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.
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