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^1 




THE TWO PROTECTORS. 




K ['HOTKLTHK. 



THE TWO PROTECTORS 



OLIVER AND RICHARD 



CROMWELL. 



m 



BY 

SIR RICHARD TANGYE, 



TDQlitb ^birti^^fgbt }llu0tratfonB» 



LONDON: 

S. W. PARTRIDGE & CO., 

8 & 9, PATERNOSTER ROW. 

1899. 



Sf/ 






55 



HKADLEY BROTHERS, 
PRINTERS, 
tONDON, AND ASHFOKD, KENT. 



TO 



FREDERIC HARRISON, 



WHOSE ADMIRABLE MONOGRAPH ON 



OLIVER CROMWELL 



HAS DONE SO MUCH TO RECALL THE 



PRICELESS SERVICES RENDERED 



TO HIS COUNTRY BY 



ENGLAND'S "CHIEF OF MEN." 



TO THE LORD GENERAL CROMWELL, 

1652. 

Cromwell, our chief of men, who through a cloud 
Not of war only, but detractions rude, 
Guided by faith and matchless fortitude, 
To peace and truth thy glorious way hast plough'd. 

And on the neck of crowned Fortune proud 
Hast rear'd God's trophies, and His work pursued, 
While Darwen stream with blood of Scots embrued. 
And Dunbar field resounds thy praises loud, 

And Worcester's laureat wreath. Yet much remains 
To conquer still ; Peace hath her victories 
No less renown *d than War ; new foes arise 

Threat'ning to bind our souls with secular chains. 
Help us to save free conscience from the paw 
Of hireling wolves, whose gospel is their maw. 

Mi/ ion. 



PREFACE. 



Cromwell's first speech in Parliament was 
delivered in 1629. It was a protest against 
the Romanising of the Church of England by Laud 
and other Church dignitaries. 

The House resolved itself into a " Grand Com- 
mittee of Religion," and was proceeding to inquire 
into the doings of these men, when Charles sud- 
denly dissolved it ; and during the next eleven years 
Popery, under Laud, had a free hand. The ears of 
Nonconformists were cut off and their cheeks 
branded with red-hot irons, their property con- 
fiscated, and their bodies thrown into prison. The 
Inquisition, under the guise of the Star Chamber, 
was in full force, and Religious and Civil Liberty 
were non-existent. 

It was from this terrible condition that Oliver 

Cromwell and his colleagues rescued England, 

and thereby earned the undying gratitude of all 

succeeding generations. 

R. T. 

April 25th, 1899. 



NOTE. 

// will be convenient to remember 
that in the Commonwealth times — 
and indeed, down to 1752 — New 
Yearns Day in England was the 
2Sth March. In Scotland the year 
began with January since 1600. 



CONTENTS. 

CaAPTER. PAGE. 

1. ---21 

II. 28 

I". 47 

IV. - - 61 

V. 75 

VI. 94 

VII. 108 

VIII. 115 

IX. 128 

X. -------- 142 

XI. 158 

XII. 177 

XIII. 197 

XIV. 223 

XV. 239 

Addenda 255 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE. 

The Protector Frontispiece 

The Horoscope 20 

Oliver Cromwell, at the age of five 

YEARS 25 

Dr. Beard, schoolmaster to oliver crom- 

WELL 29 

Elizabeth, wife of oliver cromwell - 35 

Upper and Lower Houses of Parlia- 
ment, TEMP. Charles I. - - 41 

Oliver Cromwell, from miniature by van 

BERG 57 

John Hampden 72 

Battle of Marston Moor - - - 81 

Letter of Charles L (cryptogram) - 89 

Oliver Cromwell, from miniature by 

pettitot ------ 98 

Bust of the Protector - - • - 106 

Oliver Cromwell, from a dutch engraving 118 

Siege of Pontefract Castle— holograph 

letter of Oliver Cromwell - 132 

Siege of Pontefract Castle — holograph 

letter of Oliver Cromwell - - 136 



1 6 LIST OF ILL USTRA TIONS. 

Westminster Hall, 20 January, 1628-9 - 143 

Execution of the King . . . 149 

Oliver Cromwell, from drawing by cooper 160 
Oliver Cromwell, from contemporary 

FRENCH PRINT I70 

Portion of a Letter from "Oliver P" 
TO Cardinal Mazarin in milton's 

HANDWRITING I90 

Equestrian Portrait OF Oliver, Lord 

Protector 196 

The Second Installation of Oliver as 

Protector, 26th june, 1657 - - 201 

Oliver's House of Lords : "the writ 

OF SUMMONS " 205 

Adjournment of Parliament, 17TH Sep- 
tember, 1657 209 

The Death Mask 213 

Battle Map of the Civil War - - 217 

Richard Cromwell, Protector - - 222 

Holograph Letter of " Oliver P." to 

his son Richard - . . . 229 

Execution of the King's Judges - - 242 

"Oliver between the Pillars" - 258 

Autograph " Richard P " - - - 262 

The Opening of Parliament by Oliver, 

20TH January, 1657-8 - - - 269 

Session of the House of Lords - 280 

Original Manuscript Music Book of 

Anne Cromwell . - - 284, 5, 7 



AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. 

Rushworth, Thurloe, Whitelocke, Cromwelliana, 
Ludlow, Sprigge's Anglia Redivivay 1647, "Carrion" 
Heath, Mark Noble, Carlyle, Green's Short History ^ 
MS. Journal of the Protectoral House of Lords and 
other original MSS., and Frederic Harrison's Oliver 
Cromwell (Macmillan, 1895), etc., etc. 



22 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

This Thomas CromweH was styled the Malleus 
Monachoniiii, or " Hammer of Moiiasferies," and 
much of the havoc wrought by him amongst the 
abbey churches of the kingdom has been wrongly 
attributed to Oliver. Sir Henry Cromwell, the 
Golden Knight, and after him his brother. Sir Oliver, 
hved in a stately palace at Hinchinbrook, which the 
former had built, and where he had entertained the 
Queen in 1564. 

Sir Oliver, not to be outdone by his brother in 
magnificent hospitality to Royalty, entertained King 
James I. for two days, on his accession to the throne, 
and ruined himself by foolish extravagance. He 
became godfather to young Oliver, and lived to see 
him Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. But the 
influences that determined Oliver's adherence to the 
Puritan party had no weight with his relatives, nearly 
all of whom remained Royalists, many taking active 
service in the King's army. 

James I. did not favour Puritanism or Puritans ; 
he had been accustomed to be treated by his Court- 
sycophants as though he were a demi-god, and the 
Puritans, down -trodden and straitened in every 
movement as they were, refused to render to the 
creature what belonged only to the Creator. At the 
beginning of the 17th century it had become clear to 
all men that a crisis in religious matters was fast 
approaching. Large numbers of the hard-working 
clergy became greatly alarmed at the encouragement 
given to extreme ritual by the greater number of the 
bishops and other dignitaries of the Church. They 
determined to make a supreme effort to obtain relief, 
and petitions to the King were prepared in all parts 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 



n 



of the country, one, the MUlennary Petition, being 
signed by nearly a thousand clergymen. The 
petitioners pointed out that practices savouring 
strongly of the Romish ceremonial were fast creeping 
ill, and that clergymen who failed to fall in with them 
were frowned upon by their superiors in the Church, 
and they prayed the King that, as head of the Church, 
he would grant them relief. Accordingly, in January, 
1603-4, ^he Hampton Court Conference was called, 
at which the King presided, being very much in his 
element. The " dissentient " clergy were represented 
by four learned doctors from the two Universities, and 
the Church by all its most distinguished dignitaries. 
Witnesses were called on either side, and the King 
made many learned speeches, in the end dismissing 
the appellants with contumely, telling them that if 
they failed to conform he would "harry them out of 
the conntry," And so the good seed of English 
hberly was sown by Royal hands. 

"Robert As a consequence of the extrava- 

dromwcU. gance of his father and uncle, the 
fortune which came to Robert Cromwell, a younger 
son, was a very moderate one, consisting of a small 
estate at Huntingdon, and of the great tithes of 
Hartford. The income from these sources, supple- 
mented by his wife's jointure, amounted to a sum 
equal to ^1,200 a year of the present day. 

His portrait represents him as a somewhat proud 
and austere man, but he appears to have been a 
good father and an exemplary citizen, taking his full 
share of public work. 

The Ca\'aliers and aristocrats of later date thought 
to disparage the Lord Protector and his father by 



J4 THE TWO PROTECTORS. 

describing them as " brewers," but although Parha- 
ment has refused to place a statue of Oliver in its 
rightful place amongst the Kings of England, we 
hear no more of his having been a brewer, because 
some of the ornaments of the House of Lords swam 
into that Chamber on beer, and still maintain their 
lordly state by its sale. 

But, like many other great men, it is to his mother 
that Oliver undoubtedly owes his many great qualities. 
Her devout and prayerful spirit, and her great 
strength of character were largely reproduced in her 
distinguisht-d son. 

£Ittabetb Robert Cromwell married Elizabeth, 

Ccomwen. daughter of William Steward of Ely, 
and widow of William Lynne ; the former, with his 
only child, died within a year of their marriage. 
Noble says of them, " They were persons of great 
worth, remarkable for living upon a small fortune 
with decency, and maintaining a large family by their 
frugal circumspection." • Mrs. Cromwell survived 
her husband thirty-seven years ; she was a careful, 
prudent mother, and brought up her daughters in 
such a way as to secure for them honourable and 
worthy settlement in life. She was a great favourite 
with her husband's relations, and especially with her 
son's godfather, Sir Oliver Cromwell. On looking 
at her portrait, one is not lony left in doubt as to the 
origin of the Protector's strong features ; evidently 
she had a strong will, and knew how to carry it into 
effect. Between her illustrious son and herself there 
existed a bond of union of unusual depth and 
strength ; on all occasions Oliver displayed an 
* Noble's House of Cromviell. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 27 

unliouiided affection for her, and when he aiisumed 
supreme power, insisted upon her living with him 
at Whitehall. But amidst all the grandeur of her 
surroundings she never lost her native simplicity of 
character. Her anxiety on behalf of her son was 
constant and intense, and Ludlow says, " At the 
sound of a musket she would often be afraid her son 
was shot, and could not be satisfied unless she saw 
him once a day at least." She died on the 
i6th November, 1654, and Thurloe, writing on the 
following day, lecords, "My Lord Protector's mother, 
of ninety-four years old, died last night, A little 
before her death she gave my Lord her blessing in 
these words, 'The Lord cause His face to shine 
upon you, and comfort you in ail your adversities, 
and enable you to do great things for the glory of 
your Most High God, ajid to be a relief unto His 
people. My dear son, I leave my heart with thee. 
A good night ! ' " 

Such were the parents, and such the up-bringing 
of one who became "the greatest, because the most 
typical Englishman of all time." 

Oliver referred to his own origin in his speech to 
his first Parliament, September 12, 1654, when he 
said, " I %va5 by birth a gentleman, neither living in 
any considerable height nor yet in obscurity"; and 
Milton says of him, " He was descended of a house 
noble and illustrious." 



CHAPTER II. 

The first portrait of Oliver, which shows him as a 
boy of five, bright and open-faced, is at Hinchin- 
brook, and with the exception of a curious little 
engraving, to which I will presently refer, there is 
not another representation of him until after the 
Civil War had commenced. 

The engraving referred to is a very quaint one. 
It represents an ancient dominie in his gown, birch 
rod in hand, ready to impress his admonitions on the 
youthful minds (or backs) of the two boys, also in 
gowns, who cling to his robe. On a high shelf are 
a number of school books, quite out of reach of the 
boys. The dominie is Dr. Beard of Huntingdon, 
and the two boys are Oliver Cromwell and his cousin, 
John Hampden. The birch rod evidently left no 
unpleasant memories on Oliver's mind, for, until the 
Doctor's death in 1632, they were very intimately 
associated as fellow Justices of the Peace, and in other 
public capacities, in Huntingdon ; and it is recorded 
that in Oliver's first speech in Parliament he referred 
to his old friend and schoolmaster. 
Oliver at Cam« From the Grammar School of his 

btidfic, 1616. native town, Oliver removed to Cam- 
bridge, where, on the 23rd of April, 1616, two days 
before his seventeenth birthday, he was entered a 
Fellow Commoner of Sidney Sussex College; and 

a8 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 31 

it is a noteworthy fact that while young Cromwell 
was thus commencing his college career another of 
England's greatest men had just entered the dark 
valley, for on that very day, in the quiet old town 
of Strat ford-on- A von, Shakespeare passed to his rest. 

And now the training in Puritan principles which 
Ohver had received from his old master, Dr. Beard, 
was to be continued at Cambridge, for Sidney Sussex 
College had been denounced by Laud as a hotbed of 
Puritanism, and its head. Dr. Samuel Ward (one of 
the translators of the Bible) was a pronounced 
Protestant. 

It is not known precisely when Oliver left Cam- 
bridge, but as his father died in June of 1617, and he 
was the only son, it is more than probable that his 
college career was terminated by that event. 

But although Oliver's stay at Cambridge was of 

such short duration, he always retained a strong 

regard for the University, and e.\pressed it by an 

order (1st July, 1652) directed to all officers and 

soldiers under his command, forbidding them "to 

quarter any officer or soldier in any of the colleges, 

halls, or other houses belonging to that University, or 

to offer any injury or violence to any of the students 

or members of it ; and this at their peril." " 

AStblcal It usually happens that when a 

stories of _ . J. , • ., 

©liver's great man dies, and is consequently 

bOBbooO. unable to refute tales respecting 

himself, a plentiful crop, more or less mythical in 

character, quickly springs up, and Oliver was no 

exception to the rule. " Carrion Heath," as 

Carlyie dubs him, declares in his 

• Noble. 



3* 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



pamphlet Flagellum, that Oliver spent much of 
his boyhood in robbing dove-cots and orchards, 
and that he was known to his neighbours as 
Appic-dragon ; while another account says that Dr. 
Beard soundly flogged him for having declared 
that in a dream a gigantic figure drew aside his bed 
curtains and told him that he would become the 
greatest person in the kingdom, but that his prophetic 
tongue omitted the word A'l/i^, On another occasion 
the boy Oliver is said to have taken part in a play in 
which it fell to him to assume a paper ciown, and 
to say : 

" Methinks I hear my noble parasites 
Styling me Ca;sar, or great Alesander." 
It is also related that when Prince Charles rested at 
Hinchinbrook on his way to London, in 1604 — he 
being about four years old, OIiver-~who was a year 
older, met him for the first time, and in a quarrel 
caused the blood to flow from the royal nose. Noble, 
in his f/o/ist; of Cromivdl, in giving this story, adds: 
"This was looked upon as a bad presage for that 
king when the Civil Wars commenced." " 

But even if these stories were true, and most of 
tliem are extremely doubtful, they would be perfectly 
inoperative in forming the character of such a man 
as Oliver Cromwell. 

As to Oliver's intellectual attainments, it is stated 

• The Rev. Mark Noble was the author of one of the best- 
known histories of Cromwell and his fainily, first published 
in two volumes about the middle of last century. The 
Rev, Mark, who is styled "My rev. imbecile friend" by 
Carlyle, makes the mistake of thinking himself more important 
than the subject of his biography, for he puts his awn poTtrait 
as the frontispiece of the Jlrsi volume, and that of Oliver in 
the second, 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 33 

that he excelled chiefly in mathematics ; that he 
attained to a good knowledge of Latin, conversation- 
ally, is clear from the circumstance that he carried 
on a negotiation with a foreign Ambassador in that 
tongue. Bishop Burnet, who was nothing if not 
spiteful, declared that Cromwell spoke Latin 
" viciously and scantily." Edmund Waller, who was 
Weil able to judge, says that Oliver "was very well 
read in Greek and Roman story." We know that in 
after life he was the generous friend and patron of 
learning and learned men, and that Milton enter- 
tained a profound respect for him. 

But it is impossible to rise from a perusal of his 
letters and speeches without being impressed with 
the sense that, whatever books he may or may not 
have read, he had thoroughly mastered what, in 
modern parlance, has been called "the human 
document." And aUhough many men have made 
large collections of books without having mastered 
their contents, it is not likely that Oliver, with his 
intensely practical mind, would have been content 
with knowing the titles only of "the noble collection 
of books" which he had made. 

Little is known of Oliver as a young man, but 
" when we first reach authentic utterances of 
Cromwell himself, we meet with a spirit of intense 
religious earnestness. The whole of his surround- 
ings in childhood and youth tended to that direction. 
A Puritan mother, a serious father, a zealous Puritan 
schoolmaster, a Puritan college, under a Puritan 
head, his father's premature death and hts own 
early responsibilities, his veneration for his mother,"* 
* F. Harrison'i Cromu-tll, p. 15 (Macmillan, 1895}. 



34 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

all operated in preparing hira for the intensely si 
part he was so soon to be called upon to play in the 
great national drama. 
H Conficmct) Of tJi's period of Oliver's life, Carlyle 
^urttaii. writes,* he "naturally consorted hence- 
forth with the Puritan clergy . . . zealously 
attended their ministry . . , consorted with 
Puritans in general, many of whom were gentry of 
his own rank, some of them nobility of much higher 
rank. A modest, devout man, solemnly intent 'to 
make his calling and his election sure/ to whom, in 
credible dialect, the Voice of the Highest had spoken ; 
whose earnestness, sagacity, and manful woi'th 
gradually made him conspicuous in his circle among 
such. The Puritans were already numerous. John 
Hampden, Oliver's cousin, was a devout Puritan, 
John Pyui the like. Lord Brook, Lord Say, Lord 
Montague ; Puritans in the better ranks, and in 
every rank, abounded. Already, either in conscious 
act or in clear tendency, the far greater part of the 
serious thought and manhood of England had 
declared itself Puritan." 

Aacrlce On August 22nd Oliver married the 

»)m;cbiet ^^ug'''^'' °^ Sir James Bourchier, a 
1620. City magnate, and for thirty-eight 
years (until his death), she was his faithful and devoted 
wife. Fifty-four years after their marriage, John 
Milton was laid to rest in the same church of St. 
Giles', Cripplegate. 

Almost all the portraits of the Protectress repre- 
sent her with a monkey, and although Mark Noble 
gives a preposterous explanation of its presence, it is 
• Letters and Speeches, vol. i. p. 53. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 37 

not known what its real significance is. If is related 
that when an infant at Hinchinhrook on a visit, an 
ape one day took Oliver out of his cradle and, to the 
terror of his mother and the attendants, carried him 
on to the leads of the house. Beds were brought 
out and laid on the ground lest the animal should 
drop the child, but it brought him down safely. 
As it was not an unusual thing for a monkey 
to be kept in great houses, it is possible the Pro- 
tectress had a kindness for an aniraa! which had dealt 
so gently with one who was destined to become her 
husband. 

Sc«68loiiot '* "'^^ ''"'"^ ^ f^^''"i^ °^ S^eaf relief 
Cbatles first, that the nation received the news of 
flBarcb. 1625. (hg ^^■sx\\ of the royal pedant, James 
1,, and all eyes were turned with hope to his suc- 
cessor, Charles 1. But it was not long before serious 
doubts began to be entertained as to the course 
political events were likely to take. In May, the ill- 
starred marriage of Charles to Henrietta Maria, sister 
of the French King, took place, and it soon became 
evident that Charles was hut a puppet in the hands 
of Villiers, the reckless and profligate Duke of 
Buckingham. 

Parliament met in June, but— led by men like 
Hampden, Selden, Eliot, Pym, and Coke, men who 
knew their power and were determined to exert it — 
having committed the unpardonable sin of thwarting 
the designs of Buckingham by refusing the supplies 
for carrying his projects into effect, it was 111 less 
than two months dissolved. 

Buckingham's foreign policy was, however, carried 
out without the sanction of Parliament, involving 



r 




THE TWO PROTECTORS . 



Charles in overwhelming debt and compelling him 
to summon his second Parliament in the following 
year ; but after a stormy session of less than three 
months it also was dissolved, the Commons being 
inflexible in their determination to vote no money 
the expenditure of which was to be independent of 
them. 

During the next two or three years Charles 
plunged deeper into the miie; his foreign expedi- 
tions all ended in failure, and he had succeeded in 
exasperating the nation hy his illegal exactions. 
Money was raised by forced loans, which he 
endeavoured to make acceptable by styling them 
"benevolences" *— by arbitrary arrests and fines for 

• "Benevolences." — Here is a copy of one of these docu- 
ments, addressed to "Our Truslie and welbeloved Robert 
Maxwell of Throwley, Esquire, Privy Sealc'25 November 1625 
to borrow £,ia." (Numbered 39.) 
" By the King. 

"Trustieand welbcloved, We greet you well. Having 
observed in tlie Presidents and customes of former times, 
That the Kings and Queenes of this our Realme upon extra- 
ordinary occasions have used eilher to resort to those con- 
tributions which arise from the generality of subjects, or to 
the private helpes of some well-afEeeted in particular by way 
of loane ; In the former of which Courses as we have no 
doubt of the love and affection of Our people when they shall 
again assemble in Parliament, so for the present we are 
enforced to proceeds in the latter course for supply of some 
portions of Treasure for divers publique services, which with- 
out manifold inconveniences to Us and Our Kingdomes, can- 
not be deferred ; And therefore this being the first time that 
We have required anything in this kind. We doubt not but 
that We shall receive such a testimony of good affection from 
you (amongst other of Our subjects) and that with such 
alacrity and readiness, as may make the same so much the 
more acceptable, especially seeing that We require but that 
of some, which few men would deny a friend, and have a mind 
resolved to expose all Our earthly fortune for preservation of 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 



39 



imaginary offences, and in other unlawful ways. But 
it was all in vain ; confusion and general disorganisa- 
tion reigned in every department of State, and, nolens 
voleiis, Parliament had to be summoned again. 
CntCT Olivet Charles's third Parliament met on 
flS.(J., 1628.' the 17th March, 1628, and Oliver 
Cromwell sat in it as Member for Huntingdon. But 
it was evident from the outset that this Assembly 
would be even less amenable to the King's wishes 
than its predecessor, mainly composed as it was of 
well-known opponents of the Court, many of whom 
had suffered imprisonment and heavy pecuniary 
exactions at the hands of the King. 

It was during this Parliament that Wentworth — 
afterwards Earl of Strafford — fell away from the 
popular party. 

Parliament was dissolved on the 2nd of March, 
1629, but not before it had laid the foundations of an 
entirely new form of government — personal rule 
giving place to that of Parliament. The Petition 
of Right had been adopted, and henceforth no 

the General! ; The summe which we require of you by vertue 
of these presents is Twentie pounds which We do promise in 
the name of Us, Our Heircs and Suceessours to repay to you 
or your Assigncs within eighleene moneths after the payment 
thereof unto the Collector. The person that We have 
appointed to collect is Sr. Synion Weston K"'' or Thomas 
Crumpton Esq : to whose hands We doe require you to send it 
within twelve dayes after you have received this Privy Seale, 
which together with the Collectors acquittance, shalbe suf- 
ficient warrant unto the Officers of Our Receipt for the repay- 
ment thereof at the time limited. Given under Our Privy 
Seale at Hampton Court the Twentith dayc of November in 
the first yeare of Our raigne ot England, Scotland, France 
and Ireland. i6i$."—Fi-oni uii origiiml in the Author's 
ColUcHoti. 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



supplies would be granted until grievances hai 



been fully discussed. 

_ It wus during the Session of 1630 

ffillvcfs Jlret _, ^ ^,. J^ I. J ,- , ,- 

DarUamentaTS '"^' Oliver Cromwell delivered his 

Speecb, lltb first speech, ;ind in view of present- 
f Cb 1628^20 

*' ' day discussions upon Romish pra 

tices in the Church of England, his remarks have t| 
special significance. It was in the Committee oii 
Religion that the speech was delivered, and happU4 
an interesting fragment of it has been presen 
He said ; " He had heard by relation from one Drj 
Beard (his old schoolmaster) that Dr. Alablaster hai 
preached flat Popery at Paul's Cross, and that th«^ 
Bishop of Winchester had commanded him, as hifti 
Diocesan, he should preach nothing to the i 
trary. Mainwaring, so justly censured in this HouseJ 
for his sermons, was by the same Bishop's mes 
preferred to a rich living. If these are the steps toj 
Church -preferment, what are we to expect? " 

Oliver returned to Huntingdon, and -n-as to havej 
no more Parliamentary experiences for eleven years. 
His first act of rebellion against Charles was com- 
mitted in 1631, when he was fined ^10 for refusing 
to go up to be knighted at Westminster at the King's 
Coronation. 

Star Cbambet, From 1629 to 1640 there had 
ie29«l640. been no Parliament, and the country 
had been ruled by the Star Chamber under Strafford 
and Laud. Ship money and other illegal taxes had 
been levied, and men had their ears cropped because 
they dared I0 disagree with the Archbishop on 
matters of religion. Had Laud been a prophet, and 
could he have foreseen that his own ears (with his 



J 


^^^^ 




ft 


1 


^'JKJ 


30^ 




i 




1 


1 








13! 






^^ 


Si 




h 


t'""'' 







OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMJVELL. 43 

head) would also be cropped at no distant date, 
perhaps he might have doubted that religion could 
be advanced by the use of the executioner's shears. 
prBmic. Burton, There is in existence a rare pam- 
£ Sastwicti. phlet, 0(31 pp., dated 1637, giving a 
full account of the trial of Prynne, Burton and 
Bastwick. Prynne was tried — or rather condemned, 
for there was no trial — in the Star Chamber, on the 
14th June, for an alleged libel on Bishop Laud. Having 
received a subpcena requiring him to appear in the 
Star Chamber to answer the charge against him, he 
obeyed, taking with him a copy of the information ; 
whereupon he was ordered to prepare his answer, 
but being immediately committed to prison, and 
denied the use of pen, ink, and paper, he was unable 
to do so. Counsel was assigned to him, but would 
not come, and he, being in prison, could not go to 
him. Then upon motion made, the Court authorised 
Prynne to go to the Counsel, but before he could do 
so, he was again consigned to prison. A second 
motion for pens and ink was successful, and he drew 
up his answer, acting under advice of Counsel, and, 
Prynne says, " payd him twice for drawing it." The 
Court refused to accept his " answer," on the plea of 
its not having been signed by Counsel, and on 
Prynne calling the latter he excused himself, saying 
that he " feared giving your Honours distaste," 
whereupon Prynne, in open Court, branded him as 
a coward. The Lord Keeper refused the "answer," 
remarking it was "too long," and demanded that he 
should plead " guilty or not guilty." 

In \-ain did Prynne show that he had done his 
utmost to answer the charge against him, and that he 



44 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



could not compel his Counsel to put it in due form 
by appending his signature. "Well, hold your 
peace," said this scoundrel judge, " your answer 
comes too late." Then the same tragical farce was 
gone through with the other two defendants, after 
which the Lord Keeper (Cottington) passed this 
diabolical sentence : " 1 condemn these three men to 
lose their ears in the Pallace-yard, at Westminster : 
to be fined ^£5,000 a man to his Majestic : and to 
perpetual imprisonment in three remote places of the 
Kingdom, namely, the Castles of Carnarvon, Corn- 
wall, and Lancaster." 

The Lord Chief "Justice" (Finch)" added to this 
sentence : " Mr. Prynne to be sligmaliscU in the 
cheekes with two letters (S. & L.) for a Seditious 
Libeller, to which all the Lords agreed." The 
sentence was carried out in the most brutal manner, 
the executioner cutting Prynne's ears so close as to 
tear away a part of the cheek with them. For 
details of the sickening business, see Carlyle, vol. i., 
p. 136. 

Prynne's ears had once before been cut off, but by 
favour of the executioner he was permitted to have 
them sewn on again. This was referred to by the 
vile Lord Chief "Justice" (Finch) when the prisoner 
was brought up for trial on the new charge. 

This is how the proceedings opened : " Between 
8 and g o'clock in the morning (14th June) the Lords 
being sett in their places in the Court of Starre- 
Chamber, and casting their eyes upon the Prisoners, 
then att the Barr, Sr. Jno. Finch (Ch. Justice of the 



•Thii 



inhuman monster had to fly the country for his life 
date, because of his shate in this day's proceedings. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 

Common Pleas) began to speak after this manner : " I 
had thought Mr. Prynne had had no eares, but me- 
thinks he hath eares"; which caused many of the 
Lords to take the stricter view of him ; and for their 
better satisfaction, the Usher of the Court was com- 
manded to turne up his haire, and shew his eares : 
upon the sight whereof the Lords were displeased 
they had been formerly no more cut off ; and cast 
out some disgraceful words of him. To which Mr. 
Prynne replied ; "My Lords, there is never a one of 
your Honours, but would be sorry to have your 
eares as mine are." 

The Lord Keeper replied, "In good faith he is 
somewhat sawcy." 

Mr. Prynne: "I hope yr Honours will not be 
offended, 1 pray God give you eares to heare." 

Mr. Prynne observing that some Prelates were 
sitting on the Bench, moved that they should be dis- 
missed, stating that it was "contrary to equity that 
they who are our Adversaries should be our Judges : 
Therefore we humbly crave that they may be 
expunged out of the Court." (A splendid phrase !) 
But of course it was refused, the Lord Keeper 
observing that it was "a sweet motion." But the 
days of Preiatica! tyranny were nearing their end. 

As already stated, the prisoners were not allowed to 
put in their defence, but with the "justice" charac- 
teristic of these infamous clerical and judicial perse- 
cutors, Laud, one of the complainants, was not only 
permitted to sit on the Bench with the Judges, but 
also to deliver a scurrilous harangue against the 
defendants. This speech was afterwards published 
in a small quarto vol. of 77 pp., and dedicated to the 



46 THE TWO PROTECTORS. 

Master tyrant, Charles I.* The dedication begins 
with : " I had no purpose to come in print, but 
your Majesty commands it, and I obey." And then, 
with the cowardice common to all bullies, he says : 
"I humbly desire Your Sacred Majesty to protect 
me from the undeserved calumny of these men, 
whose mouths are spears and arrows, and their 
tongues a sharp sword ; though their foolish mouths 
have already called for their own stripes " (and loss of 
ears, he might have added). The unctuous dedi- 
cation ends with a prayer that God would "bless 
your Majestic, your Royal Consort, and your Hope- 
full Posterity." Charles II. and James II., " HopefuU 
Posterity " ! 

• This vol. (which is in the Author's collection) is unique, 
being a presentation copy with Laud's inscription on the fly-leaf, 
**For Dr. Sterne," and ** Ex dono Reverendissimi authoris" 
in Dr. Sterne's handwriting. Dr. Sterne was Laud's Chap- 
lain, and afterwards Archbishop of York. At p. 45 Laud has 
written a note with reference to Queen Elizabeth; "at her 
coming to Cambridge order was taken beforehand by the 
Chancellor that all the Communion Tables should be sett that 
way. See Mr. Stokes (who was then Bedell and Register of 
the University), his relation of that entertainment." The 
important point being whether the table should stand north 
and south with its side against the people, or with its end 
towards them. 




In 1636, Sir Thomas Steward died, leaving Oliver 
considerable property in Ely, to which city he then 
removed, living in a house, still standing, next to SL 
Mary's Church, Here he continued to reside with 
his family until the final removal to London in 1647. 

A well-known picture represents Oliver and a num- 
ber of friends about to embark in a vessel for 
America, but prevented by the presentation of an 
Order in Council forbidding them to leave the coun- 
try. There is r\o foundation for this story, which in 
itself is altogether improbable, as Cromwell and the 
other leaders of the Puritan party had already laid 
their plans for carrying on the struggle against the 
arbitrary acts of the King, which were daily becoming 
more intolerable. 

Cbe fficanb '* '^ probable that this tradition 

IRcmonstcancc, arose from Cromwell's remark to Lord 
22n&B0v., 16*1. Falkland after the passing of the 
Grand Remonstrance. Said he, " If the Remon- 
strance had been rejected, 1 would have sold all 
I had the next morning, and never have seen 
England any more ; and 1 know there are many 
other honest men of this same resolution." 

Zbc Sboct Strafford's policy of "Thorough " in 

patllament. Ireland, and Laud's policy of ear- 
cropping and cheek-branding in England, had failed 
to satisfy the country, or to bring peace and supplies 
of money to Charles. The culmination of the King's 



48 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

troubles was reached when the Scotch " covenant " 

rebellion broke out in 1638 ; vainly he struggled on, 

and even Strafford was compelled at length to advise 

the summoning of Parliament. It met on 13th April, 

1640, but because it attacked the policy of the King 

instead of voting supplies — Charles wanting money, 

not advice — it only lived twenty-three days. Oliver 

sat in this Parliament as Member for Cambridge. 

tTbeXona ^"* another war breaking out in 

parliament, Scotland, Charles had perforce to call 

^l(pcraet4l. hig "Faithful Commons" together 

again (the Lords did not count), and on the 3rd of 
November of the same year the Long Parliament 
assembled at Westminster, and continued to sit till 
Oliver himself dissolved it in 1653. Great efforts 
were made to keep Cromwell out of the representa- 
tion of Cambridge, but they were unsuccessful, and 
he had the satisfaction of receiving as a colleague a 
brother Puritan in place of a Courtier. 

Jobn And here John Lilburne first 

Xflburne. appears on the scene. John had been 
secretary to Prynne of Star Chamber fame, and had 
been punished by " whipping with two hundred 
stripes from Westminster to the Fleet Prison," where 
he remained. His offence was publishing of libels 
(so-called by the Court party), and Oliver took up his 
cause. Years after, John quarrelled with his defender, 
the Protector, but that was nothing unusual with 
him, for was it not said of him that " if no one tvas 
left in the world but John Lilburne^ John would 
quarrel with Lilburne^ and Lilburne xvith John /" 

Cromwell was also appointed on the Committee to 
consider the cases of Prynne, Burton and Bastwick, 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 49 

and other " crop-enred " victims of Laud's tyranny. 
These clerical and other tyrants had a very simple 
way of finding nicknames for their victims ; first 
they cut off their ears and then they called them 
"crop-eared." But the operation produced a bitter 
crop of well-deserved troubles for the tyrants before 
many years had passed. 

Ai._ ■..■..v It was on the occasion of Oliver's 
t>t "an ill couiiB defence of Lilburne that Sir Philip 
trp tailor." Warwick, M.P. for Radnor, gave the 
following description of Oliver's personal appearance. 
" The first time I ever took notice of Mr, Cromwell 
was in the very beginning of the Parliament held in 
November, 1640 ; when I vainly tliought myself a 
courtly young gentleman, for we Courtiers \'alued 
ourselves much upon our good clothes ! 1 came 
into the House one morning well clad; and perceived 
a gentleman speaking, whom 1 knew not, very 
ordinarily apparelled ; for it was a plain cloth suit, 
which seemed to have been made by an ill country 
tailor; his linen was plain and not very clean, and 
1 remember a speck or two of blood upon his little 
band, which was not much larger than his collar. 
His hat was without a hatband. His stature was of 
a good size ; his sword stuck close to his side ; his 
countenance swoln and 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. Prynne's (]no. 
Lilburne), who had dispersed Libels. I sincerely 
profess, it lessened much my reverence unto that 
Great Council, for this gentleman was very much 
hearkened unto." 



50 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

Cromwell was no longer merely the interested ob- 
server of the proceedings of Parliament ; he speedily 
began to take an active part in all questions where 
the rights of conscience and of oppressed individuals 
were concerned. The victims of the Star Chamber 
found in him a powerful friend, and, a grasping 
landowner at Huntingdon having enclosed some 
common land, Oliver espoused their cause with such 
warmth before the Committee appointed to deal with 
such matters, that he was repeatedly called to order 
by the Chairman, Hyde, afterwards Earl Clarendon. 

Great questions very soon claimed the deepest 
attention of Parliament, Cromwell taking his full 
share in their discussion. The Bill for the abolition 
of Episcopacy, " root and branch," was the occasion 
of stormy debate, in the course of which Oliver was 
interrupted with calls of " to the bar." " But here, in 
Episcopacy, was sounded the critical note which 
ultimately rallied to the King so large a portion of the 
people and the gentry. From that hour the King 
represented the Church."* 

Cromwell also seconded the motion for the 
Annual Parliaments Bill, which ultimately resolved 
itself into an Act establishing Triennial Parliaments. 
In conjunction with Sir Harry Vane he also prepared 
a Bill for the abolition of Episcopacy, upon which 
occasion Hyde finally joined the Court party. The 
extirpation of Laudism and the defence of Puritanism 
were the causes which chiefly enlisted Oliver's most 
earnest co-operation. 

Here is a curious little scrap written as early as 
1641, from the quiet of Cambridge, where events in 

• F. Harrison. 



OLIVER AKD RICHARD CROMWELL. 51 

the world outside were beginning to make a stir ; it 
is strange that it should have been so long preserved.* 
The letter contains Greek and Latin quotations, 
which have been translated in this copy : " Whai 
news, sweet Mr. Knyveti ?t What is our di:slitiy ? In 
one word, there is uneasiness, are wc lost f or has that 
bird of Juno snug to ns ' all ivill be well,' for I bear 
we are now in the most critical times ? // yon love us, 
be not now silent. We here only desire two things, a 
settled Commonwealth and yonr letters. 

" Mr. Peckovcr is yonr servant, and so is 

" Yonr assured friend, 

" Franc. Colfer. 

" Cambridge, May 4th, 1641." 

Events were marching on. On 6th Nov., 1641, the 
Earl of Essex was ordered to raise the trainbands for 
the defence of the Kingdom, and it was further 
ordered " that this power should continue until the 
Parliament should take further order." A clear notice 
to the King that the Parliament had now an array. 

On the 22nd, the debate on the Grand Remon- 
strance was ended, the motion being carried by a 
majority of eleven only, amid a scene of wild con- 
fusion, during which members drew their swords, 
and seemed about to begin the war on the floor 
of the House. 

Bcceet ot tbe ^""^ "^^^ *''^ King made a fatal niis- 
f tvc fl&cmbers, take which raised the whole country 
San. 4tb, 164U2. against him. He determined to seize 
.the persons of those Members of Parliament whom he 

• In the Author's collection. 

t Probably the Th : Knyvett referred to in Carlyle, vol. i., 

PP- '7'. i;5- 



5* 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



considered the most dangerous to his cause. On the 
3rd January he sent a message to the House demanding 
that five niemhers named by him should be delivered 
up to him as traitors. The House temporised and sent 
an evasive reply. "But, ili satisfied with this, Charles 
the ne.\t day proceeded in person to the House of _ 
Commons, attended by his guard and desperadoes 
that he had for some time entertained at Whitehall, to 
the number of three or four hundred, armed with 
partizans, sword and pistol,* having previously with- 
drawn the guard appointed hy the members for their 
own protection, and refused them any other than 
one which they suspected to be exclusively devoted 
to himself, and which they had therefore themselves 
dismissed-t Entering, with a severe aspect, the 
apartment in which the members weie assembled, 
his attendants waiting without, the House respect- 
fully rose, and made a lane for his passage to the 
Speaker's chair. He informed them, as soon as he 
was seated, that he was come in person to seize the 
five members whom his Attorney-general had im- 
peached ; but these members had already betaken 
themselves to the City for protection. The King 
next proceeded to ask the Speaker, who continued 
standing below him, if any of the members impli- 
cated were in the House ? That officer, falling on 
his knees, answered: ' I have neither eyes to see, nor 
tongue to speak, but as the House is pleased to 
direct me, whose ser\'ant I am, and 1 humbly ask 
pardon, that I cannot give any other answer to what 
your Majesty is pleased to demand of me.' The 
King replied, ' 1 think you are in the right'; adding, 
• Ludlow. t Milton, 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 5j 

' Well, since I see all the birds are flown, 1 do expect 
from you that you do send them to me as soon as 
they return hither.' He then departed, several of 
the members exclaiming as he passed out, ' Privilege, 
privilege ! '• The next day he proceeded to the 
City and made the same demand of the Council at the 
Guildhall, but he was heard in silence, and as he re- 
tired the populace shouted, 'Privileges of Parlia- 
ment," while one individual, approaching the 
carriage window, exclaimed in a loud voice, 'To your 
tents, O Israel.'" The reign of violence had begun, 
and Charles had set the example.t 

A strong light is thrown on the state of public 
feeling iii London at this exciting juncture by an 
• Thos. Cromwell's Life iif CromweU. 
tThe Speaker of the House of Commons (Mr. Gully, 
M.P.} in a. lecture delivered at Carlisle on the Qth January, 
1899, gives an interesting account as to the taking down in 
shorthand of ihe King's speech on that occasion : 

"John Rushworth, Clerk Assistant of the Long Parliament, 



ind author of RusAtvoriA's Collectii 
writer, and he frequently made notes a; 
th(r House. Notice was taken of this 
that they should be open to inspectio 



a shorthand 
ie sat at the table of 
and it was ordered 
1, and should n 



taken away. On the jrd ot January, 1641, when the King 
tame to tlie House with his guards to seize five members 
whom he wanted to prosecute for high treason for words 
spoken in debate, his Majesty made a short speech from the 
Speaker's place, which Rushworth took down in shorthand. 
The King afterwards sent for Rushworth, and demanded a 
copy of his speech in the House. Rushworth besought his 
Majesty to remember that a Yorkshire member had been 
sent to the Tower for merely telling the King what words had 
been spoken in the House by another member, to which his 
Majesty replied, ' I do not ask you to tell me what was said 
by any member of the House, but what I said myself ; 
whereupon Rushworth gave obedience, transcribed the 
Speech, and gave the transcript to the King, who had it 
printed and published." 



