay  upon  them  what  commands  you 
please,  they  will  obey  your  commands  in  that  Cause  they 
fight  for-t 

•  Rush  worth,  vi  4.  t  Cro»meHi«na,  p.  is. 


^,.  LETTER  XXIV.  SALISBURY.  177 

To  be  brief,  Mr.  Zouch  Tate,  Member  for  Northampton, 
moved  this  day  a  Self-denying  Ordinance  ;  which,  in  a  few 
days  more,  was  passed  in  the  Commons.  It  was  not  so  easily 
got  through  the  Lords  ;  but  there  too  it  had  ultimately  to  pass. 
One  of  the  most  important  clauses  was  this,  introduced  not 
without  difficulty,  That  religious  men  might  now  serve  without 
taking  the  Covenant  as  -zjirst  preliminary, — perhaps  they  might 
take  it  by  and  by.  This  was  a  great  ease  to  tender  consciences  ; 
and  indicates  a  deep  split,  which  will  grow  wider  and  wider,  in 
our  religious  affairs.  The  Scots  Commissioners  have  sent  for 
Whitlocke  and  Maynard  to  the  Lord  General's,  to  ask  in  judi- 
cious Scotch  dialect,  Whether  there  be  not  ground  to  prosecute 
Cromwell  as  an  'incendiary'  ?  "You  ken  varry  weel  !" — The 
two  learned  gentlemen  shook  their  heads.9 

This  Self-denying  Ordinance  had  to  pass  ;  it  and  the  New 
Model  wholly;  by  the  steps  indicated  below.10  Essex  was 
gratified  by  a  splendid  Pension,  — very  little  of  it  ever  actually 
paid  ;  for  indeed  he  died  some  two  years  after  :  Manchester 
was  put  on  the  Committee  of  Both  Kingdoms  :  the  Parliament 
had  its  New-Model  Army,  and  soon  saw  an  entirely  new  epoch 
in  its  affairs. 


LETTER   XXIV. 

BEFORE  the  old  Officers  laid  down  their  commissions, 
Waller  with  Cromwell  and  Massey  were  sent  on  an  expedition 
into  the  West  against  Goring  and  Company  ;  concerning  which 
there  is  some  echo  in  the  old  Books  and  Commons  Journals, 
but  no  definite  vestige  of  it,  except  the  following  Letter,  read 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  9th  April  1645  ;  which  D'Ewes 
happily  had  given  his  Clerk  to  copy.  The  Expedition  itself, 
which  proved  successful,  is  now  coming  towards  an  end.  Fair- 
fax the  new  General  is  at  Windsor  all  April ;  full  of  business, 
regimenting,  discharging,  enlisting,  new-modelling. 

9  Whitlocke,  iii.  p.  in  (December  1644). 

10  Rushworth,  vi.  7,  8  :  Self-denying  Ordinance  passed  in  the  Commons  igth  De- 
cember, and  is  sent  to  the  Lords  ;  Conference  about  it,  yth  January ;  rejected  by  the 
Lords  isth  January, — because  "  we  do  not  know  what  shape  the  Army  will  now  sud- 
denly take."  Whereupon,  2ist  January,  '  Fairfax  is  nominated  General  ;'  arid  on  the 
igth  February,  the  New  Model  is  completed  and  passed  :  "  This  is  the  shape  th« 
Army  is  to  take."  A  second  Self-denying  Ordinance,  now  introduced,  got  itself  finally 
passed  3d  April  1645. 

VQL,  T.  W 


178  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  9  April 

LETTER  XXIV. 

For  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  General  of 
the  Army:  Haste,  Haste :  These:  At  Windsor. 

SlR,  '  Salisbury/  9'h  April  (ten  o'clock  at  night)  1645. 

Upon  Sunday  last  we  marched  towards 
Bruton  in  Somersetshire,  which  was  General  Goring's  head- 
quarter :  but  he  would  not  stand  us ;  but  marched  away, 
U|>on  our  appearance,  to  Wells  and  Glastonbury.  Whither 
TVC  held  it  unsafe  to  follow  him ;  lest  we  should  engage  our 
Body  of  Horse  too  far  into  that  enclosed  country,  not  hav- 
ing foot  enough  to  stand  by  them ;  and  partly  because  we 
doubted  the  advance  of  Prince  Rupert  with  his  force  to  join 
with  Goring ;  having  some  notice  from  Colonel  Massey  of 
the  Prince  his  coming  this  way. 

General  Goring  hath  'Sir  Richard'  Greenvil  in  a  near 
posture  to  join  with  him.  He  hath  all  their  Garrisons  in 
Devon,  Dorset  and  Somersetshire,  to  make  an  addition  to 
him.  Whereupon,  Sir  William  Waller  having  a  very  poor 
Infantry  of  about  1,600  men, — lest  they,  being  so  inconsider- 
able, should  engage1  our  Horse, — we  came  from  Shaftesbury 
to  Salisbury  to  secure  our  Foot ;  to  prevent  our  being  neces- 
sitated to  a  too  unequal  engagement,  and  to  be  nearer  a 
communication  with  our  friends. 

Since  our  coming  hither,  we  hear  Prince  Rupert  is  come 
to  Marshfield,  a  market-town  not  far  from  Trowbridge.  If 
the  enemy  advance  all  together,  how  far  we  may  be  endan- 
gered,— that  I  humbly  offer  to  you ;  entreating  you  to  take 
care  of  us,  and  to  send  us  with  all  speed  such  an  assistance, 
to  Salisbury,  as  may  enable  us  to  keep  the  field  and  repel 
the  enemy,  if  God  assist  us :  at  least  to  secure  and  counte- 
nance us  so,  as  that  we  be  not  put  to  the  shame  and  hazard 

1  entangle  or  encumber. 


,64,.  LETTERS  XXV.— XXVII.  179 

of  a  retreat ;  which  will  lose  the  Parliament  many  friends  in 
these  parts,  who  will  think  themselves  abandoned  on  our 
departure  from  them.  Sir,  I  beseech  you  send  what  Horse 
and  Foot  you  can  spare  towards  Salisbury,  by  way  of  Kings- 
cleere,  with  what  convenient  expedition  may  be.  Truly  we 
look  to  be  attempted  upon  every  day. 

These  things  being  humbly  represented  to  your  know- 
ledge and  care,  I  subscribe  myself,  your  most  humble 
servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

In  Carte's  Ormond  Papers  (i.  79)  is  a  Letter  of  the  same 
date  on  the  same  subject,  somewhat  illustrative  of  this.  See 
also  Commons  Journals  in  die. 


LETTERS  XXV.— XXVII. 

PRINCE  RUPERT  had  withdrawn  without  fighting ;  was  now 
at  Worcester  with  a  considerable  force,  meditating  new  infall. 
For  which  end,  we  hear,  he  has  sent  2,000  men  across  the 
country  to  his  Majesty  at  Oxford,  to  convoy  '  his  Majesty's  per- 
son and  the  Artillery'  over  to  Worcester  to  him, — both  of  which 
objects  are  like  to  be  useful  there.  The  Committee  of  Both 
Kingdoms  order  the  said  Convoy  to  be  attacked. 

'  The  charge  of  this  service  they  recommended  particularly  to 
'  General  Cromwell,  who,  looking  on  himself  now  as  discharged 
'  of  military  employment  by  the  New  Ordinance,  which  was  to 
'  take  effect  within  few  days,  and  to  have  no  longer  opportunity 
'  to  serve  his  country  in  that  way, — was,  the  night  before,  come 
'  to  Windsor,  from  his  service  in  the  West,  to  kiss  the  General's 
'  hand  and  take  leave  of  him  :  when,  in  the  morning  ere  he 
'  was  come  forth  of  his  chamber,  those  commands,  than  which 
'  he  thought  of  nothing  less  in  all  the  world,  came  to  him  from 
'  the  Committee  of  Both  Kingdoms.'1 

*  D'Ewes  MSS.  vol.  v»  p.  189  ;  p.  445  of  Transcript 

I  Sprigge's  Anglia,  Redvalva.  (London,  1647),  p.  10.  Sprigge  was  one  of  Fair- 
fax's Chaplains  ;  his  Book,  a  rather  ornate  work,  gives  florid  but  authentic  and  suf- 
ficient account  of  this  New-Model  Army  in  all  its  features  and  operations,  by  which 
'England'  had  '  come  alive  again.'  A  little  sparing  In  dates  ;  but  correct  where  they 


i8o  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  35Aprf> 

•The  night  before*  must  mean,  to  all  appearance,  the  22d 
of  April.  How  Cromwell  instantly  took  horse  ;  plunged  into 
Oxfordshire,  and  on  the  24th,  at  Islip  Bridge,  attacked  and 
routed  this  said  Convoy  ;  and  the  same  day,  '  merely  by  dra- 
goons' and  fierce  countenance,  took  Bletchington  House,  for 
which  poor  Colonel  Windebank  was  shot,  so  angry  were  they  : 
all  this  is  known  from  Clarendon,  or  more  authentically  from 
Rushworth  ;2  and  here  now  is  Cromwell's  own  account  ot  it : 


LETTER  XXV. 

'  COMMITTEE  of  Both  Kingdoms,1  first  set  up  in  February 
gone  a  year,  when  the  Scotch  Army  came  to  help,  has  been 
the  Executive  in  the  War-department  ever  since  ;  a  great  but 
now  a  rapidly  declining  authority.  Sits  at  Derby  House  :  Four 
Scotch  ;  Twenty-one  English,  of  whom  Six  a  quorum.  John- 
ston of  Warriston  is  the  notablest  Scotchman;  among  the  lead- 
ing English  are  Philip  Lord  Wharton  and  the  Younger  Vane.s 

'  Watlington'  is  in  the  Southeast  nook  of  Oxfordshire  ;  a 
day's  march  from  Windsor.  '  Major- General  Browne*  com- 
mands at  Abingdon  ;  a  City  Wood-merchant  once ;  a  zealous 
soldier,  of  Presbyterian  principles  at  present.  The  rendezvous 
at  Watlington  took  place  on  Wednesday  night ;  the  25th  of 
April  is  Friday. 

To  the  Right  Honourable  the  Committee  of  Both  Kingdom s,  at 
Derby  House:  These. 

MY  LORDS  AND  GENTLEMEN,  Bletchington,  3Sth  April  1645. 

According  to  your  Lordships'  appointment,  I 
have  attended  your  Service  in  these  parts ;  and  have  not 
had  so  fit  an  opportunity  to  give  you  an  account  as  now. 

So  soon  as  I  received  your  commands,  I  appointed  a 
rendezvous  at  Watlington.  The  body  being  come  up,  I 


aic  K°iven.  None  of  the  old  Books  is  better  worth  reprinting.  —  For  some  climmcr  of 
notice  concerning  Joshua  Sprigge  himself,  see  Wood  in  r<*r,— and  disbelieve  alto- 
gether that  '  Nat.  Fienucs'  had  anything  to  do  with  this  Book. 

*  vi.  33-4. 

3  List,  and  li^ht  as  to  its  appointment,  in  Commons  Journal*  (7th  Feb.  1643-4), 
iii.  391  ;  Uaillte,  ii.  141  et  sxpiu.s.  Its  Papers  and  Correspondence,  a  curious  set  ci" 
records,  lie  in  very  tolerable  order  »» th.«  Slate-Paper  Office. 


i645.  LETTER  XXV.    BLETCHINGTON.  181 

inarched  to  VVheatley  Bridge,  having  sent  before  to  Major- 
General  Browne  for  intelligence  ;  and  it  being  market-day 
at  Oxford,  from  whence  I  likewise  hoped,  by  some  of  the 
market-people,  to  gain  notice  where  the  Enemy  was. 

Towards  night  I  received  certain  notice  by  Major-Gene- 
ral  Browne,  that  the  Carriages  were  not  stirred,  that  Prince 
Maurice  was  not  here ;  and  by  some  Oxford  scholars,  that 
there  were  Four  Carriages  and  Wagons  ready  in  one  place, 
and  in  another  Five  j  all,  as  I  conceived,  fit  for  a  march.4 

I  received  notice  also  that  the  Earl  of  Northampton's 
Regiment  was  quartered  at  Islip ;  wherefore  in  the  evening 
I  marched  that  way,  hoping  to  have  surprised  them ;  but, 
by  the  mistake  and  failing  of  the  forlorn-hope,  they  had  an 
alarm  there,  and  to  all  their  quarters,  and  so  escaped  me ; 
by  means  whereof  they  had  time  to  draw  all  together. 

I  kept  my  body  all  night  at  Islip  :  and,  in  the  morning, 
a  party  of  the  Earl  of  Northampton's  Regiment,  the  Lord 
VVilmot's,  and  the  Queen's,  came  to  make  an  infall  upon  me. 
Sir  Thomas  Fairfax's  Regiment5  was  the  first  that  took  the 
field ;  the  rest  drew  out  with  all  possible  speed.  That  which 
is  the  General's  Troop  charged  a  whole  squadron  of  the 
Enemy,  and  presently  broke  it.  Our  other  Troops  coming 
seasonably  on,  the  rest  of  the  Enemy  were  presently  put 
into  confusion ;  so  that  we  had  the  chase  of  them  three  or 
four  miles ;  wherein  we  killed  many,  and  took  near  Two- 
hundred  prisoners,  and  about  Four-hundred  horse. 

Many  of  them  escaped  towards  Oxford  and  Woodstock ; 
divers  were  drowned ;  and  others  got  into  a  strong  House 
in  Bletchington,  belonging  to  Sir  Thomas  Cogan ;  wherein 
Colonel  Windebank  kept  a  garrison  with  near  Two-hundred 
men.  Whom  I  presently  summoned ;  and  after  a  long  Treaty 
he  went  out,  about  twelve  at  night,  with  these  Terms  here 

•*  '  march,"  out  towards  Wercester. 

5  '  which  was  once  mine,'  ke  might  have  added,  but  modestly  does  not ;  only 
alluding  to  it  from  afar,  in  the  next  sentence. 


1 82  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,9  April 

enclosed ;  leaving  us  between  Two  and  Three-hundred  mus- 
kets, besides  horse-arms,  and  other  ammunition,  and  about 
Threescore-and-eleven  horses  more. 

This  was  the  mercy  of  God ;  and  nothing  is  more  due 
than  a  real  acknowledgment.  And  though  I  have  had  greater 
mercies,  yet  none  clearer :  because,  in  the  first  '  place,'  God 
brought  them  to  our  hands  when  we  looked  not  for  them  ; 
and  delivered  them  out  of  our  hands  when  we  laid  a  rea- 
sonable design  to  surprise  them,  and  which  we  carefully 
endeavoured.  His  mercy  appears  in  this  also,  That  I  did 
much  doubt  the  storming  of  the  House,  it  being  strong  and 
well  manned,  and  I  having  few  dragoons,  and  this  being 
not  my  business ; — and  yet  we  got  it. 

I  hope  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  say,  God  is  not  enough 
owned.  We  look  too  much  to  men  and  visible  helps :  this 
hath  much  hindered  our  success.  But  I  hope  God  will  direct 
all  to  acknowledge  Him  alone  in  all  '  things.'  Your  most 
humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Poor  Windebank  was  shot  by  sudden  Court-martial,  so 
enraged  were  they  at  Oxford, — for  Cromwell  had  not  even 
foot-soldiers,  still  less  a  battering  gun.  It  was  his  poor  young 
Wife,  they  said,  she  and  other  '  ladies  on  a  visit  there,'  that 
had  confused  poor  Windebank  :  he  set  his  back,  to  the  wall  of 
Merton  College,  and  received  his  death-volley  with  a  soldier's 
stoicism.6  The  Son  of  Secretary  Windebank,  who  fled  beyond 
seas  long  since. 

LETTER  XXVI. 

How  Cromwell,  sending  off  his  new  guns  and  stores  to 

Abingdon,  now  shot  across  westward  to   '  Radcot  Bridge*  or 

'  Bampton-in-the-Bush  ;'  and  on  the  2 6th  gained  a  new  victory 

'  there  ;  and  on  the  whole  made  a  rather  brilliant  sally  of  it : — 

*  Pamphlet,  in  Parliamentary  History,  xiii.  459  :  read  in  the  House,  Monday 
a8ih  April  (Commons  Journals,  iv.  124).— Letter  to  Fairfax  on  the  same  subject 
Appendix,  No.  7. 

•  Heath's  Ckrvnicb,  p.  laa. 


1645.  LETTER  XXVII.    FARRINGDON.  183 

this  too  is  known  from  Clarendon,  or  more  authentically  from 
Rushworth  ;  but  only  the  concluding  unsuccessful  part  of  this, 
the  fruitless  Summons  to  Farringdon,  has  left  any  trace  in 
autograph. 

To  the  Governor  of  the  Garrison  in  Farringdon. 

SlR,  sgth  April  1645. 

I  summon  you  to  deliver  into  my  hands  the 
House  wherein  you  are,  and  your  Ammunition,  with  all 
things  else  there;  together  with  your  persons,  to  be  dis- 
posed of  as  the  Parliament  shall  appoint.  Which  if  you 
refuse  to  do.  you  are  to  expect  the  utmost  extremity  of  war. 
I  rest,  your  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL."* 


THIS  Governor,  'Roger  Burgess,'  is  not  to  be  terrified  with 
fierce  countenance  and  mere  dragoons  ;  he  refuses.  Cromwell 
condenses  himself  about  Farringdon  Town,  'sends  for  infantry' 
(but,  we  fear,  gets  none),  and  again  summons  : 

LETTER  XXVII. 

To  the  same  ;  same  date. 
SIR, 

I  understand  by  forty  or  fifty  poor  men  whom 

you  forced  into  your  House,  that  you  have  many  there  whom 
you  cannot  arm,  and  who  are  not  serviceable  to  you. 

If  these  men  should  perish  by  your  means,  it  were  great 
inhumanity  surely.  Honour  and  honesty  require  this,  That 
though  you  be  prodigal  of  your  own  lives,  yet  not  to  be  so 
of  theirs.  If  God  give  you  into  my  hands,  I  will  not  spare 
a  man  of  you,  if  you  put  me  to  a  storm. 

OLIVER  CROMWELL. | 

Roger  Burgess,  still  unawed,  refuses  ;   Cromwell  waits  for 

*  Rushworth,   vi  26.  t  Ibid. 


1 84  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  4  Ju~ 

infantry  from  Abingdon  '  till  3  next  morning,'  then  storms  ; 
loses  fourteen  men,  with  a  captain  taken  prisoner; — and  draws 
away,  leaving  Burgess  to  crow  over  him.  The  Army,  which 
rose  from  Windsor  yesterday,  gets  to  Reading  this  day,  and 
he  must  hasten  thither.  7 

Yesterday,  Wednesday,  Monthly-fast  day,  all  Preachers,  by 
Ordinance  of  Parliament,  were  praying  for  '  God's  merciful  as- 
'  sistance  to  this  New  Army  now  on  march,  and  His  blessing 
'  upon  their  endeavours.'8  Consider  it ;  actually  •  praying'  1 
It  was  a  capability  old  London  and  its  Preachers  and  Popula- 
tions had  ;  to  us  the  incrediblest. 


LETTER  XXVIII. 

BY  Letter  Twenty-eighth  it  will  be  seen  that  Lieutenant-Gene- 
ral  Cromwell  has  never  yet  resumed  his  Parliamentary  duty.  In 
fact,  he  is  in  the  Associated  Counties,  raising  force  ;  '  for  pro- 
tection of  the  Isle  of  Ely,'  and  other  purposes.  To  Fairfax  and 
his  Officers,  to  the  Parliament,  to  the  Committee  of  Both  King- 
doms, to  all  persons,  it  is  clear  that  Cromwell  cannot  be  dis- 
pensed with.  Fairfax  and  the  Officers  petition  Parliament1  that 
he  may  be  appointed  their  Lieutenant-General,  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Horse.  There  is  a  clear  necessity  in  it.  Parlia- 
ment, the  Commons  somewhat  more  readily  than  the  Lords, 
continue,  by  instalments  of  'forty  days,'  of  'three  months,'  his 
services  in  the  Army ;  and  at  length  grow  to  regard  him  as  a 
constant  element  there.  A  few  others  got  similar  leave  of  ab- 
sence, similar  dispensation  from  the  Self-denying  Ordinance. 
Sprigge's  words,  cited  above,  are  no  doubt  veracious;  yet  there 
is  trace  of  evidence8  that  Cromwell's  continuance  in  the  Army 
had,  even  by  the  framers  of  the  Self-denying  Ordinance,  been 
considered  a  thing  possible,  a  thing  desirable.  As  it  well  might ! 
To  Cromwell  himself  there  was  no  overpowering  felicity  in  get- 
ting out  to  be  shot  at,  except  where  wanted ;  he  very  probably, 
as  Sprigge  intimates,  did  let  the  matter  in  silence  take  its  own 
course. 

7  For  Hampton.  &c.  see  Appendix,  No.  7.  •  Rushworth,  vi.  25. 

1  Their  Letter  (Newspapers,  9th-i6th  June),  in  Crotnwtliiana,  p.  18. 
*  Godwin's  Hutory  tftki  ComtHonvxallk  (London,  1824),  L  405. 


i64s.  LETTER  XXVIII.    HUNTINGDON.  185 

'  To  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  TJiomas  Fairfax,  Genera/  of 
the  Parliament's  Army :  These.' 

SlR,  Huntingdon,  4th  June  1643. 

I  most  humbly  beseech  you  to  pardon  my 
long  silence.  I  am  conscious  of  the  fault,  considering  the 
great  obligations  lying  upon  me.  But  since  my  coming  into 
these  parts,  I  have  been  busied  to  secure  that  part  of  the 
Isle  of  Ely  where  I  conceived  most  danger  to  be. 

Truly  I  found  it  in  a  very  ill  posture :  and  it  is  yet  but 
weak ;  without  works,  ammunition  or  men  considerable, — 
and  of  money  least :  and  then,  I  hope,  you  will  easily  con- 
ceive of  the  defence  :  and  God  has  preserved  us  all  this 
while  to  a  miracle.  The  party  under  Vermuyden  waits  the 
King's  Army,  and  is  about  Deeping ;  has  a  command  to  join 
with  Sir  John  Gell,  if  he  commands  him.  So  '  too'  the  Not- 
tingham Horse.  I  shall  be  bold  to  present  you  with  intelli- 
gence as  it  comes  to  me. 

I  am  bold  to  present  this  as  my  humble  suit :  That  you 
would  be  pleased  to  make  Captain  Rawlins,  this  Bearer,  a 
Captain  of  Horse.  He  has  been  so  before ;  was  nominated 
to  the  Model ;  is  a  most  honest  man.  Colonel  Sidney  leav- 
ing his  regiment,  if  it  please  you  to  bestow  his  Troop  on 
him,  I  am  confident  he  will  serve  you  faithfully.  So,  by 
God's  assistance,  will  your  most  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

The  '  Vermuyden'  mentioned  here,  who  became  Colonel 
Vermuyden,  is  supposed  to  be  a  son  of  the  Dutch  PIngineer 
who  drained  the  Fens.  '  Colonel  Sidney'  is  the  celebrated  Al- 
gernon ;  he  was  nominated  in  the  '  Model,'  but  is  'leaving  his 
regiment ;'  having  been  appointed  Governor  of  Chichester.3  Cap- 
tain Rawlins  does  obtain  a  Company  of  Horse;  under  'Colonel 

*  Rushworth,  vi.  (London,  1701),  p.  37. 

1  Commons  journals,  iv.  136  (gth  May  1645). 


186  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  6  j,m. 

Sir  Robert  Pye.'4 — Colonel  Montague,  afterwards  Earl  of  Sand- 
wich, has  a  Foot-Regiment  here.  Hugh  Peters  is  'Chaplain  to 
the  Train.' 


BY   EXPRESS. 

FAIRFAX,  with  his  New-Model  Army,  has  been  beleaguering 
Oxford  for  some  time  past ;  but  in  a  loose  way,  and  making 
small  progress  hitherto.  The  King,  not  much  apprehensive 
about  Oxford,  is  in  the  Midland  Counties  ;  has  just  stormed 
Leicester  ('last  night  of  May,'  says  Clarendon,1  a  terrible  night, 
and  still  more  terrible  '  daybreak'  and  day  following  it),  which 
perhaps  may  itself  relieve  Oxford.  His  Majesty  is  since  at  halt, 
or  in  loose  oscillating  movement,  'hunting'  on  the  hills,  'driving 
large  herds  of  cattle  before  him," — nobody,  not  even  himself, 
yet  knows  whitherward.  Whitherward  ?  This  is  naturally  a 
very  agitating  question  for  the  neighbouring  populations  ;  but 
most  of  all,  intensely  agitating  for  the  Eastern  Association, — 
though  Cromwell,  in  that  Huntingdon  Letter,  occupied  with 
Ely  and  other  Garrisons,  seems  to  take  it  rather  quietly.  But 
two  days  later,  we  have  trace  of  him  at  Cambridge,  and  of  huge 
alarm  round  him  there.  Here  is  an  old  Piece  of  Paper  still  sur- 
viving ;  still  emblematic  of  old  dead  days  and  their  extinct 
agitations,  when  once  we  get  to  decipher  it !  They  are  the 
Cambridge  Committee  that  write  ;  'the  Army  about  Oxford,' 
we  have  seen,  is  Fairfax's. 

1  To  the  Deputy-Lieutenants  of  Suffolk :  These' 

GENTLEMEN,  Cambridge,  6th  June  1645 

The  cloud  of  the  Enemy's  Army  hanging 
still  upon  the  borders,  and  drawing  towards  Harborough, 
make  some  supposals  that  they  aim  at  the  Association.  In 
regard  whereof,  we  having  information  that  the  Army  about 
Oxford  was  not  yesterday  advanced,  albeit  it  was  ordered 
$o  to  do,  we  thought  meet  to  give  you  intelligence  thereof ; 
—and  therewith  earnestly  to  propound  to  your  considera- 

4  Army-List,  in  Sprigge  (p.  330).  '  ii.  857. 


i64s.  BY  EXPRESS,    CAMBRIDGE.  187 

tion,  That  you  will  have  in  readiness  what  Horse  and  Foot 
may  be  had,  that  so  a  proportion  may  be  drawn  forth  for 
this  service,  such  as  may  be  expedient 

And  because  we  conceive  that  the  exigence  may  require 
Horse  and  Dragoons,  we  desire  That  all  your  Horse  and 
Dragoons  may  hasten  to  Newmarket ;  where  they  will  re- 
ceive orders  for  farther  advance,  according  as  the  motion 
of  the  Enemy  and  of  our  Army  shall  require.  And  To 
allow  both  the  several  Troops  of  Dragoons  and  Horse  one 
week's  pay,  to  be  laid  down  by  the  owner ;  which  shall  be 
repaid  out  of  the  public  money  out  of  the  County ;  the  pay 
of  each  Trooper  being  14  shillings  per  week,  and  of  a  Dra- 
goon IQS.  6d.  per  week.  Your  servants, 

H.  MILDMAY,  W.  SPRING, 

W.  HEVENINGHAM,     MAURICE  BARROW, 
Ti.  MIDLTON  (sic),      NATHANIEL  BACON, 
'  P.S.'  The  Place  of  Rendezvous  for     FRANCIS  RUSSELL, 
the  Horse  and  Dragoons  is  to  be  at     OLIVER  CROMWELL, 
Newmarket ;  and  for  the  Foot  Bury. —     HUM.  WALCOT, 
Since  the  writing  hereof,  we  received     ISAAK  PULLER, 

certain  intelligence  that  the  Enemy's     ED [illegible.] 

Body,  with  60  carriages,  was  upon  his  march  towards  the 
Association,  3  miles  on  this  side  Harborough,  last  night  at 
4  of  the  clock.* 

The  Original,  a  hasty,  blotted  Paper,  with  the  Signatures 
in  two  unequal  columns  (as  imitated  here),  and  with  the  Post- 
script crammed  hurriedly  into  the  corner,  and  written  from  an- 
other inkbottle  as  is  still  apparent, — represents  to  us  an  agitated 
scene  in  the  old  Committee-rooms  at  Cambridge  that  Friday. 
In  Rushivorth  (see  vi.  36-8),  of  the  same  date,  and  signed  by 
the  same  parties,  with  some  absentees  (Oliver  among  them, 
probably  now  gone  on  other  business)  and  more  new  arrivals, 
— is  a  Letter  to  Fairfax  himself,  urging  him  to  speed  over,  and 

*  Original,  long  stationary  at  Ipswich,  is  now  (Jan.  1849)  the  property  of  John 
VVodderspoon,  Esq.,  Mercury  Office,  Norwich. 


188  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,4  jua. 

help  them  in  their  peril.  They  say,  '  We  had  formerly  written 
'  to  the  Counties  to  raise  their  Horse  and  Dragoons,  and  have 
'  now  written,"  as  above  for  one  instance,  '  to  quicken  them.1  - 
The  Suffolk  and  other  Horse,  old  Ironsides  not  hindmost,  did 
muster ;  and  in  about  a  week  hence,  there  came  other  news 
from  •  this  side  Harborough  last  night* ! 


LETTER  XXIX. 

NASEBY. 

THE  old  Hamlet  of  Naseby  stands  yet,  on  its  old  hill-top, 
very  much  as  it  did  in  Saxon  days,  on  the  Northwestern  border 
of  Northamptonshire  ;  some  seven  or  eight  miles  from  Market- 
Harborough  in  Leicestershire  ;  nearly  on  a  line,  and  nearly  mid- 
way, between  that  Town  and  Daventry.  A  peaceable  old 
Hamlet,  of  some  eight-hundred  souls  ;  clay  cottages  for  la- 
bourers, but  neatly  thatched  and  swept  ;  smith's  shop,  saddler's 
shop,  beer-shop,  all  in  order  ;  forming  a  kind  of  square,  which 
leads  off  Southwards  into  two  long  streets  :  the  old  Church, 
with  its  graves,  stands  in  the  centre,  the  truncated  spire  finish- 
ing itself  with  a  strange  old  Ball,  held  up  by  rods  ;  a  '  hollow 
4  copper  Ball,  which  came  from  Boulogne  in  Henry  the  Eighth's 
'  time,' — which  has,  like  Hudibras's  breeches,  'been  at  the  Siege 
of  Bullen.'  The  ground  is  upland,  moorland,  though  now  grow- 
ing corn ;  was  not  enclosed  till  the  last  generation^  and  is  still 
somewhat  bare  of  wood.  It  stands  nearly  in  the  heart  of  Eng- 
land :  gentle  Dulness,  taking  a  turn  at  etymology,  sometimes 
derives  it  from  Navel;  '  Navesby,  quasi  Nave/sby,  from  being' 
&c.  :  Avon  Well,  the  distinct  source  of  Shakspcarc's  Avon,  is 
on  the  Western  slope  of  the  high  grounds  ;  Nen  and  Wclland, 
streams  leading  towards  Cromwell's  Fen-country,  begin  to  gather 
themselves  from  boggy  places  on  the  Eastern  side.  The 
grounds,  as  we  say,  lie  high  ;  and  are  still,  in  their  new  sub- 
divisions, known  by  the  name  of 'Hills,'  '  Rutput  Hill,'  'Mill 
Hill,'  'Dust  Hill,'  and  the  like,  precisely  as  in  Rushworth's 
time  :  but  they  are  not  properly  hills  at  all  ;  they  arc  broad 
blunt  clayey  masses,  swelling  towards  and  from  each  other,  like 
indolent  waves  of  a  sea,  sometimes  of  miles  in  extent. 


,645.  LETTER  XXIX.    NASEBY.  189 

It  was  on  this  high  moor-ground,  in  the  centre  of  England, 
that  King  Charles,  on  the  i4th  of  June  1645,  fought  his  last 
battle  ;  dashed  fiercely  against  the  New-Model  Army,  which  he 
had  despised  till  then  ;  and  saw  himself  shivered  utterly  to  ruin 
thereby.  '  Prince  Rupert,  on  the  King's  right  wing,  charged  up 
the  hill,  and  carried  all  before  him  ;'  but  Lieutenant-General 
Cromwell  charged  downhill  on  the  other  wing,  likewise  carrying 
all  before  him, — and  did  not  gallop  off  the  field  to  plunder,  he. 
Cromwell,  ordered  thither  by  the  Parliament,  had  arrived  from 
the  Association  two  days  before,  '  amid  shouts  from  the  whole 
Army  :'  he  had  the  ordering  of  the  Horse  this  morning.  Prince 
Rupert,  on  returning  from  his  plunder,  finds  the  King's  In- 
fantry a  ruin  ;  prepares  to  charge  again  with  the  rallied  Ca- 
valry ;  but  the  Cavalry  too,  when  it  came  to  the  point,  '  broke 
all  asunder,' — never  to  reassemble  more.  The  chase  went 
through  Harborough  ;  where  the  King  had  already  been  that 
morning,  when  in  an  evil  hour  he  turned  back,  to  revenge  some 
'surprise  of  an  outpost  at  Naseby  the  night  before,'  and  give 
the  Roundheads  battle. 

Ample  details  of  this  Battle,  and  of  the  movements  prior 
and  posterior  to  it,  are  to  be  found  in  Sprigge,  or  copied  with 
some  abridgment  into  Rushworth ;  who  has  also  copied  a 
strange  old  Plan  of  the  Battle  ;  half  plan,  half  picture,  which 
the  Sale-Catalogues  are  very  chary  of,  in  the  case  of  Sprigge. 
By  assiduous  attention,  aided  by  this  Plan,  as  the  old  names  yet 
stick  to  the  localities,  the  Narrative  can  still  be,  and  has  lately 
been,  pretty  accurately  verified,  and  the  Figure  of  the  old  Battle 
dimly  brought  back  again.1  The  reader  shall  imagine  it,  for 
the  present. — On  the  crown  of  Naseby  Height  stands  a  modern 
Battle-monument ;  but,  by  an  unlucky  oversight,  it  is  above  a 
mile  to  the  east  of  where  the  Battle  really  was.  There  are 
likewise  two  modern  Books  about  Naseby  and  its  Battle ;  both 
of  them  without  value. 

The  Parliamentary  Army  stood  ranged  on  the  Height  still 
partly  called  'Mill  Hill,' as  in  Rushworth's  time,  a  mile  and  half 
from  Naseby  ;  the  King's  Army,  on  a  parallel  '  Hill,'  its  back 
to  Harborough  ; — with  the  wide  table  of  upland  now  named 
Broad  Moor  between  them  ;  where  indeed  the  main  brunt  of 
the  action  still  clearly  enough  shows  itself  to  have  been.  Tfyere 

1  Appendix,  No.  SL. 


190  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  u  J— 

are  hollow  spots,  of  a  rank  vegetation,  scattered  over  that  Broad 
Moor  ;  which  are  understood  to  have  once  been  burial  mounds; 
— some  of  which,  one  to  my  knowledge,  have  been  (with  more 
or  less  of  sacrilege)  verified  as  such.  A  friend  of  mine  has  in 
his  cabinet  two  ancient  grinder- teeth,  dug  lately  from  that 
ground, — and  waits  for  an  opportunity  to  rebury  them  there. 
Sound  effectual  grinders,  one  of  them  very  large ;  which  ate 
their  breakfast  on  the  fourteenth  morning  of  June  two  hundred 
years  ago,  and  except  to  be  clenched  once  in  grim  battle,  had 
never  work  to  do  more  in  this  world! — 'A  stack  of  dead 
'  bodies,  perhaps  about  100,  had  been  buried  in  this  Trench  ; 
'  piled  as  in  a  wall,  a  man's  length  thick  :  the  skeletons  lay  in 
'  courses,  the  heads  of  one  course  to  the  heels  of  the  next  ;  one 
1  figure,  by  the  strange  position  of  the  bones,  gave  us  the  hide- 

•  ous  notion  of  its  having  been  thrown  in  before  death  !     We 
'  did  not    proceed  far  : — perhaps  some  half-dozen   skeletons. 

•  The  bones  were  treated  with  all  piety  ;  watched  rigorously, 

•  over  Sunday,  till  they  could  be  covered  in  again.'8     Sweet 
friends,  for  Jesus'  sake  forbear  1 — 

At  this  Battle  Mr.  John  Rushworth,  our  Historical  Rush- 
worth,  had  unexpectedly,  for  some  instants,  sight  of  a  very 
famous  person.  Mr.  John  is  Secretary  to  Fairfax ;  and  they 
have  placed  him  today  among  the  Baggage-wagons,  near  Nase- 
by  Hamlet,  above  a  mile  from  the  fighting,  where  he  waits  in 
an  anxious  manner.  It  is  known  how  Prince  Rupert  broke 
our  left  wing,  while  Cromwell  was  breaking  their  left.  '  A  Gen- 
tleman of  Public  Employment  in  the  late  Service  near  Naseby' 
writes  next  day,  '  Harborough,  151!*  June,  2  in  the  morning,' 
a  rough  graphic  Letter  in  the  Newspapers,3  wherein  is  this  sen- 
tence : 

*  *  '  A  party  of  theirs,  that  broke  through  the  left  wing 
'  of  horse,  came  quite  behind  the  rear  to  our  Train ;  the  Leader 
'  of  them,  being  a  person  somewhat  in  habit  like  the  General, 
'  in  a  red  montero,  as  the  General  had.  He  came  as  a  friend; 
'  our  commander  of  the  guard  of  the  Train  went  with  his  hat 
«  in  his  hand,  and  asked  him,  How  the  day  went?  thinking  it 
'  had  been  the  General :  the  Cavalier,  who  we  since  heard  was 


MS.  / 'tins  me. 

Kin^s  Pampl 

ector  lias  n.ime 

tary  to  his  Excellency.' 


•  King's  PampMet*,  »rmlt  410,  no.  ai»,  §afi,  p.  a:  the  punctual  eontempcnin«<JO« 
Collector  has  n.imed  him  with  his  pen :  '  Mr.  Kushworth  s  Letter,  being  the  Seae- 


i«4s.  LETTER  XXIX.    NASEBY.  191 

'  Rupert,  asked  him  and  the  rest,  If  they  would  have  quarter  ? 
'  They  cried  No  ;  gave  fire,  and  instantly  beat  them  off.  It 
'  was  a  happy  deliverance,' — without  doubt. 

