Letters and Speeches Of Oliver Cromwell, Volume 1 by David Clarke

Le t t e r sandSpe e c he s OfOl i ve rCr omwe l l Vol umeI Tho ma sCa r l i s l e

THE LETTERS AND SPEECHES OF OLIVER CROMWELL

WITH ELUCIDATIONS BY

THOMAS CABLYLE EDITED IN THREE VOLUMES

WITH NOTES, SUPPLEMENT AND ENLARGED INDEX BY

LOMAS

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY C.

FIRTH,

VOL.

METHUEN 36

M.A.

& CO.

ESSEX STEEET

LONDON 1904

W.C.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION First Edition of this

Work

having, contrary to expectation, spread itself abroad with some degree of impetus, has, as in that case was partly natural, brought me into correspondence with various possessors and collectors of Cromwell Letters ; 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 With which new to me, or not before remembered by me. Letters it became a rather complex question what was now to be done. They were not, in general, of much, or almost of any, intrinsic importance ; might here and there have saved some

THE

ugly labour and research, had they been known in time ; but did riot 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 already hang together, is what no Not to say, that your cooper will recommend 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 con;

December

1845.

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

how can you ever assure yourself that you have them all ? After deliberation, the law of the case seemed to be somewhat as follows First, that whatever Letters would tinent of hay,

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 much better relief any feature of the Man or his Work, 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 needful 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 fit

easily

;

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 In which, without pretension to commentary, provided. and not needing to be read along with the Text, but only apart from it if at all, they might at least stand correctly they, and certain other Pieces of more doubtful printed claim for most part Letters too, but of half, or in some cases of wholly, official character if by chance they were Into elucidative, brief, and not easily attainable elsewhere. which Appendix also, as into a loose back-room or lumberroom, not bound to be organic or habitable, bound only :

;

to be maintained in a reasonably swept condition, any new Letters of Cromwell might without ceremony be

still

dis-

posed.

Upon duced.

these principles this Second Edition has been proLetters intercalated into the Text, and Letters

New

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 purchasers 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 DustAbysses, let to be allowed to consider this my small act of to the Memory of a Hero as finished this

me beg Homage

;

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

vii

Second Edition of Oliver's Letters and Speeches as the final New Letters, should such still turn up, I will not, except they contradict some statement, or fibre of a statebut ment, in the Text, undertake to introduce there deposit them without ceremony in the loose lumber-room, in a more or less swept condition. one.

;

T. LONDON, nth May,

1846.

CARLYLE.

TO THE THIRD EDITION 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 Some small half-dozen to the principles there laid down. of Authentic new Letters, pleasantly enough testifying (once they were cleared into legibility) how every new fact fits into perfect preestablished correspondence 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, and what other they stand, duly in their places smallest of authentic glimmerings of additional light (few

THE

;

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 enumerating here, or indeed almost in

;

for indicating at

all.

the whole, I have to say that the new Contributions to this Third Edition are altogether slight and insignificant, properly 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 recommendable 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 ;

;

TO THE THIRD EDITION

x Book

as a practical Representation of Cromwell's Existence but in hindering it from being injured as such,

in this world,

from being swollen out of shape by superfluous details, defaced with dilettante antiquarianisms, nugatory tagrags and in short, turned away from its real uses, instead of An ungrateful kind of effort, and furthered towards them. but one to growing ever more so, the longer it lasts 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 these I remain, of doubtful authenticity to the world have subjoined to the Second Volume, which offered space but have been careful, in Text, for such a purpose * 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 kind of contact which can at any in some kind of contact, moment be completely dissolved, by the very Bookbinder :

;

he so

please.

me again say these Appendixes and Adjuncts are insignificant ; 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

And

in general, for the reader's sake, let

plainly that all

;

whatever, from him.

T. C. LONDON, \6th

October, 1849.

1 [These are now omitted. The Returns of the Members of Parliament obviate the need for the first the second is too imperfect and confused to be useful, and with regard to The Squire Papers, see Mr. Firth's Introduction.] ;

CONTENTS OF VOLUME

I PAGE

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION

INTRODUCTION BY MR. FIRTH

xxi

EDITOR'S NOTE, 1904

liii

INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ,,

Anti-Dryasdust

Of the Biographies of Oliver

II.

III.

IV. Events in Oliver's Biography

V. Of Oliver's Letters and Speeches

PART To THE BEGINNING OF THE LETTER

......

Of the Cromwell Kindred

II.

To To

CIVIL

WAR.

: St. Ives, nth January 1635-6 Lectureship in Huntingdonshire.

Mr. Storie

Mrs. St. John

Ely, i3th October 1638

1636-42

... ...

Personal Affairs.

Two YEARS

LETTER

III.

IN THE

LONG PARLIAMENT

Mr. Willingham London, February 1640-1 The Scots Demands. :

96 98

CONTENTS

xii

PART

To THE END OF THE FIRST

CIVIL WAR.

1642-46 PAGE

PRELIMINARY

LETTER

103

IV.

R. Barnard, Esq.

Huntingdon, 23d January 1642-3

Domiciliary Visit.

CAMBRIDGE

117

COM. CANT.

118

(" Cambridgeshire to wit ") Contribution at Fen Drayton.

LETTER V. To

Suffolk

Cambridge, loth March 1642-3 Money wanted.

Committee

Captain Nelson

LOWESTOFT

120 121

LETTER VI. To

Mayor of Colchester: Cambridge, 23d March

the

126

1642-3 Captain Dodsworth

115

VII.

Money and more Men.

Sir J. Burgpyne Huntingdon, loth April 1643 To assist against the Camdeners. :

VIII.

R. Barnard, Esq.

Huntingdon, ijth April 1643

128

Barnard may return.

IX.

Lincoln Committee: Lincolnshire, 3d Rendezvous

XI.

for

Sir Miles Hobart : Grantham, i3th Skirmish at Grantham.

the

May

1643

.131

Newark.

Mayor of Colchester:

May

1643

Lincolnshire, 28th

134

May 136

1643

Wants more Men. ,,

XII.

Suffolk

Committee

Huntingdon, 3ist July 1643

140

145

Action at Gainsborough. ,,

XIII.

Unknown Huntingdon, :

Help from Young

Men

2d August 1643

and Maids.

XIV. To Cambridge Commissioners: Huntingdon, 6th August 1643 Lincoln lost '

\/,,

XV. To

To rendezvous

.146 instantly.

the same Peterborough, 8th August 1643 Urgent for Men and Money. :

XVI. To Suffolk Committee

Cambridge, September 1643

148

153

Mr. Margery recommended.

....

XVII, To O. St. John, Esq.: Eastern Association, nth September 1643 Much Want of Money the Ironsides. :

155

CONTENTS

xiii PAGE

LETTER XVIII. To

Suffolk

Committee

Holland, Lincolnshire 28th 158

September 1643 1

Malignants Horses.

WINCEBY FIGHT

.163

LETTER XIX. To Rev. Mr. Hitch

Ely, loth January 1643-4

167

Ely Cathedral.

XX. To Major-General Crawford

1643-4 Admonition

XXI. To

169

Col. Walton Marston Moor.

....

York, 5th July 1644

Lincoln, ist September 1644

Col. Walton Essex in Cornwall.

179

Sleaford, 6th or 5th September 1644

180

THREE FRAGMENTS OF SPEECHES. LETTER XXIV. To

174

Prisoners unduly discharged.

XXIII.

Cambridge, loth March

in behalf of Packer.

XXII. To Ely Committee J

Affairs of the Isle.

Self-denying Ordinance

Sir T. Fairfax Salisbury, gth April 1645 Proceedings in the West Goring, Greenvil, Rupert. :

182

189

XXV. To Committee

of Both

Kingdoms

Bletchington, 25th

192

April 1645 Action at Islip Bridge.

XXVI. To Governor

R. Burgess

Farringdon, 2gth April 194

1645 Attack on Farringdon Garrison.

(Action at

Bampton

the day

before.)

XXVII. To the same Same

XXVIII. To

same date

195

Subject.

Sir T. Fairfax

Huntingdon, 4th June 1645

196

Affairs at Ely.

BY EXPRESS

LETTER XXIX. To Hon. W.

Lenthall

.198 .

200

206

211

220

222

Harborough, i4th June 1645

Battle of Naseby.

XXX. To

Sir T. Fairfax

The Clubmen.

Shaftesbury, 4th August 1645

XXXI. To Hon. W. Lenthall Storm of ,,

XXXII. To

Bristol, i4th

September 1645

Bristol.

the same Winchester, 6th October 1645 Taking of Winchester. :

XXXIII. To the same

Basingstoke, i4th October 1645

Basing House stormed.

CONTENTS

xiv

PAGE

LETTER XXXIV. To

Wallop, i6th October 1645

Sir T. Fairfax Marching to the West. :

XXXV. To Hon. W.

Lenthall

Salisbury, lyth October 1645

228

230

236

238

240

Surrender of Langford House.

PART

III

BETWEEN THE TWO CIVIL WARS. LETTER XXXVI. To T.

Knyvett, Esq.

1646-48

London, 2;th July 1646

Parishioners of Hapton.

XXXVII. To

Sir T. Fairfax

London, 3ist July 1646

Adjutant Fleming.

XXXVIII. To

the

same

London, loth August 1646 to the King and Scotch Army have .

News: Commissioners

re-

turned.

XXXIX. To

J. Rushworth, Esq. : London, behalf of Major Henry Lilburn.

XL. To

Sir T. Fairfax

26th August 1646

London, 6th October 1646

243

244

245

Staffordshire Committee-men.

XLI. To Mrs. Ireton

London, 25th October 1646

Fatherly Advice.

\/,,

XLII.

Sir T. Fairfax: London, aist December 1646 . News, by Skippon Agr Agreement with the Scots concluded City disaffected to Army. :

V,,

XLIII.

the same: London, nth March 1646-7 still more disaffected.

247

;

252

253

Army-matters City ;

XLIV. To

the

same

London, igth March 1646-7

Encloses an Order to the Army, Not to come within Twenty-

London.

five miles of

ARMY MANIFESTO

255

LETTER XLV. To Archbishop Williams

XLVI. To

of York: Putney, ist September 1647

Conway

Col. Jones

274

276

278

.280

Castle.

Putney, i4th September 1647 Dungan Hill.

Congratulates on the Victory at

XLVII. To

Sir T. Fairfax

Putney, i3th October 1647

Capt. Middleton, Court-Martial.

XLVIII. To the same

Putney, 22d October 1647

Col. Overton for Hull Garrison.

XLIX. To Hon. W. vember 1647

Lenthall:

King's Escape from

Hampton

Hampton .

Court.

nth No-

Court, .

282

INTRODUCTION a biography has become a classic it is time to study the history of its composition. Such an enquiry not only satisfies the natural curiosity of the reader, but is indispensable to the right understanding of the work need to know why the author conceived the idea itself. of writing the book, what the conception was which he sought to realise, under what conditions he wrote, and how far circumstances hindered or furthered the fulfilment of his design. Our first business therefore is to examine into the origin of Carlyle's Cromwell and to follow its progress. One of Carlyle's earliest literary projects was to write a book upon Cromwell's times. In March 1822 he was reading Clarendon's History of' the Rebellion, Ludlow's Memoirs, Milton's prose works, and other authorities for the history of the period, and by the end of April his vague interest in " Within the the subject had taken a more definite shape. last month," he wrote to his brother Alexander on 27th April, " I have is to well-nigh fixed upon a topic. My purpose come out with a kind of Essay on the Civil Wars [and] the Commonwealth of England not to write a history of them but to exhibit, if I can, some features of the national character as it was then displayed, supporting my remarks by mental portraits drawn with my best ability, of Cromwell, Laud, George Fox, Milton, Hyde, etc., the most distinguished of the actors in that great scene." In another letter, written to Miss Welsh in January 1823, he explained more fully the kind of treatment he intended to adopt in the projected book. " I had a splendid plan of treating the history of England the Commonwealth in a new style not by way of during for which I felt too well my inequality, regular narrative

WHEN We

(xxi)

xxii

INTRODUCTION

but by grouping together the most singular manifestations mind that occurred then under distinct heads selecting some remarkable person as the representative of each class, and trying to illustrate their excellences and defects, all that was curious in their fortunes as individuals, or in their formation as members of the human family, by the most striking methods I could devise. Already my characters were fixed of

Laud, Fox, Clarendon, Cromwell, Milton, Hampden l I was busied in the study of their works." An engagement to translate Legendre's Elements of Geometry interrupted his studies, and then followed translations from the German, essays on German literature, and other engagements which occupied his mind and his time. It was not till about 1838 that he took up his seventeenth century project again, and then it was partly due to an accident. John Stuart Mill asked Carlyle to write an article on Cromwell for the London and Westminster Review. Carlyle agreed to the proposal, and began to work upon the subject. Meanwhile Mill went abroad leaving the Review to be edited in his absence by John Robertson. Robertson, "a rude Aberdeen Longear," as Carlyle terms him, coolly informed " Carlyle that he meant to do Cromwell himself," which very much incensed his eminent contributor. In his naturally wrath Carlyle severed all connection with the Review, and determining to write something more to his mind than articles in reviews, took up his old project of a book on Cromwell and his times. 2 He began his task in January 1839. "I have my face turned partly towards Oliver Cromwell and the Covenant time in England and Scotland, and am reading books and meaning to read more for the matter, for it is But what I shall make of it, or large and full of meaning. whether I shall make anything at all, it would be premature

upon

;

already

C. E. Norton, Early Letters of Thomas Carlyle, ii. 56, 170. Cf. Froude, A. Carlyle, a History of the First Forty Years of his Life, \. chap. ix. Carlyle, Historical Sketches, preface, v. 2 Froude, Carlyle 's Life in London, i. 149. Mr. Froude exaggerates the importance of the incident as determining Carlyle's choice of a subject, and makes no reference to his early attraction to the subject. For an account of Robertson, see Robertson's article was published in Espinasse, Literary Recollections, p. 124.

Thomas

October 1839.

;

INTRODUCTION

xxiii

This was to his brother, and he announced to say as yet." 1 2 his plan to Emerson in the same doubting fashion. All through 1839 Carlyle read about Cromwell and the history of his period, though he found considerable difficulty As his reading proin procuring the books he needed. 3 of character became clearer. his Cromwell's gressed conception

" How " Cromwell " he wrote in his journal in October 1839, on earth could he be treated ? Begin to see him at times in some measure, even to like him and pity him." 4 The more he studied the man the more his liking and his admiration in"I have got within this last twelve months," he creased. !

wrote in September 1840, "actually as it were to see that Cromwell was one of the greatest souls ever born of 5 The first fruit of these seventeenth century English kin." the first revelation to the world of Carlyle's estimate studies, of Cromwell, was contained in the sixth of the lectures on this

hero-worship, delivered at the Royal Institution on 22nd May^ 1840. "Few Puritans of note but find their apologists some" where," declared Carlyle, and have a certain reverence paid them by earnest men." Eliot, Pym, Hampden and others were all admitted to be a kind of heroes. "One Puritan, and almost he alone, our poor Cromwell, seems to hang yet on the gibbet and find no hearty apologist anywhere. Him neither saint nor sinner will acquit of great wickedness." 6 Carlyle's new presentation of Cromwell's character was well received. 1

Froude, Norton, Froude, 5 Norton,

"The good

people," he told his brother, "sate

Carlyle's Life in London,

150.

Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson, i. 215. */*, i. 176, 197. Carlyle's Life in London, i. 151. Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson, i. 304. Mr. Espinasse quotes from Carlyle's Wotton Reinfred, a fragment written probably about 1830, the following character of Cromwell supposed to be suggested by a portrait. It seems to show that at that date Carlyle still regarded Cromwell as half a hero and half a hypocrite. "This is the man whose words none could interpret, but whose thoughts were clearest wisdom, who spoke in laborious folly, in voluntary or involuntary enigmas, but saw and acted unerringly his fate. Confusion, ineptitude, dishonesty, are pictured on his countenance, but through these there shines a fiery strength, nay, a grandeur as of a true hero. You see there he was fearless, resolute as a Scanderbeg, yet He is your true encunning and double withal, like some paltry pettifogger. thusiastic hypocrite, at once crackbrained and inspired a knave and a demigod, in brief, old Noll as he looked and lived." Recollections, p. 127. Espinasse, Literary " Wotton Reinfred" was first printed in The New Review, Jan.-March, 1892, and was republished in the same year in Last Words of Thomas Carlyle. 6 Hero-worship, p. 191, people's edition. 3

;

INTRODUCTION

xxiv

breathless, or broke out into all kinds of testimonies of goodwill ; seemed to like very much indeed the huge ragged image l gave them of a believing Calvinistic soldier and reformer." Yet though Carlyle felt that he had solved the problem of Cromwell's character it was not easy to embody his discovery in a history of Cromwell and his times. His difficulties grew greater rather than less. Upon a nearer acquaintance he did not like the period as much as he had expected. He " " pronounced it far inferior in interest to the French Revolution. "Not a tenth part such a subject as the French Revolution." At first sight none of the actors attracted him excepting Cromwell and Montrose. The authorities he was " One dreadful obliged to study were equally uninteresting. circumstance is that the books, without exception, the documents, etc., one has to read, are of a dulness to threaten I never read such locked jaw. jumbling, drowsy, endless

stupidities."

In the introduction to the Letters and Speeches Carlyle repeats his general verdict on the authorities, and proceeds to criticise them individually. He had read the Memorials of Bulstrode WhitelocJce and the Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow, " the " fat terrene mind of Whitelocke, and the honest, wooden head of Ludlow were incapable of compredull, !but the hero whom seen face to face. had There hending they were some intelligent contemporary writers. Thomas Fuller was "a perfectly veracious and intelligent person," Robert " with a Baillie a man living heart, a seeing pair of eyes, above a veracious man." 3 But unluckily they knew all, clearly Of all the professed biogralittle of Cromwell personally. phers of Cromwell the only one Carlyle felt able to praise was John Forster. 4 As to the great collections of contemporary documents, those unwieldy and badly indexed folios wearied and disgusted him. He styled Rushworth's Collection " an 1 Froude, Carlyle s Life in London, i. 183. For an account of the lecture, by Caroline Fox, see Memories of old Friends, ed. 1883, p. 125. 2 Froude, Carlyle' s Life in London, i. 153, 199. 3 Letters and ii. 242 Miscellanies, vi. 213. Speeches, i. 10-16 ;

;

"Forster had finished his Life of Cromwell when Carlyle was beginning his seventeenth century studies, and their unpublished correspondence is full of applications made at one time by Carlyle for the loan of books on the period, and of queries to be answered by Forster." Espinasse, Literary Recollections, p. 118.

INTRODUCTION

xxv

inarticulate rubbish continent," and described Thurloe's seven volumes of State Papers as " shoreless lakes of ditch water and 1 From these distasteful sources Carlyle laboured bilgewater." "I to extract the truth about Cromwell. say to myself, a under this waste continent of does lie buried great man

and a great action. Canst thou not unbury them, them visible, and so help, as it were, in the creation present 2

cinders,

them?"

method of working has been described by himself. systematic steady jogtrot of the professional historian or He could not, like of letters was not possible to him. Scott, say to himself that he would write so many hours before breakfast, or like Macaulay that he would compose so many pages per diem. The history of Carlyle's Cromwell falls first of all a naturally into two stages prolonged struggle to understand the subject, and lastly a shorter and more violent struggle almost a convulsion of nature to set forth the result for the world. According to him the essence of| " blazing radiant insight intc literary art consisted simply in " the fact," and blazing burning interest about it." This he said was the soul of Shakespeare's and Homer's "art,' and of his own art, if he had anything of the kind. first and last secret ... is to get a thorough intelligence of thefact to be painted, represented, or, in whatever way, set forth the fact deep as Hades, high as heaven, and written This once so, as to the visual face of it on our poor earth. if it will ever within to and me, blaze, blazing get bursting to be out, one has to take the whole dexterity of adaptation Carlyle's

The man

;

"My

one

master

of,

and with tremendous struggling, really it, one way or the

frightful struggling, contrive to exhibit other." 3

In order to realise the facts of Cromwell's life the better, so to be more able to make them real to his readers, Carlyle went to see the places where Cromwell lived and the fields where he fought. In May 1842 he visited Naseby in company with Dr. Arnold, and walked over the uplands where nearly two hundred years earlier the fate of England was

and

Letters

Froude, Carlyle' s Life in London,

Speeches,

;

ii.

223. i.

199.

lbid.,

231.

INTRODUCTION

xxvi

decided. 1 "They are not properly hills at all," he writes, " but broad, blunt, clayey masses swelling towards and from each other like indolent waves of the sea, sometimes of miles in extent." Unluckily Carlyle and Arnold, misled by an obelisk which the owner of the property had set up on the highest part of the field, mistook the actual site of the battle, as Edward Fitzgerald, the owner's son, told him a few months later.

Fitzgerald,

by examining the ground and opening what

local tradition pointed to as the graves of the slain, discovered

the spot where the crisis of the battle took place, and "Clearly Carlyle after some hesitation accepted his view. enough," he wrote to him, "you are upon the very battle and I, it is clear, have only looked up towards it ground from the slope of Mill Hill. The opening of that burial heap blazes strangely in my thoughts these are the very jawbones that were clenched together in deadly rage, on this very ground, 197 years ago. It brings the matter home to one, with a strange veracity, as if for the first time one saw it to be no fable and theory but a dire fact." 2 In September 1842 Carlyle undertook a longer tour, hired "a a horse, which turned out heavy-footed beast," and set " Cromwelldom." He went out on a three days' ride into first to Ely, where Cromwell lived from 1636 to 1647, and found his house " though in a somewhat frail state still stand" " Lying by the door was a huge horseblock on which ing." he smoked a brought cigar; Carlyle sat and meditatively his pocket. In the evening he away a chip of the block in " as the visited the cathedral and heaving bellows blew and the yellow sunshine streamed in through the high windows," he dreamt of the Reverend Mr. Hitch who refused to abandon his choral services, and of Cromwell's short way with Mr. ;

;

Froude, Carlyle 's Life in London, i. 255. Wright, Letters and Literary Remains of Edward Fitzgerald, 1889, i. 103-114. Carlyle proposed that a new monument should be erected at Naseby marking the He wrote an inscription actual spot where the crisis of the struggle took place. " for the Naseby Pillar," as he termed it. But the property changed hands before the scheme could be carried out, and the new owner refused his consent to its The old obelisk, therefore, still remains to delude visitors to the field. erection. " It might as well stand at Charing Cross: the blockhead that is," said Carlyle. See also the same collection of Letters, i. 105, 109, 236-8, 333, 339, 353, 359, 363, 2

475. 485-

INTRODUCTION

xxvii

"I almost wept to stand upon the very flagstones under the setting sun, where he ordered the refractory parson, ' Leave off your fooling and come out, sir '." l On the second day Carlyle rode to St. Ives, where Cromwell lived from 1631 to 1636. "The lands he rented are still Hitch.

there, recognisable to the tourist gross boggy lands, fringed with willow trees, at the east end of the small town." In one :

of the fields which had been Cromwell's Carlyle sat down, smoked another cigar, and meditated for a time. " Here of a certainty," he said, " Oliver did walk and look about him His cattle grazed habitually during those five years. here, his ploughs tilled here, the heavenly skies and infernal .

5 abysses overarched and underarched him here." Leaving St. Ives, Carlyle next proceeded to Huntingdon, where he found that the house in which Cromwell was born had been twice

and was now " a solid yellow brick-house, some townsman of the wealthier sort." He then occupied by

rebuilt since,

Hinchinbrook, once the house of Cromwell's grandbut now the seat of the Earls of Sandwich. "A stately pleasant house amongst 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." He had now finished his day's work, and mounting once more the " " rode with terrible determination heavy-footed beast," he visited

father,

to Cambridge the same evening." 3 On the morning of the third day Carlyle perambulated Cambridge, looked diligently at all the colleges within reach, and saw the famous portrait of Cromwell at Sidney Sussex What he thought of that portrait neither his letters College. nor his journals say, but memories of it inspire the wordpictures of Cromwell given in the Historical Sketches and 4 in the Letters and The sight of this portrait was Speeches. in reality the

most important event of

Froude, Carlyle's Life in London, second letter in Letters and Speeches.

275-278.

Carlyle's tour.

See also the preface to the

Letters

Froude, Carlyle's Life in London, i. 276. Historical Sketches, pp. 312, 344; Letters and Speeches,

and

Speeches,

It left

77. ii.

315.

INTRODUCTION

xxviii

an ineffaceable impression upon his mind and permanently shaped his conception of Cromwell's character. For it was one of Carlyle's first principles that in forming an estimate of any historical character the impression produced by an authentic portrait of the person was evidence of the highest " I have to tell you," he says, authority for a biographer. " as a fact of personal experience that in all my poor historical investigations it has been, and always is, one of the most primary wants to procure a bodily likeness of the personage inquired after a good portrait if such exists failing that, even an indifferent if sincere one. In short, any representation made by a faithful human creature, of that face and figure, which he saw with his eyes, and which I can never see with mine, is now valuable to me, and much better than none at all. This, which is my own deep experience, I believe to and be, in a deeper or less deep degree the universal one ;

;

that every student and reader of history, who strives earnestly to conceive for himself what manner of fact or man this or the other vague historical name can have been, will, as the first and directest indication of all, search eagerly for a portrait, for all the reasonable portraits there are; and never rest till he have made out, if possible, what the man's natural face was like. Often I have found a portrait superior ' in real instruction to half a dozen written biographies,' as or rather, let me say, I have found biographies are written that the portrait was as a small lighted candle by which the biographies could for the first time be read, and some human interpretation be made of them the biographied personage ;

;

no longer an empty impossible phantasm, or distracting but yielding at last aggregate of inconsistent rumours some features which one could admit to be human." l .

" 1 Letter to David Laing, 3rd May, 1854, on the Project of a National Exhibition of Scottish Portraits." Miscellanies, people's edition, vii. 129. Whenever Carlyle describes an historical personage he endeavours to realise the In describing the man's face it external man himself to make his readers see him. is always the predominant traits of the character, as expressed in the features, that he seeks to bring out. The posthumous Historical Sketches are of special interest In them Carlyle describes in this respect for students of the Letters and Speeches. James I. (p. 43), Anne of Denmark (p. 129), Charles I. (p. 262), Laud (pp. 245, 306), Strafford (p. 324), Pym (p. 166), Hampden (p. 340), Hyde (p. 329), and others some briefly, others at full length.

INTEODUCTION

xxix

With a clearer understanding of Cromwell's character, and with a definite conception of his environment during his early From time to time he life, Carlyle returned to his books. resumed his pilgrimages to Cromwellian battlefields. In July 1843 he paid a hasty visit to Worcester. On 3rd September, 1843, the anniversary of the battle, he saw the field of Dunbar. " I found the battle ground," he says, " much more indeed altogether recognisable than any I had yet seen It is at the foot and further what one would call clear. eastward along the slope of the hill they call the Doun that the Scots stood, Cromwell at Broxmouth (Duke of Rox' burghe's place) where he saw the sun rise over the sea and a I had the conviction that I stood certain quoted psalm. on the very ground." 1 ;

Meanwhile 1842 had passed and 1843 was drawing to its yet Carlyle seemed to be no nearer the completion of

close,

his book. From the very outset of his enterprise its diffi" reading goes on," he wrote culty had oppressed him. " in November 1840 ; my stupidity seems to increase with it more and more. I get to see that no history in the strict sense can be made of that unspeakable puddle of a time." 2 Neither his reminiscences of Cromwell's battlefields nor the tangible relics of battle which he brought home from them

supplied the inspiration Carlyle needed. Throughout, his But it conception of Cromwell's character remained clear. seemed impossible for him to mould the stubborn facts into shape, and to embody his conception of that character in a In July 1842 he anhistory of Cromwell and his times. swered Emerson's inquiries with a cry of despair "You ask after Cromwell Ask not of him he is like to drive me mad. There he lies shining clear enough to me, nay, glowing, or painfully burning but far down ; sunk under two hundred years of cant, oblivion, unbelief, and triviality of every kind through all which and to the top of all which, what mortal "3 industry or energy will avail to raise him ? ;

;

Froude, Carlyle 's Life in London, i. 314, 326. month later Carlyle was writing: "In our whole English ^Ibid., i. 199. If one can delineate anything of England, history there is surely nothing as great. then this thing." Ibid., i. 202.

Norton, Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson,

ii".

INTRODUCTION

xxx

The cause of this dead-lock was partly the natural difficulty of the subject. It is hard for any man to realise unfamiliar conditions, and to put together from defective materials a coherent account of a complicated period, and a life-like It was harder for Carlyle than for picture of a great man. most historians because he could never surrender his mind to his subject because he was continually summoned from the the past by importunate problems of the present; because he was a prophet and a poet by nature and a historian only by accident. The condition of England weighed upon him. The misery of the poor ; the apathy of the rich the indiffer" ence of the rulers were always before his eyes. Ought I," said he, " to write now of Oliver Cromwell ? Again and again of late I ask myself in whispers, Is it the duty of a citizen to be silent, to paint mere heroisms, Cromwells, etc. ? The look of the world is really quite oppressive to me. Eleven thousand souls in Paisley alone living on three-halfpence a day, and the governors of the land all busy shooting heart partridges, and passing corn-laws the while is sick to look at the things now going on in this England ; and the two millions of men sitting in poor-law Bastilles seem to ask of every English soul, ' Hast thou no word to say ;

;

us?'" 1 Night and day these thoughts passed through his mind, and till he had delivered his message about them he could not " I found I could not rest. go on with Cromwell, or with till I had disburdened my heart somewhat in anything else, The result was the writing and the regard to all that." After this publication in April 1843 of Past and Present. and his returned to task, finally deterdigression Carlyle mined on a complete alteration in his plan. One day in December 1843 while Mrs. Carlyle was " peace" fully darning his stockings her husband rushed into the room and threw a pile of manuscript into the fire. "It was up the chimney in a fine blaze before I knew what he was " This life of Oliver Cromwell burning," said Mrs. Carlyle. for

looks to

if it

were never going to get

iFroude, Carlyle''s Life in London,

itself written,

223, 285, 286.

INTKODUCTION

xxxi

as he may." l Carlyle himself, however, felt that at last he was on the right track. book," he told his

work at

"My

mother, "occasions great difficulty. I not long ago fairly cast a great mass of it into the fire, not in any sudden rage at it, but after quiet deliberation, and deciding on this as I am now trying the business the best that I could do. on another side with hopes of better prosperity there." Instead of writing a consecutive history of the Civil Wars and the Commonwealth he resolved to attempt something much simpler he would collect the authentic utterances of Cromwell and confine himself to a detailed commentary upon them. 2 At last in August 1845 he announced the completion of his task to his friend

Emerson.

" About four days ago

wrote

The book

my last

word on Cromwell's

two big nearly printed volumes about a half of it, I think, my own the real utterances of the man Oliver Cromwell once more legible to earnest men. Legible really to an unexpected extent for the book and is now a took quite an unexpected figure in my hands kind of life of Oliver, the best that circumstances will permit me to do whether I or England shall be, in my time, fit for a better, remains submitted to the destinies at present. I have tied up the whole Puritan Paper-Litter (considerable masses of it still unburat) with tight strings, and hidden it at the bottom of my deepest repositories there shall it, if Heaven please, lie dormant for a time and times. Such an element as I have been in, no human tongue can give account of. The disgust of my soul has been very great, a really pious labour worth very little when I have done it, but the I feel the liveliest best I could do and that is quite enough. I to the have out of The that it alive. gratitude got gods Book is very dull, but it is actually legible all the ingenious faculty I had, and ten times as much would have been useful there, has been employed in elucidation; in saying, and

Letters

and Speeches.

;

New Letters of Jane Welsh Carlyle, i. 135 3oth December, 1843. Fitzgerald " at least six says that Carlyle told him that he had burnt attempts at Cromwell's life." Letters and Literary Remains of Edward Fitzgerald, i. 373. 2 Froude, Carlyle s Life in London, i. 331-5, 339. 1

;

VOL.

INTEODUCTION

xxxii

in annihilating continents of in forbearing to say, chiefly l brutal wreck and dung Ach Gott." :

was published about October 1845, and Carlyle's Cromwell few historical works have attained more immediate success. second edition was called for in 1846 and a third appeared Neither Carlyle nor his publishers had expected so in 1849. It is credibly stated that the large a circulation. publishers had undertaken to publish the Letters and Speeches with considerable reluctance, and only upon the understanding that Carlyle would afterwards give them a complete biog2 Carlyle confessed that he was not raphy of Cromwell.

" The lively interest prepared for the popularity of the book. the numbers the people have taken in that heavy book that read and in some good measure understand something of 3 What gratified him more it ... is really surprising to me." than popular success was the sense that he had not written in vain, and that he had taught the world to see that the Protector was an honest man. Critics who reviewed the book generally declined to accept his estimate of Cromwell's career without great reservation, but his estimate of Cromwell's character exerted a wide and an increasing influence. 4 It influenced all subsequent biographers and historians. Hitherto

whatever party an historian belonged to, whether he was a Tory, a Whig or a Radical, Cromwell had incurred the same condemnation. It was much if they conceded that he might be an honest fanatic. Hume termed him a fanatical hypocrite, but admitted that his enthusiasm and his scriptural language were not all assumed. "He was at bottom as frantic an enthusiast as the worst of them, and in order to Norton, Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson, ii. 94. The unburnt portion in 1898 under the title of Historical Sketches of Notable Persons and Events in the Reigns of James I, and Charles I. by Thomas Carlyle. Carlyle's friend John Chorley transcribed the original MS. about 1850, and added some notes and references Mr. Alexander Carlyle completed the task, and published 1

was published

;

the book. 2

Mr. Espinasse

states this

on the authority

of Mrs. Carlyle.

Literary Recollec-

tions, p. 74. 3

Froude, Carlyle's Life in London,

The most favourable contemporary

Review,

xlvi.

article in the

Historical

377. criticism

was an article in the Westminster For hostile criticisms see Blackwood, Ixi. 393, and J. B. Mozley's Christian Remembrancer for April 1849, reprinted in his Essays

432.

and

Theological, 1884.

INTRODUCTION

xxxiii

obtain their confidence, needed but to display those vulgar

and ridiculous habits which he had early acquired, and on which he set so high a value." l Hallam, writing in 1827, The comparison is compared Cromwell and Napoleon. A couple of sentences show its tone. singularly superficial. " In civil government there can be no adequate parallel between one who had sucked only the dregs of a besotted fanaticism, and one to whom the stores of reason and philosophy were open. But it must here be added that Cromwell, far unlike his antitype, never showed any signs of a legislative mind, or any desire to fix his renown on that noblest

The first the amelioration of social institutions." 2 sentence is pure prejudice, the second pure ignorance. The force of Whiggery could no further go. Now to take an instance of the change effected by Carlyle. In 1839 John Forster had published a careful two volume life of Cromwell, representing him in the usual republican fashion as a patriot in the first part of his career, and an apostate and a tyrant in the last part. In 1856 Forster published in the Edinburgh Review 3 an article on Guizot's Cromwell and the English Commonwealth, which proves that his own estimate of Cromwell had been

basis,

entirely altered

by Carlyle's work. "This we hold to have been finally established by Mr. Carlyle, and to constitute the peculiar value of his labours in connection with the subject. To collect and arrange in chronological succession, and with elucidatory comment, every authentic letter and speech left by Cromwell, was to subject him to a test from which falsehood could hardly escape and the result has been to show, we think conclusively and beyond further dispute, that through all these speeches and letters one mind runs consistently. Whatever a man's former pre;

possessions may have been, he cannot accompany the utterer of these speeches, the writer of these letters, from their first

History

^ Constitutional of England. History ii. 264, ed. 1863. essay is reprinted in Forster's Biographical Studies. Carlyle's comments on Guizot's book and on Forster's article are given by Mr. Espinasse, Literary See also a striking article in The Times for 4th January, 1855, Recollections, p. 85. on Carlyle and Guizot, apparently by Professor Goldwin Smith, judging from its resemblance to the lecture on Cromwell in his Three English Statesmen, 1868. 1

The

INTRODUCTION

xxxiv

travelling with him from his grazing lands his Protector's throne to watching him in the up tenderest intercourse with those dearest to him ; observing him in affairs of state or in the ordinary business of the world,

pages to the

last,

at St. Ives

;

in offices of friendship or in conference with sovereigns and him as he comforts a persecuted preacher, ; listening to

senates

or threatens a persecuting prince and remain at last with any other conviction than that in all conditions, and on every occasion, Cromwell's tone is substantially the same, and that in the passionate fervour of his religious feeling, under its different and varying modifications, the true secret of his life must be sought, and will be found." Forster concludes that " to all practical intents, Cromwell was as far removed on the ;

one hand from fanaticism, as on the other, from hypocrisy." l Forster was a convert worth making, for he was better qualified than any other contemporary historian to estimate the

permanent value of Carlyle's contribution to the history of the period, and what he thought many others came to think. " the soul of Carlyle had set out to prove that Cromwell was " the Puritan Revolt and " not a man of falsehoods, but a man of truths."

believed that his collection of

CromweWs

and Speeches would make " the heart of that grand Puritan business once again visible," and then " 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 2 This he triumphantly achieved, and the impulse little easier." which his book gave to the study of that part of seventeenth

Letters

century history has not yet died away. The view which subsequent historians have taken of Cromwell's character is substantially that set forth by Carlyle, though they naturally differ very widely from Carlyle in their estimate of his policy. Still greater and more immediate was the influence exerted by Carlyle's book upon the reading public in general. It changed the popular conception of Cromwell's character, and restored him to his proper place amongst English worthies.

One

sign of the change was that people began to 1

Biographical Studies,

p. 32.

Letters

and

Speech.es>

talk of

INTEODUCTION

xxxv

This was not one of the erecting statues to Cromwell. results Carlyle had aimed at producing, nor was it a mode of showing admiration for great men which he commended. There were too many ugly statues of undeserving people about "I " think," he growled, they ought to England as it was. leave Cromwell alone of their memorials, and try to honour

him

some more

profitable

way

by learning to be honest

men

like him, for example." l But he made an exception in favour of localities with which Cromwell's life was intimately

When he was asked to help in promoting the erection of a statue of Cromwell at St. Ives he blessed the associated.

project in a most emphatic fashion. 2 promoters has been preserved.

His

letter to

one of the

"In the Birmingham newspaper, some ten days ago, a blazing article was sent me about a general People's Statue for Oliver, to be set up at London, Huntingdon, or, failing both Some considerable these, at St. Ives, or in Naseby Field. notion, I find otherwise, has gone abroad of commemorating Cromwell in the public statue way. To all which I have hitherto made little answer or none at all. 4

private suspicion I confess is that the present generawho have filled their towns with such a tion of Englishmen ' as were never before erected by any set of statues public '

mere commonplace adventurers on them, and even sometimes to mere paltry scoundrels, worthy of immediate oblivion only), and who have winded up their enterprises in the statue or memorial line by subscribing 6^25,000 to a memorial for King Hudson are not likely to do themselves or anybody much good by I fear they have setting up statues to Oliver Cromwell. forfeited the right to remember Cromwell in a public manner. Cromwell's divine memory, sad, stern and earnest as the gods, says virtually to them Forget me and pass on, ye unhappy Canaille carry your offerings to King Hudson and strive to emulate him Nevertheless I have privately resolved, if such a thing do go on, to subscribe my little mite to it on people, ugly brazen images (to

with

titles

Froude, Carlyle's Life in London, \, 451. Addressed to the Rev. I. K. Holland, and dated i6th April, 1849. Hunts County News, 26th October, 1901, and also separately.

in the

Printed

INTRODUCTION

xxxvi

occasion, and to wish privately that it may prosper much I think it will better than I can with any assurance hope. be very difficult to avoid the introduction of such an ocean of flummery and mere idle balderdash into the affair (if the public are fairly awoken to it) as will be very distressing to any one who feels how a Cromwell ought to be honoured by the nation that produced him. " With regard to you and your townsmen, however, I perceive that, so far, you have sure ground to stand upon ground ;

that is sure, and will carry such an enterprise in all times, even in the Hudson, Dundas, and Brazen Duke of York times. St. Ives wishes to claim authentically for itself the honour of having once been Oliver Cromwell's place of abode, an honour that is likely to last it, and be its most peculiar one for a thousand years to come. " Proper, good every way, and right on the part of St. Ives while you keep within these limits, the soul of Oliver himself, if he looked down upon you, could not disapprove. Not to do Cromwell honour that, owing to Hudson, etc., we unfortunately cannot at present pretend to try not to do him honour, but to claim publicly our own property in him, and do honour to ourselves and our town that we can pretend So far I say your enterprise is founded on the to, and will rock ; and however much further it may go, I think you should take care to maintain that particular foundation, and let nothing shift you from it. Namely, that your enterprise is to point out Oliver Cromwell's indisputable connexion with you, and to claim this publicly, and assert it in brass or stone for the coming ages and all persons that may forget or do not know it." Carlyle ended by recommending the market-place of St. Ives as the most suitable spot for the erection of the proposed memorial, and it was there that in October 1901 the statue of Cromwell was at last set up. But it is time to leave the question of the effect produced by Carlyle's book and to discuss the question of its permanent In reality it belongs rather to the domain historical value. It might almost of literature than to the domain of history. be considered a prose epic, telling the story of Cromwell's life, :

;

INTRODUCTION

xxxvii

" Cromwelliad." l At times, too, he doubted whether prose was the right vehicle for conveying his ideas, or the fittest instrument for pro"I wish often," he said, "I ducing the desired effect.

and Carlyle sometimes spoke of

as a

new form from centre to surface, could write rhyme. unlike what I find anywhere in myself or others, would alone be appropriate for ... this subject." 2 Yet the wish was needless, for his own prose had all the epic and dramatic no poet has drawn a qualities which the subject required ;

battle picture than Carlyle's Dunbar, and no has a nobler closing scene than his description of tragedy the death of Cromwell.

vivid

Nevertheless, regarded simply as the biography of a great statesman and soldier Carlyle's book is fragmentary and inIt follows the letters and speeches too closely, and complete.

where Cromwell says nothing Carlyle

is silent.

The

points in Cromwell's career and life are left in comparative darkness. You will search in vain through Carlyle's pages for any adequate account of Cromwell's share in the struggle between Army and Parliament in 1647 and 1648, or for any

exact estimate of his part in bringing Charles I. to the scaffold. His account of the Protector's government is in clearness and fulness much inferior to that contained in Godwin's history of the Commonwealth published nearly twenty years earlier. 3 Besides these omissions there are a certain number of errors. Carlyle took great pains to be exact in his facts and his de4 scriptions and as a rule he is very accurate about dates and minor details. But sometimes he nodded, and made strange For instance he places the Uxbridge treaty beblunders. tween the King and the Parliament in the spring of 1644 instead of in February 1645, and his account of the movements of Cromwell and the New Model Army after their victory at Naseby is strangely full of errors. The obvious explanation of these defects and omissions is "

2 Letters and Speeches, i. 10. Froude, Carlyle's Life in London, i. 279. History of the Commonwealth of England, by William Godwin, 4 vols., 1824-8. 4 See for the taken trouble by him to compare Cromwell's portrait with example Vide Mr. the death-mask, and to fix the proper position of the famous wart. Anderson's article in the English Illustrated Magazine, November 1896, and the 1

letters of Carlyle

and Woolner on the subject therein

printed.

turning/

INTRODUCTION

xxxviii

that the book was intended to be not a life of Cromwell but a commentary on Cromwell's letters and speeches. Apart from the conception of Cromwell's character presented in its a collection of materials brought together for pages, it is the use of those who wish to study Cromwell's life for them1 selves. However, considered merely as a collection of documents it has also some serious defects. Carlyle was a very laborious editor but much too arbitrary. He took great trouble to make Cromwell's speeches intelligible

by supplying missing words, explaining allusions, breaking up long-winded sentences, adding commas, dashes, brackets and other typographical aids. For this labour he deserves sincere gratitude. On the other hand he modernized the speeches too much, allowed himself too great licence in the way of emendation, and did not always compare with sufficient care the different versions of the same speech or find out the best text of a letter. 2 But Carlyle s greatest fault as an editor is the perpetual His chorus interpolation of his own" comments in the text. " " of " Ha's and " Hum's and Truly's "his jeers at heavy " and " peppery Scot " his exhortations to " my Bulstrode brave one," " my beautiful great soul," become at last tedious ?

obtrusive. 5 It is as if the showman should suddenly his head up and personally assist Mr. Punch in his number of these interpolations warfare with the devil. are explanations of Cromwell's involved grammar, or com-

and bob

ments upon it. "Sentence catching fire explodes." "Sen" Sentence tence gone meaning left clear enough." may be said to burst asunder here for the present, but will gather :

"Sentence involving an together again perhaps." incurable Irish bull; the head of it eating the tail of it, but the meaning shining very like a Serpent- of-Eternity " His clear through its contortions nevertheless." Highness, neither of these sentences ; bursting with meaning, completes itself

;

Letters and Speeches, i. 67. See Mrs. Lomas's notes to the Speeches, passim. See also Carlyle as Editor of Cromwell's Speeches" by Sir Reginald Palgrave, National Review, January 1887. 3 Letters and iii. 70, 170, 173, 183. Speeches, ii. 530, 551 1

;

., iii.

79, 80, 90, 95, 174.

INTRODUCTION

xxxix

but pours himself, like an irregular torrent, through other orifices and openings." "Another little window into his Highness almost a half soliloquy you see the speech getting :

l ready in the interior of his Highness." In these comments Carlyle lets his imagination run riot. He realizes the scene so vividly himself that he insists that his readers shall see it as he does they must see through his He knows the exact tone of eyes and hear through his ears. voice in which Cromwell spoke the words given on the printed Now it is a "sonorous bass," now "risen somewhat page. into alt and rolling with a kind of rough music in the tones of it," now "reverberating like thunder from the roof of the Painted Chamber" now the Protector's voice has " risen into a kind of " recitative," and once it ends, I think, "2 in a kind of snort. He can tell you exactly how Cromwell looked when he spoke the words. At one time his face wears "a pleasant " His bantering look," at another Highness elevating his face a of irony, of rough banter." look brows; assuming The subject changes from light to serious, and the speaker's " a certain see expression changes with it. truculency on his Highness's visage," or some nobler emotion than merely When the Protector tells his truculency reflected there. Parliament that rather than consent to the wilful throwing away of this government "I can sooner be willing to be rolled into my grave and buried with infamy," Carlyle pictures "the aspect of that face, with its lion-mouth and mournful eyes, kindled now, and radiant all of it, with sor3 row, with rebuke, and wrathful defiance." when the Protector denounces men who seek to the Again, stir up a new civil war in England, careless of the blood and " He that considereth not these," misery they may cause, declares Cromwell, "must have the heart of a Cain. The wrath and justice of God will prosecute such a man to his In comes Carlyle with his comment ; grave, if not to Hell." "Where is Sam Cooper or some prince of limners to take us that look of his Highness? I would give my ten best

^Letters

and

Speeches,

ii.

iii. 60. 378, 379, 381 ii. 386, 528, 548;

Ibid.,

;

Ibid., 113.

iii.

ii.

381, 386, 550;

iii.

80.

INTRODUCTION

historical paintings for

into the bargain."

it,

gilt

frames and twaddle criticisms

Sometimes Carlyle describes the effect of the speeches on At one remark " Lenthall tries to Cromwell's audience. " " blush at another Lord Whitelocke's heavy face endeavours to smile in response"; now there are "suppressed murmurs from Bradshaw and Company," and we behold " " as they listen. Haselrig and Scot looking very grim " Once, by a bold piece of personification, the Old Parliament dubiously rolls its eye." At need he even invents imaginary Cromwell's first speech is interrupted by " stifled auditors ; ;

from Dryasdust," and its progress is suspended whilst Carlyle has a couple of rounds with his old antagonist. " Patience, my friend, my estimable timber-headed, leadenhearted friend." More groans from Dryasdust ; " Hush, my " a human owl." 2 friend," cries Carlyle, and calls him To some at least of Carlyle's readers these editorial eccentricities are distasteful. They find his comments, as Cromwell himself said of Mr. Hitch's choral services, " unedifying and offensive," and murmur, under their breaths, something about the dignity of history. But if we regard Carlyle's work as a " Cromwelliad," or a kind of historical drama, we shall not find them out of place. They fulfil an artistic purpose like the comic scenes in a Shakespearian tragedy, and serve to heighten by contrast the loftier passion and purer enthusiasm of Cromwell's own utterances. In dealing with the letters Carlyle was not tempted to He modernized and indulge this licence of interpolation. emended them much less than the speeches, though still a little too much. Another defect is the method of arranging the letters. The first edition contained 157 letters. The interest which it aroused led people to send Carlyle copies of letters of Cromwell's in their possession, or to point out cries

him the sources from which fresh letters might be obtained. In this way he collected about ninety letters and documents, of which he incorporated some fifty-three in his second edition, After this revision he inserting the rest in a vast appendix. to

1 Letters and Speeches, iii. 174. Misprinted high-art paintings in people's edition. iii. *Ibid. ii. 281, 291, 368, 369, 408 55, 78. t

;

INTRODUCTION

xli

make no further changes, refusing, as he said, to " his cask and insert new staves." For the future, unhoop " new letters, should such still turn up, I will not, except they contradict some statement, or fibre of a statement, in the but deposit them withtext, undertake to introduce there out ceremony in the loose lumber-room, in a more or less l swept condition." New letters did continue to turn up, and as he threatened, relegated them to the lumber room Carlyle, of his appendix. The result is that several of the most " the authentic utterances of the man, Oliver interesting of Cromwell," may easily be overlooked by the student. The battle of Langport was one of the most important battles of the war, and Cromwell played a considerable part in it, but his letter about it, with its very characteristic reference to the battle of Naseby, is hidden away out of sight. The same fate befalls Cromwell's long and very instructive letter to John Sadler about the principles of Irish policy. 2 Most editors would have taken the small trouble necessary to insert such valuable additions in their right place in the text. Another defect of Carlyle as an editor is that he was resolved to

;

somewhat

careless

and

uncritical in accepting letters pur-

Give him a memoir or anything with a man visible behind it and he judged its value with the greatest shrewdness, but when he had to deal with a single letter or a collection of letters he was less clear-sighted. In several cases he failed to distinguish the true from the false. There are two curious instances of this. Letter 200 in Carlyle's collection, a letter from Cromwell to Thurloe, is an 3 There was no external evidence eighteenth century forgery. to support the statement that the letter was by Cromwell, but Carlyle pronounced it " by internal evidence a genuine note." He saw, however, that there was something wrong with the letter, and mended it by omitting the most suspicious porting to be written

by Cromwell.

a book

and otherwise improving the style. The strange that he did not think it necessary to point out to his readers the nature of the alterations he had made and

phrases,

thing

;

Preface to second edition, May, 1846, vol. Letters and Speeches, iii. 245, 266.

p. vi. 3

Ibid.

ii.

453.

INTBODUCTION

xlii

never saw that by admitting the necessity of such alterations he was destroying all the claim of the letter to be held For that claim rested entirely on the credibility authentic. of its contents, and on nothing else. more famous instance of the same kind is the case of the These papers are a collection of letters Squire Papers. attributed to Cromwell, and usually printed in the appendix

By competent judges it is now Carlyle's Cromwell. universally admitted that these letters are forgeries manu1 Their factured for the express purpose of deceiving Carlyle. author, William Squire, was a resident at Yarmouth, who to

combined an interest in

local antiquities with a taste for In January 1847, just after the publication practical jokes. of the first edition of Cromwell, he wrote to Carlyle, saying that the book had given him great pleasure, and concluding with the statement that he had in his possession the journal of one of Oliver's troopers (one Sam Squire, an ancestor of his own) and other papers relating to the period. Eventually he sent Carlyle copies of some thirty-five letters purporting to be written by Cromwell, which Carlyle printed in Eraser's Magazine for December 1847. In this article Carlyle de" of indubitable scribed the letters as authenticity," and their communicator as "a person of perfect veracity, and even of "Any remark or statescrupulous exactitude in details." ment of his concerning them is to be entirely relied on." Nevertheless there were details in the phraseology of these letters which at once excited suspicion. Antiquaries began to express doubts of their authenticity, and one joined in " after another, like dogs answering each other's howls in the But all their critical howling did not said night," Carlyle. " You can shake his faith. say," ran the message which he sent to Squire, "I never for one moment doubted of his 2 letters, nor am likely, till the age of miracles come back." What right had Carlyle to be so certain that the things were genuine ? What tests had he applied to these documents ? W^hat precautions had he taken against

deception

For that reason " The Squire Papers

March

1848.

are omitted in this edition.

INTRODUCTION

xliii

He had never seen the supposed originals of the letters, He had accepted nor a single scrap of any one of them. about the letters without statements any hesitation, Squire's 1 In though those statements were themselves contradictory. his first letter 2 Squire said that he thought of some day In his second letter 3 he publishing his ancestor's papers. of the documents, but insisted that promised Carlyle copies his own name and the name of his ancestor should remain a He was afraid, he said, of offending some of his secret. relatives and causing bad blood if he published them, and he would rather " see every scrap of old paper in ashes first." Three months later he sent copies of some of the letters, and added that he had just burnt the original letters and jour4 When Carlyle heard this news he became nearly disnals. tracted, but he still remained believing.

persuaded his friend Edward Fitzgerald, the poet, who

lived in those parts, to find out Squire, to see if any remains could yet be saved, and to find out what manner of man

"a Fitzgerald reported that Squire was straightSquire was. a fellow little mad," but he liked forward, choleric, ingenuous " He admires him, and thought Carlyle would like him. you," " added Fitzgerald, beyond measure," but on second thoughts " crossed out the beyond measure." So far as internal evidence went the letters seemed to Carlyle perfectly satisfactory. The nineteenth century phrases they contained did not make him turn a hair. But the absence of dates to some of the letters, and the unlikely dates assigned to others, seemed to

demand

explanation.

Squire answered

by saying that the letters in question were undated, or that he had supplied the dates conjecturally " from his ancestor's journal, or that " damp and vermin had Carlyle's enquiries

eaten away the dates. "As to the dates of letters, many I guessed the year of, as they were so eaten away or red with 1 For the history of the letters and Squire's correspondence with Carlyle and Fitzgerald, see the documents published by Mr. Aldis Wright in the English Historical Review for April, 1886, p.' 311.

