you.

you may be able to resist those that have been heretofore your enemies, and are still your enemies, and are more enraged, and are not warned by those examples and those witnesses that God hath witnessed for But they are removed at a further distance, [and are] joined together in strong combination to revive the work here again—that is certainly in the kingdom of Scotland [and] in the kingdom of Ireland. In the kingdom of Scotland, you cannot too well take notice of what is done nor of this: that there is a very angry, hateful spirit there against your army, as an army of sectaries, which you see all their papers do declare their quarrel to be against. And although God hath used us as instruments for their good, yet hitherto they are not sensible of it, but they are angry that God brought them His mercy at such an hand; and this their anger (though without any quarrelling of ours with them) will return into their own bosoms; for God did do the work without us, and they that are displeased with the instruments, their anger reaches to God and not [only] to them.2 You see they have declared the Prince of Wales their King, and endeavours are both here and there with that party to do what they can to co-operate with them to cause all this work to return again, and to seek the ruin and destruction of those that God hath ordained to be instrumental for their good. And I think you are not ignorant that a great party here does co-operate in the work, and [that] their spirits are embittered against us, although they might know that if God had not used this poor army instrumentally to do what they have done, they had not had a being at this time. But such is the good pleasure of God as to leave them to the blindness of their minds.

4

3

I must needs say, I do more fear-not that I do think there is a ground to fear it will be—but as a poor man that desires to see the work of God to prosper in our hands, I think there is more cause of danger from disunion amongst ourselves than by any thing from our enemies; and I do not know anything [that is a] greater [danger] than that [is]; and I believe, and I may speak with confidence [will be], till we admire God and give Him glory for what He has done. For all the rest of the world, ministers and profane persons, all rob God of all the glory, and reckon it to be a thing of chance that has befallen them. Now, if we do not depart from God, and disunite by that departure, and fall into disunion amongst ourselves, I am confident, we doing our 1 MS., "so." 2 MS., "Him." 3 MS., "and though." 4"they" i.e. the English Presbyterians.

duty and waiting upon the Lord, we shall find He will be as a wall of brass round about us till we have finished that work that He has for us to do. And yet not to be sensible of1 this is the [cause of the] rage and malice of our enemies. . .

I wish that they may see their error (those that are good amongst them) and repent; but certainly this wrath of theirs shall turn to their hurt, and God will restrain the remainder, that it shall not hurt us.

In the next place we are to consider Ireland. All the Papists and the King's party-I cannot say all the Papists, but the greater party of them—are in a very strong combination against you, and they have made an union with those apostate forces that were under Insiquene and the Confederate Catholics of Ireland, and all that party are in a very strong combination against you. The last letters that the Council of State had from thence do plainly import that Preston has 8,000 foot and 800 horse, that Taaf has as many, that my Lord Clanrikard has the same proportion; that my Lord Insiquene and my Lord Ormond has a matter of 3,000 foot and 800 horse, that these are all agreed and ready in conjunction to root out the English interest in Ireland, and to set up the Prince of Wales his interest there likewise, and to endeavour as soon as they can, to attempt upon our interest in Leinster and Ulster and Connaught; in all which provinces we have an interest, but in Munster none at all, and also, that interest we have in these three provinces is not so considerable but [that] if these Confederate forces shall come upon them, it is more than probable, without a miracle from heaven, [that]3 our interest will easily be eradicated out of those parts. And truly this is really believed: if we do not endeavour to make good our interest there, and that timely, we shall not only have (as I said before) our interest rooted out there, but they will in a very short time be able to land forces in England, and to put us to trouble here. I confess I have had these thoughts with myself, that perhaps may be carnal and foolish. I had rather be overrun with a Cavalierish interest than a Scotch interest; I had rather be overrun with a Scotch interest, than an Irish interest; and I think of all this is most dangerous. If

1 that" in MS.

2. though" in MS. These two symbols seem also to have been mistaken on p. 400 above.

The MS. has "but." The shorthand symbols for "that" and "but" are so similar, that they might very easily be taken one for the other.

4" of" in MS. The signs for "of" and "than" in Clarke's shorthand are almost indistinguishable. See p. 400 above.

they shall be able to carry on their work, they will make this the most miserable people in the earth, for all the world knows their barbarism --not [those] of any religion, almost any of them, but [are] in a manner as bad as Papists-and you see how considerable they are therein at this time. Truly it is [come] thus far, that the quarrel is brought to this state, that we can hardly return unto that tyranny that formerly we were under the yoke of, which through the mercy of God hath been lately broken, but we must at the same time be subject to the kingdom of Scotland or the kingdom of Ireland, for the bringing in of the King. Now that should awaken all Englishmen, who perhaps are willing enough he should have come in upon an accommodation, but not [that] he must come from Ireland or Scotland.

