to the remotest extremity of England.[1] At Dunbar, Cromwell posted his men
in the vicinity of Broxmouth House; Leslie with the Scots moving along the
heights of Lammermuir, occupied[a] a position on the Doon Hill, about two
miles to the south of the invaders; and the advanced posts of the armies
were separated only by a ravine of the depth and breadth of about thirty
feet. Cromwell was not ignorant of the danger of his situation; he had even
thought of putting the infantry on board the fleet, and of attempting to
escape with the cavalry by the only outlet, the high road to Berwick; but
the next moment he condemned the thought as "a weakness of the flesh, a
distrust in the power of the Almighty;" and ordered the army "to seek
the Lord, who would assuredly find a way of deliverance for his faithful
servants." On the other side the committees of the kirk and estates exulted
in the prospect of executing the vengeance of God upon "the sectaries;" and
afraid that the enemy should escape, compelled their general to depart from
his usual caution, and to make preparation for battle. Cromwell, with his
officers, had spent part of the day in calling upon the Lord; while he
prayed, the enthusiast felt an enlargement of the heart, a buoyancy of
spirit, which he took for an infallible presage of victory; and, beholding
through his glass the motion in the Scottish camp, he exclaimed, "They are
coming down; the Lord hath delivered them into our hands."[2] During the

[Footnote 1: Balfour, iv. 94.]

[Footnote 2: Sagredo, the Venetian ambassador, in his relation to the
senate, says that Cromwell pretended to have been assured of the victory
by a supernatural voice. Prima che venisse alla battaglia, diede cuore ai
soldati con assicurargli la vittoria predettagli da Dio, con una voce, che
lo aveva a mezza notte riscosso dal sonno. MS. copy in my possession.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1650. August 31.]