On nth February, 1847. 2gth January, 1847. Later still, in January 1848, Squire wrote to Carlyle saying, "When I sent you copies I did not expect them ever getting printed, or I had burnt even them," and explaining that "the earnest request of my father, now no more," was the source of 2

his objection to their publication.

INTRODUCTION

xliv

damp nothing was legible." But why the vermin dieted themselves exclusively on the dates he did not explain. So with perfect confidence Carlyle printed the letters, and not till more than a year later, in January 1849, did he first behold Squire in the flesh. Carlyle minutely describes their " man of round interviews, and sketches Squire's portrait. full of innocence yet of unquiet rosy face, large grey eyes, vehemence. Something radically honest, even brave and benevolent, was in the man's look, nay something blowsy and almost jolly." Squire's manner was odd and flighty, he was certainly his utterances were often rather incoherent " of the kind called half mad." This he acand eccentric,

;

counted that

for,

to Carlyle's perfect satisfaction, by explaining a boy he had a fall whereby his skull was

when he was

broken " into 37

pieces."

Carlyle questioned him further, and found his answers In spite of rambling, incoherent, and even inclined to rave. " an shine does thro' truthfulness all he concludes impetuous

crazy vehemences." besides not being sane enough it was clear that Squire most entirely was not clever enough to forge the letters. 1 " When he was taken to the ignorant man," says Carlyle. London Library he burst into " ignorant babble and wonderment " over the books shown him, and had never heard of Rushworth, Whitelocke, or any other authorities on the

all his

But

period.

So that after that interview and a second one, Carlyle, sick of the whole subject, still believed in the When he published the third of the letters. authenticity edition of his Cromwell, he sent a copy to Squire, who answered that his heart had throbbed with feelings of delight on beholding his treasured autograph, that he felt honoured and proud that he had had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Carlyle, and signed himself "your delighted, faithful, and

though heartily

admiring servant." So ended Carlyle's connection with Squire.

The comedy

1 Mrs. Carlyle mentions a rumour that Landor wrote the letters "for a joke She concludes that fool though he was, he would hardly indulge against Carlyle." New Letters, i. 241. in so bad a jest.

INTRODUCTION

xlv

was played out. Carlyle had been taken in by an imposture which did not deceive the dull antiquaries on whom he had poured such scorn. The hater of shams had seen the impostor face to face and taken him for a true man. Squire's ignorance was merely assumed, Squire's craziness only a device for avoiding inconvenient questions. The 35 unpublished letters of Cromwell were as fictitious as the 37 pieces of Squire's skull. And that eminent humorist, having avenged Dryasdust, emigrated to New Zealand, where, some twenty years later, he " closed in peace those large grey eyes full of innocence." of documents does not necesunscientific treatment Carlyle's sarily affect the correctness of his judgment on Cromwell. But there was one fundamental defect in his equipment which vitiated his views of Cromwell's character and of Cromwell's

relation to his age. Carlyle^s knowledge of previous English" and at time of later English history, was that history,

have his own word for the fact. " I want," very slight. he wrote in 1839, " to get acquainted with England a great and I may as well begin here secret to me always hitherto as elsewhere." 1 Accordingly he read widely upon the period covered by Cromwell's life, but it is evident that he read little upon the period which preceded it or that which followed it. By this insufficient knowledge his conception of events was distorted and his understanding of Cromwell's time necessarily limited. He pictured English history before Oliver as a long tract of darkness a dull and dismal labyrinth of which DryThen comes the short reign of heroisms and asdust was king. veracities, brief as the lightning in the night, and as swiftly swallowed up again by the darkness. Oliver dies England goes back to shams and to sheltering fallacies in Church and State, and the genius of England, instead of soaring sunwards like the eagle, sticks its head in a bush like the ostrich, "intent on gross terrene provender." One must not take Carlyle's rhetorical figures too literally, but it is clear from his whole treatment of the subject that he regarded the Puritan Revolution as an isolated phenomenon, and did not fully appreciate its connection with the rest of English history. Puritanism was the product of the division

Froude, Carlyle s Life in London,

153.

INTRODUCTION

xlvi

a religious of opinion which began with the Reformation movement which circumstances developed into a political True to his principles as to the place of great revolution. men in history, Carlyle incarnates the whole movement in one man, and makes it die with him. " Oliver is gone, and with him English Puritanism," says Carlyle, but as a matter of fact the downfall of the Puritan government did not put an end to the Puritan movement. It continued to exist and to exert a profound influence on the political, social, and inits results are with us still. tellectual growth of England :

great movement

ideas

not in any single

lives, life, but in the brings into the world, and leaves growing in the

minds of men. Carlyle's prejudices as well as his theories

warped his judgapproached the complex problems of seventeenth century politics as if they were a series of simple moral questions, and as if the great struggle between Puritans and Royalists had been a conflict in which God was on one side and the Devil on the other. To him the essential object for which the Puritans contended was "to see God's own law made good in the world," and he assumed that Vane's and Cromwell's interpretation of that law was right, and that of Laud and Falkland wrong. Though he saw the importance of the religious factor in the Civil War more clearly than any previous historian had done, his treatment of the issue was narrow and one-sided. At bottom he was always too much the Scotch Calvinist to be impartial. Religion, however, was only one factor in the Great Rebellion. It was a struggle for self-government as well as for religious freedom. Carlyle had little sympathy with the demand for self-government, and hence he was unjust not In his only to the Royalists but also to the Republicans. account of the Protectorate the position and the ideals of the ment.

parliamentary opposition are never fairly stated. He argues that the Protector's government was a good one, the Protector a divinely inspired hero, and the refusal of the Republicans

them mere pedantry and blindness to facts. we want a fair statement of the position of Cromwell's opponents we must go to a more sober and a more learned

to accept If

INTEODUCTION

xlvii

" It was no merely theoretical constitutional " Oliver was difference," says Dr. Gardiner good, and his he owed his was but to military position good, government If military force was to settle affairs of government force. historian.

;

to-day, it might settle them wrongly to-morrow. England would for ever be at the mercy of those who held the sword. Happily there was present to Englishmen the instinct call it what you will that it was better or consciousness for a nation to blunder on, making mistakes as it goes, than to have the most excellent arrangements forced upon it by rightly

external violence." Carlyle shut his eyes to the principles which underlay the conflict between Cromwell and his parliaments, and regarded the whole struggle simply as a fight between a hero and a talking apparatus. According to Mr. Froude the lesson which Carlyle drew from his study of Cromwell's times was "a general inference of the incapacity of a popular assembly to guide successfully and permanently the destinies of this or any other country." It would be truer to say that he began his Cromwellian researches with this belief in his mind, and that it moulded all the conclusions he drew from the facts. His eyes might be on the pages of Rushworth or Whitelocke, but his heart was always in the nineteenth century, with " my own poor generation," as he called it. He had no scientific interest in the past, no interest in the seventeenth century " " for its own sake. Thus," said he, do the two centuries stand related to me the seventeenth worthless except prel Therefore cisely so far as it can be made the nineteenth." he looked at the seventeenth century through the spectacles of the nineteenth, and brought to his study of it preconceptions which warped his view of men and things. Read Chartism or Past and Present, and they will explain When their writer looked around him Carlyle's Cromwell. at the England of 1843 he could see nothing but suffering

and wrong.

Parliamentary Reform had brought no remedy and party leaders seemed incapable of devising any. The time was out of joint, and it appeared to him that nothing but a hero could set it right. When for the diseases of society,

VOL.

Norton, Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson^

ii.

10.

INTEODUCTION

xlviii

Carlyle was

making

his hasty survey of the battle-field of

Worcester he met a labouring man, and talked to him about the battle. The labourer said he " had heard of such a thing," and that he wished to God "we had another Oliver, sir; times is dreadful bad." Carlyle put him down in his notes

shrewd, well-conditioned fellow," and gave him a l The shilling was well deserved, for in a few words the poor labourer had summed up the lesson which Carlyle's three volumes were meant to teach the world. Carlyle had said in his haste that parliamentary institutions were a failure, and he naturally discovered that the facts of Cromwell's career r proved his conclusion. Like too many other historians he t found in the past just what he went to the past to find. To the end of his life Carlyle never ceased to reiterate the as

shilling.

same doctrine. Mr. Espinasse, who helped him to prepare the second edition of the Letters and Speeches, describes what he used to see and hear when he visited the little house in " no he tells his Row. "

Cheyne doubt for

us, success, prized Carlyle," sake, but also because he attached great importance to his countrymen's adoption of his estimate of Once more his conversation, or rather his monoCromwell. its

own

turned much on Cromwell, who for a long time I can see him coloured his thoughts and his waking dreams. now in an old brown dressing-gown, seated on a footstool on the hearth-rug close to the fire-place, in the little parlour, sending most deftly up the chimney whiffs from a long clay pipe. ... I can hear him bet ween" the whiffs, which served as commas and colons (there was never a full stop), pouring forth, in the strongest possible of Scotch accents, an oral LatterDay Pamphlet, contrasting Cromwell and the Puritans with contemporary English politicians and the multitudes whom they were leading by the nose to the abyss. I see Mrs. Carlyle, with head bent and one hand covering her face, She had heard it all so often before, listening in silence. poor lady, and knew how little would come of it. I can hear her, when Carlyle's denunciation became terribly fierce, make ' the considerate appeal, Don't be angry with Mr. Espinasse,

logues,

Froude, Carlyle's Life in London,

314.

INTRODUCTION not to blame

xlix

or My dear, your tea is getting quite "l way with reformers.' For one moment Carlyle thought he had found in Sir Robert Peel the strong man whom the distracted times reThe Repeal of the Corn Laws seemed to prove it. quired. " " Whatever," said he, were the spoken unveracities of Parliament and they are many on all hands, lamentable to gods and men here has a great veracity been done in Parliament, considerably our greatest for many years past a strenuous,

cold, that

the

;

courageous, and needful thing." Accordingly when the second edition of the Letters appeared a copy was sent to " The book," Peel, with a letter saying this and much more. he told him, " should you ever find leisure to read and master

perhaps have interest for you may perhaps who have admonition, exhortation, in various ways instruction and encouragement for yet other labours which England, in a voiceless but most impressive manner, still The authentic words and expects and demands of you. actings of the noblest governor England ever had may well have interest for all governors of England may well be, as ' all Scripture is, as all genuine words and actings are, profitit,

may

knows

;

profitable for reproof, for correction, and for edifying and strengthening withal." 2 Whether English prime ministers accepted the practical conclusions which Carlyle drew from Oliver's career or not, he was right in thinking that they might learn something from a study of Oliver's character. But Peel died out of office, and too soon to realize the hopes which he had aroused his successors showed no trace of any Cromwellian inspiration, and Carlyle relapsed into complete pessimism. Froude's description of Carlyle in his later years forms a companion picture to that drawn by Mr. Espinasse. " He spoke much on politics and the character of public men. From the British Parliament he was firmly persuaded that no good was to be looked for. A democratic Parliament, from the nature of it, would place persons at the head of affairs increasingly unfit to deal with them. Bad would

able'

;

Espinasse, Literary Recollections, p. 82. Froude, Carlyle' s Life in London, i. 376.

INTRODUCTION

be followed by worse, and worse by worst, till the very fools see that the system must end. Lord Wolseley, then Sir Garnet, went with me once to call in Cheyne Row, He was much Carlyle having expressed a wish to see him. struck with Sir Garnet, and talked freely with him on many

would

described the House of Commons as 'six asses, set to make laws and to administer the concerns of the greatest empire the world had ever seen,' When he rose to go, with other uncomplimentary phrases. he said, ' Well, sir, I am glad to have made your acquaintsubjects.

hundred talking

and I wish you well. There is one duty which I hope be laid upon you before you leave this world to lock the may " door of yonder place, and turn them all about their business.' l This fanatical hatred of parliamentary assemblies colours w and distorts all Carlyle's account of the Protectorate. It led him as we have seen to misrepresent the attitude of Cromwell's parliaments towards Cromwell, and it led him to misIt represent Cromwell's attitude towards his parliaments. made Carlyle if one may use the phrase more Cromwellian than Cromwell himself. For the Protector did not share his ance,

But biographer's contempt for representative government. for their general the army would have expelled the Long Parliament at least a year or two before they did. It was only after long reluctance, and only when all his efforts to bring about a compromise had failed, that Cromwell forcibly put a stop to its sittings. He did not do the act with a light heart, but looked upon it as a hard necessity. And when Cromwell had put the key of the House in his pocket, and had sent the members about their business, he did not decree (as Carlyle would have done) that henceforth there On the conshould be no more talking-shops in England. " to first thing he did was to call another, in order the trary, divest the sword of all power in the civil administration," and when that failed he called a second and a third. For Cromwell's political ideal was not a government without parliaments, but a government which worked with and through parliaments. Without the consent of the people of England in Parliament assembled he knew that he could 1

Froude, Carlyle's Life in London,

ii.

446.

INTEODUCTION

found nothing permanent, that he could not secure tor posterity the civil and religious liberties for which so many men had died ; that he could not bridge over the gulf which the revolution had made between the past and the present. If Parliament would co-operate with him a lasting settlement

of the nation might be effected, and he could lay down his " the wisdom of this " If," said he, parliament should have found a way to settle the interests of this nation, upon the foundations of justice, and truth, and liberty to the people of God and concernments of men as Englishmen I would have lain at their feet, or at anybody else's feet, that 1 things might have run in such a current." dictatorship.

Cromwell knew more than his biographer about governing men, and his own view of his position is a refutation of The supremely able man is in power he Carlyle's theory. has fifty thousand never-beaten swordsmen to keep him there yet he is unconscious that he possesses any divine right to rule, and eager to share his authority with those he governs he knows that he can enforce their obedience, but wears himself out in the endeavour to obtain their co-operation and because he cannot obtain that co-operation he feels that he is a failure, and that his work is unfinished. When Carlyle has once taught us that Cromwell was an honest man, the historical value of the book lies not in Carlyle's representation of Cromwell, but in Cromwell's revela-, tion of himself in its pages. There are some books which show us Cromwell as he appeared to contemporary observers, and many which show us Cromwell as he appears to posthumous idolaters or iconoclasts, but this is the only one which shows us Cromwell as he appeared to himself. By limiting ;

;

himself to

the collection of Cromwell's utterances

Carlyle

produced a more valuable book than he would have done if he had completed the history of Cromwell's times which he cast into the flames. We know what that history would have been like from the fragment which has been published. 2 It would have been a series of portraits and incidents, vigorously drawn, but loosely strung together, each individually full of life and colour, and sometimes touched with poetic 1

Speech

xii.

Historical Sketches.

INTRODUCTION

lii

imagination or glowing with prophetic fervour, but a narrative without order and without proportion. All Carlyle's finest qualities are in the book he did give us, and his history would neither have told us how the things really happened, nor taught us to understand the causes of the things. True history should do both. So also if Carlyle had given us a biography of Cromwell on the same scale as his biography of Frederick, the world might not have been the gainer by the exchange. We should have had a full-length portrait of Cromwell instead of a halflength, and the background and foreground would have been more carefully finished, but it would not have been a better It would have possessed the same merits and the likeness. same defects as the portrait of Cromwell given in the Letters

and Speeches.

Carlyle himself has provided the means for testing his estimate of Cromwell. collection of all the recorded utterances of a great man has qualities which the most skilful biography with its abstracts and extracts of those utterances never can possess. Such a collection, if it is it is

and correcting

carefully read, makes a sharper and a deeper impression on the mind than any life written by a later hand. Nothing as he reads, intervenes between the reader and the records by degrees the facts group themselves together, the breath of life breathes upon the dry bones, and the figure of the man takes shape and rises before him. Tennyson has described the feeling which the reading of the letters of his dead friend produced upon himself:

So word by word, and line by line, The dead man touched me from the And all at once it seemed at last The living soul was flashed on mine.

past,

the process which takes place if we study the Letters closely enough, and the effect which that study It was for this reason that Carlyle brought them produces. together, and in his eyes the text was of more value than his

This

and Speeches

own commentary upon

it.

H. FIRTH.

EDITOR'S NOTE,

1904

perhaps necessary to give a short explanation of the pursued in the present edition of Carljle's As regards the text of the letters, every effort Cromwell. has been made to see the originals, when they exist, in order is

IT method

to correct any errors, either of transcription or printing, which have crept into the copies used by Carlyle. The Duke of Portland very courteously sent up to the Public Record Office, for this purpose, those volumes of his great series of manuscripts which contain Cromwell documents ;

and Mrs. Alfred Morrison and

Richard Tangye kindly Mrs. Morrison possesses (amongst others) the fine holograph letters which " Pusey seventeen," and which he knew only Carlyle calls the

allowed

Sir

access to their collections.

as they are printed in Harris's Life of Cromwell. The Cromwell letters printed in the Thurloe State

Papers

are mostly taken from the original drafts (or copies made at the time) in Thurloe's hand ; these drafts being preserved amongst the Thurloe MSS. at the Bodleian Library, although, curiously enough, Carlyle does not seem to have been aware " The of the fact. originals are gone with Birch," he wrote " who has not even told us in whose of Letters CCIV.-CCVL, the idle ineffectual Editor." "handwriting they were The Thurloe letters have now been collated with these originals and some few mistakes found and corrected, but as a rule Birch's transcripts are admirably correct. Not content with using the immense amount of material in his hands, he, or he and his publisher, Mr. Gyles, appealed to the owners of manuscripts for any letters which would make the collection more complete. Some interesting points in relation to the Cromwell letters are to be found in a volume of Birch's papers at the British Museum. .

dm)

EDITOR'S NOTE,

liv

1904

In a letter written in 1740, one Mr. Theophilus Rowe, of Hampstead, offered for Birch's use the copy of a letter from Oliver Cromwell to Mazarin (Letter CCXVL), which copy was endorsed by his grandfather, Mr. William Rowe, as " his Highness' letter." This William Rowe was the well-known scout-master to the Parliament army, afterwards (conjointly with Rushworth), registrar of the Court of Admiralty a man of considerable influence " because of his near relation " to Thurloe (Egmont MSS.). Amongst his papers were also the reports of Cromwell's speeches of May 8 [but dated 7] and May 25, 1657, which are printed in Thurloe. These texts, therefore, as well as the Mazarin letter, are contemporary and above suspicion. In the same volume is a letter from Rawlinson, the antiquary, stating that he had "a remarkable canting letter of Oliver Cromwell's to Lord Wharton " (evidently Letter LXVIII.) which Birch might copy if he thought it worth including as he naturally did. Another source of Cromwell documents is the collection known as the Pell MSS. at the British Museum. All the letters derived from this collection have also been collated with the originals, but the text printed in Vaughan's Protectorate (from which Carlyle copied them) has very few ;

errors. is no need to defend Birch from Carlyle's charges of and inefficiency his colossal work speaks for itself. But there is one patient and painstaking worker of a bygone day on whose behalf fairness demands a word. Carlyle spares no opportunity of showing his contempt for the work

There

idleness

;

Noble. He laughs at the "imbecility" of this investigator of marriage-contracts, parish registers,

Mark

careful

but when we genealogies and pedigrees (see vol. i., p. 13) examine the points which give rise to this scorn, we by no means find it to be justified. For instance, in relation to the birth of Richard Cromwell's first child, Carlyle writes, "Richard's first child, according to Noble's registers, was Noble's registers, as we "not born till 3d Nov. 1652. And again "shall soon see, are very defective" (ii. 52 n). ' " but the poor has a little brat Cromwell Dorothy " little in died soon have Noble's inexact lists must thing " " there is no trace of its ever having lived (ii. 69). Noble's ;

;

EDITOR'S NOTE, 1904

He gives the birth of Richard's first lists are not inexact. plan, daughter as March 26, 1650, but, following a very usual " he puts the sons first, and our " impatient historian has not troubled to turn the

The

leaf.

little

brat

in question, so

from dying young, lived to be over eighty. Carlyle makes In a letter written on June the same mistake a year later. 28, 1651 (Letter CLXXVIII., put by Carlyle, in error, to birth of another child. July) Cromwell refers to the expected " " These " Noble's lists are defective far

very

Carlyle repeats

;

But again, Letters, too, were before the poor man's eyes." it is merely that Carlyle has failed to turn the leaf.

To take a third case he speaks of the list of estates which Cromwell died possessed of; "which Schedule poor 6 " Noble has found somewhere not where he says he did, in "Commons Journals, 14 May, 1659'" (ii. 495). But Noble does not say so. He prints the schedule, dated as above, and It was not, states, rightly, that it is given in the Journals. :

however, read in the House until the 25th, and so appears under this date. If Carlyle had looked in the index, or even turned over a page or two, he would have found it Now, " extreme imthese points all give an impression of Noble's becility," and yet in each case he is right, and Carlyle is wrong. There are inaccuracies in dates in Noble's book, but these, apparently, are mostly printers'-errors, such as abound in

many books

of his day.

Taking Car lyle's edition as a whole, the mistakes in the letters Someare very numerous, but not, as a rule, important. times, however, they affect the sense, and in such cases Carlyle unhesitatingly inserted words of his own, without reflecting that, as Cromwell was a very accurate writer, he would not be likely to send out letters which needed such " embellishments " to explain them. See, for instance, Letter XCIIL, written to Mr. Mayor on the subject of Richard Cromwell's marriage, and entirely in Into this short letter Carlyle inCromwell's own hand. serted nineteen words, most of which were quite unnecessary, and one or two misleading. Moreover, where Cromwell speaks of the contingency of Mayor himself having a son, Carlyle (who imagined him to be speaking of Richard) added a note, " Grandson, i.e. In the next sentence, die means

EDITOK'S NOTE, 1904

Ivi

" more properly live"

hardly necessary to say that, in

an important business letter, Cromwell did not say "son" when he meant " grandson," or " die " when he meant " live ". To give another instance in Letter XLIII., to Fairfax, "head-quarters" "was substituted for "new quarters" and " " Adjutant Allen for Mr. Allen ". There are two or three other small mistakes, and at the end of the letter, some words having been torn away with the seal, Carlyle supplied them conjecturally, but without any intimation of this fact. Also, he was rather fond of doing what he himself, in speak" ing of one of Cromwell's reporters, calls paring down the ;

warts

the

little by ; improving composition avoiding repetition of words, or the use of ambiguous pronouns. But as students must prefer to have Cromwell's letters as Cromwell himself wrote them, they are now given verbatim, " " Carlyle's improvements being added in the footnotes.

In some few cases, the names of persons to whom the were written not known to, or else mistaken by, have been found. Letter X., hitherto without adCarlyle dress, was written to Colonel Hobart ; Letter XXXII. was not to Fairfax but to Lenthall Letter CCV. was certainly to Luke Stokes, Governor of Nevis, not to Searle, Governor of Barbados ; Letter CLXXXVIIL, which Carlyle addressed to a hypothetical Mr. Parker, " Agent for the Company of Adventurers, etc.," was evidently written to Major Packer and Appendix No. 28 (5) was to Sir John Walsh, not to Sir John Wilde. In the Supplement will be found 145 letters, 1 not con-

letters

;

tained in Carlyle's collection. Many of these are of slight interest and no importance, and are only included on Carlyle's own principle that " all clearly authentic Letters of Cromwell "... in this book, by the title of it, are naturally to be " looked for." These unimportant letters are merely calendared, not printed in full, and in certain cases, such as letters of recommendation to the Heads of the Universities or to the Council in Ireland, specimens only are given. Of the additional letters, 35 are from the MSS. at the Public Record Office, London; 11 from the Public Record Office, Dublin; 1 Besides speeches and other documents. times grouped together.

Letters on the

same

subject are some-

EDITOR'S NOTE, 1904

Ivii

16 from MSS. at the British Museum; 17 from MSS. at Oxford (including those from the Clarke collection at Worcester College) 5 from Corporation archives 38 from private collections (most of this last group having been brought to the knowledge of students by the Reports of the and 1 from the French archives. Hist. MSS. Commissioners) ;

;

All these are either the originals, or contemporary copies (usually official entries) 8 are from the old newspapers of the ;

period and 14 from more modern printed sources. Most of these letters have appeared in print in one or another historical collection or magazine, but they are now for the first time gathered together, and in nearly all cases have been copied direct from the originals. The most important of the additional letters are those to Robert Hammond (Supplement, Nos. 26, 35, 65) which were found by Dr. Gardiner amongst the Marquis of Lothian's MSS. at Newbattle, and have been printed by Mr. Firth in the Clarke Papers. These Carlyle would have delighted in, with their affectionate interest in the young officer, and their quaint conceits of Brother Heron, Brother Fountain and Sir Roger. He would have been pleased also with the letter in favour of Dr. Welles (No. 9), hanging as a pendant to his own Letter I. The first letter in the Supplement (printed by the kind permission of Lady Newdigate-Newdegate) has a double interest, first as being a very early one, the earliest we have except the note to Downing (Appendix I.), and secondly, as shewing that already Cromwell had that interest in sport which, as Mr. Firth has shown, characterized him throughout his later life. The letter concerning Richard's marriage treaty (No. 43), completes the series on that subject, and contains a touching reference to the illness of Cromwell's aged mother. hitherto unpublished letter to Mazarin (No. 79 a\ evidently written in the summer of 1653, has been communicated by M. Jean Lemoine, Bibliothecaire at the Paris Ministere de la Guerre, who has also been extremely kind in giving information concerning the other letters to Mazarin, obtained from the French archives and printed by Carlyle. There are several letters to Vice- Admiral or " General " Penn (Supplement, Nos. 58 (2), 76, 80, 94-97), partly in relation to naval affairs, and partly on behalf of Cromwell's

EDITOR'S NOTE,

Iviii

1904

An imSlingsby, Stewart and Whitstone. portant letter to the Commanders in the West Indies (No. He pro119), printed in Thurloe, was omitted by Carlyle. bably had it copied with the rest, and mislaid it in some "shuffling of his paper-masses." Another long and interesting letter is that to Major Wilkes (No. 98), which was found by Mr. Firth amongst the Clarke Papers. There are three new letters from the Protector to his son Henry (Nos. 124, 134, 145) gathered respectively from the Public Record Office, the British Museum and the Irish Record Office. No. 134, which has only lately been acquired by the British Museum, is especially interesting, and is a fine young kinsmen,

holograph.

Many

the

additional

letters

throw fresh light on

points in Cromwell's military movements in the Eastern Association, Wales, Yorkshire (six letters to Col. Charles Fairfax, from the originals in Sir Richard Tangye's collecand a very large number tion), Scotland and Ireland show a kindly interest in the affairs of his fellow-men ; letters on behalf of a former school-fellow, an old Ironside, poor clerks, widows and orphans, royalists protected by Articles of War, and residents in Ireland in danger of transplantation. Of this last group there are so many amongst the State Papers at Dublin, that Mr. Herbert Wood, of the Irish Public Record Office, has been good enough to make a selection for me, it being impossible and unnecessary to include them all. The most interesting is one (No. 128) on behalf of the poet See also those in relation to Lord Spenser's grandson. ;

Claneboye, Lord Coursey and Sir John Temple (Nos. 83, 103, 105) and one concerning the Irish troops sent to Spain (No. 132). It has

been found rather difficult to draw the line between Cromwell and letters of his Council, submitted to and signed by him, a class which Carlyle pretty rigorously excluded (as he did also the State letters in Latin, written by Milton, with one exception. See iii. 199). The temptation was great to include the letter to Fleetwood in relation to the election of Parliament men in Ireland, printed by Mr. Firth in his edition of Ludlow's Memoirs (i. 387), and a letters of

letter to Scotland concerning

the dissensions amongst the

EDITOR'S NOTE,

1904

lix

godly people there (S. P. Dom. I. 78, p. 557) but it was thought better not to admit them. Certain letters purporting to be written by Cromwell to his daughter, Mrs. Clayton, which appeared in Notes and Queries (Feb. 20, 1869) and were printed by Mr. Waylen in the first edition of his House ;

of' Cromwell, are also excluded, the internal evidence being strongly against their authenticity. The treatment of the Letters has been easy ; that of the For here we are upon different Speeches very difficult.

we have not what Cromwell said, but only what he reported to have said, sometimes taken down in shorthand (a fruitful source of small errors) and often under disadvanIn all probability, therefore, the tages of time and place. text is at times corrupt, and, here and there, it is evidently so. Carlyle studied the speeches with sympathetic care, and reached very definite conclusions as to their meaning, and these volumes being only a new edition of Cartyle's Cromwell, the speeches have been for the most part left as he That is to say, where he has altered the printed them. in order to give what he believed to be the true sense, wording " embellishments " his version stands in the text also all his Dr. called Gardiner the (as interpolations), his ejaculations, lines of pause, and italics of emphasis. But a few small changes have been made. First, there seemed nothing gained by retaining the multitude of capital letters with which Carlyle bestrewed his pages, as they answer no good end and are troublesome to the eye. Secondly, Carbut (at the lyle of set purpose modernized the phraseology present day, at any rate, when Seventeenth Century documents have been so widely studied), the result of this is not greater These clearness, but a sense of unreality and anachronism. words have therefore been put back to their true form, and when small, unimportant alterations have a consensus of old authorities against them, they are omitted. Thirdly, Carlyle professed to distinguish words added by himself by putting them within single inverted commas, but the exceptions to this rule are very much more numerous than the examples of it These insertions are now exactly indicated. Finally, it must be remembered that in many cases Carlyle contented himself with using one printed text, with-

ground

;

EDITOR'S NOTE,

1904

out collating it. For instance, for the speeches contained in the old MS. book at the British Museum (Add. MS. 6125), he entirely trusted to Mr. Rutt's version, printed with Burton's Diary. This has many mistakes, and, misled by them, Carlyle has sometimes quite missed the point, and had to alter very much in order to make sense. All the texts have now been carefully collated, and when it is evident that Carlyle misread or mistook the meaning, the old text is given, Carlyle' s version being relegated to a footnote. But, as a rule it is the old version or versions which are given in the footnotes but it seemed given perhaps even to a tiresome extent desirable that, without going beyond these volumes, students should be able to see how the various texts render any given ;

This is, of course, a compromise, and no compromise can be altogether satisfactory. On the whole, it appeared to be the best plan, but no one can be more sensible than myself that it is open to criticism. To a certain extent, each one of the speeches has necessarily been treated on its own merits, for of some we have very good reports and of others very bad ones in some cases Carlyle used an excellent text, and in others a very poor one. For instance, for certain of the speeches on kingship, he relies on the reprint of Monarchy Asserted, given in Somers' Tracts. He sighs and groans over this; declares that the words of "a Oliver, left in the pamphlet itself in very accidental conhave been ever more dition," distracted, as each "growing " new and unchecked Printer, in succession, Imaginary-Editor " did his part to them, till now, in Somers' Tracts, which is " our latest form of the business, they strike description silent. " Chaos itself is cosmos in comparison with that pamphlet ;

those frightful jungles, trampled down for " bison and hoofed cattle (iii. 22). But if Carlyle believed this to be the case, why did he not work from the pamphlet itself ? There are two copies of it at the British Museum. As a matter of fact, it is not the case at all. Scott simply reprinted the old pamphlet, and the only " difference which the " two centuries have produced is that there are some careless misprints and that it is even more badly punctuated than the original. But for two or three

"in Somers

"two

centuries

now by mere

EDITOR'S NOTE,

1904

Ixi

of these speeches, and especially for the important No. XIII., there is a better text in the book already referred to (Add. MS. 6125) at the British Museum. Although, as before said, errors have evidently crept in, yet as regards most of the speeches, we may feel pretty confident that we have a very fair report of what Cromwell said ; for where two or more versions differ so much in detail as to make it unlikely that they are copied from the same source, or from each other, and yet agree not only in substance but in words and phrasing, we may be sure that we are not far short footnote at the beginning from the true reading. of each speech explains what the authorities are. In one, and only in one speech, I have ventured to discard most of the embellishments, and to give the speech almost as

This is No. IV., which is disstands in the old pamphlet. a in the stated notice Clarke Papers) to have (in tinctly been revised by Oliver himself. Carlyle was, of course, not aware of this, but he evidently realized the comparative superiority of the text, for he altered it much less than any of the others. Of additional speeches, or abstracts of speeches, in the far the most imSupplement, there are about twenty those delivered in the various army councils portant being These were discovered by Mr. Firth amongst the in 1647. Clarke MSS., and printed by him in the first volume of the It is greatly to be regretted that Carlyle Clarke Papers. did not know of them ; for they admirably fill up ,the hiatus which he so much lamented in Cromwell's authentic utterances at this date. Six great meetings are fully reported (Supplement, Nos. 21, 24, 25 (1, 2, 3, 4)) and at some of these Cromwell spoke several times. The speech upon his going for Ireland (No. 42, also taken from the Clarke Papers) is important and interesting, and there are several short reports of speehes which are very useful as being what Carlyle would call "little windows into it

;

his Highness's

mind."

The Supplement

also contains a few other documents which are either imDeclarations, Articles of Surrender, etc. in themselves or in portant throwing light on passages helpful in Cromwell's history.

EDITOR'S NOTE, 1904

Ixii

In these volumes the additional notes (which are placed within square brackets) are confined, as much as possible, to matters of fact. Any attempt to challenge Carlyle's views and opinions in relation to Church or Parliament would have been foreign to the scope of the edition. Where, here and there, some comment has seemed needful (as for instance, on the result of Cromwell's policy in Ireland), no apology will be required for giving the words of those who have been the foremost workers in the field rather than my own. Some new facts in relation to the Cromwell family have been gleaned from the Harrington MSS. at the British Museum ; and, for the Protectorate, much use has been made of the dispatches of Bordeaux, the French ambassador in England, gathered from the admirable series of French These dispatches transcripts at the Public Record Office. are very valuable, for Bordeaux gained his information from good sources, and we have the testimony of Lockhart (Cromwell's ambassador to France) that his accounts of English affairs were accurate and fair. In conclusion, I have to express my very sincere gratitude to those who have kindly given me help and information. obligations to the Duke of Portland, Mrs. Alfred

Morrison, Sir Richard Tangye,

Lady Newdigate-Newdegate, M. Jean Lemoine and Mr. Herbert Wood have been already mentioned. Thanks are also due to Dr. Stubbs, Dean of

Ely Capt. Charles Lindsay Mr. Pelham R. Papillon Rev. C. T. Eland, vicar of Felstead; Rev. W. J. Henderson, Mr. Richard WeiPrincipal of the Baptist College, Bristol Dr. T. K. Abbott, librarian of ford, of Newcastle- on-Tyne Trinity College, Dublin and Mr. R. A. Roberts, of the Public Record Office. My indebtedness to Mr. Firth is beyond words. ;

;

And finally it is almost needless to say how great has been the help which I have derived from the writings of Dr. S. R. Gardiner, whose name must ever be associated with Cromwell literature, and whose exhaustive researches have lightened the labours of all students of the Cromwell period. S.

LOMAS.

OLIVER CROMWELL'S LETTERS AND SPEECHES INTRODUCTION CHAPTER

ANTI-DRYASDUST

WHAT and how

great are the interests which connect themselves with the hope that England may yet attain to some practical belief and understanding of its History during the Seventeenth Century, need not be insisted on at present such hope being We have wandered far away still very distant, very uncertain. 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 It is with other feelings than those of poor therewith again peddling Dilettantism, other aims than the writing of successful or unsuccessful Publications, that an earnest man occupies himself The last in those dreary provinces of the dead and buried. glimpse of the Godlike vanishing from this England conviction and veracity giving place to hollow cant and formulism, antique ' Reign of God,' which all true men in their several dialects and modes have always striven for, giving place to modern Reign of the No-God, whom men name Devil this, in its multitudinous meanings and results, is a sight to create reflections in the earnest man One wishes there were a History of English Puritanism, the last of all our Heroisms but sees small prospect of such a ;

;

thing at present. VOL.

INTBODUCTION

2 '

Few

nobler Heroisms/ says a well-known Writer long occupied no nobler Heroism ever

this subject, 'at bottom perhaps transacted itself on this Earth ; and

it lies as good as lost to us overwhelmed under such an avalanche of Human Stupidities ' as no Heroism before ever did. Intrinsically and extrinsically ' Intrinsicit may be considered inaccessible to these generations. ' ally, the spiritual purport of it has become inconceivable, incred' ible to the modern mind. Extrinsically, the documents 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 ' unedited, unsorted, not so much as miles, as shot-rubbish ' indexed ; full of every conceivable confusion ; yielding light to ' very few yielding darkness, in several sorts, to very many. '

;

Dull Pedantry, conceited idle Dilettantism, prurient Stupidity is darkness and not light! There are 'in what shape soever, ' from Thirty to Fifty Thousand unread Pamphlets of the Civil ' War in the British Museum alone huge piles of mouldering 'wreck, wherein, at the rate of perhaps one pennyweight per 'ton, lie things memorable. They lie preserved there, waiting :

under present conditions they cannot, except for for dilettante excerpts and such like, be got ' The Rushworths, Whitlockes, Nalsons, Thurloes examined. ' 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 Not one of those monstrous old tumbling up the wagon 'volumes has so much as an available Index. It is the general If your editor correct the press, rule of editing on this matter. 'it is an honourable distinction to him. 'Those dreary old records, they were compiled at first by 'happier days

;

'idle purposes,

;

' '

Human

and in great part, by Human Stupidity was by Stupidity in a laudable diligent best which was something and, alas,

Insight, in part

but then

'withal;

;

and doing its they have been successively elaborated by Human Stupidity in ' the idle state, falling idler and idler, and only pretending to be ' diligent whereby now, for us, in these late days, they have ' To Dryasdust Printing-Societies, and grown very dim indeed ' such like, they afford a sorrowful kind of pabulum but for all ' serious purposes, they are as if non-extant 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

state,

;

ANTI-DKYASDUST

1 inarticulate slumberous mumblement, issuing as if from the lake 'of Eternal Sleep. Craving for oblivion, for abolition and honest ' silence, as a blessing in comparison ' This then/ continues our impatient friend, ' is the Elysium 1 we English have provided for our Heroes The Rushworthian ' Dreariest continent of shot-rubbish the eye ever saw. Elysium. ' Confusion piled on confusion to your utmost horizon's edge ' obscure, in lurid twilight as of the shadow of Death trackless, ' without index, without finger-post, or mark of any human fore' where your human footstep, if you are still human, echoes goer 1 bodeful through the gaunt solitude, peopled only by somnambu'lant Pedants, Dilettants, and doleful creatures, by Phantasms, !

;

'errors, inconceivabilities, '

griffins, ' '

by Nightmares, pasteboard Norroys,

wiverns, and chimeras dire

There,

all

vanquished, over-

whelmed under such waste lumber-mountains, the wreck and dead ashes of some six unbelieving generations, does the Age of Crom-

'well 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 memory. By way of sacred poet they have found 'voluminous Dryasdust, and his Collections and Philosophical '

Histories.

Dryasdust, who wishes merely to compile torpedo Histoof 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 ' O Dryglimpses, the faces of our vanished Fathers, it is death 'asdust, 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 '

ries

Even your

droning out these melancholy scepticisms, constitutional philosophies, torpedo narratives, you should have sifted those old stacks of pamphlet matter for us, and have had the metal grains

genius, had you been faithful, was adequate to that. 'Those thirty thousand or fifty thousand old Newspapers and 'Pamphlets of the King's Library, it is you, my voluminous friend, ' that should have sifted them, many long years ago. Instead of ' '

lying here accessible, and the dross-heaps lying there avoidable you had done the human 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,

INTRODUCTION

is fundamentally the cause and origin of that, spiritual notions, if any notion of ours may still decalled spiritual, are fatal to a right understanding of

and what indeed our

common

serve to be 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 in which fatal dwell alive with us, little doubting that it is Cant intermediate state the Eternal Sacredness 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, piti;

;

The old names and similitudes of belief still able, detestable. circulate from tongue to tongue, though now in such a ghastly not as commandments of the Living God, which we must do, or perish eternally alas, no, as something very different from that Here properly lies the grand unintelligibility of the Seventeenth Century for us. From this source has proceeded our maltreatment of it, our miseditings, mis writings, and all the other

condition

;

avalanche of

Human

friend complains,

Stupidity,' wherewith, as our impatient it to be overwhelmed.

we have allowed

Would to have allowed some other things to be overwhelmed Heaven that were the worst fruit we had gathered from our Unbelief and our Cant of Belief! Our impatient friend con!

tinues

have known Nations altogether destitute of printers-types ' and learned appliances, with nothing better than old songs, monu' mental stoneheaps and Quipothrums to keep record by, who ' Truer had truer memory of their memorable things than this '

memory,

say

'if indistinct,

for at least

and

all

awry

the voice of their Past Heroisms, as to dates

and

statistics,

was

still

melodious to those Nations. The body of it might be dead ' enough but the soul of it, partly harmonised, put in real accord' ance with the " Eternal Melodies," was alive to all hearts, and ' could not die. The memory of their ancient Brave Ones did not 'rise like a hideous huge leaden vapour, an amorphous emana1 tion of Chaos, like a petrifying Medusa Spectre, on those poor 1 Nations no, but like a Heaven's Apparition, which it was, it

;

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 meditated by and ' Is human Writing, then, the art of burying Heroisms, and by. still

ANTI-DBYASDUST '

highest Facts, in Chaos

;

so that

no man

template them without horror and

shall henceforth con-

and danger of locked-jaw ? What does Dryasdust consider that he was born 1 that paper and ink were made for ? for ' It is very notable, and leads to endless reflections, how the Greeks had their living Iliad, where we have such a deadly inde( The old Pantheon, home of all the gods, scribable Cromwelliad. ' has become a Peerage-Book, with black and white surplice-con' The Greeks had their troversies superadded, not unsuitably. ' Homers, Hesiods, where we have our Rymers, Rushworths, our aversion,

;

Very notable, I Norroys, Garter-Kings, and Bishops Cobweb. By the genius, wants and instincts and opportunities of the 1 one People, striving to keep themselves in mind of what was 1 memorable, there had fashioned itself, in the effort of successive ' centuries, a Homer s Iliad : by those of the other People, in suc'cessive centuries, a Collins s Peerage improved by Sir Egerton ' Have not By their Pantheons ye shall know them Brydges. ' we English a talent for silence ? Our very Speech and Print ed' Speech, such a force of torpor dwelling 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 no human soul shall henceforth ' recognise it for a Heroism, but all souls shall fly from it as ' from a chaotic Torpor, an Insanity 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 ' Norman William all the way, and earlier and to the English ' mind at this hour, the past History of England is little other 'than a dull dismal labyrinth, in which the English mind, if 'candid, will confess that it has found of knowable (meaning ' even conceivable}, of loveable, or memorable, next to nothing. ' As if we had done no brave thing at all in this Earth as if ' not Men but Nightmares had written of our History The 'English, one can discern withal, have been perhaps as brave 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 anywhen ' but, also, it must be owned, in Stupidity of Speech they have ' no fellow What can poor English Heroisms do in such case, ' but fall torpid into the domain of the Nightmares ? For of a As the Poet Schiller 'truth, Stupidity is strong, most strong. '

say.

;

INTRODUCTION

6 "

Against Stupidity the very gods fight un victorious." in it an opulence of murky stagnancy, an inexhausti' will baffle even the gods, which bility, a calm infinitude, which " ' will say calmly, Yes, try all your lightnings here see whether " e my dark belly cannot hold them

sings

There

;

" Mit der

Dummheit kampfen Gotter

Has our impatient as well as

friend forgotten that it that such is the case

Stupidity

selbst vergebens."

;

Destiny withal 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. !

;

down will find them in all stages of decay and preservation deep to the beginnings of the History of Man. Think where our Alphabetic Letters came from, where our Speech itself came from the Cookeries we live by, the Masonries we lodge under

You

;

You

will find fibrous roots of this day's Occurrences

among

the

dust of Cadmus and Trismegistus, of Tubalcain and Triptolemus the tap-roots of them are with Father Adam himself and the At bottom, there is no perfect History cinders of Eve's first fire there is none such conceivable. All past Centuries have rotted down, and gone confusedly dumb and quiet, even as that Seventeenth is now threatening to do. Histories are as perfect as the Historian is wise, and is For the leafy blossoming Present gifted with an eye and a soul Time springs from the whole Past, remembered and unrememberand truly the Art of History, able, so confusedly as we say 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 of the latter only Pedants and Dullards, and disastrous to us malefactors to the world, will find good to speak. By wise Without memory and by wise oblivion it lies all there When both oblivion oblivion, there is no remembrance possible. ;

;

ANTI-DRYASDUST

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 ' Alas, when sacred Priests are arguing about black and chiefly. and sacred Poets have long professedly deserted white surplices ' Truth, and gone a woolgathering after Ideals and such like, 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 Seventeenth that the grand unintelligibility for us lies there. The Fast-day Sermons of St. Margaret's Church Westminster, in In long rows of little spite of printers, are all grown dumb 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 harbour to them. Alas, and did not the honourable Houses of Parliament

and memory are :

;

listen to them with rapt earnestness, as to an indisputable message from Heaven itself? Learned and painful Dr. Owen, learned and painful Dr. Burgess Stephen Marshall, Mr. Spur;

stow, Adoniram Byfield, Hugh Peters, Philip Nye the Printer has done for them what he could, and Mr. Speaker gave them the thanks of the House and no most astonishing ReviewArticle, 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 speaking, do but screech and gibber !

;

spectral and instead of All Puritanism has grown ;

inarticulate ; its fervent preachings, prayings, pamphleteerings are sunk into one indiscriminate 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/ :

INTRODUCTION

and harmonise with them human Action, from the Eternal Melodies, sinks all silent. ;

Interest, if divorced The fashion of this

world passeth away.

The Age

not extinct only and gone away 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

from

us,

but

of the Puritans it is

as if fallen

understand not even in imagination, one of a what it ever could have meant. It seems the sound of it has become tedious as a tale delirious, delusive Not the body of heroic Puritanism only, of past stupidities. 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 and Lion of the passed away. As Harrison said of his Banner, " 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 remains ' Here, of our own land and part of the eternal soul of things ' in lineage, practical English shape, were Heroes on the Earth ' once more. Who knew in every fibre, and with 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 Heroisms and Veracities 'that have been, or that will be. Perhaps it was among the 'nobler and noblest Human Heroisms, 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 dehearts.

thousand of

us,

;

is mere horror and terror to the Pedant species everywhere which, like the owl in any 'sudden brightness, has to shut its eyes, or hastily procure 'smoked-spectacles on an improved principle. Heaven's bright'ness would be intolerable otherwise. Only your eagle dares look direct into the fire-radiance only your Schiller climbs 'aloft "to discover whence the lightning is coming." "Godlike '

structive to pestilential Mud-giants,

;

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. Godless men love it not shriek murder when ' they see it ; shutting their eyes, and hastily procuring smoked' '

;

spectacles. 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 inarticulate '

ANTI-DEYASDUST '

Cubbish-continent, in

wrecks and pale shadows

its

ghastly ;

what

dim is it,

twilight, with its

haggard

common Kingdom mouldering dumb

but the

of Death ? This is what we call Death, this Behold here the final evaneswilderness of things once alive. ' cence of Formed human things they had form, but they are ' ancient human speech itself changing into sheer formlessness ' This is the collapse, has sunk into unintelligible maundering. ' the etiolation of human features into mouldy blank dissolu'

;

' '

tion ; progress towards utter silence and disappearance ; disashas the trous ever-deepening Dusk of Gods and Men living ventured thither, down from the cheerful light, across the

Why

' ' ' '

Lethe-swamps and Tartarean Phlegethons, onwards to these Some Destiny baleful halls of Dis and the three-headed Dog ? It is his sins, I suppose drives him. 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 Our impatient friend seems Past Time is no easy enterprise. We can well believe him, there needs pious really getting sad love in any ' Orpheus that will risk descending to the Gloomy Halls descending, it may be, and fronting Cerberus and Dis, to no purpose For it oftenest proves so nay, as the Mythologists would teach us, always. Here is another Mythus. Balder the white Sungod, say our Norse Skalds, Balder, beautiful as the summer-dawn, loved of Gods and men, was dead. His Brother Hermoder, urged by his Mother's tears and the tears of the He rode through gloomy Universe, went forth to seek him. winding valleys, of a dismal leaden colour, full of howling winds and subterranean torrents nine days ; ever deeper, down towards Hela's Death-realm at Lonesome Bridge, which, with its gold gate, spans the River of Moaning, he found the Portress, an ancient woman, called Modgudr, ' the Vexer of Minds/ keeping watch as usual Modgudr answered him, " Yes, Balder passed he is down yonder, far, still far this way ; but he is not here to the North, within Hela's Gates yonder." Hermoder rode on, ( still dauntless, on his horse, named or ' Mane of Swiftness 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 mournfully a ' still adieu to her Nanna, Balder 's Wife, sent a thimble !

;

INTRODUCTION

Is not mother as a memorial Balder never could return this an emblem ? Old Portress Modgudr, I take it, is Dryasdust a most unlovely beldame, the in Norse petticoat and hood ' Vexer of Minds :

;

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

CHAPTER

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 This is a thing that possible elucidation, to ingenuous readers. can be done ; and after some reflection, it has appeared worth No great thing one other dull Book added to the doing. thousand, dull everyone of them, which have been issued on ;

But situated as we are, new Dulness is unhappily readers do not reascend out of deep confusions without some trouble as they climb. These authentic utterances of the man Oliver himself I

this subject

inevitable

;

have gathered them from far and near fished them up from I have the foul Lethean quagmires where they lay buried washed, or endeavoured to wash them clean from foreign stupidities (such a job of buck washing as I do not long to repeat) and the world shall now see them in their own shape. ;

;

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 memorable, 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

Working

;

BIOGRAPHIES OF OLIVER

And then farther, altogether contrary to the popular it. fancy, it becomes apparent that this Oliver was not a man of falsehoods, but a man of truths ; whose words do carry a meaning

for

with them, and above all others of that time are worth conHis words, and still more his silences, and unconsidering. scious 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 Aifairs he worked in, is much the reverse of that mad jumble of ' hypoc. &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

crisies/

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 Cromwell

world

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 business had begun On the whole, we will again at the heart of it to be luminous start with this small service, the Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell washed into something of legibility 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 environment 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 Cromwell, after what was so emphatically said above on the general subject, would profit us ,but little. Criticism of these poor Books cannot !

INTRODUCTION

They far surpass express itself except in language that is painful. 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 Biographies of Cromwell ; x all of which and some more I have examined but cannot advise any other man to examine. There are several laudatory, worth nothing ; which ceased to be read when Charles The vituperative are II. came back, and the tables were turned. fountain indeed of chief of them the the but all, origin many all the foolish lies that have circulated about Oliver since, is the '

;

mournful brown little Book called Flagellum, or the Life and Death of 0. 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

When

restored potentates and high dignitaries corpses, and flung them in 'a heap in St. Margaret's Churchyard/ 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 themfancy.

had dug up above a hundred buried '

;

selves, the

dead clay of Oliver, of Ireton, and Bradshaw

when

;

high dignitaries and potentates 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 Catrion 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 ' who in soul to be the image of the Devil, and acts accordingly ' who fact has no soul, except what saves him the expense of salt ' which seems hard intrinsically is Carrion and not Humanity measure to poor James Heath. ' He was the son of the King's ' ' Cutler/ says Wood, and wrote pamphlets/ the best he was able, has He become a dreadfully dull individual, in man. poor Another wretched old Book of his, called addition to all! ;

;

Chronicle of the Civil Wars, bears a high price in the Dilettante Sale -catalogues and has, as that Flagellum too has, here and there a credible trait not met with elsewhere but in fact, to the ingenuous inquirer, this too is little other than a tenebrific Book ; ;

Noble's Cromwell, i. 294-300. His list not worth completing or rectifying. 2 The First Edition seems to be of 1663.

very inaccurate and incomplete, but

BIOGEAPHIES OF OLIVEE

cannot be read except with sorrow, with torpor and disgust, and you be of healthy memory, with oblivion. The latter From end of Heath has been worse than the beginning was him, and his Flagellums and scandalous Human Platitudes, let no rational soul seek knowledge. Among modern Biographies, the great original is that of Mark Noble above cited * 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 such like he is learned in parish-registers and genealogies, has conin fine, if

;

sulted pedigrees ' measuring eight feet by two feet four ; goes in fact, has amassed a large heap of evimuch upon heraldry dences 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 a man of extreme imbecility his judgment, for most part, seeming to lie dead asleep and indeed it is worth little when broadest ;

;

falls into manifold mistakes, commits and omits in plods along contented, in an element of perennial dimness, purblindness has occasionally a helpless broad innocence of platitude which is almost interesting. A man indeed of extreme 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 Biographical Dictionary, wanting the alphabetical, or any other,

awake. all

ways

;

arrangement or index which latter want, much more remediable 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 Biographies 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, rectificain a sorrowful, but not entirely unprofitable tions, execrations, manner. Another Book of Noble's, called Lives of the Regicides, written some years afterwards, during the French Jacobin time, :

;

1 Memoirs of the Protectoral House of Cromwell. By the Rev. Mark Noble. 2 London, 1787.

vols.

INTRODUCTION

is of much more stupid character nearly meaningless 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 considered questionable. For the rest, this poor Noble is of very impartial mind respecting 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 in 1663. ;

;

For, in spite of the stupor of Histories, it is beautiful, once more, to see how the Memory of Cromwell, in its huge inarticulate 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 from the day when high dignitaries and pamphleteers of the Carrion species did their ever-memorable feat at Tyburn, onwards to this day, the progress does not stop. In 1698, 1 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 handfast, honest, dull and indeed 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. 2 The Letter of 'John Maidston to Governor Winthrop,' Winthrop Governor of Connecticut, a Suffolk man, of much American but did not come into print till 174-2, is dated 1659 celebrity, 3 Maidston had been an along with Thurloe's other Papers. 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 1 if

visibly a

;

man

of honest affections, of piety,

but in Somers Tracts (London, 1811), vi. 416, Poor Noble (i. 297) gives the same date, and then

So dated

needful.

