St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-11-01

the XIV day of June MDCXLV, be-
tween the royalist army commanded
by his majesty King Charles the
FIRST, and the parliamentary forces
headed by the generals Fairfax and
Cromwell, which terminated fatally
for the royal cause, led TO the subver
sion OF the throne, the altar and the
constitution, and for years plunged
this nation into the horrors of anar-
chy and civil war, leaving useful
lesson to British kings, never to
exceed the bounds of their just pre-
rOgative, and to British subjects
never to swerve from the allegiance
due to their legitimate monarch.
This pillar was erected by John
and Mary Frances Fitzgerald, Lord
and Lady of the manor of Naseby,
A. D. MDCCCXXIII."
The lack of historical accuracy in
this inscription is matched by the
lack OF historical sense which has
placed it one and half miles from
the scene of conflict. Still it does not
speak OF King Charles in the strain
OF the Anglican prayer book which
retains until the present time an
anachronistic service for January 80
in honor of the Royal Martyr"
Time is doing his best to conceal the
obehsk by thick growth of shrubs
and trees.
We 90 north from Naseby toward
Slbbertoft, and find the land broken
bv fluctuations which we cross until
we come to the brow of descent to
what was once moorland, but is
now well under cultivation, and from
the soil of which battle relics are
sometimes plowed From the occu
pants OF Moor Farm my companion
secures bullets almost fresh from the
earth. As nearly as can be judged
from the published plans of the bat
tie the position of Cromwell at the
beginning of the conflict was on the
crest OF this height just on the high
way which we are following, or to
the east of it. Through the freshly
mown fields we go westward fully
mile, following the line probably oc-
cuped by the front ofthe parliament
arv line on the crest OF that hill which
is twenty or forty feet above the
moor. Although at the present time
the ascent is not steep, it must have
been somewhat rugged two hundred
and fifty years ago when the moor
was wet and untitled. While Prince
Rupert was routing and chasing the
left OF the Parliamentarians, Crom-
we'll was dealing in the same manner
with those opposed to him. Instead
of giving himself up wholly to the
destruction of his routed antagonists
he kept a large part of his command
in hand for wrecking the remainder
of the royalist army, work which
was effectually done. We remember
that the defeat of the kings forces
was such as to make another great
battle in the open field an imposs-
biitv for him. OF still greater impor-
tance is the fact that the capture OF
the kings cabinet made public his
absolute faithleSSness.
The local features of Dunbar and
Worcester are equally interesting.
Carlyle's description of the battle OF
Dunbar is delightful guide to that
field. AS to the taking of Worcester,
few things can be more amusing than
an account given by verger on the
summit of the tower of its cathedral.
He gave us local coloring if not SYM
pathV. Here is to be found the house
from which Charles IL. escaped by
the back door while the Roundheads
were entering the front door in pur-
suit.
In Edinburgh the historic Morey
house on Canongate receives an
added interest from the fact that
Cromwell made it his home while he
STAYED in that old town. After all
nothing in CrOmwell's career seemed
quite soreal to one as when we stood
in the great hall of Westminster on
the step, where by the inscription,
Charles the First stood when he re-
ceived his death sentence from the
high court OF justice, and we realized
that the one man who stood back of
that sentence was Oliver Cromwell
sitting among the judges, and who
always accepted the full responsible
itv for the act. This, Cromwell did,
simply because he had become con-
WINGED that the kings word could
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