* * * The moment the Bishop of Lichfield's letter
about the Boscobel Oak celebration (to commemorate the escape of Charles II after the Battle of Worcester) appeared in The Times it was obvious that the Cromwellians would be forthwith in the fray with one of their famous charges. So, of course, they were—the new chairman of the Cromwell Association promptly calling in 'question she • whole ground for the celebration and observing that the Cromwellians had already arranged to celebrate " the crowning mercy " of Worcester two days earlier outside the Houses of Parliament (a spot rather more accessible than Boscobel). Mr. Arthur Bryant, in- an urbane rejoinder, justifies the Boscobel commemoration on the ground that the hereditary Crown was infinitely worth saving. That depends surely on who wears it ; another monarch or two like Charles II and his brother and we might well be better without any crown at all. But there is one sinister aspect of this whole affair on which comment is essential. The callousness displayed by Mr. Isaac Foot, the founder and till lately the chairman of the Cromwell Association, in going off and getting married while the momentous controversy was at its height can hardly be characterised in language fit for this column—even though Mr. Foot is booked for a belated appearance at Worcester (two days before the Bishop). * * * *
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