As his manner is line, subjoins a fact inconsistent with it. 2 Short Critical Review of the Life of Oliver Cromwell. Middle Temple. 3

Thurloe,

London, 1739. and correct Noble, 763-8 ;

94.

liable to correction placidly, in the next

By a Gentleman

of the

BIOGRAPHIES OF OLIVER

decorum, and good sense. Whose loyalty to Oliver is of a genuine and altogether manful nature, mostly silent, as we can His Letter gives some really lucid traits of those dark discern. things and times especially a short portraiture of the Protector ;

himself, which, the more you know him, you ascertain the more Another Officer of Oliver's Household, not to to be a likeness. be confounded with this Maidston, but a man of similar position similar moral character to Maidston's ; a ' Groom of the Bedchamber,' whose name one at length dimly discovers to be

and

Harvey,

not quite

listening to

unknown

this matter.

otherwise

He,

;

in 1659, a

also well worth few months before

Maidston wrote, had published a credible and still interesting Pamphlet, Passages concerning his late Highness s last Sickness ; In these to which, if space permit, we shall elsewhere refer. two little off-hand bits of writing, by two persons qualified to write and witness, there is a clear credibility for the reader and more insight obtainable as to Oliver and his ways than in any of little

;

the express Biographies. That anonymous Life of Cromwell, which Noble very ignorantly ascribes to Bishop Gibson, which is written in a neutral spirit, as an impartial statement of facts, but not without a secret decided It is the Life of Cromwell leaning to Cromwell, came out in 1724.

found commonly in Libraries 2 it went through several editions in a pure state and I have seen a ' fifth edition with foreign ' intermixtures, printed at Birmingham in 1778,' 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. 3 He has diligently gathered from old Newspapers and other such sources narrates in a dull, steady, concise, but altogether unintelligent manner can be read without offence, but hardly with any real instruction. Image of Cromwell's self there is none, express or implied, in this Book for the man himself had none, and did :

;

1 The Cofferer,' elsewhere called Steward of the Household, is Mr. Maidston :' Gentlemen of the Bedchamber, Mr. Charles Harvey, Mr. Underwood.' Prestvi\c}\'s Funeral of the Protector (reprinted in Forster's British Statesmen, v. 436, &c. 2 The Life of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Common-wealth. ImpartiLondon, 1724. Distinguished also by a not intolerable ally collected, &c. '

)

Portrait. 3 [It is, however, quite possible that the Gibson family may have assisted in compiling the book, for Bishop Gibson's uncle and patron, Dr. Thomas Gibson (a distinguished physician and a dissenter) married Richard Cromwell's daughter,

Anna. 1

INTRODUCTION

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 As a crown to all dig where you please, water will come the modern Biographies of Cromwell, let us note Mr. Forster's late one l full of interesting original excerpts, and indications of what is notablest in the old Books gathered and set forth with real merit, with energy in abundance and superabundance amounting in result, we 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 see him darkly face to face. What little is otherwise ascertainable, cleared from the circum:

;

ambient inanity and insanity, may be 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 Commonwealth of England, was born at Huntingdon, in St. John's Parish there, on the 25th of April 1 599- Christened on the 29th of the same month ; as the old Parish-registers of that Church still legibly 2

testify.

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 Elizabeth 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 ;

;

and 2

Statesmen of'the Commonwealth. v.

Noble,

92.

By John

Forster (London, 1840).

Vols.

iv.

THE CROMWELL KINDEED

Thomas Steward, Knight,

in due time succeeded him, resident Elizabeth was a young widow when Robert Cromwell married her the first marriage, to one ' William 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 1589. 1 The exact date of the young widow's marriage to Robert Cromwell is nowhere given but seems to have been in 1591. 2 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 I only son. may as well print the little Note, smelted long ago out of huge dross-heaps in Noble's Book, that the reader too 3 may have his small benefit of it. This Elizabeth Steward, who had now become Mrs. Robert ' 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 descendants, Robert Steward, happened to be Prior of Ely when Henry VIII. also at Ely.

;

Noble,

ii.

198,

and MS. penes me.

Ibid.,

88.

OLIVER CROMWELL'S BROTHERS AND SISTERS Mother had been a widow (Mrs. Lynne of Bassingbourne) before marry3

Oliver's

ing Robert Cromwell neither her age nor his is discoverable here. 1. First child (seemingly), Joan, baptised 24th September 1592 she died in 1600 ;

;

(Noble, 2.

Ely.

88).

died unmarried, thinks Noble, in 1672, at 1/j.th October 1593 See Appendix, No. 20, a Letter in regard to her, which has turned up.

Elizabeth,

;

(Note 0/1857)." '

Henry, 3151 August 1595 died young, before 1617." married to Whitstone, a Parliamentary Catherine, 7th February 1596-7 ;

;

Officer

;

then to Colonel [John] Jones.

OLIVER, born 25th April 1599. she became Mrs. Wauton, or Walton, Margaret, 22d February 1600-1 Huntingdonshire her son was killed at Marston Moor, as we shall see. Mrs. Sewster, Huntingdonshire died ist Novem7. Anna, 2d January 1602-3 ber 1646 her Brother Oliver had just ended the first Civil War then. 8. Jane, igth January 1605-6 Mrs. Desborow, Cambridgeshire &&&, seemingly, 5. 6.

;

in 1656. 9. Robert, i8th 10. Robina, so

January 1608-9

named

;

died

same

April.

above Robert uncertain date became Mrs. Dr. French then wife of Bishop Wilkins her daughter by French, her one child, was married to Archbishop Tillotson. :

;

VOL.

for the

INTRODUCTION

and proving pliant on that occasion, 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 and explain in intricate tables, is no doubt of this pedigree how Elizabeth Steward, Mother of Oliver Cromwell, was indubitably either the ninth, or the tenth, or some other fractional 1 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 Cromwell's Acre,' if not in other names applied to lands and messuages there, some feeble echo of him and his possessions still survives, or seems to These lands he himself farmed the income in all is survive. guessed or computed to have been about 300/. a year a tolerable fortune in those times; perhaps somewhat like 1000/. 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 Huntstill stands pretty much as Oliver Cromwell's Grandingdon father left it rather kept good and defended from the inroads Several Porof Time and Accident, than substantially altered. traits of the Cromwells, and other interesting portraits and memorials of the seventeenth and subsequent centuries, are still The Cromwell blazonry ' on the great bay window,' which there. dissolved the Monasteries

Robert Steward,

;

last

;

[This theory, however, has been entirely refuted by Mr. Walter Rye, who shows Cromwell was descended from an old Norfolk family, originally named

that Mrs.

Styward.

See The Genealogist, 1885,

p. 34.]

THE CROMWELL KINDRED Noble makes so much

of, is

now

given place to Montague blazonry with that any more.

gone, destroyed by fire has and no dull man can bore us ;

;

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 conThe two churches of All-Saints tracting again soon terminates. 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; Godmanchester, just across the river, The country to the East is all Fen already stands on black bog. (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 fringed with wood, and bearing marks of comfortable long-continued 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 ;

;

Drunken Barnabee, who travelled, and drank, and years. made Latin rhymes, in that country about 1635, through whose

young

glistening satyr-eyes one can still discern this and the other feature of the Past, 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\ ubi Ut Ixion captus nube, Sic, etc.

And he adds

in a Note, Quercus anilis

Stirpe

in his

erat,

tamen eminus oppida spectat ;

viam monstrat, plumea fronde

own English An aged Oak

version, takes of this

Finds birds their nests, 1

tegit ;

Town

tells

survey,

1 passengers their way.

Barnabee Itinerarium (London, 1818),

p. 96.

INTRODUCTION

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 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 offering a convenience for malting or court-yard of the place, Some vague but confident tradibrewing, among other things. tion as to Brewing attaches itself to this locality and traces of evidence, I understand, exist that before Robert Cromwell's time, but of this or even of Robert it had been employed as a Brewery Cromwell's own brewing, there is, 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 inThomas Harrison, for example, is always called secure as guides s 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 and whoever figures to himself a of a Blacksmith at Putney ; man in black apron with hammer in hand, and tries to rhyme this with the rest of Thomas Cromwell's history, will find that ' The splenetic credulity here too he has got into an insolubility. 'and incredulity, the calumnious opacity, the exaggerative ill' nature and general flunkeyism and stupidity of mankind/ says ' my Author, are ever to be largely allowed for in such circumWe will leave Robert Cromwell's brewing in a very stances.' unilluminated state. Uncontradicted Tradition, and old printed Royalist Lampoons, 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 The essential trade of Robert Cromwell was that of Tradition.

and

all his

;

THE CROMWELL KINDEED

managing those lands of his in the vicinity of Huntingdon the them would have to be duly harvested, thrashed, brought to market whether it was as corn or as malt that it came to :

grain of

;

market, can remain indifferent to us. For the rest, as documents still testify, this Robert Cromwell did Burgh and Quarter-Session duties was not slack but moderately active as a country-gentleman sat once in Parliament in his younger years l 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 possibility 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 flunkeyism, Better than all falsity and other carrion ought to be buried social rank, he is understood to have been a wise, devout, stedfast and worthy man, and to have lived a modest and manful ;

;

in his station there.

life

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 Shipmoney Lawyer, the political dark -lantern,' as men used to name him of whom we shall hear farther. Another 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. 2 Of our Oliver's Aunts one was ;

;

3510 Eliz.

Feb.

April 1593 (Noble, 2

;

from

Willis).

OLIVER'S UNCLES.

i. Sir Oliver of Hinchinbrook his eldest son John, born in 1589 (trn years 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 midnight interview with Oliver, in- the end of 1648, for the purpose of buying off to have laid his hand on his sword,' &c. Charles I. c. The story is in Noble, i. with no authority but that of Carrion Heath. Other sons of his were soldiers, 51 Royalists these there are various Cousin Cromwells that confusedly turn up on both sides of the quarrel. [Sir Oliver's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was the only one of his children who contributed towards the group of cousins by whom Oliver was surrounded. She married Sir Richard Ingoldsby, and their son was the Col. :

;

INTRODUCTION

Mrs. Hampden of Great Hampden, Bucks an opulent, zealous person, 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 " Dick Ingoldsby"

whom

Richard Cromwell declared he would trust although he could neither pray nor preach.] Robert Cromwell, our Oliver's Father, was the next brother of the Hinchinbrook Knight. The third Brother, second uncle, was adventurer in the Virginia 2. Henry Cromwell, of Upwood near Ramsey Mere Company: sat in Parliament 1603-1611 one of his daughters Mrs. St. John. Died 1630 (Noble, i. 28). buys in 1607' a bit of ground in Huntingdon died at Ramsey,' 3. Richard Lived in Ramsey? 1628 was member for Huntingdon in Queen Elizabeth's time Is buried at Upwood. at Sir Whitehall, House; 1604 (Noble, i. 31). His 4. Philip Biggin knighted second son, Philip [Richard], was in Col. Ingoldsby's regiment wounded at the storm of Bristol, in 1645. Third son, Thomas, was in Ireland with Strafford (signs Montbecame Major, lived afterwards in London norris's death-warrant there, in 1630) and then Colonel, in the King's Army. Fourth son, Oliver, was in the Parliamenhad the in the Isle of went with his cousin, our watched Wight, tary Army King

Ingoldsby before

all

the rest of his officers

;

Oliver, to Ireland in 1649, an^ died or was killed there. [This Oliver Major is noteworthy from the fact that Oliver, of Sir Thos. Morgan's regiment of foot that care has to be taken his signature is so much like that of his renowned cousin Like many other officers, he was encouraged to make to distinguish between them. "discoveries" of Papists' and Delinquents' estates, and allowed half the proceeds towards his arrears. See his Petition and Information to the Committee for He Advance of Money, pp. 1028, 1030, in the Calendar of that Committee. died before Waterford, of a fever, in October 1649, and his death is referred to in the Lord General's letter of igth Dec. (No. cxvii.)] Fifth son, Robert, poisoned if there be truth in Heath's his Master, an Attorney, and was hanged at London,' '

year not given say about 1635, 35) and some Pedigrees 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'sIndependency lampoon ; and consider it very possible that a Robert Cromwell having suffered for poisoning an Attorney,' he may have been called the cousin of But of course anybody can poison an Cromwell by Heath and some Pedigrees. Attorney,' and be hanged for it [Robert Cromwell was certainly accused of own relatives say about it. This is what his the Attorney. poisoning cousin, Robert Cromwell, son to Sir Philip, bound with an Attorney, is (upon his master's death) imprisoned and questioned for poisoning of him, which we hope he will be clear from in the close." (Sir Thos. Barrington to his mother, April, 1632. " Yesterday Barrington MSS. at the British Museum, Egerton MS. 2646, f. 17). your cousin Cromwell's trial was heard. The probabilities are foul, but he is likely to find great friends." (Judith Barrington to the same, Tuesday, Whitsun Week, 1632. cousin Cromwell, condemned, is reprieved, and generally Ibid., fol. 30). reputed a guiltless poor youth, and this evening my Lord of Holland endeavours and his farther reprieve pardon." (Sir Thomas to the same, May 25, 1632. Ibid., fol. 35). From which it maybe hoped that he did not poison the Attorney after all.] [Amongst the Barrington MSS. are also letters from Sir Oliver and Henry Cromwell to their sister, Lady Barrington, in relation to the death of their brother He was buried on the 28th, at Philip, which took place on January 24, 1627-8. '

Flagellum

(Noble,

;

"My

" He led a "He hath left behind religious life," writes his brother Henry Ramsey. him many children with small means too/, apiece will be the uttermost can be :

;

THE CROMWELL KINDEED

another to the ' heir of the Dunches of Pusey, in Berkanother to In short the stories of Oliver's poverty/ if they were otherwise of any amount, 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 Of the in the counties round, for three generations back. '

Notts

;

shire

;

numerous and now mostly forgettable cousinry we specify farther 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 mentioned above ; the Malleus Monachorum, or, as old Fuller renders it, ' Mauler of The same old Fuller, a Monasteries,' in Henry Eighth's time. '

perfectly veracious and most intelligent person, does indeed re' port as of his own knowledge,' that Oliver Protector, once upon a time when Bishop Goodman came dedicating to him some unreadable semi-popish jargon about the ' mystery of the Holy ' Trinity,' and some adulation about his Lordship's relationship of the Church/ and Mauler of to the former great Purifier " Monasteries, answered impatiently, My family has no relation "

for them out of his estate (Egerton MS. 2645, fol. 138). In 1630 are other letters from Sir Oliver and Henry, the former speaking of himself as grown His second wife, Anne, had died in 1626.] a wife. old and being a poor man without Oliver's Aunt Elizabeth was married to William Hampden of Great Hampden, Bucks (year not given, Noble, i. 36, nor at p. 68 of vol. ii. nor in Lord Nugent's Memorials of Hampden} he died in 1597 she survived him 67 years, continuing

wrought

;

a widow (Noble,

had two

sons,

ii.

69).

;

Buried in Great

John and Richard

died in 1659 (Noble,

ii.

Hampden Church,

John, born 1594,

1664,

aged

She

90.

Richard, an Oliverian too,

70). '

Aunt Joan (elder than Elizabeth) was Lady Barrington [wife of Sir Francis " The Joan Barrington branch (of the Barrington, of Barrington Hall, Essex. Mashams and Cromwell family) including Barringtons, Gerrards, Bourchier, could muster, in about the fourth year of the Long Parliament, no less than seven memSir Thomas Barrington the Protector's first cousin Sir John Barbers, namely Sir rington, young Gerrard and young Masham, his first cousins once removed Gilbert Gerrard and Sir William Masham, who had married his first cousins, and " Mr. Sir Bourchier. See article on Oliver Cromwell's Stanley Weyman's John lastly Kinsfolk," English Historical Review, January, 1891.] Aunt Frances (younger) was Mrs. Whalley. Richard Whalley of Kerton, Notts a man of mark sheriff, &c. 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- Advocate wretched biographies of these two are in Noble, pp. 141, 143-56. Colonel Whalley and Colonel lived in caves there, and had Goff, after the Restoration, fled to New England a sore time of it New England, in a vague manner, still remembers them. Enough of the Cousinry '

;

INTEODUCTION

24 "

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, 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 1 I infer therefore that Long Parliament, was busy enough Oliver said to him impatiently, without untruth, " You are quite " and that old Fuller, likewrong as to all that good morning wise without untruth, reports it as above. to his

;

is other very simple evidence entirely 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 are 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 bounden Nephew/ an evidence sufficient to set the point at rest. Copies of the Letters 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 z it is original misspelling and confused obscurity, in Noble dated ' Stamford/ without day or year but the context farther dates it as contemporary with the Lincolnshire Rebellion, or

But, at any rate, there

conclusive.

;

1 The date of Goodman's Book is 25th June 1653 here is the correct title of The two great Mysteries of Christian (King's Pamphlets, small 4to, no. 73, i) Religion the Ineffable Trinity and Wonderful Incarnation by G. G. G. (meanUnfortunate persons who have read Laud's ing Godfrey Goodman, Glocestrensis). writings are acquainted with this Bishop Goodman, or Badman he died a declared Poor man, his speculations, now become jargon to us, were once very Papist. serious and eloquent to him Such is the fate that soon overtakes all men who, Eternal Melodies,' take up their abode in the outer Temporary quitting the and seek their subsistence This is the part of the Dedication that there Discords, 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 'GODFREE GOOD'(your Lordship's great uncle) was then in great favour,' &c. ;

;

MAN.' 2

242.

THE CROMWELL KINDRED

Anti-Reformation riot, which was directly followed by the more formidable ' Pilgrimage of Grace in Yorkshire to the like effect, in the autumn of 1536. 1 Richard, in company with other higher official persons, represents himself as straining every nerve to beat down and extinguish this traitorous fanatic flame, kindled against the King's Majesty and his Reform of the Church has '

;

an eye shire,

in particular to a certain Sir John Thymbleby in Lincolnhe would fain capture as a ringleader ; suggests that

whom

the use of arms should be prohibited to these treasonous populaand seems hastening on, with tions, except under conditions almost furious speed towards Yorkshire and the Pilgrimage of 2 The second Letter, also without Grace, we may conjecture. date except ' Tuesday,' 3 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 straightway 'home/ and will report 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 ' Robert Steward, last acquaintance of ours, the Prior of Ely/ 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 especially as it is very short progress to

;

" To "

my Lord

me most humbly commended unto your Lordship. I 4 and the next mornSunday to Cambridge to my bed

I have " rode on

Cromwell.

Herbert

(in

;

Kennet,

ii. 204-5). in the Harley

MSS. It is clearly written (vol. 283, f. 156). " obscurity about it is that a good many contractions are employed, but they are used quite regularly. From its connexion with other letters of the same period, it must have been written on October 14, 1536. Sir John " Thimbleby did not need capturing, as he had come in" a day or two before.] 2

[This

first letter is

in a clerk's

hand, and the only

3 [It is dated Tuesday, i5th October, which fixes it to 1538, and it is calendared by Dr. Gairdner under this date. There are many letters from Richard Cromwell to his uncle at the Public Record Office. In one, written in May of this same year, he tells how the King went to Hunsdon to see his little son, " and there solaced all this day with much mirth and joy, dallying with him in his arms a long space, and so holding him in a window for the sight and great comfort of all the people " {Letters and Papers of Henry VIII., vol. xiii., pt. i., p. 373).] 4 From London, we suppose.

INTRODUCTION

" ing was up betimes, supposing 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.' 1 At which time, I opened " your pleasure unto them in everything. Your Lordship, I think, " shall shortly apperceive the Prior of Ely to be of a froward sort, 2 " as, at our coming home, shall be at large by evident tokens "related unto you. "At the making hereof we had done nothing at Ramsey " saving that over night I communed with the Abbot whom I " found comformable to everything as shall be at this time put "in ure. 3 According as your Lordship's will is, as soon as we " have done at Ramsey, we go to Peterborough, and from thence "to my house; and so home. 4 The which, I trust, shall be at " the farthest on this day come seven days. " Thus the Blessed Trinity preserve your Lordship's health. :

;

" Your Lordship's most bounden Nephew, " RICHARD CRUMWELL.

From Ramsey, on Tuesday

in the

morning

;

being the i5th of October."

other Letter is still more express as to the consanguinity ' 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 kindness bindeth, 6 ' 'As Nature bindeth.' I beseech God I no longer live.' a bow to the very with thanks then Cromwell Richard him, had some kind rememhas who for wyef,' .'my poore ground, ' brance from his Lordship thinks all his travail but a pastime and remains, ' at Stamford this Saturday at eleven of the clock,

The

;

it says,

;

within single commas, 'they 'and 'there,' are added for bringing a plan we shall follow in all the Original Letters of this Collection. 2 He proved tameable, Sir Richard, and made your Great-grandson rich, for one consequence of that " 3 brought to legal black [Carlyle printed "act" and explained it as meaning and white," but the original has "put in ure," an old phrase meaning taken in in his mistakes other There were in or transcript of the letter, hand, put practice. which is here printed from the original. ] 1

The words

out the sense

;

To London. *MSS. Cotton.

Cleopatra E. IV. f. 235. The envelope and address are not here but this docket of address, given in a sixteenth-century hand, and otherwise The signature alone, is in Richard's hand. indicated by the text, is not doubtful. In the Letter printed by Noble the address remains in the hand of Richard's clerk. 6 [This is not a verbatim quotation. Carlyle has improved Cromwell's grammar ;

little.]

THE CROMWELL KINDRED

' your humble Nephew most bounden/ as in the other case. A vehement, swift-riding man! Nephew, it has been suggested, did not mean in Henry the Eighth's time so strictly as it now does

brother's or sister's son

;

meant nepos

but on

rather, or

hypotheses of

kinsman of a

meaning, the consanguinity of Oliver Protector of England and Thomas Mauler of Monasteries is not henceforth to be doubted. 1

younger generation

all

its

Another indubitable thing is, That this Richard, your Nephew most bounden, has signed himself in various Lawdeeds and Notarial ' also that papers still Jextant, Richard Cromwell alias Williams his sons and grandsons continued to sign Cromwell alias Williams and even that our Oliver himself in his youth has been known to And then a third indubitable thing on this matter is, sign so. 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, ' Commotes 2 in '

;

Glamorganshire ' Kibworth lieth/ extendeth, ' from the mouth of Remny up to '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. 3 On the south side of this Hill was born Richard ' Williams alias Cromwell, in the Parish Llanilsen.' 4 That Richard Cromwell, then, was of kindred to Thomas Cromwell that he, and his family after him, signed ' alias Williams ; '

;

1 [He was his nephew, son of his sister Katherine, who married Morgan This son, Richard, took his mother's name, and Williams, brewer, of Putney. entered the service of Henry VIII. In 1538, the priory of Hinchinbrook was bestowed on him, and in 1540 the site and part of the possessions of Ramsey Abbey.]

2 Commote is the Welsh word Cwmwd, now obsolete as an official division, Kibworth Commote is now Kibbor Hundred. equivalent to cant red, hundred. 3 Egglis Newith' is Eglwys Newydd, New Church, as the Welsh peasants still name it, though officially it is now called White Church. River Thave means The description of the wall-like Hill between two streams, Taff and Remny, Taff. is recognisably correct Kevenon, spelt Cevn-on, Ash-tree ridge,' is still the name of the Hill. 4 Noble, i. 238, collated with Leland (Oxford, 1769), iv. fol. 56, pp. 37, 38. Leland gathered his records in six years, between 1533 and 1540 he died, endeavouring to assort them, in 1552. They were long afterwards published by '

;

Hearne.

INTRODUCTION

and that Leland, an accurate man, said and printed, in the official scene where Richard himself was living and conspicuous, 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 l or from Morgan Williams general Williamses of Berkshire/ 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 but finds Letter, hoping to breakfast with a Williams at Ely, 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 Powys (prior or ' posterior to the Deluge), though written on a parchment eight

by two feet four, bearing date 1 602, and belonging to the Miss Crom wells of Hampstead/ 2 are highly unsatisfactory to the ingenuous mind We have to remark two things First, that the Welsh Pedigree, with its seventy shields and ample extent of sheepskin, bears date London, 1602 was not put together, therefore, till about a hundred years after the birth of Richard, and at a great distance from the scene of that event circumstances which affect the unheraldic mind with some mis' givings. Secondly, that learned Dugdale/ upon whom mainly, from Welsh sheepskins, the story of this these uncertain apart Welsh descent of the Cromwells seems to rest, has unfortunately as being, and then also stated the matter in two different ways, as not being, in two places of his learned Lumber-Book. 3 Which circumstance affects the unheraldic mind with still fataller and in fact raises irrepressibly the question and misgivings, " 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 posterior to Noah's Deluge, hover between us and the utter " Void lying basing himself on a dust-chaos of ruined heraldries, " " genealogies, and saltires cheeky, the best he can '

feet

;

Biographia Britannica (London, 1789), iv. 474. Noble, i. i. [But the pedigree, attested by York Herald,

more 3

very valuable for

historic times.]

374, 393. [Carlyle has overlooked the fact that in the Dugdale's Baronage, second notice, Dugdale is speaking of another branch of the family.] ii.

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

The small Hamlet and Parish Church of Cromwell, or Crumwell (the Well of Crum, 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 From this, without any ghost to divine service every Sunday. teach us, we can understand that the Cromwell kindred all got in very old times indeed. their name, From torpedo rubbishrecords 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 seat at Tattershall in Lincolnshire ; that there were Cromwells of distinction, and of no distinction, scattered in reasonable abundance over that FenCromwells Sheriffs of their Counties there in Richard's country, own time. 1 The Putney Blacksmith, Father of the Malleus, or Hammer that smote Monasteries 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 Richard, also sprung of the by metallurgy in London here. 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 ; a man vehemently galloping to and fro, in that sixteenth century ; tourneying successfully before King Harry, 2 who loved a man quickening the death-agonies of Monasteries ; ;

;

and fated, he also, to produce growing great on their spoil another Malleus Cromwell that smote a thing or two. And so we will leave this matter of the Birth and Genealogy. ;

CHAPTER

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

THE few

ascertained, or clearly imaginable, Events in Oliver's for our present purpose, in

Biography may as well be arranged, the form of annals. 1

Fuller's Worthies, Cambridgeshire, &c. Stowe's Chronicle (London, 1631), p. 580; Stowe's Survey, Holinshed, &c.

INTRODUCTION

1603 Early in January of this year, the old Grandfather, Sir Henry, the Golden Knight/ at Hinchinbrook, died l our Oliver, not quite four years old, saw funerealia 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 exhibiwhich must have been a grand treat for little Oliver. tions 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 Royston, on Friday forenoon. 2 The Cambridge Doctors brought him an Address while here Uncle Oliver, besides the ruinously splendid ;

;

entertainments, gave him hounds, horses and astonishing gifts at In return there were Knights created, Sir Oliver his departure. 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 manufactured next year was Thomas Steward of Ely, henceforth Sir Thomas, Mrs. Robert Hinchinbrook got Cromwell's Brother, our Oliver's Uncle. 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 Biographer whom the others have copied, introduced various tales into these early years of Oliver of his being run away with by an ape along the leads of Hinchinbrook, and England being all of his but delivered from him, had the Fates so ordered it seeing prophetic spectres of his robbing orchards, and fighting tyrannously with boys ; of his acting in School Plays of his &c. The whole of which, grounded on ' Human Stupidity and &c. ;

;

1 Poor Noble, unequal sometimes to the copying of a Parish-register, with his judgment asleep, dates this event 1603-4 ( at P- 2O v l- *)> anc* then placidly (at p.

[Noble's dates are as a rule very accurate, 40) states a fact inconsistent therewith. but his book, like many of that day, has a good many misprints. Carlyle himself has one here, for the reference should be p. 22.] 3 Stowe's Chronicle, 812, &c.

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

Carrion Heath alone, begs us to give it Christian burial once for Oliver attended the Public School of Huntingdon, which was then conducted by a worthy Dr. Beard, of whose writing I 1 possess a Book, of whom we shall hear again he learned, to well, what the sons of other gentlemen moderately appearance were taught in such places went through the universal destinies which conduct all men from childhood to youth, in a way not an authentic record. Readers particularised in any one point by of lively imagination can follow him on his bird-nesting expedi' Barnabee's big Tree/ and elsewhither, if tions, to the top of on his fen-fowling expeditions, social sports and they choose 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 all.

;

and very religious, as He had two sisters elder, and persons then were. Readers gradually four younger the only boy among seven. must fancy his growth there, in the North end of Huntingdon, in the beginning of the Seventeenth Century, as they can. In January 1 603-4, 2 was held at Hampton Court a kind of specified, rigorous yet affectionate persons,

all rational

;

1 The Theatre of God's Judgments: By Thomas Beard, Doctor of Divinity, and Preacher of the Word of God in the Town of Huntingdon Third Edition, increased by many new Examples (' Examples' of God's Justice vindicating itself openly on that is the purport of the Book) Violaters of God's Law, Lond. 1631. A kindly ingenious little Book still partly readable, almost loveable 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 for a more earnest Anecdotes than ours Dedicated to purpose PercyCentury the Mayor and Burgesses of Huntingdon, for sundry good reasons among others, Because, Mr. Mayor, you were my scholar, and brought up in my house.' 2 Here, more fitly perhaps than afterwards, it may be brought to mind, that the English year in those times did not begin till March that New Year's Day was the 25th 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 Protestant countries, excepting England, it soon after that began to do. Scotland in respect of the 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 It has occasioned more misdatings and consequent expects, to familiarise himself. confusions to modern editorial persons than any other as simple circumstance. So learned a man as Whitaker Historian of Whalley, editing Sir George Radcliffe's Correspondence (London, 1810), with the lofty air which sits well on him on other occasions, has altogether 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 amazement going on to forward butter-boxes in the May following and similar miracles not a few occurring and in short the whole Correspondence '

;

INTRODUCTION

Theological Convention, of intense interest all over England, and doubtless at Huntingdon too now very dimly known, if at ( It was a meeting all known, as the Hampton-Court Conference.' The for the settlement of some dissentient humours in religion. ' now call Monster should the what we Petition, Millennary 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 Hamptondangerous indeed for a man to have concern with Four worldCourt Conference was accordingly summoned. famous Doctors, from Oxford and Cambridge, represented the ;

;

pious straitened class, now beginning to be generally conspicuous 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 Lord Chancellor, the renowned Egerton, and the itself Church. highest official persons, many lords and courtiers with a tincture

of sacred science, in fact the flower of England, appeared as The King himself presided ; witnesses with breathless interest. and of real being very learned in Theology, speech, gifts having 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 Theology then meant that. To know to know the divine Laws and inner God, cos, the MAKER, Harmonies of this Universe, must always be the highest glory And not to know them, always the highest disgrace for a man for a man, however common it be :

a due

being introduced into the Spring of with his lofty air, presiding over mere of course translate into the modern In the text here, Chaos come again find it and if for greater assurance year, but leaving the day of the month as 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. [As regards social observances, A letter so dated would be however, New Year's Day was then as it is now. written on January i, not March 25, and people wished each other a Happy New Year on the Feast of the Circumcision, not of the Annunciation. Thus Evelyn, on January i, 1655, speaks of begging a blessing on the year which he

jumbled

every year

to pieces !

;

was now

;

bit of topsy-turvy

and the learned Editor

;

entering.]

sits,

we we

;

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGEAPHY

Awful devout Puritanism, decent dignified Ceremonialism (both always of high moment in this world, but not of equally The high) appeared here facing one another for the first time. 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 That the Clergy in districts might be allowed to meet (refused) together, and strengthen one another's hands as in old times on the whole (if such a thing durst be (refused with indignation) ; hinted at, for the tone is almost inaudibly low and humble), That pious straitened Preachers, in terror of offending God by Idolatry, and useful to human souls, might not be cast out of their parishes :

;

white surplices and such like, but allowed some Christian liberty in mere external things these were the claims of the Puritans but his Majesty eloquently scouted them to

for genuflexions,

;

the winds, applauded by all bishops, and dignitaries lay and clerical said, If the Puritans would not conform, he would ' harry 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 1604. 1 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 Cromwell's house, no question of it, news of the thrice unutterable 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, idolatries, and poisonous confusions of the Romish Babylon, substituted 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 And again, in the summer of his eleventh year, in May year. 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. 1

VOL.

Neal's History of the Puritans (London, 1754),

411,

INTRODUCTION

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 a broader form of that same struggle, of against Catholicism, 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 Protestantism ; 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 interests 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 1 Oliver, the Death of Prince Henry in 1612, 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 But from the day of his Birth, which is jotted down, pabulum 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, 2

1616

Festo Annunciationis ad Festum Sancti Michaelis Archangeli, such (meaning merely, From New-year's-day, or Z5th to 2Qth September) is the general Heading of the List of and first in order there, Scholars, or Admissi, for that Term

1616;' March,

;

Cromwell Huntingdoniensis admissus ad com' meatum Sociorum, Aprilis vicesimo tertio ; Tutore Magistro Ricardo

stands,

Oliverius

1 6th Nov. (Camden's Annals). 2 corrected by the College Book Noble, i. 254 " " collated with as Noble's entry is quite accurate.] ;

itself.

[This must

mean

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

Oliver Cromwell from Huntingdon admitted Fellow Tutor Mr. Richard Howlet. Commoner, 23d April l6l6 Between which and the next Entry some zealous individual of ' Hie fuit grandis ille later date has crowded-in these lines '

Hwvlel

;

( ( ' (

Impostor, Carnifex perditissimus, qui pientissimo Rege Carolo Primo nefarid ccede sublato, ipsum usurpavit Tkronum, el Tria Regna per quinque ferine annorum spatiwn, sub Protectories, nomine, indomitd

tyrannide vexavit.'

this entry,

much

Had

the zealous individual specifically dated on a thing not slight improvement, can guess, After 1660, and not long

had been a

improvable.

after.

Curious enough, of his stone

monument

all

days, on this same day Shakspeare, as testifies, at Stratford-on-Avon, died:

still

Obiit

Anno Domini

1616.

Die 23 Apr. 1

While Oliver Cromwell was entering himself of Sidney-Sussex College, William Shakspeare was taking his farewell of this world. it is but some Oliver's Father had, most likely, come with him and come in a day. can fifteen miles from Huntingdon you go Oliver's Father saw Oliver write in the Album at Cambridge at Stratford, Shakspeare's Ann Hathaway was weeping over his bed. ;

;

The

first world-great thing that remains of English 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, so to speak, beginning. They have their exits and their entrances. And one People, in ;

time, plays many parts. Chevalier Florian, in his Life of Cervantes, has remarked that Shakspeare's death-day, 23d April, 161 6, 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 The Historical buried, smoothed right nobly into his long rest. 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 inferior its

;

Collier's Life

of Shakspeare (London, 1845),

p. 253.

INTRODUCTION

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 Poor Somerset Ker, King's favourite, 'son of the England. 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 1 know nothing, was ' Magister Richard Howlet J whom readers must fancy a grave ancient Puritan and Scholar, in dark antiquarian clothes and dark antiquarian ideas, according to their '

faculty. The indubitable

fact is, that he Richard Howlet did, 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 in

this same date, George RadclifFe, Wentworth Straffbrd's George, at Oxford, finds his green-baize table-cover, which his mother 1 [Mr. Howlett appears, some twenty years afterwards, in Ireland. Archbishop Usher, writing to Laud on July 9, 1638, in relation to the provostship of Trinity College, Dublin, says: "There is also here Mr. Howlett (who is to succeed the other [the newly-appointed Bishop of Cork and Ross], as they say, in the Deanery of Cashel), late fellow of Sidney College in Cambridge, an able man and very fit for government." Dr. Bramhall, Bishop of Derry, writes of him more at length. There is now a treaty of marriage between Mr. Howlett, one who was ten years of president (sic. ) Sydney College and my tutor, so far as to bear my name on his books for some small time before I took my degree, though very little elder, and Mrs. Browne's only daughter. My Lord [Archbishop ?] hath expressed his approbation of it. He is his [pupil and erased] chaplain, and shall succeed the Provost in the Deanery of Cashel, and the Bishop of Cork in the rectory of Cargelene, and hath I never knew pretty land of his own in England, worth 6oo/. or a thousand marks. him quarrel with any man in my time. A moderate man in his tenets, far from Dr. Ward's rigidity and his way, and one to whom my Lord would desire sooner to trust the government of the College here than any man in the kingdom, as himself hath told me." S. P. Dom. Ireland, Car. /., cclvi., 107, 108. Howlett was installed as Dean of Cashel on March 9, 1638-9 (Cotton's Fasti), but did not obtain the '

Provostship.]

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

had sent him, too small has it cut into stockings and goes about with the same. 1 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, ]6l7, there was another royal visit at Hinchinbrook. 2 But this time, I conceive, the royal entertainment 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 activity,

he could. It is well known that he could not, to any satisfactory extent, neither now nor afterwards his Pretended- Bishops, if

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 Tulchan 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 So of the Bishops. Scotch Lairds were ready ? ' 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 1

Dec. 1610. University College, Oxford, 4th " 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 table-cloth be too little, I will make a pair of warm stockings " of it. * * green Thus remembering my humble duty, I take my leave. Your " loving son,

Loving Mother,

Send

"GEORGE RADCLIFFE." Radcliffe's Letters, 2

Camden's Annals ; Nichols's

Progresses.

by Whitaker (London,

1810), p. 64-5.

INTRODUCTION

now knows what a Tulchan Bishop was. A piece of mechanism constructed not 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 Chaplain, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, attended the King on this occasion had once more the pleasure of seeing Huntingdon, the cradle of his promotions, and the birth-place 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

reader

;

not the smallest regularity of fuglemanship or devotional drillexercise in short " no religion at all that I could see," which ;

grieved

What

much. 1

is greatly more momentous while these royal things went on in Scotland, in the end of this same June at

to us

Huntingdon, Robert Cromwell died. His Will is dated 6th 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 Mrs. Robert Cromwell saw herself at once Steward, at Ely. fatherless and a second time widowed, in this year of bereavement. 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 How many of his Sisters, or whether any of them, were April. we do not learn from Noble's confused searching of settled, yet records or otherwise. 3 Of this Huntingdon household, and its

June. 2

;

new

learn next to nothing by direct evidence but can ( Oliver by inference, discern several things. 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,' ' Soon proceeded to London, to gain some knowledge of Law. after will mean certain months, we know not how many, after

head,

;

decisively enough,

Wharton's Laud (London,

1695), pp. 97, 109, 138.

Noble, i. 84. [His sister Margaret married Valentine Walton, June 20, 1617, on or about the day of her father's death (perhaps hurriedly, just before he died), as is shown by the register of St. John's, Huntingdon.] 3

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

Noble says, he was entered of 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 Cromwell found in them. The Books of Gray's Inn contain these Cromwell Names, which are perhaps worth transcribing '

July 1617.

;

Thomas Cromwell,

1524

Gilbert Cromwell, 1609

;

Francis Cromwell, 1561

Henry Cromwell, 1620

Henry Cromwell, 22d February,

;

1653.

The first of which seems to me probably or possibly to mean Thomas Cromwell Malleus Monachorum, at that time returned his Italian adventures, and in the service of Cardinal Wolsey ' taking the opportunity of hearing the readers/ old Benchers of Law. The Henry Cromand who then actually read, learning ' well of February 1653-4 is expressly entered as Second sonne an interesting little to his Highness Oliver, Lord Protector For the rest, Henry Cromfact, since it is an indisputable one. well was already a Colonel in the Army in 1651 1 in 165 4, during the spring months he was in Ireland ; in the month of June he was at Chippenham in Cambridgeshire with his father-in-law, 2 and next year he went again on political being already married business to Ireland, where he before long became Lord Deputy 8 if for a while, in the end of 1 654, he did attend in Gray's Inn, it can only have been, like his predecessor the Malleus, to gain and not with any some inkling of Law for general purposes 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

from

;

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 gentleman, 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 ;

;

Old Newspaper,

Cromwelliana,

p. 91. '

Mr. Henry Cromwell to Elizabeth Russel (Registers of Faulkener's History of Kensington, p. 360). Kensington Church, 3 Here are the successive dates 4th March 1653-4, ne arrives at Dublin (Thurloe's State Papers, ii. 149) is at Chippenham, i8th June 1654 (ib. ii. 381) arrives at Chester on his way to Ireland again, 22d June 1655 (ib. iii. 581) produces his commission as Lord Deputy, 24th or 2^th November 1657 (Noble, i. 202). '

loth

May

1653,

;

INTRODUCTION

40 Carrion

Heath

;

and

solicit oblivion

and Christian

burial

from

all

cannot but believe he did go to Town to gain some knowledge of Law. But when he went, how long he 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 The admirers and the censurers of Cromwell have alike credit no word to record on the subject.

men.

;

1618 Thursday, 2.9th October 1618.

This morning,

Oliver, as

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. 1 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. 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 windows near by ; to whom Raleigh in his last brief manful speech He had failed of finding appealed, with response from them. Eldorados in the Indies lately ; he had failed, and also succeeded, in many things in his time he returned home with his brain and and the Spaniards, who found his heart ' broken,' as he said now wished that he should die. James willing, very King Such a man, with his head grown gray; with his tragic scene. ' still strength enough in it to break strong heart breaking,' with dignity. Somewhat proudly he laid his old grey head on " the block ; as if saying, in better than words, " There then The Sheriff offered to let him warm himself again, within doors :

;

Camden

;

Biog. Britan.

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

" in few " Nay, let us be swift/' said Raleigh ; again at a fire. " minutes if and I be not dead will return upon me, ray ague "before that, they will say I tremble for fear." If Oliver, among the ' immense crowd/ saw this scene, 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

James Bourchier's Town residence. Sir James Bourchier, Knight, a civic gentleman not connected at all with the old

in Sir

;

Bourchiers Earls of Essex, says my heraldic friend but seemingly come of City merchants rather, who by some of their ' quarterings and cognizances appear to have been Furriers/ says ;

Not less but more important, it appears James Bourchier was a man of some opulence, and had daughters had a daughter Elizabeth, not without charms for Moreover he had landed property near the youthful heart. 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 he

Like enough.

this Sir

;

[house] in

Town

or elsewhere,

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 signabut in the List of Marriages for ' August 1 620/ stand tures these words, still to be read sic : ;

Oliver Cromwell to Elizabeth Bourcher.

22.'

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

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 Law-studies, such as they were, had already ended, we his. infer he had already set up house with his Mother and was Oliver

now bringing

;

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, evera

;

INTRODUCTION

learning one, was to take his Father's place and with a wise Mother and a good Wife, harmonising tolerably well we shall Here he continued, hope, was to manage as he best might. 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 His first child way living as his Father before him had done. was born here, in October 1621 ; a son, Robert, baptised at St. John's Church on the 1 3th of the month, of whom nothing farther 1 A second child, also a son, Oliver, followed, whose is known. baptismal date is 6th February 1 622-3, of whom also we have almost no farther account, except one that can be proved to be The List of his other children shall be given by erroneous. 2 ;

;

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 :

Date

of his burial discovered lately, in the old Parish- Register of Felsted in

Essex recorded in peculiar terms, and specially in the then Vicar's hand Robertus tw Cromwell, Filius honorandi, viri (Militis) Oliveris Cromwell et Elizabeths Uxoris ejus, sepultus fuit 31 die Maii 1639. Et Robertus fuit eximiepius juvenis, Deum timens supra multos.' (See Edinburgh Review, No. 209, January 1856, p. So that Oliver's first great loss in his Family was of this Eldest Son, then in 54.) his i8th year not of a Younger one as was hitherto supposed. (Note 0/1857.) [An attempt was made by a writer in the Essex Review (vol ii., p. 124) to prove that this Robert was the son of Sir Oliver, the Protector's uncle. The argument was but originally founded upon a mistaken idea that the date of the entry was 1623 even after the writer discovered and acknowledged his mistake, he was apparently still inclined to think that the Oliver might better be the Protector's uncle than tu As the children of himself, on account of the difficulty caused by the word Sir Oliver by his first wife Elizabeth, were, in 1639, middle-aged men, and as his second wife was not Elizabeth, but Anne, this theory, in addition to other objections, would involve the necessity of giving Sir Oliver a third and quite unknown wife, as '

;

a mother for the equally unknown boy. In vol. v. of the same Review (p. 225) Mr. John French, in defending the Edinburgh Reviewer's (i.e. Mr. John Forster's) an of the theory, gives interesting description Registers of Felsted, and suggests that As a the Vicar might easily make the mistake of supposing Oliver to be a knight. matter of fact, the whole difficulty has been caused by a misreading of the entry.

The

Rev. C. T. Eland, Vicar of Felsted, has kindly allowed the present editor to inspect the register, and the true reading is as follows Robertus Cromwell, filius honorandi viri m ri (magistri] Oliveris Cromwell et Elizabethe uxoris ejus sepultus fuit 31^0 die Maii : iste (?) Robertus fuit eximie spei juvenis deumque timens supra multos" The year date, 1639, appears only at the beginning of the entries :

for that year

and not

;

Vicar's hand.] 2

Noble,

132.

this entry

' '

specially

but

all

of that period are in the then

EVENTS IN OLIVERS BIOGEAPHY

of Prince Charles from Spain without the Infanta. 1 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 Damnalove of prosperous Darkness bility, Falsity to God's Gospel, infinite baseness rushing shortrather than of suffering Light, ;

King sighted upon infinite peril for this world and for all worlds. James, with his worldly-wise endeavourings to marry his son into some first-rate family, never made a falser calculation than in The soul of England this grand business of the Spanish Match. 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 illuminated itself. The tendency of this Solomon King had unfortunately parted company altogether with the inarticulate but ineradicable tendency of the Country he presided over. The Solomon King struggled one way and the English Nation with its very lifefibres was compelled to struggle another way. The rent by articulate

;

degrees became wide enough For the present, England is

summoned

all illuminated,

new Parliament

which welcomes the breaking of the Spanish Match, as one might welcome the breaking of a Dr. Faustus's Uncle Bargain, and a deliverance from the power of sorcerers. Oliver served in this Parliament, as was his wont, for Huntingdonshire. They and the Nation with one voice impelled the poor old King to draw out his fighting tools at last, and beard this No Spanish Apollyon, instead of making marriages with it. Pitt's crusade against French Sansculottism in the end of the Eighteenth Century could be so welcomed by English Preservers of the Game, as this defiance of the Spanish Apollyon was by

;

in general in the beginning of the Seventeenth. Palatinate was to be recovered, after all Protestantism, 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

Englishmen

The

;

1 1

H. L. (Hamond L'Estrange)

October

sth,' the

Prince arrived.

Reign of King Charles (London,

1656), p. 3.

INTKODtJCTION

had done three years ago, 1 to the joy of all men, when the Palatinate was first to be ' defended but now it was to be The issue, 'recovered;' now a decisive eifort was to be made. as is well known, corresponded ill with these beginnings. Count Mansfeldt 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 With a James Stuart for Generalissimo, it, nothing could come. there is no good fighting possible. The poor King himself soon '

;

after died

left the matter to develop itself in other still fataller ways. In those years it must be that Dr. Simcott, Physician in HunHe tingdon, had to do with Oliver's hypochondriac maladies. told Sir Philip Warwick, unluckily specifying no date, or none " that has survived, " he had often been sent for at midnight Mr. Cromwell for many years was very "splenetic" (spleenstruck), often thought he was just about to die, and also "had fancies about the Town Cross." 3 of which Brief intimation 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. Temptations 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 sorrow 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 filling all your universe, it can yet by true heart-energy become Jlame, and brilliancy of Heaven.

Courage It

must what

therefore in these years, undated by History, that we place Oliver's clear recognition of Calvinistic Christianity ;

he, with unspeakable joy, 1

2 3

nth June

would name

his Conversion

1620 (Camden's Annals). Sunday, ajth March 1625 (Wilson, in Kennet, ii., 790). Warwick's Memoirs (London, 1701), p. 249.

Sir Philip

;

his

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

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 acWilt thou join with the dragons ; wilt thou tivity forevermore. Of thee too the question is asked join with the Gods ? whether 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 That the ' Sense Life everlasting and the Death everlasting. 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, OldChristian Ages this is the element which stamps them as Heroic, and has rendered their works great, manlike, fruitful to all generIt is by far the memorablest achievement of our Species ations. without that element, in some form or other, nothing of Heroic had ever been among us. 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 insufficiently 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 and for otherwise encouraging the ministerial destitute places work. The originator of this scheme was the famous Dr. Presl a Puritan College Doctor of immense fame in those and ton,' in prior years courted even by the Duke of Buckingham, and tempted with the gleam of bishoprics but mouldering now in His scheme, however, great oblivion, not famous to any man. ;

;

Heylin's Life of Laud.

INTRODUCTION

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 ' who afterwards made some noise in the world, Feoffees/ 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 ;

;

whom accordingly we find lecturing lecture,' as it was called in various places, under various conditions, in the subsequent ' on market-day ; on years ; often in some market-town, ' Sunday-afternoon,' as supplemental to the regular Priest when '

he might happen to be idle, or given to black and white suror as ' running Lecturers,' now here, now there, over plices a certain district. They were greatly followed by the serious and gave proportional offence in other part of the community In some years hence, they had risen to such a height, quarters. 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 This was in 1 633 a somewhat strong public, suppressed them. 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 contributor to this Feoffee Fund, and ;

;

according to his opportunities, we 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 ministry, 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

a zealous forwarder of

might already guess

;

and by and by there

;

make

his calling and his election sure,' to whom, in credible Whose earnestdialect, the Voice of the Highest had spoken.

ness, sagacity and manful in his circle among such.

worth gradually made him conspicuous The Puritans were already numerous.

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

John Hampden, Oliver's Cousin, was a devout Puritan, John Pyra Lord Brook, Lord Say, Lord Montague, Puritans in the better ranks, and in every rank, abounded. Already either in

the like

;

conscious act, or in clear tendency, the far greater part of the Thought and Manhood of England had declared itself

serious

Puritan.

1625

Mark Noble, citing Willis's Notitia, reports that Oliver appeared year as Member 'for Huntingdon' in King Charles's first 1

this

Parliament. 1

It is a

mistake

Browne

clerical errors.

indeed specify as

;

grounded on mere blunders and

Willis, in his Nolitia Parliamentaria, does ' for Huntingdon^z're an Oliver Crom-

Member

who might be our Oliver. But the usual member in Browne former Parliaments is Sir Oliver, our Oliver's Uncle. Willis must have made, or have copied, some slip of the pen. Suppose him to have found in some of his multitudinous parchand in place of ments, an Oliver Cromwell, Knight of the Shire ' it will solve the whole putting in the Sir/ to have put in Esq. Our Oliver, when he indisputably did afterwards difficulty. enter Parliament, came in for Huntingdon 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 Parchments say of the business, whether the error is theirs or Browne Willis's, I cannot decide on inquiry at the Rolls' Office, it turns out that the Records, for some fifty 2 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

well, Esq.,'

;

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 ;

The Members for Huntingdon Town in this replace him. Parliament, as in the preceding 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 1

Noble,

100.

[This can only mean that the original returns from the county of Huntingdon in this year (but by no means for fifty years) are wanting. The Crown Office list, however, supplies the deficiency, and, of course, gives Oliver Cromwell, Knight, as the

county member.]

INTRODUCTION

48 syllable in this are

Edward Montague, Esquire/ and

Oliver

Cromwell, Knight.' %

16 26

In the Ashmole Museum at Oxford stands catalogued a ' Letter 'from Oliver Cromwell to Mr. Henry Downhall, at St. John's 1 'College, Cambridge; dated, Huntingdon, 14 October 1626;' which might perhaps, in some very faint way, have elucidated On applying to kind Dr. Simcott and the hypochondrias for us. 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 ;

;

Did some zealous years farther, instead of ending it at this point. Oxford Doctor cut the Letter out, as one weeds a hemlock from a parsley-bed ; that so the Ashmole Museum might be cleansed, and yield only pure nutriment to mankind ? Or was it some collector of autographs, eager beyond law ? 2 Whoever the thief may be, he is probably dead long since and has answered for and also, we may fancy, for heavier thefts, which were this, to be charged upon him. If any humane individual ever likely henceforth get his eye upon the Letter, let him be so kind as send a copy of it to the Publishers of this Book, and no questions will be asked. 8 ;

1627

A Deed of Sale, dated 20 June 1627, still testifies that Hinchinbrook this year passed out of the hands of the Cromwells The price was 3000/. curiously into those of the Montagues. 4 divided into two parcels, down to shillings and pence, one of the parcels being already a creditor's. The Purchaser is 'Sir ;

Bodleian Library Codices Mss. Ashmoleani, no. 8398. " I confess I strongly suspect Hearne to have been [Mr. Sanford says of this His character in that respect is not immaculate, and the guilty of this peculation. letter first appears in print in one of his miscellaneous antiquarian gatherings, the " Liber Niger Scaccarii, appendix (Studies and Illustrations of the Great Rebellion, It seems however very doubtful whether the original was ever in the p. 227, note]. Ashmole Museum at all, for after giving the letter Hearne prints the following note, " I copied this (saith Mr. Ashmole) from the original, being then in the said Mr. Downhall's hands. The child above mentioned was named Richard, who came to 1

be Lord Protector, 1658."] 3 Letter found, worth nothing 4 Noble, i. 43.

Appendix, No.

(Note

Second Edition.}

EVENTS IN OLIVEE'S BIOGRAPHY

'Sidney Montague, Knight, of Barnwell, one of His Majesty's Sir Oliver Cromwell, son of the 'Masters of the Requests.' Golden Knight, having now burnt out his splendour, disappeared in this way from Hinchinbrook retired deeper into the Fens, to a place of his near Ramsey Mere, where he continued still thirty It was to this years longer to reside, in an eclipsed manner. house at Ramsey that Oliver, our Oliver, then Captain Cromwell in the Parliament's service, paid the domiciliary visit much talked The reduced Knight, his Uncle, was a of in the old Books. 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 Oliver's dragoons searched with due rigour for intending war. the arms while the Captain respectfully conversed with his Uncle and even ' insisted through the interview, say the old ' which latter circumstance may Books, on standing uncovered 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 visits to pay to his Uncle and they know little of the man or of the circumstances, who suppose there was any likelihood or need of either 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. 1 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 " 1 wish sigh, they were paid." Various Cromwells, sons of his, nephews of his, besides the great Oliver, took part in the Civil ;

;

War, some on

some on that, whose indistinct designaBooks are apt to occasion mistakes with modern Oliver vanishes now from Hinchinbrook, and all this side,

tions in the old

readers.

