P. IIIHTTTTTTTTTE HE f f É ES Fº NSUUAM” É. i C U Fºſſi Timlillºlillºn mºllutilillºniſtillſillºtillmºttliTilliºn ill THE *~~ **** 3 d \ i sº *~~~erse P. R. O. T E C T O R : WIND I C A TI O N. w” ... By J. H. MERLE DAUBIGNE, D.D. I know God has been above all ill reports, and will in His own time windicate me.— Oliver Cromwell: Letter to Col. Norton, 28 March 1648. EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BOYD, TWEEDDALE COURT. LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO. MDCCCXLVII. ' 1 * Hºl Tota cohors Papistica veram molitur conjurationem in nostros, in mos....Sit Deus Zabaoth Protector Protectoris et Ecclesiae l—Diplomatic Despatch from Zurich, 20 January 1654. ENTERED IN STATIONERS’ HALL. Printed by Oliver & Boyd, Tweeddale Court, High Street, Edinburgh. TO THE &ſijeological jacultp OF THE FREDERICK-WILLIAM UNIVERSITY, AT B ERLIN, AS A MARK OF GRATITUDE FROM THE AUTHOR, ;º §$ AD VERTISEMENT, STRUCK with the light thrown on the character and history of Cromwell by the various documents which have issued from the press during the last few years, I felt a desire to publish in a Continental Review the result of my examination. But so great was the interest I found in my subject, that I have written a Book rather than an Article, and am now compelled to renounce my first intentions, and to lay this Historical Essay before the Public in the form of a distinct Work. - Before I had attentively read Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, edited by Mr THOMAS CARLYLE, I thought it would be beneficial to translate his volumes into French ; but my opinions in that re- spect are changed. They appear to us generally on the Continent to possess so much originality of thought and manner as to defy all possibility of rendering them into any of our languages. I would not be understood as censuring an undertaking, which, in my judgment, is one of the most remark- able that has been produced in Great Britain for a long period: indeed I have rarely met with any Q. 6 ADVERTISEMENT. publication combining greater depth of research with remarks as acute as they are just. I have profited greatly by the scattered documents which Mr Carlyle has so happily brought together. I am not insensible to the imperfections of the Volume I now present to the English public. I therefore beg my readers to call to mind that my original design was merely to write an article for a Review. The object of this work,...... the rectification of the common opinion with regard to Cromwell's religious character, has obliged the Author to introduce many quotations from his Letters and Speeches. Mere assertion or argument without proof would have been useless. It is not we who ought, in this day, to justify the great Protector; he should justify himself; and fortunately authentic and authoritative testimony is not wanting for this purpose. This circumstance will explain the differ- ence between the volume now submitted to the reader and the Author's other historical composi- tions. But he may also observe that the special nature of this work seemed occasionally to require him to introduce reflections, somewhat more ex- tended perhaps than properly belong to history. Should any of my friends be surprised at the choice of my subject, I would remind them that the epoch to which it relates is, perhaps, one of the most important in modern times, so far as concerns the new developments of nations; that Southey has said, “there is no portion of history ADVERTISEMENT. 7 “in which it so much behoves an Englishman to “be thoroughly versed as in that of Cromwell's “age;” and, above all, that “ life would be no- “thing worth, if it were not employed to tell and “to maintain the truth,” more especially a truth overlooked or forgotten. Ubi plura nitent...... non ego paucis Offendar maculis. I will make one observation more : although the Protector is the subject of this sketch, its main in- terest does not consist in him, but in Protestantism. Protestantism in Cromwell's mind was far above his own person. No book can treat worthily of the great Oliver, if the Protestant interest does not hold the foremost place in it. We speak in his spirit when we respect the ancient motto: Deo soli gloria, omnia humana idola pereant / Protestantism is the great interest of Europe, of the world,—and, especially at this moment, the great interest of England. While revising this essay, I met with a learned and distinguished work by an anonymous author on German Protest. antism. I was delighted to find that my ideas in many cases agreed with his, and I have, in several instances, profited by them. All the Protestant forces must now be aroused; and to that end, it is the duty of every evangelical writer to point them out. This task I have here feebly attempted, and I shall perhaps resume it at some future period, by 8 ADVERTISEMENT, publishing a few recollections of the journey I made in 1845 through Germany, England, and Scotland. The Theological Faculty of the University of Berlin having recently conferred upon me the de- gree of Doctor in Divinity, a title which I had received some years ago from the College of Prince- town, New Jersey, United States, I think it my duty to conform with the German custom, and dedicate to that learned body the first Work pub- lished by me subsequently to that high honour. This will explain to my British readers the motives for the Dedication prefixed to this Volume. J. H. MERLE DAUBIGNé. GENEva, May 1847. The Author having observed that in England he is frequently called Dr. d’Aubigné, takes the liberty of reminding his readers that his name is Merle d'Aubigné; the latter appellation being assumed by his grandfather to prevent a name from becoming extinct which had deserved well of Protestantism. As it proceeds from a matri- monial alliance, it is not sufficient of itself to designate the Author. C O N T E N T S. INTRODUCTION .................. e e s e e s a s e s e e o e s e e º a e s e e s e o e º e º e º e º & s Page 13 CHAPTER I. CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. Tendency of the Stuarts—The Protestant Interest—Letter from a Country Gentleman—A Family on the Banks of the Ouse—The Earl of Essex—Oliver—His Birth and Parentage—A Hunting Match—James I.-Oliver at the University, and in London—His Morality—His Marriage—His Conversions—His Connexions— Pleasantry—Charles I.-His Marriage, and the Twelve Capuchin Friars—Influence of the Queen—Oliver's Conscientiousness...... 30 CHAPTER II. CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. Cromwell’s Election and First Appearance in Parliament—His Por- trait—Tonnage and Poundage—Struggle in Parliament—Dissolu- tion—John Hampden’s Refusal—Absolutism and Popery installed— Evangelical Ministers—Persecutions: Leighton, Prynne, Bastwick, Burton—Scotland and the Covenant—New Parliament—Strafford— Charles's Insincerity—Irish Massacre—Remonstrance—Militia Bill —Cavaliers and Roundheads—Charge against Five Members— Beginning of the Revolution—Cromwell and his Sons become Soldiers—Necessity–Hampden's Opinion of Cromwell........... 46 CHAPTER III. SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING AND THE PARLIAMENT. Conquest of Liberty—Beginning of the War—Cromwell's Frankness —Letter to Barnard—Intervention in Favour of Hapton Parish— Doubtful Advantages—Cromwell’s Expedient—Fortune of War changes—Cromwell refuses to take part in Disorderly Living— Death of Hampden–The two Parliaments—Battle of Marston Moor—A Letter and an Episode—Prudence and Compassion— Cromwell’s Military Character—Becomes the Real Chief—Battle of Naseby—The King's Cabinet opened—Storming of Bristol— Glory to God!—Christian Union—Discipline—Piety—King sur- renders to the Scots—Ireton—Cromwell’s Letter to his Daughter Bridget—King given up to Parliament—Cromwell’s Illness— Letter to Fairfax—Cromwell and his Soldiers—Unity of Man...62 10 CONTENTS, -. CHAPTER IV. SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT AND THE ARMY. The Two Parties, Presbyterians and Independents—Claims of the Army—Joyce—The King's Leaning towards the Independents— Army Manifesto—Religious Liberty—Eleven Members accused— Errors—Influence of Oppression—Unlawful Intervention of the Presbyterians—Opposition of the Army—Independent Influence— Cromwell favourably disposed towards the King—Charles's Blind- ness—Letter found in the Saddle—The Silk Garter and the Hempen Halter—Cromwell despairs of Charles—The King's Flight—He reaches the Isle of Wight—Cromwell suppresses the Levellers—Treaty with the Scots—Charles's Reply to Parliament —The Pit and he that diggeth it.............................. Page 85 CHAPTER. W. DEATH OF THE KING. Parliament resolves to hold no further Communication with the King —Prayer-meeting at Windsor—Second Civil War—Royalist In- surrection—Scotch Invasion—Cromwell's Victories—Parliament again treats with the King—Charles's Treachery—Great Alterna- tive—Army remonstrates with Parliament—Cromwell justified by Facts—The Woodman and the Sower—Cromwell to Hammond— Truth and Error—The King at Hurst Castle—Parliament rejects the Remonstrance—Composition of the Army—The Army at Lon- don—Pride’s Purge–Cromwell’s Hesitation about the King— Cromwell’s Religious Error—Prayers—The Will of God—Death Warrant—The Execution censured—Revelation of the King's Treason—Principles of the Roman Church—Of Milton—Charles's Children—Cromwell to his Daughter-in-law—Cromwell and Charles's Corpse—The European Powers............. © c e s e a e º e o e e e 101 CHAPTER VI. IRELAND. The Irish Saint Bartholomew—Romish Cruelties—A Priest— Surgery or Slaughter—Cromwell's Appointment—Sailing of the Army—Cromwell’s Plan—Theocracy—Storming of Drogheda, Wexford, and Ross—Peace and Prosperity—Cromwell’s Charge to the Popish Prelates—Early Days of Richard's Marriage—Cause of Ireland's Sufferings................................................... 136 CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTER VII. SCOTLAND. Two Kings and two Loyalties—Charles II. in Scotland—Cromwell's Letter to the General Assembly and to the Scotch Commander in Chief—Battle of Dunbar—Despatch to Parliament—The Edin- burgh Preachers in the Castle—Cromwell’s Letter—All Christians ought to preach Christ—The Malignants—Cromwell’s Illness—Two Letters—Cromwell concerning his Son Richard—Worcester— Prosperity of Scotland—Cromwell’s Military Career—Two Sym- bols............................................................... Page 171 CHAPTER VIII. THE PROTECTORATE. Blake—Love and Fear—The Rump Parliament—Dissolved by Crom- well—The Little Parliament—Speech—Cromwell’s Integrity— Reforms—Cromwell’s Longing for Peace—The End—The Protec- torate—Constitution—New Parliament—Cromwell’s Apology— Death of his Mother—Obstructions to Religious Liberty—Cromwell dissolves the Parliament—His Plans—L'état, c'est moi—The Two French Invasions—Revival of English Liberty.................... 201 CHAPTER IX. ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. Necessity of Organization—Ecclesiastical Commission—Errors—Im- partiality—Baxter's Testimony—Cromwell’s—The State—Discon- tents—Letter to Fleetwood—Bridget's Anxiety—Indulgence—The Major-Generals—Cromwell’s System in. Ireland—Official and CHAPTER X. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. Milton to Cromwell—Cromwell's Part with regard to Religious Liberty—Opposition to Radicalism, Political and Religious—Estab- lished Religion and Liberty—Milton, a Champion of the Separation of Church and State—Cromwell’s System of Religious Liberty— The Two Great Interests—The Protector's Catholicity—George Fox and Cromwell—Nayler—Cromwell and the Episcopalians—Roman Catholics and Jews—State and Protestantism Identical—Principia Vitae—A Danger–True Means of diffusing Christianity—Ely Cathedral—State and Church : Church and People..............248 12 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. MORALITY, GLORY, AND ANTIPOPERY OF ENGLAND. The State—Principal Duty—The Glory of England—Morality— Triumphs of Great Britain—Commerce—Justice—Opposition to Spain— Antipopery—Cromwell's Name—The Lion of the Tribe of Judah......................................................... Page 275 CHAPTER XII. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. Defence of Protestantism—Letter to a Protestant Prince—Piedmon- tese Massacre-The Protector interferes—Geneva–Cromwell’s Advice to the Protestants—Portugal—France: Nismes—Interven- tion—Switzerland–Germany—Austria—Council for the general Interests of Protestantism—The Protector’s living Christianity The eternal Truths—Pompeii, Nineveh, and the Bible.......... 290 CHAPTER, XIII. THE KINGSHIP. New Parliament—Ludlow—The Protector's Speech—Exclusions— Proposals about the Kingship—Discussions on this Subject between the Parliament and the Protector—Struggles—Cromwell's Re- fusal—Was he right?—His Character—Ambition................ 313 CHAPTER XIV. LAST PARLIAMENT AND DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. The Installation—Two Houses of Parliament—The grand Design— Petty Quarrels—Parliament dissolved—Conspiracies—Death of Lady Claypole—Consolations—Fever—George Fox at Hampton Court—Cromwell’s Words on his Deathbed—Confidence—The Storm—Cromwell’s Successor—His Prayer and Last Words—His Death—Mourning—Cromwell's Christian Character—Oliver and the Pope—Restoration of Mankind—The Protestant Way—Oliver's Principles—The Pope's Policy—Conflicts and Dangers of the State —The Two Men of the Seventeenth Century—Conclusion..... 332 THE PROTECTOR. INTRODUCTION. THERE are great crises in the history of man, in which the sovereignty of God over kings and people, however it may be hidden for a time from the eyes of the multitude, is manifested with such demon- strations of power as to excite the conviction of even the most incredulous. While favouring breezes bear the ship smoothly over the wide ocean, the crew and passengers, careless and inattentive, forget the arm of God, and perhaps give way to blasphemy. But when “the Lord commandeth and raiseth the “stormy wind,”—when the billows dash over the vessel,-when the sails are torn away and the masts are broken, when these thoughtless people “mount “up to the heaven, and go down again to the depths,” e e e º º & then the Almighty appears to them in the midst of the storm —All eyes behold Him; all A 14 INTRODUCTION. hearts tremble before Him; and the most impious, falling on their knees, cry to Him from the bottom of their souls. When man will not hear the “still “small voice” in which Jehovah ordinarily addresses him, then, to use the language of Scripture, “He “passes by in a great and strong wind, rending the “mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces.” Of all the events which diversify human history, there is none in which mankind more readily ac- knowledge the intervention of the Deity than in the revolutions of empires,-the setting up and pulling down of kings. These great changes are usually at- tended by circumstances so unexpected and appal- ling, that the eyes of the blindest are opened. Such events happened in England in the middle of the seventeenth century, when an attempt was made to revive the papal power. In every country this enemy, under the direction of the Jesuits, was rising from beneath the heavy blows inflicted on it by the Reformation. It possessed one spiritual head, which gave unity to its movements; and to support it, Spain, a stirring and fanatical power, was devoted to its interests, and ready to give to it “her seat and “great authority.” (Rev. xiii. 2.) Thus the Papacy was recovering a great part of the ground it had lost in Germany, France, the Low Countries, Spain, and even in Italy. It was imagined that if Rome could possibly suc- ceed in re-conquering England, her cause would be gained and her triumph secured throughout the world; the fruits of the Reformation would be INTRODUCTION. 15 for ever lost; and Great Britain and Europe, peopled anew with priests, Jesuits, and monks, would sink as low as Spain has sunk. The fearful commotions and sanguinary conflicts which shook the British isles in the middle of the seventeenth century, were in the main a direct struggle against Popery. They were like the shak- ings and shuddering of the earth, in a country threatened with conflagration by subterranean fires. If a traveller in self-defence slays a highway robber, the responsibility of bloodshed does not rest on him. In ordinary times his hand would have been pure from its stain. War is war, and calls, alas! for blood. In the days of Louis XIV. and of the Stuarts it was a real war that Popery waged against the British islands. In our days, Rome is striving to re-enter England by means of certain teachers: then—it was through its kings. It was the misfortune and the crime of the Stuarts to have rallied around Rome, and to have desired to range their subjects under the same banner. Charles I. was the victim of this attempt; for Popery ever destroys both the princes and the people who espouse it. Of this truth the Stuarts and the Bourbons are memorable examples. Strong measures, no doubt, were employed to save England from the danger with which it was threatened. But so formidable a disease could not be averted, except by the most active remedies. Royalty was overthrown; and yet royalty pos- sessed—as it does still—the respect of this nation. 16 INTRODUCTION. A republic was established; and yet a republic in so vast an empire is a madman's dream. Episco- pacy was abolished; and yet this is the form of the Church which the nation prefers. The blood of a king was shed; and yet the inspired Preacher saith, Curse not the king (x. 20). But all these things were accomplished, because the counsel of God had determined before that they should be done (Acts iv. 28); and thus the prophecy was fulfilled, which saith, I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. (Hosea xiii. 11.) - If England desired in the present day, as her princes desired in the seventeenth century, to restore Popery;-if the number of those unfaithful ministers, who abjure the Gospel for the Pope, should multiply in her bosom ;-if that supersti- tious madness should spread to their congregations; —if the heads of the Church should continue to slumber, and, instead of rescuing their flocks, allow them to proceed towards the wolf that is waiting to devour them;-if the government, not satisfied with granting liberty to Popery, should encourage it still farther by endowing its seminaries, paying its priests, building its churches, and restoring throughout Great Britain the power of the Roman bishop...... then would England probably be con- vulsed by a crisis, different, it might be, from those which startled the reign of Charles, but not the less formidable. Again the earth would quake; again would it open to pour forth devouring INTRODUCTION. 17 flames. On this account the study of that remark- able era, in which the first contest took place, was never more necessary than in the present day. In glancing over those times, however, we must make a distinction between acts and men. There are deeds which we are bound openly and vehe- mently to condemn; but we should proceed too far were we to throw upon individuals the respon- sibility of the results. Does it not sometimes hap- pen in the course of ages that circumstances occur so calculated to shake the mind, that, dazzled, stunned, and blinded, men can no longer see their way, and are mere instruments in the hand of God to punish and to save? - Such is the idea put forth by an eminent writer, equally great as an historian and a statesman, when treating of this epoch : “The time had now come “when good and evil, salvation and peril, were so “obscurely confounded and intermixed, that the “firmest minds, incapable of disentangling them, “ had become mere instruments in the hand of “Providence, who alternately chastises kings by “their people, and people by their kings.” But why should we endeavour to blacken the character of those whom God has employed in His work? Is it improper in this instance, more than on other occasions, to entertain respect for those minds which remain sincere, even when they are misguided, and are doing what they believe to be right, and to be the will of the King of kings? * Guizot, Hist, de la Révolution d’Angleterre, i. 278. 18 INTRODUCTION. From the beginning of the seventeenth century England was on a steep declivity, which she seemed inevitably doomed to descend, and be carried by it into the gulf of Popery. The blood of the Stuarts was mingled with the blood of the Guises. What the Bourbons were effecting in France, the sons and descendants of Queen Mary, older veterans than they in Roman fanaticism, considered themselves called upon to accomplish on a larger scale on the other side of the Channel. Of a truth these unfortunate princes cannot all be placed in the same rank; but there is visible in them a constant progression to- wards the Church of Rome. Charles I. (1625) is more aversefrom the Word of God, and more inclined to tradition and hierarchy than James I. (1603); Charles II. (1660) more so than Charles I. ; and James the Second surpasses all his predecessors. This progression has all the strictness of a mathe- matical law. - - - The despotic counter-revolution attempted by the two last Stuarts demonstrates the necessity of the democratic revolution which it pretended to combat. It plainly showed that, in the eighteen years between 1642 and 1660, the English nation had not risen up against mere phantoms. Charles II. —who, as his mother Henrietta Maria declared to Louis XIV., “had abjured the heresy of his educa- “tion, and was reconciled to the Church of Rome;”* * See a letter from Pell, English minister in Switzerland, to Secre- tary Thurloe, dated 8 May 1656, in Dr Vaughan's Protectorate, i, 402. London, 1839. INTRODUCTION. 19 —Charles II. composing a treatise to prove that there could be but one Church of Christ upon earth, and that that was the Church of Rome;—Charles II. acknowledging to his brother, the Duke of York, that he also was attracted to the mother-church; —Charles II. sounding his ministers on their in- tentions with regard to Popery, and prepared to follow the duke's advice by a plain and public de- claration of Romanism, if he had not been checked by the prudent counsel of Louis XIV. ;—Charles II. refusing on his deathbed the sacrament from the Protestant bishop of Bath—replying to his brother, who proposed in a whisper to send him a Romish priest, “Do so, for the love of God!”—confessing to the missionary Huddlestone, declaring his wish to become reconciled to the Roman Church, and receiving from him absolution, the host, and even extreme unction:—these most assuredly were not phantoms. James II., his successor, declaring to the French ambassador, immediately after his accession, that the English were unconsciously Roman-catholics, and that it would be easy to induce them to make a public declaration;–James II. hearing mass in the Queen's chapel with open doors on the first Sunday of his reign;–James II., in contemptuous defiance of the laws, filling his army with Roman- catholic officers; and when Protestant clergymen went over to the Church of Rome, giving them dispensations to continue in the receipt of their stipends, and even in the administration of their 20 INTRODUCTION. cures;–a great number of Roman churches rising, even in the metropolis;–a Jesuit school opened without any attempt at concealment;-Roman- catholic peers admitted into the privy-council, and along with them Father Petre, a covetous and fanatical Jesuit, who possessed his most intimate confidence;—Roman-catholic bishops in full activity in England;—Magdalen College, Oxford, receiving a popish president;-seven Anglican bishops, who had protested against these encroachments, con- veyed to the Tower, through crowds of people who fell on their knees as they passed, and who, when these patriots were acquitted by the jury, lighted up bonfires in every part of the city, and burnt the pope in effigy;-William of Orange, landing on the coast of Devonshire, on the 5th of November 1688, with the English flag waving at the mast-head of his ships, and bearing this inscription : THE PRO- TESTANT RELIGION AND LIBERTIES OF ENGLAND;— James II. next seeking an asylum at St Germain en Laye, where he met with a magnificent recep- tion from Louis, the persecutor of the Protestants, and where the two monarchs remained some minutes in each other's embrace, amidst a crowd of courtiers astonished at the sight of this foreign prince, who, as they said, “had given three king- “doms for a mass "...... these are facts of History, —facts which tell us what was to be expected of the Stuarts, facts which show that the evil against which England revolted in the seventeenth century was not mere imagination. INTRODUCTION. 21 If, during the eighteen years of the Revolution, the evangelical faith and Protestant spirit had not been reanimated and greatly strengthened, England would not have been able to resist the invasions of the Papacy under James the Second. It was the Revolution which began in 1642, rather than the Dutch prince, that overthrew that King. The ex- tirpation of Popery required an ingens aliquod et praesens remedium, as Erasmus said of the work of the Reformation in the sixteenth century—“a “ physician who cuts deep into the flesh, or else the “malady would be incurable.” There is not in England a single royalist, or episcopalian, who, if he is a Protestant, and at the same time a good citizen, can fail to acknowledge the necessity of the violent remedy then applied to the disease that was de- stroying Great Britain. And if the revelations of history show us that the men of those times were more sincere, more pious, and even more moderate than is usually believed, it is the duty of every friend of justice not to close his eyes against this new light. We may be deceived, but, in our feeble judgment, the address in which the peers of England thanked the Prince of Orange, in December 1688, for having delivered the country “from slavery and popery,” might have been presented by the nation to the authors of the Revolution of 1642, with more pro- priety than to William the Third. In studying the life of Cromwell, the reader will undoubtedly have frequent reason to bear in mind * Saying of Erasmus on Luther. 22 INTRODUCTION. the saying of holy Scripture, In manythings we offend all. He interfered violently in public affairs, and dis- turbed the constitutional order of the state. This was his fault, a fault that saved his country. With the documents before us which have been published at various times, we are compelled, unless we shut our eyes to the truth, to change our opinion of him, and to acknowledge that the character hitherto attached to this great man is one of the grossest falsehoods in all history. Charles II., who suc- ceeded him after Richard's short protectorate; this monarch's courtiers, not less immoral, but still more prepossessed than himself; the writers and statesmen too of this epoch,-all of them united in misrepresenting his memory. The wicked fol- lowers of the Stuarts have blackened Cromwell's reputation. Protestantism was on its trial. There can be no doubt that the principles of civil liberty, which the family of James the First desired to crush, but which eventually triumphed in the English nation, and which have raised it to such an eleva- tion, had a great share in this struggle; and no one man did more than Oliver towards their development. But the principal thing which drew down the anger of his enemies was Protestantism, in its boldest not less than its clearest form; and the false imputation borne by this eminent man was essentially the work of Popery. In the seven- teenth century, when the Protestant princes were everywhere intimidated, weakened, and dumb, and when some of them were making ready for a fatal INTRODUCTION. - 23 apostasy, Cromwell was the only one to declare himself in the face of all Europe the protector of the true faith. He even induced Cardinal Mazarin, a prince of the Romish Church, to connive at his generous designs. This is a crime for which he has never been pardoned, and for which his ene- mies have inflicted a scandalous revenge. In this task so much perseverance and skill have been em- ployed, that not only enlightened Catholics, but even Protestants themselves have been deceived. We feel no inclination to adopt the hatred and the calumnies of Rome, and we sympathize with Prot- estantism wherever it is to be found. This will not lead us to extenuate the faults of those who have been its supporters; but their defects will not shut our eyes to their good qualities. In the struggle between Protestantism and Popery, which took place in the British isles in Cromwell's time, the noblest part in- disputably belongs to the former; and the mistakes of its adherents are unimportant compared with the excessive immorality and the frightful cruelties of which the friends of Rome were guilty. The erroneous traditions of which we have spoken have spread everywhere, and have been adopted by France, that ancient ally of the Stuarts. But Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, which have been recently published by Mr Thomas Carlyle, and even some older works, such as the Memoirs of the Pro- tector and his Sons, illustrated by Family Papers (1820), Oliver Cromwell and his Times (1821), and Dr Vaughan's Protectorate (1839), ought to produce 24 INTRODUCTION. some sensation on the Continent. Mr Carlyle com- plains of the errors of most of the writers who have preceded him, and with reference to two of the ablest he speaks as follows: “Our French friends ought to “be informed that M. Willemain's book on Cromwell “is, unluckily, a rather ignorant and shallow one. “—Of M. Guizot, on the other hand, we are to say “ that his two volumes, so far as they go, are the “fruit of real ability and solid studies applied to “ those transactions.”* Although we agree in the homage paid by Mr Carlyle to the most profound of our historians, we think that M. Guizot's Crom- well ought also to be recast; and that the idea of the Protector given by this great writer, not only in his History of the English Revolution, but also in a more recent work, his Essay on Washington, is contrary to reality. M. Guizot is a native of Nismes, and on this ground alone there are reasons why he should be, to say the least, impartial towards Cromwell. But he is now so busily engaged as one of the actors of contemporaneous annals, that it will be long before we shall dare call upon him to com- plete that other history, which has become one of the masterpieces of the French language. With regard to M. Villemain, it is desirable that he should devote his leisure, his impartiality, and his great talents in reconstructing a work by which he has made himself known with great advantage to the friends of litera- ture. I will not speak of Wiscount Chateaubriand’s work on the Four Stuarts: it is characterized by the * Cromwell’s Letters and Speeches, i. 236 ; 2d edit. Lond. 1846. INTRODUCTION. 25 great talent of the first writer of our age, and often by an honourable frankness; but not less by the prepos- sessions and prejudices of the author of Buonaparte and the Bourbons. The imperfect work now sub- mitted to the reader has no pretensions to be a more perfect biography of the Protector: its sole aim is to indicate, especially to continental Protes- tants, that it is a page of history which ought to be written anew. My first idea was simply to publish in French some of Cromwell's most Christian letters, with a running commentary on the whole. But I have gradually been led farther than I originally in- tended. I asked myself, what is the worth of all the fine phrases used by this great ruler, if they are contradicted by facts? In consequence of this I was compelled to take his actions also into account, to weigh them impartially, to distinguish between good and evil, and above all to examine deeply into his mind in order to find out the law,-a law that easily escapes the observation of the in- attentive eye, -which, by an invisible bond, unites great errors with great piety. I have endeavoured to ascertain his character as a whole: it was my wish to reconstruct an entire existence, and not offer merely a few fragments and startling contra- dictions of his life. The majority of historians, indeed, have also sought for this unity, and have easily discovered it : according to their views, it is found in his deep hypocrisy. But the documents now before us are a striking contradiction to this 26 INTRODUCTION. hypothesis; and no writer, who possesses the small- est portion of good faith, will ever venture to put it forward again. There is no man in history who has a better title than Cromwell to say with Saint Paul:—as deceivers and yet true. We must there- fore seek for some other explanation. To this task I applied myself; and in the chapter on the death of the king I have more fully set forth the result of my inquiries. - Of the authors who have treated of Cromwell, some justify not only his principles, but even the worst of his actions: this is going too far. Others, on the contrary, censure not only all his acts, but his character; and in this they commit a serious injustice. These are summary ways of ren- dering a man's life consistent. By adopting such methods the historian's task is soon ended; but I could not have recourse to them. I was compelled to blame some of the actions of this great man, and to rescue his Christian morality. This I have done. The solution I have given seems to me to be correct: I do not know whether it will produce the same effect on others. May I be allowed to direct attention to a cir- cumstance of which I had not thought when I began this work, but which may in some measure be its justification? Cromwell, during the season of his power, was really the Protector of European, and, in particular, of French Protestantism. As I am myself descended from Huguenot refugees, it seemed to me that I had a debt to pay to this INTRODUCTION. 27 illustrious man. There were, perhaps, some of my forefathers among those inhabitants of Nismes, whom the powerful intervention of the English chief rescued from the vengeance of the soldiers of Louis XIV., already marching against that city to execute the orders of the court to the last extremity.” “No- “body can wonder,” said Clarendon, a man who, it is well known, had no great love for the Protector, and who wrote shortly after the event, “that Cromwell's “memory still remains in those parts and with those “ people in great veneration.” Gratitude is a debt that no lapse of time should cancel. I hope that no person, in the nineteenth century, will feel that wonder from which the prime-minister of Charles II. was exempt ; and what he considered very natural then, in the midst of party feelings, will doubtless be thought so still by an unimpassioned posterity. The vindication, or rather the restoration, of the Protector's memory, has already begun; and per- haps no one can do more for it than Mr Carlyle has accomplished. I think, however, that there is room for some improvement. Oliver has been presented as a hero to the world; I present him as a Christian to Christians—to Protestant Christians ; and I claim boldly on his behalf the benefit of that pas- sage of Scripture: Every one that loveth God that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of Him. Although these pages will bear no comparison with the work of the writer I have just named, they may, notwith- * One of the Author’s ancestors quitted Nismes a few years after Cromwell’s intervention, and found a refuge at Geneva. 28 INTRODUCTION. standing, advance the same object in some degree, particularly when considered under a religious point of view. Others, I hope, will hereafter throw a still greater light on one of the most astonishing prob- lems that time has handed down to us. It is only gradually and by slow degrees that darkness is scattered in history, as well as in the natural world. - I am well aware that the task I have under- taken is a difficult one. We have so deeply imbibed in our early youth the falsehoods main- tained by the Stuart party, and by some of Crom- well's republican rivals—among others the narrow- minded Ludlow and the prejudiced Holles—that these falsehoods have become in our eyes indisput- able truths. I know it by my own experience, by the lengthened resistance I made to the light that has recently sprungup, and illuminated, as with a new day, the obscure image of one of the greatest men of modern times. It was only after deep consideration that I submitted to the evidence of irresistible facts. I have no desire to write a literary work, but to perform an act of justice. I do not forget the maxim of pagan antiquity, that we should render to every person his due; I feel that among all the good things a man may possess, there is one which, according to the saying of the wisest of Eastern kings, surpasses all the rest, a good name is better than precious ointment; and above all, I remember, that if a Christian ought to confess the Lord upon INTRODUCTION. 29 earth in order that he may be one day confessed before the angels in heaven, it is also his duty to confess the disciples of the Lord, particularly when they are disowned, calumniated, and despised by the multitude. Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, $/e have done it unto me. CHAPTER I. CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. Tendency of the Stuarts—The Protestant Interest—Letter from a Country Gentleman—A Family on the Banks of the Ouse—The Earl of Essex—Oliver—His Birth and Parentage—A Hunting Match—James I.-Oliver at the University, and in London—His Morality—His Marriage—His Conversions—His Connexions— Pleasantry—Charles I.-His Marriage, and the Twelve Capuchin Friars—Influence of the Queen—Oliver's Conscientiousness. THE Tudors, and particularly Elizabeth, had exalted England by maintaining the cause of the Refor- mation ; but subsequently to the year 1603, and especially after 1625, the Stuarts, and principally Charles the First, had weakened it by inclining anew towards Catholicism. Not only did they desert their stations as the chiefs of European Protestant- ism ; not only did they cease to withstand fanatic Spain; but a Romish princess, Henrietta of France, was placed upon the throne. That, however, was of little moment: another power than theirs pre- vented this mighty country from being placed by its monarchs under the yoke of the Italian pontiff. CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 31 The people no longer walked with their princes. The cause of the Reformation was dear to them ; and they were ready to abandon their Kings rather than the Gospel. This unhappy family, by wishing to exalt a traditional power in the Church, de- stroyed their own. While the monarchical author- ity was increasing everywhere on the Continent, it gradually declined in England; and a new force, the Commons, the middle classes, daily acquired greater strength, liberty, and courage. The ancient charters of England contained ex- tensive guarantees in favour of the national inde- pendence. But these institutions had long been, as it were, dead and neglected; yet they still existed, and the skeleton, so long motionless, was about to be reanimated with a new life. If England had been a nation devoted merely to secular policy, these charters might for ever have remained little better than old parchments; but a new motive power— evangelical faith and the interest of Protestantism —was about to revivify these great institutions, and, by saving England from the abyss towards which the Stuarts were rapidly hurrying it, raise it erelong to the highest degree of influence and glory. This evangelical spirit possessed great strength among the English people: godly families, lovers of the Bible and of liberty, peopled its cities and its fields. The following letter, written by a coun- try gentleman, the father of a numerous family, may reasonably be considered one of the many symptoms of that christian life, which, in that age 32 CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. as in all others, alone possessed sufficient strength to withstand the encroachments of Popery :— “To my beloved Cousin, Mrs St John, at Sir William “Masham his house called Otes, in Essea: ; “Present these. “DEAR Cousin, - “ Ely, 13th October 1638. “I thankfully acknowledge your “love in your kind remembrance of me upon this “opportunity. Alas, you do too highly prize “my lines and my company. I may be ashamed “to own your expressions, considering how unpro- “fitable I am, and the mean improvement of my “ talent. “Yet to honour my God, by declaring what He “ hath done for my soul, in this I am confident, “ and I will be so. Truly, then, this I find : that “ He giveth springs in a dry barren wilderness “where no water is. I live, you know where, “in Meshec, which they say signifies Prolonging; “in Kedar, which signifies Blackness: yet the Lord “forsaketh me not. Though He do prolong, yet “He will, I trust, bring me to His tabernacle, to “His resting-place. My soul is with the congre- “gation of the First-born, my body rests in hope: “ and if here I may honour my God either by doing “ or by suffering, I shall be most glad. “Truly no poor creature hath more cause to put “ himself forth in the cause of his God than I. I “ have had plentiful wages beforehand; and I am CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 33 “sure I shall never earn the least mite. The Lord “accept me in His Son, and give me to walk in the “light, and give us to walk in the light, as He is “the light! He it is that enlighteneth our black- “ness, our darkness. I dare not say, He hideth His “face from me. He giveth me to see light in His “light. One beam in a dark place hath exceeding “much refreshment in it:—blessed be His Name “for shining upon so dark a heart as mine ! You “know what my manner of life hath been. Oh, I “lived in and loved darkness, and hated light; “I was a chief, the chief of sinners. This is true: “I hated godliness, yet God had mercy on me. O “ the riches of His mercy! Praise Him for me;— “pray for me, that He who hath begun a good work “would perfect it in the day of Christ. “Salute all my friends in that Family whereof “you are yet a member. I am much bound unto “ them for their love. I bless the Lord for them; “ and that my son, by their procurement, is so “well. Let him have your prayers, your counsel; “let me have them. “Salute your Husband and Sister from me:–He “is not a man of his word ' He promised to write “about Mr Wrath of Epping; but as yet I receive “no letters:—put him in mind to do what with “conveniency may be done for the poor cousin I “ did solicit him about. “Once more farewell. The Lord be with you : “so prayeth, “Your truly loving cousin.” 34 CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. We must say a few words on the individuals mentioned in this letter. Along the banks of the Ouse, near Huntingdon, lay a wide extent of fertile pasture-lands, bathed by the melancholy waters of that river, and broken here and there by little wood-covered heights. Towards the south, as you approach from Cam- bridge, stood an aged oak: Querculus anilis erat.* Over those meadows a little boy frequently dis- ported, and perhaps climbed the stately oak-tree in quest of bird-nests. His parents, who were de- scended from an old and popular Saxon family, which does not appear to have mingled with the Norman race, lived in a house at the northern ex- tremity of Huntingdon. The old mansion exists no longer: a solid yellow brick building occupies its place. - The origin of the family was this. The Earl of Essex, vicar-general under Henry VIII., had a nephew named Richard, who had been very active in the great work accomplished by his uncle, namely, the suppression of monasteries. In this business he had acquired a considerable fortune. The sale of church property and the division of the eccle- siastical estates were among the causes that had enriched the middle classes of England, and had made them sensible of their strength. At the commencement of the seventeenth cen- tury, five grandsons of this Sir Richard were alive in England, all sons of Henry called “the Golden * Barnabae Itinerarium, quoted by Carlyle, i. 33. CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 35 Knight.” These were Sir Oliver, Henry, Richard, Sir Philip, and Robert. This last had married Elizabeth Steward, who, say the genealogists, was descended from the royal family of Scotland, from one Walter Steward, namely, who had accompanied Prince James of Scotland into England in the time of Henry IV., and there settled. On the 25th of April 1599, while Shakspeare was yet alive, and in the latter years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, at a time when England already began to feel a presentiment of the greatness to which she would be called by her resistance to Rome, the wife of Robert Cromwell bore to him a child, who was to do more than any of his contem- poraries in accelerating this glorious destiny. He was named Oliver, and was christened on the 29th of the same month. This is the little boy of whom we have already spoken. This family pos- sessed certain lands round Huntingdon, producing a revenue of about £300 a-year, equivalent perhaps to £1000 of our present money. It was the same Oliver, then thirty-nine years of age, who wrote the letter we have given above. Mrs St John, to whom it is addressed, was the wife of a cele- brated barrister, and then on a visit at the house of Sir William Masham, a zealous puritan, and also a busy man in the politics of his time. The Golden Knight's eldest son, Sir Oliver, uncle to our hero, was as expensive a man as his father, and dwelt in a stately mansion at Hinchinbrook, on the left bank of the Ouse, half a mile west of Huntingdon. 36 CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. It has been denied both in France and England that the Protector was related to the powerful min- ister of Henry VIII. ; but without other foundation than the impatient answer he returned to a fawning bishop, who reminded him of this relationship. The malleus monachorum, the mauler of monasteries, as the Earl of Essex was denominated, was great-uncle to that Oliver, who proved a still more potent “mauler” than his ancestor: one Morgan Williams having married the vicar-general's sister, whose eldest son Richard took the name of Cromwell. There are still in existence two letters from this Sir Richard Cromwell, Oliver's great-grandfather, addressed to the Earl of Essex, in both of which he signs himself, your most bounden nephew.” We must therefore class this denial with all those other falsehoods with which Cromwell's history has hither- to been overloaded; such as the prophetic spectres that appeared to him in his childhood, his orchard- robbing, and his tyrannous combats with the boys of the neighbourhood. These are stories “grounded on human stupidity,” says his latest biographer, “to which we must give christian burial once for all.” Unfortunately it is not only by such unimport- ant circumstances that falsehood has obscured the real life of Cromwell. - & Oliver was four years old, when the shouts of a magnificent hunting party re-echoed along the banks of the Ouse. On the afternoon of Wednes- day the 23d of April 1603, a royal train—hounds, * Carlyle's Cromwell, i. 39. CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 37 horses, and cavaliers—approached the green lawns and winding avenues of elder and willow trees that led to the manor-house. King James, son of the unhappy Mary Stuart, was coming from the north to take possession of the English crown. Eliza- beth, the last of the Tudors, after raising Englandſ to the first place among the nations, had been dead little more than a month, having with her latest breath named her cousin of Scotland as her successor. On his way to London the king was to lodge at Hinchinbrook, the stately mansion of Oliver's uncle, where preparations were made to receive him in the most sumptuous manner. James came hunting all the way: and he appeared at last, possessing none of his mother's graces. He was of middle stature, and wore a thickly wadded dagger- proof doublet. He alighted in the court-yard, but his legs were too weak to carry his body, and he needed support to enable him to walk. He was almost seven years of age before he began to run alone. He took his seat at the table of the Golden Knight: he drank with difficulty, and it seemed as if he masticated what he drank. On the other hand, he made a great show of learning, and his conversation was full of theological apophthegms and political maxims, which he delivered in the most pedantic fashion. This royal visit to Hinchinbrook House must have been a great treat for little Oliver. He was an active and resolute boy; but his quarrel and battle with young Prince Charles, then Duke of York, is 38 CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. probably a fable. The king arrived on Wednesday, and set off again on Friday; Sir Oliver giving him costly presents at his departure. Knights were created in the great hall, and among the number was the Protector's paternal uncle, and in the next year Thomas Steward of Ely, his maternal uncle. The king moved on towards London, although he had been informed that the plague was raging in that city: a circumstance which vexed him exceedingly, as he was deficient in courage. But the crown of England awaited him there, and this rendered him superior to fear. - Amid such scenes as these young Oliver grew up to manhood, in the bosom of an austere family, and at a time when the north seemed preparing for a struggle against the south, Great Britain and Scandinavia against Rome and Spain. The in- trigues of the Jesuits; the tendency of the Anglican party, which was erelong to muster under the banner of Laud; the rights and the power of the Word of God—these were the engrossing subjects of thought and conversation in the midst of which the child increased in strength in this rural solitude. In 1616, Oliver at the age of seventeen quitted the banks of the Ouse and the home of his boy- hood, for the university of Cambridge, about fifteen miles from Huntingdon. On this important occasion it is most likely that he was accompanied by his father. He was entered at Sidney Sussex Col- lege on the festival of the Annunciation. Cromwell, it is true, never had any pretensions to learning; CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 39 but he was far from being so deficient in this respect as has been represented. He possessed a familiar acquaintance with the historians of Greece and Rome; and on one occasion in particular he conversed in Latin with a foreign ambassador. In June 1617, when only eighteen years old, he lost his father. In the same year died his grand- father Steward at Ely; and his mother saw herself at once fatherless, and a widow, left with six daughters and an only son. Oliver returned no more to Cambridge, but took his father's place at Huntingdon. A few months after, he proceeded to London to gain some knowledge of law. - The stories that he led a dissolute life in the capital or elsewhere are exaggerated, or rather without any basis in truth. They are principally founded, so far as we can see, on that portion of his letter to Mrs St John, in which he calls himself the chief of sinners. This merely shows how ignorant his accusers are of true religion. Every Christian, even the most moral man, is ready to declare himself with Saint Paul, the chief of sinners. Oliver's greatest enemies have not been able to reproach him with any notorious vice. Welwood acknowledges that he was not addicted to profane swearing, gluttony, drunkenness, gaming, avarice, or the love of women. In later times he distributed in one year £40,000 from his own purse to charitable uses. Among the families that he visited in London was Sir James Bourchier's. This gentleman had a daughter, Elizabeth, to whom, on the 22d of August 40 CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 1620, though only twenty-one years of age, Oliver was married at Saint Giles's Church, Cripplegate. He immediately returned with his wife to Hunt- ingdon, and settled down in the mansion of his fathers. The next ten years were passed in seclusion— years in which a man is formed for life. Cromwell busied himself in farming, and in industrial and social duties; living as his father before him had lived. But he was also occupied with other matters. Erelong he felt in his heart the prickings of God's law. It disclosed to him his inward sin; with Saint Paul, he was disposed to cry out : 0 wretched man that I am / who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? and, like Luther pacing the galleries of his convent at Erfurth, exclaiming, “My sin my sin my sin " Oliver, agitated and heart-wrung, uttering groans and cries as of a wounded spirit, wandered pale and dejected along the gloomy banks of the Ouse, beneath a clouded sky. He looked for consolation to God, to his Bible, and to friends more enlightened than himself. His health and even his strong frame were shaken; and in his melancholy he would often send at midnight for Dr Simcott, physician in Huntingdon, supposing himself to be dying. At length peace entered into his soul. “It is therefore in these years,” says Mr Carlyle, “that we must place what Oliver, with “unspeakable joy, would name his Conversion— “his deliverance from the jaws of Eternal Death. “Certainly a grand epoch for a man: properly the CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 41 ‘One epoch...... He was henceforth a Christian “man,” continues his biographer, “not on Sun- “ days only, but on all days, in all places, and in “all cases.”* Cromwell now zealously attended the Puritan ministry, and chose his friends from among the gentry and nobility of his neighbourhood who held the same opinions. He became intimate with Hampden, Pym, Lord Brook, Lord Say, and Lord Montague. Almost all the serious thought of Eng- land was then Puritan. In the midst of them all was Oliver, modest, devout, conscientious, and seriously intent “to make his calling and election sure.” His intercourse with his friends was full of cordi- ality. He has been reproached with a fondness for buffoonery; but we must recollect that such a characteristic trait is often found in the most christian and truly serious men. It is a weakness that is thrown off with difficulty. Many sallies and jests imputed to him have been grossly ex- aggerated, and made grievous charges against his piety. We must condemn all ill-timed levity; but we should also remember that no prince, descended from the blood of kings, ever showed himself more jealous of his dignity, on great occasions, than the Protector did. From his early youth he possessed true seriousness. He fervently devoted himself to works of christian piety. “Building of hospitals,” wrote he to his friend, Mr Storie, in January 1636, “provides for men's bodies; to build material * Letters and Speeches, i. 68. 42 CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. “temples is judged a work of piety; but they that “procure spiritual food, they that build up spiritual “temples, they are the men truly charitable, truly “ pious.” An important work, as we have seen, was finished in Oliver during the nine or ten years of ob- scurity and seclusion that intervened between his marriage and his obtaining a seat in parliament. Milton, who knew him well, says of him : “He “ had grown up in peace and privacy at home, “silently cherishing in his heart a confidence in “God, and a magnanimity well adapted for the “solemn times that were approaching.f Although “of ripe years, he had not yet stepped forward into “public life, and nothing so much distinguished “him from all around as the cultivation of a pure “religion, and the integrity of his life.”f Oliver was henceforth a Christian in earnest. He had been called by God to the knowledge of Jesus Christ: his mind had been enlightened and his heart renewed by the Divine Word. To this call from on high, this great call from God, which so many souls despise, or at least neglect, he had * Carlyle's Cromwell, i. 116.—In the original this letter is dated January 1635, but the reader will bear in mind that the English year in those times did not begin until the 25th of March, which was New- year's day; this custom obtained in England until 1752. In all cases we give the year according to the new style, to prevent confusion. Thus, the last three months of 1635, old style, will be the first three of 1636, new style. - t Domi in occulto creverat, et ad summa quaeque tempora fiduciam Deo fretam et ingentem animum tacito pectore aluerat. Defensio Se- cunda. 106 Hagae, 1654. † Religionis cultu purioris et integritate vitae cognitus. Ibid. CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 43 replied from the depths of his heart, and had laid hold of the grace presented to him, with a new and unalterable will. He had believed in the name of the Lord, in the blood of Jesus Christ: he had been delivered from the penalty of sin, and from the do- minion of evil. A new birth had given him a new life. He was at peace with God: he possessed the spirit of adoption, and an easy access to the throne of Grace. From that time he became a man of prayer, and so he remained for the rest of his life. He lived and he died in prayer. It was not he who had loved God first: he had been loved by Him, and had believed in this love. He had not acted like those who, enchanted by the world, always defer the moment of their conversion, and thus become guilty of the greatest sin and the greatest folly. Rusticus expectat dum defluat amnis, at ille Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis avum. In regard to the kingdom of heaven, he had learnt that it is the violent who take it by force; and with the whole energy of his soul, regenerated by the Holy Ghost, he had seized upon it. Oliver was now a real Christian : he remained one to his latest breath ; and, if we except a few moments of trouble, to which the most godly men are subject, he persevered in faith and confidence till his course of mortality was completed. Events were now becoming more serious every day, and thick clouds were already gathering over the people and the throne. 44 CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. The accession of Charles I. had been hailed with pleasure. His morals were virtuous; and what might not the nation hope from a prince only twenty-five years old? But when the king gave England a papist queen in the person of Henrietta of France, the affection that had been entertained towards him immediately cooled. Nor was it without a cause. In the marriage-contract, drawn up under the eyes of the Pope, there were several clauses favourable to the Romish faith. Henrietta arrived in London fortified by the instructions of Mother Magdalen of St Joseph, a Carmelite nun, and under the direction of Father Berulli, accompanied by twelve priests of the Congregation of the Oratory. These having been sent back to France, were soon replaced by twelve capuchin friars. Henrietta, a worthy pupil of her native court, wished at first to make every- thing bend to her religion and her humour; and her followers desired to celebrate their worship in all its splendour. The queen had even a liking for intrigue; and it was soon seen that the blood which flowed in her veins was that of the Medici. It was more particularly after the death of Buck- ingham (23d August 1628) that she wished to take advantage of her husband's affection to enable her to domineer over the country, and that the most zealous Roman-catholics, admitted into the queen's cabinet, sought there the power they required for the accomplishment of their designs. At the time when Popery was thus reappearing at the court of England, the Gospel was flourishing CROMWELL's PRIVATE LIFE. 45 in the house of Oliver, who was occupied with his flocks and fields, his children, the interests of his neighbours, and above all in putting into practice the commandments of God. Salvation was come to his house, and his light shone before men. He pos- sessed great delicacy of conscience, and of this we shall give one instance which occurred a little later. After his conversion to God, he remembered what Zaccheus said to Jesus, as He went into his house: Behold, Lord, if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Cromwell had taken nothing in that way; but, like other, men of the world, he had won some money formerly in gambling. This he returned, rightly considering it would be sinful to retain it. The sums were large for those days; one of them being £80, and the other £120. His means were not ample, his family had increased: but such things had no weight with him. His religion was one not of words but of works. As soon as his conscience spoke, he responded to its suggestions, however great the sacrifice he was compelled to make. He remembered Christ's remark, and acted on it during his whole life: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. CHAPTER II. CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. Cromwell's Election and First Appearance in Parliament—His Por- trait—Tonnage and Poundage—Struggle in Parliament—Dissolu- tion—John Hampden’s Refusal—Absolutism and Popery installed— Evangelical Ministers—Persecutions: Leighton, Prynne, Bastwick, Burton–Scotland and the Covenant—New Parliament—Strafford— Charles's Insincerity—Irish Massacre—Remonstrance—Militia Bill —Cavaliers and Roundheads—Charge against Five Members— Beginning of the Revolution—Cromwell and his sons become Soldiers—Necessity–Hampden's Opinion of Cromwell. ON the 29th of January 1628, writs were issued for a new parliament, in which, on the 17th of March, Cromwell took his seat as member for Huntingdon. His father also, in earlier years, had been returned for the same town. After a prorogation of three months, the legislature assembled again on the 20th of January 1629. On the 11th of February, the House of Commons resolved itself into a grand Committee of Religion, in which one of the new members, Oliver, then thirty years of age, rose to speak for the first time. All eyes were turned upon him, and the House listened to him with CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. 47 attention. He wore a plain cloth suit, which seemed to have been made by a bad country tailor; his linen was not of the purest white; his ruffles were old fashioned; his hat was without a band; his sword stuck close to his side; his countenance was swollen and reddish; his voice sharp and un- tunable: but his delivery was warm and animated; his frame, although exceeding the middle height, strong and well-proportioned; he had a manly air, a bright and sparkling eye, and stern look.” Certain ecclesiastics were then gaining notoriety by their zeal in forwarding, within the pale of the Church, the power of the king and the doctrines of Rome. Cromwell complained that the bishops per- mitted and even recommended the preaching of “flat Popery.” “If these are the steps to church “preferment,” exclaimed he, “what are we to ex- “pect l”—What are we to eaſpect 2...... asked Oliver; and this was in truth the great question of the age. The re-establishment of Popery was the object of the seventeenth century, and Cromwell's first public words were against it. He then set up the landmark which determined and marked out the course he had resolved to follow until his death. Even Hume, generally so hostile to him, is struck by seeing his first words correspond so exactly to his character. Cromwell, indeed, was from the beginning to the end of his life quite consistent; he was faithful to the one idea, which he pro- claimed upon the housetops. And it is this man, so * Memoirs of Sir Philip Warwick, 247. London, 1701. 48 CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. decided, so open, who has been termed a hypocrite! History was never guilty of a greater error. The Commons did not for the present stop at the extravagant doctrines of such semi-papists as Mainwaring, Sibthorp, and Montague, whom the Bishop of Winchester had taken into favour. It was a different question that led to the dissolution of parliament. The king required that they should vote the duties of tonnage and poundage for life, which the Commons refused. The speaker Finch, a courtier, was desirous of adjourning the house immediately, according to the orders of his master; but some of the members, among whom was Mr Holles, resisted, and in despite of his supplications and tears, held him by main force in the chair. The king sent orders to the sergeant-at-arms to with- draw with the mace, which would suspend all de- liberation; but he also, like the speaker, was kept in his seat. At the same time the keys of the hall were taken from him, and the doors were locked. Shortly after, a knock was heard on the outside: “Open,” said the usher of the black rod; “a mes- “sage from the king.” It was of no avail: the doors remained closed. Charles now grew furious, and sending for the captain of his guard, ordered him to force the door. But in the meanwhile, the Commons had carried three resolutions: the first, against Arminianism; the second, against Popery. In a portion of the Anglican clergy there was a combined tendency towards these two errors, and they are evils which possess in truth a great resem- CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE, 49 blance. Finally, by the third resolution, the house declared the levying of tonnage and poundageillegal, and those guilty of high treason who should levy or even pay such dues. When the captain of the guard arrived, he found the hall deserted. The house had adjourned in conformity with the king's order. On the 10th of March, Charles went down to the Lords and dissolved the parliament, com- plaining of the behaviour of the Lower House, par- ticularly of “certain vipers, who must look for “their reward.” In effect, Holles, Sir John Eliot, William Strode, and some others, were fined and imprisoned. This was the last parliament in Eng- land for more than eleven years. Cromwell re- turned to Huntingdon. One of Oliver's aunts, Elizabeth Cromwell, had married William Hampden of Great Kimble, in Buckinghamshire, and was left a widow with two sons, John and Richard. John was a quiet and amiable man; no great talker, but a good lis- tener; yet under this moderation and simplicity lay concealed a will of iron and a most determined resolution. It was the destiny of this individual to give the signal of resistance to Charles's arbitrary measures. He was called upon for the sum of twenty shillings, his portion of the rate which the Commons had forbidden to be paid. He refused modestly, but firmly, being resolved to try the issue at law. The judges, who would have preferred being silent, decided against him by a majority of eight to four. But the people looked upon him as 50 CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. the victor, and he became dear to all true hearts in England. Thus it was the family of Cromwell that began the struggle against Charles. In 1631, Oliver, who had left Huntingdon, settled at Saint Ives; and it was while busied with farm- ing at this place, that he wrote the letter which we have quoted above; in which, laying down, as it were, the future course of his life, he declares himself ready To Do and To suffer for the cause of God. It may be, however, that the simple obedience to the Word of God, which should be the essential charac- teristic of a Christian's practical life, does not stand forth in it with sufficient clearness, and that in its stead there is a somewhat mystic tendency. Crom- well afterwards became clearer and more sober in his views. - The agitation of England continued to increase. Charles was endeavouring to dispense with a parlia- ment, and to govern his kingdom by drawing more or less near to France and Spain. His ministers drove him into violent measures, and with a view to augment their strength, they soon formed an alliance with an unsound prelatism. Laud, archbishop of Canterbury and primate of all England, to whom Rome had offered a cardinal's hat, restored many of the practices and ceremonies of Popery. The communion-table was replaced by an altar raised on several steps at the east end of the church; the crucifix, pictures, and tapers were restored; and the officiating clergy, in gaudy dresses, made genu- flexions before the altar after the Romish custom. CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. 51 The middle classes took the alarm. Associations were formed for the propagation of the Gospel; funds were raised to send preachers into various places, where it would be their duty not only to proclaim Jesus Christ, but to combat the popish superstitions under which it was now attempted to reduce the nation. The evangelical Christians of London, among whom was Mr Storie, one of Crom- well's friends, supported Dr Wells, one of these “lecturers,” at Saint Ives. He was “a man of “goodness and industry, and ability to do good “every way” (as Cromwell writes to Mr Storie on the 11th January 1636), “not short of any I know “in England.” Wells's preaching and conversation advanced Cromwell and his family in the ways of true piety. “Since his coming, the Lord hath by “him wrought much good among us,” adds Oliver. Soon afterwards, the news of the cruel perse- cutions against Laud's adversaries reached Saint Ives. They were placed in the pillory (such was the report), their ears were cut off, they were heavily fined, and condemned to imprisonment for life; but they endured these sufferings with indomitable courage. On one occasion, as the executioner was driving back the crowd, the martyr, foreseeing the evils that Charles would bring upon his people, interfered, exclaiming: “Let them come, and “spare not, that they may learn to suffer.” Dr Leighton, father of the celebrated archbishop of that name, for publishing “an Appeal to the “Parliament, or Zion's Plea against Prelacy,” was 52 CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. condemned to pay a fine of £10,000; to be set in the pillory at Westminster, and publicly whipped; to lose his ears, have his nostrils slit, and his cheeks branded with the letters S. S.