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love: you see how I am employed. I need pity. I know what I feel. Great place and business in the world is not worth the looking after; I should have no comfort in mine but that my hope is in the Lord's presence. I have not sought these things; truly I have been called unto them by the Lord; and therefore am not without some assurance that He will enable His poor worm and weak servant to do His will, and to fulfil my generation. In this I desire your prayers. Desiring to be lovingly remembered to my dear Sister, to our Son and Daughter, to my Cousin Ann and the good Family, I rest,

. Your very affectionate brother, OLIVER CROMWELL.*

On Monday, 22d July, the Army, after due rendezvousing and reviewing, passed through Berwick; and encamped at Mordington across the Border, where a fresh stay of two days is still necessary. Scotland is bare of resources for us. That night, the Scotch beacons were all set on fire; the men fled, and drove away their cattle.' Mr. Bret, his Excellency's Trumpeter, returns from Edinburgh without symptom of pacification. The Clergy represent us to the people as if we were monsters of the world.' 'Army of Sectaries and Blasphemers," is the received term for us among the Scots.'

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Already on the march hitherward, and now by Mr. Bret in an official way, have due Manifestos been promulgated: Declaration To all that are Saints and Partakers of the Faith of God's Elect in Scotlund, and Proclamation To the People of Scotland in general. Asking of the mistaken People, in mild *Harris, p. 513: one of the Pusey stock.

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Balfour, iv. 97, 100, &c.: Cromwell the Blasphemer' (ib. 88).

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terms, Did you not see us, and try us, what kind of men we were, when we came among you two years ago? Did you find us plunderers, murderers, monsters of the world? 'Whose ox have we stolen?' To the mistaken Saints of God in Scotland, again, the declaration testifies and argues, in a grand earnest way, That in Charles Stuart and his party there can be no salvation; that we seek the real substance of the Covenant, which it is perilous to desert for the mere outer form thereof;-on the whole that we are not sectaries and blasphemers; and that it goes against our heart to hurt a hair of any sincere servant of God.-Very earnest Documents; signed by John Rushworth in the name of General and Officers; often printed and reprinted. They bear Oliver's sense in every feature of them; but are not distinctly of his composition: wherefore, as space grows more and more precious, and Oliver's sense will elsewhere sufficiently appear, we omit them.

2 'The Scots,' says Whitlocke, are all gone with their goods towards Edinburgh, by command of the Estates of Scotland, upon penalty if they did not remove; so that mostly all the men are gone. But the wives stay behind; ' and some of them do bake and brew, to provide bread and ' drink for the English Army.' The public functionaries 'have 'told the people, "That the English Army intends to put all 'the men to the sword, and to thrust hot irons through the 'women's breasts;"-which much terrified them, till once 'the General's Proclamations were published.' And now the wives do stay behind, and brew and bake,-poor wives!

That Monday night while we lay at Mordington, with hard accommodation out of doors and in,—my puddingheaded

1 Newspapers (in Parliamentary History, xix. 298, 310); Commons Journals, 19 July, 1650.

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friend informs me of a thing. The General has made a large Discourse to the Officers and Army, now that we are across; speaks to them "as a Christian and a Soldier, To be doubly and trebly diligent, to be wary and worthy, for sure enough we have work before us! But have we not had God's blessing hitherto? Let us go on faithfully, and hope for the like still!" The Army answered with acclamations,' still audible to me.-Yorkshire Hodgson continues :

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'Well; that night we pitched at Mordington, about the House. Our Officers,' General and Staff Officers, hearing a great shout among the soldiers, looked out of window. They spied a soldier with a Scotch kirn' (churn) on his ' head. Some of them had been purveying abroad, and had 'found a vessel filled with Scotch cream: bringing the rever'sion of it to their tents, some got dishfuls, and some hatfuls; ' and the cream being now low in the vessel, one fellow would ' have a modest drink, and so lifts the kirn to his mouth: but ' another canting it up, it falls over his head; and the man is 'lost in it, all the cream trickles down his apparel, and his 'head fast in the tub! This was a merriment to the Officers; as Oliver loved an innocent jest.'

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A week after, we find the General very serious; writing thus to the Lord President Bradshaw.

LETTER CXXXV.

'COPPERSPATH,' of which the General here speaks, is the country pronunciation of Cockburnspath; name of a wild rock-and-river chasm, through which the great road goes,

1 Hodgson, p. 130; Whitlocke, p. 450.

some miles to the eastward of Dunbar. Of which we shall hear again. A very wild road at that time, as may still be seen. The ravine is now spanned by a beautiful Bridge, called Pease Bridge, or Path's Bridge, which pleasure-parties go to visit.—The date of this Letter, in all the old Newspapers, is 30th July;' and doubtless in the Original too; but the real day, as appears by the context, is Wednesday 31st.

To the Right Honourable the Lord President of the Council of State: These.

MY LORD,

Musselburgh, 30th July, 1650.

We marched from Berwick upon Monday, being the 22d of July; and lay at my Lord Mordington's house, Monday night, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday we marched to Copperspath; on Friday to Dunbar, where we got some small pittance from our ships; from whence we marched to Hadding

ton.

On the Lord's day, hearing that the Scottish Army meant to meet us at Gladsmoor, we laboured to possess the Moor before them; and beat our drums very early in the morning. But when we came there, no considerable body of the Army appeared. Whereupon Fourteen-hundred horse, under the command of Major-General Lambert and Colonel Whalley, were sent as a vanguard to Musselburgh, to see likewise if they could find out and attempt any thing upon the Enemy; I marching in the heel of them with the residue of the

1 Letter from the General dated 30° Julii' (Commons Journals, vi. 451).

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Army. Our party encountered with some of their horse; but they could not abide us. We lay at Musselburgh, encamped close, that night; the Enemy's Army lying between Edinburgh and Leith, about four miles from us, entrenched by a Line flankered from Edinburgh to Leith; the guns also from Leith scouring most part of the Line, so that they lay very strong.

Upon Monday, 29th instant, we were resolved to draw up to them, to see if they would fight with us. And when we came upon the place, we resolved to get our cannons as near them as we could; hoping thereby to annoy them. We likewise perceived that they had some force upon a Hill that overlooks Edinburgh, from whence we might be annoyed; ' and' did resolve to send up a party to possess the said Hill;—which prevailed: but, upon the whole, we did find that their Army were not easily to be attempted. Whereupon we lay still all the said day; which proved to be so sore a day and night of rain as I have seldom seen, and greatly to our disadvantage; the Enemy having enough to cover them, and we nothing at all considerable. Our soldiers did abide. this difficulty with great courage and resolution, hoping they should speedily come to fight. In the morning, the ground being very wet,' and' our provisions scarce, we resolved to draw back to our quarters at Musselburgh, there to refresh and revictual.

The Enemy, when we drew off, fell upon our rear ; and put them into some little disorder: but our bodies Near a little village named, I think, Lichnagarie,'-means, Lang Niddery (Hodgson, p. 132); the Niddery near Duddingston, still deservedly called Lang by the people, though map-makers append the epithet elsewhere.

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