CHAP. X. at once to the crisis; he wrote immediately to London, to give all necessary courage and confidence to the council and citizens; he sent Lambert from Fife, with 3,000 cavalry, to hang on the rear, and ordered Harrison, with an equal number from Newcastle, to press on the flank of the enemy; and, on the seventh day, he led his army of 10,000 men by the eastern coast, in the direction of York. The reduction of Scotland was left to Monk, with 5,000 men. Charles, in the meanwhile, had pushed on by Kendal and His march to Preston, to Warrington, without meeting a single foe. Worcester Lambert had joined Harrison near that place, intending to dispute the passage of the bridge; but they arrived too late, and although they drew up in battle array on Knutsford Heath, the King avoided them, and still forcing his way, at last reached Worcester, where he was proclaimed by the mayor, and joined by a few of the neighbouring gentry. London, anticipating his entry almost every hour, gave way to fearful alarms; but there was little need, for Cromwell, having collected a force of nearly 50,000 men, was now fast approaching; and the Scots were opposed to the aid of any Royalists who would not take the covenant. The Presbyterians of Lancashire had promised to rise, and Massey was sent to assume the command of them; but the committee of the kirk forbade him to co-operate with the Earl of Derby, who had brought a small force from the Isle of Man. That earl undertook to surprise Colonel Lilburne, near Manchester; but he was himself surprised by the Republicans, in a lane leading from Chorley to Wigan, and his troops utterly defeated. The number of Royalists, therefore, who joined Charles was very small, and when he reviewed his whole forces, in the Pitchcroft, the meadows between the city and the river (August 26th), he found that less than one-sixth of them were Englishmen. On the 28th, Cromwell arrived in the neighbourhood of Evesham, and the same night Lambert transferred 10,000 men across the Severn, at Upton Bridge, and drove Massey from that post. On the evening of Tuesday, the 2nd of September, Fleetwood also crossed here with a considerable force, intending to attack, next day, the Scotch outposts on the south-west, about the suburb of St. John, across the river Teme; while Cromwell, in person, plied them from the south-east, on the left bank of the Severn, and attacked Fort Royal. The whole of the city stood on the left bank, on rather high ground, surrounded by fruitful of Worcester fields and hedges, unfit for cavalry fighting. Thus, the plan of Oliver's attack was in keeping with his genius; he took The Battle *Mrs. Hutchinson's Memoirs. 1651 the sudden and daring resolve of throwing his army astride upon two rivers, of forcing a passage across both the Severn and the Teme, and of coming down at once upon the enemy from the eastern and western heights overlooking Worcester. Early on the morning of the 3rd, the anniversary of the battle of Dunbar, and Cromwell's fortunate day, Fleetwood advanced from Upton to Powick, to force the passage of the Teme, while Cromwell, to preserve the communications, threw a bridge of boats across the Severn, at Bunshill, near the confluence of the two rivers. But it was five o'clock in the afternoon before Fleetwood had completed his bridges and set fairly across the Teme, to begin business. Charles, with his staff, on the top of the Cathedral Tower, had perceived Fleetwood's intention, and set off immediately to oppose him; but Cromwell also completed his bridge just at the same moment, and then marched across to support Fleetwood, who drove the Scots from hedge to hedge, towards the suburb of St. John. At this juncture, the Scots in the city, fancying that most of the enemy's forces must have crossed over to the left bank, stormed out, under Charles himself, and attacked them on the opposite bank. But Cromwell instantly recrossed the Severn bridge of boats. For three hours the battle raged here with the greatest fury; but, in the end, the Scots were driven back towards the city; Fort Royal was captured, and its guns turned upon the fugitives; and while the Royalists were driven through the Sudbury Gate, on the east, they were driven through St. John's suburb, and over Severn bridge, on the west. An obstinate fight now ensued in the streets, but on every point the Scots were outnumbered; and Charles, seeing that all was lost, and that he had not a moment to spare, placed himself at the head of the Scotch cavalry, and took the northern road, by the gate of St. Martin. In this disastrous battle, the slain, on the part of the Royalists, amounted to 3,000, the prisoners to twice that number. The cavalry escaped in separate bodies; but so depressed was their courage, so bewildered were their counsels, that they successively surrendered to smaller parties of their pursuers. The Cavaliers, for the most part, escaped; but the Scotch officers were