Sir

the public business records, into the darker places of the Fens. 2 1

Fuller's Worthies, Huntingdonshire. [There is a certificate from him to the Privy Council in October 1637, at the Public Record Office. See Calendars. P. Dom. Chas. I, Addenda, p. 743. Dugdale, in a letter written on Sept. 8, 1655, gives the following account of his death. 2

VOL.

INTEODUCTION

in the next Parliament, the His name disappears from Willis Knight of the Shire for Huntingdon becomes, instead of him, The purchaser of Hinchinbrook, 'Sir Capell Bedall, Baronet.' Sir Sydney Montague, was brother of the first Earl of Man1 chester, brother of the third Lord Montague of Boughton, and Monvaliant General Colonel father of the valiant Montague,' in an state of altered Admiral circumstances, who, Montague, tague, 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 circumstances of the matter hang dubious in the vague, there is record given by Dugdale, a man of very small authority on these Cromwell 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, It seems they alleged, This Uncle Sir Thomas Steward of Ely. Steward was incapable of managing his affairs, and ought to be Which allegation of theirs, and restrained under guardians. 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 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 :

;

"His [the Protector's] uncle, Sir Oliver Cromwell, is lately dead by an unhappy accident, for I hear that he was out in the rain, and after his return sitting by a good fire without any company in the room, by some weakness or swoon fell into the fire, and was so scorched that he died about two days after." Fifth Report of the Hist. MSB. Commissioners, Appendix, p. 176.] 1

[Third Sir Edward, but first Baron.] Peerage (London, 1741), ii. 286-9.

2 Collins's

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

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

This was the Third Parliament the 17th of March' 1627-8. 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, meanwhile :

;

failed in every operation foreign and domestic, at Cadiz, at Rhe, at Rochelle ; and having failed, too, ' conin getting supplies by unparliamentary methods, Charles

and afterwards, having

sulted with Sir Robert Cotton what was answered, Summon a Parliament again.

be done this

;

who

celebrated

Parliament was summoned. It met, as we said, in March 1628, and continued with one prorogation till March 162.9. The two former Parliaments had sat but a few weeks each, till they were indignantly hurled asunder again this one continued Went worth (Strafford) was of this Parliament nearly a year. Selden, too, Hampden Pym, Holies, and others known to us all these had been of former Parliaments as well Oliver Cromwell, Member for Huntingdon, sat there for the first ;

;

time.

very evident, King Charles, baffled in all his enterprises, 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 It is

and reduced

;

throughout to control himself, to be soft and patient inwardly Unfortunate King, we writhing and rustling with royal rage. a very fiery steed, but bridled, checksee him chafing, stamping, bitted, by innumerable straps and considerations struggling much to be composed. Alas, it would not do. This Parliament was more Puritanic, more intent on rigorous Law and divine As indeed all these Gospel, than any other had ever been. 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 The English Squire of the Sevenvery strange body of men. teenth Century clearly appears to have believed in God, not as ;

;

INTRODUCTION

a figure of speech, but as a very fact, very awful to the heart of the English Squire. ' He wore his Bible-doctrine round him/ ( says one, as our Squire wears his shot-belt ; 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 Petition of Right, and set London all astir with ' bells and bonfires at the passing thereof; and did other feats not to be particularised Across the murkiest element in which any great Entity here. was ever shown to human creatures, it still rises, after much consideration, to the modern man, in a dim but undeniable manner, as a most brave and noble Parliament. The like of which were worth its weight in diamonds even now ; but has grown very unattainable now, next door to incredible now. have to say that this Parliament chastised sycophant Priests, Mainwaring, Sibthorp, and other Arminian sycophants, a disgrace to God's Church that it had an eye to other still more elevated ChurchSycophants, as the mainspring of all but was cautious to give That it carefully ' abstained from offence by naming them. of the Duke Buckingham.' That it decided on giving naming ample subsidies, but not till there were reasonable discussion of :

;

That in manner it was most gentle, soft-spoken, grievances. cautious, reverential ; and in substance most resolute and valiant. Truly with valiant patient energy, in a slow stedfast English manner, it carried, across infinite confused opposition and discouragement, its Petition of Right, and what else it had to carry. Four hundred brave men, 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 !

upon honourable gentlemen and us, might be admonitory, We must clip one extract from least. Rushworth's huge Rag-fair of a Book and mournfullest torpedo rubbish-heap, of jewels buried under sordid wreck and dust and and let the reader dead ashes, one jewel to the wagon-load Here, we say, is an try to make a visual scene of it as he can. old Letter, which ' old Mr. Chamberlain of the Court of Wards,' a gentleman entirely unknown to us, received fresh and new, of which before breakfast, on a June morning of the year 1628 it rise

-would be astonishing at

;

EVENTS IN OLIVEK'S BIOGRAPHY

old Letter, we, by a good chance, 1 have obtained a copy for the It is by Mr. Thomas Alured, a good Yorkshire friend, reader. Member for Malton in that county ; written in a hand which, if it

were not naturally

stout,

would tremble with '

emotion. '

called also ' Al'red or ' Aldred ; uncle or ' we father, suppose, to a Colonel Alured,' well known afterwards to Oliver and us he writes ; we abridge and present, as

Worthy Mr. Alured,

follows

Friday, 6th June, 1628.

Sir, Yesterday was a day of desolation among us in Parlia" ment and this day, we fear, will be the day of our dissolution. " Tuesday Sir John Eliot moved that as we intended to Upon " 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 of reKingdom stood by the decay and contempt " " &c. &c. ligion, by the insufficiency of his Ministers, by the ' " Sir Humphrey May, Chancellor of the Duchy, said, it was a " the Eliot House commanded John Sir yet strange language " to ' go on. Whereupon the Chancellor desired, If he went on, " he the Chancellor ' might go out/ They all bade him begone " The House generally yet he stayed, and heard Sir John out. " inclined to such a Declaration which was ; accordingly resolved " to be set about. " But next day, Wednesday, we had a Message from his Ma" 2 jesty 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 neverthe;

;

"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 upon any Min" ister of his Majesty, the House was much affected thereby." Did they not in former times proceed by fining and committing John of Gaunt, the King's own son had they not, in very late times, meddled with and sentenced the Lord Chancellor Bacon and others ? What are we arriving at " Sir Robert Philips of Somersetshire spake, and mingled his less

;

Rushworth's Historical Collections (London, 1682),

609-10.

(Note, vols.

and iii. of this Copy are of 1680, a prior edition seemingly iv. and v. of 1692 vi. and vii. of 1701 viii., Strafford's Trial, of 1700.) [Carlyle is no doubt speaking of the copy he himself used. Part i was first published in 1659, and Strafford's 2 Trial in 1680.] Sir John Finch. ii.

;

INTRODUCTION

Mr Pym did the like. Sir Edward "words with weeping. " overcome with " Cook " (old Coke upon Lyttleton), passion, see" ing the desolation likely to ensue, was forced to sit down when "he began to speak, by the abundance of tears." O Mr. Chamberlain of the Court of Wards, was the like ever witnessed ? " Yea, the Speaker in his speech could not refrain from weeping " and Besides a great many whose grief made shedding of tears. " 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 Majesty, 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 And now the the House upon pain of going to the Tower." " freer and frequenter," being in Comspeaking commences, mittee, and old Sir Edward Coke tries it again. "Sir Edward Cook told us, ' He now saw God had not accepted " of our humble and moderate carriages and fair proceedings " and he feared the reason was, We had not dealt sincerely with " the King and Country, and made a true representation of the " causes of all those miseries. Which he, for his part, repented "that he had not done sooner. And therefore, not knowing ' whether he should ever again speak in this House, he would ' now do it freely and so did here protest, That the author and cause of all those miseries was THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.' Which was entertained and answered with a cheerful acclamation of the House." (Yea, yea Well moved, well spoken " As, when one good hound recovers the scent, Yea, yea !) " the rest come in with full so they (we] pursued it, and cry " every one 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 the Speaker, having been, abroad, "not half an hour, but three hours absent, and with the King, " returned bringing 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 interim." And so, ever since, King's Majesty, Speaker, Duke and Coun;

;

cillors,

they have been meditating

it all

night

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

" 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 twelve "pence to the poor. " and let us have your prayers whereSir, excuse my haste " of 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 Lyttleton, 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

Buckingham was perfected the hounds having got all upon the scent. Buckingham was exa daring feat and so loud were the hounds, pressly named,' and such a tune in their baying, his Majesty saw good to confirm, 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 it, all still continued somewhat too sonorous, was hastily, against

;

with visible royal anger, prorogued till October next, till January it proved. Oliver, of course, went home to Huntingdon to his harvest-work England continued simmering and sounding

;

might.

The day of prorogation was the 26th of June. 1 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 John hunting-knife, price one shilling. 1

Commons

Journals,

920.

INTRODUCTION

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. 1 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 on 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 his body was swinging in chains at Portsmouth at Tyburn and much else had gone awry, when the Parliament reassembled, in January following, and Oliver came up to Town again. ;

;

1629

The Parliament

Session proved very brief

;

but very energetic,

Tonnage and Poundage/ what we now call very extraordinary. Customhouse Duties, a constant subject of quarrel between Charles and his Parliaments hitherto, had again been levied without Par'

liamentary consent

;

in the teeth of old Tallagio non concedendo,

nay even of the late solemnly confirmed Petition of Right and Merchants naturally gave rise to Parliamentary consideration. had been imprisoned for refusing to pay it Members of Parliament themselves had been supcenad : 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 very ugly ;

;

business too.

In regard to Religion also, matters looked equally ill. Sycophant Mainwaring, just censured in Parliament, had been promoted to a fatter living. Sycophant Montague, in the like circumstances, to a Bishopric Laud was in the act of consecrating him at Croydon, when the news of Buckingham's death came There needed to be a Committee of Religion. The thither. House resolved itself into Grand Committee of Religion and did not want for matter. Bishop Neile of Winchester, Bishop Laud now of London, were a frightfully ceremonial pair of Bishops the fountain they of innumerable tendencies to Papistry It was in this Committee of and the old-clothes of Babylon :

;

Clarendon

(i.

68)

;

Hamond

L'Estrange

(p.

90)

;

D'Ewes

(MS.

Autobio-

graphy), &c. all of whom report the minute circumstances of the assassination, not one of them agreeing completely with another. r

;

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

Religion, on the llth day of February 1628-9, that Mr. Cromwell, 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. Alablaster had preached flat Popery at Paul's Cross and " " " that the Bishop of Winchester (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

Member

;

" these are the steps to Church-preferment, what are we to ex" x " pect ? 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 Paul's Cross, instantly forgettable particulars in Wood's Athence. of which I have seen old Prints, was a kind of Stone Tent, ' with leaden roof,' at the north-east corner of Paul's Cathedral, 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 as pulpits,' she said, when there was any great thing on hand Governing Persons now strive to tune their Morning Newspapers. Paul's Cross, a kind of Times Neivspaper, but edited partly by Heaven itself, was then a most important entity Alablaster, ;

;

1 Parliamentary History (London, 1763), viii. 289. [Of this speech, Dr. S. R. Gardiner observes: "Nicholas, who took down the speeches in shorthand, gives Mr. Cromwell saith that Dr. Beard told him that one Dr. the speech thus Alablaster did at the Spital preach in a sermon tenets of popery, and Beard being to refute the same, the now Bishop of Winton, then Bishop of Lincoln, did send for Dr. Beard, and charge him, as his Diocesan, not to preach any doctrine contrary to that which Alablaster had delivered and when Dr. Beard did, by the advice of Bishop Felton, preach against Dr. Alablaster's sermon and person, Dr. Neile, now Bishop of Winton, did reprehend him, the said Beard, for it.' The remainder of the speech as printed from the Parliamentary History by Carlyle, referring to Mainif these are the steps to Church-preferment, what are we waring and concluding to expect is taken from another speech by another speaker on a different occasion." History of England, vol. vii. p. 55, note. Dr. Gardiner explains that it was the custom, on the First Sunday after Easter, for a preacher to be selected to sum up the main points of three other sermons preached before the Lord Mayor, &c., from a It became known that Beard (thus selected in some year pulpit in Spital Square. not later than 1617) intended to attack his predecessor Alablaster hence Neile's veto, it being easy to understand, "that the sight of one preacher ascending the pulpit to criticise the opinions of another which he was expected to condense, would be regarded as unseemly by a Bishop like Neile." Ibid, p. 56.] '

;

INTRODUCTION

to the horror of mankind, was heard preaching ' flat Popery ' there, prostituting our columns in that scandalous manner And Niele had forbidden him to preach against it ' what are we to expect ? '

The record

of this world-famous utterance of Oliver still lies Museum, in Mr. Crewe's Notebook, it was first printed in a wretched old Book called

in manuscript in the British

or another's

Ephemeris Parliamentaiia, 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 compiled 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 perennial 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 to 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, before ' they could get well named,' perhaps before Dr. Beard had well from got up Huntingdon to testify against them, the King hastily interfered. This Parliament, in a fortnight more, was dissolved and that under circumstances of the most unparalleled sort. For Speaker Finch, as we have seen, was a Courtier, in constant communication with the King 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 and at last took to weeping. What was the persisted in that House to do ? Adjourn) for two days, and consider what to do On the second day, which was Wednesday, Speaker Finch '

;

signified that

journed

till

his Majesty's

Monday

command they were

On Monday

next.

again ad-

next, Speaker Finch,

recusant, would not put the former nor indeed any question, having the King's order to adjourn again instantly. He refused was reprimanded, menaced once more took to weeping then But young Mr. Holies, Denzil Holies, started up to go his ways. the Earl of Clare's 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 still

;

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

scene of such agitation as was never seen in ParliaThe 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, " " No " " Let Mr. cried they imploringly. Speaker go " he shall Holies God's sit till it answered wounds, there, please " The House, in a decisive though almost the House to rise distracted manner, with their Speaker thus held down for them, locked their doors redacted Three emphatic Resolutions, their Protest against Arminianism, against Papistry, against illegal l and passed the same by acclamation ; Tonnage and Poundage man no out, refusing to let even the King's Usher in letting then swiftly vanishing so soon as the resolutions were passed, for 2 For which surprising they understood the Soldiery was-coming. vindicated the of Invention and mother procedure, by Necessity supreme of Lawgivers, certain honourable gentlemen, Denzil Holies, Sir John Eliot, William Strode, John Selden, and others

there

ment

before.

;

known

less

tribulation

to us, suffered fine, imprisonment, and nay Sir John Eliot, refusing to submit, till he died. :

much

legal in

was kept

the Tower This scene fell out on Monday, 2d of March 1629. Directly on the back of which, we conclude, Mr. Cromwell quitted Town told Dr. Beard also that he was not for Huntingdon again wanted now that he might at leisure go on with his Theatre 3 His Majesty dissolved the Parliament of God's Judgments now. ' Proclamation ; by saying something about vipers that had been ;

;

there. It

was the

last

Parliament in England for above eleven years.

The King had taken

The King went on

his course.

raising sup-

without Parliamentary law, by all conceivable devices ; of which Shipmoney may be' considered the most original, and sale of Monopolies the most universal. The monopoly of ' soap itself plies

was very grievous to men. 4

Your soap was

not wash, but only blister.

The ceremonial

dear,

and

would

Bishops, Bishop or

Archbishop Laud now chief of them, they, on their side, went on diligently hunting out ' Lecturers,' erecting c altars in the east end of churches charging all clergymen to have, in good repair '

;

[The three Resolutions were i. against Popery and Arminianism 2. against levying of Tonnage and Poundage 3. against paying dues so levied.] :

illegal

;

Rush worth,

Third Edition, increased with many new examples,' See many old Pamphlets.

667-9. '

in 1631.

INTRODUCTION

and order, Four surplices at Allhallowtide.' 1 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 Oliver and others seemed split became too wide for healing. now to have done with Parliaments a royal Proclamation forbade '

;

them

much

as to

speak of such a thing. 1

630

In the new charter granted to the Corporation of Huntingdon, and dated 8th July 1630, Oliver Cromwell, Esquire, Thomas 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. 2 I suppose there was nothing new in this nomination a mere confirming and continuing of what had But the smallest authentic fact, any undoubted already been. date or circumstance regarding Oliver and his affairs, is to be '

;

eagerly laid hold

of. 3

1631 In or soon after

631, as

laboriously infer from the imbro-

glio records of poor Noble, Oliver decided on an enlarged sphere of action as a Farmer ; sold his properties in Huntingdon, all or some of them ; rented certain grazing-lands at St. Ives, five

miles

down the River, eastward of his native place, and removed The Deed of Sale is dated 7th May 1631 4 the pro-

thither.

;

perties are specified as in the possession of himself or his Mother ; the sum they yielded was 1800/. With this sum Oliver stocked his Grazing-Farm at St. Ives. The Mother, we infer, continued 1

Laud's Diary in Wharton's Laud. [Cromwell objected to the terms of

Noble,

102.

new charter, and upon complaint of the he had made "disgraceful and unseemly

this

Corporation to the Privy Council that to the Mayor and Mr. Barnard, was by the Council committed to speeches The case was submitted to Henry, Earl of Mancustody, 2nd November 1630. who blamed Cromwell's conduct, but ordered the charter to be amended, chester, to meet his objections. As for Cromwell's language, he found it to be "spoken in heat and passion and desired to be forgotten," and as Mr. Barnard was equally See Mr. Firth's Oliver willing to be friends all parties were left reconciled. Cromwell, pp, 31, 32. For a letter written in April, 1631, see Supplement No. i.] 4 i. Noble, 103-4. ' '

EVENTS IN OLIVERS BIOGRAPHY

Huntingdon, but withdrawn now from active occupation, into the retirement befitting a widow up in years. There is even some gleam of evidence to that effect her but Oliver's children born to him at St. properties are sold Ives are still christened at Huntingdon, in the Church he was used to ; which may mean also that their good Grandmother was to reside at

;

there.

still

it was Properly this was no change in Oliver's old activities an enlargement of the sphere of them. His Mother still at Huntingdon, within few miles of him, he could still superintend and protect her existence there, while managing his new operations at St. Ives. He continued here till the summer or spring of 1636. 1 A studious imagination may sufficiently construct the figure of his equable life in those years. Diligent grass-farm;

mowing, milking, cattle-marketing add hypochondria/ of the blackness of darkness, with glances of the brightness of very Heaven ; prayer, religious reading and meditation household epochs, joys and cares we have a solid substantial inoffensive Farmer of St. Ives, hoping to walk with integrity ing

;

fits

;

and humble devout diligence through

this world; and, by his mercy, to escape destruction, and find eternal This latter, this is the grand salvation, in wider Divine Worlds. 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 cattlemarket in those parts. The Cromwell Barn,' the pretended 1 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 indubitable 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 Introductory Chronicles to a close.

Maker's

infinite

;

Firth's Oliver

Cromwell,

106.

INTRODUCTION

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 it is not known six children, of whom one other died young Here subjoined is the list of them, and of those at what date. subsequently born in a Note, elaborated, as before, from the 1 imbroglios of Noble. ;

;

OLIVER CROMWELL'S CHILDREN.

(Married to Elizabeth Bourchier,

August 1620. )

226.

Robert ; baptised i3th October 1621. Named for his Grandfather. No farther account of him he died before ripe years. [Died in 1639 at Felsted. See note on It was to his death that the Protector referred on his own deathbed, p. 42 above. as he distinctly said "my eldest son." Carlyle put "Oliver" in, in brackets, in his early editions, and M. Guizot and others followed him, omitting the brackets.] 6th 2. Oliver baptised February 1662-3 [sic. Of course 1622-3 is meant] went to At Peterborough in Felsted School. Captain in Harrison's Regiment,' no. 1643 (Noble, i. 133-4). He died, or was killed during the War date and place Noble says it was at Appleby referring to Whitlocke. not yet discoverable. 1.

;

322 of 2d), on ransacking the old Pamphlets, The Protector on his death-bed alludes to my heart like a dagger, indeed it did." [He would appear to have been admitted as a pensioner at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge, "in 1640, as amongst the entries in a book known as "Daniel Mills' See Appendix Oliver, second son of Oliver Cromwell, Huntingdon". register" is It is curious that Cromwell to 4th Report of the Hist. MSS. Commissioners, p. 423. should be described as "of Huntingdon" at this late date, when he was living at Ely, but he perhaps still had some property there, and certainly kept up a connexion with the place after he left it. (See p. 61 above). On the breaking out of the Civil War, young Oliver became cornet in Lord St. John's troop of horse, and when the Ironsides were raised, was made captain of one of the troops. He probably died of small-pox at Newport Pagnell in the spring of 1644. See note on p. 176 below.] baptised 4th August 1624. Married to Ireton, i5th June 1646 (Noble, 3. Bridget Married to Fleetwood i. widow, 26th November 1651. 134, is twice in error) after long search, remains undiscovered Noble, ii. 355, says before' (exact date, Died at Stoke Newington, near London, June 1652, at random seemingly). September 1681. [Married to Fleetwood on June 8, 1652. See ii. 246.] In Lincoln's Inn, born 4th October 1626. At Felsted School. 4. Richard Married, in 1649, Richard Mayor's daughter, of 27th May 1647:' an error? First in Hants. Protector, Dies, poor idle Parliament, 1654. 1658. Hursley, [Was a captain in Fairfax's life-guard.] Triviality, at Cheshunt, i2th July 1712. baptised at All-Saints (the rest are at St. John's), Huntingdon, 2oth 5. Henry 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 In 1660, retired to Spinney Abbey, near Soham,' nearer Wicken, there in 1657. Foolish story of Charles II. and the 'stable-fork' there in Cambridgeshire. Died 23d March 1673-4 buried in Wicken Church. A brave (Noble, i. 212). he been named Protector, there had, most likely, been quite man and true had another History of England to write, at present Mrs. Claypole, 1645-6. Died at 3 in the 6. Elizabeth baptised 2d July 1629. morning, Hampton-Court, 6th August 1658, four weeks before her Father. A

Whitlocke

318 of

(p.

ist edition,

turns out to be indisputably in error. "It went to this Oliver's death [sic] :

;

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

This same year, William Prynne first began to make a noise in ( England. A learned young gentleman from Swainswick near 'an Barrister of Lincoln's now of Outer Oxford, Bath/ graduate 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 or Plaver's Sftonrpft ^ *n hp> read bv mortal. For gti11 pv * allt hnt which Mr. William Prynne himselt, before long, paid rather dear. The Book was licensed by old Archbishop Abbot, a man of Peter Puritan tendencies, but now verging towards his end. ' 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 1632,' the great Gustavus died on the Field of Liitzen fighting against While Oliver CromWallenstein victorious for the last time. well walked peacefully intent on cattle-husbandry, that winter;

"**

*,%%

]

;

and amiable woman. The lamentation about Dr. Hewit and but there bloodshed (in Clarendon and others) is fudge. [This may be so be no doubt that she interested herself in favour of the oppressed to often appears " How of the Thus writes: Carrington many Royalist prisoners got she party. How many did she not save from death whom the laws had connot freed? she employed her prayers even with tears to spare such men demned whose ill fortune had designed them to suffer." Life and Death of his most Serene

graceful, brave, '

;

Highness, Oliver, late Lord Protector, p. 264. St. Ives and Ely James ; baptised 8th January 1631-2 died next day. 8. Mary baptised (at Huntingdon still) gth February 1636-7. Lady Fauconhandsome and like her Father.' berg, i8th November 1657. Dean Swift knew her (Journal to Stella, 13th November, 1710.) Died i4th March 1712 (1712-3? is not decided in Noble). Richard died within a few months of her. [Died in March 1712-3, eight months after Richard, to whom she acted as executrix.] Frances 6th December Charles II. was for baptised (at Ely now) 9. 1638. not improbable. Married Mr. Rich, Earl of Warwick's grandson, marrying her nth November 1657 he died in three months, i6th February 1657-8. No child by Rich. Married Sir John Russel, the Checquers Russels. Died 27th January Married John, afterwards Sir John, Russell of 1719-20. [Should be 1720-1. Chippenham on May 7, 1663. Chequers did not come to the Russells until more than a century later. There are letters and many notices of her and her sister Mary in the Hist. MSS. Commissioners' Report on Mrs. Frankland Russell

;

A st ley's papers. ]

In all, 5 sons and 4 daughters of whom 3 sons and all the daughters came to maturity. The Protector's Widow died at Nor borough, her son-in-law Clay pole's place (now ruined, patched into a farmhouse near Market Deeping it is itself in Northamptonshire), 8th October 1672. ;

;

INTRODUCTION

day, on the grassy banks of the Ouse at St. Ives, Gustavus Adolphus, shot through the back, was sinking from his horse in " Ich habe the battle-storm far off, with these words genug, Bruder ; relte Dick. Brother, I have got enough save thyself." l On the 19th of the same month, November 1682, died likewise Frederick Elector Palatine, titular King of Bohemia, husband 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 ;

Allesfiir Ruhm und Ihr, All for Glory and Her/ were Duke Bernhard of Weimar carried on his Flag, through

respect.

the words

She was of Puritan Thirty -Years War. understood to care little about the Four surplices at All hallow tide, 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 mankind 2 He tore them up irresistibly, reduced very much about soap.

many

battles in that

tendency

;

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 loud rustle of him disturbing, for a day, the summer husbandries 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 in which, as we shall see, Tulchans converted into real Calves he succeeded still worse than his Father had done. Dr. Laud, Bishop Laud, now near upon Archbishophood, attended his Majesty thither as formerly; still found 'no religion there, but ;

;

trusted

was

now

fitted

to introduce one.

The Chapel

up with every equipment

textile

Holyrood-house

and metallic

;

and

Bishop Laud in person performed the service,' in a way to show them how illuminate the benighted natives, as, was hoped, an Artist could do it. He had also some dreadful travelling through certain of the savage districts of that country. '

little

Schiller

Rushworth,

Geschichte des y^jdhrigen Krieges. ii. 135, 252, &c.

EVENTS IN OLIVER'S BIOGRAPHY

Crossing Huntingdonshire, on this occasion, in his way Northward, his Majesty had visited the Establishment of Nicholas Ferrar at Little Gidding, on the western border of that county. 1 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 almsgiving also, and what charitable work was possible in that desert 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 In Isaac Walton's Lives times, the modern reader is to meditate. 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 can is still look preserved by Hearne in very unexpected neighbourhood. 2 The Anonymous Person, after some survey and " communing, suggested to Nicholas Ferrar, Perhaps he had but " assumed all this ritual in to get a devout life order mummery, " " led Nicholas, a dark man, peaceably in these bad times ? who had acquired something of the Jesuit in his Foreign travels, looked at him ambiguously, and said, " I perceive you are a " They did not ask the Anonyperson who know the world mous Person to stay dinner, which he considered would have ;

;

been agreeable. Note these other things, with which we are more immediately In this same year the Feoffees, with their Purchase concerned. of Advowsons, with their Lecturers and Running Lecturers, were Laud fairly rooted out, and flung prostrate into total ruin having set Attorney-General Noy upon them, and brought them into the Starchamber. God forgive them)' writes Bishop Laud, and grant me patience 'on hearing that they spake harshly ;

Rushworth,

ii.

178.

Thomae

Caii Vindicice Antiquitatis Academic Oxoniensis (Oxf. 1730), ii. 702considerable writings about him but, except 794. There are two Lives of Ferrar this, nothing that much deserves to be read. ;

VOL.

;

INTRODUCTION

66 him

not gratefully, but ungratefully, for all this trouble In the same year, by procurement of the same zealous Bishop hounding-on the same invincible AttorneyGeneral, William Prynne our unreadable friend, Peter Heylin to the having read him, was brought to the Starchamber who Pillory, and had his ears cropt off, for the first time also, strange as it may look, manifested no gratitude, but the l contrary, for all that trouble of

;

he took

;

1634 In the end of this the third year of Oliver's abode at

came out the celebrated Writ of Shipmoney.

St. Ives, last

was the

a morose, amorphous, cynical feat of Attorney-General Noy Law-Pedant, and invincible living heap of learned rubbish ; :

once a Patriot in Parliament, till they made him Attorneywho had fished up from General, and enlightened his eyes 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 ' to them, as to every man, bonfires, and drank lusty carouses he had been a sore affliction. His heart, on dissection, adds old ' all shrivelled up like a leather pennyAnthony, was found which gave rise to comments among the Puritans. 2 purse 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, :

;

consisted of a barrel of soap. 3 Some indistinct still survives, as of a grisly Law Pluto, and dark Law Monster, kind of Infernal King, Chief Enchanter in the Domdaniel of Attorneys ; one of those frightful men, who, as his ' contemporaries passionately said and repeated, dare to decree

and

his belly

memory

him

injustice by a law.'

The Shipmoney Writ has come out, then and Cousin HampAs the date of Oliver's St. Ives den has decided not to pay it Letter is 1635-6, and we are now come in sight of that, we will ;

here close our Chronology. 1

Rushworth

Wood's Athena

Rushwortb,

;

Wharton's Laud. (Bliss's edition,

London,

1815),

ii.

583,

OLIVER'S LETTERS

AND SPEECHES

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 varieties, of conMost of them, all the important of dition and environment. them, have already long since been printed and again printed ;

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, unelucidated, unindefaced with the dark incrustations too well known telligible, to students of that Period. The Speeches above all, as hitherto set forth in The Somers Tracts, in The Milton State-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. 1 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. Nevertheless these Documents do exist, authentic though defaced ; and invite every one who would know that Period, to The words of study them till they become intelligible again. Oliver Cromwell, the meaning they had, must be worth recoverTo collect these Letters and authentic ing, in that point of view. 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 'a wise memory' would wish to preserve among men the written and spoken words of such a man and as for the ' wise oblivion,' that is already, by Time and Accident, done to our hand. Enough is

but

;

already lost and destroyed

;

we need

not, in this particular case,

omit farther. Accordingly, whatever words authentically proceeding from Oliver himself I could anywhere find yet surviving, I have here 1

[All this

much

exaggerated.

And why

had ever read the speeches in these collections reprints, Carlyle seldom troubled to go.]

Carlyle thought that no students not very apparent. Beyond these

INTRODUCTION

68 gathered

and

;

will

now, with such minimum of annotation as

suit that object, offer them to the reader. That is the purI have ventured to believe that, to certain port of this Book.

may

dim Letters of a noble English might, as they had done to myself, become dimly legible again might dimly present, better than all other evidence, 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 converse, in what dialect soever they speak Great, ever fruitful profitable for patient earnest readers, these old

Man

;

encouragement, for building up in manful purposes and works, are the words of those that in their day were men. reproof, for

will advise serious persons, interested in England 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. I

each Letter look dim, and have little light, yet let the Historical reader reflect, such light 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 if like a star almost extinct, yet like a real star fixed about which there is no cavilling possible. That autograph Letter, 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 Neither is it yet entirely light of Human Life, that Letter 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, the Ghosts of the Past in some glimpses of them visible Such is the effect of con-

For the

rest, if

after all study ; as it has cannot

;

can very confidently recommend A man intent to force for himOliver's as good of their kind. self some path through that gloomy chaos called History of the Seventeenth Century, and to look face to face upon the same,

temporary

letters

may perhaps Here

try

always

;

and

this

method

as hopefully as

an irregular row of beacon-fires, once

all

by another. luminous as

OLIVER'S LETTERS

AND SPEECHES

suns and with a certain inextinguishable erubescence still, in Let us look here. In the abysses of the dead deep Night. 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 what the real steps towards it are ; forming discriminating well the essential from the extraneous to himself, in short, a true, not an untrue picture of the business 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 Intelligence, and Soul of a Man, greater than any speech. The 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 Heroic insight, valour and belief, without words, speech. 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 punctuated, and divided them into paragraphs, in the modern manner. 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 ;

;

INTRODUCTION

to have the Letters read

and understood, it seemed very proper and altogether to get rid of that encumbrance. Would 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 at once

;

physiognomy, of the Original. And so, a minimum of annotahaving 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 with 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 moderns, we may say, has become a gulf of bottomless darkness Not so easily will the modern man domesticate himself in a scene of Nor could any measurable things every way so foreign to him. 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 Rushworth-Nalson State-papers, '

tion

;

of Philosophical Scepticisms, Dilettantisms, 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 the due it is a very large one, seldom or never conceded 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 respecting it. The first is, By no means to credit the wide-spread report that these Seventeenth-Century Puritans were superstitious crackbrained 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 Machia;

;

AND SPEECHES

OLIVER'S LETTERS

This is a wide-spread report ; but an untrue advise my reader to try precisely the opposite hypothesis. To consider that his Fathers, who had thought about this World very seriously indeed, and with very considerable thinking faculty indeed, were not quite so far behindhand in their conclusions That actually their ' enthusiasms/ if well seen respecting it. vels, to

one.

dupe them.

into, were not Official Jargon,

That Machiavelism, Cant, foolish but wise. whereby a man speaks openly what he does not

mean, were, surprising as it may seem, much rarer then than Really and truly it may in a manner they have ever since been. be said, Cant, Parliamentary and other Jargon, were still to O Heavens, one could weep at the coninvent in this world. Cant was not fashionable at all that stupendous invention trast 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 any inner thought, if thought he would at that date have awakened have, of the matter talked of, all the horror in men's minds, which at all dates, and at this date No man as yet dared The accursed thing too, is due to him. 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 phenomenon. Even Archbishop Laud and Peter Heylin meant what they say through their words you do look direct or if ' lying into the scraggy conviction they have formed 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, Machiavelism, 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. practical world based on Belief in God such as many centuries had seen before, but as never any It was the last glimpse century since has been privileged to see. 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.

;

INTRODUCTION

My second advice is, Not to imagine that it was Constitution, Liberty of the people to tax themselves/ Privilege of Parliament, Triennial or annual Parliaments, or any modification 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 retrospect. 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 acknowledged for complete as it stood in the holy Written Book, made good in this world ; to see this, or the true unwearied aim and 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 Allhallowtide,' but by true god-consecrated ones, whose hearts the Most High this was the prayer of had touched and hallowed with his fire many, it was the godlike hope and effort of some. Our modern methods of reform differ somewhat, as indeed 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 certain colour. For fire is '

;

But by no spectacles, only by mere blinders and always fire. wooden-eyed spectacles, can the flame-girt Heaven's-messenger pass for a poor mouldy Pedant and Constitution-monger, such as this would make him out to be On the whole, say not, good reader, as is often done, " It was !

OLIVER'S LETTERS

AND SPEECHES

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 the in new vesture elements over

;

again, " issue of it a melancholy farce -tragedy, in one " always sorry

" another

;

Age

as in

very obviously a truth but also in Sure enough, the highest Life secret a very sad error withal. touches always, by large sections of it, on the vulgar and universal he that expects to see a Hero, or a Heroic Age, step !

Wherein

lies

;

forth into practice in yellow Drury-lane stage-boots, and speak in Sure enough, in blank verse for itself, will look long in vain. the Heroic Century as in the Unheroic, knaves and cowards, and

cunning greedy persons were not wanting, were, if you will, extremely abundant. But the question always remains, Did they coerced by lie chained, subordinate in this world's business steel-whips, or in whatever other effectual way, and sent whimpering into their due subterranean abodes, to beat hemp and repent a true never-ending attempt going on to handcuff, to ;

;

and suppress them ? Or did they walk openly abroad, the envy of a general valet-population, and bear sway professing, without universal anathema, 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 silence

;

insight as to this Universe, and its Heights and its 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 confusion whose whole Existence accordingly was a grimace nothing original in it, nothing genuine or sincere but this only, Their greediness of appetite and their Such unhappy Ages, too numerous here faculty of digestion. 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 The inorganic manure. 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 ;

;

INTRODUCTION

What melodious

loving heart will search into Even torpid sing of them, or celebrate them ? 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

become

lovely.

their records, will

;

Ages, which have done great things in this Earth, among their It never lies falsities, their greedy quackeries and zmheroisms and never will lie there. Knaves and quacks, alas, we know had they abounded but the Age was Heroic even because it 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 But now for the Letters of Cromwould not endure these well themselves. !

;

PART

TO THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL

WAR

16361642

LETTER

ST. IVES, a [small Town of perhaps fifteen hundred souls, stands left or Northeastern bank of the River Ouse, in flat grassy Its country, and is still noted as a Cattle-market in those parts.

on the

chief historical fame is likely to rest on the following one remaining Letter of Cromwell's, written there on the llth of January 1635-6.

The little Town, of somewhat dingy aspect, and very quiescent except on market-days, runs from Northwest to Southeast, it parallel to the shore of the Ouse, a short furlong in length 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 In that case, the the upper end, was probably built since. f locality we hear of as the Green of St. Ives would then be the space which is now covered mainly with cattle-pens for marketA narrow steep old business, and forms the middle of the street. Bridge, probably the same which Cromwell travelled, leads you over, westward, towards Godmanchester, 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 extremity. The Church from its Churchyard looks down into the very River, which is fenced from it by a brick wall. The Ouse flows here, you cannot without study tell in which direction, fringed with gross :

;

(75)

BEFORE THE CIVIL

WAR

[ii jan

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 the western row of houses being somewhat the shorter, as visible 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 pacing of many generations. The steeple is visible from several miles distance a sharp high The country spire, piercing far up from amid the willow-trees. 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 Who the primitive Ives himself was, as a Farmer and Grazier. remains problematic Camden says he was ' Ivo a Persian From him however, Phantasm surely far out of his road here ' as he is (being indeed Nothing, except an ancient stone- coffin,' ' of cloth' in it, accidentally with bones, and tatters bright ploughed up in this spot, and acted on by opaque human ' ( 1 wonder, miraculous dreams/ and the Abbot of Ramsey'), Church and Village indisputably took rise and name about the and have stood ever since being founded Year 1000 or later on Cattle- dealing and the firm Earth withal. Ives or Yves, the worthy Frenchman, Bishop of Chartres in the time of our Henry Beauclerk neither he nor the other French Yves, Patron Saint of Attorneys, have anything to do with this locality but miraculous ' Ivo the Persian Bishop and that anonymous stone-coffin ;

;

alone.

observed, has left hardly any memorial of himThe ground he farmed is still partly capable of being specified, certain records or leases being still in existence. a stagnant It lies at the lower or Southeast end of the Town flat tract of land, extending between the houses or rather kitchengardens of St. Ives in that quarter, and the banks of the River, Oliver, as

self at St. Ives.

;

1 His Legend (De Beato Yvone, Episcopo Persd), with due Acta Sanctorum, Junii, torn. ii. (Venetiis, 1742), pp. 288-92.

details, in

Bollandus,

LETTER

1636.]

L, ST.

IVES

If which, very tortuous always, has made a new bend here. well drained, this land looks as if it would produce abundant a bog. Tall grass, but naturally it must be little other than bushy ranges of willow-trees and the like, at present, divide it into fields the River, not visible till you are close on it, boundAt the top of the fields next to the ing them all to the South. Town is an ancient massive Barn, still used as such the people and nobody can prove that it was Cromwell's Barn call it It was evidently some ancient man's or series of ancient not his 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 ' It is indisputably Slepe-Hall pointed out as Oliver's House.' and Oliver's Farm was rented from the estate of Slepe House, It is at present used for a Boarding-school the worthy Hall. 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 " Never " But in fact there is no likelihood you to answer, that this was Oliver's House at all in its present state it does not seem to be a century old 1 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 ;

;

We know, and memory in his native country 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 Ouse 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 l63l to \636j a man studious of His cattle grazed many temporal and many eternal things. here, his ploughs tilled here, the heavenly skies and infernal abysses overarched and underarched him here. In fact there is, as it were, nothing whatever that still blur of Oliver's

shall

;

decisively to every eye attests his existence at St. Ives, except the following old Letter, accidentally preserved among the 1 Noble, i. 102, 106. [This reference that Oliver's house is not standing.]

means nothing, but on

p. 261,

Noble says

BEFORE THE CIVIL

WAR

[11 Jan.

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 In the Parish-records of St. Ives, Oliver years ago, are gone. appears twice among some other ten or twelve respectable ' St. Ives cum ratepayers; appointing, in 1633 and 1634, for ' and fit annual overseers for the Green one Highway Slepa 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 1 Certain letters 'written in a very subject to inflammation.' kind style from Oliver Lord Protector to persons in St. Ives/ do Swords ' bearing the innot now exist ; probably never did. itials of O. C.,' swords sent down in the beginning of 164-2, when '

War was now such

nobody

imminent, and weapons were yet scarce, do any ? Noble says they were numerous in 1787 but

exist

still is

bound

;

to believe him.

Walker

testifies

that the

Vicar of St. Ives, Rev. Henry Downhall, was ejected with his curate in 1642 ; 3 an act which Cromwell could have hindered, had he been willing to testify that they were fit clergymen. He attended them in red flannel, but Alas, had he been able had not exceedingly rejoiced in them, it would seem. There is, in short, nothing that renders Cromwell's existence completely visible to us, even through the smallest chink, but this Letter alone, which, copied from the Museum Manuscripts, worthy Mr. We slightly rectify the Harris 4 has printed for all people. !

and

spelling,

reprint.

1 See Noble his confused gleanings and speculations concerning St. Ives are to be found, i. 105-6, and again, i. 258-61. 2 See also Appendix, No. i. Sufferings of the Clergy. 3 [Walker says "about 1642." He does not mention a curate, or speak of Cromwell as having anything to do with the matter, but states that Downhall was turned out for "refusing to admit a factious lecturer.'' Sufferings of the Clergy, :

part

ii.

p. 230.]

Life of Cromwell : a blind farrago, published in 1761, 'after the manner of Mr. Bayle,' a very bad manner,' more especially when a Harris presides over it Yet 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. 4

LETTER

1636.]

To my

very loving Friend

Mr.

I, ST.

IVES

Sign of the Deliver these.

Storie, at the

Royal Exchange, London

Dog

nth January

St. Ives,

in the

1635.

MR. STORIE,

Among 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 provided for the feeding of souls. Building of hospitals provides for men's to build material temples is judged a work of piety but they that procure spiritual food, they that build up spiritual Such a temples, they are the men truly charitable, truly pious.

bodies

;

work

as this was your erecting the lecture in our country ; in the which you placed Dr. Welles, a man for goodness and industry, and ability to do good every way, not short of any I

know

England

and

persuaded that, sithence his

coming, the Lord hath by him wrought

much good amongst

us.

It only

now

remains

that

He who

moved you

first

to this, put

you forward to the continuance thereof it was the Lord and therefore to Him lift we up our hearts that He would perfect :

it.

And

lecture

surely,

fall,

;

Mr. Storie, it were a piteous thing to see a hands of so many able and godly men as I

in the

persuaded the founders of this are ; in these times, wherein see they are suppressed, with too much haste and violence, Far be it that so much guilt by the enemies of God his truth. 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

of Christ Jesus put The souls of pay. so shall

;

and ever

beseech you therefore in the bowels forward, and let the good man have his ?

God

his children will bless

you

for

and

rest,

Your loving Friend

in the Lord,

OLIVER CROMWELL.

WAR

BEFORE THE CIVIL

[11 Jan.

Commend my hearty love to Mr. Busse, Mr. Bradly, 1 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 as conveniently

from you

expect one so soon

Vale*

you may.

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 The perinvited men to liquor and house-room in those days sonages 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 2 'James Story' is one conditions, on the 9th of October 1646. From Oliver's exof these their chief is Alderman Fowke. ( pression, 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 Puritanism Of Busse and much of him, it is like, will never be known Beadly (unless Busse be a misprint for Bunse, Alderman Bunce, another of the above Trustees '), there remains no vestige. ' Concerning the Lecture,' however, the reader will recal what was said above of Lecturers, and of Laud's enmity to them of the Feoffees who supported Lecturers, and of Laud's final supMr. Story's name is pression and ruin of those Feoffees in 16.33. not mentioned in the List of the specific Feoffees but it need not be doubted he was a contributor to their fund, and probably ;

;

[Printed "Beadly

Scobell's Acts

by Carlyle.l

and Ordinances (London,

1658), p. 99.

* Harris (London, 1814), p. 12. This Letter, for which Harris, in 1761, thanks ' the Trustees of the British Museum,' is not now discoverable in that Establishment a search of three hours through all the Catalogues, assisted by one of the Clerks,' Does exist safe, nevertheless (Sloane MSS. no. reports itself to me as fruitless. 2035b, fol. 3, a venerable brown Autograph) and, in the new Catalogue,' will be better indicated. Busse is by no means Bunse as some have conjectured. ( Note ;

;

Third Edition. )

LETTER

1636.]

L, ST.

IVES

man among the subscribers. By the light of this Letter we may dimly gather that they still continued to subscribe, and to forward Lectureships where possible, though now in a less a leading

ostentatious manner. but his Grace It appears there was a Lecture at Huntingdon of Lambeth, patiently assiduous in hunting down such objects, had managed to get that suppressed in I(j33, 1 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, 2 :

' the Lecturer in Huntingdon/ wherever else he might lecture. Besides Mr. Wells is not in danger of suppression by Laud, but Where Mr. Wells lectured, no mortal knows, by want of cash 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 1800/. 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. 3 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 predicament, and hope it was this Wells, preaching for a friend, 'in the afternoon/ in a

;

Church in London. 4 Reverend Mark Noble 1

Wharton's Laud (London,

says, the

1695), p. 527.

above Letter 2

Noble,

very curious, i.

259.

[This is Dr. Samuel Welles, who upon the breaking out of the Civil War, became There are many orders for payment chaplain to Lord Essex's regiment of horse. to him amongst Essex's warrants. On July 20, 1644, the Earl writes to the Treasurer at War that " whereas Mr. Samuel Wells, chaplain to my own regiment of horse, has served in my army a long time, and therein diligently discharged the duty of" his place and being in much want for supplying of necessaries to his wife and family he desires that ten pounds be paid him on account and again in the following " January that io/. be imprested to him, he having a long time served in the army, and duly and constantly attended the same, for which there is much pay due and arrears 3

;

unto him, and he being at present in much want and necessity." Commonwealth " Exchequer Papers, Public Record Office. These warrants are receipted by Samuel Welles." About the same time Cromwell wrote a short letter in his favour, which will be found in the Supplement to these volumes ; No. 9.] 4 Old Pamphlet Title mislaid and forgotten. :

VOL.

BEFOEE THE CIVIL

and a convincing proof how 1 religious enthusiasm.

Yes,

far

WAR

[11 Jan.

gone Oliver was, at that time, reverend imbecile friend, he

in is

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 Far gone indeed, my reverend imbecile friend that. This then is what we know of Oliver at St. Ives. He wrote the above Letter there. He had sold his Properties in Huntingdon for 1800/. with the whole or with part of which sum he stocked certain Grazing-Laiids 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 There is in this man talent for farming there are imagination. clearly

;

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 Felsted; Sir William Masham, another of the same, lives at Otes, hard by, as :

;

shall see.

Cromwell at the time of writing this Letter was, as he himself might partly think probable, about to quit St. Ives. His mother's brother Sir Thomas Steward, Knight, lay sick at Ely in those Sir Thomas makes his will in this same month of very days. January, leaving Oliver his principal heir and on the 30th 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 indisputable On the very day while Oliver Cromwell was writing this Letter at St. Ives, two obscure individuals, Peter Aldridge and Thomas Lane, Assessors of Shipmoney,' over in Buckinghamshire, had assembled a Parish Meeting in the Church of Great Kimble, to ;

Noble,

259.

LETTER

1636.]

II.,

ELY

and rate the Shipmoney of the said Parish there, in the cold weather, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, ' 11 January 1635,' the Parish did attend, ' John Hampden, Esquire,' at the head of 1 them, and by a Return still extant, refused to pay the same or ' any portion thereof, witness the above Assessors/ witness also two Parish Constables whom we remit from such unexpected John Hampden's share for this Parish is thirty-one celebrity. for another Parish it is twenty shillings shillings and sixpence on which latter sum, not on the former, John Hampden was assess

;

tried.

LETTER

II.

OLIVER removed to Ely very soon after writing the foregoing Letter. There is a receipt for 10/.' signed by him, dated Ely, 10 June 1636 2 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 '

;

He continued here till the granted him, are still in existence. time of the Long Parliament and his Family still after that, 3 till some unascertained date, seemingly about 1647, when it became apparent that the Long Parliament was not like to rise for a great while yet, and it was j udged 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 ' 4 the house occupied by Mr. Page under which name, much better than under that of Cromwell, the inhabitants of Ely now ;

;

know

The House, though somewhat

it.

standing close to ;

3 4

in a frail state,

;

it,

Lord Nugent's Memorials of Hampden (London,

231.

Noble, 107. See Appendix, No. Noble, i. 106.

is still

Mary's Churchyard at the corner of the great

Facsimile Engraving of

1832), 2

St.

7, last

Letter there.

(Note

Third

Edition,']

BEFORE THE CIVIL

WAR

[13 Oct.

Tithe-barn of Ely, or great Square of tithe-barns and offices, 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 Two years ago this House there, but only his Mother's cousins in Ely stood empty closed finally up, deserted by all the Pages, as the Commutation of Tithes had rendered it superfluous this year (1845), I find it is an Alehouse, with still some chance of It is by no means a sumptuous mansion but may standing. have conveniently held a man of three or four hundred a year, with his family, in those simple times. Some quaint air of genIt is of two tility still looks through its rugged dilapidation. stories, more properly of one and a half; has many windows, 1 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 2 and poor little Catharina Such are Lynne, is in the Cathedral hard by. the changes which fleeting Time procure th.' The Second extant Letter of Cromwell's is dated Ely, October It will be good to introduce, as briefly as possible, a few 1638. 3 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

which

;

English History. On the 30th 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 ' ' 4 The sight of a great crowd, silent mainly, and looking pale.' men were our old friend William Prynne, poor Prynne, who had got into new trouble, and here lost his ears a second and final ;

;

barn was pulled down in 1842. Cromwell's house is now again in and in good condition, but Carlyle's description does not fit it (as There is a it now is, at any rate) for it has neither irregular chimneys nor gables. photograph of it in Mr. Firth's Oliver Cromwell, in Mr. Kingston's Civil War in East Anglia, and elsewhere.] 2 He was William, son of John. 3 In Appendix, No. z, another note of his. (Third Edition.} 4 State Trials (Cobbett's, London, 1809), iii. 746. 1

[The

tithe

private hands

LETTER

1638.]

ELY

II.,

< time, having had them sewed on again before William Prynne, Barrister ; Dr. John Bastwick ; and the Rev. Henry Burton, :

Their sin was against Laud Minister of Friday-street Church. his surplices at Allhallowtide, not against any other man or thing. Prynne, speaking to the people, defied all Lambeth, with Rome at the back of it, to argue with him, William Prynne alone, " and that these practices were according to the Law of England ; " let them if I fail to prove it," said Prynne, hang my body at ' Whereat the door of that Prison there/' the Gate-house Prison. the people gave a great shout/ somewhat of an ominous one, Bastwick's wife, on the scaffold, received his ears in I think. her lap, and kissed him. 1 Prynne's ears the executioner ' rather sawed than cut.' " Cut me, tear me," cried Prynne ; " I fear thee " The June sun had shone not I fear the fire of Hell, not thee 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

and

;

July following, Archbishop Laud having now, with great effort and much manipulation, got his Scotch Liturgy and Scotch 2 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 " De'il colic the wame of thee " answered his tippets Jenny, stool at his head. "Thou foul thief, wilt thou say her hurling " 3 I thought we had got done with the mass mass at my lug ? !

;

Towers's British Biography. Rushworth, ii. 321, 343; iii. Appendix, 153-5; & c 'No sooner was the Book opened by the Dean of Edinburgh, but a number 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 " Out thou false thief dost thou say the mass at my lug?" Which head, saying, 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 contains the Continuation they follow as here in all the others. Thought to be the first grave mention of Jenny Geddes in Printed History a heroine still familiar to Tradition everywhere in Scotland. In a foolish Pamphlet, printed in 1661, entitled Edinburgh's Joy, &c. Joy for the Blessed Restoration and Annus Mirabilis, there is mention made of 'the immortal Janet 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 but a small Heroine to Jenny but she has been luckier in the recording For these bibliographical notices I am indebted to the friendliness of Mr. David Laing of the Signet Library, Edinburgh. 2

;

BEFORE THE CIVIL

some time ago others

and here

;

" Stane

him

" !

WAR

[13 Oct.

" "A cried again Pape, a Pape In fact the service could not go on at

it is

This passed in St. Giles's Kirk, Edinburgh, on Sunday 23d Scotland had endured much in the bishop way for July 1637. 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 and Ireland, rose into unappeasable commotion on the England and his Grace of Canterbury, and flight of this stool of Jenny's King Charles himself, and many others had lost their heads before there could be peace again. The Scotch People had sworn their ' and were in these very days of Covenant, not without tears October 1638, while Oliver is writing at Ely, busy with their whole might electing their General Assembly, to meet at Glasgow next month. I think the Tulchan Apparatus is likely to be somewhat sharply dealt with, the Cow having become awake to it Great events are in the wind out of Scotland vague news, of all.

;

unappeasable commotion risen there. In the end of that same year, too, there had risen

England huge rumour concerning the Shipmoney

over

all

Trial at Lon-

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 laweloquence, law-logic, for three days running, on Mr. Hampden's side and learned Mr. Holborn for three other days preserved yet by Rush worth in acres of typography, unreadable now to all mortals. For other learned gentlemen, tough as leather, spoke at on the opposite side and learned judges animadverted With brief pauses, endless length, amid the expectancy of men. Mr. Hampden the Trial lasted for three weeks and three days. became the most famous man in England, 2 by accident partly. The sentence was not delivered till April 1638 and then it went against Mr. Hampden judgment in Exchequer ran to this effect, Consideralum est per eosdem Barones quod prcedictus Johannes Hampdon.

;

He must

pay the Twenty then; Petition of Right and Tallagio non concedendo have become an If there be not hope in Jenny Geddes's stool and old song. ( De'il colic the wame of thee,' we are in a bad way '

den de iisdem (

shillings,

viginti solidis oneretur,'

inde satisfaciat.'

No hope

in Law-Courts,

Rushworth, Kennet, Balfour. Rushworth, iii., Appendix, 159-216;

ib.

ii.

Clarendon. 480.

LETTER

1638.]