54 THE TWO PROTMCTORS : 

unpublished MS. journal of the son of a member of 
the Long Parliament — ^a King's Counsel — which is 
in my possession. The entries are made day by 
day, in a pocket almanac for 1641-2, and are 
preceded by a memorandum written in a curious 
mixture of French, Italian, and English, setting forth 
his purpose in writing them, viz., that he might, 
from time to time, refresh his memory as to the 
occurrences recorded. On the ist January, three 
days before the King attempted to arrest the five 
members, the diarist writes : 

"The beginning of this yeare thinges are in a most 
distressed state, aoe y' wee cannot w<i>out God's most infinite 
Mercy expect any Thin-j this ensuing yeare but bloody atid 
tumultuous times. Y^' Parliament, wi" Committee of y^ house 
of Commons sit, this New Yecr's day in Guildhall for some 
feerea they have, they h.ive J or 3 train bands to guard them. 
Thinges are now come to y' verticall point that wee must of 
necessity conceive they cannot hold out as they arc one 
fortnight longer, w^iout some revolution or other ; the City is 
apprehensive of great dangers y' doe threaten them. The 
house of Commons feare some atlemptes upon their persona, 
what will be the issue of these thinges is beyond y« depth of 
man's wisdome to fathom ; but [ am confident as thinges now 
stand noe man will give 2 yeeres purchese for another's life. 
If God p'serve me and my friendes in safely till this daye 
twelfe-month this particular note in observation may put me 
in minde to give thankes to Almighty God and acknowledge 
it hath beene only his power and protection hath provided for 
our welfare beyonde all our hopes, for in the jud|,'menC of man 
y" whole kingdome can scarce subsist soe long without 
publicque ruin. If it please his divine providence yet to 
reconcile the King's Majcstee and the Parliament w^Njut 
much exclusion of good, wee must ail acknowledge it is y* 
Lorde'swork, notwithstanding y English nation is noted by 
historians to be secure enough in times of greatest danger. 
I hope all things will succeed as they desire and believe (who) 



OLIVER AA'D RICHARD CROMWELL. 



55 



never see any danger till they feele it, yet are at this present 

soe sensible of danger y» noe night, almost, scapes wUiout 
some alarme and men's feares will not afford them quiet 
enough to rest in their beds. 

"There are at this present many men deeply engaged 
(concerned) on y" p 'of y house of Commons soe y* if y« 
kinges party prevaile they can expect nothinge but destruc- 
tion soe y' they will allow of noe agreementes unless theire 
owne safety is included, there are as many engaged in y* 
King and Queene's p'. men of desperate fortunes who must 
consequently give his Majes tie desperate councell and unlesse 
y« a p'ties come to a very equell poyse, soe y* they are 
contente to pardon all on both sides, one side must neede be 
quite ruined ; but it may pleest God to turne y* kinges heart 
to harken to y advice of his pliament to grant their reeson- 
ab!e requestes and soe to temper their consullationes y' they 
may not require more than hee may w'li his honor grant 
and things possibly may goe well, w"^ if they doe wee may 
onely say of our kingdome y* wee were Tantiim tiott 
confuse." 

"Jan. 3rd. — Some of y* house of Commons impeached and 
my Lord Mandeville; y= Citty troubled. On y" 10th y* 
kinge went to Hampton Court; on f nth y= parliament 
guarded from Grocers' Hall to Westminster w"" much force, 
by water and by land." 

"Jan. z6th.— There hath beene about this time divers 
attemptes upon Cheapside Crosse, some hurt is done to itt 
but not very rnuch because many of y« inhabitants doe stand 
for it and defend it." 

" Mch. 13.— This weeke great expectation of y« kingea 
answere from Newmarket. It came on Friday night it was 
a dcniall and on Monday ye declaration came out." 

" May 11. — Lord Mayor committed to >" Tower." 

" July- — On y* 1 2th we had a great report y' Hartford was 
fired and y^ Cavaliers were there w"!! put y" whole county of 
Essex into a great feare. Eping Beacon was fired. Theare 
was a general! watch every where y' night but y news was 
all false, onely a bame was fired by chance- This Mid- 



S6 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

Augtist wee have not heerd anything lately from y« king only 
a p'claraation proclaiming y Lord of Essex and all his 
adhierents traytores; 'tis generally fered y' y^ king endea- 
vours to get a considerable army and then to march uppe for 
London. My Lord of Essex is daily expected to goe wee 
know not whither . . . the countyes are generally for 
the parliament, soe long as they are hastened and encouraged 
by ye presence of their parliam' men, but as soone as they 
are gone their heartes faile them." 

"The word now is, 'Short shoes and long comes to y« 
enemies of olde England." 

" Aug. gth.^I subscribe aolb at Ongar (to pari' fund)." 

" Note. — Y° king's colours are Mutryor purple and white, 
the Prince's greene and y* parliamente's orange." 

On the loth January, Charles left Whitehall never 
to return until he came back to die. On the same 
day Parliament, including the five members, and 
escorted by the whole city, reassembled in their 
Chamber. 

In July the first blood was drawn. Funds had to 
be provided (or the Parliamentary Army, and sub- 
scriptions (not forced) were raised, Cromwell giving 
j^5oo and John Hampden -^i,ooo. In August 
Cromwell seized the Castle of Cambridge, and 
secured the University plate, worth £20,000, which 
was being sent to the King. But he refused to allow 
his old college — Sidney Sussex — to be deprived of its 
plate. 

Here is a curious letter," in which "one Mr. 
Croinwdl, a Parlt'antetti man," is mentioned. 
It is addressed 

"To his much-esteemed ffrend 
Mr. Samuel Drake at his 
ffather's house in Codby (?) 

Nigh Hallifax." 
These do 
* In the Author's collection. 



OL/VER AND RICHARD CROMIVKLL. 



59 



" Honest Dominie, — 'Twas my misfortune not only not to 
receive a letter from you. when [Sir Gifford did) but also not 
a word of remembrance in his ; but I will interpret fairly of 
your actions, and thinke you were so busied about his 
maiesCies' affayres (for I doubt not you are made some 
ColoncU already) y' you were forced to neglect your owne, 
or soe consequently youre ffrendes; or else perhaps being in 
hot service at Hull (not against S' John Hotham but against 
. . . .) you were so wearied out with the siege and battell 
that you c^ set to do nothing before you had taken y rest 
. . . , to gratifie you you shall know that ours, Trinity 
Queens and Pembroke this last week sent all theire plate 
guarded by 30 men with muskets and pistols towardes Yorke, 
they past Huntingdon safely, but at Stangate how there lay 
store of men to intercept them, gathered together by yt com- 
mand of one Mr. Cromwell, a Parliament tnan; our men 
(it being night) had like unawares to have marched down, not 
suspecting any opposition and not seeing the trnupes in 
atnbush w^i" if they had donne all theire carriage had beene 
taken away and scarce one of them had escaped with life, but 
by chance this Cromwell rid up y hill to sec if he cl spy 
our men whom he expected y' night and so betrayed y' w^'' 
otherwise they had (not ?) knowne. They therefore seeing 
such dangers nighe them relumed home safely and delivered 
y plate back. There are many at this time abut ye neigh- 
boring townes as Grancester, Trimpington, &c., up in armes 
and are shrewdly suspected to watch an opportunity to steale 
our plate, wherefore at Trinity they watch every night, and on 
Sunday night our College servants all watch about the 
College; the roiind/ieads are still iraynitigaboMt us, haX. I 
c'* wish as Mr. ffothergill wisht in y- Chappell when he 
preacht on Sunday was aevennight that they w<> leave this 
trayning and rather Irayne themselves up candidly and in 
good manners. I thinke now you have enough newes from 
this barren place nay more than you did expect, yt Iruitefull 
soil cannot but afford more plenty w^ii if you will please let me 
participate you shall oblige y' Ituty loving ffreind. 

"HlEROME POTKIN 

" Cambridge, Au^ist t)th, 1642. 

*' Send as soon as you cann." 



6o THE TWO PROTECTORS. 

Note. — Cromwell became Col. C. in 1643. — See Carlyle, 

vol. i. p. 170. 
In the Journals of the House of Commons under date 15th 
August, 1642, it is stated that Sir Philip Stapleton g^ave an 
account in the House, from the Committee for the Defence of 
the Kingdom, that " Mr. Cromwell, in Cambridgeshire, had 
seized the magazine in the Castle at Cambridge, and had 
hindered the carrying of the plate from that University. And 
on the 1 8th August a Committee was appointed to prepare an 
order for the indemnity of Mr. Cromwell and Mr. Walton, 
and those that have or shall assist them in the stopping of the 
plate that was going from Cambridge to York." So, notwith- 
standing \i\% faux pas in going up the hill at the wrong time, 
Oliver did manage to secure the plate, in spite of the vigilant 
watch kept upon it by the College servants. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Clull TClnr The first Civil War began in 1642. 

bcflins, 1642. On the 22nd August of that year 
Charles unfurled his standard at Nottingham, "on 
the evening of a very stormy and tempestuous day." 
He had an army of 10,000 men, formed of " all sorts 
and conditions." Retainers of conntry gentlemen 
and idlers, and all the ruffians and dissolute fellows 
that could be mustered from the great towns. But 
it \^i'as led by trained soldiers, men who had received 
a splendid training in the Dutch and German wars. 
The Earl of Lindsey, a competent soldier, iivas 
appointed Commander-in-Chief — ^destined, however, 
soon to find a soldier's grave. 

Here Prince Rupert, a dashing young Cavalry 
officer, makes his dcbiil, being appointed General of 
Cavalry at the age of twenty-three. The estimable 
Earl of Falkland, so soon to fall at Newbury, one of 
the gallant Verney family, and many other men 
who were to make great reputations during the next 
few years, were with the King. 

There can be little question that if the King's army 
had been composed of soldiers worthy of their 
commanders — men like Cromwell's 2,000, who were 
soon to play so memorable a part — there would 
quickly have been an end to the incipient rebellion. 
Happily for the cause of liberty it was not so ; for it 
was formed largely of bands of retainers who 



bi THE TIVO PROTECTORS: 

thought much more of their chieftains than of their 
King, and of ruffians, soldiers of fortune, whose 
thoughts were mainly intent upon loot and rapine. 
Moreover the army was utterly undisciplined, its 
chiefs jealous of each other, their councils divided, 
and the King — untrustworthy himself — trusted no 
one about him. 

And how was it with the Parliamentary host that 
was rapidly gathering around Northampton ? In 
one respect only was it superior to that of the King, 
for against his 10,000 men they opposed twice that 
number, being commanded by the Earl of Essex, 
son of Queen Elizabeth's unfortunate favourite. This 
army was composed of material quite as unfitted for 
warlike operations as that of the King. Its leaders 
were vastly inferior to those of the Royal Army, and 
its Commander-in-Chief, although perfectly loyal to 
the cause, was a dull man, without either initiative to 
plan an attack, or resource to retrieve a disaster — 
defects soon to be demonstrated in the first great 
battle of the war. 

Before further referring to that battle, it will be 
well to glance at the relative positions of the con- 
tending parties at tlie opening of the great drama. 
Frederic Harrison, in his admirable book on 
Cromwell,* says, " In wealth, in numbers, and in 
cohesion the Parliament was stronger than the King. 
To him there had rallied most of the greater nobles, 
many of the lesser genti^y, some proportion of the 
richer citizens, the townsmen of the West, and the 
rural population generally of the West and North of 
England. 

• 0/<Ver CrowK/e// (Macmi)lan, 1895). 



I 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 63 

" For the Parliament stood a strong section of the 
Peers and greater gentry, the great bulk of the lesser 
gentry, the townsmen of the richer parts of England, 
the whole Eastern and home counties, and, lastly, 
the City of London." 

As is usual in revolutions, the "classes" were 
largely with the Court, while the "masses," especially 
in the great towns, were (or Reform ; as a rule, the 
North and West stood for the King, and the East 
and South for Parliament. But while the contest 
was waged with \'arying fortunes in the North and 
West, the Eant of England, from the Wash to the 
Solent, never passed out of the control of Parliament. 
E&gebilt, 23rl) The Battle of Edgehill in Warwick- 
Oct, lfl42. shire was fought on the 23rd October, 
1642. At that time Oliver was Captain of the 67th 
troop of horse, counting sixty sabres, raised and 
equipped by himself ; his brother-in-law, Desborough, 
being his quarter -master ; Cromwell's eldest son, 
Oliver, was cornet of another troop, while his cousin, 
John Hampden, was colonel of the 20th regiment of 
foot. 

Essex had been ordered by Pai'liament to follow 
the King, and "by battle or other way, rescue hira 
from his perfidious counsellors and restore him to 
Parliament," but the King oiit-manceuvTed him, and 
by quick marching opened the way to the capital. 
Essex hastened after him and came up with the Royal 
Army on Sunday evening at Edgehill. Every ad- 
\-antage was on the King's side ; his position was 
better and he was superior in numbers, artillery and 
cavalry. No sooner had the fight commenced, than 
Sir " Faithful " Fortescue deserted to the King's side 



64 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

■with his entire regiment, throwing the Parliamentary 
forces into disorder. Rupert was not slow to take 
advantage of this treachery, and swooping down 
upon Essex's left wing, drove it off the field into 
Kineton. While this was going on, the King's left 
routed part of Essex's right wing, and he, believing 
that all was lost, seized a pike and prepared to die at 
the head of his regiment. 

IRiipcct tbc But all was not lost, for Rupert's 

pIUTi&etcr. soldiers of fortune took to plundering, 
and Oliver had yet to be reckoned with. His troop 
and twelve others, joining the remnant of Essex's 
foot, dashed into the King's infantry, destroying 
regiment after regiment, capturing the Royal Standard 
that had been so bravely unfurled at Nottingham, 
and killing the Earl of Lindsey, Charles's Com- 
mander-in-Chief. 

The King himself narrowly escaped capture, being 
only saved by the timely return of Rupert from his 
plundering expedition, as evening was closing in, and 
he was only able to save the remnants of the Royal 
Army. About 4,000 men lay on the bloody field, 
and the result of the fight was to leave things as tliey 
were before, for it was a drawn battle. 

" But the moral advantage rested with the King. 
Essex had learned that his troops were no match for 
the Cavaliers, and his withdrawal to Warwick left 
open the road to the capital. 

" Rupert pressed for an instant march on London, 

but the proposal found stubborn opponents among 

the moderate Royalists, who dreaded the complete 

triumph of Charles as much as his defeat."* 

* Green's Short History. 



OLIVER AXD RICHARD CROMWELL. 65 

Charles went on to Oxford, which he caused to he 
strongly fortified ; here he found a hearty welcome, 
but did not long remain on this occasion, for his 
dashing nephew Rupert had captured Reading and 
Brentford, within striking distance of London, 

In the meantime Essex had reached the capital, 
where the panic had already subsided, and being 
joined by the City trainbands, Charles was forced 
back upon his Oxford quarters. 

But this first trial of the opposing forces brought 
out into strong relief the radical faults of both, the 
unsteadiness of the Parliamentary foot soldiers con- 
trasting strongly with the splendid qualities of the 
Puritan horse from Oliver's Eastern counties. It 
also showed the disorganisation of the King's com- 
mand, his weakness in infantry, and the dangerous 
recklessness of Rupert — a recklessness which was 
destined to be of good service to the Parliamentary 
cause on many a field yet to be fought, Cromwell, 
born soldier as he was, was quick to note all these 
things, and to turn them to good account, 

'Rlcb8r& "At Alcester, twenty miles away, 

Salter. Richard Baxter was preaching on that 
eventful Sunday from the text, 'The Kingdom of 
Heaven suffereth violence,' little knowing what was 
doing at Edgehill, while his audience distinctly heard 
the solemn booming of the cannon during the whole 
of his discourse. "* 

[In C^t\y\e' s Letlers and Speeches {eA. 1897, vol. ii. p. 136) 
is a letter, dated 17th March, 1642-3, from " John Cory, Mer- 
chant of Norwich," giving an account of a successful raid upon 



is's History of Warmicksliirc. 



66 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

Lowestoft, by Col. Cromwell, Oliver having heard of a meeting 
of Malignants there. I have in my possession a small book, 
a Life of Oliver Cromwell, in which are some MS. notes 
respecting a certain Capt. H. Squire, made by some of his 
relatives. Amongst the rest is a copy of a letter respecting 
Cromwell* s attack upon Lowestoft. It is addressed : 

" For Capt. H. Squire, 

** at his quarters, Oundle. 

*' Dear friend, — We have secret and sure hints that a meeting 
of the malignants takes place at Lowestoft in Co. Suffolk on 
Tuesday. Now, I want your ayd, so come with all speed on 
getting this, witli your troop, and tell no one your route, but 
lett me see you ere sundown. 

'* From your friend and commandant, 

" O. Cromwell." 

The book contains two water-colour portraits of Capt. Squire, 
showing the red coat. In a note it says : ** This H. Squire 
lived at Thrapstone and Oundle, also Yaxley, where he joined 
a Stilton troop, 1641, and was comet and rode as lieutenant 
at Naseby, where he was wounded, and fought all through the 
Civil War, but gave up when they killed the King, and so 
never had any more to do with them. In his memorandum 
and history which he left, much now remains, but very rotten. 
I have a copy of some parts but it is not connected, as it had 
been mixed and torn in removals, and laid up got damp and 
rotten. He died about 1690 or 1692 uncertain, and he is 
buried at Yaxley, I believe, or else Thrapstone ; he was a 
merchant, and so has the family been for centuries at Thrap- 
stone, Oundle, Peterboro' and Lynn.'* 

Evidently a portion of the *' Squire *' correspondence dealt 
with by Carlyle in vol. ii., Letters and Speeches, The hand- 
writing in these Notes is clearly that of the beginning of the 
1 8th century, so that the letters, etc., must have been in exis- 
tence at that date, and could not have been forged by Carlyle's 
correspondent. They are however very much too doubtful in 
character to be accepted as genuine.] 

Fifteen years after Edgehill, the Protector, in 
relating to his second Parliament a conversation 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 6? 

he had with John Hampden about this time, 
described the kind of men he had been careful to 
eniist into his Puritan regiments. He said, " I had a 
very worthy Friend then, and he was a very noble 
person, and I know his memory is very grateful to 
all — Mr. John Hampden. At my first going out into 
this engagement, I saw our men were beaten at every 
hand. ' Your troops,' said I, 'are most of them old 
decayed serving-men, and tapsters, and such kind of 
fellows; and,' said I, 'their troops are gentlemen's 
sons ; younger sons and persons of quality ; do you 
think that the spirits of such base mean fellows will 
ever be able to encounter gentlemen that have 
honour and courage and resolution in them ? ' 
Truly, 1 did represent to him in this manner, con- 
scientiously and truly I did tell him : ' You must get 
men of a spirit ; and take it not ill what I say,^I 
know you will not, — of a spirit that is likely to go on 
as far as gentlemen will go ; or else you will be 
beaten still.' I told him so; I did truly. He was a 
wise and worthy person, and he did think that 1 
talked a good notion, but an impracticable one. 1 
raised such men as had the fear of God before them, 
as made some conscience of what they did ; and 
from that day forward, I must say to you, they were 
never beaten, and wherever they were engaged 
against the enemy, they beat continually." 

Here is Bulstrode Whitelocke's description of 
Oliver's men : " He had a brave regiment of horse of 
his countrymen, most of them freeholders and free- 
holders' sons, and who upon matter of conscience 
engaged in this quarrel, and under Cromwell. And 
thus, being well armed within by the satisfaction of 



68 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

their own consciences, and without by good iron 
armour, they would as one man stand firmly and 
charge desperately." 

Cromwell obtained his knowledge of the art of war 
from Captain John Dalbier, a veteran of Dutch 
extraction, who had seen much service abroad. 
OUver was diligent in the drilling of his troopers, 
and in teaching them how to handle their weapons, 
and to manage their horses. "As an officer," says 
Waller, " he was obedient, and did never dispute my 
orders, or argue upon them," * 

"Colonel" By May in the following year, 

Cromwell, 1643. Oliver's "troop of horse" had swelled 
to 2,000 men, and he had become " Colonel " 
Cromwell, and this is how he was described in a 
" news-letter " of that period : " As for Colonel 
Cromwell, he hath 2,000 brave men, well disciplined ; 
no man swears but he pays his twelve pence ; if he 
be drunk, he is set in the stocks, or worse ; if one 
calls the other Roundhead, he is cashiered ; insomuch 
that the countries where they come leap for joy of 
them, and come in and join with them. Happy 
were it if all the forces were thus disciplined." 

On the I3lh of May, 1643, Cromwell won the first 
fight where he was in chief command. Outside 
Grantham he met a body of Cavaliers who had been 
carrying all before them for months, and although 
they were double his number he completely routed 
them and cut them in pieces. His men had only 

* Ca.ptain Dalbier. This most capable officer becoming' 
dissatisfied with Ihc Parliamentary cause, deserted to the 
King, and in a fight near Kingston-on-Thames was slam by 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 69 

been in arms nine months, but they were already 
seasoned cavalry. 

This small success of Cromwell's gave but a flick- 
ering gleam of hope to the Parliament, for everywhere 
the Roya! Army was steadily gaining ground, and 
now one of the heaviest blows the popular cause had 
yet to receive was to come from remote Cornwall. 
The \'ast majority of Cornishmen had always been 
loyal to the Crown, although there had not been 
wanting men, even in Elizabeth's reign, who dared 
to speak their minds in opposition, for when, in 
1575, that Queen sent a message to Parliament com- 
manding it not to meddle in the matter of religion, 
and directing the Commons to leave all such matters 
to the initiative of the clergy, Peter Wentworth, 
member for Tregony, spoke out in unmistakeable 
language. He plainly told the Queen that she was 
subject to the law, and that without free speech it 
was a scorn and a mockery to call them a " Parlia- 
ment," and then he filled up the measure of offence 
against her Imperious Majesty by adding, "There 
was none without fault, no, not even their noble 
Queen," and joyfully went to prison in attestation of 
his sincerity, 

Down to a period long subsequent to that of the 
Civil Wars Cornwall was almost as remote as the 
Hebrides from the genera] life of the nation. Its 
peninsular position, its dissimilarity of language, and 
the Celtic devotion of its people to their local chief- 
tains, all tended to cause them to subordinate their 
personal opinions to those of their leaders, and the 
latter were almost uniformly strongly Royalist in 
sentiment. 



70 



THE TIVO PROTECTORS : 



In this month Lord Stamford, the commander 

of the P.-irliamentary forces, determined to try his 

fortune in Cornwall, and with a strong force 

Battle marched upon Laimceston ; but being 

(XaSston) ™^^ "^y ^''' ^^''''' Grenville, who was in 

yiiaB. 1643. command of a small force, the Parlia- 
mentarians were defeated, with the loss of 2,000 men 
and all their ordnance. Lord Stamford then made 
a hurried retreat, being followed by the Royalists, 
under Sir Ralph Hopton, through Devonshire and 
Somersetshire, when they were finally defeated on 
Lansdowne Hill, near Bath. In this battle Hopton 
was dangerously wounded, and Sir Bevil Grenville 
killed. 

In the following year Essex entered Cornwall, 
being closely followed by the King, and in July 
the army of the Parliament was totally defeated by 
him at Lostwithiel, the foot soldiers being taken 
prisoners, Essex and other leaders escaping by sea 
from Fowey. 

Olivet In 't '^ "o' generally known that 

Cornwall, 1646. Cromwell took part in Fairfa.K's cam- 
paign in Cornwall. On February 25, 1646, he was 
present at the capture of Launceston, and accom- 
panied Fairfax in his victorious march through the 
county. 

"The Royalist forces in Cornwall were speedily 
brought to a surrender ; Goring fled to France, 
Hopton agreed to a treaty by which his troops were 
disbanded, and on March 21 Fairfax began his 
return from Truro. Four days later he and Cromwell 
went on to Plymouth." * 

' Launcestou, Past and Present, by Alfred E. Robbins. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 73 

A cruel blow was now to fall upon Cromwell and 

the Parliamentary cause. Lord Essex's "masterly 

inactivity" was daily becoming more pronounced, 

„ , and he rarely fought unless it was 

Cbalfltopc, . -,, . J J ■ ,T- 

-„„. tg43 impossible to avoid doing so. His 

army lay in Buckinghamshire, was 
very badly officered, and under lax discipline. This 
becoming known to Prince Rupert, who was at 
Oxford, that officer determined to make a sudden 
raid upon the Parliamentary forces, and coming up 
with a small company under the command of John 
Hampden, on Chalgrove Field, he easily defeated 
them. 

Hampden was mortally wounded, and to the con- 
sternation of his men was seen riding off the field 
before the fight had ended, " which he never used to 
do " ; he died a few days after, his last words being, 
" Save my bleeding country." ' 

* "Julie I. This daie Ihere is g-one from Tliamc 4,000 
soldiers : a.ooo 10 Ethrop (?) to be quartered, 2,000 to meet 
Prince Rupert's hignes towards Bucks : they have taken away 
some 2 drakes to every Regiment, my L, G. slicks close to 
Thame, and if 1 am not mistaken in phisnogiiotnie he lovea 
to have no harme, but to be quiet if he might, for haveinge 
well viewed his noble person, I judge he loves sleepe ? good 
diet 'i and ease, or else I am much mistaken in my skill. At 
Crendon the works lie still, at Tetsworth there lies about 700 
dragoons w^ii weare under the commands of Colonell Miles : 
whoe uppoii some dislike, hath laide downe his commission 
and is gone from them, their sergant maiour is sicke and 
there is no commander to leade them : but sometimes our 
Captaine Middleton leads them uppon anie designe ; my 
opinion is they be lazlie and leave it to betr judgment." — 
From a contemporary MS. in the Ani/ior's culUction. 

On comparing this account with Green's Histury of the 
English I'eopie, vol. iii. p. zzz (1882), it is clear that the 



74 THE TWO PROTECTORS, 

Hampden's refusal to pay ship money — on the 
ground of its being an unconstitutional tax, having 
been ordered on the King's authority only — was one 
of the proximate causes of the war. Oliver, whose 
accession to the highest position in -the State had 
been early foretold by Hampden, deeply felt the 
loss of his cousin. 



year is 1643, and that the letter was written just one week 
after the death of John Hampden, on Chalgrove Field. 

The anonymous writer's description of the Lord General 
(Lord Essex) is very characteristic, and true to the letter. 



panic m 
patlfanient. 



" Disaster followed disaster. Essex, 
more and more anxious for a peace, 
fell back on Uxbridge, while a cow- 
ardly surrender of Bristol to Prince Rupert, gave 
Charles the second city of the kingdom and the 
mastery of the West. The news fell on the Parlia- 
ment like a sentence of death." The Lords debated 
nothing but proposals of peace. London itself was 
divided ; "a great multitude of the wives of substan- 
tial citizens" clamoured at the door of the Commons 
for peace ; and a flight of six of the few peers who 
remained at Westminster to the camp at Oxford, 
proved the general despair of the Parliament's 
success. 

From this moment, however, the firmness of the 
Parliamentary leaders began slowly to reverse the 
fortunes of the war. If Hampden was gone, Pym 
remained. The spirit of the Commons was worthy 
of their great leader^ and Waller was received on his 
return from his defeat on Roundway Hill "as if he 
had brought the King prisoner with him." * 

The great and pressing danger of the moment was 

the existence of a strong army in the North under 

* Green's Short History, 



76 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

Newcastle, and the Commons prepared resolutely to 
meet it. The Fairfaxes were shut up in Hull, and 
in some danger there, so it was resolved to 
make a great effort to secure the line of the Trent, 
with Lincoln and Newark. Cromwell pushed on to 

eaineborouflb *^ ^^"^^ ^^ Gainsborough, having 
f idbt, several severe skirmishes on the way. 

28tb 5uli2, 1643. On the 28th July, after a forced 
march of fifty-five miles, he came up with the young 
General Cavendish, who, with a strong force of 
horse, was posted on a hill a couple of miles outside 
Gainsborough. Here is Oliver's description of the 
fight : " We came up horse to horse, where we 
disputed it with our swords and pistols a pretty time, 
all keeping close order, so that one could not break 
through the other. At last, they a little shrinking, 
our men perceiving it pressed in upon them, and 
immediately routed this whole body, some flying on 
the one side, and others on the other of the enemy's 
reserve, and our men pursuing them, had chase and 
execution about five or six miles." Cavendish 
had a regiment in reserve, with which he intended 
falling on Oliver's rear, but to his great surprise he 
was himself charged and, with his men, forced into a 
quagmire from which few escaped. Cavendish 
himself being killed. "My Captain-Lieutenant 
(Berry) slew him with a thrust under his short 
ribs." 

Gainsborough was relieved, but a much greater 
danger confronted Cromwell ; he presently found 
himself in front of Newcastle's main army, which 
was vastly superior to his own. "The peril was 
extreme ; the footmen from Gainsborough were 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 77 

driven in, but Cromwell divided his troops into two 
parties, causing thein to retreat in turns, facing the 
enemy's fresh horse ; and at length, by nine removes, 
he drew off liis whole command, all exhausted as it 
was, from before Newcastle's army, with the loss of 
only two men. For the second time Cromwell's 
troopers had utterly routed the Cavalier squadrons 
in a fair charge. But this last combat proved much 
more. It had shown, in one of the most difficult 
operations in war (a small body of horse holding an 
army in check, whilst its own infantry retreats), 
unfaltering discipline in the men, and masterly 
tactics in their handling. This atfair is the first 
glimpse we obtain of really scientific war. The 
Ironsides were now led by a consummate general of 
horse, 'This,' wrote Whitelocke, 'was the begin- 
ning of his great fortunes, and he now began to 
appear in the world.' " " 

The Royal successes continued in the West, 
Rupert's brother securing Devonshire for the King. 
Gloucester too was on the point of falling, being 
reduced to its last barrel of powder, but the timely 
arrival of Essex compelled Charles to raise the siege. 

From Gloucester Essex marched back to London, 
fighting the first battle of Newbury on the way. 
Here the gallant and amiable Lord Falkland fell, 
crying, " Peace, Peace 1 " The battle was indecisive, 
although Rupert made desperate efforts, but the 
London trainbands were too much for him. 
SUlance wllb ^''^ balance between the two 

Scotland). parties was now practically even, and 
some decisive action was needed to cause it to 
* F. Harrison. 



78 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

incline to one side or the other. For the King, 
nothing but a great victory would serve, but the 
Parliament had another "string to its bow." Charles, 
by the aid of his evil genius, Laud, having alienated 
the Scotch by his attacks on their system of public 
worship, Parliament determined to make a close 
alliance with them. They despatched Sir Harry Vane 
to arrange a Treaty, which he quickly accomplished, 
but the price that England had to pay for the help of 
the Scotch was a very hea\7 and burdensome 
one, being nothing less than the imposition of the 
Presbyterian formulary upon the whole country. 
" Unity in religion " was demanded, and the " Unity " 
was to be Presbyterian ; tender consciences were to 
be strained, and a rigorous system, scarcely less 
onerous tlian that from which the country had 
suffered so severely under Laud, was to be 
established. 

But there was no help for it, although Cromwell, an 
Independent of Independents, detested the condition, 
and Pym and most of the other leaders in Parliament 
were still moderate Episcopalians. With his usual 
fatuity at critical moments, Charles caused all hesi- 
tation to disappear by making arrangements for an 
invasion of Scotland by Irish Catholics. 

The mere rumour of his intention to 
import Irish rebels whose hands were 
still red with the blood of massacred 
Protestants, caused intense dissatisfaction amongst 
his own supporters, and many of his officers threw 
up their commissions ; the peers who had recently fled 
from London returned to the Parliament, and the 
incipient Royalist reaction there, disappeared. 



ttbe Covctiant. 
I5tb Sept., 

1643. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 



?9 



ScotB in 
BnfilBlid, 
3an., 1644. 



Pym, the most consummate statesman 
of his time, died in December, 1643, 
but his vTist plans had been sufficiently 
matured to enable Parliament to arm fifty thousand 
men. In January, a Scotch army of 20,000 men 
crossed the border "in a great frost and snow," 
compelling the Earl of Newcastle to march north to 
meet it. In February, Cromwell made a transient 
reappearance in Parliament, resulting in his appoint- 
ment as lieutenant-general under Manchester, with 
an army of 14,000 men, and with orders toco-operate 
with Sir Thomas Fairfax in Yorkshire. The latter 
general being relieved of the presence of Newcastle, 
marched against the English troops from Ireland 
which had landed at Chester, and having destroyed 
them, returned to Yorkshire to besiege Selby. 

It was becoming increasingly evident that York- 
shire was soon to become the theatre of important 
and probably decisive events. The Earl of New- 
castle, leaving the Scots army at Durham, hastened 
back to York, where he was besieged by Fairfax and 
the Scots army which had quickly followed him. 
Thither also marched Manchester, with Cromwell 
and his 14,000 men, " mostly Puritans," while Essex 
and Waller proceeded against Charles at Oxford, 
closely investing that city. 

In the meantime Rupert had left Oxford to effect a 
diversion in favour of Newcastle, and having recruited 
his army on the Welsh border, by a bold and clever 
movement evaded the Parliamentaryarmiesin York- 
shire and threw himself into York with 20,000 men. 
The Parliamentary generals, hearing of the approach 
■of Rupert, had raised the siege and placed their armies 



8o THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

ill position on Marston Moor, but he avoided thetnl 
by crossing the river. 

Newcastle was satisfied with the 
2na lulp 16*4 present success of the Royal arms, 
but Rupert insisted on his joining 
him in a set battle on the morrow. 

Marston Moor, eight miles out from York, wasi 
fought on the 2nd July, 1644, and here is a character- , 
istic engraving of an incident in that fight. A troop 
of pikemen are marching along a road in a hollow, 
whilst their Captain, in advance of them, is giving out 
a psalm. The men's faces are turned upwards towards 
a stern-looking figure on horseback, who is slowly 
marching along a bank above them. It is Oliver, and 
well it is for them and for the Parliamentary cause 
that he is there on that fateful day, for, but for his 
presence, his bravery and wonderful genius, the 
tyrant's forces would have gained a decisive victory. 

" The day was dull and thunderous, with occasional 
sliowers ; and it was far into the afternoon before 
the two armies were in position. Hour after hour 
they stood on the moor glaring at each other across 
the ditch which parted them, each watching his 
opportunity to attack."* 

Rupert,with his usual recklessness, was for attacking 
at once, but was restrained by his seniors ; — -he was 
not to wait long, however, before his " lust for battle " 
was more than satisfied. 

Evidently the Royal Generals had not yet awoke to 
a full conception of the character of the man who 
was so soon to " scatter them before him like a litde 
dust," for, strange to relate, at seven o'clock on this 

•F. Harrison. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 83 

July evening, thinking there would be no fighting 
till morning, they retired to rest 1 

Scarcely had they been comfortably settled for the 
night, when Oliver, who commanded the left wing, 
composed of hfs trusted men from the Eastern 
counties— horse and foot, — suddenly fell on Rupert, 
(who was opposite to him), dashing into his chosen 
regiment, scattering it like chaff, and receiving a 
wound which only caused him to exclaim, 'M miss 
is as good as a mik." 

There is a spirited picture showing Oliver, his 
arm in a sling in the thick of a desperate charge, 
directing and animating ail around him. How like 
the sturdy rebel that he was, that he should thus 
rudely disturb the enemy in their first sleep 1 

Having scattered Rupert's men, and permitted 
his foremost lines to pursue them to the very gates 
of York, Oliver was not likely to follow that 
commander's example at Edgehill, by following up 
his own success regardless of what was going on 
in other parts of the field. Halting his main force, 
he paused to see how matters sped on his right, 
and it was well that he did so, for confusion and 
defeat reigned supreme. The Scotch Commander, 
"believing all was lost, fled towards Leeds, while 
Fairfax and Manchester were swept away in the 
mel6e." 

This was the opportunity for the genius of 
Cromwell to assert itself. Victory had to be plucked 
out of defeat, and he was just the man to accomplish 
it. The generals of both the opposing armies were 
in full flight to opposite points of the compass, each 
side thinking the cause lost. Oliver, with a soldier's 



84 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



eye, promptly taking in the situation, rallied his men 
after his victorious charge against Rupert, and in an 
hour, according to Frederic Harrison's graphic 
account, his genius " had changed defeat into vic- 
tory. Launching the Scotch troopers of his own 
wing against Newcastle's Whitecoats, and sending 
the infantry of the Eastern Association to succour 
the remnants of the Scots in the centre, he swooped 
with the bulk of his own cavalry round the rear of 
the King's array, and fell upon Goring's victorious 
troopers on the opposite side of the field. Taking 
them in the rear, all disordered as they were in the 
chase and the plunder, he utterly crushed and dis- 
persed them. Having thus with his own squadron 
annihilated the cavalry of both the enemy's wings, he 
closed round upon the Royalist centre, and there 
the Whitecoats and the remnants of the King's 
infantry were cut to pieces almost to a man." With 
this brilliant action, the victory of Marston Moor^ 
giving York and the whole North of England to the 
Parliament — was complete. Newcastle fled over sea ; 
and Rupert, with six thousand horse at his back, 
rode southward to Oxford. 

It was here that Rupert, having tasted the quality 
of Oliver's men, first called thera " Iroitsidds." 

But the effect of this great victory was neutralised 
in the South-west by the jealousies of the leaders and 
the feebleness and wretched policy that directed the 
war there, and by September, 1644, the Parliament 
had no army in the South-west. Cromwell could 
not be in two places at the same time, but he was 
continually urging Parliament to take such measures 
as should end this confusion, or, he said, "we 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 85 

shall speedily be undone." By dint of great 

exertions an army was got together again, and 

on Sunday, the 2Qth October, the 

Scconl' JSattle j u *.i c m \ c u. 

or Hcwburo second battle of Newbury was fought. 

2«b Oct., The Parliamentary army was superior 
in numbers, was well led and fought 
well ; but in spite of all, the King was allowed 
to draw ofT his army aud artillery, and the 
fighting was all in vain. It had become apparent 
that noble lords were out of place as leaders of 
rebellion against monarchy; Manchester and Essex 
had already clearly shown that they had gone 
far enough and did not intend to defeat the 
King. But Cromwell and his Ironsides had not left 
their farms and families merely to make a demons- 
tration — they were venturing their lives and their 
all, in order to secure civil and religious liberty, 
and so Cromwell determined to put an end to 
all doubt and vacillation. From his place in 
Parliament he denounced Manchester and charged 
him with neglecting to follow up advantages gained 
in battle, and with desiring to save the King from 
defeat. 

Cromwell's speech, on the alarming condition into 
which the country had fallen through the lack of 
earnestness of the Generals, was delivered under 
very impressive circumstances. It was a critical 
moment ; " there was general silence for a good 
space of time." At length he said : " It is now a 
time to speak, or for ever hold the tongue. The 
important occasion now, is no less than to save a 
nation out of a bleeding, nay, almost dying con- 
dition, which the long continuance of this war hath 



86 THE TIVO PROTECTORS : 

already brought it into ; so that without a more 
speedy, vigorous, and effectual prosecution of the war ; 
—casting off all lingering proceedings like soldiers of 
fortune, beyond sea, to spin out a war, — we shall 
make the kingdom weary of us, and hate the name of 
a Parliament. For what do the enemy say ? Nay, 
what do many say who were friends of Parliament 
at the beginning ? Even this, that the Members of 
both houses have got great places and commands, 
and the sword into their hands ; and, what by 
interest in Parliament, what by power in the Army, 
will perpetually continue themselves in grandeur, and 
not permit the war speedily to end, lest their own 
power should determine with it. . . . Therefore, 
waiving a strict enquiry into the causes of these 
things, let us apply ourselves to the remedy, which is 
most necessary. And 1 hope we have such true 
English hearts, and zealous affections towards the 
general weal of our Mother Country, as no Members 
of either House will scruple to deny themselves, and 
their own private interests, for the public good ; nor 
account it to be a dishonour done to them, whatever 
the Parliament shall resolve upon in this weighty 
matter." 

Some of Oliver's speeches have been described as 
roundabout, involved and vague, but there is a 
directness about this like one of his own cavalry 
charges, and it was as effective. 

scif^iiBtufl ^^"""^^ 'h^ ^^^ °^ *^^ y^^"" *^^ s«"- 

SiOhimice, denying Ordinance was passed, by 

^'^Bo?''"' "'hich every Member of Parliament — 

Lords and Commons — was required 

to resign his command; and within two months 




I 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 8; 

more the army was re-organised on the new model, 
by which the three armies of Militia and loose levies, 
under separate authorities, raised for a short time, 
were consolidated into one standing army of 22,000 
men. Sir Thomas Fairfax \\-as appointed to the 
chief command, hut Oliver was the ruling spirit. 
" The voice was the voice of Fairfax, but the hands 
■were the hands of Oliver." 

One of the most interesting relics of the times is 
Fairfax's Staff of Office, presented to him by Parlia- 
ment on his appointment as Commander-in-Chief of 
the famous " New Model " Army. This Staff, which 
is now in my possession, is made of ebony ; it is 
fifly-four inches in height, and has a silver head, on 
the top of which the Fairfax arms are engraved. 
Round the neck is engraved this legend : 

MANUS H^C INIMICA TYRANNIS ENSE 
PETIT PLACIDAM SUB LIBERTATE QUIETEM 
and around the ferrule 

HASTA INPENTORIS ILLUSTKISSIMI 
THOM^ DOMINE FAIRFAX. Anno Dom: 1645 

On the top of the silver knob are the Fairfax arms, 
with the motto 

FARE FAC. 

The inscription, freely translated, reads : 

"The hand hostile to Tyranny sought by the 
Sword tranquil Peace under Liberty." 

'* The staff (spear) of the Illustrious Commander, 
Thomas, Lord Fairfax, Anno Domini, 1645." 

