7'he HIS T 0 R Y of the PuRITANs.. VoL. H. Common- " but that it was abfurd for the officers, who were private men, and had w1et~: '' received their commiilions from the parliament, to pretend to controul ~ '' them." "But, fays Cromwell, what if a man.lhould take upon him " to be king; " l'Vhit!ock anfwered, " that the remedy was worfe than " the difeafe; and that the general had already all the power of a king " without the envy, danger and pomp of the title." " But, fays he, " the title of KING would make all aCts done by him legal; it would in– " demnify thofe that lhould aCt under him at all events, and be of ad– ,, vantage to curb the infolence of thofe whom the prefent powers could '' not controul." Whitkck agreed to the general's reafons, but defired him to confider, " Whether the title of KING would not loofe him " his beft friends in the army, as well as thofe gentlemen who were for · " fettling in a free commonwealth; but if we muft have a king (fays " he) the queftion will be, whether it !hall be Cromwe!l or Stuart?" The general afking his opinion upon this, Whitlock propofed a private treaty with the king ofJcots, with whom he might make his own terms, and raife his family to what pitch of greatnefs he pleafed ; but Cromwe/1 was fo apprehenfive of the danger of this propofal, that he broke off the converfation with fome marks of di!Tatisfaetion, and never made ufe of Whitlock with confidence afterwards. 1653· Cromwell diffilves the lmg parlia– ment. Thus things remained throughout the whole winter; the army having little to do after the battle of l'Vcrctjler drew near to L ondon, but there was no treaty of accommodation between them and the parliament; one would not diibaod without their full pay; nor the ether diffolve by the di– reClion of their own fervan t~, and voted the expedience of filling up their numbers, and that it fhould be high treafon to petition for their di!Tolu– tion. When the general heard this, he called a council of officers to Whitehall, who all agreed that it was not fit the parliament jhould conti– nue any longer. This was publifhed in hopes of frightning the houfe to make fome advances towards a di!Tolution; but- when colonellngoldjby inlormed the general next morning, that they were concluding upon an act to prolong the fe{'Jion for another year, he rofe up in a heat, and with a fmaH retinue of officers and foldiers marched to the parliament houfe April zo. ~nd having placed his men without doors, went into the houfe and .hard the debates. After fome time he beckoned to colonel Har1'i}im, on the other fide of the houfe, and told him in his ear, that he thought the parliament was ripe for di!Tolution, and that this was the time for doing it. Harriji;n replied, that the work was vangerous, and de fired him to think better of it. Upon this he fat down i!bou t a quarter of an hour, and then faid, this is the time I mufl do if'; and rifing up in his place, he told the houfe, that he was come to put an end to their power, of which they had made fo ill an ufe; that fome of them were whore-maflers, lookingtowardsHarryMartin and SirPeterWent~vorth ;. others
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