—“Sower of “Sedition”—a sentence that was executed in all its severity. - - Prynne, a very remarkable man, was a barrister of Lincoln's Inn. The first crime that he commit- ted, and for which he lost his ears, was his having published a work entitled “ Histriomastia,-the “Player's Scourge,” directed against all stage- plays, masques, dances, and masquerades. The king and queen were fond of masques and dances, and Henrietta of France often won loud applause in the court theatricals. Prynne was accord- ingly accused by Laud of sedition. His second crime was a work against the hierarchy of the Church. As he had already lost his ears by the first sentence, the stumps on this occasion were literally sawn off. “I had thought,” said Lord Chief Justice Finch, feigning astonishment, “that “Mr Prynne had had no ears I”—“I hope your “honours will not be offended,” replied Prynne; “pray God give you ears to hear.”—Oliver's ear heard, and his heart throbbed with emotion. As Dr Bastwick ascended the scaffold on which he was to suffer mutilation, his wife rushed up to him, and kissed the ears he was about to lose. Upon her husband's exhorting her not to be fright- ened, she made answer: “Farewell, my dearest, “be of good comfort: I am nothing dismayed.” CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. 53 The surrounding crowd manifested their sympathy by loud acclamations. On descending from the scaffold he drew from his ear the sponge soaked with his blood, and, hold- ing it up to the people, exclaimed: “Blessed be my “God, who hath counted me worthy, and of his “mighty power hath enabled me to suffer anything “for his sake; and as I have now lost some of my “blood, so I am ready and willing to spill every “drop that is in my veins in this cause, for which “I now have suffered: which is, for maintaining “the truth of God, and the honour of my king “against popish usurpations. Let God be glorified, “ and let the king live for ever.” - When Mr Burton, a puritan divine, was brought on the platform, and was asked if the pillory were not uneasy for his neck and shoulders, he answered: “How can Christ's yoke be uneasy.” He bears “the heavier end of it, and I the lighter; and if “mine were too heavy, He would bear that too. “Christ is a good Master, and worth the suffering “for And if the world did but know His good- “ness, and had tasted of His sweetness, all would “come and be His servants.”f Such were the acts of Charles I.-acts that filled Oliver's soul with horror and anguish. In Scotland also the evil had reached a great height. Charles wished to abolish Presbyterianism in that country, and establish Laud's prelacy in its * Prynne's New Discovery, &c. p. 63. t State Trials, iii. 748-752. 54 CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. place, the sure way to the restoration of Popery. On the 23d of July 1637, the missal in disguise was to be solemnly installed in Saint Giles's Kirk at Edin- burgh. As soon as the dean began to read the ser- vice, a terrible uproar broke out. The Scotch swore fidelity to their ancient institutions, signed the Covenant, and took up arms in its defence. Their banners were unfolded. When the Scotch armies ad- vanced against Charles, they were marching against Rome, as Gustavus Adolphus was proceeding in Ger- many at the head of his warriors, “meek as lambs, “terrible as lions.” Scotland was at that time the vanguard of Protestantism. Upon the refusal of the English army to fight against the Scots, the king was compelled to submit to a new parliament, which met on the 13th of April 1640, to the unspeakable joy of the people. Cromwell was returned for Cambridge. This assembly proceeded energetically to prose- cute the authors of all the miseries of the nation. On Monday, the 10th of May 1641, his majesty signed the death-warrant of his former minister, Strafford, who was beheaded on the Wednesday fol. lowing. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the “sons of men, for in them there is no salvation,” ex- claimed the earl, raising his hands to heaven, when he was told that the king had given his assent to the bill for his execution. Oliver's name does not appear in the proceedings. In August of the same year, Charles resolved to visit Scotland, and endeavour to gain over its people, CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. 55 always distinguished for their loyalty. Here he was observed to listen attentively to the long sermons of the presbyterian preachers, and attend devoutly to their frequent prayers; but it was soon discovered that there was a ravening wolf beneath the sheep's clothing. They learnt that he was secretly collecting documents by which he hoped to overthrow his enemies in both kingdoms. He was anxious to obtain proofs of the correspondence which had taken place between the English Parliament and the Scotch Covenanters, and thus procure the con- demnation of the leaders of both people, as being guilty of high-treason. From that hour many felt that Charles was a man without faith, and that an open opposition could alone save England. Of this the leaders of the nation were more firmly convinced by a fearful catastrophe. In the midst of this agitation and mistrust, on the 1st of November 1641, an alarming report suddenly reached London. The Irish, sheltering themselves behind the names of the king and queen, holding in one hand a commission they pretended to have received from Charles, and bearing fire and sword in the other, were ravaging the country with fearful desolation. The plot, contrived with the greatest secrecy, had broken out in horrible mas- sacres. In London and Edinburgh, in town and country, the most distressing accounts passed from mouth to mouth, and terror filled the hearts of all the Protestants of Great Britain. The most serious members of the Commons im- 56 CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. mediately called for a Remonstrance to the king, as the nation was attacked in all that it held most dear. The Remonstrance was passed at midnight of the 22d November, by a majority of eleven votes. “Had it been rejected,” said Oliver, as he came out, “I would have sold everything I pos- “sess, and never seen England more.” But it was not Cromwell that was destined to quit London. On the 7th of December a bill was proposed to the Commons, that the organization of the militia and the nomination of its officers should for the future only take place with the con- currence of parliament. This bill in some measure undermined the royal power, and yet the preserva- tion of the liberty and Protestantism of England depended on it. The nobility immediately hastened to London from their country seats, and rallied round the menaced throne. The names of Ca- valiers and Roundheads now first began to dis- tinguish the two parties: the latter deriving their title from the shortness of their hair, which was cut close about their ears. Their violent contests perpetually disturbed the peace of the capital. At the opening of the next year all hearts were dis- quieted by the anticipation of coming events. r: On the 3d of January (1642), Charles began the attack by calling upon the Lower House to give up to him five of its most influential members : Pym, Hampden, Haselrig, Holles, and Strode. On the morrow it was announced that the king was advancing towards St. Stephen's, escorted by three CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. 57 or four hundred armed men. At his entrance, the whole house stood up uncovered. “Since I see “the birds are flown,” said he, casting his eyes round on the assembly, “I expect that you will “send them to me; otherwise I must take my “own course to find them.” Cries of “Privilege “Privilege l’ rose from several parts of the house, as the king withdrew. Charles learnt soon after that the people, the militia, and even the Thames watermen were preparing to bring back the five members to Westminster in triumph. “What!” said he, “do these water-rats, too, forsake me!”. Of all the population of London, Charles thought himself most certain of the affection of these boatmen. This device having failed, the king left Whitehall on the 10th of January 1642. This was the beginning of the Revolution: the commencement of the struggle between the Parlia- ment and the King. The ruin of the throne was in this movement, and yet it was inevitable. The maintenance of the liberty and religion of England could not be procured except at this cost. It has been said—and let us ever bear it in mind—that the English Revolution, by proclaiming the illegality of absolute power, did nothing new. It was legitimate. “If the feudal aristocracy,” says an eminent author, “took part in the development of “nations, it was by struggling against royal “tyranny, by exercising the rights of resistance, “ and by maintaining the maxims of liberty.” * Guizot, Hist, de la Rév. d’Angleterre; Preface, p. xi. 58 CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. The commonalty, the middle classes, did in the seventeenth century what had hitherto been done by the nobles. Cromwell was now forty-two years old, and the father of six children: Oliver, Richard, and Henry, Bridget, Elizabeth, and Mary. He was living quietly, like many other good citizens and loyal subjects, who, as well as he, had never once thought of the profession of arms. But new times called for new measures. Every day these men, who felt the truest affection for their country, were disturbed in their homes at London, or in their more tranquil rural retreats, by reports of the massacre of the Protestants in Ireland, of the king's connivance at it, of his insincerity and falsehood, of his projects, of the punishments already inflicted on many of their brethren, of the acknowledged Popery of the queen, of the semi- Romanism of the king, of the persecutions in Scotland, the daily banishment of the best Christ- ians in the kingdom, and by other signs and events no less alarming. When every thing seemed to announce that the Protestants of England would erelong be either trampled down by Popery or massacred by the sword, these serious men arose, and called upon the king, through the Commons, not to deceive the expectations of his subjects. But when they found that prince, deaf to their prayers, raising troops to overawe the parliament, and already victorious in several encounters, they resolved, in a spirit of CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. 59 devotedness, to save with God's assistance their country and their faith, by withdrawing from their families and exposing their lives in arms. Oliver now exchanged his parliamentary career for another that had become more necessary. The Huntingdonshire yeoman, who had given the Com- mons some proofs of his eloquence, was about to astonish the army still more by his courage and genius. The fervent orator was now to show him- self a great general, and to become one of the greatest statesmen of modern times. On the 7th of February, Cromwell contributed £300, a large sum for his small fortune, towards the salvation of Protestantism and of England. He then joined the parliamentary army with his two sons, respectively twenty and sixteen years of age; and shortly after raised two companies of volunteers at Cambridge. The departure of his sons Oliver and Richard must have caused great sorrow in the peaceful abode of the Huntingdon farmer. With difficulty could these young men tear themselves from the embraces of their mother and of their sisters. But the hour was come when their country called for the greatest sacrifices. All must now be prepared either to stretch their necks to the sword, or to bow them beneath the yoke of the Pope. Cromwell's domestic society was a pleasing one; he had a wife whom he loved most tenderly; his good mother was still living; he had passed the age of ambition; yet he became a soldier. “You “have had my money: I hope in God I desire to 60 CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. “venture my skin. So do mine,” said he, with noble simplicity, on a later occasion. For the space of seventeen years, from this day until that of his death, all his thoughts, however well or ill con- ceived, were for Protestantism and for the liberty of his fellow-citizens. It is from this moral point of view that we must study Cromwell; this was his ruling principle; and this alone explains his whole life. Can we look upon the departure of the Hunting- don volunteer as an insignificant event 2 There was a great work to be accomplished : no less than the settlement of England upon its double foundations of Protestantism and liberty; for on these depended her future destinies. Where was the man to be found great enough for so important a task? One day, a member rose and addressed the House in an abrupt but warm tone. His appear- ance was anything but courtly, and his dress did not add to his importance. Lord Digby leant for- ward and with astonishment inquired of Hampden the name of the speaker. Hampden, who was a man of excellent abilities, and whom, said Baxter, “friends and enemies acknowledged to be the most “eminent for prudence,” answered with a smile : “That sloven whom you see before you, hath no “ ornament in his speech; that sloven, I say, if “we should ever come to a breach with the King “ (which God forbid!)—in such a case, I say, that “sloven will be the greatest man in England.” CROMWELL's PARLIAMENTARY LIFE. 61 The sloven was Oliver Cromwell. To those who, like his cousin Hampden, had enjoyed the intimacy of his private life, he had already revealed the strength of his will and the greatness of his genius; and he was then beginning to manifest both to the nation in his parliamentary life. Erelong, in his military and political career, he was to make him- self known to the world as the greatest man of his age, but at the same time as a godly Christian. CHAPTER III. SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING AND THE PARLIAMENT. Conquest of Liberty—Beginning of the War—Cromwell's Frankness —Letter to Barnard—Intervention in Favour of Hapton Parish— Doubtful Advantages—Cromwell’s Expedient—Fortune of War changes—Cromwell refuses to take part in Disorderly Living— Death of Hampden–The two Parliaments—Battle of Marston Moor—A Letter and an Episode—Prudence and Compassion— Cromwell's Military Character—Becomes the Real Chief—Battle of Naseby—The King's Cabinet opened—Storming of Bristol— Glory to God —Christian Union—Discipline—Piety—King sur- renders to the Scots—Ireton—Cromwell’s Letter to his Daughter Bridget—King given up to Parliament—Cromwell’s Illness— Letter to Fairfax—Cromwell and his Soldiers—Unity of Man. THE time had come when one of the noblest victories ever gained by the human race was to be achieved. Constitutional liberty was about to be won for all future ages. This could not be attained without a terrible struggle—without great sacrifices; for it is only by such means, alas! that society advances. The despotism about to be struck down was destined to furnish one distin- guished victim. “Charles,” says a royalist writer, “struggled ineffectually against the force of things; SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING AND THE PARLIAMENT. 63 “the age had outstripped him: it was not his nation “only, but the whole human race, that dragged him “ along; he desired what was no longer possible. “The liberty that had been won was first to be “swallowed up in a military despotism that deprived “it of its anarchy; but what was taken from the “fathers was restored to the children, and remained “as a final result to England.” On the 22d of August 1642, at six o'clock in the evening, the King planted the royal standard at Nottingham, and formally called his subjects to arms; but the wind, which was very tempestuous, blew it down the very night it had been set up. At a short distance from the same place, the Earl of Essex was organizing the parliamentary army, in which Cromwell was immediately made a captain. He inspected his troop without delay, and marked the commencement of his military career by that frankness which is one of the distinctive features of his character. He was unwilling to follow the tortuous and hypocritical path of the Parliament— fight against the King and pretend at the same time that they were marching in his defence. It is Clarendon himself who gives us this information. “Soldiers,” said he to his company, “I will not “deceive you, nor make you believe, as my com- “mission has it, that you are going to fight for the “King and Parliament.”f Cromwell carried his frankness even to rudeness: and this, rather than * Les Quatre Stuards, by M. de Chateaubriand. CEuvres com- plètes, vi. t Clarendon, Hist. Rebellion, book x. 64 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING duplicity, is the fault we detect in him. He was determined to fight against all whom he found opposed to him, whoever they might be. He con- tinued, according to Clarendon's account: “If the “king were in front of me, I would as soon shoot him “as another; if your conscience will not allow you “to do as much, go and serve elsewhere.” These latter words have been doubted; and in truth Clarendon, or rather those from whom he derived the report, may have easily exaggerated what Oliver actually said. But, even if we are to admit the correctness of the report, we may look upon it simply as an energetic manner of saying: “Do not “be mistaken: we are fighting against the king.” Cromwell was not simply a captain : his vigilant eye was everywhere. He knew how to baffle con- spiracies, and give sound advice to men whose sentiments differed from his own. Mr Robert Barnard, a gentleman of his acquaintance, but a bad Protestant, was favourable to the royalists, and associated with those who frequented suspicious meetings. Oliver wrote to him, on the 23d of January 1643, a letter of advice, in which we find , another proof of his frankness:–“Subtlety may “deceive you; integrity never will. With my heart “I shall desire that your judgment may alter, and “your practice. I come only to hinder men from “increasing the rent, from doing hurt; but not “to hurt any man : nor shall I you; I hope you “will give me no cause. If you do, I must be “pardoned what my relation to the public calls AND THE PARLIAMENT. 65 “for.” This language is full of firmness, and at the same time of true charity. He particularly busied himself with the pro- tection of those who were suffering for their faith. In the county of Norfolk, the parishioners of Hapton were much oppressed by an individual named Browne, for their attachment to the Gospel. On their behalf Cromwell wrote to Mr Thomas Knyvett of Ashwellthorpe, in the following terms: “London, 27th July 1646..........I am bold to “ask your favour on behalf of your honest poor “neighbours of Hapton, who, as I am informed, “are in some trouble, and are likely to be put to “more, by one Robert Browne your tenant, who, “not well pleased with the way of these men, seeks “ their disquiet all he may. “Truly nothing moves me to desire this more “ than the pity I bear them in respect of their “honesties, and the trouble I hear they are likely “to suffer for their consciences. And however “the world interprets it, I am not ashamed to “solicit for such as are anywhere under pressure “of this kind; doing even as I would be done by. “.........Sir, it will not repent you to protect “ these poor men of Hapton from injury and “oppression.”f It was in this manner that he manifested his brotherly charity,+“that charity, which,” accord- ing to Milton, “is the strongest of all affections, * Letters and Speeches, Carlyle, i. 158. + Gentleman’s Magazine, 1787. Carlyle's Cromwell, i. 269. 66 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING “whereby the faithful, as members of Christ's body, “mutually love and assist each other.”* Oliver had heard the injunction, Relieve the oppressed (Isaiah i. 17; Jeremiah xxii. 3); open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to de- struction (Proverbs xxxi. 8), and earnestly fulfilled God's commandments. On the 23d of October 1642 the battle of Edge- hill was fought, the indecisive result of which filled London with alarm. It was perhaps on this occasion that Cromwell lost his eldest son: we shall see hereafter what were the father's feelings under this bereavement. - The winter passed away quietly: in spring the war broke out again, with still doubtful success. The legitimate resistance of the parliament could only be justified and maintained by prompt and decisive victories. Cromwell immediately saw the main cause of weakness in the parliamentary army, and found a remedy for it. He knew that to con- quer a strong moral force, there is required another and one still more powerful. Accordingly he began at the beginning. “How can we be otherwise than “beaten?” said he to Hampden. “Your troops “are most of them old decayed serving-men, and “ tapsters, and such kind of fellows; and theirs “are gentlemen's sons, younger sons, and persons “of quality. But I will remedy that. I will raise * Charitas fraterna seu Christiana est omnium maxima; qua fideles, ut membra Christi, inter se diligunt atque adjuvant. J. Miltonis Doctrina Christiana, edidit R. Sumner, p. 483. AND THE PARLIAMENT. 67 “men who will have the fear of God before their “eyes, and who will bring some conscience to “what they do; and I promise you they shall not “be beaten.” With this design he went through the eastern counties, calling upon the young freeholders, with whose piety he was acquainted, to take up arms in the cause of God. Fourteen squadrons of zealous Protestants were soon raised. It was this new element that decided the destinies of the war and of England. From that hour the course of events was changed. It was not long before Cromwell's moral and religious character manifested itself in the army, and especially so soon as he was surrounded with persons animated by the same faith. Clarendon informs us that his conduct was in harmony with his principles. “His strict and unsociable humour” —it is by such terms that men are often pleased unjustly to designate that christian spirit to which they are strangers—“his strict and unsociable “humour would not allow him to keep company “with the other officers in their jollities and “excesses, which,” adds Clarendon, “often made “him ridiculous and contemptible.” This historian afterwards informs us that Oliver, instead of fre- quenting these dissolute meetings, passed his leisure hours in singing psalms with the officers and sol- diers who participated in his religious convictions, and in attending with them on the preaching of the Word. There is nothing more characteristic than the 68 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING judgment here passed on Cromwell. The illustrious Clarendon does not give it precisely as his own, but he has very much the air of agreeing with it. If Oliver had been a gambler and a drunkard; if he - had practised the perfidious art of seducing inno- cence; if he had taken part in jollities and excesses, it would have been all very well: he would have been a good Cavalier. These are the men whom the world loves, and for whom historians and romance-writers* keep all their favour. But he loved the assemblings of the saints, according to St. Paul's command. In his hours of repose, he delighted to follow the precepts of this apostle: Be not drunk with wine, wherein is eacess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Ephes. v. 18, 19.) From that hour he was held a contemptible man, and for two hundred years all the servile, imitat- ing race of historians have continued to repeat this absurdity, not to say impiety. Contemptible / says Clarendon. It may well be so : but Cromwell is not the only man who has been undervalued for avoiding bad company, and for not having trod in the way of sinners. David, St. Paul, and all christian men have been contemned like him, and for the same reasons. But it is written in the revelations of God: Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil. (Isaiah v. 20.) We do not think that these false judgments, thus stigmatized by the Divine * Ev. gr. Sir Walter Scott. AND THE PARLIAMENT. 69 Word, have ever been practised on a larger scale than in the case of Cromwell. On the 18th of June a skirmish of cavalry took place some few miles from Oxford. One of the parliamentarian chiefs, who was usually in the fore- most rank, was seen slowly quitting the field of battle before the end of the action : his head hung down, his hand was leaning on his horse's neck. “He is certainly wounded,” said one of the by- standers. It was Hampden, Oliver's cousin. He died on the 24th of the same month, and the sor- rowing people named him the Father of his Coun- try. Who can say what influence, had he lived, he might have exercised over the developments of the Revolution ? Charles, wishing to give the appearance of legal- ity to his power, summoned the two Houses of Parliament to meet at Oxford; and on the 22d of January 1644, forty-five Peers and a hundred and eighteen members of the Commons obeyed his call. But the Parliament then sitting in London counted twenty-two Peers and two hundred and eighty members of the Lower House, besides about one hundred more who were absent on the service of the state. The king, who in conversation with his courtiers called his parliament at one time a “mongrel parliament,” and at another, “cowardly and seditious,” adjourned it on the 16th of April. In January the Scots had entered England, marching knee-deep in snow. In conjunction with the parliamentary troops, they commenced the siege 70 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING of York, defended by the Marquis of Newcastle. Prince Rupert flew to its relief; and on the 2d of July 1644, took place the battle of Marston Moor. The conflict was bloody, but victory finally crowned the parliamentary army, owing to the invincible courage of its soldiers, and particularly of Crom- well's cavalry, on whom the name of Ironsides was conferred on the very field of battle. The enemy lost more than a hundred flags, which it was pro- posed to send to the parliament; but they were torn in pieces by the conquerors, and bound as trophies round their arms. The King lost all the north of England, and the Queen escaped to France. “If you leave your place, you'll lose it,” was the message sent to her a short time before by Cardinal Richelieu. - The following letter gives an account of one of the most interesting episodes of this great vic- tory:— “To my loving Brother, Colonel Valentine Walton : - These. “DEAR SIR, “ 5th July 1644. “It's our duty to sympathize in all mercies; and “to praise the Lord together in chastisements or “trials, that so we may sorrow together. “Truly England and the Church of God hath “had a great favour from the Lord, in this great “victory given unto us, such as the like never was “since this War began. It had all the evidences AND THE PARLIAMENT. 71 “of an absolute victory obtained by the Lord's “blessing upon the Godly Party principally. We “never charged but we routed the enemy. The “Left Wing, which I commanded, being our own “horse, saving a few Scots in our rear, beat all the “Prince's horse. God made them as stubble to “our swords. We charged their regiments of foot “with our horse, and routed all we charged. The “ particulars I cannot relate now; but I believe, “of twenty thousand the Prince hath not four “ thousand left. Give glory, all the glory, to God. “Sir, God hath taken away your eldest son by a “cannon-shot. It brake his leg. We were neces- “sitated to have it cut off, whereof he died. “Sir, You know my own trials this way: but “the Lord supported me in this, That the Lord “took him” into the happiness we all pant for and “live for. There is your precious child full of “glory, never to know sin or sorrow any more. “He was a gallant young man, exceedingly gra- “cious. God give you His comfort. Before his “death he was so full of comfort, that to Frank “Russel and myself he could not express it, “It “was so great above his pain.' This he said to us. “Indeed it was admirable. A little after he said, “one thing lay upon his spirit. I asked him, “What that was. He told me it was, That God “had not suffered him to be any more the execu- “tioner of His enemies. At his fall, his horse “being killed with the bullet, and as I am informed * His own son, Oliver, who had been killed not long before. 72 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING “three horses more, I am told he bid them open “to right and left, that he might see the rogues “run. Truly he was exceedingly beloved in the “Army, of all that knew him. But few knew “ him; for he was a precious young man, fit for “God. You have cause to bless the Lord. He is “a glorious Saint in Heaven; wherein you ought “exceedingly to rejoice. Let this drink up your “sorrow; seeing these are not feigned words to “comfort you, but the thing is so real and un- “doubted a truth. You may do all things by the “strength of Christ. Seek that, and you shall easily “bear your trial. Let this public mercy to the “Church of God make you to forget your private “sorrow. The Lord be your strength: so prays, “Your truly faithful, and loving brother, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* In this kind manner he consoles a bereaved father, while the smoke still covers the battle-field. He lays aside all the engrossing cares of the general to fulfil the duties of the Christian. This letter bears indubitable marks of a soldier's bluntness, but also of the sympathy of a child of God. In Oliver these two elements were never far apart. - While Cromwell, by his furious charges, was de- ciding the battle of Marston Moor, the Earl of Essex was suffering great reverses in Cornwall, and his army was forced to capitulate. The former rose as the latter fell: and from the very beginning of * Ellis, Original Letters (First Series), iii. 299. Carlyle, i. 207. AND THE PARLIAMENT. 73 the war, clear-sighted men might have been able to foresee that he was destined to be the real leader. There was no officer in the army who braved danger with greater intrepidity. In the very heat of the action, he preserved an admirable presence of mind. He led his soldiers up to within a few paces of the enemy, and never allowed them to fire until their shots were sure to take effect. “His actions,” says Chateaubriand, “had all the rapidity and the effect “of lightning.” At the same time he maintained the strictest discipline in the army. The troops under his command thought themselves sure of victory, and, in fact, he never lost a battle. “There “was a certain invincibility in his genius, like the “new ideas of which he was the champion.” Milton furnishes us with the key to Cromwell's superiority: “From his thorough exercise in the “art of self-knowledge, he had either extermin- “ated or subjugated his domestic foes, his idle “hopes, his fears, and his desires. Having thus “learnt to engage, and subdue, and triumph over “himself, he took the field against his outward “enemies, a soldier practised in all the discipline “ of war.”f In 1645 an ordinance—the famous “self-deny- “ing ordinance”—excluding all members of par- liament from commands in the army, passed both Houses, and Cromwell prepared to take leave of * Chateaubriand, Les Quatre Stuards. t In se prius imperator, sui victor, de se potissimum triumphare didicerat. Miltoni Defensio Secunda, 106, 107. 74 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING his general, Fairfax. But circumstances, which seemed to proceed from the hand of God, prevented him. Hostilities broke out afresh, and Oliver did not think it right at such a moment to return his sword into the scabbard. He rushed upon the enemy at the head of his Puritans, and everywhere the Ca- valiers fled before him. Fairfax declared that he could not dispense with him. On the 14th of June the decisive battle of Naseby, so fatal to the royalists, took place. The king fought desperately, but lost his private cabinet of papers and letters, which was sent to London, where it was carefully examined by the parliament. In it they found the clearest proofs that, notwithstand- ing his frequent denials, he was perpetually so- liciting the aid of foreign princes, and that he had protested against the name of Parliament which he had given to the two Houses. These documents, which were published under the title of “The King's “Cabinet Opened,” entirely ruined Charles in the minds of his people. There is a justice in heaven which permits neither kings nor the humblest of their subjects to live by falsehood and to make a mockery of oaths. By his deception and perjury Charles had forfeited the respect of many who were desirous to maintain the dignity of the throne, and from this period no hope remained. Prince Rupert, the king's nephew, still resisted, and had shut himself up in Bristol, which was taken by assault. Of this most important victory Cromwell forwarded an account to parliament, on AND THE PARLIAMENT. Fº 75 the 14th of September, 1645. We suppress the narrative of military transactions, and give only the conclusion of the report, in which we find united the characteristics of a successful general and of an humble Christian:— “For the Honourable William Lenthall, Speaker of the “Commons House of Parliament: These. “I have given you a true, but not a full account “of this great business; wherein he that runs may “read, That this is none other than the work of “God. He must be a very Atheist that doth not “acknowledge it. “It may be thought that some praises are due “to those gallant men, of whose valour so much “mention is made:–their humble suit to you and “all that have an interest in this blessing, is, That “in the remembrance of God's praises they be for- “gotten. It's their joy that they are instruments “ of God's glory, and their country's good. It's “ their honour that God vouchsafes to use them. “Sir, they that have been employed in this service “know, that faith and prayer obtained this City “for you : I do not say ours only, but of the “people of God with you and all England over, “who have wrestled with God for a blessing in “this very thing. Our desires are, that God may “be glorified by the same spirit of faith by which 76 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING “we ask all our sufficiency, and have received it. “It is meet that He have all the praise. “Presbyterians, Independents, all have here the “same spirit of faith and prayer; the same presence “ and answer; they agree here, have no names of “difference: pity it is it should be otherwise any- “where ! All that believe have the real unity, “which is most glorious; because inward, and “spiritual, in the Body [which is the true Church], “and to the Head [which is Jesus Christ]. For “being united in forms, commonly called Uni- “formity, every Christian will for peace-sake study “ and do, as far as conscience will permit. And “for brethren, in things of the mind we look for “no compulsion, but that of light and reason. In “other things, God hath put the sword in the Par- “liament's hands—for the terror of evil-doers, and “the praise of them that do well. If any plead “exemption from that, he knows not the Gospel: “if any would wring that out of your hands, or “steal it from you, under what pretence soever, I “hope they shall do it without effect. That God “may maintain it in your hands, and direct you “in the use thereof, is the prayer of “Your humble servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* These are remarkable words. Glory to God in heaven—union among the children of God upon earth—such are the General's two grand thoughts. . * Rushworth, vi. 85. Carlyle, i. 248. AND THE PARLIAMENT. 77 How far superior he shows himself to the petty quarrels which then divided the presbyterians and the independents! At the same time, he distin- guishes with great precision between spiritual and temporal things. According to his views, love should prevail in the one ; the sword in the other. Full of charity towards his brethren, rejecting every restraint upon religion, and pro- claiming the great principles of liberty of con- science, how terrible he appears with the sword in his hand! Oliver did not show severity towards his ene- mies only. His justice was inflexible, even when it called upon him to punish his own followers. After quitting Bristol, he took several other strong places by storm, and became renowned for his sieges. At Winchester some of the captive enemies having complained of being plundered contrary to the ar- ticles of capitulation, he directed that the soldiers accused of this disorder should be tried : six of them were found guilty, one of whom was hanged, and the five others were sent to the royalist gover- nor of Oxford, who returned them “with an acknow- “ledgment of the Lieutenant-general's nobleness.” All who were about him bore testimony to his piety. In reference to this Mr Peters writes that he “ had spent much time with God in prayer the night “before the storming of Basing House;—and seldom “fights without some Text of Scripture to support -“ him. This time he rested upon that blessed Word “ of God written in the 115th Psalm, 8th verse, E 78 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING “They that make them are like unto them ; so is every “one that trusteth in them. Which, with some verses “going before, was now accomplished.”* Every day of his life he retired to read the Scriptures and to pray. Those who watched him narrowly relate, that, after having perused a chapter in the Bible, he was wont to prostrate himself with his face on the ground, and with tears pour out his soul before God. Who can charge with hypocrisy these inward movements of a soul, which pass all knowledge? For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him 2 The king, who had retired to Oxford, left it in disguise on the 27th of April 1646. He wandered from castle to castle, and from one county to another, until, not knowing what to do, he sur- rendered to the Scots army at Newark. One of the most distinguished officers of the parliamentary army was Colonel Ireton. He had studied at Trinity College, Oxford, had distin- guished himself in the army by his bravery, and had risen rapidly. He had long known Cromwell, and had made the acquaintance of his daughter Brid- get, who, by her decision of character, was more like her father than was her younger sister Elizabeth, afterwards Mrs Claypole. On the 15th of January 1646, Ireton married Cromwell's daughter. On the 25th of October in the same year, her father wrote the following letter to her, when as yet she did not exceed twenty-two years of age, touching some of the -" " * Cited in Carlyle, i. 258. AND THE PARLIAMENT. 79 duties of the christian life. It is short and simple; but perhaps no parent at the head of an army has ever written one more suitable and more affecting. “For my beloved Daughter, Bridget Ireton, at Corn- “bury, the General's Quarters : These. “DEAR D AUGHTER, “London, 25th October 1646. “I write not to thy husband; partly to avoid “ trouble, for one line of mine begets many of his, “which I doubt makes him sit up too late; partly “because I am myself indisposed [i. e. not in the “mood] at this time, having some other consider- “ations. “Your friends at Ely are well: your sister Clay- “ pole is, I trust in mercy, exercised with some per- “plexed thoughts. She sees her own vanity and “carnal mind; bewailing it: she seeks after (as I “hope also) what will satisfy. And thus to be a “seeker is to be one of the best sect next to a finder; “ and such a one shall every faithful humble seeker “be at the end. Happy seeker, happy finderſ “Who ever tasted that the Lord is gracious, “without some sense of self, vanity, and badness? “Who ever tasted that graciousness of His, and “could go less in desire [i. e. become less desirous], “—less pressing after full enjoyment? Dear Heart, “press on ; let not thy Husband, let not anything “cool thy affections after Christ. I hope he [thy “husband] will be an occasion to inflame them. “That which is best worthy of love in thy Hus- 80 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING “band is that of the image of Christ he bears. “Look on that, and love it best, and all the “rest for that. I pray for thee and him; do so “for me. “My service and dear affections to the General “ and Generaless. I hear she is very kind to thee; “it adds to all other obligations. I am “Thy dear Father, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* Delicacy of sentiment, the domestic virtues, and paternal love, are among the features by which Cromwell is best characterized. - Towards the end of the year 1646, the parlia- ment offered the Scots army £400,000 on condition of their returning into their own country. The terms were accepted, and the king thus fell into the hands of the English parliament. At the beginning of 1648, Cromwell fell danger- ously ill: on his recovery he wrote the following letter to the commander-in-chief:- “For his Eacellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, General of “ the Parliament's Armies, at Windsor: These. {{ SIR, - “London, 7th March 1648. “It hath pleased God to raise me out of a dan- “gerous sickness; and I do most willingly acknow- “ledge that the Lord hath, in this visitation, exer- “cised the bowels of a Father towards me. I * Harleian MSS. No. 6988, fol. 224. Carlyle, i. 277. AND THE PARLIAMENT. 81 “received in myself the sentence of death, that I “might learn to trust in Him that raiseth from the “dead, and have no confidence in the flesh. It's “a blessed thing to die daily. For what is there “in this world to be accounted of ! The best men “according to the flesh, are things lighter than “vanity. I find this only good, To love the Lord “and his poor despised people; to do for them, and “to be ready to suffer with them:-and he that is “found worthy of this hath obtained great favour “from the Lord; and he that is established in “this shall (being confirmed to Christ and the rest “of the Body, i. ‘e. the Church') participate in “the glory of a Resurrection which will answer all. “Sir, I must thankfully confess your favour in “your last Letter. I see I am not forgotten; and “truly, to be kept in your remembrance is very “great satisfaction to me; for I can say in the “simplicity of my heart, I put a high and true “value upon your love, which when I forget, I “shall cease to be a grateful and an honest man. “I most humbly beg my service may be pre- “sented to your Lady, to whom I wish all happi- “ness, and establishment in the truth. Sir, my “prayers are for you, as becomes “Your Excellency's “Most humble servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* This letter from one general to another charac- terizes alike the men and their times. * Sloane MSS. 1519, fol. 79. Carlyle, i. 324. 82 - SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING Such was Oliver in the midst of battle. His troops, not less than their general, have been the object of bitter attack on the part of worldly- minded writers. This we can understand: proofs are now before us which explain their conduct. Take, for instance, the manner in which the orators of Exeter Hall are treated in parliament, although, even in the opinion of their adversaries, they are some of the most worthy men in England. If soldiers lead a disorderly and irreligious life, pro- vided they are brave, there are writers who can never be sufficiently loud in their praise; but soldiers professing Christianity merit, according to their views, nothing but blame and ridicule. Cromwell's regiment, after the battle of Edgehill, gave decided testimony of the spirit by which it was animated. Wishing to form what they called “a gathered church,” the officers looked about for a fitting pastor, and to the honour of their chris- tian character, selected Richard Baxter, the most eminent minister of the seventeenth century. The author of the Saints' Rest was equally distinguished for his blameless manner of life, his lively piety, and his extraordinary talents. Where can we now find a regiment that would invite such a man to take charge of their spiritual concerns? Although Baxter was rather royalist and episcopalian in his sentiments, Cromwell and his followers looked only to his faith and holy life. He was invited to Cambridge, where Oliver happened then to be quartered, and a call signed by all the officers was put into his hands. Baxter refused; for which he AND THE PARHAIAMENT. 83 afterwards expressed his deep regret. “These “very men,” he says, “that then invited me to be “ their pastor, were the men that afterwards headed “much of the army, and some of them were the “forwardest in all our changes; which made me “wish that I had gone among them, however it “had been interpreted; for then all the fire was in “one spark.” Oliver not only desired a faithful preacher for his soldiers, but required them to observe a christian behaviour and an exact discipline. In these latter objects he succeeded admirably. One of the journals of the day, quoted by the royalist Southey in his elegant little biography of Cromwell, says of these troops, “no man swears but he pays “his twelvepence; if he be drunk, he is set in the “stocks, or worse; if one calls the other round- “head, he is cashiered; insomuch that the coun- “tries where they come leap for joy of them, and “come in and join with them. How happy were “ it, if all the forces were thus disciplined " . The piety generally prevailing among Oliver's soldiers has been so much ridiculed for two cen- turies past, and the public opinion has been so misled on this point, that it will be long ere men's minds will be in a condition to appreciate them aright. We, however, will never consent to call good evil, or pretend that men can gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles. In our views, the heart and life form a great and profound harmony. The act cannot be good, unless the feeling be good also: 84 SCHISM BETWEEN THE KING AND THE PARLIAMENT. the words cannot be true unless the thought be true likewise. When I meet with a pure stream, I con- clude that it springs from a clear fountain. Man, thinking, speaking, and acting, forms an indivisible unity. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. y This has been forgotten in the case of Oliver Crom- # | well. S- CHAPTER IV. SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT AND THE ARMY. The Two Parties, Presbyterians and Independents—Claims of the Army—Joyce—The King's Leaning towards the Independents— Army Manifesto—Religious Liberty—Eleven Members accused— Errors—Influence of Oppression—Unlawful Intervention of the Presbyterians—Opposition of the Army—Independent Influence— Cromwell favourably disposed towards the King—Charles's Blind- ness—Letter found in the Saddle—The Silk Garter and the Hempen Halter—Cromwell despairs of Charles—The King’s Flight—He reaches the Isle of Wight—Cromwell suppresses the Levellers—Treaty with the Scots—Charles's Reply to Parliament —The Pit and he that diggeth it. THERE were now two parties in England, which every day assumed a more distinct character: the Presby- terians and the Independents, or Parliament and the Army. “Modern readers, mindful of the French “Revolution,” says Carlyle, “will perhaps compare “these Presbyterians and Independents to the “Gironde and the Mountain. And there is an “analogy; yet with differences. With a great “ difference in the situations; with the difference, 86 SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT “too, between Englishmen and Frenchmen, which “is always considerable; and then with the differ- “ence between believers in Jesus Christ and be- “lievers in Jean Jacques, which is still more “considerable.”* Some of the leading men of the presbyterian party in parliament (Holles, Stapleton, Harley, Sir William Waller, &c.) were old officers, who, being unsuccessful under Lord Essex, had no great love for the victorious army or its brave general. They wished to disband it; but the soldiers, who had shed their blood in the lawful defence of their country, claimed, prior to their disbanding, not recompense and reward, but simply their due—forty-three weeks' arrears of pay. Oliver, who had resumed his seat in parliament, was deputed by that body to go to the army and endeavour to quiet it. On his return, he received the thanks of the House. On the 2d of June (1647), an unexpected incident occurred to accelerate the course of events. A body of five hundred men, under the orders of Cornet Joyce, proceeded to Holmby House, where the king was staying, and brought him off along with them. Charles, flattering himself that this struggle between the presbyterians and independ- ents would end in the extirpation of both, and greatly delighted with anything that would im- bitter their disputes, willingly accompanied the soldiers. Another motive led him to incline to the side of * Letters and Speeches, i. 289. AND THE ARMY. 87 the independents and of the army. It was held impossible for Charles to come to an understanding with the presbyterians, considering, as he did, that episcopal government was essential to Christianity, while the presbyterians were bound by their cov- enant to abolish episcopacy. On the other hand, there was always an opening for some arrange- ment with the independents, who were disposed to use all their exertions with parliament to tolerate episcopacy, as well as the other sects. They were convinced that if the opposite party once got the up- per hand, they would tyrannize over conscience, as much as the bishops themselves had done in the early years of Charles's reign. In fact the presby- terians, whenever they offered to treat with the king, always proposed that steps should be taken to suppress the independent opinions, as well as those of other sectaries.* On the 10th of June, the principal officers of the army (Fairfax, Cromwell, Hammond, Ireton, Lam- bert, and others) wrote to the Lord Mayor and Common Council of the city of London,f demand- ing satisfaction for their undoubted claims as sol- diers; protesting against the misrepresentations of which they had been made the victims; declaring that their cause could not be separated from that of the parliament and the people; and desiring “a “settlement of the peace of the kingdom and of * Neale, History of the Puritans, ii. 440, London, 1837. + Carlyle, i. 296-300. - 88 SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT “ the liberties of the subject,” according to the pro- mises made before the war, promises for which many of their dearest companions in arms had lost their lives. But the principal point of the army manifesto was religious liberty. The independents consented that the presbyterian religion should be the reli- gion of the nation, thus granting to the latter body a superiority over their own party; but they claimed for all Christians the full enjoyment of civil and religious rights. This, says Lord Clarendon, was their great charter, and they were determined not to lay down their arms until they had obtained it. The independents had shed their blood for parliament in maintaining the liberties of England, and they thought it strange they should be allowed no other liberty than—that of expatriation. The presbyterians in the English Revolution repre- sented, generally, order, moderation, and respect for the Constitution; but the independents, it must be acknowledged, knew much better than they the great principles of religious liberty. If we call to mind the manner in which presbyterianism after- wards vanished from England, leaving behind it only a small number of unitarian congregations, we cannot help thinking that some bad principle must have crept into this party. Scotland is the true country for this system of church constitution, which has never been able to maintain its footing on the south of the Tweed, though it has borne the AND THE ARMY. 89 \ fairest fruits in the north, and is now producing fairer fruits than ever.* The officers of the army, in their petition to the Lord Mayor and city of London, continue thus:— “We have said before, and profess it now, we “ desire no alteration of the civil government. “As little do we desire to interrupt, or in the “least to intermeddle with, the settling of the “presbyterial government. Nor did we seek to “open a way for licentious liberty, under pretence “of obtaining ease for tender consciences. We “ profess, as ever in these things, when once the “state has made a settlement, we have nothing to “say but to submit or suffer. Only we could “wish that every good citizen, and every man “who walks peaceably in a blameless conversation, “ and is beneficial to the Commonwealth, might “ have liberty and encouragement; this being ac- “cording to the true policy of all states, and even “to justice itself.” This was no doubt written by Cromwell, and it is impossible to find terms at once more just, wise, and moderate. Perhaps in no other case has a vic- torious party employed language similar to it. Every politician and age will know how to appre- ciate such examples. * On the 16th of June, the army, still at St. Albans, accused of treason eleven members of the * A young “Presbyterian Church in England,” professing the principles of the Free Church of Scotland, at present numbers about eighty congregations; and the good spirit by which it is animated would seem to be a warrant of its progress and duration. 90 SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT House of Commons: Holles, Waller, Stapleton, and eight others, all of whom asked leave to retire for six months. This is one of the epochs in the Protector's life that has been the most severely handled by English, French, and German historians. “The old narra- “tives,” says Mr Carlyle,” “written all by baffled “enemies of Cromwell (Holles, Waller, &c.), are “full of mere blind rage, distraction, and dark- “ness; the new narratives, believing only in ‘Ma- “‘chiavelism,’ &c., disfigure the matter still more. “Common history, old and new, represents Crom- “well as having underhand,-in a most skilful “ and indeed prophetic manner, fomented or ori- “ginated all this commotion of the elements; “steered his way through it by ‘hypocrisy,' by “‘master-strokes of duplicity,' and such like. As “is the habit hitherto of history.” To this we will add the opinion of Lilburne, the most unmanageable and least credulous of the re- publicans, who had several sharp altercations with Cromwell, and who wrote to him on the 25th of March in this same year in the following terms:— “I have looked upon you, as among the power- “ful ones of England, as a man with heart per- “fectly pure, perfectly free from all personal views.” Such testimony as this is deserving of far more con- fidence than the insinuations or the clamours of Ludlow and the Protector's other enemies.f * Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, i. 287. t M. Guizot seems to have placed too much confidence in Ludlow's Memoirs. - AND THE ARMY. 91 We have no desire to make an indiscriminate apology for Cromwell and his friends; but we wish to be equitable, and to take into consideration the influences by which he must have been acted upon. There was at that time a twofold oppression in England. The friends of liberty had been oppressed by the tendency of the crown towards absolute power; and the popular independent church had been harassed from the reign of Elizabeth, and even prior to that, by the state church. Oppression may sometimes have a good effect upon the sufferers, but it also has a bad one. In England it gave greater energy to the love of liberty and to the religious life ; but it also produced in the friends of civil and religious freedom a certain rudeness, acrimony, violence, and exaggeration. This will be found at all times in political and religious par- ties which have long been trodden down. To whom must we ascribe the blame? Are not the oppres- sors far more guilty than their victims? Cromwell and his party would no longer permit themselves to be checked, not even by their old friends. The torrent, kept for a time within its channel, bursts forth with the greater fury, when once the banks are broken through. It overthrows every obstacle, and deep gulfs mark its devastating course. Parliament was now in the greatest perplexity, not knowing what to do to satisfy the presbyte- rians and the city of London on the one hand, the independents and the army on the other. The presbyterians called upon God to incline the 92 SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT hearts of the Scots to come to their support. It would seem that their ecclesiastical system was an exotic plant in England, which could not be kept alive without the hand that had first trans- ported it thither. On the 26th of July, some citizens of London attached to that system, forget- ful of the character of moderation which belonged to them, went down to Westminster, accompanied by a mob of apprentices and mechanics, to demand that the actual officers of the army should be dis- missed, and their commissions given to men devoted to the presbyterian cause. They entered the House of Commons with their hats on, calling out, “Vote, “vote l" and did not retire until the House had complied with their wishes. Upon this the Duke of Manchester, speaker of the House of Lords, with eight peers, and Lenthall, speaker of the House of Commons, attended by a hundred members, privately withdrew from Westminster, and joined the army. At their re- quest the soldiers marched to London and restored the fugitives to their seats, when it was resolved to exclude from parliament the ringleaders of the late tumult. From that time the independent in- fluence supplanted the presbyterian in the Lower House. - At first they showed themselves well disposed to. wards Charles, and Oliver made a most temperate use of the power which the course of events had placed in his hands. One of his cousins, John Crom- well, had heard him say at Hampton Court: “I AND THE ARMY. 93 “think the king the most injured prince in the “world, but this”—touching his sword—“shall “right him.” He shrank from a revolution: he sought to prevent it, and to re-establish his sov- ereign in the enjoyment of a legitimate authority. Everything shows that he was sincere in this de- sire. “May God be pleased to look upon me,” said he, “according to the sincerity of my heart towards the king.” He did not as yet despair of Charles, and he desired to save this prince not less from the excesses of his own despotism than from those of the Levellers. This even the pre- judiced historian of the Four Stuarts seems to ac- knowledge.” Oliver and Ireton had frequent in- terviews with the king and his agents, and the propositions they made were, in the actual state of affairs, very equitable. Parliament had required that the regal authority should be limited for twenty years; Cromwell asked for ten only, and declared that the king's conscience ought to be left free as regarded episcopacy. Sir John Berkeley, one of Charles's attendants, entreated him to accept these terms; and hence, for some time, strong hopes were entertained of a pacification. Cromwell's wife and daughters were presented to the king at Hampton Court, where the latter received them with great honours. Even the General himself and Ireton were seen walking with him in the Park, and were known to be often closeted with him. It was this monarch's destiny to be the contriver of * Chateaubriand, Les Quatre Stuards, p. 149. F 94 SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT his own ruin. The graciousness displayed at Hamp- ton Court was mere treachery. Misled and perhaps excited by messages from France, conveyed to him by Mr Ashburnham, the king rejected the most favourable offers. “I can turn the scale which way “I please,” said he to his agents; “and that party “must sink which I abandon.” “Sire,” replied Berkeley, “a crown so near lost was never recovered “on easier terms.” Charles in fact did turn the scale,...... but to his own destruction. Negotiations were not yet terminated; the king even appeared desirous of resuming them; and spoke of giving Cromwell the order of the Garter and the command of the army, when information was sent to this great leader, that in the course of the same day a letter addressed to the queen would be de- spatched for France, carefully sewn up in the flaps of a saddle, which a man, not in the secret, would carry on his head, about ten o'clock at night, to the Blue Boar, in Holborn, whence it would be forwarded to France by way of Dover. Cromwell and Ireton at once determined to seize this opportunity of learning the king's thoughts; for a feeling of uneasiness had constantly pursued them amidst all his promises and favours. They left Windsor, disguised as private soldiers, and on reaching the tavern, placed a trooper they had brought with them on watch at the door, sat down, and called for some beer. At ten o'clock, the messenger appeared; they seized the saddle, under the pretext that they had orders to search AND THE ARMY. 95 everything, carried it into the inn, ripped up the lining, found the letter, closed up the saddle again, and returned it to the terrified messenger, saying that it was all right, that he was an honest fellow, and might continue his journey without fear. The impatient generals then withdrew to a pri- vate room, and opened the letter. “My time is “come at last,” wrote the king. “I am now the “man whose favour they court. I incline rather to “treat with the Scotch than with the English “army. For the rest, I alone understand my posi- “tion; be quite easy as to the concessions I may “grant; when the time comes, I shall know very “well how to treat these rogues, and instead of a “silken garter, I will fit them with a hempen “halter.” Ireton and Cromwell looked at each other. This was the truth, then, as regarded Charles, and what the nation might expect of him. With perfidious hand he had rent the compact which united him to England. He no longer pos- sessed any moral value in the eyes of his people. All confidence and respect were lost: and yet he was still a king. The two chiefs left the Blue Boar with the deepest emotion, and rode hastily back to Windsor. Not long after, Cromwell waited upon Mr Ashburnham, one of the king's attend- ants, and declared that he was now satisfied that his majesty could not be trusted. From this time the separation between Charles and the future Protector—between the King and England—was complete. The letter enclosed in 96 SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT the saddle was a divorce between his people and the unhappy monarch, who, by refusing a garter, conferred a crown. - It was not long before he perceived that things had changed. His most trusty servants received orders to depart; his guards were doubled; his walks restricted; and Cromwell wrote with un- easiness to Colonel Whalley, that “there were “ rumours abroad of some intended attempt upon “his majesty's person.” The king's anxiety grew more painful every day; a trivial circumstance of a very different nature led him to take a decisive step. One night, while agitated by painful dreams, his lamp suddenly went out...... He resolved to fly, but whither? He gave a woman five hundred pounds, the half of all he possessed, and commis- sioned her to go to London and consult the famous astrologer, William Lilly. But he did not wait the return of his messenger, and the oracles which the stars might give. Anonymous letters pressed him to escape. On the 11th of November, at nine in the evening, he left his chamber, attended by a single servant, and quitted the palace, the park, the forest, without the least difficulty. It seemed as if there were a hand behind him, urging him forward, and another before him clearing the way. Were not these two mysterious hands the hands of Crom- well? Convinced that everything was finished between the king and England, and wishing to avoid the bloody catastrophe that was approach- ing, he, as William of Orange did somewhat later AND THE ARMY. 97 with regard to James II., made every effort to favour Charles's flight and his retreat to France. Cromwell, says the republican Ludlow, informed the king of his danger, and assured him of his ser- vices. A report was current that the strict watch of the garrison at Hampton Court had been relaxed on the 11th of November, and that sentinels had been withdrawn from the posts they usually guard- ed. At the same time it was asserted, that a vessel sent, by the queen was cruising off the coast, to- wards which his majesty was to proceed, for the purpose of taking him off. But when he reached the shore, no ship, not even a fishing-boat, was in sight. Being now without resource, he surrendered to Colonel Hammond, governor of the Isle of Wight. He placed in that officer's hands a communica- tion he had received from Oliver shortly before leaving Hampton Court, in which the latter in- formed him of the risk he would incur by staying any longer in that palace. “It was evident,” says Ludlow, “that the king had escaped by Crom- “well's advice.” If Oliver desired to see Charles leave England, he also wished to repress the disorders of the Level- lers. With one hand he removed tyranny; with the other he suppressed the demagogues. The latter entered into associations, and made proposi- tions to their officers and to the parliament “to “introduce an equality into all conditions, and a “parity among all men.” “ The suppression of “this license,” says Clarendon, “put Cromwell to 98 SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT “ the expense of all his cunning, dexterity, and “courage.” He still believed that parliament was capable of governing, and desired to maintain the authority of that body. Having been informed that the Levellers were holding a meeting with a view to seduce the army, he immediately pro- ceeded to the place of assemblage, attended by a few men only of whom he was sure. Without being disconcerted, he put several questions to those who appeared the most seditious. And upon receiving an insolent reply, chastised some of them with his own hand, and with the assistance of his friends dispersed the others. Non civium ardor prava jubentium, Non vultus instantis tyranni Mente quatit solida. On several occasions Oliver subdued those de- magogues. “If this factious spirit,” says Clarendon, “ had not been encountered at that time with that “rough and brisk temper of Cromwell, it would “presently have produced all imaginable confusion “in the parliament, army, and kingdom.”* Erelong fresh hopes agitated Charles in his re- treat in the Isle of Wight. The House of Com- mons voted that four propositions should be pre- sented to him; and that if he accepted them, he should be allowed to treat in person with the par- liament. Commissioners were accordingly sent to the king, whom they found in appearance favour- ably disposed, but in reality more determined than * Clarendon, iii. 87, 88. AND THE ARMY. 99 ever to resist them. His plan was to put him- self at the head of the Irish, and march against England; and he secretly prepared to leave the island, although he swore to the contrary. A fresh chance was now offered the king, and the division among his adversaries gave him hopes of recovering all his power. Lord Lauderdale and two other Scotch Commissioners, shrouding them- selves in the deepest secrecy, arrived at Carisbrook Castle nearly at the same time with the deputation from parliament. They promised the king the intervention of a Scottish army to re-establish him in his rights; but with stipulations to the advan- tage of Scotland which would have been offensive to the honour of England; and on condition that the king would confirm the presbyterian establish- ment in England for three years. Charles accepted every thing: in two days the treaty was concluded and signed, and then hidden mysteriously in a garden in the island, until it could be made known with safety. When this was settled, he gave his answer to Lord Denbigh and the other parliamentary com- missioners. He requested to treat in person with- out being pledged to accept anything beforehand; and the commissioners returned to make their report to parliament. - . His majesty's position was now worse than ever, and he was the artificer of his own ruin. It had been Oliver's wish to save the king, and re-establish him on a constitutional and honourable tº e e e°e e º 'º G • * * 100 SCHISM BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT AND THE ARMY throne. He, like many others, had been subjugated by his sovereign's amiability. He is said to have declared that the interview between Charles and his children, when they were first allowed to visit him, was “the tenderest sight that his eyes ever beheld;” and to have wept plentifully when he spoke of it, “which he might well have done without hypo- “crisy, for in private life he was a man of kind “feelings and of a generous nature.” Cromwell desired to save his king, and that, too, at the very moment the latter designed to hang him. Alas! it was the unfortunate Stuart who was caught in the snare he was laying for others. