deeper on the river side, with a "spur" or extension of the rampart for over eighty yards, the whole being grass-covered, untouched, and still in good condition. The highest portion, or "outlook", is known as "Lavender Mount", from the name of a farmer who occupied the holding last century. At the north-east corner a much larger portion of the rampart, extending more than four hundred yards, may even now be clearly defined; but already the land is out of occupation, having been sold during the last six months for ordinary building purposes, on this side of the footpath; and ere long the making of new roads and building of houses will entirely destroy all traces of this part of the rampart. The destruction has, indeed, already begun, gravel having been dug out of the highest portion.

The remainder of the land on the west side of the footpath which is now drained and made up as a road, was sold on the 1st of July last in two lots, and contains about half the area of the ancient "camp". The southern lot, with a long river frontage, being over twenty-one acres, and the other, containing the mount and ramparts, with the farmhouse, outbuildings, and a bit of marsh land on the river, being nearly eleven acres.

The whole was purchased by Mr. David Howard, F.C.S., J.P., etc., of the firm of Howard and Sons, of Stratford, a member of the Essex Archæological Society and President of the Essex Field Club. The former plot, on which, by the way, no vestige of any earth work has ever been recorded, will form the site of their new chemical works; while on the latter plot, which adjoins on the north, the mount and rampart will be carefully preserved untouched, and in the same condition as they have so long remained. In view of the threatened entire demolition, it is at least satisfactory to record that so much has been secured, seeing that the enormous increase in the value of the land has hitherto checked all efforts for its preservation: notably that of the "National Trust for Places of Historic Interest", in conjunction with the "Society of Antiquaries".

For a more extended description of these earth works, with references, detailed plan and views, the writer would refer to his Paper in the Essex Naturalist for 1893, pp. 131-38; and to a short notice in The Times of June 30th last.

Grafton House, Wanstead, Essex.

WALTER CROUCH, F.Z.S., etc.

Bow Church, Middlesex (communicated). — The long-threatened destruction of this interesting church is fortunately averted, but it may be well to put on record the steps which have been taken to

secure this desirable end. Two years ago an agitation was started for removing the church to widen the thoroughfare. The Committee for the Survey of the Memorials of Greater London took the matter up, and appealed to the London County Council, who thereupon refused to sanction any scheme of road improvements that would impair the existing church.

A second scheme was then started, for raising a large sum of money with a view to so restoring the church as to practically destroy its historic interest. This scheme implied the rebuilding of the aisle and chancel, and the re-casing of the tower. The Committee again intervened, and arranged with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to prepare a report.

The new Bishop of Stepney saw the advantage of working with the allied Societies, namely, The Committee for the Survey of the Memorials of Greater London (known as the Watch Committee), The National Trust, The Metropolitan Gardens Association, and The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings; and finally decided to form a new committee upon which the various Societies were represented. This committee is now at work carrying out the proposals of The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

The illustration gives a good idea of the general appearance of the church from the south-west. The tower is a noble object, occupying a commanding position on the Bow Road.

The architecture of the church dates from the early part of the fourteenth century, though altered in parts, as will be seen by the view given.

The chancel ceiling is a beautiful example of fifteenth-century woodwork, with large moulded beams and carved bosses, coloured and gilt, at their intersections. The nave roof is of this period, and also the oldest of the two fonts. There are some good monuments in the church, one dating back to the middle of the sixteenth century; also some interesting painted glass, figures of the twelve apostles, in a window of the north aisle and figures of Moses and Aaron, formerly in the east, now in the west window.

To repair, not "restore", this dilapidated structure, donations are solicited by the Hon. Sec., C. R. Ashbee, Esq., Essex House, Mile End Road, London.

Cromwell's Scotch Campaigns, 1650-51. By W. S. DOUGLAS (London: Elliot Stock. 10s. 6d.). Through the labours of many painstaking investigators, the events connected with the life and work of Oliver Cromwell are being more and more brought to light; and every fresh discovery or correction of previous impressions only serves further to enhance our wonder at the abilities of the man who laid the throne of these realms in ruins, and then evoked order out of chaos by placing himself at the head of affairs; and serves also to show more and more decisively the sincerity of his motives, and how mistaken were those who used to look upon him as a hypocrite and a charlatan. Carlyle, no doubt, laid the foundations for this new, and we must add truer, view, in his monumental edition of Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, which he enriched with his own trenchant "elucidations", always just, if not always accurate. But Carlyle has had many successors, especially of late years. In 1895 the first volume of Dr. Gardiner's great work, the History of the Commonwealth and

