Even in the army sprang up the Levellers, who wished to abolish monarchy and aristocracy, and to level all ranks to one.

To each religious party, there was a political character, ranging from High Church and the divine right of kings, to absolute levellers in Church and State.

This disintegrating process threatened not only civil war, with well-defined parties, but entire anarchy in the realm of England.

It was long resisted by the conservative men of all opinions.

At length the issue came: the king was a prisoner, without a shadow of power.
The parliament was still firm, and would have treated with the king by a considerable majority; but Colonel Pride surrounded it with two regiments, excluded more than two hundred of the Presbyterians and moderate men; and the parliament, thus _purged_, appointed the High Court of Justice to try the king for treason.
Charles I.fell before the storm.