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Such is the lan- guage of God's Word; and there faileth not ought of any good thing which the Lord hath spoken. (Joshua xxi. 45.) * Southey, Life of Cromwell, 58. London, 1846. CHAPTER V. DEATH OF THE KING. Parliament resolves to hold no further Communication with the King —Prayer-meeting at Windsor—Second Civil War—Royalist In- surrection—Scotch Invasion—Cromwell's Victories—Parliament again treats with the King—Charles's Treachery—Great Alterna- tive—Army remonstrates with Parliament—Cromwell justified by Facts—The Woodman and the Sower—Cromwell to Hammond— Truth and Error—The King at Hurst Castle—Parliament, rejects the Remonstrance—Composition of the Army—The Army at Lon- don—Pride's Purge–Cromwell’s Hesitation about the King— Cromwell's Religious Error—Prayers—The Will of God—Death Warrant—The Execution censured—Revelation of the King’s Treason—Principles of the Roman Church—Of Milton—Charles's Children—Cromwell to his Daughter-in-law—Cromwell and Charles's Corpse—The European Powers. THE parliamentary commissioners, on their return from the Isle of Wight to London, presented the report of their journey and its results. On the 3d of January 1648, Sir Thomas Wroth rose in the House of Commons and said: “Mr Speaker, Bed- “lam was appointed for madmen and Tophet “ (i. e. the grave or hell) for kings;* but our king * Isaiah, xxx. 33. 102 IDEATH OF THE KING. “of late hath carried himself as if he were fit for “no place but Bedlam; I propose we lay the king “by, and settle the kingdom without him.” Ireton supported the motion. “The king,” said he, “by “denying the four bills has denied safety and pro- “tection to his people.” The parliamentary or presbyterian party strongly resisted the proposi- tion. Cromwell had not yet spoken. In his view, Charles's bad faith had reached the point at which civil tribunals deprive a man of the management of his family; and he therefore thought that the management of the kingdom should be taken from a prince who was no longer the father but the deceiver of his people. “Mr Speaker,” he said, “ the king is a man of great sense, of great talents, “but so full of dissimulation, so false, that there is “no possibility of trusting him. While he is pro- “testing his love for peace, he is treating under- “hand with the Scottish Commissioners to plunge “the nation into another war. It is now expected “ the parliament should govern and defend the “kingdom.” The motion was immediately adopted by the Commons, and by the Lords after some little hesitation. This important vote caused a great sensation, and rendered the posture of affairs daily more em- barrassing. A Scots army talked of delivering the king from the hands of the sectarians; and in England three parties, in addition to the soldiers, were agitating the nation. The royalist party threatened to rise every moment with shouts of DEATH OF THE KING. 103 “God and King Charles;” the great presbyterian party, with the city of London at their head, be- came hourly more discontented with the state of things; and a third party, the Levellers or radicals, still further increased the terror and confusion. One day about the beginning of 1648 the army leaders met at Windsor. “The longest heads and “the strongest hearts in England were there,” says an historian. And what did they there? The an- swer will be found in the following report which Adjutant-General Allen has transmitted to us:— “We met at Windsor Castle about the beginning of “Forty-eight, and there we spent one day together “in prayer; inquiring into the causes of that sad dis- “pensation; coming to no further result that day; “but that it was still our duty to seek. And on “ the morrow we met again in the morning, where “many spake from the Word and prayed; and the “then Lieutenant-General Cromwell did press very “earnestly on all there present to a thorough con- “sideration of our actions as an army, and of our “ways, particularly as private Christians: to see if “any iniquity could be found in them, and what “it was; that if possible we might find it out, and “so remove the cause of such sad rebukes as were “upon us at that time. And to this end,” he added, “let us consider when we could last say “that the presence of the Lord was among us, and “rebukes and judgments were not as then upon “us. We concluded this second day with agreeing “to meet again on the morrow. 104 DEATH OF THE KING. “Which accordingly we did, and were led by a “gracious hand of the Lord, to find out the very “steps by which we had departed from Him, and “provoked Him to depart from us. Which we “found to be those cursed carnal conferences our “own conceited wisdom, our fears, and want of “faith had prompted us, the year before, to enter- “tain with the king and his party. And on this “occasion, did the then Major Goffe make use of “that good Word, Proverbs i. 23–Turn you at “my reproof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto “ you, I will make known my words unto you. And “the Lord so accompanied this invitation by His “Spirit, that it had a kindly effect, like a word of “His, upon most of our hearts that were then pre- “sent; which begot in us a great sense, a shame “ and loathing of ourselves for our iniquities, and “a justifying of the Lord as righteous in His pro- “ceedings against us. He led us not only to see “our sin, but also our duty; and this so unani- “mously set with weight upon each heart, that none “was able hardly to speak a word to each other for “bitter weeping, partly in the sense and shame of “our iniquities; of our unbelief, base fear of men, “ and carnal consultations with our own wisdom, “ and not with the Word of the Lord. e “And yet we were also helped, with fear and trem- “bling, to rejoice in the Lord, who no sooner “brought us to His feet but He did direct our “steps, and we were led to a clear agreement “amongst ourselves, that it was the duty of our DEATH OF THE KING. 105 “ day, with the forces we had, to go out and fight “against our potent enemies, with an humble con- “fidence in the name of the Lord only. “And we were also enabled then, after serious “seeking the Lord's face, to come to a very clear “and joint resolution, that it was our duty to call “Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account “for that blood he had shed, and mischief he had “ done to his utmost against the Lord's cause and “ people in these poor nations.” It is a striking spectacle to witness the bold and formidable leaders of the parliamentary army assembled for three days in prayer in the palace of Windsor to seek for the guidance of the Lord. Who can entertain any doubt of their uprightness, of their true piety, and of their lively faith? Who, on contemplating their example, can help feeling humiliated as he looks sorrowfully into his own heart? Who will not acknowledge that the con- tinual falsehoods of Charles I., and the conviction at which the champions of liberty had arrived, that this prince was betraying them, and would only be satisfied with the destruction of Protestantism, were well calculated to alarm the chiefs of the army, and lead them on to decisive measures? And yet, were they really in the right path? We entertain some doubt on this point. There is per- haps no case in which we see more clearly the importance of being enlightened on the true prin- ciples of christian conduct. When the leaders of * Somer's Tracts, vi. 499-501; cited by Carlyle, i. 337-340. 106 DEATH OF THE KING. the army wished to know what they ought to do, they examined into what they had done when they felt happiest and nearest to God: such are not the means prescribed by Heaven. They should have asked themselves, “What does God command us in “His Word?” It is not by our feelings that He will guide us, but by his commandments. Our feelings may lead us astray. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. The Word of God never misleads us. A Christian's walk is in the divine commandments: to act according to one's own sensations, one's in- terior illumination, is the walk of the mystic. If the officers assembled at Windsor did not then fall into fanaticism, they were at least in a path which might lead to it; and some of them fell into it afterwards. Meanwhile Cromwell still endeavoured to check the movement which was hurrying on towards a violent catastrophe. He strove to restrain the pre- tensions of the republicans and enthusiasts. He was grieved to see the power passing from the hands of moderate men, and extended to earnest and active persons of inferior condition, but who were void of experience and wisdom. He assembled one day at dinner the principal independents and pres- byterians, and earnestly entreated them to suspend their quarrels and combine together. But it was without result; the minds of all were inclined to violence and war; and Oliver was at length com- pelled to yield. DEATH OF THE KING. 107 The king and the royalists on their side were not less heated than the republicans. Charles was intriguing with England, Scotland, and Ireland. At one time, at the table of some rich gentleman, at another time, at the assizes or in the markets, the cavaliers plotted, worked upon the people, and their exertions seemed everywhere crowned with success. A discontent, hourly becoming more gen- eral, announced itself in the spring of 1648, among the presbyterians and the loyalists in Wales and in Kent. “The gentry are all for the king,” writes a contemporary; “the common people understand “nothing, and follow the gentry.” In South Wales, several officers, who had gained distinction in the parliamentary army, joined the cavaliers beneath the royal flag. In Scotland, the parliament voted a levy of 40,000 men in the king's defence. At this signal the royalists in the north of England broke out, and the chiefs of the parliamentary army in Ireland went over to the king's standard. Shortly after this event the Ken- tish royalists drew together in great numbers. Even in London, troops were raised for the king, and armed bands marched through the streets to join the insurgents. At this news, Cromwell, at the head of five regi- ments, took his departure for Wales, where lay the principal strength of the royalists; and letters were soon after received from him, promising that in a fortnight Pembroke Castle would be in his power. 108 DEATH OF THE KING. It was not only his own person, his own and his children's lives, that Cromwell offered to his country: he was also lavish of his property; he could despise small interests, and sacrifice them to great ones. This is shown by the following letter addressed to the parliament:- “To the Honourable the Committee of Lords and Com- “mons for the affairs of Ireland, sitting at Derby- “ House: The offer of Lieutenant-general “ Cromwell for the service of Ireland. “21st Martii 1648. “The two Houses of Parliament having lately “bestowed £1680 per annum upon me and my “heirs, out of the Earl of Worcester's Estate; the “necessity of affairs requiring assistance, I do “hereby offer one thousand pounds annually to be “paid out of the rents of the said lands; that is “to say, £500 out of the next Michaelmas rent, “ and so on, by the half year, for the space of five “years, if the War in Ireland shall so long con- “tinue, or that I live so long: to be employed for “ the service of Ireland, as the Parliament shall “please to appoint; provided the said yearly rent “of £1680 become not to be suspended by war “ or other accident. “And whereas there is an arrear of pay due “unto me whilst I was Lieutenant-general unto “the Earl of Manchester, of about £1500, audited “ and stated; as also a great arrear due for about DEATH OF THE KING. 109 “two years being Governor of the Isle of Ely: I “do hereby discharge the State from all or any “claim to be made by me thereunto. “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* Still, he found it necessary to accelerate matters. On the 8th of July the royalist army from Scotland crossed the border; but the hearts of the Scottish nation were not with their army. The faithful pres- byterians complained loudly that, while everything was done to restore the king to his rights, nothing was done to put Christ in possession of His. Pem- broke Castle surrendered three days after the Scotch invasion. On the very next day the victor hastened northwards, writing to his friends at Derby House: “Send me some shoes for my poor tired soldiers; “they have a long march to take.” With these ill-shod, ill-clad soldiers he traversed England from west to east, and then from north to south, with the rapidity of lightning; and suddenly the cavalry sent word to the Duke of Hamilton, who com- manded the Scotch army, that Cromwell was ap- proaching. “Impossible,” replied the duke; “he “has not had time to come.” But the outposts were already engaged with the advanced guardof the parliamentarian general. Cromwell defeated the royalists, dashed upon the Scots, whom he found near the Ribble, routed them thoroughly, crossed the river with them, followed them close as they fled, still continuing their invasion, to the southward, .* Commons Journals, v. 513. Carlyle, i. 326. . G. 110 DEATH OF THE KING. came up with them in a defile near Warrington, and compelled them to surrender. A fortnight's campaign had sufficed to sweep away the whole northern army. The conqueror marched into Scot-T land, where he was joined by the presbyterians, who gave him a magnificent reception at Edinburgh.” During this time, the English parliament, alarmed at the success of their own army, were taking steps to come to a reconciliation with Charles. This body was continually oscillating between the two parties: it was “like the wave of the sea driven with “ the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he “shall receive anything of the Lord.” This declara- tion of Scripture was destined to be soon realized in regard to the things of this world. Parliament, which had invited the eleven pro- scribed members to resume their seats, was resolved on making new and favourable proposals to the king. On the 30th of June the vote forbidding any further address to his majesty was rescinded. “You know not in what condition you are,” said Sir Symonds d'Ewes; “your silver is clipped, your “gold shipped, your ships are revolted, yourselves “contemned; your Scots friends enraged against “you, and the affection of the city and kingdom “quite alienated from you. Judge, then, whether “you are not in a low condition, and also if it be “not high time to endeavour a speedy settlement “ and reconcilement with his majesty.” Parliament, growing dailymore and more alarmed at the success of the army, voted that they would DEATH OF THE KING. 111 not persist in requiring from Charles the adoption of the four preliminary bills, and that fresh ne- gotiations should immediately be opened with the king in the Isle of Wight (July 29). - Fifteen commissioners (five members of the Upper House and ten of the Commons) left London to present themselves before the king. Twenty of his most faithful servants, lords, divines, and lawyers, had been permitted to advise with him; and he was attended by his chamberlains, pages, equerries, secretaries, and grooms of the chamber. The commissioners exhorted him to accept their proposals before the army should have time to re- turn to London. The king seemed inclined to do so; but, true to his double-dealing, he nourished in his heart a far different hope. Ormond had quitted France, and was about to reappear in Ire- land, provided with money and ammunition, to enter upon a vigorous war. Charles's heart was there: he thought of escaping and putting himself at the head of that army. He solemnly promised to give orders for the cessation of all hostilities in Ireland; but at the same time secretly wrote to Ormond on the 10th of October : “Trouble not yourself about “my concessions as to Ireland: Obey my wife's “ orders, not mine.” And on the 9th of the same month, he wrote to Sir William Hopkins: “My “great concession this morning was made only “with a view to facilitate my approaching escape.” Such was the prince whose dupe the parliament 112 DEATH OF THE KING. became. There never perhaps was any body of men who showed themselves so simple, or who gave such evidence of folly and inexperience. Oliver's prin- cipal “crime” was his having more sagacity and discernment. This crime was almost a virtue. What would now be done by those men who, after prodigies of valour, long labours, great sacrifices, and astonishing victories, in which the intervention of Providencehad been manifestedtothem, had arrested the progress of despotism, secured liberty of con- science, and rescued Protestantism and England? They saw that, unless they interfered, Charles, Popery, and tyranny, would resume the superiority; that good men would be oppressed, they them- selves beheaded, their brethren compelled to flee by thousands, if they could, into the wilds of America, and the Protestant Church would be crushed. One alternative offered itself to them. Must they abandon what they have done, and let things take their course? Or must they interfere irregularly in those irregular times, and once more rescue England and the Church 2 - Some of Cromwell's friends, and in particular Colonel Hammond, to whom he wrote a letter about that time, a portion of which we shall quote, was for the first alternative : Oliver inclined to the second. The army, no doubt at his suggestion (he had not yet returned from his northern expe- DEATH OF THE KING. 113 dition), presented a Remonstrance to parliament, and moved from St. Albans to Windsor, on the 25th of November 1648. Of the two alternatives, which was the better? The second was desperate, monstrous, and yet we must acknowledge that facts have several times spoken in its favour. The liberties and Protestantism of England were on the verge of shipwreck, when Cromwell inter- vened; and all his life he upheld in Great Britain religious liberty and the national prosperity. And what became of the country after his death 2–The Stuarts returned; and “when the re- “joicings were over, the illuminations extinct, then “...... punishments followed.”* One hundred corpses were exhumed, among which were the great Oliver, his old and venerable mother, his dearly beloved daughter Bridget, Pym, and the famous Admiral Blake. Their mouldering bodies were hung on the three corners of the gallows at Tyburn, and the cavaliers found a subject of merriment and pleasantry in this revolting exhibition. Ears were cut off, noses were slit, and numbers lost their heads on the scaffold. The sentence pronounced against them all was conceived in the following terms:—“You shall be drawn on a hurdle to the “ place of execution, and there you shall be hanged “by the neck; and being alive, you shall be cut “down and mutilated; your entrails shall be taken “out of your body, and (you living) the same to be * Chateaubriand. - 114 DEATH OF THE KING. “burnt before your eyes; and your head to be cut “off, and your body to be divided into four quar- “ters.”* The Stuarts, as if this were not enough, filled the country with immorality; and an illus- trious royalist of the present day can find no other excuse for Charles II. than by saying that, in propagating this corruption of morals, “it is “probable that this prince merely followed the “course of his own inclinations and the fickleness “of his character.”f Two thousand ministers were driven from their benefices; the churches were op- pressed; the noblest hearts of the country were forced to seek a refuge in distant lands; vast colonies in America were peopled by them ; and England would have become like Spain, and worse than Spain, had not William III. resumed the task so energetically begun by Cromwell. If, so long after the war, and after a pacific recall to their native land, the Stuarts committed such atrocities, what would they not have dared when men's passions and animosities were in full vigour 2...... In one of his writings Luther compares himself to a woodman (or as we should now say, a pioneer), who goes into a forest, into the midst of thorns, thickets, and lofty trees, and there, manfully wield- ing his axe, hews down the wood and clears the ground; and he compares Melancthon to the hus- bandman who follows him, ploughing the soil thus prepared for him, and with liberal hand scattering * Exact and impartial Account of the Trial, &c., of twenty-nine Regicides, p. 57. Lond. 1660. tº Chateaubriand. DEATH OF THE KING. 115 the precious seed, erelong to cover with a rich harvest the once uncultivated ground. This com- parison is also applicable to Cromwell and William of Orange. Cromwell was the pioneer, and William the husbandman. - - The former of these champions wrote the letter, of which we proceed to give a portion, to Colonel Robert Hammond, governor of the Isle of Wight, to justify to his friend the cause of the army in the struggle with parliament, and to gain him over to his own views. “To Colonel Robert Hammond: These. “DEAR ROBIN, * ‘‘ 25th November 1648. “Thou desirest to hear of my experiences. I can “tell thee: I am such a one as thou didst formerly “know, having a body of sin and death; but I “ thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, there “is no condemnation, though much infirmity; “ and I wait for the redemption. And in this “poor condition I obtain mercy and sweet con- “solation through the Spirit. And find abundant “cause every day to exalt the Lord and abase the “flesh,-and herein I have some exercise. “As to outward dispensations, if we may so call “ them, we have not been without our share of “beholding some remarkable providences and ap- “pearances of the Lord. His presence hath been “amongst us, and by the light of His countenance 116 DEATH OF THE KING. “we have prevailed. We are sure the goodwill “of Him who dwelt in the bush (Exodus iii.) has “shined upon us; and we can humbly say, we “know in whom we have believed; who can and “will perfect what remaineth, and us also in doing “what is well pleasing in His eyesight. “I find some trouble in your spirit, occasioned “...... by the dissatisfaction you take at the ways “of some good men whom you love with your “heart, who through this principle, that itis lawful “for a lesser part, if in the right, to force a nume- “rical majority, &c....... “You say: ‘God hath appointed authorities “among the nations, to which obedience is to be “yielded. This resides in England in the Parlia- “ment. Therefore resistance,’ &c. * : “[This is true, but] I do not therefore think the “authorities may do anything [i. e. whatsoever they “like], and yet such obedience be due. All agree “ that there are cases in which it is lawful to resist. “If so, your ground fails, and so likewise the “inference. “I desire thee to see what thou findest in thy “own heart to two or three plain considerations. “Whether the whole fruit of the war is not likely “to be frustrated [by this treaty with the King], “ and all most like to turn to what it was, and “worse? And this, contrary to engagements, ex- “plicit covenants with those who ventured their “lives upon those covenants and engagements? “Whether this army be not a lawful power, called DEATH OF THE KING. 117 “by God to oppose and fight against the King; “ and being in power to such ends, may not op- “pose one name of authority, as well as another “ name P”* No doubt there are errors in this letter. “It is “lawful for the lesser party, when in the right, to “force the majority,” says Cromwell. But where is the “lesser party,’” the minority, that does not think it is in the right? “An army is a power,” most certainly; but it is a power to fight, and not to deliberate. Had Oliver gone into the midst of the parliament, and by his eloquence brought it over to his own views, he would have acted legally; but this he did not do. It has, however, been fre- quently remarked that irregular times may justify an irregular intervention. And he himself pro- nounced somewhat later, in his own justification, the following words, which reveal the motives of his conduct: “The throat of the nation may be “cut, while we send for some to make a law.”f Let us not forget that the balance of power was then forming; that the constitutional world was coming forth, as it were, out of chaos; and that to these remarkable times we are indebted for our greatest luminaries. Hammond had had several painful discussions with the king. Charles, after concluding contra- dictory arrangements with the English, Irish, and Scotch, had made preparations with Berkeley and * Birch, p. 101 ; Carlyle, i. 432–435. + Ibid., iii. 229. Speech v., Sept. 17, 1656, 118 DEATH OF THE KING. Ashburnham for his escape. But while he was in conversation with them on the best means of getting away safely, the gates of the castle were closed, and all possibility of evasion was cut off. The king sent for Hammond, and complained bitterly of what had been done. “Sir, you are too “high,” said the colonel. “It is my shoemaker's “fault, then,” replied his majesty; “and yet my “shoes are of the same last.” This paltry jest he repeated several times, as he walked the room. But the castle gates still remained shut. Hammond was no longer at the Isle of Wight when Cromwell's letter, arrived there, his charge having been previously transferred to Colonel Ewer. The new governor, who entered the king's lodgings during a night of storm and pouring rain, had con- ducted him in the morning to Hurst Castle on the opposite beach. In London a crisis was approaching. The army, as we have said, had presented a Remonstrance to parliament, requiring, among other things that the sovereignty of the people should be proclaimed, and that the king should be elected by their repre- sentatives. This prayer was rejected; and some of the members of the Commons proposed that the remonstrants should be accused of high treason. From that moment the question, as regarded the independents, became one of self-preservation. They had to select between two roads:—that which led to the wilds of America, and that to London. They chose the latter. DEATH OF THE KING. 119 We should here remark, that Cromwell often asserted that the composition of his army was very different from that of ordinary armies. And we should also call to mind that the parliamentary soldiers having always been defeated by Charles's cavaliers, the Protector had gone and dragged from their daily labours and from their families, those pious freeholders and farmers by whose means all his victories had been gained. “These poor men,” said he on the 21st of April 1657, “thought they “ had ventured their lives, and had some interest “to inquire after these things. They were not “mercenary men, but men who had wives and “children in the nation; and who therefore might “a little look after satisfaction in what would be “ the issue of the business.”* - The army, after spending one day in prayer, marched from Windsor under the command of Gen- eral Fairfax, and arrived in London on the 2d De- cember. On Monday (4th December) parliament resumed the question; and on Tuesday at five in the morning decided in favour of the king against the army. One hundred and twenty-nine against eighty-three resolved that his majesty's reply was an adequate basis of peace. On Wednesday, two regi- ments were posted around Westminster Hall, and Colonel Pride, with a list of names in his hand, prevented the entrance of forty-one of the most * Speech xiii., in Somer's Tracts, vi. 389, &c. Carlyle, iii. 333. . 120 DEATH OF THE KING. determined members; others were sent to the Tower, or scared away into the country. - Charles was now brought back to Windsor. He was delighted to re-enter one of his own palaces, and be served with all the etiquette of court. He dined in public, in the hall of state, under a canopy; the chamberlain, esquire-carver, master of the ceremonies, and cup-bearer, waited upon him in the accustomed manner; the cup was pre- sented to him kneeling, and all the ceremonial of kingly state was preserved. But the sky so clear and bright at Windsor was covered with dark and angry clouds at London. - On the very day when the last of the presby- terians retired from the Commons, Cromwell re- turned from Scotland, and resumed his seat in par- liament. The House received the pacificator of Britain with the liveliest demonstrations of grati- tude. “God is my witness,” said he, “ that I “know nothing of what has been doing in this “House; but the work is in hand; I am glad of “it, and now we must carry it through.” It was now proposed in the Commons to bring the king to trial on a charge of high treason, as the cause of all the blood which had been shed during the last war. Oliver hesitated: “Sir” said he, addressing the Speaker, “if any man whatsoever have carried “on this design [of deposing the king, and disin- “heriting his posterity], or if any man have still “such a design, he must be the greatest traitor and DEATH OF THE KING. 121 “rebel in the world. But since the providence of “God has cast this upon us, I cannot but submit “to Providence, though I am not yet prepared to “give you my advice.” The initiative in the case of Charles's trial did not proceed from Cromwell. His scruples and his anxiety grew stronger every day. Should he yield to the powerful tide that was hurrying him along, and which no one seemed capable of resisting? or should he withdraw from public affairs, and, sacri- ficing the great interests of civik and religious liberty, in behalf of which the struggle had first begun, commit the direction of state affairs to unskilful hands, whose weakness would inevitably lead to the return of despotism and of Popery P Seldom or never has there been a more terrible conflict in human breast. - The episcopalians, the English presbyterians, the Church of Scotland, protested all against the king's trial. Several foreign princes did the same through their ambassadors. The parliament, with- out paying any attention to their intercession, erected a High Court of Justice for trying the sovereign, to consist of 135 commissioners, with John Bradshaw as Lord-president. On the 20th of January (1649) Charles was brought to the bar. Cromwell leant towards the window, and as his eyes met the king's, he turned away pale as death. We are approaching a catastrophe which we would willingly avoid ; but which we must in justice acknowledge, differs essentially from that 122 DEATH OF THE KING. which startled the world in 1793. If the safety of the nation was incompatible with Charles's remain- ing on the throne, was it necessary that he should pass from the throne to the scaffold? Most certainly not. To connive at his escape into a foreign coun- try would have been the most befitting course,_an expedient that was afterwards adopted in the case of James II., and, in our own days, in that of Charles X. It was also that which in all probability, as we have seen, Cromwell once desired to have followed. But the fear of compromising the future tranquil- lity of the nation now condemned the king to a severer penalty. We must deplore such times as those, when men were so prodigal of human blood: we must lament that even the majesty of the throne could not protect a guilty prince; but all the documents of the 16th and 17th centuries attest that men were in those ages condemned to death as we now condemn them to a brief imprisonment. We cannot forbear quoting in this place the re- markable words of Clarendon, in which the royalist historian terminates his judgment of the Protector's character. “To conclude his character,” says he, “ Cromwell was not so far a man of blood as to “follow Machiavel's method; which prescribes, “upon a total alteration of government, as a thing “absolutely necessary, to cut off all the heads of “ those, and extirpate their families, who are friends “to the old one. It was confidently reported, that, “in the council of officers, it was more than once “ proposed that there might be a general massacre DEATH OF THE KING. 123 “of all the royal party, as the only expedient to “secure the government; but that Cromwell would “never consent to it.”* Thus, according to the testimony of his great political adversary, the Gen- eral had no appetite of blood. The manner in which he was at length led to sign Charles's death-warrant has not, perhaps, been suf- ficiently appreciated. We have already remarked that his great religious error was his assuming for the mainspring of his actions those inward impulses which he ascribed to God, in preference to the ex- plicit commands of the Holy Scriptures. He be- lieved in what has been denominated “a particular “faith.” If, while engaged in prayer or imme- diately after, he felt a lively conviction in his mind, he thought that this impression proceeded imme- diately from heaven, and that he ought to follow it as the very voice of God. If, on the contrary, his devotions remained languid, he concluded that he ought to abstain from the meditated act. This is a common error in pious minds, and we might point to one denomination of Christians, celebrated for their spirit of meekness and peace, who partially participate in such sentiments. It was this which guided him in the sentence passed on Charles, and freed him from all his doubts and scruples. John Cromwell, at that time in the Dutch service, had come to England with a message from the Princes of Wales and of Orange to endeavour to save the king's life. When intro- * History of Rebellion, book xv., conclusion. 124 DEATH OF THE KING. duced to his cousin Oliver, he reminded him of the royalist opinions he had formerly entertained at Hampton Court. The latter, still uncertain as to the line of conduct which he ought to pursue, replied, that he had often fasted and prayed to know the will of God with respect to the king, but that God had not yet pointed out the way. When John had withdrawn, Cromwell and his friends again sought by prayer the path they ought to follow ; and it was then the parliamentary hero first felt the con- viction that Charles's death alone could save Eng- land. From that moment all was fixed: God had spoken; Oliver's indecision was at an end; it re- mained now merely to act and accomplish that will, however appalling it might be. At one o'clock in the morning a messenger from the General knocked at the door of the tavern where John Cromwell lodged, and informed him that his cousin had at length ~ dismissed his doubts, and that all the arguments so ... --~ | | \ — long put forward by the most decided republicans were now confirmed by the will of the Lord. Enthusiasm, then, was the cause of Cromwell's error. This is a serious fault in religion; but may it not extenuate the fault in morals? Is a man who desires to obey God equally guilty with him who is determined to listen to his passions only 2 Is not God's will the sovereign rule of good and evil? Chateaubriand, a witness beyond suspicion on this point, speaking of the times at which we have been glancing, if not of the particular act under examination, proceeds thus: “ At this DEATH OF THE KING. 125 “ epoch faith was everywhere, except in a small “ number of libertines and philosophers; it im- “ pressed on the faults, and sometimes even on the “crimes, something grave, and even moral, if the “expression may be allowed, by giving to the victim “of policy the conscience of the martyr, and to “ error the conviction of truth.”* This error in religion is, in our opinion, the only important blemish to be found in Cromwell. At the same time, it is the key which opens and explains his whole life. His piety was sincere, but it was º always sober. * Yet if this error be a great extenuation of the Protector's fault, the crime to which it led him must ever remain, in history, as a warning to terrify those who may base their conduct on their inward impressions, rather than on the sure, positive, and ever-accessible inspirations of that Word of God which never deceives. We now proceed to give a document which we think of too great importance to be omitted:—it is the king's *s, * > DEATH-WARRANT. “To Colonel Francis Hacker, Colonel Huncks, and “ Lieutenant-colonel Phayr, and to every of them. “At the High Court of Justice for the Trying and “Judging of Charles Stuart, King of England, “29th January 1648 [1649 m. s.]. “WHEREAs Charles Stuart, King of England, is “ and standeth convicted, attainted, and condemned * Les Quatre Stuards. CEuvres complètes, vi. 147 H 126 * DEATH OF THE KING. “ of High Treason and other high Crimes; and “Sentence upon Saturday last was pronounced . “against him by this Court, To be put to death “by the severing of his head from his body; of “which Sentence execution yet remaineth to be “ done : * - - “These are therefore to will and require you to “see the said Sentence executed, in the open Street “before Whitehall, upon the morrow, being the “Thirtieth day of this instant month of January, “between the hours of Ten in the morning and “Five in the afternoon, with full effect. And for “so doing, this shall be your warrant. *- “And these are to require all Officers and “Soldiers, and others the good People of this “Nation of England, to be assisting unto you in “ this service. “Given under our hands and seals, “JOHN BRADSHAW. “THOMAS GREY [Lord Groby]. “OLIVER CROMWELL.” (And fifty-six others.) We will not attempt to describe the death of the unhappy Charles. Whose heart would not be wrung by the contemplation of those mournful scenes? Our feelings revolt against the fanaticism . which led a prince to the scaffold; we burn with indignation against those feet swift to shed blood; we desire to arrest the deadly axe, and spurn away the fatal block...... And yet we cannot be blind DEATH OF THE KING. 127 to the conviction that the divorce between England and the Stuarts was inevitable, that it was the decree of God himself. Succeeding ages have branded the scaffold; but they have also ratified the solemn sentence. Charles I. was superior to his son : he was virtuous and sober, and would have desired to adopt (what is impossible) a certain middle course between Protestantism and Popery, rather than Popery itself. But there was no sincerity in him : and he was from long habit too docile to the fatal suggestions of the Bourbons." It is evident that if he had been victorious in the contest, the liberty and religion of England would have been de- stroyed. His continual falsehoods had disgusted the greater number of his partisans. “Incurable “in his duplicity, because he held himself bound “to no engagement with rebellious subjects, Charles “meditated their ruin, while he was imploring “ their aid.”* His treasons have subsequently been brought to light. After the Restoration, the Earl of Gla- morgan, the king's secret agent in Ireland, wrote a letter to be laid before Charles II., in which he discloses the perfidious designs of Charles I. In this letter, published by the Roman-catholic his- torian Lingard, f Glamorgan says: “One army of “ten thousand men was to have come out of Ire- “land, through North Wales; another, of a like * Guizot, Révol. d’Angleterre, ii. p. 180. + History of England, x. Note C. London, 1889. 128 IDEATH OF THE KING. “ number at least, under my command-in-chief, “ have expected my return in South Wales, which “Sir Henry Gage was to have commanded as “ lieutenant-general; and a third should have con- “sisted of a matter of 6000 men,-2000 of which “were to have been Liegois, commanded by Sir “Francis Edmonds; 2000 Lorrainers, to have “been commanded by Colonel Browne; and 2000 “of such French, English, Scots, and Irish, as “could be drawn out of Flanders and Holland...... “The maintenance of this army of foreigners was “to have come from the pope, and such catholic “princes as he should have drawn into it, having “engaged to afford and procure £30,000 a-month; “out of which the foreign army was first to be pro- “vided for, and the remainder to be divided among “the other armies. And for this purpose had I “ power to treat with the pope and catholic princes, “with particular advantages promised to catholics “for the quiet enjoying their religion, without the “penalties which the statutes in force had power “to inflict upon them. And my instructions for “this purpose, and my powers to treat and con- “clude thereupon, were signed by the king under “his pocket-signet, with blanks for me to put in the “names of pope or princes, to the end the king “might have a starting-hole to deny the having “given me such commissions, if excepted against “by his own subjects; leaving me as it were at “stake, who, for his majesty's sake, was willing to “undergo it, trusting to his word alone.” IDEATH OF THE KING. 129 Such were the intrigues of Charles I. While the Church had often repeated these words of Saint Isidore, contained in the canons of the Fourth Council of Toledo: “He is a king who “governs his people justly; if he does otherwise, “he shall be king no longer;” while the papacy claimed the privilege of dethroning tyrants, and on that ground had publicly preached against Henry III. and Henry IV. of France; many of the most pious men of the age we are describing (Milton and others), claimed the same right for the people. “If “I blame tyrants,” asked the poet, “in what does “that concern kings?” These men thought that Charles by his perfidy was deserving of death, and that his quality of king was no hindrance to the exercise of justice by the parliament. “Parliament,” said they, “is “prince in the land like the king, and more than “the king.” This was a mistake. We do not think that a king should ever be condemned to death; and one of the most glorious results of modern constitu- tional principles is the irresponsibility of monarchs, which screens them from the faults of their govern- ment. The death of the king must for ever bear in history a mark of reprobation. We condemn it in the most explicit manner. But if the ideas of Milton and of so many Englishmen in the seven- teenth century are erroneous, their error is akin to that of Melancthon, Farel, and Calvin, and of the churches of Berne, Zurich, Schaffhausen, and 130 DEATH OF THE KING. Basle, in the case of Servetus. We shrink with as much horror from the death of the heretic as from that of the despot. We abhor these executions, as we abhor the piles of John Huss, of Savonarola, and of the thousands of victims whom Rome has immo- lated. And yet we should take the peculiarities of the times into consideration. Between the 30th of January 1649, and the 21st of January 1793, there had elapsed not merely one hundred and forty-four years, but many ages. One of the first essentials for the proper understanding of history is to trans- port ourselves into the times we are describing; but there are few individuals who possess the in- tellectual strength required for such a task, and hence arise so many prejudices. Let us add one circumstance which makes a notable difference between the deaths of the guilty Charles I. and the innocent Louis XVI. An in- come of £1000 was assigned to each of the king's children who chanced still to be in England. And more than this, the Commons ordered that Charles's corpse should be buried at Windsor Palace, in a vault in St. George's Chapel which already contained the remains of Henry VIII. and of his third queen, Jane Seymour. Six horses, covered with black cloth, drew the hearse; other coaches followed, and the Earl of Richmond, accompanied by the Marquis of Hertford, the Earls of Southampton and Lindsey, Bishop Juxon, and a few of the king's attendants, paid the last sad honours to their former master. To banish these mournful scenes, we will quote DEATH OF THE KING. 131 one of Oliver's private notes. We have need to read it that we may recover from the impression produced by the death-warrant of Charles I. With Cromwell we pass suddenly from bitter to sweet, and from sweet to bitter. His son Richard had just married; and the following letter addressed to the young wife is like soft music in the midst of a howling tempest. - “To my beloved Daughter, Dorothy Cromwell, at “Hursley: These. “From aboard the John, 13th August 1649. “MY DEAR DAUGHTER, “Your Letter was very welcome to me. I like “to see anything from your hand; because indeed “I stick not to say, I do entirely love you. And “therefore I hope a word of advice will not be un- “welcome nor unacceptable to thee. “I desire you both to make it above all things “your business to seek the Lord: to be frequently “calling upon Him, that He would manifest Him- “self to you in His Son; and be listening what “return He makes to you, for He will be speak- “ing in your ear and in your heart, if you attend “thereunto. I desire you to provoke your Hus- “band likewise thereunto. As for the pleasures “of this Life, and outward Business, let that be “upon the bye. Be above all these things, by “Faith in Christ; and then you shall have the “true use and comfort of them,-and not other- 132 DEATH OF THE KING. “wise. I have much satisfaction in hope your “spirit is this way set; and I desire you may “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord “ and Saviour Jesus Christ; and that I may hear “thereof. The Lord is very near: which we see “by His wonderful works: and therefore He looks “ that we of this generation draw near to Him. “This late great mercy of Ireland is a great mani- “festation thereof.” [News had just arrived that , the Irish army before Dublin had been defeated.] “Your husband will acquaint you with it. We “should be much stirred up in our spirits to “ thankfulness. We much need the spirit of Christ “to enable us to praise God for so admirable a “mercy. - “The Lord bless thee, my dear Daughter. “I rest, p “Thy loving Father, “OLIVER CROMWELL. “I hear thou didst lately miscarry. Prithee take “heed of a coach by all means; borrow thy Father's “nag when thou intendest to go abroad.” It is delightful to read Cromwell's letters to his children. What wisdom, what tender affection in that we have just selected “Be above all these “things by Faith in Christ; and then you shall “ have the true use and comfort of them,-and not “otherwise !” What truth in these words ! What * Carlyle, ii. 46. DEATH OF THE KING. 133 indications of a soul that has descended into the depths of a christian life And how striking a con- trast between the gentle amiability of the postscript and the iron front and stern eye that we have observed in him at other times. After the king's death a circumstance occurred which we cannot pass by unnoticed before conclud- ing this chapter. It was one of those acts which, says a recent writer most hostile to Cromwell, “were “committed by him against a good nature, not in “the indulgence of a depraved one.” We may, however, question if it was “against his good na- “ture.” Charles was dead. In Oliver's opinion, the life of this prince had been justly cut short ; but we have seen how long the future Protector shrunk from before this terrible extremity, and how he wept when the royal father embraced his children for the last time. Cromwell desired to view the monarch's decapitated body. His greatest adversaries testify that he was not cruel, and if he had really committed a crime, would he have sought so mournful a spectacle? But there was a solemn lesson in his sovereign's lifeless corpse. He opened the coffin himself, and sadly gazed upon the cold inanimate body, without cruelty, or anger, or ex- ultation, but with reverential fear as he thought of the judgments of God. To Cromwell, who had so often met it face to face, and had so often braved it on the battle-field, death had nothing strange : it had long been familiar to him. The only feeling to which he gave utterance was the thought that 134 DEATH OF THE KING. death had surprised Charles in a healthy state, and that his body, alas ! had been well made for length of life. We cannot doubt that Oliver's soul was filled with that solemn feeling which is usually ex- perienced in the presence of a dead body.—And who was it that lay before him 2...... A descendant of kings, a mighty prince,—a ruler of three king- doms, who had presumed to check the new im- pulses that were urging his people onwards to liberty and truth, and who with one hand had torn the time-honoured charters of the nation, while he stretched the other towards the despotic pope of Rome. As he looked at this king, now dead, what sensations must have crowded into his saddened heart | Thy pomp is brought down to the grave; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will evalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms ? Cromwell before the dead body of Charles I. is a scene worthy to be described by a Milton, or a Shakspeare, or by some genius still more sublime than they. England was not alone guilty of the king's death. “The powers of Europe,” says Southey, “had most “of them secretly fomented the rebellion, and made “no attempt to avert the catastrophe which it DEATH OF THE KING. 135 “brought about. France more especially had acted “treacherously towards the king.” Clarendon com- plains bitterly of the apathy of the princes of Chris- tendom at this crisis. “The rebellion of subjects “against their prince,” he says, “ought to be “looked upon by all other kings as an assault of “ their own sovereignty.” And the writer first quoted considers “the miseries which France has “undergone, and which Spain is undergoing, and “is to undergo,” as so many pages for man's in- struction, written in what Lord Bacon has denomi- nated Historia Nemesios. We must, at least, remember that the execution of Charles I. was the crime of many, and renounce the prejudices which would impute it solely to one man, who sought so long to avert it. * Rebellion, book vi. See also end of book xi. \ ^ CHAPTER WI. IRELAND. The Irish Saint Bartholomew—Romish Cruelties—A Priest— Surgery or Slaughter—Cromwell’s Appointment—Sailing of the Army—Cromwell’s Plan—Theocracy—Storming of Drogheda, Wexford, and Ross—Peace and Prosperity—Cromwell’s Charge to the Popish Prelates—Early Days of Richard’s Marriage—Cause of Ireland's Sufferings. THE Irish Roman-catholics, as we have seen, had broken out into rebellion, and massacred an incred- ible number of Protestants, varying, according to different accounts, from 50,000 to 200,000 victims. This was the Hibernian Saint Bartholomew. At that time the Roman-catholics of Ireland had no cause of complaint: Charles I. had taken care of them. They had their archbishops, bishops, vicars- general; and, above all, a great number of Jesuits. It was in such a state of things, that, shroudin themselves in the deepest secrecy, like the West Indian negroes meditating a plot for the massacre of the white men, the Irish conceived the design, not only of erasing from their country every trace IRELAND. 137 of the English nation and of Protestantism, but also of crossing over into England, of becoming its masters, with the aid of Spain and of the pope, and of abolishing the reformed religion in that island. The massacre was frightful; and we must recall it to our minds that we may be able to appreciate with justice the war which re-established peace and order. . “On all sides,” writes a great historian, “the “Protestants of Ireland were attacked unawares, “ejected from their houses, hunted down, slaugh- “tered, exposed to all the perils, all the tortures “ that religious and patriotic hatred could invent. “...... A half-savage people, passionately attached “to its barbarism,...eager to avenge in a day ages “of outrage and misery, with a proud joy commit- “ted excesses which struck their ancient masters “with horror and dismay.” * In fact, the Catholics burnt the houses of th Protestants, turned them out naked in the midst of winter, and drove them, like herds of swine, before them. If, ashamed of their nudity, and desirous of seeking shelter from the rigour of a remarkably severe season, these unhappy wretches took refuge in a barn, and concealed themselves under the straw, the rebels instantly set fire to it and burned them alive. At other times, they were led without clothing to be drowned in rivers; and if, on the road, they did not move quick enough, they were urged forward at the point of the pike. When they * Guizot, Revol. d’Angleterre, i. 202. 138 IRELAND. reached the river, or the sea, they were precipitated into it in bands of several hundreds, which is doubt- less an exaggeration. If these poor wretches rose to the surface of the water, men were stationed along the brink to plunge them in again with the butts of their muskets, or to fire at and kill them. Husbands were cut to pieces in presence of their wives; wives and virgins were abused in the sight of their nearest relations; and infants of seven or eight years were hung before the eyes of their parents. Nay, the Irish even went so far as to teach their own children to strip and kill the children of the English, and dash out their brains against the stones. Numbers of Protestants were buried alive, as many as seventy in one trench. An Irish priest, named MacOdeghan, captured forty or fifty Protestants, and persuaded them to abjure their religion on a promise of quarter. After their abjuration, he asked , them if they believed that Christ was bodily present in the host, and that the pope was the head of the Church 2 and on their replying in the affirmative, he said, “Now, then, you are in a very good faith;” and, for fear they should relapse into heresy, cut all their throats.” - Cruel fighting, desperate violence, and frightful misery, afflicted the unhappyland during eight years. Armies, or savage hordes rather, full of hatred, dis- obedience, and cruelty, met and fought. Murder, pillage, conflagration, wasted the mostfertile parts of Ireland. Cromwell was destined to restore order and * Sir J. Temple, Irish Rebellion, p. 109. London, 1646. IRELAND. 139 peace, and give to that country a prosperity which it had not known for many a year. But how was he to attain this end ? “To those who think that a land overrun with “sanguinary quacks,” says one of the Protector's biographers,” “can be healed by sprinkling it “with rose-water, these letters [of Cromwell] must “be very horrible. Terrible surgery this: but “ is it surgery and judgment, or atrocious murder “merely 2 Oliver Cromwell did believe in God's “judgments; and did not believe in the rose-water “ plan of surgery, in philanthropic sentimentalism. tº º e º tº e º 'º º He arrives in Ireland an armed soldier, “solemnly conscious to himself that he is the “soldier of God the Just;-an armed soldier, ter- “rible as death, relentless as doom ; doing God's “judgments on the enemies of God!” It will easily be conceived how great were the difficulties to be encountered in reducing Ireland to submission; and on this account few persons cared to undertake it. All parties concurred in Cromwell's appointment to the lord-lieutenancy of that province, with the supreme civil and military authority. He was deeply sensible of the importance of the task which devolved upon him, and appeared the next day in parliament full of anxiety and seriousness. At first he declared “his unworthi- “ness and disability to support so great a charge;” but, as he was not one of those who shrink from a * Carlyle, ii. pp. 52, 53. 140 IRELAND. duty because the duty is difficult, he announced his “entire resignation to the commands of the “House, and his absolute dependence upon God's “providence and blessing, from whom he had “received so many signal marks of favour and “protection.” Yet he did not conceal the obstacles he should have to encounter in the mission conferred on him : “That kingdom,” said he, “is reduced to so great “straits that I am willing to engage my own per- “son in this expedition, because of the difficulties “which appear in it; and more out of hope, with “the hazard of my life, to give some obstruction “to the successes which the rebels are at present “exalted with. And all that I desire is, that no “more time be lost in the preparations which are “to be made for so great a work.” In compliance with his wishes, and under his direction, the Commons made incredible exertions to raise money, provide ships, and collect troops. Cromwell departed for Ireland at the head of 12,000 men. Before they embarked, the troops observed a day of fasting and prayer: three minis- ters solemnly invoked the blessing of God on the expedition; and three officers, the Colonels Gough and Harrison with the Lord-lieutenant himself, expounded certain pertinent passages of Scripture. The army was under the strictest discipline: not an oath was to be heard throughout the whole camp, the soldiers spending their leisure hours in * Clarendon, book xii. IRELAND. 141 reading their Bibles, in singing psalms, and in religious conferences. Oliver now began, as a general, to consider the plan he ought to follow for the restoration of order. Should he employ a few weeks, with the sacrifice of 5000 men, or several years, with the loss of perhaps 20,000? This was an important question. If he took prompt and formidable mea- sures, such as were calculated to spread terror on every side, he would immediately check the disease. If, on the contrary, he proceeded with a light and hesitating hand, he would prolong it indefinitely. To Cromwell the most energetic way appeared the most humane. He acted as men do in a great con- flagration, where the adjoining houses are pulled down to save the more remote, or as in an hos- pital, where a diseased limb is cut off to preserve the others. Having weighed everything, he decided for the hand of iron. That hand is never amiable; but yet there are cases in which it is salutary. On the approach of the general of the English republic, all the parties that ravaged Ireland had united. Catholics of different shades, episcopa- lian and presbyterian royalists, had rallied round Ormond's standard. So that, at the moment when Cromwell set foot in that island, there remained only two towns, Dublin and Londonderry, that held for the Commonwealth; both of which were beleaguered by the enemy's troops. The success of the republican army was prodigi- ous. “Oliver descended on Ireland,” says Carlyle, - I 142 IRELAND. “like the hammer of Thor; smote it, as at one fell “stroke, into dust and ruin, never to reunite “against him more.” We shall not follow Cromwell through all his military exploits; but we must extract one at least of those terrible pages which cannot be read without emotion and pain, but which, as we have observed, present this great man to us as following the most skilful course to arrive at a prompt and universal pacification. This hero, so affectionate towards his friends, so tender to his wife and children, and then inflexible as death before the enemies of the Commonwealth, is an enigma for which we naturally seek a solution. One solution readily offers itself, and I think it is a true one. We should cease to regard him in his individual character, and look upon him only as a general and a judge, the repre- sentative of that inexorable Justice whom the pagans represented with a bandage over her eyes and a sword in her hand. There is, however, another solution, which ex- plains not only this famous expedition, but also the whole of Cromwell's life. This great man shared in the error which the Papacy had held during the Middle Ages, and which most of the Reformers entertained during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He did not make a sufficient dis- tinction between the old and the new covenant, be- tween the Old and the New Testament. He thought that a Christian, and particularly a public man, ought to seek his rules of conduct in the Hebrew IRELAND. 143 theocracy. The terrible judgments inflicted by God's command on the unbelieving nations in the times of the judges and kings of Israel, appeared to him not only to authorize but to necessitate similar judgments. He thought that, like Moses and Joshua, he might slay Balaam with the sword (Num- bers xxxi. 8, Joshua xiii. 22). It may be that he did not follow this out explicitly; but it was with this prejudice and under this impulse that he usually acted. This was wrong. The Jewish theocracy existed no longer; and its rules of conduct had been abolished with it. The precepts which ought to direct the life of a Christian are contained in our Saviour's sermon on the mount and in other of his discourses, as well as in the writings of the Apostles. But we may understand how men of upright mind easily took for the guidance of their lives all the declarations comprised in the Word of God, even those which are no longer applicable under the change of covenant. As soon as Ormond was informed of Cromwell's arrival, he withdrew his army from the neighbour- hood of Dublin, and resolved to put Drogheda in a position to resist the enemy. He threw into this strong town all the flower of his army, and gave the command to Sir Arthur Ashton, an officer of great reputation. On the day following the Lord-lieutenant's appear- ance before this city, he ordered a general assault, which being renewed the next morning, he entered 144 IRELAND. it by two different breaches. We give the con- clusion of his report to Parliament, dated Dublin, 17th September 1649.” “Divers of the enemy retreated into the Mill- “mount, a place very strong and of difficult ac- “cess; being exceedingly high, having a good “graft [ditch], and strongly palisadoed. The gov- “ernor, Sir Arthur Ashton, and divers consider- “able officers being there, our men getting up to “ them, were ordered by me to put them all to the “sword. And, indeed, being in the heat of action, “I forbade them to spare any that were in arms in “the town ; and, I think, that night they put to “ the sword about 2000 men;–divers of the offi- “cers and soldiers being fled over the bridge into “the other part of the town, where about 100 of “ them possessed Saint Peter's church steeple, some “ the west gate, and others a strong round tower “next the gate called Saint Sunday’s. These, being “summoned to yield to mercy, refused. Where- “upon I ordered the steeple of Saint Peter's Church “to be fired, when one of them was heard to say “in the midst of the flames: “God damn me! God “confound me ! I burn, I burn l' “The next day, the other two towers were sum- “ moned; in one of which was about six or seven “score; but they refused to yield themselves: and “We, knowing that hunger must compel them, set “only good guards to secure them from running “away until their stomachs were come down. From * Newspapers, in Parl. Hist., xix. 201. Carlyle, ii. 61. IRELAND. 145 “one of the said towers, notwithstanding their “condition, they killed and wounded some of our “men. When they submitted, their officers were “knocked on the head; and every tenth man of “the soldiers killed; and the rest shipped for the “Barbadoes. The soldiers in the other tower were “all spared, as to their lives only; and shipped “likewise for the Barbadoes. “I am persuaded that this is a righteous judg- “ment of God upon these barbarous wretches, who “ have imbrued their hands in so much innocent “blood; and that it will tend to prevent the effu- “sion of blood for the future. Which are the “satisfactory grounds to such actions, which other- “wise cannot but work remorse and regret.” It is consolatory to read these words, which re- veal to us the motives of the general's severity. tº dº ſº e º e “And now,” he continues, “give me leave “to say how it comes to pass that this work is “wrought. It was set upon some of our hearts, “ that a great thing should be done, not by power “ or might, but by the Spirit of God...... It was “this Spirit who gave your men courage, and took “it away again; and gave the enemy courage, and “took it away again; and gave your men courage “again, and therewith this happy success. And there. “fore it is good that God alone have all the glory.” This extract will suffice. Cromwell acted in Ire- land like a great statesman, and the means he employed were those best calculated promptly to restore order in that unhappy country. And yet 146 IRELAND. we cannot avoid regretting that a man, a christian man, should have been called to wage so terrible a war, and to show towards his enemies greater severity than had ever, perhaps, been exercised by the pagan leaders of antiquity. Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of God. In the midst of this terrible war, there are actions which elevate at once the character of the struggle and of the general in command. Is it not a feature that deserves our admiration in history, when we hear Cromwell, after the most glorious of his vic- tories, declaring that he will mention no man by name, because his soldiers fight for the cause of God, and not for their own glory? And is it not affecting to see him, in his despatch to parliament on the taking of Drogheda, preserve an absolute silence as to his own exploits, and abstain from re- lating that he mounted to the assault in person, after his troops had met with a severe check, and that the success of this affair was due to his own intrepidity? This certainly is not the hypocritical braggart whom some historians have described. From Drogheda he marched to Wexford, which he summoned to surrender. In this county the rebels had exercised more than their usual cruelty. They had seized on “all the castles and houses “of the English, and had driven them out with “ their wives and childrenštipped naked.” They had further proclaimed that any Irish who should harbour or relieve an Englishman, should be IRELAND. 147 put to death.* Just as the governor of the city was on the point of surrendering to Cromwell's summons, the Earl of Castlehaven brought him a relief, which induced him to hold out. The Lord- lieutenant, being resolved not to procrastinate, im- mediately gave orders for the assault, and became master of the place, with a loss to the enemy of 2000 men, who were put to the sword. On the 17th of October he appeared before Ross. This was the third place to which he laid siege. The same day he sent to the commander-in-chief the following summons:—f {{ SIR, “ 17th October 1649. “Since my coming into Ireland, I have this “witness for myself, that I have endeavoured to “ avoid the effusion of blood; having been before “no place to which such terms have not been first “sent as might have turned to the good and pre- “servation of those to whom they were offered; “this being my principle, that the people and “places where I come may not suffer, except “through their own wilfulness. “To the end I may observe the like course with “this place and people therein, I do hereby sum- “mon you to deliver the town of Ross into my “hands, to the use of the Parliament of England. “Expecting your speedy answer, I rest, “Your Servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” * Lingard, Hist. Eng. x. Note A. §§ 4, 6. t Newspapers in Cromwelliana, 67. Carlyle, ii. 83. 148 - IRELAND. As the governor did not immediately reply to this summons, Cromwell ordered the batteries to be prepared. Ormond, Ardes, and Castlehaven, who were on the other side of the river, threw 1500 men into the town ; and on the 19th the heavy artillery of the English army opened their fire. The Irish commander, Lucas Taaf, immedi- ately sent out a flag of truce, to which the assailants replied by the offer of favourable terms: That the besiegedarmy should march out with their arms, bag and baggage, with drums beating and colours flying; and the English general promised that the inhabi- tants should be permitted “to live peaceably, free “from the injury and violence of the soldiers.” The two lessons of Drogheda and Wexford had produced their effect. These terms were accepted. And it was not only at Ross that the same policy succeeded. The arms fell from the rebels' hands in every quarter of Ireland, before the formidable name of Cromwell. By the middle of May the whole country was reduced, with the exception of one or two places which Ireton subsequently captured. Ormond escaped to France. Thus, by inflicting these two terrible blows at Drogheda and Wexford, the victor taught the murderers the necessity of submission, prevented a greater effusion of blood, and restored peace in Ireland. Historians, even those most opposed to Crom- well, acknowledge that no statesman ever did so much as he for the good of that poor country. Public order and security, such as had not been known for many years, revived. The province of IRELAND. 149 Connaught, then a vast desert district, was soon changed into a fruitful country, and the rest of Ireland was everywhere cultivated with activity and confidence. In the space of little more than two years, the whole kingdom was covered with elegant and useful buildings, fine plantations, and new enclosures. Peace, ease, and industry had returned to that unhappy land. Clarendon, and M. Villemain after him, cannot conceal their aston- ishment at it; and there is no impropriety in ap- plying the rule of Scripture to Cromwell's conquest of Ireland: the tree is known by its fruit. We need not wonder at these results, if we call to mind Milton's description of Cromwell's soldiers:–“ He raised an army as numerous and “well-equipped as was ever before done within so “short a period; lessoned to the most perfect obe- “dience, high in the affections of its fellow-citizens, “ and not more formidable to its enemies in the “field than admirable for its behaviour to them “out of it; having so forborne all injury to their “persons or properties, in comparison with the “violence, intemperance, profaneness, and debauch- “ery of their own royalists, as to make them “exult in the change, and hail in them a host not “ of fiends but of friends (non hostes sed hospites): a “protection to the good, a terror to the bad, and “an encouragement to every species of piety and “virtue.”