H ISTORY
OF
OLIVER CROMWELL
AND THE
ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.








HISTORY
OF
OLIVER CROMWEL-L
AND THE
ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH,
FROM THIE EXECUTION OF CHARLES THE FIRST TO
TIIE DEATH OF CROMWELL:
BY M. GUIZOT,
TRANSLATED BY ANDREW R. SCOBLE.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.








ADVERTISEMENT.
THE history of the English Revolution, its origin and consequences, extends over a period of sixty-three years-from
the accession of Charles I., in 1625, to the fall of James II.,
in 1688; and is naturally divided, by the great events which
it includes, into four periods. The first of these comprehends the reign of Charles I., his conflict with the Long
Parliament, his defeat and death; the second contains the
history of the Commonwealth, under the Long Parliament
and Cromwell; the third is marked by the Restoration of
the Monarchy, after the brief Protectorate of Richard Cromwell; and the fourth comprises the reigns of Charles II. and
James II., and the final fall of the royal race of Stuart.
Each of these four periods will form the subject of a special work by M. Guizot. The first of these has already appeared; the second is now published; and the other two are
in progress. Together, the four works will constitute a complete picture of the most important epoch in our history.
With regard to the present Volumes, I need say nothing,
except so far as my own share in them is concerned. I have




vi                 ADVERTISEMENT.
endeavored to make as literal a translation as was compatible with our English idiom; and, in all cases, I have carefully verified the references, and given the ipsissima verba of
the authorities quoted by M. Guizot. The historical documents which form the Appendix to each Volume, are, for the
most part, now printed for the first time, and are derived
from the Archives of Simancas, the Archives of the French
Foreign Office, and various collections of manuscripts in the
public libaries of Paris.
ANDREW R. SCOBLE.
LINCOLN'S INN,
FEBRUARY, 1854.




CONTENTS
OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
BOOK I.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN GOYERNMENT-FORMATION OF THE COUNCIL
OF STATE-RESISTANCE OF THE COUNTRY-TRIAL AND CONDEMNATION OF FIVE
ROYALIST LEADERS: LORDS HAMILTON, HOLLAND, CAPELL, AND NORWICH, AND
SIR JOHN OWEN-EXECUTION OF HAMILTON, HOLLAND, AND CAPELL-PUBLICATION OF THE " EIKON BASILIKE "-ROYALIST AND REPUBLICAN POLEMICS:
MILTON AND SALMASIUS-OUTBREAK AND INSURRECTION OF THE LEVELLERSJOHN LILBURNE-DEFEAT OF THE LEVELLERS-TRIAL AND ACQUITTAL OF LILBURNE-TYRANNY OF THE PARLIAMENT-INCREASING GREATNESS OF CROMWELL.                                                 Page 25
BOOK  II.
STATE OF PARTIES IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND-CHARLES II. IS PROCLAIMED
KING-SCOTTISH COMMISSIONERS AT THE HAGUE-WAR IN IRELAND-CROMWELL ASSUMES THE COMMAND —HIS CRUELTY AND SUCCESSES-MONTRiOSE' S
EXPEDITION IN SCOTLAND-HIS DEFEAT, ARREST, CONDEMNATION, AND EXECUTION- CHARLES II. LANDS IN SCOTLAND -CROMWELL RETURNS FROM
IRELAND, AND TAKES THE COMMAND OF THE WAR IN SCOTLAND — HIS
DANGEROUS POSITION-BATTLE OF DUNBAR-CHARLES II. ENTERS ENGLANDCROMWELL FOLLOWS HIM-BATTLE OF WORCESTER-FLIGHT AND ADVENTURES
OF CHARLES II.-HE RETURNS TO FRANCE-CROMIWELL RETURNS TO LONDONTRIUMPHANT SUCCESS OF THE COMMONWEALTH..... Page 85




Viii                      CONTENTS.
BOOK III.
IMPRESSION PRODUCED ON THE CONTINENT BY THE TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF
CHARLES I.-ASSASSINATION OF DORISLAUS AT THE HAGUE, AND OF ASCHAM
AT MADRID-ATTITUDE OF THE CONTINENTAL STATES TOWARDS THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND-DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESSES OF THE ENGLISH NAVY
— FOREIGN POLICY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARLIAMENT-RIVALRY BETWEEN
I'RANCE AND SPAIN IN THEIR RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND-RECOGNITION OF THE
COMMONWEALTH BY SPAIN-RELATIONS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND THE UNITED
PROVINCES-ENGLISH AMBASSADORS AT THE HAGUE-DUTCH AMBASSADORS IN
LONDON —THEIR WANT OF SUCCESS —NEGOTIATIONS OF MAZARIN IN LONDONLOUIS XIV. RECOGNIZES THE ENGLISII COMMONWEALTH-WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND
AND THE UNITED PROVINCES-SUCCESSES OF BLAKE-EFFECTS OF THE WAR IN
ENGLAND..Page 187
BOOK  IV.
CONFLICT BETWEEN CROMWELL AND THE PARLIAMENT ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN A
REDUCTION OF THE ARMY-PROPOSITION OF A GENERAL AMNESTY AND A NEW
ELECTORAL LAW-PROJECTS OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS REFORM-CONVERSATION
BETWEEN CROMWELL AND THE PRINCIPAL LEADERS OF THE PARLIAMENT AND
ARMY-PETITION OF THE ARMY IN FAVOR OF REFORM, AND FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE PARLIAMENT-CHARGES OF CORRUPTION AGAINST THE PARLIAMENT-IT ATTEMPTS TO PERPETUATE ITS EXISTENCE BY SANCTIONING NEW
ELECTIONS-URGENCY OF THE CRISIS-CROMWELL DISSOLVES THE PARLIAMENT.......... Page 273
APPENDIX..Page 321




HISTORY
OF
OLIVER -CROMWELL
AND
THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTvH.
BOOK  I.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT-FORMATLON OF THE COUNCIL
OF STATE-RESISTANCE OF THE COUNTRY-TRIAL AND CONDEMNATION OF FIVE
ROYALIST LEADERS: LORDS HAMILTON, HOLLAND, CAPELL, AND NORWICH, AND
SIR JOHN OWEN-EXECUTION OF HAMILTON, HOLLAND, AND CAPELL-PUBLICATION OF THE " EIKON BASILIKE "-ROYALIST AND REPUBLICAN POLEMICS:
MILTON AND SALMASIUS-OUTBREAK AND INSURRECTION OF THE LEVELLERSJOHN LILBURNE-DEFEAT OF THE LEVELLERS-TRIAL AND ACQUITTAL OF LILBURNE-TYRANNY OF THE PARLIAMENT-INCREASING GREATNESS OF CROMWELL.
IN a previous work, I have related the downfall of an ancient monarchy, and the violent death of a king who was
worthy of respect, although he governed his people badly
and unjustly. I have now to relate the vain efforts of a
revolutionary assembly to found a republic; and to describe
the ever-tottering, but strong and glorious government of a
revolutionary despot, whose bold and prudent genius commands our admiration, although he attacked and destroyed,
first legal order, and then liberty, in his native land. The
VOL. I.-3




26         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
men whom God chooses as the instruments of his great
designs, are full of contradiction and of mystery; in them
are mingled and combined, in undiscoverable proportions,
capabilities and failings, virtues and vices, enlightenment
and error, grandeur and weakness; and after having filled
the age in which they lived with the splendor of their
actions and the magnitude of their destiny, they remain
personally obscure in the midst of their glory, alternately
cursed and worshipped by the world which does not know
them.
At the opening of the Long Parliament, on the 3d of
November, 1640, the House of Commons consisted of five
hundred and six members. In 1649, after the execution of
the King, when it abolished kingship and proclaimed the
Commonwealth, there scarcely remained a hundred who
took part in its sittings and acts. During the month of February, the House divided ten times; and at the most numerous
division, only seventy-seven members were present to record
their votes.l
Thus mutilated and reduced to the condition of a victorious coterie, this assembly set to work, with an ardor full
at once of strong faith and deep anxiety, to organize the
republican government. On the 7th of February, 1649, the
same day on which it abolished kingship by an express
decree, it voted the creation of a Council of State, "to be
henceforth the executive power;" and five members, Scott,
Ludlow, Lisle, Holland, and Robinson, chosen from among
the staunchest republicans, were ordered "to present to the
House instructions to be given to the Council of Estates;
and likewise the names of such persons as they conceive fit
to be of that Council."2
I Old Parliamentary History, vol. ix. p. 12; Journals of the House of Commons, vol. vi. pp. 128, 130, 132, 140, 141, 143, 147.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 133. I may here mention that, at this




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    27
Six days after, on the 13th of February, Scott presented
his report to the House.  All the practical functions of the
Government were vested in the Council of State. It received
power to dispose of the national forces and revenues; to
direct the police; to repress all rebellion; to arrest, interrogate, and imprison all who should resist its orders; to conduct
the relations of the State with foreign powers; to administer
the colonies; and to watch over the interests of commerce:
being thus invested with almost absolute power, under the
control and in obedience to the instructions of Parliamentthe sole depositary of the national sovereignty.'
On the two following days, the House proceeded to appoint
the forty-one Councillors of State, voting specially on each
name.  Five ex-peers of the realm,2 the three chief judges,3
the three leaders  of the  army, Fairfax, Cromwell, and
Skippon, and thirty country gentlemen and citizens, nearly
all of whom were members of the House, were elected. The
nomination of the five peers met with objections; the democrats wished to exclude them, as well as the House of Lords
itself, from all participation in the government of the Commonwealth; but the more prudent politicians, on the contrary,
gave an eager welcome to these noblemen, who were still
powerful by their wealth and name, and whom fanaticism or
meanness had connected with the party which had destroyed
period, England had not yet adopted the reformed Gregorian Calendar, and
that her chronology was ten days behind that of the Continent. The 7th of
February in England, in the seventeenth century, would therefore correspond
with the 17th of February on the Continent. For convenience of reference
to the English authorities which I quote, I have adopted the English date in
speaking of English events.
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 138, 139.
2 The Earls of Denbigh, Mulgrave, Pembroke, and Salisbury, and Lord
Grey of Wark.
3 IHenry Rolle, Chief Justice of the Upper Bench; Oliver St. John, Chief
Justice of the Common Bench; and John Wylde, Chief Baron of the Exchequer.




28         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
their order. The entire list proposed by the Commissioners
of the Parliament was adopted, with the exception of two
names, Ireton and Harrison, who were probably thought too
devotedly attached to Cromwell, and for whom two republicans were substituted, conspicuous for their uncompromising
distrust of the army and its leaders. They were all appointed for a year.'
When they met for the first time, on the 17th of February,
1649, they were required to sign an engagement, expressing
approbation of all that had been done in the King's trial,
in the overthrow of kingship, and in the abolition of the
House of Lords. Only fourteen Councillors of State were
present at this meeting; thirteen signed the proposed declaration without hesitation, and a fresh meeting was convoked
for the next day but one; thirty-four members then attended,
and on the same day Cromwell gave a report to Parliament
of what had occurred.  Six other Councillors of State,
making nineteen in all, had signed the engagement; but
twenty-two persisted in refusing it. They stated that they
were resolved, in future, faithfully to serve the government
of the House of Commons, as it was the supreme power, the
only one which remained in existence, and therefore necessary to the liberties and safety of the people; but, from
various motives, and in terms more or less distinct, they
refused to give their sanction to all the past. The House in
great excitement, proceeded at once to deliberate on this
report, forbidding all the members present to leave the hall
without express permission; but political good sense acted
as a check upon passion; to originate dissensions among the
republicans, in the first days of the Commonwealth, would,
it was felt, be madness; the regicides knew that, if left alone,
they would not be strong enough to maintain their position;
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 140 —143; Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 123;
Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 12.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               29
and the House merely ordained that the Councillors of State
whom it had appointed should all meet to confer together on
what had best be done under the circumstances, and should
afterwards communicate their decision to Parliament. The
matter was arranged without further difficulty; the pledge
of fidelity which the dissidents offered for the future was accepted, and they took their seats beside the regicides in the
republican Council of State.'
This compromise was to a very great extent the work, on
the one hand of Cromwell, and on the other, of Sir Harry
Vane, the most eminent, the most sincere, the most able, and
the most chimerical of the non-military republicans. He
was an ardent revolutionist, and he detested revolutionary
violence. When, on the 6th of November, 1648, the army
expelled the entire Presbyterian party from the House of
Commons, Vane boldly denounced that act, and ceased to
take part in the sittings of the mutilated House. He protested still more strongly against the trial of the King, and
ever since that period, he had resided at his country-seat at
Raby, completely unconnected with public affairs. But the
Commonwealth was the object at once of his faith and of his
aspirations; as soon as it appeared, he belonged to it, heart
and soul. Cromwell, who cared little for the embarrassments
which might at a future time be occasioned him by the allies
of whom he had present need, immediately used every effort
to induce Vane once more to give the republican government
the support of his talents, his devotedness, and his influence.
Vane resisted at first, but in a way which showed he soon
would yield. He it was, who, setting aside the past, suggested the oath of fidelity for the future; and Cromwell,
quite sure that this would be enough to secure Vane to the
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 139, 146; Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 382;
Cromweliiana, p. 52; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp.
28-31.




Q0         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
service of the Council of State and to the Parliament, was
one of the most eager to express his entire approval of the
suggestion.l
Cromwell was right, for no sooner had they taken their
seats than this same Vane, and that same majority of the
Council of State who had refused to take any share in the
responsibility of the regicides, elected2 as their president,
John Bradshaw, the President of the High Court which had
condemned Charles I.; and three days after, Vane, with
several of his colleagues, proceeded to "a small house in
Holborn, which opens backwards into Lincoln's Inn Fields,"
to offer the post of Latin Secretary to the Council to a kinsman of Bradshaw's, who had recently maintained, in an eloquent pamphlet, " that it is lawful to call to account a tyrant,
or wicked king, and after due conviction, to depose, and put
him to death!"3 That man was Milton.
At the same time that it was engaged in the constitution
of the Council of State, the House turned its attention also
to the courts of law; an urgent question, for the day for the
opening of their quarterly sessions was at hand, and no one
for a moment admitted the possibility of interrupting the
course of justice. Of the twelve principal judges, ten had
-been appointed by the Parliament itself since the outbreak
of the civil war; and yet, on the 8th of February, 1649, six
of them refused to give any oath of fidelity to the Commonwealth, and the other six would only consent to continue the
discharge of their functions on condition that, by a formal
declaration of the House, the ancient laws of the country
Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 125 —127; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 31.
2 On the 10th of AMarch, 1649.
3 Todd's Life of Milton, pp. 63, 70; Carlyle, Cromwell's Letters and
Speeches, vol. ii. p. 16; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p.
OP_




AND THE ENGLISH COMMiONWEALTH.                 31
should be maintained, and that the judges should continue
to take them as the rule of their decisions. These demands
were complied with, and the six judges who had tendered
their resignation were not replaced until the following summer.1
The Earl of Warwick, the Lord High Admiral, lived on
intimate terms with Cromwell; but he was a decided Presbyterian, who inspired the republicans with no confidence,
and who himself preferred his own ease to their service.
His office was taken from him on the 20th of February,
1649; the powers of the Admiralty were vested in the Council of State, which delegated theni to a committee of three
members, of whom Vane was the chief; and the command
of the fleet passed into the hands of three officers, Edward
Popham, Richard Dean, and Robert Blalke-the last a literate and warlike Puritan, who had already given proof of his
great qualities as a soldier, and who was destined to augment
at sea the power and glory of the Commonwealth, which he
served. with austere and unflinching devotedness.2
The House had revised and arranged every department of
the administration; the legislation and diplomacy of the
country, the courts of justice, the police, the finances, the
army and the fleet, were all in its hands. To appear as disinterested as it was active, it permitted those menlbers who
had separated from the conquering party, at the moment of
its definitive rupture with the King, to resume their seats in
its midst; but it required from theim at the same time such
a disavowal of their former votes that very few could persuade themselves to take advantage of this concession. To
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 134-1G3; Whitelocke's Memorials, pp.
378-380; Clarendon's.History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 247.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 147, 149, 1.0; Godwin's History of the
Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 35; Hepworth Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 114122.




32         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
fill up the vacancies thus created, it authorized some new
elections, but in very small numbers —seven only in the
space of six months-for it distrusted the electors; and it
even directed the formation of a committee for the purpose
of framino a new electoral law, to regulate the assembling
of a new Parliament. But these were mere demonstrations,
not bona fide and effectual resolutions. Henry Martyn told
the House, "That lie thought they might find the best advice
from the Scripture: for when Moses was found upon the
river, and brought to Pharaoh's daughter, she took care that
the mother might be found out, to whose care he might be
committed to be nursed; which succeeded very happily."
Applying this, he continued: "Our Commonwealth is yet
an infant of a weak growth, and a very tender constitution:
and therefore my opinion is, that nobody can be so fit to
nurse it as the mother who brought it forth; and that we
should not think of putting it under any other hands, until
it hath obtained more years and vigor."'
Henry Martyn did not say enough: not only was the
Commonwealth unable to exist without the care of the Parliament which had given it birth, but when that all-powerful
Parliament wished to impart full vigor to the Commonwealth, it found itself too weak to accomplish that work,
and could only fluctuate between precipitation and postponement, hesitation and violence. The acts voted on the 7th of
February, for abolishing the kingly office and taking away
the House of Peers, were not definitively adopted until the
17th and 19th of March; anw when the House ordained their
official proclamation in the City of London, the Lord Mayor,
Reynoldson, positively refused to proclaim  them. When
summoned to the bar, ten days afterwards, he alleged the
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 129, 130, 133, 130, 210; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 33-35; Forster's Statesmen of the
Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 324; Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 134.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              33
scruples of his conscience in justification of his conduct. The
House condemned him to pay a fine of two thousand pounds,
and to be imprisoned for two months; and ordered the election of another Lord Mayor. Alderman Thomas Andrews,
one of the King's judges, was elected; but though the House
did not think it wise to require of him immediately that official proclamation of the Commonwealth which his predecessor had refused to make, it gave intimation of more rigorous
intentions with regard to the City. " They believe they pnay
make sure of the metropolis," wrote the President de Bellievre, the French ambassador in England, to M. Servien,
"either by causing the election of other magistrates who are
devoted to their service, or by absolutely suppressing the
form of government which has hitherto been observed, and
establishing one of the officers of the army as Governor of
the city-as it is believed they intend to do. But, according
to all appearance, although it may be their intention to do
this at some time or other, they will be contented for the
present with establishing their authority therein, without any
display of violence." On the 10th of May following, more
than a month after the election of the new Lord Mayor, and
more than three months after the death of Charles I., the
authority of the House was not established in the city, for
the Commonwealth had not yet been proclaimed there. Inquiry was made into the cause of this delay, and twenty days
after, on the 30th of May, the proclamation at length took
place, in the absence of several of the aldermen, who declined
to take any part in the ceremonial, and amid the strongest
manifestations of popular disapprobation. "It was desired,"
wrote M. de Croulle, the secretary of the President de Bellievre, to Cardinal Mazarin, " that this act should be effected
in the ordinary form of a simple publication, without the
mayor and aldermen being supported by any soldiers, in
order to show that no violent means had been resorted to;




34          HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL.
but a quantity of people having assembled around them with
hootings and insults, compelled them to send for some troops,
who first drove away all the bystanders, and thus they
finished their publication."'
The aldermen who had absented themselves were called to
the bar of the House, and they unhesitatingly confessed the
motives of their absence. Sir Thomas Soames, who was also
a member of the House, stated: " That it was against several
oaths which he had taken as an alderman of London, and
against his judgment and conscience." Alderman Chambers
said: "That his heart did not go along with the work, in
that business." They were both deprived of their municipal
functions, and declared incapable of holding any public office.
Sir Thomas Soames was even expelled from the House. But
when it became necessary to replace them, it was found very
difficult to obtain persons willing to be their successors, and
seven successive refusals attested the ill-will of the citizens.
A dinner offered to the House, by that faction in the city
which was devoted to its cause, was a poor compensation for
these checks; and in order to put the municipal body in a
position to discharge its functions, it was found necessary to
give to forty, and even, in certain cases, to ten of its members, the right to act in its name.2
The same obstacles and the same resistance were met with
everywhere: The Parliament ordained the destruction, in all
public places, of the King's arms, and all other emblems of
royalty; and this order, though renewed four times,3 was so
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 133, 166, 168, 177, 179, 206, 221; Whitelocke's Memorials, pp. 393, 394; Leicester's Journal, p. 73; Letters of the
President de Bellievre to M. Servien (12th April, 1649), and of M. de Croull6
to Cardinal Mazarin (14th June, 1649), in the Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de France.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 221, 222; Wl}itelocke's Memorials, pp.
384, 404, 405; Godwin, vol. iii. p. 97.
3 On the 15th of February and 9th of August, 1649, the 9th of April, 1650,




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                    35
imperfectly obeyed that, two years after the establishment of
the Commonwealth, Parliament was obliged to make the
parochial authorities responsible for its execution, and to
authorize them to pay the expenses out of the parish rates.
A simple oath of fidelity to the Commonwealth was required
of all the beneficed clergy, of the members of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, of all public functionaries,
sheriffs, justices of peace, and others; and refusals arrived by
thousands, publicly sanctioned by the gravest authorities,
among others, by the Assembly of the Presbyterian Clergy
in London, which met in May, 1650.'  It was only in the
month of January, 1650, a year after the death of the King,
that they ventured to change the names of those vessels in
the fleet which were suggestive of departed royalty.2 In the
spring of that same year, a new frigate was launched at
London, in presence of the whole Council of State.  It was
proposed that it should be named The Commonwealth of
England, "but it was thought," wrote M. de Croulle to
Cardinal Mazarin, "that if the vessel were to perish, as all
vessels are liable to do, it would be a bad omen;,"3 and so
that hazardous satisfaction was dispensed with.
1iothing is more irritating to power, and especially to a
conquering power, than the consciousness of its weakness;
and when it experiences this feeling, it immediately seeks
some opportunity of manifesting its strength, by way either
of diversion or of revenge. The republican Government of
England, thus hampered in its progress, had in its hands some
of the most eminent of the Royalist leaders: the Duke of
and the 5th of February, 1651; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 142, 276,
394, 531.
X Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 306, 427; Neal's History of the Puritans,
vol. iv. pp. 8, 10; Reliquise Baxterianse, book i. p. 64.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 340.
3 M. de Croull6 to Cardinal Mlazarin (2 t'Iay, 1650); Archives des Affaires
Etrangeres de France.




36         HISTORY OF OLIVER. ROMWELL
Hamilton, the Earl of Holland, the Earl of Norwich, Lord
Capell, and Sir John Owen-valiant survivors of the last
struggles of the civil war, who had fallen, at different times,
into the power of the Parliament, and had been its prisoners
for many months. At one moment they almost believed
themselves in safety. In November, 1648, the two Houses
voted that the Duke of Hamilton should pay a fine of one
hundred thousand pounds sterling, and that the other four
should be banished from the country.' But before this vote
had been carried into execution, the Presbyterians, by whose
influence it had been passed, were expelled from the House
of Commons, and the Independents, left sole masters of the
field, formally revoked it, and detained the five leaders in
prison, announcing, at the same time, their intention to bring
them to trial.2  Regardless of his perilous position, when, a
few days after, a more important trial, that of the King, commenced, Lord Capell, with the enthusiasm of a high-minded
gentleman, and of a valiant soldier, wrote from his cell in the
Tower, on the 15th of January, 1649, to Cromwell, to represent to him the enormity of such a crime, and to conjure him
to save the King. " I frankly give you leave to to think," he.
said in this remarkable letter, "nor do I value the inconvenience it could draw along with it, that there is not that
honest expedient in the world to serve him by, that I would
not hazard myself in to employ for him; nor do I know what
earthly felicity it is could be so welcome to me as to advance
a step beyond any other in my duty towards him. But my
present condition refuseth me the ability of anything else but
that of invocating the favor of God for him, and making my
addresses to you, whom I take to be the figure that gives the
denomination to the sequence of a great many ciphers that
follow you." He then set forth at great length, and in terms
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 72.
2 On the 13th of December, 1648; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 90.




AND THE EJGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               37,
sometimes of reproach and sometimes of flattery, all the motives of religion, justice, policy, duty, honor, interest, pride,
and personal ambition, which might combine to influence
Cromwell's decision; and he concluded with these words:
"Sir, my conclusion shall be very plain, because you may
thereby be the better assured of my sincerity in all the rest.
The ancient constitutions and present laws of this kingdom
are my inheritance and birthright; if any shall think to impose upon me that which is worse than death, which is the
profane and dastardly parting from these laws, I will choose
the lesser evil, which is death. I have also a right in kingship, the protector of those laws: this is also, by a necessity
and conjunction with that other, dearer to me than life. And
lastly, in this King is my present right, and also obligations
of inestimable favors received from him. I would to God
my life could be a sacrifice to preserve his! Could you make
it an expedient to serve that end, truly I would pay you more
thanks for it than you will allow yourself from all your other
merits from those you have most obliged, and die your most
affectionate friend, CAPELL."'
Cromwell returned no answer to this letter, but he did not
forget it. He possessed that pitiless sagacity which, while it
enabled him to recognize the value of an enemy, only convinced him of the necessity of putting him out of the way.
On the 1st of February, the House resolved on erecting a new
High Court of Justice, to consist of sixty members, of whom
fifteen should form  a quorum. Bradshaw was appointed
President of this Court. It was commissioned to "hear, try,
and adjudge divers delinquents," among whom the Duke of
Hamilton, the Earls of HIolland and Norwich, Lord Capell,
and Sir John Owen were specially named; and orders were
1 Lady Theresa Lewis's Lives from the Clarendon Gallery, vol. ii. pp. 102,
264.
VOL. I.-4




38        HISTORY OF OLIVER CRO3MWEL-L
given that their trial should immediately be proceeded
with.'
On the following day, the 2d of February, as soon as
night had fallen, Lord Capell, whom one of his friends had
provided with a cord, let himself down from his room in the
Tower into the ditch below. He had been informed as to
what part of the ditch he would find it most easy to traverse; but he either mistook the place to which he had been
directed, or the weter and mud were deeper than his informant had expected, for he sank into the mire to his chin,
and was on the point of giving up his attempt and shouting
for assistance.  His tall stature and undaunted courage,
however, saved him; he succeeded in reaching the other
side, where his friends were expecting him. He was conducted by them to the Temple, where he remained concealed
for two days. The Government, enraged at his escape, used
the utmost diligence for his discovery. One of his most
faithful friends thought that he would be unable to remain
in safety in a place of so much resort as the Temple, and that
he would find a surer asylum in a small house in Lambeth
Marsh. That same evening Lord Capell, accompanied by his
friend alone, went out for the purpose of taking the first boat
they should find at the Temple Stairs. It was so late that
only one remained. They entered it, and told the boatman
to row them to the other side of the river. Lord Capell was
carefully disguised; but whether his companion inadvertently called him My Lord, as was generally reported, or
whether some other circumstance awakened his suspicions,
the boatman determined to follow his two passengers on
landing; and having watched them into the house, went at
once to an officer, and asked him " what he would give him
to bring him to the place where the Lord Capell lay?" The
t Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 128.




AND THE ENGLISHI COMMONWEALTH.               39
officer promised him ten pounds; the boatman fulfilled his
promise; Lord Capell was seized, and the next day returned
a prisoner to the Tower.'
On the 9th of February, the Court began its sittings; fifty
of the Commissioners appointed to form it were present.
The five prisoners were brought to the bar, as different in
attitude and language as in condition and character. The
Duke of Hamilton was a great nobleman, a court politician,
sincerely attached to the king, whom he had always desired
to serve, but still more anxious to maintain his influence
and popularity in Scotland, his native land, where he was
careful to keep on good terms with all parties, and cared
little to aggravate the difficulties or dangers of his master, if
he could diminish or delay those which threatened himself.
Lord Holland was a frivolous and reckless courtier, fond of
money and pleasure, and characterized by very little faith,
ability, or morality; he had curried and obtained favor, first
with the Duke of Buckingham, then with Queen Henrietta
Maria, then with the King himself, and finally with the
Parliament, passing, as his necessities or fears dictated, from
one party to another; decried by all who knew him; maintaining relations of a suspicious nature with the Court of
France; and regarded with jealous enmity by Cromwell,
either because of some slighting language he had used concerning him, or, as it is said, on some lady's account. The
Earl of Norwich was a jovial and good-natured Cavalier,
anxious to do his duty to the King and to serve his friends,
and inspiring his enemies with neither fear nor resentment.
Sir John Owen was a simple Welsh gentleman, honest and
courageous, without any thought of ambition or personal
advantage, an obscure martyr of the cause he had embraced,
1 Lady Theresa Lewis's Lives from the Clarendon Gallery, vol. ii. pp. 105
— 107; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 258-260; Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 377.




40         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
and utterly unconscious that there was any merit in his
devotedness. Lord Capell came last, as noble in heart as in
race, the worthy descendant of a grandfather who had been
celebrated in his county for his eminent virtues and olden
hospitality.  "He kept a bountiful house," said his grandson
of him, "and showed forth his faith by his works; extending
his charity in such abundant manner to the poor, that he
was bread to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, eyes to the
blind, and legs to the lame, and might be justly styled a
great almoner to the King of kings."' Lord Capell had
worthily represented in Parliament, at court, and in the
camp, the solid virtues of his family; and Charles I. had
had experience, as the necessities of the time required, both
of his independence and his loyalty.  These five men, thus
thrown together in misfortune, formed, by their union, an
almost complete and faithful type of the royalist party, in its
noblest as well as in its least honorable elements; and that
entire party seemed represented and arraigned in their
persons, before the Court which began to sit in WVestminster
HIall, a few days after the dissolution of that which had tried
and judged the king.2
Hamilton maintained a severe countenance, and asked for
time to send to Scotland for certain papers which he required. The Court granted him an insufficient delay, and
when he prayed for more time, he was told, " that it was for
prisoners to prepare their proofs against the trial, he having
been in prison so long." After his condemnation, he was
urgently solicited to make certain revelations about the past.
Cromwell even sent messengers to offer him not only his life,
but the restitution of his former fortune if he would do so;
but he indignantly refused, saying, that "if he had as many
I Lady Theresa Lewis's Lives from the Clarendon Gallery, vol. i. p. 252.
2 State Trials, vol. iv. col. 1155; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol.
vi. pp. 252 —266.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    41
lives as hairs on his head, he would lay them all down
rather than redeem them by so base a means."' The effect
of supreme and irrevocable misfortune is to elevate those
souls which it does not deprive of all virtue.
The Earls of Holland and Norwich merely attempted to
diminish the gravity of the charges brought against them,
and to produce a favorable impression on the minds of their
judges by the modesty of their demeanor.2
Lord Capell was not only dignified; he was haughty and
undaunted. Without paying any attention to the Court, he
gazed severely on the audience, as if to reproach them with
the complicity of their presence. He maintained that by
the terms of the capitulation of Colchester, and the explanations of the Lord General Fairfax himself, his life had been
secured to him. " I am a prisoner of war," he said: "I had a
fair quarter given me, and all the gowns in the world have
nothing to do with me." In any case, he demanded to be
tried by his peers: "Though king and lords be laid aside,
yet the fundamental laws of the land are still in force." He
called the attention of the Court to "Magna Charta and the
Petition of Right; he desired to see his jury, and that they
might see him, and said he believed that a precedent could
not be given of a subject tried for his life, but either by Bill
in Parliament, or by a jury." In reply, President Bradshaw
told him "that he was tried before such judges as the Parliament thought fit to assign him; and who had judged a better
man than himself."3
State Trials, vol. iv. cols. 1156, 1187, 1188, 1191, 1211; Whitelocke's
Memorials, p. 381.
2 State Trials, vol. iv. cols. 1195 —1250; Whitelocke's Memorials, pp. 381,
385, 386.
3 State Trials, vol. iv. cols. 1209-1214; Wlhitelocke, pp. 380, 381, 383;
Lady Theresa Lewis's Lives from the Clarendon Gallery, vol. ii. pp. 108-115;
Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 253-255.
4*




42         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
When the Attorney-General concluded by demanding that
he should be hanged, drawn, and quartered, Lord Capell
"seemed to startle;" but speedily recovering himself, he told
the Court " that however he was dealt with here, he hoped
for a better resurrection hereafter."'
They were all five condemned to be beheaded. When the
president had pronounced this sentence, Sir John Owen made
a low bow to the Court, and gave them humble thanks. On
being asked by one of the bystanders what he meant, he said
aloud, " it was a very great honor to a poor gentleman of
Wales to lose his head with such noble lords," and added,
with an oath, " that he was afraid they would have hanged
him."2
The High Court, however, was irresolute; and either from
a desire to act with clemency, or with a view to shift the responsibility of such rigorous proceedings, after having condemned the prisoners, it referred the execution of their
sentence to the sovereign decision of Parliament.'
On the next day, the 7th of March, the Earl of Warwick,
the brother of Lord Holland, with Lady Holland, Lady
Capell, and several other relatives and friends of the prisoners, presented themselves at the door of the House of
Commons, and requested permission to intercede personally
for the lives of those against whom the High Court of Justice
had pronounced sentence of death.  They were admitted,
and. presented their petitions. But, after some hours' debate,
the House resolved "not to proceed any further upon these
petitions, but to leave them to the justice of the Court that
sentenced them." The republican leaders would have preferred, without interfering further in this melancholy affair,
to profit by the severity of the judges whom they had apI Whitelocke, p. 381.
2 Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 255, 256.
3 State Trials, vol. iv. col. 1188; Whitelocke, p. 886.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               43
pointed; but the Court was resolved not to allow the whole
weight to rest upon its shoulders; it granted the condemned
a respite of two days, that they might again appeal to Parliament.l
Thus compelled to decide, the republican leaders consulted
only their animosities and their fears. The Duke of Hamilton, as an individual and as a Scotchman, inspired no interest;
his petition was unhesitatingly rejected. Lord Holland had
many friends; his brother and his wife were there to plead
his cause; he was naturally of an obliging and kindly disposition; in his passage through all parties he had in all
formed connections and rendered services: but Cromwell and
Ireton detested and despised him; his petition was rejected
by a majority of one vote.'Vith regard to the Earl of Norwich, the votes were equally divided; but Lenthall, the
Speaker of the House, said, "that he had received many
obligations from him; and that once, when he had been like
to have incurred the King's displeasure, by some misinformation, which would have been very penal to him, Lord Norwich had by his credit preserved him, and removed the prejudice that was against him; and therefore he was obliged in
gratitude to give his vote for the saving him." Lord Norwich
was saved, as Lord Holland had just been condemned, by a
majority of one vote. No one was there to defend Sir John
Owen; but Colonel Hutchinson said to Ireton, who was sitting
next to him: "It grieves me much to see that, while all are
laboring to save the lords, a gentleman, that stands in the
same condemnation, should not find one friend to ask his life;
and so am I moved with compassion that, if you will second
me, I am resolved to speak for him, who, I perceive, is a
stranger and friendless."  Ireton promised to do so: Hutchinson obtained the poor WAelsh knight's petition, which had
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 158; State Trials, vol. iv. col. 1216.




44         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
been left in the hands of the clerk of the House, delivered it,
spoke for him so nobly, and was so effectually seconded by
Ireton, that Sir John Owen's life was saved by a majority of
five votes.l
Lord Capell now remained-the object, on the part of his
family and friends, of the most passionate solicitude and the
most active efforts; every means was tried to save him; money
was offered, and even given, to persons who promised the
support of their influence. -A long debate took place on his
petition; some spoke in his favor, extolling his virtue, and
saying " that he had never deceived them, or pretended to be
of their party, but always resolutely declared himself for the
King."  Cromwell then rose, and in the opening of his speech,
manifested more esteem and kindness for Lord Capell than
any previous speaker had done; "but my affection for the
public," he continued, "so much weighs down my private
friendship that I cannot but tell you, that the question now
is, whether you will preserve the most bitter and the most implacable enemy you have? I know the Lord Capell very well,
and I know that he would be the last man in England that
would forsake the royal cause. He has great courage, industry,
and generosity; he has many friends who would always adhere
to him; and as long as he lived, what condition soever he was
in, he would be a thorn in your sides. And, therefore, for
the good of the Commonwealth, I shall give my vote against
the petition;" and it was rejected, by what majority we cannot accurately ascertain.2
The execution was fixed for the following day, the 9th of
March, 1649. During the night, Lord Capell requested his
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 159, 160; *Whitelooke, p. 386; Memoir
of Colonel HIutchinson, pp. 339, 340; Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 123; Clarendon's
History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 258.
2 Lady Theresa Lewis's Lives from the Clarendon Gallery, vol. ii. p. 120;
Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 260.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              45
friend, Dr. Morley, who had v;iited him  in his prison, to
administer to him the sacrament. "I desire to receive it,"
he said, " from a minister of the King's narty, and according
to the. liturgy of the Church of England. *  *  *  ~  I
think I cannot accuse myself of any great known sin, committed against the light of my conscience, but one only-and
that is, the giving my vote in Parliament for the death of
my Lord of Strafford; which I did against my conscience,
not out of any malice to the person of the man, but out of
a base fear, and carried away with the violence of a prevailing faction; for which I have been and am heartily sorry,
and have often with tears begged and, I hope, obtained
pardon of Almighty God. If you think it necessary or fit,
I will confess this great and scandalous sin of mine, together
with the cause of it, openly upon the scaffold, to God's glory,
and my own shame." Dr. Morley encouraged him in this
virtuous intention. The next morning, Lord Capell's family
visited him —his wife, his eldest son, two of his uncles, and
his nephew, all together, for they were not permitted to see
him separately. IIe kept them with him an hour, lovingly
but sadly endeavoring to sustain their courage, and to address
to them his last counsels. "I would not," he said to his son,
"I would not have you neglect any honorable and just occasion to serve your King and country with the hazard of your
life and fortune; yet I would have you to engage yourself
(as I, thanks be to God for it! have done) neither out of desire of revenge, nor hope of reward, but out of a conscience
of your duty only. The best legacy I can leave you is my
prayers for you, and a verse of David's Psalms, which I
command you, upon my blessing, to make a part of your
daily prayers, as I have always made it a part of mine, viz.,'Teach me thy way, 0 Lord, and lead me in a plain path.'
For I have always loved plainness and clearness both in my
words and actions, and abhorred all doubling and dissimula



46         HISTORY OF OLIVEIR CROMW'ELL
tion, and so I would have you to do also." When the moment of parting arrived, Lady Capell's strength failed her,
and she was carried away in a fainting fit. "WAVell, dotor,"
said Lord Capell, as soon as he was left alone with his friend
Morley, "the hardest thing that I had to do here in this
world is now past, the parting with this poor woman. I
believe I shall be called upon presently to go to the place
where I am to take my leave of all the rest of the world,
and, I thank my God, I find myself very well disposed to it,
and prepared for it. I am in good hope that, when I come
to die, I shall have nothing else to do but to die only." Yet
he wrote twice to his wife, during the short interval between
their separation and the scaffold. "Let me live long here in
thy dear memory. I beseech thee, sorrow not unsoberly,
unusually. God be unto thee better than an husband, and
to my children better than a father. I am sure He is able to
be so: I am confident He is graciously pleased to be so."'
The Duke of Hamilton was brought first to the scaffold,
which had been erected on an open space before Westminster Hall. He died with dignified courage, after having
addressed tSe bystanders in simple and quiet language,
modestly justifying his life, and professing his steady attachment to the dead king whom he had served, and to the
absent king whose return he hoped for, although he would
not witness it. As he spoke, the rays of the sun fell full on
his face; he was advised to change his position; "No," he
said, "I hope to see a brighter sun than that very speedily."
On the previous evening, Lord Holland had manifested considerable anguish and weakness; he was ill in body and uneasy in mind; but at the last moment, supported by two
Presbyterian ministers, who had accompanied him to the
scaffold, he exhibited becoming firmness. Lord Capell apState Trials, vol. iv. cols. 1230, 1231; Lady Theresa Lewis's Lives from
the Clarendon Gallery, vol. ii. pp. 137-145.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 47
peared last, and alone, on the scaffold. "Sir," said the officer
who commanded the execution, "is your chaplain here?"
"No," he replied, "I have taken leave of him;" and perceiving that some of his servants were weeping, he said,
"Restrain  yourselves,  gentlemen, restrain  yourselves."
Then, turning to the officer, he asked, " Did the Lords speak
with their hats off, or no?"  "With their hats off," replied
Colonel Beecher. Lord Capell then took off his hat, and
spoke briefly and firmly, showing equal frankness and decision as a royalist and as a Christian. Hie did as he had
promised Dr. Morley; he accused himself of his vote against
Lord Strafford.  " I do here profess to you," he said, " that I
did give my vote to that bill against the Earl of Strafford.
Truly this I may say, I had not the least part nor degree of
malice in doing of it. But I must confess again, to God's
glory, and the accusation of mine own frailty, and the frailty
of my nature, that truly it was unworthy cowardice not to
resist so great a torrent as carried that business at that time."'
People and soldiers, friends and strangers, all beheld him die
with mingled feelings of admiration and respect.
It is one of the first duties of history to render full justice
to those virtuous and courageous martyrs, whose deaths act
so powerfully on the feelings of nations, and give fresh
vitality in the hearts of men to those causes which have
suffered defeat on the field of battle. With the exception of
the republican party, the whole nation was inspired with
indignation and sorrow by the death of Lord Capell. The
war was at an end; the blood of the King had boen shed, in
expiation, it was affirmed, of all the bloodshed which he had
occasioned. WThy, then, more victims?  Why these severities inflicted, on prisoners made in a war which had terminated, by judges whom the laws did not recognize, and whose
l State Trials, vol. iv. cols. 1188-1194, 1220-1235; Lady Theresa Lewis's
Lives from the Clarendon Gallery, vol. ii. pp. 145-153.




48         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
authority could be defended only by scholastic subtleties?
The Parliament itself felt that it could not persevere in such
a course. It had still to decide the fate of several royalist
leaders, both ecclesiastical, civil, and military. Against fifteen of them it decreed perpetual banishment, and the confiscation of all their property; it ordered that five should be
proceeded against by court-martial for armed insurrection;
it determined that two others, the Marquis of WVinchester
and the Bishop of Norwich, should be detained in prison as
long as might be deemed necessary; and it voted that two
only, Sir John Stowel and Judge David Jenkins, should be
brought to trial for their lives, not before any extraordinary
tribunal, but before the regular courts of assize. But even
this vote was not carried into effect; for they both remained
in prison, Jenkins until the year 1656, and Sir John Stowel
until the Restoration. The Parliament became anxious to
avoid publicity; it forbade the publication of the debates
and acts of the High Court which had condemned Lord
Capell; pamphlets were seized, journalists were gained over;
and a committee was appointed to prepare measures for repressing abuses of the liberty of the press.' Silent acts of
severity were substituted for public prosecutions and the
scaffold.
But the Parliament had not the sole disposal of publicity
and fame. A few days after the death of the king appeared
the "Eikon Basilik8, or Portraiture of his Sacred Majesty
in his Solitudes and Sufferings," which was said to be the
work of Charles I. himself, and which, under the form of
pious meditations, revealed to England the reflections, feelings, impressions, hopes, and griefs —indeed, the whole soul
of the King, during the course of his trials. Aware, even
before the execution of Charles, that this book was being
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 164, 165, 276, 298; Godwin's History of
the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 43, 44, 343-348.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                49
printed, the republican leaders, foreseeing the injury it could
not fail to do them, made every efibfort to prevent its publication.l They did not succeed, however; the work got rapidly
into circulation; forty-seven editions of it were printed, and
more than forty-eight thousand copies distributed in England
during the course of the year; and it was immediately translated and read with avidity in France, and throughout all
Europe. The effect which it everywhere produced was prodigious; attachment for the memory of the King became
passion, and respect, worship; his enemies were regarded
as the murderers of a saint. It is to the " Eikon BasilikV"
that Charles I. is principally indebted for the name of the
Royal Martyr.
The work was not by him; external testimony and internal evidence both combine to remove all doubt on the matter. Dr. Gaudel, Bishop, first of Exeter, and afterwards of
Worcester, under the reign of Charles II., was its real author;
but the manuscript had probably been perused and approved,
perhaps even corrected, by Charles himself, during his residence in the Isle of Wight. In any case, it was the real
expression and true portraiture of his position, character,
and mind, as they had been formed by misfortune: it is remarkable for an elevation of thought which is at once natural and strained; a constant mingling of blind royal pride
and sincere Christian humility; heart-impulses struggling
against habits of obstinate self-consciousness; true piety in
the midst of misguided conduct; invincible, though somewhat inert, devotion to his faith, his honor, and his rank;
and as all these sentiments are expressed in monotonous
language, which, though often emphatic, is always grave,
tranquil, and even unctuous with serenity and sadness, it is
not surprising that such a work should have profoundly
1 March 16, 1619; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 166.
VOL. I. —5




50         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
affected all royalist hearts, and easily persuaded them that it
was the CKing himself who addressed them.1
The Parliament felt that it could not remain silent in presence of so powerful a public emotion, and it directed Milton
to answer the Eikon. That sublime and austere genius,
who in his youth had determined, in opposition to paternal
authority, to devote himself entirely to poetry and literature,
was animated by an ardent passion for liberty: not for that
real and true liberty which results from respect for all rights
and for the rights of all, but for an ideal and absolute liberty,
both religious, political, and domestic; and his mighty mind
revelled, on this subject, in noble ideas, lofty sentiments,
grand images, and eloquent words, without his troubling
himself to inquire whether, in the world around him, positive facts and his own personal actions corresponded with
his principles and hopes. He was able to serve, and he did
in fact serve, the tyranny, first of an assembly, and afterwards of a single man, so long as, in the intellectual order
of things, he could profess and defend liberty. He was a
glorious and melancholy instance of the blinding effect which
imagination, abstract reasoning, and eloquent language can
produce on a great, but passionately dreamy intellect, and a
stern but noble heart.
Milton quickly wrote and published his Eikonoklastes, a
lengthy and cold, although violent, refutation of the Eikon
Basilike.  Milton did not understand Charles I. and his feelings, nor could he appreciate the sentiments with which the
King inspired the royalist party: he reproduced against him,
with the utmost puritan and republican animosity, all the
threadbare statements, all the true or false accusations,
which, during ten years, had been current throughout England, without taking into consideration the new ideas and imA separate treatise on the authenticity of the Eikon Basilike, will be
found in my Eludes Biographiqgues sir la Reolution d'Angyleterre.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTHI.                51
pressions which recent events had originated in men's hearts,
and without adorning this retrospective diatribe by any
vigor or elegance of language. It produced only a very
slight effect in England; but on the Continent, and in
France especially, it excited the liveliest resentment; and at
the request of Charles II., the celebrated Protestant scholar,
Saumaise, better known by his Latinized name of Salmasius,
then tan honorary professor at the University of Leyden,
undertook to refute it. To express his indignation, Salmasius had not waited to be retained by Charles, and paid for
his services: eight days after the execution of the King, he
had, in a sudden and spontaneous letter, passionately denounced his enemies and judges.' The " Royal Defence for
Charles I., addressed to Charles II.," produced a great sensation, more even from the name of its author than for the
merit of the work itself.  It was a scholarly, clever, and
occasionally eloquent, but immoderate and untasteful panegyric of monarchy in general, an enthusiastic apology for
Charles I., and a violently-abusive attack of the English
republicans and their defender.  W~hen the work of Salmasius reached London, the Government took it into consideration; and at a sitting of the Council of State, at which it is
said, Milton was present, it was decided that he should reply
to it. He did so without delay, and with far more talent
and success than he had exhibited and obtained when
attacking Charles I. himself. His first and second "Defence
of the People of England, in answer to Salmasius's Defence
of the King," are models of passionate discussion, both of a
general and of a personal character; the Commonwealth is
defended in them, in its principles as well as in its actions,
with unshrinking firmness; and Milton brings himself before
his readers, alluding to his personal history, his manner of
i This letter is dated February 17, 1649; Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i.
pp. 255-258.




52         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
life, and the blindness he had contracted by his application
to this very work, with an eloquence by turns noble and
touching; diffusing everywhere, even over false ideas and
blameworthy actions, that splendor of thought and language
which attracts and charms, though it may not convince, and
sometimes even may irritate. The success of these republican replies was great, on the Continent as well as in England; Queen Christina of Sweden expressed her admiration
of them to Salmasius himself; and the. States-General of
Holland thought it advisable to suppress the Royal Defence
of the Leyden professor. Indignant at this treatment, he fell
ill and died, leaving an "Answer of Claude Saumaise to John
Milton," which was published after his death. Other writers,
both royalists and republicans, French and English, entered
the arena; Milton joined once more in the controversy, from
personal irritation rather than from political necessity; and
this great discussion, which had begun with apologies for a
despotic King and a revolutionary Parliament, ended obscurely in a coarse and vulgar quarrel between literary
men, who insulted one another with persevering acrimony.'
When it at length terminated, the republican government
had long ceased to take any interest in it; more pressing
cares and more dangerous enemies had absorbed its attention.
On the 20th of January, 1649, the very day on which the
King appeared for the first time before the High Court which
had been appointed to try him, the Lord General Fairfax
and the General Council of Officers of the army, had presented their plan of republican government to Parliament,
under the title of "An Agreement of the People of 4England,
and the places therewith incorporated, for a secure and prec
sent peace, upon grounds of common right, freedom, and
safety."  This plan, prepared, it is said, by Ireton, consisted' Todd's Life of Milton, pp. 123 —136; AMitford's Life of Milton, pp. 7.795; Milton's Prose WZorl:k,'o!. iv. anl1 vi. (,illl:on, 1851).




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                53
of ten articles, the essential dispositions of which were as
follow: —
1. That the present Parliament dissolve on the 30th of
April, 1649.
2. That the Representative (they rejected the word Parliament) of the whole nation consist of 400 persons.
3. That the people choose themselves a Representative
once in two years, and that the Representative continue its
session during six months: That the electors and members
of the Representative be natives or denizens of England,
assessed towards the relief of the poor, not servants to and
receiving wages from any particular person, aged twentyone years and upwards, and housekeepers dwelling within
the division for which the election is: That none shall be
electors for seven years, or eligible for fourteen years, who
have sided with the King against the Parliament during the
late wars, or who shall offer or support any forcible opposition to the present agreement: That no member of the
Council of State, nor any officer of any salaried forces in
army or garrison, nor any treasurer or receiver of public
money, shall, while such, be elected to be a Representative;
and in case any lawyer be chosen into any Representative,
or Council of State, he shall be incapable of practice as a
lawyer during that trust.
4. That 150 members at least be always present in each
sitting of the Representative at the passing of any law,. or
doing any act, whereby the people are to be bound; but that
sixty may make a Hlouse for debates or resolutions that are
preparatory thereunto.
5. That each Representative shall, within twenty days
after their first meeting, appoint a Council of State for the
managing of public affairs, until the tenth day after the meet.
ing of the next Representative.
6. That in each interval betwixt biennial Representatives,
5*




54         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the Council of State, in case of imminent danger or extremne
necessity, may summon a Representative to be forlthwith
chosen, and to meet for a session of not above eighty days.
7. That no member of any Representative be made either
receiver, treasurer, or other officer, during that employment,
saving to be a member of the Council of State.
8. That the Representative have the supreme trust, in
order to the preservation and government of the whole; and
that their power extend to the erecting and abolishing of
courts of justice and public offices, and to the enacting,
altering, repealing, and declaring of laws, and the highest
and final judgment concerning all natural and civil things;
but not concerning things spiritual or evangelical.-Certain
limitations to this sovereign power were here indicated for
the safeguard of civil liberties, the financial engagements of
the State, and the disabilities which lay on the royalist
party.
9. That the Christian religion be held forth and recommended as the public profession in this nation, which we
desire may, by the grace of God, be reformed to the greatest
purity in doctrine, worship, and discipline, according,to the
word of God; the instructing of the people thereunto in a
public way, so it be not compulsive, as also the maintaining
of able teachers for that end, is allowed to be provided for
by our Representatives; the maintenance of which teachers
may be out of the public treasury, and we desire not by
tithes: That Popery or Prelacy be not held forth as the public way or profession in this nation: That to the public profession so held forth none be compelled by penalties or
otherwise, but only may be endeavored to be won by sound
doctrine and the example of a good conversation: That all
such who profess faith in God by Jesus Christ have equal
liberty and protection, so as they abuse not this liberty to




AND TIIE ENGLISH COIMIONWEALThI.            55
the civil injury of others, or to actual disturbance of the
public peace.
10. That whosoever shall, by force of arms, resist the,
orders of the Representative (except in case where such
Representative shall evidently render up or take away the
foundations of common right, liberty, and safety, contained
in this agreement), shall lose the benefit and protection of
the laws, and shall be punishable with death, as an enemy
and traitor to the nation.l
These were the views of the politic republicans, of the
moderate men, both military and civil, who had already
managed or closely watched the affairs of the nation; but
they were far from satisfying the ideas and passions of all
the party that had made war against the King, and overthrown monarchical rule. No sooner was it installed than
the republican government found itself face to face with an
ardent demnocratic and mystical opposition; and a man presented himself who, with indomitable courage and devotedness, became, not the leader, for no one was leader in that
camp, but the interpreter, defender, and popular martyr, of
all the disaffected. That man was John Lilburne.
Nhor was this a new part for him to play; during the reign
of Charles I., he had already braved sufferings and won
popularity. Even against the Republican Parliament, he
had recently, on the occasion of the King's trial, commenced
a violent opposition, denouncing the appointment of a ligh
Court, and demanding that the King should be judged in
conformity to the laws of the country, and by an independent jury. Not that he was possessed by the spirit of
demagogic cynicism, and desired to humiliate fallen royalty,
but he was animated by a strict respect for the common law,
and for the legal safeguards which it secures to every
Old Parliamentary IHistory, vol. xviii. pp. 516-5360.




56         IItSTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Englishman.  tIe attacked, with even more vehemence, the
HIigh Court which was erected to try Lord Capell and his
companions, and he even offered them his services for their
defence, so anxious was he to find opportunities for gratifying his love of disputation. In the city, where his youth
had been passed, and in the army, where he had served with
distinction, he had old connections and numerous friendscitizens and apprentices, officers and soldiers, mystical sectaries and fanatics-all passionately attached, as he was, to the
most ultra-democratic ideas and opinions, all equally argumentative and disputatious, never making the slightest
allowance for the conditions of social order, or the necessities of the ruling power, but always ready to criticize and
attack the government whenever it ran counter to the instincts of their conscience, or the fantasies of their mind, or
the recently-acquired habits of their revolutionary independence, or the pretensions of their pride. Lilburne used every
means to promote the fermentation of all these humors; he
was particularly anxious to resuscitate among the inferior
ranks of the army, the practice of holding meetings and preparing petitions —in fact, all the apparatus of agitators delegated by their regiments, of which Cromwell and the Independents had made such efiectual use to intimidate the
Parliament.  At a council of officers held at TWhitehall, on
the 22d of February, 1649, it was resolved to take severe
measures against these intrigues; and Fairfax issued general
orders to the army, forbidding all meetings and deliberations
as contrary to discipline, but recognizing the right of the
soldiers to petition, provided  they first informed their
officers of their intention to do so.' Lilburne immediately
published a pamphlet,2 under the title of " England's New
1 Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 383.
2 On the 22d of February, 1649. See Guizot's Etudes Biographliques, pp.
172, 173.




AND THE ENGLISH COM1MONWEALTH.                  57
Chains Discovered," in which he violently attacked this
abuse of power on the part of men who, not long before, had
so often authorized and stimulated their subordinates to
indulge in all the excesses of liberty.  At the samne time
five soldiers signed and presented to Fairfax a petition to
complain of the obstacles thus placed in the way of their
right of petition; "Be pleased to consider," they wrote,_
"that we are English soldiers, engaged for the freedom of
England, and not outlandish mercenaries, to butcher the
people for pay, to serve the pernicious ends of ambition and
will in any person under Heaven."'
Fairfax immediately referred this petition to the council of
war, which condemned the five soldiers to ride with their
faces towards their horses' tails in front of their respective
regiments, to have their swords broken over their heads, and
to be cashiered.  This sentence was carried into execution at
once, on the very day that the High Court of Justice condemned Lord Capell to death.  A few days after, Lilburne
published a new pamphlet, entitled " The IHunting of the Foxes
from Newmarket and Triploe Heath to Whitehall by Five
small Beagles, or the Grandie-Deceivers Unmasked;" a narrative at once burlesque and tragical of the petition and punishment of the five soldiers; and a burning invective against the
commander who had inflicted such chastisement upon them.
"Was there ever," says Lilburne in his introduction, "a
generation of men so apostate, so false, and so perjured as
these? Did ever men pretend an higher degree of holiness,
religion and zeal to God and their country than these? They
preach, they fast, they pray, they have nothing more freI Old Parliamentary History, vol. ix. p. 49; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p.
151; Whitelocke, pp. 383 —85; The Hunting of the Foxes from Newmarket
and Triploe hIeath to Whitehall by Five small Beagles, p. 17; Godwin's Illstory of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 45-559; Guizot's Etudes Biographiques
sur la Pie&olution dl'Angleterre, pp. 149 —!73.




58        HIISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
quent than the sentences of sacred Scripture, the name of
God and of Christ, in their mouths. You shall scarce speak
to Cromwell about anything but he will lay his hand on his
breast, elevate his eyes, and call God to record; he will
weep, howl, and repent, even while he doth smite you under
the first rib. *  *  It is evident to the whole world that
the now present interest of the officers is directly contrary
to the interest of the soldiers; if you will uphold the interest
of the one, the other must down; and as well may you let
them bore holes through your ears, and be their slaves for
ever, for your better distinction from freemen. For what are
you now? Your mouths are stopped, you may be abused
and enslaved, but you may not complain, you may not petition for redress. They are your lords, and you are their conquered vassals.  There must be no standing against the
officers; if they say the crow is white, so must the soldier;
he must not lisp a syllable against their treacheries and
abuses, their false musters, and cheating the soldiery of their
pay; that soldier that is so presumptuous as to dare to article
against an officer must be cashiered."',And at the same time that he thus denounced the officers to
the soldiers, Lilburne addressed to the Parliament the second
part of his "England's New Chains Discovered;" another
invective, equally furious and severe, in which he denounced
to the civil power the leaders of the army, who were laboring, and had ever labored, to possess themselves of the mastery.  "If your honorable House," he said, "should fail in
performing that supreme trust which is really and essentially
resident in your integrity, yet we shall not doubt but that
what we have here presented and published will open the
eyes and raise the hearts of so conscionable a number of the
soldiery and people in all places, and make them so sensible
lHunting of the Foxes, pp. 12, 13.




AND THE ENGLISH COIMMIONWEALTH.               59
of the bondage and danger threatened, as that these men,
this faction of officers, shall never be able to go through with
their wicked intentions."'
The Parliament and the General Council of officers were
equally irritated by these publications, and combined, against
their new enemies, the weapons both of revolutionary violence and of constituted authority. Petitions arrived from
several counties, expressing censure of the nascent opposition, and promising devoted adherence to the Parliament.
Various congregations of sectaries, Anabaptists and others,
sent to declare that it was against their wish that Lilburue's
pamphlet, " England's New Chains Discovered," had been read
in some of their meetings, and to express their entire disapprobation of it. Several regiments, at the suggestion of their
officers, formally protested against the rising rebellion. The
General Council of the army addressed to the House, on the
28th of March, 1649, a "humble petition," in which, after
demanding the redress of certain administrative abuses which
were injurious to the soldiers, they bore witness to the good
understanding which subsisted between the Parliament and
the army; and the House attached so much importance to
this proceeding that it returned official thanks to the petitioners. "This day," said the Speaker to them, in the name
of the House, "will be a day of much discontent to all the
common enemies of you and us; but to all good men, that
have engaged to carry on the good of the kingdom with us,
it will be a great rejoicing and satisfaction, by this your
modest and discreet petition. And, as in yourselves, it shows
your moderation, so all those whose mouths are open to
malice and detraction, will see that both the army and Parliament are unanimous in promoting the public good. The
Iilburne, England's New Chains Discovered, part ii. p. 16; Old Parlia.mentary History, vol. xix. p. 51; Whitelocke, pp. 385, 390; Godwin's History
of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 60; Heath's Chronicle, p. 430.




60         IIISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
things contained in your petition they consider as matter of
great concernment, and intend to take them into immediate
consideration; and as you have showed yourselves forward
and faithful in former services, thev have commanded me to
return you the heartiest thanks I can for these your discreet
and serious representations." And to sustain, by the energy
of its own resolutions, these public manifestations on the
part of its adherents, the House voted  that Lilburne's
pamphlet contained "much false, scandalous, and reproachful matter, highly seditious, and destructive to the present
Government;" that its authors and distributors were guilty
of high treason, and should be proceeded against as traitors;
and that the Council of State should be enjoined to carry
these resolutions into effect. The Council of State, on its
part, directed Milton to prepare an answer to Lilburne's
book; and on the following day, Lilburne himself, and his
three principal associates, ~William WValwyn, Thomas Prince,
and Richard Overton, were arrested and imprisoned in the
Tower.1
Evidently, the majority of the republican party, both in
the army, and throughout the country generally, with greater
good sense than consistency, disavowed factious opponents,
and wished to support its leaders and the Parliament. But
extreme factions are never conscious of their weakness, for
their feverish excitement makes them believe themselves
strong, and hope is always found associated with the courage
which leads men to brave martyrdom. From  his confinement in the Tower, Lilburne published, under the title of " A
Picture of the Council of State," a full narrative of his own
arrest and that of his companions, with details of their examination, defence, and imprisonment; a remarkable exhibiI Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 153, 168, 174, 177; Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 393; Godwin's IIistory of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 60, 343.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              61
tion of dignified pride and puerile bravado, of outspoken
honesty and absurd vanity. Apostrophizing Cromwell and
Ireton, he says: " Let them do their worst, I for my part bid
defiance to them, assuredly knowing they can do no more
to me than the devil did to Job. They have an army at
command, but if every hair on the head of each officer or
soldier were a legion of men, I would fear them no more than
so many straws, for the Lord Jehovah is my rock and defence, under the assured shelter of whose wings I am safe
and secure, and therefore will I sing and be merry. * *
Courteous reader and dear countrymen, excuse, I beseech
thee, my boasting and glorying, for I am necessitated to it,
my adversaries' base and lying calumniations putting me
upon it, and Paul and Samuel did it before me.' And so I
am thine, if thou art for the just freedoms and liberties of the
land of thy nativity, John Lilburne, that never yet changed
his principles from better to worse, nor could ever be threatened out of them, nor courted from them, that never feared
the rich or mighty, nor ever despised the poor or needy, but
always hath continued, and hopes by God's goodness to continue, semper idem."'
Lilburne did not limit his opposition to pamphlets, or to
invectives against a few eminent men; he had in his mind.certain moral and political ideas, very imperfectly systematized, but very popular among the lower classes, and which
he ardently hoped to render triumphant. Already, on the
26th of February preceding, he had committed them to writing, and presented them, in the form of an address, to the
House; as he was eager to oppose his own plan of government to that presented by the republican leaders, and to
bring his Commonwealth into competition with theirs. The
HIouse had received his address as the propositions of an
Lilburne's Picture of the Council of State, pp. 22, 23.
VOL. I.-46




62        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
enemy are generally received, and had not honored it with
any answer. WVounded at once in his self-love and in his
polical faith, Lilburne published, while in prison, and in concert with his companions in captivity, a new " Agreement of
the People of England," which contained a summary of their
views with regard to social organization, and would, as they
fondly hoped, bring into contempt that other Agreement
which, three months before, the Council of Officers had submitted to Parliament. Composed of thirty articles, Lilburne's
Constitution was not so different as he imagined from that for
which he aspired to substitute it; it was unlike it, however,
in several particulars, some of its arrangemnents being more
just and liberal, and others more futile and impracticable.
On the one hand, Lilburne gave far greater extent to the
rights and liberties of individuals, and especially to liberty
of conscience; on the other, he paid far less attention to the
means of government, and instituted, against abuses of
authority, many of those pretended guarantees which disorganize both society and government; for instance, he deprived the members of the existing legislative assembly of
the right of being elected to sit in the succeeding Parliament.
The republic of the General Council of officers could not have
existed for any length of time-that of Lilburne could not
even have begun to exist.'
At the very moment when he brought it forward, it received, from an originally obscure incident, a name which
was fatal to its success. A band of thirty men appeared in
Surrey, and announced that they would shortly number four
thousand. Everard and Winstanley, the former of whom
had once been a soldier, were their leaders. They began to
dig the ground, and deposit in it seeds and roots, calling to
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 151; Whitelocke, p. 3S4; Lilburne's
Agreement of the Free People of England.




AND T-HE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              63
them the people of the neighborhood, promising food and
clothing to all who should join them, and threatening to pull
down the palings of the adjacent parks. At the request of
the county magistrates, Fairfax sent two troops of horse to
arrest them. The leaders appeared before him with their
hats on their heads, and on being asked why they did not
remove them in the general's presence, replied, "Because he
is only our fellow-creature." Everard defended their conduct,
and asserted their rights. "We are," he said, "of the race
of the Jews; all the liberties of the people were lost by the
coming in of William the Conqueror, and ever since, the
people of God have lived under tyranny and oppression
worse than that of our forefathers under the Egyptians. But
now the time of deliverance is at hand, and God will bring
his people out of this slavery, and restore them to their freedom in enjoying the fruits and benefits of the earth. There
has lately appeared to me a vision, which bade me,'Arise
and dig and plough the earth, and receive the fruits thereof,
to distribute to the poor and needy, and to feed the hungry,
and clothe the naked.' 3We intend not to meddle with any
man's property, nor to break down any pales or enclosures,
but only to meddle with what is common and untilled, and
to make it fruitful for the use of man. But the time will
suddenly be when all men shall willingly come in and give
up their lands and estates, and submit to this community.
We will not defend ourselves by arms, but will submit unto
authority, and wait till the promised opportunity be offered,
which we conceive is at hand."'
These men called themselves the Diggers, but the public
named them the Levellers; and the name was immediately
applied to all the small groups, either in the army or in the
I Whitelocke, pp. 396, 397; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol.
iii. p. 82; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 29, 30.




64         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
country, who, influenced by political or religious ideas of a
variously anarchical nature, desired another republic than
that which was attempting to govern England, and gave it
their most strenuous opposition. In vain did Lilburne and his
friends protest against this name; in vain did they add to
their scheme of constitution an article formally declaring that
" no estates should be levelled, nor all things held in common."' The cognomen had a natural origin; scattered but
striking facts and speeches served from time to time to confirm its applicability; it continued to be used as the designation
of the whole party; and the republicans in possession of
power, both in Parliament and in the army, had the good
fortune that their revolutionary enemies were called the
Levellers.
The struggle daily bordered more closely upon war; the
slightest incident, whether serious or frivolous, might have
kindled it. By the external relations which he maintained,
and by the letters which he wrote, Lilburne, even while in
prison, continued to foment an increasingly-dangerous agitation, both in the city and in the army. On the 11th of April,
1649,2 the Parliament resolved to bring him and his three
companions to trial; a committee of councillors of state and
chief judges, presided over by Bradshaw, was appointed to
consult as to the form of procedure most suitable under the
circumstances; and six barristers were retained to plead
against the prisoners at the trial. Such formidable preparations excited the most passionate emotions among the partizans of Lilburne; the House was inundated with petitions
on his behalf, including one signed by ten thousand citizens
of London and its vicinity, and another presented by thousands of women, who thronged the approaches to Westminster Hall from day to day. To the first of these petitions,
I Whiteloclke, pp. 399, 400.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 183.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                  65
the House replied with severity, that the four prisoners
would be tried according to the laws, and that it expected
all persons in England to acquiesce in the judgment of Parliament. To the second petition, no answer was returned.
The women persisted.  "There was a design," they said,
"to fetch Lilburne and his fellow-prisoners out of the Tower
at midnight to Whitehall, and there murder them. The
House, by declaring the abettors of Lilburne's book traitors,
have laid a snare for people, as hardly any discourse can be
touching the affairs of the present time, but falls within the
compass of that book: so that all liberty of discourse is
thereby utterly taken away, than which there can be no
greater slavery."  In answer, the House bade the women,
"Go home and wash their dishes;" to which some replied:
" They had neither dishes nor meat left."'
In the midst of this excitement, eight regiments, four
of infantry and four of cavalry, were appointed by lot to
proceed to Ireland, where the civil war had recommenced.
The soldiers, who felt little inclination for such an expedition,
murmured violently; it was a difficult and an unpleasing
service, in a despised and detested country; and they were
to be sent thither without having had justice done them,
before either their arrears had been paid or their rights recognized, before the government of the country had been
firmly established, or the liberties of England definitely secured. A printed paper was immediately circulated through
the barracks and in the streets, calling on the soldiers to
claim their righl-lts, and in the meanwhile, not to stir. A
squadron of Colonel Whalley's regiment of cavalry, which
had not been appointed by lot for service in Ireland, received
orders to leave London; the men demanded previous satisI Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 178, 189, 196; Whitelocke, pp. 393,
396-398. Clement Walker's History of Independency, part ii. p. 106; Godwin's Ilistory of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 103.
6*




66        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
faction of their claims, seized upon their standard, and formally refused to obey orders. Fairfax and Cromwell hastened
to the spot, quelled the mutiny, sent off the regiment on
its march, and selected fifteen of the mutineers to be tried
by court-martial. Five of theml were condemned to death.
Lilburne immediately wrote to the Lord General, to protest
against the "exercise of martial law, against any whomsoever, in time of peace," and to remind him that the violation
of this principle "was one of the chiefest articles for which
the Earl of Strafford lost his head."  The republican general,
however, did not hesitate. "You must make an end of this
party," said Cromwell, in the Council of State, at the time
of Lilburne's arrest, " or it will make an end of you, and
you will be held the most foolish and ridiculous persons in
the world, to have been overcome by so contemptible a sort
of enemies."  Cromwell understood both how to flatter and
how to strike: without a moment's delay, four of the five
condemned mutineers were pardoned, and the fifth, Robert
Lockyer, was immediately shot in St. Paul's Churchyard.
He was a brave young soldier, a pious sectary, an enthusiastic republican, greatly beloved by his comrades; his death
produced upon them and their friends among the people, a
profound impression of grief and anger; his corpse was
watched, wept, and prayed over; and two days after, a procession as solemn as it was popular, conveyed it to the new
churchyard in Westminster. A hundred horsemen, five or
six abreast, went before the corpse; "the coffin was then
brought, with six trumpets sounding a soldier's knell; then
the trooper's horse came, clothed all over in mourning, and
led by a footman. The corpse was adorned with bundles of
rosemary, one half stained in blood; and the sword of the
deceased along with them. Some thousands followed in rank
and file; all had sea-green and black ribbon tied on their
hats, and to their breasts; and the women brought up the




AND TIIE ENGLISH  COIMMONWVEALTHI.               67
rear."  At the churchyard, a vast multitude of the better
class of citizens, who had not thought fit to march through
the city, awaited the arrival of the procession. It was the
general opinion that such a funeral was a great affront to the
leaders of the Parliament and army.'
Six days after this, news reached London, that insurrections had broken out at Banbury and Salisbury, in the regiments of Colonels Reynolds, Scroop, and Ireton; the soldiers
had driven away their officers, with the exception of a few
who had sided with them: and one of these, Captain Thompson, had published, under the title of "England's Standard
Advanced," a manifesto  demandinl   the abolition of the
Council of State and of the High Court of Justice, the election of a new Parliament, the adoption of Lilburne's plan
of government, and the immediate liberation of Lilburne and
his fellow-prisoners; and declaring that " if a hair of their
heads should perish, they will, God enabling them, avenge it
seventy times seven fold upon the tyrants."  Simultaneously
with this news, information was received that, at Oxford and
Gloucester, in the regiments of Colonels Harrison, Ingoldsby,
and Horton, the excitement was extreme; and that most of
the soldiers in those corps were already in correspondence
with the insurgents, and were quite disposed to march and
join them.2
It redounds greatly to the credit of the republican leaders,
both parliamentary and military, that, at this critical moment,
they exaggerated neither the evil nor the danger, but met it
with prompt and firm, though moderate measures. They
proceeded without fear or irritation, with faith in their right
I Whitelocke's Memorials, pp. 397-3899; Clecnent Walker's History of Independency, part ii. pp. 161-164; Cromwelliana, pp. 55, 56; Carlyle's Letters and Speeches of Cromwell, vol. ii. pp. 31, 32.
2 Clement Walker's History of Independency, part ii. pp. 168 —173; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 71.




68         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
and in their power, acting as a government against rebels,
and not as a faction against rivals.  The Parliament voted
that every attempt to overthrow, by action or writing, the
established government of the Commonwealth, the authority
of the House of Commons, or of the Council of State, or to
excite any sedition in the army, should be considered an act
of high treason; it enjoined its committee to terminate without delay the law against abuses of the liberty of the press;
it took measures for strengthening the internal police of the
city of London; and it ordained that Lilburne and his companions in the Tower should be separated from one another,
and that all visits, all communications from without, should
be forbidden them. This done, it remained calm, and left
the generals to act as they thought best.'
Fairfax and Cromwell, on their part, were anxious first of
all to make sure of the troops which they had with them,
for the mutiny had spread in every direction; they accordingly reviewed, in Hyde Park, the two regiments which they
commanded in person, and which bore their names. Cromwell spoke a good deal, sometimes to the troops generally,
and sometimes to individual soldiers. What could they do
better, he said, than adhere faithfully to the Parliament?  It
had punished delinquents; it had got a good navy afloat
which would effectually protect commerce; it had guaranteed
the exact payment of all that remained due to the army; it
had passed resolutions for bringing its own session to a
speedy termination, and for the assembling of future Parliaments; and as to martial law, whoever could not stand it
was not fit to be a soldier, and his best plan would be to lay
down his arms; he should have his ticket and get his arrears, just as those would who remained faithful to their
standard. One trooper only made some objections, in a
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 205, 207-209; Whitelocke's Memorials,
p. 401; Old Parliamnlentary Hfistory, vol. xix. p. 122.




AND THE ENGLISH COIMMONWEALTH.               69
very unbecoming tone. Cromwell had him arrested; but
immediately after, at the request of his comrlades, who answered for his future good behavior, he pardoned him, and
allowed him to resumne his place in the ranks. Some of the
men wore the sea-green badges of the Levellers, but they
tore them from their hats. Both regiments manifested the
utmost ardor; and, when the review was over, the two generals, full of confidence, set their troops at once in movement.l
Five days after, having marched nearly fifty miles in one
single day, they came up, at Burford in Oxfordshire, with
the insurgents, who were already somewhat dispirited by a
check which they had received at Banbury, where Captain
Thompson had begun the insurrection. Surprised and defeated by the vigorous attack of his colonel, Thompson's
troop had been dispersed, and he himself had found safety il
flight; a messenger, sent to the insurgents by Fairfax, had
moreover lulled them into false security, and they imagined
that negotiations would be opened with them. Cromwell
entered Burford suddenly, in the middle of the night, with
two thousand men, whilst Reynolds posted himself with a
strong party at the other extremity of the town, to cut off
the retreat of the rebels. They defended themselves for a
few moments, "firing some shots out of windows;" but soon
losing all hope, destitute of leaders, and scantily supplied
with ammunition, about four hundred of them surrendered,
and the others succeeded in making their escape. Fairfax
immediately assembled a court-martial, which decided that
the mutineers should be decimated. On the following day,
in Burford churchyard, Cornet Thompson, brother to the
chief leader of the insurrection, was brought out and shot
first. All those who were to suffer the same punishment
were on the leads of the church, witnessing the execution of
1 Cromwelliana, p. 56; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 32, 33.




70         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
their comrades, and awaiting their own turn. After Cornet
Thompson came a corporal, and then a third, who all died
with indomitable firmness, expressing sorrow for nothing
they had done, and themselves giving the signal to fire.
Cornet Dean was the fourth to be shot, a brave old soldier,
whom the General knew well; he expressed penitence;
Fairfax pardoned him, and no others were shot. Cromwell
went into the church, called down the rest of the condemned
mutineers, rebuked and admonished them, and reproached
them for having so wickedly imperilled the good cause-the
cause of God and of the country.  "They wept," says a
newspaper of the period; "they retired to Devizes for a
time, were then restored to their regiments, and marched
cheerfully for Ireland."'
Some bands were still roving about in Oxfordshire and
Northamptonshire: Captain Thompson rallied them, and
kept them together for a few days; but being vigorously
attacked by Colonel Butler, he was soon left alone, and fled
to a wood. Butler's soldiers pursued him thither; Thompson issued from his retreat, fell upon his assailants, killed or
wounded three of them, was wounded himself, fell back
again into the wood, and again desperately charged his pursuers, declaring he would never yield alive: whereupon, "a
corporal, with seven bullets in his carbine," shot him dead.2
With him ended the first and only serious insurrection of
the Levellers.
At this success, the Parliament manifested an excess of
joy which, for the first time, revealed its fears. The Speaker
received orders to address the formal thanks of the House to
Fairfax, Cromwell, and all their officers. Cromwell alone was
present when the vote was passed, and to him the Speaker
1 Cromwelliana, pp. 56, 57; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp.
33-35; Whitelocke, p. 402; Heath's Brief Chronicle, pp. 431, 432.
2 Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 403.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               71
addressed himself. Three members were appointed to pay
the same compliment to Fairfax. A day was named for a
solemn general thanksgiving; two celebrated preachers among
the Independents, John Owen and Thomas Goodwin, were
requested to prepare sermons for the occasion; and when the
day arrived, after having attended the religious services, the
whole House went into the city, to a public dinner of congratulation, to which the Lord Mayor and Common Council
had invited them. All the officers then in London, above the
rank of lieutenant, were present at this dinner. When the
members arrived at Grocers' Hall, the Lord Mayor presented
to the Speaker, who immediately returned it to him, the
sword which was borne before him-an honor which
had never been paid to any but the King; and at the banquet, the Speaker occupied the royal seat. Just as the guests
were about to sit down, the Earl of Pembroke, then simply a
member of the House of Commons, but who, in reward for
his baseness, and out of respect for his forrqer dignity, had
been placed next to the Lord General, called to Whitelocke
to take that seat as senior Commissioner of the Great Seal.
Whitelocke declined the honor. "What!" said the Earl, in
a loud voice, so as to be heard by all the guests, "do you
think that I will sit down before you? I have given place
heretofore to Bishop Williams, to my Lord Coventry, and my
Lord Littleton; and you have the same place that they had;
and as much honor belongs to the place under a commonwealth as under a king; and you are a gentleman as well
born and bred as any of them; therefore I will not sit down
before you."  Whitelocke yielded, with humble but satisfied
vanity; and Lord Pembroke received the praises, and with
them the contempt, of all the assembly.'
WVhitelocke, p. 406; Crom-welliana, p. 59; Letter of M. de Croulle to
Cardinal AMazarin, (June 21, 1649,) in the Archives des Affaires Etrangbres
de France. See Appendix I.




72         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
At the conclusion of the banquet, the Lord Mayor, on the
part of thecity, presented to Fairfax a basin and ewer of
beaten gold, worth one thousand pounds, and to Cromwell
plate worth five hundred pounds; and the House, delighted
at this flattering reception in a place where they had recently
found it so difficult to obtain the proclamation of the Comlmonwealth, returned official thanks to the Lord Mayor, and
appointed a special committee " to consider of some mark of
favor and respect " whereby the Parliament might express its
satisfaction with the city. Five weeks after, the House passed
an act for settling the new park of Richmond on the Mayor
and commonalty, and citizens of London, and their successors
forever;' thus offering the spoils of the King for the pleastires of the city.
The leaders, however, fell into no illusion with regard to
the daiingers which still threatened them; they were too close
observers of the people and the army to believe that the hopes
they had just crushed were really extinct; they had been firm
and calml during the struggle; they were prudent and moderate after the victory.  They made it their endeavor to satisfy
the legitimate or popular demands of the malcontents, or, at
least, to awaken hopes that those demands would eventually
be complied with. AMeasures were taken to secure the regular payment of the troops, to save the people from any abuse
of military billets, to assist wounded soldiers and their families, to procure some relief for prisoners for debt, and to supply the poor of London with work.2  Committees were appointed to report on the best means for improving the debased
coinage, and for rendering the civil procedure of the law
courts more expeditious and less onerous.3 A general amWhitelocke, pp. 406, 411; Leicester's Journal, p. 73; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 227, 263.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 155, 202, 208.
3 Ibid. pp. 154, 211, 22-1, 240, 244.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 78
nesty was also proposed;' and the question of the term and
system to be adopted for the election of a new Parliament
was frequently brought forward.2 Laws were passed, on the
one hand, for abolishing the constraints anciently imposed
on the faith and worship of various denominations of Christians, and on the other hand, for repressing licentiousness of
manners; for the opposition demanded at once more liberty
and greater severity.3  Nor were they content with general
measures and legislative promises; they were anxious to
show kindly dispositions towards the men who were most
deeply compromised. Several leading men in the Parliament
and army had conferences with the principal Levellers, with
a view to endeavor to come to some agreement with them as
to the reforms to be accomplished, and the means to be
adopted for carrying on the government.4  This spirit of conciliation extended as far even as to Lilburne himself. By
placing him  and his companions in solitary confinement,
they had been deprived of the liberty of conversation generally allowed to prisoners; this was now restored to them.s
One of the confidants of the dominant party, and even of
Cromwell himself, the Rev. Hugh Peters, went, apparently of
his own accord, and from a pure feeling of affectionate interest, to visit Lilburne in the Tower, to endeavor to mollify
him by suggesting to him  prospects of accommodation and
liberty. The prosecution which had been commenced against
him was postponed; his eldest son fell ill, paternal anxiety
triumphed over political stubbornness, and Lilburne wrote to
Henry Martyn, who had continued to regard him  with
friendly feelings, to request permission to leave the Tower' Ibid p. 195; Whitelocke, p. 398.
2 Commons' Journal, vol. vi. pp. 199, 207, 210.
3 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 245, 295, 359, 410, 474.
4 Whiteloeke's Memorials, p. 424.
5 Conmnos' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 2018, 210.
VOL. 7 —7




74         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
and visit his wife and children. Permission was granted
him, and this indulgence was afterwards almost habitually
extended both to himself and to his companions.' The republican Parliament really felt a strong desire to make a
sincere peace with the democratic and fanatical opposition
which it had vanquished, and to induce them to return into
the ranks of the party which, with all its forces united, was
scarcely strong enough to maintain itself and govern the
country, even by violence.
But there is nothing more indomitable than a narrow,
subtle, and vain mind, joined to a brave and honest heart.
Lilburne would, perhaps, though detesting them, have treated
with enemies whom he believed as sincere in their convictions as himself; but he despised his conquerors as ambitious, interested, and abandoned hypocrites. Even their
favors were, in his eyes, only concessions of their weakness,
or artifices of their perfidy. He treated Hugh Peters, when
he paid him a visit in the Tower, with coarse bluntness, and
repelled his insinuations as assaults or snares. Peters reproached him with having, by his attacks, caused the misfortunes of the late rebellion, and laid bare the wounds of
the Commonwealth. "If the sun shining upon the dunghill," answered Lilburne, "make it stink, whether is the
fault in the sun or the dunghill?1   And in the space of
three months, four new pamphlets bore witness to his indefatigable hostility.  One of these pamphlets, addressed " to
his honored friend, Cornelius HolIand, Councillor of State,"
was a public challenge to political discussion. "Let your
House," wrote Lilburne, "choose two men, I will choose two
more, and they shall have power finally to decide the business betwixt us; and I will be content they shall appoint
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 264, 292.
2 A Discourse betwixt Lieut.-Colonel John Lilbm-ne, close prisoner in the
Tower of London, and Mr. Hulgh Peters, upon Mny 25, 1649, p. 3.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                75
Cromwell, Ireton, Bradshaw, and all the orators or pleaders
they had against the King and the beheaded lords, or as
many of them as they please, to plead against me, and I will
have none but myself, singly, to plead my own cause against
them all, provided the debate may be public, and that I may
have free liberty to speak for myself; and if I cannot maintain mine own innocency and integrity, I will lose and forfeit all I have, yea, and my life to boot: but if you return
me not an effectual answer to my present proposition within
the next five days, I shall hold myself at liberty to do the
best I can for my own preservation, by anatomizing what I
know, either privately or publicly, of you or the rest of your
associates."' And in two pamphlets, in fact, one directed by
name against Cromwell and Ireton,2 and the other containing
a seditious provocation, addressed by ten city apprentices to
the soldiers of the army in general, and of Fairfax's regiment in particular,3 Lilburne took ample advantage of the
right which he had thus reserved to himself.
These provocations were not altogether ineffectual. A
new sedition broke out at Oxford, in Colonel Ingoldsby's
regiment: the soldiers arrested and imprisoned their officers,
including their colonel himself, who had been sent down in
all haste by the Parliament to repress the mutiny. They
chose a council of agitators from their own ranks, fortified
themselves in the buildings of New College, and from that
stronghold renewed all the demands of the Levellers. They
expected, they said, a reinforcement of six thousand men
from Northamptonshire, and as many more from the western
counties, and from Kent; and, indeed, in many places, and
I John Lilburne to his honored friend Mr. Cornelius Holland, p. 5.
2 An Impeachment of High Treason against Oliver Cromwell and Henry
Ireton, by John Lilburne. London, August 10, 1649.
3 An Outcry of the Young Men and Apprentices of London, August 29,
1649.




76         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
among several regiments, their example had its effect. Cornet Dean, whom Fairfax had recently pardoned in Burford
churchyard, reappeared at the head of a band. But the ill
success of the first insurrection, and the clement firmness of
the generals, had left a profound impression, both on the
army and the people, the movement succeeded neither in
gaining ground nor in prolonging its existence. The officers
who had been imprisoned at Oxford, quietly resumed their
authority, first over the very sentinels who were guarding
them, and next over the soldiers who were scattered through
the streets. Ere long the entire regiment made submission
to its colonel, and ten days after it had first broken out, the
rebellion was entirely quelled.'
But a new and most important fact then became known
for the first time.  When Hugh Peters paid Lilburne a visit
in the Tower: " Tell your masters, from me," said the prisoner to him, " that if it were possible for me now to choose,
I had rather choose to live seven years under old King
Charles's government, (notwithstanding their beheading him
as a tyrant for it,) than live one year under the present
government that now rule; nay, let me tell you, if they go
on with that tyranny they are in, they will make Prince
Charles have friends enough, not only to cry him up, but
also really to fight for him, and to bring him into his father's
throne."2  Two months after, in his " Outcry of the Apprentices to the Soldiers," Lilburne reminded the army that " the
apprentices ran in to their assistance, to uphold and maintain
the fundamental constitution of this Commonwealth, viz.,
the interest and right of the people in their Parliaments,
not engaging in the least against the person of the King, as
king, or with any thoughts or pretence of destroying, but
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 293; Whitelocke's Memorials, pp. 424,
428.
2 A Discourse between John Lilburne and Hugh Peters, p. 8.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                77
regulating, kingship."' These sentiments, and this language
had borne their fruit: the Levellers had entered into communication with the Cavaliers; and at the very moment
when the Oxford mutiny broke out, a letter was intercepted
from a Cavalier prisoner in the Tower, to Lord Cottington,
one of the intimate advisers of Charles II., in France, which
ran thus:
"All our hopes depend on his Majesty's seeming'compliaice with Lilburne and the Levelling party, whose discontents increase daily. As touching the state of affairs here,
his Majesty's friends have no possibility of embodying, unless the Levellers lead the way, which will be, I hope, suddenly put in execution. To that purpose, I desire some
assistance may be given me, for without supplies of money,
little can be expected, those I converse withal being either
extremely needy or covetous."2
The Parliament could not fail to turn such facts to its advantage; and it used them as its principal argument in a long
declaration, which it published against the Levellers, to justify
the more rigorous measures which it proposed to adopt against
them, and to strengthen the allegiance of its own partisans.3
Accordingly, combining action with words, it ordained that
Lilburne's trial should at once be proceeded with; and ap.
pointed an extraordinary commission of forty members to
preside over the sentence, though the right of pronouncing
upon the facts charged against the prisoner was left to the
jury.4
The relatives and friends of Lilburne-his wife, who loved
him tenderly, and shared his courage; and his brother,
Colonel Robert Lilburne, an officer greatly respected by both
I The Outcry of the Young Men of London, p. 4.
2 Old Parliamentary History, vol. xix. p. 193.   3 Ibid. pp. 177-200.
4 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 293.
7*




78        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the generals and the army-made every effort to save him
from this trial. He even manifested some desire to avoid it
himself, and offered to emigrate to the West Indies; but he
published at the same time a pamphlet, to explain the motives
of his departure, and keenly to debate the conditions on which
he would consent to leave his native land.' No answer was
returned to his proposition. Yielding to the entreaties of
his wife, he then consented to request a delay. But to this
application also he received no reply; the republican government had resolved to make a last effort against this insupportable enemy, and thought they were now sure to rid themselves of him.
The trial began at Guildhall, on the 24th of October, 1649.
Lilburne displayed all the resources of his mind, and all the
vigorous energy of his character, in making head against the
learned and subtle magistrates who were his judges-some
of them servile adherents of the government, and anxious to
trammel his defence; the others honest and upright men,
desirous to protect the prisoner in his just rights, but piqued
and irritated at every instant by his abrupt sallies, and by
the bitterness of his sarcasms or the violence of his invectives
against the power whose representatives they were. The
trial had lasted two days, and was approaching its termination, when Lilburne, turning suddenly towards the Jury, thus
addressed them:
"Gentlemen of the Jury —You are my sole judges, the
keepers of my life, at whose hands the Lord will require my
blood. And therefore I desire you to know your power, and
consider your duty, both to God, to me, to your own selves,
and to your country; and the gracious assisting spirit and
presence of the Lord God Omnipotent, the governor of heaven
and earth, and all things therein contained, go along with
This pamphlet is entitled " The Innocent Man's Second Proffer."




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               79
you, give counsel and direct you to do that which is just, and
for His glory 1"
" Amen! amen!" cried all the spectators with one voice.
The judges looked at each other with some uneasiness, and
requested Major-General Skippon to send for three more
companies of foot-soldiers. The Attorney-General Prideaux,
and the Lord Chief Justice Keble, who presided in the court,
renewed their endeavors to convince the jury that both justice
and necessity required the condemnation of the prisoner.
After they had deliberated three quarters of an hour, the clerk
of the court addressed the jury:-' Gentlemen of the jury, are you agreed of your verdict?"
" Yes."
"Look upon the prisoner; is he guilty of the treasons
charged upon him, or any of them, or not guilty?"
" Not guilty of all of them."
"Nor of all the treasons, or any of them that are laid to
his charge?"
" Not of all, nor of any one of them."
At these words Guildhall resounded " with such a loud and
unanimous shout as is believed was never heard before." It
lasted for half an hour, during which the judges remained
motionless on their seats, exposed to this wild outburst of
popular satisfaction. The prisoner stood calmly at the bar,
and it was observed that he appeared rather less haughty and
animated than before. When the tumult had in some degree
subsided, the clerk resumed:" Gentlemen of the jury, hearken to your verdict; the Court
has heard it. You say that John Lilburne is not guilty of
all the treasons laid unto his charge, nor of any one of them;
and so you say all?"
"Yes, we do so."'
State Trials, vol. iv. cols. 1270-1470.




