Page 117  

CHARLES 11, 117 %nd with his own hands broke the seals. The commons,'xpressed 
the utmost satisfaction with this
measure, and the nost entire duty to his majesty. Charles assured them, tlat te 
would willingly pass any law offered him,
which might end to give thenm satisfaction in all their just grievances. 
Shaftesbury, when he found the king recede at once
from so capital a point, which he had publicly declared his resolution to 
maintain, concluded, that all schemes for enlarging
royal authority were vanished, and that Charles was utterly incapable of 
pursuing such difficult and such hazardous measures.
The parliament, he foresaw, might push their inquiries into those counsels which 
were so generally odious; and the king, from
the same fiacil;ty of disposition, might abandon his ministers to their 
vengeance. He resolved, therefore, to make his peace in
time with that party which was likely to predominate, and to atone for all his 
violences in favor of monarchy by like violences
in opposition to it. Never turn was more sudden, or less calculated to save 
appearances. Immediately he entered into all the
cabals of the country party; and discovered to them, perhaps magnified, the 
arbitrary designs of the court, in which he
himself had borne so deep a share. He was received with open arms by that party, 
who stood in need of so able a leader;
and no questions were asked with regard to his late apostasy. The various 
factions into which the nation had been divided,
and the many sudden revolutions to which the public had been exposed, had tended 
much to debauch the minds of men, and
to destroy the sense of honor and decorum in their public cond uct. But the 
parliament, though satisfied with the king's
compliance, had not lost all those apprehensions to which the measulres of the 
court had given so much foundation. A law
passed for imposing a test on all who should enjoy any public office. Besides 
taking the oaths of allegiance and supremacy,
and receiving the sacrament in the established church, they were obliged to 
abjure all belief in the doctrine of transub.
stantiation. As the dissenters had seconded the effxrts of the commons against 
the king's declaration of indulgence, and
seemed resolute to acet pt of no toleration in an illegal manner, they had 
acquired great favor with the parliament; and a
project was adopted to unite the whole Protestant interest against the common 
enemy, who now began to appear
formidable. A bill passed the commons for the ease and relief of 




Page 118 

118a HISTORY OF ENGLAND. the Protestant nonconformists; but met with some 
difficulti's, at least delays, in the house
of peers. The resolution for supply was carried into a law; as a recompense to 
the king for his concessions. An act, likewise,
of general pardon and indemnity was passed, which screened the ministers from 
all further inquiry. The parliament probably
thought, that the best method of reclaiming the criminals, was to show them that 
their case was not desperate. Even the
remonstrance which the commons voted of their grievances, may be regarded as a 
proof that their anger was, for the time,
somewhat appeased. None of the capital points are there touched on; the breach 
of the triple league, the French alliance, or
the shutting up of the exchequer. The sole grievances mentioned are, an 
arbitrary imposition on coals for providing convoys,
the exercise of martial law, the quartering and pressing of soldiers: and they 
prayed that, after the conclusion of the war, the
whole army should be disbanded. The king gave them a gracious, though an evasive 
answer. When business was finished,
the two houses adjourned themselves. Though the king had receded from his 
declaration of indulgence, and thereby had
tacitly relinquished the dispensing power, he was still resolved, 
notwithstanding his bad success both at home and abroad, to
persevere in his alliance with France, and in the Dutch war, and consequently in 
all those secret views, whatever they were,
which depended on those fatal measures. The. money granted by parliament 
sufficed to equip a fleet, of which Prince Rupert
was declared admiral; for the duke was set aside by the test. Sir Edward Sprague 
and the earl of Ossory commanded under
the prince. A French squadron joined them, commanded by d'Etrees. The combined 
fleets set sail towards the coast of
Holland, and found the enemy lying at anchor within the sands at Schonvelt. 
There is a natural confusion attending sea fights,
even beyond other military transactions; derived from the precarious operations 
of winds and tides, as well as from the
smoke and darkness in which every thing is there involved. No wonder, therefore, 
that accounts of those battles are apt to
contain uncertainties and contradictions; especially when delivered by writers 
of the hostile nations, who take pleasure in
exalting the advantages of their own countrymen, and depressing those of the 
enemy. All we can say with certainty of this
battle is, that both sides boasted of the victory; and 




Page 119 

CHARLES IL. 11 we may thence infer, that the event was not decisive. The Dutch, 
being near home, retired into their
harbors. In a week, they were refitted, and presented themselves again to the 
combined fleets. A new action ensued, not
more decisive than the foregoing. It was not fought with great obstinacy 4o 
either side; but whether the Dutch or the allies
first retired, seems to be a matter of uncertainty. The loss in the former of 
these actions fell chiefly on the French, whom the
English, diffident of their intentions, took care to place under their own 
squadrons; and they thereby exposed them to all the
fire of the enemy. There seems not to have been a ship lost on either side in 
the second engagement. It was sufficient glory to
De Ruyter, that, with a fleet much inferior to the combined squadrons of France 
and England, he could fight them without
any notable disadvantage; and it was sufficient victory, that he could defeat 
the project of a descent in Zealand, which, had it
taken place, had endangered, in the present circumstances, the total overthrow 
of the Dutch commonwealth. Prince Rupert
was also suspected not to favor the king's projects for subduing Holland, or 
enlarging his authority at home; and from these
motives he was thought not to have pressed so hard on the enemy, as his well-
known valr gave reason to expect. It is
indeed remarkable, that during this war, though the English with their allies 
much overmatched the Hollanders, they were not
able to gain any advantage over them; while in the former war, though often 
overborne by numbers, they still exerted
themselves with the greatest courage, and always acquired great renown, 
sometimes even signal victories. But they were
disgusted at the present measures, which they deemed pernicious to their 
country; they were not satisfied in the justice of the
quarrel; and they entertained a perpetual jealousy pf their confed. erates, 
whom, had they been permitted, they would, with
much more pleasure, have destroyed than even the enemy themselves. If Prince 
Rupert was not favorable to the designs of
the court, he enjoyed as little favor from the court, at least from the duke, 
who, though he could no longer command the
fleet, still possessed the chief authority in the admiralty. The prince 
complained of a total want of every thing, powder, shot,
provisions, beer, and even water; and he went into harbor, that he might refit 
his ships, and supply their numerous
necessities. After some weeks, he was refitted; and he again 




Page 120 

120 HMSTORY OF ENGLaD. put to sea. The hostile fleets met at the mouth of the 
Texel, and fought the last battle,
which, during the course of so many years, these neighboring maritime powers 
have disputed with each other. De Ruyter,
and under him Tromp, commanded the Dutch in this action, as in the two former; 
for the prince of Orange had reconciled
these gallant rivals; and they retained nothing of their former animosity, 
except that emulation which made them exert
themselves with more distinguished bravery against the enemies of their country. 
Brankert was opposed to d'Etrees, De
Ruyter to Prince Rupert, Tromp to Sprague. It is to be remarked, that in all 
actions, these brave admirals last mentioned had
still selected each other as the only antagonists worthy each other's valor; and 
no decisive advantage had as yet been gained
by either of them. They fought in this battle, as if there were no mean between 
death and victory. D'Etrees and all the French
squadron, except Rear-Admiral Martel, kept at a distance; and Brankert, instead 
of attacking them, bore down to the
assistance of De Ruyter, who was engaged in furious combat with Prince Rupert. 
On no occasion did the prince acquire
more deserved honor: his conduct, as well as valor, shone out with signal 
lustre. Having disengaged his squadron from the
numerous enemies with whom he was every where surrounded, and having joined Sir 
John Chichely, his rear-admiral, who
had been separated from'him, he made haste to the relief of Sprague, who was 
hard pressed by Tromp's squadron. The
Royal Prince, in which Sprague first engaged, was so disabled, that he was 
obliged to hoist his' flag on board the St.
George; while Tromp was for a like reason obliged to quit his ship, the Golden 
Lion, and go on board the Comet. The fight
was renewed with the utmost fury by these valorous rivals, and by the rear-
admirals, their seconds. Ossory, rear-admiral to
Sprague, was preparing to board Tromp, when he saw the St. George terribly torn, 
and in a manner disabled. Sprague was
leaving her, in order to hoist his flag on board a third ship, and return to the 
charge when a shot, which had passed through
the St. George, took his boat, and sunk her. The admiral was drowned, to the 
regret of Tromp himself, who bestowed on
his valor the ]eserved praises. Prince Rupert found affairs in this dangerous 
situation, and;aw most of the ships in Sprague's
squadron disabled from fght. The engagement, however, was renewed, and became 




Page 121 

CHARLES II. 121 ery close and bloody. The prince threw the enemy into disorder. 
To increase it, he sent among them two
fireships, and at the same time made a signal to the French to bear down; which 
if they had done, a decisive victory must
have ensued. But the prince, when he saw that they neglected his signal, and 
observed that most of his ships were in no
condi. tion to keep the sea long, wisely provided for their safety by making 
easy sail towards the English coast. The victory
in this battle was as doubtful as in all the actions fought during the present 
war. The turn which the affairs of the Hollanders
took by land was more favorable. The prince of Orange besieged and took Naerden; 
and from this success gave his country
reason to hope for still more prosperous enterprises. Montecuculi, who commanded 
the imperialists on the Upper Rhine,
deceived, by the most artful conduct, the vigilance and penetration of Turenne, 
and making a sudden march, sat down
before Bonne. The prince of Orange's conduct was no less wasterly; while he 
eluded all the French generals, and leaving
them behind him, joined his army to that of the imperialists. Bonne was taken in 
a few days: several other places in the
electorate of Cologne fell into the hands of the allies; and-the communica. tion 
being thus cut off between France and the
U,nited Prove inces, Lewis was obliged to recall his forces, and to abandon all 
his conquests with greater rapidity than he
had at first made them. The taking of Maestricht was the only.advan. tage which 
he gained this campaign. A congress was
opened at Cologne under the mediation of Sweden; but with small hopes of 
success. The demands of the two kings were
such as must have reduced the Hollanders to perpetual servitude. In proportion 
as the affairs of the states rose, the kings
sunk in their demands; but the states still sunk lower in their offers; and it 
was found impossible for the parties ever to agree
on any conditions. After the French evacuated Holland, the congress broke up; 
and the seizure of Prince William of
Furstenburg by the Imperialists, afforded the French and English a good pretence 
for leaving Cologne. The Dutch
ambassadors, in their memorials, expressed all the haughtiness and disdain so 
natural to a free state, which had met with
such unmerited ill usage. The parliament of England was now assembled, and 
discovered much greater symptoms of ill
humor than had ap. peared in the last session. They had seen for some time a VL. 
VI. 11 H L 




