[44] The late Mr. Hardwick.
[45] Apley MSS.
[46] See the whole subject treated very ably by Professor Smyth, of Cambridge, in his Lectures on Modern History, Vol. 1, Lect. xiv.
[47] The Cambridge Professor of History, though a strong advocate of the cause of liberty in opposition to prerogative, thus writes of Cromwell:—“Cromwell had to subdue not only the Royalists, but the Presbyterians; and this not merely by force, but by the most extraordinary performance of cant and hypocrisy that human nature ever exhibited.”—Vol. 1, Lect. xvii.
[48] In proof of the intellectual power of Charles, additional to that of his successful controversy with Henderson, the following statement may be given in the words of Mr Tytler:—“In the two months’ negotiations which followed, Charles, unassisted, carried on a contest of argument on arduous political topics with these fifteen of the ablest senators of the day; and the commissioners were not more struck with the ravages which persecution and suffering had wrought in his appearance, (his hair had become entirely grey) than with the clearness of intellect, the readiness of elocution, and the dignity of deportment, which he displayed at these important conferences.”—Trials of Charles I., p. 8.
[49] The conduct and demeanour of Charles, at his trial, and on the scaffold, have drawn even from the pen of Mr. Macaulay a passage expressive of his admiration, and a passage so eloquent as to shine even in his brilliant pages. But it is not more just, perhaps not more eloquent, than the following description which is given of Charles in the hour of adversity, by Professor Smyth:—“With what sentiment do we now behold him?... it is the monarch unsubdued by adversity—it is the hero unappalled by death—it is the Christian sublimed by piety and hope—it is these that occupy our imagination and our memory. It is the tribunal of violence—it is the scaffold of blood—that banish from our minds all indignation but against his destroyers—all terrors but of the licentiousness of the people: that render all regular estimation of his character odious and impossible; and that leave nothing in the heart of the generous and humane, but compassion for his misfortunes, and reverence for his virtues.”—Lectures on Modern History, Vol. 1, p. 441.
[50] It appears that the King was exposed to great personal hazard in this battle, and owed his deliverance to the prompt and intrepid conduct of Adam Hill, Esq., of Spaldwick. When Prince Rupert, by his rash pursuit of the enemy’s cavalry, had thrown the royal army into a state of disorder, the King was at one time in danger of being taken prisoner, when this brave officer, by rallying a troop of horse, of which he was in command, checked the advance of the enemy, and thus averted the King’s danger. Charles shewed his sense of this gallant feat of arms, and his gratitude for this service, by investing him on the field of battle with his own royal scarf. This gorgeous scarf, the material and workmanship of which is peculiarly beautiful, having descended as an heirloom to Peter Denny, a grandson of Adam Hill’s by his daughter Cordelia, is now in the possession of Sir Edward Denny, Bart, of Tralee.—“Royal Presents to the Denny’s” by Rev. A. B. Rowan, p. 3.
[51] Clarendon, who has given a sketch of the character of this cavalier, and an affecting account of his execution, and of the christian courage with which he submitted to it, thus sums up his description of him:—“In a word, he was a man, that whoever shall after him deserve best of the English nation, he can never think himself undervalued when he shall hear that his courage, virtue, and fidelity is laid in the balance with, and compared to that of Lord Capel.” ... Vol. iii, p. 273.
[52] This tract is printed in Gutch’s Collectanea Coriosa, Oxford 1781. The Author, John Thomas Manby.