ELY

It,

During which great public Transactions, there had been in 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, Cromwell's :

;

This grand work began, Dryasdust in his bewildered manner knows not when but it ' went on rapidly/ and had ended in 1637. 1 Or rather had appeared, and strongly enbut was not yet by any means settled deavoured, to end in 1637 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 inarticulate clamour a voice, and gain a remedy as heretofore.

;

approved himself, as Sir Philip Warwick will testify, that would set well at the mark/ that took sure aim, and had a stroke of some weight in him. cannot here afford room to disentangle 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. 3 At a time when, as Old for

it.

man

;

Dugdale's Hist, of Embankments ; Cole's, Wells's, &c. &c. History of the Fens.

Warwick's Memoirs (London, 1701),

p. 250.

[" In 1638, the King intervened, declared the work of drainage incomplete, and undertook to complete it himself, announcing that the inhabitants of the district were to continue in possession of their lands and commons till the work was really finished. Nothing else is known of Cromwell's part in these disputes save a vague story told in the Memoirs of Sir Philip Warwick that the vulgar grew clamorous the scheme and that Mr. Cromwell appeared as the head of their faction. against Warwick, writing long after the events he referred to, assumed as a matter of course that Cromwell opposed the King, and the mistake found easy credence." Some years later, Cromwell came forward to defend the Rights of the Commoners of St. Ives, whose waste lands had been enclosed and sold to the Earl of Manchester. The commoners petitioned the Long Parliament but the House of Lords " intervened in favour of Manchester. Cromwell got the House of Commons to appoint a committee to consider the rights of the case. Hyde, its chairman, was greatly scandalised by the vehemence with which Cromwell advocated the rights of the Commoners before it. 101 This [See p. below.] persistent championship of the rights of peasants and small freeholders was the basis of Cromwell's influence in the Eastern Counties. Common rights were something concrete and tangible, '

;

BEFORE THE CIVIL

WAR

[13 Oct.

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. 1 Cromwell acquired by it a great popularity in the Fen -country, ' and what acquired the name or nickname Lord of the Fens 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 rumours 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 The likewise, in spite of our strait limits, be a word said. Mashams were distant Cousins of Oliver; 2 this Sir William Masham, or Massam as he is often written, proved a conspicuous rose busy man in the Politics of his time on the Puritan side ;

into Oliver's Council of State at last. Lords Masham in the next generation,

;

The Mashams became

and so continued for a 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 neighbourwhile

;

one Lady

Masham was

;

hood of which Otes Mansion stood. High Laver, Essex, not far from Harlow Station on the Northeastern Railway. The Mashams are all extinct, and their Mansion is swept away as if it had not been.

'Some

forty years ago,'

says

kind informant, 'a

'wealthy Maltster of Bishop's Stortford became the proprietor ' by purchase and pulled the Manorhouse down leaving the 'outhouses as cottages to some poor people/ The name Otes, ;

;

which appealed to many who were not Puritans, and came home to men to whom Parliamentary privileges were remote abstractions. Every village Hampden looked to Cromwell as a leader, and was ready to follow him. In 1643, a royalist newspaper nicknamed him The Lord of the Fens,' but his popularity with the fenmen began long before the military exploits which gained him the title." Firth's Cromwell, pp, 33, 34.] '

1 Warwick's Memoirs, p. 250. Poor Noble blunders, as he is apt to do. [But Noble says 1638 see p. 107.] 2 [Sir William Masham's wife was Cromwell's own cousin, daughter of his Aunt Joan (Lady Barrington), and therefore cousin also to Mrs. St. John.] ;

LETTER

1638.]

the

II.,

ELY

this undestroyed and now indestructible Ragpaper alone preserve the memory of Mashamdom

tomb of Locke, and

traction of

in this world.

may be worth

modernise the spelling let the reader, for it endeavour to modernise the sentiment ;

his while,

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 which Cousin, and perhaps 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

beloved Cousin Mrs. St. Johns, at Sir William

House

called Oates, in Essex

Masham

his

Present these.

Ely, i3th October 1638.

DEAR

COUSIN, I

thankfully acknowledge your love in your

kind remembrance of too highly prize to

me upon this opportunity. Alas, you do and my company. I may be ashamed

lines,

own your expressions, considering how unprofitable I am, and mean improvement of my talent. Yet to honour my God by declaring what He hath done for

the

am confident, and I will be so. Truly, then, That He giveth springs in a dry and barren wilderI live (you know where) in Mesheck, ness where no water is. which they say signifies Prolonging ; in Kedar, which signifieth Blackness: yet the Lord forsaketh me not. Though He do

soul, in this I

this I find

He will (I trust) bring me to His tabernacle, to His resting-place. My soul is with the congregation of the firstborn, rests in my body hope, and if here I may honour my God either prolong, yet

by doing or by suffering, I shall be most glad. Truly no poor creature hath more cause to put forth himself in the cause of his God than I. I have had plentiful wages 1

Antea,

p. 20.

[St.

John's

Lady Masham by her

first

wife

husband.]

was

also a cousin of Cromwell's, a daughter

WAR

BEFOEE THE CIVIL

beforehand, and

The Lord accept me

sure

shall never earn the least mite.

me He is

His Son, and give

[13 Oct.

walk

in the

the light. He light, it is that enlighteneth our blackness, our darkness. I dare not He giveth me to see light in say, He hideth His face from me.

and give us to walk

His

light.

One beam

freshment in

lived in

in a dark place hath exceeding much reName for shining upon so dark

blessed be His

You know what my manner of life hath been. and loved darkness, and hated the light I was a

a heart as mine

Oh,

;

chief, the chief of sinners.

God had mercy on me. O for

me, pray

in the light, as

for

me, that

This

true

hated godliness, yet

the riches of His mercy.

He who

Praise

Him

hath begun a good work would

perfect it to the day of Christ. Salute all my good friends in that family whereof you are yet

a member.

am much bound unto them for their love. I bless and that my son, by their procurement, is so him have your prayers, your counsel let me have I

the Lord for them well.

Let

;

them. Salute your husband and sister from me word He promised to write about Mr. :

his

He is

not a

him about. Once more

farewell.

The Lord be with you Your

of ;

but as yet I received no letters with conveniency may be done for the poor cousin :

man

Wrath of Epping him in mind to do what put

did

solicit

prayeth

truly loving Cousin,

OLIVER CROMWELL. l

wife's service

and love presented

to all her friends.

There are two or perhaps three sons of Cromwell's at Felsted School by this time a likely enough guess is, that he might have been taking Dick over to Felsted 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 :

Thurloe's State Papers (London, 1742), i. i. [A copy of this letter is calendared appendix to the znd" Report of the Historical Manuscripts Commissioners. Noted by Mr. Horwood Religious and wordy."]

in the

LETTER

1638.]

ELY

II.,

What glimpses of long-gone summers of long-gone beings in fringed trouser-breeches, in starched ruff, in hood and fardingale alive, they, within their antiquarian costumes, living men and women instructive, very interesting to one another Mrs. St. John came down to breakfast every morning in that summer visit of the year 1638, and Sir William Otes.

;

human

;

said grave grace, and they spake polite devout things to one another; and they are vanished, they and their things and all silent, like the echoes of the old speeches, nightingales that sang that season, like the blossoms of the old roses. O Death,

Time

For the

soul's furniture of these brave

people is grown not less than their Spanish boots and lappet Reverend Mark Noble, my reverend imbecile friend, discaps. covers in this Letter evidence that Oliver was once a very dissolute unintelligible, antiquarian,

man

that Carrion Heath spake truth in that Flagellum 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 a sorrow only that this gone out, veiled itself in dark clouds or the other noble Patron forgot thee when a living fell vacant ? 1 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 advise thee to make an attempt towards understanding it. There 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 Eternities 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, Northern Kirks

still

sing

him

in the

Woe's me

that

I in

Meshec

A sojourner so

long, Or that I in the tents do dwell To Kedar that belong !

Yes, there Perennial.

a tone in the soul of this Oliver that holds of the With a noble sorrow, with a noble patience, he longs

WAE

BEFORE THE CIVIL

[1639.

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 Yet he too will venture, will do and they will but let him alone 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 " To live or it casting yourself at the footstool of God's throne, 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 But the Highest was never in thee, the peaceabler, I suppose. 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 I Immortals, shall never be thine. pity thee brag not, or I shall have to despise thee. !

;

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

SUCH

1639 l May July. The Scots at their Glasgow Assembly had rent their Tulchan Apparatus in so rough a way, and otherwise so ill comported themselves, his Majesty saw good, in the beginning

of this year,

proved so

immense negotiation and messaging to and fro having them with an Army. By unheard-of

futile, to chastise

exertions in the Extra-Parliamentary way, his Majesty got an

Army ready; marched with it to Berwick, is at Newcastle, 8th 2 May 1639' But, alas, the Scots, with a much better Army, already lay encamped on Dunse Law every nobleman with his ;

tenants there, as a drilled regiment, round him 1

Nov. 1638

Rush worth,

Baillie's Letters iii.

930.

;

(Edinburgh, 1841),

old Fieldmarshal

118-176.

TWO YEARS

1640.]

Lesley for their generalissimo; at every Colonel's tent this pennon 1 For Christs Crown and Covenant : there was no fighting to be thought of. 2 Neither could the Pacification there patched up be of long continuance. The Scots disbanded their soldiers but kept the officers, mostly Gustavus-Adolphus men, still within flying,

;

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 f 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 Parliament for that To the great end, there being no money attainable otherwise. and glad astonishment of England ; which, at one time, thought never to have seen another Parliament Oliver Cromwell sat in this Parliament for Cambridge 3 recommended by Hampden, say some not needing any recommendation in those Fen-countries, think others. Oliver's Colleague was a Thomas Meautys, Esquire. 4 This Parliament met, 13th April 1640: 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 Parliament. 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 ' 20,000/. 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 1

other methods/ commission of array, benevo-

["Everie companie had flying at the captaine's tent-doore"

says.] ^Ibid.

what

Baillie

926-49 Baillie, 184-221 King's Army dismissed' (after Pacification), 24th June (Rushworth, iii. 946). 3 Browne Willis, pp. 229, 30; Rushworth, iii. 1105. 4 [Thomas Meautys was elected as member for Cambridge in King James's parliament of 1621, and sat for that borough in all the parliaments of King Charles's He was Clerk of the Privy Council from 1623 reign up to the Long Parliament. until within a short time of his death in 1642.] iii.

;

WAR

BEFORE THE CIVIL

[1640.

1 lence, forced-loan, or how he could, got a kind of Army on foot, set it marching out of the several Counties of the South to-

and

wards the Scotch Border

but

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 Clerygyman were reputed Puritan, they went and gave him three cheers if of Surplice tendency, they sometimes threw his furniture out of window. 2 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

this time, 'to present their grievances to the King's the 20th of August 16*40, they cross the Tweed Majesty.' it,

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. 3

at Coldstream

;

The

way across the Tyne, at the King's Army making small fight, most of them no fight hurrying from Newcastle, and all town and country quarters, towards York again, where his Majesty and Strafford were. 4 The Bishops' War was at an end. The Scots, striving to be gentle as doves in their behaviour, 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 possession graduand stayed there, in ally of all Northumberland and Durham, 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, 5 good Master Scot," by way of burden. His Majesty and Strafford, in a fine frenzy at this turn of ' Council of Peers,' affairs, found no refuge, except to summon a ' and alas, at last, to enter upon a Treaty with the Scots summon a New Parliament. Not to be helped in any way. Twelve chief Peers of the summoned ' Council petitioned for a Parliament the City of London petitioned for a Parliament, A Parliament was and would not lend money otherwise. for 3d of next the November whereupon London appointed August 28/A.

Scots force their

Newbum, some miles above Newcastle

;

2 3

Rushworth, iii. 1241. Vicars' Parliamentary Chronicle (Lpnd. 1644), p. 4 Old Pamphlets. Rushworth, iii. 1236, &c.

20. 5

Baillie' s Letters.

TWO YEARS

1640.]

and the treaty with the Scots at cheerfully lent 200,000/. 1 Ripon, 1st October l64fO, 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 allowance of 850/. a-day an Army indispensable for PuriThe English Army tan objects ; no haste in finishing its Treaty. allowance without in Yorkshire across ; except from the lay casualties of the King's Exchequer ;Mn a dissatisfied manner, ;

and occasionally getting into Army- Plots.' This Parliament, which met on the 3rd of November 1640, has become very celebrated in History by the name of the Long Parliament. 2 It accomplished and suffered very singular destinies ;

Ejectment suffered Reinstatements, Re-ejectments and the Rump or Fag-end of it did Oliver Cromwell sat not finally vanish till l6th March 1 659-60. suffered a Pride's Purge, a Cromwell's

;

again in this Parliament for Cambridge Town Meautys, his old ' 3 Colleague, is now changed for John Lowry, Esquire,' probably a more Puritanic man. The Members for Cambridge University are the same in both Parliaments. 4 ;

Rushworth, iii. 1282. [Of the composition of the Long Parliament, Mr. Morley writes that the list reads like a catalogue of the existing county families, and that "it is hardly an exaggeration to say that the House of Lords now contains a smaller proportion of ancient blood than the famous lineages that figure in the roll of the great revoluIt was essentially an aristocratic and not a popular tionary House of Commons. 2

house, as became only too clear five or six years later, when Levellers and soldiers came into the field of politics. The Long Parliament was made up of the very flower of the English gentry and the educated laity." Morley's Oliver Cromwell, 3

Willis; Rushworth,

thus

iv.

See Cooper's Annals of Cambridge (London, 1845),

sums up Cromwell's position at the beginning of the Long [Mr. Weyman Parliament. " He had had already seme experience of the House, he bore a wellknown name and had a fair estate, and the reputation in his own district of being a But in addition he had or he and his cousin, strenuous, stirring, stiff-backed man. the already famous John Hampden had the following kinsfolk among the members Oliver St. John, the Solicitor-General, a first cousin Edmund Dunch, Sir Thomas Sir Richard Knightley, Sir Barrington and Edmund Waller, also first cousins Robert Pye and Sir John Trevor, Hampden' s sons-in-law Valentine Walton, Cromwell's brother-in-law and Sir Gilbert Gerrard and Sir William Masham, the husbands of Cromwell's first cousins ten votes with Cromwell and Hampden, twelve. Then, in addition to these he had in the House at its first sitting five distant Francis Gerrard, Thomas connexions, the sons or kinsmen of the fore-going Sir Oliver Luke, Sir Samuel Luke and Humphrey Salwey. From Trevor, time to time, as vacancies occurred and royalists were disabled, this number was increased very considerably, Sir John Barrington, William Masham, John Trevor, John Jones, Thomas Waller, Richard Ingoldsby, Henry Ireton and Richard Salwey coming up to recruit the clan which, notwithstanding death and defection, can :

;

scarcely in 1647 have mustered less than twenty-three votes." Kinsfolk," English Historical Review, January, 1891.]

"Oliver Cromwell's

BEFOEE THE CIVIL

LETTER To my

[1640-1.

III

Mr. Willingham, Lane

loving friend

WAR

his

House

Swithins

London, February

1640.'

SIR,

desire you to send

the reasons of the

Scots to enforce their desire of Uniformity in Religion, expressed 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 transparent 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, llth December 1640, the Londoners present their celebrated ' Petition/ signed by 15,000 hands, craving to have Then on Bishops and their Ceremonies radically reformed. Saturday, 23d January 1640-1, comes the still more celebrated ' Petition and Remonstrance from 700 Ministers of the Church of 2 England, to the like effect. Upon which Documents, especially ' 3 the latter, ensue strenuous debatings, ensues a Committee upon a Bill to abolish Superstition and Idolatry and, of Twenty-four in a week or two, a Bill to take away the Bishops' Votes in A Parliament Bills recommended by the said Committee. which heard much evidence, and theodiligent Committee Their Bishops logical debating, from Dr. Burgess and others. Bill, not without hot arguing, passed through the Commons took effect, however, in a much was rejected by the Lords heavier shape, within year and day. Young Sir Ralph Verney, son of Edmund the Standard-bearer, has preserved very careful !

;

1 The words within single commas, here as always in the Text of Cromwell's the date in this instance is conjectural or inferential. Letters, are mine, not his ;

Commons Journals,

Ibid.

worth,

iv.

ii.

;

ii.

72.

8th and gth of February.

93 and

See

Baillie's Letters,

174. *

Harris, p. 517

;

Sloane MSS. no. 20356,

fol.

302

;

and Rush-

1641.]

LETTER

ANTI-EPISCOPACY

III,

Notes of the theological revelations and profound 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 naturBishop Hall, Smectymnuus, and ally the centre of the latter. one Mr. Milton 'near St. Bride's Church,' are getting all their

Pamphlets ready. The assiduous contemporary individual who collected the huge stock of loose Printing now know as King's Pamphlets in the British Museum, usually writes the date on the title-page of each ; but has, with a curious 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 I have not yet met with, though doubtless it is in print amid the unsorted Rubbish Mountains of the British Museum. Notices of 1 it are to be seen in Baillie, also in Rushworth. The first Seven Articles relate to secularities payment of damages punishment of incendiaries, and so forth the Seventh is the ' recalling of the King's Proclamations against the Scots. The Eighth, ' anent a solid peace betwixt the Nations,' involves this matter of Uniformity in Religion, and therefore is of weightier moment. ' For the Eighth great Demand some days were Baillie says in The Lords would have made no difficulty spent preparation.' about dismantling Berwick and Carlisle, or such like but finding that the other points of this Eighth Article were to involve the ;

;

'We expect it permanent relations of England, they delayed. this very day,' says Baillie (28th February 1640-1). Oliver Cromwell also expects it this very day, or 'speedily/ 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. 2 It was not finally voted in the affirmative till the 1

Baillie,

Commons

and antea an&postea; Rushworth, iv. 166. Journals, ii. 84, 85 Diurnal Occurrences in Parliament (Printed for often erroneous as to the day), xoth February, 7th

297,

;

William Cooke, London, 1641, March, i5th May.

VOL.

BEFORE THE CIVIL

98 middle of

May and then ;

still it

was

far

' ended, properly, in the Summoning of a of Divines/ To ascertain for us how ' the

WAR

[1641.

from being ended. It Westminster Assembly two Nations may best '

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 other such matters, to whom the Member for Cambridge, a man of known zeal, good attain to

connexion, and growing weight, is worth convincing. Oliver St. John the Shipmoney Lawyer, now Member for Totness, has lately been made Solicitor-General on the 2d of ' February 1640-1, D'Ewes says of him, newly created' a date 1

;

worth attending to. 2 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 Delinquents in high places, have fled rapidly beyond seas. ;

;

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 is all of so much else has been destroyed, Autographic that Oliver Cromwell has left us concerning his proceedings in the first three-and-twenty months of the Long Parliament. 3 Months 1 [He was George Willingham, a prominent London merchant, a member of the London Sequestration Committee. A series of letters addressed to him by Nehemiah Wharton (preserved amongst the State Papers) will be found in Archcevol. There are other notices of, and letters from him xxxv, pp. 310-334. ologici, amongst the State Papers. See Calendars S.P. Dom. : Chas. /., for the years and Addenda 1625-1649.] 1641-1643 1645-1647 2 Sir Simond D'Ewes's Notes of the Long Parliament (Harleian Mss. nos. 162-6), fol. 189 a of p. 156 Transcript penes me. [The appointment was made 29th ;

;

January.]

3 [All of autographic," perhaps, but there are several notices of Cromwell in the He moved the early days of the Long Parliament, to be found in D' Ewes' Diary. second reading of the Act for annual Parliaments in December, 1640, and he supon the Londoners' for the abolition of episcopacy gth February, 1641. ported petition He so bluntly opposed the views of a member who urged its rejection that some were for having him called to the bar, but owing to the influence of Pym and Holies, he wa5 allowed to go on. D'Ewes shortly reports what he said. " He did not understand why that gentleman that last spake should make an inference of parity from the church to the State, nor that there was any necessity of the great revenues of bishops. He was more convinced touching the irregularity of bishops than even before, because like the Roman hierarchy they would not endure to have their

THE LONG PARLIAMENT

1641.]

beyond most others in History, by anxieties and endeavours, by hope and fear and swift vicissitude, to all England as well as him distinguished on his part by much Parliamentary of which, unknown hitherto in History, but still activity withal capable of being known, let us wait some other opportunity of Two vague appearances of his in that scene, which speaking. 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'Ewes's Manuscript above cited 1 are these words, relating to Monday, Qth November 1640, the sixth day of the Long Parliament ' Mr. Cromwell delivered the Petition of John Lilburn,' young Lilburn, who had once been Prynne's amanuensis, among other distinguished,

;

things, and whose to the Fleet Prison,'

whipping with 200 stripes from Westminster had already rendered him conspicuous. This To which let us now annex the following is the record of D'Ewes. 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.

'The first time I ever took notice of Mr. Cromwell/ says Warwick, was in the very beginning of the Parliament held in November 1640 when I,' Member for Radnor, vainly thought myself a courtly young gentleman, for we courtiers valued ' I came into the House ourselves much upon our good clothes one morning/ Monday morning, well clad and perceived a 'gentleman speaking, whom I knew not, very ordinarily apfor it was a plain cloth suit, which seemed to have parelled been made by an ill country- tailor his linen was plain, and not '

(

;

(

;

condition come to a trial." In May, 1641, he joined with Sir Henry Vane in bringing " Root and Branch Bill " in in the September he supported the suggestion for alterations in the Book of Common Prayer, declaring that there were passages in it to which "grave and learned divines" could not submit; in October he carried a resolution to confer with the Lords concerning the King's appointment of bishops to the vacant sees and in November another that the Lords should be asked to join in voting Essex as commander of the trained bands in the South of England. This brings us to the Grand Remonstrance. Also, as Mr. Sanford has calculated, during the first ten months of the Long Parliament, Cromwell was specially appointed to sit on eighteen committees, exclusive of those of which the knights and burgesses generally of the Eastern counties were members. (See Sanford's Studies and Illus;

;

trations of the Great Rebellion, pp. 306, 670.).] 1

D'Ewes,

Commons Journals,

fol. 4.

/th Nov. 1640

;

Rushworth,

iv.

24,

&c.

BEFORE THE CIVIL

100

WAR

[1641.

very clean and I remember a speck or two of blood upon his His band, which was not much larger than his collar. ' hat was without a hat-band. His stature was of a good size ; ' his sword stuck close to his side his countenance swoln and 1 reddish, his voice sharp and untuneable, and his eloquence full 'of fervour. For the subject matter would not bear much of ' reason ; it being on behalf of a servant of Mr. Pry line's who had ' dispersed Libels yes, Libels, and had come to Palaceyard for ' I it, as we saw sincerely profess, it lessened much my reverence 'unto that Great Council, for this gentleman was very much '

;

little

;

which was strange, seeing he had no gold to his band and otherwise, to me 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 hair 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 The 'specks of blood,' if not fabulous, velvets from harm. 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 The untuneable voice,' or what a poor young gentleman that. in these circumstances would consider as such, is very significant '

hearkened unto

;

lace to his coat, nor

frills

;

to us. 2 is the other vague appearance from Clarendon's Life. ' often heard to was Lord afterwards Mr. Clarendon, He,' Hyde, ' mention one private Committee, in which he was put accidentally ' into the chair upon an Enclosure which had been made of 'great wastes, belonging to the Queen's Manors, without 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

Here

;

Warwick,

pi 247.

78 (Oxford, 1761).

1641.] 1

THE LONG PARLIAMENT

oppression, carried

101

upon them with a very high hand, and sup-

ported by power.

'The Committee sat in the Queen's Court and Oliver Cromwell being one of them, appeared much concerned to counten1 ance the Petitioners, who were numerous together with their ' Witnesses the Lord Mandevil being likewise present as a party, ' Cromand by the direction of the Committee sitting covered. ' well, who had never before been heard to speak in the House at least not by me, though he had often spoken, 'of Commons,' 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 re' proofs, 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 dis' countenanced 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 When 'him,' Cromwell, 'who was already too much angry. ' 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 been done, or explained what had been said, Mr. Cromwell did answer, and reply upon him with so much indecency and rudeness, and in language so ' contrary and offensive, that every man would have thought, that 'as their natures and their manners were as opposite as it is ' In possible, so their interest could never have been the same. 'the end, his whole carriage was so tempestuous, and his be' haviour so insolent, that the Chairman found himself obliged to ' ' reprehend him and to tell him, That if he Mr. Cromwell pro'ceeded 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 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 '

;

BEFORE THE CIVIL

102

WAR

[1641.

Tracking this matter, by faint indications, through various obscure courses, I conclude that it related to 'the Soke of l Somersham,' near St. Ives and that the scene in the Queen's Court probably occurred in the beginning of July 164- 1. 2 Cromwell 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 Here too, subtracting the due subtrahend justice done them. 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 conflicting masses, the argument to be by pike and bullet henceforth. ;

Commons

Journals,

Ibid. 87; 150; 172; ruary to 2ist July 1641.

ii.

172.

192; 215; 218; 219,

the dates extend from i7th Feb-

PART

TO THE END OF THE FIRST CIVIL

WAR

1642-1646

PRELIMINARY THERE

therefore a great dark void, from February 1641 to 643, 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 SolicitorThe reader may mark that as a small fraction of an General. event showing itself above ground, completed and indicating 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 humour men were getting into, had decided on trying to adopt the Puritan leaders, Pym, is

January

;

others, as what we should now call his 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 peaceably, with their King A presiding over them, what reforms had grown inevitable.

Hampden, Holies and '

Ministers

(103)

FIRST CIVIL

104

WAR

[1641.

for of all men these had result, if a possible one the least notion of revolting, or rebelling against their King This negotiation had been entered into, and entertained as a so much and so much is indubitable possibility by both parties 1 It would in nothing more, except that it ended without result. our days be the easiest negotiation but it was then an impossible For it meant that the King should content himself with one. 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 His tendency and effort has long been the reverse of 1641. 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 His Majesty on that result only this appointment of St. John's. 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

most desirable

;

which, lying now in Yorkshire, ill-paid, defeated, and in neighbourhood of a Scotch Army victoriously furnished with 850/. There arose a ' first Armya-day, was very apt for discontent. Plot for delivering Strafford from the Tower then a second Army- Plot for some equally wild achievement, tending to deliver 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 necessary, it became and still remains indubitable that he did participate as indeed, the former course of listening to his Parliament 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 investigated and commented upon, with boundless interest, in Parliament and out of it, kept the Summer and Autumn of 1641 in continual alarm and agitation taught all Opposition persons, 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 '

;

Whitlocke, Clarendon

;

see Forster's Statesmen,

ii.

150-7.

PRELIMINARY

1641.]

105

them. ' The Lord- Lieutenants of Counties/ Parliament conceived an unappeasable desire of this is what they mean by knowing who these were to be ' on which point, as his Majesty would Power of the Militia 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 Cromwell'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. Barnard 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 as

would be

this

safe for

factious

;

(

;

1641

Monday, 3d 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 Palace' yard, Westminster, some thousands of Citizens and Apprentices Persons and City Shopmen, as we should now call (Miscellaneous ' them), who rolled about there all day,' bellowing to every Lord as he went in or came out, ' with a loud and hideous voice " l " Justice on Strafford which seemed Justice on Traitors ominous to the Reverend 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 agitated times, " to the effect 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, 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 '

;

Baillie,

351.

WAE

FIKST CIVIL

106

[1641.

House should be unanimous in this Protestation. As accordingly the House was the House, and to a great extent Hundreds of honourable Members, Mr. Cromwell the Nation. '

that the

;

one of them, sign the Protestation

this day the others on the following days their names all registered in due succession in the Books. 1 Nay, it is ordered 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 reforming part of them, everywhere in England, did with a feeling of solemnity very strange to the ;

;

modem

Striking terror into all Traitors quashing down and the hopes of poor Strafford forProtestation held really sacred appealed to, henceforth, ever. as a thing from which there was no departing. Cavalcades of Freeholders, coming up from the country to petition the Honfor instance, the Four-thousand Petitioners from ourable House, Buckinghamshire, about ten months hence, rode with this Protestation c stuck in their hats.' 2 very great and awe-inspiring matter in those days ; till it was displaced by greater of the

mind.

Army-Plots

;

for the present,

;

like kind,

Solemn League and Covenant, and

others. 3

next, 10th May, his Majesty accordingly signed sentence on Strafford who was executed on the Wednesday following. No help for it. terrible example the one supremely able man the King had. On the same Monday, 10th May, his Majesty signed likewise another Bill, That this Parliament should not be dissolved withBill signed in order that the City might out its own consent.

Monday

;

lend him money on good Security of Parliament money being most pressingly 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. August 10th. Army- Plotters having fled beyond seas; the the EpiscopacyBill for Triennial Parliaments being passed Bill being got to sleep ; and by the use of royal varnish a kind of ;

;

Commons Journals, ii. 132, 3, &c. i2th January 1641-2 Rushworth, ;

Copy

it,

sent to

Cambridge

;

Rushworth, iv.

iv.

486.

Appendix, No.

241,

PRELIMINARY

1641.]

107

composure, or hope of composure, being introduced above all money being now borrowed to pay the Armies and disband them, his Majesty, on the 10th of the month, 1 set out To hold a Parliament, and compose matters there, for Scotland. To see what old or new elements of as his Majesty gave out. malign Royalism could still be awakened to life there, as the Mr. CromParliament surmised, who greatly opposed his going. ;

things,

well got home to Ely again, for six weeks, this autumn there being a recess from 9th September when the business was got ;

gathered up, till 20th October when his Majesty was expected back. An Interim Committee, and Pym from his ' lodging at 2 Chelsea/ managed what of indispensable might turn up. November 1st. News came to London, to the reassembled 3 Parliament, 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 ' religious one of the best models, and one of the worst imitations liberty Erasmus's Ape, observing Erasmus ever seen in this world. 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 '

;

and proceeded in lies and hoping to make itself good that way, the ringleaders had started by pretending or even forging some warrant from which brought much undeserved suspicion on his the King Majesty, and greatly complicated his affairs here for a long while. The Irish Rebellion blazing up more and November QZd. more into an Irish Massacre, to the terror and horror of all Antipapist men and in England, or even in Scotland, except unfortunately began in

lies

and

bluster,

;

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

and Remonstrance,' to set forth what their griefs and and really would require to have done upon it, very celebrated in those times, came on this day, Monday 22d November. 4 The longest Debate ever yet known in Parliament and the stormiest, nay, had it not been for Mr. Hampden's soft management, we had like to Petition

necessities really were, for them. The Debate

;

2 3

Wharton's Laud, p. 62. His Report, Commons Journals, ii. 289. Laud, 62 Commons Journals, in die. ;

Commons

Journals, in die ;

D'Ewes

MSS.

179 b.

FIRST CIVIL

108

WAR

[1641.

have sheathed our swords in each other's bowels/ says Warwick The Remonstrance passed I find otherwise to be true. 1 still in Rushworth, 2 drawn a can be read small It majority. by up in precise business order; the whole 206 Articles of it, every line of which once thrilled electrically into all men's ' The chimes of hearts, as torpid as it has now grown. Margaret's were striking two in the morning when we came ' It was on this occasion that Oliver, coming down stairs/ out.' is reported to have said, He would have sold all and gone to New England, had the Remonstrance not passed 3 a vague ;

which

;

dining-tables long after, to which the His Majesty reader need not pay more heed than it merits. returned from Scotland on the Thursday following; and had from the City a thrice-glorious Civic Entertainment. 4 report, gathered over

December 1 Oth. 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 to Citizens petitioning, Corporation ' going in sixty coaches '

5 petition ; the Apprentices, or City Shopmen, and miscellaneous ' Bishops much insulted in Palaceyard, persons, petitioning as they go in or out. Whereupon hasty Welsh Williams, Archbishop 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 10th of December, 6 That they cannot get to their place in Parliament that all shall be null '

;

they do get there. A rash step for which, on the 30th of the same month, they are, by the Commons, voted ' guilty of Treason and in a cold evening/ with small ceremony, For are bundled, the whole dozen of them, into the Tower. there is again rioting, again are cries 'loud and hideous;' drawn Colonel Lunsford, a truculent one-eyed man, having and in Westminster the his sword Hall, upon Apprentices

and void

till

;

truculently slashed some of them who of course responded in a loud and hideous manner, by tongue, by fist, and single-stick 7 nay, on the morrow, 28th December, they came marching and sword with thousands pistol, out of the City, strong, many " Slash us now while we wait on the Honourable House for an answer to our petition !" and insulted his Majesty's Guard at ;

3 5

[A majority of eleven only.] Clarendon [iv. ~52]. Vicars, p. 56.

2 iv.

4 6

7/^,464.

438-51

;

Rushworth, Rushworth,

See also

" force our Horse to engage."] [Rather entangle or incumber. [The reference should be to Carte's Original Letters and Papers.}

UEwes MSS.,

Transcript.

vol.

189; [Harley

MSS.,

vol.

clxvi.

189] p. 445 of

1645.]

LETTER XXV., BLETCHINGTON

191

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 person 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 Lieutenant-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 op' portunity 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 to take his leave of him: when, in the ' morning ere he was come forth 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 1 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 dragoons 2 and fierce countenance, took Bletchington House, for which poor Colonel Windebank was shot, so angry were they all this is known from 3 and here now Clarendon, or more authentically from Rushworth is Cromwell's own account of it '

;

Sprigge was one of FairSprigge's Anglia Rediviva (London, 1647), p. 10. Chaplains his Book, a rather ornate work, gives florid but authentic and account of this New-Model Army in all its features and operations, by little sparing in dates which 'England' had come alive again.' but correct where they are given. None of the old Books is better worth reprinting. For some glimmer of notice concerning Joshua Sprigge himself, see Wood in voce, and disbelieve altogether that Nat Fiennes had anything to do with this Book. 2 [Cromwell does not say this what he means is that besides his horse he had fax's

;

sufficient

only a few dragoons and no regular foot.] 3 vi. 23, 4.

;

FIRST CIVIL

192

WAR

[25 April.

LETTER XXV COMMITTEE of Both Kingdoms/ 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 '

Sits at Derby House Four rapidly declining authority. Twenty-one English, of whom Six a quorum. Johnston riston is the notablest Scotchman ; among the leading are Philip Lord Wharton and the Younger Vane. 1 ' Watlington is in the Southeast nook of Oxfordshire :

;

Scotch of

;

War-

English a day's

march from Windsor. Major-General Browne commands 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. '

the Right

Honourable

the Committee

Derby House

of Both Kingdoms,

These

Bletchington, 25th April 1645

LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,

According to your Lordships' appointment, 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 I

The body being come up, I marched to Wheatley before to Major-General Browne for intelsent Bridge, having it and being market-day at Oxford, from whence I likeligence, at Watlington.

wise hoped, by some of the market-people, to gain notice where enemy was.

the

appointment, in Commons Journals (jth Feb. 1643-4), Its Papers and Correspondence, a curious set of 141 et sapius. records, lie in very tolerable order in the State-Paper Office. [The records of this as State .)form one of the most Papers. Interregnum great committee (known valuable sources of our knowledge of the military operations of the Parliament durFor the year 1644, we have the daily proceedings of the coming the Civil War. mittee, the letters sent out to the commanders, and most important of all, the letters written to the Committee by the officers in the field. For the following years of the war the series is not so complete, the entry-books of letters from the commanders failing The us after February 1645, and the day-books being many of them lacking. entry-books of letters sent out to the commanders are almost perfect up to the disThese records are all included in solution of the committee in December, 1648. the Calendars of the State Papers.] 1

iii.

List,

391

;

and

light as to its

Baillie,

ii.

LETTEE XXV., BLETCHINGTON

1645.]

193

Towards night I received certain notice by Major-General Browne, that the carriages were not stirred, that Prince Maurice was not here and by some Oxford scholars, that there are four carriages and wagons ready in one place, and in another five, ;

all,

conceived,

fit

for a

march. 1

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. ;

;

kept

and, in the morning, a party Northampton's regiment, the Lord Wilmot's and

my body

of the Earl of

all

night at

Islip,

the Queen's, came to make an infall upon me. Sir Thomas Fairfax's regiment 2 was the first that took the field ; the rest drew

out with

all possible

speed.

That which

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 ;

wherein we killed many, and took near twohundred 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 Bletchingthree or four miles

;

ton, 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 enclosed leaving us between ;

;

two and three-hundred muskets, 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 '

march,' out towards Worcester. which was once mine,' he might have added, but modestly does not alluding to it from afar, in the next sentence.

VOL.

;

only

FIRST CIVIL

194

WAR

[29 April.

when we looked not for them and delivered them when we laid a reasonable design to surprise and which His mercy appears we them, carefully endeavoured. in this also, that I did much doubt the storming of the house, it to our hands

;

out of our hands,

being strong and well manned, and I having few dragoons, and being not my business and yet we got it. I hope you will pardon me if I say, God is not enough owned.

this

;

look too

much

ledge

Him

alone in

men and But

hindered our success. all

visible helps

hope God

this

hath much

acknow-

will direct all to

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 It was his poor young Wife, they said, battering gun. 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. 1 The Son of Secretary Windebank, who fled beyond seas long since. '

LETTER XXVI

How

Cromwell, sending

off his

new guns and

stores to

Abing-

' ' don, now shot across westward to Radcot Bridge or Bamptonand on the 26th gained a new victory there and in-the-Bush this too is known on the whole made a rather brilliant sally of it 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. 2 '

;

Pamphlet

iii. 359 read in the House, Monday 28th Letter to Fairfax on the same subject, Appendix,

Parliamentary History,

April (Commons Journals, No. 7(1)-

iv.

124).

Heath's Chronicle, p. 122. [Francis, the Secretary's second son.] [In 1868 there was found amongst the MSS. of the House of Lords, a letter from Cromwell to the Committee of Both Kingdoms, which was printed by Carlyle in the later editions of his work. See Appendix 7 (2). It is also printed at full length in the Calendar of the MSS. of the House of Lords, sixth Report of the Historical MSS, Commissioners, p. 56 b.] 2

1645.]

LETTER XXVII., FARRINGDON To

the

Governor of the Ganison

195

Farringdon 2gth April 1645.

SIR,

summon you

to deliver into my hands the and your ammunition, with all things else there, together with your persons, to be disposed of as the Parliament shall appoint, which if you refuse to do, you are to I

House wherein you

are,

expect the utmost extremity of war.

rest,

Your

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.* THIS Governor, Roger Burgess,' is not to be terrified with countenance and mere dragoons he refuses. Cromwell withdraws into Farringdon Town, and again summons '

fierce

;

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 cannot arm, and who are not serviceable to you.

whom 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, me to a storm.

will not spare a

man

of you,

you put

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

Roger Burgess, still unawed, refuses Cromwell waits for in' fantry from Abingdon till 3 next morning,' then storms loses fourteen men, with a captain taken prisoner 1 and draws away, The Army, which rose from leaving Burgess to crow over him. ;

;

Rushworth,

26.

vi.

[A newspaper of the day (Mercurius Aulicus E. 285, No. 14) states that Cromwell lost two hundred killed, a captain, an ensign and eight men prisoners, and had many wounded. It also gives another letter from Cromwell to Burgess, written on April 30, after the attempt to storm. See Supplement, No. 12.] ,

FIRST CIVIL

196

Windsor yesterday, gets to Reading

WAR

this day,

June.

and he must hasten

thither. 1

Yesterday, Wednesday, Monthly- fast day, all Preachers, by Ordinance of Parliament, were praying for God's merciful assist'ance to this New Army now on march, and His blessing upon their endeavours.' 2 Consider it; actually 'praying!' It was a capability old London and its Preachers and Populations had '

;

to us the incrediblest.

LETTER XXVIII BY

Letter Twenty-eighth it will be seen that Lieutenant-General Cromwell has never yet resumed his Parliamentary duty. In ' for protecfact, he is in the Associated Counties, raising force tion of the Isle of Ely,' and other purposes. 3 To Fairfax and his Officers, to the Parliament, to the Committee of Both Kingdoms, to all persons, it is clear that Cromwell cannot be dispensed with. Fairfax and his Officers petition Parliament 4 that he may be appointed their Lieutenant-General, Commander-in-Chief of the Horse There is a clear necessity in it. Parliament, the Commons somewhat more readily than the Lords, continue, by instalments of forty days,' of three months/ his services in the Army and A few at length grow to regard him as a constant element there. others got similar leave of absence, similar dispensation from the Self-denying Ordinance. Sprigge's words, cited above, are no ;

;

1 was Tuesday, April 29. Fairfax did not start until the 30th, [" Yesterday reaching Reading the same day. Cromwell joined him at Newbury on May 2.]

Rushworth,

vi.

25.

[In a letter to Lenthall, of May 9 (See Supplement, No. 13) Cromwell declares his intention of going after Charles, but an old pamphlet tells us that "he soon left He was summoned back from the pursuit by Fairfax in the following the King." " middle of May, and on May 26 the House of Commons, having great testimonies " of the gallant, zealous and valiant services performed by Lieut. -General Cromwell ordered him to go down into the Isle of Ely. {Commons Journals, iv. 155. PerHe was, in fact, much needed in his own part of the E. 261 (i)). fect Diurnal, " It was no sooner noised that Lieutenant-Colonel (sic) Cromwell was to be world. the Isle of but into the sent courage of the Association began to be high with hope Ely and the City to be full of joy" (see Diary, E. 288 (5)). His stay, however, was very short, for Fairfax needed him "even more than the Association did, and on June To speak truth, at this instance, it were to be 12, he had rejoined the General. wished he were in the army, for its conceived by some the King will fight, and much he courage into his friends." (Moderate Intelligencer, E. might put fighting 3

288(7).)] 4

Their Letter (Newspapers, 9th-i6th June), in Cromwelliana,

p. 18.

LETTER XX VIII. HUNTINGDON

1645.]

197

l is trace of evidence that Cromwell's had, even by the framers of the Selfdenying Ordinance, been considered a thing possible, a thing To Cromwell himself there was As it well might desirable. no overpowering felicity in getting out to be shot at, except where wanted; he very probably, as Sprigge intimates, did let the matter in silence take its own course. 2

doubt veracious

yet there

;

continuance in the

Army

the Right

Honourable Sir Thomas Fairfax, General of Army ; These

the Parliament's

Huntingdon, 4th June 1645. SIR, I

most humbly beseech you to pardon

long

conscious of the fault, considering the great obliBut since my coming into these parts, gations lying upon me. I have been busied to secure that part of the Isle of Ely where silence.

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 I

;

and then, I hope, you will easily conceive of the defence least and God has preserved us all this while to a miracle. The party under Vermuydeii 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 Nottingham Horse. I shall be bold to present you with intelligence as it comes to me. We heard you were march3 ing towards us, which was matter of rejoicing to us. I am bold to present this as my humble suit That you would :

;

be pleased to

make Captain

Rawlins, this bearer, a Captain of

Godwin's History of the Commonwealth (London, 1824),

405.

direct evidence has yet been produced as to how far Cromwell had arranged [" his plans for being continued in command, or how far this purpose was generally understood and accepted. It would have been contrary to his nature of restless 2

of personal self-reliance either to commit to chance so momentous stand aside out of romantic delicacy. may doubt the discernment of the worthy Sprigge, when he tells us of the lieutenant-general that he thought of nothing less in the world. Cromwell must have known the counsels of the Committee. And doubtless he felt himself so necessary to the cause, and his ascendancy to be so complete, that he might safely leave others to determine the manner and season of his own personal exemption." Harrison's Oliver Crom-

vigilance

and

office or willingly to

well, p. 88.] 3

[This sentence was omitted by Carlyle. ]

FIRST CIVIL

198

Horse. is

has been so before

;

WAR

was nominated

to the

June.

Model

;

a most honest man.

Colonel Sidney leaving his regiment, if to his bestow please you troop on him, I am confident he will

serve

you

So,

faithfully.

by God's assistance, will Your most humble servant, OLIVER CROMWELL.*

The Vermuyden mentioned '

here,

who became

Colonel Ver-

supposed to be a son of the Dutch Engineer who drained the Fens. 1 ' Colonel Sidney is the celebrated Algernon he was nominated in the ' Model,' but is ' leaving his regiment 2 having been appointed Governor of Chichester. Captain Rawlins does obtain a Company of Horse under ' Colonel Sir Robert 3 Colonel Montague, afterwards Earl of Sandwich, has a Pye.' ' Foot- Regiment here. Hugh Peters is Chaplain to the Train.'

muyden,

;

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, 4 a terrible night, ;

and

and day following

which it), 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 still

perhaps

may

terrible

daybreak

itself relieve

Oxford.

;

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 all,

Rush worth,

vi.

(London, 1701),

p. 37.

[Colonel Vermuyden commanded a regiment of horse in the New Model Army, but resigned for private reasons just before Naseby, and was succeeded in command of the regiment by Cromwell.] 2 Commons Journals, iv. 136 (gth May 1645). 3 4 Army-List, in Sprigge (p. 330). ii.8S7. 1

BY EXPRESS, CAMBRIDGE

1645.]

199

round him there. Here is an old Piece of Paper still surviving still emblematic of old dead days and their extinct agitations, when once we get to decipher it They are the Cambridge the Army about Oxford/ we have seen, Committee that write ;

;

Fairfax's. '

the Deputy-Lieutenants

of Suffolk

These

Cambridge, 6th June 1645.

GENTLEMEN,

The cloud

of the enemy's

army hanging

still

upon the borders, and drawing towards Harborough, make some In regard whereof, supposals that they aim at the Association. we having information that the army about Oxford was not it was ordered so to do, we thought meet to give you intelligence thereof; and therewith earnestly to propound to your consideration, 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 receive orders for farther advance, according as the motion of the enemy and of our army

yesterday advanced, albeit

;

shall require.

And

to allow both the several troops of Dragoons to be laid down by the owner ; which

and Horse one week's pay,

be repaid out of the public money out of the county ; the of each trooper being 1 4 shillings per week, and of a dragoon pay shall

10*. 6d.

per week.

Your servants, H. MILDMAY, W. SPRING, W. HEVENINGHAM, MAURICE BARROW, NATHANIEL BACON, Ti. MIDLTON (sic), 'P.S. The Place of Rendezvous for the FRANCIS RUSSELL, Horse and Dragoons is to be at Newmarket OLIVER CROMWELL, and for the Foot Bury. Since the writing HUM. WALCOT, '

;

hereof,

received certain intelligence that

the enemy's body, with 60 carriages, was ^Probably Edward Clench.]

ISAAK PULLER,

[illegible.]

FIRST CIVIL

200 his

upon

march towards the

Harborough,

last

WAR

Association, 3 miles

oil

June.

this side

night at 4 of the clock.*

The

Original, a hasty, blotted Paper, with the Signatures in (as imitated here), and with the Postscript crammed hurriedly into the corner, and written from another inkbottle as is still apparent, represents to us an agitated scene in the old Committee-rooms at Cambridge that Friday. In Rushworth

two unequal columns

(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

him

and help them in their peril. formerly written to the Counties to raise their Horse and Dragoons, and have now written as above for one instance, ' to quicken them.' 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 himself, urging

They

to speed over,

'We had

say,

;

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 midway, between that Town and Daventry. A peaceful old Hamlet, of some eight-hundred souls clay cottages for labourers, 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 finishing itself with a strange old a hollow copper Ball, which came from Ball, held up by rods Boulogne in Henry the Eighth's time,' which has, like Hudibras's ' The ground is upland, breeches, been at the Siege of Bullen.' moorland, though now growing corn was not enclosed till the last generation, and is still somewhat bare of wood. It stands ;

;

Original, long stationary at Ipswich, is now (Jan. 1849) the property of John Esq., Mercury Office, Norwich.

Wodderspoon

LETTER XXIX., NASEBY

1645.]

nearly in the heart of England

201

gentle Dulness, taking a turn

' at etymology, sometimes derives it from Navel ; Navelsby, quasi distinct Avon the source of from &c. Well, Navelsby, being/ Shakspeare's Avon, is on the Western slope of the high grounds ; :

Nen and Welland, streams leading towards Cromwell's Fencountry, begin to gather themselves from boggy places on the Eastern side. The grounds, as we say, lie high and are still, ' in their new subdivisions, 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 ;

;

are broad blunt clayey masses, swelling towards and from each other, like indolent waves of a sea, sometimes of miles in extent. It was on this high moor-ground, in the centre of England, that King Charles, on the 14th of June 164-5, fought his last battle ; dashed fiercely against the New-Model Army, which he had despised till then and saw himself shivered utterly to ruin ' Prince Rupert, on the King's right wing, charged up thereby. 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 1 Army he had the ordering of the Horse this morning. Prince ;

;

Rupert, on returning from his plunder, finds the King's infantry a ruin prepares to charge again with the rallied Cavalry 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 ;

;

1 [Fairfax had been in some doubt whether he might not have to fight before Cromwell could reach him, in which case he had meant "to decline the usual way of a General, and to assume the command of the horse" himself. (Moderate In-

telligencer, E. 288 (7).)]

FIRST CIVIL

202

WAR

June.

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. 2 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 with the wide table of upland now named Broad Harborough Moor between them where indeed the main brunt of the action still clearly enough shows itself to have been. There 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 A friend of mine 3 has in his cabinet sacrilege) verified as such. two ancient grinder-teeth, dug lately from that ground, and waits for an opportunity to rebury them there. Sound effectual which ate their breakfast on grinders, one of them very large 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 1 00, ' had been buried in this Trench piled as in a wall, a man's ' the skeletons lay in courses, the heads of one length thick ' course to the heels of the next one figure, by the strange ' position of the bones, gave us the hideous notion of its having been thrown in before death We did not proceed far perhaps ;

;

Appendix, No. 8. [For modern accounts of the battle with value, see Dr. Gardiner's Great Civil War, and Mr. Firth's Oliver Cromwell.] 3 [The friend was Edward Fitzgerald. In 1842, Carlyle and Dr. Arnold made a pilgrimage to the field of Naseby, but were misled by the position of the obelisk erected by Fitzgerald's father (mentioned above) and which, Carlyle afterwards wrote " " in disgust, might as well stand at Charing Cross." They saw nothing," wrote However, at Fitzgerald, "and walked over what was not the field of battle." to land whom the belonged undertook some investiCarlyle's request, Fitzgerald contained clear which letters, descriptions of what gations, guided by Carlyle's very he ought to see, and also had the trench excavated as mentioned above, watched by an old Scotch farmer who thought the soil would be very good as manure for turnips Of this, Carlyle wrote to Fitzgerald: "The opening of that burial heap blazes strangely in my thoughts these are the very jawbones that were clenched together in deadly rage, on this very ground, 197 years ago. It brings the matter home to one with a strange veracity as if for the first time one saw it to be no fable and I will beg for a tooth and a bullet authenticated by theory, but a dire fact. your own eyes and word of honour. Our Scotch friend too, making turnip manure Honour to thrift. If of 5000 wasted men, you of it, he is part of the picture. " can make a few usable turnips, why, do it {Letters of Edward Fitzgerald, ed. 1894, 2

;

vol.

pp. 125-138.)]

LETTER XXIX., NASEBY

1645.]

203

'some half-dozen skeletons. The bones were treated with all piety watched rigorously, over Sunday, till they could be covered 'in again.' l Sweet friends, for Jesus' sake forbear At this Battle Mr. John Rushworth, our Historical Rushworth, 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 Naseby Hamlet, above a mile from the fighting, where he waits in an anxious manner. It is known how Prince Rupert broke our left wing, 'A Gentleman of while Cromwell was breaking their left. '

;

Public '

day,

Employment

Harborough,

Naseby writes next 5th June, 2 in the morning/ a rough graphic in the late Service near

Letter in the Newspapers, 2 wherein is this sentence * * ' 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 Rupert, ' asked him and the rest, If they would have quarter? They ' cried No It was a gave fire, and instantly beat them off. ' happy deliverance,' without doubt. There were taken here a good few ( ladies of quality in carand above a hundred Irish ladies not of quality, tattery riages ' 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. 3 The King's Carriage was also taken, with a Cabinet and many Royal Autographs in it, which when printed made a sad impression against his Majesty, gave in fact a most melancholy view of the veracity 5 of his Majesty, " On the word of a King." 4 All was lost :

;

MS. penes me. 26, p. 2: the contemporaneous ColKing's Pamphlets, small 410, no. 212, Mr. Rushworth's Letter, being the Secretary lector has named him with his pen 2

;

to his Excellency.

sWhitlocke. 4

The King s Cabinet opened; or Letters taken in the Cabinet at Naseby Field (London, 1645) reprinted in Harleian Miscellany (London, 1810), v. 514. 5 [One of the old newspapers gives us a peep at the Ironsides after the battle. We hear Cromwell's sometime regiment are grown wiser, if it may be so called for having helped to beat the enemy out of the field, they did not, as at Marston Moor, leave them that fought least to get most, but fell upon the good booty as well as others". (Moderate Intelligencer, E. 289 (17).)] ;

;

WAR

FIRST CIVIL

204

[14 June.

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 supported by pasting red seal much defaced is addressed on the '

;

'second leaf:'

For

the

Honourable William Lenthall, Speaker

House of Parliament

Commons

of' the

These

Harborough, i4th June 1645. SIR,

Being commanded by you to

this service,

think myself bound to acquaint you with the good hand of towards you and us.

marched yesterday

after the King,

who went

God

before 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.

took also about 200 carriages,

all

he had

;

and

all his

guns,

being 12 in number, whereof two were demi-cannon, two demi-

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. culverins,

Sir, this is

none other but the hand of God

;

and to

Him

alone

1 The belongs the glory, wherein none are to share with Him. General served you with all faithfulness and honour and the :

best commendations

butes self.

can give him

is,

that

dare say he

attri-

God, and would rather perish than assume to himWhich is an honest and a thriving way, and yet as much

all to

for bravery

may be

given to him, in this action, as to a man.

1 [See Cromwell's remarks upon Naseby in his Langport, Appendix, No. 9.]

letter

announcing the victory of

LETTER XXIX., NASEBY

1645.]

205

Honest men served you faithfully in this action. Sir, they are I beseech trusty 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

the liberty of his country, his conscience, rests,

who

and you

it.

that ventures his

wish he trust

for the liberty

life

for

God

for the liberty of 1 In this he fights for.