* The model of this armament was new, and has never been recovered. * Virtutis etiam omnis et pietatis hortatores. Defensio Secunda, 108. 150 IRELAND. Oliver in Ireland was not content to wield the sword; he also laboured with the pen. He was not only a general, but put himself forward as a theologian. The popish hierarchy of Ireland had assembled at Clonmacnoise in December 1649, where they drew up a manifesto. To this he immediately replied, and his Declaration* is one of the most remarkable documents ever composed by a soldier. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the mental movement was so powerful, that all callings were confounded in one. Zwingle was a diploma- tist, almost a general; and Oliver Cromwell as- sumed the duties of a doctor in divinity. Let us listen to a powerful protestant voice; the like of which, perhaps, was not heard in the seventeenth century. The Irish prelates had spoken of the Clergy and Laity. Cromwell thought with Luther, “that all “Christians belong to the spiritual estate, and that “there is no other difference between them than “in the functions they discharge.” He believed in the words addressed by St Peter to all believers: ye are a royal priesthood. And accordingly, on this subject, the English general administers a sharp lesson to the popish prelates of Ireland. He says:— “The subject of this reconciliation was, as they “say, ‘the Clergy and Laity.’ The discontent and “division itself was grounded on the late difference “of opinion happening amongst the “Prelates and “‘Laity.' I wonder not at differences in opinion, “at discontents and divisions, where so antichris- * Carlyle, ii. 120-139. IRELAND. 151 “tian and dividing a term as ‘Clergy and Laity’ “is given and recéived. A term unknown to any “save the antichristian Church, and such as derive “ themselves from her; Ab initio non fuit sic. The “most pure and primitive times, as they best know “what true union was, so, in all addresses to the “several Churches they wrote unto, not one word “of this. The members of the Churches are styled “‘Brethren, and Saints of the same household of “‘Faith:’ and, although they had orders and dis- “tinctions amongst them for administration of ordi- “nances, of a far different use and character from “yours, yet it nowhere occasioned them to say, “contemptim, and by way of lessening in contradis- “tinguishing, ‘Laity and Clergy.” It was your “pride that begat this expression. And it is for “filthy lucre's sake that you keep it up ; that by “making the people believe that they are not so “holy as yourselves, they might, for their penny, “purchase some sanctity from you; and that you “might bridle, saddle, and ride them at your “pleasure; and do (as is most true of you) as the “Scribes and Pharisees of old did by their ‘Laity,’ “—keep the knowledge of the Law from them, “ and then be able in their pride to say, ‘This “‘people that know not the Law are cursed.’” The prelates had declared that they were “as “one body united,” to forward by their counsels and actions “the advancements of his Majesty's “rights and the catholic religion.” Oliver will not allow that men should have recourse to carnal 152 IRELAND. means for the advancement of religion. In this he shows himself superior to his age, and almost to himself:— “And now surely if these [the rights of the “Church], that are outward things, may not “ thus be contended for; how much less may the “ doctrines of Faith, which are the works of Grace “ and the Spirit, be endeavoured by so unsuitable “means ! He that bids us ‘contend for the Faith “‘ once delivered to the Saints,’ tells us that we “should do it by ‘avoiding the spirit of Cain, “‘Corah, and Balaam;’ and by ‘building up our- “‘selves in the most holy Faith,’ not pinning it “upon other men's sleeves. Praying “in the Holy “‘Ghost; not mumbling over matins. Keeping “‘ourselves in the love of God;’ not destroying “men because they will not be of our Faith. “‘Waiting for the mercy of Jesus Christ; not “cruel, but merciful!—But, alas, why is this said? “Why are these pearls cast before you? You are “resolved not to be charmed from “using the in- “‘strument of a foolish shepherd ' You are a part “of Antichrist, whose kingdom the Scripture so “expressly speaks should be “laid in blood;’ yea, “‘in the blood of the Saints.’ You have shed “great store of that already :—and ere it be long, “you must all of you have ‘blood to drink;’ ‘even “‘the dregs of the cup of the fury and the wrath “‘of God, which will be poured out unto you.” The prelates, after constituting themselves the defenders of the hierarchy and of the king, had IRELAND. 153 finally alluded to the people. Cromwell thought that in reality the people were the last subject of their cares. He rallied them bitterly on this point; and, after reminding them of an expression of Car- dinal Wolsey's, he prophesied a futurity, which the French Revolution of 1789 has realized:— “In the last place, you are pleased,—having “after your usual manner remembered yourselves “first, and ‘ his Majesty,’ as you call him, next; “like a man of your tribe with his Ego et Rea. “ meus, you are pleased to take the people into “consideration. Lest they should seem to be for- “gotten; or rather you would make me believe “they are much in your thoughts. Indeed I “think they are Alas, poor ‘Laity l’ That you “ and your king might ride them, and jade them, “ as your Church hath done, and as your king “hath done by your means, almost in all ages “But it would not be hard to prophesy, That, the “beast being stung and kicking, this world will not “last always. Arbitrary power is a thing men “begin to be weary of in kings and churchmen; “ their juggle between them mutually to uphold “civil and ecclesiastical tyranny begins to be trans- “parent. Some have cast off both; and hope by “the grace of God to keep so. Others are at it! “Many thoughts are laid up about it, which will “ have their issue and vent. This principle, That “people are for kings and churches, and saints are “for the pope or churchmen, as you call them, “begins to be exploded;—and therefore I wonder 154 IRELAND. “not to see the fraternity so much enraged. I “wish “the people' wiser than to be troubled at “ you; or solicitous for what you say or do.” The popish bishops had spoken of their obliga- tions to their flocks. At this word Cromwell be- comes indignant; his features flush up, and he examines whether they are really pastors, and whether they really have flocks. “To which last a word or two. I wonder how “this relation was brought about ! If they be “‘Flocks,' and you ambitious of the relative term? “Yes, you are Pastors; but it is by an antiphrasis, “—a minime pascendo / You either teach the “ people not at all; or else you do it, as some of “you came to this conventicle who were sent “ by others, tanquam Procuratores,-teach them, “as your manner is, by sending a company of “silly ignorant priests, who can but say the mass, “ and scarcely that intelligibly; or with such stuff “as these your senseless Declarations and Edicts “But how dare you assume to call these men your “‘Flocks,' whom you have plunged into so horrid “a rebellion, by which you have made them and “the country almost a ruinous heap 2 And whom “you have fleeced, and polled, and peeled hitherto, “ and make it your business to do so still. You “cannot feed them You poison them with your “false, abominable, and antichristian doctrine and “practices. You keep the Word of God from “them; and instead thereof give them your sense- “less Orders and Traditions. You teach them IRELAND. 155 “‘implicit belief:’—he that goes amongst them “may find many that do not understand anything “in the matters of your religion. I have had few “better answers from any since I came into Ire- “land that are of your flocks than this, ‘that “‘indeed they did not trouble themselves about “‘matters of religion, but left that to the Church.” “Thus are your “Flocks' fed; and such credit “ have you of them. But they must take heed of “‘losing their religion.' Alas, poor creatures “what have they to ‘lose?’” The Conventicle of Clonmacnoise had referred to the danger of seeing the catholic religion extir- pated. Cromwell replies that you cannot eatirpate what has never been rooted, and that for eighty years past the saying of mass had been prohibited in Ireland. He excluded Popery, or at least the mass, from the privilege of religious liberty. He appears to have afterwards changed his opinions on this subject, as we shall see from a letter to Mazarin. He continues thus:— “ First, therefore, I shall not, where I have “power, and the Lord is pleased to bless me, suffer “ the exercise of the mass, where I can take notice “ of it. No, nor in any way suffer you that are “ papists, where I can find you seducing the “ people, or by any overt act violating the laws “established; but if you come into my hands, I “shall cause to be inflicted the punishments ap- “ pointed by the laws—to use your own term, “secundum gravitatem delicti—upon you; and shall 156 IRELAND. “try to reduce things to their former state on this “behalf. As for the people, what thoughts they “ have in matters of religion in their own breasts, “I cannot reach ; but shall think it my duty, if “they walk honestly and peaceably, not to cause “ them in the least to suffer for the same. And “shall endeavour to walk patiently and in love “towards them, to see if at any time it shall please “God to give them another or a better mind. “And all men under the power of England, within “this dominion, are hereby required and enjoined “strictly and religiously to do the same.” It was from Youghal in the month of January that the Lord-lieutenant addressed this archiepisco- pal charge to the popish priests and bishops. He possessed at one and the same time something of the characters of Joshua and Aaron. But he was always a father, and a christian father. [.. I am at a loss to understand how those who doubt Cromwell's real Christianity can explain his letters to his children. If the mighty ones of the earth insert a few words of religion in their public speeches, no conclusion can be drawn from them. It is a mere form, they say. But when the truest expressions of christian piety are found in the sanctuary of a father's heart, who but God placed them there 2 In the midst of the terrible campaign in Ireland, in the interval between the civil war in England, that was terminated by the death of the king, and the war in Scotland, we meet with a family episode, IRELAND. - 157 one feature of which has already been pointed out. Cromwell's eldest son had just married. There is no great man recorded in history into whose domes- tic life we can see more clearly than into Oliver's. In his case the wish of the ancient was realized: “his house is of glass,”—a fortunate circumstance, of which the historian should be eager to profit. While the general was preparing to embark for Ireland, Richard and Dorothy took advantage of the sunny days of July to make their joyful marriage excursion. Oliver, in great delight, wrote from Bristol (19th July 1649) to the bride's father: “I am very glad to hear of your wel- “fare, and that our children have so good lei- “sure to make a journey to eat cherries:–it's “very excusable in my daughter; I hope she may “ have a good pretence for it ! I assure you, Sir, “I wish her very well; and I believe she knows it. “I pray you tell her from me, I expect she writes “often to me; by which I shall understand how “all your family doth, and she will be kept in “some exercise. I have delivered my son up to “you ; and I hope you will counsel him: he will “ need it; and indeed I believe he likes well what “you say, and will be advised by you. I wish he “may be serious; the times require it.” Yes, in truth, the times did require young men to be serious, and so does the present day ! Yet Oliver feared that the sweets of matrimony would have too engrossing a hold upon his son's heart; and on the 13th of August 1649, he again addressed his “loving brother, Richard Mayor,” his K 158 IRELAND. son's father-in-law, “from aboard the John :” –. “I would have him (Richard) mind and under- “stand business, read a little History, study the “ mathematics and cosmography:—these are good, “with subordination to the things of God. Better “ than idleness, or mere outward worldly contents. “These fit for public services, for which a man is “born.” In these little notes, we ever find some pregnant sentences. On the 13th of November 1649, Cromwell was at Ross, in the very midst of the war. He had been ill; but he still thought of his son, and never did parent more earnestly desire to see his child giving his whole heart to God. He wrote thus to Mr Mayor:-" I have been crazy in my health; “but the Lord is pleased to sustain me. I beg “your prayers. I desire you to call upon my son “to mind the things of God more and more : alas, “what profit is there in the things of this world; “—except they be enjoyed in Christ, they are “snares. I wish he may enjoy his wife so, and she “him; I wish I may enjoy them both so.” Somewhat later Oliver was filled with pleasure. During the winter he had received letters from his son, which led him to believe that Richard was beginning to set his affections on heavenly things. On the 2d of April 1650, the Lord-lieutenant wrote to Mr Mayor from Carrick:—“I have committed “my son to you; I pray counsel him. Some letters “I have lately had from him have a good savour : “the Lord treasure up grace there, that out of “that treasury he may bring forth good things.” IRELAND. 159 But it was to his son in particular that the christ- ian father felt impelled to write. The same mes- senger conveyed the following letter to Richard — “For my beloved Son, Richard Cromwell, Esquire, at “Hursley in Hampshire: These. “DICK CROMWELL, “Carrick, 2d April 1650. “I take your letters kindly: I like expressions “when they come plainly from the heart, and are “ not strained nor affected. “I am persuaded it's the Lord's mercy to place “you where you are: I wish you may own it and “be thankful, fulfilling all relations to the glory of “God. Seek the Lord and His face continually: “—let this be the business of your life and strength; “ and let all things be subservient and in order to “ this You cannot find nor behold the face of “God but in Christ; therefore labour to know God “in Christ; which the Scripture makes to be the “ sum of all, even Life Eternal. Because the true “knowledge is not literal or speculative; no, but “inward, transforming the mind to it. It's unit- “ing to, and participating of the Divine Nature. “ (2 Peter, i. 4): “That by these ye might be par- “‘takers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the “‘corruption that is in the world through lust.’ “It's such a knowledge as Paul speaks of (Philip- “pians iii. 8-10: ‘Yea doubtless, and I count all “‘things but loss for the excellency of the know- “‘ledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I “‘have suffered the loss of all things, and do 160 IRELAND. “‘count them but dung, that I may win Christ, “‘and be found in him, not having mine own “‘righteousness, which is of the law, but that “‘which is through the faith of Christ, the right- “‘eousness which is of God by faith : that I may “‘know Him and the power of his resurrection, “‘ and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made “‘conformable unto his death.’ How little of this “knowledge is among us! My weak prayers shall “be for you. “Take heed of an unactive vain spirit ! Re- “create yourself with Sir Walter Raleigh's history: “it’s a body of history; and will add much more “to your understanding than fragments of story.— “Intend [i. e. endeavour] to understand the Estate “I have settled: it's your concernment to know it “all, and how it stands. I have therefore suffered “much by too much trusting to others. I know my “brother Mayor will be helpful to you in all this. “You will think, perhaps, I need not advise you “to love your Wife! The Lord teach you how to “do it;-or else it will be done ill-favouredly. “Though marriage be no instituted sacrament, “yet where the undefiled bed is, and love, this “union aptly resembles that of Christ and His “Church. If you can truly love your Wife, what “love doth Christ bear to His Church and every “poor soul therein,--who ‘gave Himself” for it “and to it!......Commend me to your Wife; tell “her I entirely love her, and rejoice in the good- “ness of the Lord to her. I wish her every way “fruitful. I thank her for her loving letter. IRELAND. 161 “I have presented my love to my sister and “cousin Ann, &c., in my letter to my Brother “Mayor. I would not have him alter his affairs “ because of my debt. My purse is as his : my “present thoughts are but to lodge such a sum for “my two little girls;—it's in his hand as well as “anywhere. I shall not be wanting to accommo- “ date him to his mind; I would not have him “solicitous.-Dick, the Lord bless you every way. “I rest, “Your loving Father, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* In July (1650) Cromwell, after his return from Ireland, was on his way to Scotland. His daughter- in-law had given birth to a son, and in these terms he addressed her father. “For my very loving Brother, Richard Mayor, Esquire, “at his house at Hursley: These. “DEAR BROTHER, “Alnwick, 17th July 1650. “The exceeding crowd of business I had at “London is the best excuse I can make for my “silence in this way. Indeed, Sir, my heart “beareth me witness I want no affection to you “ or yours; you are all often in my poor prayers. “I should be glad to hear how the little Brat “ doth. I could chide both father and mother “for their neglects of me: I know my son is idle, “but I had better thoughts of Doll. I doubt now * Memoirs of the Protector, by O. Cromwell, i. 369. London, 1822. Carlyle, ii. 160. 162 IRELAND. “her husband hath spoiled her; pray tell her so “from me. If I had as good leisure as they, I “should write sometimes. If my daughter be “breeding, I will excuse her; but not for her “nursery ! The Lord bless them. I hope you “give my son good counsel; I believe he needs “it. He is in the dangerous time of his age; and “it’s a very vain world. O how good it is to close “with Christ betimes; there is nothing else worth “the looking after. I beseech you call upon him, “I hope you will discharge my duty and your own “love: you see how I am employed. I need pity. “I know what I feel. Great place and business “in the world is not worth the looking after ; I “should have no comfort in mine but that my “hope is in the Lord's presence. I have not sought “ these things; truly I have been called unto them “by the Lord; and therefore am not without some “assurance that He will enable His poor worm “ and weak servant to do His will and to fulfil my “generation. In this I desire your prayers. De- “siring to be lovingly remembered to my dear “sister, to our son and daughter, to my cousin “Ann and the good family, I rest “Your very affectionate brother, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* |- Such was Cromwell as a father, a model of | parents. Was he the same in public affairs? In these days he will be severely reproached for his intolerance of Popery in Ireland. “I shall not * Harris, p. 513. Carlyle, ii. 177. IRELAND. 163 “suffer the exercise of the mass,” he said. Let us examine the matter seriously. If Cromwell had truly at heart the prosperity of Ireland, it is evident that he must have desired to see that country renounce the mass and the pope. Nothing can be more superficial, nothing more false, than those opinions so prevalent on the Con- tinent and even in the British isles, which ascribe all the misery of Ireland to the absenteeism of the great gentry, to the conduct of the English govern- ment, and to other causes of a similar nature. We may admit that these circumstances have exerted a certain influence on the condition of this unhappy people; but the true source of the evil must be looked for elsewhere. Can we see the difference which exists between episcopalian England, presbyterian Scotland, and popish Ireland, and not immediately perceive the origin of the woes of the last named country? Or will it be pretended that the Irish people are of a race inferior to others? The influence of religions is immense. Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. It is the priests who have made the Irish what they are; or rather it is a degrading religion which has debased alike priest and people;—a gross superstition, a corrupt system of morals, ideas false and out of date, which have robbed this nation of its energy, and engendered in it carelessness, imprudence, and misery. Priests, degraded by error, have themselves degraded their poor flocks. We would say nothing to diminish 164 IRELAND. the responsibility of England and of her govern- ment: she is great in every way; but all impar- tial judges must acknowledge, that it is from the seven-hilled city whence flow those torrents which have inundated this interesting and unhappy nation with ignorance, superstition, servility, and wretched- ness, with humiliation, famine, pestilence, and death. The papacy, by vitiating the revelations of Chris- tianity, by establishing again in the world a sacer- dotal caste, which it was the object of the gospel to abolish everywhere, by retarding the nations where- ever she was dominant, and by keeping them in all respects in the rear of the others, will have to answer before God and man for the poverty and sufferings she has entailed on an island, which, before it was subjected to the pope, was at the head of all christian countries, and which is now, alas! at the lowest step in the scale. The Oratorians,” charmed, it would seem, by the fruits which the waters of Popery have produced in Ireland, have formed the pious design of introducing them into England. They are digging at the foot of the Quirinal Hill to draw from the bowels of the earth the bitter water that causeth a curse, and their friends in England are as earnestly engaged in making the canals and reservoirs for its reception. The special danger of their exertions consists in this: the workmen have been brought up in the midst of Protestantism, whose light and strength they are now turning against it. If it were merely a question of some few dirty and ignorant monks, * Mr Newman and his friends. IRELAND. 165 such as Rome manufactures in Italy, Spain, Por- tugal, and elsewhere, there would be no cause for fear. But these vermin will not creep in until later, to eat into the tree and destroy its fruits. The fashionable Oratorians have the task of clearing the way for them. If the state and the church envy England the condition of Ireland, let them hasten to give their aid to this noble project, conceived at Oxford, carrying on at Rome, and which will soon be in execution throughout England. But if the misery of Ireland, if its dead and living corpses, fill their hearts with sorrow and alarm ; then let church and state act energetically, each in its own sphere, and let them labour earnestly in building dikes to stop the water that cometh by the way of Edom, water as red as blood. A question of suicide is now pending in England. The condition of other nations confirms these sad prognostications. Portugal, Spain, and Italy are sunk by their clergy into the mire from which they cannot extricate themselves. France would be in the same state, if it had not always preserved a protestant element, which for some time was pre- dominant, and which has never entirely perished. And if we desire to see what Popery makes nations in these days, we have only to cast our eyes on Belgium, which next to Ireland is the most popish country in Europe. We shall find there a fertile soil, a land offering immense resources, and a people once at the head of European manufactures and commerce, but of whom the fourth part is now reduced to mendicancy and is dying of hunger. 166 IREIAND. Will it be said that here, as in England, the government is in fault 2 Impossible! for the Bel- gian government since 1831 has been the most catholic in Europe. In consequence of the pre- valence of jesuitism in that kingdom, subsequent to the Revolution, the number of priests has been augmented by 2600. More than 400 convents have been opened, whence issue in all directions Fran- ciscan friars, capuchins, and other sluggards of the same brood (we are not aware if there are any Oratorians); and these priests and monks have in- vaded everything, enslaved everything. The result soon appeared: Belgian pauperism has taken its place at the side of Irish pauperism; and in Belgium its intensity is in direct proportion to that of Popery. The wretchedness is far more aggravated in the Flemish provinces, which are entirely subject to the priests, than in the Walloon (French) provinces, which were once protestant, and whose spirit is nearer that of Protestantism. “Such,” says a correspondent,” “is the state to “which Belgium has been reduced by the clerical “ party in less than fifteen years.” If therefore Oliver Cromwell loved Ireland, if [The desired its happiness and prosperity, he must ; have wished above all things to see Popery and the | mass disappear, and to behold the establishment of S evangelical Christianity and of the Bible. But if his end was good, were the means he employed good also 2 Not altogether. Speaking to the leaders of the popish clergy, he said to them :— * In the Paris Journal, Le National. IRELAND. 167 “If you come into my hands, I shall cause to be “inflicted the punishments appointed by the laws “on you.” If this was the way of proceeding in Cromwell's time, it is no longer so in ours. As the Gospel is the only means of saving Ire- land, how then can we impart to its wretched inha- bitants this infallible remedy? In the first place, let there be no attempt to introduce either a clerical and traditional religion, or a rationalist and unitarian system. What we must give them is the Gospel, nothing but the Gospel, the entire Gospel. Fashionable people may amuse themselves in their drawing-rooms and bou- doirs with Puseyite or Socinian notions; but a nation requires positive and living elements. Chris- tianity in all its simplicity, with all its richness and its strength, can alone save from this mortal sick- IléSS. If truth is the first means, christian love is the second. Charity never faileth : its effect is sure, it is a living word which shall never fall unto the earth. To preserve Ireland, there must be a great manifestation of the spirit of truth in the fruits of christian love. I will add, however, a third means. A respect- able ecclesiastical form is necessary to encourage the poor catholics, whom the calumnies of their priests perpetually alarm with the disunion and disorder of protestant sects. In their house of bondage, they have contracted certain wants which ought to be respected. The two protestant churches, which are the most numerous in Ireland, the episco- 168 IRELAND. palian and the presbyterian, present all that can be desired; but let them be circumspect, and walk together in harmony. Another question here occurs: To gain the Irish people, must we not first put out of sight that which offends them, break the bonds which unite the epis- copalian church to the state, and by giving the former powerful community more liberty, give it also greater energy and life? An eminent minister of the Church of England has eloquently explained his views on this point.* I can give no decided opinion on the question, as I have not before me all the necessary elements. But it is evident, on the one hand, that the more Prot- estantism shall appear in that country without those privileges which shock and repel the Irish people, the more, on the other hand, it will be able (as it ought) to act with freedom and with life, and the nearer also will be Ireland's conversion. We should learn how to sacrifice whatever becomes unneces- sarily a stumbling-block to our brethren. If thy fight hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. Jesus Christ should be set before this people; but He should be without arms, without privileges, poor, meek, and lowly of heart. In these thoughts we approximate to the ideas recently enunciated in connexion with Ireland by one of the most estimable Christians and public men in England. “I will call upon you, deserted “ as you may have been by men of first rate in the * The Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, in his Letter to the Bishop of Cashel. IRELAND. 169 “hierarchy and in the state, to look, under God's “blessing, to your own exertions only...... I be- “lieve that wherever good is done on a christian “principle, the blessing of the prophet will be “found to be realized almost literally; the barrel “ of meal will never fail, and the cruse will never “be exhausted, if there be a blessing from on “high.”* We coincide with the worthy baronet's sentiments; we think that we may go still farther, and that if it were clearly established that the cause of evangelical Protestantism in Ireland has been abandoned by the state, then our own eaertions would, under God's blessing, have far more strength and efficiency. Faith which worketh by love has power in spiritual things only. Such thoughts as these were not altogether foreign to Cromwell. Although he desired to have recourse to the law against the chiefs of Popery, he was willing to behave very differently towards the people. We cannot forbear transcribing once more those noble words of his, which are worthy of being repeated by the Crown of England in the nineteenth century:-" As for the people, what “ thoughts they have in matters of religion in their “own breasts I cannot reach ; but shall think it “my duty, if they walk honestly and peaceably, “ not to cause them in the least to suffer for the “same. And shall endeavour to walk patiently “and in love towards them, to see if at any time it * Sir Robert Inglis, Speech at the Annual Meeting of the London Hibernian Society, 18th May 1847. 170 IRELAND. “shall please God to give them another or a better “mind. And all men under the power of England, “within this Dominion, are hereby required and “enjoined strictly and religiously to do the same.” This is the remedy. “Be wise now, therefore, O “ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth.” (Ps. ii. 10.) Let the ministers and parliament of England do all that is possible for them to do, and even more, to alleviate the misery of the sister country. God and Europe will demand an account of them. But for what is not in their power they will never be called to a reckoning. So long as her friends look to governmental measures only for a remedy adapted to heal the wounds of this people, Ireland will always be that “certain woman, which “had an issue of blood twelve years, and had “suffered many things of many physicians, and “had spent all that she had, and was nothing “bettered, but rather grew worse.” (Mark v. 25, 26.) One means alone can save her, as it saved this woman ; and that will be, as soon as she shall have heard of Jesus and touched his garment. Then, ) after Popery has disappeared from her unhappy ! soil, she will feel in her body that she is healed of that Sº plague. Cromwell returned to London in the month of May, and was received by the Parliament and people “as a soldier who had gained more laurels, “ and done more wonders in nine months, than any “age or history could parallel.” * Neale, History of the Puritans, ii. 554. London, 1837. CHAPTER VII. SCOTLAND. Two Kings and two Loyalties—Charles II. in Scotland—Cromwell’s Letter to the General Assembly and to the Scotch Commander in Chief—Battle of Dunbar—Despatch to Parliament—The Edin- burgh Preachers in the Castle—Cromwell’s Letter—All Christians ought to preach Christ—The Malignants—Cromwell’s Illness—Two Letters—Cromwell concerning His Son Richard—Worcester— Prosperity of Scotland—Cromwell's Military Career—Two Sym- bols. THE Scots had begun the great movement whose object was at once to resist the tyranny of the Stuarts and the tyranny of Rome, and which was destined to result in incalculable consequences for Europe. But now they retraced their steps, and put themselves in opposition to the Common- wealth of England. They wanted a leader. “With “Oliver Cromwell born a Scotchman,” says Car- “lyle; “with a Hero King and a unanimous “Hero Nation at his back, it might have been far “otherwise. With Oliver born Scotch, one sees “not but the whole world might have become “Puritan.”* * Letters and Speeches, ii. 169. 172 SCOTLAND. Without shutting our eyes to the truth there may be in this passage, we find the cause of this northern war elsewhere. In spiritual things the Scots acknowledged Jesus Christ as their king; in temporal, they recognised Charles the Second. They had no wish that the latter should usurp the king- dom of the former; but they also had no desire that Cromwell should seize upon the Stuarts' throne. They possessed a double loyalty—one towards the heavenly king, and another to their earthly sov- ereign. They had cast off the abuses of the latter, but not the monarchy itself. They accordingly invited the prince, who was then in Holland, to come to Scotland, and take possession of his king- dom. We may believe that this was a great fault and a great misfortune: we may regret that loyal men should have carried their fidelity so far as to bring the youthful monarch from the midst of the de- baucheries in which he was indulging at Breda, to replace him on the throne of his fathers. This ren- dered a second revolution necessary : and yet we cannot forbear respecting the Scots even in this their error. Charles at this time was conniving at Montrose, who was spreading desolation throughout Scotland; and the young king hoped by his means to recover a throne without having to take upon himself any embarrassing engagement. But when the marquis was defeated, he determined to surrender to the Scottish parliament. One circumstance had nearly caused his ruin. Among Montrose's papers was found SCOTLAND. 173 a commission from the king, giving him authority to levy troops and subdue the country by force of arms. The indignant parliament immediately recalled their eommissioners from Holland; but the individual to whom the order was addressed treacherously con- cealed the document from his colleagues, and by showing it to none but the prince, gave him to un- derstand that he could no longer safely temporize. Charles being thus convinced hurried on board, and set sail for Scotland, attended by a train of un- principled men. The most serious thinkers in the nation saw that they could expect little else from him than duplicity, treachery, and licentiousness. It has been said that the Scotch compelled Charles to adopt their detested Covenant voluntarily. Most certainly the political leaders cannot be entirely exculpated of this charge; but it was not so with the religious part of the government. When he declared his readiness to sign that deed on board the ship, even before he landed, Livingston, who doubted his sincerity, begged him to wait until he had reached Scotland, and given satisfactory proofs of his good faith. But it was all to no effect; and when again, at Dunfermline, Charles wished to ap- pend his signature to a new declaration, by which he renounced popery and episcopacy, and asserted that he had no other enemies than those of the Covenant, the Rev. Patrick Gillespie said to him: “Sire, unless in your soul and conscience you are “satisfied, beyond all hesitation, of the righteous- “ness of this declaration, do not subscribe it : no, “do not subscribe it, not for the three kingdoms.” I, 174 SCOTLAND. “Mr Gillespie, Mr Gillespie,” replied the King, “I “am satisfied, I am satisfied;...... and therefore will “subscribe.”* If Charles Stuart had thought of ascending his native throne only, Cromwell and the English would have remained quiet; but he aimed at the recovery of the three kingdoms, and the Scotch were disposed to aid him. Oliver immediately saw the magnitude of the danger which threatened the religion, liberty, and morals of England, and did not hesitate. On the 26th of June 1650, he was appointed commander-in-chief of all the armies of the Com- monwealth, and set out immediately. Cromwell's feelings, as he marched against Scot- land, were different from those which had led him to Ireland. To him the people were brethren— brethren who had gone astray when they invited over the Jicentious Charles II. That country was afterwards to feel, by twenty-eight years of hor- rible persecution (from 1660 to 1688), that the Pro- tector was not deceived. Oliver determined to do all in his power to restore Scotland to herself. It was Cromwell's belief that, if sin had divided men and nations against one another, the aim of Christianity was to bring together all the families of the earth, and establish unity among them. He thought that the Gospel, by sanctifying the people, would make them one vast community of brethren. Wherever he saw disciples of Christ, there his heart * Hetherington, History of the Church of Scotland, 117. Edin- burgh, 1843. SCOTLAND. 175 beat for them. It was therefore a remarkable and a sorrowful spectacle which might then be viewed on the borders of Scotland,-one christian army advancing against another christian army This sight, no doubt, has been too often witnessed in history. But in most cases the troops which march against each other are christian only in name, while the two forces of Scotland and of England possessed, to speak generally, both the spirit and the reality of Christianity. This was a misfortune. Cromwell remembered that although a Christian may be sometimes sum- moned to war, he should at least cast aside all hatred, and ever be inclined towards peace. He sent letters accordingly both to the general as- sembly and to the commander-in-chief: to the latter of whom he wrote as follows:— “For the Right Honourable David Lesley, Lieutenant- “general of the Scots Army : These. “From the Camp at Pentland Hills, “S 14th August 1650. IR, “I received yours of the 13th instant, with the “paper you mentioned therein, enclosed,—which “I caused to be read in the presence of so many “officers as could well be gotten together ; to “which your Trumpet can witness. We return “you this answer; by which I hope, in the Lord, “it will appear that we continue the same we have “professed ourselves to the Honest People in Scot- 176 SCOTLAND. “land; wishing to them as to our own souls; it “being no part of our business to hinder any of “them from worshipping God in that way they are “satisfied in their consciences by the Word of God “they ought, though different from us. * “But that under the pretence of the Covenant, “mistaken, and wrested from the most native intent “ and equity thereof, a King should be taken in by “you, to be imposed upon us; and this be called “‘the cause of God and the kingdom;’ and this “done upon ‘the satisfaction of God's people in both “‘nations,’ as is alleged,—together with a disown- “ing of Malignants; although he [Charles Stuart] “who is the head of them, in whom all their hope “ and comfort lies, be received; who, at this very “instant, hath a Popish army fighting for and “under him in Ireland; hath Prince Rupert, a “man who hath had his hand deep in the blood of “many innocent men of England, now in the head “of our ships, stolen from us upon a Malignant “account; hath the French and Irish ships daily “making depredations on our coasts; and strong “combinations by the Malignants in England, to “raise armies in our bowels, by virtue of his com- “missions, who hath of late issued out very many “to that purpose:–How the Godly interest you “pretend you have received him upon, and the “Malignant interests in their ends and conse- “quences all centering in this man, can be secured, “we cannot discern. * * - . . “And how we should believe, that whilst known SCOTLAND. 177 “ and notorious Malignants are fighting and plot- “ting against us on the one hand, and you declar- “ing for him on the other, it should not be an “‘espousing of a Malignant party's Quarrel or In- ‘terest;' but be a mere ‘fighting upon former ‘grounds and principles, and in defence of the “cause of God and the kingdoms, as hath been ‘these twelve years last past,’ as you say: how this should be ‘for the security and satisfaction of “‘God's people in both nations; ' or how the op- “ posing of this should render us enemies to the “Godly with you, we cannot well understand...... “And if our hope be not in the Lord, it will be “ill with us. We commit both you and ourselves “to Him who knows the heart, and tries the reins; “with whom are all our ways; who is able to do “for us and you above what we know : which we “desire may be in much mercy to His poor people, “ and to the glory of His great Name. “And having performed your desire, in making “your papers so public, as is before expressed, I “ desire you to do the like, by letting the State, “ Kirk, and Army have the knowledge hereof. To “which end I have sent you enclosed two copies “of this letter; and rest sº “Your humble servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* { £ & 4 {{ & 4 { % It was not until after great trials;–until after the destruction of the constitution of the church, * Newspapers, Parl. H. xix. 331. Carlyle, ii. 191-193. 178 SCOTLAND. and the slavery of the people—until the blood of numerous martyrs had been poured forth like water, that Scotland understood the truth of Cromwell's words. The Scots marched against the English army. Cromwell at first retreated before them ; but seiz- ing the opportunity when they had quitted a favourable position, he attacked them at Dunbar on the 3d of September. This was one of Crom- well's most important victories. It placed Scotland at his feet. The Scots' word was The Covenant; Cromwell's, The Lord of Hosts. He took 10,000 prisoners, besides officers. His heart was filled with gratitude towards God; but even while at the head of the army, Oliver did not lose sight of the civil order and prosperity of England:*— “Thus you have the prospect of one of the most “signal mercies God hath done for England and “his people,” said the commander-in-chief in his despatch to parliament. “By these eminent mer- “cies, God puts it more into your hands, to give “glory to him. We that serve you, beg of you “not to own us—but God alone. We pray you, “own his people more and more; for they are the “chariots and horsemen of Israel. Disown your- “selves;–but own your authority; and improve it “to curb the proud and the insolent, such as would “disturb the tranquillity of England, though under “what specious pretences soever. Relieve the op- “pressed, hear the groans of poor prisoners in * Newspapers in Cromwelliana, p. 87. Carlyle, ii. 217. SCOTLAND. 179 “England. Be pleased to reform the abuses of all “professions:—and if there be any one that makes “many poor to make a few rich, that suits not a “Commonwealth. [Oliver here glances at the “lawyers.]—If He that strengthens your servants to “fight, please to give your hearts to set upon these “things, in order to His glory, and the glory of “your Commonwealth, then, besides the benefit “England shall feel thereby, you shall shine forth “to other Nations, who shall emulate the glory of “such a pattern, and through the power of God “turn into the like. “These are our desires. And that you may “ have liberty and opportunity to do these things, “ and not be hindered, we have been and shall be “ (by God's assistance) willing to venture our lives. “Since we came in Scotland, it hath been our “ desire and longing to have avoided blood in this “business; by reason that God hath a people here “fearing His name, though deceived. And to that “end have we offered much love unto such, in the “bowels of Christ; and concerning the truth of “our hearts therein, have we appealed unto the “Lord. The Ministers of Scotland have hindered “ the passage of these things to the hearts of those “to whom we intended them. And now we hear, “that not only the deceived people, but some of “ the Ministers are also fallen in this battle. This “is the great hand of the Lord, and worthy of the “consideration of all those who take into their 180 SCOTLAND, * * ^ſ “hands the instruments of a foolish shepherd,—to “wit, meddling with worldly policies, and mixtures “of earthly power, to set up that which they call “the kingdom of Christ, and neglect, or trust not “to, the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit; “which is alone powerful and able for the setting “up of that Kingdom......... Oh, that they might “return again to preach Jesus Christ, according “to the simplicity of the Gospel;—and then no “doubt they will discern and find your protection “ and encouragement. “Your most obedient servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” One of the general's proclamations issued on the field of battle breathes such humanity towards the Scots, that it deserves to be introduced here:—* “PROCLAMATION. “Forasmuch, as I understand there are several “soldiers of the enemy's army yet abiding in the “field, who by reason of their wounds could not “ march from thence: “These are therefore to give notice to the in- “habitants of this nation, That they may have, 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 * Carlyle, ii. 209. SCOTLAND. - 181 “they meddle not with, or take away, any the “arms there. And all officers and soldiers are to “take notice that the same is permitted. “Given under my hand, at Dunbar, 4th Sep- “tember 1650. “OLIVER CROMWELL.” The same day Cromwell wrote to his son-in-law Ireton, whom he had left as deputy-lieutenant in Ireland.* This letter also proves Cromwell's affec- tion for the Scotch. - “To Lieutenant-general Ireton, Deputy-lieutenant of “ Ireland: These. { % SIR, “Dunbar, 4th September 1650. “Though I hear not often from you, yet I know “you forget me not. Think so of me too; for I “often remember you at the Throne of Grace.— “I heard of the Lord's good hand with you in re- “ducing Waterford, Duncannon, and Carlow : His “name be praised. “We have been engaged upon a service the “fullest of trial ever poor creatures were upon. “We made great professions of love; knowing we “were to deal with many who were godly, and who “pretended to be stumbled at our invasion:—in- “deed our bowels were pierced again and again; “the Lord helped us to sweet words, and in sin- * Russell's Cromwell, vol. xlvii. of Constable's Miscellany, 317. Carlyle, ii. 225. . 182 SCOTLAND. “cerity to mean them. We were rejected again “ and again; yet still we begged to be believed “ that we loved them as our own souls; they often “returned evil for good. We prayed for security “[against Charles Stuart's designs upon England]: “ they would not hear or answer a word to that. “We made often appeals to God; they appealed “also. We were near engagements three or four “ times, but they lay upon advantages. A heavy flux “fell upon our army; brought it very low, from “fourteen to eleven thousand: three thousand five “hundred horse, and seven thousand five hundred “foot. The enemy sixteen thousand foot, and six “ thousand horse.” * On the same day, the morrow after the battle, Cromwell wrote to his wife. His letter is brief, but full of piety and affection:— “For my beloved Wife, Elizabeth Cromwell, at the “Cockpit.:* These. “ MY DE AREST, “Dunbar, 4th September 1650. “I have not leisure to write much. 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 * The Cockpit was then and long afterwards a sumptuous royal lodging in Whitehall; Henry the Eighth's place of cock-fighting. Cromwell's family removed thither, by vote of the Commons, during the Irish campaign. The present Privy-council office is built on its site. SCOTLAND. 183 “much. Thou art dearer to me than any creature; “let that suffice. “The Lord had showed us an exceeding mercy; “—who can tell how it is My weak faith hath “been upheld. I have been in my inward man “marvellously supported;—though I assure thee, “I grow an old man, and feel infirmities of age “marvellously stealing upon me. Would my cor- “ruptions did as fast decrease ! Pray on my behalf “in the latter respect. The particulars of our late “success, Harry Vane or Gilbert Pickering will “impart to thee. My love to all dear friends. I “rest thine, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” + The Protector now advanced to Edinburgh. Part of the Scotch army had retired into the castle built on the precipitous rocks which rise in the midst of that beautiful city. The ministers of the town also had taken refuge in the same fortress. Cromwell im- mediately informed the governor that he would permit the pastors to come down and preach in their respective churches, without being in any manner disquieted. The ministers replied that they were fearful of persecution, and could not accept his offer. The following is his answer:-f * Carlyle ii. 223. + Thurloe, i. 159. Carlyle, ii. 232. Aº 184 SCOTLAND. “For the Honourable the Governor of the Castle of “Edinburgh: These. “SIR, “Edinburgh, 9th September 1650. “The kindness offered to the ministers with you “was done with ingenuity [ingenuously], thinking “it might have met with the like. If their Master's “service (as they call it) were chiefly in their eye, “imagination of suffering would not have caused “such a return. “The Ministers in England are supported, and “have liberty to preach the Gospel; though not to “rail, nor, under pretence thereof, to overtop the “Civil Power, or debase it as they please. No man “hath been troubled in England or Ireland for “preaching the Gospel; nor has any minister been “molested in Scotland since the coming of the “army hither. . The speaking truth becomes the “ministers of Christ. When ministers pretend to “a glorious Reformation, and lay the foundations “thereof in getting to themselves worldly power, “they may know that the Sion promised will “not be built with such untempered mortar....... “I have nothing to say to you but that I am, “Sir, “Your humble servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” “The Scotch clergy,” says Carlyle, “never got “such a reprimand since they first took ordina- “tion.” SCOTLAND. 185 On the 12th of September, Cromwell sent an- other letter to the governor,” to refute the com- plaints made by the inhabitants, and particularly by the ministers. - “You say,” writes Oliver, “you regret that men “of civil employments should usurp the calling and “employment of the ministry; to the scandal of the “Reformed Kirks-Are you troubled that Christ is “preached? Is preaching so exclusively your func- “tion? Doth it scandalize the Reformed Kirks, and “Scotland in particular? Is it against the Cove- “nant P Away with the Covenant, if this be so ! I “ thought the Covenant and these professors of it “could have been willing that any should speak “good of the name of Christ: if not, it is no Cove- “nant of God's approving; nor are these Kirks you “mention in so much the spouse of Christ. “Where do you find in the Scripture a ground “to warrant such an assertion, that preaching is “exclusively your function ? I hope He that as- “cended up on high may give His gifts to whom “He pleases: and if those gifts be the seal of “Mission, be not envious though Eldad and Medad “prophesy (Numbers xi. 27). You know who bids “us covet earnestly the best gifts, but chiefly that we “may prophesy; which the Apostle explains there “to be a speaking to instruction and edification “ and comfort. “Indeed you err through mistaking of the Scrip- * Thurloe, i. 158. Carlyle, ii. 236. 186 SCOTLAND. “tures. Approbation [i. e. ordination, solemn “approbation and appointment by men] is an act “ of conveniency in respect of order; not of ne- “cessity, to give faculty to preach the Gospel. “Your pretended fear lest error should step in, is “like the man who would keep all the wine out of “ the country lest men should be drunk. It will be “found an unjust and unwise jealousy, to deprive “a man of his natural liberty upon a supposition “he may abuse it. When he doth abuse it, judge. “If a man speak foolishly, ye suffer him gladly be- “cause ye are wise; if erroneously, the truth more “appears by your conviction of him. Stop such a “man’s mouth by sound words which cannot be “gainsaid. If he speak blasphemously, or to the “disturbance of the public peace, let the civil “magistrate punish him : if truly, rejoice in the “truth. And if you will call all our speakings to- “gether since we came into Scotland,-to provoke “one another to love and good works, to faith in “our Lord Jesus Christ, and repentance from dead “works; and to charity and love towards you, to “pray and mourn for you, and for your bitter re- “turns to our love of you, and your incredulity of “our professions of love to you, of the truth of “which we have made our solemn and humble “appeals to the Lord our God, which He hath “heard and borne witness to: if you will call “(these) things scandalous to the Kirk, and against “the Covenant, because done by men of civil SCOTLAND. 187 “callings, we rejoice in them, notwithstanding “what you say....... “Your loving friend and servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” It is impossible not to admire the just mean ob- served by Cromwell. He rejects alike the disorder of some who would have no ministry, and the bigotry of others who would permit none but priests to proclaim Jesus Christ. He is here in advance of his age : he holds the balance be- tween the two extremes by which he is surrounded. In this day all enlightened Christians are of his opinion, even the episcopalian church has its lay evangelists. The Edinburgh ministers persisted in their de- termination to remain in the castle. It was now resolved to excavate the immense rocks on which that fortress stands, and blow it into the air. While the miners from Derbyshire were toiling below, the ministers sat quietly above. On the 12th of December, Cromwell summoned the governor to surrender, and the latter after several parleys agreed to capitulate. The Protector made a distinction between the two parties he found in Scotland: on the one hand there were the Malignants, the friends of Charles Stuart, as dissolute and popishly inclined as him- self; on the other, the godly people of the nation, the true presbyterians. The 4th of December he 188 SCOTLAND. wrote on this subject to the speaker of the English parliament.* “I can assure you, that those that serve you “here find more satisfaction in having to deal “with men of this stamp [the Malignants] than “with others; and it is our comfort that the Lord “ hath hitherto made it the matter of our prayers, “ and of our endeavours (if it might have been the “will of God) to have had a Christian understand- “ing between those that fear God in this land and “ourselves..........Those religious people of Scot- “land that fall in this cause, we cannot but pity “ and mourn for them; and we pray that all good “men may do so too. Indeed there is at this “ time a very great distraction, and mighty work- “ings of God upon the hearts of divers, both minis- “ters and people.” Cromwell was pleased with this agitation, hoping that it would lead to an understanding between the two kingdoms. Perhaps there never was general at the head of i an army, who entertained a more cordial affection towards his enemies. He had shown this at his very entrance into Scotland. The inhabitants of Dunbar being in great distress for want of pro- visions, he distributed among them pease and wheat to the value of £240. Anxiety, severe labour, and a rigorous winter, seriously affected his health. During his sojourn in Edinburgh, where he was lodged in the sump- * Newsp. Cromwelliana, p. 94. Carlyle, ii. 264. SCOTLAND. 189 tuous mansion of Earl Murray in the Canongate, he fell dangerously ill. He felt again that hand of God, which had weighed so heavily on him at St. Ives. He again experienced, as Augustin says,” that “there are many deaths, and that the cause “of all is sin.” He saw in this malady the chasten- ing of God; but in him this chastening bore a peaceable fruit of righteousness ; it revived in him the heavenly life. He was sensible that the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalm xxxiv. 19.) Of this the next letter is a proof:- “To the Right Honourable the Lord President of the “Council of State: These. “ MY LORD, “Edinburgh, 24th March 1651. “...... Indeed, my Lord, your service needs not “me: I am a poor creature; and have been a “dry bone; and am still an unprofitable servant “to my master and you. I thought I should have “ died of this fit of sickness; but the Lord seemeth “to dispose otherwise. But truly, my Lord, I “ desire not to live, unless I may obtain mercy “from the Lord to approve my heart and life to “ Him in more faithfulness and thankfulness, and “ to those I serve in more profitableness and dili- “gence. And I pray God, your Lordship, and “all in public trust, may approve all those un- * De Civitate Dei, xiii. 12. M 190 SCOTLAND. “paralleled experiences of the Lord's wonderful “workings in your sight, with singleness of heart to “His glory, and the refreshment of His people...... “OLIVER CROMWELL.”” This is truly the language of a convalescent christian man. Shortly after this, he addressed the following letter to his wife. “For my beloved Wife, Elizabeth Cromwell, at the “Cockpit; These. tº “ MY DE AREST, “ Edinburgh, 12th April 1651. “I praise the Lord I am increased in strength in “my outward man: But that will not satisfy me “except I get a heart to love and serve my heavenly “Father better; and get more of the light of His “countenance, which is better than life, and more “power over my corruptions:—in these hopes I “wait, and am not without expectation of a “gracious return. Pray for me; truly I do daily “for thee, and the dear Family; and God Almighty “bless you all with His spiritual blessings. “Mind poor Betty [Elizabeth Claypole] of the “Lord's great mercy. Oh, I desire her not only “to seek the Lord in her necessity, but in deed “and in truth to turn to the Lord; and to keep “close to him; and to take heed of a departing “heart, and of being cozened with worldly vanities “ and worldly company, which I doubt she is too * Newsp. Cromwelliana, 101. Carlyle, ii. 302. SCOTLAND. 191 “subject to. I earnestly and frequently pray for “her and for him [her husband]. Truly they are “dear to me, very dear; and I am in fear lest “Satan should deceive them;-knowing how weak “our hearts are, and how subtle the adversary is. “Let them seek Him in truth, and they shall find “ Him. “My love to the dear little ones; I pray for “grace for them. I thank them for their Letters; “let me have them often...... Truly I am not able “as yet to write much. I am weary; and rest “Thine, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”* The council of state had sent Cromwell two distinguished physicians, one of whom, Dr Bates, although of a different party from his patient, has borne him honourable testimony. Oliver thanked the council for their regard to “so frail a thing as “he was:” but the whole letter is worthy of being read. “To the Lord President of the Council of State: These. “My LORD, “Edinburgh, 3d June 1651. “I have received yours of the 27th of May; with “an order from the Parliament for my liberty to “return into England for change of air, that there- “by I might the better recover my health. All * Carlyle, ii. 303. 192 SCOTLAND. “which came unto me whilst Dr Wright and Dr “Bates, whom your Lordship sent down, were with “ me. “I shall not need to recite the extremity of my “last sickness: it was so violent that indeed my “nature was not able to bear the weight thereof. “But the Lord was pleased to deliver me, beyond “expectation; and to give me cause to say once “more, He hath plucked me out of the grave / My “Lord, the indulgence of the parliament expressed “by their order is a very high and undeserved “favour: of which although it be fit I keep a “ thankful remembrance, yet I judge it would be “too much presumption in me to return a par- “ticular acknowledgment. I beseech you give me “the boldness to return my humble thankfulness “to the Council for sending two such worthy per- “sons so great a journey to visit me. From whom “I have received much encouragement, and good “directions for recovery of health and strength,- “which I find now, by the goodness of God, grow- “ing to such a state as may yet, if it be His good “will, render me useful according to my poor “ability in the station wherein. He hath set me. “I wish more steadiness in your affairs here “ than to depend, in the least degree, upon so frail “a thing as I am. Indeed they do not, nor own “any instrument. This cause is of God, and it “must prosper. Oh, that all that have any hand “therein, being so persuaded, would gird up the SCOTLAND. 193 “loins of their mind, and endeavour in all things “to walk worthy of the Lord ' So prays, “My Lord, “Your most humble servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.* We have already remarked that the most strik- ing feature in Cromwell, as unveiled to us by his correspondence, is his character as the head of a family. He possessed a tenderness and wisdom most worthy of admiration. There are many other letters of this kind which we should like to quote, but we must refrain. We shall, however, give one more in which he appears as a father, at once firm, prudent, and enlightened.j Mr Mayor, to whom the letter is addressed, was, it will be remembered, the father of his son Richard's wife. Cromwell had sought this gentle- man's daughter for his son, preferring her to other more brilliant matches, because her father and his family were religious people. He remained ever after attached to this pious man, and corresponded with him, as with a brother, in the most remark- able periods of his military career. “To my very loving Brother, Richard Mayor, Esquire, “ at Hursley : These. “DEAR BROTHER, “Burntisland, 28th July 1651. “I was glad to receive a letter from you. I * Kimber's Life of Oliver Cromwell (Lond. 1724), 201. Carlyle, ii. 315. t Harris' Life of Cromwell, 513. Carlyle, ii. 323. 194 SCOTLAND. “believe your expectation of my son's coming is “deferred. I wish he may see a happy delivery “of his wife first, for whom I frequently pray. “I hear my son hath exceeded his allowance, “ and is in debt. Truly I cannot commend him “ therein...... I desire to be understood that I “grudge him not laudable recreations, nor an “honourable carriage of himself in them ; nor is “any matter of charge, like to fall to my share, “a stick [stop] with me. Truly I can find in my “heart to allow him not only a sufficiency, but “more, for his good. But if pleasure and self. “satisfaction be made the business of a man's life, “ and so much cost laid out upon it, so much time “spent in it, as rather answers appetite than the “will of God, I scruple to feed this humour; and “God forbid that his being my son should be his “allowance to live not pleasingly to our heavenly “Father, who hath raised me out of the dust to be “what I am. “I desire your faithfulness to advise him to “approve himself to the Lord in his course of life; “ and to search His statutes for a rule to con- “science, and to seek grace from Christ to enable “ him to walk therein. This hath life in it, and “will come to somewhat : what is a poor creature “without this? This will not abridge of lawful “pleasures; but teach such a use of them as will “have the peace of a good conscience going along “with it. Sir, I write what is in my heart: I “pray you communicate my mind herein to my SCOTLAND. 195 “son. Truly I love him; he is dear to me; so is “his wife; and for their sakes do I thus write. “They shall not want comfort nor encouragement “from me, so far as I may afford it. But indeed “I cannot think I do well to feed a voluptuous “humour in my son, if he should make pleasures “the business of his life, in a time when some “precious saints are bleeding, and breathing out “ their last for the safety of the rest......I desire “your prayers; and rest “Your very affectionate brother and servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” During his stay at Glasgow, Cromwell attended divine worship in the presbyterian churches. The Scottish ministers, preaching before this mighty and victorious general, did not hesitate to pray for the king and call Oliver a usurper. We do not find that he punished them in any way; on the contrary, knowing very well that no confidence could be placed either in Charles Stuart or in his political party, he endeavoured to form a connexion with the religious body, as the only one with which a lasting peace could be made. Charles, seeing that his cause was ruined in Scot- land, resolved to march into England, in the hope that all the royalists in the north would rise at his approach; but he was thoroughly defeated at Wor- cester, on the 3d of September 1651, on which day, twelve months before, Cromwell had gained the battle of Dunbar. 196 SCOTLAND. The expedition being thus ended, Charles fled to France, and sought to forget his discomfiture in debauchery and dissipation. Cromwell's despatch to parliament” of this new victory terminates with the following passage:— “The dimensions of this mercy are above my “ thoughts. It is, for ought I know, a crowning “mercy. Surely, if it be not, such a one we shall “have, if this provoke those that are concerned in “it to thankfulness; and the Parliament to do the “will of Him who hath done His will for it and for “ the nation;–whose good pleasure it is to estab- “lish the nation and the change of the government, “by making the people so willing to the defence “thereof, and so signally blessing the endeavours “of your servants in this late great work. I am “bold humbly to beg, that all thoughts may tend “to the promoting of His honour who hath wrought “so great salvation ; and that the fatness of these “continued mercies may not occasion pride and “wantonness, as formerly the like hath done to a “chosen nation. [Jeshurun waived fat, and kicked: “ and thou art waven fat, thou art grown thick, thou “art covered with fatness : then he forsook God which “made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salva- “tion. Deut. xxxii. 15.] But that the fear of the “Lord, even for His mercies, may keep an author- “ity and a people so prospered, and blessed, and “witnessed unto, humble and faithful; and that “justice and righteousness, mercy and truth, may * Cromwelliana, 113. Carlyle, ii. 339. SCOTLAND. 197 “flow from you, as a thankful return to our graci- “ous God. This shall be the prayer of “Sir, “Your most humble and obedient servant, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” Cromwell commissioned a number of the most godly men (Gillespie and some of his brethren) to arrange the affairs of the Scottish Church ; and it was his desire that, in the election of pastors, they should have regard to the choice of the most reli- gious portion of the flock, although these should not constitute the majority. Dr Hetherington, the historian of the Scottish Church, bears the following testimony to Oliver's policy: “Throughout the whole of Scotland, du- “ring the period of Cromwell's domination, there “prevailed a degree of civil peace beyond what “had almost ever before been experienced.” An old historian, Kirkton, speaks thus of the re- ligious condition of Scotland —“I verily believe “there were more souls converted to Christ in “that short period of time, than in any season “since the Reformation, though of triple its dura- “tion.”—Such are the testimonies of two native writers. Thus the result of Cromwell's campaigns both in Ireland and in Scotland was the peace and pros- perity of those two countries. There are few wars * Hist. Church of Scotland, 120. 198 SCOTLAND. recorded in history which have produced such beneficial consequences. Here, properly speaking, terminates Oliver's mili- tary life. Before bidding it farewell, let us call to mind the testimony which Cromwell more than once has borne to his army. “I hope,” wrote he to Colonel Walton, in September 1644, “I hope “the kingdom shall see that, in the midst of our “necessities, we shall serve them without disputes. “We hope to forget our wants, which are exceed- “ing great, and ill cared for; and desire to refer “the many slanders heaped upon us by false “ tongues to God, who will, in due time, make it “appear to the world that we study the glory of “God, and the honour and liberty of the parlia- “ment. For which we unanimously fight; with- “out seeking our own interests. Indeed we never “find our men so cheerful as when there is “work to do. I trust you will always hear so of “ them. The Lord is our strength, and in Him is “all our hope.” With these soldiers he performed wonders. Before the battle of Worcester, the alarm in London was very great. “Both the city and “the country,” says Mrs Hutchinson, “were all “amazed, and doubtful of their own and the com- “monwealth's safety. Some could not hide very “pale and unmanly fears, and were in such dis- “traction of spirit, that it much disturbed their “councils.”* Even Bradshaw, “stout-hearted as * Memoirs of Colonel Hutchinson, 356. London, 1846. SCOTLAND. 