When Charles the First Was King · Chapter
Of Two Strange Meetings in One Day explained
Will Dale, deeply affected by the King's execution, wanders through London and is unexpectedly confronted by Oliver Cromwell, who shows him the King's body and promises to resolve Will's financial troubles.
What happens
Will Dale, deeply affected by the King's execution, wanders through London and is unexpectedly confronted by Oliver Cromwell, who shows him the King's body and promises to resolve Will's financial troubles. Later, in a tavern, Will spots Dennis Watson, who flees upon being seen.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Providence
Cromwell shows Will the King's body, reflecting on the fate of monarchs and the providential course of history.
Loyalty to the Crown
Will's deep sympathy for the King and his horror at the execution highlight his enduring loyalty to the monarchy.
Civil War and Duty
Will's internal conflict between his duty to recover his money and his desire to leave London reflects the broader tensions of the post-war period.
Characters to notice
- Will Dale
Narrator; walks through London after the King's execution, meets Cromwell, and later spots Dennis Watson in a tavern.
- Oliver Cromwell
Approaches Will near Whitehall, shows him the King's body, and promises to help recover his money.
- Dennis Watson
Seen briefly by Will in a tavern; he flees when their eyes meet.
- Master Truelove
A little stout man arguing about the legality of the King's execution in the tavern.
Key passages
“I was half minded to saddle my horse and ride away from London, for it seemed to me, who from my birth had been trained to pray for the King’s good estate, that a curse must rest upon the city that had witnessed his murder.”
Will considered leaving London immediately, feeling that the city was cursed for having allowed the King's execution.
Will's emotional response to the regicide and his sense of moral contamination.
“Yea,” said Cromwell at length; “it is the King—the King that betrayed his great trust. Mark you, Master Dale, what fate is in store for a monarch that opposeth the just demands of his people.”
Cromwell justifies the execution by claiming the King betrayed his trust and warns of the consequences for rulers who defy their people.
Cromwell's ideological justification for the regicide.
“Get you gone home, Master Dale,” he said, almost fiercely. “You are better in the country than in this city. There are more than you that are longing for a quiet life amongst the woods and fields, but the Lord hath appointed them to other work.”
Cromwell advises Will to return to the countryside, acknowledging his desire for peace but implying that others have been called to continue the struggle.
Cromwell's recognition of Will's rural nature and the ongoing political turmoil.