Cromwell, being a Member of Parliament, was one 
of the officers who would have to lay down his com- 
mand. Would he do it ? and if so, what would 



8S 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



become of the army, by whom he was idolised ? In 
any event there was work for him to do before the 
date fixed for the " Self-denial." For a long time 
past the West was the cause of great anxiety to 
Parliament, and General Goring and Sir Richard 
Grenville were in considerable force in Somersetshire. 
Cromwell was ordered to proceed against Goring, hut 
with an exaggerated notion of his powers, Parliament 
furnished him with an inadequate force for the ser- 
vice, and, writing from Salisbury on the 9th April, 
1645, he beseeches Fairfax to "send what horse and 
foot you can spare . . . with what convenient 
expedition may be." 

The expedition was entirely successful ; Prince 
Rupert, who was in the neighbourhood, retiring 
without again trying conclusions with Oliver, the 
memory of Marston Moor being, doubtless, suf- 
iicientiy vivid. 

Rupert was next heard of at Worcester, from 
which place he had sent 2,000 troops to Oxford to 
convoy the King and his ordnance to the former 
city. This convoy was ordered by the Committee 
of both Kingdoms to be attacked. "The charge of 
this service they recommended particularly to 
General Cromwell, who, looking on himself now as 
discharged ot military employment by the New 
Ordinance, which was to fake effect within a few 
days, and to have no longer opportunity to serve his 
country in that way, was, the night before, come to 
Windsor, from his service in the West, to kiss the 
General's hand and take leave of him; when, in the 
morning, ere he was come forth of his chamber, 
those commands, than which he thought of nothing 





5—1 


a . 


- 1 ■" 






„ 




- 


.. 'T: " ^ " 


i* 






/ 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 



91 



less in all the world, came to him from the Com- 
mittee of both Kingdoms." " 

Cromwell !ost no time — he never did — in getting 
into Oxfordshire, and on the 24th April, 1645, came 
up with the convoy at Islip Bridge and utterly routed 
it, thus defeating Rupert's little design. Some of the 
flying Royalists took refuge in a strong house in 
Bletchington, where one Colonel Windebank was in 
command. Oliver demanded the surrender of this 
place, and at midnight, his terms having been agreed 
to, the garrison marched out, leaving the victor some 
hundreds of muskets and other arms, and seventy-one 
horses. Poor Windebank went to Oxford, where he 
was at once court-martialed, so enraged were his 
party, as Oliver was without foot soldiers and bat- 
tering guns when he demanded the surrender. It 
appears that it was the presence of Windebank's 
young wife in the house, and of other " ladies on a 
visit there," that caused him to yield without 
fighting, so " he set his back to the wall of Merton 
College and received his death-volley with a soldier's 
stoicism." t 

H -Reverse for *^" "^^ ^^'h April, Cromwell met 
Silver, with one of his rare reverses, for after 
29 aptil, 1645. summoning the Governor of Farring- 
don to surrender, without result, he stormed the 
place with a loss of fourteen men, and then had to 
draw off his forces discomfited. 

In June, Cromwell had not resumed his Parlia- 
mentary duties since the passing of the Self-denying 
Ordinance, for after the affair at Farringdon he had 
been called away to the Fen Country, which was in 
* Sprigge's AiigUii Rediviva, 1647. t Heath's Chronicle. 



92 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



a very unsatisfactory state. Says Carlyle : " 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. Fair- 
fax and the Officers petition Parliament 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 at length grow to regard him as a constant 
element there." 

A few others got similar leave of absence— similar 
dispensation from the Self-denying Ordinance. 
Sprigge's words, already cited, are no doubt vera- 
cious ; yet there is trace of evidence that Cromwell's 
continuance in the Army had, even by the framers 
of the Self-denying Ordinance, been considered a 
thing possible, a thing desirable. As it well might. 
To Cromwell himself there was no overpowering 
felicity in going out to be shot at, except when 
wanted ; he very probably, as Sprigge intimates, "did 
let the matter in silence take its own course." 

The end of the first Civil War was now well in 
sight. Fairfax, in a half-hearted way, was threatening 
Oxford, still held for the King, while Charles was 
roaming about the Midlands with that cheerful 
optimism which distinguished him, occasionally 
engaging in a hunt, at other times driving the cattle 

Stormtttci or "^ "^^ disaffected before him. On the 
Xctceetcc, 31st 31st of May, 1645, he stormed and 

AflB. 1645. captured Leicester with terrible loss 
of life to the defenders and immense destruction of 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 93 

property. Oliver had gone into the Fen Country 
early in June, where he found affairs in "a very ill 
posture," and had exerted himself, not without 
success, in effecting an improvement. 

But it was becoming evident that Charles was 
preparing to try his fortune against Oliver's redoubt- 
able Eastern Association. 

In a letter dated "Cambridge, 6th June, 1645," 
and addressed to the authorities of the County 
Suffolk, Oliver (with others) pleads earnestly for as 
many horse and foot as they can get together, and as 
promptly as possible, for "the cloud of the enemy's 
army hanging still upon the borders, and drawing 
towards Harborotigh, make some supposals that 
they aim at the Association." He complains that 
" the Army (Fairfax) about 0.\ford was not yesterday 
advanced, albeit it was ordered so to do." A place 
of rendezvous was appointed for the expected rein- 
forcements, and arrangements made for keeping a 
sharp look-out for Charles. The troops were to have 
a week's pay in advance, and, incidentally, the rate is 
mentioned, viz., 145. a week for a trooper, and 
10s. 6d. per week for a dragoon ;— equal to three 
times these amounts at the present day. Urgent 
letters were also sent to Fairfax entreating him to 
come to their help. Ail came, and not a day too 
soon I 



CHAPTER VI. 

" It was about the noon 
Of a glorious day in Jane," 

in 1645, that the final battle of the first Civil War 
was fought, at Naseby. Cromwell and Fairfax had 
TLbe £&ttle of ""'^^'' *^^''' command 10,000 sea- 
nascbs, I4tb soned troops, of whom 6,000 were 
June, 16*5. Cromwell's Ironsides, who had never 
known defeat. The King's Army was about equal 
in number, and his best Generals were with him, 
Rupert, as usual, leading the Cavalry. 

Here is Carlyle's sketch of this great and decisive 
battle : 

" The old hamlet of Naseby stands yet, on its old 
hill-top, very much as it did in Saxon days, on the 
north-western 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 peaceable old 
hamlet, of some 800 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 ball, held up by rods, a 
' hollow copper ball which came from Boulogne in 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 95 

Henry VIII's time.' The ground is upland, moor- 
land, though now growing corn ; was not enclosed 

till the last generation, and is still somewhat bare 
of wood. It stands nearly in the heart of England. 
. . . Avon Well, the distinct source of Shakes- 
peare's Avon, is on the western slope of the high 
grounds ; Nen and Welland, streams leading towards 
Cromwell's Fen Country, begin to gather themseh'es 
from boggy places on the eastern side. The grounds, 
as we say, lie high ; and are still known by the 
name of 'hills'; ' Rutput Hill,' 'Mill Hill,' and 
' Dust Hill,' precisely as in Rushworth's time. . . . 
It was on this high moor-ground, in the centre of 
England, that King Charles, on tlie 14th of June, 
1645, fought his last battle ; dashed fiercely against 
the New Model Army, which he had despised til! 
then, and saw himself shivered utterly to ruin thereby. 
' Prince Rupert, on the King's right wing, charged 
up the hill and carried all before hira'; but Lieu- 
tenant-General Cromwell charged downhill on the 
other wing, likewise carrying all before him, and did 
not gallop off the field to plunder. {Rupert, like the 
German mercenary he was, could never keep to 
his work when there was a chance of plunder.) 

"Cromwell, ordered thither by the Parliament, 
had arrived from the Association two days before, 
'amid shouts from the whole army'; he had the 
ordering of the horse this morning. Prince Rupert, 
on returning from his plunder, finds the King's 
Infantry in ruin ; prepared to charge again with the 
rallied Ca\alry." 

"One charge more, gentlemen, and the day is 
ours," said Charles ; but his troopers had had enough, 



96 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



and "broke all asunder," never to reassemble more. 
"The chase went through Harborough, where the 1 
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. 

"The Parliamentary Army stood ranged on the j 
height still partly called Mill Hill, a mile and a half 
from Naseby ; the King's Army on a parallel ' hill/ 
its back to Harborough ; with the wide table of 
upland now called Broad Moor between them ; 
where, indeed, the main brunt of the action still 1 
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 sacrilege) 
verified as such. A friend of mine has in his cabinet 
two ancient grinder -teeth, dug lately from that 
ground, and waits for an opportunity to re-bury 
them there. Sound, effectual grinders, one of 
them very large, which ate their breakfast on the 14th 
morning of June, two hundred years ago, and except 
to be clenched once in grim battle, had never work 
to do more." * 

Rushworth, the historian, Fairfax's Secretary, being 
a non-combatant, stayed with the baggage-train near 
to Naseby village, about a mile from the scene of the 
action. Here is an extract from a letter, dated two 



* Relics of the fight are continually turning up in ploughin|r 
season. A year or Wa ago a farmer found a sixpence of 
Charles I. in the clay as he was ploughing, and il 
the Author's collection. 



I 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, gg 

o'clock in the morning of the isth June, which he 
addressed to a newspaper : 

"A party of theirs, that broke through the left 
wing of horse, came quite behind the rear to our 
train ; the leader of them being a person somewhat 
in habit like the General, in a red montero, as the 
General had. He came as a friend ; our Commander 
of the guard of the train went with his hat in his 
hand, and asked him how the day went ? thinking it 
had been the General. The cavalier, who we since 
heard was Rupert, asked him and the rest if they 
would have quarter. TJiey cried 'No,' gave fire, and 
instantly beat them off. It was a happy deliverance." 

And so Rupert the Plunderer was disappointed 
once more. 

Amongst the prisoners were a number of " ladies 
of quality in carriages," and above a hundred Irish 
ladies, not of quality, tattery camp-followers, "with 
long skean-knives, about a foot in length," which 
they well knew how to use. . . . "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 of his Majesty, 
' On the word of a King ' — All was lost ! " 

Here is Oliver's report to Speaker Lenthall : 

" Harbor o ugh, 14th June, 1645. 

Silver to "Sir, — ^Being commanded by you 

pncllnmcnt. to this service, I think myself bound 
to acquaint you with the good hand of God towards 
you and us. We marched yesterday after the King, 
who went before us from Daventry to Harborough, 
and quartered about six miles from him. This day 



lOO THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

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, hut of what 
quality we yet know not. We took also about 200 
carriages, all he had, and al! his guns, being twelve 
in number, whereof two were demi-cannon, two 
demi-culverins, and I think the rest sackers. We 
pursued the enemy from three miles short of Har- 
borough to nine beyond, even to the sight of 
Leicester, whither the King tied. 

" Sir, this is none other but the hand of God ; and 
to Him alone belongs the glory, wherein none are to 
share with Him. The General (Fairfax) ser\'ed you 
with all faithfulness and honour ; and the best com- 
mendation I can give him is, that I dare say he 
attributes all to God, and wd. rather perish than 
assume to himself. 

" Which is an honest and a thriving way ; and yet 
as much (or bravery may be given to him in this 
action as to a man. Honest men served you faith- 
fully in this action. Sir, they are trusty ; I beseech 
you in the name of God not to discourage them. I 
wish this action may beget thankfulness and humility 
in all that are concerned in it. He that ventures his 
life for the liberty of his Country, I wish he trust 
God for the liberty of his conscience, and you for 
the liberty he fights for. In this he rests, who is 
your most humble servant, 

" Oliver Cromwell." ■ 



I 



• " Naseby " was fought 14th June, 1645. In the Author's 
roUection are some original documents, being- orders for 
delivery of Munitions of War, etc., to various commanders, in 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, loi 

Cromweil, who hated persecution and the forcing 
of conscience, seized the opportunity, in announcing 
the great victory to Parliament, to earnestly plead for 
those soldiers who were unable to take the Covenant, 
" honest men who served you faithfully." He 
pointed out that these men had fought for the liberty 
of their country, and he expected no less than that 
Parliament, in accepting their services, would see to it 
that they should have that liberty^the liberty of 
conscience — ^for which they had risked their lives. 

But the Presbyterian Church — Hke all State 
Churches — in persecuting those who could not ac- 
cept their system, thought they were rendering God 
service, 

ffbe Clubmen ^"^ °^ *^^ curious results of the 
1643. Civil War was the rise of a third 

party, mainly inhabitants of Wiltshire and portions 
of the surrounding counties^these were the Club- 
men, so called because they were, at first, armed with 
clubs. Their professed object in banding together 
was to preserve their property from both parties to 

one of which CromwcH's name is mentioned under date 7th 
May, 1645, five weeks before the Battle of Nascby. It runs 

" Delivered y* day and yeere abovesaid out of his M^ 
Stoates within y" office of y« ordnance unto Capt. Adam 
l.awrence and Capl. William Parker for y Recrewtinge 
yi Regimi yi was I-euitna'^ gen. Cromwells, The 
saddles and pislolts hereafter menconed 

By warrant from the Comm'.if for y Army dat y' day 
and yeere abovesaid ; viz' 

Saddles pr yf hors^ w'.'.' their furniture XXXty 

Pistolls compleate w'^ holsters XXX'y pr," 

Another of the orders is dated 14th June, the verj' day of 
Naseby fight, directing fifty barrels of powder to be sent to the 

Garrison at Weymouth. 



102 THE TIVO PROTECTORS : 

the War; indeed, they inif^ht have taken for their 
motto the words, " A plague on both your houses." 

There is no doubt that their sympathies were with 
the King, but they thought more of the Hearth than of 
the Throne. As Iheir numbers increased, it occurred 
to the Royalist gentry and clergy that good party 
capita] could be made of the movement ; accordingly 
" Commissions for raising regiments of Clubmen " 
were issued, with instructions for extending the pro- 
ject all over the kingdom, and especially into the 
"Associated Counties." Ultimately the Clubmen 
increased to 10,000 in number, and means were 
found by the Royalist party to supply them with 
arms and to give them some elementary training in 
their use. Clearly it was high time to pay some 
attention to this movement, especially as the Club- 
men, now openly hostile to Parliament, interposed 
their forces between Fairfax and Cromwell, thus 
interfering with their arrangements for stamping out 
the smouldering remnants of Royalist opposition in 
the South-west. 

On the 3rd July, a deputation of Clubmen waited 
upon Fairfax at Dorchester, headed by one of their 
leaders ; they affirmed that " it was fit they should 
show their grievances atxd their strength," and they 
requested the General to furnish them with safe con- 
ducts enabling them to go to the King and to the 
Parliament. Fairfax felt that they were too strong 
to be treated cavalierly ; he was civil to them, but 
postponed his reply till the following day, when he 
refused their request. 

It remained for Oliver to give the finishing touch 
to the Clubmen's organisation. Setting out with a 



OLIVER AS-D RICHARD CROMWELL. 103 

party of horse to meet the Clubmen, he observed 
colours flying from the top of a difficult hill, and 
sending an officer with a few men to demand an 
explanation, and to inform the Clubmen that the 
Lieu tenant-General was present, one of the leaders 
came down, and said they wanted to know why some 
of their friends had been taken at Shaftesbury ? To 
which Oliver replied, "That he held himself not 
bound to give him or them an account ; what was 
done was by authority ; and they that did it were not 
responsible to them that had none ; but not to leave 
them wholly unsatisfied, he told him, those persons 
so met had been the occasion and stirrers of many 
tumultuous and unlawful meetings ; for which they 
were to be tried by law ; which trial ought not by 
them to be questioned or interrupted." The leader 
desired to take the answer back to the Clubmen, 
whereupon Oliver, with a small party, went with him ; 
and had conference with them to this purpose ; 
"That whereas they pretended to meet there to save 
their goods, they took a very ill course for that ; to 
leave their houses was the way to lose their goods ; 
and it was offered them, that justice should be done 
upon any who offered them violence ; and as for the 
gentlemen taken at Shaftesbury, it was only to answer 
some things they were accused of, which they had 
done contrary to Law and to the peace of the King- 
dom. Herewith they seeming to be well satisfied, 
promised to return to their houses, and accordingly 
did so. 

"These being thus quietly sent home, the Lieu- 
tenant-General advanced further, to a meeting of a 
greater number, of about 4,000, who betook them- 



104 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



selves to Harabiedon Hill, near Shrawton. Af the 
bottom of the Hill, ours met a man with a musket, 
and asked whither he was going ? He said, to the 
Club Army ; ours asked, What he meant to do ? He 
asked what they had to do with that ? Being required 
to lay down his arms he said, He would first lose his 
life ; but was not so good as his word, for though he 
cocked and presented his musket, he was prevented, 
disarmed and wounded." 

Sfcseot "^^^ Clubmen were dispersed, and 

JSrietol-ciit the Army proceeded to the siege of 
Wupcrt. Bristol, where Prince Rupert was 
busily engaged securing his position, but not for 
long. The city was stormed on the night of the loth, 
and Rupert surrendered the next day, to be " heard 
of in arms no more." One hundred and fifty cannon 
and other arms, one hundred barrels of powder, and 
4,000 men were captured. 

In sending his report to Parliament, Cromwell 
makes a further appeal for liberty of conscience, 
saying, " In things of the mind we look for no compul- 
sion, but that of light and reason. In other things, 
God hath put the sword in the Parliament's hands ; — 
for the terror of evil-doers, and the praise of them 
that do well." But although Oliver was fast putting 
down Prelacy and Monarchy, he was as yet powerless 
to take the sting of persecution out of Presbyterianism. 

"Prince Rupert rode out of Bristol amid seas of 
angry human faces, glooming unutterable things 
upon him ; growling audibly, in spite of his escort, 
'Why not hung him?' For indeed thepO(tr Prince had 
been necessitated to much plunder ; (it was second 
nature to him) commanding the 'Elixir of the 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, loj 

Blackguardism of the Three Kingdoms,' with very 
insufficient funds for most part 1 He begged looo 
muskets from Fairfax on this occasion to assist his 
escort in protecting him across the country to 
Oxford; promising, on his honour, to return them 
after that service. Fairfax lent the muskets; the 
Prince did honourably return them, what he had of 
them, — honourably apologising that so many had 
deserted on the road, of whom neither man nor 
musket were recoverable at present." * 

At the end of September Cromwell invested 
Winchester, and prepared to storm it, the Governor 
refusing to surrender : but after a breach had been 
made he changed liis mind, and Oliver took possess- 
ion of the city, having lost only twelve men in 
the siege. 

His Report to the Speaker was carried by Hugh 
Peters, his Secretary, who received ^50 for bringing 
the good news. 

"It was at the siu^render of Winchester that cer- 
tain of the captive enemies, having complained of 
being plundered contrary to Articles, Cromwell had 
the accused parties (six of his own soldiers) tried ; 
being ail 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 retiu'ned the five prisoners, 
'with an acknowledgment of the Lieutenant-General's 
nobieness."t 



• Carlyle. Letters and Speeches, vol. i. p. 229. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Oliver's most notable success in these closing 
days of the war «-as the capture of Bnsing House, 
near Basingstoke, along with its owner and brave 
Xasfii{i Iboiiac, defender, the tough old Marquis of 
t4tb ®ct.. 1645. Winchester. The house was a regu- 
lar fortress, and for four years had stood repeated 
sieges, laughing to scorn every attempt of the Parlia- 
ment to take it. The Marquis was a devoted Catholic, 
having chapels in both houses (he had recenUy built 
a new one, leaving the old one still standing), and 
all the paraphernalia for celebrating mass — thus 
giving double offence to the Puritans. 

Basing House, and Dennington Castle at New- 
bury, had been the terror of the roads leading west 
ever since the war broke out, necessitating military 
convoys for all who desired to pass, but now " Brave 
Oliver is here," and final conclusions are tried. The 
place is summoned to surrender, and the brave but 
foolish old Marquis gives a taunting refusal ; and so 
Oliver, adopting his usual tactics, pours a storm of 
shot upon the weakest part of the defences, a breach 
is made, his men pour in, and after a terrible fight, 
from room to room, in which nearly a hundred of 
the defenders are slain, the place is captured and the 
old Marquis, still defiant, is compelled to surrender. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 



109 



In sending his account of the siege to Parliament, 
Oliver advised that the whole place should be razed to 
the ground, as it would take a garrison of 800 men to 
hold it, and this course was adopted. Farmers, and 
ail who had carts, were invited to take freely of all 
building material to be found, and very soon only a 
huge mound of dibris indicated where this noble old 
mansion had stood. 

Hugh Peters, Cromwell's famous Cornish Chap- 
lain, gives a most interesting account of the place 
and of the siege. 

Mr. Peters was one of those who carried the news 
of the capture to Parliament, and being requested "to 
make a relation to the House of Commons," spake 
as follows: 

"That he came into Basing House some time 
after the storm, and took a view first of the works, 
which were many, the circiuii\'a!lation being above a 
mile in compass. The old house had stood (as it is 
reputed) two or three hundred years, a nest of 
idolatry; the new house surpassing that in beauty 
and stateliness, and either of them lit to make an 
emperor's court. The rooms before the storm (it 
seems), in both houses, were all completely fur- 
nished; provisions for some years, rather than 
months; 400 quarters of wheat, bacon, divers rooms 
full, containing hundreds of flitches; cheese propor- 
tionable ; with oatmeal, beef, pork ; beer, divers 
cellars full, and that very good, A bed in one 
room, furnished, which cost ^£1,300. Popish books 
many, with copes and such 'utensils' ! In truth, the 
house stood in its full pride ; and the enemy was 
persuaded that it would be the last piece of ground 



no THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

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 74, and only one woman, 
the daughter of Dr. Griffith, who by her railing pro- 
voked our soldiers, then in heat, into a farther 
passion. There lay dead upon the ground Major 
Cuffle— a man of great account amongst thera and a 
notorious Papist — slain by the hands of Major 
Harrison, that godly and gallant gentleman, and 
Robinson the Player, who, a little before the storm, 
was known to be mocking and scorning the Parlia- 
ment and our Army. Eight or nine gentlewomen of 
rank, running forth together, were entertained by the 
common soldiers somewhat coarsely, yet not un- 
civilly considering the action in hand. The plunder 
of the soldiers continued till Tuesday night ; one 
soldier had a hundred and twenty pieces in gold for 
his share, others plate, others jewels; among 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. 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 
they 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 buildings there was not one iron bar left 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, iii 

in all the windows (save only what were on fire) 
before night. And the last work of all was the lead, 
and by Thursday morning they had hardly left 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 
chimneys in less than tweiitj'-four hours, being occa- 
sioned by the neglect of the enemy in quenching a 
fireball of ours at first. 

"We know not how to give a just account of the 
number of persons that were within. For we have 
not quite three hundred prisoners, and it may be 
have found a hundred slain, whose bodies, some 
being covered with rubbish, came not at once to our 
view. 

" Only, riding to the House on Tuesday night, we 
heard divers crying in vaults for quarter ; but our 
men could neither come to them, nor they to us. 
Amongst those that he saw slain, one of their officers 
lying on the ground, seeming so exceedingly tall, was 
measured : and from his great toe to his crown, was 
9 feet in length. The Marquis being pressed, by Mr. 
Peters arguing with him, 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, and could only hope 'that the King 
might have a day again,' And thus the Lord was 
pleased in a few hours to show us what mortal seed 
all earthly glory grows upon, and how just and 



iia THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

righteous the ways of God are, who takes sinners in 
their own snares, and lifteth up the hands of His 
despised people. This is now the twentieth garrison 
that hath been taken in this summer by this Army. 
. . . Mr, Peters presented the Marquis's own 
colours which he brought from Basing, the motto of 
which was 'Donee pax redtat terris,' the very same 
as King Charles gave upon his Coronation money 
when he came to the Crown. The House voted Mr. 
Peters ;t"200 a year for life." • 

One of the prisoners taken at Basing was old 
Inigo Jones, the architect. Faithorne, the engraver 
of the celebrated picture of Oliver between the Pillars 
and of John Milton's portrait, was also taken 
prisoner here, and Hollar, the engraver. Both of 
these men were banished on their refusal to take the 
oath to the Protector. 

During tlie winter (1645) there was some very 
hard fighting in the West, for although the Royalist 
commanders — -men like the brave and honourable 
Sir Haiph Hoptoii — could not but feel that their 
master's cause was hopeless, they refused to give it 
up until stern necessity compelled tliem. 

Surrcn&cror I-'airfax and Cromwell, continuing 

Ctenetal topton, their victorious march, reduced every 
l4tb/ISar.,1646. strong place in Somersetshire and 
Devon, finally coming up with Hopton in Cornwall 
and compelling his surrender with 4,000 men, 
2,000 arms, and 20 colours. 

In the meantime, where was the King? On 
leaving Leicester, where he had stayed but a few 
hours, he wandered somewhat aimlessly about, 
• Whitelocke. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. iij 

finally making for the Welsh borders and Ragland 
Castle. He there, for the last time, got a small force 
together, and determined to attempt the relief of 
Chester, for while that city %vas in the hands of 
Parliament there was no hope of help arriving from 
Ireland. But the battle of Rowton Heath (Sep- 
tember, 1645) once again dashed his hopes. Early 
in the year Montrose, who had had great successes 
in Scotland, WTote to Charles : "Before the end of 
the Slimmer i shall be in a position to come to your 
Majesty's aid with a brave army." 

But Montrose had met his match in David Lesley, 
who utterly routed him near Selkirk, and the poor 
King was compelled to return to Wales, going from 
thence to Oxford, which place \vas still strongly held 
by Rupert. Fairfax was now ordered to Oxford, 
reaching there with a powerful force early in May. 
All the strength of the Royalists was now concen- 
trated in that city, but, immensely strong as it was, 
its defenders were conscious that the end had 
arrived, and that their best hope lay in negotiation 
rather than in fighting. 

The King had left the city in disguise at midnight 
on the 27th April, his wanderings ending for a while 
in the midst of the Scots army at Newark. On the 
20th June the Treaty was signed, and two days after 
" Rupert and his brother Maurice took the road, with 
their attendants and their passes to the sea-coast — a 
sight for the curious. 

" The next day ' there went about 300 persons, 
mostly of quality,' and on the following day all the 
Royalist force, some to the East and some to the 
North, with ' drums beating, colours flying ' for the 



114 ^^^ TWO PROTECTORS. 

last time ; all with passes, with agitated thoughts and 
outlooks; and in sacred Oxford the 'abomination of 
desolation ' supervened 1 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."* 

Parliament being now supreme and the sole 
authority, proceeded to fill up the vacancies in its 
ranks caused by the desertion of the Royalist members 
three years before ; and before the winter about 230 
new members had taken their places in the House. 
Amongst the Royalists these new members were 
dubbed " Recruiters," in the number being Colonel 
(afterwards Admiral) Blake, Ireton (married during 
the recent siege of Oxford to Bridget, Oliver's daugh- 
ter), Edmund Ludlow, and Algernon Sidney. 

* Carlylc. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Government of England by Personal rule, both 
in Church and State, died hard, but it finally ended 
with the battle of Nasehy. Until then, the majority 



ttbe ptesbB' 



of the leaders in Parliament, and in- 



Icrlaii Cburcb deed of Englishmen generally, ■ 



luld 
very 



moderate limitation of the Royal powers, but the 
extraordinary ineptitude and wrong-headedness of 
Charles— his utter want of statesmanship — his un- 
shaken belief in his "star," and reliance on "the 
divinity that doth hedge a king," made all hope of 
accommodation with him impossible. Not that he 
refused to discuss terms ; he even agreed to many 
points demanded of him, but always with the fixed 
determination to cancel his most solemn engagements 
when he " became a king again." And yet there are 
people to this day who prate of Oliver's insincerity, 
and in the same breath glorify that " most religious 
Monarch and Martyr" Charles I ! 

The Scots were rejoiced to have the King in their 
camp, and their commander immediately left Newark, 
and marched to Newcastle, where they expected to 
have him more under their influence ; but little did 
they know the kind of man they had to deal with I 
They entreated Charles "with tears," and "on their 
knees" to take the Covenant, and to sanction the 



n6 



THE TWO PROTECTORS .- 



Presbyterian religion, promising that if he would 
consent they would fight to the death for him. 

The English Parliament— Lords and Commons^ 
who had already taken the Covenant, laid their terras 
of peace before him, not doubting for a moment of 
his acceptance. These terms were : " That Parlia- 
ment should have the command of the Army and 
Navy for tT*'enty years ; the exclusion of all ' Malig- 
nants' or Royalists who had taken part in the war 
from Civil and Military office ; the abolition of 
Episcopacy and the establishment of a Presbyterian 
Church." ' 

Not a word about toleration or liberty of con- 
science, for they intended to give neither. They 
desired to become the Established Church of 
England with all its ancient powers and privileges, 
and while they did not propose to follow Laud in 
the cropping of Dissenters' ears, they were as 
determined as he was to suppress them by rigorous 
fines, imprisonments, and civil disabilities. 

But Charles resolutely refused compliance, 
although his friends and his Queen urged him to 
accept the conditions. He relied upon the dissen- 
sions of his opponents ; he knew that the Army was 
intensely discontented with the action of Parliament 
in enforcing the Covenant, and he would bide his 
time. Writing to one of his friends, he said, " 1 am 
not without hope that 1 shall be able to draw either 
the Presbyterians or the Independents to side with 
me for extirpating one another, so that 1 shall be 
really King again." His refusal of the terms offered 
by the Houses was a crushing defeat for the Presby- 
* Green, vol. iii. p. 1185. 



I 











Olivier Cromwel . 

Liiirr.'itaitt' ^nemel , y^nJc .4rmee i\tn i" 






From 3 Dutch engraving. In llic Aulhor'a Coltccllon. 





OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 119 

terians : "What will become of us," asked one of 
them, "now that the King has rejected our pro- 
posals ? " " What would have become of us," 
retorted an Independent, " had he accepted them ? " 

The term " Independent " had but recently come 
into use. "Of the 105 ministers who were present 
in the Westminster Assembly, only five were Congre- 
gational in sympathy, and these were all retuined 
refugees from Holland." Baxter, at this time, had 
not heard of their existence, and Milton never refers 
to them in his earlier pamphlets. They were the 
"spiritual descendants" of the "Brownists" of 
Elizabeth's time. Under the persecution of that 
pious monarch, some of the sect had found refuge in 
Holland, from whom came the Pilgrim Fathers. In 
the middle of James's reign some of the emigrants 
ventured back from Holland, where they had 
developed their system of independent congregations, 
each forming in itself a complete Church ; but the 
" Black Terror " of Laud prevented any great spread 
of their opinions. 

But after the assembling of the Long Parliament 
large numbers of the New England emigrants 
returned to England, headed by the redoubtable 
Hugh Peters, and with such a leader it would be 
impossible for them to remain long in obscurity. 

Oliver, who, from ha\ing been one of the Parlia- 
mentary Commanders had now become the "chief 
of men," was, of course, an Independent of Indepen- 
dents, having been nursed in the faith, and brought 
up with an ever-increasing belief in its Scrip- 
tural truth. He hated intolerance, and never lost 
an opportunity of impressing upon an unwilling 



120 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

Parliament the duty of securing absolute freedom 
of conscience to every peaceable, law-abiding citizen. 

In his letter to the Speaker, announcing the result 
of the fight at Naseby, already referred to, he said : 
"He that ventures his life for the liberty of his Country, 
I Jt'ish he tnisl God for the liberty of his conscience, and 
yon [Parliament] /or //ic /(frcj-A' he fights for" 

The soldiers, largely recruited from amongst sub- 
stantial farmers, and mainly Puritans, had taken up 
arms with very definite ideas as to what they wanted; 
and they knew that it a Presbyterian Parliament 
settled with the King, their interests- — the interests of 
the Independents— would be sacrificed. They knew 
full well that escape from Episcopacy to fall under 
Presbyterian control, was like getting out of the 
frying-pan into the fire. They, and the Baptists, were 
the Dissenters of that day, and Milton voiced their 
opinions exactly when he wrote that the "New 
Presbyter was but old Priest, writ large." 

But amidst all the strife of arras, of tongues, and 
of Protocols, Oliver was perfectly clear as to his own 
course, and equally determined to follow it; and that 
coiu^se was, to be "unswervingly true to his great 
design ; to secure responsible government without 
anarchy, and freedom of conscience without 
intolerance," 

Any arrangement with the King from whatever 
party it proceeded, must of necessity be ratified by 
Parliament, which was still the outward and visible 
sign of authority. 

But since the Self-denying Ordinance was passed. 
Parliament had become almost exclusively Pres- 
byterian, with decided Monarchical leanings. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. \^\ 

And now its leaders thought they saw their oppor- 
tunity. The Scots Army^of course Presbyterian — 
was still in England, and had control of the King's 
Obe Scots 8iir» person. On their own account 
'lo'SScn™ ""= Scots had give,, up all hope 
ie47«48. of coming to an agreement with 
the King, and in face of the fact that the General 
Assembly absolutely refused to receive one who 
would not subscribe to the Covenant, the question 
arose, what is to become of him ? for he was daily 
becoming an increasing source of trouble and 
embarrassment. 

If, therefore. Parliament could disband the Array 
and obtain possession of the King's person by carry- 
ing out the Treaty of December, 1646, in which they 
undertook to pay the Scots Army ^400,000 as the 
condition of their immediate return to Scotland, 
the ball would be at their feet. 

Accordingly, in January, 1647-48, Major-General 
Skippon took _^200,ooo, as an instalment, to New- 
castle, which was accepted by the Scots, who there- 
upon handed the King over to the Parliament, and 
returned to their own country. 

The Scots having been disposed of, the next 
thing was to disband the New Model Army, 
and so relegate its leaders to private life ; to 
deprive Independency of all corporate action ; 
and, at the same time, to raise forces in the 
city to defend it against the Army. The disband- 
ment accomplished, a new Army was to be raised, 
and under Presbyterian officers was to be sent to 
Ireland to quell the rebellion there. 

But Holies and the other Presbyterian leaders 



123 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

in the House had reckoned without their host^ 
for the Army declined disbandment until their 
just claims had been attended to. They had 
been without pay for a year, and had maintained 
themselves to a large extent from their own 
resources. They were not by any means ordinary 
soldiers, having come from their farms and other 
occupations at a direct call from God, as they 
honestly believed, and they did not intend to 
separate until their work was done. 

It was to obtain liberty of conscience and freedom 
from kingly tyranny that they had taken up arms, in 
which cause "so many of their friends' lives had 
been lost, and so much of their own blood had been 
spilt," and they declined to disband until these 
objects had been secured, and if need be they would 
again act together to secure them. A deputation 
from the Army pleaded passionately at the Bar of 
the House, that, "On becoming soldiers we have 
not ceased to be citizens." 

The Council of Officers urged 
Parliament to listen to the men's 
proposals, but all in vain ; so the 
Army took the matter into their own hands. 
Setting aside the Council of Officers, and appointing 
in its place a Council of " Agitators, or Agents," 
each regiment sending two members, a general 
meeting of the Army was summoned at Triploe 
Heath, and the proposals made by tlie Parliament 
were rejected with cries of "Justice." 

While this was going on, a rumour reached the 
Army that the King was to be removed to London, 
a new Army raised, and a new Civil War begun. 



"Bflltatota," 
or '■agents." 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. \ii 

This roused them to madness. Five hundred troopers 
suddenly appeared before Holmby House, where the 
King was residing in charge of the ParHamentary 
Commissioners, and displaced its guards. 

"Where is your commission for this act ? " 
Charles asked the Cornet who commanded them. 

"// is behind me," said Joyce, pointing to his 
soldiers. 

"It is ivntten in very fine and legible characters," 
laughed the King, The seizure had, in fact, been 
previously concerted between Charles and the 
" Agitators." 

"1 will part willingly," he told Joyce, "if the 
soldiers contirm all that you have promised me. 
You will exact from me nothing that offends my 
conscience or my honour," 

"It is not our maxim," replied the Cornet, "to 
constrain the conscience of anyone, still less that of 
our King." 

The Parliament was terror-stricken, and Crom- 
well, who had relinquished his command and 
retired from the Array before the close of the 
war, was hotly accused of having caused the 
mutiny, and it was even proposed to arrest him. 
He defended himself with vehemence, but feeling 
he was in the midst of enemies, prudently betook 
himself to the Army, and on the 25th June was in 
full march on London. 

The demands of the Army were clearly set forth 
in a "humble representation" addressed to the 
Houses : 

"We desire a settlement of the Peace of the King- 
dom and of the liberties of the subject, according to 



124 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



the votes and declarations of Parliament. We desire 
no alteration in the Civil Government ; as little do we 
desire to interrupt or in the least to intermeddle with 
the settling of the Presbyterial Government." 

At this juncture, Ireton, Cromwell's son-in-law, 
took up the thread of negotiations with Charles. 
He was a very able man, both with pen and 
sword ; a B.A. of Trinity College, Oxford, and a 
student of the Middle Temple. As a Member of 
Parliament, he had a peculiarly statesmanlike grasp 
of public questions; a man of great and studied 
moderation, and one who well knew how far to go 
in the hour of victory. It would have been well 
for Charles if he had suffered himself to be 
guided by Ireton ; for, indeed, it was his only 
chance. 

Remarking to the King that "there must be some 
difference between cottqnerars ami conquered," he pro- 
ceeded to lay before him his views of what the 
situation demanded. Seven "delinquents" were to 
be banished, and all the rest to be covered by an Act 
of Oblivion— a strange contrast to the action of the 
Royalists after the Blessed Restoration — Parliament to 
have control of the Army and Navy for ten years and 
to nominate the great officers of Slate ; full liberty 
of conscience to be secured to all, and the Acts com- 
pelling attendance at Church, the taking of the 
Covenant, and the compulsory use of the Prayer 
Book, to be repealed ; triennial Parliaments, a fair 
re-distribiition of seats, and the re-adjustment of 
taxation, with simplification of judicial procedure — 
these were the main points of Irefon's proposals, 
and Cromwell heartily supported him. 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, ijs 

The King would have none of it ; with inconceivable 
fatuity he said to Ireton, " You caiiiwt do without me— 
yoit are tost if I do not support you." His self- 
confidence was speedily explained : a sudden incur- 
sion of London rabble was made upon Parliament, 
which was forced to recall the eleven members 
recently ejected. A number of Peers and a hundred 
Commoners fled to the Army, while the remaining 
members prepared to repei it and invited Charles to 
London. 

But clever as the ruse was, the conspirators were 
not sufficiently clever to overcome the difference 
between an Array in esse and one in posse, and the 
news had no sooner reached the camp than the march 
on London was begun. "In two days," said Ohver, 
" the city u'itl be in our hands'' 

Arriving at Hounslow, the Army was met by the 
Speakers of both Houses of Parliament, who were 
received with shouts of appro\'al. 

In the City great excitement prevailed, the ardour 
of the Royalist party having been greatly damped by 
the refusal of Southwark to join them, on the plea of 
being outside the City. 

Massey, the commander of the City troops, sent out 
scouts to report upon the movements of the Army, 
and when word was brought that they had halted, the 
people cried "One and ^/r'— stick together— but 
when the march was resumed, they cried even more 
lustily, "Treat, treat, treat!" "So they spent most 
part of the night. At last they resolved to send the 
General an humble Letter, beseeching him that there 
might be a way of composure."* 
* Whiieiocke. 



126 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

Next day (17th Sept., 1647-48), the Civic authorities 
and Parliamentary " remainders^' made submission 
at Holland House, Kensington, after which the Army 
marched three deep by Hyde Park, into the heart of 
the City, "with boughs of laurel in their hats" ; and 
all was ended. The headquarters of the Army 
are changed to Putney j one of its outer posts is 
Hampton Court, where his Majesty, obstinate still, 
but somewhat despondent now of getting the two 
Parties to extirpate one another, is lodged.* 

"Saturday, Sept. i8th. After a sermon in Putney 
Church, 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 ; altered some 
things in them, and were very full of the Sermon, 
which had been preached by Mr. Peters." t 

Notwithstanding the recent events in the City and 
at Westminster, in which Charles's complicity was 
strongly suspected, Cromwell continued his visits to 
Hampton Court. He was sincerely desirous of an 
accommodation by which Monarchy might be re- 
established under constitutional guarantees, for he 
saw cleai'ly the difficulties that would ensue upon its 
abolition. 

But the Army, composed of soldiers and not 
statesmen, could only see in Charles the chief cause 
of their having been taken from their farms and 
merchandise, and of the blood that had been shed, 
and they began to be suspicious of, and to resent 
Cromwell's visits ; he therefore discontinued them, 
although he had not lost all faith in Charles. 
•Carlyle. t Whitelocke. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 127 

But now, events were about to occur which fully 
justified the Army's suspicions of the King and entirely 
destroyed Oliver's faith in his sincerity. 

Rumours came from Scotland that an army was 
ready to march into England in the King's interest, 
and projected risings in various parts of the country 
began to assume definite shape, when suddenly, the 
whole nation was startled by the announcement that 
the King had escaped. 



CHAPTER IX. 

A MUTINOUS spirit had already shown itself in 
the Army, a large body amongst the soldiers — 
yU0bt ^^^ Levellers — loudly demanding the 
ot tbe tdnOf punishment of the King as the " Chief 
Utbiaov.,ie47. j)ainquenr\ but they now became 
excited to frenzy, and broke out into actual mutiny at 
Ware. Cromwell and other chief officers appeared 
on the scene, fully recognising the danger, and at 
once ordered eleven of the mutineers to stand out of 
the ranks; they were tried by Court-martial on the 
field ; " three of them condemned to be shot — throw 
dice for their life, and one is shot, there and then." 

Even Oliver was now convinced of Charles's 
incurable duplicity, and exclaimed, " The King is a 
man of great parts, and great understanding, but so 
great a dissembler, and so false a man, that he is not 
to be trusted." 

