nuance of charge, yet the same good hand of Providence, which hath blessed your affairs hitherto, is worthy to be followed to the uttermost. And who knows, or rather who hath not cause to hope, that He may, in His goodness, put a short period to your whole charge? Than which no worldly thing is more desired and endeavoured by

Your most humble servant,

OLIVER Cromwell.*

Ormond witnessed this defeat at Passage, from some steeple, or place of prospect' in Waterford; and found the 'Mayor,' whom he sent for, a most unreasonable man.'

'The renegado Wogan:' Captain Wogan, once in the Parliament service, joined himself to Hamilton and the Scots in 1648; 'bringing a gallant troop along with him.' His maraudings, pickeerings, onslaughts, and daring chivalries became very celebrated after that. He was not slain or hanged here at Passage ;2 there remained for him yet, some four years hence, his grand feat which has rendered all the rest memorable : 'that of riding right through England, having rendezvoused at Barnet, with a Party of Two-hundred horse,' to join Middleton's new Scotch Insurrection in the Highland Hills; where he, soon after, died of consumption and some slight hurt."-What 'kurisees' are, I do not know; may be cuirassiers, in popular locution: some nickname for Ormond's men,-whom few loved; whom the Mayor of Waterford, this very day, would not admit into his Town even for the saving of Passage Fort.4 With certain of these 'your justice' need not be troubled.

This Letter, with two others, one from Ireton and one from Broghil, all dated Cork, 19th December, were not received in the Commons House till Tuesday, 8th January; such were then the delays of the winter post. On which same day it is resolved, That the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland be desired to come over,

* Newspapers (in Cromwelliana, pp. 73, 74).

1 Carte, ii. 103; whose account is otherwise very deficient.

2 Appendix, No. 11.

a Clarendon, iii. 679; Whitlocke, Heath's Chronicle, &c.

1 Carte, ib.

and give his attendance here in Parliament.' Speaker is ordered to write him a letter to that effect.

The ground of this resolution,' says Whitlocke, 'was That 'the news of the King's coming to Scotland became more pro'bable than formerly.' Laird Winram's dealings with him, and Cromwell's successes, and the call of Necessity are proving effectual! And,' continues Whitlocke, the proceedings of the Scots ' in raising of new forces gave an alarm to the Parliament: ' and some of their Members who had discoursed with the Lord General Fairfax upon those matters, and argued how necessary it would be to send an Army into Scotland to divert the war 'from England,—had found the General wholly averse to any 'such thing; and, by means of his Lady, who was a strict Pres'byterian, to be more a friend to the Scots than they,' those Members, 'wished. Therefore they thought this a fit time to send for the Lieutenant of Ireland, the rather as his Army was now drawn into winter-quarters.'2

The Lord Lieutenant thought, or was supposed to think, of complying straightway, as the old Newspapers instruct us; but on better counsel, the Scotch peril not being very imminent as yet, decided to settle Ireland in a safe posture' first. Indeed the Letter itself is long in reaching him; and the rumour of it, which arrives much sooner, has already set the Enemy on false schemes, whereof advantage might be taken.3

Meanwhile, in Munster, in Ireland generally, there is much to be done, on the great scale and on the small. Some days before the last Letter gets into the Speaker's hands, here is another, a private one, travelling towards Philip Lord Wharton, whom we transiently saluted last year at Knaresborough.

LETTER CXII.

LORD WHARTON, when we last saw him, was of the DerbyHouse Committee, a busy man and manager; but he is not now of the Council of State; having withdrawn from all management, 2 Whitlocke, p. 422.

1 Commons Journals, vi. 343, 4.

3 Newspapers (in Cromwelliana, p. 77).

into a painful inquiring condition. One of our zealous Puritans and Patriots, but much troubled with cautious dubitations; involved in reasonings,' in painful labyrinths of constitutional and other logic, for the present. Of which sort there are now many. Who indignantly drew the sword, and long zealously fought and smote with it, nothing doubting; and are now somewhat astonished at the issue that has come of it! Somewhat uncertain whether these late high actings, executing judgment on your King, abolition on your House of Lords, and so forth, are owned by the Eternal Powers or not owned. Of Temporal Powers there is clearly none that will own them; and unless the other do? The Lord Lieutenant intimates, in his friendliest way, that surely it is indispensable to have 'satisfaction' on that score; also that it is perilous not to get it; and furthermore that labyrinths of constitutional and other logic are by no means the course towards that.

