"Spain is undergoing, and is to undergo," as so many pages for man's instruction, written in what Lord Bacon has denominated Historia Nemesios.

We must, at least, remember that the execution of Charles I. was the crime of many, and renounce the prejudices which would impute it solely to one man, who sought so long to avert it.

An eminent writer, whose testimony will not be suspected, says: " The question then is this, had Charles I. "broken the fundamental laws of England? If there be any truth in any historian of any party who has related "the events of that reign, his conduct, from his accession แ to the meeting of the Long Parliament, had been a con"tinued course of oppression and treachery. Let those "who applaud the Revolution and condemn the Rebellion, "mention one act of James II. to which a parallel is not to be found in the history of his father. Of the execution "of the king we by no means approve; but, recurring again to the parallel case of the Revolution, what essen"tial distinction can be drawn between the execution of "the father and the deposition of the son? What consti"tutional maxim is there which applies to the former and "not to the latter? The king can do no wrong. If so, "James was as innocent as Charles could have been. The "minister only ought to be responsible for the acts of the sovereign. If so, why not impeach Jeffreys and retain "James? The person of the king is sacred. Was the person of James considered sacred at the Boyne? To discharge cannon against an army in which a king is "known to be posted is to approach pretty near to regicide. Posterity has estimated Charles's character from his death "rather than from his life."*

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* Macaulay, Critical and Historical Essays, i. 35, 43, 177.

CHAPTER VI.

IRELAND.

The Irish Saint Bartholomew-Romish Cruelties-A Priest-Surgery or Slaughter-Cromwell's Appointment-His conciliatory Wisdom and Penetration-Lord Broghil-Sailing of the Army-Cromwell's Plan-Theocracy-Storming of Drogheda, Wexford, and RossPeace and Prosperity-Oliver's Kindness to his Enemies -His Charge to the Popish Prelates-Early Days of Richard's Marriage -Cause of Ireland's Sufferings.

THE Irish Roman-catholics, as we have seen, had broken out into rebellion, and massacred an incredible number of Protestants, varying, according to different accounts, from 50,000 to 200,000 victims. This was the Hibernian Saint Bartholomew. At that time the Roman-catholics of Ireland had no cause of complaint: Charles I. had taken care of them. They had their archbishops, bishops, and vicarsgeneral; and, above all, a great number of Jesuits. It was in such a state of things, that, shrouding themselves in the deepest secrecy, like the West Indian negroes meditating a plot for the massacre of the white men, the Irish conceived the design, not only of erasing from their country every trace of the English nation, and of Protestantism, but also of crossing over into England, of becoming its masters, with the aid of Spain and of the pope, and of abolishing the reformed religion in that island. The massacre was frightful; and we must recall it to our minds that we may be able to appreciate with justice the war which re-established peace and order.

"On all sides," writes a great historian, "the Protest"ants of Ireland were attacked unawares, ejected from "their houses, hunted down, slaughtered, exposed to all "the perils, all the tortures that religious and patriotic

“ hatred could invent....... A half-savage people, passion“ately attached to its barbarism,...eager to avenge in a "day ages of outrage and misery, with a proud joy com"mitted excesses which struck their ancient masters with "horror and dismay.'

In fact, the Catholics burnt the houses of the Protestants, turned them out naked in the midst of winter, and drove them, like herds of swine, before them. If, ashamed of their nudity, and desirous of seeking shelter from the rigour of a remarkably severe season, these unhappy wretches took refuge in a barn, and concealed themselves under the straw, the rebels instantly set fire to it and burned them alive. At other times, they were led without clothing to be drowned in rivers; and if, on the road, they did not move quick enough, they were urged forward at the point of the pike. When they reached the river or the sea, they were precipitated into it in bands of several hundreds, which is doubtless an exaggeration. If these poor wretches rose to the surface of the water, men were stationed along the brink to plunge them in again with the butts of their muskets, or to fire at and kill them. Husbands were cut to pieces in presence of their wives; wives and virgins were abused in the sight of their nearest relations; and infants of seven or eight years were hung before the eyes of their parents. Nay, the Irish even went so far as to teach their own children to strip and kill the children of the English, and dash out their brains against the stones. Numbers of Protestants were buried alive, as many as seventy in one trench. An Irish priest, named MacOdeghan, captured forty or fifty Protestants, and persuaded them to abjure their religion on a promise of quarter. After their abjuration, he asked them if they believed that Christ was bodily present in the host, and that the pope was the head of the Church? and on their replying in the affirmative, he said, "Now, then, you are in a very good faith; and, for fear they should relapse into heresy, cut all their throats.t

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Cruel fighting, desperate violence, and frightful misery,

Guizot, Revol. d'Angleterre, i. 202.

