PART IX.

THE MAJOR-GENERALS.

1655-1656.

CHRONOLOGICAL.

THE Plots and perils to the Commonwealth which my Lord Protector spoke of to his honorable Members, were not an imagination, but a very tragic reality. Under the shadow of this Constitutioning Parliament strange things had been ripening without some other eye than the Parliament's, Constitution and Commonwealth in general had been, by this time, in a bad way! A universal rising of Royalists combined with Anabaptists is in a real state of progress. Dim meetings there have been of Royalist Gentlemen, on nocturnal moors, in this quarter and in that, "with cart-loads of arms," - terrified at their own jingle, and rapidly dispersing again till the grand hour come. Anabaptist Levellers have had dim meetings, dim communications; will prefer Charles Stuart himself to the traitor Oliver, who has dared to attempt actual "governing" of men. Charles Stuart has come down to Middleburg, on the Dutch coast, to be in readiness; "Hyde is cocksure." From the dreary old Thurloes, and rubbish-continents, of Spy Letters, Intercepted Letters, Letters of Intelligence; where, scattered at huge intervals, the History of England for those years still lies entombed, it is manifest enough what a winter and spring this was in England. A Protector left without supplies, obliged to cut his Parliament adrift, and front

1

1 Manning's Letter, in Thurloe, iii. 384.

the matter alone; England, from end to end of it, ripe for an explosion; for a universal blazing up of all the heterogeneous combustibilities it had; the Sacred Majesty waiting at Middleburg, and Hyde cock-sure!

Nevertheless it came all to nothing; - there being a Pro- . tector in it. The Protector, in defect of Parliaments, issued his own Ordinance, the best he could, for payment of old rates and taxes; which, as the necessity was evident, and the sum fixed upon was low, rather lower than had been expected, the Country quietly complied with. Indispensable supply was obtained and as for the Plots, the Protector had long had his eye on them, had long had his nooses round them; - the Protector strangled them everywhere at the moment suitablest for him, and lodged the ringleaders of them in the Tower. Let us, as usual, try to extricate a few small elucidative facts from the hideous old Pamphletary Imbroglio, where facts and figments, ten thousand facts of no importance to one fact of some, lie mingled, like the living with the dead, in noisome darkness all of them once extricated, they may assist the reader's fancy a little. Of Oliver's own in reference to this period, too characteristic a period to be omitted, there is little or nothing left us a few detached Letters, hardly two of them very significant of Oliver; which cannot avail us much, but shall be inserted at their due places.

February 12th, 1654–5. News came this afternoon that Major John Wildman, chief of the frantic Anabaptist Party, upon whom the Authorities have had their eye of late, has been seized at Exton, near Marlborough, in Wilts; "by a party of Major Butler's horse." In his furnished lodging; "in a room up-stairs;" his door stood open: stepping softly up, the troopers found him leaning on his elbow, dictating to his clerk "A Declaration of the free and well-affected People of England now in Arms [or shortly to be in Arms] against the Tyrant Oliver Cromwell: a forcible piece, which can still be read, but only as a fragment, the zealous Major never having had occasion to finish it. They carried him to Chepstow

Castle; locked him up there and the free and well-affected People of England never got to Arms against the Tyrant, but were only in hopes of getting. Wildman was in the last Parliament; but could not sign the Recognition; went away in virtuous indignation, to act against the Tyrant by stratagem henceforth. He has been the centre of an extensive world of Plots this winter, as his wont from of old was: the mainspring of Royalist Anabaptistry, what we call the frantic form of Republicanism, which hopes to attain its object by assisting even Charles Stuart against the Tyrant Oliver. A stirring man; very flamy and very fuliginous: perhaps, since Freeborn John was sealed up in Jersey, the noisiest man in England. The turning of the key on him in Chepstow will be a deliverance to us henceforth.

We take his capture as the termination of the AnabaptistRoyalist department of the Insurrection. Thurloe has now got all the threads of this Wildman business in his hand: the ringleaders are laid in prison, Harrison, Lord Grey of Groby and various others; kept there out of harm's way; dealt with in a rigorous, yet gentle, and what we must call great and manful manner. It is remarked of Oliver that none of this Party was ever brought to trial: his hope and wish was always that they might yet be reconciled to him. Colonel Sexby, once Captain Sexby, Trooper Sexby, our old acquaintance, one of Wildman's people, has escaped on this occasion: better for himself had he been captured now, and saved from still madder courses he got into.

