^^ ^ *V : .llif^ ***** : WMw ^^ .0 N ■o 1 Epochs of Modern History EDITED BY EDWARD E. MORRIS, M.A. & J. SURTEES PHILLPOTTS, B.C. L, THE FALL OF THE STUARTS AND WESTERN EUROPE. REV. E. HALE, M. A. EPOCHS OF ANCIENT HISTORY, Edited by Rev. G. W. Cox and Charles Sanket, M.A. Eleven volumes, 16mo, with 41 Maps and Plans. Price per vol., $1.00. The set, Roxburgh style,gilttop,in box, $11.00. Troy — Its Legend, History, and Literature. By S. G. W. Benjamin. The Greeks and the Persians. By G. W. Cox. The Athenian Empire. By G. W. Cox. The Spartan and Theban Supremacies. By Charles Sankey. The Macedonian Empire. By A. M. Curteis. Early Rome. By W. Ihne. Rome and Carthage. By R. Bosworth Smith. The Gracchi. Marius and Sulla. By A. H. Beesley. The Roman Triumvirates By Charles Merivale. The Early Empire. By W. Wolfe Capes. The Age of the Antonines. By W. Wolfe Capes. EPOCHS OF MODERN HISTORY. Edited by Edward E. Morris. Eighteen volumes, 16mo, with 77 Maps, Plans, and Tables. Price per vol., $1.00. The set, Roxburgh style, gilt top, in box, $18.00. The Beginning of the Middle Ages. By R. W. Church. The Normans in Europe. By A. H. Johnson. The Crusades. By G. W. Cox. The Early Plantagenets. By Wm. Stubbs. Edward III. By W. Warburton. The Houses of Lancaster and York. By James Gairdner. The Era of the Protestant Revolution. By Frederic Seebohm. The Early Tudors. By C. E. Mobeily. The Age of Elizabeth. By M. Creighton. The Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648. By S. R. Gardiner. The Puritan Revolution. By S. R. Gardiner. The Fall of the Stuarts. By Edward Hale. The English Restoration and Louis XIV. By Osmund Airy. The Age of Anne. By Edward E. Morris. The Early Hanoverians. By Edward E. Morris. Frederick the Great. By F. W. Longman. The French Revolution and First Empire. By W. O'Connor Morris. Appendix by Andrew D. White. The Epoch of Reform, 1830-1850. By Justin Macarthy. fixing i Stnrthcrt.tt, f. GERMANY HOLLAND __ and the SPANISH NETHERLANDS 1678 THE FALL OF THE STUARTS WBWWWtH— niWlfWT •VHK:*- AND WESTERN EUROPE FROM 1678 TO 1697 BY THE REV. E. HALE, M.A. ASSISTANT-MASTER AT ETON WITH MAPS AND PLANS NEW YOEK: CHAELES SCKIBNER'S SONS, 1889. ivi/\t a / \w* er PREFACE. :***< This little sketch is intended to form an easy- introduction to the study of the period. Those who have not taught the young themselves will hardly know how difficult it is to make such an introduction sufficiently easy and simple. It is to be hoped that the reader will supplement this meagre outline of a great "epoch." He will naturally turn first to Lord Macaulay's "History of England,"' and his essay on Sir W. Temple. At the same time he will do well to study carefully Hallam's "Constitutional History," chapters 12 — 15. For contemporary writings, Burnet's "History of his Own Times," and the rich mine of Evelyn's Me- moirs are readily accessible. To these should be added Ranke's "History of the Seventeenth Century," vols. 3 — 6 (lately trans- lated) ; for Continental history, H. Martin's "His- vi Preface. toire de France," vols. 13 and 14; for religious history, Principal Tulloch's "Rational Theology in England in the Seventeenth Century;" for military details and plans of battles in the Netherlands, there is much to learn from Sir F. Hamilton's " History of the Grenadier Guards," to which I wish to ex- press my own obligations, as also to my friend and late colleague, the Rev. William Wayte. Eton College, March 1876. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. PAGE 1678. Wars of Europe in the first half of the 17th century . . . . . . . I . Peace of Nimwegen, 1678 . . • • 3 Lewis XIV. and France, 1678 ... 5 The United Provinces and William of Orange, 1678 ...... .14 Germany and Spain, 1678 , . . 17 CHAPTER II. ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. England in 1678. Discontent . .18 Danby and Shaftesbury 20 The Popish Plot 21 Fall of Danby . . . . . .26 1679. Third Parliament of Charles II. Habeas Corpus ....... 29 Whigs and Tories ...... 33 Meal-tub Plot 3 6 Conventiclers in Scotland. Bothwell Briggs . 37 Vlll Contents. CHAPTER III. FOURTH AND FIFTH PARLIAMENTS OF CHARLES. l68o. I68l. STATE TRIALS. PAGE Exclusion Bill . 42 Lord Stafford • 45 Oxford Parliament^ 1 68 1 • 45 Charles II. and the Whigs . . 47 Archbishop Plunket . . 48 Stephen College . . 49 Shaftesbury indicted . . 50 CHAPTER IV. SCOTLAND IN l68o AND 1 68 1. 1680-81. The Cameronians . 1 68 1. The Scotch Parliament and Argyle 52 54 CHAPTER V. ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND FROM 1 682 UNTIL THE DEATH OF CHARLES II., I685. 1682. William of Orange, James, Duke of York, and the Duke of Monmouth . . . .56 1682-83. Attacks on the Charters of the Corporations . 58 1683. Rye House Plot 60 1684. Duke of York reinstated in office . . .66 1685. Death of Charles II 68 CHAPTER VI. LEWIS XIV. AND FRANCE TO THE REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NANTES, 1 685. 1678-81. Chambers of Reunion . . . . 70 1681-84. Ambition of Lewis XIV 72 Conte?its. ix PAGE 1675-85. The Huguenots and Revocation of the Edict of Nantes • 74 CHAPTER VII. ACCESSION OF JAMES II. OF ENGLAND. 1685, The Policy of James on his Accession . . 80 James II. and Lewis XIV. . . .82 Parliaments in England and Scotland . . 83 Trials of Oates, Dangerfield, and Baxter . 86 CHAPTER VIII. REBELLIONS OF ARGYLE AND MONMOUTH. The Refugees in Holland . . .88 Expedition of Argyle . . . . - 90 Expedition of Monmouth . . . 95 The Bloody Assize .... 101 CHAPTER IX. FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POLICY OF JAMES II. 1685. Second Session of the Parliament of 1685 . 103 1686. League of Augsburg . . . .105 Home Policy of James, 1686. Dispensing Power ..... 107 1687. James and the Universities . . .112 The Autumn of 1687 . . . .114 CHAPTER X. IRELAND UNDER JAMES II. 1660-85. Preliminary Sketch of Ireland . .116 1685. Ireland at the Accession of James II. . .118 x Contents. PAGE 1686-87. Clarendon and Tyrconnel . . .119 1687. Tyrconnel as Lord Deputy of Ireland . . 120 CHAPTER XI. WILLIAM, LEWIS, AND JAMES, 1 687-88. William corresponds with the Disaffected in England . . . . .122 October, 1687 . . . . .124 1688. Trial of the Seven Bishops . . .125 Invitation to William . . . .129 James after the Acquittal of the Bishops . 131 Lewis XIV. declares War against the Emperor 133 Proclamation of William . . . 134 CHAPTER XII. THE REVOLUTION. William in England .... 138 Progress of the Revolution . . . 140 Lord Churchill .... 141 Attempt of James to fly . . .143 CHAPTER XIII. THE INTERREGNUM. 1688. James leaves England . . . . 146^ 1689. The Convention . . . .150 The Revolution in Scotland . . . 15 2 1688-89. The Revolution in Ireland . . .154 Devastation of the Palatinate by Lewis . 155 MAPS AND PLANS. J Germany, Holland, and the Spanish Netherlands to face Title 4 Map of Flanders and Brabant . . . " p. 204 Argyle's Campaign page 91 Monmouth's Campaign . . . 94 Battle of Sedgemoor IO ° William's Campaign in the West of England . 137 Campaign in North-east of Ireland — Battle of the Boyne l 7$ Western Ireland ... ... 194 Glencoe 2 °° Battle of Steinkirk 211 Battle of Neerwinden 215 Contents. xi CHAPTER XIV. FIRST YEAR OF THE REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY. PAGE 1689. William's first Ministers . . . 158 The Nonjurors and Proceedings in Parliament 159 Scotland in 1689. Killiecrankie . .165 Ireland in 1689. Londonderry . . 168 1689-90. The Grand Alliance .... 176 CHAPTER XV. WILLIAM III. AND IRELAND. 1690. The English Parliament in 1690 . .178 Victory of the Boy ne . . . .181 Lord Torrington . . . .186 William leaves Ireland . . .188 Marlborough in Ireland . . .190 Campaign in the Netherlands, 1690 . .191 CHAPTER XVI. PACIFICATION OF IRELAND AND SCOTLAND. 1691. Ireland— Limerick .... 192 Scotland-^-Glencoe . . . .198 CHAPTER XVII. THE WAR: 1 69 1 TO 1 694. Congress at the Hague .... 202 Campaign of 1 69 1 . . . . 203 1692. Campaign of 1692. La Hogue and Steinkirk . 206 1693. Campaign of 1693. Neerwinden . .212 j 694. Campaign of 1694 . . . .218 Xll Contents. CHAPTER XVIII. DEATH OF QUEEN MARY — PARLIAMENT UNTIL 1 696. 219 CHAPTER XIX. VARIOUS PLOTS AGAINST WILLIAM. 1691-92. Disgrace of Marlborough . . . 225 1692-95. Plots of Fuller, GrandvaL, and Charnock . 227 1695. Campaign of 1695. Capture of Namur by William ..... 230 CHAPTER XX. THE NEW PARLIAMENT — THE ASSASSINATION PLOT — THE 1695-96. jr ivv_^vjtj\.xiiOO \jr inc. vv.n.r\ The Session of 1695-6 —-i.ri.Ej r n,t . 232 1696. Assassination Plot • 234 Campaign of 1696 • 237 1696-97. The Session of 1696-7 . 238 1697. The Peace of Ryswick, I697 . . 239 CHAPTER XXI. Literature and Science in England and France in the latter part of the seventeenth Century • . 244 THE FALL OF THE STUARTS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. Section I. — Wars. The history of western Europe in the seventeenth cen- tury is a history of wars. " Wars destroy the morals of mankind by habituating them to refer everything to force, and by necessitating them so often to dispense with the ordinary suggestions of sympathy and justice." This ™wars. iy is true of wars in general ; but the demora- lizing effect is much greater if wars are civil wars ; or religious wars — wars, that is, between fellow-citizens to serve the ends of some political party, or to enforce the observance of some political truth; or wars between fellow-Christians to force all to follow some religious creed. Moral virtues are in these cases uprooted ; mil- itary virtues, which may exist in the most depraved man or state, flourish. The era of the great Protestant Revolution ushered in the period of religious wars, France was devastated by religious and civil wars combined in the latter half of the sixteenth, and in the B 2 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. beginning of the seventeenth century. It took part in the Thirty Years' War of Germany (1618-1648) ; it was again the theatre of the civil war of the Fronde, in Religious . and civil which aimless attempts were made to oppose France Ger- the absolutism of the French crown ( 1648- many, and 1653). Germany was almost ruined by its great civil and religious Thirty Years' War. England had also suffered in its great civil and partly religious war, which ended in 1648, with trj£ execution of Charles I. The great principle of religious toleration was un- known in the sixteenth century, and taught without suc- Reiigious cess ^Y a ^ ew g reat thinkers in the seven- persecu- teenth century. Men believed great truths, by believing which they thought they se- cured their salvation, and they deemed it their bounden duty to make others believe, in order that they too might be saved. So not merely were wars undertaken for the sake of religious tenets, but within the several countries there were persecutions of Christians by Christians, of Englishmen by Englishmen, Frenchmen by Frenchmen, Germans by Germans, Nevertheless it is only through the fire of religious and civil wars, and of religious persecutions, The out- . . come of the that the cause of religious and civil liberty an^dvU comes out triumphant. The fall of the wars and Stuarts, of which we shall treat, is an event persecu- ' tions. in the successful struggle for civil and reli- gious liberty. The latter half of the seventeenth century was occu- pied by wars of a less demoralizing character than civil and religious wars ; by wars undertaken by of h pow a er. n ° e one man > Lewis XIV., to obtain certain per- sonal ends, These ends were the suprema- 1678. Peace of Nimwegen. 3 cy of Western Europe, the Imperial crown, and the suc- cession to the throne of Spain. Of what befell Lewis in his attempts to secure the supremacy of Western Europe, and how the "balance of power" was event- ually righted, we shall also treat. Section II. — Peace of Nimwegen, 1678. The sovereigns of the principal states of Europe in 1678 were : —Leopold of Hapsburg, Emperor; Lewis XIV., King of France; Charles II., King , » & » ' o A. D. 1678. of England; Charles II., King of Spain; Sovereigns William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder or Europe. Governor of the United Provinces of Holland. Holland and England were the great naval powers ; France coming next to them, and then Spain. Lewis XIV. having designs on the independence of the United Provinces of Holland, prevailed on Charles II. of England to join him in declaring war Lewis of on Holland in 1672. In England the war *™ nc , e a " d ' & Charles of was so unpopular that when a parliament England , . , , make war was summoned in 1673 in order to vote sup- W uh Hol- plies to carry on the war, the majority in it, ' l6?2 " opposed to the policy of Charles and his ministers, drove the ministry from power, declined to vote further supplies and forced the king in 1674 makes to make peace with Holland. The Emperor Leopold and Charles II., King of Spain, alarmed for the safety of their dominions, _ J Germany which were threatened by the success of and Spain Lewis against Holland, concluded an al- against liance with the United Provinces. France. Although the private intrigues of Lewis XIV. with the King of England kept that country neutral, the sym- pathies of the English nation were so strongly excited on 4 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.D. behalf of the Dutch and their Stadtholder William of Orange, that it became evident to both Lewis and Charles that this neutral position could not long be maintained. Lewis, by the aid of his ambassador, Baril- lon, attempted to foment dissensions amongst the popu- lar party in the parliament by bribery, the means which „ , he had hitherto effectually employed with England . . ' L . mediates for Charles and his ministers. But his success was not sufficient to warrant him in advising Charles to oppose the wishes of the nation. In 1677 William of Orange married Mary, elder of the two daughters of James, the Duke of York and heir pre- sumptive of Charles IT., and thus had claims of relation- ship on Charles, which in the seventeenth century, were considered by politicians more binding than they are now. Charles and Lewis consequently agreed that the former should become the mediator for a peace, by which France should profit, Holland should not suffer, and the pride of the English should be gratified by the prominent position which their country should occupy in the nego- tiations. After many difficulties, overcome chiefly by the diplomatic tact of Sir William Temple, the English ambassador at the Hague on the one hand, and by that of the plenipotentiary of Lewis on the other, a treaty was signed August 10, 1678. This treaty put an end to the war. It was called the Peace of Nimwegen, (Nimeguen), from the smalltown on the frontier between Holland and Ger- Peice of . . Nimwegen, many where it was signed. The treaty was drawn up in French, although Latin had hitherto been the diplomatic language, and this is an important fact in diplomatic history, as marking the claim of supremacy in Europe put forth by France. The results of the treaty were that the United Pro- 1678. Lewis XIV. and France. 5 vinces of Holland retained their integrity, Maestricht being restored to them, so that the bound- Territorial aries of the state governed by William of results of ' , the peace. Orange were almost identical with those of the present kingdom of the Netherlands. France, however, kept its conquest of Senegal and Guiana, and these settlements were the sole loss of Holland at the conclusion of a terrible war which had threatened to annihilate her. The United Provinces agreed to be neutral in any war which might continue between France and any other powers, and guaranteed the neutrality of Spain. Treaties of commerce between France and Hol- land, conferring equal privileges on both nations for twenty-five years, were also signed. France gained from Spain, a declining power, and therefore the principal surfers, Franche Comte (part of the old duchy of Bur- gundy, now forming the French departments of Haute Saone, Doubs, and Jura) ; and the towns of St. Omer, Valenciennes, Gassel, and the adjacent districts, some- times called French Flanders, and forming the depart- ment of the Nord. Spain retained that part of her do- minions in the Netherlands which is almost conterminous with the present kingdom of Belgium. Lothringen (Lor- raine) was restored to its duke, and again formed one of the states of the Empire, although practically deprived of its independence by being obliged to keep up for Lewis four military roads, each two miles broad, and also to give up its two fortified towns, Nancy and Longwy. It was at the time of the peace of Nimwegen that the power of France, and the glory of Lewis XIV., were at their height. Section III. — Lewis XIV. and France. Lewis XIV. was, when the peace of Nimwegen was signed, forty years old ; his figure was handsome, his 6 The Fall of the Stuarts, &C. A.d. manners were engaging, although at the Character of . .. . ~ , ttii u Lewis xiv. same time dignihed. He had an excellent constitution, and was able to endure fatigue, cold and hunger. He was not easily moved to anger, nor easily dispirited. These being his natural gifts, he himself, in his " Memoires historiques," tells us the chief motives which influenced his actions. He had the most exalted idea of the kingly office. "It is the will of God,'' wrote he, " who has given kings to men, that they should be revered as His vicegerents, He having reserved to Himself alone the right to scru- tinize their conduct." "It is the will of God that every subject should yield to his sovereign an implicit obedience." "All property within the nation belongs to the king by virtue of his title. " " Kings are absolute lords." "L'Etat — c'est moi." (The State— I am the State.) His ambition was unbounded. "Self-aggrandizement," he writes, "is at once the noblest and most agreeable occupation of kings. " Magnificence in daily life, and in pleasures, involving the greatest extravagance, was thus upheld by him — "A large expenditure is the almsgiving of kings." His habitual disregard of treaties was not the result of dishonesty or fickleness, but was the deliberate design of one who preferred pleasant manners to sincerity, who condemned a noble to exile with a sweet smile, and bowed with infinite grace to a courtier who before night- fall was on the road to prison. "In dispensing," he says, " with the exact observance of treaties, we do not violate them ; for the language of such instruments is not to be understood literally. We must employ in our treaties a conventional phraseology, just as we use com- plimentary expressions in society. They are indispensa- J678. Lewis XIV. and France. 7 ble to our intercourse with one another, but they always mean much less than they say. " Lewis' intellectual powers were good, but not extraor- dinary. He was a man of strong opinions, of strong will, of strong health, a practical man of business, but not an originator, a governor rather than a statesman. His private life was regulated by his pleasures ; he, as a king, was subject to none of those laws which rule the lives of ordinary mortals, but his desires were never too strong to make him forget his ambitious designs. From his mother, Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III. of Spain, he inherited the Spanish fondness for ce- remony and etiquette. Most of the European monarchs copied Lewis, and many of the silly and unmeaning cere- monies still practiced in some continental courts may thus be traced to a Spanish source. Lewis was a sincere Roman Catholic, but he never allowed his religious feelings to weaken his belief in the prerogatives of a king. He kept the temporalities of the Church in his own disposal. He was for all practical purposes as much the head of the Gallican Church, the Church of France, as Henry VIII. had been of the Eng- lish Church. His most trusted ministers were Colbert and Louvois ; but, as Lewis was an absolute monarch, they were re- sponsible to no one but their master ; both Lewis alike were ministers dependent on his will, ministers, but they were directly opposed to each Louvois. other on all questions of home or foreign policy. There was an unceasing struggle between Col- bert and Louvois. During the war just ended, Colbert was continually advising Lewis to make peace ; and, now that the peace was concluded, Louvois was contin- ually urging him to renew the war. This difference 8 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. which existed between them was a natural result of their respective duties. To Colbert was entrusted by Lev/is the direction of finance, commerce, public works, and the colonies ; to Louvois was given the post of minister of war. On one point Colbert and Louvois was agreed, and that was in the employment of Vauban, the great master of the art of fortification. By Vauban 300 Vauban the . . military French fortresses were either built, repaired, or enlarged. These fortresses were designed chiefly for the defence of the French frontiers, which offered, and more particularly on the north-east, many vulnerable points. Colbert for his part looked on the money expended in carying out Vauban's plans, as sunk in insuring against the possibility of a war, which might be brought about by the temptation offered to a strong power of overrunning the north-eastern provinces of France, some of the richest provinces of the kingdom. Colbert was a man of unimpeachable integrity, of great industry, and of bold and inventive genius. His political theories may now appear antiquated, but Colbert's J rr ^ finance. they prevailed universally for many genera- tions, and by some French statesmen of the present day Colbert is considered the great authority on all national financial questions. His leading idea was to protect native produce and industry by placing heavy duties on exports, so heavy as to be almost prohibitory, and in some cases stopping importation altogether. To give an example. He allowed corn to be exported only when there had been an abundant harvest. If he anti- cipated a deficiency, the export was not permitted. Hence no agriculturist cared to cultivate poor land, but threw it out of cultivation, and the results of this were t'iat there was a large extent of waste ground in France, 1678. Lewis XIV. and France. 9 and that the agriculturists were very poor. The poverty of the agriculturists again prevented their being custom- ers of the manufacturers, and thus there was a loss of trade to the manufacturers. Another principle of Colbert's finance, now everywhere recognized as a pernicious principle, was the forbidding, as much as possible, gold and silver to be sent out of the kingdom. Coin, was, therefore, everywhere hoarded, and this practice has continued in the rural districts of France even to the present day. Colbert did not per- ceive that if there was a deficiency of gold or silver in France, and coin consequently became dearer, there would be a rush of coin from other countries, where it was more abundant, and consequently cheaper, to sup- ply that deficiency. In the chief European nations, in England, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, there existed guilds, or com- panies, at the head of each trade and manu- facture. These corporations regulated the ^g^nds^ practice of their trades, and fixed the prices to be paid to the laborers, and to be received for goods. They were often possessed of great wealth, and were of influence in the State. Their power was now beginning to decline, owing to various reasons, amongst others to greater freedom of communication. But Col- bert endeavored in France to prop up their failing influ- ence. He promulgated edicts enforcing the regulations of the guilds ; and these regulations were minute, pedan- tic, and tyrannical. The result was that trades and manufactures were artificially fostered ; that they did not follow the natural wants of the population, as they do when perfect freedom is allowed them, but became pro- ducers and distributors of luxuries rather than of necessa- ries. During Colbert's ministry there were 17,300 persons to The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. engaged in manufacturing lace, a luxury ; whilst 60,400 were all that were employed in woollen manufacture. Colbert was extremely rigorous against those who usurped privileges to which they were not legally entitled. „ , This was in keeping with his action in up- Further r b r policy of holding the authority of the guilds. There were certain privileges claimed by the no- bility, which were assumed by some who had no legal right to do so. All such pretenders were punished by fines and imprisonments. He also endeavored to introduce a uniform tariff throughout the kingdom. In this he only partially succeeded, as newly acquired provinces claimed privileges which had been reserved for them when they were added to France With more complete success he reorganized the navy of France, and first raised it to the strength of a great maritime power. He codified the French laws. He carried out some magnificent public works ; the most noteworthy of which is the great canal of Languedoc, connecting the Mediterranean and Atlan- tic, completed under his influence by the engineer, Pierre Paul de Riquet. Slavery existed in the West Indian colonies of France, as in those of all other European nations. To Colbert's honor be it stated that, by the Code Noir in- "Code troduced by him, the evils attendant on slavery were greatly mitigated, and the re- lations thus established between master and slave were not nearly so unrighteous as those which existed in the colonies of other States. All Colbert's financial projects had been deranged during the war just ended. The first period of his minis- try, previous to 1672, had been stvled by Colbert's , • • ■, r • i i finance dis- him a period of construction ; the second, arrange . f r0 m 1672 to 1678, had been a period of de- 1 6 78. Lewis XIV. and France, n struction, owing to the expenses of the war ; the third period he fondly hoped would be one of reconstruction, but this hope was not destined to be realized. In the years 1681 and 1682, Colbert redeemed 90 millions of livres of national debts ; in the same years Lewis in- curred debts to the amount of 100 millions. To meet the expenses of the war, it had been neces- sary to raise large sums by taxation. There was a tax on landed property and persons called the „ ,. . r r J r Condition " taille, " and almost every necessary of life of the was also taxed, even pewter vessels. One pe0h .ie after of the most hated of these taxes was that the war - on salt, called the " gabelle. " These burdens were borne almost exclusively by the producing and laboring classes, for among the many privileges of the nobility was that of large exemption from taxation. Those, there- fore, paid least who could best afford to pay most. Dis- tress among the tax-paying classes was universal. Pop- ular tumults arose in numerous districts and were put down with great severity. The wretched peasants were reduced to eating grass and the bark of trees ; and fa- mine slew thousands. The system under which a great portion of the land in France was cultivated, which is called metairie, is an evil one. The metayer, (medietarius, middle- ■rill • "" e r0D ' e » man) or occupier of the land, was provided and pea- by the owner with seed, cattle, and agricul- tural implements, and in return, besides paying all taxes, gave half the gross produce to the land-owner. Though an advance on the serf system it did not invite peasants to spend money on the improvement of the land, and so produced poor cultivation. Half the pro- duce was also too large a rent. The metayer grew as little corn as possible, and fed his geese in his wheat 12 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. fields, for his half of the gross produce was insufficent to pay for the labor of cultivation. The farms of the metayers were very small, in reality but peasant-hold- ings. The relations existing between the peasant- farmer and his lord were very different from those exist- ing in England between the village laborer and the squire. The French lord (seigneur) visited his estates only for retrenchment or to squeeze out larger yieldings from his metayers. He lived at the court. The magni- ficence and extravagance of Lewis XIV. were imitated on a smaller scale by all the nobility. Life in the country was looked on by a seigneur as exile. The re- sponsibilities of a landlord were not recognised by him. He sought advancement at court, and for this advance- ment he intrigued and bribed. Even military service he seldom undertook from patriotic motives, but as a means of procuring court favor. When once a nobleman had secured a firm standing and influence at court, he made use of his position to replenish his fortune by selling his influence to less fortunate aspirants. The hereditary and exclusive privileges of the nobility and place-holders were so valuable that Lewis and his ministers increased the revenue by the sale of the titles and offices which conferred such privileges. By degrees monopolies were created. To such an extent was this system carried, that the privilege of exercising the meanest callings, such as those of por- ters, or of mutes at funerals, was reserved to certain families, in consideration of a large money payment. In the provincial estates and parliaments of France existed the elements of civil liberty. The local government of each province was entrusted to its estate. The estate met in assembly in the three 1678. Lewis XIV. and France. 13 orders of clergy, nobility, and commons. It Provincial CS til L ( _S • raised the revenue required by the king, had authority to borrow money, and superintended the ex- penditure of money to be laid out on local purposes. But in the reign of Lewis, there was placed over each provincial estate a royal functionary, called an intendant, and under him served various officials. He was ap- pointed by the king's will, was removable at the king's pleasure, and, in reality, controlled everything. The provincial estates often grumbled, but their opposition seldom extended further. The greater nobles lived at court, the clergy were faithful servants of the Crown, the intendant was the king's representative, so that although, theoretically, the power and privileges of the provincial estates still belonged to them, their power and their pri- vileges were practically in the hands of the intendant. Opposition to the wishes of the intendant was easily silen- ced by quartering troops on a refractory district, or by the arbitrary imprisonment of an independent member of the estate. The parliaments of France, originally nine, after- wards fifteen in number, were the supreme legal tri- bunals. The parliament of Paris was na- turally the chief, but each parliament claimed ments" to be independent of every other. They were jealous of each other's authority, and had no com- mon principle of action. Besides their legal functions, they claimed the power of refusing to register, in their archives any law which the king had promulgated, and they asserted that this rX sal on their part rendered the law inoperative. Lewis, however, would not admit this claim of the parliaments ; he compelled them to register his laws, he forbade them to prosecute any royal official who disobeyed their orders, and enforced his will 14 The Fall of the Stuarts, &C. a.d. by banishing any members of a parliament who upheld this privilege. The legal offices attached to the mem- bership of a parliament were, as those attached to the Crown, saleable. Lewis therefore was soon enabled to fill a great number of these with devoted adherents ; and by cleverly turning to good account the jealousy felt by each parliament for the other, he soon rendered it im- possible for them to take common action in rejecting a royal mandate. France did not come out unscathed from the war ended by the peace of Nimwegen. The ambition of its monarch had impoverished the country. The agricul- tural, commercial, manufacturing, and colonial interests had all suffered. The conditions of peace were advan- tageous to France as regarded her territory and military power ; but on the other hand, the protective duties on which the manufacturers, especially those of woolen goods and silk, had relied, were relaxed in favor of Hol- land and England. Lewis's inordinate ambition anjd firm belief in the di- vine rights of kings combined to make him desire to see himself at the head of Europe, not as king of France only, but as Emperor, and king of Spain. France, though impoverished, had great natural resources, and Colbert was there to provide funds, Louvois to look to the "ma- teriel" of .his army, Vauban to build his fortresses. One man only stood in Lewis's way, William of Orange. Section IV. — The United Provinces and William of Orange. William of Orange was born November 4, 1650, eight days after the death of his father, the Stadtholder of the United Provinces of Holland. A strong party opposed to the idea of the Stadtholdership being hereditary in the 1678. William of Orange. 15 house of Orange, endeavored for some years to carry on the government. But Holland thus became divided against itself, and an easy prey therefore to its enemies. Seven provinces with independent provincial assemblies, sending members to the States General, afforded a fine field for French diplomacy. In a few years the meetings of the States General were scenes of confusion. To add to the difficulties which stood in the way of unanimity, there were eighteen cities in Holland, governed each by a municipal council, and each of these claimed an inde- pendent voice in many affairs of state. The character of William had, young as he was, become known, and in 1672, Zealand, followed soon provhices^ after by the other provinces, chose him w?,?. se J r William as Stadtholder. The French had invaded Hoi- Stadthoider land, and William took desperate measures to drive them out of his country. He appealed to the patriotism of his countrymen, the dykes were burst open, the whole country was flooded, and the French were forced to beat a speedy retreat. For six years the war continued, and Holland, at first almost ruined, had, at the peace of Nimwegen, preserved its independence and its territory, had gained commercial advantages, and had won the respect of Europe. William had also established his reputation. He had shown himself, under a cold, calm exterior, to be capable of originating bold designs, and of tenaciously carrying them out. He had proved himself as a diplomatist second to none. He had already gained a hold on the German powers which he pre-ently used to good effect. William, a Calvinist, the upholder of civil and reli- gious liberty, was naturally hated by Lewis, a bigoted Catholic, and maintainer of despotism. William, well aware of this antipathy, was also a far-sighted statesman, 1 6 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. who saw that among the many projects of Lewis's am- bition, not the most difficult to be realized, was that of making the whole of Western Europe subservient to France. For if England entered into an offensive and defensive alliance with Lewis, and placed its naval re- Wiiiiam and sources at his disposal, then Western Europe Lewis. would be at his feet. Lewis therefore di- rected all his intrigues to gain England to his side. William worked as strenuously to frustrate those intrigues. By William's marriage, he acquired a right to be con- sulted on England's foreign policy, for Charles, the king, was childless, and his only brother, James, had as yet but two children, both daughters, and of them Mary was the elder. William's wife therefore stood not far from the succession. William had many warm friends amongst the liberal-minded and patriotic men there were in the English nobility, although these were few in number, and already (in 1678) had gained influence among Eng- lish statesmen. This influence it was the great aim of Lewis to destroy. He instructed his ambassador, Baril- lon, to work on Charles's love of pleasure and want of money ; to work on the religious feelings of James, who had now the enthusiasm of a convert to Roman Catholi- cism, and also on his hatred of constitutional liberty; to work on the courtiers by bribery, and by encouraging their jealousies one of the other; to work on the English people by stirring up the spirit of persecution, by pitting Protestant against Papist, by sowing enmity between the country and the court. And well Barillon did his work. The history of the last seven years of the reign of Charles II. of England cannot be understood unless we remem- ber that Charles and his statesmen were but the puppets of the show, that Barillon was the underling who pulled the strings, and that Lewis XIV. was the director, whilst 1678. William of Orange. 17 William of Orange sat looking on, a quiet, but by no means unobservant, spectator. Section V. — Germany and Spain. Emperor Leopold and Charles II. of Spain. Germany, already exhausted by the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), had suffered much in the war with France, now ended by the peace of Nimwegen. It was true that no province had been lost, and that Lothringen (Lorraine) again formed a state of the empire; but the breathing time, so necessary for it to recover from its frightful losses, had been interrupted ; the power of the Diet had been weakened, the bonds which ... . Germany. united the various states, never tight, were now more slackened. Lewis had gained over electors and princes of the empire, by money, by promises of in- creased dominions, and by flattery ; and he had no occa- sion to trouble himself about the German people. For the German people could be hardly said to exist. Ger- many was now composed of numerous small courts, nu- merous small armies, and half-starved wretched peasants. The towns were half depopulated, and the middle class was almost annihilated. The Emperor Leopold was both mentally and morally a weak man. Of the house of Hapsburg, duke of Austria, and king of Bohemia and of Hungary, he had no real power in the empire. Swayed hither and thither, as the interest of the moment seemed to direct him, he had been at one time the tool of Lewis, but now he leant on William of Orange, for support. Lewis' designs on the empire were so manifest that Leopold, with the greatest tenacity his nature permitted, joined William in his plans for counteracting them. Spain was fallen from its high position. The kingdom C 1 8 The Fall of the Stuarts ,& c . a.d. was impoverished. The wealth of its American colonies had not enriched the state. Its best blood had been drained away. Every adventu- rous spirit had been enthralled by the desire of becoming rich. Its court was the victim of state etiquette. Its nobles were ill-educated and the slaves of the priests. Its race of statesmen and warriors had died out. Its king, Charles II., was a sickly and feeble boy of thirteen years of age- So the conditions of the Peace of Nimwegen com- pelled Spain to pay. As we have said above (p. 5), Franche Compte, and some of Spain's best provinces in the Netherlands fell to the share of Lewis. CHAPTER II. ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND, 1 678 AND 1 679. Section I. — Ejigland in 1678. Lewis XIV. wished to gain England to his side. He endeavored therefore to undermine William's influence i6 8 and sow dissension in the nation ; but Eng- land, to be of use to him, must not be weakened. The stronger the nation was, the more help it could afford him. He hoped by destroying popular govern- ment, and by restoring the Catholic religion in England, to make it both a strong and ready tool in his hands. The affairs of the two kingdoms, England and Scot- land, will for a time occupy our attention. The news of the Peace of Nimwegen was received in England with mingled joy and discontent. Englishmen were glad that William of Orange, the Stadtholder, the 1678. England in 1 6? 8. 19 nephew, by marriage, of their king, had come out of his great struggle with Lewis with unreduced ^. & &0 . . Disi ontent dominions, and with increased weight in the in England councils of Europe. But there was discontent m x 7 ' for three reasons. First, because the national pride was wounded. In the time of Cromwell, just twenty years ago, England had been the most respected European power, the one power which France courted. It had de- feated the navies of Holland and Spain ; it had been the great upholder of the Protestant cause, as William of Orange now was ; and now this glory had passed away. The second reason for discontent was the fear for the cause of civil liberty. It was rumored that treaties and arrangements had been entered into by the English king with Lewis XIV., which had for their object the subver- sion of the constitution by the aid of foreign troops. Charles had raised troops nominally to aid William of Orange ; but these troops had, by Barillon's intrigues, been kept back, and were in England, not as yet dis- banded. So the old English feeling of distrust of a standing army was aggravated by the fear that French forces might be sent to join those raised by Charles in coercing Parliament. But there was a third reason for discontent in the general hatred felt for Roman Catho- licism. Puritans and churchmen were united in this hatred ; it was their one bond of union. The activity shown by the Roman Catholics seems to justify this hatred. Jesuit priests were known to be intriguing at court ; the king was suspected of an inclination to papistry ; the Duke of York, the heir presumptive, was a declared Roman Catholic, and had married for his second wife the Princess Mary of Modena, also a Roman Catholic. At the same time Lewis XIV., the adviser of Charles, had already begun on a small scale those to The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c. a.d. persecutions of Protestants which in a few years after he carried out in such a manner as to drive the Protestants of England and Holland wild with anger. This popular discontent found two vents for its ex- How the pression ; the one in an attempt to drive discontent is Roman Catholicism from the kingdom, and manifested. ^ to exclude the Duke of York from the suc- cession of the throne ; the other in the impeachment of the minister, Lord Danby. Section II. — The Minister and the leader of the Opposition. Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby, was the minister to whom Charles II. had at this time entrusted Sfe^iaen tne chief direction of affairs ; the leader of the Opposition was Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury. Political immorality was as prevalent among English, as among continental, statesmen. The use of bribery was general. If at any time the expression used in later days by an English statesman that " every man has his price," was true, it was true in the time of Charles II. One or two rare exceptions there were, but statesmen who were considered upright, and patriots who were famed for their public spirit, condescended to receive "pensions" from Lewis XIV. for themselves, and to bribe members of Parliament. This was done with so little reserve as to make it evident that conscientious men looked on giving and receiving bribes in another light than that in which we are now accustomed to view such a crime. Osborne, Lord Danby, was not beyond his age. Of good business powers, and ready in debate, he tried to 1678. The Popish Plot. 21 make parliament subservient to his views by- purchasing it wholesale. Himself fond of Danby money, he measured every one by his own standard. So thoroughly did he carry out his plan that the parliament which was sitting in 1678, which had, in fact, been sitting since 1661, has earned for itself in his- tory the name of " Pension Parliament." Danby's own political views were moderate. He was a Protestant, but not a Puritan ; an upholder of the monarchy, but no lover of arbitrary power ; an adherent -of the Stuarts, but no mere courtier. Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury, began public life as a royalist, and then united himself to the party of the Commonwealth. During Richard Crom- well's brief protectorate he had joined Monk bury. ShafteS " in his successful plot for the restoration of the Stuarts. Dryden in his satire of " Absalom and Achitophel" thus describes Shaftesbury under the cha- racter of Achitophel : For close designs and crooked counsels fit, Sagacious, bold, and turbulent of wit, Restless, unfixed in principles and place, In power unpleased, impatient of disgrace. Although written by a political and religious opponent, history admits the justice of this description. Section III.— The Popish Plot. On August 13, 1678, three days after the signing of the Peace of Nimwegen, Charles II. received a warning not to walk unaccompanied in the Park, nor to expose his person heedlessly, " for that his death was determined on." This information was traced through _. ^ ° Titus Oates. various channels to one Titus Oates. Oates was on September 28 brought before the privy council. 22 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. Had it not been for the prevalent feeling of distrust and hatred of the Roman Catholics, the personal ap- pearance and previous career of Oates would have been conclusive evidence of the falseness of his story The son of an Anabaptist, he had early in life conformed to the Church of England, been admitted to holy orders and presented to a living. This he had been compelled to resign, on a charge of perjury, and of using blasphe- mous expressions. He next obtained a chaplaincy on board a man-of-war, but was dismissed his ship for dis- graceful behaviour. Professing then to be a convert to Roman Catholicism, he joined the English college at St. Omer, in France. His present story was that he had been entrusted by the highest Romish authorities with letters, written by the Pope himself, the purport of which was to excite the Catholics to compass the death of King Charles by any means. He added that meetings had been already held in London for that purpose ; and that Coleman, the Roman Catholic secretary of the Roman Catholic Duke of York, and Father la Chaise, the con- fessor of Lewis XIV. (whom Oates always calls Father Lee Shee), were the persons through whom the necessary correspondence was carried on. Coleman's house was immediately searched. He had partly destroyed his papers, but some were found con- taining doubtful expressions, (doubtful, that is, as to loyalty, but perfectly natural under the circumstances), setting forth the great hopes which the Catholics in Eng- land entertained for the future, when the Duke of York would be king, and Lewis XIV. would be able to afford them more active assistance. In addition to Coleman, Oates accused Wakeman the queen's private physician, who was also a Roman Catholic. 