There  were  taken  here  a  good  few  '  ladies  of  quality  in  car- 
riages ;' — and  above  a  hundred  Irish  ladies  not  of  quality,  tat- 
tery  camp-followers  'with  long  skean-knives  about  a  foot  in 
length,'  which  they  well  knew  how  to  use  ;  upon  whom  I  fear 
the  Ordinance  against  Papists  pressed  hard  this  day.4  The 
King's  Carriage  was  also  taken,  with  a  Cabinet  and  many 
Royal  Autographs  in  it,  which  when  printed  made  a  sad  im- 
pression against  his  Majesty, — gave,  in  fact,  a  most  melancholy 
view  of  the  veracity  of  his  Majesty,  "  On  the  word  of  a  King."* 
All  was  lost ! — 

Here  is  Cromwell's  Letter,  written  from  Harborough,  or 
'  Haverbrowe'  as  he  calls  it,  that  same  night ;  after  the  hot 
Battle  and  hot  chase  were  over.  The  original,  printed  long 
since  in  Rushworth,  still  lies  in  the  British  Museum, — with  'a 
strong  steady  signature,'  which  one  could  look  at  with  interest. 
'  The  Letter  consists  of  two  leaves  ;  much  worn,  and  now  sup- 
'  ported  by  pasting  ;  red  seal  much  defaced  ;  is  addressed  on 
'  the  second  leaf :' 

For  the  Honourable  William  Lenthall,  Speaker  of  the  Commons 
House  of  Parliament :  These. 

SlR,  Harborough,  i4th  June  1645. 

Being  commanded  by  you  to  this  service,  I 
think  myself  bound  to  acquaint  you  with  the  good  hand  of 
God  towards  you  and  us. 

We  marched  yesterday  after  the  King,  who  went  be- 
fore us  from  Daventry  to  Harborough ;  and  quartered  about 
six  miles  from  him.  This  day  we  marched  towards  him. 
He  drew-out  to  meet  us  ;  both  Armies  engaged.  We,  after 
three-hours  fight  very  doubtful,  at  last  routed  his  Army; 
killed  and  took  about  5,000,— very  many  officers,  but  of 
what  quality  we  yet  know  not.  We  took  also  about  300 

*  Whitlocke. 

5  Z7~'  Kings  Cfttitiet  emitted;  or  Litters  tqken  in  tk«  Cabinet  at  Ndsefy  Field 
fLondon,  1645) :— reprinted  in  ffarleian  Miscellany  (London,  1810),  v.  514. 


192  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,4  Juo. 

carriages,  all  he  had ;  and  all  his  guns,  being  1 2  in  number, 
whereof  two  were  demi-cannon,  two  demi-culverins,  and  I 
think  the  rest  sackers.  We  pursued  the  Enemy  from  three 
miles  short  of  Harborough  to  nine  beyond,  even  to  the  sight 
of  Leicester,  whither  the  King  fled. 

Sir,  this  is  none  other  but  the  hand  of  God ;  and  to  Him 
alone  belongs  the  glory,  wherein  none  are  to  share  with 
Him.  The  General  served  you  with  all  faithfulness  and 
honour :  and  the  best  commendation  I  can  give  him  is,  That 
I  daresay  he  attributes  all  to  God,  and  would  rather  perish 
than  assume  to  himself.  Which  is  an  honest  and  a  thriving 
way : — and  yet  as  much  for  bravery  may  be  given  to  him, 
in  this  action,  as  to  a  man.  Honest  men  served  you  faith- 
fully in  this  action.  Sir,  they  are  trusty ;  I  beseech  you, 
in  the  name  of  God,  not  to  discourage  them.  I  wish  this 
action  may  beget  thankfulness  and  humility  in  all  that  are 
concerned  in  it  He  that  ventures  his  life  for  the  liberty  of 
his  country,  I  wish  he  trust  God  for  the  liberty  of  his  con- 
science, and  you  for  the  liberty  he  fights  for.  In  this  he 
rests,  who  is  your  most  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

John  Bunyan,  I  believe,  is  this  night  in  Leicester, — not  yet 
writing  his  Pilgrim's  Progress  on  paper,  but  acting  it  on  the 
face  of  the  Earth,  with  a  brown  matchlock  on  his  shoulder. 
Or  rather,  -without  the  matchlock  just  at  present ;  Leicester 
and  he  having  been  taken  the  other  day.  '  Harborough 
Church'  is  getting  'filled  with  prisoners,'  while  Oliver  writes, — 
and  an  immense  contemporaneous  tumult  every  where  going 
on  ! 

The  'honest  men  who  served  you  faithfully'  on  this  occasion 
arc  the  considerable  portion  of  the  Army  who  have  not  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  themselves  to  take  the  Covenant.  Whom  the 
Presbyterian  Party,  rigorous  for  their  own  formula,  call  'Schis- 

'  Hail  MSS.  no.  7502,  art.  5,  p-  7  :  Rushworth,  vi.  45. 


,64$.  LETTER  XXIX.    NASEBY.  193 

matics,'  '  Sectaries,'  '  Anabaptists,'  and  other  hard  names  ; 
whom  Cromwell,  here  and  elsewhere,  earnestly  pleads  for.  To 
Cromwell,  perhaps  as  much  as  to  another,  order  was  lovely, 
and  disorder  hateful ;  but  he  discerned  better  than  some  others 
what  order  and  disorder  really  were.  The  forest-trees  are  not  in 
'  order'  because  they  are  all  clipt  into  the  same  shape  of  Dutch- 
dragons,  and  forced  to  die  or  grow  in  that  way  ;  but  because  in 
each  of  them  there  is  the  same  genuine  unity  of  life,  from  the 
inmost  pith  to  the  outmost  leaf,  and  they  do  grow  according  to 
that ! — Cromwell  naturally  became  the  head  of  this  Schismatic 
Party,  intent  to  grow  not  as  Dutch-dragons,  but  as  real  trees  ; 
a  Party  which  naturally  increased  with  the  increasing  earnest- 
ness of  events  and  of  men. — 

The  King  stayed  but  a  few  hours  in  Leicester ;  he  had  taken 
Leicester,  as  we  saw,  some  days  before,  and  now  it  was  to  be 
re-taken  from  him  some  days  after  : — he  stayed  but  a  few  hours 
here;  rode  on,  that  same  night,  to  Ashby-de-la-Zouch,  which 
he  reached  'at  daybreak,' — poor  wearied  King! — then  again 
swiftly  Westward,  to  Wales,  to  Ragland  Castle,  to  this  place  and 
that ;  in  the  hope  of  raising  some  force,  and  coming  to  fight 
again  ;  which,  however,  he  could  never  do.6  Some  ten  months 
more  of  roaming,  and  he,  '  disguised  as  a  groom,'  will  be  riding 
with  Parson  Hudson  towards  the  Scots  at  Newark. 

The  New-Model  Army  marched  into  the  Southwest ;  very 
soon  '  relieved  Colonel  Robert  Blake'  (Admiral  Blake),  and 
many  others  ;  — -  marched  to  ever  new  exploits  and  victories, 
which  excite  the  pious  admiration  of  Joshua  Sprigge  ;  and  very 
soon  swept  all  its  enemies  from  the  field,  and  brought  this  War 
to  a  close.7 

The  following  Letters  exhibit  part  of  Cromwell's  share  in 
that  business,  and  may  be  read  with  little  commentary. 

6  Iter  Carolinian  ;  being  a  succinct  Relation  of  the  necessitated  Marches,  Rfip 
treats  and  Sufferings  of  his  Majesty  Charles  the  First,  from  loth  January  1641  till  the 
time  of  his  Death,  1648  :  Collected  by  a  daily  Attendant  upon  his  Sacred  Majesty 
during  all  the  said  time.  London,  1660.— It  is  reprinted  in  Somers  Tracts  (v.  263]^ 
but,  as  usual  there,  without  any  editing  except  a  nominal  one,  though  it  somewhfll 
needed  more. 

1  A  Journal  of  every  day's  March  of  the  Army  under  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas 
Fairfax  (in  Sprigge,  p.  331). 


VOL.  I. 


194  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  4Aug. 

LETTER  XXX. 

THE  CLUBMEN. 

THE  victorious  Army,  driving  all  before  it  in  the  Southwest, 
where  alone  the  King  had  still  any  considerable  fighting  force, 
found  itself  opposed  by  a  very  unexpected  enemy,  famed  in  the 
old  Pamphlets  by  the  name  of  Clubmen.  The  design  was  at 
bottom  Royalist ;  but  the  country-people  in  those  regions  had 
been  worked  upon  by  the  Royalist  Gentry  and  Clergy,  on  the 
somewhat  plausible  ground  of  taking  up  arms  to  defend  them- 
selves against  the  plunder  and  harassment  of  &?/// Armies.  The 
great  mass  of  them  were  Neutrals  ;  there  even  appeared  by  and 
by  various  transient  bodies  of  '  Clubmen"  on  the  Parliament 
side,  whom  Fairfax  entertained  occasionally  to  assist  him  in 
pioneering  and  other  such  services.  They  were  called  Clubmen, 
not,  as  M.  Villemain  supposes,1  because  they  united  in  Clubs, 
but  because  they  were  armed  with  rough  country  weapons,  mere 
bludgeons  if  no  other  could  be  had.  Sufficient  understanding 
of  them  may  be  gained  from  the  following  Letter  of  Cromwell, 
prefaced  by  some  Excerpts. 

From  Rushworth  :  '  Thursday  July  3d,  Fairfax  marched 
'  from  Blandford  to  Dorchester,  1 2  miles ;  a  very  hot  day. 
'  Where  Colonel  Sidenham,  Governor  of  Weymouth,  gave  him 
1  information  of  the  condition  of  those  parts  ;  and  of  the  great 
'  danger  from  the  Club-risers  ;'  a  set  of  men  '  who  would  not 
'  suffer  cither  contribution  or  victuals  to  be  carried  to  the  Parlia- 
'  ment's  garrisons.  And  the  same  night  Mr.  Hollis  of  Dorset- 
'  shire,  the  chief  leader  of  the  Clubmen,  with  some  others  of 
'  their  principal  men,  came  to  Fairfax  :  and  Mr.  Hollis  owned 
'  himself  to  be  one  of  their  leaders  ;  affirming  that  it  was  fit 
'  the  people  should  show  their  grievances  and  their  strength. 
'  Fairfax  treated  them  civilly,  and  promised  they  should  have 
1  an  .answer  the  next  morning.  For  they  were  so  strong  at  that 
'  time,  that  it  was  held  a  point  of  prudence  to  be  fair  in  de- 
4  mcanour  towards  them  for  a  while  ;  for  if  he  should  engage 
'  with  General  Goring  and  be  put  to  the  worst,  these  Clubmen 

'  Our  French  friends  ought  to  be  informed  that  M.  Villcniain's  Book  on  Cromwell 
h,  unluckily,  a  rather  ignorant  and  shallow  one. — Of  M.  (juirot,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  arc  to  say  that  his  Two  Volume™,  «o  far  as  they  go,  nrc  the  fruit  of  real  ability  and 
solid  studies  applied  to  those  Transactions. 


i«4S.  LETTER  XXX.    THE  CLUBMEN,  195 

'  would  knock  them  on  the  head  as  they  should  fly  for  safety. — • 
'  That  which  they  desired  from  him  was  a  safe -conduct  for 
'  certain  persons  to  go  to  the  King  and  Parliament  with  Peti- 
'  tions  :'2  which  Fairfax  in  a  very  mild  but  resolute  manner 
refused. 

From  Sprigge,3  copied  also  into  Rushworth  with  some  in- 
accuracies: 'On  Monday  August  4th,  Lieutenant-General  Crom- 
'  well,  having  intelligence  of  some  of  their  places  of  rendezvous 
'  for  their  several  divisions,  went  forth'  from  Sherborne  '  with  a 
'  party  of  Horse  to  meet  these  Clubmen  ;  being  well  satisfied 
'  of  the  danger  of  their  design.  As  he  was  marching  towards 
'  Shaftesbury  with  the  party,  they  discovered  some  colours  upon 
'  the  top  of  a  high  Hill,  full  of  wood  and  almost  inaccessible. 
'  A  Lieutenant  with  a  small  party  was  sent  to  them  to  know 
1  their  meaning,  and  to  acquaint  them  that  the  Lieutenant- 
'  General  of  the  Army  was  there ;  whereupon  Mr.  Newman, 
'  one  of  their  leaders,  thought  fit  to  come  down,  and  told  us, 
'  The  intent  was  to  desire  to  know  why  the  gentlemen  were 
'  taken  at  Shaftesbury  on  Saturday  ?  The  Lieutenant-General 
'  returned  him  this  answer  :  That  he  held  himself  not  bound 
'  to  give  him  or  them  an  account ;  what  was  done  was  by 
'  Authority  ;  and  they  that  did  it  were  not  responsible  to  them 
'  that  had  none  :  but  not  to  leave  them  wholly  unsatisfied,  he 
'  told  him,  Those  persons  so  met  had  been  the  occasion  and 
1  stirrers  of  many  tumultuous  and  unlawful  meetings  ;  for  which 
'  they  were  to  be  tried  by  law  ;  which  trial  ought  not  by  them 
'  to  be  questioned  or  interrupted.  Mr.  Newman  desired  to  go 
'  up  to  return  the  answer  ;  the  Lieutenant-General  with  a  small 
'  party  went  with  him  ;  and  had  some  conference  with  the 
'  people  ;  to  this  purpose  :  That  whereas  they  pretended  to  meet 
'  there  to  save  their  goods,  they  took  a  very  ill  course  for  that : 
'  to  leave  their  houses  was  the  way  to  lose  their  goods  ;  and  it 
'  was  offered  them,  That  justice  should  be  done  upon  any  who 
'  offered  them  violence  :  and  as  for  the  gentlemen  taken  at 
'  Shaftesbury,  it  was  only  to  answer  some  things  they  were 
1  accused  of,  which  they  had  done  contrary  to  law  and  the  peace 
'  of  the  Kingdom. — -Herewith  they  seeming  to  be  well  satisfied, 
'  promised  to  return  to  their  houses  ;  and  accordingly  did  so. 

'These  being  thus  quietly  sent  home,  the  Lieutenant-Ge- 
'  neral  advanced  farther,  to  a  meeting  oi  a  greater 

3  pp.  73-9. 


196  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  4  Aug. 

'  about  4000,  who  betook  themselves  to  Hambledon  Hill,  near 
'  Shrawton.  At  the  bottom  of  the  Hill  ours  met  a  man  with  a 
'  musket,  and  asked,  Whither  he  was  going  ?  he  said,  To  the 
1  Club  Army ;  ours  asked,  What  he  meant  to  do  ?  he  asked, 
'  What  they  had  to  do  with  that  ?  Being  required  to  lay-down 
'  his  arms,  he  said  He  would  first  lose  his  life  ;  but  was  not  so 
'  good  as  his  word,  for  though  he  cocked  and  presented  his 
'  musket,  he  was  prevented,  disarmed,  and  wounded,  but  not* — 
Here,  however,  is  Cromwell's  own  Narrative  : 

To  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Parliament's  Forces,  *  at  Sher borne:  These? 

SlR,  '  Shaftesbury,'  4th  August  1645. 

I  marched  this  morning  towards  Shaftesbury. 
In  my  way  I  found  a  party  of  Clubmen  gathered  together, 
about  two  miles  on  this  side  of  the  Town,  towards  you ;  and 
one  Mr.  Newman  in  the  head  of  them, — who  was  one  of 
those  who  did  attend  you  at  Dorchester,  with  Mr.  Hollis. 
I  sent  to  them  to  know  the  cause  of  their  meeting :  Mr. 
Newman  came  to  me ;  and  told  me,  That  the  Clubmen  in 
Dorset  and  Wilts,  to  the  number  of  ten-thousand,  were  to 
meet  about  their  men  who  were  taken  away  at  Shaftesbury, 
and  that  their  intendment  was  to  secure  themselves  from 
plundering.  To  the  first  I  told  them,  That  although  no 
account  was  due  to  them,  yet  I  knew  the  men  were  taken 
by  your  authority,  to  be  tried  judicially  for  raising  a  Third 
Party  in  the  Kingdom ;  and  if  they  should  be  found  guilty, 
they  must  suffer  according  to  the  nature  of  their  offence ; 
if  innocent,  I  assured  them  you  would  acquit  them.  Upon 
this  they  said,  If  they  have  deserved  punishment,  they 
would  not  have  anything  to  do  with  them;  and  so  were 
quieted  as  to  that  point.  For  the  other  '  point,'  I  assured 
them,  That  it  was  your  great  care,  not  to  suffer  them  in 
the  least  to  be  plundered,  and  that  they  should  defend 
themselves  from  violence,  and  bring  to  your  Army  such  as 


i64S.  LETTER  XXX.    THE  CLUBMEN.  197 

did  them  any  wrong,  where  they  should  be  punished  with 
all  severity:  upon  this,  very  quietly  and  peaceably  they 
marched  away  to  their  houses,  being  very  well  satisfied  and 
contented. 

We  marched  on  to  Shaftesbury,  where  we  heard  a  great 
body  of  them  was  drawn  together  about  Hambledon  Hill; — 
where  indeed  near  two-thousand  were  gathered.  I  sent 
'  up'  a  forlorn-hope  of  about  fifty  Horse ;  who  coming  very 
civilly  to  them,  they  fired  upon  them;  and  ours  desiring 
some  of  them  to  come  to  me,  were  refused  with  disdain. 
They  were  drawn  into  one  of  the  old  Camps,4  upon  a  very 
high  Hill :  I  sent  one  Mr.  Lee5  to  them,  To  certify  the  peace- 
ableness  of  my  intentions,  and  To  desire  them  to  peaceable- 
ness,  and  to  submit  to  the  Parliament.  They  refused,  and  fired 
at  us.  I  sent  him  a  second  time,  To  let  them  know,  that 
if  they  would  lay- down  their  arms,  no  wrong  should  be 
done  them.  They  still  (through  the  animation  of  their 
leaders,  and  especially  two  vile  Ministers)  refused ;  I  com- 
manded your  Cap  tain -Lieutenant  to  draw-up  to  them,  to 
be  in  readiness  to  charge ;  and  if  upon  his  falling  on,  they 
would  lay -down  arms,  to  accept  them  and  spare  them. 
When  we  came  near,  they  refused  his  offer,  and  let-fly  at 
him ;  killed  about  two  of  his  men,  and  at  least  four  horses. 
The  passage  not  being  for  above  three  a-breast,  kept  us 
out :  whereupon  Major  Desborow  wheeled  about ;  got  in 
the  rear  of  them,  beat  them  from  the  work,  and  did  some 
small  execution  upon  them; — I  believe  killed  not  t\velve 
of  them,  but  cut  very  many,  'and  put  them  all  to  flight.' 
We  have  taken  about  300 ;  many  of  which  are  poor  silly 
creatures,  whom  if  you  please  to  let  me  send  home,  they 
promise  to  be  very  dutiful  for  time  to  come,  and  "  will  be 
hanged  before  they  come  out  again." 

4  Roman  Camps  (Gough's  Caiitden,  i.  52). 

5  '  One  Mr.  Lee,  who,  upon  the  approach  of  ours,  had  come  from  them.'  (Sprigge, 
P-  79-) 


198  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,4Sept 

The  ringleaders  which  we  have,  I  intend  to  bring  to  you. 
They  had  taken  divers  of  the  Parliament  soldiers  prisoners, 
besides  Colonel  Fiennes  his  men ;  and  used  them  most  bar- 
barously; bragging,  They  hoped  to  see  my  Lord  Hopton, 
and  that  he  is  to  command  them.  They  expected  from 
Wilts  great  store ;  and  gave  out  they  meant  to  raise  the 
siege  at  Sherborne,  when  '  once'  they  were  all  met.  We 
have  gotten  great  store  of  their  arms,  and  they  carried  few 
or  none  home.  We  quarter  about  ten  miles  off,  and  purpose 
to  draw  our  quarters  near  to  you  tomorrow.  Your  most 
humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

'  On  Tuesday  at  night,  August  5th,  the  Lieutenant-General' 
Cromwell  'with  his  party  returned  to  Sherborne,'  where  the 
General  and  the  rest  were  very  busy  besieging  the  inexpugnable 
Sir  Lewis  Dives. 

'  This  work,'  which  the  Lieu  tenant-General  had  now  been 
upon,  continues  Sprigge,  'though  unhappy,  was  very  necessary.'6 
No  messenger  could  be  sent  out  but  he  was  pickcd-up  by  these 
Clubmen  ;  these  once  dispersed,  '  a  man  might  ride  very  quietly 
from  Sherborne  to  Salisbury.'  The  inexpugnable  Sir  Lewis 
Dives  (a  thrasonical  person  known  to  the  readers  of  Evelyn), 
after  clue  battering,  was  now  soon  stormed :  whereupon,  by 
Letters  found  on  him,  it  became  apparent  how  deeply  Royalist 
this  scheme  of  Clubmen  had  been ;  '  Commissions  for  raising 
regiments  of  Clubmen  ;'  the  design  to  be  extended  over  England 
at  large,  'yea  into  the  Associated  Counties.'  However,  it  has 
now  come  to  nothing ;  and  the  Army  turns  Northward  to  the 
Siege  of  Bristol,  where  Prince  Rupert  is  doing  all  he  can  to 
entrench  himself. 


LETTER  XXXI. 

STORM  OF  BRISTOL. 

•ON  the  Lord's  Day  September  21,  according  to  Order  ot 
'  Parliament,  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell's  Letter  on  the  tak- 

•  Newspapers  (Ctvmwelliaita,  p.  ao)  6  Sprigge,  p.  81. 


i64S.         LETTER  XXXI.    STORM  OF  BRISTOL.         199 

'  ing  of  Bristol  was  read  '  i  the  several  Congregations  about 
'  London,  and  thanks  returned  to  Almighty  God  for  the  admir- 
'  able  and  wonderful  reducing  of  that  city.  The  Letter  of  the 
'  renowned  Commander  is  well  worth  observation.'1  For  the 
Siege  itself,  and  what  preceded  and  followed  it,  see,  besides 
this  Letter,  Rupert's  own  account,2  and  the  ample  details  of 
Sprigge  copied  with  abridgment  by  Rushworth  :  Saycr's  His- 
tory of  Bristol  gives  Plans,  and  all  manner  of  local  details, 
though  in  a  rather  vague  way. 

For  the  Honourable  William  Lenthall,  Speaker  of  the  Com- 
mons House  of  Parliament :  These. 

SlR,  Bristol,  i4th  September  1645. 

It  lias  pleased  the  General  to  give  me  in 
charge  to  represent  unto  you  a  particular  account  of  the 
taking  of  Bristol ;  the  which  I  gladly  undertake. 

After  the  finishing  of  that  service  at  Sherborne,  it  was 
disputed  at  a  council  of  war,  Whether  we  should  march  into 
the  West  or  to  Bristol?  Amongst  other  arguments,  the 
leaving  so  considerable  an  enemy  at  our  backs,  to  march 
into  the  heart  of  the  Kingdom,  the  undoing  of  the  country 
about  Bristol,  which  was  '  already'  exceedingly  harassed  by 
the  Prince  his  being  thereabouts  but  a  fortnight ;  the  corre- 
spondency he  might  hold  in  Wales;  the  possibility  of  uniting 
the  Enemy's  forces  where  they  pleased,  and  especially  of 
drawing  to  an  head  the  disaffected  Clubmen  of  Somerset, 
Wilts  and  Dorset,  when  once  our  backs  were  towards  them : 
these  considerations,  together  with  '  the  hope  of  taking  so 
important  a  place,  so  advantageous  for  the  opening  of  trade 
to  London, — did  sway  the  balance,  and  beget  that  con- 
clusion. 

When  we  came  within  four  miles  of  the  City,  we  had  a 
new  debate,  Whether  we  should  endeavour  to  block  it  up, 
or  make  a  regular  siege  ?  The  latter  being  overruled,  Colo- 

1  Newspapers  (Cromwelliana,  p.  24).  *  Rushworth,  vL  69,  &c. 


200  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  M  Set*. 

nel  Welden  with  his  brigade  marched  to  Pile  Hill,  on  the 
South  side  of  the  City,  being  within  musket-shot  thereof : — 
where  in  a  few  days  they  made  a  good  quarter,  overlooking 
the  City.  Upon  our  advance,  the  enemy  fired  Bedminster, 
Clifton,  and  some  other  villages  lying  near  to  the  City; 
and  would  have  fired  more,  if  our  unexpected  coming  had 
not  hindered.  The  General  caused  some  Horse  and  Dra- 
goons under  Commissary-General  Ireton,  to  advance  over 
Avon,  to  keep-in  the  enemy  on  the  North  side  of  the  Town, 
till  the  foot  could  come  up :  and  after  a  day,  the  General, 
with  Colonel  Montague's  and  Colonel  Rainsborough's  Bri- 
gades, marched  over  at  Kensham  to  Stapleton,  where  he 
quartered  that  night.  The  next  day,  Colonel  Montague, 
having  this  post  assigned  with  his  brigade,  To  secure  all 
between  the  Rivers  Froom  and  Avon  ;  he  came  up  to  Law- 
ford's  Gate,3  within  musket-shot  thereof.  Colonel  Rains- 
borough's  post  was  near  to  Durdham  Down,  whereof  the 
Dragoons  and  three  regiments  of  Horse  made  good  a  post 
upon  the  Down,  between  him  and  the  River  Avon,  on  his 
right  hand.  And  from  Colonel  Rainsborough's  quarters  to 
Froom  River,  on  his  left,  a  part  of  Colonel  Birch's,  and 
'  the  whole  of  General  Skippon's  regiment  were  to  maintain 
that  post. 

These  posts  thus  settled,  our  Horse  were  forced  to  be 
upon  exceeding  great  duty ;  to  stand-by  the  Foot,  lest  the 
Foot,  being  so  weak  in  all  their  posts,  might  receive  an 
affront.  And  truly  herein  we  were  very  happy,  that  we 
should  receive  so  little  loss  by  sallies ;  considering  the  paucity 
of  our  men  to  make  good  the  posts,  and  strength  of  the 
Enemy  within.  By  sallies  (which  were  three  or  four)  I  know 
not  that  we  lost  thirty  men,  in  all  the  time  of  our  siege.  Of 
officers  of  quality,  only  Colonel  Okey  was  taken  by  mistake 
(going  '  of  himself  to  the  Enemy,  thinking  they  had  been 

»  One  of  the  Bristol  Gates. 


i643.         LETTER  XXXI.    STORM  OF  BRISTOL.        201 

friends),  and  Captain  Guilliams  slain  in  a  charge.  We  took 
Sir  Bernard  Astley ;  and  killed  Sir  Richard  Crane, — one  very 
considerable  with  the  Prince. 

We  had  a  council  of  war  concerning  the  storming  of  the 
Town,  about  eight  days  before  we  took  it ;  and  in  that  there 
appeared  great  unwillingness  to  the  work,  through  the  unsea- 
sonableness  of  the  weather,  and  other  apparent  difficulties. 
Some  inducement  to  bring  us  thither  had  been  the  report 
of  the  good  affection  of  the  Townsmen  to  us ;  but  that  did 
not  answer  expectation.  Upon  a  second  consideration,  it 
was  overruled  for  a  storm.  And  all  things  seemed  to  favour 
the  design;  —  and  truly  there  hath  been  seldom  the  like 
cheerfulness  to  any  work  like  to  this,  after  it  was  once  re- 
solved upon.  The  day  and  hour  of  our  storm  was  appointed 
to  be  on  Wednesday  morning  the  Tenth  of  September,  about 
one  of  the  clock.  We  chose  to  act  it  so  early  because  we 
hoped  thereby  to  surprise  the  Enemy.  With  this  resolution 
also,  to  avoid  confusion  and  falling-foul  one  upon  another, 
That  when  'once'  we  had  recovered4  the  Line  and  Forts 
upon  it,  we  should  not  advance  farther  till  day.  The 
General's  signal  unto  a  storm,  was  to  be,  The  firing  of 
straw,  and  discharging  four  pieces  of  cannon  at  Pryor's  Hill 
Fort 

The  signal  was  very  well  perceived  of  all; — and  truly 
the  men  went  on  with  great  resolution ;  and  very  presently 
recovered  the  Line,  making  way  for  the  Horse  to  enter. 
Colonel  Montague  and  Colonel  Pickering,  who  stormed  at 
Lawford's  Gate,  where  was  a  double  work,  well  filled  with 
men  and  cannon,  presently  entered ;  and  with  great  resolu- 
tion beat  the  Enemy  from  their  works,  and  possessed  their 
cannon.  Their  expedition  was  such  that  they  forced  the 
Enemy  from  their  advantages,  without  any  considerable  loss 

*  recovered  means  'taken,'  'got  possession  of:'  the  Line  is  a  new  earthen  work 
outside  the  walls  ;  very  deficient  in  height,  according  to  Rupert's  account. 


202  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  M  Sept. 

to  themselves.  They  laid-down  the  bridges  for  the  Horse 
to  enter; — Major  Desborow  commanding  the  Horse;  who 
very  gallantly  seconded  the  Foot  Then  our  Foot  advanced 
to  the  City  Walls ;  where  they  possessed  the  Gate  against 
the  Castle  Street :  whereinto  were  put  a  Hundred  men ;  who 
made  it  good.  Sir  Hardress  Waller  with  his  own  and  the 
General's  regiment,  with  no  less  resolution,  entered  on  the 
other  side  of  Lawford's  Gate,  towards  Avon  River ;  and  put 
themselves  into  immediate  conjunction  with  the  rest  of  the 
brigade. 

During  this,  Colonel  Rainsborough  and  Colonel  Ham- 
mond attempted  Pryor's  Hill  Fort,  and  the  Line  downwards 
towards  Froom ;  and  the  Major-General's  regiment  being  to 
storm  towards  Froom  River,  Colonel  Hammond  possessed 
the  Line  immediately,  and  beating  the  enemy  from  it,  made 
way  for  the  Horse  to  enter.  Colonel  Rainsborough,  who  had 
the  hardest  task  of  all  at  Pryor's  Hill  Fort,  attempted  it ; 
and  fought  near  three  hours  for  it.  And  indeed  there  was 
great  despair  of  carrying  the  place ;  it  being  exceeding  high, 
a  ladder  of  thirty  rounds  scarcely  reaching  the  top  thereof; 
but  his  resolution  was  such  that,  notwithstanding  the  inac- 
cessibleness  and  difficulty,  he  would  not  give  it  over.  The 
Enemy  had  four  pieces  of  cannon  upon  it,  whjch  they  plied 
with  round  and  case  shot  upon  our  men :  his  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Bowen,  and  others,  were  two  hours  at  push  of  pike, 
standing  upon  the  palisadoes,  but  could  not  enter.  *But 
now*  Colonel  Hammond  being  entered  the  Line  (and  '  here' 
Captain  Ireton,5  with  a  forlorn  of  Colonel  Rich's  regiment, 
interposing  with  his  Horse  between  the  Enemy's  Horse  and 
Colonel  Hammond,  received  a  shot  with  two  pistol-bullets, 
which  broke  his  arm), — by  means  of  this  entrance  of  Colonel 
Hammond,  they  did  storm  the  Fort  on  that  part  which  was 

*  This  U  not  the  famous  Ireton  :  this  is  lux  Lrothcr.     '  Commisiary-Gcuctal  lie* 
ton,'  as  we  have  seen  (p.  300),  is  also  here  ;  he  is  not  wedded  yet. 


i64S.        LETTER  XXXI.    STORM  OF  BRISTOL.        203 

inward ;  *  and  so'  Colonel  Rainsborough's  and  Colonel  Ham- 
mond's men  entered  the  Fort,  and  immediately  put  almost 
all  the  men  in  it  to  the  sword. 

And  as  this  was  the  place  of  most  difficulty,  so  '  it  was1 
Of  most  loss  to  us  on  that  side, — and  of  very  great  honour 
to  the  undertaker.  The  Horse  '  too'  did  second  them  with 
great  resolution :  both  these  Colonels  do  acknowledge  that 
their  interposition  between  the  Enemy's  Horse  and  their  Foot 
was  a  great  means  of  obtaining  of  this  strong  Fort.  With- 
out which  all  the  rest  of  the  Line  to  Froom  River  would 
have  done  us  little  good :  and  indeed  neither  Horse  nor 
Foot  could  have  stood  in  all  that  way,  in  any  manner  of 
security,  had  not  the  Fort  been  taken. — Major  Bethel's  were 
the  first  Horse  that  entered  the  Line ;  who  did  behave  him- 
self gallantly ;  and  was  shot  in  the  thigh,  had  one  or  two 
shot  more,  and  had  his  horse  shot  under  him.  Colonel  Birch 
with  his  men,  and  the  Major -General's  regiment,  entered 
with  very  good  resolution  where  their  post  was ;  possessing 
the  Enemy's  guns,  and  turning  them  upon  them. 

By  this,  all  the  Line  from  Pryor's  Hill  Fort  to  Avon 
(which  was  a  full  mile),  with  all  the  forts,  ordnance  and  bul- 
warks, were  possessed  by  us ; — save  one,  wherein  were  about 
Two -hundred  and  twenty  men  of  the  Enemy;  which  the 
General  summoned,  and  all  the  men  submitted. 

The  success  on  Colonel  Welden's  side  did  not  answer 
with  this.  And  although  the  Colonels,  and  other  the  officers 
and  soldiers  both  Horse  and  Foot,  testified  as  much  resolu- 
tion as  could  be  expected,  —  Colonel  Welden,  Colonel  In- 
goldsby,  Colonel  Herbert,  and  the  rest  of  the  Colonels  and 
Officers,  both  of  Horse  and  Foot,  doing  what  could  be  well 
looked  for  from  men  of  honour, — yet  what  by  reason  of  the 
height  of  the  works,  which  proved  higher  than  report  made 
them,  and  the  shortness  of  the  ladders,  they  were  repulsed, 
with  the  loss  of  about  a  Hundred  men.  Colonel  Fortescue's 


204  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  M  Sept. 

Lieutenant -Colonel  was  killed,  and  Major  Cromwell0  dan- 
gerously  shot ;  and  two  of  Colonel  Ingoldsby's  brothers  hurt; 
with  some  Officers. 

Being  possessed  of  thus  much  as  hath  been  related,  the 
Town  was  fired  in  three  places  by  the  Enemy;  which  we 
could  not  put  out.  Which  begat  a  great  trouble  in  the 
General  and  us  all ;  fearing  to  see  so  famous  a  City  burnt 
to  ashes  before  our  faces.  Whilst  we  were  viewing  so  sad 
a  spectacle,  and  consulting  which  way  to  make  farther  ad- 
vantage of  our  success,  the  Prince  sent  a  trumpet  to  the 
General  to  desire  a  treaty  for  the  surrender  of  the  Town. 
To  which  the  General  agreed ;  and  deputed  Colonel  Mon- 
tague, Colonel  Rainsborough  and  Colonel  Pickering  for  that 
service ;  authorising  them  with  instructions  to  treat  and  con- 
clude the  Articles, — which  '  accordingly'  are  these  enclosed. 
For  performance  whereof  hostages  were  mutually  given. 

On  Thursday  about  two  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon, 
the  Prince  marched  out ;  having  a  convoy  of  two  regiments 
of  Horse  from  us ;  and  making  election  of  Oxford  for  the 
place  he  would  go  to,  which  he  had  liberty  to  do  by  his 
Articles. 

The  cannon  which  we  have  taken  are  about,  a  Hundred- 
and  -  forty  mounted ;  about  a  Hundred  barrels  of  powder 
already  come  to  our  hands,  with  a  good  quantity  of  shot, 
ammunition  and  arms.  We  have  found  already  between 
Two  and  Three -thousand  muskets.  The  Royal  Fort  had 
victual  in  it  for  a  Hundred -and -fifty  men,  for  Three-hun- 
dred-and-twenty  days ;  the  Castle  victualled  for  nearly  half 
so  long.  The  Prince  had  in  Foot  of  the  Garrison,  as  the 
Mayor  of  the  City  informed  me,  Two-thousand  five-hundred, 
and  about  a  thousand  Horse,  besides  the  Trained  Bands  of 
the  Town,  and  Auxiliaries  a  Thousand,  some  say  a  Thou- 

6  A  cousin. 


,«4S.        LETTER  XXXI.    STORM  OF  BRISTOL.        205 

sand  five-hundred. — I  hear  but  of  one  man  that  hath  died 
of  the  plague  in  all  our  Army,  although  we  have  quartered 
amongst  and  in  the  midst  of  infected  persons  and  places. 
We  had  not  killed  of  ours  in  the  Storm,  nor  in  all  this  Siege, 
Two-hundred  men. 

Thus  I  have  given  you  a  true,  but  not  a  full  account  of 
this  great  business ;  wherein  he  that  runs  may  read,  That  all 
this  is  none  other  than  the  work  of  God.  He  must  be  a 
very  Atheist  that  doth  not  acknowledge  it. 

It  may  be  thought  that  some  praises  are  due  to  those 
gallant  men,  of  whose  valour  so  much  mention  is  made  : — 
their  humble  suit  to  you  and  all  that  have  an  interest  in 
this  blessing,  is,  That  in  the  remembrance  of  God's  praises 
they  be  forgotten.  It's  their  joy  that  they  are  instruments 
of  God's  glory  and  their  country's  good.  It's  their  honour 
that  God  vouchsafes  to  use  them.  Sir,  they  that  have  been 
employed  in  this  service  know,  that  faith  and  prayer  ob- 
tained this  City  for  you  :  I  do  not  say  ours  only,  but  of  the 
people  of  God  with  you  and  all  England  over,  who  have 
wrestled  with  God  for  a  blessing  in  this  very  thing.  Our 
desires  are,  that  God  may  be  glorified  by  the  same  spirit  of 
faith  by  which  we  ask  all  our  sufficiency,  and  have  received 
it.  It  is  meet  that  He  have  all  the  praise.  Presbyterians, 
Independents,  all  have  here  the  same  spirit  of  faith  and 
prayer ;  the  same  presence  and  answer ;  they  agree  here, 
have  no  names  of  difference :  pity  it  is  it  should  be  other- 
wise anywhere  !  All  that  believe,  have  the  real  unity,  which 
is  most  glorious ;  because  inward,  and  spiritual,  in  the  Body, 
and  to  the  Head.7  For  being  united  in  forms,  commonly 
called  Uniformity,  every  Christian  will  for  peace-sake  study 
and  do,  as  far  as  conscience  will  permit.  And  for  brethren, 
in  things  of  the  mind  we  look  for  no  compulsion,  but  that 

*  '  Head'  means  Christ;  '  Bod/  is  TrueChurck  e/Citntt. 


