from that he desired to get--if he
could with safety to himself--the title of King. He had had this in his
mind some time: whether because he thought that the English people, being
more used to the title, were more likely to obey it; or whether because
he really wished to be a king himself, and to leave the succession to
that title in his family, is far from clear. He was already as high, in
England and in all the world, as he would ever be, and I doubt if he
cared for the mere name. However, a paper, called the 'Humble Petition
and Advice,' was presented to him by the House of Commons, praying him to
take a high title and to appoint his successor. That he would have taken
the title of King there is no doubt, but for the strong opposition of the
army. This induced him to forbear, and to assent only to the other
points of the petition. Upon which occasion there was another grand show
in Westminster Hall, when the Speaker of the House of Commons formally
invested him with a purple robe lined with ermine, and presented him with
a splendidly bound Bible, and put a golden sceptre in his hand. The next
time the Parliament met, he called a House of Lords of sixty members, as
the petition gave him power to do; but as that Parliament did not please
him either, and would not proceed to the business of the country, he
jumped into a coach one morning, took six Guards with him, and sent them
to the right-about. I wish this had been a warning to Parliaments to
avoid long speeches, and do more work.

It was the month of August, one thousand six hundred and fifty-eight,
when Oliver Cromwell's favourite daughter, ELIZABETH CLAYPOLE (who had
lately lost her youngest son), lay very ill, and his mind was greatly
troubled, because he loved her dearly. Another of his daughters was
married to LORD FALCONBERG, another to the grandson of the Earl of
Warwick, and he had made his son RICHARD one of the Members of the Upper
House. He was very kind and loving to them all, being a good father and
a good husband; but he loved this daughter the best of the family, and
went down to Hampton Court to see her, and could hardly be induced to
stir from her sick room until she died. Although his religion had been
of a gloomy kind, his disposition had been always cheerful. He had been
fond of music in his home, and had kept open table once a week for all
officers of the army not below the rank of captain, and had always
preserved in his house a qu