1678. The Popish Plot. 23 In the course of his story Oates said that he had been sent through Spain, previously to his coming to England, and that there he had an interview with Don John of Austria, the young King of Spain's minister, who had promised to aid the English Catholics in the execution of their designs. Charles, who was present at Oates's examination and was incredulous asked Oates what sort of a man Don John was. Oates replied, " a tall, lean man." This answer amused Charles, for Don John was very short and fat, and made him still more incredu- lous of the tale. But the country received Oates's story as gospel. Oates, after his examination before the privy council, went to Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey, an active justice of the peace, who had been knighted for his Murder of exertions during the great plague, and made Sir Edmonds- a deposition on oath of the truth of his state- ments. A few days after, the servants of Sir Edmonds- bury were surprised at their master not returning to dinner at his usual hour ; they waited for him the whole afternoon, and at night sent to tell his brothers of his absence from home. Nothing was heard of him that night (Saturday), but on the following Wednesday morn- ing his body was found in a ditch in some fields, near London, now occupied by the Regent's Park. From the marks on the corpse it appeared that the victim had been first strangled, and that some time after death his own sword had been run through him, the sword remain- ing in the body. His money was untouched. The body lay exposed to the public view for two days, and at the funeral strange scenes of excitement took place. Three persons of the queen's household were afterwards tried and executed for the murder, but on perjured and in- sufficient evidence. An attempt was also made some 24 The Fall of the Stuarts, &°c. ad. time after to prove that Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey had committed suicide, but this failed. Two hypotheses to account for the murder, both probable, remain. The one is that the knight was murdered by zealous Papists to intimidate those who were taking active measures to investigate the alleged Popish Plot ; the other is that the deed was committed by the orders of some of those whose interest it was to provoke more strongly the pre- valent Protestant antipathy to the Duke of York and the Roman Catholics. It has also been stated, that no proof has been offered, that the murder was committed by some of Oates's gang to add credibility to their state- ment. The popular excitement now rose to the highest pitch. Parliament had met in session. Even if Danby had attempted to bribe, the venal members were Bill against r Papists carried no longer to be bought. A Committee of in Parliament. , ...... the House was appointed to inquire into the murder of Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey and into Oates's disclosures. A day was set apart for a solemn fast. A bill was hurriedly carried through both Houses " for the more effectual preserving the king's person and govern- ment by disabling Papists from sitting in either House of Parliament." The intention of Shaftesbury and the Op- position evidently was to prepare the way for the exclu- sion of the Duke of York from the succession to the throne, but a special exemption clause was inserted in the bill (partly on the personal appeal to the House of Lords of the duke, who spoke " with great earnestness and w T ith tears in his eyes ") which ran as follows, " Pro- vided always that nothing in this Act contained shall ex- tend to his Royal Highness, the Duke of York." To deal a heavier blow against Roman Catholics, it was also determined that an oath of allegiance to the king, and a 1678. The Popish Plot. 25 declaration of the idolatry of masses should be made by all holders of office under the Crown, as a test that they were untainted by Popery. The Committee of the House of Commons examined Oates, and another witness, one Bedlow, a man of noto- riously bad character, who now came forward to corrobo- rate Oates' s statements. They reported the actual ex- istence of a Popish Plot, having for its ob- _ 1 ° Dates makes ject the death of the king and the destruc- further uisclos- tion of the Protestant religion. Oates and his accomplice no longer contented themselves with ac- cusing such inferior persons as secretaries, priests, and physicians, but named five Roman Catholic peers, Lords Powys, Bellasis, Stafford, Petre, and Arundel, who were straightway committed to the Tower. Oates insinuated, Bedlow more than insinuated, that the queen herself was privy to the plot. Charles had acted throughout with duplicity, publicly professing belief in the plot, but to his intimates treating it as a joke, and saying, "he was ac- cused of being in a plot against his own life;" but this accusation against the queen was more than even he could brook, and this portion of the evidence was there- fore not touched upon. Coleman was tried and executed, as were also three Romish priests. The trade of witness or informer brought so much con- sideration from the vulgar, and such flattering hopes of pay from the gratitude of the nation, that many were now found to join Oates and ersirisl"^" 1 " Bedlow. Among the more prominent of these was Carstairs, a man who had already earned no- toriety by acting as a spy on those who had, in Scotland, been holding conventicles, contrary to the law. The expectations of Oates and his accomplices were 26 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. not unfulfilled. In a few weeks Oates had apartments assigned to him in Whitehall, a guard was appointed to preserve him from the Papists supposed to be thirsting for his blood, and a pension of 1,200/. a year was granted to him. The inferior agents were also well cared for. For the sake of preserving popularity Charles made no attempt, nor did he allow Danby to make any, to quell the popular excitement. In the trials that took place from the numerous accusations laid by the the ^ud^eJ ° f m f° rmers > the conduct of the judges must not be overlooked. The servility of those who sat on the bench, and the shameless way in which they obeyed the dictates of the court, disgraced the name of justice. Scroggs, the lord chief justice, sSoggs JuSUCe distinguished himself in bullying the wit- nesses for the defence and in pressing for convictions, and showed such zeal and heartiness for "the Protestant cause," that he shared with Oates the honor of popular applause. He had been raised by Danby to the post he held, and was not fitted for it either by ability, legal attainments, or decency of life. Section IV.— Fall of the Earl of Danby. Whilst the public mind was inflamed by the discovery of these various Popish plots, fresh fuel was added to the , excitement by Ralph Montague presenting Montague s J r or o disclosures to to the House of Commons certain letters which had passed through his hands from Lord Danby to Lewis XIV., asking for money. Mon- tague was the representative of England at the court of France. Lewis had been deeply annoyed at the vacilla- tions of Charles in the negotiations which preceded the Peace of Nimwegen, and laid on Danby the blame of his master's indecision. In revenge he now therefore urged 1678. Fall of the Earl of Dan by. 2 7 Montague by bribes and other persuasions to betray Danby. Montague came to England, appeared in par- liament, in which he had a seat, and read two letters ; one of these, signed by Danby, made an offer to Lewis that Charles would be neutral in the war if a pension of 600,000 livres (about ,£24,000,) were paid him for the next three years. At the end of a letter was a postscript in Charles's own hand agreeing to the terms. The house was no longer under the minister's control. The im- peachment of Lord Danby was proposed. Danby's defence was that the king alone had, by law, power to declare war or to make peace ; that his duty was to obey his sovereign in all peached" 1 " things lawful, and that in this case he had no alternative. But the Opposition carried the day. On December 19, 1678, the impeachment was voted by 179 votes to 116, and the charges against Danby were read at the bar of the House of Lords. The charges in the impeachment really only amounted to a misdemeanor, but in the Upper House amotion was made that Danby should be committed to the Tower on a charge of treason ; but this motion was not carried, although Shaftesbury pressed its adoption. The plea under which it was sought to commit Danby was, that the word " traitorously" appeared in the impeachment presented by the Commons. But the majority in the House of Lords rejected the motion for his committal, on the grounds (and solid grounds they appear), that if the Commons by the insertion of a word could convert a mis- demeanor into a treason, they became judges as well as accusers. Charles now determined on dissolving the parliament, in the hope of putting an end to Danby's prosecution, and preventing the disclosure of any fur- l6 9 23 The Fall of 'the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. ther proofs of the intrigues he had been engaged in with the King of France. The " Pension Parliament " was consequently dissolved January, 1679, Dissolution j ,. , r of the "Pen- an d a new parliament was summoned for ment - arha " March. The elections "went almost every- where against the court." The Duke of York, afraid that his presence in London might foment the angry feelings of the capital, left Eng- land for Brussels, accompanied by his wife. Charles de- But before his departure Charles, on his clares Qaeen , , , , Catharine to earnest entreaty, made a solemn declaration onfywS! his befor e the privy council, that he had never been married, nor had made a contract of marriage with any woman whatsoever save his wife Queen Catherine. The object of this declaration was to put an end to the pretensions of the Duke of Monmouth, the eldest of King Charles' natural children, whose mother, Monmouth. Luc y Walters, was popularly supposed to have been married to Chafes whilst he was a refugee at the Hague. The proofs of this marriage were supposed to be concealed in a certain "black box, " to which constant allusions will be found in the pamphlets of the period. The Duke of Monmouth ( the Absalom of Dryden's " Absalom and Achitophel " ) was eminent- ly fitted to attract popular sympathy. He was at an early age wedded to the richest heiress of her day, the Lady Anne Scott, who inherited the vast property of the house of Buccleuch. Of a handsome person, of pleasant and winning manners, of tried bravery ; the beloved of Protestants and country gentlemen, he was used as a tool by Shaftesbury for the purpose of crushing the Duke of York. On James' retirement from England, Monmouth for a few months became the petted idol of the court. 1 679. Third Parliament of diaries II. 29 Section V. — The third Parliament of Charles II. ( Habeas Corpus Act. ) Charles, on Danby's fall, called to his councils Sir William Temple, who had been one of the chief negotia- tors of the Nimwegen peace. Temple was a sir William man not only of the most cultivated mind, Temple. but also of the strictest integrity ; he never hesitated to speak the truth to the pl< asure-loving Charles, nor to re- tire from public affairs when his country's welfare or his personal honor demanded. Since the Restoration( 1660) he had been employed in diplomacy on the Continent, and had never sat in the House of Commons. In one respect this was a drawback, as he was unable to enter into the feelings and susceptibilities of the House ; in another respect it was a gain, since to his name could not be attached the odious epithet of " pensionary. " Sir William Temple's first measure was a novel one ; he reconstituted the privy council. It was to consist of thirty members. Fifteen of these were to be the ministers and officers of state, the re- tio^ofthe" maining fifteen to be noblemen and gentle- f ny y ., ° ° Council. men of high standing. The measure was at first most popular. It was thought by the one party that it would prevent the encroachments of parliament on the prerogatives of the Crown, by the other party that it would hinder the attacks of the Crown on the in- dependence of parliament. Shaftesbury was chosen President, so that he now filled the anomalous position of lord president of the privy council and leader of the Opposition in parliament. But the new privy council was soon found too numer- ous and too divided in opinions to fulfil the purpose of 30 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. From that a Cab- a working council for the king-. Charles met tt, formed. ° therefore chose from the council four confi- dential advisers : Temple, Capel, Earl of Essex, Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, and Savile, Viscount Halifax. These formed, what in the present day is called the Cabinet. Essex was a politician of good intentions and of . , _ honorable character, and had therefore Lord Essex. . gained the respect of Temple. Sunderland was the product of his day. Clever and unprincipled, he had for years resided at the court of Lewis as envoy of England, and had there derknd 1111 " become an adept in intrigues, both political and social. Halifax was a man of great intellectual powers. His natural disposition was kind and tolerant, and this joined to his keen appreciation of probable Lord Halifax. J ... , , , results, made him take a broad and mode- rate view of party politics. Hence his policy always tended to avoid extreme measures, and he consequently received the nickname of " Trimmer. " The same name was applied to all those who followed him in attempting to hold a middle course between the court and country factions, the two great parties of the day. Halifax's political morality was expediency. Whatever party best served present purposes he joined ; and he found no difficulties in changing from one side to the other, for his personal dislikes were reserved for those only who were violent and immoderate partisans. But this choice of a small body out of the council was deeply resented by most of the other members, and Shaftesbury prepared a most active opposi- Parliament . , . . _, .. meets. tion to the ministry. Parliament met on opposition March 6. The first contest took place on to the t ^ e choice of a Speaker of the House of court. r 1 6 7 9 • Third Parlia7?ient of Charles II 31 Commons. The king nominated a member to fill the chair; the Opposition claimed for the Com- mons the right of election, asserting that the only power which the Crown had was to confirm their choice. The Opposition gained the day. After a hot debate, lasting for a week, it was agreed that the right of election was with the House, and that the confirmation by the king followed as a matter of course. This debate at once served to show Charles and his advisers the temper of the House. When this matter had been, settled, the Commons took up again the impeachment of Lord Danby. On finding the proceedings renewed, Danby D ^ h prepared for flight ; but, on being advised impeach- that if he fled, an act of attainder might be resumed, passed against him, he surrendered. He now pleaded there could be no prosecution, as he held a pardon from the king. Charles had not only granted him a free pardon, but had also given him a warrant raising him to the rank of Marquis of Carmarthen. This enraged the Opposition, who formed the majority in the Commons. They appeared at the bar of the House of Lords, and demanded judgment against Danby, whose plea said they, was void. They also denied the right of the bishops to vote on the validity of the pardon, arguing that if the pardon was not valid, and if Danby were then to be convicted of treason, death would be the punishment, and spiritual lords could not legally vote on questions of life and death. The Lords discussed the questions raised by the Commons ; they agreed to ap- point a Committee of the two Houses to regulate the manner of the impeachment, but they resolved that the lords spiritual had a right to sit and vote in all cases until the actual question of life and death was before the House. 32 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. But the impeachment of Danby was a secondary matter to the great object of Shaftesbury and the Opposi- tion, which was the exclusion of the Duke reading of OI " York from the succession to the throne, as Exclusion beingr a Roman Catholic. The second Bui passes ° the Com- reading of a bill, to effect this object, was carried on May 21 in the Commons by 207 votes against 128. On May 27, Charles, acting by the advice of Temple, who feared the temper of the Commons, prorogued the Habeas parliament, and soon after by proclamation Corpus Act. dissolved it. But this did not take place Lhssolutun _ _ x of the third until the king had given an unwilling as- Parlia- . . r . . mentof sent to the passing or an Act, commonly Charles II. caUed the Habeas Corpus Act. Charles assented in order not to provoke a more active hostility to the court in the elections now pending. The Act re- quires a judge, on application, to issue an order to any jailor to produce the body ( habeas corpus ) of a prison- er; when, if the offence with which he is charged is bailable, and he can give security that he will appear in a court of law to answer the charge, he is set free until the trial. The Act also prevents any one from be- ing sent to prison "beyond the seas ; " it orders every prisoner to be indicted in the first law term after his commitment, and to be brought to trial at latest in the subsequent term. No man, it enacts, after being en- larged, can be recommitted for the same offence. This Act is one which has done much in preserving the lib- erties of Englishmen, but it is no addition to the consti- tutional law of our country. The same rights existed before, but they had been impaired through the criminal servility of the judges and the tyranny of the Crown. The Habeas Corpus Act only re-enacted and re-asserted i679» Whigs and Tories. 33 the rights and privileges of every Englishman. Black- stone does indeed say in his Commentaries, " The point of time at which I would choose to fix the theoretical per- fection of our public law, is the year 1679, after the Ha- beas Corpus Act was passed, though the years which immediately followed it were times of great practical oppression. " But he also admits the Act was needed only on account of the " pitiful evasions " of judges and court lawyers. Meantime the trials of those accused by Oates and his accomplices were continued during the j rr , Popish spring and summer, lwelve persons were trials con- found guilty and executed. Wakeman, the tinue ' queen's physician, was acquitted. Section VI. — Whigs and Tories. In the months of August and September the elections for the new parliament were going on, and the candidates suported by the court were generally de- , , feated. It was evident that the new parlia- fourth Par- ment would meet with a greater majority elected, but against the ministers than the last one. prorogued. Charles placed but little confidence even in his selected ministers. Fearing that he should find a new parlia- ment uncompromising, he had already en- tered into fresh and secret negotiations with treaty with Lewis. He begged him not to lose this opportunity of making England for ever dependent upon France. A treaty was therefore entered into. On con- dition that a pension of 1,000,000 livres (about 40,000^.) was paid to him annually, for the space of three years, Charles agreed not to assemble parliament during thaf time. He consequently prorogued the new parliament D 34 TJie Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. immediately on its meeting in October, without the con- sent, or without having asked the consent, of his council. Temple, Essex, and Halifax resigned their offices. Sunderland, who never willingly resigned a Resignation ., .... „,, . . of Temple, place, retained his. Ine new ministers Halifax? 1 chosen by the king were Lawrence Hyde, Rochester £arl f Rochester, and Sidnev Godolphin, and Oodol- ' x phin take Earl of Godolphin. Rochester was a brother of the first Duchess of York, a Cavalier as well in politics as in habits of life : a strong adherent of Church principles, he both drank hard and lived hard. Godolphin was a clever and cool-headed courtier, and an enthusiastic sportsman. His political principles sat easily upon him. He was a trimmer, not upon convic- tion as Halifax was, but from interest. He cared only for office, horse-racing, and cock-fighting. Rochester and Sunderland endeavored to persuade Charles to break off his negotiations with Lewis, and to summon the parliament, but the prorogation had been already announced, and Charles was unwilling to run the risk of offending Lewis, and of having the Exclusion Bill thrust upon him. The Duke of Monmouth had been acting as the king's representative in Scotland, but Shaftesbury sent for him to return, for the king was not well. His arrival in London was celebrated by popular rejoicings. The Duke Tames and °f York, hearing of Monmouth's presence at Monmouth. court, hastily set off from Brussels, and hurried to Windsor, where Charles lay seriously ill. The king, as the only chance of preserving peace, ordered Monmouth off to Holland, and sent James to Scotland as Lord High Commissioner. He also dismissed Shaftes- bury from the presidency of the Council. Shaftesbury in revenge took still more active steps in 1679- Whigs and Tories. 35 exciting the country to clamor for the Exclusion Bill. The anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth, November 17, was celebrated bur^dis throughout England with extraordinary missed from manifestations. Loud and deep were the dencyofthe execrations hurled against Papists and all ounci ' who were supposed to have any sympathies with Rome ; the effigies of the Pope and the Duke of York were pub- licly burnt; and a "black box" was carried about in triumph. On November 28 Monmouth appeared sud- denly in London, and although ordered by the king to return again to Holland, he obstinately remained. Ad- dresses were signed in every county, and , , ...... ,, Addressers in every borough, praying the king to call and Ab- parliament together at an early day. Shaftes- orrers - bury and the Opposition consequently received the name of "Addressers." The ministers and the court met these addresses by obtaining counter addresses to the king, expressing abhorrence of such proceedings, as tending to interfere with the king's prerogative of sum- moning and proroguing parliament. They were there- fore entitled "Abhorrers." But these party names were speedily changed into the now familiar ones of Whigs, and Tories. The Opposi- tion were nicknamed Whigs, a term of re- whigs and proach which had been originally applied to Tories. the strictest sect of Scottish covenanters, and is said to have been a local expression in Galloway for sour whey. The court party were called Tories, a name borrowed from the most wild and savage of the Irish outlaws. From this period the two great political parties in England have been called by these names ; and students may consider the Whigs as "ranged under the banner of liberty," the Tories under that of "loyalty;" the 36 The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c. a.d. Whigs as seeking the security of the constitution " by new maxims of government," the Tories "by an adherence to the old." Section VII.— Meal-tub Plot. Oates's time of prosperity was not at an end, although the public enthusiasm in his favor had begun to turn. The trade of discoverer of plots informer, still seemed a lucrative one, and 'a man Dangerfieid. named Dangerfield, a profligate scoundrel who had been branded, whipped, and imprisoned for felony, now appeared on the scene. Prompted probably by some hangers-on of the Duke of York, he discovered to him a supposed conspiracy of the Presbyterian party, to put the king to death and to seize on the government. Being rewarded by Charles and James, he proposed to substantiate the truth of his statement by papers which were concealed in the house of Colonel Mansel, a Pres- byterian. The house was searched and the papers were found, but their forgery was so apparent that no one could be misled by them, and it was easily proved by Colonel Mansel that Dangerfield had access to the room in which they were found. The alleged Presbyterian plot came to nothing, but the scoundrel now turned on his em- ployers. He swore that the pretended plot was invented in order to disguise a real one ; that this real plot was a Catholic one, and that not the Presbyterians but the Roman Catholics were the culprits. He declared that the papers which would prove the real plot, were con- cealed in a meal-tub in the house of a Mrs. Collins, who had been in the employment of Lady Powys, wife of one of the five Roman Catholic peers now in the Tower. The papers were found. Lady Powys and Mrs. Collins were arrested. The former was soon discharged, the grand 1 6 79. The Conventiclers in Scotland. 37 jury ignoring the bill against her; the latter was tried and acquitted. The panic caused by the murder of Godfrey was evidently subsiding, and the popular faith in informers beginning to wane. Section VIII. — The Conventiclers in Scotland. Before England and Scotland were under one king, it was the obvious policy of an enemy of England to stir up strife between the two nations ; and even now, when the same king ruled over both nations, the danger had not passed away, for jealousy still remained to divide them. The Scotch were jealous lest their peculiar laws and customs should be changed and their independence taken from them. The Eng- tions of Eng- lish were jealous lest their trade should suffer !^. and Scot " by the Scotch being allowed to participate in it on equal terms. England was weakened whenever Scotland was in a state of disquiet, and as Lewis XIV. did not wish the influence of England on the Continent diminished, he, through his ambassador, urged on Charles the necessity of keeping Scotland tranquil. Now there were two means of pacifying Scotland, — conciliation, or severity. Lewis's belief in absolute monarchy led him to recommend the latter. Episcopacy had been introduced for the second time into Scotland at the Restoration. But although the mon- archy was popular in Scotland, the Church of England was not, and in spite of the tred ofepis-.o- warnings of those Scotchmen who knew their pacy ' countrymen best, Charles and his advisers were bent on forcing the English Church on the people. The first Lord High Commissioner, Lord Middleton, had allowed considerable latitude to the clergy in their conforming to 38 The Fall of the Stuarts, &C. A.D. the Church ; but the Duke of Lauderdale, who had suc- ceeded him, had induced the subservient Scotch parlia- ment (virtually nominees of the Crown) to pass more and more severe laws against Presbyterianism, so that its followers, driven from their chapels, had to hold their meetings by night on the moorside or in the forests. An insurrection of the Presbyterians had broken out in 1666 and had been suppressed. In 1668 Sharp, arch- bishop of St. Andrew's, and the bishop of Sharp, arch- L A bishop of St. Orkney, were shot at. The bishop was wounded, the assassin escaped, but the arch- bishop had marked well his appearance. Six years after- wards the archbishop recognized in one Mitchell, a shop- keeper and noted Presbyterian, the features of the man who had shot at him. Mitchell was brought before the privy council, and under the promise that his life should be spared was induced to confess. The archbishop in- sisted on his execution. In order to extract from him the names of his accomplices, if he had any, the poor wretch was several times put to the torture, the arch- bishop himself actively assisting. Then he was placed for some time in solitary confinement, and afterwards, contrary to the promises made him, and in deference to the archbishop's wish, he was executed. Lauderdale and the archbishop forthwith carried per- secution to its utmost limits. The Presbyterians, or con- venticlers, as they were called, were set upon by dragoons at their meetings on the hillsides, and so in r^ns n r s e e. byte " self-defence they carried with them their swords as well as their Bibles. Resistance was sure to bring upon them the vengeance of the wild Highland troopers. But in the Western Lowlands, in Galloway, Ayrshire, Kircudbrightshire, Dumfries, where 1 6 79. The Conventiclers in Scotland. 39 the hills are rugged and wild, and the towns are few and far between, where the farmers and peasants have always been characterized by a sturdy spirit of independ- ence, and where the names of Prelatist and Papist were held equally accursed, resistance to Lauderdale and his proud archbishop was openly proclaimed. "The Highland host came upon them." So the in- surgents designated the large bodies of fierce Highlanders speaking no language but arc S quartercd Gaelic, obeying no law but that of their onthem - chiefs, who were sent to live in free quarters among them. The conventiclers were goaded into revenge. As so argued they, Jael's murder of Sisera was acceptable to God, in like manner it would be a worthy deed to com- pass the death of those who persecuted the Lord's saints. Carmichael, the commissioner Murder of of the council, and Archbishop Sharp, had Archbishop by their activity rendered themselves par- ticularly hateful. So a band of fanatics, animated by religious enthusiasm, determined on their murder. Car- michael, "the cruel, bloody man," escaped, but on Magus Muir, five miles west of St. Andrew's, they came upon Sharp. He was in his carriage accompanied by his daughter. Shouting "Judas, come forth," they dragged him from the coach, and, despite his own en- treaties and offers of money, despite the tears, and prayers, and personal struggles of his daughter, they put him to death before her eyes. Then solemnly thanking God for His aid in accomplishing the deed, and leaving on the moor the body of him who had never shown any mercy and to whom no mercy was shown, they made all haste to the West to rouse their brethren to arms. The Highlanders had just been withdrawn, when in- telligence was brought to the council that Sharp had 4o The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. been murdered, and that the murderers had escaped to the West. They learnt also that the murderers had been reinforced, and that a village called Rutherglen had burnt the obnoxious acts of parliament which favored episcopacy and placed a declaration of hostility in the Graham of market-place. Graham of Claverhouse was Claverhouse stationed at Glasgow, with three troops of Drumclog, horse which he had himself raised. Gra- ham was a kinsman of Montrose, who had lost his life in the cause of loyalty, and whose deeds he was desirous of emulating. He had served first in the French army, and had then joined the guards of the Prince of Orange, and had been distinguished for his coolness and bravery. Putting himself at the head of his troops, he marched out of Glasgow to punish the murderers and their fanatical followers. The conven- ticlers, about 600 in number, armed for the most part with pikes and pitchforks, were posted on a rising ground, protected on the two flanks and the front by a marsh, near the village of Drumclog. Graham, not taking the trouble to form his men, attacked the insur- gents with rash impetuosity, and embarrassed by the boggy ground, in which his horses stuck fast, was beaten off with considerable loss. The conventiclers daily received large reinforcements, so the troopers drew off towards Edinburgh. By Lauder- dale's advice, all the king's troops in Scotland were concentrated near the capital. Monmouth, who was at present Charles' representative in Scotland, took the command of the royal army. The conventiclers, whose numbers were now about 4,000, had advanced to Both- „ , ,. well Moor, near Hamilton. Here they were Battle of ' J Bothwell met by Monmouth at the head of 5,000 Jun?22. regular troops. The insurgents were posted 1679- The Conventiclers in Scotland. 41 in a strong position, with the Clyde flowing be- tween them and Monmouth's army. But there was a bridge over the river, and this bridge they had not de- stroyed. They were unprovided with cannon, whilst Mon- mouth had a strong force of artillery. Monmouth brought his guns to bear upon the bridge, and after a steady resistance on the part of the rebels, cleared the way for the passage of his soldiers. The insurgents retreated in good order to a hill near, called Hamilton Heath Here the dragoons, eager to avenge their former defeat, twice charged them, and each time were driven back. Then a body of the hated Highlanders made one of their fierce onslaughts on them, but with no effect. The am- munition of the conventiclers began, however, to fail. Artillery, when once posted in battle, were as yet not easily moved; but Monmouth, with considerable diffi- culty, got his guns, which had been turned on the bridge, again into position, and their fire completed the dis- comfiture of the conventiclers. They gave way, then retreated, and then fled, for retreat soon changes into flight with irregular and ill-trained troops. Claverhouse and his troopers, eager for vengeance, Crue] treat _ charged amongst the panic-stricken fugi- mem of the & .,.,.•. , . survivors. tives, and, disdaining to make prisoners, butchered them unrelentingly. Monmouth in vain endeavored to restrain them. Graham earned well his name of "bloody Claverhouse." About 1200 of the rebels laid down their arms. For these Monmouth tried to get as good terms as possible from Lauderdale and the servile Scotch parliament. Monmouth's clemency was reported in London. It was at this juncture that Charles' illness took place, and Monmouth was hastily summoned by Shaftes- bury to England. 42 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. The Duke of York arrived in Scotland as Lord High Commissioner. A Roman Catholic himself, James hated Presbyterianism with a hatred more intense S^tfand! tnan that of tne most devoted adherent to " Church and State " principles. The cruel- ties committed by the privy council when he was at its head, are almost incredible. Any one suspected of having given refuge to a conventickr, or any one thought to be unfriendly to the government or episcopacy, was liable to be put to the question before the council. Con- fessions extorted by torture from some were made use of against others whom the government deemed disloyal. Neither age nor sex insured safety. CHAPTER III. THE FOURTH AND FIFTH PARLIAMENTS OF CHARLES II. AND THE STATE TRIALS OF 1 68 1. Section I. — Exclusion Bill. All through the winter of 1679 and the spring of 1680, Lewis, through his ambassador Barillon, endeavored in , i68o turn to cheat each of the political parties in , . , England. He assured Charles he was the Lewis and ° English only friend on whom he could rely, and ex- horted him to govern without summoning a parliament. He expressed to James his approval of his conduct in Scotland. He told Shaftesbury and the Whigs, that if civil war were forced on them by the obstinacy of the king, France might be reckoned on for support. 1680. Exclusion Bill. 43 In February, 1680, James left Scotland to pay his brother a visit at Windsor. He soon gained a complete ascendency over Charles. This became ap- parent to Shaftesbury, who determined once York pre- fer all to put an end to the influence of the semed as a r recusant. Duke of Yofk. He therefore (June 26) pre- sented James before the grand jury at Westminster as a " Popish recusant." Some of the judges who were present on the bench, in alarm asked Shaftesbury to retire with them into a private room for conference. During their absence the Lord Chief Justice took upon himself the bold step of discharging the grand jury, and thus quash- ing the proceeding. Monmouth in the meantime was making a progress as a royal prince in the West of England, and, in spite of Charles' declaration of his illegitimacy, was received everywhere with joy. Nothing Mon- could shake the faith of the people in their p^grels. " idol, the Protestant Duke." The king began to tire of his brother's unpopularity. The Whigs became more and more outspoken, and Charles saw before him no alternative but „ Fourth summoning the Parliament and sending Parliament James back to Scotland as quickly as pos- October 21. sible. The Duke of York therefore returned to the North, and the fourth Parliament, which had been elected a year previously, met for business on October 21. Godolphin and Sunderland urged the king to consent to the bill for excluding the Duke of York from the suc- cession, if it should be again brought forward. A bar- gain was now being struck between Charles and the Whig Opposition. If Charles had been trustworthy the Exclusion Bill would have passed. The proposed agree- 44 The Fall of the Stuarts, cVv. a.d. ment was, that in consideration of the Commons voting the king a large supply of money, the bill should have his sanction. But Charles wished the supplies to be voted first, and then the consideration of the Exclusion Bill to follow. Shaftesbury and his party knew, that if , . „.„ this were conceded, Charles would throw Exclusion Bill . passed by them over, and so the compromise fell rejectedby through. On November n the Commons the Lords. passed the bill excluding the Duke of York from the succession, and on the 1 5th it came on for discus- sion in the House of Lords. The Upper House rejected it by 63 votes against 30. Essex and Shaftesbury were the great advocates for the bill, Halifax its chief opponent. The king was present at the debate, and brought his personal influence to bear on all who were thought waver- ing. All the bishops in the House, fourteen in number, voted in the majority. The Whigs showed their vexation by acting in the most factious manner in the House of Commons. They car- ried a declaration that the " abhorrers," proceedings (who had signed petitions expressing " ab- ^ he horrence " of the address to the king asking him to summon parliament), or in other words the whole Tory party, were guilty of contempt of parliament ; and the members of parliament who had presented these petitions were consenting parties to a breach of privilege. They claimed to sit as a court of justice upon all such, thus making the Habeas Corpus Act practically of no effect. They threatened Chief Justice Scroggs with impeachment for discharging the grand jury when Shaftesbury presented the Duke of York. They declared that until the Duke of York was excluded from the succession they would vote no sup- plies. 1 6 8 1 . The Oxford Parliament of 1681. 45 Charles, and the ministers Rochester and Sunderland, feared that no course was open to them but a dissolu- tion. Section II. — Viscount Stafford. The Lords, after their rejection of the Exclusion Bill, were occupied with the trial of Lord Stafford. He was one of the five peers imprisoned on the ac- Stafford's cusation of Oates and his fellow-informers. tria1 ' On November 30 his trial began before his peers, and on December 7 he was found guilty by 55 votes to 31. Staf- ford, in his defence, clearly proved the untrustworthy character of Oates' evidence, but to no avail. The Whigs, the minority in the House of Lords, were joined in voting for his execution by many of the court party, in- stigated by the king. Charles wished to show, in acting thus, that his firmness in the matter of the Exclusion Bill was not caused by any predilection for papists. Among those also who voted in the majority were all the peers, save one, to whom Stafford was related. " Lord Stafford was not a man beloved, especially of his own family." Stafford's execution took place on December 29. He protested his innocence on the scaffold, and the spectators answered, " God bless you, we tion. believe you, my lord." Section III. — The Oxford Parliament of 1681. The Commons still continued in a most impracticable mood, and the scenes of violence in the House almost equaled those of 1641, which preceded the outbreak of the civil war. In addition to voting that no supplies should be granted until the Ex- clusion Bill was carried, the Whigs prevailed on the House to declare the king's ministers promoters of popery, and to assert that all who lent the king money 46 The Fall of the Stuarts , <5rv. a.d. were guilty of hindering the sitting of parlia- Parliament ment. So on January 18, i68i, the parlia- ment was to be dissolved. But on the last day of the session, in the short quarter of an hour before the moment of dissolution, the majority voted that the opponents of the Exclusion Bill were traitors bought by French money ; that the papists caused the great fire of London in 1666; that Monmouth's offices, of which the Duke of York had deprived him, should be restored to him ; and that the infliction of penal laws on dissent- ers was an encouragement of popery. The new parliament was ordered to meet at Oxford, March 21. Charles hoped that the Tory principles which prevailed in the university, might have some in- „ ,. fluence on the members of the new parlia- Parliament l meets at ment. March 21. The king in the meantime entered into Charles fresh intrigues with Lewis, and received and Lewis from him fresh bribes. Charles indeed again intrigue. " was now very uneasy ; he saw he was de- spised all Europe over, as a prince that had neither trea- sure nor power." The session lasted but eight days. Shaftesbury and the Opposition mustered in great numbers. They were accompanied by large bodies of followers, who filled the city ; they either really feared personal violence, or thought to overawe the Tories by a display of their „ , "strength. The Commons insisted on the Ex- Parliament ill- 1 ■ dissolved elusion Bui, and the king was obstinate in refusing it ; so this, Charles' fifth and last parliament, was dissolved, without doing any business, on March 28. 1 68 1. Tactics of the King and the Whigs. 47 Section IV. — The Tactics of the King and the Whigs. Charles, immediately after the "Oxford" parliament was dissolved, published a "declaration" in which he set forth at length his reasons for taking "the step," that is, the dissolution. This ^ r \ es \- ,. r ' ' declaration. declaration was well received, not only by the Tories and the clergy, but by many moderate men, who feared that the inordinate de- mands of the Whigs would cause a renewal of civil war. And in fact the foolish loss of temper exhibited by the Whig leaders, in the closing scenes of the fourth parlia- ment of Charles, and their, impracticability in the short session of the fifth parliament at Oxford, had alienated from them the sympathy of many. The timid were frightened, moderate men were £rfty leS ' P ° PU " disgusted, liberal churchmen stood back. The tide of popular feeling had turned in favor of Charles, and at this moment, if he had acted with pru- dence and honesty, the loyalty inherent in the English nation would have been his. But Charles would not act with honesty. Trusting in the king's popularity, the court party hurried on state trials, which from the unjust verdicts obtained in them for purposes of party tactics, threw into the shade the " Titus Oates' trials." Two of these state trials will be men- tioned here ; the one that of the Roman Catholic arch- bishop Plunket, the other that of "the Protestant joiner," Stephen College. In the trial of Plunket, the king allowed an innocent man to be executed, in order that the court might ap- 48 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. pear to be opposed to popery and, this them° nS ° r being shown, that the trial of the great Whig leader, Shaftesbury, which was meant to fol- low, should not be supposed to indicate partiality to the Roman Catholics. In the latter trial, that of the Protestant College, not only was a "gross iniquity " perpetrated, but it was perpe- trated in order that the temper of the nation, and the subserviency of judges and juries, might be tested, be- fore proceeding to the trial of Shaftesbury. Section V. — Trial and Execution of Archbishop Plunket. Plunket, titular archbishop of Armagh, was an amia- ble man, zealous for his religion, but also zealous for purifying his Church, by getting rid of priests who caused scandal by their lives of intrigue and immorality. He had at various times suspended some of these from their duties, and others he had excommunicated. The success of Titus Oates and his followers induced some of these degraded priests and their companions to lay charges of high treason against their primate. But no Irish grand jury, although Irish grand juries were Pro- testant, would find a true bill against Plunket, for his in- tegrity was well known, and the bad character of the in- formers was notorious. The archbishop had comedo come to England, having been assured that England, he ^^ ^ legally be put upon his trial to answer the same charges as to which no true bill had been found in Ireland. He was notwithstanding put into prison immediately on his arrival in London, and de- tained there some months. In May, 1681, three weeks after the king's " declara- tion," Plunket was brought before the -King's bench. 1 68 1. Stephen College. 49 He asked for time to prepare for defence, d, • • , • r r is tried for to bring over witnesses in his favor from high treason, Ireland. Five weeks were allowed him, but this time was insufficient to send to the north of Ire- land for witnesses and to bring them back. When the trial began, the informers swore that Plunket had col- lected money and armed men, and had invited a French occupation of Ireland. They had during their stay in London, where the calling of false witnesses was now well understood, been thoroughly trained in their lesson. Although Plunket denied any personal knowledge of the witnesses, he was found guilty and was con- J and executed. demned to death. During the interval be- tween his sentence and his execution, favorable reports of his character were made to Charles, both by Lord Essex and by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. The sen- tence was nevertheless carried out on July 1. After this judicial murder of Plunket, the court thought that no Whig could accuse the king or the Tories of a leaning to Popery. Section VI. — Trial of " the Protestant Joiner." The trial of Stephen College is, in some respects, even more scandalous than that of Archbishop Plunket. College, a joiner by trade (known as the Protestant joiner), and a citizen of London, College! was a Presbyterian of intemperate zeal. He had been told off at Oxford, whilst the parliament was sitting, by the direction of Shaftesbury, to watch certain emissaries of the court who were employed in poisoning the minds of the dissenters against the __ _ INo lrue Bill Whigs. He was accused of a design to found against seize the person of the king at Oxford. The plot was sworn to by the same crew of informers who E 50 The Fall of the Stuarts , &c. a.d. swore away Plunket's life, but their evidence was now contradicted by Oates. For this Oates lost his pension. The London grand jury refused to believe the evidence of the informers, and threw out the indictment. The judges, however, decided that as the attempt on the king was to have been made at Oxford, College . , ought to be tried there. It was felt also that Again tried " at Oxford and an Oxfordshire jury could be better relied gul y ' on than a Middlesex one, to give their ver- dict in accordance with the wishes of the court. So the judge and prisoner were removed to Oxford, and College was there found guilty on the same evidence on which a London grand jury would not place him on his trial. During the trial the judges and counsel for the prose- cution vied with each other in straining the law against the prisoner, and in applying the most opprobrious epi- thets to him. College was put to death on August 31. The minis- ters of Charles hoped that the nation would and executed. believe that both papists and dissenters con- tinued to plot against the king, and that both were encou- raged in their designs by all opposed to the court, espe- cially by "those traitorous Whigs." Section VII. — Indictment of Lord Shaftesbury . Charles and the court party knew they could depend on the servile obedience of the judges ; they thought also „, . , that the condemnation of College proved Shaftesbury _ fc> r is committed that juries were becoming amenable to their influence. They therefore proceeded at once to attack Shaftesbury, the Whig leader. For this purpose the Irish witnesses, who had already given evi- dence against Plunket and College, now laid before the council an accusation against Shaftesbury of having tried 1 68 1 . Indictment of Lord Shaftesbury. 5 1 to induce them to give such evidence as would convict the queen and the Duke of York of complicity in the Popish Plots. On this accusation an indictment of sub- ornation of perjury was laid against Shaftesbury, and he was committed to the Tower to wait his trial. His papers were seized, and amongst them, it is stated, there was found the rough draft of an asso- j^zed 8 papers ciation for subverting the government, at- tached to which was a list of all Shaftesbury's friends in each county, arranged alphabetically. This list was afterwards made use of by the court party for crushing their opponents. The rough draft was unsigned, and was certainly not in Shaftesbury's handwriting. The indictment for high treason was framed and the trial was appointed to take place in London, in which city the offence was said to have been com- i n di c tment mitted. The same iudges, North and Pern- |f ai ? st , J ° ' Shaftesbury berton, were on the bench, as had presided quashed, at the trial of College ; the same false witnesses were pre- pared. To the utter dismay of the court, the grand jury declined to find a true bill against Shaftesbury. Shaftes- bury was at once set free, November 24. The court laid the blame of their failure on the corpo- ration of the city. They declared that Shaftesbury's escape was owing to the culpable partiality of the sheriffs, who were Whigs, and who had selected Whigs only to form the grand jury. 52 The Fall of the Stuarts j &C. a.d. CHAPTER IV. SCOTLAND IN l68o AND 1 68 1. Section I. — The Cameronians. We have seen that the Duke of York, after the defeat of the conventiclers at Bothwell Bridge, instituted the most stringent proceedings against them. Cameron, one of their most noted preachers, affixed publicly, in the market-place of Sanquhar, a declaration, _ in which he excommunicated Charles and Lameron. the Duke of York, as ungodly usurpers and tyrants, and called on the people to free Scotland from men whose papistical principles were repugnant to the Most High God. He then openly took the field. The conventiclers who followed him were now called Came- ronians. The insurgents were few in number, and badly armed. Three troops of dragoons were sufficient to dis- perse them (July 20, 1680), and in the mttie Cameron himself was slain. Many persons were also taken. Cargill, another enthusiast, then took the lead. He was, if it were possible, more determined in his hatred „ .„ and detestation of the Stuarts than Cameron Cargill. had been. He formally excommunicated Charles for perjury, adultery, drunkenness, and other crimes ; James, Duke of York, for idolatry ; the Duke of Monmouth for slaying the faithful at Bothwell Bridge ; and all the ministers of the crown in Scotland for various heinous offences. The Duke of York retaliated by tor- turing and putting to death the Cameronians already in his hands. But Cargill could not long withstand the forces that were sent against him. He and most of his followers 1 6 So. The Camej'onians. 