The History of England, from the Accession of James the Second - Volume 1 by Thomas Babington Macaulay (diy ebook reader .txt) π
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was as zealous in his cause as either Taunton or
Bridgewater, but could do nothing to serve him. There had been a
rising a few days before; and Monmouth's declaration had been
posted up in the market place. But the news of this movement had
been carried to the Earl of Pembroke, who lay at no great
distance with the Wiltshire militia. He had instantly marched to
Frome, had routed a mob of rustics who, with scythes and
pitchforks, attempted to oppose him, had entered the town and had
disarmed the inhabitants. No weapons, therefore, were left there;
nor was Monmouth able to furnish any.399
The rebel army was in evil case. The march of the preceding night
had been wearisome. The rain had fallen in torrents; and the
roads had become mere quagmires. Nothing was heard of the
promised succours from Wiltshire. One messenger brought news that
Argyle's forces had been dispersed in Scotland. Another reported
that Feversham, having been joined by his artillery, was about to
advance. Monmouth understood war too well not to know that his
followers, with all their courage and all their zeal, were no
match for regular soldiers. He had till lately flattered himself
with the hope that some of those regiments which he had formerly
commanded would pass over to his standard: but that hope he was
now compelled to relinquish. His heart failed him. He could
scarcely muster firmness enough to give orders. In his misery he
complained bitterly of the evil counsellors who had induced him
to quit his happy retreat in Brabant. Against Wildman in
particular he broke forth into violent imprecations.400 And now
an ignominious thought rose in his weak and agitated mind. He
would leave to the mercy of the government the thousands who had,
at his call and for his sake, abandoned their quiet fields and
dwellings. He would steal away with his chief officers, would
gain some seaport before his flight was suspected, would escape
to the Continent, and would forget his ambition and his shame in
the arms of Lady Wentworth. He seriously discussed this scheme
with his leading advisers. Some of them, trembling for their
necks, listened to it with approbation; but Grey, who, by the
admission of his detractors, was intrepid everywhere except where
swords were clashing and guns going off around him, opposed the
dastardly proposition with great ardour, and implored the Duke to
face every danger rather than requite with ingratitude and
treachery the devoted attachment of the Western peasantry.401
The scheme of flight was abandoned: but it was not now easy to
form any plan for a campaign. To advance towards London would
have been madness; for the road lay right across Salisbury Plain;
and on that vast open space regular troops, and above all regular
cavalry, would have acted with every advantage against
undisciplined men. At this juncture a report reached the camp
that the rustics of the marshes near Axbridge had risen in
defence of the Protestant religion, had armed themselves with
flails, bludgeons, and pitchforks, and were assembling by
thousands at Bridgewater. Monmouth determined to return thither,
and to strengthen himself with these new allies.402
The rebels accordingly proceeded to Wells, and arrived there in
no amiable temper. They were, with few exceptions, hostile to
Prelacy; and they showed their hostility in a way very little to
their honour. They not only tore the lead from the roof of the
magnificent Cathedral to make bullets, an act for which they
might fairly plead the necessities of war, but wantonly defaced
the ornaments of the building. Grey with difficulty preserved the
altar from the insults of some ruffians who wished to carouse
round it, by taking his stand before it with his sword drawn.403
On Thursday, the second of July, Monmouth again entered
Bridgewater, In circumstances far less cheering than those in
which he had marched thence ten days before. The reinforcement
which he found there was inconsiderable. The royal army was close
upon him. At one moment he thought of fortifying the town; and
hundreds of labourers were summoned to dig trenches and throw up
mounds. Then his mind recurred to the plan of marching into
Cheshire, a plan which he had rejected as impracticable when he
was at Keynsham, and which assuredly was not more practicable now
that he was at Bridgewater.404
While he was thus wavering between projects equally hopeless, the
King's forces came in sight. They consisted of about two thousand
five hundred regular troops, and of about fifteen hundred of the
Wiltshire militia. Early on the morning of Sunday, the fifth of
July, they left Somerton, and pitched their tents that day about
three miles from Bridgewater, on the plain of Sedgemoor.
Dr. Peter Mew, Bishop of Winchester, accompanied them. This
prelate had in his youth borne arms for Charles the First against
the Parliament. Neither his years nor his profession had wholly
extinguished his martial ardour; and he probably thought that the
appearance of a father of the Protestant Church in the King's
camp might confirm the loyalty of some honest men who were
wavering between their horror of Popery and their horror of
rebellion.
