Neither should the death of Charles be attributed to the vengeance of the people. They, for the most part, declared themselves satisfied with their victory; they sought not the blood of the captive monarch; they were even, willing to replace him on the throne, under those limitations which they deemed necessary for the preservation of their rights. The men who hurried him to the scaffold were a small faction of bold and ambitious spirits, who had the address to guide the passions and fanaticism of their followers, and were enabled through them to control the real sentiments of the nation. Even of the commissioners appointed to sit in judgment on the king, scarcely one-half could be induced to attend at his trial; and many of those who concurred in his condemnation subscribed the sentence with feelings of shame and remorse. But so it always happens in revolutions: the most violent put themselves forward; their vigilance and activity seem to multiply their number; and the daring of the few wins the ascendancy over the indolence or the pusillanimity of the many. CHAPTER IV. THE COMMONWEALTH. Establishment Of The Commonwealth--Punishment Of The Royalists--Mutiny And Suppression Of The Levellers--Charles Ii Proclaimed In Scotland--Ascendancy Of His Adherents In Ireland--Their Defeat At Rathmines--Success Of Cromwell In Ireland--Defeat Of Montrose, And Landing Of Charles In Scotland-Cromwell Is Sent Against Him--He Gains A Victory At Dunbar--The King Marches Into England--Loses The Battle Of Worcester--His Subsequent Adventures And Escape.