His insinuating manner, the
modesty of his pretensions, and the belief of his integrity, gave to his
opinions an irresistible weight in the lower house; and the courage and
activity which he displayed in the army led many to lament that he did not
occupy the place held by the more tardy or more cautious earl of Essex. The
royalists exulted at his death as equal to a victory; the patriots lamented
it as a loss which could not be repaired. Both were deceived. Revolutions
are the seed-plots of talents and energy. One great leader had been
withdrawn; there was no dearth of others to supply his place.[2]
[Footnote 1: After a minute investigation, I cannot persuade myself that
Waller and his friends proceeded farther than I have mentioned. What
they might have done, had they not been interrupted, is matter of mere
conjecture. The commission of array, which their enemies sought to couple
with their design, had plainly no relation to it.]
[Footnote 2: Rushworth, v. 265, 274. Whitelock, 69, 70. Clarendon, ii. 237,
261.]
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1643. June 18]
To the Root-and-branch men the rank, no less than the inactivity of Essex,
afforded a legitimate ground of suspicion. In proportion as he sank in
their esteem, they were careful to extol the merits and flatter the
ambition of Sir William Waller.
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