HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION OF 1640.

(Concluded.)

THE joy manifested on this great victory was exuberant and sincere. Every manifestation of public gratitude was shown to Essex and his compeers. The Presbyterians, of whom he was a member, improved the victory, and endeavored to render their system of ecclesiastical polity paramount in the kingdom. For a while no enemy of any magnitude opposed its progress, but the number of those who maintained true liberty of conscience was rapidly increasing. With such men as Cromwell and his friends at their head, they soon became powerful. But as, in the triumph of a good cause, some innocent person often suffers, so in this case Essex, a staunch friend of liberty, had to combat with difficulties thrown in his way by friends, and calumnies and suspicions. He withdrew himself from his army. An event which had served not a little to render the independent party more popular, was the glorious victory of "Marston Moor," where the genius of Cromwell shone so conspicuously. Essex was reinstated in his command; but the embarrassments, instead of being diminished, were much aggravated, and he soon resigned his command and retired from public life. Sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed general of the army; Oliver Cromwell his lieutenant general. The battle of Naseby, in Northamptonshire, decided the war. No battle had been so general and fiercely contested. Never had the two armies been so equal in strength. To complete the victory, all the letters and papers of the king fell into the hands of the Parliamentthe most irrefragable proofs of Charles' duplicity in treating with the Parliament at any time. His private sentiments were therein disclosed towards the rebels as he termed them. The existence of a conspiracy between him and the Irish rebels who had massacred the Protestants and been at war with England, by which they agreed to land an army in England, was made known, and excited the rage of all parties. Bristol, the only strong town in the possession of the royalists, was ignominiously surrendered by Prince Rupert. Montrose, with his notorious band of Highlanders, was soon destroyed, and he a wandering outlaw. No hope remained, and the king, reduced to extremities, seeks refuge in the Scottish camp. The arrears of the Scottish army were paid, (£400,000,) and the king was delivered to the custody of the Parliament. By this event we may almost regard the war between the king and Parliament closed; and our attention is now called to the disputes which arose between the army and the Parliament, before entering upon which, it will be well to examine the state of the two at this time, and the origin of their disputes. In a word, then, the Parliament were the Presbyterians, (for the majority were of that persuasion ;) the army were Independents. The Presbyterians, in desiring a change in the established church, merely wished a change in the formula. Presbyterianism was to be in the place of Episcopacy, and was to be enforced upon all parties with the same severity as in former days its rival had been. On the contrary, the Independents were composed of men of all creeds, who maintained the right of men to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience, and that an alliance between the church and state was detrimental to the cause of religion. Their leaders, Cromwell, Ireton and Milton, (then young, but who occupied a conspicuous part in these 4

VOL. XXI.-NO. CV.

theological disputes,) were men of sincere and heartfelt religion. The royalists of his day, and we are sorry to observe M. Guizot adopts their view, call them hypocritical fanatics; but we must recollect that they never swerved from their principles-how then could they have been hypocritical. As to their fanaticism, we must recollect the times in which they lived, and it is only when compared with the dissolute cavaliers that any person would entertain the idea. If, indeed, to pray fervently on all occasions; to give thanks to the most high for all their success; to praise him at all times; to live soberly, and in a manner the most decorous and moral; to abstain from all excess, from all dissolute and profane conversation-if, indeed, these be marks of "hypocritical fanaticism," Cromwell and his fellows were fanatics; but if, on the other hand, these, together with accordant circumstances, are the characteristics of men indued with piety and the fear of God, then were they also entitled to his praise. The conduct of Cromwell and Ireton in treating with the king, which we shall notice afterwards, is urged as a strong argument for their hypocrisy ; but as we intend further to enlarge upon the subject, we will proceed with the history of the contests. as it now stands between the Independents and Presbyterians.

