[1] Nor was he disappointed. The soldiers of the Lord of Hosts proved
themselves a match for the soldiers of the earthly monarch. At their head
the colonel, by his activity and daring, added new laurels to those which
he had previously won; and parliament, as a proof of confidence, appointed
him military governor of a very important post, the isle of Ely.[b] Lord
Grey of Werke held at that time the command of the army in the Eastern
association; but Grey was superseded by the earl of Manchester, and Colonel
Cromwell speedily received the commission of lieutenant-general under that
commander.[2][c]
But to return to the general narrative, which has been interrupted to
introduce Cromwell to the reader,
[Footnote 1: Cromwell tells us of one of them, Walton, the son of Colonel
Walton, that in life he was a precious young man fit for God, and at his
death, which was caused by a wound received in battle, became a glorious
saint in heaven. To die in such a cause was to the saint a "comfort great
above his pain. Yet one thing hung upon his spirit. I asked him what
that was. He told me, that God had not suffered him to be any more the
executioner of His enemies."--Ellis, first series, iii. 299.]
[Footnote 2: See Cromwelliana, 1--7; May, 206, reprint of 1812; Lords'
Journ.
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