Page 122 

122 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. negotiation of marriage carried on between the duke of 
York and the archduchess of
Inspruc, a Catholic of the Austrian family; and they had made no opposition. But 
when that negotiation failed, and the duke
applied to a princess of the house of Modena, then in close alliance with 
France, this circumstance, joined to so many other
grounds of discontent, raised the commons into a flame; and they remonstrated 
with the greatest zeal against the intended
marriage. The king told them, that their remonstrance came too late, and that 
the mar. riage was already agreed on, and even
celebrated by proxy. The commons still insisted; and proceeding to the 
examination of the other parts of government, they
voted the standing army a grievance, and declared, that they would grant no more 
supply, unless it appeared that the Dutch
were so obstinate as to refuse all reasonable conditions of peace. To cut short 
these disagreeable attacks, the king resolved
to prorogue the parliament; and with that intention he came unexpectedly to the 
house of peers, and sent the usher to
summon the commons. It happened that the speaker and the usher nearly met at the 
door of the house; but the speaker
being within, some of the members suddenly shut the door, and cried, " To the 
chair, to the chair; " while others cried, "The
black rod is at the door." The speaker was hurried to the chair; and the 
following motions were instantly made: That the
alliance with France is a grievance; that the evil counsellors aoout the king 
are a grievance; that the duke of Lauderdale is a
grievance, and not fit to be trusted or employed. There was a general cry, " To 
thequestion, to the question; " but the usher
knocking violently at the door, the speaker leaped from the chair, and the house 
rose in great confusion. During the interval,
Shaftesbury, whose intrigues with the malecontent party were now become 
notorious, was dismissed from the office of
chancellor; and the great seal was given to Sir Heneage Finch, by the title of 
lord keeper. The test had incapacitated
Clifford; and the white staff was conferred on Sir Thomas Osborne, soon after 
created earl of Danby, a minister of abilities,
who had risen by his parliamentary talents. Clifford retired into the country, 
and soon after died. [1674.] The parliament had
been prorogued, in order to give the duke leisure to finish his marriage; but 
the king's necessities soon obliged him again to
assemble them; and by some popular acts he paved the way for the session. But 
all his efforts were in vain. The disgust of
the commons was 




Page 123 

CHARLES II. 12 fixed in foundations too deep to be easily removed. They began 
with applications for a general fast; by
which they intimated that the nation was in a very calamitous condition: they 
addressed against the king's guards, which they
represented as dangerous to liberty, and even as illegal, since they never had 
yet received the sanction of parliament: they
took some steps towards establishing a new and more rigorous test against 
Popery: and what chiefly alarmed the court, they
made an attack on the members of the cabal, to whose pernicious counsels they 
imputed all their present grievances. Clifford
was dead: Shaftesbury had made his peace with the country party, and was become 
their leader: Backingham was
endeavoring to imitate Shaftesbury; but his intentions were as yet known to very 
few. A motion was therefore made in the
house of commons for his impeachment: he desired to be heard at the bar, but 
expressed himself in so confused and
ambiguous a manner, as gave little satisfaction. He was required to answer 
precisely to certain queries which they proposed
to him. These regarded all the articles of misconduct above mentioned; and among 
the rest, the following query seems
remarkable: " By whose advice was the army brought up to overawe the debates and 
resolutions of the house of commons?
" This shows to what length the suspicions of the house were at that time 
carried. Buckingham, in all his answers,
endeavored to exculpate himself, and to load Arlington. He succeeded not in the 
former intention: the commons voted an
address for his removal. But Arlington, who was on many accounts obnoxious to 
the house, was attacked. Articles were
drawn up against him; though the impeachment was never prosecuted. The king 
plainly saw, that he could expect no supply
from the commons for carrying on a war so odious to them. He resolved, 
therefore, to make a separate peace with the
Dutch, on the terms which they had proposed through the channel of the Spanish 
ambassador. With a cordiality which, in the
piresent disposition on both sides, was probably but affected, but which 
was.obliging, he asked advice of the parliament.
The parliament unanimously concurred, both in thanks for this gracious 
condescension, and in their advice for peace; Peace
was accordingly concluded. The honor of the flag was yielded by the Dutch in the 
most extensive terms: a regula tion of
trade was agreed to: all possessions were restored t~ the same condition as 
before the war: the English p'anters in 




Page 124 

124 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Surinam were allowed to remove at pleasure: and the 
states agreed to pay to the king the
sum of eight hundred thousand patacoons, near three hundred thousand pounds. 
Four days after the parliament was
prorogued,the peace was proclaimed in London, to the great joy of the people. 
Spain had declared, that she could no longer
remain neuter, if hostilities were continued against Holland; and a sensible 
decay of trade was foreseen, in case a rupture
should ensue with that kingdom. The prospect of this loss contributed very much 
to increase the national aversion to the
present war, and to enliven the joy for its conclusion. There was in the French 
service a great body of English, to the number
of ten thousand men, who had acquired honor in every action, and had greatly 
contributed to the successes of Lewis. These
troops, Charles said, he was bound by treaty not to recall; but he obliged 
himself to the states- by a secret article not to
allow'them to be recruited. His partiality to France prevented a strict 
execution of this engagement. 




Page 125 

CHARLUS I. 125 CHAPTER LXVI CHARLES II. [1674.] IF we consider the projects of 
the famous cabal, it will appear
hard to determine, whether the end which those ministers pursued were more 
blamable and pernicious, or the means by
which they were to effect it more impolitic and imprudent. Though they might 
talk only of recovering or fixing the king's
authority, their intention could be no other than that of making him absolute; 
since it was not possible to regain or maintain,'
in opposition to the people, any of those powers of the crown abolished by late 
law or custom, witihout subduing the
people, and rendering the royal prerogative entirely uncontrollable. Against 
such a scheme they might foresee that every part
of the nation would declare them. selves; not only the old parliamentary 
faction, which, though they kept not in a body, were
still numerous, but even the greatest royalists, who were indeed attached to 
monarchy, but desired to see it limited and
restrained by law. It had appeared, that the present parliament, though elected 
during the greatest prevalence of the royal
party, was yet tenacious of popular privileges, and retained a considerable 
jealousy of the crown, even before they had
received any just ground of sus. picion. The guards,, therefore, together with a 
small army, new levied and undisciplined, and
composed, too, of Englishmen, were almost the only domestic resources which the 
king could depend on in the prosecution
of these dangerous counsels. The assistance of the French king was no doubt 
deemed iy the cabal a considerable support in
the schemes which they were forming; but it is not easily conceived they could 
imagine themselves, capable of directing and
employing an associate of so domineering a character. They ought justly to have 
suspected, that it would be the sole
intention of Lewis, as it evidently was his interest, to raise incurable 
jealousies between the king and his people; and that he
saw how much a steady, uniform government in this island. whether free or 11# 




Page 126 

126 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. absolute, would form invincible barriers to his 
ambition. Should his assistance be
demanded, if he sent a small supply, it would serve only to enrage the people, 
and render the breach altogether irreparable;
if he furnished a great force, sufficient to subdue the nation, there was little 
reason to trust his generosity with- regard to the
use which he would make of this advantage. In all its other parts, the plan of 
the cabal, it must be confessed, appears equally
absurd and incongruous. If the war with Holland were attended with great 
success, and involved the subjection of the
republic, such an accession of force must fall to Lewis, not to Charles: and 
what hopes afterwards of resisting by the greatest
unanimity so mighty a monarch? How dangerous, or rather how ruinous, to depend 
upon his assistance against domestic
discontents! If the Dutch, by their own vigor, and the assistance of allies, 
were able to defend themselves, and could bring
the'war to an equality, the French arms would be so employed abroad, that no 
considerable reenforcement could thence be
expected to second the king's enterprises in England. And might.not the project 
of overawing or subduing the people be
esteemed of itself sufficiently odious, without the aggravation of sacrificing 
that state which they regarded as their best ally,
and with which, on many accounts, they were desirous of maintaining the greatest 
concord and strictest confederacy?
Whatever views likewise might be entertained of promoting by these measures the 
Catholic religion, they could only tend to
render all the other schemes abortive, and make them fall with inevitable ruin 
upon the projectors. The Catholic religion,
indeed, where it is established, is better fitted than the Protestant for 
supporting an absolute monarchy; but would any man
have thought of it as the means of acquiring arbitrary authority in England, 
where it was more detested than even slavery
itself? It must be allowed that the difficulties, and even inconsistencies, 
attending the schemes of the cabal, are so numerous
and cbvious, that one feels at first an inclination to deny the eality of those 
schemes, and to suppose them entirely the
chimeras of calumny and faction. But the utter impossibility of accounting, by 
any other hypothesis, for those strange
measures embraced by the court, as well as for the numerous circumstances which 
accompanied them, obliges us to
acknowl. 




Page 127 

CHARLES II. 127 edge, (though there remains no direct evidence of it,*) that a 
formal plan was laid for changing the
religion, and subverting the constitution of England; and that the king and the 
ministry were in reality conspirators against the
people. What is most probable in human affairs, is not always true; and a very 
minute circumstance overlooked in our
speculations, serves often to explain events which rnmay seem the most 
surprising and unaccountable. Though the king
possessed penetration and a sound judgment, his capacity was chiefly fitted * 
Since the publication of this History, the
aythor has had occasion to see the most direct and positive evidence of this 
conspiracy. From the urbanity and candor of the
principal of the Scotch college at Paris, he was admitted to peruse James II.'s 
Memoirs, kept there. They amount to several
volumes of small folio, all writ with that prince's own hand, and comprehending 
the remarkable incidents of his life, from his
early youth till near the time of his death. His account of the French alliance 
is as follows: The intention of the king and duke
was chiefly to change the religion of England, which they deemed an easy 
undertaking, because of the great propensity, as
they imagined, of the cavaliers and church party to Popery: the treaty with 
Lewis was concluded at Versailles in the end of
1669, or beginning of 1670, by Lord Arundel of Wardour, whom no historian 
mentions as having had any hand in these
transactions. The purport of it was, that Lewis was to give Charles two hundred 
thousand pounds a year in quarterly
payments In order to enable him to settle the Catholic religion in England; and 
he was also to supply him with an army of six
thousand men, in case of any insurrection. When that work was finished, England 
was to join with France in making war
upon Holland. In case of success, Lewis was to have the inland provinces; the 
prince of Orange, Holland in sovereignty; and
Charles, Sluice, the Brille, Walkeren, with the rest of the seaports as far as 
Mazeland Sluice. The king's project was first to
effect the change of religion in England; but the duchess of Orleans, in the 
interview at Dover, persuaded him to begin with
the Dutch war, contrary to the remonstrances of the duke of York, who insisted 
that Lewis, after serving his own purpose,
would no longer trouble himself about England. The duke makes no mention of any 
design to render the king absolute; but
that was no-doubt implied in the other project, which was to be effected 
entirely by royal authority. The king was so zealous
a Papist, that he wept for joy when he saw the prospect of reuniting his kingdom 
to the Catholic church. Sir John Dalrymple
has since publiThed some other curious particulars with regard to this treaty. 
We find that it was concerted and signed with
the privity alone of four Popish counsellors of the king's; Arlington, Arundel, 
Clifford, and Sir Richard Bealing. The secret
was kept from Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale. In order to engage them to 
take part in it, a very refined and a very
mean artifice was fallen upon by the king. After the secret conclusion and 
signature of the treaty, the king pretended to these
three ministers that 