Your most humble

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

John Bunyan, I believe, is this night in Leicester, 2 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 Leicester and he rather, without the matchlock, just at present ' having been taken the other day. Harborough Church is get' filled with while Oliver and an immense writes, ting prisoners ;

contemporaneous tumult everywhere going on The ' honest men who served you faithfully

on this occasion are the considerable portion of the Army who have not yet succeeded in bringing themselves to take the Covenant. the Presbyterian Party, rigorous for their own formula, call ' ' Schismatics/ 'Sectaries/ Anabaptists/ and other hard names;

Whom

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 but Dutch-dragons, and forced to die or grow in that way because in each of them there is the same genuine unity of life, ;

;

1 [' So little did the House of Commons share Cromwell's sentiments on this matter," writes Dr. Gardiner, "that in sending his letter to the press, they omitted " this paragraph," but the House of Lords, probably in mere thoughtlessness, simultaneously ordered a complete copy of the letter to be sent forth to the world." Both versions are amongst the King's Pamphlets (E. (Great Civil War, ii. 252). 288, Nos. 26 and 27), and Thomason imagined the curtailed copy to be the true one, writing upon it, "This is Crumwell's owne trew letter," and upon the unmutilated copy, " a false letter in the conclusion".] 2 [Mr. E. G. Atkinson's discovery of the Muster-rolls of the Newport Pagnell garrison at the Public Record Office, proves that it was there, and not at Leicester '

that

Bunyan

served.]

"[See letter to Sir Samuel Luke, written next day. *

HarL MSS., No.

7502, art.

5, p.

;

Supplement No.

Rushworth,

vi.

45.

14.]

FIRST CIVIL

206

WAR

Aug.

from the inmost pith to the outmost leaf, and they do grow Cromwell naturally became the head of this according to that Schismatic Party, intent to grow not as Dutch-dragons, but as a Party which naturally increased with the increasing real trees earnestness of events and of men. The King stayed but a few hours in Liecester he had taken Leicester, as we saw, some days before, and now it was to be retaken 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 1 Some ten months more of which, however, he could never do. ' as a and he, disguised groom/ will be riding with roaming, Parson Hudson towards the Scots at Newark. The New-Model Army marched into the Southwest very soon ' relieved Colonel Robert Blake (Admiral Blake), and marched to ever new exploits and victories, many others 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. 2 The following Letters exhibit part of Cromwell's share in that business, and may be read with little commentary. !

;

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 Carolinum ; being a succinct Relation of the necessitated Marches, Retreats Sufferings of his Majesty Charles the First, from loth January 1641 till the time Collected by a daily Attendant upon his Sacred Majesty during of his Death, 1648 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 somewhat 1

Iter

and

needed more. 2A Journal of every day s March of the Fairfax (in Sprigge, p. 331).

Army

under

his Excellency Sir

Thomas

1645.]

LETTER XXX., THE CLUBMEN

207

worked upon by the Royalist Gentry and Clergy, on the somewhat plausible ground of taking up arms to defend themselves 1 The great against the plunder and harassment of both Armies. 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 pioneerThey were called Clubmen, not, ing and other such services. as M. Villemain supposes, 2 because they united in Clubs, but because they were armed with rough country weapons, mere Sufficient understanding bludgeons if no other could be had. 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, 12 miles; a very hot day. Where ' Colonel Sidenham, Governor of Weymouth, gave him infor'mation of the condition of those parts; and of the great ' a set of men ' who would not danger from the Club-risers suffer either contribution or victuals to be carried to the ' Parliament's garrisons. And the same night Mr. Hollis of ' Dorsetshire, the chief leader of the Clubmen, with some others 1 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 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 demeanour towards f them for a while for if he should engage with General Goring ' and be put to the worst, these Clubmen would knock them on 'the head as they should fly for safety. 3 That which they ' desired from him was a safe-conduct for certain persons to go '

;

1 [They originated amongst the farmers in the West, for suppressing plundering See The Desires and Resolutions of the Clubmen (E. 202, by the soldiers. No. 24).] 2 Our French friends ought to be informed that M. Villemain's Book on Cromwell is, unluckily, a rather ignorant and shallow one. Of M. Guizot, on the other hand, we are to say that his Two Volumes, so far as they go, are the fruit of real ability and solid studies applied to those Transactions. " 3 [The General did engage with General Goring, but was not put to the worst ". For Cromwell's account of the battle of Langport, fought July 10, see Appendix, No. 9 on this same day he wrote a letter on behalf of Lieutenant-Colonel John On the following day, he had rather a Lilburn, for which see Supplement, No. 15. narrow escape, for, going with some of his officers to view Bridgwater, and " making some stay upon a discourse, the enemy shot a brace of musket bullets, which killed a cornet of his regiment, but the Lieut. -General was preserved." {Mercurins Czmcus, ;

E. 293(7).)]

FIRST CIVIL

208

WAR

Aug.

l to the King and Parliament with petitions which Fairfax in a very mild but resolute manner refused. From Sprigge, 2 copied also into Rushworth with some inaccu' racies On Monday, August 4th, Lieutenant- General Cromwell, ( 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 Shaftes' bury 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 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 ? 3 '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 re' sponsible to them that had none but not to leave them wholly unsatisfied, he told him that those persons so met had been the ' occasions and stirrers of many tumultuous and unlawful meet'

ings 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 '

;

was only to answer some things they were '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-General 'advanced further, to a meeting of a greater number, of about 4000, who betook themselves to Hambleton Hill, near Shrawton. At the bottom of the hill ours met a man with a musket, and 'at Shaftesbury,

;

Rushworth,

vi.

52.

pp. 78,

[Owing to the antagonistic attitude of the Dorset Club-men, Fairfax, then engaged the siege of Sherburne, had sent Fleetwood against them, and forty of the ring-

leaders were seized at Shaftesbury.]

LETTER XXX., THE CLUBMEN

1645.]

209

asked, whither he was going ? he said, To the Club Array ours He asked, what they had to do asked, what he meant 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 ' disarmed, and wounded, but not '

musket, he was prevented, Here, however, is Cromwell's

his

own To

Narrative

the Right

Honourable Sir Thomas Fairfax, Commander -in-Chief ' Forces, at Sherborne : These '

of the Parliament's

Shaftesbury,' 4th August 1645.

SIR, I

marched

this

morning towards Shaftesbury.

found a party of clubmen gathered together, about two miles of this side of the town, towards you and one Mr. In

my way

;

Newman

head of them, who was one of those who did I sent to them to attend you at Dorchester, with Mr. Hollis. 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 which 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 in the

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

assured

according to the nature of their offence

them you would acquit them.

Upon

;

innocent,

this

they said, if they have deserved punishment, they would not have any thing to do with them and so were quieted as to that point. For I

;

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 did them any wrong, where they should be punished

with

all severity

marched away to tented.

VOL.

upon

this,

very quietly and peaceably they and con-

their houses, being very well satisfied

FIRST CIVIL

210

WAR

Aug.

We of

marched on to Shaftesbury, where we heard a great body them was drawn together about Hamilton [Hambledon] Hill

;

where indeed near two-thousand were gathered. I sent a forlorn of about fifty Horse who coming very civilly to them, they fired upon them and they desiring some of them to come to me, were refused with disdain. They were drawn into one of the old camps, 1 upon a very high hill I sent one Mr. Lee 2 to them, To certify the peaceableness of my intentions, and to desire them to peaceableness, 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 I commanded leaders, and especially two vile ministers) refused your Captain-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 he came near, they refused his offer, and let fly at him killed about two of his men, and at least four horses, and passage not being for above three ;

;

kept them out

whereupon Major Desburgh wheeled them, beat them from the work, and did some small execution upon them I believe killed not twelve of them, but cut very many, and we have taken about 300 many of which are 3 poor silly creatures, whom if you please

a-breast,

about

got in the rear of

;

me send home, they promise to be very dutiful for time to come, and will be hanged before they come out again. to let

The

ringleaders which we have, I hope to bring to you. They divers of the Parliament soldiers prisoners, besides

had taken

men

and used them most barbarously my Lord Hopton, that he is to command them they expected from Wilts great store and 4 gave out they meant to raise the siege at Sherborne when they Colonel

Fienes his

;

bragging, they hoped to see ;

Roman Camps '

;

(Cough's Camden, i. 52). the approach of ours, came from them.'

One Mr. Lee who, upon

79-) 3

[" a" in

ong.'\

[" Shaftesbury

erased.]

(Sprigge, p.

LETTER XXXL, BRISTOL

1645.]

were

all

met.

211

have gotten good store of their arms, and

quarter about ten miles they carried few or none home. and purpose to draw our quarters near to you to-morrow.

off,

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 Lieutenant-General had now been ' 1 upon, continues Sprigge, though unhappy, was very necessary.' No messenger could be sent out but he was picked 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 due battering, was now soon stormed whereupon, by Letters found on him, it became apparent how deeply Royalist ' Commissions for raising this scheme of Clubmen had been to of Clubmen the be extended over England design Regiments 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. 2

LETTER XXXI STORM OF BRISTOL 'ON

the Lord's Day, September 21, according to Order of Par'liament, Lieutenant-General Cromwell's Letter on the taking ' of Bristol was read in several Congregations about London, and * in

Newspapers (Cratnwelliana, Tanner MS S. Ix. 236.]

p. 20).

[Now printed from

the holograph original

P- 8 1. arriving at

Keynsham, a. little to the south of Bristol, Cromwell seems to have escaped a danger of another sort, for the Moderate Intelligencer for the week August 28-Sept. "4 states that the general officers had been called away from the it was since understood that the contagion was in the house where place, and that Lieut. -Gen. Cromwell, Lieut. -Gen. Hammond and Col. Pickering lay but the zeal to the public makes those things looked over." (E. 299 (8).)] [On

;

WAR

FIRST CIVIL

212

Sept.

thanks returned to Almighty God for the admirable and wonderful reducing of that city. The Letter of that renowned Com' mander 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 Rush worth Sayer's History of Bristol gives Plans, and all manner of local details, though in a rather vague way. :

For

Honourable

the

William

Lenthall,

House of Parliament

Speaker of the These

Bristol, i4th

Commons

September 1645.

SIR, It

hath pleased the General to give

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 exceedingly

;

harassed by the Prince his being but a fortnight thereabouts ; the correspondence he might hold in Wales the possibility of uniting ;

the enemy's forces where they pleased, and especially the drawing to an head the disaffected clubmen of Somerset, Wilts and these conDorset, when once our backs were towards them :

siderations, together with the taking so important a place, so advantageous for the opening of trade to London, did sway the

balance,

and begat that

When we came

conclusion.

we had a new up, or make a Colonel Welden with

within four miles of the

city,

debate, whether we should endeavour to block

The

latter being overruled, to Pile Hill, on the south side of the city, shot thereof: where in a few days they within musketbeing

regular siege. his brigade

marched

made a good quarter, overlooking the city. Upon our advance, the enemy fired Bedminster, Clifton, and some other villages, 1

Newspapers, Cromwelliana,

p. 24.

Rushworth,

vii.

69, &c.

LETTEE XXXI, BRISTOL

1645.]

213

and would have fired the country thereabouts if our unexpected coming had not hindered. The General caused some Horse and Dragooners under Commissary- General Ireton to advance over Avon, to keep-in the enemy on the north side of the town,

come up and after a day, the General, with Colonel Montague's and Colonel Rainsborowe's brigades, marched over at Keynsham to Stapleton, where he quartered until the foot could

that night. The next day, Colonel Montague, having his post assigned with his brigade, was to secure all between Froom and He came up to Lawford's Gate, 1 within musket-shot Avon.

Colonel Rainsborowe's post was near to Durdham Down, where the Dragooners 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 Rainsborowe's A part of Colonel Birch quarters to Froom River, on his left. and Major-General Skippon's regiments were to maintain that thereof.

post.

These posts being 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

sallies,

their posts,

considering the paucity of our

and the strength of the enemy

(which were three or four) I in all the time of our siege.

Okey was

men

within.

know not that we lost thirty men, Of officers of quality, only Colonel

taken, by mistake going to the enemy, thinking them and Captain Guilliams slain in a charge. took

to be friends,

Bernard Asteley and killed Sir Richard Crane, considerable with the Prince. Sir

make good By sallies

;

men

very

had a council of war concerning the storming of the we took it; and in that there

town, about eight days before

appeared great unwillingness to the work, through the unseasonableness of the weather,

and other apparent

One

of the Bristol Gates.

difficulties.

Some

FIRST CIVIL

214

WAR

Sept.

inducement to bring us thither was the report of the good of the townsmen to us but that did not answer a second consideration, it was overruled for a Upon expectation. no which sooner storm, concluded, but difficulties were removed,

affection

and

all

;

things seemed to favour the design

hath been seldom the like cheerfulness in

;

and indeed there and soldiers

officers

any work like to this, after it was once resolved on. The day and hour of our storm was appointed to be Wednesday morning, to

the tenth, about one of the clock. We chose to act because we hoped thereby to surprise the enemy resolution

also

it,

so early

with this

confusion and falling foul one upon recovered l the line, and forts

when we had

another), that

upon

(to avoid

it ;

we would

not to

(sic)

advance further until day.

The

general signal unto the storm, was, the firing of straw, and discharging four piece of cannon at Prior Hill Fort.

The signal was very well perceived by all, and truly the men went on with great resolution, and very presently recovered the Colonel Montague line, making way for the Horse to enter. 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 resolution 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 to themselves. They laid down the bridges for

Major Desborowe commanding the Horse, seconded the Foot. Then our Foot advanced very gallantly

the Horse to enter

who

;

to the city walls, where they possessed the gate against the Castle Street whereinto were put an hundred men, who made it Sir Hardresse Waller, with his and the General's good. :

regiment, with no less resolution, entered on the other side of Lawford's Gate, towards Avon River and put themselves into an immediate conjunction with the rest of the brigade. ;

During

this,

Colonel Rainborowe and Colonel

Hammond

at-

the Line is a new earthen work recovered means taken, got possession of outside the walls very deficient in height, according to Rupert's account. '

;

LETTER XXXI. BRISTOL

1645.]

215

tempted Prior Hill Fort, and the line downwards towards Froome Colonel Birch and the Major-General's regiment being to storm towards Froome River. Colonel Hammond possessed the line immediately, and beating the enemy from it, made way for our Horse to enter. Colonel Rainborowe, who had the hardest task of all at Prior Hill Fort, attempted it and fought near three hours for it, and indeed there was great despair of carrying the ;

;

it being exceeding high, a ladder of thirty rounds scarcely reaching the top thereof; but his resolution was such that, notwithstanding the inaccessibleness and difficulty, he would not

place

give

;

over.

The enemy had

four piece of

cannon upon

;

which

they played with round and case shot upon our men his Lieutenant-Colonel Bo wen and others were two hours at push of pike, Colonel standing upon the palisadoes, but could not enter. :

Hammond being entered the line, Captain Ireton, 1 with a forlorn of Colonel Riche's regiment (interposing with his Horse between the enemy's Horse and Colonel Hammond), received a shot with broke his arm By means of his entrance, did storm the Fort on that part which was inward ; by which means, Colonel Rainborowe and Colonel Hammond's men entered the Fort, and immediately put to the

two

pistol-bullets, which

Hammond

Colonel

and

was the place of most difficulty, on that side, and of very great honour The Horse did second them with great to the undertakers. resolution 2 both those Colonels do acknowledge that their interposition between the enemy's Horse and their Foot was a great means of obtaining this strong Fort, without which all the rest of the line to Froome River would have done us little good and indeed neither Horse nor Foot would have stood in all that way, in any manner of security, had not the Fort been taken. Major Bethel's were the first Horse entered the line who did behave himself very gallantly, and was shot in the thigh, had one or two shot more, and his horse shot under him. Colonel Birch sword almost so

all in

was of most

it,

as this

loss to us

;

This

not the famous Ireton this is his Brother. Commissary-General seen (p. 213), is also here he is not wedded yet. indeed" erased, apparently by Cromwell.] '

Ireton,' as

we have

And

;

WAR

FIEST CIVIL

216

Sept.

with his men, and the Major-General's regiment, entered with very great resolution where their post was possessing the enemy's guns, and turning them upon them. ;

this, all

the line from Prior Hill Fort to Avon, which was

a full mile, with all the forts, ordnance and bulwarks, were possessed by us but one, wherein there were about 1 20 men of the l Enemy which

The

the General summoned, and

all

the

men submitted.

success on Colonel Welden's side did not answer with

and although the Colonels, and other the officers and both Horse and Foot, testified very much resolution, as could be expected, Colonel Welden, Colonel Ingoldsby, Colonel Herbert, and the rest of the Colonels and Officers, [both of Horse and Foot], 2 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 100 men. Colonel Fortescue's Lieutenant-Colonel was killed, Major Cromwell 3 dangerously shot and two of Colonel Ingoldsby 's brothers hurt with some officers. this

;

soldiers

;

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 and this begat a great trouble to the General and us all, fearing to see so famous a city burnt to ashes before our faces. Whiles we were viewing so sad a spectacle, and consulting which ;

to make further advantage 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 Montague, Colonel Rainborowe, and Colonel Pickering for that

way

;

service ; authorising them with instructions to treat and conclude the Articles, which are these enclosed for performance whereof ;

4 hostages were mutually given.

[Rushworth says 220, but Sprigge gives the number correctly.] [These words inserted in Cromwell's hand.] 3 A cousin. [Richard, second son of Sir Philip.] 4 [A letter written to the Speaker on the loth, by the commissioners with the army, giving an account of the day's work, is printed in the Hi$t. MSS. Commissioners Report on the Portland MSS. i, 268.] 1

LETTEE XXXI., BRISTOL

1645.]

217

Thursday about two of the clock in the afternoon, the 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 1 40 mounted Prince marched out

;

about 100 barrels of powder already come to our hands, with a good quantity of shot, ammunition, and arms. We have found The Royal Fort had already between 2000 and 3000 muskets. in it victuals for one-hundred-and-fifty men, for three-hundred-

and-twenty days the Castle victualled for near half so long. The Prince had Foot of the Garrison (as the Mayor of the City ;

informed me), two-thousand five-hundred, and about one thousand Horse, besides the Trained Bands of the town, and Auxiliaries 1 hear but one man hath died of the 1200, some say 1500. plague

and

in all our

army, although

we have

in the midst of infected persons

and

quartered amongst We had not

places.

200 men.

killed of ours in this storm, nor all this siege,

Thus

have given you a true, but not a full account of this wherein he that runs may read, That all this is business great none other than the work of God. He must be a very Atheist I

;

that doth not acknowledge it. It may be thought that some praises are due to these gallant men, of whose valour so much mention is made their humble :

you and all that have an interest in this blessing, is, That the remembrance of God's praises they may be forgotten. It's

suit to

their joy that they are instruments to God's glory, and their country's good ; it's their honour that God vouchsafes to use them.

they that have been employed in this service know, that faith and prayer obtained this city for you I do not say ours Sir,

God with you and all England over, with God 2 for a blessing in this very thing.

only, but of the people of

who have wrestled Our desires are, that God may be 1

glorified

by the same

spirit

" " black," which is corrected to [The scribe wrote plague" by Cromwell.] ["waited on God" is corrected to "wrestled with God" by Cromwell's own

hand.]

FIRST CIVIL

218

WAR

Sept.

by which we asked all our sufficiency, and having received meet that He have all the praise. Presbyterians, Independents, all had here the same spirit of faith and prayer the faith

it's

it,

;

they agree here, know no names of should be otherwise anywhere. All that

same pretence and answer difference

pity

it is it

;

believe, have the real unity, which is most glorious, because inward and spiritual, in the Body, and to the Head. l As for being

united in forms, for

commonly peace-sake study and

and from brethren, sion,

called Uniformity, every Christian will do, as far as conscience will permit ;

in things of the

but that of light and reason.

mind we look

for

In other things,

no compul-

God hath

put the sword into the Parliament's hands, for the terror of evilIf any plead doers, and the praise of them that do well.

he knows not the Gospel if any would wring it from you under what pretence do shall it without effect. That God may hope they

exemption from it

it,

out of your hands, or steal

soever,

maintain

your hands, and direct you in the use thereof,

the prayer of

Your humble

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

These last paragraphs are, as the old Newspapers say, ' very If modern readers suppose them to be ' cant,' it remarkable.' 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 ;

Head' means Christ;

Body'

True Church of Christ.

85 Sprigge, pp. 112-118. [The original (from which it is now It printed) signed and here and there corrected by Cromwell, is at Welbeck. agrees with the version in Lords Journals, which differs in many small points from that given by Sprigge and Rushworth. But the Lords' version is given as if sent by Fairfax himself, and wherever the words " the General" occur in Cromwell's letter, " two hundred they are omitted or altered. Also, the last part of the letter, from men," is left out altogether. The official copies of Cromwell's despatches usually left out his religious meditations and exhortations. Of this Dr. Gardiner writes Of Cromwell's warnings the Commons took little heed. They indeed ordered that his despatch should be printed, but they took care to mutilate it, as they had mutilated his despatch from Naseby. No word of his referring to the difference between Presbyterians and Independents was, for the time, suffered to meet the

Rushworth,

vi.

;

LETTER XXXII., WINCHESTER

1645.]

219

Prince Rupert rode out of Bristol amid seas of angry human 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 ; commanding 'the elixir of the Blackguardism of the Three Kingdoms,' with He begged a thousand very insufficient funds for most part muskets from Fairfax on this occasion, to assist his escort in protecting him across the country to Oxford promising, on his Fairfax lent the honour, to return them after that service. 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 faces,

;

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, made stubborn resistance but were constantly worsted, at Langport, at Torring2 The ton, wheresoever they rallied and made a new attempt. Parliament Army went steadily and rapidly on ; storming Bridgewater, storming all manner of Towns and Castles clearing the ;

;

Great Civil War, ii. 320. The omitted paragraph was afterwards public eye." printed in a pamphlet entitled Strong Motives (E. 304, No. 15). The action of Parliament may, however, conceivably have been due simply to a desire, not to suppress but to compress Cromwell's account, publishing the news for the information of the public, but omitting the reflections which, they perhaps thought, were intended only for themselves.] 1 [It will be remembered that as Rupert surrendered Bristol to Fairfax in 1645, so Fiennes had surrendered it to Rupert in 1643. After its recovery, Fairfax wrote a congratulatory "letter to Fiennes' father, Lord Say, telling him that his son's "honour and innocency were now fully vindicated, and stating that Lieut. -General Cromwell intended to make a full relation, clearing the whole business. In the pamphlet in which this letter is printed, is also a Declaration by Fairfax and his officers, in vindication of Fiennes, which Mr. Firth thinks may be the "Relation" in question. See Notes and Queries, 7th series, ix. p. 181.] 2 The battle of Langport, as we have seen, was [This account is confused. fought on July 10, two months before Bristol was taken, and Bridgewater was stormed on July 22. Torrington, on the other hand, was Hopton's last stand and was not stormed until February 16, 1645-6. The chief places taken in the interval between the surrender of Bristol and of Winchester were Devizes, Laycock House, and Berkeley Castle. J

WAR

FIKST CIVIL

220

[6 Oct.

ground before them till Sir Ralph was driven into Cornwall l and, without resource or escape, saw himself obliged next spring to surrender, and go beyond seas. A brave and honourable man respected on both sides and of all the King's Generals the most He lived in retirement abroad taking no deserving respect. and died in honourable part in Charles Second's businesses poverty before the Restoration. The following Three Letters 2 are what remain to us concerning 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 For

the Right

Honourable William Lenthall, Esq., Speaker of the House of Commons : 3 Winton, 6th October 1645.

SIR, I came to Winchester on the Lord's day, being the 28th of September, with Colonel Pickering, commanding his own, Colonel Mountague's, and Sir Hardress Waller's regiments. I After some dispute with the Governor, we entered the town. Castle was denied 4 whereupon we fell to prepare

summoned the

;

our 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 one firing of them round, I ;

him a second summons for a treaty which he 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

sent

;

Truro, March 14, 1645-6 (Rushworth, vi. no). Appendix, No. 9, contains Two more: Battle of Langport, and Summons to Winchester (Note of 1857). 3 [The original of this letter is at Welbeck. Carlyle, following Rushworth, supposed it to be written to Fairfax.] 4 [See Appendix, No. 9 (2) for the summons, and note on the same for the 1

Governor's answer.]

LETTER XXXII., WINCHESTER

1645.]

On Sunday

it.

221

Governor beat

night, about ten of the clock, the

I a parley, desiring to treat. agreed unto it and sent Colonel Hammond and Major Harrison in to him, who agreed upon these enclosed Articles. ;

Sir, this is

as visible,

You

the addition of another mercy.

not weary in doing you good

confess, Sir,

see

God

when He comes by His power upon the hearts them quit places of strength to you,

your enemies, making

when He

His favour to you of as

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 680 foot and horse, there well being near 200 gentlemen, officers, and their servants ;

victualled, with very great store of wheat

and

15,000 weight of cheese, near 20 barrels of powder, 7 piece of cannon ; the beer,

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.* P.S.

understand exceptions are taken at

to Mr. Chichley to

Truly,

Sir, I

did

giving a pass

come upon

into Cambridgeshire to see his lady. the suggestion of his lady's being very

" beare " in the The editor of the ist volume of the Report on original. [Spelt the Portland MSS. suggests that it may mean the corn of that name, but cheese, wheat and beer are very commonly mentioned together, while the mention of "beare" is not very usual, except in Ireland. Moreover, the scribe originally " wrote "great store of wheat, 15,000 weight of cheese and beare afterwards erasing the beer and entering it above instead and in the list given in Rush worth, we find 112 hogsheads of beer, but no grain except wheat.] 1

;

p. 128; Newspapers (in Cromwelliana p. 25); Rushworth, iv. 91. printed from the original at Welbeck, with the addition of the postscript, is not in any of the texts. the With printed original is also the copy of Articles stated by Cromwell to be enclosed. This is printed by Rushworth (iv. i. " " " In the first Article, function should be furniture," 91), but with two mistakes. and in the fifth, " be in their own time" should be " live at their own homes." Rushworth also prints a list of the provisions found in the castle. Hugh Peters was chaplain to the train of artillery. It does not appear that he acted as Cromwell's secretary.]

*Sprigge,

[Now

which

FIRST CIVIL

222 ill

and much desiring

will hear) a virtuous

WAK

Oct.

to see him, she being (as I believe you sister to a true servant of yours,

woman and

Colonel Russells. I thought it to be an act of humanity. I shall not hereafter presume. I can say I have done you service by some civilities, nor have I taken liberty this way, 1 hope I never If it offend the House, shall, but out of judgment to serve you. I ask their pardon, and had rather be chidden by you than accused by them from whom I have not deserved any jealousy of me, who truly bear an upright heart to the public, and am

sorry Sir,

need

this apology.

Mr. Peeters

to wait

upon you with some considerations

concerning the army which it may be are not so fit to be committed to writing, yet very fit you should seasonably be acquainted with them, wherein I beseech you to hear him.

'Lieutenant-General Cromwell's Secretary/ who brings this 1 2 Letter, gets 50/. for his good news. By Sprigge's account, he ' to have been this Mr. Peters appears Hugh Peters/ Secretary. there makes a verbal Narrative of the affair, to Mr. Speaker arid 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 saw fit. The Oxford Governor politely returned the five prisoners, ' with an acknow3 ledgment of the Lieutenant-General's nobleness.'

LETTER XXXIII BASING

House,

Pawlet

Marquis of Winchester's

Mansion,

stood, as the ruined heaps still testify, at a small distance from It had long infested the ParliaBasingstoke in Hampshire. 1

Commons

129.

Journals, 7th October 1645. 3 Sprigge, p. 133.

LETTER XXXIII., BASINGSTOKE

1645.]

ment

223

and been especially a great eyesorrow 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 in those quarters

;

the

;

stood siege after siege, for four years ; ruining poor Colonel This and then poor Colonel That; the jubilant Royalists had given l there was, on the Parliament it the name of Basting House 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 :

;

may manage

perhaps

the

[To

it.

Honourable William Lenthall, Speaker of the

Commons House of Parliament

These]

Basingstoke, i4th October 1645.

SIR, 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 :

House near the Grange Colonel Pickering on his hand, and Sir Hardress Waller's and Colonel Montague's

side of the left

;

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 Pickering stormed the House, passed through, and got the gate of the Old House whereupon they summoned a parley, which our men would not hear.

New

;

In the meantime Colonel Montague's and Sir Hardress Walregiments assaulted the strongest work, where the enemy

ler's

kept his court of guard. which, with great resolution, they the beating enemy from a whole culverin, and from ;

recovered 1

;

[But Loyalty House was what

its

owner loved

to call

it.

See

227 below.]

FIRST CIVIL

224

WAR

[14 Oct.

work which having done, they drew their ladders after them, and got over another work, and the house-wall, before that

they could enter. In this Sir Hardress Waller, performing his duty with honour and diligence, was shot in the arm, but not dangerous.

have had

little loss

many

of the

Enemy

our

men

put to

of quality ; most of the rest we have prisoners, amongst which the Marquis f of Winchester himself/ and Sir Robert Peake, with divers other officers, whom I

the sword, and some

officers

have ordered to be sent up to you. We have taken about ten pieces of ordnance, with much ammunition, 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-hundred men to manage it ; it is no frontier ; the country is poor about it ; the :

place exceedingly ruined by our batteries and mortar-pieces, and If you fire which fell upon the place since our taking it. please to take the Garrison at Farnham, some out of Chichester,

by a

foot which were here under Dalbier, and a to make strong quarter at Newbury with three or four troops of horse, I dare be confident it would not only be a curb to

and a good part of the

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 and by lying there, will make the trade most And I secure between Bristol and London for all carriages. believe the gentlemen of Sussex and Hampshire will with more cheerfulness contribute to maintain a garrison on a frontier than ;

;

in their bowels, Sir, I

which

will

have

less safety in

it.

hope not to delay, but march towards the West tomorrow

and

I to be as diligent as I may in my expedition thither. if intend to to That have your you, you speak my judgment

carried on, recruits of Foot

pay your army

;

must be had, and a course taken to me, Sir, it may not be able to answer

else, believe

the work you have for

;

must work

to do.

LETTER XXXIII., BASING HOUSE

1645.] I

Hammond

to wait upon you, who was lay before this Garrison, whom safely delivered to us, to our great joy ; but to his loss of

entreated Colonel

taken by a mistake whilst

God

225

all he had, which the enemy took from him. grant that these mercies may be acknowledged with

The Lord

almost

fulness

God

all

exceedingly abounds in His goodness to

thankus,

and

be weary until righteousness and peace meet and that He hath brought forth a glorious work for the happiness of this poor Kingdom. Wherein desires to serve God and you, with a will not

faithful heart,

Your most humble servant, OLIVER CROMWELL.*

Hammond, whom we

Colonel

this

brought Mr. Peters

good news

shall by and by see again, 1 London, and had his reward, of 200/. ;

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 Mr. Peters related eyes. "That he came into Basing House some time after the storm," on Tuesday 14th of October 1645 "and took a view first of " the works which were many, the circumvallation being above " a mile 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 in both Houses, were (it seems), " all for some furnished years rather than completely provisions " months 400 quarters of wheat bacon divers rooms-full, con" cheese proportionable with oattaining hundreds of flitches "meal, beef, pork beer divers cellars-full, and that very good," Mr. Peters having taken a draught of the same. "A bed in one room, furnished, which cost 1,300/. Popish "books many, with copes, and such utensils. That in truth, " the House stood in its full and the pride Enemy was peralso,

;

*Sprigge, pp. 137-9; Newspapers 787.

[f.

73.

VOL.

(in

Cromwelliana,

27);

and Harl. MSS.

old copy.]

Commons Journals

(i5th October 1645),

i y>

39-

FIRST CIVIL

226

WAR

[14 Oct.

"suaded that it would be the last piece of ground that would " be taken by the Parliament, because they had so often foiled "our forces which had formerly appeared before it. In the "several rooms and about the House, there were slain seventy "four, and only one woman, the daughter of Dr. Griffith, who her railing," poor lady, "provoked our soldiers (then in "by " There lay dead upon the ground, heat) into a further passion. " a man of great account amongst them, and a Major Cuffle " notorious Papist slain by the hands of Major Harrison (that "godly and gallant gentleman)", all men know him; "and " Robinson the 1 Player, who, a little before the storm, was known "to be mocking and scorning the Parliament and our Army. "Eight or nine gentlewomen of rank, running forth together, "were entertained by the common soldiers somewhat coarsely, " ;

;

yet not uncivilly, considering the action in hand. " The plunder of the soldiers continued till Tuesday night " one soldier had an hundred-and-twenty Pieces in gold for his "share others plate, others jewels amongst the rest, one got " 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. Also " the soldiers sold the wheat to country-people ; which they held " up at good rates awhile ; but afterwards the market fell, and " there were some abatements for haste. After that, they sold the " household stuff, whereof there was good store, and the country " loaded away many carts and continued a 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 houses, there was not one iron bar left in " all the windows (save only what was in the fire), before night. " And the last work of all was the lead and :

;

by Thursday one gutter about the House. And what the soldiers left, the fire took hold on, which made " more than ordinary haste leaving nothing but bare walls and " being occasioned by the chimneys in less than twenty hours " "neglect of the Enemy in quenching a fire-ball of ours at first. ;

"morning, they had hardly "

left

;

What

a scene

"We know not how 1

but

number of not three-hundred

to give a just account of the

"persons that were within.

For

we have

He was in Drury Lane, a comedian, [" Robinson the player was taken there. his own tragedy." (Diary, or an Exact Journal, E. 305. 7.)]

now he acted

1645.]

LETTER XXXIII, BASING HOUSE

" prisoners

and

;

may

be,

an hundred

slain,

[of]

227

whose bodies,

" 1 some, being covered with rubbish, came not to our view, only, " on we to the House heard divers Tuesday night, riding crying " in vaults for quarter but our men could neither come to them, " nor they to us. But 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 foot 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 England 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 only hoping that the King might have a day " And thus the Lord was pleased in a few hours to show again. " 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 heads 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 the Commander of this Lieutenant;

servants,

Brigade,"

General Cromwell, " having spent much time with God in prayer " the and seldom fighting without some night before the storm "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 that trusteth in them, which, with some verses going " 2 before, was now accomplished." ;

[The number

of the slain was never accurately known. Dr. Gardiner thinks this probably about right (Great Civil War, ii. 364), but Vicars says near (Burning Bush, p. 291) and Mr. Firth believes this number to be more likely (Oliver Cromwell, p. 133). Peters appears to have gone off to London before there had been time to ascertain the exact details. The volume of the King's Pamphlets, E. 305, has various notices of the storm.] 2 Not unto for thy mercy us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give glory 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 Their Idols are silver and gold the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not eyes have they, but they see not they have ears, but they hear not noses have they, but they smell not ; they have hands, but they handle not 1

estimate

three hundred

;

FIEST CIVIL

228

WAK

[ie Oct.

'Mr. Peters presented the Marquis's own Colours, which he brought from Basing the Motto of which was, Donee pax redeat terns the very same King Charles gave upon his Coronation' 1 So Mr. Peters; and money, when he came to the Crown/ then withdrew, getting by and by 200/. a-year settled on him. 2 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 3 freely have the same for his pains/ the names of the Prisoners taken here one reads that Among of Inigo Jones, unfortunate old Inigo. Vertue, on what evidence I know not, asserts farther that Wenceslaus Hollar, with his 4 graving tools, and unrivalled graving talent, was taken here. 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 inspection, excited the wonder of the world. '

;

LETTER XXXIV the following FAIRFAX, with the Army, is in Devonshire 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 Dennington Castle, of which we heard already at Newbury. These ;

messages, as

gather, reached

him

at Basing, late 'last night/

London. 5 he Thursday morning early, (' came,' calls it) as far as Wallop purposes still to make a forced march ' to Langford House to-night 6 (probably with horse only, and

Wednesday

5th,

day they were written he marched has come

the

;

have they, but they walk not neither speak they through their throat They make them are like unto them ; so is every one that trusteth in them. These words, awful as the words of very God, were in Oliver Cromwell's heart that night. '

feet

that

;

[But the Marquis's own motto was Aymez loyaultt.~\ 3 Commons Whitlocke. Journals, iv. 309. 5 Commons Journals (iv. 309), i5th Oct. 1645. Life of Hollar. 6 were several in this letter as printed by Carlyle, one or two [There mis-readings of which altered the sense. Reading "in today's march I came to Wallop," and, further on, "I shall be at Langford House to-night," he supposed that Cromwell did the whole in one day, whereas, no doubt, he started on Wednesday, the i5th (as in his letter of the i4th he announced his intention of doing) and arrived at Langford on the i7th, as he states in his next letter.] 1

2 4

Sprigge, pp. 139-42.

LETTER XXXIV., WALLOP

1645.]

answers meanwhile and furthermore writes this

leave the foot to follow) (see next Letter),

ike

Right

;

his

22ft

messages here

Honourable Sir Parliament's

Thomas Fairfax, General of

Army

* :

Haste

the

These

Wallop, i6th October 1645. SIR,

In two days march

I came to Wallop, twenty That night I received this House of Commons, which I which I returned an answer, a

miles from Basing, towards you. enclosed from the Speaker of the

thought fit to send you and to 2 copy whereof I have also sent enclosed to you. it's the desire to have the place 3 taken-in. I that perceive But truly 1 could not do other than let them know what the ;

condition of affairs in the West are, and submit the business to them and you. I shall be at Langford tomorrow night, 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 not be sufficient to

take

in),

than be detained from obeying such commands as I 1 humbly beseech you to be confident that no man

shall receive.

hath a more faithful heart to serve you than myself, nor shall be more strict to observe your commands than

Your most humble

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL. Sir, I

beseech you to

let

me have

ness with all the possible speed that

your resolution in this busibecause whatsoever

may be

;

speedily endeavour so precious for action in this season.* I

be designed

to, I

wish

may

Langford House, whither Oliver 1

it,

time being

now bound, hoping to

arrive

Marching from Collumpton to Tiverton, while Cromwell writes (Sprigge,

334).

[This 3

letter to

Dennington

Lenthall has not been discovered.]

Castle.

Sloane MSS. 1519, fol. 61 [127] [Sealed with the Cromwell arms. ]

only the Signature

Oliver's hand.

FIRST CIVIL

230

WAR

[17 Oct.

1 He did arrive accordingly ; drew out tonight, is near Salisbury. here is his own part of his brigade, and summoned the place most brief account of the business. ;

LETTER XXXV To

the

Honourable William Lenthall, Esquire, Speaker Honourable House of Commons : These

to the

Salisbury, ijth October (12 at night) 1645.

SIR,

gave you an account, the last night, of my marching Langford House, whither I came this day, and them in a summons. sent The Governor desired I immediately should send two Officers to treat with him, and I accordingly I

appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Hewson and Major Kelsey thereunto. The Treaty produced the Agreement, which I have here enclosed to you.

The General, I hear, is advanced as far West and hath sent some Horse and Foot to Tiverton. 2 desired, that this force might march up to him venient that

coming

as Collumpton, It

earnestly

being cona for our Foot that are behind and stay day

;

up. '

wait your answer to my Letter ' last night from Wallop I shall desire that your pleasure may be speeded to me and rest, I

;

Sir,

Your humble

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.* 1

Pell

[Langford House belonged to Lord Coleraine. Lieut. -Gen. Sir Bartholomew was governor. It had been unsuccessfully besieged by Waller and Cromwell

in the previous April (See Diary, E. 278 (29)). Early in October there was a October 7 the Moderate report in London that it had fallen on the 3rd inst.

Intelligencer wrote

before Langford. trade clear, which

' :

there will be wagers laid that Basing is taken both are taken, then the way is open, and passage for

They say

When

is worth a little more than thanks." (E. 304 (n).) Major William Ludlow was appointed governor Col. Hewson reported the surrender, and got 5o/. to buy himself two good horses.] " more foot " 2 [" those Foot" in pamphlet printed by Carlyle.]. ;

;

King's Pamphlets, small 4to, no. 229 [E. 305], art. 19 (no. 42 of The Weekly [Now printed from the original in the possession of Captain Lindsay.

Account).

LETTER XXXV., SALISBURY

1645.]

231

Basing is black ashes, then ; and Langford is ours, the Garrison to march forth tomorrow at twelve of the clock, being the 1 1 8th instant. And now the question is, Shall we attack Dennot or ? nington 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, credible on such a point. 2 Dennington Castle was not besieged at present it surrendered next spring to Dalbier. 3 Cromwell 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. 4 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 morning, on Philipshaugh near Selkirk, had, in one :

hour, trampled utterly out. The King had to retire to Wales to Oxford and obscurity again. ; On the 14th of next March, as we said, Sir Ralph Hopton surrendered himself in Cornwall. 5 On the 22d of the same fell

again

Jacob Astley, another distinguished Royalist General, them all, coming towards Oxford with some small force he had gathered, was beaten and captured at Stow

month, the

last

Sir

the Wolds of Gloucestershire 6 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."

among

Seal of Arms. On outside, note in different hand on Tuesday night of Abbington and Hame House went to Farrington, and took 200 horse and 60 foot, and were like to take the garrison."] '

Signed.

last the forces

Sprigge, p. 145. [Mr. Firth thinks Heath's story improbable "as Dalbier served under Essex, in the army of the Eastern Association ". See life of Dalbier, Diet. Nat. Biog. Supplement.] 3 ist April 1646 (Rushworth. vi. 252). 4 24th September 1645 (Rushworth, vi. 117 Lord Digby's account of it, Ormond 2

and not

;

Papers,

ii.

90).

Hopton's own account

Rushworth,

vi.

139-41.

it,

Ormond Papers,

ii.

109-26.

FIRST CIVIL

232

WAR

[27 April

On Monday night, towards twelve of the clock, 27th April 1646, the King in disguise rode out of Oxford, somewhat unat length towards Newark and the Scots certain whitherward, 1 On the Wednesday before, Oliver Cromwell had Army. returned to his place in Parliament. 2 Many detached Castles and Towns still held out, Ragland Castle even till the next August scattered fires of an expiring conflagration, that need ;

be extinguished \*ith eifort and in victorious sieges, with their elaborate

which moving accidents, the theme of every tongue during that old Summer, let the following one brief glimpse, notable on private grounds, to

detail.

treaties

all

and

suffice us at present.

Oxford, the Royalist metropolis, a place full of Royalist digniand 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 20th 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 intimately interesting to some friends of ours Register, taries,

;

HENRY

IRETON, Commissary-General to Sir Thomas Fairfax, 'and BRIDGET, Daughter to Oliver Cromwell, Lieutenant' General of the Horse to the said Sir Thomas Fairfax, were ' married, by Mr. Dell, in the Lady Whorwood her House in 3 'Holton, 15th June 164-6. ALBAN EALES, Rector. Ireton, we are to remark, was one of Fairfax's Commissioners 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 afterwards well ' known, was the General's Chaplain at this date. Of the Lady Whorwood I have traces, rather in the Royalist direction her '

;

Rushworth, vi. 267 Iter Carolinum. [At three in the morning of the 27th, p. 12.] of the Civil War, Payne says. See Gary, Memorials " 2 Cromwelliana, p. 31. [ The ever-renowned and never to be forgotten Lieut.Gen. Cromwell came this day [23rd] into the House of Commons and sat there as " a member, the house much rejoicing at his presence and welfare and desiring Mr. Speaker to give him hearty thanks for his great services, "which Mr. ;

Speaker did accordingly." (Perfect Diurnal, E. 506. (35).] 3 Parish Poor Noble (i. 134) seems to Register of Holton (copied, Oct. 1846). have copied this same Register, and to have misread his own Note giving instead of Holton, Nation, an imaginary place and instead of June, January, an .mpossible date. See antea, p. 62 postea, Letter XLI. p. 245. :

;

NEW MEMBERS

LETTER XXXV.,

1646.1

233

strong moated House, very useful to Fairfax in those weeks, stands conspicuous in that region, though now under new figure and ownership ; drawbridge become fixed, deep ditch now ' rebuilt in dry, moated island changed into a flower-garden ; still

Fairfax's Lines,

1807.'

observe, extended 'from Heading-

ton Hill to Marston,' several miles in advance of Holton House, then ' from Marston across the Cherwell, and over from that to 'the Isis on the North side of the City;' southward and elsewhere, the besieged, 'by a dam at St. Clement's Bridge, had 1 laid the country all under water in such scene, with the treaty just ending and general Peace like to follow, did Ire ton 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 1 5th June ; 2 on Saturday 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, of mostly quality ; and on Wednesday all the Royalist force, < ' with 3,000 (or say 2,000) to the Eastward, 500 to the North ' drums beating, colours flying,' for the last time all with passes, with agitated thoughts and outlooks and in sacred Oxford, as 3 poor Wood intimates, 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 August and the First Civil War, to the last ember of it, was extinct. The Parliament, in these circumstances, was now getting itself ' its vacancies filled recruited/ 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 '

;

Rushworth, vi. 279-285. [In the Supplement (No. 16) will be found a letter to the Earl of Clare, written the day after the wedding.] 2

Fasti,

ii.

58, sec. edit.

FIRST CIVIL

234

WAR

[1646.

were elected, above Two-hundred-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, afterwards Admiral Blake (for Taunton), Ludlow, Ireton (for Appleby), 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. 1 1

The Writ

issued i6th

March 1647-8 (Commons

Journals).

PART

III

BETWEEN THE TWO

CIVIL

WARS

16461648

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, In vain, both of them. earnestly entreated to the same effect. The King had other schemes the King, writing privately to Digby before quitting Oxford, when he 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 either the Presbyterians or the Independents to " side with me for extirpating one another, that I shall be really " l Such a man is not easy to make a Treaty with, King again." 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 inconceivable reverence for him, till bitter Necessity and he together drove them away from it. Equivocations, :

;

Oxford, a6tb March 1646

;

Carte's Life of

(235)

;

Ormond,

iii.

(London, 1735),

p. 452.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

236

[27 July.

spasmodic obstinacies, 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 manon both it had ended in otherwise sides, fully quarrel negotiations with the King infinite public and private negotiations which issue at last in the Scots marching home with 200,000/. 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 ' 1 though very stately seclusion, on 50/. a day,' and await the ;

;

destinies there.

LETTER XXXVI KNYVETT, of Ashwellthorpe in Norfolk, is one of the unfortunate Royalist Gentlemen whom Cromwell laid sudden hold of at Lowestoff, some years ago, and lodged in the Castle of Cambridge, suddenly snuffing out their Royalist light in that ' quarter. Kiiyvett, we conclude, paid his contribution,' or due 2 safe home fine, for the business ; got again and has lived Of whom we promised the reader some quieter ever since. ;

3 transitory glimpse once more.

Here accordingly is a remarkable Letter to him, now first adThe Letter used to be justed to its right place in this Series. 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 address in full ; has been found among the lumber and innocent marine-stores of Sylvanus Urban, communicated, in an incidental f 4 way, by a Gentleman at Shrewsbury,' who, in 1787 had got and to the comfort of honestly, we hope possession of it, readers here. ;

2 3

Whitlpcke, p. 244. [This is just what apparently he had not done. See p. 124^ above. ] 4 Antea, p. 123. [This should be 1784.]

LETTER XXXVI., LONDON

1646.]

For my woble Friend Thomas Knyvett, Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk

Esquire, at his

237 House

These

London, 27th July 1646. SIR, I cannot pretend to any interest in you for anything I have done, nor ask any favour for any service I may do you. But because I am conscious to myself of a readiness to

serve any gentleman in all possible civilities, I am bold to be beforehand with you to ask your favour on the behalf of your

honest poor neighbours of Hapton, who, as I am informed, are some trouble, and are likely to be put to more, by one Robert Browne, your tenant, who, not well pleased with the way of

those men, seeks their disquiet

Truly nothing moves me

all

he may.

more than the pity I and the trouble I hear they are like to suffer for their consciences. And however the world interprets it, I am not ashamed to solicit for such as are anywhere under a pressure of this kind doing herein as I would be done by. Sir, this is a quarrelsome age and the anger seems to me to be the worse, where the ground is things of difference in opinion l which to cure, to hurt men in their names, persons bear

them

to desire this,

in respect of their honesties,

;

or estates, will not be found an apt remedy. Sir, it will not to of those men from repent you protect poor Hapton injury and which that is of this would the effect letter. oppression you :

want the grateful acknowledgment, nor utyou most endeavours of requital from Your most humble servant,

Sir,

will not

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

Hapton is a Parish and Hamlet some seven or eight miles south of Norwich, in the Hundred of Depwade it is within a mile or two of this Ashwellthorpe which was Knyvett's ;

;

1 [The words difference man's Magazine."] '

are crossed over with the pen.

Gentleman' s Magazine, 1787, [1784]

liv.

337,

Note, in Gentle-

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

238

[31 July.

What ' Robert Browne your Tenant residence at that time. had in hand or view against these poor Parishioners of Hapton, must, as the adjoining circumstances are all obliterated, remain somewhat indistinct to us. gather in general that the Parishioners of Hapton were a little given to Sectarian, Independent 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 '

;

Lieutenant-General Cromwell, now in his place in Parliament have written to him perhaps clubbed some poor sixand he, pences, and sent up a rustic Deputation to him 'however the respectable Presbyterian world may interpret it, is not ashamed to solicit for them with effect, either now or

again

;

soon.

LETTER XXXVII For

his Excellency Sir

Thomas Fairfax, General of the Parliament's Forces

l ;

These 1

London,' 3ist July 1646.

SIR, 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 thereI most humbly subof, more particularly what the business is. mit to your better judgment, when you hear it from him.

Craving pardon for

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 be the Fleming who, as Colonel Fleming, in Spring 1 648, had rough service in South Wales two years afterwards and

;

*At Ragland, or about leaving Bath Siege (Rushworth,

vi.

for the purpose of concluding

290).

* Sloane

MSS.

1519,

fol.

70. [144.

Signed only.]

Ragland

1646.]

was

LETTER XXXVII., LONDON

239

' 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. 1 Of Fleming's present 'business' with Fairfax, whether it were to solicit promotion here, or continued employment in Ireland, nothing can be known. The War, which proved to be but the 1 First War/ is now, as we said, to all real intents, ended Ragland Castle, the last that held 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 per2 There have begun now to be discussions emptory reduction of it. and speculations about sending men to Ireland 3 about sending Massey (famed Governor of Gloucester) to Ireland 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 Propositions to his Majesty at Newcastle 4 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 remark-

finally defeated,

;

able 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 Propositions. 5 1 a little before Rushworth, vii. 1097, 38 27th March 1648. [Captain Fleming was in Colonel Graves's regiment, and was Adjutant-General of the horse in the New Model army. He was captain of a troop of horse at Abingdon in 1645, under Major-General Browne, which was sent in July to join Fairfax's army (Cal. S. P. '

He is called captain as late as March 22, 1648, but spoken (Cal. S. P. Dom. 1648, 1649, pp. 34, 41.) The news of death reached London on April 29 (Rushworth vii. 1174).] 2 Ibid. vi. 293 Fairfax's first Letter from Ragland is of 7th August i4th August he dates from Usk and Ragland is surrendered on the i7th. 3 Cromwelliana, April, 1646, p. 31. 4 [The Commissioners did not reach Newcastle until July 30, but Charles had received a copy of the Propositions at the end of June.] 5 were that the King should accept the [As the chief demands of the " Propositions "Respectable Presbyterianism of which Carlyle is so impatient, and should enforce the taking of the Covenant throughout the kingdom, it is difficult to see how closing with them would have put an end to the antagonism of the sectaries. The following is Dr. Gardiner's account of the "haughty no." "It can surprise no one that Charles refused to give way but there can hardly be one, even amongst his most devoted admirers, who can approve of the manner in which, after rejecting the offer of the Scots, he replied to the English Commissioners. He did not flash out into becoming indignation at the suggestion that he should as he would himself have expressed it abandon the'Church, his crown and his friends. Neither did he clearly say what he was himself ready to grant. He merely handed to the Commissioners on August i a letter in which he complained of the difficulty of giving a decided answer in the short time allowed to him, and pressed once more for leave to come to London to discuss more thoroughly the points which had been raised, Dom.

1645-1647, p. 28). of as Colonel on April 7.

his

;

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAKS

240

[io Aug.

His Majesty, on the 1st of August (writing at Newcastle, in the same hours whilst Cromwell writes this in London), answers in a haughty way, No, 1

LETTER XXXVIII The Parliamentary Commissioners have

August IQth.

returned,

and three of the leading Scots with them, to see what is now to be done. The Chancellor who comes with Argyle is Loudon, '

Fairfax is at the Scotch Chancellor, a busy man in those years. f Bath; and the Solicitor/ St. John, the Shipmoney Lawyer, is there with him.

For

Thomas Fairfax,

his Excellency Sir

the General

These

London, roth August 1646. SIR,

Hearing you were returned from Rag] and the Bath,

take the boldness to

Our Commissioners don. 2

make

sent to the

this address

King came

unto you.

this night to

Lon-

have spoken with two of them, and can only learn these

generals, That there appears a good inclination in the Scots to the rendition of our town, 3 and to their march out of the King-

When

dom.

they bring in their papers, we shall know more. and Dunfarlin are come up. Duke of

Argile, the Chancellor,

Hamilton Montrose

gone from the King into Scotland.

his

men

Things are not well

general answer.

were in England I

are not disbanded.

are

full

hear that

The King gave in Scotland

of faction

;

a very

would they

and worse.

Ormond hath concluded a Peace with beseech you command the Solicitor to come

hear for certain that

the Rebels. 4

Sir, I

He would never, he vaguely added, consent to anything destructive to that just power which by the laws of God and the land, he is born unto,' but on the other" hand he was ready to pass all bills really for the good and peace of his people,' '

Great Civil War, 1

vol.

Rushworth, [*. e.

vi.

iii.

p. 133.]

