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Dmund Ludlow was defcended from a family of confiderable rank, originally feated in Shropshire; but, removing thence, had been fettled fome time in Wiltshire, when our author was born at Maiden-Bradley, in that county, about the year 1620. His parents, refolving to give him an education fuitable to his birth, fent him from fchool to Trinity-college in Oxford; where, having gone through the ufual Academical ftudies, he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Nov. 14, 1636: After which he was removed to the Temple, in order to acquire a competent knowledge in the laws and conAtitution of his country, so as to recommend him fome time to a feat in Parliament, where his ancestors had frequently reprefented the county. His behaviour was anfverable to the hopes and expectations of his father, Sir Henry Ludlow, Knt. who being chofen for the county in the Long Parliament, which met the 3d of November, 1640, and enter

ing with great zeal into the party against the Court, his conduct and encouragement had fuch an influence on his fon, that he not only very early declared himself on that fide, but also took up arms, the first opportunity that offered; for, while he was a Student in the Temple, he engaged, with feveral others, in a kind of military affociation, and they afterwards enlifted as volunteers in the Earl of Effex's life-guard.

In this station our young foldier was not long before he came to action, in the firft pitched battle between King Charles I. and his Parliament, called the Battle of EdgeHill, which was fought on Sunday, the 23d of October, 1642 of which action he has given us a very particular and feemingly impartial account, fo far as he was concerned therein. The following winter, Sir Edward Hungerford obtaining the command of the Parliament's forces in the county of Wilts, he invited our author to raise a troop of horse in his regiment; which having completed in the fummer campaign, he joined Sir Edward, then befieging Wardourcaftle, of which, when taken, Capt. Ludlow was made Governor, and left with a company of foot, and his own troop, for its defence: In this fervice, young as he was, he fhewed, both in courage and conduct, his gicat capacity in affairs of war, maintaining

that poft ten months, without any affiftance, for the Parliament, which had held out only fix days for the King, though all means had been tried, not omitting even treachery, according to Mr. Ludlow's account, for regaining it.

To this end, he tells us, one Capt. White, a Papift, of Dorsetshire, having found a boy at Shaftsbury fit for the purpofe, gave him fuch inftructions as he thought fit: He was not above twelve years of age, and yet, fays he, as I was afterwards informed, had already attempted to poison his grandfather. This boy he fent to the Caftle, to defire of me to be admitted to turn the fpit, or perform any other fervile employment; to which I confented, his youth freeing him, as I thought, from any fufpicion. About three or four days after, a party of the enemy's horfe appeared before the Caftie; a great wall-gun, called a har quebuz de croq, being fired from the top of the Caftle, burft in the middle. At night, as this boy was fitting with the guard by the fire, fome of them conceived a jealousy of him; and, ftrictly examining him about the caufe of his coming, he affirmed it to be, because the mafter whom he ferved had used him cruelly, for fpeaking fome words in favour of the Parliament. With which anfwer they not being fatisfied threatened, that, unless he would confefs the truth, they would hang him immediately; and, to affright him, tied a piece of match about his neck, and began to pull him upon a halbert. Upon this, he promised to confefs all, if they would fpare his life; and thereupon acknowledged, that Capt. White had hired him to number the men and arms in the Caftle; to poifon the arms, the well, and the beer; to biow up the ammunition, and to fteal away one of my beft horfes to carry him back to them; for which fervice he was to receive half-a-crown; confefling that he had, accordingly, poifoned two cannon and the harquebuz that was broken, but pretended, that his confcience would not give him leave to poifon the water and the beer.'

-The improbability of this ftory is remarked by Lord Clarendon : The reduc tion, however, of the place was not com pleted, till, by battering and mining, it was rendered unfenable, and the Governor, by wounds and wants, forced to listen to the

clamours

fuaded he had already conceived the defign of destroying the civil authority, and fetting up for hinfelf, and was founding whether he was a fit inftrument to be employed to thofe ends: But he returned fuch an anfwer as made Cromwell never fpeak to him again on that fubject, tho', upon another occanon, he used very indecent expreflions to him, in the Houfe, tending to the fame purpose.