Page 128 

128 MSTORY OF ENGLANID. for smaller matters,* and the ordinary occurrences of 
life;.nor had he application enough
to carry his view to distant co;:sequences, or to digest and adjust any plan of 
political opera. tions. As he scarcely ever
thought twice on any one subject, every appearance of advantage was apt to 
seduce'him; and when he found his way
obstructed by unlooked-for difficulties, he readily turned aside into the first 
path, where he expected more to gratify the
naural indolence of his disposition. To this versatility or pliancy of genius he 
himself was inclii;3d to trust; and he thought that,
after trying an experiment for enlarging his authority, and altering the 
national religion, he could easily, if it failed, return into
the ordinary channel of government. But the suspicions of the people, though 
they burst not forth at once, were by this
attempt rendered altogether incurable; and the more they reflected on the 
circumstances attending it, the more resentment
and jealousy were they apt to entertain. They observed, that the king never had 
any favorite; that he was never governed by
his ministers, scarcely even by his mistresses; and that he himself was the 
chief spring of all public counsels. Whatever
appearance, therefore, of a change might be assumed, they still suspected that 
the same project was secretly in agitation; and
they deemed no precaution too great to secure them against the pernicious 
consequences of such measures. he wished to
have a treaty and alliance with France for mutual support, and for a Dutch war; 
anid when various pretended obstacles and
difficulties were surmounted, a sham treaty was concluded with their consent and 
approbation, containing every article of the
former real treaty, except that of the king's change of religion. However, there 
swas virtually involved, even in this treaty, the
assuming of absolute government in England; for the support of French troops, 
and a war with Holland, so contrary to the
interests and inclinations of his people, could mean nothing else. One cannot 
sufficiently admire the absolute want of common
sense which appears throughout the whole of this criminal transaction. For if 
Popery was so much the object of national
horror, that even the king's three ministers, Buckingham, Ashley, and 
Lauderdale, and such profligate ones, too, either would
not or durst not receive it, what hopes could he entertain of forcing the nation 
into that communion? Considering the state of
the kingdom, full of veteran and zealous soldiers, bred during the civil wars, 
it is probable that he had not kept the crown
two months after a declaration so wild and extravagant. This was probably the 
reason why the king of France and the
French minister always dissuaded hini from taking off the mask, till the 
successes of the Dutch war should render that
measure prudent and practicable. * Duke of ]uckingham's character of King 
Charles IL 




Page 129 

CHARLES nI. 129 The king, sensible of this jealousy, was inclined thenceforth 
not to trust his people, of whom he had even
before entertained a great diffidence; and though obliged to make a separate 
peace, he still kept up connections wvith the
French monarch. He apologized for deserting his ally, by represent. ing to him 
all the real, undissembled difficulties under
which he labored; and Lewis, with the greatest complaisance and good humor, 
admitted the validity of his excuses. The
duke likewise, conscious that his principles and conduct had rendered him still 
more obnoxious to the people, maintained on
his own account a separate correspondence with the French court, and entered 
into particular connections with Lewis,
which these princes dignified with the name of friendship. The duke had only in 
view to secure his succession, and favor the
Catholics; and it must be acknowledged to his praise, that though his schemes 
were in some particulars dangerous to the
people, they gave the king no just ground of' jealousy. A dutiful subject, and 
an affectionate brother, he knew no other rule
of conduct than obedience; and the same unlimited submission which afterwards, 
when king, he exacted of his people, he
was ever willing, before he ascended the throne, to pay to his sovereign. As the 
king was at peace with all the world, and
almost the only prince in Europe placed in that agreeable situation, he thought 
proper to offer his mediation to the contending
powers, in order to compose their differences. France, will. ing to negotiate 
under so favorable a mediator, readily accepted
of Charles's offer; but it was apprehended that, for a like reason, the allies 
would be inclined to refuse it. In order to give a
sanction to his new measures, the king invited Temple from his retreat,, and 
appointed him ambassador to the states. That
wise minister, reflecting on the unhappy issue of his former undertakings, and 
ihe fatal turn of counsels which had occasioned
it, resolved, before he embarked anew, to acquaint himself, as far as possible, 
with the real intentions of the king, in those
popular measures which he seemed again to have adopted. After blaming the 
dangerous schemes of the cabal, which
Charles was desirous to excuse, he told his majesty very plainly, that he would 
find it extremely difficult, if not absolutely
impossible, to introduce into England the same system of government and religion 
which was established in France: that the
universal bent of the nation was against both; and it required ages to change 
the genius and sentiments 




Page 130 

130 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. of a people: that many, who were at bottom indifferent 
in mat. ters of religion, would yet
oppose all alterations on that head; because they considered, that nothing but 
force of arms could subdue the reluctance of
the people against Popery; after which, they knew there could be no security for 
civil liberty: that in France, every
circumstance had long been adjusted to that system of government, and tended to 
its establishment and support: that the
commonalty, being poor and dispirited, were of no account; the nobility, engaged 
by the prospect or possession of
numerous offices, civil and military, were entirely attached to the court; the 
ecclesiastics, retained by like motives, added the
sanction of religion to the principles of civil policy: that in England, a great 
part of the landed property belonged either to the
yeomanry or middling gentry; the king had few offices to bestow; and could not 
himself even subsist, much less maintain an
army, except by the voluntary supplies of his parliament: that if he had an army 
on foot, yet, if composed of Englishmen, they
would never be prevailed on to promote ends which the people so much feared and 
hated: that the Roman Catholics in
England were not the hundredth part of the nation, and in Scotland not the two 
hundredth; and it seemed against all common
sense to hope, by one part, to govern ninety-nine, who were of contrary 
sentiments and dispositions: and that foreign troops,
if few, would tend only to inflame hatred and discontent; and how to raise and 
bring over at once, or to maintain many, it
was very difficult to imagine. To these reasonings Temple added the authority of 
Gourville, a Frenchman, for whom he knew
the king had entertained a great esteem. " A king of England," said Gourville, " 
who will be the man of his people, is the
greatest king in the world; but if he will be any thing more, he is nothing at 
all." The king heard'at first this discourse with
some impatience; but being a dexterous dissembler, he seemed moved at last, and 
laying his hand on Temple's, said, with an
appearing cordiality, " And I will be the man of my people." Temple, when he 
went abroad, soon found that the scheme of
mediating a peace was likely to prove abortive. The allies, besides their 
jealousy of the king's mediation, expressed a great
ardor for the continuance of war. Holland had stipulated with Spain never to 
come to an accommodation, till all things in
Flanders were restored to the condition in which they had been left by the 
Pyrenean treaty. The emperor 




Page 131 

CHARLES II. 131 had'high pretensions in Alsace; and as the greattf part of the 
empire joined in the alliance, it was hoped
that France, so much overmatched in force, would soon be obliged to submit to 
the terms demanded of her. The Dutch,
indeed, oppressed by heavy taxes, as well as checked in their commerce, were 
desirous of peace; and had few or no claims
of their own to retard it: but they could not in gratitude, or even in good 
policy, abandon allies to whose protection they had
so lately been indebted for their safety. The prince of Orange likewise, who had 
great influence in their councils, was all on
fire for military fame, and was wvell pleased to be at the head of armies, from 
which such mighty successes were expected.
Under various pretences, he eluded, during the whole campaign, the meeting with 
Temple; and after the troops were sent
into winter quarters, he told that minister, in his first audience, that till 
greater impression were made on France, reasonable
terms could not be hoped for; and it were therefore vain to negotiate. The 
success of the campaign had not answered
expectation. The prince of Orange, with a superior army, was opposed in Flanders 
to the prince of Cond(e, and had hoped
to penetrate into France by that quarter, where.. the frontier was then very 
feeble. After long endeavoring, though in vain, to
bring Conde to a battle, he rashly exposed at Seneffe a wing of his army; and 
that active prince failed not at once to see and
to seize the advantage. But this imprudence of the prince of Orange was amply 
compensated by his behavior in that
obstinate and bloody action which ensued. He rallied his dismayed troops; he led 
them to the charge; he pushed the veteran
and martial troops of France,; and he obliged the prince of Cpnde, 
notwithstanding his age and character, to exert greater
efforts, and to risk his person more, than in any action where, even during the 
heat of youth, he had ever commanded. After
sunset, the action was continued by the light of the moon; and it was darkness 
at last, not the weariness of the combatants,
which put an end to the contest, and left the vic. tory undecided. "c The prince 
of Orange," said Conde, with candor and
generosity, "has acted in every thing like an old captain, except venturing his 
life too like a young soldier." Oudenarde was
afterwards invested by the prince of Orange; but he was obliged by the imperial 
and Spanish generals to raise the siege on
the approach of the enemy. He afterwards besieged and took Grave; and at the 
beginning of winter the 




Page 132 

132 HISTOIY OF ENGLAND. allied armies broke up, with great discontents and 
complaints on all sides. The allies were
not more successful in other places. Lewis in a few weeks reconquered Franche 
Compte. In Alsace, Turenne displayed,
against a much superior enemy, all that military skill which had long rendered 
him the most renowned captain of his age and
nation. By a sudden and forced march, he attacked and beat at Sintzheim the duke 
of Lorraine and Caprara, general of the
imperialists. Seventy thousand Germans poured into Alsace, and took up their 
quarters in that province. Turenne, who had
retired into Lorraine, returned unexpectedly upon them. He attacked and defeated 
a body of the enemy at Mulhausen. He
chased from Colmar the elector of Brandenburgh, who commanded the German troops. 
He gained a new advantage at
Turkheim. And having dislodged all the allies, he obliged them to repass the 
Rhine, full of shame for their multiplied defeats,
and still more, of anger and complaints against each other. In England, all 
these events were considered by the people with
great anxiety and concern; though the king and his ministers affected great 
indifference with regard to them. Considerable
alterations were about this time made in the English ministry. Buckingham was 
dismissed, who had long, by his wit and
entertaining humor, possessed the king's favor. Arlington, now chamberlain, and 
Danby, the treasurer, pos. sessed chiefly
the king's confidence. Great hatred and jealousy took place between these 
ministers; and public affairs were somewhat
disturbed by their quarrels. But Danby daily gained ground with his master; and 
Arlington declined in the same proportion.
Danby was a frugal minister; and by his application and industry he brought the 
revenue into tolerable order. He endeavored
so to conduct himself as to give offence.o no party; and the consequence was, 
that he was able enurely to please none. He
was a declared enemy to the French alliance; but never possessed authority 
enough to overcome the prepossessions which
the king and the duke retained towards it. It must be ascribed to the prevalence 
of that interest, aided by money remitted
from Paris, that the parlianignt was assembled so late this year, lest they 
should attempt to evuage the king in measures
against France during the ensuing campaign.- They met not till the approach of 
summer.* * -'as year, on the twenty-fifth of
March, died Henry Cromwell, 6cors,.on of the protector, in the forty-seventh 
year of his age. HEn 




Page 133 

CORLES f. 133 r1675.] Every step taken by the commons discovered that ill humor 
and jealousy to whi'ch the late open
measures of the king, and his present secret attachments, gave but too just 
foundation. They drew up a new bill against
Popery, and resolved to insert in it many severe clauses for the detection and 
prosecution of priests: they presented
addresses a second time against Lauderdale; and when the king's answer was not 
satisfactory, they seemed still determined
to persevere in their applications: an accusation was moved against Danby, but 
upon examining the several articles, it was
not found to contain any just reasons of a prosecution, and was therefore 
dropped: they applied to the king for recalling his
troops from the French service; and as he only promised that they should not be 
recruited, they appeared to be much
dissatisfied with the answer: a bill was brought in, making it treason to levy 
money without authority of parliament; another
vacating' the seats of such members as accepted of offices; another to secure 
the personal liberty of the subject, and
to-prevent sending any person prisoner beyond sea. That the court party might 
not be idle during these attacks, a bill for a
new test was introduced into the house of peers by the earl of Lindesey. All 
members of either house, and all who possessed
any office, were by this bill required to swear, that it was not lawful, upon 
any pretence whatsoever, to take arms against the
king; that they abhorred the traitorous position of taking arms by his authority 
against his person, or against those who were
commissioned by him; and that they will not at any time endeavor the alteration 
of the Protestant religion, or of the
established government either in church or state. Great opposition was made to 
this bill, as might be expected from the
present disposition of the nation. During seventeen days, the debates were 
carried on with much zeal; and all the reason and
learning of both parties were displayed on the occasion. The question, indeed, 
with regard to resistance, ~ as a point which
entered into the controversies of the old parties, cavalier and roundhead; as it 
made an essential part of the present disputes
between court and country. Few neuters were found in the nation: but among such 
as could main. tain a calm indifference,
there prevailed sentiments wide of had lived unmolested in a private station, 
ever since the king's restoration, which he rather
favored than opposed. VOL. vI. 12 II 