This being so, I would not have this army now so much to look at considerations that are personal-whether or no we shall go if such a commander go, or such a commander; 2 and make that any part of our measure or foundation-but let us go if God go. If we be still in our calling; prosecuting that cause that hitherto we have engaged in, and [if] the opposing those enemies be a part of that cause (wherein we desire that there may be no personal respects in it), and if we be satisfied in our judgments and consciences that He is in it, that you would let this be your motive. And I do profess it as before the Lord of Heaven, and as in His presence, I do not speak this to you that I would shift at all from the command, or in any sneaking way or in any politic [way] lead you to an engagement before I declare my thoughts in the thing, whether I go or stay, as God shall incline my heart to. And if you undertake it upon these grounds, I am confident there will not be so much dispute among those who shall go as [those] who shall stay. My meaning is, you will-every honest heart that sees a freedom of their ways will rather be whetted on out of love to God and duty to God, to go where He may do Him most service, rather than stay; I say except it be that God do cast [hindrances] in men's ways by necessity of relations, or laying any law upon their hearts and anything besides, that may otherwise hinder them. I do not speak this as thinking but that he may be as honest a man that does desire [to stay as he that desires to go]. Doing service to God and giving glory to God will be the best motive to this work; aye, it will be much better to have considerations of this kind than to lay this as the foundation, who shall

3

1"it" in MS.

3 MS., "to go or stay."

2 i.e., under such or such a commander.

command in chief. For my own part, though the Council of State hath put that upon me, yet I have desired them to give me till Tuesday to give in my answer, [and for you] to give your resolutions as to the particular regiments that are to go, and to state what other demands in that kind you will make for their going, that may enable those to go and to have a subsistence when they go." "8,000 foot, 3,000 horse and 1,200 dragoons.'

SIR HARDRESS WALLER believed the work would not go forward until it was known whether the Commander-in-Chief named would go or not.

CROMWELL: "I offer this: that the army do move for such provisions as may be fit for honest men to ask; and if you go upon that account, I think my resolution will be known before yours, and that will be properly in the nature of things; it will be best and fittest for you to consider of that first, if there be a designed part of the army to go, as there will probably.

"I hope we are such a generation of men, I am sure God so binds us about as with a garment—therefore we are to look one upon another as if it were our own case, all of us being ready to do it; and therefore I think in order to your proceedings, it will be better to consider who shall go, and what is due to him, and to provide for him as to the point of arrears and of provision what will serve for honest men to carry on the work. And truly this will spend as much time as Tuesday next comes to." 3

COLONEL HEWSON then made a learned speech, and instead of addressing himself to his Excellency [i.e., Fairfax] said; "an 't please your Majesty.'

The above speech effectually disposes of the idea that Cromwell's demands for Ireland were personal. On March 29, Armyne reported to the House that the Lieutenant-General would go "if sufficiently provided." Mrs. Everett Green, in the preface to her Calendar for 1649-50, took this to refer to his personal allowances. He required, she says, sums which amounted to 13,000l. a year, besides 3,000l. for outfit. "The demand," she continues, was high, but it was granted, not

1 MS., "your."

66

2 This list of the numbers to go was perhaps inserted afterwards. The regiments for Ireland were, on April 20, chosen by lot. They were-Horse: Commissary-General Ireton's, Col. Scroop's, Col. Horton's and Major-General Lambert's; Foot: Col. Ewer's, Col. Cook's, Col. Hewson's and Col. Dean's; Dragoons: Major Abbot's, Capt. Mercer's, Capt. Fulcher's, Capt. Garland's and Capt. Bolton's troops. The Moderate, April 17-24, 1649. (E. 551, 20.)

3 See note on p. 400 above.

4 Clarke Papers, ii. 200 et seq.

withstanding the deplorable state of the Exchequer; though so extreme was the difficulty of meeting the wants of the Government, that the very officers who were to go over with Cromwell were barely paid one fourth of the arrears due to them."

We know now what his demands really were. The "sufficient provision" must include an army large enough to cope successfully with the royalist forces; the payment of arrears to those who were to go, and when they got there," what will serve for honest men to carry on the work." Of himself there is no word, and although he definitely accepted the command on March 29, his allowances were not fixed until the July following (p. 229 of the Calendar). This is the notice to which Mrs. Everett Green referred, but there is no hint that Cromwell himself had asked these sums, and the 3000l. "for outfit' is for transport and provisions to carry the army over. As to the officers who could not get a fourth of their arrears, they were not any of those who went from England, but eighteen who had deserted from Inchiquin in Ireland, and whose accounts had got delayed and not yet reported to Parliament.

43

(AFTER LETTER XCVI)

THIS is the last letter in relation to Richard's marriage treaty. Compare Letters LXXXVIII-XCVI.

For my very worthy Friend, Richard Mayor, Esq., at Hursley: These April 28, 1649.

SIR,

I was not without hope to have been with you this night, but truly my aged mother is in such a condition of illness that I could not leave her with satisfaction. I expected to have had the deeds sealed here which were to be performed on my part, but my lawyer tells me it will be necessary for me to be with you at the doing thereof, because of the order of sealing them.

I have sent them to you by this bearer for your perusal, and I trust to be with you upon Monday night (if God will). I shall be able to stay only Tuesday with you, for indeed I must necessarily be back on Wednesday night. My occasions cause these affairs to go in such a hurry, unbefitting the weight of them; and I doubt will be troublesome to you, which I desire you to excuse me in, because its long of me. I beseech the Lord to bless proceedings and to vouchsafe His presence.