had stayed in Ireland, he
would have done more yet.

However, as I have said, the Parliament wanted Oliver for Scotland; so,
home Oliver came, and was made Commander of all the Forces of the
Commonwealth of England, and in three days away he went with sixteen
thousand soldiers to fight the Scottish men. Now, the Scottish men,
being then--as you will generally find them now--mighty cautious,
reflected that the troops they had were not used to war like the
Ironsides, and would be beaten in an open fight. Therefore they said,
'If we live quiet in our trenches in Edinburgh here, and if all the
farmers come into the town and desert the country, the Ironsides will be
driven out by iron hunger and be forced to go away.' This was, no doubt,
the wisest plan; but as the Scottish clergy _would_ interfere with what
they knew nothing about, and would perpetually preach long sermons
exhorting the soldiers to come out and fight, the soldiers got it in
their heads that they absolutely must come out and fight. Accordingly,
in an evil hour for themselves, they came out of their safe position.
Oliver fell upon them instantly, and killed three thousand, and took ten
thousand prisoners.

To gratify the Scottish Parliament, and preserve their favour, Charles
had signed a declaration they laid before him, reproaching the memory of
his father and mother, and representing himself as a most religious
Prince, to whom the Solemn League and Covenant was as dear as life. He
meant no sort of truth in this, and soon afterwards galloped away on
horseback to join some tiresome Highland friends, who were always
flourishing dirks and broadswords. He was overtaken and induced to
return; but this attempt, which was called 'The Start,' did him just so
much service, that they did not preach quite such long sermons at him
afterwards as they had done before.

On the first of January, one thousand six hundred and fifty-one, the
Scottish people crowned him at Scone. He immediately took the chief
command of an army of twenty thousand men, and marched to Stirling. His
hopes were heightened, I dare say, by the redoubtable Oliver being ill of
an ague; but Oliver scrambled out of bed in no time, and went to work
with such energy that he got behind the Royalist army and cut it off from
all communication with Scotland. There was nothing for it then, but to
go on to England; so it went on as far as Worcester, where the mayor and
some of the gentry proclaimed