116

HISTORY OF ENGLAND,

CHAP.

I.

Self-

denying

Ordi-

nance.

of which the gallant squadrons of the King were composed.It was necessary to look for recruits who were not mere mer-cenaries, for recruits of decent station and grave character,fearing God and zealous for public liberty. With such menhe filled his own regiment, and, while he subjected them to adiscipline more rigid than had ever before been known inEngland, he administered to their intellectual and moralnature stimulants of fearful potency.

The events of the year 1644 fully proved the superiority ofhis abilities. In the south, where Essex held the command,the parliamentary forces underwent a succession of shamefuldisasters; but in the north the victory of Marston Moor fullycompensated for all that had been lost elsewhere. Thatvictory was not a more serious blow to theRoyalists than to theparty which had hitherto been dominant at Westminster; forit was notorious that the day, disgracefully lost by the Pres-byterians, had been retrieved by the energy of Cromwell, andby the steady valour of the warriors whom he had trained.

These eventsproducedthe Self-denying Ordinance and thenew model of the army. Under decorous pretexts, and withevery mark of respect, Essex and most of those who had heldhigh posts under him were removed; and the conduct of thewar was intrusted to very different hands. Fairfax, a bravesoldier, but of mean understanding und irresolute temper, wasthe nominal Lord General of the forces; but Cromwell wastheir real head.

Cromwell made haste to organize the whole army on thesame principles on which he had organized his own regiment.As soon as this process was complete, the event of the war wasdecided. The Cavaliers had now to encounter natural cou-rage equal to their own, enthusiasm stronger than their own,and discipline such as was utterly wanting to them. It soonbecame a proverb that the soldiers of Fairfax and Cromwellwere men of a different breed from the soldiers of Essex. At