For the Right Honourable the Lord Wharton: These.

MY DEAR FRIEND, MY LORD,

Cork, 1st January, 1649.

If I know my heart, I

love you in truth: and therefore if, from the jealousy of unfeigned love, I play the fool a little, and say a word or two at guess, I know you will pardon it.

It were a vain thing, by Letter, to dispute-over your doubts, or undertake to answer your objections. I have heard them all; and I have rest from the trouble of them, and of' what has risen in my own heart; for which I desire to be humbly thankful. I do not condemn your reasonings; I doubt them. It's easy to object to the glorious Actings of God, if we look too much upon Instruments! I have heard computations made of the Members in Parliament: "The good kept out, the worst left in," &c.—it has been so these nine years: yet

1 Original has, most bad remaining:''these nine years' means, ever since the Parliament first met.

what hath God wrought? The greatest works last; and still is at work! Therefore take heed of this scandal.

Be not offended at the manner of God's working;' perhaps no other way was left. What if God accepted their zeal, 'even' as He did that of Phinehas,1 whom reason might have called before a jury! What if the Lord have witnessed His approbation and acceptance to this 'zeal' also,—not only by signal outward acts, but to the heart ' of good men' too? What if I fear, my Friend should withdraw his shoulder from the Lord's work,- Oh, it's grievous to do so!-through scandals, through false mistaken reasonings — ?

"There's difficulty, there's trouble; here, in the other way, there's safety, ease, wisdom: in the one no clearness"-this is an objection indeed," in the other satisfaction."--"Satisfaction:" it's well if we thought of that first, and 'as' severed from the other considerations,2 which do often bias, if not bribe the mind. Whereby mists are often raised in the way we should walk in, and we call it darkness or "dissatisfaction:" Oh, our deceitful hearts! Oh, this flattering world! How great is it to be the Lord's servant in any drudgery3 (I thought not to have written near so far as' the other side: love will not let me alone; I have been often provoked to it by you') — in all hazards His 'worst is far above the world's

—

1. And behold, one of the Children of Israel came, and brought unto his ' brethren a Midianitish woman; in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all 'the Congregation of the Children of Israel, who were weeping before the ⚫ door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation,'-by reason of those very sins. And when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the Priest, saw it, ⚫he rose up from among the Congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the belly. So the 'plague was stayed from the Children of Israel.' (Numbers, xxv. 6-8).

best! He makes us able, in truth, to say so; we cannot of ourselves. How hard a thing is it to reason ourselves up to the Lord's service, though it be so honourable; how easy to put ourselves out there, where the flesh has so many advantages!

You were desired to go along with us: I wish it still.' Yet we are not triumphing;-we may, for aught flesh knoweth, suffer after all this: the Lord prepare us for His good pleasure! You were with us in the Power of things: why not in the Form? I am persuaded your neart hankers after the hearts of your poor Friends; and will, until you can find others to close with: which, I trust, though we in ourselves be contemptible, God will not let you do!

My service to the dear little Lady: I wish you make her not a greater temptation to you, in this matter,' than she is! Take heed of all relations. Mercies should not be temptations: yet we too oft make them so. The Lord direct your thoughts into the obedience of His will, and give you rest and peace in the Truth. Pray for

Your most true and affectionate

Servant in the Lord,

OLIVER CROMwell.*

Of Wharton and his dubitations, which many share in, we shall again hear. Of Wharton, young Colonel Hammond, young Colonel Montague, Tom Westrow, Henry Lawrence, idle Dick, men known to us, and men unknown ; -of them and their abstruse reasonings,' and communings with the Lord Lieutenant

1 Shadow of condescension, implied in this, strikes his Excellency; which he hastens to retract.

* Gentleman's Magazine (London, 1814), lxxxiv. p. 418. Given there without editing; no notice whence: clearly genuine.