I told him I could do somewhat in it; and I accordingly raised such men as had the fear of God before them, and made some conscience of what they did. And from that day forward they were never beaten; but, whenever they were engaged against the enemy, they beat continually.” It is probable that to this choice of his recruits, Cromwell owed much of his military success and his political fortune. Being desirous of proving their courage, he chose from among their number a few that he could put confidence in, and ordered them to lie in ambush on his route; then, at a preconcerted signal, they rushed from their hiding place as if to charge the rest of the troop, upon which the poltroons of the company fled, and, finding their mistake too late, were glad to sneak home and leave their saddles to be filled by better men. After this trial the ‘Ironsides’ of Cromwell never shrunk from the enemy, and gradually the whole army was formed on the same model. One of Cromwell’s first military services was the securing the town and county of Cambridge to the Parliamentary interest. He treated the University, several colleges of which had transmitted plate and money for the king’s use, with severity, arresting some of its principal members. Then passing through the county he disarmed the cavalier gentlemen, taking care not to provoke enmity by personal violence. An anecdote may here be mentioned illustrative of Cromwell’s peculiar character. While on this expedition, in the Isle of Ely, he visited his uncle Sir Oliver, who was a staunch royalist. Having surrounded the house with his troop he entered, hat in hand, nor could he be prevailed on either to cover his head or to sit down in his uncle’s presence; but having begged his blessing, and besought him to set what he did to the account of strict performance of his duty, he departed, carrying with him the various weapons that the house contained, as well as all the plate and valuables. From this time, as the cause of the commonwealth prospered, Cromwell rose rapidly in the army, soon becoming the real head of it, though nominally the second in command. When the House of Commons entered into the agreement called the self-denying ordinance, for the separation of civil and military offices, Cromwell, along with some few others, still contrived to keep both his seat in the House and his command in the army. It seems to have been a resolution of his never to give up an authority once obtained.