Poor Strafford, as he laid his neck on the block at 
Tower Hill, exclaimed in bitterness of spirit, " Put 
not your trust in Princes " ; and now Oliver has come 
to the same conclusion, after having done his utmost, 
at great peril to himself, to save the King from the 
consequences of his own obstinate folly. 

128 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 119 

On leaving Hampton Court at nine o'clock, 
the King rode on for the whole night and the 
next day, not knowing where to go— a pitiable 
spectacle, truly ! — but— having some knowledge of 
Colonel Robert Hammond, the Governor of the Isle 
of Wight, — he decided to deliver himself up to him. 
Hammond reported the event to Parliament, and was 
ordered to confine the King in Carisbrooke Castle. 

On the 3rd January, 1647-48, the House of Commons 
voted, isi. That they will make no more addresses to 
the King ; 2nd. None shall apply to him without 
leave of the two Houses, upon pain of lieing guilty 
of High Treason ; ^rd. They will receive nothing 
from the King, nor shall any other bring anything to 
them from him, nor receive anything from the King. 

War, and rumours of war, abounded, and even 
reached the Royal prisoner in Carisbrooke, causing 
hira to be restless, and, not unnaturally, anxious to 
be abroad again. On the 20th March, aided by 
some of his attendants, he tried to get through the 
bars of the window of his apartment, " but his breast 
was so big the bar would not give him passage," and 
so the attempt failed. 

g^ - w It had become evident that the war 

Civil ISIlac, would have to be fought over again, 
Bprll, 1648. 3j^(j under circumstances of exceeding 
peril for Cromwell and his friends. " Elements of 
destruction everywhere, under and around them ; 
their lot either to conquer or ignominiously to die, 
A King not to be bargained with ; kept in Caris- 
brooke, the centre of all factious hopes, of world- 
wide intrigues; that is one element. A great Royalist 
Party, subdued with difficulty, and ready at all 



130 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



moments to rise again, that is another. A great 
Presbyterian Party, at the head of which is London 
City, 'the Purse-bearer of the Cause,' highly dissatis- 
fied at the course things had taken, and looking 
desperately around for new combinations, and a new 
struggle ; reckon that for a third eiement. Add 
lastly a headlong Mutineer, Republican, or Levelling 
Party; and consider that there is a working House 
of Commons which counts about seventy, divided 
into pretty equal halves too." ' 

The peril \vas so obvious, and so serious, that it had 
the immediate effect of welding the Army together 
again, and at a great meeting of the Army Leaders 
held at Windsor on the eve of their march against 
the revolt, they came to the resolution, " That it was 
our duty, if ever the Lord brought us back again in 
peace, to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to 
account for the blood he has shed, and mischief he 
has done to his utmost against the Lord's cause and 
people in tliese poor nations." 

The King had signed a secret treaty with the Scots, 
making them large promises which he never intended 
to keep, and Duke Hamilton set out with an Army 
of 20,000 men to invade England. Immediately 
there were risings in Wales, Kent, Essex, and 
other places; London was in a state of siege, and 
confusion reigned everywhere. Hamilton took 
Carlisle and Berwick, and the Royal cause had never 
looked more promising. But in a few days Fairfax 
had crushed the Kentish rebels, and driven those in 
the Eastern county inside the strong walls of 
Colchester. 

• Carlyle. 







^H ,s ^ ^; "^ 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 133 



JSattle Of 
ptcdtoii, 
Bug., 1648. 



Cromwell, having crushed the revolt 
in Wales, proceeded north\vards to 
meet Duke Hamilton and his 20,000 
Scots, and joining Lambert in Yorkshire, he gave 
battle at Preston. 

For three days the fight continued, extending over 
thirty miles of country, the Scots army advancing in 
a long straggling line, being unaware of Oliver's 
presence until he had cut it in two— rolling one half 
back north and the other toward the south. 

Cromwell's army was v-astly inferior in numbers, 
vrxi weary and footsore after its forced march from 
Wales, but "brave Oliver" was there, and thanks to 
his splendid tactics and superior genius, and to the 
divided councils in the Scots army, he out- 
generalled Hamilton, utterly destroying his army — 
now increased to 34,000 men— and captured the Duke 
and most of his officers. The Duke being also Earl 
of- Cambridge, was tried for treason in levying war 
against his country, and executed. 

After a rapid march to Edinburgh, Oliver came 
south again, — taking Berwick and Carlisle en route, 
but failing to take Pontefract Castle, not having a 
siege train, — and being urgently wanted in London, 
where the supreme crisis of the long struggle was 
at last imminent, 

SlCflc of ponte* '^^^ ^""^^ siege of Pontefract Castle, 
tract Castle, which lasted five months, and proved 
one of the most difficult operations 
of the war, terminated in its surrender in July, 
1645, when the garrison was permitted lo march 
away to Newark. Everything was left in the Castle 
except such property belonging to the officers as 
" did not exceed what a cloak bag will contain." 



'34 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



Sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed Governor, and 
he installed Colonel Cotterall as his deputy ; all 
went well until the summer of 1648, when —aided by 
the treachery of John Morris, late an officer in the 
Parliamentary Army,— the Castle was surprised and 
retaken on behalf of the King. Morris was now 
appointed Governor, and he lost no time in strength- 
ening the defences, and laying in store of provisions, 
well knowing that he would not long remain 
undisturbed. The command of the forces operating 
against the Castle devolved upon General Lambert, 
until he was called away to Scotland in consequence 
of the Hamilton outbreak; then Sir Henry Cholmley 
and Colonel Charles Fairfax, a relative of the Lord 
General's, had joint command, but were not altogether 
harmonious in their actions. In November, Crom- 
well spent some time in the neighbourhood, but 
found that the Parliamentary Army was neither 
sufficiently supplied with guns and ammunition, 
nor strong enough to attempt the storming of the 
fortress ; he therefore induced Parliament to send 
further supplies of men and munitions. 1 have in 
my possession a collection of MSS. — nearly two 
hundred in number— dealing with the siege of 
Pontefract Castle ; among them are several letters 
written by Cromwell while there, two of which bear 
eloquent witness to his kindness of heart when 
appealed to on behalf of the sick and suffering. The 
letters speak for themselves ; — 



I 



" S'. The bearer, Mrs. Gray is desirous to goe into 
ye Casde to see a brother of hers who lyes sick in 
the Castle. I desire you would let her have a 




'pt*^^^^ ^//j^y,fiif' ^^.^M^^^i/^' 



I 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 137 

Drumrae and give her your pass to returne within a 
limited time, 1 rest, Sr. Yr very humble servt- 

"O. Cromwell. 
" Knottingly, Nov: ye nth, 1648," 

In the next case a poor woman begs for relief from 
the excessive assessment for the support of the 
soldiery : 

"The bearer has been with me complaining ex- 
ceedingly of her poverty as not able to get victuals 
for her familye and yet is forced to maintain sold : 
much beyond her ability. I desire that what favor 
can be afforded her you would doe it. 
"At the desire of yr humble ser\-t ■ 

" O. Cromwell. 
" ffor the honoble- Col : Charles Ffairfax 

" at Pontefract. these." 

There are many other interesting letters in this 
collection, some of which throw a curious light 
upon the relations existing between the opposing 
Commanders. Sir John Digby, one of the Royalist 
officers in the Castle, writes to Colonel Charles 
Fairfax, commanding the besiegers : — 

"Sf. You sent us shells before you sent me egges, 
my hearty thankes to you for them ; and ye rather 
yof shells haveinge not done us soe much harme, as 
one of yor egges will doe mee good, blessed be god ; 
Sr. I have sent you money for them, and ye allman- 
acke by this Driunme, and shall crave yor pardon if 
when these fourteeue egges are spent, I send for ye 
rest of ye shilling's worth promised, hopeing they 
will prove to bee three a penny at ye least." 

Having made arrangements for a closer siege 
of the Castle, and reinstating Lambert in command, 



'38 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 




Oliver hastened to London, where his presence was 
now urgently required in connection with the trial 
of Charles. 

No sooner had the news of the death of the King 
reached the garrison at Pontefract than they pro- 
claimed Charles II. and struck silver coins in honour 
of the event. These coins, which are extremely rare, 
are noteworthy as being the first that bore the name 
of Charles II. • 

In March, Lambert summoned the garrison to sur- 
render, oflering them favourable terms, but excluding 
six of their number — including Governor Morris. 
Lambert was asked to give the excepted officers six 
days in which to endeavour to escape, and good- 
naturedly consented. In the result, Morris and 
another succeeded, one was killed and the three 
others hid themselves until after the surrender {25th 
March, 1649), and tlien escaped. On being recap- 
tured, Morris was tried at York on a charge of High 
Treason, and hanged. 

Parliament voted Lambert ^300 a year for life, and 
ordered the famous old Castle to be demolished. 

Frederic Harrison (from whose admirable work 
on the Protector I have frequently quoted) well 
says : 

"To Cromwell the second Civil War was the un- 
pardonable sin, God had manifested His will in the 
triumph of the Army, To be slack, to be indulgent, 
was to struggle against His will, to struggle against 
the manifestation was to tempt God. The Iron- 
sides were returning home to keep their word ; and 



One of them — a shill 






OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 139 

CromweH was now as deeply resolved as any man to 
exact the uttermost farthing." 

But victories against the Royal cause were accepted 
in a half-hearted way by Parliament, which had 
become increasingly Presbyterian, and more than 
ever alarmed at the growing power of the Army, 
composed, as it was, mainly of Independents, friends 
of Religious Liberty. While Cromwell was away 
fighting, Parliament passed the most atrocious Acts 
against all forms of Dissent — Acts that Laud himself 
would have stood aghast at. It decreed Dcalh for all 
who denied the doctrine of the Trinity, or of the 
Divinity of Christ, or the resurrection of the body, 
or of a Day of Judgment ! At the very moment of 
the great victory at Preston, the House of Lords \vas 
engaged in discussing charges of treason against 
Cromwell, while Commissioners were again sent to 
the Isle of Wight to conclude peace with the King. 

" Royalists and Presbyterians alike pressed Charles 
to grasp the easy terms which were now offered him. 
But his hopes from Scotland had only broken down 
to give place to hopes of a new war with the aid of 
an army from Ireland, and the negotiators saw forty 
days wasted in useless chicanery. ' -Vo/Aih^,' Charles 
wrote to his friends, ' is changed in h/v designs.'" 

But with the surrender of Colchester, and 
Cromwell's convention with Argyle, the war was 
over, and as the soldiers unbuckled their armour, 
they vowed that the " Chief Delinquent " should be 
brought to justice. "Now or never" became the 
watchword of the Army ; their pay was nine months 
in arrear, they were about to be disbanded, and all 
their struggles and privations rendered nugatory. 



140 THE TWO PROTKCTORS: 

On the i6th October, the soldiers drew up and 
presented to Fairfax, "The Articles and charge of 

_ _ the Officers and Soldiers of the Armie 

»rticlc» aflalnel concerning the Kings Majestie and 

tbe Hinfl. all persons whatsoever, who shall 
■' * endeavour to re-inthrone him," until 
he shall have been cleared from the charge of 
shedding innocent blood. 

The General was also requested to insist upon 
payment of what was due to the Army, and to 
abolish its free quartering upon the people. This 
letter \vas duly read in the Commons and the last 
part only taken cognisance of, for it was resolved, 
that the soldiery be forthwith satisfied, speedy care 
to be taken for settling their arrears. 

Soon the Army was at Windsor, on its way to 
London, after having sent to Parliament a strong 
Remonstrance against its treaty with the King. 

Then Charles, after vain attempts to escape 
from Carisbrooke, was confined, a close prisoner, in 
Hurst Castle, The House rejects the Remonstrance 
and presently finds the Army encamped at Whitehall ; 
the treaty with the King is approved after an all- 
night sitting, and then Palace Yard is occupied by a 
regiment of horse, and Colonel Pride, with his 
regiment of foot, is quartered in Westminster Hall. 
pri&e'B puT0C. Says Carlyle : " Wednesday 6th 
B>ec. 6tb, 1648. December, 1648. Col. Rich's regi- 
ment of horse, and Colonel Pride's regiment of 
foot, were a guard to the Parliament ; and the 
City trainbands were discharged from that employ- 
ment. Yes, they were I Colonel Rich's horse stand 
ranked in the Palace Yard, Colonel Pride's foot in 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 141 

Westminster Hall, and at all entrances to the 
Commons House, this day ; and in Colonel Pride's 
hand is a written list of names — names of the chief 
among the hundred and twenty-nine ; and at his side 
is my Lord Grey of Groby, who, as this Member 
after that comes up, whispers, or beckons, ' He is one 
of than, he cannot enter!' And Pride gives the word, 
' To the Queen's ConrI,' and member after member is 
marched thither, forty-one of them, this day ; and 
kept there in a state bordering on rabidity, asking. By 
what Law ? and ever again, By what Law ? . . . 
Hugh Peters visits them ; has little comfort, no Light 
as to the Law ; confesses, ' It is by the Law of 
Necessity ' ; truly, by the Power of the Sword." 

" Pride's Purge " had cleared the House of the 
King's party, and henceforth the Army is master. 

The breaking out of the Second Civil War, through 
the direct agency of Charles, finally drove Oliver into 
the ranks of his most determined opponents, and the 
trial and punishment of the "Chief Delinquent" 
became inevitable. 



CHAPTER X. 

tirial of tbe "^"^^ '^"^^ scenes in the great drama 
■Rhig. 9aii. 20, open on the 20th January, 1648-9, by 

1648=49. jj^g constitution of the High Court of 
Justice in Westminster Hall, Serjeant John Bradshaw 
being the President. 

"The Act of the Commons in Parhament for the 
trial of the King, was read after the Court was called, 
each member rising up as he was named. The King 
came into the Court with his hat on, the Serjeant 
ushering him with the Mace ; Colonel Hacker and 
about thirty officers and gentlemen more came as his 
guard." The President, addressing the King, informed 
him that he wns to hear the charge made against him, 
when the Court would proceed. The Solicitor- 
General then read the charge, amid some interruption 
on the King's part, and on hearing himself described 
as Traitor, Tyrant, Murderer, and Public Enemy, he 
smiled contemptuously. After a long wrangle 
between the President and the King, who objected 
to the competency of the Court to try him, an 
adjournment was ordered over the Sunday. Consider- 
able sensation was caused, during the reading of the 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 145 

Charge, by the (ailing off of the head of the King's 
staff, which, no one offering to take up, he stooped 
for it himself, none so low as to do him reverence. 
As he walked down the Hall, some cried, " God save 
the King"; but many more cried, " Justice." On the 
Monday the Court resumed, and on the King entering 
the Hall, a great shout was raised, the Captain of the 
Guard being charged to maintain silence. The 
wrangle was continued, and the King still " required " 
to know the authority under which the Court acted. 

The President : " Sir, 'tis not for prisoners to 
' require.' " 

The King : " Prisoners 1 Sir, I am not an ordinary 
prisoner." 

And as the King would not plead, the officer was 
ordered to remove his prisoner. 

On the third day the King came in with his guard, 
"looking with an austere countenance upon the 
Court, and sits down," and the same wrangle 
continued, the King refusing to plead, or to acknow- 
ledge the authority of the Court. Once again it was 
adjourned, the Public Cryer saying, "God bless the 
Kingdom of England." 

On the fourth day, on the opening of the Court, 
the President appeared in a scarlet vesture " befitting 
the business of the day." As the King passed up the 
Hall, a cry was made for "Justice and Execution." 

The President, having recapitulated the proceedings 
of the previous days, and having stated that the King 
was there on a charge of Treason and other crimes 
against the people of England, a malignant lady' 
interrupted the Court, saying, " Not half the people," 
* Generally believed to have been Lady Fairfax. 



h6 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



but iivas soon silenced, and then, having stated that 
the Court had come to a conclusion as to their course, 
the President asked if the prisoner had anything to 
say why sentence should not be passed upon him. 

The King then said he had somewhat to com- 
municate to the Lords and Commons, which might 
lead to the peace of the Kingdom, and asked for an 
adjournment. 

This was accordingly granted, and half-an-hour 
afterwards the Court resumed, when the 
President stated his intention to proceed to the 
sentence without further delay. He then explained 
the grounds upon which the capital sentence was 
founded, and ordered the Clerk to read it to the 
prisoner : 

"That whereas the Commons of England in 
Parliament had appointed them an High Court of 
Justice for the trying of Charles Stuart, King of 
England, before whom he had been three times 
convented, and at the first time a charge of High 
Treason and other crimes and misdemeanours was 
read in the behalf of the Kingdom of England ; for 
all which Treasons and Crimes this Court doth 
adjudge, that he, the said Charles Stuart, as a Tyrant, 
Traitor, Murtherer, and a Public Enemy, shall be 
put to death by the severing of his head from his 
body." 

The King again tried to speak, but was not per- 
mitted, and was taken to his lodgings. 

OutsfOc ^"'^ "°^^ conies the last sad scene, 

milbltcball. 30tb On Tuesday, the 30th January, 1648, 
Jan., 1648-+9. ^^jQy( (gj^ ji^ (j^^ morning, the King 

was brought from St. James's, walking through the 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 



H? 



Park, with a regiment of foot, part before and part 
behind hiin, with colours flying, drums beating, his 
private guard with some of his gentlemen before and 
some behind, bareheaded, Dr. Juxon next behind 
him, and Colonel Thomlinson {who had charge of 
him) talking with the King, bareheaded. 

Then going up the stairs into the Gallery, and so 
into the Cabinet Chamber where he used to lie, he 
went to his devotions, refusing to dine {having before 
taken the Sacrament) ; about an hour before he came 
forth he drank a glass of claret and ate a piece of 
bread. From thence he was accompanied by Dr. 
Juxon through the Banqueting House to the scaffold, 
which was covered with black velvet. The axe and 
block had been set in the middle of the scaffold. The 
ground was kept by foot and horse soldiers, and the 
multitude of spectators wtis very great. The King 
being come upon the scaffold, looked very earnestly on 
the block and asked " i/ ihere Kcre no higher block t " 
He then delivered a speech in which he asserted his 
innocence of the crimes laid to his charge. 

Turning to Colonel Hacker, the King said, " Take 
care thai they do not piil mc to pain." Just then a 
gentleman coming near the axe, the King said, 
" Take heed of the axe, pray take heed of the axe." 
Then the King, turning to Dr. juxon, said, " I have 
a good cause, and a gracious God on ray side." 

Dr. J. There is but one stage more. This stage 
is turbulent and troublesome ; it is a short one, but 
you may consider it will soon carry you a very great 
way ; it will carry you from earth to heaven, and 
there you shall find a great deal of cordial joy and 
comfort. 



148 



THE Tiro PJiOTECTORS : 



The King. I go from a corruptible to an incorrup- 
tible crown, where no disturbance can be, no 
disturbance in the world. 

Dr. J. You are exchanged from a temporal to an 
eternal crown— a good exchange. 

The King then said to the executioner, " Is my 
hair well?" Then he look off his cloak and his 
George," giving the latter to Dr. Juxon, saying, 
" Remember." 

Then the King put off his doublet, and being in 
his waistcoat, put his cloak on again ; then looking 
upon the block, said to the executioner, " You must 
set it fast." 

Executioner. It is fast, sir. 

King. It might have been a little higher. 

Executioner. It can be no higher, sir. 

King. When I put out my hands, this way— 
(stretching them out) then — 

After that, having said two or three words to 
himself with hands and eyes lift up, immediately 
stooping down, laid his neck upon the block ; and 
then the executioner again putting his hair under his 
cap, the King said, " Stay for the sign." 

Executioner. Yes, 1 will, and it please your 
Majesty. 

And after a very little pause the King stretched 
forth his hands — the executioner, at one blow, severed 
his head from the body. 

After the King's head was cut off, the executioner 
held it up and showed it to the spectators, when the 
body was put into a coffin covered with black velvet. 

* This coin or medal was sold at Sotheby's in November, 
1896, and realised more than j£7oo. 



In speaking of the King's execution and of Crom- 
well's share in the proceedings, Frederic Harrison 
remarks : 

" To him and to his Ironsides to bring the King to 
judgment was no mere act of earthly justice, . . , 
For seven years the land had swam in blood, ruin 
and confusion. And of ail that, Charles Stuart was 
the root and contriver. But Cromwell was not only 
a Puritan, saturated with Biblical canons of morality 
and justice, he was also a profound statesman, 

" He had struggled, against hope and inclination, 
for a monarchic settlement of the grand dispute. 
Slowly he had come to know, not only that the man, 
Charles Stuart, was incurably treacherous, but that 
any settlement of Parliament with the old Feudal 
Monarchy was impossible. As the head of the King 
rolled on the scaffold the old Feudal Monarchy 
expired for ever. In January, 1648-49, a great 
mark was set in the course of the National 
Hfe— the Old Rule behind it, the New Rule 
before it. Parliamentary Government, the con- 
sent of the nation, equality of rights, and equity 
in the law, all date from this great New Depar- 
ture. The Stuarts indeed returned for one 
generation, but with the sting of the old 
monarchy gone, and only to disappear, almost 
without a blow. 

" The Church of England returned, but not the 
Church of Laud or of Charles. 

"The Peers returned, but as a meek House of 
Lords, with their castles razed, their feudal rights 
and their political power extinct. It is said that the 
Regicides killed Charles I. only to make Charles II. 





I5i THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

king. It is not so. They killed the Old Monarchy ; 
and the restored monarch tt"ds by no means its heir, 
but a royal Sladtholdcr, or hereditary President. 
In 1648-49, when Charles I. ceased to live, the 
true monarchy of England ceased to reijjn. Oliver 
Cromwell was for ten years supreme ruler ; whilst 
Charles II. \\'as a despised and forgotten exile. The 
monarchies, peerages, and churches (if the civilised 
world, roared with horror and rage ; but in five years 
the rage was spent, and England was settling into 
new lines, which might possibly have been permanent, 
and which certainly prepared her present consti- 
tutional system. The solemn judgment of Charles 
Stuart as a traitor to his people, as a public officer 
who had criminally abused his trust, gave a new life 
to the history of England, and ultimately to the 
modern history of Europe." 

And Carlyle : 

"Thus ends the second Civil War. In Regicide, 
in a Commonwealth, and Keepers of the Liberties of 
England. In punishment of delinquents, in abolition 
of cobwebs ; — if it be possible, in a government of 
heroism and veracity ; at lowest, of anti-flunkeyism, 
anti-cant, and the endeavour after heroism and 
veracity." 

Who performed the office of executioner on 
Charles I.? The question has been often asked, 
but has never been absolutely answered. 

The principal persons engaged in his trial and 
execution are, of course, well known, but who was 
the headsman ? 

Very few historical secrets have been so well kept, 
and there is no doubt that the fact of its having been 



OLfVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 153 

kept points to the existence of a wide divergence of 
public opinion on the policy, or lawfulness, of taking 
the life of the sovereign. 

Of course it was no new thing for crowned heads 
to be consigned to the headsman's axe, but hitherto 
it had been done only by other crowned heads. 

Henry VIII. had cut off the heads of numerous 
queens, ajid Queen Bess herself had eflfectually 
destroyed the myth of "the divinity that doth hedge 
a king," by taking the life of Charles's own grand- 
mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. But then, of course, 

■' That in the captain 's but a choleric word, 
Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy," 

and was it not the height of audacity that the 
Sovereign People should follow the example, so 
recently set, of the Sovereign Individual?' 

Anyhow, the deed was done, and the question is. 
Who did it ? 

* Charles himself was not above taking advantage of that most 
atrocious of crimes, the judicial murder of Sir Walter Raleigh, 
one of the nohlest of that band of Englishmen who made the 
reign of Elizabeth illustrious. In order to promote his suit 
with the Spanish Infanta, Charles was base enough to permit 
the sacrifice of the old hero to the malignant hate of that foe 
of his and of England who could never face Raleigh in the 
field. 

Carlyle, describing the murder — which took place in the 
Old Palace Yard on the 29th October, 1618— says: "A veiy 
tragic scene. Such a man, with his head grown grey, with 
his strong heart breaking, still strength enough in it to break 
with dignity. Somewhat proudly he laid his old grey head on 
the block, as if saying in better than words ' There, then I ' 
The Sheriff offered to let him warm himself again within doors 
at a hre (the morning was cold and frosty). ' Nay. let us be 
swift,' said Raleigh; ' in few minutes my ague will return upon 
me, and if I be not dead before that, they will say I tremble 
for fear.' "—Lttters atid Spct':hci,\a\. i. p. 46. 



154 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



Though Joyce and Hugh Peters have been, 
absurdly enough, suspected of inflicting the fatal 
blow on Charles, and though another claimant 
Itfcbaid for this distinction is put for- 

XianDon, ward in the Geiilleiiiati's Magazine 
for 1767, there seems little doubt that Richard 
Brandon, the common hangman, assisted by 
his man, Ralph Jones, a ragman in Rosemary 
Lane, in fact, perpetrated the deed. Among the 
tracts, relative to the Civil War, presented to the 
British Museum by George III. in 1763, are three on 
this subject, which are fully noticed in a note to Mr. 
Ellis's Letters on English History, vol. iii. (second 
series). It appears by the register of Whitechapel 
Church, that Richard Brandon was buried there on 
the 24th of June, 1649 ; and a marginal note (not in 
the hand of the Registrar, but bearing the mark of 
antiquity) states; "This R. Brandon is supposed to 
have cut off the head of Charles I." One of the 
tracts, entitled, "The Confessions of Richard Bran- 
don, the Hangman, upon his Death-bed, concerning 
the Beheading of his late Majesty," printed in 1649, 
states: "During the time of his sickness, his con- 
science was much troubled, and exceedingly per- 
plexed in mind : and on Sunday last a young man of 
his acquaintance, going to visit him, fell into dis- 
course, asked him how he did and whether he was 
not troubled in conscience for having cut off the 
King's head. He replied, yes, by reason that (upon 
the time of his tryall) he had taken a vow and pro- 
testation, wishing God to punish him, body and 
soul, if ever he appeared on the scaffold to do the 
act, or lift up his hand against him. He likewise 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 155 

confessed that he had ^30 for his pains, all paid him 
in half-crowns within an hour after the blow was 
given ; and he had an orange stuck full witli cloves, 
and a handkircher out of the King's pocket, so soon 
as he was carried off the scaffold ; for which orange 
he was proffered 20 shillings by a gentleman in 
Whitechapel, but refused the same, and afterwards 
sold it for ten shillings in Rosemary Lane. About 
eight o'clock that night he returned home to his 
wife, living in Rosemary Lane, and gave her the 
money, saying it was the dearest money he earned in 
his life, for it would cost him his life. About three 
days before he died, he lay speechless, uttering many 
a sigh and heavy groan, and so in a desperate state 
departed from his bed of sorrow. For the burial 
whereof great store of wines were sent in by the 
Sheriff of the City of London, and a great multitude 
of people stood wayting to see his corpse carried to 
the churchyard, some crying out, 'Hang him, 
rogue,' — 'Bury him in the dunghill'; others press- 
ing upon him, saying they would quarter him for 
executing the King, insomuch that the church- 
wardens and masters of the parish were fain to come 
for the suppressing of them ; and with great difficulty 
he was at last carried to Whitechapel churchyard, 
having (as it is said) a branch of rosemary at each 
end of the coffin, on the top thereof, with a rope 
Crosse from one end to the other, A merry conceited 
cook, living at the sign of the Crown, having a black 
fan, (worth the value of 30s.) took a resolution to 
rent the same in pieces ; and to every feather tied a 
piece of packthread, dyed in black ink, and gave 
them to divers persons, who, in derision, for a while 



156 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



■wore them in their hats." The second tract states 
that the first victim Brandon beheaded was the Earl 
of Strafford. 

In the East of London it is clear that the name 
of Cromwell had less influence than in most of the 
Courts of Europe- 
More difficult than the question as to who was 
Charles's executioner, is that of the position in which 
he received the fatal stroke. I have in my possession 
eight books, some of them published immediately 
after the execution, and the others a few years 
subsequently, from which I give extracts : 

In the " Triigiciiin Thcainnii" (Amsterdam, 1649), 
the plate shows the King kneeling : " He suddenly 
knelt down and lay with his neck on the block." 

In a pamphlet entitled "King Charles's Speech 
made upon the scaffold, joth January, 1648:" 
" Immediately stooping down he laid his head upon 
the Block." 

Heath's Chronicle gives the same words. 

In "Histoire entiire ct i-eriiable Dn Procez de Charles 
Stuart, Royd'Aiigleterrc": "II se coticha incontinent 
apr'es sur !e ventre." 

Another French account says, " Meftoit son col sur 
le tronc." 

In a book published in Utrecht in 1692, these 
words occur: "Apr'es cela il sc tnit a genonx snr le 
niarchpie dn bUloI." And in this account it is added 
that the block was provided with four iron rings, for 
the purpose of tying the King by the hands and feet 
in case he should oiler resistance. 

In Sanderson's " Coiiiplcal History 0/ the Life and 
Raigtic 0/ King Charles from his cradle to his grave," 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 157 

published in 1658, it is stated that Charles " stooped 
down to the block as to a Prayer desk." 

From a book published in Paris in 1650, I extract 
the following : — " Levant les mains, et les yeux, il 
sc pancha et mil son col snr le billot'* * 

* One of the most interesting accounts of the events lead- 
ing up to the trial and execution of the King, and of the 
execution itself is to be found in the January number of the 
Cornhill Magazine, 1897, by C. H. Firth. 



CHAPTER XI. 

In dealing with a period of history more or less 
remote, there is a natural tendency to judge of the 
actions of men by the standard of our own time. 
The early history of the Quakers is a case in point. 
The action of many of the leading members of the 
new sect, in holding public discussions with ministers 
of the dominant churches, in presence of their 
congregations, would now be rightly considered an 
indecent and disorderly proceeding, but in the days 
of the Commonwealth it was a very common occur- 
rence, and by no means confined to the Quakers. 
Again, in considering the attitude of Cromwell towards 
the Roman Catholics, both in England and Ireland, 
it is necessary to take into consideration the religious 
history of his time and of the generation preceding 
it. Coming of a strong Puritan family, Oliver was 
born only eleven years after the defeat of the Armada, 
when the memory of the " Spanish fury " under 
Philip and Mary was still fresh in the minds of men. 
Gunpowder Plot had yet to be hatched, and although 
James escaped the fate designed for him, his matri- 
monial coquettings with Catholic Powers on behalf 
of Charles, his readiness to shed the best Protestant 

158 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 161 

blood in England, in the vain attempt to conciliate 
Spain — ^as evidenced by the murder of Raleigh^ — ^were 
warnings that coiild not be disregarded by the leaders 
of the Puritan party. 

The Puritan cause was necessarily the cause of 
liberty, and Oliver grew up to manhood while the 
contest between the opposing forces was slowly 
culminating in the dominating influence of Laud and 
the Romanising party, 

Oliver was a member of the Parliament of 1628 
which passed the Petition of Right, and under which 
England, for the first time, became subject to Parlia- 
mentary government. With these alarming portents 
rising before him, it is hardly to be wondered at that 
Charles should determine to resort to personal rule, 
and for the next eleven years {1629-40) the Star 
Chamber, with Laud as its director and ruling spirit, 
superseded Parliament. Under this priestly rule, 
Puritan ears were cropped and their bodies im- 
prisoned, and the lesson was not likely to be lost 
upon the moody Puritan recluse at Ely. The entire 
experience of his own life and the experience of the 
two preceding generations, had given Oliver good 
cause to look upon Roman Catholic priests as 
traitors to Protestant England — ^as emissaries of 
3 Power which was continually endeavouring to 
array every Popish interest against it — and as 
the most insidious and deadly enemies of civil 
and religious liberty. And, although Laud and 
Charles would not admit it, history has shown that 
the Puritans rightly judged that it was towards Rome, 
with its system of political and religious tyranny, that 
they were steadily marching. 



i6i THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

It was with this strong conviction that Oliver 
sailed to reconquer Ireland, and to avenge the bloody 
massacres of the Protestant settlers, knowing full well 
that there would be no peace until England's 
autliority u-as firmly re-established there. 

" By the execution of the King the whole situation 
was changed. What had been a Rebellion under 
legal forms, became a real Revolution; in the room 
of the Parliament men saw a Council of State ; in the 
room of a Monarchy, a Commonwealth ; and Crom- 
well was left the one commanding person on either 
side. 

. . . "Thus from the day when the King's 
head fell at Whitehall until the day of his own death 
there, nearly ten years later, Oliver Cromwell was 
the acknowledged master of England. 

. . . "The King being dead, the throne itself 
destroyed, and the three Estates of the Realm sup- 
pressed, a Dictator became inevitable. And there 
was but one possible Dictator. . . . 

" The condition of England without was, however, 
for the moment more pressing even than her con- 
dition within. The new Republic was not recognised 
by foreign sovereigns. Its enemies were upheld 
and its agents were insulted throughout Europe. 
The bond that had held together the three kingdoms 
was dissolved. Scotland proclaimed Prince Charles 
as king. The contending factions in Ireland were at 
last united by the execution of Charles ; Rupert was 
there with a fleet ; and except for a few hard pressed 
garrisons, Ireland was now an independent and 
hostile country. . . . The preparations for the 
reconquest of Ireland were all made on a large and 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 



'63 



careful scale. But a pressing danger had first to be 
dealt with." ' 

The Army was in a state of mutiny, arising from 
many causes, and Oliver was not the man to parley 
with mutiny. " I tell you, sir," he said at the 
Council, "you have no other way to deal with these 
men but to break them to pieces, or they will break 
MS." There were three great outbursts, and Oliver 
dealt with them all, and by a mixture of promptness, 
sternness and sympathy, he quickly subdued the 
mutiny at the cost of only four lives. 
/fcilton, Xatln " '^'^''^ months were occupied in the 

SecretacB. preparation for this distant and diffi- 
cult campaign. Cromwell's nomination was on the 
15th March, 1649. On the same day Milton \vas 
appointed Latin Secretary to the Council. During 
April Cromwell arranged the marriage of his eldest son 
with the daughter of a very quiet, unambitious squire. 
. . . At length all was ready, and he set sail on 
the 13th August, with 9,000 men in about 100 ships. 
He was invested with supreme civil as well as military 
command in Ireland ; amply supplied with material 
and a fleet. Ireton, his son-in-law, was his second 
in command." t 

Cromwell in Rarely has a military commander 
3tclanM640. found himself in a more difficult 
situation than that which confronted Oliver on his 
landing in Ireland on the 15th August, 1649. 

Practically, the only portions of that country firmly 

held for the Parliament were the cities of Derry 

and Dublin, and the former was at the moment 

closely besieged, while Dublin itself had only 

• F. Harrison, f Ibid. 



i64 



THE TIVO PROTECTORS : 



recently been freed from the grip of the Irish levies. 
But it was with OUver, as with all great men ; his 
spirit and determination rose and increased with the 
contemplation of the difficulties in front of him. 

And if he needed any stimulus in carrying out the 
task with which he was entrusted, the condition in 
which he had left England and Scotland furnished 
an abundant supply. The Scottish Royalists were 
making tremendous efforts on behalf of the new king, 
and all over England Charles's friends were ready to 
support them by fomenting risings in every quarter. 
" Cromwell, we have need of thee," was felt by all the 
friends of Liberty, for indeed the very life of tlie 
Commonwealth depended upon his making short 
work of his Irish commission- 
Oliver landed in Dublin amidst scenes of the 
wildest enthusiasm, for his coming was the presage of 
a speedy triumph for the Protestant cause. On his 
way to the Castle, he addressed the people, telling 
them that " by Divine Providence, he should restore 
them all to their just liberties, and properties." His 
very presence caused discordant elements in the 
garrison to unite, and his confidence inspirited 
the most timid. 

He relieved the Protestants of Dublin from their 
taxes, and a number of gentlemen volunteered as his 
bodyguard at their own charge. " Inquiry showed 
that Jones's Army, though it had fought well, had 
very different manners from the Ironsides, and 
especially much laxer notions on the subject of 
plunder. The Lord- Lieutenant, therefore, issued a 
declaration as to the principles upon which he 
intended to conduct the war. He was resolved, ' by 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 165 

the grace of God, diligently and strictly to restrain 
such wickedness for the future.' He would have no 
wrong or violence of any kind toward people of the 
country, unless actually in arms or employed with 
the enemy. He offered a free and secure market, 
and promised safety to all persons disposed to pursue 
their industry peaceably under protection of his Army. 
Soldiers were warned that disobedience on these 
points would be visited severely."* 

AaTQute ot Lord Ormonde was nominally in 
(StmonOe. command of the Irish forces opposed 
to Cromwell, but in reality they commanded him, 
for they were composed mainly of Roman Catholics 
of the most extreme sort. The minority was 
made up of EngHsh Royalists, set free by the 
conclusion of the war in England, and by 
Presbyterians from the province of Ulster. These 
latter were alarmed and disgusted by the facility 
with which Ormonde yielded to the insatiable 
demands of the Catholics— concessions which he 
was powerless to withhold. The friction became 
so great that the Ulster men were in more 
danger from their allies than from Cromwell's 
army. Little wonder, therefore, that they prepared 
to make terms with the Lord-Lieutenant. 

Accordingly, on the 26th April, 1650, a deputation, 
consisting of Sir Robert Sterling, Mr. Michael Boyle, 
Dean of Cloyne. and Colonel John Daniell, repre- 
senting the Protestant Royalists ser\'ing under Lord 
Inchiquin, had audience of Cromwell, and signed 
articles agreeing to his conditions, which permitted 
them to sell their moN'able property (except arms and 
• Picton'9 Cromwell. 



t6fi 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



ammunition), and to retire to any part of Ireland 
under the authority of Parliament with passes, which 
should secure thera from interference so long as they 
continued to act peaceably and in conformity with 
the conditions agreed upon," 

This was a great stroke of policy on the part of 
Oliver, for it had all the advantages of a victorious 
engagement without its risks and certain losses, and 
it helped materially to clear the way for his return to 
England, where his presence was urgently required. 

The fearful cruelties and massacres which had been 
inflicted upon the English settlers by the Irish had 
roused such a spirit of exasperation and anger 
amongst Oliver's soldiers that it was certain that 
when it came to " push of pike " with the enemy, 
there would be terrible work. 

Drogheda (Tredagh) and Wexford were stormed 
and sacked, and their garrisons — refusing to sur- 
render—put to the sword. Oliver's warmest admirers 
find it difficult to justify this extreme severity. 

The war was " short, sharp and decisive," and 
large as the number of killed was, there is no doubt 
that it would have been much larger if Oliver had 
adopted less energetic measures, and suffered the 
conflict to linger on for another year. 

Ollfver leaves ^" January, Parliament informed 
JrelanO, rtSaB. Cromwell that they wished him to 
return forthwith, but owing to con- 
trary winds the message failed to reach him for two 
months, and as he was then engaged in active 
operations, he desired to remain until they were 




.ginal do::ur 



ti the Author's collection. 



OLIVER AXD RICHARD CROMU'KLI.. 167 

closed ; but in April Parliament despatched a 
frigate to " attend his pleasure," and at the end of 
May he went on board, leaving Ireton in chief 
command and his second son, Henry, in an un- 
ofiicial capacity in Dublin. 

The lurid character of the Irish campaign has 
somewhat obscured the circumstances under which 
Oliver left England, 

The Second Civil War had only just ended, the 
King was dead, and a complete revolution effected. 
No settled government had taken the place of the 
old monarchy, and clearly the strongest and best 
men were wanted in London while orderly rule was 
being estabhshed. 

It seems clear, too, that having become the fore- 
most man in the country, Oliver would not have 
consented to leave England for an indehnite period 
and on a desperate enterprise, while everything was 
in a formative state, had he been the ambitious 
plotter described by his enemies. Napoleon return- 
ing, under somewhat similar circumstances, from his 
preliminary victories with his mind already fixed on 
empire, took care to remain in Paris while order was 
being evolved out of chaos ; " Cromwell had gone 
to Ireland, at imminent risk to his cause, to 
recover it to the Parhament in the shortest possible 
time, and with a relatively small army. He had 
gone there first to punish what was believed to 
have been a wholesale massacre and a social 
revolution ; to restore the Irish soil to England, 
and to replace the Protestant ascendancy. In the 
view of the Commonwealth government, the Mass 
was by law a crime, Catholic priests were legally 



i68 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

outlaws, and all who resisted the Parliament were 
constructively guilty of murder and rebellion. Such 
were the accepted axioms of the whole Puritan party, 
and of Cromwell as much as any man." 

. . , "For soldiers he found a new career. By 
a stroke of profound policy he encouraged foreign 
embassies to enlist Irish vohinteers, giving them a 
free pass abroad. And thus it is said, some 40,000 
Irishmen ultimately passed into the ser\'ice of foreign 
sovereigns." 

This may have been a " stroke of profound policy" 
at the time, but it bore bitter fruit for England during 
the next hundred years in its wars with foreign 
countries, for the " Irish legion " was always our 
most formidable foe. 

"With great energy and skill the Lord-Lieutenant 
set about the reorganisation of government in Ireland. 
A leading feature of this was the Cromwellian settle- 
ment afterwards carried out under the Protectorate, 
by which immense tracts of land in the provinces of 
Ulster, Munster and Leinster, were allotted to English 
settlers, and the lando^\^^ers of Irish birth removed 
into Connaught." 

. . . " Such was the basis of the famous ' Crom- 
wellian Settlement,' by far the most thorough act in 
the long history of the conquest of Ireland ; by far 
the most wholesale effort to impose on Ireland the 
Protestant faith and English ascendancy. Wholesale 
and thorough, but not enough for its purpose. It 
failed like all the others ; did more, perhaps, than 
any other to bind Ireland to the Catholic Church, 
and to alienate Irishmen from the English rule."" 
* F. Harrison. 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 

Oliver ;irrived in Bristol, after a tempestuous 

crossing, in the President frigate {not the Protector .') 

ffillTicr In ^"^ ^^"^ received with three salvoes 

XonOoii, 31st. of artillery, and great acclamation. 