80         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Lilburne was taken back to the Tower, followed by the
acclamations of the multitude; and during the whole of the
night, bonfires were lighted in the streets. The government
made an attempt to detain him still in prison; but in about
a fortnight the discontent of the people, and the efforts of
some, prudent or friendly members of the House of Commons
-among others, of Ludlow and Henry Martyn-obtained his
liberation.
The Parliament was greatly irritated by this defeat, which
was far more offensive to its self-love than dangerous to its
power; for though Lilburne escaped from its hands, it retained
its victory over the Levellers, who thenceforward gave up all
attempts to rouse the country and army to rebellion, and remained satisfied with conspiring in secret. But this very
victory was a futile one; the republican government derived
no increase of strength from its triumph; its enemies, the
King, the Cavaliers, and the anarchists, all fell beneath its
blows, and yet it found itself compelled to continue, and even
to aggravate, the severity of its proceedings towards them.
To the ancient statutes regarding treason, it added new clauses
of a more menacing character, for they provided that words
should be considered equivalent to overt acts, and punished
capitally.' Though the office of licenser of the press was
abolished, a law was passed enacting the most tyrannical prohibitions and inquisitions in reference to obnoxious publications; not only did it impose very heavy penalties on the
authors, printers, vendors, and distributors of seditious writings, but even the purchasers were bound, within twenty-four
hours, to surrender their purchase to the nearest magistrate.
It forbade all printing, except in the four cities of London,
Oxford, Cambridge, and York. The publication of journals
or collections of news, and the trade in books, both at home
I This bill was proposed on the 1st, and adopted on the 14th of IMay, 1649.
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 199, 209.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                  81
and abroad, were placed entirely under the control of the
government. All hawkers and public singers were suppressed,
and whenever any one was found exercising either of these
callings, he was seized, and taken to a house of correction to
be whipped as a common rogue; and a fine was inflicted on
every magistrate who neglected to fulfil this provision of the
law.' The publication of the proceedings and debates before
the High Courts of justice was stringently prohibited. In
contravention of the laws and traditions of the country, the
Hlouse of Commons, in several instances, constituted itself a
court of justice, and condemned offenders, whom it could not
hope to reach in any other way, to severe penalties, to exile,
to heavy fines, and even to the pillory.2 It enacted that no
Cavaliers, Catholics, military adventurers, or other suspected
persons, should be allowed to reside in London. When it
found itself unable to bring any legal action against enemies
of whom it stood in dread, it detained them arbitrarily in
prison. At the moment when Lilburne, acquitted by the
jury, took his departure from the Tower, a Presbyterian royalist, named Clement Walker, who had been expelled from
Parliament in 1648 with the rest of his party, published his
" Anarchia Anglicana," a passionate and partial history, but
full of important facts and curious anecdotes relative to the republican party and its leaders. Walker took Lilburne's place
in the Tower, and remained there untried until his death, which
took place in 1651.3 During that year, the Council of State
transferred to different towns five of the most distinguished
among the old Presbyterian leaders-Sir William Waller,
Sir William  Lewis, Sir John Clotworthy, Major-General
I This bill was proposed on the 9th of August, and adopted on the-20th of
September, 1649. Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 276, 298.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 354-356, 591; vol. vii. pp. 71-73, 75,
78, 79; Whitelocke, p. 340.
3 Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 347.




82        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Browne, and Commissary-General Copley; and this order reveals the fact, that they had been confined in Windsor Castle
ever since the establishment of the Commonwealth.'
All these severities did not succeed in inspiring the country, or even the republicans themselves, with faith in the
strength and security of the Commonwealth. They were in
full possession of power; they had deprived of all political
activity both the high aristocracy and the radical democracy
of their time-both the Royalists and the Levellers. Their
internal anxieties already tormented them far more than all
their enemies could have done.  Conquerors and masters,
they beheld arising in their midst a conqueror and a master
with whom they knew not how to dispense, and against
whom they were incapable of defending themselves. The
new-born Commonwealth already felt that Cromwell dominated over it; at every crisis of peril or alarm it had
recourse to him, and when the crisis was passed, it grew terrified at the credit and renown which he had acquired by
saving it; and Cromwell, on his side, whilst lavish in his
demonstrations of the most humble devotedness to the Commonwealth, gave continual expression to the aspirations of
his ambition and his pride. Henry Martyn, who lived on
terms of great familiarity with him, ventured one day, in the
House, obstinately to thwart him in some of his wishes in
regard to the army. Cromwell drew his dagger abruptly,
and clapping, it on the seat by him, expressed great anger
against, "Harry and his levelling crew."  On another occasion, in a more gay and friendly mood, he called Martyn
" Sir Harry;" upon which the republican arose, and bowing
profoundly, said: "I humbly thank your Majesty! I always
thought when you were king that I should be knighted."'
Ibid. p. 250; Order Book of Council, March 11, 1651.
2 Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 328; Mercurius
LPragmaticus, Feb. 27 to March 5; Cromwelliana, p, 53.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                83
The first year of the Commonwealth had not reached its
term, and yet already pamphlets were seized at Coventry,
entitled, "The character of King Cromwell;"l and on the
14th of June, 1651, M. de Croull1 wrote to Cardinal Mazarin:
"According to the belief of many persons, Cromwell is carrying his ideas beyond what would be warranted by the
most reckless ambition."' The republican leaders met with
no resistance in the government; but they stood alone,
forced continually to extend the limits of their power, in the
midst of irreconcilable enemies, whilst Cromwell grew in
greatness beside them, to work their ruin by acting as their
servant.
A desolating scourge, civil war, occurred to defer the
outburst of these elements of discord, and to restore for a
time to the Commonwealth that feverish unity and energy
which were the sole conditions of its existence.
I Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 434.
2 Archives des Affaires Etrangbres de France.








BOOK II.
STATE OF PARTIES IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND-CHARLES II. IS PROCLAIMED
KING-SCOTTISH COMMISSIONERS AT THE HAGUE-WAR IN IRELAND-CROMWELL ASSUMES THE COMMAND-HIS CRUELTY AND SUCCESSES-MONTROSE'S
EXPEDITION IN SCOTLAND-HIS DEFEAT, ARREST, CONDEMNATION, AND EXECUTION- CHARLES II. LANDS IN SCOTLAND-CROMWELL RETURNS FROM
IRELAND, AND TAKES THE COMMAND OF THE WAR IN SCOTLAND —HIS
DANGEROUS POSITION-BATTLE OF DUNBAR-CHARLES II. ENTERS ENGLANDCROMWELL FOLLOWS HIM-BATTLE OF WORCESTER-FLIGHT AND ADVENTURES
OF CHARLES II.-HE RETURNS TO FRANCE-CROMWELL RETURNS TO LONDONTRIUMPHANT SUCCESS OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
OF the three kingdoms which had owned the sway of
Charles I., England was the only one which contained a
republican party sufficiently strong to obtain a temporary
victory, and sufficiently bold to attempt to govern its conquest.  From'very different causes, Scotland and Ireland
both remained thoroughly royalist, but with dispositions and
under conditions which rendered them incapable of efficiently
supporting the King, with whom they neither could nor
would dispense. In neither of these two kingdoms, the
royalists properly so called, were dominant: in Scotland the
Presbyterians were the masters, and in Ireland the Catholics;-masters unequally tyrannical on account of the diversity of their positions, but equally malignant and blind, equally
led by their religious passions to overstep their political
designs, and unable either to estimate the rights and power
of their adversaries, or to measure their own pretensions by
their own real strength.  Both were divided: in Scotland the
VOLT.. —8




86        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
violent Presbyterians predominated both in the Parliament
and in the Church; but they had to contend with an opposition consisting of the moderate Presbyterians, who, in 1648,
had made war against the English Parliament on behalf of
Charles I., and who still reckoned numerous adherents, both
among the aristocracy and in the army. In Ireland, a large
portion of the Catholic aristocracy, from loyalty or from
prudence, frankly supported, in concert with the majority of
the Irish Protestants, the cause of the Protestant king; but
they were trammelled, at every step, by the passions, suspicions, and exactions, as natural as they were ill-advised, of
the Catholic population who marched beneath their banners.
And in both kingdoms, around the dominant party thus internally disunited, other parties were in agitation, attached
to contrary principles, inferior in numbers and influence, but
active, brave, and persevering. In Scotland, on the one
hand, were the pure royalists, who were so either from
adherence to the Anglican faith, or from devotion to the
principle of monarchy; and on the other, the independent
sectaries, who were in communication with the English republicans and their Parliament. In Ireland, on the one
handt were the intractable Catholics, who were hostile to
every Protestant government, whether monarchical or republican, and who opposed them both by turns, as their own
temporary interest suggested; on the other, a small number of
Protestant and republican English who had settled in Ireland,
and a rather large number of timid Irish Catholics, who
ranged themselves under the banner of the Parliament,
because they believed in its strength, and for the sole purpose of delivering themselves from the perils of a conflict
which could not possibly result in any victory to their own
most cherished cause.
The rivalries of their leaders aggravated the dissensions of
these parties.  In Scotland, at the head of the fanatical




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             87
Presbyterians, stood the Marquis of Argyle, a prudent, persevering, and crafty man, fond of power and fearful of danger,
a royalist more from tradition than from taste, more faithful
to his dependents than to his masters, chiefly anxious to
maintain his influence and secure his personal safety, and
skilful in gaining for himself, in the party to which he was
opposed, allies against his rivals. The execution of the Duke
of HIamilton in London, had deprived the moderate Presbyterians of their old leader, who was ill replaced by his brother,
Lord Lanark, who inherited his title and not his credit, and
by Lord Lauderdale, a servile courtier with an' independent
mind, passionately malignant although profoundly indifferent, and thoroughly corrupt, notwithstanding his fanaticism.
Montrose seemed born to charm and to command the pure
royalists, as he was by far the most brilliant, the most alluring, the boldest, the most devoted, and the most presumptuous
of them all.  And from the ranks of the Edinburgh bar
sprang up, for the small party of Scottish republican sectaries,
a leader whom the English Parliament might have envied
them; —Archibald Johnstone, Lord Warristoun, ardent, inventive, prompt, indefatigable, learned, and eloquent, with
all the subtlety of a knave, and all the sincerity of a martyr.
Ireland numbered among her leaders fewer men of eminence,
whose names have survived the age in which they lived.
More respected than he was feared or followed, the Marquis
of Ormonde, Viceroy of Ireland for Charles II., as he had
been for Charles I., presided over the efforts and discords of
the royalist party in that country, with inexhaustible though
often ineffective devotedness; and among the independent
Irish who attached themselves exclusively to neither Parliament nor King, Owen Roe O'Neil is the only one who, by
his successful audacity and his continual defections, has obtained any name in history. But a host of secondary leaders,
important then though unknown now, were at work either




88          HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
among the people, or near the Viceroy, ardently pursuing,
sometimes against their enemies, and sometimes against their
rivals, their own advancement, or the deliverance of their
faith and fatherland.
After the death of Charle's I., the royalist feeling triumphed,
at the outset, over these diversities and discords. At Edinburgh, on the 5th of February, and in Ireland, wherever
Ormonde was the master, Charles II. was proclaimed king.
The Parliament of Scotland had a new grievance against the
English Parliament: the Commissioners who had been ~ent
by it to London, first to advise, and then to protest, against
the judgment of Charles I., had been brutally arrested at the
moment when they were preparing to return to their country,'
and conducted under escort to the Scottish frontier, in order
to prevent any publication or communication with the people
on their parts.2  The conscience and the self-respect of the
Scots were alike offended.  Their Parliament decided that
Commissioners should immediately be sent to the new King
to invite him to return among them. Ormonde urged him
at the same time to come to Ireland, where he would find
three-fourths of the nation devoted to his cause; and the most
formidable of the Irish chieftains, Owen Roe O'Neil himself,
who had refused to treat with Ormonde, conveyed to
Charles, by a private messenger, the strongest assurances of
his fidelity.3
All these envoys arrived almost simultaneously at the
Hague, where Charles was residing, under the protection of
the Stadtholder, the Prince of Orange, his brother-in-law, and
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 452; Whitelocke, pp. 384, 385, 388.
2 Parliamentary History, vol. xix. pp. 16-36, 40-48; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 131-135, 145.
3 Whitelocke, pp. 381 —383, 389, 392; Laing's History of Scotland, vol.
iii. p. 436, Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 269-272, 282283, 304-306: Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. pp. 213, 231.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              89
treated with considerate though reserved respect by the StatesGeneral of Holland. I-e was there surrounded by his wisest
counsellors, those men whose advice the King his father, with
the experience of misfortune, had expressly recommended
him to follow-Lord Cottington, Sir John Colepepper, and
particularly Sir Edward Hyde, the last passionately attached
to monarchy and the Anglican Church, but a serious and able
man, who remained faithful in exile, as on his native soil, to
the religion, the laws, and the manners of his country. They
had strongly urged Charles neither to establish himself in
France, where they regarded the policy of Mazarin with
great suspicion, nor to join his mother, the Queen-dowager,
who resided partly at St. Germains, and partly at Paris, still
little loved by the true English whom she loved little, and
surrounded by Catholic priests and those frivolous and reckless courtiers, who, under the late King, had exercised, sometimes on the King's conduct, and always on the royal cause,
so fatal an influence.
The perplexity of Charles was great: the Commissioners
of the Parliament and Kirk of Scotland offered him very
rigorous conditions: they required that he should separate
from all his old friends, and especially from Montrose (who
was detested by all the Presbyterians), that he should proceed
almost alone to Scotland, that he should place himself entirely
in the hands of the dominant party, that he should sign
their Covenant of 1638, and, in short, that he should become,
whether sincerely or hypocritically, a Presbyterian with them
and like them. Although opposed to the fanatical Presbyterians, and while deploring their exactions, the moderate
men, Lord Hamilton and Lord Lauderdale, advised Charles
to resign himself to these conditions; and they insisted as
strongly as any that he should absolutely give up Montrose,
refusing to have any communication with him themselves,
and insolently leaving the King's cabinet when he entered it.
8*




90         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Montrose, in his turn, exhorted Charles to repel all these
pretensions, which would reduce him to servitude under the
pretext of restoring him to his throne, and to rely, for his
restoration to his kingdom, only on the sword; offering to
be the first to draw it, and to lead the van, in order to open
the way for him. Charles found the advice of Montrose the
most to his taste, though he did not altogether believe in
its soundness; but the Prince of Orange, backed by the
letters of the Queen-mother, and by the general opinion of
HIolland, strongly urged him not to adopt it, but on the contrary to accept the propositions of the Scottish Commissioners
-being unable to conceive that he should persist in refusing
a kingdom which thus sought his acceptance, for the sake of
supporting the Anglican Church and the bishops, who had
already cost the King his father his crown and his life.'
It was suggested to Charles, who as yet had neither said
nor done anything since the death of his father, that, on proceeding to Scotland, he should address a declaration to the
English people, to explain to them his views and feelings, to
revive the courage of his adherents, and to prevent any false
interpretations to which his conduct might give rise. Hyde,
who, in the council, had strongly opposed this step, was appointed to draw up the manifesto; but when he submitted
the draft to his colleagues, notwithstanding the extreme
pains he had taken to weigh every word of it, so many discordant objections were raised against it, and the impossibility of giving verbal satisfaction to the royalists of England without alienating those of Scotland and Ireland became
so evident that, by common consent, it was resolved to persevere in that silence which had at first been maintained by
instinct.
I Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. p. 238; Clarendon's History of the Re-.
hellion, vol. vi. p. 306.
2 Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 318-323.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 91
Difficulties soon wearied Charles: the prospect of the unpleasantnesses'and compromising falsehoods which awaited
him in Scotland was regarded by him with repugnance; he
started objections to the Scottish Commissioners, and gave
them an evasive answer, which was equivalent, for the moment, to a refusal. At the same time he gave Montrose a
secret commission, with the title of Lieutenant-Governor and
Commander-in-chief of all the royal forces in Scotland, authorizing him to levy men and money in Europe, wheresoever he could obtain them, and to attempt a royalist expedition in his own country, at all risks. Then, announcing his
resolution to proceed to Ireland, where nothing was required
of him but his presence, Charles actually embarked and sent
off, in two small ships, a portion of his suite and baggage:
but alleging the propriety, before leaving the Continent, of
going to France to pay a farewell visit to the Queen his
mother, he indefinitely postponed his own departure.'
In reality, and although, as far as the number and loyalty
of his partisans were concerned, his chief hope was in Ireland, he was by no means eager to repair thither, and thus
to show himself to the Protestants of England and Scotland,
surrounded by a Catholic people and army as his primary
supporters. But precisely for these reasons, Ireland, immediately after the death of the King, became the object of
serious attention and vigorous action on the part of the
republican Parliament. In that country most of all, it expected to witness the outbreak of a royalist war, and there
also it preferred to meet it. War against Ireland had always
excited passionate enthusiasm in England, in almost all parties. This hostility of race, religion, and politics had been
used against Charles I. with unfailing success; and from it
I Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. pp. 263, 345; Clarendon's History of the
Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 285, 306-309; Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose, pp.
338-360.




92         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the republicans hoped to derive the same advantages against
his son. As soon as it became known in London that he
had been proclaimed king in Ireland, and that Ormonde
rallied almost the whole nation beneath his standard, it was
resolved that he should be attacked there. At the same
time that they abolished kingship and suppressed the House
of Lords, the Commons voted 120,0001. a month for the support of an army of forty-four thousand men, a large portion
of whom were to be employed in Ireland; and the Council
of State received orders to confer with the General-in-chief
and his principal officers " concerning the modelling of the
forces that were to go into Ireland."'
Five days after, Scott stated to the House, in the united
names of the Council of State and the Council of War, that
the first measure to be taken for organizing the army and
modelling the war in Ireland, was the appointment of a
general to command the forces in that country. The House
referred this appointment to the Council of State. It was
thought that Lambert would be nominated, and most of
Cromwell's friends had seemed to indicate him as the proper
person to be selected. But some, with greater clearsightedness or quicker comprehension, unexpectedly proposed Cromwell himself, who was not present at the meeting. Being
immediately informed of this, he appeared surprised and
irresolute, and requested the Council of the army to name
two officers of each regiment to join with him in a religious
meeting for the purpose of invoking the Divine guidance in
so important a matter. The result of this meeting was that
he accepted the command, and the House confirmed his appointment. He signified his acceptance with great diffidence,
and many expressions of "his own unworthiness, and disaI Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 157, 159, 163, 170, 172, 182, 186, 188,
208; Whitelocke, pp. 385, 386, 391, 392.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                93
bility to support go great a charge, and of the entire resignation of himself to their commands, and absolute dependence
upon God's providence and blessing, from whom he had
received many instances of His favor;" and he desired the
House "that no more time might be lost in the preparations
which were to be made for so great a work: for he did confess that kingdom to be reduced to so great straits, that he
was willing to engage his own person in this expedition, for
the difficulties which appeared in it; and more out of hope,
with the hazard of his life, to give some obstruction to the
successor which the rebels (for so.he called the Marquis of
Ormonde and the Irish royalists) were at present exalted
with, that so the Commonwealth might still retain some footing in that kingdom, till they might be able to send fresh
supplies, than out of any expectation that, with the strength
he carried, he should be able, in any signal degree, to prevail
over them."'
The House complied with his wishes, and in the pains
which it took to insure the success of the war, we may
recognize at every step the provident solicitude and the
practical good sense of the leader whom it had appointed to
the command. To console Fairfax for his inactivity, he was
invested with the title of Generalissimo of all the Forces of
the Parliament, both in England and Ireland; Cromwell was
neither vain nor captious, and no one ever made greater concessions to the self-love of his rivals, especially when he was
laboring to supplant them. He obtained as his major-general
his son-in-law, Ireton, whose capacity, energy, and friendship
he had fully tried. The regiments selected for his expedition
formed a body of twelve thousand men; they were paid their
arrears, were well provided with arms and ammunition, and
I Whitelocke, pp. 390, 391; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi.
pp. 348, 349.




94          HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
measures, on which Cromwell strenuously insisted, were
taken to secure their regular recruitment. The accounts of
the officers were settled, and they received considerable sums
in advance of their pay. Other officers, who had abandoned
Lord Inchiquin when he declared for the royal cause, returned to the service of the Parliament, and were treated
with the same favor.  Ample provision was made for the
commissariat of the army. A number of vessels were placed
at the general's disposal, and ordered to cruise off the coast
of Ireland.  A  loan of 150,0001., specially devoted to the
necessities of this war, was opened in the City, and Cromwell
himself superintended its negotiation. The Committee of
Sequestrations was directed to press the payment of the
sums due from those royalists who had been admitted to
compound for their property, and these payments also had
Ireland for their destination. Cromwell's prudence extended
even beyond his special and warlike mission: a vigilant
patron of his friends, he recommended those of them who
had business to arrange with the Parliament to present their
petitions immediately, and he insisted that justice should be
done them before his departure. He obtained full justice
for himself with regard to the liquidation of his arrears, for
the settlement of his pay, which was considerable, and for
the various supplementary grants which he needed. Finally,
his commission secured to him the civil as well as the military command in Ireland, and its duration was fixed for three
years.'
Having thus made sure of his material forces, Cromwell's
next care was to provide means of moral action. The Commonwealth had few friends in Ireland: it was necessary,
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 183, 184, 226, 232, 235, 240, 243, 248,
253, 254, 267, 270, 281, 288, 300, 301, 321, 328, 331; Whitelocke's Memorials, pp. 399, 401, 404, 409, 410, 412, 415, 421, 423, 426, 430.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             95
therefore, to gain fresh adherents, or at least to thin the
ranks of the enemy. Cromwell learned that one of the most
influential and able men in Ireland, Lord Broghill-who,
after having served by turns the King and the Parliament,
had retired to his estates-had just arrived in London with
the intention of crossing over to Holland to offer his services
to Charles II. He sent one of his officers to say that he
would wait on him, as he was anxious to have some conversation with him. Lord Broghill was astonished, and imagined
that there must be some mistake, as he had not the honor of
knowing the General. But a few minutes after, Cromwell
arrived at his house, and, having first expressed the greatest
kindness and esteem for him, proceeded to inform him that
his designs were perfectly known, and that instead of proceeding to Spa for the benefit of his health, as his passport
purported, he was going immediately to Charles Stuart, for
purposes hostile to the Government. Broghill denied any
such intention.  Cromwell upon this assured him that he
had good proof of what he said, and that he could show him
his own letters to the purpose: "they have already been examined by the Council of State," he added, "who have made
an order for your being committed to the Tower; but I
have obtained a delay in executing the order, till I should
previously have conferred with you." Lord Broghill admitted everything, thanked Cromwell for his kindness, and
requested his advice. "I have obtained permission from the
Council," answered Cromwell, "to offer you a command in
the Irish war; you shall have the authority of a general
officer, no oaths shall be imposed upon you, and you shall
only be required to serve against the Irish Catholics."
Broghill manifested some reluctance, and desired some time
to consider the proposal. But Cromwell replied that that
was impossible, as, the moment he left him with the offer




96         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
unaccepted, he would instantly find himself a state prisoner.'
They parted good friends, and three months afterwards they
were both in Ireland serving the Parliament together.
About the same time there arrived in London some men
well known for their Catholic fervor-Sir Kenelm Digby,
Sir John Winter, and the Abb6 Montague, who had already
been frequently occupied in the affairs of Ireland, and who
had always placed the cause of the Church far above that of
the King. They were led to hope full liberty for their faith
and worship in Ireland, provided that the Catholics of that
country would disavow the temporal pretensions of the
Pope, and raise ten thousand men for the service of the
Commonwealth. Conferences took place through the medium of the Spanish ambassador: and to afford some test of
the disposition of the Catholics, a learned priest, named
Thomas White, in a pamphlet entitled, "The Grounds of
Obedience and Government," maintained that the people
might be released from their oath of allegiance by the evil
conduct of their governor, and that, when he was once deposed, the common good might require them to submit rather
than to attempt his restoration.  On the Continent Charles
II. and his counsellors grew alarmed, and warned Ormonde
to be on his guard. And they had good reason to do
so, for while this civil negotiation was being carried on in
secret in London, Monk, at the suggestion of Cromwell, had
concluded a suspension of hostilities with the great Catholic
chief, O'Neil, in Ireland: which suspension covered the engagement of O'Neil to lend his assistance underhand to the
operations of the army and generals of the Parliament. Cromwell had too unprejudiced a mind to underrate the strength
of the Catholics in Ireland; and with equal unscrupulous1 Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. p. 249; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 153-155; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii.
p. 95.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              97
ness, but greater secrecy than Charles II. had employed, he
prepared to conciliate them, if the Protestant Parliament and
public would permit him to do so, or to compromise and
divide them, if he were forbidden to make use of them.L
He also attempted to renew some friendly relations with
the Presbyterians themselves, his most recent and most ardent opponents —abstaining from all religious hostility to
them, and giving them to understand that, in his opinion,
their ecclesiastical system was the one which the State must
eventually adopt and maintain. Before his departure for
Ireland, he was anxious to make friends there, and to conciliate, or at least to pacify the enemies whom he left behind
him in England.
He still delayed his departure, however. Was he merely
desirous to wait until his troops had arrived, and were in
readiness in Ireland, before he appeared there himself; or
did he meditate some secret design? The Parliament began
to feel some anxiety, for it was chiefly to get rid of Cromwell, and to find employment for the army, that it had so
vigorously undertaken the Irish war, and made so many
sacrifices for its effectual maintenance. The foreign ministers resident in London strongly doubted Cromwell's intention to go at all. " People continue to say," wrote M. de
Croulle to Cardinal Mazarin, " that Cromwell will start at the
end of this month, at latest. The opinion which I have to
the contrary, is so conformable to that of many intelligent
persons, that I cannot retract it, and until I am convinced by
the news of his journey into that country, I shall persevere
in that opinion. It can hardly be possible that Cromwell,
who, according to the belief of many, carries his ideas beyond even the suggestions of the most undisciplined ambition, can resolve to abandon this kingdom to the mercy of
I Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. pp. 216 —222.
VOL.. —9




98         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the plots which may be formed in his absence, and which
his presence can prevent from being so much as undertaken."'
But, in the beginning of June, Ormonde entered the field,
and, notwithstanding the dissensions of his party, and the
wretched organization of his army, his successes were so
rapid, that at the end of the month, Londonderry and Dublin were the only towns in Ireland which remained faithful
to the Parliament. Cromwell took his resolution. On the
10th of July, a large number of his friends met at Whitehall; three ministers invoked the Divine blessing on his
arms; and Cromwell himself, after two of his officers, Goffe
and HIarrison, had spoken, commented on several texts of
Scripture which were appropriate to his undertaking. On
the same day, at five o'clock in the evening, he set out for
Bristol, "in that state and equipage," says a newspaper of
the time, "as the like hath hardly been seen; himself in a
coach, with six gallant Flanders mares, whitish-gray; divers
coaches accompanying him, and very many great officers of
the army; his lifeguard consisting of eighty gallant men,
the meanest whereof a commander or esquire, in stately
habit, with trumpets sounding. Of his lifeguard, many are
colonels, and, believe me, it's such a guard as is hardly to be
paralleled in the world. And now, have at you, my lord of
Ormonde! you will have men of gallantry to encounter,
whom to overcome will be honor sufficient, and to be beaten
by them will be no great blemish to your reputation. If
you say,' Cesar or nothing!' they say,'A Republic or nothing!' "2
On reaching Bristol, and from motives which it is impossible to ascertain, Cromwell remained there nearly a month,
I Letter of the 14th June, 1649; Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de
France.
2 Cromwelliana, p. 62; Whitelocke, p. 413.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              99
going and coming between the different ports along the
coast, superintending the embarkation of his troops, and
receiving numerous visitors. The people thronged from the
surrounding country to see him. His wife and several members of his filmily came to pass a few days with him. He
seemed still to hesitate, and to quit the soil of England with
great doubtfulness and effort.'
News, however, arrived from Ireland, which put an end
to his lingerings. Before marching upon Dublin, Ormonde
had written to the governor, Colonel Michael Jones, who
had, until then, been regarded as a moderate Presbyterian,
urging him "to leave that pretended Parliament, who had
murdered their King, and would introduce anarchy," and
promising him great rewards, if he would return to the royal
cause. Jones answered, " that he understood not how his
lordship came to that power; that the Parliament of England
would never have consented to such a peace as his lordship
had made with the rebels, without any provision for the Protestant religion; that he knew not how that could be established by an army of Papists; and that he had rather suffer
in his trust, than purchase to himself the ignominy of perfidy
by any advantage offered to him." Ormonde encamped before Dublin, hoping to reduce the place, as its garrison was
weak, and he had adherents among the inhabitants. But, at
the end of July, Cromwell's vanguard, assisted by a favorable wind, entered the port of Dublin, in spite of Ormonde's
endeavors to prevent it. The garrison, thus strengthened,
revictualled, and inspirited, demanded some bold action of
its commander; and, on the 2d of August, Jones made so
unexpected, so vigorous, and so successful a sortie against
the camp of the besiegers, at the village of Rathmines, that,
notwithstanding the desperate efforts of the superior officers
Carlyle, Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 37.




100        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
and of Ormonde himself, the whole of the royal army was
thrown into disorder, put to rout with considerable loss, and
obliged to raise the siege.'
Whatever may have been the cause of his delay in quitting
England, it did not suit Cromwell's purpose that another
should have the honor of subjugating Ireland. On the day
following the arrival of this news, he set out; and as soon as
he had embarked, while still in the port of Milford Haven,
careful to show himself one of the foremost to celebrate the
victory of Colonel Jones, he wrote to his friend, Richard
Mayor, whose daughter had just been married to his eldest
son Richard: "The Marquis of Ormonde b'esieged Dublin
with nineteen thousand men or thereabouts; seven thousand
Scots and three thousand more were coming to join him in
that work. Jones issued out of Dublin with four thousand
foot and twelve hundred horse; hath routed this whole army;
killed about four thousand upon the place; taken 2,517
prisoners, above three hundred of them officers, some of
great quality.2 This is an astonishing mercy; so great and
seasonable that indeed we are like them that dreamed.
What can we say? The Lord fill our souls with thankfulness, that our mouths may be full of his praise-and our
lives too; and grant we may never forget his goodness to us.
These things seem to strengthen our faith and love, against
more difficult times. Sir, pray for me, that I may walk
worthy of the Lord in all that he hath called me unto 1"
And this outburst of patriotic piety concludes by this trait
of paternal solicitude: " I have committed my son to you;
pray give him advice. I envy him not his contents; but I
fear he should be swallowed up in them. I would have him
I Whitelocke, pp. 391, 419, 420; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 175, 278;
Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 340-345.
2 These round numbers are all greatly exaggerated. See Carte's Ormonde
Letters, vol. ii. pp. 403, 407-411.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               101
mind and understand 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."'
Cromwell always manifested the greatest interest in his
children, their temporal affairs as well as their moral tendencies; and in this, as in everything that concerned him, he
brought his provident and dominant activity into constant
exercise.
He arrived in Dublin two days afterwards, on the 15th of
August, and was received with all possible demonstrations
of joy. The population crowded out to welcome him, with
mingled kindness and curiosity. When nearly in the heart
of the city, where the concourse was greatest, he halted; and,
rising in his carriage, with his hat in his hand, made a speech
to the people. "He did not doubt," he said, "that, as God
had brought him thither in safety, he would be able, by
Divine Providence, to restore them all to their just liberties
and properties; and," he added, "that all persons whose
hearts' affections were real for the carrying on of this great
work against the barbarous and bloodthirsty Irish and their
confederates and adherents, and for propagating of Christ's
Gospel, and establishing of truth and peace, and restoring of
this bleeding nation of Ireland to its former happiness and
tranquillity, should find favor and protection from the Parliament of England and him, and withal receive such rewards
and gratuities as might be answerable to their merits." This
speech was received by the people with shouts of " We will
live and die with you!"2 On the following day, a military
and puritanic proclamation indicated the character of his' Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 44, 45,
2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 48.
9*




102       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
government; after reciting "the great mercies of God to the
city of Dublin, particularly in the late defeat given to the
rebels who encompassed it round about," he expressed his
astonishment to learn that, "notwithstanding the goodness
of God to them, yet by profane swearing, cursing, and drunkenness, his holy name is daily dishonored and blasphemed,
contrary to the laws of God and the known laws of the land,
and to the articles of war;" he enjoined the mayor and magistrates of the city, as well as the officers of the army, " to
put in due execution the laws against such offenders;" and
he finally declared that he would " punish the neglect and
contempt of his proclamation with the severest penalties of
the law."'
No sooner had his troops rested a few days than he entered
the field, but with intentions very different from those he had
professed at a distance, whilst his expedition was in preparation. As soon as he was in Ireland, on the theatre of war
and in the midst of the combatants, Cromwell became convinced that the prejudices and animosities of the English
against the Irish, of the Protestants against the Catholics, of
the Republicans against the Royalists, were there fierce and
uncontrollable passions, which might be used with powerful
efficacy so long as they were allowed free course, but which
permitted no politic calculations or wary compromises. He
accepted this conclusion without hesitation, as a fact which
admitted of no discussion, and determined to take full advantage of it. The instructions and examples which he received
from London urged him rather to pursue this course than
otherwise. The news from Ireland, and particularly Jones's
victory at Dublin, and the confidence which it inspired, dissipated all the schemes of negotiation with the Irish and the
Catholics, which had recently been in contemplation. The
Parliament severely disavowed the suspension of hostilities
Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 423.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             103
which Monk had concluded with O'Neil, and the political
leaders who had secretly incited Monk to take this step, felt
themselves obliged to be the first to blame his act, in order
to succeed afterwards in getting him excused because of his
intention. A few days later, the House voted that Sir Kenelm Digby and Sir John Winter-those ardent Catholics
whom it had allowed, and almost invited, to come to London,
that it might secure their co-operation in Ireland, at the
price of the liberty of their faith and worship —were dangerous men, whom it was necessary to dismiss without delay;
and they were ordered to leave England immediately on pain
of death and the confiscation of their property if they ventured to return thither.' All tendency to compromise, from
motives of either justice or prudence, had disappeared; and
in the councils of England, as in the army in Ireland, religious and political fanaticism alone prevailed.
It was. under these sombre auspices that Cromwell marched
from Dublin, on the 31st of August, at the head of about ten
thousand men, to lay siege to Drogheda, the most important
town in the province of Leinster. Ormonde, on retiring from
the siege of Dublin, had thrown into this town a garrison of
three thousand men, nearly all English, commanded by Sir
Arthur Ashton, an old wooden-legged officer, of tried courage
and fidelity, in the hope that it would long arrest the progress of the enemy. After employing six days in preparing
for the siege, Cromwell summoned the governor to surrender, and on his refusal, on the 10th of September, the storm
commenced. The first attack, although vigorous, failed, with
great loss to the assailants; Colonel Castle and several other
officers were killed in the breach. Cromwell headed the
second attack himself, and, notwithstanding the energetic
resistance of the besieged, the entrenchments were carried in
succession, as well as the towers and churches of the town,
i Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 277, 289; Whitelocke, pp. 419, 422, 423.




101        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
to which the most obstinate had retreated.  " In the heat of
action," wrote Cromwell to the President of the Council of
State and to the Speaker of the I-ouse of Commons, "I forbade our men to spare any that were in arms in the town;
and, I think, that night they put to the sword about two
thousand men, among whom were the governor, Sir Arthur
Ashton, and divers considerable officers. The next day the
two towers were summoned, 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 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. I believe all
their friars were knocked on the head promiscuously. I am
persuaded that this is a righteous judgment of God upon
these barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in
so much innocent blood; and that it will tend to prevent the
effusion of blood for the future;-which are the satisfactory
grounds to such actions, which otherwise cannot but work
remorse and regret.
"P. S.-The following officers and soldiers were slain at
the storming of Tredah: The governor, one colonel, two
lieutenant-colonels, one major, eight captains, eight lieutenants, and eight cornets-all of horse; three colonels, with
their lieutenants and majors, forty-four captains, and all their
lieutenants, ensigns, &c.; 220 reformadoes and troopers;
2500 foot soldiers, besides staff-officers, surgeons, &c., and
many inhabitants."'
According to other reports, by royalist and even parliaCarlyle, Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 56-68; Old Parliamentary IIistory, vol. xix. pp. 201-210; Whitelocke, pp. 424-427.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                105
mentary writers, not only did the carnage last two days, but
officers who were discovered after the lapse of five or six
days, during which they had been concealed by the humanity
of some of the soldiers, were put to death in cold blood; and
at the moment of the massacre, women and children met
with the same fate as armed men.  "It was," says a contemporary panegyrist of Cromwell, " a sacrifice of three thousand
Irish to the ghosts of ten thousand English, whom they had
massacred some years before."'
The sacrifice did not produce the effect which Cromwell
had anticipated would justify it; it did not suffice to prevent
the further effusion of blood; another such example had to
be made. Wexford, a month afterwards, defended itself with
the same obstinacy as Drogheda, and witnessed a similar massacre. Other places, it is true, from intimidation or treachery,
surrendered: Cork, Ross, Youghal, and Kilkenny, submitted
without resistance; but other places again, Callan, Gowran,
and Clonmel, made a bold defence; and some, Waterford for
instance, resisted so vigorously that Cromwell was obliged to
raise the siege. And, even where success seemed won most
easily, it was sullied by acts of wanton cruelty: at Gowran
the soldiers obtained their lives on surrendering the place,
but on the condition of giving up their officers, wl o were all
put to death. The Bishop of Ross was hanged in his episcopal robes, under the walls of a fortress defended by his
troops. Clonmel made an heroic resistance, and when at
length it surrendered, Cromwell found not a single man belonging to the garrison in it; whilst he was signing the
articles of capitulation with the inhabitants, they had left the
town by night with their arms and baggage, to recommence
the war elsewhere.2
] Old Parliamentary History, vol. xix. p. 210; Clarendon's History of the
Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 396; Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 129.
2 Carlyle, Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 50-166; Commons'




106        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
It is the ordinary artifice of bad passions to impute the
cruel satisfaction with which they glut themselves, either to
some great idea whose accomplishment they are earnestly
pursuing, or to the absolute necessity of success. History
would be dishonored by admitting these lying excuses: it is
her duty to refer evil to its source, and to render to the vices
of mankind that which is their due.
Human fanaticism also lies, or allows itself to be deluded
by pride, when it pretends to be the executor of the high
decrees of Divine justice: it is not the office of man to pronounce upon nations the sentences of God.
Cromwell was not bloodthirsty; but he was determined
to succeed rapidly and at any cost, from the necessities of
his fortune, far more than for the advancement of his cause:
and he denied no outlet to the passions of those who served
him. He was an ambitious and selfish, though really great,
man, who had narrow-minded and hard-hearted fanatics for
his instruments.
His great and true means of success did not consist in his
massacres, but in his genius, and in the exalted idea which
the people had already conceived of him. Sometimes by
instinct, sometimes from reflection, he conducted himself in
Ireland towards both his friends and his enemies with an
ability as pliant as it was profound; for he excelled in the
art of treating with men, and of persuading, or seducing, or
appeasing those even who naturally regarded him with the'
greatest distrust and aversion. At the same time that he
gave up to murder and pillage the towns which fell into his
hands, he maintained in other respects the severest discipline
in his army, not suffering it to do the inhabitants any wrong,
and taking care that it paid for all it consumed. That very
man who boasted that at Drogheda "all the friars were
Journals, vol. vi. pp. 314, 323; Whitelocke, pp. 433, 434, 456; Godwin's
History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 151-161.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               107
knocked on the head promiscuously," and who always pompously excepted the Catholics from his promises of Christian
toleration, that very man maintained, by means of Irish
monks, a most active police among his enemies, who kept
him always well informed of their designs and movements,
and were sometimes influential enough to procure their
failure by promoting dissensions among them. He labored
incessantly to detach all men of importance from the royal
cause, and he even carried his attempts of this sort, unsuccessfully of course, as far as the Marquis of Ormonde himself, for whom he openly professed the highest esteem, and
frequently asked: "What Lord Ormonde had to do with
Charles Stuart, and what obligations he had ever received
from him?" Towards the Parliament his behavior was very
independent, but without vanity or bluster; his language,
on the contrary, was deferential even to humility: after the
capture of Ross, he wrote to the Speaker of the House of
Commons: " Having given you this account, I shall not
trouble you with particular desires. Those I shall humbly
present to the Council of State. Only, in the general, give
me leave humbly to offer what in my judgment I conceive
to be for your service, with a full submission to you. We
desire recruits may be speeded to us. The forces desired
will not raise your charge, if your assignments already for
the forces here do come to our hands in time. Wherefore I
humbly beg that the moneys desired may be seasonably
sent over; and those other necessaries, clothes, shoes, and
stockings, formerly desired; that so poor creatures may be
encouraged; and through the same blessed presence that has
gone along with us, I hope, before it be long, to see Ireland
no burden to England, but a profitable part of its Commonwealth."'
I Carlyle, Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 99 —100; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 427, 428; Whitelocke, p. 426;
Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 151.




108        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
It was not long before he discovered and put into practice the most effectual means for succeeding in this object.
When he perceived that, notwithstanding some partial successes, he would never be able to disorganize the royalist
party in Ireland, by depriving it of its leaders, he turned his
attention towards the soldiers; they were numerous and
brave, but for the most part utterly destitute and despondent. He published throughout the country that they were
free to go and serve abroad; and that he authorized all the
officers, or any other persons who chose to engage in the
undertaking, to levy as many men as they could find, and
to convey them out of Ireland for the service of the Continental powers. He communicated this permission to the
Ministers of France and Spain in London., Numbers of
royalist officers, both English and Irish, without employment
or resources, saw a future thus opened to them, and offered
their services to the foreign agents, for levying regiments
and transporting them into France or Spain. Don Alonzo
de Cardenas, the Spanish ambassador in London, and Cardinal Mazarin, eagerly availed themselves of this offer; in a
few months, nearly twenty-five thousand Irish were enrolled
for Spain, and twenty thousand for France, and that Catholic
territory on which Ormonde found it very difficult to keep
together a body of eight or ten thousand men, for the King's
service, furnished more than forty thousand soldiers, hostile
to the Parliament, for the service of France and Spain.'
So many successes, both military and political, gained so
rapidly, and so skilfully extolled by his zealous friends,
soon caused the Parliament almost as much alarm as they
had won it security. Cromwell in London was, at every
moment, a subject of embarrassment; but Cromwell, so
powerful and glorious in Ireland, seemed more dangerous
] Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 428-431; Cromwell's
Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 163.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    109
and threatening still. Moreover, a report was current that
Charles Stuart, in consequence of fresh negotiations with the
Scots, was on the point of proceeding to Scotland. Cromwell
would probably be needed in that direction. On the 8th of
January, 1650, it was determined that he should be recalled,
and the Council of State was ordered to inform him of this
resolution. He was then in winter-quarters, scarcely recovered from a rather severe illness. He suddenly re-entered
the field, and vigorously recommenced his marches and sieges
in various parts of Ireland. On the 25th of February, letters
were read from him, in the House of Commons, announcing
new successes. It was voted first, that a letter of thanks
should be sent to him, and next that, on his return to London, he should "have the use of the lodgings called the
Cockpit (a portion of the palace of Whitehall), of the Spring
Garden and St. James's House, and the command of St.
James's Park."  Cromwell's wife and family, with considerable reluctance, made preparations for removing to their
new abode; as for Cromwell himself, he continued to remain
and conquer in Ireland. At length, on the 2d of April, he
thus wrote to the Parliament:" I have received divers private intimations of your pleasure to have me come in person to wait upon you in England; as also copies of votes of the Parliament to that purpose. But considering the way they came to me was but by
private intimations, and the votes did refer to a letter to be
signed by the Speaker, I thought it would have been too
much forwardness in me to have left my charge here, until
the said letter came; it being not fit for me to prophesy
whether the letter would be an absolute command, or having
limitations with a liberty left by the Parliament to me, to
consider in what way to yield my obedience. Your letter
came to my hand upon Friday the 22d of March, the same
day that I came before the city of Kilkenny. And I underVOL. I. —10




110       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
stood by Dr. Cartwright, who delivered it to me, that reason
of cross winds, and the want of shipping in the WVest of
England where he was, hindered him from coining with it
sooner; it bearing date the 8th of January, and not coming
to my hands until the 22d of March.
"The letter supposed your army in winter quarters, and
the time of the year not suitable for present action; making
this as the reason of your command. And your forces have
been in action ever since the 29th of January; and your letter, which was to be the rule of my obedience, coming to my
hands after our having been so long in action, with respect
had to the reasons you were pleased to use therein, I knew
not what to do. And having received a letter, signed by
yourself, of the 26th of February, which mentions not a word
of the continuance of your pleasure concerning my coming
over, I did humbly conceive it much consisting with my duty,
humbly to beg a positive signification what your will is; professing (as before the Lord), that I am most ready to obey
your commands hereip with all sincerity; rejoicing only to
be about that work which I am called to by those whom God
hath set over me, which I acknowledge you to be; and fearing only in obeying you, to disobey you. I most humbly
and earnestly beseech you to judge for me, whether your letter doth not naturally allow me the liberty of begging a more
clear expression of your command and pleasure; which, when
vouchsafed unto me, will find most ready and cheerful obedience."'
He had gained as much time as he wished, and while he
was delaying, the course of events was such as to render his
return to London a new source of power and greatness to
him.
When Charles II., after having left the Hague to pay a
Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 157, 158.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 111
visit to the Queen, his mother, at St. Germains, received
certain information that Cromwell had assumed the government of Ireland, he hesitated more and more to proceed
thither, as he was unwilling to risk his future and his life
upon so dangerous a ground, and against so formidable an
adversary.  He spent three months at St. Germains, a monotonous residence, which the Court of France took little
pains to render agreeable to him, and the ennui of which the
imperious ill-temper of his mother did not tend to dissipate.
At the news of Ormonde's defeat before Dublin, the young
prince's first impulse was to set out at once for Ireland, and
take his personal share in the struggle. To those who told
him that it would be imprudent for him to go thither to share
in defeat, he replied: " Then must I go there to die, for it is
disgraceful for me to live anywhere else."  " This speech appeared to proceed from a noble heart," says Madame de Motteville, who lived on almost as intimate terms with Queen
Henrietta Maria as with Anne of Austria; " the greatest men
of antiquity never spoke better; but young people pass
easily from this rigid virtue into laxity; they afterwards endure with indifference those very evils which at first appeared
to them the most insupportable in life, and the pleasures
which they meet with in life are the cause of this. So it happened in the case of this prince."' tIis own courtiers were
not long in estimating the character of their sovereign.
"Foreign princes," wrote one of them to the Marquis of Ormonde, " begin to look upon him as a person so lazy and careless in his own business, that they think it not safe, by contributing anything to his assistance,to irritate so potent enemies as they fear his rebellious subjects are like to prove."2
Charles soon experienced- the effects of this feeling; Cardinal
i AM6moires de Madame de MIotteville, vol. iii. pp. 329, 333; in Petitot's
Collection.
2 Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. p. 319.




112       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Mazarin gave him clearly to understand that his prolonged
residence at St. Germains was becoming a source of embarrassment to the Court of France, which had no wish to quarrel with the Commonwealth of England. Queen Henrietta
Maria herself, who stood in great need of Mazarin's favor,
urged her son to take the Cardinal's hint, without requiring
a more precise explanation of his wishes; and about the middle of September, 1649, Charles set out, through Normandy,
for the island of Jersey, the only part of his dominions of
which he still retained possession.'
No sooner had he arrived there than he received intelligence
of the disaster of Drogheda, and almost at the same moment
the Parliament of Scotland sent to request him to resume the
negotiations which had been opened at the Hague for his return
to his kingdom. Since the failure of that first attempt, the general feeling of the Scottish people in favor of the King had not
ceased to manifest itself; several insurrections of the pure
royalists had occurred in various parts of the kingdom; and
although the Presbyterian Parliament had promptly repressed
them, its leaders, Argyle amongst others, were convinced that
they could not refrain from making another serious effort to
induce Charles to return, or at least attempting a striking
demonstration of their willingness to receive him. The propositions which their envoy, Lord Winram, of Liberton,
brought to Jersey, were in substance the same, and to the
full as harsh, as those which Charles had recently rejected at
the Hague; but his position was now less advantageous; his
enemies- were triumphant in England and Ireland; from
Paris and the Hague, his mother and brother-in-law urged
him more strongly than ever to accept the proposition of the
Scots, one writing to him that the Court of France, and the
other that the people of Holland, were decidedly of opinion
I Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 351-354.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                113
that he should do so. Charles wished to consult Ormonde.
Ormonde replied that there was no possible ground for hope
unless they could succeed in bringing about a war between
England and Scotland, and thus operating a diversion which
would enable the Irish royalists to take breath and attempt
fresh efforts. Nearly all the most trusted counsellors of
Charles, who were with him at the time, held the same
opinion. He yielded to their unanimous advice, and, either
because Jersey seemed an inconvenient place for negotiating,
or in order to gain more time, he appointed the Scottish
Commissioners to meet him at Breda, a town in the private
domain.of his brother-in-law, the Prince of Orange, where he
felt himself perfectly free and safe. But as he felt neither
satisfaction nor confidence in the negotiation to which he had
submitted, he-wrote to Montrose, who was then busy raising
money and men in Germany: " I entreat you to go on vigorously, and with your wonted courage and care, in the prosecution of those trusts I have committed to you, and not to be
startled with any reports you may hear, as if I were otherwise inclined to the Presbyterians than when I left you. I
assure you I am upon the same principles I was, and depend
as much as ever upon your undertaking and endeavors for
my service.'"
Montrose did not require to be stimulated to activity; passionately proud and devoted to his King, he had confidence
in his cause, in himself, and in his destiny. A popular prediction had affirmed that he-would restore the King to his
throne; and he had been supplied by Charles with all the
powers necessary to enable him to act. He travelled through
the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, seeking
Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. pp. 441, 581; Clarendon's History
of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 399-401; Whitelocke, pp. 429, 430; Carte's
Ormonde Letters, vol. i. pp. 338, 356.
10*




114        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the means of accomplishing his mission wherever he went,
daily witnessing the failure of some of those on which he
had relied, and daily returning to his work with the same
conviction and the same ardor. That part of Europe, and
especially Sweden, had then become the second fatherland of
a large number of Scottish officers, who, after having served
under Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War, had
settled there with the fortune or the fame which they had
acquired. Montrose lived among them as a pleasant companion both in war and revel, attracting some by the brilliancy of his expectations, alluring others by his open-handed
liberality; they had all promised him their personal support
or influence for his great enterprise, and some had even
furnished him with funds. The King of Denmark and
several of the petty princes of Germany had given him
similar assurances.'  When he believed himself ready to
enter upon action, he published from Copenhagen, a declaration in which he announced and justified his undertaking,
and invited all faithful subjects of the King to join with him
in Scotland for its accomplishment; he then appointed Hamburgh as the place of rendezvous for his recruits, and took
up his own residence there, with greater pomp than his resources warranted, for the purpose of awaiting, organizing,
and despatching his forces.2
Recruits arrived slowly and in small numbers; the Court
of Denmark was zealous but poor; Queen Christina, of Sweden, who had at first appeared favorable, was suddenly
seized with admiration for the English Commonwealth and
for Cromwell. Montrose collected with great difficulty at
Hamburgh and Gothenburgh, a body of twelve hundred
1 Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose, Appendix xix. pp. 454-458.
2 Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 408-410; Whitelocke,
pp. 426, 430, 434-436; Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose, pp. 361-369.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               115
men, poorly armed and equipped; a first division, which he
sent off in September, 1649, perished at sea; the second,
under the command of the Earl of Kinnoull, arrived safely
at Kirkwall, the capital of Pomona, the principal of the
Orkney islands, and fixed themselves there until the arrival
of their general. Montrose on his side was awaiting fresh
recruits, and the promised insurrections of the royalists in
the Scottish Highlands. But the first attempt at insurrection, beginning too prematurely, had been too easily repressed;' no general rising took place; the friends of Montrose wrote to him that his presence was indispensable, and
would certainly be efficacious. He set out, at length, and
reached the Orkneys in the early part of March, 1650, with
five hundred men, and a few Scottish nobles who were devoted to his person and fortune.
A short time before his arrival, and in answer to his declaration, the Kirk and Parliament of Scotland had published two other declarations against him, remarkable for
their violence even in that age of unbridled passion. " It
may seem strange," they said, "that we should think it worth
the while to answer the slanders and groundless reproaches
of that viperous brood of Satan, James Grahame, whomn the
Estates of Parliament have long since declared traitor, the
church bath delivered into the hands of the devil, and the
nation doth generally detest and abhor; yet, because our
silence may be subject to misconstruction, and some of the
weaker sort may be inveigled by the bold assertions and
railing accusations of this impudent braggart, presenting
himself to the view of the world, clothed with his Majesty's
authority as Lieutenant-Governor and Captain-General of
this Kingdom, we shall shortly answer what is said against
us, take off the mask which he hath put on, and expose him' Browne's History of the Highlands, vol. ii. pp. 26-28.




116       HISTORY OF-OLIVER CROMWELL
to public view in his own apparel."' All the old grievances
of the dominant party, and the variations of conduct imputed to Montrose at the beginning of the civil war, and the
acts of cruelty of which he had been accused during his
campaign on behalf of Charles I., in 1645, were ably set
forth in these two documents, which were read and commented upon from every Presbyterian pulpit; and at the
moment when he set foot again in Scotland, the rage and
terror of the people combined, against Montrose, with the
hatred and alarm of his rivals.
On disembarking at the northern extremity of Scotland,
he displayed somewhat pompously three banners, two in the
name of the King, on one of which was painted the severed
head of Charles I., with this motto: "Judge and revenge
my cause, O Lord!"-on the third, which was his own standard, was a naked arm, holding a blood-stained sword, on a
black ground, with this motto: " Nil medium."  He then advanced slowly through the counties of Caithness and Sutherland, expecting to be joined by recruits from the country
itself. These recruits, however, did not appear; on the con.
trary, he learned that many chieftains, on whose support he
had reckoned, had ranged themselves on the side of the Parliament; and he was visibly surprised and disappointed at
the little sensation produced by his name and progress.
The government at Edinburgh, whilst a larger body of
troops were collecting under the command of David Leslie,
sent forward some squadrons of cavalry under LieutenantColonel Strahan, an impetuous sectary and valiant officer;
five hundred infantry, collected by the Earl of Sutherland,
joined Strahan's force, and they were lying together at Tain,
on the eastern coast of Ross-shire, when they were informed
that Montrose was encamped at a short distance, and careWishart's Memoirs of Montrose, pp. 464, 465.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    117
lessly guarded, as he did not know that the enemy was
already so near him. It was Saturday, the 10th of April,
and Strahan hesitated to march forward, as he was unwilling
to run the risk of being obliged to fight on Sunday; but a
movement made by Montrose brought the two troops still
more closely together. Strahan then took his resolution,
and advanced to within a league of Montrose's camp at Corbiesdale, which was still unaware of his proximity, and in
considerable disorder. Strahan's squadrons charged it suddenly and in succession, as if they had been the vanguard
of an army. Montrose tried to fall back upon a neighboring
wood: the soldiers whom he had brought with him from
Germany fought valiantly, but the recruits that he had
raised in the Orkneys dispersed.  With his accustomed
bravery, he endeavored, but in vain, to rally them; his horse
was killed under him, and he would have been taken on the
field of battle, if his friend, Lord Frendraught, had not
generously remounted him. The battle soon turned into a
rout and massacre; ten officers, and more than three hundred soldiers, were slain; more than four hundred prisoners
were taken, and a hundred Irish, who were found among
them, were instantly shot. Montrose fled at full speed, and
as soon as he was, out of sight, he forsook his horse, threw
away his George and his order of the Garter, changed clothes
with a peasant, and betook himself across the fields in search
of an asylum. He wandered for many days among the
Highlands of Ross and Sutherlandshire, sometimes received
with enthusiasm, sometimes repulsed with horror, frequently
exhausted with fatigue and hunger, and vainly endeavoring
to reach the coast. At length, on the 3d of May, either
from mischance or treachery, he was discovered and arrested
in a cottage on the estate of Neil Macleod, Laird of Assynt;
from whence he was taken to the castles of Skild and Brane,




1,18       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
until orders arrived for his immediate transfer to Edinburgh.l
HIe was now in the worst possible position; he had against
him both the government and the people, the implacable
hatred of his rivals, and'the brutal fury of the multitude.
They thronged on his route to load him with insults, but
could not succeed in humbling him for a moment. He endured with the same firmness of soul the outrages of his enemies and the farewell meeting with his children, with whom
he was allowed a brief interview at the house of his fatherin-law, the Earl of Southesk. But marks of sympathy were
not altogether denied him. At the Castle of Grange, where
he lodged with his escort a short time before reaching Dundee, the Lady of Grange made an almost successful attempt
to procure his escape during the night; and at Dundee itself,
which in 1645 had suffered severely from his arms, the inhabitants, far from triumphing over him in his misfortune,
treated him with the greatest respect, and, by their remonstrances, obtained permission from his guards to supply him
with clothes suitable to his rank, instead of the tattered garments in which he had been captured, and which he had until
then been insultingly obliged to wear.2
On the 17th of M1lay he arrived at Leith, near Edinburgh.
The Parliament met on the same day, and voted that "James
Grahame should be brought on a cart, bareheaded, and bound
to the cart by a rope-the hangman, in his livery, covered,
riding on the horse that draws the cart —from the Watergate
to the Tolbooth of Edinburgh, and from thence to the Parliament House; and there, in the place of delinquents, on his
knees should receive his sentence, viz. to be hanged on a gibI Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose, pp. 372 —377; Balfour's Annals of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 432, vol. iv. p. 9; Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. pp.
442-444; Browne's History of the Highlands, vol. ii. pp. 30-36.
2 Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose, pp. 379-382.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              119
bet at the Cross of Edinburgh, with his book and declaration
tied by a rope asbout his neck, and there to hang for the space
of three hours until he were dead; and thereafter to be cut
down by the hangman; his head, hands, and legs to be cut
off, and distributed as follows:, his head to be affixed on an
iron pole on the west pinnacle of the new prison of Edinburgh; one hand to be set on the gate of Perth, the other on
the gate of Stirling; one leg and foot on the gate of Aberdeen,
the other on the gate of Glasgow. If he was at his death
penitent, and released from excommunication, then the trunk
of his body should be interred in the Greyfriars; otherwise
it should be interred in the Borrowmuir, by the hangman's
men, under the gallows."' The manners of that age were
still rude enough for the hatred of his enemies to take pleasure in such a spectacle, which was then calculated to inspire
beholders with greater dread than disgust.
On the following day, at four o'clock in the afternoon,
Montrose was conducted, on an old broken-down horse, from
Leith to the Watergate of Edinburgh, where he was met by
the magistrates of the city in their robes, escorted by the
town-guard and hangman. A copy of his sentence was delivered to him; he read it, and returned it, saying with the
greatest calmness and composure, "That he was ready to
submit to it; only he was sorry that through him the King's
majesty, whose person he represented, should be so much
dishonored."  The procession then moved forward; Montrose
did not remove his hat, and the hangman knocked it off;
thirty-four of his officers, his companions in captivity, walked,
tied two and two together, before the cart. Along the whole
route an immense crowd had collected for the purpose of
assailing Montrose with abuse, and even with dirt and stones;
but the tranquil firmness of his demeanor, the gravity of his
I Balfour's Annals of Scotland, vol. iv. pp. 12, 13.




120         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
looks, and the undaunted courage which he displayed, produced so powerful an impression upon the people that outrage
ceased, silence reigned around the mournful cavalcade, or was
broken at intervals only by expressions of compassion, and
prayers on behalf of the illustrious prisoner. As the procession passed in front of the house of the Earl of Moray, the
cart stopped for a moment; all looked up in surprise; the
Marquis of Argyle was at the window, with his family and
several friends; he had desired to feast his eyes upon the
humiliation of that enemy before whom, five years previously,
he had been forced to fly.' Although the distance was little
more than a mile, three hours were spent in going from  the
gate of the city to the Tolbooth. On dismounting from the
cart, Montrose gave the hangman some money, as a reward,
he said,  " for driving his triumphal chariot so well."  The
Parliament was in session; five commissioners were sent to
the prison "to ask James Grahame if he had anything to say
before he repaired to the House to receive his sentence." On
their return to the Parliament, they reported that Montrose
had refused to give any answer until he knew upon what
terms they stood with the King, and whether they had come
to any agreement with him. Seven commissioners were immediately sent to interrogate him, and to inform him that an
agreement had been concluded with the King, who was on
the point of returning to Scotland.  Somewhat moved, doubtless, by this intelligence, -Montrose declined giving any further
answer, saying that he had made a long journey, and that after
I This fact is placed beyond doubt by a letter from the French agent Graymond to Cardinal Mazarin, dated 31st May, 1650. " Plusieurs prirent giarde,
et en ont bien discouru apres, qu'on fit halte vis-h-vis la maison du Comte
de Moray, oh estoit entre autrcs AM. le Marquis d'Argyle, que considdroit son
ennemi par une fenestre entr'ouverte." Archives des Affaires Etrangbres de
France.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             121
"the wearisome and tedious ceremony and compliment they
had paid him that day," he desired some repose.'
Two days after, when he was brought to the bar of the
Parliament, he allowed himself the pleasure of following his
natural tastes, and appeared before his enemies in splendid
attire. He wore a rich dress of black silk emlbroidered with
silver, and over it a scarlet cloak, trimmed with silver lace,
and lined with crimson taffety; and a beaver hat, with a broad
silver band. On being placed onthe raised platform appointed
for criminals, he glanced proudly around him; his face was
pale and careworn, but expressive of invincible courage and
dignified resolution. The Chancellor, Lord Loudon, addressed
him in a long and bitter speech, and concluded by saying,
" that for the many horrible murders, treasons and impieties
he had committed, God had now brought him to suffer condign punishment." When the Chancellor had terminated his
harangue, Montrose obtained, with some difficulty, permission
to say a few words in his own defence; he spoke with reserved
hauteur, and considerable address, as if he had anticipated
some result from his speech. "He considered the Parliament," he said, "as sitting by the King's authority; and therefore he had appeared with reverence, and bareheaded, which
otherwise he would not willingly have done."  He defended
himself from the charges of cruelty which had been brought
against him during the late war, saying, " that it was not in
the power of the greatest generals to prevent disorders altogether in their army, but he had endeavored what he could
to suppress them, and to punish them as soon as they were
known; he had never spilt any blood-no, not of his most
inveterate enemies —but on the field of battle; and even in
the greatest heat of action, he had preserved the lives of many
I Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose, pp. 383 —336; Balfour's Annals of Scotland, vol. iv. p. 14.
VOL. I.-11




122       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
thousands. As to his late invasion, he had undertaken it at
the command of his Majesty; and he might justly affirm that
no subject ever acted upon more honorable grounds, nor by
a more lawful power and authority than he had done. Wherefore," he said in conclusion, "he desired them to lay aside all
prejudices, private animosity, and desire of revenge, and consider him, in relation to the justice of his cause, as a man and
a Christian; as an obedient subject, in relation to the commands of his royal master, which he had faithfully executed;
as their fellow-subject, and one to whom they lay under great
obligations, for having preserved the lives and fortunes of
many of them, at a time when he had the power and authority,
and wanted only the cruel inclination, to have destroyed both.
lIe entreated them not to be too rash in their judgment against
him, but to judge him according to the laws of God, the laws
of nature and nations, and particularly by the laws of the
land; which if they refused, he appealed to the just Judge
of the world, who must at last judge them all, and always
gives righteous judgment." The Chancellor replied to him
with anger and invectives. Montrose attempted to speak a
second time, but he was stopped, and ordered to kneel down
and receive his sentence; which he did.' His execution was
fixed for the following day.
During the evening, the Presbyterian ministers and magistrates of Edinburgh besieged Montrose with their visits, in
the hope of extorting from him some expression which would
imply a recognition of the rightfulness of their Church and
government. But their persevering endeavors only served
to increase his enthusiasm. He told them "that he was
much beholden to the Parliament for the great honor they
had decreed him; for he was prouder to have his head fixed
Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose, pp. 387-392; Balfour's Annals of Scotland, vol. iv. p. 16.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    123
upon the top of the prison, in the view of the present and
succeeding ages, than if they had ordered a golden statue to
be erected to him in the market-place, or that his picture
should be hung in the King's bedchamber. lie thanked
theTn for taking so effectual a method to preserve the memory of his loyalty and regard for his beloved sovereign,
even to the latest posterity, by transmitting such lasting
monuments of them to the four principal cities of the kingdom, and wished heartily that he had flesh enough to have
sent a piece to every city in Christendom, as a testimony of
his unshaken love and fidelity to his King and country."
He spent the night in prayer, and in composing verses, in
which'he gave noble expression to the same sentiments.
Early in the morning, the noise of drums and trumpets resounded through the town; he asked the captain of the
guard what it meant, and was told that it was to call the
soldiers and citizens to arms, because it was feared- that some
of the people might attempt to rescue him. "What!" said
Montrose, "do I, who was such a terror to these good men,
when alive, continue still so formidable to them now, when
I am to die? but let them look to themselves, for even after
I am dead, I will be continually present to their wicked
consciences, and become more formidable to them than while
I was alive." He then began to dress with great pains.
Whilst he was at his toilette, Sir Archibald Johnstone, a
member of Parliament, and one of his bitterest enemies, derisively expressed his surprise that a man in such a position
should bestow so much care on the frivolous adornment of
his person. Montrose answered with a smile, "that while
his head was his own, he would dress and adorn it; but tomorrow, when it becomes yours, you may treat it as you
please."
IHe dressed himself with great magnificence, and threw
over his shoulders a handsome cloak of scarlet velvet, trim



124        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
med with gold lace, which his friends had sent him. As he
walked from his prison to the place of execution, his grand
air, and the proud and calm expression of his countenance,
produced a more powerful effect than ever upon the spectators. He assisted the executioner to hang round his neck,
in conformity with his sentence, the history of his wars, and
his late declaration, and said "he reckoned himself more
honored thereby, than when it had pleased his Majesty to
create him a knight of the most noble Order of the Garter."
IIe was not allowed to stand forward and address the people,
but he addressed a few words to those who stood near him,
expressive of his persistence in the sentiments which had
guided his life hitherto, and of the utmost piety and tranquillity of soul. IIe requested permission to die with his
hat on, it was refused; to retain his cloak-this also was
denied hirn; upon which he desired the magistrates "to inflict what further degree of ignominy and disgrace they
could possibly invent, for that he was ready to submit with
the greatest cheerfulness to the highest indignities for the
sake of that cause for which he suffered."  His last words
were, "May God have mercy upon this afflicted kingdom!"'
It is said that the hangman himself wept, after having obeyed
the fatal signal; that a murmur of indignant sorrow burst
from the crowd; and that Argyle, on learning the particulars of his great rival's death, became agitated and melancholy, as if seized with regret, or struck by a presentiment
of his own future fate.
The Commissioners of the Parliament had not deceived
Montrose when they told him that they had treated with the
King, and that he was about to return amongst them. At
the very moment that Montrose began in Scotland his brief
1 Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose, pp. 392-405; Balfour's Annals of Scottand, pp. 19-22; Laing's 1History of Scotland, vol. iii. pp. 444-447, 582.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              125
and fatal campaign, Charles received the Scottish Commissioners at Breda, and resumed with them the discussion of
their harsh propositions. Great difference of opinion existed
among his advisers upon this subject. His most sensible and
honest counsellors exhorted him not to submit to such
thraldom, and supported their opinions by the authority of
Hyde, in whom Charles had the utmost confidence, and whom
he had just despatched on an embassy to Madrid. "If the
King puts himself into the hands of the Scots," Hyde had
written to Mr. Secretary Nicholas, "they cannot justly be
accused of deceiving him, for, on my conscience, they will
not use him worse than they promise, if he does all they require him to do in this last address.  I wish, with all my
heart, they who advise the King to comply and join with
them, would deal as clearly, and say that the King should
now take the Covenant, and enjoin it to others, and all observe it; but to say he should put himself into their hands,
and hope to be excused taking it, and be able to defend
others from submitting to it, or that he and we should take
it and break it afterwards, is such folly and atheism, that we
should be ashamed to avow or think it. Oh,  Mr. Secretary!
if I were now at Breda, I would fly to the Indies, rather
than be involved in such councils."'
So long as there was any uncertainty as to the issue of
Montrose's expedition, Charles hesitated. His good sense
and dignity both led him to think with Hyde; but when he
learned at Breda that Montrose was defeated, a fugitive, and,
ere long, a prisoner, his frivolous and reckless counsellors
carried their point. They had on their side the Queen-mother,
the Prince of Orange, and that unwillingness to wait patiently,
which is ever the result of exile. The friends of Hyde took
Clarendon's State Papers, vol. iii. p. 14; Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i.
p. 373; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 401-408.
11*




126        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROAMWELL
no part in the deliberations of the Council, and Charles consented to everything. IIe promised to swear fidelity to the
Scottish Covenant, to disavow  and annul every treaty of
peace which had been concluded with the Irish, never to
permit the free exercise of the Catholic religion in Ireland,
or in any part of his dominions, to acknowledge the authority
of the various Parliaments held in Scotland since the commencement of the war, and finally, to govern, in civil affairs,
according to the advice of the Parliament, and in religious
matters, according to that of the Church. And in order to
give to his promise the sanction of an enormous falsehood,
he wrote to the Parliament, that, as he had forbidden Montrose to engage in his expedition, he could not regret the
defeat of a man who had dared to act in disobedience to his
authority.'
It is said that Charles hoped by this means to save the
life of Montrose, and that, when he was informed of his execution, he was on the point of breaking off all further negotiation. It is said, also, that at Edinburgh, when Montrose's
expedition began, the violent party wished to recall the Commissioners of the Parliament from Breda, and to cease all
negotiation with Charles; and that the immediate execution
of Montrose was the bribe given by the moderate men to
the fanatics, in order to induce them to concur in the King's
return. No positive trace has remained of these mutual
concessions: parties, like individual consciences, have their
shameful secrets, which they employ all their arts to conceal.
However this m'ay be, no change was made in the existing
state of things on either side; the Scottish Commissioners
declared that they were satisfied with the King's promises;
Charles acquiesced in Montrose's execution, as he had yielded
1 Clarendon's State Papers, vol. iii. pp. 13-19; Balfour's Annals of Scotland, vol. iv. pp. 24, 25; Lingard's History of England, vol. xi. p. 51; Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. p. 147.




AND TIIE ENGLISH COIMMONWEALTH.             127
to his own humiliation; and on the 2d of June, 1650, he
embarked at Ter-Veere for Scotland, on board a flotilla
which the Prince of Orange had placed at his disposal.'
He arrived three weeks afterwards on the coast of Scotland;
but, before he was allowed to set foot on shore, he was required to sign the Covenant. The Scottish nobles who had
advised him to consent to everything, Hamilton and Lauderdale among others, left him and retired to their estates; they
were of the number of those whom, ever since the 22d of
March, 1649, the Presbyterian Parliament had formally excluded from all participation in public affairs; and their
presence with the King was not only compromising to him,
but fraught with danger to themselves. Two days after his
disembarkation, nearly all the English who had accompanied
Charles were expressly sent out of the kingdom; the Duke
of Buckingham, Lord W5ilmot, and a few others of his household, the most frivolous and hypocritical of his courtiers,
were alone authorized to remain with him. The Parliament
had minutely arranged beforehand the route which he was
to take to his palace of Falkland, near Edinburgh; and he
was conducted thither with great marks of respect, but under
the strictest guard and surveillance.2
At about the same time, Cromwell, yielding obedience at
length to the wishes of the Parliament, returned from Ireland to England; on his disembarkation at Bristol, he was
greeted with honors and acclamations by the whole town,
who came out en masse to welcome him. As soon as it became known that he was near London, Fairfax and most of
the officers of the army and members of Parliament went
out to meet him at Hounslow Heath; at Hyde Park he found
Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 449; Clarendon's State Papers,
vol. iii. p. 22.
2 Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 226; Clarendon's
History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 436, 437.




128       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the Lord Mayor and train-bands waiting for him; and from
thence to St. James's Palace, where he was to lodge, it was,
say the newspapers of the time, one vast tumult of salutation, congratulation, artillery-volleying, and human shouting.
"What a crowd come out to see your Lordship's triumph!"
said one of the bystanders to Cromwell; to which he replied,
with his rough and frank good sense: " Yes; but if it were
to see me hanged, how many would there be!"1
As soon as Montrose's expedition in the Highlands, and
the arrangements concluded at Breda between Charles II.
and the Scottish Commissioners, had become known in London, the Parliament had given the Council of State full powers
to repel any invasion, and had voted a considerable increase
of the army. Immediately on Cromwell's return from Ireland, Fairfax and he were appointed, the one Lord-General
of the Forces, the other Lieutenant-General, to command
what was vaguely called the "Northern Expedition." They
both signified their acceptance of these appointments; but a
few days after, the Council of State having decided that,
instead of waiting until the Scots invaded England, the
English army should take the initiative, and carry the war
into Scotland, Fairfax manifested great reluctance to undertake such a command. IIis wife, a zealous Presbyterian,
and the Presbyterian ministers by whom she was surrounded,
had, it is said, suggested these scruples; but, perhaps, also,
Fairfax was beginning to perceive that Cromwell and the
republicans had used, and wished still to use, him as a cloak
to cover, and an instrument to accomplish, designs utterly at
variance with his feelings and wishes. In any case, his resistance was, in the eyes of the public, a cause of serious
embarrassment, which could not be treated lightly, and to
overcome which every effort should be made. Five com1 Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 163, 164; Whitelocke, p.
457.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    129
missioners - Cromwell, Lambert, Harrison, St. John, and
Whitelocke-were appointed by the Council of State to
wait upon Fairfax, to confer with him on the subject, and
endeavor to remove his difficulties.
"My Lord General," said Cromwell, " we are commanded
by the Council of State to endeavor to give your Excellency
satisfaiction on any doubts of yours which may arise concerning the command in Scotland, and the grounds of the
resolution of the Council for the journey into Scotland."
FAIRFAX.-" I am very glad of the opportunity of conferring with this committee, where I find so many of my
particular friends, as well as of the Commonwealth, about
this great business; for I do acknowledge myself not fully
satisfied as to the justice of our invasion of our Scottish
brethren."
LAMBERT.-" Will your Excellency be pleased to favor us
with the particular causes of your dissatisfaction?"
FAIRFAX.-" I shall very freely do it, and I think I need
not make to you, or to any that know me, any protestation
of the continuance of my duty and affection to the Parliament, and my readiness to serve them in anything wherein
my conscience will give me leave."
HARRISON.-" There cannot be more desired nor expected
from your Excellency."
FAIRFAX.-" Give me leave then, my Lords, with all freeness to say to you that I think it doubtful whether we have
a just cause to make an invasion upon Scotland. With them
we are joined in the National League and Covenant; and
now for us, contrary thereunto, and without sufficient cause
given us by them, to enter into their country with an army,
and to make war upon them, is that which I cannot see the
justice of, nor how we shall be able to justify the lawfulness
of it before God or man."
CROMWELL.-" I confess, my Lord, that if they have given




130       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
us no cause to invade them, it will not be justifiable for us to
do it. But, my Lord, they have invaded us, as your lordship
knows they have done, since the National Covenant, and
contrary to it, in that action of Duke Hamilton, which was
by order and authority from the Parliament of that kingdom,
and so the act of the whole nation by their representatives.
And they now give us too much cause of suspicion that'they
intend another invasion upon us, joining with their King,
with whom they have made a full agreement, without the
assent or privity of this Commonwealth; and are very busy
at this present in raising forces and money to carry on their
design. I humbly submit it to your Excellency's judgment,
whether these things are not a sufficient ground and cause
for us to endeavor to provide for the safety of our own country, and to prevent the miseries which an invasion of the
Scots would bring upon us? That there will be a war between us, I fear, is unavoidable. Your Excellency will soon
determine whether it be better to lhave this war in the bowels
of another country or of our own."
FAIRFAX.-" It is probable there will be war between us;
but whether we should begin this war and be on the offensive part, or only stand upon our own defence, is that which
I scruple. And although they invaded us under Duke
Hamilton, who pretended the authority of the Parliament
then sitting for it, yet their succeeding Parliament disowned
that engagement, and punished some of the promoters of it.
If we were assured of their coming with their army into
England, I confess it were prudence for us to prevent them,
and we are ready to advance into Scotland before they can
march into England; but what warrant have we to fall upon
them unless we can be assured of their purpose to fall upon
us?"
HARRISON.-" I think, under favor, there cannot be greater




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    131
assurance or human probability of the intentions of any State
than we have of theirs to invade our country."
FAIRFAX. —" I-uman probabilities are not sufficient grounds
to make war upon a neighboring nation, to whom we are
engaged in a solemn league and covenant."
ST. JOHN.-" But, my Lord, that league and covenant was
first broken by themselves, and so dissolved as to cease, and
the disowning of Duke HIamilton's action by their latter Parliament cannot acquit the injury done to us before."
CROMWELL.-" I suppose your Excellency will be convinced of this clear truth, that we are no longer obliged by
the league and covenant which themselves did first break."
FAIRFAX.-" I am to answer only for my own conscience;
and what that yields unto as just and lawful, I shall follow;
and what seems to me, or what I doubt to be, otherwise, I
must not do. Every one must stand or fall by his own conscience; those who are satisfied of the justice of this war may
cheerfully proceed in it; those who scruple at it, as I confess
I do, cannot undertake any service in it. I acknowledge
that which hath been said to carry much weight and reason
with it, and none can have more power upon me than this
Committee, nor none be more ready to serve the Parliament
than myself in anything wherein my conscience shall be satisfied; in this it is not, and therefore, that I may be no hindrance to the Parliament's designs, I shall willingly lay down
my commission, that it may be in their hands to choose some
worthier person than myself, who may upon clear satisfaction of his conscience undertake this business, wherein I
desire to be excused."
CROMWELL.-" I am very sorry your lordship should have
thoughts of laying down your commission, by which God
hath blest you in the performance of so many eminent services for the Parliament. I pray, my Lord, consider all your
faithful servants, us who are officers, who have served under




132       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
you, and desire to serve under no other general. It would
be a great discouragement to all of us, and a great discouragement to the affairs of the Parliament, for our noble general to entertain any thoughts of laying down his commission.
I hope your lordship will never give so great an advantage
to the public enemy, nor so much dishearten your friends as
to think of doing so."
FAIRFAX. —"What would you have me do? As far as
my conscience will give way, I am willing to join with you
still in the service of the Parliament; but where the conscience is not satisfied, none of you, I am sure, will engage
in any service; and that is my condition in this, and therefore
I must desire to be excused."'
The Commissioners immediately reported this answer to
the Council of State. "The Lieutenant-General," says Ludlow, "acted his part so to the life that I really thought him
in earnest; which obliged me to step to him as he was withdrawing with the rest of the Committee out of the councilchamber, and to desire him that he would not, in compliment
and humility, obstruct the service of the nation by his refusal;
but the consequence made it sufficiently evident that he had
no such intention."2 Two days afterwards, Whitelocke and
Lord Pembroke presented their report to the House, both
on the main question of the invasion of Scotland, and on the
conference between the Council of State and Fairfax. The
House voted unanimously that it was both just and necessary that the English army should enter Scotland, and that
it should be set in movement without delay. A declaration
justifying this resolution was read and adopted. The House
was informed that Mr. Rushworth, Secretary to the LordGeneral, was at the door. He was at once admitted, and
W1 hitelocke's Memorials, pp. 460-462; Old Parliamentary History, vol.
xix. pp. 266-275.
2 Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 135.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMIONWEALTH.              133
informed the House that the Lord-General had commanded
him to present, from him, to the Parliament, the last commission he had received from the Parliamerft for the Scottish
war, and likewise his first commission as Lord-General, if the
Parliament pleased to desire it. A resolution was immediately passed, withdrawing all military command from Fairfax. This was the rupture of the Commonwealth with the
only Presbyterian leader who had served it. Cromwell was
at once appointed Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief
of all the forces of England. Three days after, he left London to rejoin his army; and three weeks after, he crossed the
Tweed, and entered Scotland at the head of about fifteen
thousand men. On setting foot on Scottish soil, he harangued
his troops.  "As a Christian and a soldier, I exhort you to
be doubly and trebly diligent, to be wary and worthy, for
sure enough we have work before us! But have we not had
God's blessing hitherto?  Let us go on faithfully, and hope
for the like still."'
If he had been aware of the proceedings in the councils
of Scotland, and of the relation in which the Scots stood to
the King whom they had recalled, Cromwell would undoubtedly have felt full confidence in his success. Neither demonstrations of public respect, nor the pomp of royalty, were
wanting to complete the illusion of Charles's position; he
had been voted an allowance of 9,0001. a month for the
maintenance of his household; and he had been surrounded
with a numerous retinue. In the absence of the Parliament,
which then stood adjourned, the members of the intermediate
committee, or Committee of Estates as it was called, with
the Marquis of Argyle at their head, paid the King the most
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 431, 432; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 215, 221, 222; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol.
ii. p. 180.
voLr. r.-12




134        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
assiduous homage. Argyle was a consummate courtier,
careful to observe every point of etiquette, and to seize every
opportunity of pleasing the King in small matters. At the
same time, great preparations were being made for the impending war; the Parliament had taken measures for providing Scotland with an army of thirty thousand men; an
experienced general, David Lesley, was to command it; and
fortifications were in process of construction around the
capital. But this show of zeal for monarchy ill concealed
the forced nullity of the King, and the incoherence of the
ideas and actions of the party who were desirous at once to
support him and make him a nonentity. Charles was not
present at the councils at which public affairs were discussed,
and whenever he attempted to converse seriously with Argyle on the subject, that wily courtier respectfully eluded
any such conversation. The theologians, on the other hand,
attacked the young Prince whom the politicians took such
pains to nullify; observances, remonstrances, and sermons,
occupied the leisure which was- forced upon him; and notwithstanding all his efforts to appear a hypocrite, he always
passed, and deservedly, for a libertine. Although Presbyterians above all things, the Scots were sincere royalists; and
Charles, who was but little inclined to indulge in illusions,
knew perfectly well that, out of Scotland, he had neither
kingdom nor army; but, on both sides, the distrust and dissatisfaction were profound, and although they were mutually necessary to one another, they differed too widely to
come either to a thorough understanding or a lasting union.'
W~hen it became known that Cromwell had passed the
border, it was thought impossible to avoid showing the King
to the army. lie accordingly went to the camp, and the
troops received him with demonstrations of joy, which soon
I Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 436 —441; Whitelocke,
p. 462; Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 450.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               135
aroused the suspicions of both ardent theologians and jealous
politicians.  Charles was gay, witty, and affable; his presence
in the camp gave a great impulse to free conversation, occasioned many expressions of devotedness to his person, and
probably led to some symptoms of insubordination and dislike of his keepers. The fanatics eagerly availed themselves
of this opportunity; they loudly inveighed against the composition of the army, which contained, they said, a large
number of malignants, old Hamiltonians, and episcopalian
or libertine royalists. A purification was ordered; eighty
officers were caidd, and according to some authorities,
several thousand soldiers were also disbanded. The King
was not permitted to remain any longer in the camp. He
was conducted with all haste to Leith, further north than he
had yet been. But even these precautions were insufficient
to calm the fears or satisfy the passions of the fanatics; they
resolved to intimidate and compromise Charles more thoroughly still. They required him to sign an expiatory declaration, in which he should formally acknowledge and
condemn the evil deeds of his father, the idolatry of his
mother, and his own sin in consenting to a treaty with the
Irish rebels; and should renew, against Popery and heresy,
and in favor of free Parliament and the Presbyterian government of the church, all the protestations and promises which
had already been obtained from him.'
Charles's first impulse was to refuse, saying that he would
never again be able to look his mother in the face after signing such a document. He then requested time to take the
advice of the council. The fanatics refused to wait; the
Committee of Estates and that of the Kirk declared " that
they espoused no malignant quarrel or party, nor acknowi Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 226; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 453, 454; Brodie's History of the British
Empire, vol. iv. p. 280.




136         HISTORY OF OLIVER  CROMWVELL
ledged the King or his interests, otherwise but in subordination to God; but they would vindicate themselves from
the aspersion that they owned and supported his Majesty in
all the proceedings of the late King."'  Most of the officers
of the army assured the Committee of Estates of their adherence to this declaration.  Some of them  even, including
Colonel Strahan, the conqueror of Montrose, had secret communications with the English army and Cromwell on this
subject; at which the royalists were justly alarmed.  The
Presbyterian ministers thundered from their pulpits that the
King was the very root of malignancy, and that he had sworn
to observe the Covenant without any intention of keeping
his oath.  Political reservations cannot withstand the contact
of sincere passions.  Charles was intimidated, yielded, and
signed the expiatory declaration. Overjoyed at their triumph,
the fanatics, and the people and army with them, celebrated
a solemn fast in honor of this expiation; and more than one
preacher assured his audience that " now the anger of heaven
had been appeased, they would gain an easy victory over a
blaspherming general and a sectarian army."2
A few months after this humiliation, Charles gave an
audience to Dr. King, Dean of Tuam, who was about to
return to the Marquis of Ormonde, in Ireland. "Mr. King,"
he said, "I have received a very good character of you, and
do therefore give you asurance that however I am forced by
the necessity of my affairs to appear otherwise, yet I am a
true child of the Church of England, and shall remain firm
unto my first principles.  Mr. King, I am a true Cavalier.
I understand you are willing to go into Ireland.  My Lord
1 Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 455.
2 Laing's HIistory of Scotlaind, vol. iii. pp. 451-457; WIlhitelockec, pp. 468,
469; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 194-; Lingard's History of
England, vol. xi. pp. 59-60; Brodie's History of the British Empire, vol. iv.
pp. 281 —284; Burnet's History of His Own Time, vol. i. p. 99.




AND TIIE ENGLISII COMMONiWEALTH.          137
of Ormonde is a person that I depend upon more than any
one living. I nmuch fear that I have been forced to do some
things which may prejudice him. You have heard how a
declaration was extorted from me, and how I should have
been dealt withal, if I had not signed it. Yet what concerns
Ireland is no ways binding, for I can do nothing in the
affairs of that kingdom, without the advice of my Council
there, nor hath that kingdom any dependence upon this, so
that what I have done is nothing; yet I fear it may prejudice my Lord of Ormonde, and my friends with him, so that
if you would satisfy him in this, you would do a very acceptable service unto me; and tell him that I account it not
only an error, but a misfortune that I came not into Ireland
when he invited me thither."'
Cromwell was not ignorant of these dissensions in the
Scottish government; but he soon found himself, with his
army, in so difficult a position, that he was more occupied
with escaping from his own dangers, than in taking advantage
of the weakness of his enemies. As fast as he advanced into
the Scottish territory, between the border and Edinburgh, the
population retired before him with their cattle, furniture, and
provisions, leaving in their villages only a few old women,
who refused even to brew and bake for the English troops.
This was in consequence of the orders of Lesley, and the
sermons of the Presbyterian ministers, who were never weary
of denouncing the republican sectaries, declaring that they
would massacre all the inhabitants between the ages of sixteen and sixty-that they would cut off the right hand of all
between six and sixteen years old-that they would burn the
breasts of the women with hot irons-and destroy everything
they found in their way. In vain had Cromwell published
and distributed along his route, two proclamations addressed,
I Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. pp. 391-393.
12*




138         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
one " To the people of Scotland," and the other, " To all that
are Saints and Partakers of the Faith of God's Elect in
Scotland;" and intended, the first to dissipate the terrors of
the people, and the second to satisfy their pious passions.
In vain did he maintain the strictest discipline in his army,
and sent back to Edinburgh, in his own carriage-in order
to disprove the reputation for stern cruelty which was attributed to him-some Scottish officers, who had been taken
prisoners in a skirmish: the feeling of terror and antipathy
continued and increased.  Cronmwell was able to victual his
troops only by keeping near the sea-coast, and obtaining supplies of provisions from  England.  Although it was the
month of August, the weather was bad; it rained continually,
and illness broke out in the English army.  The Scottish
general kept his men within their entrenchnents, between
Edinburgh and Leith, and was evidently determined to rest
satisfied with covering the capital, and to avoid any general
action, leaving the English to waste their strength in the
solitude of the country, and the dearth of their camp. Cromwell more than once attempted to draw  Lesley out of his
lines, and to give him battle; he even risked his own person
so openly in these skirmishes, that a Scottish soldier recognized him, and fired at him; upon which Cromwell shouted
to him, "that if he had been one of his soldiers, he would
have cashiered him for firing at such a distance."  All these
attempts, however, led to no iesult. Lesley remained steadily
within his lines.  "They hope," wrote Cromwell to Bradshaw, from Musselburgh, "we shall famish for want of provisions, which is very likely to be, if we be not timely and
fully supplied."'
1 Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 179 —184; Whitelocke, p.
469; Old Parliamentary Hiistory, vol. xix. pp. 298 —312; Brodie's History of
the British Empire, vol. iv. pp. 278, 284-287; Godwin's ITistory of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 228.




AND THE ENGLISH COf3MMONWEALTH.             139
HIis position soon became so critical, that Crromwell resolved
to escape from it at any risk. It was decided in a council
of war, that the army should fall back upon Dunbar, there
to await supplies and reinforcements, and should retreat
from thence, along the coast towards the English border, if
reinforcements were not sent. On the following day, five
hundred invalids were embarked at Musselburgh, and the
retreat began. Lesley issued immediately from his camp,
and closely followed the English army, harassing and attacking it at every step, without ever consenting to a general
action.  One of these attacks, during the night, was so
vigorous, that " our rear-brigade of horse," writes Cromwell,
"had like to have engagecd with their whole army, had not
the Lord, by his providence, put a cloud over the moon,
thereby giving us opportunity to draw off those horse to the
rest of our army."  The English reached Dunbar in great
distress, and on his arrival, Cromwell learned that Lesley
had just occupied, with a considerable detachment, the pass
of Cockburnspath, between that town and the English border;
a narrow defile, "where," says Cromwell himself; "ten men
to hinder are better than forty to make their way."  As
incapable of illusion as of discourageement, Cromwell wrote
at once to Sir Arthur I-aslerig, governor of Newcastle:
"WVe are upon an engagement very difficult. The enemy
hath bloclked up our way at the pass at Copperspath, through
which we cannot get without ahlost a miracle. He lieth so
upon the hills, that we know not how to come that way
without great difficulty; and our lying here clearly consumeth
our men, who fall sick beyond imagination. I perceive your
forces are not in a capacity for present release, wherefore,
whatever becomes of us, it will be well for you to get what
forces you can together, and the south to help what they can.
The business nearly concerneth all good people. IF your
forces had been in a readiness to have fallen upon the back




140       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
of Copperspath, it might have occasioned supplies to have
come to us. But the only wise God knows what is best.
All shall work for good. Our spirits are comfortable, praised
be the Lord-though our present condition be as it is. And
indeed we have much hope in the Lord, of whose mercy we
have had large experience. Indeed, do you get together what
forces you can against them. Set to friends in the South to
help with more. Let IH. Vane know what I write. I would
not make it public, lest danger should accrue thereby. You
know what use to make thereof."'
Great agitation, but of a very different character-the agitation of joy and pride-pervaded the Scottish camp. They
saw retreating before them, "that Antichrist, that arrogant
man, Cromwell, over whose head the curse of God hung for
murdering the King and breaking the Covenant, who termed
his guns his twelve apostles, and put his whole confidence in
them."  They held both his army and himself hemmed in
between their mountains, their ocean, and their battalions.
Lesley convoked his council; his own position was not exempt from difficulties; he could find neither water nor forage
on the hills which were occupied by his troops; and it would
be exceedingly dangerous to prolong his stay there. He
persisted, however, in his opinion: they must, he said, continue to avoid any action, and to drive the English army,
day by day, towards the border; what victory could be
greater than to compel it to return home sick and humiliated, vanquished without a battle?  Nearly all his officers
were of the same opinion. But Lesley's council was not a
simple council Qf war: delegates from the Committee of
Estates and of the Kirk accompanied him; many ministers,
and those most zealous fanatics, lived and preached in his
camp; they taxed him with sloth, and urged him not to
I Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 198-201, 212, 213.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               141
allow the escape of those enemies whom God had delivered
into their hands. " They had disposed of us, and of their
business," writes Cromwell, "in sufficient revenge and wrath
towards our persons; and had swallowed up the poor interest
of England, believing that their army and their King would
have marched to London without any interruption." Although unconvinced, Lesley made but little resistance; he,
also, had doubtless his illusions and temptations of pride.
In a skirmish with an outpost, an English soldier, "a very
stout man, though he had but a wooden arm," who had made
himself conspicuous by his desperate resistance, was taken
prisoner, and brought before Lesley, who asked him, " If the
enemy intended to fight?"  "What do you think we come
here for?" answered the soldier; "we come for nothing
else."  "Soldier," said Lesley, "how will you fight, when
you have shipped half of your men and all your great
guns?" The man replied: " Sir, if you please to draw down
your men, you shall find both men and great guns too."
Lesley, more moved by the soldier's firmness than by his
suggestion, sent him away free, and determined to seek the
battle which he had until then so carefully avoided.  "By
seven o'clock to-morrow," he said to his officers, "we will
have the English army, dead or alive."'
On the same day, in the morning, Cromwell, perplexed in
spite of his firmness, had invited his most faithful friends to
meet him, to pray together, and invoke the aid of God in
their peril. " We lay very near the enemy," he writes, " being sensible of our disadvantage; having some weakness of
flesh, but yet consolation and support from the Lord himself
to our poor weak faith, wherein I believe not a few amongst
I Brodie's Hlistory of the British Empire, vol. iv. pp. 286-292; Lingard's
History of England, vol. xi. pp. 61, 62; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches,
vol. ii. pp. 202, 203; Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. pp. 381-384.