206  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  6  Oct. 

of  light  and  reason.  In  other  things,  God  hath  put  the 
sword  in  the  Parliament's  hands,  —  for  the  terror  of  evil- 
doers, and  the  praise  of  them  that  do  well.  If  any  plead 
exemption  from  that,  —  he  knows  not  the  Gospel :  if  any 
would  wring  that  out  of  your  hands,  or  steal  it  from  you 
under  what  pretence  soever,  I  hope  they  shall  do  it  without 
effect.  That  God  may  maintain  it  in  your  hands,  and  direct 
you  in  the  use  thereof,  is  the  prayer  of  your  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

These  last  paragraphs  are,  as  the  old  Newspapers  say, 
'  very  remarkable.'  If  modern  readers  suppose  them  to  be  'cant,' 
it  will  turn  out  an  entire  mistake.  I  advise  all  modern  readers 
not  only  to  believe  that  Cromwell  here  means  what  he  says ; 
but  even  to  try  how  they,  each  for  himself  in  a  new  dialect, 
could  mean  the  like,  or  something  better ! — 

Prince  Rupert  rode  out  of  Bristol  amid  seas  of  angry  human 
faces,  glooming  unutterable  things  upon  him  ;  growling  audibly, 
in  spite  of  his  escort,  "Why  not  hang  him  /"  For  indeed  the 
poor  Prince  had  been  necessitated  to  much  plunder  ;  command- 
ing '  the  elixir  of  the  Blackguardism  of  the  Three  Kingdoms,' 
with  very  insufficient  funds  for  most  part ! — He  begged  a  thou- 
sand muskets  from  Fairfax  on  this  occasion,  to  assist  his  escort 
in  protecting  him  across  the  country  to  Oxford  ;  promising,  on 
his  honour,  to  return  them  after  that  service.  Fairfax  lent  the 
muskets  ;  the  Prince  did  honourably  return  them,  what  he  had 
of  them, — honourably  apologising  that  so  many. had  'deserted' 
on  the  road,  of  whom  neither  man  nor  musket  were  recoverable 
at  present. 


LETTERS  XXXII.— XXXV. 

FROM  Bristol  the  Army  turned  Southward  again,  to  deal 
with  the  yet  remaining  force  of  Royalism  in  that  quarter.  Sir 
Ralph  Hopton,  with  Goring  and  others  under  him,  nude  stub- 
born resistance ;  but  were  constantly  worsted,  at  Langport,  at 
Torrington,  wheresoever  they  rallied  and  made  a  new  attempt. 

•  Rush  worth,  vi  85  ;  Sprigge,  pp.  iis-x>8. 


i,545.  LETTER  XXXII.    WINCHESTER.  207 

The  Parliament  Army  went  steadily  and  rapidly  on  ;  storming1 
Bridgewater,  storming  all  manner  of  Towns  and  Castles;  clear- 
ing the  ground  before  them  :  till  Sir  Ralph  was  driven  into 
Cornwall ;  and,  without  resource  or  escape,  saw  hiinself  obliged 
next  spring1  to  surrender,  and  go  beyond  seas.  A  brave  and 
honourable  man;  respected  on  both  sides;  and  of  all  the  King's 
Generals  the  most  deserving  respect.  He  lived  in  retirement 
abroad ;  taking  no  part  in  Charles  Second's  businesses  ;  and 
died  in  honourable  poverty  before  the  Restoration. 

The  following  Three  Letters2  are  what  remain  to  us  con- 
cerning Cromwell's  share  in  that  course  of  victories.  He  was 
present  in  various  general  or  partial  Fights  from  Langport  to 
Bovey  Tracey  ;  became  especially  renowned  by  his  Sieges,  and 
took  many  Strong  Places  besides  those  mentioned  here. 


LETTER  XXXII. 

•  To  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax^  General  of 
the  Parliaments  Army :  These.'' 

SiR,  '  Winchester,  Cth  October  1645.' 

I  came  to  Winchester  on  the  Lord's  day 
fie  28th  of  September;  with  Colonel  Pickering, — command- 
ing his  own,  Colonel  Montague's,  and  Sir  Hardress  Waller's 
regiments.  After  some  dispute  with  the  Governor,  we  en- 
tered the  Town.  I  summoned  the  Castle ;  was  denied ; 
whereupon  we  fell  to  prepare  batteries, — which  we  could  not 
perfect  (some  of  our  guns  being  out  of  order)  until  Friday 
following.  Our  battery  was  six  guns;  which  being  finished, 
— after  firing  one  round,  I  sent-in  a  second  summons  for  a 
treaty;  which  they  refused.  Whereupon  we  went  on  with 
our  work,  and  made  a  breach  in  the  wall  near  the  Black 
Tower;  which,  after  about  200  shot,  we  thought  stormable; 
and  purposed  on  Monday  morning  to  attempt  it.  On  Sun- 
day night,  about  ten  of  the  clock,  the  Governor  beat  a  par- 

'  Truro,  i4th  March  1645-6  (Rushworth,  vi.  no). 

-  Appendix,  No.   o,  contains  Two  more :  Battle  of  Langport,  and  Summons  to 
Winchester  (A'yte  cf  1857). 


2o8  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR. 

ley,  desiring  to  treat.  I  agreed  unto  it  ;  and  sent  Colonel 
Hammond  and  Major  Harrison  in  to  him,  who  agreed  upon 
these  enclosed  Articles. 

Sir,  this  is  the  addition  of  another  mercy.  You  see  God 
is  not  weary  in  doing  you  good  :  I  confess,  Sir,  His  favour 
to  you  is  as  visible,  when  He  comes  by  His  power  upon 
the  hearts  of  your  enemies,  making  them  quit  places  of 
strength  to  you,  as  when  He  gives  courage  to  your  soldiers 
to  attempt  hard  things.  His  goodness  in  this  is  much  to  be 
acknowledged  :  for  the  Castle  was  well  manned  with  Six- 
hundred-and-eighty  horse  and  foot,  there  being  near  Two- 
hundred  gentlemen,  officers,  and  their  servants  ;  well  vic- 
tualled, with  fifteen  hundred  -weight  of  cheese,  very  great 
store  of  wheat  and  beer  ;  near  twenty  barrels  of  powder, 
seven  pieces  of  cannon  ;  the  works  were  exceeding  good 
and  strong.  It's  very  likely  it  would  have  cost  much  blood 
to  have  gained  it  by  storm.  We  have  not  lost  twelve  men  : 
this  is  repeated  to  you,  that  God  may  have  all  the  praise, 
for  it's  all  His  due.  —  Sir,  I  rest,  your  most  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

'  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell's  Secretary,  '  who  brings  this 
Letter,  gets  5o/.  for  his  good  news.*  By  Sprigge's  account,*  he 
appears  to  have  been  '  Mr.  Hugh  Peters,'  this  Secretary.  Peters 
there  makes  a  verbal  Narrative  of  the  affair,  to  Mr.  Speaker 
and  the  Commons,  which,  were  not  room  so  scanty,  we  should 
be  glad  to  insert. 

It  was  at  this  surrender  of  Winchester  that  certain  of  the 
captive  enemies  having  complained  of  being  plundered  contrary 
to  Articles,  Cromwell  had  the  accused  parties,  six  of  his  own 
soldiers,  tried  :  being  all  found  guilty,  one  of  them  by  lot  was 
hanged,  and  the  other  five  were  marched  off  to  Oxford,  to  be 
there  disposed  of  as  the  Governor  iaw  fit.  The  Oxford  Governor 
politely  returned  the  five  prisoners,  '  with  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  Lieutenant-General's  nobleness.'3 


c,  p.  128  ;  Newspapers  (in  CrettrsveUiana,  p.  35)  ;  Ru&hworth,  vi.  91. 
*  Coin;.  ;,-,t;  Jauntalt,  yth  October  1645.  *  p.  129.  *  Spriggc,  p.  133. 


LETTER  XXXIII.    BASINGSTOKE.  209 


LETTER  XXXIII. 

BASING  House,  Pawlet  Marquis  of  Winchester's  Mansion, 
stood,  as  the  ruined  heaps  still  testify,  at  a  small  distance  from 
Basingstoke  in  Hampshire.  It  had  long  infested  the  Parliament 
in  those  quarters  ;  and  been  especially  a  great  eyesorrow  to  the 
'  Trade  of  London  with  the  Western  Parts.'  With  Dennington 
Castle  at  Newbury,  and  this  Basing  House  at  Basingstoke,  there 
was  no  travelling  the  western  roads,  except  with  escort,  or  on 
sufferance.  The  two  places  had  often  been  attempted ;  but  always 
in  vain.  Basing  House  especially  had  stood  siege  after  siege, 
for  four  years  ;  ruining  poor  Colonel  This  and  then  poor  Co- 
lonel That ;  the  jubilant  Royalists  had  given  it  the  name  of 
Basting  House  :  there  was,  on  the  Parliament  side,  a  kind  of 
passion  to  have  Basing  House  taken.  The  Lieutenant-General, 
gathering  all  the  artillery  he  can  lay  hold  of ;  firing  incessantly, 
200  or  500  shot  at  some  given  point  till  he  see  a  hole  made  ; 
and  then  storming  like  a  fire-flood  : — he  perhaps  may  manage  it; 

To  the  Honourable  William  Lenthall,  Speaker  of  the  Commons 
House  of  Parliament :  These. 

SlR,  Basingstoke,  i4th  October  1645. 

I  thank  God,  I  can  give  you  a  good  account 
of  Basing.  After  our  batteries  placed,  we  settled  the  several 
posts  for  the  storm :  Colonel  Dalbier  was  to  be  on  the  north 
side  of  the  House  next  the  Grange ;  Colonel  Pickering  on 
his  left  hand,  and  Sir  Hardress  Waller's  and  Colonel  Mon- 
tague's regiments  next  him.  We  stormed,  this  morning, 
after  six  of  the  clock :  the  signal  for  falling-on  was  the  firing 
four  of  our  cannon ;  which  being  done,  our  men  fell-on  with 
great  resolution  and  cheerfulness.  We  took  the  two  Houses 
without  any  considerable  loss  to  ourselves.  Colonel  Picker- 
ing stormed  the  New  House,  passed  through,  and  got  the 
gate  of  the  Old  House;  whereupon  they  summoned  a  parley, 
which  our  men  would  not  hear. 

In  the  mean  time  Colonel  Montague's  and  Sir  Hardress 
VOL.  i.  p 


PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  MOct. 

Waller's  regiments  assaulted  the  strongest  work,  where  the 
Enemy  kept  his  Court  of  Guard ; — which,  with  great  reso- 
lution, they  recovered;  beating  the  Enemy  from  a  whole  cul- 
verin,  and  from  that  work  :  which  having  done,  they  drew 
their  ladders  after  them,  and  got  over  another  work,  and  the 
house-wall,  before  they  could  enter.  In  this  Sir  Hardress 
Waller,  performing  his  duty  with  honour  and  diligence,  was 
shot  in  the  arm,  but  not  dangerously. 

We  have  had  little  loss :  many  of  the  Enemy  our  men 
put  to  the  sword,  and  some  officers  of  quality ;  most  of 
the  rest  we  have  prisoners,  amongst  whom  the  Marquis  '  of 
Winchester  himself,'  and  Sir  Robert  Peak,  with  divers  other 
officers,  whom  I  have  ordered  to  be  sent  up  to  you.  We 
have  taken  about  ten  pieces  of  ordnance,  with  much  ammu- 
nition, and  our  soldiers  a  good  encouragement. 

I  humbly  offer  to  you,  to  have  this  place  utterly  slighted, 
for  these  following  reasons  :  It  will  ask  about  Eight-hun- 
dred men  to  manage  it ;  it  is  no  frontier ;  the  country  is 
poor  about  it ;  the  place  exceedingly  ruined  by  our  bat- 
teries and  mortar-pieces,  and  by  a  fire  which  fell  upon  the 
place  since  our  taking  it.  If  you  please  to  take  the  Gar- 
rison at  Farnham,  some  out  of  Chichester,  and  a  good  part 
of  the  foot  which  were  here  under  Dalbier,  and  to  make 
a  strong  Quarter  at  Newbury  with  three  or  four  troops  of 
horse, — I  dare  be  confident  it  would  not  only  be  a  curb  to 
Dennington,  but  a  security  and  a  frontier  to  all  these  parts ; 
inasmuch  as  Newbury  lies  upon  the  River,  and  will  prevent 
any  incursion  from  Dennington,  Wallingford  or  Farringdon 
into  these  parts  j  and  by  lying  there,  will  make  the  trade 
most  secure  between  Bristol  and  London  for  all  carriages. 
And  I  believe  the  gentlemen  of  Sussex  and  Hampshire  will 
with  more  cheerfulness  contribute  to  maintain  a  garrison 
on  the  frontier  than  in  their  bowels,  which  will  have  less 
safety  in  it. 


i645.  LETTER  XXXIII.    BASING  HOUSE.  211 

Sir,  I  hope  not  to  delay,  but  to  march  towards  the  West 
tomorrow ;  and  to  be  as  diligent  as  I  may  in  my  expedi- 
tion thither.  I  must  speak  my  judgment  to  you,  That  if 
you  intend  to  have  your  work  carried  on,  recruits  of  Foot 
must  be  had,  and  a  course  taken  to  pay  your  Army ;  else, 
believe  me,  Sir,  it  may  not  be  able  to  answer  the  work  you 
have  for  it  to  do. 

I  intrusted  Colonel  Hammond  to  wait  upon  you,  who 
was  taken  by  a  mistake  whilst  we  lay  before  this  Garrison, 
whom  God  safely  delivered  to  us,  to  our  great  joy ;  but  to 
his  loss  of  almost  all  he  had,  which  the  Enemy  took  from 
him.  The  Lord  grant  that  these  mercies  may  be  acknow- 
ledged with  all  thankfulness  :  God  exceedingly  abounds  in 
His  goodness  to  us,  and  will  not  be  weary  until  righteous- 
ness and  peace  meet;  and  until  He  hath  brought  forth 
a  glorious  work  for  the  happiness  of  this  poor  Kingdom. 
Wherein  desires  to  serve  God  and  you,  with  a  faithful  heart, 
your  most  humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Colonel  Hammond,  whom  we  shall  by  and  by  see  again, 
brought  this  good  news  to  London,  and  had  his  reward,  of  2oo/.  f 
Mr.  Peters  also,  being  requested  '  to  make  a  relation  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  spake  as  follows.'  The  reader  will  like  to 
hear  Mr.  Peters  for  once,  a  man  concerning  whom  he  has  heard 
so  many  falsehoods,  and  to  see  an  old  grim  scene  through  his 
eyes.  Mr.  Peters  related  : 

"That  he  came  into  Basing  House  some  time  after  the 
"storm,"  on  Tuesday  I4th  of  October  1645; — "and  took  a 
"  view  first  of  the  works  ;  which  were  many,  the  circumvalla- 
"  tion  being  above  a  mile  in  compass.  The  Old  House  had 
"  stood  (as  it  is  reported)  two  or  three  hundred  years,  a  nest 
"  of  Idolatry  ;  the  New  House  surpassing  that  in  beauty  and 
"  stateliness  ;  and  either  of  them  fit  to  make  an  emperor's  court. 

"The  rooms  before  the  storm  (it  seems),  in  both  Houses, 
"  were  all  completely  furnished  ;  provisions  for  some  years 
"  rather  than  months ;  400  quarters  of  wheat ;  bacon  divers 

*  Sprigge,  pp.  137-9  :  Newspapers  (in  Crotnivelliatta,  p.  27) ;  and  Harl.  MSS.  787. 
6  Co/unions  Journals  ('<jth  Oct  1645)1  IV-  3°9- 


212  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,4Oct 

41  rooms-full,  containing  hundreds  of  flitches ;  cheese  propor- 
41  tionable ;  with  oatmeal,  beef,  pork  ;  beer  divers  cellars-full, 
41  and  that  very  good," — Mr.  Peters  having  taken  a  draught  of 
the  same. 

"Abed  in  one  room,  furnished,  which  cost  i,3oo/.  Popish 
44  books  many,  with  copes,  and  such  utensils.  In  truth,  the 
44  House  stood  in  its  full  pride  ;  and  the  Enemy  was  persuaded 
"  that  it  would  be  the  last  piece  of  ground  that  would  be  taken 
44  by  the  Parliament,  because  they  had  so  often  foiled  our  forces 
"  which  had  formerly  appeared  before  it.  In  the  several  rooms 
14  and  about  the  House,  there  were  slain  seventy-four,  and  only 
41  one  woman,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Griffith,  who  by  her  railing," 
poor  lady,  "  provoked  our  soldiers  (then  in  heat)  into  a  farther 
"  passion.  There  lay  dead  upon  the  ground  Major  Cuffle  ; — a 
41  man  of  great  account  amongst  them,  and  a  notorious  Papist : 
41  slain  by  the  hands  of  Major  Harrison,  that  godly  and  gallant 
44  gentleman," — all  men  know  him  ;  "and  Robinson  the  Player, 
44  who,  a  little  before  the  storm,  was  known  to  be  mocking  and 
44  scorning  the  Parliament  and  our  Army.  Eight  or  nine  gentle- 
44  women  of  rank,  running  forth  together,  were  entertained  by 
"  the  common  soldiers  somewhat  coarsely  ; — yet  not  uncivilly, 
44  considering  the  action  in  hand. 

"The  plunder  of  the  soldiers  continued  till  Tuesday  night : 
44  one  soldier  had  a  Hundred-and-twenty  Pieces  in  gold  for  lu's 
4<  share;  others  plate,  others  jewels  ; — among  the  rest,  one  got 
44  three  bags  of  silver,  which  (he  being  not  able  to  keep  his  own 
"  counsel)  grew  to  be  common  pillage  amongst  the  rest,  and 
"  the  fellow  had  but  one  half-crown  left  for  himself  at  last. — 
41  The  soldiers  sold  the  wheat  to  country-people ;  which  they 
"  held  up  at  good  rates  awhile ;  but  afterwards  the  market  fell, 
41  and  there  were  some  abatements  for  haste.  After  that,  they 
"  sold  the  household  stuff;  whereof  there  was  good  store,  and 
41  the  country  loaded  away  many  carts  ;  and  they  continued  a 
41  great  while,  fetching  out  all  manner  of  household  stuff,  till 
"  they  had  fetched  out  all  the  stools,  chairs,  and  other  lumber, 
"  all  which  they  sold  to  the  country-people  by  piecemeal. 

"  In  all  these  great  buildings,  there  was  not  one  iron  bar 
•'  left  in  all  the  windows  (save  only  what  were  on  fire),  before 
"  night.  And  the  last  work  of  all  was  the  lead  ;  and  by  Thurs- 
44  day  morning,  they  had  hardly  left  one  gutter  about  the  House. 
41  And  what  the  soldiers  left,  the  fire  took  hold  on  ;  which  made 


KS4S  LETTER  XXXIII.    BASING  HOUSE.  213 

"  more  than  ordinary  haste  ;  leaving  nothing  but  bare  walls 
"  and  chimneys  in  less  than  twenty  hours  ; — being  occasioned 
"  by  the  neglect  of  the  Enemy  in  quenching  a  fire-ball  of  ours 
"  at  first." — What  a  scene  ! 

"  We  know  not  how  to  give  a  just  account  of  the  number 
"  of  persons  that  were  within.  For  we  have  not  quite  Three- 
"  hundred  prisoners  ;  and  it  may  be,  have  found  a  Hundred 
"  slain, — whose  bodies,  some  being  covered  with  rubbish,  came 
"  not  at  once  to  our  view.  Only,  riding  to  the  House  on  Tues- 
"  day  night,  we  heard  divers  crying  in  vaults  for  quarter  ;  but 
"  our  men  could  neither  come  to  them,  nor  they  to  us.  Amongst 
"  those  that  we  saw  slain,  one  of  their  officers  lying  on  the 
"  ground,  seeming  so  exceeding  tall,  was  measured  ;  and  from 
"  his  great-toe  to  his  crown  was  9  feet  in  length"  (sic). 

"  The  Marquis  being  pressed,  by  Mr.  Peters  arguing  with 
"  him,"  which  was  not  very  chivalrous  in  Mr.  Peters,  "broke 
"  out  and  said,  'That  if  the  King  had  no  more  ground  in  Eng- 
"  land  but  Basing  House,  he  would  adventure  as  he  did,  and  so 
"  maintain  it  to  the  uttermost ;' — meaning  with  these  Papists  ; 
"  comforting  himself  in  this  disaster,  '  That  Basing  House  was 
"  called  Loyalty.'  But  he  was  soon  silenced  in  the  question 
"  concerning  the  King  and  Parliament ;  and  could  only  hope 
"  'that  the  King  might  have  a  day  again.' — And  thus  the  Lord 
"  was  pleased  in  a  few  hours  to  show  us  what  mortal  seed  all 
'•'  earthly  glory  grows  upon  ;  and  how  just  and  righteous  the 
"  ways  of  God  are,  who  takes  sinners  in  their  own  snares,  and 
"  lifteth  up  the  hands  of  His  despised  people. 

"  This  is  now  the  Twentieth  garrison  that  hath  been  taken- 
"  in,  this  Summer,  by  this  Army  ; — and,  I  believe  most  of  them 
"  the  answers  of  the  prayers,  and  trophies  of  the  faith,  of  some 
"  of  God's  servants.  The  Commander  of  this  Brigade,"  Lieu- 
tenant-General  Cromwell,  "had  spent  much  time  with  God  in 
"  prayer  the  night  before  the  storm  ; — and  seldom  fights  with- 
"  out  some  Text  of  Scripture  to  support  him.  This  time  he 
"  rested  upon  that  blessed  word  of  God  written  in  the  Hundred- 
"  and-fifteenth  Psalm,  eighth  verse,  They  that  make  them  are 
"  like  unto  them;  so  is  every  one  tliat  trusteth  in  them.  Which, 
"  with  some  verses  going  before,  was  now  accomplished."7 

7  '  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy  Name  give  glory ;  for  thy 
'  mercy  and  for  thy  truth's  sake.  Wherefore  should  the  Heathen  say,  Where  is  now 
'  their  God?  Our  God  is  in  the  Heavens  :  he  hath  done  whatsoever  he  hath  pleased  1 


214  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,6  Oct. 

'  Mr.  Peters  presented  the  Marquis's  own  Colours,  which  he 
'  brought  from  Basing ;  the  Motto  of  which  was,  Donee  pax 
'  redeat  terris;  the  very  same  as  King  Charles  gave  upon  his 
•  Coronation-money,  when  he  came  to  the  Crown.'8 — So  Mr. 
Peters  ;  and  then  withdrew, — getting  by  and  by  2oo/.  a-year 
settled  on  him.9 

This  Letter  was  read  in  all  Pulpits  next  Sunday,  with  thanks 
rendered  to  Heaven,  by  order  of  Parliament.  Basing  House  is 
to  be  carted  away  ;  '  whoever  will  come  for  brick  or  stone  shall 
freely  have  the  same  for  his  pains.'10 

Among  the  names  of  the  Prisoners  taken  here  one  reads 
that  of  Inigo  Jones, — unfortunate  old  Inigo.  Vertue,  on  what 
evidence  I  know  not,  asserts  farther  that  Wenceslaus  Hollar, 
with  his  graving  tools  and  unrivalled  graving  talent,  was  taken 
here.11  The  Marquis  of  Winchester  had  been  addicted  to  the 
Arts, — to  the  Upholsteries  perhaps  still  more.  A  magnificent 
kind  of  man  ;  whose  '  best  bed,'  now  laid  bare  to  general  in- 
spection, excited  the  wonder  of  the  world. 


LETTER  XXXIV. 

FAIRFAX,  with  the  Army,  is  in  Devonshire ;  the  following 
Letter  will  find  him  at  Tiverton  ;  Cromwell  marching  that  way, 
having  now  ended  Basing.  It  is  ordered  in  the  Commons  House 
that  Cromwell  be  thanked  ;  moreover  that  he  now  attack  Den- 
nington  Castle,  of  which  we  heard  already  at  Ncwbury.  These 
messages,  as  I  gather,  reached  him  at  Basing,  late  'last  night,' 
— Wednesday  15th,  the  day  they  were  written  in  London.12 
Thursday  morning  early,  he  marched  ;  has  come  ('came,'  he 
calls  it)  as  far  as  Wallop  ;  purposes  still  to  make  a  forced  march 
'  to  Langford  House  tonight'  (probably  with  horse  only,  and 


— Their  Idols  arc  silver  and  gold  ;  the  work  of  men's  hands.     They  have  mouths, 

hut  they  speak  not  ;  eyes  have  they,  but  they  sec   not :  they  have  ears,  but  they 

hear  not  ;  noses  have  they,  but  they  smell  not  :  they  have  hands,  but  they  handle 

not  ;  feet  have  they,  but  they  walk  not :  neither  speak  they  through  their  throat  I 

They  that  make  them  are  like  unto  them  :  ao  is  every  one  that  tnisteth  in  them.'— 

These  words,  awful  as  the  words  of  very  Cod,  were  in  Oliver  Cromwell's  heart  that 

night. 

B  Springe,  pp.  139-41.  9  Whitlockc. 

*  Connnt-ns  Journal*,  iv.  309.  "  Life  ef  Hollar. 

"  Commons  yonrnals  (vt.  309),  isthOct  1645. 


i64S.  LETTER  XXXIV.   WALLOP.  215 

leave  the  foot  to  follow)  ; — answers  meanwhile  his  messages 
here  (see  next  Letter),  and  furthermore  writes  this  : 

To  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  General  of  the 
Parliament's  Army;15  Haste:  These. 

SlR,  Wallop,  iCth  October  1645. 

In  today's  march  I  came  to  Wallop,  twenty 
miles  from  Basing,  towards  you.  Last  night  I  received  this 
enclosed  from  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons ; 
which  I  thought  fit  to  send  you ;  and  to  which  I  returned 
an  Answer,  a  copy  whereof  I  have  also  sent  enclosed  to  you. 
I  perceive  that  it's  their  desire  to  have  the  place1"1  taken- 
in.  But  truly  I  could  not  do  other  than  let  them  know 
what  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  West  is,  and  submit  the 
business  to  them  and  you.  I  shall  be  at  Langford  House 
tonight,  if  God  please.  I  hope  the  work  will  not  be  long. 
If  it  should,  I  will  rather  leave  a  small  part  of  the  Foot  (if 
Horse  will  nst  be  sufficient  to  take  it  in),  than  be  detained 
from  obeying  such  commands  as  I  shall  receive.  I  humbly 
beseech  you  to  be  confident  that  no  man  hath  a  more  faith- 
ful heart  to  serve  you  than  myself,  nor  shall  be  more  strict 
to  obey  your  commands  than  your  most  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Sir,  I  beseech  you  to  let  me  know  your  resolution  in 
this  business  with  all  the  possible  speed  that  may  be ;  be- 
cause whatsoever  I  be  designed  to,  I  wish  I  may  speedily 
endeavour  it,  time  being  so  precious  for  action  in  this 
season.* 

Langford  House,  whither  Oliver  is  now  bound,  hoping  to 
arrive  tonight,  is  near  Salisbury.  He  did  arrive  accordingly ; 

13  Marching   from  Collumpton    to  Tiverton,    while  Cromwell  writes  (Sprigge, 

?•  334^- 

11  Dennington  Castle. 

*  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  61 : — only  the  Signature  is  in  Oliver's  hand. 


216  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  ,7Oct 

drew  out  part  of  his  brigade,  and  summoned  the  place  ; — here 
is  his  own  most  brief  account  of  the  business. 


LETTER  XXXV. 

To  the  Honourable  William  Lenthall,  Esquire,  Speaker  to  the 
Honourable  House  of  Commons:  These. 

SlR,  Salisbury,  ijth  Oct.  (12  at  night)  1645. 

I  gave  you  an  account,  the  last  night,  of  my 
marching  to  Langford  House.  Whither  I  came  this  day,  and 
immediately  sent  them  in  a  Summons.  The  Governor  de- 
sired I  should  send  two  Officers  to  treat  with  him;  and 
I  accordingly  appointed  Lieutenant -Colonel  Hewson  and 
Major  Kelsey  thereunto.  The  Treaty  produced  the  Agree- 
ment, which  I  have  here  enclosed  to  you. 

The  General,  I  hear,  is  advanced  as  far  West  as  Col- 
lumpton,  and  hath  sent  some  Horse  and  Foot  to  Tiverton. 
It  is  earnestly  desired  that  more  Foot  might  march  up  to 
him ; — it  being  convenient  that  we  stay  '  here'  a  day  for  our 
Foot  that  are  behind  and  coming  up. 

I  wait  your  answer  to  my  Letter  last  night  from  Wallop : 
I  shall  desire  that  your  pleasure  may  be  speeded  to  me ; — 
and  rest,  Sir,  your  humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Basing  is  black  ashes,  then  ;  and  Langford  is  ours,  the 
Garrison  '  to  march  forth  tomorrow  at  twelve  of  the  clock, 
being  the  i8th  instant.'15  And  now  the  question  is,  Shall 
we  attack  Dcnnington  or  not  ? — 

Colonel  Dalbier,  a  man  of  Dutch  birth,  well  known  to 
readers  of  the  old  Books,  is  with  Cromwell  at  present ;  his 
Second  in  command.  It  was  from  Dalbier  that  Cromwell 
first  of  all  learned  the  mechanical  part  of  soldiering ;  he  had 
Dalbier  to  help  him  in  drilling  his  Ironsides  ;  so  says  Heath, 

•  Kind's  Pamphlets,  small  410,  no.  239,  art.  19  (no.  41  of  Tkt  Wttkly  Accavnt). 
l}  Spnggc,  p.  145. 


x64s.  LETTER  XXXV.    SALISBURY.  217 

credible  oa  such  a  point.  Dennington  Castle  was  not  besieged 
at  present ;  it  surrendered  next  Spring  to  Dalbier.16  Crom- 
well returned  to  Fairfax ;  served  through  Winter  with  him  in 
the  West,  till  all  ended  there. 

About  a  month  before  the  date  of  this  Letter,  the  King 
had  appeared  again  with  some  remnant  of  force,  got  together 
in  Wales ;  with  intent  to  relieve  Chester,  which  was  his  key 
to  Ireland :  but  this  force  too  he  saw  shattered  to  pieces  on 
Rowton  Heath,  near  that  City.1?  He  had  also  had  an  eye 
towards  the  great  Montrose  in  Scotland,  who  in  these  weeks 
was  blazing  at  his  highest  there  :  but  him  too  David  Lesley 
with  dragoons,  emerging  from  the  mist  of  the  Autumn  morn- 
ing, on  Philipshaugh  near  Selkirk,  had,  in  one  fell  hour,  tram- 
pled utterly  out.  The  King  had  to  retire  to  Wales  again  ;  to 
Oxford  and  obscurity  again. 

On  the  1 4th  of  next  March,  as  we  said,  Sir  Ralph  Hopton 
surrendered  himself  in  Cornwall.18  On  the  22d  of  the  same 
month,  Sir  Jacob  Astley,  another  distinguished  Royalist  General, 
the  last  of  them  all, — coming  towards  Oxford  with  some  small 
force  he  had  gathered, — was  beaten  and  captured  at  Stow 
among  the  Wolds  of  Gloucestershire  :*9  surrendering  himself, 
the  brave  veteran  said,  or  is  reported  to  have  said,  "You  have 
now  done  your  work,  and  may  go  to  play, — unless  you  will  fall 
out  among  yourselves." 

On  Monday  night,  towards  twelve  of  the  clock,  27th  April 
1 646,  the  King  in  disguise  rode  out  of  Oxford,  somewhat  un- 
certain whitherward, — at  length  towards  Newark  and  the  Scots 
Army.20  On  the  Wednesday  before,  Oliver  Cromwell  had 
returned  to  his  place  in  Parliament.81  Many  detached  Castles 
and  Towns  still  held  out,  Ragland  Castle  even  till  the  next 
August ;  scattered  fires  of  an  expiring  conflagration,  that  need 
to  be  extinguished  with  effort  and  in  detail.  Of  all  which 
victorious  sieges,  with  their  elaborate  treaties  and  moving  acci- 
dents, the  theme  of  every  tongue  during  that  old  Summer,  let 
the  following  one  brief  glimpse,  notable  on  private  grounds, 
suffice  us  at  present. 

16  ist  April  1646  (Rushworth,  vi.  252). 

•7  24th  September  1645  (Rushworth,  vi.  117;  Lord  Digby's  account  otit,Or»tc>td 
Papers,  ii.  90). 

18  Hopton's  own  account  of  it,  Ormond  Papers,  ii.  109-26. 

19  Rushworth,  vi.  139-41.  ^  Ibid.  vi.  267  ;  Her  Carolinutn, 
™  Cramivclllana,  p.  31. 


2i8  PART  II.    FIRST  CIVIL  WAR.  .-June 

Oxford,  the  Royalist  metropolis,  a  place  full  of  Royalist 
dignitaries,  and  of  almost  inexpugnable  strength,  had  it  not 
been  so  disheartened  from  without, — was  besieged  by  Fairfax 
himself  in  the  first  days  of  May.  There  was  but  little  fighting, 
there  was  much  negotiating,  tedious  consulting  of  Parliament 
and  King ;  the  treaty  did  not  end  in  surrender  till  Saturday 
aoth  June.  And  now,  dated  on  the  Monday  before,  at  Holton, 
a  country  Parish  in  those  parts,  there  is  this  still  legible  in  the 
old  Church  Register, — intimately  interesting  to  some  friends 
of  ours  !  '  HENRY  IRETON,  Commissary-General  to  Sir  Thomas 
'  Fairfax,  and  BRIDGET,  Daughter  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  Lieu- 
•  tenant-General  of  the  Horse  to  the  said  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax, 
'  — were  married,  by  Mr.  Dell,  in  the  Lady  Whorwood  her 
'  House  in  Holton,  1 5th  June  1646. — ALBAN  EALES,  Rector.'*8 

Ireton,  we  are  to  remark,  was  one  of  Fairfax's  Commis- 
sioners on  the  Treaty  for  surrendering  Oxford,  and  busy  under 
the  walls  there  at  present :  Holton  is  some  five  miles  east  of 
the  City  ;  Holton  House  we  guess  by  various  indications  to 
have  been  Fairfax's  own  quarter.  Dell,  already  and  after- 
wards well  known,  was  the  General's  Chaplain  at  this  date. 
Of  '  the  Lady  Whorwood'  I  have  traces,  rather  in  the  Royalist 
direction  ;  her  strong  moated  House,  very  useful  to  Fairfax  in 
those  weeks,  still  stands  conspicuous  in  that  region,  though 
now  under  new  figure  and  ownership ;  drawbridge  become 
fi.ved,  deep  ditch  now  dry,  moated  island  changed  into  a  flower- 
garden  ;  —  '  rebuilt  in  1 807.'  Fairfax's  Lines,  we  observe, 
extended  'from  Headington  Hill  to  Marston,1  several  miles 
in  advance  of  Holton  House,  then  '  from  Marstow  across  the 
'  Cherwell,  and  over  from  that  to  the  I  sis  on  the  North  side  of 
'  the  City  ;'  southward  and  elsewhere,  the  besieged,  '  by  a  dam 
at  St.  Clement's  Bridge,  had  laid  the  country  all  under  water  :'«* 
— in  such  scene,  with  the  treaty  just  ending  and  general  Peace 
like  to  follow,  did  Ireton  welcome  his  Bride, — a  brave  young 
damsel  of  twenty-one  ;  escorted,  doubtless  by  her  Father  among 
others,  to  the  Lord  General's  house ;  and  there,  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Dell,  solemnly  handed  over  to  new  destinies  ! 

This  wedding  was  on  Monday  I5th  June;  on  Saturday 

n  Parish  Register  of  Holton  (copied,  Oct.  1846).  Poor  Noble  (L  134)  seems  to 
have  copied  this  same  Register,  and  to  have  misread  his  own  Note :  giving  instead  of 
Holton  Nalton,  an  imaginary  place  ;  and  instead  of  June  January,  an  impossible 
date.  See  antea,  p.  60  ;  postea,  Letter  XLI.  p.  329. 

*>  Rushworth,  vL  379-385. 


i640.  LETTER  XXXV.    NEW  MEMBERS.  219 

came  the  final  signing  of  the  treaty  :  and  directly  thereupon, 
on  Monday  next,  Prince  Rupert  and  Prince  Maurice  took  the 
road,  with  their  attendants,  and  their  passes  to  the  sea-coast  ; 
a  sight  for  the  curious.  On  Tuesday  'there  went  about  300 
persons,  mostly  of  quality  ;'  and  on  Wednesday  all  the  Royalist 
force,  '3,000'  (or  say  2,000)  'to  the  Eastward,  500  to  the 
North  ;'  with  'drums  beating,  colours  flying,'  for  the  last  time  ; 
all  with  passes,  with  agitated  thoughts  and  outlooks  :  and  in 
sacred  Oxford,  as  poor  Wood  intimates,-4  the  abomination  of 
desolation  supervened  ! — Oxford  surrendering  with  the  King's 
sanction  quickened  other  surrenders  ;  Ragland  Castle  itself, 
and  the  obstinate  old  Marquis,  gave-in  before  the  end  of  Au- 
gust :  and  the  First  Civil  War,  to  the  last  ember  of  it,  was 
extinct. 

The  Parliament,  in  these  circumstances,  was  now  getting 
itself  '  recruited," — its  vacancies  filled-up  again.  The  Royalist 
Members,  who  had  deserted  three  years  ago,  had  been,  without 
much  difficulty,  successively  '  disabled,'  as  their  crime  came  to 
light :  but  to  issue  new  writs  for  new  elections,  while  the  quarrel 
with  the  King  still  lasted,  was  a  matter  of  more  delicacy  ;  this 
too,  however,  had  at  length  been  resolved  upon,  the  Parliament 
Cause  now  looking  so  decidedly  prosperous,  in  the  Autumn  of 
1645.  Gradually,  in  the  following  months,  the  new  Members 
were  elected,  above  Two-hundrcd-and-thirty  of  them  in  all. 
These  new  Members,  '  Recruiters,'  as  Anthony  Wood  and  the 
Royalist  world  reproachfully  call  them,  were,  by  the  very  fact 
of  their  standing  candidates  in  such  circumstances,  decided 
Puritans  all, — Independents  many  of  them.  Colonel,  after- 
wards Admiral  Blake  (for  Taunton),  Ludlow,  Ireton  (for  Ap- 
pleby),  Algernon  Sidney,  Hutchinson  known  by  his  Wife's 
Memoirs,  were  among  these  new  Members.  Fairfax,  on  his 
Father's  death  some  two  years  hence,  likewise  came  in.25 

44  Fasti,  ii.  58,  sec.  edit. 

>*  The  Writ  is  issued  i6th  March  1647-8  (Com/tons  Journals), 


PART  THIRD. 