199 “he was,” trembled for his neck. But when Oliver came to Worcester, advantageous as that position was to the enemy, he rushed upon them imme- diately, as a lion on his prey; and not troubling himself with the formality of a siege, ordered his troops to fall on in all places at once. The loss on his side did not exceed 200 men; yet it was, he said, “a stiff business—as stiff a contest for four “ or five hours as ever he had seen.” In one of his letters, Cromwell has preserved an anecdote characteristic of the times, and which re- lates to one of his early battles. “A poor godly “man,” he says, “ died in Preston, the day before “the fight; and being sick, near the hour of his “death, he desired the woman that cooked to him, “to fetch him a handful of grass. She did so; and “when he received it, he asked whether it would “wither or not, now it was cut 2 The woman said, “‘yea." He replied, “so should this army of the “‘Scots do, and come to nothing, so soon as ours “‘did but appear,’ or words to this effect; and so “immediately died?” In this symbolical language there is a something reminding us of the Old Testament. The war of Scotland was ended, and its results were prosperity and peace. Another symbol was now required. One of the dying soldiers on the battle-field of Worcester, directing his eyes towards his distant home in Scotland, had sufficient strength to take * Letter to St. John, 1st September 1648. Carlyle, i. 385. 200 SCOTLAND. up a handful of corn, and say, as he threw it on the ground: “There shall be a handful of corn “in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the “fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they “of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” (Psalm lxxii. 16.) CHAPTER VIII. THE PROTECTORATE. Blake—Love and Fear—The Rump Parliament—Dissolved by Crom- well—The Little Parliament—Speech—Cromwell’s Integrity— Reforms—Cromwell’s Longing for Peace—The End—The Protec- torate—Constitution—New Parliament—Cromwell's Apology— Death of his Mother—Obstructions to Religious Liberty—Cromwell dissolves the Parliament—His Plans—L'état, c'est moi—The Two French Invasions—Revival of English Liberty. As soon as Ireland and Scotland were pacified, Crom- well turned his attention to the peace and prosperity of England. This was a more difficult task than either of those which he had accomplished in the two sister countries. The same elements which had overthrown despotism in England were then agi- tating the people, and were likely to banish from it all order and tranquillity. For some time foreign affairs had diverted men's minds from home matters. The fleet under the command of Admiral Blake had just triumphed over the Dutch ; but now the thoughts of all were concentrated anew on internal matters. 202 THE PROTECTORATE. After having commanded in the battle-field, the Protector was now to rule in the council-chamber. But let us first listen once more to the voice of the father and the Christian. The following letter addressed to Fleetwood, commander-in-chief in Ireland, who had married Bridget Cromwell, Ire- ton's widow, will remind us of another in which the fond parent displays the same anxiety for the soul of his daughter:— “For the Right Honourable Lieutenant-General Fleet- “wood, Commander-in-chief of the Forces “ in Ireland: These. “DEAR CHARLEs, “Cockpit, December (?) 1652. “I thank you for your loving letter. The same “hopes and desires, upon your planting into my “family, were much the same in me that you “express in yours towards me. However, the dis- “pensation of the Lord is, to have it otherwise for “ the present; and therein I desire to acquiesce;— “not being out of hope that it may lie in His good “pleasure, in His time, to give us the mutual com- “fort of our relation : the want whereof He is able “abundantly to supply by His own presence ; “which indeed makes up all defects, and is the “comfort of all our comforts and enjoyments. “Salute your dear Wife from me. Bid her “beware of a bondage spirit. Fear is the natural “ issue of such a spirit;-the antidote is, Love. “The voice of Fear is: If I had done this; if I THE PROTECTORATE. 203 “ had avoided that, how well it had been with me ! “—I know this hath been her vain reasoning. “Love argueth in this wise: what a Christ have “I; what a father in and through Him! What “a Name hath my Father: Merciful, gracious, long- “suffering, abundant in goodness and truth; forgiving “ iniquity, transgression, and sin. What a Nature “hath my Father: He is LOVE ;—free in it, un- “changeable, infinite What a Covenant between “Him and Christ,-for all the Seed, for every one: “wherein he undertakes all, and the poor Soul “nothing. The new Covenant is Grace,—to or “upon the Soul; to which it (the Soul), is passive “ and receptive: I’ll do away their Sins; I'll write “my Law, &c.; I'll put it in their hearts: they shall “never depart from me, &c. “This commends the Love of God: it's Christ “dying for men without strength, for men whilst “sinners, whilst enemies. And shall we seek for “the root of our comforts within us, What God “ hath done, what He is to us in Christ, this is the “root of our comfort: in this is stability; in us “is weakness. Acts of obedience are not perfect, “ and therefore yield not perfect Grace. Faith, as “an act, yields it not ; but only as it carries us “into Him, who is our perfect rest and peace; in “whom we are accounted of, and received by, the “Father,-even as Christ Himself! This is our “high calling. Rest we here, and here only. “Commend me to Harry Cromwell: I pray for “ him, that he may thrive, and improve in the 204 THE BROTECTORATE. - -, \ “knowledge and love of Christ. Commend me to “all the Officers. My prayers indeed are daily for “ them. Wish them to beware of bitterness of “spirit; and of all things uncomely for the Gospel. “The Lord give you abundance of wisdom, and “faith, and patience. Take heed also of your “natural inclination to compliance. “Pray for me. I commit you to the Lord; and “ rest “Your loving father, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” “The Boy and Betty are very well. Show what “kindness you well may to Colonel Clayton, to my “ nephew Gregory, to Claypole's brother.”” The Long Parliament, or the Rump, as it was called, was drawing near its end. This assembly was in reality a mere remnant of the parliament, con- taining a very small number of members, the residue of Pride's purge. It was also unpopular in the nation, and attacked by every party. From all sides it was called upon to dissolve itself, and thus gratify the wishes of the universal people. But the Rump could not make up their minds to such a decided measure. A new power was required for the new task that remained to be accomplished. This power must be essentially one ; for if the many can destroy, a single power is more capable of organizing and building up. It was not until a later period that * Carlyle, ii. 376. THE PROTECTORATE. 205 Cromwell assumed the title of Protector; but his protectorate in reality began immediately after his return from Scotland. He and his officers thought that, since the Rump could not come to the determination of resigning their powers, they ought of themselves to take measures for its dissolution. A new pretension of this body accelerated its end. On the 20th of April 1653, Colonel Ingoldsby informed Cromwell that the parliament was passing a bill to prolong its own duration. Indignant and greatly excited, he exclaimed: “It is not honest; yea, it is con- “trary to common honesty.” He then hastened down to the House, followed by a company of mus- keteers, whom he left in the lobby. He entered the hall, and composedly seated himself in his usual place, listening attentively to the debate. His dress was a plain suit of black cloth, with gray worsted stockings, the ordinary costume of the Puritans. For about a quarter of an hour he sat still; but when the Speaker was going to put the question, he whispered to Lieutenant-general Harrison, “This is the time, I must do it.” Alluding to this crisis, he said at a subsequent period, “When I “went to the House, I did not think to have done “this; but perceiving the Spirit of God strong upon “me, I would no longer consult flesh and blood.” After pausing for a minute, Cromwell rose, and taking off his hat, addressed the members at first in laudatory terms. Gradually becoming warmer and N 206 THE PROTECTORATE. more vehement, he charged them with injustice and self-interest, and then declared that he had come down to put an end to a power of which they had made such bad use. He was very excited, walking up and down, and occasionally stamping the floor with his feet. “You are no parliament,” he said; “I’ll put an end to your sitting. Some of you are “drunkards (and he pointed to those whom he had “in view); others live a corrupt and scandalous “life (and his eyes glanced formidably upon them). “I say you are no parliament. Get ye gone ! “Give way to honester men.” Speaker Lenthall declared that he would not retire until forced. Harrison then took him by the hand, and led him from his chair. “What shall we do with this fool's “bauble?” said Cromwell, fixing his eyes on the mace;—“Here, take it away,”—and he gave it to a musketeer. After all the members of the Rump, to the number of eighty, had vanished, the Protector locked the door, put the key in his pocket, and re- turned to Whitehall. What he said to the parliament was indeed the truth. It was well that this assembly was dissolved, and the General, by desiring another, looked really to the welfare of the people. Nevertheless, on this occasion, he not only violated the principles by which states are governed; but he was misled with regard to those by which religion should guide men's actions. His mainspring, as he tells us him- self, was again, in this as in other occurrences, cer- THE PROTECTORATE. 207 tain impulses which he looked upon as the Spirit of God. No doubt the Holy Spirit leads men; but we repeat, that it is by the precepts in the Word of God that he leads them, and not by inward il- luminations, more or less vague, which they think to be the voice of the Almighty himself, but which may be merely the voice of their own passions. Nevertheless, whatever might have been the motive which influenced Cromwell's conviction, what he did was truly for the good of the commonwealth. Numerous addresses from the army, the fleet, and other quarters approved his conduct, and set upon this daring act the seal of popular opinion. Impartial posterity, contemplating the use he made of his power, and adopting the expression of an illustrious bishop, will, with Warburton, entitle him, “ the most magnanimous of usurpers.” As he now had the supreme power entirely in his own hands, he immediately sought to employ it in reorganizing the nation. In conjunction with a council of state, consisting of twelve members, he endeavoured to form an Assembly of Notables, to whom the great work he had in view might be con- fided. Desirous of seeing the best men called to- gether to provide for the good of their country, he thought that their choice should be intrusted to no one but himself. Besides, England was tired of parliaments and anarchy. He therefore sought in every quarter for persons of approved fidelity and honesty, known for their fear of God, their intelli. gence, and renunciation of worldly passions, and 208 THE PROTECTORATE. summoned them to undertake the renovation of the state. He selected one hundred and thirty- nine representatives for England, six for Wales, six for Ireland, and five for Scotland. On the 4th of July 1653, the Protector, supported by a numerous body of officers, opened this assembly in the Council-chamber at Whitehall, and addressed them as follows:—* “GENTLEMEN, “.......... ..I beseech you,-but I think I need “ not, have a care of the Whole Flock Love “ the sheep, love the lambs; love all, tender all, “cherish and countenance all, in all things that are “good. And if the poorest Christian, the most “mistaken Christian, shall desire to live peaceably “ and quietly under you, I say, if any shall desire “but to lead a life of godliness and honesty, let him “be protected. - “I think I need not advise, much less press you, “to endeavour the Promoting of the Gospel; to “encourage the Ministry; such a Ministry and “such Ministers as be faithful in the Land; upon “whom the true character is. Men that have re- “ceived the Spirit..........I speak not, I thank “God it is far from my heart, for a Ministry “ deriving itself from the Papacy, and pretending “to that which is so much insisted on, ‘Succession.’ “The true Succession is through the Spirit. The “Spirit is given for that use, To make proper * Milton, State-papers, 106-114. Carlyle, ii. 411, &c. THE PROTECTORATE. 209. “Speakers forth of God's eternal Truth ; and “that's right Succession......... “I confess I never looked to see such a day as “this, it may be nor you neither, when Jesus “Christ should be so owned as He is, this day, of “you.......... God manifests this to be the day of “ the power of Christ; having, through so much “blood, and so much trial as hath been upon these “nations, made this to be one of the great issues “thereof; To have His people called to the Su- “preme Authority. He makes this to be the greatest “mercy, next to His own Son.—Perhaps you are “not known by face to one another; coming from “all parts of the Nation as you do : but we shall “tell you that indeed we have not allowed our- “selves the choice of one person in whom we had “not this good hope, That there was in him faith “in Jesus Christ and love to all His People.” If Cromwell's words express the truth, this as- sembly was really one without example before or since in this world. A celebrated writer has called this speech and the emotion which accompanied it, “ mere nonsense;” but he adds: “Beneath all this nonsense new man- “ners were forming, and institutions were taking “root. These characters would not have been so “ridiculous, but for their eccentricity; still, every- “thing that is strongly constituted contains a prin- “ciple of life. The courtiers of Charles II. might “laugh; but these honest fanatics left a posterity 210 THE PROTECTORATE. “which has freed the world from these courtiers, “ and punished them as they deserved.” With increased elevation Cromwell still showed the strictest integrity. He was neither a spend- thrift nor a miser. Mammon was not his god, as it has been of so many men in power; and his de- scendants in England are far from belonging to the most opulent families of that country. Richard Mayor, it would seem, desired to make an ad- vantageous purchase of land, which called forth the following reply from him:—f “For my loving Brother, Richard Mayor, Esquire, “ at Hursley in Hampshire: These. “DEAR BROTHER, “Whitehall, 4th May, 1654. “I received your loving letter, for which I thank “you : and surely were it fit to proceed in that “business, you should not in the least have been “put upon anything but the trouble; for indeed “the land in Essex, with some money in my hand, “should have gone towards it. “But indeed I am so unwilling to be a seeker “after the world, having had so much favour from “the Lord in giving me so much without seeking; “ and am so unwilling that men should think me “so, which they will though you only appear in it “ (for they will, by one means or other, know it), “that indeed I dare not meddle nor proceed therein. “Thus I have told you my plain thoughts. * Chateaubriand, Les Quatre Stuards, 179. t Noble, i. 330. Carlyle, iii. 11. THE PROTECTORATE. 211 “My hearty love I present to you and my sister, “my blessing and love to dear Doll and the little “one. With love to all, “I rest “Your loving brother, “OLIVER P.” Oliver knew that the love of money is the root of all evil. We often find him giving away considerable sums for useful purposes, but never a prey to those foolish and hurtful lusts, of which the apostle speaks, and which exist in those that will be rich. The Parliament, for this was the name assumed by the Notables, showed themselves equal to their vocation, and endeavoured with conscientious zeal to introduce the most important ameliorations into the commonwealth. They established order and economy in the finances, bettered the condition of the prisoners, and suppressed a tax that was reckoned arbitrary. They further desired to give the nation that inestimable benefit—a code of laws; to abolish presentations, so that every parish might choose its own minister; to suppress tithes; di- minish the army; and purify the clergy. All these projects excited a strong opposition. Oliver endeavoured to reconcile every exasper- ated feeling, and sought after that blessing which is promised to the peace-makers. He said with St. Paul: If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like- 212 THE PROTECTORATE. minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. But all was ineffectual; for his enemies were entirely blind to the spirit of thatlove which possessed him. On this subject he poured out his soul to Fleet- wood. History scarcely presents us another example of a statesman, in whose heart we can read so plainly as in Cromwell's; all is clear and transparent; there is not, so to speak, in his mind a single deep affection hidden from us; and yet this is the man whom historians have charged with dissimulation We shall give the letter he wrote to his son-in-law, with reference to the quarrels excited by the Little, or as it was more frequently called in derision, Barebone's Parliament.* “ For the Right Honourable Lieutenant-general “Fleetwood, Commander-in-chief of the Forces “ in Ireland : These. “DEAR CHARLEs, “Cockpit, 22d August 1653. “Although I do not so often as is desired by “me acquaint you how it is with me, yet I doubt “not of your prayers in my behalf, That, in all “things, I may walk as becometh the Gospel. “Truly I never more needed all helps from my “Christian Friends than now ! Fain would I “have my service accepted of the Saints, if the “Lord will;-but it is not so. Being of different “judgments, and those of each sort seeking most * Harl. MSS. No. 7502, f. 13. Carlyle, ii. 424. THE PROTECTORATE. 213 “to propagate their own, that spirit of kindness “that is (in me?) to them all, is hardly accepted “of any. I hope I can say it, My life has been a “willing sacrifice,—and I hope, for them all. “Yet it much falls out as when the Two Hebrews “were rebuked: you know upon whom they turned “ their displeasure (Exod. ii. 14). . “But the Lord is wise; and will, I trust, make “manifest that I am no enemy. Oh, how easy “is mercy to be abused :—Persuade friends with “you to be very sober If the Day of the Lord “be so near as some say, how should our modera- “tion appear ! If every one, instead of contend- “ing, would justify his form of judgment by love “ and meekness, Wisdom would be ‘justified of her “‘children.’ But, alas ! “I am, in my temptation, ready to say: “Oh, “‘would I had wings like a dove, for then would I “‘fly away and be at rest. Lo, then would I “‘wander far off, and remain in the wilderness, “‘I would hasten my escape from the windy storm “‘and tempest.” (Ps. lv. 6, 7, 8): but this, I fear, is “my “haste.' I bless the Lord I have somewhat keeps “me alive: some sparks of the light of His counte- “nance, and some sincerity above man's judgment. “Excuse me thus unbowelling myself to you : pray “forme; and desire my friends to do so also. My “love to thy dear wife, whom indeed I entirely “love, both naturally, and upon the best account; “—and my blessing, if it be worth anything, upon “thy little Babe. 214 THE PROTECTORATE. “...... Remember my hearty affections to all the “officers. The Lord bless you all. So prayeth “Your truly loving father, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” “P. S.—All here love you, and are in health, “your children and all.” The opposition which the Little Parliament met with paralyzed its exertions. Of all the projects discussed none caused so great excitement as that concerning the purification of the clergy. The de- bate continued ten days, and at last, early on Monday the 12th of December, while the strict evangelical party had not yet assembled in the House, it was moved and carried that as the sitting of that parliament any longer would not be for the good of the commonwealth, it should deliver up to the Lord General Cromwell the powers which it had received from him. This body had sat five months and twelve days. y With the exception of the Levellers, all parties –Royalists and Episcopalians, Soldiers and Law- yers—now turned their eyes to Cromwell as the sole means of safety for England. When he learnt the resolution of parliament, he testified much emotion and surprise; and there is nothing to authorize the supposition, entertained by several historians, that his sentiments were not sincere. The army-leaders, finding themselves a sec- ond time invested with the supreme power, resolved THE PROTECTORATE. 215 b. º: unanimously to adopt a form of government more nearly assimilating to a monarchy, the necessity of which all men acknowledged. It was decided that Cromwell should assume the title of LORD PROTECTOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND ; and that a parliament of 460 members should be elected every three years. If the Protector neglected to issue the writs, the commissioners of the great seal, and, in their default, the high-sheriffs of the counties, were to do so under pain of high-treason. The parlia- ment could not be dissolved without their own consent in less than five months. All the courts of Europe recognised and congrat- ulated the new governor of England. The elections took place, and on the 4th of September 1654, parliament met. The Protector rode in state to the abbey-church in Westminster, and after the sermon, went to the Painted Cham- ber, in which the sittings of this assembly were to be held. Lenthall, Fairfax, and the most illustri- ous men of the revolution were present. Taking his seat in the chair of state, Oliver addressed the members in a speech which lasted three hours.” “Gentlemen,” said he, “you are met here on the “greatest occasion that, I believe, England ever “saw; having upon your shoulders the interest of “three great nations; and truly, I believe I may “say it without any hyperbole, the interests of all “the Christian people in the world.” * Parl. Hist. xx. 318. Carlyle, iii. 23. 216 THE PROTECTORATE. The result corresponded very meagrely with such high expectations. Instead of busying themselves with the organization and prosperity of the nation, the parliament began to examine whether, or not, the government should be vested in the hands of a single person. On the 12th of September the Pro- tector again addressed them thus:—* “GENTLEMEN, “...... I called not myself to this place: of that, “God is witness:–and I have many witnesses “who, I do believe, could lay down their lives “bearing witness to the truth of that...... If my “calling be from God, and my testimony from the “ people,_God and the people shall take it from “me, else I will not part with it...... “I was by birth a gentleman ; living neither in “any considerable height, nor yet in obscurity. I “have been called to several employments in the “nation. I did endeavour to discharge the duty “of an honest man, in those services, to God and “His people's interest, and to the Commonwealth. “...... I begged to be dismissed of my charge; I “begged it again and again :-and God be “Judge between me and all men if I lie in this “ matter...... “In every government there must be somewhat “fundamental, somewhat like a Magna Charta, “which should be standing, be unalterable...... “That Parliament should not make themselves * Parl. Hist. xx. 349. Carlyle, iii. 51, &c. THE PROTECTORATE. 217 “perpetual is a Fundamental...... Liberty of con- “science in religion (equally removed from pro- “faneness and persecution) is a Fundamental...... “Another Fundamental is that the power of the “Militia should be shared between the Protector “ and the Parliament...... ” To these fundamentals Cromwell added a fourth, requiring all the members of the House to sign a paper engaging themselves “to be true and faithful to the Protector and the “Commonwealth.” Three hundred members, with the speaker at their head, appended their signatures; the others absented themselves from parliament. A painful domestic event occurred at this time to divert Cromwell's cares. His mother, an aged woman of ninety-four, resided with him at White- hall. This venerable lady combined the sincerest faith with the tenderest maternal affection: she cared little for the royal pomp around her. The sound of a musket struck terror to her heart; she thought it was perhaps aimed at her son, and could not be satisfied unless she saw him once a-day at least. The close of her earthly career was approaching. On the 15th of November she called the mighty Protector of England to her bedside. He had ever entertained for her the most respectful and sincere affection. Stretching out her feeble hands she blessed him in these words: “The Lord “cause his face to shine upon you; and comfort “you in all your adversities; and enable you to “do great things for the glory of the Most High “God, and to be a relief unto His people. My 218 THE PROTECTORATE. “dear Son, I leave my heart with thee. Good “night !” and therewith she fell asleep in the Lord. Her son was heart-broken, and burst into a violent flood of tears. The parliament did not answer the expectations either of Cromwell or of the nation. Forgetful of the wants of the people, they thought their whole duty consisted in struggling against the Protector, and in refusing to grant him, so far as they were able, either supplies or power. They went farther, and infringed upon religious liberty. The House voted that none should be tolerated who did not profess the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and ap- pointed a committee to draw up and lay before parliament a catalogue of these doctrines. This committee presented sixteen fundamental articles,” excluding not only deists, socinians, and papists, but arians, antinomians, quakers, and others. Thus the noble principle of religious liberty, which Oliver was called to maintain throughout the world, was seriously compromised. The revolution was sliding back towards bigotry and intolerance. Could the Protector, the enemy of both, permit such an erroneous course to be persevered in 2 On the 22d of January 1655, the five months— five lunar months only—fixed by the constitution having elapsed, the Lord-general summoned the House to meet him in the Painted Chamber. “Numerous dangers threaten the nation,” he said, “and you have done nothing to prevent * Neale, History of the Puritans, ii. 621. - THE PROTECTORATE. 219 “ them. The Cavalier party have been designing “ and preparing to put this nation in blood again ; “ the Levellers are endeavouring to put us into “confusion. And these two extreme parties have “laboured to engage some in the army; and I “doubt that not only they, but some others also, “very well known to you, have helped to this “work of debauching and dividing the army. The “enemies of the State have confessed that they “built their hopes upon the assurance they had of “the Parliament. You have given them great ad- “vantages by losing the precious moments in your “ power for effecting the happiness of the people. “You might have settled peace and quietness “amongst all professing Godliness; you might “ have healed the breaches of these nations, and “rendered them secure, happy, and well satisfied. “You have done none of these things. But in- “stead of that, you have been disputing about “things already settled by the Constitution. You “ have thus consumed all your time, and have done “nothing.” Cromwell reproaches with equal severity their attacks upon religious liberty. He continued: “Is “there not yet upon the spirits of men a strange “itching? Nothing will satisfy them unless they “can press their finger upon their brethren's con- “sciences, to pinch them there. To do this was “no part of the contest we had with the common “adversary. And wherein consisted this more “ than in obtaining that liberty from the tyranny 220 THE PROTECTORATE. “of the bishops to all species of Protestants to “worship God according to their own light and “consciences? For want of which many of our “brethren forsook their native countries to seek “ their bread from strangers, and to live in howling “wildernesses; and for which also many that “remained here were imprisoned, and otherwise “abused and made the scorn of the nation. Those “that were sound in the Faith, how proper was it “for them to labour for liberty, for a just liberty, “that men might not be trampled upon for their “consciences ! Had not they themselves laboured, “but lately, under the weight of persecution ? “And was it fit for them to sit heavy upon others? “Is it ingenuous to ask liberty, and not to give it? “...... What greater hypocrisy than for those who “were oppressed by the bishops to become the great- “est oppressors themselves, so soon as their yoke “was removed? I could wish that they who call for “liberty now also had not too much of that spirit, “if the power were in their hands !—As for profane “ persons, blasphemers, such as preach sedition; “ the contentious railers, evil-speakers, who seek “by evil words to corrupt good manners, persons “ of loose conversation, —punishment from the “civil magistrate ought to meet with these.” Thus spoke Cromwell. The partisans of the tyranny, the popery, and the debauchery of the Stuarts may have made it fashionable to defame bim; but when we hear him calling with so much * Parl. Hist. xx. 404. Carlyle, iii. 103. THE PROTECTORATE. 221 energy for toleration towards his adversaries in religion, we cannot refuse him the tribute of our admiration. “I think it my duty to tell you,” he added in conclusion, “that it is not for the profit of these “nations, nor for common and public good, for “you to continue here any longer. And therefore “I do declare unto you, That I do dissolve this “Parliament.” . Oliver was eager to promote the wellbeing and glory of England; and he dissolved the parliament, that he might be more at liberty in his actions. This was the object he had in view during all his wars. On his medals and his coins were en- graved these characteristic words: PAx QUAERITUR BELLO. Such was the device he wore on his coat of arms on the day of battle. Peace and the bless- ings of peace were all that he had sought in war: he now wished to impart them to his people. On earth peace / < It may be objected that this dissolution of the parliament was a crime against constitutional prin- ciples; it may be said that under their influence the prince (and Cromwell was a prince) ought not to do good, if the other constitutional powers are opposed to it. That may be true; but if he com- mitted a fault—which is still a matter of discussion —it was a virtuous fault. It was not from Henry VIII., nor from Elizabeth, nor from the Stuarts that England could learn this O 222 THE PROTECTORATE. duty of a sovereign to annihilate himself. The development of the modern theory and its realiza- tion in practice was the task of the eighteenth century. That of the seventeenth was of a different kind. Cromwell had tried various means to accomplish the work which the condition of the country rendered necessary. At first he had had recourse to an assembly of Notables, nominated by himself; and next, to a parliament elected by the nation. Neither one nor the other attained the object. He then thought that since others were either unable or unwilling to do anything, he must apply him- self to the task. He was soon found employing the same activity in organizing and building up, which he had made use of in dissolving and throw- ing down. On the 19th of May 1649, the Commonwealth was proclaimed in England by an act to the follow- ing effect: “Be it declared and enacted by this “present Parliament, and by the authority of the “same, that the People of England, and of all the “dominions and territories thereunto belonging, “are and shall be, and are hereby constituted, made, “established, and confirmed to be, a Common- “wealth or Free State ; and shall from henceforth “ be governed as a Commonwealth and Free State, “—by the Supreme Authority of this Nation, the “Representatives of the People in Parliament, and “ by such as they shall appoint and constitute offi- THE PROTECTORATE. 223 “ cers and ministers under them for the good of “the People; and that without any King or House “ of Lords.” Cromwell had now become the head of this Free State. Many notable men of the age had signified their adhesion and their homage. The great Condé, the victor of Rocroi, Friburg, and Nordlingen, the friend of Boileau and Racine, addressed Cromwell in a letter (December 1653), which is but little known, and which we shall give here. “I am exceedingly delighted with the justice “ that has been paid to your Highness's merit and “virtue. It is in that only that England can find “her safety and repose, and I consider the people “of the Three Kingdoms in the height of their “glory at seeing their goods and their lives in- “trusted at last to the management of so great a “man. For my part, I beg your Highness to be- “lieve that I shall think myself most happy, if I “can serve you on any occasion, and prove to you “ that no one will be so far as myself, “Sir, “Your Highness's “Most affectionate servant, “LOUIS DE BOURBON.”* Thus wrote Condé, that great prince, over whose tomb was heard the same voice, f which over the grave of Henrietta, queen of England, proclaimed the nothingness of human grandeur. In many re- * Revue Nouvelle, 1846, 399. + Bossuet. 224 THE PROTECTORATE. | spects posterity has been more severe towards Oli- ver than his contemporaries were. The reason may be, that the latter saw the events without disguise; the former has too often viewed them through the mists of prejudice and the confusion of parties. Great Britain is certainly not fitted for a repub- lic; and the establishment of this form of govern- ment in England has at all times excited great opposition. We are by no means inclined to be its apologist; but did not this form really proceed from the developments of history? Will any one venture to assert that at the era of its existence it was really an evil? - The ancient English principles were disappear- ing. New and foreign principles were intruding themselves into the nation. The political ideas of France were imported into England. Richelieu had urged forward the great work to which he had devoted his life,...the royal supremacy, abso- lute power; and Louis XIV. was then completing the revolution begun by that powerful minister, and proclaiming in Europe a new system, one unknown to the Middle Ages, all the articles of which were reduced to this brief but significant phrase: L'état, c'est moi. When Charles I. sought a French wife, he sought also a new policy. Henrietta brought to the court of England the manners, amusements, and spirit of France. Nor was that all: she desired also to give it a king after the French model. That was the main point. The monarch was to become a sort THE PROTECTORATE. 225 of deity placed on a lofty pedestal, and the people, crowding around its base, were to fall down, ad- mire, and worship. Charles earnestly applied to the task, and some of his first exploits were, as we have seen, to silence the representatives of the people, to levy taxes forbidden by the Commons, and to govern without a parliament. He would, indeed, have allowed a few petitions,...very humble petitions; but that was all. There must be no opposition. There must be in England, as in France, but one will. Magna Charta was banished to the state-paper-office, and the barons found a master. Absolutism had ascended the English throne. - Thus it was a real revolution which Charles I. undertook to effect, and the English people, by op- posing it, opposed a revolt against the oldest insti- tutions of the country. The cavaliers were the revolutionists: the roundheads the conservatives. The establishment of the democratical system was a necessary reaction against the invasion of the ab- solute system. The founder of the English repub- lic was not Cromwell, but in reality Charles the First. - Not only liberty, but nationality also was at stake. The cavaliers were Versailles courtiers with British faces and an English tongue. The round- heads were good, honest old Englishmen. Charles's efforts to establish Richelieu's system in England was a French invasion, which, if it had succeeded, would have been far more disastrous than that of 226 THE PROTECTORATE. William the Conqueror. The arms of the English were more successful in the 17th century than Harold's had been. There was not then a battle of Hastings, but there was, alas ! a battle of White- hall; and in this struggle also a king perished. The king of Hastings contended with his people against the foreigner; the king of Whitehall fought with the foreigner against his own people. The result of the one was the subjugation of England; of the other, its deliverance. The contest which ruined the Stuarts was the defeat of modern des- potism, of the French spirit, and of the papal supremacy. The history of absolutism in England was an ephemeral romance, a French novel, which has served as the ground-work of other romances and graphic novels in more recent days. But was this its only use?...... Undoubtedly not; there were others certainly of greater im- portance. The onset of absolutism awoke English liberty, which lay sleeping, and which would have slept longer still, and all Europe with it. But this violent blow aroused her: she rose, she stood erect, as she is to this day, and will remain so, Deo juvante, until the end of time. Liberty did more than simply awake from her slumbers. Re- tempered in modern times, she started up stronger, more complete, and more profound. This awaken- ing was almost a new creation. Perhaps this interlude of despotism, accompanied à la Française with music and dancing, was destined to be placed between these two liberties,...... of the Middle Ages THE PROTECTORATE. 227 and of modern times, in order to decide their transformation. - It was necessary that all the elements of feu- dality, of corporations, of classes, whose rights and privileges constituted the liberty of the Middle Ages, should be mingled and confounded together, in order that a new power,...... the power of the common-law, should rise above and rule over them. The liberty of the Great Charter and of the Middle Ages was, in an especial manner, that of the aris- tocracy. The liberty of the people was now to be inaugurated. The charter of the thirteenth cen- tury was the emancipation of the barons; the revolution of the seventeenth century was the manumission of the commons. Freedom is as necessary for the people as for the peers. The commons had been too long trodden under foot alike by prince and baron. They then took their place at the side of these two powers, and there Westminster still beholds them seated and enjoying great influence. The nobles had often been more despotic over the people, than the king. Do we not see this, even in the present day, in Scotland, where, while the crown asserts and nobly main- tains religious liberty, a small number of landed proprietors, among whom are men of noble char- acter and of great respectability, refuses to a portion of the poor the liberty of assembling in peace to sing their psalms and worship God?” * The refusal of sites, against which some of the chiefs of the present ministry have protested in the Commons. 228 THE PROTECTORATE. Notwithstanding the revolution of the seventeenth century and the two centuries which have since elapsed, aristocratic despotism is not entirely effaced in Great Britain ; and while, generally speaking, liberty has no more noble defenders than the power- ful lords who are to be found immediately below the throne, there are still here and there in certain castles a few dark recesses, in which absolutism lies concealed. But it is at its last gasp ; it can no longer defend itself, and the attack made upon it by the progress of the age will no doubt soon drive it from its gloomy lair, to be sacrificed in the open light of day. I may be mistaken, but I hope the victim will fall by the hands of these noble lords themselves. - Thus the French absolutism, thrust by the Stuarts on the people of England, produced the effect of those iced waters which, being poured over the body, excite immediately a powerful re- action, increase the circulation of the blood, and give to the entire man a new warmth and a new life. - The despotism of Charles I. brought on the transition from an imperfect state which still lived on privileges, to a real and rational state in which liberty was proclaimed a common good. If Charles began this transformation by follow- ing the lessons of despotism, which he had learnt of a popish court, Oliver Cromwell accomplished it by the principles of Christianity and true liberty, which he had found in the Gospel. THE PROTECTORATE. 229 He accomplished it not only by spurring the coursers so long as they had to climb the hill, but by holding them back when the summit was reached and they had to descend. It will no doubt be urged that he sometimes had recourse to the same means as Charles I., and that he also could dismiss the Commons. We do not absolve him from all blame; but it should be remembered, that the same act in different circumstances may have very contrary meanings. By sad experience in our age, the idea has become a truism, that liberty may be preserved, not only by combating des- potism, but also by saving it from its own excesses. The soldier who defends his flag against the enemies who attack him in front, may afterwards face round and defend it from those who attack him from be- hind. He has certainly turned his back; but he still wields his sword in the same cause ; he is still faithful to the same colours. CHAPTER IX. ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. Necessity of Organization—Ecclesiastical Commission—Errors—Im- partiality—Baxter’s Testimony—Cromwell’s—The State—Discon- tents—Letter to Fleetwood—Bridget's Anxiety—Indulgence—The Major-Generals—Cromwell’s System in Ireland—Official and Popular Protestantism—Puritan Mannerism—A better Christi- anity. CROMWELL was not the only one who thought he had received a call from heaven : many of the greatest men of the kingdom were of the same opinion. Milton in particular believed that the Protectorate was a thing required by the ne- cessities of the times and the everlasting laws of justice, and that the Protector ought now to fulfil the duties of the charge to which he had been summoned by the nation, like a christian hero, as he had been used to do in things of less importance. It is an honour to Oliver to have received this testimony of respect and approbation from the ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 231 bard of Paradise Lost. He knew how to satisfy such great expectations. In a country like England, after a revolution which had just shaken it to its foundations, it was of primary importance to regulate religion and the clergy. Episcopacy was nearly overthrown, and presbyterianism was not yet established. Old abuses frequently existed by the side of new errors. Cromwell did not think the Church capable of organizing itself, and he felt it his duty to put his hand to the work. We should have preferred his leaving to the Church the power of self-govern- ment, but must in all truth acknowledge, that without this mighty aid it would have been dif- ficult to bring order and regularity out of the chaos in which the country was then labouring. It was therefore one of the first objects of the Pro- tector's solicitude. Even before the dissolution of parliament, he had been seriously engaged in the organization of the Church. On the 20th of March 1654, he had nominated thirty-eight chosen men, the acknow- ledged flower of puritanism, who were to form a Supreme Commission for the Trial of Public Preachers. Any person pretending to hold a church-living, or levy tithes or clergy-dues, was first to be tried and approved by these men. Of these thirty-eight, nine were laymen, and twenty- nine were clergymen. The Protector had no wish that this commission should be composed of pres- byterians alone, fearful that in this case they would 232 ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. admit none but men of their own persuasion. It contained presbyterians, independents, and even baptists. He had cared for one thing only, that they should be men of wisdom, and had the love of the Gospel in their hearts. Among their num- ber were Owen, Sterry, Marshall, Manton, and others. To this ordinance he added another on the 28th of August following, nominating a body of commissioners selected from the puritan gentry. These latter, who were distinct from the former, were from fifteen to thirty in each county of Eng- land; and it was their duty to inquire into “scan- “dalous, ignorant, and insufficient ministers,” and to be a tribunal for judging and ejecting them. In case of ejection, a small pension was to be allowed those who were married. These commis- sioners judged and sifted until by degrees they had winnowed the Church. This was undoubtedly a very republican arrangement, but it was found in practice to work well. Of the lay inquisitors not a few were Crom- well's political enemies; but that mattered not; they were men of pious probity, and that was enough for him. The task assigned to these persons was by no means easy, and nothing was more calculated to excite discontent. And accordingly, loud com- plaints were heard both from episcopalians and heterodox dissenters. These Triers, as they are sometimes called, were charged with paying little attention to knowledge or learning, and with in- ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 233 quiring too much into the internal marks and character of the grace of God in the heart. No doubt they committed many errors—inevitable errors; but a great number of cases might be pro- duced in refutation of the charges brought against them. For example, the celebrated historian Fuller, who as the king's partisan had lost his place under the parliament, and whose principles were not only episcopalian, but High Church, who afterwards showed such activity for the recall of Charles II., who became this king's chaplain, and who would have been made a bishop if death had not cut short his career in 1661,–this very man was presented to a living by the Triers at Cromwell's recommen- dation, although they could find no other evidence of the grace of God in him than this: That he made conscience of his thoughts. The excellent Richard Baxter has left us the fol- lowing fair and candid account of these Commis- sioners:–“Because this assembly of Triers is most “heavily accused and reproached by some men, I “shall speak the truth of them, and suppose my “word will be taken, because most of them took “me for one of their boldest adversaries: the truth “is, though some few over-rigid and over-busy in- “dependents among them were too severe against “all that were arminians, and too particular in in- “quiring after evidences of sanctification in those “whom they examined, and somewhat too lax in “admitting of unlearned and erroneous men, that “favoured antinomianism or anabaptism; yet, to 234 ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. “give them their due, they did abundance of good “to the Church. They saved many a congrega- “tion from ignorant, ungodly, drunken teachers, “ that sort of men who intend no more in the “ministry than to read a sermon on Sunday, and “all the rest of the week go with the people to the “alehouse, and harden them in sin; and that sort “ of ministers who either preached against a holy “life, or preached as men that were never ac- “quainted with it: these they usually rejected, “ and in their stead admitted of any that were able, “serious preachers, and lived a godly life, of what “tolerable opinion soever they were; so that though “many of them were a little partial for the inde- “pendents, separatists, fifth-monarchy men, and “anabaptists, and against the prelatists and armi- “nians, yet so great was the benefit above the “ hurt which they brought to the Church, that “many thousands of souls blessed God for the faith- “ful ministers whom they let in, and grieved when “the prelatists afterwards cast them out again.” We must observe that the ejected ministers were only excluded from the privileges of the national ministry; they were not deprived of religious liberty. The regulations of the Triers had especial refer. ence to moral incapacity. The ordinance of the 28th of August 1654 enjoined the dismissal of all ministers who should be guilty of profane curs. ing and swearing, perjury, adultery, fornication, * Baxter's Life, part i. 72. ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 235 drunkenness, common haunting of taverns or ale- houses, frequent quarrellings or fightings, &c. Those who maintained popish opinions were also to be ejected. The episcopalians were not proscribed; but a frequent use of the Book of Common Prayer in public was a ground of exclusion : this was alike intolerant and inconsistent. Still there were cer- tain specious reasons for this limitation, and un- doubtedly it has never been maintained that a man cannot be a conscientious episcopalian without the Prayer-book; which would be setting it on a level with the Bible. Cromwell in his speech to the second parliament, delivered on the 21st of April 1657, thus alludes to these ordinances:—“And truly we have settled “very much of the business of the ministry. But “I must needs say, if I have any thing to rejoice in “before the Lord in this world, as having done any “good or service, it is this. I can say it from my “heart; and I know I say the truth, let any man “say what he will to the contrary, he will give “me leave to enjoy my own opinion in it, and my “own conscience and heart; and to dare bear my “testimony to it: There hath not been such a “service to England, since the Christian religion “was perfect in England I dare be bold to say it; “however, there may have, here and there, been “passion and mistakes. And the ministers them- “selves will tell you, it is beside their instructions, 236 ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. “if they have fallen into passions and mistakes, if “they have meddled with civil matters...... “And if the grounds upon which we went will “not justify us, the issue and event of it doth “ abundantly justify us, God having had exceeding “glory by it, in the generality of it, I am con- “fident, forty-fold ! For as heretofore the men that “were admitted into the ministry in times of epis- “copacy—alas, what pitiful certificates served to “make a man a minister | If any man could under- “stand Latin and Greek, he was sure to be ad- “mitted......I am sure the admission granted to “such places since has been under this character as “ the rule: That they must not admit a man unless “they (the Triers) were able to discern something “of the grace of God in him. Such and such a “man, of whose good life and conversation they “could have a very good testimony from four or “five of the neighbouring ministers who knew “him, he could not yet be admitted unless he “could give a very good testimony of the grace of “ God in him.”* But if it was necessary to set the Church in order, it was not less necessary to do the same thing for the State. The royalists and the level- lers coalesced, and the latter boldly declared that they would prefer Charles Stuart to Cromwell. Even some of the men for whom the Protector entertained the sincerest affection inclined to the * Somers' Tracts, vi. 389. Carlyle, iii. 360. ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 237 side of the discontented republicans. Among them was his own son-in-law, then lord-lieutenant of Ire- land. Cromwell endeavoured to remove prejudices and to maintain peace. He sent to Fleetwood his second son Henry, a man of real insight, veracity, and resolution, and at the same time wrote the following letter, in which he manifests his great anxiety for concord. “To the Lord Fleetwood, Lord Deputy of Ireland. “DEAR CHARLEs, “Whitehall, 22d June 1655. “I write not often : at once I desire thee to “know I most dearly love thee; and indeed my “heart is plain to thee, as thy heart can well desire: “let nothing shake thee in this. The wretched “jealousies that are amongst us, and the spirit of “calumny, turn all into gall and wormwood. My “heart is for the people of God; that the Lord “knows, and will in due time manifest; yet thence “are my wounds;–which though it grieves me, “yet through the grace of God doth not discourage “me totally. Many good men are repining at “everything; though indeed very many good are “well satisfied, and satisfying daily. The will of “the Lord will bring forth good in due time. “It's reported that you are to be sent for, and “Harry to be Deputy; which truly never entered “into my heart. The Lord knows, my desire was “for him and his brother to have lived private “lives in the country: and Harry knows this very - P 238 ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, “well, and how difficultly I was persuaded to give “ him his commission for his present place. This “I say as from a simple and sincere heart. The “noise of my being crowned, &c., are similar “malicious figments...... “Dear Charles, my dear love to thee; and to “my dear Biddy, who is a joy to my heart, for “what I hear of the Lord in her. Bid her be “cheerful, and rejoice in the Lord once and again: “if she knows the Covenant (of Grace), she cannot “but do so. For that Transaction is without her; “sure and stedfast, between the Father and the “Mediator in His blood. Therefore, leaning upon “ the Son, or looking to Him, thirsting after Him, “ and embracing Him, we are his Seed;—and the “Covenant is sure to all the Seed. The Compact “is for the Seed; God is bound in faithfulness to “Christ, and in Him, to us. The Covenant is “without us ; a Transaction between God and “Christ. Look up to it. God engageth in it “to pardon us; to write His law in our heart; “to plant His fear so that we shall never depart “from Him. We, under all our sins and in- “firmities, can daily offer a perfect Christ; and “thus we have peace and safety, and apprehension “ of love, from a Father in Covenant, who cannot “deny himself. And truly in this is all my salva- “tion; and this helps me to bear my great “ burdens. “If you have a mind to come over with your “dear wife, take the best opportunity for the good ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 239 “of the public and your own convenience. The “Lord bless you all. Pray for me, that the Lord “would direct, and keep me His servant. I bless “the Lord I am not my own; but my condition “to flesh and blood is very hard. Pray for me; “I do for you all. Commend me to all friends. “I rest “Your loving father, “ OLIVER P.”% This letter, although somewhat obscure, is never- theless important to the knowledge of Cromwell's christian character. We have already reproached him with a kind of mysticism, nearly resembling that of certain pious but unenlightened Christians who set what they call the inner Word above what they denominate the outer Word, and who seek the rule of their conduct not essentially without them,-in the commandments of God as given in the Bible; but preferably within them,-in im- pulses and feelings in the correctness of which it is easy to be deceived. The Protector's mysticism might have gone farther. There are indeed Chris- tians for whom the cause of salvation is not essen- tially the work accomplished by the Redeemer on the cross, but that perfected by the Holy Ghost in their hearts. Both are absolutely necessary: but the first is the cause of salvation; the second, the means of applying or appropriating it, without * Carlyle, iii. 136. 240 ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. which the other is a thing foreign to the indi- vidual. Those who think that the Christian ought to look at what is within him, to have the assur- ance of his salvation (as certain mystics, both papist and protestant, do) and not to the blood of the victim slain on Calvary, deprive the soul, which is looking for justification and peace, of every real source of consolation in the day of trouble and of sorrow. The work of Christ's ex- piation is perfect; but that of our own sanctifi- cation is always attended with great wretchedness, and therefore can give no assurance,—no confidence to an alarmed conscience. Cromwell protests en- ergetically against any such error. Wishing to comfort his daughter Bridget, who appears to have felt some uneasiness with regard to her soul, he bids her look to the covenant of grace: he reminds her that this covenant is independent of her; that it is between the Father and the Son by the blood of the Mediator; that it is without us, a transac- tion between God and Christ. This letter (and there are other of Cromwell's declarations which have the same bearing) seems to me important in proving that if in one special point-the rule of a Christian's conduct, he deviated a little from the path traced out for us by the Gospel, he remained stedfast in it so far as concerns the foundation of faith, the work of redemption. The royalists and above all the levellers continued their agitation. The latter especially caused great disturbance; and yet Oliver always behaved mildly ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 241 towards them. There may have been a degree of politic discretion in this forbearance, but it would be difficult to find many examples of the like dis- position. Although indulgence might be seasonable, it was not the less necessary to maintain order. For this purpose the Protector divided all England into twelve districts, placing in each, with the title of Major-general, a man most carefully chosen, fear- ing God, possessed of real wisdom, and of unim- peachable integrity. These officers were invested with a universal superintendence, as well civil as military, even to the control of the ministers. “These Major-generals,” said he in his speech of the seventeenth September 1656, “have been effectual “for the preservation of peace. It hath been more “effectual towards the discountenancing of vice “ and settling religion, than anything done these “fifty years. I will abide by it, notwithstanding “the envy and slander of foolish men.” Not long after, however, he reduced their power, which had occasioned several abuses, and as the state of the country became daily more satisfactory, he finally suppressed them. : - Such were the first exertions of Cromwell for the civil and ecclesiastical regeneration and organiza- tion of England. - . At the same time his eyes were turned towards Ireland, and his policy with regard to that unhappy country was at once patient, moderate, and firm. It was still agitated: hatred, revolt, and anarchy 242 ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. had yet to be dealt with. Let us see what direc. tions he gave his son Henry. “For my Son, Henry Cromwell, at Dublin, Ireland. “SON } “Whitehall, 21st November 1655. “I have seen your letter writ unto Mr Secretary “Thurloe; and do find hereby that you are very “apprehensive of the carriage of some persons “with you, towards yourself and the public affairs. “I do believe there may be some particular “persons who are not very well pleased with the “present condition of things, and may be apt “to show their discontent as they have oppor- “tunity: but this should not make too great “impressions in you. Time and patience may “work them to a better frame of spirit, and bring “ them to see that which, for the present, seems to “be hid from them; especially if they shall see “your moderation and love towards them, if they “are found in other ways towards you. Which I “earnestly desire you to study and endeavour, all “that lies in you. Whereof both you and I too shall “ have the comfort, whatsoever the issue and event “ thereof be. “For what you write of more help, I have long “ endeavoured it; and shall not be wanting to send “you some farther addition to the Council, so soon “ as men can be found out who are fit for the trust. “I am also thinking of sending over to you a fit “person who may command the north of Ireland; ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 243 “which I believe stands in great need of one; and “I am of your opinion that Trevor and Colonel “Mervin are very dangerous persons, and may be “made the heads of a new rebellion. And there- “fore I would have you move the Council that “they be secured in some very safe place, and the “farther out of their own countries the better. “I commend you to the Lord; and rest “Your affectionate father, ‘‘ OLIVER P.* Cromwell was familiar with this beautiful passage of Scripture: If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he "Tº thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. What are his directions . to his son for that unhappy Ireland, where the most obstinate enemies of the commonwealth still existed? Patience, moderation, and love, even towards | those who entertain the contrary sentiments against him. Such is the law he imposes on his represen- tative. No hatred, no revenge | On the contrary, let him strive to win their hearts. Since the time when Christianity first announced these great prin- ciples to the world, the governments of the earth have rarely been found to put them in practice, as the Protector did. We are far, however, from approving indiscri- minately that kind of religion which became dominant in England. There was an evil univer- * Thurloe, i. 726. Carlyle, iii. 165. 244 ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. sally felt, and which we must point out once for all —religion was too closely allied with politics. We do not sympathize either with what was then the religion of the state, or with what might be called the religion of the people. Both forms were tainted with the same disease, although in con- trary directions. Episcopalian or official Protestantism was closely united with the political principle of the absolute power of the crown. There was a compact and a bond of obligation between arbitrary monarchy and Laud's episcopacy. From this evil there arose an analogous one in the independent and popular form of Christianity. We find it allied with the parliamentary power and with what may be called the liberty-party. Poli- tics were confounded with religion. The major- generals, as we have seen, were a sort of bishops. These worldly alliances exercised a prejudicial influence over the two forms of Protestantism in England. Whenever a system of religion sub- jects itself to a political system, it forfeits its exalted aims, its liberty, and its vitality; its real shape is lost, and it becomes embarrassed and enslaved. Vital Christianity did not expand in the esta- blishment, as might have been expected from a church which had had its Latimers and its Ridleys; and the worship of the state was attached, on the contrary, to forms and ceremonies which assimi- lated it in some degree with royalty. ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 245 A similar evil, though in appearance very op- posite to it, existed in the independent form of Christianity. That free expansion, which should always characterize the Gospel, was checked; and in its stead there was a form, truthful indeed and respectable, but in which a judaic and legal spirit, a puritan formality, a certain biblical affectation in the language and in all outward matters, were too predominant. This imperfection has been exag- gerated by worldly writers: even real piety has not escaped the shafts of their ridicule. A great number of those who bore this factitious colouring, and Oliver Cromwell in particular, were sincere and earnest Christians. But this tinge obscured the beauty of their holiness. We may go farther: under the conventional dress, assumed by the Christians of the 17th century, unregenerate minds often concealed their wickedness, and performed the works of iniquity. The evil which we have pointed out was a spot upon a noble vesture. Unreflecting writers, taking offence at it, have desired to throw aside the gar- ment. For our own part, we should wish to re- move the stain, but not on its account undervalue the white robe which it disfigures. In the great struggle which took place between England and the Stuarts, two things characterize the popular party. - On the one hand, there was a great principle of liberty and christian truth, for the triumph of 246 ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. . i ~~~~ which the people contended: this deserves our admiration. But, on the other hand, rust may defile the brightest weapon. Christianity, becoming subser- vient to a political idea, contracted, as we have seen, a certain narrowness and mannerism. These two elements, the good and the bad, bore their respective fruits. The good produced that civil and religious lib- erty, those political and christian institutions, which are the glory of England, and which, in our days, are called to a still nobler expansion. The evil element, the rust on the sword, a narrow and legal formalism, brought on by reaction a con- trary evil; namely, a lifeless latitudinarianism, an exaggerated liberalism in religion, and a deplorable relaxation of morals. The human mind, equally disgusted at excessive puritanism and official Christianity, recoiling from the struggles of parties, and desiring neither the servile forms of the state religion, nor the fanati- cism of the sectaries, sought another atmosphere in which it could breathe more freely. The free- thinkers gave way to incredulity, which, although serious in England, terminated in France in a lamentable materialism. Fortunately the consequences of this evil were but transitory, while the results of the good prin- ciple were permanent. In describing the Christianity of England during ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 247 $2. the Revolution, and in defending it against unjust reproaches, we do not offer it to our own times as an irreproachable model. The present age should profit by the salutary lessons bequeathed to it by the past. We require a better Christianity, one more free, more evangelical, more extensive, more spiritual, more enlightened, more moral, and more emancipated from every political bias. May God grant it to us! CHAPTER X FELIGIOUS LIBERTY. Milton to Cromwell—Cromwell’s Part with regard to Religious Liberty—Opposition to Radicalism, Political and Religious—Estab- lished Religion and Liberty—Milton, a Champion of the Separation of Church and State—Cromwell’s System of Religious Liberty— The Two Great Interests—The Protector's Catholicity—George Fox and Cromwell—Nayler—Cromwell and the Episcopalians—Roman Catholics and Jews—State and Protestantism Identical—Principia Vitae—A Danger—True Means of diffusing Christianity—Ely Cathedral—State and Church : Church and People. CROMWELL's exertions were not confined to civil liberty only : he was an instrument in the hand of God to introduce a new principle into the world, tº e º sº tº gº one till then entirely unknown and overlooked. It was with reference to this, that the great bard of England composed the following lines:— TO OLIVER, CROMWELL. Cromwell, our chief of men, who through a cloud Not of war only, but distractions 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 imbrued, And Dunbar field resound thy praises loud, RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 249 And Worcester’s laureate wreath. Yet much remains To conquer still ; peace hath her victories No less renown'd than war : new foes arise Threatening to bind our souls with secular chains: Help us to save free conscience from the paw Of hireling wolves, whose Gospel is their maw. The Protector needed not this appeal. Without doubt the question of religious liberty did not pre- sent itself to him as it does to our contemporaries. It is now something more positive and abstract. The love of truth, most assuredly, burnt no less brightly in his heart than the love of liberty; and yet he could respect convictions which differed from his own. At that period these principles were very necessary. The parliamentarians, bigoted suc- cessors of the hierarchists, had called for the sup- pression of that “new heresy” entitled “liberty of “conscience,” and had laboured earnestly to this end. Oliver did the very contrary. The Protector's ruling passion was religious lib- erty, and its establishment was his work. Among all the men of past ages, and even of the times present, there is not one who has done so much as he in this cause. It has almost triumphed in every protestant nation; its great victory is yet to come among those which profess the Romish creed: and, under God, it is to Cromwell in par- ticular that men's consciences are beholden. It frequently happens that those who advocate liberty when they are in opposition, no sooner at- tain power than they employ it to oppress the freedom of others. It was not thus that Oliver *J 250 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. acted. Not seldom also, when the cause of liberty is triumphant, its partisans carry it to excess, and indulge in senseless theories of equality and social- ism. He steered cautiously between these two shoals. His speeches contain sentiments of admi- rable wisdom on the extreme disorder of men's minds, as well in temporal as in spiritual things. No one could express himself more forcibly than he did against the principles of the radicals and levellers, who aimed at destroying all moral and social distinctions. He was aware that men might as well look for ships without frames, bodies with- out bones, mountains without rocks, as for a nation without authority and obedience. “What was the face that was upon our affairs “as to the Interest of the nation ?” asked Crom- well in his second speech to parliament.” “As to “the authority in the nation; to the magistracy; “to the ranks and orders of men, whereby Eng- “land hath been known for hundreds of years ? “—A nobleman, a gentleman, a yeoman,...... the “distinction of these, that is a good interest of the “nation and a great one ! The natural magistracy “of the nation, was it not almost trampled under “foot, under despite and contempt, by men of “levelling principles 2 I beseech you, for the “ orders of men and ranks of men, did not that “levelling principle tend to the reducing of all to “an equality ?” He also complains of a similar tendency in spiri- * Parl. Hist. xx. 318. Carlyle, iii. 26, 30. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 251 tual matters, and contrasts it with the former evil, —the evil of prelacy and popery. He continues: “The former extremity we suffered under was, that “no man, though he had never so good a testimony, “ though he had received gifts from Christ, might “preach, unless ordained. So now I think we are “at the other extremity, when many affirm, That “he who is ordained hath a nullity stamped there- “by upon his calling; so that he ought not to “ preach, or not be heard.” The prudent firmness with which Oliver com- bated these extremes at a time when they were so potent, and when the true principles of liberty were not generally acknowledged, deserves our highest admiration. Even his adversaries have confessed it. Mr Southey, although a zealous epis- copalian, and an enemy to the commonwealth, and who regarded the disastrous restoration of Charles II. as the salvation of England, says in his Book of the Church —“Cromwell relieved the country “from presbyterian intolerance; and he curbed “ those fanatics who were for proclaiming King “Jesus, that, as his Saints, they might divide the “land amongst themselves. But it required all “ his strength to do this, and to keep down the “spirit of religious and political fanaticism.” Perhaps his zeal was the more remarkable, as it did not reach the point to which many of his friends had arrived,—the separation, namely, of Church * Southey, Book of the Church, 508. London, 1837. 252 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. and State. In his third speech, even when pro- fessing the doctrine of an established state-religion, he boldly claims liberty of conscience for all.” “So long as there is liberty of conscience for the “supreme magistrate to exercise his conscience in “ erecting what form of church government he is “satisfied he should set up, why,” asks Oliver, “should he not give the like liberty to others? “Liberty of conscience is a natural right; and he “ that would have it, ought to give it. Indeed “ that hath been one of the vanities of our contest. “Every sect saith: ‘O, give me liberty l’ But “give it him, and to his power—he will not yield “it to any body else!......Where is our ingenuous- “ness? Liberty of conscience is a thing that ought “to be very reciprocal? I may say it to you, I can “say it: All the money of this nation would not “ have tempted men to fight upon such an account “as they have here been engaged in, if they had “not had hopes of liberty of conscience better than “Episcopacy granted them, or than would have “been afforded by a Scots Presbytery, or an Eng- “lish either. This, I say, is a fundamental. It “ought to be so. It is for us and the generations “ to come. And if there be an absoluteness in the “imposer, without fitting allowances and excep- “tions from the rule, we shall have the people “driven into wildernesses. As they were, when “ those poor and afflicted people, who forsook their * Parl. Hist. xx. 349. Carlyle, iii. 68. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 253 “estates and inheritances here, where they lived “ plentifully and comfortably, were necessitated, for “enjoyment of their liberty, to go into a waste “howling wilderness in New England; where they “have, for liberty's sake, stript themselves of all “their comfort; embracing rather loss of friends “ and want, than be so ensnared and in bondagel” Why did Cromwell, when he stood forth as the champion of religious liberty, maintain the principle of a special Church established by the State 2 It has been supposed that he was guided by political considerations, being unwilling to strip the public authority of every sort of direction in religious matters, which exert so great an influence over the people. In the speech we have just quoted, he assigns another reason —“ The supreme magis- - “trate should exercise his conscience in erecting “what form of church government he is satisfied “should be set up.” In his mind probably both these motives were combined. The doctrine of the complete separation of Church and State found other not less illustrious defenders. The Protector's secretary, the great poet of the seventeenth century, was its resolute champion. Milton thought that the state ought not to inter- fere in the interests of religion. In his treatise on Christian Doctrine, first published by the Rev. C. R. Sumner, now bishop of Winchester, he says:—“It “is highly derogatory to the power of the Church, “ as well as an utter want of faith, to suppose that “her government cannot be properly administered Q º | ; sººf 254 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. *z; “without the intervention of the civil magistrate.” The bard of Paradise Lost explained his views more particularly in his Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes, and in his considerations on The likeliest Means to remove Hirelings out of the Church. In his opinion, this thesis is incontrovertibly estab- lished by four arguments. The first is, that every individual has an exclusive right in determining the choice of his own convictions; the second re- poses on the wholly spiritual nature of the Gospel; the third is derived from the consequences which christian liberty brings with it; and the fourth, from the uselessness or the danger of the influence of the civil power in ecclesiastical matters, even when that action is protective. Milton was not satisfied with writing treatises; he demanded of the powerful Protector the com- plete independence of the Church. “If you leave “the Church to the Church, and thus judiciously “disburthen yourself and the civil magistracy in “general of a concern forming half their incum- “brance, and wholly incongruous with their ap- “ propriate functions; not permitting the two hete- “rogeneous authorities of Church and State to con- “tinue their intrigues (with an apparent, though “deceitful, reciprocity of support, but to the actual “enfeebling and eventual subversion of both); not “allowing any constraint upon conscience—which, * Derogant ita multum potestati Ecclesiae atque diffident, &c. J. Miltoni de Doctrina Christiana libri duo posthumi, edidit Carolus Ricardus Sumner, p. 371. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 255 “however, will necessarily continue as long as gold, “ the poison of the Church, and the very quinsy “ of truth, shall continue to be extorted from the “laity to pay the wages of the clergy—you will “cast down the money-changers, and hucksters not “ of doves, but of the Dove itself; I mean the Holy “Spirit of God.” | Such was Milton's language; but he could not induce Cromwell to act upon the ideas of which he was the representative.f Yet, if the Protector did not accept the system of Church and State separation, he continually showed the greatest zeal and perseverance in favour. of religious liberty. When we think of the times in which he proclaimed these principles—principles so long unrecognised,—we cannot forbear a senti- ment of admiration. In his fifth recorded speech, delivered on the 17th of September 1656, he expressed his opinions in the following words:– “I will tell you the truth: Our practice since “ the last Parliament hath been, To let all this na- “tion see that whatever pretensions to religion “would continue quiet, peaceable, they should en- “joy conscience and liberty to themselves; and not * Pecunia Ecclesiae toxicum, veritatis angina, enuntiandi Evangelii merces...ejeceris ex Ecclesia nummularios illos, non columbas sed Columbam, Sanctum ipsum Spiritum, cauponantes. Milton, Defensio Secunda, p. 117. t Milton’s system has been expounded by M. Albert Rilliet of Geneva, in his articles in the Semeur (Paris) entitled Un Individual- iste Oublié, published in the numbers of that distinguished christian journal of the 18th and 25th of February, and the 18th of March 1847. 256 RELIGIOUS IIBERTY. “to make religion a pretence for arms and blood. “All that tends to combination, to interests and “factions, we shall not care, by the grace of God, “whom we meet withal, though never so specious, “if they be not quiet ! And truly I am against all “liberty of conscience repugnant to this. If men “will profess, be they those under baptism, be “they those of the independent judgment simply, “ or of the presbyterian judgment, in the name “of God, encourage them; so long as they do “ plainly continue to be thankful to God, and to “make use of the liberty given them to enjoy their “own consciences ! For, as it was said to-day (in “Dr Owen's sermon before Parliament), undoubt- “edly “this is the peculiar interest all this while “‘contended for.” “Men who believe in Jesus Christ, and walk in “a profession answerable to that Faith;-men who “believe in the remission of sins through the blood “of Christ, and free justification by the blood of “Christ; who live upon the grace of God,—are “ members of Jesus Christ, and are to Him the “apple of his eye. Whoever hath this faith, let his “form be what it will; he walking peaceably with- “out prejudice to others under other forms:—it “is a debt due to God and Christ; and He will “require it, if that Christian may not enjoy his “liberty. “If a man of one form will be trampling upon “the heels of another form; if an independent, for “example, will despise him who is under baptism, RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 257 “ and will revile him, and reproach him, and pro- “voke him,--I will not suffer it in him...... God “give us hearts and spirits to keep things equal. “Which, truly I must profess to you, hath been “my temper. I have had some boxes on the ear, “ and rebukes, on the one hand and on the other. “I have borne my reproach: but I have, through “God’s mercy, not been unhappy in hindering any “one religion to impose upon another.”” Oliver felt a just pride, as he thought of these great principles of liberty, which he had (so to speak) created among his nation; and he boldly declared that he had received this task from God himself, and that to Him he would give an account. To this effect he spoke on the 3d of April 1657. “My LoRDs, e - e. e. e. e. You have been zealous of the two greatest “concernments that God hath in the world. The “one is that of Religion, and of the just preserva- “tion of the professors of it; to give them all due “ and just liberty; and to assert the truth of God. “And I pray it may not fall upon the people of “God as a fault in them, in any sort of them, if “they do not put such a value upon this that is “ now done as never was put on anything since “Christ's time, for such a catholic interest of the “people of God! “The other thing cared for is, the Civil Liberty “ and Interest of the Nation. Which, though it * Burton's Diary, i. clviii. Introd. Carlyle, iii. 220–222. 258 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. “is, and indeed I think ought to be, subordinate “to the more peculiar interest of God, yet it is “the newt best God hath given men in this world; “ and if well cared for, it is better than any rock “to fence men in their other interests. Besides, “if any whosoever think the interest of Christians “ and the interest of the nation inconsistent, or “two different things, I wish my soul may never “enter into their secrets 1...... Upon these two in- “terests, if God shall account me worthy, I shall “live and die. And I must say, If I were to give “an account before a greater tribunal than any “earthly one, I could give no answer that were “not a wicked one, if it did not comprehend these “ two ends.”* The Protector realized in his life that wide catho- licity which he expressed in his public speeches. He was a Protestant Christian ; but did not join himself to any party. Although an independent by principle, he thought that all the reformed churches were part of the Catholic Church, and he looked with equal favour upon independents, pres- byterians, and baptists: his chaplains belonged to these several denominations. In this sincere catho- licity, he was so far in advance of his age, that it has called forth a singular remark from M. Villemain : “Cromwell's neutrality for forms of worship, com- “pared with the fervour which he always affected, “would of itself be enough to convict him of “hypocrisy. In that fanatical age, faith was never * Parl. Hist. xxiii. 161. Carlyle, iii. 273, 274. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 259 “ distinct from intolerance, and if Cromwell had :* “ been sincere, he would have chosen the sect he “preferred to follow.”* In this manner has Oliver been judged Even his virtues have been distorted to prove that he was vicious. Where can we find a man whose character might not similarly be | | perverted by so odious a method? It is not easy to show greater ignorance of the power and spirit” of the Gospel, than this eloquent biographer has done in these few lines. The Protector excluded no Christians from his fraternal sentiments, however much they might vary from the forms to which he was attached. Towards the quakers in particular he showed great charity. George Fox, who, while tending his master's sheep, had indulged in religious meditations, and had deduced the corruption of the Church from its forgetfulness of the inward for the outward light, had then begun his mission. He had heard a voice within him calling him, as he thought, to preach repentance; and, docile to this spiritual admonition, he exhorted all men to listen to that internal revelation, which was in his opinion the source of life. In this there was much with which Cromwell sympathized. But Fox's preaching agitated the people, and in several instances divine worship was disturbed. The quaker was seized and thrown into prison, and dragged from jail to jail by the inferior officers of * Villemain, Cromwell, ii. 200. 260 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. **~~~. justice, or else frequently compelled to sleep in some cave, or in the open air. In the midst of these persecutions he found means to write to the Protector and ask for an interview. This was granted; and one morning, while Oliver was dressing, the quaker was intro- duced. “‘Peace be in this house,” said he. ‘Thank “‘you, George,’ was Cromwell's mild reply. “I “‘am come,' resumed the other, “to exhort thee “‘to keep in the fear of God, that thou mayst “‘receive wisdom from Him, and by it be ordered, “‘and with it mayst order all things under thy “‘hand to God's glory. Amen l’ He listened to “me very attentively;” continues Fox.” “I had “much fearless discourse with him about God and “his apostles of old time, and of his ministers of “new ; about death and the unfathomable universe, “ and the light from above; and he would often “interrupt me by saying: ‘That is very good— “‘That is true !’ and he carried himself with much “moderation towards me. As people were coming “in, he caught me by the hand, and with tears in “his eyes, said: ‘Come again to my house, for if “‘thou and I were but an hour a-day together, we “‘should be nearer one to the other;' adding, that “ he wished me no more ill than he did to his own “soul.—‘Hearken then to God's voice,” said I, “as I was going. Captain Drury begged me to “stay and dine with Oliver's gentlemen; but I “declined, God not permitting.”f With such * Fox’s Journal, i. 265. Leeds, 1836. t Ibid. Carlyle, iii. 149. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 261 mildness, with such a mixture of piety, sympathy, and respect did the ruler of England treat those sects to which he did not belong. Many of the Friends at that time indulged in great excesses. Nayler in particular, who was called by his partisans The Everlasting Sun of Righteousness, the Prince of Peace, the Only-begotten Son of God, and to whom his disciples paid divine honours, crying before him : “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts,” is a striking example. When parliament, after several sittings, had condemned the fanatical quaker, who at Bristol had parodied Christ's entry into Jerusalem, Cromwell felt a desire to interfere. He was doubtful, as it would appear, of the justice of the sentence passed upon him, and would have saved him. With this view he sent the following message to parliament:— “To our Right Trusty and Right Well-beloved Sir “Thomas Widdrington, Speaker of the Parliament: “To be communicated to the Parliament. “ O. P. “Right Trusty and Well-beloved, We greet you “well. Having taken notice of a judgment lately “given by yourselves against one James Nayler: “although We detest and abhor the giving or “occasioning the least countenance to persons of “such opinions and practices, or who are under “the guilt of the crimes commonly imputed to the “ said person : yet We, being intrusted in the 262 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. “present government, on behalf of the people of “ these nations, and not knowing, how far such “ proceeding, entered into wholly without Us, “may extend in the consequences of it, do desire “ that the House would let Us know the grounds “ and reasons whereupon they have proceeded. “Given at Whitehall, the 25th of December 1656.”* It does not, however, appear that Nayler was pardoned. He was looked upon as a blasphemer, and liberty had not yet gone so far as to believe that such a person should pass unpunished. It would have been wiser to have treated him as a madman. Episcopalians were not excluded from the Pro- tector's catholicity. He showed them respect and affection, although the decided royalism of most of them compelled him to maintain a certain reserve. Dr George Bates, an eminent royalist and a great opponent of Cromwell, writes, “That the Protector “indulged the use of the common prayer in fami- “lies and in private conventicles; and though the “condition of the Church of England was but mel- “ancholy, yet it cannot be denied, they had a great “deal more favour and indulgence than under the “Parliament; which would never have been inter- “rupted, had they not insulted the Protector, and “forfeited their liberty by their seditious practices, “ and plottings against his person and govern- “ment.”f * Burton, i. 370. Carlyle, iii. 265. t Neale, ii. 624. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 263 The behaviour of the royalists, who threatened Cromwell with death, and were actually in arms against him, having led to the publication of an order on the 24th of November 1655, which still further restricted the episcopalian clergy, the Pro- tector, at the solicitation of Dr Gauden and Arch- bishop Usher, promised to recall his declaration, “provided the clergy would not meddle with mat- “ters of state.” But when he laid the affair before his council, the latter were of opinion that by so doing he would encourage the enemies of his gov- ernment, and they would only consent to suspend its execution, so far as the behaviour of the clergy should deserve. -- Cromwell in fact allowed the episcopalian mi- nisters, who were moderate in their political senti- ments, to preach publicly in the churches at London and in the country. Among these were Dr Pear- son, bishop of Chester, and Dr Hall, his successor in that see, with the Drs Ball, Wild, Hardy, and Griffith. “It is certain,” says Bishop Kennet, “ that the Protector was for liberty, and the utmost “latitude to all parties, so far as consisted with the “peace and safety of his person and government; “ and even the prejudice he had against the epis- “copal party was more for their being royalists, “than for being of the good old church.” And Mr Southey even goes so far as to assert that “he “would gladly have restored the episcopal church “in England.”f Nay, Oliver went farther than this: * Neale, ii. 651. + Book of the Church, 509. 264 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. he was opposed to the Roman-catholics, not on account of their religion, but because they were enemies to the government and to the country. It was the jesuits rather than the catholics whom he restricted. The motives of his conduct are thus set forth in a declaration of the 31st of October 1655 :—“It was not only commonly observed, but “there remains with us somewhat of proof, that “jesuits have been found among discontented “ parties of this nation, who are observed to quarrel “ and fall out with every form of administration in “ church and state.”* Even in regard to Roman-catholicism, the Pro- tector then professed more liberal opinions than are perhaps entertained by many religious men and politicians of the present day. This will appear from the following letter:— “To his Eminency Cardinal Mazarin. “Whitehall, 26th December 1656. “The obligations, and many instances of affec- “tion, which I have received from your Eminency, “do engage me to make returns suitable to your “merits. But although I have this set home upon “my spirit, I may not (shall I tell you, I cannot?) “at this juncture of time, and as the face of my “affairs now stands, answer to your call for tolera- “tion [to the catholics here]. “I say, I cannot, as to a public declaration of * Neale, ii. 651. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 265 “my sense in that point; although I believe that “under my government your Eminency, in the be- “half of catholics, has less reason for complaint as “to rigour upon men's consciences than under the “Parliament. For I have of some, and those very “many, had compassion ; making a difference. “Truly I have (and I may speak it with cheerful- “ness in the presence of God, who is a witness “within me to the truth of what I affirm) made a “difference; and, as Jude speaks, plucked many out “of the fire, the raging fire of persecution, which “did tyrannize over their consciences, and en- “croached by an arbitrariness of power upon their “estates. And herein it is my purpose, as soon as “I can remove impediments, and some weights “that press me down, to make a further progress, “ and discharge my promise to your Eminency in “relation to that...... “...... I will conclude with giving you assurance “that I will never be backward in demonstrating, “as becomes your brother and confederate, that “I am, “Your servant, “ OLIVER P.”* Cromwell would have desired to go still farther, but was prevented. A learned Portuguese Jew of Amsterdam, Manasseh Ben Israel, had been resid- ing for some time in England, whence the Jews had been banished four hundred years before, and * Thurloe, v. 735. Carlyle, iii. 249. 266 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. s:f : * had in vain petitioned both the Long and the Little Parliament that they should be permitted to settle in that country again. The Protector was favour- able to his request, and on the 12th of December 1655, a conference composed of divines, lawyers, and merchants met at Whitehall to consult upon the affair. Cromwell spoke in favour of liberty, and, says an eye-witness, “I never heard a man “speak so well.”—“Since there is a promise in “Holy Scripture of the conversion of the Jews,” he said, “I do not know, but the preaching of the “Christian religion, as it is now in England, with- “out idolatry or superstition, may not conduce to “it.” The majority of the assembly declared against his propositions. Both merchants and divines were equally opposed to them. The Jews could not re- side in England except by private sufferance of the Protector.* His zeal for freedom of conscience is one of the no- blest pages in his history, and in the history of every age. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. This religious liberty was a real good. There was, however, an evil; it was not sufficiently com- plete. On the one hand, the episcopal church was too constrained ; on the other, the independent church was too much favoured. Both were in- jured by this protection and this restraint. Crom- well did not entirely escape the shoal on which his predecessors had struck, namely, that of patroniz- ing his own party too much and restricting the * Harl. Miscel. vii. 617. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 267 others. He did, perhaps, all that might reasonably have been expected of him. He feared that if re- ligion were left entirely to herself, she would be rent in pieces and annihilated, as it were, in the struggle of sects and parties. But unrestricted movement, governed solely by the Word of God, is necessary to the prosperity of religion. There are dangers peculiar to a national church, and those who love such an establishment, particu- larly its rulers, should endeavour to find them out. The state-church in England did not escape these shoals in the sixteenth and in the early part of the seventeenth century; and hence arose essentially those remarkable deviations to which it yielded under Laud's direction. The patronage of the political power may be no less hurtful to a church, than its persecution. For this reason the liberty and independence of the Church should be, in our opinion, greater than they were under Cromwell. The remedy which he applied partially failed in its effect, because it was tainted with the disease which it was intended to cure. I must explain myself. The state had identified itself with Protestantism. The doctrine of the Church, the XXXIX articles, the offspring of a free and lively faith, had received a juridical meaning and a political existence. These articles, first drawn up in the reign of Edward VI. by Cranmer and Ridley, and revised by the synod of London in the reign of Elizabeth (anno 1562), had become, by statute in 1571, a law of the state 268 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. and part of the English constitution. They gave laws to the political as well as to the religious body. What had been the true origin of Protestantism?— An act of Parliament?—No ! It was to a spiritual life, a moral force, and an intellectual power, all in intimate alliance with each other, that Prot- estantism owed its birth. These three elements were the springs of its life. In order that it should exist, with the vitality that was peculiar to it, it was requisite that these principia vitat should be maintained in their pristine activity. There can be no doubt that the doctrines contained in the thirty-nine articles were a glorious fruit of these three original forces, and might thus concur, to a certain point, in preserving them in full vigour. This really happened in some cases; not always, however; and there was frequently a contrary result. In fact, an unexpected danger soon made its ap- pearance. It seemed that the Church and State had taken possession of the truth for ever: they were upon sure grounds. Who could take away from the congregation of the children of God the living doctrines of salvation ? They were secured by the statute of 1571 ! In the name of the State the Church was in possession of its dogmas, its forms, its organization, and all that was necessary to the development of its religious life. The Act of Uniformity of 1562 and 1563 was a supereroga- tory safeguard to them. They were guaranteed by all the three orders of the government. - ”. *A - “ºrº, RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 269 But sometimes, by too great earnestness in guard- ing a treasure, we run the risk of losing it. True Protestantism had not been formed by the crown, the peers, and the commons; but by the struggles of the fathers, by their confessions, by their burn- ing stakes, by the word of their testimony and the blood of the Lamb. Could the precious fruits of these trials be transmitted by inheritance to their children 2 Could they receive them, as they receive the estates and mansions of their ancestors ? Was it enough that the conflicts of the Reformation were severe and bloody, for the blessings acquired by them to become a sure and inalienable possession? No doubt, in the latter half of the sixteenth century and in the first of the seventeenth, the Protestants could easily imagine that after a time of war, a time of peace had come at last;-after the conquest, the enjoyment of its fruits. This imagination was in harmony with human nature; but what would be the result of such a delusion ? The longing after enjoyment ordinarily leads to a dangerous security. Men desire to possess without the labour of acquiring: they would fain eat with- out toiling,-and yet the Word of God has declared, If any will not work, neither shall he eat. Christian truth is a reward bestowed on the exertions of the champion, and is not to be acquired without an inward struggle, which alone causes the truth to live in us, and alone makes us partakers of the heavenly calling. England possessed, episcopacy, the liturgy, and the articles, to all of which an 2 R 270 RELIGIOUS IIBERTY. exaggerated importance was attached. To the cere- monies of the church was ascribed a peculiar and creative efficacy, which they have not in themselves, and which they cannot possess without the animat- ing breath of the Holy Ghost. For the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit. There are means established by the Head of the Church, and by which alone the kingdom of God expands and is maintained. These are neither episcopal succession, nor the opus operatum of the sacraments, nor other similar institutions. We must faithfully preach the Word of God, teach the people, and pray to the Lord without ceasing; we must foster and extend the reading of the Holy Scriptures, en- lighten men's minds, and convince their consciences by pious conversations; we must diligently labour at the cure and consolation of their souls; we must make the light of a christian life shine before the world, and by our example lead men to be imitators of Jesus Christ. In this manner the good seed is scattered anew in the field of each successive gener- ation. It is thus the earth bringeth forth, first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear: thus the evangelical life unfolds itself. A church is continued in the same manner as it was begun; that is, by the same Word and Spirit of God. No Protestant can deny these truths, for they are the very essence of Protestantism. Oliver most RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 271 justly appreciated them. He would have sub- stituted the spiritual strength of the Word of God for the pomps and prayers, more or less material, which Archbishop Laud had patronized. We will quote an example selected from the period when he was governor of Ely. As the Rev. Mr Hitch persevered in celebrating divine worship in the cathedral with all the forms and usages which the Archbishop of Canterbury had recommended, Governor Cromwell addressed to him the following letter : - “To the Rev. Mr Hitch, at Ely: These. “MR HITCH, “Ely, 10th January 1644. “Lest the soldiers should in any tumultuous or “disorderly way attempt the reformation of the “cathedral church, I require you to forbear “altogether your choir-service, so unedifying and “offensive :—and this as you shall answer it, if “any disorder should arise thereupon. “I advise you to catechise, and read and ex- “ pound the Scripture to the people; not doubting “but the parliament, with the advice of the “assembly of Divines, will direct you farther. I “ desire your Sermons too, where usually they “have been, but more frequent. “Your loving friend, “OLIVER CROMWELL.” Here we see Oliver recommends catechising, 272 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. reading and expounding Scripture, and more frequent sermons. This was what he desired to substitute for the choir-services. It is in truth by such means that a church is vivified and built up ; and to them even Popery has recourse (at least to catechising and sermons) whenever she finds her. self attacked. But here was the evil: this order proceeded from a general,—from a governor; and Cromwell appeals to the directions of parliament. And to this matters had arrived at last. Pro- testantism had become the law of the country by a vote of the legislature, and as such was imposed on all men. A law of this kind cannot give life. Since even the law of God does not produce it, how much the less can it be the effect of the law of man? Have ye received the Spirit by the works of the law, asks St. Paul, or by the hearing of faith? The civil power, by laying its rude and unskilful hands on the tree of faith, may shake down a few beautiful flowers or break off some noble branches, but cannot im- part to it that sap, which alone bringeth forth much fruit. One only can give it: He who is the true Vine, and without whom we can do nothing. And even should the civil power endeavour to do good by the establishment of really evangelical institutions, party-spirit will interfere and excite a formidable opposition. This Cromwell often ex- perienced. “When we come to the other trials, “as in that case of Wales, of establishing a preach- * RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 273 “ing ministry in Wales, which, I must confess “for my own part, I set myself upon, if I should “relate what discountenance that business of the “poor people of God there had (who had men “watching over them like so many wolves, ready “to catch the lambs so soon as they were brought “forth into the world); how signally that business “was trodden under foot in Parliament, to the “discountenancing of the honest people, and the “countenancing of the malignant party, of this “commonwealth !” Next to its union with Christ, the great essential for a church is its position with regard to the christian people, its intimate and constant con- nection with souls, for the field is the world. Nothing can be more lamentable than for the Church to forget this, and to make its position with respect to the State the material point. It will imagine that it has done its duty, if it preserves the State in a rigid orthodoxy. But of what consequence is it that parliament should be the champion of Prot- estantism, if true Protestantism, the spiritual and christian life, is found no longer among the people? A church may then appear brilliant and flourishing from afar, but he that hath the seven Spirits of God will address it in these words: Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. To sum up all in a few words: a national church is secure only when, far from boasting of its union with the state, it places no confidence in the guar- antees given it by the constitution, and looks for 274 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. its life and its prosperity solely in union with its Head, in the strength that the Spirit and the Word of God should develop in it, and in the free and energetic exercise of the intellectual, spiritual, and moral forces of each of its members and of the whole community. This is a useful lesson for the times present. Cromwell went very far in religious liberty, but still not far enough. He did wrong in trans- ferring his patronage from episcopacy to the in- dependents. Had he left all sects free, without protection as without restraint, had evangelical episcopacy, in particular, been able to move freely, religion would have been developed with more simplicity, and would probably have escaped that narrow mannerism, that cant with which it has been reproached, sometimes perhaps with reason, by men of the world. Puritanism would have exercised a vivifying influence on the episcopal religion; and the episcopal religion would have had a regulating and moderating influence on puritanism. Yet Oliver accomplished an immense work for his times; and England should now raise to him a monument, a triumphal arch with this inscrip- tion, To THE FounDER OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. We submit this to the consideration of those who have earnestly taken to heart Canning's motto and Cromwell's work. CHAPTER XI. MORALITY, GLORY, AND ANTIPOPERY OF ENGLAND. The State—Principal Duty—The Glory of England—Morality— Triumphs of Great Britain—Commerce—Justice—Opposition to Spain— Antipopery—Cromwell's Name—The Lion of the Tribe of Judah. To Cromwell the State was a divine institution, the maintaining and governing of which belonged supremely to God. He would not, like certain parties, look upon it as a purely human society. He did not think that it was based simply on terrestrial facts, such as conquests, treaties, and constitutions. He was not indeed blind to the in- fluence of these things, but over all, according to his views, the intervention of the Deity was to be recognised. In some of his applications of this principle he went too far. The State is an institution against iniquity. The prince is the minister of God to eaecute wrath upon him that doeth evil. In this respect, we may believe that the civil power and the Church have regard to the same object, since Christ, the Head of the Church, came into the world to take away sin. But that resistance to 276 MORALITY, GLORY, AND evil, which characterizes the Church and the State alike, must be accomplished in two different ways. It is by very dissimilar and by very opposite means that these great societies attain the end they have in view. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. This is the means whereby the Church sup- presses evil: and in this there is no connexion with that constraint and with that sword which a Tuler beareth not in vain. From these paths, so different and so distinct, laid down for each of these societies, there results a rule which is too frequently overlooked. The State should be careful not to aim at producing what is beyond its function: the Church should not presume to do that from which it ought to abstain. As in the State it is necessary to keep the legislative, judicial, and executive powers distinct, that all may go on harmoniously; so, in the nation, we must distinguish between the sphere of the Church and of the State, that the people may be happy and {T prosperous. We cannot deny that Oliver seems º: R 2 § Š-e” R: * * t ^- re Ş "> * --" occasionally to have gone too far, as a political chief, in matters of religion. … But there is one point which he saw very clearly, and in regard to which his notions were true,...... the prosperity and power of a nation are based essentially on its morality and on its faith. He understood more distinctly perhaps than any other ruler, that no country can exist and flourish unless it have within itself some principle of life. ANTIPOPERY OF ENGLAND. 277 He had, indeed, other passions not less noble than that of religious liberty. The greatness, prosperity, and glory of England was a no less potent necessity in him, and he worthily acted up to it. He said one day in council: “I hope to make the name of “an Englishman as great as ever that of a Roman “has been.” And in effect he so augmented the general resources and maritime power of the nation, that he procured for it a more extensive European celebrity and influence than it had ever possessed under any of its kings. But the Protector knew that righteousness ea'alteth a nation, and it was by this means he desired to elevate his own. God himself spoke to this people. The army was subjected to an admirable moral discipline, which, with the piety that animated most of the officers and soldiers, concurred in keeping up a purity of manners till then unknown, especially in the garrison and in the camp. The same morality prevailed at the Protector's court. Everything was becoming and honourable; everything in strong contrast with the levity and debauchery that surrounded the unfortunate son of Charles I. in a foreign country, and of which the catholic court of France erelong presented so de- plorable an example. The moral purity which distinguished the epoch of the Protectorate is a fact of great importance. We are here, in truth, called upon to apply the rule given in the Word of God: Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil 278 MORALITY, GLORY, AND fruit. When unbelievers and libertines pronounce for thereign of Charles II., a reign characterized by great public licentiousness, and against the com- monwealth, so remarkable for its christian virtues, —we can easily understand them. But when moral and religious people do the same, we are at a loss to account for their motives. This is a matter of such consequence that we feel it our duty to quote on this point the opinions of writers both English and French,-writers very Romish, very royalist, and very hostile to the Protector. Dr Lingard, a witness beyond suspicion, does homage to the morality of his government, although, with the candour habitual to the mass of Papists, he will not see in it anything besides appearances. “Among the immediate consequences of the Res- “toration [of Charles II. in 1660], nothing ap- “peared to the intelligent observer more extra- “ordinary than the almost instantaneous revolution “which it wrought in the moral habits of the people. “Under the government of men making profession “ of godliness, vice had been compelled to wear “the exterior garb of virtue; but the moment the “restraint was removed, it stalked forth without “disguise, and was everywhere received with wel- “come. The cavaliers, to celebrate their triumph, “abandoned themselves to ebriety and debauchery; “ and the new loyalists, that they might prove the “sincerity of their conversion, strove to excel the “cavaliers in licentiousness. Charles, who had “not forgotten his former reception in Scotland, ANTIEPOPERY OF ENGLAND. 279 “gladly availed himself of the opportunity to in- “dulge his favourite propensities.” Such is the testimony of an English writer; and now let us hear what a Frenchman says. Chateau- briand, in spite of all his prejudices against Prot- estantism, is struck with the difference in a moral light between the two revolutions of France and England. “ This brief republic,” he observes, “was not without glory abroad, or without virtue, “liberty, and justice at home...... This difference “ between the two revolutions, which have never- “theless led to the same result, the same liberty, “ proceeds from the religious sentiment which “animated the innovators of Great Britain.” He adds farther on : “Setting aside the illegality of “Cromwell's measures...... an illegality necessary “perhaps after all to maintain his illegal power “...... the usurpation of this great man was a glo- “rious one. At home, he asserted the reign of “ order. Like many despots, he was the friend of “justice in everything which did not touch his own “ person; and justice serves to console a people “for the loss of their liberty.”f - Such are the avowals which truth has extorted from these writers, so eminent but so blinded by obstinate prejudices. - The superior morality which characterized Eng- land in the time of Cromwell, showed itself abroad by incontestable proofs. * Lingard, Hist. England, xi. 244. London, 1839. + Les Quatre Stuards. 280 MORALITY, GLORY, AND The English nation, which, under the two first Stuarts, foreigners had begun to regard as pusil- Ianimous, suddenly displayed the most striking valour both by land and sea. Freedom and piety, equally dear both to the soldiers and sailors, gave them fresh energy, and urged them on to fight everywhere, as if in defence of the most sacred rights. We shall not recount all the high deeds of arms by which England gave token to the world of the renewal of her power. We are not writing a history of Great Britain. The victories gained over Hol- land by the English fleets under the command of Blake and Monk; the gallant Van Tromp, shot to the heart with a musket bullet, and his shattered fleet escaping in disorder to the Texel; Cromwell in person reading to parliament the account of these victories, and proposing a national recompense to the victorious admirals; the United Provinces ac- knowledging the supremacy of the British flag, making to the English a tardy reparation for old injuries, and even excluding the House of Orange from the stadtholdership, because of its alliance with the Stuarts; Spain the first to come forward and do homage to the Protector, and even urging him openly to seize upon the crown of England, e tº e º ſº tº a flattery to which his only reply was a disdain- ful silence; Portugal, France, the Elector of Bran- denburg, at that time almost unknown in Europe, all the other states, and even Christina of Sweden, then on her way to Rome, laying at the feet of Great Britain and of her chief the tribute of their respect ANTIPOPERY OF ENGLAND. 281 and admiration; the fleets of Spain beaten again and again; the Viceroy of Mexico, surrounded with his treasures, expiring on the deck of his burning ship; millions of ingots of gold carried to London as a monument of triumph; other ships and other galleons bringing fresh treasures from the New World, burnt and sunk a second time in the bay of Teneriffe; Gibraltar attracting the eagle eye of the Protector—“the town and castle of Gibraltar, if “possessed and made tenable by us, would be both “an advantage to our trade and an annoyance to “the Spaniard;”...... these are some of the facts which show how the Protector exalted and main- tained in the sight of the foreigner the might and the glory of England. But it was not in battles only that Cromwell sought the power of his country; his practised eye easily discerned what ought to make the prosperity of Great Britain, and his zeal for commerce sur- passed that of all the sovereigns who had preceded him. He appointed a committee of merchants for the purpose of developing the resources of British trade. They first met in the Painted Chamber on the 27th November 1655, and continued their labours until the day of his death. Everywhere we find the same impulse given by his potent hand. Southey acknowledges that Oliver's “good sense and good nature would have led him “to govern equitably and mercifully, to promote “literature, to cherish the arts, and to pour wine “ and oil into the wounds of the nations;” and 282 MORALITY, GLORY, AND adds that the dangers to which he was exposed prevented him from carrying out his wishes.” If, however, he did not do all he desired, he still effected much. The judges discharged their func- tions with equity; the laws had their course, no- thing being allowed to prevent their execution; the finances were administered with economy; the army and the navy were paid regularly; and the arts of peace flourished throughout the length and breadth of the kingdom. The admiration was general: “Cromwell,” says an historian, “appeared like a blazing star, raised “ up by Providence to exalt this nation to a dis- “tinguished pitch of glory, and to strike terror “into the rest of Europe.” France and Spain contended for his alliance; he did not hesitate, and united with France. The treaty was signed on the 23d of October 1655. Such were the respect and fear then inspired by England, that in this treaty he assumed among his other titles that of Protector of the kingdom of France, and his name preceded Louis the Four- teenth's, who was allowed to style himself merely King of the French. - While with the one hand Oliversecured to England an alliance with France, with the other he offered her the power and the treasures of Spain. Seeing that his country was called to take the place of that mighty peninsula, he displayed no hesitation in his policy. Most certainly no one ever did more than * Life of Cromwell, p. 77. - ANTIPOPERY OF ENGLAND. 283 he to accelerate the double ascending and descend- ing movement then going on, and which was destined to reduce that kingdom to the humiliating weakness in which she is now sunk, and make England the Queen of Nations. When Spain solicited an alli- ance, he required two main conditions; namely, that the trade to the West Indies and South America should be thrown open to his flag, and the sup- pression of the Inquisition, so that every man might read the Bible and worship God as he pleased. When the Spanish ambassador heard these two strange requests, he exclaimed in alarm : “It is like “askingfor mymaster's two eyes!” One of these eyes has lost Spain, and she herself has lost the other. In his opposition to that country Cromwell was guided by two motives. If he wished to ruin the strength of that state, it was not only with the in- tention of giving it to England, but of taking it away from the pope. Of these motives the second ap- pears to have been the more powerful. “Your great “enemy is the Spaniard,” said the Protector in his speech of the 17th of September 1656; “he is natur- “ally so throughout—by reason of that enmity that “is in him against whatsoever is of God......An “enmity is put into him by God. I will put enmity “ between thy seed and her seed;—which goes but for “little among statesmen, but is more considerable “ than all things...... No sooner did this nation form “what is called (unworthily) the Reformed Reli- “gion,” after the death of Queen Mary, by the * Cromwell, it seems, did not think the Anglican reform sufficiently complete to deserve that name. 284 MORALITY, GLORY, AND “Queen Elizabeth of famous memory, we need “not be ashamed to call her sol—but the Span- “iard's design became, by all unworthy, unnatural “means, to destroy that person, and to seek the “ruin and destruction of these kingdoms...... Here “ then is some little foundation laid to justify the “war that has been entered upon with the Spaniard! “ and not only so; but the plain truth of it is, “Make any peace with any state that is popish and “subjected to the determination of Rome and of “the pope himself—you are bound and they are “loose. Peace is to be kept so long as the pope “ saith Amen to it...... “All the honest interests; yea, all the interests “of the Protestants, in Germany, Denmark, Hel- “vetia, and the Cantons, and all the interests in “Christendom, are the same as yours. If you “succeed, if you succeed well and act well, and be “convinced what is God's interest, and prosecute “it, you will find that you act for a very great “many who are God's own. Therefore, I say that “your danger is from the common enemy abroad “[Spain]; who is the head of the papal interest, “the head of the antichristian interest. Except “you will deny the truth of the Scriptures, you “must needs see that that state is so described in “Scripture [Ep. to Thess. and Rev.] to be papal “ and antichristian, I say, with this enemy, and “upon this account, you have the quarrel with the “Spaniard.” w * Burton's Diary, i. clviii. Carlyle, iii. 196-203. ANTIPOPERY OF ENGLAND. 285 * Thus in Cromwell's views Rome was the anti- christian spiritual power, and Spain the civil power by which she had long been abetted. There may be persons who will dispute that this can be found in the Apocalypse, but no one will dispute that it is really found in history. The verdict of posterity has ratified his opinion. ~ 2Tf the positive principle he gave to the British ) state was morality and faith, the negative principle/ was resistance to Popery ZHe held each of these in equal importance, for at bottom they concentre in One,...... in the Gospel. With their aid England has seen the days of her exaltation; when they are neglected or set aside, then will come the day of her decline. While the Protector made war upon Spain, he was in reality fighting against Rome. This he did in England most essentially by the development of the evangelical spirit. But he disdained not to cause her other alarms, and took advantage of every opportunity to make her sensible of his power. Admiral Blake was sent with a fleet into the Medi- terranean to obtain satisfaction from the Bey of Tunis for the losses of the British merchants from Turkish pirates. He sailed right into the harbour, and though the shore was planted with heavy guns, he burnt nine of the Turkish vessels, and brought the tyrant to reason. But he did not confine him- self to this mission: he spread the terror of the English name over all Italy, even to Rome itself. The alarmed citizens, every moment fearfully ex- S 286 MORALITY, GLORY, AND pecting the arrival of Blake and his twenty-four ships, hastily put Civita Vecchia in a state of defence. At the same time, processions were made in the pontifical city; and the host was exposed for forty hours to avert the judgments of Heaven, and preserve the patrimony of St. Peter. Not long before, there had been great rejoicings in Rome, at the extirpation of Protestantism in Calabria and the Walteline. Cromwell meditated retaliation: “Their expected triumph,” writes Mr Pell to Secretary Thurloe, on the 9th of June 1655, “would be turned into sad processions, if, “instead of rooting out their old Italian inland “churches, they shouldsee an English colony planted “in one of their sea-towns, which seems not impos- “sible to be effected, if England would but attempt “ it.”* It was not at Malta, as in the nineteenth century, but under the very walls of the pope, so to speak, that Cromwell then thought of making a settlement. gº “Set up your banners in the name of Christ,” the Protector wrote to Vice-admiral Goodson, in October 1655; “for undoubtedly it is His cause. “And let the reproach and shame that hath been “for our sins, and through (also we may say) the “misguidance of some, work up your hearts to “confidence in the Lord, and for the redemption “of His honour from the hands of men.” [Crom- well alludes to the failure of an expedition sent against the Spanish settlement of Hispaniola.] - * Vaughan's Protectorate, i. 194. ANTIBOPERY OF ENGLAND. 287 “‘Though He hath torn us, yet He will heal us; “‘ though He hath smitten us, yet He will bind us “‘ up ; after two days He will revive us, in the “‘third day. He will raise us up, and we shall live “‘in his sight.” (Hosea, vi. 1, 2.) “The Lord himself hath a controversy with your “enemies; even with that Roman Babylon, of “which the Spaniard is the great under-propper. “In that respect, we fight the Lord's battles;–and “in this the Scriptures are most plain. The Lord “therefore strengthen you with faith, and cleanse “you from all evil: and doubt not but He is able, “ and I trust as willing, to give you as signal suc- “cess as He gave your enemies against you. Only “the Covenant-fear of the Lord be upon you.”* It is the Protector's glory that he discerned in Rome the chief enemy to the liberty, prosperity, and piety of nations. This in our days is called prejudice and superstition. Severe lessons will teach the nations, to their cost, which of the two is right—their modern leaders, or the great man of the seventeenth century. Such was Oliver Cromwell. “Lord of these three “kingdoms,” says Southey, “and indisputably “the most powerful potentate in Europe, and as “ certainly the greatest man of an age in which “the race of great men was not extinct in any “country, no man was so worthy of the station “which he filled.” His glory was not confined to Great Britain only; it filled Europe, reached Asia, * Thurloe, iv. 633. Carlyle, iii. 157. 288 MORALITY, GLORY, AND and was re-echoed from the shores of America. A French writer, comparing Oliver with Napoleon, says that the former was exclusively an English hero, whilst the latter carried his name into every quarter of the world. It is true that Cromwell did not launch his destroying legions into Spain and Russia, and even into Egypt. It is true that he thought it the highest excellence to live in Christ, to the end that God in all things might be glorified, and to bear, like Simon the Cyrenean, the cross and the shame of the Lord. But it is a grand mistake to suppose that his name was hardly known beyond the British isles. So great was his renown that it extended even to the distant plains of Asia, where the descendants of Abraham in agitation inquired of one another whether this was not the servant of the Lord whom they were looking for, and the branch promised to David (Jer. xxiii. 5.) “Such was the reputation which Cromwell ob- “tained abroad by his prodigious elevation, the “lofty tone of his government, and the vigour of “ his arms, that an Asiatic Jew is said to have “come to England for the purpose of investigating “his pedigree, thinking to discover in him the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.” With his own name Oliver spread afar the name of England, which he was the first to engrave on the distant landmarks of the nations. It is he who opened to his people that path of glory and of power, which their ships now traverse in every sea. * Southey's Life of Cromwell, 81. ANTI-POPERY OF ENGLAND 289 The life of Britain, which had lost all vigour under the Stuarts, was aroused, electrified, as it were, by the same principle which animated its chief; and once more was seen the accomplishment of the an- cient promise: The Lord thy Godwill set thee on high above all nations of the earth. CHAPTER XII. IDEFENDER OF THE FAITH. Defence of Protestantism—Letter to a Protestant Prince—Piedmon- tese Massacre-The Protector interferes—Geneva–Cromwell’s Advice to the Protestants—Portugal—France : Nismes—Interven- tion—Switzerland–Germany—Austria—Council for the general Interests of Protestantism—The Protector’s living Christianity The eternal Truths—Pompeii, Nineveh, and the Bible. CROMWELL was not satisfied with merely frighten- ing the pope in his own Babylon, and with direct- ing his efforts in every quarter against the Roman power; he at the same time zealously pursued the great cause of the Reformation in Europe and in the world, and thus assigned to England that station as Queen of the Protestant World, which has been, and ever will be, her glory and her strength, so long as she shall remain true and faithful to this great calling. This was his third ruling passion,-religious liberty,+the greatness of England,-the prosperity of Protestantism. Where is the statesman that has ever had in view nobler and more beneficial objects? IDEFENDER OF THE FAITH, 291 He entertained the same affection for the several reformed churches abroad as for those of Great Britain. Writing to a Protestant prince, he con- gratulated him on his inviolable zeal for the evan- gelical churches, “A zeal the more worthy of “ praise, at a time when such flattering hopes are “given to persons of your rank, if they will forsake “ the orthodox faith ; and where those who con- “tinue stedfast are threatened with so many “troubles. I call God to witness (adds Cromwell) “ that I desire nothing so much as an opportunity “to answer the favourable opinion the churches “have of my zeal and piety, by endeavouring to “propagate the true faith, and procure rest and “peace for the Church. Hold firm to the orthodox “religion which you have received from your “fathers : nothing will bring you greater glory, “ than to protect it as much as lies in your “power.” Cromwell thought it his vocation to be in the whole world what he was at home—the great champion of religious liberty. “His Highness,” wrote Secretary Thurloe, on the 7th of July 1654, “continues his ancient zeal “to the Protestant religion, whereof nobody need “doubt nor have the least scruple, but may build “the greatest resolutions thereupon.”f A noble opportunity erelong occurred for proclaiming this to the whole world. * Letter to the Prince of Tarente, quoted in Neale, ii. 640. + Vaughan’s Protectorate, i. 21. 292 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. On the 3d of June 1655, sad tidings reached England from Piedmont, and filled all Protestant hearts with sorrow, but particularly that heart which beat strongest for the cause of the Gospel. The descendants of the Waldenses, those great evan- gelists of the Middle Ages, were living peaceably in the valleys of Lucerna, Peroza, and St. Martin, between Piedmont and Savoy. This very year a persecution broke out against them with incon- ceivable violence : the natural result of the desire to convert the heretics, occasioned by the great jubilee of 1650. To bring about this act of severity, the pope put forward a singular motive, that the country of the Waldenses might be given to the Irish who were banished for their concern in the massacre of the Protestants in Ireland. Early in 1655 an order was sent from the court of Turin to the heads of the reformed families dwelling at La Torre, the little capital of the Vaudois, enjoining them to quit their homes within three days, and retire with their families to certain districts that were assigned them. They were also required to prove within the space of twenty days either that they had themselves become Romanists or had sold their property to catholics. Many hundreds of families were compelled to flee in the midst of the rigours of winter. In the spring an army of 15,000 men entered their valleys. Twenty- two villages were reduced to ashes; aged people of both sexes were burnt in their houses; the men were hewn in pieces; the women were impaled DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 293 naked; children were torn from their mothers' arms, and their brains dashed out against the rocks. One hundred and fifty females were beheaded, and their heads were used in a game at bowls.” The bard of Paradise Lost, when he heard of this massacre, seized his lyre, and called to God for vengeance in this noble strain – Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughter'd saints, whose bones Lie scatter'd on the Alpine mountains cold; Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old, When all our fathers worshipt stocks and stones, Forget not : in thy book record their groans, Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold Slain by the bloody Piedmontese that roll’d Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans The vales redoubled to the hills, and they To heaven. Their martyr’d blood and ashes sow O'er all the Italian fields, where still doth sway The triple tyrant; that from these may grow A hundredfold, who, having learn'd thy way, Early may fly the Babylonian woe. In this terrible desolation the poor inhabitants of the valleys first looked to God, and then to Eng- land. Their eyes were turned towards the Protec- tor, and they said to one another, that no doubt he would show compassion to their churches, al- though they hardly dared implore his succour. i When the Protector received this sad intelligence, he burst into tears. “The sufferings of these poor “people,” he said, “lie as near, or rather nearer, “to my heart, than if it had concerned the nearest “relations I have in the world.” That very day * Léger, Histoire des Vaudois.-Villemain and Victor Hugo have confounded the Vaudois of Piedmont with the inhabitants of the can- ton of Vaud in Switzerland. + Vaughan's Proctectorate, i. 140. 294 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. he was to sign the treaty with France; but he refused to do so, until the king and Mazarin had bound themselves to assist him in seeing justice done to these unfortunate inhabitants of the valleys. He sent them two thousand pounds from his own purse, and Milton was employed to address letters to all the Protestant states of Europe,...... to the kings of Sweden and Denmark, to the United Pro- vinces of Holland, to the reformed cantons of Swit- zerland, and to the several churches of Germany and France. He wrote with his own hand to the French king, to Cardinal Mazarin, and to the Duke of Savoy. Finally, he appointed a day of fasting and humilia- tion, and a general collection all over England. This contribution amounted to £37,097, 7s. 8d., a very large sum for that period. “I believe we shall at “length see the need we have of a union, and that “a cordial one too,” wrote Secretary Thurloe, on the 25th of May 1655, to Mr Pell, the English minister in Switzerland; “what is executed upon “the poor Piedmontese is intended against us all, “ as they have opportunity and means.” As soon as it was known on the Continent that Cromwell took the interests of the Waldenses so much to heart, the persecutors began to feel the greatest alarm. The Piedmontese and their allies already fancied they saw an English army landing from their ships and overrunning their country. In fact the English minister in Switzerland spoke of this design as of very easy execution, and to f § i * * * § † : *s. * Vaughan’s Protectorate, i. 186. --~~~~ DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 295 that end called for an alliance with the United Provinces.* This was Cromwell's intention, and he insisted that the matter should be taken into serious consideration. “To do it slightly,” wrote Thurloe on the 8th of November 1655, “will “not be either honourable for us, or profitable for “the people; and the opinion here [at Whitehall] is, “not to begin it unless there be resolution firm and “fixed to go through with it effectually.”f In the meanwhile the Protector sent Samuel Mor- land to the Duke of Savoy with a letter, in which, after representing the cruelty and injustice of the duke's behaviour towards the Protestants of the valleys, he added, “that he was pierced with grief at “the news of the sufferings of the Vaudois, being “united to them not only by the common ties of “humanity, but by the profession of the same faith, “which obliged him to regard them as his brethren; “ and he should think himself wanting in his duty “to God, to charity, and to his religion, if he should “be satisfied with pitying them only (whose miser- “able condition was enough to raise compassion in “ the most barbarous minds); unless he also exerted “ himself to the utmost of his ability to deliver “ them out of it.” On the Continent there was no people that took a greater interest in the fate of the Waldenses than the Genevese. As soon as the news of the massacre reached their city, a fast-day was appointed (10th * Pell to Thurloe ; Vaughan’s Protectorate, i. 222, + Letter to Pell, ibid. 291. \ \ \ 296 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. May 1655), collections were made from house to house to send aid to the suffering brethren, and the garrison was augmented; for it was thought that Savoy was planning an attack on Geneva. Morland on his way back from Turin stayed some time in that city, which was, so to speak, the centre of Crom- well's protestant action on the Continent. Intelli- gence of the necessities of the reformed churches was most frequently sent to England by Professor Tron- chin, and money was forwarded to the Waldenses through the hands of the banker Mr James Tron- chin. The names of Colladon and Calandrini occur also in this correspondence. Mr Pell, the English minister in Switzerland, repaired in person to Geneva. He was in that city on the 12th of Decem- ber 1655, a day of thanksgiving in commemoration of its deliverance, fifty-three years before, from the attempt of the Duke of Savoy to enter the town by ladders in the night. After the morning sermon two of the senators took Pell over the fortifications, and showed him their weakness on the side towards Savoy, giving him to understand that they hoped the Protector would furnish them with the means of completing these works. About a month later, Cromwell replied by Thurloe, “that he not only “wished their welfare and prosperity with all “his heart, but would be ready to contribute to “it as far as God should enable him.”* When Morland was recalled towards the end of the next year, the Protector renewed his assurances to the * Vaughan’s Protectorate, i. 333. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 297 same effect. Geneva has always reckoned on the affection of the mighty and protestant England. The zeal of the English chief was crowned with success. Even Mazarin, at his instigation, wrote in the most pressing language to the court of Turin, and an agreement was signed at Pignerol, restor- ing religious liberty to the Waldenses. There was not a potentate in Europe so bold as to dare ex- pose himself to Cromwell's displeasure by refusing his request. At the same time this Defender of the Protestant faith, wishing to give the pope and the petty princes of Italy a lesson calculated to strike them with terror, gave out, that as he was satisfied they had been the promoters of this persecution, he would keep it in mind, and lay hold of the first oppor- tunity to send his fleet into the Mediterranean to visit Civita Vecchia and other parts of the ecclesi- astical territories, and that the sound of his cannon should be heard in Rome itself. He further de- clared publicly that he would not suffer the true faith to be insulted in any part of the world.* In his eyes (and he was one of the most clear- sighted of statesmen), this was not merely an iso- lated attack against Protestantism, but the first step of a general conspiracy which had for its object the annihilation of the reformed faith. He often re- curred to this idea, and orders were sent to all his foreign ministers to lay clearly before the evangelical states the danger with which they were threatened. * Neale, Hist. Puritans, ii. 654, 655. 298 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. This he did more particularly in a letter of the 7th of July 1655, addressed to his minister in Switzer- land. Secretary Thurloe writes thus to Mr Pell:— “I have formerly desired you would endeavour “to understand fully and particularly what is the “true mind and intention of the Protestant can- “ tons as to this business. It is certain that the “ design of crushing Protestantism was general; “ and to speak of the duke's word in any agree- “ment which shall be made is frivolous. The poor “Protestants [of the valleys] ought to have another “kind of security than that, and it is time for the “Protestants in all the world to consider their own “security also. If this does not awaken us, we are “under a prejudicial slumber. The whole nation “is with the Protector,” adds Thurloe.