part of the conspirator. The circumstance being appreciated,
the Protector's position becomes quite clear. It is obvious that he
wished his subjects to believe, in common with his historians, that
England was, during the opening months of 1655, 'from end to end of it,
ripe for an explosion.'

Taking then for granted, upon Cromwell's own showing, that he wanted an
insurrection, the assistance toward that end on which he could rely, and
the obstacles that stood in his way, must be considered. The assistance
which Cromwell had at hand, lay in the little band of courtiers who hung
in penury, and vexation of heart, round Charles II. Wanderers on the
Continent, in total ignorance of English opinion, acutely sensible of
their own discomfort, raging against their great Tormentor, the King's
'over sea' counsellors were, by irritation and by 'zeal, made so blind,'
that they were 'soon persuaded of good success' in any possible attempt
to overthrow the Protector.[30] The chief hindrance to Cromwell's
projected insurrection was his palpable prosperity. It was notorious
during the winter and spring of the year 1655, that he had appeased
discontent among his soldiery; had quieted, in prison, Harrison,
Wildman, and the leaders of the Anabaptists; that the Levellers were
reduced to inaction; and that therefore the Royalists were powerless.
And for this reason. Every Englishman, even the most 'Wildrake' among
the Cavaliers, knew full well, that they, unassisted, could not for a
moment stand before Cromwell's armies; and they knew equally well, that
if the King landed on our shores, at the head of a foreign army, all
England would meet him with passionate resistance. Even at the best, the
most confident Royalists knew that a young man, nurtured by a popish
mother, and amidst papists, would not be readily accepted as our King.

But one chance, therefore, remained to the Royalists, both at home and
abroad: and that was the possibility that Anabaptist fanaticism and army
discontent might unite together against the Protector. If that could be
reckoned on, and if a rising of the Royalists, all over England, could
be timed so as to explode, when the Levellers broke into action, that
would offer a chance indeed, especially if some of the mutineers could
be won over to the King. That chance was, at this season, wholly denied
to the Royalists. The King's most trusted English advisers, the Council
styled 'The Sealed Knot,' repeatedly warned him d