a demonstration of cutting off his supplies from the west, and of interrupting his communication with Stirling. This manoeuvre produced not the intended effect. The Scottish commander thought it sufficient to cover Edinburgh, and to defend the principal passes which lead to the shores of the Firth; being satisfied that want of food would compel Cromwell to retrace his steps to the neighbourhood of his fleet at Dunbar, before he himself should find it necessary to hazard a battle, in order to re-establish his magazines. A variety of movements were made by both armies in the western division of Edinburghshire; the object of which, on the part of Cromwell, was to bring on a battle, while Lesley confined his endeavours to the protection of the city and the destruction of his enemy's resources. At one place where the small river Leith separated the camps, the English pushed on their lines with the intention of making an attack. The word given out was "Rise, Lord!" The body of foot advanced within three hundred yards, when they discovered such a bog on both their wings of horse, that they could not pass over. "Thus," says Captain Hodgson," by this very unexpected hand of Providence were we prevented, and had only liberty to play with our cannon that evening and part of the next morning, which did good execution, as we believe, upon them. We had very strange and remarkable deliverances from theirs, though they played very hard upon us, and that with much art; but the Lord suffered them not to do us much hurt; we had not slain and wounded above five-and-twenty men."* Cromwell was present in person on this occasion. He even headed the advanced party, and approached so near to the Scottish lines, that one of the enemy fired a carbine at him, with the view of checking his progress. Oliver called out to the trooper and said, “that if he were one of his soldiers, he would cashier him for discharging his piece at such a distance." The man, who had formerly served in England under Lieutenant-General Lesley, instantly recognised the leader of the Ironsides, and spread the information that the officer at whom he had aimed was no other than Cromwell himself, whom he had often seen in company with Lord Leven when the army was in Yorkshire. The plan pursued by the Scottish General was hitherto attended with complete success. The invaders were again compelled to retreat to Musselburgh, after having been in the field nearly a month, exposed to much bad weather, and many privations. On the 31st of August, their commander wrote to a member of the Council of State, describing the marches and countermarches which he had made, with the view of bringing the enemy to action, or of driving him from his defences under the walls of Edinburgh. Lesley had threatened to interpose himself between Cromwell and his supplies, a demonstration which accelerated the retrograde movement of the English; but as his object all the while was to shun a general en * Relation of Campaign, 266. gagement, he made choice of such positions as at once rendered an attack impracticable, and harassed the enemy, whose communications he never ceased to menace. Oliver relates, that his opponent marched in the night between Leith and Edinburgh, to place himself "between us and our victual, but the Lord had in mercy prevented it; which we perceiving in the morning, got in time enough, through the goodness of the Lord, to the sea-side; the enemy being drawn up on the hill near Arthur'sSeat, looking upon us, but not attempting any thing." From Musselburgh five hundred sick men were shipped for Berwick, while disease seemed to be rapidly extending throughout the army. Hodgson remarks, that they became weaker and weaker every day, and that as they were drawing homeward towards Haddington, the Scots hung on their right flank. An attempt was made at the town just named to check the advance of their pursuers; but after a consultation was held by the superior officers, it was resolved to continue the retreat to Dunbar. "We staid," says the captain, "till about ten o'clock-had been at prayer in several regiments-sent away our waggons and carriages-and not long afterwards marched, a poor, shattered, hungry, discouraged army; and the Scots pursued so very close, that our rear-guard had much ado to secure our poor weak foot, that was not able to march up. We drew near Dunbar towards night, and the Scots ready to fall upon our rear. * Memoirs, p. 143. 66 According to the statement given by Cromwell himself in his dispatches, the pressure on his rear, between Musselburgh and Haddington, must have been very considerable. By the time we had got the van-brigade of our horse, and our foot and train into their quarters, the enemy was marched with that expedition, that they fell upon the rear forlorn of our horse, and put it in some disorder; and, indeed, had like to have engaged our rear-brigade of horse with their whole army, had not the Lord, by his providence, put a cloud over the moon, thereby giving us an opportunity to draw off those horse to the rest of the army, which accordingly was done without any loss." It was on Sunday the 1st of September, that the latter march was accomplished; and next morning, which was very tempestuous, they found that Lesley had intercepted their farther retreat, or at least that he had taken up such a position as must render their subsequent movements extremely perilous. "He had," says Hodgson," blocked up our way for England; and our poor army drew up about swamps and bogs not far from Dunbar, and could not pitch a tent all that day." At nine o'clock in the evening a council of war was called, where, after debating the case at considerable length, many of the officers recommended that the foot should be shipped, and that the cavalry should force a passage through the enemy. It is said that Lambert opposed this resolution with great vehemence, and advised the council rather to try the fortune of arms once more, than to expose themselves to disgrace, and perhaps to en tire destruction. He reminded them that they had enjoyed great experience of the goodness of God while they kept together, and if they parted, all might be lost. He represented, too, that there was no longer time to embark the infantry, for day would dawn before the shipment could be effected, and consequently they must sacrifice all their waggons and ammunition. He stated, in the third place, that they had great advantage in the ground which they occupied, should a battle take place; because the Scots, being confined between a ravine in front and a mountain in the rear, could not deploy their regiments or bring them into action; and hence, if their right wing were successfully attacked, the rest of their army would necessarily be thrown into confusion. Fourthly, he argued, that as the enemy had left intervals in their line upon the brink of the hill, the English cavalry might advance in troops and the infantry in companies, without sustaining any material opposition, because Lesley's battalions could neither extend their line nor change their front, but at the hazard of throwing the whole army into disorder. Lastly, he maintained that their artillery would sufficiently occupy the attention of the left wing, while the horse and foot advanced against the right; and that if the latter were repulsed, a general rout of the enemy must inevitably ensue, and a complete victory would crown the exertions of the assailants. These arguments, we are assured, altered the views of the military counsellors. But there is little doubt that before the officers were convened, Cromwell had resolved to attack Lesley in |