53 were captured. Cargill was executed July, 1681. Hack- stone, one of the murderers of archbishop Sharp, was amongst the prisoners. The accounts of the cruelties inflicted on the prisoners, by the Cruelties 1 ' Duke of York's own orders, appear almost inflicted on 1 L prisoners. incredible, and equally so the well-estab- lished fact that the duke took personal pleasure in witnessing the infliction of tortures. Writer after writer bears witness to the unshaken constancy and firmness displayed by the sufferers, even by weak women. Of Hackstone it is stated that when, weakened by wounds, he was first brought before the council, he refused to answer their questions, that then the council, fearing he would sink under the slower sufferings of the ordinary tortures, sentenced him at once to have both his hands cut off, and then to be hanged ; that when the first part of the sentence was carried out and his hands had been cut off, he asked them, with an unshaken voice, if they did not mean to cut off his feet also ; and that, notwith- standing all the loss of blood, neither did his calmness desert him to the end, nor did he once lose his senses before he was hanged. Those of the Cameronians whom James did not put to death were either sent to the ' plan- tations ' in America, or were drafted into a Scottish regiment in the pay of the King of Spain. The former punishment was equivalent to being sold as slaves, the Matter was a most ingenious form of cruelty. A Scotch Carneronian hated the Pope and Roman Catholics as a Jew of old hated a Samaritan, and he was now forced to serve under the banner of the King of Spain, the tool of the Papacy. 54 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. Section IT. — The Scotch Parliament of 1681 and the Earl of Argyle. The Scotch Parliament summoned by the Duke of York met in July, 168 1. One of the measures carried Test Act was a Test Act. The chief provisions of this carried. A ct were repugnant to Presbyterians ; for by it, all who held office in Church or State were compelled to make a declaration affirming the doctrine of passive obedience to the Crown and undertaking never to at- tempt any alteration in the government of either Church or State. Even of the episcopal clergy a majority were opposed to the Act. They argued that if the king by a proclama- tion were to abolish episcopacy, by the terms quendy °f tn i s new Test Act the clergy would be many resign bound to support him. The Episcopal Church of Scotland was, moreover, as yet, imperfectly constituted. Neither its liturgy nor its disci- pline had been legally confirmed, yet by the terms of the Act both clergy and laity undertook to attempt no altera- tion in it. The Church would, therefore, perforce, re- main unsettled. The result of the passing of the Act was that about eighty, and these the most pious and esteemed of the episcopal clergy, resigned their prefer- ments rather than make the declaration. Of the nobility many hesitated and procrastinated. One of the most powerful noblemen in Scotland was The Earl of Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyle, chief Argyle. of the clan Campbell. He was son of that Marquis of Argyle who had taken so prominent a part in dethroning Charles I., and had suffered death at the Restoration. The marquisate became extinct, but the 1 68 1 The Scotch Parliajnent of 1681. 55 son was permitted to inherit the old earldom of the family. Argyle had conformed to episcopacy, and had hitherto been useful to the Duke of York by assisting him in his plans for reducing the Scotch to submission. James seems, however, not to have wholly trusted Argyle, and to have considered him half-hearted in his adhesion. He thought Argyle had shown greater cordiality to Mon- mouth, when he was the king's representative in Scot- land, than to himself. Argyle also claimed certain here- ditary privileges which gave him almost royal authority in the Highlands, and these privileges James was anxious to secure for the Crown. Argyle was both a privy councillor and a commis- sioner of the treasury. For either of these offices the Test Act required him to qualify. James called on him to comply with the Act. At first Argyle declined, but he afterwards agreed to make the required declaration, with an explanation subjoined, to the effect that the Act was in parts contradictory, and that he, by complying with it, did not debar himself from attempting in his station any amendment in Church or State. This reser- vation of Argyle's was twisted by the crown lawyers of Scotland into the crime of "leasing making," or of en- deavoring to sow discord between the king and his subjects. On this accusation Argyle was brought to trial. The Marquis of Montrose, the hereditary enemy of the Campbells, was " chancellor," or foreman of the jury. Argyle was found guilty, and sentenced to death. It is asserted that it was never intended to carry out this sentence, but Argyle had no reason tria^sm- to trust to the good faith of a Stuart. Aided tence ' and o escape. by his daughter in-law, Lady Sophia Lind- 56 The Fall of the Stuarts ', &*c. a.d. say, and disguised as her page, he effected his escape into Holland. The bmtal and officious Scotch council proposed that the lady, for her share in her father-in-law's escape, should be publicly whipped. Even James, not usually lenient, would not consent to this. James' power was now apparently established in Scotland. The Presbyterians seemed to be crushed. The clergy who were scrupulous had resigned. The nobles who had shown an inclination to be independent had either left the kingdom or had been reduced to silence. The treatment which Argyle had received from James proved how little mercy would be shown to any- one offending, so that the Duke of York was feared as well as hated. CHAPTER V. ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND FROM 1 682 UNTIL THE DEATH OF CHARLES II. (l68$). Section I. — William of Orange visits Charles, William, James, and Mo?imouth. William of Orange visited the court of Charles in the spring of 1682 in order to obtain his aid in withstanding the encroachments of Lewis XIV. In this ad. 1682. object William failed, for Charles had just William J • _ . identifies received another large bribe from Lewis. himself with t-, . nrll . , - .. j . the Whigs. But William s visit was made at an oppor- tune moment, for it enabled him to observe personally the state of affairs in England, and to form an estimate of the leading men of the state, and the 1 682. William of Orange. 57 relative value of their party politics. He seems to have come to the conclusion that it would be only by the triumph of Whig measures, and the return to power of Whig statesmen, that the influence and support of England could be withdrawn from Lew;s XIV. Henceforth, there- fore, the leaders of the popular party looked to William to afford them moral and material assistance in withstand- ing the successive encroachments on the constitution, made, under the advice of Lewis, by Charles and James. James was surprised and displeased at Charles having permitted William to pay him a visit. He remonstrated with Charles by letter ; he moved one of the king's mistresses to plead his cause, and to angry* at intercede for him. He asked that at any rate w lliam ' s J visit. he might be allowed to see his brother. On William's departure from London, Charles gave way, and invited James to meet him at Newmarket, where he intended to stay for some days to enjoy the races. James entered into a full explanation of his conduct in the North. He seems to have convinced Charles of the expediency of his measures ; he obtained from him full power to continue his course of persecution, and to place the administration in the hands of trustworthy noblemen. He also obtained from Charles permission to quit Scotland after he had thoroughly settled the affairs of that kingdom. At Yarmouth James embarked in the Gloucester frigate for Leith. In the night the ship struck on a sand- bank and became a wreck. James escaped with difficulty, caring more for the safety of , James' J ° . shipwreck. his spaniels and his confessor than of his sailors and retinue. One hundred and thirty lives were lost. Amongst the survivors was Captain Churchill, the future Duke of Marlborough. 58 The Fall of the Stuarts, &°c. a.d. The Scotch council met James at Edinburgh. To those nobles who could be depended on was entrusted, with the title of lords justice, the duty of James . . J . finally enforcing uniformity and of stamping out Behind. tne Cameronians. James then finally left Scotland, but his policy was still continued with unabated vigor. The persecution suffered by the Cameronians, and by those suspected of aiding them, or of being even friendly disposed towards them, still forms in the present day the staple of the "household" stories of the lowlands of Scotland. Monmouth, to assure his friends and to increase his popularity, adopted the same plan which he had before found successful. As in 1680 he visited the west of England, so now in 1682 he made an almost royal pro- gress through the north-western counties, being every- where welcomed with enthusiasm. Charles was naturally incensed at this, and on Mon- mouth's return to London caused him to be arrested, and to be held to bail in ,£10,000 for his future good conduct. The Earl of Shaftesbury, on Monmouth's disgrace, fled to Holland. There he died a few weeks Shaftesbury. afterwards (January, 1683). Section II. — Attacks on the Charters of the Corpora- tions. The failure of the impeachment of Shaftesbury had much annoyed the court party. At the election this year T (1682) of city officers, the Tories through Sheriffs intimidation and bribery gained an ascen- elected for . the City of dancy, and- many of the leading Whigs in London. _ , . London were on various pretences prose- cuted and fined. The new sheriffs, whose duty it was 1 632. T/te Corporations. 59 to name the grand jury, were carefully selected. One of them was brother to Judge North, soon (December 20) to be appointed lord keeper and created Earl of Guildford. The burgesses or borough representatives in parlia- ment were chosen principally by the corporations of the boroughs. The corporations of most of the towns were Whigs, and were firm supporters of Protestant principles and civil liberty. They were consequently opposed to Charles, or rather to his policy. theCity of It was thought that a good opportunity pre- ^^"d sented itself to destroy the independence of these boroughs. The majority of the Corporation of the City of London, now composed of Tories, were not likely to offer any violent opposition to a measure of the court. It was determined therefore to make a bold attack on the privileges of the corporation of the chief city of the kingdom, and if this succeeded, to attack the charters of other boroughs in detail. - The City of London claimed certain rights and privi- leges, amongst others that of levying tolls on various commodities, on the authority of by-laws passed by itself. A proceeding " quo warranto " was issued, to in- quire by what warrant the corporation exercised their rights and privileges. If it were found that this warrant was insufficient, it was held that the charter of the cor- poration was forfeited. On June 12 (1683), the City of London was declared to have forfeited its charters. Several other towns lost their charters in a similar manner soon after- A D l6S ^ wards. The decision, that a corporation. London r loses its by an irregular action on its part, forfeited charter, and its charter and privileges, was not according boroughs to law. It affords another proof of the llkewise - shameful sycophancy of the judges. 60 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. The infamous Chief Justice Jeffreys, soon to acquire unenviable notoriety, was conspicuous in pronouncing judgments agreeable to the king. He is said to have " made all the charters, like the walls of Jericho, fall down before him," and to have "returned" from the circuit " laden with surrenders, the spoils of towns." For many towns, rather than incur the expense and risk of a trial, voluntarily surrendered their charters, and received fresh ones from the Crown. If Charles had summoned another parliament the Whig majority would have been much lessened, for owing to the new constitution of the corporations, crown nominees would have been re- turned. Section III. — The Rye House Plot. The successful attack on the corporations marked a great increase in the influence of the court. The Whigs, and not only the Whigs, but all Englishmen who loved their country, knew full well that these attacks on the liberties of the state were instigated by Lewis XIV., and that they were steps in reducing England to the same despotic rule as France. An attempt was therefore made to counteract these schemes for undermining the constitution. A " confederacy " was formed, ^formed" II is doubtful whether the leaders, in carry- ing out their projects, were prepared to go to the length of involving their country in a civil war. Some of them had before disapproved of Shaftesbury's measures, as too revolutionary. They therefore could hardly have contemplated an appeal to arms. But those " agitations " which are undertaken by politicians in the present day for the purpose of obtaining a change of ministry, or the repeal of an obnoxious statute of tax, were then called conspiracies and high treason. 1683. The Rye House Plot. 61 The chief persons of the confederacy were Mon- mouth, the Earl of Essex, Lord Russell, Lord Grey, Lord Howard of Escrick, Algernon Sidney, and Hampden, grandson of the patriot. the con- Lord Essex and Lord Russell were known to be opposed to violent measures. Of the othtrs, Lord Grey was more likely to be reckless. He was a man of bad private character ; he had been the defendant in one of the most disgraceful trials known in the English law records, involving the honor of more than one noble family ; he was looked on as a man whose reputation was already gone, although he was Monmouth's most trusted friend. Sidney also might not have been one of the prudent ones. He was a republican by conviction ; and a philosopher who, although somewhat visionary, aimed consistently at religious and civil liberty, at free- dom of thought and action. Unfortunately for the leaders of the Whigs, certain of Shaftesbury's - followers were aware of the existence of the confederacy, and knew that active bi j r .Assassina- eing planned for over- t j on p i ot throwing the ascendancy of the Tories. They knew that Monmouth and the Whigs wished to upset the court influence, and to exclude the Duke of York from the succession. They thought that there was a more speedy and effectual way of carrying out their wishes. They plotted to assassinate Charles and the Duke of York as they returned from Newmarket races. A man named Keeling, a vintner, whose trade had fallen off and who was anxious to obtain some share in the pensions and places bestowed on in- ^ , 1 Keebng formers, told Lord Dartmouth, a favorite of disde^s the Duke of York, that a terrible plot for slaying the king and the Duke of York was preparing in 62 The Fall of the Stuarts , &*c. a.d. the city. Keeling had borne the character of being an active Whig, and had consequently been entrusted with some of the secrets of the conspirators. His story was that a man named Rumbold had a farm-house called Rye House, not far from Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire ; that this house was close to the high road from Newmarket to London ; that it was proposed to conceal some twenty or thirty men in that house, which was surrounded by a moat, and had also large farm buildings in which horses and accoutrements could be hidden ; that the king's coach, with its small escort of only five guards, was to be surrounded as it passed by the house ; that the guards were to be shot down, and the king and duke killed ; that this plot was to have been carried into execution on the king's previous return from Newmarket, had it not been that the king had returned two or three days earlier than was expected, owing to a fire having broken out in the royal lodgings at Newmarket. As there had been a fire at the king's apartments on that visit, Keeling's story appeared to be in some degree trustworthy. Rumbold, therefore, and the other conspirators named by Keeling, were arrested, and in their possession were found various letters showing that they were in correspondence with the Whig leaders. Warrants were issued for the arrest of Monmouth, Lord Grey, Lord Russell, Lord Howard of Escrick, Algernon Sidney, Lord Essex, and others. All those engaged in the actual assassination plot who were captured, were tried and condemned on the tj , evidence of Keeling. But of the leaders in Howard ° turns king's the political plot, or the confederacy, Mon- evidence. , mouth and Lord Grey escaped; Essex, Howard, Lord Russell, and Sidney alone were taken. Howard offered, when brought before the council, to 1683. The Rye House Plot. 63 turn king's evidence. In 1674 he had been engaged in political intrigues together with Shaftesbury, and when the crown lawyers had declared Lord ° the intrigues treasonable, he had then ob- Russell. tained his pardon and court favor by betraying his ac- complices. He now again adopted the same course. On July 13, 1683, Russell was brought to trial. The counsel for the Crown took advantage of every- thing which might press hard against the prisoner. When Russell requested that some one might take notes on his behalf, he was told a servant might do so. His wife was present, and fulfilled that duty for him. Lord Howard was brought forward to give evidence against the prison- er. He had just commenced by stating that the six leaders of the conspiracy were Monmouth, Essex, Sidney, Russell, Hampden, and himself, when a slight stir was evident in the court, and one of the officials whispered something in the witness's ear. His voice began to falter, and he could hardly be heard. The Lord Chief Justice requested him to speak louder, and asked him why he was so agitated. Howard said, "An unhappy accident hath just happened, that hath sunk my voice." The unhappy accident was the death of Lord Essex. On that morning, just as Lord Russell's trial had begun, the earl asked for a razor; and, when it was brought him, went into his sleeping-room Lo^^Esse" and cut his throat. So determined was he, that his head was almost severed from his body ; and many persons doubted whether so fearful a wound could have been self-inflicted. Lord of Russell. Russell was found guilty, and sentenced to death. He was executed July 21. No man ever died who was more lamented. He was the most affectionate of husbands. When he had taken 64 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. leave of his wife, he exclaimed, "Now the character. bitterness of death is passed." He was most beloved by his friends. Lord Cavendish would have saved him by exchanging clothes with him and remaining in his stead in prison. He was a true patriot ; his defence was that he labored not to change the constitution of his country, but to assert it. His name will always be revered by Englishmen, for his virtues were those which all men honor, his failings those which most men pardon. For his failings were, too credulous trust in such men as Howard, and indiscretion in allowing himself to be carried too far by his indigna- tion at the way in which his country's freedom was being trampled on. Sidney's trial took place in November. Lord Russell had at the commencement of his trial made an objection Trial of to t ^ le J ur Y because they were not all free- Algernon holders. The answer to the objection was bidney. J that the law directed that the jury should be chosen from freeholders, in order to ensure their being men of some property, and therefore by presumption more intelligent ; that this would not be necessary in the case of the jury trying Russell, because it was a jury of the city of London, and that in fact a sufficient number of freeholders could not be found, for few of the princi- pal merchants and tradesmen living in the city were freeholders. Sidney was to be tried by a Middlesex jury, and he also objected to some of the members as not being freeholders. Jeffreys presided at the trial as Lord Chief Justice. He overruled the objection, although the prin- ciple had been admitted in Russell's trial, for in that case the exception was claimed for a jury of London, and the reason for allowing the exception would not apply to the county of Middlesex. This overruling of Jeffreys was 16S3- The Rye House Plot. 65 delivered in terms which were studiously cruel and vin- dictive. He maintained the same conduct throughout the trial. He hurled bitter invectives against the prisoner, he strained the law against him when the law was doubt- ful, he tightened the fetters of the law when the law was clearly in favor of the Crown. The chief witness against Sidney was Lord Howard. This time he told his tale with greater confidence, and in a more coherent form. The statute which regulates the form of trial for high treason requires that there should be a second witness to corroborate the first. The Crown produced no second witness to corroborate Lord Howard ; but Jeffreys ruled that a manuscript found amongst Sidney's papers might be put in to supply the place of the second witness. The manuscript had never been published, and was not proved to be even in Sid- ney's handwriting. It advocated a republican form of government, and Jeffreys again ruled that it afforded cor- roborative evidence, inasmuch as the doctrines advocated in it were such as, when carried into practice, might lead to such acts as Lord Howard swore to. The Lord Chief Justice therefore allowed opinions to be proof of facts. Sidney argued against this illegal decision in vain. Not- withstanding that prisoners on their trial for treason were allowed counsel to argue disputed points of the law, al- though they might not cross-examine witnesses nor ad- dress the jury, yet Jeffreys refused to allow Sidney any counsel, maintaining that there was no doubtful point of law in his case. Sidney was found guilty, and executed. He died with the calm composure of-a philosopher. He was one of the last of that generation of pure republi- cans who could brook neither the enlight- death and ened rule of a Cromwell nor the senseless 66 The Fall of the Stuarts, <5rv. a.d. despotism of a Charles. Of noble family, and of refined habits, he was led by his philosophy to be a despiser of kings and a lover of equality. He advocated religious freedom, not from love of religion, but because his phi- losophy caused him to think all religions equally faulty. His was a speculative and not a practical mind. His habits were rather those of a student than of an active politician. Monmouth having made an abject apology for his offences was pardoned and returned to court, for the king " still loved him passionately." Weak and Monmouth ,-i i -i ■> . ■% pardoned. vain though he was, he was not however so Hampden is degraded as to play the part allotted to him, that of evidence for the crown with Howard. It was necessary for Hampden's conviction to find two witnesses, for he had no written papers to be brought asrainst him. Halifax and the Duke of York therefore hoped that Monmouth would by his evidence corroborate that of Howard. This Monmouth flatly refused to do. He was accordingly subpoenaed to appear at the trial. He immediately fled to the Continent. Hampden escaped with a fine of 40,000/. Others who were inculpated in the " Rye House Plot," as they fell one by one into the hands of the Government, suffered on the scaffold. Some of these were even seized abroad, and brought to England for trial and conviction. Section IV. — Duke of York reinstated in Office. The confidence of the king's party, that is, of the ultra- royalists, was unbounded. Tangier, the dowry of the queen, that African town for the possession of which so much diplomacy had been exerted, for which Dunkirk had been aban- dism S antled. doned, and on the fortification of which so 1 6S4. Duke of York reinstated in Office. 67 much money had been expended, was now dismantled, and its garrison brought back to England. The soldiers, instead of being discharged, were still kept in pay. The king had previously had distinctly attached to himself, and paid by him, a cer- x ' . Its garrison tain number of guards. This addition was forms the r ,. commence- the commencement of a standing army. mentofa The troops from Tangier (forming regiments army. mS still existing as the 1st Dragoons and the 2d and 4th Foot) brought up the personal army of Charles to 1,700 cavalry and 7,000 foot. Paid by the king, owing allegiance to no other authority than that of the king, this army was looked on with extreme disfa- vor by all lovers of the constitution. For England's constitutional force was the militia, which could be called together by parliament through the lords-lieutenant of the counties. A large standing army was feared as a means by which a tyrant might be able to coerce a free people. This increase to the guards, although as yet the whole army was hardly large enough to intimidate London alone, made the Whigs uneasy, and in like pro- portion raised higher the spirits of the court party. Charles now therefore thought himself strong enough to reinstate his brother in his office of lord high admiral and in his seat at the council. Tames had . „ M J AD. IO04. been obliged to resign both these offices in James . reinstated. 1673, when the Test Act was passed which forbade any one to hold office unless he qualified for doing so by receiving the sacrament according to the rites of the English Church, and by signing a declaration against the Romish doctrine of Transubstantiation. The king now "dispensed" with the provisions of the Act, and James was restored to his dignities. Although the Whigs were discomfited and 5,000 troops 68 The Fall of the Stuarts , &e. a.d. were quartered in London, it is doubtful whether this reinstatement of the Duke of York in his .Princess Anne offices would not have caused much indig- married to . , . ,. . r . in . Prince nation and outspoken dissatisfaction, had it Denmark not ^ een f° r the wedding in the previous year ( 1683) of Anne, James' second daughter, with Prince George of Denmark, a Protestant. The marriage was a popular one, and did much to remove the suspicion with which James, as an avowed Papist, was regarded. Section V. — Death of Charles II. The year 16S5 opened with gloomy prospects for the Whigs. The leaders were either exiled or disgraced, a. d 1685. an d no Parliament had been summoned condition sincei68i. The courtiers were revelling in or r ngland ° in 1685. extravagance and profligacy, and the money for enabling them to do so was received from France. The courts of justice were disgraced by the bullying de- meanor and the undisguised partiality of the judges. Romish priests, in defiance of law, openly exercised their functions and celebrated mass. The air was thick with rumors of plots, Protestant as well as Papist. Many of the chief towns, the strongholds of the national party, had lost their charters altogether, or had paid heavy fines to preserve them with diminished privileges. The English government was directed by Barillon, ambassador of Lewis XIV., and England, under the " Trimmer " Halifax, was fast settling down into a French province. On February 5, Charles was seized with a fit of apo- plexy. Dr. King, one of the court physicians, happen- ing to be present, bled the king, which gave Charles°II. ^' im temporary relief; but on the following day another attack occurred, which carried 16S5. Death of Charles II 69 him off after a few hours. His death-bed was marked by the same duplicity as his life had been. Bishops filled the room, anxious to administer the sacrament accord- ing to the rites of the Church of England to the dying man, so that all doubt as to his being a sincere member of their church might be removed. But Charles put them off. In the mean time, the Duke of York had, at inter- vals, carried on a whispered conversation with him, which ended in his telling those assembled that it was the king's wish that the room should be cleared of all but two or three of his personal attendants. Clergy and physicians were therefore hurried out of the room, and immediately one Huddleston, a Romish priest, in dis- guise, entered by a back staircase. To him the king made his last confession, and from him received absolution and extreme unction. Thus died Charles II. of England, a tool in the hands of Lewis XIV. of France. A tool by whose use Lewis hoped to gain the supremacy in Western Europe, trust- ing that then the Imperial Crown and Spain might in due course follow. Through Charles also, Lewis hoped that the spirit of Protestantism, the spirit of freedom, which was essentially opposed to his projects, might be so crushed in England as to be unable in future to afford either moral or material support to those on the Conti- nent who persisted in adhering to it. Charles was naturally attractive. He was amiable in conversation, and had the manners of a well-bre*d gen- tleman ; but of the feelings of a true gen- tleman he was ignorant, for he was a sensu- charfesYl. ° alist and a most selfish one. His great object was to be freed from care, to gratify every passing desire, to be surrounded by smiling faces — faces of hand- some men and beautiful women — to be popular wherever 70 The Fall of the Stuarts ', &C. a.d. he went, and into what company he might be thrown. Good-tempered, because good temper saved annoyance ; generous to those around him, because it was too much trouble to refuse trifling boons ; he was nevertheless one of the most cruel and hard-hearted of men. For he was the incarnation of selfishnesss ; he would sacrifice any one for his self-gratification ; he believed in no vir- tue and shrank from no vice. " Like master, like man ; " as was the king, so was the court. " We are much indebted, " says Hallam, " to the memory of the courtiers and favorites court. of Charles II. They played a serviceable part in ridding the kingdom of its besotted loyalty. They saved our forefathers from the Star Chamber and the High Commission Court ; they labored in their vocation against standing armies and corruption ; they pressed forward the great ultimate security of Eng- lish freedom, the expulsion of the house of Stuart. " CHAPTER VI. LEWIS XIV. AND FRANCE, TO THE REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NANTES (OCTOBER 12, 1685). * Section I. — The Chainbers of Reimion. Lewis XIV., after the signing of the Treaty of Nim- wegen, resolved to follow the policy advocated by Col- bert, and to give France breathing time to Lewis' replenish her resources ; but he also made claims. ^ ^ m i nc l to try what advantages in de- termining the boundaries of the kingdom he might gain 1678. The Chambers of Reunion. 71 by diplomacy, and what privileges over the neighboring states he might venture to exercise. At the Peace of Westphalia (1648), the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, already long possessed by France, had been formally ceded to her. To A D l6 these bishoprics had been formerly attached ^ewis esta- - . _ . ~ bhshes the certain fiefs in Germany, and over these fiefs Chambers of T 1 ■ j ^t,, , • Reunion. Lewis now claimed sovereignty. The claim had been left unsettled at the Peace of Nimwegen. Lewis (1679), reopened the question, and added further complications with regard to his newly acquired territo- ries of Elsass (Alsace, 1648), and Franche Comte (1678). This claim of Lewis XIV. may be likened to a king of France demanding of a king of England the recognition of certain rights over English lands, because these lands had formerly been part of the possessions of Norman abbeys, when Normandy and England were under one monarch. In order to give some legal sanction to his claims, Lewis made use of the parliaments of Metz (Lothringen), Besangon (Franche Comte), and Breisach (Elsass). In these he established chambers, called " Chambres Royales de Reunion," to investigate the claims put forth by the French king. The members of these chambers had been well pre- pared by Lewis' emissaries, and they decided that, by virtue of the Treaties of Westphalia (1648), Decisi the Pyrenees (1650), and Nimwegen, va- of the . , . , -leu Chambers. nous territories on the borders rightfully belonged to France. The effect of this decision was to take away from the King of Sweden his duchy of Zweibriicken (Deux Ponts) ; and from the Elector of Trier (Treves), the Elector Palatine, the Duke of Wurtemberg, and other sovereign princes, several counties and lordships. 72 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. The city of Strasburg was an imperial city, but Lewis exerted all his ingenuity to get possession of it. He managed to obtain a decree from the ac- A. D. l68l. ° Lewis gains commodating chamber of Breisach, to the by strata- effect that Strasburg had been formerly a feem " dependent fief and could not be alienated from Elsass, which was now French territory. The municipality of the city was gained over to the French cause by bribery. A large force was hastily and secretly assembled in the neighborhood. The magistrates had removed all means of defence. The imperial officer acting as resident in the city had no alternative but to leave. Without one drop of bloodshed, Lewis thus gained possession of a city which was considered the key of the Upper Rhine. Strasburg was forthwith re- fortified by Vauban. It was converted into a fortress of the first magnitude, and became the bulwark of France on its eastern frontier. A medal was struck to com- memorate the completion of the work, bearing the in- scription " Clausa Germanis Gallia" (France closed to the Germans). On October 23, 168 1, Lewis entered Strasburg in state. Section II. — Further ambitious Schemes of Lewis. The designs of Lewis on the Imperial Crown were now understood by the European princes. It was there- fore determined that a strong effort should pare S S t P / e ~ be made to thwart his ambitious projects. A attack treaty was therefore concluded between Luxemburg, J but delays Sweden, Holland, Germany, and Spain, who engaged to enforce observance of the conditions of the Treaty of Nimwegen. Lewis had assembled an army for the Blockade of Luxemburg ; but on hearing of this treaty he hastily withdrew his troops, 1 682. Further ambitious Schemes of Lewis. 73 and proposed a mediator to adjudge on the validity of his various claims. The mediator he proposed was Charles II. of England. Pope Innocent XI. (1676-1689) had been unfriendly with Lewis. He disliked the king's encouragement of the Jesuits, and objected to his interference I » ■ ■ I T^ 1 • A D - l682 - in purely ecclesiastical matters. .But his Affair of the anger was roused by Lewis claiming the cga e ' right of the " Regale," that is the royal right to present to all benefices in a see as long as the see continues vacant, and to receive the income of the see until the new bishop has taken the oath of allegiance. This right the pope resisted. Lewis accordingly convoked an assembly of the French clergy. Under the influence of Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux, the " Declaration of the Clergy of France" was drawn up, March, 1682. The ration of the declaration asserted: — 1, that the pope has no power in temporal matters ; 2, that the pope's spiritual authority is limited by the canons of the Church : 3, that the pope's decrees are not infallible unless confirmed by a general council ; 4, that the pope cannot subvert any of the liberties or constitutions of the Gallican Church. A royal edict converted this *' Declaration" into law. The pope condemned the Declaration, and ordered it to be publicly burnt at Rome. It was many years before the difficulty was finally arranged, and then not in the life- time of Pope Innocent. He therefore was one of the numerous opponents of Lewis' policy. If we turn to the East, we shall find that (1683), Vienna was threatened by the Turks, whose army lay encamped before the city. Lewis was be- A - d. 1683. lieved to have encouraged the Sultan in his Lewis advance into Europe. He hoped that all Spanish the forces and energy of Germany would be Netherlands. 74 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. engaged in contending with the Turks, and that it would be unable to give assistance to Spain or Holland. He then seized the opportunity to invade the Spanish Netherlands. Courtrai and Dixmuide were taken by hiin, and Luxemburg was threatened. Spain in vain looked for succor to her allies. Charles of England was in the pay of Lewis ; the Emperor was occupied by the Turkish war; Sweden was powerless; and William, the Stadtholder, could not persuade the States-General, to do more than make strong protests against Lewis' en- croachments. i In June 1684 Luxemburg fell, and Trier (Treves), was taken and dismantled. Holland offered to mediate, William being evidently aware that the A. D. 1684. Treaty of present was not an opportune moment to b u e r g T e ' ls " continue the struggle. The preliminary con- dition made by the States was that their territories should be respected. Lewis having agreed to this, Holland concluded a treaty of peace with Lewis for twenty years, and compelled Spain also to accede, Lewis, being permitted to retain Luxemburg, but restoring to Spain Courtrai and Dixmuide. The emperor also agreed to the treaty, and it was formally signed at Re- gensburg (Ratisbon), August 15, 1684. One clause in this armed truce of twenty years (for such only it was) gave to France possession of all those places adjudged to her by the Chambers of Reunion up to August 1, 1 68 1, but disallowed any claims put forward after that date. Section 111. — The Huguenots, and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Protestants in France were called Huguenots. The origin of the name is doubtful. Some derive it from 16S4. The Huguenots. 75 " Eidgenossen " (confederates), a term used Huguer.ots. for the confederates of Switzerland. Others Origin of the derive it from a small and almost worth- name - less coin of the time of the French King Hugues (987-996). A third and more probable derivation is from " Hugon," a provincialism used in the city of Tours and its neighborhood to denote a nightmare or bad dream (what we call a bugbear) ; and naughty children were frightened by the threat of sending for Hugon, or King Hugon. So in some parts of England the expres- sion King Huggermugger is used in the same way. This term Huguenot then was a term of opprobrium applied by French Roman Catholics to their Protestant fellow- countrymen. Henry IV., who had succeeded to the throne of France in 1589, was by birth a Huguenot. He found that as long as he remained a member of that faith . , . ... A. D. 1598. his kingdom would never be without civil Edict of war. He therefore abjured Protestantism in 1 593, and became a Catholic, but at the same time, he endeavored to propitiate the good-will of the Hugue- nots, and to prevent a renewal of the religious wars which had devastated whole provinces of France, by issuing the celebrated edict of Nantes, 1598. This edict was one of the first of those laws which breathed a spirit of tolerance, and aimed a blow at the exclusive claims put forth by the Romish Church in Catholic countries. It secured to the Huguenots the free exercise of their re- ligion ; admission to colleges, hospitals, and schools ; permission to hold offices of trust without having to take oaths repugnant to their principles ; and, above all, re- served for them certain fortified towns to which they might retire for security if persecutions arose. Under the protection of this edict the Huguenots be- 76 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. came the most active and wealthy portion of the French „ T nation. Devoting themselves for the most W ealth of ° the Hugue- part to commerce, the chief industries and nots. r , . . , , manufactures were in their hands, and on them most of the mercantile prosperity of France de- pended. The toleration of doctrines differing from thos^ held by the State Church was little understood in the seven- teenth century, and was totally opposed to Lewis^er- tne ideas of Lewis XIV. As soon as Lewis tenants Pr °" to0 ^ ^e reuis °f power in his hands, so soon began the persecution of Protestants. One by one their privileges were curtailed. In 1661 their right of private meetings was taken from them. In 1663 decrees were issued forbidding Protestants to keep schools of an upper grade, and permitting the children of Protestant parents, while of tender age, to change their religion without the consent of their parents. This harsh treatment of the Protestants continued until 1666, in which year Lewis was persuaded by Colbert to stay his hand, and promulgate no new laws against the liber- ty of the Huguenots. In 1675, however, a new disturbing influence made itself felt in the person of Madame de Maintenon. This lady had been born and bred a Huguenot, Madame de but, having embraced the Roman Catholic Mainten<->n. ° religion, showed all the zeal of a convert for her new faith She was the widow of a second-rate au- thor named Scarron, and had been employed for many years as governess to some of Lewis' illegitimate chil- dren. Acting in this capacity, she had gained the affec- tions of the king. Lewis was attracted towards her not so much by her beauty, which was mature and ripened, as by her wit, her prudence, her refinement, and her 1 684. The Huguenots. 77 rare gift of conversation. He experienced a new pleasure in the society of a woman who flattered him without fawning on him, and who appealed to those sentimental feelings which a man of ill-regulated mind is apt to call his better nature. Under the influence of Madame de Maintenon, Lewis returned to what she was pleased to designate the paths of virtue. Once more he lived on proper terms with his queen, Maria Theresa, and he set his mind on effecting a reformation in the religious belief of his subjects, which should equal the reformation which his own morals had undergone. All France therefore was to be converted to the Roman Catholic religion. In this resolve Lewis was strengthened not only by the se- ductions of Madame de Maintenon, but also by the en- treaties of the celebrated bishop Bossuet, who had been so zealous an ally in his quarrel with the pope, and by the injunctions of his trusted confessor, Father la Chaise. Colbert still strove against these allied influences, and for a time with some effect, but in 1683 Col- , ~" A. D. 1683. bert died, and Louvois, now Lewis' minister, Death ot , , . , . , Colbert. put no restraint on the king s wishes. Shortly after Colbert's death, Maria Theresa also died. After a few weeks' interval, Lewis privately, , , ' r J> Death of in his chapel at Versailles, bestowed his Maria hand on the widow of Scarron. Henceforth, and Lewis' although she was styled only " Madame la with" 326 Marquise de Maintenon," she wielded the Madame de ■ Maintenon. power 01 a queen, and demanded the sub- mission and defence due to a crowned head. Now again burst forth persecutions of the Protestants. Protestant churches were closed. Protestants were for- bidden to plead in the law courts. Mar- r JNewpese- riages of Protestants with Catholics were de- cations of clared illegal, and their children illegitimate. 78 The Fall of 'the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. To Protestants the tax-gatherer paid daily visits. On Protestant householders were billeted twice the number of soidiers that the law compelled them to entertain. In many parts of France, and more particularly in the south, insurrections broke out ; and to quell these out- The Dra breaks, dragoons (soldiers who were accus- gjnnades. tomed to serve alike on foot or horseback) A. D. 1684. . . were employed. In many a town inhabited by Protestants, brutal atrocities were committed by these emissaries of religion. Huguenots, old and young alike, were put to death, and the women were subjected to every indignity. To escape from these drag071nad.es, as the military persecutions were called, there seemed but one means, flight. Hundreds of Huguenots sold their property, and were welcomed in England and Holland with open arms. This emigration was, however, put a stop to by fresh edicts uttered by Louvois. In 1685 the finishing stroke was put to the work of the conversion of all France by the revocation of the edict of Nantes. By this formal act not Revocation merely were all privileges taken away of the edict f rom t h e Protestants, but it was ordered that 01 Nantes. every Protestant church should be demo- lished ; that the exercise of the Protestant religion should be punished by perpetual imprisonment ; that all Pro- testant children should forthwith be baptized by Romish priests ; that all Protestant clergymen should either re- nounce their faith, or immediately quit France. To en- force these ordinances, the dragonnades became more and more severe. Louvois ordered the dragoons to live " licentiously." Fearful were the sufferings of the perse- cuted Protestants. Thousands ( 200,000,) after undergoing perils of every description, escaped to happier lands. Arriving almost i68£. The Huguenots. 79 penniless, their industry and talents soon r 4 Huguenots provided them with plenty. England, Hoi- emigrate * . _ i-k 1 i- anu enrich land, Germany, Denmark were each en- foreign riched by the labor of the foreigners. One countries, district of London, Spitalfields, was colonized entirely by weavers of silk from Lyons and Touraine. In Holland manufactures of silk and paper were established by the refugees. Berlin was a small city of 15,000 inhabitants ; thither came an influx of 20,000 Huguenots, materially affecting not only an increase of the city, but a corre- sponding improvement in its trade and Wealth. Among the men of eminence who left their country were Duquesne, the first of the naval officers of France, who died in Switzerland ; Marshal Schomberg, afterwards to become the most trusted general of William of Orange ; de Ruvigny, afterwards Earl of Galway ; Rapin, the his- torian ; Papin, the natural philosopher. Many of the great English families of the present day were founded by the Huguenots. The industries of several French towns, such as Tours and Caen, were for a time completely ruined, but the flatterers of Lewis sang his praises. The . The French Chancellor le Tellier, being at the point of * courtiers death, and the news of the revocation of the rej edict of Nantes being brought to him, chanted the " Song of Simeon. " Bossuet, the champion of the liberties of the Gallican Church against papal encroachments, com- pared Lewis to each of the heroes of Christendom, from Constantine to Charles the Great. Madame de Sevigne, the refined educationalist, was loud in her praises. The freethinkers and philosophers, the voluptuous courtiers, and the sneering cynics, all applauded an act which re- moved from France the Protestants. For, said they, these Huguenots will one day become dangerous, since 80 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. their very existence proclaims a principle of revolution which a prudent and far-seeing monarch should stamp out of his subjects. CHAPTER VII. ACCESSION OF JAMES II. OF ENGLAND. Section I. — James Policy on his Accession. Charles II. had died February 6 ; his brother, James, Duke of York, succeeded him as James II., and was crowned April 23. James knew the opinion of James which his subjects held of him. At his interview with the privy council he declared that although he had been ever represented as fond of arbitrary power, they should find the contrary ; that he would endeavor to maintain the government both in Church and State as by law established ; and that as, on the one hand, he would never yield the just rights and prerogatives of the Crown, so on the other hand the property and person of every subject should be secure. He added that the members of the Church of England had always been good and loyal subjects, and therefore he would always support and defend their Church. James II., son of Charles I., was born October 15, 1633 ; he was consequently in his fifty-second year at his accession. His education in the trou- of James blous times of his boyhood had been much neglected, and his naturally slow perception had not therefore been quickened. He was one of the most obstinate of men ; andhis obstinacy often prompted 1685. James' Policy on his Accession. 81 him to run directly counter to the wishes of his ad- visers. When a boy and an exile in France, he with- stood all his mother's entreaties, and all the pressure put on him by the French court and clergy, to become a Roman Catholic ; the more he was urged, the stronger became his Protestant sympathies But when he had returned to England, and found papists hated and feared by English churchmen as well as dissenters, then he be- came a Roman Catholic. Before the Restoration ( 1660) he had been solicited to join in a faction which had for its object the overthrow of the authority exercised by Lord Clarendon in the little court of the exiled royal fami- ly ; James acquiesced at first, but in the end married Clarendon's daughter, Anne. Joined to this obstinacy was a certain steadiness and regularity in business mat- ters, which would have fitted him to be a good head of a department in the civil service. His administra- tion of the navy from 1660 until 1673 was accordingly respectable, and formed a marked contrast to the mis- erable inefficiency presented by the same service from 1673 until 1685. But James had none of the heartiness of manner which rendered his brother Charles, in spite of his faults, popular. As licentious and selfish as Charles, he had none of the latter's bonhomie ; narrow-minded, stern, unforgiving, cruel, his character had but few re- deeming points. James' first wife, Anne Hyde, had died in 1671, leav- ing two daughters ; the elder, Mary, born 1662, and married in 1677 to her first cousin, William, James' Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the United fami 'y Provinces ; the younger, Anne, born in 1665, and married in 1683 to Prince George, brother of the King of Den- mark. James had married secondly, in 1673, tne Princess Mary of Este, sister of the Duke of Modena. She had as G 82 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. yet no son, and of her five daughters all had died young. Her only son, James Francis Edward, was not born until June 10, 1688. The accession of James was as peaceful as if he had been the well beloved of his subjects. The speech he made to his privy council had been industri- and real ously circulated, and had somewhat calmed james rS ° f ^e nat ural feelings of alarm entertained by English churchmen. He retained in office the ministers of the late king. But Lord Halifax was not trusted by him; he could not forgive his conduct in hav- ing proposed, in the short Oxford parliament, a regency bill which would have curtailed his powers on his acces- sion. The king preferred the other ministers, Rochester, Godolphin, and Sunderland. Atthe same time he gathered around him a secret council of Roman Catholics, whose advice he took rather than that of his ministry. This secret council, which had with him as much influence as can be exercised over an obstinate man, was composed of Father Petre, the Jesuit, and the Lords Tyrconnel, Dover, Arundel, Castlemaine, and Powys. Nothing could have been devised by James more likely to arouse the apprehensions of his subjects than his first , . two public acts after his coronation. He public acts assisted at the public celebration of a mass in the royal chapel ; and he ordered the cus- toms and excise duties to be collected as usual, although they could not be legally demanded until they had been voted by parliament. Section II. — Lewis XIV. and James. Some apprehension had been felt by the French am- bassador, Barillon, that James intended to follow a 1685. New Parliaments. 