142        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
us stand: That, because of their number, because of their
advantages, because of their confidence, because of our weakness, because of our strait, we were in the mount, and in the
mount the Lord would be seen; and that he would find out
a way of deliverance and salvation for us; and, indeed, we
had our consolations and our hopes.' When this devotional
service was ended, at about four o'clock in the afternoon,
Cromwell mounted his horse, and rode with Lambert, his
major-general, about the neighborhood of Dunbar, in the
park of Brocksmouth House, the residence of the Earl of
Roxburgh. While looking towards the enemy from this
point, he discerned through his glass an extraordinary movement in their camp: a portion, first of their cavalry and then
of their artillery, marched from their left wing to their right,
and descended the hills towards the sea, as if they intended
more effectually to cut off all retreat for the English army,
and to give it battle as soon- as it began to move.  "They
are coming down," cried Cromwell; "the Lord hath delivered
them into our hands!" IHe called Lambert's attention to
this movement, and asked if it was not his opinion that they
would now be able to attack the Scots with advantage.
Lambert quite agreed with him, and Monk, coming up, likewise assented. A council of war was immediately convoked;
Cromwell proposed that at daybreak the army should begin
its march, and attack the Scots, who appeared determined to
give battle, and -to dispute their passage at every point.
Monk energetically supported this proposition, and offered
to lead the van, at the head of his brigade of foot.2  The
resolution was unanimously adopted, and the English spent
the night in noiseless preparations for the combat.
1 Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 213, 214.
2 Burnet's History of His Own Time, vol. i. p. 100; Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. p. 382; Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 459.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               143
The night was wild and wet, and just before daybreak, a
thick fog arose, which caused the attack to begin a little
later than  Cromwell had intended.  At the outset the
English had the worst of it; their advanced guard of cavalry
were vigorously received and repulsed by the Scottish artillery and lancers; the first regiment of English infantry restored the action, but did not decide it; and the fight
continued hotly for some time, amid cries of " The Lord of
Hosts!" from the English, and "The Covenant!" from the
Scots. At about seven o'clock, Cromwell's own regiment of
foot charged suddenly, and broke the Scottish lines.  At
this moment the fog dispersed, the sun shone brightly over
hill and ocean. "Now, let God arise," exclaimed Cromwell,
"and his enemies shall be scattered!" His words gave fresh
courage to his men, and were repeated by all who stood near
him. "HI-e was a strong mnan," says one of his contemporaries; "in the dark perils of war, in the high places of the.
field, hope shone in him like a pillar of fire, when it had
gone out in all the others." Enthusiasm is as contagious as
discouragement; the English charged with redoubled vigor;
the Scottish cavalry gave way; a body of infantry, which
made a bold resistance, was broken through and scattered by
the English squadrons; the cry arose, "They run! they
run i"  Disorder spread rapidly throughout the Scottish
army, which took to flight in every direction.  "After the
first repulse," writes Cromwell, "they were made by the
Lord of Hosts as stubble to our swords."  At nine o'clock
the battle was over; three thousand Scots had been slain;
more than ten thousand prisoners, with all their artillery and
baggage, and two hundred standards, were iln the hands of
the English.  "I believe I may speak it without partiality,"
wrote Cromwell on the following day to the Parliament,
"both your chief commanders and others in their several
places, and soldiers also, acted with as much courage as ever




144        IIISTORY OF OLIVER CRO3MWELL
hath been seen in any action since this war. I know they
look not to be named, and therefore I forbear particulars."'
Two days afterwards, on the 5th of September, Cromwell
resumed the offensive; and within four days he was master
of Leith, of the whole country around Edinburgh, and of
Edinburgh itself with the exception of the castle, which was
occupied by a strong garrison. Charles II. and the whole
Scottish government retired northwards, to Perth; Lesley,
with the wreck of his army, westwards, to Stirling. The
republican Parliament had attained its object: Scotland was
invaded, and had fully enough to do to defend her own territory.
Amidst the general alarm, Charles rejoiced, in his heart,
at the defeat of the fanatics, whose yoke he endured so impatiently.  To them, to their malevolent exclusions and
blind requirements, public opinion was beginning to ascribe
these unexpected reverses. In vain did the six ministers
who formed the Committee of the Kirk endeavor, in a sombre manifesto, to throw all the responsibility on the obstinate
wickedness of their adversaries; maintaining that God would
have given Lesley the victory, if the army and court had
been thoroughly purged of all malignants. There is, even
under the sway of the most ardent fanaticism, a degree of
absurdity which, in presence of imperious and melancholy
events, does not easily obtain credence.  Charles deemed the
moment favorable for escaping from his masters: by means
of some of his officers, and particularly of Dr. Frazier, his
physician, a determined enemy of Argyle, who had recently
procured his banishment from court, he entered into secret
negotiations with the royalist chiefs of the Scottish HighCarlyle's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 206-216; Carte's Ormonde
Letters, vol. i. pp. 380-384; Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 141; Whitelocke, pp.
470, 471; Brodie's History of the British Empire, vol. iv. pp. 292-294;
Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth, vol. iv. pp. 286-290.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    145
lands, among others with the Lords iluntly, Middleton,
Ogilvy, and Dudhope, who promised to rise in arms as soon as
he appeared among them. But at the very moment when his
escape was finally arranged, the secret was communicated.to
Argyle, and the Committee of Estates immediately ordered
all the Cavaliers, who still remained with the King, to leave
the court within twenty-four hours, and the kingdom within
twenty days. Three only were excepted from this order,
and one of these was the Duke of Buckingham, who was
suspected of having reveqaled the secret. Charles demanded
that nine others of his friends should be excepted; his
demand was refused. He did not press it; but, a week
after, he left Perth at about one o'clock in the afternoon, in
hunting costume, attended only by five servants; and as
soon as he was out of sight, he set spurs to his horse, joined
Lord Dudhope and Lord Buchan, who were waiting for him,
and arrived at nightfall, escorted by a few Highlanders, at
the house of the Laird of Clova, distant about fifty miles
from Perth. He was sleeping quietly on a mattress, when, at
break of day, entered Colonel Montgomery and three other
officers sent from Perth by the Committee of Estates, who
had discovered almost simultaneously the flight of the King
and the place of his retreat. Charles parleyed with them;
he had escaped, he told them, only because he had been informed that the Committee of Estates intended to give him
up to the English, and to hang all his servants. Montgomery averred that this was a calumny. The chiefs who
had escorted the King in his escape urged him to remain
with them, assuring him that, some few miles further, he
would find a numerous body of Highlanders ready to obey
his orders. But the promise seemed vague, and Charles, like
his father, had no great taste for hazardous adventures.
Whilst he was hesitating, two squadrons of Scottish cavalry
arrived to support Montgomery's representations. Seeing
VOL. I.-13




146        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the house surrounded with troops, Charles yielded, and was
immediately taken back to Perth.'
This ridiculous Start, as it was called, was not, however,
lost to Charles. Argyle and the Committee of Estates became
alarmed, both at the antipathy with which they inspired him,
and at the facilities which he could find for escaping from
them. In the Presbyterian church also, there were not wanting ministers more sensible than their fanatical colleagues,
who said that they were not treating the King well, that they
were unjust and harsh towards the moderate royalists, and
that they should strive to rally all parties together, instead
of perpetuating and exacerbating old dissensions.  These
opinions had their influence in the Parliament which met at
Perth; it manifested as much zeal for the King's cause, and
greater toleration of royalists of all shades; it voted all that
was necessary for the reorganization of the army; and two
resolutions, though violently opposed by the fanatics, were
adopted-the one declaring that the expressions of repentance
of the partisans of the late Duke of Hamilton should be
accepted; and the other that, this done, they should be permitted to serve the King and defend the kingdom. A large
number of moderate Presbyterians, and even of Cavaliers,
hastened to profit by this permission: Hamilton and Lauderdale returned to court. Charles presided over the council,
and gave his attention, without obstacle, to the affairs of the
Parliament and army. Fipally it was announced that, ere
long, according to ancient usage, he would be solemnly
crowned at Scone, and the preparations for this ceremony
began. Argyle was not altogether free from anxiety at this
movement, which brought his adversaries once more into contact with the King, and irritated his firm friends, the fanatics;
Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 464; Baillie's Letters, vol. ii. p.
356; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 484-486; Lingard's
History of England, vol. xi. pp. 64, 65.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               147
but he felt the necessity of yielding, and Charles graciously
took pains to quiet his distrust and calm his displeasure. He
even went so far as to lead him to suppose that he might
probably marry his daughter; and Captain Titus, a Presbyterian who was on good terms with Argyle, was sent into
France to the Queen-mother, as if to obtain her consent.l
Cromwell, freed from the great care which had momentarily absorbed his whole attention, attentively observed
these political resolutions of his adversaries, and anticipated
much advantage from them. He was equally well able to
address masses and individuals, to appeal to religious convictions, and to treat with material interests. The declaration which, on his arrival in Scotland, he had addressed "To
all that are Saints and Partakers of the Faith of God's Elect
in Scotland," had met with a vehement answer from  the
Scottish Kirk. Cromwell immediately seized upon this op.
portunity for entering into correspondence and controversy
with them, discussing both their arguments and their acts,
referring them  to various passages of Holy Scripture in
support of his own views, and inviting them to appeal to the
general judgment of believers on the question at issue between them  and himself.  "You conceal from your own
people," he says, " the papers we have sent you, as they might
thereby see and understand the bowels of our affection to
them, especially to such among them as fear the Lord." As
soon as he was master of Edinburgh, he sent a letter to the
governor of the Castle, in which most of the Presbyterian
ministers had taken refuge, to inform them, " that they have
free liberty granted them, if they please to take the pains, to
preach in their several churches; and that he had given special
commands both to officers and soldiers that they should not
I Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 487, 488; Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. pp. 464, 465; Burnet's History of his own Time,
vol. i. p. 105.




148        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
in the least be molested." They refused to avail themselves
of this permission, saying that they found nothing in his letter
" whereupon to build any security for their persons while in
the town, and for their return to the castle."  He upbraided
them for their pusillanimity in his reply, saying, "that if their
Master's service (as they call it) were chiefly in their eye, imagination of suffering would not have caused such a return"
to his proposal; and boldly affirming that " no man had been
troubled in England or Ireland for preaching the Gospel;
though none had liberty under pretence thereof, to overtop or
debase the civil power."' He cared little about the strict accuracy of his assertions, provided that they produced, at the
time when he spoke, and upon the public whom he addressed,
the impression which he required.
A few months later, during a visit to Glasgow, he frequently attended at Presbyterian sermons, taking care to
protect the liberty of the preachers, even when they attacked
him, and always manifesting the greatest eagerness to enter
into discussion with them.  "He one day sent to them,"
says one of his officers, "to give us a friendly Christian
meeting, to discourse of those things which they rail against
us for; that so, if possible, all misunderstandings between us
might be taken away. Which accordingly they gave us, on
Wednesday last.  There was no bitterness nor passion
Vented on either side; all was with moderation and tenderness. My Lord General and Major-General Lambert, for the
most part, maintained the discourse; and on their part, Mr.
James Guthrie and Mr. Patrick Gillespie.  We know not
what satisfaction they have received. Sure I am, there was
no such weight in their arguments as might in the least discourage us from what we have undertaken."2
Carlyle's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 231-233; Old Parliamentary
History, vol. xix. pp. 320-323; Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. pp. 158-162.
2 Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 310.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    149
Cromwell took as much care to conciliate individuals as
to exercise a directing and favorable influence upon popular
opinion. He found, among his prisoners, Mr. Alexander
Jaffiay, Provost of Aberdeen, and Mr. Carstairs, a Presbyterian minister of Glasgow, both intelligent and influential
men; he conversed familiarly with them, and treated them
so well that he succeeded in obtaining a strong hold upon
their minds; upon which he made haste to exchange them
for some English prisoners who were detained in Dumbarton
Castle, and they became useful agents to him in the country.
He never let slip any opportunity of showing politeness and
confidence to the men who he knew were more favorable to
the Commonwealth than to Charles Stuart; he was particularly attentive, for instance, to Sir Archibald Johnstone, who
thenceforward became his secret friend, and ultimately his
vigorous ally. Even under the most insignificant circumstances, from natural character or from calculation, he was
careful to please those who were indifferent or hostile to
him. Riding one day on a reconnoitering expedition in
Lanarkshire, with some officers, he was in want of a guide,
and could find none, "save one valetudinary gentleman,"
son of Sir Walter Stewart of Allertoun, a royalist and covenanter, another of whose sons had served as a captain in the
Scottish army at the battle of Dunbar. When he had completed his survey, Cromwell called in at the house; Sir Walter had absconded; and his wife, who " was as much for the
King and royal family as her husband," was alone to entertain the republican General. Cromwell entered into conversation with her, spoke with interest of her husband, her
relatives and her children; and said that change of climate
would be beneficial to her invalid son, and that Montpelier,
in the south of France, would be the place for him. Another
of her sons, a lad of ten years, went up to Cromwell, and
began to handle the hilt of his sword: Cromwell patted him
13-*




150        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
on the head, and said, "You are my little captain." On
rising from table, he returned thanks to God for his repast
in his usual manner, and prayed for a blessing upon the
family. He then set off to rejoin the army, leaving the lady
of the house full of admiration for his amiability and piety;
"she was sure," she said, "that Cromwell was one who feared
God, and had the true interest of religion at heart."'
Thus fomented by the able policy of Cromwell, division
broke out among the Scots. In proportion as the Presbyterian leaders became more moderate, and manifested greater
deference to the King, and tolerance of his friends, the
fanatics became more violent, and separated more widely
from him. They were especially incensed at certain resolutions of the Parliament, which, in consideration of a few
expressions of repentance, had allowed the old royalists to
resume their positions both in the court and the army.
They addressed a violent remonstrance, on this subject, to
the Committee of Estates, in whicl~ they openly attacked the
King, regretted that he had ever been recalled; demanded
that he should be excluded, for a time at least, from all participation in the government, and that his ministers, Argyle
and Loudon among others, should be dismissed; and protested against all idea of an invasion of England, and even
against the continuation of the war, as essentially unlawful,
if it were to be carried on in the interest, and by the exertion
of the libertine or hypocritical royalists. After the defeat at
Dunbar, five counties of the southwest of Scotland, in which
these opinions were predominant-Renfrew, Ayr, Galloway,
Wigton, and Dumfries-had formed themselves into a separate association, and had demanded permission to levy troops
on their own account, declaring that they would continue to
resist the English sectaries, but that they would no longer
serve under Lesley. The Parliament at Perth had weakly
Cromwell's Lettcrs and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 311, 312.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             151
consented to this; three or four thousand men had been
levied in the remonstrant counties, and were under the command of Colonels Kerr and Strahan, the two most impetuous
officers in the army, and both of them, or at least Strahan,
in close correspondence with Cromwell. The fanatics, therefore, had both troops and leaders in that district. The
Scottish government began to feel alarmed; the remonstrance
was voted calumnious, treacherous, and dangerous: and
Colonel Montgomery was sent, with two regiments of cavalry, to take the command of all the King's forces in the west.
But the discussion had been long, and the execution was
far from rapid; before it was possible to re-establish the
authority of the government in the confederated counties,
Cromwell sent Lambert thither with a body of troops, and
eventually proceeded thither himself. Either by force of
arms, or by the connivance of its leaders, the little army of
fanatics was defeated and dispersed: and of its two commanders, one, Colonel Kerr, was wounded and taken prisoner
without much resistance, and the other, Colonel Strahan,
openly went over to Cromwell with several officers. " There
is at this time," wrote Cromwell after this expedition, " a
very great distraction, and mighty workings of God upon
the hearts of divers, both ministers and people, much of it
tending to the justification of our cause. And although some
are as bitter and as bad as ever, making it their business to
shuffle hypocritically with their consciences and the Covenant, to make it seem lawful to join with malignants, which
now they do-as well they might long before, having taken
in the head malignant of them: yet truly others are startled
at it; and some have been constrained by the work of God
upon their consciences, to make sad and solemn accusation
of themselves; charging themselves as guilty of the bloodshed in this war, by having a hand in the treaty at Breda,
and by bringing the King in amongst them. This lately did




152        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
a lord of the session, and withdrew from the Committee of
Estates.  And lately Mr. James Livingston, a man as highly
esteemed as any for piety and learning, who was a cornmissioner for the Kirk at the said treaty, charged himself with
the guilt of the blood of the war, before their assembly; and
withdrew from them, and is retired to his own house."'
Charles was as much rejoiced as Cromwell at this disorganization of the Presbyterian party, for at the same time,
and by a natural coincidence, the royalist party became reconstituted; the moderate men daily allied themselves more
closely with it, in order to escape from the yoke of the sectaries, who lost ground in the opinion of the quieter part of
the population by their acts of violence and by their reverses
of fortune; while the royalist nobles regained their former
influence. The coronation took place in the cathedral church
of Scone, on the 1st of January, 1651, with all the old regal
solemnities; and notwithstanding the Presbyterian harshness of the sermon delivered on the occasion by Robert
Douglas, the moderator of the general assembly of the Kirk
-notwithstanding the unintelligent stringency of the oaths
required from Charles-a feeling of serious and devoted
loyalty animated the whole proceeding; the spectators, both
lay and clerical, nobles and people, however ill-assorted their
ideas in regard to government may have been, all sincerely
desired a monarchical r6gime for their country, and Charles
Stuart for their King.2 Out of respect for his right they exposed themselves, by crowning him, to a very unequal conflict. IHIappy would it have been if they could have reckoned,
on his part, upon a just return of sincerity and affection!
Almost at the very moment that Charles was crowned at
Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 263-265; Baillie's Letters,
vol. ii. pp. 348-369; Burnet's History of his own Time, vol. i. pp. 1 0-105;
Laing,'s IIistory of Scotland, vol. iii. pp. 461-466.
2 Somers's Tracts, vol. vi. pp. 117-143.




AND THIE E'NGLISH COMMONWEALT"H.            13
Scone, the republican Parliament of England sent into Scotland a celebrated engraver, named Symons, to take the portrait of Cromwell, for the purpose of transferring it to a
medal to be struck in commemoration of the battle of Dunbar. "It was not a little wonder to me," wrote Cromwell,
"to see that you should send Mr. Symons so great a journey,
about a business importing so little, as far as it relates to me;
whereas, if my poor opinion may not be rejected by you, I
have to offer to that which I think the most noble end, to
wit, the commemoration of that great mercy at DPunbar, and
the gratuity to the army; which might be better expressed
upon the medal, by engraving on the one side the Parliament, which I hear was intended, and will do singularly well;
and on the other side an Army, with the inscription over the
head of it, The Lord of Hosts! which was our word that day.
Wherefore, if I may beg it as a favor from you, I most
earnestly beseech you, if I may do it without offence, that it
may be so. And if you think not fit to have it as I offer,
you may alter it as you see cause; only I do think I may
truly say it will be very thankfully acknowledged by me, if
you will spare the having my effigies in it."' The medal was
struck without regard to this desire, and as it had been originally projected. No great man ever carried the hypocrisy
of modesty so far as Cromwell, or so easily subordinated his
vanity to his ambition.
Two incidents now occurred to give a new and unexpected
direction to the progress of affairs and of the war. Cromwell
fell seriously ill. Royalist plots broke out in England.
Ever since Charles II. had been in Scotland, the English
royalists had been agitating in every direction to go to his
assistance. He had sent blank commissions, with his signaCromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 290, 291; Harris's Life of
Cromwell, p. 519.




154       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
ture, to many of them, giving them authority to raise men,
to confer appointments, to make promises, in short, to act for
him and in his name. Among the Cavaliers who resided in
England, many were indiscreet, either from temerity or
vanity; those who were living in safety on the Continent, in
Holland, or at Paris with the Queen-mother, frequently compromised their friends at home by their correspondence or
conversation; great jealousy and distrust existed among the
different groups of these exiles, who were incessantly disputing for influence in their banishment, or quarrelling about
their future hopes. Sometimes they refused to communicate
or co-operate with one another; and sometimes they betrayed
each other, from animosity or levity. The republican Council of State had organized, against them and among their own
ranks, a very active police. One of its members, Scott, was
specially entrusted with its management, and wanted neither
ability nor funds for the proper discharge of his duty. During
the years 1650 and 1651, four royalist plots were set on foot,
either by old Cavaliers, or by Presbyterians, who were all the
more zealous, because their conversion was both recent and
sincere; but all failed, and in the space of thirteen months,
twenty-seven royalists, military and civil, lay and ecclesiastic,
known and obscure, were brought to the scaffold; some by
sentence of court-martial, but most after trial by those HIigh
Courts of Justice which were erected, not for the purpose of
judging in accordance with the laws, but in order to defend
the Commonwealth against the opinions of the people, and
the enterprise of its enemies. All these reverses, however,
did not discourage the English royalists; they were devoted,
harassed, and unoccupied; their King was in Scotland; his
friends there were fighting for him; and thence they obtained,
with regard to his danger, his strength, and his designs, vague
notions which kindled both their animosities and their hopes.
They could not make up their minds to remain quiet, when




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                   155
their cause was being so vigorously debated at their very
gates; and, in their turn, they sent into Scotland reports of
their attempts at insurrection, their illusions, and their promises.t
Whilst the royalist spirit was thus reviving in Scotland,
and fermenting in England, Cromwell, on his return from a
long winter's march at the head of his troops, through a
heavy storm of hail, snow, and rain, was seized at Edinburgh
with a violent attack of fever. This illness became serious;
the Parliament and Council of State grew alarmed, and sent
an express messenger to Cromwell, with the strongest assurances of their concern and solicitude; to which he thus replied in a letter to Bradshaw: " I do with all humble thankfulness acknowledge your high favor and tender respect of
me, in sending an express to enquire after one so unworthy
as myself. 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 diligence."2    e soon got better, and resumed his ordinary mode
of life.  "The Lord General is now well recovered," was the
news sent from Edinburgh to London; " he was in his diningroom to-day with his officers, and was very cheerful and
pleasant; so that there is not any fear, by the blessing of God,
but that he will be enabled to take the field when the pro1 Milton's State Papers, pp. 33, 34, 37; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp.
504, 506; Whitelocke, pp. 484, 486; Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. p. 414;
Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. xi. p. 490.
2 Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 302.




156        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
visions arrive."' And so, in fact, he did; but his disease
soon broke out again, and three successive relapses bore witness to its obstinacy. The Parliament sent two celebrated
physicians, Dr. Bates and Dr. Wright, to Edinburgh, without
delay, and Fairfax gave them his own carriage for the journey.  And finally, the House voted that "in regard to the
Lord General's relapse, and present indisposedness, and the
nature and sharpness of the air where he is, he be desired, in
relation to his health, to remove himself into some part of
England, until, by the blessing of God upon means used, he
be restored into a condition of health and strength to return
to the army; he disposing thereof, in the mean time, and the
management of affairs there, into such hands as he shall
think fit."2
AVhen these votes reached Scotland, an important event
had just occurred, which led to the expectation that fresh
resolutions would be adopted by the royalist party. The
moderate men, with Hamilton and Lauderdale at their head,
had decidedly gained the ascendency in the Scottish Parliament. Argyle and his friends made vain efforts to oppose
them; and Charles, while treating the rigid Presbyterians
with courtesy and consideration, successfully employed all
his address and influence to secure and enhance the triumph
of their adversaries;-the army was reorganized in accordance
with his wishes; in spite of violent debates, and the formal
protest of the Chancellor, Lord Loudon, a number of old
royalists, and those of the most obnoxious class, were appointed colonels. Finally, the Parliament invited the King
to take the command in person,3 and Charles actually became
i Cromwelliana, p. 101.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 5 79; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol.
ii. p. 314; Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 494.
3 Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 467; Browne's History of the
Highlands, vol. ii. p. 69; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp.
246, 247.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             157
the leader of his troops, as well as the head of his council, at
the very moment when the English Parliament advised Cromwell, for the sake of his health, to leave Scotland,, where he
seemed on the point of death.
A month had scarcely elapsed, and, either from the vigor
of his constitution or the energy of his will, Cromwell was
convalescent, and had actively recommenced the campaign;
manoeuvring round about the Scottish army, which was again
shut up within its intrenchments at Stirling; reducing to
submission the adjacent counties; gaining possession, by storm
or treachery, of most of the fortresses which still held out
against him; defeating, either in person, or by his lieutenants,
the detached bodies of troops which attempted to hamper his
movements; and finally laying siege to Perth —thus threateningc to deprive Charles, who lay encamped at Stirling with
his army, of the seat of his government.
Charles then abruptly took the resolution which he had
long been meditating; he announced to his council his intention of breaking up the camp, and carrying the war into
England, where his partisans only awaited his presence to
rise in insurrection against the Parliament. Mlany of the
Scottish leaders, assuredly, though staunch royalists, were
far from approving, in their hearts, of such a design; they
had little inclination to compromise themselves so far with
their formidable neighbors; sometimes even they had suggested to Charles that he would do well to content himself
with the crown of Scotland, and to leave England to struggle,
as long as it pleased, beneath the yoke of the Commonwealth,
and of its revolutionary factions. The recollection of the invasion attempted in 1647, by the late Duke of Hamilton, and
of its ill success, was still present to their minds. Nevertheless, most of them silently assented to the plan, being either
intimidated by the will of the King, or carried away by the
irresistible influence which is always exercised over men's
VOL. I.- 14




158        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
minds by a bold resolution in critical circumstances. Argyle,
almost alone, used every effort to dissuade the King from this
step; out of jealousy for the loss of his power, perhaps, for
it marked the triumph of his rivals, the Hamilton faction;
but also from prudence and political sagacity.  He estimated
more correctly than the little court of Charles, the state of the
public mind in England, the ardor of the young republican
party, and the slight chances in favor of a royalist insurrection.  Why run such risks, and leave Scotland destitute both
of its army and its King, after it had shown so much devotion to his cause?  Why plunge, with his little Scottish army,
into the midst of his enemies, when he might, by remaining
in Scotland on the defensive, waste and destroy the English
army, and Cromwell himself, by the severities of a second
winter? Charles gave no heed to his advice. Argyle insisted, declaring that, for his part, he would never share in
such an undertaking, and requested permission to retire to
his estates. Some persons advised Charles to have him immediately arrested; it was dangerous, they said, to leave so
powerful a malcontent behind him in Scotland. Charles refused, however, either out of consideration for his recent intimacy with Argyle, or from fear of the consequences of an
open rupture. Argyle set out at once for his seat at Inverary.  The King publicly announced, by proclamation, his
intention to begin his march for England on the following
day, accompanied by those of his subjects who were willing
to prove their loyalty to him by sharing his fortune; and on
the following day, in fact, the 31st of July, 1651, he was on
his road to Carlisle, at the head of an army of eleven, or a6cording to some authorities, fourteen thousand men, with
David Lesley for his lieutenant-general.'
Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi, p. 491; Whitelocke, p. 501;
Laing's History of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 468; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 253, 260.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    159
Cromwell was encamped before Perth, of which he had
just gained possession, when he learned this news. It is
doubtful whether he was either surprised or grieved to hear
it; he was strongly impressed with the difficulties and dangers, both to his army and himself, of the prolongation ef
the inconclusive war which he had been carrying on for a
year in Scotland; and he thought himself far more certain
to obtain prompt and decisive success in England. As early
as the month of January preceding, he had intimated to the
Parliament that the Scots might probably attempt an invasion; and his recent manceuvres, by placing him in the rear
of the Scottish army, so clearly opened the way to England
to the King, that they almost seemed to invite him to take
it. HIe did not conceal from himself the impression of terror, anger, and distrust which would be produced in London
by such a movement; all the more because, a week before,
when he was marching on Perth, he had written, "The enemy's great expectation now is to supply themselves in the
5West with recruits of men, and what victual they can get;
for they may expect none out of the North, when once our
army shall interpose between them and Perth, to prevent
their prevalency in the West, and making incursions into
the borders of England."' WVith dignified and sagacious
firmness, he immediately encountered the reproaches and
suspicions which he anticipated, and wrote to the Parliament, on the 4th of August, "While lying before Perth, we
had some intelligence of the enemy's marching southward,
though with some contradictions, as if it had not been so.
But doubting it might be true, we marched with all possible
expedition back again, and have passed our foot and many
of our horse over the Frith this day, resolving to make what
speed we can up to the enemy, who, in his desperation and
1 Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 320.




160       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
fear, and out of inevitable necessity, is run to try what he
can do this way. I do apprehend, that if he goes for England, being some few days' march before us, it will trouble
some men's thoughts, and may occasion some inconveniences,
w4hich I hope we are as deeply sensible of, and have been,
and I trust shall be as diligent to prevent, as any. And,
indeed, this is our comfort, that in simplicity of heart as towards God, we have done to the best of our judgments;
knowing that if some issue were not put to this business, it
would occasion another winter's war, to the ruin of your
soldiery, for whom the Scots are too hard in respect of enduring the winter difficulties of this country; and to the
endless expense of the treasure of England in prosecuting
this war. It may be supposed we might have kept the enemy from this, by interposing between him  and England.
which truly I believe we might; but how to remove him
out of this place, without doing what we have done, unless
we had had a commanding army on both sides of the river
of Forth, is not clear to us!
" We pray, therefore, that (seeing there is a possibility for
the enemy to put you to some trouble) you would, with the
same courage, grounded upon a confidence in God, wherein
you have been supported to the great things God hath used
you in hitherto-improve, the best you can, such forces as
you have in readiness, or as may on the sudden be gathered
together, to give the enemy some check, until we shall be
able to reach up to him; which we trust in the Lord we
shall do our utmost endeavor in. And, indeed, we have this
comfortable experience from the Lord, that this enemy is
heart-smitten by God; and whenever the Lord shall bring
us up to them, we believe the Lord will make the desperateness of this counsel of theirs to appear, and the folly of it
also. When England was much more unsteady than now;
and when a much more considerable army of theirs, unfoiled,




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               161
invaded you; and we had but a weak force to make resistance at Preston, upon deliberate advice we chose rather to
put ourselves between their army and Scotland; and how
God succeeded that, is not well to be forgotten! This present movement is not out of choice on our part, but by some
kind of necessity; and, it is to be hoped, will have the like
issue. Together with a hopeful end of your work, in which
it's good to wait upon the Lord, upon the earnest of former,experiences, and hope of His presence, which only is the life
of your cause."'
Cromwell had not deceived himself; the disturbance was
great in London; fear concealed itself beneath the mask of
anger; in the Parliament as in the city, and even in the
interior of the Council of State, Cromwell was declaimed
against and loaded with blame, and it was even suggested
that he had treated with Charles Stuart to betray the Commonwealth.  "Some," says Mrs. IHutchinson, " could not
hide very pale and unmanly fears; and Bradshaw himself,
stout-hearted as he was, privately could not conceal his
fear."2 But among the leaders at least, the alarm was of
short duration; Vane, Scott, Robinson, and Henry Martyn
were men of active and obstinate courage, passionately devoted to their cause, and moreover compromised to that
point at which courage, without ceasing to be a virtue, becomes a necessity. They immediately took measures for
making a bold stand against the invaders, and reviving public confidence. The army, to which they had recently added
three thousand horse and a thousand dragoons, received a
fresh augmentation of four thousand infantry. The militia
were called out throughout the country. Three regiments
i Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 327-329; Godwin's History
of the Conmmonwealth, vol. iii. p. 253; Old Parliamentary History, vol. xix.
pp. 455, 498.
2 Memoirs of Colonel Hutchinson, p. 356.
14t*




162        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROIMWELL
of volunteers were formed in London and its neighborhood,
for the special purpose of serving as a guard to the Parliament. Several earnest and influential men, among others
Colonel Hutchinson and John Claypole, Cromwell's son-inlaw, raised similar troops by their own exertions; and the
Parliament voted the necessary sums for defraying all these
expenses. On entering England, Charles had published a
proclamation of general amnesty, from which three men
only, Cromwell, Bradshaw, and Coke, the three principal
actors in the trial of the King his father, were excepted.
The Parliament replied to this by ordering it to be burned,
in London, by the common hangman, in presence of the
militia regiments; and by declaring Charles Stuart, and his
abettors, agents, and accomplices, rebels and traitors to the
Commonwealth of England. They also voted the punishment of death against all who should, in any way, maintain
any correspondence with him; imprisoned or banished all
the old royalists; and, in fine, established so rigorous and
minute a system of police that, among other provisions, all
masters of families, in certain parts of the country, were
enjoined to keep their children and servants within their
houses, except at certain hours of the day, and if they remained absent from  home for more than twelve hours, to
notify their absence to the committee of the militia of the
place, under penalty of being held responsible for their
actions.'
Meanwhile Charles advanced with his army, through the
north-western counties of England, without meeting with
any opposition. On learning his departure, Cromwell had
immediately detached Lambert and Harrison, with most of
his light troops, to follow him, and either separately or together to harass his flanks and rear, so as to straiten his
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 557, 614, 619 —622; vol. vii. pp. 3, 6, 7, 9.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              163
quarters and impede his progress in every way, without
risking a general action, in which they could not fail to be
worsted, and which Cromwell wished to reserve for himself.
"His Majesty," wrote Lord Lauderdale to his wife, from
Penrith, "is thus far advanced into England with a very
good army; I dare say, near double the number of those
that the King of Sweden entered Germany with, if they be
not more. As soon as we came into England, his Majesty
was by an Englishman, whom  he made King-at-Arms for
that day, proclaimed King of England, at the head of the
army, with great acclamation, and shooting off all the cannon. Yesterday he was proclaimed here in Penrith, and
will be in all the market-towns where we march. Never
was an army so regular as we have been since we came into
England; I dare say we have not taken the worth of a sixpence; and whatever our enemies print or write, trust me
this is the best Scots army that ever I saw, and I hope shall
prove best. All those that were unwilling to hazard all in
this cause with their King, have on specious pretence left
us. This is a natural purge, and will do us much good.
Nothing of action yet, except the driving of some small
parties, with which I will not trouble you. One thing I
cannot forget: this morning, my Lord Howard of Escrick's
son came in to us from the enemy, with his whole troop; his
Majesty received him graciously, and immediately knighted
him. He is the first, but I am confident a few days will
show us more that will return to their duty."'
Lord Lauderdale was deceived in his expectation. Few
Englishmen joined Charles on his march: he was invading
England at the head of an army of Scotsmen and Presbyterians, foreigners and sectaries. The national pride was
1 Cary's Memorials of the Civil War in England, vol. ii. pp. 307-309;
Cromwell's Lctters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 327; Whitelocke's Memorials, p.
501.




164       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
wounded, the adherents of the episcopal church were discontented and disquieted, and these feelings lent fresh influence
to the fear inspired by the Parliament and its severities.
Charles met with no more support than resistance: in most
of the towns through which he passed, he was received with
acclamations; but the population did not rise in his favor,
and the royalist leaders themselves arrived only in small
numbers, and with but few followers. On his departure
from Scotland, Charles had sent information of his movement to one of his most devoted and bravest adherents, the
Earl of Derby, who, since the termination of the civil war,
had been living in retirement in the Island of Man, with
Charlotte de la Tremouille, his wife, quite as royalist and
heroic as himself. Derby hastened to rejoin the King with
a small troop of chosen friends and servants, and Charles
directed him to go through Lancashire for the purpose of
rousing and collecting his partisans in that county. But
whilst the earl was engaged in the performance of this mission, he was surprised and defeated at Wigan by Colonel
Robert Lilburne, whom Cromwell, with his habitual prudence, had sent thither, to put down any royalist movements
which might be attempted. Derby was taken prisoner, but
contrived to escape, and made his way, a fugitive, and almost
alone, to join the King once more at Worcester. Another
of Charles's lieutenants, of a different religious and political
creed, General Massey, an excellent officer, who had been a
Presbyterian and Parliamentarian in the early part of his
career, also received orders to rally the royalists in Lancashire and Cheshire, where he was supposed to have considerable influence; and he had met with tolerable success in
his work, when the Scottish ministers, who attended the
march of the royal army, perceived that he recruited among
Episcopalians and Catholics, as well as among Presbyterians.
Without saying anything to the King, they sent a declaration




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    165
after him, which they required him to publish, to the effect
that no one was to be admitted into the army who did not
first subscribe the Covenant. Charles no sooner heard of
this declaration, than he wrote to Massey to suppress it; but
his letter was intercepted, and published by the Parliament,
and only served to give another proof of the KIing's duplicity,
and the internal dissensions of his party. Whilst the royalists manifested this timidity, the republicans displayed the
utmost firmness: the commandant of the little town of Biggar, on being summoned to surrender, replied, "that he would
keep it for the Parliament, from whom he held it." Charles
had intended to make Shrewsbury the centre of his operations in the west, and he hoped that its governor, Colonel
Mackworth, a lawyer who had turned soldier, would open its
gates to him; but Mackworth refused to do so, and immediately received from the Parliament a chain of gold, in
thanks for his fidelity. On arriving at Warrington, on the
Mersey, the royal army perceived on its left a considerable
body of troops. It was Lambert and Harrison, who had
combined to prevent their passing the river, by destroying
the bridge; but they did not succeed in this; the royal army
passed over, and some squadrons of Cavaliers vigorously
charged Lambert's vanguard with shouts'of "Oh, you rogues,
we will be with you before your Cromwell comes!" Lambert
refused to give battle, and retreated in some disorder. Charles
thought it inexpedient to pursue him-he was anxious to
get forward. But at the very moment that the enemy were
retiring before him, Charles observed his lieutenant-general,
David Lesley, looking sad and melancholy, and keeping aloof
from his officers. The King "rode up to him, and asked him
with great alacrity how he could be sad, when he was at the
head of so brave an army, which looked so well that day?
to which David Lesley answered him in his ear, that he




166         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
was melancholic indeed, for he well knew that army, how
well soever it looked, would not fight."'
On the 22d of August, Charles arrived at Worcester, where
he had promised his tired troops good quarters, and ample
repose. For a moment he was tempted to start again immediately, and to march upon London without halting; but he
was one of those men who have mind enough to conceive
great designs, but too weak a will to execute them. Worcester was an important and well-situated town; the Council
of State had made it a place of banishment for a number of
gentlemen of the neighborhood, who thus found themselves
collected there on the King's arrival, and who received him
with transports of delight. The mayor and all the local
authorities manifested equal devotedness to his cause; and
measures were immediately taken for the provisioning of his
army.  Charles resolved to establish his head-quarters in the
town, and on the 23d of August, 1651, exactly nine years,
day for day, since the King his father had planted the royal
standard at Nottingham, to begin the civil war, Charles set
up his standard at Worcester, and summoned, by solemn
proclamation, all his male subjects between the ages of sixteen and sixty, to join him at the general muster of his forces
on the 26th of August, in the meadows between the city and
the River Severn, which flows near it.  Thirty or forty gentlemen only, with about two hundred followers, appeared at
the rendezvous. The royal army was then found to consist
of about twelve thousand men, of whom ten thousand were
Scots, and scarcely two thousand English.2' Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 494-498; Whitelocke,
pp. 266, 501-503; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 260
-267; Lingard's History of England, vol. xi. pp. 76 —78; Boscobel Tracts,
pp. 27-29.
2 Whitelocke, pp. 503, 504; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi.
pp. 506, 507; Boscobel Tracts, pp. 173, 180; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches,
vol. ii. p. 330; Lingard's History of England, vol. xi. p. 77.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                167
A very strong movement, on the contrary, had taken
place in the republican party, and even throughout the country generally, against those insolent neighbors who had come
to impose a king upon England by force of arms, and those
tyrannical Presbyterians who proposed to establish their
creed upon the oppression of Christian consciences. All
diversity of political ideas and desires disappeared almost
entirely before this national feeling. The militia of a great
many large towns-London, Bristol, York, Gloucester, Coventry, Hereford-rose with ardor to defend their homes, pr
even to join the army which was defending their country.
Regiments of volunteers were formed in several counties for
the same purpose. Fairfax, who had refused to invade Scotland, placed himself at the head of his neighbors in Yorkshire, and offered his services to Cromwell, to repulse the
men who had dared to invade England. The Parliament,
by the measures it adopted, and the rewards it distributed,
and Cromwell, by the commands he issued, and the examples
he made along his whole route, from  the north-east to the
south-west of England, unremittingly fostered this movement, and when, after a march of twenty-one days, Cromwell, who had left Scotland with ten thousand men, arrived
before Worcester, on the 28th of August, he had under his
command an army of thirty-four thousand men, of whom
twenty-four thousand were infantry, and ten thousand cavalry.'
The royal army was much less numerous, less animated,
and less ably commanded. It was not even accurately known
who was to command it. At the time when it entered England, the ambitious, presumptuous, and restless Duke of
1 Whitelocke, pp. 497, 502, 504; Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 6, 8;
Godwin's IIistory of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 263, 268, 407, 408;
Brodie's History of the British Empire, vol. iv. p. 307; Boscobel Tracts, p.
180.




168        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Buckingham had told the King that it would be unwise to
leave it under the command of a Scottish general, and had
proposed himself as Lesley's successor. At Worcester, when
the moment for decisive action drew near, he renewed his
demand with such importunity that the King grew angry,
and told him he could hardly believe he was in earnest, or
that he could really consider himself fit for such a charge.
The duke asked wherein his unfitness lay. "You are too
young," replied Charles.  "But, sire," urged Buckingham,
"Harry the Fourth of France commanded an army and won
a battle when he was younger than I am;" and he persisted
so strongly in his request, that at last the King was compelled to tell him he would have no generalissimo but himself; "upon which the duke was so discontented that he came
no more to the Council, scarce spoke to the King, and would
not converse with anybody; nor did he recover this ill-humor
whilst the army stayed at Worcester.l' Misunderstanding
prevailed among the other generals also. Lesley, who was
dispirited and unpopular, detested Middleton, who was confident and beloved by the soldiers; Massey had been grievously wounded in an attempt to prevent the enemy from
passing the Severn and taking up a position on both banks
of the river, and was confined to his bed, incapable of active
service. Charles was constantly employed in reconciling or
pacifying his lieutenants, but he was himself frivolous and
careless; he had but little authority, little faith in his own
success; and traitors were not wanting within the walls of
Worcester to inform Cromwell of the bad internal condition
of the royal army-its dissensions, hesitations, movements,
and projects.2
Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 507-509.
2 Boscobel Tracts, pp. 30, 125, 180, 220; Whitelocke, p. 505; Cromwell's
Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 335.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             169
Cromwell did not hesitate a moment: without waiting for
the slow results of a siege, he resolved to attack Worcester
at once on both sides of the Severn, at both extremities of
the town, and to carry it at all risks. He encamped on the
left bank of the river, and on the'very day of his arrival, in
spite of the obstinate resistance of the royalists, he passed a
body of troops to the right bank, under Lambert's orders;
and five days after, during the evening of the 2d of September and the morning of the 3d, numerous reinforcements,
commanded by Fleetwood, executed the same movement,
with orders to attack the western suburb of Worcester,
whilst Cromwell himself, at the eastern extremity, directed
the principal attack against the city itself. Charles, whose
information was very imperfect, did not expect any serious
affair on that day, and was quietly resting his troops; but
at about one o'clock in the afternoon, while on the tower of
the cathedral with his staff, he noticed several of Cromwell's
regiments crossing the river by a bridge of boats, and
marching against the Scottish troops, who had been posted,
under Major-General Montgomery, to defend the western approaches to the city. Almost at the same moment he heard,
on the eastern side, the volleys of the republican artillery,
which was beginning to batter the approaches to the place.
Charles descended hastily from the tower, mounted his horse,
and rode to the western suburb to support Montgomery.
Cromwell was already there in person, warmly pushing the
attack: before acting himself on the left bank, he had desired
to make sure that the orders which he had given were well
executed on the right. The Scots made a bold resistance.
Charles thought that the bulk of the parliamentary army
were engaged on this side, and returning immediately into
the town, he put himself at the head of his best infantry and
his squadrons of English cavalry, left the city by the eastern
gate, and marched upon Cromwell's camp, hoping to find it
VOL. I. —15




170       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
weakly guarded, and to be able to destroy it. But Cromwell
also had passed rapidly over to the left bank of the river, and
reappeared at the head of the troops which he had left there.
The battle, thus engaged at both extremities of Worcester,
lasted for four or five hours-" as stiff a contest as I have
ever seen," wrote Cromwell; but begun and maintained by
the royalists in the midst of great confusion.  The troops
led by Charles himself charged the republicans so vigorously
that they gave way at first, abandoning a part of their artillery; three thousand Scottish cavalry, commanded by Lesley
were under arms behind the King, who sent them orders
to follow up his movement, and charge in their turn. " Oh,
for one hour of Montrose!" shouted the English Cavaliers;
but Lesley remained motionless.  Cromwell meanwhile
rallied his troops, and resumed the offensive; the royal
infantry, failing in ammunition, fell back; the Duke of
Hamilton and Sir John Douglas were mortally wounded.
Cromwell, everywhere present and full of confidence, carried
the attack in person to the intrenchments of Fort Royal,
which covered the city on that side, and summoned the commandant, who occupied it with fifteen hundred men, to surrender; a volley of artillery was his reply; but the fort was
soon stormed, and the garrison put to the sword. Both
royalists and republicans fought hand to hand up to the
gates of the city; there the disorder was extreme-an ammunition wagon had been overthrown, and blocked the
passage; Charles was obliged to dismount from his horse,
and enter Worcester on foot; the republicans dashed through
the breach after him. Meanwhile the conflict in the west
had the same issue: Montgomery's Scots, after having exhausted their ammunition, fell back upon the town, pursued
by Fleetwood's troops, who entered with them. The combat
was renewed in the streets in the form of partial encounters,
and intermingled with acts of pillage and heroism, devoted



AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 171
ness and flight.  Charles remounted on horseback, and
endeavored to rally his men, but in vain. "Then shoot me
dead!" he cried, "rather than let me live to see the sad consequences of this day."  But ere long it became his most
imperative duty not to fall into the hands of the enemy.
About fifty royalists, led by Lord Cleveland, Colonel
Wogan, Sir James Hamilton, and Major Careless, formed
themselves into a compact body, and with ardent courage
charged the republican troops in every direction, in order to
cover the retreat of the King, who at length left Worcester
by St. Martin's gate, and took the northern road. Before he
had ridden far he came up with some of Lesley's cavalry, who
were flying without having fought; for a moment he felt
disposed to try once more to induce them to turn and renew
the action. "But no," he said to himself, "men who deserted
me when they were in good order, would never stand to me
now they are beaten." So he left Lesley and his Scotsmen
to effect their retreat as they best might, and concentrated
his attention on providing for his own safety. The idea
occurred to him of going to seek an asylum in London-the
best place, perhaps, both for concealment and for taking advantage of any opportunity that might present itself for
renewing the war. But he mentioned this plan only to Lord
Wilmot, his most intimate confident; and, followed by about
sixty devoted Cavaliers, he pursued his way towards the
north, protected for the moment by the night, and anxiously
consulting with his companions as to their means of safety
for the morrow.'
I Boscobel Tracts, pp. 30-38, 123-130, 134; Clarendon's History of the
Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 510-514; Clarendon's State Papers, vol. iii. p. 30;
Whitelocke, p. 507; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 337; Bates,
Elenchus Motuumn Nuperorum, part ii. pp. 219 —225; Godwin's History of
the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 271-274; Lingard's History of England, vol.
xi. pp. 77, 78; Cromwelliana, p. 115; Old Parliamentary History, vol. xx.
pp. 59-68.




172       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
At about the same time, at ten o'clock in the evening,
Cromwell, who had hardly made his entry into Worcester,
which was still a prey to confusion and pillage, sent a short
announcement of his victory to the Parliament, and a fuller
account on the following day. "The battle," he wrote, " was
fought with various success for some hours, but still hopeful
on our part; and in the end became an absolute victoryand so full a one as proved a total defeat and ruin of the
enemy's army. We took all their baggage and artillery.
What the slain are, I can give you no account, because we
have not taken an exact view; but they are very many:
and must needs be so; because the dispute was long and very
near at hand, and often at push of pike. There are about
six or seven thousand prisoners taken here; and many
officers and noblemen of very great quality: Duke Hamilton,
the Earl of Rothes, and divers other noblemen —I hear, the
Earl of Lauderdale; many officers of great quality; and
some that will be fit subjects for your justice.
The dimensions of this mercy are above my thoughts. It
is, for aught 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 establish the nation and
the change of the government, by making the people so
willing to the defence thereof, and so signally blessing the
endeavors of your servants in this late great work."'
When this letter was read, the Parliament called in Major
Cobbett, who had brought it, and wished to hear from him
a circumstantial narrative of the battle. Cobbett at the same
time produced the Collar and Garter of the King, which had
been found at Worcester, in the house which he had occupied.
Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 339-341.




AND THE BINGLISH COMMONWEALTH.           173
Two members of the House, Mr. Scott and Major Salwey, on
their return from the camp to which they had been sent on
a special mission, also satisfied, by numerous details, the
curiosity of their colleagues. Every day brought the names
of new and important prisoners: the Earls of Derby, Cleveland, Lauderdale, Shrewsbury, and Kelly, Generals Massey,
Middleton, and Lesley, indeed, nearly all the royalist leaders
fell, during their flight, into the hands of the republican
authorities. It was truly, as Cromwell had said, a crowning
victory. The Parliament was anxious to show its grateful
joy by all means in its power. It ordered a solemn thanksgiving service throughout the three kingdoms, and gave a
great banquet in Whitehall. Four members, Whitelocke,
St. John, Lisle, and Pickering, were appointed to wait on
Cromwell, to express to him, in terms officially voted by the
House, the sense which Parliament entertained of his glorious
services. The palace of Hampton Court was assigned to him
for a residence, with an estate in land of the yearly value of
4,0001. His principal officers, and even the obscure messengers who had brought the news, received splendid rewards.
But while favors were thus lavished on the victors, severities
were not forgotten towards the vanquished. Nine of the
principal prisoners were chosen to be tried by court-martial
for high treason; one of them, the Duke of Hamilton, died
of his wounds before judgment could be pronounced upon
him; three, the Earl of Derby, Sir Timothy Fetherstonhaugh,
and Captain Benbow, were tried at Chester, and condemned
to death. They met their fate with the courage of martyrs.
" For the cause in which I had a great while waded," said
the Earl of Derby on the scaffold, " I must needs say, my
engagement or continuance in it hath laid no scruple upon
my conscience. It was on principles of law, and on principles of religion, that I embraced it; myjudgment is satisfed,
and my conscience rectified; for which I bless God, I will
15*




174        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
not presume to decide controversies. I pray God to prosper
that side that hath right with it; and that you may enjoy
peace and plenty, when I shall enjoy peace and plenty,
beyond all you possess here."'
Either because such speeches from the vanquished seemed
to the Parliament more dangerous than their punishment was
useful, or because the completeness of its triumph inclined
it to moderation, these painful spectacles were not multiplied.
The other prisoners of mark remained confined in the Tower.
The common soldiers were treated with severity, but their
fate was kept as secret as possible; thousands of them  were
sold or given away to merchants or planters, and sent to work
either in the colonies, or in the mines of Africa. Finally, it
was decreed, and solemnly proclaimed all over the country,
that a reward of one thousand pounds should be given to any
person who should "bring in to the Parliament Charles
Stuart, son of the late tyrant."2
Whilst the Parliament was passing this decree in London,
its soldiers were traversing the western counties in all directions in search of the king, and finding traces of him everywhere, but himself nowhere. Five days after the battle, a
detachment of infantry arrived suddenly at the old monastery
of Whiteladies, the seat of a Catholic gentleman named
Giffard, and required him, on pain of death, to tell them
what had become of the king, who, they said, had recently
been concealed in his house. Mr. Giffard resolutely denied
having seen the fugitive, and begged, if he must die, that
they would first give him leave to say a few prayers. "If
I Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 12-16; Old Parliamentary History, vol.
xx. p. 72; State Trials, vol. v. pp. 294-323; Boscobel Tracts, pp. 187, 193,
198; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 515-518; Whitelocke,
p. 508.
2 Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 273-276; Commons
Journals, vol. vii. p. 14.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    175
you can tell us no news of the king," said one of the soldiers,
" you shall say no prayers." He persisted in his silence, and
the soldiers, after having carefully searched the whole house,
rode off without doing him any further injury. Whiteladies,
however, had been the first asylum of Charles; he had
arrived there at daybreak on the 4th of September, scarcely
twelve hours after having escaped from Worcester. He had
immediately cut off his hair, stained his hands and face, and
assumed the coarse and threadbare garments of a peasant;
and five brothers Penderell, all of them laborers, woodmen or
domestics in the service of Mr. Giffard, had undertaken to
secure his safety. "This is the king," said Mr. Giffard to
William  Penderell; "thou must have a care of him, and
preserve him as thou didst me." They accordingly took
Charles to Boscobel House, and concealed him in the adjoining woods. It was raining heavily: Richard Penderell
procured a blanket, and spread it for the king under one of
the largest trees; while his sister, Mrs. Yates, brought a
supply of bread, milk, eggs, and butter. "Good woman,"
said Charles to her, "can you be faithful to a distressed
Cavalier?" "Yes, Sir," she replied, "and I will die sooner
than betray you." Some soldiers passed on the outskirts of
the wood, but did not enter it, because the storm was more
violent over the wood than in the open fields. On the next
day, the king concealed himself among the leafy branches of
a large oak, and from this cover he could see the soldiers
scouring the country in search of him. One night he left
his hiding-place, to endeavor to cross the Severn, and take
refuge in Wales; but as he was passing a mill with Richard
Penderell, his guide, the miller called out, " Who goes there?"
" Neighbors going home," answered Penderell. "If you be
neighbors, stand," cried the miller, " or I will knock you
down." They fled as fast as they could, and were pursued
for some time by several men who came out of the mill with




176       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the miller. In another of their attempts to escape, while
fording a small river, the King, who was a good swimmer,
helped his guide across, as he was unable to swim. He
wandered for seven days in this manner through the country,
changing his place of refuge almost daily, sometimes hidden
beneath the hay in a barn, sometimes concealed in one of
those obscure hiding-places which served as a retreat to the
proscribed Catholic priests; hearing or seeing, at every
moment, the republican soldiers who had been sent in search
of him. In concert with his faithful guards, and with Lord
Wilmot, who had rejoined him, he resolved to make for the
sea-coast, near Bristol, in the hope of being able to find a
vessel to take him over to France. He now changed his
disguise, assumed a servant's livery instead of his peasant's
garb, and set off on horseback, under the name of William
Jackson, carrying behind him his mistress, Miss Jane Lane,
sister of Colonel Lane, of Bentley, his last place of refuge in
Staffordshire. "Will," said the colonel to him at starting,
"thou must give my sister thy hand to help her to mount:"
but the King, unused to such offices, gave her the wrong
hand. " What a goodly horseman my daughter has got to
ride before her," said old Mrs. Lane, the colonel's mother, who
was watching their departure, though unacquainted with the
secret. They set off, but they had scarcely ridden two hours,
when the King's horse cast a shoe, and they halted at a little
village to get another shoe. "As I was holding the horse's
foot," says the King in his narrative of his escape, "I asked
the smith what news. He told me that there was no news
that he knew of, since the good news of the beating of those
rogues, the Scots. I asked him whether there were none of
the English taken that had joined with the Scots. He answered that some of them were taken, but he did not hear
that that rogue, Charles Stuart, had been taken yet. I told
him that, if that rogue were taken, he deserved to be hanged




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    177
more than all the rest, for bringing in the Scots. Upon
which he said that I spoke like an honest man; and so we
parted.",
On the 13th of September he reached Abbotsleigh, near
Bristol, the residence of Mr. Norton, a cousin of Colonel
Lane. He there learned, to his great sorrow, that there was
not in the port of Bristol any vessel on board which he could
embark; and he was obliged to remain in the house four
days.  Under pretence of indisposition, he was indulged
with a separate chamber, and by Miss Lane's request, particular care was taken of him. He was really much harassed
and fatigued, though but little inclined to endure patiently
either hunger or ennui. On the morning after his arrival, he
rose early, and went to the buttery-hatch to get his breakfast,
where he found Pope, the butler, and two or three other
servants; "and," he says, "we all fell to eating bread and
butter, to which Pope gave us very good ale and sack. As
I was sitting there, there was one that looked like a country
fellow sat just by me, who gave so particular an account of
the battle of Worcester to the rest of the company, that I
concluded he must be one of Cromwell's soldiers. But I
asking him how he came to give so good an account of that
battle? he told me he was in the King's regiment; and on
questioning him further, I perceived that he had been in my
regiment of guards. I asked him what kind of a man I was?
To which he answered by describing exactly both my clothes
and my horse; and then looking upon me, he told me that
the king was at least three fingers taller than I. Upon which
I made what haste I could out of the buttery, for fear he
should indeed know me, being more afraid when I knew he
was one of our own soldiers, than when I took him for one
of the enemy's."
I Boscobel Tracts, pp. 40-46; 134, 136-146, 190, 192, 218, 223-226,
239-241.




178       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Charles had no sooner returned to his room, than one of
his companions came to him in great agitation, and said:
"What shall we do? I am afraid Pope the butler knows you,
for he says very positively to me that it is you, but I have
denied it." Charles had already learned that, in positions of
danger, bold confidence is often no less a source of safety
than a necessity; he sent for the butler, told him all, and
received from him, during his stay at Mr. Norton's house,
the most intelligent and most devoted care.
But attentions, even when shown most discreetly, sometimes prove most compromising; at the end of four days
Charles had to seek a new asylum; and on the 14th of September, he left Abbotsleigh for Trent House, in the same county,
the residence of Colonel Wyndham, a staunch royalist. In
1636, six years before the outbreak of the war between
Charles I. and his Parliament, Sir Thomas Wyndham, the
Colonel's father, when on the point of death, had said to his
five sons-" My sons, we have hitherto seen serene and quiet
times, but now prepare yourselves for cloudy and troublesome.  I command you to honor and obey our gracious
sovereign, and in all times to adhere to the crown; and though
the crown should hang upon a bush, I charge you forsake it
not." The injunctions of the dying man were obeyed; three
of his sons and one of his grandsons fell on the battle-field,
fighting for Charles I.; and Colonel Wyndham, who had also
served with honor in the royal army, was, in 1651, a prisoner
on parole in his own house. He received the king with the
utmost devotedness, and set to work immediately to obtain
some means of embarkation for him in one of the neighboring ports. He thought he had succeeded in doing so at Southampton; but the vessel which he had fixed upon was required
by the agents of the Parliament to transport a body of troops
to Jersey. A sea-captain of Lyme, named Limbry, underBoscobel Tracts, pp. 54, 108-110, 146-150, 243.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    179
took, not without considerable hesitation, to convey to St.
Malo some royalist gentlemen who had been engaged in
Worcester fight; every arrangement was made as to the price,
the day, the hour, and the place of embarkation: on the
23d of September, the vessel was to set sail from Charmouth,
a little port near Lyme, and during the night, the long-boat
was to fetch the fugitive royalists, from an appointed place
on the beach.
Guided by Colonel Wyndham, Charles proceeded to the
spot agreed upon, where he was met by Lord Wilmot; they
waited there all night, but the boat did not make its appearance. Limbry, at the moment when he was about to send
his things on board, had been detained by the anger and despair of his wife. On that very day, at the fair of Lyme,
proclamation had been made of the act of Parliament which
offered a reward of a thousand pounds for the king's arrest,
and at the same time menaced with the severest punishment
all who should give him refuge. Limbry's wife, without
suspecting that the king himself was concerned in the matter,
declared to her husband that she would not suffer him to take
on board his vessel any royalist, or to expose her children and
herself to utter ruin for the sake of any lord, however high
his rank; and with the help of her two daughters, she locked
her husband in his room, threatening that, if he persisted in
his design, she would denounce it immediately to Captain
Macy, who commanded a company of the Parliament's troops
at Lyme. Limbry yielded to the fears and violence of his
wife. The king's position was now becoming dangerous;
the presence of so many strangers at Charmouth had been
remarked; Lord Wilmot's horse required shoeing; the smith
to whom it was taken said that "he was sure his three shoes
had been set in three several counties, and one of them in
Worcestershire."  Suspicions were aroused; the puritan
minister of the place, a zealous republican, went to the




180       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
hostess of the inn where Charles had been staying, and said
to her, "Why, how now, Margaret, you are a maid of honor
now."  "What mean you by that, Mr. Parson?" said she.
"Why, Charles Stuart lay last night at your house," he
answered, "and kissed you at his departure; so that now you
can't but be a maid of honor." The,hostess grew angry, and
told him he was a scurvy-conditioned man to go about to
bring her and her house into trouble; "but," she added, "if
I thought it was the King, as you say it was, I would think
the better of my lips all the days of my life; and so, Mr.
Parson, get you out of my house, or else I'll get those shall
kick you out."  Charles left Charmouth in all haste, but on
arriving at Bridport, a neighboring town, he found the streets
filled with soldiers; it was the regiment which the Parliament
was about to send to take possession of Jersey. "What is to
be done?" asked Colonel Wyndham, in great alarm; Charles,
with his accustomed presence of mind, and still acting the
part of a domestic, dismounted, took the bridles of the horses,
and passing boldly among the troopers, with many a coarse
jest and rough word, he went straight to the best inn of the
place, and remained there until his party had quietly dined.
In the meanwhile, at Charmouth and its neighborhood, the
report that Charles Stuart had been there had assumed consistency; Captain Macy mounted his horse with some of his
men, rode at full speed to Bridport, and, after making full
inquiries there, set off immediately in pursuit of the fugitives;
but at a short distance from the town, Charles and his companions had left the high road, and continued their journey
across country.  Macy lost all trace of them; and from
village to village, they returned to Colonel Wyndham's
house in Somersetshire, divided between feelings of increased
perplexity, and the delight of finling rest after danger.
Charles remained for eleven days at Trent House, still
seeking, but in vain, the means of transport to France. It




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    181
then became necessary for him once more to change his residence. Colonel Wyndham was informed that his house was
becoming more and more suspected; and ere long, troops
arrived in the neighborhood. On the 6th of October, the
King left the Trent House to take refuge at HIele House, the
residence of Mr. Hyde, in Wiltshire; where he would be
nearer the small sea-ports of Sussex, at one of which his
friends hoped to be able to procure him a vessel. They at
last succeeded in obtaining one, and on the morning of the
13th of October, Charles left his last hiding-place, escorted
by a few faithful friends, who had brought their dogs, as if
for a coursing expedition on the downs. They slept at
Hambledon, in Hampshire, at the house of a brother-in-law
of Colonel Gunter, one of the King's guides; and the master
of the house, on his return home, was astonished to find his
table surrounded by unknown guests, whose gayety exceeded
the bounds of "decent hilarity." The King's cropped hair,
and the reproof which he administered to the honest squire
for a casual oath, redoubled his surprise; he bent towards
his brother-in-law, and asked if that fellow were not "some
roundheaded rogue's son." The colonel assured him that
his suspicions were unfounded, upon which he sat down at
table with his guests, and gayly drank the King's health "in
a good glass of beer, calling him brother roundhead." On
the following day, the 14th of October, they proceeded to
Brighthelmstone, where they were to meet the master of the
promised vessel, and the merchant who had engaged it for
them. They all supped together at the village inn; during
the meal, the captain, Anthony Tettersall, scarcely once took
his eyes off the King; and after supper he took the merchant
aside and told him "that he had not dealt fairly with him;
for though he had given him a very good price for carrying
over that gentleman, yet he had not been clear with him;for,'" said he, "he is the King, and I very well know him to
VOL. L —16




182       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
be so." The merchant assured him that he was mistaken,
but he answered: "No I am not; for he took my ship, together with other fishing vessels at Brighthelmstone, in the
year 1648, when he commanded his father's fleet; but be not
troubled at it, for I think I do God and my country good
service in preserving the King, and by the grace of God, I
will venture my life and all for him, and set him safely on
shore, if I can, in France." At about the same time, at
another part of the room, the innkeeper came up to the
King, who was standing by the fire, with his hand resting on
the back of a chair, and kissed his hand suddenly. "God
bless you wheresoever you go!" he said; "I do not doubt,
before I die, to be a lord, and my wife a lady." Charles
laughed, and went into another room, putting full trust in
his host; and at five o'clock on the morning of the 15th of
October, the King:and Lord Wilmot were on board a little
vessel of sixty tons, which only waited for the tide to leave
Shoreham harbor. As soon as they were at sea, Captain
Tettersall came into the cabin where the King was lying, fell
on his knees, kissed his hand, and protesting his entire devotedness, suggested that, in order to prevent all difficulty,
he should himself persuade the crew, who imagined that they
had embarked for the English port of Poole, to sail towards
the coast of France, by representing himself to them as a
merchant in debt, who was afraid of being arrested in England, and wished to recover some money that was owing to
him at Rouen. Charles willingly acceded to this proposition, and contrived to ingratiate himself so thoroughly with
the sailors, that they joined him in requesting the captain to
turn aside from his course in favor of his passengers. The
weather was fine and the wind favorable, and at one o'clock
in the afternoon of the 16th of October, the ship's boat landed
the King and Lord Wilmot in the little port of F6camp.
They proceeded on the following day to Rouen, clothed so




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              183
wretchedly and looking so disreputable, that when they presented themselves at an inn, the host hesitated to give them
admittance, taking them "to be thieves, or persons that had
been doing some very ill thing." Charles sent for an English merchant who resided at Rouen, to supply his immediate
necessities; and wrote at once to the Queen his mother, who
was in the utmost anguish as to his fate. The most contradictory reports had been spread regarding him: some stated
that he had been captured by Cromwell's soldiers, others that
he had succeeded in making his escape to Holland. As soon
as it became known that he was at Rouen, the English refugees flocked to meet him; he left that city on the 29th of
October, and on the 30th, he met his brother, the Duke of
York, at MIfagny, and afterwards at Monceaux, near Paris,
the Queen his mother, the Duke of Orleans his uncle, with a
large number of French and English gentlemen who, had
come out on horseback to welcome him. He proceeded that
same evening to the Louvre, saved from all peril, but conquered and without hope.'
He had wandered about England for forty-two days, and
had been concealed successively in eight different hidingplaces; forty-five persons of all ranks in life, whose names
have reached us, and doubtless many others of whom we
have no information, had known who he was and where he.
was. Not one of them betrayed, even by an indiscretion,
the secret of his presence or of his movements. Sincere
devotedness can inspire the most simple-minded with saga.
city, and the weakest with virtue.
Whilst Charles was thus experiencing at once the severest
trials of his destiny and the fidelity of his friends, Cromwell
had returned in triumph to London, preceded by the prison1 Boscobel Tracts, pp. 67-73, 119-122, 156-163, 251-259; Clarendon's
State Papers, vol. iii. pp. 30, 31; Bates, Elenchus Motuum Nuperorum, pp.
226-266.




184       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
ers whom he had taken, and surrounded by the officers who
had shared in his victory. The four commissioners who had
been delegated by the Parliament went, on the 11th of September, beyond Aylesbury to meet him. " We come," they
said to him, " in the name of the Parliament, to congratulate
your Lordship on your good recovery of health, after your
dangerous sickness. Your unwearied labors and pains, in
the late expedition into Scotland, for the service of this
Commonwealth; your diligence in prosecution of the
enemy, when he fled into England; the great hardships and
hazards you have exposed yourself unto, and particularly
in the late fight at Worcester; your prudent and faithful
managing and conducting throughout this great and important affair, which the Lord from heaven hath so signally
blessed, and crowned with so complete and glorious an issue;
-of all these things the Parliament have thought fit, by us,
to certify to your Lordship their good acceptance, and great
satisfaction therein; and for the same, to return to you in
the name of the Parliament and Commonwealth of England,
their most hearty thanks; as also, to the rest of your officers
and soldiers, for their great and gallant services. And since,
by the great blessing of God upon your Lordship's and the
army's endeavors, the enemy is so totally defeated, and the
state of affairs, as well in England as in Scotland, such as
may very well dispense with your Lordship's continuance in
the field, the Parliament do desire your Lordship, for the
better settlement of your health, to take such rest and repose
as you shall find most requisite and conducing thereunto;
and for that purpose, to make your residence at or near
London; whereby also, the Parliament may have the assistance of your presence, in the great and important consultation for the further settlement of this Commonwealth, which
they are now upon."  On his entry into London, Cromwell
was met by the Speaker and a large number of members of




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    185
the House of Commons, by the President of the Council of
State, the Lord Mayor and aldermen of the city, and many
thousands of notable citizens, who accompanied him  to
Whitehall, amid salutes of artillery and popular acclamations;
and when, four days afterwards, he made his appearance
again in the House, the Speaker reiterated to him the solemn
thanks of the Parliament and country.'
Cromwell received all these honors with pious modesty,
saying but little of himself, and ascribing, first to God and
then to his soldiers, the whole merit of his success. Through
his humility, however, glimpses of an irrepressible internal
exultation occasionally manifested themselves: his affability
towards the commissioners whom the Parliament had sent
to meet him wore an air of magnificence and grandeur; he
presented to each of them a fine horse and some of the
prisoners of rank whom he brought with him, and who
would certainly redeem their liberty at a high price. To
Whitelocke he gave two of them, and he liberated them
without ransom. Cromwell proceeded slowly towards London, receiving the homage of the population on his route,
and sometimes even halting to share in the hawking expeditions of the gentlemen whom he met. At Aylesbury, it
was remarked that he remained long in private conversation
with the Chief Justice St. John, one of the Parliament's commissioners, and also one of Cromwell's most intimate confidants. His air, his language, and his manners, seemed to
undergo a natural transformation; and Hugh Peters, a clearsighted sectarian preacher, who had long been used to understand and serve him, said, as he noticed his altered appearance: " This man will be king of England yet."2
l Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 13, 14, 18; Whitelocke's Memorials, p.
509.
2 Whitelocke, p. 509; Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 189; Cromwell's Letters and
Speeches, vol. ii. p. 243.
16*




186     HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL,  ETC.
His good fortune extended to his lieutenants; on leaving
first Ireland, and then Scotland, he had delegated the command in the former country to Ireton, and in the latter to
Monk-the one a republican, the other a royalist at heart,
but both of them  sensible, capable, rough-mannered men,
well fitted to carry on a work of war, and of government by
the sword when the victory was won. Both of them obtained complete success. Monk met with desperate resistance
at several places, and especially at the siege of Dundee;
Ireton continued the system of cruel severity which Cromwell had put in practice, and died of the plague, it is said,
after the siege and capture of Limerick. But at the end of
the year 1651, both Ireland and Scotland were in entire
subjection; Ormonde had returned to the Continent; the
Scottish Highlanders, unable to undertake any serious enterprise, had great difficulty in maintaining some remnant of independence in their rude mountain fastnesses. At the same
time, the fleet and troops of the Parliament had regained
possession of the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Scilly, and
Man, the last refuges of the royal dominion: the chief colonial dependencies, New England, Virginia, and Barbadoes,
had either hastened or been compelled to accept the new
government of the home country;' and a few months after
that battle which had consummated the defeat of royalty in
England, the republican Parliament was master of all the
English territories, in both hemispheres.
Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 31, 35, 62, 90, 124, 172; Whitelocke, pp.
523, 527; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 545-554.




BOOK  lII.
IMPRESSION PRODUCED ON THE CONTINENT BY THIE TRIAL AND EXECtTIO01 0O
CHARLES I.-ASSASSINATION OF DORISLAUS AT THE HAGUE, AND OF ASCHAM
AT MADRID-ATTITUDE OF THE CONTINENTAL STATES TOWARDS THE COIMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND-DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESSES OF THE ENGLISH NAVY
-FOREIGN POLICY OF THE REPUBLIOAN PARLIAMENT-RIVALRY BETWEEN
FRANCE AND SPAIN IN THEIR RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND-RECOGNITION OF THE
COMMONWEALTH BY SPAIN-RELATIONS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND THE UNITED
PROVINCES-ENGLISH AMBASSADORS AT THE HAGUE-DUTCH AMBASSADORS IN
LONDON-THEIR WANT OF SUCCESS-NEGOTIATIONS OF MAZARIN IN LONDONLOUIS XIV. RECOGNIZES THE ENGLISII COMMONWEALTH-WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND
AND THE UNITED PROVINCES-SUCCESSES OF BLAKE-EFFECTS OF THE WAR IN
ENGLAND.
THOUGH victorious over its enemies at home, the Commonwealth was, as yet, neither at peace nor at war with the
States of the Continent.
The trial and execution of Charles I. had produced the
deepest emotion throughout Europe. It was the second time,
within a period of sixty years, that royalty had fallen, in
England, beneath the axe of the executioner. It was the first
time that the sovereignty of the people and a republican form
of government had been proclaimed and established in a great
Christian country. The surprise, anxious curiosity, pity, and
indignation which these occurrences awakened were universal. Protestant countries felt the necessity of clearing the
Reformation from the reproach of having instigated or contributed to so great a crime. In Germany, in Denmark, in
Sweden, and most of all in Holland, the ministers of religion




188        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
hastened loudly to express their reprobation; the pulpits resounded with maledictions against the anarchical and sacrilegious sectaries; and the clergy of the Hague waited in a
body upon Charles II., and solemnly expressed to him their
grief and horror, in a Latin orationi. The feelings of the
people corresponded with these manifestations on the part of
the Church; the details of the trial and death of Charles I.
were collected and published with pious respect; a woman
at the Hague fell into travail and died with terror at hearing
the news. The representatives or partisans of the regicides
were treated with aversion and insult in the streets: from
popular instinct, or Christian conscientiousness, or political
wisdom, Protestant and republican Holland shrank from any
manifestation of indulgence for so unprecedented an act, considering it as full of social danger as of moral iniquity.'
In Catholic countries-Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Southern Germany —the impression was equally strong, but of a
different nature. Both clergy and people regarded the fate
of Charles I. as the natural consequence of heresy, and as an
exhibition of the justice of God, who punishes peoples and
kings'by one another, when they separate from his Church.
The crime excited deep aversion, but it was accompanied by
less surprise than in Protestant Europe, and perhaps also by
less sympathy and sorrow.
In France the impressions were of a more mingled character. At the very moment when pure monarchy was on
the point of predominating in that country, the spirit of reform and of political liberty had attempted a sincere and
earnest, but superficial and vain, effort to arrest its progress.
The English Parliament found many admirers among the
partisans of the Fronde; its maxims were welcomed, and its
Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 267, 268; Wicquefort's
Iistoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. p. 155; Whitelocke, pp. 386-390.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    189
acts observed, with eager curiosity; and more than one
pamphlet pointed out the House of Commons and the city of
London as models for the Parliament and bourgeoisie of
Paris. But the trial of Charles I., the violent mutilation of
the House of Commons, the abolition of the House of Lords,
and the tyrannical establishment of the Commonwealth, gave
the royalist opinion in France, with regard to the affairs of
England, an ascendency in harmony with the course of French
affairs, and which the prolonged disorders of the Fronde, and
the relations'of its leaders with the English republicans,
strengthened rather than diminished. The revolution of
England, far from alluring, excited only mingled reprobation
and alarm; it was attacked in a multitude of pamphlets;
Joan of Arc was represented as exhorting the French to take
arms to avenge the cause of royalty upon the English parricides; and the monarchical opinion with regard to England
soon prevailed among the French people, always eager spectators of public events.
Two tragical incidents which occurred at this time, give a
striking proof of the state of public opinion in Europe.
On the 3d of May, 1649, Dr. Isaac Dorislaus, a native of
Holland, who had long been settled in England, and had
been appointed one of the counsel to conduct the prosecution
of the King, arrived at the Hague, having been sent by the
Parliament in the capacity of an assistant to Walter Strickland, the Commonwealth's resident ambassador to the United
Provinces. He was quietly supping in the evening, with
several other persons, at the Swan inn, when six men in
masks arrived at the house; two of them remained outside
to guard the door; the others entered, put out the lights in
the hall, and presenting themselves suddenly, in the diningroom, told those who were at table not to stir, for there was
no harm intended to any but the agent that came from the
rebels in England, who had recently murdered their King.




190         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
" They then dragged Dorislaus from the table, and put him
to death; and quietly sheathing their swords, they left the
room, rejoined their companions in the street, and quitted
the Hague, before any one had either time or inclination to
arrest them."'
About a year afterwards, in the early part of May, 1650,
Anthony Ascham, an author of small reputation, who had
taken part in the overthrow of the monarchy and the trial
of the King, disembarked at Cadiz, on a mission from the
Parliament to the King of Spain. Before he left London,
his thoughts had dwelt much on the fate of Dorislaus, and
he had expressed his anxiety on the subject to M. de Croulld,
the French Chargd-d'affaires.2  On his arrival at Cadiz, the
governor, the Duke of Medina Celi, placed him under the
care of Colonel Don Diego de Moreda, and two other officers,
who were ordered to escort him to Madrid, and not to leave
him until he was safely established in that city. They arrived there on the 5th of June, and either from negligence
or ill-will, the Spanish officers, after having taken Ascham
to a little inn, left him there alone, and went in search of a
lodging for themselves elsewhere. On the following day, at
noon, Aseham was at table with his secretary, Rivas, a renegade Franciscan monk; a man entered; Ascham advanced
to meet him, taking him for a friend; but on catching sight
of three other strangers who ehtered at the same time, he
started quickly-back to seize his pistols, which lay on a table
near him; when the first comer, calling him a traitor, caught
him by the hair, and struck him dead with his stiletto.  His
1 Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. p. 157; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. p. 271; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion,
vol. vi. pp. 297, 298; Whitelocke, pp. 368, 401; Commons' Journals, vol. vi.
p. 206.
2 Letters from M. de Croulld to Cardinal Mazarin, June 30, 1650; in the
Archives des Affaires Etrangres de France. See Appendix II.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              191
secretary, Rivas, attempting to escape and shouting for help,
was also killed on the spot; one English domestic alone
escaped, and spread the alarm. The four murderers left the
room, returned to their companions who were awaiting them
at the street-door, and proceeded without hindrance to seek
sanctuary, one in the house of the Venetian ambassador, and
the other five in a church adjoining the hospital of St. Andrew.'
At Madrid and at the Hague, the public excitement, and
the anxiety of the two governments, Dutch and Spanish,
were very great. The republican Parliament resented, as
was anticipated, these bloody outrages; it manifested its
sympathy for the two victims by public honors; Vane presented a solemnreport on the assassination of Dorislaus; his
body was brought to London, and buried in Westminster
Abbey; and the whole Parliament attended the funeral.
Similar respect, though in a less degree, was paid to Ascham.
Pensions and employments were bestowed on both their
families. Urgent and even threatening demands were made
at the same time, and frequently renewed, at the Hague and
at Madrid, to obtain justice upon the assassins. Both governments promised redress, and attempted to give it. The murderers were well known; those of Dorislaus were dependents
of Montrose; those of Ascham were English Cavaliers who
had taken refuge at Madrid, and one of them was a servant
in the house of Lord Cottington and Sir Edward Hyde, who
then resided at Madrid, as the ambassadors of Charles II.
But at the Hague no one was arrested. At Madrid, although
the civil authorities removed the murderers from their asylum, the Church asserted its privileges, and the prolonged
conflict between the two jurisdictions ended in the impunity
I Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. pp. 148-153, 202-204; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 441-444; Old Parliamentary History, vol.
xix. p. 285; Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 407, 428.




192        IISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
of the assassins; one only, who was found to be a Protestant,
was delivered over to the secular arm and hanged. Both in
Holland and Spain public feeling protected them; they had,
it was said, only punished by murder men guilty of more
heinous murder; and far from showing any repentance for
their action, they gloried in it: those who had killed Ascham
told the magistrates of Madrid that they would have killed
him in presence of the King of Spain, if they had not found
a more convenient opportunity. And the secret indulgence
of the governments connived with the popular feeling; they
pursued the crime from complaisance or fear, but without
any serious desire to punish the criminals. A few weeks
after the assassination of Ascham, in a conversation with
Lord Cottington and Hyde, the prime minister of Spain,
Don Luis de Haro, did not hesitate to say: "I envy those
gentlemen for having done so noble an action, how penal
soever it may prove to them, to revenge the blood of their
king.  If the king my master had such resolute subjects, he
would never have lost his realm of Portugal, for want of one
brave man to take away the life of the usurper."'
But far more in the seventeenth century than in our own
times, politicians cared little to act in accordance with their
real feelings and their private speeches; and whilst the,public on the Continent gave free vent to their ill-will
towards the republican judges of Charles I., the governments, either from  calculation or fear, manifested either
indifference or reserve. The Dutch ambassadors who had been
sent to London to attempt to save the King, demanded, after
his death, that their negotiations with the Parliament should
i Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 209, 211, 313; Old Parliamentary History,
vol. xix. pp. 286, 287; Leclerc's IIistoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. p. 272;
Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. p. 158; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 444-450; Papers from the Archives of
Simancas in Appendix III.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    193
not be published; and though one of them, Adrian Pauw,
left England immediately, the other, Albert Joachim, continued to reside there.  Anne of Austria and Cardinal
Mazarin thought it fitting that the young King of France
should make some effort to save the life of the king his
uncle; and Louis XIV., accordingly, wrote two solemn
letters to Cromwell and Fairfax;' but before M. de Varennes, who was appointed to deliver them, had left Paris,
Charles I. was executed. M. de Bellibvre, then ambassador
of France in London, made no attempt on his behalf; he did
not even ask permission to see him.  Some surprise was
manifested at this at Paris, in the king's council; but Bellievre was warmly defended and approved.  "I see the
necessity which I have for your protection," he wrote to M.
Servien, "and the kindness with which you have extended
it to me. I thought that it was better to be blamed for not
having taken a step which any one might have seen could
produce no advantage to the King of England, than to be
guilty of the harm which that step might have done to the
affairs of the king my master. For, as you know very well,
they are so suspicious here with regard to everything that
proceeds from France, that that which would pass unnoticed
from others is declared criminal when it comes from ug; and
as, of foreign powers, they fear us alone, they pay such
attention to our actions and our words that the least expression of the resentment which we must feel for that which
they have done, might be enough to lead them to make
alliance with Spain; and the knowledge of this fact, combined with the general instructions which I have always
received not to irritate these fellows (ces gens-ci), made me
resolve to act as I have done. I cannot repent of having
I See Appendix IV.
voI. I.-17




194        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
been too circumspect, as I now find myself supported by
your approval."'
After the King's death, Bellievre persisted in his circumspection. "If there were a Court here," he wrote, "I should
need no other rule as to the time for putting on mourning,
and the manner of wearing it; but as there is none, I think
it right to wait the orders it may please you to send me."2
He was ordered to go into mourning and leave the country; for Mazarin was as little inclined to recognize the
English Commonwealth as to irritate it. Bellievre quitted
London, but not till after a delay of three months, and leaving behind him his secretary, Croulld, who was directed to
watch over the interests of France, though not in any official
character.  The last relations of the ambassador with the
Parliament were somewhat difficult; he attempted, but in
vain, to obtain his passports without taking leave; and he
was obliged to wait upon the Speaker, who reported his visit
to the House.  "Here," wrote Bellibvre, "no affair is unimportant, and no despatch prompt, especially where France
is concerned; and at this time, when those who govern are
so jealous of their newly-acquired authority, and so unaware
of how much they may obtain or preserve in regard to
strangers, that everything gives them umbrage; and they
forget that which is due, out of fear of doing too much.
Moreover, so uncertain are they in their resolutions that they are capable of passing in a moment from a
compliment to an insult, or from an offensive action to an
excess of civility."'
1 Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. p. 162; MISS. de
Brienne, in the Bibliotheque Imp6riale, Paris; Archives des Affaircs Etrangeres de France.
2 M. de Bellievre to M. Servien; Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de
France.
3 Ibid.




AND THE ENGLISH  COMMONWEALTH.                  195
The Court of Madrid treated the new Commonwealth with
even greater consideration than that of Paris, for it left its
ambassador, Don Alonzo de Cardefias, in London, without
at first renewing his credentials, but confidentially authorizing him to continue his relations with the republican Parliament. This was a less difficult position for Don Alonzo
than for any other person, as he had for a long while displayed great coolness, and even malevolence, towards Charles
I., and had assiduously cultivated the favor of the revolutionary leaders; so that between them and him an interchange
of friendly feelings and good offices had been established,
from which Spanish policy hoped to gain great advantage.'
The Emperor and Princes of Germany, the King of Denmark, and the Queen of Sweden, were less reserved in their
manifestation of the feelings with which they were inspired
by the republican Parliament and its acts; but, alone among
the sovereigns of Europe, the Czar of Russia, Alexis Michaelowitz, the father of Peter the Great, broke off all connection with the revolutionary Commonwealth, and expelled
the English merchants from his dominions2
But all was not done by the powers of the Continent when
they had assumed an uncertain and expectant attitude towards the republican Parliament; they had also to regulate
their conduct towards the exiled King, and here their perplexities and the inconsistent weaknesses of their policy were
still greater. Charles II. resided among the sovereigns of
Europe, sometimes with the Prince of Orange, his brotherin-law, and sometimes at the Court of the King of France,
I Letter of Cardellas to King Philip IV., February 18, 1649; Deliberations
of the Council of State at Madrid on the Letters of Cardenas, March 13, 1649;
in the Archives of Simancas: see Appendix V. Clarendon's History of the
Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 328.
2 Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. p. 156; Clarendon's
History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 248-250; Whitelocke, p. 466.




196       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
his cousin-german; the Queen of Spain, Elizabeth of France,
was his aunt. He was everywhere able to invoke, and he
did in fact invoke, the ties of consanguinity, as well as the
common interest and honor of kings. He sent Lord Cottington and Hyde to Madrid, Sir John Colepepper to Moscow,
Lord Wilmot to Ratisbon, and Mr. Crofts to Poland. Sovereigns and their ministers found themselves incessantly in
presence of his rights, his hopes, his demands, his complaints,
and his agents. Nothing is more offensive to power than the
sight of misfortunes which it will not succor, but which it is
bound to respect; it has, however, many ways of ridding
itself, at small cost, of such burdens. William of Orange
alone was a warm and active friend of Charles Stuart; he
was an ambitious and imperious young prince, inclined to
violent enterprises and to absolute power, but of a noble and
sincere heart; to restore the fortunes of his brother-in-law,
he wasted his strength in efforts and sacrifices which were
too limited to be effectual, and to which his unexpected
death soon put an end. Excited by the Stadtholder and by
the popular feeling of Holland, the States-General of the
United Provinces bestowed on Charles great marks of interest and respect: on the news of the death of the King his
father, they waited on him in a body to express their condolence; and the Grand Pensionary, Van Ghent, in his
harangue called him Sire, and your Majesty; but those
words were pronounced with some embarrassment, and in a
low voice, as though he were unwilling to compromise himself too deeply with the rising Commonwealth by recognizing
the new King in too pointed a manner. The Court of
France considered that it was quite enough to give an
asylum and a pension to the widow and children of Charles
I.; it abstained from any other expression of feeling, and
Charles Stuart received from it, on his father's death, neither
letter nor message —indeed no mark whatever of sympathy




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.   197
or support. The King of Spain, who had not to answer for
the presence of the Stuarts in his dominions, thought it his
duty to write a letter of friendly condolence to Charles II.,
in which he gave him the title of King; but he long delayed
sending it. When Charles, on leaving the Hague for Paris,
passed through the Spanish Netherlands, he was received
with great honors at Antwerp and Brussels; a splendid carriage and six fine horses were presented to him; he was
even supplied with a loan of money; the Archduke Leopold
and the Spanish ambassador in Holland, Anthony Lebrun,
gave him encouragement in their private conversations; but
at the same time they took the most minute precautions to
deprive these demonstrations of all political value, and to
represent them as mere acts of politeness. The Court of
Madrid absolutely forbade any act or speech on their part
which might be regarded in London as a positive declaration in favor of the King; they were even ordered to antedate certain letters which seemed to present this character.'
The crowned heads of Europe were willing to treat Charles
II. with respect and to do him service, provided that no
meaning could be attached to their conduct which might be
incompatible with the maintenance of strict neutrality between him and the republican Parliament.
To this political coolness were added acts of cynical indifference in private life. The furniture and pictures of Charles
I., who loved the arts, and had patronized them with taste,
I Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 310-313, 323-333,
470, 569; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. p. 270; Letter from
the Archduke Leopold, Governor of the Netherlands, to King Philip IV.,
March 4, 1649; Letter of Condolence from King Philip IV. to his Majesty
King Charles of England, April 5, 1649: a first draft had been prepared in
the month of March preceding; Letters from the Conde de Penaranda and the
Archduke Leopold to King Philip IV., July 4-8, 1649; Deliberations of the
Council of State at Madrid on the Title to be given to Charles II., August 2,
1649: in the Archives of Simancas. See Appendix VI.
17'




198        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
were sold in London.  Cardenias and Croulld gave full information of this to Don Luis de Haro and Cardinal Mazarin,
who, either for their sovereigns or for themselves, eagerly
purchased, often at low prices, these spoils of the royal martyr. " If the pictures are sold at the prices marked in the
list which you have sent me, I think them very dear," wrote
Mazarin to Croulle; "that, however, will not prevent me
from sending some intelligent person to buy several for me."
Queen Christina of Sweden, and the Archduke Leopold,
governor of the Spanish Netherlands, also purchased several;
and when, in 1651, in the middle of winter, the King of
Spain requested Lord Cottington and Hyde to leave his dominions, one of the secret causes of that resolution was the
expected arrival of eighteen mules from Corunna, laden with
pictures and curiosities belonging to Charles I., which had
been purchased in London for Philip IV., and which he
thought he could not decently display in his palace, so long
as the ambassadors of Charles II. were at Madrid.'
Both great and small, at home and in exile, the English
royalists were offended and indignant at this eager readiness
to profit by their disasters, while rendering them so little
help.  "The neighbor princes," says Clarendon, "joined in
this manner to assist Cromwell with very great sums of money,
whereby he was enabled to prosecute and finish his wicked
victory; whilst they enriched and adorned themselves with
the ruins and spoils of the surviving heir, without applying
any part thereof to his relief, in the greatest necessities which
ever king was subject to."  And Graymond, the agent of
Cardinal Mazarin in Scotland, wrote to him: " The servants
of the King of Great Britain here utter imprecations against
I Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 249, 458-460; Letters
from Croulle to Mazarin, February 11 and May 23, 1650; and from Mazarin
to Croulle, June 17, 1650: in the Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de France.
See Appendix VII.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               199
the kings and sovereigns of the earth, and principally against
His Majesty (Louis XIV.), if he does not assist their King,
after whose ruin they desire that of all others; and they do
not scruple to say they will contribute with all their power
to their destruction, which will be, they say, very easy to
effect, when once the people have, in imitation of England's
example, breathed the sweetness of popular government.
They already point to Cromwell as the author of this great
design, and the reformer of the universe 
and they say that he will begin with us, and that we well
deserve it, because we do not endeavor the restoration of the
King of England, though we are under the greatest Obligations
to do so."'
Such anger was very natural on the part of earnest and
devoted adherents of a persecuted cause. But they ill understood the political state of Europe, and did not appreciate
the general causes which rendered the kings of the Continent
so cold and inert in presence of events which seemed to affect them so nearly.
The progress of affairs in England was watched with the
closest attention by the European powers, but it did not inspire them with any serious alarm. Though they regarded
the English revolutionaries with the utmost antipathy, they
did not feel themselves really menaced by them, and their
own position did not furnish any necessity for engaging in a
direct and open struggle against them. At precisely the
same period when royalty was tottering to its fall in England,
it was gaining strength on the Continent; in all the great
States of Europe, feudal and municipal liberties, the independent aristocracy, and the turbulent democracy of the Middle Ages, were disappearing, or giving way before it; the neI Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 249; Letters from Graymond to Mazarin, October 23, 1649: in the Archives des Affaires Etrangbrcs
de France.




200       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
cessity for order in society, and for unity in the supreme
power, everywhere predominated; the general tendency of
ideas, as well as of events, was towards monarchy. The
Commonwealth appeared a singular fact, purely local in its
character, and the contagious influence of which was not
greatly to be dreaded on the Continent, even in those States
which were still agitated by civil dissensions.
The name of Commonwealth, or Republic, moreover, was
not then necessarily a cause of distrust and alarm; although
that form of government had, -until then, prevailed only in
secondary States, it had maintained its place in Europe without disturbing European order by its presence; the great
European monarchies had lived on good and peaceable terms
with the Republics of Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the
Netherlands. Europe had not yet contracted the habit of
considering the republican form of government as the precursor and promoter of revolutions and anarchy.
The English revolution furthermore presented itself as
much in a religious as in a political character. The great wars
of religion were now at an end; the Treaty of Westphalia
had just laid the foundation of a new European order; the
Catholic States and the Protestant States had mutually come
to an understanding, and among the latter,. the most recent
and most opposed, the United Provinces, had at length conquered their position and tranquillity. The prevalence of
peace between the various Christian communions, if not in
the interior of every State, at least in the external relations
of countries with one another, had been definitely established;
and although religious prejudices and animosities were far
from being extinct, neither government nor people were
willing to renew a conflict by which all had cruelly suffered,
and in which neither party could any longer hope to crush its
rival. It is by exhaustion and necessity that God imposes
justice and good sense upon nations.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                  201
Religious peace restored liberty to politics; religious passions and creeds no longer regulated the designs and alliances of States; the spirit of ambition or of resistance to ambition, of preponderance or independence, of aggrandizement
or equilibrium, became the principal motive of the conduct
of governments in their international relations; they sought
to obtain thereby means of attack or defence in their temporal hopes or fears, and weapons to serve them in their rivalries. The English revolution profited by this new and purely
lay character of continental politics. Of the two great powers, France and Spain, which then contested for the ascendency in Europe, neither wished to quarrel with the young
Commonwealth; they both did their best either to draw it
into their camp, or keep it from joining the enemy; and two
systems of alliance, more or less complete, and more or less
openly avowed between France, England, and the United
Provinces on the one side, and between Spain, England, and
the United Provinces on the other, were the constant thought
of Mazarin and Don Luis de Haro, at Paris and Madrid, and
the object of the unceasing labors of their agents in London.l
The republican Parliament had a just, though confused and
incomplete consciousness of its position. It understood that
it was detested, but in no respect menaced, by the great European monarchies, and it conducted itself towards them with
caution and dignity, but without uneasiness or angry feeling.
It showed no anxiety to be recognized by them, neither did
it hasten to accredit representatives of the Commonwealth to
their courts. Not that it felt no impatience on this subject;
1 Letters of Antony Lebrun, Spanish Ambassador in Holland, to Don
Alonzo de Cardefias, November 29, 1649; of Cardefias to Philip IV., January
23 and February 15, 1652; and of the Archduke Leopold to Philip IV., February 6, 1652: in the Archives of Simancas. Letters of Croulli to Mazarin,
January 10, 1650; and of Servien to Croulle, January 28, 1650: in the Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de France. See Appendix VIII.




