had been
the most submissive to the Parliament. Indeed, the Parliament itself
abhorred its old defenders more than its old enemies, and was desirous
to come to terms of accommodation with Charles at the expense of the
troops. In Scotland, at the same time, a coalition was formed between
the Royalists and a large body of Presbyterians who regarded the
doctrines of the Independents with detestation.

At length the storm burst. There were risings in Norfolk, Suffolk,
Essex, Kent, Wales. The fleet in the Thames suddenly hoisted the royal
colors, stood out to sea, and menaced the southern coast. A great
Scottish force crossed the frontier and advanced into Lancashire. It
might well be suspected that these movements were contemplated with
secret complacency by a majority both of the Lords and of the Commons.

But the yoke of the army was not to be so shaken off. While Fairfax
suppressed the risings in the neighborhood of the capital, Oliver routed
the Welsh insurgents, and, leaving their castles in ruins, marched
against the Scots. His troops were few, when compared with the invaders;
but he was little in the habit of counting his enemies. The Scottish
army was utterly destroyed. A change in the Scottish government
followed. An administration, hostile to the King, was formed at
Edinburgh; and Cromwell, more than ever the darling of his soldiers,
returned in triumph to London.

And now a design, to which, at the commencement of the civil war, no man
would have dared to allude, and which was not less inconsistent with the
Solemn League and Covenant than with the old law of England, began to
take a distinct form. The austere warriors who ruled the nation had,
during some months, meditated a fearful vengeance on the captive King.
When and how the scheme originated, whether it spread from the general
to the ranks or from the ranks to the general, whether it is to be
ascribed to policy using fanaticism as a tool or to fanaticism bearing
down policy with headlong impulse, are questions which, even at this
day, cannot be answered with perfect confidence.

It seems, however, on the whole, probable that he who seemed to lead was
really forced to follow, and that, on this occasion, as on another great
occasion a few years later, he sacrificed his own judgment and his own
inclinations to the wishes of the army. For the power which he had
called into existence was a power which even he could not always
control; and, that he might ordi