83 policy with regard to France differing from that which had been followed by Charles. tr f ™ t £" The courtiers openly declared that England f^ 01 oi was now to be independent, was to assume her proper position in Europe, and that the supremacy of France was at an end. Barillon represented his fears to his master, Lewis XIV. The arrogant bearing of' Churchill, newly created Baron Churchill, who had been despatched as special envoy to Versailles to announce the death of Charles and the accession of James, in some de- gree confirmed Barillon's suspicions. Money l J and James was however already secretly offered to independence James, and Barillon soon found that French yie money was as necessary to the new king as to the late one. James desired the restoration of the Roman Catholic religion, and freedom from the control of parliament. Had he been able to effect these objects _ _ , - , Mutual without the support of France and without relations of 1-.V 1 i j i_ i_ i_ Tames and French money, he would have been a happy lewis, man, but he was not able ; and therefore he bore with the patronage, and took the money, of Lewis, although at the expense of his pride. Lewis desired to meet with no obstacle in his persecu- tion of the Protestants in France, and to be looked on as the most powerful sovereign of Europe. For these objects England must be kept subservient, and money must therefore be freely provided, both for the private use of the king, and for the judicious bribery of all classes of English politicians. Section III. — The new Parliaments in England amd Scotland. On April 23, 1685, the Scotch Estates met. As Epis- 84 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. copalians only could sit in them, and as these formed but a small minority of Scotchmen, it was Esfates° tC not probable that the laws passed by them would be acceptable to the great body of the people, who were ardent Presbyterians. Episcopa- lians in Scotland were always Tories, and James asked them to continue the same line of conduct as he had pursued when Lord High Commissioner. His letter to this effect was read at the opening of the session, and was willingly obeyed. A still more rigid law than had been previously in force was passed against the cove- nanters. It imposed the penalty of death and of confis- cation of property on every one who preached in a room, or attended an open-air conventicle. The giving or taking the oath of the covenant was also declared trea- son. The new parliament also proved its adherence to the most extreme form of the doctrine of the divine right of kings, for it solemnly declared its detestation of " all principles and positions contrary and derogatory to the king's sacred, supreme, sovereign, and absolute power and authority." As soon as the act against the covenanters was passed, active steps were taken to carry it out. The counties of Dumfries, Wigton, Ayr, Lanark, and Kirkcud- Persecu- bright, were harassed by bands of regular tions in the soldiers and militia. The leader of these South- western bands was the same Graham of Claverhouse who had in 1679 been defeated at Drumclog, and after the battle of Bothwell Bridge had earned the name of "bloody Claverhouse." At the head of his regiment of dragoons, he was foremost in the cruel and murderous attempts to exterminate the covenanters. There are historians who attempt to excuse the cruelties practised as necessary to put down an incipient rebellion 1685. New Parliaments. 85 in a disaffected part of the country ; but the perpetrators of the crimes, in their official reports, never speak of their victims as rebels, but as wilful and obstinate noncon- formists, and as men holding pernicious doctrines. The persecution was religious more than political, and was doubtless an imitation of the dragonnades of Lewis. The murders of Brown, the carrier, in Lanarkshire, of Gillies and Bryce in Ayrshire, of Margaret Wilson and Margaret Maclachlan in Wigtonshire, roused the feeling of hatred against James and episcopacy to the utmost. The South-western Lowlands, although crushed, were forever alienated from the house of Stuart. The English parliament met May 19, 1685. In the attacks made on the charters of many English boroughs, the majority of the electors had lost their privilege of voting, and in such boroughs Opening \_ r ° & ' ° the English members who were devoted to James were Parlim.ent returned. Tory principles had also un- doubtedly gained ground. French gold, again, had con- verted many wavering politicians into friends of the court. Yet the combination of all these circumstances hardly accouuts for the servility shown to James by both Houses in the two short sessions of 1685. James' attachment to the Roman Catholic religion, so openly displayed, wrought a great change in the feelings of English churchmen. In the rei°:n of & S Church of Charles parliament had continually opposed England in the court and defended the constitution, an w P h P i°st 'par- the Church had as constantly supported the obedient 3 king ; but, in the beginning of James' reign, churchmen, in fear of Rome and of attempts being made to reconcile England with the pope, became the de- fenders of the constitution, and formed the Opposition in parliament, which now, for the first time in the 86 The Fall of the Stuarts, &C. a.d. century, was tamely submissive to the wishes of the sovereign. The first measures passed. by parliament showed James _ , he might depend on its zeal and submission. Parliament _ grants A revenue of two millions was granted to large reve- the king. The severities of the law against IIIakeTfresh treason were also increased. Amongst other laws against clauses it was enacted that " any peer of the tr :ason. realm or member of the House of Commons moving to alter or change the descent of the Crown, should be adjudged guilty of high treason, and should suffer accordingly." Section IV. — Trials of Oates, Dangerfield and Richard Baxter. James could not forget how his honor, his religion, and even his life had been attacked in past years by the _ . , r false witnesses in the so-called Popish Plots. I rial of L Titus Oates. Many of them were dead or had retired into obscurity, but two, Oates and Dangerfield, were still en- joying the proceeds of their false swearing. Oates was tried on a charge of perjury, and was found guilty. Jeffreys, the lord chief justice, presided at the trial. The sentence passed was a barbarous one, taking even into consideration the enormity of the crime which Oates had committed. He was condemned to be degraded from his orders, to be fined heavily, to be imprisoned for life, to be set in the pillory both in the Palace Yard and in front of the Royal Exchange, to be flogged by the common hangman from Aldgate to Newgate on one day, and on the next from Newgate to Tyburn, and if he survived these floggings, to be set in the pillory four times each year as long as he lived. Strange to say, although the floggings were carried out with the utmost rigor, Oates 1 6 8 5 • Trials of O cites, Dangerfield a?id Baxter. 8 7 did survive them and lived to see not only his sentence set aside but his pension restored to him. Dangerfield was tried for libel, was convicted, and was also sentenced to be whipped from Aldgate to Newgate, and from Newgate to Tyburn. But in his case the result was more tragic than in that Trial of „ , , Dangerfield ofOates. Half dead from the flogging, he and of was jeered at by a hot-headed Tory lawyer named Francis. Dangerfield with the little strength left him spat in Francis' face, on which the latter struck him on the head with a walking stick, and with such violence that he died in a few hours. Francis was put on his trial for the murder, was found guilty, and was sentenced to death. Great efforts were made to obtain Francis' pardon, but without avail, and the sentence was carried into effect. King James doubtless wished, by this re- fusal to grant a pardon, to gain a character for impar- tiality. Yet another trial must be mentioned, as tending to show that James and the court party intended to treat English dissenters as Scotch covenanters were being treated. Richard Baxter, the Richard nonconformist divine, had lived to the age of seventy respected by all parties, churchmen as well as puritans. He had even been offered «a bishopric by Charles II. In a Commentary on the New Testament which he had published were certain reflections on the justice of the penal statutes against dissenters. Upon this he was indicted for libel. Jeffreys again presided, and the trial is remarkable for the brutal insolence dis- played by him. Baxter's counsel were insulted, Baxter himself was blustered at and abused, and on arguing, in the course of his defence, that there was no evidence to go before the jury on which they could convict, was 88 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. stopped by Jeffrey's exclaiming, " Don't trouble yourself about that." It is needless to add he was convicted, was sentenced to a heavy fine, and, being unable to pay the fine, was kept in prison for eighteen months. CHAPTER VIII. REBELLIONS OF ARGYLE AND MONMOUTH. Section I. — Refugees in Holland. There were gathered together in Holland a large num- ber of refugees who had fled from England and Scotland to avoid the state prosecutions of the dominant party. Among them were representatives of various political parties, and of various social ranks. There were zeal- ous Presbyterians, flying from the country A. D. 1685. . , . , , - • -, , , Pefugees in which prelacy was sanctioned by law ; areot ' there were plotting political intriguers, to various x . . political whom every fresh intrigue afforded means for replenishing their scanty purses; there were large-hearted philosophers, who sought a land in which they might study and print without fear of being tried for libel. Among all these, two noblemen stood forth, pre-emi- nent from their high rank — the Duke of Monmouth and the Earl of Argyle. Monmouth was treated kindly by William of Orange, and was received by him at his court. But William had also hopes that his father-in-law, James, wliiU'mof *" would not sacrifice the interests of Europe °r an £, e and of England to the French alliance ; and with the & Duke of by means of his ambassador at the English Monmouth. , 1 • 1t ■,- court he was doing ail in his power to thwart the schemes of Lewis XIV. He therefore en- 1 685. Refugees in Holland. 89 deavored to dissuade Monmouth from taking part in, or encouraging, any expedition against James II. To re- move him from the temptation of his English friends in exile or at home, William offered, if he would join the emperor, who was then warring with the Turks, to equip and maintain both himself and retinue as became an English prince of the blood. Monmouth, however, would not accept this offer. He was entangled in a discredit- able love-affair ; for an English noble lady had thrown her fortune and reputation at his feet, and had inflamed his mind with the hope of becoming king of England. The Earl of Argyle, smarting under his unjust sentence and detesting James as his personal enemy, had kept up conscant communication with the whig noblemen in Scot- land. From what he learnt, he thought the time had arrived for dispersing the Scotch parliament and abolish- ing episcopacy in Scotland. He was assured _ , . , & r r J Relations of also that his clan, the Campbells, could be Monmouth 1 t i t i wiA Argyle. trusted to a man. It does not appear that Argyle had any idea of proclaiming Monmouth as king, for there seems to have been no sympathy between the two. It was evident, however, that some co-operation, and apparent common purpose would conduce to the success of both, and therefore consultations were held. The result of these consultations was that two distinct ex- peditions were determined on ; one under Argyle to land in Scotland, the other under Monmouth in England ; and it was further agreed that Argyle' s expedition should be first fitted out. But before either expedition could be made ready, it was necessary to take more of the refugees into council, and to unfold the plans of the leaders to them. Pre It was hoped that all would be found united tions for the , ,- . — r expedition. and eager for action. But among men 01 go The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. such different aims and of such various reputations, union could be looked for only if some whom all alike respected took the lead. Neither Monmouth nor Argyle was such. Monmouth was too vain and frivolous, Argyle too proud and distant, to kindle enthusiasm in their followers. A curious plan therefore was adopted from the practice of the Dutch. The Dutch were in the habit of appoint- ing one or more civil commissioners to accompany every general in command of an army. The commissioners had the power of controlling the general's operations, unless these were entirely in accordance with a scheme for the campaign which had been previously agreed on. William had himself, as had also many other Dutch generals, been sadly hampered by this burgher-device. Following then the Dutch precedent, two commissioners were sent with each expedition — with that of Argyle, two Englishmen, Rumbold and Ayliffe, both implicated in the Rye House Plot ; with that of Monmouth, two Scotch- men, Fletcher of Saltoun and Fergusson. Section II. — Argyle' s Expedition. On May 23, 1685, King James in a speech to the par- liament, announced that Argyle had landed in Scotland. The earl had sailed with three ships from Argyle sails Holland on Mav 2, and, after touching at the fur Scotlani. ' Orkneys, had sailed down the west coast of Scotland, and had landed at Campbelltown, on the east side of the peninsula of Cantyre. Yet live there still who can remember well, How, when a mountain chief his bugle blew, Both field and forest, dingle, cliff and dell, And solitary heath, the signal knew ; And fast the faithful clan around him drew. 1685. Argyle' 's Expedition. 91 What time the warning note was keenly wound, What time aloft their kindred banner flew, While clamorous war-pipes yelled the gathering sound, And while the Fiery Cross glanced like a meteor round. And from Tarbet the fiery cross was sent forth to sum- mon thither all the Campbells to join the standard of the great earl. To the number of about . . ,- , Argyle lands. 2,000 the clansmen assembled, but amongst Kvsoell & Stt-uthera.N.r. them no noblemen or gentlemen of mark. From the neighboring western Lowlands came no supporters, as Argyle had hoped, for they dreaded to bring again upon 92 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d c themselves the visitsofClaverhouse's soldiers. Meets with but ^nd in the councils of the little army dis- httle support. sensions soon arose, as was to be expected, from the presence of the commissioners, Rumbold and Ayliffe. Contrary to his own better judgment, Argyle marched southwards into the Lowlands ; but meeting there with but small encouragement, he determined to retrace his steps. The few Cameronians who had joined the rebels refused, however, to march farther north than Inverary. Argyle was now in perplexity, and to add to his trouble, intelligence was brought him that his stores, which he had landed and placed for security in a castle at the mouth of Loch Riddan, and near which for greater protection he had moored his three ships, had been cap- tured, and that his ships had been burnt. Supplies failed him, and the clansmen began to disband. No other course seemed open to Argyle but again to turn southwards, and to make an unexpected attempt on Glasgow in the hopes that if he succeeded towards he should awaken the enthusiasm of the Lowlanders. With reduced numbers, the army marched into Dumbartonshire, and in the rugged country between Loch Long and Loch Lomond, found their progress constantly harassed by the royal troops who were gathering round them. Argyle proposed to attack the royal forces, for they were for the most part but newly raised militia; but he was met by objections from the commissioners, who had seen soldiers in scarlet uni- form among them. It was therefore hastily determined to endeavor, under the cover of night, to slip through the hostile lines, and to make for Glasgow with all speed. Movements of troops by night are at all times, and under any circumstances, hazardous, but if the troops 1685. Argyle's Expedition. 93 are irregular, such as the Highlanders were, Argyle > s such operations are, in ninety-nine cases out JiTerse of a hundred fatal. So it was with Argyle's army. The watch-fires were left burning to deceive the enemy, and the night march began. The guides lost their way in the darkness, and led the troops into some boggy ground. Suddenly a report arose that they were betrayed. They fled in all directions ; some fell into the hands of the enemy, others struggled back into Argyle- shire and the islands, to carry thither the news of the defeat of their great chief. When morning broke, it was found that but 500 had kept together. Nothing was now left but to disperse as best they could. On ^ ^ June 17, Argyle, disguised as a carter, was captured taken prisoner and led to Edinburgh. cutecTon" Thither also Rumbold, one of the com- Jj££T missioners, who was wounded, was taken. Ayliffe, the other, was captured and sent to England. No trial awaited the Earl of Argyle. His former sen- tence of death for leasing-making was still unrevoked. On this sentence it was determined to execute him at once. Argyle's fortitude never forsook him, for he be- lieved in the justice of his cause, and he thought that for his country and religion he was bound to take up arms. So he calmly met his end. Rumbold and Ayliffe were also executed, the latter in England, his head being placed on Temple Bar. The usual atrocities followed the defeat of the rebel- lion. The country for miles around Inverary was laid waste. Hundreds of Campbells were trans- punish _ ported to the plantations (that is, to work jg^ £ as slaves in the West Indies), the men with t h e clan j ~A Campbell. the loss of one ear, the women scarred and branded. The boats and fishing-nets of the islanders 94 The Fall of 'the Stuarts ; &>c. A.D. 1685. Monmouth 1 s Expedition. 95 were destroyed. Many suspected persons had at the outbreak of the rebellion been confined in the castle of Dunnottar, on the east coast of Scotland. Crowded into one dungeon, many of them died. The survivors were transported. James and his advisers hoped and thought that now, at all events, Scotland was quieted. Section III. — Monmouth 's Expedition. It was early in the month of June that Monmouth with his expedition left the coast of Holland. At the request of the English ambassador, William sent an Monmouth s order to the authorities at Amsterdam to de- expedition, tain the ships. But the board at Amster- wuiiamin- dam made excuses. They said the vessels effectually « J attempts to were chartered for the Canaries, and before detain it, sets Sciil they could venture to detain them they must have formal proof that their intended destination was England. Monmouth determined to put to sea before further steps could be taken. The expedition consisted of three vessels, conveying Monmouth, Lord Grey, and only 80 followers, but with arms and equipments for a small army, William, however, as a proof of his anxiety to assist King James, sent back to London, with all speed, three Scotch regiments in his service. Escaping the English cruisers in the Channel, Mon- mouth, after a stormy voyage, arrived on June 11, off Lyme, in Dorsetshire, and landed. A few . . . . Monmouth militia were in the town. These ran away, lands in and the townspeople welcomed him with sn ire, shouts of " A Monmouth ! a Monmouth ! " June "■ His standard was set up in the market-place, and a pro- clamation, of which Fergusson, the commissioner, was 96 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. said to be the author, was put forth. It recited various charges against James ; that he was endeavoring to sub- vert both the Protestant religion and the English consti- tution ; that he had caused London to be burnt in 1666 ; that he had been the originator of the Popish plot dis- closed by Oates ; that he had assassinated the Earl of Essex, and had poisoned the late king. The proclama- tion asserted also that Monmouth was the legitimate son of Charles II., and therefore rightful heir to the crown of England. The common people flocked to Monmouth's standard. The day after the landing, 1,500 foot and a few horsemen had joined him. The summer of 1684 had people join been a very dry one; it had been followed by a winter so severe that for months all agri- culture had been stopped, and this hard winter had been again succeeded by a long drought. Great distress, therefore, existed, and particularly in the West of Eng- land. Popular distress often produces popular disaffec- tion. The government of James was credited with much of the scarcity caused by the inclemency of the seasons. Monmouth's advent was therefore hailed with delight by the ignorant peasantry, and Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Somersetshire supplied recruits for his forces. A few half-trained militia were the only troops to op- pose Monmouth. Bridport was garrisoned by 300 of these. Monmouth detached Lord Grey SkirmTshof from Lyme to attack Bridport. He placed Lord Grey. un( j er his orders about 400 rebel foot and all his small body of horse. The militia marched out of Bridport to meet Grey. An indecisive engage- ment took place. The militia first wavered and then stood firm ; their firmness dismayed Grey's cavalry ; these took flight, and did not draw bridle until, accompanied 1685. Monmouth ' s Expedition. 9 7 by Lord Grey, they had reached Lyme. The rebel foot, although deserted by the cavalry, withdrew in good order. The militia of Devonshire, under the command of the Duke of Albemarle, lord lieutenant of the county, were assembled at Exeter for their annual train- ' Devonshire ing. Putting himself at the head of 4,000 militia of these, Albemarle marched to meet the in- trust- """ surgents. Coming up with their advanced worthy, guard at Axminster, his men proved so untrustworthy that, although he was in much greater force, he feared an engagement, and retreated to Exeter. Monmouth declined to follow Albemarle, and continued his march to Taunton, at which town he arrived on June 18. Monmouth's entry into Taunton was a triumphant one. The church bells rang out ; the young girls of the town strewed flowers before him ; standards, Monmouth embroidered with the royal arms, were pre- at Taunton sented to him. Intoxicated with this reception, Mon- mouth caused himself to be proclaimed king. Although none but the lower orders had as yet joined him, the Whig nobility and gentry of the western counties had looked on his expedition with no unfriendly eyes, and were doubtful as to the course which they should them- selves adopt. But by allowing himself to be proclaimed king, Monmouth disclosed his intentions, and at once caused the waverers to draw back. The heir to the throne of James was as yet his eldest daughter, Mary, mar- ried to the great statesman of Europe, who alone held his own against the King of France. Nor were the Whigs disposed to substitute for him the handsome, weak, licentious Monmouth. Henceforth the failure of Monmouth's expedition was but a question of time. On the news reaching London of Monmouth's having landed in Dorsetshire, the parliament was hastily aa- H 98 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. journed until the autumn. The militia of News of ... Monmouth's Wiltshire was called out under the Earl of brought to Pembroke, and that of Gloucestershire under London. ^ e £) u k e f Beaufort. The Sussex militia, under Lord Lumley, marched westward. Thither also were dispatched all the troops in London, except the three Scotch regiments, which, having been sent back to James by William, were retained for the defence of the capital. The regular troops under the command of Lord Feversham numbered 2,500 men, and about three days' march in advance of them was sent the regi- ment of the Blues under Lord Churchill. Monmouth marched from Taunton to Bridgewater with 6,000 men, 1,000 being cavalry ; but these latter were ill-disciplined, and their horses not being trained to stand fire, were more dangerous to their friends Monmouth s ° marchings than to their foes. From Bridgewater he counter- proceeded to Glastonbury, thence to Wells, marchings. and from WeUs he made for Bristol, which town was supposed to favor his cause. But Bristol was occupied by Beaufort and his militia, and was thought too strong to be attacked. Monmouth now retreated in the direction of Bath, Churchill hanging on to his rear and flanks, and cutting off his stragglers. The garrison of Bath was too strong to be taken by a coup-de-main, and Feversham with his army was close to the city. Monmouth therefore turned southwards to Frome, re- pulsing on his way an attack made by the advanced guard of the royal troops. From Frome he returned to Wells, and thence again to Bridgewater, his forces being reduced in numbers by the long marches and bad weather. The main body of Feversham's army had now reached Sedgemoor, about three miles from Bridge- water, where they encamped. 16S5. Monmouth 's Expedition. 99 Sedgemoor is a morass, intersected by deep and broad ditches called rhines, and Feversham's encampment was covered in front by one of these, called the „ , ' Ba tie of Old Bussex rhine. Monmouth took the Sedgemoor, resolution of attacking the royal army in its encampment, and of doing so by a surprise by night. As has been said before, irregular troops cannot be trusted to carry out movements such as night attacks, which require the utmost discipline and order. Mon- mouth's guides brought him to the brink of the rhine, fronting Feversham's encampment. This was too deep to be crossed. The insurgents halted in doubt. Shots were fired across the rhine, and these roused Fever- sham's troops. Making a detour, they fell on Monmouth's army. Lord Grey and his horse were the first of the in- surgents to give way. The stout peasants and miners of the west country fought with desperation. The wagons filled with ammunition had been cut off by the Blues. Grey reported that his cavalry had fled, so Monmouth made up his mind that all was lost. In the early dawn he, with Lord Grey and two others, rode off as fast as they could towards the New Forest. Deserted by their leaders the insurgents endeavored to fly ; but Colonel Kirke, at the head of his Tangier troops, followed them in close pursuit. As the regulars came up with the stragglers, they put them to death, often under circum- stances of the greatest barbarity. The villages round were searched, and all persons found sheltering fugitives were arrested. On the flag carried by Kirke's soldiers was a paschal lamb, a badge which had been conferred on them when fighting against the Mahomedans. The peasantry of the West in irony called them " Kirke's lambs." The battle of Sedgemoor, if battle it can be called, was the last which was fought on English soil. LofC. TOO The Fall of the Stuarts, &£. A.D. 1685. The Bloody Assize. 101 Monmouth and Grey, when their horses were worn out, proceeded on foot in the disguise of countrymen. On July 7, they separated, and Grey was 1 n - j ^l. j Monmouth soon taken near Kingwood. I he next day and Grey Monmouth also was found, concealed in a ca P ture • ditch, and half dead from want of food. Both prisoners were at once dispatched to London : Monmouth exhibit- ing both fear and depression, Grey appearing more calm and collected than on the field of battle. On being taken into the presence of the king, Mon- mouth made the most degrading appeals that his life mipht be spared ; but Tames was inexorable. ° r > j Monmouth Seeing therefore that all was over, he re- executed. covered his equanimity, and at his execu- rey tion behaved with fortitude. He was brought to the scaffold July 15. A serious tumult had nearly arisen at the last, for the executioner blundered at his work, and the spectators yelled with fury. With the mob Mon- mouth had always been popular, and for years his memory was reverenced by them as that of a Protest- ant hero and martyr. Lord Grey, who was wealthy, was allowed to ransom his life by the payment of 4o.ooo/ , and in the succeeding reign, as Earl of Tankerville, he again took an active part in politics. Section IV. — The Bloody Assize. James, ever revengeful, thought the proceedings of Kirke and his lambs too lenient. He therefore dis- patched Jeffreys on a special commission, to try all those who were implicated, either Jf" w yS *" as rebels or as having given shelter to rebels. This assize, known as the " Bloody Assize," was by James called Jeffreys' campaign. The result of I o 2 The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c. A. D . the trials was that about 300 persons were executed, nearly 1,000 more transported to Virginia and the West Indies, and many besides were whipped and fined. A bribe of 2,000/. was paid to the maids of honor of the queen, in order to obtain the pardon of the young girls of Taunton who had presented Monmouth with a stan- dard. But no trial was conducted with greater harshness, in none did the brutal coarseness of Jeffreys show itself „, ' , less undisguised, no sentence, and conse- T.nal and exe- ° cution ofLady quent execution has excited so great indig- nation, as that of Lady Alice Lisle. Hers was the first trial, and she was the first victim. The aged widow of John Lisle, one of the judges who had presided at the trial of Charles I., she had long lived a retired life in the neighborhood of Winchester. She was now accused of harboring fugitives from Sedgemoor. The jury hesitated to find her guilty, but after being bullied and browbeaten by Jeffreys, they gave a reluc- tant verdict. The sentence passed by Jeffreys was that she should be burned alive. With the greatest difficulty her friends (amongst whom were Lord Feversham, the victor at Sedgemoor, and Lord Clarendon, the king's brother-in-law), obtained the commutation of the sen- tence. She was to be beheaded, and not burned. Five days after the trial, the sentence was carried into effect at Winchester. 1685. Second Session of Parliament. 103 CHAPTER IX. FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POLICY. Section I. — Second Session of Parliament in i68j. The parliament, which had been hastily adjourned on the news of Monmouth's landing in Dor- , . , , , A. D. 1685. setsnire, was ordered to reassemble on No- vember 9. As it had already proved so reassembles obedient to his wishes, the king hoped to November^ find it in a tractable mood. But two events had in the interval occurred, which ma- terially affected the views of those Tory members of par- liament who were not blind adherents of the court, and had not been corrupted by French gold. The first of these events was the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Court endeavored to prevent the intelligence of the edict having been revoked from spreading in England. The Gazettes, published twice weekly, did not mention what was passing in France. It was only by private letters, and by the arrival of nu- Temper of J r J parliament. merous French refugees on the shores of England, that the news was promulgated. Evelyn, in his diary, remarks, " Whence this silence I list not to conjecture, but it appear' d very extraordinary in a Pro- testant countrie, that we should know nothing of what Protestants suffer'd." The second event was the dismissal of Lord Halifax from his Halifax dis- missed. office of president of the council. James found Halifax, although a " Trimmer," of not sufficient- ly facile principles. He had in his place in the council, told the king that he could not sanction by his vote the io4 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. repeal of either the Test Act or the Habeas Corpus Act. On the repeal of these obnoxious statutes James had fixed his heart, and although Halifax had been the chief agent in setting aside the Exclusion Bill, and should for this reason have earned the gratitude of James, he was abruptly dismissed and his place given to Lord Sunder- land. Halifax had, with more consistency than was usually shown by him, always strenuously opposed the policy of Lewis XIV. William of Orange therefore Effect of .. . ° Halifax's learnt from his dismissal, that the promises William of of his father-in -law, that England should not Orange. support the ambitious schemes of the French king, were not to be relied on. The Stadtholder conse- quently took active measures to devise some coalition by which independently, and in spite of James, these schemes might be counteracted. In his speech on the meeting of parliament, James asked for a " supply " to enable him to keep in his service the regular troops now under arms, as the experience of the militia in the late troubles proved that they could not be depended on. He also added poses S tc> r0 ~ tnat as som e of the officers of the army Te^A ^ could not comply with the requirements of the Test Act, he hoped that this act might be repealed. Now the Test Act, which had been passed in 1673, compelled all persons holding any office or com- mission under the Crown to take the sacrament accord- ing to the order of the English Church, and to sign a declaration against the Romish doctrine of transubstan- tiation. It was owing to the passing of this Act that James himself had, in days gone by, been obliged to resign the office of lord high admiral. The Act, more- over, was looked on not only by the Whigs, but also by 1 686. Foreign Policy of James. 105 all moderate Tories and churchmen, as the great safe- guard against the encroachments of the Romish Church. The Commons at once acceded to one of the king's requests, and were prepared to grant 700,000/. as a supply for the troops. This proved them to be in a compliant mood, for they conceded the principle of a standing army, which was so generally repugnant to English statesmen and patriots. But the repeal of the Test Act, which would enable Popish officers to be in command of the newly-formed army, was a measure which the court, with all its influence could not carry. The House was subservient to James, but not his slavish tool. In a division, the court party was beaten by a majority of one (183 to 182). Halifax's influence was strong enough to prevent the Lords placing themselves in opposition to the Commons. James therefore, enraged and bitterly disappointed, resolved to prorogue parliament at once. He did not even wait until the 700,000/. was formally voted, but prorogued the Houses on November 27. The same parliamment never again met for the des- patch of business. It was formally prorogued twice in 1686, and finally dissolved in July, 1687. Section II. — Foreign Policy of Jci7nes ; 1686. League of Augsburg. The Elector Palatine, brother of the Duchess of Or- leans, had died without issue in 1685. His nearest male relative had succeeded. The duchess claimed certain lands as hers, by right of succession to her brother. At her marriage with the Duke of Orleans, she ° „ A. D. 1686. had renounced all claims on the Palatinate. 106 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. thePaiad- 11 Lewis, following out his policy of sowing nate fostered dissension in the empire, supported the claims of the duchess. The elector Palatine appealed to the Emperor to protect him. William of Orange saw a good opportunity of re- straining Lewis. He arranged a league of all the princes League of of the empire, consisting of the Emperor, the Augsburg. Kings of Spain and Sweden, as holders of principalities in the empire, the Electors of Bavaria and Saxony, and all the inferior princes. The object of the league, called the league of Augsburg, was to maintain the provisions of the Treaty of Nimwegen ; and to en- force the observance of the treaty, an army of 60,000 men was to be raised, and the necessary funds supplied, by the princes who subscribed to the league. The league was to continue in force for three years. William was not himself a party to the actual league, since he was not a prince of the empire, but he was the ruling agent in its formation. During all the intrigues and counter-intrigues on the Continent, Lewis and his able representative Barillon were striving to persuade James to enter into favors a formal alliance with France. On the other hand, William of Orange, the Emperor and the Pope were endeavoring to keep James from com- mitting himself with Lewis. The Pope (Innocent XL), already vexed with Lewis' pretensions, was actuated in this step by his desire not only to prevent the aggrandize- ment of Lewis, but also to arrest the increasing influence exercised over James by the Jesuits, an order to the prin- ciples of which he was much opposed. The proceedings of James were evidently of the greatest interest, for his open espousal of Lewis' policy might turn the scale in the balance of power. It was soon apparent to whose 1 686. Home Policy of James. 107 side his inclinations leaned. The sovereign who had re- voked the Edict of Nantes was one congenial to James. Sunderland was, from his long residence in France, well known to Lewis. Bribed by an annual pension of 6,000/. he consented to advocate Lewis' measures in the council; and he agreed, Sunderland moreover, secretly to embrace the Romish by Lewis, faith. The confessor of James, the Jesuit Father Petre, per- suaded him to send an embassy to the Pope, in order to try and detach his Holiness from any alii- T ' James sends an ance with the Emperor. On account, how- embassy to the ever, of the pope's known antipathy to the Jesuits, the ambassador selected, Lord Castlemaine, was instructed not to enter into any engagements with the Papal See without the consent both of the General of the Order of Jesuits and of the French ambassador at Rome. James thus openly showed his predilection for the French alliance, and whilst he looked coldly on his ministers, Rochester and Clarendon, who remained staunch to the English Church, he made Sunderland, the convert, his confidential adviser. Section III. — Home Policy of James ; 1686. James next showed that he was bent on overstepping the limits placed by the constitution on the power of the Crown. He claimed the dispensing power r ° r James en- of the sovereign ; he obtained from a bench croach- of judges a verdict allowing this claim ; he theconsti- established a new ecclesiastical commission ; tuaon - and in order to overawe the capital he encamped his regular troops on Hounslow Heath. There were certain cases in which lawyers had held 108 The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c. a.d. that the Crown had power to grant dispensation from complying with the terms of statutes. But these were only private cases involving no public interests, and the dispensations were such as are granted by claims the bishops when they excuse a parish incum- dispensing bent from residence, and were always dis- pensations from statutes a too rigid inter- pretation of which might cause a private injury. But no lawyer had ever held that the Crown had power to dis- pense with the conditions required by the common law of the land. James, however, claimed as his prerogative that he might practically set aside the Test Act by grant- ing a dispensation from the prohibitions and penalties laid down by it. In order to try the power of the Crown an indictment was laid against Sir Edward Hales, a Papist, who had Case of Sir been appointed by the king colonel of a Haie ard regiment and governor of Dover castle, and had not, previously to entering on the duties of these offices, qualified according to the terms of the Test Act. The case was heard before the Court of King's Bench, twelve judges being present. The court was pre- sided over by the new chief justice, Herbert; Jeffreys having been made lord chancellor. On June 21, 1686, James' judgment was delivered in favor of the ac- claim al- cused. Eleven out of the twelve judges lowed by J ° the King's agreed that the king had power by his pre- rogative to dispense with penal laws, and for reasons of which he was sole judge ; and that this pre- rogative of the king could not be restrained by statutes. The effect of this judgment was to declare the sovereign absolute, and uncontrolled by laws made by parliament. This decision was another proof to Englishmen that their constitutional liberties were in danger of being 1 686. Home Policy of Ja?jies. 109 again trodden under foot by a Stuart, and caused a strong feeling to arise in favor of the next heir, Mary and her husband, William of Orange. Lewis, on the other hand, congratulated Tames that he Father would now be able to rule as befitted a p e tre and monarch. Taking advantage of the judg- catholic ment in his favor, Tames created several P eers made J m privy coun- Roman Catholic peers, and his confessor, cillors. Father Petre, privy councillors. A collection had been authorized to be made in the churches, for. the purpose of relieving the refugees whom the tyranny of Lewis XIV. had thrown on the English shores. But James had at the /™f an ec _ same time ordered the clergy to desist from clesiastical . . commission preaching on controversial subjects, and to keep c ,. .... . . . , down from discussing in their pulpits the conduct the clergy. and character of the French king. He re- quired the several bishops to see this order carried out. The dean of Norwich, who was also rector of St. Giles, London, disobeyed the order. For this disobedience the bishop of London (Compton) was requested to sus- pend him from his clerical duties and emoluments. The bishop declined to punish the dean more severely than by withdrawing for a few months his license to preach. In order to show the bishops and the clergy that he was not to be trifled with, James forthwith established a new ecclesiastical commission. This proceeding was illegal on the king's part. The ecclesiastical commission court of Queen Elizabeth had been long abolished by act of parliament, and the same act had provided that nu new court of like powers should be constituted. In spite of this act, James issued a new commission in the very words which had created the original court. The court was composed of the archbishop of Canter- no The Fall of the Stuaj'ts, &c. a.d, bury (who never took his seat), the bishops of Durham „, and Rochester, the Lords Sunderland and 1 he new commission Rochester, Jeffreys, the lord chancellor, and the P Bishop Herbert, the lord chief justice. Three of of London. these might form a quorum, but it was pro- vided that the chancellor should be always one of the quorum. Immediately on its creation, the court sum- moned before it the bishop of London, and after delibe- rations extending over several days, suspended him from his office. The army encamped on Hounslow Heath consisted of nearly 13,000 men. It was commanded by Lords Feversham and Dumbarton, both of whom James visits his were Papists. Hither James continually repaired, treating both officers and men widi studied good-will. k s Samuel Johnson, a clergyman of the Church of England, was in prison for an alleged libel on James, when Duke of York, in a book called S imuel J.husonis. "Julian, the Apostate. From his prison btemrting ne wrote an address to the Protestant sol- toexotr the diers encamped at Hounslow, adjuring- them not to allow themselves to be tools in the hands of a tyrant bent on persecuting and ex- terminating the Protestant faith. Johnson was again placed on his trial for this, and sentenced to lose his gown, to be placed in the pillory, and to be whipped through London. To add to the distrust excited by Roman Catholics sitting at the privy council, various orders of Roman Catholics were permitted to open schools in Spread of London, and to found monasteries. Bene- Roman Catholicism. dictines were located in Saint James', the Jesuits in the Savoy, the Franciscans in Lin- 1 686. Home Policy of James. in coin's Inn Fields, the Carmelites in the City. Schools were opened by the Jesuits, and owing to the high repu- tation of that order for education, attracted many scholars. Pamphlets were also printed, and distributed widely, in defence of Romanism. James endeavored to propitiate the nonconformists also by allowing them equal privileges with the Roman- ists. Formal declarations of liberty of con- science were published both in England J^jJ^f and in Scotland. No restraint was to be placed on any sect in the exercise of its religious ser- vices. But this affectation of liberality on the part of James deceived few. The Anabaptists, and some of the more extreme sects, insignificant, in point of num- bers and influence, alone thanked the king, and took advantage of the indulgence. The great battle between Protestantism and Roman- ism, still undecided on the Continent, had, at the begin- ning and middle of the seventeenth cen- ° lhe contest tury, merged in England into the contest of between Pro- . ° , , testantism Episcopacy or Anglicanism, supported by and Ro.i.an- the Crown, against nonconformity and lib- erty of conscience. But at the close of the century it had in England again reverted to the old form of struggle. Now the fight was between Protestantism, championed by the Church of England, and Papacy, protected by the King. The Crown had secured for itself the support of the bench, and of all the lawyers who aspired to a seat on the bench. The lawyers of the Temple _ , J L m Subservien- made themselves indeed notorious for their cy of the sycophancy by sending an address to the king, thanking him for the declaration of indulgence, and concluding by stating their determination to defend, ii2 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. if need were, with their lives and fortunes, the divine maxim, " a Deo rex, a rege lex" (the king is made by God, and the law by the king.") Section IV. — Attack of James on the Universities. James, feeling sure of the support of his law officers, aimed a blow at the universities, and through them at the Established Church, which raised a ferment through- out his kingdom never allayed during the remainder of his reign. The universities had never, in the darkest hour of the Stuarts, flinched from their loy- feV against a ^> r to tne throne ; and as a reward for their James and constancy, they were now attacked. No sympathy J ' J for the uni- wonder, then, that the country squires and versifies. , r . country rectors, the lory supporters of the doctrine of the divine right of kings, felt that no sacri- fices on their part would insure their safety from the spoiler, the encroaching Romish Church, since the uni- versities, whose teaching and whose loyalty they had followed, were not spared. At Cambridge a small band of philosophical students resided, who had long incul- cated the doctrine of religious liberty, and had endea- vored to show that this liberty existed in, and was best fostered by, an Established Church. They were held in respect by the Whigs and by moderate nonconformists, but they now learnt that their own doctrine might be perverted into one which was injurious to the liberties of their Alma Mater. The rights of the Established Church and of the uni- versities were encroached on by James in the following instances. The bishopric of Oxford was made arceT given to Dr. Parker, who, although a mar- Oxford ° f rie ^ man anc ^ nomma Uy a Protestant, had 1687. Attack on the Universities. 113 nevertheless declared that he held absolutely all the doc- trines of the Romish Church. In December, 1686, the deanery of Christ-church, Ox- ford, became vacant. Massey, a Romanist, was in- stalled as dean by the king's orders. James Dr. Massey informed the papal nuncio that what he had ^chHst" done at Oxford he would also do at Cam- church, bridge. In February 1687 a degree was demanded from the University of Cambridge for a certain Francis, a Bene- dictine monk. The vice-chancellor, Dr. Pechell, master of Magdalen College, declined to accede to this demand unless Francis consented to take the oaths required by the university. Francis refused, and Dr. J A. L>. 