202         HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
it frequently sounded the foreign agents who still remained
in England, Bellievre, Croulle, Cardenias, and Joachim; sometimes in order to learn from them what sort of a reception
would be given at their respective courts to the ministers
whom the Commonwealth might send, and sometimes to intimate to them that they could not themselves continue to
reside in London unless they received from their governments fresh credentials accrediting them to the Parliament.'
This strong desire to be formally recognized was exhibited
from time to time by indirect means.  "It has been printed
here," wrote Croulld to Mazarin, "that the State-councillors
of France had treated with the English merchants on the
subject of the business they transact, and had thereby recognized the Parliament as representing the Commonwealth. I
hope they will rest contented with this imaginary recognition."2 The Parliament was not thus easily satisfied; it continued, on the contrary, to prove itself at once exacting and
impatient in this respect; determined to wait for the recognition of the Commonwealth so long as it was not complete
and satisfactory; and deliberating, on various occasions, and
with jealous susceptibility, upon the formalities to be observed in the relations of the Commonwealth with foreign
governments.3  But its attitude was calm  and dignified at
the same time; it publicly declared its intention to maintain
all the existing treaties between England and other States;4
1 Letters from Croull to Mazarin, November 15 and December 6, 1649, and
November 7, 1650; and from Servien to Croulle, November 6, 1649; in the
Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de France. Letters from Cardelas to Philip
IV., June 20 and August 13, 1649; and Deliberations in the Council of State
at Madrid on the Recognition of the Commonwealth of England, October 9,
1649, and May 7, 1650: in the Archives of Simancas. See Appendix IX.
2 Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de France.
3 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 416, 517, 618; vol. vii. p. 64.
4 Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. p. 135.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    203
it recommended the Coqncil of State to employ consuls in all
foreign countries, in order that friendly commercial relations
might not be broken off;l it retained in France an officious
agent, named Angier, who actively watched over English
interests;2 and it remained in frequent and courteous communication with some of the foreign ministers in London,
particularly the Spanish envoy Cardenias and the Dutch ambassador Joachim, who had not yet received fresh letters of
credence, but who were known to be well disposed towards
the Commonwealth. In spite of numerous marks of inexperience, and some tendency to arrogance, the conduct of the
republican leaders, in regard to foreign policy, was characterized by dignified reserve and intelligent prudence, and by a
desire to remain at peace abroad, so as not to aggravate the
difficulties and burdens of their government at home.
On one point only they engaged unreservedly and at all
risks, in a bold and even violent course of action. In the
month of June, 1648, a considerable portion of the fleet,
eleven vessels, had revolted from the Parliament, and sailed
over to Holland to place themselves under the orders of the
Prince of Wales, for the service of the imprisoned King. In
the month of October following, Prince Rupert was appointed
admiral of this royal fleet; though until then unused to the
sea, he. was a man of dashing bravery, fond of adventure,
fearless of a life of hardship and uncertainty, familiar and
liberal towards his inferiors; he soon became as popular with
the sailors as with the soldiers, and he continued on sea,
against the Commonwealth, the same determined, wandering,
and predatory warfare which he had waged on land against
the Parliament. Charles 11I. was then living in a state of
deep distress; he was in want of money to help his partisans,
] Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 333.
2 Ibid. pp. 132, 494.




204       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
to pay his servants, to send messages to the Queen his mother,
and even to undertake a journey himself. His brother-inlaw, the Prince of Orange, could not, notwithstanding
his generous friendship, supply all his wants; some few
of the princes of the Continent, the Duke of Lorraine,
the Queen of Sweden, the King of Poland, and( the Czar of
Russia, made him occasional loans or presents; his faithful
friends in England sent him a part of what was left them
after confiscations and sequestrations; but these supplies
were speedily exhausted; Charles had no permanent or
certain income. He sought and found, in the fleet commanded by Prince Rupert, precarious though sometimes
abundant resources; it sailed up and down the Channel, in
the North Sea, and all round England, making numerous and
rich prizes from the mercantile fleet of the Commonwealth,
and often, at hap-hazard, from that of any country: it was a
fleet of corsairs under a royal flag, sent out to provide for
the expenses of a proscribed king. Many private ship owners, English, Scotch, French, and Dutch, requested permission to share in this life of adventure and profit, by equipping ships at their own cost; leave was readily granted or
sold to them; orders were issued by Charles II. for the regulation of this service, and the division of the booty; a fifteenth
part of the value of all the prizes taken was allotted to the
King, and a tenth to the admiral; the remainder was divided
into three parts, one for the owners of the vessel, one for the
purveyors of provisions and stores, and the third for the
crew, among whom it was distributed in proportion to the
rank and position of every man, from the admiral down to
the common sailor. All commercial and personal security
disappeared from the British waters; they became an arena
of incessant depredations-of a privateering warfare, in
which the vessels even of the King of France, and of the




AND THE ENGLISH  COMMONWEALTH..    205
States-General of Holland, disguising their flags, did not fail
frequently to engage.'
Against this ruinous and insulting danger, the republican
Parliament immediately took the most vigorous measures.
No sooner had it acceded to power than it reorganized and augmented, by all available means, the fleet which remained at
its disposal. On the 2d of February, 1649, thirty merchant
vessels were engaged for the service of the State, and equipped for war; the naval forces voted in March, 1650, for the
campaign of the following summer, amounted to sixty-five
ships and 8150 men; and during the winter of 1650-1651,
thirty-nine vessels, manned by 4190 sailors, and carrying 954
guns, were specially set apart for the protection of the English
coasts. The impressment of sailors was rigorously carried
on. Large provision was made for all the expenses of the
naval forces, for the payment and promotion of the officers,
and for the wages, maintenance, and rewarding of the sailors. Vane was president of the committee of the navy, and
introduced his spirit of intelligent and zealous activity into
all the departments of the service. Blake, Dean, Popham,
Ayscue, Penn, and Baddeley were placed in command of
various squadrons, and sent to cruise in the Channel or the
North Sea, off the coasts of Ireland, France, Holland, Portugal, and Spain, and even in the Mediterranean, the Levant,
and the West Indies.  Most of them were officers of the land
army, without nautical experience, but of tried boldness and
capacity, devoted to the Commonwealth, eager for success
and glory for their country and themselves, caring little what
it might cost either themselves or their country, and firmly
i Clarendon's Itistory of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 23, 31, 140, 148-152;
Granville Penn's Memorials of the Life of Sir William Penn, vol. i. pp. 260,
266; Hepworth Dixon's Life of Admiral Blake, pp. 114-118; Warburton's
Memoirs of Prince Rupert and the Cavaliers, vol. iii. pp. 250, 266, 286-297;
Whitelocke, pp. 308, 319, 447.
VOL. I.-18




20i       HISTORY OF OLIVEPR CROQMWELL
resolved to maintain everywhere, and at any price, the honor
and safety of the English name and flag.'
To these well-provided and ably commanded material
forces, the Parliament added legislative measures no less
efficacious for the protection of the national commerce. It
regulated the laws relating to maritime prizes in the way
most calculated to excite the ardor and to recompense the
efforts of its seamen.2  It called home all those who were
serving in foreign fleets; and to such English merchants as
had suffered heavy losses at sea by visits from foreign vessels, it secured the means of obtaining redress for their injuries.3 A declaration of Louis XIV. had recently prohibited
the introduction into France of all woollen stuffs or silks
manufactured in England; the Parliament directed the
Council of State to prepare a report upon the different
treaties which had hitherto regulated the commercial relations of the two countries, and on the ground that the re.
cent prohibition was illegitimate, it forbade in its turn the
introduction into England of wines, woollen stuffs, and silks
from France.4  " And to those who told them  that this exclusion would not be effectual, and that they could not do
without our wines," wrote Croull6 to Mazarin, "they answered jocosely that men soon got accustomed to anything,
and that, as they had without inconvenience dispensed with
a king, contrary to the general belief, so they could also
easily dispense with our French wines." 
Success attended these vigorous measures, ordered by an
imperious government, and executed by bold and able agents.
The republican fleet sailed into every sea, sometimes convoy,
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 129, 1.34, 148, 149, 156, 375, 467; Miemorials of Sir William Penn, vol. i. pp. 294-'297, 302-304.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 202, 201.
3 Ibid. pp. 379, 397.     4 Ibid. pp. 284, 285.
5 Archives des Affaires Etrangcres de France.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    207
ing the English merchant ships, sometimes making rich prizes
of foreign traders, chasing the flag of Charles II. everywhere
to the death, and inspiring wherever it went that mingled
fear and respect which is always felt for a power which acts
with rapidity and energy. Prince Rupert, towards the end
of the winter of 1649, was cruising off the eastern and southern coast of Ireland, with a view to second the operations of
the royal army in that Island, and to seize the merchant
vessels which were always numerous in those waters. Blake
sailed thither in pursuit of him, and blockaded him in the
port of Kinsale. Rupert managed to escape with his fleet;
but he lost three of his ships, and repaired with the rest to
the coast of Portugal, to resume his random life of freebooting and adventure. Blake followed him thither by order of
the Parliament, taking with him Charles Vane, a brother of
Sir Harry Vane, who had been commissioned to lay before
the King of Portugal the complaints and demands of the
Commonwealth. Both fleets anchored opposite each other
at the mouth of the Tagus, and both began negotiations with
the Court of Lisbon —Rupert that it should continue to support him, and Blake that it should cease to do so. Rupert
found great favor both at the Court and among the people of
Portugal: on his arrival, King John IV. had sent several
of his officers to meet him, and conduct him in state to the
palace; and whenever he came on shore, the populace of
Lisbon thronged atound him with noisy acclamations. Blake,
on the contrary, was an object of deep antipathy both to
the Court and people, who were ardently royalist and Catholic in their opinions: whenever his sailors left their ships,
they were insulted, and sometimes maltreated, either by
Prince Rupert's men, or by the Portuguese themselves.
Paying but little attention to these manifestations of ill-will,
Blake demanded of King John to rid his dominions of pirates who had robbed the Commonwealth of England of a




208       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
portion of its fleet by debauching its sailors; and stated that
he had orders to pursue and destroy them as enemies of all
regular commerce between civilized nations; but if the King
of Portugal would not himself undertake to drive the pirates
from his ports, he desired that at least he would not take it
ill that the English admiral should enter the harbor with his
squadron, and execute the commission which he had received
from his government. The indignation which this demand
produced at Lisbon was immense; the Queen and the Prince
Royal sustained the somewhat tottering courage of the King,
who was advised by some of his ministers to yield. A nobleman of high rank was sent to Blake with complimentary
messages and presents, but with orders to repulse his pretensions, and to refuse him admittance into the harbor. Blake
tried to force an entrance, but without success; his ships
were fired on by the forts at the mouth of the river, and he
was obliged to desist. He then began to make reprisals upon
the commerce of Portugal; no ships, either royal or mercantile, were allowed either to enter or leave the port of Lisbon;
Blake seized first five, and then nine, and he afterwards destroyed a rich fleet of twenty-three vessels from Brazil, declaring that he would not cease hostilities until the royalist
pirates were either delivered up or ordered away.  The
Court of Lisbon alternated between anger and fear;, it ordered the arrest and imprisonment of the English merchants
resident in that capital; and Charles Vane, finding it impossible to obtain the restoration of their liberty and property,
re-embarked on board the fleet, and returned to England.
But at the same time, the King of Portugal urged Prince
Rupert to withdraw, unless he considered himself strong
enough to attack Blake's fleet, and deliver the kingdom of
his presence. Rupert one day appeared disposed to give
battle; but Blake had received a reinforcement of eight
vessels under Admiral Popham, and he manifested such




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWVEALTH.    209
eagerness to begin the attack himself, that Rupert retired
beneath the protection of the forts, and at last contrived to
escape, with great difficulty, from the port of Lisbon, to seek
fortune and safety in the Mediterranean. Blake pursued
him along the Spanish coast as he had done along that of
Portugal; and the same hesitations between favor and disfavor, the same alternations of anger and fear which had
agitated the Court of Lisbon when in presence of these two
rival fleets, disturbed, though more remotely, the Court of
Madrid. As soon as Prince Rupert appeared off Malaga,
the two ambassadors of Charles II. in Spain, Cottington and
Hyde, informed the Spanish government of his arrival, and
claimed a favorable reception for the cousin and: fleet of their
King. Don Luis de Haro readily promised it, as much from,
disquietude at the presence of so formidable a foreign force,
as from favor to a royal fleet. But it was learned soon after
at Madrid that the republican fleet was also off the coast of
Spain, pursuing that of King Charles, and demanding as at
Lisbon, admittance into the Spanish ports, in order to attack
and destroy it. Equally violent and imperious claims were
asserted by both parties simultaneously: Rupert, after having sunk several English merchant vessels before Malaga,
demanded of the governor to arrest on shore, and deliver
into his hands the master of one of those ships, who had
taken an active part against King Charles, that "he might
boil him in pitch." This the governor refused to do. Blake,
on his side, learning that Prince Rupert had landed, urged
the Spanish authorities to deliver him up to him, as a leader
of pirates, and an enemy of all nations. The Court of Madrid
took refuge against these impetuous demands, in delay and
inactivity. The war between the two fleets continued for
some months longer on the Spanish coast; at length, Blake
destroyed the greater part of the royal fleet in an engagement off Malaga; and Rupert, left with two vessels only,
18*




210         HIST6RY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
wandered for some time in the Mediterranean, and then,
passing through the Straits, sailed to the Atlantic, and along
the Western coast of Africa, in search of opportunities for
making new prizes without having to fight the fleet of the
Commonwealth. The republican navy remained predominant
in the seas of south-western Europe; Penn and Lawson were
sent out in pursuit of Rupert, of whose whereabouts nothing
was known; and Blake was recalled to England, to resume,
in concert with Dean and Popham, the command of the fleet
in the Channel and the North Sea. There the republican
navy was in presence of more formidable rivals; but there
also it had already given abundant proof of its vigor and
daring.  French commerce especially had paid dear for the
prizes which its privateers had made at first upon the English.
In the month of September, 1651, the Parliament declared
that, as it could not obtain justice from the King of France,
it had determined to do itself justice; six French ships,
arrested by captains of vessels in the service of the State,
were definitively confiscated, and no satisfaction was given to
the remonstrances which arrived from Paris on the subject.'
At sea the Parliament felt its strength, and had made it felt;
its flag floated proudly on the breeze, feared by its enemies,
and respected by its rivals.
But its success and skill, in matters of foreign policy, extended only thus far: though, in its maritime affairs, it displayed great ability and energy, in its diplomatic relations
and undertakings it was equally deficient in sagacity and
good sense, in moderation and resoluteness.
It was in the presence of two powers, at ardent rivalry
i Memorials of Prince Rupert, vol. iii. pp. 288-388; Clarendon's History
of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 270, 390-395; vol. vii. pp. 65, 66; Thurloe's
State Papers, vol. i. pp. 134, 137, 138, 140-142, 154-158; lWhitelocke, pp.
410, 429, 446, 449, 458, 463, 470, 471, 475, 476Q 484-486, 515, 520; Dixon's
Life of Blake, pp. 122-165.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               211
with each other, but placed in very different positions and
animated by very different tendencies. Spain, yet glorying
in her recent greatness, of which Europe still stood in dread,
was rapidly declining; the empire of Germany belonged to
her no longer; notwithstanding protracted and sanguinary
efforts, she had lost the United Provinces; her dominion in
Italy was limited: a conspiracy had in one day robbed her
of Portugal: afar off, and in the New World only, her possessions continued immense: she was, to use the pithy phrase
of Sully, " one of those States which have strong arms and
legs, but a weak and debilitated heart."' Amid the splendor
of its court, and the pomposity of its language, the Spanish
government felt itself really weak, and sought to conceal its
weakness by immobility. Philip IV. and Don Luis de Haro,
both of them sensible and moderate men-the one from idleness, and the other from prudence-and tired of conflicts
which resulted only in defeat, aspired solely to the security
of peace, and devoted their utmost care to avoiding all
questions and circumstances which would have imposed upon
them efforts of which they did not feel themselves capable.
Divided and enervated, the House of Austria retained perhaps
less ambition than power, and, except in cases of absolute
necessity, pompous inertness was the policy of the successors
of Charles V.
France and the House of Bourbon, on the contrary, were
advancing together with bold and rapid progress: a potent
spirit of activity and ambition animated both the councils of
the crown and the various classes, more especially the superior classes of citizens; a taste for great designs and striking
enterprises everywhere prevailed, without any fear of the
labors and responsibilities which they entail. Thus, notwith-, Sully to President Jeamlin, in the Negociations du Pr6sident Jeannin, p.
261.




212       HISTORY OF OLIVER- CROMWELL
standing civil dissensions and fruitless endeavors for political
liberty, the State grew stronger and more extended; the
national unity and the royal authority received simultaneous
development. As persevering as he was supple, and by
turns a conqueror and a fugitive, but always a favorite and
first minister, whether in exile or at Paris, Mazarin pursued
the work of Henry IV. and of Richelieu, through alternate
successes and reverses in war and at court. The government
and the country displayed at once the characteristics of youth
and age, were guided by powerful traditions in the midst
of an entirely new movement, and yet were full of strength
and thirsting for greatness.
Between these two powers, England might either have
chosen an ally at her will, or have firmly maintained the
balance: notwithstanding their repugnance to the regicide
Commonwealth, they were so passionate in their jealousy and
fear of one another that they subordinated all other feelings,
to the desire of mutually depriving each other of so important a. supporter. The republican Parliament adopted neither
of these courses: imperfectly appreciating the real strength
and future prospects of the two powers, and swayed by old
habits of routine, it remained wavering, but not impartial,
between Spain and France-affecting neutrality without
knowing either how to abandon it opportunely, or to maintain it unimpeachably.
Spain had some slight- claims to preference: it was not
from Madrid that Queen Henrietta Maria, the constant object.
of the antipathy and hostility of the Parliamentarians, had
come; it was not at Madrid that she still found an asylum
and: the means of support. At the time of the King's trial,
Don Alonzo de Cardeilas, on being urged by the royalists to
make some demonstration in his favor, had formally refused
to do so, saying that he had no instructions from his Court




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                  213
on the subject.i After the proclamation of the Commonwealth, he had remained in London on very good terms with
the republican leaders, and he had solicited from his Court
the renewal of his letters of credence, giving it to understand
that he would turn them to good account, both for the political interests of Spain, and for the religious interests of the
English Catholics.2 Philip IV. and Don Luis de Haro were
less hasty than Cardenias; they would have preferred to
declare neither for nor against Charles II. or the Commonwealth, to take secret advantage of the favorable tendencies
of the one, to give some underhand expressions of sympathy
with the other, and to wait events in complete inaction.
Such was the constant drift of the opinions of the Spanish
Council of State, when consulted by its King, sometimes upon
the despatches of Cardegas, and sometimes on  those of
Charles II. and his ambassadors. For more than a year,
this policy of indifference and inertness was pursued at
Madrid: no fresh instructions, no new powers were sent to
Cardenias; an attempt was made to prevent Cottington and
Hyde from coming to Madrid, and as that failed, no heed
was taken of their presence.3 When they learned that
Anthony Ascham was about to arrive in Spain, on a mission
from the Parliament, they expressed their indignant surprise
"that his Catholic Majesty should be the first Christian
Prince that would receive an ambassador from the odious and
execrable murderers of a Christian EKing, his brother and
ally; which no other prince had yet done, out of the detestation of that horrible parricide."4 The Council of State
I Letter from Cardefas to King Philip IV., February 15, 1649; in the
Archives of Simahicas. See Appendix V.
2 The same to the same, February 18, 1649. See Appendix V.
3 Deliberations of the Council of State at Madrid, March 13-29, May 4,
June 6, and August 2, 1649; in the Archives of Simancas. See Appendices
V. and VI.
4 Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 442; Note from Lord




214. HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
deliberated upon their remonstrance; and again, some
months after, upon their request that Prince Rupert and his
fleet might be well received in all the ports of Spain.' A
direct answer either to their demands or complaints was
sedulously avoided: both in regard to the republican Commonwealth and the proscribed King, the chief desire of the
Court of Madrid was to say nothing, and to remain in inactivity.
But their relative positions gradually altered: the Parliament became more exacting; Cardenas wrote to his King that
they refused to treat with him, and that he would be obliged
to leave England, unless he received fresh letters of credence,
in which the Commonwealth was expressly recognized.2
The assassination of Ascham, and the perseverance of the
Parliament in its endeavors to obtain justice upon his murderers, plunged the Court of Madrid into great embarrassment. Charles II., on his side, treated Spain with ill humor;
he went to Paris, under the pretext of visiting the Queen his
mother, but in reality, it was said, for the purpose of receiving the advice and directions of Mazarin; and he bestowed
the name of brother on the King of Portugal, who in Spain
was always termed a tyrant and usurper.3  The republican
Parliament, on the other hand, was rough in its treatment of
the House of Braganza, and had almost made war on it, because of the support it had given to Prince Rupert and his
fleet. After hesitating twenty-one months, the Court of
Madrid at length came to a decision; it dismissed from Spain
Cottington and Hyde to Philip IV., May 10, 1650; in the Archives of Simancas. See Appendix X.
I Deliberations of the Council of State at Madrid, May 10 and October 22,
1650; in the Archives of Simancas. See Appendix XI.
2 Cardegias to King Philip IV., June 20, 1649. See Appendix VI.
3 Antoine Lebrun to Cardefias, from the Hague, November 29, 1649; and
Cardegias to King Philip IV., December 14, 1649; in the Archives of Simancas. See Appendix XIL




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    215;he two ambassadors of Charles II., and sent fresh letters of
credence to Cardenas, accrediting him to the Parliament of
the Commonwealth. At the same time Juan de Guimaraes
arrived in London, sent by the King of Portugal to put an.nd to the misunderstanding between the two countries.
The Parliament made Guimaraes wait fifteen days before
giving him permission to come to London; and even then it
was carried by a majority of one vote only, and it was
decided that he should be received without public ceremony
by a committee of eleven members.' But only two days
after Carde-las had announced the arrival of his new letters
of credence, he was received by the entire Parliament in
solemn audience.2 Three Commissioners, one of whom was
the Earl of Salisbury, went to fetch him from his house in a
carriage belonging to the State; thirty or forty other carriages accompanied him, filled with Spanish and English
gentlemen; two regiments of cavalry were drawn up before
Whitehall as he passed; and he was escorted by a regiment
of infantry. On his entrance into the hall in which the Parliament was assembled, he took his seat in an arm-chair
which had been prepared for him, delivered to the Speaker
his letters of credence, which were written in the Latin language, and pronounced a long speech in Spanish, in which
he congratulated himself on being the first who came, in the
name of the greatest prince of Christendom, to recognize that
House as the supreme power in the nation, and narrated
with much detail the steps taken by the King his master to
secure the punishment of the murderers of Ascham, and to
make Prince Rupert withdraw from the ports of Spain. Republican pride took pleasure in receiving with such pomp
this striking homage from a monarch; a few austere Puritans
alone were dissatisfied by it. "I fear," wrote Bradshaw to
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 504, 510, 511, 516, 519, 522, 529, 530.
2 Ibid. vol. vi. pp. 513, 515.




216       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
one of Cromwell's officers, "our impatient haste to ingratiate
with neighboring nations hath done us neither honor nor
profit. God grant we may depend upon Him, and seek
aright for His owning of us, and that we may be independent
enough as to all others! But in these things I have many
dissenting brethren, and I write to one much abler to judge,
and therefore abstain."'
At the same time that the Parliament was bestowing upon,
and receiving from, the Spanish ambassador these striking
marks of mutual good-will, the house of the French Charged'affaires, Croull, was broken into by a band of soldiers, and
he was himself arrested, taken before the Council of State,
and ordered to leave England within ten days. "Although
Messieurs les Espagnols have waited till the last moment,"
he wrote immediately to Cardinal Mazarin, "they have not
failed to be well received; and as it cannot have been without conditions that they have resolved to take this step, the
principal of which conditions would be to be on bad terms
with France, they thought fit to precede that ceremony by
an action which would prove their desire to disoblige that
country. Yesterday when, in accordance with the permission I have received from Court to keep a priest in my service, he was saying mass before an audience of several
Frenchmen and a very few English, a company of soldiers
came into my house, secured the doors, and, having entered,
began to beat and maltreat all whom they met, and I was of
the number. A French gentleman and I, by opposing ourselves to the violence which they were about to do to the
altar, gave sufficient time to the officiating priest to divest
himself of his robes and to mix with the crowd, whence I
found means to take him, and to shut him up in my cabinet,
so that he was not seen. The soldiers having made themI Milton's State Papers, p. 40.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    217
selves absolute masters of everything, I went with an English nobleman and two French gentlemen to lay my complaint before the President of the Council, who, without
deigning to hear me, had me arrested and confined in the
guard-house and in a wretched inn until nightfall. At about
six o'clock I was summoned before the Council of State,
where, having given a simple and truthful narrative of the
affair, it was resolved to order me to leave the country;
which having been communicated to me by the President, I
told him that I was here by the command of the King my
master, whom I would inform of what he had stated to me,
and that as soon as I had received his Majesty's orders, I
would obey them without delay. To which the President
having replied, that what I had then said evinced more contempt of the Council than anything I had said before, that
no kings had authority to give orders in that country, and
that, if I did not obey, they would proceed against me in the
usual course; I answered that when I had spoken of his
Majesty's commands, I had understood them as referring
only to myself, who, wherever I was, received no other, and
that they had in their hands the power and the force to do
what they pleased, but not to make me do anything contrary
to my duty; upon which I withdrew. This morning a messenger from the Council of State has brought me their orders,
with a passport for me to leave the country within ten days,
with which I must comply. I shall, however, wait the cornmands which it shall please your Eminence to send me."'
Mazarin felt the utmost displeasure at this incident; he
had long been disturbed by the intrigues of Cardenias in
London, and by the preference given to Spain, by the English
Government. On the 6th of August, 1649, he had written
1 Letter from Croull6 to Mazarin; Archives des Affaires Etrangbres de
France.
voL r. — 19




218        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
to Croull6, by M. Servien: "I beg you not to lose any opportunity for filling the Parliament with the greatest distrust
of the Spaniards, which I doubt not you will do vigorously
and adroitly upon all occasions;" and a few months later he
wrote: "It would be well for the Parliament of England
to furnish us secretly with some assistance in men or money,
to enable us to defend ourselves against the great preparations which the Spaniards are making to attack us on all
sides in the coming campaign...  At least you must
always make it your object to prevent them from giving any
help to the enemy, on the false representations which Car
denias will make to them."' The information which Croulld
transmitted to Mazarin had never been calculated to allay
his anxieties; at one time he sent him an account of the
marks of favor which the Parliament was bestowing on Cardenfas; at another, the announcement, well or ill founded,
that a hundred thousand pounds sterling had been sent from
London to Madrid, to help Spain in the war against France.
MM. de Bouillon and Turenne, who were then the leaders
of the Fronde, had, it was said, written to Cromwell to request
his support, and the Republican Council of State contemplated sending part of the fleet which was cruising off Lisbon
to assist the insurgent Frondeurs at Bordeaux.2 A report
was spread that Cromwell, after having subjugated Ireland,
would make a journey into France: by a singular misapprehension, Mazarin at first saw in this only a friendly intention,
and Servien immediately wrote to Croulle: "If, at the close
of his expedition in Ireland, Mr. Cromwell comes into France,
being, as he is, a person of merit, he will be well received
1 Letters from Servien to Croull6: Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de
France..
2 Letters from Croulle to Mazarin, January 10, May 16, July 4, and September 12, 1650; in the Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de France. See
Appendix XIII.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               219
here; for assuredly every one will go to meet him at the
place where he disembarks."' But Croulld's letters quickly
disabused the Cardinal: "I know of no persuasion strong
enough," he wrote, "to remove from the minds of all that,
as soon as Cromwell has done in Ireland, he will pass into
France with his army....  All that is said about
his design proceeds from those who desire it from  different
motives of interest; and-from this cause he is made to say a
quantity of things which I have always neglected to write,
as being destitute of certainty and likelihood; as, among
other things, that, looking at his hair, which is already white,
he said that, if he were ten years younger, there is not a
king in Europe whom he would not make to tremble, and
that, as he had a better motive than the late King of Sweden,
he believed himself still capable of doing more for the good
of nations than the other ever did for his own ambition."2
Whether true or false, these rumors and sayings gave
Mazarin great anxiety; the declared hostility of England
would have seriously aggravated the difficulties of his precarious position at home, and the embarrassments of his
foreign policy, which he obstinately pursued, in spite of all
personal inconveniences. By his side, Colbert, as yet a mere
councillor of State and intendant of the Cardinal's household,
but already passionately devoted to the maintenance of the
national prosperity, unremittingly denounced the sufferings
and losses which were inflicted upon French commerce by
the prohibitive measures of the republican Parliament, and
the underhand and irregular warfare waged between the
navies of the two States. Mazarin absolutely needed powerful allies in Europe; Colbert required security for French
1 Letter from Servien to Croulle; in the Archives des Affaires Etrangeres
de France.
2 Letters from Croull6 to Mazarin; Archives des Affaires Etrangbres de
France.




220       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
commerce, both on land and sea. For a moment, Mazarin
indulged the hope of being able to conclude an effectual alliance with the United Provinces against Spain and England:
the Count d'Estrades, who had long been an ambassador in
Holland, was in 1650 governor of Dunkirk; and on the 2d
of September the Prince of Orange wrote to him: "The
confidence which I have in your friendship, and in that which
you entertained for my late father, leads me to hope that you
will not refuse me the request which I make to you to come
and visit me at the Hague as soon as possible, as I have very
important affairs to communicate to you." This communication was a project of a treaty by which Louis XIV. and the
Prince of Orange were to bind themselves " to make war in
common against Spain, and at the same time to break with
Cromwell, by endeavoring, by ll sorts of means, to restore
the King of England to his kingdom."  D'Estrades sent for
instructions to Mazarin, who immediately replied: "The
Queen has commanded me to give you orders to proceed
without delay into Holland, to the Prince of Orange; and
in order that you may be in a position to treat with him, if
you find him disposed to break with Spain, I send you the
King's authority to conclude the treaty; and it would be the
greatest service you could possibly render his Majesty. For
my own part, I shall be very grateful to you if you induce
that Prince to break with Spain; which would frustrate all
the measures of my enemies, and dissipate the cabals and
factions which are appearing at Court and in the Parliament
against me. I beg you to neglect no effort to secure the
success of this affair, which is most important."'
The affair did not succeed: the Prince of Orange died on
the 6th of November, 1650; and towards the end of the
1 Lettres, Mdmoires et Negociations de M. le Comte d'Estrades, vol. i. pp.
99-103.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    221
same year, Mazarin found himself standing alone, in presence
of Spain, which still continued hostile, of the British Commonwealth, which had been officially recognized by Spain,
of the United Provinces, which had been detached from the
cause of monarchy by the death of their Stadtholder; and
without any relations, even officious, with England, from
whence his agent had been expelled.
From character as much as from policy, it was impossible
for him to remain in this position; as impatient as he was
crafty, and making small account of mortifications, he was
one of those men who rush into action in order to escape
from embarrassment, and who expose themselves to a fresh
repulse rather than make no attempt to repair those which
they have suffered. The French merchants insisted strongly
upon the renewal of pacific relations with England; they
attempted themselves to enter into direct correspondence
with the republican Parliament and Council. Salomon, Vicomte de Virelade, wrote in their name from Paris, to the
British Council of State, to request a safe-conduct to come
to London and negotiate on their behalf: "No one here,"
replied Walter Frost, the Secretary of the Council of State,
"could treat with you concerning these affairs, excepting
only the sovereign power, or those whom it might depute;
and that power will receive no address from any but the
sovereign power of France, which alone can give the necessary authority for treating of such affairs.  I cannot
therefore obtain for you a passport to come hither in the
capacity which you indicate.
But if the State of France will, by you, make overtures of a public address to this Commonwealth regarding
these affairs, in the manner usual between sovereign States,
I have no doubt that this State will be glad to receive any
honest and just propositions which will tend to terminate
19*




222        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
differences, and restore freedom of trade for the common
advantage."'
Colbert now came to the assistance of the merchants: he
drew up a statement in which, after laying down the principle that "for the restoration of trade two things were necessary-safety and liberty," he proceeded to enumerate the
facts which deprived all trade between France and England
of these two conditions of existence, and indicated, without
hesitation, the means by which they might be recovered.
"-The point on which the English most strongly insist," he
said, at the close of his report, " is the recognition of their
Commonwealth, in which the Spaniards have preceded us.
A closer union is consequently to be feared as the result of
the negotiations of the Spanish ambassador in England.  It
is for our lords, the ministers, to prescribe the form of this
recognition, how far it should extend; in which France will
be excusable before God and men, if she be compelled to
proceed to a recognition of that Commonwealth, in order to
prevent the leagues and evil designs of the Spaniards, who
are guilty of all kinds of injustice, and submit to all imaginable meannesses, in order to injure us.TM
If he alone had had to decide, Mazarin would probably
have acted with promptitude and thoroughness; but he had
also to consult Anne of Austria, her council, and her confidants. He presented to her a report, in which the question
of the recognition of the Commonwealth of England, was
carefully discussed.  "It seems at first sight," he says,' that
if we are guided by the laws of honor or justice, we ought
not to recognize this Commonwealth; as the King could do
nothing more prejudicial to his reputation than to consent
I Documents Inedits sur l'Histoire Diplomatique de France, Revue Nouvelle, vol. v. pp. 413-416. See Appendix XIV.
2 Documents Inedits sur l'Histoire Diplomatique de France, in the Revue
Nouvelle, vol. v. pp. 409-413. See Appendix XV.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    223
to a recognition by which he would abandon the interest of
the legitimate king, his near relative, neighbor, and ally;
and nothing more unjust than to recognize usurpers who
have imbrued their hands in the blood of their sovereign....-..   But as the laws of honor or justice should never
lead us- to do anything contrary to the dictates of prudence,
it must be considered that all the demonstrations which we
might now make in favor of the King of England, would
not lead to his restoration; that a longer refusal to recognize
the Commonwealth will serve in no way to augment or confirm the rights of the King;..... that whatever the necessities of the time and of our affairs may compel us to do
in favor of the Commonwealth, will not prevent us from
afterwards being able to take advantage of any favorable
conjunctures that may present themselves, when we shall be
in a better condition to attempt some great enterprise;.....
that, moreover, there is reason to fear that, if the Spaniards
once become more intimately allied with the English, as they
are ardently laboring to be, they will prevent them from
consenting to any accommodation with us, and will persuade
them, if not to make open war upon us, at least to give them
powerful assistance against us. There accordingly remains
no room for doubt that'we should without delay enter into
negotiations with the Commonwealth of England, and give
it the title which it desires. One condition is, nevertheless,
absolutely necessary; and without it, it would be useless to
pledge ourselves to grant this recognition; and that is, to be
assured beforehand that we shall derive from it some utility,
capable of counterbalancing the prejudice which may accrue
by it to our reputation;..... it would be doubly prejudicial to condescend to an act of meanness, if, after we had done
it, the English should continue in a state of indifference and
coolness towards us; and if our advances only served to
make them more haughty and unyielding, in the conditions




224        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
of the treaty which must be made with them for the accommodation of the differences which exist between us."'
To escape from this danger, and not " expose themselves
to public disgrace with no profit," it was resolved first of all
to send to London a secret agent, M. de Gentillot, a man of
talent, well acquainted with England, and who had already
been employed more than once on similar missions. " His
Majesty," it was stated in his instructions, "has thought fit
that the Sieur de Gentillot, as he is going into England,
should labor adroitly and quietly, by means of the friends
and connections which he has in that country, to obtain
accurate information whether there is a real disposition to
put an end, by a fair accommodation, to the difference which
exists between the two nations, and to re-establish a good
correspondence between them. He must be assured above
all things that the Parliament of England has not made any
private treaty with the Spaniards against France, and that it
is not so far pledged to them that it will be unable to enter
into all the accommodations and confederations which may
be judged useful for the two kingdoms. The English will
not fail to demand whether the King will openly recognize
their Commonwealth by letters and other public demonstrations; in answer to which the Sieur de Gentillot will represent that there will be no difficulty upon that head, and that
it is a point which the Parliament may consider as conceded
in accordance with its desire; but that it is important for us
to be assured that, after the recognition has taken place, we
shall not relapse into any rupture or bad understanding, and
that hostilities shall entirely cease. This assurance can be
no other than the agreement, at the same time, upon a plan
I Documents Inddits sur l'H-Iistoire Diplomatique de France, in the Revue
Nouvelle, vol. v. pp. 416, 419; MISS. de Brienne, in the Biblioth'quc Inpdriale, Paris. Sec Appendix XVI.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               225
of accommodation of the differences which exist between the
two nations." Here followed an enumeration of these differences, and of the precise conditions of the treaty which was
to terminate them; and the instructions ended thus: " The
Sieur de Gentillot may even intimate that, if the Commonwealth of England desires any closer engagement with France,
especially against Spain, we are entirely disposed towards
such an alliance.... In case the said Sieur de Gentillot
should find such a disposition on the part of the English,
on his giving information thereof, the ambassador who will
be sent into England, will be instructed, and will have full
powers, to treat of such an alliance."'
In taking this step, Mazarin had forgotten to give due con
sideration to two things-the weakness of his own position,
and the pride of the English republicans. At the moment
when M. de Gentillot arrived in London, the Frondeurs were
victorious in Paris: the Cardinal, obliged to fly, had found
an asylum, with great difficulty, first at Havre, and then at
Sedan; and the British Parliament, on its side, wishing to be
recognized by France as it had recently been by Spain,
openly and without further delay, refused to listen to, and
even admit into London, any secret and officious agent. "I
regret above all things in the world," wrote M. de Gentillot
to M. Servien, "that I did not rightly understand matters
before I undertook this journey: these people have too much
cause for complaint; they wish to be addressed in due form,
and to be treated with in the same way as other powers. I
have done everything that was possible to be done; but all
has been of no avail. It was thought that you had sent me
hither only to act as a spy upon their affairs. Either from
that or some other reason, or to show us that they cannot
1 Documents Inedits sur 1'Histoire Diplomatique de France; Revue Nouvelle, vol. v. pp. 419-422. See Appendix XVII.




226        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
admit any kind of negotiation which evades a recognition of
their power, it is certain that very abruptly they sent for me
on Friday, as a private individual, to come to them: six
deputies of the Council of State examined me a little, went
away to make their report, and shortly afterwards sent a
secretary to give me an act which ordains that I must leave
London within three days' in obedience to which, I leave
this to-day, which is my third day; and I shall cross over to
Calais to await an answer to this despatch."' No further
orders were given to M. de Gentillot; he returned to Paris,
and the rest of the year 1651 passed away, without any fresh
attempt at an accommodation being made between the Court
of France and the republican Parliament.
This was thought of very little consequence in London,
for the Commonwealth and its leaders were in one of those
periods of good fortune and hope which deceive governments, and especially new governments, as to their real
strength, and give manifestation to all the dreams of their
pride. At the same time that its recognition by Spain introduced the young Commonwealth into the society of European States, the death of William, Prince of Orange, laid
open to the influence of England the United Provinces, the
very one of those States to which it was bound by the most
natural links of position and interest. Both of them Protestant and republican, the one hardly victorious, and the other
still engaged in the struggle for the defence of its faith and
liberties, the two nations had the same cause to maintain, in
the name of analogous ideas, and frequently against the same
enemies. Everything invited them to a close alliance. A
serious obstacle opposed this at the outset: two great parties
-the patrician burghers of the towns on the one side, and
1 Documents Inedits sur l'Histoire Diplomatique de France; MSS. de
Brienne, in the Bibliothbque Imperiale, Paris.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              227
on the other, the House of Nassau, supported by the remains of the feudal nobility, and by the masses-disputed
for the government of the United Provinces: both were
powerful and worthy of respect, for both had gloriously
fought and suffered for the independence of their country.
When the victory was won, they immediately began a secret
as well as an open conflict; the one party aspiring to found
an aristocratic and federal republic, the other tending to
transform, under the name of a Stadtholderate, the confederation of the United Provinces into a sole and hereditary
sovereignty; a deplorable disunion, in which both parties,
obeying noble impulses, and sustaining legitimate interests,
aggravated beyond measure, by their passions, the importance of their disagreements, and were, in turn, equally regardless of what their strength could effect, and of what their
country desired. As long as the Prince of Orange lived, lie
secured the preponderance, in the councils of the United
Provinces, of a policy hostile to the British Commonwealth,
not, however, without great effobrts, or with complete success.
IHe would have desired to engage the confederation in the
cause of Charles II., even at the cost of war: this was evidently more than was consistent with the welfare or the
public feeling of the country. The province of Holland, in
which commercial interests and the patrician burghers predominated, energetically supported a peaceful and neutral
policy; it maintained friendly relations, on its own account,
with the English Parliament, taking care to keep on good
terms with its merchants, and to show it particular respect
on all occasions; it even sent and maintained for some time
in London, a special agent, Gerard Schaep, whom the Parliament received and treated with great distinction.' A rupture
between the two States was thus prevented, but this was the
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 414, 421, 422, 425.




228        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
limit of the influence of the province of Holland and its
magistrates; they could not prevent the Prince of Orange,
seconded by the jealousies of the other provinces, and by the
popular feeling of the country, from securing the preponderance of a royalist policy in the general conduct of affairs.
Not only did the States-General bestow on Charles II. all
such marks of interest, and all such indirect support as
would not absolutely, pledge them to his service, but they
admitted him  to confer with them, to explain to them his
position and views, to ask their advice; and at the same
time, they refused to grant any audience to the Resident of
the English Commonwealth, Walter Strickland, who had remained at the Hague after the murder of his colleague, Dorislaus, and neither his repeated demands, nor the formal protest of the States of the province of Holland, could overcome
their. refusal.' Strickland returned to London, and in giving
an account of his mission to Parliament, with the bitterness
of a disappointed diplomatist, made it aware of the deeprooted enmity with which it was regarded by the Prince of
Orange, and the States-General, over which he had complete
control.2
On the death of the Prince of Orange, a complete change
took place in this state of things.  Notwithstanding that
great marks of respect and affection were shown towards his
family, neither his dignities nor his power were transmitted
to the child to whom his widow, the Princess Mary Stuart,
gave birth a few days after his death, and who afterwards
became William III., King of England. The magistrates of
the principal towns, the families of De Witt, Bicker, De
Waal, Ruyl, Voorhout, and others, resumed the functions of
I Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. p. 272; Commons' Journals,
vol. vi. pp. 295, 315; Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. pp. 113-115; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 470.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 452.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 229
which the prince had violently deprived them; the municipal
aristocracy and the province of Holland, in which its chief
strength resided, regained their ascendency in the central
government; an extraordinary assembly of the StatesGeneral restored to vigor the republican traditions of the
confederation; everything announced that a pacific and even
friendly policy towards the Commonwealth of England would
be substituted for the royalist and hostile policy of the Prince
of Orange. Never could a more favorable opportunity have
presented itself for the conclusion, between the two Protestant republics, of that intimate alliance which their position
seemed to indicate to them.1
The Parliament hastened to seize it, and determined that
ambassadors extraordinary should be sent to the Hague to
settle all differences, and treat of an alliance, between the
two States. In order to give this embassy greater authority,
it was intrusted to the Chief-Justice, Oliver St. John, one of
the ablest leaders of the Parliament during the civil war, and
of the Commonwealth since its victory, and, moreover, an
intimate friend and councillor of Cromwell. St. John refused
at first, on the ground of ill-health.  He was a selfish, arrogant, and timid revolutionist, satisfied with his judicial
position and his indirect influence in the government, and
unwilling to compromise either his self-respect or his safety
in a mission which would certainly be difficult, and might
perhaps be dangerous. The Hlouse would not accept his
refusal, appointed Walter Strickland as his colleague, gave
them their instructions, and despatched them on their mission,
which was surrounded with unusual splendor. Forty gentlemen, and a retinue of about two hundred servants, accom-' Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. pp. 200-220; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 288-303; Wagenaar's Vaderlandsche thistorie, vol. xii. p. 118, et seq.
vori. i.-20




230        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
panied them. St. John took Thurloe with him as his
secretary.  On their arrival in Holland, first at Rotterdam,
and then at the Htague, they were received with no less
attention and solemnity. A deputation from the StatesGeneral camne to meet them, attended by twenty-seven
carriages; they expressed great regret that they could not
lodge them in the house devoted by the State to the reception of foreign ambassadors, as it was already occupied by
the French ambassador,  M. de Bellievre; they were therefore
established in a private house, and most of their suite were
lodged in the neighborhood, going and coming through the
streets incessantly, but always in parties of three or four, and
carrying their swords in their hands or under their arms, as
though they thought themselves in a hostile country, and
surrounded by the murderers of Dorislaus. The English
royalists were indeed very numerous at the Hague, in the
train of the Princess of Orange and of the Duke of York, and
very much inclined to insult the ambassadors of the Commonwealth. The Dutch population itself was also ill-disposed
towards them, and followed them about with offensive curiosity, ridiculing their attitudes, and saying that they were
doubtless afraid.'
The feelings of the men who were then at the head of the
government of HIolland were of a very different character.
From position as well as from prudence, for their own sakes
no less than for the sake of their country, they sincerely
desired to be on good terms, and even to form a true alliance,
with the Commonwealth of England.  Three days after their
arrival at the Hague, St. John and Strickland were received
by the States-General in solemn audience, with the most
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 525, 527, 528, 541, 543; Whitelocke, pp.
487, 488, 490; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 594-596;
Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. p. 287; Leclerc's Histoire
des Provinces Unies, vol. iii. pp. 307, 308.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              231
distinguished marks of friendly consideration, and seven
commissioners were appointed to confer with them. They
were instructed to declare to the ambassadors "that the
United Provinces offered their friendship to the Commonwealth of England, and that they were inclined, not only to
renew and maintain inviolably the affection and friendly
relations which had at all times existed betvween the English
nation and themselves, but also to make a treaty of common
interest with the Commonwealth."  The first words of the
two ambassadors made it evident that such offers would not
suffice them. "We propose," they said, " that the amity and
good correspondence which hath anciently been between the
English nation and the United Provinces, be not only
renewed and preserved inviolably, but that a more strict and
intimate alliance and union be entered into by them, whereby
there may be a more intrinsical and mutual interest of each
in other, than has hitherto been, for the good of both."'
What was this "more strict and intimate alliance" to be?
What was the meaning of the " more intrinsical and mutual
interest?" For six weeks, St. John and Strickland refused
to give any more definite explanation of their meaning; it
was, they said, for the States-General to explain, with precision and detail, their views in this negotiation; as for themselves, they did not consider the first offer which had been
made to them at all satisfactory; and as the Parliament had
appointed a fixed and limited term for the duration of their
embassy, they insisted that a clear and peremptory answer
should be promptly given to their general proposition2
A design of vast and chimerical ambition, one of those designs which men hesitate to acknowledge even while they are
laboring to accomplish them, was entertained in the secret
1 Wicquefort's IHistoire des Provinces Unies, Preuves, vol. ii. pp. 379-391.
2 Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 392-394.




232        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
souls of St. John and the Parliamentary leaders who had sent
him on his mission. At once presumptuous and restless,
they were under the influence of that exuberance of rash
activity, that necessity of gaining strength by extension,
which characterizes new powers when intoxicated by their
first successes. The reports spread about Cromwell's plans
for an expedition into France had no other origin; sensible,
even in the midst of the utmost revolutionary ferment, Cromwell probably never entertained such an idea; but in the
army, in the Parliament, everywhere throughout republican
England, ideas of this kind formed the theme of passionate
discussion among men of bold and unquiet minds, who imagined everything would be possible to their country and
themselves, after what they had already done. The United
Provinces were not like France; there was no necessity to
conquer them by war; half the work was done already; all
moral and material ties, religion, institutions, politics, commerce, connected and assimilated the United Provinces with
England. Why should not the assimilation be carried as far
as union? Why should two republics so similar and so near
to one another remain separated?  "Faciamus eas in unamr
gentem-let us make of them one nation," was the idea of the
republican leaders in England. Strickland, during his first
mission to the Hague, had already expressed it in a letter to
Walter Frost, the Secretary of the Council of State; it inspired
the embassy of St. John, and swayed the entire negotiation.'
It was a dream as full of imprudence as of pride. The
union into a single State, and under the same government, of
the two great Protestant republics would assuredly have met
with desperate resistance in Europe, and might perhaps
have rekindled the wars of religion. The population of HIolThurloe'8 State Papers, vol. i. p. 130; Clarendon's IHistory of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 594; Godwin's History of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 372;
Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. p. 309.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               233
land would have indignantly rejected any such proposal; it
was the loss of their national existence, and their absorption
into the more powerful State of England, which was already
exceedingly unpopular in the United Provinces, as their
former protector, their present rival, and probably their future
enemy. Satires, songs, and other small compositions in prose
and verse, expressive of deep hatred and violent threats
against the English, were already in circulation among the
people; even the heads of the Dutch government, the men
most decidedly in favor of a good understanding with England,
were too high-minded not to place the independence of their
country far above all other considerations, and their goodwill in the negotiation diminished as soon as they caught a
glimpse of the ambitious design of the foreign envoys. Deploring, some years later,.the Orangist intrigues and popular
passions which had led to the rupture between the two
countries, John de Witt said, with patriotic bitterness: "To
this must be added the insupportable humor of the English
nation, its continual jealousy of our prosperity, and the mortal hatred of Cromwell to the young Prince of Orange, the
son of the sister of that banished king, who was the person
he most feared in the world."'
Various incidents, some of them natural and almost unavoidable, others the result of deliberate design, occurred still
further to augment the difficulties of the negotiation. The
populace of the Hague frequently exhibited the coarsest illfeeling towards the ambassadors; in the streets and suburbs
of the town, their servants were insulted and maltreated by
the servants of the Princess of Orange, or by the Cavaliers
in the train of the Duke of York, who was then residing with
his sister. The Prince and Princess themselves often passed
I Leeven en Dood der Gebroeders Cornelis en Johan de Witt, pp. 26, 27,
35; Histoire de Corneille et Jean de Witt, vol. i. p. 64.
20*




234         HISTORY  OF OLIVER CROMWELL
and repassed, slowly and with a brilliant cavalcade, in front
of the residence of the ambassadors, as if to brave them;
puerile pleasures, in which party hatreds and humors indulge
in order to obtain consolation and recreation in the time of
their impotence. One day Prince Edward, a younger brother of Prince Rupert, seeing the ambassadors pass in their
carriage, shouted after them: "O you rogues! you dogs!"
On another occasion, St. John, while walking in the park at
the Hague, met the Duke of York, on foot like himself,
and they did not recognize one another until they were
almost face to face. As the ambassador of the Commonwealth would not give way, the Prince snatched his hat off
his head, and threw it in his face, saying: "Learn, parricide,
to respect the brother of your King."  "I scorn," answered
St. John, " to acknowledge either you or him of whom you
speak, but as a race of vagabonds." They both laid their
hands on their swords, but the gentlemen who were with
them surrounded them, and prevented an encounter. A
Colonel Apsley boasted, it is said, that he would go and
strangle St. John in his house. The ambassadors complained
of these affronts to the States-General. The magistrates instituted prosecutions, took measures of police, and placed
guards all round their residence. Official satisfactions were
not wanting; but the animosities of the royalists and of the
populace continued to exist, and constantly found some new
form and fresh opportunity for manifesting themselves.l
The ambassadors sent a report to London of the almost
equally perilous and difficult position in which they were
Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 560, 568; Whitelocke, pp. 491, 493, 494;
Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vi. pp. 594-596; Old Parliamentary History, vol. xix. p. 473; Carte's Ormonde Letters, vol. i. p. 447, vol. ii.
p. 2; Raguenet's Histoire de Oliver Cromwell, p. 261; Leclerc's Histoire des
Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 308-310; Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces
Unies, vol. iv. p. 289; Thurloc's State Papers, vol. i. p. 179.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 235
placed; they even sent Thurloe to give a detailed explanation of the state of affairs in Holland, and to inquire whether
they should continue to negotiate or return home.' The
Parliament, which clung strongly to its plan, authorized them
to prolong their stay; but at the same time, to give the
States-General a proof of their dissatisfaction and power, it
ordered the arrest at sea of nine merchant vessels belonging
to Amsterdam, and bound for Portugal; and sent to the
Hague for explanation of the attitude of Admiral Tromp,
who was cruising with his squadron off the Scilly Islands,
as though he intended to take possession of them. The
States-General explained the instructions which had been
given to Tromp, and complained of the seizure of the nine
ships.2 Neither country was willing to take the initiative in
the rupture; but the temper of both parties daily became
more unfriendly, and was displayed even in the actions and
words of courtesy which were intended to conceal it.
After more than two months had been spent in useless
conference-months wasted by the English ambassadors in
not stating what they were endeavoring to effect, and by the
Dutch in not giving an answer to what was asked of them
thus indirectly, although they understood it quite well-St.
John and Strickland at length decided to announce with precision some of their pretensions, in seven articles.3 These
alone would have resulted in the complete connection of the
policy and fate of the United Provinces with the policy and
fate of England in all matters of peace, war, and alliance;
and they moreover bound the States-General to abdicate, in
certain cases, on their own territory, the rights and free exI Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 568.
2 Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. p. 177; Whitelocke, pp. 491, 492; Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, Preuves, vol. ii. pp. 397 —402; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iii. p. 311.
3 Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. p. 182; Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, Preuves, vol. ii. pp. 410-414.




236        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
ercise of sovereignty. And to indicate that their mission was
far from being limited to even these extreme terms, the two
ambassadors hastened to add that, if their first demands were
acceded to, "the Parliament had given them power to propound and bring to effect on their part, matters of greater
and higher concernment to the good of both commonwealths."'
Evidently, with such after-thoughts, nothing was possible;
no further explanation was necessary to produce a complete
mutual understanding. From politeness, the negotiation was
continued a few days longer; but on the 29th of June, 1651,
St. John and Strickland announced that the Parliament had
recalled them, and requested an audience to take leave, which
was granted to them on the following day. In presence
of the States-General, the official language of St. John was
moderate and courteous, but on separating from the Dutch
commissioners, with whom he had been negotiating for three
months, he said to them: "I perceive that their High
Mightinesses are waiting the issue of affairs in Scotland, that
they may regulate their carriage to our government accordingly, and that for that reason they have slighted the generous overtures with which we were charged. It is true that
some members of our Parliament dissuaded this embassy,
and advised that we should first finish our war in Scotland,
and then expect your representatives on our shores. But I
thought more honorably of you. I was wrong: and I now
confess that these cautious advisers understood you better.
Take my word for it, however, our Scottish campaign will
soon be terminated as our warmest friends would wish, and
you will then repent your having so lightly treated the proposals we have made."2 Two days afterwards, the English
1 Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. p. 188; Wicqueforte's Histoire des Provinces Unies Preuves, vol. i. pp. 415-418.
2 Histoire de Corneille et Jean de Witt, vol. i. p. 63; Wicqlnefort's Histoire




AND THE ENGLISH  COMMONWEALTH.                 237
ambassadors left Holland, refusing, in obedience to the express commands of the Parliament, the rich presents which
were offered them by the States-General; and on the 7th of
July, Whitelocke announced to the House that they had returned to London, and were ready to give a report of their
mission.' 
Two decisive measures promptly followed the presentation
of this report. On the 5th of August, Whitelocke proposed
to Parliament the famous bill known as the Act of Navigation, which provided that no foreign ships should be allowed
to bring into England any commodities which were not the
proper produce or manufacture of the countries to which
they respectively belonged. This was the hardest blow which
could possibly be struck at Holland, whose prosperity mainly
depended upon its carrying trade. Before the end of the
year, the bill was definitively adopted, and put into operation.2
At the same time, letters of marque were granted to many
English merchants, to enable them, it was said, to indemnify
themselves for the losses which had been inflicted on them
by the Dutch Navy. The United Provinces had refused to
allow themselves to be conquered by negotiation: war was
now proposed against them.
The victory of Worcester carried to a climax the proud
confidence of the republican Parliament; and the States of
the Continent, by their attitude and conduct after that great
defeat of the royalist party, served only to justify and increase it. From all parts there came to London declarations
of recognition of the Commonwealth, overtures of official
des Provinces Unies, Preuves, vol. ii. p. 428; Heath's Brief Chronicle, pp.
524-527; Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. pp. 189-192.
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 593, 595; Whitelocke, p. 496; Leclerc's
Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. p. 313.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 617; vol. vii. p. 27; Leclerc's Histoire des
Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 313, 314.




238        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
relations, and almost even diplomatic congratulations and
compliments.  Tuscany, Venice, Geneva, the  Hianseatic
Towns, the Swiss Cantons, and the petty princes of Germany, sent and received agents.' From Sweden, Denmark,
and Portugal, extraordinary ambassadors brought letters
from their sovereigns to the Parliament, were presented to
it in solemn audience, and commenced eager negotiations
with it, either to put an end to existing differences, or to
enter into immediate alliance.2 Wonderstruck by the success
of the Commonwealth, all Europe took measures to live on
good terms with it, whether it believed or not in its future
stability.
Mazarin could not remain passive amid this movement,
for no one was readier than he to bend before power, either
to attract and use it for his advantage, or to conceal from it
his real views. He renewed his attempts to resume friendly
relations with the English Commonwealth; M. de Gentillot
made a fresh journey to London, where Mazarin maintained
numerous secret agents, both French and English, partly for
the purpose of collecting information, and partly to form
connections which he hoped some day to turn to his profit.
His anxiety became still more intense when he learned that
Sir Harry Vane had been to Paris, and had an interview
with Cardinal de Retz.  "On my return home at about
eleven o'clock in the evening," says De Retz, "I found a certain Fielding, an Englishman, whom I had known formerly
at Rome, who told me that Vane, a great Parliamentarian
and intimate confidant of Cromwell, had just arrived in
Paris, and had orders to see me. I found myself somewhat
embarrassed by this; however, I thought I ought not to re1 Commonrs' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 19, 28, 96, 142, 256.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. viii. pp. 77, 103, 104, 130, 135, 136, 137, 230,
234, 243, 177, 178, 182, 185, 186, 187, 190, 191, 194, 203, 223, 229, 149, 159,
165, 245, 252, 261, 269, 270, 273, 276, 277.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              239
fuse this interview, at a conjuncture when we were not at
war with England, and when the Cardinal himself was
making both base and continual advances to the Protector.
Vane gave me a short letter from him, which was only a
letter of credence. The substance of his discourse was that
the sentiments which I had expressed in defence of public
liberty, combined with my reputation, had inspired Cromwell
with a desire to make friendship with me. This was adorned
by all the courtesies, all the offers, and all the temptations
that you can imagine. Vane appeared to me a man of surprising capacity. I answered with all possible respect: but
assuredly I neither said nor did anything that was not worthy
both of a true Catholic and of a good Frenchman."' Mazarin
judged otherwise, and from his place of exile at Bruhl he
wrote thus to the Queen: " The Coadjutor has always spoken
with veneration of Cromwell, as of a man sent by God into
England, saying that he would raise up similar men in other
kingdoms; and once, in jovial company when Menage was
present, hearing some one extol the courage of M. de Beaufort, he said in express terms:'If M. de Beaufort is Fairfax,
I am Cromwell.',2
Mazarin excelled in the art of ruining his enemies by exaggerating the meaning of their actions or words, and by
immediately appropriating to his own use, with the utmost
effrontery, their tactics and weapons. Whilst he thus represented to the Queen as a crime in the Coadjutor the sentiments which he entertained with regard to Cromwell, he was
himself laboring to enter into intimate relations with Cromwell: too sagacious not to perceive that in him were centred
all the power and ability then existing in England, it was to
the future master of the Commonwealth, and no longer to
1 MdIemoires du Cardlinal de Retz, p. 211.
2 Lettres du Cardinal Mazarin' la Reine Anne d'Autriche, publides par M.
Ravenel, pp. 5, 6.




240        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the republican Parliament, that his advances were addressed.
Cromwell willingly received them; he also was busily engaged in securing to himself powerful friends in every direction. " He adroitly leaves to others the conduct and care of
everything unpopular," wrote Croulle to M. Servien, as early
even as 1650, "and reserves to himself such things as give
satisfaction; or at least he spreads a report to this effect, in
order that, if they succeed, they may be attributed to him,
and if not, that it may be thought that it was in his will to
do them, but that their realization was prevented by others."'
On the 5th of February, 1652, the Comte d'Estrades, who was
still governor of Dunkirk, wrote to Mazarin, who had then
returned into France, and had just rejoined the Queen at
Poitiers: "The Protector Cromwell has sent to me Mr. FitzJames, his colonel of guards, to propose to me to treat about
Dunkirk, that he would give me two millions for it, and that
he would engage to furnish fifty vessels and fifteen thousand
foot-soldiers, to declare against Spain, and against the enemies
of the King and of your Eminence, with whom he would
wish to make a close friendship. I replied to Mr. Fitz-James
that, if the troubles and civil war which existed in France
did not oblige me to send to the Queen and your Eminence,
I would have had him thrown into the sea for having supposed me capable of betraying my King, but that the present
state of affairs obliged me to detain him with me until I had
received an answer from the Court." Mazarin replied to
D'Estrades: "My opinion was that we should accept Cromwell's proposition; but M. de Chateauneuf opposed it, and
carried the Queen with him, so that she would not consent
to it..... I leave it for the Sieur de Las to express to you
the sentiments which I feel towards you: your interests are
as dear to me as my own." D'Estrades understood his
1 June 20, 1650; Archives des Affaires Etrang~eres de France.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    241
wishes, and did not lose a moment; five days afterwards he
wrote to Mazarin: "As soon as I had received from M. de
Las the letter which acquainted me with the intentions of
your Eminence touching the proposition of England, I communicated the same to my friend in London, and begged
him to give me an answer on the point contained in my letter, as speedily as possible. He arrived in this town this
morning, and told me, on the part of Mr. Cromwell, that
what the Commonwealth demands is that the King should
recognize them, and send an ambassador as soon as possible,
and that he should pay their subjects that which has been
taken from them at sea....  I-e told me afterwards that
Mr. Cromwell had charged him to tell me that, if your Eminence could not remain in France, and your enemies should
oblige you to leave your country, he assured me that you
would be well received in England if you should wish to
retire thither, and treated by the Commonwealth with all
kinds of honor; that they would give you a good house to
live in, entire safety for your person, and the free exercise of
your religion; and that whenever you wished to go to Rome,
you should be furnished with vessels to convey yourself and
all your train whithersoever you might wish."'
Mazarin now thought himself near the accomplishment
of his wishes: powers were immediately sent to the Comte
d'Estrades " to treat of a new alliance with the Commonwealth
of England...   In judging," Louis XIV. was made
to say, "that the Sieur Cromwell might send some one to us
to be better informed of our good intentions, you will have
to acquaint him with them, and to open yourself in all confidence, not only respecting any treaty with the Common1 Lettres, M6moires et N6gociations du Comte d'Estrades, vol i. pp. 103107; Letter from the Comte d'Estrades to Cardinal AMazarin, in the Archives
des Affaires Etrangeres de France.
VOL. I.-21




242        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
wealth, but also with the said Sieur Cromwell personally, for
the common welfare of the two kingdoms as well as for his
private interests; as I give you, by'these presents, power to
act, negotiate, treat, and promise in my name all that you
may judge fitting with regard to the said Cromwell, and I
will ratify and execute all that you shall have promised in
my name."' D'Estrades, however, did not leave Dunkirk:
it was not until a month after the date of his powers, that
he received precise instructions, and a letter from  Mazarin
with comments upon them. The Cardinal wished to sell
dearly the recognition of the Commonwealth, and to grant
it only in exchange for an immediate treaty which should
not merely put an end to all differences between the two
states, but should secure to France the alliance, or at least,
the secret support, of England against Spain. In this hope,
he even authorized D'Estrades to resume the question of the
cession of Dunkirk to the English.2  Being doubtless informed by his friends in London that he would have but
little chance of success, D'Estrades never went on this mission.
In his stead, almost identical instructions were given to M.
de Gentillot, who furthermore had orders to deliver to Cromwell a letter from Louis XIV. himself, to the following effect:
"Mr. Cromwell, as I am sending expressly to London the
Sieur de Gentillot, a gentleman of my chamber, with letters
of credence to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of
England and to the Council of State, in order to acquaint them
with my good intentions; and as it is advantageous to both
States to live in good neighborhood, peace, and amity, I have
charged him with this letter for you, to assure you of my
good-will and entire disposition to do whatever may conduce
Letter from Louis XIV. to the Comte c'Estrades; MSS. de Brienne, in
the Bibliotheque Imp6riale, Paris.
2 MSS. de Brienne, in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, Paris. See Appendix
XVIII.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH..243
to the security and liberty of the trade, well-being, and mutual advantage of the two nations; and feeling assured that
you will contribute willingly to so good a result, I leave it
to the said Sieur de Gentillot to tell you more, begging you
to give him credence as a person in whom I place entire confidence."'  Whether it was never carried out, or whether it
failed obscurely, the mission of Gentillot produced no more
result than that of D'Estrades.  Both parties were feeling
their way, without advancing. Meanwhile, Mazarin became
more and more anxious and hurried.  Some months previously, at the very moment when he had commenced these
negotiations, the Prince de Cond6 and the Frondeurs of Bordeaux had also sent to London two agents, MM. Barribre
and De Cugnac, with instructions to solicit the support of
the Commonwealth, and to offer in return free trade with
Guienne, certain favors towards the French Protestants, and
even the cession of the island of Oleron. These agents had,
in the first instance, no public character; they addressed
themselves to all the men of importance, and particularly to
Cromwell, stating their demands and offers to all whom they
thought able to help them. But on the 31st of March, 1652,
the Speaker informed the Parliament that he had received
a letter signed "Louis de Bourbon," and  addressed  "Au' The text of this letter is as follows: "Monsieur Cromwell, envoyant
expre's a Londres le Sieur de Gentillot, gentilhomme de ma chambre, avei
lettres de creance au Parlement de la Republique d'Angleterre, et au Conseil
d'Etat, pour leur faire entendre mes bonnes intentions, et comme il est avantageux a Fun et a l'autre Etat de vivre en bon voisinance, paix et amitie, je
l'ai charge de cette lettre pour vous, pour vous assurer de ma bonne volontd
et disposition entie're a faire ce qui servira a la surete et liberte du commerce,
bien et utilite r6ciproque des deux nations; et m'assurant que vous contribuerez volontiers a un si bon effet, je me remets au dit Sieur de Gentillot de
vous en dire davantage, vous priant de lui donner cr6ance comme en une personne en qui je prends une confiance entibre."  MSS. de Brienne, in the Bibliotheque Imp6riale, Paris.




244        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Parlement de la Rdpublique d'Angleterre," accrediting M.
de Barribre.  This letter was read and referred to the Council of State, who received Barriere and heard his propositions.
Whitelocke presented a report on the subject to the Parliament. The mission now appeared to assume a definite character; the Spanish ambassador warmly supported it; the
Comte de Daugnon, governor of Brouaye, and an ally of the
Prince de Conde, also sent agents and promises to London.
Finally the city of Bordeaux itself, in its own name, despatched two special deputies, MM. de Blarut and de Trancons, "to demand of the Commonwealth of England, as of
a just and powerful State, assistance in men, money, and
ships to support the city and commons of Bordeaux, now
united with our lords the Princes; and not only to shelter
them from the oppression and cruel vengeance which is in
store for them, but also to effect their restoration to their
ancient privileges, and to enable them to breathe a freer air
than they have hitherto done. And as the said lords of the
Parliament of the Commonwealth of England," continued
their instructions, "will probably demand of them reciprocal
advantages, they will let them first explain their pretensions,
and afterwards, if necessary, they may grant them a port in
the river of Bordeaux, where their vessels may find retirement and safety, such as Castillon, Royau, Talmont or
Paulhac, or that of Arcachon if they wish, which they may
fortify at their own expense. We may even permit them to
besiege and capture Blaye, in which our troops will help them
as much as possible. They may also make a descent upon
La Rochelle and capture it, if they please."'
The alarm was great, both at Court and in the Council.
Whilst, in the southern provinces, civil war thus invited a
Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 112, 117, 129, 133; Documents inedits
sur l'Histoire Diplomatique de France, in the Revue Nouvelle, vol. v. pp. 381393; Thurloe's State Papers, vol. i. pp. 216, 224, 226, 250.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              245
foreign army into France, foreign war still continued- in those
of the north: the Spaniards were vigorously pushing the
siege of Gravelines; Dunkirk was expected shortly to fall,
and the news arrived suddenly that seven vessels, which had
left Calais for the purpose of conveying thither provisions
and reinforcements, had been arrested and captured at sea by
the English squadron, under the command of Admiral Blake.
In vain did all the French authorities make the most urgenit
remonstrances; in vain did the Duke de Vendome, Grand
Admiral of France, write to Blake, to the republican Council
of State, and even to the Parliament;' they replied that the
letters of marque issued by the French government had
caused, and still continued to cause, the greatest injury to
English commerce, for which they had resolved to obtain or
take reparation, and they refused to release the ships which
had been seized.2  Evidently, the Parliament was resolved
not to purchase the recognition of the Commonwealth at the
price which Mazarin wished to make it pay: it was determined to maintain its wavering neutrality between France
and Spain, and inclining always rather towards Spain, it
willingly seized upon all opportunities for making France
feel its power to do her harm. Don Alonzo de Cardefas had
carefully fostered this tendency in London: the proceedings
and messengers of Mazarin had caused him the utmost anxiety, and he had sent minute information of all that had
passed to his Court, urging it to make to-the Parliament, on
its side, the advances and concessions necessary to prevent
any alliance between England and France. Sometimes he
labored to induce Spain to enter into an intimate alliance
with the two Protestant republics of London and the Hague;
I MSS. de Brienne, in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, Paris. See Appendix;
XX.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 175, 195, 224; Dixon's Life of Blake,
pp. 208-210.
21*




246        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
against France and Portugal; sometimes he urged his Court
to second the English in an enterprise against Calais, on condition that they should aid the Spaniards in the siege of
Gravelines, Dunkirk, and Mardyke.  Finally, he undertook
to conclude between Spain and the Commonwealth of England, a formal treaty of friendship, which should securely
bind both States; and on the 20th of September, 1652, he
sent to Madrid a draft in twenty-four articles, which he had
already submitted, on the 12th, to the republican Council of
State, who had manifested a strong disposition to accept it.1
Urged by these dangers, Mazarin at length determined to
recognize the Commonwealth, without deriving any immediate advantage from the step. On the 2d of December, 1652,
M. de Bordeaux, Councillor of State and Intendant of Picardy,
received directions to convey a letter from the King to the
Parliament, and to re-establish official relations between the
two States. This resolution was adopted and executed without either boldness or gracefulness, with an air at once
haughty and embarrassed. The instructions of M. de Bordeaux formally stated that he was not an ambassador, and he
was ordered to declare as much on his arrival; they seemed
to make the commercial interests of the two countries, and
the restitution of the seven vessels captured on their way to
Dunkirk, the almost entire object of his mission; they recommended him, it is true, "to say nothing which might lead to
a rupture, or offend the English, so as not to give them any
pretext for declaring themselves enemies of the crown, as it
appears to His Majesty that it is better for a time that they
should rove the seas and practise the piracy with which they
reproach others, than that they should do anything worse,
1 Letters from Cardelias to Philip IV., January 23, February 5, 15, 25,
July 19, September 12, 20, 1652; Deliberations of the Council of State at
Madrid on the Despatches of Cardellas, August 14, 1652; in the Archives of
$imancas. See Appendix XXI.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               247
namely, join their forces with the Spaniards, and take the
rebels under their protection;" but at the same time, Bordeaux was enjoined, "if he could obtain no satisfaction
regarding the special business with which he was charged,
to return to France without waiting for further orders,"
whilst, if he found the Parliament favorably disposed and
ready to appoint commissioners to examine the old treaties
with him, he was to wait, "and send at once to His Majesty,
to receive his commands, together with the necessary powers
and instructions." In reality, the step was decisive, and
carried with it the full recognition of the Commonwealth;
but either from natural hesitation, or from complaisance to
the scruples of the Queen and Court, Mazarin had attempted
to give it the appearance of an experimental mission of a
limited and conditional character, and one which could be
receded from at any time without discredit.l
Republican pride quickly detected and frustrated this
petty artifice. When the Speaker announced to the Parliament that he had received a letter from the King of France,
its superscription was first of all examined: it was addressed,
"A nos tres chers et grands amis les Gens du Parlement de
la Rdpublique d'Angleterre." The master of the ceremonies
was directed to state to M. de Bordeaux, that this was not
the style in which foreign princes wrote to the Parliament,
and that a letter thus addressed could not be received. Two
days afterwards, Bordeaux sent back the letter with this new
address: "Au Parlement de la Rdpublique d'Angleterre;"
it was immediately admitted, and the 21st of December following was fixed for the reception of M. de Bordeaux, but
he was informed that " as he was not an ambassador, he would
have audience neither of the Parliament, nor of the Council
1 Archives des Affaires Etrangeres de France; AMSS. de Brienne, in the
Bibliotheque Imperiale, Paris. See Appendix XXII.




248        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELJL
of State, but of a Committee."  When admitted before this
committee, "The King of France, my master," he said, "having judged it fitting, for the good of his service, to send me
to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, has
commanded me to greet it on his part, and to assure it of his
friendship, from the confidence which he has of finding in it
a mutual correspondence to his good intentions. The union
which should exist between neighboring states is not regulated by the form of their government; wherefore, though
it has pleased God, in His providence, to change that which
was formerly established in this country, there does not cease
to be a necessity for trade and friendship between France and
England. This kingdom may have changed its aspect, and
from a monarchy have become a Commonwealth, but the
position of places does not change; people always continue
neighbors, and remain interested in one another, for trading
purposes; and the treaties which exist between nations are
not so much binding upon princes as upon peoples, as they
have for their principal object their common advantage."
Having thus formally recognized the Commonwealth, Bordeaux proceeded at once to the special object of his mission,
and after a few phrases against the intrigues of Spain, and
upon the power of France, he ended by demanding the restitution of the seven vessels, and by giving the Parliament
full assurance that "His Majesty, who regards justice as the
principal support of his sceptre, and the solid foundation' of
legitimate empires, will not fail to have compensation given
to all those of this State who may have just claims against
his subjects; and that, having obtained the satisfaction which
is his due, he will embrace all means likely to maintain a
perfect correspondence between the two States,"'
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 228, 230, 233; Archives des Affaires
Etrangeres de France; IMSS, de Brienne, in the Bibliothgque Impiriale.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             249
On learning that this step had been taken by the King of
France towards the republican Parliament, the Queen of
England, Henrietta Maria, wrote to her second son, the Duke
of York: " My son, this letter is to inform you that, as they
have sent from here to England to recognize those infamous
traitors, notwithstanding all the reasons which we could give
against the measure, the King, your brother, has resolved to
leave this place, and has already communicated his intention
to the Queen. HEe has not yet taken any resolution with
regard to you. Wherefore you must still act as if you were
ignorant of this embassy, and in case any one should mention it to you, you must say that you cannot believe it...
I confess to you, since my great misfortune, I have never
felt anything equal to this. May God take us under His
holy protection, and give us the patience which we shall
need to support this blow!"' Charles II., however, did not
leave Paris-he was not asked to do so; and the pension of
six thousand livres a month, which he received from Louis
XIV., was continued; but his position became more and
more isolated and melancholy, and his most faithful advisers
urged him thenceforth to seek an asylum elsewhere.
The Commonwealth seemed equally triumphant both at
home and abroad-in European diplomacy as well as in the
civil war; but the fatal effects of its imprudent and arrogant
policy towards the United Provinces had begun to manifest
themselves, and far overbalanced the advantages which accrued to it from its recognition by Louis XIV., and its imperfect neutrality between France and Spain.
When the Dutch leaders had rejected the propositions of
the English ambassadors, and refused to connect the fate of
their country with that of a Commonwealth so dangerous
1 MSS. de Brienne, in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, Paris; Clarendon's Illstory of the Rebellion, vol. vi. p. 605; vol. -vii. p. 49.




250       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
and tottering, they had done a deed of equal patriotism and
courage, and had discharged their duty towards the dignity
as well as the safety of the State which they governed. But
they were sincerely desirous of peace, and even of an alliance, with England; the victory of the Parliament at Worcester and its Act of Navigation, by showing them that war
was at once most probable and most perilous, determined
them to attempt a last effort to avoid it. As soon as they
learned the flight of Charles II. after his defeat, a decree was
proposed in the States-General, enacting that no foreign prince
should be allowed to enter their territory without their formal consent; and shortly afterwards they sent three ambassadors to London, with orders to resume the negotiations
which St. John and Strickland, on leaving the Hague, had
so abruptly broken off. At their first audience, the principal of the three ambassadors, Jacobus Catz, formerly Grand
Pensionary of the United Provinces, endeavored, in a long
speech, which was too flattering to be adroit, to conciliate
the friendly feeling of the Parliament. Their reception had
been attended with great pomp; the master of the ceremonies had been ordered to fetch them from Gravesend, in
barges decorated with official ensigns; three members of
Parliament had met them at Greenwich, and conducted them
on the following day to Westminster. On their entrance
into the hall, the Speaker and all the members rose, and took
off their hats: the English republicans were anxious to treat
the republic of the United Provinces with distinction, and
to diffuse among both nations the conviction that they regarded it with sincere sympathy: but at the same time,
swayed by mingled feelings of pride and rancor, they received and discussed its propositions with the haughty obstinacy of a power confident in its own strength, and burning
to avenge a misapprehension which it regarded as an insult.
In'both countries the popular feeling was in accordance with




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 251
this disposition of the English government: in Holland,
either from an Orangist spirit, or from national rivalry, the
people expected a war, and manifested a greater inclination
to desire than to fear it; the fishermen of the Meuse related,
with patriotic confidence, their visions of great navies, which
had appeared in the air, just above their coasts, engaging in
mighty conflicts, from which they prognosticated the victory
of the Dutch flag. In London, the populace were still more
animated: they daily received news of hostile proceedings
at sea, between English and Dutch ships, sometimes relating
to the affronts and losses which English commerce had experienced, and sometimes to the bold reparation which it had
taken for itself at the expense of its rivals; and more than
once, on hearing such news, whether true or false, the mob
thronged round the house which the Dutch ambassadors occupied at Chelsea, and showed so strong a tendency to insult
them, that Parliament was obliged to assign them a guard
for their protection.'
Among the negotiators themselves the difficulties daily
grew more insurmountable; unexpected questions arose; old
or new pretensions were put forward on both sides. The
Dutch, having become a powerful nation, were also anxious
to establish their entire independence at sea, and to free
themselves from the admissions of inferiority which England
had been, or assumed to be, entitled to impose upon them.
The English accused their kings of the House of Stuart of
having abandoned, or allowed to fall into desuetude, those
external tokens of their empire over the sea, which in former
days, and especially during the glorious reign of Elizabeth,
their sailors had possessed, or laid claim to. The salute of their
flag, the right of visiting, and the right of fishery, became the
Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 45, 53, 54, 56, 58, 64; Wlhitelocke, pp.
512, 518, 521, 533; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. p. 314;
Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. pp. 307-310.




252        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
subject of animated debates; the more they were prolonged,
the haughtier became the demands and tone of the English;
they even began to speak, without evasion, of their sovereignty over the seas which surrounded their island; the
Dutch ambassadors, from royalty as much as from prudence,
declared that their government was equipping a large fleet
to protect their trade in those waters. The English commissioners almost contested their right to do this, saying that
they would themselves maintain the police of the sea for the
common advantage of all. Whilst quarrels about principles
were thus growing in bitterness, actual hostilities spontaneously commenced between the two nations; their ships
never met without exchanging some mark of enmity; it was
soon learned that an embargo had been laid in the ports of
Holland upon all English ships; and that a Dutch merchant
fleet, returning from the Mediterranean, had refused to lower
its flag to the English squadron, upon which Commander
Young had attacked it, to compel it to do so. Explanations
were demanded and given on both sides; the embargo in
Holland was raised; but the ill-feeling which it had excited
in England continued. The Dutch negotiators did their best
to extenuate grievances, and to resolve questions pacifically;
but they were not all three animated by this desire to an
equal extent; their dissensions were remarked, and they were
called, ironically, "The disunited ambassadors of the United
Provinces."  They-insisted in vain upon the abolition, or at
least the temporary suspension, of the Act of Navigation; the
Parliament was inflexible on this point; and, both from external incidents and from the turn taken by the negotiations
themselves, the maintenance of peace daily became more
doubtful and more difficult.'
Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 103, 135, 139; Whitelocke, pp. 512, 517,
522, 529, 530; Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 189-191; Wicquefort's Histoire
des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. pp. 310-318; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces
Unies, vol. ii. pp. 314 —316; Heath's Brief Chronicle, p. 585.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               253
In the midst of these diplomatic agitations, it suddenly became known that, on the 12th of May, in the Downs, not far
from Dover roadstead, the Dutch fleet, under the command
of Tromp, and the English fleet, under Blake, had met and
fought. Informed that Tromp was cruising in that part of
the Channel, and suspecting that some hostile design was in
contemplation on his part, Blake had immediately sailed
thither, and on his arrival, he had, by firing three signal-guns
in succession, summoned the Dutch admiral to lower his flag
in presence of the English squadron. Tromp kept on his
course without taking any notice of his summons. Soon
after he fell in with a ketch coming from Holland, which evidently brought him important orders, for he suddenly veered
round and made towards Blake, who lay to, and repeated his
summons. According to the account given by the English
admiral, Tromp's only answer was to send a broadside into
the James, Blake's flag-ship, which caused it considerable
damage. "Well," said Blake, "it is not very civil in Van
Tromp to take my flag-ship for a brothel, and break my
windows;" and in his turn, he opened a vigorous cannonade
upon the Brederode, Tromp's own vessel. The action thus
unexpectedly begun, lasted more than four hours; Tromp
had forty-two ships, and Blake only twenty-three. The
English admiral had more than fifty men of his own crew
killed or wounded; the Dutch lost one of their ships. When
night fell, Tromp made sail towards the coast of Holland;
and on the following day at dawn, Blake, who had remained
on the scene of action, could discover no trace of his enemy.'
Two sensations of a very different character, in London
anger, and at the Hague anxiety, were excited by this news.
1 Whitelocke, pp. 523, 524; Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 191-195; Memorials of Sir William Penn, vol. i. pp. 419-423; Leclerc's IIistoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 315 —317; Wicquefort's Ilistoire des Provinces
Unies, vol. iv. pp. 318-320.
VOL. I. —22




254       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
"Tromp came to brave us on our own seas," said the English; "he wished to surprise our fleet, that he might attack
and destroy it by treachery." "Tromp was driven towards
the English coast by stress of weather," answered the Dutch;
"he was returning, and about to salute the English fleet,
when he was violently summoned and attacked; he merely
stood on the defensive, and withdrew as soon as he could do
so honorably; with his superior force, he could easily have
destroyed the English fleet, if such had been his design."
These explanations, and especially the last, were received
with ironical derision, as falsehoods almost equivalent to
fresh insults. The populace manifested their furious ill-feeling towards the ambassadors more strongly than ever. A
fourth ambassador extraordinary arrived suddenly from the
Hague-Adrian de Pauw, Pensionary of the Province of
Holland, already well known and esteemed in England,
attached to a pacific policy, and of a prudent and conciliating
character. He brought, on the part of his government, the
strongest denials of any hostile or offensive intention towards
England; he declared that Tromp had neither received any
instructions, nor entertained any purpose, to attack the English fleet, and that what. had happened had only been the
result of unfortunate misconceptions and accidents; he demanded that an inquiry should be instituted into the facts,
and into the conduct of the two admirals, offering the dismissal of Tromp from his command, if the charges imputed
to him were substantiated; and, in the meanwhile, he insisted that the negotiations should be pursued and brought
to a conclusion. Pauw was received with great consideration; but, in their suspicions as in their desires, the Parlia.
ment and the Council of State proved inflexible; and, after
several conferences, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the
urgency of the Dutch negotiators, they suddenly set up, as
a preliminary condition, the claim that the United Provinces




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 255
should indemnify them for the expenses which the prospect
of a war had already forced them to incur; which being
granted, they would pursue the negotiations. It would be
impossible, I think, carefully to examine these facts and
documents without coming to the conclusion that, in spite of
the intrigues of the Orangist party, the rulers of the United
Provinces were sincerely desirous of peace, whereas, either
from passion or premeditation, the English republicans, both
Parliament and people, obstinately clung to every cause of
war, in the hope of establishing their supremacy at sea, and
even of carrying out, by force of arms, those ambitious designs upon the United Provinces, which negotiation had
failed to crown with success. Perceiving the inutility of
further efforts, Pauw and his colleagues at length requested
an audience to take leave; on the following day they were
received with great marks of official respect by the Parliament, to which, before their departure, they delivered a
series of documents in which their propositions and conduct
were, in their point of view, faithfully stated and fully justified. Five days afterwards, on the 7th of July, 1652, the
Parliament published its declaration of war, with an exposition of its motives; and fifteen days afterwards, the manifesto of the States-General also appeared, accepting, with
spirit, though with regret, the defiance which had been
offered them.'
Although with forces, in reality, very unequal, the two
nations entered upon the conflict with the same ardor, and
almost with the same confidence. The navy of the United
Provinces was, at that time, superior to that of England,
both in reputation and ability; it had been formed, for nearly
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 140, 141, 142, 147, 149, 150, 152;
Whitelocke, pp. 537-538; Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 195-197; Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. pp. 322-324; Leclerc's Histoire
des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 318-320.




256       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
a century, by commercial enterprise with distant lands, by
the conquest and administration of remote possessions in
America and the Indies, and in difficult and dangerous fisheries; its sailors were numerous and practised; its admirals
had begun to introduce, into the command of great fleets, the
art of executing scientific and connected manceuvres, which
was almost unknown at that period, according to their own
historians, to the best English seamen. The latter, on their
side, possessed vessels generally of a larger size, manned by
more numerous crews, and furnished with heavier guns;
they were, moreover, thoroughly under the influence of the
most energetic human passions, patriotism, pride, ambition,
and jealousy; and they had, to back them, a country far
more populous and wealthy than the United Provinces, and
placed, not under the feeble and mutable direction of a confederation of States, but under the sole authority of a revolutionary assembly, proud of its triumphs at home, and
accustomed to lavish men and money for the successful accomplishment of its designs. A month after his encounter
with Tromp off Dover, Blake had under his command a fleet
of 105 ships of war, carrying 3,961 guns, and manned, in
addition to their crews, by two regiments of infantry. The
Dutch had not been less vigilant in their preparations; they
had hired, on account of the State, all the merchant ships of
large tonnage which they could obtain; sixty men-of-war, of
immense size, were in process of construction; a multitude
of expert foreign sailors were lured into their service by the
promise of high wages; and when Tromp put to sea, he had
under his command a fleet of 120 ships, which, in the opinion
of every Dutch patriot, would be able to sweep the English
navy from the face of the ocean.'
On the 21st of June, before even the Dutch ambassadors
I Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 197-202; Memorials of Sir William Penn,
vol. i. pp. 395-432.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              257
had left London, or war had been officially declared, Blake
set sail from Dover with sixty vessels, leaving one of his
lieutenants, Sir George Ayscue, to defend the Channel,
whilst he himself sailed northwards, either to protect the
numerous English merchantmen who were returning from
the Baltic, or to destroy the Dutch fishing-boats, which
thronged in vast numbers to the coasts of Scotland and the
neighboring islands for the herring fishery. This fishery
had become an important feature in Dutch trade; a host of
small vessels, called busses, were engaged in it, each manned
by a family of fishermen, for even the women and children
took part in the adventure. It was an unfailing means of
subsistence to the poorer classes, and to the State the source
of an extensive trade, and a nursery of hardy seamen. More
than six hundred barques of all sizes, protected by twelve
Dutch men-of-war were collected in the seas of the north of
Scotland when Blake arrived there. Falling suddenly upon
them with infinitely superior forces, Blake, notwithstanding
their courageous resistance, sank three of the men-of-war,
captured the other nine, and seized the six hundred herringbusses; after taking a tenth of the produce of their fishery
as a tribute, from a feeling of generous humanity he sent
them home with the remainder, ordering them never again
to fish in those waters without having first obtained permission of the Council of State. Meanwhile Tromp, informed
by the Dutch ambassadors, on their return, of the English
admiral's plan of campaign, came out of the Trexel as soon
as he knew that Blake was on his way to the north, and
made all sail towards the British Channel, with seventy-nine
men-of-war and ten fire-ships, in the hope that he would be
able to destroy Ayscue's very inferior fleet, and afterwards
to effect a landing, or to commit great ravages, along the
coast of England. The alarm was great in London and the
a(djacent counties; the militia of Kent rose in arms to repel
22*



258       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the menacing invader; batteries were hastily erected on
several points along the coast; courier after courier was sent
to Blake to inform him of what was going on in the Channel,
and to urge his return. Nature lent the Parliament the aid
which Blake could not have had time to afford. In the very
midst of the Channel, Tromp's fleet was delayed by a dead
calm which rendered all movement impossible, and when the
wind returned, it blew from the land, and with such violence,
that, notwithstanding the skill and perseverance of the Dutch
sailors, they found it impossible to get near enough to the
English coast to attack Ayscue, who lay in safety under the
cliffs. Immediately renouncing a project which he saw he
could not accomplish, Tromp set out with his whole fleet
for the North, where he would be sure to fall in with Blake,
separated from Ayscue, and distant from any place which
might have supplied him with reinforcements; and he promised himself that he would inflict, on the English admiral
himself, the defeat which his lieutenant had just escaped.
On the 5th of August, the English and Dutch fleets fell in
with one another between the Orkneys and the Shetland
Isles; the English were considerably weakened, for, on receipt of the news from London, Blake had despatched eight
of his best frigates southwards, to reinforce Ayscue; he did
not attempt, however, to avoid a battle, and he was making
every preparation on board his flag-ship, the Resolution, to
attack Tromp, when he perceived in the sky signs of an approaching tempest. Feeling certain that, on that day, any
engagement would be impossible, he signalled his captains
to shelter their ships as they best could in the little archipelago of the Shetland Isles, and so to await the morrow. The
storm burst ere long, and lasted all night with unusual violence even for those seas; the wind, rain, thunder, and darkness rendered any concerted manecuvre, and almost all communication, impossible between the ships; the Dutch fleet




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                259
wras dispersed and cruelly damaged; nmfny vessels were
wrecked either at sea or on the coast; others fled for refuge
to Norway; the fire-ships were dashed in pieces; and when
morning broke, instead of the noble squadron which he had
brought with him, Tromp, as he stood on the deck of the
Brederode, could only see a few vessels drifting at hap-hazard,
dismasted, with their sails in tatters, and still struggling
with great difficulty against a sea which was covered with
wrecks. He could succeed in collecting only forty-two of
his ships, with which he returned in despair to Scheveling
in Holland, where he was received with surprise, sorrow, and
unjust indignation by his countrymen. Blake, whose fleet
had suffered much less severely, pursued the Dutch to their
retreat, and as he was unable to come up with them, and
bring them to an engagement, he ravaged and insulted their
western coasts from Wadden to Zealand, and then ran across
to Yarmouth with the ships he had captured, and nine hundred prisoners.'
Tromp was proud and sensitive: wounded and disgusted
by the clamors which assailed him because a calm and a
tempest had by turns prevented him from engaging the
enemy, he resigned his command. He was moreover inclined
towards the Orangist party, and the republican aristocracy,
who were then predominant, made no efforts to retain his services; they thought they could give him a successor worthy to
fill his place. Not long before, they had appointed to the
command of part of their naval forces Michael Ruyter, a man
of obscure origin but great popular reputation, beloved by
the sailors, a stranger to all political parties, and always
ready to serve his country with equal modesty and heroism.
I Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 202-207; Memorials of Sir William Penn,
vol. i. pp. 432-435; Whitelocke, pp. 538, 542; Heath's Chronicle, pp. 597599; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 320, 321; Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. pp. 331-333.




