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 chief counsel in the martial part,' writes Henry de Vic, 'is Monsieur Dolbier, a man of great experience, but not of that strength of understanding and other parts as are necessary' (Hardwicke State Papers, ii. 25). In January 1628 the king commissioned Dalbier, jointly with Sir William Balfour, to raise a thousand German horse for his service. The House of Commons suspected that the king meant to employ them to suppress English liberties, and Dalbier was vehemently attacked in the house as a traitor and a papist (, i. 612, 616, 623; cf., History of England, vi. 224, 308, 318). The king in reply countermanded the order to bring the horse to England, and Dalbier subsequently entered the Swedish service. At the capture of New Brandenburg he was taken prisoner by Tilly, and Charles I, through Burlemachi, solicited his release (ib. vi. 224; Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1631-3, pp. 34, 61, 122). He returned to England in December 1632, and was the first to bring authentic news of the death of Gustavus Adolphus at Lützen (Court of Charles I, ii. 203, 205, 211).

When the civil war began Dalbier became quartermaster-general and captain of a troop of horse in the army of the Earl of Essex, and served under him until the formation of the New Model (, Army Lists, pp. 23, 53). His services were highly valued by Essex, who obtained his release from imprisonment for debt (Lords' Journals, iv. 681, 716, vi. 44, 47). After the disaster in Cornwall in 1644, Dalbier, who was summoned to London as a witness, was under some suspicion of misconduct himself (Commons' Journals, iii. 544, iv. 48). Both Waller and Essex pressingly demanded his return to the army. 'His absence,' wrote the latter, 'hath been the loss of five hundred horse already' (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1644-5, pp. 15, 36, 106). At the formation of the New Model he lost his command, and his regiment of horse was sent to serve under General Massey (ib. pp. 330, 410, 443, 497). Dalbier was, however, appointed to command the forces sent to besiege Basing, but could not take it till Cromwell joined him with heavy guns (, Civil War in Hampshire, pp. 218, 234;, Anglia Rediviva, p. 149). He then besieged Donnington Castle, which surrendered on 30 March 1646, and finally took part in the siege of Wallingford (, The Battles of Newbury, pp. 204, 234; Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1645-7, pp. 399, 418),

In 1648 Dalbier, discontented at being unemployed, went over to the royalists, and joined the Duke of Buckingham in his rising in Surrey. When Buckingham's forces were defeated at St. Neots (5 July 1648) Dalbier was 'hewed in pieces' by the parliamentary soldiers 'to express their detestation of his treachery' (, Memoirs, ed. 1894, i. 198;, Rebellion, xi. 104).

According to Carlyle 'it was from Dalbier that Cromwell first of all learned the mechanical part of soldiering' (Cromwell, i. 216, ed. 1871). The statement is based on Heath, who says that Cromwell learned to discipline his soldiers ' from an exact observation of some veteran commanders, viz. Colonel Dalbier, whom he had by great sums of advance money and as extraordinary pay allured to his side' (Flagellum, p. 24). As Dalbier served under Essex and not in the army of the eastern association, the story is improbable.

 DALE, ROBERT WILLIAM (1829–1895), congregationalist divine, elder surviving son of Robert Dale (d. 1869) by his wife, Elizabeth Young (d. 1854), was born in the parish of St. Mary's, Newington Butts, Surrey, on 1 Dec. 1829. His parents were members of the congregation of (1794–1867) [q. v.] at the Moorfields Tabernacle. After passing through three schools he became usher (January 1844) to Ebenezer White at Andover, Hampshire, and in the following summer was received into membership with the congregational church, East Street, Andover. He began to preach and contribute to magazines in his sixteenth year. Campbell did not encourage him to study for the ministry, and in August 1845 he became usher to Jardine at Brixton Hill, Surrey. He corresponded on the metaphysics of deity with William Honyman Gillespie, and on the errors of Rome with a Dutch bishop. Early in 1846 he became usher to Müller at Leamington; did a good deal of village preaching, and published a little volume called 'The Talents' (1846), by which he lost seven guineas. On Müller's failure he carried on the school for a few months, but in September 1847 he was admitted as a theological student at Spring College, Birmingham. Here he found great stimulus in the prelections of (1806–1877) [q. v.], and came into intimate relations with [q. v.], though he preferred the preaching of George Dawson