1687. Pechell and the other university authorities , , r . .... Dr. Peche'.l were summoned before the ecclesiastical deprived of the commission. Pechell was deprived of his Ursn?pof Cel " office as vice-chancellor and suspended Cambridge, from the emoluments of his mastership. The presidentship of Magdalen, Oxford, fell vacant. The court recommended to the fellows, for the vacant post, one Anthony Farmer. By the statutes of the college the president must have been MagdaLn, a fellow either of Magdalen or of New Col- ^ected' lege. Farmer had been a fellow of neither, and he besides possessed every disqualification for such an office He had escaped expulsion from Cambridge by hurriedly quitting that university ; he had then joined the dissenters, afterwards had entered at Magdalen, Ox- ford, and had earned notoriety by his profligacy and evil life. He had now turned Papist as an easy means of rising in the world. The fellows met, and in spite of the royal recommendation elected Dr. Hough, one of their body, a man well fitted for the post. The fellows 1 ii4 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. were cited before the ecclesiastical commission. The proofs of Farmer's unfitness were so convincing that the commission did not try to force him on the college, but Hough's election was declared invalid. James soon after sent a letter ordering the fellows to elect as their presi- dent, Parker, the bishop of Oxford. The fellows replied that the presidentship was not vacant. They remained firm, although James sent several influential men ( Penn, the Quaker, amongst the number ), to remonstrate with them. At last a troop of soldiers was sent to expel the recalcitrants. Bishop Parker was formally installed, two only of the fellows being present. James said that no further steps should be taken against the disobedient fellows if they would ask for pardon and acknowledge their error. This they refused to do, and they were consequently deprived of their fellowships. In a few months all the revenues of Magdalen College were en- joyed by Papists. Section V. — The Autumn of 1687. The camp was again formed on Hounslow Heath, and was frequently visited by the king and queen, both in state and privately. On July 3 the king received in state the papal nuncio. He could hardly venture on this outrage on Protestantism in London, so Windsor saw a train of thirty- Reception . 1 • i ^ f of the papal six carnages, amongst which were those ot nuncio. the Bishops f Durham and Winchester, conducting with unwonted pomp the ambassador of the pope. James had discussed with his council the expediency of this step, and also of dissolving the parliament, which had not met for business for twenty months. 1687. The Autumn of 1 68? . 115 The more moderate members of the council, Resignation of several although they were firm Tories and loyal to privy coun- the reigning house, were opposed to both these measures of the king, and when they found him resolved on them, thought it advisable to resign their seats at the council-table. Lord Sunderland and Father Petre were now virtually the sole ministers, and James, with their concurrence, dissolved the parliament, hoping that a more subservient one would be elected. With this Parliament Q1SSO Vcd. object the work of remodelling the corpora- tions was pressed on, in order that the members of the corporations should be confined as much as possible to such as were of the Romish faith, or were nonconformists. In the autumn of 1687 James made a progress through the West of England, in the hope of gaining over that part of the country in which Monmouth had found his chief support. Among his suite on this occasion was William Penn, the Quaker, whose presence James thought would conciliate the dissenters. The king ex- pressed himself as everywhere satisfied with the marks of affection and loyalty shown to him ; but a disinterested and keen-sighted spectator, Barillon, the French ambas- sador, reported to his master, Lewis, that there was no real enthusiasm for James, and that he saw on the other hand evident signs of disaffection. Ii6 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. CHAPTER X. IRELAND UNDER JAMES II. Section I. — Preliminary Sketch of Ireland. The people of Ireland were of two distinct races ; the native Irish, who were Celts and Roman Catholics, and _ , . „ the colonists, who were, in Leinster and the Population of Ireland, how settled part of Munster, of English descent and in Ulster, the northern, province, of Scotch descent. A great number of English settlers were old soldiers of Cromwell and Nonconformists ; the re- maining English were descendants of the colonists of Elizabeth's reign, and were Episcopalians. The settlers of Ulster, the Scotch colonists, were for the most part Presbyterians. Although the Irish parliament, sitting in Dublin, was composed entirely of Protestants, the penal laws against „ ,. Roman Catholics, which were in force in Eng_ Religious ° liberty in land, had not as yet been introduced into Ireland, and Roman Catholics enjoyed free exercise of their religion. The native Irish, occupying the whole of the province of Connaugh, and some small parts of Munster, led lives TT . .,. , which were almost barbarous. Sept, or clan- Uncivilized . state of native law, still held sway amongst them, i heir chiefs were but little more civilized than the common people, their one great virtue being that of hos- pitality, and this was exercised to such an extent as to keep them impoverished. Continually had the Irish been in rebellion, and each rebellion, as it had been put down, had been followed 1660. Preliminary Sketch of Ireland. 117 by the confiscation of the lands of the rebels. Cromwell s During Cromwell's firm and severe adminis- treatment of tration, the Irish had been forcibly driven into Connaught, or transported to the plantations in America; while thousands of the better class, permitted to emigrate, had taken service in the armies of Spain and other foreign nations. The population of Ireland may be roughly estimated as at this time about one million native Irish, and about two hundred thousand English and Scotch „,. , ° , Number of colonists. But all the influence in the thepopuia- country was exercised by the latter, for the Irish, divided amongst themselves, were utterly deficient in that power of organization which would have rendered them, by reason of their superior numbers, formidable. After the Restoration (1660) the Episcopalian Church became again the Established Church in Ireland. This anomaly caused a numerous hierarchy and _ . Episcopacy a large number of inferior clergy to be ap- established pointed, to take spiritual care of a scattered population, not equaling in souls one of the smaller Eng- lish dioceses. On the re-establishment of the monarchy in England, the chief settlers in Ireland, many of whom were old Cromwellian soldiers, offered the crown of Ireland to Charles II., on the condition that the lands they were now in possession of should be legally se- C^flllSGS OT cured to them. An Act of Settlement was ac- the disaffec- cordingly passed, by which the actual holders of land, on payment of a small fine to Charles, became its legal possessors. Of the lands not claimed, or thus legally settled, a great part was granted to James, Duke of York, and to courtiers of the king. But many of the native Irish, both nobles and gentry, had been i j 8 The Fall of tli e Stuarts, &*c. a.d. warm supporters of the Stuarts against the commonwealth, and had suffered for their loyalty, and these were loud in their complaints of Charles' want of faith and justice. A court of claims accordingly sat, and after many hun- dred claims had been heard by it, and pronounced valid, the Irish parliament passed a compromise, called an Act of Explanation, by which one-third of the grants under the Act of Settlement were yielded to the Irish royalists, in order to satisfy their demands. But this concession was not nearly sufficient, and consequently a feeling of disaffection became widespread throughout the native Irish. Section II. — Ireland and the Accession of James II., i68j. At the accession of James II., in 1685, he found the native Irish, all of whom were Roman Catholics, opposed to the English rule, as to that of a conquering minority, whilst the few nobles who, not of choice but from interest, were inclined to be friendly to England, were prevented by their religion from sitting in the Irish parliament. Of the settlers, the Scotch Presbyterians shared the feel- ings of their brethren in their native country, and hated Episcopalians with the true religious fury. Parties in' In the Irish Parliament the Presbyterians jgg Iandm and Episcopalians were nearly balanced, whilst the Protestant Nonconformists, in numbers almost equaling the other two parties, had but few seats in the Parliament. The Episcopalians alone were hearty supporters of the house of Stuart; the Pres- byterians and Nonconformists were Whigs. James was in almost favorable position for tranquil- Policy of lizing Ireland, for, as a Roman Catholic, he James. ^ was muc h m ore acceptable to the native Irish than his predecessors had been. Had he followed 1687. Clarendon and Tyrconnel. 119 his true interests, he would have endeavored, firstly, to unite together, as firmly as possible, the English settlers in Ireland, and secondly, by wise acts of mediation, to bridge over the differences between the English and Irish. Thus he might have welded them into one peo- ple. James, however, followed a directly opposite policy, and the results of this misgovernment of Ireland are visible at the present day. The Duke of Ormond was at the time of the death of Charles II. both lord lieutenant and commander of the forces. He was a staunch Protestant, and as being an inhabitant of Ireland, descended J^ a11 of 0r " from an English colonist, and of great wealth and high rank, he was the natural head of the English in Ireland. But soon after his accession James recalled him, and the office of lord lieutenant was be- stowed on his own brother-in-law, Lord Clarendon, whilst the post of general of the troops was given to Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnel. Section III. — Clarendon and Tyrconnel. Talbot was descended from one of the old Norman families settled in Leinster, but his immediate ancestors had fallen into poverty and were in no wise to be distinguished from the native Irish , Eichard Tal - ° bot. gentry. He had come to London, when young, as an adventurer. He soon gained an evil no- toriety, and was employed by both Charles II. and James in many discreditable deeds, in which he had shown that he was deterred by no scruples from shedding blood or from breaking his oath. He was a coarse, vulgar, tru- culent ruffian, greedy and unprincipled ; but in the eyes of James he had great virtues, for he was devoted to the Romish Church and to his sovereign. " Lying Dick 120 TJie Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a. p. Talbot," as he was called, was raised by James to the peerage as Earl of Tyrconnel. Lord Clarendon was, from the time of his appoint- ment, hampered by his associate. He was anxious to govern the country justly, and to sow the A. D. 1686. ° , J J J > Clarend n's Seeds of Union. He Wrote to James long de- measures . , . , 1 ,. opposed by spatches, entering minutely into the condi- Tyrconnei. t j on Q f i re i an( j, anc j pointing out the mea- sures by which he thought the mutual animosities of the races might be allayed. But Tyrconnel violently op- posed all his plans, and at last set off for London to have an interview with James. The result of that interview was the recall of Claren- don. With his fall from power was associated that of his brother, Lord Rochester, who was at the Hyde's dis- same time dismissed from his office of lord missal from treasurer and from his seat on the ecclesi- omce. astical commission. The disgrace of the king's two brothers-in-law, supposed to have been caused by the attachment of both to the Protestant faith, was deeply felt both in England and Ireland. In England it was considered to be one further blow aimed at Pro- testantism. But the English in Ireland knew that it meant nothing less than that the Papists and Irish were in the ascendancy, and that their lives and property were in jeopardy. To add to these feelings of insecurity, Tyr- connel returned, not indeed as lord lieutenant, but with the power which Ormond had formerly held, although under a new title, that of lord deputy. Section IV. — Tyrconnel as Lord De/uty of Ireland. The rule of Tyrconnel entirely subverted the old order of things. Protestants were disarmed, and Protestant soldiers were disbanded. The militia was 1 6S 7. Tyrconnel, Lord Deputy of Ireland. 121 composed wholly of Roman Catholics. The Roman Ca- ... . , . . tholics f;>- clispensing power in the royal prerogative vorcd by set aside the statutes of the kingdom, aud , T y rconnd - the bench and privy council were occupied by Ro- man Catholics. Vacant bishoprics of the Established Church remained unfilled and their revenues were devoted to Romish priests. Tithes were with impunity withheld from the clergy of the Establishment. Tyrconnel proposed to summon a parliament, but James withheld his permission. Barillon had told the king that Tyrconnel had traitorous designs in summoning a parliament ; that he intended to declare Ireland an in- dependent kingdom, and had even asked rx • -57-ttt r i • French in- the assistance of Lewis XIV. for his plans. trigues in Tyrconnel, on being called on for an expla- nation, said that all his schemes were laid in order to prepare a safe asylum for James and the royal famiiy in case of a successful Protestant revolution. The actual truth was, that Tyrconnel was also in the pay of Lewis XIV. ; that Barillon's disclosures to James revealed only half the matter ; that these disclosures were made be- cause it was thought that James might discover the in- trigue through some other source ; and that, in case James died without male issue (at this time a most pro- bable event), Tyrconnel was to declare Ireland a depen- dency of France, and, if the parliament were summoned, was to have induced that body to support his declaration of separation from England. The hatred of the Irish Roman Catholic towards the Protestant settlers was excited to the utmost under Tyr- connel's rule. The former now hoped to A Hatred of mete out to the latter a full measure of re- Roman ... „, , , -j j Catholics to- tahation. The breach was widened owing wards Pro- to the fear and distrust openly showed by te stants - 122 The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c. a.d. the Protestants and has .never since been effectually re- paired. CHAPTER XL WILLIAM, LEWIS, AND JAMES DURING THE WINTER OF 1687 AND SPRING AND SUMMER OF 1688. Section I. — William gathers Information and opens a ■ Correspondence with the Disaffected in England. The general insecurity felt in England in 1687 had caused many influential noblemen to urge on William of Orange an active interference. William, however, with that calm judgment and patient for- *&£* bearance which were characteristic of him, pear not & decided that the opportune time had not as sufficiently yet CO me. For the defence of Germany he npe J J had negotiated the League of Augsburg, and had thus frustrated the schemes of Lewis XIV. in that quarter. But James had not yet openly committed him- self to an offensive alliance with France, and Lewis' in- terference in English politick had been confined to per- sonal advice to James, to bribery of the nobility and leading politicians, and to various underhand intrigues. The Stadtholder, however, sent over to London a trustworthy agent, Dykvelt, to report to him on the state of affairs. He engaged also a Whig refugee, Dr. Bur- net, afterwards bishop of Salisbury, to go to William as- - - . . sistsDykvelt the Hague and act as his secretary in cor- and Burnet. resp0 nding with his English friends. Bur- net (whose "History of his own Time" is one of the 1 688. William gathers Information. 123 chief sources of information for students of the Revolu- tion of 1688) was a Scotchman, and had been a profes- sor at Glasgow, whence he had gone to London, and had been made a chaplain to Charles II. ; but on ac- count of his intimacy with Russell and the leaders of the Whig party, he had thought it prudent, soon after the Rye House Plot, to retire to Holland. Dykvelt, on arriving in London, held interviews with many influential statesmen, both there and in the country, without in any way committing his master. He sought the opinions of both Tories and Whigs, avoiding only those who were tainted with Romanism. His reports confirmed William in his policy of waiting. When he returned to Holland Dykvelt took with him letters from Lords Danby and Halifax, as- returns to suring William of their co-operation when- ever and however he might think fit to move more ac- tively. Lord Churchill, the petted protege of James, wrote also to William, offering him his services, and pro- fessing himself ready to die the death of a martyr for the Protestant religion. But when the Hydes (Lords Clarendon and Roches- ter) were dismissed from their offices, such feelings of distrust were raised that men of both political parties in England importuned William to take some decided step. William, determined accurately to gauge the state of the country, d:3patched another agent, not as before a diplo- matist like Dykvelt, but a soldier, Zulestein, able to ob- serve with a soldier's eye the signs of loyalty or disaffection to James in the army on Zulestein Hounslow Heath, and to judge with a sol- dier's perception what reliance, in a military point of view, could be pla.ced on William's adherents, and more particularly on his friends in the English navy. Zules- 124 The Fall of the Stuarts, &C. a.d. tein was connected by ties of family with William, and was therefore a person of sufficient distinction to be in- vited to the houses of the English nobility ; and as he did not visit England officially, his presence did not bring down on his hosts the suspicions of James. On his return to Holland, Zulestein made a much more fa- vorable report than Dykvelt had, of the strength of William's party. He also brought back with him fresh letters of adherence. Henceforth, the friends of William in England kept up a constant correspondence with the Hague. Section II. — October, 1687. Another event occurred to strengthen the views of those who advised William of Orange to take immediate action. Mary, William's wife, was at present heiress- n presumptive to the throne of England, and Ouccn s ex - pected con- one of William's reasons for inactivity was that sooner or later he would be able to make use of the power of England in restraining the inordinate pretensions of the king of France. But now, (October, 1687), to the astonishment of every one, it was announced that the birth of a child was expected by the queen. She had already borne James four children, all of whom had died in their infancy, and six years had elapsed since the birth of the last. She was no longer young. The announcement was received at first with incredu- lity, but as by degrees its importance began How the news J J ° . r ° of it was re- to be realized, the joy of the Roman Catho- lics knew no bounds. They declared that the expected event was owing to the direct intervention of the Deity ; and that it was a miracle vouchsafed to the prayers of the faithful. They likened the queen to 1 6 8 8 . Second Declaration of Indulgence. 125 Sarah and to Hannah, mothers in Israel. The Protestants, both Whig and Tory, believed that it was an impudent attempt of the Papists to foist a supposititious child on the country ; and that it was a Jesuitical plot and intrigue against William, the champion of the Protestant faith in Europe. So, uneasily, passed the winter of 1687-88. Section III. — The Second Declaration of Indulgence, and Trial of the Seven Bishops. In April, 1688, James put forth a second declaration of indulgence. As in the former one published in 1687, this also suspended all penal laws against nonconformists, and abolished religious tests as qualifications for office ; but it con- Declaration tained this important addition, that the king dui^nce would employ no one, in either a civil or military appointment, who refused to concur in this new declaration. Concurrence, therefore, in the declaration was made the new test. James announced also his intention of summoning a parliament in November, and appealed to I cim.cs Lciiiis his subjects to choose representatives who of calling would aid him in carrying the measures he Parliament. had so much at heart. On May 4 an order of council was passed command- ing the clergy of all denominations to read Declaration the declaration from their pulpits on two behead in successive Sundays. The first of these Sun- churches. days was to be for London parishes, May 20 ; for the country ones, June 3. Meetings of the clergy took place on the publication of this order. The High Church party, who had thus far always preached the doctrine of 126 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. _, , passive obedience and of the divine right The clergy r m ° are indig- of kings, agreed that this order was an in- sult to the Church which even their princi- ples would not compel them to put up with. The more liberal-minded clergy, and those who were inclined to the politics of the Whigs, declared that, under the guise of liberty of conscience, a blow was aimed at the Esta- blished Church, the maintenance of which they held to be the safeguard against Rome and intolerance. At a general meeting held at Lambeth, a petition to the king was drawn up, and signed by the archbishop of „ „ Canterbury and six bishops. It prayed the Protest of J . . ,.,.,,, the Seven king not to insist on their reading the decla- ops. ration, which contained " such a dispensing power as Parliament had declared illegal." The names of the " seven bishops," as they are commonly called, should not be forgotten. They are — Sancroft, archbishop of Canterbury ; Ken, bishop of Bath and Wells ; Lake, bishop of Chichester ; Lloyd, bishop of St. Asaph ; Sir J. Trelawny, bishop of Bristol ; Turner, bishop of Ely ; White, bishop of Peterborough. As the archbishop, owing to his refusal to sit on the ecclesiastical commission, had been forbidden the court, the six bishops carried to James their petition. The king was furious. He told the bishops they were rebels, but that there were still left seven thousand of the Church who had not bowed their knee to Baal ; that he would keep the petition, and would not forget who had signed it ; that no good churchman ever yet denied Interview ° ■* of the the dispensing power of the Crown. Ken with James. asked James to grant to them the same lib- erty of conscience which he granted to others. On James refusing to do this, the bishop re- joined, " We have two duties — one duty to God and one 1 688. Trial of the Seven Bishops. 127 duty to your Majesty. " The king became yet more angry, and dismissed them. Ken, as he retired, ejacu- lated, " God's will be done." In very few churches or chapels in the kingdom was the declaration read. The primate and his six suffragans v/ere summoned be- fore the king in council. They acknow- _, ... J The bishops ledged the petition to be theirs. They committed were accordingly ordered to find bail to an- tower, swer a criminal information for libel in the King's Bench. This they declined to do, as it would be yielding up their legal privileges as peers of the realm. They were accordingly committed to the Tower. Their passage to the Tower, by water, resembled a triumph- al procession. Between two lines of boats the bishops passed, amidst shouts of " God bless your lord- ships ! " On June 10 an infant prince was born. No time could have been more inauspicious. Through- out England James was unpopular. The birth pr[nce° f * of the prince produced a fresh complication in the tangled web of European politics. On June 15 the archbishop and bishops were brought into court to plead. Their counsel took legal ... . . . 1 ^1 The bishops objections to their commitment ; but these committed were overruled, and the trial was fixed for to tnal - June 29. During the intervening fortnight tumults took place. Papists were insulted. Huge bonfires were lighted. In the West of England, where Pub ! ic excite " & G ' ment. the memory of Monmouth was still revered, the peasantry prepared again to take up arms. The Cornish miners, who loved Trelawny as the representa- tive of an old cherished Cornish family, sang 128 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. " And shall Trelawny die, and shall Trelawny die ? Then twenty thousand Cornish boys will know the reason why." On the appointed day the trial commenced. The defendants were charged with publishing a false, mali- cious, and seditious libel. The counsel for the defence urged that there was no publica- tion, for the petition was placed in the king's hand ; that the petition was not false, for all that it contained was in the journals of Parliament ; that it was not malicious, for the defendants had not sought to make strife, but had been placed in the situation in which they found them- selves by the action of the Government ; that it was not seditious, for it was seen by the king alone ; that it was not a libel but a decent petition, such as subjects might lawfully present to their king. Two great constitutional questions were thus before the court — the denial of the dispensing power of the king, the claim of the right of every subject to petition. The counsel for the prosecution were weak in their speeches. The high-handed measures of Lord Chancellor Jeffreys had so disgusted all the more digni- The ,. fled of the legal profession that the crown verdict. ° r found difficulty in filling the higher offices of the law. There were four judges on the bench. Two summed up in favor of the crown ; the other two, Hol- loway and Powell, in favor of the bishops. The jury retiring to consider their verdict, sat all night in consul- tation, and at ten in the morning brought in a verdict of 'not guilty.' The joy of the populace knew no bounds. West- minster Hall resounded with shouts, which were taken up throughout London and its suburbs. Tames How the & _ • , • • i a verdict was had gone to Hounslow to visit the camp. An express messenger arrived announcing the 1 683. The Invitation to William. 129 verdict. The soldiers raised cries of exultation at the acquittal of the bishops. This prosecution united all classes in opposition to the Government. The cause of the Church and the cause of freedom was for once the same. The great majority of the peers, both lay and spiritual, the universities, the clergy, the dissenters, the army, the navy, the landed gentry, the merchants, all, in short, who called themselves Protestants, were firmly knit together to oppose the king and his Romish advisers. The tories no longer held to their doctrine of passive obedience ; they now maintained that extreme oppres- sion might justify resistance, and that the oppression which the nation now suffered was extreme. Section IV. — The Invitation to William. In May, Edward Russell had gone over to the Hague to represent the actual state of affairs in England, and the necessity of active interference on the ■,-. 1 • e TT7-1 Visit of part of William. Russell (a cousin of Wil- Edward liam, Lord Russell), was an officer in the ^Hague. navy, and had once been a member of James' household, when James was Duke of York, but had resigned on the fall of the Whigs. William spoke most cautiously to Russell. He told him he wanted written invitations and promises of support from men of position of all parties. Russell answered that it was necessary to the success of the design that it should not be known to a great many. To this William assented, and said he would be satisfied if the signatures were few in number, provided they were those of statesmen repre- senting great interests. Thus commissioned, Russell returned to London. To Dykvelt William remarked, " Aut nunc aut nunquam " — " Now or never." On the 30th of June, the day of the acquittal of the K 130 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. bishops, Admiral Herbert, disguised as a common sailor, Admiral set °^" f° r tne Dutch coast. He was the Herbert bearer of a paper signed in cypher. Those William an who had signed were but seven. They were the Earl of Devonshire, who represented the old Whig party ; the Earl of Shrewsbury, who, bred a Roman Catholic, had been converted to Protestantism by Archbishop Tillotson ; the Earl of Danby, a Tory, who had been driven from power by the Whigs, but whose chief political maxim was hostility to France and Lewis XIV. ; Compton, the suspended bishop of Lon- don, who represented the clergy ; Henry Sidney, brother of Algernon Sidney, who represented those holding the more extreme political views for which his brother had suffered on the scaffold ; Lord Lumley, who had hitherto been attached to the cause of James, and had done good service in suppressing Monmouth's insurrection ; and Russell, who represented the chief officers of the navy. Some have called these seven " the seven patriots." The letter, which invited William to land in England with a body of troops, assured him " that the greatest The terms P art °f tne nobility and gentry are as much ? f * e . dissatisfied as themselves : that nineteen out invitation. ' of every twenty are desirous of a change ; that very many of the common soldiers do daily show such an aversion to the Popish religion that there is the greatest probability they would desert; and amongst the seamen there is not one in ten who would do James any service." William made up his mind at once to sail for Eng- land. Before entering on an account of William's success, it will be well to point out briefly the difficulties of his position. 1 688. William' s Proclamation. 131 He was at the head of a small republic, which at great sacrifices and with great difficulty had succeeded in pre- serving its independence against the assaults Difficulties of Lewis XIV. He had now to prepare an of William's x L situation. expedition, neither too small, lest it might be crushed by James ; nor too large, lest it should drain the resources of his country, and leave her unprotected. He had to guard against the jealousy of his Dutch sub- jects. He had to trust the representations of the " seven patriots," who might after all be judging of their coun- trymen by their own wishes. He could not but see that the English nation had displayed for some years past but little love of freedom or spirit of resistance to tyranny. He knew that Monmouth and Argyle had both failed. He knew also, that however loudly the nation exclaimed against Popery, the pulpits of its Established Church had for years been filled by clergy who preached the doctrine of passive obedience, its seats of justice had been occupied by lawyers who pronounced that doctrine to be the law of the land, and its later parliaments had admitted the same fatal principle. These difficulties must be borne in mind in order to form a fair estimate of the great man who in the face of them formed his determination, and in spite of them succeeded in his design. Section V. — James Pi'oceedings after the Acquittal of the Bishops. As soon as the news of the acquittal of the bishops was brought to Hounslow, James took horse and hurried to London. He had thus the mortification of seeing the rejoicings, the bonfires and geHs roused, the fireworks which the result of the trial produced. The spirit of revenge, which was natural to T3 2 The Fall of 'the Stuarts, &=c. a.d. him, was aroused. He issued an order to the archdea- cons to report to the High Commissioners the names of all the clergy who had omitted to read the declaration. He dismissed from the bench the two judges, Holloway and Powell, who had summed up in favor of the bishops. He rewarded those who supported his own views, and, still further to vex English churchmen, and to gain over the dissenters, Dr. Titus, a noted Presbyte- rian, was made a member of the Privy Council. James learnt, from the acclamations of the troops at Hounslow, that they were not to be depended on. He T ,. therefore broke up the encampment in Tulv, James, dis- r r J J ' appointed and trusted by a personal appeal to each with the . .-..,, . . troops, regiment singly, to win them back to their Irish 5 . 55 ° ver fidelity, and to engage their aid in carrying into effect his determination concerning the test. He made his first attempt at extracting a personal engagement from the men of each corps with Lord Lich- field's regiment, now the 12th Foot. In this he failed, the soldiers with hardly an exception declining to sign any engagement. James left the ground on which the regi- ment was paraded, exclaiming, "I shall not do you the honor to consult you another time." Thus baulked, he de- termined to bring over Irish battalions, raised and trained by Tyrconnel, and also to enlist in English regiments Irish recruits brought over from their country for that purpose. These steps, however, still further increased the disaffection of the army. English and Irish hated each other with a deadly hatred. In some cases, the attempt to introduce Irish recruits into a regiment excited a mutiny. Disaffection The spirit of disloyalty raised by the trial of increases. ^e bishops was aggravated by these various acts of James in the months of July, August and September. 1 688. Lewis declares War. 133 Section VI. — Lewis Declares War Against the Emperor. We have seen how the claims of the Duchess of Or- leans to some of the possessions of the Elector Palatine had been supported by Lewis, had then been referred to the Emperor, and by him had been disallowed ; and we have also seen how Lewis' attempted interference by arms was frustrated by the League of Augsburg. Another quarrel now arose between the French and Imperial courts. The archie- about* the piscopal electorate of Koln (Cologne) had Kom° rate ° f become vacant. Lewis was desirous that a protege of his, von Fiirstenberg (brother of the bishop of Strasburg, who had been instrumental in gaining pos- session of that city for the French), should be elected to fill the vacancy. The Emperor, on the other hand, wished to place a Bavarian prince in the electorate. The Pope, opposed to Lewis, supported the Emperor's candidate. The Chapter of Koln had to decide between the rivals. French influence prevailed, and von Fiirs- tenberg was elected by the majority of the Chapter (15 votes to 9). This election the Pope declared invalid, insisting, further, that the Bavarian was the rightful elector. Against this decision Lewis appealed to arms. In spite of the Pope, he proclaimed war against the Em- peror. All the German princes who had joined the League of Augsburg were united against France. Lewis had been informed by his Lews takes J up arms, ambassador at the Hague that William was fitting out an expedition, but with such skill had the des- tination of it been concealed that it was not until the 134 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. month of September that the ambassador James of learnt it was intended for England. Lewis designs 1 S ^ ost no time in warning James of the de- signs of William, and in offering him assist- ance. Had Lewis been free now to direct a large army on Holland, the States-General would not have allowed William to move from home, nor to take with 1 Germany w ^ tn hi m Dutchtroops ; but the war with the ? p «r^? e Emperor demanded all the French troops, for William. r _ r and for weeks before the actual declaration of hostilities the army stationed on the borders of Flanders had been steadily making towards the Rhine. Lewis did, indeed, instruct his ambassador to inform the States-General that if any direct act of hostility was com- mitted by Holland against his ally, the King of England, he should consider it as a declaration of war. James, on his part, after receiving the warning of Lewis, gave him no encouragement to interfere more actively. To the offer by the French king of naval James . , . r fuses Lewis' assistance James replied in a contemptuous offers of help. . , • , • ,. i ■ . , manner, either wishing his subjects to sup- pose that he himself felt safe on his throne, or giving way to one of those outbursts of sullen pride to which he was subject. The unpopularity of James with his subjects and the war against Germany undertaken by Lewis Chances of & J . J . William's sue- were two great aids in ensuring the ultimate cesses are r ,„■„• gre.it. success of William. Section VII. — William's Proclamation, In September a proclamation was drawn up for William which was translated into English by Burnet for circulation. It was dated from the Hague, October 1 633. William 's Proclamation. 135 10, and set forth in temperate language the various grievances to which the English people had been sub- jected. It stated that their liberties, laws, and religion were imperiled; that the birth of the young prince was attended by such grave suspicions as to demand the strictest and most impartial investigation ; that at the request of many lords, both temporal and spiritual, and of other persons of all ranks, he (William) had been requested to repair to England, accompanied by such forces as would be sufficiently strong to repel violence. It concluded by solemnly assuring English- men that in thus acting William had no mation of thoughts of conquest, that the troops should be kept under the strictest discipline ; that as soon as the nation was free he could send them back to Holland, and that his sole object was to obtain the assembling of a free and legal parliament which should decide all questions public and private. James now became fully alive to the situation. He was willing to make concessions. He gave audience (October 2) toall the bishops then in London, and listened to their advice without bursting James makes concessions. into a passion. They counselled him to return to a legal course of government, to summon a parliament, to abolish the Ecclesiastical Commission, to redress the wrongs done to the corporate towns and the universities, and, if possible, to rejoin the church of his father and grandfather. As if to add force to the counsel of the bishops, and to quicken James' decision, riots broke out in London, and several Romish chapels were burnt. Some of the suggestions of the bishops were adopted by James. Many dignitaries who had been displaced — Compton, bishop of London, among them — were rein- 136 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. stated. The charter of the city of London was carried back in state to the Guildhall. The Ecclesiastical Com- mission was abolished. The president and fellows of Magdalen were restored to their college. Sunderland and Father Petre were dismissed from their seats in the council. But the king would not yield his claim of the " dispensing power." On October 21 James met at Whitehall all the peers, both spiritual and temporal, who could be collected, the judges, the Lord Mayor and aldermen of the birth London, and laid before them minute proofs prince °f the birth of the Prince of Wales. The produced. evidence was sufficient to convince impar- tial minds, and all those present were satisfied. But the great majority of the people were still unconvinced ; they were not impartial, and there were few English Protes- tants of that generation who did not consider the young prince an impostor, whom the Jesuits were endeavoring to foist on the country. Burnet's translation of the " Declaration " of William reached London about November 1, and was secretly and swiftly passed from hand to hand. i688. William! s Proclamation. 137 138 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. CHAPTER XII. . THE REVOLUTION. Section I. — William in E?igland. On the 16th of October William took leave of the Dutch . , , Estates. He told them that he went to Eng- William takes leave of the land in defence of the reformed religion, and of the independence of Europe; "that he might not return, but in that case left his beloved wife in their care." He himself spoke with unfaltering voice, but the Assembly was not equally calm, many of the members being moved even to tears. But William re- mained "firm in his usual gravity and phlegm." On the 19th, the embarkation took place at Helvoet- sluys. The fleet consisted of 50 men of war, viiiiamsets 25 frigates, some fire ships, and 400 trans- ports, having on board 4,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry fully equipped. Much discussion and some difference of opinion had arisen as to the part of England on which the descent should be made. Lord Danby had been anxious it should be in Yorkshire, and thither the fleet was first steered. But few hours had passed at sea before a violent west wind arose, which drove the ships back to Contrary winds harbor. An English fleet, commanded by delay the fleet. ° J Lord Dartmouth, lay at the mouth of the Thames. An east wind, which would be favorable to William, would prevent James' fleet from leaving its anchorage. For days, however, the west wind blew, and Dartmouth was prepared, on the first intelligence of 1 688. William in E?igland. 139 William's fleet putting to sea, to sail for the Yorkshire coast. During this delay, William altered his plans. He resolved to land in the West of England, in that West which had before shown its at- William sails . down channel. tachment to Protestantism by proclaiming Monmouth, and had in consequence suffered so much from James and his creature Jeffreys. The wind at length changed on the 1st of November; a favorable easterly breeze set in, " a Protestant wind." For the second time William put to sea. The transports were in the centre ; to windward and leeward the Dutch men-of- war were formed, William's flagship among them, to protect the transports. The rear of the fleet was brought up by a squadron under Admiral Herbert, so that in case Lord Dartmouth should come up with the fleet, he would find himself confronted by English ships. But the east wind effectually prevented Dartmouth from following William. Favored by a fresh gale, William's fleet rapidly sailed down channel without meeting a hostile ship. Off Torbay the fleet cast anchor, and William landed. The day of his landing was November 5, the day alreadv endeared to Protestants, the William lands. anniversary of the discovery of the Gun- powder Plot. Dr. Burnet was amongst the first to dis- embark and present himself to William. Understanding nothing of military matters, he fussily interrogated Wil- liam as to his plans, as to which way he intended to march, and when, and desired to be employed by him in whatever service he should think fie. William was " cheerfuller than ordinary." He replied by asking Burnet what he now thought of predestination, and by advising him, if he had a mind to be busy, to consult the canons. 140 The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c. a.d. William now set to work to make arrangements for the landing of his troops. By noon of the Marches to 5^ ^g w hole force was on its way to Exeter. Jt,xeter. J There William remained for ten days. He was at first disappointed at not being joined by the nobility and gentry. Lamplugh, the bishop, had fled from the city, to join James. But before a week was over, the news of William's arrival at Exeter with a large army had spread, and many men of consideration joined his standard. The Dutch troops of William were regarded with friendly feelings. The farmers, the trades- Trie Dutch men, and the peasants of the West, were received 6 struck by the contrast between William's soldiers and those whom James had for- merly billeted on them. Instead of living at free quar- ters amongst them, all provisions were punctually paid for, and the people consequently willingly sold to the soldiers whatever they required. Section II. — Progress of the Revolution. But it was not in the West of England only that the standard of William was raised. Lord Delamere in Revolution in Cheshire put himself at the head of his ten- the North. ants, and rode through Manchester, rous- ing the townspeople. The Earl of Danby, at the head of one hundred gentry and yeomanry, dashed into York, and gaining over the militia, who received him with shouts of "a free Parliament and the Protestant re- ligion," placed the governor under arrest, and won the city for William. The Earl of Devonshire, equally successful in Derby, marched thence to Nottingham, where he was joined by Lords Manchester, Stamford, Rut- land, Chesterfield, Cholmondeley, and Grey de Ruthyn. i688. Lord Churchill. 141 Norwich was seized for William by the Duke of Nor- folk. Oxford, the headquarters of Toryism, welcomed Lord Lovelace with acclamations, town and , Fast and gown uniting in shouts of "No Popery. ' Centre of Lord Feversham, commander-in-chief of the royal forces, had despatched troops to the West with the utmost speed, in order to check William's ad- vance. James' army greatly exceeded in numbers that of William, but his officers were not to be trusted. The van, consisting principally of cavalry, had reached Salisbury, where it had halted. The officer in com- mand was Lord Cornburv, eldest son of the n . . ' Defection 01 Earl of Clarendon, and nephew to the Lord Corn- king. On the 14th of November he led three regiments out of the town towards Blandford, under the pretence of surprising an advanced outpost of the Prince of Orange. On the road he tried to induce the soldiers to join him in deserting to William. Finding himself less successful than he anticipated, he, with a few followers, galloped off, leaving the troops to return to Salisbury. News of this desertion reached James on the 15th. His grief, and that of his queen, was excessive. But the man under whose influence Cornbury had acted was Lord Churchill. Section III. — Lord Churchill. John Churchill had been in boyhood a page of the Duke of York. He stood high in James' favor, and his interests were well looked after. He received a com- mission in the Guards, and served in Africa. ^, Churchill s He afterwards accompanied James both on early career the Continent and to Scotland, and was with him when he was shipwrecked. In 1681 he mar- ried Sarah Jennings, an attendant on the Princess Anne. 142 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. The influence of Lady Churchill over Anne was un- bounded. By her interest, Churchill, in 1682, was pro- Lad moted to a colonelcy in the Guards, and to Churchill. a Scotch peerage. On the accession of James the Scotch peerage was converted into an English one. In the suppression of Monmouth's rebellion, Churchill was high in command under Feversham. But notwith- standing the confidence placed in him by James, and the favors he had received, Churchill entered corresponds mto correspondence with William, before ^j|. that prince had resolved on his expedi- tion to England. He saw that the cause of James was a losing cause. Therefore he deliberately set about to betray his patron. By his connivance, a wide- spread conspiracy among the officers of the army was arranged, and the first fruit of this was the defection of James' nephew Cornbury. ChurchhiU's after career showed him to be a man of the greatest genius. He shone alike as a general and a di- character of plomatist. But his character for faithlessness he never lost. Loving his wife with a devo- tion which was almost romantic, he threw himself heart and soul, into her schemes ; and her schemes were all directed to personal aggrandizement and to heaping to- gether wealth. Churchill was true only to that cause, or that master, who best requited his services. He un- hesitatingly sacrificed his patriotism, his promises, and his friends to his own and his wife's greed and ambition. It is true that he had been brought up in a profligate and unprincipled court, that his education had been entirely neglected, and that his conduct was not worse than that of many of the politicians of the day. But the glory he afterwards achieved, and the greatness of his natural 1 6 8 8 . • Collapse of the Court Party. 