260       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL.
No sooner had h& embarked on board his ship the Neptune,
than Ruyter entered the Channel with thirty vessels, fell in
with an English fleet off Plymouth under the command of
Ayscue, consisting of forty vessels larger and better equipped
than his own, attacked it suddenly, and compelled it to retire into Plymouth harbor, leaving the Dutch masters of the
open sea. Ruyter himself was humbly astonished at this
success: "It is only," he wrote, "when it pleases God to
inspire courage that victories are gained: this is a work of
Providence for which men could not possibly account." The
Parliament, dissatisfied with Ayscue, who was moreover suspected of royalism, deprived him of his command, but not
discourteously, and gave him a pension of three hundred
pounds, and a landed estate of the same annual value in
Ireland; his squadron was placed under the command of
Blake. The States-General, on their side, being resolved to
carry on the war with energy, had, immediately after Tromp's
retirement, fitted out a new squadron; and one of the boldest
of the leaders of the aristocratic party, Cornelius de Witt, had
been appointed its admiral. He was brave to excess, and
thoroughly experienced in nautical matters, but stern, passionate, obstinate, and short-sighted, and no favorite with the
sailors, who feared his severity, without having confidence
in his good fortune. This choice was regarded as political
rather than military, and gave great dissatisfaction to the
friends of Tromp, who were numerous in the fleet. Before
putting to sea, at the very moment when he embarked, Cornelius de Witt was compelled to inflict severe punishment
on some mutineers. Ruyter was ordered to join him, and
serve under him. Their forces, which effected a junction on
the 2d of October, 1652, between Dunkirk and Newport,
amounted to sixty-four sail. Blake had for some time been
cruising in the neighborhood, with a fleet of sixty-eight ships,
in search of the enemy, and in the hope of an engagement.




AND THE ENGLIS-H COMMONWEALTH.    261
Being informed on the 8th of October, that the Dutch fleet
was in sight to the north-east of Dover, he pushed rapidly
in front of his squadron, signalled all his ships to rally, and
gave the order to the crew of his own vessel: "As soon as
some more of our fleet comes up, bear in among them!"
In a council of war held the previous evening on board the
Dutch admiral, Ruyter had given his opinion that a battle
should be avoided rather than invited; he had found that
several ships in the squadron were in a bad state, and scantily
provided with ammunition; perhaps also he had not entire
confidence in the good-will of all the crews, and even of all
the officers. Cornelius de Witt absolutely insisted upon fighting; and although, during the previous night, a storm had
separated from him several of his ships, which were slow
in rejoining him, he accepted Blake's attack with an ardor
which five hours of unsuccessful conflict did not abate for
for an instant. Two of the Dutch vessels foundered at the
first onset; two others were boarded and taken; and several
captains executed the admiral's orders without the zeal and
alacrity which are essential to victory. Just before the
action began, De Witt wished to remove his flag to the Brederode, Tromp's old flag-ship; but the unwillingness of the
crew to receive him was so evident that he gave up the idea,
and remained on board his own vessel, a huge and unwieldy
Indiaman. Ruyter, with his vanguard division, performed
prodigies of skilful and devoted valor: De Witt, by his indomitable courage, gained the admiration even of his enemies. But
their efforts were vain-; the advantage everywhere remained
with the English; and when night fell upon the two fleets, very
different feelings swayed the combatants: on board the English
ships reigned the activity of satisfaction and hope; both officers and sailors labored cheerfully to repair their damages,
to collect their ammunition, and to prepare for the renewal
of the battle on the morrow; in the Dutch fleet, on the con



262        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
trary, extreme discontent and anxiety prevailed. De Witt
once more assembled his council of war; he wished to recommence the fight at daybreak; but he was informed that
twenty of his captains, without waiting any orders, or giving
any intimation of their purpose, had separated, under cover
of the darkness, from the main body of the fleet, and sailed
no one knew whither. Ruyter and all the other captains declared that a second action was impossible; De Witt was obliged to yield, and to consent to return to Holland to refit
his squadron in its ports, and to receive fresh instructions
from the States-General. Blake followed the Dutch in their
retreat, without hanging too closely on their rear, and cruised
for some days along their coast, proud of his victory, and
jealously determined to make it unquestionable.l
Misfortune and impending danger teach nations justice:
the eyes of all Holland turned once more towards Tromp;
he had not done all that had been expected of him, but he
had not been defeated; he had yielded to calm and tempest,
not to the English. It was he who, for twenty years, had
commanded' the fleets of Holland against those of Spain, and
conquered the independence of his country at sea. He was
known to be an implacable enemy of the English navy, by
one of whose cruisers he had been taken prisoner in his youth,
and detained more than two years on board his captor. The
voice of the people urged the States-General to restore him
to his command. The King of Denmark, alarmed at the
maritime preponderance of England, employed his influence
at the Hague to the same purpose.  Tromp was recalled; all
the naval forces of the State were placed once more under
1 Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 208 —215; Memorials of Sir William Penn,
vol. i. p. 435; Commons' Journals, vol. vii. p. 166; Whitelocke, pp. 542, 543;
Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 321-324; Wicquefort's
Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. pp. 333-336; Gerard Brandt's Life of
Ruyter, pp. 18-23.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    263
his command; Cornelius De Witt, Ruyter, Evertz and
Floritz, the most renowned sea-captains of'Holland, were
appointed his vice-admirals.  De Witt declined, on the
ground of ill-health; he was really ill of fatigue, chagrin, and
anger; Ruyter accepted without hesitation. An ally more
brilliant than powerful, Charles II., offered the StatesGeneral to serve, as a simple volunteer, on board their
squadron; he was sure, he said, that many captains in the
English fleet were only waiting for an opportunity to come
over to him, and would do so as soon as they knew he was
near at hand. By the advice of John De Witt, then Pensionary of the Province of Holland, the States General
declined this offer; they had already refused to link their
destiny with that of the regicide Commonwealth; and they
were equally unwilling to connect their cause with that of
the proscribed King. With a staff thus composed, Tromp
set to work with earnest energy to refit the fleet with all
possible speed; all the ports and arsenals of the United
Provinces put forth their utmost resources. The Parliament
and Blake believed they would not need to make any fresh
efforts for some months: a naval campaign in winter then
appeared, even to the bravest seamen, almost an impossibility: several divisions of the English fleet had been sent
to their special stations, in the Baltic, the north of Scotland,
and the western entrance to the Channel. Blake, modest
even in success, and always impressed with a deep sense of
his responsibility, had requested the Parliament to associate
with him, in the naval command, two experienced generals
who would aid him in bearing its weight. Monk and Dean
had been appointed to this service; but both were still occupied in completing the subjection of Scotland; and while
waiting their arrival, Blake was cruising with his squadron
from port to port between Essex and Hampshire, when a




264       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
report reached him that a large Dutch fleet had put to sea
under the command of Tromp, and a few days afterwards,
from the out-look of his vessel the Triumph, he perceived
their ships in full sail between Dover and Calais. Tromp's
fleet consisted of seventy-three sail, and Blake had only thirtyseven. He convoked a council of war without delay, to give
his captains his instructions rather than to consult them, for
he was determined to fight; he inspired them with his own
confident ardor, and the battle took place on the following
day, with equal impetuosity on both sides. It was a series of
individual combats, the brunt of which was chiefly borne by
Ruyter, Evertz, and Tromp for the Dutch, and by Blake for
the English. Blake was for some time surrounded by a
number of the enemy's ships, who boarded him thrice, and
were thrice repulsed; but for the obstinate fidelity of two of
his own vessels, the Sapphire and the Vanguard, which stood
by him with unwavering steadiness and devotion, the English
admiral must have fallen before the overwhelming numbers
of his foes. Thick fog and darkness at length separated the
two squadrons; but Blake's fleet was hors de combat; two
of his ships, the Garland and the Bonadventure, after a desperate resistance, had fallen into the hands of the Dutch;
several others, with their sails in shreds, their masts shattered, and their crews disabled, could no longer keep the
sea; and Blake accordingly retired into the Thames to repair
damages, recall the other divisions of his scattered fleet, and
await their arrival in a safe anchorage. Tromp meanwhile
sailed up and down the Channel as a conqueror, with a broom
at his mast-head, thus braving the English navy in those
very seas in which she claimed unrivalled sovereignty; and
the States-General, prouder even than their admiral, officially
informed the European powers of their victory, and prohibited all correspondence or communication with the Brit



AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                   265
ish Isles, fancying themselves strong enough to place them
in a state of naval blockade.'
Blake unreservedly declared —his reverse, with firm and
sorrowful disinterestedness. "I am bound," he wrote to
the Council of State, "to let your honors know  that there
was much baseness of spirit, not among the merchantmen
only, but in many of the State's ships. And therefore I
make it my earnest request that your honors would be
pleased to send down some gentlemen to take an impartial
and strict examination of the deportment of several commanders, that you may know who are to be confided in, and
who are not. It will then be time to take into consideration
the grounds of some other errors and defects, especially the
discouragement and want of seamen..... And I hope it
will not be unseasonable for me, in behalf of myself, to
desire your honors that you would think of giving me, your
unworthy servant, a discharge from this employment as far
too great for me; so that I may spend the remainder of my
days in private retirement, and in prayers to the Lord for
blessings on you and on this nation." The Council of State
did everything that Blake proposed, except granting his
petition to be allowed to retire; three of its members were
sent on board the fleet, and subjected the conduct of the
officers to a strict examination; several were dismissed, and
some even arrested; the admiral's own brother, Benjamin
Blake, being found guilty of some neglect of duty, was
cashiered and sent on shore. At the same time, all the disposable ships in the neighboring ports were required to form
the fleet; a resolution was carried to raise the effective marine
1 Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 216-225; Memoirs of Sir William Penn, vol.
i. pp. 556-560; Whitelocke, p. 551; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion,
vol. vi. pp. 601-606; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. p. 324;
Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. p. 336; Brandt's Life of
Ruyter, p. 24; Heath's Chronicle, p. 611.
VOL. I.-23




266       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
force to thirty thousand men; the stores necessary for
equipping and repairing the ships were provided without
delay; Monk and Dean were ordered to hold themselves
ready to embark, and take their share in the responsibility
and dangers of the ensuing campaign. And as to Blake
himself, the Council of State wrote to him, "to acquaint him
with what they had done for the giving him an addition of
strength, and to let him know that they do leave to him,
upon the place, to do what he may for his own defence and
the service of the Commonwealth."'
Two months after his reverse off the Naze, Blake sailed
from the mouth of the Thames with sixty men-of-war; the
two most experienced seamen of his country, Penn and Lawson, commanded his van and rear guard; and he was accompanied by two of the most valiant generals of the land army,
Monk and Dean, with twelve hundred veteran soldiers.
Twenty other ships from Portsmouth joined him in the
Straits. It was the most numerous, the best equipped, and
the most ably commanded fleet the Commonwealth had ever
put to sea. Blake sailed westward down the Channel, full
of impatience and hope that he would soon meet the enemy;
he knew that Tromp would, at that period, be probably on
his return from the western coast of France, whither he had
gone to meet a large fleet of traders which had been ordered
to rendezvous at the Isle of Rh4, and which he was ordered
to convoy to Holland. On the 18th of February, at daybreak,
between Cape La Hogue and Portland Bill, the Dutch fleet
came in sight; and Blake himself, from his flag-ship the
Triumph, was one of the first to perceive its advance. Seventy-five men-of-war, and two hundred and fifty merchantmen, sailing under their escort, covered the sea far and wide.
Memorials of Sir William Penn, vol. i. pp. 456-466; Dixon's Life of
Blake, pp. 225-228; Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 551; Commons' Journals,
vol. vii. p. 222.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    267
Blake at that moment was fortunately within call of his two
vice-admirals, Penn and Lawson, though not of his whole
fleet; Monk, among others, was some miles astern with a
division. Tromp perceived the temporary superiority of
his forces, and giving orders to his convoy to keep to windward, he resolved to begin the engagement at once. At that
very moment Blake bore down upon him, and the Triumph
sent a broadside into the Brederode. Tromp received the fire
without returning it at first; but as soon as the two vessels
were within musket-shot of each other, he poured his first
tremendous broadside into the English flag-ship, then, suddenly tacking round, gave her a second, and quickly reloading his batteries, and passing under his enemy's stern, he
discharged into her a third broadside, which took terrible
effect on the crew and tackling of the Triumph. On seeing
the flag-ship surrounded with fire and wreck, Vice-Admiral
Penn dashed gallantly in, and attacked Tromp in his turn.
The entire English squadron arrived successively, and a
furious battle was engaged on all sides. It lasted all day
long, with alternations of success and defeat which hourly
redoubled the ardor of the combatants, making each in turn
hope that the victory would remain on his side. Tromp,
Ruyter, De Wildt, Kruik, and Severs, among the Dutch
captains, and Blake, Penn, Lawson, and Barker, among the
English, performed -prodigies of valor and skill; Ruyter,
surrounded by the English just as he had boarded and taken
one of their ships, narrowly escaped being made prisoner.
None of the English vessels suffered so severely as that of
the admiral himself; his flag-captain, Andrew Ball, and his
secretary, Sparrow, were killed by his side; more than half
his crew fell before the fire of the Dutch; Blake himself was
at last wounded in the thigh, and the same bullet, after hitting him, tore away part of General Dean's buff coat. At
the approach of evening, however, Blake, believing himself




268       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
in possession of the advantage, ordered some of his ships to
sail towards the Dutch convoy and prevent it from escaping.
Tromp perceived this maneuvre, and immediately fell back
with the main body of his fleet, to cover his convoy. Night
fell and put an end to the action. The next day at dawn,
Tromp, dispersing his squadron so as to guard his whole
convoy, crowded sail and stood up the Channel. Blake followed him with his whole force, came up with him about
noon, and the battle was renewed with the utmost fury.
Ruyter, on all occasions the boldest and most resolute of the
Dutch, was again very near falling into the hands of the
English; he owed his safety entirely to the vigilance of
Tromp, who, seeing him in imminent peril, sent a ship to
support and extricate him from his position. But the efforts
of the Dutch admiral were various and divided; whilst
fighting, he was incessantly obliged to protect his convoy,
and get gradually near the coast of Holland in order to place
it in safety. The second day of the battle was less advantageous to him than the first: four or five of his ships were
taken or destroyed. Either from- party animosity or from
weakness, some of his captains sent, in the evening, to inform
him that they had no more powder, and could no longer take
part in the fight; he ordered them to withdraw during the
night, fearing they might on the morrow be guilty of some
treasonous act, or some contagious example of cowardice.
On the following day Blake perceived that the Dutch fleet
was reduced in number, and with fresh ardor he immediately
renewed both the attack upon Tromp and the pursuit of the
convoy. Neither the ability nor the energy of the Dutch
admiral slackened for a moment; he maintained the fight,
rallying with great difficulty his disordered convoy, and
gradually retiring along the French coast in order to reach
that of his own country. He succeeded in this design on
the fourth day after his encounter with Blake, by dint of




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.                 269
persevering and intelligent courage, but after having lost,
according to the statements of the Dutch, nine ships of war
and twenty-four merchantmen, and, according to the English
reports, seventeen ships of the first class and more than forty
of the second. The States-General, in this emergency, proved
themselves worthy of being so faithfully served, for they
acted with justice: not only did they express their gratitude
to Tromp, Ruyter, Evertz, -and Floritz, but, in order to give
them an unmistakable proof of their approbation, they made
them rich presents, to which the particular States of the province of Holland added gifts of their own. The Parliament,
on its side, gave way, somewhat noisily perhaps, to transports of joy; not only did it address official thanks to the
commanders of the squadron, and take measures, first by
opening a subscription, and afterwards, in the name of the
State, to provide for the families of the men who had fallen
in the action; but it-appointed the celebration of a solemn
service of thanksgiving throughout the dominions of the
Commonwealth. Wherever the Dutch prisoners landed, they
were escorted to London by troops of horse, and in all the
towns through which they passed, the bells rang merry peals
in celebration of a victory, which had been preceded by such
intense anxiety, and which had cost such desperate efforts.l
It was at once real and futile; it was an additional vicissitude in a struggle already full of vicissitudes, but not one of
those triumphs which definitively settle questions, and decide
the fate of nations. Victorious not long before, the United
Provinces were now defeated, but not despondent; it soon
became known that a new fleet was in preparation in their' Whitelocke, p. 551; Dixon's Life of Blake, pp. 230-244; Old Parliamentary History, vol. xx. pp. 116-121; Memorials of Sir William Penn, vol.
i. pp. 472-485; Wicquefort's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. pp. 336339; Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 128-333; Brandt's
Life of Ruyter, pp. 28-32.
23*




270        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
ports: whoever was the victor, the war only became more
ruinous and desperate after every battle.
The Catholic powers of the Continent, France and Spain
especially, watched with secret satisfaction this ardent conflict between the two Protestant republics; which, in spite of
all their expressions of courtesy, they regarded, in reality,
with distrust and ill-will. The English Parliament had found
it impossible either to remain really neutral between the
Courts of Paris and Madrid, or to secure, by a decided choice,
an alliance with either of them; in its indecision, it had always inclined towards Spain, whose inert and feeble policy
could lend it no effectual assistance, and had constantly manifested a kind of hostile coolness towards France, whose ambitious activity and increasing strength might have rendered
her a most useful ally.  Both Courts remained motionless,
seeking rather to aggravate than to terminate the war. The
Protestant Courts of the North, on their side- Sweden and
Denmark, among others-were divided between the two rival
republics. The King of Denmark, Frederick III., after having first made the most marked advances in London, took
the side of the United Provinces, with which he was connected by commercial interests and prior treaties; Queen
Christina of Sweden slowed some favor rather towards the
British Commonwealth, but did not declare herself on its
side, or lend it any assistance.' The ambitious and shortsighted arrogance of the republican Parliament had thrown
all the foreign relations of England into disorder, and forced
it to adopt a policy which set it at variance with its natural
friends, without anywhere providing it with other allies.
At home, this policy imposed enormous burdens on the
nation, and necessitated an increase of tyranny on the part of
t Leclerc's Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. ii. pp. 326, 327; Wicquefort's
Histoire des Provinces Unies, vol. iv. pp. 352-361; Commons' Journals, vol.
vii. pp. 103, 104, 119, 133, 135, 137, 149, 182, 190, 191, 194, 203, 234.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               271
the, new government. It was requisite to maintain the army
constantly on a war-footing, to defend the Commonwealth
against the disaffection of the country; and incessantly to
augment the fleet, to defend the country against foreign foes.
In December, 1652, the Parliament voted 120,0001. per month
for this double defence during the coming year-80,0001. for
the army, and 40,0001. for the fleet; and new acts of a special character were passed on several occasions, during the
course of 1653, to supply the deficiencies of this inadequate
budget. And as the public taxes, although very heavy, were
not enough to meet such necessities, recourse was constantly
had, either to further sales of crown or church lands, or to
fresh confiscations either of the revenues, or of the entire
property, of delinquent royalists. In November, 1652, the
Parliament voted that the parks and palaces of Windsor and
Hampton Court, Hyde Park, Greenwich Park, and Somerset
House, should be sold, and that the proceeds should be devoted to the expenses of the navy; bills were also proposed
for the sale of the royal forests, and even of several cathedrals,
which it was doubtless intended to demolish. Many of these
measures were either not carried into effect, or were afterwards revoked; but the confiscations and fines inflicted on
the royalists were always rigorously levied. In 1651, at the
time when the negotiations with the United Provinces were
broken off, seventy wealthy Cavaliers were condemned to the
confiscation of all their property, both real and personal.
During the following year, amid the exigencies of the war,
twenty-nine others suffered the same fate; and six hundred
and ninety-two others were allowed to ransom their sequestrated possessions only by paying one-third of the value to
the Commonwealth within four months.' Civil tyranny thus
I Commons' Journals, vol. vi. p. 604; vol. vii. pp. 160, 211, 212, 216, 222,
224; Old Parliamentary History, vol. xx. pp. 103-113; Scobell's Collection
of Acts, pp. 156, 210.




272    HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL, ETC.
undertook to supply the necessities which an unwise foreign
policy had created.
A united and unopposed government would have found it
exceedingly difficult to endure such a burden for any length
of time. The republican Parliament, with all its feverish
enthusiasm, was weak and tottering; for it was rent by violent internal dissensions, and Cromwell, at once powerful
and at leisure, made it his sole business to turn its faults to
his own advantage, and to undermine the ground beneath its
feet.




BOOK IV.
CONFLICT BETWEEN CROMWELL AND THE PARLIAMENT-ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN A
REDUCTION OF THE ARMY-PROPOSITION OF A GENERAL AMNESTY AND A NEW
ELECTORAL LAW-PROJECTS OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS REFORM-CONVERSATION
BETWEEN CROMWELL AND THE PRINCIPAL LEADERS OF THE PARLIAMENT AND
ARMY-PETITION OF THE ARMY IN FAVOR OF REFORM, AND FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE PARLIAMENT-CHARGES OF CORRUPTION AGAINST THE PARLIAMENT-IT ATTEMPTS TO PERPETUATE ITS EXISTENCE BY SANCTIONING NEW
ELECTIONS-URGENCY OF THE CRISIS-CROMWELL DISSOLVES THE PARLIAMENT.
ON the 9th of September, 1651, three days after the Parliament had appointed four of its members to wait upon
Cromwell, and offer him their most thankful congratulations
upon the victory of Worcester, it voted that the charges of
the Commonwealth should be lessened without delay, and
directed the Council of State and the Committee of the Army
to furnish it with a return of all the forces then on foot, that
it might consider how the army might be most conveniently
reduced, and the expenses of the State diminished. On the
following day it was resolved that four thousand cavalry and
four thousand infantry should be disbanded. Six days afterwards, Cromwell, on resuming his seat in the House, received
the solemn thanks of the Speaker, a gift of lands of the yearly
value of four thousand pounds, and the palace of Hampton
Court as a residence; but at the same time the House referred
it to the Council of State to consider what forces were necessary to be kept up for the safety df the country; and in consequence, on the 2d of October, it determined that five regi



274       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
ments of foot and three regiments of horse should be dismissed, that a large number of garrisons should be reduce'd,
and that the army should be left at an establishment of about
twenty-five thousand men, whereby a saving of thirty-five
thousand pounds per month would be effected.'
These measures were evidently dictated by a regard for
the public interest; the country groaned beneath the weight
of taxation, and it was to be expected that victory would
remove at least a part of the burdens imposed by war. But
apart from these considerations, the attitude of the Parliament disclosed the prevalence of other feelings and other
motives; in its anxiety to disband the troops, its chief object
was to weaken a dangerous rival. Such an attempt must be
perilous, however necessary and legitimate; revolutionary
governments are never welcome to break the sword which
has saved their life; the service is so great that they can
never adequately reward or forget it, and their prudential
measures to check ill-satisfied ambition are regarded as evidences of ingratitude and fear. Those powers only, which
are based upon right, and sanctioned by time, can recompense and disarm great conquerors without fear of making
them their masters.
Cromwell made no resistance, no objection even; the measure was too natural, and too indisputably necessary to admit
of opposition. He was, moreover, greatly pleased at the dismissal of the militia regiments, whose independent habits,
and patriotic rather than military spirit, were by no means
agreeable to him. But too clear-sighted to mistake the intentions of the Parliament, he hastened, in his turn, to take precautions, and prepare to be avenged upon it. At his instigation, and with his support, two propositions, both popular
in the country, although with different parties, were immet Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 15, 18, 19, 23.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    275
diately revived, and carried with all expedition through the
House: these were a general amnesty, and an electoral law
to regulate the period of the dissolution of the Parliament,
and the nomination of its successors. Neither of these propositions was a new one; for more than two years they had
figured among the number of those questions which the Parliament announced its intention to determine, and which it
made some show of taking into consideration. On the 25th
of April, 1649, it had decided, upon the report of Ireton, that
an Act of amnesty should be prepared-the basis of such an
Act had been indicated by the House. The bill was produced, read a first and second time on the 5th of July, and
referred to a committee, which was to meet on the following
day; after which, nothing more was heard of it. At about
the same period, on the 15th of May, 1649, a committee had
been appointed to prepare a law for the election of future
Parliaments. On the 9th of January, 1650, Vane made a
long report on this subject, in which the principles of the
new electoral system were set forth: the House resolved that
it would meet once a week to discuss the measure; and during
the years 1650 and 1651, forty-eight sittings were actually
held, or at least convoked, for this purpose. But neither the
amnesty nor the electoral law made any real progress; the
Parliament's only serious occupation was to maintain itself
in power, and defend itself against its enemies. As soon as,
by Cromwell's influence, the two measures were again brought
forward, their supporters allowed the House no rest. The
Act of amnesty was revied on the 17th of September, 161,
and reported on the 27th of November; and, after being
vigorously debated during sixteen sittings, it was at length
adopted on the 24th of February, 1652, with certain modifications and restrictions. The country took so lively an
interest in it, that, on ordering its publication, the House
directed the Council of State to take care that it was not




276        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
abusively and incorrectly reprinted, so that no mischief or
inconvenience might arise thereby. The discussion of the
electoral law was carried on with even greater heat and
expedition; it occupied the committee appointed to draft it,
and the House itself, from the 17th of September, 1651, to
the 18th of November following; special meetings, frequent
divisions, and very small majorities attested both the keenness of the debate and the importance of the question; fortynine votes against forty-seven decided that the moment had
come for fixing a term to the duration of the existing Parliament; and in all the divisions, we find Cromwell at the head
of the most ardent supporters of the dissolution. They at
length gained their point, but the realization of their triumph
was deferred to a long date: on the 18th of November, 1651,
the Parliament voted that it would not continue its sittings
beyond the 3d of November, 1654.1 Thanks to Cromwell's
victories, the civil war between the Parliament and the King
had ceased, and yet it was attempted to assign a duration of
three years to the duel which was about to commence between Cromwell and the Parliament.
From good sense, rather than from moderation or patience
of character, Cromwell could wait; under all circumstances,
he judiciously estimated how much was possible, and attempted nothing more, although his desires and intrigues
had a much wider range. He had succeeded in obtaining
the fixation of a term to the existence of the Parliament; he
did not attempt to abridge that term to suit his pleasure;
but indirect means presented themselves to him for harassing, and more speedily exhausting, the power with which he
had to contend; and he set them in operation, sometimes
with passionate earnestness, and sometimes with profound
astuteness, according as occasion suggested or allowed.
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 195, 250, 210, 344; vol. vii. pp. 19, 44,
96, 36, 37; Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 189.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    277
At that period the spirit of innovation in England was not
confined to questions of government and political order
alone; it extended to civil order also, and demanded, in the
laws and judicial procedure, reforms in which the daily interests of the entire population were concerned. On these
subjects, numerous ideas were in fermentation, which, though
still obscure, vague, and incoherent, were always powerful,
because of the rude necessities to which they corresponded,
and the unbounded prospects which they opened to view.
It was proposed to abolish burdensome taxes, to render the
administration of justice less tedious and costly, to simplify
the laws relating to property, to lessen the weight of the
public debts, to remove the restraints which pressed upon
the condition of persons and the ordinary relations of life,
and to supply the necessaries of existence at a cheaper rate,
and with less difficulty. Among the higher and more enlightened classes, whether from selfishness, or from a love of
order and a just understanding of the conditions of the social
state, these ideas obtained but little credit; the lawyers,
especially, obstinately rejected them, and rallied numerous
and respectable interests to resist them. But among the inferior classes, the Levellers, the Mystics, the honest dreamers,
or the men of perverse and ill-regulated mind, indeed, all
that section of the people, in whom just feelings and bad
passions, practical instincts and chimerical absurdities are so
closely associated, welcomed with enthusiasm the hope of
such reforms, and loudly demanded their immediate accomplishment.
In religious matters, also, desires at once ardent and confused, acute sufferings and grave disorders, excited and maintained a continual agitation. The Anglican Church had
fallen; there were no more bishops, no more chapters, no
longer an exclusive and official ecclesiastical establishment.
But the English nation retained an earnestly religious charVOL. I.-24




278        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
acter; it required an assured form of worship, regular practices of devotion, and an assiduous preaching of the gospel.
The sects satisfied these wants of the soul as far as their own
particular adherents were concerned; but the sects formed
only a small minority; beyond the sectaries, the proscribed
Catholics, and the infidels (who were more numerous at that
period than is commonly believed), was the mass of the people, sorrowful and indignant sometimes at being unable to
find ministers of their faith, and sometimes at being deprived
of those in whom they had confidence, and compelled, by
destitution if not by force, to listen to others in whom they
placed no reliance, and whom they regarded with no respect.
The Presbyterians had come forward, and towards the close
of 1649, the Parliament had given them permission to organize their ecclesiastical establishment, under the title of a
National Church;' but they met with only very incomplete
success, for they were thought to be as exclusive and tyrannical as the Anglican Church had been, and the other dissenting sects rejected them as utterly as the Anglicans themselves. The result of all this, in regard to religion, was a
state now of abandonment and death, and now of persecution
and anarchy, which giving rise to endless clamors, recriminations, disputes, and complaints, which were invariably
addressed to the Parliament, as the source of all evils as well
as of all remedies, and which it was at a loss for means how
either to stifle or to satisfy.
With regard to all these questions of organization, both
civil and religious, Cromwell had no fixed principles, and no
unalterable determination: no mind could have been less
systematic than his, or less governed by general and preconceived ideas; but he had an unerring instinct of popular feelNeal's History of the Puritans, vol. iii. pp. 248-250; Grant's Summary
of the History of the English Church, vol. ii. p. 413.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    279
ings and wishes; and without much caring to inquire how
far they were legitimate or capable of satisfaction, he boldly
became their patron, in order to make them his allies. He
had long ago perceived with what favor any ideas of reform
in civil suits would be welcomed, and he had lent them his
support. In 1650, writing to the Parliament after the victory of Dunbar, he said: " Relieve the oppressed, hear the
groans of poor prisoners in 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."' When, after the termination of the civil war,
he took up his residence in London, with nothing to do but
attend to what was passing among the people, or in the Parliament, he became the centre of all projects of this nature,
and the hope of their promoters and partisans. On the 27th
of October, 1651, certain prisoners confined in the prisons of
London addressed him to the effect-" That the law was the
badge of the Norman bondage, and that prisons were sanctuaries to rich prisoners, but tortures to the poorer sort, who
were not able to fee lawyers and jailers. They, therefore,
pray the General, into whose hands the sword is put, to free
them from oppression and slavery, and to restore the nation's
fundamental laws and liberties, and to gain a new Representative; and that the poor may have justice, and arrests and
imprisonments may be taken away." Six weeks after, numerous petitions arrived from the country, addressed to the
General and his officers, and demanding of them "the abolition of tithes, of the excise, and of the managing and unlawful using of the laws of the land, through the number, pride,
subtlety, and covetousness of lawyers, attorneys, and clerks,
whereby the poor countrymen find the cure worse than the
malady." The movement of the people, in this respect, to-' Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 217.




280        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
wards the army and its leaders was so universal, that, in
several places, officers received authority from the General to
sit as judges, and decide suits, "wherewith the people were
much satisfied for the quick despatch they received with full
hearing."'
When religion and the Church were concerned, Cromwell
was somewhat more embarrassed; for, in reference to these
matters, he had, not inflexible resolutions, but engagements
and allies which he had no wish to abandon. The enthusiastic sectaries of the army, the soldiers of the fifth monarchy (which was to be the reign of Jesus Christ), had constituted his strength, first against the King, and afterwards
against the Presbyterian party in the Parliament. He knew
all that was to be apprehended or expected from them; from
their military fidelity and their mystical fanaticism, they
were, in critical moments, his most necessary and surest instruments; and he carefully kept up his intimacy with them.
But he required, in the religious order of things, a more
elevated and extensive influence: this he sought and obtained from two sources-the regular preaching of the Gospel, and liberty of conscience: he became the avowed protector of these two interests; by the first he conciliated the
Presbyterians, who alone, after the ruin of the Anglican
Church, could supply the country with any considerable
number of learned, pious, and honored ministers; whilst in
the name of liberty of conscience he became the man most
necessary to all under persecution, even to the Episcopalians
and Catholics, who were denied the free exercise of their
faith, but who promised themselves that they would obtain
from him tacit toleration and secret support. Among all
ranks of society, and within the pale of every Christian
community, he thus maintained relations and inspired hopes,
I Whitelocke's Memorials, pp. 512, 517, 519.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    281
which furnished him sometimes with grievances, and sometimes with weapons, against the Parliament.
He did not, however, confine himself to this indirect opposition, or rest satisfied with the slow progress which it
enabled him to achieve; he was as full of passionate energy
as of cautious artifice, and as eager to strike a decisive blow,
when it became possible, as he was persistent in secretly
pursuing his object, when it was necessary to wait for opportunities of success. He was anxious to know with some
degree of certainty what were the views of those men whose
co-operation was necessary to him, and how far he might
reckon upon their friendly support. On the 10th of December, 1651, he "desired a meeting with divers members of
Parliament, and some chief officers of the army," at the
house of the Speaker, Lenthall; on the one side were Fleetwood, Desborough, Harrison, and Whalley, his old companions in war and victory; on the other, Whitelocke, Widdrington, St. John, and Lenthall, the civil leaders of the
revolution. The conversation is thus reported by Whitelocke.
CROMWELL.-" NOW that the old King is dead, and his son
defeated, I hold it necessary to come to a settlement of the
nation. And in order thereunto, I have requested this meeting that we together may consider and advise, What is fit to
be done, and to be presented to the Parliament."
SPEAKER LENTRALL.-" My Lord, this company were very
ready to attend your Excellence, and the business you are
pleased to propound to us is very necessary to be considered.
God hath given marvellous success to our forces under your
command; and if we do not improve these mercies to some
settlement, such as may be to God's honor, and the good of
this Commonwealth, we shall be very much blameworthy."
HARRISON.-" I think that which my Lord General hath
propounded, is, To advise as to a settlement both of our civil
24*




282       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
and spiritual liberties; and so, that the mercies which the
Lord hath given in to us may not be cast away. LIow this
may be done is the great question."
WHITELOCKE.-"It is a great question indeed, and not
suddenly to be resolved! Yet it were a pity that a meeting
of so many able and worthy persons as I see here, should be
fruitless. I should humbly offer, in the first place, Whether
it be not requisite to be understood in what way this settlement is desired? Whether of an absolute republic, or with
any mixture of monarchy."
CROMWELL.-" My Lord Commissioner Whitelocke hath
put us upon the right point; and indeed, it is my meaning
that we should consider, Whether a republic, or a mixed
monarchical government will be best to be settled? And, if
anything monarchical, then, In whom that power shall be
placed?",
SIR THOMAS WIDDRINGTON.-" I think a mixed monarchical government will be most suitable to the laws and people
of this nation. And if any monarchical, I suppose we shall
hold it most just to place that power in one of the sons of
the late King."
FLEETWOOD. —"I think that the question, Whether an
absolute republic, or a mixed monarchy, be best to be settled
in this nation, will not be very easy to be determined."
LORD CHIEF JUSTICE ST. JOHN.-" It will be found, that
the government of this nation, without something of monarchical power, will be very difficult to be so settled as not to
shake the foundation of our laws, and the liberties of the
people."
SPEAKER LENTHALL.-" It will breed a strange confusion
to settle a government of this nation without something of
monarchy."
DESBOROUGH.-" I beseech you, my Lord, why may not
this, as well as other nations, be governed in the way of a
republic?"




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    283
WHITELOCKE. —" The laws of England are so interwoven
with the power and practice of monarchy, that to settle a
government without something of monarchy in it, would
make so great an alteration in the proceedings of our law,
that you will scarce have time to rectify it, nor can we well
foresee the inconveniences which will arise thereby."
COLONEL WHALLEY.-" I do not well understand matters
of law; hut it seems to me the best way, Not to have anything of monarchical power in the settlement of our government. And if we should resolve upon any, whom have we
to pitch upon?  The King's eldest son hath been in arms
against us, and his second son likewise is our enemy."
SIR THOMAS WIDDRINGTON. —" But the late King's third
son, the Duke of Gloucester, is still among us, and too young
to have been in arms against us, or infected with the principles of our enemies."
WHITELOCKE. —" There may be a day given for the King's
eldest son, or for the Duke of York his brother, to come in
to the Parliament. And upon such terms as shall be thought
fit and agreeable both to our civil and spiritual liberties, a
settlement may be made with them."
CROMWELL.-" That will be a business of more than ordinary difficulty! But really I think if it may be done with
safety and preservation of our rights, both as Englishmen
and as Christians, that a settlement with somewhat of monarchical power in it would be very effectual."'
The conversation continued for some time in this strain,
but no other result was arrived at than to make the leading
men in the Parliament and army aware of the designs of
Cromwell, and to acquaint him with their feelings and wishes.
He also perceived that he might find a dangerous opponent
in the young Duke of Gloucester, who was at that time in
England, and in the hands of the Parliament. A few months
I Whitelocke's Memorials, pp. 516, 517.




284        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
after, the Prince's tutor, Mr. Lovel, received secret encouragement to request that the Duke of Gloucester might be liberated from prison, and sent into Holland to the Princess of
Orange, his sister. He had no difficulty in obtaining this
permission, together with a sumn of five hundred pounds for
the expenses of the voyage, on condition that the Prince
should embark at the Isle of Wight, the place of his confinement, and should not touch at any point on the English
coast on his way to Holland.l  Thus a royal competitor was
removed, under a show of generosity and kindness.
The republican leaders of the Parliament were not ignorant
of the views and intrigues, which Cromwell took so little
pains to conceal, and they used their utmost efforts to thwart
him. For a considerable period they had attempted to give
some satisfaction, or at least to excite hopes that satisfaction
would be given, to the desires for reform which were rife all
over the country. A committee had been appointed to inquire
into the changes necessary to be introduced into the civil. law,
and the Parliament had more than once urged this committee,
which went languidly to work, to proceed with greater energy
and assiduity.2 But these recommendations, which probably
were not of a very forcible character, had produced but little
effect, and only one important result had emanated from the
deliberations of the Committee. It had proposed, and Parliament had adopted, an Act ordaining that in future all the
laws, and all proceedings before all Courts of Justice, should
be conducted in English, and not in French or Latin; and to
secure the execution of this really popular measure, the Parliament had carefully gone into the minutest details.3  Some
abuses had also been reformed in the practice of the Court
1 Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vii. pp. 87, 88; Heath's Brief
Chronicle, p. 614.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 280, 328, 485.
3 Ibid. vol. vi. pp. 487, 488, 490, 493, 500.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               285
of Chancery, and the expense of lawsuits considerably diminished.' But either from professional obstinacy, or from
a just dread of the consequences of innovation, the lawyers,
who predominated in the committee, had strenuously opposed
nearly all the plans of the reformers, and it had relapsed into
its former languor when the struggle between Cromwell and
the Parliament occurred to revive its activity. As soon as
it found that Cromwell was seeking this kind of popularity,
the Parliament ordained, " That the committee for regulating
the law be revived, and sit to-morrow in the afternoon, and so
de die in diem: with power to confer with what persons they
shall think fit, and to send for persons, papers, witnesses, and
what else may conduce to the business; and to report to the
House from time to time, as often as they shall think fit."2
But this was only a promise, that had been renewed several
times already, and had always proved unproductive; it was
felt necessary to do something more novel, and better calculated to inspire the partisans of reform with fresh confidence.
It was determined that a commission should be appointed of
persons not members of the House, "to take into consideration what inconveniences there are in the law, and how the
mischiefs that grow from the delays, the chargeableness, and
the irregularities in law proceedings, may be prevented, and
the speediest way to reform the same;" and that they should
report their opinions and suggestions to a Parliamentary
Committee.3 Twenty-one persons, nearly all of them eminent for rank or learning, were selected to form this commission, and the celebrated jurisconsult, Matthew Hale, was
the first on the list.4 The most important questions of civil
legislation were fully discussed: the registration of marriages,
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vi. pp. 509, 525.
2 Ibid. vol. vii. p. 26.
3 Ibid. vol. vii p. 58; Whitelocke, p. 519.
4 Ibid. vol. vii. pp. 71, 74.




286        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
births, and deaths, the transfer of property and its registration, the abolition of fines upon bills, declarations, and original
writs, the speedy recovery of rents, and other matters of equal
importance; on all these subjects, the commission drafted
schemes of reform for the consideration of the House, several
of which were actually submitted to it by Whitelocke, who,
according to his estimation of the chances of success, became
by turns the opponent or the reporter of innovations.' A
general work, " containing the system of the law," was also
prepared by this Commission and laid before-the House, which
heard it read, and ordered that three hundred copies of it
should be printed, "to be delivered to members of the Parliament only."2
In religious matters, also, the Parliament would have been
glad to obtain some popularity, and gain for itself, as Cromwell had done, clients and friends among all denominations.
In the year 1650, it had abolished the laws passed during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth to enforce uniformity of faith and
worship;3 but at the same time, it had continued and even
aggravated the persecution of the Catholics and Episcopalians,
and promulgated new laws against immorality of conduct,
"' obscene, licentious, and impious practices," and "atheistical,
blasphemous, and execrable opinions;"' attempting by this
means to give satisfaction at once to religious animosities, to
liberty of conscience, and to austerity of character. Such a
task cannot possibly be performed by the power whose duty
it is to put all the laws into daily application, and which,
even in the eyes of the people whose passions it has adopted,
must bear the punishment of their inconsistencies and iniquities.  Cromwell, carefully keeping himself aloof from  the
Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 107, 110.
2 Ibid. vol. vii. pp. 249, 250.
3 Ibid. vol. vi. p. 474.
4 Ibid. vol. vi. pp. 410, 423, 430, 453.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    287
Government, was able to protect by turns, and with greater
or less reserve, sectaries of all sorts, Episcopalians, Catholics,
and even freethinkers of the worst kind; whilst the Parliament, whose duty it was to govern, found itself taxed sometimes with harshness for repressing them, and sometimes with
laxity for tolerating them, and gained only enemies where
Cromwell recruited partisans.
High-minded and high-spirited men, and Vane especially,
were unable patiently to endure this position, and earnestly
strove to rise above it. Some great event or some important
act could alone achieve their deliverance; they stood in need
of some splendid success, which should not be gained for
them by Cromwell. This was probably one of the causes
which, either from reflection or instinct, instigated them to
their project for a close alliance between England and Holland, and to the war which the failure of this attempt occasioned between the two States. Just about this period,
another prospect, not wanting in grandeur, presented itself
before them, Scotland was subjugated. Monk was governing
it with soldier-like sternness, but sensibly and justly. Argyle
alone retained, in his domains, some remnant of independence;
but it was fraught with no danger to the conquerors. Why
should they not incorporate Scotland with England? Great
Britain would then form only a single State, as it already
formed a single island; and the Commonwealth would have
the glory of accomplishing that which England's greatest
kings had attempted in vain to effect. On the 9th of September, 1651, scarcely six days after the battle of Worcester,
this design was mooted in the Parliament, and before the
year was at an end, it was transformed into an express declaration of the entire union of the two countries. Eight commissioners, with Vane and St. John at their head, set out for
Scotland, with detailed instructions for its execution. They
arrived at Edinburgh'on the 20th of January, 1652, and took




288        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
up their residence at Dalkeith, whither they summoned delegates from all the counties and boroughs of Scotland, in order
to obtain their consent to the union. The undertaking was
attended with great difficulty; and had it not been for the
authority of Monk and his garrisons, all Vane's eloquent
persuasiveness would probably have failed of success. The
Scottish people were indignant at the idea of losing their
nationality; the Presbyterian clergy protested against any
infraction of the independence of their church, and abjured
any admission of the spiritual power of the Parliament.
The vassals of Argyle refused to obey the orders of the
English commissioners. The Provost of Edinburgh attempted
in vain to induce the ministers of the town to preach in favor
of the union; he only obtained this answer-" that they
knew better what to preach than the Provost could instruct
them."' The counties and boroughs which refused to send
delegates, or whose delegates refused to accede to the union,
were deprived of their franchises; and yet, even according
to the computation most favorable to the English, twenty
counties and thirty-five boroughs only, out of ninety, gave
their consent. But victorious force does not need even so
much as this to proclaim that its right is recognized. Argyle,
on receiving a promise that his domains should be protected,
and that he should be paid whatever was due to him, consented at length to come to terms. Vane returned to London,
on behalf of the commissioners, to report to Parliament their
success. It was agreed that twenty-one Scottish delegates
should proceed thither soon afterwards, to discuss the definitive terms of the union; and, on the 13th of April, 1652, on
I Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 345-347; Burnet's HIistory.
of His Own Time, vol. i. pp. 112-115; Guizot's Life of Monk, pp. 39-42;
Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 14, 21, 30, 31, 53, 85, 96, 110, 118, 129;
Whitelocke, pp. 519, 521-523, 528, 529; Balfour's Annals of Scotland, vol.
iv. p. 350; Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 172.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             28'9
the report of Whitelocke, in the name of the Council of State,
a bill was brought forward to decree the abolition of royalty
in Scotland, and the union of the two countries under the
sole authority of the Parliament, into whose body a certain
number of Scottish representatives were to be admitted.
A few weeks afterwards, either because this imperfect success had inspired the Parliament with greater confidence, or
because the necessity of providing for the expenses of the
naval war with Holland appeared to it a favorable opportunity,
the question of the reduction of the army was revived. The
House resolved, "that it be referred to the Council of State
(upon conference with the Lord General and such other persons whom they shall think fit), to take into considerationboth the garrisons and forces in England and Scotland; and
how some considerable retrenchment may be made of the
charge, with safety to the Commonwealth; and report the
same to the House on to-morrow se'ennight." This resolution
had no sooner been passed than the Speaker received a letter
from Cromwell, which was read to the House; it has not been
inserted in the journals, but it evidently referred to the desire for a reduction of the army which the House had expressed; for, twelve days after, the expenses of the army in
England and Scotland were voted without any reduction.'
The Parliament anticipated, and indeed appeared to obtain,
better success with regard to the army in Ireland. Although
several parts of that island were still in a state of insurrection, or at least of insubordination, the war there was virtually at an end; all the places of any importance had surrendered,' and the enemies of the Commonwealth were
nowhere able: to make any stand against its soldiers. Another
operation, more cruel even than war, had begun, namely, the
expropriation and transplantation, either completely or
I Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 136, 138, 139, 142.
VOL. i.-25




290        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
partially, of all the Catholic population of Ireland, for the
purpose of paying, in the first place, the adventurers in the
loan contracted in 1642, with the Irish confiscations as
security; and secondly, the arrears due to the disbanded
soldiers. Such a prospect could not fail to render the reduction of this part of the army more easy of accomplishment. As soon as this terrible remodelling of landed property and the population was effected, the Parliament proposed to incorporate Ireland, as well as Scotland, with
England, by granting it also a small amount of influence in
the general assembly in which the government of the Commonwealth was vested; and it hoped to exercise a decisive
preponderance in a country where it was thus able to dispose
everything at its pleasure.'
But Cromwell, ever careful to allow no opportunity to
escape which might be made conducive to his fortune, had
been furnished, by a frivolous incident, with the means of
extending his influence to Ireland, and he had hastened to
avail himself of them. After the death of Ireton, who, under
the title of Lord Deputy, had commanded in Ireland as the
lieutenant of CromwelI (who still retained the rank of Governor-General of that kingdom), Lambert, who was then serving in Scotland, was appointed to succeed him, under the
same name and with the same powers. Vain and fond of
display, he left Scotland in all haste to take possession of his
new honors, and made his entry into London with a large
and magnificent train; having, it is said, spent five thousand
pounds on his equipage. A few days after, Lady Lambert,
his wife, who was as vain as himself, met Ireton's widow,
Cromwell's daughter Bridget, in St. James's Park, and pompously took precedence of her. Notwithstanding her piety
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 79, 123, 161, 229; Ludlow's Memoirs;
Leland's History of Ireland, vol. iii. pp. 387-397.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    291
and sorrow, Lady Ireton felt this insult keenly. Fleetwood,
Cromwell's lieutenant-general in the command of all the
forces of the Commonwealth, happened by chance to be present at this scene; he was himself a widower, and he offered
Lady Ireton first his sympathy and condolence, and ultimately his hand. She accepted without hesitation; the wife of
the Lieutenant-General of the Commonwealth would, of
course, take precedence on all occasions of the wife of the
Lord Deputy of Ireland. This marriage met with Cromwell's entire approval; Fleetwood belonged to a wealthy and
important family, and could not fail to prove a useful son-inlaw. An opportunity soon presented itself for turning this
new connection to profit; Cromwell's commission as GovernorGeneral of Ireland was nearly expired; a proposition was
made in the House for its renewal, but Cromwell himself
declined this favor, saying that he had enough honors and
authorities already. The office of Lord-Lieutenant or'Governor-General was therefore suppressed. A Lord-Deputy
without a Governor-General was held to be a solecism; and
another title, with various compensations, was offered to
Lambert; but he would not accept what he considered a
diminution of his glories, and resigned his office. It was
then decided that the Commander-in-chief of the forces of
the Commonwealth should appoint some officer to the command in Ireland, and Cromwell named Fleetwood. But
careful to heal the wound that he had inflicted, he attempted,
and successfully, to persuade Lambert that the ill-will of the
Parliament alone had deprived him of the title of Lord
Deputy, which he, Cromwell, would have been delighted that
he should retain; and with a thorough comprehension of the
meanness which may lie hid under a show of vanity, he expressed to Lambert his regret that his brief dignity should
have involved him in such enormous expenses, and requested
permission to make up his loss from his own purse; to which




292        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Lambert consented, thus placing himself, in his misadventure,
under obligation to Cromwell, who, by this means, made hiE
son-in-law the commander in Ireland, and converted the man
whom some had attempted to set up as his rival in the army,
into a deadly enemy of the Parliament.'
He excelled in thus vigorously pushing his advantages.
The House, notwithstanding the check which it had just received, persisted in its design of reducing the army. Cromwell resolved openly to engage in the conflict between the
army and the Parliament, in the name of all the grievances,
real or imaginary, and all the desires, practicable or chimerical, which were rife in the country, and to which the House
was continually promising, though it never gave, satisfaction.  On the 12th of August, 1652, the House ordered the
Council of State, with all convenient speed, to report to it
what had been done touching the retrenchment of the forces,
particularly in the three garrisons of Exeter, Gloucester, and
Bristol. On the same day, a general council of officers met
at Whitehall; and on the day following, six of the leaders,
Commissary-General Whalley, Colonels Hacker, Barkstead,
Okey, and Goffe, and Lieutenant-Colonel Worsley, presented
themselves at the door of the House with a petition in which
all these grievances and desires, in reference to both civil
and religious matters, were summed up in twelve articles, in
respectful but peremptory terms, and insisting, at the close,
on the enactment of "such qualifications for future and suecessive Parliaments, as should tend to the election only of
such as were pious, and faithful to the interest of the Commonwealth."2
The House felt some surprise at this proceeding; such
I Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 177; Hutchinson's Memoirs, pp. 360, 361; Whitelocke, pp. 523, 533, 536.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 163, 164; Whitelocke, p. 541; Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. p. 372.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              293
petitions had formerly been used against the Crown; but,
since the establishment of the Commonwealth, the army had
ceased thus to interfere in the government. Cromwell himself had contributed to lull the fears of the House, for, without any scruple about contradicting or belying himself, at
the very moment when he was thus secretly instigating the
officers to urge the Parliament to dissolve, he had appeared
desirous of diverting them from this step, and had given his
word to the House that if it should order the army to break
their swords and throw them into the sea, they would obey
without hesitation.' The petition was received with great
respect, and referred to a special committee, which was ordered to inquire how many of its particulars were already
under consideration, how far they had been proceeded in,
and what method might be adopted for their more speedy
expedition. The Speaker, on behalf of the House, thanked
the officers for their constant affection to the Parliament,
and for the vigilant care for the public interest expressed in
their petition. But, when these official demonstrations were
over, the principal members of the House unreservedly expressed their dissatisfaction at a proceeding, and at language,
"so improper, if not arrogant, for the officers of the army to
use to the Parliament their masters."  "You had better stop
this way of petitioning by the officers of the army with their
swords in their hands," said Whitelocke to Cromwell, "lest
in time it may come too home to yourself."2 But Cromwell
made light of his anxiety; no one cared less for the embar?
rassments which success might one day entail upon him.
About six weeks after this, meeting Whitelocke walking
one evening in St. James's Park, Cromwell saluted him
"with more than ordinary courtesy," and desired him to
I Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 191.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. p. 164; Whitelocke, p. 541.
25*




294       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
walk aside with him that they might have some private discourse together. The following conversation then ensued.
CROMWELL.-" My Lord Whitelocke, I know your faithfulness and engagement in the same good cause with myself,
and the rest of our friends; and I know your ability in
judgment, and your particular friendship and affection for
me; and, therefore, I desire to advise with you in the main
and most important affairs relating to our present condition."
WHITELOCKE.-" Your Excellency hath known me long,
and I think will say that you never knew any unfaithfulness
or breach of trust by me; and for my particular affection to
your person, your favors to me, and your public services,
have deserved more than I can manifest. Only there is, with
your favor, a mistake in this one thing, touching my weak
judgment, which is incapable of doing any considerable service to yourself or this Commonwealth; yet to the utmost of
my power, I shall be ready to serve you, and that with all
diligence and faithfulness."
CROMWELL. —"I have cause to be, and am, without the
least scruple of your faithfulness, and I know your kindness
to me, your old friend, and your abilities to serve the Commonwealth; and there are enough besides me that can testify it. I believe our engagements for this Commonwealth
have been and are as deep as most men's; and there never
was more need of advice and solid hearty counsel, than the
present state of our affairs doth require."
WHrrELOCKE. —"I suppose no man Will mention his particular engagement in this cause, at the same time when your
Excellency's engagement is remembered; yet to my capacity,
and in my station, few men have engaged further than I have
done; and that, besides the goodness of your own nature
and personal knowledge of me, will keep you from any jealousy of my faithfulness."
CROMWELL.-" I wish there were no more ground of sus



AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    295
picion of others than of you. I can trust you with my life
and the most secret matters relating to our business, and to
that end I have now desired a little private discourse with
you. Really, my Lord, there is very great cause for us to
consider the dangerous condition we are all in, and how to
make good our station, to improve the mercies and successes which God hath given us, and not to be fooled out of
them again, nor to be broken in pieces by our particular
jarrings and animosities one against another, but to unite our
councils, and hands and hearts, to make good what we have
so dearly bought, with so much hazard, blood, and treasure;
and that, the Lord having given us an entire conquest over
our enemies, we should not now hazard all again by our private janglings, and bring those mischiefs upon ourselves
which our enemies could never do."
WHITELOCKE.-" My Lord, I look upon our present
danger, as greater than ever it was in the field; and, as your
Excellency truly observes, our proneness is to destroy ourselves, when our enemies could not do it. It is no strange
thing for -a gallant army, as yours is, after full conquest of
their enemies, to grow into factious and ambitious designs;
and it is a wonder to me that they are not in high mutinies,
their spirits being active, and few thinking their services to
be duly rewarded, and the emulation of the officers breaking
out daily more and more, in this time of their vacancy from
their employment; besides, the private soldiers, -it may be
feared, will in this time of their idleness, grow into disorder;
and it is your excellent conduct which, under God, hath kept
them so long in discipline, and free from mutinies."
CROMWELL.-" "I have used, and shall use, the utmost of
my poor endeavors to keep them all in order and obedience."
WHITELOCKE.-" Your Excellency hath done it hitherto
even to admiration."




296       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
CROMWELL.-'" Truly God hath blessed me in it exceedingly, and I hope will do so still. Your Lordship hath observed most truly the inclinations of the officers of the army
to particular factions and to murmurings that they are not
rewarded according to their deserts, that others who have
adventured least, have gained most, and they have neither
profit, nor preferment, nor place in government, which others
hold, who have undergone no hardships nor hazards for the
Commonwealth. And herein they have too much of truth;
yet their insolency is very great, and their influence upon
the private soldiers works them to the like discontents and
murmurings. Then, as for the members of Parliament, the
army begins to have a strange distaste against them, and I
wish there were not too much cause for it. And really their
pride and ambition, and self-seeking, engrossing all places of
honor and profit to themselves; and their daily breaking
forth into new and violent parties and factions; their delays
of business, and design to perpetuate themselves, and to continue the power in their own hands; their meddling in private
matters between party and party, contrary to the institution
of Parliaments, and their injustice and partiality in those matters; and the scandalous lives of some of the chief of them;these things, my Lord, do give too much ground for people
to open their mouths against them, and to dislike them. Nor
can they be kept within the bounds of justice, and law or
reason; they themselves being the supreme power of the
nation, liable to no account to any, nor to be controlled or
regulated by any other power, there being none superior or
co-ordinate with them. So that, unless there be some authority and power so full and so high as to restrain and keep
things in better order, and that may be a check to these exorbitances, it will be impossible in human reason to prevent
our ruin."
WHITELOCKE.-" I confess the danger we are in by these




AND THE ENGLISH COIMON-WEALTIH.    297
extravagances and inordinate powers is more than I doubt is
generally apprehended; yet, as to that part of it which concerns the soldiery, your Excellency's power and commission
is sufficient already to restrain and keep them in their due
obedience; and, blessed be God! you have done it hitherto,
and I doubt not but by your wisdom you will be able still
to do it. As to the members of Parliament, I confess the
greatest difficulty lies there, your commission being from
them, and they being acknowledged the supreme power of
the nation, subject to no control, nor allowing any appeal
from them. Yet -I am sure your Excellency will not look
upon them as generally depraved; too many of them are
much to blame in those things you have mentioned, and
many unfit things have passed among them; but I hope well
of the major part of them, when great matters come to a decision."
CROMWELL. —" My Lord, there is little hope of a good settlement to be made by them —really there is not; but a great
deal of fear, that they will destroy again what the Lord hath
done graciously for them and us. We all forget God, and
God will forget us, and give us up to confusion; and these
men will help it on, if they be suffered to proceed in their
ways. Some course must be thought on to curb and restrain
them, or we shall be ruined by them."
WHITELOCKE. —" We ourselves have acknowledged them
the supreme power, and taken our commissions and authority
in the highest concernments from them; and how to restrain
and curb them after this, it will be hard to find out a way
for it."
CROMWELL.-" What if a man should take upon him to be
King?"
WHITELOCKE.-" I think that remedy would be worse
than the disease."
CROMWELL. —" Why do you think so?"




298       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
WHITELOCKE.-"As to your own person, the title of King
would be of no advantage, because you have the full kingly
power in you already, concerning the militia, as you are
General. As to the nomination of civil officers, those whom
you think fittest are seldom refused; and, although you have no
negative vote in the passing of laws, yet what you dislike will
not easily be carried; and the taxes are already settled, and in
your power to dispose the money raised. And as to foreign
affairs, though the ceremonial application be made to the
Parliament, yet the expectation of good or bad success in it
is from your Excellency, and particular solicitations of foreign
ministers are made to you only. So that I apprehend indeed
less envy, and danger, and pomp, but not less power and real
opportunities of doing good, in your being General, than
would be if you had assumed the title of King."
CROMWELL.-" I have heard some of your profession observe, that he who is actually King, whether by election or
by descent, yet being once King, all acts done by him as
King are lawful and justifiable, as by any King who hath
the crown by inheritance from his forefathers; and that, by
an Act of Parliament in Henry the Seventh's time, it is safer
for those who act under a King (be his title what it will)
than for those who act under any other power. And surely
the power of a King is so great and high, and so universally
understood and reverenced by the people of this nation, that
the title of it might not only indemnify in a great measure
those that act under it, but likewise be of great use and advantage in such times as these, to curb the insolences and
extravagances of those whom the present powers cannot
control, or at least are the persons themselves who are thus
insolent."
WHITELOCKE.-" I agree in the general with what you
are pleased to observe as to this title of King; but whether
for your Excellency to take this title upon you, as things




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    299
aow are, will be for the good and advantage of yourself and:riends, or of the Commonwealth, I do very much doubt,
notwithstanding that Act of Parliament of 11 Henry VII.,
which will be little regarded or observed to us by our enemies, if they should come to get the upper hand of us."
CROMWELL.-" What do you apprehend would be the
danger of taking this title?"
WHITELOCKE.-" The danger, I think, would be this.
One of the main points of controversy betwixt us and our
adversaries, is whether the government of this nation shall
be established in morjarchy, or in a free State or Commonwealth; and most of our friends have engaged with us upon
the hopes of having the government settled in a free State,
and to effect that, have undergone all their hazards and difficulties-they being persuaded (though I think much mistaken) that, under the government of a Commonwealth, they
shall enjoy more liberty and right, both as to their spiritual
and civil concernments, than they shall under monarchy;
the pressures and dislike whereof are so fresh in their memories and sufferings. Now, if your Excellency shall take
upon you the title of King, this state of our cause will be
thereby wholly determined, and monarchy established in
your person; and the question will be no more whether our
government shall be by a monarch or by a free State, but
whether Cromwell or Stuart shall be our king and monarch.
And that question, wherein before so great parties of the
nation were engaged, and which was universal, will by this
means become in effect a private controversy only. Before
it was national, what kind of government we should have;
now it will become particular, who shall be our governor,
whether of the family of the Stuarts, or of the family of the
Cromwells. Thus, the state of our controversy being totally.
changed, all those who were for a Commonwealth (and they
are a very great and considerable party), having their hopes




300'      HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
therein frustrated, will desert you; your hands will be weakened, your interest straitened, and your cause in apparent
danger to be ruined."
CROMWELL.-" I confess you speak reason in this; but
what other things can you propound that may obviate the
present dangers and difficulties, wherein we are all engaged?"
WrHITELOCKE.-" It will be the greatest difficulty to find
out such an expedient. I have had many things in my private thoughts upon this business, some of which, perhaps,
are not fit or safe for me to communicate."
CROMWELL.-" I pray, my Lord, what are they?  You
may trust me with them. There shall no prejudice come to
you by any private discourse betwixt us; I shall never betray
my friend. You may be as free with me as with your own
heart, and shall never suffer by it."
WHITELOCKE. —"I make no scruple to put my life and
fortune in your Excellency's hand; and so I shall, if I impart these fancies to you, which are weak, and perhaps may
prove offensive to your Excellency; therefore, my best way
will be to smother them."
CROMWELL.-"iNay, I prithee, my Lord Whitelocke, let
me know them. Be they what they will, they cannot be
offensive to me; but I shall take it kindly from you. Therefore I pray do not conceal those thoughts of yours from your
faithful friend."
WHITELOCKE.-" Your Excellency honors me with a title
far above me; and since you are pleased to command it, I
shall discover to you my thoughts herein, and humbly desire you not to take in ill part what I shall say to you."
CROMWELL. —" Indeed I shall not; but I shall take it, as I
said, very kindly from you."
WHITELOCKE. —" Give me leave, then, first to consider
your Excellency's condition. You are environed with secret




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    301
enemies. Upon your subduing of the public enemy, the
officers of your army account themselves all victors, and to
have had an equal share in the conquest with you. The
success which God hath given us, hath not a little elated their
minds, and many of them are busy and of turbulent spirits,
and are not without their designs how they may dismount
your Excellency, and some of themselves get up into the
saddle. They want not counsel and encouragement herein,
it may be, from some members of the Parliament, who may
be jealous of your power and greatness, lest you should
grow too high for them, and in time overmaster them; and
they will plot to bring you down first, or to clip your
wings."
CROMWELL.-" I thank you that you so fully consider my
condition. It is a testimony of your love to me and care of
me; and you have rightly considered it; and I may say
without vanity that in my condition yours is involved and
all our friends; and those that plot my ruin will hardly bear
your continuance in any condition worthy of you. Besides
this, the cause itself may possibly receive some disadvantage
by the strugglings and contentions among ourselves. But
what, sir, are your thoughts for prevention of those mischiefs
that hang over our heads?"
WHITELOCKE. —" Pardon me, sir, in the next place, a little
to consider the condition of the King of Scots. This prince
being now, by your valor, and the success which God hath
given to the Parliament, and to the army under your command, reduced to a very low condition; both he and all
about him cannot but be very inclinable to hearken to any
terms, whereby their lost hopes may be revived of his being
restored to the crown, and they to their fortunes and native
country. By a private treaty with him, you may secure
yourself and your friends, and their fortunes; you may make
yourself and your posterity as great and permanent, to all
VOL. i.-26




302       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
human probability, as ever any subject was, and provide for
your friends.  You may put such limits to monarchical
power, as will secure our spiritual and civil liberties; and
you may secure the cause in which we are all engaged (and
this may be effectually done) by having the power of all the
militia continued in yourself, and whom you shall agree
upon after you. I propound therefore for your Excellency
to send to the King of Scots, and to have a private treaty
with him for this purpose. And I beseech you to pardon
what I have said upon this occasion; it is out of my affection
and service to your Excellency, and to all honest men; and
I humbly pray you not to have any jealousy thereupon of
my approved faithfulness to your Excellency and to this
Commonwealth."
CROMWELL.-" I have not, I assure you, the least distrust
of your faithfulness and friendship to me, and to the cause of
this Commonwealth; and I think you have much reason for
what you propound.  But it is a matter of so high importance and difficulty, that it deserves more of consideration
and debate than is at present allowed us. We shall therefore take a further time to discourse of it."'
Cromwell could at his pleasure postpone a conversation
with TVhitelocke, when it took a turn which was not agreeable to him, but he could not adjourn the impending conflict
between the Parliament and himself, which was made manifest, and hastened onwards, by such confidential communications; it was war, and one of those wars which do not admit
of a pacific settlement.  Notwithstanding the hypocrisy
displayed in the personal relations and language of the
antagonists, the conflict was thenceforward avowed and
active. Irritated and paralyzed at once by the intrigues of
its enemy, the Parliament introduced into its management
1 Whitelocke's Memorials, pp. 548-551.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.             303
of public affairs the consciousness of its own danger-and
the precautions requisite for its own defence. Never had it
manifested so much anxiety to give satisfaction to the wishes
of the country; law reform, the alleviation of the condition
of the poor, the measures necessary for securing the preaching of the Gospel, and the maintenance of its ministers in
every part of the empire-indeed all questions of a popular
character, whether civil or religious, were the subjects of
repeated discussion and deliberation; and those great political acts which were calculated to throw lustre on the ruling
power, such as the union of England and Scotland, the settlement of the affairs of Ireland, and the necessities of the
war with the United Provinces, were incessantly under debate. The Government strove hard to obtain a little dignity
or favor from every available source. But most of these
attempts resulted in nothing; debates were indefinitely prolonged and resumed, conferences and reports of committees
were multiplied to no effect, resolutions which seemed decisive were revoked or called in question. The Parliament
was evidently under the sway of a continuous perplexity,
which urged it to redouble its efforts, at the same time that
it doomed them to unproductiveness.
Cromwell, on his side, was not exempt from anxiety and
hesitation; he had frequent conversations, sometimes with
the officers only, sometimes with the officers and members of
Parliament together, and sometimes even with Presbyterian or
other ministers, whom he consulted as it were upon a case of
conscience, in order to bring them over to his views: but he
sometimes met with opposition as frank and decided as his
own words were indiscreet and passionate. At one of these
conferences, Dr. Edmund Calamy, a preacher of great eminence in the city, boldly opposed the system of a sole ruler
as unlawful and impracticable. Cromwell answered readily
upon the first head of unlawful, and appealed to the safety




304        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
of the nation being the supreme law. "But," said he, "pray,
Mr. Calamy, why impracticable?"  Calamy replied: "Oh!'tis against the voice of the nation; there will be nine in ten
against you."  "Very well," said Cromwell; "but what if I
should disarm the nine, and put a sword into the tenth man's
hand, would not that do the business?"1 This bold language
on the part of a conqueror whose prowess had so often been
tried, proved sufficiently seductive to most of the bystanders,
but filled others with alarm. The enthusiastically mystical
sectaries, with Harrison at their head, were entirely devoted
to Cromwell; the Parliament was, in their eyes, only a profane power which held the place of the government of Christ,
the only legitimate king; and they anticipated, from the
piety of Cromwell, the advent of the reign of the saints, and
from his valor the overthrow of Antichrist as personified in
the Pope and the Turks. Men of unbiased mind, the secular
politicians, clearly understood that the struggle between their
General and the Parliament could not be long continued,
and that the moment of its termination was at hand. Numerous letters arrived from the army in Scotland, to assure
the English army of their sympathy and support. In the
army of Ireland the feeling was less unanimous; Ludlow,
who had served there for many years with great distinction,
possessed considerable influence, which he employed wholly
to keep up the republican spirit. Three officers, Colonel
Venables, Quartermaster-general Downing, and Major Streater, went to London to oppose the designs which they saw
were in contemplation. Cromwell either gained over or
silenced Downing and Venables; but Streater remained firm,
and even went so far as to say in a conference: "That the
General intended to set up himself, and that it was a betrayForster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth, vol. v. p. 52; Life of Oliver
Cromwell (London, 1743), p. 225; Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. iv. p.
374.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               305
ing of their most glorious cause, for which so much blood
had been spilt."  Harrison denied this accusation, saying:
" That he was assured the General did not seek himself in it,
but did it to make way for the rule of Jesus, that he might
have the sceptre."  "Well," replied Streater, "Christ must
come before Christmas, or else he will come too late."'
The danger was not so pressing as Streater imagined.
Cromwell had the sense to perceive the obstacles which
stood in his way, and to take. time to surmount them. In
the midst of the conflict in which he was so hotly engaged,
and doubtless with a view to moderate it by lulling suspicions, he suddenly withdrew his opposition to the plan for
a fresh reduction of the army, which had been thrown out
by his influence, five months previously; and on the 1st of
January, 1653, by agreement between the Parliament and
the General, this reduction was positively ordered-about
three thousand infantry, and a thousand cavalry were disbanded, several garrisons were reduced, and a saving of
10,0001. a month was effected in the charges of the Commonwealth.2 
Cromwell could afford to make the House this sacrifice; it
had already received from him, and more especially from
itself and from time, the fatal blows beneath which it was
finally to succumb. For more than twelve years, in its
entire or mutilated state, this Parliament had held the reins
of power, and was responsible, in the eyes of England, for
events, as well as for its own acts, for what it had failed to
foresee, as well as for what it had decreed, for what it had
not prevented, as well as for what it had done. And not
only for twelve years had the Parliament governed, but it
Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth, vol. v. p. 44; Life of Oliver
Cromwell, p. 228; Whitelocke, p. 553.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. p. 241.
26*




806        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
had absorbed into itself all powers; it alone treated and
decided on a multitude of questions which, before its time,
would have devolved upon the Crown or its agents, the
magistrates and the local authorities: confiscations, sequestrations, sales of royal and ecclesiastical domains, the disputes which arose upon these questions, appointments to
public offices, the conduct of war by land and sea —the whole
revolutionary administration and government-were in the
hands of the Parliament, which was thus charged with an
infinite number of private as well as public interests. The
journals of the House give evidence, on every page, of this
monstrous centralization of affairs of every kind daily
debated and decided either by the House itself, or by its
committees; and this was carried to such an extent, that,
from time to time, the House was obliged to determine that
for one or two weeks, it would set aside all private affairs,
and attend only to the public business of the country.' A
deplorable state of confusion, truly, in which the Parliament
lost not only its time, but its virtue. Neither the good sense
nor the honesty of the majority of mankind could stand
against this prolonged enjoyment of power in the midst of
chaos: abuses, vexations, malversations, and unlawful transactions sprang up and multiplied, as the natural fruit of such
a state of things; and the Parliament, absolute master of the
fortune and fate of a host of citizens, as well as of the fate
and fortune of the State, soon became notorious as a den of
iniquity and corruption.
Politically,- this accusation was unjust.  The political
leaders of the republican Parliament, Vane, Sidney, Ludlow,
Hutchinson, and Ilarrington, were men of spotless integrity,
passionately devoted to their cause, but pledged to no other
interest than the triumph of their cause and passion. The
I Commons' Journals, vols. vi, and vii. passim; Whitelocke, p. 551.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               807
cause itself, though incompatible with common sense, and
regarded with antipathy by the country, was a noble and a
moral one; the principles which presided over it were a firm
faith in truth, and affectionate esteem for humanity, respect
for its rights, and a desire for its free and glorious development. But among the secondary, though active ranks of the
party, in the minds of a large number of members, both of
the Parliament and of the local committees connected with
it, and under the influence either of political disappointments, or personal temptations, a spirit of greedy selfishness,
license, and indifference, a tendency to despise or doubt the
virtues of justice and probity, had made frightful progress,
and given rise to disorders which had entailed upon the party
and the Parliament, universal disrespect and dislike.
Several disgraceful scandals occurred to justify and exasperate this public feeling. Lilburne, ever rapid to maintain
his rights, and satisfy his animosities, had, on behalf of one
of his uncles, claimed the proprietorship of certain mines in
the county of Durham, held unlawfully (as he said) by Sir
Arthur Haslerig, who was as stirring and popular in the
Parliament, as Lilburne in the city. The demand was twice
rejected by the committee appointed to inquire into the case.
Lilburne accordingly published against his judges a pamphlet,1 in which he termed them "four of the most unjustest
and unworthiest men that ever the Parliament made judges,
fit for nothing but to be spewed out of all humane society by
all ingenuous rational men, and deserving to have their skins
flayed over their ears, stuffed full of straw, and hung up in
some public place." He also addressed to the Parliament
itself a petition no less insulting to Haslerig. The Parliament ordered that it should be examined by a committee of
1 This pamphlet is entitled: "A just Reproof to Haberdasher's Hall," and
was published in August, 1651.




308        HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
fifty members; and, after a long investigation, Lilburne was
condemned to pay a fine of 3,0001. to the State, 2,0001. as
damages to Haslerig, and 5001. a piece to the four members
of the committee which had decided upon his claim, and to
be banished from England for life.'  Whether Lilburne's
claim was a just one or not, and whatever may have been
the violence of his complaint, such a sentence pronounced,
not by judges, but by political enemies, revolted the public
by its excessive rigor.  The popular feeling became still
stronger when this severity was compared with an even
more glaring act of indulgence. Lord Howard of Escrick, a
member of the House, had been expelled from his seat in
Parliament, imprisoned in the Tower, and condemned to pay
a fine of 10,0001., for a notorious act of corruption;2 but his
fine was afterwards remitted, and he was set at liberty.3  In
reference to some business about naval prizes, a merchant,
named Jacob Stainer, was brought to the bar of the House,
and examined with regard to certain letters, in which, alluding either to the Parliament, or to the Council of State, he
had written to his correspondent at Antwerp: "We have
made a great many friends amongst the great ones, to speak
for us in the business, when it comes before them." He gave
a rather confused explanation, and was set at liberty on bail
a fortnight afterwards.4  Mr. Blagrave, a member of Parliament, was formally accused, by a person who gave his name,
and offered to prove his charge, of having received money
for certain appointments: the matter was referred to a
special committee, and there remained.5  The disgraceful
avidity of private interests, and sometimes even the dis1 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 71, 72, 74.
2 Ibid. vol. vi. p. 591.
3 Ibid. vol. vi. p. 318; vol. vii. p. 274.
4 Ibid. vol. vii. pp. 223, 229.
5 Ibid. vol. vii. p. 257.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.              309
honesty of certain members, were  thus screened, if not by
the complicity, at least by the timorous complaisance of the
entire Parliament.
These excessive severities and favors were equally odious
on the part of an assembly worn out by its prolonged existence as much as by its numerous mistakes, mutilated by its
own hands, still full of discord, notwithstanding the smallness
of its numbers, which even the defeat of its enemies at home
had not strengthened, and which abroad was daily involving
the country more deeply in a ruinous war against the only
Protestant and republican nation among its neighbors. The
public weariness and disgust were manifested on every side;
a multitude of pamphlets, which daily became more insolent
in their tone, were in circulation; contempt was mingled
with hatred; ironical refutations were published of the declarations " of the imaginary Parliament of the unknown Commonwealth of England;"' and it was loudly called upon to
make way for an assembly of better men. The House, in
great irritation, ordered the Council of State "to suppress
the weekly pamphlets, or any other books, that go out to the
dishonor of the Parliament and prejudice of the Commonwealth," and gave it powers " to imprison the offenders, and
to inflict such other punishment on them as they shall think
fit."2 But neither the anger of the House, nor the powers of
the Council of State, were any longer sufficient to repress the
hostility of a public who felt they had Cromwell for their
ally. The Parliament struggled in vain to live; it was wanting at once in moral force and in material strength; united
at length in a common antipathy, neither the people nor the
army would any longer tolerate its existence.
Under the pressure of this position, the republican leaders
were preparing with much debate the bill of dissolution,
1 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. p. 195.   2 Ibid. vol. vii. pp. 236, 244.




310. HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
which had so long been demanded of them, when an event
occurred which suddenly modified their intentions.' The
great victory which, about the middle of February, 1653,
Blake gained over Tromp in the Channel, appeared to them
a favorable circumstance; it threw lustre upon their government; and soon after overtures of peace arrived from Holland. In the private conclaves of his party, Vane strongly
urged them to renounce all dangerous slowness of action.
One of his friends, Roger Williams, who was then staying
at his house, wrote to a correspondent in New England:
"Here is great thoughts and preparations for a new Parliament. Some of our friends are apt to think a new Parliament will favor us and our cause more than this has done."'
It was determined that the existing Parliament should dissolve on the 3d of November in that same year-that is, a
year sooner than had previously been intended; and the
House began seriously to discuss the provisions of the Act
which was to regulate the election of its successors."2
This Act has been lost; it does not exist on the registers
of the House, and has been found nowhere else; its essential
provisions are, however, known. It established a system
almost identical with that which, on the 20th of January,
1649, the general council of officers of the army hiad submitted to the Parliament: an assembly of four hundred members, to be elected in the counties by all the possessors of an
annual income of two hundred pounds in real or personal
property, and in the boroughs by all the inhabitants who
paid a certain rent, the amount of which was not yet fixed.
The schedule of the boroughs to be invested with electoral
rights was minutely debated, and it suppressed many ancient
privileges. But the electors were called upon only to make
I Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 149.
2 Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 244, 261, 263, 265, 268, 270, 273, 277.




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.               311
up the number of the existing Parliament, and not to renew
it entirely; the members then sitting, to the number of about
one hundred and fifty, remained de jure members of the new
Parliament, for the counties or boroughs which they had
until then represented. More than this: they alone formed
the committee invested with the right of pronouncing upon
the validity of the new elections, and the qualifications of
the persons elected-so that, far from running any risk of
being excluded from the future Parliament, they continued
to be its permanent and predominant nucleus.'
This assuredly was not the kind of dissolution which the
country and the army expected: the falsehood was gross and
palpable. Cromwell, however, grew anxious, and resolved
in himself not to suffer such an Act to pass into a law. He
was well aware of the powerful influence of legality, and the
weaknesses of factions; and he knew how many people there
are who, when the crisis approaches, are ready to be satisfied
with a little. His intimate confidants, the preachers who
were devoted to his person, went about in all directions repeating, even from the pulpit, that the Parliament decidedly
was determined not to dissolve, and that, in one way or
another, it would be necessary to force it to do so. Cromwell himself appeared to be more than ever undecided and
perplexed. "I am pushed on," he said one day to Quartermaster-general Vernon, " by two parties to do that, the consideration of the issue whereof makes my hair stand on end.
One of these is headed by Major-General Lambert, who, in
revenge of the injury the Parliament did him in not permitting him to go into Ireland with a character and conditions
suitable to his merit, will be contented with nothing less than
their dissolution. Of the other Major-General Harrison is
i Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, vol. ii. pp. 379, 380; Godwin's History
of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. p. 448; Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth, vol. iii. pp. 157-162; Commons' Journals, vol. vii. pp. 273, 752.




812       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
the chief, who is an honest man and aims at good things, yet,
from the impatience of his spirit, will not wait the Lord's
leisure, but hurries me on to that which he and all honest
men will have cause to repent."' He sought out all the men
of any importance, whether as soldiers or civilians, sometimes
assembling them in conference at his house, sometimes sounding them in private conversations, and varying his confidential communications or his falsehoods, according as he wished
to divert the suspicions of those whom he addressed, or hoped
to gain them over to his design.
On the 19th of April, 1653, a more than usually numerous
meeting was held at Whitehall; all the leading officers, the
most eminent lawyers, Whitelocke, Widdrington, and St.
John, and some twenty other members of the House, among
whom were Sir Arthur Haslerig and Sir Gilbert Pickering,
had been summoned or had come thither, either to concert
together on what was to be done, or to explain their views.
It had become known that the Parliamentary leaders, Vane
especially, wished to press the adoption of the proposed bill.
Cromwell urged the meeting to seek out some means of putting an end to the existing Parliament, and of providing for
the government of the Commonwealth until a new Parliament should be called. He proposed that, as soon as ever
the Parliament was dissolved, forty persons, selected from
among the members of the House and of the Council of State,
should be provisionally invested with the administration of
public affairs. He had often declared that, "if they should
trust the people in an election of a new Parliament according
to the old constitution, it would be a tempting of God; and
that his confidence was that God did intend to save and
deliver this nation by few, as he had done in former times;
and that five or six men, and some few more, setting them1 ludlow's Memoirs, p. 190; Whitelocke, p. 553.




AND THE ENG[LISH COMMONWEALTH.             31g
selves to the work, might do more in one day than the Parliament had done or would do in a hundred, as far as he
could perceive; and that such unbiased men were like to be
the only instruments of the people's happiness." The discussion was animated and long; the bill which the Parliament then had under consideration was attacked as delusive,
and destined, not to dissolve, but to perpetuate the Parliament, and as dangerous to the Commonwealth, for it opened
the doors of the House to the Presbyterians, its mortal enemies. Widdrington and Whitelocke expressed themselves
strongly against any plan for dissolving the Parliament
against its own will, and instituting a provisional government in its stead; in their opinion, such a proceeding was
warrantable neither in conscience nor in wisdom. "The
work you go about is accursed," cried HIaslerig, " it is impossible to devolve this trust."  St. John maintained, on the
other hand, that, in one way or another, the existing state
of things must be brought to an end, and that the power of
the Parliament could not be prolonged. Nearly all the
officers were of this opinion. Cromwell reproved those who
used violent language, and the conference broke up about
midnight, without adopting any resolution. It was agreed,
however, that they should meet again on the next day, and
that the members of the House should take care that no
abrupt decision was arrived at upon the bill in question, in
order that they might still have time to consult together on
the course they intended to pursue.'
The next day, the conference was less numerously attended:
irritated or alarmed, several of those who had been present
on the previous evening did not return, and others went to
the House to watch its proceedings, and report to Cromwell.
Whitelocke, p. 554; Heath's Flagellum, p. 130; Cromwell's Letters and
Speeches, vol. ii. p. 380.
voL. I.-27




314       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
Whitelocke returned to the General's house, and renewed his
objections to a dissolution of the Parliament, and the formation of a provisional government; foreseeing that he would
be appointed a member of it, and, as he would not dare to
refuse to serve, that he would be thereby compromised.
While the discussion between them on this point was in
progress, Cromwell was informed that the Parliament was
sitting, and that Vane, Martyn, and Sidney were pressing
the immediate adoption of what they called the dissolution
bill. The members of the House who were with Cromwell
at Whitehall went off immediately to Westminster; but
Cromwell himself remained with his officers, determined still
to wait, and not to act unless forced to do so by extreme
necessity. Presently, Colonel Ingoldsby arrived, exclaiming, " If you mean to do anything decisive, you have no time
to lose." The House was on the point of coming to a vote;
Vane had insisted with such warmth and earnestness on passing the bill, that Harrison had deemed it necessary "most
sweetly and humbly" to conjure his colleagues to pause before they took so important a step. Cromwell left Whitehall in haste, followed by Lambert and five or six officers;
and commanded a detachment of soldiers to march round to
the House of Commons. On his arrival at Westminster, he
stationed guards at the doors and in the lobby of the House,
and led round another body to a position just outside the
room in which the members were seated. He then entered
alone, without noise, "clad in plain black clothes, with gray
worsted stockings," as was his custom when he was not in
uniform. Vane was speaking, and passionately descanting
on the urgency of the bill. Cromwell sat down in his usual
place, where he was instantly joined by St. John, to whom
he said, "that he was come to do that which grieved him to
the very soul, and that he had earnestly with tears prayed
to God against. Nay, that he had rather be torn in pieces




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    315
than do it; but there was a necessity laid upon him therein,
in order to the glory of God and the good of the nation." St.
John answered, " that he knew not what he meant; but did
pray that what it was which must be done, might have a
happy issue for the general good;" and so saying, he returned
to his seat. Vane was still speaking, and Cromwell listened
to him with great attention. He was arguing the necessity
of proceeding at once to the last stage of the bill, and with
that view, adjured the House to dispense with the usual
formalities which should precede its adoption. Cromwell, at
this, beckoned to Harrison. "Now is the time," he said; " I
must do it!" "Sir," replied Harrison, anxiously, "the work
is very great and dangerous." "You say well," answered
Cromwell, and sat still for another quarter of an hour. Vane
ceased speaking; the Speaker rose to put the question, when
Cromwell stood up, took off his hat, and began to speak. At
first, he expressed himself in terms of commendation of the
Parliament and its members, praising their zeal and care for
the public good; but gradually his tone changed, his accents
and gestures became more violent; he reproached the members of the House with their delays, their covetousness, their
self-interest, their disregard for justice. " You have no heart
to do anything for the public good," he exclaimed; "your
intention was to perpetuate yourselves in power. But your
time is come! The Lord has done with you! He has chosen
other instruments for the carrying on His work, that are
more worthy. It is the Lord hath taken me by the hand,
and set me on to do this thing." Vane, Wentworth, and
Mlartyn rose to reply to him, but he would not suffer them
to speak. " You think, perhaps," he said, " that this is not
parliamentary language; I know it; but expect no other language from me." Wentworth at length made himself heard;
he declared that this " was indeed the first time that he had
ever heard such unbecoming language given to the Parlia



816       HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL
ment; and that it was the more horrid, in that it came from
their servant, and their servant whom they had so highly
trusted and obliged, and whom, by their unprecedented
bounty, they had made what he was." Cromwell thrust his
hat upon his head, sprang from his seat into the centre of the
floor of the House, and shouted out: "Come, come, we have
had enough of this; I'll put an end to your prating-Call
them in!" he added briefly to Harrison; the door opened,
and twenty or thirty musketeers entered, under the command
of Lieutenant-Colonel Worsl6y.
"You are no Parliament," cried Cromwell; "I say, you
are no Parliament! Begone! Give way to honester men."
He walked up and down the floor of the House, stamping
his foot, and giving his orders. " Fetch him down," he said
to Harrison, pointing to the Speaker, who still remained in
his chair. Harrison told him to come down, but Lenthall
refused. "Take him down," repeated Cromwell; Harrison
laid his hand on the Speaker's gown, and he came down
immediately. Algernon Sidney was sitting near the Speaker. "Put him out," said Cromwell to Harrison. Sidney did
not move. "Put him out," reiterated Cromwell. Harrison
and Worsley laid their hands on Sidney's shoulders, upon
which he rose, and walked out. "This is not honest," exclaimed Vane, "it is against morality and common honesty!'"
"Sir Harry Vane! Sir Harry Vane!" replied Cromwell;
"you might have prevented this extraordinary course; but
you are a juggler, and have not so much as common honesty.
The Lord deliver me from Sir Harry Vane!" And, amidst
the general confusion, as the members passed out before him,
he flung nicknames in the face of each. "Some of you are
drunkards!" he said, pointing to Mr. Challoner; "some of
you are adulterers!" and he looked at Sir Peter Wentworth;
" some of you are corrupt unjust persons!" and he glanced at
Whitelocke and others; then, turning to Henry Martyn, he




AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH.    317
said, "Is a whoremaster fit to sit and govern?"  He went
up to the table on which the mace lay, which was carried
before the Speaker, and called to the soldiers, " What shall
we do with this bauble? here, take it away." He frequently
repeated: "It is you that have forced me to this, for I have
sought the Lord night and day, that he would rather slay me
than put me upon the doing of this work." Alderman Allen
told him, "That it was not yet gone so far, but all things
might be restored again; and that, if the soldiers were commanded out of the House, and the mace returned, the public
affairs might go on in their course." Cromwell rejected this
advice, and called Allen to account for some hundred thousand pounds, which, as Treasurer of the army, he had embezzled. Allen replied, " That it was well known that it had
not been his fault that his account was not made up long since;
that he had often tendered it to the House, and that he asked
no favor from any man in that matter." Cromwell ordered
him to be arrested, and he was led off by the soldiers. The
room was now empty; he seized all the papers, took the
Dissolution-Bill from the Clerk, and put it under his cloak;
after which he left the House, ordered the doors to be shut,
and returned to Whitehall.'
At Whitehall, he found several of his officers, who had
Whitelocke, p. 554; Leicester's Journal, pp. 139 —141; Ludlow's Memoirs, pp. 193, 194; Old Parliamentary History, vol. xx. p. 128; Heath's
Chronicle, p. 628; Bates, Elenchus Motuum Nuperorum, part ii. p. 284;
Echard's History of England, vol. ii. p. 744; Peck's Memoirs of Oliver Cromwell, pp. 34-36; Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, vol. vii. pp. 1-7;
Burton's Parliamentary Diary, vol. iii. pp. 98, 209.
In giving an account of the expulsion of the Long Parliament to M. Ser.
vien, in a letter dated May 3, 1653, M. de Bordeaux gives some details which
I have not thought it right to insert in the text, as I find them mentioned by
no contemporary English writer. They, moreover, appear to me very improbable, as they are at variance both with the general character of the event,
and with all other accounts of it. But the letter which contains them de.
serves publication, and will be found in Appendix XXV.
27*




818     HISTORY OF OLIVER CROMWELL, ETC.
remained there to wait the event. -He related to them what
he had done at the House. "When I went there," he said,
" I did not think to have done this. But, perceiving the
Spirit of God so strong upon me, I would not consult flesh
and blood." A few hours later, in the afternoon, he was informed that the Council of State had just assembled in its
ordinary place of meeting, in Whitehall itself, under the
presidency of Bradshaw. He went to them immediately,
followed only by Harrison and Lambert. "Gentlemen," he
said, "if you are met here as private persons, you shall not
be disturbed; hut if as a Council of State, this is no place
for you; and since you can't but know what was done at the
House this morning, so take notice that the Parliament is
dissolved."  "Sir," answered Bradshaw, "we have heard
what you did at the House in the morning,.ad before many
hours all England will hear it. But, Sir, you are mistaken
to think that the Parliament is dissolved; for no power under heaven can dissolve them but themselves. Therefore
take you notice of that."  All then rose and left the room.
On the following day, the 21st of April, this announcement
appeared in the Mercurius Politgcus, which had become
Cromwell's journal: " The Lord-General delivered yesterday
in Parliament divers reasons wherefore a present period
should be put to the sitting of this Parliament, and it was
accordingly done, the Speaker and the members all departing. The grounds of which proceedings will, it is probable,
be shortly made public." And, on the same day, a crowd
collected at the door of the House to read a large placard
which had probably been placed there during the night by
some Cavalier who was overjoyed at finding his cause avenged
on the republicans by a regicide; it bore this inscription:"This House to be let, unfurnished."'
Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 194; Mercurius Politicus, No. 50, p. 238; Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth, vol. v. pp. 56-59.




APPENDIX.








