thought to be slain at Musselburgh once, but is alive here still; an old acquaintance of my Lord General Cromwell's, and always suspected of a leaning to Sectarian courses. These Colonels and Gentry having, by sanction of the Committee of Estates, raised a Western Army of some Five-thousand, and had much consideration with themselves; and seen, especially by the flight into the Grampians, what way his Majesty's real inclinations are tending,-decide, or threaten to decide, that they will not serve under his Majesty or his General Lesley with their Army, till they see new light; that in fact they dare not; being apprehensive he is no genuine Covenanted King, but only the sham of one, whom it is terribly dangerous to follow! On this Party Cromwell has his eye; and they What becomes of them we shall, before long, learn. Meanwhile here is a Letter to the Official Authorities; which, however, produces small effect upon them.

on him.

LETTER CL

FOR THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE COMMITTEE OF ESTATES OF

SCOTLAND, AT STIRLING, OR ELSEWHERE: THESE

Linlithgow, 9th October 1650.

Right Honourable,―The grounds and ends of the Army's entering Scotland have been heretofore, often and clearly, made known unto you; and how much we have desired the same might be accomplished without blood. But, according to what returns we have received, it is evident your hearts had not that love to us as we can truly say we had towards you. And we are persuaded those difficulties in which you have involved yourselves, by espousing your King's interest, and taking into your bosom that Person, in whom (notwithstanding what hath "been" or may be said to the contrary) that which is really Malignancy and all Malignants do centre; against whose Family the Lord hath so eminently witnessed for bloodguiltiness, not to be done away by such hypocritical and formal shows of repentance as are expressed in his late Declaration; and your

strange prejudices against us as men of heretical opinions (which, through the great goodness of God to us, have been unjustly charged upon us),—have occasioned your rejecting those Overtures which, with a Christian affection, were offered to you before any blood was spilt, or your People had suffered damage by us.

The daily sense we have of the calamity of War lying upon the poor People of this Nation, and the sad consequences of blood and famine likely to come upon them; the advantage given to the Malignant, Profane, and Popish party by this War; and that reality of affection which we have so often professed to you, and concerning the truth of which we have so solemnly appealed, do again constrain us to send unto you, to let you know, That if the contending for that Person be not by you preferred to the peace and welfare of your Country, the blood of your Peoples, the love of men of the same faith with you, and (in this above all) the honour of that God we serve,Then give the State of England that satisfaction and security for their peaceable and quiet living beside you, which may in justice be demanded from a Nation giving so just ground to ask the same, from those who have, as you, taken their enemy into their bosom, whilst he was in hostility against them: "Do this"; and it will be made good to you, That you may have a lasting and durable Peace with them, and the wish of a blessing upon you in all religious and civil things.

If this be refused by you, we are persuaded that God, who hath once borne His testimony, will do it again on the behalf of us His poor servants, who do appeal to Him whether their desires flow from sincerity of heart or not. I rest, your Lordships' humble servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

The Committee of Estates at Stirling or elsewhere debated about an Answer to this Letter; but sent

civility merely, and after considerable delays.

none, except of

A copy
A copy of the

Letter was likewise forwarded to Colonels Ker and Strahan

Newspapers (in Cromwelliana, p. 93).

and their Western Army, by whom it was taken into consideration; and some Correspondence, Cromwell's part of which is not yet altogether lost, followed upon it there; and indeed Cromwell, as we dimly discover in the old Books, set forth towards Glasgow directly on the back of it, in hopes of a closer communication with these Western Colonels and their Party.

1

While Ker and Strahan are busy at Dumfries,' says Baillie, 'Cromwell with the whole body of his Army and cannon comes peaceably by way of Kilsyth to Glasgow.' It is Friday evening, 18th October 1650. The Ministers and Magistrates flee all away. I got to the Isle of Cumbrae with my Lady Montgomery; but left all my family and goods to Cromwell's courtesy, which indeed was great; for he took such a course with his soldiers that they did less displeasure at Glasgow than if they had been in London; though Mr. Zachary Boyd,' a fantastic old gentleman still known in Glasgow and Scotland, 'railed on them all, to their very face, in the High Church; calling them Sectaries and Blasphemers, the fantastic old gentleman! 'Glasgow, though not so big or rich as Edinburgh, is a much sweeter place; the completest town we have yet seen here, and one of their choicest Universities.' The people were much afraid of us till they saw how we treated them. 'Captain Covel of the Lord General's regiment of horse was cashiered here for holding some blasphemous opinions." This is Cromwell's first visit to Glasgow: he made two others, of which on occasion notice shall be taken. In Pinkerton's Correspondence are certain anecdotes of Cromwell at Glasgow'; which, like many others on Cromwell, need not be repeated anywhere except in the nursery.