143 powers, bring into stronger light the base motives which regulated his conduct. Section IV. — Collapse of the Court Party and attempt of the King to fly. James called together the chief officers of his army- still in London, and consulted them as to the spirit of disloyalty which had manifested itself. Among those present at this council were Churchill, the Duke of Grafton, Kirke, and Trelawnv, Churchill and other brother of the bishop of Bristol. All swore officers swear they would be true to the last drop of their blood. A large body of peers, both lay and spiritual, with the archbishop, Sancroft, at their head, presented to James a petition, asking him to summon a parlia- ment and to negotiate with the Prince of refuses the Orange. The king indignantly refused to a °nd setso'ff '° n listen to their arguments in favor of the bls arm y- terms of the petition. " Was this a time," said he, " to call together a parliament, when a foreign enemy was in the country?" Then, attended by the officers in whom he trusted, but by whom he was being betrayed, he set out for Salisbury, where he arrived on the 19th. Feversham waited on James immediately after his arrival, and reported the spread of disaffection in his army. News also arrived that the troops of the Prince of Orange were advancing from Exeter. A council of war was held on the evening of the 24th. Feversham pro- posed that the king should retire with his army to Wind- sor, lest William should cut him off from the capital. Churchill was for advancing. James was inclined to take the advice of the latter, and was on the Disaffection point of proceeding to Warminster, where s P reads - 144 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. Kirke and Trelawny were stationed with their regiments, when a sudden attack of bleeding at the nose detained him in his lodgings. Had he set out, he would have found himself betrayed into William's hands. During the succeeding night Churchill and Grafton deserted, and with Kirke and Trelawny and their regiments joined William. On the morning of the 25th, James and his troops were in full retreat towards London. Prince George of Denmark, Anne's husband, had accompanied James. On reaching Andover, he and the Duke of Ormond supped with the king. George Before the next morning both were miles and D prin?Ss away on their road to join William. The tii" 1 kirf 3 ^ 6 king was less hurt by their defection than by that of his old favorite and protege Churchill, but he had yet to learn the further grief the latter had prepared for him. On reaching London on the 27th lie found that his daughter, the Princess Anne, had on the previous night, accompanied by Lady Churchill, and escorted by the bishop of London, set out to join the insurgents under Danby at Nottingham. The unhappy king now fairly broke down. *' God only can help me, for my own children have forsaken me,'' he exclaimed. London was in an uproar. On the afternoon of the 27th a council of peers, temporal and spiritual, was held at James offers Whitehall. James announced that now the concessions, aspect of affairs had changed. He said that he had declined to accede to their petition before his de- parture for Salisbury, but that now he would do so. A parliament should be summoned to meet on the 15th of January, a free pardon should be granted to all now in rebellion, and a commission should be appointed to treat with William. As an earnest of the change in his conduct, 1 688. Collapse of the Court Party. 145 James dismissed Sir Edward Hales, the papist, from his office as lieutenant of the Tower. Barillon, however, who was in James' secret confidence, wrote to Lewis that all Tames' promises were but a ^ ut . ,s J r insincere. feint, and that he intended going over to Ireland, after he had sent his wife and child to Lewis for protection. Some days before, James had ordered Dart- mouth to convey the infant prince in his fleet from Portsmouth to France, but Dartmouth had refused to obey, pointing out to the king the evil consequences of such a step. In the meantime the commissioners accredited by James to William proceeded to Hungerford, where the prince's army was encamped. A slight skir- _ , r J L ° Conference mish had taken place between the king's between the T . , . , TTr ..,. , j , j commissioners Irish troops and William s advanced guard Q f James and near Reading. In this the temper of the Wllha,n - English had been conclusively shown, for the townspeople of Reading had joined the Dutch in attacking the Irish, declaring the latter to be the natural enemies of English- men. The terms which the commissioners agreed on with William were ; that the latter should halt his troops twenty miles to the westward of London, that the troops of James should be removed an equal distance to the east, that Romanists should be dismissed from office, and that the Tower and Tibury Fort should be placed in the hands of the Londoners. Whilst the conference was taking place at Hunger- ford, the queen and the infant prince were m 1 A 1 he queen (December 10th) placed on board a vessel and her child lying in the Thames, and, favored by a fair c. a.d. ( viii. ) That elections of members of Parliament must be free ; ( ix. That there must be freedom of debate in Par- liament ; ( x. ) That excessive bail should never be demand- ed ; ( xi. ) That juries should be impanelled and returned in every trial : ( xii. ) That grants of estates as forfeited, before con- viction of the offender, are illegal ; ( xiii. ) That Parliament should be held frequently. It concluded, that " they ( the people of this realm ) do claim, demand, and insist upon, all and singular the premises, as their undoubted rights and liberties." By this declaration, therefore, the rights of personal security, or personal liberty, and of private property were claimed by the people, and admitted by the crown. Section III. — The Revolution in Scotland. At the first prospect of invasion from Holland, James had ordered the regiments on duty in Scotland to march - , southward. The withdrawal of the troops Disturb- . . r ancesin was followed by outbreaks in various parts. Scotland. 7 ,-, ■, .-, -, In Glasgow, the covenanters rose, and pro- claimed the Prince of Orange king. In Edinburgh riots broke out. The chapel of Holyrood Palace was dis- mantled, and the Romish bishops and priests fled in fear for their lives. On hearing that William had entered into London, the leading Whigs, under the Duke of Hamilton, repaired thither, and had an interview with him. He invited them 1 6S9. The Revolution in Scotland. 153 to meet in Convention. This they accord- ingly did, and on January 9, 1689, it was Convention resolved to request William to summon a meeting of the Scottish Estates for the 14th of March, and in the interim to administer to the government. To this William consented. The Estates of Scotland met on the appointed day. All the bishops, and a great number of the peers were adherents of Tames. After a stormy debate, J J Meeting of the Duke of Hamilton was elected presi- the Scotch, dent. But the minority (Jacobites) was a large one. With an eye to any future change, and in order to pre- serve their titles and estates, many of the Scotch nobility now adopted a singular expedient which remained in vogue for some years after. The head of the house joined one party, whilst the heir threw in his fortunes with the other. The Duke of Gordon still held Edinburgh Castle for James, and when the minority found it hopeless to carry their measures, he proposed they should with him with- draw from Edinburgh and hold a rival Con- vention at Stirling. But these intentions disaffected were discovered, many Jacobites were ar- rested, andmany others, amongst them Viscount Dundee, escaped to the Highlands. In the end, the crown was offered to William and Mary on the same terms on which it had J 1 he crown been offered by the English Convention. of Scotland The offer was accompanied by a claim of \\iiiiamand rights, almost identical with the English de- Mar y- claration, but containing the additional clause, that " prelacy was a great and insupportable grievance." On April 11, 1689, William and Mary were solemnly proclaimed at the Cross of Edinburgh. *54 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. A.D. The rabbling. It was high time some form of government should be settled, for, throughout the Lowlands, scenes of mob vio- lence were daily witnessed. The Presbyterians, so long down-trodden, rose in many a parish. The Episcopal clergy were ejected, in some cases with bloodshed. The "rabbling," as it is called in Scotch history, continued for some months, until the Presbyte- rian Church was reinstated by law as the Established Church of Scotland, in June, 1690. Section IV. — The Revolution in Ireland. In Ireland, the Revolution made but little progress. Tyrconnel had disarmed all the Protestants, Tyrconnei's except those in the North. He had a large measures. * t> force of 20,000 men underarms, and of this force all the officers were trustworthy and Papists. He had filled the corporations of the towns with adherents of James. He had shown himself to be, as ever, tyran- nical and unscrupulous. It was universally believed by the Protestants that a general massacre, a second St. Bartholomew, was intended. Even a day, December 9, was, they thought, fixed for the expected outbreak. The garrison of Londonderry had been tempo- of^ro^ants 5 raril y withdrawn. On December 8, Lord Antrim arrived in command of 12,000 soldiers, to form the new garrison. Without any warn- ing, the Protestant apprentices (" the prentice boys of Deny,") shut the gates of the city in his face. The in- habitants, in spite of the entreaties of the bishop and of the town council, refused to allow them to be opened. Antrim was compelled to withdraw. Thus one rallying- point was gained for the opponents of James. Another was found in Enniskillen, sixty miles south of Londonder- l688. Devastation of the Palatinate. 155 ry. Into these two towns poured all the Protestants from the surrounding districts. With these two exceptions, the boast of Tyrconnel that Ireland was true, was well founded. In __ . Native Irish order, however, still further to increase his called to forces, he called on the native Irish to join his standard. As many as 50,000 are said to have obeyed his summons, and to have submitted to drill ; and 50,000 more to have roamed about the country, sol- diers in name, but robbers in reality. Section V. — Devastation of the Palatinate. We have seen how Lewis withdrew his troops from. Flanders in order to increase his forces on . , Lewis forms the north-eastern frontier of France. Two two corps j, , r j .-p., d'armee. corps d armee were formed. The one nom- inally under the command of the Dauphin, eldest son of Lewis, with whom served Marshal Duras and the great Vauban, the other under the Marquis of Boufflers. The first of these armies, early in October, 1688, un- dertook the siege of Philipsburg, which Their suc . place surrendered after a month. It then cess - marched to Manheim, at the confluence of the Neckar and Rhine. Manheim immediately submitted, and the French thus became masters of the Palatinate on the right bank of the Rhine. The second corps d'armee, under Boufflers, took possession of Mainz, Worms, Speyer, Kreutznach, and the whole of the possessions of the Elector Palatine on the left bank of the Rhine. Then it ascended the Moselle and captured Trier (Treves). When Lewis heard that William had made good his descent on England, he declared war against the United 156 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. Lewis' forces Provinces, November 28, 1688. The Dutch inadequate. therefore were now actively engaged against him. Germany was arming in hot haste. The Diet had assembled at Regensburg (Ratisbon). The forces which France had at its disposal were not numerous enough to hold all the conquests they had so rapidly made. Louvois accordingly advised Lewis to destroy the cap- tured towns rather than allow them to be re-occupied by the enemy. Lewis was troubled by no scruples when h» fancied that his interests, or ambitious schemes, were en- dangered. He took a step which added another stain to his name, and which caused France and Frenchmen to be hated by Germans. The French generals were Palatinate ordered to burn every town and village of ravaged. t h e Palatinate, and to devastate the coun- try with fire and sword. Heidelberg Castle, the magnif- icent seat of the Elector Palatine, was committed to the flames ; Manheim, Speyer, Worms, Oppenheim. Bingen, in rapid succession, shared its fate. Cathedrals, churches, public buildings, monuments of art, the work of succes- sive rulers, from imperial Rome downwards, were not spared. More than forty towns and large villages be- came blackened ruins. Crops, vineyards, orchards, were alike destroyed, and a rich and populous district was turned into a desert. One hundred thousand fami- lies wandered homeless in search of refuge from their implacable foes. The Diet, in declaring war, January 24, 1689, sum- Resolutions moned all Germany to vengeance. The of the Diet. Emperor denounced Lewis as the enemy'of all Christendom, and called on Europe to join in a cru- sade against him, as against a Turk and an infidel. Frenchmen were put under the ban of the Empire ; all 1 688. Devastation of the Palatinate. 157 commerce with France was interdicted ; all French sub- jects, even those in domestic service, were expelled from Germany. Lewis' conduct is indefensible. Voltaire, the great French philosopher, who lived in the next century, in his "Age of Lewis XIV.," excuses him by suggesting that he would not have given such barbarous orders if he could have seen with his own eyes the misery he caused. Other French writers claim that No excuse the law of war permits any action which for Lewis. can injure the enemy. But if this principle were ad- mitted, assassins might be employed to take the life of the opposing general. No civilized nation can make war in such fashion. A fortified town which is captured may be dismantled, not burnt ; — a defenceless village must be spared. It was at this juncture that James arrived at St. Ger- mains. Lewis received him with studied expressions of hospitality. He begged him, so long as he 1 1 -i i • -ii- James would honor him with his company, to re- arrives at St. ceive a yearly allowance of ,£45,000 ; he sent ermains ' him ;£io,ooo for his immediate use. He ordered his courtiers to treat him and his queen with every mark of respect due to crowned heads. But James himself in- spired those brought into contact with him with no respect. The French nobles commiserated the queen, but they remarked of James that it was no wonder he was at St. Germains and his son-in law at St. James'. 153 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. A.D. CHAPTER XIV. Difficulties of William's position increased by his pergonal unpopularity. THE FIRST YEAR OF THE REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY. Section I. — The Ministry. William and Mary were not as yet secure on the throne ; Scotland and Ireland were in arms, and a large party in England was by no means satisfied with its Dutch sovereign. William, although a wise and prudent man, did not make many friends. His manners were cold ; he was ungenial and leaned too much on his Dutch comrades, Schomberg, Bentinck, and Zulestein. He had this excuse, that they were tried friends whom he knew he could trust : and he felt no such certainty about English statesmen. He suffered also from asthma, a wearying complaint, which made him often petulant. He was, in fact, unpopular. On the other hand, fortu- nately, Mary was by nature formed to attract popular? affection and loyalty. She was handsome, and her manners were winning. Her greatest pleasure was in relieving distress, and her private cha- racter was irreproachable. No scandalous tale was ever told of her. William chose the leading men of each party to form his first ministry or cabinet. But he reserved one im- TTr .„. , . portant post, that of foreign minister, for William his x A own foreign himself. Throughout his reign he allowed no minister to regulate the foreign policy of England. Parliament often interfered, much to William's disgust, but no "secretary for foreign affairs," with nar- row or insular policy, was permitted by William to en- 1689. Proceedings in Parliametrt. 159 danger the grand object of his life, the lessening the power of France, so that it should no longer be danger- ous to the liberties and progress of any European nation, or to the Protestant faith. William gave the presidency of the council to Danby, created Marquis of Carmarthen. Danby re- William's presented the Tories of the earlier part of first mi * x . L nisteis. Charles II. 's reign, but had nevertheless shown that such principles were not incompatible with patriotism. Halifax, the treasurer, was made privy seal. Lord Shrewsbury, the young rising Whig, one of the '' seven patriots," was made one secretary of state ; the other secretaryship was given to Lord Nottingham, a Tory, by whose appointment William hoped to gratify the Tory country-gentlemen and the High Church clergy. Admiral Herbert had charge of the navy. The Great Seal was not filled, but put in commission. New judges were appointed, and Somers was created solicitor- general. All the subordinate posts were carefully divided by W T illiam between the Whigs and Tories. To Wil- liam's faithful Dutch followers were given the most im- portant posts in the household. Such an arrangement was natural, but nevertheless caused great jealousy amongst English courtiers. Section II. — Proceedings in Parliament. The Nonjurors. On February 18 the Convention sat as a Parliament. The first bill passed by both Houses was one . , , _, . .. Convention which enacted that the Convention of Jan. declared a 22 represented the two Houses of Parliament, ar iament ' and that its proceedings were as valid as if the Houses had been summoned in the usual manner. The bill was accompanied by a clause declaring that no member 160 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. A.D. „ , . should sit or vote in either House, after the Oaths of allegiance to ensuing first of March, who had not taken the prescribed oath of allegiance to King William and Queen Mary. All office-holders, whether lay or spiritual, were ordered to take the oath before August I. If they declined to do so, they were, if lay- men, to lose their office ; if clergymen, they were to be suspended for six months, and if they, at the end of that time, still refused to take the oath, they were to be de- prived of their benefices. On March i a call of both Houses was made for tne purpose of administering the oath to the members. The archbishop of Canterbury and seven bishops The Non- absented themselves from the House of ■■uro s. Lords. Their example was followed by many of the inferior clergy, when the day (August i) came on which they were to be sworn. Six bishops and about 400 clergy were eventually (169 1) deprived of their livings in accordance with the act of Parliament. The nonjurors, as they were called, became henceforth a dis- turbing element in the settlement of the kingdom. Their conscientious scruples, and the sacrifices they made in following them, deserve a certain amount of our con- sideration ; but their tenets were dangerous to the liber- ties of the country. They believed James Stuart to be their lawful sovereign, and strove for his restoration. They held doctrines which involved extravagant views of sacerdotal power, and which would, if carried out, have undone the work of more than a century of Church reform. James II. had, by favoring Papists, done much to unite Churchmen and Nonconformists. A school of theolo- gians had also for the last forty years flourished at Cam- bridge (belonging for the most part to Emmanuel College) 1689. Proceedings in Parliament. 161 who taught that a national church should be a compre- hensive one, and that the church itself ex- ... r Comprehen isted not in "coincidence of doctrine, but in sionand c • ■ -ii .-p.! ■.. i j Toleration communion of spiru. 1 heir writings had Bin s . from the first attracted attention, and latter- ly had gained some few converts. Various schemes of comprehension were advocated by politicians and theo- logians. William was himself interested. He had noth- ing of the religious bigot in his composition. He had no desire to persecute a man for his religious opinions, nor to confine within narrow limits the creed of the nation. He therefore heartily concurred in two bills, the Compre- hension Bill and the Toleration Bill, being laid before the Houses of Parliament. But the country was not as yet prepared to enlarge the basis of the English Church. Freedom of ... . . , . . , , . . Comprehen- religious thought and opinion, although it sion Bill has always maintained a struggling existence in the English Church, had not as yet become popular. After various vicissitudes in Parliament, the Comprehen- sion Bill was eventually referred to Convocation, the parliament of the clergy, and there it expired. A better fate awaited the Toleration Bill, for it was passed without much difficulty. The bill, „, , . Toleration inasmuch as it only exempted those who Bill passes, had taken the new oaths of allegiance and supremacy from any penalties incurred for non-attend- ance at church, may appear to us to accord a very small amount of religious liberty. It was nevertheless a great step towards freedom of religious opinion. The Commons had to provide money for the exigen- cies of the Government. It was hoped by William that the sums voted to James for life would be Appropna. continued to himself and Mary. But the tionof M 1 62 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. Lower House at once showed that it had no such intention. It did not interfere with the crown lands, the hereditary revenue of the sovereign. It voted a sum of money for immediate necessities, and repaid the Dutch their expenses of 600,000/. But it ordered the Ex- chequer to furnish annual estimates of expenditure and income, it determined that supplies should be annually voted in accordance with these estimates; that each par- ticular estimate should have a certain sum appropriated to it ; and that no sum should be expended on any other purpose than that for which it had been voted. This principle of the appropriation of supplies had been gen- erally the practice of the parliaments of Charles II., al- though not of that of James II., but it was now formally declared to be necessary, and annually in every session from that time until the present the supplies have been appropriated. The principle is one of the great safe- guards against the encroachments of the crown, or of an administration which cannot command a parliamentary majority. Early in the Session, a Mutiny Bill was passed. The necessity for it arose thus. A Scotch regiment ( now the 1st Royals ) had been ordered to embark for Holland, , r . „.„ and Schomberg, William's trusted Dutch Mutiny Bill. . general, was nominated to be its colonel. This nomination William had intended as a compliment to the regiment. But the officers were indignant, and, moreover, claimed that their regiment was under the control of the Scotch, and not the English government. On the march for the east coast the regiment mutinied and broke off for Scotland. Overtaken by superior forces in Lincolnshire, and surrounded, it surrendered. But there was no law by which the mutineers could be punished. The existence of a standing army without 1689. Proceedings in Parliament. 163 the consent of Parliament, as reasserted in the Declara- tion of Rights, was illegal. Consequently, unless this consent were given, no soldier could be punished, nor could a court martial be held. For the necessary con- trol of the army, Parliament, therefore passed a Mutiny Bill , the passing of such a bill showing its consent to the maintenance of a standing army. The bill conferred on officers of the army the power of enforcing discipline, and of billeting the soldiers in private houses. But this power was granted for one year only, and each year Parliament renews this power. Parliament, therefore, annually grants money for the payment of an army, and annually passes a bill for the discipline of that army, so that a sovereign cannot pay an army, nor raise an army, without consent of Parlia- ment. The very existence of an army, therefore, de- pends on the existence of Parliament, so that the sove- reign must take care, if he wishes to retain an army, that Parliament holds a session each year, and that after the dissolution of a Parliament, a year should not elapse be- fore a new Parliament meets. In the Mutiny Bill, therefore, is found another great constitutional safe- guard. The most important Act passed by this Parliament was the Bill of Rights. It confirmed the various clauses of the Declaration of Rights, and embodied them in the bill. It also settled the succession of the crown, first on William and Mary, Rights jointly, then on the survivor of either, then P^sed. on the heirs of Mary ; in default of any heirs of Mary, it was settled on the Princess Anne and her heirs ; and in default of these on the heirs of William by any sub- sequent marriage. The bill also provided that no papist should ever hold the crown. By the Bill of Rights the 164 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. doctrine of Divine Right received its death-blow. From the passing of this bill, the sovereign of England reigns solely by virtue of an act of Parliament. Carmarthen, (Danby), the Tory lord president, had in- troduced a bill of general indemnity. William was anx- ious it should be carried. Parliament had reversed the attainders and sentences passed on the Bill of In- ■ . ■ 1 i cem -iity Whig sufferers in the last two reigns, and William trusted that no new prosecutions would be instituted against those who had opposed the revolution which had placed him and Mary on the throne. The Whigs were not so forgiving. They had now the upper hand, and were not inclined to mercy. So the Bill of Indemnity was dropped. It must be remarked that the great constitutional rights established in the first Parliament of William and Mary were not forced from an unwilling monarch, as had been the case with all concessions to the liberty of the subject made by the Tudor and Stuart sovereigns. The Parliament was finally dissolved in January, 1690, its last days being marked by a struggle which had a great effect on the elections for the next Parliament. The Whigs, becoming daily more uncomprising ners dis- an d more vindictive, introduced a bill to ex- the y wwgs elude from any municipal office for a period of seven years, any functionary who had been a party to the remodelling of a corporation, or to the surrendering the franchises of a borough. The rights of nearly every corporate town had under Tory municipalities been thus tampered with. If the bill, as proposed by the Whigs, had passed, all the leading Tories in the English boroughs would have been de- barred from office. After stormy debates the bill was rejected, but the vindictiveness displayed by the Whigs 1 6 S 9 . Scotland in 1689 • I ° 5 caused not merely a strong reaction against them, but even alienated the more moderate of their own party. Section III. — Scotla?id in i68g. The Earl of Argyle and two other commissioners pro- ceeded in April from Scotland to London to tender the coronation oath to William and Mary. The last clause of the oath was " that they would be careful to root out all heretics and enemies to the true worship of God." William objected. He said "he would not lay himself under any obligation to be a persecutor." The commis- sioners assured him that neither the words of the oath nor the laws of Scotland re- ofreiiglous 3 quired this. On this assurance William and and political " parties. Mary took the oaths. But the " rabbling " of the episcopal clergy, and the continual occurrence of acts of mob violence committed under the guise of re- ligion, showed William that his opinions about toleration were neither understood nor shared in by his Scotch subjects. Nor was less animosity exhibited by the con- flicting political parties. Whig and Tory, puritan and episcopalian alike, gave vent to the most bitter feelings of hatred. Dundee, who, to avoid arrest, _ „. , The High- had fled from Edinburgh into the High- landers lands, there raised the standard of James. the standard The Highlanders knew but little of passing of James. events. Uncivilized, cut off from communication with the more fortunate Lowlands by want of roads, forced to live by stealing, agriculture being almost unknown amongst them, they had come to elevate robbery into an accomplishment and a virtue. The only law which bound them was obedience to their chief. By their Lowland neighbors they were regarded with disgust not unmixed with fear. Their chieftains quarrelled and 1 66 1'he Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. fought amongst themselves either for their possessions or for supremacy. At one time the Macdonalds had been the strongest clan ; but they had been deprived of their leadership by the Campbells, the chieftain of whom was Argyle. The fall of Argyle had been hailed with delight by those clans who opposed the Campbell. The event of William of Orange therefore meant for them the return of Argyle and the restoration of the power of the Campbells. Without therefore caring for James, without either knowing, or troubling themselves to look into the political or religious aspects of the Revolution, the Macdonalds, the Macnaghtens, the Macleans, the Camerons, eagerly joined Dundee, in order to fight against their ancient antagonists, the Campbells, Tlu River Garry, before its junction with the Tay, flows through a succession of valleys, from the last of which it emerges through the pass of Killiecrankie. And assemble inside this pass, commanding the vale, stood Blair Castle, the seat of the Marquis of Athol. This important and commanding position had been seized by Dundee's followers. General Mackay commanded William's army in Scot- land. His troops consisted of the three strength of Scotch regiments, which, had been serving Macka 6 and m Holland, one English regiment (now the 13th Foot), two regiments of Scotch militia, and a small body of cavalry,— in all about 3,000 men. Dundee occupied Blair with 3,000 Highlanders, and 300 Irish from Ulster. Mackay was desirous of at once quashing the insur- rection before all the Highlands rose in arms. He was fully aware of the want of cohesion in irregular troops, and knew that a blow speedily struck might at once dis- perse them. Putting his soldiers, therefore, at once in 1689- Scotland in 1689. 167 motion, he pressed on to meet Dundee. It was at the close of a long and weary march, that, on July 27, Mackay neared the pass of Killiecrankie. Instead of halting his men, and ordering the fresher Fight of Kii- troops to the front, he pushed them on hecrankie. through the narrow defile, hoping to gain the broader valley at its other extremity before the Highlanders were aware of his approach. The greater part had got through the pass, and, wearied and footsore, had thrown themselves on the ground, when musket shots were heard. Mackay hastily formed his troops, and prepared as quickly as he could for battle. Dundee, however, gave him but little time for preparation. Put- ting himself at the head of his wild followers, he gave the order to charge. The Highlanders, throwing down their muskets and their plaids, and with their broad- swords in their hands, with a loud shout sprang at the Southerners. Mackay's troops, tired, and with their cumbrous weapons of defence not yet made ready (for the muskets and bayonets of those days were not quickly loaded or fixed), began to waver. A few mo- ments of struggle ensued, and then all was over. In a headlong flight they rushed down the pass, sweeping away with them their own cavalry and rearguard. For four-and-twenty hours the Highlanders pursued, and the disheartened fugitives found no rest until they had reached Castle Drummond. In the hour of victory a chance shot Death of struck down Dundee. His death caused Dundee and dispersion ot the usual bickerings among the chieftains, the High- and their dissensions were speedily followed by the dispersion of their followers. The news of the death of Dundee was received with delight in London, for it more than compensated for Mackay's defeat, and i68 The Fall of the Stuarts, crc. A.D. Further p.re cautions of Mackay. by the Scotch Cameronians it was regarded as a sure sign of the Divine approval of the cause of William that their cruel persecutor had been slain. William's Scotch ministers placed little confidence in Mackay; but William judged otherwise, and, disre- garding his first want of success, continued him in his command. The insurgents still keeping the field were rapidly scattered. In the following spring Mackay built a strong fort in Invernesshire, called Fort William, to serve as a depot of provisions and a point d'appuiiox the regular troops, and he set about making roads along which military convoys could be moved. In order to ensure prompt action in Scotch matters, ,. , William nominated Sir John Dalrymple of Dalrymple _ . _ , . , i • , and Stair, a man of great talent and industry, to be lord advocate, and attached to his own court Lord Melville, to advise him on Scotch matters. By these two men, who had William's entire confidence Scotland was governed for some years. Section IV. — Ireland in i68g. Although the rapid success of the Revolution in Eng- land and Scotland surprised and disappointed Lewis XIV., he received some consolation in hearing of the resolute measures adopted by Tyrconnel to uphold the cause of James in Ireland. The life at St. Germains was a happy change for James. Treated with every mark of refined courtesy and respect, he was in no hurry to quit his palace for Ireland. But Tyrconnel sent him pressing messages. He reported that thousands were ready to fight for him, that they needed only his presence and a supply of arms to drive every Protestant and every ad- herent of the Prince of Orange into the sea. Lewis re- 1689- Ireland in 1689. 169 commended, and even pressed him to go. TciiTies leaves He told James that he would not furnish him France for with soldiers, as he had a sufficient number rean • in Ireland, but that in every other respect he would do his utmost for him. He accordingly supplied James with the most costly outfit for his personal use ; he ordered the Count of Avaux, a distinguished noble of his court, to accompany him as ambassador to Ireland ; he gave him arms and ammunition for 10,000 men ; he pro- vided him with 100,000/. in money to pay his troops ; he commanded the Brest fleet to convey him and his suite to Kinsale. Lewis, moreover, ordered the Marshal von Rosen, with a large number of skilled officers under him, to join the fleet, and to place himself and staff at James' disposal, in order that the rough native Irish might under their training be reduced to discipline. Von Rosen, a Livonian soldier of fortune, of coarse, brutal manners, but of long and varied service in war, was a man well fitted for his post. On March 12 James landed at Kinsale. Thence he marched to Cork, being received in all the towns with every mark of respect. At Cork he was joined by Tyr- connel, who brought him cheering news of the progress of his cause, and reported that, except in the North, William had no adherents under arms, and that London- derry and Enniskillen were the only strong places that had declared for him. Tyrcon- Jf™ es enters r ' J Dublin. nel told his master that these towns could not long hold out against the troops which, under General Hamilton, he had sent against them. On the 24th James entered Dublin amidst enthusiastic shouts of welcome. The streets through which he passed were spread with flowers and leaves of trees, and carpets and tapestry were hung from all the windows. 170 l^he Fall of the Stuarts •, 6°;^ d h v barsfield, prarked for the night, put to flight the escort, blew up the powder, buried or burst the guns and was safe back in Limerick before the morning. 190 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. A regular siege was now out of the question, so William rapidly pushed forward the trenches in order to carry the place by assault. Rain fell without intermission. The English and Dutch soldiers, working in water up to their knees, began to suffer from dysentery. The com- missariat, as usual, was deficient. From the 17th to the 27th the progress made by the besiegers was slow, and on the latter day it was determined to try the effect of an assault. Desperate fighting took place for four hours, William fails an< ^ m tne en< ^ tQe assailants were repulsed, before Although the English had entered that part of the town which lay on the left bank of the river, they were unable to make good their footing, and were driven slowly back to their camp. On the night of the 27th rain fell heavier than ever. The English camp became a swamp. The light field-guns and the commissariat wagons began to sink into the treacherous soil. On the 29th a council of war was held, and Wil- liam reluctantly gave orders to raise the siege. The king started immediately for Waterford, and sailed thence for England, landing at Bristol on Septem- ber 6. Section V. — Marlborough in Ireland. When Tourville was threatening the southern coast, troops under the command of Lord Marlborough had been despatched to garrison Portsmouth. All danger from the French having passed away, Marlborough pro- posed to Queen Mary to send the troops to the south of Ireland, to reduce Cork and Kinsale. Mary laid the plans before the council of nine. The council was di- vided as to the expediency of the enterprise. Marlborough William, who was in Ireland, was appealed sails for rr Ireland. to, and approved, ordering Marlborough, 1690. Campaign in the Netherlands. 191 who had proposed the scheme, to command the expedi- tion. On September 22 the force, consisting of 5,000 men, disembarked near Cork, and was joined by some of the Dutch troops under the Duke of Wiirtemberg, who had been engaged in the siege of Limerick. After a siege of forty-eight hours Cork capitulated. In a few hours afterwards the English cavalry appeared before Kinsale, and summoned the garrison to surren- der. The Irish replied by setting fire to the town, and then retired to two forts, called the Old and New Forts. The English put out the fire Kinsafeiu. with difficulty. Marlborough, on coming up with the rest of his forces, attacked the Old Fort with scaling ladders, and captured or killed all its garrison. The New Fort, after being besieged for six days, capitu- lated on terms, and its garrison was allowed to retire to Limerick. The climate now began to affect Marlborough's troops, and it was determined that all William's troops in Ire- land should go into winter quarters. On November 1 Marlborough presented himself to William at Kensing- ton, and was most graciously received by him. Wiliiam now held the provinces of Ulster and Leins- ter, and Enniskillen, Londonderry, Belfast, Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin, Waterford, Cork, and Kinsale were garisoned by his troops. Section VI. — Campaign in the Netherlands. Contrary to the wishes of his minister, Louvois, Lewis had given the command of the French army in the Netherlands to the Duke of Luxembourg!". , .Luxembourg Luxembourg, a biter enemy of Louvois, was and WdI- a bold and original general, rapid in his movements, and sometimes even rash. The Prince of 192 The Fall of the Stuarts , &e. a.d. Waldeck, who carried on war according to the rules of the tacticians, commanded the Imperialists. Waldeck had taken up a strong position behind the Sambre, to the eastward of Namur. Luxembourg forced the passage of the Sambre, attacked Waldeck at Fleu- rus, and defeated him in a decisive battle on June 30, the same day which witnessed the English de- French } victorious at feat off Beachy Head. Waldeck lost 5,000 killed, 8,000 prisoners, 50 pieces of artillery, and more than 100 standards. The standards were sent to Notre Dame, and the wits of Paris dubbed Luxem- bourg " le tapissier de Notre Dame " ( the upholsterer of Notre Dame ). Luxembourg wished to follow up his victory by attack- ing either Namur or Charleroi ; but Louvois had suffi- cient influence with Lewis to stop him in his victorious path, and he was ordered to remain inactive. Another French general, Catinat ( the first instance in France of a man rising to that rank who was not of the order of the nobility ), was also victorious in Savoy over the troops of Victor Amadeus. CHAPTER XVI. Pacification of Ireland and Scotland. Section I. — Ireland — Limerick. In the spring of 169 1 Tyrconnel returned to Ireland as lord-lieutenant of James. He landed at Limerick, and was soon afterwards joined by St. Ruth, a French gen- eral, whose reputation in that capacity was St. Ruth. . ,,.„,. . " , ' based chiefly on his success in the " Dra- 1 6 9 1 . Ireland — Limerick. 193 gonnades. " St. Ruth was supposed to understand and appreciate the Irish character, because the Irish regi- ments in the French service had been under his com- mand. He set to work to reorganize the forces placed at his disposal, but was bitterly disappointed with their progress. Added to this, he found that Sarsfield was the favorite of the soldiery, so that both St. Ruth and Tyrconnel, jealous of Sarsfield's influence, made a point of employing as little as possible the best officer Ireland possessed. On June 1, St. Ruth thought his forces , , J ° St. Ruth takes drilled sufficiently to take the field. the field for Ginkell, an experienced Dutch officer, had Ja been placed by William under command of Ginkell com- r J mands h.ug- the English and the allied Dutch troops. lish, St. Ruth had placed a strong garrison in Athlone, a town on the Shannon about 70 miles north of Limerick. Ginkell had concentrated his forces at Mullingar, in Westmeath, 28 miles due east of Athlone. On the 7th he captured Ballymore and its JJ iSfone 65 garrison. H aving strengthened the fortifica- tions, he left the garrison there, so that it might serve as a place to fall back upon in case of reverse. On June 19 he appeared before Athlone. The town of Athlone was divided by the Shannon into two parts. On the right bank was the Celtic town, com- manded by an old castle. On the left bank had been the English town ; but this now lay in a heap of ruins, having been burnt by the Irish. ^^ necap ' The two banks of the river were connected by a bridge, and this bridge was also commanded by the castle. About 600 yards below the bridge was a deep and dangerous ford, covered by earthworks on the Irish or right bank. After a few hours' fighting, Ginkell o 194 The Fall of the Stuarts, &v. A.D. 1 691. Ireland. 195 gained possession of what remained of the English town, and on June 21 he began to erect batteries. He began the bombardment on the next day, and in a short time the Irish town was in ruins, and the castle much damaged. But St. Ruth had encamped with his army outside Athlone to support the garrison, and the English could not cross the bridge, which was stoutly held by the Irish. So matters continued until the 30th, when a council of war was called together by Ginkell. Bearing in mind the successful passage of the Boyne, the coun- cil resolved, while making a feint of forcing the bridge, to attempt to cross the Shannon by the ford, and so carry the covering earthworks with a rush. The bold idea was carried out, and was successful. With a loss of only 12 killed and 30 wounded, the English crossed the river, and took in rear the defenders of the bridge. A crowd of fugitives, rushing pell-mell into his camp, brought to St. Ruth the intelligence that the town had fallen. De- jected and disguised, he rapidly struck his tents and re- treated westward toward Galway. St. Ruth, in order to retrieve his character as a general, determined, contrary to the advice of Sars- field, to risk a general engagement. He ? att l eof ° ° ° Aughnm. knew that he should incur the displeasure of Lewis, when the latter learnt that he had led a reliev- ing army to the walls of Athlone and had then retreated without striking a blow to aid the garrison. He knew also that his troops could not be relied on, but at the same time he did what skill could do to counteract their unsteadiness. He therefore chose a strong position at Aughrim which could be strengthened artificially. He drew up his men on the slope of a hill, at the foot of which was a marsh. He further strengthened his front by erecting breastworks, from behind which his men could 196 The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c. a.d. fire on the enemy as they struggled through the boggy ground to the attack. On July 11 Ginkell had marched to Ballinasloe, four miles westward of Aughrim. On the 1 2th the English and Dutch attacked the Irish. For two hours they could make no impression ; " the action was very hot, for the Irish disputed the matter obstinately." At length, on the extreme of the English right, a squad- ron of the Blues found somewhat firmer ground, and suc- cessfully crossed the morass. Laying down hurdles, they formed a road along which the whole of the English cavalry moved. As soon as they had passed the bog, the cavalry formed, wheeled to the left, and charged the Irish on their flank. At this critical moment, St. Ruth was killed. The Irish began to give way. Sarsfield, who com- manded the reserve, remained inactive, for he had been ordered by St. Ruth not to advance unless he received direct orders to do so from him. St. Ruth being dead, no orders were given, and the Irish, pressed by the English infantry (who again and again came to the attack in their front) as well as the cavalry on their flank, finally broke and fled. In the pursuit which followed, few prisoners were taken but many hundred fugitives were slain. The cannon and baggage of the Irish fell into the hands of the victors. Sarsfield drew off a few regiments and reached Galway. The Irish lost, out of a force of 28,600, no less than 7,000 killed and 400 prisoners. Ginkell' s army of 20,000 had 600 killed and 1,000 wounded. Galway capitulated as soon as Ginkell appeared before it, on condition that its garrison should be Galway sur- allowed to withdraw to Limerick. In renders. Limerick, then, all those bearing arms for James were assembled. Tyrconnel himself made every preparation Tyrconnel. for the defence of the city. Before, how- 1 69 1. Limerick. 197 ever, the army of William appeared, a fit of apoplexy carried off the man who was most feared and hated by the Protestants of Ireland. Ginkell began the bombardment of Limerick on Au- gust 12. When William was foiled, a French squadron commanded the Shannon ; now, however, the river was held by an English fleet. Ginkell, taking a strong body of troops across the river in boats, dispersed the Irish cavalry encamped on the right bank, and carried a detached fort, protecting the bridge F ? 1! °^ Lirnericlc which connected the two parts of the city. It was evident to both besiegers and besieged that Limerick must soon fall. Offers of capitulation were made and a truce of a few days was arranged whilst the terms of the capitulation were being drawn up. On October 1 two treaties were signed, the one mili- tary, by Ginkell, the other civil, by the lords justices. By the military treaty, all Irish officers and soldiers electing to leave their country, and retire to France, were to be conveyed thither by Terms of J J capitulation. English transports. Ten thousand availed themselves of thii condition, and were formed into the Irish brigade which afterward did such good service to the French kings. The civil treaty provided that the Irish who were Roman Catholics should enjoy all the privileges in the exercise of their religion which they had enjoyed in the reign of Charles II. ; that they should have permission to carry arms, to exercise their professions, and should receive full amnesty for all offences against the government of William and Mary. This treaty was subsequently confirmed by the Eng- lish Parliament. With the departure of the Irish soldiers the last ves- 198 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. tige of opposition to the House of Orange disappeared. The lords justices appointed by William ruled the coun- try with great harshness. An Irish Parliament — which, according to the law, was composed entirely of Protes- tants —was summoned to meet at Dublin in 1695. It re- fused to accept the conditions of the treaty of Limerick, and this refusal earned for that town the name of "The city of the violated treaty." Penal laws of Ireland kepc J . -it-. r~ 1 in submis- the utmost seventy against the Roman Cath- olics were carried. Ireland was led into bondage, and its chains were riveted by the Irish Prot- estants, who thus took vengeance for the wrongs they had suffered at the hands of the Stuarts. So effectual were the means of repression taken, that in the two insurrections in favor of the Stuarts which broke out in the 18th century, not a pike was sharpened, not a sword was drawn, not a shot was fired, in all Ire- land, on behalf of the last Catholic king. For nearly one hundred years the Catholics of Ireland were kept in such subjection that they could hardly for nearly a b e sa ^ j- ex ist as a political party, and century. L x J were objects neither of distrust nor fear to the English Government. Section II. — Scotland— Glencoe. Lord Breadalbane, one of the clan Campbell, had early in the year 1691, laid before Dalrymple a scheme for the pacification of the Highlands. He proposed that William should offer a free pardon and a sum of money to all the chiefs who would take the oath of allegiance, and whose clans would bring their arms to Fort William before a certain day. The sum to be divided amongst them was to be from ten to fifteen thousand pounds. Dalrymple approved of the plan, for he hoped that the 1 69 1. Glencoe. 