30 ifcfnas of tbe 1Rofc, TCffle, anfc 6un 



General returned from Ireland, sought her out at 

 Chester, and pressed his suit so warmly that she 

 yielded. He had set his mind upon a triple alliance 

 his son to her eldest daughter, and her son to his 

 eldest daughter. The General vouched for his son's 

 being free and ready to be ruled by him. The 

 scheme, however, did not work out quite as he 

 wished. '" But when the son came," writes the widow, 

 " it did not prove so. For he was in affection engaged 

 to one in Ireland that loved him. So our friends on 

 both hands were against it. Oh ! it proved a sad 

 business both in the beginning and the end of it." 



But both young couples were married and were 

 apparently miserable ever after. A cloud, too, fell over 

 the General's life. He was placed in command of the 

 land forces despatched for the capture of Hispaniola 

 in 1654. The fleet which conveyed them was under 

 the joint command of Admirals Penn and Goodson. 

 From the outset there was friction between Venables 

 and his colleagues. He made the most earnest protests 

 against sending out troops in such ill condition. " A 

 wicked army it was," says his wife, " and sent without 

 arms or provisions." But no heed was paid to the 

 General's protests, for he was not in good favour 

 with Cromwell and his Council, who suspected him, 

 not without reason, perhaps, of having secret leanings 

 towards the Monarchy. Venables, however, did his 

 duty nobly. " On one occasion," writes his biographer 

 Gosden, "at the assault of a fort, he being before 

 brought very low with his flux, the toil of the day 

 had so far spent him that he could not stand or go, 