Cromwell entered Glasgow on Friday evening; over Sunday, was patient with Zachary Boyd: but got no result out of Ker and Strahan. Ker and Strahan, at Dumfries on the Thursday, have perfected and signed their Remonstrance of 1 Baillie, iii. 119; Whitlocke, p. 459.

2 Whitlocke, p. 459; Cromwelliana, pp. 92-3.

the Western Army; a Document of much fame in the old Scotch Books. Expressing many sad truths,' says the Kirk Committee. Expressing, in fact, the apprehension of Ker and Strahan that the Covenanted King may probably be a Solecism Incarnate, under whom it will not be good to fight longer for the Cause of Christ and Scotland ;—expressing meanwhile considerable reluctancy as to the English Sectaries; and deciding, on the whole, to fight them still, though on a footing of our own. Not a very hopeful enterprise! Of which we shall see the issue by and by. Meanwhile news come that this Western Army is aiming towards Edinburgh, to get hold of the Castle there. Whereupon Cromwell, in all haste, on Monday, sets off thitherward; 'lodges the first night in a poor cottage fourteen miles from Glasgow'; arrives safe, to prevent all alarms. His first visit to Glasgow was but of two days.

LETTER CLI

THE Western Colonels have given-in their Remonstrance to the Committee of Estates; and sat in deliberation on their copy of Cromwell's Expostulatory Letter to that Body, the Letter we have just read, in which these two words, security' and 'satisfaction,' are somewhat abstruse to the Western Colonels. They decide that it will not be convenient to return any public Answer; but they have forwarded a private Letter of acknowledgment with Six Queries': Letter lost to us; Six Queries still surviving. To which, directly after his return to Edinburgh, here is Cromwell's Answer. The Six Queries, being very brief, may be transcribed; the Letter of acknowledgment can be conceived without transcribing :

'Query 1. Why is satisfaction' demanded? 2. What is the satisfaction demanded? 3. For what is the 'security' demanded ? 4. What is the security ye would have? From whom is the security required? 6. To whom is the

1 Dated 17th October; given in Balfour, iv. 141-60.

5.

security to be given ?" Queries which, I think, do not much look like real despatch of business in the present intricate conjuncture !

This Letter, it appears, is, if not accompanied, directly followed by Mr. Alexander Jaffray' Provost of Aberdeen, and a 'Reverend Mr. Carstairs' of Glasgow, two Prisoners of Oliver's ever since Dunbar Drove, who are to agent' the same.2

66

TO COLONEL STRAHAN, WITH THE WESTERN ARMY: THESE

99

Edinburgh, 25th October 1650.

Sir, I have considered of the Letter and the Queries; and, having advised with some Christian friends about the same, think fit to return an Answer as followeth :

"That" we bear unto the Godly of Scotland the same Christian affection we have all along professed in our Papers; being ready, through the grace of God, upon all occasions, to give such proof and testimony thereof as the Divine Providence shall minister opportunity to us to do. That nothing would be more acceptable to us to see than the Lord removing offences, and inclining the hearts of His People in Scotland to meet us with the same affection. That we do verily apprehend, with much comfort, that there is some stirring of your bowels by the Lord; giving some hope of His good pleasure tending hereunto; which we are most willing to comply with, and not to be wanting in anything on our part which may further the same.

And having seen the heads of two Remonstrances, the one of the Ministers of Glasgow, and the other of the Officers and Gentleman of the West, we do from thence hope that the Lord hath cleared unto you some things that were formerly hidden, and which we hope may lead to a better understanding. Never

' Baillie, iii. 120.

1 Balfour, iv. 135. * Remonstrance of the Western Army is this latter; the other, very conceivable as a kind of codicil to this, is not known to me except at secondhand, from Baillie's eager, earnest, very headlong and perplexed account of that Business (iv. 120, 122 et seqq.).