58 The LIEE of the Lis. L fcience ftand Hill while any thing was done which they thought was againft that Intereftwhich they judged to be the Intereft of the People of God. And as he was theChief in pulling down, hewas one of the firft that fell: For Sir Arthur Hafelrigg taking Portfmaatb ( of which more hereafter) his Regiment of Horfe fent to block st up, went molt of them into Sir Arthur Hafelrigg. And when the Armywas melted to nothing, and the King ready to come in, the Council of State imprifoned him, becaufe hewould not promife to live peaceably ; and af- terwards he (being oneof the four whom General Monkhad the worn thoughts of) was clofely confitid in Scarborough CaJtk: but being releafed he became a Gardiner, and lived ina fafer fiate than in all his Greatnefs. § 84. When Worcejter Siegewas over, ( having with Joy feen Kidderminfter and myFriends there once again), the Country being now cheated, my old Flock ex- pe&ed that I Ihould return to them, and fettle in Peace among them. I went to Coventry, and called the Minifters again together who had voted me into theArmy : I told them [' That the forfaking of the Army by the oldMini- ' flers, and the negle& of Supplying their Places by others, had undone us: that ' 1 had laboured among themwith as much Succe1 as could be expe&ed in the ` narrow fphere ofmy Capacity: but thatfignified little to all the Army ! That the ` A&ive Se&arieswere thefmalleft part of the Army among the Common Sold- ' ers, but Cromwell had lately put fomany of them into Superiour Command, and ' their Induftry was fo much greater than others, that they were like to havetheir Will: That whatever obedience they pretended, Idoubted not but they would ' pull down all that flood in their way, in State and Church, both King, Parlia- ment and Minifters, and fet up themfelves. I told them that for this little that I have done I have ventured my Life, and weakened my Body ( weak before) t ' but the Day which Iexpe&ed is yet to come, and the greateft Service with the greateft Hazard is yet before. TheWars being nowended, I was confident they ` would Ihortly Thew their purpofes, and fet up for themfelves : And when that ' daycame, for all that are true to King, Parliament, and Religion then to appear, if there be any hope,by contradi&ing them ordrawing off theSoldiersfrom them, was all theService that was yet poffrble tobe done : That I was like to do no ' great matter in filch an Attempt ; but therebeing fo many in the Army of my mind, I knew notwhat might be till the Day lhould difcover it : Though I knew it wasthe greateft hazard ofmyLife, myJudgment wasfor flaying among them till theCrifis, if their Judgment did concur]. Whereupon they all voted me to go, and leave Kielderminfteryet longer, which accordingly I did. § 85. FromWorcefter I went to London to Sir Theodore Mayern about my health : He tent me to Tunbridge Wells, and after fome flay there to my benefit, I went back to London, and fo to my Quarters in Wercefterfhire where the Regiment was. My Quarters fell out to be at Sir llar. Row'sat Rous Lench , where I had never been before: The LadyRomwas a godly, grave, underftanding Woman, and en- tertainedmenot as a Soldier but a Friend. From thence I went into Leice/ierfhire, Staforelfhire, and at loft into DerbyJhire. One advantage by this moving Life I had, that I had opportunity topreach in many Countreys and Parifhes ; and whatever came of it afterward, 1 knownot ; but at the prefent they commonly feemed to be much affe&ed. 1 came to our Major Swallow'sQuarters at Sir yobn Cook's Houk at Melbourn in theedge ofDarbyfhire, beyondAfhby de la Zoucb,in a cold and fnowy Seafon; and the cold, together with other things coincident, fet my Nofe on bleeding. When I had bled about a quart or two, I opened four Veins, but it didno good. I did divers other Remedies for feveral days to little purpofe ; at loft I gave my felf a Purge, whichftopt it. This fo muchweakened me and altered my Complexion, that my Acquaintance who came to vifit me fcarce knew me. Coming after fo long veaknefs, and frequent lofs of Blood before, it made thePhyfscians conclude me deplorate after it was flopped ; fuppofing I would never efcape a Dropfy. And thus God unavoidably prevented all the Effe& of my purpofes in my loft and chiefeft Oppofition of the Army; and took me off the very time when my Attempt Ihould have begun : My purpofewas to have done my belt firft to take off that Regiment which I was with, andthen with Capt. Lawrence to have tried up- on the Generals (inwhich two was Cromwell's chief Confidents) and then have joyned with others of the fame,mind ( for the other Regiments were much left
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=