Charles was conveyed to Holmby Castle in Northamptonshire, Feb. 16, 1647, and the army was ordered to disband, except those required for Ireland-they were all to take the solemn league and covenant, and to conform to the Presbyterian Church. They refused, and demanded their arrears. Skippon and Massey were appointed to command the army in Ireland. They wished for Fairfax and Cromwell also. The Parliament ordered them instantly to disband. The soldiers addressed a letter to Fairfax, saying, that if their officers refused to lead them, they well knew how to meet without them and defend their own rights. The Presbyterians endeavored to raise another army in the city, and turned their eyes towards Essex again to command. But at this crisis that general died suddenly on his return from hunting. His love of liberty was sincere, his integrity undoubtedall parties could trust him, when they knew the bribes that royalty was constantly holding out to tempt him. With a nature too timid and sensitive to brave the times in which he lived, he died with the admiration of his opponents, (we mean the Independents, who were not enemies to the Presbyterians, but merely antagonistic in principle,) and the love of his country. The Parliament invited the king to take up his residence in Oatlands Castle near London-the army anticipated them by seizing him, and he was taken to New-market. The army continued to advance upon London, notwithstanding Parliamentary prohibitions, and the Commons at last submitted.

Meanwhile all this was proceeding, the king, under the care of the army, and ever bent on intrigue, had endeavored to inveigle its leaders into his interests. They had uniformly treated him with respect, nay, kindness; they had allowed his chaplains to be with him, a privilege the Presbyterians refused him; but he mistook the action for a concession to him, instead of considering that it was carrying out the principles for which they contended, the right of liberty of conscience to all. He was of a different persuasion of faith to themselves, and he of course wished to enjoy it. He expressed a desire to see his children who had been under the care of Parliament; Fairfax obtained from Parliament their acquiescence. These facts have induced the enemies of Cromwell to assert that he intended to betray the Parliament, whose servant he was. Nothing was further from his intentions. He treated the king with courtesy, and endeavored to restore amity between him and the Parliament. His motives must be considered sincere and praiseworthy, for it was before plans of ambition had entered into his soul; besides, his conduct

on this occasion accorded with his general conduct. Although a sincere friend of liberty, Cromwell always contended for the necessity of an executive power, to put into execution the designs of the people's delegate; and brought up as he was under a monarchy, he very naturally considered the king as that executive power. He saw, moreover, that tyranny had not been abolished in ecclesiastical affairs, only transferred into other hands,—from the king to the Parliament; and therefore offered to the king the restoration of his dignity, provided his legitimate and carefully watched power should in future be exercised in conformity with the wishes of the people, as expressed by their representatives. Such had been the design of the revolution; and had that treaty, so often alluded to by the enemies of Cromwell, been entered into, the objects and wishes of the first patriots would have been gained. The duplicity of Charles frustrated so hopeful a result; while an indiscriminating people, because the king had engaged in other plans unknown to Cromwell, (in fact to ensnare him,) accused Cromwell of abetting the king in fresh schemes of fraud, from the fact of his having endeavored to treat honestly with him. Such is our view of the affair at Windsor, and it is borne out by the assertion of Ireton to the king, as well as by their actions. "Sir," said Ireton," you assume to be arbiter between the Parliament and us; it is we who will be arbiters between you and the Parliament." Charles, by his intrigue and double dealing, disgusted all parties, and the sincere republicans plainly saw that royalty was no longer worthy of trust. They had tried their last effort to reclaim it-to restore it. Their endeavors had failed, and now they abandoned it as a hopeless enterprise. In all this they acted to their own convictions. How then can they be charged with insincerity? It has been the fashion to blacken the characters of Cromwell and his pious compeers with infamy, and exalt to the sky the evasive, hypocritical and tyrannical Charles the Martyr. But the time of such things is past, because men have begun to inquire into their respective merits. The memory of Charles has been washed from the stains with which royalist historians (interested moreover) have covered it.

