ing till the morrow, and had retired to his carriage for the night. There is some shadow of surmise that the stray cannon-shot which, as the following Letter indicates, proved fatal to Oliver's Nephew, did also, rousing Oliver's humor to the charging point, bring on the general Battle. 'The Prince of Plunderers,' invincible hitherto, here first tasted the steel of Oliver's Ironsides, and did not in the least like it. The Scots delivered their fire with such constancy and swiftness, it was as if the whole air had become an element of fire,'—in the summer gloaming there.

"To my loving Brother, Colonel Valentine Walton: These.'

DEAR SIR,

'Leaguer before York,' 5th July, 1644.

It's our duty to sympathize in all mercies; and to praise the Lord together in chastisements or trials, so that we may sorrow together.

Truly England and the Church of God hath had a great favor from the Lord, in this great Victory given unto us, such as the like never was since this War began. It had all the evidences of an absolute Victory obtained by the Lord's blessing upon the Godly Party principally. We never charged but we routed the enemy. The Left Wing, which I commanded, being our own horse, saving a few Scots in our rear, beat all the Prince's horse. God made them as stubble to our swords. We charged their regiments of foot with our horse, and routed all we charged. The particulars I cannot relate now; but I believe, of twenty thousand the Prince hath not four thousand left. Give glory, all the glory, to God.

Sir, God hath taken away your eldest Son by a cannon-shot. It brake his leg. We were necessitated to have it cut off, whereof he died.

Sir, you know my own trials this way but the Lord supported me with this, That the Lord took him into the happiness we all pant for and live for. There is your precious child full of glory, never to know sin or sorrow any more. He was a gallant young man, exceedingly gracious. God give you His comfort. Before his death he was so full of comfort that to Frank Russel and myself he could not express it, "It was so great above his pain." This he said to us. Indeed it was admirable. A little after, he said, One thing lay upon his spirit. I asked him, What that was? he told me it was, That God had not suf

* I conclude, the poor Boy Oliver has already fallen in these Wars,-none of us knows where, though his Father well knew!

fered him to be any more the executioner of His enemies. At his fall, his horse being killed with the bullet, and as I am informed three horses more, I am told he bid them, Open to the right and left, that he might see the rogues run. Truly he was exceedingly beloved in the Army, of all that knew him. But few knew him; for he was a precious young man, fit for God. You have cause to bless the Lord. He is a glorious Saint in Heaven; wherein you ought exceedingly to rejoice. Let this drink up your sorrow; seeing these are not feigned words to comfort you, but the thing is so real and undoubted a truth. You may do all things by the strength of Christ. Seek that, and you shall easily bear your trial. Let this public mercy to the Church of God make you to forget your private sorrow. The Lord be your strength: so prays Your truly faithful and loving Brother,

OLIVER CROMWELL.

My love to your Daughter, and my Cousin Perceval, Sister Desbrow and all friends with you.*

Colonel Valentine Walton, already a conspicuous man, and more so afterwards, is of Great-Staughton, Huntingdonshire, a neighbor of the Earl of Manchester's; Member for his County, and a Colonel since the beginning of the War. There had long been an intimacy between the Cromwell Family and his. His Wife, the Mother of this slain youth, is Margaret Cromwell, Oliver's younger Sister, next to him in the family series. 'Frank Russel' is of Chippenham, Cambridgeshire, eldest Son of the Baronet there; already a Colonel; soon afterwards Governor of Ely in Oliver's stead. It was the daughter of this Frank that Henry Cromwell, some ten years hence, wedded.-Colonel Walton, to appearance, is at present in the Association, near his own home. The poor wounded youth would have to lie on the field at Marston while the Battle was fought; the whole Army had to bivouack there, next to no food, hardly even water to be had. That of

Seeing the rogues run,' occurs more than once at subsequent dates in these Wars:‡ who first said it, or whether anybody ever said it, must remain uncertain.

* Ellis's Original Letters (First Series), iii., 299. Original once in the possession of Mr. Langton of Welbeck street.'

See Noble, ii., 407, 8,-with vigilance against his blunders.

