A TALE OF THE CIVIL WAR
AUTHOR OF "IN TIMES OF PERIL," "THE YOUNG FRANCTIREURS,"
"THE YOUNG BUGLERS," ETC, ETC.
My dear lads: Although so long a time has elapsed since the great civilwar in England, men are still almost as much divided as they were thenas to the merits of the quarrel, almost as warm partisans of the oneside or the other. Most of you will probably have formed an opinion asto the rights of the case, either from your own reading, or from hearingthe views of your elders.
For my part, I have endeavored to hold the scales equally, to relatehistorical facts with absolute accuracy, and to show how much of rightand how much of wrong there was upon either side. Upon the one hand, theking by his instability, bad faith, and duplicity alienated his bestfriends, and drove the Commons to far greater lengths than they had atfirst dreamed of. Upon the other hand, the struggle, begun only to winconstitutional rights, ended—owing to the ambition, fanaticism, anddetermination to override all rights and all opinions save their own, ofa numerically insignificant minority of the Commons, backed by thestrength of the army—in the establishment of the most completedespotism England has ever seen.
It may no doubt be considered a failing on my part that one of my heroeshas a very undue preponderance of adventure over the other. This Iregret; but after the scale of victory turned, those on the winning sidehad little to do or to suffer, and one's interest is certainly with thehunted fugitive, or the slave in the Bermudas, rather than with theprosperous and well-to-do citizen.
Yours very sincerely,
G.A. HENTY.
CHAPTER I. The Eve of the War
CHAPTER II. For the King
CHAPTER III. A Brawl at Oxford
CHAPTER IV. Breaking Prison
CHAPTER V. A Mission of State
CHAPTER VI. A Narrow Escape
CHAPTER VII. In a Hot Place
CHAPTER VIII. The Defense of an Outpost
CHAPTER IX. A Stubborn Defense
CHAPTER X. The Commissioner of the Convention
CHAPTER XI. Montrose
CHAPTER XII. An Escape from Prison
CHAPTER XIII. Public Events
CHAPTER XIV. An Attempt to Rescue the King
CHAPTER XV. A Riot in the City
CHAPTER XVI. The Execution of King Charles
CHAPTER XVII. The Siege of Drogheda
CHAPTER XVIII. Slaves in the Bermudas
CHAPTER XIX. A Sea Fight
CHAPTER XX. With the Scotch Army
CHAPTER XXI. The Path Across the Morass