Protectorate, was published, and since then numerous other works have been produced, among them East Anglia and the Civil War; Hertfordshire during the Civil War, both by Mr. Kingston; Waylen's House of Cromwell, edited by Canon Cromwell, all published by Mr. Stock ; while Mr. Horace Round lately delivered a lecture before the Essex Archæological Society, which was a masterpiece in its eloquent adjustment of the figure of the great Puritan hero to its right relationship with its environment and its times. These have all dealt with Cromwell's life as a whole, or with some special but lengthened period of the Civil War; now Mr. Douglas appears, and in a bulky octavo volume of over three hundred pages gives us the detailed history of about fifteen months of Cromwell's life: the months which were occupied with the two campaigns in Scotland, the first of which, extending over three months, culminated in the victory of Dunbar, on Sept. 3rd, 1650; the second, extending over a year, closed on the anniversary of Dunbar, with the "crowning mercy" of Worcester. Mr. Douglas is a Scotchman, and naturally partial to his countrymen, so that we are not surprised that Leslie is his real hero; but, he is eminently fair; and, as a matter of fact, in bringing out the undoubted merits of Leslie as a cautious and capable general, the genius of Cromwell only shines the more. The work is divided into four books. The first is introductory, and deals with the causes of the quarrel between Cromwell and Scotland, and with the mustering of the Scots forces; the second deals with the three months which ended at Dunbar; the third with the four months during which Cromwell was consolidating his power and besieging Edinburgh Castle, while the Scots retreated to Stirling and held all the country to the north; and the fourth with the months during which Charles II was de facto King of Fife, and with the disastrous march which ended at Worcester. The introductory book places clearly before the reader the state of parties in Scotland in 1650, and the causes which led the Kirk, in the hour of its triumph, to summon Charles from Holland to be King in Scotland, but only after he had consented to sign the Solemn League and Covenant. One reason for this was the conviction of the Scotch leaders that the Commonwealth did not mean the triumph of Presbyterianism; another, their genuine horror at the execution of Charles I. But they knew that their action meant war, and summoning their forces from all sides, they placed David Leslie in command, and prepared for the inevitable. And none too soon, for early in July 1650, Parliament despatched Cromwell with about 16,000 men, fresh from the conquest of Ireland, to bring the rebellious Scots to their knees. The Scotch forces numbered over 20,000, but they were mostly raw

recruits opposed to veterans. So the quarrel began. Advancing along the east coast and occupying Musselburgh, Cromwell found Leslie well prepared, and intent on acting only on the defensive; and for three months, in spite of intrigues in the Scotch camp, and one or two isolated advantages gained by his troops, he was completely baffled, and at last compelled to fall back, sullen and dispirited, on Dunbar. Then Leslie moved forward and occupied the heights to the south of the town, intending to cut off the invader's retreat to England. It was a critical moment in the fortunes of Cromwell; but as Napoleon believed in his star, so Cromwell, with greater reason, believed in the Lord of Hosts and the justness of his cause-and not in vain. The misguided ministers of the Kirk, tired of the defensive policy of Leslie, goaded him on to advance to the attack, which perhaps, believing the enemy to be more demoralised than they were, he was not then very loath to do. As Mr. Douglas paradoxically but truly says: "Leslie missed the best chance that ever man had of beating Oliver Cromwell, because he had just before beaten Oliver Cromwell so thoroughly". One of the correspondents at the recent battle of Omdurman notices the parallel between the tactics of the Dervishes in that fight and those of Leslie on the morning of Dunbar, and remarks: "The feelings of the Sirdar as he saw the Dervish host advancing must have been the same as those of Cromwell when he saw the Scots descending the hills into the plains, and the former might have exclaimed, as Cromwell did, 'The Lord has delivered them into our hands'." The story of the battle is well known. Cromwell's troopers were launched at the foe, and the Scottish army wavered, broke, and fled. "They run, I profess they run! were the simple words with which the successful general proclaimed the victory.

The Scots retreated to Stirling, leaving Edinburgh and all the Lowlands open to the victor. The remaining two hundred pages of the book describe in minutest detail the events of the succeeding twelvemonths. Mr. Douglas has spared no pains to arrive at accuracy on every point. He has ransacked every document of the period; he has gone through the files of the contemporary newspapers, the Mercurius Politicus, the Mercurius Scotticus, etc., and thrown light upon numbers of obscure movements and hitherto unnoted facts. In not a few instances he has been able to correct the more imperfect information of Carlyle, and even to put Dr. Gardiner right in more than one mistake. He has fully justified his own statement, that till he took the matter in hand, "the events leading up to 'Dunbar Drove', and still more those which followed in the next twelvemonth's campaigning, have to this day been left unrecorded." And he has

1898

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