319-21,

Newcastle. ]

Commons Journals, nth Aug. 1646

4 [

Proclaimed on July

30. ]

LETTEE XXXVIII., LONDON

1646.]

away

His help would be welcome. Sir, I hope you have Truly I may say, no [one] more affectionately

to us.

not cast

241

off.

honours nor loves you. You and yours are in my daily prayers. You have done enough to command the uttermost of,

Your

faithfullest

and most obedient

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.* 'P.S/

beseech you,

my humble

service

may be

presented

to your Lady. '

P.S. 3d/

ten,

The money

and you

will speedily

for disbanding Massey's men is gothave directions about them from the

Commons House. '

' Our Commissioners to Charles at Newcastle, who have returned ' this night/ were Earls Pembroke and Suffolk, from the Peers from the Commons, Sir Walter Earle (Weymouth), Sir John Hippesley (Cockermouth), Robert Goodwin (East Grinstead, 2 Sussex), Luke Robinson (Scarborough). 1 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 Parliament 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 :

;

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 not materially beginning to ooze out. A new Ormond Peace 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

real 'orders.'

;

* 1

Sloane

MSS.

written after 2

1519,

fol.

63. [131.

Holograph, sealed with the Cromwell arms.]

This second Postscript has been squeezed-in above the other, and it.

Rushworth,

VOL.

vi.

309, where the proposals are also given.

evidently

242

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

needed to be solemnly denied in Winter of Glamorgan to be thrown into prison to It the word of an unfortunate King l understand farther, what the fact soon

[10 Aug.

following, and the Earl save appearances On !

would be a comfort

to proves, that this new the Irish Priests and Pope's Nuncios !

Peace also will not hold ; Even while Oliver writes, an Excommunicadisapproving of it. tion or some such Document is coming out, signed " Prater " Abbas O'Farrel," O'Teague," and the like names poor Ormond going to Kilkenny, to join forces with the Irish rebels, is treacher2 ously set upon, and narrowly escapes death by them. of there are some 'the business Massey's men/ Concerning notices in Ludlow. 3 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 ; apolowho had to submit, as their habit was. gised to the Lords, Massey's Brigade was of no particular religion ; Massey's Miscel'some of them will require passes to ^Ethiopia/ says lany, But Massey himself was strong for Presbyterianism, ancient wit. for strict Drill-sergeantcy and Anti-heresy of every kind the :

;

Lords thought his Miscellany and he might have been useful. 4 1

vi. Birch's Inquiry concerning Glamorgan ; Carte's 239-247 Correct details in Godwin, ii. 102-124. vi. 416 Carte's Life of Ormond. [From the reference it appears that Carlyle means the Declaration of the Congregation of both clergies of Ireland" on August 12, signed by the Nuncio, and many bishops and abbots. in the list come the two names Low down which Carlyle has selected O'Farrel, Provincial Prior of the preaching Friars, and O'Teg or O'Teige, not an abbot, but merely proctor for the Bishop of Armagh. Carlyle's account of Ormond's danger is He was summoned by the Supreme Council in consequence of the exaggerated. refusal of the Nuncio's party to accept the peace, and reached Kilkenny in safety but hearing that Owen O'Neil was on the march and that the tribes of Carlo w and Wexford were preparing to rise, he withdrew to Dublin, to save himself from the risk of being taken prisoner. According to the author of the Aphorismical Discovery, the Nuncio and Congregation were so alarmed by Ormond's advance to Kilkenny, that they hastily retreated to Waterford, and summoned O'Neil to their But on hearing of rescue, "as they were in mighty danger to be taken prisoners ". O'Neil's approach, Ormond in his turn took fright, and hurried back to Dublin, "breathless and fearful as to a sanctuary." Gilbert's Contemporary History of A/airs in Ireland, i. 125, 126.] 3 Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow (London, 1722), ii. 181 [ed. Firth i., 141, also

Rushworth,

Ormond; 2

;

&c.

Rushworth,

;

' '

;

Appendix B., ibid. 481.] 4 [Massey afterwards went over Biography.

to the King.

See his Life

in the Diet.

Nat.

LETTER XXXIX., LONDON

1646.]

243

LETTER XXXIX His Excellency, in the following Letter, is Fairfax John Fairfax has returned Rushworth, worthy John, we already know to the Bath, still for his health Ragland being taken, and the War ended. ;

;

For John Rushworth,

Esquire, Secretary to his Excellency, at Bath

These

The House of Commons,' 26th August '

1646.'

MR. RUSHWORTH, must needs entreat a favour on the behalf

of Major Lilburne, who has a long time wanted employment, and by reason thereof 1 his necessities may grow upon him.

You should do very well to move the General to take him into I know, a reasonable employment will favourable thoughts. content him. As for his honesty and courage, I need not speak

much and I

You

seeing he

that,'

yourself. desire you answer shall very

much

so well

known both

to the

Genera

expectation herein so far as you may.

oblige, Sir,

Your

real friend

and

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.* This is not ' Freeborn John,' the Sectarian Lieu tenant- Colonel 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 LieutenantColonel by title was not in the New Model at all is already deep in quarrels, lying in limbo since August last, for abuse of ;

;

(

;

Sloane

MSS.

[Printed "reason 1519,

fol.

[f.

good" by

146]

;

Carlyle.]

Signature alone

Oliver's.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

244

[6 Oct.

master Prynne. 1 He has quarrelled, or is quarrelling, with Cromwell too calls the Assembly of Divines an Assembly 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. his old

;

LETTER XL DELINQUENTS,' conquered Royalists, are now getting them2 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. 3 The Staffordshire Committee have sent' a Deputation up to Town. They bring a Petition ; very anxious to have 2,0001. out of their Staffordshire Delinquents from Goldsmiths' Hall, or even 4,000/., to pay off their forces, and send them to Ireland ; which lie heavy on the County at present. 4 selves fined

JWood, iii. 353. [The Lord Cromwell amongst

Supplement, No. 3

the

See Oliver's

rest.

letter

his behalf,

17.]

The

proceedings of it, all now in very superior order, still lie in the State-Paper at the Public Record Office. When Carlyle wrote this, the two known as the Royalist Composition Papers were already admirably and had indexes had been arranged Manuscript partly arranged, indeed, by the officers of the Committee itself. But the great collection of records of the Committee order books, letter books, treasurers' books, &c. as well as a mass of miscellaneous papers, were practically useless, in view of the immense labour of for of notices or until the searching any particular person place, publication, in the series of Calendars of State Papers, of the Calendar of Committee for Compounding, edited by Mrs. Everett Green, who brought together under one heading all notices of each of the seven thousand "cases" and upwards calendared in her volumes.] 4 [In the early days of the Parliament rule, the fines of delinquents were mostly paid in to the County Committees, who, after satisfying the claims made upon them by their county forces, their own expenses, &c. sent the balance (often a very small But one, and truly it is a wonder there was any at all) to the central Committee. after the royalists were allowed to compound directly at Goldsmiths' Hall, the Committees were often hard to to it to answer the County put get money enough Office.

[Now

great series

demands made upon them.]

LETTER XLL, LONDON

1646.]

For

his Excellency Sir

245

Thomas Fairfax, ' General of the Parliament' '

Army

;

These London, 6th October 1646.

SIR,

would be loath to trouble you with anything me this day, and

;

but indeed the Staffordshire Gentlemen came to

with more than ordinary importunity did press me to give their Their letter will show what they it will not be amiss to give them entreat of you. Sir, Truly, desires furtherance to you.

what ease may well be

afforded,

and the sooner the

1 especially at this time. I have no more at present, but to let

of your

Army

like to

better,

you know the business You shall have

come on tomorrow.

account of that business so soon as

humbly take leave, and rest, Your Excellency's most humble

able to give

it.

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

The Commons cannot grant the prayer of

this

Petition

2 ;

some time. 'The and assessments 'tomorrow for a new six-months were duly voted for it, and other proper 3 arrangements made. Staffordshire will have to rest as business of your army did come on

for

;

LETTER XLI COLONEL IRETON, now Commissary-General Ireton, was wedded, we saw, to Bridget Cromwell on the 1 5th of June last. A man able with his pen and his sword a distinguished man.

;

1 and the sooner/ &c. these words are inserted above the and afterthought. 2 yth December 1646, Commons Journals, v. 3. '

line,

by way

of caret

jth October 1646, Ibid. iv. 687. * Sloane MSB. Note, his signature 1519, fol. 72 [f. 148] Oliver's own hand. seems generally to be Oliver Cromwell, not O. Cromwell to which practice we to are it. there conform throughout, though exceptions [The exceptions are probably quite as numerous and if we include all his army warrants, very much more numerous than the rule.] ,

;

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

246

Once B.A. of Middle Temple

[25 Oct.

Trinity College, Oxford, and Student of the 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 Blandford Lodge, not too far from the Devizes, at which latter Town Fairfax and Ireton have just The following Letter will been, disbanding Massey's Brigade. ;

;

require no commentary.

For my beloved Daughter Bridget

Ireton, at Cornbury, the General's

Quarters

These London, 25th October 1646.

DEAR DAUGHTER, I write not to thy husband partly to avoid one line of mine begets many of his, which I doubt makes him sit up too late partly because I am myself indisposed l ;

trouble, for

;

at this time, having some other considerations. Your friends at Ely are well your Sister Claypole :

trust

mercy) exercised with some perplexed thoughts. She sees her own vanity and carnal mind, bewailing it she seeks after in

2 hope also) that which will satisfy. And thus to be a seeker and to a such an the finder one shall is to be of best sect next Happy seeker, every faithful humble seeker be at the end. Who ever tasted that the Lord is gracious, withhappy finder

(as I

;

out some sense of

self,

and badness

vanity,

that graciousness of His, and could go less

Who

ever tasted

in desire,

and

less

than pressing after full enjoyment ? Dear Heart, press on let not husband, let not anything cool thy affections after Christ. I 4 hope he 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.

pray for thee and him

;

do so

for

me.

not in the mood at this time, having other matters in view. '[Probably an allusion to the sect known as the Seekers.] 3 less is an to go, in such case, signifies to become, as adjective 4 thy husband. 1

;

go mad,' &c.

LETTER

1646.]

service

hear she

love to

and dear

XLII.,

LONDON

affections to the

very kind to thee

;

General and Generaless.

adds to

247

other obligations.

all

all.

dear Father,

Thy

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

Her Sister Claypole Bridget Ireton is now Twenty-two. (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 ; l though, I Their think, they not long afterwards removed to London. 2 first residence here was King-Street, Westminster ; Oliver for the present lodges in Drury Lane fashionable quarters both, in those times. 3 General Fairfax had been in Town only three days before, attending poor Essex's funeral a mournful pageant, consisting 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 4 preach regardless of expense, 5,000/. 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 Not till Monday the 21st December refused the Propositions. *

Oliver Cromwell's Letter to his Daughter Ireton, exactly taken Harleian MSS. no. 6988, fol. 224 (not mentioned in Harleian In another Copy sent me, which exactly corresponds, is this Note: Catalogue). Memo The above Letter 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 And was Copied from the Original Letter, which is in the Cromwell's Daughter. hands of John Warner Esq r of Swanzey, by Cha 8 Norris, 25th Mar 1749.' '

Copy of

from the Original.' '

See also Appendix, No. Cromwelliana, p. 60.

[They had come up

Lane. 4

They moved

Rush worth,

vi.

329

;

8,"

last Letter there

(Note

Third Edition.)

summer, and their first residence Street the following year.] Whitlocke, p. 230. in the

King

was

Drury

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAES

248

[21 Dec.

it be got 'perfected' or almost perfected.' After a busy 1 day spent in the Commons House on that affair, Oliver writes the

could

following Letter to Fairfax.

The Major-General '

Skippon.

most likely about Nottingham, the head-quarters of his Army, which had been drawing rather northward, ever since the King appeared among the Scots. Fairfax came to Town 12th November, with great splendour of '

Fairfax,

reception On the

since

;

left it

morrow

left

Town/

again

8th December.'

December 1646, the Londoners presented their Petition, not without tumult complaining of and from the Army; other great grievances heavy expenses and craving that the same might be, so soon as possible 2 The disbanded, and a good Peace with his Majesty made. first note of a very loud controversy which arose between the City and the Army, between the Presbyterians and the IndeIndeed the humour of the City pendents, on that matter. ' a just peace now seems to be getting high impatient for that the King is reduced. On Saturday 6th December, it was ordered that the Lord Mayor be apprised of tumultuous as' semblages which there are, to the disturbance of the peace after that, IQth

;

and be desired to quench them, For

he can.

Thomas Fairfax, General of the Parliament's Armies : These

his Excellency Sir

London, 2ist December 1646. SIR,

Having this opportunity by the Major-General unto you, I take the boldness to let you know how our affairs go since you left the 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 the prevailing temper is at this But this is our present, and what is to be expected from men. comfort, God is in heaven, and He doth what pi ease th Him to present a

few

lines

;

His and only His counsel shall stand, whatever the designs ot men, and the fury of the people be. 1

Commons Journals, v. 22, 23. Kings Pamphlets, small 410,

no. 390 [E. 366, 14] (cited

by Godwin,

ii.

360).

LETTER XLIL, LONDON

1646.]

think, almost

249

perfected all our business for believe Commissioners will speedily be sent down to see agreements performed ; it's intended that Major-General

have now,

Scotland.

Skippon have authority and instructions from your Excellency command the Northern Forces, as occasion shall be, and that he have a Commission of Martial Law. Truly I hope that the

2 having the Major-General to command 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

one of his own servants, whom he on the Duke, is found guilty of it the Duke himself confessed so. I believe you will suddenly hear more of

Lord of Northumberland

preferred to wait

;

it.

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, 200,000/., to Newcastle successfully, in a proper number of wagons got it all counted there, ' bags of 100/., chests of 1000/.,' (5th- 1 6th January 1646-7) after which the Scots marched peaceably 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 turncoat called Colonel Bamfield 3 of whom we may hear farther. ;

;

On Thursday, llth February 1646-7, on the road between Mansfield and Nottingham, road between Newcastle and Holm' who Sir Thomas Fairfax went and met the King by House, ;

inserted with a caret. bottom of the page being reached, Oliver takes to the broad margin, and writes the remainder there lengthwise, continuing till there is barely room for his signature, on the outmost verge of the sheet which, as we remarked he is always loath to already, is a common practice with him in writing Letters turn the page having no blotting-paper at that epoch having only sand to dry his ink with, and a natural indisposition to pause till he finish 2

almost

this point, the

;

Clarendon,

iii.

188.

* Sloane

MSS.

1519,

fol.

78, p. 147.

[f.

150.

Holograph.]

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

250

[March.

Sir Thomas alighted, and kissed the King's and afterwards mounted, and discoursed with the King as they passed towards Nottingham.' l The King had left Newcastle on the 3d of the month got to Holmby, or Holdenby, on the 13th; and 'there/ says the poor Iter Carolinum, during '

stopped his horse

hand

;

pleasure.

LETTERS

XLIII,

XLIV

BEFORE reading these two following Letters, read this Extract from a work still in Manuscript, and not very sure of ever getting printed

'The Presbyterian " Platform" of Church Government, as 'recommended by the Assembly of Divines or "Dry- Vines," has at length, after unspeakable debatings, passings and repassings through both Houses, and soul's-travail not a little, about been '"ruling-elders," "power of the keys," and such like, gotjinally passed, though not without some melancholy shades '

of Erastianism, or " the Voluntary Principle," as the The Presbyterian Platform is passed by Law " don and other their

'runs. '

new phrase and Lon-

;

places, busy electing ruling-elders," are on foot. And now it is hoped 'just about ready to set it actually " ' there will be some " uniformity as to that high matter. '

Uniformity of free-growing healthy forest-trees is good uniThe question, formity of dipt Dutch-dragons is not so good 'Which of the two? is by no means settled, though the ' Assembly of Divines, and majorities of both Houses, would fain 'think it so. The general English mind, which, loving good ;

Whitlocke,

date, as usual,

p. is

274 Iter Carolinum (in Somers Tracts, vi. [v.] 274) Whitlocke's inexact. [So is the Iter. Fairfax met the King on Friday, the :

;

"Yesterday," says a news-letter, "his Majesty came from Mansfield, and the General went out to meet him" met him two miles from the town, as " other letters say, and escorted him into Nottingham. Upon the i3th of February, being Saturday, the King's Majesty at seven of the clock in the morning went out and officers" He meant of Nottingham attended by the General (E. 377, No. 12). to have reached Holmby on Monday night, the i5th, but did not arrive there until There were great triumphs at Northampton on Tuesday last when the next day. The bells rang and the tidings were brought that his Majesty was near Holmby. the great guns went off. ... Multitudes of people resorted to welcome his Majesty, adorned with thousands and thousands the road from Harborow to Holmby being The King smiling of spectators crying with a loud voice God bless your Majesty upon them passed along cheerfully, saying he hoped this journey would prove a prosperous voyage both to him and his posterity." (Idid. No. 16. ).] i2th.

LETTERS XLIIL, XLIV.

1647.]

251

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 English mind and indeed inclines decisively to growing in the forest- tree way, will shoot out into very singular excrescences, Quakerisms and 'what not, in the coming years. Nay already we have Ana' baptists, Brownists, Sectaries and Schismatics springing up very ' rife already there is a Paul Best, brought before the House of ' Commons for Socinianism nay we hear of another distracted

;

individual who seemed to maintain, in confidential argument, There is like to be need of 'that "God was mere Reason." l ' this The devout House of Commons, rate at garden-shears, ' viewing these things with a horror inconceivable in our loose ' London City cries, " Apply days, knows" not well what to do. ' the Army answers, " Apply them gently ; cut off the shears 'nothing that is sound!" The question of garden-shears, and ' how far you are to apply them, is really difficult ; the settling of it will lead to very unexpected results. London City knows ' with pain, that there are " many persons in the Army who have 'never yet taken the Covenant ;" the Army begins to consider ' 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 10th of '

March 1646-7,

of Fasting and Humiliation for BlasCromwell's Letter, somewhat remarkable for the grieved mind it indicates 3 was written next day. Fairfax with the Army is at Saffron Walden in Essex ; there is an Order this day 4 that he is to quarter where he sees best. There are many Officers about Town soliciting payments, 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 regarded as a as a

Day

2 phemies and Heresies.

;

Whitlocke.

Ibid.

p. 243.

[A manifest attack upon him had been made in the Resolutions of the House on March 8, that except the Lord General, there should remain no officer in the new army of horse and dragoons, of higher rank than a colonel. Dr. Gardiner suggests that it was probably on this occasion that the bitterness of his soul found expres3

sion in a conversation with Ludlow. It is a miserable thing,' he is reported to have said, to serve a Parliament, to which let a man be never so faithful, if one pragmatical fellow amongst them rise and asperse him, he shall never wipe it off, whereas, when one serves a general, he may do as much service and yet be free '

from 4

all

blame and

Commons

envy.'

Journals,

Great Civil War,

no.

iii.

221.]

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

252

kind of covert rebuke to them. is

Thursday evening

March.

Fast-day was Wednesday

;

this

LETTER For

[11

XLIII

Thomas Fairfax, General of

his Excellency Sir

Wolden

'at Saffron

Army,

the Parliament's

These

London, nth March

1646.'

SIR,

Your letters about your new quarters/2 directed came to the Houses, seasonably, and were to very good purpose. in all want There not, places, men who have so much malice the as besots them the late Petition, which sugarmy against 3

' gested a dangerous design upon the Parliament in your coming to those quarters 4 doth sufficiently' evidence the same but they got nothing by it, for the House did assoil the army from all :

to quarter where you please. of men more embittered than now. spirits but a short time. hath the Devil Sir, it's good the heart Surely be fixed against all this. The naked simplicity of Christ, with

and have Never were the

suspicion,

that this. is

left

you

wisdom He please to give, and patience, will overcome all That God would keep your heart as He has done hitherto,

the prayer of

Your Excellency's most humble

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL. 'P.S.'

Lady.

desire

most humble service

Mr. Allen

maybe

presented

sometime

desires Colonel Baxter,

[Dr. Gardiner is inclined to put the date of this letter a few days later.] [Carlyle printed "head" quarters and "adjutant" Allen, but the words are quite plainly as given above.] 3 Commons Journals, v. no, nth March 1646 (Letter is dated Saffron Walden, 1

9th March). 4 Saffron Walden, in the Eastern Association 'Not to quarter in the Eastern Association,' had the Lords, through Manchester their Speaker, lately written (Commons Journals, infra) but without effect. 6 Commons Journals, v. no, nth March 1646. Written across on the margin, according to custom. 7 Col. John Barkstead.J [*.<?., :

;

LETTER

1647.]

XLIV.,

LONDON

253

Governor of Reading, may be remembered. I humbly desire He is a Colonel Overton may not be out of your remembrance. deserving man, and presents his humble service to you. Upon the Fast-[day divers] soldiers were raised (as I hear), both horse and foot, near 200 in Covent Garden, To prevent [us soldiers]

from cutting the Presbyterians' throats to

mock God

These are

fine tricks

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, Huntingdon1 shire, had died in these months, 1st November 1646. Among her little girls is one, Robina, for whom there is a distinguished 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 is on both. on his the same big seal, ring fore-gamb/ :

;

LETTER XLIV ' ' '

COMMONS JOURNALS, 17th March 1646: 'Ordered, That the Committee of the Army do write unto the General, and acquaint him that this House takes notice of his care in ordering that none of the Forces under his Command should quarter nearer

* Sloane MSS. 1519, fol. 62. [f. 129]. [The words now placed in square brackets were supplied by Carlyle, though he did not indicate the fact. The original is too much damaged in these two places.for us to know what the actual words were, but " us in the second hiatus they cannot have been soldiers", as the last three letters are visible and are ies, oes or ces also the army was not in London. Perhaps it " should be the sectaries."] ;

antea

;

and Noble,

89.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

264

[19 March.

That notwithstanding

than Five-and-twenty Miles of this City

directions therein, the House is informed that some of his Forces are quartered much nearer than that ; and To desire him to take course that his former Orders, touching the

' '

his care

and

quartering of his Forces no nearer than Twenty-five Miles,

be observed.'

For

his Excellency Sir

Thomas Fairfax, General of

Army

may

the Parliament's

These London, igth March 1646.

SIR,

This enclosed order

received

;

but,

suppose,

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 letters

that the distance of twenty-five miles be very strictly observed ; to blame that have exceeded the distance, contrary

and they are

to your former appointment.

This letter I received this evening from Sir William Massam, 1 a member of the House of Commons which I thought fit to send you his house being much within I have sent the the distance of twenty-five miles of London.

;

officers

down,

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 beginning. The order for quartering beyond twenty-five miles from London, and many other orders were sadly violated in the course of '

'Sir W. Massam's House,' 'Otes in Essex,' is a to us since the beginning of these Letters. place 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 20th of May 1647, the Synod of London, with due Prolocutor this season.

known

;

Shane MSS.

1519,

Masham. fol. 74. [f.

152.

Holograph.]

ARMY MANIFESTO

1647.

met

or Moderator,

in St. Paul's. 1

255

In Lancashire too the System

foot but I think in other English Counties fairly on somewhat lazy to move, and never came rightly into is

;

was

action,

owing to impediments. Poor old Laud is condemned of treason, and beheaded, years ago the Scots, after Marston Fight, pressThat Prynne too being very ungrateful. ing heavy on him performance of the Service to the Hyperborean populations ;

;

in so exquisite a way, has cost the Artist dear gently ; his last scene much the best, for himself !

The two Hothams

also,

and other

traitors,

died very

and

for us.

have died.

ARMY MANIFESTO OUR

next entirely authentic Letter is at six months distance : 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

The Quarrel between City transacting itself in the interim. and Army, which we here see begun the split of the Parliament into two clearly hostile Parties of Presbyterians 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 Members sent beyond Seas ;

the interim, without autograph note or indisputably authentic utterance of Oliver's to elucidate it for us. 2 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 confidently, by internal evidence, to be of his writing, is here introduced and there is no other all this transacts itself in

;

that

know

of.

How this Quarrel between City and Army, no agreement with the King being for the present possible, went on waxing ;

Rushworth,

vi.

489

;

Whitlocke

(p. 249) dates wrong. filled up by the notes

on the meetings of the [This hiatus is now very much Council of the Army found by Mr. Firth amongst the Clarke MSS. (See Supplement, Nos. 21-25, anc* f r letters, Appendix 10 and Supplement, 18-20, 23.) For a concise account of the position of the army at this time, in relation to its own officers, the Parliament and the King, see Mr. Firth's Preface to Clarke Papers, vol. i.]

256

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

[10 June.

developing itself more and more visibly into a Quarrel between Presbyterianism and Independency attracting to the respective sides of it the two great Parties in Parliament and in England all this the reader must endeavour to generally imagine for In books, in Narrahimself, very dimly, as matters yet stand. tives 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 darkness the new ' Narratives, believing only in Machiavelism/ &c., disfigure the matter still more. Common History, old and new, represents Cromwell as having underhand, in a most skilful and indeed fomented or originated all this commotion prophetic manner, of the elements steered his way through it by ' hypocrisy/ by 'master-strokes of duplicity,' and such like. 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 exaggerations, ' all manner of misseeings and misunveracities, distractions How many grave historical 'notings in regard to it, abound. '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 Grimston and Com'pany, sitting over claret under a Blessed Restoration, 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 persons frothed up ' into huge bulk by the loquacious Bishop above mentioned, and ' so set floating on Time's Stream. Not very lovely to us, they, ' nor the red-noses they proceed 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 ' concerning 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 ;

;

1 Holles's Memoirs; Waller's Vindication of his Character; Clement Walker's History of Independency, &c. &c.

ARMY MANIFESTO

1647.] ' '

257

such matters, makes "a master-stroke of duplicity" merely by mistake of dating l the thing when Oliver did say it, was a credible truth, and no master-stroke or stroke of any kind " " " " ' " false foMaster-strokes of :

protestations ; 'menting of the Army discontents:" alas, alas! It was not Cromwell that raised these discontents not he, but the eleduplicity

;

mental Powers

Neither was

think, by master-strokes of that Cromwell steered himself victoriously across duplicity ' 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 resolution by sagacity, and silent ' wariness and promptitude ; by religious valour and veracity, 'which, however it may fare with foxes, are really, after all, the ' here grand source of clearness for a man in this world close our Manuscript. 2 Modern readers ought to believe that there was a real impulse of heavenly Faith at work in this Controversy ; that on both sides, more especially on the Army's side, here lay the central !

it, I

;

element of all modifying all other elements and passions ; that this Controversy was, in several respects, very different from the common wrestling of Greek with Greek for what are called ;

Godwin,

ii.

300,

citing

Walker,

31 (should be p. 33).

" The [Mr. Firth says, in the Preface to vol. i. of the Clarke Papers : theory of Cromwell's opponents is that he first by his false protestations that the army should disband whensoever they should be commanded, induced the Parliament to pass the disbanding votes, and then, by means of the Agitators, induced the army to refuse to disband. This is the theory set forth by Colonel Wogan It is also the theory of Clement Walker. ... A similar theory is embodied in Butler's well2

known

verses

So Cromwell with deep oaths and vows, Swore all the Commons out o' th' house,

Vowed that the red-coats should disband Ay marry would they, at their command And trolled them on, and swore and swore ;

Till th'

Army

turned them out of door."

Hudibras,

pt. 2,

canto

ii.

But Mr. Firth goes on to show that on the very day when the first disbanding " vote was passed, Cromwell was "dangerously ill with an imposthume in his bead that his dissatisfaction with the policy of the Presbyterians was notorious that he stayed much away at this time both from the House and the Committee of both kingdoms, and that he even thought of leaving England and taking service under the Elector Palatine. The Clarke Papers show us what his attitude really was, and that he did his utmost, with all sincerity, to mediate between the army and the Parliament for which he was much abused by the extreme men, such as John ;

;

Lilburn and Wildman.]

VOL.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

258

[10 June.

Modern readers, mindful of the French Political objects!' Revolution, will perhaps compare these Presbyterians and Independents to the Gironde and the Mountain. And there is an analogy ; yet with differences. With a great difference in the '

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 J A few dates, and chief summits of events, are all that can be situations

;

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 ;

it. This latter point, at a time when Heresy seemed rising like a hydra, 2 and the Spiritualism of England was developing itself in really strange ways, became very important too, became gradually most of all important, and the soul of the whole

take

Controversy.

Early in March, after much debating, it had been got settled that there should be Twelve-thousand men employed in Ireland 3 which was now in sad need of soldiers. The rest were, in some good way, to be disbanded. The 'way,' however, 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 Ireland except under known Commanders and conditions, 'our old Commanders,' for example. It is also apparent that the Presbyterian party in Parlia;

;

" It would be nearer the mark to 1 [Mr. Morley says of this say that the sectaries were beforehand with Jean Jacques, and that half the troubles that confronted Cromwell and his men sprang from the fact that English sectaries were now saying to one another something very like what Frenchmen said in Rousseau's dialect a hundred and forty years later." But surely Carlyle's meaning is more than this. Our English sectaries, in their wildest moods, never ceased to look up to something higher than mere earthly guidance, to some one above a mere human teacher. The goddess of reason was never enthroned in Westminster Abbey. ] 2 See Edwards's Gangrana (London, 1646) for many furious details of it. 3 6th March, Commons Journals, v. 107. :

ARMY MANIFESTO

1647.]

259

ment, 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 Presbyterianism, were old unsuccessful Colonels or and for very obvious reasons looked Generals under Essex 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, rumour 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 proceeded to decree that whoever had, or might have, a hand ' in promoting such Petition in the Army was an Enemy to the and sent forth the State, and a Disturber of the Public Peace/ same in a ' Declaration of the 30th of March/ which became very celebrated afterwards. This unlucky ' Declaration/ Waller says, was due to Holies, who smuggled it one evening through a thin " it House. " Enemies to the State, Disturbers of the Peace was a severe and too proud rebuke felt to be unjust, and looked ' not to be forgotten, nor easily forupon as a blot of ignominy So stood matters at given, by the parties it was addressed to. the end of March. At the end of April they stand somewhat thus. Two Parliament Deputations, Sir William Waller at the head of them, have ;

;

been at Saffron Walden, producing no agreement 1 five digniof the Army, ' Lieutenant-General Hammond, Colonel Hammond, Lieutenant-Colonel Pride/ and two others, 2 have been :

taries

summoned

to the bar 3 some subalterns given into custody ; Ireton himself ' ordered to be examined ; and no ' satisfaction to the just desires of the Army on the contrary, the ' blot of can conceive a ignominy fixed deeper on it than before. universal sorrow and anger, and all manner of dim schemes and consultations going on at Saffron Walden and the other ArmyHere is a scene from Whitlocke, worth quarters, in those days. looking at, which takes place in the Honourable House itself; date 30th April 164-7 4 ;

;

Waller, pp. 42-85. [March 21 April 14.] " 2 two others" was Lieut. -Col. Grimes the other, Robert Lilburn. [One of the Ireton was already in town. See Clarke Papers, i. xi.] 3 Commons Journals, v. 129 (29th March 1647). 4 Whitlocke, p. 249; Commons Journals in die; and a fuller account in Rushworth, vi. 474. [See also Clarke Papers, i. Appendix B.] The Letter,' immediately referred to, is in Gary's Memorials (Selections from the Tanner MSS.; London, ;

;

1842),

201.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

260

[lOJune.

'Debate upon the Petition and Vindication of the Army. Major-General Skippon, in the House, produced a Letter ' presented to him the day before by some Troopers, in behalf of Eight Regiments of the Army of Horse. Wherein they ex' pressed some reasons, Why they could not engage in the service 'of Ireland under the present Conduct/ under the proposed Commandership, by Skippon and Massey 'and complained, Of ' the many scandals and false suggestions which were of late ' raised against the Army and their proceedings That they were ' taken as enemies That they saw designs upon them, and upon 1 many of the Godly Party in the Kingdom That they could ' not engage for Ireland till they were satisfied in their expecta'

;

tions,

and

Three Troopers, Edward Thomas Sheppard, who brought this

their just desires granted.

Sexby, William Allen,

Letter, were

examined

in the

House, touching the drawing and

subscribing of it and, Whether their Officers were engaged in ' it or not ? They affirmed, That it was drawn up at a Rendez' vous of several of those Eight Regiments ; and afterwards at ' several 'meetings by Agents or Agitators, for each Regiment ' and that few of their Officers knew or took notice of it. '

;

Those Troopers being demanded, Whether they had not been

'Cavaliers? it was attested by Skippon, that they had con'stantly served the Parliament, and some of them from the ' beginning of the War. Being asked concerning the meaning 'of some expressions in the Petition,' especially concerning ' " ' certain men aiming at a Sovereignty," they answered, 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 carry 'them to those Regiments, and return their own and their answers. They were ordered to attend the House upon sum'

' '

mons.'

Three sturdy fellows, fit for management of business let the reader note them. They are ' Agents to the Army a cJass of functionaries called likewise ' Adjutators and misspelt ' Agitators ; J elected by the common men of the Army, to keep the ;

" Careful investigation ![Dr. Murray, in the New English Dictionary, writes: me that Agitator was the actual title, and Adjutator only a bad spelling of soldiers familiar with Adjutants and the Adjutors of 1642. Adjutator has naturally" seemed more plausible to recent writers unfamiliar with this old sense of to agitate,' this old sense being to do the actual work of (the affairs of) another, to manage, to See Great Civil War, vol. iii. p. 243, where Dr. Gardiner gives the act as agent. chronology of the word. ] satisfies

ARMY MANIFESTO

1647.]

261

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, It was an ugly aggravation of the there can no result follow. the report raised blot of ignominy which the Army smarts under, against it, That some of the Leaders had said, "if the King would come to them, they would put the crown on his head ;

;

Cromwell, from watches these occurrences vidence in them may be

;

ness

;

more and more

place in Parliament, earnestly waits what the great ' birth of Pro' carries himself with much wearilooked up to by the Independent

his

again."

;

One day, noticing the Party, for his interest with the Soldiers. high carriages of Holies and Company, he whispers Edmund Ludlow who sat by him, " These men will never leave till the " Army pull them out by the ears 1 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.

There have been two London 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

8th \ltK\.

A new and

well at the head of

it.

more promising Deputation, CromCromwell, Ireton, Fleetwood, Skippon,'

proceed again to Saffron Walden ; investigate the claims and 3 grievances of the Army 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 Lieutenant-General Cromwell receives the thanks of the House. 4 ;

;

see Whitlocke, p. 252. [Mr. Firth thinks that this speech was 6 and 20, as Major Huntingdon tells much the same to that date Ludlow 's Memoirs, ed. story, assigning Firth, i. 148), but as (see Huntington says that Cromwell often said it, it seems quite conceivable that he may have made the remark to Ludlow earlier in the year. At any rate he must have been quite angry enough to think it, if he did not say it.]

Ludlow,

189

;

made between August it

4th

May

1647,

Commons Journals,

160

;

Thirty-one Persons,' their names

given. 3

Letters from them, in Appendix, No. 10. [And Cromwell's speech to the officers in Saffron Walden Church. Supplement, No. 21.] 4 May 2ist, Commons Journals, v. 181. [Only two of their number, Cromwell and Fleetwood, returned to London. See Supplement, No. aa.]

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

262

The House

[10 June.

what it conceives to be justice, eight weeks of money, bonds for the rest, and so forth. Congratulations hereupon a Committee of Lords and Commons are ordered to go down to Saffron Walden, to see the Army dis'

votes

pay

in ready

;

banded.

May 28th. On arriving at Saffron Walden, they find that their notions of what is justice, and the Army's notions, differ widely. 1 " of pay," say the Army ; " we want nearer eight Eight weeks " at times eight Disturbances in several of the quarters Oxford the men seize the disbanding- money as part of payment, and will not disband till they get the whole. A meeting of Ad2 jutators, 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 4th of June, there shall be a Rendezvous, or General next, Friday Assembly of all the Soldiers, there to decide on what they will :

;

do. 3

June

4>th

and

5th.

The Newmarket Rendezvous, on Kentford '

a kind of Covenant but is entered into, and other important things are done 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 4 but doing what they know the whole

Heath/ a

little

east of

Newmarket,

held

;

1 [The eight weeks' pay had been in the first instance agreed upon with the army by the commissioners. What roused the anger of the soldiers was that although upon the return of "Cromwell and his fellows the House had resolved that a real and visible security should be given for the rest of the arrears instead of passing an ordinance which should give effect thereto, they determined to proceed at once to '

the disbandment.j

2 [It was not a meeting of the Agitators, but a Council of War called by Fairfax which met at Bury on May 29. The petition from the Agitators (for a rendezvous) was read at it, having been presented to the General that morning.] 3 Rushworth, vi. pp. 496-510. 4 Major Hunt[It is of course quite unlikely that Joyce acted without orders. gave him ington says that the cornet declared that Lieutenant-General Cromwell orders in London to do what he had done." Another witness says that it was " either to resolved at a meeting at Cromwell's house that Joyce should be ordered secure the person of the King from being removed by any other, or, if occasion were, which was accordingly done, to remove him to some place of better security both with the knowledge and approbation of Lieutenant-General Cromwell, though " See Great he afterwards, like a subtle fox, would not be pleased to take notice of it. The probability is that Cromwell gave orders for the Civil War, iii. 267, 272. seizing but not for the removal of the King, unless a rescue was attempted.] '

ARMY MANIFESTO

1647.]

263

wishes to be done, sally out of Oxford, where things are 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 Commissioners in attendance there but clearly 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 one another/ the Parliament Commissioners His Majesty rides willingly to Hinchinbrook, that same accompany, wringing their hands Friday night ; where Colonel Montague receives them with all Colonel Whalley with hospitality, entertains them for two days.

Army

still

somewhat disturbed

;

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 declined. 1 Captain Titus, quasi Tighthose, very well known afterwards, arrives at St. Stephens' with the news has 50/. voted him ' to buy a horse,' for his great The service ; and fills all men with terror and amazement. Honourable Houses agree to 'sit on the Lord's day;' have Stephen Marshal to pray for them ; never were in such a plight The Controversy, at this point, has risen from Ecobefore. nomical into Political Army Parliament in the Eastern Counties, ;

;

' against Civil Parliament in Westminster ; and, How the Nation whether its growth shall be in shall be settled between them the forest-tree fashion, or in the clipt Dutch-dragon fashion ? Monday, June 1th. All Officers in the House are ordered forthwith to go down to their regiments. Cromwell, without has already order, not without danger of detention, say some, '

;

General Fairfax, Lieutenant-General gone this same day, 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 '

the air of these parts, the air of Newmarket for instance with the Army. 2 Parliament Commissioners, with new Votes of Parliament, are coming down the Army must have a new Rendezvous, to meet them. New Rendezvous '

prefers

and

;

will continue

;

" x His Majesty about five of [On Sunday, the 6th, Whalley wrote to Fairfax the clock this afternoon was pleased to be a little merry, and laughingly told me he now perceived your Excellency would not force him back to Holdenby ... he desired to give order to his servants to prepare to go to Newmarket tomorrow. His Majesty longs to be there, and this night expects to hear from you, and to be :

answered in his desires." 2 Rushworth, vi. 549.

Clarke Papers,

122.]

264

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAES

[10 June.

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 somewhat abridged from Rushworth, and dim enough itself, wherein, however, by good eyes a strange old Historical Scene The new Votes of Parliament do not appear may be discerned. ' the just desires' of the Army meanwhile, let all still to meet things be done decently and in order. ' The General had ordered a Rendezvous at Royston properly on Triploe Heath, as we said on Thursday 1 Oth June 1 647 the Force assembled was about Twenty-one thousand men, the remarkablest Army that ever wore steel in this world. 'The 1 General and the Commissioners rode to each Regiment. They ' first acquainted the General's Regiment with the Votes of the e 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 question, If ' and any man were of a contrary opinion he should say, No 'not one man gave his "No." The Agitators in behalf of the soldiers pressed to have the question put at once, 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 at Royston,

;

after perusal proceed

aside.

deliberately, that question

was

laid

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 Commissioners. ' A Petition was delivered in the field to the General, in the ' name of " many well-affected people in Essex " desiring, That ' the Army might not be disbanded in regard the Commonwealth '

;

ARMY MANIFESTO

1647.]

265

had many enemies, who watched for such an occasion to destroy the good people.' l Such, and still dimmer, is the jotting of dull authentic Buistrode, 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 demanding '

;

with one voice, as deep as ever spake in England, " Justice, " under the vault of Heaven. Justice That same afternoon, the Army moved on to St. Albans, 2 nearer to London and from the Rendezvous itself, a joint Letter was despatched to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, which the I reader is now at last to see. judge it, pretty confidently, by evidence of style alone, to be of Cromwell's own writing. 3 It differs totally in this respect from any other of those multitudinous 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 They are very able Papers, learning, and did not want for brain. though now very dull ones. This is in a far different style in and not Oliver's worst style his style when he writes in haste, 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, unwedgeable, 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 chaunt, very dangerous for the City of London at present. !

;

Whitlocke, p. 255. [See also Perfect Diurnal, E. 515, 19.] -[That day it only advanced as far as Royston, and there the letter was written.] [Dr. Gardiner says that Carlyle fixed on it as Cromwell's production from its '

The

evidence of

is quite as striking. It is apparently in reference to Cromwell's language in proposing this letter that we are told that O. Cromwell spake as gallantly and as heroic as if he had been charging his enemies in the field.' Not only is most of it written in his style but (Clarke Papers, i. 134.) it is redolent of his ideas. It displays Cromwell as concealing from himself that he was really executing a change of front, and tenaciously holding to his old doctrine that the intervention of an army in affairs of state is a grave evil, whilst in reality he

style.

its

ideas

was furthering a course which he had long condemned. By a strange self-delusion, he refused to admit that he was giving his approval to an enterprise in which soldiers were attempting to bend the course of politics by the employment of their swords. What they required to be done was required by them not as soldiers but as Englishmen, and their being soldiers could not strip them of their interest in the welfare of their country." Great Civil War, iii. 287.]

266 To

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

the Right

[10 June.

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 Commons, endeavoured to give satisfaction of the 'clearness of our just

demands

;

and

also, in

having

papers published by

us,

remon-

strated the grounds of our proceedings in prosecution thereof; all which having been exposed to public view, we are confident

have come to your hands, and at least received a charitable construction from you the sum of all these our Desires as Soldiers ;

no other than a desire of satisfaction to our demands as soldiers and reparation upon those who have, to the utmost, improved all opportunities and advantages, by false suggestions, misrepresentations and otherwise, for the destruction of this Army is

;

with a perpetual blot of ignominy upon it. Which 'injury' we should not value, if it singly concerned our own particulars, being ready to deny ourselves in this, as we have done in other cases,

Kingdom's good but under this pretence, we find no less involved than the overthrow of the privileges both of Parliament and People ; wherein rather than they 1 shall fail in their defor the

we receive what in the eyes of all good men is just [it to engage the kingdom in a new war, and this endeavoured is] those who, when the truth of these things shall be singly by made to appear, will be found the authors of these evils that are as having no other way to protect themselves from quesfeared signs, or

;

and punishment but by putting the Kingdom into blood, under pretence of the honour of and their love to the Parliament, or as if they had given as if that were dearer to them than us tion

;

greater proof of their faithfulness to it than we. But we perceive that, under these veils and pretences, they as if that seek to interest in their design the city of London :

The Presbyterian

leaders in Parliament, Holies, Stapleton, Harley, Waller, &c.

ARMY MANIFESTO

1647.]

267

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 city

and to have such apt instruments for their turn in that we have cause to suspect they may engage many that city, which are easily swallowed, in times of therein upon mistakes, designs,

such prejudice against them 1 that have given (we may speak it without vanity) the 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 liberties of the subject, according to the votes and declarations of Parliament, which, before we took up arms, were, by the Parliament, used as argu-

ments and inducements to out

;

some of which have

invite us

and

divers of our dear friends

lost their lives in this war,

by God's blessing, finished,

think

we have

which being,

much right to we have to our which we have

demand, and desire to see, a happy settlement, as money and the other common interest of soldiers insisted upon. 2 We find also the ingenious and honest people, in almost all the 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.

it now, We desire no alWe desire not to intermeddle

have said before, and profess

teration of the Civil

Government.

with, or in the least to interrupt, the settling of the Presbyterial Government. Nor did we seek to open a way to licentious liberty,

We made 1

under pretence of obtaining ease

profess, as ever in these things,

a settlement, '

we have nothing

tender consciences. State have once

to say but to submit or

Oblique for us. [Dr. Gardiner suggests that

Mr. Firth thinks

for

when the

was.]

this

passage was possibly not written by Cromwell.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

268

[10 June.

Only we could wish that every good citizen, and every that walks peaceably in a blameless conversation, and is beneficial to the Commonwealth, may have liberty and encouragesuffer.

man

ment

;

being according to the just policy of

all

States,

even

to justice itself.

These things are our beyond which we

stand

;

desires,

and the things

shall not go.

And

for

which we

for the obtaining of

these things, we are drawing near your city ; l professing sin' from our that not we intend evil towards you ; hearts, cerely '

declaring, with all confidence and assurance, that if you appear not against us in these our just desires, to assist that wicked

Party that would embroil us and the Kingdom, nor we nor our Soldiers shall give you the least offence. We come not to do

any act to prejudice the being of Parliaments, or to the hurt of this

Parliament

in order to the present settlement of the King-

dom. We seek the good of all. And we shall here wait, or remove to a farther distance there to abide, if once we be assured that a speedy settlement of things be in hand, until they 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,

disband, or 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

rather than any such evil should their for

way through our blood

most of them,

for

fall out,

to effect

profess,

the soldiers shall

it.

And we

make

can say this

your better assurance, 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 and desire justice upon), or want the settlement of the King-

dom's peace, and theirs with their fellow-subjects' Liberties, Which may be a strong assurance to you they will lose all. 1

That

the remarkable point

1647.]

ARMY MANIFESTO

269

not your wealth they seek, but the things tending in That they may attain ' these/ their welfare. you shall do like fellow-subjects and brethren if you solicit the Parliament for them, on their behalf. that

it's

common to your and

If after all

you, or a considerable

this,

number of

you, be

seduced to take up arms in opposition to, or hindrance of, these our just undertakings, we hope by this brotherly premonition, to the sincerity whereof we call God to witness, we have freed ourselves from all that ruin which may befall that great and populous City having hereby washed our hands thereof. ;

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, 1 not without emotion. Most respectful answer went from the Guild' in three coaches with the due number of outriders.' hall, On June l6th, the Army, still [now] 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 2 List, for benefit of historical readers, we subjoin in a Note. They ;

;

Rushworth, vi. 554. [Carlyle made a good many alterations in the text, which with this a letter from the officers printed as given in Rushworth. Compare " to several Counties." Clarke written on June 13 but probably not sent Papers, is

now

130.]

Commons Journals, v. 208. 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 1

;

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

270

[June.

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

The

Tower

otherwise.

till they did retire and the request the reader to imagine for himself. 1 Long able Papers, drawn by men of subtle brain and strong sincere heart the Army retiring always to a safe distance when their Demands are agreed to straightway advancing if

history of these six weeks,

Army had

its

way,

we must :

;

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 tremor occupying all of London were more than once shut but no harm was done. 2 The Parliament regularly paid hearts 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, 3 and treated like a otherwise,

;

(

;

are 'recruiters,'

Colonel Walter

John Maynard

elected since

Long

1645:

Major-General Massey (Wootton Basset), Edward Harley (Herefordshire), Sir

(Ludgershall), Colonel

(Lostwithiel).

[For Cromwell's speeches at the Council of the Army on i6th July, see Supplement, No. 24.] 2 [In the collection of Captain Lindsay are three very interesting letters to Colonel John Moore (then in Ireland) from his wife, describing the state of affairs In the first, dated June 22, she wrote in London during this month of June. Things are in the most saddest condition that ever mortals beheld. Every day we look for Sir Thomas Fairfax his army, whether in love or with force it is not known. The army doth carry themselves so fair that they gain the hearts of all the counties, and they petition to Sir Thomas Fairfax that he shall not lay down arms till things be settled. The army doth accuse four of the Lords and eleven of the House of Commons ... I have much ado to keep my goods, for the Parliament, to please the city, hath passed an order that no parliament man's goods nor lands shall be protected. The plague is very hot here. It is the next door but two The King is at Newmarket the to Sir Gregory Norton's, over against us. doth much not regard him, for he is very stubborn to them. The Lord army knows their intention. The Cavaliers are very merry to see us contend, but I hope " are here in less they will have no cause". A week later she wrote again. The Lord safety than you, for there you know your enemies and here we do not. of are the in mercy look upon us, for the divisions Reuben great army is very high and the King is stubborn. The Parliament stand upon their own guard we look The army will never every day for a siege but I hope God will protect his own. These letters rest till they have purged some of their gross injustice and bribery ". were formerly the property of Captain Stewart of Alltyrodyn, and are calendared 1

;

Report of the Hist. MSS. Commissioners, Appendix iv. p. 97.] [At the end of June, by order of Parliament, and with consent of the Lord General, the King was removed to Richmond, under escort of Colonel Whalley. See letter from Cromwell and Hewson to Whalley, Supplement, No. 23. There in the loth 3

ARMY MANIFESTO

1647.]

271 '

his game, in meetings at Woburn King, endeavoured to play and elsewhere but the two Parties could not be brought to benefit. extirpate one another for his Towards the end of July, matters seem as good as settled the ' Holies ' Declaration/ that blot of ignominy/ being now expunged from the Journals ; l the Eleven being out ; and now at last, the '

;

New Militia Ordinance for London (Presbyterian 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 Presdown to the due byterian Party, shorn of its Eleven, is cowed of fair treatment for all the pitch and there is now prospect Godly Interest, and such a Settlement with his Majesty as may be the best for that. Towards the end of July, however, London but Presbyterian by the great majority, City, torn by factions, ;

;

Take these glimpses and rouse them from their

again in a very extraordinary way.

rallies

from contemporaneous Whitlocke fat somnolency a little.

;

London came July 26th. Many young men and Apprentices of to the House in a most rude and tumultuous manner ; and presented some particular Desires. 2 Desires, That the Eleven may come back ; that the Presbyterian Militia Ordinance be not that the Revocation of

revoked,

be revoked.

Desire, in

That there be no peace made with

short,

London

Militia

may have

Sectaries, but that the a fair chance to fight them Drowsy !

he were in Paris in the ' The Apprentices, and many other rude eighteenth century ' boys and mean fellows among them, came into the House of ' Commons and kept the Door open and their hats on and " " ' and in this arrogant called out as they stood, Vote, Vote

Whitlocke continues

;

almost as

;

posture, stood

Ordinance

for

the votes passed in that way, To repeal the ' In the evening change of the Militia, to &c. till

can be no doubt that at this time Cromwell, supported by Ireton, was doing his utmost to bring about an agreement with the King. See note on p. 282, below. A preserved amongst the Duke of Sutherland's MSS. written on Sept. 28, The division in the Army increases between Cromwell's and the Agitators' these suspect Cromwell and his faction, who, they conceive, labour to insinuate too much into the King's favour ... I have been certainly informed that Cromwell spoke much on the King's behalf when his answers to the Propositions were controverted in the House ". W. Langley to John Langley, Hist. MSS. Commissioners' Report v., App., p. 179.] letter

states,

factions

etc.,

;

Asterisks

still

in the place of

it,

Commons

Journals, 29th

March

was from the Common Council itself, but the followed the deputation which came to present it.]

[The

petition

mob

1647. of apprentices,

272

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

[July.

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 1 This disastrous scene fell out on Monday being now finished. 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 About noon,' however, the ReAlarming pause. mainders of the Two Houses, reinforced by the Eleven who ' reappear for the last time, proceed to elect new Speakers, get the City Mace ; a above that there be all, order, vigorous enlistment 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 ;

;

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

and

;

his enlistments, loses his last drop of his sword on the whining multitudes, '

whereof some

died.'

The game

old Guildhall on that

human

patience

;

draws

slashes several persons, Look into the nearly up.

the palpitation, tremulous expectation wooden Gog and Magog themselves almost sweating cold with terror: General Massey sent out scouts to Brentford but Ten men ' of the Army beat Thirty of his and took a flag from a Party The City Militia and Common Council sat late; '.of the City. ' and a great number of people attended at Guildhall. When a scout came in and brought news, That the Army made a halt " " 1 But if or other good intelligence, they cry, One and all ' the scouts reported that the Army was advancing nearer them, old Tuesday night

;

Whitlocke,

p. 263.

[These things happened on Monday, August

2.]

LETTER XLV., PUTNEY

1647.]

273 "

So they then they would cry as loud, " Treat, treat, treat At last they resolved to send spent most part of the night. 'the General an humble letter, beseeching him that there ' 1 might be a way of composure.' 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 Parliamentary 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. 2 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 3 Army soon changes its headquarters to Putney ; 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. After a sermon in Putney Church, Saturday, 'September 18th. ' the General, many great Officers, Field-Officers, inferior Officers ' and Adjutators, met in the Church ; debated the Proposals of '

the

Army

towards a Settlement of this bleeding Nation full of the

;

some things in them and were very 'Sermon, which had been preached by Mr. Peters.'

altered

;

LETTERS XLV

LVIII

THESE Fourteen Letters, touching slightly on public affairs, with one or two glimpses into private, must carry us, without com1

Whitlocke,

p. 265.

letter

[The

was sent on the morning of Tuesday, August

the 6th, the General, with two regiments of horse and foot, " came Lords and Members of the House of Commons that were enforced away," and having escorted them to the Parliament House, was himself received in the House of Lords with much honour, Lieut. -Gen. Cromwell and his other chief officers being in attendance on him. The march into the city was on Saturday, the In the 7th. days of September, Cromwell seems to have taken a short holiday. " Cromwell early " Col. Hamis gone to the Isle of Wight," wrote a Royalist newspaper; mond is governor thereof only Master Cromwell is Dominus fac totum ".} 3 28th August, Rushworth, vii.- 792. [The 2yth appears to have been the date. Dr. Gardiner says the 26th, but Rushworth, writing on the 28th, distinctly says that the General held a Council of War at Kingston "yesterday" and removed to Putney "last night." ] 2

[On Friday,

to bring in the

Whitlocke,

VOL.

p. 272.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

274

Sept.

mentary, in a very dim way, across to the next stage in Oliver's History and England's the Flight of the King from 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 Williams,' once saw, seven years ago, as Bishop of Lincoln, getting jostled in Palaceyard, protesting thereupon, and straightway 1 is to concern us again for one getting lodged in the Tower, moment. A man once very radiant to men, as obscure as he has now grown a most high-riding far-shining Solar Luminary in obscure to no man in England for thirty years that epoch A man of restless mercurial vivacity, of endless last past superficial dexterity and ingenuity, of next to no real wisdom; very fit to have swift promotions and sudden eclipses in a Stuart Court not worthy of much memory otherwise. Of his rapid rises, culminations, miraculous faculties and destinies, to us all useless, indifferent and extinct, let there be silence here, reference to Bishop Hacket 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 Good for plate and valuables there, as in a place of security. But now, some time ago in the the space of a year or two. death-throes of the late War, while North Wales was bestirring there came a itself as in last-agony for his Majesty's behoof, 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

whom we

;

Antea, p. 108. Racket's Life of Archbishop Williams (a considerable Folio, Lond. 1712); Philip's Life of Williams (an Octavo Abridgment of that); &c. 2

LETTER XLV., PUTNEY

1647.]

by him

Sir

John Owen,

275

as essential for his Majesty's occasions

High-sniffing, indignant refusal on the part of impetuous capture and forcible possession, on the

at that time.