The steeple of the parish church of Bridgewater is said to be the
loftiest of Somersetshire, and commands a wide view over the
surrounding country. Monmouth, accompanied by some of his
officers, went up to the top of the square tower from which the
spire ascends, and observed through a telescope the position of
the enemy. Beneath him lay a flat expanse, now rich with
cornfields and apple trees, but then, as its name imports, for
the most part a dreary morass. When the rains were heavy, and the
Parret and its tributary streams rose above their banks, this
tract was often flooded. It was indeed anciently part of that
great swamp which is renowned in our early chronicles as having
arrested the progress of two successive races of invaders, which
long protected the Celts against the aggressions of the kings of
Wessex, and which sheltered Alfred from the pursuit of the Danes.
In those remote times this region could be traversed only in
boats. It was a vast pool, wherein were scattered many islets of
shifting and treacherous soil, overhung with rank jungle, and
swarming with deer and wild swine. Even in the days of the
Tudors, the traveller whose journey lay from Ilchester to
Bridgewater was forced to make a circuit of several miles in
order to avoid the waters. When Monmouth looked upon Sedgemoor,
it had been partially reclaimed by art, and was intersected by
many deep and wide trenches which, in that country, are called
rhines. In the midst of the moor rose, clustering round the
towers of churches, a few villages of which the names seem to
indicate that they once were surrounded by waves. In one of these
villages, called Weston Zoyland, the royal cavalry lay; and
Feversham had fixed his headquarters there. Many persons still
living have seen the daughter of the servant girl who waited on
him that day at table; and a large dish of Persian ware, which
was set before him, is still carefully preserved in the
neighbourhood. It is to be observed that the population of
Somersetshire does not, like that of the manufacturing districts,
consist of emigrants from distant places. It is by no means
unusual to find farmers who cultivate the same land which their
ancestors cultivated when the Plantagenets reigned in England.
The Somersetshire traditions are therefore, of no small value to
a historian.405
At a greater distance from Bridgewater lies the village of
Middlezoy. In that village and its neighbourhood, the Wiltshire
militia were quartered, under the command of Pembroke. On the
open moor, not far from Chedzoy, were encamped several battalions
of regular infantry. Monmouth looked gloomily on them. He could
not but remember how, a few years before, he had, at the head of
a column composed of some of those very men, driven before him in
confusion the fierce enthusiasts who defended Bothwell Bridge He
could distinguish among the hostile ranks that gallant band which
was then called from the name of its Colonel, Dumbarton's
regiment, but which has long been known as the first of the line,
and which, in all the four quarters of the world, has nobly
supported its early reputation. "I know those men," said
Monmouth; "they will fight. If I had but them, all would go
well."406
Yet the aspect of the enemy was not altogether discouraging. The
three divisions of the royal army lay far apart from one another.
There was all appearance of negligence and of relaxed discipline
in all their movements. It was reported that they were drinking
themselves drunk with the Zoyland cider. The incapacity of
Feversham, who commanded in chief, was notorious. Even at this
momentous crisis he thought only of eating and sleeping.
Churchill was indeed a captain equal to tasks far more arduous
than that of scattering a crowd of ill armed and ill trained
peasants. But the genius, which, at a later period, humbled six
Marshals of France, was not now in its proper place. Feversham
told Churchill little, and gave him no encouragement to offer any
suggestion. The lieutenant, conscious of superior abilities and
science, impatient of the control of a chief whom he despised,
and trembling for the fate of the army, nevertheless preserved
his characteristic self-command, and dissembled his feelings so
well that Feversham praised his submissive alacrity, and promised
to report it to the King.407
Monmouth, having observed the disposition of the royal forces,
and having been apprised of the state in which they were,
conceived that a night attack might be attended with success. He
resolved to run the hazard; and preparations were instantly made.