AP P E ND I X.
APPENDIX I.
(Page 71.)
M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
Londres, 21 Juin, 1649.....11 s'6tait propose de conffrer quelques dignites dans le festin
qui a 0t6 fait par la ville au Parlement et aux officiers de l'armee, ce
qui a ete; remis'a un autre temps. Lorsque le speaker y arriva, le
maire de Londres vint au-devant de lui, et comme reconnaissant la
souverainetO de l'Etat en sa personne, en qualit6 de chef du Parlement, lui remit la masse et l'epee, ainsi qu'il s'est toujours ci-devant
pratique aux rois...
(Archives des affaires etrangeres de France.)
APPENDIX II.
(Page 190.)
M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
Londres, 30 Juin, 1650.
After having given an account of the assassination of Ascham, at
Madrid, he goes on to say:La nouvelle en fut sue des hier matin; et ce jourd'hui l'ambassadeur d'Espagne en a renu un expres dont il a donne avis au conseil
d'Etat, qui lui a envoy6 le maitre des c6remonies pour en savoir le
detail et remercier le roi Catholique de la diligence dont il a us6 pour
trouver les coupables, et de la justice que l'on mande qu'il en fera
faire.  Si le dit roi efit fait autant d'etat de l'envoy6 de ses messieurs
ici qu'euxmnmes en ont fait de celui de la province de Hollande, il
n'euft pas 6te loge dans une miserable hatellerie, ni abandonne de sort6
que, si le remords d'une mauvaise action n'euit aveugl6 ceux qui l'ont




322                       APPENDIX.
commise, il n'y en aurait point eu de t6moins.  Je ]e rencontrai un
peu avant qu'il partit d'ici, et parce que je le connaissais assez
famili;rement, lui dis que j'avais regret de ce que nous l'allions perdre,
que est un terme assez ordinaire'a notre langue en pareil cas; ce
qu'il expliqua comme si je lui eusse predit la meme destinee qu'a'
I)orislaiis, qui lui est arrivee; dont il fut tout 6chauff6, jusqu'a, ce
que je lui eus fait entendre ma pensee.....  Cet accident ne saurait
rien alterer de la bonne intelligence que l'on suppose etre entre cet
Etat et l'Espagne, mais plut6t fournir moyen de la cimenter dans les
remerciments et les compliments qui se feront reciproquement sur ce
sujet. Je sais qu'en toutes choses ces gens-ci la favorisent au pr6judice de la France.
(Archives des affaires 6trangBres de France.)
APPENDIX III.
(Page 192.)
I.-DELIBERATION ON THE STATE COUNCIL OF SPAIN ON THE
CONSEQUENCES OF THE ASSASSINATION OF THE ENGLISH
RESIDENT, ANTHONY ASCHAM.
Madrid, June 29, 1650.
SIRE: The Council of State, at which were present the Duke of
Medina de la Torres, Don Francisco de Melo, the Marquis of Castel
Rodrigo, and the Marquis of Valparaiso, has taken into its serious
consideration the evil effects which may accrue to your Majesty's
interests in consequence of the death of the Resident sent to this
court by the Parliament of England, and of the person who served as
his interpreter. Although this event was of such a character that it
was impossible either for your Majesty, or for your ministers, to prevent it, for no one could have believed that it could have occurred at
your Majesty's court and under your eyes, and no suspicion of it was
awakened by any indication whatever-nevertheless, the Council of
State is of opinion that the crime is of the utmost gravity on account
of the circumstances which accompanied it, as the Resident had come
hither under the favor of the shelter and protection of your Majesty.
If such a crime were left unpunished, or did not receive exemplary
chastisement, no one would believe himself in safety at your Majesty's
court. Moreover, the Parliament of England might be filled with
great resentment, and take some serious measure to obtain satisfaction,
as it is to be feared it will do. Although your Majesty has already
sent orders to the Court of Alcaldes to proceed as expeditiously as
possible in this affair, that justice may be promptly done, the Council
is of opinion that they are acting with greater slowness than the case




APPENDIX.                          323
requires; for it is an affair in which your Majesty's service and
authority are deeply interested —one of those affairs, indeed, which
should, without neglecting the requirements of justice, be despatched
more quickly than is now the case, for it cannot admit of any negotiations whatever. For all these reasons, the Council considers it to be
its duty to represent this to your Majesty, and to say that it will be
necessary, as speedily as possible, to send a new order to the President
of the Council, to declare to him that your Majesty's service requires
that this affair should be proceeded with, within the strict limits of
justice, and with as much haste and vigor as it is possible to apply to
it.  All that is done must be immediately reported to your Majesty,
for the affair requires to be expedited and decided.  Your Majesty
will order whatever it may please you to command.
II.-RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY HIS MAJESTY THE KING, IN PURSUANCE OF THE ADVICE GIVEN BY TIHE COUNCIL OF STATE,
ON THE OCCASION OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE RESIDENT OF
THE PARLIAMENT OF ENGLAND, AND WITH REGARD TO THE
PUNISHMENT OF HIIS ASSASSINS.
Madrid, October, 1650.
1. In pursuance of the deliberations of the 3d of April, on the
receipt of letters from the Duke of Medina Celi, in which he announced the arrival of the Resident of the Parliament in the port of
Cadiz, his Majesty ordered that the duke should send him forward to
Madrid, taking all necessary measures for his safety, and causing him
to travel by the roads not infested by brigands. Letters to this effect
were sent to the duke, who directed that the Resident should be accompanied by Don Diego de Moreda.
2. At another deliberation, on the 7th of June, his Majesty was
informed of the arrival of the Resident at Madrid, and of his death,
as well as that of his interpreter.  On the same day the letters of
credence were examined which the Resident was to have delivered to
his Majesty, and information was received of the arrest of the five
Englishmen who had assassinated him.  His Majesty ordered that
letters should be written to Don Alonzo de Cardefias, to inform him of
the occurrence and of the promptitude with which the assassins would
be brought to trial, and to direct him to declare to the Parliament,
that if they would send another person in the place of the assassinated
Resident, they might do so. At the same time, his Majesty decided
that an answer should be sent to the Parliament on the occasion of
this event, and that this answer should serve Don Alonzo as his credentials on other occasions. All this was done conformably to the
resolutions of his Majesty.
3. At another deliberation, on the 8th of the same month of June,




324                     APPENDIX,
the Council met in pleno to discuss the form of address to be used in
letters destined for the Parliament.  On this point, his Majesty coincided with the opinion of the Marquis of Castel Rodrigo.
4. On the 15th of June another deliberation was presented to his
Majesty, on the subject of a report from the President of the Council,
stating that the aggressors demanded that, at their trial, the scutcheon
and insignia found on the dead body underneath his clothes, should
be produced, as well as the books which he had at his house. On
this subject the Council represented to his Majesty that this should
not be done until the said objects had been, in the first instance, handed over to the secretary who accompanied the Resident, for public
faith could be observed only in this manner. The Council was of
opinion that the trial of the culprits should be regularly conducted,
but that the proceedings should be abridged as much as possible; as
to the papers which might be made public and produced at the trial,
it was for the criminal tribunal to decide, without any supreme action
or secret interference on the part of his Majesty. These are the
principles according to which it was judged fitting to proceed in this
affair, and his Majesty was pleased to give them his sanction and approval.
5. At another deliberation, on the 8th of August, the Council, by
its own movement, brought under his Majesty's consideration certain
acts of maritime warfare on the part of the Parliament; and reminded
him how powerful and irresistible the naval forces of the Parliament
are; on this occasion also, the Council remarked that it had received
no information as to the progress of the proceedings against the assassins who had murdered the Resident of the Parliament. It appeared
to the Council that there had been great delay in pronouncing upon
this affair, and executing his Majesty's orders: it was an affair which
must not be lost sight of, on account of the reasons which have been
already adduced at several deliberations; and the Council considered
that these delays might inspire the Parliament with somle resolution
that would compel his Majesty sooner or later to take measures which
he could now adopt without any embarrassment. The Council was of
opinion that his Majesty should order the President of the Council to
terminate this affair without further delay. To which his Majesty
deigned to reply in these words: "The affair is diligently pursued,
and rapidly advancing."
6. Another deliberation took place on the 3d of September, on the
subject of letters received from Don Alonzo de Cardegias, dated in the
months of June and July, as well as of a letter which the Parliament
had written to his Majesty to express their feelings with regard to the
assassination of the Resident, and their hope that his Majesty would
loyally execute justice on the murderers; for, they said, if such crimes




APPENDIX.                         325
could be committed with impunity, in his Majesty's dominions, on any
pretext whatever, they would inevitably be compelled to break off all
relations between the two countries.  These letters were read 9in pleno
concilio; and, after having reflected on Don Alonzo's statements with
regard to the forces of the Parliament, and the feeble condition of the
royalist party in England: the Council, among other recommendations
on the subject of the punishment to be inflicted on the Englishmen
who have been arrested as guilty of the assassination, represented to
his Majesty that the letter of the Parliament appeared to be an honest
and respectful declaration that war would ensue unless, in some way
or other, satisfaction were given them by the exemplary punishment
of the crime which had been committed. This letter appeared to
merit particular attention on the part of the Council, for. it was evidently written under extra-judicial and incomplete notions of the affair,
as Don Alonzo had not yet taken measures for placing in the hands of
the Parliament the letter which his Majesty had addressed to them on
the subject.  The Council, therefore, deemed it expedient to remind
his Majesty of what they had already expressed more than once,
namely, that by this assassination the royal authority and dignity of
his Majesty had received a serious injury, inasmuch as the Resident
had come into Spain, under the safeguard of the public faith, and the
protection of his Majesty; for which reasons it would be inexcusable
to let the offenders go unpunished.
7. Another deliberation took place on the 7th September, on the
subject of a letter from Don Alonzo de Cardefas, dated on the 4th of
August, in which he informed the king that the news had been publisled in London that the assassins of the Resident of the Parliament
had been restored to the sanctuary of Church; in his letter Don
Alonzo stated that the English Government was highly indignant at
this, and made loud complaints, threatening to enforce satisfaction if
it were not immediately given. On this occasion, the Council of State
a.gain represented to his Majesty how important it was, for all sorts of
reasons set forth in the deliberation, to punish the assassins of the
Resident; it can only repeat to his Majesty that it would be well for his
Majesty to deign to decide this affair as speedily as possible, by sending the letter which Don Alonzo had just written on the subject, to
the tribunal before which this affair is pending.
8. On the 9th of September there was another deliberation of the
Council in llIeno, and they transmitted to his Majesty the two deliberations above mentioned, as well as a third adopted after a special meeting. The Council discussed the question whether they should send to
Don Alonzo an acknowledgment of the reception of his despatches,
particularly of that in which he mentions the demands made by the
Parliament in regard to the title and protocol which should be used in
VOL. I.-28




326                     APPENDIX.
addressing it. The Council was of opinion that it would be advisable
for the punishment of the assassins of the Resident to precede the
despatch of an answer to Don Alonzo.  To which his Majesty
replied as follows: "Act in conformity to the opinion of the Council,
but send io answer to Don Alonzo until I give orders to that effect."
9. Finally, after the deliberation of the 15th of the present month
of October, in pleno concilio on the subject of the despatches recently
received from Don Alonzo, to the end that his Majesty should answer
the Parliament and give it the titles which it demands, or else permit
his ambassador to leave his post, and also in order to press the conclusion of the trial of the assassins of the Resident of England, his
Majesty deigned to decide as follows:" In regard to the affair of those persons who have assassinated the
Resident of the Parliament, I have given the necessary orders that
they shall be proceeded against with all possible attention and as
speedily as may be, without any contravention of the rules of justice;
for at the same time I have recommended that everything shall be
done according to the law, that there shall be no hurry, and that no
reason of State shall cause more to be done than is just and right.  I
would rather lose my dominions than fail in doing that which is my
first duty, and my Council of State will never advise me to do otherwise. If, as is probable, there should be any delay in pronouncing
the sentence, Don Alonzo shall be informed of the state in which the
affair stands, and we will send him a statement in the form proposed
by the Council."
III.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO DON GERONIMO DE LA TORRE.
London, December 20, 1650.
DEAR SIR: I was very much in want of the favor which you did
me in writing to me what you wrote in your letter of the 25th of
October, which reached me with his 3Majesty's Despatch of the 24th,
for, judging from what I see, I shall have still to wait and endure a
great deal.  The people here are impatient at finding so many delays
in receiving the satisfaction which they have demanded, and I have
no human means of appeasing them.... What gives me most pain
is to see that all my efforts will have been purely thrown away; that
the interests of his Majesty will have been compromised, and that we
shall lose the great advantage of maintaining disunion between this
government and our enemies; when a remedy is sought for the evil,
then it will be perceived that the opportunity has slipped away, and
that the orders have come too late.  I greatly fear that that unfortunate occurrence, the assassination of Ascharn, may be the cause of much
embarrassment and unpleasantness, unless punishment be immediately
inflicted on the culprits, who so voluntarily and so blindly exposed




APPENDIX. -                         327
themselves to such evident danger, and deprived us of all the adv-antages which we might otherwise have gained from England. It is
truly extraordinary that in so atrocious a case means have not yet been
found to bring it to an end, and that there should be members of the
clergy in Spain who justify the crime, without making any distinction
between particular cases and a crime so public and serious-a crime
by which his Majesty's authority is outraged, and the interests of the
State compromised, and from which immense inconveniences may probably result.
As to the war with Scotland, I may tell you that independently of
the siege of the citadel of Edinburgh, which is already very far advanced, news have been received here of another defeat which General
Cromwell has inflicted on the Scots, who have lost three thousand
men, killed, wounded, and prisoners. The news from Ireland is, that
the Catholics, finding it impossible to maintain their position, propose
to send delegates to the Parliament to attempt an accommodation with
it, and to obtain the best conditions possible.
(Archives of Simancas.)
APPENDIX IV.
(Page 193.)
I.-LOUIS XIV. TO CROMWELL.
Saint-Germain, 2 F6vrier, 1649.
MONSIEUR CROMWELL, j'ai le coeur si touche du mauvais 6tat auquel
est rdcluit mon frere, oncle et cousin, le roi de la Grande-Bretagne,
que je ne puis plus longtemps dissimuler, sans 6tre eclair6 des v6ritables intentions de ceux qui out sa personne royale en leur pouvoir, ne
pouvant pas m'imaginer que ce qui s'est dit ici puisse avoir.autre fin
que de justifier son innocence, afin de faire honte a tous ses accusateurs;
et comme vous 6tes un de ceux quiy pouvez beaucoup contribuer, jevous
ecris celle-ci en particulier, de l'avis de la reine regente notre dame et
mere, qui vous sera rendue par le sieur de Varenne, consciller de mon
conseil d'Etat et Fun de mes gentilshommes ordinaires, que j'envoie
expres pour vous faire connaitre que vous avez en main une occasion
de vous signaler, en faisant une action juste en faveur de votre souverain; en usant bien du pouvoir que les armes vous out donne sur lui,
pour le remettre dans sa dignite et dans ses droits, ce qui vous serait
avantageux par la recompense que yous auriez meritee, et par le bien
qui en reviendrait "a votre patrie, le repos de laquelle vous devriez
procurer: et ce faisant, je vous en serai oblig6, et vous donnerai de
solides effets de ma bonne volonut.  Je veux bien juger de votre in



328                       APPENDIX.
t6rieur, et croire que vous vous servirez de l'occasion pour redonner k
votre prince les marques de la grandeur et l'autorit6 qui lui appartiennent, faisant une chose fort glorieuse et qui vous rendra digne de
toutes les graces et faveurs, particulierement de la royaute, et qui vous
seront assurees par la parole que je vous ai donnee, et par ce que mes
intentions vous seront plus particulierement expliquees par M. de
Bellievre, mon ambassadeur, et par ledit Sieur de Varenne, en qui
vous prendrez toute creance.  Je m'en remets A eux de s'etendre
davantage sur-ce sujet, et cependant je prierai Dieu qu'il vous ait,
etc.
II.-LOUIS XIV. TO FAIRFAX.
2 F~vrier, 1649.
Monsieur le general Fairfax, nous avons toujours cru que vous aviez
pris le commandement des armrees d'Angleterre avec cette seule intention d'assurer le repos des peuples sous la juste et legitime domination
de leur roi, et nous ne pouvons pas nous imaginer que sa personne
royale, etant tombee sous votre pouvoir, puisse davantage etre maltrait&e, et que, si vous avez quelques raisons qui vous aient engage
d'en venir si avant, vous serez maintenant plus eclaire, et, apres avoir
reconnu ce qui est seul de sa dignite, ne perdrez pas l'occasion d'agrandir votre fortune en retablissant la sienne.  En quoi, si mes prieres
peuvent etre efficaces, et qu'il se traite quelque accommodement en la
conjonctuA preseute, non-seulement je vous en saurai gre, mais je veux
etre le garant de l'exscution des promesses qui vous seront faites par
ledit roi, mon frere, oncle et cousin; et faisant reflexion sur ce qui
vous sera plus particulierement expose par M. de BelliBvre et par le
Sieur de Varenne, je prenlds sujet de bien esperer de votre humeur
genereuse, qui donnera beaucoup d'eclat'a sa reputation, si l'innocence
du roi est manifestee; et ne pouvant m'imaginer qu'on voulit mepriser
mes instances en une chose si juste et si raisonnable, et qui me tient
au coeur par le lien du sang et de la fraternite, aussi je.me persuade
qu'aprbs avoir oui ce que j'ai mis en creance sur mon ambassadeur et
sur ledit Sieur de Varenne, vous prendrez des resolutions conformes'a
l'honneur de votre profession, et k ce que doit un sujet' son roi et,
sa patrie. Sur vos assurances, je prierai Dieu qu'il vous ait, etc.
(Mlanuscrits de Brienne.-Bibliotheque Imperiale, Paris.)




APPEINDIX.                        329
APPENDIX V.
(Pages 195, 213.)
I.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO THE KING (PHILIP IV.) OF
SPAIN.
London, January 15, 1649.
SIRE: In my despatch of the 18th December, I informed your
Majesty of what the army of the Independents had done up to that
day, since their arrival in London. Matters have since proceeded with
great rapidity, to terminate in the position in which the affairs of the
king (Charles I.) are at this moment.' He has been transferred from
Hurst Castle to Windsor, distant about twenty miles freom this place;
there he is kept confined under a strong and trusty guard; no one is
allowed to speak to him; he has been refused the materials necessary
for writing; and the small number of servants who have been left
him, have been forbidden to kneel when they serve him, and to observe in their treatment of him the customary ceremonies and forms
of respect with which he was formerly attended: in the printed publications, issued to-day, he is named simply Charles Stuart, without any
other titles. Apart from the insolence of this proceeding, there is in
it an infringement of his rights, for even if he should be deprived of
the crown of this kingdom, there would still remain to him the crowns
of Scotland and Ireland, of which the Parliament cannot strip him..
The Queen of Great Britain has written to the Parliament and to
General Fairfax, and the ambassador of France has received letters
addressed to the Parliament. It is said that it (the Parliament) has
not opened them on the ground that the address was not couched in
the form prescribed; and it is rumored that they contained a request
for a safe-conduct to take leave of the king before his Majesty is
brought to trial.
For some days, a report has been current here that an ambassador
will be sent from France to interpose on behalf of the king; but as
yet it is not stated who this ambassador will be, for the Prince of
Condr, who was mentioned as the probable envoy, will have enough
to do at home. According to the last news received here, there have
been tumults in Paris, which compelled their most Christian Majesties
to escape from that capital, on the eve of the Epiphany. In the same
manner there has been a report here-propagated, as I believe, by
persons who are friendly to the king-that your Majesty was about
to send an extraordinary ambassador for the purpose of making intercessions of the same character; and two days ago, when it became
evident that the king's cause was becoming more and more desperate,
a person, sent by other persons belonging to the royal and presbyterian
28*




330                     APPENDIX.
parties, came to me to persuade me that, as the cause of all kings was
at stake, and as it was important that monarchy should be preserved
in the person of King Charles I., it was my duty, in your Majesty's
interest, and to make good the expressions of friendship which your
Majesty has always used towards King Charles-it was my duty, I
say, to demand an audience of both Houses of Parliament and of the
Council of War, and to employ my good offices with the promptitude
which circumstances required, by declaring that your Majesty would
strongly resent the proceedings which have been taken in regard to
the king, and by making use even of threatening language; he added,
that such a step would afterwards be appreciated by the king's sons,
the probability being that the crown will revert to one of them. While
expressing my sorrow at seeing matters brought to such an extremity,
and dwelling very forcibly on the impression which the news would
cause your Majesty, I replied that I had no doubt that your Majesty
would, if necessary, appoint an extraordinary ambassador to represent
you here, or would deign to give me special orders to take the steps
suggested; but that, without such orders, I did not venture to undertake a matter of such a nature and of so much weight and importance.
This same person told me that he believed that the Queen of Great
Britain would write to me, to beg me to employ my good offices; but
I doubt whether she will do so, for it is probable that she will have
understood that, as my excuses may rest on want of instructions, I
should not fail to allege that excuse to her; especially as the queen
cannot be ignorant that, whatever exertions may be used, nothing will
prevent the Parliament and army from pursuing the course which they
have adopted towards the king. The Independents, either with a view
to conciliate the English Catholics and to prevent them from making
any demonstration in favor of the king, or because such conduct is in
accordance with the great principle of that sect, liberty of conscience,
have led the Catholics to hope for such liberty, and they have great
expectations of obtaining it, or at least of obtaining permission to
practise their worship, and the abrogation of those penal laws which
are now in force against them. This is all I have to communicate to
your Majesty....
II.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO THE KING OF SPAIN.
London, February 18, 1649.
SIRE: In my despatch of the 12th of this month, I informed your
Majesty of the melancholy end of the King of Great Britain. I
have reserved for my present letter an explanation of the turn which
the affairs of this country are likely to take. The general opinion is
that the monarchical government will give place to a popular govern



APPENDIX.                         331
ment, by the establishment of a republic, the plan of which, as I have
been assured, has already been prepared for some time, and will be
published ere long. It is also stated that the present Parliament will
only last until the end of the month of April following; it will then
dissolve, leaving a committee of twenty-five persons, or more, invested
with the supreme authority, until the first Thursday in June, at which
period it will resign its powers to a new government, composed of a
national Representative of four hundred persons, appointed by the
counties and towns of England; each electoral district will have to
elect a certain number of delegates, in conformity to the Act which
the Parliament is to pass before its dissolution; these delegates will
be, as it were, the proxies of the town or county which may choose
them, as were those who up to this time formed the House of Commons. By this arrangement, there will no longer be a Parliament,
and the body which it is proposed to create, will differ from Parliament
by the fact of its sitting permanently; but those who compose it will
be elected for only two years. It is believed that this plan has been
invented for the purpose of excluding from the government of the
country all the nobility and persons of title, unless they are elected
by sonime county or town. As the Independents did not think this
sufficient, the House of Commons decided by vote, on the 16th of this
month, that in future there should be no Upper House or House of
Lords. This is part of a system they have adopted with a view to
efface from the minds of many the grief caused by the execution of
the king, by making it appear that, when the House of Lords is once
removed from all share in the government, the affairs of the country
will remain altogether in the hands of the people, whose power and
authority will thereby be largely increased. In consequence of these
resolutions, there will be great changes made in the laws, which,
hitherto, have been framed in accordance with the monarchical constitution of the country; these changes are already under discussion,
and statutes are being prepared abrogating the ancient laws. It is
hoped that, among the laws destined to be thus abrogated, will be
included the penal laws concerning the Catholics; a matter which, if
it really occurs, must be ascribed to the special decrees of God, who
has desired to manifest the immutability of his designs by affording
relief, in ways so mysterious and unexpected, to the poor Catholics,
who have suffered such terrible persecution. Even now, thanks to
the Independents, the Catholics can appear freely in this capital and
throughout the country, without any one doing them any harm;
although it may be feared that this is only a ruse of the Independents,
in order to conciliate the Catholic party, by modifying the severities
with which they have been treated by the Presbyterians.
As the king is no longer living, and his descendants are excluded




332                     AP PENDIX,
from the throne, it appears that the credentials of all the ambassadors
are expired, and that every sovereign will have to grant new letters of
credence to his envoy, to accredit him not only to the present Parliament so long as it lasts, but also to the government which it is proposed to introduce. It appears that these credentials must be preceded
by a recognition of this Government as a lawful power, and that it
will be necessary to use appropriate formalities in addressing it, and
to treat it as a sovereign, to which title it will lay claim. As this is
a point of great importance, I have thought it my duty to call your
Majesty's attention to this subject, that you may be pleased to give
me such instructions as you may think fit. Through having anticipated these inconveniences, I thought it my duty to represent to your
Majesty, in my despatch of the 20th of August of last year, which I
transmitted through the Secretary Geronimo della Torre, that it would
be to the interest of your Majesty's service, that there should be no
ambassador here from your Majesty, but only an agent who might
give an account of all that occurred, until such time as matters resumed their stability, and it became possible to perceive in what this
Government was likely to end. Now, I am inclined to believe that,
if your Majesty adopted this resolution, we should avoid the embarrassment which could not fail to arise in case your Majesty should not
deign to recognize the Government which it is proposed to create, and
to renew my credentials; if that Government were to demand them
of me, and I could not present them, it would cease to regard me as
invested with a public character, and as the ambassador: of your
Majesty.
The States of Holland had sent two ambassadors to the Parliament
to intercede on behalf of the late king; they arrived here on the 5th
of this month, during the night preceding the day on which sentence
was pronounced against the king. On the 8th, they had an audience
of the Parliament, and proposed various combinations: they offered
their mediation on behalf of the king, who, they said, should appear
for trial whenever required, and the States engaged to give sureties
for the performance of the promise; but as this proposition was not
accepted, the ambassadors begged the Parliament to rest satisfied withl
deposing the king, and sparing his life, and to accept the Prince of
Wales as king in his stead; they offered the same mediation, and the
same sureties in relation to the accomplishment of any agreement that
might be made with the prince. But the Parliament, before even
giving an answer to the ambassadors, ordered the execution of the
sentence, and forbade all persons to proclaim the Prince of Wales,
king of England and Ireland. The ambassadors are consequently in
a state of much dissatisfaction and irritation; one of them is Adrian
de Pauw, our old friend in Holland-the same who was plenipotentiary




APPENDIX.                        333
for Holland at Munster, at the conclusion of the general peace. I
have seen them already, and have been on terms of friendship and
correspondence with them; yesterday they paid me a visit, and manifested great affection and satisfaction.
The archduke wrote me a letter on the 6th of this month; I received
it on the 10th, the day after the execution of the king; in it he
ordered me to employ my good offices with all the earnestness necessary, in requesting a delay in the king's trial until the arrival of a person whom his sovereign had resolved to send specially on his behalf.
But even if the archduke's letter had not arrived too late, it is certain
that no human efforts could have prevented the Independents from
pursuing, towards the king, the course they had once adopted: their
obstinacy in procuring his death was incredible; it was based on their
fears, for his death alone could secure them against the consequences
of the offence of which they had been guilty against him, and his
existence was an obstacle to the plans which they wish to put in execution. This was very evident, not only from the strange and violent
manner in which his trial was conducted, but also from the rapidity
with which its conclusion was hastened. On the 23d of January the
king arrived during the night in London; on the following day he was
brought to trial; on the 6th of the present month of February he
was condemned, and on the 9th he was executed; without the loss of
a single hour either for his trial or for his execution. And, indeed,
nothing less was to have been expected from his judges, for, not only
were they perfectly illegal, and without any authority to sit in judgment upon him, but they were his enemies, and the men most interested
in his ruin. No titled personage or baron took part in his trial; on
the contrary, most of them have left London; a great many have not
yet returned, and others keep themselves out of sight.  The ambassadors of France and Holland have put themselves and their households
into mourning; I have done the same; it was a mark of respect due to
the memory of the king; and besides, any one who neglected to do so
would be looked upon unfavorably. May God keep your Majesty!.I
III.-DELIBERATION OF'THE SPANISH COUNCIL OF STATE CONCERNING THE AFFAIRS OF ENGLAND.
Madrid, March 13, 1649.
(At this meeting of the Council of State, the Count of Castrillo,
and the Marquises of Castel Rodrigo and Valparaiso, took part in the
proceedings.)
Sunmary. —The  Council expressed its opinion on the contents of
the despatches of Don Alonzo de Cardefias regarding the affairs of
England, and the projects of the French against Ireland. Then follows a decision docketed in the king's handwriting, and to the follow



334                     AP'1P1ENDIX.
ing effect: " No answer shall be returned (to Don Alonzo) in reference
to the excuse which he has used for not interceding with the Parliament on behalf of King Charles I.; but his conduct shall be approved
in the negotiation with Abbe, and in his efforts to create a diversion from the projects of the French; no new powers, however, shall
be given him, for after an event so important and extraordinary as the
one in question, it is necessary, before adopting any resolution, to see
the change which will take place in the affairs of England, and to
examine what it will best suit us to do."-Executed on the 15th of
March.  GERONIMO DE LA TORRE.
SIRE: The letters of Don Alonzo de Cardefias, brought by the last
courier to your Majesty, and to the Secretary Geronimo de: la Torre,
have been laid before the Council, in conformity with your Majesty's
direction. These letters give your Majesty a detailed account of the
state of things in England, of the danger to which the king was exposed in consequence of the nomination of the judges who were to
inquire into the charges brought against him, and of the fears entertained that he would be deprived of life. They mention the rur our
which prevailed of the arrival of an extraordinary ambassador from
France to intercede with the Parliament in favor of the king; and
they state that, in consequence of this rumour, certain persons belonging to the royal and Presbyterian parties spoke to Don Alonzo to induce
him-since it was important to the cause of all kings that monarchy
should be preserved in the person of the King of England, as well as
a duty arising from the friendship which your Majesty has always
manifested for that prince-to demand an audience of the Parliament,
and to employ his good offices in your Majesty's name, stating that
your Majesty would be offended if the king were brought to trial; to
which Don Alonzo replied that he deplored the danger to which the
king was exposed, that your Majesty would feel deep grief on learning
all that had occurred, and that he had no doubt that you would send,
if necessary, an extraordinary ambassador to employ his good offices,
or would send to him personally, orders to make the representations
suggested; but that, without such orders, he did not dare to engage
in a matter of such a nature and of such great importance. The despatches of Don Alonzo further state that the Independents have given
hopes to the Catholics in relation to liberty of conscience, with a view
to secure their support, and to prevent them from making any demonstration in favor of the king.
Don Alonzo then relates the manner in which he set to work to
place Abb6, an Irishman, who came from' Paris, in communication with the Parliament. This Abbe gave them to understand, in
certain conferences which he had with a committee of five persons
specially appointed to treat this question, that the French had designs




APPENDIX.                          335
on foot against Ireland, of which the members of the committee already
had some inkling; he also communicated to them certain papers concerning this affair, and supplied them with copies of the same.
At that conference, the means were discussed of concluding
an alliance with your Majesty, either for an offensive and defensive
war, or for a defensive war only; and the members of the conference
saw no hindrance to it, except in the embarrassment of their home
affairs, which did not allow them to act as they could wish abroad.
Don Alonzo observes that, in case there is a convention to be concluded, it will be necessary for your Majesty to send him full and
sufficient powers, and a supply of money —which is indispensable,
especially when one has to deal with so interested a nation as the
English.
Don Alonzo next reports that he has done his best to induce the
English Parliament to maintain friendly relations with the Parliament
of France, and to encourage it in its resolutions; he was told that a
letter would be written to direct the English Resident in Paris to offer
the assistance of the fleet, as well as other succors. Finally, Don
Alonzo ends by saying that it would be advisable for your Majesty to
send some assistance in money to the party of the Irish clergy, as by
that means we should gain certain persons in that country; and he
adds, that Abb6 -     is striving with the greatest zeal to bring about
an agreement between the English Parliament and the kingdom of
Ireland, in order that their united forces may drive out the Scots and
Irish who are marching together under the protection of France. Don
Alonzo says that he will lend his assistance to this plan, which will
prove most advantageous to the interests of God and of your Majesty.
He enters most fully into this subject in his despatches, which the
Council lay before your Majesty, with their present deliberation.
The Council, after having conferred on the contents of these despatches, expressed the following opinions:THIE COUNT DE CASTRILLO: The first part of the despatch which
has been laid before the Council, and which was sent by Don Alonzo,
contains reports of what is passing in England, especially on the subject of the imprisonment and trial of the king, and of the catastrophe
which is expected to occur: this is an affair which, for several reasons,
may, and must give rise to profound considerations, although it no
longer requires any order or resolution on the part of your Majesty,
for it appears that any intervention or remonstrance whatever with the
Parliament, or with the tribunal appointed to judge this case, would
be inopportune if what was anticipated has already been accomplished;
it is even said that the king of England has already been beheaded.
The efforts of your Majesty would, therefore, be fruitless, and the
Count de Castrillo does not think that Spain has taken any such step




336                      APPENDIX.
on other occasions, that is, when other Kings of England have been
deposed. Besides, when the affair has once been placed on a judicial
footing, it was easy to elude any interference. Only the Count de
Castrillo could have desired that Don Alonzo should not have said that
he had no orders from your Majesty, but rather that he should have
given his questioners to understand that he was expecting orders.
There will be great need for reflection as to the answer to be sent him;
but in order not to fall into either extreme, we might, alleging as our
reasons the reports and conjectures which are current on the subject
of Don Alonzo's statement, reply that his interference would be inopportune; or we might pass this point entirely in silence. This would
not be the worst plan to adopt.
The other part of the despatch concerns the machinations of the
French, as well as the parley, negotiations, and parties of the kingdom
of Ireland-the journey which Abbe6        has recently made-the
steps taken by Don Alonzo to obtain his entrance into London, and
the report of this business and of his conduct in it.  In the first place,
lie must be approved; and as it is important, as much as possible, to
procure the failure of the projects of the French, we might reply to
Don Alonzo that he must act with this end in view, and maintain, as
he seems determined to do, for your Majesty's advantage, his friendly
relations with the members of the clergy and with the old Irish, as
well as with those who belong to their party, in all that concerns religion, for that is your Majesty's principal interest.
In the remainder of the despatch, Don Alonzo demands of your
Majesty full powers, in case it were possible, to conclude an alliance
with England.  Setting aside the fact that your Majesty is not greatly
disposed to conclude treaties with heretics (for this point is well deserving consideration), the Count de Castrillo does not think that your
Majesty should now send the full powers which are requested by Don
Alonzo. The order of things in England is not yet firmly established;
affairs are still in a period of crisis; causes of great disturbance may
yet arise; to all which must be added the affairs of France.  It appears, therefore, more becoming not to decide this mlatter at this
moment, and to reply to Don Alonzo that full powers shall not be
wanting as soon as circumstances shall render them necessary.  Let
him still continue to open the way for negotiations advantageous to
your Majesty, by thoroughly examining all things, and let him continue to report whatever occurs.
THE MARQUIS DE CASTEL RODRIGO: Although the King of England (Charles I.) behaved very ill towards your Majesty in the affair
of Portugal, and under other circumstances, all princes cannot but
deeply resent that which has happened to him, on account of the affront
offered thereby to royal dignity generally. On the other hand, the




APPENDIX.                          337
Marquis thinks that great advantages will result therefrom to your
Majesty, by reason of the hatred and distrust which must necessarily
spring up between the Independents and France, not only on account
of the ties of relationship of the king's widow with France, but also
because of the fall of the Presbyterians, who belonged to the French
party. The men now in power will always seek to put down the
patrons of the Presbyterians; and as the power of France is great,
they must apply themselves to raise up embarrassments to her
policy, and to sow divisions in her midst; this they will be better
able to do than any others, on account of their vicinity, and of their
understanding with the Huguenots. In this manner, and by this
means, we may do a great deal without appearing to do anything, as
the Marquis has already suggested to Don Luiz de Haro.  And the
Mlarquis even feels no scruple that your Majesty should assist the
Huguenots of France, for the war which their king has waged against
them, was not a war of religion, but of politics; he waged it only
against the walls of their towns, which he destroyed, leaving them the
free exercise of their religion; besides, liberty of conscience is admitted all over France.  To this must be added the great prejudice which
the internal tranquillity of France has occasioned to all Christendom,
for thereby the Catholic religion has perished in Germany, and the
island of Candia has fallen into the power of the Turks; so that all
that can possibly be done to embarrass the French seems to the Marquis to be absolutely necessary.
In the opinion of the Marquis, therefore, we should be obliged to
Don Alonzo for what he has done in this respect, and should give him
express orders to continue to act thus, and to foment these discords by
all means in his power, keeping always in communication with the
Count de Penaranda, for, even if peace should be'made, it would be
necessary to act thus in order to preserve it......... WVhen circumstances prove favorable, full powers may properly be sent to Don Alonzo.  For the present, it will be best to tell
him that they are not sent now for the reasons explained above; unless
your Majesty should think fit to transmit them to the Count lde Penaranda to be forwarded to Don Alonzo when the opportune moment arrives.
The Marquis thinks, with the Count de Castrillo, that, in the answer
to be sent to Don Alonzo, we should pass over in silence all that concerns the intervention he was requested to attempt in favor of the
king (Charles I.).
THE MARQUIS DE VALPARAISO concurred in the opinions expressed by his colleagues..... As to Don Alonzo's statement that the Parliament of England intends to offer aid to that of France, we must encourage it to do
so, and afterwards seek, by all possible means, to procure its failure,
voLr. I.-29




338                     APPENDIX.
even if it should be necessary to spend money on the matter. Don
Alonzo also should be recommended, as he has such detailed information,-from such reliable sources, regarding them ovemrents and proceedings of France, to continue to inform your Majesty of everything
without neglecting any opportunity for doing so. However, your
Majesty will ordain whatever may seem good to you.
APPENDIX VI.
(Page 197.)
I.-THE ARCHDUKE LEOPOLD (GOVERNOR OF THE NETHERLANDS) TO THE KING OF SPAIN (PHILIP IV.)
Brussels, March 4, 1649.
HENRI DE VIC, Resident of the late King of England, being on
the point of returning to the Hague, has requested me to write to his
master to express my feelings of condolence with him on the death
of his father (Charles I.), and thus to reply to two letters which he
wrote me while lie was styled the Prince of Wales. There was no
difficulty about treating with this prince until the moment when England, after having taken the life of her king and legitimate sovereign,
decided by act of parliament that she would no longer be governed by
a king, and at the same time stripped the descendants of the defunct
monarch of their lawful inheritance. As there is at this moment in
London an ambassador from your Majesty, who has not yet received
instructions as to the manner in which he is to act towards the Parliamentarians, I felt unwilling to be the first to decide the question,
how the prince is to be treated, who has been so unjustly and unlawfully despoiled of his kingdom and dominions. I have heard it stated
that the Dutch have sent delegates to express their condolence to the
prince, and that these envoys called him Sire in French, and that
once even they styled him Your ilMajesty, but pronounced the word
indistinctly, and decline to put in writing what they had said verbally.
Wherefore, I have directed the Secretary of State to explain to the
English Resident the reasons which prevented my answering the
prince's letters, and determined me to wait until my master the
Emperor and your Majesty should have first arranged this matter with
his master; I added that, if I were not here as governor of these
provinces, I should not, in my quality of a son of the Emperor and
an Archduke of the empire, refuse the prince a title conferred on him
by his birth and descent from so long a line of kings. The Resident
appeared satisfied with my answer, and sent to me to request me to
write officially to his Majesty the Emperor, and to your Majesty, to




APPENDIX.                         389
beseech you not to fail of performing this pious duty towards his master, seeing that all Europe is in suspense regarding the resolution
which the two greatest sovereigns in the world are likely to adopt on
this matter.  Your Majesty will be pleased to acquaint me with your
orders as to the manner in which I must act under these circumstances.  Until then, I shall defer any communications with a prince so
unfortunate in every respect.  God keep your Majesty!
II.-FIRST  DRAFT OF A  LETTER  FROM  THE KING OF SPAIN
(PHILIP IV.) TO THE NEWV KING OF ENGLAND.
Madrid, March 10, 1649.
News of the death of King Charles, your Majesty's father, has
reached me here from various quarters. I was filled by it with deep
feelings of grief, on account of the relationship and close friendship
which united us. I express my great grief at it to your Majesty, and,
as is just, I communicate to you the pain which that event has caused
me, as your Majesty will easily understand, by the Councillor Anthony Brun, my ambassador in the United Provinces, who will deliver
these presents to your Majesty, whom  may God have in his holy
keeping!
[This draft was afterwards modified, and sent in the following terms:-]
TtIE KING OF SPAIN TO THE KING (CHARLES II.) OF ENGLAND.
Condolence on the occasion of his father's death., April 5, 1649.
News of the sad event of the death of his Majesty King Charles,
your Majesty's father, has reached me here from various quarters: I
have been afflicted by it with the pain and sorrow which could not
fail to be provoked by circumstances so extraordinary and deplorable;
for even if there had not existed, to produce these sentiments, either
the ties of relationship or the intimate friendship which united us, I
should have found sufficiently powerful motives to grief in the excellent qualities which were combined in the person of the king, and
with which God, in his goodness, had been pleased to endow him. I
can conceive what affliction your Majesty will have felt, both on
account of your loss, and of the manner in which it occurred; I can
assure your Majesty that the affliction which I have experienced, both
on account of the event and of all its circumstances, is not inconsiderable.  I beg to express my condolence with your Majesty, and I am
sure that, thanks to your wisdom and firmness, your Majesty will be
resigned to the will of God, who disposes all things for the best; and
this is what I beg your Majesty to do. For this and for all the
rest, I depend upon what your Majesty will hear from the mouth of




340                     APPENDIX.
my councillor, Anthony Brun, who will deliver this letter to your
Majesty.
(Inside the letter is written: to the new King of England.)
III.-DELIBERATION OF THIE SPANISH COUNCIL OF STATE UPON
THE DESPATCHES OF THE SPANISH AMBASSADOR IN LONDON,
AND UPON THE POLICY TO BE PURSUED TOWARDS ENGLAND.
29th March, 1649.
SIRE: Your Majesty has deigned to command that a meeting of
the Council of State in pleno be summoned for Sunday evening to
take cognizance of the letters of Don Alonzo de Cardefias of the dates
of the 12th, 18th, and 26th of February, as well as of a letter from
the Archduke Leopold of the 4th instant. In these letters an account
is given of what has occurred to the King of England, of all the circuinstances that have taken place until the hour of his death, of the
turn that affairs are about to take in England, of the resolution of
the English to allow themselves no longer to be governed by a king,
of the exclusion of the offspring of the late king, and of their deliberations upon the form of Government to be adopted in future.....
Don Alonzo begs to be informed how he is to act in these circumstances, considering that his mission has expired; he also explains in
these letters why he has not employed his good vffices with the Parliament in favor of the king, as had been demanded of him; he states
that he has gone into mourning for the king because the representatives of France and Holland have done so; and speaks of the proclamation of the Prince of Wales as king by the Scotch.  Monseigneur,
the archduke, begs likewise to be informed in what manner he should
treat the Prince of Wales, considering that the representative of that
Prince has begged him to reply to two letters which he had sent him
on his behalf, and to address some words of consolation to him in so
sad and deplorable a conjuncture.
The Count de Monterey, the Duke of Medina de la Torres, and the
Marquises of Castel Rodrigo and Valparaiso have taken part in the
Council; the Count de Castrillo has excused himself on the plea of
ill health. The Council, after a lengthened discussion upon the contents of the said despatches, sets forth the following considerations to
your Majesty.
The matter concerning the King of England is a very extraordinary event, and one worthy of mature consideration, seeing that it is
the subjects themselves of the King of England who have deprived
him of life by such detestable means, and with no other motives than
those given by Don Alonzo in his despatches. The Council regards
this event as so evil an example, that it would be a just thing for all




APPEND)IX.                         841
princes to unite together to inflict an exemplary punishment on the
English Parliament.  At the same time the Council thinks, on the
other hand, that your Majesty would not be able to embark in it, on
account of the numerous embarrassing affairs with which you are surrounded, and of so many pressing wars in which your Majesty is engaged both in Spain and abroad: the other princes, who ought equally
to take part in it, are occupied with their own concerns, especially
the King of France, who is embarrassed by the war he has himself
stirred up, and by discords and dissensions among his own subjects,
as everybody knows; the English Parliament is so powerful that no
one could now overthrow what it has done; this same Parliament
has testified the intention of maintaining favorable relations with your
Majesty, in which, far from failing your Majesty, it has rendered you
service; further, it would serve to foment the badc understanding between the Parliament and the French, and would accord with the old
maxim according to which it is always of the greatest advantage to
Spain to live in peace with England and preserve her friendship.
Guided by these motives, the Council is of opinion that at present,
and until time should reveal some other combination, it would not be
suitable for your Majesty to introduce any change in your policy, but
that, on the contrary, it would be more advisable to maintain good
relations with the Parliament.  The Council adds that your Majesty
owed very little to- the late King of England, who, immediately after
the insurrection of Portugal, had received the ambassador of the
tyrant, forgetting the intimate friendship which bound him to your
Majesty.  All that can be done at present (in the opinion of the
Council) is to reply to the archduke, by telling him that he can answer the letters addressed to him by the Prince of Wales, giving him
the title of "your Majesty" and all his other titles; the Council is
also of opinion that, in order to act prudently towards the Parliament
who might take offence at it, it would be well that the letter (of the
archduke) should be predated, so that it might be said that it had
been written before the news was received that the Parliament had
excluded the posterity of the late king from the throne.
The Council thinks that, in the same manner, your Majesty might
address a letter to the Prince of Wales predated, expressing to him
the grief which the death of his father had occasioned your Majesty,
and telling him that this news had reached your Majesty from various
quarters, and that you were unwilling to lose a single moment in tes.
tifying your sentiments; the Council thinks that it would be well to
send this letter to the archduke, to the end that he should confide it,
together with that which his Highness shall himself write, to the
Councillor Brun, who ought to be already in Holland, or nearly there;
it would be desirable that, on the part of your Majesty, as well as on
29*,



842                      APPENDIX.
that of the Emperor, there was an expression of condolence in suitable form, and that the archduke rendered an account to your Majesty
of what resulted from it, and of everything that occurred.
The Council conceives that it would be inexpedient to make any
formal declaration, either in favor of the Prince of Wales or the Parliament, until it is known with greater certainty what course things
will take; it would be desirable to make the archduke acquainted
with these motives, so that he may conform himself to the events
which may arise. The same instructions ought to be given to Don
Alonzo, approving at the same time, of his having gone into mourning for the King of England; he should equally be told that, for the
present, no other charge should be made, and that, if any proposals
of negotiation should be made to him, he ought to listen to them with
pleasure, and reply that he would render an account of the whole to
your Majesty.  The Council think, that, for the rest, it is better that
things should go on as before, for there is no reason to think that the
Parliamentarians desire any change in their relations with Spain, nor
that they entertain any doubt about the intentions of Don Alonzo to
treat with them, seeing that the Parliament is only at the commencement of its career, and that it would best suit it to strengthen its position by the continued residence of the ambassadors of foreign powers.
If the contrary should happen, Don Alonzo will demand time for the
opportunity of informing your Majesty.  Don Alonzo should likewise
be recommended to take very particular care to inform your Majesty
daily, and in all ways, of whatever shall take place in England; it
will be necessary to write the same thing to the archduke.
The Council being of opinion that it would be desirable for your
Majesty to make some manifestation on the occasion of the death of
King Charles, thinks that the most suitable mode would be for your
Majesty to go into mourning in the same form as on the occasion of
the death of the late King Louis of France..
Your Majesty will command whatever your Majesty pleases.
IV.-DELIBERATION OF THE SPANISH COUNCIL OF STATE ON TIHE
SUBJECT OF SEVERAL LETTERS FROM DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS, TREATING OF VARIOUS MATTERS.
Madrid, 6th June, 1649.
[Written by the King's landl: " Let it be (lone in conformity with the advice of the Council. Executed at mid-day." GERONImo D)E LA ToRRE.]
SIRE: The Count of Monterey, the Duke of Medina de la Torres,
and the Marquises of Castel Rodrigo, Valparaiso, and Velada, being
present in Council, have, agreeably to the commands of your Majesty,
taken into consideration the letters of Don Alonzo de Cardefias, of
the dates of the 18th and 27th of April, and the 3d of Nlay, in




APPENDIX.                          343
which, among ether things, Don Alonzo gives a detailed account to
your Majesty of the state of English affairs at that period, of the conversation which he had held with an agent of the Parliament relative
to the desire of the Parliament to maintain friendly relations with
your Majesty, and to know if an ambassador sent by the Parliament
would be favorably received in Spain.. Don Alonzo also informs your
Majesty that he has received a letter from  Mr. Francis Cottington,
dated from the Hague, in which the latter announces to Don Alonzo
the resolution taken by his master, the Prince of Wales, of sending
him (Cottington) to Spain, accompanied by another person, for the
purpose of unfolding to your Majesty the condition of his affairs, and
of asking for your assistance; he stated that he had set out in the
month of May, and passed through Brussels.  Don Alonzo relates
also what he had said in reply.
The Council, after having examined this subject with very particular attention, considers it one of the gravest questions which could
present themselves, and is of opinion that there is occasion for your
Majesty's most prudent reflections, since the arrival of Cottington in
Spain cannot fail to lead to great inconvenience; firstly, because it is
not yet known what resolutions will be taken in France, with respect
to the same proposition which has already been, or is about to be
made by a person sent thither by the same prince (the Prince of
Wales); and next, on account of the present condition of your Majesty's affairs in the midst of the numerous trials with which it has
pleased God to visit you. The circumstance of the English Parliament having likewise proposed to send a person to Spain is attended
with equally great inconvenience. It would be undesirable to make
any declaration before the Parliament shall have well established itself,
and can offer further guarantees of its durability.  All these points
require mature and profound examination before arriving at any resolution, and it is certain that there is much to be said on both sides.
The Council, while in abstaining from expressing one at the present
time, and until circumstances require it, represents to your Majesty
that it considers it important (after the intelligence received of the
departure of F. Cottington and his companion for Spain) to despatch
a courier with all haste to the archduke to inform him of the contents of the letters of Don Alonzo de Cardeiias on the subject of
these two points, namely, the arrival of Cottington, and the question
put relative to the manner in which a person sent by the Parliament
would be received in Spain; the archduke should be told that, if Cottington arrives at Brussels, or passes through Flanders, his highness
should endeavor, in private, and with all possible address, to converse
with him, and learn (as if it were of his highness's own accord) with




8-:4                      APPENDIX.
what object he wished to repair to Spain, and with what mission he
is charged.  His highness will tell him in conversation that, considering the state of affairs, it would be more correct for him to remain at
Brussels, to put himself in communication with his highness before
proceeding further, and to acquaint him with the object of his negotiation, to the end that he might inform  your Majesty of it, and receive your reply before he (Cottington) had engaged too far in his
journey. By circuitous proceedings, and without depriving him of
hope, but, on the contrary, testifying the utmost good-will, and assuring him of your Majesty's benevolence, and what he might hope
from it, his highness could tell him how serviceable it would be, for
the restoration of the Prince of'Wales, that peace should be concluded
between France and Spain, for that this would be the secret means of
obtaining the advantages that are desired and proposed to be obtained.
In order to be able to deliberate with greater certainty, the archduke
ought to make known to your Majesty the reception events have met
with in France, what is there proposed to be done, and what reply
has been made there to the Prince of Wales's envoy.  His highness
should be made to feel of what consequence it is that Cottington and
his companion should not persist in their intention of coming to Spain,
and, if possible, that they should not come at all; at the same time
addressing them in the terms of friendship and good-will; and if, notwithstanding all the efforts of his highness, Cottington absolutely resolves to come, his highness should allow him  to do so, informing
your Majesty of what has taken place in this respect.
It will be necessary to acknowledge to Don Alonzo the reception of
his letters, and to tell him that it would have been better to have
been less positively explicit with the agent of the Parliament, who
asked him if a person sent by the Parliament would be well received
(in Spain); in the event of the question being directly renewed, let
him reply that he will communicate with your Majesty; but let him
not say that he has already done so, and let him seek, with all possible prudence and address, to avoid this subject; for the rest, Don
Alonzo can be told that he is left to his own discretion, and that it is
a question that should remain in suspense until it is known how far
the Parliament shall have established its affairs and strengthened its
power.
In case Cottington should be already on his way, and the courier
(hastened from hence) should not arrive in time (to the archduke), it
will be necessary to send orders to the authorities at Irun and Saint
Sebastianl to the effect thet, if Cottington should arrive there, he
should be detained, that your Majesty should be immediately informned
of it, and that Cottington should be made to await the reply.  Tlhis




APPENDIX.                          345
report ought to be sent by an express, and Cottington, during his detention, should be treated with every politeness.
Your MIajesty, however, will command what your Majesty pleases.
V.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO TIHE COUNT DE PENARANDA.
London, 20th June, 1649.
The despatches forwarded to his Majesty which accompany the present letter, will inform your lordship about the affairs of this country,
and the manner in which the (English) Government resolved to declare to me on the 16th instant, that if I did not present new credentials it would treat with me no longer; this resolution was taken, not
that any consideration of interest or convenience whatsoever prevented
the Parliament from continuing its relations with me, but because
natural pride, stimulated by success, fills these alen with an arrogance
which takes account of nothing.
This circumstance appears to render necessary my departure from
hence, supposing that his Majesty has taken the resolution to make
no formal declaration either in favor of the Prince of Wales or of the
Parliament, for, in this case, it would be impossible to present new
credentials. Besides, even when it might be of advantage to do so,
the single fact that the Parliamentarians have attempted to compel his
Majesty to the adoption of this step, in a manner so opposecto the
regard and respect which are due to him, requires that it should be
well considered whether it would be suitable to present credentials, at
all events so readily.  I doubt not, therefore, that his Majesty will
give orders for my departure, and in that case I hope permission to
return to Spain will be accorded me.  My health is much in need of
my native air; and this is why I have thought it proper to beg your
lordship to say a few words to that effect, if necessary, to procure for
nme what I so much require, and at the same time to cause payment
to be made of the salary due to me, and a sufficient amount for my
travelling expenses on the road. May God, &c.
VI.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO THE KING OF SPAIN.
London, 13th August, 1649.
SIRE: In my despatch of the 24th of July, I informed your Majesty that the government of this country was proposing to send to its
agent, who for two years has resided in Flanders, new credentials,
which accredit him to the archduke. I have likewise informed your
Majesty of the discontent produced here by the news of the intercourse which Councillor Brun, as your Majesty's ambassador, has held
with the Prince of Wales; the copy of the letter which your Majesty
wrote to the Prince, expressing your condolences on the occasion of




34:6                     APPENDIX.
the death of his father, has been published; the title of King of
Great Britain, which your Majesty employed, has been brought forward, as well as the manifestations and solemn reception which have
been made to the Prince in Flanders. The information which I have
now to lay before your Majesty is this, that immediately these news
reached here, the Parliamient resumed the project of sending agents
to Spain, France, and other sovereign courts and republics; but as I
have not heard, up to the present time, that credentials have yet been
sent to the agent who is at Brussels, and as I have not been informed
by advices from Flanders that the agent has presented them, it is to
be supposed that the Parliament has changed its opinion or suspended
its decision. I am told that ten days ago the question was discussed
in the Council of State, whether these persons ought to be sent as
simple agents of the Parliament, or as ambassadors; it is added that
the first sent ought to be commissioned to Spain, in the hypothesis
that he would meet with a better reception there than anywhere else;
this is inferred from my sojourn here, for it cannot be admitted that
it would be otherwise at the very time that your Majesty has an ambassador here.  In the event of the envoy of the Parliament not
being received in Spain, I should be made to leave here with the
I am assured that it has been thus decided, and that the same thing
will be done with respect to the ambassador of Holland, to whom it
is complained of bitterly that the States-General (with the exception
of the province of Holland) have not been willing to recognize the
new Republic, nor to receive as its ambassador a representative of the
Parliament, who was then at the Hague, and to whom the Parliament
had forwarded credentials, after the death of Dorislaiis, although the
ambassdwr lof the States, when he coma witkh Adrien de PAnwW to intercede in favor of the late king, was the bearer of credentials from
kkS Ssa~a9S   tn tGs PtS% tzv&,   it SJo ISTW>> th & j7` 5!DnD
supposed that he was accredited to the Crown (of England), and that
the Parliament had not yet erected itself into a sovereign power, and
had not yet changed the monarchical form of government for the
republican. The Parliament demands that this ambassador should
now present to it new credentials: disagreement on this subject.between the Parliament and the States-General begins to make itself
apparent, and it is especially increased since the vessels of the Parliament have seized a ship from Amsterdam, which was on her way to
Ireland, with a cargo of considerable value, which ship will be considered, it is said, as a fair prize, in spite of the proceedings and
threats made by the ambassador of the States-General, in order to
obtain its restitution.  From  this circumstance, the pride of these




APPENDIX.                          347
people may be judged of, and their behavior towards their neighbors,
although they may have need of them.
I have begun to take measures, through the medium  of certain
Members of Parliament who show themselves my friends, to make
these people understand, as if it originated from me alone, that it will
be of no advantage to them to press their resolution of sending some
one to Spain, and that if the envoys of the Prince of Wales do not
proceed to Spain (the Parliament people have heard it spoken of as
probable that they would proceed thither in consequence of relations
which have subsisted between the ministers of Flanders and the resident at Vic), which I have interpreted as an act of neutrality, I should
regard it as a prudent resolution on the part of the Parliament not to
hasten the despatch of its agents till the question has been maturely
considered, and until the Parliament has strengthened its affairs, and
firmly established its power. I do not know what will be the result
of my proceeding, but whatever it may be, I shall render an account
of it to your Majesty.  May God preserve your Majesty, &c.
VII.-TIIE COUNT DE PENARANDA TO DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS.
Brussels, 3d July, 1649.
* * ~ I HAVE read with very particular attention the two copies
of your despatches to his Majesty, and my opinion is, that everything
that has occurred was very natural and necessary, for from  the moment that the Parliament took the resolution to exile the king, and to
have done with royalty, what probability was there that it would be
willing to treat with a minister accredited to the king?  Your Excellency has made it known in good time in Spain; but as your Excellency has received commands from His Majesty (a copy of which has
been likewise sent to me) to furnish an account of everything, and to
alter his position in nothing, there is no room for discussion or counsel.  Yesterday a courier arrived here in great haste from Spain with
a despatch for your Excellency; I have not yet seen it, but the Secretary, Navarro, has written me a few words about its contents; the
sum of it is, that we should endeavor to prevent Cottington from going
down there (to Spain) on behalf of the King of England, and that
your Excellency in like manner should prevent an ambassador from
the Parliament going thither.  It is easy to understand the end proposed by this line of action: it is desired to remain indifferent and
neutral with respect to both parties; but there is much probability
that it will happen to us, as usually happens in such cases, that is, of
letting both parties escape, and quickly; at the same time, I do not
see what means exist, for your Excellency or ourselves, of making the
Parliament people change their opinion who wish to send ambassadors
or ministers to Spain, at least, of declaring that the king does not




348                      APPENDIX.
wish to receive them, which would be a formal rupture. I will read
the despatch, if it please God, and will not fail to tell your Excellency
what occurs to my mind.  It has come most oppqr-tunely, for this poor
devil made his entry into Brussels yesterday with a pomp equal to
that which it would have been possible to employ for the reception of
his father, if lie had taken the fancy to come here on his way to Spain.
Thereupon, I thought it my duty to make known to your Excellency
all that has taken place.
The archduke was with the army in France, near Guise, when the
English minister presented himself one day at head-quarters and laid
before them two things: first, the necessity in which his master found
himself placed of requesting six thousand doubloons in charity, and
next, the desire of a friendly interview between his king and the archduke (it is true that he has not spoken to me of either one or the
other).  The first condition of this interview was that he should come
with twenty domestics, without ceremony or reception anywhere; but,
little by little, the affair has assumed proportions which have altogether
changed its character: the minister has desired that the king should
be formally received at Anvers, here, and everywhere, with the strictest
ceremony and with as many salutes of artillery as possible.  I have
known nothing about it, for the orders must have been sent after his
highness (the archduke) had taken the field; as, however, it appeared
to me that the affair was becoming unreasonably serious, and as I
thought the king would not approve that demonstrations, so disagreeable to the Parliament, should be made here, I wrote a few words to
the secretary Navarro about it, long before reading the king's
despatches; but as the business must have been already fairly in progress, no great attention has been given to what I said.  In truth, the
English, especially this farce-actor (picarillo) of a resident, have slyly
insinuated themselves among us; and I begin to perceive that they
have two objects in view: first to arouse the jealousy of the Parliament and compel it to mistrust the king our master, and afterwards to
hold out a warning to Cardinal Mazarin by pointing out to him that
we other Spaniards have done so here without having the same obligations as the French, and without being connected by such intimate
ties of relationship.  Your Excellency will make whatever use you
think suitable of this intelligence, for, indeed, it is unreasonable that,
contrary to the intentions of the king, and to our concerns who have
so distant a communication with him, these gentlemen should believe
us fully engaged in the re-establishment of this poor King of England;
having, indeed, so much business on our hands, it would be very remarkable charity in us to excite new enemies. This is all I can say
at present on the subject; I reserve saying more about it until I shall
have made myself acquainted with his Majesty's despatch.




APPENDIX.                          349
It is announced to me that the King of England will set out from
here in two days to go in quest of his highness; I have just returned
from seeing him; his countenance resembles his father's as strongly
as possible.
VIII.-THE COUNT DE PENARANDA TO THE SECRETARY
AUG. NAVARRO.
Brussels, 5th July, 1646.
I ACKNOWLEDGE to yOU that these English fatigue me. I perceive
that they abuse our courtesy, and thatit is intentionally and altogether
in opposition with the intentions and interests of the king our master.
This is why it appeared to me to be necessary to despatch this courier
to apprise his highness and the ministers of what has occurred between them and me, so that they might act, down there, as shall seem
most suitable, and attain, if possible, what the king desires.
In the first place, it should be known, as I am assured, that the
whole of this intrigue is conducted by the grand equerry of the queen;
his name is Mr. Jermyn, an intimate favorite of the Queen of England, who implicitly follows his counsels.  This Jermyn belongs to
the Cardina-l'soterie; and all those machinations which tend to make
Ireland accept the protection of France (about which we know, however, from Don Alonzo's despatches) have been conducted on Jermyn's
suggestion, and by himself.  He is a heretic of the worst description,
who does not think so much of the interests of his master as of maintaining himself in the good graces and preserving the favor of the
cardinal, who furnishes him with the means of existence and support.
I have had two conversations with him: the first was sufficiently impertinent on his part; he exhibited his rancor against us with very
little reserve, as well as the notions and principles of the cardinal,
with which he is imbued; but the second conversation, which I held
with him yesterday evening, was more than impertinent: it was impudent, and even imprudent; for, to speak only of his least fault, every
time he mentioned the two kings, he named the King of France first,
and afterwards ours, which his master himself would not have done.
Cottington and the Resident do not conceal the discontent which this
man excites in them, and do not hesitate to let it be understood that
the king, the father of the young Prince of Wales, was lost by following the counsels of the court of Paris, and that his son will be the
same.
I have already told you what passed yesterday between myself and
Cottington; to-day the Resident came to my house, and in the course
of conversation, I found a favorable opportunity to speak to him  as
follows: "  Mr. Resident-The king Tmy master has no need of fresh
enemies, he has enough already; you know with what courtesy and
VOL.. —30




350                      APPENDIX.
benevolence the king and his highness have treated you and received
you here.  I see, and we all see, that this young king goes to the
school of France, that he is guided by a mother as French, as you
know, and that he follows the counsels of M. de Jermyn, whose intentions and dispositions you well know.  I speak to you candidly and
sincerely; the king will act very unwisely if he send ambassadors to
the king my master, being himself in France, and the ambassadors
will do well not to charge themselves with this mission. The kings
of Spain have always cultivated friendly relations, fraternity, and a
good understanding with the kings of England, as you know; but it
is altogether impossible that the King of England, a courtier of France,
and the cardinal, should not be suspected by the king my master
whilst he is engaged in such a raging war with France; even if that
should not be, it would be better for the King of England to establish
himself in some spot where he could have a court of his own, and let
the French assist him, as they wish to do so; and as the ties of relationship and alliance which unite him to the crown of France oblige
them to do; and that he should endeavor to induce this crown, out of
regard for him, to conclude an advantageous peace, without wishing
that it should be an unjust one.  Bat whilst he does not do so, I repeat to you, lie will follow very bad counsel if he sends ambassadors
to Spain, and the latter would not find themselves very well off.  I
speak frankly to you, and entirely of my own accord, for you can
plainly see that I have not been able to render any account to the king
of what I have observed here, nor to receive yet any commands from
his Majesty on this subject."
The reply was to thank me, and to say that I had spoken the most
perfect truth, assuring me at the same time that if one of the king's
ministers had been present, he would have said the same.  Such was
our conversation, in which I began to prepare the way for what the
king, our master, desires, according to the letter you wrote me; and
they cannot suspect that it comes from his Majesty, or that his Majesty
or his highness have been already pre-occupied with the subject. I
think my words have produced some effect, and that it will be easy to
accomplish the king's desire, by following the road into which I have
struck.  In my conscience, I confess to you that I fear there may be
some persons who think we have gone too far in the politeness shown
to the prince, and that it ought to be strongly recommended to Don
Alonzo not to suffer the Parliament to conceive any resentment on this
account. What can be said in reply, when it is seen that the King
of France has not yet written a single letter to this poor devil (the
Prince of WYales), nor made the slightest manifestatation for six
months that his father's head has been struck off, and when at the
same time, he (the Prince of Wales) asks and obtains from us all this




APPENDIX.                          351
that the King of France has not done?  It is perfectly certain that
it is the queen who commands her son what to do, and that she herself
receives instructions from this Jermyn, who again receives his orders
from the cardinal.
With respect to the peace, he has been very impertinent; he wished
to know in detail all that had passed, and discussed all the points with
rae as if he were some grand mediator, or some personage of great
authority in the world.  I have communicated to him the copies of
the last two letters of the nuncio and the Venetian ambassador, as
well as the replies that have been made to them.  He listens to what
is said to him, but much more to what he says himself; he speaks
very slowly.  In fine, he is one of the most wearisome personages that
I have ever known in my life.  The Resident told me that he was
going to see his highness on the part of his mnaster; so I was desirous
that the courier who is the bearer of the present should arrive there
before him.
IX.-THE COUNT DE PEN'ABR.ANIDA TO TIlE KING OF SPAIN
(P'ILIP IV.).
Brussels, 6th July, 1649.
SIRE: Whilst his highness the archduke was with the army in
France, near Guise, the English minister arrived at head-quarters; he
wished us to regard him as the man most deserving of confidence in
those things that relate to your Majesty's service, and he has spoken
to his highness of his master's strong desire to come to an understanding with your Majesty, for whom  he expresses the greatest respect.
lie announced that his master proposed repairing to Ireland, but passing through France on his way, as much for the convenience of the
journey as to have an interview with his mother; that he would visit
the caump incognito, accompanied only by twenty persons; not looking
to being received with the usual ceremony, or any eclat, and solely
with the view of seeing his highness, either at the camp or wherever
his highness might be.  The minister has further asked for a gift of
six thousand doubloons, considered as alms, and given out of commiseration, and to enable his mlaster to prosecute his journey.  His
highness communicated this proposition to an assembly at which I assisted; and although the embarrassments and inconveniences which
might result from it have been represented, especially as your Majesty's
intentions touching the interest of the prince were not known, still,
considering the form  in which the affair presented itself after the
propositions of the minister, it was thought that it would be impossible, without incurring much blame, to refuse either the interview or
the pecuniary assistance.  The minister did not speak to me upon the
subject until the matter was resolved upon; but when he did speak to




352                     APPENDIX.
me of it, I told him that this was a grave resolution taken by his
master, of going to France, he being so young, and accepting for his
guidance the instructions of the minister of a Court-whose counsels
had brought the late king to the scaffold; and this the minister himself acknowledged.  I also gave him to understand that this step
taken by the prince could not but give rise to suspicions, on account
of all those considerations with which he could not be unacquainted;
he confined himself to replying in general terms, having already
attained the object of his mission.  His highness arrived here after
the capture of Ypres; Don Francisco Cottington, and other persons,
named as envoys extraordinary from the new king to your IMajesty,
have also arrived. The reception which his highness ought to give
the prince has been discussed, and it was decided that it should take
place in the park, and without ceremony of any kind. The king
arrived at —, where his highness should have awaited him; but
the enemy having commenced a movement on the line of his highness,
he quitted that place to march by the side of the fleet, leaving preparations for the reception of the king according to the conditions agreed
upon, namely, that it should take place incognito, and without any
ceremony or publicity; but the English entirely changed what had
been agreed upon, by declaring to his highness that they wished the
king to be publicly received, the citizens to be under arms, salutes of
artillery to be fired, and other ceremonies to be observed with great
pomp. This was resolved upon whilst his highness was at camp, and
it has thus been carried into execution.
The king is accompanied by a certain M. Jermyn, grand equerry
and favorite of the queen, sent from Paris, by way of Amiens, to receive and accompany the king.  This man is a confidant of Cardinal
Mazarin's, and it is not a very bold conjecture to suppose that this
change of opinion, touching the reception of the king, was suggested
and directed by Cardinal Mazarin.  I knew nothing of these public
manifestations demanded by the English, but after having reflected
upon it I considered the matter deserving of much attention, seeing
that we have not yet learned that the French have sent any ambassador
to express their condolences to the King of England, although so
many months have already elapsed since his father's death, although
he is himself so near, and although their obligations are much greater
than any your Majesty can have. It is an intrigue which has for its
object that your Majesty should be the first sovereign to endeavor to
re-establish the King of England on his throne, and that you should
thus unseasonably expose yourself to make the English Parliament
your enemy.  It was under this sad impression that I decided to speak
to Cottington yesterday in the terms which your Majesty will be
pleased to read in the copy of the letter which I wrote the same day




APPENDIX.                          353
to the Secretary Navarro; and then the minister having called to see
me yesterday, I said to him all that is contained in the copy of the
second letter that I wrote to the Secretary Navarro. * * *
I have likewise furnished an account of the whole affair to Don
Alonzo de Cardenias, in the form which your Majesty will be pleased
to see in the inclosed letter, to the end that he should endeavor to prevent the Parliament from taking offence, and that he should uphold
their confidence until it shall please your Majesty to express your will.
This is all of which it appears to me necessary to inform your Majesty.
May God preserve your Majesty.
X. —HE ARCH-DUKE (LEOPOLD) TO THE KING OF SPAIN.
Catmbray, 8th July, 1649.
BY the courier whom your Majesty sent to me with despatches relative to the affairs of England, I have received your Majesty's letter of
the 10th ultimo, in which your Majesty orders me to endeavor to prevent Don Francisco Cottington from repairing to your dominions in
the capacity of ambassador of the King of Great Britain, and, in the
event of being unable to dissuade him therefrom, to permit him to
pursue his journey, reducing matters to the position which has been
adopted from  the beginning.  I think it my duty to remind your
Majesty that I refused the title of king to the Prince of Wales before
informing your Majesty thereof. Your Majesty replied by commanding me to accord him this title, providing that the letter should be
predated, which could not be done here (at Brussels), from whence
letters are conveyed in two days to the Hague where the King (of
England) was then staying. At the same time, your Majesty wrote
to the king to express your condolences on the occasion of his father's
death, and you have ordered the Counsellor Brun to offer (by word
of mouth) the same condolence; this the counsellor has performed at
Breda, and he will render an account of the same to your Majesty.
In order to avoid treating the Prince of Wales as king, as your Majesty has done and ordered me to do, I have sent hinm the passport he
demanded of me to proceed to his possessions in France; from thence,
as I am informed by the minister who has been here since the time of
King Charles I. his father, he means to repair to Ireland. When I
asked him why he did not set out from Holland itself, he replied that
itwas because he had not sufficient maritime force to cross the English
Channel, and also because he desired to see his mother, who is still at
Paris.  He has sent Don Francisco Cottington to me in the quality of
ambassador accredited to your Majesty. I have observed the same
etiquette towards him which the Archduke Albert observed towards
the other English ambassadors, according to the instructions which I
30*




354                      APPENI)IX.
have received on this subject from your Majesty's former ministers in
these provinces.
The king has entered Anvers, from whence he has gone to Brussels;
I shall see him at Valenciennes the day after to-morrow; from thence
he will pass through Cambray to Peronne in your Majesty's dominions. The honors due to the rank of king have been rendered
him, which it was impossible to avoid from the moment your 3Iajesty wrote to him, according him that title. By the first opportunity I shall render an account to your Majesty of what he may say
to me.
As to Cottington, whom it is sought to detain here, I have nothing
to add to what the Count de Penaranda has said in his letters to Augustin Navarro, the copies of which are annexed to the present, unless it
is that the English minister, who was here to-day, asked Navarro for
a passport for Cottington; I inquired why he wished for one, since his
master was about to enter France; I told him that he would need one
to send ambassadors to your Majesty if he were out of the territory of
France and in one of your Majesty's States, but not when he was on
the point of entering France; the minister appeared satisfied with this
observation. I shall endeavor to obtain intelligence of the manner in
which the King of England will be received in France, and will transmit it to your Majesty.
Don Alonzo de Cardefias will render an account to your Majesty of
the manner in which the English Government has- began to act towards
him in London.  He writes me that it is demanded that I shall take
an agent of the Parliament under my protection who happens to be
here. Don Alonzo sees no inconvenience in my protecting him; for
myself, I hesitate to do so, for fear it should be deemed an act of adhesion to the Parliament; the agent is, however, in sufficiently safekeeping, for those who assassinated Dr. Dorislaus have assassinated
him, not because he was an agent of the Parliament, but because he
had been a public accuser of the late King Charles. Moreover, I have
not yet resolved upon the reply to be made to Don Alonzo; both parties seek to provoke declarations which shall sanction what each desires,
the king his succession to the throne, and the Parliament its government. May God, &c.
XI.-DELIBERATION OF THE SPANISH COUNCIL OF STATE ON THE
SUBJECT OF THE TWO PRECEDING DESPATCHES FROM  THE
COUNT DE PENARANDA AND THE ARCHDUKE LEOPOLD.
Madrid, 2d August, 1649.
SIRE: The Council of State, at which the Duke de Medina de las
Torres and the Marquises of Castel-Rodrigo and Valparaiso were present, have, conformably to your Majesty's commands, taken into con



APPENDIX.                          355
sideration the two letters inclosed, one from the Archduke Leopold,
of the date of the 8th of July, and the other from the Count de Penaranda, of the 6th of the same month, as well as of the documents of
which they speak.  The two letters are in reply to what your Majesty
has deigned to write on the subject of the etiquette which the archduke
ought to observe, with respect to the King of England, on the occasions
which might present themselves.  The course which his highness has
thought proper to take has been to follow the etiquette which was
adopted by the Archduke Albert.  These letters also furnish an account of the resolution taken to conduct the new King of England
into your Majesty's dominions, and of his passage to France.  The
Count de Penaranda speaks of it at length, and sets forth inconveniences which might result therefrom  to your Majesty's service; he
speaks also of the steps that have been and are still being taken, to
prevent Cottington and another person, sent by the new king, proceeding to Spain; he finally gives an account of the conversations he has
held on this subject with Cottington and the King of England's minister at Brussels, and of the freedom with which he spoke to them.
The Council, after having long deliberated on these points, and with
all possible attention, represents to your Majesty that, in the letter
written on the 10th of April to the Archduke, it was recommended to
him to make no formal declaration either in favor of the new King of
England, or in favor of the Parliament, until it was known with greater
certainty what turn affairs should take, to the end that his highness
might be able to act in the most suitable manner in the circumstances
which should present themselves.  It was written to the archduke that
he could reply to the King of England's letters, giving him the title
of King, Majesty, and all his other titles; but it was added, for the
sake of precaution, on this subject towards the Parliament, that is to
say, not to give it offence, that the letter was to be predated, so that it
could be said that that was done before news were received that the
posterity of the defunct king had been excluded from the throne by
the Parliament.  Since then, Don Alonzo de Cardenfas has announced
that Don Francisco Cottington and another person were to come to
Spain as envoys of the new King of England, and the Archduke was
thereupon written to for the purpose of recommending him first to
endeavor, with the greatest address and all possible secrecy, to detain Cottington and learn the nature of his proposals, and afterwards
to await the reply after having rendered a full account to your
Majesty.
Although your Majesty's command has not been executed in Flanders, and a change has taken place in the aspect of the affair relative
to the journey of the King of England in that province, nevertheless




356                      APPENDIX.
the public demonstrations made there in favor of the king cannot be
disapproved; for, altlhough your IMatjesty had resolved, and although
the orders sent to Flanders and England had for their object to leave
things in abeyance, and to make no declaration either for the king or
the Parliament, seeing that it is for your Mlajesty's interest to be on
good terms with the Parliament and not to excite its displeasure; still,
if the Parliament testified any discontent at what has been done in the
king's favor at Flanders, it will be always possible to say in excuse
that the said manifestations were due to this prince in his quality of
king, proclaimed, declared, and acknowledged upon oath king of Scotland and Ireland, and that it was impossible to avoid them without
neglecting all the rules of urbanity.  Besides, if even this prince did
not bear those titles, it would have been impossible to avoid doing for
him what has been done, seeing that this was a prince passing through
your Majesty's dominions, and that it is the etiquette to make such
demonstrations in journeys of this kind, in favor of any foreign prince,
even where there is not the concourse of circumstances and titles which
are combined in the person of the King of England.
The Council is of opinion that immediately the resolution was formed
of receiving the Prince of Wales as he has been received, according to
the report contained in these letters, it would have been well to have
written to Don Alonzo de Cardefias to explain to him the motives of
these proceedings, that he might make use of them with the Parliament in the form which should appear most suitable to him.  It might
even be written to the Archduke that, in case he had not done so, he
might do so now. The same thing should be written from here to
Don Alonzo, and it should be recommended to him that, without
making any declaration or positive step, he should give the Parliament
to understand, as though it came from himself, how much satisfaction
its good-will afforded your Majesty.
His Highness the Archduke.should likewise be informed that the
best thing he can do will be to abide by the orders which have been
sent himl from hence on this subject; but that, if any other journey
or transit should present itself, the matter should be managed without
noise and with great prudence.  A letter to the same effect should
also be written to the Count de Penaranda.




APPENDIX.                            357
APPENDIX VII.
(Page 198.)
M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
23 Mai, 1650.
* * * J'ENVOIE'a V. E. des memoires des tapisseries et principaux tableaux qui sont en vente' Somerset, avec les prix qu'ils sont
estimes, plus haut neanmoins, i't ce que j'ai su, de dix schellings par
aune de tapisseries.  II a d6ja ete vendu plusieurs tableaux et entr'autres une grande V6nus de Tissian qui etait estim6e  quinze cents
livres sterling, qu'un colonel du Parlement a achetee sept cents livres
sterling seulement; c'est elle qui fut donnJe par le roi d'Espagne au
roi d'Angleterre, lors prince de Galles, en son voyage d'Espagne, que
l'on dit etre une des plus belles pieces du monde; celui qui l'a achetfe
dit quelle est trop grande pour sa chambre, et qu'il s'en deferait s'il
trouvait quelqu'un qui en ffit amoureux; mais je sais que ci qui lui
en donne envie est qu'elle parairt 6scaille et qu'il apprehende qu'elle
se gt1te,' quoi ceux qui s'y connaissent disent qu'il n'y a point de
danger pourvu qu'elle soit mani~e avec soin, et de plus qu'il est bien
aise, en cas de revolution, de n'avoir point de si grandes pieces qui ne
sont pas aise'nent transportees; on l'aurait, sinon pour le prix, pour
peu plus qu'elle ne coute. * * *
lstat de quelques tableaux exposes en vente t' la maison (le Somerset
(M;Iy 1650.)
209 tableaux estimnes en tout: 20,307 schellings,
ou 24,382 liv. 8 s.
Savoir les principaux:8 Raphbal;
24 Titien;
9 Correge;
5 Tintoret;
6 Holbeen;
5 Rubens;
15 Vandyk;
9 Jules RPomain, etc.
Sept portraits du feu roi Charles Ier, de sa femme et de ses enfanlts,
par Vandyk, estimes: 150, 60, 200, 25, 60, 30, 420 sch.
Deux satyres 6corches, du Correge, estimes chacun       1000 sch.
Les douze Cesars, du Titien,                            1200 sch.
Une petit Notre-Dame, de RaphaUl,                         800 sch.
Le Voyage d'Emaiis, du Titien,                           600 sch.




858                         APPENDIX.
L'Enterrement du Christ, par le mame,                       600 sch.
Une Notre-Dame, de RaphabIl,                              2000 sch.
La maitresse du Titien, par lui,                           100 sch.
Un Mercure qui montre! lire' Cupidon, du Correge,    800 sel.
Les cartoons de Raphal des Actes des AFptres,             300 sell.
Une grande NativitS, par Jules Romain,                     500 sobh.
Charles V., empereur, et l'impdratrice, sa femme, du
Titian,                                                   30 sch.
Une Vierge, Christ et Saint Jean, du Correge,                50 selh.
Venus et Adonis, du Titien,                                  80 sch.
Cinq dues de Venise, du Tintoret,                            25 seh.
Le due de Mantoue, par RPubens,                              30 sell.
Vandyk, par lui-mtime,                                       15 seh.
Plus 169 pieces de tapisseries, formant diverses series de tableaux
de l'Histoire Sainte, de la Mythologie et de l'-Iistoire Romaine, estim6es en tout.....  49,953 liv. st. 15 seh.
Environ..       1,248,841 liv.      5 sous.
APPENDIX VIII.
(Page 201.). M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
Londres, 10 Janvier, 1650.
* * * AUSSITOT que les ordres pour le retour de l'amrbassadeur
d'Espagne ont ete divulguds, le lord Ascham a cte nomme par le Conseil d'Etat pour aller resident en Espagne; il fut peu de temps apres
voir ledit ambassadeur, et lui faire une simple civilite, qui n'ayant, h
ce que l'on dit, et6 reque que fort froidement avec temoignage qu'il
doutait que le roi son maitre reQuft bien un envoy6 de ceux qui persecutent sans relache ceux de sa religion, le maitre des ceremonies y
a depuis ete, par ordre du Conseil d'Etat, sur la plainte faite par ledit
ambassadeur de ce qu'une compagnie de soldats, sous pretexte du
payement de quelques taxes, a ete dans sa maison, oui elle a fait plusieurs insolences, et lui porta un resultat du Conseil, signe du Parlement, dans lequel il est qualifit ambassadeur, qui desavoue l'action
dent il lui promet toute satisfaction, et de plus qu'ayant su les termnes
sur lesquels il en est de son retour, bien qu'il ne leur ait rendu aucunes
lettres de ardance, voulant recounaitre les tdmoignages d'affection qu'il
a montres'2 cet Etat, ils desirent, cn etant avertis, lui faire toutes les
civilites qu'ils pourront et qu'ils savent etre dues au ministre d'un si
puissant prince.  Le general, le jour prec6dent, sur le meme sujet de




APPENDIX.                             359
sa plainto, lui cnvoya l'adjudant general de son armee pour lui donner
les memes temoignages de satisfaction, et le pria d'envoyer quelquesuns des siens'a leur conseil de guerre pour en faire entendre le d6tail;
a quoi l'ainbassadeur dit que tout consiste. l'insolence que des gens
ont cue d'entrer dans sa maison et en violer le respect; et sur ce que
l'adjudant se de'hargea sur cc qui concerne ccux qui les ont conduits,
cornme n'etant point sujets'a leur juridiction, l'ambassadeur lui dit
que c'eitait un alderman qu'il lui nomma, qui a Je departement du
quartier ofu est sa maison, et se laissant sans doute emporter i son
ressentiment, ajouta que ce gouvernement n'a point de plus passionnes
enneinis que cet alderman et autres de Ia faction presbyterienne.
Cette resolution prise d'envoyer ledit lord Ascham  en Espagne,
justement au moment de la retraite dudit ambassadeur, qui, co semble, la devait plut6t empecher, jointe aI cc que ces messieurs-cy ont
dit plusieurs fois qu'ils ne hasarderont jrnmais d'envoyer qui que cc
soit sans 6tre assur6s de son admission, itit croire qu'ils le sont dej,
ou du moins qu'il y a tant de disposition qu'ils n'en doutent point.
II.-M. SERVIEN TO M. DE CROULLIE.
28 Jan-ier, 1650.
MONSIEUR: J'ai requ votre du 17e du courant.  Les avis que j'ai
de Madrid ne se trouvent pas fort conformes' ce qui s'est publie a
Londres de la reponse que le roi d'Espagne a faito au milord Cottington.  Vous marquez que ledit roi a repondu qu'il ne se melait point
des diff6rends entre les rois et leurs parlements, et que, sur cette pr6supposition, le maitre des ceremonies avait e6t  chez l'ambassadeur
Cardefias lui temoigner, par ordre du Parlement, quelque gratitude de
cette reponse.  Cependant la verite de la chose est que Cottington
ayant demand6 assistance de la part de son maitre au roi Catholique,
on lui avait repondu que Sa Majeste n'avait pas au monde une plus
grande passion que de pouvoir lui temoigncr, par des effets solides,
combien elle detestait l'execrable action de la niort violente du roi,
son pere; que c'etait la cause commune de tons les roi; qu'il fallait
que tous eussent continuellement dans l'esprit le dessein d'en prendre
la vengeance; que pour lui ii y contribuerait avec plaisir plus que nul
autre; mais que l'utat de ses affaires presentement ne lui pouvait permettre de donner les assistances qu'il souhaiterait qu'aprus la conclusion de la paix avec la France; qu'il avait contribue et continuerait
encore de contribuer toutes les facilites que dependraient de lui pour
l'avancement de cette paix; mais qu'il fallait que S. M. B. tournat ses
offices du c6t6 de la France, pour la presser de se relicher sur divers
points essentiels du traite, et particulierement sur la restitution de la
Catalogue; et que, s'il obtenait cela de nous, il pouvait ietre assure
que, quand meme la France ne concourrait point i son retablissement,




O860                        Ai~~iJPPN trbI
ii lui donnerait de beiles assistances d'argent, d'hommes et de vaisseaux, qu'il ne serait pas longtemps sans avoir mis tous ses sujets a
la raison, et sans se voir avee autant de puissance et d'autorite que
ses pred'cesseurs en aient jamais eu.
Voila la pure verite des negotiations qu'a eues jusques ici le milord
Cottington, que je sais d'un lieu a n'en pouvoir doubter.  J'ai et6
bien aise de vous en informer afin que vous vous en prevaliez des del'
pour le service du roi; d'autant plus que je suis averti par la mIme
personne que le roi d'Espagne envoie ordre a Cardenias de deguiser le
fait de toute autre fa(on, et d'insinuer aux principaux du Parlement
que la France s'est relachee depuis peu de beaucoup de points essentiels de la paix generale, afin d'etre bientot en etat de travailler de
toutes ses forces au retablissement du roi de la Grande-Bretagne; que,
pour lui, il etait resolu de continuer la guerre jusqu'a ce qu'il eut
recouvre5 tout ce qu'il avait perdu, mais qu'il fallait en'change que le
Parlement d'Angleterre lui en donnat le moyen en fomentant la sedition de Bordeaux, et lui donnant des assistances sous main, parce
qu'autrement il serait contraint de prendre son parti, et d'accepter les
conditions avantageuses quo la France lui offrait.
Maintenant que vous serez informe de cc que Cardenas a charge
d'insinuer dans les esprits de dela, vous aurez beau champ de faire
une contre-batterie en publiant la verite du fait, qui est tout autre que
se qu'il dira, et faisant connalitre que cette couronne est resolue de
tenir ferme sur les points du traite qui sont encore contentieux, et
notamment sur la restitution de la Catalogne; mais que, pour nous
fortiier dans cette resolution, il faudrait que le Parleinent d'Angleterre nous fournit sous main quelques assistances d'hommes ou d'argent,
pour nous donner moyen de nous defendre des grands preparatifs que
les Espagnols font pour nous attaquer de tous c6tes la campagne
prochaine.
Cependant qu'il serait assez difficile dans la disposition ou sont les
esprits de deli, d'en tirer ces sortes d'assistances, il faut au moins que
vous ayez toujours pour but d'empecher qu'ils n'en donnent aux ennemis, sur les fausses suppositions que Cardefias leur fera. Je ne
m'etendrai pas davantage sur ce sujet, remnettant a votre prudence ct
a votre adresse d'cn tirer le fiuit qui se pourra, et, comme je dis, en
tous cas nous garantir des pr6judices que les artifices de Cardefias nous
pourraient faire.
La meme personne me marque que le Roi d'Espagne a donne ordre
a Cardefias de se gardcr bien de donner aucun ecrit, ni de traiter tout
ceci que, comme il le dit, extrjuditcialtmente, se contentant de parler
en secret aux principaux du Parlement, sans faire aucun acte positif;
et vous verrez en effct qu'il se conduira de cette sorte, ce qui vous fera
juger combien a eu peu de fondement la question de ceux qui vous




APPENDIX.                           361
ont demande si vous aviez order, aussitot que l'ambassadeur d'Espagne
aurait present6 des lettres de creance et demande audience, de faire
de mrne.  I1 ne se peut rien de plus avis6 que la reponse que vous
avez faite a cette question; cependant leurs MM. desirent que vous
vous conduisiez avec la meme circonspection que le roi d'Espagne
ordonne a son ministre.
On me marque encore que Cardenas a ordre d'unir, autant qu'il le
pourra, le Parlement d'Angleterre avec la province de Hollande en
particulier: ce qui vous doit obliger k une conduite contraire, sans
pourtant paraitre; me remettant, sur ce point, a ce qui vous aura 6t0
mande par le sieur Brasset, en consequence des deppches que je lui ai
6crites.
APPENDIX IX.
(Page 202.)
I.-M. SERVIEN TO M. DE CROULLE.
6 Novembre, 1649.
MONSIEUR: J'ai requ vos lettres auxquelles pour r6ponse je vous
dirai qu'il faut que vous insinuiez toujours de deli qu'on ne songe ici
qu'a entretenir une bonne correspondance avec l'Angleterre, et h
remedier h tout cc qui pourrait avoir apporte de la difficult6 au commerce, et cause mauvaise satisfaction. Mais pendant qu'on travaille
ici a donner bon ordre h tout, il est juste qu'on fasse de meme h Londres, et on verra s'il y a de l'artifice et de la dissimulation en nos
paroles lorsqu'elles portent assurance qu'on veut vivre en une parfaite
intelligence avec l'Angleterre.
On a renouvele avec tant de rigueur les ordres pour toute la navigation, et pour reparer les dommages que M. Augier a represente que
divers marchands avaient regus, que je suis assure que les plus critiques
et mal-affectionnes h cette couronne seront obliges d'avouer qu'on veut
entierement remedier h tout ce qui peut alterer la bonne correspondance qui est entre les deux royaumes.
Si, apres l'expedition d'Irlande, M. Cromwell vient en France,
6tant, comme il est, personne de m(rite, il y sera bien regu, car assur&ment tout le monde l'ira recevoir au lieu oui il debarquera; mais je
ne crois pas qu'on lui conseille d'entreprendre un semblable voyage.
On m'assure de Bruxelles que l'ambassadeur d'Espagne, qui est h
Londres, sera rappel6 sous pretexte que l'archiduc a des affaires a conf(rer avec lui. Je vous prie de ne perdre aucune conjoncture pour
donner au Parlement les dernitres defiances des Espagnols, ce que je
VOL. I.-31




362                        APPENDIX.
ne doute pas que vous fassiez fortement et adroitement en toutes sortes
de rencontres.
II.-M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
Londres, 15 Novembre, 1649..... AINSI, monseigneur, j'ai lieu de perseverer dans ma
creance que l'on ne traitera d'aucune chose, je ne dis pas sans reconnaissance, mais du moins sans une adresse particuliere au parlement
d'Angleterre, qui de cette sorte, ayant e6t ci-devant faite du vivant du
defunt roi d'Angleterre, pourrait 6tre prise comme une suite et non
pas comme une nouveaute, leur reconnaissance ne pouvant etre inf6ree
que de l'admission de leurs ambassadeurs, s'ils en envoyaient, et non pas
d'une simple lettre du roi, qui, portant dans cette mauvaise conjonc(ture
de temps les affaires dans l'adoucissement, pourrait 8tre d'un plus grand
avantage au roi d'Angleterre umime que ne saurait etre la mauvaise intelligence avec la France,     - laquelle on n'a ici que trop de disposition;
la suite qui en pourrait etre apprehendee est que bient6t apris ils n'envoyassent, et que par ai on ne tombat dans l'embarras que l'on veut
6viter.
[The same letter goes on to say:-].... Ce qui se dit du dessein de Cromwell de passer en France
procede de ceux qui le desirent pour de differerts interits; et pour ce
on lui fait dire quantite de choses quo j'ai toujours ne'glig6 d'ecrire
comme ktant sans certitude et sans apparence, et entre autres que, regardant ses cheveux de6j;  blanchis, il a dit que, s'il avait dix ans de
moins, ii n'y a point de roi dans l'Europe qu'il ne fit trembler, et
qu'ayant un neilleur motif que le defunt roi de Suede, il se croyait
encore capable de faire plus pour le bien des peuples que n'a jamais
fait l'autre pour son ambition.
III.-M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MIAZARIN.
Londres, 6 Dec6mbre, 1649.
MONSEIGNEUR: Je regus samedi au soir la lettre dont il a plu a
Votre Eminence de m'honorer du 26 du passe, qui me fut apportee de
la poste toute ouverte, ou' elle avait ete reportee au conseil d'Etat,
apr6s y avoir demeuer depuis le mercredi au soir. Le respect n'ayant
pas ete g:lrde pour ce qui venait de Votre Eminence, je ne dois pas
trouver a redire que toutes mes autres lettres aient eu la meme destinee;
mais bien que, quclques omnbrages quo ces messieurs ici puissent avoir,
ils se soient oublies jusqu'a en user de telle sorte, apres avoir bien examin6 en moi-miNme de quelle sorte je devais me comporter, j'ai juge
que le meilleur Btait de le passer sous silence, ayant su que le conseil




APPENI)IX.                           363
d'Etat n'aurait pas mieux aim6 sinon que j'en cusse fait bruit, afin
d'avoir pretexte h me demander en vertu de quoi et de quelle autorit6
je suis ici, et de 1 prendre occasion de faire querelle, que j'eviterai
avec autant de soin que j'apporterais de resolution si j'etais dans un
temps ou l'on dfit tnmoigner tous ses ressentimnents, ou qu'il me ffit
commande de la faire.  Votre Eminence, monseigneur, jugera bien
que c'est leur but de ce qu'ayant propose mnoi-mnme' quelqu'un qu'en
cas que mes lettres eussent ete ouvertes, on les fit recacheter et que
je les prendrais comme sans m'en apercevoir, ils n'ont pas seulement
voulu se servir de cet expedient, mais qu'elles m'aient ete rendues
toutes ouvertes, afin que je ne pussc douter qu'ils l'ont ainsi voulu..... Je passe plus avant que je n'ai fait ci-devant, et dis que nonseulement nous ne pouvons esperer aucune correspondance avec ces
messieurs ici, s'il ne leur est rendu une lettre du roi qui antorise de
traiter avec eux, mais que sans cela nous ne devons presque pas douter
d'une prompte rupture.  Les causes qui les y obligent sont assez connues, il me serait superflu d'en faire une deduction; mais, pour les
cacher d'un pretexte specieux, ils ne manqueront pas de se servir de
celui de la religion, et pour ce de ne rien omettre pour obliger ceux de
la leur de remuer en France, afin de pouvoir aussitot accourir'a leur
secours.  Pour cet effet, l'on re'assure qu'il y a quantite d'emissaires,
plusieurs de Jersey et Guernesey, qui passent pour Nornlands, et quelqucs autres encore, entre lesquels on dit etre un mtdecin allemand
dont je tacherai d'apprendre le nom et de quelle fa;on il est fait, qui
ne travaillent qu'a les pousser a se soulever par la promesse d'un grand
secours dont ils les assurent.  De ce c6te ici, outre ce l'on soupgonne
fort qu'ils ont requ des lettres de Bordeaux qui les apellent; et quoqu'il n'en soit venu personne expres, c'est une chose assez facile' negocier parce qu'il y a ici quantit6 de marchands de cc pays-hl qui sont
de la religion, et mmrne des catholiques, par le moyen desquels la chose
peut etre aussi adroitement et plus secretement fait que par un envoye.
Un gentilhomme m'a assure que l'on lui a offert emploi pour ce pays-l,
et qu'il y en a plusieurs de sa connaissance qui y sont engages, et qui.avaient ete arretes par Cromwell, des auparavant son depart, par la
promesse de cet emploi. Autant que ma faible lumiere peut me donner de jour, je ne vois pas que l'on puisse eviter en France ou de s'accommoder ou de rompre avec ces gens ici dans fort peu de temps, si ce
n'est que l'on lcur puisse procurer d'ailleurs taut d'affaires qu'ils n'aient
pas le loisir de penser'a celles des autres.  Cet accommodement, si
l'on en prenait la resolution, serait un mnoyen de divertir l'orage qui se
forme, et comme la necessite l'aurait fait faire dans un temps, la raison
dans un autre serait assez forte pour s'en departir.  Si cela etait, je
pourrais peut-6tre tirer assurance que l'on n'enverrait point si t6t d'ambassadeur en France, ou du moins qu'ils n'en eussent auparavant de



364                        APPENDIX.
pIche un en Espagne, dont la proposition peut-etre assez appuyee de
l'honnetete publique qui y repugnerait, la reine de la Grande-Bretagne
6tant presente et en etant fille. Sur ce que plusieurs leur ont objecte,
mais non pas moi, qu'il faut, avant que de pouvoir etre reconnus par
]es princes et Etats, qu'ils leur fassent savoir par des ambassadeurs ce
qu'ils sont, deux des plus considerables du conseil d'Etat, avec lesquels
j'6tais en discours il y a quelques jours, me dirent que ce qu'ils avaient
fait etant public, personne ne le pouvait ignorer, et qu'encore qu'ils
n'en aient pas averti les princes par des ambassadeurs, ce n'est pas
qu'ils ne le voulussent bien, et que pour ce, si l'on les veut assurer
qu'ils scront admis, ils en enverront partout avant qu'il soit huit jours,
mais que de les hasarder dans l'incertitude, c'est ce qu'ils ne feront
jamais; que des lors qu'ils seront recherches par la France, ou que
l'on y voudra recevoir leurs ambassadeurs, ils seront tout prets de renouveler tous les trait6s d'alliance d'entre les nations; mais que de se
tenir toujours dans l'incertitude, et d'attendre notre temps pour cependant perdre le leur, c'est ce qu'ils ne feront point, et qu'il leur faut
necessairement etre uns ou autres; que pour temoigner que leur intention est telle, aussit6t que les defenses de ce qui concerne le negoce
auront et6 r6voquees en France, ils feront le meme, dont ils me donnaient leur parole; que leur interet, disent-ils, les y porte assez; mais
que neanmoins celui de J'observation de leurs resolutions prevaudra a
tout autre.
IV. —M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
Londres, 7 Novembre, 1650..... CE que m'ecrit M. le comte de Brienne m'apprend qu'en cas
que ces gens-ci envoient en France, l'on est resolu d'ecouter et de recevoir leur envoye, mais non pas assurement connaitre si, pour prevenir l'union que l'on croit toujours qui se conclura bientot entre eux et
l'Espagne, on desirerait qu'ils le fissent; en ce cas, je pense que, si la
crainte de n'etre pas bien retus les a jusqu'ici retenus, quand ils seront
assures du contraire, ce qui se pourrait faire adroitement et sans qu'il
parfit que la recherche en vint du co6t de la France, il serait aise de
les y porter et de faire choisir quelqu'un qui, s'il n'etait pas des plus
affectionnes, du moins aurait la disposition de le devenir; et lors j'ose
presque assurer qu'en leur 6tant cette jalousie qu'ils ont, il serait fort
facile d'accommoder tout cela, et qu'ils se contenteraient, pour la satisfaction des demandes qui serviraient de pretextes h leur envoi, de faire
compensation pour partieavec les prises qu'ils ont faites, et pour le surplus de prendre des assurances, plutot pour la forme que pour le retirer,
ne faisant point de doute que, bien qu'ils affectent l'indifference sur la
reconnaissance de tous les princes, ils achbteraient pourtant celle de
France avec une amitie ferme beaucoup plus quetout cela.




