heathen mythology, to exceed these frightful scenes. They may be equalled, but can never be surpassed. Cromwell had besieged this town for some time; and was finally admitted, on promise of quarter. The garrison consisted of the flower of the Irish army, and might have beaten him back, had they not been seduced by his solemn promise of mercy, which was observed till the whole had laid down their arms. Then the merciless wretch commanded his soldiers to begin a slaughter of the entire garrison, which slaughter continued for five days!! with every circumstance of brutal and sanguinary violence that the most cruel savages could conceive or perpetrate.* "No age was spar'd; no sex, nay no degree; All died. 'Twas crime enough that they had lives."542 This canting and hypocritical impostor, in his despatches to the Parliament, had the shameless *"The assault was given, and his [Cromwell's] men twice repulsed; but in the third attack, colonel Wall being unhappily killed at the head of his regiment, his men were so dismayed thereby, as to listen, before they had any need, to the enemy offering them quarter, admitting them upon those terms, and thereby betraying themselves and their fellow-soldiers to the slaughter. All the officers and soldiers of Cromwell's army promised quarter to such as would lay down their arms, and 542 Ben Jonson. impudence to ascribe "the glory" of this bloody deed to God, "to whom indeed the praise of this mercy belongs!!"* And such was the delusion performed it as long as any place held out; which encouraged others to yield. But when they had once all in their power, and feared no hurt that could be done them, Cromwell, being told by Jones, that he had now all the flower of the Irish army in his hands, gave orders that no quarter should be given; so that his soldiers were forced, many of them against their will, to kill their prisoners. The brave governor Sir A. Aston, Sir Edm. Verney, the colonels Warren, Fleming and Byrne, were killed in cold blood; and indeed all the officers, except some few of least consideration, that escaped by miracle. The Marquis of Ormond, in his letters to the king and lord Byron, says, 'that on this occasion Cromwell exceeded himself and any thing he had ever heard of, in breach of faith and bloody inhumanity ; and that the cruelties exercised there, for five days after the town was taken, would make as many several pictures of inhumanity, as are to be found in the book of martyrs, or in the relation of Amboyna." "543 *"Sir,--It has pleased God to bless our endeavours at Drogheda; after battering, we stormed it. The enemy were about three thousand strong in the town. They made a stout resistance, and near one thousand of our men being entered, the enemy forced them out again. But God giving a new courage to our men, they attempted again, and entered, beating the enemy from their defences. The enemy had made three retrenchments, both to the right and left, where we entered, all which they were forced to quit: being thus entered, we refused them quarter, having the day before summoned the town. I believe we put to the sword the whole number of the defendents. I do not think thirty of the whole number escaped with their lives those that did are in safe custody, for the Barbadoes. Since that time the enemy quitted to us Trim and Dundalk; in Trim they were in such haste, that they left their guns behind them. This hath been a marvellous great mercy!! 543 Carte, II. 84. of those times, that, in all the churches in London, thanks were returned to the God of mercy, for this barbarous slaughter of his creatures !* History furnishes no circumstance more disgusting, revolting, or hideous, than this nauseous compound of base perfidy, murderous cruelty, and abominable hypocrisy. Never was the throne of the Living God more egregiously insulted, than by these impious offerings of thanksgiving; and never were the thunders of heaven more loudly called for, than to blast the Pharisaical wretches who made such a mockery of all the calls and duties of humanity and religion. The enemy being not willing to put an issue upon a field battle, had put into this garrison almost all their prime soldiers, being about three thousand horse and foot, under the command of their best officers, Sir Arthur Ashton being made governour. They were some seven or eight regiments, Ormond's being one, under the command of Sir Edmund Verney. I do not believe, neither do I hear, that any officer escaped with his life, save only one lieutenant, who, I hear, going to the enemy, said, that he was the only man that escaped of all the garrison. The enemy were filled upon this with much terror: and truly I believe this bitterness will save much effusion of blood, through the goodness of God!!! "I wish that all honest hearts may give the glory of this to God alone, to whom indeed the praise of this mercy belongs, for instruments they were very inconsiderable, the work throughout. O. CROMWELL."544 *"The ministers of London acquainted the people with the great success of the Parliament's forces in Ireland, and returned thanks to God for the same."545 544 Whitelock, 412. 545 Ibid. Some time afterwards, Cromwell gained possession of Wexford, by treachery; where a carnage was perpetrated, not far inferior to that which had taken place at Drogheda.* There is an important passage in the preface or introduction to Nalson's Collections, which we extracted, and intended to quote, but have mislaid. We are therefore obliged to refer to it from memory; as the work has been returned to the New York library, whence it was procured, and there is no copy in this city. The reverend author states, that one of those Herodists, worthy disciples of the Idumean, whose deeds are recorded by St. Matthew, having been engaged in the humane employment of slaughtering children, defended the practice, by saying that "nits would be lice." This was an attempt to carry completely into operation the horrible plan of extirpating the whole race; the deliberate adoption of which we have proved, in a preceding part of this work, and which was for some time acted upon by the ruling powers. For the accomplishment of this grand object, the slaughter of the "lice," that is, the full-grown men and women, was not deemed "As soon as Cromwell had ordered his batteries to play on a distant quarter of the town, [Wexford] Strafford admitted his men into the castle, from whence issuing suddenly, and attacking the wall and gate adjoining, they were admitted, either through the treachery of the townsmen or the cowardice of the soldiers, or perhaps both and the slaughter was almost as great as at Drogheda."546 : 546 Warner, 476. sufficient: the destruction of the "nits," or children, was necessary, to complete the magnificent scheme of a new plantation of the kingdom! Ireton, apparently sated with slaughter, gave protection to the remnant of the inhabitants of a certain barony. But "being informed that they had broken the articles," he, without inquiry, issued orders to slaughter every "man, woman, and child" it contained.* Lord Broghill, though a sanguinary man, shuddered at the barbarity of these terrible orders; remonstrated with Ireton; and at length, with considerable difficulty, prevailed on him to confine the massacre to persons found in arms, or who made resistance.† Those who consider the awe which a ferocious army inspires, the reluctance which, without the most grievous outrage, the peasantry must have felt to encounter the swords of a victorious enemy, as well as the violence and rapacity of such *"Soon after Ireton had the command of the army, he was informed that a certain barony had broken the articles in consideration of which they had been protected. He marched therefore against this barony, and gave immediate orders to his soldiers to kill man, woman, and child: but before these orders were executed, lord Broghill expostulated with him upon the cruelty of such proceedings."547 "He was therefore humbly of opinion, that it would be more just, reasonable, and honourable, to order the soldiers to kill none but who were found in arms or made any opposition. With these words, Ireton was at last, though hardly, persuaded to revoke his bloody commands.”548 547 Orrery, I. 32. 548 Idem, 33. |