It was Sunday; and his followers, who had, for the most part,
been brought up after the Puritan fashion, passed a great part of
the day in religious exercises. The Castle Field, in which the
army was encamped, presented a spectacle such as, since the
disbanding of Cromwell's soldiers, England had never seen. The
dissenting preachers who had taken arms against Popery, and some
of whom had probably fought in the great civil war, prayed and
preached in red coats and huge jackboots, with swords by their
sides. Ferguson was one of those who harangued. He took for his
text the awful imprecation by which the Israelites who dwelt
beyond Jordan cleared themselves from the charge ignorantly
brought against them by their brethren on the other side of the
river. "The Lord God of Gods, the Lord God of Gods, he knoweth;
and Israel he shall know. If it be in rebellion, or if in
transgression against the Lord, save us not this day."408
That an attack was to be made under cover of the night was no
secret
Bridgewater, but could do nothing to serve him. There had been a
rising a few days before; and Monmouth's declaration had been
posted up in the market place. But the news of this movement had
been carried to the Earl of Pembroke, who lay at no great
distance with the Wiltshire militia. He had instantly marched to
Frome, had routed a mob of rustics who, with scythes and
pitchforks, attempted to oppose him, had entered the town and had
disarmed the inhabitants. No weapons, therefore, were left there;
nor was Monmouth able to furnish any.399
The rebel army was in evil case. The march of the preceding night
had been wearisome. The rain had fallen in torrents; and the
roads had become mere quagmires. Nothing was heard of the
promised succours from Wiltshire. One messenger brought news that
Argyle's forces had been dispersed in Scotland. Another reported
that Feversham, having been joined by his artillery, was about to
advance. Monmouth understood war too well not to know that his
followers, with all their courage and all their zeal, were no
match for regular soldiers. He had till lately flattered himself
with the hope that some of those regiments which he had formerly
commanded would pass over to his standard: but that hope he was
now compelled to relinquish. His heart failed him. He could
scarcely muster firmness enough to give orders. In his misery he
complained bitterly of the evil counsellors who had induced him
to quit his happy retreat in Brabant. Against Wildman in
particular he broke forth into violent imprecations.400 And now
an ignominious thought rose in his weak and agitated mind. He
would leave to the mercy of the government the thousands who had,
at his call and for his sake, abandoned their quiet fields and
dwellings. He would steal away with his chief officers, would
gain some seaport before his flight was suspected, would escape
to the Continent, and would forget his ambition and his shame in
the arms of Lady Wentworth. He seriously discussed this scheme
with his leading advisers. Some of them, trembling for their
necks, listened to it with approbation; but Grey, who, by the
admission of his detractors, was intrepid everywhere except where
swords were clashing and guns going off around him, opposed the
dastardly proposition with great ardour, and implored the Duke to
face every danger rather than requite with ingratitude and
treachery the devoted attachment of the Western peasantry.401
The scheme of flight was abandoned: but it was not now easy to
form any plan for a campaign. To advance towards London would
have been madness; for the road lay right across Salisbury Plain;
and on that vast open space regular troops, and above all regular
cavalry, would have acted with every advantage against
undisciplined men. At this juncture a report reached the camp
that the rustics of the marshes near Axbridge had risen in
defence of the Protestant religion, had armed themselves with
flails, bludgeons, and pitchforks, and were assembling by
thousands at Bridgewater. Monmouth determined to return thither,
and to strengthen himself with these new allies.402
The rebels accordingly proceeded to Wells, and arrived there in
no amiable temper. They were, with few exceptions, hostile to
Prelacy; and they showed their hostility in a way very little to
their honour. They not only tore the lead from the roof of the
magnificent Cathedral to make bullets, an act for which they
might fairly plead the necessities of war, but wantonly defaced
the ornaments of the building. Grey with difficulty preserved the
altar from the insults of some ruffians who wished to carouse
round it, by taking his stand before it with his sword drawn.403
On Thursday, the second of July, Monmouth again entered
Bridgewater, In circumstances far less cheering than those in
which he had marched thence ten days before. The reinforcement
which he found there was inconsiderable. The royal army was close
upon him. At one moment he thought of fortifying the town; and
hundreds of labourers were summoned to dig trenches and throw up
mounds. Then his mind recurred to the plan of marching into
Cheshire, a plan which he had rejected as impracticable when he
was at Keynsham, and which assuredly was not more practicable now
that he was at Bridgewater.404
While he was thus wavering between projects equally hopeless, the
King's forces came in sight. They consisted of about two thousand
five hundred regular troops, and of about fifteen hundred of the
Wiltshire militia. Early on the morning of Sunday, the fifth of
July, they left Somerton, and pitched their tents that day about
three miles from Bridgewater, on the plain of Sedgemoor.
Dr. Peter Mew, Bishop of Winchester, accompanied them. This
prelate had in his youth borne arms for Charles the First against
the Parliament. Neither his years nor his profession had wholly
extinguished his martial ardour; and he probably thought that the
appearance of a father of the Protestant Church in the King's
camp might confirm the loyalty of some honest men who were
wavering between their horror of Popery and their horror of
rebellion.
