£80 
C R O M 
ceeded into Scotland, put the power there into the hands 
cf the other party, and left a.body of troops to maintain 
them in it; and then returned to London. Meantime 
the parliament had fet on foot a treaty with the king, 
which appeared likely to come to a conclufion. To pre¬ 
vent this, a detachment of the army again feized the 
king’s perfon, and lodged him in Hurft-caftle, while 
their brethren in London purged the houfe of commons, 
leaving no members but fuch as were difpofed to go to 
all extremities with them. The fate of Charles now 
drew on apace, and it is acknowledged that Cromwell 
was the prime mover in the bloody cataftrophe. He 
afted.his part with all the hypocritical craft which be¬ 
longed to his character; but he openly fat in court at 
the trial, figned the warrant, and urged on the execution. 
After this event, which decifively changed the form 
«f the conftitution, a council of (late was formed, of 
which Cromwell was a principal member. It was now 
necefiary to control that fpirit in the army which, for a 
temporary purpofe, he and his party had foflered ; and 
when their agitators (men elected by the foldiers for 
managing their political concerns) prefented a remon- 
ftrance to the council, they were feverely treated as 
mutineers. This occafioned a real mutiny to break 
out; and feveral regiments of horfe, Cromwell’s among 
the red, put on white cockades, and appointed a rendez¬ 
vous at Ware. Cromwell fuddenly appeared among 
them with fome forces on whom he could depend, fur- 
rounded one regiment, called out by name four of the 
mutineers, and made them calf lots for the lives of two. 
The two fortunate ones were then obliged to fhoot 
their companions upon the fpot, and this vigorous mea- 
fure produced the immediate fubmifiion of the reft. 
The flame, however, broke out again, and four regi¬ 
ments began a march from the weft to fupport their 
comrades. Fairfax and Cromwell went to meet them ; 
but the matter appeared fo ferious, that Cromwell 
thought it advifable to delude the mutineers with a pre¬ 
tended treaty. By this they were thrown off their 
guard, and then fuddenly furprifed ; and the punifhment 
of a few reduced the body to obedience. .This was not 
the mod honourable mode of effecting his purpofe ; but 
when a thing appeared to Cromwell of indifpenfable ne- 
ceflity, no l'cruples flood in his way refpefting the per¬ 
formance. The promptnefs, intrepidity, and decilion, 
he difplayed in this very dangerous conjuncture, were 
truly charafteriftic. 
The (late of Ireland now called the attention of the 
republican government, and it was refol.ved to fend 
over a powerful army to fettle the diffractions of that 
ifland, where three parties, the native catholics, the 
royalifts, and the parliamentarians, were in arms againft 
each other. Cromwell undertook the command ; and 
with the title of lord-lieutenant, and very ample powers, 
embarked for that country in Auguft, 1649. He carried 
with him his veteran troops, well furnifhed with every 
thing necelfary ; and refolving to aft upon his ufual 
plan of vigorous difpatch, he (formed Drogheda, which 
was held by fir Arthur Afton, with 2500 old troops. 
Here he praftifed the utmoft rigour of the law of arms, 
fo that it is laid not more than thirty men efcaped mili¬ 
tary execution. He foon after treated Wexford in the 
fame manner; and there the fword was ftained by the 
blood of many unfortunate women. By thefe feverities 
he ftruck fuch a terror into the Irifli, that fcarcely any 
thing durft refill him, fo that his fpring campaign almoft 
fecured the reduftion of the ifland. He left it in June, 
1650, conftituting I reton his deputy ; and, upon his re¬ 
turn to London, was received with the moft triumphant 
exultation. His prefence at home was now become very 
intereffing. The Scotch had invited Charles II. and 
were preparing an army for the invafion of England. 
On confuting upon the meafures to be purfued, it was 
Cromwell’s decided opinion, that the danger fhould be 
prevented by a previous invafion of Scotland; but 
W ELL. 