AaB. 1650. Q,^ j,j^ ^^.^y lo London, he halted at 
Hounslow Heath, where many deputations awaited 
his coming ; the Lord Mayor and his Council, Lord 
Fairfax and his chief officers, and nearly all the 
Members of Parliament were there ; and on reaching 
Hyde Park the Trainbands met him and formed an 
escort to Whitehall and the Cockpit, his future home. 
As he passed Tyburn, the road being tlironged with 
people, one said to him, " See what a multitude of 
people come to attend your triumph 1" Oliver, who 
never exhibited keen desire for popular applai 
replied, with a smile, " More ivoitld come to see 'tie 
hanged I " 

On taking his seat in Parliament again, the 
formal thanks of the House were tendered him from 
the lips of the Speaker. The Cockpit, near to White- 
hall, was allotted him as a State residence, and there 
w'as furtlier discussion as to a settled income for his 
needs, but with indefinite conclusion. 

In Scotland the Ca\'aliers and Royalist Presby- 
terians had helped the cause of the Parliament by 
quarreh amongst themselves, the latter insisting upon 
Prince Charles taking the Covenant, and in an e\'il 
hour for himself, Montrose drew the sword to cut the 
knot, for which he was hanged in Edinburgh. 

Charles, however, subscribed to the Presbyterian 
demand, with the usual Stuart mental reservation, 
duly put into effect when he was firmly seated on the 
throne. 



173 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

The Scotch could not forgive the suppression of 
Presbyterian ism in England, and, Charles having 
now taken the Covenant, they determined to again 
invade England, resolving, after having conquered it, 
to re-establish their own form of public worship, and 
to seal Charles on the throne of his fathers. 

Xot5-ffieneral ^" ^""^ "*^' Parliament appointed 
Ccomwell, 26tb Fairfax and Cromweil to the coni- 

3unc. 1650. j„a„d ^f ^^ expedition to Scotland. 
But tlie former declined to ser\-e, stating that he had 
scruples on the subject which prevented his doing so. 
In vain did Cromwell and tlie other great officers beg 
Fairfax to reconsider the matter— he would not yield, 
and on the 25th he sent in his resignation of the 
office of Lord-General, which was the next day 
conferred upon Cromwell. 

Fairfax died in 1672. His wife, a Presbyterian, 
was always a Royalist, and it was often suspected 
that she conveyed information to the enemy. Fairfax 
was by no means enthusiastic in the cause of the 
Parliament, and it was with a sense of relief, both to 
himself and to the country, that he finally resigned 
his office into the strong hands of Cromwell. 

Three days after his appointment to the chief 
command Oliver set out for the North. His sudden 
advance, fresh from the bloody campaign in Ireland, . 
struck dismay into the Scotch border. He advanced 
along the coast cautiously, resting on his ships, 
whilst his opponent and old companion-in-arms at 
Marston, David Lesley, thought to wear him out by 
drawing liim on, avoiding battle, and cutting off his 
supplies. 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 173 

" It was a religious war, between two sects, each of 
which regarded the other as schismatics. Thus the 
English army entered Scotland consumed with zeal 
to fight it out to the last man in defence of the 
Commonwealth, and to ' live and die with their 
renowned General,' " 

Lesley fell hack on a strong position on the coast 
between Edinburgh and Leith, OHver following, and 
trying in vain to force a battle. The weather was 
wet, his men fell ill, and things began to look 
serious ; twice he advanced against the Scots in \"m.x\ ; 
his men became discouraged, and he fell back on 
Dunbar. By a skilful manoeuvre Lesley passed 
around the English army, planting himself on the 
Lammermuir hills, and effectually blocking the pass 
that led into England. Besides being so advan- 
tageously placed, the Scots array was twice as large 
as Oliver's, and was well supplied, while the EngUsh, 
as one of them wrote, were a "poor, scattered, 
hungry, discouraged army." They lay on a small 
promontory jutting out into the North Sea, their 
only base being their ships. 

Oliver fully recognised the danger of his position, 
and \vrote confidential letters to England preparing 
the authorities for the worst. 

"Wherefore, whatever becomes of us, it will be 
well for you to get what forces you can together and 
the South to help what they can. The business 
nearly concerneth all good people. If y- forces had 
been in readiness to have fallen upon the back of 
Copperspath it might have occasioned supplies to 
have come to us. But the only wise God knoweth 
what is best. All shall work for good. Our spirits 



174 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

are comfortable, praised be the Lord, though our 
present condition be as it is ; and, indeed, we have 
much hope in the Lord, of whose mercy we have 
had large experience." * 

But he was not cast down, and his attendant, 
Harvey, wrote of him at that time : " He was a strong 
man in the dark perils of war, in the high places of 
the field ; hope shone in him like a pillar of fire, 
when it had gone out in all the others." 

His main hope lay in the chance of Lesley making 
a mistake, and, to his great relief, this actually 
happened. 

Thinking that Oliver was about to embark his 
army, the Scotch General determined to get between 
him and his ships. When Oliver saw this he 
exclaimed, " The Lord hath delivered them into our 
hands ! " This was on the 2nd September, 1650. 

"Lesley had drawn down his wing to the coast, 
hoping to surround and crush the English in the 
act, as he supposed, of embarkation. Cromwell's 
design was to hold the main Scotch army with his 
big guns, whilst he fell suddenly with his best troops 
on Lesley's right wing, and so to roll it back upon 
its centre. The night was wild and wet ; the moon 
covered with clouds. The English lay partly in 
tents ; the Scotch, on the open hill-sides, crouched 
for shelter in the soaked shocks of corn. Both 
armies rested on their arms, waiting eagerly for 
dawn ; and on both sides many gathered in com- 
panies and prayed aloud, and for the last time, to 
the God of Battles." t 

• Letter CXXXIX. Oliver to Sir A. Haselrig at Newcastle, 
t F. Harrison. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 175 

At four in the morning, by the light of the moon, 
the English began to move ; at six, they advanced to 
Dunbar, 3t5 the charge with this word for that 
Sept., 1650. day: "The Lord of Hosts." The big 
giins kept the main Scots anny back, whose right 
wnig, however, drove the English towards the 
sea; then OHver ordered a flank charge of cavalry, 
supporting it with foot 1 his troopers returned to 
the assault, drove back the enemy, and then, as 
Oliver says in his despatch to the Council, " After 
the first repulse, they were made by the Lord of 
Hosts as stubble to our swords." In less than an 
hour the battle was won. "They run I They run 1 
I profess they run 1 " said Oliver, as he watched 
the effect of his troopers' charge. "The whole 
army broke and disappeared, flying in all directions : 
some south, some north, 

"just then over the eastern ocean burst the first 
gleam of the sun through the morning mist. And 
above the roar of the battle was heard the voice of 
the General : ' Let God arise, let His enemies be 
scattered.' Then, as the whole Scotch army fled in 
wild confusion, the Lord General made a halt ; 
steadying his men and firing them afresh for the 
pursuit, he sang the 117th Psalm : 'O praise the 
Lord, all ye nations, praise Him all ye people ; for His 
merciful kindness is great towards us, and the truth of 
the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.'"" 

Immediately after the battle, Oliver issued this 
PROCLAMATION : 

" Forasmuch as I understand there are several 

soldiers of the enemy's array yet abiding in the Field, 

* F. Harrison. 



176 THE TWO PROTECTORS. 

who by reason of their wounds could not march 
from thence, these are therefore to give notice to the 
Inhabitants of this Nation that they may and hereby 
have free liberty to repair to the Field aforesaid^ and 
with their carts or in any other peaceable way, to 
carry away the said soldiers to such places as they 
shall think fit ; provided they meddle not with or 
take away any of the Arms there, and all Officers and 
Soldiers are to take notice that the same is permitted. 
Given under my hand at Dunbar, 4 Sept., 1650. 

" Oliver Cromwell. 
" To be proclaimed by beat of Drum." 

Such was the battle of Dunbar, fought on a day 
that was henceforth to become famous for that and 
for other victories gained by Oliver, and also for 
Death's victory over himself. The Scotch army was 
completely routed and broken in pieces, the whole of 
the arms, both great and small, were taken, and, 
wonderful to relate, Oliver lost only two officers and 
twenty men. Over 200 colours were also taken. 

The Dunbar medal — executed by Simon — was 
given to each officer and soldier ; on one side is 
shown the head of Cromwell, with an inscription 
giving the word for the day and the date of the 
battle, and on the other a view of the House of 
Commons. There are in my collection several of 
these rare medals. 



CHAPTER XII. 

From Dunbar Oliver wrote to his wife, telling her 
he was growing an old man, and felt the infirmities 
of age marvellously stealing upon him. 

**For my beloved wife, Elizabeth Cromivell, 
" at the * Cockpit: These :— 

*' My Dearest, " Dunbar, 4th Sept., 1650. 

" I hai'e not leisure to ivrite wuch. But I could 
chide thee that in many of thy letters thou writest to me 
that I should not be unmindful of thee and thy little 
ones. Truly, if I love you not too well, I think I err not 
on the other hand much. Thou art dearer to me than 
any creature. Let that suffice. 

" The Lord hath showed us an exceeding mercy ; who 
can tell how great it is f My weak faith hath been 
upheld. 

"/ have been in my imvard man marvellously 

supported, though I assure theel groiv an old man, and 

feel infirmities of age marvellously stealing upon me. 

Would my corruptions did as fast decrease. Pray on 

my behalf in the latter respect. 

" The particulars of our late success Harry Vane or 
Gilbert Pickcnng will impart to thee. My love to all 
dear friends, " / rest thine, 

''Oliver Cromwell."'' 

• Carlyle. Letter CXLIII. 
177 



178 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

Sending Lambert to occupy Edinburgh, he set 
himself the task of securing the country south of the 
Forth as far as the Clyde. 

When Oliver arrived in Edinburgh he found that 
the " pulpits were empty/' the Presbyterian ministers 
having gone " on strike/' and taken up their abode 
at the Castle. 

Oliver sent them a civil message, inviting them to 
return and offering them free liberty of preaching 
and full security ; but they declined. The services, 
therefore, were conducted by some of Oliver's 
chaplains, and, scandalnm magnaium, by some of his 
troopers 1 

The Presbyterian ministers were greatly shocked at 
the proceeding, and complained to Cromwell that 
" men of mere civil place and employment should 
usurp the calling and employment of the ministry." 

Against this scornful, dog-in-the-manger complaint, 
Oliver's soul rose in rebellion, and he replied, hotly 
enough : '' Are you troubled that Christ is preached ? 
Is preaching so inclusive in your function ? Doth it 
scandalise the Reformed Kirks and Scotland in 
particular ? Is it against the Covenant ? Away with 
the Covenant if this be so. Where do you find in 
the Scripture a ground to warrant such an assertion 
that preaching is exclusively your function ? Though 
an approbation from men hath order in it, and may 
do well, yet he that hath no better warrant than that, 
hath none at all. I hope that He that ascended 
up on high, may give His gifts to whom He pleases." 

Cbarlca Second ^^^^'^^ ''• ^^ crowned at Scone 

fioea to Mor» on the ist January, 1651, but being 

ccBtcXf 1650»5t. driven from one place to another, 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 179 

he at length resolved to make a dash into England. 
Cromwell desired nothing better, and making his 
disposition for securing the rest of Scotland, began 
his march south in pursuit. 

As Charles marched on with his small and jaded 
army he called for recruits but obtained none, the 
country people flying and driving their cattle before 
them. Lord Derby raised a small force, which was 
quickly destroyed by Colonel Robert Lilburne, and 
Charles, finding himself in danger of being hemmed 
in, struck out for the south-west and got to Worcester, 
At the end of August Cromwell also arrived, and 
soon found himself at the head of 30,000 men- 
three times the number that were with the King, 
Charles held a strongly-fortified position to the west 
of the city, in tlic triangle formed by the two rivers, 
the Teme and Severn, and with Oliver as his 
opponent, the result was a foregone conclusion. 

From the 28th August till the 3rd September 
the batteries played on the city, the works drawing 
closer round it, and the besieged continually giving 
ground. At dawn on the 3rd September — his 
fortunate day — Cromwell ordered his final assault. 
'This day t\velve-month,' runs a despatch, 'was 
glorious at Dunbar, this day hath been glorious at 
Worcester. The word then was " The Lord of Hosts," 
and so it was now ; and, indeed, the Lord of Hosts 
was wonderfully with us.' " ' 

Obc-'Crownlnfl ^>' '^"''^"g ^^^ bridges of boats, 
/tcrcB," Cromwell destroyed Charles's river 
3t& Sept., 1651. defences, and the King from his look- 
out on the cathedral tower, seeing how things were 
going, brought his men inside the city, closely 
■ F. Harrison. 



iSo 



THE TWO PROTECTORS. 



followed by Cromwell. Far into the night desperate 
street fighting continued, until the overthrow was 
complete. Thousands lay dead on the field ; 10,000 
prisoners were taken ; Hamilton, Derby, Lauderdale, 
Lesley, and Massey— all the leaders were captured. 
The loss of the victors was under 200 men. " The 
dimensions of this mercy," wrote Cromwell to the 
Speaker, "are above ray thoughts. It is, for aught I 
know, a crowning mercy." 

"The Royalist cause was utterly crushed out at 
Worcester. Oliver never again appeared in the field; 
and during his lifetime the sword was not drawn 
again in England." 

The romantic story of Charles's escape to France 
is wonderfully well told 111 a work recently written 
by Mr, Allan Fea.* 

Oliver was now, without doubt, the foremost man 
in the nation, and his march towards London was a 
continuous triumphal progress. At Acton he was 
met by the Speaker and a deputation from the 
House, by the Lord Mayor, and a number of the 
chief citizens. A further sum of £\,oaa a year was 
voted to him, and Hampton Court Palace was given 
him as a residence. 

" Thereby he was recognised by 
what remained of legal authority as 
practically Dictator. He was now at 
the height of his power and prestige ; this, then, was 
the moment when a Bonaparte would have seized the 
vacant throne." t And had he been the ambitious 
man his enemies have represented him to have been, 
he would undoubtedly have done so. But, it was 

• The Flight of the Kittg. (London : John Lane, 189;-) 

f F. Harrison. 



91tvet at 

liantptoii aouct, 

Sictatot. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMU'RLL. 



iSi 



remarked that he carried himself with affabihty and 
modesty, and hetook himself to work as a simple 
member of the Council. There he laboured 
assiduously for nineteen months, nor on any single 
occasion did he bring himself conspicuously before 
the nation. He served on the standing Committees 
of the Admiralty, of Trade and Foreign Affairs, of 
Law, of the affairs of Ireland and Scotland, "and on 
many others." As Captain-General and semi-ofScial 
Dictator, Oliver worked on at the administrative 
business of the Nation, accepting the shadowy 
authority of the remnant of the Long Parliament. 
It was only after an anxious interx-al of abortive 
attempts at a settled government that he began 
to take independent action. " Nineteen months 
elapsed after Worcester fight before he closed the 
Long Parliament ; it was two years and three months 
before he ivas named Protector." * 

The Civil War being over and the Revolution 
complete, " the peril, which had given the Common- 
wealth its cohesion and mighty force, was at an end, 
and the various elements of which that force was 
composed were now free to insist on their differ- 
ences." t It may be taken for granted that the 
majority of the nation preferred a monarchical form 
of government, and only desired that it should be 
shorn of its arbitrary powers, but the Common- 
wealth party, by their organisation and earnestness, 
possessed an enormous predominance in effective 
strength. The Ai-my was the backbone of the party, 
and it was composed of the flower of the people, 
"men who were, and knew themselves to be, the 
natural leaders of the people." Scarcely, indeed, 
* F. Harrison. f Ibid. 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



\ 



in history has moral and material force thus been 
concentrated in a body possessing intense political 
conviction and consummate military discipline. 

Their " poHtical ideas were few, but very definite, 
and held with intense tenacity ; religious freedom, 
orderly government, and the final abolition of the 
abuses for which Charles and Laud had died. In 
religion they were mainly Independent, desiring the 
widest liberty for themselves and others. What they 
wanted was Peace and a settled Government, so that 
they might return to their homes and to civil life." " 

Parliament, or what was left of it, was fast getting 
back into the hands of the lawyers and Presbyterians. 
The business of the country was in great confusion 
from the breaking-up of the old order, and the 
neglect or inability of Parliament to proceed with 
much-needed legislation. The day after Dunbar 
Cromwell wrote to the Speaker as to the pressing 
needs of the country, saying : " Relieve the 
oppressed, hear the groans of poor prisoners in 
England. Be pleased to reform the abuses of all 
professions, and if there be tiny one such thai makes 
many poor to make a few rich, tlial suits not a Common- 
wealth." But Parliament would do nothing, spite of 
urgent entreaties and advice ; the Army and the 
country became intensely dissatisfied, and it was 
evident that a crisis was approaching. 

ttbeflrtais. '^^^ struggle had gone on during 

1052. the whole of 1653, Cromwell and his 

officers pressing the Parliament for needed reforms 
and for the calling of a new Parliament. Frequent 
conferences between the officers and leaders in 
Parliament were held, but without result, and Oliver's 
* F. Harrison. 




OLIVER AXD RICHARD CROMWELL. 



>8j 



patience became exhausted. The Army and the 
people were weary of petitioning Parliament — the 
last petition of the former was a very noteworthy 
one, and full of practical suggestions. They asked 
for " a reform of legal procedure, redress of abuses in 
Excise, and they insisted on a more faithful obser- 
v-ance of Articles of War granted to the enemy. 
They urged that the National revenues should all 
go into one treasury under officers appointed by 
Parliament, and that half-yearly accounts should \x. 
published. Finally, they asked once more that a 
new ' Representative ' should be appointed." The 
House complained of dictation on the part of their 
"servants," the Army, and appealed to Cromwell to 
rebuke them ; but he took the opposite course and 
approved their action. 

it became clear that the Long Parliament— or 
rather the Rump of it — was about to come to an end. 
It had outlived its mandate, which was to curb the 
tyranny of the King, and that of the priests, which 
was even worse, and to ensure constitutional 
government. But the King was dead and his 
power destroyed, and new " forcers of conscience " 
had arisen in the place of Laud ; the Nation 
demanded reforms, but the fifty gentlemen now 
arrogating to themselves the title of Parliament 
were quite comfortable in their positions as 
supreme rulers of the country, and were slow to 
move ; indeed, Cromwell, on one occasion, charged 
them with taking three months to decide the 
meaning of the word "incumbrance," — and he was 
about to give them a practical illustration of its 
meaning. 



i84 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

After repeated warnings from the Army and from 
prominent Republicans, Parliament agreed to pass 
an Act calling a new " Representative/' but w^s 
careful to so frame it that they themselves should still 
remain in supreme power. The new Parliament >\^as 
to consist of 400 members, but the Rump were to 
retain their seats without re-election, and were to 
be able to reject, at pleasure, newly elected members 
whose opinions were not favourable to them. 

The artifice was too transparent ; it was obviously 
intended to perpetuate their own powers, and there- 
fore could be no settlement at all. 

"Cromwell thereupon called another Conference 
on the 19th April, 1653, at which Sir Harry Vane 
and about tw^enty other members attended. There 
he and the Generals told the Parliament men clearly 
that they would not suffer them to pass such a Bill. 
They proposed, as an alternative, a commission of 
forty leading men to summon a new Parliament. 
The sitting ended late at night without a decision, it 
being agreed to meet again the next day, with an 
understanding that in the meantime the Bill should 
not be passed." 

The next day the Conference was renewed, but 
while it was proceeding word was brought that the 
House was hastily passing the proposed measure 
through all its stages at one sitting. Furious at what 
he believed to be the bad faith of Vane and the 
leaders, Cromwell called a company of musketeers to 
attend him, and with Lambert and other officers 
strode silently to the House. 

The scene which ensued is a very familiar one to 
all readers of history, and is well described by 
Harrison. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, 185 

„, _ Oliver took his seat while Vane was 

Bane. StttatcB pressing the House to pass the 

IPanc!" Dissolution Bill without delay and 
without the customary forms. Then, getting up, 
he began to tell them of their shortcomings, 
accused them of intention to perpetuate themselves 
in power ; and rising into passion, he told them 
that the Lord had done with them, and had chosen 
other instruments lo carry on His work. A member 
rising to complain of such language coming from 
" a trusted servant," Oliver was roused to fury, and 
leaving his seat, walked up and down the floor of the 
House, stamping with his feel and crying, "You are 
no Parliament, I say you are no Parliament. Come, 
come, we have had enough of this; I will put an 
end to your prating. Call them in." Twenty or 
thirty musketeers marched in, while the rest of the 
guard were placed at the doors and in the lobby. 

Vane, from his place, cried out, " This is not 
honest, yea, it is against morality and common 
honesty." But he had nothing to say about his own 
lack of honesty in failing to keep the promise of the 
previous day, and so Oliver turned on him, with a 
loud voice, "O Sir Harry Vane, Sir Harry Vane, the 
Lord deliver me from Sir Harry Vane ! " And then, 
pointing to various members, he accused them of 
lacking public and private morality. Going up to 
the table, and pointing to the mace, he sard, "What 
shall we do with this bauble ? Here, take it a\\-ay I " 
and gave it to a musketeer, "Fetch him down," he 
cried to Harrison, pointing to the Speaker. Lenthall 
refused to come down unless by force. " Sir," said 
Harrison, " I will lend you my hand," and putting 
his hand within his, the Speaker came down. 



i86 THE Tiro PROTECTORS: 

The members went out, fifty-three in all, Cromwell 
speaking in loud tones. To Vane he said that he 
might have prevented this, but that he was a juggler 
and was wanting in common honesty. And then, 
snatching the Bill of Dissolution from the hand of 
the Clerk, he put it under his cloak, and ordering the 
guards to clear the House and to lock it up, went 
away to Whitehall. 

And thus closed one of the most remarkable 
passages in the history of England. 

In considering Cromwell's act, it should be borne 
in mind that while the germ and semblance of legal 
authority remained with the Parliament, it was, in 
reality, as much a revolutionary body as Oliver 
and his Council of Officers ; but while the latter 
demanded the reform of abuses, the Parliament 
wasted its time in frivolous debates. 

Everything was in confusion, "the law in especial 
manner was in a state of chaos. There were 23,000 
imheard cases waiting in Chancery, and this was a 
perpetual grievance both to the General and his 
soldiers. It might surprise lis to find the Army and 
its chief so constantly troubled about the abuses of 
the law, did we not remember that the Civil War was 
the turning point in the history of English law ; that 
it shattered the whole system of feudal tenure, and 
with the Restoration we find the land law mainly 
what it continued to be down to the present century. 
The period of transition was in times of chaos and 
injustice, and Cromwell and his Ironsides were men 
to whom social injustice and official tyranny never 
appealed in vain. But, besides the law, practical 
questions had to be solved. An army of 50,000 men 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 187 

had to be reduced to one half, and a mass of diseased 
and wretched prisoners had to be disposed of ; * and 
fortresses and castles dismantled, reduced, or 
repaired. Ireland and Scotland had to be brought 
into permanent settlement. In one word, a nation 
which had been torn by the years of desperate civil 
war, and of which every institution had been passing 
through a crisis, lay waiting for order, settlement and 
reorganisation." t 

Parliament being dissolved, all committees, in- 
cluding the Council of State, naturally ceased to 
exist. Three days later appeared the " Declaration 
of the Lord General and his Council of Officers." In 
it the state of affairs was referred to and his own 
action justified ; all judges, sheriffs, mayors and other 
ofhcials were requested to continue to administer 
their offices. 

• The following letter (in the Author's collection) from Sir 
F. Willoughby, .iddressed " ITor his Honored ffrind Robert 
Blackboume Esq' Secretary lo the CompJ' for y" Admiralty 
and Navy those present Whitehall," refers to this state of 
things : 

"There wasinyt timeofy tleete being at Portsmouth in 
Aprill last a great number of sick i*t wounded men sett 
ashore and there being nobody to look after them 1 was con- 
slrayned to make use of my brother to lake care of 
y' business." 

Sir F. W. thun goes on to say that the Committee 
refused to recognise his brother's claim without a certilicate, 
and that his brother took great pains to ensure a speedy 
recovery of the men, and " hazarded himselfe, going amongst 
men y' had y smaule pox i\: spotted fevour, by which meanes 
(instrumen tally) he gott a sickness yi had neere cost him his 
life. All the phisitiones giving' him over for a dead man. 
" lo Uec 1653." 
(A few days after Oliver's hrsC installation as Protector.) 
■f F. Harrison. 



t88 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



" Within a few days came in declarations of 
adhesion from the na\7, the armies in Scotland and 
li:eland, and addresses from municipal and civic 
bodies. There were no resignations, no arrests, and 
no further force. The fighting men approved, the 
officials obeyed, and the nation acquiesced. And 
without a show of opposition, the whole machinery 
of the State passed quietly into the strong hand of 
Cromwell." {¥. Hanison.) 

— _ «.^, One of his first acts was to call 

ttbc Xlttic „ .. 

fiarlfament, ^ I-^irliament, which met on the 4th 
■ItbSulH, 1653. j,||y_ 1653, about 140 members being 
present. In his opening speech, Cromwell said that 
he was anxious to " divest the sword of all power in 
the civil administration, and had summoned them that 
he might devolve the burden on their shoulders." 
This was the Little Parliament ; it sat for five months 
— a set of "godly men," but utterly unpractical, the 
majority of them being at length very glad to place 
their resignations in the General's hands, leaving him 
the sole legalised authority in the State. 
mver, XotO ^^ immediately summoned his 

protector. Council of Officers and other persons 
Ifltb ■Bee, 1653. of interest, and in a few days it was 
announced that the Council had offered, and he 
had accepted, the " style of Lord Protector of the 
Commonwealth," to carry on the Government by the 
advice of a Council and with an Instrument of 
Government, or written constitution. The govern- 
ment was invested in a Protector and Council, 
and in the Commons of England, Scotland, and 
Ireland, meeting in triennial Parliaments; the first to 
begin on the 3rd September, 1654. Until the sitting 






,.,.. „i.„.,jil..I :ll„f- 



Mm'l'- 



I [PURTION OVi KROU "OLIVER 
rilten by JOHN Mfltom. ilRncd by O 



l^iram Ibc eriijlmil, in the Authxr'i 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, igi 

of Parliament the Protector and his Council had 
power to make ordinances having the force of law. 
The office of Protector was to be elective, and he 
\\-as to be chosen by the Council. 

Oliver was installed as Protector on the i6th of 
December, 1653 — thus becoming a constitutional 
and strictly limited sovereign. 

" From his installation to his death, Oliver held 
supreme power as Protector of the Commonwealth. 
His task now was to control the Revolution which 
he had led to victory ; and his career enters on a 
new and greater phase. He stands out amongst the 
very few men in all history who, having overthrawn 
an ancient system of government, have proved them- 
selves with even greater success to be constructive 
and conservative statesmen," " 

Oliver was aided in his great task by many noble 
men; "he had with him the Puritan rank and file, 
the great majoritj' of the superior officers ; such clear 
and lofty spirits as those of Milton and Marvell, 
Blake and Lockhdrt, Lawrence and Lisle j the men 
of business ; all moderate men of every party who 
desired peace, order, good government ; the great 
cities ; the army and navy. With these and his own 
commanding geniiis, he held his own triumphantly; 
slowly winning the confidence of the nation by virtue 
of his unbroken success and (as it seemed) miraculous 
fortune. Thus he grew ever larger, until he lay in 
his last sleep, murmuring, ' my work is done ' ; as in 
battle, a soldier who had never met with a reverse, so 
a statesman, who, in a supreme place, had never met 
with a fall." t 

' F. Harrison, f "^id- 



192 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

But he had against him the Republicans, "to 
whom the Revolution meant republican equality 
more than liberty, and legal right even more than 
order and prosperity."* Every man with a "fad" 
was against Oliver, the Bible fanatic, who wanted to 
rule England as Joshua ruled Israel, the Consti- 
tutional martinets and the sociahst dreamers. These 
were all against him from the first. 

His disputes with his Parliaments all hinged upon 
the point as to whether the Executive power should 
be at the disposal of Parliament, as the result of a 
hostile vote ; this he would have none of. 

" From first to last, after the closing of the Long 
Parliament, he struggled for five years to realise his 
fixed idea of a dual Government — neither a Dictator 
without a Parliament, nor a Parhament without a 
head of the Executive. With dogged iteration he 
repeats — the government shall rest with a single per- 
son and a Parliament, the Parliament making all 
laws, and voting all supplies, co-ordinate with the 
authority of the chief person, and not meddling with 
the Executive. This was his idea — an idea which 
the people of England have rejected, hut which 
tlie people of America have adopted. More than 
a century later the founders of the United States 
revived and established Oliver's ideal, basing it upon 
popular election, a thing which, in 1654, was 
impossible in England." t 

Oliver's intense dislike of Dictatorship — an office 

forced upon him by circumstances— and his longing 

for a settled constitutional Government, are clearly 

shown in the concluding chapters of Frederic 

• Y. Harrison. ■(■ Ibid. 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMIVBLL. 153 

Harrison's admirable Life. But "he was no Parlia- 
mentary leader, and never could become one. His 
scorn of eloquent egoism, his hatred of obstruction, 
delay, and waste, his intense masterfulness and passion 
for action, made him unfit for Parliamentary work. 

"The fixed idea of Cromwell was the fixed idea of 
the founders of the United States of America. There 
should be, he thought, a written Instrument ; there 
should be an Executive authority, not directly subor- 
dinate to Parliament ; and there should be what 
Oliver called 'fundamentals,' — fundamental bases 
not alterable like ordinary laws. 

"In his Council and offices were some of the 
ablest men who have ever served this country. But 
the glory of his rule is John Milton. The first political 
genius of his age was served by the greatest literary 
genius of the time." 
Cromwell anB During the struggle with the Long 
AlltoiL Parliament Milton wrote his famous 
sonnet, "Cromwell, our chief of men." It was 
upon the establishment of the Protectorate that he 
published the raagniticent panegyric in the Defensio 
Seainda : — 

" Il'i: are descried, Crotimvll, you alone remain ; the 
sum total of our affairs has come back to you and 
hangs on you alone ; we all yield to your insnperabU 
worth, . . . In human society there is nothing 
more pleasing to God, more agreeable to Reason, 
nothing fairer and more nsefnl to the Stale, than that 
the ivoiihicsl should bear rnlc." 

Amid all the cares of government, Oliver was not 
unmindful of the claims of literature and learning. 
He was a liberal patron of the University of Oxford 



"94 



THE riVO PROTECTORS. 



when Chaiiceilor, and he directed the application of 
monies derived from the church lands in Scotland to 
aid the revenues of King James's College in 
Edinburgh ; and the College at Glasgow largely 
benefited by his good offices. Like other members- 
of his family, Oliver uas evidently fond of music ; 
nor do his tastes in that respect appear to have been 
confined to tlie severe, if not grim, school represented 
by the old Sternhold and Hopkins psaloi tunes, i£ 
we may judge from the interesting and curious 
collection of MS. songs, corantos, masques, galliards, 
and other pieces compiled by his cousin, Anne 
Cromwell.' 

When King Charles was in Scotland, in 1633, he 
promised to give £100 to the Glasgow College, but, 
like many other royal promises, it was forgotten, and 
it remained for the Protector to redeem the good 
name of the dead king, for Oliver paid the money in 
1654. 

Oliver issued his warrant for the founding of the 
University of Durham, directing that the revenue 
should be provided out of tlie funds of the Bishop 
and Chapter ; but the intentions of the Protector 
were temporarily frustrated by the jealousy of the 
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the authorities 
of these institutions declaring that the State did not 
require a third University, and that its establishment 
would interfere with their vested rights of conferring 
degrees. 

Oliver also conferred a rich boon upon all 
succeeding generations by causing Richmond Park 
to be thrown open to the public for ever. 
■Vide Addenda. 



J 



CHAPTER XIII. 

«,. , J, J Oliver's first Protectorate Parlia- 
pacUanicnt, 3rB, inent met on the 3rd September, 

Sept., 1654. 1654, the writs of course being in 
his name. 

Instead of proceeding with the business of the 
nation, the Parliament, under the leadership of 
Haselrig, Bradshaw, and other republicans, began at 
once to question the very Instrument of Government 
under which they sat. This, Oliver would not stand ; 
on the 12th September he again summoned the 
House to meet him, and addressed them in a power- 
ful speech ; — 

" They were," he said, " a free Parliament, provided 
they recognised the authority which had called them 
together. I called not myself to this place I God 
and the People of these nations have borne testimony 
to it, God and the People shall take it from me, else 
I will not part with it. I should be false to the trust 
which God hath placed in me, and to the interest of 
the people of these nations, if I did." 

_, . - .. The Parliament continued lo dis- 

girit parlta ■ 

mcnt Bf980lpc0 regard the authority of the Protector ; 

22nB 3aii„ at the end of five months they had 

1655-6. , . , . r 1. . 

not sent up a smgle act tor his assent, 

neither had they provided supply. On the 22nd of 
January, 1655, Oliver dissolved Parliament in a speech 
full of reproaches. 



k 



198 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

On the 17th of September, 1656, Oliver called 
his last Parliament, having ruled the country through 
his Major Generals during the twenty months that 
Secon& Carlla* ^•^'^ elapsed since the previous one. 
nicnt, 17tb These men, by thetr arbitrary acts, 
Sept.. 1656. ^^^ stirred up a feeling of discontent 
and unrest throughout the land, thereby bringing the 
Protector's Government into the greatest disrepute. 

When old Sir Jacob Astley surrendered his sword 
after his defeat at Stow-in-the-Wold in the final 
action of the first Civil War, he said to his captors, 
"My masters, yon have done your icork and way go 
play, unless you please now lo fall out among yourselves." 

The " falling out " had now commenced in earnest, 
the country was distracted by contending factions, 
and Oliver was at his wits' end. 

His great desire was to see a Parliament 
brought together which should be composed of good 
business men, well affected to the new order of 
things, who would devote themselves to putting an 
end to the existing distractions which were threaten- 
ing the life of the Government. But in spite of all 
precautions more than one hundred rabid malcon- 
tents were returned, and were promptly rejected by 
the Council. 

This Parliament concerned itself principally with a 
scheme for vesting the Crown in Oliver, a majority 
of the members being in favour of that course. The 
country was by no means averse to the proposal, and 
it was actively supported by the lawyers and business 
men, as well as the more conser\'ative of the Puritans ; 
but the bulk of the Army disliked it, and the various 
fanatics were rabidly antagonistic. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 199 

Twice the Parliament implored the Protector to 
accept the Kingship, but after much consideration he 
finally refused it. His enemies, both Republican and 
Royalist — iind he had about as many enemies as any 
man ever had— were in entire agreement on one 
point, at any rate : they all believed he desired the 
Kingship, but that he let " I dare not %vait upon I 
would." 

Replying to an urgent request that he should 
assume the title, he declared that he valued it " but 
as a feather in his hat." He knew that he possessed 
supreme power, and that was enough for him ; but 
he also knew that six hundred years of unbroken 
kingship had permeated every institution in the land. 
It was known to the law, to the constitution, and to 
the people, and its prerogatives and rights were 
settled by custom. He felt, too, that while the 
" King " was to the people at large the outward and 
\nsible sign of authority, a " Protector " was but a 
locitin Iciieits — an unfamiliar makeshift. Moreover, 
Cromwell never forgot that the great object of the 
war had been, not the abolition of monarchy, but 
the limitation of its powers. 

To all unbiassed students of his career, one fact 
stands out in clear relief — he was the most con- 
servative o( revolutionists. It is equally clear that it 
was due to Charles much more than to Oliver that 
the kingly office was abolished. 

Cromwell did his utmost to persuade Charles to 
adopt constitutional government ; indeed, to such a 
point did he carry his efforts, that many of his 
colleagues began to suspect his loyalty to "the 
cause," and it was not until he was convinced, by 



I 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMIVELL. 103 

Houses being present. Here is an account of the 
opening ceremony, reproduced from a hitherto un- 
published doci!inent^7/;f Journal of Oliver's House 
of Lords:' "His Highnes being set in his Chayre 

• From a MS. Journal of Oliver's House of Lords, in the 
Author's collection. In a communii'alion from the British 
Museum (where the volume had been sent for inspection) it 
is stated ; " The Journal of the Protettorate House of Lords 
appears to be of great importance. So far as 1 can discover, 
no other copy of this Journal e.\ists, and, according to the 
Parliamentary Historj', vol, xxi., 1763, p. 263. 'there are 
no records left us of their Proceedings, except what the 
Journal of the Commons supply." " 

In a letter under date, Westminster, 24th March, 1659-60 
from John Maidston, personal friend of Oliver, and Treasurer 
to the Protector Richard, after referring to Oliver's second 
Installation as Protector, in 1657, under the "Petition and 
Advice," occurs this passage : 

" In it (the ' Petition and Advice ') provision was made for 
another House of Parliament, instead of the old Lords ; that 
this might be a screen or balance betwixt the Protector and 
Commons, as the former lords had been betwi.\l the King 
and them. These to consist of 70 persons, all at first to be 
nominated by the Protector, and, after, as any one died, a 
new one to be nominated by him and his successors, and 
assented to hy themselves, or without that consent, not to 
sit : twenty of them was a quorum. It was no small task for 
the Protector to find ' idoneous ' men for this place, because 
the future security of the honest interest seemed to be laid 
up in them . ... for they would propagate their own 
kind as a single person (i.e. Protector) could not ... so 
barren was the island of persons of quaUty, spirited for such 
a service, as they were not to be found .... This 
forced him to make it up of men of mean rank, and con- 
Kequently of less interest, and upon trial, too lig'ht for balance, 
too thin for a screen .... being made a scorn by the 
nobility and gentry, and generality of the people ; the House 
of Commons continually spurning at their power, and spend- 
ing large debates in controverting their title, till at length 
the Protector dissolved the Parliament, and so silenced that 
controversy for that time."— Thurloe, vol. 1. p. 766. 

Maidston in writing of Ohver's Lords quoted I Cor. i, j6v. 
■"Ye see your calling, iioi many wise nor noble," 




204 'i'fiE. TWO PROTECTORS : 

of state, and the Lords sitting in their places, the 
Howse of Comons were sent for, and being come 
with their Speaker to the Barre, His Highness spake 
to thera to this effect— (Here enter speech) 

"Then the Lord Comr Fyennes standing by the 
[chair of] State on the right hand made a speach to 
the effect following 

(not entered) • 

"Which being ended the Comons wth their Speaker ■ 
retorned vnto their house and his Highness ■ 
departed. 

" Ordered that all the members of this house who- 
haiie not this day delivered in their writts of Siimons 
doc bring them into the house tomorrow or as soone 
as they may to the end an entry of them may be 
made by the Clerke and then the same to be 
retorned. 

"The Lord Comr Fyennes by direccon of the 
house declared this present Parliamt to be con- 
tinued till tomorrow nine of the Clock in the 
morning." 

The Commons, on reassembling under the New ■ 
Constitution, readmitted the excluded members,' 
Haselrig and others, having no longer power to re- 
ject any who were willing to take the prescribed 
oath. These men, from their experience and ability, 
soon became the leaders of the House, and again 
commenced their old tactics by endeavouring to- 
destroy the Constitution under which they had met. 



•The " Juiirnal" was evidently the Clerk's rough copy, 
and doubtless the speeches were to have been entered in the 
fair copy, which appears not to have been made. 



J 



(. 



I 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 207 

Oliver had aroused the susceptibilities of the Re- 
publican members of the Commons, by referring to 
the "other house" as "the Lords," and when that 
House sent a message to the Commons, proposing 
the setting apart of a day for a solemn fast, a 
heated discussion ensued, causing all other business 
to be set aside. 

It was more than Oliver could bear. Suffering 
from illness, and from grave anxiety on account of 
the dissatisfaction in the Army — with Royalist plots 
making head in all directions — it was maddening to 
him that his last hope of a constitutional settlement 
of the Government should be shattered by the 
" irresponsible chatter " of doctrinaires, and the 
malice of personal enemies in the House of Commons. 

Summoning the two Houses into his presence, he 
suddenly dissolved Parliament in a speech of burn- 
ing indignation and proud defiance, calling upon 
God to judge between them and him. 

Such was Oliver's last Parliament. 

"Apart from opposition from his Parliament, the 
Protectorate was one unbroken success, Order, 
trade, justice, learning, culture, rest and public con- 
fidence returned and grew ever stronger .... 
and with these, a self-respect, a spirit of hope and 
expansion such as had not been felt since the defeat 
of the Armada. But it was in foreign policy that 
the splendour of Oliver's rule dazzled his con- 
temporaries." "His greatness at home," wrote 
Clarendon, "was but a shadow of the glory he had 
abroad." It was the epoch when supremacy at sea 
finally passed from the Dutch to the English ; it was 
the beginning of the maritime empire of England. 



aoS THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

" Never had the fortunes of ' the cause ' stood 
firmer than in July, 1658, had but Oliver been 
destined to live out his three score years and ten. 
At home, rebellion and plots had been once more 
utterly stamped out ; abroad, the capture of Dunkirk 
had raised the glory of England to its highest point ; 
3 new Parliament was preparing, it was hoped, with 
happier prospects. 

"But the wings of the Angel of Death already 
were hovering over the house of Oliver. 

