Ormonde had misgivings about the royalism of his army, and events showed that they were well founded. To make things as safe as possible he obliged all who went to England to sign a protestation of allegiance to the King and the Church, with a promise to hold no communication with Essex or any other parliamentary officer. The soldiers were so anxious to get out of Ireland, where they had been starving and in rags, that they made no difficulty. Colonel Monck and Colonel Lawrence Crawford were the only officers who refused. Crawford, who was a covenanted Scot, was threatened with imprisonment, and took refuge with Monro. Monck, who objected to political pledges, was deprived of his regiment and allowed to go to Bristol, where he was arrested by direction of Ormonde in a private letter, but was soon allowed to go to the King at Oxford. Digby procured him an audience in Christ Church garden, where he told Charles that the war was ill-managed, and that the army should be reduced to 10,000 men, thoroughly equipped and with professional officers trained in the Low Countries. A commission was given him to raise a fresh regiment with the promise of a major-general's command. Not having done the work before Nantwich, he preferred to fight there in the ranks, and when taken was sent to the Tower, where he remained in a destitute condition for two years, writing his book on military affairs and making love to Ann Radford. Charles, who had little to spare, once sent him 100_l._, a kindness which Monck never forgot.[46] [Sidenote: The Solemn League and Covenant.] [Sidenote: Ireland a party to the Covenant.]