BETWEEN  THE  TWO  CIVIL  WARS. 

1646-1648. 


LETTERS  XXXVI.— XLII. 

THE  conquering  of  the  King  had  been  a  difficult  operation  ; 
but  to  make  a  Treaty  with  him  now  when  he  was  conquered, 
proved  an  impossible  one.  The  Scots,  to  whom  he  had  fled, 
entreated  him,  at  last,  '  with  tears'  and  '  on  their  knees,'  to  take 
the  Covenant,  and  sanction  the  Presbyterian  worship,  if  he 
could  not  adopt  it  :  on  that  condition  they  would  fight  to  the 
last  man  for  him  ;  on  no  other  condition  durst  or  would  a  man 
of  them  fight  for  him.  The  English  Presbyterians,  as  yet  the 
dominant  party,  earnestly  entreated  to  the  same  effect.  In  vain, 
both  of  them.  The  King  had  other  schemes  :  trie  King,  writ- 
ing privately  to  Digby  before  quitting  Oxford,  when  lie  had 
some  mind  to  venture  privately  on  London,  as  he  ultimately 
did  on  the  Scotch  Camp,  to  raise  Treaties  and  Caballings 
there,  had  said,  " — endeavouring  to  get  to  London  ;  being  not 
"  without  hope  that  I  shall  be  able  so  to  draw  cither  the  Pres- 
"  byterians  or  the  Independents  to  side  with  me  for  extirpating 
"  one  another,  that  I  shall  be  really  King  again."1  Such  a  man 
is  not  easy  to  make  a  Treaty  with, — on  the  word  of  a  King  ! 
In  fact,  his  Majesty,  though  a  belligerent  party  who  had  not 
now  one  soldier  on  foot,  considered  himself  still  a  tower  of 
strength  ;  as  indeed  he  was  ;  all  men  having  a  to  us  inconceiv- 

1  Oxford,  j6th  March  1646  ;  Carte's  Life  p/Ormonti,  iii.  (London,  1735),  p.  452- 


1646.  LETTER  XXXVI.    LONDON.  221 

able  reverence  for  him,  till  bitter  Necessity  and  he  together 
drove  them  away  from  it.  Equivocations,  spasmodic  obsti- 
nacies, and  blindness  to  the  real  state  of  facts,  must  have  an 
end. — 

The  following  Seven  Letters,  of  little  or  no  significance  for 
illustrating  public  affairs,  are  to  carry  us  over  a  period  of  most 
intricate  negotiation  ;  negotiation  with  the  Scots,  managed  man- 
fully on  both  sides,  otherwise  it  had  ended  in  quarrel ;  negotia- 
tions with  the  King  ;  infinite  public  and  private  negotiations  ; — 
which  issue  at  last  in  the  Scots  marching  home  with  2oo,ooo/. 
as  'a  fair  instalment  of  their  arrears,'  in  their  pocket  ;  and  the 
King  marching,  under  escort  of  Parliamentary  Commissioners, 
to  Holmby  House  in  Northamptonshire,  to  continue  in  strict 
though  very  stately  seclusion,  '  on  5o/.  a-day,'2  and  await  the 
destinies  there. 

LETTER  XXXVI. 

KNYVETT,  of  Ashwellthorpe  in  Norfolk,  is  one  of  the  unfor- 
tunate Royalist  Gentlemen  whom  Cromwell  laid  sudden  hold  of 
at  Lowestoff  some  years  ago,  and  lodged  in  the  Castle  of  Cam- 
bridge,— suddenly  snuffing-out  their  Royalist  light  in  that  quar- 
ter. Knyvett,  we  conclude,  paid  his  '  contribution,'  or  due  fine, 
for  the  business  ;  got  safe  home  again  ;  and  has  lived  quieter 
ever  since.  Of  whom  we  promised  the  reader  some  transitory 
glimpse  once  more.3 

Here  accordingly  is  a  remarkable  Letter  to  him,  now  first 
adjusted  to  its  right  place  in  this  Series.  The  Letter  used  to 
be  in  the  possession  of  the  Lords  Berners,  whose  ancestor  this 
Knyvett  was,  one  of  whose  seats  this  Ashwellthorpe  in  Norfolk 
still  is.  With  them,  however,  there  remains  nothing  but  a  Copy 
now,  and  that  without  date,  and  otherwise  not  quite  correct. 
Happily  it  had  already  gone  forth  in  print  with  date  and  ad- 
dress in  full ; — has  been  found  among  the  lumber  and  innocent 
marine -stores  of  Sylvanus  Urban,  communicated,  in  an  inci- 
dental way,  by  'a  Gentleman  at  Shrewsbury,'  who,  in  1787, 
had  got  possession  of  it, — honestly,  we  hope  ;  and  to  the  com- 
fort of  readers  here. 

•  Whitlocke,  p.  244.  3  Antea,  p.  119. 


222    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    37July 

For  my  noble  Friend  Thomas  Knyvctt,  Esquire,  at  his  House 
at  Ashwellthorpc :  Tltcse. 

SlR,  London,  97th  July  1646. 

I  cannot  pretend  any  interest  in  you  for  any- 
thing I  have  done,  nor  ask  any  favour  for  any  service  I  may 
do  you.  But  because  I  am  conscious  to  myself  of  a  readi- 
ness to  serve  any  gentleman  in  all  possible  civilities,  I  am 
bold  to  be  beforehand  with  you  to  ask  your  favour  on 
behalf  of  your  honest  poor  neighbours  of  Hapton,  who,  as  I 
am  informed,  are  in  some  trouble,  and  are  likely  to  be  put 
to  more,  by  one  Robert  Browne  your  Tenant,  who,  not  well 
pleased  with  the  way  of  these  men,  seeks  their  disquiet  all 
he  may. 

Truly  nothing  moves  me  to  desire  this  more  than  the 
pity  I  bear  them  in  respect  of  their  honesties,  and  the 
trouble  I  hear  they  are  likely  to  suffer  for  their  consciences. 
And  however  the  world  interprets  it,  I  am  not  ashamed  to 
solicit  for  such  as  are  anywhere  under  pressure  of  this  kind ; 
doing  even  as  I  would  be  done  by.  Sir,  this  is  a  quarrel- 
some age ;  and  the  anger  seems  to  me  to  be  the  worse, 
where  the  ground  is  difference  of  opinion  ; — which  to  cure, 
to  hurt  men  in  their  names,  persons  or  estates,  will  not  be 
found  an  apt  remedy.  Sir,  it  will  not  repent  you  to  protect 
those  poor  men  of  Hapton  from  injury  and  oppression : 
which  that  you  would  is  the  effect  of  this  Letter.  Sir,  you 
will  not  want  the  grateful  acknowledgment,  nor  utmost 
endeavours  of  requital  from  your  most  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Hapton  is  a  Parish  and  Hamlet  some  seven  or  eight  miles 
south  of  Norwich,  in  the  Hundred  of  Dcpwadc  ;  it  is  within  a 
mile  or  two  of  this  Ashwellthorpc ;  which  was  Knyvctt's  resi- 
dence at  that  time.  What  '  Robert  Browne  your  Tenant'  had 

•  Gtntleman't  Magatin*  (1787),  liv.  337. 


1646.  LETTER  XXXVII.    LONDON.  223 

in  hand  or  view  against  these  poor  Parishioners  of  Hapton, 
must,  as  the  adjoining  circumstances  are  all  obliterated,  remain 
somewhat  indistinct  to  us.  We  gather  in  general  that  the 
Parishioners  of  Hapton  were  a  little  given  to  Sectarian,  Inde- 
pendent notions  ;  which  Browne,  a  respectable  Christian  of  the 
Presbyterian  strain,  could  not  away  with.  The  oppressed  poor 
Tenants  have  contrived  to  make  their  case  credible  to  Lieu- 
tenant-General  Cromwell,  now  in  his  place  in  Parliament  again ; 
— have  written  to  him  ;  perhaps  clubbed  some  poor  sixpences, 
and  sent  up  a  rustic  Deputation  to  him  :  and  he,  '  however  the 
'  respectable  Presbyterian  world  may  interpret  it,  is  not  ashamed 
'  to  solicit  for  them  :'  with  effect,  either  now  or  soon. 


LETTER  XXXVII. 

For  his  Excellency  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Thomas  Fair- 
fax, General  of  the  Parliament1  s  Forces  £  These. 

SlR,  '  London,'  315!  July  1646. 

I  was  desired  to  write  a  Letter  to  you  by 
Adjutant  Fleming.  The  end  of  it  is,  To  desire  your  Letter 
in  his  recommendation.  He  will  acquaint  you  with  the  sum 
thereof,  more  particularly  what  the  business  is.  I  most 
humbly  submit  to  your  better  judgment,  when  you  hear  it 
from  him. 

Craving  pardon  for  my  boldness  in  putting  you  to  this 
trouble,  I  rest,  your  most  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Adjutant  Fleming  is  in  Sprigge's  Army- List.  I  suppose 
him  to  be  the  Fleming  who,  as  Colonel  Fleming,  in  Spring 
1648,  had  rough  service  in  South  Wales  two  years  afterwards  ; 
and  was  finally  defeated, — attempting  to  '  seize  a  Pass'  near 
Pembroke  Castle,  then  in  revolt  under  Poyer  ;  was  driven  into 
a  Church,  and  there  slain, — some  say,  slew  himself.5 

*  At  Ragland,  or  about  leaving  Bath  for  the  purpose  of  concluding  Ragland  Sicgo 
(Rushworth,  vi.  293). 

*  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  70. 

5  Rushworth,  vii.  1097,  38  : — a  little  '  before'  27th  March  1648. 


224    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ,oAug. 

Of  Fleming's  present  '  business*  with  Fairfax,  whether  it 
were  to  solicit  promotion  here,  or  continued  employment  in  Ire- 
land, nothing  can  be  known.  The  War,  which  proved  to  be  but 
the  '  First  War,'  is  now,  as  we  said,  to  all  real  intents,  ended  : 
Ragland  Castle,  the  last  that  hcld-out  for  Charles,  has  been 
under  siege  for  some  weeks  ;  and  Fairfax,  who  had  been  '  at  the 
Bath  for  his  health,'  was  now  come  or  coming  into  those  parts 
for  the  peremptory  reduction  of  it.6  There  have  begun  now  to 
be  discussions  and  speculations  about  sending  men  to  Ireland;7 
about  sending  Massey  (famed  Governor  of  Gloucester)  to  Ire- 
land with  men,  and  then  also  about  disbanding  Massey's  men. 

Exactly  a  week  before,  24th  July  1646,  the  united  Scots 
and  Parliamentary  Commissioners  have  presented  their  '  Pro- 
positions' to  his  Majesty  at  Newcastle  :  Yes  or  No,  is  all  the 
answer  they  can  take.  They  are  most  zealous  that  he  should 
say  Yes.  Chancellor  Loudon  implores  and  prophesies  in  a  very 
remarkable  manner :  "  All  England  will  rise  against  you ;  they," 
these  Sectarian  Parties,  "will  process  and  depose  you,  and  set- 
up another  Government,"  unless  you  close  with  the  Proposi- 
tions. His  Majesty,  on  the  1st  of  August  (writing  at  New- 
castle, in  the  same  hours  whilst  Cromwell  writes  this  in  London), 
answers  in  a  haughty  way,  No.8 


LETTER  XXXVIII. 

August  loth.  The  Parliamentary  Commissioners  have  re- 
turned, and  three  of  the  leading  Scots  with  them, — to  see  what 
is  now  to  be  done.  The  '  Chancellor'  who  comes  with  Argyle 
is  Loudon,  the  Scotch  Chancellor,  a  busy  man  in  those  years. 
Fairfax  is  at  Bath  ;  and  'the  Solicitor,'  St.  John  the  Shipmoney 
Lawyer,  is  there  with  him. 

For  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  the  General:  These, 

SlR,  London,  loth  Aug.  1646. 

Hearing  you  were  returned  ftom  Ragland  to 
the  Bath,  I  take  the  boldness  to  make  this  address  to  you. 

6  Rushw orth,  vi.  397  ; — Fairfax's  first  Letter  from  Ragland  is  of  7th  August ;  I4th 
Align- 1  he  dale*  from  Usk  ;  and  Ragland  is  surrendered  on  the  17th. 

•  Crtniniflliana,  April  1646,  p.  31. 

*  Rushworth,  vi.  319-21. 


1646.  LETTER  XXXVIII.    LONDON.  225 

Our  Commissioners  sent  to  the  King  came  this  night  to 
London.9  I  have  spoken  with  two  of  them,  and  can  only 
learn  these  generals,  That  there  appears  a  good  inclina- 
tion in  the  Scots  to  the  rendition  of  our  Towns,  and  to 
their  march  out  of  the  Kingdom.  When  they  bring-in  their 
Papers,  we  shall  know  more.  Argyle,  and  the  Chancellor, 
and  Dunfermline  are  come  up.  Duke  of  Hamilton  is  gone 
from  the  King  into  Scotland.  I  hear  that  Montrose's  men 
are  not  disbanded.  The  King  gave  a  very  general  answer. 
Things  are  not  well  in  Scotland ; — would  they  were  in  Eng- 
land !  We  are  full  of  faction  and  worse. 

I  hear  for  certain  that  Ormond  has  concluded  a  Peace 
with  the  Rebels.  Sir,  I  beseech  you  command  the  Solicitor 
to  come  away  to  us.  His  help  would  be  welcome. — Sir,  I 
hope  you  have  not  cast  me  off.  Truly  I  may  say,  none 
more  affectionately  honours  nor  loves  you.  You  and  yours 
are  in  my  daily  prayers.  You  have  done  enough  to  com- 
mand the  uttermost  of,  your  faithful  and  most  obedient  ser- 
vant, OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

'  P.S.'  I  beseech  you,  my  humble  service  may  be  pre- 
sented to  your  Lady. 

'  P.S.  2d.'10  The  money  for  disbanding  Massey's  men  is 
gotten,  and  you  will  speedily  have  directions  about  them 
from  the  Commons  House. 

'  Our  Commissioners'  to  Charles  at  Newcastle,  who  have  re- 
turned 'this  night,'  were  :  Earls  Pembroke  and  Suffolk,  from  the 
Peers  ;  from  the  Commons,  Sir  Walter  Earle  (Weymouth),  Sir 
John  Hippesley  (Cockermouth),  Robert  Goodwin  (East  Grin- 
stead,  Sussex),  Luke  Robinson  (Scarborough).11 

'  Duke  of  Hamilton  :'  the  Parliamentary  Army  found  him 
in  Pendennis  Castle, — no,  in  St.  Michael's  Mount  Castle, — 
when  they  took  these  places  in  Cornwall  lately.  The  Parlia- 

9  Commons  Journals,  nth  Aug.  1646.  *  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  63. 

10  This  second  Postscript  has  been  squeezecl-in  above  the  other,  and  is  evidently 
written  after  it. 

11  Rushwcrth,  vi.  309,  where  the  proposals  are  also  given. 

VOL.  I.  Q 


226    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ioAug. 

mcnt  has  let  him  loose  again  ; — he  has  begun  a  course  of  new 
diplomacies,  which  will  end  still  more  tragically  for  him. 

Ormond  is,  on  application  from  the  Parliament,  ostensibly 
ordered  by  his  Majesty  not  to  make  peace  with  the  outlaw  Irish 
rebels  ;  detestable  to  all  men  : — but  he  of  course  follows  his 
own  judgment  of  the  necessities  of  the  case,  being  now  nearly 
over  with  it  himself,  and  the  King  under  restraint  unable  to  give 
any  real  'orders.1  The  truth  was,  Ormond's  Peace,  odious  to 
all  English  Protestants,  had  been  signed  and  finished  in  March 
last  ;  with  this  condition  among  others,  That  an  Army  of  10,000 
Irish  were  to  come  over  and  help  his  Majesty  ;  which  truth  is 
now  beginning  to  ooze  out.  A  new  Ormond  Peace  : — not  ma- 
terially different  I  think  from  the  late  very  sad  Glamorgan  one ; 
which  had  been  made  in  secret,  through  the  Earl  of  Glamorgan, 
in  Autumn  last ;  and  then,  when  by  ill  chance  it  came  to  light, 
had  needed  to  be  solemnly  denied  in  Winter  following,  and  the 
Earl  of  Glamorgan  to  be  thrown  into  prison  to  save  appear- 
ances !  On  the  word  of  an  unfortunate  King  !12 — It  would  be 
a  comfort  to  understand  farther,  what  the  fact  soon  proves,  that 
this  new  Peace  also  will  not  hold  ;  the  Irish  Priests  and  Pope's 
Nuncios  disapproving  of  it.  Even  while  Oliver  writes,  an  Ex- 
communication or  some  such  Document  is  coming  out,  signed 
"  Frater  O'Farrel,"  "  Abbas  O'Teague,"  and  the  like  names  : 
poor  Ormond  going  to  Kilkenny,  to  join  forces  with  the  Irish 
rebels,  is  treacherously  set  upon,  and  narrowly  escapes  death 
by  them.13 

Concerning  '  the  business  of  Massey's  men,'  there  are  some 
notices  in  Ludlovv.14  The  Commons  had  ordered  Fairfax  to 
disband  them,  and  sent  the  money,  as  we  see  here  ;  whereupon 
the  Lords  ordered  him,  Not.  Fairfax  obeyed  the  Commons  ; 
apologised  to  the  Lords, — who  had  to  submit,  as  their  habit 
was.  Massey's  Brigade  was  of  no  particular  religion;  Massey's 
Miscellany, — 'some  of  them  will  require  passes  to  ^Ethiopia," 
says  ancient  wit.  But  Massey  himself  was  strong  for  Presby- 
terianism,  for  strict  Drill-sergeantcy  and  Anti-heresy  of  every 
kind  :  the  Lords  thought  his  Miscellany  and  he  might  have  been 
useful. 

11  Rushworth,  vL  342,  339-247  ;  Birch's  Inquiry  concerning  GUimorfiiH  ;  Carte's 
Ormond ;  &c.     Correct  details  in  Godwin,  ii.  102-114. 

13  Rushworth,  vi.  416  ;  Cartels  Life  c/Ortnond. 

14  Mtmoirs  of  Edmund  Litabrtu  (London,  1722),  ii.  181. 


»646.  LETTER  XXXIX.    LONDON.  227 


LETTER  XXXIX. 

His  Excellency,  in  the  following  Letter,  is  Fairfax  ;  John 
Rushworth,  worthy  John,  we  already  know  !  Fairfax  has  re- 
turned to  the  Bath,  still  for  his  health  ;  Ragland  being  taken, 
and  the  War  ended. 

For  John  Rushworth,  Esquire,  Secretary  to  his  Excellency,  at 
the  Bath:  These. 

MR.  RUSHWORTH,  The  House  'of  Commons,'  26th  Aug.  '1646.' 

I  must  needs  entreat  a  favour  on  the  behalf 
of  Major  Lilburn ;  who  has  a  long  time  wanted  employ- 
ment, and  by  reason  good  his  necessities  may  grow  upon 
him. 

You  should  do  very  well  to  move  the  General  to  take 
him  into  favourable  thoughts.  I  know  a  reasonable  employ- 
ment will  content  him.  As  for  his  honesty  and  courage,  I 
need  not  speak  much  of  '  that,'  seeing  he  is  so  well  known 
both  to  the  General  and  yourself. 

I  desire  you  answer  my  expectation  herein  so  far  as  you 
may.  You  shall  very  much  oblige,  Sir,  your  real  friend  and 
servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

This  is  not  '  Freeborn  John,'  the  Sectarian  Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel once  in  my  Lord  of  Manchester's  Army  ;  the  Lilburn  whom 
Cromwell  spoke  for,  when  Sir  Philip  Warwick  took  note  of 
him;  the  John  Lilburn  'who  could  not  live  without  a  quarrel; 
'  who  if  he  were  left  alone  in  the  world  would  have  to  divide 
'  himself  in  two,  and  set  the  John  to  fight  with  Lilburn,  and  the 
'  Lilburn  with  John  !'  Freeborn  John  is  already  a  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  by  title  ;  was  not  in  the  New  Model  at  all  ;  is  already 
deep  in  quarrels, — lying  in  limbo  since  August  last,  for  abuse 
of  his  old  master  Prynne.15  He  has  quarrelled,  or  is  quarrel- 
ling, with  Cromwell  too  ;  calls  the  Assembly  of  Divines  an  As- 

"  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  71 : — Signature  alone  is  Oliver's. 
15  Wood,  iii.  353. 


228     PART  III.   BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     6 Oct. 

sembly  of  Dry-vines; —  will  have  little  else  but  quarrelling 
henceforth. — This  is  the  Brother  of  Freeborn  John  ;  one  of  his 
two  Brothers.  Not  Robert,  who  already  is  or  soon  becomes  a 
Colonel  in  the  New  Model,  and  does  not  'want  employment.' 
This  is  Henry  Lilburn  :  appointed,  probably  in  consequence  of 
this  application,  Governor  of  Tynemouth  Castle  :  revolting  to 
the  Royalists,  his  own  Soldiers  slew  him  there,  in  1648.  These 
Lilburns  were  from  Durham  County. 


LETTER  XL. 

•DELINQUENTS, 'conquered  Royalists,  are  now  getting  them- 
selves fined,  according  to  rigorous  proportions,  by  a  Parliament 
Committee,  which  sits,  and  will  sit  long,  at  Goldsmiths'  Hall, 
making  that  locality  very  memorable  to  Royalist  gentlemen.16 

The  Staffordshire  Committee  have  sent  a  Deputation  up  to 
Town.  They  bring  a  Petition  ;  very  anxious  to  have  2,ooo/. 
out  of  their  Staffordshire  Delinquents  from  Goldsmiths'  Hall,  or 
even  4,ooo/., — to  pay-off  their  forces,  and  send  them  to  Ireland; 
which  lie  heavy  on  the  County  at  present. 

For  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  '  General  of  the 
Parliament's  Army .-'   These. 

SlR,  '  London,'  6th  Oct.  1646. 

I  would  be  loath  to  trouble  -you  with  any- 
thing ;  but  indeed  the  Staffordshire  Gentlemen  came  to  me 
this  day,  and  with  more  than  ordinary  importunity  did  press 
me  to  give  their  desires  furtherance  to  you.  Their  Letter 
will  show  what  they  entreat  of  you.  Truly,  Sir,  it  may  not 
be  amiss  to  give  them  what  ease  may  well  be  afforded,  and 
the  sooner  the  better,  especially  at  this  time.17 

I  have  no  more  at  present,  but  to  let  you  know  the  busi- 
ness of  your  Army  is  like  to  come  on  tomorrow.  You  shall 

*  The  proceedings  of  it,  all  now  in  very  superior  order,  still  lie  in  the  State-Paper 
Office. 

17  '  and  the  sooner/  &c. :  these  words  are  inserted  above  the  line,  by  way  of  caret 
and  afterthought. 


,646.  LETTER  XLI.    LONDON.  229 

have  account  of  that  business  so  soon  as  I  am  able  to  give 
it.  I  humbly  take  leave,  and  rest,  your  Excellency's  most 
humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

The  Commons  cannot  grant  the  prayer  of  this  Petition  ;18 
Staffordshire  will  have  to  rest  as  it  is  for  some  time.  '  The  busi 
ness  of  your  Army'  did  come  on  '  tomorrow  ;'  and  assessments 
for  a  new  six-months  were  duly  voted  for  it,  and  other  propel 
arrangements  made.1^ 


LETTER  XLI. 

COLONEL  IRETON,  now  Commissary-General  Ireton,  was 
wedded,  as  we  saw,  to  Bridget  Cromwell  on  the  1 5th  of  June 
last.  A  man  '  able  with  his  pen  and  his  sword  ;'  a  distin- 
guished man.  Once  B.A.  of  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  and  Stu- 
dent of  the  Middle  Temple ;  then  a  gentleman  trooper  in  my 
Lord  General  Essex's  Life-guard  ;  now  Colonel  of  Horse,  soon 
Member  of  Parliament ;  rapidly  rising.  A  Nottinghamshire 
man ;  has  known  the  Lieutenant-General  ever  since  the  Eastern- 
Association  times.  Cornbury  House,  not  now  conspicuous  on 
the  maps,  is  discoverable  in  Oxfordshire,  disguised  as  Bland- 
fotd  Lodge, — not  too  far  from  the  Devizes,  at  which  latter 
Town  Fairfax  and  Ireton  have  just  been,  disbanding  Massey's 
Brigade.  The  following  Letter  will  require  no  commentary. 

For  my  beloved  Daughter  Bridget  Ireton,  at  Cornbury, 
General's  Quarters :  These. 

DEAR  DAUGHTER,  London,  25*  Oct.  i64e. 

I  write  not  to  thy  Husband ;  partly  to  avoid 
trouble,  for  one  line  of  mine  begets  many  of  his,  which  I 
doubt  makes  him  sit  up  too  late ;  partly  because  I  am  my- 
self indisposed20  at  this  time,  having  some  other  considera- 
tions. 

*  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  72  : — Oliver's  own  hand.— Note,  his  Signature  seems 
generally  to  be  Oliver  Cromwell,  not  O.  Cromwell  ;  to  which  practice  we  conform 
throughout,  though  there  are  exceptions  to  it. 

18  yth  December  1646,  Commons  youritals,  v.  3. 

19  7th  October  1646,  Commons  Journals,  iv.  687. 

*>  not  in  the  mood  at  this  time,  having  other  matters  in  view. 


230     PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ,5Oct. 

Your  Friends  at  Ely  are  well :  your  Sister  Claypole  is, 
I  trust  in  mercy,  exercised  with  some  perplexed  thoughts. 
She  sees  her  own  vanity  and  carnal  mind;  bewailing  it:  she 
seeks  after  (as  I  hope  also)  what  will  satisfy.  And  thus  to 
be  a  seeker  is  to  be  of  the  best  sect  next  to  a  finder ;  and 
such  an  one  shall  every  faithful  humble  seeker  be  at  the 
end.  Happy  seeker,  happy  finder !  Who  ever  tasted  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious,  without  some  sense  of  self,  vanity  and 
badness  ?  Who  ever  tasted  that  graciousness  of  His,  and 
could  go  less21  in  desire, — less  than  pressing  after  full  enjoy- 
ment? Dear  Heart,  press  on;  let  not  Husband,  let  not 
anything  cool  thy  affections  after  Christ.  I  hope  he22  will 
be  an  occasion  to  inflame  them.  That  which  is  best  worthy 
of  love  in  thy  Husband  is  that  of  the  image  of  Christ  he 
bears.  Look  on  that,  and  love  it  best,  and  all  the  rest  for 
that.  I  pray  for  thee  and  him ;  do  so  for  me. 

My  service  and  dear  affections  to  the  General  and  Ge- 
neraless.  I  hear  she  is  very  kind  to  thee ;  it  adds  to  all 
other  obligations.  I  am  thy  dear  Father, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Bridget  Ireton  is  now  Twenty-two.  Her  Sister  Claypole 
(Elizabeth  Cromwell)  is  five  years  younger.  They  were  both 
wedded  last  Spring.  '  Your  Friends  at  Ely'  will  indicate  that 
the  Cromwell  Family  was  still  resident  in  that  City  ;£3  though, 
I  think,  they  not  long  afterwards  removed  to  London.  Their 
first  residence  here  was  King-street,  Westminster;5*  Oliver  for 
the  present  lodges  in  Drury  Lane  :  fashionable  quarters  both, 
in  those  times. 

"  lest  is  an  adjective  ;  to  fv,  in  such  case,  signifies  to  become,  as  '  go  mad,'  &c. 

25  thv  Husband. 

•  '  A  Copy  of  Oliver  Cromwell's  Letter  to  his  Daughter  Ireton,  exactly  taken 
'  from  the  Original.'  Hariri. in  MSS.  no.  6088,  fol.  334  (not  mentioned  in  Harleian 
Catalogue).-— In  another  Copy  sent  me,  which  exactly  corresponds,  is  this  Note: 
'  Memo :  The  above  _Lett'  of  Oliver  Cromwell  Jn<>  Caswell  Merch«  of  London  had 
'  from  his  Mother  Linington,  who  had  it  from  old  Mrs.  Warner,  who  liv'd  with  Oliver 

'  Cromwell's  Daughter. And  was  Copied  from  the  Original  Letter,  which  it  in  th* 

'  hands  of  John  Warner  Esqr  of  Swanzey,  by  Cha«  Morris,  afth  Mar :  1740.' 

»  See  also  Appendix,  No.  8,  last  Letter  there  (Not*  to  Tkird  Edition). 

81  CrotmtxlhaM,  p.  60. 


1646.  LETTER  XLII.    LONDON.  231 

General  Fairfax  had  been  in  Town  only  three  days  before, 
attending  poor  Essex's  Funeral :  a  mournful  pageant,  consist- 
ing of  '  both  the  Houses,  Fairfax  and  all  the  Civil  and  Military 
'  Officers  then  in  Town,  the  Forces  of  the  City,  a  very  great 
'  number  of  coaches  and  multitudes  of  people  ;'  with  Mr.  Vines 
to  preach; — regardless  of  expense,  5,ooo/.  being  allowed  for 
it. «« 


LETTER  XLII. 

THE  intricate  Scotch  negotiations  have  at  last  ended.  The 
paying  of  the  Scots  their  first  instalment,  and  getting  them  to 
march  away  in  peace,  and  leave  the  King  to  our  disposal,  is  the 
great  affair  that  has  occupied  Parliament  ever  since  his  Majesty 
refused  the  Propositions.  Not  till  Monday  the  2ist  December 
could  it  be  got  'perfected,'  or  'almost  perfected.'  After  a  busy 
day  spent  in  the  Commons  House  on  that  affair,26  Oliver  writes 
the  following  Letter  to  Fairfax.  The  '  Major-General'  is  Skip- 
pon.  Fairfax,  '  since  he  left  Town,'  is  most  likely  about  Not- 
tingham, the  head-quarters  of  his  Army,  which  had  been  drawing 
rather  Northward,  ever  since  the  King  appeared  among  the 
Scots.  Fairfax  came  to  Town  I2th  November,  with  great 
splendour  of  reception  ;  left  it  again  '  i8th  December.' 

On  the  morrow  after  that,  I9th  December  1646,  the  Lon- 
doners presented  their  Petition,  not  without  tumult ;  complain- 
ing of  heavy  expenses  and  other  great  grievances  from  the  Army ; 
and  craving  that  the  same  might  be,  so  soon  as  possible,  dis- 
banded, and  a  good  Peace  with  his  Majesty  made.2?  The  first 
note  of  a  very  loud  controversy  which  arose  between  the  City  and 
the  Army,  between  the  Presbyterians  and  the  Independents,  on 
that  matter.  Indeed,  the  humour  of  the  City  seems  to  be  get- 
ting high;  impatient  for  'a  just  peace,'  now  that  the  King  is 
reduced.  On  Saturday  6th  December,  it  was  ordered  that  the 
Lord  Mayor  be  apprised  of  tumultuous  assemblages  which  there 
are,  '  to  the  disturbance  of  the  peace  ;'  and  be  desired  to  quench 
them, — if  he  can. 

M  Rushworth,  vi.  239  ;  Whitlocke,  p.  230. 

26  Commons  Journals,  v.  22-3. 

87  King's  Pamphlets,  small  410,  no.  290  (cited  by  Godwin,  ii.  269). 


233    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ,.  Dec. 

For  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax^  General  of  the 
Parliamenfs  Armies :  These. 

SlR,  '  London,'  2ist  Dec.  1646. 

Having  this  opportunity  by  the  Major-General 
to  present  a  few  lines  unto  you,  I  take  the  boldness  to  let 
you  know  how  our  affairs  go  on  since  you  left  Town. 

We  have  had  a  very  long  Petition  from  the  City :  how 
it  strikes  at  the  Army,  and  what  other  aims  it  has,  you  will 
see  by  the  contents  of  it;  as  also  what  is  the  prevailing 
temper  at  this  present,  and  what  is  to  be  expected  from 
men.  But  this  is  our  comfort,  God  is  in  Heaven,  and  He 
doth  what  pleaseth  Him ;  His  and  only  His  counsel  shall 
stand,  whatsoever  the  designs  of  men,  and  the  fury  of  the 
people  be.  » 

We  have  now,  I  believe,  almost28  perfected  all  our  busi- 
ness for  Scotland.  I  believe  Commissioners  will  speedily 
be  sent  down  to  see  agreements  performed  :  it's  intended 
that  Major-General  Skippon  have  authority  and  instructions 
from  your  Excellency  to  command  the  Northern  Forces,  as 
occasion  shall  be,  and  that  he  have  a  Commission  of  Mar- 
tial Law.  Truly  I  hope  that  the  having  the  Major-General 
to  command29  this  Party  will  appear  to  be  a  good  thing, 
every  day  more  and  more. 

Here  has  been  a  design  to  steal  away  the  Duke  of  York 
from  my  Lord  of  Northumberland :  one  of  his  own  servants, 
whom  he  preferred  to  wait  on  the  Duke,  is  guilty  of  it ;  the 
Duke  himself  confessed  so.  I  believe  you  will  suddenly  hear 
more  of  it. 

78  '  almost*  is  inserted  with  a  caret. 

v  At  this  point,  the  bottom  of  the  page  being  reached,  Oliver  takes  to  the  broad 
margin,  and  writes  the  remainder  there  lengthwise,  continuing  till  there  i>  barely 
room  for  his  .-ignature,  on  the  outmost  verge  of  the  sheet  :  which,  as  we  remarked 
already,  is  a  common  practice  with  him  in  writing  Letters : — he  is  always  loath  to 
turn  the  page  :— having  no  Hottinp-fafer  at  that  epoch  :  having  only  sand  to  dry  hit 
ink  with,  and  a  natural  induposition  to  pause  till  he  finish  ! 


i«46.  LETTERS  XLIII.  XLIV.  233 

I  have  no  more  to  trouble  you  '  with ;'  but  praying  for 
you,  rest,  your  Excellency's  most  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Skippon,  as  is  well  known,  carried  up  the  cash,  200, ooo/., 
to  Newcastle  successfully,  in  a  proper  number  of  wagons  ;  got 
it  all  counted  there,  'bags  of  ioo/.,  chests  of  i.ooo/.'  (5th- 
1 6th  January  1646-7);  after  which  the  Scots  marched  peace- 
ably away. 

The  little  Duke  of  York,  entertained  in  a  pet-captive  fashion 
at  St.  James's,  did  not  get  away  at  this  time  ;  but  managed  it 
by  and  by,  with  help  of  a  certain  diligent  intriguer  and  turn- 
coat called  Colonel  Bamfield  j30  of  whom  we  may  hear  farther. 

On  Thursday  nth  February  1646-7,  on  the  road  between 
Mansfield  and  Nottingham, — road  between  Newcastle  and 
Holmby  House,  —  'Sir  Thomas  Fairfax  went  and  met  the 
1  King  ;  who  stopped  his  horse  :  Sir  Thomas  alighted,  and 
'  kissed  the  King's  hand  ;  and  afterwards  mounted,  and  dis- 
'  coursed  with  the  King  as  they  passed  towards  Nottingham.'31 
The  King  had  left  Newcastle  on  the  3d  of  the  month  ;  got  to 
Holmby,  or  Holdenby,  on  the  I3th;  —  and  'there,'  says  the 
poor  Iter  Carolimtm,  '  during  pleasure.' 


LETTERS  XLIII.  XLIV. 

BEFORE  reading  these  two  following  Letters,  read  this  Ex- 
tract from  a  work  still  in  Manuscript,  and  not  very  sure  of  ever 
getting  printed  : 

4  The  Presbyterian  "  Platform"  of  Church  Government,  as 
'  recommended  by  the  Assembly  of  Divines  or  "Dry-Vines," 
'  has  at  length,  after  unspeakable  debatings,  passings  and  re- 
'  passings  through  both  Houses,  and  soul's-travail  not  a  little, 
'  about  "ruling-elders,"  "power  of  the  keys,"  and  suchlike, — • 
'  been  got  fatally  passed,  though  not  without  some  melancholy 

*  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  78,  p.  147.  ^  Clarendon,  iii.  188. 

31  Whitlocke,  p.  242  ;  Iter  Carolinian  (in  Sowers  Tracts,  vi.  274) :  Whitlocke's 
date,  as  usual,  is  inexact. 


234    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ..  March 

'  shades  of  Erastianism,  or  "  the  Voluntary  Principle,"  as  the 
'  new  phrase  runs.  The  Presbyterian  Platform  is  passed  by 
'  Law:  and  London  and  other  places,  busy  "electing  their 
4  ruling-elders,"  are  just  about  ready  to  set  it  actually  on  foot. 
4  And  now  it  is  hoped  there  will  be  some  "uniformity"  as  to 
'  that  high  matter. 

