well, and had made the acquaintance of his daughter Bridget, who, by her decision of character, was more like her father than was her younger sister Elizabeth, afterwards Mrs. Claypole. On the 15th of January, 1646, lreton married Cromwell's daughter. On the 25th of October, in the same year, her father wrote the following letter to her, when as yet she did not exceed twenty-two years of age, touching some of the duties of the Christian life. It is short and simple; but perhaps no parent at the head of an army has ever written one more suitable and more affecting.

"For my beloved Daughter, Bridget Ireton, at Cornbury, the General's Quarters: These.

"DEAR DAUGHTER,

66 London, 25th October, 1646.

"I write not to thy husband; partly to avoid trouble, for one line of mine begets many of his, which I doubt makes him sit up too late; partly because I am myself indisposed [i. e. not in the mood] at this time, having some other considerations.

"Your friends at Ely are well: your sister Claypole is, I trust in mercy, exercised with some perplexed thoughts. She sees her own vanity and carnal mind; bewailing it: she seeks after (as I hope also) what will satisfy. And thus to be a seeker is to be one of the best sect next to a finder; and such a one shall every faithful humble seeker be at the end. Happy seeker, happy finder.

Who ever tasted that the Lord is gracious, without some sense of self, vanity, and badness? Who ever tasted that graciousness of His, and could go less in desire [i. e. become less desirous],-less pressing after full enjoyment? Dear Heart, press on; let not thy Husband, let not anything cool thy affections after Christ. I hope he [thy husband] will be an occasion to inflame them. That which is best worthy of love in thy Husband is that of the image of Christ he bears.

Look on that, and love it best, and all the rest for that. I pray for thee and him; do so for me.

"My service and dear affections to the General and Generaless. I hear she is very kind to thee; it adds to all other obligations. I am

"Thy dear Father,

"OLIVER CROMWELL."*

Delicacy of sentiment, the domestic virtues, and paternal love, are among the features by which Cromwell is best characterized.

Towards the end of the year 1646, the Parliament offered the Scots army £400,000 on condition of their returning into their own country. The terms were accepted, and the King thus fell into the hands of the English Parliament.

At the beginning of 1648, Cromwell fell dangerously ill: on his recovery he wrote the following letter to the commander-in-chief:

"For his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, General of the Parliament's Armies, at Windsor: These.

"SIR,

London, 7th March, 1648.

"It hath pleased God to raise me out of a dangerous sickness; and I do most willingly acknowledge that the Lord hath, in this visitation, exercised the bowels of a father towards me. I received in myself the sentence of death, that I might learn to trust in Him that raiseth from the dead, and have no confidence in the flesh. It's a blessed thing to die daily. For what is there in this world to be accounted of! The best men according to the flesh, are things lighter than vanity. I find this only good, To love the Lord and his poor despised people; to do for them, and to be ready to suffer with them:—and he that is found worthy of this hath ob*Harleian MSS. No. 6988, fol. 224; Carlyle, i. 277.

tained great favor from the Lord; and he that is established in this shall (being confirmed to Christ and the rest of the Body, i. e. the Church') participate in the glory of a Resurrection which will answer all.

"Sir, I must thankfully confess your favor in your last Letter. I see I am not forgotten; and truly, to be kept in your remembrance is very great satisfaction to me; for I can say in the simplicity of my heart, I put a high and true value upon your love,-which when I forget, I shall cease to be a grateful and an honest man.

"I most humbly beg my service may be presented to your Lady, to whom I wish all happiness, and establishment in the truth. Sir, my prayers are for you, as becomes

This letter from one general to another characterizes alike the men and their times.

Such was Oliver in the midst of battle. His troops, not less than their general, have been the object of bitter attack on the part of worldly-minded writers. This we can understand: proofs are now before us which explain their conduct. Take, for instance, the manner in which the orators of Exeter Hall are treated in Parliament, although, even in the opinion of their adversaries, they are some of the most worthy men in England. If soldiers lead a disorderly and irreligious life, provided they are brave, there are writers who can never be sufficiently loud in their praise; but soldiers, professing Christianity, merit, according to their views, nothing but blame and ridicule.

Cromwell's regiment, after the battle of Edgehill, gave decided testimony of the spirit by which it was animated. Wishing to form what they called "a gathered church," the officers looked about for a fitting pastor, and to the honor of * Sloane MSS. 1519, fol. 79; Carlyle, i. 324.

their Christian character selected Richard Baxter, the most eminent minister of the seventeenth century. The author of the Saints' Rest was equally distinguished for his blameless manner of life, his lively piety, and his extraordinary talents. Where can we now find a regiment that would invite such a man to take charge of their spiritual concerns? Although Baxter was rather royalist and Episcopalian in his sentiments, Cromwell and his followers looked only to his faith and holy life. He was invited to Cambridge, where Oliver happened then to be quartered, and a call signed by all the officers was put into his hands. Baxter refused; for which he afterwards expressed his deep regret. "These very men," he says, "that then invited me to be their pastor, were the men that afterwards headed much of the army, and some of them were the forwardest in all our changes; which made me wish that I had gone among them, however it had been interpreted; for then all the fire was in one spark."

Oliver not only desired a faithful preacher for his soldiers, but required them to observe a Christian behavior and an exact discipline. In these latter objects he succeeded admirably. One of the journals of the day, quoted by the royalist Southey in his elegant little biography of Cromwell, says of these troops, 66 'no man swears but he pays his twelvepence; if he be drunk, he is set in the stocks, or worse; if one calls the other round-head, he is cashiered; insomuch that the countries where they come leap for joy of them, and come in and join with them. How happy were it, if all the forces were thus disciplined !"

The piety generally prevailing among Oliver's soldiers has been so much ridiculed for two centuries past, and the public opinion has been so misled on this point, that it will be long ere men's minds will be in a condition to appreciate them aright. We, however, will never consent to call good evil, or pretend that men can gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles. In our views, the heart and life form a great and profound harmony. The act cannot be good, unless the feel

ing be good also; the words cannot be true unless the thought be true likewise. When I meet with a pure stream, I con

clude that it springs from a clear fountain. Man, thinking, speaking, and acting, forms an indivisible unity. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. This has been forgotten in the case of Oliver Cromwell.