" His youngest daughter, Frances, a bride of three 
months, was made a widow in February, by the 
death of young Rich, grandson and heir to the Earl 
of Warwick, The old Earl, the staunches! friend of 
the Protector amongst the Peers, followed his 
grandson in April. Next, in July, the Protector's 
favourite daughter, Elizabeth Claypole, lay dying at 
Hampton Court. She, too, had recently lost her 
youngest boy, Oliver. Through nearly the whole of 
July the broken-hearted father hung over her bedside, 
unable to attend to any public business whatever. 
On the 6th of August she was dead. Oliver himself 
had sickened during her last days, and although he 
came to London on the loth, when she was buried 
in Henry VIl's Chapel, he returned to Hampton 
Court very ill." His physicians, thinking that the air 
of Whitehall might be more favourable for his 
ailment, Oliver was removed there on the 24th. It 
was his last journey, for " his time was come, and 
neither prayers nor tears could prevail with God to 
lengthen out his life." 

"'On Monday, the 30th of August, there raged a 
terrific storm, and superstition and party malice made 
the most of it.' 




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I 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, an 

" The dying man was now conscious only partially 
and at intervals. They urged him to name his 
successor. The sealed paper with Richard's name in 
it could not be found. Was it Richard ? No man 
now knows. Twice the sinking ruler was believed 
to have given some indistinct assent." The night 
before his death he was very restless, speaking often 
to himself, "and there being something to drink 
offered him, he \\'as desired to take the same and 
endeavour to sleep — unto which he answered : ' /( (s 
not tny design to drink or sleep ; but »ty design is to 
make what haste I can to be gone,' " 

"Towards morning he used some expressions of 
consolation and peace, and some of deep humility 
and self-abasement. 

Deatb. 3rB " The day that dawned was his day 
Sept., 1658. of triumph— the 3rd of September,— 
the day of Dunbar and Worcester. He was then 
speechless and remained all day in a stupor ; prayer, 
consternation and grief, all around him. Between 
three and four in the afternoon the watchers by his 
bedside heard a deep sigh. Oliver was dead."* 

" I/is ashes in a firace/ul urn shall rest: 
His name a great example stands to show 
Htm strangely high endeavours may be blest. 
Where Piety and Valour jointly ^."^ 

Twenty-seven years after there was another death- 
bed scene at Whitehall. That anointed reprobate, 
Charles 11., the hero of the " Blessed " Restoration, 
after a life of shameless profligacy, lay tossing on his 
bed of pain, complaining that he was a " most uncon- 
scionable long time in dying." 

• F. Harrison. f Dryden's Panegyric. 



212 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

This man, who dared not look the Lion of England 
in the face while yet alive, and who was engaged in 
killing flies on the windows of his palace in the com- 
pany of one of his mistresses, while the enemies of his 
country were sailing up the Thames, destroying the 
Royal ships ; this man was guilty of the incredible 
meanness of causing the body of the Great Protector 
to be taken from its grave and hung on the gallows 
at Tyburn, And this is the record, as published in 
the newspapers of the day : " January 30th, 1660 o.s. 
The odious carcasses of O. Cromwell, H, Ireton, and 
]. Bradshaw drawn upon sledges to Tyburn, and 
being pulled out of their coffins, there hanged at the 
several angles of that triple tree till sunset. Then 
taken down, beheaded, and their loathsome trunks 
thrown into a deep hole under the gallowes. Their 
heads were afterwards set upon poles on the top of 
Westminster Hall," And this is the mason's receipt 
for taking up the corpses : " May, the 4th day, 1661. 
Received then in full of the worshipful Serjeant 
Norfolke, fourteen shillings for taking up the corps 
of Cromeli, and lerton and Brasaw. Reed, by inee, 1 
John Lewis." 



In these days of Tory reaction and reassertion i 
clerical domination, when 

" New foes arise 
Threat'oing to bind our souls with secular chains " 

— foes, reinforced by deserters from the Army 1 
Progress — it becomes increasingly necessary that t 
motives which actuated the leaders of thought in th« 
17th century in their struggle against Tyrann^ 
should be re-stated and made clear to the rising 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 215 

generation of Nonconformists and to Englishmen 
generally. 

That the question is not one of merely academic 
interest is proved by the fact that although two and 
a half centuries have elapsed since the death of 
Oliver, the antagonism excited by the mention of his 
name is little less acute than in the days immediately 
following the " Blessed " Restoration. The spirit of 
Laud is stiil rampant in certain quarters ; and, 
although it is no longer possible to crop the ears of 
pestilent Nonconformists, it ;s still possible for 
bigoted and unscrupulous clergymen to harass and 
inflict grievous loss upon humble Nonconformists in 
numberless rural districts. 

It is the continued existence of this spirit which 
imposes upon those who have suffered from its 
manifestation — as I have — the imperative duty of 
recalling to the minds of their children what their 
forefathers endured in their determination to secure 
the blessings of civil and religiousliberty for succeed- 
ing generations. It has been well said by a recent 
writer, * " If Charles I. and Archbishop Laud had 
succeeded, the liberties of England would have 
perished, and the England of to-day would have been 
in the condition of Spain or Russia"; and it is to 
Oliver Cromwell, more than to any other individual, 
that the English-speaking race are indebted for the 
boundless freedom that they now enjoy. He was the 
embodiment of the forces that for ever destroyed 
autocratic government in Church and State, in the 
persons of Charles and Laud, and he is aptly 

• Dr. R. F. Horton. Oliver Cromviell : A Study in 
Personal Religion. (London : James Clarke & Co). 



ai6 THE TWO PROTECTORS. 

described by Dr. S. R. Gardiner as ''the greatest, 
because the most typical Englishman of all time." 

Well may Carlyle say : " The memory of Oliver 
Cromwell, as I count, has a good many centuries in it'* 



RICHARD CROMWELL. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



"General Monck to Ihc Sheriff of Renfreivshire. 

" loth Sept., 165S. 
"Sir, 

" /// haveiiig pleased the most wise God in his provi- 
dence to lake out of this world that mosle serene and 
retwuncd Oliver, late Lord Protector, whose name and 
memory will be cx'er pretionse to all good men ; and his 
said late Highness having in his lifetynie according to 
the hnmble petition and advice, appointed and declared 
the most noble and excellent lord, the Lord Richard, 
eldest Sonne of his said late highness, to sncceed litm in 
the Government; His highnes ConnciU heere have 
therefore, fry direction of the Privy ConnciU in England, 
ordered the inclosed Proclamation to be pnblislied of 
wliich they have sent yon sevcrall printed copptes heere 
inclosed, that you may duly proclaitne the same in your 
Sheriffdoome ; and yon are with all expedition to send 
some of the said printed copies to the magistrates of 
each bnrgh royall therein. 

"Signed in the name, and by order, of the ConnciU. 
"GEORGE MONCK. 
*' Edin. toth September, /6jS. 
" For the High Sherriffe of the Shire of Renfrew, These," 

In all ages the successors of great men have had 
difficult roles to play, and have suffered in reputation 



234 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



k 



much more than they would have done had they 
been separated by a generation or two from their 
great predecessors; and this is more particularly the 
case when a distinguished man is succeeded by his 
son. There have, of course, been exceptions, as in 
the case of King Solomon, and of the younger Pitt, 
but such exceptions may well be held to prove the 
rule. 

After making every allowance, however, for 
Richard Cromwell as being "the son of his father," 
and after taking into account the unexampled diffi- 
culties of his position in the State at the demise of 
his illustrious sire, it must be admitted that he was 
entirely unequal to the great task which then 
devolved upon him. 

Like too many young men in every age, he 
appears to have taken it for granted that the edifice 
raised by the genius and untiring energy of his 
father, must of necessity endure after its founder had 
disappeared from the scene of his triumphs. But in 
matters of State, as in the conceins of every-day life, 
the truth remains that they can only be maintained 
by the exercise of the same qualities that first 
brought them into being. 

Speculation has often been indulged in as to what 
would have happened if the Great Protector had 
named as his successor his second sur\'iving son, the 
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; but all such speculations 
are necessarily i.'ain. It is true that Henry had been 
engaged in affairs of State from early youth and had 
evinced a great capacity for government ; in Ireland 
he had shown that he possessed in an eminent 
degree one of the greatest qualities of a Statesman — 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 225 

the/orti/fr in rt and ihe siiaviter in modo,hiit it is also 
true that the situation in England, at Oliver's death, 
demanded quahties which have rarely, if ever, been 
combined in any single person. It had become 
evident that the force of the Revolution was spent, 
and that there was a strong recoil in the direction of 
Monarchy- 
Old Sir Jacob Astley's forecast that the various 
elemeiitH of which the CommonweaUh party had 
been composed would quickly become disintegrated 
after the final defeat of their common enemy, had 
been amply verified. The Presbyterians, almost to 
a man, favoured the retiirn of the Stuarts, and the 
Fifth Monarchy men and Other enthusiasts were 
ready to join any party in overturning the existing 
order of things. 

Under the circumstances it may well be questioned 
whether, as occupant of the Chair of State during a 
time of transition, Richard was not an ideal locitin 
tenens, and whether his soft and yielding nature and 
his determination that no blood should be shed in 
upholding his position, were not the very qualities 
needed for the situation. 

Had Henry succeeded to the Protectorate, it is 
quite possible that he might have made a successful 
stand in opposition to the forces arrayed against him, 
but it would only have been after another cruel and 
wasteful war, with its legacies of hate and ruin. 
There is ample evidence to show that the majority of 
the English people preferred a monarchical form of 
government, and it is equ.illy certain that at the 
outset of the quarrel between the King and Parlia- 
ment, and for long afterwards, there were few indeed 



L 



226 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

who desired to put an end to Monarchy in England. 
What Cromwell and the other Parliamentary leaders 
desired was that the Constitution should be changed 
in accordance with the principles of the Petition of 
Right passed by the Parliament of 1628. Had 
Charles then consented, in good faith, to even a 
moderate limitation of his powers, Cromwell and 
other Conserv-ative leaders of the popular party would 
have gladly made terms with him ; but he preferred 
to be guided by the principles of Laud and Strafford, 
with which he was in entire sympathy. And so, 
when Richard descended from the throne, a large 
section of the more moderate members of the 
Commonwealth party, wearied of war and general 
unsettlement, inclined to the hope that the Stuarts, 
having profited by their heavy experiences, would, if 
permitted to return, take warning from the errors of 
Charles and from his terrible fate, and consent to 
govern the country on more liberal principles. But 
after being tried again Ihey were finally found wanting, 
for, like the Bourbons of a later age, they had " learned 
nothing, and forgotten nothing " in the days of their 
adversity ; hence, after twenty-eight years of national 
degradation and most scandalous misgovernraent, 
both in Church and State, almost everything that the 
Great Protector fought and laboured for had to be 
for ever seciu^ed by the Revolution of 1688. 

While Oliver yet remained unburied, and extensive 
preparations were being made for his funeral, money 
had to be found for the preliminary expenses. In 
my collection 1 have the original order of the New 
Protector upon his Treasury for ;^i,500, on that 
account ; it runs thus : 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, aj; 

"Richard, by the grace of God, Lord Protector of the 
Co mm on wealth, etc., etc., to the Commissioners of our 
Treasury and all others the Officers and Ministers of our 
Exchequer at Westminster to whom these our letters shall 
appertain and to every oflhem. Greeting: By the advice of our 
Privy Councell and for the reasonseipressed in their Order of 
the eight and twentieth day of September in this present year 
of our Lord, one thousand six hundred and fifty-eight, Our will 
and pleasure is and we hereby will and command you that out 
of such our Treasure as is or shall bee remayning in the 
receipt of our Exchequer by the Customes and Excise or any 
other branch of our Revenue you forthwith pay or cause to be 
payd unto John Maidstone. Esquire,* Coferer of our House- 
hold the sum of fifteen hundred pounds of lawful money of 
England to enable him to satisfye and pay for such things as 
are necessary to be forthwith provided towards the charges of 
the ffuneral of our most derre Lord and father, Oliver, Lord 
Protector of blessed memory, and for soe doing this our letter 
on the inroUment thereof shall bee your sufficient warrant and 
discharge in this behalfe. Given under our Privie Scale at 
our Pallace of Westminster the thirtieth day of September, 
in the yeare of our Lord 1658. Inrolled the 14th day of 
October, 1658." 



The total expenses of the funeral amounted to 
nearly ^30,000, but the _£i,5oo previously referred to, 
and a sum of £(i,g2g 6s. 5d. for black cloaks (of 
which we shall hear again), was all that the country 
paid towards it, the remainder being left to Richard 
to pay. Oliver was buried on the 23rd of November 
following.t 

* The writer of ihe letter to Governor Winthrop of Massa- 
chusetts. Thurloe, p. 763. See ante. 

t The escutcheon borne at the Protector's funeral is now 
in the possession of Rev. T. Cromwell Bush, Castle Caiy, 
Siimerset, a lineal descendant of Oliver through the Russell 
Baniage. 



k 



228 THE TWO PROTECTORS : 

Vichaifi Richard, the third son of the 

Ccomwell, born Protector OHver, was born at Hunt- 
4tb®ct. 1626. jngdon, and was educated at Felsted 
School in Essex ; so as to be under the care of his 
grandfather, Sir J. Bourchier, who lived there. 
Nothing is known of Richard's youth, consequently 
many tales are told of him. 

There is reason to believe that he was, nomi- 
nally, attached to the Army after his father had 
become Protector, but the profession of arms had 
evidently no attraction for him, and his accession to 
power was never popular with the Army in conse- 
quence. He chose the law as his profession, and 
was entered of Lincoln's Inn, 27th May, 1647, but 
there is no further record of his legal experiences. 

On May-day, 1649, after long negotiation on the 
part of Oliver (as fully set forth in Carlyle), Richard 
was married to Dorothy Major, of Hursiey, in 
Hampshire. Dorothy's father was a shrewd old 
man, and when the question of settlements was 
under discussion, he expressed decided preference 
for land thai had come to Oliver by inheritance, 
rather than for that obtained by Parliamentary grant 
from the confiscated estates of Malignant Royalists. 

Little is known of Richard's proceedings until he 
was called to supreme power on the death of his 
father. He led the life of a country gentleman, 
apparently taking little note of what was passing in 
the busy world outside. Evidently his father was 
not satisfied with his easy going ways, for in a letter 
to his " Brotlier Major," Oliver says, " I have com- 
mitted my son to you, pray give him advice. I 
would have him mind and understand business, read 




i„^ «Cu> Lit 4/'" ■ •'■•■ 
,^ —t /^•i.'' "'A ^ "--r^ • 

„^ /C,3 .«> ^Jlj~i If'"- 

?- 







OLIVER AA'D RICHARD CROMWELL. 231 

2 little History, study the Mathematics and Cosmo- 
graphy—these are good, with subordination to the 
things of God, rather than idleness or mere outward 
worldly contentment. These fit for public services 
for which a man is born." 

Soon after becoming Protector, Richard's troubles 
began, and they were mainly caused by those 
from whom he had the greatest right to expect un- 
stinted service— men like Desborough, Fleetwood, 
Lambert, and other great officers of the Army, 
who had been raised to place and power by the late 
Protector. It had become more and more evident 
that the ambition of these men had only been kept 
in check by the master spirit to whom they owed 
their positions, and great was the delight of the 
Royalists in these plottings and exhibitions of dis- 
respect towards Richard. 

Clarendon, in his History of lite Rebellhit. says : 
"The next morning' after the death of Oliver, Richard his son 
was proclaimed hia lawful successor" and was cong-ratulated 
by all the authorities, civil and military. " Foreign princes 
addressed their condolences to him and desired to renew 
their alliances. , . . so that the King's condition never 
appeared so hopeless, so desperate ; for a more favourable 
conjuncture his friends could never expect than this, which 
now seemed to blast all their hop)es, and con&nn their utmost 

But what the intrigues of the Royalists failed to 
do, was brought about by the enemies of Richard's 
own household. Desborough, who had married 
Ohver's sister, and Fleetwood, Richard's brother-in- 
law, having failed in their objection to Richard's 
succession, joined with Lambert and others in 



► 



2ii THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

demanding that the appointment of officers in the 
Army should be taken out of the Protector's hands, 
on the ground of his being a lawyer ; this was the 
beginning of his downfall. Henry Cromwell had no 
doubt of the disaffection of his relatives in the Army, 
as he fully showed his brother in a letter from 
Dublin under date 20th October, 1658 — " I thought 
those whom my father had raised from nothing, 
would not so soon have forgot him, and endeavoured 
to destroy his family before he is in his grave . . . 
Sometimes I think of a Parhament, but am doubtful 
whether sober men will venture to embark them- 
selves when things are in so high a state of distrac- 
tion, or, if they would, whether the Army can be 
restrained from forcing elections. I am almost 
afraid to come over to your highness, lest 1 should 
be kept there and so your highness lose this Army. 
I also think it dangerous to write freely to 
you. . . . God help you and bless your 
Councils." A despairing note, truly 1 

On the same day Henry Cromwell wrote to his 
brother-in-law, Fleetwood, entreating him to con- 
sider what he was doing before it was too late. " Let 
me beg you to remember how his late highness 
loved you ; how he honoured you with the highest 
trust by leaving the sword in your hand which must 
defend or destroy us." "Let us remember his last 
legacy, and, for his sake, render his successor con- 
siderable, and not make him vile, a thing of naught, 
and a by-word." 

It soon became evident that the Army was much 
divided in opinion on public affairs, the Republican 
party, including most of the superior officers, 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMIVELL. z^i 

Lambert, Fleetwood, etc., desiring to depose the 
Protector and to re-establish the Commonwealth, 
while Monk, who commanded in Scotland, had long 
been an object of suspicion. Richard, therefore, 
summoned a Parliament, which was duly opened 
by him on the 27th January, 1658-g. He, or 
his advisers, thought he would have a more facile 
assembly if he resorted to the "rotten boroughs" of 
the Long Parliament, which had been disfranchised 
by Oliver, but in adopting this course he made a fatal 
mistake — an act of illegality which was soon followed 
by another on the part of his enemies in Parliament. 

Those old enemies of Oliver — Bradshaw, Scot, 
Vane, Ludlow and Hazelrig — were members of the 
new Parliament, and by their eloquence and experience 
soon obtained the lead of the House, and proceeded 
to take measures for limiting the power of the 
Protector and of the "other house." At their sit- 
ting of 28th March, 1659, it was resolved, "That it 
shall be part of this Bill to be brought in, to declare 
the Parliament to consist of Two Houses," and it 
was also resolved, "That this House will transact 
with the persons now sitting in the 'other House' as 
an House of Parliament during this present Parlia- 
ment and that it is not hereby intended to exclude 
such peers as have been faithful to the Parliament 
from their privileges of being duly summoned to be 
members of that house." * 

The Committee of Army officers continuing their 
meetings, and rumours of their intentions reaching 
Parliament, it was resolved at the sitting of 18th 
April, 1659, "That during the sitting of the Parlia- 

• Vide MS. Commons Journal in the Autlior's collection. 



ZJ4 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

ment there shall be no General Coimcil or meeting 
of the officers of the Army without the direction, 
leave or authority, of His Highness the Lord 
Protector and both Houses of Parliament," ' 

And it was further resolved that no person should 
hold any command in the Array or Navy who should 
refuse to subscribe to an undertaking that he would 
not disturb the free meetings in Parliament of any of 
the members of either House, or their freedom in 
their debates. 

The passing of these Resolutions 
J''"°'ii"'^ becoming known to the Council of 

Ifltb Bvcil, Officers, Desborough and Fleetwood 
1950. were deputed to waif upon the Pro- 

tector, and to demand a dissolution of Parliament, 
failing which, they were prepared to put an end to it, 
in the name of the Army. The officers and others who 
had remained true to Richard strongly advised him 
to stand firm and to cause the revolted officers to be 
arrested and punished, and then to prorogue Parlia- 
ment- Herepliedthathe"didnot loveblood,"andfeel- 
ing that the end of his government had come, he com- 
plied with the will of those who possessed the power, 
and signed the act of dissolution on the 22nd April. 
frftVicbarb '^^'^ '^^' "'^^ ^^ Protector Richard 

protector, was referred to in the proceedings of 
the House of Commons as " His Highness" was on 
Tuesday, the 19th of April, 1659, upon a motion 
duly passed, requiring all suspected persons to 
" depart the Cities of London and Westminster and 
the lines of communication by the space of twenty 
miles."t 

• Vide MS, Commons Journal in the Author's collection. 

+ Ibid. 




OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMIVEKL. 235 

Richard's Protectorate lasted seven months and 
twent\--eight days. 

The supreme authority was now in the hands of 
Fleetwood and the Council of Officers, and they 
determined to recall the Rump of the Long 
Parliament dissolved by Oliver on the 2oIh 
April, 1653. Accordingly, on the 7th May, the 
Speaker of the late Parliament appeared in his place 
in the House of Commons, and with him many of 
the old Rump members. He informed them 
that on the previous day General Lambert had 
placed in his hands a Declaration in the name of 
Fleetwood and the Council of Ofticers, as follows : — 
" A declaration of the officers of this army inviting 
the members of the Long Parliament who continued 
sitting till the 20th April, 1653, to return to the 
exercise and discharge of their Trust." At this sitting 
the members present expressed their purpose to settle 
the Commonwealth on such a foundation as would 
secure the prosperity of the people, "and that without 
a single person, Kingship or House of Peers." 

On the 8th May, by resolution of Parhament, 
Fleetwood was appointed Commander-in-Chief of 
the armies in England and Scotland, and on the 
r3th a report from the Committee of Safety was read 
in the House, recommending that in future the 
Commander-in-Chief and six officers should nominate 
all officers of the Army and sign their commissions 
on behalf of Parliament, which was agreed to. 
ZK oommmce '^' Committee ot Safety, s.tting at 

otSatctB. Wallingford House, had now secured 

Aag. 1659. (he initiative in all public matters, 
including the nomination of Judges and dealings 



z.i6 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



^ 



with Foreign Ambassadors. The Mayor of Ports- 
mouth, on the r3th May, notified the Committee 
of the fact tliat 400 Spanish soldiers had been 
captured of! the Isle of Wight, and that he had 
temporarily allowed them fourpence a day for 
subsistence. As showing the confusion into which 
things had got, the Mayor stated that he had also 
communicated the circumstances to the Admiralty, 
and had asked for their order, " but not knowing 
who now acts in that employment," he thought it his 
duty also to tell them. 

On the i6th May the House resolved, "That it be 
referred ... to the Committee of Safety to take 
into consideration the present condition of the eldest 
son of the late Lord Generall Cromwell, and to 
inform themselves what his estate is, and what his 
debts are, and how they have been contracted, and 
how farre he doth acquiesce in the government of 
the Commonwealth as it is declared by this Parlia- 
ment, and to offer uppon the whole what they 
conceive expedient in this behalf, to the Parliament." 

At the same sitting it was resolved, "That Whitehall 
and Sommersett House be forthwith exposed to sale, 
and improved to the best advantage of the Common- 
wealth, for and towards the sattisfaction and great 
arrears due to the Army." 

On the 25th May the members appointed to wait 
upon Richard Cromwel! reported that they had duly 
done so, and had obtained his submission to the 
present government, along with a statement of his 
financial position. The schedule of debts showed 
;£23,55o to be owing, besides ;^3,7oo, which the 
"family" had advanced during the past winter for 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 237 

buying coats for the soldiers, and ;£6og owing to 
Richard for advances to the Dunkirk garrison. 

In consideration of Richard's submission, the 
Parliament agreed to *' putt in oblivion all matters 
past as regards the said Richard Cromwell, and to 
take upon them his just debts" ; at the same time 
they requested him to retire from Whitehall, and 
instructed the Committee to provide a means for 
paying the said debts, and to ad\'ance him £2,000 
forthwith. 

In the meantime, on the 4th July, Sir Arthur 
Haselrig moved a resolution in the House which 
was adopted, "That the Parliament doth hereby 
exempt Richard Cromwell, eldest son of the late 
Lord General Cromwell, from all arrests for any 
debt whatsoever for six months." 

On the i6th July, Parliament ordered that the debt 
should be " satisfied by the sale of the plate, hang- 
ings, goods and furniture in Whitehall and Hampton 
Court, belonging to the State, which may be con- 
veniently spared, and that the same be forthwith 
sold," Three members of the House were also 
instructed to examine as to what goods in the two 
palaces were " bought with the State's money," and 
to make "a true survey" of the buds and other 
property scheduled by Richard. 

Nothing further was heard of these just and 
generous proposals until the 2nd February, 1659-60, 
when it was ordered by Parliament that the money 
raised by the sale of the "goods" at Whitehall and 
Hampton Court should be applied to the payment of 
the Army. So all the fine promises came to naught ; 
the creditors (presumably) were never paid, and 



238 



THE TWO PROTECTORS. 



b 



Richard Cromwell shortly after had to flee to the 
Continent to avoid arrest on account of them, and 
to spend twenty years in exile. — " Put not your trust 
in Princes," nor in Revolutionary Governments. 

In my collection of Cromwellian MSS. there is a 
curious little document, relating to a " shagreen 
truncke," entirely in the handwriting of Richard 
Cromwell. Here it is : " Whereas I have formerly 
delivered to Mrs. Rachell Pengelly my little shagreen 
truncke which is now in her custody, I doe hereby 
give and confirme the same and the things there in 
mentioned unto her the said Rachell Pengelly. But 
1 desire and request her to deliver the said Trunck 
and the said things contained therein after my death, 
unto my loving sister Mary Countess ffauconberge 
upon her payment of the sum of Fifty pounds unto 
the said Rachell Pengelly, and not otherwise ; and 
upon such payment I give the said Trunck and the 
said tilings it contains unto my said sister to her 
owne use, witness my hand, this second day of 
December 1706. 

" Richard Cromwell." 

One wonders what the trunk contained, and what 
has become of it. It is related in some of the 
histories of the time, that when Richard was removing 
from Whitehall he ordered his servants to be very 
careful of two old trunks, which stood in his ward- 
robe. Upon a friend asking him what they con- 
tained that he should be so anxious about them, he 
replied, "Why no less than the lives and fortunes of 
all the good people of England," They contained 
the addresses of congratulation upon his accession to 
power, from all parts of the kingdom. 



CHAPTER XV. 

When the deputation waited upon 

tor ■RlcbarO Richard, by order of Parliament, to 

Ctomwcll'8 ascertain the amount of his debts, 

" Subaistcncc." ., , ,, _, . . . / i.- 

they also obtamed a statement ot nis 

income. This was derived from real estate at Dalby, 
Newhall, Broughton, Gower, Chopstall, Majore, 
WoUaston, Chaulton, Burleigh, Oakham, and 
Egleton, making a total of ;f7,3i9 los. id., out of 
which he had to pay :— 

To his mother - - - - ^£'2,000 os. od. 
„ „ brother Henry - - 2,001 17s. gd. 
„ „ sister Frances - - 1,200 os. od. 
Other annuitants - - - 818 os. od. 



Total £(1,0^9 17^- 9d- 
leaving a balance of (say) ^1,299 per annum ; but 
this was encumbered with a debt of ;£3,ooo incurred 
during his father's lifetime. Before adjourning, on 
the 25th May, Parliament gave a Committee in- 
structions to consider what was fit to be done to 
provide a " comfortable and honourable subsistence 
for the said eldest son of the late Lord Generall 
Cromwell." 

On the i6th July, Parliament received a report 
from the Committee in which it was recommended 



k 



240 rff£ TWO PROTECTORS: 

that Richard Cromwell's nett income of £i,2<^ 
should be made up to ;f 10,000 by Parliament, and 
that as the annuities payable by him fell in by the 
death of the recipients, the Parliamentary grant 
should be reduced accordingly. And it was ordered 
that this grant should be paid by monthly instal- 
ments, the first payment to be made on the " 6th day 
of June next, 1660." No payment was made, nor 
anything further heard of the "provision for Richard's 
comfortable and honourable subsistence." 

Parliament also undertook to discharge the cost of 
Oliver's funeral, amounting to nearly ^30,000, but 
there are only records of two amounts having been 
paid on tliat account, viz., jfi,5oo by Richard's 
order of 30th September, 1658, as already stated, and 
a sum of ^6,929 6s. sd., paid to " Robert Walton, 
Citizen and Draper of London for black cloaks by 
him, sold and delivered for the funeral of the late 
Lord General Cromwell." On the 2nd February, 
1659-60, it \\'as resolved in Parliament that this 
payment to Walton was an illegal one, and Robert 
was ordered to refund it 1' 

The remainder of the Parliamentary proceedings 
(before the return of the Long Parliament) were of 
a very kaleidoscopic character, and are of tittle 
interest to the present day reader. 

_ _ , When Parliament met on the 22nd 

Xong parlia- „ , ,, ,, , , j .. l 

mcnt TRestotcO, rebruary, the "excluded members 

22nd fett., took their seats once more, and a new 

Parliament was ordered to assemble 

on the 25th April, 1660, The House, thus reinforced, 

passed various votes of a reactionary character, 

• Vide MS. Cominons Journal, in the Author's collection. 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 243 

somewhat to the alarm of Monk, who feared that 
they would go faster than the Army was prepared to 
follow. But it became evident that the country had 
determined to recall the Stuarts ; Charles was 
proclaimed in various places, and the Common 
Council of London, in an Address, expressed itself 
in favour of the Restoration, and they further 
informed Parliament, "That the City did congratulate 
thu happy return of the Parliament, that they found 
some persons for a monarchic, some for a Common- 
wealth, and some /or no Govcntiitciii at nil." 



ilbe Veetoratton On the 16th March, 1659-60, the 
parliament. Long Parliament dissolved itself, and 
the " Restoration " Parliament met on the 25th April ; 
the King's letters were presented, and he was invited 
to return, a sum of ^^65,000 being ordered to be sent 
him. 

Charles made an abundance of promises, including 
a general amnesty, liberty of conscience, a recognition 
of all grants, sales and purchases of estates, etc., and 
only one condition, — which, however, was fatal to 
every promise, — namely, that his concessions were to 
be subject to the approval of Parliament. He well 
knew that Parliament was composed mainly of men 
whose chief desire was to revenge themselves — for 
all they had suffered since the beginning of the Civil 
War — upon their late opponents. 

On the 35th May, 1660, King Charles arrived at 
Dover with the Royal fleet, and was received by 
General Monk, entering London four days later, on 
his birthday, and the Blessed Restoration was 
complete. 



344 



THE TWO PROTECTORS : 



b 



There can be no doubt that it was with a sense of 
relief from overwhelming respoiisibility that Richard 
Cromwell descended from the Chair of State. The 
insane jealousy and ambition of the men around 
him ; the fanaticism of some and the incompetence 
of all, clearly enough foreshadowed the ultimate 
result, and he was willing to let " the potsherds of the 
earth strive together," The only marvel is that the 
state of anarchy into which the government of the 
country was plunged was not sooner taken advantage 
of by the Roy-alist party. 

And now, Parliament having failed to relieve him 
from the debts which were only nominally his, 
Richard found himself in hourly danger of arrest on 
their account, and being in doubt as to the probable 
action of the King and his advisers, he determined 
to leave the country. 

Leaving his wife and children at their ancestral 
home, Hursley Park, near Romsey, Hampshire, he 
crossed to France,^no attempt being made to 
detain him ; and for the space of twenty years 
he wandered about from place to place on the 
Continent, living under an assumed name, which he 
changed with every place of abode. Surely there is 
no more pathetic figure in history than that exhibited 
in the strange reversal of fortune of this unhappy 
man. Only a few months before, he had ascended 
a throne which seemed unassailable by Charles and 
his courtiers ; receiving the congratulations of all the 
crowned heads of Europe, Louis XIV. being the 
foremost ; and now he was a wanderer who dared 
not answer to his name. His wife, to whom he had 
been married only a few years, and with whom he 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CIWMIVELL. 245 

had been supremely happy, he was destined never to 
see again, and his youngest daughter, Dorothy, who 
was born soon after her father became Protector, 
and was the only Cromwell " born in the purple," — 
lived just long enough to receive her father's 
blessing on her marriage, which she survived but a 
few months. 

Richard Cromwell returned to England in 1680, 
his wife having been dead five years ; he assumed 
the name of Clarke, and went to reside with his old 
friend Mrs, Rachel Pengelly, mother of Serjeant 
Pengelly, who was then a young law student ; they 
lived at Cheshunt. 

Sir Thomas Pengelly afterwards became Chief 
Baron of the Exchequer ; his house at Cheshunt 
was standing till 1880, when it was destroyed by fire ; 
it must have been a considerable place, as the 
estimated damage was _£io,ooo. 

Richard Cromwell's family consisted of one son, 
Oliver, and three daughters, Elizabeth, Anne, and 
Dorothy. When Richard married Dorothy Mayor 
(or Major) her father settled Hursley upon her 
husband for life, and by will left it to their 
son Oliver, subject to his father's life interest. 
Oliver, by his will, confirmed his father's interest in 
the estate, and settled it upon trustees, with direc- 
tions to pay his sisters ^2,000 each upon their 
marriage ; the money to be raised by way of mort- 
gage, or by the sale of timber. Dorothy, dying 
before Oliver, left her two sisters sole heirs to the 
property. Anne married a Dr. Gibson in i6g8 and 
was paid her marriage portion ; Elizabeth never 
married. Oliver died, unmarried, in 1705, only one 



246 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

of his trustees, Benjamin Desboro' (or Disbrowe) a 
relative of the Cromwell family, surviving him. 

Then ensued a prolonged course of unfilial conduct 
on the part of the two daughters towards their father. 
Elizabeth, after persuading Disbrowe to renounce 
his executorship, went up to London with her father 
to obtain probate of the will as sole executrix ; 
while there, she managed to give him the slip and 
went back to Hursley, post haste, and took pos- 
session. Richard and Disbrowe vainly tried to get 
her to give it up, but she resolutely declined to do 
so, insisting upon her father taking an annuity in 
lieu of having possession of the estate. 

In all this she was encouraged by Dr. Gibson, who 
had been the cause of much trouble between the 
brother and sisters. Not content with having ousted 
Disbrowe from the executorship, Elizabeth tried to 
remove him from the trusteeship. Failing in her 
attempts to persuade him to give it up, she moved 
the Court with that object, alleging that he was " a 
person in low circumstances." Her real motive was 
the fact that Disbrowe was a friend of her father's and 
was determined to protect his interests. She desired 
to replace Disbrowe with one Gibson, a relative and 
dependant of her brother-in-law, who would prove 
himself a willing tool in their hands ; but her efforts 
were unsuccessful. 

In connection with this attempt to prejudice her 
father's interests, I have an original letter of 
Benjamin Disbrowe's which, besides being quaint 
and curious in itself, throws light on the matter ; 
here it is : — 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 347 
"Stifford The 26 Sepr. /706. 



" A titan came on purpose from Lottdoti to leave this 
supoene alt my house, I was not within, but the man 
tottld my wife he had bine downe at Cheshnn to serve 
Richd Cromwell Esq^e ye sonc of Oliver, but that he 
theire went by ye name of Mr. Clarke. I hope my Ld 
Keeper this Terme will either dismiss tne, or not lye up 
my hands, I presume Ihcire is sufficient in ye persouall 
Esteat to have paid Mrs. Spink her interest weA / 
suppose wd have contented her, it was folly in me, to 
pi wth executorship I stt^ have parted with both to- 
gitlier or with none, but it is too late to recall yesterday. 
After all it will be a great satisfaction to me, if my 
continuing ye Trust prove servisable to my honored 
relation, who I think is vety much abused. I find there 
is a great deale of venom in all these vexatious suets, 
but I hope ye Essew [issue] will be to their shame, my 
hearty service to my honored relation [R.C.] alt Cheshun, 
please lo accept ye same from Sr y. humble servant 
Ben Disbrowe. 

"If at any lime yon have any service for me in towne, 
please to let me knowc it, I shall endeavour to waite 
upon you. Vale. 

"For Thos. Patgelly Esqre at his chambers, in Figgtree 
Court, Inner Temple in London." 

This letter, measuring when folded 3J in. x 2J in. 
was sent through the Post Office, and bears the 
official stamp in a triangle, PENY-POST-PAYD. 

Richard, finding remonstrances useless, com- 
menced an action against his daughters for recovery 
of his rights, Serjeant Pengelly being his Counsel, 
The principal reason assigned by the daughters and 



248 



THE TWO PROTECTORS: 



k 



Gibson for their proceedings, was that Richard, 
being now old {79) was incapable of managing the 
estate, and would fritter it away. 

In the end judgment was given in Richard's favour, 
and for the next seven years he resided chiefly at 
Hursley, 

It has been asserted by many persons that Crom- 
well's daughters did not behave in an unfilial manner 
to him, the latest apologist for them being Mr. C. 
Dalton, F.R.G.S., in Waljord's Antiquarian. He 
bases his contention (i) upon there being no docu- 
mentary evidence in support of the charge, and (2) 
on the fact that Richard had written a very affection- 
ate letter to his daughter Anne. But this letter was 
written in i690^fifteen years before the death of 
Oliver, and when there were no questions in dispute 
respecting the property ; moreover, it was before 
the disturbing element of the Gibson marriage em- 
bittered matters. Unfortunately, Mr. Walton is 
equally in error as to the absence of documentary 
evidence. I happen to have in my possession all the 
original documents in the case — including the 
affidavits of all the parties. Counsel's speeches, and 
the Judge's decision. The Decree was, made in 
December, 1706, and was entirely in Richard's favour, 
the only condition being that he was to account to a 
Master in Chancery for all monies received. It does 
not appear that any of the parties appeared in Court, 
the evidence being by affidavit. They would most 
likely come before a Master in Chambers, 

After (he trial the father became reconciled to his 
children, dividing his time between his friends at 
Cheshunt and his daughter Elizabeth at Hursley. On 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL, 249 

Sunday mornings he attended the parish church 
with her, going in the afternoon to a Baptist chapel 
in Romsey, riding in his coach alone. 

Very little is known of the ex- Protector's doings 
during his twenty years exile, but it is known that in 
1666 his name was included, with others, in a 
Proclamation requiring their presence in England to 
answer certain charges. Mrs, Cromwell, in a state 
of great anxiety, sent her servant, W. Mumford, to 
London to obtain exact information, but ultimately 
his name was withdrawn. 

In connection with the Proclamation, Cromwell's 
servant was examined on behalf of the Crown as to 
what he knew of his master's doings. He declared 
he had been in the service of the family for eleven 
years, and that he had spent the previous year (1665) 
with him in Paris, where he was known as John 
Clark. He (Cromwell) saw no visitors except certain 
Frenchmen who instructed him in the Sciences. 
" His whole diversion was drawing of landscapes 
and reading of books." He further stated that the 
estate of Richard Cromwell, in right of his wife, was 
but £fiOG a year, and that " he knoweth Richard 
Cromwell is not sixpence the richer or better off for 
being the son of his father, or for being the pre- 
tended Protector of England." He further stated 
that the estate of old Mrs, Cromwell (Oliver's widow), 
lately deceased, was in the hands and management of 
Jeremy White, chaplain to Oliver, " now living with 
Sir John Russell at Chippenham, who will not come 
to any account for the same," Fie ! old Jeremiah, 
of whom we hear no more. Mumford's statement was 
accepted, and Richard Cromwell was not troubled. 



250 THE TWO PROTECTOR^: 

Richard Cromwell died 12th July, 171 2, at the house 
of his old friends the Pengelly's at Cheshunt, and 
was buried in the chancel of Hursley Church. He 
enjoyed good health to the last, and at the age of 
eighty could gallop his horse for several miles. 
He is described as having been tall, fair-haired, 
and "the lively image of his father." Certainly 
there is a great resemblance in their portraits, 
although Richard's countenance lacks the sternness 
and majesty of his father's, and he had no " wart." 

John Howe, the chaplain to both Oliver and 
Richard, had a high respect for the latter, and Dr. 
Isaac Watts, who, as a young man, was often in 
Richard's company, testified to his abilities as being 
by no means contemptible. Unprejudiced authori- 
ties all concur in describing him as having been a 
humane man, kind-hearted, and sagacious. Shortly 
before his death he said to his two attendant 
daughters, 

" Live in love ; 
I am going to the God of Love." 

I have in my possession a remarkable collection of 
letters, statements of expenditure, law papers, etc., 
dealing with the ex-Protector's life, from 1680, when 
he returned to England, to 171 2, when he died. 
The accounts were kept by Cromwell's old friend, 
Mrs. Rachel Pengelly, and are in great detail. From 
them we learn that the whilom occupant of the 
Throne of England, Lord Protector of Great Britain 
and Ireland, master of the palaces of Whitehall and 
Hampton Court, and for whom Parliament voted 
;^io,ooo a year, as "provision for his comfortable 



OLIVER AND RICHARD CROMWELL. 251 

and honourable subsistence," lived in lodgings at 
Cheshuiit for several years before his death, paying 
ten shillings a week for his board, and having due 
allowance made for his occasional periods of absence. 
But there were evidently " extras " to this charge, 
for we find Mrs. Pengelly, in her monthly bills, 
charging four and sixpence for " the Sturgeon you 
ordered Nan to bye"; and on another occasion 
" one ginuey " is charged for " sammon, oysters, and 
wild fowl." 

