Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/508

 504: CROMWELL to be trusted, and they determined not to trust him ; and ultimately they determined to punish him for his attacks on the liberties of England. That Cromwell had something to do with urg- ing on the army to oppose the parliament, is very probable ; and the army, in order that it might not be sacrificed by the Presbyterians, who controlled the parliament, seized the king's person, which it held until late in 1647. If the parliament had dealt honestly and fairly with the army, the troubles might have been brought to an end in 1647, supposing the king to have been capable of dealing candidly with the parliament. It was the dispute be- tween the army and the parliament that en- couraged the king so to act as rendered a settlement impossible. Though every one of his schemes had failed, though all his armies had been annihilated, though the Scotch had delivered him up to the English, and though the army of the latter had seized and were holding him, he fell into the mistake of sup- posing that he was necessary to them all, and that he could choose as he pleased with which party to treat. He set himself to work to outwit Cromwell. That the latter entered into a treaty with the king, and that he was supported by Fairfax and other distinguished soldiers of his party, are indisputable facts. The sincerity of Cromwell in this business is doubted by many ; and that of the king is be- lieved in by no one competent to form an in- telligent judgment. There is no good reason for doubting Cromwell's sincerity. He con- templated the settlement of England on some such basis as the great political dispute was settled 40 years later. His object was a free polity, government by parliament, toleration, the dismission of the ultra royalists, and the reinstatement of strict legality. That he looked for some individual benefits is true. He was to be lord lieutenant of Ireland, a knight of the garter, and earl of Essex, a title to which one of his family might properly aspire, now that the last of its Devereux wearers was in his grave. Had the king exhibited evidence of honesty, Cromwell would have closed with him, and would have become the founder of a line of nobles; but the most complete proof was obtained by him that Charles was prac- tising deception, and that instead of a garter for his knee, he intended to decorate his neck with a rope. Then it was that Cromwell re- solved upon the king's destruction. The army leaned strongly to republicanism, and con- tained not a few persons who entertained ex- treme opinions in religion and politics. Always disliking the king, and convinced of his insin- cerity, the soldiers saw Cromwell's course with unfriendly eyes. The king sought to cheat every party, and was so weak as to say to Ire- ton, Cromwell's son-in-law, "I shall play my game as well as I can;" to which Ireton re- plied, "If your majesty have a game to play, you must give us also the liberty to play ours." The king soon saw that he had made a mis- take. He believed his life was in danger from the more violent portion of the soldiery, known as Levellers; and Cromwell is supposed to have feared that the monarch would be seized by them, and to have operated on the royal mind, which was also startled by intimations from the Scotch commissioners. Charles there- fore left Hampton court, in disguise, on the night of Nov. 11, 1647, and took refuge at Carisbrooke castle, in the isle of Wight. Ham- mond, governor of the island, was a connection of Cromwell's by marriage. The resolution of the house of commons not to hold any more treaties with the king led to much excitement in England, and to some fighting. Cromwell proceeded to Wales, where he put down the royalists with the strong hand. Then came his campaign against the Scotch, popularly called the commencement of the second civil war. The majority of the Scotch were for setting up the king again, and they invaded England with a large army, which was joined by some English cavaliers. Hastening to the north with such rapidity that the Scotch knew not of his arrival, Cromwell effected a junction with Lambert. Their united forces numbered only 8,600 men; the enemy were 21,000. On Aug. 17, 1648, the battle of Preston was fought. The enemy lost several thousand men in the battle, and the duke of Hamilton, their commander, was among the prisoners. Following up the Scotch with great vigor, Cromwell completed their ruin, so that they were mostly killed, captured, or dispersed. The victor pushed on to Edinburgh, where he was welcomed by the extreme anti- Stuart party, headed by the marquis of Argyle. The king's fate was determined by these successes. The army caused him to be removed from the isle of Wight to Hurst castle, where he was civilly treated, but whence escape was impos- sible. The parliament voted to close with the king, but the majority were turned out of the house of commons by Col. Pride, or by other soldiers. The king was then brought to Wind- sor castle. The ordinance for erecting the high court of justice was passed, and the king was tried and executed. That Cromwell was at the bottom of these doings there can be no doubt. He was the most powerful man in the state. So far as any one man could be said to rule, he was then the ruler of England. His name stands third on the death warrant of the king, which he signed as a member of the high court. He refused to use his influence to save the king's life, and there appears no ground for believing that his conscience ever troubled him for the part he had in that " memorable scene." When the council of state was consti- tuted, Feb. 13, 1649, for performing the execu- tive duties of government, Cromwell was ap- pointed one of its members. He was made lord lieutenant of Ireland, and proceeded to that country at the head of 12,000 men, reach- ed Dublin Aug. 15, and instantly commenced a campaign as brilliant as it was sanguinary.