3G2 



CROMWELL. 



C-rqmwell. him to settle in that part of Cambridgeshire. At this 

 —- -y— — ■ time, and in this place, he first became acquainted with 

 the Puritans, and, in consequence of his connection 

 with them, deserted the established church, and as- 

 sumed, or experienced, that tone of feeling by which 

 they were distinguished. 



Soon after this change in his sentiments, he was 

 elected a member of the third parliament of Charles I. 

 which assembled on the 2()th of January 1628. He 

 was appointed one of the committee, who were em- 

 powered and instructed by the House to inquire into 

 matters connected with religion; and distinguished 

 himself by his zeal against Popery. On the dissolution 

 of this Parliament, he retired into the country, where 



inattentive to his dress. During one of the debates, Cromwell; 

 Lord Digby observed him, and pointed him out to ~*~r*-^ 

 Hampden, " Pray," said he, " who is that man, for I 

 see that he is on our side, by his speaking so warmly 

 to-day t" " That sloven," replied Hampden, " whom 

 you see before us, who has no ornament in his speech ; 

 — that sloven, I say, if we should ever come to a breach 

 with the king ; which God forbid ! in such a case, I say, 

 that sloven will be the greatest man in England." The 

 remonstrance, which was passed in November 1641, 

 and which may justly be regarded as the immediate- 

 cause of the civil war, was ably and warmly supported by 

 Cromwell. By his conduct on this occasion, he so ef- 

 fectually recommended himself to Pym and Hampden, 

 that he was admitted into their councils, and informed 

 of their designs. In the beginning of 16-12, the par- 

 liament resolved to raise an army ; Cromwell imme- 



he wasted his estate by his negligence and inattention, 

 his whole time and thoughts being occupied with the 

 concerns of religion, and of the silenced ministers. At 



last his circumstances became so desperate, that he de- diately went down to Cambridge, where he raised a 

 termined to leave the country, and to settle with his troop of horse, of which he was appointed commander, 

 family in New England. This scheme he would un- 

 doubtedly have carried into effect, but in consequence 

 of the great numbers whom the unsettled state of affairs, 

 and the persecution of Puritanical tenets, induced to 

 emigrate, a proclamation was issued to restrain such 

 embarkations. His mind and feelings seem to have 

 been very restless at this period ; and having no other 

 proper and sufficient object, on which to display and 

 exert themselves, he set himself in opposition to the Duke 

 of Bedford, and some other persons of high rank, who 

 were desirous of draining the fen-country. Strong popu- 

 lar objections were urged against this scheme, and Crom- 

 well joining in the opposition to it with great activity, 

 vigilance, and zeal, his character and talents became 

 Better known in the country, and his influence and au- 

 thority consequently extended and increased. His 

 conduct on this occasion, indeed, was so conspicuous 

 and remarkable, that Hampden afterwards expressly 

 referred to, and cited it in Parliament, as a proof that 

 he was a person capable of contriving and conducting 

 great things. 



But his character was established now, not only as a 

 man of considerable vigour and activity of mind, but 

 as one richly endowed with the gifts of praying, preach- 

 ing, and expounding the scriptures ; and to the fame 



which he had acquired on this account, he was princi- 

 pally indebted for his second election to parliament. 



He resolved to offer himself for Cambridge, but as he 



not only possessed no interest or friends there, but was 



not even known to the electors, it was necessary to 



have recourse to intrigue and stratagem, which were 



carried on with great adroitness and complete success. 



Before he could become a candidate, it was indispensible 



that he should acquire the freedom of Cambridge ; and 



this he obtained by means of some of those to whom he 



had recommended himself by his spiritual gifts ; they 



had influence with the mayor of Cambridge, and they 



represented Cromwell to him as a royalist and a gentle- 

 man of fortune. As soon as he had succeeded in ob- 

 taining the freedom, his election was secure, for the 



Puritanical party among the burgesses was by far the 



most powerful and numerous. 



He spoke frequently in this parliament; but his 



speeches were distinguished more by the warmth and 



impetuosity with which they were delivered,, than by 



arrangement of thought, perspicuity of language, or 

 gracefulness of manner. It was, however, easy to per- 

 il] the midst of his perplexed and wandering 



fcive, 



periods, that his conception of the subject of deb.tewas 

 strong, steady, and original. He was at this time very 



He was now in his 43d year, yet in the space of a few 

 months he not only became an excellent officer, but 

 had disciplined his troops so completely, that they were 

 justly regarded as equal to regular and experienced sol- 

 diers. 



It is foreign to the nature and design of the present 

 article, to enter into a detail of the military exploits of 

 Cromwell ; these more properly belong to the province 

 of history. The actions in which he principally distin- 

 guished himself, may, however, be briefly noticed. In 

 the battle of Marston Moor, which changed the fortune 

 of the war, the independents ascribed the victory to 

 Cromwell's iron brigade ; though Hollis and other 

 writers accuse him of cowardice, in retiring from the 

 field on account of a slight wound : this he probably 

 did, but the charge cannot be rested on this circum- 

 stance. " Caesar and Cromwell," observes Walpole, 

 " are not answ r erable to a commission of oyer and ter- 

 miner." In the second battle of Newberry, he made so 

 bold a charge with his horse upon the guards, that his 

 Majesty would have been in the greatest danger, had 

 not the Earl of Cleveland preserved his master's liberty 

 at the expence of his own. When the self-denying ord- 

 nance was passed, Cromwell was at first occasionally, 

 and afterwards absolutely and perpetually, exempted, 

 and appointed lieutenant-general of the army. In the 

 battle of Naseby, 1646, he particularly distinguished 

 himself. Fortune for some time favoured the cause of 

 royalty ; Skippon's division was disordered and driven 

 behind the reserve; but the battle was restored by 

 Fairfax, and the royalists had already began to waver, 

 when they were attacked in flank and rear by Crom- 

 well, and the confusion became irretrievable. 



As soon as the king had delivered himself up to the 

 Scots, the parliament resolved to disband part of then- 

 forces. If this resolution had been carried into effectj 

 the designs and the hopes of Cromwell would have been 

 overthrown ; and yet he could not oppose it openly and 

 directly ; he therefore had recourse to those secret and 

 cautious measures, in the planning and execution of 

 which he so much excelled, wherein he was the sole 

 agent, though he did not appear to act, or even to take 

 any interest, Perhaps in no one instance did he suc- 

 ceed so completely in the object he .had in view, as in 

 this ; for he managed so, that those troops on which 

 the parliament might have depended, and of which he 

 was jealous or afraid, were disbanded, while the army 

 of Fairfax, over whom he possessed, in fact, the sole 

 power, was permitted to continue on its full and regu- 

 lar establishment. Being now possessed of willing and 