The reasons that induced Charles to break off the negociation, was the news he received from London, where the Presbyterians clamored for his return. A mob had surrounded the house, and after waiting some time, had forced its way in, and compelled the members to vote for a resolution requesting the king to return to London forthwith. Soon after, the Independents in the house were obliged, from the fury of the mob, to retreat to the camp and seek the protection of the army. Among the fugitives were the two speakers, Lord Manchester and Mr. Luthall, and above 60 members. The army proceeded to London to subdue these disturbances. In peace and quiet solemnity they reinstated the fugitive members. The triumph was complete, and the Presbyterians were in future unable to carry into effect their oppressive designs. The agitation of the people was at its height; they would endure despotism of no kind, whether civil or spiritual. The state of affairs is thus graphically described by M. Guizot, who, however, we cannot avoid saying, appears to have had in his mind's eye, when penning his History of the English Revolution, the characters in that of his own country; because when the reformers desired freedom in religion, he seems often to confound it with the destruction of religion, as attempted by the French. The parallel, however, will not hold good. The French were a nation without religion, (their leaders avowedly so.) Vain, trifling, oppressed by the tyranny of the ecclesiastics, they imputed all the faults of their church polity to religion, not the corruptions in the form of it established in their land. The leaders of the English, on the contrary, endeavored to serve God as they judged was most in accordance with his divine will; viewed

with horror the desecration of his name by those professing to be his ministers, and endeavored to wipe away so foul a stain. The object of the one was to destroy, the other to cleanse from impurity. But to our author.

"After all this great and facile success, the revolutionary movement, hitherto restrained or regulated even among the Independents by the necessity of the struggle, soared freely; each man's passions, hopes and dreams became bold, and openly declared themselves. In the higher ranks of the party, in the house of commons, in the general couneil of officers, republican projects came forth plain and positive. Already for some time past, Vane, Ludlow, Haslerig, Martyn, Scott and Hutchinson had scarcely answered, when any one accused them of hostility to monarchy; they now openly spoke of it with contempt. The principle of the sovereignty of the people, and in the name of the people, one sole assembly appointed by the people, now guided all their actions and words. In their conversations any idea of accommodation with the king, no matter upon what terms, was treated as treason. In the ranks below them, among the people as well as in the army, the excitement of men's minds was as general as it was intense; in everything, reforms till then unheard of were demanded; on all sides reformers rose up; to their wild desires no law imposed respect, no fact seemed an obstacle. All the more confident and imperious in proportion to their ignorance and obscurity, their petitions, their pamphlets, every day poured forth, hinted menace in all directions."- Vol. 2, p. 366.

To subvert monarchy, which had proved so disastrous to the English nation, and to abolish all connection between church and state, were the grand objects of the patriotic endeavors of the leaders, more especially Cromwell. Nor was it adopted by him merely to secure popularity. That they were the sentiments of his heart, may be proved from his subsequent government, when, in the affair of the unhappy Piedmontese, he appealed so powerfully to the Duke of Savoy, and above all, from the anxious solicitude with which he watched over the interests of the French Protestants. Although anxious to secure the amity of the powerful Louis XIV., he hazarded the immense advantages it held out, by insisting with inflexible resolution on the toleration of the Protestants. In consequence of his determination, the treaty was retarded, nay, almost broken off; but Cromwell was firm to his purpose, and the crafty and bigoted French monarch was content after a struggle to yield. It was under the son of a much praised martyr," when the old monarchy was re-established, and the politics and men of the revolution were consigned to infamy, that the Protestant subjects of France became the prey of the destroyer. We beg the attention of our readers to the following extracts from the letters of Cromwell's secretary Thurloe, written at the time, and in reference to the event alluded to:

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May, 1654.-There are great endeavours used by the French to make an alliance here, but no progress is made therein as yet; nor will there be, without making full provision for the Protestants, and that you may be confident upon on all occasions; nay, that no agreement at all will be made without communicating with those to whom you are sent."