Page 134 

184 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. those which were adopted by either party. Such persmois 
thought, that all general
speculative declarations of the legislature, either for or against resistance, 
were equally impolitic, and could serve to no other
purpose than to signalize in their turn the triumph of one faction over another: 
that the sim-.plicity retained in the ancient laws
of England, as well as in the laws of every other country, ought still to be 
preserved, and was best calculated to prevent the
extremes on either side: that the absolute exclusion of resistance, in all 
possible cases, was founded on false principles; its
express admission might be attended with dangerous consequences; and there was 
no necessity for exposing the public to
either inconvenience: that if a choice must necessarily be made in the case, the 
preference of utility to truth in public
institutions was apparent; nor could the supposition of resistance, beforehand 
and in general terms, be safely admitted in any
government: that even in mixed.ionarchies, where that supposition seemed most 
requisite, it was yet entirely superfluous;
since no man, on the approach of extraordinary necessity, could be at a loss, 
though not directed by legal declarations, to
find the proper remedy: that even those who might at a distance, and by 
scholastic reasoning, exclude all resistance, would
yet hearken to the voice of nature, when evident ruin, both to themselves and to 
the public, must attend a strict adherence to
their pretended principles: that the question, as it ought thus to be entirely 
excluded from all determinations of the legislature,
was, even among private reasoners, somewhat frivolous, and little better than a 
dispute of words: that the one party could
not pretend that resistance ought ever to become a familiar practice; the other 
would surely have recourse to it in great
extremities; and thus the difference could only turn on the degrees of danger or 
oppression which would warrant this
irregular remedy; a difference which, in a general question, it was impossible 
by any language precisely to fix or determine.
There were many other absurdities in this test, particularly that of binding men 
by oath not to alter the government either in
church or state; since all human institutions are liable to abuse, and require 
continual amendments, which are in reality so
many alterations. It is not indeed possible to make a law which does not 
innovate, more or less, in the government, These
difficulties produced such obstructions to the bill, that it was carried only by 
two voices in the house of peers. All the Popish
lords, headed by the earl of Bristol, voted against 




Page 135 

CHARLES II. 135 it. It was sent down to the house of commons. where it was 
likely to undergo a scrutiny still more
severe. But a quarrel which ensued between the two houses, prevented the passing 
of every bill projected during the present
session. One Dr. Shirley, being cast in a lawsuit before chancer) against Sir 
John Fag, a member of the house of commons,
preferred a petition of appeal to the house of peers. The lords received it, and 
summoned Fag to appear before them. He
complained to the lower house, who espoused his cause. They not only maintained, 
that no member of their house could be
summoned before the peers; they also asserted, that the upper house could 
receive no appeals from any court of equity; a
pretension which extremely retrenched the jurist diction of the peers, and which 
was contrary to the practice that had
prevailed during this whole century. The commons send Shirley to prison; the 
lords assert their powers. Conferences are
tried; but no accommodation ensues. Four lawyers are sent to the Tower by the 
commons, for transgressing the orders of
the house, and pleading in this cause before the peers. The peers denominate 
this arbitrary commitment a breach of the
Great Charter, and order the lieutenant of the Tower to release the prisoners: 
he declines obedience: they apply to the king,
and desire him to punish the lieutenant for his contempt. The king summons both 
houses; exhorts them to unanimity; and
informs them, that the present quarrel had arisen from the contrivance of his 
and their enemies, who expected by that means
to force a dissolution of the parliament. His advice has no effect: the commons 
continue as violent as ever; and the king,
finding that no business could be finished, at last prorogued the parliament. 
When the parliament was again assembled, there
appeared not in any respect a change in the dispositions of either house. The 
king desired supplies, as well for the building of
ships, as for taking off anticipations which lay upon his revenue. He even 
confessed, that he had not been altogether so frugal
as he might have been, and as he resolved to be for the future; though he 
asserted that, to his great satisfaction, he had found
his expenses by no means so exorbitant as some had represented them. The commons 
took into consideration the subect of
suppiy. They voted three hundred thousand pcunds for the building of ships; but 
they appropriated the sum by very strict
clauses. They passed a resolution not to grant 




Page 136 

136 IHISTORY OF ENGLAND. any supply for taking off the anticipations of the 
revenue.# This vote was carried in a full
house, by a majority of four only: so nearly were the parties balanced. The 
quarrel was revived, to which Dr. Shirley's cause
had given occasion. Tha proceedings of the commons discovered the same -
'iolen,.e as during the last session. A motion
was made in the house of peers, but rejected, for addressing the king to dis. 
solve the present parliament. The king
contented himself with proroguing them to a very long term. Whether these 
luarrels between the houses arose from
contrivance or accident, was not certainly known. Each party might, according to 
their different views, esteem themselves
either gainers or losers by them. The court might desire to obstruct all attacks 
from the commons, by giving them other
employment. The country party might desire the dissolution of a parliament, 
which, notwithstanding all disgusts, still
contained too many royalists ever to serve all the purposes of the malecontents. 
Soon after the prorogation, there passed an
incident, which in itself is trivial, but tends strongly to mark the genius of 
the English government, and of Charles's
administration during this period. The liberty of the constitution, and the 
variety as well as violence of the parties, had
begotten a propensity for political conversation; and as the coffee-houses in 
particular were the scenes where the conduct of
the king and the ministry was canvassed with great freedom, a proclamation was 
issued to suppress these places of
rendezvous. Such an act o,' power, during former reigns, would have been 
grounded entirely on the prerogative; and before
the accession of the house of Stuart, no scruple would have been entertained 
with regard to that exercise of -authority. But-
Charles, finding doubts to arise upon his proclamation, had recourse to the 
judges, who supplied him with a chicane, and
that too a frivolous one, by which he might justify his proceedings. The law 
which settled the excise enacted, that licenses for
retailing liquors might be refused to such as could not find security for 
payxment of the duties. But coffee was not a liquor
subjected to excise; and even this power of refusing licenses was very * Several 
historians have affirmed, that the commons
found this session, upon inquiry, that the king's revenue was one million six 
hundred thousand pounds a year, ar..d that the
necessary expense wvas but seven hundred thousand pounds; and have appealed to 
the journals for a proof. But there is not
the least appearance of this in the journals; and the fact is impossible. 




Page 137 

CHARLES t. 1.37 limited, and could not reasonably be extended beyond the 
intention of the act. The king, therefore,
observing the people to be much dissatisfied, yielded to a petition of the 
cofieemen, who promised for the future to restrain
all seditious dis. course in their houses; and the proclamation was recalled. 
This campaign proved more fbrtunate to the
confederates than any other during the whole war. The French took the field in 
Flanders with a numerous army; and Lewis
himrnself served as a volunteer under the prince of' Conde. But notwithstanding 
his great preparations, he could gain no
adlvanta(res but the taking of IHuy and Limbourg, places of small consequence. 
The prince of Orange with a considerable
army opposed him in all his motions; and neither side was willing, without a 
visible advantage, to hazard a general action,
which might be attended either with the entire loss of Flanders on the one hand, 
or the invasion of France on the other.
Lewis, tired of so inactive a campaign, returned to Versailles; and the whole 
summer passed in the Low Countries without
any memorable event. Turenne commanded on the Upper Rhine, in opposition to his 
great rival, Montecuculi, general of the
imperialists. The object of the latter was to pass the Rhine, to penetrate into 
Alsace, Lorraine, or Burgundy, and to fix his
quarters in these provinces: the aim of the former was to guard the French 
frontiers, and to disappoint all the schemes of his
enemy. The most consummate skill was displayed on both sides; and if any 
superiority appeared in Turenne's conduct, it
was chiefly ascribed to his greater vigor of body, by which he was enabled to 
inspect all the posts in person, and could on
the spot take the justest measures for the execution of his designs. By posting 
himself on the German side of the Rhine, he
not only kept Montecuculi from passing that river: he had also laid his plan in 
so masterly a manner, that in a few days he
must have obliged the Germans to decamp, and have gained a considerable 
advantage over them; when a period was put to
his life by a random shot, which struck him on the breast as he was taking a 
view of the enemy. The consternation of his
army was inexpressible. The French troops, who a moment before were assured of 
victory, now considered thllenmselves
as entirely vanquished; and the Germans, who would have been glad to compound 
for a safe retreat, expected no ess than
the total destruction of their enemy. But De Lorges, nephew to Turenne, 
succeeded him in the command, and 12 * 




Page 138 

138 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. possessed a great share of the genius and capacity of 
his prod. ecessor. By his skilful
operations, the French were enabled to repass the Rhine, without considerable 
loss; and this retreat was deemed equally
glorious with the greatest victory. The valor of the English troops, who were 
placed in the rear, greatly contributed to save
the French army. They had been seized with the same passion as the native troops 
of France for their brave general, and
fobught with ardor to revenge his death on the Germans. The duke of Marlborough, 
then Captain Churchill, here learned the
rudiments of that art which he afterwards practised with such fatal success 
against France. The prince of Conde left the army
in Flanders under the command of Luxembourg; and carrying with him a 
considerable re/nforcement, succeeded to
Turenne's command. He defended Alsace from the Germans, who had passed the 
Rhine, and invaded that province. He
obliged them first to raise the siege of Hagen/u, then that of Saberne. He 
eluded all their attempts to bring him to a battle.
And having dexterously prevented them from establishing themselves in Alsace, he 
forced them, notwithstanding their
superiority of numbers, to repass the Rhine, and to take up winter quarters in 
their own country. After the death of Turenne,
a detachment of the German army was sent to the siege of Treves; an enterprise 
in which the imperialists, the Spaniards, the
palatine, the duke of Lorraine, and many other princes, passionately concurred. 
The project was well concerted, and
executed with vigor. Mareschal Crequi, on the other hand, collected an army, and 
advanced with a view of forcing the
Germans to raise the siege. They left a detachment to guard their lines, and, 
under the command of the dukes of Zell and
Osnaburgh, marched in quest of the enemy. At Consarbric they fell unexpectedly, 
and with superior numbers, on Crequi,
and put him to rout. He escaped with four attendants only; and throwing himself 
into Treves, resolved, by a vigorous
defence, to make atonement for his former error or misfortune. The garrison was 
brave, but not abandoned to that total
despair by which their governor was actuated. They mutinied against his 
obstinacy; capitulated for themselves; and because
he refused to sign the capitulation, they delivered him a prisoner into the 
hands of the enemy. It is remarkable, that this
defeat, given to Crequi, is almost the only one which the French received at 
land, from Rocrol 




