The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans - to the Accession of King George the Fifth - Volume 8 by John Lingard;Hilaire Belloc
page 313 of 732 (42%)
page 313 of 732 (42%)
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success.[a] Out of the standing army of forty-five thousand men, with
whose aid England was now governed, he demanded a force of twelve thousand veterans, with a plentiful supply of provisions and military stores, and the round sum of one hundred thousand pounds in ready money.[1] On the day of his departure, his friends assembled at Whitehall; three ministers solemnly invoked the blessing of God on the arms of his saints; and three officers, Goff, Harrison and the lord lieutenant himself, expounded the scriptures "excellently well, and pertinently to the occasion."[b] After these outpourings of the spirit, Cromwell mounted his carriage, drawn by six horses. He was accompanied by the great officers of state and of the army; his life-guard, eighty young men, all of quality, and several holding [Footnote 1: Cromwell received three thousand pounds for his outfit, ten pounds per day as _general_ while he remained in England, and two thousand pounds per quarter in Ireland, besides his salary as lord lieutenant.--Council Book, July 12, No, 10.] [Sidenote a: A.D. 1649. June 22.] [Sidenote b: A.D. 1649. July 10.] commissions as majors and colonels, delighted the spectators with their splendid uniforms and gallant bearing; and the streets of the metropolis resounded, as he drove towards Windsor, with the acclamations of the populace and the clangour of military music.[1] It had been fixed that the expedition should sail from Milford Haven; but the impatience of the general was checked by the reluctance and desertion of his men. The recent transaction between Monk and O'Neil had diffused a spirit of distrust through the army. It was pronounced an apostasy from the principles on which they had fought. The exaggerated horrors of the massacre in 1641 were recalled to mind; the repeated resolutions of parliament to extirpate the |
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