m; but at the same time the names of all
the lieutenants were inserted in the bill; and these consisted entirely
of men in whom the parliament could confide. And for their conduct they
were accountable, by the express terms of the bill, not to the king, but
to the parliament.

The policy pursued by the commons, and which had hitherto succeeded
to admiration, was, to astonish the king by the boldness of their
enterprises, to intermingle no sweetness with their severity, to employ
expressions no less violent than their pretensions, and to make him
sensible in what little estimation they held both his person and his
dignity. To a bill so destructive of royal authority, they prefixed,
with an insolence seemingly wanton, a preamble equally dishonorable to
the personal character of the king. These are the words: "Whereas there
has been of late a most dangerous and desperate design upon the house
of commons, which we have just cause to believe an effect of the bloody
counsels of Papists and other ill-affected persons who have already
raised a rebellion in the kingdom of Ireland. And whereas, by reason of
many discoveries, we cannot but fear they will proceed, not only to stir
up the like rebellions and insurrections in this kingdom of England, but
also to back them with forces from abroad," etc.[*]

Here Charles first ventured to put a stop to his concessions, and that
not by a refusal, but a delay. When this demand was made,--a demand,
which, if granted, the commons justly regarded as the last they should
ever have occasion to make,--he was at Dover, attending the queen and
the princess of Orange in their embarkation. He replied, that he had
not now leisure to consider a matter of so great importance, and
must therefore respite his answer till his return.[**] The parliament
instantly despatched another message to him, with solicitations still
more importunate. They expressed their great grief on account of his
majesty's answer to their just and necessary petition. They represented,
that any delay during dangers and distractions so great and pressing,
was not less unsatisfactory and destructive than an absolute denial.
They insisted, that it was their duty to see put in execution a measure
so necessary for public safety. And they affirmed, that the people in
many counties had applied to them for that purpose, and in some places
were, of themselves and by their own authority, providing against those
urgent dangers with which t