Page 139 

CHARLES II. 139 to Blenheilh, during the course of above sixty years; and these, 
too, full of bloody wars against potent
and martial enemies: their victories almost equal the number of years during 
that period. Such was the vigor and gouu
conduct of that monarchy! and such, too, were the resources and refined policy 
of the other European nations, by which
they were enabled to repair their losses, and still to confine that mighty power 
nearly within its ancient limits! A fifth part of
these victories would have sufficed, in another period, to have given to France 
the empire of Europe. The Swedes had been
engaged, by the payment of large subsidies, to take part with Lewis, and invade 
the territories of the elector of
Brandenburgh in Pomerania. That elector, joined by some imperialists from 
Silesia, fell upon them with bravery and success.
He soon obliged them to evacuate his part of that country, and he pursued them 
into their own. He had an interview with the
king of Denmark, who had now joined the confederates, and resolved to declare 
war against Sweden. These princes
concerted measures for pushing the victory. To all these misfortunes against 
foreign enemies were added some domestic
insurrections of the common people in Guienne and Brittany. Though soon 
suppressed, they divided the force and attention
of Lewis. The only advantage gained by the French was at sea. Messina in Sicily 
had revolted; and a fleet under the duke de
Vivonne was despatched to support the rebels. The Dutch had sent a squadron to 
assist the Spaniards. A battle ensued,
where De Ruyter was killed. This event alone was thought equivalent to a 
victory. The French, who twelve years before had
scarcely a ship of war in any of their harbors, had raised themselves, by means 
of perseverance and policy, to be, in their
present force, though not in their resources, the first maritime power in 
Europe. The Dutch, while in alliance with them
against England, had supplied them with several vessels, and, had taught them 
the rudiments of the difficult art of
ship-building. The English next, when in alliance with them against Holland, 
instructed them in the method of fighting their
ships, and of preserving order in naval engagements. Lewis availed himrself of 
every opportunity to aggrandize his people,
while Charles, sunk in indolence and pleasure, neglected all the noble arts of 
government; or if at any time he roused himwlf
from his lethargy, that industry, by reason of the unhappy 




Page 140 

1 10 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. projects which he embraced, was often more pernicious 
to the public than his inactivity
itself. He was as anxious to prorote the naval power of France as if the safetv 
of his crown lhad depended on it; and maIu:y
of thle pllans executed in that knrgdoin were first, it is sai(l,* digested and 
corrected by hifi. [1676.] The successes of the
allies had been considerable the last campaign; but the Spaniards and 
imperialists well knew that France was not yet
sufficiently broken, nor willing to submit to tile terms which they resolved to 
impose ulpon her. Though they could not refuse
the king's mediation, and Nimeguen, after many difficulties, was at last fixed 
on as tlhe place of' conIgress, yet, under one
pretence or other, they still delayed sendilngtheir ambassadors, and no progress 
was made in the negotiation. Lord
Berkeley, Sir William Temple, and Sir Lionel Jenkins were the English ministers 
at Nimeguen. The Dutch, who were
impatient for peace, soon appeared: Lewis, who hoped to divide the allies, and 
who knew that he himself could neither be
seduced nor forced into a disadvantageous peace, sent ambassadors: the Swedes, 
who hoped to recover by treaty what
they had lost by arms, were also forward to negotiate. But as these powers could 
not proceed of themselves to settle terms,
the congress, hitherto, served merely as an amusement to the public. It was by 
the events of the campaign, not the
conferences among the negotiators, that the articles of peace were to be 
determined. The Spanish towns, ill fortified and
worse defended, made but a feeble resistance to Lewis; who, by laying up 
magazines during the winter, was able to take the
field early in the spring, before the forage could be found in the open country. 
In the month of April, he laid siege to Conde,
and took it by storm in four days. Having sent the duke of Orleans to besiege 
Bouchaine, a small but important fortress, he
posted himself so advantageously with his main army, as to hinder the 
confederates from relieving it, or fighting without
disadvantage. The prince of Orange, in spite of the difficulties of the season 
and the want of provisions, came in sight of the
French army; but his industry served to no other purpose than to render him 
spectator of the surrender of Bouchaine. Both
armies stood in awe of each other, and were unwilling to hazard an action which 
might be attended with * Welwood,
Burnet, Coke. 




Page 141 

CHARLES II. 141 the most important consequences. Lewis, though he wanted not 
personal courage, was little enterprising
in the field; and being resolved this campaign to rest contented with the 
advantages which he had so earlF obtained, he
thought proper to intrust his army to Mareschal Schomberg, and retired himself 
to Versailles. After his departure, the prince
of Orange laid siege to Maestricht; but meeting with an obstinate resistance, he 
was obliged, on the approach of Schomberg,
who in the mean time had taken Aire, to raise the siege. He was incapable of 
yielding to adversity, or bending under
misfortunes: but he began to foresee that, by the negligence and errors of his 
allies,-the war in Flanders must necessarily have
a very unfortunate issue. On the Upper Rhine, Philipsbourg was taken by the 
imperialists. In Pomerania, the Swedes were
so unsuccessful against the Danes and Brandenburghers, that they seemed to be 
losing apace all those possessions which,
with so much-valor and good fortune, they had acquired in Germany. About the 
beginning of winter, the congress of
Nimeguen was pretty full; and the plenipotentiaries Of the emperor and Spain, 
two powers strictly conjoined by blood and
alliance, at last appeared. The Dutch had threatened, if they absenred 
themselves any longer, to proceed to a separate treaty
with France. In the conferences and negotiations, the dispositions of the 
parties became every day more apparent. [1677.]
The Hollanders, loaded with debts and harassed with taxes, were desirous of 
putting an end to a war, in.which, besides the
disadvantages attending all leagues, the weakness of the Spaniards, the 
divisions and delays of the Germans, prognosticated
nothing but disgrace and misfortunte. Their commerce languished; and, what gave 
them still greater anxiety, the commerce of
England, by reason of her neutrality, flourished extremely; and they were 
apprehensive, lest advantages, once lost, would
never thoroughly be regained. They had themselves no further motive fcr 
continuing the war, than to secure a good frontier
to Flanders; but gratitude to their allies still engaged them to try, whether 
another campaign might procure a peace which
would give general satisfaction. The prince of Orange, urged by motives of 
honor, of ambition, and of animosity against
France, endeavored to keep them steady to this resolution. The Spaniards, not to 
mention the other incurable weak. *Iesses
into which their monarchy was fallen, were distracted 




Page 142 

142 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. with domestic dissensions between the parties of the 
queen regent and Don John, natural
brother to their young sovereign. Though unable of themselves to defend 
Flanders, they were resolute not to conclude a
peace which would leave it exposed to every assault or inroad; and while they 
made the most magnificent promises to the
states, their real trust was in the protection of England. They saw that, if 
that small but important territory were once subdued
by France, the Hollanders, exposed to so terrible a power, would fall into 
dependence, and would endeavor, by
submissions, to ward off that destruction to which a war in the heart of their 
state must necessarily expose them. They
believed that Lewis, sensible how much greater advantages he might reap from the 
alliance than from the subjection of the
republic, which must scatter its people and depress its commerce, would be 
satisfied with very moderate conditions, and
would turn his enterprises against his other neighbors. They thought it 
impossible but the people and parliament of England,
foreseeing these obvious consequences, must at last force the king to take part 
in the affairs of the continent, in which their
interests were so deeply concerned. And they trusted, that even the king 
himself, on the approach of so great a danger, must
open his eyes, and sacrifice his prejudices in favor of France to the safety of 
his own dominions. But Charles here found
himself entangled in such opposite motives and engagements, as he had not 
resolution enough to break, or patience to
unravel. On the one hand, he always regarded his alliance with France as a sure 
resource in case of any commotions among
his own subjects; and whatever schemes he might still retain for enlarging his 
authority, or altering the established religion, it
was from that quarter alone he could expect assistance. He had actually in 
secret sold his neutrality to France, and he
received remittances of a million of livres a year, which was afterwards 
increased to two millions; a considerable supply in
the present embarrassed state of his revenue. And he dreaded-lest the parliament 
should treat him as they had formerly done
his father; and after they had engaged him in a war on the continent, should 
take advantage of his necessities, and make him
purchase supplies by sacrificing his prerogative, and abandoning his ministers. 
On the other hand, the cries of his people and
parliament, seconded by Danby, Arlington, and moss of his ministers, incited 
hint to take part with the allies, and to correct
the 




Page 143 

CHARLES II. 143 onequal balance of power in Europe. He might apprehend danger 
from opposing such earnest desires:
he might hope for large supplies if he concurred with them: and however 
inglorious and indolent his disposition, the renown
of acting as arbiter of Europe would probably at intervals rouse him from his 
lethargy, and move him to support the high
character with which he stood invested. It is worthy of observation, that, 
during this period, the king was, by every one,
abroad and at home, by France and by the allies, allowed to be the undisputed 
arbiter of Europe; and no terms of peace
which he would have prescribed, could have been refused by either party. Though 
France afterwards found means to resist
the same alliance, joined with England, yet was she then obliged to make such 
violent efforts as quite exhausted her; and it
was the utmost necessity which pushed her to find resources far surpassing her 
own expectations. Charles was sensible, that,
so long as the war continued abroad, he should never enjoy ease at home, from 
the impatience and importunity of his
subjects; yet could he not resolve to impose a peace by openly joining himself 
with either party. Terms advantageous to the
allies must lose him the friendship of France: the contrary would enrage his 
parliament. Between these views, he perpetually
fluctuated; and from his conduct, it is observable, that a careless, remiss dis. 
position, agitated by opposite motives, is
capable of as great inconsistencies as are incident even to the greatest 
imbecility and folly. The parliament was assembled;
and the king made them a plausible speech, in which he warned them against all 
differences among themselves; expressed a
resolution to do his part for bringing their consultations to a happy issue; and 
offered his consent to any laws for the further
security of their religion, liberty, and property. He then told them of the 
decayed condition of the navy, and asked money for
repairing it. He informed them, that part of his revenue, the additional excise, 
was soon to expire; and he added these
words" You may at any time see the yearly established expense of the government, 
by which it will appear, that the constant
and unavoidable charge being paid, there will remain no overplus towards 
answering those contingencies which may happen
in all kingdoms, and which have been a considerable burden on me this last 
year." Before the parliament entered upon
business, they were 




Page 144 

144 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. stopped by a doubt concerning the legality of their 
meeting, It had been enacted, by an
old law of Edward III., " That parliament should be held once every year, or 
oftener, if need be." The last prorogation had
been longer than a year; and being supposed on that account illegal, it was 
pretended to be equivalent to a dissolution. The
consequence seems by no means just; and besides, a later act, that which 
repealed the triennial law, had determined, that it
was necessary to hold parliaments only once in three years. Such weight, 
however, was put on this cavil, that Buckingham,
Shaftesbury, Salisbury, and Wharton, insisted strenuously in the house of peers 
on the invalidity of the parliament, and the
nullity of all its future acts. For such dangerous positions they were sent to 
the Tower, there to remain during the pleasure of
his majesty and the house. Backingham, Salisbury, and Wharton made submissions, 
and were soon after released. But
Shaftesbury, more obstinate in his temper, and desirous of distinguishing 
himself by his adherence to liberty, sought the
remedy of law; and being rejected by the judges, he was at last, after a 
twelvemonth's imprisonment, obliged to make the
same submissions; upon which he was also released. -The commons at first seemed 
to proceed with temper. They granted
the sum of five hundred and eighty-six thousand pounds, for building thirty 
ships; though they strictly appropriated the money
to that service. Estimates were given in of the expense; but it was afterwards 
found that they fell short near one hundred
thousand pounds. They also voted, agreeably to the king's request, the 
continuance of the additional excise for three years.
This excise had been granted for nine years in 1668. Every thing seemed to 
promise a peaceable and an easy session. But
the parliament was roused from this tranquillity by the news received from 
abroad. The French king had taken the field in the
middle of February, and laid siege to Valenci. ennes, which he carried in a few 
days by storm. He next invested both
Cambray and St. Omers. The prince of Orange, alarmed with his progress, hastily 
assembled an armnny, and marched to
the relief of St. Omers. He was encountered by the French, under the duke of 
Orleans and Mareschal Luxembourg. The
prince possessed great talents for war; cour. age, activity, vigilance, 
patience; but still he was inferior in genius to those
consummate generals opposed to him by Lewis; and though he always found means to 
repair his losses, and 