Williams

Hot Williams, blown all to flame hereby, applied part of Owen. to Col. 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 thing difficult to explain nearly done with fighting now." completely to the Royalist mind Bishop Hacket has his own ;

ados with it and in stupid Saunderson 1 and others, it is one " loud howl, " Son of the morning, how art thou fallen Explained or not, my Lord of York does hold Con way Castle on those terms, at this date is taking a certain charge of North Wales in his busy way and has even been corresponding with Cromwell, on the subject. They had known one another in old years Buckden, the Bishop of Lincoln's House, is in the neigh;

;

bourhood 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. 2 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 1

These

Putney,' ist September 1647.

LORD,

Your advices

will

be seriously considered by

endeavour our uttermost, so to settle the affairs of North Wales as, to the best of our understandings, does most

us.

shall

conduce to the public good thereof and of the whole. And that without private respect, or to the satisfaction of any humour, which has been too much practised by the occasion of our troubles. 1

History of Charles

[Had, indeed, such strong Puritan leanings himself as had brought him, in past into Star Chamber processes and imyears, into perpetual conflict with Laud ;

prisonment.]

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAES

276

Sept.

The drover you mention will be secured (as far as we are Your kinsman shall be able) in his affairs, if he come to ask it. welcome to I me shall to serve him for kindred's very study :

sake

;

among whom

let

not be forgotten,

Lord,

Your cousin and servant, OLIVER CROMWELL.

The Governor of Conway

will not

be forgotten, to prevent his

abuse.*

My Lord of York still lived some year or two in Conway Castle saw

his

long,

;

John Owen in trouble enough but died before chiefly of broken heart for the fate of his Majesty, thinks

enemy

Sir

Bishop Hacket.

;

A long

farewell to him.

LETTER XLVI THE Marquis of Ormond, 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 Massacre of 1641, other massacres, falsities, mad blusterings and all parties considered as sanguinary Rebels, and regarded with abhorrence. Which Peace, we saw farther, Abbas O'Teague and others threatening to produce excommuninot cation on it, the ' Council of Kilkenny broke away from, 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,' of Chester, arrived with some Parliamentary Governor lately Regiments, with certain Parliamentary Commissioners, on the

men

many

confusions,

whom

;

* Gentleman's

Magazine

(1789),

lix.

877.

LETTER XL VI., PUTNEY

1647.]

277

7th of June l the surrender was duly effected, and Ormond withdrew to England. A great English force had been anticipated; but the late Jones, quarrel with the Army had rendered that impossible. with such inadequate force as he had, made head against the ' Rebels gained a great victory over them on the 8th of August, at a place called Dungan Hill, not far from Trim 2 ' the most for which there was thanksignal victory we had yet gained Four days before that Sermon by Hugh Peters, fulness enough. followed by the military conclave in Putney Church, Cromwell had addressed this small Letter of Congratulation to Jones, whom, by the tone of it, he does not seem to have as yet person:

;

ally

known

For

the

Honourable Colonel Jones, Governor of Dubli?i, and in Leinster : These

Commander-in-Chief of all the Forces '

Putney,' i4th September 1647.

SIR,

The mutual engagement have in the same Cause

give

and agreement we

occasion, as to congratulate,

so abundantly to rejoice in God's gracious Dispensation unto you have (both in England and Ireland), found the

and by you.

immediate presence and assistance of God, 5 in guiding and succeeding our endeavours hitherto; and therefore ought (as I doubt not both you and we desire), to ascribe the glory 6 of all to him,

and

to improve all

receive

from him unto him

alone.

Though,

may

be, for the present a cloud

may

lie

over our

them 6 who are not acquainted with the grounds of them 7 yet we doubt not but God will clear our integrity and 8 innocency from any other ends we aim at but his glory and the actions to ;

1 3

Ormond, i. 603. [Carlyle printed "interest."] Word uncertain to the Copyist Carte's

either.]

;

Rushworth,

vii.

779

sense not doubtful.

;

Carte,

ii.

[Word

not doubtful

5 The word has been followed by others subsequently [" God's in the original. erased (might be "gracious hand," but this is very doubtful) and the s of God's was not erased.]

6 7 8

[Printed "glories" and "those" by Carlyle.] " our T "; might be " transactions."] [Written over an erasure [Written over "God's" erased.}

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAES

278

And

[13 Oct.

l you are an instrument herein, so we shall (as becometh us), upon all occasions, give you your due honour. For mine own particular, wherein I may have your commands to serve you, you shall find none more ready than he that sincerely

public good.

desires to approve himself, Your affectionate friend

and humble servant, OLIVER CROMWELL.*

Michael Jones is the name of this Colonel ; there are several Colonel Joneses ; difficult to distinguish. One of them, Colonel

Member for Merionethshire, and known too in Irebecame afterwards the Brother-in-law of Cromwell and

John Jones, land,

;

ended

Colonel Michael gained tragically as a Regicide in 1661. other signal successes in Ireland ; welcomed Oliver into it in after of a fever. 2 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 After lying three years in the Tower, seeing his Majesty's ago. affairs now desperate, he has consented to take the Covenant, embark with the Parliament and is now doing good service in 1

649

;

and died there soon

One

;

Ulster.

LETTER XLVII For

his Excellency Sir

Thomas Fairfax

These

Putney, i3th October 1647. SIR,

The hears

4 ill,

case

inasmuch as

Middle ton 3 delayed (upon pretences) from

concerning Captain

" doe ") erased.] [" shall inserted with caret the next word (apparently [See his Life in the Diet. Nat. Biography.'} 3 own (formerly Vermuyden's) regiment.] [Captain in Cromwell's " 4 heeres ". sounds. Carlyle's is probably, but not quite [The original has In the last paragraph of the letter, Carlyle (or certainly the true interpretation. his copyist) read "feared" instead of "scarce" and had to insert "to" in order to make sense.] 1

;

*MS. Volume

of Letters in Trinity-College Library, Dublin (marked; F. 3. Docketed by Jones himself, of whom the 62 [now No. i]. Holograph. Volume contains other memorials. [The exact reading kindly communicated by the Rev. T. K. Abbott, librarian of Trinity College.] 18), fol.

LETTER XLVIL, PUTNEY

1647.]

coming

to a

trial.

not

humbly conceive)

279 fit

that

The Soldiers complain thereof, and should stay any longer. their witnesses have been examined. Captain Middleton, and for him, have made stay thereof hitherto. beseech your Excellency to give order it may be tried on

some others I

Friday, or Saturday at farthest, if you please may be signified to the Advocate.

;

and that

much

I scarce miss Sir, I pray excuse my not-attendance upon you. 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

please, I shall wait

upon you. I

rest,

Your Excellency's most humble servant, OLIVER CROMWELL.* Captain Middleton and his case have vanished completely out of the records ; whether it was tried on Saturday, and how deDoubtless Fairfax ' signified cided, will never now be known. somewhat to the Advocate about it, but let us not ask what. '

The Advocate

John Mills, Esquire, Judge-Advocate ;' 1 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 known afterwards on the beginning of Essex's campaignings King's Trial and finally, for that latter service, assassinated at the Hague, one evening, by certain highflying Royalist cutThe Portraits represent him as throats, Scotch several of them. '

called

;

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 :

;

Sloane AfSS. 1519, 1

fol.

[f.

160.

Sprigge, p. 326.

Holograph.]

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

280 noisy

;

above

all

[22 Oct.

things, final Settlement with the King, if that

by any method could be possible. still sits; Council of War' 1 with <

The Army- Parliament

too

its

Adjutators meeting freIn the House, and out of the House,

quently at Putney. Lieutenant-General Cromwell is busy enough. This very day, ' Wednesday 13th October 1647,' we find him ' deep in debate On the farther establishment of the Presbyterial 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 Government 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 Cromwell Third, Shall the limit be seven years ? dropt in). 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 after the end of this Present '

;

a very vague Period, this ' present session having itself already proved rather Note, too, this is not yet a long Law ; it is only a Proposal to be made to the King, if his Majesty will concur, which seems doubtful. SaturDebating enough day last there was a call of the House, and great quantities of absent Members ' cegrotantes,' fallen ill, a good many of them, sickness being somewhat prevalent in those days of waiting 3 upon Providence. Session/

;

LETTER XLV1II To

his Excellency Sir

Thomas Fairfax

;

These

Putney, 2ad October 1647.

SIR,

Hearing the Garrison of Hull

much

dis-

tracted in the present government, and that the most faithful and honest Officers have no disposition to serve there any longer

under the present Governor l

Council of the Army Rushworth, vii. 849, &c.

[i.e.

;

and that

it is

their earnest desires,

though often called Council of War.] 3 Commons Journals v. 329; ib. 332. ,

LETTER XLVIIL, PUTNEY

1647.]

with

281

the faithful and trusty inhabitants in the Town, to have

all

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 garrison may be settled in safe hands. And Colonel Overton sent to

;

that your Excellency would be pleased to send for Colonel Overton, and confer with him about it, that either the regiment now '

town may be

so regulated as your Excellency may be the that confident garrison may be secured by them ; or otherwise it may be drawn out, and his own regiment in the Army be sent in the

But I conceive, if the regiment in Hull thither with him. can be made serviceable to your Excellency, and included in the Establishment, it will be better to continue it there, than to bury

down

a regiment of your Army in that garrison. l will be very necessary, in regard of the Sir, the expedition there. This I thought fit to offer to your distraction present Excellency's consideration. subscribe myself,

shall

Your Excellency's Most Humble 'and

humbly take

leave,

and

faithful servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.' * After Hotham's defection and execution, the Lord Ferdinando 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. 2 Sir Thomas therefore was express Governor of Hull Who the Substitute or Deputy under him was, I at this time. do not know. 3 Some Presbyterian man unfit for the stringent Fairfax,

;

ifCarlyle rendered this "expedient," which possibly is what Cromwell meant. But it is more likely that he is emphasizing the need for Overton to be " speedily sent down."] 2 i3th March 1646-7 (Commons Journals, v. in). a [He appears to have been John Mauleverer. See Tanner MSS. lix, 661.] *

Sloatie

off.

haste.

The

MSS.

Letter

fol. 82 [f. 164]. not an autograph

1519, is

;

and all after humble,' is torn has been dictated, apparently in great '

Signature, it

282

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAKS

[11 Nov.

times that had arrived, when no algebraic formula, but only direct vision of the relations of things would suffice a man. Colonel Overton 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. 1 He continued long in that capacity 2 zealously loyal to Cromwell and his cause, till the Protectorship came on. His troubles afterwards, and confused destinies, 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 3 Army's quarters about Putney, and elsewhere :

;

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 debatings 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 4 being looked upon askance by a party in the Army, they have :

;

*4th March 1647-8 (Rushworth, vii. 1020). Milton State-Papers ( London, 1743), pp. 10, 24, Sir James Turner's Memoirs. where the Editor calls him Colonel Richard Overton his name was Robert Richard Overton is a Leveller,' unconnected with him Colonel Richard Overton is a non-existence. 3 [ For Cromwell's speeches in the General Council of Officers at Putney, October aS-November i, see Supplement, No. 25.! 4 [" Cromwell's negotiations with the King, his speeches in favour of monarchy, his modification of the terms offered by the army to Charles, and his attempt to moderate the terms offered by Parliament, all exposed him to suspicion. The pamphleteers of the Levellers, as the extreme Radicals were popularly termed, of broadcast and the published vague charges treachery army double-dealing against leaders. ... In their appeals to Cromwell there was a touch of surprise and sorrow. 2

161,

;

LETTER XLIX., HAMPTON COURT

1647.]

283

left the matter to Parliament only Colonel Whalley, with due ' guard, and Parliament Commissioners, keep watch for the security In the Army, his Majesty's real purpose beof his Majesty.' ' coming now apparent, there has arisen a very terrible Levelling a class of men demanding punishment not only of Party Delinquents, and Deceptive Persons who have involved this minor Delinquents Nation in blood, but the ' Chief Delinquent the how should Chief punished, Delinquent go free ? getting to whom a King's Cloak is class of men dreadfully in earnest no impenetrable screen who within the King's Cloak discern that there is a Man, accountable to a God The Chief Officers, hints have fallen except when officially called, keep distant that his Majesty is not out of danger. In the Commons Journals ;

;

this

what we read

A Letter from Lieutenant1647. 'Friday General Cromwell, of llth November, twelve at night, was ' read signifying the escape of the King who went away about 1 '9 o'clock yesterday' evening. 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 there about 'twelve at night' despatched a Letter to Speaker Lenthall. The Letter, which I have some confused recollection of having, somewhere in the Pamphletary Chaos, seen in full, refuses to IZth November

;

disclose itself at present except as a

'For

the

Fragment

Honourable William Lenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons : These '

SIR/

* *

himself

Hampton Court, Twelve at nth November 1647.' Majesty

at present,

Oh my

yours this

regal

withdrawn

is variously reported and we will say little of but that his Majesty was expected at supper, when ;

much honoured Cromwell,' wrote Wildman, can that breast of quondam palace of freedom harbour such a monster of wickedness as While Wildman hoped 'to waken Cromwell's conscience principle.'

once

the

at nine o'clock.

The manner it

night,

from the dead,

Lilburn, confessing that his good thoughts of Cromwell were not yet wholly gone, threatened to pull him down from his fancied greatness before he was three months older." Firth's Oliver Cromwell, p. 175.] 1

Commons

Journals,

356.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAES

284

the Commissioners and Colonel Whalley missed him they entered the room, and found his Majesty had

some

upon which

left his

behind him in the Gallery in the private way. the backstairs and vault, towards the water-side.

;

[Nov.

cloak

passed, by

upon the table in his withdrawing room, whereof one was to the Commissioners of Parliament attending him, to be communicated to both Houses, 'and

left

letters

own handwriting

of his

;

here enclosed.' *

* '

OLIVER CROMWELL.' *

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 l through this cloud of retirement, and show myself ready to be Pater Patrice," as I have hitherto done.

LETTER L THE

Ports are all ordered to be shut ; embargo laid on ships. ' the Commons Journals again Saturday \ 3tk Nov. ' Colonel Whalley was called in ; and made a particular Relation ' of all the circumstances concerning the King's going away from ' Hampton Court 1 1 Novembris last. He did likewise deliver-in 'a Letter directed unto him from Lieutenant- General Crom' well, 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 true ' Copy of the said Letter from Lieutenant-General Cromwell.' 2 Colonel Whalley's Relation exists ; and a much fuller Relation and pair of Relations concerning this Flight and what preceded and followed it, as viewed from the Royalist side, by two parties

Read

* 1

Rushworth,

[" really" in Lords Journals,

ix.

519.]

vii.

871. 2

Commons

Journals,

358.

LETTER

1647.]

PUTNEY

L.,

285

l none of which shall concern us here. Lieutenant-General Cromwell's Letter to Whalley 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 2 Son, a Nottinghamshire man.

to the business, exist

;

For my

beloved

Cousin,

Colonel

Cos.

DEAR

Hampton Court

Whalley, at

These

Putney, November 1647.'

WHALLEY, There are rumours abroad of some intended

attempt on his Majesty's person. Therefore I pray have a care of your guards, for if any such thing should be done, it would be accounted a most horrid act. * * * Yours,

OLIVER CROMWELL.* See,

among the Old Pamphlets,

Letters to the like effect

from Royalist Parties also a Letter of thanks from the King to ' ending with a desire, to send the black-gray bitch Whalley Letters to the Duke of Richmond/ on the part of his Majesty from &c., Letters to &c., in great quantities. 3 For us here this brief notice of one Letter shall suffice Letter from Colonel Robert 'Monday \ 5th November 1647. 'Hammond, Governor of the Isle of Wight, from Corves, of 13 :

;

1 Berkley's Memoirs (printed, London, 1699) Ashburnham's Narrative (printed, which require to be sifted, and contrasted with each other and London, 1830) with third parties, by whoever is still curious on this matter each of these Narra;

;

tives first 2

being properly a Pleading, intended to clear the Writer of

all

blame, in the

place.

See antea,

p. 23, note.

Parl. Hist.

xvi. 324-30.

Kings Pamphlets, small 4to, no. 337, 15, p. 7 [E. 413]. [Probably written on the morning of the nth, after Fleetwood's violent speech in the Commons, and sent off by express, as Whalley states that it reached him on this date. (See his More Full Relation 4, E. 416, 23. ) Berkley says that a letter was received from Cromwell that day containing great fears of the intentions of the Levelling party against the King. {Memoirs, 50. ) He may be speaking of this letter to Whalley, as we have " the letter only a fragment of it. The King also alludes in writing to Whalley to you showed me to-day." But this allusion might be to the letter to himself signed Dr. Gardiner and Mr. E. R. printed in the Old Parliamentary History, xvi. 328. Firth have disposed of the theory that Cromwell frightened the King from Hampton Court. See Great Civil War, iv. 17, and Firth's Oliver Cromwell, p. 185.] ,

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

286

[23 Dec.

Novembris, signifying that the King is come into the Isle ot l The King, after a night and a day of riding, saw not Wight.' He delivered himself to Robert well whither else to go. Hammond 2 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 ;' 3 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 CourtMartial 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. ;

;

very dangerous Review service to Windsor.

LETTER

Head-quarters

now change

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 '

To Dr. Thomas

powerful at Cambridge. '

Hill,

Master of Trinity College, Cambridge Windsor, 23d December 1647.

SIR,

informed, this Gentleman the Bearer had leave of his College to travel into Ireland for seven years and in his absence he (being then actuin that Kingdom) was ejected ally employed against the Rebels I

hereof, in the year 1641, ;

out of his fellowship 4 by mistake, the College Registry being not looked into, to inquire the cause of his non-residence. 1

2 a

Commons

Journals, in die

Berkley's

and Ashburnham's Narratives.

Rushworth,

vii.

875.

359).

(v. 4

[Carlyle altered this to

College."

]

LETTER

1647.]

LIL,

LONDON

287

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 affectionate friend and servant, OLIVER CROMWELL.*

Dudley Wyatt, Scholar of Trinity College, 25th April 1628 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 behalf, is found in the ;

B.A., 1631

;

Indeed, directly after this Letter, the young College records. gentleman, of a roving turn at any rate, appears to have discovered that there was new war and mischief in the wind, and He better hope at Court than at College for a youth of spirit. went to France to the Queen (as we may gather) went and attained came; developed himself into a busy spy and intriguer to Knighthood, to be the 'Sir Dudley Wyatt' of Clarendon's 1 whom, and not us, he shall henceforth concern. History ;

;

LETTER

LII

ROBERT HAMMOND, Governor of the Isle of Wight, who has for the present become so important to England, is a young man ' of a Colonel of Foot served formerly good parts and principles 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 acHe has since risen to be quitted, the provocation being great. '

;

* Muniment Room, Trinity College, Cambridge (Collection entitled Papers relating to Trin. Coll., vol. 3): a Transcript, Original not now forthcoming, docketed in the hand of one Porter, Clerk to Thomas Parne, about 1724, L. P. Cromwell's Letter concerning Sir Dudley Wyatt.' (Communicated by the Rev. J. Edleston, Fellow of Trinity, March 1849.) Harl. MSS. no. 7053, f. 153 b. printed, from the latter, in Hartshbrne's Book Rarities in the University of Cam'

The Harl. MSS. copy adds: 'N.B.

bridge (London, 1829), p. 277. Letter, Sir

Dudley Wyatt was readmitted,' 1

ii.

959,

iii.

Upon

but did not stay, as would appear. 22, &c.

this

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

288

and become well known. 1 Originally of Chertsey, and perhaps his Father, a Physician

Colonel,

Surrey

[3 Jan.

his Grandfather,

;

His Uncle, Thomas Hammond, is now LieutenantGeneral of the Ordinance a man whom, with this Robert, we saw busy in the Army Troubles last year. The LieutenantGeneral, Thomas Hammond, persists in his democratic course patron at this time of the Adjutator speculations sits afterwards there.

;

as a King's- Judge.

In strong contrast with whom is another Uncle, Dr. Henry a pattern-flower of loyalty, one of his Majesty's favourite 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

Hammond,

Court, as an ingenuous youth, repentant, or at least sympathetic 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 His temptation when into still deeper difficulties thereby. the King announced himself as in the neighbourhood, had been Shall he obey the King in this crisis conduct the King great 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 exOliver is of it, and Philip Lord Wharton, among Lord Wharton, a conspicuous Puritan and intimate of

clusions.

others.

Oliver's of whom we shall afterwards have occasion to say somewhat. This Committee of Derby House was, of course, in continual 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 ;

;

1 [He is the Colonel Hammond mentioned as being at the siege of Bristol (p. 214 above) and was connected with Cromwell by his marriage to John Hampden's There are some important letters to him from Cromwell in the Suppledaughter. ment, Nos. 26, 35, 65.]

LETTER

1648.]

LIL,

LONDON

289

house, when it and they were, in 1 752, accidentally burnt. Dr. Joseph Litherland had, by good luck, taken copies Thomas ;

Birch, lest fire should again intervene, printed the Collection, He has given some introa very thin Octavo, London, 1764. ductory account of Robert Hammond copying, as we do mainly 1 as who does here, from Wood's Athence; and has committed His Annotations are sedulous but inefnot ? several errors. What of the Letters are from Oliver we extract with fectual. thanks. A former Letter, of which Oliver was 'the penner/ is now ' 2 Our brethren in the following letter are the Scots, now lost. 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 appoint substitutes in the said Committee. ;

;

For Colonel Robert Hammond, Governor of the Isle of Wight Haste : Post Haste These, for the Service of the Kingdom. '

London,' 3d January 1647.

(My Lord Wharton's, near ten

at night.)

DEAREST ROBIN,

Now

God) I can write and thou saw more deep sense, and less my 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 understand of it, was a

receive freely.

(blessed be

never in

life

3 great one, and occasioned the greater by the letter the General sent thee of which thou wast not mistaken when thou didst ;

challenge

to be the penner.

And good has God been to dispose all to mercy 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 occasions much honour Go on in the strength of to the name of God and to religion. the Lord and the Lord be still with thee.

How

;

iii.

500.

2 [Perhaps Fairfax's letter of December 28. One from Cromwell himself, probably written at the end of December, will be found in the Supplement, No. 26.] 8 rendered.

VOL.

290

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

But, dear Robin, this business hath been

[3 Jan.

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

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 brethren's, in this late transaction.

;

shall (I hope) instantly

go upon business in relation

them,

tending to prevent danger. The House of Commons has this day voted as follows 1 st, They will make no more Addresses to the King; 2nd, 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 2 lastly, the Members of both Houses who were of the Committee of Both Kingdoms ;

;

power in themselves, for England and which Ireland, they formerly had to act with Both Kingdoms ' and Scotland and Sir John Evelyn of Wilts is added England

are established in all that

in the

of Sir

room of Mr. Recorder and Nathaniel Fiennes in the room Philip Stapleton, and my Lord of Kent in the room of the

Earl of Essex. 3

think

good you take notice of

this,

the

sooner the better.

Let us know how 1

it is

with you in point of strength, and what

the Scots.

2 following is a Royalist account of Cromwell's own part in the debate. " Of[The his (Lieut.-Gen. Cromwell's) power and greatness we have a very pregnant instance by his lordly carriage in the House, upon debate of that vote which denies all addresses to or returns from his Majesty ; for when Mr. Maynard stood then Mr. Cromwell up and gave reasons against the passing of such a vote (to show that this was no time to speak sense and reason) stood up, and the glowworm glistening in his beak, he began to spit fire and as the devil quoted scripture against our Saviour, so did he against his sovereign, and told the House It is written, Thou shalt not suffer an hypocrite to reign and what then (I pray you) will become of himself ? But to show that it was so decreed, I am told he laid his hand upon the hilt of his sword, as the only graceful conclusion of so Mercurius Pragmaticus, Jan. 4-11. E. 422 (17).] gallant a piece of oratory." 3 Essex is dead Stapleton, one of the Eleven who went to France, is dead Recorder Glyn, another of them, is in the Tower. For the 'Votes,' see Commons Journals, \. 415 (3d January 1647-8). [Recorder Glynne, however, emerged from the Tower and grew into high favour with Oliver, who made him Lord Chief Justice a in 1655, and member of his Upper House.] .

;

LETTER

1648.]

LIU.,

LONDON

291

us. Some of us think the King well with you, and concerns us to keep that Island in great security, because of the French, &c. and if so, 1 where can the King be better ?

you need from

that

you have more force for them. If

sent/ you will be sure of full provision

The Lord

bless thee.

Thy

Pray for 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. 2

LETTER

LIII

HERE, by will of the Destinies preserving certain bits of paper and destroying others, there introduces itself a little piece a small family-transaction, curiously enough of Domesticity 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 3 Richard is now heir-apparent our poor Boy Oliver therefore, ' Cornet Oliver/ we know not in the least " It went to where, must have died. my heart like a dagger ;

;

2 3

we do secure and fortify it. igth January, Commons Journals, v. 437. 5th October 1647 (Royalist Newspaper, citing a Pamphlet of Lilburn's), Crom~ if

ivelliana, p. 36.

* Birch's

Hammond Letters,

p. 23.

Given also

in Harris, p. 497.

292

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

[25 Feb.

The phrase of the Pamphlet itself, we observe, Son/ not one of his other Sons/ as if there were now but two left. If Richard was ever in the Army, which these the Lifeguard, a place for persons probabilities may dimly intimate, The Captain in Harriof consequence, was the likeliest for him. The Cromwell family, son's Regiment will in that case be Henry. as we laboriously guess and gather, has about this time removed to London. 2 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

indeed is

did."

his other

;

the country. The 'Mr. M.' of this Letter is Richard Mayor, Esquire, of 3 Hursley, not far from Hursley, Hants, the young lady's father. Winchester, is still a manorhouse, but no representative of Richard Mayor's has now place there or elsewhere. The treaty, after 4 difficulties, did take effect. Mayor, written also Major and a pious prudent man, becomes better known to Oliver, Maijor, Richard Norton, Member to the world and to us in the sequel. an old fellow-soldier for Hants since 1 645, is his neighbour 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 Richard Norton '

These

London,' 25th February 1647.

DEAR NORTON, I

have sent

to answer Providence

;

son over to thee, being willing

and although

confess

have 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 ;

1 For Oliver's death, see p. 176 [Richard was certainly in Fairfax's Life Guard. above. Carlyle left this quotation even in his latest edition, but evidently by inadvertence, as he had discovered that it referred to Robert, not Oliver.] 2 [They were in London before this. See note on p. 247 above.]

Noble, ii. 436-42. " dream of ever becoming himself the [So little, says Mr. Firth, did Cromwell ruler of England, that at the very moment when fortune had opened the widest of his eldest son to the the field to ambition, he began negotiations for marriage " Oliver Cromwell, daughter of a private gentleman of no great influence or position. or would not wait. not did who was Richard it dream, however, Perhaps, p. 192. At that time, Cromwell had difficulty enough in giving even the modest settlements which Mr. Mayor demanded.] 4

LETTER

1648.]

LIIL,

LONDON

293

the other be very far greater, yet I see difficulties, and not that I confess that assurance of godliness yet indeed fairness. ;

which I

look

told

for, as

concerning [the] estate of Mr. M.

things

now

more than

stand.

If God please to bring it about, the consideration of 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 I

upon God.

confident of thy love

submitting,

;

and

The Lord do His

with privacy.

desire things will

may be

that's best

;

carried

which

I rest,

Your humble

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

What

' it was that made the offer of a very great of in the his to Oliver, shape Daughter as Wife to proposition Oliver's Son, must remain totally uncertain for the present perhaps some glimpse of it may turn up by and by. There were ' which Oliver did not entirely see through ; there difficulties was not that assurance of ' godliness in the house, though there was of ' fairness and natural integrity in short, Oliver will preand wishes it carried with fer Mayor, at least will try him,

other Father '

;

privacy.

The Commons, now dealing with Delinquents, do not forget 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 2,500/. abut difficulties have year on Lieutenant-General Cromwell First they tried Basing-House Lands, the Marquis of arisen. Winchester's, whom Cromwell had demolished but the Marquis's it was affairs were in disorder 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 ;

;

* Harris, p. 501. Copy of this, and of the next Two Letters to Norton, by Birch, in Ayscough. MSS. 4162, f. 56, &c. [But now printed from the holograph in the Morrison original Collection.]

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

294

which was done,

though

with insufficient

still

March.

result. 1

Then

came the Army

But Quarrels, and an end of such business. now in the Commons Journals, 7th March, the very day of Oliver's next Letter, this is what we read 2 ' An ordinance for 'passing unto Oliver Cromwell, Esquire, Lieutenant-General, ' certain Lands and Manors in the Counties of Gloucester, Mon' mouth and Glamorgan, late the lands of the Earl of Worcester 3 ' 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 :

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 'The 7th of March, an Ordinance to settle 2,500/. a-year of

is '

' Land, out of the Marquis of Worcester's Estate,' old Marquis of Worcester at Ragland, father of my Lord Glamorgan, who in his turn became Marquis of Worcester and wrote the Century of ' Inventions, 2,500/. a-year out of this old Marquis's Estate upon ' I have heard some Lieutenant-General Cromwell gentlemen that know the Manor of Chepstow and the other Lands affirm that in reality they are worth 5,000/. or even 6,000/. a-year ; which is far from the fact, my little elderly friend 4 You see,' !

Commons Journals

(iv.

416),

23d January 1645-6

;

the Marquis of Worcester's

Abberston and Itche//,' meaning Hampshire Lands. Ib. 426, a week afterwards Abbotston and Itchin, Marquis of Winchester's there. See also Letter of Oliver St. John to Cromwell, in Thurloe, Commons Journals (v. 44) about a year 75. afterwards, yth January 1646-7 'remainder of the 2,5oo/.' from Marquis of Winchester's Lands in general which in a fortnight more is found to be impossible whereupon Lands of Delinquents and Papists,' as in the Text. None of these Hampshire Lands, except Abbotston and Itchin, are named. Noble says, Fawley Park in the same County which is possible enough. '

;

2 v. 3

482.

[Parliament did not recognise his title of Marquis, conferred in 1642.] 4 [Probably at first he only had the rents, not actual possession of the estates, then all under sequestration. Cromwell's expression bestowed i68o/. per annum out of the Earl of Worcester's estate" (see p. 296 below) seems to mean this. Apparently Chepstow was not settled until 1650 (see Cal. of Com. for Compounding, And it must be remembered that Cromwell by no means succeeded to an p. 603. ) There are many indications in the State unencumbered or uncontested estate. Papers of the difficulty he had in substantiating his claim. In January, 1651, for instance, Thurloe wrote that the Monmouth County Committee had been taking the rents of the Manor of Crym, which should have been sent to the General. They apologised, said they did not understand, but a year and a half afterwards had not In July, 1651, Thurloe complained again this time against divers repaid them. persons in Gloucestershire, who still held possession of estates granted to the And when Chepstow and other lands were General; to his great detriment. " claims" settled in 1650, it was expressly with saving to all (except those of the Worcester family or other delinquents). What these "claims" meant, and how ' '

;

LETTER

1648.]

LONDON

LIV.,

295

continues he, ' though they have not made King Charles "a 'Glorious King/' as they sometimes undertook, 'they have settled 'a Crown- Re venue upon Oliver, and have made him as glorious ' ] A very splenetic old a King as ever John of Leyden was '

verging towards Pride's Purge, and lodgthink He is from the West known long since in Gloucester Siege Member now for Wells but terminates in the Tower, with ink, and abundant gall in it, to write the History of Independency there.

gentleman

ment

in the

gray Tower,

;

LETTER LIV For

his Excellency Sir

Thomas Fairfax, General of the Parliament's

Armies

Windsor

These

London,' yth March 1647.

SIR, It

dangerous sickness

;

hath pleased God to raise me out of a I do most willingly acknowledge that

and

the Lord hath (in this visitation) exercised the bowels of a I received in myself the sentence of Father towards me. to trust in him that raiseth from the I that learn death, might It's a blessed thing dead, and have no confidence in the flesh. to die daily, for what is there in this world to be accounted of.

The

men

flesh, and things, are lighter 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

best

than vanity.

according to the

great favour from the Lord ; and he that is established in this shall (being conformed to 2 Christ and the rest of the Body) 3 participate in the glory of a

Resurrection which will answer

all.

they interfered with the "enjoyment" of the confiscated estates, may be read on almost every page of the Calendar of Committee for Compounding. For abstracts of those made on Lord Worcester's estates, see his case in the Calendar, pp. 1705-1715.)] 1

2 3

Part i. 83 and 55. History of Independency (London, 1648), " [Written above "after conformity with erased.] " the " 4 Christ's Body, his Church. [Written above erased.}

Turns now to the margin of the

sheet, lengthwise.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAES

296

Sir, I I

see

March.

must thankfully confess your favour in your last letter. not forgotten and truly, to be kept in your remem-

[21

;

very great satisfaction to me for I can say in the simof plicity 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

brance

;

man. I most humbly beg to

whom

Sir,

wish

'P.S.'

Sir,

service

may be

presented to your Lady,

all

Mr. Rushworth will write to you about the Quar-

and the

tering,

happiness, and establishment in the truth. are for prayers you, as becomes Your Excellency's Most humble servant, OLIVER CROMWELL. I

letter lately sent

you

;

and therefore

forbear.*

FREE OFFER FROM the Committee of the Lords and Commons for the Affairs of Ireland sitting at Derby House, Sir John Evelyn reports a certain offer from Lieutenant-General Cromwell which is read in the words following ;

the

Honourable the Committee of Lords and Commons for the

of Ireland, sitting at Derby House : The Offer of Lieutenant-General Cromwell for the Service of Ireland'

Affairs

Mar fit

1647.

THE two Houses of Parliament having lately bestowed 1,680/. per annum upon me and my heirs, out of the Earl of Worcester's Estate the necessity of affairs requiring assistance, I do hereby ;

offer

one-thousand pounds annually to be paid out of the rents

Shane MSS.

1519, foL 79

[f.

158.

Holograph.

Seal with the Cromwell arms].

LETTER

1648.]

of the said land

mas

;

that

LV.,

FAENHAM

297

to say, 500/. out of the next Michael-

and so on, by the half years, for the space of five if war in Ireland shall so long continue, or that I live the years, so long to be employed for the service of Ireland, as the Parrent,

liament shall please to appoint provided the said yearly rent of 1,680/. 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 Manchester, of about as also a great arrear due for about 1,500/., audited and stated of the Isle of Ely I do hereby two years being Governor all or from the State any claim to be made by me discharge ;

thereunto.

OLIVER CROMWELL.* ' Ordered, That this House doth accept of the Free Offer of 'Lieutenant-General Cromwell, testifying his zeal and good 'affections, to the service of Ireland.' 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 l ;

LETTER LV HERE is Norton and the Marriage again. Here are news out of Scotland that the Malignant Party, the Duke of Hamilton's Faction, are taking the lead there ; and about getting up an Army to attack us, and deliver the King from Sectaries 2 Reverend Stephen Marshall reports the news. Let us read :

Commons Journals,

513.

[Moreover Cromwell's pay had lately been reduced from 4/. to 3/. a day. Dr. Gardiner calculates that for the next five years he would only have about 757. per annum left of the grants for his own use. And as the calculation does not take into account the resignation of his arrears as Governor of Ely, the balance would be even less. Great Civil War, iv. 79,] 8

Rush worth,

vii.

1040, &c.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAES

298

For my

noble Friend Col. Richard Norton

[28 March.

These

Farnham, 28th

March

1648.

DEAR DICK, had been a favour indeed to have met you I hear you are a man of great business 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 Russell be a little honest, and attend It

here at Farnham, but

;

your charge. Surely some expect who chose you.

it,

especially the

good fellows

I have met with Mr. Mayor we spent two or three hours I perceive the together last night. gentleman is very wise and Some things of common honest, and indeed much to be valued. ;

fame

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 :

I know God has been above all ill reports, free dealing with me. and will in His own time vindicate me ; I have no cause to com-

see nothing but that this particular business between will be done.

plain.

him and me may go on. The Lord's For news out of the North there is

little,

only the mal[ignant]

prevailing in the Parliament of Sfcotland]. They are party Mr. Marshall earnest for a war ; the ministers 2 oppose as yet. is returned, who Their says so, and so do many of our letters. is

great Committee of Dangers have two malignants for one right. so It's said they have voted an army of 40,000 in Parliament ;

But 'say' some of yesterday's letters. bestowed, because upon an idle person. 1

shall take

Tenants

;

account

news

speedy course in the business concerning My service to your Lady. I

for which, thanks.

ill

my am

really,

Your

affectionate servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.* 1

Against myself

favour for Sectaries,' and so forth.

Clergy.

Harris, p. 502. holograph original in the Morrison [Printed now from the hologra Collection. Endorsed Endorse( " No. 2." See p. 4ii below.]

LETTER

1648.]

LVI.,

LONDON

299

Had Cromwell come

out to Farnham on military business? it broke out some weeks hence in 1 as did many other places, when once the insurrection, ' 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,

Kent open

in a ticklish state

;

Abbotston, or elsewhere, my Tenants are felling wood, cutting copses, or otherwise not behaving to perfection but they shall be looked to. For the rest, Norton really ought to attend his duties in ParIn earnest ' an idle fellow/ as Oliver in sport calls liament Given to Presbyterian notions was purged out by Pride him. ' Brother dwindled ultimately into Royalism. came back He is the Frank Russel Russel means only brother member. of the Letter on Marston Moor. Now Sir Francis and sits for Cambridgeshire. A comrade of Norton's seemingly now in his neighbourhood, possibly on a visit to him. 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, now a little stick.' Prudent Mr. Mayor insists on his advantages nor is the Lieutenant-General behindhand. What ;

'doth

;

these of Oliver's are, in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Hampshire, no Biographer now knows. Portions of the Par' perhaps Purchases by liamentary Grants above alluded to Soldiers could seldom get their Debentures,' some of them. lands'

all

;

Pay

money

;

a Forfeited Lands uncertain currency. ;

they had to purchase somewhat uncertain investment of an

with their

Debentures

The Mr. Robinson mentioned in this Letter is a pious Preacher at Southampton; 2 ' My two little Wenches are Mary and Frances Mary aged now near twelve Frances ten. 3 '

;

!24th or asth 2

May

Harris, p. 504.

1648 (Rushworth, 3

vii.

1128).

See antea,

p. 63.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

300 '

For my noble Friend Colonel Richard Norton

[3 April.

These

London, 3d April 1648.

DEAR NORTON, I

could not in

last give

you a perfect

account of what passed between me and Mr. M[ayor], because we were to have a conclusion of our speech x that morning after

wrote

letter to you. 2

Which we had

and having had

;

interview of one another's minds, we parted with this That both would consider with our relations, and according to

full

satisfactions given there, acquaint

faction, if

each other with our minds.

how better to do it, to receive or give satisthan by you who (as I remember), in your last, said that*

cannot

tell

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 400/. per annum of Inheritance 3 lying in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, to be presently settled, 4 and to be for maintenance, wherein

desired to be advised by

my Wife.

offered the land

maintenance, which I dare say, with Hampshire 5 will and be, communibus annis, 5001. petcopses ordinary fells, annum : besides 500/. per annum in Tenants' hands holding but for present

for

and about 300/. per annum, some for two lives, some But as to this, if the latter be not liked of, I be willing a further conference be had in ' regard to the

one

life,

for three lives.

shall first.

In point of jointure I shall give satisfaction, and as to the settlements of lands given me by the Parliament, satisfaction to

be given in like manner, according as we discoursed. In what else was demanded of me, I am willing (so far as I remember

any demand was) to give satisfaction. Only, I having been informed by Mr. Robinson that Mr. Mayor did, upon a former " 2 Letter LV. [Harris, followed by Carlyle, misread this speed ".] [i.e., his own lands, not those granted by Parliament as were the Hampshire lands. Therefore considered as of safer tenure.] 4 On the 5 Future Pair. fellings. 1

LETTER LVL, LONDON

1648.]

match,

offer to settle

2,000/. in

money,

not be with

the

Manor wherein he lived, and to give and do desire it may The money I shall need for my two

did insist upon that

difficulty.

301

;

wenches, and thereby I shall free my Son from being charged with them. Mr. Mayor parts with nothing in present little

but that money, saving their board, 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 and my own, is very little less than 3,000/. per annum, all things considered, if I be rightly informed. And a lawyer of Lincoln's Inn, having searched all the Marquis of

gives me,

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

And it so fell out that this concerning the title. who searched was gentleman my own lawyer, a very godly able and dear I reckon no small mercy. which He man, friend, my scruple

also possessed of the writings for I

thought

such use of

me. 1

to give you this account, desiring you to make as God shall direct you, and I doubt not but you

fit

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 is only rest. Present my service to your Lady, to Mr. will

;

Mayor, &c.

rest,

Your

affectionate servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL. '

P.S.'

desire

you

to carry this business with all privacy.

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 beseech you to do

so, as

holds these Ragland Documents on

behalf.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

302

[6 April.

give and take satisfaction from which perhaps I may be shut 1 I know thou art an idle fellow, up afterwards by employment. ;

but prithee neglect me not now delay may be very inconLet me hear from you venient to me I much rely upon you. ;

;

two or three days. I confess the principal consideration as me, is the absolute settlement by Mr. Mayor of the Manor wherein he lives which he would do but conditionally, in case he prove to have no son, and but 3 ,0001. in case he have a son. 2 But as to this, I hope farther reason may work him to more.* in

;

Of 'my two little Wenches,' Mary, we may repeat, became Lady Fauconberg Frances was wedded to the Honourable Mr. then to Sir John Russell. Elizabeth and Bridget are Rich Elizabeth, the younger, already Mrs. Claypole and Mrs. Ireton. was first married. They were all married very young Elizabeth, ;

;

at her wedding,

was

little

turned of sixteen.

LETTER LVII For Colonel Robert Hammond '

DEAR

Your business 10/.

London,' 6th April 1648.

ROBIN,

by the

week

made

Mr. Lisle to draw up

done

in the

House

your

1000/. given you; and Order to ; an Ordinance for 500/. per annum to be 20/.

upon you and your heirs. This was done with smoothI know thy your friends were not wanting to you. burden this is an addition to it the Lord direct and sustain settled

ness

;

thee.

Went

to Wales in May. which he would not do but conditionally, in case [Carlyle altered this into have a son, and but 30007. in case they have no son," supposing evidently they " he prove, etc.," related to Richard (and his wife), but Mayor is no that in case doubt providing for the contingency of himself having an heir male. Comp. pp. *

' '

425, 428, below.]

[Now printed from the holograph original Endorsed " No. 3. "]

Harris, p. 502.

Collection.

in the

Morrison

LETTER LVIL, LONDON

1648.]

303

Intelligence came to the hands of a very considerable person, that the King attempted to get out of his window 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 A gentleman in one of the dark nights about a fortnight ago. with you led him the way, and slipped down. The Guard, that The same party night, had some quantity of wine with them. assures that there is aquafortis gone down from London, to remove that obstacle which hindered and that the same design He saith that is to be put in execution in the next dark nights. Captain Titus and some others about the King are not to be ;

trusted.

who gave

this intelligence,

a very considerable person of the Parliament and desired it should be speeded to

you.

The gentleman Titus

;

came out of the window was Master

that

the gentlemen doubted are Cresset, Burrowes, and the time when this attempt of escape was, the 20th of

Firebrace

;

March.

Your

servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

Henry Firebrace

known

He became Clerk of the

to Birch,

and

his Narrative

Kitchen to Charles

are full of King's Plots for escape,

II.

known.

'The old Books

aquafortis

and otherwise. 1

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

wards author of Oceana)

who

James Harrington also (afterand ' the Honourable Thomas Herbert/

Majesty ;

;

has left a pleasing Narrative concerning that

affair.

These,

though appointed by the Parliament, 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. *

Birch, p. 40.

Lilly's

Life;

The

Wood,

Original in cipher.

Hammond

;

&c. &c,

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

304

LETTER

[18 April.

LVIII

'THE Gentleman I mentioned to you/ who is now travelling towards Dover with this hopeful Note in his pocket, must remain forever anonymous. Of Kenrick I have incidentally heard, at Worcester Fight or elsewhere but of ' the Gentleman nowhere A Shadow, sunk deep, with all his business, in the Land ever. of Shadows that is the yet still indisputably visible there miracle of him '

;

Colonel Kenrick, Lieutenant of Dover Castle

These

'London,' i8th April 1648. SIR,

This

the gentleman I mentioned to you. be confident of his fidelity to you in

persuaded you may the things you will employ him in. I conceive he is fit for any civil employment, as having been bred towards the law, and having beside very good parts. He I

hath been a captain-lieutenant and therefore I hope you ' will ' put such value upon him, in the civil way, as one that hath borne such a place shall be thought by you worthy of. Whereby :

will

you

much

oblige,

Your

affectionate servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL. 1

P.S.'

expect to hear from you about your defects in the may be timely supplied.*

Castle, that so you

Defects in the Castle/ and in all Castles, were good to be in such predicaments as we are now again speedily, on the eve of. 1

amended

* Gentleman's kind.

Magazine

(1791),

Ixi.

520

;

without

comment

or indication of any

PHAYER-MEETING

1648.]

305

PRAYER-MEETING THE Scotch Army

of Forty-thousand, ' to deliver the King from not a fable but a fact. Scotland is distracted by Sectaries/ 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 beating 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. 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 is

;

under and around them

their lot either to conquer, or ignominiously to die. A King not to be bargained with ; kept in Carisbrook, the centre of all factious hopes, of world-wide inthat is one element. A great Royalist Party, subdued trigues with difficulty, and ready at all moments to rise again that is A great Presbyterian Party, at the head of which is another. 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 Add lastly a headlong Mutineer, Republican, or Levelelement. ling 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 it, 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. satisfaction, reports

But to

how

little effect.

Ludlow, with

visible

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 Parliament ill

1 This is the meeting when, according to Ludlow, i. 238 [i. 184, ed. Firth. Ludlow, he and Cromwell threw cushions at each other.]

VOL.

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

306

[1648.

would not agree with Army hardly Parliament with itself as At a Common little, still less, would Parliament and City agree. :

;

Council in the City, prior or posterior to this Dinner, his success, ' Saturday 8th angry little Walker intimates, was the same. April 1648,' having prepared the ground beforehand, Cromwell with another leader or two, attended a Common Council ; spake, as we may fancy, of the common dangers, of the gulfs now but the City,' chuckles my little gentleyawning on every side man in gray, with a very shrill kind of laughter in the throat of him, were now wiser than our First Parents and rejected the l * In fact, the City wishes well to Serpent and his subtleties.' Hamilton and his Forty-thousand Scots ; the City has, for some time, as

;

needed regiments quartered

it,

keep down open

Royalist-

It was precisely on the morrow after Presbyterian insurrection. this visit of Cromwell's that there rose, from small cause, huge Apprentice-riot in the City discomfiture of Trainbands, seizure of arms, seizure of City Gates, Ludgate, Newgate, loud wide cry " riot not to be appeased but by of " God and King Charles 3 2 ' it had lasted of after forty hours. cavalry/ desperate charge and of near far. Such are the aspects affairs, Before quitting Part Third, I will request the reader to undertake a small piece of very dull reading in which however, if he look till it become credible and intelligible to him, a strange thing, much elucidative of the heart of this matter, will disclose At Windsor, one of these days, unknown now which, 4 itself. there is a Meeting of Army Leaders. Adjutant-General Allen, a most authentic earnest man, whom we shall know better after:

;

These wards, reports what they did. Entirely amazing to us. 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 The reader, if he is an earnest part, begin despatch of business. man, may look at it with very many thoughts, for which there is

no word at present. 1

History of Independency, part

85.

[" The Lieutenant-General drew forth a party of horse, fell upon them, killed him who carried the colours, and one or two more were slain, and divers of them cut and hacked by the troopers, whereupon they soon fled and were dissipated."

News

letter from London, Clarke Papers, ii. 3.] Rushworth, vii. 1051. The beginning of 1648" (see next page) means, of course after 25th March. [" From passages in Mercurius Pragmaticus Whitlocke's Memorials and the Clarendon MSS., Dr. Gardiner concludes that the days of the conference were Great Civil War, iv. p. 117.] April 29, 30, and May i.

See

PRAYER-MEETING

1648.]

307

In the year Forty-seven, you may remember/ says Adjutant ' 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 In which great works, wanting a spirit of faith, and King. ' 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 we thought, out of such perplexities, measuring our way by ' a wisdom of our own, fell into Treaties with the King and his ' Party which proved such a snare to us, and led into such laby' rinths 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 the overwhelming of our spirits, ' weakening of our hands and hearts filling us with divisions, Allen, 1

;

confusions, tumults, and every evil work ; and thereby endangering the ruin of that blessed Cause we had, with such

been prospered in till that time. For now the King and his Party, seeing us not answer their

success, ' '

ends, began to provide for themselves, by a Treaty with the then Parliament, set on foot about the beginning of Forty-eight. ' The Parliament also was, at the same time, highly displeased with us for what we had done, both as to the King and them' selves. 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 of our backsliding hearts, we were also filled with a spirit of great jealousy and divisions 4

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, 1 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 In;

1659

and the

;

Allen's

others,

Pamphlet

now

written as a Monition and Example to Fleetwood peril, but with no Oliver now among them.

a similar

308

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

[1648.

surrections 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, ' some of us perplexed condition in all respects, as aforesaid ' our to our it a down to arms, stations, quit lay duty judging 'and put ourselves into the capacities of private men, since ' what we had done, and what 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 for imitation. Others 'of us, however, were different-minded; thinking something of ' and these thereanother nature might yet be farther our duty ' fore were, by joint advice, by a good hand of the Lord, led to 'this result viz., To go solemnly to search out bur 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, Out of to bring such sad perplexities upon us at that day.

which we saw no way else to extricate ourselves. Accordingly we did agree to meet at Windsor Castle about the beginning of Forty-eight. And there we spent one day *

pensation,' 1

inquiring into the causes of that sad disconsider it ; coming to no farther result but that it was still our duty to seek. And on the

together in prayer

that day

;

let all

;

men

morrow we met again in the morning where many spake from the Word, and prayed and the then Lieutenant-GeneraLCrom;

;

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, to a thorough con-

'well,' ' '

sideration of our actions as an Army, and of our ways particularly to see if any iniquity could be found in as private Christians * them ; and what it was, that if possible we might find it out, and so remove the cause of such sad rebukes as were upon us ' And (by reason of our iniquities, as we judged) at that time. ' '

the way more particularly the Lord led us to herein was 'To look back and consider what time it was when with '

'satisfaction

this

joint

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

PRAYER-MEETING

1648.] ' ' '

309

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 so we concluded this 'and ends, as near as we could. second day, with agreeing to meet again on the morrow. Which accordingly we did upon the same occasion, reassuming the consideration of our debates the day before, and reviewing our c

actions again.

' By which means we were, by a gracious hand of the Lord, led to find out the very steps (as we were all then jointly con' vinced) 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 wisdom, 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, Proverbs First and Twenty-third, '

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I mil pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Which, we having found ' And the out our sin, he urged as our duty from those words. ' Lord so accompanied by His Spirit, that it had a kindly effect, 'like a word of His, upon most of our hearts that were then ' present which begot in us 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, 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

Weeping

partly

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 who loving-kindness, we were made to see, yet failed us not 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 '

in the sense

;

' '

;

' '

BETWEEN THE CIVIL WARS

310

[1648.

did direct our steps and presently we were led and helped to a clear agreement 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 ' With an humble conCourage places appeared against us.' ( fidence, in the name of the Lord only, that we should destroy ' them. And we were also enabled then, after serious seeking ' 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 f 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 undertakings that year, in this way cutting His work short, in righteousness making it a year of mercy, equal if not transcendent to ' any since these Wars began and making it worthy of remem'brance by every gracious soul, who was wise to observe the ' Lord, and the operations of His hands, I wish may never be Let Fleetwood, if he have the same heart, go and forgotten.'

;

do likewise. 1 Abysses, black chaotic whirlwinds

does the reader look upon 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 lightnings and the it all

;

splendours 1

A faithful

England

499-501.)

;

it is

very sane this

Memorial of that remarkable Meeting of many Officers of the Army Windsor Castle, in the year 1648, &c. &c. (in Somers Tracts, vi.

PART

SECOND CIVIL

WAR

1648

LETTERS LIX LXII ABOUT the beginning of May

1648, the general PresbyterianRoyalist discontent announces itself by tumults in Kent, tumults at Colchester, tumults and rumours of tumult far and near ; portending, on all sides, that a new Civil War is at hand. The Scotch Army of Forty-thousand is certainly voted certainly the King is still prisoner at Carisbrook factious men have yet made no bargain with him certainly there will and should be a new War? So reasons Presbyterian Royalism every;

;

where.

Headlong discontented Wales

in this

matter took the

lead.

Wales has been full of confused discontent all Spring this or the other confused Colonel Poyer, full of brandy and Presbyterian texts of Scripture, refusing to disband till his arrears be better To whom other paid, or indeed till the King be better treated. confused Welsh Colonels, as Colonel Powel, Major- General Laughern, join themselves. There have been tumults at Cardiff, tumults here and also there open shooting and fighting. Drunken Colonel Poyer, a good while ago, in March last, seized Pembroke flatly refuses to obey the Parliament's Order when Colonel Fleming presents the same. Poor Fleming, whom we saw some time ago soliciting promotion ; l he here, attempting ;

;

Letter

XXXVII.

(311)