APPENDIX.                           365
Ainsi, monseignetur, par la connaissance que V. E. a des inte'rets des
Etats et la particuliere de celui-ci,  l]aquelle tout cc que je puis lui
mander n'ajoute aucune lulniere dans la bonne posture oui il se trouve,
elle jugera, s'il lui plait, s'il est ou non du bien de la France de s'accommoder avec eux.  Leur nouvelle Republique se fortifie de tous
c6tes; l'Angleterre est toute paisible, sans qu'il y ait un seul pouce de
terre qui ne les reconnaisse, et ne soit bien assure; l'Irlande est presque toute assujettie, et outre les intelligences qu'ils ont en Ecosse, elle
a regu de si grandes pertes qu'il ne se penut qu'elle n'en soit tres-affaiblie.  Les Ecossais de plus sont divises entre eux, et il semble que
toutes choses ensemble concourent ~A l'affermissement de ces gens-ci et
a la perte tant du roi de la Grande-Bretagne que de ceux qui se joignent h lui.  De plus ils sont puissants par mer et par terre; ils vivent
sans ostentation et sans faste, sans emulation etre eux, epargnent pour
leur particulier et prodiguent pour leurs affaires publiques auxquelles
chacun travaille comme dans les siennes propres; ils ont grande quantite d'argent qu'ils administrent bien, observent une tressevere discipline, recompensent bien et punissent severemcnt.  Je sais bien que,
dans le dessein dont ils ne se cachent point de vouloir detruire toutes
les monarchies, tous les princes sont interesses'a les perdre,'a quoi leurs
crimes obligent tout le monde en general de contribuer; mais je pense
que, n'etant pas encore en etat de le faire, il est meilleur de conniver
pour un temps et les retenir, qu'en se tenant trop fermes les porter k
faire ce dont les ennemis de la France ne manqueraient de se prevaloir.
Pour ajouter'a mon sentiment et a celui de beaucoup d'honnetes gens
celui que l'on public, je vous dirai que l'on tient ici la guerre avec la
France si infaillible que, si l'on voulait y faire des gageures sur ce sujet,
on le pourrait pour de grandes sommes, qu'avant qu'il soit la fin du
printemps les Anglais auront une armee de France.......
V.-DON ALONZO DE CARDERAS TO KING PHILIP IV.
London, August 13, 1649.
SIRE: In my despatch of the 24th of July, I informed your Majesty
that the government of this country intended to send their agent, who
has resided in Flanders for two years, new letters of credence, accrediting him to the archduke.  I also informed your Majesty of the discontent occasioned here by the news of the dealings which Councillor Brun,
as your Majesty's ambassador, has had with the Prince of Wales; the
letter which your Majesty wrote to the prince, to express your condolence with him on the death of his father, has been published; many
remarlks have been made regarding the title of King of Great Britain,
which your Aajesty used in addressing him, and regarding the solemn
reception which has been given to the prince in Flanders. What I
31*




366                      APPENDIX.
now have to communicate to your Majesty is that, as soon as this news
arrived here, the Parliament resumed its plan of sending agents into
Spain and France, and to other republics and sovereign courts; but
as I have not yet heard it stated that credentials have positively been
sent to the agent, who is at Brussels, and as I have not received information from Flanders that the agent has presented them, it is to be
supposed that the Parliament has either changed its purpose, or suspended its decision.  I am told that for the last ten days, the Council
of State has been discussing the question whether they should send
these persons as simple agents, or as ambassadors; it is added that the
first who is sent will be sent into Spain, on the supposition that he will
be better received there than anywhere, else, which is inferred from
my staying here, for it cannot be admitted to be otherwise, seeing that
your Majesty has an ambassador in this place. In case the envoy of
the Parliament should not be received in Spain, I should be despatched
hence with the least possible delay. I am assured that it has been so
decided, and that the same course will be pursued towards the ambassador of Holland, to whom bitter complaints have been made, that the
States-General (with the exception of the province of Holland), have
refused to recognize the new Commonwealth, or to acknowledge as its
ambassador an envoy from the Parliament, who was at the Hague, to
whom the Parliament had sent letters of credence, after the death of
Dorislaus; although the ambassador of the States, when he came with
Adrian Pauw, to intercede on behalf of the late king, was the bearer
of credentials from the States-General to the Parliament.  It is true
that then it was supposed that he was accredited to the Crown [of
England], and that the Parliament had not yet erected itself into a
sovereign power, and had not yet changed monarchical government
into republican. The Parliament demands that this ambassador should
now present to it new letters of credence; some discontent on this
subject is beginning to manifest itself between the Parliament and the
States-General, and it has greatly increased since the ships of the Parliament seized a vessel belonging to Amsterdam, which was on its way
to Ireland with a cargo of considerable value; which ship, it is said,
will be considered a fair prize, in spite of the endeavors and threats
used by the ambassador of the States-General to obtain its restitution.
You may judge, by this fact of the pride of these people, and of their
proceedings towards their neighbors, though they stand in need of
them.
I have begun to take steps, by means of certain members of Parliament, who have proved themselves my friends, to intimate to these
people, as if it were my opinion only, that it is of no advantage to
them to hasten their resolution to send some one into Spain; and
that if the envoys of the Prince of Wales do not go into Spain (the




APPENDIX.                          367
Parliamentarians had heard it said that it was probable they would
do so, in consequence of the relations which the ministers of Flanders
have had with the Resident Vie; which I have interpreted as an act
of neutrality), I should regard it as a prudent resolution on the part
of the Parliament not to hurry the despatch of their agents, until the
question is fully matured, and the Parliament has thoroughly established its power, and consolidated its affairs. I do not know what
will be the result of my proceeding, but whatever it is, I shall inform
your Majesty.
May God keep your Majesty, &c.
VI.-DELIBERATION OF THE SPANISH COUNCIL OF STATE ON THE
AFFAIRS OF ENGLAND.
Madrid, October 9, 1649.
[The Council was attended by the Count de Monterey, Don Francisco de
Melo, and the Marquis de Valparaiso.]
SIRE: In conformity with your Majesty's orders, the Council has
taken into consideration the two letters of Don Alonzo de Cardefias,
dated August 13th, in which among other things, he speaks of the
resolution which the Parliament of England had adopted, to send
residents or ambassadors to Spain, France, and other States.  He
says also that Cromwell had not yet started for Ireland, and that it
was believed that, if he went thither, the presbyterians would take
advantage of his absence to recover what they have lost, and would
put themselves in communication with Ormonde; he further states
that the troops of the Prince of Wales, under the command of Inchiquin, had taken Tredagh by storm, and that Ormonde was encamped
before Dublin. The Council, after having examined these various
points, gave the following opinion:The Count de Monterey thinks that the best thing that can be done
for the king's service in relation to England, is not to declare for
either the King or the Parliament, until we see what turn affairs are
likely to take, and what party will have the upper hand; and that itwould even be better for the Parliament party to triumph over the
King's party, not only because of the few obligations we are under to
his father, but because we might obtain greater advantages from the
Parliament. It had already become known that the new King of
England was about to send Don Francis Cottington and another ambassador to the Court; and your Majesty had resolved to write to his
highness the archduke (as has been already done) to direct him, if
those persons passed through Flanders, to endeavor to learn what
their instructions are, and to report whatever he might ascertain; that
moreover, the archduke should endeavor to detain them until he had
received an answer from this place; but that, if they absolutely in



,365-                   BAPPE )NDIX.
sisted on continuing their journey, he should allow them to proceed.
On the other hand, orders have been sent to the functionaries in Guipuzcoa that, if these persons should come thither, they should detain
them by treating them with all sorts of politeness, and that they also
are to wait your Majesty's answer.  The Count is of opinion that the
same course might be pursued towards the persons whom the Parliament may send, by despatching orders to the same effect into Flanders, in case those ambassadors should pass that way, as well as to
Don Alonzo de Cardeafas and to the ports of Spain. When it afterwar(ls becomes necessary to adopt a definitive resolution, your Majesty
will please to order Don Alonzo de Cardenias to send exact information
of the forces which the Parliament has at its disposal, and of the extent to which its government is established: Don Alonzo will also
inform your Majesty of the number of the king's forces, and what he
may have in England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as from his
allies.
Don Francisco de Melo is of the same opinion as the Count de
Monterey; he adds that he believes that the affairs of England must
be treated without any fixed principle, and without any determination
on the part of your Majesty. On the question as to whether it would be
more suitable to your Majesty to see the king restored or a republican
government established in that country, or that the conflict between
the two parties should be prolonged; he thinks that it is the moment
to derive from that quarter some advantage to counterbalance the revolt
of Portugal and the conquests of England; he would desire to know
what your Majesty may be pleased to order for the attainment of this
object.
The Marquis de Valparaiso concurs in the opinion of the Count de
Monterey.  Your Majesty will be pleased to ordain what may seem
to you most suitable.
[Subscribed in the King's handwriting: "Let the opinion of the Council be
followed."]
APPENDIX X.
(Page 213.)
NOTE PRESENTED TO KING PHILIP THE FOURTH BY LORD COTTINGTON AND SIR EDWARVD HYDE, AMBASSADORS OF CIIARLES
TH1E SECOND.
May, 1650.
SIRE: We are persuaded that your Majesty is well convinced of
our entire devotedness to your service, and that since we have had the




APPENDIX.                          369
honor to be received at this Court we have, as doth become faithful
servants of your Majesty, combined with zeal for the cause of the king
our master the respect and consideration due unto your Majesty,
taking care to propose no measures which could be an embarrassment
to your Majesty or an advantage to your enemies. We have ever
relied upon the firm hope that when God in His great mercy shall
have inclined the hearts of your enemies to a just peace, and shall
have relieved you of the war which you now have to support, your
Majesty will not fail to bestow a friendly consideration on the just
cause of the king of Great Britain, and support it with a vigor which
will correspond with your Majesty's royal and Christain-like disposition, and that in the meanwhile your Majesty will lend unto the King
our master such assistance as the affairs of your kingdom will permit,
and that you will encourage him to maintain the confidence which he
has displayed in throwing himself into the arms of your Majesty, resolved to contract no other friendship than such as shall accord with
the sympathy which he professes for the Catholic religion and your
Iajesty's interests. This devotedness for the service of your Majesty,
which is ever combined in us with zeal and solicitude for the honor
and advancement of the king our master, obliges us to convey to you
information that has reached us of the landing in Andalusia of a person who has been sent as an agent by the cruel and bloodthirsty rebels
in England, and that he is on his way to this Court with l-etters addressed by these assassins to your Majesty.  We have learned that
his chiefest purpose is to corrupt such Englishmen as, by virtue of
treaties, are resident in this kingdom, and to cause them to renounce
the fidelity and allegiance which they owe to their king, as well as by
proposing to them certain oaths, the formula of which he brings with
him, as by aid of menaces and other devices. It is easy to believe
that he will also have received among his instructions the one of endeavoring to infuse into the minds of your Majesty's subjects the
same poison, to persuade them to the same contagious doctrine which
inculcates the hatred of all government, of all authority, more especially that of kings, and to inculcate them with the levelling and
anarchical spirit. This person does not pretend to have been sent by
any usurper in arms against his king; he comes in the name of that
infamous populace which has deserted the dignity and sacred office of
kings to the contempt and cruelty of a rabble, and which has plunged
its hands into the blood of its crowned and anointed king with no
other pretext, no other reason than that he was king. These men
publicly proclaim their enmity to all monarchical government, and in
the very statute, or act of parliament as they call it, by which they
attempted to overwhelm and annihilate monarchical government in
England, they attack all other monarchies, but especially, and with a




370                      APPENDIX.
remarkable malignity and insolence, the sacred person of your Majesty,
and comment with an intolerable arrogance upon the just and prudent
conduct of your Majesty in your kingdom  of Naples; thus attempting to seduce the subjects of your realm.  Lest it may happen that
your 1Majesty be not sufficiently informed of the foregoing, we shall
forward, at your Majesty's command, a copy of the act of which we
speak.
We are too well informed and too firmly persuaded of the horror
with which your royal heart is filled against these rebels and regicides
to fear that you would consent to grant to this person a reception of
such a kind as would be any credit to those who have sent him; and
we cannot imagine that your Most Catholic Majesty, being the first
and only prince to whom the king our master has offered not only a
perpetual friendship, but also all that he has and all that he hopes
for, could be the first and only sovereign to bestow, by his favors, a
dignity and importance to this new government and the authority of
the rebels, who have so odiously murdered the father of their king.
It is on this account that we present ourselves humbly before your
Majesty, and as devoted servants suggest, that while this individual
continues in the realm  of your Majesty it is necessary that his conduct, his negotiations, and his intrigues, be vigilantly watched, lest
he may exercise a calamitous'influence on the peace and tranquillity
of this kingdom  and of your Majesty.   We therefore beseech of
your Majesty, on the part of our master and in the name of his dignity, that the person may not enjoy in this Court either access or any
such favors as may attract to him the English residing in your Majesty's kingdom, and enable him by their help to corrupt them and
seduce them fiom the fidelity which they owe to their legitimate sovereign; a matter which would speedily come to pass if these Englishmen were to find protection here by any other intervention than that
of the king.our master.
May God protect and prosper your Most Catholic person as we desire and as the entire world needs.
COTTINGTON.
HYDE.
*** As I have been unable to discover the English original of this document, the above is translated from the Spanish copy in the Archives of Sirtancas.-TRANSLATOR.




APPENDIX.                          371
APPENDIX XI.
(Page 213.)
I.-FIRST DELIBERATION OF THE SPANISTH COUNCIL OF STATE ON
THE DEMANDS OF THE AMBASSADORS OF CHARLES THE SECOND.
Madrid, 10th May, 1650.
[The Council of State, at which Don Francisco de Melo, and the Marquis de
Valparaiso were present, give the following opinion on the contents of the
document presented by the envoys of the King of England.]
SIRE: In conformity with the orders of your Majesty, dated the
24th of April last, at a Council at which were present Don Francisco de Melo and the Marquis de Valparaiso, we have taken into
consideration the document presented to your Majesty by the envoys
of the King of Great Britain.  They therein express their firm hope
that your Majesty will support cordially the cause of their master.
They go on to say, that actuated by a sincere zeal for your Majesty's
service, they feel bound, on having been informed of the arrival of an
envoy sent to this Court by the Parliament, to announce to your
Majesty that this envoy has received instructions to excite the English who are in your Majesty's service, into renouncing the obedience
due to their king; they infer, likewise, that he will endeavor to communicate to the minds of your Majesty's subjects a hatred and aversion for monarchical government, to which the members of the Parliame'nt have declared their mortal enmity; they notice further the
proceedings of the Parliament of England against your Majesty, in
the Act or Statute which contains an expression of disapprobation of
your Majesty's conduct at Naples, and an endeavor to excite the people of this country against your Majesty. They promise, upon your
Majesty's orders, to lay before you a copy of this Act, and entreat of
your Majesty to cause the envoy of the Parliament to be watched,
lest by his intrigues he should endanger your Majesty's interests;
and, moreover, that he should not have granted to him too ready an
access or too much favor at this Court-circumstances which might
3ause the English residing in the states of your Majesty, to fail in
Idelity to their King.
The Council of State proposes to your Majesty, that the following
answer might be given to these envoys, if your Majesty so ordains.
rhat, as they know themselves, it is impossible to refuse a hearing
wven to the greatest criminals.  That, in other respects, your Majesty
hanks them for the information which they have given: that advan-;age shall be taken of it in due time and place: that they may con-;inue to furnish any further intelligence which may reach them: That;hey are requested to transmit the copy of the Act of Parliament of




372                      APPENDIX.
which they speak, and accounts of everything which may affect the
interests of your Majesty, especially as regards the kingdom of Naples.
Your Majesty will be pleased to order what you think fit.
[In the margin is written in the King's hand, "The advice of the Council
shall be adopted."]
II.-SECOND DELIBERATION OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE ON THE
SAME SUBJECT.
Madrid, 22d October, 1650.
[The Council of State, at which were present Don Francisco de Melo and the
Count de Penaranda, give the following opinion on the contents of the document presented by the envoys of the King of England, in which they demand
that the ships of their master may be well received equally in the ports of
Flanders as in those of Spain.]
SIRE: By an Ordinance of the 14th of this month, your Majesty
directed the Council to take into consideration (as was accordingly
done), a document proceeding from the envoys of the King of England,
in which they represent that certain of their ships of war having
entered the port of Ostend for repairs and the purchase of provisions,
did not obtain a reception conformable to the orders which your Majesty
has been pleased to give on the subject, and were subjected to embargoes, taxes, and other impositions.  They intreat your Majesty to
cause a communication to be made to his highness the archduke, to
the end that all the vessels of their King may be well received in the
port of Ostend, as in all the others at which they may put in; and
that it may be permitted them to execute their manceuvres and procure
such provisions as they may require, in conformity with the articles of
the treaty. They pray that the same orders may be given to all the
corregidors and magistrates of all the other ports, in order that the
said ships may enter these ports and depart from them freely and without obstacle. The envoys acknowledge the great obligation which
their master will have contracted towards your Majesty, if his ships
are allowed in the ports of Flanders and the other States of your
Majesty, the same privileges which they enjoy in those of France.
The Council, at which were present Don Francisco de Melo and the
Count de Pefiaranda, is of opinion, that your Majesty might cause a
communication to be made to his highness the archduke, recommending
him to grant a favorable reception to the ships of the King of England, in the ports of his States, and to observe in their regard the
stipulations of treaty of peace as has hitherto been done. With regard to the envoys of the King of England, they might be informed
of the orders which have been sent to the archduke, with an intimation, at the same time, that orders of the same kind would not be sent
to the other ports before it had been ascertained that they had failed
to regard the ordinances already tiade on this subject, and that, on




APPENDIX.                          373
the occurrence of any such extent the proper directions would be
transmitted without delay.
Your Majesty will be pleased to order what seems fit.
[Written in the King's hand: "Very good."]
APPENDIX XII.
(Page 214.)
I.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO KING PHILIP IV.
London, 14th December, 1649.
SIRE: I have learned that admission to the ports of Portugal, has
been granted to the prizes, which the vessels of the new King of England and the Irish frigates combined, have made of the ships and merchandise of this kingdom for the benefit of Prince Palatine Rupert,
and that these prizes have been there recognized as lawful and sold.'I suspected that this concession had been made, because the new King
of England, immediately after his father's death, had recognized the
tyrant of Portugal, and admitted to his Court as ambassadors, certain
persons, who, in this same capacity, have appeared at the Hague and
Paris, where the new king has resided, since he succeeded his father.
Having considered it proper to obtain certain information upon this
matter, I wrote on the subject to the Count of Pefiaranda, who comnmunicated with the Chevalier Brun, that he also might make inquiries;
this the latter has done, as he informs me in a letter of the 29th November, a copy of which I forward herewith for your Majesty's inspection. At the same time, I made inquiries in France through a safe
channel and with the help of an agent, trustworthy, though English,
and obtained the information which I enclose. Your Majesty will
thereby see how very little the new King of England has profited of
the tragical fate of the king, his father, who was overwhelmed in misfortunes by his own faults and from  his own mistaken principles.
These his son adheres to, as if success had given them authority, and
as if he were not himself suffering from their sad consequences.  As
long as the queen-mother continues to exercise her influence on the
resolutions of the king, and as long as the councillors who surround
him, and direct all his actions, remain in submission to the queen,
this prince will undoubtedly imitate the conduct and example of his
father; and if, notwithstanding that he has lost the crown of England,
and runs the risk of losing the kingdoms of Ireland and Scotland, if
notwithstanding that he so much needs the succor of your Majesty
to recover the one and preserve the other, he fails in his duty to your
Majesty, and in the requirements of justice and loyalty (inasmuch as
VOL. I.-32




374                      APPENDIX.
your Majesty has recognized him as King of Great Britain, and caused
to be conferred upon him in Flanders every homage and every courtesy
which he could have desired, had he been in tranquil possession of his
crown), if, notwithstanding this be his conduct, what reason hlave we
to hope that the prince will change his opinion, when he finds himself
restored to his rights, and no longer in need of assistance. I have
thought it necessary to render a particular account of all that has passed, and of all that I have learned. Such information will be useful
in case it should be considered advisable to complain of the conduct
of this prince.  These causes-of complaint, coupled with those which
have been already afforded by the conduct of his father, will justify
in the eyes of the world what is now recommended by expediency and
good policy with regard to this government (the republic of England),
namely, either to recognize it and receive its ambassadors, or to enter
into alliance with it if circumstances and the interests of your Majesty
should make it expedient.
1I.-CHEVALIER ANTONIO BRUN TO DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS.
The Hague, November 29, 1649.
JUDGING by the turn which affairs are taking here, it may be said
that the poor king [of England] is hastening to his ruin in every possible way, unless God should work some miracle in his favor. I have
ascertained beyond doubt that he has received the envoy of the tyrant
of Portugal in the capacity of an ambassador, and his Resident has
been unable to deny it, but he excuses it by saying, that as the Portuguese bears that title in reference to the States-General here, his
master was unable to treat him otherwise, for had he not done so, he
would have lost the support of his brother-in-law, the Prince of Orange.
I replied that his deceased father had already done the same thing in
London; to which the Resident answered, that at that period the late
king was under the control of the Parliament to such a degree that he
was obliged to sign the sentence of death which had been passed against
his great friend, the Viceroy of Ireland. This being the case, if we
had some strong alliance with the leaders of the Parliament of England against France, we might do what they desire; but that we should
be the first gratuitously to do such an act, and only in the hope of a
possible result, appears to me to be very hard.
III.-REPORT SENT FROM PARIS BY TITE PERSON APPOINTED TO
ASCERTAIN WHETIER TIlE ENVOY OF PORTUGAL, WHO IS AT
TIHAT COURT IN THE QUALITY OF AN AMBASSADOR, HAS HAD
AN INTERVIEW WiTH TIlE KING OF ENGLAND, AND WHETHER
HIE HAS TREATED OF ANY AFFAIRS WITH lIIM.
THE ambassador of Portugal has been with the King of Scots on




APPENDIX.                            375
several occasions, as well as with the Queen of England; he has,
had several conferences and secret interviews with both mother and
son.  The ambassador, on leaving France, left in Paris a Resident
named Suarez, a creature of Calatrava; this Suarez has been frequently
to see the King of Scots; his Majesty received him, and has treated
of various affairs with him, and has written several letters to Portugal
since his return from Flanders into France; these letters were all addressed-" To the King of Portugal," and in them he was termed,
"my brother."  The Queen of England, in writing to the Queen of
Portugal, has made use of this form: "To my dear sister, the Queen
of Portugal."  In this correspondence, the Portuguese has promised
to assist the King of Scots, and to receive into the ports of his dominions the king's ships, any prizes they may take from the ships of the
Parliament of England; which is now done.
APPENDIX XIII.
(Page 218.)
I. —M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
Londres, 16 lali, 1650.... LEDIT amnbassadeur (d'Espagne) a plusieurs fois envoye des
ecrits sigrnes de lui au conseil d'Etat, qui y ont et6 recus et consideres,
sinon coinme venant d'un ambassadeur, du moins d'une personne qui
appartient a un prince avec lequel on se veut bien entretenir.
II.-l. DE CROULLET TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
Londres, 4 Juillet, 1650..... ILr se dit aujourd'hui quo le gen6ral Fairfax, sur le point de
partir pour Ecosse, a remnis sa commission.  J'eus l'honneur de mander'i V. E. il y a quelque temps, que le Parlement avait ordonne que
tant lui que le lieutenant g6neral remittraient leurs anciennes pour en
prendre de nouvelles, et que je croyais que c'etait une close de6j faite.
C'est, dit-on, sur l'instance de satisfaire a cet ordre qu'il a mieux
aime remettre; a quoi il a encore Rte porte par la mefiance qu'il conna.it que l'on a de lui, et par le d6plaisir de ce qu'il ne lui restait que
le norn de cette charge dont Cromwell a toute l'autorite.  Possible
quo, quand il ne s'y serait pas porte', l'on eut trouve quelque autre
prdtexte de la lui demander, parce qu'il se dit tout haut que les presbyt'riens, au parti desquels sa femmue   le pousse toujours, n'attendent
que de voir l'armee engagee avec les Ecossais pour les seconder par
des soulevements de deg'k, et que, pour cet effet, ils ont intelligence
avee une partie de l'armoe qui se d6elarerait aussit6t, quoique la chose




376                       APPENDIX.
soit assez difficile par le bon ordre que l'on y a mis en etablissant la
milice des provinces en des mains assurees, et laissant outre cela quelques troupes tres-affidees en chacune.  Elle n'est pourtant pas impossible, ni que Cromwell n'entretienne lui-nmene ce dessein pour donner
jour't ses ennemis de se declarer et avoir sujet de les perdre ainsi qu'il
a fait plusieurs fois par de semblables voies....... L'on n'a fait donner avis que Cromwell a regu des lettres
de messieurs de Bouillon et de Turenne; mais je pense qu'on ne l'a
dit en confidence' ceux dont je le tiens qu'afin qu'ils me le rapportassent et que je l'ecrive, ce que, tout faux qu'il peut etre et que je le
crois, j'ai juge devoir faire, puisqu'il pourrait etre que, sur la moindre
recherche, jointe' cc que l'on mande que les brouilleries de Bordeaux
se renouvellent, ces gens-ci se porteraient' les assister d'une partie de
leur fiotte qui est'a Lisbonne.
III.-M. DE CROULLE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
Londres, 12 Septembre, 1650.
UN homme de ma connaissance m'a dit avoir recu lettres
d'Allemagne d'un de ses correspondants, qui est homme intelligent,
qui lui mande que, s'etonnant de voir au lieu oui il est tant de monnaic d'Angleterre entre les mains des officiers et soldats, il avait eu la
curiosity de savoir d'oui elle pouvait venir, et qu'ayant fait etroite
amitie avec le gouverneur de la place, il a su qu'il a ete envoye d'ici
100,000 livres sterling suivant le traite fait entre l'Espagne et ces
gens-ci, par lequel l'Espagne s'engage de continuer la guerre avec la
France et de ne faire jamais la paix sans les y comprendre en qualite
d'allies, moyennant quoi ceux-ci doivent fournir tous les mois "a Bruxelles une somme considerable.  L'on ne m'a jamais voulu dire le nomr
de la place, mais seulement que le gouverneur y a et6 mis, ou a appartenu hi MI. le marecha] de Turenne.
APPENDIX XIV.
(Page 221.)
I.-VISCOUNT SALOMON DE VIRELADE TO CARDINAL MAZARIN.
1650.
IL est si difficile de reussir aux affaires qui sont entreprises avec
teme'it6 et sans avoir pris ies precautions n6cessaires, qu'on ne saurait
blamer ceux qui usent de circonspection avant les commencer, surtout
les negociations si ddlicates que celles d'Angleterre ofu j'ai demand6
passe-port, bien qu'il n'y ait point de guerre entre les deux nations,
parce que n'agissant que pour les marchands ils pouvaient me rendre




APPENDIX.                             377
responsable, parlant au nom  des communautes, de cc que tons les
jours ils demandent aux particuliers et prennent sur eux a main arm6e
par droit de repr6sailles.  Comme particulier, je n'aurais pas craint
ces violences qui eussent ete honteuses It notre nation si elles eussent
et6 exercees sur moi conime personne publique.
J'avais aussi deux fins en 6crivant, ou d'engager le regime d'Anigleterre'a traiter en me faisant reponse, ou en me donnant sauf-conduit,
at se contenter de la reconnaissance des miarchands sans en exiger une
plus formelle de la part du roi que sa permission; ou en me refusant
le passe-port que je demandais, j'eviterais l'affront qui mn'eft et6 tressensible parce qu'il eft interesse toute la France, si on m'eit chass6
comme on a fait l'ambassadeur de Hollande de le sieur de Croulle, et
estime qu'il vaut mieux avoir cette declaration par ecrit, avant avoir
mis le pied en leur pays, que de la recevoir plus injurieusement de
leur bouche.
J'avais encore une autre consideration; c'est que les Anglais, etant
extremement fiers et glorieux, ont neanmoins complaisance et se laissent gagner par civilit&s, qui est la raison qui les porte'a aimer sur
toutes les nations les Italiens qui ont l'avantage de l'adresse et courtoisie sur tous les autres peuples de l'Europe; et par cette raison j'ai
estime que, leur ecrivant avec grand respect et compliment, ils se porteraient'a avoir ma negociation plus agreable.  J'ai reussi en cce point
de les obliger a me faire reponse, ce qu'ils n'avaient fait, ni directement ni indirectement, aupavavant'a toutes les lettres qui leur ont
ete 6crites et aux temoignages plus expres et plus formels des intentions qu'on avait de les satisfaire, desquelles ma lettre, qui n'etait
qu'un simple compliment, ne faisait aucune mention. II est vrai que
cette reponse est congue en terms un peu aigres, mais qu'on dit etre
fort familiers "a cette nation imperieuse, et desquels pourtant j'infere
qu'ils affectent quelque forme de justice en leur procede; mais quand
ils prennent un pretexte faux qui est le deni de justice de la part de
1a France, ils nous donnent lieu de nous servir d'une defense veritable
fondcle en l'injustice qu'ils ont faite aux vaisseaux Frangais; et ainsi
ils se convainquent eux-mnmes du reproeche qu'ils nous imputent, et
s'6tent le tooyen de nous rien demander des prises faites sur eux parce
que les pertes de nos marchands exsedent beaucoup si on venait'a
compensation.  Pour la libert6 du commerce, ils offrent de la rendre
pour toutes nos denrees, soudain qu'en France on le leur permittrait
de meme; mais tout cc que nous pouvions desirer d'eux ils le mettent't un prix qui est ou biern haut, ou bien considerable, suivant les diverses rfilexions politiques qu'on fera sur cette niatiere; c'est la reconnaissanee de leur Etat nouveau de la part du roi, dont ils pretendcnt aussi bie(n qu'il Tn'est pas le juge au fond.
ic)o  "-X



378                        APPENDIX.
II.-SUMIMARY OF THIE INSTRUCTTONS NECESSARY TO VISCOUNT
SALOMON FOR CONDUCTING TIlE NEGOTIATION WITH ENGLAND.
Premiirenment demande tres-humblement resolution a savoir si, representant les interets des marchands et qu'un comite soit appointe
pour l'ouir, ou qu'il soit mte'ne admis au conseil d'Etat ou au Parlement, dans ses requetes ou autres actes il doit qualifier le regime
d'Angleterre d'Etat de Republique, ou autres tels titres et qualit6s
que les Anglais desireront:
20 S'il ne pourra pas renouveler les offres faites au sieur Augier,
agent des affaires d'Angleterre des l'an 1647, et acceptees deis lors par
ledit Parlement d'Angleterre, pour.les prises faites jusques audit
temps, b condition que ledit regime d'Angleterre fasse la meme justice
aux marchands Francais; ou si ayant represent6 les diligences faites
en France par l'autorite du roi et de ses ministres pour donner aux
Anglais satisfaction en justice, il ne doit point protester du deni de
justice en Angleterre aux marchands Frangais:
30 Demande si venant'a demeurer d'accord de l'amnistie reciproque
et generale pour toutes les prises faites sur mer respectivement entre
les deux nations, et que pour parvenir'a ladito amnnistie, il y eut
quelque membre du Parlement ou personnes puissantes dans ledit
Etat interesses auxdites prises, il ne penut pas leur en promettre dedommagement pour les attirer et les mettre dans les interets ou dependances de la France, par forme de pension qui les engage au service de S. M.; et pour cot effet il supplie S. M. de faire un fonds quo
les inarchands  es villes maritimes du royaume souffriront volontiers
etre pris par augmentation dans les bureaux des entrees et douanes
etablis dans les ports, pour gagner les plus puissants d'Angleterre qui
se trouveront disposes, moyennant telles gratifications, a se porter au
service de la France et a favoriser la liberte du commerce:
40 Demande que, pour le retablissement et sufrete du commerce'
l'avenir, il lui soit permis, en continuant les offres faites par M. le
comnte de Brienne, de promettre aux Anglais que dorenavant il n'y
aura plus de repr6sailles accordees, et que les commissions donnecs,
s'il y en a seront revoquecs, pourvu qu'il sen usent de meme, fassent
cesser toutes hostilites et depredations sur mer et r(evoquent toutes
leurs lettres de represailles:
50 Demande que les ordonnances des 10 Juillet 1643 et 20 Mai
1647 soient renouvelees et que copies de semnblables ordonnances lui
soient delivrees, portant it'ratives d6fenses aux sujets du roi de prendre ou acheter aucuns effets sur lesdits Anglais et de les molester cn
faon quelconque; lqucelle ordonnanceo on puisse faire publier au
memoe temps qul lo:s Aidlais on accorlJeront une scmblable en fiavur
des sujcts du roi:




APPENDIX.                              379
60 Demande si les Anglais, venant'a un trait6, desirent que les
vaisseaux marchands de leur nation no soicent point visites sous pretexte de robe d'ennemis cach(ee quand ils scront rencontres par des
vaisseaux de guerre du roi, et pretcndent qu'ils ne sont tenus que de
baisser les voiles et faire honneur it la bannieRre et pavilion de France,
ledit privilege dc n'etre point visite ne leur penut pas etre permis, un
semblable etant accordd par eux aux vaisseaux Frangais qui trafiqueront en Ecosse ou autres lieux qui seront en guerre ddclare6  avec lesdits Anglais, l'inconvenient n'6tant point plus grand que les Espagnols
regoivent leurs marchandises par des vaisseaux Anglais que par les
vaisseaux Frangais qui l]es leur portent tons les jours:
70 Demande s'il ne doit pas faire instance pour obtenir une decharge
des droits et impositions qu'on exige en Angleterre des Frangais, auxquelles impositions les naturels du pays ni les autres etrangers ne sent
point sujets, et si, obtenant ledit privil6ge et dlcharge, il ne penut pas
promettre quelique gratification it ceux qui la moyenneront:
80 Demande qu'il plaise I S. 3M. promettre lever les defenses de
l'entree des draperies et autres manufactures de soie et laine, it condition que les Anglais pormettent l'cntree des vins et manufactures de
France en Angleterre, ct r6voquent l'acte de ladite prohibition. du 28
Aoftt (7 Septembre) 1649:
90 D)emande  qu'il puisso promettre, suivant les offres de M. le
comte de Brienne, par ordre de monseigneur le cardinal, que le trait6
qui sera projete et conccrte entre lesdits Anglais et lui, suivant les
ordres qu'il recevra tous les jours, sera confirmie, approuve et autorise
de S. M., si, apres l'avoir communique6  t son Conseil, elle le trouve
agreable:
10~ Dem'ande quo, ne pouvant obtenir le retablissement entier du
commerce, il lui soit permis pour le moins de tacher'a la remettre en
quelque partie et dans quelque province s'il ne se peut pour tout le
royaunme; comine, si la Normandie s'oppose a 1'entr&e  des draperies,
qu'au moins elles puissent itre revues en Guyenne, la Rochelle et
Brettgne, pourvu que les Anglais permottent l'entree des vins desdites provinces:
110 Deinande de quelle sorte se doit traiter avec le general Cromwell, et s'il ne doit pas lui faire concevoir, par l'exemple du prince
d'Orange, de Mansfeld, du due de Weimuar et autres, que c'est avantae, honneur et sfiret6, aux hoinmes de sa valeur et de son poids,
d'avoir l'amitie et protection de France dent les inclinations nobles et
bclliqueuses se portent toujours it estimer et favoriser les personnes de
courage et merite extraordinaire:
120 Demande que le sieur Croulle, qui a les cachets du roi en Angleterre, ne puisse agir sans sa participation et consentemcnt, bien quo




380                       APPENDIX.
ledit Sieur Salomon no pretende point engager lo nom ni l'autorit6 du
roi en sa n6eociation.
III.-WALTER, FROST TO At. SALOMION, VISCOUNT DE VIRELADE.
Whitehall, December 11-21, 1650.
SIr: I have received your letter fiom Paris, of the 10th of December (new style), which, as I am bound by the duties of my office, I
have laid before the Council of State, to whom I must produce all
that I receive from abroad, and at whose last meeting, several letters
were read by others, written to various members of the Council, and
one written to a merchant; of none of which the Council can take
cognizance, they being letters of private persons regarding a public
affair. But that the very civil letter you have written to me may not
remain altogether unanswered, I give you the trouble to read these
few lines, to let you know that you cannot be more sensible than I
am of the great benefit it would be to our two nations, if traffic and
commerce between them were free and uninterrupted.  I am  well
assured that you are not ignorant on which side the first breach took
place, as it is impossible for you not to have heard of the great iDjuries which the people of this Commonwealth have suffered from the
State of France, by reason of the piracies of the French upon our
ships in the seas of the Levant, not to mention other wrongs done to
the Comnmonwealth, of which we are not insensible; and although remonstraneos bu o l2ong since been Ilmade to that State to obtain justice,
we have never been able to obtain it, either for the said piracies, or
for other injuries, too numerous to be here stated at length, wherefore
I will not trouble you with them.  For this reason we have, according
to the law of nations, given letters of reprisals to those who have suffered losses, that they mnight have the means of doing themselves
justice; it being, in fact, a matter of very common observation, that
clear and prompt justice is not ordinarily practised on the other side
of the Channel. As to the interdiction of French wines, in which we
know that the towns of Bordeaux and Nantes are most interested, we
only resorted to it after the French had prohibited our manufactures
of wool and silk; and I am persuaded that, if they can do without our
manufactures, we can also easily dispense with the wines of France,
and that we shall have the means of making them  know that trade
should be reciprocal.  Time may also teach us that we can likewise
do without other things manufactured in France.  But as your mission from abroad, with powers to act for Bordeaux, Nantes, and other
communities,  11might be with the approbation of your king, I cannot
help you in it, as there is no one here who can treat with you about
thelse affairs, except the sovereign power or its delegates; and that
power will receive addresses fi'om  none but the sovereCian rower of




APPENDIX.                           381
France, which alone can give the necessary credentials to treat of such
affairs.  I cannot, therefore, procure you a safe-conduct to come in
the capacity, and with the credentials you indicate: and if you were
here, none of our merchants could treat with you concerning such
matters, as they are affairs of State, and not of the nature of their
private affairs.  But if the State of France is willinglto consider the
injuries and denials of justice which it has committed, and will save
us the trouble of righting ourselves, and will, by you, make overtures
of a public address from it to this Commonwealth, respecting these
affairs, and in the form usual between sovereign States, I do not doubt
that this State will be glad to receive any honest and just propositions
which may be made to terminate differences, and restore liberty of
trade for the common good. And, as I hope that, by the presence of
God with us, the force and strength of this Commonwealth will never
be used to injure others, so the state in which it is at present, by the
same Divine presence and blessing, is such that we can do justice to
our people against those who refuse it. Nevertheless, we should be
desirous to live peaceably with all, and should prefer to receive those
who have done us injury to do us justice voluntarily, rather than extort it from them by force, at the cost of present sufferings to those
who may be personally innocent, and whose misfortune it is, and not
their fault; that they depend on a State which had rather expose its
innocent subjects to reprisals, than do justice to the just demands
which are made upon it. I will only add that I hope for a happy
accommodation of affairs, and that, in order to attain thereto by just
and honorable means, I will contribute all that lies in the power of
your affectionate servant,
WALTER FROST.
APPENDIX XV.
(Page 222.)
COLBERT'S REPORT REGARDING TRADE WITH ENGLAND.
1650.
BIEN que l'abondance dont il a plu h Dieu d ouer la plupart des
provinces de ce royaume semble le pouvoir mettre en etat de so pouvoir suffire' lui meme, neanmoins la Providence a pose6 a France en
telle situation que sa propre fertilit6 lui serait inutile et souven t'.
charge et incommode sans le be6n6fice dlu commerce qui porte d'une
province a l'autre et chez les 6trangers ce dont ]es uns et les autres
peuvent avoir besoin pour en attirer'a soi toute l'utilite.
Nous avons laiss6 perdre l'usage et le bien du commerce, soit par la




382                        APPENDIX.
nonchalance avec laquelle nos peuples s'appliquent' cot honnete exercice, soit aussi par l'interruption que les ktrangcrs y causent.
Le remede du premier mal, qui vient de nous- mimes, des humeurs
et inclinations turbulentes contraires "' un legitime trafic, est plus difficile "a trouver apres les troubles qui ont agite6 la France et qui ont o6t
aux marchands la liberte et suret6 de transporter leurs denr6es; et la
confiance necessaire au negoce ne pouvant s'eitablir dans la confusion
et la violence des factions dont chacun veut mettre "t couvert ses effets,
la crainte survenue du peril qui procede des hostilites etrangeres a
achev6 notre ruine, otant le courage aux marchands d'envoyer ou demuander rien aux etrangers pour ne pas exposer a une visible perte tout
ce qu'ils risqueraient.
Tant que nous n'avons eu affaire qu'h l'Espagne nous nous en
sommes garantis assez heureusement; mais depuis que, par un surcroit de malheurs, les Anglais nous ont declare une, guerre qui n'est
pas moins ffacheuse qu'impr6vue, cette surprise en l'etat ofu nous nous
trouvons, sans armee navale pour resister aux leurs tres-puissantes, et
dans l'abattement des peuples des villes frontires, et le peu de secours
que regoivent les finances du roi depuis la cessation du commerce, et
les troubles qui empechent de faire un fonds suffisant pour armer une
fiotte telle qu'elle serait necessaire, il est difficile que le commerce
puisse se r6tablir tant que ce desordre continuera et qu'on souffrira les
represaillcs que les Anglais donnent, fondles sur diverses prises faites
par des vaisseaux Frangais ou vendues dans les ports de France.
Pour obvier aux suites de cet inconvenient qui nous pourtait enfin
causer une guerre facheuse, il semble qu'il n'y a que deux moyens qui
se r'duisent enfin i un, c'est de traiter avec eux; ou par un traite
particulier, avec les interesses qui demandent, disent-ils, justice et restitution des choses prises et confisquees sur eux, ce qui se reduit a
un long examen ou discussion oui il faut apporter beaucoup de consideration et faire comparaison des prises faites par less Anglais sur nos
marchands avec plus d'injustice; ou il faut venir i un traite gen6ral
avec le r6gime present d'Angleterre qui, ayant renverse la forme de
l'Etat ancien, nous oblige par cette mutation a prendre nos suiretes
avec eux par de nouvelles conventions, ou au moins i renouveler et
confirmer les anciens traites entre la France et l'Angleterre, avec cette
diff6rence neanmoins que les pr6tentions des rois d'Angleterre (qui
n'ont point et6 transmises't leur peuple et dont la Republique ne peut
avoir succede) ayant rendlu nos rois tmoins exacts'a demander diverses
conditions pour le commerce avec lesdits Anglais, dont les autres nations, et particulierement les Espagnols, se sont prevalus, nous pouvons
a present tirer divers avantages en ce changement pour l'egalit6e du
3ommerce sur lequel ils nous traitaient tres-iniquement tant par les
impositions sur les marchandises que nos marchands en tiraient ou y




APPENDIX.                              383
transportaient, qu'ils appellent d'esdavache, de cajade, du survoyeur
et du coquet, qui 6taient des impots que les rois augmentaient tous les
jours aussi par des licences particulieres et privileges "i des compagnies,
exclusivement' tous autres, du transport de diverses marchandises,
par le choix qu'en avait le pourvoyeur du roi Angleterre qui decriait
et mettait' vil prix le residu de nos denrees ofu il n'aurait pas mis sa
marque, comme aussi par l'inegalite des poids et mesures, si fort condamnee dans l'Ecriture et par laquelle n6annioins ils ne donnent qu'au
poids particulier et ne regoivent aucune marchandise que dans des
balances publiques beaucoup plus fortes.
Pour remettre le commerce, il y a deux choses necessaires, la sfirete
et la liberte.  La suiret6 depend d'une mutuelle correspondance a empecher les pirates et courses des particuliers qui, au lieu de s'appliquer
en leur navigation' l'honnete exercice du commerce, rompent avec
violence le lien de la socit6e civile par lequel les nations se secourent
les unes les autres en leurs necessites.  Cette sutrete ne se peut etablir
que par des de6fenses respectives dans les deux Etats de faire des prises
sur les marchands des deux nations; et parce que le prdetexte du commerce que nos allies font avec nos ennemis portant leurs effets dans
nos vaisseaux,'a donne occasion'a des vaisseaux Frangais l'attaquer les
Anglais, et que les confiscations ont ete fondees sur cette raison par
une explication qu'on a donnee'a l'ordonnance de Frangois jer en l'an
1543 sur le fait de l'amiraut6, art. 43, neanmoins il semble qu'il vaut
mieux consentir que les Espagnols et autres nos ennemis tirent cette
commnodite par le moyen de nos allies, pourvu que les Anglais s'obligent`2 obtenir le meme privilege pour nos marchands quand ils passeront, devant les armees d'Espagne, leurs effets dans des vaisseaux
Anglais, pour ne pas, pour causer un dommage de peu de consequence
aux Espagnols, donner occasion`t la continuation d'une piraterie qui
ruine le commerce, etant certain que jamais des vaisseaux de guerre
ne visitent des marchandises sans laisser des marques de la rapine des
soldats qui n'ont pas la mnodestie de se retenir, trouvant facilite6 i prendre; l'inconvenicnt qu'on peut trouver que, sous la couverture de nos
allies, les sujets de nos ennemis fassent quelque profit, se pouvant remarquer tous les jours encore plus grand par la facilite que les propres
sujets du roi y pretent sans qu'on les en puisse empecher.
Cette declaration reciproque aux vaisseaux de guerre des deux nations interdirait d'arreter, sous quelque pretexte que ce soit, les vaisseaux marchands, et defendrait aussi l'entree des ports aux forbans et
corsaires pour vendre leurs marchandises, avec injonction d'un sevbre
ehatiment'a ceux qui en acheteraient.  A quoi les gouverneurs des
places et des ports, capitaines et offliciers de la marine seront obliges de
tenir la maine, car on no doute point que la cessation des hostilites ne
remette en peu de temps le commerce et par consdquent l'aboudance




384                        APPENDIX.
publique et la richesse des particuliers, et notablement les droits du
roi par la reception des marchandises etrangeres qui ne viennent point
et la sortie des denrees du pays qu'on n'ose exposer'a la mer.
Pour ce qui est du passe et prises faites sur des marchands Anglais,
elles sont de deux natures et conditions: ou bien elles sont faites sur
les commissions roi du d'Angleterre dont nous ne saurions repondre,
ni avoir empeche que les sujets du roi, et mmrne commandant ses vaisseaux, n'aient pris commission d'un autre prince cousin du roi et dont
la reine sa mere est presente et si consideree en France qu'au milieu
de la guerre civile le parlement de Paris la gratifia d'une pension notable, puisqu'on voit tous les jours que divers Frangais et meme des
chefs des troupes du roi suivent le marechal de Turenne et servent
i'archiduc et les ennemis de la France. Mais tout ce que pouvait faire
le roi avec son conseil etait de faire defense "a tous les ports de recevoir
les prises faites par les vaisseaux et au norn du roi d'Angleterre, qui
n'ont point de ports si commodes qu'en France pour retirer leurs
prises, au lieu que ledit Parlement et Re&publique possede tous les
ports d'Angleterre qui leur servent de retraite.  Ou bien les prises ont
e6te faites par des vaisseaux du roi avec sa commission et banniere de
France.  I1 se trouvera que les vaisseaux Anglais etaient charges de
robe d'ennemi, ou qu'ils n'ont pas voulu amener et obeir aux lois de
la mer; au contraire ont tire sur les vaisseaux Frangais; que s'il se
trouve quelques abus commis par les capitaines des vaisseaux du roi,
on en peut demander la justice qui ne sera jamais de6niee, au lieu de
represailles sur de pauvres marchands qui n'ont point participe auxdites prises, en quoi l'injustice est evidente.
Et d'autant que les pertes faites par nos marchands, qui ne se plaindraient pas peut-etre s'ils avaient ete' pris de la meme sorte que les
Anglais, excedent ou pour le moins egalent les leurs, il y a de l'apparenece qu'il faudra venir a consentir que chacun gardera cc qu'il a pris,
vu l'impossibilite de la restitution qcue les Anglais merme ne demanderaient pas apres une guerre ouvert, ainsi qu'il a et6 pratique en tous
les traites faits avec leur nation.  I1 nous serait desavantageux d'avoir
et6e leurs amis et allies s'ils nous traitaient si rudement et avec des
conditions onereuses, apres avoir observe si religieusement une ponctuelle et exacte neutralite pendant les guerres civiles oui le roi Angleterre meme s'est plaint diverses fois que la France favorisait ouvertement le Parlement.
Pour la liberte du commerce, il y a deux choses a desirer: l'une la
d6charge des impositions et de celles que les Anglais levent sur les
marchands Fran(ais et oui les Espagnols m~me ne sont sujets en vertu
de leurs traites; nous avons raison de demander pour le moins des
conditions egales, le commerce de la France ayant ete toujours plus
utile B l'Angleterre, et l'entree de ceux de notre nation n'y etant point




APPENDIX.                            385
si dangereuse que celle de ce peuple meridional, avare et ambitieux:
l'autre, qui regarde particuli'rement la province de Guyenne, la Rochelle et Nantes, est qu'ils laissent entrer les vins de France en Angleterre, en leur permettant l'entree de leurs draps directement suivant
les traites faits avec leurs rois pour le commerce, au lieu que nous recevons tons les jours leurs draps par ]es Hollandais qui leur portent
aussi nos vins transvases dans d'autres futailles.  L'interet des fermes
du roi est visible en cette permission reciproque, les douanes ne pouvant subsister si toute~ les marchandises n'y sont regues indifferemment avec liberte et n'en sortent de meme.
Le point oui les Anglais s'attachent le plus et pour lequel ils veulent
relacher et condescendre' tout ce qu'on leur peut demander est la
reconnaissance de leur Re1publique, en quoi les Espagnols nous ont
pr6ced6es et obtenu en consequence l'adjonction de la flotte Anglaise
pour attaquer celle des Portugais qui vient du Bresil.  On a a craindre une plus etroite union des negociations de l'ambassadeur d'Espagne
en Angleterre.  C'est a nosseigneurs les ministres a prescrire la forme
de cette reconnaissance, jusqu'oui' elle doit aller, en quoi la France sera
excusable devant Dieu et les hommes si elle est contrainte de venir h
la reconnaissance de cette Re'publique pour prevenir les ligues et mauvais desseins des Espagnols, qui font toutes les injustices et se soumettent "a toutes les bassesses imaginables pour nous nire. I1 semble que
cette affaire, bien que delicate, se peut traiter de telle sorte que cette
nation orgueilleuse s'en peut contenter, sans prejudice au roi d'Angleterre, ou favoriser le mauvais exemple de la degradation de la royaut6,
apres ce que la France a fait en faveur des Hiollandais qui ne se contentaient pas, cornme les Anglais, d'un compliment, et ont fait voir
enfin que la foi Germanique, ou plutot Batavique, n'etait pas plus
solide que l'Anglaise.
APPENDIX XVI.
(Page 224.)
STATEMENT PRESENTED TO QUEEN ANNE OF AUSTRIA AND HER
COUNCIL, BY CARDINAL MAZARIN, REGARDING THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND.
Janvier, 1651.
SUR la question proposee, il semble d'abord que si on se regle par
les lois de l'honneur ou de la justice, l'on ne doit point reconnaitre la
R6epublique d'Angleterre, puisque le roi ne saurait rien faire de plus
prejudiciable'a sa reputation que cette reconnaissance par laquelle nonseulement il abandonne l'interet du roi legitime, son proche parent,
VOL. I.-33




386                        APPENDIX.
voisin et allie, mais lui fait une offense publique, et qu'Elle ne saurait
rien faire de plus injuste que de reconnaitre des usurpateurs qui ont
souille leurs mains du sang de leur souverain, et qui se sont violemment attribue le droit de le condamner i mort par une entreprise
barbare, de dangereux exemple dans toutes les monarchies, et qui fait
horreur i tous les gens de bien. Le roi d'Angleterre en fera des
plaintes et en temoignera sans doute des ressentiments qui feront de
la (peine). La raison d'Etat obligerait plutot de secourir le roi sons
fils en Ecosse et en Irlande, etant extrmemement i craindre que, si les
remuements de ces deux royaumes sont une fois apaises, la Republique
d'Angleterre ne devienne plus orgueilleuse par ces heureux succes,
voyant son autorite etablie au dedans, ne fasse des entreprises au
dehors, et n'emploie la grande force qu'elle a sur pied plutot contre la
France que contre les autres Etats,'a cause de l'animosit6 naturelle et
grande jalousie qui a et6 de tout temps entre les deux nations, et qui
se trouve anjourd'hui extreinement augment6e par les hostilites qui
ont et6 excitees depuis peu sur la mer entre les sujets des deux
royaumes.
Mais comme les lois de l'honneur et de la justice ne doivent jamais
rien faire faire qui soit contraire "a celles de la prudence, il faut considerer
que toutes les demonstrations que l'on pourrait faire presentemcnt en
faveur du roi d'Angleterre n'ameneraient pas son retablissement;
qu'un plus long refus de reconnaitre la Republique, qui est en possession de l'autorite souveraine, ne servira de rien pour augmenter ou
confirmer les droits du roi; que ce que nous pourrions faire maintenant
pour lui ne servirait qu'i nous rendre incapables de l'assister un jour
plus utilement dans une conjoncture plus favorable; que l'etat des
affaires de France ne permet pas de lui donner aucune sorte d'assistance
pour lui aider a retablir ses affaires; ou meme que les Anglais etant
les maitres de la mer, otent tous les moyens de lui en envoyer, et que
Ia part que l'on prendrait maintenant dans sa querelle, ou les ressentiments qu'on voudrait temoigner (de nouveau?) pour les Anglais ne
serviraient qu'a leur acquerir de nouveaux avantages; que la France,
~ cause de la grande guerre dont elle se trouve chargee au dehors, et
des diverses factions dont elle est agitee au dedans, qui la jetteraient
dans un peril extreme si les Anglais venaient'a se declarer en faveur
d'une des factions, et qu'ils pussent y engager, comme il serait i
craindre avec le temps, les religionnaires de ce royaume; surtout ce
que la necessit6 du temps et des affaires obligera de faire en faveur de
la Republique, n'empechera pas que ci-apres on ne puisse se prevaloir
des conjonctures favorables qui se presenteront quand on sera en
meilleur Rtat pour faire quelque grande entreprise, et qu'il y aura plus
d'apparence d'y pouvoir reussir heureusement; et que d'ailleurs il y a
sujet de craindre que, si les Espagnols souet une fois plus etroitement




APPENDIX.                            387
li6s avec les Anglais, comme ils y travaillent avec chaleur, ils ne les
emp~ehent de s'accommoder avec nous, et ne les engagent sinon a nous
faire une guerre ouverte, du moins a leur donner de puissantes assistances contre nous; il ne reste pas lieu de douter que l'on ne doive
sans delai entrer en negociation avec la Republique d'Angleterre, et
lui donner le titre qu'elle desire.
I1 y a neanmoins une condition absolument necessaire, et sans
laquelle il serait inutile de s'engager' faire cette reconnaissance, qui
est d'etre assur6 auparavant qu'on en retirera quelque utilite capable
d'emporter "a la balance le prdjudice clu'on pourra recevoir en la r6putation; car presuppose qu'on puisse avec quelque certitude se promettre quelque avantage de ce qu'on fera, je n'estimerai pas qu'il se
falfitt beaucoup arreter aux formalites; mais il serait doublement
pr6judiciable de faire une bassesse si, apres l'avoir faite, les Anglais
demeuraient dans l'indiff6rence et la froideur, et si ces avances ne
servaient qu'" les rendre plus orgueilleux et plus difficiles dans les
conditions du trait6 qui devra fetre fait avec eux pour accommoder les
diff6rends que nous avons ensemble.
La voie la plus honorable pour entrer en n6gociation avec eux serait
qu'ils envoyassent ici un ambassadeur qui sera regu et honore comme
ministre d'une republique libre.  Le roi de Portugal en a use de cette
sorte apres sa proclamation, ayant envoy6, vers tous les princes qui
n'etaient point obeissants d'Espagne, des ambassadeurs pour en donner
part et pour se mettre en possession de sa nouvelle souverainete par ]a
reception qui leur serait faite.
Si les Anglais ont une v6ritable disposition a s'accommoder avec
nous, ils recevront favorablement cet expedient et ne feront pas difficulte de renouveler la communication qui a 6te interrompue depuis le
changement arrive en Angleterre, puisque'elle doit produire d'abord
un effet qui leur est avantageux et qu'ils souhaitent si fort, que l'exemple de ce qui aura e6t  fait par le roi, qui tient le premier rang
parmi les rois de l'Europe, servira comme de regle h tous les autres,
et qu'ils ne peuvent pas refuser avec raison de faire pour nous ce qu'ils
ont voulu faire pour l'Espagne oui leur envoye a ete tu6.  On pourrait
meme  leur faire valoir qu'ayant commence leur compliment par le lieu
qu'ils ne devaient pas, ils nous ont donne sujet de plainte qu'on veut
oublier pour le bien des deux nations.
Ce qu'il y aurait de plus i craindre et qu'il faut soigneusement
eviter est que les Anglais, qui visiblement penchent plus du cot6
d'Espagne que de France, n'aient l'intention de nous engager en leur
faveur afin de s'en servir comme d'un 6peron pour hater les Espagnols'a les reconnaltre ouvertement et'a s'unir avec eux.
La precaution dont on pourrait user serait d'exiger d'eux, s'il est
possible, de ne point traiter avec l'Espagne pendant quelque temps,




388                       APPENDIX.
jusqu'. ce quo la n6gociation que nous conduirons avec eux soit
terminde ou rompue, ou bien d'ebaucher ou arreter tellement les conditions de l'accommodement avant quo de venir'a aucune reconnaissance, qu'il n'y ait pas lieu d'apprehender que l'accoinmodement se
puisse rompre apres que la reconnaissance aura ete faite.
En un mot, commne les Anglais ne voudront peut-etre pas acheter
notre reconnaissance par les conditions d'un traite6 eventuel, nous devons aussi eviter de reconnaitre la Republique sans &tre d6ja assure's
que l'accommodement entre les deux nations s'en ensuivra, car autrement on s'exposerait a une honte publique sans aucun profit.
APPENDIX XVII.
(Page 225.)
DRAFT OF INSTRUCTIONS TO M. DE GENTILLOT ON HIS MISSION
TO ENGLAND.
Janvier-Fevrier, 1651.
LE roi est entierement persuade que les diffSrends et hostilites,
arrives depuis quelque temps sur la mer entre les Frangais et les
Anglais, procedent plutot de quelque desordre et malentendu entre
ceux qui out commande jusqu'ici les vaisseaux de guerre que d'aucun
dessein qui ait et6 form6 de part ni d'autre d'entrer en rupture, ni mnme
d'interrompre la bonne intelligence qui avait e6t entretenue jusqu'aux
dernieres annres entre les deux nations, et dont la confirmation semble
e6galement necessaire pour le bien et commodite de l'un et de l'autre.
Sur cette presupposition, Sa Majeste a trouv6 bon quo le sieur de
Gentillot s'en allant en Angleterre travaille adroitement et sans eclat,
par le moyen des amis et habitudes qu'il a en ce pays-l`,'i se bien informer s'il y a une veritable disposition "a faire cesser par un bon accommodement les diff6rends qui sont entre les deux nations et' retablir
entre elles une bonne correspondance.
Le sieur de Gentillot, pour agir utilement dans l'execution de ce
dessein, doit 6tre assure avant tautes choses que le Parlement d'Angleterre n'a point fait de traite particulier avec les Espagnols contre la
France, et qu'il n'est point tellement engage avec eux qu'il ne puisse
faire tous les accommodements et conf6d6rations qui seront juges utiles
pour lcs deux royaumes.
L'exemple do cc qui est pratique envers l'ambassadeur de Portugal
oblige doublement d'user de cette circonspection avant qu'entrer en
aucun traite avec le Parlement, puisque, pour favoriser les Espagnols,
on a longtemps maltraite ledit ambassadeur, et que sous pretexte
d'examiner son pouvoir ou par des demarches inusitees, on a difffr6




APPENDIX.                            389
l'audience qui lui doit etre donnee, quoiqu'il n'ait Rte envoye que pour
faire honneur audit parlement et pour terminer amiablemnent les
diff6rends que le Portugal pout avoir avec l'Angleterre, ce qui a donne
lieu de soupconner que le traitement qu'il recevait etait une condition
secrete au trait' fait avec les Espagnols.
D'ailleurs, nous avons sujet de nous plaindre que les discours obligeants qui ont e6t faits ici au sieur Morrell et les bennes dispositions
qu'on lui a tmnoign6es n'aient encore rien profit6 pour faire cesser les
hostilites que les vaisseaux Anglais exercent contre les sujets du roi,
et que l'on s'en soit seulerent servi en Angleterre pour avancer les
affaires des Espagnols.  Au moins ce proced6, joint au traitement que
reooit l'ambassadeur de Portugal, nous doit donner sujet de craindre
qu'apres que nous aurons fait ce que ledit Parlement desire de nous,
ii ne devienne des le lendemain plus difficile dans les interets que nous
avons'a demeler avec lui, lesquels demourant indecis, et causant la
continuation des hostilites qui s'exercent sur la mer, donneraient lieu
aux Espagnols de se prevaloir de notre peu de prevoyance et de
triompher de notre facilite qui ne nous aurait servi de rien.
I1 est done absolument necessaire, pour ne rien faire qui puisse exposer la reputation d'un grand royaume, de s'assurer avant toutes
choses, non-seulement que le Parlement d'Angleterre est en pleine
liberte de traiter avee nous et n'a point d'engagement avec les Espagnols qui les en empeche ou qui nous soit prejudiciable, mais que l'on
convienne presentement et en termes gen6raux des moyens d'accommoder
tous les differends qui pourraient faire durer ou renouveller ci-apres
quelque sorte de mauvaise  intelligence  entre les sujets des deux
royaulms.
Les Anglais ne manqueront pas de demander que le roi reconnaisse
apparement leur R6publique par des lettres et autres demonstrations
publiques.  Sur quoi le sieur de Gentillot representera qu'il n'y aura
point de difficulte sur cet article, que Sa Majeste est disposee de faire
cc qu'on desire d'elle sur ce sujet, et que c'est un point que le Parlement peut se tenir pour accord6 selon son desir; mais que, pour les
considerations touchees ci-dessus, il nous importe d'6tre assures qu'apres
la reconnaissance faite nous ne rentrions pas en rupture ou en mauvaise intelligence pour les differends qui sont aujourd'hui entre les
deux nations, et que les hostilites cesseronrt entierement.
L'assurance ne peut etre autre que de convenir en m~me  temps d'un
projet d'accomodement pour les diff6rends qui sont entre les deux
nations et qui semblent avoir procede principalement de deux causes:
la premiere, de la prohibition des marchandises d'Angleterre fait'a
l'instance du Parlenient de Paris; la seconde, de la prise de quelques
vaisseaux Anglais faite par ceux du roi equipes en guerre contre
l'Espagne.
33*




390                        APPENDIX.
- Touchant la premiere cause, l'on n'ignore pas en Angleterre que S.
M., pour la pacification des troubles de son royaumo, et6e oblig6e
d'accorder cotte defense aux instantes supplications qui lui en ont ete
faites par son Parlement de Paris en faveur de ladite ville, et que S.
M. qui a toujours fait traiter favorablement les ttrangers dans son
royaume, et particulierement les marchands Anglais, ne s'est portde
qu'avec deplaisir a ce qui a ete desire d'Elle en cette rencontre par
quelques-uns de ses sujets, en meme temps qu'il y en a d'autres qui en
regoivent du prejudice.  Or Sa Majeste est meme r(esolue de faire tout
ce qui dependra d'elle pour mettre les choses dans l'etat qu'elles etaient
avant cette defense.
Si on veut examiner sans passion la seconde cause des diff6rends, il
se trouvera que tout le sujet de plaintevest de notre cote: quoique S.
M. n'ait jamais donn6 commission ni a ses sujets, ni a aucun autre
pour agir contre l'Angleterre, qu'elle ait fait observer par tous ses
Etats une si exacte neutralite entre les deux partis d'Angleterre que
meme  elle a refuse la retraite dans ses ports aux vaisseaux du Roi de
la Grande-Bretagne, qu'elle a defendu l'entr6e  et vente dans son royaume de toutes le prises qu'ils auraientfaites et pourraient faire ci.apres
sur les marchands et autres tenant le parti du Parlement, qu'elle a
depuis fait publier des defenses tres-rigoureuses a ses sujets d'armer
ou qu'on recoive la commission de quelque pouvoir etranger que ce
soit, et qu'elle a toujours offert de faire prononcer, selon 1a justice ct
les lois observees de tout temps entre les doux nations, sur toutes les
plaintes qui lui ont ete portecs des prises faites par ses vaisseaux out
les Anglais se sont trouves interesses; nonobstant toutes ces favorables
declarations et procedures le Parlement d'Angleterre n'a pas laisse
d'interdire le commerce avec la France et d'accorder des lettres de
marque ou de represailles contre les sujets du roi, et ensuite ne faire
pas seulement attaquer et prendre tous les vaisseaux marchands qu'ils
ont rencontres sans aucune raison ni prdtexte, mais mnme de faire
attaquer les vaisseaux de guerre de S. TM. par les siens, t6moin le combat contre l'escadre de Turenne qui venait dans la riviere de Bordeaux
servir Sa Majest6 et ou' la fr6gate la Charite fut prise, l'attaque que
les Anglais firent aussi sur quatre vaisseaux du roi aux cotes du Portugal, out celui du chevalier de Fonteny fut pris et lui tu6 reellement
apres la prise, et temoin enfin la prise du vaisseau le Jules qu'ils n'ont
pas laisse de prendre quoiqu'il ait baisse le pavilion et n'ait rendu
aucun combat, ce qui est coumIencer uno espece dc guerre sans l'avoir
denoncee auparavant et sans en avoir aueun sujet legitime.
I1 serait bien a propos que le sieur de Gentillot, ayant repre&sente ce
que dessus a ceux du Parlement avec lesquels il a quelque habitude,
qu'il reconnaitra mieux disposes t la reconciliation des deux nations et
capables de la procurer, essayat do les engager fA faire quelque ouver



APPENDIX.                              391
ture d'accommodement pour decouvrir en quels termes ils estiment
qu'il se puisse faire promnptement, en donnant assurance que de ce
cote-ci on est entierement dispos6' toutes les choses raisonnables qui
pourraient etre faites avec honneur.  Cependant on a dej't donne
charge'a une personne de qualite de se tenir prete pour aller'a Londres de la part du roi pour la reconnaissance ci-dessus, et puis ajuster
les autres choses pour le retablissement de la bonne intelligence entre
les deux nations aussitot qu'on aura eu des nouvelles dudit Gentillot.
I1 semblerait surtout necessaire, l'accommodement etant resolu et
projete, que la Republique envoyat en cette cour quelqu'un deosa part
pour donner avis du changement qu'elle a fait en la forme du gouvernement d'Angleterre, comrne elle a fait en Espagne, aux Pays-Bas,'a
Hlambourg et autres endroits oui on a voulu recevoir ses ministres.
Neanmoins, comme ils pourrout dire d'avoir dejit envoye le sieur Augier qui n'est pas encore venu, s'ils apportent trop de difficultes a
consentir "a cet envoi, le sieur de Gnctillot pourra ne pas s'y arreter.
Le projet dudit traite pourrait etre aux termes suivants:
Qu'il y aura'a i'avenir bonne correspondance et amitie entre le roi
Tres-Chretien de France et de Navarre, ses pays et sujets d'une part,
et la Republique d'Angleterre, ses pays et sujets d'autre part.
Que les traites ci-devant faits entre les rois de France et d'Angleterre pour regler la fagon de vivrc et la forme du commerce entre les
deux nations demeureront en leur force et vertu, et seront inviolablement observes entre S. M. et ladite Republique.
En consequence de quoi les hostilites cesseront, des le jour du
traite, entre les sujets des deux Etats, et toutes lettres de marque et
de represailles seront revoquees dts ledit jour, et sera le commerce
retabli en la mCeme liberte et aux m emes conditions qu'il etait fait
avant le changement arrive en Angleterre, moyennant que les defenses
qui ont et6 faites de part et d'autre seront aussi revoquees, Sa Majeste
et ladite Republique se reservant chacun le pouvoir qui leur appartient
d'etablir, dans les lieux de leur obeissance, tels droits, peages et impositions qu'elles jugeront ai propos sur les marchandises et denrees
venant de l'un ou l'autre pays.
Toutes actions et demandes des vaisseux et autres choses prises de
part et d'autre sur la mer avant le jour du trait6, demeureront eteintes
et abolies pour oter tout sujet de nouveau trouble'a l'avenir entre les
deux nations, et neanmoins le Jules et autres vaisseaux de guerre qui
se trouveront avoir et6 pris appartenant imme'diatement i' Sa. Majest6
ou't ladite RWpublique, seront restitues de bonne foi en l'dtat qu'ils
etaient lorsque la prise a 6t6 faite.
Les vaisseaux de guerre de Sa Majest6 seront recus dans les ports
d'Angleterre et ceux de ladite RPpublique dans les ports de France,
aux conditions et precautions tenues aux traitts pr6c(dents, et l'entrde




392                        APPENDIX.
desdits ports sera interdite aux vaisseaux de guerrc des enncmis dc Sa
MIajest6 en Angleterre, et a ceux des ennemis de la Retpublique dans
les ports de France.
Le Roi et ladite Republique me pourront donner a l'avenir aucune
sorte d'assistance aux ennemis l'un de l'autre.
S'il reste quelque sujet de diff6rend entre les deux Etats ou leurs
sujets, il sera termine amiablenent ct selon la justice, sans que pour
raison de ce l'amiti6 et bonne intelligence de Sa Majest6 et de ladite
R6publique puisse etre alter6e.
Toutes ces conditions sont si raisonnables et si avantageuses pour
l'Angleterre qu'il n'y a pas lieu de croire que ledit Parlement y fasse
difficulte, vu meme que le droit de faire les traites et conf6d6rations
est une plus solide marque de souvcrainete, et que celui qui sera fait
presentement sera un acte plus authentique que celle dont ladite R6publique est en possession, quo toutes les lettres et compliments qui
peuvent etre faits pour la reconnaitre, lesquels sont plus sujets a etre
r6voques ou changes qu'un traite signe de part et d'autre qui doit servir de loi aux deux nations pour leur negoce et forme de vivre ensemble; ce que le sieur de Gentillot saura tres-bien faire valoir afin d'augmenter la disposition que les Anglais peuvent avoir dd6ja de traiter
avec nous.
II pourra mnme  laisser entendre quo si ladite Republique desire
quelque engagement plus etroit avec la France, principalement contre
l'Espagne, l'on y est entierement dispose de ce cSte-ci.  II lui sera
tres-facile de faire connaitre l'avantage que les Anglais y trouveraient,
et les moyens que nous pourrions leur fournir de se prevaloir, soit du
c6t6 des Indes ou ailleurs, de l'etat ou se trouve a present r6duite la
monarchie d'Espagne a laquelle ils ont grand interet de ne pas laisser
reprendre les avantages qu'clle a eus ci-devant lorsqu'elle a forme des
entreprises sur l'Angleterre.  Et en cas que ledit sieur de Gentillot y
trouve disposition du co6t  des Anglais, sur les avis qu'il en donnera,
l'ambassadeur qui passera en Angleterre sera charge et aura pouvoir
suffisant d'en traiter.
Le sieur de Gentillot pourra sur cc sujot les faire adroitement souvenir de la maxime qui a toujours ete tenue par loes plus sages ministres de leur nation, qu'il est plus avantageux'i l'Angleterre d'6tre en
guerro ouverte avec l'Espagne que d'avoir la paix avec elle, et qu'au
contraire en cc qui regarde la France, soit par le voisinage, soit par la
puissance de notre gouvernement, et par l'avantage que l'Angleterre
tire de notre commerce, l'amiti6 lui en doit etre tres-considerable;
d'autant plus que quelque mal et quelque incommodit6 que nous pout
apporter la rupture, la France est toujours le royaume dont l'Angleterre a le plus'a esp6rer ou'l craindre; et nmeme dans le trafic, la, prise
que nous faisons d'un soul vaisseau Anglais nous fait le plus souvent




APPENDIX.                            393
d Odommagds de la perte quo nous aurions de trois des n~tres, pour la
valeur des marchandises dont ils sont ordinairement charges....
On remet au sieur de Gentillot de s'adresser, pour le bon succes de
sa negociation, aux personnes qu'il croira les mieux intentionnees et
les plus capables de la faire reussir.
Le sieur Augier a temoigne que la France se portant'a la reconnaissance ci-dessus, ill ferait favoriser le plus possible cette couronne en
contribuant avec chaleur ce qui peut dependre de lui pour la bonne
intelligence des deux nations.  Le sieur Gentillot le verra et lui dira
confiance que leurs Majestes ont en sa parole, et qu'elles lui en
dcmandent maintenant les effets.
I1 verra aussi le sieur Fleming, et lui rendra la lettre de M. de
Bellievre.  C'est une personnequi en tout temps a t6moigne affection
pour cette couronne et a rendu tous les services qu'il a pu aux ministres de S. M., et on ne doute point qu'il ne continue a le faire en cette
conjoncture qui a tant d'importance au bien et au repos des deux
nations.
Sur toutes choses, il est absolument necessaire que ledit sieur de
Gentillot tienne le secret de son voyage bien secret, de crainte que, s'il
etait decouvert par les Anglais, il ne rencontrat des obstacles' entrer
en negociation avec eux, pareils "a ceux qui se sont formes quand l'on
a su que le sieur Salomon y allait ctre envoye.
APPENDIX XVIII.
(Page 242.)
INSTRPUCTIONS TO TIIE COUNT D'ESTRADES ON IHIS MISSION TO
ENGLAND.
Montereau, 23 Avril, 1652.
MI. D'ESTRADES, pour traiter avec les Anglais et disposer les choses
a un bon accommodenment avec eux, doit etre informn  que nous avons
presentement trois diffdrends principaux avec la R(epublique d'Angleterre.
Le premier est sur la forme de traiter avec elle, puisqu'elle ne veut
entrer en aucune sorte de negociation ni de conference que le roi ne la
reconnaisse pour Rdpublique libre et souveraine, et ne lui ecrive aux
memes termes que lui ont tcrit les autres souveraines qui ont dej. fait
cette reconnaissance.
Le second est touchant les prises faites sur la mer de part et d'autre
par represailles ou autrement, touchant les moyens de retablir le commerce entre les deux nations, touchant la forme de vivre et de se saluer
quand les vaisseaux de guerre ou autres des deux Etats se rencontre



394                        APPENDIX.
ront' la mer, et touchant l'observation des anciennes alliances et
prec'dents trait's.
Le troisiieme est touchant les hostilites ou represailles qui s'exercent
pr6sentement de part et d'autre.
Pour le premier, nous demeurons d'accord qu'il prece'de les autres
dans la negociation et dans l'execution.  Pour cet effet, le sieur d'Estrades peut promettre,' ceux qui ont charge de traiter ou conf6rer
avec lui, que le roi est pret de reconnaitre la Republique et de lui
ecrire une lettre avec les mnmes titres qui lui ont ete donnes jusqu'ici
par les autres rois, de faire rendre cette lettre par un gentilhomme qui
sera envoy6 expres en Angleterre, et de la faire suivre, si on le desire,
par une ambassade solennelle.
Mais cet article ne penut  tre accorde ni execute que l'on ne soit en
meme  temps d'accord du troisieme avec les Anglais, car il ne serait ni
honorable pour le roi, ni juste pour les Anglais, que Sa Majeste leur
envoyat faire un compliment en la forme qu'ils desirent, si elle n'est
assuree que la lettre ayant ete rendue et la reconnaissance faite, les
hostilites et les represailles cesseront de part et d'autre.  Sans cela, il
semblerait que les Anglais voudraient ajouter le mepris "a l'offense, si en
mnme temps que nous leur faisons des civilites, ils continuaient d'attaquer les vaisseaux des sujets du roi sur la mer.
Pour le second article, comme il contient la matiere de tous les
traites precedent, il faudra necessairement le renvoyer par-devant des
commissaires qui seront nommes de part et d'autre, parce qu'ils auront
besoin d'un plus long delai pour examiner et resoudre los diff6rends
qui sont entre les deux nations pour raison des prises, du commerce,
de la forme de vivre en se recontrant sur la mer et de l'observation
des anciennes alliances, qu'il n'en faudra pour les deux autres articles
qui peuvent etre aacordes et conclus en un moment.  Lesdits commissaires auront pouvoir d'arreter ce qui se trouvera raisonnable de part
et d'autre, et d'en assurer le payerent, solon ce que ledit sieur
d'Estrades a temoigne par ses lettres que c'etait l'intention  des
Anglais.
L'on ne doit pas craindre que ce second article soit capable d'empecher l'accommodement, puisque des a present l'on est pret, de la
part du roi, de retablir les choses au meme 6tat qu'elles etaient avant
l'interruption du commerce entre les deux nations si les Anglais le
desirent; ou s'ils souhaitent d'introduire quelque nouveau rbglernent,
l'on est pret d'en convenir pourvu qu'il soit 6gal pour les uns et pour
les autres.
Quant aux premier et troisieme articles, les Anglais ne pouvant pas
refuser de los traiter conjointement, il scra necessaire que ledit sieur
d'Estrades les ajuste en mnime telnps, c'est-a'-dire qu'il ne s'engage
point a l'envoi d'un gentilhomme charg6 d'une lettre du roi pour




APPENDIX.                              395
reconnaitre la R publique d'Angleterre, qu'il n'ait parol et ne soit
assure que, dis le jour meme ou le lendemain de l'arriv(e dudit gentilhomme, quelqu'un du corps du Parlement d'Angleterre aura pouvoir de signer une convention avec lui par laquelle il sera port6 que
toutes les hostilites et represailles cesseront de cc jour-lat, et que dans
deux mois, ou plus t6t si faire se peut, on enverra de part et d'autre
des commissaires, avec pouvoir suffisant, au lieu dont il sera convenu
pour traiter et s'accorder ensemble de tous les autres differends.
Si les Anglais font difficulte de revoquer ou faire cesser les hostilit6s
et represailles pour toujours, a quoi portant on ne voit aucune apparence, il faudra menager que la cessation dure pour deux ou trois ans
tout au moins.
Le roi, desirant d'avancer cette negociation autant qu'il se pourra,
a envoye au sieur d'Estrades la lettre que Sa Majest6 ecrit au Parlement de la Republique d'Angleterre, et au cas qu'il y ait quelque
difficulte sur les tormes, il n'aura qu'a2 la renvoyer "a Sa Majeste et
faire savoir cc qu'on desire afin qu'elle y fasse pourvoir promptement.
Le sieur d'Estrades choisira, parmi les officiers qui sont pres de lui
ou ailleurs, telle autre personne qu'il reconnaitra plus propre pour etre
chargle de cet emploi, lui d6livrera ladite lettre et la commission du
roi qui lui donne pouvoir de traiter, et le fera partir sans delai pour se
rendre't Londres en diligence, apres ne'anmoins avoir tire assurance de
ce qui est porte ci-dessus.
Sa Majeste a deja command  c qu'on cnvoyat au sieur d'Estrades
toutes les expeditions n6cessaires, a quoi M. le comte de Brienne U'a
pas manque de satisfaire; de sorte quo ledit sieur d'Estrades les ayant
reques, il ne reste qu'"[ lui recommander que, si en avangant cette n6gociation, comme on le desire par degh, il engage Sa Majeste "a quelque
chose, il n'oublie pas de prendre garde que ceux qui traiteront avec lui
soient suffisamment autorises pour faire tenir en Angleterre les clhoses
qu'ils lui aurant promises.  I1 n'oubliera pas aussi de remercier de ma
part AI. Cromwell des offres obligeantes qu'il me fait faire, dont je me
sens extremement son redevable, et de lui faire sur ce sujet toutes les
civilites qu'il jugera'a propos.
II.-CARDINAL MAZARIN TO THE COUNT D'ESTRADES.
Montereau, 23 Avril, 1652.
MIONSIEUR: Vous apprendrez de nouveau les intentions du roi touchant ce que l'on peut faire avec les Anglais par la lettre que M. de
Brienne vous (crit.  Celle-ci ne sera qu'un abriege des principaux
points que l'autre contient qui vous servira peut-Stre'a la mieux comprendre.
L'attaque de Gravelines nous met dans une pressante necessite de
savoir les intentions des Anglais, parce que la place ne pouvant etre




396                        APPENDIX.
secourue que par mer, la chose peut etre enterprise avec esperance du
succes, pourvu que los Anglais ne s'en m6lent point; mais etant comme
impossible s'ils sont joints aI l'Espagne et obliges de favoriser ses desseins contre nous, il est de la derniere importance de decouvrir promptement leurs resolutions on traitant avec eux du diff6rend que nous
avons ensemble.
Si le traite que nous devons faire avec eux peut etre conclu bientot,
cce sera le meilleur et il reglera tout. Vous savez en ce cas que nous
sommes prots; en premier lieu, de reconnaitre la Republique d'Angleterre et de lui ecrire aux termes qu'elle pout raisonnablement desirer;
en second lieu, de nommer pr'sentement des commissaires pour examiner, avec ceux que la.Republique nommera, les prises qui ont et6
faites de part et d'autre sur la mer, et pourvoir avec sufrete'a la satisfaction de ceux'a qui elle se trouvera due, a la charge neanmoins que
d'abord, en rendant la lettre du roi avec la suscription que la Rttpublique a desiree, on conviendra de surseoir toutes hostilites et represailles
de part et d'autre.
Si cet article est aocorde nous serons assures pour les secours que
nous entreprendrons d'envoyer'a Gravelines; et toutefois pour plus
de precaution, il sera beon d'en toucher un mot a MI. Cromwell pour
avoir sa parole s'il est possible, ce qu'on pourra faire en demandant
quelque chose de plus, comme par exemple la liberte, pour les vaisseaux du roi destines pour cc secours, de relacher en sutrete dans ]es
ports d'Angleterre si le vent contraire ou quelque autre consideration
les y oblige.
Pour obliger les Anglais a d6sirer davantage de se reunir avec nous,
il ne sera pas mal "a propos d'entrer avec eux en traite de la cession de
Dunkerque; et en effet le roi leur remettra volontiers cette importante
place pourvu, en premier lieu, qu'ils se joignent avec nous contre l'Espagne et qu'ils y demeurent unis tant que la guerre durera, avec obligation de nous assister de leurs forces de mer pour la defense de nos
places maritimes; en second lieu, qu'ils nous donnent une somme d'argent considerable, comme pourrait etre un million d'or ou huit cent
mille ecus; en troisieme lieu, qu'ils commencent leur assistance presentement pour le secours de Gravelines, pour lequel ils nous pretent
de leurs vaisseaux; en quatrieme lieu, qu'ils s'obligent de laisser la
religion catholique en l'etat ot elle est'a present dans Dunkerque, et
s'il est possible, de ne mettre dans la place qu'une garnison catholique.
S'ils faisaient difficulte de se d6clarer ouvertement contre l'Espagne
par le secours de Gravelines, en nous fournissant un bon nombre de
vaisseaux pour transporter en France (lorsqu'on leur remettra Dunkerque) la garnison qui est maintenant dans la place, ils pourraient donner
ordre secrbtemennt,    ceux qui auraient soin de votre conduite, de faire




APPENDIX.                             397
ce que vous leur ordonnerez, et vous les pourriez engager a vous mettre dans Gravelines avec toute votre garnison.
Dans l'Ctat present des affaires, nous aurons sujet de nous consoler
de la perte de Dunkerque si elle produit la conservation de Gravelines
et la jonction des Anglais avec nous contre 1'Espagne aux conditions
marquees ci-dessus.
Si toutefois toutes lesdites conditions 6taient trop malaisees "a obtenir,
le roi vous permet de partir par degres de quelquesunes des moins iimportantes, estimant plus utile, dans la conjoncture presente, de conclure
promptement un trait6 de'alliance avec les Anglais qui sauve Gravelines, que de le diff6rer pour l'esperance d'obtenir quelque condition
plus avantageuse pour laquelle il faudra renvoyer par deqa et employer
plus de temps, a cause que, pendant cette longeur, Gravelines se pourrait perdre.
Enfin tout est remis't votre prudence et a l'affection que vouz avez
pour le service du roi.  Je vous dirai seulement qu'il importe merveilleusement que vous envoyiez en diligence h M. Cromwell une personne
intelligente qui puisse, etant sur les licux, s'6clairer des desseins qu'il
peut avoir.  Car s'il est vrai, comme les nouvolles publiques de Londres le portent, que la RSpublique d'Angleterre soit en termes de s'accommoder avec Messieurs les Etats, et que votre accommodement avec
elle soit incertain ou tire de longueur, il y aurait sujet de croire que
les propositions d'accommodement dont M. Cromwell vous a fait parler
n'ont iete faites que pour nous amuser-; et il serait "a craindre que ladite
Republique, pour profiter de la depense qu'elle a faite en composant
une si puissante flotte, ne se portat t faire quelque entreprise contre
cet Etat, dont nous savons qu'elle cst extremement sollicitee par les
envoyes de M. le prince.
En cc cas, il faudrait promptement en donner avis a MI. Brasset,l et
agir de concert avec lui pour voir s'il n'y aurait pas moyen d'engager
Messieurs les Etats, qui ont de puissantes force sur la mer, a nous donner quelque assistance, leur interilt les obligeant'L empecher les Anglais
de prendre des avantages sur nous qui leur donneraient moyen, etant
les plus forts sur la mer, de se rendre enfin les maitres du commerce
de France; mais il ne faudra faire cette tentative qu'apres avoir perdu
toute esperance de notre accommodenment avec les Anglais et avoir reconnu qu'ils ont resolu de nous attaquer.
1 The French ambassador at the Hague.
voli. I. —34




398                      APPENDIX.
APPENDIX XIX.
DON ALONZO DE CARDENIAS TO DON GERONIMO DE LA TORRE.
London, 19th July, 1652.
THE Parliament has resolved to publish a manifesto against the
Dutch, which will contain a statement of the complaints of the Commonwealth.  It is reported that the manifesto will appear within two
days, and that it will be followed by hostilities.  Within the last few
days a squadron of ships belonging to the Parliament inflicted a severe
defeat on the vessels of the Dutch, which came from the west, to the
number of forty sail. The English captured seven of them, burned
four, and drove twenty of them on shore near Calais; the loss was
as great as if they had struck on a shoal, for the French on the
coast completely pillaged them.  The cargo of one of the burned ships
was worth 400,000 ducats, according to the report of those who were
on board.
Great insults have been offered here to Gentillot, the envoy of the
King of France.  Before he entered London, he wrote to the Master
of Ceremonies to announce that he came on the part of his Most Christian Majesty to the Parliament, with credentials which authorized him
to acknowledge the English Commonwealth, in case it would revoke
the letters of marque which had been granted against France. An
offer to this effect had been made to the King of France on the part
of England by William Villiers, brother of the Duke of Buckingham,
upon which he had orders to communicate with the Parliament.  The
1Master of Ceremnonies carried this letter to the Council of State, where,
after a deliberation, it was decided that Villiers should be summoned;
the letter of Gentillot was shown him, and he was interrogated concerning it. It would have gone hard with him, if he had not denied
everything, and even demanded permission of the Parliament to challenge Gentillot to a duel.  The Council contented itself with ordering
him to make a declaration in writing, in which he should disavow the
offer made, it is said, by him to the Coult of France.  The Master of
Ceremonies sent an exceedingly rude reply to Gentillot, informing him
that it was plain, from the declaration of Villiers, which he communicated to him, that his statements were an imposture.  Immediately
after this, the Frenchman came to London; the Council summoned
him before it, and causing him to stand erect and uncovered, interrogated him upon divers matters, beginning by asking him who he was,
from what country he came, what his name was, why he came, and
who sent him.  lHe replied that he was a Frenchman, that his name
was Gentillot, that he came as envoy from the King of France, and




APPENDIX.                           a399
that he found they did not treat him according to his character of envoy.  le was asked if he brought letters of credence, to which he
answered-Yes; he was then asked why he had them  not with him
to present them; to which he replied by giving every sort of excuse,
founded on the orders which he said he had received. lie was then
directed to leave the chamber, and wait; at the end of a quarter of an
hour he was summoned again, and ordered to present his letters of
credence in three days, and to attend to report upon them, with a
threat of being ordered out of London, and the country, at a short
notice, in case he did not do so.
APPENDIX XX.
(Page 245.)
I. —M. DE GEENTILLOT TO 3M. SERPVIEN.
Calais, 17 Septembre, 1652.
Voici des nouvelles non moins facheuses que veritables.  Les Anglais ont pris les vaisseaux que l'on avait prepares pour le secours de
Dunkerque, apres les avoir guettes plus de dix jours,' ce que rapporte
le capitaine d'un vaisseau bruflot.
NI. le commandeur de Boismorand, qui commandait un vaisseau
nomme le Berler, dit que M. de Vendbme ayant command6 sept vaisseaux et anutant de brfilots pour aller'[ Calais charger les vivres, gens
et munitions que l'on devait jeter dans Dunkerque, l'amiral ayant
retenu seulement six ou sept brulots avec l'Anna et un autre grand
vaisseau, cette petite escadre prit la route vers Calais oi elle arriva sur
le soir et mouilla l'ancre.  Ce qu'"i peine elle avait fait quand cinquante-quatre voiles Anglaises lui fondirent sus " pleines voiles. Dans
le commencement elle crut que les Anglais la prenaient pour Anglaise,
si bien que pour les desabuser elle arbora ses pavilions. Les Franwais,
voyant que les parlementaires ne laissaient pas de les joindre, appareillerent dans le dessein de gagner la Hollande, et pour cet effet levtrent
l'ancre; mais ils ne firent pas grand chemin sans ~etre enveloppes par
les Anglais qui les ont tous pris, a la r6serve du commandeur de
Boismorand qui, I' la faveur de la nuit et du feu des ennemlis, trouva
moyen d'eviter leur rencontre et de se sauver.  Ce fut Samedi au soir.
I1 est arrive ici environ les six ou sept heures de cce matin.
Le capitaine du bruflot, qui est arrive un peu apres l'autre, dit
qu'ayant (t6 pris et recconnu par le general Blake qu'il avait servi
autrefois et ledit ge6nral ayant cru que son vaisseau n'etait que fret6
et n'appartenait pas au roi par ce que ledit capitaine lui en dit, le lui
avait rendun et qu'ayant ete parmi les ennemis il avait vu quelque chose




400                        APPENDIX.
du mauvais traitement que messieurs les chevaliers avaient rcqu par
les Anglais avec menace d'un plus rigoureux, en haine des prises que
les autres chevaliers ont faites sur eux en Provence.  Ils sont venus,
je dis les Anglais, jusques aupres de nous chercher notre amiral l'A1na
et les autres vaisseaux qu'ils ont grand regret de n'avoir pas pu surprendre.  Ils disent qu'ils les saisiront en quelque part qu'ils aillent;
mais tout le monde croit que le vent a 6t6 si favorable a leur rctraite
a Brost, que ces perfides perdront leur temps et leur peine. les
chercher.
II.-THE DUKE DE VENDOME TO ADMIRAL BLAKE.
Dieppe, 23 Septembre, 1652.
J'ai et6 extriement surpris d'une nouvelle que je viens d'apprendre.
Quelques matelots qui etaient sur les vaisseaux du roi, mon maitre,
in'ont rapporte qu'une eseadre de son armee, que j'avais envoyee pour
le secours de Dunkerque, a e6t attaqu6e  et presque toute prise vers la'adc  de Calais par la fiotte de la Republique d'Angleterre que vous
commandez. J'envoie ce gentilhomme vers vous pour en savoir la
verite, et ne puis croire, n'y ayant point de guerro dclarde entre les
deux nations, ni aucun juste sujet d'exercer des hostilites entre l'une
et l'autre, que ce qui a ete entrepris contre les vaisseaux de Sa Majeste ait et6 fait par l'ordre de la Republique.  Vous aurez pu voir par
ceux que j'avais donnes au sieur de Menillet, qui commandait l'escadre,
qu'il etait expressement charg6 de ne se point meler des diffJrends
d'entre 1'Angleterre et les Provinces-Unies, et d'entretenir toute sorte
de bonne correspondance avec les sujets de votre Etat.  Cela me fait
esp(erer que la Republique, etant informee de ce qui s'est passe donnera
les ordres necessaires pour la restitution des vaisseaux qui ont et6
menes en Angleterre et que vous ne refuserez pas d'y contribuer ce
qui dependra de vous.  J'attendrai votre reponse avant qu'cn ecrire 5
Sa Majeste; ne doutant point qu'elle ne soit conforme a la raison et
telle qui j'ai sujet de la desirer, je demeurerai, monsieur, votre trbsaffectionn6, etc.
III.-THE DUKE DE VENDOME TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF
ENGLAND.
Dieppc, 23 Septembre, 1652.
TRES-ILLUSTRES SEIGNEURS: Envoyant cc gentilhomme a M.
l'amiral Blake, qui commandle votre flotte, pour lui demander la restitution de quelques vaisseaux du roi, mon maitre, que j'avais envoyes
au secours de Dunkerlque, avec ordre expres h celui qui les commandait
d'entretenir touto sorte de bonne correspondance avec vos sujets, je
l'ai voulu charger de cette lettrc pour supplier bien humblement vos
Seigneuries d'ordonncr ladite restitution, puisqu'il n'y a point cu




APPENDIX.                            401
jusqu'a present de guerre declar~e entre les deux nations, et que Sa
Majest6 n'a point cru qu'il y euft aucun juste sujet d'exercer des
hostilites entre elles.  Je me promets cet effet de la bonne justice de
vos Seigneuries, et sur cette assurance elles me feront la faveur de me
croire.
Tres-illustres seigneurs, de vos Seigneuries,
Le tres-humble serviteur.
IV.-M. DE GENTILLOT TO M. SERVIEN.
Calais, 24 Septembre, 1652.
Depuis mes prece6dentes il n'est rien arrive, sinon que le Parlement
d'Angleterre a envoy6 Vendredi un commissaire' Douvres pour faire
donner du pain et passage aux matelots des navircs du roi, et d6clarer
aux officers quoe l'ordre et l'intention du Parlement, etaient qu'ils fussent
traites civilement.  Cependant ils ont pris, sans rien restituer aux uns
ct autres, leurs nippes.  Ils ont retenu Menillet et quelques autres
officers, jusques au retour des vaisseaux qui les ont portes.  Ils en ont
envoye'i Dieppe.  Quelques-uns ont pris parti parmi eux.  Ils disent
que ce n'est que par represailles.  Ils ont fort examini s'il n'y avait
pas de ces chevaliers qui ont pris de leurs navires sur la mer 316diterranee.
L'on me mande de Londres qu'ils ont fait un grand bruit de rejouissance, parmi les Communes, de la prise de ces navires, et que les plus
senses et tous les marchands et citoyens ont e6t tr;es, fachs, les uns
croyant que cela excedait l'ordre des represailles et laisserait un sujet
aux Anglais de mefiance plus forte qu'auparavant de notre amitie, que
pourrait faire passer les choses trop avant; les marchands de peur
qu'on ne saisit leurs effets en France et que tout espoir de bonne intelligence ne ffit ote,'i laquelle on avait espere de bons temperaments.
L'on me mande que les agents de M. le Prince et de M. du Doignon
n'ont pas plus d'audience qu'auparavant, c'est-'a-dire rien, et que leurs
instructions ou afftires n'ont d'organe que l'ambassadeur d'Espagne;
miais si votre ressentiment pour cette derniere insulte parait trop, que
le Parlement prendra de plus confidentes mesures avec eux.
V.-THE COUNCIL OF STATE OF ENGLAND TO THE DUKE DE
VENDOME.
12 December, 1652.
Iy~ LORD: The Parliament of the Republic of England, having
received on the 20th of October last, a letter from your highness, dated
Dieppe, the 8th of September, 1652, demanding the restoration of
certain vessels, belonging to the king of France, which have been
calptured a short time since by Colonel Robert Blake, General of their
34*




402                      APPENDIX.
Fleet, have commanded us, to whom they have confided and entrusted
the affairs of the Admiralty, to return an answer to the same.
The Council of State, is perfectly assured of the inclination of the
Parliament of the Republic of England, to maintain friendliness and
correspondence, as well with the king your master, as with their other
neighbors. But finding, that during some years, the persons, goods,
and vessels of English merchants, trading in the Mediterranean, have
been plundered and captured, not only by the subjects of the King of
France, but also by his own ships, and that no satisfaction can be obtained by any representation which has been made to the Court of
France, the Council has authorized the said general, to try and obtain
reparation for these injuries upon the ships and goods of the French
nation; and as soon as restitution shall have been obtained, and satisfaction given for the said wrongs and grievances, the Council will be
prepared, in the name of the Parliament, to comply with the wishes
of your highness as expressed in your letter,
TIIURLOE, Cle'rk of the C'oluncil.
Whitehall, 2d December, 1652 (0. S.)
Signed in the name, and by the order of the
Council of State established by authority
of Parliament.
B. WHITELOCKE, Presiclent.
APPENDIX XXI.
(Page 246.)
I.-THE ARCHDUKE LEOPOLD TO KING PHILIP I-V.
Brussels, February 6, 1652.
DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS being provided with no other authority
given from your Majesty than the letters which were his first credentials with the Parliament of England, and foreseeing that his present
negotiations may involve the English in a war with France and Portugal, has requested me to give him instructions as to the next course
for him to pursue, while he is waiting for such commands as your
Majesty may give with regard to the matters contained in his despatches.  Don Alonzo thinks it advisable for the future to seek for
an opportunity of leading the English to break faith with France.  lHe
says that the possibility of capturing Calais is the idea that would most
readily lead to this result, this being the conquest that nmost immnediately suggests itself.  lie adds that, as the war with Portugal depends
on the recovery of Catalonia, the conclusion of this second treaty may
be deferred till afterwv.ards.




