hich bound him to
be faithful to the protector. But the sense which he attached to it is
singular: "I will be faithful," said he, "to the lord-protector's person. I
will murder no man."--Burton's Diary, ii. 347.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1658. Jan. 25.]

their liberties, and their religion. For himself. he called God, angels,
and men, to witness that he sought not the office which he held. It was
forced upon him; but he had sworn to execute its duties, and he would
perform what he had sworn, by preserving to every class of men their just
rights, whether civil or religious.[1] But his advice, and entreaties, and
menaces were useless.[a] The judges repeatedly brought messages from "the
Lords to the Commons," and as often were told that "that house would return
an answer by messengers of their own."[b] Instead, however, of returning
answers, they spent their whole time in debating what title and what rights
ought to belong to the other house.[2]

Never, perhaps, during his extraordinary career, was Cromwell involved in
difficulties equal to those which surrounded him at this moment. He could
raise no money without the consent of parliament, and the pay of the army
in England was five, and of that in Ireland seven, months in arrear; the
exiled king threatened a descent from the coast of Flanders, and the
royalists throughout the

[Footnote 1: Mr. Rutt has added this speech to Burton's Diary, ii. 351-371.
I may remark that, 1. The protector now addressed the members by
the ambiguous style of "my lords and gentlemen of the two houses of
parliament." 2. That he failed in proving the danger which, as he
pretended, menaced Protestantism. If, in the north, the two Protestant
states of Sweden and Denmark were at war with each other, more to the south
the Catholic states of France and Spain were in the same situation. 3. That
the vessels sold by the Dutch were six flutes which the English cruisers
afterwards destroyed. 4. That from this moment he was constantly asserting
with oaths that he sought not his present office. How could he justify such
oaths in his own mind? Was it on the fallacious ground that what he in
reality sought was the office of king, not of protector?]

[Footnote 2: Journals, Jan. 25, 29, Feb. 1, 3. Burton's Diary, ii. 371-464.
Thurloe, i. 766; vi. 767.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1658. Jan. 22.]
[Sidenote b: A.D. 1658. Feb. 3.]

kingdom were preparing to join his standard; the leaders of opposition in
parliament had