Page 145 

CHARLES IL 145 to make head in a little time against the victors, he was, during 
Itis whole life, unsuccessful. By a masterly
movement of Luxemboiurg, he was here defeated, and obliged to retreat to Ypres. 
Cambray and St. Omers were soon after
surrendered to Lewis. This success, derived from such great power and such wise 
conduct, infused a just terror into the
English parliament. They addressed the king, representing the danger to which 
the kingdom was exposed from the greatness
of France; and praying that his majesty, by such alliances as he should think 
fit, would both securehis own dominionhs and
the Spanish Netherlands, and thereby quiet the fears of his people. The king, 
desirous of eluding this application, which he
considered as a kind of attack on his measures, replied in general terms, thathe 
would use all means for the preservation of
Flanders, consistent with the peace and safety of his kingdoms. This answer was 
an evasion, or rather a denial. The
commons, therefore, thought proper to be more explicit. They entreated him not 
to defer the entering into such alliances as
might attain that great end; and in case war with the French king should be the 
result of his measures, they promised to grant
him all the aids and supplies, which would enable him to support the honor and 
interest of the nation. The king was also
more explicit in his reply. He told them, that the only way to prevent danger, 
was to put him in a condition to make
preparations for their security. This message was understood to be a demand of 
money. The parliament accordingly em.
powered the king to borrow on the additional excise two hun. dred thousand 
pounds at seven per cent.; a very small sum
indeed; but which they deemed sufficient, with the ordinary revenue, to equip a 
good squadron, and thereby put the nation in
security, till fu/rther resolutions should be taken. But this concession fell 
far short of the king's expectations. He therefore
informed them, that, unless they granted him the sum of six hundred thousand 
pounds upon new funds, it would not be
possible for him, without exposing the nation to manifest danger, to speak or 
act those things which would answer the end of
their several addresses. The house took this message into consideration: but 
before they came to any resolution,:the king sent
for them to Whitehall,-where he told them, upon the word of a king, that they 
should not repent any trust which they would
repose in him for the safety of his kingdom; that ha- would not for any 
consideration break credit with VOL. WV. 13 H 




Page 146 

1416 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. them, or employ their money to other uses than those 
for which they intended it; but that
he would not hazard either his own safety or theirs, by taking any vigorous 
measures, or forming new alliances, till he were in
a better condition both to defend his subjects and offend his enemies. This 
speech brought affairs to a short issue. The king
required them to trust him with a large sum; he pawned his royal word for their 
security: they must either run the risk of losing
their money, or fail of those alliances which they had projected, and at the 
same time declare to all the world the highest
distrust of their sovereign. But there were many reasons which determined the 
house of commons to put no trust in the king.
They considered, that the pretence of danger was obviously groundless, while the 
French were opposed by such powerful
alliances on the continent, while the king was master of a good fleet at sea, 
and while all his subjects were so heartily united
in opposition to foreign enemies: that the only justifiable reason, therefore, 
of Charles's backwardness, was not the
apprehension of danger from abroad, but a diffidence which he might perhaps have 
entertained of his parliament; lest, after
engaging him in foreign alliances for carrying on war, they should take 
advantage of his necessities, and extort from him
concessions dangerous to his royal dignity: that this parliament, by their past 
conduct, had given no foundation for such
suspicions, and were so far from pursuing any sinister ends, that they had 
granted supplies for the first Dutch war; for
maintaining the triple league, though concluded without their advice; even for 
carrying on the second Dutch war, which was
entered into contrary to their opinion, and contrary to the manifest interests 
of the nation: that, on the other hand, the king
had, by former measures, excited very reasonable jealousies in his people, and 
did with a bad grace require at present their
trust and confidence. That he had not scrupled to demand supplies for 
maintaining the triple league, at the very moment he
was concerting measures for breaking it; and had accordingly employed, to that 
purpose, the supplies which he had obtained
by those delusive pretences: that his union with France, *during the war against 
Holland, must have been founded on
projects the most dangerous to his people; and as the same union was still 
secretly maintained, it might justly be feared that
the same projects were not yet entirely abandoned: that he could not seriously 
intend to prosecute vigorous measures 




Page 147 

CHARLES II. 147 against France; since he had so long remained entirely un. 
concerned during such obvious dangers; and,
till prompted by his parliament, whose proper business it was not to take the 
lead in those parts of administration, had
suspended all his activity: that if he really meant to enter into a cordial 
union with his people, he would have taken the first
step, and have cndeavored, by putting trust in them, to restore that confidence, 
which he himself, by his rash conduct, had
first violated: that it was in vain to ask so small a sum as six hundred 
thousand pounds, in order to sectve him against the
future attempts of the parliament; since that sum must soon be exhausted by a 
war with France, and he must again fall into
that dependence, which was become in some degree essential to the constitution: 
that if he would form the necessary
alliances, that sum, or a greater, would instantly be voted; nor could there be 
any reason to dread, that the parliament would
immediately desert measures in which they were engaged by their honor, their 
inclination, and the public interest: that the real
ground, therefore, of the king's refusal was neither apprehension of danger from 
foreign 6nemies, nor jealousy of
parliamentary encroachments; but a desire of obtaining the money, which he 
intended, notwithstanding his royal word, to
employ to other purposes; and that, by using such dishonorable means to so 
ignoble an -end, he rendered himself still more
unworthy the confidence of his people. 4The house of commons was now regularly 
divided into two parties, the court and
the country. Some were enlisted in the court party by offices, nay, a few by 
bribes secretly given them; a practice first begun
by Clifford, a dangerous minister: but great numbers were attached merely by 
inclination; so far as they esteemed the
measures of the court agreeable to the interests of the nation. Private views 
and faction had likewise drawn several into the
country party: but there were also many of that party, who had no other object 
than the public good. These disinterested
members on both sides fluc. tuated between the factions; and gave the 
superiority some. times to the court, sometimes to the
opposition.* In the present emergence, a general distrust of the king prevailed; 
and the parliament resolved not to hazard
their money in expectation of alliances, which, they believed, were never 
intended to be formed. Instead of granting the
supply, they * Temple's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 458. 




Page 148 

148 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. voted an address, wherein they " besought his majesty to 
enter into a league, offensive
and defensive, with the states general of the United Provinces, against the 
growth and power of the French king, and for the
preservation of the Spanish Netherlands; and to make such other alliances with 
the confederates as should appear fit and
useful to that end." They supported their advice with reasons; and promised 
speedy and efliectual supplies, for preserving his
majesty's honor and insuring the safety of the public. The king pretended the 
highest anger at this address, which he
represented as a dangerous encroachment upon his prerogative. He reproved the 
commons in severe terms, and ordered
them immediately to be ad journed. It is certain, that this was the critical 
moment, when the king both might with ease have
preserved the balance of power in Europe, which it has since cost this island a 
great expense of blood and treasure to
restore, and might by perseverance have at last regained, in some tolerable 
measure, after all past errors, the confidence of
his people. This opportunity being neglected, the wound became incurable; and 
notwithstanding his momentary appearances
of vigor against France and Popery, and their momentary inclinations to rely on 
his faith, he was still believed to be at bottom
engaged in the same interests, and they soon relapsed into distrust and 
jealousy. The secret memoirs of this reign, which
have since been published,* prove beyond a doubt, that the king had at this time 
concerted measures with France, and had
no intention to enter into a war in favor of the allies. He had enterfained no 
view, therefore, even when he pawned his royal
word to his people, than to procure a grant of money; and he trusted that, while 
he eluded their expectations, he could not
afterwards want pretences for palliating his conduct. Negotiations meanwhile 
were carried on between France * Such as the
letters which passed betwixt Danby and Montague, the king's ambassador at Paris; 
Temple's Memoirs, and his Letters. In
these last, we see that the king never made any proposals of terms but what were 
advantageous to France; and the prince of
Orange believed them to have always been concerted with the French ambassa-dor. 
Vol. i. p. 439. In Sir John Dalrymple's
Appendix, (p. 103,) it appears, that the king had signed himself, without the 
participation of his ministers, a secret treaty with
France, and had obtained a pension on the proImise of his neutrality; a fact 
which renders his royal word, solemnly given to
his subjects, one of the most dishonorable and most scandalous acts that ever 
proceeded from a throne. 




Page 149 

CARILES if 149 and Holland, and an eventual treaty was concluded; that is, all 
their differences were adjusted, provided
they could afterwards satisfy their allies on both sides. This work, though in 
appearance difficult, seemed to be extremely
forwarded, by further bad successes on the part of the confederates, and bythe 
great impatience of the Hollanders; when a
new event happened, which promised a more prosperous issue to the quarrel with 
France, and revived the hopes of all the
English W-ho understood the interests of their country. The king saw with regret 
the violent discontents which pre. vailed in
the nation, and which seemed every day to augment upon him. Desirous by his 
natural temper to be easy himself, and to
make every body else easy, he sought expedients to appease those murmurs, which, 
as they were very disagreeable for the
present, might in their consequences prove extremely dangerous. He knew that, 
during the late war.with Holland, the
malecontents at home had made applications to the prince of Orange; and if he 
continued still to neglect the prince's
interests, and to thwart the inclinations of his own people, he apprehended lest 
their common complaints should cement a
lasting union between them. He saw that the religion of the duke inspired the 
n"ation with dismal apprehensions; and though
he had obliged his brother to allow the young princesses to be educated in the 
Protestant faith, something further, he thought,
was necessary, in order to satisfy the nation. He entertained, therefore, 
proposals for marrying the prince of Orange to the
lady Mary, the elder princess, and heir apparent to the crown, (for the duke had 
no male issue;) and he hoped, by so
tempting an offer, to engage him entirely in his interests. A peace he purposed 
to make; such as would satisfy France, and
still preserve his connections with that crown; and he intended to sanctify it 
by the approbation of the prince, whom he found
to be extremely revered in England, and respected throughout Europe. All the 
reasons for this alliance were seconded by the
solicitations' of Danby, and also of Temple, who was at that time in England; 
and Charles at last granted permission to the
prince, when the campaign should be over, to pay him a visit. The king very 
graciously received his nephew at Newmar. ket.
He would have entered immediately upon business; but the prince desired first to 
be acquainted with -the lady Mary; and he
declared, that, contrary to the usual sentiments of persons of his rank, he 
placed a great part of happiness in 13 * 