* With these views Cromwell stipulated in all his treaties for religious liberty in behalf of the Protes- tants. He required of Portugal the free exercise of the evangelical faith; but he met with difficulties which gave him a fresh opportunity of expressing his sentiments with regard to the pope. On the 6th of May 1656, he wrote in the following terms to the admirals Blake and Montague, then at sea:— “In one of the articles agreed with the [Portuguese] “ambassador, it was expressed, that the [English] “merchants [in Portugal] should enjoy liberty of “conscience in the worship of God in their own “houses and aboard their ships; enjoying also the “use of English Bibles, and other good books; * Vaughan’s Protectorate, i. 214. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 299 “taking care that they did not exceed this liberty. “Now, upon the sending of Mr Meadows [under- “secretary of state]-unless we will agree to sub- “mit this article to the determination of the pope, “we cannot have it; whereby he would bring us “to an owning of the pope; which, we hope, what- “ever befall us, we shall not, by the grace of God, “be brought unto.” Never was there statesman more decided than he with regard to the see of Rome. Nor did the Protector confine himself to one par- ticular country. He showed the same zeal for the Protestants of France as he had manifested for those of the valleys. From the commencement of the English revolu- tion, the oppressed Huguenots began to be filled with hope, and to implore the succour of their British brethren. Bordeaux was at that time the centre of this Protestant resistance; and Mazarin was greatly alarmed at their proceedings. “I am as- sured,” wrote M. de Gentillot, one of his secret agents in London, “that if the citizens of Bordeaux had “plainly abandoned the affections and interests of “ the princes and of royalty to look solely to their “own liberty and to the interest of the poor people, “an alliance would undoubtedly have been formed “with them.”f The example of England was a strong temptation to the French Protestants. They would willingly have trodden in the same paths of liberty and * Thurloe, iv. 768. Carlyle, iii. 175. + Revue Nouvelle, 1846, 403. 300 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. emancipation. A Scotch doctor, named More, ap- pears to have encouraged them in this. In Lower Languedoc and at Bordeaux a project was formed for setting up a parliament of a hundred members, similar to that of England. More presented this manifesto to the Council of State in London in November 1653, and entreated their support. Other agents sent by the Protector into France seriously urged him to declare in favour of the oppressed and persecuted religion. The most in- fluential French pastors corresponded with the heads of the Council of State in England. The fermentation and enthusiasm were general through- out all the south, and the Protestants, imagin- ing the eve of their deliverance to be at hand, fasted and prayed publicly for the preservation of the Protector, calling him plainly “their only hope “ next to God l’% But Cromwell was no less prudent than brave. He knew that if he should inconsiderately lend his aid to the Protestants, he might by that very step cause their total ruin. He called to mind the saying of our Lord: What king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and con- sulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand 2 Among the agents of the Foreign Office was one Stoupe, a Grison by birth, then minister of the French church in the Savoy, and afterwards * See the despatch of M. de Bordeaux, envoy of the King of France, to M. de Brienne, ibid. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 301 brigadier-general in the French armies, an intriguing man, and who, says Bishop Burnet, who knew him well, was only a Protestant in outward appearance. The Protector believed, and, as it appears, with rea- son, that such a person might be very serviceable in this affair. He was summoned to Whitehall. “You will make a tour through France,” said Cromwell to him ; “you will communicate with the chief Prot- “estants; you will carefully examine into the re- “sources of the Huguenot party, into their present “disposition, the oppressions they lie under, and “ their inclinations to trust the Prince of Condé. “You will assure the reformed of our zeal and our “care to procure them liberty of faith; but,” added “he, “you will talk to them merely as a traveller.” Stoupe departed. He reached Paris, descended the Loire, arrived at Bordeaux, visited Montauban, and traversed the south of France on his way to Lyons. He was astonished at all he saw. Mazarin, influenced by his awe of Cromwell, took care that the edicts in favour of the Protestants should be observed with an exactitude till then unknown. “We are not discontented,” was the general reply to Stoupe, “and we are not inclined to rise. We have “no confidence in the Prince of Condé; he is an “ambitious man, ever ready to sacrifice all his “friends and every cause he espouses to his own “ projects of greatness.” Stoupe made his report to the Protector, and it was sufficient to decide Cromwell.” He under- * Burnet, 89, 99. Lond, 1753. 2. T 302 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. stood that it was by other means he should come to the support of the Protestants, by his moral influence and not by his armies; and to this he turned his attention. In May 1654, Secretary Thurloe wrote to Mr Pell: “There are great endeavours used by the “French to make an alliance here, but no progress “is made therein as yet; nor will there be, without “making full provision for the Protestants, and “that you may be confident upon on all occasions.” The French ambassador positively refused “that “those of the reformed religion in France should “have the exercise of their religion as full as they “ought by any law granted.” “If he persists in “his resolution,” writes Thurloe on the 14th of July in the same year, “little is to be expected “from the treaty;” and he adds on the 24th of November, “his Highness is very willing to accom- “modate things with France, but cannot for any “outward advantage do that which is prejudicial “ to the Protestants, nor forsake their interests.” In 1656 there happened a quarrel between the reformed citizens of Nismes and the magistrates and bishop of the city. The intendant of the province having interfered, a disturbance broke out, of which an account was immediately sent to court. The Protestants submitted and begged pardon; but the minister, delighted with the opportunity, resolved to ruin them. Upon this they despatched a mes- senger privately to Cromwell, and begged his inter- * Vaughan's Protectorate, i. 2, 21. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 303 position. After giving audience to their delegate, he bade him “refresh himself after so long a journey, “ and he would take such care of his business that “ by the time he came to Paris he should find it de- “spatched.” Accordingly, an express was imme- diately sent off with a letter to the King of France, under cover of the following to Cardinal Mazarin. “To his Eminence the Lord Cardinal Mazarin. “Having thought necessary to despatch this “gentleman to the king with the enclosed letter, I “commanded him to salute your Eminence on my “part; and having charged him to communicate “to you certain affairs which I have intrusted him “with : I therefore pray your Highness to give “credit to what he shall say, having an entire con- “fidence in him. - - “Your Eminence's most affectionate “OLIVER CROMWELL, “Protector of the Commonwealth of England, &c. “Whitehall, Dec. 28th, 1656.” He moreover added the following postscript in his own hand:— - “I have been informed of the tumult at Nismes: “I recommend to your Highness the interest of the “reformed.”* - At the same time the Protector forwarded in- * Neale, ii. 668. See also Clarendon's Rebellion, end of book xv. 304 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. structions to his ambassador at Versailles, com- manding him to insist peremptorily “that the “tumult of Nismes beforgiven,” or else immediately to leave the country. Mazarin complained of this usage, as being too high and imperious; but at the same time, he stood in so much awe of the English ruler, that he changed countenance whenever he heard his name mentioned; and it was a current saying in France, that the cardinal was more afraid of Cromwell than of the devil. The French court gave way, and sent orders to the intendant to make up matters at Nismes as well as he could. S. Had Cromwell's spirit animated the English government in our days, the iniquity of Otaheite would never have been committed; and we should not have seen the priest-party in France inveighing, on the one hand, against the three northern powers for annihilating the independence of Cracow, and, on the other, making war upon a people who have never known a master, and who, as regards moral power and political and religious life, are certainly far superior to the Cracovian citizens. The energy with which this little nation has held in check for several years the people who consider themselves the first in the world, is a pretty clear proof that it deserves to be independent. The priest-party of France, by protesting against the occupation of Cracow and by provoking the assault on Otaheite, has had the unenviable honour of furnishing the civilized world with the most notorious example in DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 305 modern times of that blindness which strains at a gnat and Swallows a camel. Oliver carried into practice in the seventeenth century that famous motto which was the glory of one of the greatest Englishmen of the nineteenth * tº º ºs e º civil and religious liberty in all the world. Prac- tice, in our opinion, is much better than theory; but the example set by the Protector, which had no precedent, has unfortunately met with no imitation. The French Protestants were abandoned, both at the peace of Ryswick in 1697, and again at that of Utrecht in 1713, although hundreds of Huguenots were perishing in dungeons or groaning on board the galleys. If Cromwell's spirit had continued to govern England, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes would never have taken place. May we be permitted to pay a feeble tribute of esteem to the great man who was the protector of our ancestors, and who would have been the vindicator of Prot- estant France if he had lived, or if he had mºi in successors worthy of him. 2-ºxº His attachment to the great cause of evangelical Protestantism extended over all Europe. In Swit- zerland, for instance, he endeavoured to arouse and reanimate the interests of the Reformation. “You “stand so much in awe of your popish neighbours,” said his minister in May 1655, to the evangelical Swiss, “that you dare not budge a foot in favour “of any Protestant church, lest the popish cantons “should fall upon you. If Geneva should need “you, the greater number among you would an- 306 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. i “swer, We cannot, for want of money ! We dare “not, for fear of our popish neighbours!” Cromwell, knowing at the same time that the Romish cantons were strongly supported by the princes of their faith, ordered his minister (22d February 1656) “to assist the evangelical cantons “to make a good and honourable peace, and to that “end to counterbalance by his endeavours the in- “terposition of the public minister of other princes, “who may be partial to the popish cantons.”f He interposed also in Germany in defence of the religious liberty of the reformed states. In a Latin letter from a very considerable person, which was forwarded to Cromwell in January 1655, we read: “The whole popish cohort is plotting against us “and ours. We must consider and inquire into “every thing with prudence. We must deliberate “on the means to be employed for our common “preservation; for we know the aim of all our “Babylonian adversaries. The Lord of Hosts be “the Protector of the Protector and of the Church.”f This writer added: “The persecution continues in “Austria and in Bohemia, and it is very easy to “foresee a general league of the Papists against the “Protestants of Germany and Switzerland.” Against this, Oliver made provision. If he could * Vaughan's Protectorate, i. 181, 182. + Ibid. i. 355. f Tota cohors papistica veram molitur conjurationem in nostros, in nos. Omnia prudenter consideranda, penetranda. Deliberandum de modis conservationis mutua ; quia scopum adversariorum Babyloni- corum Scimus......Sit Deus Zabaoth Protector Protectoris et Ecclesiae. Vaughan’s Protectorate, i. 114. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 307 not reach them with the arm of his power, he sent them proofs at least of hissympathy. Collections were made by his order in behalf of the persecuted Prot- estants of Bohemia; and again in 1657, when dele- gates from the Polish and Silesian Protestants arrived in England complaining of the persecutions directed against them, public subscriptions were immediately opened in their favour throughout the whole coun- try.* Desirous of giving regularity to all these move- ments, Cromwell conceived the idea of a great in- stitution in favour of the evangelical faith. He proposed to unite all the various members of the Protestant body, and by this means place them in a condition to resist Rome, which was at that time preparing for conquest. To this end he resolved to found a council for the General Interests of Pro- testantism, and he was probably led to this idea by the establishment of the Roman congregation for the propagation of the faith. He divided the Protest- ant world out of England into four provinces: the first included France, Switzerland, and the Pied- montese valleys; the second comprised the Palati- nate and other Calvinistic countries; the third, the remainder of Germany, the north of Europe, and Turkey; the colonies of the East and West Indies (Asia and America) formed the fourth. The council was to consist of seven members and four secre- taries, who were to keep up a correspondence with all the world, and inquire into the state of * Vaughan's Protectorate, ii. 258. 308 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. religion everywhere, to the intent that England might suitably direct her encouragement, her pro- tection, and her support. The yearly sum of £10,000, with extraordinary supplies in case of need, was to be placed at the disposal of the council, whose sit- tings were to be held in Chelsea College.* No doubt many objections might be urged against this plan. It was perhaps to be feared that, in cer- tain cases, such diplomatic interposition might in- jure the spiritual character and true life of the reformed religion. But Cromwell's chief object was to maintain religious liberty in all the world as he was maintaining it in England. It is right that the Protestants on the Continent should know what a friend they had in the illustrious Protector. A Catholic historian, one of those who have perhaps the least appreciated his christian character, cannot here repress a movement of admiration. “When “we think of the combats of the Protestant religion “against the Catholic faith,” says M. Villemain, “it was undoubtedly a noble and a mighty thought “to claim for himself the protection of all the dis- “sident sects, and to regulate in a fixed and dur- “able manner the support which England had “granted them on more than one occasion. If “it had not been interrupted by death, Cromwell “would no doubt have resumed a design so much “in accordance with his genius, and which his “power would have allowed him to attempt with “courage.” * Burnet, i. 109. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 309 Such was the Protector's activity. In every place he showed himself the true Samaritan, bind----, ing up the wounds of those who had fallen into the hands of the wicked, and pouring in oil and wine. tº º 'º e º & He is the greatest Protestant that has lived since the days of Calvin and Luther. More than any other sovereign of England he deserved the glorious title of DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. Cromwell was something more than the cham- pion of an outward and official Protestantism. Had his task been limited to that, it would excite but little sympathy in us, and it would have produced no very great results. None perhaps compromise true Protestantism so much as those who, forgetful of the spiritual nature of the movement of the sixteenth century, reduce it to a mere political system. The Protestantism of the reformers is the evangelism of the apostles, neither more nor less. Let us be- ware of making it a mongrel existence, half-spiritual and half-secular. Cromwell employed his power to protect religious liberty in all Europe; but the origin of his foreign activity is found in the fact of his having felt in his own soul the truth of this scripture: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. The ancient religious life of the Reformation was lost: it had been replaced by an attachment to forms. Men carefully inquired whether there was or was not apostolical succession; they examined whether the prayers, the sacraments, and the wor- ship were in conformity with the canons and with f f 310 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. the liturgy; they placed their hands everywhere to try all things—everywhere except on their own heart—to feel if it still beat. They were earnestly occupied with conformities; but they forgot one,— that which renders man conformable to Jesus Christ. A religious revival took place; truth and the christian life reappeared. A dry orthodoxy, a clerical system, was followed by a Christianity as fruitful as it was sincere. Oliver is one of those in whom this spiritual revolution was the most striking. In every page of his history we meet with proofs of his faith. Rarely has there ap- peared in the world a heart that beat so strongly for everlasting truth. This faith, of which Oliver constituted himself the defender, cannot perish. It may be covered and hidden, at one time by the arid sands of in- fidelity, and at another by the tumultuous waves of human passions, or by the images, surplices, and relics of superstition;–but it always revives, lifts up its head, and reappears. The revelations of God are for all times, and they have in all ages the same eternal truth, the same eternal beauty. They are like those rocks in the midst of the ocean, which the flood-tide covers, and which seem swallowed up for ever, but which always raise their tops again above the waters. In vain does one generation imagine it has hidden the everlasting rock of God's truth ; it will become visible in the next. There is a continual alternation, a constant struggle be- tween light and darkness; but the light prevails DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 311 at last. And even should there come an age which fancies it has for ever buried God's truth, —should any volcanic eruption of society over- whelm it with the ashes of another Vesuvius,...... Pompeii after seventeen centuries has again restored to the light of day its houses and its tombs, its palaces and its temples, its circus and its amphi- theatres. Can it be thought that the truth and the life, which God has given in his Gospel, will be less perennial than the frail tenements of man P. There are perhaps now subterranean fires threatening the truth of God. A daring pantheistic and socialist philosophy imagines that it has done with the crucified One. And should it even so far succeed as to throw a little dust and lava on the eternal doctrine, the Lord of heaven will blow upon it, and the dust shall be scattered and the lava be melted. Cromwell, as a Christian, is the representative of one of those epochs in which the light reappears after darkness, according to the device of a city which shone forth with a new and great bright- ness in the days of the Reformation.* It was not to England alone that he wished to restore the doctrine of the Gospel; he put his candle on a candlestick, and the house which he desired by this means to illumine was Europe, nay, the whole world. He has been compared to Bona- parte, and there are, indeed, striking features of resemblance between them. Neither was satisfied * Post tenebras lur is the motto of Geneva : on its shield is also a sun bearing in its centre the name of Jesus, I. H. S. 312 DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. with confining himself to his own country alone, and both exerted their activity abroad. But while Napoleon bore to other nations French tyranny and indifference, Cromwell would have given them religious liberty and the Gospel. The everlasting revelations having reappeared in England and re- ceived the homage of a whole people, it was Crom- well's ambition to present them to the entire world. He did not succeed, and to the majority of European countries the Bible is a book hidden in the bowels of the earth. But this noble design, which Oliver could not accomplish, has again been undertaken in our own days on the banks of the Thames. The revelations of God are printed in the language of every people. The time will come when the thick veil, which still hides these sacred characters from so many nations, shall be rent at last. The massive walls, the proud courts, the magnificent porches of Nineveh are now rising from beneath the sands of the desert. Its inscrip- tions, numbering two, three, and four thousand years, are reappearing to the eyes of the civilized and astonished children of the distant and bar- barous Europe, and the light of day once more falls upon the antique characters traced by Ninus, Sardanapalus, or Nabopolassar!.....The books which Moses began, not less ancient than these Assyrian inscriptions, possess, we may be sure, more vitality than they ; and future ages, by giving to Europe religious liberty, will realize the mighty plan which Cromwell could not accomplish. • CHAPTER XIII. THE KINGSHIP. New Parliament—Ludlow—The Protector's Speech—Exclusions— Proposals about the Kingship—Discussions on this Subject between the Parliament and the Protector—Struggles—Cromwell’s Re- fusal—Was he right 4–His Character—Ambition. THE Protector could not perform all these various tasks without difficulty. Notwithstanding the re- ligious liberty he gave to England at home, and the glory with which he encircled her name abroad, the strict republicans were discontented, and often told him to his face that his government was ille- gitimate, and that they and their friends had not been lavish of their blood for the purpose of en- throning anew the power of one man. In 1656, he determined to call a new parliament. This was necessary for the approval of hostilities with Spain, and for obtaining the needful supplies. But he feared that the republicans, who were de- termined to oppose everything, would vote against this war—a war so glorious in his eyes and so advantageous to England. He accordingly sent 314 TELE KINGSHIP. for Major-general Ludlow, the leader of this party, and required him to give security not to act against the present government. Ludlow answered, “I “ desire to have the nation governed by its own con- “sent.”—“And so do I,” replied Oliver; “but “where shall we find that consent; among the “prelatical, presbyterian, independent, anabaptist, “ or levelling parties?”—“Among those of all “sorts,” rejoined the other, “who have acted with “fidelity and affection to the public.” The Pro- tector feeling convinced that Ludlow was for throwing England again into confusion, said to him: “All men now enjoy as much liberty and “ protection as they can desire; and I am resolved “to keep the nation from being embrued again in “blood. I desire not,” he continued, “to put any tº “ more hardships upon you than upon myself; \ “nor do I aim at anything by this proceeding but | “the public quiet and security. As to my own “circumstances in the world, I have not much “improved them, as these gentlemen (pointing to “his council) well know.”* All that he said was strictly true. After a revolutionary storm, liberty exists most of all in order; and to possess order there must be strength. When the parliament met according to appoint- ment on the 17th of September 1656, Dr Owen, vice-chancellor of Oxford, preached a sermon be- fore them in Westminster Abbey, from the text: What shall one then answer the messengers of the * Neale, ii. 658. THE KINGSHIP. 315 nation ? that the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of His people shall trust in it (Isaiah xiv. 32). It was not only the poor of her own people, but the poor of other nations that trusted in the protection of England. Voices might be heard from the shores of France and from the lofty valleys of the Alps, replying to this sermon: “Yea, verily “Amen l’ The members having adjourned to the Painted Chamber, the Protector took off his hat and de- livered one of the noblest, most sensible, energetic, and religious speeches ever uttered by a statesman. After touching in succession upon Spain, the papists, the levellers, the equality of all sects, on the refor- mation of morals, and on the necessity of prompt and extraordinary remedies for sudden and extra- ordinary maladies, he concluded in the following words:— “Therefore I beseech you in the name of God, “set your hearts to this work. And if you set “your hearts to it, then you will sing Luther's “Psalm (Ps. xlvi.). That is a rare Psalm for a “Christian l—and if he set his heart open, and can “approve it to God, we shall hear him say: God “ is our refuge and strength, a very present help in “ time of trouble. If Pope and Spaniard, and Devil “ and all set themselves against us, though they “should compass us like bees, as it is in the hundred “ and eighteenth Psalm, yet in the name of the “Lord we should destroy them 1 And, as it is in “this Psalm of Luther's, We will not fear, though “ the earth be removed, and though the mountains be 316 THE KINGSHIP. “carried into the middle of the sea; though the waters “thereof roar and be troubled; though the mountains “shake with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the “streams whereof shall make glad the city of God. “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. “Then the Psalmist repeats two or three times, “The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is “our refuge.” Cromwell did well in thus recalling Luther to mind. We fancy we can hear the reformer in the castle of Coburg during the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. In political views there was the most marked distinction between these two great men; but in more essential things, and in their opposi- tion to the papacy, modern history does not present us with two more similar minds. “I have done,” continues Oliver. “All I have “to say is, To pray God that He may bless you “with His presence; that He who hath your “hearts and mine would show His presence in the “midst of us.--I desire you will go together, and “choose your Speaker.”” The Protector, remembering what had happened before, and how easy it was for a few minds, unfriendly to order, to disturb the state, was re- solved to take such measures as he judged best to prevent the parliament from thwarting his views and checking the prosperity and glory of England. To this end he had recourse to a step which in our days would excite a just astonishment. A guard * Burton's Diary, i. 158. Letters and Speeches, iii. 238. THE KINGSHIP. 317 was placed at the door of the house, and no one was allowed to enter without a certificate from the council. By this means about a hundred members were excluded. - Oliver's penetration was unequalled: his saga- city and knowledge of mankind were most remark- able. If there was a man in England who ex- celled in any faculty or science, he found him out, and rewarded him according to his merit. But he also knew his private enemies and those of the public prosperity, and his firm hand either put them aside or kept them down. This he showed in the case in question. He consented, however, to give a pledge for the freedom of the national representation. It was agreed that for the future no member should be excluded from parliament except by a vote of the house. The war with Spain was approved of, and supplies to the amount of £400,000 were voted to carry it on. If we allow, as we are bound to do, that the measure employed by Cromwell was inconsistent with the freedom of parliament and with the prin- ciples of constitutional government, we must also acknowledge that these stretches of power were at that time necessary to the stability of his authority, and that without these somewhat despotic acts, theſ, nation would inevitably have been again involv in war and confusion. Above all, we should remember that the necessary check upon represen- tative governments—an upper house—no longer existed in England. The right, therefore, which he U 318 THE KINGSHIP. claimed of rejecting a portion of the representatives must in his mind have been intended to supply the want of a House of Lords. There was, therefore, a constitutional element in this measure of exclusion. The beginning of the year 1657 nearly realized the gloomy foresight of Cromwell. One of the chief levellers, Quarter-master Sindercombe, after several ineffectual attempts at assassination, en- deavoured to set fire to Whitehall. He was appre- hended, but eluded his punishment by taking poison. Parliament went in a body to offer their congratulations to the Protector on his escape from danger, to which he replied with his usual good sense and piety.* It was now felt necessary to settle the order and prosperity of England on a more solid basis; and many even of the republicans felt that royalty was essential to so desirable an end. The initiative in this matter did not proceed from Cromwell, but from the parliament. Colonel Jephson, one of the members for Ireland, moved that the Protector should have the crown, with the title of KING, and was seconded by Alderman Pack, one of the representatives for the city of London. When the Protector was informed of this, says the republican Ludlow, he mildly reprimanded the colonel one day at table, and said to him: “I cannot imagine what you “were thinking of, when you made such a motion.” Upon Jephson's replying that he begged the liberty to follow the impulse of his conscience, Oliver - * Speech vi. in Carlyle, iii. 254, &c. THE KINGSHIP. 319 patted him on the shoulder, saying: “Go, go! “you are mad.” The strict republicans opposed the motion with great vehemence, Lambert, Des- borough, and Fleetwood, Cromwell's son-in-law, taking the lead. These men, who belonged to his family and enjoyed his friendship, “confidently “undertook to know,” says Clarendon, “that Oliver “would never consent to it; and therefore it was “very strange that any men should importune the “ putting such a question.” But as the majority of the lawyers, whose opinions in such a matter must have had great weight, declared in favour of royalty, the motion passed. On the 31st of March the House of Commons presented a petition to the Protector, inviting him to take the title and office of king, which, said the parliament, would be most conformable to the laws and temper of the people of England. Crom- well prayed for time to deliberate on their request; “I have lived the latter part of my age in the fire; “in the midst of troubles,” said he. “But all the “things that have befallen me since I was first “engaged in the affairs of this Commonwealth “would not so move my heart and spirit with that “fear and reverence of God that becomes a Chris- “tian, as this thing that hath now been offered by “you to me. “And should I give any resolution in this mat- “ter suddenly, without seeking to have an answer “put into my heart, and so into my mouth, by “Him that hath been my God and my guide 320 THE KINGSHIP. “hitherto,-it would savour more to be of the flesh, “to proceed from lust, to arise from arguments of “self. And if my decision in it have such motives “in me, it may prove even a curse to you and to “ these three Nations.”* Three days after (on Friday, 3d April 1657), a committee of the house, among whom were Lord Broghil, General Montague, the Earl of Tweeddale, Whitelocke and others, having waited on the Pro- tector, he said to them : “I return the Parliament “my grateful acknowledgment. But I must “needs say, that that may be fit for you to offer, “which may not be fit for me to undertake. I am “not able for such a trust and charge.” On the 11th of April, the committee, nominated by parliament to present their reasons in favour of the petition of the house, attended at Whitehall. Lord Whitelocke, Lord Chief justice Glyn, Lenthall, once speaker of the long parliament, and several others, spoke in turn. The latter maintained that the title of Protector was unknown to the English Constitution : Nolumus leges Angliae mutari / ex- claimed he. Oliver required time for reflection. The latter motive could not fail to have great weight with him. He also was unwilling that the laws of England should be changed, and notwith- standing all appearances to the contrary, he had at heart a strong conservative feeling. When he sacri- ficed trifling things, it was to preserve greater ones. Protestantism and liberty were in his eyes the law, * Burton's Diary, i. 413. Carlyle, iii. 271. THE KINGSHIP. 321 and as it were the essence, of England. In com- parison with these a prince and a dynasty were mere accidents. The whole question resolves itself into this: In a nation what must we preserve— essential or secondary things? On the 13th of April a committee of ninety-nine attended again at the palace, when the Protector delivered his eleventh recorded speech. On the one hand he felt all the force of the reasons urged by Parliament, and more particularly by the law- yers; but, on the other, he considered it his duty not to alienate the godly men with whose help he had restored peace and order to England. “I undertook the place I am now in,” said he, “not so much out of hope of doing any good, as “out of a desire to prevent mischief and evil,— “which I did see was imminent on the nation. I “say, we were running headlong into confusion and “disorder, and would necessarily have run into “blood; and I was passive to those that desired “me to undertake the place which I now have. “And therefore I am not contending for one “name compared with another;-and therefore “have nothing to answer to any arguments that “were used for preferring the name kingship to pro- “tectorship. For I should almost think any name “were better than my name; and I should alto- “gether think any person fitter than I am for such “business; and I compliment not, God knows it. “But this I should say, that I do think, you, in “the settling of the peace and liberties of this na- 322 THE KINGSHIP. “tion, which cries as loud upon you as ever nation “did for somewhat that may beget a consistence, “ought to attend to that; otherwise the nation “will fall in pieces! And in that so far as I can, I “am ready to serve not as a king, but as a con- “stable, if you like For truly I have, as before “God, often thought that I could not tell what my “business was, nor what I was in the place I stood “in, save comparing myself to a good constable set “to keep the peace of the parish. “I say, therefore, I do judge for myself there is “no such necessity of this name of king. “I must say a little; I think I have somewhat “ of conscience to answer as to the matter, and I “shall deal seriously as before God. “If you do not all of you, I am sure some of you “do, and it behoves me to say that I do “know my “‘ calling from the first to this day.' I was a per- “son who, from my first employment, was sud- “denly preferred and lifted up from lesser trusts “to greater; from my first being a captain of a “ troop of horse; and did labour as well as I could “ to discharge my trust; and God blessed me “therein as it pleased Him. And I did truly and “plainly—and in a way of foolish simplicity, as it “was judged by very great and wise men, and “good men too—desire to make my instruments “help me in that work. 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 THE KINGSHIP. 323 “this engagement [enterprise], I saw our men were “beaten at every hand. I did indeed; and desired “ him that he would make some additions to my “Lord Essex's army, of some new regiments; and “I told him I would be serviceable to him in “bringing such men in as I thought had a spirit “ that would do something in the work. This is “very true that I tell you; God knows I lie not. “‘Your troops,’ said I, “are most of them old de- ‘cayed serving-men and tapsters, and such kind “‘ of fellows; and,” said I, ‘their troops are gentle- “‘men's sons, younger sons, and persons of quality: “‘do you think that the spirits of such base and “‘mean fellows will ever be able to encounter “‘gentlemen, that have honour and courage, and “‘resolution in them 2 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 I talked a good notion, but an im- “practicable one. Truly I told him I could do “somewhat in it. I did so, and the result was, “impute it to what you please, I 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. And truly “this is matter of praise to God: and it hath some {{ 324 THE KINGSHIP. “instruction in it, to own men who are religious “ and godly. And so many of them as are peace- “ably, and honestly, and quietly disposed to live “within rules of government, and will be subject “to those Gospel rules of obeying magistrates—I “reckon no godliness without that circle ! With- “out that spirit it is diabolical,—it is devilish,_it “is from diabolical spirits, from the depth of “Satan's wickedness. “I will be bold to apply this [what I said to Mr “Hampden] to our present purpose; because there “are still such men in this nation; godly men of ſ “the same spirit, men that will not be beaten down t “by a worldly or carnal spirit while they keep their “integrity. And I deal plainly and faithfully with “you, when I say: I cannot think that God “would bless an undertaking of anything [king- “ship or whatever else] which would, justly and “with cause, grieve them. I know that very gen- “erally good men do not swallow this title. It is “my duty and my conscience to beg of you that “there may be no hard things put upon me; things, “I mean, hard to them, which they cannot swallow. “By showing a tenderness even possibly (if it be “ their weakness) to the weakness of those who “have integrity, and honesty, and uprightness, you “will be the better able to root out of this nation “all those who think their virtue lies in despising “ and opposing authority.” - Thus did Cromwell, although struck undoubtedly * Somers’ Tracts, vi. 365. Carlyle, iii. 305-310. THE KINGSHIP. 325 by the numerous and powerful reasons urged by parliament for substituting the title of king for that of protector, refuse to accept it. He was pre- vented by the fear of offending the honest republi- cans, whom he might so easily have reduced to silence, and of injuring the prosperity of England. There was much to be said on both sides. Claren- don informs us, that if he had once been made king he would have received the allegiance of most of the royalists, of which he had been assured by several of the principal nobility. But Cromwell could not resolve to alienate his old friends, even should he gain over his former enemies. A man of power has rarely shown such condescension to the opinions of others, at the yery moment, too, when he thinks them ill founded. These are not the manners of a despot. O The struggle between him and the parliament still continued. The great committee of ninety- nine did not consider itself beaten, and returned seriously to the contest. On the 16th of April, another conference took place. Whitelocke urged on the Protector, that by refusing the crown he would do what king of England had never done,— reject the advice of his parliament. Another of the committee declared that it was his duty to accept, and added, that he ought by no means to shrink from his duty. Others put forward many weighty arguments, but Oliver would not give way. On the 20th of April, there was a new confer- ence, in which the Protector refuted the reasonings 326 THE KINGSHIP. of the 16th. He said, “I have not desired the “continuance of my power or place either under “one title or another. I speak not this vainly “ or as a fool, but as to God. If the wisdom of “this Parliament should have found a way to settle “the interests of this nation, upon the foundations “of justice, and truth, and liberty to the people of “God, and concernments of men as Englishmen, “I would have lain at their feet, or at anybody “else's feet, that things might have run in such a “ current. I know the censures of the world “may quickly pass upon me, and are already “passing; but I thank God I know where to lay “ the weight of reproach, and contempt, and scorn “that hath been cast upon me.” Who has any right to accuse Cromwell of dis- simulation when he made these solemn declara- tions? If he was calumniated in his day of power, it is still more easy to calumniate him now that he is dead; and in this, many individuals have shown no lack of zeal. We feel no inclination for so dis- honourable a task. In studying the Protector's character, let them only exercise a little of that impartiality which is due to every man, even to the most useless and obscure, and I entertain no doubt they will shake off the prejudices which darken his memory. tº The Protector handed to the committee a paper explanatory of his motives for refusing the title of king. It was in truth a mere question of title. * Somers’ Tracts, vi. 387. Carlyle, iii. 320. THE KINGSHIP. 327 In his eyes, and according to the just and picturesque expression he employed, it was merely asking him whether or not he would put a feather in his cap. Unfortunately the document above mentioned is lost. A crown had never been his aim. The object of his ambition was the liberty, peace, and glory of England. And he attained what he had so earnestly thirsted after. ****** On the 21st of April he delivered another speech, in which casting a retrospective glance on his past life and on the course of Providence, he said, “After it had pleased God to put an end to the “war of this nation; a final end; which was done “at Worcester, I came up to the Parliament that “ then was ; and though I had not been well skilled “in parliamentary affairs, having been near ten “years in the field, I desired to put a good issue “to all those transactions which had disordered “the nation : believing verily that all the blood “which had been shed, and all the distemper which “God had suffered to be amongst us, were not “ the end, but the means, which had an end and “were in order to somewhat. Truly the end then “was, I thought Settlement; that is, that men “might come tosome consistencies, tosome settled “order of things.” Here Oliver shows a more exalted intelligence than Napoleon Bonaparte, who never ceased from battles, and who made them rather the end than the means. 328 THE KINGSHIP. f * But it was necessary to put an end to this con- test between the Protector and the parliament. On the 7th of May the committee presented a new petition; and the next day he summoned the house before him, when, after a rather long speech, he said in a manner that admitted no further ques- tion: “I cannot undertake this government with “ the title of king. And that is mine answer to “this great and weightybusiness.”—Thus he refused to place on his brows the crown of the Stuarts and of the Tudors. There are few men recorded in ancient or modern history who have been able, like him, to resist a similar temptation. For this posterity has not shown him much gratitude. His sole reward has been insult. We will be more just : we will give justice to whom justice is due, honour to whom honour. -, Royalist writers have blamed Oliver for not ac- epting the kingship. “In thus yielding to men “of weaker minds than his own,” says one of these historians,” “Cromwell committed the same error “ which had been fatal to Charles. The boldest “course would have been the safest. The wisest “friends of the royal family were of opinion, that “if he had made himself king de facto, and restored “all things in other respects to the former order, no “other measure would have been so injurious to “the royal cause.” The same writer goes even farther, and adds: “His mind (Oliver's) had ex- “panded with his fortune...... Fain would he have * Southey (Life of Cromwell), who in this agrees with Clarendon. * THE KINGSHIP. * 329 “restored the monarchy, created a House of Peers, “ and re-established the episcopal church.” A sin- gular fate is Cromwell's Some reproach him for having desired to be king; others blame him for not having desired it...... Both are wrong. He evidently thought that monarchy was a form necessary to Great Britain; but it must be a constitutional mon- archy, such as exists in the present day- He would have nothing to do with the republic of one party, or with the despotism of another. He could not establish this form of government during his life- time; but he did establish it after his death. Oliver is the real founder of the constitutional monarchy of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is in this portion of Cromwell's life that writers have been the most active in search of hypocrisy, although on many other occasions, both before and after, the same reproach has been made against him. But he could say with St. Paul : Our rejoic- ing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in sim- plicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. At the very beginning of his public life, he said to his friend Mr St. John (11th September 1643), “I de- “sire not to seek myself.” At a season when all minds were the most disturbed, and insults the most frequent, he remained calm, and opening his heart to Fairfax, wrote to him with christian serenity and firmness: “Never were the spirits of men “ more imbittered than now. Surely the devil 330 THE KINGSHIP. A ( \--- “ hath but a short time. Sir, it's good the heart “be fixed against all this. The naked simplicity “of Christ, with that wisdom. He is pleased to give, “ and patience, will overcome all this.” (11th March 1647). Oliver never lost his assurance in God: he never doubted that, sooner or later, the just judge would vindicate him. “Though it may be “for the present a cloud may lie over our actions “to those who are not acquainted with the grounds “ of them,” wrote he to Colonel Jones on the 14th of September 1647; “yet we doubt not that God “will clear our integrity and innocency from any “other ends we aim at but His glory and the “ public good.” The cloud has long hung over Cromwell's memory; but God has cleared it away at last, and the most prejudiced eyes will now look —not upon the “monster” which their own imagi- nations had created, but—upon an upright and sincere man,—upon a Christian, and at the same time upon a hero. Oliver knew how to profit by the abuse of men. • He was not puffed up by it, as is frequently the case; it the rather made him feel more keenly his own poverty and weakness; but it did not crush him. “When we think of our God, what are we?” he wrote to Lord Wharton, on the 2d of September 1648. “Oh, His mercy to the whole society of “saints, despised, jeered saints Let them mock “on. Would, we were all saints The best of us “are, God knows, poor weak saints;–yet saints; “if not sheep, yet lambs; and must be fed. We THE KINGSHIP. 331 “have daily bread, and shall have it, in despite of “all enemies. There's enough in our Father's “house, and He dispenseth it.” Was there no ambitious sentiment in the Protec- tor, especially in this affair of the kingship 2 To deny this absolutely would be making him superior to the conditions of mortal existence. There is no man that sinneth not, says the Scripture. Oliver was not exempt from this general rule. All that we would say is, that he was conscientious in this struggle, and that if the flesh lusted against the spirit, the spirit fought against the flesh. Cromwell possessed a living faith; and that faith is a power which every day grows stronger in the heart. The object for which God places this heavenly and divine power in man is to overcome the evil, the earthly, and the sensual powers that have taken up their abode in his bosom. The question, therefore, is not whether these two contrary elements, the new man and the old man,—do not exist together in the same individual; but whether the struggle be- tween them is sincere and loyal. In Oliver the struggle was indeed sincere. l CHAPTER XIV. LAST PARLIAMENT AND DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. The Installation—Two Houses of Parliament—The grand Design— Petty Quarrels—Parliament dissolved—Conspiracies—Death of Lady Claypole—Consolations—Fever—George Fox at Hampton Court—Cromwell’s Words on his Deathbed—Confidence—The Storm—Cromwell’s Successor—His Prayer and Last Words—His Death—Mourning—Cromwell's Christian Character—Oliver and the Pope—Restoration of Mankind—The Protestant Way—Oliver's Principles—The Pope’s Policy—Conflicts and Dangers of the State —The Two Men of the Seventeenth Century—Conclusion. ON the 26th of June 1657, Cromwell, after his re- fusal of the kingship, was again solemnly inaugu- rated Protector. The Speaker in the name of the parliament presented to him in succession a robe of purple velvet, a bible, a sword, and a sceptre of massive gold. The parliament was afterwards pro- rogued until the 20th of January in the following year. On its reassembling it consisted of two houses. The Protector had told the Commons that he would not undertake the government unless there was some body which, by interposing between him and the lower house, would be able to keep seditious DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 333 and turbulent persons in check. This was readily granted; and as soon as the regulating power was established, Oliver thought himself bound to revoke the exceptional measure by which he had supplied its place at the time of the first meeting of the Commons. Their number was augmented by the hundred excluded members,...... a bold and dan- gerous concession. The other house (as the lords were called) consisted of sixty-one hereditary mem- bers, nominated by the Protector, among whom were his two sons and his two sons-in-law. Cromwell opened this new parliament on the 20th of January 1658, beginning with the usual form, My Lords and Gentlemen of the House of Com- mons. He returned thanks to God for His favours, at the head of which he reckoned peace and the blessings of peace, namely, the possession of politi- cal and spiritual liberty. As religion was always the first of interests in his estimation, Oliver, when speaking of this power, which is the strength of nations, called to their remembrance “that Eng- “land had now a godly ministry [clergy], a know- “ing ministry; such a one as, without vanity be “it spoken, the world has not...... If God,” added he in conclusion, “should bless you in this work, “ and make this meeting happy on this account, “the generations to come will bless us.” The proceedings of this parliament did not answer to the Protector's expectations. The Commons would have no other house. One republican, Hasel- rig, refused to be made a peer, and took his seat in X 334 LAST PARLIAMENT AND the Commons. Cromwell endeavoured to raise the attention of parliament above all these trivialities, and direct it to the great questions which concerned the country. Summoning both houses before him on the 25th of January, the Protector said to them —“Look “at affairs abroad. The grand design now on “foot, in comparison with which all other designs “are but low things, is, whether the Christian “world shall be all Popery? Is it not true that “ the Protestant cause and interest abroad is quite “under foot, trodden down 2 The money you “parted with in that noble charity which was “exercised in this nation, and the just sense you “had of those poor Piedmonts, was satisfaction “enough to yourselves of this, That if all the “Protestants in Europe had had but that head, “ that head had been cut off, and so an end of the “whole. “But is this of Piedmont all? No. Look how “the house of Austria, on both sides of Christen- “dom, both in Austria Proper and in Spain, are “armed and prepared to destroy the whole Prot- “estant interest.”* After demonstrating his thesis, Oliver continued thus:—“And look to that that calls itself the head “of all this—a pope | He influences all the “powers, all the princes of Europe to accomplish “this bloody work. So that what is there in all “the parts of Europe but a consent, a co-operat- * Burton, ii. 351. Carlyle's Cromwell, iii. 405, 406. DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 335 “ing, at this very time and season, of all popish “ powers to suppress everything that stands in “their way?”* All this was perfectly true. The statesmen of England did not then give way to fatal delusions. The Protector had eyes to see, and ears to hear. Cromwell, after pointing out the dangers abroad, examined next into those at home; inquiring what blessings ought to be preserved, and what pre- cautions should be taken for that purpose. All his thoughts were for the happiness of his people. “We have,” said he, “two blessings: Peace “ and the Gospel. Let us have one heart and “soul; one mind to maintain the honest and just “rights of this nation. If you run into another “flood of blood and war, this nation must sink “ and perish utterly. I beseech you and charge “you in the name and presence of God, and as “before Him, be sensible of these things, and lay “ them to heart.f If you prefer not the keeping “of peace, that we may see the fruit of righteous- “ness in them that love peace and embrace peace, “—it will be said of this poor nation : Actum est “ de Anglia, It is all over with England.j: - “While I live, and am able, I shall be ready to “stand and fall with you. I have taken my oath “to govern according to the laws, and I trust I “shall fully answer it. And know, I sought not “this place. I speak it before God, angels, and * Carlyle's Cromwell, iii. 407. + Ibid. 423. : Ibid. 424. 336 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “men ; I DID NOT. You sought me for it, you “brought me to it.” This noble language did not produce the effect that might have been expected from it. The Com- mons had not the Protector's piercing eye. In- stead of embracing, like him, all Europe and its destinies, they squabbled about paltry interests and petty rivalries. The house lost itself in useless and dangerous discussions. Quarrels, dissension, and civil war were at the door, and “the English “hydra,” says Carlyle, “cherished by the Spanish “Charles Stuart invasion, would have shortly hiss- “ed sky-high again, had that continued.”f There was a rumour of an army of 20,000 men appearing with a petition for the re-establishment of Charles Stuart, and of another force of 10,000 landing in England; “by the jealousy (to say no “worse) of our good neighbours,” wrote Hartlib, Milton's friend, to Pell.j: “Besides,” continues he, “there was another petition set on foot in the “city for a commonwealth, which would have “gathered like a snowball.” The well-disposed members endeavoured, but without effect, to maintain order, and to direct the attention of the house to useful objects of legisla- tion. Many violent attacks were made upon the members of the other house, who were resolved to defend themselves. They forgot the great aims of the Protector,...... the liberty, prosperity, and glory * Carlyle’s Cromwell, iii. 424. + Ibid. 426. † Waughan's Protectorate, ii. 442. - DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 337 of his country, and gave way to wretched person- alities. Cromwell had far outstripped his age: his contemporaries could not follow him. The public men of England required that constitutional educa- tion which genius and the Gospel had given the Protector. This they have now received, and for it they are in an especial manner indebted to him. Yet for a time the nation was again placed between the democracy of the levellers and the despotism of the Stuarts, between the hammer and the anvil. It was necessary for such a state of things to be brought to a speedy termination. On the 4th of February 1658, while the lower house was forgetting its dignity in some idle dis- cussion, the usher of the Black Rod announced that his Highness, the Protector, was in the House of Lords, and desirous of speaking with the Com- mons. The first house (for such was their title) hastily complied with the summons. “My Lords and Gentlemen,” said the Protector, “I would have been glad to have lived under my “woodside, to have kept a flock of sheep, rather “ than undertaken such a government as this. But “undertaking it by the advice and petition of you, “I did look that you who had offered it unto me “should make it good. “Yet, instead of that, you have not only dis- “jointed yourselves but the whole nation, which is “in likelihood of running into more confusion in “these fifteen or sixteen days that you have sat, “ than it hath been from the rising of the last ses- 338 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “sion to this day. They are endeavouring to en- “gage the army, which is nothing else but playing “the King of Scots' game (if I may so call him); “ and I think myself bound before God to do what “I can to prevent it. I think it high time that an “end be put to your sitting. And I do dissolve this “ parliament; and let God be judge between you “ and me.”* These were the last words uttered by him in public. He was then rapidly approaching that solemn moment when the judgment of the Almighty, to which he had appealed, was to be accomplished. The most enlightened men thought with Crom- well. Hartlib wrote a few days after to Mr Pell: “Believe me, it was of such necessity that, if their “session had continued but two or three days “longer, all had been in blood, both in city and “country, upon Charles Stuart's account.”f As Oliver felt convinced that these disturbances originated chiefly with the principal officers of the army, he set aside Harrison and Ludlow, recalled Fleetwood from his government in Ireland, and cancelled Lambert's commission ; the rest were obliged to take an oath not to oppose the present government. All these measures were insufficient to check the fanatical republicans. Having failed in their de- sign in parliament, they determined upon killing the Protector, and proclaiming King Jesus. The * Burton, ii. 465. Carlyle’s Cromwell, iii. 427-432. t Vaughan's Protectorate, ii. 442. Parl. Hist. xxi. 205. DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 339 conspiracy was discovered, and the leaders were apprehended. A more formidable combination was preparing among the cavaliers. For three weeks the Marquis of Ormond had been living privately in London, engaged in promoting the king's affairs. Charles Stuart had an army of 8000 men and twenty-two ships ready to sail. Three of the conspirators were arrested, and, on the 8th of June, one of them, Doctor Hewet, was beheaded on Tower-hill. Although Cromwell was so occupied at home, he did not forget the evangelical Christians abroad. One of the last documents, which relate to his foreign policy, evinces his love for the suffering brethren. The poor Waldenses of Piedmont were again disquieted, and by Oliver's directions Milton addressed the following letter to Louis XIV.” “To the most serene and potent Prince, Louis, King “ of France. “Most SERENE AND POTENT KING, MosT AUGUST “FRIEND AND ALLY. “Your Majesty may recollect that during the “negotiation between us for the renewing of our “alliance (which many advantages to both nations, “ and much damage to their common enemies, re- “sulting therefrom, now testify to have been very “auspiciously done), there happened that miserable “slaughter of the people of the Valleys; whose * Milton’s Prose Works, p. 815. Lond. 1833. 340 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “cause, on all sides deserted and trodden down, “we recommended with the greatest earnestness “ and commiseration to your mercy and protection. “Nor do we think your Majesty, for your own part, “has been wanting in an office so pious and in- “deed so human, in so far as either by authority “ or favour you might have influence with the Duke “of Savoy; we certainly, and many other princes “ and states, by embassies, by letters, by entreaties “directed thither, have not been wanting. “After that most sanguinary massacre, which “spared neither age nor sex, there was at last a “ peace given; or rather, under the specious name “of peace, a certain more disguised hostility. The “terms of the peace were settled in your town “of Pignerol: hard terms indeed, but such as “ those indigent and wretched people, after suffer- “ing all manner of cruelties and atrocities, might “gladly acquiesce in ; if only, hard and unjust as “they are, they were adhered to. They are not “adhered to : the purport of every one of them is, “by false interpretation and various subterfuges, “eluded and violated. Many of these people are “ejected from their old habitations; their religion “is prohibited to many; new taxes are exacted; “a new fortress has been built over them, out of “which soldiers frequently sallying plunder or kill “whomsoever they meet. Moreover, new forces “ have of late been privily got ready against them; “ and such as follow the Romish religion are “directed to withdraw from among them within a DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 341 “limited time; so that everything seems now again “to point towards the extermination of all those “unhappy people whom the former massacre had “ left. “Which now, O most Christian King, I beseech “ and obtest thee, by thy right hand which pledged “a league and friendship with us, by the sacred “honour of that title of Most Christian,—permit “not to be done; nor let such license of butchery “be given, I do not say to any prince (for indeed “no cruelty like this could come into the mind of “any prince, much less into the tender years of “ that young prince, or into the woman's heart of “his mother), but to those most cursed assassins. “Who, while they profess themselves the servants “ and imitators of Christ our Saviour, who came “ into the world to save sinners, abuse His merciful “name and commandments to the cruellest slaugh- “terings of the innocent. Snatch, thou who art “able, and who in such an elevation art worthy to “be able, those poor suppliants of thine, from the “hands of murderers, who, lately drunk with “blood, are again athirst for it, and think conve- “nient to turn the discredit of their own cruelty “upon the score of their prince's. Suffer not “either thy titles or the frontiers of thy kingdom “to be polluted with that discredit, or the all- “peaceful Gospel of Christ to be soiled by that “cruelty, in thy reign. Remember that these “very people became subjects of thy ancestor, “Henry, that great friend to Protestants; when 342 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “Lesdiguières victoriously pursued the Savoyard “across the Alps, through those same valleys, “where indeed lies the most commodious pass to “Italy. The instrument of their surrender is yet “extant in the public acts of your kingdom: in “which this among other things is specified and “provided against, That these people of the val- “leys should not thereafter be delivered over to “any one except on the same conditions under “which thy invincible ancestor had received them “into fealty. This protection they now implore: “the protection promised by thy ancestor they “ now suppliantly demand from thee, the grand- “son. To be thine rather than his whose they “now are, if by any means of exchange it could “be done, they would wish and prefer: if that “may not be, thine at least by succour, by com- “miseration and deliverance. “There are likewise reasons of state which “might induce thee not to reject these people of “the valleys flying to thee for refuge: but I “would not have thee, so great a King as thou “art, be moved to the defence of the unfortunate “by other reasons than the promise of thy ances- “tors, and thy own piety and royal benignity and “greatness of mind. So shall the praise and fame “of this most worthy action be unmixed and “clear; and thyself shalt find the Father of Mercy, “ and his Son Christ the King, whose name and “ doctrine thou shalt have vindicated from this “hellish cruelty, the more favourable and propi- DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 343 “tious to thee through the whole course of thy “ life. “May the Almighty, for His own glory, for the “safety of so many most innocent Christian men, “and for your true honour, dispose your Majesty “ to this determination. “Your Majesty's most friendly “OLIVER, PROTECTOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH “OF ENGLAND. “Westminster, 26th May 1658.” Cromwell at the same time forwarded the most earnest recommendations to Sir William Lockhart, his ambassador at the French court. We shall quote the last paragraph only, in which the hint given to Louis XIV. is more fully developed. “One of the most effectual remedies, which we “conceive the fittest to be applied at present is, “That the King of France would be pleased to “make an exchange with the Duke of Savoy for “ those valleys; resigning over to him some other “part of his dominions in lieu thereof—as, in the “reign of Henry IV., the marquisate of Saluces “was exchanged with the duke for La Bresse. “Which certainly could not but be of great advan- “tage to his majesty, as well for the safety of “Pignerol, as for the opening of a passage for his “forces into Italy,–which passage, if under the “dominion and in the hands of so powerful a “prince, joined with the natural strength of these 344 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “places by reason of their situation, must needs “be rendered impregnable.” This was a happy idea. Had the geographical situation permitted the union of the Waldenses to the Swiss, for instance, it would have been a great blessing for that poor people. But most certainly it would not have been right to place them under the sceptre of Louis XIV. In 1685, when this mighty king was no longer restrained by the Pro- —tector, who had been laid in the tomb many years Gbefore, it was at the instigation of France that new persecutions burst upon the unfortunate Protest- ants of Piedmont. It has often been said in these latter days, with reference to an alliance between Spain and France, that the government of the latter nation had shut their eyes to the necessities of the present moment; that formerly it was right for France to unite with Spain, because she was at war with England; but that now every international proceeding ought to be subordinate to the cordial understanding be- tween France and England. This is true: but if the French government has committed a great fault, what shall we say of the sagacity of Cromwell, who, outstripping his contemporaries by two centuries, inaugurated so long ago the alliance of those two countries? The Protector's health was now gradually declin- ing: he was sinking under the weight of care and fatigue. England was pressing on and killing him. * Ayscough MSS.4107, f. 89; in Carlyle, iii. 446. DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 345 \ A domestic affliction increased his disorder. Lady Claypole, his favourite daughter, lay dangerously sick at Hampton Court. During fourteen days the unhappy father, unable to attend to any public business whatever, did not quit her bedside. On the 6th of August she died. His heart was crushed; but he soon found the Christian's consolation. Hav- ing withdrawn to his closet he called for his Bible, and desired a godly person there present to read to him a passage from the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians: I have learnt, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere, and by all things, I am instructed; both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things, through Christ which strengtheneth me. After these verses were read, the afflicted parent remarked: “This Scripture once saved my life; “when my eldest son died; which went as a “dagger to my heart; indeed it did.” Thus did Oliver, when near his end, reveal to us all the magnitude of that deep sorrow, which the Bible calls the bitterness for a first-born (Zech. xii. 10). He declared that he was then on the point of dying of grief; adding that he was now once more reduced to the like extremity; but at the same time he ex- claimed with King David: Thy word hath quickened me / After this, the bereaved father began to read the eleventh and twelfth verses, on St. Paul's con- tentment and submission to the will of God in all 346 LAST PARLIAMENT AND conditions of life. “It’s true, Paul,” said he, “you “ have learnt this, and attained to this measure of “grace: but what shall I do? Ah, poor creature, “it’s a hard lesson for me to take out ! I find it “ SO !” The afflicted ruler, like Rachel weeping for her N children, refusing to be comforted, because they were not, read on to the thirteenth verse, where St. Paul says, I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me. These words began to reanimate his faith: Christ's omnipotence was felt in his soul; his heart found consolation, and he said to himself. “Yes, I feel it, I see it—He that was Paul's Christ “...... is my Christ too !” What a beautiful senti- ment! what an affecting scene ! There are not many great men in history, who have shown themselves such true Christians in their hours of sorrow. Did the piety of Charlemagne, of St. Louis, or of the Electors of Saxony in the days of the Reformation, exceed that of the Protector of England? .