+ Sir J. Temple, Irish Rebellion, p. 109. London, 1646.

afflicted the unhappy land during eight years. Armies, or savage hordes rather, full of hatred, disobedience, and cruelty, met and fought. Murder, pillage, conflagration, wasted the most fertile parts of Ireland. Cromwell was destined to restore order and peace, and give to that country a prosperity which it had not known for many a year. But how was he to attain this end?

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"To those who think that a land overrun with sanguinary quacks," says one of the Protector's biographers,* can be healed by sprinkling it with rose-water, these "letters [of Cromwell] must be very horrible. Terrible surgery this: but is it surgery and judgment, or atrociแ ous murder merely? Oliver Cromwell did believe in "God's judgments; and did not believe in the rose-water "plan of surgery, in philanthropic sentimentalism....... "He arrives in Ireland an armed soldier, solemnly conscious to himself that he is the soldier of God the Just ;66 an armed soldier, terrible as death, relentless as doom; "doing God's judgments on the enemies of God!”

It will easily be conceived how great were the difficulties to be encountered in reducing Ireland to submission; and on this account few persons cared to undertake it. All parties concurred in Cromwell's appointment to the lord-lieutenancy of that province, with the supreme civil and military authority.

He was deeply sensible of the importance of the task which devolved upon him, and appeared the next day in parliament full of anxiety and seriousness. At first he declared "his unworthiness and disability to support so

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great a charge;" but, as he was not one of those who shrink from a duty because the duty is difficult, he announced his "entire resignation to the commands of the "House, and his absolute dependence upon God's provi"dence and blessing, from whom he had received so many 66 signal marks of favour and protection."

Yet he did not conceal the obstacles he should have to encounter in the mission conferred on him: "That king"dom," said he, " is reduced to so great straits that I am "willing to engage my own person in this expedition, Carlyle, ii. pp. 52, 53.

*

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because of the difficulties which appear in it; and more out of hope, with the hazard of my life, to give some "obstruction to the successes which the rebels are at แ present exalted with. And all that I desire is, that no more time be lost in the preparations which are to be "made for so great a work.'

In compliance with his wishes, and under his direction, the Commons made incredible exertions to raise money, provide ships, and collect troops.

Oliver possessed that kind of wisdom which knows how to conciliate and win friends. Of this we have a remarkable illustration in a circumstance mentioned by several writers. Lord Broghil, under pretence of going to the Spa waters, intended to cross the seas and apply to Charles II. for a commission to raise forces to restore his majesty in Ireland, and to recover his own estate. For this purpose he applied for a license to go to Spa, communicating his real design to a few friends only. He had arrived in London in order to prosecute this journey, when a gentleman belonging to Cromwell came to his lodgings to inform him that the general, his master, intended waiting upon him, if he knew the hour when he would be at leisure to receive him. Broghil was much surprised at this message, as he had never had any acquaintance with Cromwell. He told the gentleman he presumed he was mistaken; but the gentleman answered, he was sent to Lord Broghil, and therefore, if he was that lord, he was sent to him. Broghil, finding there was no mistake, desired him to inform the general, that he would himself wait upon him. He was seriously concerned what Cromwell's business with him could be, and while he was thus musing, that general came to him in the dusk of the evening, and informed him that the council of state was acquainted with his design, that he was going to the king! Broghil interrupted him, and said his Excellency was mistaken. But Oliver replied he had good proof for what he asserted, and could show copies of his letters; that the council had

* Clarendon, book xii.

+Morrice's Life of Orrery-Collins' Peerage-Memoirs of Oliver Cromwell, &c.