il commotions; but certain it is
that right and justice had seldom been more wantonly outraged, than they
were by those who professed to have drawn the sword in the defence of right
and justice.

Neither should the death of Charles be attributed to the vengeance of the
people. They, for the most part, declared themselves satisfied with their
victory; they sought not the blood of the captive monarch; they were even,
willing to replace him on the throne, under those limitations which they
deemed necessary for the preservation of their rights. The men who hurried
him to the scaffold were a small faction of bold and ambitious spirits, who
had the address to guide the passions and fanaticism of their followers,
and were enabled through them to control the real sentiments of the nation.
Even of the commissioners appointed to sit in judgment on the king,
scarcely one-half could be induced to attend at his trial; and many of
those who concurred in his condemnation subscribed the sentence with
feelings of shame and remorse. But so it always happens in revolutions: the
most violent put themselves forward; their vigilance and activity seem to
multiply their number; and the daring of the few wins the ascendancy over
the indolence or the pusillanimity of the many.

CHAPTER IV.

THE COMMONWEALTH.

Establishment Of The Commonwealth--Punishment Of The Royalists--Mutiny And
Suppression Of The Levellers--Charles Ii Proclaimed In Scotland--Ascendancy
Of His Adherents In Ireland--Their Defeat At Rathmines--Success Of Cromwell
In Ireland--Defeat Of Montrose, And Landing Of Charles In Scotland-Cromwell
Is Sent Against Him--He Gains A Victory At Dunbar--The King Marches Into
England--Loses The Battle Of Worcester--His Subsequent Adventures And
Escape.

When the two houses first placed themselves in opposition to the sovereign,
their demands were limited to the redress of existing grievances; now that
the struggle was over, the triumphant party refused to be content with
anything less than the abolition of the old, and the establishment of a new
and more popular form of government. Some, indeed, still ventured to raise
their voices in favour of monarchy, on the plea that it was an institution
the most congenial to the habits and feelings of Englishmen. By these
it was proposed that the two elder sons of Charles should be passed by,
because their notions were already formed, and their resentments already
kindled; that the young d