Page 150 

150 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. domestic satisfaction, and would not, upon any 
consideration of interest or politics, match
himself with a person disagreeable to him. He was introduced to the princess, 
whom he found in the bloom of youth, and
extremely amiable both in her person and her behavior. The king now thought that 
he had a double tie upon him, and might
safely expect his compliance with every proposal: he was surprised to find the 
prince decline all discourse of business, and
refuse to concert any terms for the general peace, till his marriage should be 
finished. He foresaw, he said, from the situation
of affairs, that his allies were likely to have hard terms; and he never would 
expose himself to the reproach of having
sacrificed their interests to promote his own purposes. Charles still believed, 
notwithstanding the cold, severe manner of the
prince, that he would abate of this rigid punctilio of honor; and he protracted 
the time, hoping, by his own insinuation and
address, as well as by the allurements of love and ambition, to win him to 
compliance. One day, Temple found the prince in
very bad humor, repenting that he had ever come to England, and resolute in a 
few days to leave it: but before he went, the
king, he said, must choose the terms on which they should hereafter live 
together: he was sure it must be like the greatest
friends or the greatest enemies: and he desired Temple to inform his master next 
morning of these intentions. Charles was
struck with this menace, and foresaw how the prince's departure would be 
interpreted by the people. He resolved,
therefore, immediately to yield with a good grace; and having paid a compliment 
to his nephew's honesty, he told Temple
that the marriage was concluded, and desired him to inform the duke of it,.as of 
an affair already resolved on. The duke
seemed surprised; but yielded a prompt obedience: which, he said, was his 
constant maxim to whatever he found to be the
king's pleasure. No measure during this reign gave such general satisfaction. 
All parties strove who should most applaud it.
And even Arlington, who had been kept out of the secret, told the prince, " that 
some things, good in themselves, were
spoiled by the manner of doing them, as some things bad were mended by it; but 
he would confess, that this was a thing so
good in itself, that the manner of doing it could not spoil it." This marriage 
was a great surprise to Lewis, who, accustomed
to govern every thing in the English court, now found so important a step taken, 
not only without his consent, but 




Page 151 

CHARLES II. 151 without his knowledge or participation. A conjunction of England 
with the allies, and a vigorous war in
opposition to French ambition, were the consequences immediately expected, both 
abroad and at home: but to check these
sanguine hopes, the king, a few days after the marriage, prolonged the 
adjournment of the parliament from the third of
December to the fourth of April. This term was too late for granting supplies, 
or making preparations for war; and could be
chosen by the king for no other reason, than as an atonement to France for his 
consent to the marriage. It appears also, that
Charles secretly received from Lewis the sum of two millions of livres on 
account of this important service.* The king,
however, entered into consultations with the prince, together with Danby and 
Temple, concerning the terms which it would
be proper to require of France. After some debate, it was agreed, that France 
should restore Lor. raine to the duke; with
Tournay, Valenciennes, CondO, Aeth, Charleroi, Courtray, Oudenarde, and Binche 
to Spain, in order to form a good
frontier for the Low Countries. The prince insisted that Franche Compte should 
likewise be restoredand Charles thought
that, because he had patrimonial estates of great value in that province, and 
deemed his property more secure in -the hands
of Spain, he was engaged by such views to be obstinate in that point: but the 
prince declared, that to procure but one good
town to the Spaniards in Flanders, he would willingly relinquish all those 
possessions. -As the king still insisted on the
impossibility of wresting Franche Compte from Lewis, the prince was obliged to 
acquiesce. Notwithstanding this concession
to France, the projected peace was favorable to the allies; and it was a 
sufficient indication of vigor in the king, that he had
given his assent to it. He further agreed to send over a minister instantly to 
Paris, in order to propose these terms. This
minister was to enter into no treaty: he was to allow but two days for the 
acceptance or refusal of the terms: upon the
expiration of these, he was presently to return: and in case of refusal, the 
king promised to enter immediately into the
confederacy. To carry so imperious a message, and so little expected from the 
English court, Temple was the person pitched
on, whose declared aversion to the French interest was not likely to make him 
fail of vigor and promptitude in the execution
of his commission. * Sir John Dalrymple's Appendix, p. 112. 




Page 152 

152 HISTORY OF ENGLARD. But Charles next day felt a relenting in this assumed 
vigor. Instead of Temple, he
despatched the earl of Feversham, a creature of the duke's, and a Frenchman by 
birth; and he said, that the message being
harsh in itself, it was needless to aggravate it by a disagreeable messenger. 
The prince left London; and the king, at his
departure, assured him, that he never would abate in the least point of the 
scheme concerted and would enter into war with
Lewis if he rejected it. Lewis received the message with seeming gentleness and 
complacency. He told Feversham, that the
king of England well knew that he might always be master of the peace; but some 
of the towns in Flanders it seemed very
hard to demand, especially Tournay, upon whose fortifications such immense sums 
had been expended: he would therefore
take some short time to consider of an answer. Feversham said, that he was 
limited to two days' stay: but when that time
was elapsed, he was prevailed on to remain some few days longer; and he came 
away at last without any positive answer.
Lewis said, that he hoped his brother would not break with him for one or two 
towns: and with regard to them too, he
would send orders to his ambassador at London to treat with the king himself. 
Charles was softened by the softness of
France; and the blow was thus artfully eluded. The French ambassador, Barillon, 
owned at last,-that he had orders to yield
all except Tournay, and even to treat about some equivalent for that fortress, 
if the king absolutely insisted upon it. The
prince was gone who had given spirit to the English court; and the negotiation 
began to draw out into messages and returns
from Paris. By intervals, however, the king could rouse himself, and show still 
some firmness and resolution. Finding that
affairs were not likely to come to any conclusion with France, he summoned, 
notwithstanding the long adjournment, the
parlia. ment on the fifteenth of January; an unusual measure, and capable of 
giving alarmr to the French court. Temple was
sent for to the council; and the king told him, that he intended he should go to 
Holland, in order to form a treaty of alliance
with the states; and that the purpose of it should be, like the triple league, 
to-force both France and Spain to accept of the
terms proposed. Temple was sorry to find this act of vigor qualified by such a 
regard to France, and by such an appear.
ance of indifference and neutrality between the parties. He old the king, that 
the resolution a4g d on, was to begin the 




Page 153 

CHARLES II. 153 war in conjunction with all the confederates, in case of no 
direct and immediate answer from France: that
this measure would satisfy the prince, the allies, and the people of England; 
advantages which could not be expected from
such an alliance with Holland alone: that France would be disobliged, and. Spain 
likewise; nor would the Dutch be_ satisfied
with such a faint imitation of the triple league, a measure concerted when they 
were equally at peace with both parties. For
these reasons, Temple declined the employment; and Lawrence Hyde, second son of 
Chancellor Clarendon, was sent in his
place. [1678.] The prince of Orange could not regard without contempt such 
symptoms of weakness and vigor conjoined in
the English counsels. He was resolved, however, to make the best of a measure 
which he did not approve; and as Spain
secretly consented that her ally should form a league, which was seemingly 
directed against her as well as France, but which
was to fall only on the latter, the states concluded the treaty in the terms 
proposed by the king. Meanwhile the English
parliament met, after some new adjournments: and the king was astonished that, 
notwithstanding the resolute measures
which he thought he had taken, great distrust, and jealousy, and discontent were 
apt, at intervals, still to prevail among the
members. Though in his speech he had allowed that a good peace could no longer 
be expected from negotiation, and
assured them, that he was resolved to enter into a war for that purpose, the 
commons did not forbear to insert in their reply
several harsh and even unreasonable clauses. Upon his reproving them, they 
seemed penitent; and voted, that they would
assist his majesty in the prosecution of the war. A fleet of ninety sail, an 
army of thirty thousand men, and a million of money
were also voted. Great difficulties were made by the commons with regard to the 
army, which the house,judging by past
measures, believed to be intended more against the liberties of England than 
against the progress of the French monarch. To
this perilous situation had the king reduced both himself and the nation. In all 
debates, severe speeches were made, and
were received with seeming approbation: the duke and the treasurer began to be 
apprehensive of impeachments: many
motions against the king's ministers were lost by a small majority: the commons 
appointed a day to consider the state of the
kingdom with regard to Popery; and they even went so far as to vote, hat, how 
urgent soever the occasion, they would lay
no further 




Page 154 

154 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. charge on the people, till secured against the 
prevalence of the Catholic party. In short,
the parliament was impatient for war whenever the king seemed averse to it; but 
grew suspicious of some sinister design as
soon as he complied with their requests, and seemed to enter into their 
measures. The king was enraged at this last vote: he
reproached Temple with his popular notions, as he termed them; and asked him how 
he thought the house of commons
could be trusted for carrying on the war, should it be entered on, when in the 
very commencement they made such
declarations. The uncertainties indeed of Charles's conduct were so multiplied, 
and the jealousies on both sides so incurable,
that even those who approached nearest the scene of action, could not determine, 
whether the king ever seriously meant to
enter into a war; or whether, if he did, the house of commons would not have 
taken.advantage of his necessities, and made
him purchase supplies by a great sacrifice of his authority.* The king of France 
knew how to avail himself of all the
advantages which these distractions afforded him. By his emissaries, he 
represented to the Dutch the imprudence of their
depending on England; where an indolent king, averse to all war, especially with 
France, and irresolute in his measures, was
actuated only by the uncertain breath of a factious parliament. To the 
aristocratical party he remarked the danger of the
prince's alliance with the royal family of England, and revived their 
apprehensions, lest, in imitation of his father, who had
been honored with the same alliance, he should violently attempt to enlarge his 
authority, and enslave his native country. In
order to enforce these motives with further terrors, he himself took the field 
very early in the spring; and after threatening
Luxembourg, Mons, and Namur, he suddenly sat down before Ghent and Ypres, and in 
a few weeks made himself master
of both places. This success gave great alarm to the Hollanders, who were nowise 
satisfied with the conduct of England, or
with the ambiguous treaty lately concluded; and it quickened all their advances 
towards an accommodation. Immediately
after the parliament had voted the supply, the king began to enlist forces; and 
such was the ardor of the English for a war
with France, that an army of above twenty thousand men, to the astonishment of 
Europe, was com. * Temple, vol. i. p. 461.




Page 155 

CHARLES II. 155 pleted in a few weeks. Three thousand men, under the duke of 
Monmouth, were sent over to secure
Ostend: some regiments were recalled from the French service: a fleet was fitted 
out with great diligence: and a quadruple
alliance was projected between England, Holland, Spain, and the emperor. But 
these vigorous measures received a sudden
damp from a passionate address of the lower house; in which they justified all 
their past proceedingg that had given disgust
to the kino; desired to be acquainted with the measures taken by him; prayed him 
to dismiss evil counsellors; and named in
particular the duke of Lauderdale, on whose removal they strenuously insisted. 
The king told them, that their address was so
extravagant, that he was not willing speedily to give it the answer which it 
deserved.. And he began again to lend an ear to
the proposals of Lewis, who offered him great sums of money, if.he would consent 
to France's making an advantageous
peace with the allies. Temple, though pressed by the king, refused to have any 
concern in so dishonorable a negotiation: but
he informs us, that the king said, there was one article proposed which so 
incensed him, that as long as he lived he should
never forget it. Sir William goes no further; but the editor of his works, the 
famous Dr. Swift, says, that the French, before
they would agree to any payment, required as a preliminary, that the king should 
engage never to keep above eight thousand
regular troops in Great Britain.* Charles broke into a passion. "Cod's-fish," 
said he, (his usual oath,) " does my brother of
France think to serve me thus? Are all his promises to make me absolute master 
of my people come to this? Or does he
think that a thing to be done with eight thousand men? " Van Beverning was the 
Dutch ambassador at Nimeguen, a man of
great authority with the states. He was eager for peace, and was persuaded, that 
the reluctance of the king and the jealousies
dI the parliament would forever disappoint the allies in their hopes of succor 
from England. Orders were sent him by tPe
states to go to the French king at Ghent, and to concert tblr terms of a general 
treaty, as well as procure a present trv.ee for
six weeks. The, terms agreed on were much worse for the Spaniards than those 
which had been planned * To vt, three
thousand men for Scotland, and the usual guards and gar_rina in England, 
amounting to near five thousand men. Sir J.
Dalryl.ple's App. p. 161. 