APPENDIX.                           403
At first sight, considering how advantageous it would be to your
MIajesty that France should sustain such a loss in her own territory as
to be deprived of Calais, a town so important, one moreover from which
she has gained so many naval victories in these provinces-and considering, moreover, how advantageous it would be, on your Majesty's
account to bring France into collision with an enemy that, since its
last victories, has shown itself so powerful and haughty, I confess to
your Majesty, that I should almost be induced to think that Don
Alonzo should seek to urge on the English to the conquest of Calais,
were I not deterred by the followingconsiderations:The English arc constitutionally inconsistent in their friendship
with foreigners, and if at any time they should become the enemies
of your Majesty while Calais is in their hands, they would, with Dover,
have the two gates of the English Channel, by means of which they
could close the sea to all, and by their powerful ships of war, could
intercept all communication between Spain and their provinces, to the
imminent danger of the loss of them on our part.
Although the French are divided into different parties, no one of them
would consent to lose the least particle of French soil. The dissensions
that exist there now, at least those which are exposed to the public
eye, arise only from a desire to satisfy individual passions; but if the
French were to see so important a place occupied by the English,
who might from this spot extend their conquests as they did in
former times; they would probably cease to regard aught but their
danger, and they would unite in the pursuit of one common interest.
The advantages which we now reap from their discords would then
cease immediately.
It is equally probable that the Hollanders, who are already on no
very good terms with the Parliament of England, seeing such conquest
made by England, would league themselves with France; for they
would not be less concerned than ourselves at seeing their ships, in the
passage of the Channel, delivered to the mercy of English politeness.
In this case it is to be feared that the Hollanders would eagerly seek
to buy over our maritime places which are at prescent in the occupation of the French, which would oblige us again to declare war; for
it is in order to hinder them from accepting the purchase of these
places, which was offered to them by the French, that they have been
given to understand that your Majesty is determined to recover these
places, into whatever hands they may fall.
This then is the answer that I have made to Don Alonzo de CardeIas, recommending him to continue his parleys on two points, rupture
with France and rupture with Portugal, until he has received a reply
to the despatches which he has addressed to your Majesty.  I have
also told him that if the English are determined to break faith with




404                     APPENDIX.
France, it is better that the cause of rupture should have reference to
Britany or Normandy.  May God, &c.
II.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO PhIILIP IV.
SIRE: Since the battle of Worcester, affairs have taken such a turn
that no movement can be observed at all likely to affect the public
peace and tranquillity, especially as those in government are intent
upon ameliorating the condition of the republic, and are, moreover, so
inflated with pride that they affect not to concern themselves about the
influx of ambassadors and foreign ministers, who, they say, are seeking
on all sides to procure the recognition of the republic, and to conciliate
its friendship.  For instance, the Ambassadors Extraordinary from
Holland, came here on the 29th of December last, expressing their
deep regret that they had not done this when the republic sent a special
ambassador to Holland, to solicit an alliance.  Immediately on their
arrival they took prompt and active measures to procure an audience
with the Parliament which was granted to them on the 29th of the same
month.  On that occasion, I. CJatz, who held the highest rank among
the three who were sent, and who directed them in the negotiations
which they were desirous of concluding, made a Latin speech, of which
he had caused a written copy to be made; I inclose a copy to your
3Majesty.  One of them, I have moreover sent to Flanders, to the
Archduke, and to the Hague, to Councillor Brun, in order that both of
these may be informed of the hostile feelings which are beginning to
be shown by these people with regard to 8pain, evidenced by many
indications contained in this document. This is no new thing to me,
for I had observed the hostile feelings of one of these named Schaep,
when he came to London two years ago, as commissary sent by his province, Holland, to make the proposals which he did in fact address to
the English Government.
Having considered how disadvantageous it would be to your MIajesty that the interests of these two republics should be united, I had
begun, before the arrival of these envoys, to consider the best means
of bringing about an agreement between them and your Majesty, if
it should be impossible to hinder the arrangements alluded to, so as
to provide that no stipulation or convention should be entered into
that might prove prejudicial to your Majesty's interests. Accordingly,
having conferred on this matter with our friends in the Parliament by
the only niedium that remained, through which communication was
possible, I had resolved to introduce the proposal of some treaty.  I
have found, however, that there are difficulties in doing this; the resentment that is felt here on account of the impunity enjoyed by the
assassins of the Resident has been an obstacle, and at present this
resentment is fomented by the presbyterians, who arc partisans of
Hollan].  Another obstacle exists in the resolution taken by the Par



APPENDIX.                           405
liament to send no ambassador to Spain,'and to conclude no treaty
with any minister of your Majesty until they have obtained the satisfaction which they profess is rightly due to them. To this must be
added our desire that some proposals should first emanate from those
connected with the Parliament; but I have been unable so to influence them as to accomplish this, although I have sought to do so
in different covert ways, and although I did myself make overtures to
an individual belonging to the Government before members of the
Government were prohibited paying visits to, or receiving visits from
ministers of foreign powers; and even after this prohibition, I attempted to do so by the intervention of a confidential agent. One of
the members of the Government, having learned that I hesitated to
bring any proposals of alliance before the Parliament, fearing lest
they should be discarded, on account of the affair of the assassins of
the Resident Ascham, told my confidential agent that it appeared to
him, that if I ever had this intention, there was no opportunity more
favorable than the present, while the Parliament is but ill satisfied
with the Hollanders, the French, and the Portuguese, and that he
believed it is for us to make the first advances with reference to an
alliance with the republic of England against France and Portugal,
with whom your Majesty is in open war, just as it would be proper
for the Parliament to make the first overtures, if the alliance referred
to was that of your Majesty, in order to assist the Parliament to conquer Scotland, or Ireland, or to recover any other provinces. I have
found it impossible to derive more than this from them. Seeing the
advantages that would accrue to your Majesty from any treaty whatsoever with these people, and finding a favorable opportunity to form
it in the absence of Henry Vanpe, who has just set out as commissioner
to Scotland, and who is a man of great influence, and moreover very
hostile to Spain, I have determined to request an audience from the
Council of State, before the arrival of the envoys from Holland, in
order that I may give them no reason to suspect that I have any wish
to neutralize the effects of their negotiation by seeking an audience
after their arrival.  The Council of State waited for two or three days
before fixing the day of audience, whilst the Mlaster of the Ceremonies
was absent from London, which city he had left, in order that he might
prepare accommodation for the Holland envoys at Gravesend and
Greenwich; it had been intimated that they were only awaiting a
favorable wind in order to emlbark on the 26th of Decemlber-the day
was fixed for the 29th.  The iollanders had audience with the Parliament on the morning of that day, while I obtained an interview
with the Council of State in the evening.  It appeared to me advisable to begin with the affair of the assassins of Ascham, and I spoke
of the rights of the church to immunity with more force than I had




406                      APPENDIX.
done before.  As it was n'cessary to tell them something of the state
of that matter, although I had received no intelligence about it, I
sought to encourage their hope that satisfaction will be given to them.
I then spoke of the necessity of rendering the friendship between the
two States more distinct, and I concluded my interview by urging that
justice should be rendered to the Spaniards who had had property in
the ship La Santa Clara.  The President of the Council of State
replied briefly by assuring me that the Council would take into consideration what I had been saying, and would send me an answer on
the following day. I have since learned that after my departure the
four statements which I had left, were read, and that a day was taken
in order to discuss them. On that day they were read again, and
although the first statement appeared to them reasonable (that, namely,
which referred to the affair of those charged with the assassination of
the Resident), the President and four or five other members insisted
with some warmth that I should be told that a definite reply would be
sent to me when satisfaction had been rendered; but the other memnbers were of an opposite opinion, urging that my note explained the
procedure followed in Spain in this matter, that it gave hope that
punishment would be inflicted on the guilty parties, and that it expressed the feelings of your Majesty, and your Majesty's desire to give
satisfaction, which was in itself the first step in giving satisfaction.
As a result of this deliberation, it was resolved to render to Parliament an account of the contents of all my notes.  The Council recognized the necessity of their being specially authorized by the Parliament to conclude a treaty with me, and reported to me accordingly.
Agreeably to the report of the Council, the Parliament returned to it
the notes which treated of the letters of proof, and of the vessel La
Santa Clara, and recommended that a resolution should be formed
touching this matter.  As to the statement relating to the affair of the
assassins of Ascham, this was referred to a Parliamentary Committee,
with directions to insist in their reply on the necessity of punishing
these men.  The third statement, referring to a treaty to be concluded
with the republic, was the subject of protracted discussion; the Presbyterians used all their efforts to persuade the rest that no treaty of
alliance ought to be concluded with me before satisfaction had been
received for the affair of the assassination; but the Independents had
a majority, and decided that negotiations should be commenced.
Thereupon a Presbyterian, finding that no other means of injury remained, said that it would be right for the Council, before giving me
a reply, to demand of me the production of the full authority granted
by your Majesty to treat with the republic. A resolution having been
passed to this effect, the AMaster of the Ceremonies came to me, on the
19th day of this month, and placed in my hands a copy of the order




APPENDIX.                          407
of Parliamcent, as well as of the order that the Council of State had
given him to convey it to me.  I replied that your Majesty would
send me a reply when you had seen these two statements.  Our
friends here could not believe that I was acting without the full
authority of your Majesty, and they insisted on my producing these
credentials.  I assured them that I had none, but that they would be
sent in a short time; they then sought to induce the Parliament to
content itself with my official character, and with the authority conferred upon me by my letters of credence, and to commence negotiations in virtue of these letters.  It has appeared to me necessary to
give your Majesty an account of all this, before even an answer is
remitted to me, in order that, if this course should appear suitable to
your Majesty, full and general powers may be transmitted to me,
authorizing me to carry on any negotiation that may be necessary
with the Parliament of this republic, and to conclude it; or rather,
that full powers may be given to any one who may take my position
here, if there is occasion.  The instructions should be very minute,
in order that it may be known what is to be demanded. I shall suspend negotiations till the arrival of orders from your Majesty, and
your Majesty's reply to the present despatch.  I beg that your Majesty will as speedily as possible cause to be drawn up and sent by
different ways complete and detailed instructions, that I may know the
basis of the negotiations I am to make in case any questions regarding
them may arise, which is very probable.
I think I ought also to inform your Majesty of what I have heard,
namely, that the Presbyterians and other members of Parliament who
are not favorably disposed towards us, say in their private conversation that at the present day no treaty of peace exists between Spain
and England, since there is no obligation to consider the treaty coneluded with Charles I. still valid; that consequently no violation
would be done to it were the republic of England to take any resolution they may choose, and as soon as it suits them.  This deserves
mature consideration, and I should regard it as a great evil if the
assassins of the Resident were not ultimately punished, and the
government of this country should cease to send ambassadors to your
Majesty.  The ancient treaty of peace will therefore be very precarious
till it has been formally renewed between your Majesty and this
republic.
II[. PART OF A LETTER FROM DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO
PHIILIP IV.
February 15, 1652.
In a letter dated Feb. 13, 1652, Don Alonzo develops still further
what he had said, in his letter of Jan. 23, relative to the projected




408                      APPENDIX.
coalition between Spain and the Parliament of England, to which he
proposed a common expedition against Calais, on condition that the
English should aid Spain against Gravelines, Dunkirk, and Nardyke.
He gives the reasons which have induced him to delay any parley on
this subject, and earnestly solicits a reply to his despatch of Jan. 23,
with full powers and commands relative to his official character, in
case any opportunity might offer of concluding any arrangement
against the French as well as against the Portuguese.
IV. DON ALONZO DE CARDE5NAS TO DON GERONIAMO DE LA TORItE.
London, February 25, 1652.
DEAR SIR,
ABOUT four days ago I sent a despatch, addressed to his
Majesty, by way of Flanders; in case the ordinary courier to Spain
should not reach his destination, as sometimes happens, I have thought
it necessary to send a duplicate of this despatch by a vessel bound for
Bilboa. I therefore send them herewith; I send also the despatch
referring to the Calais question, with an extract from a letter of Dr.
Augustus Navarro, dated Feb. 3, in which mention is made of the
reasons which have operated in Flanders to delay the proposal until
orders have been received from his IMajesty.  It has appeared to me
appropriate to add also the answer which I sent, thinking that it may
arrive in time, before any resolution is made on the subject.  To this
I have nothing to add, except to assure you of my respect, and of my
desire that you may be preserved for many years.
V. AUG. NAVARRO BRIENNE TO DON ALONZO DE CAItDENAS.
Brussels, February 3, 1652.
I have laid before his highness (the archduke) what you have
written to me, desiring to know his opinion as to the most suitable
terms in which to address the English commissioners, when they exhibit their projects, as you suppose, with reference to two points,
namely, the rupture between England and France in case assistance
is granted to England in the capture of Calais, and the war with Portugal which would be more advantageous to the Parliament.  You
have concluded, as we have also here, that the advantages to his
Majesty, attendant upon a war between the English Government and
France, would be incalculable.  The question with regard to Portugal, which should precede the recovery of Catalonia, admits of more
delay.
On such delicate questions as these, the wish here is that you
should receive directions from his Majesty. Now, it is not easy to
despatch to his Majesty a courier praying that his will on this subject




APPENDIX.                         409
may be communicated, that will depend much on the time that will
be taken by the ordinary courier who leaves this city on the sixth of
this month; the packet that you address to Madrid shall be remitted
to him.
I wrote to you last week relative to the inconveniences that are to
be apprehended from the occupation of Calais by the English; for
being in possession of Dover, and consequently of the two sides of the
Channel, on the day that any rupture shall occur between his Majesty
and them, the Channel will be closed to our vessels, and communication between his Majesty and the other states will be rendered impossible.
It has been thought also that the Hollanders might perhaps be
induced to form some new alliance with France on the same account;
and there is reason to fear lest they would seek to buy the maritime
places, which the French would use as a means of engaging them
against us.
If the English Government wishes to break with France, and any
expedition is made into Brittany or Normandy, a useful diversion
would be gained in France; but perhaps also that would oblige the
two parties in France to unite when they found foreigners' taking advantage of their dissensions. This it is that his highness wished me
to say to you, adding that you might seek skilfully to bring about a
rupture between France and England, or to suspend the two negotiations-that namely of which I have just spoken, as well as that
relating to Portugal, till orders arrive from his Majesty.
VI.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO AUG. NAVARRO BRIENNE.
London, February 9, 1652.
I have read what you have been pleased to tell me relative to the
two points about which I consulted his highness the archduke, as well
as your thoughts as to the inconvenience that would result from the
occupation of Calais by the English.  They are certainly prudent in
the highest degree; but one consideration that causes me to hesitate
admitting them is, that the evil which is supposed to be imminent was
nevertheless never realized during the period of two hundred years in
which the English occupied this town (a period in which is included
the reign of the Emperor Charles V. and his son), up to the time that
it was lost in the reign of Queen Mary.  On the other hand, we must
take into account the advantages that would result from this to his
Majesty, and the injury which would be sustained by our enemies,
with whom we are in undisguised conflict. It seems to me that we
ought to prefer a great advantage which is certain and apparent, to
problematical chances, and leave something to be disposed of by fate
VOL. I,-35




410                      APPENDIX.
and the future.  Moreover, the town being once in the hands of the
English, it would be a fruitful source of discord between France and
England, and the national hatred that has always existed between
these two countries would be perpetually inflamed.  As to the danger
of losing our Flemish provinces, that would only be possible in the
event of Spain being at war with England, and in that case France,
in order to recover her town of Calais, would unite with Spain, which
would make it an easy matter to drive the English to any extremities
we please.
With regard to any conquests that Parliament might make in Brittany and Normandy, this is not a plan which can be at all entertained
as practicable, for the English could not hope to obtain, in such a land
contest, the assistance of our armies, and they are not prepared by
themselves to break with France.  And as to the threatened coalition
between Holland and France, this would equally occur whether the
republic of England should unite with us in the capture of Calais, or
of other towns in Brittany or Normandy.  As far as regards the purchase of our maritime places by the United Provinces, it is not thought
here that they would do this, for this Government is opposed to such
a measure, and it would be so the more reasonably inasmuch as the
conduct which would determine such a resolution on the part of the
Hollanders would be its own.
However, I will not press any negotiation on this matter, and I will
confine myself to holding conferences on this subject as well as on that
of Portugal until I receive from his Majesty such orders as his Majesty
may think advisable to send. Only I fear lest the spring, which is
the best time for agitating the question, may pass; at that time the
English will have their fleet ready. It is, indeed, already in preparation, and is said to number a hundred and fifty vessels, of which a
hundred and twenty belong to the State, besides thirty merchant vessels freighted for the use of the State.
VII.-DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS TO PHILIP IV.
London, September 20, 1652.
SIRE: In various despatches I have already informed your Majesty
of the proposition which I laid before the commissioners of Parliament for the renewal of the treaty of peace between your Majesty
and the republic of England, agreeably to your Majesty's instructions;
I have also spoken to your Majesty of the contents of a note which I
sent to them, a copy of which I have sent to your Majesty. Lastly, I
have related in detail the steps which I took in order to obtain a reply,
and of the reply that was finally given me on the 22d of August;
copies of all these I have also sent to your Majesty. In this reply I
am told that the Council of State waited till I should present formally




APPENDIX.                          411
before them the articles which I had to propose; I have therefore
signed and presented to these same commissioners, on the 12th of this
month, the articles contained in the document which I hereby enclose.
T'hey are extracted from the last treaty which was concluded with the
late king, excepting that such changes have been made as were demanded by the altered condition of affairs. The clause which your
Majesty particularly recommended is inserted in Article III.; it provides that neither of the parties contracting should give any aid or
assistance, direct or indirect, to rebels or enemies of the other party.
The last article was added by me on account of the prohibition which
has been made here of importing into England any kind of merchandise in ships not belonging to England, or not belonging to the nation
from whom the products are sent, or to the country from which these
products are derived. It appeared fo me right and appropriate that
all subjects whatsoever of your Majesty should be able to transport,
from the different States belonging to your Majesty, all products and
merchandise, although they might not themselves belong to the countries from which the said products were originally derived. I have
learned that these articles were read in the Council on the same day,
September 12, as well as the note accompanying them, a copy of which
I append to this communication. Moreover, I add hereunto a copy of
the note in which I made answer respecting those charged with the
murder of Ascham, who are still in prison, for I learned that the Council would have been displeased if I had neglected to do this; all this
has been sent to the commissioners of foreign affairs.  I will send to
your Majesty any reply that may be made to it.
VIII.-NOTE AND PROPOSITIONS PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL OF
STATE IN ENGLAND, ON THE 12TH  OF SEPTEMBER, 1652, BY
DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS.
DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS, of the Council of his Catholic Majesty,
and his ambassador to the Parliament of the Republic of England,
states, that after having seen the reply which the honorable Council
of State has at length made on the 12th (22d) of August, to his notes
of the 6th of June (May 27th) and of the 6th (16th) of August, in
which document it is first of all stated that the Parliament abides by
its resolution to continue and maintain friendship and friendly relations
with the king his master, as had been already expressed on other occasions and in preceding notes, especially ill that of the 10th (20th)
of April, and, moreover, that the Council of State is waiting until
the said ambassador shall present to it certain articles for the renewal
of the treaty of peace as has been proposed by it, it has seemed proper
to the said ambassador to draw up the articles which he has the honor
hereby to present, in order that the Council may give them its con



412                      APPENDIX.
sideration, and, if they are judged to be equitable and calculated to
promote the interests of the two States, may order them to be carried
out.  The said ambassador reserves for himself the permission to add,
change, or suppress, before the definite conclusion of the treaty, anything that may appear to hini to be demanded by circumstances that
may arise during the course of the discussion.
ARTICLES PROPOSED BY DON ALONZO DE CARDENAS OF THE
COUNCIL OF HIS CATHOLIC MAJESTY, AND HIS AMBASSADOR
TO THE PARLIAMIENT AND REPUBLIC OF ENGLAND, FOR THE
RENEWAL OF THE TREATY OF PEACE, ALLIANCE, AND FRIENDSHIP, BETWEEN TtIE KING, HIS MAASTER, AND THE PARLIAMENT OF TIlE SAID REPUBLIC.
I.
IN the first place, there shall be from this day a good, general, sincere, true, constant, and perfect amity, alliance, and peace of perpetual duration, and reciprocally inviolable, as well on land as on the
sea and all rivers, between his Mlost Serene Majesty the King of Spain,
his heirs and successors, and the republic of England, and between all
kingdoms, states, territories, countries, and subjects whatsoever of the
two powers, as well for the present as for the future, of what rank
and dignity soever they may be, so that the aforesaid subjects and
peoples shall mutually aid and second one another, and maintain relations and communications of good-will.
II.
Neither his Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain, nor his heirs
and successors, nor the Parliament of the said republic shall do or
undertake, either of themselves or by means of others, anything that
may be prejudicial to the interests of the other contracting party, or
of any of its kingdoms, possessions, ort territories in whatsoever part it
may be situated, on land or sea, ports or rivers, under any pretext and
occasion whatsoever; and neither of the two parties shall give, support,
or consent to any war or design that may or can be prejudicial to the
interests of either.
III.
Neither of the two parties shall consent, that, by any one of its
subjects, vassals, peoples, or inhabitants respectively, there should be
lent any aid, or assistance, or favor, or counsel, directly or indirectly,
by land or sea or rivers, to the enemies or rebels of the other party,
of what kind soever they may be; nor that, by the said subjects or
vassals, there should be furnished, to those who would attack or who
have attacked the possessions, territories, and states of the said king




A 1 E'NDIX.                         41 3
and the said republic, or to those who might alienate or cause to be
alienated, from the obedience and authority of either of the two parties,
any soldiers, provisions, money, arms, horses, instruments of war,
ammunition, or any other aid tending to excite or maintain war.
IV.
Moreover, his Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain and the
Parliament of the said republic renounce, as they do in fact renounce
by the present treaty, all leagues, confederations, alliances, capitulations,
and agreements, concluded, in any manner whatsoever, to the prejudice of the other party, and contrary or such as may become contrary
to this treaty of peace and to the good understanding of the two
parties, or to anything that may be contained in this treaty. The two
parties shall declare to be null and void the said leagues, and promise
that none such shall be constituted.
V.
His Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain and the Parliament of
the republic of England shall bind themselves so to act that their
respective subjects shall, for the future, inflict no injury upon each
other; and they shall revoke all kinds of letters of reprisal or marque,
as well as all other commissions which imply any permission to make
any kind of prize, that may be prejudicial to the interests of the said
king or the said republic, or of their respective subjects, and wvhich
may have been given to their own subjects or to foreigners; the two
parties shall declare them null, as they in fact do declare them by the
present treaty; and those who contravene themn shall be punished;
and besides the punishment inflicted, they shall be compelled to restore
all damage caused to those who may have been injured and who may
demand indemnification.
Letters of reprisal or marque shall not for the future be delivered
by either of the two parties to their subjects or respective inhabitants,
nor to strangers, unless the grievances have been previously represented, and a copy of the demands forwarded to the ambassador of his
Most Serene Majesty or of the republic, who may reside at the Court
of the State against the subjects of which the said letters of reprisal
or marque may be demanded, and unless they are cognizant of the
proceeding, excepting in cases permitted by the law of nations rclative to reprisals and according to the rules prescribed by the law.
VI.
Between the aforesaid Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain,
and the aforesaid Republic, as also between their subjects and the inhabitants of their respective states, on land as well as on the sea, and




414                      APPENDIX.
on all rivers, and in all the kingdoms, states, domains, towns, ports,
villages and localities of the said king and the said republic, there
shall be and continue to be free commerce, as it existed before the war
between king Philip II., King of the Spaniards, and Elizabeth, Queen
of England, agreeably to the treaty of peace of the year 1604, article
IX., and conformably to usages consecrated by the ancient alliances
and treaties concluded before the said period; in such sort that, without any pass or other permit, general or special, as well by land as by
sea and all rivers, the subjects of the said King of Spain, and those
of the said republic of England, may mutually come to, enter, navigate, and visit all towns, localities, ports, rivers, gulfs, and settle in
any port whatsoever where, before the above-mentioned period, there
was reciprocal commerce, according to the usages consecrated by
ancient alliances and treaties; that they may convey their merchandise in carts, on horses, in sacks, on vessels laden or to be laden; that
they may buy and sell all things which they may desire, and to provide themselves with all things necessary to living and travelling at
moderate prices; that they may attend to their money affairs, and to
the repair of their vessels or conveyances belonging to themselves, or
hired or borrowed, and that they may quit the said ports with their
goods, merchandise, and all other things whatsoever, after having complied with only the laws and dues that are applicable according to the
local regulations; and lastly, that they may depart and return freely
to their own country, or into foreign countries without any hindrance,
and according to their pleasure.
VII.
It shall be permitted to arrive, and sojourn at, and to return to the
ports of the said Most Serene Majesty the king of Spain, and the said
republic of England respectively with the same liberty; not only
with merchant ships intended for the transport of merchandise, but
also with other private vessels armed and provided for resistance to
enemies; whether these vessels enter into the said ports in consequence of unfavorable weather, or of free will for the purpose of obtaining stores; it being always understood that, if these vessels arrive
through determinate purpose, and not because they have been driven
by storms, their number shall not exceed six or eight, and that they
shall not reside in the ports or in the neighborhood any longer time
than may be necessary, in order to repair their losses, or to provide
themselves with necessary stores, so that there may be no obstacle to
the passage and the free commerce of other friendly nations.  In
cases, however, which may arise relative to a larger number of ships
of war, it shall not be permitted to them to enter, without having
befoirehand apprised the said King, or the said Republic, nor without




APPENDIX.                          415
their respective permissions; and further it shall be provided that no
hostile act, or act that may be prejudicial to the interests of the said
King or said Republic, be committed in the ports of the said King
and the said Republic, but that the said vessels shall remain quiet
and peaceable as friends and allies, taking care that, under pretext of
commerce, there be not furnished by the subjects, vassals or inhabitants of the said kingdoms, or of the said republic respectively, any aid,
or assistance, in provisions, arms, or instruments of war, or any other
military favor or support, to the profit of rebels or enemies of either
of the said parties, and that every individual who may seek to do this
may be punished with the most severe penalties that are inflicted on
seditious persons and disturbers of public peace, and the faith of
treaties. The respective subjects of both States shall not be treated
on the territories of the other more rigorously than those belonging
to the nation, as regards commercial sales and transactions, as well in
reference to price as in every other relation; under all these relations
the position of the foreigners shall be equal to that of the natives,
no laws or customs whatsoever being allowed to produce a contrary
effect.
V7II.
Immediately after the signing of the articles of the present treaty,
the Parliament of the republic of England shall command, and shall
publish by an edict the command, that no subject, inhabitant or vassal of the said republic shall carry or transport in any manner, direct
or indirect, in his own name, or in the name of any one else, with any
ship or vessel, nor give or lend his name to another, that he may
transport any ships or bottoms, any merchandise, manufactured products or any other objects whatsoever, of Portugal or of its conquered
possessions, into Spain or into other kingdoms and possessions of his
Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain, nor to carry on their ships
into the said countries any Portuguese merchant or trader, under pain
of incurring the anger of the Parliament, and other penalties inflicted
on those who despise the commands of their rulers. For this purpose,
and in order more effectually to provide against any species of fraud
that may result from the resemblance of merchandise from England,
Scotland and Ireland, it is provided, by the present article, that all
merchandise which is to be transported into the kingdoms and states
of the said King of Spain should be provided with the register and
seal of the town from which they have been taken, and, thus registered and marked, they shall be regarded as English, Scotch or Irish
without any difficulties or disputes; and they shall be regarded as
legitimate, unless any fraud shall be proved, but without causing at
the same time any obstacle to the passage of this merchandise. Those
goods which are neither registered, nor provided with seals, shall be




416                      APPENDIX.
confiscated and regarded as forfeited. All Portuguese who may be
found on the said vessels shall be arrested and imprisoned.
IX.
Goods belonging to England, Scotland, or Ireland may comne freely
from the states of the republic of England into Spain, and into the
states of his Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain, as has been
above stipulated, on paying all customary rights and rents.
X.
With regard to goods that may be purchased in Spain, or any other
kingdoms or states of his Most Serene Highness the King of Spain,
by English, Scotch, or Irish merchants, and which they may convey
in vessels, either belonging to themselves, or borrowed or hired for
this purpose, always excepting, as has been before said, Portuguese
vessels, no rights or rents shall be increased, provided that the said
goods be conducted and carried into the states of the republic of
England, or into the ports of provinces friendly to the King of Spain,
and not into Portugal or into any of the states or territories of Portugal. And in order that there may be no fraud in this respect, and
that the said goods be not carried into other places or kingdoms, or
transported into Portugal or into any of its dependencies, it is provided that the said merchants, at the time when they may load their
vessels, either in Spain, or in other kingdoms or states of said Most
Serene Majesty the King of Spain, shall declare before the judicial
authority of the place where they intend to take the said goods, that
in case they may be carried into other countries than those that have
been specified, they may pay to his Most Serene Majesty the King of
Spain a duty of thirty per cent. If afterwards, within the space of
one year, they produce a certificate given to them by the magistrates
of the place, proving that they have delivered the said goods to the
states or territories of the Republic of England, or the ports of countries belonging to the King of Spain or to friendly countries, and
taxes which they have paid shall be restored to them.
XI.
As soon as the present treaty shall have been signed by the Parliament of the republic of England, the said republic shall forbid all
persons whatsoever from conveying goods from Spain, or from other
kingdoms or states of his Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain,
into any other countries than those belonging to the republic of England, or to the dependencies of Spain, under penalty of the confiscation of all their goods to the treasury of the Parliament of the said
republic of England; half of the goods, or their value, being given to




APPENDIX.                          41i7
the party denouncing the fraud, after having first paid a duty of thirty
per cent. to the delegates of his Most Serene Majesty the King of
Spain. In this case confidence will be placed in the proofs received
in Spain, and which will be sent to England duly authenticated. At
the same time it is to be understood that this prohibition to convey
goods from Spain into other states than the states and territories of
the republic of England and its other provinces, shall not in any sense
apply to the kingdoms or states which hold free commercial relations
with Spain, for it shall be permitted to the subjects of the republic of
England to convey goods from the states of Spain to such places,
always observing the conditions and precautions above mentioned.
The penalties declared against offenders in the preceding articles remain in full force.
XII.
No magistrate or functionary of the towns and cities of the states
and territories of the republic of England, appointed to deliver certificates of discharge and to inspect the registration of goods, shall allow
or permit the least fraud in this respect, under penalty of incurring
the anger of the Parliament of the republic of England, the loss of
his office, and other penalties which the Parliament may think proper
to inflict.
XIII.
As the said King and the Parliament promise solemnly at no time
to lend any military aid to rebels or to the enemies of either party,
so also it is forbidden to their respective subjects, and to the inhabitants of their kingdoms and states, whatever may be their nation,
quality, or rank, to furnish, under pretext of commerce, or under any
other pretext, or by any motive, any aids to the rebels or enemies of
the said king and of the said republic; it is forbidden to furnish them
with money, subsistence, arms, horses, weapons of war, ammunition,
artillery or other instruments of war, or any other warlike implements
whatsoever. Those who disobey this order shall be punished with
the most severe penalties inflicted against the seditious and those who
disturb public peace and faith.
XIV.
In order that abundant advantages may result fiom this treaty of
peace to the subjects and populations of his Most Serene Majesty the
Kiang of Spain in his provinces and states, as well as to the subjects
and populations of the republic of England in its provinces and states,
the two contracting parties, both conjointly and separately, shall see
that the communication and passage between the ports of their re.




418                      APPENDIX.
spective states shall not be closed, as has been already mentioned, in
order that each may arrive freely with their ships, goods, or conveyances, only providing that ordinary rents and dues are paid, and may
leave with the same liberty, carrying with them  other goods, whenever it shall please them.
XV.
As to divers ancient treaties and conventions relating to commerce
concluded between the ancient Kings of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the states of the Dukes of Burgundy and of the Princes of
Belgium, treaties and conventions which have been so often interrupted, and so often evaded in different ways during past disturbances,
it is agreed by the present treaty that they shall resume their ancient
authority and validity, and that the two contracting parties shall act
in the same manner as was ordinarily observed before the war between
Queen Elizabeth of England and King Philip II. of Spain, in conformity to the stipulations on this matter of the treaty of peace in the
year 1604, Art. 22.
And in case either of the two contracting parties shall have to complain of any infraction on the part of the other, or if their respective
subjects complain that the treaty is not observed, or that they are
charged with burdens not safictioned by usage, then the two parties shall nominate delegates who shall investigate this subject, and
shall summon before them, if it be necessary, experienced and skilful
merchants, in order to treat of it in as conciliatory and faithful a mode
as possible, and make reparation for wrongs done, and re-establish
anything that has been changed by the lapse of time, or by abuses
which they may discover.
XVI.
And in order that the commercial relations which may result from
this treaty of peace may not remain inoperative, which will be the,ase if the subjects of the republic of England in the travels which
they may make with the kingdoms and states of his Most Serene MIaiesty the King of Spain, or during their residence in these states for
commercial or other purposes, are molested on account of their reli-,ion, the aforesaid, his Most Serene Majesty, wishing to guarantee;ecurity to commerce by land and by sea, shall provide that the said
rubjects be not in any way molested or disturbed, contrary to the
oinmercial right of people, on account of their religion, so long as,hey shall occasion no offence to others.
And the said Parliament shall provide on its own part that, in none,f the states of the said republic shall the subjects of his Most Se*ene Majesty the King of Spain be molested or disturbed on account




APPENDIX.                           419
of their religion, contrary the commercial right of people, so long as
they shall occasion no offence to others, and this, notwithstanding the
law, statutes, or usages that may be in force with the two contracting
parties that may be contrary to this.
XVII.
If in any case the subjects of either party transport goods prohibited from or to the respective kingdoms, states, or territories of the
said Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain and of the said republic
of England, in this case the offending persons shall alone incur penalties, and only the prohibited goods shall be liable to be confiscated.
XVIII.
If subjects of either of the contracting parties die during their
stay in the states of the other, their goods shall be preserved for their
heirs and successors, duties and fees having been deducted.
XIX.
Concessions and privileges granted by the kings of Spain and of
England to merchants of the two contracting parties who may visit
their respective states, if they have ceased from any reason whatsoever
to be granted, shall be renewed, and resume their entire force and
validity.
XX.
If at any time, which may God forbid, any misunderstanding shall
arise between his Most Serene Majesty the King of Spain and the
republic of England, of such a character as to suspend commercial
relations, then, the respective subjects of the two parties shall have,
counting from the day when they are first warned of this state of
things, an interval of six months in order to remove their goods, and
during this period they shall not be allowed to suffer any arrest, interruption, or damage either in their persons or in their businesses.
XXI.
Neither the King of Spain nor the Parliament of England shall
retain any ships belonging to the respective subjects of their states in
their ports or rivers, nor shall cause them to be retained either for
military service, or fobr any other service, to the prejudice of their
allies; unless the said king or the Parliament of the said republic
give notice previously to the other party, according as the vessels may
belong to the subjects of one or the other, and obtain its consent.




420                      APP E:NDIX.
XXII.
In case any enterprise shall be undertaken, during the continuance
of this peace and friendship, contrary to its validity or to its operation
on land, sea, or rivers, by the subjects, vassals, or populations of the
said King of Spain, his heirs and successors, or by the subjects of the
said Parliament of the republic of England, or by allies included in
this treaty, or their heirs or successors, or by the subjects of these
allies, the present treaty of peace and amity shall not the less continue in force, and only the guilty parties, and not others, shall be
punished for every attempt of this kind.
XXIII.
If there shall arise in the states of the said King of Spain, or of
the said republic of England, any claim on the part of any one not a
subject of the said king, or of the said republic, on account of capture or loss, the case shall be brought before the proper judge in the
states of the king or of the republic, according as the prosecution
may be brought against a subject or subjects of the king or of the
republic.
XXIV.
The subjects of the said King of Spain shall be allowed, when it
may seem good to them, to convey, with all freedom and security, into
the ports or states of the republic of England, all kinds of goods,
produced or manufactured, in any part whatsoever of the states, kingdoms, and territories of the King of Spain, or any vessels whatever
belonging to the subjects of the said king, in whatever part of his
states they may reside.
Vessels belonging to the kingdoms, islands, provinces, towns, or to
the subjects of the said king, inhabiting any part of his states, shall
be allowed to convey freely all goods, property, or products, natural or
manufactured, into any other place than that to which they themselves
belong, but which is in allegiance to the King of Spain.
If any goods or property are conveyed into Spain from any part
whatsoever of states belonging to his Crown, it shall be permitted to
any subject of the said king to convey these same goods or articles of
the territory of Spain into any province whatsoever belonging to the
republic of England, in any vessel whatsoever belonging to a subject
of the king, in any of his provinces; and no laws, statutes, or usages
shall be allowed to infringe upon this right.




APPENDIX.                            421
APPENDIX XXII.
(Page 246.)
I.-INSTRUCTION AU SIEUR DE BORDEAUX S'EN ALLANT EN
ANGLETERRE.
2 DWcembre, 1652.
BIEN que le sieur de Bordeaux soit en sorte instruit de l'etat des
choses et ait une si particuliere connaissance de ce que Sa Majeste
desire de son service qu'il est assez inutile de dresser un memoire de
ce qu'il aura Ba faire, neanmoins afin qu'il s'y porte avec plus de fermete, Sa Majest6e est resolue delui donner celui-ci.
II sait bien que les Anglais ont non seulement decerne des lettres
de marque contre les sujets de Sa Majeste, mais m6me qu'ils ont proced6 avec une telle arrogance qu'ils ont fait attaquer ceux de la couronne, et comme ennemis declares fait servir leurs forces h procurer
aux Espagnols divers avantages que sans leur aide ils n'eussent ose se
promettre de remporter.
II n'ignore pas aussi que Sa MIajest6 a fait passer en Angleterre par
diverses fois le sieur Gentillot pour reconnaitre le nouveau regine,
mais avec ordre de ne le point faire que premierement ceux de Parlement n'eussent engage leur foi ia surseoir l'execution des lettres de
represailles et ensuite de deputer des Commissaires pour avec- aux de
Sa Majeste prendre connaissance des dommages soufferts par les sujets
des deux etats, en intention de chercher les moyens de les soulager en
leurs pertes.  Mais ceux du regime n'ayant pas approuve qu'on leur
fit acheter la reconnaissance qu'on en faisait comme d'une republique
fondee et qui avait une entiere et legitime autorite dans l'Angleterre,
firent entendre au sieur Gentillot qu'il eut B sorter de leurs etats.
Cela avait ete execute devant que les vaisseaux de la nouveau regime eussent attaque ceux de Sa Majeste et qu'il eut declare que les
lettres de marque ne faisaient point de rupture entre les allies, soutenant son dire par une raison tiree des traites qui les permittent, mais
avec cette restriction et precaution de ne pouvoir etre delivrees qu'
apres un deni de justice a l'interesse, et cela pourrait etre excuse si
cette republique etait demeuree es termes accoutumes d'accorder la
permission { un complaignant de prendre, saisir et arreter les effets et
navires de la nation dont il se plaint, mais il est inoui et c'est une
chose qui repugne aux droits des gens que sans avoir declare la guerre
B un roi ou attaque ses vaisseaux.
Neanmoins comme Sa Majeste demeure persuad~e que l'equite, la
raison et le respect qui lui est du, ne sont point entierement effaces de
VOL. I.-36




422                        APPENDIX.
l'esprit de ceux qui exercent presentement l'autorite de gouvernement
en Angleterre, esperant meme que la reconnaissance qu'elle fera de
leur r6publique les satisfera, en sorte que ne sa laissant plus emporter' leurs passions, se soumettront' la droite raison et feront pour condescendre aux choses justes qui leur seront demandees, Sa Majeste
s'est resolue d'envoyer vers eux.
Aussitot que le sieur de Bordeaux sera arrive h Londres, il en fera
avertir le Maitre des Ceremonies et apres lui avoir declare qu'il n'est
pas ambassadeur, lui fera entendre qu'il est charge de lettres pour le
Parlement de la republique et la priera de le dire' celui qui preside a
cette assemblde et de lui faire avoir audience.  Y etant admis, il representera k ceux du dit Parlement l'avantage que la bonne intelligence qui sera entre les nations leur apportera, et que c'est l'intention
de Sa Majeste de la garder entiere, et sincere et avec autant de soin
et d'exactitude qu'elle faisait avec les rois d'Angleterre, que ressouvenant bien que les traites etaient de nation k nation, comme de roi a
roi, et ayant exalte l'honneur qui leur est rendu par Sa Majeste d'envoyer vers eux, leur fera entendre le vrai sujet de son voyage, appuyant les demandes qu'il est charg6 de leur faire de toutes les raisons
que lui pourra fournir son experience et sa capacite, en sorte s'il est
possible qu'il obtienne d'eux la restitution des vaisseaux de Sa Majeste, de leurs canons et apparaux comme des munitions de guerre et
debouche dont ils etaient charges.
Qui mesurerait les choses par la droiture et qui serait assure que
ceux du dit r6gime l'eusse en telle consideration qu'ils fassent incapables de rien faire qui y fut oppose, on ne mettrait point en doute que
le sieur de Bordeaux n'obtint de leur equit6 et de leur prudence ce
qu'il leur demandera.
Mais soit l'emportement qu'ils ont fait paraitre en diverses rencontres, soit que bien souvent les hommnes preoccupes de leurs passions
s'y laissent en sorte entrainer qu'ils ne voient que ce qu'elles leur presentent, il est a craindre qu'il aura un refus et qu'il lui sera parle en
des termes dont un nouvel etat se derrait abstenir traitant avec le
ministre d'un grand roi.
Si cela leur arrive, Sa Majeste desire que le sieur de Bordeaux leur
r6ponde ensorte qu'ils s'apergoivent que la France n'ignore pas ce qui
lui peut-etre du par une republique naissante, mais evitera de rien
dire qui fasse rupture ni qui les offense pour ne leur donner aucun
pr'texte de se declarer ennemis de cette Couronne, paraissant a Sa
Majeste qu'il vaut mieux pour un temps qu'ils couvent les mers et
exercent la piraterie qu'ils reprochent aux autres, que s'ils entreprenaient quelque chose de pris, ce serait dejoindre leurs forces aux Espagnols et prendre en protection les rebellcs.




APPENDIX.                             423
Que si la fortune de cet etat 6tait telle qtle mieux conseilles qu'ose
le promettre ils accordent la restitution des dits navires et de l'equipage, lors le dit sieur de Bordeaux ou ne une seconde audience, cela
etant remis i sa prudence, leur proposera de deputer des commissaires
pour aviser a ce qui sera a faire pour les particuliers interessds es
prises qui ont 6t0 faites de part et d'autre et leur declarera que Sa
Majeste y est disposee, afin que sans y apporter aucun difficulte ni
longueur, ils fassent choix et nomination de deputes.
Ce qu'il 6vitera de mettre en avant si ceux du Parlement d'Angleterre fesaient difficulte de consentir i l'entiere et prompte restitution
des navires du roi, de crainte qu'ils ne publiassent que son envoi
n'avait point en d'autre fin que determiner les differends des particuliers, 6tant de l'avantage de Sa Majeste qu'elle a depech6 vers eux
pour demander le sien et que la reconnaissance qu'il aura faite de leur,etat ne lui puisse etre impute't bassesse comme l'on a fait a plusieurs
autres princes qui sont alles au devant des desirs des Anglais, et nouvellement le Roi Catholique sous esperance d'en etre assiste en la
guerre qu'il fait durer i la ruine de la Chretiente et qu'il aurait souvent pu finir s'il y cut et6 aussi dispose que ceux qui le servent l'ont
ose publier.
Et n'ayant le dit sieur de Bordeaux rien sa obtenir d'eux repassera
en ce royaume sans attendre aucun ordre, si ce n'est qu'il jugent que
leur faisant honte de leur durete et de leur injustice et que m~enageant
avec addresse quelqlues uns des plus accredites parmi eux il peut conduire "a bon port l'affaire dont il est charge.
Que si au contraire ils se rendent'a la raison et qu'ils se disposassent a faire choix de plusieurs pour ariser aux moyens de regler les
affaires de mer, ajouter ou diminuer aux precedents traites cc qui peut
bonifier le commerce, pour en suite faire que les nations l'exercent
avec profit et repos, en ce cas le dit sieur de Bordeaux depechera vers
Sa Majeste pour recevoir ses commandements et les pouvoirs et in-;tructions necessaires pour travailler a une affaire si importante.
Fait a Paris. le 2 Decembre, 1652.
II.-LOUIS XIV. TO THE PARLIAMENT OF ENGLAND.
2 Decembre, 1652.
Trls chers et grands Amis-Nous envoyons vers vous le sieur de
Bordeaux l'un des conseillers en notre Conseil d'Etat, maitre des requetes ordinaire de notre h6tel et president en notre grand conseil que
nous avons destine notre ambassadeur en Savoye, pour vous faire entendre la bonne volonte que nous vous portons, et le desir que nous
avons de continuer avec votre republique la bonne correspondance qui




424                      APPENDIX.
a de tout temps ete observ6e entre les deux nations. Nous l'avons
aussi charge de vous dire que comme nous n'avons rien entrepis que
vous ait pu faire croire que nous n'etions pas en cette disposition
ni qui ait pu causer du prejudice a votre etat, nous avons Ote surpris
dervoir nos vaisseaux attaques pat les votres. Car bien que vous
ayez fait expedier a aucuns de vos marchands des lettres de marque,
si est-ce qu'il est inoui qu'on les ait executees contre les vaisseaux du
prince et ce n'est point une chose extraordinaire et qui ne sait pas
prevue par les traites d'accorder ces sortes de lettres.  Au contraire
bien loin d'etre defendues, elles sont permises, mais c'est apres un deni
formel de justice qui ne nous peut-etre reproch6, et qui aura connaissance de tous les soins que nous avons apportes pour etre bien infornm*
des pertes souffertes par nos sujets et des prises qu'aucuns d'eux pouvaient avoir faites sur les votres qui etaient obliges de les satisfaire,
jugerait et avouerait sans doute que notre intention n'a j'amais ete
autre que de faire observer les traites qui ont ete passes entre, les nations pour la surete et commodite de leur commerce et le faie fleurir
au commun avantage des deux Etats.  Le dit sieur de Bordeax selon
la charge que nous lui en avons donnee vous fera plus particulierement connaitre les resolutions que nous avons prises de vivre en
etroite union avec vous, esperant que vous ajouterez entiere creancs
h tout ce qu'il vous dira de notre part, ainsi que nous vous en conjurons, nous prierons Dieu qu'il vois ait, tres chers et grands amis,
en sa sainte et digne garde.  Ecrit a Paris, le deuxieme jour de Decembre, 1652.
Votre bon amis et confedere,
Louis.
APPENDIX XXIII.
(Page 317.)
M. DE BORDEAUX TO M. SERVIEN.
Londres, 3 Mai, 1653.
AVANT bier, qui etait Mardi dernier, le General Cromwell alla au
Parlement apres en avoit et6e absent trois semaines, et s'assit au plus
bas bout du Parlement, et ne dit jamais mot tout le temps que le Parlement se tint.  Hier, il vint de meme au Parlement; et comme, environ midi, ou y debattait touchant un nouveau Parlement, et quand
celui ci prendrait fin, et qu'il serait bon de lui donner pour fin le 5 de
Novembre prochain, le dit General Cromwell se leva tete nue, et fit
une petite harangue en ces termes:



APPENDIX.                           425
"Messieurs, vous n'avez que faire de vous mettre tant en peine,
touchant les affaires qui sont maintenant sur le tapis; car ayant mftrement consider6 que le gouvernement de tant de personnes 6etait mechant,
tyrannique et plein d'oppression, et voyant qu'on y avait employ6 des
sommes immenses sans que jamais ou en ait donne aucune compte,
c'est pourquoi j'ai resolu de mettre le gouvernement de cette nation
entre les mains de peu de gens, mais gens de bien; et, partout, dbs
a present je declare qu'il n'y a plus de Parlement, et n'en reconnais
plus."
Ayant acheve son petit discours, ii se couvrit et se promena deux
en trois tours dans la chambre du Parlement; et voyant que le Parlemnent ne bougeait, le dit ge6nral commanda au Major Harrison de faire
entrer les soldats qui etaient en garde; ils entrerent sans dire aucun
mot, et pour lors le dit Major, le chapeau'i la main, avec taut respect,
s'en alla a la chaire du speaker, et, barsant la main, le prit par la
sienne, et le conduisit hors du Parlement, comme un gentilhomme fait
une denmoiselle, et tout le Parlement le suivit. Le Ge6nral Cromwell
prit la masse, et la donna aux soldats.
Hier, apres diner, on devoit choisir un nouveau President au Conseil d'Etat; mais le dit Ge6nral Cromwell y etant venu leur declara
qu'ils ne se missent plus en peine de s'assembler en ce lieu, et que leur
pouvoir etait expire.
Ensuite de cela, le conseil de guerre s'y tint, et en y appela le maire
de Londres, qui presenta son egree, marque de justice, au ge6nral qui
la lui rendit, et lui dit qu'il devait exercer la justice de meme, comme
si rien n'etait advenu.
Hier-au-soir, les soldats allerent prendre les sceaux au logis de ceux
qui les gardaient; et au matin, ce jourd'hui, on a envoye deux barques
remplies de soldats, pour garde une partie de l'argent Espagnol qui est
encore dans ses vaisseaux, le reste etant dans la tour.  L'arm6e fait
une declaration pour justifier ses actions.
Avant bier, arriva un messager d'Hollande apportant reponse des
Etats au Parlement; le messager a donn6 la lettre au Chevalier Guillaume Strickland, et lui l'a mise en mains propres du General Cromwell.
Tout le peuple universellement se r6jouit, et pareillement la noblesse,
de la gene'reuse action du Gen6ral Cromwell, et de la chfite du Parlement qui est fort vilipend6 en la bouche d'un chacun.  On a 6crit sur
la maison du Parlement:
This House is now to be let, unfurnished,
Et on chante des chansons partout contre eux. II s'en vendait une
publiquement que le G6n6ral Cromwell, par sa grande moderation, a
36*




426                      APPENDIX.
commande de n~tre plus chantee, et en a fait supprimer quarante mille
exemplaires qui ont 6te pros chez l'imprimeur.  On ne laisse pas d'en
vendre sans mains.
Le dit G6n0ral Cromwell a change tous les principaux officiers de
l'armee navale.  T'en envoie les noms comme ils sont imprimes.
END OF VOL. I.




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Second London Edition. In one large 12mo. volume.
THE DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT OF THE SICK-ROOM, necessary, in aid of
medical treatment for the cure of diseases. By A. T. Thomson, M. D. Edited by R. E.
Griffith, M. D. In one volume royal 12mo., extra cloth.
LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS, with illustrative poetry. Eighth edition. In
one beautiful volume, royal 18nmo., crimson cloth, gilt, with colored plates.
AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. By Charles Bonaparte,Prince of Canino. In four folio
volumes, half bound, with numerous magnificent colored plates.
LECTURES ON THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF LIVING BEINGS. By
Carlo Matteucci. Edited by Jonathan Pereira, M.D. In one royal 12mo. volume,
extra cloth, with illustrations.




BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Science.)                      7
GRAHAM'S CHIEMISTRY, NEW  EDITION. Part I.-(Now Ready.)
ELEMENTS OF CHEMISTRY;
INCLUDING  THE  APPLICATIONS OF THE SCIENCE IN THE ARTS.
BY THOMAS GRAHAM, F. R. S., &c.,
Professor of Chemistry in University College, London, &c.
Second American, from an entirely Revised and greatly Enlarged English Edition.
WITH NUMEROUS WOOD-ENGRAVINGS.
EDITED, WITH NOTES, BY ROBERT BRIDGES, M. D.,
Professor of Chemistry in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, &c.
To be completed in Two Parts, forming one very large octavo volume.
PART I, now ready, of 430 large pages, with 185 engravings.
PART II, preparing for early publication.
From the Editors Preface.
The " Elements of Chemistry," of which a second edition is now presented,
attained, on its first appearance, an immediate and deserved reputation. The
copious selection of facts from all reliable sources, and their judicious arrangement, render it a safe guide for the beginner, while the clear exposition of theoretical points, and frequent references to special treatises, make it a valuable
assistant for the more advanced student.
From this high character the present edition will in no way detract. The
great changes which the science of Chemistry has undergone during the interval
have rendered necessary a complete revision of the work, and this has been
most thoroughly accomplished by the author. Many portions will therefore be
found essentially altered, thereby increasing greatly the size of the work, while
the series of illustrations has been entirely changed in style, and nearly doubled
in number.
Under these circumstances but little has been left for the editor. Owing,
however, to the appearance of the London edition in parts, some years have
elapsed since the first portions were published, and he has therefore found occasion to introduce the more recent investigations and discoveries in some subjects, as well as to correct such inaccuracies or misprints as had escaped the
author's attention, and to make a few additional references.
INTRODUCTION TO PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY, including Analysis. By
John E. Bowman, M. D. In one neat royal 12mo. volume, extra cloth, with numerous illustrations.
DANA ON CORALS.
ZOOPHYTES AND CORALS. By James D. Dana. In one volume imperial
quarto, extra cloth, with wood-cuts.
Also, an Atlas to the above, one volume imperial folio, with sixty-one magnificent
plates, colored after nature. Bound in half morocco.
These splendid volumes form a portion of the publications of the United States Exploring Expedition. As but very few copies have been prepared for sale, and as these
are nearly exhausted, all who are desirous of enriching their libraries with this, the most
creditable specimen of American Art and Science as yet issued, will do well to procure
copies at once.
THE ETHNOGRAPHY AND PHILOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION. By Horatio Hale. In one large imperial quarto volume,
beautifully printed, and strongly bound in extra cloth.
BARON HUMBOLDT'S LAST WORK.
ASPECTS OF NATURE IN DIFFERENT LANDS AND DIFFERENT
CLIMATES. With Scientific Elucidations. By Alexander Von Humboldt. Translated by Mrs. Sabine. Second American edition. In one handsome volume, large
royal 12mo., extra cloth.
CHEMISTRY OF THE FOUR  SEASONS, SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, AND
WINTER. By Thomas Griffith. In one handsome volume, royal 12mo., extra cloth,
with numerous illustrations.
VOL. i.-37




8  BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.)
A NEW TEXT-BOOK ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
HANDBOOKS
OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY AND ASTRONOMY,
BY DIONYSIUS LARDNER, LL.D., ETC.
FIRST COURSE, containing
Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Sound, and Optics.
In one large royal 12mo. volume of 750 pages, strongly bound in leather, with
over 400 wood-cuts, (Just Issued.)
THE SECOND COURSE, embracing
HEAT, MAGNETISM, ELECTRICITY, AND GALVANISM,
Of about 400 pages, and illustrated with 250 cuts, is now ready.
THE THIRD COURSE, constituting
A COMPLETE TREATISE ON ASTRONOMY
WITH NUMEROUS STEEL PLATES AND WOOD-CUTS, IS NEARLY READY.
The intention of the author has been to prepare a work which should embrace the
principles of Natural Philosophy, in their latest state of'scientific development, divested
of the abstruseness which renders them unfitted for the younger student, and at the same
time illustrated by numerous practical applications in every branch of art and science.
Dr. Lardner's extensive acquirements in all departments of human knowledge, and his
well-known skill in popularizing his subject, have thus enabled him to present a textbook which, though strictly scientific in its groundwork, is yet easily mastered by the
student, while calculated to interest the mind, and awaken the attention by showing the
importance of the principles discussed, and the manner in which they may be made
subservient to the practical purposes of life. To accomplish this still further, the editor
has added to each section a series of examples, to be worked out by the learner. thus
impressing upon him the practical importance and variety of the results to be obtained
from the general laws of nature. The subject is still further simplified by the very large
number of illustrative wood-cuts which are scattered through the volume, making plain
to the eye what might not readily be grasped by the unassisted mind; and every care
has been taken to render the typographical accuracy of the work what it should be.
Although the first portion only has been issued, and that but for a few months, yet it
has already been adopted by many academies and colleges of the highest standing and
character. A few of the numerous recommendations with which the work has been
favored are subjoined.
From Prof. Alillington, Univ. of Mississippi, April10, 1852.
I am highly pleased with its contents and arrangement. It contains a greater number
of every-day useful practical facts and examples than I have ever seen noticed in a
similar work, and I do not hesitate to say that as a book for teaching I prefer it to any
other of the same size and extent that I am acquainted with. During the thirteen years
that I was at William and Mary College I had to teach Natural Philosophy, and I should
have been very glad to have such a text-book.
From Edmund Smith, Baltimore, May 19, 1852.
I have a class using it, and think it the best book of the kind with which I am acquainted.
From Prof. Cleveland, Philadelphia, October 17, 1851.
I feel prepared to say that it is the fullest and most valuable manual upon the subject
that has fallen under my notice, and I intend to make it the text-book for the first class
in my school.
From S. Schooler, Hanover Academy, Va..
The " Handbooks" seem to me the best popular treatises on their respective subjects
with which I am acquainted. Dr. Lardner certainly popularizes science very well, and
a good text-book for schools and colleges was not before in existence.
From Prof. J. S. Henderson, Farmer's College, O., Feb. 16, 1852.
It is an admirable work, and well worthy of public patronage. For clearness and
fulness it is unequalled by any that I have seen.




BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.)  9
NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION.-(Now Ready.)
OUTLINES OF ASTRONOMY.
BY  SIR  JOHN  F. W. HERSCHEL, F. R. S., &c.
A NEW AMERICAN FROM THE FOURTH LONDON EDITION.
In one very neat crown octavo volume, extra cloth, with six plates and numerous wood-cuts.
This edition will be found thoroughly brought up to the present state of astronomical science, with the most recent investigations and discoveries fully
discussed and explained.
WVe now take leave of this remarkable work, which we hold to be, beyond a doubt,
the greatest and most remarkable of the works in which the laws of astronomy and the
appearance of the heavens are described to those who are not mathematicians nor observers, and recalled to those who are. It is the reward of men who can descend from
the advancement of knowledge to care for its diffusion, that their works are essential
to all, that they become the manuals of the proficient as well as the text-books of the
learner.-Athenaeum.
There Is perhaps no book in the English language on the subject, which, whilst it contains so many of the facts of Astronomy (which it attempts to explain with as little technical language as possible), is so attractive in its style, and so clear and forcible in its
illustrations. — Evangelicul Review.
Probably no book ever written upon any science, embraces within so small a compass
an entire epitome of everything known within all its various departments, practical,
theoretical, and physical. —Examiner.
A TREATISE ON ASTRONOMY.
BY SIR JOHN F. W. HERSCHEL. Edited by S. C. WALKER. In one 12mo.
volume, half bound, with plates and wood-cuts.
A TREATISE ON OPTICS.
BY SIR DAVID BREWSTER, LL. D., F. R. S., &c.
A NEW EDITION.
WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING AN ELEMENTARY VIEW OF THE APPLICATION
OF ANALYSIS TO REFLECTION AND REFRACTION.
BY A. D. BACHE, Superintendent U. S. Coast Survey, &c.
In one neat duodecimo volume, half bound, with about 200 illustrations.
BOLMAR'S FRENCII SERIES.
New editions of the following works, by A. BOLMAR, forming, in connection
with " Bolmar's Levizac," a complete series for the acquisition of the French
language:A SELECTION OF ONE HUNDRED  PERRIN'S FABLES, accompanied by
a Key, containing the text, a literal and free translation, arranged in such a manner as
to point out the difference between the French and English idiom, &c. In one vol. 12mo.
A COLLECTION OF COLLOQUIAL PHRASES, on every topic necessary to
maintain conversation. Arraiinged under different heads, with numerous remarks on
the peculiar pronuticiationi aitil uses of various words; the whole so disposed as considerably to facilitate the acquisition of a correct pronunciation of the French. In
one vol. limo.
LES AVENTURES DE TELEMAQUE, PAR FENELON, in one vol. 12mo.,
accompanied by a Key to the first eight books. In one vol. 12mo., containing, like the
Fables, the Text, a literal and free translation, intended as a sequel to the Fables.
Either volume sold separately.
ALL THE FRENCH VERBS, both regular and irregular, in a small volume.




10 BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.)
ELEMENTS OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY;
BEING
AN EXPERIMENTAL INTRODUCTION TO THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES.
Illustrated with over Three Hundred Wood-cuts.
BY GOLDING BIRD, M.D.,
Assistant Physician to Guy's Hospital.
From the Third London edition. In one neat volume, royal 12mo.
We are astonished to find that there is room in so small a book for even the bare
recital of so many subjects. Where everything is treated succinctly, great judgment
and much time are needed in making a selection and winnowing the wheat from the
chaff. Dr. Bird has no need to plead the peculiarity of his position as a shield against
criticism, so long as his book continues to be the best epitome in the English language of this wide range of physical subjects.-North American Review, April 1, 1851.
Front Prof. John Johnston, Wesleyan Univ., Middletown, Ct.
For those desiring as extensive a work, I think it decidedly superior to anything of
the kind with which I am acquainted.
From Prof. R. O. Currey, East Tennessee University.
I am much gratified in perusing a work which so well, so fully, and so clearly sets
forth this branch of the Natural Sciences. For some time I have been desirous of obtaining a substitute for the one now used-one which should embrace the recent discoveries in the sciences, and I can truly say that such a one is afforded in this work of
Dr. Bird's.
From Prof. IV. F. Hopkins, Masonic University, Tenn.
It is just the sort of book I think needed in most colleges, being far above the rank of
a mere popular work, and yet not beyond the comprehension of all but the most accomplished mathematicians.
ELEMENTARY CHEMISTRY;
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL.
BY GEORGE FOWNES, Pu.D.,
Chemical Lecturer in the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, &c. &c.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.
Third American, from a late London edition.  Edited, with Additions,
BY ROBERT BRIDGES, M. D.,
Professor of General and Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the Philadelphia
College of Pharmacy, &c. &c.
In one large royal 12mo. volume, of over five hundred pages, with about 180
wood-cuts, sheep or extra cloth.
The work of Dr. Fownes has long been before the public, and its merits have been
fully appreciated as the best text-book on Chemistry now in existence. We do not, of
course, place it in a rank superior to the works of Brande, Graham, Turner, Gregory,
or Gmelin, but we say that, as a work for students, it is preferable to any of them. —London Journal of iMedicine.
We know of no treatise so well calculated to aid the student in becoming familiar
with the numerous facts in the science on which it treats, or one better calculated as
a text-book for those attending Chemical Lectures. * * * * The best text-book on Chemistry that has issued from our press.-American Med. Journal.
We know of none within the same limits, which has higher claims to our confidence
as a college class-book, both for accuracy of detail and scientific arrangement.-Augusta Med. Journal.
ELEMENTS OF PHYSICS.
OR, NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, GENERAL AND MEDICAL. Written for universal use, in plain, or non-technical language. By NEILL ARNOTT, M. D. In one
octavo volume, with about two hundred illustrations.




BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.) 11
NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION.-(Now Ready.)
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
BY MARY SOMERVILLE.
A NEW  AMERICAN FROM  TIIE LAST AND REVISED LONDON EDITION.
W~ITH AMERICAN NOTES, GLOSSARY, ETC.
BY W. S. W. RUSCHENBERGER, M.D., U. S. N.
In one neat royal 12mo. volume, extra cloth, of over five hundred and fifty pages.
The great success of this work, and its introduction into many of our higher schools
and academies, have induced the publishers to prepare a new and much improved
edition. In addition to the corrections and improvements of the author bestowed on
the work in its passage through the press a second time in London, notes have been
introduced to adapt it more fully to the physical geography of this country; and a
comprehensive glossary has been added, rendering the volume more particularly suited
to educational purposes.
Our praise comes lagging in the rear, and is wellnigh superfluous. But we are
anxious to recommend to our youth the enlarged method of studying geography which
her present work demonstrates to be as captivating as it is instructive. We hold
such presents as Mrs. Somerville has bestowed upon the public, to be of incalculable
value, disseminating more sound information than all the literary and scientific institutions will accomplish in a whole cycle of their existence.-Blackwiood's Magazine.
From Lieutenant Maury, U. S. N.
National Observatory, Washington, June 26, 1853.
I thank you for the "Physical Geography;" it is capital. I have been reading it, and
like it so much that I have made it a school-book for my children, whom i am teaching.
There is, in my opinion, no work upon that interesting subject on which it treats- Physical
Geography-that would make a better text-book in our schools and colleges. I hope it
will be adopted as such generally, for youhave Americanized it and improved it in other
respects.                                              Yours, truly,
M. F. MAURY,
Dr. W. S. W. RUSCHENBERGER, U. S. N.,
Philadelphia.
From Thomas Sherwin, High School, Boston.
I hold it in the highest estimation, and am confident that it will prove a very efficient
aid in the education of the young, and a source of much interest and instruction to the
adult reader.
From Erastus Everett, High School, New Orleans.
I have examined it with a good deal of care, and am glad to find that it supplies an important desideratum. The whole work is a masterpiece. Whether we examine the
importance of the subjects treated, or the elegant and attractive sty le in which they are
presented, this work leaves nothing to desire. I have introduced it into my school for
the use of an advanced class in geography, and they are greatly interested in it. I have
no doubt that it will be used in most of our higher seminaries.
JOHNSTON'S PHYSICAL ATLAS.
THE P:HYSICAL ATLAS
OF NATURAL PHENOMENA.
FOR THE USE OF COLLEGES, ACADEMIES, AND FAMILIES.
BY ALEXANDER KEITH  JOHNSTON, F. R. G. S., F. G. S.
In one large volume, imperial quarto, handsomely and strongly bound. With
twenty-six plates, engraved and colored in the best style. Together
with one hundred and twelve pages of Descriptive Letter-press,
and a very copious Index.
A work which should be in every family and every school-room, for consultation and
reference. By the ingenious arrangement adopted by the author, it makes clear to the
eye every fact and ob)servation relative to the present condition of the earth. arranged
under the departments of Geology, Hydrography, Meteorology, and Natural History.
The letter-press illustrates this with a body of important information, nowhere else to
be found condensed into the same space, while a very full Index renders the whole
easy of reference.
37*




12 BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.)
SCHIMITZ AND ZUMPT'S CLASSICAL SERIES.
Under this title BLANCHARD & LEA are publishing a series of Latin SchoolBooks, edited by those distinguished scholars and critics, Leonhard Schmitz
and C. G. Zumpt. The object of the series is to present a course of accurate
texts, revised in accordance with the latest investigations and MSS., and the
most approved principles of modern criticism, as well as the necessary elementaty books, arranged on the best system of modern instruction. The former are
accompanied with notes and illustrations introduced sparingly, avoiding on the
one hand the error ofoverburdening the work with commentary, and on the other
that of leaving the student entirely to his own resources. The main object has
been to awaken the scholar's mind to a sense of the beauties and peculiarities
of his author, to assist him where assistance is necessary, and to lead him to
think and to investigate for himself. For this purpose maps and other engravings are given wherever useful, and each author is accompanied with a
biographical and critical sketch. The form in which the volumes are printed
is neat and convenient, while it admits of their being sold at prices unprecedentedly low, thus placing them within the reach of many to whom the cost
of classical works has hitherto proved a bar to this department of education;
while the whole series being arranged on one definite and uniform plan, enables
the teacher to carry forward his student from the rudiments of the language
without the annoyance and interruption caused by the necessity of using textbooks founded on varying and conflicting systems of study.
CLASSICAL TEXTS PUBLISHED IN THIS SERIES.
I. CAESARIS DE BELLO GALLICO LIBRI IV., I vol. royal 1Smo., extra
cloth, 232 pages, with a Map, price 50 cents.
II. C. C. SALLUSTII CATILINA ET JUGURTHA, 1 vol. royal 18mo., extra
cloth, 168 pages, with a Map, price 50 cents.
III. P. OVIDII NASONIS CARMINA SELECTA, 1 vol. royal 18mo., extra
cloth, 246 pages, price 60 cents.
IV. P. VIRGILII MARONIS CARMINA, 1 vol. royal 18mo., extra cloth, 438
pages, price 75 cents.
V. Q. HORATII FLACCI CARMINA EXCERPTA, 1 vol. royal 18mo., extra
cloth, 312 pages, price 60 cents.
VI. Q. CURTII RUFI DE ALEXANDRI MAGNI QU]E SUPERSUNT, 1
vol. royal 18mo., extra cloth, 326 pages, with a Map, price 70 cents.
VII. T. LIVII PATAVINI HISTORIARUM LIBRI I., II., XXI., XXII., 1
vol. royal 18mo., ex. cloth, 350 pages, with two colored Maps, price 70 cents.
VIII. M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES SELECTSE XII., I vol. royal 18mo.,
extra cloth, 300 pages, price 60 cents.
IX. CORNELIUS NEPOS, I vol. royal 18mo., price 50 cents.
ELEMENTARY WORKS PUBLISHED IN THIS SERIES.
I.
A SCHOOL DICTIONARY OF THE LATIN  LANGUAGE. By DR. J. H.
KALTSCHMIDT. In two parts, Latin-English and English-Latin.
Part I., Latin-English, of nearly 500 pages, strongly bound, price 90 cents.
Part II., English-Latin, of about 400 pages, price 75 cents.
Or the whole complete in one very thick royal 18mo. volume, of nearly 900
closely printed double-columned pages, strongly bound in leather,
price only $1 25.
II.
GRAMMAPROF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. BY LEONHARD SCHMITZ, Ph.
D., F. R. S. E., Rector of the High School, Edinburgh, &c. In one handsome volume, royal 18mo., of 318 pages, neatly half bound, price 60 cents.




BLANCHARDI  & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.) 13
SCHMITZ AND ZUMPT'S CLASSICAL SERIES-Continued.
ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR AND EXERCISES. BYDR. LEONHARD SCHMITZ,
F. R. S. E., Rector of the High School, Edinburgh, &c. In one handsome
royal 18mo. volume of 246 pages, extra cloth, price 50 cents. (Just Issued.)
PREPARING FOR SPEEDY PUBLICATION.
LATIN READING AND EXERCISE BOOK, I vol., royal 18mo.
A SCHOOL CLASSICAL DICTIONARY, I vol., royal 18mo.
It will thus be seen that this series is now very nearly complete, embracing
eight prominent Latin authors, and requiring but two more elementary works
to render it sufficient in itself for a thorough course of study, and these latter
are now preparing for early publication. During the successive appearance of
the volumes, the plan and execution of the whole have been received with
marked approbation, and the fact that it supplies a want not hitherto provided
for, is evinced by the adoption of these works in a very large number of the
best academies and seminaries throughout the country.
But we cannot forbear commending especially both to instructors and pupils the
whole of the series, edited by those accomplished scholars, Drs. Schmitz and Zumpt.
Here will be found a set of text-books that combine the excellencies so long desired
in this class of works. They will not cost The student, by one half at least, that which
he must expend for some other editions. And who will not say that this is a consideration worthy of attention? For the cheaper our school-books can be made, the more
widely will they be circulated and used. Here you will find, too, no useless display of
notes and of learning, but in foot-notes on each page you have everything necessary to
the understanding of the text. The difficult points are sometimes elucidated, and often
is the student referred to the places where he can find light, but not without some effort
of his own. We think that the punctuation in these books might be improved; but
taken as a whole, they come nearer to the wants of the times than any within our knowledge.-Southern College Review.
Uniform with SCIIITZ AND ZUMPT'S CLASSICAL SERIES-(Now Ready.)
THE CLASSICAL MANUAL;
AN EPITOME OF ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY, GREEK AND ROMAN
MYTHOLOGY, ANTIQUITIES, AND CHRONOLOGY.
CHIEFLY INTENDED FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS.
BY JAMES S. S. BAIRD, T. C. D.,
Assistant Classical Master, King's School, Gloucester.
In one neat volume, royal 18mo., extra cloth, price Fifty cents.
This little volume has been prepared to meet the recognized want of an Epitome which, within the compass of a single small volume, should contain the
information requisite to elucidate the Greek and Roman authors most commonly read in our schools. The aim of the author has been to embody in it
such details as are important or necessary for the junior student, in a form and
space capable of rendering them easily mastered and retained, and he has consequently not incumbered it with a mass of learning which, though highly
valuable to the advanced student, is merely perplexing to the beginner. In the
amount of information presented, and the manner in which it is conveyed, as
well as its convenient size and exceedingly low price, it is therefore admirably
adapted for the younger classes of our numerous classical schools.




14 BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.)
SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY.-(Just Ready.)
OUTLINES OF
SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY.
Illustrating the Historical Portions of the Old and New Testaments.
DESIGNED FOR THE
USE OF SCHOOLS AND PRIVATE READING.
BY  EDWARD  HUGHES, F. R. A. S., F. G. S., &c. &c.
In one neat volume, royal 12mo., extra cloth, of about four hundred pages, with
twelve colored Maps.
The intimate connection of Sacred History with the geography and physical
features of the various lands occupied by the Israelites renders a work like the
present an almost necessary companion to all who desire to read the Scriptures
understandingly. To the young especially, a clear and connected narrative of
the events recorded in the Bible, is exceedingly desirable, particularly when illustrated, as in the present volume, with succinct but copious accounts of the
neighboring nations and of the topography and political divisions of the countries
mentioned, coupled with the results of the latest investigations, by which
Messrs. Layard, Lynch, Olin, Durbin, Wilson, Stephens, and others have succeeded in throwing light on so many obscure portions of the Scriptures, verifying their accuracy in minute particulars. Few more interesting class-books could
therefore be found for schools where the Bible forms a part of education, and
none, perhaps, more likely to prove of permanent benefit to the scholar. The
influence which the physical geography, climate, and productions of Palestine
had upon the Jewish people will be found fully set forth, while the numerous
maps present the various regions connected with the subject at their most prominent periods.
HISTORY OP CLASSICAL LITERATURE.-(Now Ready.)
HISTORY OF ROMAN CLASSICAL LITERATURE,
BY R. W. BROWNE, M.A.,
Professor of Classical Literature in King's College, London.
In one handsome crown octavo volume, extra cloth.
ALSO,
Lately Issued, by the same author, to match.
4 HISTORY OF GREEK CLASSICAL LITERATURE.
In one very neat volume, crown 8vo., extra cloth.
From Prof. J. A. Spencer, New York, March 19, 185'2.
It is an admirable volume, sufficiently full and copious in detail, clear and precise in
ityle, very scholar-like in its execution, genial in its criticism, and altogether displayng a mind well stored with the learning, genius, wisdom, and exquisite taste of the
Lncient Greeks. It is in advance of everything we have, and it may be considered
udispensable to the classical scholar and student.
From Prof. N. H. Griffin, Williams College, lMass., March 22. 1852.
A valuable competid, embracing in a small compass matter which the student would:ave to go over much ground to gather for himself.
GEOGRAPHIA CLASSICA:
)R, THE APPLICATION  OF ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY TO THE CLASSICS.
By SAMUEL BUTLER, D D., late Lord Bishop of Litchfield. Revised by his Son. Sixth
American, from the last London Edition, with Questions on the Maps, by JOHN FROST,
LL. D. I. ll oe neat volume, royal 1l2mo., half bound.
AN ATLAS OF ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY.'y SA;MUEL BUTLER, D. D., late Lord Bishop of Litchfield. In one octavo volume, half
bound, conltaining twenly-onte quarto colored Maps, and an accentuated Index.




BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.) 15
ELEMENTS OF THE NATURAL SCIENCES-(Now Ready.)
THE BOOK OF NATURE;
AN ELEMENTARY INTRODUCTION
TO THE SCIENCES OF
PHYSICS, ASTRONOMY. CHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY. BOTANY,
PHYSIOLOGY, AND ZOOLOGY.
BY FREDERICK SCHOEDLER, PH. D.
Professor of the Natural Sciences at Worms.
First American Edition, with a Glossary and other Additions
and Improvements.
FROM THE SECOND ENGLISH EDITION,
TRANSLATED FROM THE SIXTH GERMAN EDITION,
BY IIENRY MEDLOCK, F. C. S., &c.
Illustrated by six hundred and seventy-nine Engravings on Wood.
In one handsome volume, crown octavo, of about seven hundred large pages.
To accommodate those who desire to use the separate portions of this work,
the publishers have prepared an edition, in parts, as follows, which may be had
singly, neatly done up in flexible cloth, at very reasonable prices.
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY,.             114 pages, with 149 Illustrations.
ASTRONOMY,.64'"  51
CHEMISTRY,                        110     "       48
MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY, 104               "      167
BOTANY,                            98     "      176
ZOOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY,   106    cc               84
INTRODUCTION, GLOSSARY, INDEX, &c., 96 pages.
Copies may also be had beautifully done up in fancy cloth, with gilt stamps,
suitable for holiday presents and school prizes.
The necessity of some acquaintance with the Natural Sciences is now so universally admitted in all thorough education, while the circle of facts and principles embraced in the study has enlarged so rapidly, that a compendious Manual
like the BOOK OF NATURE cannot fail to supply a want frequently felt and expressed by a large and growing class.
The reputation of the present volume in England and Germany, where repeated editions have been rapidly called for, is sufficient proof of the author's
success in condensing and popularizing the principles of his numerous subjects.
The publishers therefore would merely state that, in reproducing the work,
they have spared no pains to render it even better adapted to the American
student. It has been passed through the press under the care of a competent
editor, who has corrected such errors as had escaped the attention of the English
translator, and has made whatever additions appeared necessary to bring it completely on a level with the existing state of science. These will be found principally in the sections on Botany and Geology; especially the latter, in which
references have been made to the numerous and systematic Government surveys
ofthe several States, and the whole adapted to the nomenclature and systems
generally used in this country. A copious Glossary has been appended, and
numerous additional illustrations have been introduced wherever the elucidation
of the text appeared to render them desirable.
It is therefore confidently presented as an excellent Manual for the private student, or as a complete and thorough Class-book for collegiate and academical use.
Written with remarkable clearness, and scrupulously correct in its details.-M-ining
Journal.
His expositions are most lucid. There are few who will not follow him with pleasure
as well as with profit through his masterly exposition of the principles and primary laws
of science. It should certainly be made a class-book in schools.-Critic.




16 BLANCHARD & LEA'S PUBLICATIONS.-(Educational Works.)
NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION-(Now Ready.)
OUTLINES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE.
BY THOMAS B. SHAW,
Professor of English Literature in the Imperial Alexander Lyceum, St. Petersburg.
SECOND AMERICAN EDITION.
WITH A SKETCH OF AMERICAN LITERATURE.
BY HENRY T. TUCKERMAN,
Author of " Characteristics of Literature," "The Optimist," &c.
In one large and handsome volume, royal 12mo., extra cloth, of about 500 pages.
The object of this work is to present to the student a history of the progress
of English Literature. To accomplish this, the author has followed its course
from the earliest times to the present age, seizing upon the more prominent
"' Schools of Writing," tracing their causes and effects, and selecting the more
celebrated authors as subjects for brief biographical and critical sketches, analyzing their best works, and thus presenting to the student a definite view of the
development of the language and literature, with succinct descriptions of those
books and men of which no educated person should be ignorant. He has thus
not only supplied the acknowledged want of a manual on this subject, but by
the liveliness and power of his style, the thorough knowledge he displays of his
topic, and the variety of his subjects, he has succeeded in producing a most
agreeable reading-book, which will captivate the mind of the scholar, and relieve the monotony of drier studies.
This work having attracted much attention, and been introduced into a large
number of our best academies and colleges, the publishers, in answering the call
for a new edition, have endeavored to render it still more appropriate for the
student of this country, by adding to it a sketch of American literature. This
has been prepared by Mr. Tuckerman, on the plan adopted by Mr. Shaw, and
the volume is again presented with full confidence that it will be found of great
utility as a text-book, wherever this subject forms part of the educational course;
or as an introduction to a systematic plan of reading.
From Prof. R. P. Dunn, Brown University, April 22, 1852.
I had already determined to adopt it as the principal book of reference in my department. This is the first term in which it has been used here; but from the trial which I
have now made of it, I have every reason to congratulate myself on my selection of it
as a text-book.
From the Rev. W. G. T. Shedd, Professor of English Literature in the University of Vt.
I take great pleasure in saying that it supplies a want that has long existed of a brief
history of English literature, written in the right method and spirit, to serve as an introduction to the critical study of it. I shall recommend the book to my classes.
From James Shannon, President of Bacon College, Ky.
I have read about one-half of " Shaw's Outlines," and so far I am more than pleased
with the work. I concur with you fully in the opinion that it supplies a want long felt
in our higher educational institutes of a critical history of English literature, occupying
a reasonable space, and written in a manner to interest and attract the attention of the
student. I sincerely desire that it may obtain, as it deserves, an extensive circulation.
HANDBOOK OF MIODERN EUROPEAN LITERATURE.
British, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish and Russian, Portuguese, Spanish,'and Swedish. With a full Biographical and
Chronological Index. By Mrs. FOSTER. In one large royal 12mo. volume,
extra cloth. Uniform with " Shaw's Outlines of English Literature."