oved; but the
next morning his colleagues, having sought the Lord in prayer, resolved to
postpone its execution till they had ascertained the real intention of the
protector; and Lambert, warned by their indecision, took no longer any part
in their meeting, but watched in silence the course of events.[2] The other
two, on the contrary, persevered in the most active opposition; nor did
they suffer themselves to be cajoled by the artifices of the protector, who
talked in their hearing with contempt of the crown as a mere bauble, and of
Pack and his supporters as children, whom it might be prudent to indulge
with a "rattle."[3]

The marked opposition of these men had given energy to the proceedings of
the inferior officers, who formed themselves into a permanent council under
the very eyes of Cromwell, passed votes in disapprobation of the proposed
alteration, and to the number of one hundred waited on him to acquaint him
with their sentiments.[4] He replied,[a] that there was a time when they
felt no objection to the title of king; for the army had offered it to him
with the original instrument of government. He had rejected it then, and
had no greater love for it now. He had always been

[Footnote 1: Desborough and Fleetwood passed from the inns of court to the
army. The first married Anne, the protector's sister; the second, Bridget
his daughter, and the widow of Ireton. Suspicious of his principles,
Cromwell kept him in England, while Henry Cromwell, with the rank of
major-general, held the government of Ireland.--Noble, i. 103; ii. 243,
336, 338.]

[Footnote 2: Clar. Pap. iii. 333.]

[Footnote 3: Ludlow, ii. 131.]

[Footnote 4: Thurloe, vi. 93, 94, 101, 219.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1657. Feb. 28.] the "drudge" of the officers, had done
the work which they imposed on him, and had sacrificed his opinion to
theirs. If the present parliament had been called, it was in opposition
to his individual judgment; if the bill, which proved so injurious to the
majors-general, had been brought into the house, it was contrary to his
advice. But the officers had overrated their own strength: the country
called for an end to all arbitrary proceedings; the punishment of Naylor
proved the necessity of a check on the judicial proceedings of the
parliament, and that check could only be procured by investing the
protector with additional authority. This answer made several proselytes;
but the majority adhered pertinaciously to their form