'  Uniformity  of  free-growing  healthy  forest-trees  is  good; 
'  uniformity  of  clipt  Dutch-dragons  is  not  so  good  !  The  ques- 
'  tion,  Which  of  the  two  ?  is  by  no  means  settled, — though  the 
'  Assembly  of  Divines,  and  majorities  of  both  Houses,  would 
1  fain  think  it  so.  The  general  English  mind,  which,  loving 
'  good  order  in  all  things,  loves  regularity  even  at  a  high  price, 
'  could  be  content  with  this  Presbyterian  scheme,  which  we 
'  call  the  Dutch-dragon  one ;  but  a  deeper  portion  of  the  Eng- 
'  lish  mind  inclines  decisively  to  growing  in  the  forest-tree 
'  way, — and  indeed  will  shoot  out  into  very  singular  excre- 
1  sconces,  Quakerisms  and  what  not,  in  the  coming  years. 
1  Nay  already  we  have  Anabaptists,  Brownists,  Sectaries  and 
1  Schismatics  springing  up  very  rife  :  already  there  is  a  Paul 
1  Best,  brought  before  the  House  of  Commons  for  Socinianism; 
'  nay  we  hear  of  another  distracted  individual  who  seemed  to 
'  maintain,  in  confidential  argument,  that  "  God  was  mere 
'  Reason."1  There  is  like  to  be  need  of  garden-shears,  at  this 
1  rate  !  The  devout  House  of  Commons,  viewing  these  things 
'  with  a  horror  inconceivable  in  our  loose  days,  knows  not  well 
4  what  to  do.  London  City  cries,  "  Apply  the  shears  !" — the 
'  Army  answers,  "  Apply  \hern  gently;  cut  off  nothing  that  is 
'  sound  !"  The  question  of  garden-shears,  and  how  far  you 
4  are  to  apply  them,  is  really  difficult  ; — the  settling  of  /'/  will 
4  lead  to  very  unexpected  results.  London  City  knows  with 
4  pain,  that  there  are  "many  persons  in  the  Army  who  have 
4  never  yet  taken  the  Covenant ;"  the  Army  begins  to  consider 
4  it  unlikely  that  certain  of  them  will  ever  take  it !' — 

These  things  premised,  we  have  only  to  remark  farther, 
that  the  House  of  Commons  meanwhile,  struck  with  devout 
horror,  has,  with  the  world  generally,  spent  Wednesday  the 
loth  of  March  1646-7,  as  a  Day  of  Fasting  and  Humiliation 
for  Blasphemies  and  Heresies.8  Cromwell's  Letter,  somewhat 
remarkable  for  the  grieved  mind  it  indicates,  was  written  next 
day.  Fairfax  with  the  Army  is  at  Saffron  Walden  in  Essex  ; 
i  Whitlocke.  a  Ibid  p.  94* 


,647.  LETTER  XLIII.    LONDON.  235 

there  is  an  Order  this  day3  that  he  is  to  quarter  where  he  sees 
best.  There  are  many  Officers  about  Town  ;  soliciting  pay- 
ments, attending  private  businesses  :  their  tendency  to  Schism, 
to  Anabaptistry  and  Heresy,  or  at  least  to  undue  tolerance  for 
all  that,  is  well  known..  This  Fast-day,  it  would  seem,  is  re- 
garded as  a  kind  of  covert  rebuke  to  them.  Fast-day  was 
Wednesday  ;  this  is  Thursday  evening  : 

\ 

LETTER  XLIII. 

For  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  General  of  the  Parlia- 
ment's Army,  '  at  Saffron  Walden  .•'  These. 

SlR,  '  London,  nth  March  1646." 

Your  Letters  about  your  head-quarters,  di- 
rected to  the  Houses,4  came  seasonably,  and  were  to  very 
good  purpose.  There  want  not,  in  all  places,  men  who 
have  so  much  malice  against  the  Army  as  besots  them  :  the 
late  Petition,  which  suggested  a  dangerous  design  upon 
the  Parliament  in  'your'  coming  to  those  quarters5  doth 
sufficiently  evidence  the  same  :  but  they  got  nothing  by  it, 
for  the  Houses  did  assoil  the  Army  from  all  suspicion,  and 
have  left  you  to  quarter  where  you  please.6 

Never  were  the  spirits  of  men  more  embittered  than 
now.  Surely  the  Devil  hath  but  a  short  time.  Sir,  it's  good 
the  heart  be  fixed  against  all  this.  The  naked  simplicity  of 
Christ,  with  that  wisdom  He  is  pleased  to  give,  and  patience, 
will  overcome  all  this.  That  God  would  keep  your  heart  as 
He  ha?  done  hitherto,  is  the  prayer  of  your  Excellency's 
most  humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

'P.S.'T  I  desire  my  most  humble  service  may  be  pre- 

s  Commons  Journals,  v.  no. 

4  Ibid.  v.  no,  nth  March  1646  (Letter  is  dated  Saffron  Walden,  pth  March). 

5  Saffron  Walden,  in  the  Eastern  Association  :  '  Not  to  quarter  in  the  Eastern 
Association,'  had  the  Lords,  through  Manchester  their  Speaker,  lately  written  (Com- 
motis  Journals,  infra)  ;  but  without  effect. 

6  Commons  Journals,  v.  no,  nth  March  1646. 

7  Written  across  on  the  margin,  according  to  custom. 


236    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ,9  Ma,cfc 

sented  to  my  Lady. — Adjutant  Allen  desires  Colonel  Bax- 
ter, sometime  Governor  of  Reading,  may  be  remembered. 
I  humbly  desire  Colonel  Overton  may  not  be  out  of  your 
remembrance.  He  is  a  deserving  man,  and  presents  his 
humble  services  to  you.—  —Upon  the  Fast -day,  divers 
soldiers  were  raised  (as  I  heard),  both  horse  and  foot,  near 
200  in  Covent  Garden,  To  prevent  us  soldiers  from  cutting 
the  Presbyterians'  throats !  These  are  fine  tricks  to  mock 
God  with.* 

This  flagrant  insult  to  'us  soldiers,'  in  Covent  Garden  and 
doubtless  elsewhere,  as  if  the  zealous  Presbyterian  Preacher 
were  not  safe  from  violence  in  bewailing  Schism, — is  very 
significant.  The  Lieutenant-General  himself  might  have  seen 
as  well  as  '  heard'  it, — for  he  lived  hard  by,  in  Drury  Lane  I 
think ;  but  was  of  course  at  his  own  Church,  bewailing  Schism 
too,  though  not  in  so  strait-laced  a  manner. — 

Oliver's  Sister  Anna,  Mrs.  Sewster,  of  Wistow,  Hunting- 
donshire, had  died  in  these  months,  ist  November  i646.8 
Among  her  little  girls  is  one,  Robina,  for  whom  there  is  a  dis- 
tinguished Scotch  Husband  in  store  ;  far  off  as  yet,  an  '  Ensign 
in  the  French  Army'  as  yet,  William  Lockhart  by  name ;  of 
whom  we  may  hear  more. 

This  Letter  lies  contiguous  to  Letter  XXXIV.  in  the  Sloane 
Volume  :  Letter  XXXIV.  is  sealed  conspicuously  with  red 
wax ;  this  Letter,  as  is  fit,  with  black.  The  Cromwell  crest, 
'lion  with  ring  on  his  fore-gamb,' — the  same  big  seal, — is  on 
both. 


LETTER  XLIV. 

COMMONS  JOURNALS,  I7th  March  1646:  '  Ordered,  That 
1  the  Committee  of  the  Army  do  write  unto  the  General,  and 
'  acquaint  him  that  this  House  takes  notice  of  his  care  in  or- 
'  dering  that  none  of  the  Forces  under  his  Command  should 
•  quarter  nearer  than  Five-and-twenty  Miles  of  this  City  :  That 
'  notwithstanding  his  care  and  directions  therein,  the  House  is 

•  Sloane  Mia.  1519,  fol.  61.  •  See  antea,  p.  18  ;  and  Noble,  i.  89. 


i«47.  LETTER  XLIV.    LONDON.  237 

'  informed  that  some  of  his  Forces  are  quartered  much  nearer 
•  than  that  ;  and  To  desire  him  to  take  course  that  his  former 
4  Orders,  touching  the  quartering  of  his  Forces  no  nearer  than 
'  Twenty-five  Miles,  may  be  observed.' 


To  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  General  of  the  Parlia- 
ment's Army :  These. 

SlR,  '  London,'  igth  March  1646. 

This  enclosed  Order  I  received  ;  but,  I  sup- 
pose, Letters  from  the  Committee  of  the  Army  to  the  effect 
of  this  are  come  to  your  hands  before  this  time.  I  think  it 
were  very  good  that  the  distance  of  Twenty -five  Miles  be 
very  strictly  observed ;  and  they  are  to  blame  that  have  ex- 
ceeded the  distance,  contrary  to  your  former  appointment. 
This  Letter  I  received  this  evening  from  Sir  William  Mas- 
sam,9  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Commons ;  which  I  thought 
fit  to  send  you ;  his  House  being  much  within  that  distance 
of  Twenty-five  Miles  of  London.  I  have  sent  the  Officers 
down,  as  many  as  I  could  well  light  of. 

Not  having  more  at  present,  I  rest,  your  Excellency's 
most  humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

The  troubles  of  the  Parliament  and  Army  are  just  begin- 
ning. The  order  for  quartering  beyond  twenty-five  miles  from 
London,  and  many  other  '  orders,'  were  sadly  violated  in  the 
course  of  this  season.  '  Sir  W.  Massam's  House,'  '  Otes  in 
Essex,"  is  a  place  known  to  us  since  the  beginning  of  these 
Letters. 

The  Officers  ought  really  to  go  down  to  their  quarters  in 
the  Eastern  Counties  ;  Oliver  has  sent  them  off,  as  many  of 
them  as  he  '  could  well  light  of.' 

The  Presbyterian  System  is  now  fast  getting  into  action  : 
on  the  2oth  May  1647,  the  Synod  of  London,  with  due  Pro- 
locutor or  Moderator,  met  in  St.  Paul's.10  In  Lancashire  too 

9  Masham.  *  Sloane  MSS.  1319,  fol.  74. 

w  Rushworth,  vi.  489  ;  Whitlocke  (p.  24g)  dates  wrong. 


238    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS,    iojun« 

the  System  is  fairly  on  foot  ;  but  I  think  in  other  English 
Counties  it  was  somewhat  lazy  to  move,  and  never  came  rightly 
into  action,  owing  to  impediments. — Poor  old  Laud  is  condem- 
ned of  treason,  and  beheaded,  years  ago  ;  the  Scots,  after  Mar- 
ston  Fight,  pressing  heavy  on  him ;  Prynne  too  being  very  un- 
grateful. That  'performance'  of  the  Service  to  the  Hyperborean 
populations  in  so  exquisite  a  way  has  cost  the  Artist  dear!  He 
died  very  gently ;  his  last  scene  much  the  best,  for  himself  and 
for  us.  The  two  Hothams  also,  and  other  traitors,  have  died. 


ARMY  MANIFESTO. 

OUR  next  entirely  authentic  Letter  is  at  six-months  dist- 
ance :  a  hiatus  not  unfrequent  in  this  Series ;  but  here  most 
especially  to  be  regretted  ;  such  a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  Oliver 
and  of  England  transacting  itself  in  the  interim.  The  Quarrel 
between  City  and  Army,  which  we  here  see  begun  ;  the  split 
of  the  Parliament  into  two  clearly  hostile  Parties  of  Presby- 
terians and  Independents,  represented  by  City  and  Army ; 
the  deadly  wrestle  of  these  two  Parties,  with  victory  to  the 
latter,  and  the  former  flung  on  its  back,  and  its  'Eleven  Mem- 
bers' sent  beyond  Seas  :  all  this  transacts  itself  in  the  interim, 
without  autograph  note  or  indisputably  authentic  utterance  of 
Oliver's  to  elucidate  it  for  us.  We  part  with  him  labouring  to 
get  the  Officers  sent  down  to  Saffron  Walden  *  sorrowful  on 
the  Spring  Fast-day  in  Covent  Garden  :  we  find  him  again  at 
Putney  in  Autumn  ;  the  insulted  Party  now  dominant,  and  he 
the  most  important  man  in  it.  One  Paper  which  I  find  among 
the  many  published  on  that  occasion,  and  judge  pretty  confid- 
ently, by  internal  evidence,  to  be  of  his  writing,  is  here  intro- 
duced ;  and  there  is  no  other  that  I  know  of. 

How  this  Quarrel  between  City  and  Army,  no  agreement 
with  the  King  being  for  the  present  possible,  went  on  waxing  ; 
developing  itself  more  and  more  visibly  into  a  Quarrel  between 
Presbyterianism  and  Independency ;  attracting  to  the  respec- 
tive sides  of  it  the  two  great  Parties  in  Parliament  and  in  Eng- 
land generally  :  all  this  the  reader  must  endeavour  to  imagine 
for  himself, — very  dimly,  as  matters  yet  stand.  In  books,  in 


i647-  ARMY  MANIFESTO.  239 

Narratives  old  or  new,  he  will  find  little  satisfaction  in  regard 
to  it.  The  old  Narratives,  written  all  by  baffled  enemies  of 
Cromwell,1  are  full  of  mere  blind  rage,  distraction  and  dark- 
ness ;  the  new  Narratives,  believing  only  in  '  Macchiavelism,' 
&c.  disfigure  the  matter  still  more.  Common  History,  old  and 
new,  represents  Cromwell  as  having  underhand, — in  a  most 
skilful  and  indeed  prophetic  manner, — fomented  or  originated 
all  this  commotion  of  the  elements  ;  steered  his  way  through 
it  by  'hypocrisy,'  by  'master-strokes  of  duplicity,' and  suchlike. 
As  is  the  habit  hitherto  of  History. 

'  The  fact  is,'  says  a  Manuscript  already  cited  from,  'poor 
'  History,  contemporaneous  and  subsequent,  has  treated  this 
'  matter  in  a  very  sad  way.  Mistakes,  misdates  ;  cxaggera- 
'  tions,  unveracities,  distractions  ;  all  manner  of  misseeings 
'  and  misnotings  in  regard  to  it,  abound.  How  many  grave 
'  historical  statements  still  circulate  in  the  world,  accredited 
'  by  Bishop  Burnet  and  the  like,  which  on  examination  you 
'  will  find  melt  away  into  after-dinner  rumours, — gathered  from 
'  ancient  red-nosed  Presbyterian  gentlemen,  Harbottle  Grim- 
'  ston  and  Company,  sitting  over  claret  under  a  Blessed  Re- 
'  storation,  and  talking  to  the  loosely  recipient  Bishop  in  a 
'  very  loose  way !  Statements  generally  with  some  grain  of 
'  harmless  truth,  misinterpreted  by  those  red-nosed  honourable 
1  persons;  frothed-up  into  huge  bulk  by  the  loquacious  Bishop 
'  above  mentioned,  and  so  set  floating  on  Time's  Stream.  Not 
1  very  lovely  to  us,  they,  nor  the  red-noses  they  proceeded 
'  from !  I  do  not  cite  them  here  ;  I  have  examined  most  of 
'  them  ;  found  not  one  of  them  fairly  believable  ; — wondered 
'  to  see  how  already  in  one  generation,  earnest  Puritanism 
'  being  hung  on  the  gallows  or  thrown  out  in  St.  Margaret's 
'  Churchyard,  the  whole  History  of  it  had  grown  mythical,  and 
'  men  were  ready  to  swallow  all  manner  of  nonsense  concern- 
1  ing  it.  Ask  for  dates,  ask  for  proofs  :  Who  saw  it,  heard  it ; 
'  when  was  it,  where  ?  A  misdate,  of  itself,  will  do  much.  So 
'  accurate  a  man  as  Mr.  Godwin,  generally  very  accurate  in 
'  such  matters,  makes  "  a  master-stroke  of  duplicity"  merely 
'  by  mistake  of  dating  :"  the  thing  when  Oliver  did  say  it,  was 
'  a  credible  truth,  and  no  master-stroke  or  stroke  of  any  kind ! 

1  Holles's  Memoirs;  Waller's  Vindication  of  his  Character \  Clement  Walker's 
History  of  Independency;  &c.  &c. 

3  Godwin,  ii.  300, — citing  Walker,  p.  31  (should  be  p.  33). 


240    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ,o  JUM 

'"Master-strokes  of  duplicity ;"  "false  protestations;" 
'  "fomenting  of  the  Army  discontents  :"  alas,  alas  !  It  was 
'  not  Cromwell  that  raised  these  discontents  ;  not  he,  but  the 
•elemental  Powers!  Neither  was  it,  I  think,  "by  master- 
'  strokes  of  duplicity"  that  Cromwell  steered  himself  victori- 
•  ously  across  such  a  devouring  chaos ;  no,  but  by  continuances 
'  of  noble  manful  simplicity,  I  rather  think, — by  meaning  one 
'  thing  before  God,  and  meaning  the  same  before  men,  not  as 
'  a  weak  but  as  a  strong  man  does.  By  conscientious  reso- 
'  lution  ;  by  sagacity,  and  silent  wariness  and  promptitude ; 
1  by  religious  valour  and  veracity, — which,  however  it  may 
'  fare  withyiuvj,  are  really,  after  all,  the  grand  source  of  clear- 
'  ness  for  a  man  in  this  world !' We  here  close  our  Manu- 
script. 

Modern  readers  ought  to  believe  that  there  was  a  real  im- 
pulse of  heavenly  Faith  at  work  in  this  Controversy ;  that  on 
both  sides,  more  especially  on  the  Army's  side,  here  lay  the 
central  element  of  all ;  modifying  all  other  elements  and  pas- 
sions ; — that  this  Controversy  was,  in  several  respects,  very 
different  from  the  common  wrestling  of  Greek  with  Greek  for 
what  are  called  '  Political  objects' ! — Modern  readers,  mindful 
of  the  French  Revolution,  will  perhaps  compare  these  Presby- 
terians and  Independents  to  the  Gironde  and  the  Mountain. 
And  there  is  an  analogy  ;  yet  with  differences.  With  a  great 
difference  in  the  situations ;  with  the  difference,  too,  between 
Englishmen  and  Frenchmen,  which  is  always  considerable ; 
and  then  with  the  difference  between  believers  in  Jesus  Christ 
and  believers  in  Jean  Jacques,  which  is  still  more.considerable! 

A  few  dates,  and  chief  summits  of  events,  are  all  that  can 
be  indicated  here,  to  make  our  '  Manifesto'  legible. 

From  the  beginnings  of  this  year  1647  and  earlier,  there 
had  often  been  question  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  the 
Army.  The  expense  of  such  an  Army,  between  twenty  and 
thirty  thousand  men,  was  great ;  the  need  of  it,  Royalism 
being  now  subdued,  seemed  small ;  besides,  it  was  known  that 
there  were  many  in  it  who  'had  never  taken  the  Covenant,' 
and  were  never  likely  to  take  it.  This  latter  point,  at  a  time 
when  Heresy  seemed  rising  like  a  hydra,1  and  the  Spiritualism 
of  England  was  developing  itself  in  really  strange  ways,  be- 

*  See  Edwards'*  Gangrtrna  (London,  1640)  for  many  furious  details  of  U. 


i«4T.  ARMY  MANIFESTO.  241 

came  very  important  too, — became  gradually  most  of  all  im- 
portant, and  the  soul  of  the  whole  Controversy. 

Early  in  March,  after  much  debating,  it  had  been  got  set- 
tled that  there  should  be  Twelve-thousand  men  employed  in 
Ireland,4  which  was  now  in  sad  need  of  soldiers.  The  rest 
were,  in  some  good  way,  to  be  disbanded.  The  'way,'  how- 
ever, and  whether  it  might  really  be  a  good  way,  gave  rise  to 
considerations. — Without  entering  into  a  sea  of  troubles,  we 
may  state  here  in  general  that  the  things  this  Army  demanded 
were  strictly  their  just  right :  Arrears  of  pay,  '  three-and-forty 
weeks'  of  hard-earned  pay  ;  indemnity  for  acts  done  in  War  ; 
and  clear  discharge  according  to  contract,  not  service  in  Ire- 
land except  under  known  Commanders  and  conditions, — '  our 
old  Commanders,'  for  example.  It  is  also  apparent  that  the 
Presbyterian  party  in  Parliament,  the  leaders  of  whom  were, 
several  of  them,  Colonels  of  the  Old  Model,  did  not  love  this 
victorious  Army  ;  that  indeed  they  disliked  and  grew  to  hate 
it,  useful  as  it  had  been  to  them.  Denzil  Holies,  Sir  William 
Waller,  Harley,  Stapleton,  these  men,  all  strong  for  Presby- 
terianism,  were  old  unsuccessful  Colonels  or  Generals  under 
Essex ;  and  for  very  obvious  reasons  looked  askance  on  this 
Army,  and  wished  to  be,  so  soon  as  possible,  rid  of  it.  The 
first  rumour  of  a  demur  or  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Army,  ru- 
mour of  some  Petition  to  Fairfax  by  his  Officers  as  to  the  'way* 
of  their  disbanding,  was  by  these  Old-Military  Parliament-men 
very  angrily  repressed  ;  nay,  in  a  moment  of  fervour,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  decree  that  whoever  had,  or  might  have,  a  hand  in 
promoting  such  Petition  in  the  Army  was  an  '  Enemy  to  the 
State,  and  a  Disturber  of  the  Public  Peace,' — and  sent  'forth 
the  same  in  a  '  Declaration  of  the  3oth  of  March,'  which  be- 
came very  celebrated  afterwards.  This  unlucky  '  Declaration,' 
Waller  says,  was  due  to  Holies,  who  smuggled  it  one  evening 
through  a  thin  House.  "  Enemies  to  the  State,  Disturbers  of 
the  Peace  :"  it  was  a  severe  and  too  proud  rebuke  ;  felt  to  be 
unjust,  and  looked  upon  as  '  a  blot  of  ignominy ;'  not  to  be  for- 
gotten, nor  easily  forgiven,  by  the  parties  it  was  addressed  to. 
So  stood  matters  at  the  end  of  March. 

At  the  end  of  April  they  stand  somewhat  thus.  Two  Par- 
liament Deputations,  Sir  William  Waller  at  the  head  of  them, 
have  been  at  Saffron  Walden,  producing  no  agreement  :5  fiv« 

4  6th  March,  Commons  Journals,  v-  ««••>  4  Waller,  pp.  42-85. 

VOL.  I.  R 


342    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS,    icjua. 

dignitaries  of  the  Army,  '  Lieutenant-Gencral  Hammond,  Colo- 
nel Hammond,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Pride, '  and  two  others,  have 
been  summoned  to  the  bar  ;6  some  subalterns  given  into  cus- 
tody;  Ireton  himself  '  ordered  to  be  examined;' — and  no  '  satis- 
faction to  the  just  desires  of  the  Army ;'  on  the  contrary,  the 
•  blot  of  ignominy'  fixed  deeper  on  it  than  before.  We  can 
conceive  a  universal  sorrow  and  anger,  and  all  manner  of  dim 
schemes  and  consultations  going  on  at  Saffron  Walden  and  the 
other  Army -quarters,  in  those  days.  Here  is  a  scene  from 
Whitlocke,  worth  looking  at,  which  takes  place  in  the  Honour- 
able House  itself;  date  3Oth  April  1647  :? 

'  Debate  upon  the  Petition  and  Vindication  of  the  Army. 
'  Major-General  Skippon,  in  the  House,  produced  a  Letter  pre- 
1  sented  to  him  the  day  before  by  some  Troopers,  in  behalf  of 
4  Eight  Regiments  of  the  Army  of  Horse.  Wherein  they  ex- 
4  pressed  some  reasons,  Why  they  could  not  engage  in  the  ser- 
4  vice  of  Ireland  under  the  present  Conduct,'  under  the  proposed 
Commandership,  by  Skippon  and  Massey  ;  '  and  complained, 
4  Of  the  many  scandals  and  false  suggestions  which  were  of  late 
1  raised  against  the  Army  and  their  proceedings  ;  That  they 
4  were  taken  as  enemies ;  That  they  saw  designs  upon  them, 
4  and  upon  many  of  the  Godly  Party  in  the  Kingdom  ;  That 
'  they  could  not  engage  for  Ireland  till  they  were  satisfied  in 
1  their  expectations,  and  their  just  desires  granted. — Three 
4  Troopers,  Edward  Sexby,  William  Allen,  Thomas  Sheppard, 
4  who  brought  this  Letter,  were  examined  in  the  House,  touch- 
4  ing  the  drawing  and  subscribing  of  it ;  and,  Whether  their 
4  Officers  were  engaged  in  it  or  not  ?  They  affirmed,  That  it 
4  was  drawn  up  at  a  Rendezvous  of  several  of  those  Eight 
'  Regiments  ;  and  afterwards  at  several  meetings  by  Agents  or 
1  Agitators,  for  each  Regiment ;  and  that  few  of  their  Officers 
4  knew  or  took  notice  of  it. 

'  Those  Troopers  being  demanded,  Whether  they  had  not 
4  been  Cavaliers  ? — it  was  attested  by  Skippon,  that  they  had 
4  constantly  served  the  Parliament,  and  some  of  them  from  the 
4  beginning  of  the  War.  Being  asked  concerning  the  meaning 
'  of  some  expressions  in  the  Petition,'  especially  concerning 
"certain  men  aiming  at  a  Sovtreignty" — 'they  answered, 

6  Contmout  J»unmlj,  v.  139  (agth  March  i&tfX 

7  Whulocke,  p.  849  :  Commons  Journals,  ia  die ;  ami  a  fuller  account  in  Ru-.ii- 
worth,  vi.  474.    The  '  Letter,'  immediately  referred  to,  is  in  Cary'i  Mmterialt  (&•• 
lectiopi  from  the  Tanner  MSS.  ;  London,  1843),  i  «o*. 


,647-  ARMY  MANIFESTO.  243 

*  That  the  Letter  being  a  joint  act  of  those  Regiments,  they 
'  could  not  give  a  punctual  answer,  being  only  Agents  ;  but  if 
'  they  might  have  the  queries  in  writing,  they  would  send  or 
1  carry  them  to  those  Regiments,  and  return  their  own  and 
4  their  answers. — They  were  ordered  to  attend  the  House  upon 
'  summons." 

Three  sturdy  fellows,  fit  for  management  of  business  ;  let 
the  reader  note  them.  They  are  '  Agents'  to  the  Army :  a  class 
of  functionaries  called  likewise  'Adjutators'  and  misspelt  'Agi- 
tators ;'  elected  by  the  common  men  of  the  Army,  to  keep  the 
ranks  in  unison  with  the  Officers  in  the  present  crisis  of  their 
affairs.  This  is  their  first  distinct  appearance  in  the  eye  of 
History  ;  in  which,  during  these  months,  they  play  a  great 
part.  Evidently  the  settlement  with  the  Army  will  be  a  harder 
task  than  was  supposed. 

During  these  same  months  some  languid  negotiation  with 
the  King  is  going  on  ;  Scots  Commissioners  come  up  to  help 
in  treating  with  him  ;  but  as  he  will  not  hear  of  Covenant  or 
Presbytery,  there  can  no  result  follow.  It  was  an  ugly  aggrava- 
tion of  the  blot  of  ignominy  which  the  Army  smarts  under, — 
the  report  raised  against  it,  That  some  of  the  Leaders  had 
said,  "  If  the  King  would  come  to  tlicm,  they  would  put  the 
crown  on  his  head  again." — Cromwell,  from  his  place  in  Parlia- 
ment, earnestly  watches  these  occurrences  ;  waits  what  the  great 
'  birth  of  Providence'  in  them  may  be  ; — '  carries  himself  with 
much  wariness  ;'  is  more  and  more  looked  up  to  by  the  Inde- 
pendent Party,  for  his  interest  with  the  Soldiers.  One  day, 
noticing  the  '  high  carriages'  of  Holies  and  Company,  he  whis- 
pers Edmund  Ludlow  who  sat  by  him,  "  These  men  will  never 
leave  till  the  Army  pull  them  out  by  the  ears  !"8  Holies  and 
Company,  who  at  present  rule  in  Parliament,  pass  a  New  Militia 
Ordinance  for  London  ;  put  the  Armed  Force  of  London  into 
hands  more  strictly  Presbyterian. 9  There  have  been  two  Lon- 
don Petitions  against  the  Army,  and  two  London  Petitions 
covertly  in  favour  of  it ;  the  Managers  of  the  latter,  we  observe, 
have  been  put  in  prison. 

May  Sth.  A  new  and  more  promising  Deputation,  Cromwell 
at  the  head  of  it.  '  Cromwell,  Ireton,  Fleetwood,  Skippon,' 

8  Ludlow,  i.  189  ;  see  Whitlockc,  p.  252. 

9  4th  May  1647,  Commons  Journals,  v.  ifo^'Thirty-oiie  Persons,'  their  names 
given. 


244    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    iojun. 

proceed  again  to  Saffron  Walden  ;  investigate  the  claims  and 
grievances  of  the  Army  :10  engage,  as  they  had  authority  to  do, 
that  real  justice  shall  be  done  them  ;  and  in  a  fortnight  return 
with  what  seems  an  agreement  and  settlement ;  for  which  Lieu- 
tenant-General  Cromwell  receives  the  thanks  of  the  House.11 
The  House  votes  what  //  conceives  to  be  justice,  'eight  weeks 
of  pay'  in  ready-money,  bonds  for  the  rest, — and  so  forth.  Con- 
gratulations hereupon  ;  a  Committee  of  Lords  and  Commons 
are  ordered  to  go  down  to  Saffron  Walden,  to  see  the  Army  dis- 
banded. 

May  2%th.  On  arriving  at  Saffron  Walden,  they  find  that 
their  notions  of  what  is  justice,  and  the  Army's  notions,  differ 
widely.  "Eight  weeks  of  pay,"  say  the  Army;  "we  want 
nearer  eight  times  eight !"  Disturbances  in  several  of  the  quar- 
ters : — at  Oxford  the  men  seize  the  disbanding-money  as  part 
of  payment,  and  will  not  disband  till  they  get  the  whole.  A 
meeting  of  Adjutators,  by  authority  of  Fairfax,  convenes  at 
Bury  St.  Edmund's,  —  a  regular  Parliament  of  soldiers,  '  each 
common  man  paying  fourpence  to  meet  the  expense  :'  it  is 
agreed  that  the  Army's  quarters  shall  be  '  contracted,'  brought 
closer  together ;  that  on  Friday  next,  4th  of  June,  there  shall 
be  a  Rendezvous,  or  General  Assembly  of  all  the  Soldiers,  there 
to  decide  on  what  they  will  do.12 

June  4.1/1  and $th.  The  Newmarket  Rendezvous,  'on  Kent- 
ford  Heath,'  a  little  east  of  Newmarket,  is  held  ;  a  kind  of  Co- 
venant is  entered  into,  and  other  important  things  are  done  : — 
but  elsewhere  in  the  interim  a  thing  still  more  important  had 
been  done.  On  Wednesday  June  2d,  Cornet  Joyce, — once  a 
London  tailor,  they  say,  evidently  a  very  handy  active  man, — 
he  and  Five-hundred-  common  troopers,  a  volunteer  Party,  not 
expressly  commanded  by  anybody,  but  doing  what  they  know 
the  whole  Army  wishes  to  be  done,  sally  out  of  Oxford,  where 
things  arc  still  somewhat  disturbed  ;  proceed  to  Holmby  House ; 
and,  after  two  days  of  talking,  bring  '  the  King's  Person"  off 
with  them.  To  the  horror  and  despair  of  the  Parliament  Com- 
missioners in  attendance  there ;  but  dearly  to  the  satisfaction 
of  his  Majesty,— who  hopes,  in  this  new  shuffle-and-deal,  some 
good  card  will  turn-up  for  him  ;  hopes,  with  some  ground,  '  the 
'  Presbyterians  and  Independents  may  now  be  got  to  extirpate 

w  Letter.;  from  them,  in  Appendix,  No.  10. 

11  May  aist,  Commons  Journals,  v.  iSi.  »  Rushwoith,  pp.  496-510, 


tfi47-  ARMY  MANIFESTO.  245 

•  one  another.'  His  Majesty  rides  willingly ;  the  Parliament  Com- 
missioners accompany,  wringing  their  hands:  —  to  Hinchin- 
brook,  that  same  Friday  night ;  where  Colonel  Montague  re- 
ceives them  with  all  hospitality,  entertains  them  for  two  days. 
Colonel  Whalley  with  a  strong  party,  deputed  by  Fairfax,  had 
met  his  Majesty ;  offered  to  deliver  him  from  Joyce,  back  to 
Holmby  and  the  Parliament ;  but  his  Majesty  positively  de- 
clined.— Captain  Titus,  quasi  Tighthose,  very  well  known  after- 
wards, arrives  at  St.  Stephen's  with  the  news;  has  5o/.  voted 
him  'to  buy  a  horse,'  for  his  great  service;  and  fills  all  men 
with  terror  and  amazement.  The  Honourable  Houses  agree  to 
'  sit  on  the  Lord's  day  ;'  have  Stephen  Marshall  to  prayfor  them ; 
never  were  in  such  a  plight  before.  The  Controversy,  at  this 
point,  has  risen  from  Economical  into  Political  :  Army  Parlia- 
ment in  the  Eastern  Counties  against  Civil  Parliament  in  West- 
minster ;  and,  '  How  the  Nation  shall  be  settled'  between  them  ; 
whether  its  growth  shall  be  in  the  forest-tree  fashion,  or  in  the 
clipt  Dutch-dragon  fashion  ? — 

Monday  June  jth.  All  Officers  in  the  House  are  ordered 
forthwith  to  go  down  to  their  regiments.  Cromwell,  without 
order,  not  without  danger  of  detention,  say  some,  has  already 
gone:  this  same  day,  'General  Fairfax,  Lieutenant -General 
Cromwell,  and  the  chief  men  of  the  Army,'  have  an  interview 
with  the  King,  '  at  Childerley  House,  between  Huntingdon  and 
Cambridge  :'  his  Majesty  will  not  go  back  to  Holmby ;  much 
prefers  '  the  air'  of  these  parts,  the  air  of  Newmarket  for  in- 
stance ;  and  will  continue  with  the  Army.13  Parliament  Com- 
missioners, with  new  Votes  of  Parliament,  are  coming  down  ; 
the  Army  must  have  a  new  Rendezvous,  to  meet  them.  New 
Rendezvous  at  Royston,  more  properly  on  Triploe  Heath  near 
Cambridge,  is  appointed  for  Thursday  ;  and  in  the  interim  a 
•Day  of  Fasting  and  Humiliation'  is  held  by  all  the  soldiers, — 
a  real  Day  of  Prayer  (very  inconceivable  in  these  days),  For 
God's  enlightenment  as  to  what  should  now  be  done. 

Here  is  Whitlocke's  account  of  the  celebrated  Rendezvous 
itself, — somewhat  abridged  from  Rushworth,  and  dim  enough ; 
wherein,  however,  by  good  eyes  a  strange  old  Historical  Scene 
may  be  discerned.  The  new  Votes  of  Parliament  do  not  appear 
still  to  meet  '  the  just  desires'  of  the  Army  ;  meanwhile  let  all 
things  be  done  decently  and  in  order. 

13  Rushworth,  vL  549. 


246    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS,    .ojuw 

•  The  General  had  ordered  a  Rendezvous  at  Royston  ;'  pro- 
perly on  Triploe  Heath,  as  we  said;  on  Thursday  loth  June 
1647  :  the  Force  assembled  was  about  Twenty-one  thousand 
men,  the  remarkablest  Army  that  ever  wore  steel  in  this  world. 
'  The  General  and  the  Commissioners  rode  to  each  Regiment. 
'  They  first  acquainted  the  General's  Regiment  with  the  Votes 
'  of  the  Parliament ;  and  Skippon/  one  of  the  Commissioners, 
'  spake  to  them  to  persuade  a  compliance.  An  Officer  of  the 
'  Regiment  made  answer,  That  the  Regiment  did  desire  that 
'  their  answer  might  be  returned  after  perusal  of  the  Votes  by 
'  some  select  Officers  and  Agitators,  whom  the  Regiment  had 
'  chosen  ;  and  said,  This  was  the  motion  of  the  Regiment. 

'  He  desired  the  General  and  Commissioners  to  give  him 
'  leave  to  ask  the  whole  Regiment  if  this  was  their  answer. 
'  Leave  being  given,  they  cried  "  All."  Then  he  put  the  ques- 
'  tion,  If  any  man  were  of  a  contrary  opinion  he  should  say, 
'  No  ; — and  not  one  man  gave  his  "  No." — The  Agitators,  in 
'  behalf  of  the  soldiers,  pressed  to  have  the  question  put  at  once, 
1  Whether  the  Regiment  did  acquiesce  and  were  satisfied  with 
'  the  Votes  ?'  The  Agitators  knew  well  what  the  answer  would 
have  been  ! — '  But  in  regard  the  other  way  was  more  orderly, 
'  and  they  might  after  perusal  proceed  more  deliberately,  that 

•  question  was  laid  aside. 

'  The  like  was  done  in  the  other  Regiments  ;  and  all  were 
'  very  unanimous  ;  and  always  after  the  Commissioners  had 
'  done  reading  the  Votes,  and  speaking  to  each  Regiment,  and 
•had  received  their  answer,  all  of  them  cried  out,  "Justice, 
'  Justice  !"  ' — not  a  very  musical  sound  to  the  Qfmmissioners. 

'  A  Petition  was  delivered  in  the  field  to  the  General,  in  the 
1  name  of  "  many  well-affected  people  in  Essex  ;"  desiring,  That 

•  the  Army  might  not  be  disbanded  ;  in  regard  the  Common- 
'  wealth  had  many  enemies,  who  watched  for  such  an  occasion 
1  to  destroy  the  good  people.'14 

Such,  and  still  dimmer,  is  the  jotting  of  dull  authentic  Bui- 
strode, — drowning  in  official  oil,  and  somnolent  natural  pedantry 
and  fat,  one  of  the  remarkablest  scenes  our  History  ever  had  : 
An  Armed  Parliament,  extra-official,  yet  not  without  a  kind  of 
sacredness,  and  an  Oliver  Cromwell  at  the  head  of  it ;  demand- 
ing with  one  voice,  as  deep  as  ever  spake  in  England,  "Justice, 
Justice  !"  under  the  vault  of  Heaven. 