When the King was brought from Holmby to the army, our author went down to vifit the Officers, where Commiffary-general Ireton, apprehending the Colonel and other Members, at that time friends to the army, might be jealous of their proceedings, took great pains to fatisfy him; defiring him to be affured of their ftedfat adherence to the public intereft, and that they intended only to difpenfe with fuch things as were not material, in order to quiet the reflefs spirit of the Cavaliers, till they could put themselves into a condition to ferve the people effectually: But he adds, he could not approve of their practices. It appears clearly from our author's Memoirs, that he looked on the Agitators and their party in the army as faunch Commonwealth's-men, and, therefore, when Cromwell, on their growing troublesome, feized twelve of them, one of which he caused to be shot dead upon the fpot, delivering the reft over to the cuftody of the Marthal; and, on reporting this tranfaction to the Parliament, had the thanks of the Houfe voted him for what he had done; our author diftinguished himself by giving as loud a No as he could, After the Parliament had passed the vote for non-addrefs to the King, and published their declaration for bringing him to a trial, which declaration was drawn up by Col. Nathani Fiennes; Col. Ludlow, Mr. Holland, and another Member, were fent down to Windfor, to releafe Capt. Reynolds, and the others, called Levellers, feized as above-mentioned by Cromwell; who foon after procured a meeting of divers leading men among the Prefbyterians and independents, both Members of Parliament and Minitters, at a dinner in Weftminster, under pretence of endeavouring a reconciliation between the two parties; but he found it a work too difficult for him to compote the differences between those two ecclefiaftical interefts; one of which, fays our author, could endure no fuperior, the other no equal. Wherefore, finding this produced no effect, he contrived another conference to be held in King-street, between thofe called Grandees of the Houte and army and the Commonwealth's-men; the refult of which we fhall give in the Colonel's own words, he attending anongit thofe of the latter denomination:

The Grandees, of whom Lieut. Gen. Cromwell was the head, kept themselves in the clouds, and would not declare their judgments either for a monarchical, ariftocratical, or democratical government; maintaining that any of them might be good in themfelves, or for us, according as Providence fhould direct us. The Commonwealth'smen declared that monarchy was neither good in itself nor for us. That it was not defirable in itself, they urged from the viiith chapter and the 8th verfe of the ift book of Samuel, with divers more texts of Scripture to the fame effect. And that it was no way conducing to the interests of this nation was endeavoured to be proved by the infinite mifchiefs and oppreffions we had fuffered under it, and by it: That, indeed, our ancestors had confented to be governed by a fingle perfon, but with this provifo, that he fhould govern according to the direction of the law, which he always bound himself by oath to perform: That the King had broken his oath, and thereby diffolved our allegiance, protection and obedience being reciprocal: That, having appealed to the fword for the decifion of things in difpute, and thereby caufed the effufion of a deluge of the people's blood, it feemed to be a duty incumbent upon the Reprefentatives of the people to call him to an account for the fame; more especially fince the controversy was determined by the fame means which he had chofen; and then to proceed to the establishment of an equal Commonwealth, founded upon the confent of the people, and providing for the rights and liberties of all men, that we might have the hearts and hands of the nation to fupport it as being moft juft, and in all refpects most conducing to the happiness and profperity thereof. Notwithstanding what was faid, Lieut. Gen Cromwell, not for want of conviction, but in hopes of making a better bargain with another party, profeffed himself unrefolved, and, having learned what he could of the principles and inclinations of thofe prefent at the conference, took up a cution and fung it at my head, and then ran down the stairs; but I overtook him with another, which made him haften down fatter than he defired. The next day, pal1ng by me in the Houfe, he told me he was convinced of the defirableness of what was propofed, but not of the feafiblencfs of it; thereby, as fuppofe, defigning to encou rage me to hope that he was wiling to join with us, though unwilling to publich his opinion, left the Grandees fhould be informed of it, to whom, I prefime, he profeled himielf to be of another judgment. Col. Ludlow here seems to in.hu te, that he was

the

the head of the Commonwealth party at this meeting; and plainly evidences the King's deftruction was a point concluded on by both thefe parties, the Republicans and the Grandees; and that the quarrel was no longer who fhould obey, but who fhould give the law; and here Cromwell's genius exerted itfelf, for, by uniting the fword with the church, he was an over-match for all the three, Prefbyterians, Independents, and Cemmonwealth's-men, who each endeavoured to fet up for themselves fingly; and, as they all 'dreaded, so they all ftrove to demolish the power of the fword, by which weak meafure they drove the military force to clofe fo much the ftricter with Oliver.