199 pride of the chieftains would be too great to allow them to accept the offer, and that their w uh°the tl0nS refusal might afford a pretence for carrying ^ns land fire and sword into their territories. Wil- liam agreed to the proposal. December 31, 1691, was fixed on as the last day on which the chieftains could accept the conditions offered. Dalrymple's hopes were not realized. He had given the officers in command instructions as to the way they were to deal with the chiefs, and hoped "the government would not be troubled with the prisoners." But by the 31st all had laid down their arms except the Macdonalds of Glencoe. Glencoe, a Highland valley near Loch Leven and Ben Nevis, was almost surrounded by the lands of thj Campbells. It was held by the Macdonalds, 11 i 1 ii -i Glencoe. a small clan, but very troublesome neigh- bors to the Campbells. The Macdonalds were hated by the Campbells, and Glencoe was a very Naboth's vine- yard to both Lords Breadalbane and Argyle. When first negotiations were opened with the High- land chiefs, Breadalbane told Macdonald of Glencoe that he should retain any money which might be due to Macdonald on submitting, as a compensa- . .... Macdonald tion for various injuries inflicted at various of Glencoe times by the Macdonalds on the Campbells. gf V m| in 1 is The old chieftain had consequently no in- submission, ducement to offer to his men to lay down their arms, and was also fearful that if they were disarmed the Camp- bells would become troublesome. But when, at the close of 1 69 1 , Macdonald heard that every other clan had submitted, he presented himself on December 30 before the governor of Fort William to take the oaths. The governor, not being a magistrate, was unable to admin- 200 The Fall of the Stuarts y &*c. A.D. Russell $ Struttiers.N. Y ister them, but he gave him a letter to the sheriff of Inverary, who administered the oaths, to Macdonald on January 6. Breadalbane informed Dalrymple that all had sub- mitted save the Macdonalds of Glencoe. Dalrymple then obtained from William a written order " to ex- tirpate that sept of thieves, for the vindica- William . . . ,, , , . ,, orders tion of public justice. 1 he king, says ione C on t0be Burnet, "signed this without any inquiry, Glencoe. f or -j^ was too apt to sign papers in a hurry without examining them." This was caused by the ac- cumulation of business papers. But William was kept in ignorance of Macdonald's having offered to take the oaths before the appointed time, and of having actually taken them a few days afterwards. The fatal order reached the governor of Fort William, and was transmitted by him for execution to the colonel command- ing Argyle's regiment of soldiers. The colonel sent 120 men of his regiment, under a Captain Campbell, who was connected by marriage with one of the Macdonalds. 1691- Scotland. 201 The Macdonalds entertained the soldiers on their arrival in the valley hospitably. They thought, as they had heard nothing to the contrary, that their submission was accepted. On the thirteenth day of their stay in Glencoe, Captain Campbell received full instructions from his colonel, and in accordance with this, the soldiers, at day- break of February 13, fell on their unsuspecting hosts. Forty of the Macdonalds were slain at once. The rest of the clan, with women and children, made their escape to the mountains There, cold, wearied, and starved, the greater number perished in the snows of that incle- ment winter. When the news of the " massacre of Glencoe " reached the French court, Lewis XIV. openly ex- pressed his abhorrence. The author of the shocked 5 Dragonnades, the persecutor of the Hugue- nots, the master of those who devastated the Palatinate, could not find words adequate to express his abhorrence of William for this outrage on humanity. The Scotch Parliament in 1695 entered on an inquiry into the matter. The inquiry had been ordered before, but for one reason or another had been postponed. The result was that Parliament recommended the prosecution of the officers of Argyle's regiment, and brought to light the double-dealing of Breadalbane and Dalrymple. Breadalbane was in consequence committed to prison on a charge of high treason, and Dalrymple's resignation of his office was accepted by William. The prosecution, however, of the officers never took place. „ ... ' r . Breadalbane The trial of Breadalbane was delayed until escapes , .. _, ... j punishment. the session of Parliament came to an end, and then was dropped. " Political necessity," it is said, "bears down justice and honor." But William's charac- ter is stained by the careless signing of an inhuman 202 The Fall of the Stuarts, crc. a.d. order, and by the protection granted to the instigators and perpetrators of the Glencoe massacre. The Highlands being now pacified, the work of final- ly establishing William and Mary on the Scotch throne went on rapidly. The Presbyterian Church was restorea as the Church of Scotland. A Toleration Act was pro- posed by William, but to this the Scotch tranquil. Parliament remained unalterably opposed. William was obliged to yield, but during his reign no persecution for religion took place. For the remaining years of the seventeenth century Scotland caused no disquiet to the reigning sovereign, nor did the Jacobites succeed in gaining in that kingdom many fresh adherents to their cause. CHAPTER XVII. The War during 1691, 1692, 1693, 1694. Section I. — Congress at the Hague. In January 1691 a congress assembled at the Hague. William arrived there at the end of tljat Sdis aTthe 6 " month, and found already assembled the congress at greater number of the German electors and the Hague. ° sovereign princes, and plenipotentiaries from the Emperor, from the Kings of Spain, Sweden, Den- mark, and Poland, and from the Duke of Savoy. He presided at the formal opening of the congress. After a few days' deliberation it was agreed that the allies should keep in the field an army of The resolu- . tions agreed 22o,ooo men to operate against .b ranee. on - The contingents to be furnished by each of 1692. Battle of Steinkirk. 203 the allies were fixed, and the various details of the ensu- ing campaign were settled. Two essentials for military success, full authority- vested in one man, and perfect secrecy, are .. , ■, r 1 • 1. • ,, Drawbacks seldom to be found in coalition. Moreover, in a coaii- it is difficult for two allies to be in such complete agreement that no cause for jealousy or mis- understanding should rise between them. But here there were not two, but twenty powers combined together, and supposed to act as one. There may be a moral strength added to a cause in its being supported by many allies ; but the moral strength is more than counterbalanced by the weakness inherent in a coalition. That the Grand Alliance did not break up altogether is due to the consum- mate judgment and statesmanlike management of William, exercised not once, but over and over again. On the other hand, many of the successes in the ensuing campaigns which attended the French armies may be traced to the fact that Lewis XIV. was his own master, made his own plans, consulted no other sovereign, and kept his own counsel. Section II. — Campaign of 169 1. The plan of operations agreed on by the allies was, that the Emperor should, with an army, 1 Allies have hold the Rhine and threaten the eastern fourarm>es frontier of France ; that the Duke of Savoy should be prepared with another army to enter France through the passes of Piedmont ; that Spain should have an army acting on her frontier ; and that William and the northern allies should defend the Low Countries, and reduce the fortresses in French Flanders. The frontiers of the Low Countries of Spanish Flan- 204 The Fall of the Stuarts, cVv. a.d. ders, Hainault and Brabant, extended con- Lines of de- , • ■{ r -\ -i t 1 !- fence in the tinuously for about 200 miles, lney were knds^" defended by fortified towns, all of which were in the hands of the allies. Beginning on the west, we find Nieuport, Furnes, Dixmuide, Deynse, Oudenarde, Ath, Mons. Behind these, and joining a second line of defence, were Ostend, Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels. From Mons the line of defence was continued to the east by the river Sambre, with the fortress of Charleroi, to the north-east by the Meuse, with the fortified towns, Namur, Huy, Liege, and Maestricht. During the coming campaign many of these towns were captured and recaptured, and the attempts to relieve their garrisons by either one side or the other were the causes of most of the battles. When the congress broke up, the French were supposed to be unpre- Leras and i Luxembourg pared, and to be disposed to act only on the defensive. But suddenly Luxembourg ap- peared before Mons, with an army of 100,000 men. Lewis himself was also present, provided with every luxury to which he was accustomed at Versailles, and attended by a numerous retinue, including his troop of players, his musicians, his valets, and his cooks. Vau- ban, the engineer-in-chief, was also with the army. William, with some difficulty collecting a force of 50,000, marched to the relief of Mons. But before he had arrived near it he heard that Mons had fallen (April 9). William accordingly withdrew towards Brussels, left the Prince of Waldeck with a force of 18,000 men to defend that city, and placed his English troops in an entrenched camp. He then paid a hasty visit to England to ar- range for the Irish campaign, and returned to Flanders in May. On the fall of Mons, Lewis returned in triumph to Ver- Jlfoiitag A* JTaeler Maasejxk^ J)emerU \/ Stockenu ^SSELT EL S Pi X Rpsebeck.ag. Alhei/oJYPare r verchtp, awe \ # i^W* ^^ ^MAASTRICHT^ ^Ton.gresj 'Wyk , Hamillies 'Ssgr^ Gem Woux./ ZaUineR ft-^ .Fleurui e &e"oltnv5loux-. ^n^Ct « TT LIEGE i .Berc>e Limoourq erveirs MAP OF FLANDERS and BRABANT TO IUUUSTRATE. CAMPAIGNS OF WILLIAM III 1 69 1. Campaign of 169 1. 205 sailles, leaving Luxembourg to repair the damages done to the fortifications of the captured fortress, and to con- tinue the campaign. With an army of 40,000 men, Luxembourg set out in May to surprise Brussels, Mar- shal BoufHers being detached with another French di- vision of almost equal numbers to attack Liege. Waldeck had made the best dis- f a t h e allies position possible of his small army, and French 6 William was able to bring up his English contingent, and not only to check Luxembourg's ad- vance, but also to send succor to Liege. Every day fresh reinforcements joined the allies, and at length, William, finding himself superior in numbers to Luxem- bourg, tried to bring on a general action. Luxembourg, however, could not be tempted out of his lines. Rash when rashness was likely to succeed, he could be, when necessary, as cautious as William himself. Nothing further was done this year in the Spanish Ne- therlands. The troops went into winter quarters, and William returned to England on October 19. The French gained some slight successes over Spain on the Spanish and French frontier, and * t-»- 1 Campaign over the Duke of Savoy in Piedmont. On ends abort- the Rhine nothing of importance took lvey * place. Lewis suffered a loss during this year for which many victories could not compensate. Louvois died in July. At enmity with Madame de Maintenon, bitterly mortified by the favor shown by Lewis to his rival and enemy Luxembourg, jealous and envious of 'Louvois° f the glory won at Mons, he suddenly fell ill and died. Lewis openly expressed his satisfaction, for he had for some time grown weary of the temper and insolence which his war minister displayed. But he 206 The Fall of the Stuarts, £rv. a.d. soon found it impossible adequately to supply his place. Pre-eminent in military organization, and unequalled in powers of administration, the ingenuity and activity of Louvois would have been of incalculable value to Lewis in the war which was now taxing the resources of France to the utmost. Section III. — Campaign of 1692. La Hogue and Stei7ikirk. The failure of James' party in Ireland was a great blow to Lewis. He had hoped that the war in that island would be sufficient to engage William's attention, and to prevent his affording material aid to the allies on the Continent. He gave out, therefore, that he would make a great descent on England, and bring back for James his lost kingdom. Extraordinary pre- paradon^ re " parations were therefore made in the winter of 1691-2. On this expedition, and on the attack in the Netherlands, all the strength of France was to be employed. Lewis mustered altogether, in this year, and strength 450,000 soldiers and 100,000 sailors. For the actual invasion of England 30,000 troops were told off, and were stationed at Havre, Cherbourg, and Fort la Hogue. Five hundred transports were col- lected for their conveyance, and a fleet, in which were fifty sail of the line, commanded by Tourville, was or- dered to protect the passage. For service in the Nether- lands an army of 100,000 was placed under the command of Luxembourg, and Lewis again joined them and opened the campaign in person. William, who was commander-in-chief of the allies in the Netherlands, found himself at the head of 80,000 men to oppose Luxumbourg. James caused to be circulated in England a " declara- 1692. Ca?npaign 0/1692. 207 tion " calling on his subjects to join his stan- dard ; in this he exhorted them not to be 3 e ?I*™i ioa ' 01 James. afraid of the vengeance of William, because French troops would soon land in sufficient numbers to protect them, and to overcome opposition ; while at the' same time he threatened various noblemen and prelates with punishment for their disloyalty. No sooner was this unwise declaration made public, than Mary and her council caused it to be printed and distributed in every direction. The effect of the publication was to unite Englishmen of all ranks and all political parties, to dis- gust even the Jacobites, and to make the statesmen, soldiers, and sailors who had been entrapped into cor- respondence with James, ashamed of their conduct, and return to their duty. Amongst those on whom the " declaration " thus acted was Admiral Russell, now commanding the English fleet. James left Versailles to witness the embarkation of the force intended for England, and pitched his tent in the camp formed at Fort la Hogue, a small but strongly fortified place on the east coast of the Cotentin penin- sula, not many miles from Cherbourg. On May 17 the French transports began to receive their troops. On the same day Russell, with the combined English and Dutch fleet, numbering ninety sail of the line, appeared off the coast of Cotentin. Tourville, with forty-four sail of the line, determined to give attacks the battle. James had shown Tourville a cer- f e n e f ish tain correspondence which had passed be- tween himself and Russell, and had assured him that the greater part of the English captains and crews were Jacobites, who would desert on the first opportunity. James little knew the good done to the cause of his enemies by his " declaration." Tourville, therefore, in zoS The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. coming to this apparently rash determination, reckoned that if any resistance were offered to him, it would be but a lukewarm one. The two fleets met about 20 miles from the French coast. The wind was at first favorable to the French, and permitted only half the allied fleet to come .Battle of La- • , • ~, , , Hogue. De- mto action. The battle had lasted for five Tourfille. hours 5 but » although Tourville momentarily expected part of the English fleet to yield or retire, no sign of defection appeared. The wind then shifted, and brought together all the allies. Tourville saw that it was useless to contend longer against such odds, and gave the signal to retire. Every French ship made its way, as best it could, to the shores of France. Some ot the fleet, making for St. Malo, escaped in safety through the dangerous channel known as the Race of Alderney. Three ships reached Cherbouig; one of these was the Royal Sun, the finest ship in the French navy, in which Tourville had hoisted his flag during the earlier part of the engagement. The remainder, 13 in number, were, under the orders of Tourville, stranded at La Hogue, with their broadsides turned towards the sea. A few days afterwards they were attacked by Sir G. Rooke with frigates, fireships, and boats from the squadron, and James had the mortification of being an eye-witness of their destruction. The Royal Sun and her two consorts were also burnt at Cherbourg by an English squadron under Admiral Delaval. James* last chance of regaining the English throne vanished with the victory of Russell at La Last project TT XT of invasion riogue. JNo armament was ever again lul s LeW1S raised by Lewis for the invasion of England. Some military critics doubt whether Lewis intended the invasion, and think that he meant only to 1692. Battle of Steinkirk. 209 make a feint, in order to cause William to withdraw with his English troops from the Netherlands If so, the stratagem had not the desired effect. When on June 1, Lewis and Luxembourg invested Namur, William had with some difficulty collected an army near Huy of 70,- 000 men, with whom he hoped to force the French army, of more than 100,000, to raise the siege. Namur is a fortified town situated at the junction of the Sambre and Meuse. Its defences had been greatly strengthened under the direction of Cohorn, the great Dutch engineer, the rival of Vauban. Cohorn was now present in the town to aid the garrison with his skill. Vauban was with Lewis to advise him in the conduct of the siege. Lewis himself undertook the re- duction of the town, having detached Luxem- capmlre'of bourg with 80,000 men to cover the siege Lewis* by operations, and ward off any offensive move- ment of William. Luxembourg contented himself with always presenting a bold front to the allies, so that, if William should resolve on attacking him, it would be at a disadvantage. A continual downpour of rain, lasting for some days, caused the rivers to overflow their banks, and laid all the surrounding country under water, so that William was, by this means alone, unable to send any help to the garrison. On June 8 the town surrendered, but the citadel held out until the 23d. Lewis made a triumphant entry into Namur, and then returned to Ver- sailles, to receive the congratulations of Madame de Maintenon and the flatteries of his courtiers, whilst Luxembourg was left to conduct the campaign. William, in his hopes of finding some opening in Luxembourg's lines through which he might reach Namur, had moved constantly to his right, so that on the day of the surrender of the capital he was about P 210 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. ten miles to the westward of the town. He at once with- drew his forces and took up a position at Genappe, close to the plain of Waterloo, so as to be able to defend Brussels against an army advancing from either Mons or Namur. Here, on August I, he heard that Luxembourg had ad- vaced from Mons, and had already reached the village of Steinkirk, and had there encamped his right wing, leaving his left wing, under the command of BoufHers, at Enghien, a village about four miles to the westward. William hoped by a rapid march to his right, to sur- prise the French. On the morning of the 3d he ordered his advanced guard of English and Dutch, Stdnkirk numbering about 5,000 men, to attack the right wing of the French. The attack was vigorously made, and a French corps in advance of the right wing was pushed back, and threw those in rear somewhat into confusion. But the attacking party was not supported quickly. Luxembourg ordered his right to advance, supported it with regiments from his centre, and sent orders for the left wing to march ob- liquely from Enghien, and so threaten to outflank Wil- liam's right. The surprise was now over, and the as- sailants were fighting against great odds. Gallantly the English and Dutch held their own, gaining, perhaps, a few feet of ground. The English foot-guards, in par- ticular, covered themselves with glory. William could not, owing to the nature of the country, make sufficient use of his cavalry, and it was, in fact, itself in danger from the advance of the French left. Reluctantly, therefore, William gave the word to fall back, and the allied army, in good order and unpursued, retired from the field. The French loss at the battle of Steinkirk was about 7,000 killed and wounded ; that of the allies was about 1692. Battle of Steinkirk. 211 212 71ie Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. the same in number, but the English alone lost 2,000 killed and 3,000 wounded. Although the French were victorious, William gained the object he had in view, for Luxembourg was stopped on his march to Brussels, and compelled to Result of the wa j t e jcrht days at Enghien, reorganizing his battle. & J . . army. Finding that William had again taken up a strong position in front of Brussels, Luxembourg turned his army westwards, and after various marches and counter-marches on both sides, both armies went into winter quarters. William himself left for England, September 26. The war this year languished on the Rhine and on the Spanish frontier, but the Duke of Savoy gained some trifling successes over the French in the Alps. _ Section IV. — Campaign of i6qj — Neerwinden. William reached Holland again on March 31, 1693. It was with considerable difficulty that he smoothed over dissensions amongst the allies, and contrived to take the field in May, at the head of 50,000 men. Lewis also joined his soldiers under Luxembourg and Boufflers. They numbered more than double those which William commanded. Finding himself so strong, quks 1S the°army. Lewis thought it would be easy for him to drive William out of Brabant, and annex that province. William had drawn up his army before Louvain, and so skilful were the dispositions he had made, that Lewis found the task he had undertaken more difficult than he had anticipated. Luxembourg assured his master that it would be impossible to move William without fighting a pitched battle. Now battles were not to Lewis' taste. In them he knew he ran some personal risk, and that, even if he gained a victory, 1693- Campaign of 1693. 213 it might prove to be a barren one, a mere precursor of another engagement. In a siege, on the other hand, he had found by experience that he need not expose him- self, and the captured town was a material proof of his military prowess. So finding there was no fortress to be invested, but a tough battle to be fought, Lewis took leave of his generals and hurried back to Versailles, having first sent half of his troops to reinforce the army on the Rhine. Luxembourg was left in sole command of the French army in Flanders, which, although thus reduced, still far outnumbered that of William. William, however, having received some reinforce- ments felt himself strong enough to send a division, under the Duke of Wurtemberg, into French Flanders, to threat- en Tournay and Lille. Luxembourg withdrew his army southwards and laid siege to Huy. William moved from his position before Louvain, to attempt the relief of Huy. He had advanced two by Luxem- days' march beyond Tirlemont, when he ° urg " heard that Huy had surrendered, and that Luxembourg was preparing to invest Liege and Maestricht. He there- fore hastily sent troops to reinforce the garrisons of these fortresses, and with his reduced army formed an encamp- ment near Landen. But Luxembourg having thus induced William to weaken his army by sending off reinforcements, con- centrated his own troops, and, in hopes of crushing William by mere force of numbers, marched to give him battle. On July 28 he arrived in sight of William's camp, which he found formed on a well chosen spot, between the river Little Gheet and a small stream called the Landen, and in the rear of the three villages of Laer, Neerwinden, and Romsdorf. The ground sloped down gradually from the camp towards these villages. The 214 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. whole front of the position was strengthened by ditches, breastworks, and redoubts, in which nearly ioo guns were mounted. William although he might Disoositionof have retreated, thought that, even with his William's army. inferior numbers (for he had barely 50,000 men to oppose to 70,000 under Luxembourg), the position could be held, and therefore waited the attack of the French. He drew up his army so that his left rested on the Landen, and was posted on rising ground to the rear of Romsdorf; his centre occupied the entrenchments in front of his camp, and his right held in force the villages of Laer and Neerwinden. Luxembourg made his first attack with his own centre on that of William, but after two hours' hard fighting had made no impression. Retiring his centre and sending from it regiments to strengthen each of his Battle of winss, with his right wing he occupied and Neerwinden. h ' & . . . & , . " held Romsdorf, with his left he attacked Laer and Neerwinden. These latter formed the key of the position, for, if they were taken by the French, William's right flank would be turned. A desperate struggle, therefore, took place round these villages. The defenders repulsed two attacks of infantry and three of cavalry. But William was obliged to move regiments from his centre to strengthen his extreme right at Laer, although the English guards and the Hanoverian con- tingent, without aid, held fast Neerwinden. Luxem- bourg now made a feint on the left of the allies, whilst he prepared for a last great effort on Neerwinden. He ordered to the attack the French guards, who were fresh and had been kept in reserve. These delivered a fierce assault on the defenders, who had been now engaged for seven hours, and who were driven slowly out of the vil- lage, stubbornly contesting every yard of ground. Lux- 1693. Campaign of i6gj. "S 216 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. embourg, once having gained Neerwinden, was able to use his cavalry with fatal effect on the right wing of the allies. William saw that the day was lost, and that he must retire. He had previously ordered a body of dra- goons to hold the village of Dormael, about a mile in rear of his camp, and thither he directed his troops to fall back. This they did, but with no sign of disorder. The English troops covering the retreat, and led by William in person, again and again faced about and at- tacked the French, so that Luxembourg, after twelve hours' fighting, gave orders for his men to halt, and allowed the allies to continue their retreat without further molestation. The losses of both the French and the allies at the battle of Neerwinden (or Landen, as it is sometimes called) were numerous. Luxembourg is corn- Losses of puted to have lost, in killed and wounded, each army. r 17,000 men. The total loss of the allies was 6,000. William leisurely retired on Brussels, whilst Luxem- bourg, having halted a day on the field of battle, moved a few miles to his rear, and spent a fortnight in reorgan- izing his army. During this time William was joined by all the troops he had detached to French Charleroi Flanders. Luxembourg, on hearing this, captured. ° ... withdrew southwards to Charleroi, and in- vested that fortress. After a siege of two months, Charleroi surrendered. Both armies soon after went into winter quarters, William arriving in England Octo- ber 29. In spite of the great losses at La Hogue, the naval re- sources of France were such that, in the year 1693, no less than 71 ships of the line, besides smaller vessels, were afloat. A gleam of success came to console Tour- 1693- Campaign of i6gj. 217 ville under the despondency from which he had suf- fered since his defeat. The English and Dutch mer- chant fleet, bound for Smyrna, was escorted as far as the coast of Spain by a large fleet of English men-of-war, but thence it was allowed to continue its voyage towards the Mediterranean with a convoy of only r ,*,„.,, Greitloss of 20 men of war, commanded by Sir G. English and Rooke. Tourville lay in wait for the fleet, chantmen. 61 '" with a squadron of ships of the line greatly superior in force to that under Rooke. On June 27 he attacked the fleet, and destroyed the greater part. It was owing entirely to the valor and seamanship of Rooke that any escaped. Great indignation was felt in England and Holland at the carelessness of the Admi- ralty officials in allowing so valuable a fleet to be so in- efficiently protected. The merchants of both countries were heavy losers by this disaster. The French army on the Rhine effected but little. In Savoy, however, the army of Lewis gained a great victory at Massaglia (October 4), but on rE" in for want of reinforcements was unable to Savoy, and Spain. follow it up. In Spain the result of the campaign was, on the whole, favorable to the French. Both by land and sea, Lewis had in this year proved his power. Nevertheless he desired peace. He had put forth every effort, and had strained his resources to the utmost, and yet had Lewis wishes for gained no substantial success. A few peace, fortresses in Spanish Flanders, and glorious but barren victories, were his only reward. Louvois, too, was dead, and there was no longer his fertile brain to devise expedients for replenishing the treasury. The taxes of France were increased to the utmost. The coinage was debased as much as possible. The nation 2i8 The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c. a.d. was in the deepest distress. "The people were perish- ing to the sound of Te Deums." The new Pope (Innocent XII.) who, in 1691, had succeeded Alexander, endeavored to mediate. Spain and Savoy were willing to enter into negotiations, and so also were Denmark and Sweden, but William urged the Emperor to continue the war, showing come to ' him that now was the time, when France throiigh Wil was becoming exhausted, to crush perma- liam's unwil- nently the power and pretensions of Lewis. Iingness. j r j. William's arguments and his diplomacy were successful, and both the allies and France pre- pared for the campaign of 1694. Section V. — Campaign of 1694. A large fleet, with a considerable force of soldiers on board, was collected at Portsmouth, and from thence sailed to reduce Brest. But the French had Naval incidents of been warned beforehand ( it is said through Lord Marlborough having treacherously given information to James ), and the fortifications had been strengthened by Vauban. The English troops were landed, but were repulsed, and the expedition proved a failure. However, Dunkirk, Calais, Dieppe, and Havre were in the course of the summer bombard- ed by the English, and much damage done. On the other hand, both the English and Dutch trade suffered considerably from French privateers. William proceeded to the Netherlands on May 6. The campaign was productive of few events of importance. Luxembourg, who again commanded the French army, was now inferior in numbers to the allies, and skilfully managed to avoid a general engagement. Huy was, 1 6)4. Parliament, 1690-1695. 219 however, recaptured from the French on _ <~. Campaign in September 29. William returned to Eng- Netherlands, land in the beginning of November. Lewis this year put out his greatest strength against Spain. He hoped thus to force the King of Spain to make peace ; but although his army captured some im- portant towns, the presence on the coast of a strong English fleet prevented the realiza- Spain! tion of his plans. In Savoy and Germany nothing noteworthy oc- curred. The result of the campaign, however, was what William anticipated. France was still further weakened Lewis could no longer strike a strong blow. His re- sources were amost exhausted. He would be unable to continue the contest much longer. CHAPTER XVIII. PARLIAMENT UNTIL 1695. DEATH OF QUEEN MARY. In the session of 1693-4 an important constitutional change was quietly inaugurated. William had found a great difficulty in carrying on the government, owing to the disagreement amongst his ministers on matters of state policy, Tories and Whigs could hardly be expected to take the same views. He therefore resolved to consult a man whose judgment of party politics, and tact in dealing with factions, both English and foreign statesmen held in the highest es- 220 The Fall of tlie Stuarts, &>c. ad. „,.„. teem. This man was Sunderland. Sun- William consults derland, having escaped to Holland in 1688, Sunderland. ^ , ... , , ,. r , r had lived a retired life in that country for two years, but had kept up a constant correspondence with influential friends in England, in order to pave the way for his return. Excluded by name from the Act of Cxrace, he yet ventured, when that bill became law to re- turn to England. Not, however, until the close of the session of 1692 did he dare to appear in the House of Lords. From that time, however, he was constant in his attendance in the Upper House. William, after consulting Sunderland, came to the conclusion that in future his ministers should be taken from one party in the state, so as to insure unanimity of opinion and action, and that that party from which he should first choose the united ministry should be the Whigs. A Whig ministry was accordingly The Junto. b , • , , r T / formed, to which the name of Junto ( a word signifying a joining together or union ) was given. Somers, the great lawyer, was made lord keeper of the privy seal. Russell ( his treasonable correspondence with James being overlooked as a reward for his victory at La Hogue ) went to the Admiralty. Lord Shrewsbury, created a duke, became one of the secretaries of state. Thomas Wharton, the eldest son of Lord Wharton, be- came the other secretary. Wharton was a man of con- siderable ability, but his character was so bad that no one respected him. His profligacy was notorious, and his companionship was shunned even in an age of lax morality. He was also a gambler and a duellist. He was true to one thing only, and that was to the Whig party. But his powers as a party leader were extraordinary. Montague, a young man of only thirty-five years of age, who had already earned a reputation in Parliament by 1694- Parliament, 1690-1695. 221 his oratory and his criticisms on financial matters, was made chancellor of the exchequer. In 1692-3 the National Debt may be said to have had its commencement. The revenue did not suffice to pro- vide for the extraordinary expenses of the dj . Beainninsr it was necessary to adopt some of £ he s expedient for procuring more money. The D a bt°" al wealth of the nation had greatly increased since the middle of this century. Money was more plenti- ful, and means of employing this money was scarce. London had been, consequently, for the last four years, overrun with speculators proposing all kinds of ridicu- lous schemes for employing money and realizing enor- mous profits. A hill was introduced into Parliament and carried, by which, adopting an expedient familiar to the financiers of Holland and France, the Government was empowered to borrow a million of money, and to grant in repayment annuities bearing interest at the rate often per cent, per annum. Certain excise duties were set apart to form a fund for the purpose. The public, re- cognizing the superiority of such security to that offered them by the speculators, readily responded, and the money was obtained with a promptitude which surpassed expectation. In the next session, 1693-4, the revenue still failed to meet the expenses of the war. A sum of 1,200,000/. was accordingly raised by borrowing it of a company of merchants, who undertook to provide it „ , , , . , Bank of on condition of being incorporated, with England certain privileges guaranteed by an act of parliament. The scheme was originally proposed by William Paterson, a Scotchman, but was now adopted by Montague with great success. The subscribers were formed into a corporation as the Governor and Company 222 The Fall of the Stuarts, &e. a.d. of the Bank of England. The original rate of interest was fixed at eight per cent. A great part of the time of this Second Parliament was spent in discussions on the proper securities for justice in trials for treason, on which the difference be- tween Lords and Commons was such that the decision was delayed until the first session of the next Parliament ( chapter xx. ). Another debated question was the Place Bill. Its aim p . was to prevent all persons holding offices of trust and emolument under the crown from sitting in the House of Commons. Doubtless, it is dis- advantageous that the Lower House should be filled with office-holders, but, on the other hand, nothing could be more injurious to the welfare of the country than to ex- clude from the Commons all the great functionaries of state. Those who voted for this bill probably did not consider that the inevitable result of its becoming law would have been, that all the great offices of state would be filled, and the country governed by members of the House of Lords. The bill passed the Commons in 1692- 3, but was rejected by the Lords by a small majority of three. In 1693-4, the Place Bill passed both Houses, but the king refused his assent. On this being anounced, a „. „.,, warm debate arose in the Commons, and it Place Bui passed, but was proposed that the king should be asked refused. his reason for refusing assent. The motion was, however, rejected by a large majority, the House thus, with great moderation, acknowledging the power of giving a veto as then resting with the crown. Another bill on which there was a similar difference between king and parliament came to a different issue. i6y4- Parliament, 1690-1695. 223 This was a bill for triennial Parliaments. It Triennial was a very short bill, and only provided BiU - that no future Parliament should last longer than three years. It was intended to prevent the recurrence of such conduct as that of Charles II., in continuing one Parlia- ment for seventeen years. The king had refused his assent to this bill, when it passed both Houses in 1692-3. Two years afterwards this Triennial Bill at last became law. In 1694-5, Parliament coupled it with a Triennial bill of supply, and the want of these supplies, BlU p^ 36 * 1 - and the fear of probable disturbances if Mary died (for the queen was now seriously ill), perhaps induced Wil- liam to give his assent. The Triennial Act remained in force until the Septennial Act was passed, twenty years afterwards. Small-pox was particularly virulent in the year 1694. Among those attacked in the month of December was Queen Mary. Great alarm was at once felt by her friends, and William showed so much deaiTo?* grief as to astonish those around him, for he Q? c&Ii b , Mary. was never in the habit of letting others see him exhibit strong feeling. Now, however he broke down. He burst into tears and said, "that from being the happiest he was now going to be the miserablest creature upon earth." In a few days all hope was at an end. Mary's behaviour to the last was remarkable. She never once allowed an impatient word to escape her; with the utmost calmness she gave the last directions to her ser- vants ; she addressed expressions of comfort and conso- lation to the king, and showed the greatest pleasure and satisfaction at the attendance of the ministers of religion. She died on December 20, aged 33. The grief for her death was not confined to the court, for her charity was great. "She never inquired of what opinion persons 224 The Fall of the Stuarts, &"c. a.d. were who were objects of charity." Handsome in per- son, and lively in manners, no word of slander was ever breathed against her. " Her debts were small, and every- thing in that exact method as seldom is found in any private person." " I'm sure," says one who was no par- tisan of William of Orange, "she was as admirable a woman, as does if possible, outdo the renowned Queen Elizabeth." No act of James' life showed more his mean and revengeful disposition than his request to Lewis that the French court should not put on mourning for his daugh- ter's death. The liberty of the press was recognised in 1695. Hitherto the publication of books had been Censorship of press restrained by an act of parliament, renewed abandoned. ,, t ■ i • j 1 1 every three years, which required every book to be licensed. All legal works had to receive the " im- primatur," or permission to be printed, of the lord chan- cellor or his deputy ; all books on history and politics, the license of one of the secretaries of state or his deputy ; and all treatises on divinity, physic, or philosophy, that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The last act to re- strain unlicensed printing had been passed in 1692, and in 1695 the time for which it was in force expired. No new act was brought forward in the House, and thus the censorship of the press was quietly abandoned. The last weeks of the session of 1695 disclosed a sys- tem of wide-spread corruption among the members of both Houses. The Speaker of the House ^Ileut* Pre " °^ Commons, confessing to having received bribes, was expelled the House. The Com- mons prepared to impeach various officials. The Duke of Leeds (to which title the Marquis of Carmarthen, for- merly Earl of Danby, was now raised), proposing to de- 1 6 95. Disgrace of Marlborough. 225 fend some of those accused, was himself threatened with impeachment. At this juncture the king suddenly prorogued the Parliament, and in Parliament J r ° dissolved. the following October it was dissolved. CHAPTER XIX. VARIOUS PLOTS AGAINST WILLIAM. PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN 1695. Section I — Disgrace of Marlborough. In narrating the defeat off Beachy Head, and the conse- quent court-martial on Torrington, attention was directed to the extraordinary reaction in the public feeling, which, at first directed against Torrington, suddenly turned in his favor. The cause of this reaction was stated to be jealousy of the Dutch. This jealousy continued to in- crease. William was supposed to look after Dutch interests in preference, and some- b^thTEng- times in opposition, to English interests HoHand^^ Few Englishmen of that day could appreci- ate the Continental policy of William. He was popular- ly thought to be carrying on the war to maintain the in- tegrity of the United Provinces, and to secure his own seat on the English throne. Englishmen could not un- derstand that he was struggling to deliver Europe from slavery to Lewis XIV. Marlborough probably shared these popular preju- dices, or, if he did not, he made use of them for his own purposes. At all events, he thought he was not suffi- Q 226 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. ciently rewarded by William. After his brilliant and dashing campaign in the south of Ireland, he saw a Dutchman, Ginkell, appointed in the next spring to lead _. „ . the army in Ireland, whilst he was carried Disaffection of Marl- off by William to attend on him in the campaign of 1691, and was not entrusted with an independent command. Marlborough's spirit chafed against being employed in a secondary position. He had confidence in his own military genius, and knew it to be superior to that of William's favored Dutch gene- rals. He was determined no longer to serve a master who did not value him. He strove in the first place to weaken William's influence by fomenting, among offi- cers in the army and navy, and members of both Houses of Parliament, the feeling of jealousy towards the Dutch. He next entered into close communications with the late king at St. Germains. But he was sure that England would not submit to the resumption of the throne by James Stuart. He therefore planned another solution of the difficulty, which would at the same time promote his own interests. Lady Marlborough was the attendant and confidential friend of the Princess Anne. The princess was indolent, good-tempered, and pliant. Lady Marl- borou&h^nd borough was strong-minded, imperious, and the Princess ambitious. They were on such familiar Anne. J terms that the princess was habitually ad- dressed by Lady Marlborough as Mrs. Morley, and Lady Marlborough by the princess as Mrs. Freeman. Marl- borough's scheme was by making use of the feeling of jealousy towards the Dutch to render William hated ; then, with the co-operation of France, to drive him out of England; and then to proclaim the Princess Anne, who would be ruled altogether by himself and his wife. 1692. Grandval 's Plot. 227 Thus he hoped to outwit William, Lewis, and the Jacobites. But there were those at borough's the court of St. Germains who remembered revea'edto the perfidy of the former proteg6 of James, Wiiham. and who placed no trust in the sincerity of his present professions. They thought he was either endeavoring to gain further favor with William by betraying the Eng- lish Jacobites, or that he had some scheme in his head similar to the one he had so adroitly planned. They therefore forwarded to the English minister a full ac- count of Marlborough's dealings with the court of James. William would have liked to bring Marlborough to trial ; but since the evidence of his guilt could not be produced in court without betraying the con- fidence of those who had sent the informa- and a his°wife S tion, he dismissed him from all his offices ^ ssed from on January 10, 1692. The Princess Anne was ordered at the same time to send away Lady Marl- borough. This she would not consent to do. Anne, therefore, and her husband, Prince George of Denmark, were desired forthwith to leave the court, and they re- tired to Sion House, remaining for a long time in disgrace with William. Section II. — Plots of Fuller, Grandval and Charnock. All through the winter of 169 1-2 vague misgivings were floating through society, those misgivings which are so indicative of deep-seated popular dissatisfaction. Men felt that plots were being hatched, and that the times were troublous. This was a condition favorable to the growth of false witnesses. An apt pupil of Titus Oates, one Fuller, a man who had failed to make a living by obtaining money under false pretences, came forward, and accused more than fifty noblemen and gentlemen 228 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. of signing an address to Lewis, which begged him to put forth one more great effort for the Stuarts. Doubtless, some such address was being prepared by fended^r the J acobit e party in England, for addresses of this kind were constantly forwarded to St. Germains for transmission to Versailles. But the per- sons accused by Fuller were able to escape conviction. On cross-examination his tale broke down, ministers and lawyers proving less credulous than in the time of his tutor, Oates. So Filler was himself tried, and was con- victed and sentenced as a common rogue and vagabond. William fortunately escaped falling a victim to a dangerous plot which was concocted against his life. Louvois, Lewis' minister, when on his death-bed pro- posed that William should be murdered whilst with the allied army in the Netherlands. He found a Frenchman named Grandval willing to undertake to carry out the design. Grandval accordingly sought for pkft™ 1 ™ 1 S accomplices, and thought he had found fitting ones in Dumont, a Walloon, and Liefdale, a Dutchman. In company with these he entered the Low Countries, but soon found himself brought a prisoner into the camp of William, for both his accomplices had betrayed him. Soon after the battle of Steinkirk he was tried by a court-martial. Before his judges he made a full confession, and acknowledged that he had had a parting interview with James and his wife, both of whom had been gracious to him, and promised him large re- wards if successful. Grandval was found guilty and executed. Both Louvois and his master Lewis showed in this affair, as in the devastation of the Palatinate, their utter disregard for the laws of war among civilized nations. The discovery of this plot made the Whigs sympathize 1692. Grandval 's Plot. 229 more with William, and show less antipathy to his tried Dutch friends. They now became aware of the dangers to which he was exposed. The Jacobites also let James and Lewis know that any further attempts against the person of William would, if un- pi^Snft successful, serve only to render William wM, life of J William. more popular, and, if successful, would not assure the return of James to England. No fresh con- spiracies against the life of William had therefore been encouraged by James, until after the death of Queen Mary, although Jacobite intrigues against William's government were being continuously carried on. But in the year 1695 the position of affairs was altered. Queen Mary was dead, and William sat alone on the throne, a foreigner, and not very popular. At the same time the French resources were failing, and the allies were gaining strength. Home politics in England were in an unsettled state. The Jacobites therefore began to bestir them- selves more actively, and to urge their correspondents in England to be on the alert. Thus roused, a conspi- racy was formed, of which the ruling spirit was Charnock, a late fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, who, whilst James was reigning, had become a convert to Romanism, and was now an unscrupulous Jacobite agent. With him were associated Porter and Goodman, men of infa- mous character, Sir William Parkyns, a prominent Tory lawyer, and Sir John Fenwick, formerly member of par- liament for Northumberland, who had made himself notorious by passing Queen Mary in public without saluting her, and in such a manner as to show that he intended to insult her. Time slipped away, so that before the conspirators had matured any possible plan, William had started for Holland. They determined, therefore, to send Charnock to St. Germains to arrange 230 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. with the ministers of James their future plans, and to obtain the approval of James and the active co-opera- tion of Lewis XIV. Section III. — Capture of Namur by William. On January 5, 1695, Marshal Luxembourg died. This was a great loss to Lewis, for he had no other general of equal ability. In place of Luxembourg, Marshal Villeroi was sent to the Netherlands. Villeroi was a great fa- „.„ . vorite at court, and had the reputation of Villeroi com- . mands the being a consummate master of the art of Netherlands. 