«  Whitlocke,  p.  855. 


t647.  ARMY  MANIFESTO.  247 

That  same  afternoon,  the  Army  moved  on  to  St.  Albans, 
nearer  to  London  ;  and  from  the  Rendezvous  itself,  a  joint  Let- 
ter was  despatched  to  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  which 
the  reader  is  now  at  last  to  see.  I  judge  it,  pretty  confidently, 
by  evidence  of  style  alone,  to  be  of  Cromwell's  own  writing.  It 
differs  totally  in  this  respect  from  any  other  of  those  multitu- 
dinous Army-Papers  ;  which  were  understood,  says  Whitlocke, 
to  be  drawn  up  mostly  by  Ireton,  '  who  had  a  subtle  working 
brain  ;'  or  by  Lambert,  who  also  had  got  some  tincture  of  Law 
and  other  learning,  and  did  not  want  for  brain.  They  are  very 
able  Papers,  though  now  very  dull  ones.  This  is  in  a  far  differ- 
ent style  ;  in  Oliver's  worst  style  ;  his  style  when  he  writes  in 
haste,  —  and  not  in  haste  of  the  pen  merely,  for  that  seems 
always  to  have  been  a  most  rapid  business  with  him  ;  but  in 
haste  before  the  matter  had  matured  itself  for  him,  and  the  real 
kernels  of  it  got  parted  from  the  husks.  A  style  of  composition 
like  the  structure  of  a  block  of  oak-root,  —  as  tortuous,  un- 
wedgeable,  and  as  strong  !  Read  attentively,  this  Letter  can  be 
understood,  can  be  believed  :  the  tone  of  it,  the  '  voice"  of  it, 
reminds  us  of  what  Sir  Philip  Warwick  heard  ;  the  voice  of  a 
man  risen  justly  into  a  kind  of  chant, — very  dangerous  for  the 
City  of  London  at  present. 


To  the  Right  Honourable  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and 
Common  Council  of  the  City  of  London :  These. 

Royston,  loth  June  1647. 

RIGHT  HONOURABLE  AND  WORTHY  FRIENDS, 

Having,  by  our  Letters  and  other  Addresses 
presented  by  our  General  to  the  Honourable  House  of  Com- 
mons, endeavoured  to  give  satisfaction  of  the  clearness  of 
our  just  Demands ;  and  '  having'  also,  in  Papers  published 
by  us,  remonstrated  the  grounds  of  our  proceedings  in  pro- 
secution thereof ; — all  of  which  being  published  in  print,  we 
are  confident  '  they'  have  come  to  your  hands,  and  received 
at  least  a  charitable  construction  from  you. 

The  sum  of  all  these  our  Desires  as  Soldiers  is  no  other 


248    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS,    .ojune 

than  this :  Satisfaction  to  our  undoubted  Claims  as  Sol- 
diers ;  and  reparation  upon  those  who  have,  to  the  utmost, 
improved  all  opportunities  and  advantages,  by  false  sug- 
gestions, misrepresentations  and  otherwise,  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  Army  with  a  perpetual  blot  of  ignominy  upon 
it.  Which  '  injury'  we  should  not  value,  if  it  singly  con- 
cerned our  own  particular  '  persons ;'  being  ready  to  deny 
ourselves  in  this,  as  we  have  done  in  other  cases,  for  the 
Kingdom's  good :  but  under  this  pretence,  we  find,  no  less 
is  involved  than  the  overthrow  of  the  privileges  both  of 
Parliament  and  People;— and  that  rather  than  they15  shall 
fail  in  their  designs,  or  we  receive  what  in  the  eyes  of  all 
good  men  is  '  our'  just  right,  the  Kingdom  is  endeavoured 
to  be  engaged  in  a  new  War.  'In  a  new  War,'  and  this 
singly  by  those  who,  when  the  truth  of  these  things  shall 
be  made  to  appear,  will  be  found  to  be  the  authors  of  those 
'  said'  evils  that  are  feared ; — and  who  have  no  other  way 
to  protect  themselves  from  question  and  punishment  but  by 
putting  the  Kingdom  into  blood,  under  the  pretence  of  their 
honour  of  and  their  love  to  the  Parliament.  As  if  that  were 
dearer  to  them  than  to  us;  or  as  if  they  had  given  greater- 
proof  of  their  faithfulness  to  it  than  we. 

But  we  perceive  that,  under  these  veils  and  pretences, 
they  seek  to  interest  in  their  design  the  City  oT  London  : — 
as  if  that  City  ought  to  make  good  their  miscarriages,  and 
should  prefer  a  few  self-seeking  men  before  the  welfare  of 
the  Public.  And  indeed  we  have  found  these  men  so  active 
to  accomplish  their  designs,  and  to  have  such  apt  instru- 
ments for  their  turn  in  that  City,  that  we  have  cause  to  sus- 
pect they  may  engage  many  therein  upon  mistakes, — which 
are  easily  swallowed,  in  times  of  such  prejudice  against 
them10  that  have  given  (we  may  speak  it  without  vanity)  the 

11  The  Presbyterian  leaders  in  Parliament,   Holies,  Stapleton,  Harlcy,  Waller, 
&c. 

'•  Oblique  for  'us.' 


,647.  ARMY  MANIFESTO.  249 

most  public  testimony  of  their  good  affections  to  the  Public, 
and  to  that  City  in  particular. 

'  As'  for  the  thing  we  insist  upon  as  Englishmen, — and 
surely  our  being  Soldiers  hath  not  stript  us  of  that  interest, 
although  our  malicious  enemies  would  have  it  so, — we  desire 
a  Settlement  of  the  Peace  of  the  Kingdom  and  of  the  Liber- 
ties of  the  Subject,  according  to  the  Votes  and  Declarations 
of  Parliament,  which,  before  we  took  arms,  were,  by  the  Par- 
liament, used  as  arguments  and  inducements  to  invite  us 
and  divers  of  our  dear  friends  out;  some  of  whom  have 
lost  their  lives  in  this  War.  Which  being  now,  by  God's 
blessing,  finished, — we  think  we  have  as  much  right  to  de- 
mand, and  desire  to  see,  a  happy  Settlement,  as  we  have 
to  our  money  and  'to'  the  other  common  interests  of  Soldiers 
which  we  have  insisted  upon.  We  find  also  the  ingenuous 
and  honest  People,  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  Kingdom  where 
we  come,  full  of  the  sense  of  ruin  and  misery  if  the  Army 
should  be  disbanded  before  the  Peace  of  the  Kingdom,  and 
those  other  things  before  mentioned,  have  a  full  and  perfect 
Settlement. 

We  have  said  before,  and  profess  it  now,  We  desire  no 
alteration  of  the  Civil  Government.  As  little  do  we  desire 
to  interrupt,  or  in  the  least  to  intermeddle  with,  the  settling 
of  the  Presbyterial  Government.  Nor  did  we  seek  to  open 
a  way  for  licentious  liberty,  under  pretence  of  obtaining  ease 
for  tender  consciences.  We  profess,  as  ever  in  these  things, 
When  once  the  State  has  made  a  Settlement,  we  have  no- 
thing to  say  but  to  submit  or  suffer.  Only  we  could  wish 
that  every  good  citizen,  and  every  man  who  walks  peaceably 
in  a  blameless  conversation,  and  is  beneficial  to  the  Com- 
monwealth, might  have  liberty  and  encouragement;  this 
being  according  to  the  true  policy  of  all  States,  and  even  to 
justice  itself. 


250    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ,ojun« 

These  in  brief  are  our  Desires,  and  the  things  for  which 
we  stand ;  beyond  which  we  shall  not  go.  And  for  the 
obtaining  of  these  things,  we  are  drawing  near  your  City  ;17 
— professing  sincerely  from  our  hearts,  '  That'  we  intend  not 
evil  towards  you ;  declaring,  with  all  confidence  and  assur- 
ance, That  if  you  appear  not  against  us  in  these  our  just 
desires,  to  assist  that  wicked  Party  which  would  embroil  us 
and  the  Kingdom,  neither  we  nor  our  Soldiers  shall  give 
you  the  least  offence.  We  come  not  to  do  any  act  to  pre- 
judice the  being  of  Parliaments,  or  to  the  hurt  of  this  'Par- 
liament' in  order  to  the  present  Settlement  of  the  Kingdom. 
We  seek  the  good  of  all.  And  we  shall  wait  here,  or  remove 
to  a  farther  distance  to  abide  there,  if  once  we  be  assured 
that  a  speedy  Settlement  of  things  is  in  hand, — until  it  be 
accomplished.  Which  done,  we  shall  be  most  ready,  either 
all  of  us,  or  so  many  of  the  Army  as  the  Parliament  shall 
think  fit, — to  disband,  or  to  go  for  Ireland. 

And  although  you  may  suppose  that  a  rich  City  may 
seem  an  enticing  bait  to  poor  hungry  Soldiers  to  venture 
far  to  gain  the  wealth  thereof, — yet,  if  not  provoked  by  you, 
we  do  profess,  Rather  than  any  such  evil  should  fall  out,  the 
soldiers  shall  make  their  way  through  our  blood  to  effect  it. 
And  we  can  say  this  for  most  of  them,  for  your,  better  assur- 
ance, That  they  so  little  value  their  pay,  in  comparison  of 
higher  concernments  to  a  Public  Good,  that  rather  than 
they  will  be  unrighted  in  the  matter  of  their  honesty  and 
integrity  (which  hath  suffered  by  the  Men  they  aim  at  and 
desire  justice  upon),  or  want  the  settlement  of  the  King- 
dom's Peace,  and  their  'own'  and  their  fellow-subjects'  Liber- 
ties,— they  will  lose  all.  Which  may  be  a  strong  assurance 
to  you  that  it's  not  your  wealth  they  seek,  but  the  things 
tending  in  common  to  your  and  their  welfare.  That  they 
may  attain  '  these,'  you  shall  do  like  Fellow-Subjects  and 

«  That  is  the  remarkable  point  I 


i647.  ARMY  MANIFESTO.  251 

Brethren  if  you  solicit  the  Parliament  for  them,  on  their 
behalf. 

If  after  all  this,  you,  or  a  considerable  part  of  you,  be 
seduced  to  take  up  arms  in  opposition  to,  or  hindrance  of, 
these  our  just  undertakings, — we  hope  we  have,  by  this 
brotherly  premonition,  to  the  sincerity  of  which  we  call  God 
to  witness,  freed  ourselves  from  all  that  ruin  which  may 
befall  that  great  and  populous  City ;  having  thereby  washed 
our  hands  thereof.  We  rest,  your  affectionate  Friends  to 
serve  you, 

THOMAS  FAIRFAX.  HENRY  IRETON. 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.         ROBERT  LILBURN. 

ROBERT  HAMMOND.         JOHN  DESBOROW. 

THOMAS  HAMMOND.         THOMAS  RAINSBOROW. 

HARDRESS  WALLER.         JOHN  LAMBERT. 

NATHANIEL  RICH.  THOMAS  HARRISON.* 

THOMAS  PRIDE. 

This  Letter  was  read  next  day  in  the  Commons  House,18 — 
not  without  emotion.  Most  respectful  answer  went  from  the 
Guildhall,  'in  three  coaches  with  the  due  number  of  outriders.' 

On  June  i6th,  the  Army,  still  at  St.  Albans,  accuses  of 
treason  Eleven  Members  of  the  Commons  House  by  name,  as 
chief  authors  of  all  these  troubles;  whom  the  Honourable  House 
is  respectfully  required  to  put  upon  their  Trial,  and  prevent  from 
voting  in  the  interim.  These  are  the  famed  Eleven  Members  ; 
Holies,  Waller,  Stapleton,  Massey  are  known  to  us ;  the  whole 
List,  for  benefit  of  historical  readers,  we  subjoin  in  a  Note.1^ 
They  demurred  ;  withdrew  ;  again  returned  ;  in  fine,  had  to 
'  ask  leave  to  retire  for  six  months,'  on  account  of  their  health, 
we  suppose.  They  retired  swiftly  in  the  end  ;  to  France  ;  to 
deep  concealment, — to  the  Tower  otherwise. 

*  Rushworth,  vi.  554.  18  Commons  Journals,  v.  208. 

19  Denzil  Holies  (Member  for  Dorchester),  Sir  Philip  Stapleton  (Boroughbridge), 
Sir  William  Waller  (Andover),  Sir  William  Lewis  (Petersfield),  Sir  John  Clotworthy 
(Maiden),  Recorder  Glynn  (Westminster),  Mr.  Anthony  Nichols  (Bodmin)  ;  these 
Seven  are  old  Members,  from  the  beginning  of  the  Parliament ; — the  other  Four  are 
'  recruiters,"  elected  since  1645  :  Major-General  Massey  (Wootton-Basset),  Colonel 
Walter  Long  (Ludgershall),  Colonel  Edward  Harley  (Herefordshire),  Sir  John  May- 
nard  (Lostwithiel). 


252    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    *  July 

The  history  of  these  six  weeks,  till  they  did  retire  and  the 
Army  had  its  way,  we  must  request  the  reader  to  imagine  for 
himself.  Long  able  Papers,  drawn  by  men  of  subtle  brain  and 
strong  sincere  heart :  the  Army  retiring  always  to  a  safe  dist- 
ance when  their  Demands  are  agreed  to ;  straightway  advancing 
if  otherwise, — which  rapidly  produces  an  agreement.  A  most 
remarkable  Negotiation  ;  conducted  with  a  method,  a  gravity 
and  decorous  regularity  beyond  example  in  such  cases.  The 
•  shops'  of  London  were  more  than  once  '  shut ;'  tremor  occu- 
pying all  hearts  : — but  no  harm  was  done.  The  Parliament 
regularly  paid  the  Army ;  the  Army  lay  coiled  round  London 
and  the  Parliament,  now  advancing,  now  receding ;  saying  in 
the  most  respectful  emblematic  way,  "  Settlement  with  us  and 
the  Godly  People,  or  —  — !" — The  King,  still  with  the  Army, 
and  treated  like  a  King,  endeavoured  to  play  his  game,  '  in 
meetings  at  Woburn'  and  elsewhere  ;  but  the  two  Parties  could 
not  be  brought  to  extirpate  one  another  for  his  benefit. 

Towards  the  end  of  July,  matters  seemed  as  good  as  set- 
tled :  the  Holies  «  Declaration,'  that  '  blot  of  ignominy,'  being 
now  expunged  from  the  Journals  ;TO  the  Eleven  being  out ;  and 
now  at  last,  the  New  Militia  Ordinance  for  London  (Presbyte- 
rian Ordinance  brought  in  by  Holies  on  the  4th  of  May)  being 
revoked,  and  matters  in  that  quarter  set  on  their  old  footing 
again.  The  two  Parties  in  Parliament  seem  pretty  equal  in 
numbers ;  the  Presbyterian  Party,  shorn  of  its  Eleven,  is  cowed 
down  to  the  due  pitch  ;  and  there  is  now  prospect  of  fair  treat- 
ment for  all  the  Godly  Interest,  and  such  a  Settlement  with  his 
Majesty  as  may  be  the  best  for  that.  Towards  the  end  of  July, 
however,  London  City,  torn  by  factions,  but  Presbyterian  by 
the  great  majority,  rallies  again  in  a  very  extraordinary  way. 
Take  these  glimpses  from  contemporaneous  Whitlocke  ;  and 
rouse  them  from  their  fat  somnolency  a  little. 

July  26th.  Many  young  men  and  Apprentices  of  London 
came  to  the  House  in  a  most  rude  and  tumultuous  manner ; 
and  presented  some  particular  Desires.  Desires,  That  the  Eleven 
may  come  back ;  that  the  Presbyterian  Militia  Ordinance  be 
not  revoked, — that  the  Revocation  of  it  be  revoked.  Desire, 
in  short,  That  there  be  no  peace  made  with  Sectaries,  but  that 
the  London  Militia  may  have  a  fair  chance  to  fight  them  ! — 
Drowsy  Whitlocke  continues  ;  almost  as  if  he  were  in  Paris  in 

"  Asterisks  still  in  the  place  of  it,  Commons  Journals,  »9th  March  1647. 


i«47.  ARMY  MANIFESTO.  253 

the  eighteenth  century  :  '  The  Apprentices,  and  many  other 
'  rude  boys  and  mean  fellows  among  them,  came  into  the  House 
'  of  Commons ;  and  kept  the  Door  open  and  their  hats  on ;  and 
'  called  out  as  they  stood,  "Vote,  Vote  !"  and  in  this  arrogant 
'  posture  stood  till  the  votes  passed  in  that  way,  To  repeal  the 
'  Ordinance  for  change  of  the  Militia,  to'  &c.  '  In  the  even- 
'  ing  about  seven  o'clock,  some  of  the  Common  Council  came 
'  down  to  the  House  :'  but  finding  the  Parliament  and  Speaker 
already  had  been  forced,  they,  astute  Common-Council  men, 
ordered  their  Apprentices  to  go  home  again,  the  work  they  had 
set  them  upon  being  now  finished.21  This  disastrous  scene  fell 
out  on  Monday  26th  July  1647  :  the  Houses,  on  the  morrow 
morning,  without  farther  sitting,  adjourned  till  Friday  next. 

On  Friday  next, —  — behold,  the  Two  Speakers,  '  with  the 
Mace,'  and  many  Members  of  both  Houses,  have  withdrawn  ; 
and  the  Army,  lately  at  Bedford,  is  on  quick  march  towards 
London  !  Alarming  pause.  '  About  noon,'  however,  the  Re- 
mainders of  the  Two  Houses,  reinforced  by  the  Eleven  who 
reappear  for  the  last  time,  proceed  to  elect  new  Speakers,  '  get 
the  City  Mace  ;'  order,  above  all,  that  there  be  a  vigorous  en- 
listment of  forces  under  General  Massey,  General  Poyntz,  and 
others.  '  St.  James's  Fields'  were  most  busy  all  Saturday,  all 
Monday  ;  shops  all  shut ;  drums  beating  in  all  quarters  ;  a 
most  vigorous  enlistment  going  on.  Presbyterianism  will  die 
with  harness  on  its  back.  Alas,  news  come  that  the  Army  is 
at  Colnebrook,  advancing  towards  Hounslow  ;  news  come  that 
they  have  rendezvoused  at  Hounslow,  and  received  the  Speakers 
and  fugitive  Lords  and  Commons  with  shouts.  Tuesday  3d 
August  1647  was  such  a  day  as  London  and  the  Guildhall  never 
saw  before  or  since  !  Southwark  declares  that  it  will  not  fight ; 
sends  to  Fairfax  for  Peace  and  a  '  sweet  composure  ;'  comes 
to  the  Guildhall  in  great  crowds  petitioning  for  Peace  ; — at 
which  sight,  General  Poyntz,  pressing  through  for  orders  about 
his  enlistments,  loses  his  last  drop  of  human  patience  ;  '  draws 
his  sword'  on  the  whining  multitudes,  '  slashes  several  persons, 
whereof  some  died."  The  game  is  nearly  up.  Look  into  the 
old  Guildhall  on  that  old  Tuesday  night ;  the  palpitation,  tremu- 
lous expectation  ;  wooden  Gog  and  Magog  themselves  almost 
sweating  cold  with  terror  : 

•'  General  Massey  sent  out  scouts  to  Brentford :  but  Ten 

"  Whitlocke,  p.  263. 


254    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     ,  s*pt 

1  men  of  the  Army  beat  Thirty  of  his  ;  and  took  a  flag  from  a 
'  Party  of  the  City.  The  City  Militia  and  Common  Council  sat 
'  late ;  and  a  great  number  of  people  attended  at  Guildhall. 
1  When  a  scout  came  in  and  brought  news,  That  the  Army 
'  made  a  halt ;  or  other  good  intelligence, — they  cry,  "  One 
'  and  all  I"  But  if  the  scouts  reported  that  the  Army  was  ad- 
'  vancing  nearer  them,  then  they  would  cry  as  loud,  "  Treat, 
'  treat,  treat !"  So  they  spent  most  part  of  the  night.  At  last 
1  they  resolved  to  send  the  General  an  humble  Letter,  beseech- 
•  ing  him  that  there  might  be  a  way  of  composure.'82 

On  Friday  morning  was  '  a  meeting  at  the  Earl  of  Holland's 
House  in  Kensington'  (the  Holland  House  that  yet  stands),  and 
prostrate  submission  by  the  Civic  Authorities  and  Parliament- 
ary Remainders  ;  after  which  the  Army  marched  '  three  deep 
by  Hyde  Park'  into  the  heart  of  the  City,  'with  boughs  of  laurel 
in  their  hats  ;' — and  it  was  all  ended.  Fair  treatment  for  all 
the  Honest  Party  :  and  the  Spiritualism  of  England  shall  not 
be  forced  to  grow  in  the  Presbyterian  fashion,  however  it  may 
grow.  Here  is  another  entry  from  somnolent  Bulstrode.  The 
Army  soon  changes  its  head-quarters  to  Putney  ;23  one  of  its 
outer  posts  is  Hampton  Court,  where  his  Majesty,  obstinate 
still,  but  somewhat  despondent  now  of  getting  the  two  Parties 
to  extirpate  one  another,  is  lodged. 

Saturday  '  September  \  8//j.  After  a  Sermon  in  Putney 
'  Church,  the  General,  many  great  Officers,  Field-Officers,  in- 
'  ferior  Officers  and  Adjutators,  met  in  the  Church  ;  debated 
'  the  Proposals  of  the  Army'  towards  a  Settlement  of  this  bleed- 
ing Nation ;  '  altered  some  things  in  them  ; — and.were  very  full 
'  of  the  Sermon,  which  had  been  preached  by  Mr.  Peters.'8* 


LETTERS  XLV.— LVIII. 

THESE  Fourteen  Letters,  touching  slightly  on  public  affairs, 
with  one  or  two  glimpses  into  private,  must  carry  us,  without 
commentary,  in  a  very  dim  way,  across  to  the  next  stage  in 
Oliver's  History  and  England's:  the.  Flight  of  the  King  from 

**  Whitlocke,  p.  865.  »  *8ih  August,  Riuhwotth,  vfi.  f9». 

••  Whitlocke,  p.  879. 


1647.  LETTER  XLV.    PUTNEY.  255 

Hampton  Court  and  the  Army,  soon  followed  by  the  actual 
breaking-out  of  the  Second  Civil  War. 


LETTER  XLV. 

WILLIAMS,  Archbishop  of  York,  '  hasty  hot  Welsh  Wil- 
liams,'— whom  we  once  saw,  seven  years  ago,  as  Bishop  of 
Lincoln,  getting  jostled  in  Palaceyard,  protesting  thereupon, 
and  straightway  getting  lodged  in  the  Tower,1- — is  to  concern 
us  again  for  one  moment.  A  man  once  very  radiant  to  men, 
as  obscure  as  he  has  now  grown  :  a  most  high-riding  far- 
shining  Solar  Luminary  in  that  epoch  ;  obscure  to  no  man  in 
England  for  thirty  years  last  past !  A  man  of  restless  mer- 
curial vivacity,  of  endless  superficial  dexterity  and  ingenuity, 
of  next  to  no  real  wisdom  ; — very  tit  to  have  swift  promotions 
and  sudden  eclipses  in  a  Stuart  Court ;  not  worthy  of  much 
memory  otherwise.  Of  his  rapid  rises,  culminations,  miracu- 
lous faculties  and  destinies,  to  us  all  useless,  indifferent  and 
extinct,  let  there  be  silence  here, — reference  to  Bishop  Racket 
and  the  Futile  Ingenuities.2 

Archbishop  Williams,  —  for  he  got  delivered  from  the 
Tower  at  that  time,  and  recovered  favour,  and  was  '  enthroned 
Archbishop  at  York'  while  his  Majesty  was  raising  his  War- 
standard  there, — found,  after  a  while,  that  there  was  little 
good  to  be  got  of  his  Archbishophood  ;  that  his  best  weapon 
would  be,  not  the  crosier,  but  the  linstock  and  cannon-rammer, 
at  present  :  he  went  to  his  Welsh  estate  of  Aberconway,  and 
'  procuring  a  Commission  from  his  Majesty,'  fortified  Conway 
Castle  'at  his  own  expense,'  and  invited  the  neighbouring 
gentry  to  lodge  their  plate  and  valuables  there,  as  in  a  place 
of  security.  Good  ; — for  the  space  of  a  year  or  two.  But 
now,  some  time  ago  in  the  death-throes  of  the  late  War,  while 
North  Wales  was  bestirring  itself  as  in  last-agony  for  his  Ma- 
jesty's behoof,  — there  came  a  certain  Colonel  Sir  John  Owen, 
of  whom  we  shall  hear  again  :  he,  this  Owen,  came  before 
Castle  Conway  with  large  tumultuary  force  ;  demanded  the 
same  in  his  Majesty's  name,  to  be  governed  by  him  Sir  John 
Owen,  as  essential  for  his  Majesty's  occasions  at  that  time. 

i  Antea,  p.  104, 

-  Racket's  Life  of  Archbishop  Williams  (a  considerable  Folio,  London,   1712) : 
Philips'*  L  ife  of  Williams  (an  Octavo  Abridgment  of  that) ;  &c. 


356     PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     •  Sept. 

High-sniffing,  indignant  refusal  on  the  part  of  Williams  :  im- 
petuous capture  and  forcible  possession  on  the  part  of  Owen. 
Hot  Williams,  blown  all  to  flame  hereby,  applied  to  Colonel 
Mitton,  the  Parliamentary  Colonel  of  those  parts;  said  to  him, 
"  Expel  me  this  intolerable  Owen  ;  Owen  out,  I  will  hold  this 
Castle  for  the  Parliament  and  you, — his  Majesty  seems  nearly 
done  with  fighting  now."  A  thing  difficult  to  explain  com- 
pletely to  the  Royalist  mind :  Bishop  Hackct  has  his  own  ados 
with  it;  and  in  stupid  Saunderson3  and  others  it  is  one  loud 
howl,  "  Son  of  the  morning,  how  art  thou  fallen  !"— 

Explained  or  not,  '  my  Lord  of  York*  does  hold  Conway 
Castle,  on  those  terms,  at  this  date  ;  is  taking  a  certain  charge 
of  North  Wales  in  his  busy  way  ;  and  has  even  been  corre- 
sponding with  Cromwell,  on  the  subject.  They  had  known  one 
another  in  old  years:  Buckden,  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln's  House, 
is  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Huntingdon ;  where  Cromwell,  it  is 
understood,  used  occasionally  to  wait  upon  him  ;  pleading  for 
oppressed  Lecturers  and  the  like, — the  Bishop  having,  from 
political  or  other  biases,  a  kind  of  lenity  for  Puritans. 

Cromwell  is  very  brief  with  him  here  ;  courteous  as  to  an 
old  neighbour  rather  in  eclipse  ;  but  evidently  wishing  to  have 
no  unnecessary  business  with  the  Governor  of  Conway.  We 
see  he  could  on  occasion  jocosely  claim  '  kindred'  with  him, 
as  himself  a  '  Williams :'  and  that  perhaps  is  the  chief  interest 
of  this  small  Document,  which  the  reader  will  now  abundantly 
understand. 

For  the  Right  Honourable  my  Lord  of  York :  Thtst. 

MY  LORD,  •  Putney,'  ist  Sept.  1647. 

Your  Advices  will  be  seriously  considered 
by  us.  We  shall  endeavour,  to  our  uttermost,  so  to  settle 
the  affairs  of  North  Wales  as,  to  the  best  of  our  understand- 
ings, does  most  conduce  to  the  public  good  thereof  and  of 
the  whole.  And  that  without  private  respect,  or  to  the  satis- 
faction of  any  humour, — which  has  been  too  much  practised 
on  the  occasion  of  our  Troubles. 

The  Drover  you  mentioned  will  be  secured,  as  far  as  we 

»  History  nfCharlti  I. 


1647-  LETTER  XLVI.    PUTNEY.  257 

are  able,  in  his  affairs,  if  he  come  to  ask  it.  Your  Kinsman 
shall  be  very  welcome  :  I  shall  study  to  serve  him  for  Kin- 
dred's sake ;  among  whom  let  not  be  forgotten,  my  Lord, 
your  cousin  and  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

My  Lord  of  York  still  lived  some  year  or  two  in  Comvay 
Castle  ;  saw  his  enemy  Sir  John  Owen  in  trouble  enough  ;  but 
died  before  long, — chiefly  of  broken  heart  for  the  fate  of  his 
Majesty,  thinks  Bishop  Racket.  A  long  farewell  to  him. 


LETTER  XLVI. 

THE  Marquis  of  Onnond,  a  man  of  distinguished  integrity, 
patience,  activity  and  talent,  had  done  his  utmost  for  the  King 
in  Ireland,  so  long  as  there  remained  any  shadow  of  hope 
there.  His  last  service,  as  we  saw,  was  to  venture  secretly  on 
a  Peace  with  the  Irish  Catholics,  —  Papists,  men  of  the  Mas- 
sacre of  1641,  men  of  many  other  massacres,  falsities,  mad 
blusterings  and  confusions, — whom  all  parties  considered  as 
sanguinary  Rebels,  and  regarded  with  abhorrence.  Which 
Peace,  we  saw  farther,  Abbas  O'Teague  and  others  threaten- 
ing to  produce  excommunication  on  it,  the  '  Council  of  Kil- 
kenny' broke  away  from, — not  in  the  handsomest  manner. 
Ormond,  in  this  Spring  of  1647,  finding  himself  reduced  to 
'  seven  barrels  of  gunpowder'  and  other  extremities,  without 
prospect  of  help  or  trustworthy  bargain  on  the  Irish  side, — 
agreed  to  surrender  Dublin,  and  what  else  he  had  left,  rather 
to  the  Parliament  than  to  the  Rebels  ;  his  Majesty,  from 
England,  secretly  and  publicly  advising  that  course.  The 
Treaty  was  completed  :  '  Colonel  Michael  Jones,'  lately  Gover- 
nor of  Chester,  arrived  with  some  Parliamentary  Regiments, 
with  certain  Parliamentary  Commissioners,  on  the  7th  of  June:4 
the  surrender  was  duly  effected,  and  Ormond  withdrew  to 
England. 

A  great  English  force  had  been  anticipated ;  but  the  late 
quarrel  with  the  Army  had  rendered  that  impossible.  Jones, 
with  such  inadequate  force  as  he  had,  made  head  against  the 

*  Gentleman's  Magazine  (1789),  lix.  877.  *  Carte's  Ontwnd,  \.  603. 

VOL.  I.  S 


258    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    .4  Sepc 

Rebels  ;  gained  '  a  great  victory'  over  them  on  the  8th  of 
August,  at  a  place  called  Dungan  Hill,  not  far  from  Trim  ^ 
'  the  most  signal  victory  we  had  yet  gained  ;'  for  which  there 
was  thankfulness  enough. — Four  days  before  that  Sermon  by 
Hugh  Peters,  followed  by  the  military  conclave  in  Putney 
Church,  Cromwell  had  addressed  this  small  Letter  of  Congra- 
tulation to  Jones,  whom,  by  the  tone  of  it,  he  docs  not  seem  to 
have  as  yet  personally  known  : 

For  the  Honourable  Colonel  Jones,  Governor  of  Dublin,  and 
Commander-  in-  Chief  of  all  the  Forces  in  Leinstcr :  These. 

SlR,  '  Putney,'  »4th  Sept.  1647. 

The  mutual  interest  and  agreement  we 
have  in  the  same  Cause0  give  me  occasion,  as  to  congratu- 
late, so  'likewise'  abundantly  to  rejoice  in  God's  gracious 
Dispensation  unto  you  and  by  you.  We  have,  both  in  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  found  the  immediate  presence  and  assist- 
ance of  God,  in  guiding  and  succeeding  our  endeavours 
hitherto ;  and  therefore  ought,  as  I  doubt  not  both  you  and 
we  desire,  to  ascribe  the  glories  of  all  to  Him,  and  to  im- 
prove all  we  receive  from  Him  unto  Him  alone. 

Though,  it  may  be,  for  the  present  a  cloud  may  lie  over 
our  actions  to  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  grounds 
of  them ;  yet  we  doubt  not  but  God  will  clear  our  integrity, 
and  innocency  from  any  other  ends  we  aim  at  but  His  glory 
and  the  Public  Good.  And  as  you  are  an  instrument  herein, 
so  we  shall,  as  becometh  us,  upon  all  occasions,  give  you 
your  due  honour.  For  my  own  particular, — wherein  I  may 
have  your  commands  to  serve  y«u,  you  shall  find  none  more 
ready  than  he  that  sincerely  desires  to  approve  himself, 
your  affectionate  friend  and  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

6  Rushworth,  vu.  779  :  Carte,  u.  5. 

8  Word  uncertain  to  the  Copyist  ;  sens*  not  doubtful. 

•  Ms.  Volume  of  Letters  in  Trinity-College  Library,  Dublin  (marked:  F.  3.  18). 
fol.  62.  Autograph  ;  docketed  by  Jones  himself,  of  whom  the  Volume  contains  other 
memorials. 


1647.  LETTER  XLVII.    PUTNEY.  259 

Michael  Jones  is  the  name  of  this  Colonel  ;  there  are 
several  Colonel  Joneses  ;  difficult  to  distinguish.  One  of 
them,  Colonel  John  Jones,  Member  for  Merionethshire,  and 
known  too  in  Ireland,  became  afterwards  the  Brother-in-law  of 
Cromwell;  and  ended  tragically  as  a  Regicide  in  1661.  Co- 
lonel Michael  gained  other  signal  successes  in  Ireland  ;  wel- 
comed Oliver  into  it  in  1649  ;  and  died  there  soon  after  of  a 
fever. 

One  of  the  remarkablest  circumstances  of  this  new  Irish 
Campaign  is,  that  Colonel  Monk,  George  Monk,  is  again  in  it. 
He  was  taken  prisoner,  fresh  from  Ireland,  at  Nantwich,  three 
years  ago.  After  lying  three  years  in  the  Tower,  seeing  his 
Majesty's  affairs  now  desperate,  he  has  consented  to  take  the 
Covenant,  embark  with  the  Parliament;  and  is  now  doing  good 
service  in  Ulster. 


LETTER  XLVII. 
For  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax :  These. 

SlR,  Putney,  13111  Oct.  1647. 

The  case  concerning  Captain  Middleton 
hears7  ill ;  inasmuch  as  it  is  delayed,  upon  pretences,  from 
coming  to  a  trial.  It  is  not,  I  humbly  conceive,  fit  that  it 
should  stay  any  longer.  The  Soldiers  complain  thereof,  and 
their  witnesses  have  been  examined.  Captain  Middleton, 
and  some  others  for  him,  have  made  stay  thereof  hitherto. 

I  beseech  your  Excellency  to  give  order  it  may  be  tried 
on  Friday,  or  Saturday  at  farthest,  if  you  please ;  and  that 
so  much  may  be  signified  to  the  Advocate. 

Sir,  I  pray  excuse  my  not-attendance  upon  you.  I  feared 
'  to'  miss  the  House  a  day,  where  it's  very  necessary  for  me 
to  be.  I  hope  your  Excellency  will  be  at  the  Head-quarter 
tomorrow,  where,  if  God  be  pleased,  I  shall  wait  upon  you. 
I  rest,  your  Excellency's  most  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

"I  sotind*.  *  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  80. 


260     PART  III.   BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     ,3  Oct. 

Captain  Middleton  and  his  case  have  vanished  completely 
out  of  the  records  ;  whether  it  was  tried  on  Saturday,  and  how 
decided,  will  never  now  be  known.  Doubtless  Fairfax  '  signi- 
fied' somewhat  to  the  Advocate  about  it,  but  let  us  not  ask 
what.  'The  Advocate'  is  called  'John  Mills,  Esquire,  Judge- 
Advocate  ;'8  whose  military  Law-labours  have  mostly  become 
silent  now.  The  former  Advocate  was  Dr.  Dorislaus  ;  of  whom 
also  a  word.  Dr.  Dorislaus,  by  birth  Dutch  ;  appointed  Judge- 
Advocate  at  the  beginning  of  Essex's  campaignings  ;  known 
afterwards  on  the  King's  Trial ;  and  finally,  for  that  latter  ser- 
vice, assassinated  at  the  Hague,  one  evening,  by  certain  high- 
flying Royalist  cut-throats,  Scotch  several  of  them.  The 
Portraits  represent  him  as  a  man  of  heavy,  deep-wrinkled, 
elephantine  countenance,  pressed  down  with  the  labours  of 
life  and  law ;  the  good  ugly  man  here  found  his  quietus. 

The  business  in  the  House,  'where  it's  necessary  for  me 
to  be'  without  miss  of  a  sitting,  is  really  important,  or  at  least 
critical,  in  these  October  days  :  Settlement  of  Army  arrears, 
duties  and  arrangements ;  Tonnage  and  Poundage ;  business 
of  the  London  Violence  upon  the  Parliament  (pardoned  for 
the  most  part) ;  business  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Lilburn, 
now  growing  very  noisy ; — above  all  things,  final  Settlement 
with  the  King,  if  that  by  any  method  could  be  possible.  The 
Army-Parliament  too  still  sits  ;  '  Council  of  War'  with  its  Adju- 
tators  meeting  frequently  at  Putney.9  In  the  House,  and  out 
of  the  House,  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell  is  busy  enough. 

This  very  day,  '  Wednesday  1 3th  October  1 647,'  we  find 
him  deep  in  debate  '  On  the  farther  establishment  of  the  Pres- 
byterial  Government'  (for  the  law  is  still  loose,  the  Platform, 
except  in  London,  never  fairly  on  foot) ;  and  Teller  on  no 
fewer  than  three  divisions.  First,  Shall  the  Presbyterian  Go- 
vernment be  limited  to  three  years  ?  Cromwell  answers  Yea. 
in  a  House  of  73  ;  is  beaten  by  a  majority  of  3.  Second,  Shall 
there  be  a  limit  of  time  to  it  ?  Cromwell  again  answers  Yea; 
beats,  this  time,  by  a  majority  of  14,  in  a  House  now  of  74 
(some  individual  having  dropt  in).  Third,  Shall  the  limit  be 
seven  years?  Cromwell  answers  Yea;  and  in  a  House  still 
of  74  is  beaten  by  8.  It  is  finally  got  settled  that  the  limit  of 
time  shall  be  '  to  the  end  of  the  next  Session  of  Parliament 

*  Sprigge,  p.  326.  •  Rushworth,  viL  849,  &c. 


,647.  LETTER  XLVIII.    PUTNEY.  261 

after  the  end  of  this  present  Session,' — a  very  vague  Period, 
'  this  present  session'  having  itself  already  proved  rather  long  ! 
Note,  too,  this  is  not  yet  a  Law  ;  it  is  only  a  Proposal  to  be 
made  to  the  King,  if  his  Majesty  will  concur,  which  seems 
doubtful.  Debating  enough  ! — Saturday  last  there  was  a  call 
of  the  House,  and  great  quantities  of  absent  Members  ;  '  agro- 
tantes,'  fallen  ill,  a  good  many  of  them, — sickness  being  some- 
what prevalent  in  those  days  of  waiting  upon  Providence.10 


LETTER  XLVIII. 

'  For  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  General  of  the 
Parliament1  s  Army:  These.' 

SlR,  Putney,  22d  Oct.  1647. 