+ Ludlow.

York was now captured in a few days: Prince Rupert had fled across into Lancashire, and so 'south to Shropshire, to recruit again;' Marquis Newcastle with 'about eighty gentlemen,' disgusted at the turn of affairs, had withdrawn beyond seas. The Scots moved northward to attend the Siege of Newcastle,-ended it by storm in October next. On the 24th of which same month, 24th October, 1644, the Parliament promulgated its Rhadamanthine Ordinance, To 'hang any Irish Papist taken in arms in this country;* a very severe Ordinance, but not uncalled for by the nature of the 'marauding apparatus' in question there.

* Rushworth, v., 783.

THREE FRAGMENTS OF SPEECHES.

SELF-DENYING ORDINANCE.

THE following Three small Fragments of Speeches will have to represent for us some six months of occasional loud debating, and continual anxious gestation and manipulation, in the Two Houses, in the Committee of Both Kingdoms, and in many other houses and places ;-the ultimate outcome of which was the celebrated Self-denying Ordinance,' and 'New Model' of the Parliament's Army; which indeed brings on an entirely New Epoch in the Parliament's Affairs.

Essex and Waller had, for the third or even fourth time, chiefly by the exertions of ever-zealous London, been fitted out with Armies; had marched forth together to subdue the West;— and ended in quite other results than that. The two Generals differed in opinion: did not march long together: Essex, urged by a subordinate, Lord Roberts, who had estates in Cornwall and hoped to get some rents out of them,* turned down thitherwards to the left: Waller bending up to the right,-with small issue either way. Waller's last action was an indecisive, rather unsuccessful Fight, or day of skirmishing, with the King, at Cropredy Bridge on the border of Oxford and Northampton Shires,† three days before Marston Moor. After which both parties separated: the King to follow Essex, since there was now no hope in the North; Waller to wander London-wards, and gradually lose his Army by desertion,' as the habit of him was. As for the King,

hemmed him in

he followed Essex into Cornwall with effect; among the hills there, about Bodmin, Lestwithiel, Foy, with continual skirmishing, with ever-growing scarcity of victual; forced

* Clarendon.

† 29th June, 1644, Clarendon, ii,, 655.

poor Essex to escape to Plymouth by the Fleet,* and leave his Army to shift for itself as best might be the horse under Balfour to cut their way through; the foot under Skippon to lay down their arms, cease to be soldiers, and march away with staves in their hands' into the wide world. This surrender was effected 1st September, 1644, two months after Marston Moor.

The Parliament made no complaint of Essex; with a kind of Roman dignity, they rather thanked him. They proceeded to recruit Waller and him, summoned Manchester with Cromwell his Lieutenant-General to join them; by which three bodies, making again a considerable army, under the command of Manchester and Waller (for Essex at London lay 'sick,' or seeming to be sick), the King, returning towards Oxford from his victory, was intercepted at Newbury; and there, on Sunday, 27th October, 1644, fell out the Second Battle of Newbury.† Wherein his Majesty, after four hours confused fighting, rather had the worse; yet contrived to march off, unmolested, by moonlight at 10 o'clock,' towards Wallingford, and got safe home. Manchester refused to pursue; though urged by Cromwell, and again urged. Nay twelve days after, when the King came back, and openly revictualled Dennington Castle, an important strongplace hard by,-Manchester, in spite of Cromwell's urgency, still refused to interfere.

They in fact came to a quarrel here, these two-and much else that was represented by them came to a quarrel; Presbytery and Independency, to wit. Manchester was reported to have said, If they lost this Army pursuing the King, they had no other; the King' might hang them all.' To Cromwell and the thoroughgoing party, it had become very clear that high Essexes and Manchesters, of limited notions and large estates and anxieties, who besides their fear of being themselves beaten utterly, and forfeited and hanged,' were afraid of beating the King too well, would never end this Cause in a good way. Whereupon ensue some six months of very complex manipulation, and public and

* His own distinct, downright, and somewhat sulky Narrative, Rushworth, v., 701.

† Clarendon, ii., 717.