Page:Works of Thomas Carlyle - Volume 06.djvu/180

 ''I have no more to trouble you; but begging of God to take away the impediments that hinder our conjunction, and to prosper our designs, take leave. Your faithful servant,''OLIVER CROMWELL.

Some rendezvous at Grantham does take place, some uniting of forces, more or fewer; and strenuous endeavour thereupon. As the next Letter will testify.

Letter is the first of Cromwell’s ever published in the Newspapers. ‘That valiant soldier Colonel Cromwell’ has written on this occasion to an official Person of name not now discoverable:

“Grantham, 18th May 1643.” ''Sir,—God hath given us, this evening, a glorious victory over our enemies. They were, as we are informed, one-and-twenty colours of horse-troops, and three or four of dragoons.''

''It was late in the evening when we drew out; they came and faced us within two miles of the town. So soon as we had the alarm, we drew out our forces, consisting of about twelve troops,—whereof some of them so poor and broken, that you shall seldom see worse: with this handful it pleased God to cast the scale. For after we had stood a little, above musket-shot the one body from the other; and the dragooners had fired on both sides, for the space of half an hour or more; they not advancing towards us, we agreed to charge them. And, advancing the body after many shots on both sides, we came on with our troops a pretty round trot; they standing firm to receive us: and our men charging fiercely upon them, by God’s providence''