Hearing  the  Garrison  of  Hull  is  most  dis- 
tracted in  the  present  government,  and  that  the  most  faith- 
ful and  honest  Officers  have  no  disposition  to  serve  there 
any  longer  under  the  present  Governor;  and  that  it  is  their 
earnest  desires,  with  all  the  trusty  and  faithful  inhabitants 
of  the  Town,  to  have  Colonel  Overton  sent  to  them  to  be 
your  Excellency's  Deputy  over  them, — I  do  humbly  offer  to 
your  Excellency,  Whether  it  might  not  be  convenient  that 
Colonel  Overton  be  speedily  sent  down ;  that  so  that  Garri- 
son may  be  settled  in  safe  hands.  And  that  your  Excel- 
lency would  be  pleased  to  send  for  Colonel  Overton,  and 
confer  with  him  about  it.  That  either  the  Regiment  '  now' 
in  the  Town  may  be  so  regulated  as  your  Excellency  may 
be  confident  that  the  Garrison  may  be  secured  by  them ;  or 
otherwise  it  may  be  drawn  out,  and  his  own  Regiment  in 
the  Army  be  sent  down  thither  with  him. — But  I  conceive, 
if  the  Regiment  in  Hull  can  be  made  serviceable  to  your 

10  Commons  Journals,  v.  329  ;  ib.  339, 


262     PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    »,  Oct. 

Excellency,  and  included  in  the  Establishment,  it  will  be 
better  to  continue  it  there,  than  to  bury  a  Regiment  of  your 
Army  in  the  Garrison. 

Sir,  the  expedient  will  be  very  necessary,  in  regard  of 
the  present  distractions  here.  This  I  thought  fit  to  offer 
to  your  Excellency's  consideration.  I  shall  humbly  take 
leave  to  subscribe  myself,  your  Excellency's  humble  'and 
faithful  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.'* 

After  Hotham's  defection  and  execution,  the  Lord  Fcr- 
dinando  Fairfax,  who  had  valiantly  defended  the  place,  was 
appointed  Governor  of  Hull  ;  which  office  had  subsequently 
been  conferred  on  the  Generalissimo  Sir  Thomas,  his  Son  ; 
and  was  continued  to  him,  on  the  readjustment  of  all  Garrisons 
in  the  Spring  of  this  same  year.11  Sir  Thomas  therefore  was 
express  Governor  of  Hull  at  this  time.  Who  the  Substitute  or 
Deputy  under  him  was,  I  do  not  know.  Some  Presbyterian 
man  ;  unfit  for  the  stringent  times  that  had  arrived,  when  no 
algebraic  formula,  but  only  direct  vision  of  the  relations  of 
things  would  suffice  a  man. 

Colonel  Ovcrton  was  actually  appointed  Governor  of  Hull : 
there  is  a  long  Letter  from  the  Hull  people  about  Colonel 
Overton's  laying  free  billet  upon  them,  a  Complaint  to  Fairfax 
on  the  subject,  next  year.12  He  continued  long  in  that  capacity  ; 
zealously  loyal  to  Cromwell  and  his  cause,13  till  the  Protector- 
ship came  on.  His  troubles  afterwards,  and  confused  des- 
tinies, may  again  concern  us  a  little. 

This  Letter  is  written  only  three  weeks  before  the  King 
took  his  flight  from  Hampton  Court.  One  spark  illuminating 
(very  faintly)  that  huge  dark  world,  big  with  such  results,  in 
the  Army's  quarters  about  Putney,  and  elsewhere  ! 

*  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  82: — Signature,  and  all  after  'humble,'  is  torn  off.     Th« 
Letter  is  not  an  autograph  ;  it  has  keen  dictated,  apparently  in  gre.it  haste. 
"  1 3th  March  1646-7  (Common*  Journals,  v.  in). 
13  4th  March  1647-8  (Rushworth,  vii.  ioao). 

l:>  Sir  James  Turner's  Memoirt.    Milton  Slate-Paftrt  (London,  1743),  pp.  10,34, 
ifiij — where  the  Editor  call*  him  Colonel  Richard  Ovcrton  :  hi*  name  was  Robert : 
Richard  Overtoil'  is  a.  '  Leveller/  unconnected  with  him  ;  '  Colentl  Richard  Over. 
Ion'  ii  a  non-existence. 


1647.  LETTER  XLIX.    HAMPTON  COURT.  263 


LETTER  XLIX. 

THE  immeasurable  Negotiations  with  the  King,  '  Proposals 
of  the  Army,'  'Proposals  of  the  Adjutators  of  the  Army,'  still 
occupying  tons  of  printed  paper,  the  subject  of  intense  dc- 
batings  and  considerations  in  Westminster,  in  Putney  Church, 
and  in  every  house  and  hut  of  England,  for  many  months 
past, — suddenly  contract  themselves  for  us,  like  a  universe  of 
gaseous  vapour,  into  one  small  point  :  the  issue  of  them  all  is 
failure.  The  Army  Council,  the  Army  Adjutators,  and  serious 
England  at  large,  were  in  earnest  about  one  thing  ;  the  King 
was  not  in  earnest,  except  about  another  thing  :  there  could  be 
no  bargain  with  the  King. 

Cromwell  and  the  Chief  Officers  have  for  some  time  past 
ceased  frequenting  his  Majesty  or  Hampton  Court ;  such  visits 
being  looked  upon  askance  by  a  party  in  the  Army :  they  have 
left  the  matter  to  Parliament ;  only  Colonel  Whalley,  with 
due  guard,  and  Parliament  Commissioners,  keep  watch  '  for 
the  security  of  his  Majesty.'  In  the  Army,  his  Majesty's  real 
purpose  becoming  now  apparent,  there  has  arisen  a  very  ter- 
rible '  Levelling  Party  ;'  a  class  of  men  demanding  punishment 
not  only  of  Delinquents,  and  Deceptive  Persons  who  have 
involved  this  Nation  in  blood,  but  of  the  '  Chief  Delinquent  :' 
minor  Delinquents  getting  punished,  how  should  the  Chief 
Delinquent  go  free  ?  A  class  of  men  dreadfully  in  earnest ; — 
to  whom  a  King's  Cloak  is  no  impenetrable  screen ;  who  within 
the  King's  Cloak  discern  that  there  is  a  Man,  accountable  to  a 
God  !  The  Chief  Officers,  except  when  officially  called,  keep 
distant :  hints  have  fallen  that  his  Majesty  is  not  out  of  danger. 
— In  the  Commons  Journals  this  is  what  we  read  : 

' Friday  \-2.th  November  1647.  A  Letter  from  Lieutenant- 
'  General  Cromwell,  of  nth  November,  twelve  at  night,  was 
'  read  ;  signifying  the  escape  of  the  King  ;  who  went  away 
'  about  9  o'clock  yesterday'  evening.14 

Cromwell,  we  suppose,  lodging  in  head-quarters  about 
Putney,  had  been  roused  on  Thursday  night  by  express  That 
the  King  was  gone  ;  had  hastened  off  to  Hampton  Court ;  and 

11  Com»torts  Journals,  v.  356. 


264    PART  III.   BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS,    u  Nor. 

there  about  '  twelve  at  night'  despatched  a  Letter  to  Speaker 
Lcnthall.  The  Letter,  which  I  have  some  confused  recollec- 
tion of  having,  somewhere  in  the  Pamphlctary  Chaos,  seen  in 
lull,  refuses  to  disclose  itself  at  present  except  as  a  Fragment : 


4  For  the  Honourable  William  Lent  hall,  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Commons :  These? 

<  OTT>  '  '  Hampton  Court,  Twelve  at  night, 

O1KJ  nth  Nov.  1647.' 

#    *     »    •    Majesty    *    *     withdrawn 
himself    *     *     at  nine  o'clock. 

The  manner  is  variously  reported ;  and  we  will  say  little 
of  it  at  present,  but  That  his  Majesty  was  expected  at  sup- 
per, when  the  Commissioners  and  Colonel  Whalley  missed 
him ;  upon  which  they  entered  the  Room  : — they  found  his 
Majesty  had  left  his  cloak  behind  him  in  the  Gallery  in  the 
Private  Way.  He  passed,  by  the  back  stairs  and  vault,  to- 
wards the  Water-side. 

He  left  some  Letters  upon  the  table  in  his  withdrawing 
room,  of  his  own  handwriting;  whereof  one  was  to  the 
Commissioners  of  Parliament  attending  him,  to  be  commu- 
nicated to  both  Houses,  '  and  is  here  enclosed.' 

'  OLIVER  CROMWELL.'* 

We  do  not  give  his  Majesty's  Letter  '  here  enclosed  :'  it  is 
that  well-known  one  where  he  speaks,  in  very  royal  style,  still 
every  inch  a  King,  Of  the  restraints  and  slights  put  upon  him, 
— men's  obedience  to  their  King  seeming  much  abated  of  late. 
So  soon  as  they  return  to  a  just  temper,  "  I  shall  instantly 
break  through  this  cloud  of  retirement,  and  show  myself  ready 
to  be  Pater  Patrice" — as  I  have  hitherto  done. 

•  Ruihworth,  vii.  871. 


LETTER  L    PUTNEY.  265 


LETTER  L. 

THE  Ports  are  all  ordered  to  be  shut ;  embargo  laid  on 
ships.  Read  in  the  Commons  Journals  again  :  '  Saturday 
'  \^th  Nov.  Colonel  Whalley  was  called  in;  and  made  a 
'  particular  Relation  of  all  the  circumstances  concerning  the 
'  King's  going  away  from  Hampton  Court.  He  did  likewise 
'  deliver-in  a  Letter  directed  unto  him  from  Lieutenant-Gencral 
'  Cromwell,  concerning  some  rumours  and  reports  of  some 
'  design  of  danger  to  the  person  and  life  of  the  King  :  The 
'  which  was  read.  Ordered,  That  Colonel  Whalley  do  put  in 
'  writing  the  said  Relation,  and  set  his  hand  to  it ;  and  That 
'  he  do  leave  a  Copy  of  the  said  Letter  from  Lieutenant-General 
'  Cromwell.'15 

Colonel  Whalley's  Relation  exists  ;  and  a  much  fuller  Re- 
lation and  pair  of  Relations  concerning  this  Flight  and  what 
preceded  and  followed  it,  as  viewed  from  the  Royalist  side,  by 
two  parties  to  the  business,  exist  :16  none  of  which  shall  con- 
cern us  here.  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell's  Letter  to  Whal- 
ley also  exists  ;  a  short  insignificant  Note  :  here  it  is,  fished 
from  the  Dust-Abysses,  which  refuse  to  disclose  the  other. 
Whalley  is  'Cousin  Whalley,'  as  we  may  remember;  Aunt 
Frances's  and  the  Squire  of  Kerton's  Son, — a  Nottinghamshire 
man.1? 

*  for  my  beloved  Cousin,  Colonel  Whalley \  at  Hampton 
Court:  These: 

D.EAR  Cos.  WHALLEY,  '  Putney,  NOV.  i647.' 

There  are  rumours  abroad  of  some  intended 
attempt  on  his  Majesty's  person.  Therefore  I  pray  have  a 
care  of  your  guards.  If  any  such  thing  should  be  done,  it 
would  be  accounted  a  most  horrid  act.  *  *  *  Yours, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

"  Commons  Journals,  v.  358. 

16  Berkley's  Memoirs  (printed,  London,  1699);  Ashburnham's  Narrative  (printed, 
London,  1830)  ; — which  require  to  be  sifted,  and  contrasted  with  each  other  and  with 
third  parties,  by  whoever  is  still  curious  on  this  matter ;  each  of  these  Narratives  being 
properly  a  Pleading,  intended  to  clear  the  Writer  of  all  blame,  in  the  first  place. 

'7  See  antea,  p.  22,  note.  *  King's  Pamphlets,  small  410,  no.  337,  jj  15,  p.  7. 


366      PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.      No*. 

See,  among  the  Old  Pamphlets,  Letters  to  the  like  effect 
from  Royalist  Parties  :  also  a  Letter  of  thanks  from  the  King 
to  Whalley ; — ending  with  a  desire,  '  to  send  the  black-gray 
bitch  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond,'  on  the  part  of  his  Majesty  : 
Letters  from  &c.,  Letters  to  &c.,  in  great  quantities.18  For  us 
here  this  brief  notice  of  one  Letter  shall  suffice  : 

'  Monday  \$th  November  1647.  Letter  from  Colonel  Ro- 
'  bert  Hammond,  Governor  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Cowes,  13° 
'  Novembris,  signifying  that  the  King  is  come  into  the  Isle  of 
'  Wight.'J9  The  King,  after  a  night  and  a  day  of  riding,  saw 
not  well  whither  else  to  go.  He  delivered  himself  to  Robert 
Hammond  ;50  came  into  the  Isle  of  Wight.  Robert  Hammond 
is  ordered  to  keep  him  strictly  within  Carisbrook  Castle  and 
the  adjoining  grounds,  in  a  vigilant  though  altogether  respectful 
manner. 

This  same  '  Monday'  when  Hammond's  Letter  arrives  in 
London  is  the  day  of  the  mutinous  Rendezvous  '  in  Corkbush 
Field,  between  Hertford  and  Ware  ;'21  where  Cromwell  and 
the  General  Officers  had  to  front  the  Levelling  Principle,  in  a 
most  dangerous  manner,  and  trample  it  out  or  be  trampled 
out  by  it  on  the  spot.  Eleven  Mutineers  are  ordered  from  the 
ranks  ;  tried  by  Court-Martial  on  the  Field ;  three  of  them 
condemned  to  be  shot ; — throw  dice  for  their  life,  and  one  is 
shot,  there  and  then.  The  name  of  him  is  Arnald  ;  long 
memorable  among  the  Levellers.  A  very  dangerous  Review 
service  ! — Head-quarters  now  change  to  Windsor. 


LETTER  LI. 

A  SMALL  charitable  act,  for  one  who  proved  not  very  worthy. 
Friends  of  a  young  gentleman  in  trouble,  Mr.  Dudley  Wyatt  by 
name,  have  drawn  this  word  from  the  Lieutenant-General,  who 
on  many  grounds  is  powerful  at  Cambridge. 

•*  rarliatnftitary  History,  xvi.  314-30. 
»  Commons  Journals,  in  die  (v.  359). 

*  Berkley's  and  Ashburnham's  .**  nrr+trvtt. 

•  Rushworth,  vii.  875. 


x647.  LETTER  LI.    WINDSOR.  267 

'  To  Dr.  Thomas  Hill.  Master  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge? 

SlR,  Windsor,  2$d  Dec.  1647. 

As  I  am  informed,  this  Gentleman  the  Bearer 
hereof,  in  the  year  1641,  had  leave  of  his  College  to  travel 
into  Ireland  for  seven  years ;  and  in  his  absence,  he  (being 
then  actually  employed  against  the  Rebels  in  that  Kingdom) 
was  ejected  out  of  his  College  by  a  mistake, — the  College 
Registry  being  not  looked  into,  to  inquire  the  cause  of  his 
non-residence. 

I  cannot  therefore  but  think  it  a  just  and  reasonable 
request,  That  he  be  readmitted  to  all  the  benefits,  rights 
and  privileges  which  he  enjoyed  before  that  ejection;  and 
therefore  desire  you  would  please  to  effect  it  accordingly. 
Wherein  you  shall  do  a  favour  will  be  owned  by  your  affec- 
tionate friend  and  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Dudley  Wyatt,  Scholar  of  Trinity  College,  25th  April  1628; 
B.A.,  1631  ;  Fellow,  4th  October  1633;  vanishes  from  the 
Bursar's  Books  in  1645  :  no  notice  of  him  farther,  or  of  any 
effect  produced  by  the  Lieutenant-General's  Letter  on  his  be- 
half, is  found  in  the  College  records.  Indeed,  directly  after  this 
Letter,  the  young  gentleman,  of  a  roving  turn  at  any  rate,  ap- 
pears to  have  discovered  that  there  was  new  war  and  mischief 
in  the  wind,  and  better  hope  at  Court  than  at  College  for  a 
youth  of  spirit.  He  went  to  France  to  the  Queen  (as  we  may 
gather)  ;  went  and  came  ;  developed  himself  into  a  busy  spy 
and  intriguer  ; — attained  to  Knighthood,  to  be  the  '  Sir  Dudley 
Wyatt'  of  Clarendon's  History;"2  whom,  and  not  us,  he  shall 
henceforth  concern. 

*  '  Muniment  Room,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge  (Collection  entitled  Papers  re- 
'  /(.•:';'/,•;,'  tn  Trinity  Coll.,  vol.  3):  a  Transcript,  Original  now  not  forthcoming, — dock- 


latter,  in  Hartshonic's  Book  Rarities  in  the  University  of  Cambridge  (l^onAon,  1829), 
p.  277.     The  Hail.  MSS.  copy  adds  :  '  N.B.  Upon  this  Letter  Sir  Dudley  Wyatt  was 


readmitted,' — but  did  not  stay,  as  would  appear, 
ii.  959,  iii.  22,  &c. 


268     PART  III.   BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     3jan. 


LETTER  LI  I. 

ROBERT  HAMMOND,  Governor  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  who  has 
for  the  present  become  so  important  to  England,  is  a  young 
man  '  of  good  parts  and  principles  :'  a  Colonel  of  Foot ;  served 
formerly  as  Captain  under  Massey  in  Gloucester ; — where,  in 
October  1644,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  kill  a  brother  Officer, 
one  Major  Gray,  in  sudden  duel,  '  for  giving  him  the  lie ;'  he 
was  tried,  but  acquitted,  the  provocation  being  great.  He  has 
since  risen  to  be  Colonel,  and  become  well  known.  Originally 
of  Chertscy,  Surrey  ;  his  Grandfather,  and  perhaps  his  Father, 
a  Physician  there.  His  Uncle,  Thomas  Hammond,  is  now  Lieu- 
tenant-General  of  the  Ordnance ;  a  man  whom,  with  this  Ro- 
bert, we  saw  busy  in  the  Army  Troubles  last  year.  The  Licu- 
tenant-General,  Thomas  Hammond,  persists  in  his  democratic 
course  ;  patron  at  this  time  of  the  Adjutator  speculations  ;  sits 
afterwards  as  a  King's-Judge. 

In  strong  contrast  with  whom  is  another  Uncle,  Dr.  Henry 
Hammond,  a  pattern-flower  of  loyalty,  one  of  his  Majesty's  fa- 
vourite Chaplains.  It  was  Uncle  Thomas  that  first  got  this 
young  Robert  a  Commission  in  the  Army  :  but  Uncle  Henry 
had,  in  late  months,  introduced  him  to  his  Majesty  at  Hampton 
Court,  as  an  ingenuous  youth,  repentant,  or  at  least  sympa- 
pathetic  and  not  without  loyalty.  Which  circumstance,  it  is 
supposed,  had  turned  the  King's  thoughts  in  that  bewildered 
Flight  of  his,  towards  Colonel  Robert  and  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

Colonel  Robert,  it  would  seem,  had  rather  disliked  the  high 
course  things  were  sometimes  threatening  to  take,  in  the  Putney 
Council  of  War  ;  and  had  been  glad  to  get  out  of  it  for  a  quiet 
Governorship  at  a  distance.  But  it  now  turns  out,  he  has  got 
into  still  deeper  difficulties  thereby.  His  'temptation'  when  the 
King  announced  himself  as  in  the  neighbourhood,  had  been 
great :  Shall  he  obey  the  King  in  this  crisis;  conduct  the  King 
whitherward  his  Majesty  wishes  ?  Or  be  true  to  his  trust  and 
the  Parliament  ?  He  '  grew  suddenly  pale  ;' — he  decided  as  we 
saw. 

The  Isle  of  Wight,  holding  so  important  a  deposit,  is  put 
under  the  Derby-House  Committee,  old  '  Committee  of  Both 
Kingdoms,'  some  additions  being  made  thereto,  and  some  ex- 


i64s.  LETTER  LII.    LONDON.  269 

elusions.  Oliver  is  of  it,  and  Philip  Lord  Wharton,  among 
others.  Lord  Wharton,  a  conspicuous  Puritan  and  intimate  of 
Oliver's  ;  of  whom  we  shall  afterwards  have  occasion  to  say 
somewhat. 

This  Committee  of  Derby  House  was,  of  course,  in  con- 
tinual communication  with  Robert  Hammond.  Certain  of  their 
Letters  to  him  had,  after  various  fortune,  come  into  the  hands 
of  the  Honourable  Mr.  Yorke  (Lord  Hardwicke)  ;  and  were 
lying  in  his  house,  when  it  and  they  were,  in  1752,  accidentally 
burnt.  A  Dr.  Joseph  Litherland  had,  by  good  luck,  taken 
copies  ;  Thomas  Birch,  lest  fire  should  again  intervene,  printed 
the  Collection, — a  very  thin  Octavo,  London,  1764.  He  has 
given  some  introductory  account  of  Robert  Hammond ;  copying, 
as  we  do  mainly  here,  from  Wood's  Athencsj"^  and  has  com- 
mitted— as  who  does  not  ? — several  errors.  His  Annotations 
are  sedulous  but  ineffectual.  What  of  the  Letters  are  from 
Oliver  we  extract  with  thanks. 

A  former  Letter,  of  which  Oliver  was  'the  penner,'  is  now 
lost.  '  Our  brethren'  in  the  following  Letter  are  the  Scots,  now 
all  excluded  from  Derby-House  Committee  of  Both  Kingdoms. 
The  '  Recorder'  is  Glyn,  one  of  the  vanished  Eleven,  Stapleton 
being  another ;  for  both  of  whom  it  has  been  necessary  to  ap- 
point substitutes  in  the  said  Committee. 

for  Colonel  Robert  Hammond,  Governor  of  the  Isle  of  Wight : 
These t  for  the  Service  of  the  Kingdom.     Haste:  Post  Haste. 

TiT?AU  Pr>BT-M  '  London,' 3d  Jan.  1647. 

.UfcAR  ±U_>1JIN,  (My  Lord  Wharton' s,  near  Ten  at  night.) 

Now,  blessed  be  God,  I  can  write  and  thou 
receive  freely.  I  never  in  my  life  saw  more  deep  sense,  and 
less  will  to  show  it  unchristianly,  than  in  that  which  thou 
didst  write  to  us  when  we  were  at  Windsor,  and  thou  in 
the  midst  of  thy  temptation, — which  indeed,  by  what  we  un- 
derstand of  it,  was  a  great  one,  and  occasioned24  the  greater 
by  the  Letter  the  General  sent  thee;  of  which  thou  wast  not 
mistaken  when  thou  didst  challenge  me  to  be  the  penner. 

33  iii.  500.  **  rendered. 


270     PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     3J«. 

How  good  has  God  been  to  dispose  all  to  mercy  !  And 
although  it  was  trouble  for  the  present,  yet  glory  has  come 
out  of  it ;  for  which  we  praise  the  Lord  with  thee  and 
for  thee.  And  truly  thy  carriage  has  been  such  as  occa- 
sions much  honour  to  the  name  of  God  and  to  religion.  Go 
on  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord ;  and  the  Lord  be  still  with 
thee. 

But,  dear  Robin,  this  business  hath  been,  I  trust,  a 
mighty  providence  to  this  poor  Kingdom  and  to  us  all.  The 
House  of  Commons  is  very  sensible  of  the  King's  dealings, 
and  of  our  brethren's,25  in  this  late  transaction.  You  should 
do  well,  if  you  have  anything  that  may  discover  juggling,  to 
search  it  out,  and  let  us  know  it.  It  may  be  of  admirable 
use  at  this  time ;  because  we  shall,  I  hope,  instantly  go  upon 
business  in  relation  to  them,26  tending  to  prevent  danger. 

The  House  of  Commons  has  this  day  voted  as  follows : 
ist,  They  will  make  no  more  Addresses  to  the  King;  znd, 
None  shall  apply  to  him  without  leave  of  the  Two  Houses, 
upon  pain  of  being  guilty  of  high  treason ;  3rd,  They  will 
receive  nothing  from  the  King,  nor  shall  any  other  bring 
anything  to  them  from  him,  nor  receive  anything  from  the 
King ;  lastly,  the  Members  of  both  Houses  who  were  of  the 
Committee  of  Both  Kingdoms  are  established  in  all  that 
power  in  themselves,  for  England  and  Ireland,'  which  they 
*  formerly'  had  to  act  with  England  and  Scotland ;  and  Sir 
John  Evelyn  of  Wilts  is  added  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Recorder, 
and  Nathaniel  Fiennes  in  the  room  of  Sir  Philip  Stapleton, 
and  my  Lord  of  Kent  in  the  room  of  the  Earl  of  Essex.27 
I  think  it  good  you  take  notice  of  this;  the  sooner  the 
better. 

»  the  Scots.  *  Ibid. 

27  Essex  is  dead  :  Staplcton,  one  of  the  Eleven  who  went  to  France,  is  dead  : 
Recorder  Glyn,  another  of  them,  is  in  the  Tower.  For  the  '  Votes,'  see  Comment 
Journals,  v.  415  (3d  January  1647-8). 


1648.  LETTER  LIII.    LONDON.  271 

Let  us  know  how  it  is  with  you  in  point  of  strength,  and 
what  you  need  from  us.  Some  of  us  think  the  King  well 
with  you,  and  that  it  concerns  us  to  keep  that  Island  in 
great  security,  because  of  the  French,  &c  :  and  if  so,28  where 
can  the  King  be  better  ?  If  you  have  more  force  '  sent,' 
you  will  be  sure  of  full  provision  for  them.  The  Lord  bless 
thee.  Pray  for  thy  dear  friend  and  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

In  these  same  days  noisy  Lilburn  has  accused  Cromwell  of 
meaning  or  having  meant  to  make  his  own  bargain  with  the 
King,  and  be  Earl  of  Essex  and  a  great  man.  Noisy  John 
thinks  all  great  men,  especially  all  Lords,  ought  to  be  brought 
low.  The  Commons  have  him  at  their  bar  in  this  month.c9 


LETTER  LIII. 

HERE,  by  will  of  the  Destinies  preserving  certain  bits  of 
paper  and  destroying  others,  there  introduces  itself  a  little  piece 
of  Domesticity  ;  a  small  family- transaction,  curiously  enough 
peering  through  by  its  own  peculiar  rent,  amid  these  great: 
world-transactions  :  Marriage-treaty  for  Richard  Cromwell,  the 
Lieutenant-General's  eldest  Son. 

What  Richard  has  been  doing  hitherto  no  Biographer 
knows.  In  spite  of  Noble,  I  incline  to  think  he  too  had  been 
in  the  Army  ;  in  October  last  there  are  two  Sons  mentioned 
expressly  as  being  officers  there  :  '  One  of  his  Sons,  Captain  of 
'  the  General's  Lifeguard  ;  his  other  Son,  Captain  of  a  troop  in 
'  Colonel  Harrison's  Regiment,' — so  greedy  is  he  of  the  Public 
Money  to  his  own  family  !30  Richard  is  now  heir-apparent ;  our 
poor  Boy  Oliver  therefore,  '  Cornet  Oliver,'  we  know  not  in  the 
least  where,  must  have  died.  "  It  went  to  my  heart  like  a 

23  if  we  do  secure  and  fortify  it. 

*  Birch's  Hammond  Letters,  p.  23.     Given  also  in  Harris,  p.  497. 
'&  igth  January,  Commons  Journals,  v.  437. 

30  sth  October  1647  (Royalist  Newspaper,  citing  a  Pamphlet  of  Lilburn's),  Croni- 
ivc'liiina,  p.  36. 


«72     PART  III.   BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     25  Feb. 

dagger  ;  indeed  it  did  !"  The  phrase  of  the  Pamphlet  itself, 
we  observe,  is  '  his  other  Son,'  not  '  one  of  his  other  Sons,'  as 
if  there  were  now  but  two  left.  If  Richard  was  ever  in  the 
Army,  which  these  probabilities  may  dimly  intimate,  the  Life- 
guard, a  place  for  persons  of  consequence,  was  the  likeliest  for 
him.  The  Captain  in  Harrison's  Regiment  will  in  that  case  be 
Henry. — The  Cromwell  family,  as  we  laboriously  guess  and 
gather,  has  about  this  time  removed  to  London.  Richard,  if 
ever  in  the  Lifeguard,  has  now  quitted  it  :  an  idle  fellow,  who 
could  never  relish  soldiering  in  such  an  Army;  he  now  wishes 
to  retire  to  Arcadian  felicity  and  wedded  life  in  the  country. 

The  'Mr.  M.'  of  this  Letter  is  Richard  Mayor,  Esquire,  of 
Hursley,  Hants,31  the  young  lady's  father.  Hursley,  not  far 
from  Winchester,  is  still  a  manorhouse,  but  no  representative 
of  Richard  Mayor's  has  now  place  there  or  elsewhere.  The 
treaty,  after  difficulties,  did  take  effect.  Mayor,  written  also 
Major  and  Maijor,  a  pious  prudent  man,  becomes  better  known 
to  Oliver,  to  the  world  and  to  us  in  the  sequel.  Richard  Nor- 
ton, Member  for  Hants  since  1645,  is  his  neighbour  ;  an  old 
fellow-soldier  under  Manchester,  fellow-colonel  in  the  Eastern 
Association,  seemingly  very  familiar  with  Oliver,  he  is  applied 
to  on  this  delicate  occasion. 


For  my  noble  Friend  Colonel  Itichard  Norton :  These. 

DEAR  NORTON,  '  London,'  asth  Feb.  1647. 

I  have  sent  my  Son  over  to  thee,  being 
willing  to  answer  Providence ;  and  although  I  had  an  offer 
of  a  very  great  proposition,  from  a  father,  of  his  daughter, 
yet  truly  I  rather  incline  to  this  in  my  thoughts ;  because, 
though  the  other  be  very  far  greater,  yet  I  see  difficulties, 
and  not  that  assurance  of  godliness, — though  indeed  of 
fairness.  I  confess  that  which  is  told  me  concerning  the 
estate  of  Mr.  M.  is  more  than  I  can  look  for,  as  things  now 
stand. 

If  God  please  to  bring  it  about,  the  consideration  of 

"  Noble,  ti.  436-4*. 


,<54t.  LETTER  LIII.    LONDON.  273 

piety  in  the  Parents,  and  such  hopes  of  the  Gentlewoman 
in  that  respect,  make  the  business  to  me  a  great  mercy; 
concerning  which  I  desire  to  wait  upon  God. 

I  am  confident  of  thy  love ;  and  desire  things  may  be 
carried  with  privacy.  The  Lord  do  His  will :  that's  best ; — 
to  which  submitting,  I  rest,  your  humble  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

What  other  Father  it  was  that  made  '  the  offer  of  a  very 
great  proposition'  to  Oliver,  in  the  shape  of  his  Daughter  as 
Wife  to  Oliver's  Son,  must  remain  totally  uncertain  for  the  pre- 
sent ;  perhaps  some  glimpse  of  it  may  turn  up  by  and  by. 
There  were  '  difficulties'  which  Oliver  did  not  entirely  see 
through  ;  there  was  not  that  assurance  of  '  godliness'  in  the 
house,  though  there  was  of  'fairness'  and  natural  integrity;  in 
short,  Oliver  will  prefer  Mayor,  at  least  will  try  him,  —  and 
wishes  it  carried  with  privacy. 

The  Commons,  now  dealing  with  Delinquents,  do  not  for- 
get to  reward  good  Servants,  to  '  conciliate  the  Grandees,'  as 
splenetic  Walker  calls  it.  For  above  two  years  past,  ever 
since  the  War  ended,  there  has  been  talk  and  debate  about 
settling  2,5oo/.  a-year  on  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell ;  but 
difficulties  have  arisen.  First  they  tried  Basing-House  Lands, 
the  Marquis  of  Winchester's,  whom  Cromwell  had  demolished ; 
but  the  Marquis's  affairs  were  in  disorder ;  it  was  gradually 
found  the  Marquis  had  for  most  part  only  a  Life-rent  there  : — 
only  '  Abbotston  and  Itchin'  in  that  quarter  could  be  realised. 
Order  thereupon  to  settle  '  Lands  of  Papists  and  Delinquents' 
to  the  requisite  amount,  wheresoever  convenient.  To  settle 
especially  what  Lands  the  Marquis  of  Worcester  had  in  that 
'  County  of  Southampton ;'  which  was  done, — though  still  with 
insufficient  result.32  Then  came  the  Army  Quarrels,  and  an 

*  Harris,  p.  501.  Copy  of  this,  and  of  the  next  Two  Letters  to  Norton,  by  Birch, 
in  Ayscough  MSS.  4162,  f.  56,  &c. 

34  Commons  Journals  (iv.  416),  23d  January  1645-6 :  the  Marquis  of  Worcester's 
Hampshire  Lands.  Ib.  426,  a  week  afterwards:  '  AbWrston  and  Itche//,'  meaning 
Abbotston  and  Itchin,  Marquis  o.  Winchester's  there.  See  also  Letter  of  Oliver  St. 
John  to  Cromwell,  in  Thurloe,  i.  75. — Commons  Journals  (v.  36)  about  a  year  after- 
wards, 7th  January  1646-7 :  'remainder  of  the  z,5oo/.'  from  Marquis  of  Winchester's 

VOL.  I.  T 


274   PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    7 

end  of  such  business.  But  now  in  the  Commons  Journals,  7th 
March,  the  very  day  of  Oliver's  next  Letter,  this  is  what  we 
read  :M  '  An  Ordinance  for  passing  unto  Oliver  Cromwell,  Es- 
'  quire,  Licutenant-General,  certain  Lands  and  Manors  in  the 

•  Counties  of  Gloucester,  Monmouth  and  Glamorgan,  late  the 
'  Earl  of  Worcester's,  was  this  day  read  the  third  time  and, 
'  upon  the  question,  passed  ;  and  ordered  to  be  sent  unto  the 
'  Lords  for  their  concurrence.'    Oliver  himself,  as  we  shall  find, 
has  been  dangerously  sick.     This  is  what  Clement  Walker,  the 
splenetic  Presbyterian,  'an  elderly  gentleman  of  low  stature,  in 
'  a  gray  suit,  with  a  little  stick  in  his  hand,"  reports  upon  the 
matter  of  the  Grant : 

4  The  7th  of  March,  an  Ordinance  to  settle  2, 500/1  a-ycar 
'  of  Land,  out  of  the  Marquis  of  Worcester's  Estate,' — old  Mar- 
quis cf  Worcester  at  Ragland,  father  of  my  Lord  Glamorgan, 
who  in  his  turn  became  Marquis  of  Worcester  and  wrote  the 
Century  of  Inventions, — 2,5oo/.  a-year  out  of  this  old  Mar- 
quis's Estate  '  upon  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell !  I  have 
'  heard  some  gentlemen  that  know  the  Manor  of  Chcpstow 
'  and  the  other  Lands  affirm'  that  in  reality  they  arc  worth 
5,ooo/.  or  even  6,ooo/.  a-year ; — which  is  far  from  the  fact, 
my  little  elderly  friend  !  '  You  see,'  continues  he,  •  though 
'  they  have  not  made  King  Charles  "  a  Glorious  King," '  as 
they  sometimes  undertook,  '  they  have  settled  a  Crown-Revenue 

•  upon  Oliver,  and  have  made  him  as  glorious  a  King  as  ever 
'  John  of  Leyden  was  f3* A  very  splenetic  old  gentle- 
man in  gray ; — verging  towards  Pride's  Purge,  and  lodgment 
in  the  Tower,   I  think !     He  is  from  the  West"  known  long 
since  in  Gloucester  Siege ;   Member  now  for  Wells  ;  but  ter- 
minates in  the  Tower,  with  ink,  and  abundant  gall  in  it,  to 
write  the  History  of  Independency  there. 


whereupon 
Hampshire 
;  Park'  u>  the 
tame  County  ;  which  is  possible  enough. 
»'  v.  482. 
»*  Hittory  «f  Independency  (London,  1648),  part  i.  83  and  54. 


!648.  LETTER  LI V.    LONDON.  275 


LETTER  LIV. 

For  his  Excellency  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  General  of  the  Parlia- 
ment1 s  Armies ;  lat  Windsor  .•'   These. 

SlR,  '  London,'  7th  March  1647. 

It  hath  pleased  God  to  raise  me  out  of  a 
dangerous  sickness  ;  and  I  do  most  willingly  acknowledge 
that  the  Lord  hath,  in  this  visitation,  exercised  the  bowels 
of  a  Father  towards  me.  I  received  in  myself  the  sentence 
of  death,  that  I  might  learn  to  trust  in  Him  that  raiseth 
from  the  dead,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh.  It's  a 
blessed  thing  to  die  daily.  For  what  is  there  in  this  world 
to  be  accounted  of !  The  best  men  according  to  the  flesh, 
and  things,  are  lighter  than  vanity.  I  find  this  only  good, 
To  love  the  Lord  and  His  poor  despised  people,  to  do  for 
them,  and  to  be  ready  to  suffer  with  them  : — and  he  that  is 
found  worthy  of  this  hath  obtained  great  favour  from  the 
Lord ;  and  he  that  is  established  in  this  shall  (being  con- 
firmed to  Christ  and  the  rest  of  the  Body31)  participate  in 
the  glory  of  a  Resurrection  which  will  answer  all.3G 

Sir,  I  must  thankfully  confess  your  favour  in  your  last 
Letter.  I  see  I  am  not  forgotten ;  and  truly,  to  be  kept  in 
your  remembrance  is  very  great  satisfaction  to  me ;  for  I 
can  say  in  the  simplicity  of  my  heart,  I  put  a  high  and  true 
value  upon  your  love, — which  when  I  forget,  I  shall  cease 
to  be  a  grateful  and  an  honest  man. 

I  most  humbly  beg  my  service  may  be  presented  to  your 
Lady,  to  whom  I  wish  all  happiness,  and  establishment  in 
the  truth.  Sir,  my  prayers  are  for  you,  as  becomes  your  Ex- 
cellency's most  humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

3*  Christ's  Body,  his  Church. 

3«  'f  urns  now  W  die  margin  of  the  sk«e*>  lengthwise, 


276    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    ,i  March 

'P.S.'  Sir,  Mr.  Rushworth  will  write  to  you  about  the 
Quartering,  and  the  Letter  lately  sent ;  and  therefore  I  for- 
bear.*   

FREE  OFFER. 