The steeple of the parish church of Bridgewater is said to be the
loftiest of Somersetshire, and commands a wide view over the
surrounding country. Monmouth, accompanied by some of his
officers, went up to the top of the square tower from which the
spire ascends, and observed through a telescope the position of
the enemy. Beneath him lay a flat expanse, now rich with
cornfields and apple trees, but then, as its name imports, for
the most part a dreary morass. When the rains were heavy, and the
Parret and its tributary streams rose above their banks, this
tract was often flooded. It was indeed anciently part of that
great swamp which is renowned in our early chronicles as having
arrested the progress of two successive races of invaders, which
long protected the Celts against the aggressions of the kings of
Wessex, and which sheltered Alfred from the pursuit of the Danes.
In those remote times this region could be traversed only in
boats. It was a vast pool, wherein were scattered many islets of
shifting and treacherous soil, overhung with rank jungle, and
swarming with deer and wild swine. Even in the days of the
Tudors, the traveller whose journey lay from Ilchester to
Bridgewater was forced to make a circuit of several miles in
order to avoid the waters. When Monmouth looked upon Sedgemoor,
it had been partially reclaimed by art, and was intersected by
many deep and wide trenches which, in that country, are called
rhines. In the midst of the moor rose, clustering round the
towers of churches, a few villages of which the names seem to
indicate that they once were surrounded by waves. In one of these
villages, called Weston Zoyland, the royal cavalry lay; and
Feversham had fixed his headquarters there. Many persons still
living have seen the daughter of the servant girl who waited on
him that day at table; and a large dish of Persian ware, which
was set before him, is still carefully preserved in the
neighbourhood. It is to be observed that the population of
Somersetshire does not, like that of the manufacturing districts,
consist of emigrants from distant places. It is by no means
unusual to find farmers who cultivate the same land which their
ancestors cultivated when the Plantagenets reigned in England.
The Somersetshire traditions are therefore, of no small value to
a historian.405
At a greater distance from Bridgewater lies the village of
Middlezoy. In that village and its neighbourhood, the Wiltshire
militia were quartered, under the command of Pembroke. On the
open moor, not far from Chedzoy, were encamped several battalions
of regular infantry. Monmouth looked gloomily on them. He could
not but remember how, a few years before, he had, at the head of
a column composed of some of those very men, driven before him in
confusion the fierce enthusiasts who defended Bothwell Bridge He
could distinguish among the hostile ranks that gallant band which
was then called from the name of its Colonel, Dumbarton's
regiment, but which has long been known as the first of the line,
and which, in all the four quarters of the world, has nobly
supported its early reputation. "I know those men," said
Monmouth; "they will fight. If I had but them, all would go
well."406
Yet the aspect of the enemy was not altogether discouraging. The
three divisions of the royal army lay far apart from one another.
There was all appearance of negligence and of relaxed discipline
in all their movements. It was reported that they were drinking
themselves drunk with the Zoyland cider. The incapacity of
Feversham, who commanded in chief, was notorious. Even at this
momentous crisis he thought only of eating and sleeping.
Churchill was indeed a captain equal to tasks far more arduous
than that of scattering a crowd of ill armed and ill trained
peasants. But the genius, which, at a later period, humbled six
Marshals of France, was not now in its proper place. Feversham
told Churchill little, and gave him no encouragement to offer any
suggestion. The lieutenant, conscious of superior abilities and
science, impatient of the control of a chief whom he despised,
and trembling for the fate of the army, nevertheless preserved
his characteristic self-command, and dissembled his feelings so
well that Feversham praised his submissive alacrity, and promised
to report it to the King.407
Monmouth, having observed the disposition of the royal forces,
and having been apprised of the state in which they were,
conceived that a night attack might be attended with success. He
resolved to run the hazard; and preparations were instantly made.
It was Sunday; and his followers, who had, for the most part,
been brought up after the Puritan fashion, passed a great part of
the day in religious exercises. The Castle Field, in which the
army was encamped, presented a spectacle such as, since the
disbanding of Cromwell's soldiers, England had never seen. The
dissenting preachers who had taken arms against Popery, and some
of whom had probably fought in the great civil war, prayed and
preached in red coats and huge jackboots, with swords by their
sides. Ferguson was one of those who harangued. He took for his
text the awful imprecation by which the Israelites who dwelt
beyond Jordan cleared themselves from the charge ignorantly
brought against them by their brethren on the other side of the
river. "The Lord God of Gods, the Lord God of Gods, he knoweth;
and Israel he shall know. If it be in rebellion, or if in
transgression against the Lord, save us not this day."408
That an attack was to be made under cover of the night was no
secret
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