detected by their accent. The Duke of Hamilton and Sir John Douglas were slain; Leslie Massey, Lauderdale, Grandison, and many others, were taken at different times. Eight of the prisoners were executed, one of whom was the celebrated Earl of Derby, who was beheaded at the market cross in Bolton, Lancashire (October 15th). The most vigilant inquiries were made for the young prince; but his fate Charles's after the CHAP. X. He remained an impenetrable mystery for several weeks. He left Worcester adventures immediately after the battle, in company with some Scottish horse, and, battle. when night came on, separated himself from them, and went to the monastery of Whiteladies, the seat of a Catholic gentleman, named Giffard. Giffard disguised him as a woodman, and then entrusted him to the care of the brothers Penderell, who were labourers and tenants on his estate. These humble men discharged the duty thus placed upon them with unshaken fidelity, although the parliament had offered £1,000 reward for the capture of the prince, and had denounced death against all who befriended him. They took him to Boscobel House, and concealed him in the adjoining woods; and, on one occasion, for safer concealment, they hid him amidst the branches of an old and lofty oak, while the parliamentary soldiers were scouring the wood in search of him (September 5th). Charles remained at Boscobel two days, and then repaired to Moseley, where the Penderells left him in the care of Lord Wilmot and Mr. Whitgrave, a recusant. now changed his disguise, and assumed a servant's livery, and, under the name of William Jackson, set off on horseback for Bristol, carrying behind him his supposed mistress, Miss Lane, the sister of Colonel Lane, of Bentley. At the end of three days, they reached Bristol without interruption; but there was no vessel in which Charles could embark, and he had to seek another place of refuge. He went to Trent House, the residence of Colonel Wyndham, and, after some trouble, a vessel was engaged at Charmouth, near Lyme, to convey him to France. But the master of the vessel was prevented from undertaking the voyage by his wife; and a second ship, engaged at Southampton, was taken by the parliament for the transport of troops to Jersey. Perils now gathered round the unfortunate prince, and he went through some dangerous adventures; but at last a vessel was found, in which he embarked at Shoreham, and arrived safely at Féçamp (October 17th), after fortyone days' concealment, during which no fewer than forty-five persons had, at different times, been privy to his concealment and escape. 8. Subjection of Ireland. Charles invaded England partly in the hope that he should draw the republican army out of Ireland, and so restore the ascendancy of the Royalists in that island. But he was disappointed. Cromwell had already, before his return, freed the country of most of the Royalist forces, by allowing France and Spain to enlist more than 40,000 of them for continental service; and his successor, Ireton, had so vigorously followed in his victorious career, that the cause of Charles had become desperate. Moreover, the alliance of the latter with the Ormond Scots had exasperated the confederate Irish, who drove of Ireland. Ormond out of the country, and then defied both Royalists and Republicans. But the confederates were no match for the Commonwealth, and, although Ireton died of the plague at Limerick, after he had captured that town (November, 1651), Fleetwood, who succeeded him, soon established the complete supremacy of the English and Protestant population. Only English laws were ållowed; all papists were deprived of office, whether of a public or private nature; suspected persons were banished, and thousands of people, especially boys and girls, were shipped off to the West Indies; and a court travelled through the driven out 1651 island, for the express purpose of trying all who had shed the blood of any one out of battle since the commencement of the rebellion in 1641. The void thus made was supplied by pouring in numerous colonists of Saxon blood and Calvinistic faith. Besides these, an Act of Settlement was passed (August, Act of 1652), which deprived of their property all persons who Settlement. had fought against the parliament, or had not actively supported it, and transferred them to the districts beyond the Shannon. Many of the chiefs, however, refused to be thus transplanted; they retired to the bogs and fastnesses, where they gathered round them bands of robbers, called Raperees and Tories,* who soon became very formidable to the new settlers. But the Tories. martial law was strictly enforced throughout the island. Origin of No Catholic was permitted to reside within any garrison or market town, or to remove more than a mile from his own dwelling without a passport: every meeting of four persons, besides the family, was pronounced a treasonable assembly; to carry arms, or have arms at home, was made a capital offence; and any transplanted Irishman, who was found on the left bank of the Shannon, might be put to death by the first person who met him, without the order of a magistrate. Under this iron rule, however, the conquered country soon began to wear an outward face of prosperity. Districts, which had recently been wild and barbarous, were transformed into the likeness of Kent and Norfolk; new buildings, roads, and plantations were everywhere seen; the rent of estates rose fast; and soon the English landowners began to complain that they were met in every market by the products of Ireland, and to clamour for protecting laws.