** On the 21st of August he was attacked with a fever. He took, however, a few rides in the park at Hampton Court; and it was on one of these occasions that he received the last visit from George Fox. Several quakers had been sent to prison, and two years before, when the Protector was in Lon- don, Friend George had remonstrated with him on such proceedings. As he was taking his evening drive in Hyde Park surrounded by his guards, Fox rode up to the carriage-door, in spite of all opposi- \ . | | | | DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 347 tion. Oliver lowered the window, and welcomed him very cordially. But on the following day, at Whitehall, when Fox felt certain of success, the scene changed. “Cromwell spoke lightly of me,” said the quaker. “As I was standing by the “table, he came and sat on the end, and spake “light things to me,...... and treated me scornfully. “He said to me that my enormous self-confidence “ (he meant my confidence in God who was within “me) was none of the least of my attainments.” The quaker retired somewhat discontented. Fox thus describes his last interview. “I took “a boat and went up to Kingston, and from thence “went afterwards towards Hampton Court, to speak “with the Protector about the sufferings of the “Friends. I met him riding into Hampton Court- “Park; and before I came at him, as he rode at “the head of his life-guard, I saw and felt a waft “ (whiff or apparition ?) 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 the “Friends before him, and had warned him, accord- “ing as I was moved to speak to him, he bid me “come to his house...... The next day when I came “he was sick, and I never saw him any more.” These interviews between Oliver and George Fox are remarkable. It was a doctrine very simi- lar to that of the Friends which had misled the former. CHe had believed it his duty to follow the inward voice instead of inquiring simply what the * Fox, Journal, i. 381, ed. 1656. Carlyle, iii. 452. 348 LAST PARLIAMENT AND Almighty prescribes in his Word. Now, he blames the quaker for this very idea—that God is in him and speaks in him. He perceives in this pretended voice of Heaven “ an enormous self-confidence.” Did the excesses to which the Friends carried the doctrine which had at first actuated Cromwell cause him to throw them off? Did he, before his death, forsake that erroneous theory which had led him so far? Did he die, as a simple and humble christian man, exclaiming with Isaiah : To the law and to the testimony / Everything would seem to in- dicate it. Cromwell's disorder grew worse. He was soon advised to keep his bed, and as the ague-fits became more severe, he was removed to Whitehall. Prayers, both public and private, were abundantly offered up on his behalf. - The Protector's language on his sick-bed unveiled his thoughts and the favourite occupations of his heart. According to the words of St. Paul, he set his affections on things above, and not on things on the earth. The sick man, tortured by fever, spoke much of the covenant between God and his people. He saw, on the one side, the covenant of works; but, on the other, he hailed with rapture the saving cove- nant of grace. “They were Two,” he exclaimed, as he tossed on his bed; “Two,...... but put into “One before the foundation of the world!” He was then silent for a time, but resumed : “It is “holy and true, it is holy and true, it is holy and DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 349 “true !...... Who made it holy and true? The “Mediator of the covenant l” After a brief silence, he spoke again: “The covenant is but One. Faith “in the covenant is my only support. And if I “believe not,...... He abides faithful!” Cromwell's sole hope, when thus brought low, was in Him who cannot deny Himself. These words of Scripture seemed continually resounding in his heart: By grace ye are saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift of God (Eph. ii. 8.) The dying Protector heard this declaration of the Apostle, and confidingly responded, Amen. As his wife and children stood weeping round his bed, he said to them : “Love not this world ! “I say unto you, it is not good that you should “love this world ! I leave you the covenant to feed “upon l’ - What a legacy! he knew its value—a value far above that of the Protectorship of England. What the dying Christian begged for his children was that inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, of which St. Peter speaks, which fadeth not away, reserved for ws in heaven. “Lord,” he exclaimed, “Thou knowest, if I de- “sire to live, it is to show forth Thy praise and “declare Thy works.”—Another time he was heard moaning: “Is there none that says, Who will de- “liver me from the peril?...... Man can do nothing; “God can do what he will.” Thus did he place himself in the Lord's hands, according to that saying of the Apostle: If I live in the flesh, this is Y 350 LAST PARLIAMENT AND the fruit of my labour; yet what I shall choose I wot not. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Oliver's mind, however, for a time returned to earthly things; but only as regarded his own re- sponsibility in the sight of God and His judgment. At this solemn hour, feeling, as it were, in the pre- sence of eternity, he declared that all he had done had been for the welfare of the nation, to save it from anarchy and from another war. As a public man, he showed no regret for his actions. We have seen that, deceiving himself, no doubt, in some cases, he had acted with an honest and firm con- viction that all his proceedings were in conformity with the Divine will. .x= Yet he could not escape from those anxieties which so frequently disturb sincere minds in the hour of death. He knew that he was a sinner. He could say with the Psalmist: My sin is before me; and cry with Job: The terrors of God set them- selves in array against me. Thrice over he repeated these words of Scripture: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But this trouble did not last long. Cromwell knew. Him who died once wnto sin, and could exclaim with David: Blessed is he whose sin is covered. He resumed: “ All the “promises of God are in Him: Yes, and in Him, “Amen; to the glory of God by us,......by us in “Jesus Christ...... The Lord hath filled me with as “much assurance of His pardon, and His love, as “my soul can hold...... I think I am the poorest “wretch that lives: but I love God; or rather, am DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. e. 351 “beloved of God......I am a conqueror, and more “ than a conqueror, through Christ that strength- “eneth me !”* Such were Cromwell's engrossing reflections in those solemn moments, when the soul, no longer master of itself, shows what it really is. U All his thoughts were for the Saviour, for His covenant, for heaven.) No projects of ambition, no designs of his adversaries then occupied his mind. He thought of God alone. This is a decisive proof. We have seen men who have played a distin- guished part in the world unbosom themselves en- tirely in the agitated dreams which precede death. A certain cardinal, for instance, who had led a dis- solute life, but who had been at the same time an influential statesman, was heard to give utterance in his last moments to the language of obscenity. The brilliant veil of his glory and power was rent, and disclosed nothing but infamy and corruption. In like manner the veil, if indeed there was a veil, of Cromwell was torn asunder; in these awful moments we may see to the bottom of his heart, and all that we can find there is the love of God and of His Gospel. May the Almighty give his ac- cusers the power of sustaining, as well as he did, this terrible trial On Monday (August 30), a dreadful hurricane burst over London. The wind howled and blew with such violence that travellers feared to set out * These details are taken from Carlyle, iii. 450, &c. Maidstone's Pamphlet, 352 LAST PARLIAMENT AND on their journeys, and the chambers of White- hall re-echoed with its hollow roar. Thurloe, on behalf of the council, asked the dying man, who was to be his successor? He replied that his name would be found at Hampton Court in a sealed paper, lying in a place which he pointed out. That document was never discovered; it was thought that Richard, his eldest son, was the person selected; but why should there have been so much mystery, if it was merely Cromwell's natural successor? We cannot refrain from the supposition that Henry was the name contained in that secret paper, his own second son, and who appeared to possess most, if not all, of his father's great qualities. When we think of Oliver's character and discernment; when we reflect that he did not wish his choice to be made known until after his death ; we cannot en- tirely reject the thought that it was Henry, the for- mer governor and pacificator of Ireland, whom the Protector had pointed out as alone capable of carry- ing on in England his work of liberty, prosperity, and peace. - - - - That same night, in the midst of the tempest, several persons being in his chamber, and Major Butler among the rest, the dying Christian was heard offering up a solemn prayer, of which it has been said, by way of reproach, that it was the invo- cation of a mediator between God and his people, rather than that of a poor sinner. Whether he felt himself a sinner or not, this very prayer will tell us; but by what right, if we regard the supplications of DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 353 a dying parent for his children as a solemn and af. fecting thing...... by what right do men presume to reproach the chief of a great people, if he prays for that people, at the very moment when God is re- suming the reins He had placed in his hands, and is calling him to eternity ? We cannot forbear wishing that God would give all the rulers of the nations that love of their people which is stronger than death, and of which the Protector has left us one of the noblest examples recorded in history. PRAYER. “Lord, though I am a miserable and wretched “creature, I am in covenant with Thee through “grace. And I may, I will come to Thee for thy “people. Thou hast made me, though very un- “worthy, a mean instrument to do them some “good, and Thee service; and many of them have “set too high a value upon me, though others wish “ and would be glad of my death; Lord, however “Thou do dispose of me, continue and go on to do “good for them. Pardon Thy foolish people ! “Forgive their sins and do not forsake them, but “love and bless them. Give them consistency of “judgment, one heart, and mutual love; and go “on to deliver them, and with the work of refor- “mation; and make the name of Christ glorious “in the world. Teach those who look too much “ on Thy instruments, to depend more upon Thy- “self. Pardon such as desire to trample upon the “dust of a poor worm ; for they are Thy people 354 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “too. And pardon the folly of this short prayer. “And give merest for Jesus Christ's sake, to whom, “with Thee and Thy Holy Spirit, be all honour “ and glory, now and for ever ! Amen.” In such words Cromwell pardoned his enemies, and prayed for the misguided republicans; in fact – he prayed even for Charles Stuart and his wretched satellites, who afterwards trampled upon the illus- trious ashes of the Protector. On the Thursday following, Maidstone, who was in attendance on his Highness, heard him saying with an oppressed voice: “Truly God is good; in- “deed He is; He will not ”...... here his voice failed him ; what he would have added was un- doubtedly...... “ leave me: He will not leave me.” He spoke again from time to time in the midst of all his sufferings with much cheerfulness and fer- vour of spirit. “I would be willing to live,” he said, “to be farther serviceable to God and His “ people; but my work is done. Yet God will be “with His people.” Erelong he betrayed by his movements that agitation which often precedes death; and when something was offered him to drink, with the re- mark that it would make him sleep, he answered: “It is not my design to drink or sleep; but my “ design is to make what haste I can to be gone.” Towards morning he showed much inward con- solation and peace, annihilating and judging him- self before God. This was the 3d of September * Letters and Speeches, iii. 457. Neale, ii. 696. IDEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 355 1658, the anniversary of his famous battles of Dunbar and Worcester; a day always celebrated by rejoicings in honour of these important victories. When the sun rose, he was speechless, and between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, he expired. God shattered all his strength on this festival of his glory and his triumphs. Most of my readers are familiar with Pascal's re- marks on the death of the Protector. “Cromwell,” he says, “would have laid waste all Christendom, “ the royal family would have been for ever ruined, “ and his own for ever in the ascendant, but for a “little grain of sand which stuck in his urethra. “Rome herself would have trembled under him, “but this little morsel of gravel, for it was nothing “else, stopping in that place,...... behold him lying “dead, his family brought down, and the King re- “stored.”—This passage shows that Pascal was not so well versed in history, as in Christianity and in mathematics. Instead of a grain of sand, it was a violent fever, caught in the same palace where his favourite daughter had breathed her last, which carried off the greatest Englishman of the seven- teenth century.V. Under one form or under another it is always thé worm that eats into all human power and glory. All flesh is grass, and all the good- ness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. The sorrow of the Protector's friends and of the majority of the nation cannot be described. “The 356 LAST PARLIAMENT AND . “consternation and astonishment of all people,” wrote Fauconberg to Henry Cromwell, “are inex- “pressible; their hearts seem as if sunk within “ them.”—“I am not able to speak or write,” said Thurloe; “this stroke is so sore, so unexpected, “the Providence of God in it so stupendous, con- ‘sidering the person that has fallen, the time and “season wherein God took him away, with other “circumstances, I can do nothing but put my “mouth in the dust and say, It is the Lord...... It “is not to be said what affliction the army and “ people show to his late Highness: his name is “already precious. Never was there any man so “prayed for.” We have said that a violent tempest burst over London shortly before Cromwell's death. Many of the large trees in St James's Park were torn up by the roots. The poet Waller, in his celebrated lines, represents the Protector's dying groans shaking the island of Great Britain, and the ocean swelling with agitation at the loss of its master, who, like the founder of Rome, had disappeared in a storm. { We must resign Heaven his great soul doth claim In storms, as loud as his immortal fame : His dying groans, his last breath shakes our isle; And trees, uncut, fall for his funeral pile ; About his palace their broad roots are tost Into the air. So Romulus was lost New Rome in such a tempest miss'd her king, , And, from obeying, fell to worshipping. On CEta’s top thus Hercules lay dead, With ruin’d oaks and pines about him spread. * Letter to H. Cromwell in Thurloe State Papers, vii. 372. DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 357. The poplar, too, whose bough he wont to wear On his victorious head, lay prostrate there. These his last fury from the mountain rent : Our dying hero from the continent Ravish’d whole towns, and forts from Spaniards reft, As his last legacy to Britain left. The ocean, which so long our hopes confined, Could give no limits to his vaster mind; Our bounds’ enlargement was his latest toil, Nor hath he left us prisoners to our isle : Under the tropic is our language spoke, And part of Flanders hath received our yoke. From civil broils he did us disengage, Found nobler objects for our martial rage, And, with wise conduct, to his country show’d The ancient way of conquering abroad. Ungrateful then l if we no tears allow To him that gave us peace and empire too. Princes that fear'd him grieve, concern’d to see No pitch of glory from the grave is free. Nature herself took notice of his death, And, sighing, swell'd the sea with such a breath That, to remotest shores her billows roll’d, The approaching fate of their great ruler told. Most of the sovereigns of Europe went into mourning, and even Louis XIV. showed this out- ward sign of respect. The liberties of Europe, reli- gious freedom, and the great cause of Protestantism, might with better reason have covered themselves with the funereal crape. But the death of their illustrious supporter was not destined to bring them down with him to the tomb. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; but THE WORD OF OUR GOD SHALL STAND FOR EVER. - Richard gave his father a magnificent funeral. For two months, the embalmed body of the Pro- tector lay in state at Somerset House, in a hall 358 LAST PARLIAMENT AND * # : 5. hung with black, and illuminated by a thousand wax-lights. An inscription was placed over the coffin, on which these words might be read:—He died with great assurance and serenity of soul. This is the truth, and the fact that it establishes is more glorious to the Protector than all the parade of vel- vet pall and funereal torches. It is seldom that a great man is a Christian; but Cromwell was both. The result has been, that men of the world have scouted him as a hypocrite. JBy honour and dishonour, he could say with St. Paul, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and get true. It would be an act of great meanness, a criminal falsehood, if those who, by studying the life of this great man, find in him an upright heart and a sincere piety, should unite their voices with those of his detractors. We, on our part, desire to the utmost of our ability to renounce all participa- tion in this gross imposture. --~ great men, and especially above all statesmen, is the predominance in him, not only in his person, but also in his government, of the evangelical and christian element. He thought that the political ſ... • What most distinguishes Cromwell above all | and national greatness of Britain could not be established in a firm manner, unless the pure Gospel was communicated to the people, and unless a truly christian life flowed through the veins of the nation. Its blood was frozen ; and he thought DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 359 that in order to restore their former vigour to the British people, Christianity must again set their hearts beating. Of all political systems, surely this is as good as any other. - The Reformation and the Romish hierarchy, Oliver and the pope, both thought that the in- fluence of the Church was necessary to the pros- perity of the State. But although they agreed on the necessity of this influence, they differed wholly as to its nature. In Oliver's system the influence of the Church upon the State is purely internal—it is moral or religious; while in the papal system this influence is essentially external, being ecclesiastical or politi- cal. For Cromwell the Church was the invisible Church with its spiritual powers; for the pope, it was the visible hierarchy of Rome with its plots and intrigues. Humanity ought to be sanctified and glorified: this is the function of Christianity. But, accord- ing to Oliver and Protestantism, this great object will be obtained by the conversion of every in- dividual man. Faith brings to man a new life, purifies all his natural capacities and consecrates them to God. Undoubtedly the Church is the means by which this work of restoration is accom- plished. But it is not by its outward organization, by its clerical frame-work, by magical virtues con- cealed in the sacraments, that it is effected; it is brought about by the preaching of the Word, and by the operation of the Holy Ghost. - 360 LAST PARLIAMENT AND, . To advance this work of regeneration is not exclusively the province of the ministers of the Church; it belongs to all Christians. We have seen how Oliver insisted on this point in Scotland. Christ dwells in every believer, and He cannot abide there in inactivity. If in heaven He is, for the salvation of His people, prophet, priest and king; on earth they should imitate Him, and be, for His glory, prophets, priests, and kings. Life and activity—a life and an activity con- formable to the law of God—being thus carried by evangelical Christianity into each individual, are also carried into the mass, into society, into the Church, and into the State. In those nations where the evangelical spirit prevails, the moral, religious, and intellectual life will be developed; every force will be set in motion; liberty on the one hand, submission to the laws on the other, will be blessings permanently acquired; and the nation will arrive at a degree of power, greatness, and glory, that others will never attain. * , Although in the bosom of Protestant nations evangelical Christianity is far from having reached the perfection it ought to possess, it is sufficient to compare these nations with others, in order to perceive that such is, in general, the effect of those principles of which Oliver was one of the most eminent advocates. In Great Britain and Spain we have a signal illustration of this truth. If Cromwell salutes the English nation, as “a “very great people, the best people in the world,” DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 361 —it is because they are “a people that have the “highest and clearest profession among them of “the greatest glory, namely Religion.” If some who desire to have “horse-races, cock-fightings, “ and the like,” say, “They in France are so and “so ſ” Oliver replies: “Have they the Gospel as “we have? They have seen the sun but a little. “We have great lights!”...... He declares what has been the principal means employed by him to effect the good of the British nation : “I have been “seeking of God, from the great God, a bless- “ing upon you (the parliament), and upon these “nations.” In his closet, alone, and on his knees, he wrestled with God to promote the good of his people. One cause was with him superior to all the political interests of his people—the cause of Christ; and Cromwell knew that it was by being faithful to this, that he could secure the true in- terests of his nation. “It is your glory,” said he to parliament, “and it is mine—if I have any in “ the world...... it is my glory that I know a cause “which yet we have not lost; but do hope we shall “take a little pleasure rather to lose our lives than “lose !”...... In what did Oliver place his hope and his con- fidence for the great cause which he upheld 2 “Supposing this cause or this business must be “carried on,” said he to the first parliament, on the 22d of January 1655, “it is either of God or “ of man. If it be of man, I would I had never “touched it with a finger. If I had not had a 362 IAST PARLIAMENT AND “hope fixed in me that this cause and this business “was of God, I would many years ago have run “from it. If it be of God, He will bear it up. If “it be of man, it will tumble; as everything that “ hath been of man since the world began hath “ done. And what are all our histories, and other “traditions of actions in former times, but God “manifesting himself, that He hath shaken, and “tumbled down, and trampled upon, everything “that He hath not planted 2 And as this is, so “let the All-wise God deal with it. If this be of “human structure and invention, and if it be an “old plotting and contriving to bring things to “this issue, and that they are not the births of “Providence,—then they will tumble. But if the “Lord take pleasure in England, and if He will do “us good, He is very able to bear us up ! Let “the difficulties be whatsoever they will, we shall “in His strength be able to encounter with them. “And I bless God I have been inured to difficul- “ties; and I never found God failing when I “trusted in Him. I can laugh and sing, in my “heart, when I speak of these things to you or “ elsewhere...... “For I look at the people of these nations as the “blessing of the Lord: and they are a people “blessed by God. They have been so; and they “will be so, by reason of that immortal seed which “ hath been, and is, among them: those regener- “ated ones in the land, of several judgments, who “are all the flock of Christ, and lambs of Christ: DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 363 “His, though perhaps under many unruly passions “and troubles of spirit, whereby they give disquiet “to themselves and others. Yet they are not so “to God; since to us He is a God of other patience; “ and He will own the least of truth in the hearts “of His people. And the people being the blessing “of God, they will not be so angry but they will “prefer their safety to their passions, and their “real security to forms, when necessity calls for “supplies. Had they not well been acquainted “with this principle, they had never seen this da “ of Gospel liberty.” - Nothing was more offensive to Oliver than to hear it said that it was his wisdom and his skill which had given liberty, dominion, and glory to his people. He tore off the wreath that some would thus have placed around his brows, and like those mysterious beings in the apocalypse, he cast his crown before the throne of the Lamb, saying: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and “honour, and power 1" “‘It was,’ say some, ‘the cunning of the Lord “‘Protector,'—I take it to myself—‘it was the craft “‘ of such a man, and his plot, that hath brought it “‘about ! And as they say in other countries, “‘There are five or six cunning men in England “‘that have skill; they do all these things.’ Oh, “what blasphemy is this Because men that are “without God in the world, and walk not with “Him, know not what it is to pray or believe. “These men that live upon their mumpsimus and 364 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “sumpsimus, their masses and service-books, their “dead and carnal worship,-no marvel if they be “strangers to God, and to the works of God, and “to spiritual dispensations. And because they say “ and believe thus, must we do so too? We, in “this land, have been otherwise instructed; even “by the Word, and Works, and Spirit of God. “To say that men bring forth these things when “God doth them,-judge you if God will bear “this I wish that every sober heart, though he “ hath had temptations upon him of deserting this “cause of God, yet may take heed how he pro- “vokes and falls into the hands of the living God “by such blasphemies as these ! According to the “Tenth of the Hebrews: If we sin wilfully after that “we have received the knowledge of the truth, there re- “ mains no more sacrifice for sin. A terrible word “It was spoken to the Jews who, having professed “Christ, apostatized from Him. What then P “Nothing but a fearful falling into the hands of the “living God/–They that shall attribute to this or “ that person the contrivances and production of “ those mighty things God hath wrought in the “midst of us; and fancy that they have not been “ the revolutions of Christ Himself, upon whose “shoulders the government is laid–they speak against “God, and they fall under His hand without a “Mediator. “If we deny the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the glory “ of all His works in the world, by which He rules “kingdoms, and doth administer, and is the rod DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 365 “of His strength, we provoke the Mediator: and “He may say: I will leave you to God, I will not “intercede for you; let Him tear you to pieces ! “I will leave thee to fall into God's hands; thou “deniest me my sovereignty and power committed “to me; I will not intercede nor mediate for thee; “ thou fallest into the hands of the living God!— “I may be thought to press too much upon this “ theme. But I pray God it may stick upon your “hearts and mine. The worldly minded man “knows nothing of this, but is a stranger to it; “ and thence his atheisms, and murmurings at in- “struments, yea repining at God Himself. And “no wonder; considering the Lord hath done such “things amongst us as have not been known in “the world these thousand years, and yet notwith- “standing is not owned by us!—” When Oliver set forth religion as the true source of a nation's prosperity, it was not a religion of impressions only, an enthusiastic and fanatical reli- gion; no! (it was a moral religion. In his eyes, morality was quite as important as doctrine: he knew that faith without works is dead. “I did hint “to you my thoughts about the reformation of “manners,” he said to parliament on the 17th of September 1656. “And those abuses that are in “this nation through disorder, are a thing which “should be much in your hearts. It is that which, “I am confident, is a description and character of “the interest you have been engaged against, the Z 366 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “cavalier interest: the badge and character of “countenancing profaneness, disorder, and wicked- “ness in all places, and whatever is most of kin to “ these, and most agrees with what is Popery, and “with the profane nobility and gentry of this na- “tion In my conscience, it was a shame to be a “Christian, within these fifteen, sixteen or seven- “teen years, in this nation | Whether in Caesar's “house, or elsewhere ! It was a shame, it was a “reproach to a man; and the badge of ‘Puritan’ “was put upon it.—We would keep up nobility “ and gentry:-and the way to keep them up is, “Not to suffer them to be patronizers or counten- “ancers of debauchery and disorders And you “will hereby be as labourers in that work of keep- “ing them up. “A man may tell as plainly as can be what “ becomes of us, if we grow indifferent and luke- “warm in repressing evil, under I know not what “weak pretensions. If it lives in us, therefore; I “say, if it be in the general heart of the nation, it “is a thing I am confident our liberty and pros- “ perity depend upon—Reformation. Make it a “shame to see men bold in sin and profaneness, “ and God will bless you. You will be a blessing “to the nation; and by this, will be more repairers “ of breaches than by anything in the world. The “mind is the man. If that be kept pure, a man “signifies somewhat; if not, I would very fain “see what difference there is betwixt him and a DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 367 “beast. He hath only some activity to do some “ more mischief.” Oliver exerted all his eloquence to persuade the parliament that piety and decision in God's cause could alone save England and Protestantism. There was never, perhaps, a man more decided than Cromwell, and he would fain have imparted some of this spirit to all who had the means of influ- encing the prosperity of Great Britain and of the Protestant world. “Now if I had the tongue of “an angel,” he continued in the speech we have just quoted; “if I was so certainly inspired as the “holy men of God have been, I could rejoice, for “your sakes, and for these nations' sakes, and for “ the sake of God, and of His cause which we have “all been engaged in, if I could move affections in “you to that which, if you do it, will save this “nation If not-you plunge it, to all human “appearance, it and all interests, yea and all Prot- “estants in the world, into irrecoverable ruin l— “Therefore, I pray and beseech you, in the name “of Christ, show yourselves to be men; quit your- “selves like men! It doth not infer any reproach “if you do show yourselves men: Christian men, “which alone will make you ‘quit yourselves.' “I do not think that, to this work you have in “hand, a neutral spirit will do. That is a Lao- “dicean spirit; and we know what God said of “that Church: it was lukewarm, and therefore he “would spue it out of his mouth / It is not a neutral 368 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “spirit that is incumbent upon you. And if not “a neutral spirit, it is much less a stupified spirit, “inclining you, in the least disposition, the wrong “way ! “Men are, in their private consciences, every “day making shipwreck; and it's no wonder if “ these can shake hands with persons of reprobate “interests:—such, give me leave to think, are the “ popish interests. It is not such a spirit that “will carry this work on It is men in a Christian “state; who have works with faith; who know “how to lay hold on Christ for remission of sins, “till a man be brought to glory in hope. Such a “hope kindled in men's spirits will actuate them “to such ends as you are tending to. “If men, through scruple, be opposite, you can- “not take them by the hand to carry them along “with you, it were absurd.: if a man be scrupling “the plain truth before him, it is in vain to meddle “with him. He hath placed another business in “his mind; he is saying, ‘Oh, if we could but “‘exercise wisdom to gain civil liberty, religion “‘would follow !’ Could we have carried it thus “far, if we had sat disputing in that manner? “I must profess I reckon that difficulty more than “all the wrestling with flesh and blood. Doubt- “ing, hesitating men, they are not fit for your “work. You must not expect that men of hesitat- “ing spirits, under the bondage of scruples, will “be able to carry on this work, much less such as DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 369 “are merely carnal, natural; such as, having an “outward profession of godliness, whom the apostle “speaks of so often, are enemies to the cross of Christ; “whose God is their belly; whose glory is in their “shame; who mind earthly things. - “Give me leave to tell you, those that are “called to this work, it will not depend for them “upon formalities, nor notions, nor speeches I “do not look the work should be done by these. “No, but by men of honest hearts, engaged to “God; strengthened by Providence; enlightened “in His words, to know His Word, to which He “hath set His seal, sealed with the blood of His Son, “with the blood of His servants: that is such a “spirit as will carry on this work. - “Therefore I beseech you, do not dispute of un- “necessary and unprofitable things which may “divert you from carrying on so glorious a work “as this is. I think every objection that ariseth is “not to be answered; nor have I time for it. I “say, Look up to God; have peace among your- “selves. It is a union this between you and me: “ and both of us united in faith and love to Jesus “Christ, and to His peculiar interest in the world, “ —that must ground this work. If I have any “peculiar interest which is personal to myself, “which is not subservient to the public end,-it “were not an extravagant thing for me to curse “myself: because I know God will curse me, if I “ havel I have learned too much of God to dally 370 LAST PARLIAMENT AND “with him, and to be bold with Him, in these “things. And I hope I never shall be bold with “Him!—though I can be bold with men, if Christ “be pleased to assist!— “I say, if there be love between us, so that the “ (Three) Nations may say, ‘These are knit together “‘in one bond, to promote the glory of God, “‘against the common enemy; to suppress every- “‘thing that is evil, and encourage whatsoever is “‘ of godliness,'—yea, the nation will bless you ! “And really that and nothing else will work off “ these disaffections from the minds of men; which “are great, perhaps greater than all the other “oppositions you can meet with. I do know what “I say. When I speak of these things, I speak my “heart before God;—and, as I said before, I dare “ not be bold with Him. I have a little faith : I “have a little lived by faith, and therein I may be “bold. If I spoke other than the affections and “secrets of my heart, I know He would not bear “it at my hands! Therefore in the fear and name “of God: Go on, with love and integrity, against “whatever arises of contrary to those ends which “you know and have been told of; and the blessing “ of God will go with you!— “I have but one thing more to say. I know it “is troublesome:–but I did read a Psalm yester- “day, which truly may not unbecome both me to “tell you of, and you to observe. It is the Eighty- “fifth Psalm; it is very instructive and significant: DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 3.71 “ and though I do but a little touch upon it, I “ desire your perusal at pleasure. “It begins: Lord, Thou hast been very favourable “to Thy land; Thou hast brought back the captivity of “Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy “ people; Thou hast covered all their sin. Thou hast “taken away all the fierceness of Thy wrath. Thou “hast turned Thyself from the fierceness of Thine “ anger. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause “Thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt Thou be “ angry with us for ever; wilt Thou draw out Thine “anger to all generations 2 Wilt Thou not revive us “ again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? Then “ he calls upon God as the God of his salvation, and “ then saith he I will hear what God the Lord will “speak: for He will speak peace unto His people, and “ to His saints; but let them not turn again to folly. “Surely His salvation is nigh them that fear Him; “Oh—that glory may dwell in our land / Mercy and “truth are met together; righteousness and peace have “kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the “earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. “Yea the Lord shall give that which is good, and our “land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall “go before Him, and shall set us in the way of His “steps.” . Such, then, was Oliver's policy: “Be united in “faith and love to Christ! Suppress everything “that is evil, and encourage whatsoever is of god- “ liness.” 372 LAST PARLIAMENT AND This is not the policy of the pope. The king- dom of God, says he, is in the Church; the Church is in the hierarchy; and the hierarchy is in the pope. The Church finds the State far from God, without life from above; and imparts to it that life, not by regenerating the individuals who com- pose that society, but by attaching them in a mass to its own ecclesiastical organization. If the State submits to the Church, it is a christian state; if it opposes the Church, i. e. the pope, it is not of Christ or of His covenant. Popery does not positively exclude the internal work, which is the essence of Protestantism ; but no great importance is attached to it. All that Romanism requires is submission to the papacy, and an outward, legal morality. And how low the standard of that morality has been brought may be learned from the class-books em- ployed in her theological seminaries. While the Protestant principle gives a nation liberty, life, and order; the Romanist principle, on the contrary, brings to it slavery, disorder, and death. - The Romish Church would faintake the State under its guardianship, and insinuates itself everywhere in order to direct it. Hence there arise at every mo- ment conflicts and disputes. The State complains that the Church infringes on its rights; and the Church, that the State encroaches on religion; and as the State and the Church have each their par- tisans, this may lead to a civil war. Such struggles DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 373 are not rare in the countries subjected to Roman- catholicism, and of this in our days, France, Spain, and other popish kingdoms present frequent ex- amples. When I see the British government pro- posing the formation of a political connexion with the pope, Ifancy I behold those kings of the ancient nations, whom the Roman arms subdued, humbly stretching out their enfeebled hands to Rome that she may rivet on them the manacles of the con- queror. The centralization, which is the characteristic of Popery, confers on it great strength. Doubtless the time is past when by a papal bull an interdict was pronounced against a whole people, and when even kings were compelled to bend the knee before it. Yet the allocutions, the encyclical letters, and the confessional, still possess a certain power, and even in these times, many states (Prussia for in- stance), which have had to deal with Rome, have experienced ample proof of this. The Romish Church is so much the more formi- dable to the peace and prosperity of nations, as she has no fixed political principles, but seeks merely her own power, and willingly allies herself with every party, provided some advantage can be de- rived from it. She will unite with kings against their subjects, and with subjects against their kings, just as her interest may require. She will be de- spotic, she will be liberal: she will be proud, and she will be meek. She aims at one thing only— 374 LAST PARLIAMENT AND. to bind prince and people under the throne of the Vatican, and to maintain herself erect above them, treading with one foot on the hand of the sovereign, and with the other on the heart of the people. t This servitude, which Popery brings on the na- tions, necessarily leads in their case to a moral and intellectual torpor, which erelong becomes a polit- ical and industrial death. Unhappy Ireland, as we have before remarked, is the true substratum of Roman-catholicism. Such is the system which Oliver Cromwell re- jected, and for which he substituted the Gospel. He was wrong when he determined to forbid the mass; and we have seen that afterwards he was willing to tolerate it! Full liberty of conscience to all was his great principle, and it will gradually become the device of the whole world. But that was not properly the question, which was political rather than religious. It was this: Could the sub- jects of a foreign prince be active citizensin another state, and take part in its administration ? If in- dividuals were excluded from the government of Great Britain, who had made oath of fidelity to the princes of Versailles, of the Escurial, or of the imperial castle of Vienna, why should the subjects of the prince of the Quirinal be admitted? It might have been said that the cases were very dif. ferent. If there was a difference, was it not in this, that in England, for instance, there was greater danger from the Pope than from the King DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 375 of France? The latter had no pretensions on England, while the former had many. A foreign king communicates but seldom with his subjects who may be in London, while the virtue and fidelity of a subject of the prince of the Quirinal consist in being as constantly as possible in com- munication with that prince or with his agents. I will not solve the question: it is not my business. Others may consider it their duty to examine it; I content myself with stating it as I should imagine it must have appeared to Oliver Cromwell. - For him there was, however, another element in this question. The prince of the Vatican was in his eyes a malignant power, the man of sin, who necessarily brings desolation and destruction upon the nations. The statesmen of our days reject this thought, and regard it as a folly. We believe that they are mistaken, and that they will see their error before long. Much has been said of Cromwell's ambition. This made him take up arms, this made him become Protector, this agitated him during the discussion on the kingship ! The ambition of one man 1...... and is this all that man can see in his life? It is a paltry manner of viewing history. In truth it was a very different thing, and very different thoughts which filled Oliver's bosom. It was not a feather in his cap that occupied his mind: he was fighting the great battle against the papacy and royalty of 376 LAST PARLIAMENT AND the Middle Ages, the greatest that history has had to describe since the establishment of Christianity and the struggle of the Reformation. The result of this battle was the deliverance of the present age and of ages yet to come. Without Cromwell, humanly speaking, liberty would have been lost not only to England, but to Europe. Even Hume in one place ascribes this immense and glorious result to the puritans. We must add, that the defeat of liberty would have been the defeat of the Gospel. - In the seventeenth century there were but two men : Louis XIV. and Oliver Cromwell; the former representing absolutism and Roman-catho- licism; the latter, evangelical Christianity and liberty. There were certainly in that age other important personages; and who will not recall to mind the generous Gustavus Adolphus? But the two chief figures are Louis and Oliver. Between them—between their systems, if not between their persons,—the struggle was fought ; and the victory, although slow and long disputed, particularly in France, remained with Oliver. They are the re- presentatives of two principles, of two worlds. The two gigantic figures are each raised on a lofty pedestal; and their shadows fall not only on their own age, but extend over all future times. I have been in England; I have seen in her great manufacturing cities the miracles of that DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 377 activity which covers the whole world with the productions of a petty island in Europe. In the ports of London, of Liverpool, and other places, I have gazed upon those floating isles, those thou- sands of masts which bear afar over every'sea the riches and power of the nation. I have admired in Scotland a simple, energetic, and active people, ready to sacrifice everything rather than abandon Christ and His Word. I have been present at the debates of the parliament of the three kingdoms, and I have admired that eloquence which, not content with words, goes right to the heart of the matter, and impels the nation onwards in its great destinies. I have found everywhere, from the lower classes of the people to the exalted stations of nobles and princes, an enthusiastic love of liberty. I have wandered through those halls from which are conveyed to the four quarters of the world Bibles printed in every known language. I have prayed in the churches, and at the religious meetings have been transported by the powerful eloquence of the speakers and the acclamations of the audience. I have found in the families a mo- rality comparatively greater than in other countries; and pious customs, both private and public, more generally prevalent. I have been struck with admiration at beholding the people of those islands, encompassing the globe, bearing everywhere civil- isation and Christianity, commanding in the most distant seas, and filling the earth with the power and the Word of God. 378 LAST PARLLAMENT AND At the sight of such prosperity and greatness, I said: Ascribe ye strength unto God: His eacellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places ! the God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto His people...... Blessed be God / This is the work of the Reformation;–it is Protestantism and the evan- gelical faith which have so greatly exalted this nation, and given it such influence. But God works by instruments; and if there is any one man who, in times past, has contributed more than another, more than all others, to the wonders of the present day, that man is...... Oliver Cromwell. The existing greatness of England is but the realization of the plan he had conceived. If that enthusiasm for the Gospel; if that oppo- sition to Popery, those two distinctive character- istics of his mind, which Cromwell has imprinted on the people of Great Britain, should ever cease in England;—if a fatal fall should ever interrupt the christian course of that nation;–and if Rome, which has already ruined so many kingdoms, should receive the homage of Old England......... Then, should I at any future period revisit her shores, I should find her glory extinct, and her power humbled to the dust. - But this melancholy presentiment will never be realized. Great Britain will be faithful to the path which God, in Oliver's day, traced out for her. She will remain a city set upon a hill, which cannot DEATH OF THE PROTECTOR. 379 be hid, and which scatters over the world light, civilisation, and faith. Calling these things to mind, as I composed this sketch, I obeyed the dictates of my conscience. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. I BELIEVED, AND THEREFORE HAVE I SPOKEN. THE END. Printed by Oliver & Boyd, Tweeddale Court, High Street, Edinburgh. e GNSE º r e TweedDALE Court, June 1847. WO R K S PUBLISHED BY OLIVER & BOYD, EDINBURGH; AND SOLD BY SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & Co., LONDON. MERLE D'AUBIGNE'S NEW WORK–GROMWELL. THE PROTECTOR: A WINDICATION, by J. H. MERLE D’AUBIGNE, D.D. One volume 8vo, cloth, 9s. 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Demy 8vo, price 10s. 6d. cloth. ** A very able and elaborate work, well deserving the attention of those who take an interest in the higher branches of political economy.”—Banker's Magazine. ** Many sound observations, well and forcibly expressed, upon the various topics of cur- rency, foreign exchange, &c.”—Dublin University Magazine. “The author grapples with some of the first and fundamental doctrines of those who have been esteemed the greatest masters in the science, and, as we think, overturns them. Before the reader who has not yet succeeded in mastering this department of the science (the diffi- cult subject of money, bullion, and exchange) shall give it up as hopeless and impracticable, we advise him to make a study of the monetary sketches, or we should rather say demon- strations, which are presented in this volume.”—North British Review. “By Mr Stirling's method of treating thesubject, he has been able singularly to disembarrass himself of those misleading influences which have so often led economists asiray.”—Scotsman. “The work of an astute and comprehensive mind.”—Literary Gazette. “Clear, methodical, and well written, we have no doubt that it will speedily take its place among the standard works of the age.”-Glasgow Courier. - ITERARY CHARACTERISTICS of the HOLY SCRIPTURES. By J. M. M'CULLOCH, D.D., Minister of the West Church, Greenock, Author of “A Series of Lessons in Prose and Verse,” “A Course of Reading in Science and Literature,” &c. &c. Second Edition, with Additions and Supplementary Notes. Small 8vo, price 2s. 6d. cloth. Contents. INTRopUCTION.—I, DISTINCTIVE FRATUREs of SUBJECT-MATTER. Originality; Depth; Sublimity; Spirituality; Reserve on Speculative Points; Unsystematic Arrangement; Harmony.—II. DustiNCTIVE FEATUREs of STYLE. Translateableness; Simplicity; Animation; Parallelism ; Figurative Language.—III. INFLUENCE of THE ScripTUREs. Conclusion.—SUPPLEMENTARY NotEs. ** A popular book; a book for the many, and an excellent one; not the formal treatise that might be expected from a learned D. D. It throughout displays cultivated taste, is written with great elegance of style, and forms a captivating introduction to the careful or critical study of the Scriptures. . . . Some most interesting and valuable notes are added to this edition of a work that cannot be too widely diffused.”—Tait's Magazine. “So high is our estimate of the book that we scarcely know terms sufficiently strong to commend it. The leading characteristics of the Bible are brought out with a beauty and force seldom equalled.”—Glasgow Examiner. ** A very pleasing, useful, and valuable composition,-admirable in its object, and con- ceived and executed in a spirit of cheerful, graceful, and genuine piety.”—Glasgow Citizen. ** A learned, an able, and a most useful book.”—Aberdeen Banner. &orkg publigijet by S) HE BIBLICAL STUDENT'S ASSISTANT: containing a List of the Principal Works on Doctrinal and Practical Theology, arranged in the order of the Subjects, with occasional Notes; to- gether with an Index to 4000 Texts of Sermons by eminent Divines. By CLERICUS. Royal 8vo, price 5s. 6d. cloth. “A manual of no ordinary utility to the theological student, as well as to the parish minister.”–Edinburgh Advertiser. VERSION of the PROPHECIES of EZEKIEL; retaining, for the most part, in English the same order of Expression which occurs in the Hebrew Original. By the Rev. JAMES M*FARLAN, Minister at Muiravonside. 8vo, price 5s. cloth. HE COOK and HOUSEWIFE'S MANUAL. By MISTRESS MARGARET DODS, of the Cleikum Inn, St Ronan's. Eighth Edition, containing nearly 700 closely printed pages. Small 8vo, price 6s.6d., richly bound in cloth. This Edition has been thoroughly revised, and considerably enlarged by the addition of Receipts in every department; but particularly in the most im- roved Modes of ModeRN ENGLISH and ANGLo-FRENCH CookERY-Directions or the various Preparations of INDIAN CORN MEAL–Cookery for INVALIDs and CoNVALESCENTs—and by Hints and Suggestions in the different branches of Domestic Economy, whether useful or ornamental. “Mistress Dods has preserved the recipes of certain excellent old dishes, which we would be loath should fall into oblivion in our day.”—Sir Walter Scott. “The rapidity with which Meg Dods has run to a second (now an eighth) edition is in no small degree owing to its literary talent.”—Morning Chronicle. “One of the best oracles extant for gastronomical consultation.”—Literary Gazette. The following is a Selection from the Opinions of the Press on the New Edition. “The volume is quite fascinating even for general readers. . . All the resources of poverty and of wealth are searched into and displayed, and Sound common Sense in every instance dictates all the hints and advices.”—Scotsman. “Who in Scotland requires to be told of the unrivalled merits of Mistress Meg Dods' book of cookery—scareely more admirable for the accuracy, simplicity, and taste of its culinary instructions, than for the great literary attractions, the rich vein of character, the broad and caustic humour, which adorn its pages 2 . . This new edition is so greatly improved as to be superior to all its predecessors. It has undergone a most diligent revision, and has been so carefully adapted to present circumstances that we observe in it a whole multitude of receipts for preparing maize, rice, haricots, and the hundred other things of that kind which the late disappearance of the potato has called into notice.”—Glasgow Constitutional. “We strongly recommend to every frugal housekeeper the perusal of the chapter on national cookery, where a list of cheap savoury dishes is given in the form of broths, soups, stews, &c. &c., which, as they contain rice, barley, and Such esculents as remain to us, must in some measure supply the place of potatoes, and reduce the consumption of bread at the dinner-table. The receipts are so well selected and so practical that the book ought to become a kitchen oracle, and turned to every-day use. Were it so, we are persuaded that there would be fewer spoiled dinners and perhaps soured tempers, while there would be a proportionate increase in domestic comfort, with little or no addition to the household ex- enditure. By following Meg Dods' receipts for one week, the Inistress of even a moderately rge family will save more than the publishing price of her book.”—Glasgow Argus. “The work before us has done much to dispel the hereditary notions of culinary operations, and to introduce more rational methods, and the present edition is probably the finest issued.”—Glasgow Earaminer. “Nothing could surpass this truly excellent work. To housekeepers and all concerned C for either cheap or extravagant cookery the volume is invaluable.”—Newcastle Guardian. “The present edition of the work may be said to be perfection itself, in so far as the art of (> cookery is concerned. Here there is nothing wanting.”—Arbroath Guide. § |C) (S $2: So ºvzºº. (TY O) Sºzzº ©liber & 360gū, &timburgſ). HE LIFE and TIMES of MONTROSE; illus- trated from Original Manuscripts, including Family Papers now first published from the Montrose Charter-Chest and other Private Repositories. By MARK NAPIER, Esq., Advocate. Post 8vo, with Portraits and Auto- graphs, price 12s. cloth. “This clever and spirited book includes a mass of original documents from the repositories of the noble families of Montrose and Napier.”-Quarterly Review. “A book worthy of the gallant theme of which it treats, and highly creditable to the skill, talents, diligence, and research displayed in the composition.”—Fraser's Magazine. “Mr Napier had the good fortune to light upon some valuable documents in the Montrose and Napier charter-chests, and in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh, which had escaped all preceding historians, and which shed a flood of light upon the events and actions of that distracted period. This new evidence helps to place the character of the Marquis of Montrose in particular in a most favourable light, and supplies many facts which his enemies had sup- pressed.”—The Times. --~~~~ A- HE EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY, Illustrated with numerous Engravings on Steel and Wood, Maps, &c. NEw EDITION. 30 Wols. Small 8vo. Handsomely bound in cloth, lettered in gold. Published at 5s. per Volume. Reduced to 2s. 6d. *** Any of the Volumes may be had separately at the same price. Works in the Series. Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas | Scandinavia, Ancient and Modern; being a and Regions, with an Account of the Whale History of Denmark, Sweden, and Nor- Fishery; 1 vol. - way, 2 vols. • Discovery and Adventure in Africa, 1 vol. British America; with a Detail of the Prin- Ancient and Modern Egypt, 1 vol. ciples and best modes of Emigration, 3 vols. Palestine, or the Holy Land, 1 vol. Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish, and l vol. 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' delli Boni, 1 vol. “Respecting the general merits of the “Edinburgh Cabinet Library,” as a series, it is not necessary for us to repeat here the encomiums which we have frequently bestowed on it. Success and encouragement, we are happy to find, instead of causing an abatement of effort on the part of those engaged in that work, only stimulate them to greater care and industry.”—Athematum. “Amongst the various serial publications of the day, the Edinburgh Cabinet Library is one of the best, the most instructive, and the most popular.”—Spectator. “Of the entire series of the Edinburgh Cabinet Library it is not too much to say, that it has been, from its commencement, one of the best sustained of all the Libraries, in point of talent, and one of the most judiciously managed on the part of its conductors.”—Dublin University Magazine. A NEW SET of AGRICULTURAL TABLES, for computing the Weight of Cattle by Measurement ; the Quantity of Hay in Ricks of different Forms; the Value of Land, &c.; the Measure- ment of Drains and Dunghills. Also a few other Practical Tables; with Rules, Examples, and Directions for using the Tables. By W.M. STRACHIAN. Fourth Edition. 12mo, price 2s. 6d. cloth, &orág #ubligbet by º DICTIONARYofthe ENGLISH LANGUAGE, containing the Pronunciation, Etymology, and Explanation of all Words authorized by eminent Writers: to which are added, a Vocabulary of the Roots of English Words, and an Accented List of Greek, Latin, and Scripture Proper Names. By ALEXANDER REID, A.M., Rector of the Circus Place School, Edinburgh ; Author of “Rudiments of English Composi- tion,” &c. Third Edition. Large 12mo, price 6s. 6d., neatly and strongly bound, 564 pages. In this Work, to which the Author has devoted the labour of several years, an attempt has been made to compile a School Dictionary adapted to the present state of the English Language, and to the improved methods of teaching. It contains every word which has been sanctioned by the use of eminent authors, except such as have become obsolete, or are merely technical. While the usual alphabetical arrangement is preserved, the words are at the Same time grouped in such a manner as to show their etymological affinity; and after the first word of each group, is given the root from which they are derived. These roots are afterwards arranged into a vocabulary; so that the Dictionary may be used either for reference or for teaching derivation. .* This is the most complete School Dictionary we have yet seen.”—Academic and Colle- giate Circular. wº This work is, beyond dispute, the best of its class that has yet appeared.”—Christian 2. ??68S, “As a school-book it is superior to any which has yet made its appearance, and there is no doubt that it will quickly supersede the dictionaries at present in use.”—National. “Compiled with the most remarkable attention to accuracy, and invaluable for the use of schools.”—Liverpool Mail. *** This Dictionary has been reprinted in the United States of America, where it has been introduced into many public schools. *...*.*.*.*.*.*.* TANDARD PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY of the FRENCH and ENGLISH LANGUAGES. In Two Parts. Part I., FRENCH and ENGLISH. Part II., ENGLISH and FRENCH. By GABRIEL SURENNE, F.A.S.E., French Teacher in Edinburgh, Corre- sponding Member of the French Grammatical Society of Paris, &c. Fourth Edition. Large 12mo, 10s. 6d., neatly and strongly bound, 882 pages. This Work, on which the author was engaged upwards of six years, presents the advantages of being a French Pronouncing Dictionary, at once suited for the school or the library. It contains not merely the words used in current literature, but also a wide range of terms connected with Science and the fine arts, the meaning of which is often vainly sought for in common dictionaries; and at the bottom of every page is printed in alphabetical order a list of his- torical and geographical proper names. The utmost pains have been taken to render the system of pronunciation adopted both correct and intelligible, and such it is hoped as will enable the pupil, with very little preliminary instruc- tion from the teacher, to pronounce correctly any word in the language. “A fourth edition speaks the merits of M. Surenne; but it does more, for it exhibits very great painstaking in very marked improvements, especially in the way of pronunciation, the critical rules and examples for which are deserving of the highest praise. The portable size of the work renders it convenient in every way; and we can conscientiously recommend it as an excellent reference for the interpretation and use of the French tongue.”—Literary Gazette. “It is accurate, critical, and comprehensive.”—Athenaeum. “We were led to expect a work of superior merit, but certainly were not prepared for so complete and elaborate a performance as the one before us. Every requisite in a dictionary seems here to find a place.”—JWitness. *** This Dictionary has also been reprinted in the United States of "…9 C) GSS-2s Q9Iiber & 330gu, Qºbimburgſ). 4. SOLID IN SEPARATE FORTIONS, ELEMENTS of UNIVERSAL HISTORY, on a New and Systematic Plan ; from the Earliest Times to the Treaty of Vienna. To which is added, a Summary of the Leading Events since that Period. For the Use of Schools and of Private Students. . By H. WHITE, B.A. Trinity College, Cambridge, M.A. and Ph. Dr. of Heidelberg. In One Thick Volume 12mo, price 8s. 6d., neatly and strongly bound, 673 pages. This work is divided into Three Parts, corresponding with Ancient, Middle, and Modern History, and again subdivided into Centuries, so that the various events are systematically grouped together in the order of time ; while the narrative is so arranged that the annals of each country may be studied separately. To guide the researches of the student, the work contains numer- rous Synoptical and other Tables, with Sketches of Literature, Antiquities, and Manners at the great chronological epochs. The Three Parts, each complete in itself, may also be had separately, price 3.S. bound. ** The Elements of Universal History is entitled to great praise: the writer has taken a firm grasp of his subject, he exhibits a just estimate of things, and separates, by typogra- phical divisions, the narrative of events from the commentary upon them.”—Spectator. “Executed with much judgment. The difficult task of reviewing the whole history of the world, and condensing it with clearness, has been accomplished in this single volume with a success that does great credit to the author, and cannot fail to recommend it to ex- tensive and permanent circulation.”—Morning Herald. “This is a most excellent and valuable work,-one of the best, clearest, and compactest 3. of general history, ancient and modern, that we have met with.”—Edinburgh 1767".2S67°. 1)r D'Aubigné, in the preface to the Fourth Volume of the History of the Reformation, speaking of Dr White, who was engaged with him in preparing the English original, thus acknowledges his valuable services:—“I could not have had a more enlightened coadjutor. I here express my obligations to him for his very able assistance.” * ***** Dr WHITE has also in Preparation, ISTORY of GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND: with an Account of the Present State and Resources of the United Kingdom and its Colonies. Small 8vo, price 3s. bound. This volume will contain a brief History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with Sketches of the Literature, Antiquities, Civilisation, and Commerce of the three Kingdoms to the present date, with an Account of the present Con- dition and Resources of the United Kingdom and its Colonies. The History of the People, hitherto much neglected in school-books, will form a prominent feature in this Work. UIDE to the GEOLOGY of SCOTLAND: containing an Account of the Character, Distribution, and more in- teresting Appearances of its Rocks and Minerals. By JAMES NICOL, F.R.S.E., Author of a Catechism of Geology, Essays on the Geology of Peebles and Roxburgh, &c. Small 8vo, with a Coloured Geological Map and Ten Plates, price 6s, cloth. “The style of Mr Nicol's book is clear and elegant. His facts are supported by numerous Q authorities, with useful references. His combination of general views with particular descrip- tions is most judicious and philosophical. As a guide to the Scottish traveller his work must be of the greatest value.”—London Philosophical Magazine, edited by Sir David Brewster, Richard Taylor, Esq., &c. &c. } & &orāg 3}ubligijet fig QBliber & 330gu. º NTRODUCTORY BOOK of the SCIENCES; adapted for the Use of Schools and Private Students. In Two Parts. With 106 beautiful Engravings on Wood. By JAMES NICOL, F.R.S.E., Author of “Guide to the Geology of Scotland,” &c. Second Edition. 12mo, price ls. 6d. cloth. Contents. Part I. PHYSICAL SciENCEs—General Properties of Matter; Statics and Dynamics; Mechanics; Hydrostatics and Hydraulics; Pneumatics; Acoustics; Optics; Heat; Electricity; Magnetism; Astronomy; Chemistry.—Part II. NATURAL, SciENCEs- Mineralogy; Geology; Physical Geography; Waters of the Globe; Atmosphere ; Botany; Zoology; Man; Conclusion. : It is the best compendium of the sciences we have yet met with.”—Atlas. .. • ... Yºº ...“We have been no less delighted than instructed with the accuracy, elaboration, simpli- city, and clearness of the matter of this modest and useful volume. It is full of useable knowledge admirably selected, arranged, and set forth. ... As a book for schools, or for the º: its elegance, solid worth, and cheapness render it superior to any recent issue of the nd.”—Glasgow Citizen. LEMENTS of ASTRONOMY; adapted for Private Instruction and Use in Schools. With 56 Engravings on Wood. By HUGO REID, Lecturer on Natural Philosophy. 12mo, 3s.6d. bound. “This is by far the best manual of Astronomy with which we are acquainted. . . The mathematical part of the book is clear and comprehensive, and the * results’ are detailed in an able and lucid manner.”—Church of England Quarterly Review. ‘‘We willingly recommend Mr Reid's volume as one of the best of the kind we have met with.”—Methodist Magazine. ******** ECORDS of FEMALE PIETY; comprising Sketches of the Lives and Extracts from the Writings of Women Eminent for Religious Excellence. By the Rev. JAMES A. HUIE, Author of “The History of the Jews,” and “The History of Christian Missions.” Third Edition. FC. 8vo, price 3s. cloth, gilt edges. **************** TORIES from the HISTORY of SCOTLAND, in the manner of “Stories selected from the History of England.” By the Rev. ALEX. STEWART, Minister of Douglas, Author of a “Compendium of Modern Geography,” &c. Fourth Edition 18mo, price 2s. cloth, gilt edges. IVERSIONS of HOLLYCOT; or, the Mother's Art of Thinking. By the Author of “Clan Albin,” and “Elizabeth de Bruce.” Third Edition. 18mo, price 2s. cloth, gilt edges. |NIGHT. of the ROUND TABLE ; or, Stories of Aunt Jame and her Friends. By the Author of “The Diversions of Hollycot,” &c. Second Edition. 18mo, price 2s. cloth, gilt edges. |NIGHT: of the ROUND TABLE, Second Series; comprising the Quaker Family, the Two Scotch Williams, and the Little Ferryman. Second Edition. 18mo, price 2s. cloth, gilt edges. 1SNSAE) ſºft #- 9 2) OLVER & BOYD, EDINBURGH AND SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & GO, LONDON. …) º: * UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN …---…- - ~~~~--~~~~~ ~~~~. |||||||||| 3 9015 08200 3735 ||| - — — — — ----------------~--~~~~ ~~~~ ~~ © ©4 < { K-9 ©4 , │ ├─ O E =. | – =Ð = DO NOT REMOVE