ered several hundred men and a fleet of small sailing craft, with
which he pushed up the bay to the Severn. In the meantime the Puritans
had not been idle, but had themselves raised a body of men and had taken
over the Golden Lyon, an armed merchantman lying before their town. On
the 24th of March, 1655, the two forces met in the Battle of the Severn.
"In the name of God, fall on!" cried the men of Providence, and "Hey for
St. Mary's!" cried the others. The battle was won by the Providence men.
They slew or wounded fifty of the St. Mary's men and desperately wounded
Stone himself and took many prisoners, ten of whom were afterwards
condemned to death and four were actually executed.

Now followed a period of up and down, the Commissioners and the
Proprietary alike appealing to the Lord Protector for some expression of
his "determinate will." Both sides received encouragement inasmuch as he
decided for neither. His own authority being denied by neither, Cromwell
may have preferred to hold these distant factions in a canceling,
neutralizing posture. But far weightier matters, in fact, were occupying
his mind. In 1657, weary of her "very sad, distracted, and unsettled
condition," Maryland herself proceeded--Puritan, Prelatist, and
Catholic together--to agree henceforth to disagree. Toleration viewed
in retrospect appears dimly to have been seen for the angel that it was.
Maryland would return to the Proprietary's rule, provided there should
be complete indemnity for political offenses and a solemn promise that
the Toleration Act of 1649 should never be repealed. This without a
smile Baltimore promised. Articles were signed; a new Assembly composed
of all manner of Christians was called; and Maryland returned for a time
to her first allegiance.

Quiet years, on the whole, follow in Virginia under the Commonwealth.
The three Governors of this period--Bennett, Digges, and Mathews are
all chosen by the Assembly, which, but for the Navigation Laws,* might
almost forget the Home Government. Then Oliver Cromwell dies; and, after
an interval, back to England come the Stuarts. Charles II is proclaimed
King. And back into office in Virginia is brought that staunch old
monarchist, Sir William Berkeley--first by a royalist Assembly and
presently by commission from the new King.

* See Editor's Note on the Navigation Laws at the end of
this volume.

Then Virginia had her Long Parliament or Assembly. In 1661, in the
firs