mmoned
to the royal standard the remains of the king's party in England. Such was
the outline of the plan; the minor details had not been arranged, when
Cromwell, either informed by his spies, or prompted by his suspicions,
complained to Ashburnham of the incurable duplicity of his master, who was

[Footnote 1: Ludlow, i. 184. Whitelock, 269. Huntingdon in Journals, x.
410. Journals, v. Sept. 22. On the division, Cromwell was one of the
tellers for the Yea, and Colonel Rainsborough, the chief of the Levellers,
for the No. It was carried by a majority of 84 to 34.--Ibid.]

[Footnote 2: In vindication of Charles it has been suggested that he was
only playing at the same game as his opponents, amusing them as they sought
to amuse him. This, however, is very doubtful as far as it regards the
superior officers, who appear to me to have treated with him in good
earnest, till they were induced to break off the negotiation by repeated
proofs of his duplicity, and the rapid growth of distrust and disaffection
in the army. I do not, however, give credit to Morrice's tale of a letter
from Charles to Henrietta intercepted by Cromwell and Ireton.]

[Footnote 3: Capel was one of the most distinguished of the royal
commanders, and had lately returned from beyond the sea with the permission
of parliament.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1647. October.]

at the same time soliciting the aid, and plotting the destruction of the
army.[1]

But by this time a new party had risen, equally formidable to royalists,
Presbyterians, and Independents. Its founders were a few fanatics in the
ranks, who enjoyed the reputation of superior godliness. They pretended not
to knowledge or abilities; they were but humble individuals, to whom God
had given reason for their guide, and whose duty it was to act as that
reason dictated. Hence they called themselves Rationalists, a name which
was soon exchanged for the more expressive appellation of Levellers. In
religion they rejected all coercive authority; men might establish a public
worship at their pleasure, but, if it were compulsory, it became unlawful
by forcing conscience, and leading to wilful sin: in politics they taught
that it was the duty of the people to vindicate their own rights and do
justice to their own claims. Hitherto the public good had been sacrificed
to private interest; by the king, whose sole object was the recovery of
arbitrary power; by the officers, who looked forward to commands, and
tit