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land. Having collected some followers in the North of Germany, and received supplies from the King of Denmark and others, he set out for the Orkneys, with about 500 men, in hopes of being joined by the Highlanders, but in this he was disappointed. The Committee of Estates, in the meantime, hearing of this affair, sent Colonel Strachan against him, when his whole army were either killed or taken prisoners. Montrose himself, in the disguise of a peasant, was delivered up to his enemies; he was immediately carried before the Parliament at Edinburgh, tried, condemned, and executed on the 21st of May 1650, in the 38th year of his age.

Upon the 23d of June following, in consequence of an agreement with the Commissioners from Scotland, Charles set sail for that country. He arrived in the Frith of Cromarty; and was required, before landing, to sign the covenant; and publish a Declaration agreeable to the Covenanters.

The English Parliament, having now determined to go to war with Scotland, sent Cromwell, whom they had made CaptainGeneral, to invade that country, with 16,000 men. Cromwell advanced to the Scotch army, under Leslie; but not being able to bring that General to an engagement, he retired to Dunbar. Leslie followed him, and encamped on the heights of Lammermuir; Cromwell, by this manoeuvre, was so completely hemmed in, that he must either have retired by sea, or capitulated; he was, however, soon relieved from his difficulties by the over-anxiety of certain zealous Clergymen who accompanied the Scotch army. By their entreaties and prophecies, they prevailed on the army "to go down and slay the Philistines in Gilgal," and that Agag, meaning Cromwell, would be delivered into their hands. The army accordingly moved, in spite of Leslie's remonstrances. When Cromwell saw them in motion, he exclaimed, "Praised be the Lord! he hath delivered them into the hands of his servant," and ordered his troops to sing a hymn of thanksgiving. As they advanced, the Scots, though double the number of the English, were

put to flight, 3000 being slain, and 9000 taken prisoners; the remainder escaped to the Castle of Stirling.

This engagement took place on the 3d of September 1650; Cromwell immediately took possession of Edinburgh, and soon after marched for Glasgow, by the way of Kilsyth. On receipt of this information, the Marquis of Argyle and the greater part of the Clergymen fled. The City, at this period, was divided into two factions, viz. Presbyterians and Sectaries; the former were Royalists, and the latter Republicans. The latter party being desirous to render themselves useful to Cromwell, sent him information that the former intended to destroy his army. As he must necessarily pass the Castle, the Presbyterians had filled the vault with gunpowder, and were to blow up the whole as the army passed. Whether this information was correct or not, Cromwell wisely turned to the right, and entered the City by the Cowcaddens and Cow-loan, and took up his lodgings in Silvercraig's house, on the east side of the Saltmarket-Street, nearly opposite to the Bridgegate-Street *.

As this General knew also how to conquer without the sword, he sent for Mr. Patrick Gillespie, the Minister of the Outer High Church, who, at that time, had the chief sway in ecclesiastical matters, and having entertained him hospitably, and given him a long prayer, the Minister gave out that the General was surely one of the elect. Soon after this, Cromwell went in state to the Cathedral Church. It so happened, that the celebrated Paraphrast, Mr. Zacharias Boyd, the Minister of the Barony Parish, preached in the forenoon, when he took occasion severely to inveigh against Cromwell, so that his Secretary, Thurlow, who sat near him, whispered him for leave "to pistol the scoundrel." "No no," says the General, " we will manage him in another way;" he therefore asked the Minister

*The Room in which Cromwell held his Levees, is now possessed by Mrs. Morison, as a Sale- Room for Old Furniture.

to dine with him, and concluded the entertainment with prayer, which lasted for three hours, even until three in the morning.

Although an armistice had been concluded, the Covenanters were by no means satisfied, the chief Gentlemen and Clergy in the Counties of Ayr, Lanark, Renfrew, and Galloway, therefore, raised a considerable body of cavalry, and committed the command to four Colonels, viz. Keir, Strachan, Robin Halket, and Sir Robert Adair. Strachan, though a man of very loose manners, having formerly acquitted himself against Montrose to the satisfaction of the Clergy; they advanced 100,000 merks for raising a regiment, and gave him the chief command. Cromwell no sooner heard of this affair, than he entered into a private correspondence with Strachan, and, by the aid of money and artifice, threw the whole of Strachan's army into confusion, and nearly rendered it useless. Cromwell spent some farther time in Glasgow, and to very good purpose, for his friend and counsellor, Mr. Gillespie *, managed so well, that with the exception of the battle of Dunbar, he got possession of the south-east of Scotland, without requiring to draw his sword. In this situation of affairs, Cromwell thought it necessary to engage the Clergy in a paper war, in which he maintained the doctrines of independent theology, and retorted on his opponents their favourite argument of

* In 1652, Cromwell preferred his friend Mr. Gillespie to the Principality in the University of Glasgow; and, in 1655, the Principal went to London, and procured a grant for the College, of the superiority, which formerly belonged to the See of Galloway.

