tion in nowise relaxed
by these dissensions. Those soldiers who would not suffer him to assume
the kingly title stood by him when he ventured on acts of power as high
as any English king has ever attempted. The government, therefore,
though in form a republic, was in truth a despotism, moderated only by
the wisdom, the sober-mindedness, and the magnanimity of the despot. The
country was divided into military districts; these districts were placed
under the command of major-generals. Every insurrectionary movement was
promptly put down and punished. The fear inspired by the power of the
sword in so strong, steady, and expert a hand, quelled the spirit both
of Cavaliers and Levellers. The loyal gentry declared that they were
still as ready as ever to risk their lives for the old government and
the old dynasty, if there were the slightest hope of success; but to
rush at the head of their serving-men and tenants on the pikes of
brigades victorious in a hundred battles and sieges, would be a frantic
waste of innocent and honorable blood. Both Royalists and Republicans,
having no hope in open resistance, began to revolve dark schemes of
assassination; but the Protector's intelligence was good; his vigilance
was unremitting; and, whenever he moved beyond the walls of his palace,
the drawn swords and cuirasses of his trusty body-guards encompassed him
thick on every side.

Had he been a cruel, licentious, and rapacious prince, the nation might
have found courage in despair, and might have made a convulsive effort
to free itself from military domination; but the grievances which the
country suffered, though such as excited serious discontent, were by no
means such as impel great masses of men to stake their lives, their
fortunes, and the welfare of their families against fearful odds. The
taxation, though heavier than it had been under the Stuarts, was not
heavy when compared with that of the neighboring states and with the
resources of England. Property was secure. Even the Cavalier, who
refrained from giving disturbance to the new settlement, enjoyed in
peace whatever the civil troubles had left him. The laws were violated
only in cases where the safety of the Protector's person and government
were concerned. Justice was administered between man and man with an
exactness and purity not before known. Under no English government since
the Reformation had there been so little religious persecution. The
unfortunate Roman Catholics