When Sir Thomas Glenham, by order of the Scots, who were now preparing to raife forces to release the King from his confinement at Carisbrook in the isle of Wight, had feized upon Carlife; the Parliament, refolving to reinforce the militia of each county, fent feveral of their Members into their respective countries to give life to their preparations, and, amongst them, the Colonel was fent into Wiltshire, where he foon brought them to agree to the raising two regiments of foot and one of horfe. Soon after, Oliver Cromwell, finding difficulties increafing in his way, took an opportunity of making his complaints, and afking the advice of our author. I could not but acknowledge, fays the Colonel, that he had many enemies for the fake of the caufe in which he ftood engaged, and also that many who were friends to that caufe had conceived fufpicions of him; but I obferved to him, that he could never oblige the former, without betraying that caufe wherein he was engaged; which if he should do, upon the account of an empty title, riches, or any other advantage, how thofe contracts would be kept with him was uncertain; but most certain it was, that his name would be abominated by all good men, and his memory abhorred by pofterity On the other fide, if he perfifted in the profecution of our juft intentions, it was the most probable way to fubdue his enemies to rectify the mistakes of thofe who had conceived a jealousy of him, and to convince his friends of his integrity: That, if he fhould fall in the attempt, yet his lofs would be lamented by all good men, and his name be tranfinitted to future ages with honour.'

After the defeat of the Scotch and Englih army under the Marquis of Hamilton and Sir Marmaduke Langdale by Cromwell, Col. Ludlow went down to Sir Thomas Fairfax, then lying before Colchester, to perfuade him to make the most of the power which the army had affumed, in order, as he faid,

to prevent their own and the nation's ruin'; to convince him of the neceflity of which, he laid before him the bad confequences of entering into a treaty with the King in fuch strong terms, that the army in a very thort time adopted his fyftem, and, drawing nearer London, in order to favour their friends in tre Houfe, Ireton sent a meffage to our author, that now he hoped (the army) fhould please him;' which, fays he, I muit acknowledge they did. In the fame spirit, when the Houle, on his Majefty's antwer from Newport, voted that the King's conceflions were ground for a future fettlement, he and his party declared their diffatisfaction, and retired to confult how to fruftrate that vote. And after, feveral Officers coming to town the next day, they held a confultation together; in which, after concluding, that the measures taken by the Parliament were contrary to the truft repoled in them, it was refolved the army fhould endeavour to put a stop to fuch proceedings; and thereupon our author, with two other Members, and three Officers, withdrew into a private room, where they agreed, as the best means to obtain the end of the above refolution, that the army should be d. wn up the next morning, and guards placed in Westminster-hall, the Court of Requests, and the Lobby, that none might be permitted to pafs into the Houfe but fuch as had continued faithful to the public intereft.' This moft arbitrary stretch of power was accordingly put in execution; and, the King in confequence of it being taken off, and the Houfe of Peers voted both useless and dangerous, their next confideration was how to carry on the executive part of government; to do which the better, they refolved to conftitute a Council of State, and impowered five Members of the Houfe of Commons, among which was our author, to agree upon the number and perfons fit to be proposed to the Houfe for their approbation. The numher they pitched upon was thirty-five, four of whom were Loids; to which the Houfe added the above five; fo that the Council of State confified of forty Members, The fame five, or any three of them, were conftituted a Committee to receive fatisfaction touching the affections to the public intereft of every Member who had not fat fince the trial of the King, and to report the fame, with the reafons of his abfence, to the House.