When Cromwell visited the College, Gillespie, in the course of conversation, gave him to understand, that Charles I. subscribed 100l. towards ornamenting its principal front; Cromwell took the hint, and ordered the money to be paid. Some time afterwards, when one of the Baillies of Perth was introduced to the Protector, he told him, that Charles had subscribed a considerable sum for a Public Building in Perth, and rather bluntly asked him for the money; when Oliver instantly replied, "I am not Charles's executor." The Baillie, who was not to be intimidated, archly answered, "Deil may care, you are a vitious intremitter with his gudes and gear."

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providence, alleging, that, in his late successes, the Lord had declared in his favour.

While these polemical disputes were running high, the State sent Colonel Montgomerie with his forces to join the western army, in order to attack the English, then lying at Hamilton. Montgomerie sent notice of this to Keir, who was the only officer uncorrupted by Cromwell and Strachan. Keir determined to be beforehand with Montgomerie, who, by this time, was at Campsie on his march, with about 2000 men; accordingly, on 1st December, he attacked 1200 foot and 3000 horse, under Lambert. Soon after the commencement of the engagement, the Scots were dispersed and pursued as far as Paisley and Kilmarnock, when Keir was made prisoner; the residue having rallied in Kyle, were disbanded by Strachan.

This defeat having increased Cromwell's power, his army. soon overspread the country without opposition; Glasgow and other places were then put under heavy contributions. Notwithstanding of these reverses, the King's coronation took place at Scone, on 1st January 1651, with great solemnity; the Royal party considered this as the work of God; the King swore to the covenant, the league and covenant, and the coronation oath, and received an exhortation to observe with sincerity the oaths he had taken, accompanied by a denunciation of plagues against him in the event of failure.

At this period, Gillespie and others called a meeting in the large Room of the Tolbooth, and were very industrious in exclaiming, that a hypocrite, meaning the King, should not reign over this land; that we should treat with Cromwell; and whoever marred the treaty, should be considered as guilty of the blood of the slain.

Charles, notwithstanding his coronation, did not find himself completely at liberty; he therefore made an attempt to join General Middleton, who was then in the mountains. He was, however, pursued and brought back by Colonel Montgomerie. After this, it was thought advisable to leave him more

at liberty. The Scots army having assembled under Hamilton and Leslie, the King joined them, and encamped at Torwood; being soon reduced to difficulties in consequence of Cromwell's movements, he resolved to march into England; accordingly, his army, to the amount of 14,000 men, advanced by forced marches to the south. On this, Cromwell wrote, desiring the English Militia to turn out and oppose the invaders, while he (leaving Monk with 7000 men, to complete the destruction of Scotland) followed the King, and enforced the orders of the Parliament; his army increasing to 30,000 men, he attacked the City of Worcester on all sides, on 3d September 1651, when the whole of the Scots army was either killed or taken prisoners; Hamilton was mortally wounded, and the King himself, after many acts of gallantry, was obliged to fly; the streets of the City were strewed with dead bodies, and the few who escaped, were pursued by the country people with scythes and pitch-forks, and fell victims to national antipathy.

The King escaped in company with fifty or sixty of his friends, and hid himself for forty-one days in various parts of the country. In the course of his concealment, he mounted an oak tree, afterwards called the Royal Oak, where he sheltered himself for twenty-four hours, and saw his enemies in pursuit of him; at last he embarked at Shoreham, in Sussex, and arrived safe at Fescamp, in Normandy. The Scots by this time were entirely subdued under Monk, who laid siege to Stirling Castle, and obliged it to surrender; there he obtained possession of the Records of the Kingdom, which he sent to England; he then took possession of several of the towns, such as Dundee, Aberdeen, &c. At the first of these places, in order to strike terror into the inhabitants, he put the whole to the sword. English Judges were appointed to decide causes in the Scotch Courts, which they did to general satisfaction; when the Scots were told that justice was administered with great impartiality, one of their leaders archly replied, "Deil mean them, they have neither kith nor kin in the kintra."

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