[Footnote 1:  All that Grenville could learn from the messenger was, that his brother regretted the failure of Booth, and would oppose the arbitrary attempts of the military in England; an answer which, though favourable as far as it went, still left the king in uncertainty as to his real intentions.—­Clar.  Pap. iii. 618.]

[Footnote 2:  Ludlow, ii. 269.  Whitelock, 686, 689, 691.  Price, 736, 743.  Skinner, 106-109.  Monk loudly asserted the contrary.  “I do call God to witness,” he says in the letter to the speaker, Oct. 20, “that the asserting of a commonwealth is the only intent of my heart.”—­True Narrative, 28.  When Price remonstrated with him, he replied:  “You see who are about me and write these things.  I must not show any dislike of them.  I perceive they are jealous enough of me already.”—­Price, 746.  The fact probably was, that Monk was neither royalist nor republican:  that he sought only his own interest, and had determined to watch every turn of affairs, and to declare at last in favour of that party which appeared most likely to obtain the superiority.]

[Sidenote a:  A.D. 1659.  Oct. 17.] [Sidenote b:  A.D. 1659.  Oct. 18.]

elated to dwell on the circumstance, and, under the promise of his support, began to organize the means of resistance against their military oppressors.

Monk soon discovered that he was embarked in a most hazardous undertaking.  The answers to his letters disapproved of his conduct; and the knowledge of these answers kindled among his followers a spirit of disaffection which led to numerous desertions.  From the general of an army obedient to his commands, he had dwindled into the leader of a volunteer force, which it was necessary to coax and persuade.  Two councils were formed, one of the colonels of the longest standing, the other of all the commissioned officers.  The first perused the public despatches received by the general, and wrote the answers, which were signed by him as the chairman; the other was consulted on all measures respecting the conduct of the army, and confirmed or rejected the opinion of the colonels by the majority of voices.  But if Monk was controlled by this arrangement, it served to screen him from suspicion.  The measures adopted were taken as the result of the general will.

To the men at Wallingford House it became of the first importance to win by intimidation, or to reduce by force, this formidable opponent.  Lambert marched against him from London at the head of seven thousand men; but the mind of the major-general was distracted by doubts and suspicions; and, before his departure, he exacted a solemn promise from Fleetwood to agree to no accommodation, either with the king, or with Hazlerig, till he had previously received the advice and concurrence of Lambert himself.[1] To Monk delay was as necessary as expedition was desirable to his opponents.  In point of numbers and experience the force under his command was no match for that