At the same time, two shillings are " down " for 
"black cherry beare," as drink for the table. But 
Richard liked an occasional taste of some more 
potent beverage, for I find frequent entries of 
payments for brandy. He also indulged in the 
Virginia weed, spending considerable sums for 
tobacco ; — but then his " pypes " were very inexpen- 
sive — two shillings and eightpence per gross ! On 
one occasion the ex-Protector borrows £1 from his 
landlady, "when you had your feast." After this 
one is not surprised at finding an item of payment 
for some bottles of "surfeit water." There are several 
entries for " pype-burning, and ishue paper,"^-did he 
"colour" his pipes, like the youth of the present day? 
Occasionally, Richard's daughters would come up 
from Hursley. and then he would treat them to 
dinner at Westminster ; but before leaving his 
lodgings he would require money, and Mrs. Pengelly 
enters in her account, " When you dined with the 
Ladyes, 20 shillings," If the ladies dined with their 
father at his lodgings we find, "When the ladyes 
dined here, fowls 5s," and for afternoon refresh- 
ment, " A quarter pound of Tee, five shillings, and 



252 THE TWO PROTECTORS: 

Shuger lofe for Tee, four and sixpence." And when 
" Mr. Clark/' or " the gentilman " (by which names 
Mr. Cromwell was known) had fowls for his dinner, 
Mrs. Pengelly debits him with eighteenpence for 
" Backon and suit " for " stuffing." 

Here is an item for *' Phissick drink": "Verbs, six 
lemmons, and bushell of malt to brew the drink, five 
shillings." Mrs. Pengelly is also careful in her 
attention to her lodger's wardrobe ; she pays " half 
a ginney for Callichoe Wascots and makeing" ; " for 
mending and lacquering your shoes, eighteen pence," 
and " for repairing your breeches, sixpence." " For 
a pair of striped breeches, thirty-four shillings," and 
here is an item that Oliver never indulged in, viz., 
"Perriwigs," for which we find Richard paying a 
guinea each (guineas were reckoned at thirty shillings 
each in 1695). An Irish "frees" coat cost twenty-five 
shillings, and a new " hatt," thirty shillings, and 
" muslin Cravats" two shillings each. 

Incidentally we find that Cromwell wore " muffs " 
and that he used spectacles, for there is an entry for 
one shilling for " case for your spectacals " ; but it 
does not appear that at that time " Mr. Clark" paid 
much attention to literature, the only payment for 
books being one shilling for an "Almanack" for 
1693. The only dissipation with which Richard 
is credited — or rather debited — in Rachel Pengelly's 
account is when she advanced him " ten shillings on 
Lord Mayor's day when you dined with Mr. 
Disbrowe." Richard, late " Chief of the State," had 
now to pay tribute to Caesar — Dutch William — as is 
evidenced by this entry in Mrs. Pengelly's account 
in 1689 : " Paid ye King's Pole [tax] for you. 



OLIVER AXD RICHARD CROMWELL. 153 

a gentleman, one ginney ;" subsequent entries for this 
tax were only eleven shillings. 

That he was kind to children, and to young 
people generally, is clear, there being numerous 
entries of payments for presents for them ; to Mrs. 
Aldersey's child he gives " muffs and ribbons," also 
a " whisell and corralls with ribbons," costing more 
than six pounds. To "Goody Odie's child he gives 
gloves and a fan." 

To young Thomas Pengelly, who afterwards 
successfully conducted his law suit, Richard is very 
kind, Mrs. Pengelly gratefully acknowledging, 
" Money you were pleased to give Tommy on his 
entrance at the Temple ^^3 i8s. od,," and a guinea 
towards buying his law books. But " Tommy " must 
have a gim, so his kind friend gives him Bfteen 
shiUings wherewith to buy one ; let us hope it was 
not more dangerous to him than to the " wild fowl " 
so dear to " Mr. Clark." Mrs. Pengelly writes to 
her son " Tommy " that she has sent him a basket of 
" P'ogg. " which she hopes will prove " toothsome." 

In the year in which Charles II, died (1685) 
Cromwell presented his daughter Anne with a new 
"Tippitt," and to her sister. Madam Betty, a box of 
gloves ; but he does not appear to have gone into 
mourning for the King. Ten years later, when 
Queen Mary died, Mrs. Pengelly records that 
Richard expended half-a-crown upon " mourning 
gloves" in honour of that monarch's memory. 

Occasionally Richard would spend a few weeks 
with his daughters at Hursley, and in one of his 
letters to Mrs. Pengelly he explains a postponement 
of his return by giving her " the forcible argument 



254 THE TWO PROTECTORS. 

of the want of a shirt. Madam Betty went to buy 
one, but instead of buying, she borrowed, so that I 
shall have to have mine washed which I hope to 
bring upon my back to Cheshunt shortly "; and he 
adds, "there is a matter of business that cannot 
speak by a penny post letter." 

Between Richard Cromwell and his sister Mary, 
Countess of Fauconberg,* there existed a life-long 
affection ; frequent references are made to her in his 
letters to Mrs. Pengelly, and he gives an account 
of a visit he made at her "new town house" in 1709, 
but in none of his correspondence, nor in that of his 
friends, is there any reference to his former condition. 

There are now no descendants of Oliver Cromwell 
in the male line, but they continue to flourish in the 
following families, amongst others : The Marquis of 
Ripon, the Villiers family. Earls of Clarendon, the 
Vyners of Kingston Hill, Surrey, Sir John Lubbock, 
M.P., Sir William Harcourt, and Dr. Samuel Rawson 
Gardiner, author of the standard works on Cromwell 
and the Commonwealth Period. 



THE END. 



• Lady Fauconberg survived her brother one year, dying in 
1713, leaving no family. 



ADDENDA. 



THE PORTRAITS OF OLIVER CROMWELL. 



" Stands sorae 5ft. lob. — or more ; a. roan of strong, solid 
stature, and dignified—now, partly military carriage ;— the 

expression of him valour and devout intelligence, energy, and 
delicacy on a basis of simplicity. Fifty-four years old, gone 
April last, brown hair and moustache are getting grey. 
A figure of sufficient impress! veness^not lovely to the man- 
milliaer species, nor pretending to be so. Massive stature, 
big, massive head, of somewhat leonine aspect ; wart above 
the right eyebrow; nose of considerable blunt-aquiline pro- 
portions; strict, yet copious lips, full of all tremulous sensi- 
bilities, and also, if need were, of all fierceness and rigors; 
deep, loving eyes, call them grave, call them stern, looking 
from under those cruggy brows as if in lifelong sorrow, and 
yet, not thinking it sorrow, thinking it only labour and 
endeavour ; on the whole, a right nobte lion-face, and hero- 
face, and, to me, royal enough." — Carlyle. 

OLIVER, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 

Portrait, with Staff of Office, and with his page adjusting 

his scarf. This portrait formerly belonged to Earl Spencer, 

and is now in the National Portrait Gallery. It is a beautiful 

specimen of Walker's painting. 

PORTRAIT OF OLIVER (eNGRAVID). 
Undei one of these is this quaint inscription : 
" Made Nations bow 
And preached down mitral evils, 

Parsons outpray'd 
And vanquished prophane devils." 

'Si 



256 ADDENDA. 

PORTRAIT OF OLIVER, LORD PROTECTOR. 

By Walker. 

In the possession of Rev. T. Cromwell Bush, Rector of 
Duloe, Cornwall. 

(Mr. Bush possesses Walker's receipt.) 

PORTRAIT OF OLIVER, (f) 

Half-length, in armour — believed to be an original. It was 
found in a loft at the former residence of one of Cromwell's 
Major Generals. 

Pistol shots had been fired through the eye and other 
parts. 

MINIATURE OF OLIVER, (f) 

Half-length, in armour, by Van Berg, a Dutch Artist 
(signed and dated). 

PORTRAIT OF OLIVER BY LELY. 

This portrait was painted by Sir Peter Lely in 1653. 
Better than any other it illustrates the rugged grandeur and 
majesty of Oliver's countenance. While engaged in his task, 
the painter hesitatingly asked the Protector if he should show 
the wart over his right eye ? Said Oliver : " You will paint 
me exactly as I am, with all my warts, humours, and 
blemishes." 

The picture was presented by Oliver to the Grand Duke of 
Tuscany, and is now in the Pitti Palace at Florence. 

I have an excellent copy in my Collection. Oliver had had 
a little State transaction with the Grand Duke, which had 
raised the Protector in his estimation mightily. 

Certain English merchants had been robbed of property 
to the value of ;^40,oooby the Duke or his officers, and he had 
contemptuously refused to make amends. No English ships 
of war had been seen in the Mediterranean since the 
Crusades, and English ships had been at the mercy of 
Algerian pirates and piratical Grand Dukes, so Oliver 
despatched Admiral Blake with thirty-five ships to bring 
the pirates to reason. This he quickly did ; the Grand Duke 
paid the ;^40,ooo, and craved the honour of the Great Pro- 
tector's portrait. After its arrival, the Duke sent a splendid 
ebony cabinet of perfumes to Oliver, which is now in the 
possession of Rev. T. Cromwell Bush, of Duloe, Cornwall. 



ADDENDA. 

DUTCH PORTRAITS OF OLIVER. 
These are for the most part semi -caricatures. There is one 
signed " loosT Haktgers Exendit " and entitled 
"Oi.iviER C«OMW£L Luy tenant -Gen erael van de Arraee 
van 't Parlement van Engelandt," whicli makes Oliver 
appear to have a wooden head. Perhaps it was the work of 
a wood engrai-er ! Any way, the Dutch Statesmen, with their 
Admirals De Ruyter and Van Tromp, did not think the 
Protector had a wooden head ! (See page 1 18.) 

FAITHORNE'S CELEBRATED ENGRAVING OF 
"OLIVER BETWEEN THE PILLARS." 

The inscription at foot of the picture says : — 

"The emblem of England's destructions, also of her 
attained and further expected Freedom and happinc 
Oliver is represented standing between two columns ; under 
his right foot is a discrowned King, and under his left a 
dragon, representing F.iciion and Error. The column on his 
right is surmounted by Oliver's favourite device of the Sun 
and Moon, O C. and on the shaft of the 
inscriptions, such as 

Constantia Fortitude, 
Lex Corona Columna, 
Salus " " . 

Magna Charta. 

The Column on the Protector's left is surmounted by a view 
of Westminster Hall, from the door of which issues a riband 
with the device, " Bee still and know that I am God," In his 
right band he holds the Sword of State, having the c 
the three kingdoms on it, while from its point another riband 
is unfolded, having the motto, " I will never leave thee, nor 
forsake thee." On the top left hand comer is a picture 
showing the Ark resting on Ararat, and below it Abraham 
offering up Isaac, On the right hand the Ark is also 
between Scylla and Charj'bdis, but how it got there i: 
explained. 

At the bottom right hand corner the Devil is busy b 
pickaxe, a gallows being handy a 
fanning a tire with a pair of bellows, while others are 
ploughing, tending sheep, etc., the motto below being, " They 
shall beat their spears into pruning hooks, and their swords 
into plow shares." 

In a later impression the head of William III. has been 
substituted for that of Cromwell. A copy in thi 
the Pepysian Collection at Magdalen College. 



36o 



ADDENDA. 



GEORGE m. AND OLIVER CROMWELL. 

In my collection is one of Gillray's caricature repre- 
sentations of our bovine monarch, holding a Cooper miniature 
in one hand and a candle in [he other. The expression on 
the King's face is one of speechless horror. Caricaturists 
seem to have had considerable license when Gillray produced 
this picture (i8th June, 1792], for it is a gross representation 
of the royal features. The principal portion of George's head 
is the part containing the mouth, in a line drawn from the 
lower part of the ear to the upper portion of the eye. 

Certainly, from an intellectual point of view, George III. 
was unfit to hold a candle to the uncrowned King. 



There is only one statue of the Great Protector in all Eng- 
land ! • A civil engineer — all honour to him — offered to present 
one to the town of Leeds about the year 1870, hut it was declined 
on the ground that public opinion was not ripe for such an 
innovation!] In i860 several Manchester gentlemen sub- 
scribed ;£:oo each towards a statue, T. B. Potter. M.P., and 
Alderman Goadsby being amongst the number, but the cotton 
famine c6ming on at the time, the project was abandoned. 
In 1875, however, the widow of Mr. Goadsby, who had then 
become the wife of Alderman Heywood, carried out Mr. 
Goadsby's intention, and the tine statue by Noble was erected 
on the very spot where the first man killed in the Parlia- 
mentary War is said to have fallen. The statue stands on a 
pedestal of rough hewn granite, and bears the inscription, 
"Oliver Cromwell," with the dates of his birth and deal h, 
and the words, " The gift of Elizabeth S.ilisbury Heywood to 
the citizens of Manchester, 1875." 



IVORY TANKARD (Artist Unknown), (t) 
This carving is a reproduction of West's famous picture. 
The tankard is very finely carved, is 18 inches in height, 

and 8 inches in diameter at the base. The cover is surmounted 

by the figure of a Roman senator in his toga. 

The moment chosen by the artist is when Oliver, stepping 

forward, orders his men to " Take away that bauble." The 

• Thinlu Is tbc patriolle muninunu of > dlitlngulibcd Doblimmi 




ADDENDA. 263 

Speaker in his chair is horrified at the profanation of the 
Chamber by the Military, and, on his ri^hl. Sir Henry Vane 
stretches out his hands in protest against the General's high- 
handed proceeding. 



THE DEATH MASK, (t) 
Bears unmistakable evidences of its being genuine. The 
large face and large features, the wart over the right eyebrow, 
and the g-eneral appearance, are all strikingly like the por- 
traits, especially that painted by Leiy. It is known that 
Oliver usually wore his moustache, and a tuft under his lower 
Up; it is also known that during his daughter's illness he 
refused to be shaved, and the mask shows a fortnight's 
growth. 

RICHARD CROMWELL, PROTECTOR, (t) 

Presentation of a Minister to the Living of Buckland, in 



Richard, P. 

Richard Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, 
Scotland, and Ireland, and the Dominions and Territories 
thereunto belonging to the Commissioners authorised by the 
Ordinance for Approbation of Publique Preachers under date 
aoth Mch., 1654, consisting of 38 members, Fras. Rouse, 
Provost of Eton, being at their head or any five of them 
Greeting We present Mr. Samuel Gardner to the Rectory of 
Buckland in our County of Gloucester voyd by the relinquish- 
ment of Mr. Joseph Cobb, the last Incumbent there and to 
our presentation belonging to the end he may be approved of 
by them and admitted thereunto with all its rights, members, 
and appurtenances whatsoever, according to the tenor of the 
aforesaid ordinance given at White Hall the eleaventh day 
of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred 
and fifty-eight. 

(Seal) 

OLIVER P. (t) 

A similar document, signed "OLIVER P.," nominating 
"Mr. Frauncis Gibson" to the Rectory of Miningsby in 
Lincolnshire. 



ADDENDA. 



CROMWELL AND THE JEWS. 

Tlie Jews had been excluded from England for centuries, 
but in the 17th century they tried to return, and knowing the 
straits to which Charles I. was reduced by lack of money, 
they sent an embassy to him and offered £,^<xi,vm for the 
town of Brentford, if they might be allowed to settle in 
England once again. Charles would no doubt have accepted 
the offer, but his Minislers foresaw a storm if they were per- 
mitted to return, as the trading classes and clergy were well 
known to be strongly opposed to it. 

Under the Protectorate the altcmptwas renewed ; a deputa- 
tion came over from Amsterdam, headed by the learned 
Rabbi, Manasseh Ben Israel, with the object, first, of obtain- 
ing permission to build a synagogue in London, for which 
privilege they offered the Protector the sum of /6o,ooo. and 
secondly, for leave once again to settle in the country. 
Oliver was quite prepared to assent to the request, and sum- 
moned a meeting of the clergy and chief merchants of London 
to hear the Rabbi in public audience, and to discuss the 
question. The meeting was held in the Long Gallery at 
Whitehall. Having called upon the Rabbi to state his case, 
the Protector turned to the clergy, asking their opinion, upon 
which they strongly inveighed against the Jews, calling them 
"a cruel and accursed people." 

In vain did Oliver ask the clergy if it were not their duly to 
preach the Gospel to all, remarking that he proposed to make 
that easy for them, in the case of the Jews, by bringing them 
to England. They were silenced but not convinced. He then 
turned to the merchaols, who spoke much of the falseness 
and meannciis of the Jews, and said that, if admitted into 
England, they would get all the trade of the country into 
their hands. 

Oliver thereupon began to abuse the Jews, and after say- 
ing everything that was contemptuous about them, went on : 
" Can you really be afraid that this mean, despised people 
should be able to prevail in trade and credit over the 
merchants of England, the noblest and most esteemed 
merchants of the whole world ? " The merchants, too, were 
silenced, but not convinced, and when Oliver, as a Con- 
stitutional Ruler, laid the matter before Parliament, his 
wishes were overruled. Nevertheless, as the Executive 
authority, he did not put the exclusion laws into operation, 
allowing them to lapse, and so the Jews came back to 



V 



ADDENDA. 265 

Eng'Iand. Oliver aUo allowed Manasseh Ben Israel a pension 
ofj£iooayear. 

Two and half centuries after the interview above described, 
a Jewish gentleman in London, Mr. Charles Werthe inter, 
remembering how Cromwell had befriended the Jewish race, 
purchased Bernini's magnificent bust of the Protector from 
Lord Revelstoke's collection at a cost of /'i,400, and pre- 
sented it to the Nation, and it now stands in the House of 
Commons corridor. 

The Bust is the work of the celebrated Sculptor, Painter 
and Architect, Beknini. 

b. rsgS-d. 1680. 

The acceptance of this Bust by Parliament makes some 
amends for the refusal of the last Parliament — at the 
churlish instance of the Irish memberS'^to accept a Statue 
on behalf of the Nation. 

CROMWELL AND THE QUAKERS. 

On three occasions the Protector gave audience to George 
Fox, and (here seemed to be much in common between them. 
At their first interview, George Fox discoursed on the doctrines 
of Ihe new sect. Oliver appearing to be much interested, and 
on some gentlemen coming into the room, the Protector took 
George Fox's hand, and with moistened eyes, said, "Come 
again to my house ; if thou and I were but an hour of the 
day together, we should be nearer the one to the other. I 
wish no more harm to thee than I do to my own soul." And so 
they parted for that time. 

The last time the Quaker and the Protector met was a few 
days before Oliver's death. 

George Fok thus tells the story : " Taking boat, 1 went to 
Kingston, and from thence to Hampton Court, to speak with 
the Protector about the sufferings of Friends ; I met him 
riding into Hampton Court Park ; and before I came to him, 
as he rode at the head of his Life Guard, I saw and felt a 
waft of death go forth against him ; and when I came to him, 
he looked like a dead man. After I had laid the sufferings 
of Friends before him ... he bade me come to his 

" So I returned to Kingston, and the next d.iy went up to 
Hampton Court to speak further with him. But when I came, 
Harvey, who was one that waited on him, told me that the 
doctors were not willing that I should speak with him. So I 
passed away and never saw hira more," 



266 



ADDEXDA. 



b 



There is an amusing reference to Cromwell in the Life of 
yuhn Roberts, a contemporary Quaker. On his (Roberts) 
appeanng- in an ecclesiastical Court on some trumpery charg-c, 
the Bishop asked him how many children he had ? "I have 
had seven," said John, " of whom it hath pleased the Lord to 
remove three by death." — "And have they all been bishopcd?" 
[(*.f., confirmed] — "No," said the witty Quaker, "for most 
of them were born in Oliver's time, when Bishops were out of 
fashion." " At which. " says the old chronicler, "the Court 
fell a-laughing." 

There can be no doubt that Cromwell was very well'disposed 
towards the Quakers, for he showed it in various ways, notably 
in his protest against the cruel punishment inflicted by the 
Presbyterian Parliament upon the poor, mad enthusiast, 
]ima Naylot. 

George Fox evidently thoug'ht that being the head of the 
Government, Oliver had hut to say the word and all persecution 
would cease, and (hat as he did not say the word, he 
responsible. And there are some people at the present day 
who think that because the Czar of Russia is an Autocrat, he 
is responsible for the persecution of the Stundists and other 
n that country. 



REV, JEREMIAH WHITE, FRANCES 
CROMWELL AND THE WAITING-MAID. 

It is said of Oliver Cromwell, that he had the 
system of espionage, by which he was able t( 
numberless Royalist and other plots that were continually being 
hatched against his Government. 

But, althoug-h filled with the cares of State, he was not 
unmindful of his family and all that concerned their welfare. 
Overwhelmed with public affairs, marching and fighting, 
negotiating with the King and contending with a reactionary 
Parliament, he yet found time to arrange the marriage of his 
eldest son, Riihard, to the daughter of a Hampshire squire. 
Nor did he forget his daughters : Elizabeth, his favourite, 
was married to Claypole, his Master of the Horse, Bridget 
became the wife of Major Ireton, and Frances married the 
Hon. Mr. Rich, heir to the Earl of Warwick. But Mr. Rich 
was not the first suitor for the hand of Frances. Word w 
one day brought to Oliver that his trusted Chaplain, the Rev. 
Jeremiah White, was indulging in fond hopes of winning the 
favour of the Lady Frances. 



ADDENDA. 367 

On hearing thi» he caused a watch to be set upon the doing's 
of the ambitious priest, who was shortly discovered in the 
lady's boudoir. Oliver at once repaired Ihere, and found the 
reverend Jeremiah on his knees before his daughter. In 
menacing tones he demanded what he did there. "An't 
please your Highness," said the wary and terrified priest, " I 
was only soliciting her ladyship's permission to marry her 
waiting- woman." A grim smile passed over the features of 
the Protector, who replied, "Then I will see that your prayer 
is granted, for you shall be married before you leave this 
room t " 

Calling the lady's maid, Oliver told her what an honourthe 
rev. j^ntleman proposed to do her, ending by saying that 
he would himself provide her dowry. The young woman was 
delighted, and they were forthwith married. Dr. Godwin per- 
forming the ceremony. 

Copy of letter (t) from Sir Francis Russell, kinsman of 
Cromwell's, to Rev. Jeremiah White (candidate for the hand 
«f the Protector's daughter) : 
"Sir, 

" I spake unto Jack to let you understand why I sent you 
not this by him, because indeed it deserves you shii know how 
great a benefit ] doe still receive by that advise 1 had from 
you as to my infirmity of the strangury, and truly I hope it 
may so continue still with me, if so be I can but take a care 
ofmy dyeat, and bewar of catching cold. I must needs 
confesse I did once despaire of ever enjoying so much health 
AS 1 have done of late, I meane since I tryed y experjmient, 
yet upon any remarkable change of weather I am put in mind 
that the root of my disease doeth still ly hid within me: but 
I hope it will be of good use and a right instruction to my 
mind and spirit, because some kind of rod or other is needful 
for us all while we are but young, or children, for few or none 
will leame obedience or wisedome without it, and among the 
weake and ignorant I am one of the chiefest. Pray S' let me 
at y leisure understand how itis with Will : Sedgewick, and 
what becomes of Diclc Norton's crop of wheat. I have no 
country news for you, onely that my Lord of St. Albons is come 
into these parts where he was nobiely and kindly received by 
his neighbours and countrymen. Vou have obliged me to 
beS'- 

" Your true friend to serve you 

" Franc : Russell, 
"Chip. Sep. 20th, i66j." 



Sealed with crest and addressed : 

" For his very loving friend 

Mr. Jeremiah White 
I,eave this att the black Bell in St. Paul's Churchyard, 
London." 

Sir F. Russell was the father-in-law of Henry Cromwell who j 
lived with him, or near him, after the Restoration. 



r 



THE FORME OF THE WRITT OF SUMONS. 

Oliver Lord Protector of the Comonwealth of England 
Scotland and Ireland and the Dominions & terriioryes there- 
unto belonging To out trusty and wel beloved sonne Lord 
Richard Cromwell Greeting whereas by the advise and 
assent of Our Councell for certaine great and weighty 
affaires concerning US, the State and defence of the said 
Comonwealth We ordained Our p'sent Parliam' to be held 
at Our Cily of Westm'' the 17th day of September, 
in the yeare of Our Lord one thousand six hundred ififCy and 
six & there to consult and aduise w" the knights Citizens 
and burgesses of Our said Commonwealth, w'h Parliam' was 
then & there held and Continued vntil the six and 
twentieth day of June last past and then adjourned vntill the 
XXth day of January now ne."il Coming. Therefore we corii- 
and and firmely enioyne you that Considering the difficulty 
of the said affaires and eminent Dange all excuses being 
set aside you be psonally present at Westm'' afore said the 
said twentieth day of January next Coming, there to treat 
conferre and glue yo' advise with VS and with the Great 
men and Nobles in and concerning the affeires aforesaid, and 
this as you loue o< honor and safety and the defence of 
the Comonwealth aforesaid you shall in no wise omitt witnes 
o' selfe at Westra' the nineth day of december in the 
yeare of Our Lord one thousand six hundred ffifty and seven. 

The like writts were directed to the several) persons 
follovring viz'i 

Lord Henry Cromwell Deputy of Ireland 

Nathaniel Fiennes one of the Lordes Com" of the Great Seale | 
John Lisle one of the Lordes Com" of the Great Seale 
Henry Laurence Presid' of y' Priuy Councel 
Charles Fleetwood Leu' Gen" of y' Army 
Robert Earle of Warwick 
Edward Earle of Manchester 
Edmond Earle of Mulgrave 



^ 




THE OPBNIKG OK PAKI.I/ 
From Itat oH^nal MS. In the Aui 



ADDENDA, 271 

David Earle of Cassils 

Wm Lord Visc^ Say & Scale 

Tho : Lord Falconberge 

Charles Lord Visc^ Howard 

Phillip Lo. Visc^ Lisle 

S' Gilbert Pickering barronet Chamblen of his Highnes 

houshold 
George Lord Evers 
Phillip Lord Wharton 
Roger Lord Broghill 
William Pierreponte esq' 

John Lo. Cleypole M' of the Horse to his Highness 
S'' Bulstrode Whitelock one of y* Lordes Com" of y« 

Treary 
John Disbrow one of y* Gen"" of the Fleet 
Edward Montagu one of y« Generalles of y* Fleet & one of 

the Lordes Com" of y« Treary 
George Monck Comaunder in cheife of y« forces in Scotland 
John Glynne cheife Justice assigned to hold pleas before his 

Highness in the Vpper bench 
Wm Lenthall M' of y« Rolls in Chauncery 
Oliver S^ John cheife Justice of y« Court of Comon pleas 
Wm Steele Chancellor of Ireland 
S'' Charles Wolseley barronet 

W»n Sidenham one of y* Lordes Com" of the Treary 
Phillip Skippon esq'' 
Walter Strickland esq'^ 
Francis Rous esq^ 

Phillip Jones esq^ Comptroller of his Highnes Houshold 
John Fiennes esq' 
Sf John Hobart barr* 
S"" Gilbt Gerrard barr^ 
S'' Arthur Hesclrigge bar* 
S*" Francis Russel bart 
Sr Wn» Strickland Kt <& bart 
S^ Rich. Onslow Rt 

Edward Whalley Com«7 Gen" of y« horse 
Alexander Popham esq"^ 
John Crew esq"^ 

Sr Wm Lockart Kt Rich Hampden esq' 

Sr Tho. Honiwood k* S' W™ Roberts kt 

Sr Archibald Johnsson of Warreston 
Rich. Ingoldsby esq' 
S' Chr. Pack kt 

14 



272 ADDENDA. 

S»^ Ro. Tichburne 

Sr Tho. Pride kt 

John Jones esq"" 

Sr John Barkstead kt I-ew* of the Tower of London 

S*" Geo Fleetwood 

S "^MathewTomlinson kt 

S«^ John Hewson kt 

Edmond Thomas, esq^ 

James Berry esq"" 

Wm Goffe esq*" 

Thomas [Cooper esq*" — torn off] 

The names of such Lordes as have delivered in their writts of 

Sumons to this present Parliam^* Insert y^ names 

of the persones Swome. 



The Parliament begun and held at Westmr the 17th day 
of September, 1657, being- adjourned by Act of Parliam' 
vntill this present XXth day of January, 1657-58. His 
Highness the Lord Protector having according to the 
Humble addiconall and explanatory peticon and Advice, 
caused writts of Sumons to be ysshued to diverse honoWe 
persons to sitt in this House, retornable this day, about nine 
of the Clock in the morning there came into the Little roome 
within the painted Chamber, The Lord Comissione'' Fyennes 
and the Lord Com'^ Lisle, Lords Comissione"^ of the Great 
Scale, the Lord President of his Highnes Councell, 
Gen" John Disbrowe, Phillip Jones, esqr Comptroller of his 
Highnes Household, and S"^ Bulstrode Whitelock, K^ Con- 
stable of the Castle of Windsor and one of the Lords Com^s 
of his Highnes Treasury vnto whom (w^-^ others) a Comission 
vnder the Great Seale was directed authorizing them or any 
three or more of them to administer to the persons called to 
sitt in this house, the Oath directed by the said humble 
addiconall and explanatory peticon and Advice, w^h Comission 
being read by the Gierke of the Comonwealth in Chauncery, 
the said Oath was first taken by the Lord Comissioner 
ffyennes, the Lord Com"" Lisle, and the Lord president of his 
highnes Councell, and then administered by them vnto the 
rest of the Comissioners present and afterwards was taken 
in their presence by — 
The Lord Richard Cromwell 
Charles Fleetwood, Leiv* General! of the Army 
The Lord Faulconberge 
Charles Lo. Visc^ Howard 



ADDENDA. 273 

Phillip Lo. Vise* Lisle 

George Lord Evre 

Roger Lord Broghill 

John Lord Cle)rpole M*" of the Horse to his Highnes 

Edward Montagu One of the Generalls of y* Fleet & one of 

the Lords Comission^'s of the Treasury 
John Glynne Cheife Justice assigned to hold pleas before his 

Highnes in y« upper Bench 
Wn» Lenthall M"* of y^ Rolles 
S^ Charles Wolseley bar^ 

\Vm Sydenham one of y^ Lords Coral's of yc Treary 
Phillip Skippon esqr 
Walter Strickland esq"" 
John Fiennes esqr 
Sr John Hobart Bart 
S^ Fran : Russell bar* 
Sr Wn» Strickland kt & bar^ 
S«- Rich Onslow kt 
Edward Whalley Comry of the Horse 
Richard Hampden esqr 
S"^ Tho. Honywood kt 
Sr Wm Roberts kt 
Rich. Ingoldsby esq^ 
Sr Chr. Pack kt 
S"- Robt Tichburne kt 
John Jones esq^ 
S^ Thomas Pride kt 

Sr John Barkstead k^ Leiv* of y« Tower of London 
Sr John Geo Fleetwood kt 
Sr John Hewson kt 
Edmond Thomas esqr 
William Goffe esqr 
Thomas Cooper esqr 

The Tenor of the Comission for administring the oath 
aforesaid was as foUoweth 

[Not filled in.] 



25th MAY, 1655. 

By the Com«« for the Admiralty & Navy. 

In pursuance of an order of the Councell dated the 13th of 
Aprill 1655, whereby it is referred to the said Com«* to take 



274 ADDENDA, 

order that Cloth and bayes be provided fur Coatts for his 
Highnes watermen & to transmitt to the Councell a Note of 
the price thereof ; The said Com«« doe humbly transmitt the 
Note annexed as the price of the said Coates, amounting to 
the sume of Thirty nine pounds One shilling, and Six pence 
desireing order may be given for payment of the same 
accordingly. 

And Colonell Jones is desired to report 
ye same. 

Ex Ro : Blackborne Seer « : 
for Watermens Coats 

Delivered by order of the Right 
HonWe the Comee for the Adty : & Navy 
Apu 27th. 
In y« 39 yds of Red Cloth Lond^ measure att 13s 6d 

£ s d 
26 - 06 - 06 

It 78 yds of Red bayes att 2« 6^ 09-15-00 

It. 4 yds of Red Cloth for Mr 

Nutt Master of his Highnesse 

Barges att 15* - - - - 03 - 00 - 00 



39 - 01 - 06 



by me 

ROBERT WANTON. 



OLIVER, AS CHIEF CONSTABLE AND 
GAME PRESERVER ! (t) 

OLIVER P. 

By his Highness the Lord Protector. 

These are to authorize and impower S"" William Paston 
Barrt. his sufficient Deputy «S: Deputies or either of them 
to seize & take away all Gunns. Tranells, Netts, Snares, 
or other unlawfuU Engines from any Person or Persons 
within Seaven Myles of Oxnitt, in the County of Norfolke, 
who shall use or keepe the same contrary to the Law. 
And also to seize & take away all Greyhoundes Setting- 
doggs, or Spannells from any Person or Persons who shall 
use them in taking or destroying of Phesants, Herons, 
Ducks & Mallards Partridges or Hares wi^jn Seaven Myles 
of Oxnitt aforesaid contrary to y* Lawes and Statutes of 



ADDENDA. 275 

this Comon-Wealth. These are also to authorize the said 
Sr William Paston, and his sufficient Deputy and Deputies 
or either of them to app«"hend the Parties soe offending & 
carry them to the next Justice of Peace ^\'ithin the said 
County to be punished according to their demeritts. These 
are further to require all High-Constables, Constables and 
all other Officers to be aydeing and assisting to the said 
Sr William Paston and his Deputy and Deputies in the due 
Execucon of this Warrant Given att White-Hall the four- 
teenth of June 1656. 

seal, 
(endorsed) 
Warrant 

To S«" Pasthorne for p''servacon 

of y<J Game. 

CROMWELL IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 

The liberal-minded Dean Stanley made what atonement he 
could for what he rightly described as ** the savage cere- 
monial*' of the removal of the bones of Cromwell, and 
others, from the Abbey, by placing a large tablet in the 
centre of the apse, engraved as follows : — 

In this vault was interred 
OLIVER CROMW^ELL 1658 

and in, or near it, 
Henry Ireton, his son-in-law 1651 

Elizabeth Cromwell, his mother, 1654 

Jane Dosborough, his sister, 1656 

Anne Fleetwood. 
Also Officers of his Army and Council. 

Richard Deane 1653 

Humphrey Macworth 1654 

Sir William Constable 1655 

ROBERT BLAKE— Admiral 1657 

Dennis Bond 1658 

John Bradshaw, President of the 

High Court of Justice, 1659 

and Mary Bradshaw, his wife. 

These were removed in 1661. 

By some oversight the body of Lady Claypole, Oliver's 
favourite daughter, was left in its place, and still remains in 
the Abbey. 



276 ADDENDA, 

There are few more vexed historical questions than that 
relating to the ultimate disposal of Oliver's body. One 
account states that he was buried, at the dead of night, in 
the Thames ; a second, that he lies peacefully buried on the 
field of Naseby. But the most probable story is, that his 
son-in-law, Lord Fauconberg and his wife Mary Cromwell, 
obtained possession of the body after the shameful exposure 
at Tyburn, and caused it to be buried in their house in York- 
shire, where it still remains. What makes that account the 
more probable is the known fact that the bodies of Ireton 
and Bradshaw were removed, as their coffins have been dis- 
covered in the vaults of Mugginton Church in Derbyshire. 



CROMWELL'S HEAD. 

What is believed, on very good evidence, to be Oliver's 
head is now in the possession of Mr. Horace Wilkinson, 
near Sevenoaks, in Kent. A full description of the relic was 
given (with an engraving) in the Daily Chronicle of 6th 
November, 1895. In a letter to the same Journal, Mr. Frederic 
Harrison recommended that a committee should be appointed 
to inquire into the genuineness (or otherwise) of this relic. 



14 FFEBRUARY ANNO DNI 1645. (t) 

These presents doe declare that Richard Downs, Citizen of 
London, doth undertake a Contract for and agree to and with 
y« honorable Com*" of Lords & Coirions for S^ Thomas 
Fairfax, his Army to provide and deliver unto y^ said Com^c* 
or to such as they shall nominate <& appoint the number of 
y« provisions and at y* rates hereafter specified as followeth. 

(vizt.) 
Two Thousand Coates & Two Thousand Breeches at seven- 
teene shillings a Coate & Breeches. 

Two Thousand paire of stockins at Thirteene pence halfe 
penny a paire. 

The coates to be of a Red Colour, and of Suffolke, Coventry 
or Gloucester-shire Cloth and to be made Three quarters & 
a nayle long, faced with bayes or Cotten with tapestrings 
according to a patterne delivered into yc said Comittec. 



ADDF.XDA. 

The Breeches to be of gray or some other good Colours & 
made of Reading Clolh or other Clolh in length Three 
quarters one eighth well lined and Trimmed suitable to y= 
patternes presented, the said Cloth both of y said Coaies 
and of y Breeches lo be first shrunkc in Cold water. 
The stockins lo be made of good Welsh Cotten. That 
although it is impossible for any pson to undertake to make 
y sayd provisions exactly sutable for goodnesse lo any 
patteme for y' many wil be better and some may be a liltli; 
worse yet it is y* resolucon of y= said Contractor and he does 
hereby promise that as neere as he can none of y said pro- 
visions of CoaCes, Breeches & stockins shall be worse then y 
paltemes presented to y= said honorable Com'"' and that y= 
said Com'" or such as they shall appoint to view& supervise 
y' said provisions shall have power to refuse any of them 
against which there is lust exceptions. 

To deliver into y said ComitCee or such as they shall 
nominate and appoint one thowsand of y<^ said Coates and one 
thowsand of y^ said breeches and one thowsand of y said 
stockins at or before y Ji"' day of ffebruary instant and y 
other Moyety of all y^ said pvisions at or before y X"i day 
of March next ensueing. 

In Consideracon whereof ye said Com'" doe Contract and 
agree to and with y said Richard Downs to pay for all 
the pvisions to the said Richard Downs or to such as 
he shall appoint one thousand eight hundred and 
twelve pounds teniie shillings of lawful EngUah money 
(vixt) for one fourth of y said pvisions 453 : "> is : 6d of like 
money at the delivery of the said first moyety of y= said 
pvisions. And for one fourth thereof being 453'' : 2a ; 6d of 
like money at the end of one month after the delivery of the 
said lirst moyety of y said pvisions. And for one fourth of 
y said pvisions being 453"' ; i' b^ to pay at y delivery of y 
second moyety of y" said pvisions. And for y other fourth 
thereof being 453"' : 2* ; b^ \a pay at the end of one month 
after y second Moyety of y' said pvisions. 
Att the Com'" for the 
Army the XllIIii' of ffehr. 1645. 

This Com'" doth approve of these Contracts and doe desire 
that the ofBce™ of the Ordinance will take notice thereof And 
carefully see that the Provisions bee answerable to the 
Agreem"- And for as many of the Provisions as they shall 
receive in and allow to certifie the same unto this Com""- 
Rob'- Boscawen. 



278 ADDENDA. 



PETITIONS TO OLIVER, (t) 

When Oliver " recommended *' any course to his Council, 
or to any other authority, it was only his euphemistic way of 
saying what the Kings of England said in a more imperative 
fashion — ** Let it be done." 

On one occasion a petition was presented to him on behalf 
of a lad whose mother desired to get him into the Charter- 
house School, and Oliver endorsed it : 

*' We refer this petition and certificate to the Commis- 
sioners for Sutton's Hospital (Charterhouse), 28th July, 

165S-" 

In reference to this petition Oliver addressed a letter to 

his Secretary, setting forth the past service the boy's father 
had rendered to the State, and proceeded : ** I have wrote 
under it a common reference to the Commissioners, but I 
meane a great deal more, that it shall be done, with- 
out their debate or consideration of the matter, and so do you 

privately hint to Mr. . I have not the particular 

shining bauble or feather in my cap for crowds to gaze at, 
or kneel to, but I have power and resolution for foes to 
tremble at. To be short, I know how to deny petitions ; and 
whatever 1 think proper for outward form to refer to any 
officer or office, I expect that such my compliance with 
custom shall be also looked upon as an indication of my will 
and pleasure to have the thing done ; see therefore that tlie 
boy is admitted, 

'* Thy true Friend, 

" OLIVER P." 

Evidently, with Oliver there was no compulsion, only they 
viust. 

Oliver was one of the Governors of the Charterhouse up to 
the date of his installation as Protector, when General Skippen 
was appointed in his place. 





" This day Ihe Lords kept Ihe (ul lu Ihc hon«." 17IB Januar;-. 105;.,W. 
um Ihe orlElnaJ US. In Itac Aulhoi'a Coirccllun (Joumal ul Ihc House iil Lo 


■ 



ADDENDA. 



MEETING OF THE HOUSE OK LORDS. 
"WEDNESDAY, Z7TH JANUARY. 165?. 

(Here follow the names of those present.) 

" This day the Lords kept the ftist in the house. 

" Dr. Reynolds and Mr. Howe prayed and preached and 
Mr. Caryll concluded the day with prayer. 

' ' Ordered That the thankes of this house be retomed to Dr. 
Reynolds for his great paines in helping to carry on the worke 
of this day of ffasting and humiliation in this house and that 
he be desired to print his sermon and he his therein to enioy 
vsuall p'viledge. 

" Ordered That the thanks of this house be retomed to Mr. 
Howe for his great paines in carrying on the worke of this 
day of fFasting & humiliation in this house and that he be 
desired to print his sermon he is therein to enioy the vsuall 
privi ledge. 

■■Ordered That the thankes of this house be retomed to 
Mr Caryll for his great paines in carrying on the worke of 
this day of ffasting & humiliation in this house. 

" The Lord Com' ffycnnes declared by direc™ of this house 
this pi^sent parliam' to be Continued vn till nine of the Clock 
to morrow morning." 

The accompanying facsimile of the day's proceedings is 
from the MS. Joumal of the House of Lords in the author's 
possession. It is interesting from the evidence it gives that 
the Lords were ■'ticked off ■' by placing " pr" opposite their 
names, as they entered the Chamber. 



282 ADDENDA. 



JOHN MILTON, (t) 

Proclamation by Charles II. for calling in two books written 
by Milton dated 13th August, 1660 — **Pro populo Anglicano 
Defensio" and an answer to "The Pourtraiture of his Sacred 
Majesty in his Solitude and Sufferings." 