FROM  the  Committee  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  sitting 
at  Derby  House,  Sir  John  Evelyn  reports  a  certain  Offer  from 
Lieutenant-General  Cromwell  ;  which  is  read  in  the  words 
following : 

'  2o  the  Honourable  the  Committee  of  Lords  and  Commons  for 
the  Affairs  of  Ireland,  sitting  at  Derby  House :  The  Offer 
of  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell  for  the  Sen>icc  of  Ire- 
land: 

21    Martii  1647. 

THE  two  Houses  of  Parliament  having  lately  bestowed 
i  ,68o/.  per  annum  upon  me  and  my  heirs,  out  of  the  Earl  of 
Worcester's  Estate ;  the  necessity  of  affairs  requiring  assist- 
ance, I  do  hereby  offer  One-thousand  Pounds  annually  to 
be  paid  out  of  the  rents  of  the  said  lands ;  that  is  to  say, 
5oo/.  out  of  the  next  Michaelmas  rent,  and  so  on,  by  the 
half  year,  for  the  space  of  five  years,  if  the  War  in  Ireland 
shall  so  long  continue,  or  that  I  live  so  long  :  to  be  em- 
ployed for  the  service  ot  Ireland,  as  the  Parliament  shall 
please  to  appoint ;  provided  the  said  yearly  rent  of  i,68o/. 
become  not  to  be  suspended  by  war  or  other  accident 

And  whereas  there  is  an  arrear  of  Pay  due  unto  me 
whilst  I  was  Lieutenant-General  unto  the  Earl  of  Manches- 
ter, of  about  i,5oo/.,  audited  and  stated;  as  also  a  great 
arrear  due  for  about  Two  Years  being  Governor  of  the  Isle 
of  Ely :  I  do  hereby  discharge  the  State  from  all  or  any 
claim  to  be  made  by  me  thereunto. 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.! 

•  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  foL  7>  t  Comtnfut  7«xnM&,  v.  513. 


1648.  LETTER  LV.    FARNHAM.  277 

'  Ordered,  That  the  House  doth  accept  the  Free  Offer  of 
'  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell,  testifying  his  zeal  and  good 
'  affection.'  My  splenetic  little  gentleman  in  gray,  with  the 
little  stick  in  his  hand,  takes  no  notice  of  this  ;  which  modifies 
materially  what  the  Chepstow  Connoisseurs  and  their  '  five  or 
six  thousand  a-year'  reported  lately  ! 


LETTER  LV. 

HERE  is  Norton  and  the  Marriage  again.  Here  are  news 
out  of  Scotland  that  the  Malignant  Party,  the  Duke  of  Hamil- 
ton's Faction,  are  taking  the  lead  there  ;  and  about  getting-up 
an  Army  to  attack  us,  and  deliver  the  King  from  Sectaries  :3? 
Reverend  Stephen  Marshall  reports  the  news.  Let  us  read  : 

for  my  noble  Friend  Colonel  Richard  Norton :  These. 

DEAR  DlCK,  Farnham,  28th  March  i6.4S. 

It  had  been  a  favour  indeed  to  have  met  you 
here  at  Farnham.  But  I  hear  you  are  a  man  of  great  busi- 
ness ;  therefore  I  say  no  more  : — if  it  be  a  favour  to  the 
House  of  Commons  to  enjoy  you,  what  is  it  to  me  !  But, 
in  good  earnest,  when  will  you  and  your  Brother  Russel  be 
a  little  honest,  and  attend  your  charge  there  ?  Surely  some 
expect  it ;  especially  the  good  fellows  who  chose  you  ! — 

I  have  met  with  Mr.  Mayor:  we  spent  two  or  three 
hours  together  last  night.  I  perceive  the  gentleman  is  very 
wise  and  honest;  and  indeed  much  to  be  valued.  Some 
things  of  common  fame38  did  a  little  stick :  I  gladly  heard 
his  doubts,  and  gave  such  answer  as  was  next  at  hand, — I 
believe,  to  some  satisfaction.  Nevertheless  I  exceedingly 
liked  the  gentleman's  plainness  and  free  dealing  with  me.  I 
know  God  has  been  above  all  ill  reports,  and  will  in  His 

37  Rushworth,  vii.  1040,  &c. 

38  Against  myself:—'  favour  for  Sectaries,'  and  so  forth. 


278    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    3s  March 

own  time  vindicate  me;  I  have  no  cause  to  complain.  I 
see  nothing  but  that  this  particular  business  between  him 
and  me  may  go  on.  The  Lord's  will  be  done. 

For  news  out  of  the  North  there  is  little ;  only  the  Ma- 
lignant Party  is  prevailing  in  the  Parliament  of  Scotland. 
They  are  earnest  for  a  war ;  the  Ministers39  oppose  as  yet. 
Mr.  Marshall  is  returned,  who  says  so.  And  so  do  many  of 
our  Letters.  Their  great  Committee  of  Danger  have  two 
Malignants  for  one  right.  It's  said  they  have  voted  an 
Army  of  40,000  in  Parliament ;  so  say  some  of  Yesterday's 
Letters.  But  I  account  my  news  ill  bestowed,  because 
upon  an  idle  person. 

I  shall  take  speedy  course  in  the  business  concerning  my 
Tenants ;  for  which,  thanks.  My  service  to  your  Lady.  I 
am  really,  your  affectionate  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL.* 

Had  Cromwell  come  out  to  Farnham  on  military  busi- 
ness ?  Kent  is  in  a  ticklish  state ;  it  broke  out  some  weeks 
hence  in  open  insurrection,40 — as  did  many  other  places,  when 
once  the  'Scotch  Army  of  40,000'  became  a  certainty. 

'  The  business  concerning  my  Tenants'  will  indicate  that 
in  Hampshire,  within  ken  of  Norton,  in  Fawley  Park,  in  Itchin, 
Abbotston,  or  elsewhere,  '  my  Tenants'  are  felling  wood,  cut- 
ting copses,  or  otherwise  not  behaving  to  perfection  :  but  they 
shall  be  looked  to. 

For  the  rest,  Norton  really  ought  to  attend  his  duties  in 
Parliament!  In  earnest  'an  idle  fellow,"  as  Oliver  in  spon. 
calls  him.  Given  to  Presbyterian  notions ;  was  purged  out 
by  Pride ;  came  back ;  dwindled  ultimately  into  Royalism. 
'  Brother  Russel'  means  only,  brother  Member.  He  is  the 
Frank  Russel  of  the  Letter  on  Marston  Moor.  Now  Sir 
Francis ;  and  sits  for  Cambridgeshire.  A  comrade  of  Nor- 
ton's ;  seemingly  now  in  his  neighbourhood,  possibly  on  a 
visit  to  him. 


»  Clergy.  •  Harris 

40  a^th  or  ajth  May  1648  (Rushworth,  vii.  1108)1 


p.  Sox 


it**.  LETTER  LVI.    LONDON.  279 

The  attendance  on  the  House  in  these  months  is  extremely 
thin  ;  the  divisions  range  from  200  to  as  low  as  70.  Nothing- 
going  on  but  Delinquents'  fines,  and  abstruse  negotiations  with 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  languid  Members  prefer  the  country  till 
some  result  arrive. 


LETTER  LVI. 

HERE  is  a  new  phasis  of  the  Wedding-treaty ;  which,  as 
seems,  '  doth  now  a  little  stick.'  Prudent  Mr.  Mayor  insists 
on  his  advantages  ;  nor  is  the  Lieutenant-General  behindhand. 
What  'lands'  all  these  of  Oliver's  are,  in  Cambridgeshire, 
Norfolk,  Hampshire,  no  Biographer  now  knows.  Portions  of 
the  Parliamentary  Grants  above  alluded  to  ;  perhaps  '  Pur- 
chases by  Debentures,'  some  of  them.  Soldiers  could  seldom 
get  their  Pay  in  money  ;  with  their  '  Debentures'  they  had  to 
purchase  Forfeited  Lands  ; — a  somewhat  uncertain  investment 
of  an  uncertain  currency. 

The  Mr.  Robinson  mentioned  in  this  Letter  is  a  pious 
Preacher  at  Southampton.41  '  My  two  little  Wenches'  are  Mary 
and  Frances  :  Mary  aged  now  near  twelve  ;  Frances  ten.42 

'  For  my  nolle  Friend  Colonel  Richard  Norton :  These! 

DEAR  NORTON,  '  London,1  sd  April  1648. 

I  could  not  in  my  last  give  you  a  perfect 
account  of  what  passed  between  me  and  Mr.  Mayor;  be- 
cause we  were  to  have  a  conclusion  of  our  speed  that  morn- 
ing after  I  wrote  my  Letter  to  you.43  Which  we  had ;  and 
having  had  a  full  view  of  one  another's  minds,  we  parted 
with  this  :  That  both  would  consider  with  our  relations,  and 
according  to  satisfactions  given  there,  acquaint  one  another 
with  our  minds. 

I  cannot  tell  better  how  to  do,  '  in  order'  to  give  or  re- 
ceive satisfaction,  than  by  you;  who,  as  I  remember,  in  your 

«>  Harris,  p.  504.  43  See  antea,  p.  60.  43  Letter  LV. 


t8o    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     3  April 

last,  said  That,  if  things  did  stick  between  us,  you  would 
use  your  endeavour  towards  a  close. 

The  things  insisted  upon  were  these,  as  I  take  it:  Mr. 
Mayor  desired  ^ool.fer  annum  of  Inheritance,  lying  in  Cam- 
bridgeshire and  Norfolk,  to  be  presently  settled,44  and  to  be 
for  maintenance ;  wherein  I  desired  to  be  advised  by  my 
Wife.  I  offered  the  Land  in  Hampshire  for  present  main- 
tenance ;  which  I  dare  say,  with  copses  and  ordinary  fells,45 
will  be,  communibus  annis,  SOQ/.  per  annum :  and  besides 
'  this,'  SOQ/.  per  annum  in  Tenants'  hands  holding  but  for 
one  life ;  and  about  3007.  per  annum,  some  for  two  lives, 
some  for  three  lives. — But  as  to  this,  if  the  latter  offer  be 
not  liked  of,  I  shall  be  willing  a  farther  conference  be  held 
in  '  regard  to'  the  first. 

In  point  of  jointure  I  shall  give  satisfaction.  And  as  to 
the  settlement  of  lands  given  me  by  the  Parliament,  satis- 
faction to  be  given  in  like  manner,  according  as  we  dis- 
coursed. 'And'  in  what  else  was  demanded  of  me,  I  am 
willing,  so  far  as  I  remember  any  demand  was,  to  give  satis- 
faction. Only,  I  having  been  informed  by  Mr.  Robinson 
that  Mr.  Mayor  did,  upon  a  former  match,  offer  to  settle  the 
Manor  wherein  he  lived,  and  to  give  2,ooo/.  in  money,  I 
did  insist  upon  that ;  and  do  desire  it  may  not  be  with  diffi- 
culty. The  money  I  shall  need  for  my  two  little  Wenches ; 
and  thereby  I  shall  free  my  Son  from  being  charged  with 
them.  Mr.  Mayor  parts  with  nothing  at  present  but  that 
money;  except  the  board  'of  the  young  Pair,'  which  I 
should  not  be  unwilling  to  give  them,  to  enjoy  the  comfort 
of  their  society ; — which  it's  reason  he  smart  for,  if  he  will 
rob  me  altogether  of  them. 

Truly  the  land  to  be  settled, — both  what  the  Parliament 
gives  me,  and  my  own, — is  very  little  less  than  3,ooo/.  per 

44  on  the  Future  Fair.  **  felling*. 


164!  LETTER  LVI.    LONDON.  281 

annum,  all  things  considered,  if  I  be  rightly  informed.  And 
a  Lawyer  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  having  searched  all  the  Marquis 
of  Worcester's  writings,  which  were  taken  at  Ragland  and 
sent  for  by  the  Parliament,  and  this  Gentleman  appointed 
by  the  Committee  to  search  the  said  writings, — assures  me 
there  is  no  scruple  concerning  the  title.  And  it  so  fell  out 
that  this  Gentleman  who  searched  was  my  own  Lawyer,  a 
very  godly  able  man,  and  my  dear  friend ;  which  I  reckon 
no  small  mercy.  He  is  also  possessed  of  the  writings  for 


me.46 

I  thought  fit  to  give  you  this  account ;  desiring  you  to 
make  such  use  of  it  as  God  shall  direct  you :  and  I  doubt 
not  but  you  will  do  the  part  of  a  friend  between  two  friends. 
I  account  myself  one;  and  I  have  heard  you  say  Mr.  Mayor 
was  entirely  so  to  you.  What  the  good  pleasure  of  God  is, 
I  shall  wait;  there  alone  is  rest.  Present  my  service  to  your 
Lady,  to  Mr.  Mayor,  &c.  I  rest,  your  affectionate  servant, 

OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

'  P.S.'  I  desire  you  to  carry  this  business  with  all  pri- 
vacy. I  beseech  you  to  do  so,  as  you  love  me.  Let  me 
entreat  you  not  to  lose  a  day  herein,  that  I  may  know  Mr. 
Mayor's  mind;  for  I  think  I  may  be  at  leisure  for  a  week  to 
attend  this  business,  to  give  and  take  satisfaction ;  from  which 
perhaps  I  may  be  shut  up  afterwards  by  employment.47  I 
know  thou  art  an  idle  fellow:  but  prithee  neglect  me  not 
now ;  delay  may  be  very  inconvenient  to  me  :  I  much  rely 
upon  you.  Let  me  hear  from  you  in  two  or  three  days.  I 
confess  the  principal  consideration  as  to  me,  is  the  absolute 
settlement  '  by  Mr.  Mayor*  of  the  Manor  where  he  lives ; 
which  he  would  not  do  but  conditionally,  in  case  they  have 

*  holds  these  Ragland  Documents  on  my  behalf.          <7  Went  to  Wales  in  May. 


282     PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.     6  April 

a  son,  and  but  3,ooo/.  in  case  they  have  no  son.     But  as  to 
this,  I  hope  farther  reason  may  work  him  to  more.* 

Of  '  my  two  little  Wenches,'  Mary,  we  may  repeat,  became 
Lady  Fauconberg  ;  Frances  was  wedded  to  the  Honourable 
Mr.  Rich,  then  to  Sir  John  Russell.  Elizabeth  and  Bridget 
are  already  Mrs.  Claypole  and  Mrs.  Ircton.  Elizabeth,  the 
younger,  was  first  married.  They  were  all  married  very  young  ; 
Elizabeth,  at  her  wedding,  was  little  turned  of  sixteen. 


LETTER  LVII. 
For  Colonel  Robo-t  Hammond. 

DEAR  ROBIN,  '  London,'  6th  April  t648. 

Your  business  is  done  in  the  House:  your 
to/,  by  the  week  is  made  2o/.;  iooo/.  given  you ;  and  Order 
to  Mr.  Lisle  to  draw-up  an  Ordinance  for  5 oo/./<r  annum  to 
be  settled  upon  you  and  your  heirs.  This  was  done  with 
smoothness;  your  friends  were  not  wanting  to  you.  I  know 
thy  burden ;  this  is  an  addition  to  it :  the  Lord  direct  and 
sustain  thee. 

Intelligence  came  to  the  hands  of  a  very  considerable 
Person,  That  the  King  attempted  to  get  out  of  his  window  j 
and  that  he  had  a  cord  of  silk  with  him  whereby  to  slip 
down,  but  his  breast  was  so  big  the  bar  would  not  give 
him  passage.  This  was  done  in  one  of  the  dark  nights 
about  a  fortnight  ago.  A  Gentleman  with  you  led  him  the 
way,  and  slipped  down.  The  Guard,  that  night,  had  some 
quantity  oi  wine  with  them.  The  same  party  assures  that 
there  is  aquafortis  gone  down  from  London,  to  remove  that 
obstacle  which  hindered ;  and  that  the  same  design  is  to  be 
put  in  execution  in  the  next  dark  nights.  He  saith  that 

*  Harris,  p.  500. 


,548.  LETTER  LVIII.    LONDON.  283 

Captain  Titus,  and  some  others  about  the  King  are  not  to 
be  trusted.  He  is  a  very  considerable  Person  of  the  Parlia- 
ment who  gave  this  intelligence,  and  desired  it  should  be 
speeded  to  you. 

The  Gentleman  that  came  out  of  the  window  was  Master 
Firebrace ;  the  Gentlemen  doubted  are  Cresset,  Burrowes, 
and  Titus ;  the  time  when  this  attempt  of  escape  was,  the 
2oth  of  March.  Your  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.'"' 

Henry  Firebrace  is  known  to  Birch,  and  his  Narrative  is 
known.  '  He  became  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen  to  Charles  II.' — The 
old  Books  are  full  of  King's  Plots  for  escape,  by  aquafortis  and 
otherwise.48  His  Majesty  could  make  no  agreement  with  the 
Parliament,  and  began  now  to  smell  War  in  the  wind.  His 
presence  in  this  or  the  other  locality  might  have  been  of  clear 
advantage.  But  Hammond  was  too  watchful.  Titus,  with  or 
without  his  new  horse,  attends  upon  his  Majesty ;  James  Har- 
rington also  (afterwards  author  of  Oceand)  ;  and  'the  Honour- 
able Thomas  Herbert,'  who  has  left  a  pleasing  Narrative  con- 
cerning that  affair.  These,  though  appointed  by  the  Parlia- 
ment, are  all  somewhat  in  favour  with  the  King.  Hammond's 
Uncle  the  Chaplain,  as  too  favourable,  was  ordered  out  of  the 
Island  about  Christmas  last. 


LETTER  LVIII. 

'  THE  Gentleman  I  mentioned  to  you,'  who  is  now  travelling 
towards  Dover  with  this  hopeful  Note  in  his  pocket,  must  re- 
main forever  anonymous.  Of  Kenrick  I  have  incidentally  heard, 
at  Worcester  Fight  or  elsewhere  ;  but  of  '  the  Gentleman'  no- 
where ever.  A  Shadow,  sunk  deep,  with  all  his  business,  in 
the  Land  of  Shadows  ;  yet  still  indisputably  visible  there  ;  that 
is  the  miracle  of  him  ! 


*  Birch,  p.  41.     The  Original  in  cipher. 
43  Lilly's  Life;  Wood,  £  Hammond  ;  &c. 


*c. 


284    PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.    .8  April 
To  Colonel  Kenrick,  *  Lieutenant  of  Dover  Castle:  These? 

SlR,  '  London,'  i8th  April  1648. 

This  is  the  Gentleman  I  mentioned  to  you. 
I  am  persuaded  you  may  be  confident  of  his  fidelity  to  you 
in  the  things  you  will  employ  him  in. 

I  conceive  he  is  fit  for  any  Civil  employment ;  having 
been  bred  towards  the  Law,  and  having  besides  very  good 
parts.  He  hath  been  a  Captain-Lieutenant :  and  therefore 
I  hope  you  will  put  such  a  value  on  him,  in  '  the'  Civil  way, 
as  one  that  hath  borne  such  a  place  shall  be  thought  by  you 
worthy  of.  Whereby  you  will  much  oblige,  your  affec- 
tionate servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

'  P.S.'  I  expect  to  hear  from  you  about  your  defects  in 
the  Castle,  that  so  you  may  be  timely  supplied.* 

1  Defects  in  the  Castle,'  and  in  all  Castles,  were  good  to  be 
amended  speedily, — in  such  predicaments  as  we  are  now  again 
on  the  eve  of. 


PRAYER-MEETING. 

THE  Scotch  Army  of  Forty-thousand,  '  to  deliver  the  King 
from  Sectaries,'  is  not  a  fable  but  a  fact.  Scotland  is  distracted 
by  dim  disastrous  factions,  very  uncertain  what  it  will  do  with  the 
King  when  he  is  delivered  ;  but  in  the  meanwhile  Hamilton  has 
got  a  majority  in  the  Scotch  Parliament  ;  and  drums  are  beat- 
ing in  that  country :  the  '  Army  of  Forty-thousand,  certainly 
coming,'  hangs  over  England  like  a  flaming  comet,  England 
itself  being  all  very  combustible  too.  In  few  weeks  hence, 
discontented  Wales,  the  Presbyterian  Colonels  declaring  now 
for  Royalism,  will  be  in  a  blaze  ;  large  sections  of  England,  all 
England  very  ready  to  follow,  will  shortly  after  be  in  a  blaze. 

•  Gctiiltmant  Magazine  (\V)i),  Ixi  520;  without  comment  or  indication  of  any 
kind. 


,643.  PRAYER-MEETING.  285 

The  small  Governing  Party  in  England,  during  those  early 
months  of  1648,  are  in  a  position  which  might  fill  the  bravest 
mind  with  misgivings.  Elements  of  destruction  everywhere 
under  and  around  them  ;  their  lot  either  to  conquer,  or  igno- 
miniously  to  die.  A  King  not  to  be  bargained  with ;  kept  in 
Carisbrook,  the  centre  of  all  factious  hopes,  of  world-wide  in- 
trigues :  that  is  one  element.  A  great  Royalist  Party,  subdued 
with  difficulty,  and  ready  at  all  moments  to  rise  again  :  that  is 
another.  A  great  Presbyterian  Party,  at  the  head  of  which  is 
London  City,  '  the  Purse-bearer  of  the  Cause,'  highly  dissatisfied 
at  the  course  things  had  taken,  and  looking  desperately  round 
for  new  combinations  and  a  new  struggle  :  reckon  that  for  a 
third  element.  Add  lastly  a  headlong  Mutineer,  Republican,  or 
Levelling  Party  :  and  consider  that  there  is  a  working  House 
of  Commons  which  counts  about  Seventy,  divided  in  pretty  equal 
halves  too, — the  rest  waiting  what  will  come  of  it.  Come  of  //, 
and  of  the  Scotch  Army  advancing  towards  it ! — 

Cromwell,  it  appears,  deeply  sensible  of  all  this,  does  in 
these  weeks  make  strenuous  repeated  attempts  towards  at  least 
a  union  among  the  friends  of  the  Cause  themselves,  whose  aim 
is  one,  whose  peril  is  one.  But  to  little  effect.  Ludlow,  with 
visible  satisfaction,  reports  how  ill  the  Lieutenant-General  sped, 
when  he  brought  the  Army  Grandees  and  Parliament  Grandees 
'  to  a  Dinner'  at  his  own  house  '  in  King  Street,'  and  urged  a 
cordial  agreement  :  they  would  not  draw  together  at  all.1  Par- 
liament would  not  agree  with  Army ;  hardly  Parliament  with 
itself  :  as  little,  still  less,  would  Parliament  and  City  agree.  At 
a  Common  Council  in  the  City,  prior  or  posterior  to  this  Dinner, 
his  success,  as  angry  little  Walker  intimates,  was  the  same. 
'Saturday  8th  April  1648,'  having  prepared  the  ground  before- 
hand, Cromwell  with  another  leader  or  two,  attended  a  Com- 
mon Council ;  spake,  as  we  may  fancy,  of  the  common  dangers, 
of  the  gulfs  now  yawning  on  every  side  :  '  but  the  City,' 
chuckles  my  little  gentleman  in  gray,  with  a  very  shrill  kind 
of  laughter  in  the  throat  of  him,  '  were  now  wiser  than  our 
First  Parents  ;  and  rejected  the  Serpent  and  his  subtleties.'2 
In  fact,  the  City  wishes  well  to  Hamilton  and  his  Forty-thou- 
sand Scots  ;  the  City  has,  for  some  time,  needed  regiments 
quartered  in  it,  to  keep-down  open  Royalist-Presbyterian  in« 
-  Ludlow,  i.  238.  3  History  of  Independency,  pan  i  85. 


286      PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.      ,M. 

surrection.  It  was  precisely  on  the  morrow  after  this  visit  of 
Cromwell's  that  there  arose,  from  small  cause,  huge  Apprentice- 
riot  in  the  City  :  discomfiture  of  Trainbands,  seizure  of  arms, 
seizure  of  City  Gates,  Ludgate,  Newgate,  loud  wide  cry  of 
"  God  and  King  Charles  1" — riot  not  to  be  appeased  but  by 
'  desperate  charge  of  cavalry,1  after  it  had  lasted  forty  hours.' 
Such  are  the  aspects  of  affairs,  near  and  far. 

Before  quitting  Part  Third,  I  will  request  the  reader  to 
undertake  a  small  piece  of  very  dull  reading ;  in  which  how- 
ever, if  he  look  till  it  become  credible  and  intelligible  to  him, 
a  strange  thing,  much  elucidative  of  the  heart  of  this  matter, 
will  disclose  itself.  At  Windsor,  one  of  these  days,  unknown 
now  which,  there  is  a  Meeting  of  Army  Leaders.  Adjutant- 
General  Allen,  a  most  authentic  earnest  man,  whom  we  shall 
know  better  afterwards,  reports  what  they  did.  Entirely 
amazing  to  us.  These  are  the  longest  heads  and  the  strongest 
hearts  in  England  ;  and  this  is  the  thing  they  are  doing  ;  this 
is  the  way  they,  for  their  part,  begin  despatch  of  business. 
The  reader,  if  he  is  an  earnest  man,  may  look  at  it  with  very 
many  thoughts,  for  which  there  is  no  word  at  present. 

'  In  the  year  Forty-seven,  you  may  remember,'  says  Adju- 
tant Allen,  '  we  in  the  Army  were  engaged  in  actions  of  a  very 

•  high  nature  ;  leading  us  to  very  untrodden  paths, — both  in 
'  our  Contests  with  the  then  Parliament,  as  also  Conferences 
'  with  the  King.     In  which  great  works, — wanting  a  spirit  of 
'  faith,   and  also  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  also  being  unduly 
'  surprised  with  the  fear  of  man,  which  always  brings  a  snare, 
'  we,  to  make  haste,  as  \ve  thought,  out  of  such  perplexities, 
'  measuring  our  way  by  a  wiodoin  of  our  own,  fell  into  Treaties 
'  with  the  King  und  his  Party  :  which  proved  such  a  snare  to 
'  us,  and  led  into  such  labyrinths  by  the  end  of  that  year,  that 
'  the  very  things  we  thought  to  avoid,  by  the  means  we  used 
'  of  our  own  devising,  were  all,  with  many  more  of  a  far  worse 
'  and  more  perplexing  nature,   brought  back  upon   us.      To 
4  the  overwhelming  of  our  spirits,  weakening  of  our  hands  and 

•  hearts ;   tilling  us  with  divisions,   confusions,    tumults,    and 

•  every  evil  work  ;  and  thereby  endangering  the  ruin  of  that 

*  Rushworth,  vil  1051. 


us*.  PRAYER-MEETING.  287 

'  blessed  Cause  we  had,  with  such  success,  been  prospered  in 
'  till  that  time. 

'  For  now  the  King  and  his  Party,  seeing  us  not  answer 
4  their  ends,  began  to  provide  for  themselves,  by  a  Treaty  with 
'  the  then  Parliament,  set  on  foot  about  the  beginning  of  Forty- 
1  eight.  The  Parliament  also  was,  at  the  same  time,  highly 
1  displeased  with  us  for  what  we  had  done,  both  as  to  the  King 
'  and  themselves.  The  good  people  likewise,  even  our  most 
'  cordial  friends  in  the  Nation,  beholding  our  turning  aside 
'  from  that  path  of  simplicity  we  had  formerly  walked  in  and 
'  been  blessed  in,  and  thereby  much  endeared  to  their  hearts, — 
'  began  now  to  fear,  and  withdraw  their  affections  from  us,  in 
'  this  politic  path  which  we  had  stepped  into,  and  walked  in  to 
'  our  hurt,  the  year  before.  And  as  a  farther  fruit  of  the  wages 
1  of  our  backsliding  hearts,  we  were  also  filled  with  a  spirit  of 
'  great  jealousy  and  divisions  amongst  ourselves  ;  having  left 
«  that  Wisdom  of  the  Word,  which  is  first  pure  and  then 
'  peaceable  ;  so  that  we  were  now  fit  for  little  but  to  tear  and 
'  rend  one  another,  and  thereby  prepare  ourselves,  and  the 

•  work  in  our  hands,  to  be  ruined  by  our  common  enemies. 

•  Enemies  that  were  ready  to  say,  as  many  others  of  like  spirit 
'  in  this  day  do,4  of  the  like  sad  occasions  amongst  us,  "  Lo, 
'  this  is  the  day  we  looked  for."     The  King  and  his  Party 
'  prepare  accordingly  to  ruin  all  ;  by  sudden  Insurrections  in 
'  most  parts   of  the    Nation  :   the  Scot,    concurring  with  the 
'  same  designs,    comes   in  with  a  potent  Army  under  Duke 
'  Hamilton.      We  in  the  Army,  in  a  low,  weak,  divided,  per- 
1  plexed  condition  in  all  respects,   as  aforesaid  : — some  of  us 
'  judging  it  a  duty  to  lay-down  our  arms,  to  quit  our  stations, 
'  and  put  ourselves  into  the  capacities  of  private  men, — since 
4  what  we  had  done,   and  v/hat  was  yet  in  our  hearts  to  do, 
«  tending,   as  we  judged,  to  the  good  of  these  poor  Nations, 

•  was  not  accepted  by  them. 

'  Some  also  even  encouraged  themselves  and  us  to  such  a 
'  thing,  by  urging  for  such  a  practice  the  example  of  our  Lord 
'  Jesus  ;  who,  when  he  had  borne  an  eminent  testimony  to 
'  the  pleasure  of  his  Father  in  an  active  way,  sealed  it  at  last 
'  by  his  sufferings  ;  which  was  presented  to  us  as  our  pattern 

4  1650 :  Allen's  Pamphlet  is  written  as  a  Monition  and  Example  to  Fleetwood 
gnd  the  others,  now  in  a  similar  peril,  but  with  no  Oliver  mr\v  among  them. 


288      PART  III.  BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.      ,648. 

•  for  imitation.     Others  of  us,  however,  were  different-minded  ; 
'  thinking  something  of  another  nature  might  yet  be  farther 
'  our  duty  ; — and  these  therefore  were,  by  joint  advice,  by  a 
1  good  hand  of  the  Lord,  led  to  this  result ;  viz.  To  go  solemnly 
'  to  search-out  our  own  iniquities,  and  humble  our  souls  before 
'  the  Lord  in  the  sense  of  the  same  ;  which,  we  were  persuaded, 
'  had  provoked  the  Lord  against  us,  to  bring  such  sad  per- 
'  plexities  upon  us  at  that  day.     Out  of  which  we  saw  no  way 
'  else  to  extricate  ourselves. 

4  Accordingly  we  did  agree  to  meet  at  Windsor  Castle 
'  about  the  beginning  of  Forty-eight.  And  there  we  spent  one 
'  day  together  in  prayer  ;  inquiring  into  the  causes  of  that  sad 

•  dispensation,' — let  all  men  consider  it ;  '  coming  to  no  farther 
'  result  that  day  ;  but  that  it  was  still  our  duty  to  seek.     And 
'  on  the  morrow  we  met  again  in  the  morning  ;  where  many 
'  spake  from  the  Word,  and  prayed  ;  and  the  then  Lieutenant- 
'  General  Cromwell,' — unintelligible  to  Posterity,  but  extremely 
intelligible  to  himself,  to  these  men,  and  to  the  Maker  of  him 
and  of  them, — '  did  press  very  earnestly  on  all  there  present 
1  to  a  thorough  consideration  ol  our  actions  as  an  Army,  and 
'  of  our  ways  particularly  as  private  Christians  :  to  see  if  any 
'  iniquity  could  be  found  in  them  ;  and  what  it  was,  that  if 
1  possible  we  might  find  it  out,  and  so  remove  the  cause  of 
'  such  sad  rebukes  as  were  upon  us  (by  reason  of  our  iniquities, 

•  as  we  judged)  at  that  time.     And  the  way  more  particularly 
'  the  Lord  led  us  to  herein  was  this  :  To  look  back  and  con- 
1  sider  what  time  it  was  when  with  joint  satisfaction  we  could 
'  last  say  to  the  best  of  our  judgments,  The  presence  of  the 
'  Lord  was  amongst  us,  and  rebukes  and  judgments  were  not 
'  as  then  upon  us.      Which  time  the  Lord  led  us  jointly  to 
'  find  out  and  agree  in ;  and  having  done  so,  to  proceed,  as 
'  we  then  judged  it  our  duty,  to  search  into  all  our  public 
'  actions  as  an  Army  afterwards.     Duly  weighing  (as  the  Lord 

•  helped  us)  each  of  them,  with  their  grounds,  rules,  and  ends, 
1  as  near  as  we  could.     And  so  we  concluded  this  second  day, 
'  with  agreeing  to  meet  again  on  the  morrow.     Which  accord- 
'  ingly  we  did  upon  the  same  occasion,  reassuming  the  con- 
1  sideration  01  our  debates  the  day  before,  and  reviewing  our 

•  actions  again. 

'  By  which  means  we  were,  by  a  gracious  band  of  the 


1648.  PRAYER-MEETING.  289 

'  Lord,  led  to  find  out  the  very  steps  (as  we  were  all  then 
'  jointly  convinced)  by  which  we  had  departed  from  the  Lord, 
'  and  provoked  Him  to  depart  from  us.  Which  we  found  to 
'  be  those  cursed  carnal  Conferences  our  own  conceited  wis- 
'  dom,  our  fears,  and  want  of  faith  had  prompted  us,  the  year 
'  before,  to  entertain  with  the  King  and  his  Party.  And  at 
'  this  time,  and  on  this  occasion,  did  the  then  Major  Goffe  (as 
'  I  remember  was  his  title)  make  use  of  that  good  Word,  Pro- 
'  verbs  First  and  Twenty-third,  Turn  you  at  my  reproof:  be- 
'  hold,  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  unto  yot(,  I  will  make  known 
1  my  words  unto  yott.  Which,  we  having  found  out  our  sin, 
'  he  urged  as  our  duty  from  those  words.  And  the  Lord  so 
4  accompanied  by  His  Spirit,  that  it  had  a  kindly  effect,  like 
'  a  word  of  His,  upon  most  of  our  hearts  that  were  then  pre- 
1  sent :  which  begot  in  ire  a  great  sense,  a  shame  and  loathing 
'  of  ourselves  for  our  iniquities,  and  a  justifying  of  the  Lord 
'  as  righteous  in  His  proceedings  against  us. 

'  And  in  this  path  the  Lord  led  us,  not  only  to  see  our  sin, 
1  but  also  our  duty  ;  and  this  so  unanimously  set  with  weight 
'  upon  each  heart,  that  none  was  able  hardly  to  speak  a  word 
'  to  each  other  for  bitter  weeping,' — does  the  modern  reader 
mark  it ;  this  weeping,  and  who  they  are  that  weep  ?  Weep- 
ing '  partly  in  the  sense  and  shame  of  our  iniquities ;  of  our 
'  unbelief,  base  fear  of  men,  and  carnal  consultations  (as  the 
'  fruit  thereof)  with  our  own  wisdoms,  and  not  with  the  Word 
'  of  the  Lord, — which  only  is  a  way  of  wisdom,  strength  and 
'  safety,  and  all  besides  it  are  ways  of  snares.  And  yet  we 
'  were  also  helped,  with  fear  and  trembling,  to  rejoice  in  the 
'  Lord  ;  whose  faithfulness  and  loving-kindness,  we  were  made 
'  to  see,  yet  failed  us  not ; — who  remembered  us  still,  even  in 
'  our  low  estate,  because  His  mercy  endures  for  ever.  Who 
'  no  sooner  brought  us  to  His  feet,  acknowledging  Him  in 
'  that  way  of  His  (viz.  searching  for,  being  ashamed  of,  and 
'  willing  to  turn  from,  our  iniquities),  but  He  did  direct  our 
'  steps  ;  and  presently  we  were  led  and  helped  to  a  clear  agree- 
'  ment  amongst  ourselves,  not  any  dissenting,  That  it  was  the 
'  duty  of  our  day,  with  the  forces  we  had,  to  go  out  and  fight 
'  against  those  potent  enemies,  which  that  year  in  all  places 
'  appeared  against  us.'  Courage  !  '  With  an  humble  con- 
'  fidence,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  only,  that  we  •  should  destroy 

VOL.  I.  U 


290      PART  III.   BETWEEN  THE  CIVIL  WARS.      ,648. 

•  them.     And  we  were  also  enabled  then,  after  serious  seeking 
1  His  face,  to  come  to  a  very  clear  and  joint  resolution,  on 
'  many  grounds  at  large  there  debated  amongst  us,  That  it 
'  was  our  duty,  if  ever  the  Lord  brought  us  back  again  in 

•  peace,  to  call  Charles  Stuart,  that  man  of  blood,  to  an  account 
'  for  that  blood  he  had  shed,  and  mischief  he  had  done  to  his 
'  utmost,  against  the  Lord's  Cause  and  People  in  these  poor 
'  Nations.'     Mark  that  also  ! 

'  And  how  the  Lord  led  and  prospered  us  in  all  our  under- 
'  takings  that  year,  in  this  way  ;  cutting  His  work  short,  in 

•  righteousness  ;  making  it  a  year  of  mercy,  equal  if  not  trans- 

•  ccndent  to  any   since  these  Wars  began  ;   and  making  it 
4  worthy  of  remembrance  by  every  gracious  soul,  who  was  wise 

•  to   observe  the  Lord,  and  the  operations  of  His  hands, — I 

•  wish  may  never  be  forgotten.'     Let  Fleetwood,  if  he  have 
the  same  heart,  go  and  do  likewise.5 

Abysses,  black  chaotic  whirlwinds  : — does  the  reader  look 
upon  it  all  as  Madness  ?  Madness  lies  close  by  ;  as  Madness 
does  to  the  Highest  Wisdom,  in  man's  life  always  :  but  this  is 
not  mad !  This  dark  element,  it  is  the  mother  of  the  light- 
nings and  the  splendours  ;  it  is  very  sane,  this  ! — 

*  A  faithful  Memorial  of  that  remarkable  Meeting  of  many  Officrrt  fif  the  Army 
in  England  at  Windsor  Castle,  in  the  year  1648,  &c.  &c.  (in  Somers  Tracts,  vi.  499- 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


bOUDON  :   ROBSON  AND  SONS,  PRINTERS,  I ANCRAS  ROAD,  N.W. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFOR       *  LIBRARY,  LT       \NG 


UCLA-College  Library 

DA  426  A1 1849  v.1 


L  005  676  587  8 


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Al 


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