6 war - One of the French court historians says that the opening of this campaign was a beautiful game of chess. William, however, through- out the campaign, fairly out-generalled Villeroi. He had never out-generalled Luxembourg. The allied forces in the Netherlands numbered about 125,000. Villeroi had under him over ioo.ooo. At the beginning of June William was ready to begin the cam- paign. His plan was to threaten Ypres, to tactics draw all the French forces in that direction vlneroi. t° the westwards, and then suddenly to be- siege Namur in force. In accordance with this design, he marched' from Brussels to Rousselaer with 53,000 men. Thence he made a strong demonstra- tion against Villeroi's camp near Ypres. Finding Vil- leroi in strength, William withdrew from the allied army, taking with him the main body of his cavalry, and leaving Charles Henry, Prince of Vaudemont, to com- mand a force reduced to about 35,000. William reached the army of the allies, which was commanded by the Elector of Bavaria, and consisted of 36,000 men, and marching eastward with these, effected a junction with 1 6^)5- Capture of Namur. 231 the Brandenburgers (now Prussians) who were about 12,000 strong. The united army appeared before Namur. The garrison of Namur, consisting of 12,000 men, was commanded by Boumers. Villeroi, knowing how comparatively weak Vaude- mont was. hoped to crush him easily : but tt , ,-, V., Villeroi Vaudemont retreated so speedily to Ghent bombards that Villeroi was unable to bring him to action. Villeroi early in July took Dixmuide and Deynse, and then intended again to march against Vaudemont. But as Vaudemont had by this time marched eastwards from Ghent, Villeroi turned aside to bombard Brussels (August 11), and then set out to relieve Namur. Vaudemont had already joined William before Namur. Namur was closely invested by William, who during the month of July pressed on the siege, , . .. V r , . 6 William each day gaining some fresh advantages. captures On August 4 the town surrendered, but the citadel (into which the garrison, reduced now to 7,000 men, had retired) still held out. On August 30 the allies tried to carry the citadel by storm, but were re- pulsed with great loss. Villeroi, who had arrived near the investing army, in vain sought to find some weak point through which he might pierce the line of the allies and relieve the besieged. But William's position was too strong for him, and he was eventually compelled to withdraw. Bourn 1 ers, seeing the besiegers preparing to make another assault on the citadel, proposed (Sep- tember 1) to capitulate, and his proposal was accepted by William. The loss of the garrison during the siege was 6,500, that of the besiegers no less than 9,000. With the capture of Namur the campaign of 1695 in the Netherlands virtually came to an end. William re- 232 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. turned to England, and about the same time Villeroi sent his army into winter quarters. Nothing of importance occurred this year on the Rhine. The Duke of Savoy had been se- voyin°secret cretly gained over by Lewis. Although lSto Wkh sti11 nominall y a P art T to the Grand Alliance, he had promised Lewis to do all he could in the councils of the allies to promote the wishes of the French king. In consideration of this, and to blind the eyes of William and the Emperor, Cassale, in North Italy, after a mock siege, was surrendered by the French to the Duke of Savoy. The campaign resulted in a great gain to the allies. Lewis' resources were still further weakened, and the French had no longer a superiority in generalship. Moreover, the capture of Namur, following closely on that of Huy, made a great moral impression on Europe. Namur was the first of Lewis' conquests of which he had been deprived by force, and this seemed to make a turn in the tide. CHAPTER XX. THE NEW PARLIAMENT. THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR, 1696. Section I. — The Session of j6g^-i6g6. On October u, 1695, William dissolved Parliament, and summoned the new one to meet on November 22. When it assembled, it was proved that it contained a decided Whig majority. There were causes, partly political and partly social, for the change from a Tory 1695- - New Parliament. 233 majority to a Whig one. The political causes were the dislike felt by the country to the continued factious opposition of the Jacobites, not ^"n m ^ or ' only to William, but also to English inte- new Parlia- . ° ment. rests ; and the feeling of insecurity pro- voked by the constant apprehension of plots and insur- rections. The social causes were the high price of corn and the bad state of the coinage. At this time consid- erable distress was felt in England. From 1692 to 1699, a succession of bad seasons produced bad crops. These years were in the west of Europe known as the "seven barren years." For some years past the silver coinage of England had suffered continual depreciation by the knavery of a gang of thieves known as "clippers," who had, by various ingenious tricks, diminished the weight of the coins by one half. Those into whose hands good coins of full weight came, hoarded them, so that only the bad money was in circulation. It is stated that four millions of bad money were in use. The price of corn and all necessary articles of food and manufacture seemed, therefore, still further artificially increased by the dearth of good money, and the depreciation of that which was in use. The session lasted until April, 1696. The state of the coinage at once occupied the attention of Parliament. An act was passed calling in the "clipped" money, and raising 1,200,000/. by a duty on houses to defray the consequent loss. The act also Jf e . w J l Coinage. announced that the depreciated coin would be received as payment of taxes. A new coinage was ordered to be struck, and in order that every possible care might be taken to insure that the new money should be of correct weight, the great mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton, was appointed master of the mint. 234 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. An important bill, for regulating trials for treason, had been introduced into the House of Commons in the ses- sion of 1690-1 ; but, on its being sent up to the Lords, a clause was introduced to which the Commons would not assent, and the bill was conse- quently dropped. Though three attempts were made, the bill never passed the Lords during the continuance of the second Parliament. As it passed in the Commons, it was an additional safeguard to the liberties of Englishmen. It enacted ( 1.) That the accused, in trials for treason, should be furnished with a copy of his indictment at a small fee ; (2.) That he should be allowed counsel to de- fend him ; (3.) That no one should be indicted except on the oaths of two witnesses, and within three years of the alleged commitment of the offence ; (4.) That a list of the jury should be furnished to the accused ; (5.) That the accused should have the power of summoning witnesses. During the first session of this new Parlia- paTsed*. 11 ' ment the Treason Bill at length passed both Houses, and became law. Section II. — The Assassination Plot. The Jacobites had vainly solicited Lewis XIV. to send an army into England whilst William was absent in Hol- land in 1695, and their representations to the court of Versailles had been supported by Charnock, Lewis again encourages in whom James seems to have confided. Now, however, that Namur had fallen, Lewis found himself reduced to desperate straits, and thought it advisable again to encourage conspirators. He was not averse to any means that would rid him of his enemy, William of Orange. Two plots were accord- 1696. Assassination Plot. 235 ingly matured, of both of which the courts of Versailles and St. Germains were cognizant. The one plot proposed an invasion of England, to follow a rising of the Jacobites. The Duke of Berwick, an illegitimate son of James, was accordingly sent in dis- guise to England to make arrangements for the insurrection, and at the same time a Prop sed invasion. large body of troops was collected at Calais, under the command of Boufflers, to cross the straits of Dover so soon as the Jacobites should have declared themselves. The other plot had for its object the assassination of King William. The carrying out of this plot was in- trusted to Sir George Barclay, a Scotch follower of Dun- dee, and a bold and unscrupulous man. He obtained the assistance of Charnock, Fenwick, Parkyns, and of all those who had joined with Charnock in the prece- ding year. Numerous consultations took place, and at last a scheme of assassinating William on his return from hunting at Richmond was finally adopted. The day fixed for the deed was February 15 ; but Bentinck, Earl of Portland, the old and tried friend of William, had received information from one of the conspirators of the intended attempt, and had persuaded the king not to hunt on that day. The conspirators had assem- bled to the number of forty, and were in high spirits, for they thought they were sure of success, as they had managed to gain over by bribery some of the royal guards, when they were told that the hunt had been postponed to that day week, the 22d. Portland, in the meantime, obtained further proof of the plot. Again the hunting party was countermanded, and the conspirators began to fancy they were discovered. Their uncertainty lasted but a short time, for before the end of the day 236 The Fall of the Stuarts, &*c. a.d. many were arrested, Charnock and Parky ns AoTfaUs* 11011 amon g st them, whilst a few, amongst whom were Fenwick and Barclay, escaped. Char- nock immediately offered to turn king's evidence. He said that if his punishment were commuted from death to imprisonment he would reveal the names of all those in England cognizant of either of the present plots, and also of past ones. William knew that the fortunes of his false and treacherous courtiers would be at his mercy, but magnanimously refused to hear Charnock's confessions. Most of those who were taken were convicted and executed. The failure of the Assassination Plot caused the postponement of the proposed Jacobite rising, and of the consequent invasion of England by French troops. Both Houses of Parliament received the intelligence of the Assassination Plot with horror and disgust. The plan of an "Association" was forthwith foJmedfor'the drawn up on paper. This " association for defence of j-ftg defence of their sovereign and coun- try," bound the subscribers to defend Wil- liam, to avenge his death if he were killed, and to sup- port the order of succession framed by the Bill of Rights. Nearly all the members of both Houses signed this paper. Similar documents were distributed through- out the kingdom, and were signed by the greater num- ber of the country gentry and men of influence. The formation of the Association not merely strength- ened William's seat on the throne, but also Consequence of the failure gave additional influence to the Whigs. The e p J collapse of the plot, and the treachery of one or more of the conspirators, proved also to those Englishmen who were still inclined to intrigue with St. 1696. Campaign of 1696. 237 Germains, that but little reliance could be placed on the good faith or discretion of James and his advisers. Many, therefore, of those who were wavering in their allegiance to William, no longer opposed him. Section III. — The Campaign of i6q6. The campaign of this year was rendered almost ridicu- lous by the paltry results gained by the large armies in the field. Lewis, prevented by the failure of the Assas- sination Plot from making any direct attempt on Eng- land by invasion, was at the same time unwilling to risk his troops against the strong army collected by the allies in the Netherlands, for William and Vaude- Inaction in mont had at least 250,000 men under their the Nether- command. The French soldiers were not only inferior in numbers, but were, also, for the most part, raw recruits, and were discontented, being in ar- rears of pay. Villeroi accordingly did nothing but watch William, who, on his side, was unwilling to risk in battle the advantages he saw that he must gain by merely compelling Lewis to keep large armies in the field, at a time when the French, both as regarded their finances and recruits, were in so exhausted a condition. The Duke of Savoy openly declared his desertion from the allies, and concluded ( August 14 ) an offen- sive and defensive alliance with Lewis. Immediately joining his army to the French one, Neutrality under Catinat, he threatened Milan. In con- of Ital y- sequence of this an agreement was entered into between the allies on the one hand, and the Pope and the other Italian powers on the other hand, that the Italian pe- ninsula should be deemed neutral. Lewis had therefore no longer to provide for the safety of his south-eastern 238 The Fall of the Stuarts, &>c, a.d. frontier, and had the army of the Duke of Savoy at his disposal. Section IN .— The Session i6g6-i6gy of the Parliajnent. Sir John Fenwick had, after the discovery of the As- sassination Plot, attempted to fly to France ; but, al- though for some time he continued to escape those who were seeking for him, he was eventually captured when in hiding at New Romney in Kent. The chief evidence implicating Fenwick had been given by Goodman and Porter; but before Fenwick could be brought to trial, Goodman had been persuaded to leave England, so that now Porter was the only witness against him. As the T> . u . . Treason Act, passed in the last session, re- Jbill of attain- . \ r dev against quired two witnesses, it became impossible Sir Joha - ... Fenwick. to obtain a conviction in course of law. But Fenwick was personally so odious to William, on account of his behaviour to the late Queen Mary, that the ministers were pressed by the king to de- vise some means of punishing him. There was no moral doubt of Fenwick's guilt, and there was direct proof that Lady Mary Fenwick ( his wife ) had tampered with Goodman and got him out of the kingdom. A bill of attainder against Sir John Fenwick was con- sequently brought into the Commons, so that the legal evidence could be supplied by the depositions previous- ly made by Goodman before the privy council, and by what he had sworn before the grand jury in the trial of the others concerned in the plot. The discussions which took place in the Commons were long and lively, and the motion for the bill was ultimately carried by a very small majority. In the Lords, it is doubtful if the bill would have been carried at all, had not Fenwick injudi- ciously offered to make disclosures of the intrigues of 1697- Peace of Ryswick. 239 various English statesmen with James. Many Tories, therefore, Marlborough amongst them, voted for the bill, in order that Fenwick's confession might be averted. The strong opposition to the bill, which provided for the punishment of a man obviously guilty, and which was wished for by the king, is a proof of the jealous and watchful care for the liberty of the subject now taken by the Parliament. Fenwick was, on January 11, 1697, "convicted and attainted of high treason, and condemned to suffer the pains of death, and to incur all Fenwick ~ ' executed. forfeitures, as a person in due course of law convicted of high treason.'' On January 28 he was exe- cuted. Another attempt was made this session to revive the licensing of the press. One of the newspapers estab- lished since the censorship of the press had been aban- doned (1695) had inserted a paragraph which was stated to call in question the credit of the exche- quer bills issued by the Government. A bill licensing the was therefore brought into Parliament to p e r c e t s e S d re " prevent the publication of news without the authority of the secretary of state, but it was rejected. On April 16 William adjourned Parliament, and on the 26th sailed for Holland. Before his departure he cre- ated Somers a peer, and made him lord chancellor ; Montague he made first lord of the treasury, and Russell was created Earl of Orford. Section V. — Peace of Ryswick. The year 1697 broke with a gloomy outlook for all the warring nations, but most of all for France. The " seven barren years " were felt more in France than in England. Since 1692 the distress had increased 240 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. A.D. yearly. The taxes failed to produce money France. 5 "* enough to support the war, and yet many heads of families were unable to earn in the course of the year as much as they were expected to pay in taxes alone. The crops failed utterly. Absolute ruin stared Lewis in the face, and French financiers could devise no remedy. England and Holland also were not „ , averse to peace, if only France was hum- .Lngland and r \ J H .Hand de- bled, the pretensions of Lewis to direct the policy of Western Europe brought to an end, and the claims of- the Stuarts set at rest. English and Dutch commerce had suffered much from the depreda- tions of French privateers, and England had besides its own currency troubles, and had also suffered from a partial failure of the crops. The health of the King of Spain was becoming worse. If he were to die, the succession to the Spanish sue- throne would be disputed, and William felt cession. " ' sure that fresh complications would arise which would endanger the alliance. He therefore thought the present a good opportunity to propose pre- liminaries of peace. The Emperor was not so desirous or willing, but he was informed that if he would not consent to discuss preliminaries, England and Holland would conclude a peace with France on their own account. He therefore agreed to send plenipotentiaries to Ryswick, a village in Holland, between the Hague and Delft, where William „, . had a palace. A congress met there on l J lernpoten- x ° tiaries meet May 9 at which were present accredited agents from all the allies, and from Lewis and the Duke of Saxony. For weeks the congress discussed matters, but could arrive at no satisfactory conclusions. i 69 7. Peace of Ryswick. 241 Near Brussels the English and French armies faced each other. Bentinck, Lord Portland, was with the Eng- lish army ; Boufflers commanded the French. William proposed that these two should Bentinck" 11 meet, and see if they could not agree to ^l^* some basis on which treaties could be ar- ranged. Lewis consented, and after six meetings the chief points of the negotiation were settled and written out. On September 20 three several treaties were made, between France on the one hand, and England, Hol- land, and Spain on the other. The treaty with Great Britain provided that both France and England should restore the conquests they had respectively made in America; that Lewis should no longer foster intrigues in tween 7 England, and that William should not en- | r n a g^„d. nd courage French Protestants in rebellion; and that Lewis should recognize William III. as lawful king of Great Britain and Ireland, and should no longer afford any assistance to James Stuart. By the treaty with Holland, France gave the Treaty be- ^ ° tween Dutch certain commercial advantages, and France and received back from them Pondicherry, in and between India, which they had conquered. By the J^ 6 and treaty with Spain, Lewis restored all con- quests in Catalonia, and all those places in the Spanish Netherlands taken by him in the war, and those which the " chambers of reunion " had granted him since the peace of Nimwegen. The Emperor still held aloof. A special article had been inserted in the treaties already signed, that the month of October should be allowed to the Emperor and the princes of the empire to come to a decision. On October 30 the plenipotentiaries of the R 242 The Fall of the Stuarts > &c. a.d. Emperor signed a treaty with Lewis. By this treaty Lewis restored all the provinces and towns between which he had taken by decrees of the France and "chambers of reunion," except Elsass Germany. (Alsace), which now became a French pro- vince. Lothringen (Lorraine) was again restored to its duke. Lewis inserted one clause, viz, " that the Roman Catholic religion should remain in the places restored on the same footing as it then was." This clause has been, and still is, productive of much social dissension among Germans. Had the Emperor been less backward in concluding the treaty, he would have obtained more ad- vantageous terms, but Lewis having already made sure of peace with England, Holland, and Spain, was able to hold out more firmly against the demands of the Empe- ror, and to insist on the retention of Elsass (Alsace). The results of the treaty of Ryswick may appear Results of small as far as territorial changes are con- the peace of sidered. France, however, now lost ground. She was again forced to confine herself, with one exception (Elsass), to the limits set down for her at the peace of Nimwegen (1678). But the great result was that England formed in Western Europe the coun- terpoise which preserved the balance of power. The alliance of England was henceforth sought by any state suffering from the encroachments of France, Europe anc ^ f° r one hundred and fifty years it con- tinued to be the policy of England to ally herself with those nations opposed to France. *A second, though temporary, result was that Europe now had some breathing time to prepare for what William knew was imminent, the general struggle which must take place at the death of the childless King of Spain, and the consequent breaking up of the great Spanish dominions. 1 69 7. Peace of Ryswick. 243 The result of the treaty of Ryswick to Great Britain was much more advantageous than it at first appeared. By acknowledging William as king of Eng- land, and giving up the House of Stuart, England Lewis practically relieved England from all . fears of invasion, and of losing its independence. " For," says a great modern historian, "that danger which has sometimes been in our countrymen's mouths, with little meaning, of becoming a province to France, was then close and actual; for I hold the restoration of the House of Stuart to be but another expression for that ignominy and servitude." What was the result of the nine years' fighting as regards France? On the one hand a slight territorial gain, which has caused a constant irritation between her and Germany ; on the other hand the people had become impoverished, and in France consequence oppressed by nobles and tax- gatherers ; the love of war and glory was engendered amongst the soldiers, forming them into a distinct class, with few feelings in common with the nation ; a desire had arisen amongst all Frenchmen for increase of ter- ritory ; and there had been a loosening of all the ties which unite society together. Many of the horrors of the French Revolution, and the sufferings of France in the present century, may be directly traced to the pernicious policy of Lewis XIV. and his courtiers. England had made great strides since the accession of Charles II. Her exports had wonderfully increased. The North American Colonies and West Indies had opened great fields for trade. Her connection with Hol- land under William III. had widened her commercial dealings. The Huguenot refugees had become some of her most industrious citizens. The war which had ruined 244 The Fall of the Stuarts , &c. a.d. France had not really impoverished England. The money expended in it was being returned with large in- terest by the increase of trade, caused in great part by the high position which England now occupied among European states, and the advantages he was able to secure for her commerce through this position. And for these substantial results England is indebted to William III. His patient industry, his far-seeing policy, and his constancy in struggling against the for- tune of war, were the means not only of raising England to a position equal to that of France in the consideration of European Powers, but were also the means of rousing again in the hearts of Englishmen patriotism, enterprise, and self-reliance. Notwithstanding his foreign habits, his faults of manner, and his predilection for his Dutch friends, the majority of Englishmen had learnt at the close of the seventeenth century, not only to respect but also to love the trustworthy Hollander, William of Orange, whom they had chosen for their king, in place of the false Stuart. CHAPTER XXI. Literature and Science in England and France in the latter part of the Sevejiteenth Century. The Renaissance, or revival of learning and art, had, in Italy, France, and Germany, sent men back to the study of the great writers of antiquity. Classical authors were esteemed with an almost superstitious veneration, but the result nevertheless was that men's intellects were made active, and the way was cleared for the advent of Literature and Science. 245 the great religious revolution, the Protestant Reformation. With the Reformation arrived a further in- r • 11 i • • Tix Effect of the crease of intellectual activity. Men set Reformation themselves not only to work out theological andUtTra- problems, but also to prosecute scientific in- ture- vestigations. Freedom of thought came, and the chains which had bound students to their classical models were forthwith cast off. In England the Renaissance had not preceded the Reformation. The wars of York and Lancaster, and the unsettled succession to the throne, had hitherto kept England in intellectual darkness. Bright lights, such as Chaucer (1328- 1400), here and there pierced the dark- ness, but it was the Reformation which, in England, caused the revival of the study of Greek and Hebrew, and which, with more rapid steps than on the Continent, led to original thought and original research. The first half of the seventeenth century, which was rendered famous in England by our great philosopher, Bacon (1 561-1626), was made no less so in France by his followers, the illustrious philosophers and mathema- ticians, Descartes (1 596-1650) and Pascal (1623- 1662). But when the despotic power of Lewis XIV. came to its height, then freedom of thought vanished in France. Lewis could not brook originality. He de- . , . , . , . , T j , -, Effect of the sired that his subjects should not only do as patronage of he ordered them, but that they should also W1 " believe as he told them, and think as he wished them. He adopted therefore the plan of patronizing men of genius ; that is to say, of making them mean-spirited and venal, " utterly unfit to fulfil their great vocation as the apostles of knowledge and the missionaries of truth." The result was that originality was crushed. The great authors, philosophers, artists, and archi- z^6 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c a.d. tects, whose writings and works are said to grace the age of Lewis XIV., produced their best before the so- called patronage of the king had time to show its effects. Year after year during his reign authors exhib- ited less power, and more and more imitated classical models. They feared to be original. Originality meant independence of thought, and they knew that Lewis hated independence. Their writings were indeed marked by the utmost polish, and by that refined wit for which French writers are conspicuous, but they were ar- tificial. Racine (1639-1699), Moliere (1622-1673), Boileau (1636-1711), and La Fontaine (1621-1695), showed one and all that their great natural powers were enfeebled by the enervating influence of patronage. Patronage was under Lewis made to play the same part in litera- ture and art that bribery did in politics. Freedom of thought, the offspring of the Reforma- tion, which had taken firm root in the English character, and which had already produced Spenser, Bacon, Shakespeare and Milton, might have been stifled, as it was in France, if Charles II. could have succeeded in throwing over literature the mantle of his patronage. Following the example of his patron and adviser, Lewis, Charles began his reign by patronizing science. Lewis had built the Observatory at Paris, Charles founded the Royal Society (1662). When first incorpo- beghisto rated, this Society, which has done such patronize noble work in encouraging original re- science by _ , . founding the search, bade fair to become a fashionable Society. toy. But Charles had neither the inclina- tion to amuse himself with scientific play- things nor the money to spend in patronizing men of science. Therefore the Society flourished on its merit, and therefore it may boast of having on its roll of Fel- Literature in England and France. 247 lows at this time four of the greatest scientific men Eu- rope has ever known : Newton (1642-1727), the mathe- matician ; Boyle (1627- 1 690), the chemist; Ray (1628- 1705), the zoologist and botanist; and Sydenham (1624-1689), the physician. The vigorous activity of the intellectual life in Eng- land produced by freedom of thought was displayed no less in theology than in science. patronage Charles had no religious feelings and no re- ligious belief. On his death-bed he became a papist. James was an open papist. Under neither king were writers who made a philosophic study of theology likely to be patronized. The Cam- produced in bridge Platonists, therefore, More (1614- without 1687), Cudworth (1617-1687), and Culver- Peonage, well, who sowed the seed which eventually ripened into broader and nobler ideas of religious liberty and reli- gious tolerance, were inspired solely by their love of truth and received no church or political preferment, while Bunyan (1628-1688), under the fire of persecution and not under the patronage of court and fashion, pro- duced his immortal allegory. What England escaped from, had its two last Stuart kings taken men of learning under their protection, may be gathered from the example of Dryden. Dryden (1631-1700) was patronized by James II. Under his protection he became a convert to Romanism. Of enormous natural gifts, with a pregnant fancy and a trenchant wit, he advocated at various times ^ 1 n r 1 • Dryden a opposite causes, at the call of his interest, victim to his patron, or his party. He, of course, fol- P atrona s e - lowed classical models in his writings, and is worthy to rank with his French brethren in literature. Historians have been accustomed to write of the age 248 The Fall of the Stuarts, &c. a.d. of Lewis XIV. as that in which France was filled with a galaxy of talent never surpassed in the history of man- kind, if indeed it was ever equalled. The reign of Lewis XIV. lasted for 72 years, until the year 171 5, but in that part of it treated of in this work, France had fallen from her high intellectual estate, not for many years to recover it again. England, on the other hand, had made the world its debtor for its great work at this time in science and philosophy ; and humanity at large owes gratitude to the patient and consistent English thinkers who proved that the religious and political liberty now being established in their country was con- sistent with and resulted from the free exercise of reason and of thought. ' ' The volumes contain the ripe results of the studies of men who are authorities in their respective fields." — The NATION. EPOCHS OF HISTORY EPOCHS OF ANCIENT HISTORY Eleven volumes, i6mo, each $1.00. EPOCHS OF MODERN HISTORY Eighteen volumes, i6mo, each $1.00. The Epoch volumes have most successfully borne the test of experience, and are universally acknowledged to be the best series of historical manuals in existence. They are admirably adapted in form and matter to the needs of colleges, schools, reading circles, and private classes. 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Earlham Coll., Richmond, Ind. Granger Place School, Canandaigua, N. Y. Salt Lake Acad., Salt Lake City, Utah. Beloit Col., Beloit, Wis. Logan Female Coll., Russellville, Ky. No. West Univ., Evanston, 111. State Normal School, Baltimore, Md. Hamilton Coll., Clinton, N. Y. Doane Coll., Crete, Neb. Princeton College, Princeton, N.J. Williams Coll., Williamstown, Mass. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N. Y. Illinois Coll., Jacksonville, 111. Univ. of South, Sewaunee, Tenn. Wesleyan Univ., Mt. Pleasant, la. Univ. of Cal., Berkeley, Cal. So. Car. Coll., Columbia, S. C. Amsterdam Acad., Amsterdam, N. Y. Carleton Coll., Northfield, Minn. Wesleyan Univ., Middletown, Mass. Albion Coll., Albion, Mich. Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, N. H. Wilmington Coll., Wilmington, O. Madison Univ., Hamilton, N. Y. Syracuse Univ., Syracuse, N. Y. Univ. of Wis., Madison, Wis. Union Coll., Schenectady, N. Y. Norwich Free Acad., Norwich, Conn. Greenwich Acad., Greenwich, Conn. Univ. of Neb., Lincoln, Neb. 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The author shows conscientious fidelity to the materials, and such skill in the use of them, that, as a result, the reader has before him a narrative related in a style that makes it truly fascinating. ' ' — Congregationalist. " It is written in a pure and flowing style, and its arrange- ment and treatment of subject are exceptional." — Christian Intelligencer. THE EARLY P LA NT AGEN ETS— Their Relation to the History of Europe; The Foundation and Growth of Constitutional Government. By Rev. w. Stubbs, m.a. "Nothing could be desired more clear, succinct, and well arranged. All parts of the book are well done. It may be pronounced the best existing brief history of the constitution for this, its most important period." — The Nation. ' ' Prof. Stubbs has presented leading events with such fair- ness and wisdom as are seldom found. He is remarkably clear and satisfactory." — The Churchman. EDWARD III. By Rev. W. Warburton, M.A. " The author has done his work well, and we commend it as containing in small space all essential matter." — New York Independent. ' ' Events and movements are admirably condensed by the author, and presented in such attractive form as to entertain as well as instruct." — Chicago Interior. THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK —The Conquest and Loss of France. By James Gairdner. " Prepared in a most careful and thorough manner, and ought to be read by every student. " — New York Times. "It leaves nothing to be desired as regards compactness, accuracy, and excellence of literary execution." — Boston Journal. EPOCHS OF MODERN HISTORY THE ERA OF THE PROTESTANT REVO- LUTION. By Frederic Seebohm. With Notes, on Books in English relating to the Reformation, by Prof. George P. Fisher, D.D. "For an impartial record of the civil and ecclesiastical changes about four hundred years ago, we cannot commend a better manual." — Sunday- School Times. "All that could be desired, as well in execution as in plan. The narrative is animated, and the selection and grouping of events skillful and effective." — The Nation. THE EARLY TUDORS— Henry VII., Henry VIII. By Rev. C. E. Moberley, M.A., late Master in Rugby School. "Is concise, scholarly, and accurate. On the epoch of which it treats, we know of no work which equals it." — N. Y. Observer. " A marvel of clear and succinct brevity and good historical judgment. There is hardly a better book of its kind to be named." — New York Independent. THE AGE OF ELIZABETH. By Rev. M. Creighton, M.A. "Clear and compact in style ; careful in their facts, and just in interpretation of them. It sheds much light on the progress of the Reformation and the origin of the Popish reaction during Queen Elizabeth's reign ; also, the relation of Jesuitism to the latter." — Presbyterian Review. " A clear, concise, and just story of an era crowded with events of interest and importance. " — New York World. THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR— 1 61 8-1 648. By Samuel Rawson Gardiner. "Asa manual it will prove of the greatest practical value, while to the general reader it will afford a clear and interesting account of events. We know of no more spirited and attractive recital of the great era. " — Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. " The thrilling story of those times has never been told so vividly or succinctly as in this volume." — Episcopal Register. EPOCHS OF MODERN HISTORY. THE PURITAN REVOLUTION; and the First Two Stuarts, 1 603- 1 660. By Samuel Rawson Gardiner. " The narrative is condensed and brief, yet sufficiently com- prehensive to give an adequate view of the events related." — Chicago Standard. ' ' Mr. Gardiner uses his researches in an admirably clear and fair way." — Congregationalism 1 ' The sketch is concise, but clear and perfectly intelligible." — Hartford Courant. THE ENGLISH RESTORATION AND LOUIS XIV., from the Peace of Westphalia to the Peace of Nimwegen. By Osmund Airy, M.A. " It is crisply and admirably written. An immense amount of information is conveyed and with great clearness, the arrangement of the subjects showing great skill and a thor- ough command of the complicated theme." — Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. "The author writes with fairness and discrimination, and has given a clear and intelligible presentation of the time." — New York Evangelist. THE FALL OF THE STUARTS; and Western Europe. By Rev. Edward Hale, M.A. 1 ' A valuable compend to the general reader and scholar. " — Providence Journal. 1 ' It will be found of great value. It is a very graphic account of the history of Europe during the 17th century, and is admirably adapted for the use of students. " — Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. "An admirable handbook for the student. " — The Churchman, THE AGE OF ANNE. By Edward E. Morris, M.A. "The author's arrangement of the material is remarkably clear, his selection and adjustment of the facts judicious, his historical judgment fair and candid, while the style wins by its simple elegance." — Chicago Standard. 4 * An excellent compendium of the history of an important period." — The Watchman. EPOCHS OF MODERN HISTORY. THE EARLY HANOVERIANS— Europe from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Aix- la-Chapelle. By Edward E. Morris, M.A. " Masterly, condensed, and vigorous, this is one of the books which it is a delight to read at odd moments ; which are broad and suggestive, and at the same time condensed in treatment. " — Christian A dvocate. "A remarkably clear and readable summary of the salient points of interest. The maps and tables, no less than the author's style and treatment of the subject, entitle the volume to the highest claims of recognition." — Boston Daily Ad- vertiser. FREDERICK THE GREAT, AND THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. By F. W. Longman. 1 ' The subject is most important, and the author has treated it in a way which is both scholarly and entertaining." — The Churchman. "Admirably adapted to interest school boys, and older heads will find it pleasant reading." — New York Tribune. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, AND FIRST EMPIRE. By William O'Connor Morris. With Appendix by Andrew D. White, LL.D., ex-President of Cornell University. " We have long needed a simple compendium of this period, and we have here one which is brief enough to be easily run through with, and yet particular enough to make entertaining reading." — New York Evening Post. " The author has well accomplished his difficult task of sketching in miniature the grand and crowded drama of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire, showing himself to be no servile compiler, but capable of judicious and independent criticism." — Springfield Republican. THE EPOCH OF REFORM— 1 830-1 850. By Justin McCarthy. " Mr. McCarthy knows the period of which he writes thoroughly, and the result is a narrative that is at once enter- taining and trustworthy." — New York Examiner. " The narrative is clear and comprehensive, and told with abundant knowledge and grasp of the subject." — Boston Courier. IMPORTANT HISTORICAL WORKS. THE DAWN OF HISTORY. An Introduction to Pre-Historic Study. New and Enlarged Edition. Edited by C. F. Keary. i2mo, cloth, $1.25. This work treats successively of the earliest traces of man ; of language, its growth, and the story it tells of the pre-his- toricusersof it ; of early social life, the religions, mythologies, and folk-tales, and of the history of writing. The present edition contains about one hundred pages of new matter, embodying the results of the latest researches. ' ' A fascinating manual. In its way, the work is a model of what a popular scientific work should be." — Boston Sat. Eve. Gazette. THE ORIGIN OF NATIONS. By Professor George Rawlinson, M.A. i2mo, with maps, $1.00. The first part of this book discusses the antiquity of civiliza- tion in Egypt and the other early nations of the East. The second part is an examination of the ethnology of Genesis, showing its accordance with the latest results of modern ethnographical science. ' ' A work of genuine scholarly excellence, and a useful offset to a great deal of the superficial current literature on such subjects. " — Congregationalist. MANUAL OF MYTHOLOGY. For the Use of Schools, Art Students, and General Readers. Founded on the Works of Pet- iscus, Preller, and Welcker. By Alexander S. Murray, Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum. With 45 Plates. Reprinted from the Second Revised London Edition. Crown 8vo, $1.75. " It has been acknowledged the best work on the subject to be found in a concise form, and as it embodies the results of the latest researches and discoveries in ancient mythologies, it is superior for school and general purposes as a handbook to any of the so-called standard works." — Cleveland Herald. "Whether as a manual for reference, a text-book for school use, or for the general reader, the book will be found very valuable and interesting." — Boston Journal. IMPORTANT HISTORICAL WORKS. THE HISTORY OF ROME, from the Earliest Time to the Period of Its Decline. By Dr. Theodor Mommsen. Translated by W. P. Dickson, D.D., LL. D. Reprinted from the Revised London Edition. Four volumes, crown 8vo. Price per set, $8.00. ' ' A work of the very highest merit ; its learning is exact and profound ; its narrative full of genius and skill ; its descriptions of men are admirably vivid." — London Times. 1 ' Since the days of Niebuhr, no work on Roman History has appeared that combines so much to attract, instruct, and charm the reader. Its style — a rare quality in a German author — is vigorous, spirited, and animated." — Dr. Schmitz. THE PROVINCES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. From Caesar to Diocletian. By Theodor Mommsen. Translated by William P. Dickson, D.D., LL.D. With maps. Two vols., 8vo, $6.00. ' ' The author draws the wonderfully rich and varied picture of the conquest and administration of that great circle of peoples and lands which formed the empire of Rome outside of Italy, their agriculture, trade, and manufactures, their artistic and scientific life, through all degrees of civilization, with such detail and completeness as could have come from no other hand than that of this great master of historical re- search." — Prof. W. A. Packard, Princeton College. THE HISTORY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. Abridged from the History by Professor Theodor Mommsen, by C. Bryans and F. J. R. Hendy. i2mo, $1.75. " It is a genuine boon that the essential parts of Mommsen's Rome are thus brought within the easy reach of all, and the abridgment seems to me to preserve unusually well the glow and movement of the original." — Prof. Tracy Peck, Yale University. "The condensation has been accurately and judiciously effected. I heartily commend the volume as the most adequate embodiment, in a single volume, of the main results of modern historical research in the field of Roman affairs." — Prof. Henry M. Baird, University of City of New York. IMPORTANT HISTORICAL WORKS. THE HISTORY OF GREECE. By Prof. Dr. Ernst Curtius. Translated by Adolphus William Ward, M.A., Fellow of St. Peter's College, Cambridge, Prof, of History in Owen's College, Manchester. Five volumes, crown 8vo. Price per set, $10.00. " We cannot express our opinion of Dr. Curtius' book bet- ter than by saying that it may be fitly ranked with Theodor Mommsen's great work." — London Spectator. "As an introduction to the study of Grecian history, no previous work is comparable to the present for vivacity and picturesque beauty, while in sound learning and accuracy of statement it is not inferior to the elaborate productions which enrich the literature of the age. " — N. Y. Daily 7 ribune. > OESAR: a Sketch. By James Anthony Froude, M.A. i2mo, gilt top, $1.50. ' ' This book is a most fascinating biography and is by far the best account of Julius Caesar to be found in the English language." — The London Standard. "He combines into a compact and nervous narrative all that is known of the personal, social, political, and military life of Caesar ; and with his sketch of Caesar includes other brilliant sketches of the great man, his friends, or rivals, who contemporaneously with him formed the principal figures in the Roman world." — Harper* s Monthly. CICERO. Life of Marcus Tullius Cicero. By William Forsyth, M.A., Q.C. 20 Engravings. New Edition. 2 vols., crown 8vo, in one, gilt top, $2.50. The author has not only given us the most complete and well-balanced account of the life of Cicero ever published ; he has drawn an accurate and graphic picture of domestic life among the best classes of the Romans, one which the reader of general literature, as well as the student, may peruse with pleasure and profit. "A scholar without pedantry, and a Christian without cant, Mr. Forsyth seems to have seized with praiseworthy tact the precise attitude which it behooves a biographer to take when narrating the life, the personal life of Cicero. Mr. Forsyth produces what we venture to say will become one of the classics of English biographical literature, and will be wel- comed by readers of all ages and both sexes, of all professions and of no profession at all. " — London Quarterly. VALUABLE WORKS ON CLASSICAL LITERATURE. THE HISTORY OF ROMAN LITERATURE. From the Earliest Period to the Death of Marcus Aurelius. With Chronological Tables, etc., for the use of Students. By C. T. Cruttwell, M. A. Crown 8vo, $2.50. Mr. Cruttwell's book is written throughout from a purely literary point of view, and the aim has been to avoid tedious and trivial details. The result is a volume not only suited for the student, but remarkably readable for all who possess any interest in the subject. " Mr. Cruttwell has given us a genuine history of Roman literature, not merely a descriptive list of authors and their productions, but a well elaborated portrayal of the successive stages in the intellectual development of the Romans and the various forms of expression which these took in literature." — JV. Y. Nation. UNIFORM WITH THE ABOVE. A HISTORY OF GREEK LITERATURE. From the Earliest Period of Demosthenes. By Frank Byron Jevons, M.A., Tutor in the University of Durham. Crown 8vo, $2.50. The author goes into detail with sufficient fullness to make the history complete, but he never loses sight of the com- manding lines along which the Greek mind moved, and a clear understanding of which is necessary to every intelligent student of universal literature. " It is beyond all question the best history of Greek litera- ture that has hitherto been published." — London Spectator. * ' With such a book as this within reach there is no reason why any intelligent English reader may not get a thorough and comprehensive insight into the spirit of Greek literature, of its historic development, and of its successive and chief masterpieces, which are here so finely characterized, analyzed, and criticised." — Chicago Advance. TRANSLATIONS OF PLATO. THE DIALOGUES OF PLATO. Translated into English, with Analysis and Introduc- tions. By B. Jowett, M.A., Master of Balliol College, Oxford. A new and cheaper edition. Four vols., crown 8vo, per set, $8.00. " The present work of Professor Jowett will be welcomed with profound interest, as the only adequate endeavor to transport the most precious monument of Grecian thought among the familiar treasures of English literature. The noble reputation of Professor Jowett, both as a thinker and a scholar, is a valid guaranty for the excellence of his perfor- mance." — New York Tribune. SOCRATES. A Translation of the Apology, Crito, and parts of the Pheedo of Plato. Containing the Defence of Socrates at his Trial, his Conver- sation in Prison, with his Thoughts on the Future Life, and an Account of his Death. With an Introduction by Professor W. W. Goodwin, of Harvard College. i2mo, cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cents. TALKS WITH SOCRATES ABOUT LIFE. Translations from the Gorgias and the Republic Of PlatO. i2mo, cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cents. A DAY IN ATHENS WITH SOCRATES. Translations from the Protagoras and the Republic Of PlatO. Being conversations between Socrates and other Greeks on Virtue and Justice. i2mo, cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cents. " Eminent scholars, men of much Latin and more Greek, attest the skill and truth with which the versions are made ; we can confidently speak of their English grace and clearness. They seem a ' model of style,' because they are without manner and perfectly simple." — W. D. Howells. "We do not remember any translation of a Greek author which is a better specimen of idiomatic English than this, or a more faithful rendering of the real spirit of the original into English as good and as simple as the Greek." — New York Evening Post. CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 743 and 745 Broadway, New York. BD - 142 "^v V ^ & ^ ■r* aV ^U 1 y y '<>.** A V< 4 A * r oK >, " s / %> * J* ^ %%?w x ** v v ^ *