Fairfax, who neither pafTefTed the fame boldnefs of de- 
fijgn, and who was moreover reftrained by religious feru- 
p!es, as being himfelf a drift prefbyterian, and having 
taken the covenant, difapproved of the propofal ; nor 
could all the arguments that were urged move him to 
take the command in fuch an expedition. Cromwell, 
who had with apparent fmcerity ufed all his influence to 
perfuade him, reaped the benefit of Iris refufal. Fair¬ 
fax’s commifiion was revoked, and an ordinance palled, 
conftituting Cromwell general and commander in chief 
of all the forces of tire commonwealth ; thus leaving 
him but one ftep more to fupretne power. He ftiil re¬ 
tained the lieutenancy of Ireland, which the parliament 
would not fuffer hint to refign ; and he had the art to 
fend thither the (launch republican Ludlow, with the 
honourable commifiion of lieutenant-general of the 
horfe, that he might be out of the way of giving oppo- 
fition to his projects. 
Cromwell marched to Scotland with 20,000 chofen 
troops. A larger army was raifed to oppofe him, but 
chiefly confiding of new levies, more infpired by the 
fpirit of fanatics titan that of foldiers. It was accompa¬ 
nied by a body of minifters, who, as they had always 
done in that country, arrogated a high authority in af¬ 
fairs extraneous to their profellion. The cautious old 
general Leflie followed the plan of ftarving out the Eng- 
lifh army in a wafted country; and, by taking a ftrong. 
pofition near Dunbar, had nearly reduced Cromwell to 
the refolution of embarking his infantry, and breaking 
through the enemy with his cavalry ; when tlie enthufi- 
aftic confidence of the Scotch clergy, who fancied that 
they had received from heaven full affiirance of viftory„ 
compelled the general, contrary to his judgment, to ven¬ 
ture an engagement. As foon as Cromwell, from their 
motions, difeerned their intention, he exclaimed, that 
“the Lord had delivered them into-his hands.” The 
battle of Dunbar, fought September 3, 1650, terminated 
in a complete and fhameful defeat of the Scots, with, 
great lofs on their part, and comparatively none on that 
of the Englifh. The furrender of Edinburgh caftle 
was the confequence ; and Cromwell obtained various 
other fuccefles, but was not able to draw the remaining 
Scotch army, under the king, out of their ftrong camp 
near Stirling. He pulhed to Perth in the hummer,. and 
reduced it; in the mean time.Charles took the bold re¬ 
folution of trying his fortune in England. The parlia¬ 
ment were greatly alarmed at this motion, and raifed 
additional forces. Cromwell followed the king’s army, 
but they had reached Worcefter before he overtook 
them. There, on September 3, 1631, he obtained what 
he called his crozoning-viclory , attended with almoft the 
total deftrudtion of tlie royal army, which, indeed, was 
much inferior in number to bis own. Proceeding thence 
to London, he was met by the parliament and its lpeaker, 
the Council of date, the magiftrates of the city, and 
made his entry with all the pomp of a conqueror and a 
deliverer. A general thankfgiving was appointed for 
his fuccefles, and the fum of four thoufand pounds per 
annum was fettled upon him out of fome forfeited eftates. 
He was now fo elated, that, in the natural progrefs of 
ambition, he looked forward to a greatnels without 
competitors. He could not brook fubmifiion to a par¬ 
liament which he knew was far from poflelling the at¬ 
tachment of the nation, and which was chiefly occupied 
in perpetuating its own power. The necellity of ah 
eftabliflvment was therefore the new topic or cant of his 
difeourfes, and various conferences were held among the 
leading men on this fubjeft. In thefe he always dif¬ 
played his own preference of Angle government to re¬ 
publican, though he continued to (hew external defe¬ 
rence to the authority of parliament. Haying loft, by 
death, his firm and able coadjutor Ireton, he made a 
marriage between his daughter, Ireton’s widow, and 
colonel Fleetwood, for whom he procured the commif- 
fion of lieutenant-general of the army in Ireland, and 
thus 