Sunday, March 11th, 1654-5, in the City of Salisbury, about midnight, there occurs a thing worth noting. What may be called the general outcome of the Royalist department of the Insurrection. This too over England generally has, in all quarters where it showed itself, found some "Major Butler" with due "troops of horse " to seize it, to trample it out, and lay the ringleaders under lock and key. Hardly anywhere could it get the length of fighting: too happy if it could but gallop and hide. In Yorkshire, there was some appearance, and a few shots fired; but to no effect: poor Sir Henry Slingsby, and a Lord Malevrier, and others were laid hold of here; of whom

the Lord escaped by stratagem; and poor Sir Henry lies prisoner in Hull, where it will well behoove him to keep quiet if he can! But on the Sunday night above mentioned, peaceful Salisbury is awakened from its slumbers by a real advent of Cavaliers. Sir Joseph Wagstaff, “a jolly knight" of those parts, once a Royalist Colonel; he with Squire or Colonel Penruddock, "a gentleman of fair fortune," Squire or Major Grove, also of some fortune, and about two hundred others, did actually rendezvous in arms about the big Steeple that Sunday night, and ring a loud alarm in those parts.

It was Assize time; the Judges had arrived the day before. Wagstaff seizes the Judges in their beds, seizes the High Sheriff, and otherwise makes night hideous; - proposes on the morrow to hang the Judges, as a useful warning, which Mr. Hyde thinks it would have been; but is overruled by Penruddock and the rest. He orders the High Sheriff to proclaim King Charles; High Sheriff will not, not though you hang him; Town-crier will not, not even he though you hang him. The Insurrection does not speed in Salisbury, it would seem. The Insurrection quits Salisbury on Monday night. hearing that troopers are on foot; marches with all speed towards Cornwall, hoping for better luck there. Marches; but Captain Unton Crook, whom we once saw before, marches also in the rear of it; marches swiftly, fiercely; overtakes it at South Molton in Devonshire "on Wednesday about ten at night," and there in few minutes puts an end to it. "They fired out of windows on us," but could make nothing of it. We took Penruddock, Grove, and long lists of others: Wagstaff unluckily escaped. The unfortunate men were tried, at Exeter, by a regular assize and jury; were found guilty, some of High Treason, some of "Horse-stealing: " Penruddock and Grove, stanch Royalists both and gallant men, were beheaded;

1 Crook's Letter, "South Molton, 15th March, 1654, two or three in the morning" (King's Pamphlets, small 4to, no. 637, § 15). State Trials, v. 767 et seqq.; Whitlocke, p. 601; Thurloe, iii 365, 384, 391, 445; Cromwel· liana, pp. 152, 153. - Official Letters in reference to this Plot, Appendix No. 28.

several were hanged; a great many "sent to Barbadoes;" and this Royalist conflagration too, which should have blazed all over England, is entirely damped out, having amounted to smoke merely, whereby many eyes are bleared! Indeed so prompt and complete is the extinction, thankless people begin to say there had never been anything considerable to extinguish. Had they stood in the middle of it, had they seen the nocturnal rendezvous at Marston Moor, seen what Shrewsbury, what Rufford Abbey, what North Wales in general, would have grown to on the morrow, - in that case, thinks the Lord Protector not without some indignation, they had known!' Wagstaff has escaped, and Wilmot Earl of Rochester so called; right glad to be beyond seas again; and will look twice at an Insurrection before they embark in it in time coming.

A terrible Protector this; no getting of him overset! He has the ringleaders all in his hand, in prison or still at large; as they love their estates and their life, let them be quiet. He can take your estate: is there not proof enough to take your head, if he pleases? He dislikes shedding blood; but is very apt "to barbadoes" an unruly man, - has sent and sends us by hundreds to Barbadoes, so that we have made an active verb of it: "barbadoes you." 192 Safest to let this Protector alone! Charles Stuart withdraws from Middleburg into the interior obscurities; and Mr. Hyde will not be so cock-sure another time. Mr. Hyde, much pondering how his secret could have been let out, finds that it is an underling of his, one Mr. Manning, a gentleman by birth, "fond of fine clothes," and in very straitened circumstances at present, who has been playing the traitor. Indisputably a traitor: wherefore the King in Council has him doomed to death; has him shot, in winter following, "in the Duke of Neuburg's territory." Diligent Thurloe finds others to take his place.

May 28th, 1655. Desborow, who commands the Regular Troops in that insurrectionary Southwest region, is, by Com. 1 Postea, Speech V.

2 Intercepted Letters, Thurloe, iii.

• Clarendon, iii. 752; Whitlocke, p. 618 (Dec. 1655); Ludlow, ii. 608.