ncil to represent Him, and to
administer Biblical Law, and no other, with inferior elected judges
for towns and counties. The Bible being the sole Law, a formal
Legislature would be unnecessary; and all other magistracy besides
the Sanhedrim and the Judgeships was to be abolished, and also, of
course, all State ministry of Religion. Now, to Cromwell, who had
read the Tract, all this furnished excellent illustration of the kind
he wanted. Always frankly admitting that it might be said he had
"griped at the government of the nations without a legal assent," he
had never ceased to declare that this had been a sheer necessity for
the nations themselves. But the _Standard set up_ of the
Fifth-Monarchy insurgents of Mile-End-Green had enabled him to return
to the topic with reference specifically to the Barebones Parliament
and the transition thence to the Protectorate. That wild pamphlet, he
had told his auditors, in Speech XII. (April 20), was by one who had
been "a leading person" in the Barebones Parliament (Harrison or
Squib?); and in Speech XIII. (April 21) he had dwelt on the fact
again more at large, revealing a story, as he said, of his "own
weakness and folly." The Barebones Parliament had been one of his own
choosing; he had filled it with "men of our own judgment, who had
fought in the wars, and were all of a piece upon that account." This
he had done in his "simplicity," expecting the best results. But, as
it had happened, there was a band of men in that Parliament driving
even then for nothing but the principles of this wretched
Fifth-Monarchy manifesto, the abolition of Church and Magistracy, and
a trial of a fantastic government by the Law of Moses. Major-General
Harrison and Mr. Squib had been the leaders of this band, with the
Anabaptist minister Mr. Feak as their confidant out of doors; and
what they did from day to day in the Parliament had been concocted in
private meetings in Mr. Squib's house. "This was so _de facto:_
I know it to be true." Had he not done well in accepting the
Protectorate at such a moment, and so saving the Commonwealth from
the delirium of which they had just seen a new spurt at
Mile-End-Green?[1]

[Footnote 1: I have taken the account of the _Standard Set Up_
from Godwin, IV. 375-378, not having seen it myself. The passages
in Cromwell's speeches referring to it will be found in Carlyle,
III, 260, and 276-277.]

After the Protector's refusal of the Kingship the House proceeded to