the Portuguese ambassador, killed a London
citizen in mistake for another man with
whom he had had a quarrel, Oliver caused
him to be tried before a jury of Englishmen
and foreigners, and had him executed in spite
of the entreaties of all the ambassadors in
London.

One of Oliver's own friends, the DUKE OF
OLDENBURGH, in sending him a present of six
fine coach-horses, was very near doing more
to please the Royalists than all the plotters put
together. One day Oliver went with his coach
drawn by these six horses, into Hyde Park, to
dine with his secretary and some of his other
gentlemen under the trees there. After
dinner, being merry, he took it into his head to
put them inside and to drive home: a postillion
riding one of the foremost horses, as the
custom was. On account of Oliver's being too
free with the whip, the six fine horses went
off at a gallop, the postillion got thrown, and
Oliver fell upon the coach-pole and narrowly
escaped being shot by his own pistol, which
got entangled with his clothes in the harness
and went off. He was dragged some distance
by the foot, until his foot came out of the
shoe, and then he came safely to the ground
under the broad body of the coach, and
was very little the worse. The gentlemen
inside were only bruised, and the
discontented people of all parties were much
disappointed.

The rest of the history of the Protectorate
of Oliver Cromwell is a history of his
Parliaments. His first one not pleasing him at
all, he waited until the five months were out,
and then dissolved it. The next was better
suited to his views, and from that he desired
to get—if he could with safety to himself—
the title of King. He had had this in his
mind sometime: whether because he thought
that the English people, being more used to
the title, were more likely to obey it; or
whether because he really wished to be a
king himself, and to leave the succession to
that title in his family, is far from clear. He
was already as high, in England and in all
the world, as he would ever be, and I doubt
myself if he cared for the mere name.
However, a paper, called the " Humble Petition and
Advice," was presented to him by the House
of Commons, praying him to take a high
title and to appoint his successor. That he
would have taken the title of King there is
no doubt, but for the strong opposition of the
army. This induced him to forbear, and to
assent only to the other points of the petition.
Upon which occasion there was another
grand show in Westminster Hall, when the
Speaker of the House of Commons formally
invested him with a purple robe lined with
ermine, and presented him with a splendidly
bound Bible, and put a golden sceptre in his
hand. The next time the Parliament met he
called a house of Lords of sixty members, as
the petition gave him power to do; but as
that Parliament did not please him either,
and would not proceed to the business of the
country, he jumped into a coach one morning,
took six Guards with him, and sent them to
the right-about. I wish this had been a warning
to Parliaments to avoid long speeches, and
do more work.

It was the month of August, one thousand
six hundred and fifty-eight, when Oliver
Cromwell's favourite daughter, ELIZABETH
CLAYPOLE (who had lately lost her youngest
son), lay very ill, and his mind was greatly
troubled, because he loved her dearly.
Another of his daughters was married to LORD
FALCONBERG, another to the grandson of
the Earl of Warwick, and he had made his
son RICHARD one of the members of the
Upper House. He was very kind and loving
to them all, being a good father and a good
husband, but he loved this daughter the best of
the family, and went down to Hampton Court
to see her, and could hardly be induced to stir
from her sick room until she died. Although
his religion had been of a gloomy kind, his
disposition had been always cheerful. He
had been fond of music in his home, and had
kept open house once a week for all officers
of the army not below the rank of a captain,
and had always preserved in his house a quiet,
sensible dignity. He encouraged men of
genius and learning, and loved to have them
about him. MILTON was one of his great
friends. He was good-humoured too, with
the nobility, whose dresses and manners
were very different from his; and to show
them what good information he had, he would
sometimes jokingly tell them when they were
at his house, where they had last drank the
health of the "King over the water," and
would recommend them to be more private
(if they could) another time. But he had
lived in busy times, had borne the weight of
heavy State affairs, and had often gone in
fear of his life. He was ill of the gout and
ague; and when the death of his beloved
child came upon him in addition, he sank,
never to raise his head again. He told his
physicians on the twenty-fourth of August
that the Lord had assured him that he
was not to die in that illness, and that he
would certainly get better. This was only his
sick fancy, for on the third of September,
which was the anniversary of the great
battle of Worcester, and the day of the year
which he called his fortunate day, he died,
in the sixtieth year of his age. He had
been delirious, and had lain insensible some
hours, but he had been overheard to murmur
a very good prayer the day before. The
whole country lamented his death. If you
want to know the real worth of Oliver Cromwell,
and his real services to his country, you
can hardly do better than compare England
under him, with England under CHARLES the
SECOND.

He had appointed his son Richard to
succeed him, and after there had been, at