The Scots having received and proclaimed Charles II. for their King, and preparing to march with him into England to compel the people of that kingdom to acknowledge him in the fame capacity, Cromwell, who was recalled from Ireland, on Sir Thomas FairBb

fax's

fax's refufal to march into Scotland, was made Captain-General of all the English forces. One day in the Houfe he told Col. Ludlow, that he obferved an alteration in his looks and carriage towards him, and defired a conference with him; which was confented to. In this conference Cromwell propofed to nominate him for a Lieutenant-general of horse in Ireland, and one of the Commiffioners for civil affairs in that kingdom. But, the Colonel having lately married, and purchafed fome lands, by which he had embarraffed his affairs too much to think of quitting England till they were put into fome tolerable order, he would not therefore feem to understand Cromwell's hint, and even oppofed the motion both in the Council of State and in the Houfe, and follicited Cromwell not to infift on his nomination, but in vain. Soon after the conference, Oliver Cromwell marched to Scotland, from whence, after the victory at Dunbar, he fent Ludlow his commiffin; the Parliament also ordered 1000l. to be advanced to him and his brother Commiffioners, and directed the fime fum to be paid them yearly; they also raised for him a troop of horfe, confifting of 100 men, armed with back, breast, and headpieces for defence, and pistols and musketoons for offence, and advanced them two months pay. The Lieutenant-general, being quite ready, only waited the determination of Lord Howard's cafe by the House, to fet out upon his Irish expedition; and, fetting fail one Thursday morning in the beginning of January 1650, arrived at the fort of Duncannon on Friday. Immediately after landing, he went to pay his refpects to the Lord Deputy, who ordered his troop into good quarters, both to refresh and feafon them to the elimate; it having been obferved, that the English horfe were not fo fit for fervice till they had been feasoned for fome time with the air and provifions of that country; and then entered with the Lieutenant-general and the other Commiffioners from England, upon confideration of the adminiftration of juf tice, purfuant to the inftructions fent them from the Parliament. After this our author went to the army, and fignalised himself by his bravery in feveral actions, the particulars of which he has given in his Memoirs.

Upon the death of Ireton, which happened Nov. 26, 1651, and is much lamented by our author as a real lofs to the public at that juncture, the Commiffioners of the Partia ment immediately fent letters to all the Officers of the army, which confitted of upwards of 22,000 foot and between 7 and Sooo horfe and dragoons, to yield obedience to our Lieutenant-general; who, on the

Commiffioners promising to affift hun, took upon himself the chief command, till it should be otherwise determined by the House. He continued ftill to act with the utmost vigour in the reduction of this kingdom as long as he held his command. In the mean time he conftantly expreffed a jealousy of Cromwell's ambitious views; and the following year Lieut. Gen. Fleetwood was appointed in his room, as well to prepare the way for Cromwell's intended change, as to leffen our au thor's power, of whole oppofition to his defigns the ufurper was very jealous. But, while thefe things were tranfacting in England, Ludlow was very active in fuppreffing thofe Irifh who ftill continued in arms; and was thus employed in the county of Fermanagh, when he received advice that Fleetwood, having landed at Waterford, was gone to Kilkenny; thither he haftened to attend him with the rest of the Commiflioners, who for that purpose fet out from Dublin; to which city Ludlow returned with them, after he had faluted the Commander in chief, and affured him he was refolved to obey his orders; and he was foon followed by Fleetwood and his family.

The war in Ireland being now ended, a commiffion was iffued out by the Commander in chief, for the trials of those who had, in the first year of the rebellion, or at any time fince, murdered any of the English; which being done, the Commiffioners next entered into methods for fatisfying the arrears of the army, and fettling the adventurers in the forfeited lands, in order to repeople and improve the country, which the war had almoft made defolate. The method they took did not intirely fatisfy Ludlow, who cenfures their conduct as not sufficiently impartial. They alfo difbanded 5000 horfe and foot, and reduced the pay of the General and other Officers; which reduction, he fays, fell heavier upon him than on others, as his expences were obliged to be higher, in refpect of his poft of Lieutenantgeneral of the herfe, than the rest of the Commiffioners; fo that he spent upwards of 4500 1. in the four years of his fervice there, out of his own proper eftate, over and above all his pay. His arrears, together with those of his regiment, were allotted to be fatisfied out of lands in the county of Wexford, where he ordered fome of his Officers to act for him; and he received 100l. the fitt year, and 200 1. for the fecond; and he fays it was reported to be capable of further improverents; but, as he never faw it, none were made whilft in his poffeffion. Thele affairs were fettling in Ireland, whilft Oliver war paving his way, by diffolving the Long

Parliament,