"July 7, 1654.-Thirty articles have been delivered in to the French ambassador-one whereof is, that the Protestants in France shall have the free exercise of their religion, and enjoy all the privileges whatsoever, and this (I believe) will not be departed from. His highness (Cromwell,) continuing his ancient zeal to the Protestant religion, whereof no body need doubt, nor have the least scruple, but may build the greatest resolutions thereupon."

"Nov. 10, 1654.-Concerning the letters you writ to me formerly, there will be now scarce an opportunity to speak with the French ambassador about them; it being very doubtful whether the Protector and France will come to any terms of amity. The ambassador is not yet gone, but pretends he hath commands to return forthwith to give an account of his negociation. You know what interest it is that the Protector hath espoused, and which is dearer to him than his life and

all he hath, and therefore cannot consent to put a prejudice upon that by any treaty with a foreign state; and France insisting upon some things bearing very hard upon that interest, renders the present treaty deficient if not hopeless."

With such evidence, we trust our readers will be fully satisfied as to the sincerity of Cromwell's conduct in matters of religion. We pass on to the subject of our notice.

The subjects of dispute between the Parliament and the army became more numerous and important. The violent words that passed on either side threw the weak Charles into a state of fear of assassination, for men who use are always in fear of harshness. He fled to the Isle of Wight, where he was detained a prisoner in Carisbrook Castle. Hither the commissioners from Scotland, the Lords Lauderdale, Lowden and Lanark came, to treat with the king, at the same time that he was ostensibly negociating with the commissioners sent thither by Parliament. Their private treaty was carried on in great mystery, and when concluded, it was concealed in a garden, until it could be taken away with safety. This accomplished, he haughtily refused the terms proffered by the Parliamentary commissioners, who departed, after giving orders for his safe keeping under the strictest surveillance. When the refusal became known at Westminster, the fury of the people was beyond bounds. Cromwell, whose sagacity enabled him to suspect the real cause that induced the visit of the Scotch commissioners to the king, accused the monarch of dealing underhanded with them, in order to plunge the nation into another war. We subjoin his speech on the occasion, when the motion for the abolition of royalty was carried by the Parliament.

"Mr. speaker,' said he, the king is a man of great sense and of great talents, but so full of dissimulation, so false, that there is no possibility of trusting him. While he is protesting his love for peace, he is treating underhand with the Scottish commissioners to plunge the nation into another war. It is now expected the Parliament should govern and defend the kingdom, by their own power and resolution, and not teach the people any longer to expect safety and government from an obstinate man, whose heart God hath hardened; the men who, at the expense of their blood, defended you from so many perils, will again defend you with the same courage and fidelity, against all opposition. Teach them, not by neglecting your own and the kingdom's safety in which their own is involved, to think themselves betrayed, and left hereafter to the rage and malice of an irreconcilable enemy, whom they have subdued for your sake, lest despair teach them to seek their safety by some other means than adhering to you, who will not stick to yourselves. And how destructive such a resolution in them will be to you all, I tremble to think, and leave you to judge;' and he sat down with his hand on his sword hilt. " -Ib. p. 393.

The effects of the secret treaty with the Scottish commissionerз soon became manifest, in the invasion of England by their northern neighbors, accompanied by a simultaneous insurrection of the English royalists. The invaded soon retaliated.

"Cromwell had waited for neither orders nor promises. Already a month since, well-informed, perhaps by Argyle himself, of the condition and movements of the Scottish army, he had sent word to Lambert to fall back as soon as it appeared, to avoid an engagement, and that he would soon be ready to support him. And so it happened: Pembroke castle capitulated three days after the invasion, (July 11,) and two days after, Cromwell set out at the head of five or six thousand menill-shod, ill-clad, but proud of their glory—eager to fight, and certain of victory.— 'Send me some shoes for my poor tired soldiers,' Cromwell wrote to Derby house -they have a long march to take.' And he traversed nearly all England-first