** Whereas John Milton, late of Westminster hath published 
in print two severall books ... in both wh are contained 
sundry Treasonable passages against Us and our Government 
and most impious endeavours to justifi the horrid and unmatch- 
able Murther of our late dear father . . . and whereas 
the said John Milton hath fled or so obscure himselfe that no 
endeavours used for his apprehension can take effect, whereby 
he might be brought to a legal Tryall, and deservedly receive 
condigne punishment for his Treasons and Offences. Now, 
to the end that our good subjects may not be corrupted . . . 
with such wicked and Traitorous principles " [and after 
ordering that all such books shall be delivered up, it goes on] 
** and the Sheriffs are hereby required to cause 'the same to be 
publicly burnt by the hands of the common hangman.** 



ADDENDA. 285 

MANUSCRIPT MUSIC BOOK of ANNE CROMWELL, 

FIRST COUSIN OF OLIVER CROMWELL, {+) 
containing a number of pieces. In the original calf binding 
gilt with clasps and the initials A C stamped on both sides — 

This intensely interesting volume has a note written on 
the last page (see illustration No. 1). 

The date is 1638, not 16^8 as would appear from the repro- 
duction. In the original the tigurc is seen to be 3. 

Henky Cromwell was uncle of the Protector, and. 
doubtless, the book was frequently used by Oliver when he 
joined his uncle's family circle at Upwood. 

On the first leaf in the volume — the only one not ruled in 
" staves " — is the following quaint desipi' - 




" Foiier moodes in muficke you shall find to bee 
Bui two you only vfe which hearc you see 
Deuided from the sembreefe is the quauer 
Which you with eafe may Lame if yo endauour." 

There are precisely fifty pieces in the volume, of wliiih, 
however, two are duplicates of others. The Staff is ruled in 
six lines, the musical characters are those of the time, and 
the book is unquestionably genuine 17th Century. 



286 ADDENDA. 

Many of the pieces are copied in a crude, amateurish 
fashion, and errors abound. In most such instances the 
harmonisation is barbarous. On the other hand some are 
very neatly written and the ** arrangement ** correct. 
Doubtless Anne herself copied most of the pieces into the 
book, while almost certainly others were written by 
musicians — probably professional men of the time. 

The reproduction of the second piece (see illustration 
No. 2) in the volume — a well-known psalm tune — gives an 
idea of much of the clumsy harmonisation ; while the extract 
from "The Merry Old Man'* affords an instance of the 
careless, slipshod style of the writing (see illustration No. 3). 

On the other hand, the example from "The Healthes" 
shows neatness and musical character (see illustration No. 4). 

Some of the titles are well known : ** Besse A Bell," 
" Daphny," " Fortune my foe," " Frogges Galliard," " In 
the dayes of old," "The miery Milke-Maide," "The 
Healthcs," etc., etc., though the tunes are not always those 
given by John Playford and quoted by Chappell. Others are 
" Mrs. Villar's Sport," " A French Tuckato," " Mr. Ward's 
Masque," " A Joy," "The Queene's Masque," "The New 
Nightingall." " An Ayre." " A Corranto," " The Merry Old 
Man," "The Sheepeard," '*The Wiches," "The Scotch 
Tune," "The Blafing Torch," "Mr Holmes Corranto," 
" Mr White Lock^s Coranto," " Among the Mirtills," "An 
Almos by Mr. lue," "A Simphony by Mr lue," "The 
Maides," the last piece in the work being "el dono." 

Two dismal songs, with words, are " Sweat Sivon songes 
w^h melody" and " Aden Adeu O Lett me goe.'' Mr. lue is 
a great favourite and is referred to in the latter song — 

" Sweat Sivon songes w*'' melody 
Inchanting lues w^'^ Harmon-ey 
Makes all to singe most mery Nots 
O doe not then forfake pooer Oatcs." 

Much light is incidentally thrown on the music, the nota- 
tion and general character of the writing of the time by the 
contents of this delightful book, but which there is not space 
further to refer to here. 

(Contributed by my friend G. H. Haswell.) 




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ADDENDA. 289 



A MONEY-LENDER'S ADVERTISEMENT, 

icmf>: Charles I. 

**An Abstract of a Direction Concerning Reall 

Contract. 

*'\^^losoever shall desire to purchase, or put to Sale, to take 
in Lease, or let to Fame, to Grant, Assigne, Exchange, or 
otherwise to Contract, or Deale, with or for any Lands, 
Lease, Rents, Annuities, Mansion-houses, Offices Saleable, 
or other Estates of what yearly value soever, or to save any 
such from danger of Forfeiture, through the want of present 
money : May eyther in their owne names, or in the name of 
any other trusted by them, have secure meanes with all 
privacy requisite : ^'■- tl.e speedy effecting what shall be 
desired, in any the Cases aforesayd, or . the like : At the 
Porcht House against St. Andrewe's Church in Holbome, 
London. 

*' God save our gracious King Charles." 

The ways of Money-lenders seem to be the same in all 
ages: "absolute privacy," ** speedy advances," and no 
name of lender given. In Charles's time, too, public offices 
were saleable "properties." 



290 ADDENDA, 



LETTER FROM CHARLES L 

This is a perfect example of a cryptogram, or secret 

letter. In Thurloe's collection of State documents there are 

many examples of this method of communication, but I do 

not remember if there are any completed ones— /.^., with the 

elucidations of the cryptic characters filled in by the person 

to whom the letter is addressed. In this letter of Charles, 

Lord Asteley has supplied the hidden meaning- from his key. 

To our right trusty and right welbeloved 

Lo. Asteley. j^cob Lord Asteley Our Lieutent Grail of 

Our Counties of Worcester, Hereford, etc. 
Charles R. 

Right trusty and right welbeloued Wee greet you well. 
Wee have receaved yo™ of y« 22*^, & ye Duplicate of it, And 
in y« first place Wee give yo" Our thankes for yo^ extra- 
ordinary industry and care in o"" Ser\'ices and Affaires 
committed to yo'' trust And as Wee approve of all that yo" 
haue done, see Wee desire y« continuance of yo"^ diligence 
therein Wee haue given Order for a Commission to bee sent 
yo" to bee Governor of Worcester \v-'^ power for yo^'* to make 
a Deputy, and Wee very well approve of yo^ choice of 

Coloiell W as li \w^ ton 

305 . 459 . I . 76 . 129 . 12 . 245 . 52 . 22 . 69 . 4 . 101 

to bee j'o'" Deputy, and desire yo" to settle him in it as 
yo'' selfe propoundes in yo^" I.re, and to advise him 

to com p ly with our Commissioners 

380 146 . 49 . 254 . 409 . 310 . 455 . 2,}, ' 43 • i:> 202 
for y« good of that Garrison and y^ Countrey adjoyning. 
Wee being resolved not onely to support and countenance 

our Commissioner s 

305 . 310 . 455 . 36 . 45 . 74 . 4 . 2 . in performance of 5re 

m but 

trust Wee haue reposed in the 48 . 2 . 15 . 26 . 54 . 521 

to go€ t li r o u /; h w it 

380 . 198 . 52 . 12 . 44 . 24 . 29 . 5 . 13 . 3 . lOI . 76 . 234 



ADDENDA. 291 

h that way of order ingc 

12 . 3 . 387 . 403 . 306 .315 . 245 Our Affaires in those 
partes and in all other places w^'in Our Quarters, as- 
well for y« ease and good of Our Subjectes as )r« 

be for c yo^ 

advancement of o^ Service 521 . 137 . 174 . 35 . 423 

d c part u r e from Worcester. 

59 • 34 • 2i^l . 26 . 44 . 2^2, . 186 . 621 . 522 . Wee 

with lo : \V as h ing 

pray yo" to take Order 409 . 459 . 76 . 129 . 13 . 245 

on vour D e put v & our Com e 

53 • 309 • 4 • 423 • 50 . 34 • 331 • 31 • I • ^^1 • 310 . 455 . II 

X % to in h and the speed y 

43 • 73 • 3 • 4 • 380 Set 236 . 12 . 127 . 2 . 386 . 371 . 30 . 4 

& per f e c t inf;e of the fortify 

repaire 127 . 326 .61 . 34 . 4® • 53 . 245 . 306 . 386 . 489 

c at ion s t here & 

40 . 128 . 239 . 73 . 52 . 219 . 202 . 127 especially for 

the f u ' r n ish inge that Garison w^^ 

386 . 61 . 26 . 43 . 68 . 243 . 245 . 387 . 497 . 409 

good of vict"« * o t her 

9 . 197 proporcon 306 . 620 . 127 . 22 . 52 . 214 

prouisions a s e i g e 

569 • 11 against 10 . i . 3 • 73 • 34 • ^9 • 5 • 3^ . 102 

If by the fovr t h of 

560 . 202 . 237 . 136 . 386 . T92 . 52 . 12 . 2 . 306 

the next nionthe you bee able 

386 . 298 . 293 . 422 shall not 137 .131 . 202 . 

to g at her to get her In to 

380 . 5 . 128 . 214 . I . 380 . 199 . 214 . loi . 236 . 380 

bo d y so considerable a strength of 

a 16 . 24 . 59 . 30 . 3 . 356 . 461 . 131 . I . 9 . 375 . 306 

horse it footc as you miglit doe 

222 . 127 . 181 . 129 . 422 . 290 . 152 . 410 . 

by inge the time for 5 or 6 

136 . deferr 245 . 386 . 379 . 174 . 5 . i . 307 . 6 . 4 

day s long c r 

154 . ']i . 260 . 33 • 43 • loi • Wee are well pleased, 

put it oil t i 1 the 

That yo" 331 . 234 . 306 . 61 . 1 . 52 . 21 . 64 . 3 . 386 . 

ten t h of March : but then 

iio . 52 . 14 . 306 . 84 . 304 . 135 . 52 . 13 . 34 . 67 . 

not to f a i 1 e to mar c h 

295 • 380 . 61 . 8 . 19 . 64 . 35 . 380 . 279 . 40 . 14 . I . 

as at you can to war d vs 

129 strong 129 . 422 . 143 . 380 . 625 . 59 . 304 . 306 

and as man y of 

127 . Wee desire you to cause 129 . 277 . 30 . i . 306 . 

yoi* foote to bee m o u n t e d 

423 • 181 . 380 . 137 . 46 . 22 . 27 . 69 . 54 . 33 . 60 . 



292 



ADDENDA, 



as 
4 . 129 

to 

advice 380 

at 

1 . 128 . I 

time ly 

379 • 254 

t here 
52 . 219 . 

wee will 

402 . 406 

part R 

m • n • 
with 

2 . 409 

o n 

24 . 

North 

552 
keepe 

249 



you 



422 . may possibly. Wee approve of yo*" 

pas s the R i u 

49 • S • 73 • 74 • 386 



I 



you 
422 



B 

15 
not 

295 
wee 
. 402 

haue 
210 

to 
. 380 



R 

43 

d 
60 . 



u r for 

27 . 44 . 174 

i c e 

. 18 . 40 . 35 . 2 

the 

appoint 386 

Force s 

487 • 12^ . 



r 

- 44 

on 
309 



shall 

369 

our 

310 

mee 

274 



wilbee 

where 
' 413 • 



202 



69 . I 

Wales 
. 622 



a 
10 



an 
126 

in 
236 . 

out 
308 . 

in 
236 . 

order 

leaue 
such 



y 
• 30 

our 

310 

of 
306 

the 

386 

s 

it 



m 

46 

to 

380 . 
footc 

. 181 

force 
. 487 

y 



u 

26 



522 . 

s 



. 19 . 27 . 36 

& vp 

2i ' "^^1 ' 397 

when you 
. 415 . 422 

Rendeuous 

. 576 . 202 

from the s e 

186 . 386 . 74 . 34 . 

& joy n e 

. 127 . 240 .67 .34 

The Lord By r 
I . 2 . 4 . lOI . 386 . 264 . 136 . 43 

t 

53 



II 



t 
52 



in 



2 . necessarily remayne 236 



& 



a 

II 

h 
, 12 

vearc 
'425 

at 



lOI 
inge 

245 . 

s 

• 74 

d 



secure those partes . 127 



t 
52 



here 
. 219 

Shall 

369 



vs 



to 

380 

if 



30 • 59 • I 



amve 

not 
•295 . 



o 
22 



P 

51 



e 

34 



for 

174 . 396 . lOI 

from Ireland 

186 . 507 

are 

410 . whereof Wee 125 

though it bee 

394 . 234 . 137 now late 

As for tlie dis 

loi . 129 . 174 . 386 . 153 . 

r i d g North 

44 . 19 . 59 . 5 . 552 . I Wee 
Com^s to remedy ye same in 
they shall thinke best for o*" 
Service, and Wee shall confirme what yo" shall 
doe therein, as also in ye rectefying and putting 



520 .3.2 



128 . 202 . 15 . 
to yo" and o'' 
sort as yo" and 



into 


better 


an y o 

Order for o*" Service 126 . 30 . i . 22 


t 
• 52 


her 1 
214 


Gouernors 

• 497 • 


with in the pre c in 
74 . 409 . 236 . 386 . 327 . 40 . 236 


c 
. 42 


t 

53 . 


s 

12^ • 4 


of your Comand such 
. 306 . 423 . 456 . 410 . I . 305 . 365 . 


of 

306 


our 
310 


Garison 

• 497 


s as 

. 75 . I . 129 . yo" shall thinke fit to 


bee 


kep 
249 


t 
• 54 • 


after the pre force s bee 

(134 • 386 . 12^ sent 487 . ^7, . 137 . 


long 
260 


inge 
245 


to 

. 380 . 


the m shall bee n e 

386 . 47 . 369 . 137 . draw . 67 . 33 . 4 . 


I . 


out 
308 


to 

. 380 . 


mar c h with you in to 
279 . '42 . 12 . I . 409 . 422 . 236 . 380 . 


the 
386 



ADDENDA. 293 

feild to put in to 

193 .410) Wee would haue yo" 380 . 331 . 236 . 380 . 

the h and s & c harge of some 

386 . 12 . 127 . 74 . I . 127 . 40 . 226 . 306 . 357 . 

8 of the c o u 

faithful! person 73 . i . 4 . 22 .61 . 386 . 40 . 22 . 27 

n t r c V to bee he I d for 

67 . 54 . 43 . 34 . 32 . 4 . 380 . 137 .211 . 64 . 60 . 174 . 

vs so as they will to man 

396 . 356 . 129 . 389 . 406 . vndertake 380 . 277 . 

& keepe for vs with the same 

127 . 249 . them . 174 • 396 . 2 . 409 . 386 . 367 Contri- 

to the m here 

bucons respectively assignd 380 . 386 46 . 2 . 219 

to for e & Count 

380 . 174 . 34 . 127 secure y« 40 . 22 . 26 . 67 . 52 . 

r y & recruit men t here for 

44 . 30 . 1 . 127 . 582 . 276 . 52 . 219 . 174 o*" Service 
as there Shalbee occasion. Of all yo^ proceedings 

& m o t ion s & when wee may 

127 . 46 . 24 . 52 . 239 . ^2^ • 127 • 415 • 402 * 2^^ 

you at B u r for d & with 

expect 422 . 128 . I . 15 . 26 . 43 . 174 . 59 . 3 . 127 409 

what strength 

412. 375. Wee desire yo" to send vs frequent advertisementes. 
And soe Wee bid yo" heartily farewell Given at o^ Court at 
Oxon )r« 27*^ of February 1645 

By his Ma** Comand 

Edw. Nicholas. 



15 



INDEX. 



''Agitators*' (or ''Agents**), 

Council of, 122 
Aldersey, Mrs., 253 
America, United States of, 193 
Annual Parliaments Bill, 50 
Argyle, Marquis of, Cromwell's 

Convention with, 139 
Army, Sends Remonstrance to 

Parliament, 140 
"Associated Counties," 102 
Astley, Sir Jacob, his Pro- 
phecy, 198, 225 

Basing Holsk, Capture of, 108 
Bastwick, Trial of, 43-46 
Baxter, Richard, 65, 119 
Beard, Dr., Schoolmaster of 

Protector, 28, 31 
" Benevolences," Copy of, 38 
Berry, Captain-Lieut., 76 
Blackboume, R., Esq., Letter 
from Sir R. Willoughby to, 
187 
" Black Terror," 119 
Blake, Admiral, 114, 191 
Bourchier, Elizabeth, Marriage 

to Oliver Cromwell, 34 
Bourchier, Sir James, Father- 
in-law of Oliver, 34, 228 
Boyle, Michael, 165 
Bradshaw, Sergeant John, 142, 

Brandon, Richard, Reputed 
Executioner of King Charles, 

Broad Moor, 96 

Brook, Lord, 3d 

" Brownists," The, 119 

Burnet, Bishop, Sneers at 
Oliver's literary attain- 
ments, ^^ 



Burton, Trial of, 43-46 
Bush, Rev. T. Cromwell, 22y 

Cambridge, University of, 194 

Carlyle, T., quoted, 34, 60, 65, 

92,94, 107, 126, 130, 140, 152, 

i53» ^77f 216 
Cavendish, General, Defeat of 
at Gainsborough, 76 ; Death 
of, 76 

Chalgrove, Field of, y^ 

Charles L, Accession of, ^y ; 
MaiTiage of, ^y ; Illegal 
Exactions, 38 ; " Benevo- 
lences," 38 ; Attempted 
Seizure of Five Members, 
51; Leaves Whitehall, 56; 
Composition of Army of, 61 ; 
Edgehill, 63 ; Narrow Escape 
of Capture, 64 ; Fortifies Ox- 
ford, 65 ; Threatens Invasion 
of Scotland with Irish Rebels, 
78 ; Storms and Captures 
Leicester, 92 ; Defeat at 
Naseby, 94 ; Defeat at Row- 
ton Heath, 113; Returns to 
Oxford, 1 13 ; Leaves City in 
Disguise, 1 13 ; Retires to 
Newark, 113 ; Refuses to 
take the Covenant, 1 16 ; 
Surrendered to Parliament 
by the Scots, 121 ; Negotia- 
tion with Ireton, 124; His 
Rejection of Advice, 125 ; 
Suspected Complicity in 
Rismgs of City and West- 
minster, 126; His Flight, 
127; Prisoner in Carisbrooke 
Castle, 129; His indictment 
by Army, 130 ; Secret Treaty 



a«5 



le 



296 



INDEX. 



with Scots, 130; Declines 
Offers of Peace Commis- 
sioners, 139; Removal to 
Hurst Castle, 140 ; Trial of, 
142 ; His Sentence, 146 ; 
Execution of, 148 

Charles II. Takes the Cove- 
nant, 171 ; Crowned at Scone, 
178 ; Defeat of by Cromwell, 
179; Escape to France, 180, 
211 ; Invitation to return, 
243 ; Arrival in London, 243 

*' Chief Delinquent," 128, 139, 

Cholmley, Sir Henry, 134 

Civil War, Commencement of 
First, 61 ; Causes of, 74; End 
of First, 114; Opemng of 
Second, 129; End of, 152; 
Tracts relative to, 154 

Clarendon, Earls of, 254 

Clarendon, Earl of, 50 

Clarendon's History of the 
Rebellion, quoted, 207, 231 

Claypole, Elizabeth, Daughter 
of Oliver, Death of, 208 

Cloyne, Dean of, 165 

Clubmen, Rise of the, loi ; 
Commission for Raising- 
Regiments of, 102 

"Cockpit, The," Residence of 
Cromwell, 171 

Colfer, Franc, 51 

Commonwealth, The, Its Ele- 
ments, 181 

Cornwall, Attitude of, 69 

Cotterall, Colonel, 134 

Cottington, Lord Keeper, 43, 44 

Covenant, Scotch, 48, 78, 115, 
116 

Cromwell, Anne, MS. of Songs, 
etc., compiled by, 194, 245 

Cromwell, Bridget, Oliver's 
Daughter, 114 

Cromwell, Dorothy, Daughter 
of Richard, 245 

Cromwell, Elizabeth, Daughter 
of Richard, 245 ; Litigation 
with her Father, 246 

Cromwell, Elizabeth, Wife of 
Oliver, 34 ; Incident of 
monkey, 34 ; Letter to, from 
Oliver Cromwell, 177 



Cromwell, Elizabeth, Mother 
of Oliver — Her Character 
and Qualities, 22^ ; Bene- 
diction of her son, 24 

Cromwell, Frances, Youngest 
Daughter of Protector — 
Widowed, 208 

Cromwell, Henry, Son of Oliver, 
167 ; His fitness for Office, 
224 ; Letter to Richard 
Cromwell, 22^2 ; His Appeal 
to Fleetwood, 22^2 

Cromwell, Oliver — Birth of, 21 ; 
Parentage, 21-27; "-^ \\Ti^ 
of Brewers," 23 ; Cambridge, 
Removal to, 28 ; Imbibes 
Puritan principles, 31 ; Col- 
lege career, end of, 31 ; 
Mythical stories concern- 
ing boyhood of, 31-32 ; 
His attainments, ^2^ ; His 
marriage, 34; M.P. for 
Huntingdon, 39 ; Popery, 
first speech on, 40 ; Fined 
for refusing Knighthood, 40 ; 
Remark on ** Grand Remon- 
strance," 47 ; Seizes Castle 
of Cambridge, 56; Curious 
letter concerning, 56 ; Ac- 
tivity in drilling troopers, 
68 ; Made Colonel, 68; First 
victory, at Grantham, 68; 
At Launceston, 70 ; Relieves 
Gainsborough, 76 ; Scientific 
warfare, "]^ ; Agrees to Pres- 
byterian formulary, 78 ; Re- 
appearance in Parliament, 
79 ; Appointment as Lieu- 
tenant-General, 79; At 
Marston Moor, 84 ; His 
" Ironsides," 84 ; Denounces 
Manchester ; urges more 
vigorous action, 85 ; Defeats 
Rupert's Convoy, 91 ; Attacks 
Karringdon ; repulsed, 91 ; 
An estimate of his services, 
92 ; Appeal for reinforce- 
ments, 93 ; Wins at Naseby, 
94 ; His despatch to Parlia- 
ment, 99 ; Conference with 
Clubmen, 103 ; Retakes 
Bristol, 104; Storms Win- 
chester; punishes plunderers, 
107 ; Besieges and captures 



Basing House ; razes it to 
the ground, 108-9 '• Victories 
in Somersetshire, Devon and 
Cornwall, iii: "The Chief 
of Men," 119; His views of 
liberty, izo ; Accused of 
causing mutiny in Army, 
123; Marches on London, 
123 ; His desire for re-estab- 
tnent of Monarchy, iz6 ; 
Suppresses mutiny of Army 
at Ware, 128 ; Convinced 
of King's duplicity, 128; 
Crushes Welsh revolt, 133 ; 
Defeats Hamilton at Preston, 
133 ; Letters from, at Siege 
of Pontefract Castle, J34 ; 
Attitude of to Quakers and 
Roman Catholics, 158; Sails 
to Ireland, 162 ; Quenches 
mutiny of Army. 163 ; En- 
thusiastic reception of at 
Dublin, 164 ; His policy, 
166; His victories, 166; His 
severity criticised, 166 ; 
Recalled to London, 166; 
Receives thanks of Parlia- 
ment, 171 ; Appointed Lord 
General, 172; Campaign in 
Scotland, 172 ; Defeats 
Lesley at Dunbar, 17s ; His 
Proclamation, 175 ; His reply 
to Presbj^erian ministers, 
178 ; Pursuit of Charles H.. 
179; As Dictator. 180; 
Scene at discussion of Dis- 
solution Bill. 185; InsUlled 
as Lord Protector. 188 ; 
Disputations with Pariia- 
ment, 192; His scheme of 
Government. loz; His efforts 
on behalf ofScicnce and Art, 
193; His love for Music. 194 ; 
His first Parliament, 197; 
Dissolution of, 197; Second 
and last Parliament, 198; 
Refusal of Kingship, 199; 
Second Installation as Pro- 
tector, 200 ; Dissolution of 
his last Parliament. 207 ; 
Nearingihe end, zo8 ; Death 
of. 211 ; Exhumation of Body. 
213; Civil and Religious 
Liberty, 215; Cost of Funeral , 



>£X. 297 

226, 240 ; His Progeny. 254. 

Cromwell, Oliver, Eldest Son of 
Oliver Cromwell, 63 

Cromwell, Oliver, Son of 
Richard, 245 

Cromwell. Richard, Character 
of. 224 ; Marriage of, 228 ; 
Installed as Protector, 228 ; 
His First Parliament, 233; 
End of Protectorate. 234; 
His Debts, 236; His Exile 
from , England. 238 ; State- 
ment of Income, 239; His 
Return, 245 ; Litigation with 
Daughters, 246 ; Death of, 
250 ; Description of Per- 
sonality, 250 

Cromwell, Robert, Father of 
Oliver, 21 : His Traits, 23 

"Cromwellian Settlement," 1S8 

Cromwell, Sir Henry, Grand- 
father of Oliver Cromwell, 

Cromwell, Sir Oliver, 22. 24 
Cromwell. Sir Richard. 21 
Cromwell, Thomas, 2t ; "Ham- 
mer of Monasteries." 22. 53 

Cuffle. Major, 110 



DalBibk. Captain John. 68 
Dalton, Mr. C.. quoted. 248 
Daniell, Colonel John, 165 
Dennington Castle, 108 
Derby, Lord. Defent of by 

Colonel Lilbume. 179; Cap- 
ture of, 180 
Derry, Sieze of, 163 
Desborougn, 63, 231 
Dighy, Sir John, Curious 

letter from, to Colonel C. 

Fairfax. 137 
Disbrowc, Benjamin. 246 ; 

Quaint letter from, 246 ; 2^2 
Dissolution. Bill of. 18b 
Drake, Samuel, 56 
Dtogheda. Storm of. 166 
Uryden, Panegyric of, on Death 

of Cromwell. 211 
Dunbar, Battle of, 175 ; Medal 

in commemoration of. 176 
Durham, University of, 194 
Dust Hill, 95 



398 



INDEX, 



" Eastern Association," 84, 

93. 95 
Edgehill, Battle of, 63 

Eliot, Sir John, Member of 
Charles I's First Parlia- 
ment, i*] 

Elizabeth, Queen, 69, 119, 153 

Ellis's Letters on English 
History t 154 

Episcopacy, Bill for Abolition 
of, 50, 116 

Escutcheon borne at Protec- 
tor's Funeral, 227 

Essex, Earl of, Raising of 
Trainbands, M ; 62 ; At Edge- 
hill, 63 ; Falls back on War- 
wick, 64; Enters Cornwall, 
70 ; Routed at Lostwithiel, 
70 ; Escape at Fowey, 70 ; 
** His Masterly Inactivity,*' 
'jT^ ; Quaint Letter respecting, 
r^ ; Surrender of Bristol to 
Prince Rupert, 75 ; Raises 
Siege at Gloucester, *]*] ; 
Fights First Battle of New- 
bury, 77 ; Invests Oxford, 79 

Executioner of Charles I., 148 ; 
Who was the Executioner? 
152 



Fairfax, Colonel Charles, 134, 

Fairfax, Lady, 145 

Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 70; 
Victory at Chester, 7^ ; 
Made Commander-in-Chief 
of " New Model " Army, %-], 
92, 93 ; Meeting with Club- 
men, 102, 113; Crushes 
Kentish rebels, 130 ; Ap- 
pointed Governor of Ponte- 
fract 'Castle, 134 ; Receives 
Articles against King from 
Army, 140, 171 ; Resignation 
as I>ord General, 172 ; Death 
of, 172 

Faithome, Engraver, 112 

Falkland, Lord, 61 ; Death of, 

n 

Fauconberge, Countess Mary, 

238* 254 
Fea, Mr. Allan, 180 
Felsted School, 228 



Finch, Lord Chief Justice, 
quoted, 44 

Firth, C. H., article by, 157 

Five Members, Attempted 
arrest of, 51 ; Public feeling 
thereon, 53 

Fleetwood, General, Antago- 
nism to Richard Cromwell, 
23 1 » ^"S^i \ Declaration of, 
235 ; Appointed Commander- 
in-Chief, 235 

Fortescue, Sir " Faithful," 
His desertion, 63 

Fyennes, Lord Com*", 204 

Gardiner, Dr. S. R., quoted, 

216, 254 
George III. presents tracts to 

British Museum, 154 
"George," King's, 148 
Gibson, Dr., Son-in-Law of 

Richard Cromwell, 245, 246 
Glasgow College and Oliver, 

194 
Goring, General, His flight 

to France, 70 ; 84, 88 
"Grand Remonstrance," The, 

Gray, Mrs., Cromwell's letter 

to, 134 
Gve^W s Short History t quoted, 

64* 73»> 75. 116 
Grenville, Sir Richard, 88 
Grenville, Sir Bevil, Victory of 

at Launceston, and death, 70 
Grey, Lord, of Groby, 141 
Gully, W. C., M.P., Lecture on 

Arrest of Five Members, 53 
Gunpowder Plot, 158 

Hacker, Colonel, 142, 147 
Hambledon Hill, Clubmen at, 

104 
Hamilton, Duke, Invasion of 
England, 130 ; Defeat of at 
Preston, and Execution of, 

Hammond, Colonel Robert, 
Governor of Isle of Wight, 
129 

Hampden, John, 28, 34 ; Sub- 
scnption to Parliamentary 
Army, 56 ; Opinion of 
Oliver's Criticism of Army, 



I 



67 ; Defealed at Chalgrove 

and death, 73 ; Refusal 10 

pay " Ship money," 74 ; 75 

Hampton Court Palace, iflo, 

m 

Harcourt, Sir William, 354 
Harrison, F., quoted, 33, 50, 6a, 

77, 80, rt8; Remarks upon 

effect of King's Death, 151 ; 

Condition of Enf^land, 163; 

168. 174, 175, 179. 180. 181. 

182, 187, 191, iga, 211 
Harrison, Major-Gerteral, tio, 

•85 
Harvey, Attendant on O. Crom- 

Haselrig, Sir A., Letter from 
O. Cromwell to, 174; 233 

Heath's Chronicle, quoted, 91, 
156 

HenrietLi Maria, Marriage of, 
37 ; Urges Acceplance of 
Parliament's Terms, 1 16 

Heno-VHI., 153 

Hollar. Enpraver, captured at 
Basing House, 112 

Holies, John. 121 

Hopkins, Tunes of. 194 

Hopton. Sir Ralph, jo; Dis- 
bands Troops, 70 ; Surrender 
of, ira 

Horton, Dr. R. F,, quoted, 215 

House of Lords. MS. Jouma'l 
of, quoted. 203 

Howe, John. Chaplain to Pro- 
tectors. 250 

Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, 50. 
ao7 

Inxhiquin, Lord, 165 

" Independents." Description 
of, 119 

Ireton, Cromwell's Son-in-law, 
1 14 ; Negotiations with 
Charles, 124; His "Act of 
Oblivion." 124; Sails lo 
Ireland. 163; 212 

"Ironsides," Oliver Cromwell's 
men first called, 84 ; iSb 

JONES. Inigo, 112 
ones, Ralph, Assistant Hang- 
man, 154 



KX. 399 

Joyce, Cornet. Seizes the King, 

123 
Juxon, Dr., 147 

King James's College, 

Edinbui^h, 194 
Knyvett, Thomas, 51 

Lambert, General, 134, 137; 

Captures Poiitefract Castle, 

138; His Annuity, 138; 178, 

184, 231, 23s 
Laud, Archbishop, 31, 40,43, 

46, 47, 78, 119, 161, 315 
Lauderdale, Capture of, 180 
Lawrence. Captain Adam, 191 
Lenthal, Speaker, Despatch 

from Ctoniwell to, 99; 107, 

180, 185 
Lesley. David, Victory of at 

Selkirk, 113 ; 172, 174; 

Defeat of at Dunbar, 175 ; 

Capture of, 180 
Lewis, John, 213 
Lilbume, Colonel Robert, 

Defeats Lord Derby, 179 
Lilburne, John, 48 
Lindsey, The Earl of, 61 ; 

Death at Edgehill, 64 
Lisle, 191 
Lockhart, Sir W., Ambassador 

to France, 191 
Lubbock, Sir John, M.P., 2,S4 
Ludlow, Edmund, quoted, 52, 



Maidston, John, Treasurer 
to Oliver Cromwell, 203 : 
Authorisation to pay Funeral 
E.xpensesof O. Cromwell, lij 
M^or, Dorothy, Wife of 
Richard Cromwell. 328, 245 
" Malignants." or Royalists, 

66, n6. 338 
Manchester, Earl of, 85 ; De- 
nounced by Cromwell. 85 
Market Harborough, 94, 96 
Marslon Moor, Battle of, 80 
Mari'ell, Andrew, 191 
Mary, Queen of Scots, 153 
Massey, Commander of City 
Troops, 135 



300 



INDEX, 



Maurice, Prince, Brother of 

Prince Rupert, 1 13 
Medals struck at Pontefract 

Castle, 138 ; at Dunbar, 175 

Middleton, Captain, ^^ 
Miles, Colonel, 'j}^ 
Mill Hill, 95, 96 

Milton, J., 34; quoted, 52; 119, 
120; Appointed Latin Secre- 
tary to Council, 163 ; Writes 
a despatch to Cardinal 
Mazarin, 190 ; 191 ; His 
Defensio Secunda, 193 ; 
" Cromwell, our Chief of 
Men," 193 

Monarchy, Desire for Re- 
establishment of, 226 

Monck, General, Letter from, 
proclaiming Richard Pro- 
tector, 223 

Montague, Lord, 34 

Montrose, Defeated at Selkirk, 
1 13 ; Hanged at Edinburgh, 

Morris, John, Treachery of at 
Pontefract Castle, 134; Ap- 
pointed Governor, 134 ; 
Escape of, 138 ; Death of, 

138 
Mumford, W., Examination of 

by Crown, 249 

Munitions of War, Order for 

delivery of, 101 

Naseby, Battle of, 94 
Newark, Scots Army at, 113 
Newbury, First Battle of, *]*] ; 

Second Battle of, 85 
Newcastle, Earl of, 76, 79, 84 
"New Model Army,*' For- 
mation of, 87 ; 95 
Noble, Rev. Mark, quoted, 24, 

Oblivion, Act of, 124 
Officers, Council of, 122 ; 
Supreme authority vested in, 

235 ^ . 

Ormond, Marquis of. Split 

amonst his Adherents, 165 

Oxford, University of, 194 

Parker, Captain William, loi 



Parliament, Charles's Second, 
Refuses Supplies, 2;] ; Dis- 
solved, 38 ; Charles's Third 
met and dissolved, 39 ; ** The 
Short," 47; ** The Long" dis- 
missed by Oliver Cromwell, 
48; Panic at war misfor- 
tunes, 75 ; Peace discussed, 
75 ; Treaty with Scotch, 78 ; 
Passes ** Self-denying Ordi- 
nance," 86; Vote to Peters 
of annuity, 112; Sole 
authority of Government, 
114; Vote to Lambert of 
Annuity, 138 ; Increased 
Presbyterian tendencies, 139; 
Strong Doctrinal Decrees, 
139 ; Despatches messengers 
of peace to King, 139 ; 
Rejection of Remonstrance, 
140; Treaty with King 
approved, 140 ; Recalls 
Cromwell from Ireland, 166 ; 
The Dissolution Bill, 185 ; 
End of "Long," 187; 
"The Little," 188; First 
Triennial, 188 ; Cromwell's 
First, and Dissolution, 197 ; 
Cromwell's Second and Last, 
1^8 ; Richard Cromwell's 
First, 2}^}^ ; Vote for Richard's 
"Subsistence," 239; "Long" 
restored, 240; " The Restora- 
tion," 243 

Parliamentary Army, 51, 
56 ; Composition of, 62 ; Its 
Weakness, 65 ; 85 ; Re- 
organised — "New Model," 
87; Its Rate of Wages, 
93 ; Proposed Disbandment 
of, 121 ; Demands Arrears 
of Payment, 122; Mutiny 
of, 123; Its Representa- 
tion to Parliament, 123 ; 
Suspicions of Charles, 127; 
Demands for his Punishment, 
128; Mutiny, 128; United 
Action in Second Civil War, 
130 ; Its Indictment of Charles, 
130 ; Articles against King, 
140; Remonstrance against 
Parliamentary Treaty with 
King, 140 ; Its Paramount 
Power, 141 ; Mutiny of, 163 ; 



Its Political Power. i8i ; 
Rpduction of, 187; lis Oppo- 
sition to Richard Cromwell, 
231 ; Revolt of, 234 

Pengelly, Sir Thomas, 245, 247, 
253 

Pengelly. Mrs. Rachel, 238, 
245 ; Statements of Expendi- 
ture for Richard Cromwell, 
250 

Peters. Rev. Hugh. 107; Speech 
to Parliament on fall of 
Basing House, tog; Voted 
annuity, i!2: iig, iz6, 141, 
'54 

"Petition" nni "Advice," Z03 

"Petition of Right," The, 39, 

Pickering. Gilbert, 177 

Picton's Cfomiee//, quoted, 165 

Pitl, William. 224 

Pontefract Castle, First Siege 
of, J33, 134; Letters from 
Oliver Cromwell at Siege of. 
134 ; Medals struck at, in 
honour of Charles II., [38 

Portsmouth, Mayor of, 236 

Potkm, Hierome, Letter con- 
cerning Oliver Cromwell, 59 

Presbyterian Church, Estab- 
lished in England, 78; Its 
Persecutions, 101, 104; Sup- 
pression of, [72 

Presbyterian Ministers. Oliver 
Cromwell's disapprobation 
of, 178 

Preston, Battle of, 133 

Pride, Colonel. 140, 141 

"Pride's Purge," 140, 141 

Proclamation, Oliver Crom- 
well's. 200 

Protectress, The. Incident of 
Monkey, 34 '; Letter from 
Oliver to, 177 

Prynne, Trial of, 43-46 

Puritan Cause, the cause of 
Liberty, 161 

Pym, John, 34, 75 ; Death of. 79 



Raleigh, Sir Walter, Carlyle's 
reference to Execution of, 

153. '61 
Regicides, 152 
Renfrew, High Sheriff of, 223 
" Representative" Act, 184 
Rich, Colonel. 140; Death of, 

208 
Richmond Park, 194 
Ripon. Marquis of. 254 
Robbins, Alti;ed E., Zaun- 

ceston. Past and Present, 

quoted. 70 
Roundway Hill, 75 
Rowton Heath, Battle of. 113 
Rupert, Prince, Debut of, 61 ; 

He Plunders, 64; His Reck- 

lessness, 65, 80 ; Defeats 

Hampden at Chalgrove. 73; 

Defeat of at Mansion Moor, 

83; Routed at Islip Bridge. 

gt ; Defeat of at Naseby, 94, 

?9; Surrenders Bristol, 104; 
,eaves England. 113 
Rushworth, John, Clerk Assis- 
tant of the " Long" Parlia- 
ment, quoted. g6 
Russell, Sir John, 249 
Rutput Hill, 95 

Safety, Committee of, 235. 236 

Sanderson's " Comf/eai His- 
tory," etc., quoted, 156 

Say, Lord, 34 

Selden, John, 37 

Self.denyitigOrdinancc passed, 
86; 91, 92. 120 

Ship money levied, 40 ; One of 
Causes of War, 74 

Sidney, Algernon, 114 

Simon, Thomas, His Dunbar 



Ragland Ca.STI.K, Surrende 
of, 113 



Solomon, King, 224 

Somerset House, Proposed Sale 

of, 236 
Sprigge's Anglia Jiedivn-a, 

quoted. 91 
" Squire " Correspondence, 66 
Staff of OfBce, Fairfax's, 87 
Stamford. Lord, Defeat of, at 

Laun ceston, 70 
Star Chamber, ao, 43, t6i ■■ 
Sterling, Sir Robert, 165 



302 



INDEX. 



Steme, Dr., 46 
Stemhold, Tunes of, 194 
Steward, Sir Thomas, 21 ; His 

Legacy, 47 
Steward, Robert, 21 
Steward, William, of Ely, 24 
Strafford, Earl of, 39, 40; Policy 

of "Thorough," 47 ; 128, 156 
Stratton, Battle of, 70 

Thomlinson, Colonel, 147 
Thurloe, quoted, 2*], 203, 221 
Timmins's History of Ivar- 

wicks hire, quoted, 65 
Trainbands, Raising of, 51 
Treaty signed with King, 113 
Triploe Heath, Meeting of 

•' Agitators" at, 122 

Vane, Sir Harry, 50 ; Arranges 
Treaty with Scotland, 78 ; 
177, 184; His Efforts to pass 
Dissolution Bill, 185; 233 

Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, 
His Baneful Counsels, 37 ; 
Supplies Refused, ^y 

Villiers Family, 254 

Vyner Family, 254 

Wallkr, Edmund, 75, 79 
Walton, Robert, 240 
Ward, Dr. Samuel, 31 



Warwick, Earl of. Death of, 208 

Warwick, Sir Philip, Describes 
appearance of Oliver Crom- 
well, 49 

Watts, Dr. Isaac, 250 

Went worth, see Earl of Straf- 
ford, 39 

Wenti^'orth, Peter, 69 

Westminster Hall, Trial of 
King in, 142 

Wexford, Storm of, 166 

Whitehall, Execution of King 
at, 147 ; Proposed Sale o^ 
236, 237 

Whitelocke, Bulstrode, Des- 
cription of Oliver's Soldiers, 
67; Tj, 112, 125, 126 

White, Jeremy, 249 

Willoughby, Sir F., Letter to 
R. Blackbourne, Esq., 187 

Wiltshire, Rising in (The Club- 
men), lOI 

Winchester, Marquis of, Be- 
sieged at Basing House, 
108 ; Compelled to sur- 
render, 108 

Windebank, Colonel, Surren- 
ders to Cromwell, 91 ; Court- 
martialed and shot, 91 

Winthrop, Governor, 227 

Worcester, Defeat of Charles 
II. at, 179