"Hold us excused that we thus disturb you," he stammered, and he took his hand from his heart, where he had hitherto kept it, and caught his nephew by the arm as if to assure himself of the presence of one friend in the midst of this hostile assembly.
"God save you, sire!" muttered the Elector Palatine. "Do not give these rogues the power of disconcerting you."
Charles replied something that was lost in the ever deepening and growing murmur from the benches, and, turning on his heel, passed with his usual dignity of carriage through the ranks of the angry and triumphant Commons, and joined his own followers in the lobby.
As the rose-coloured habit flashed out of sight, a great murmur arose, and the Members turned passionately one to the other. There was neither noise nor disorder; they were the very flower of English gentlemen, nearly all of famous names and ancient lineage, and they had not acted lightly nor for a trivial cause, but with full gravity and weight and for the sake of civic liberty.
"His Majesty," said Mr. Cromwell to his neighbour, "is as great a blunderer as any I have ever seen."
Further down the benches a member remarked—
"The die is cast. Now there is no turning back."
The next day the Parliament moved into the city for safety, and there went into committee on the state of affairs in the kingdom. Mr. Cromwell moved the consideration of means to put the kingdom in a state of armed defence.
The King left Whitehall and sent his Queen from Dover to gain help from France, and to pledge the Crown jewels in Holland.