‡ 9. Subjection of Scotland. government The power of the Commonwealth was as firmly established in Scotland as in Ireland, through the genius and ability of Monk, whom Cromwell had left to complete his conquests. Stirling, the maiden fortress, which had never yet been taken, was captured (August, 1651), and the national records and regalia were sent to London, as trophies of Monk's victory. The Committee of Estates was surprised, and of Scotland all the members, including the old Earl of Leven, were sent to the Tower; and three days afterwards Dundee, the last stronghold in the hands of the Scots, was taken by storm (September 1st), and all the inhabitants put to the sword. To curb the Highlanders, a long chain of military stations was drawn across the country; " citadels were begun at Ayr, Leith, Perth, and Inverness, and an army of 20,000 men was kept up. Yet these formidable restraints did not prevent the clans, under the name of mosstroopers, Mosstroopfrom making frequent incursions upon the English districts, and in 1653, while Monk was called away to take the command of the English fleet, there broke out several rebellions. ers. * From Tournighim, to pursue for the sake of plunder. + Lingard, ., 369. Macaulay, I., 135. CHAP. X. But Monk, by his energy and vigilance, by patience and slow methodic strength, put all rebellion down; and, for the first time, Scotland was reduced to profound submission. All authority derived from any other source than the parliament of England was abolished; English judges held assizes in Scotland; Vane and St. John, and six other commissioners, went to Dalkeith, and convened a parliament, for the purpose of incorporating the two countries; and, although they did not complete their mission, it was accomplished by Cromwell immediately he became Protector. He Cromwell's published three ordinances, by which, of his own supreme authority, he three incorporated England with Scotland, absolved the natives from their ordinances. allegiance to Charles Stuart, abolished the kingly office, and the Scottish parliament, with all tenures and superiorities importing servitude and vassalage, erected courts-baron to supply the place of the jurisdictions he had taken away, and granted a free pardon to the nation. No one ventured to remonstrate or oppose this complete subversion of the Scottish government; the spirit of the nation was broken; they saw that resistance was fruitless; for the chief nobility languished in English prisons, and the others were held down by heavy burdens and exactions, and sequestrations, and even that stubborn kirk, which had so often bearded kings on their thrones, did not dare to utter a single murmur, or to put forward its divine authority, in opposition to the earthly power of the triumphant English Commonwealth.* At the same time that the two dependent kingdoms were thus reduced to entire subjection, the parliament had regained possession of Guernsey, Jersey, Scilly, and Man, the last refuges of the royal dominion; the chief colonial dependencies, New England, Virginia, and Barbadoes, had either hastened or been compelled to accept the new government of the home country; and, a few months after the battle of Worcester, the republican parliament was master of all the English territories in both hemispheres.t II. THE COMMONWEALTH'S TRANSACTIONS WITH THE CONTINENT. As 10. Quarrel with Portugal for its protection of Rupert. yet, the Commonwealth was neither at peace nor at war with the states of the continent, all of which were more or less indifferent to the proceedings which had taken place in England. The first European state with which it came into collision was Portugal, ⚫ through the protection it afforded to Prince Rupert. In 1649, this daring captain sailed from the Texel with the fleet which had revolted from the parliament, swept the Irish Channel, and inflicted severe injuries on English commerce. The Commonwealth was at first unable to resist these attacks; but, owing to the zealous activity of Vane, the English navy was soon rendered efficient, and in three years it became the most formidable force in every sea. The command was entrusted to three military * Lingard, X., 371-374; XI., 25-28; Carlyle, II., 298-301; Macaulay, I., 135. + Guizot's Cromwell, 116-117. |