Page 156 

156 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. by the king and the prince of Orange. Six towns, some of 
them of no great importance,
were to be restored to them; but Ypres, Conde, Valenciennes, and Tournay, in 
which consisted the chief strength of their
frontier, were. to remain with France. Great murmurs arose in England when it 
was known that Flanders was to be left in so
defenceless a condition. The chief complaints were levelled against the king, 
who, by his concurrence at first, by his favor
afterwards, and by his delays at last, had raised the power of France to such an 
enormouN height, that it threatened the
general liberties of Europe. Chal'es, uneasy under these imputations, dreading 
the consequence of losing the affections of his
subjects, and perhaps disgusted with the secret article proposed by France, 
began to wish heartily for war, which, he hoped,
would have restored him to his ancient popularity. An opportunity unexpectedly 
offered itself for his displaying these new
dispositions. While the ministers at Nimeguen were concerting the terms of a 
general treaty, the marquis de Balbaces, the
Spanish ambassador, asked the ambassadors of France at what time France intended 
to restore the six towns in Flanders..
They made no difficulty in declaring, that the king, their master, being obliged 
to see an entire restitution made to the Swedes
of all they had lost in the war, could not evacuate these towns till that crown 
had received satisfaction; and that this detention
of places was the only means to induce the powers of the north to accept of the 
peace. The states immediately gave the king
intelligence of a pretension which might be attended with such dangerous 
consequences. The king was both surprised and
angry. He immediately despatched Temple to concert with the states vigorous 
measures for opposing France. Temple in six
days concluded a treaty, by which Lewis was obliged to declare, within sixteen 
days after the date, that he would presently
evacuate the towns: and in case of his refusal, Holland was bound to continue 
the war, and England to declare immediately
against France, in conjunction with the whole confederacy. All these warlike 
measures were so ill seconded by the
parliament, where even the French ministers were suspected, with reason, * of 
carrying on some intrigues, that the commons
* Sir John Dalrymple, in his Appendix, has given us, from Barilion's despatches 
in the secretary's office at Paris, a more
particular detail of these intrigues. They were carried on with Lord Russel, 




Page 157 

CHARLES II. 157 renewed their former jealousies against the king, and voted the 
army immediately to be disbanded. The
king by a message represented the danger of disarming before peace were finally 
concluded; and he recommended to their
considera. tion, whether he could honorably recall his forces from those towns 
in Flanders which were put under his
protection, and which had at present no other means of defence. The com. mons 
agreed to prolong the term with regard to
these forces. Every thing, indeed, in Europe bore the appearance of war. France 
had positively declared, that she would not
evacuate the six towns before the requisite cession was made to Sweden; and her 
honor seemed now engaged to support
that declaration. Spain and the empire, disgusted with the terms of peace 
imposed by Holland, saw with pleasure the
prospect of a Lord Hollis, Lord Berkshire, the duke of Buckingham, Algernon 
Sydney, Montague, Bulstrode, Colonel Titus,
Sir Edward Harley, Sir John Baber, Sir Roger Hill, Boscawen, Littleton, Powle, 
Harbord, lHambden, Sir Thomas
Armstrong, Hotham, Herbert, and some others of less note. Of these Lord Russel 
and Lord Hollis alone refused to touch
any French money: all the others received presents or bribes from Barillon. But 
we are to remark, that the party views of
these men, and their well-founded jealousies of the king and duke, engaged them, 
independently of the money, into the same
measures that were suggested to them by the French ambassador. The intrigues of 
France, therefore, with the parliament,
were a mighty small engine in the political machine. Those with the king, which 
have always been known, were of infinitely
greater consequence. The sums distributed to all these men, excepting Montague, 
did not exceed sixteen thousand pounds in
three years; and therefore could have little weight in the two houses, 
especially when opposed to the influence of the crown.
Accordingly we find, in all Barillon's despatches, a great anxiety that the 
parliament should never be assembled. The conduct
of these English patriots was more mean than criminal; and Monsieur Courten 
says, that two hundred thousand livres
employed by the Spaniards and Germans, would have more influence thantwo 
millions distributed by France. See Sir J.
Dalrymple's App. p. 111. It is amusing to observe the general, and I may say 
national, rage excited by the late discovery of
this secret negotiation; chiefly on account of Algernon Sydney, whom the blind 
prejudices of party had exalted into a hero.
His ingratitude and breach of faith, in applying for the king's pardon, and 
immediately on his return entering into cabals for
rebellion, form a conduct much more criminal than the taking of French gold: yet 
the former circumstance was always
known, and always disregarded. But every thing connected with France is 
supposed, in England, to be polluted beyond all
possibility of expiation. Even Lord Russel, whose conduct in this negotiation 
was only factious, and that in an ordinary
degree, is imagined to be dishonored by the same discovery. VOL. vi. 14 H 




Page 158 

158 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. powerful support from the new resolutions of Charles. 
Hol. land itself, encouraged by the
prince of Orange and his party was not displeased to find that the war would be 
renewed on more equal terms. The allied
army under that prince was approaching towards Mons, then blockaded by France. A 
considerable body of English, under
the duke of Monmouth, was ready to join him. Charles usually passed a great part 
of his time in the women's apartments,
particularly those of the duchess of Portsmouth; where, among other gay company, 
he often met with Barillon, the French
ambassador, a man of polite conversation, who was admitted into all the 
amusements of that inglorious but agreeable
monarch. It was the charms of this sauntering, easy life, which, during his 
later years, attached Charles to his mistresses. By
the insinuations of Barillon and the duchess of Portsmouth, an order was, in an 
unguarded hour, procured, which instantly
changed the face of affairs in Europe. One Du Cros, a French fugitive monk, was 
sent to Temple, directing him to apply to
the Swedish ambassador, and persuade him not to insist on the conditions 
required by France, but to sacrifice to general
peace those interests of Sweden. Du Cros, who had secretly received instructions 
from Barillon, published every where in
Holland the commission with which he was intrusted; and all men took the alarm. 
It was concluded that Charles's sudden
alacrity for war was as suddenly extinguished, and that no steady measures could 
ever be taken with England. The king
afterwards, when he saw Temple, treated this important matter in raillery; and 
said, laughing, that the rogue Du Cros had
outwitted them all. The negotiations, however, at Nimeguen still continued; and 
the French ambassadors spun out the time till
the morning of the critical day, which, by the late treaty between England and 
Holland, was to determine whether a sudden
peace or a long war were to have place in Christendom. The French ambassadors 
came then to Van Beverning, and told
him that they had received orders- to consent to the evacuation of the towns, 
and immediately to conclude and sign the
peace. Van Be;verning might have refused compliance, because it was now 
impossible to procure the consent and
concurrence of Spain; but he had entertained so just an idea of the fluctuations 
in the English counsels, and was so much
alarmed by the late commission given to Du Cros, that he deemed it fortunate 
for'the republic to finish on any terms a
dangerous war, where 




Page 159 

CHARLES 1I. 159 they were likely to be very ill supported. The papers were 
ilnstantlv drawn, and signed by the ministers
of France and Holland between eleven and twelve o'clock at night. By this 
treatyv. France secured the possession of
Franche Compte, together with Cambray, Aire, St. Omers, Valenciennes, Tournay, 
Ypres, Bouchaine, Cassel, etc., and
restored to Spain only Charleroi, Courtrai, Oudenard, Aeth, Ghent, and Limbou 
rg. Next day, Temple received an express
from England, which brought the ratifications of the treaty lately concluded 
with the states, together with orders immediately
to proceed to the exchange of them. Charles was now returned to his former 
inclinations for war with France. Van
Beverning was loudly exclaimed against by the ambassadors of the allies at 
Nimeguen, especially those of Brandenburg and
Denmark, whose masters were obliged by the treaty to restore all their 
acquisitions. The ministers of Spain and the emperor
were sullen and disgusted; and all men hoped that the states, importuned and 
encouraged by continual solicitations from
England, would disavow their ambassador, and renew the war. The prince of Orange 
even took an extraordinary step, in
order to engage them to that measure; or perhaps to give vent to his own spleen 
and resentment.'The day after signing the
peace at Nimeguen, he attacked the French army at St. Dennis, near Mons; and 
gained some advantage over Luxembourg,
who rested secure on the faith of the treaty, and concluded the war to be 
finished. The prince knew, at least had reason to
believe, that the peace was signed, though it had not been formally notified to 
him; and he here sacrificed wantonly, without a
proper motive, the Wives of many brave men on both sides, who fell in this sharp 
and well-contested action. Hyde was seat
over with a view of persuading the states to disavow Van Beverning; and the king 
promised that England, if she might
depend on Holland, would immediately declare war, and would pursue it, till 
France were reduced to reasonable conditions.
Charles at present went further than words. He hurried on the embarkation of his 
army for Flanders; and all his preparations
wore a hostile appearance. But the states had been too often deceived to trust 
him any longer. They ratified the treaty signed
at Nimeguen; and all the other powers of Europe were at last, after much clamor 
and many disgusts, obliged to accept of the
terms prescribed to them. 




Page 160 

1.60 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Lewis had now reached the height of that glory which 
ambition can afford. His ministers
and negotiators appeared as much superior to those of all Europe in the cabinet, 
as his generals and armies had been
experienced in the field. A successful war had been carried on against an 
alliance, composed of the greatest potentates in
Europe. Considerable. conquests had been made, and his territories enlarged on 
every side. An advantageous peace was at
last concluded, where he had given the law. The allies were so enraged against 
each other, that they were not likely to
cement soon in any new confederacy. And thus he had, during some years, a real 
prospect of attaining the monarchy of
Europe, and of exceeding the empire of Charlemagne, perhaps equalling that of 
ancient Rome. Had England continued much
longer in the same condition, and under the same government, it is not easy to 
conceive that he could have failed of his
purpose. In proportion as these circumstances exalted the French, they excited 
indignation among the English, whose
animosity, roused by terror, mounted to a great height against that rival 
nation. Instead of taking the lead in the affairs of
Europe, Charles, they thought, had, contrary to his own honor and interest, 
acted a part entirely subservient to the common
enemy; and in all his measures had either no project at all, or such as was 
highly criminal and dangerous. While Spain,
Holland, the emperor, the princes of Germany, called aloud on England to lead 
them to victory and to liberty, and conspired
to raise her to a station more glorious than she had ever before attained,-her 
king, from mean, pecuniary motives, had
secretly sold his alliance to Lewis, and was bribed into an interest contrary to 
that of his people. His active schemes in
conjunction with France were highly pernicious; his neutrality was equally 
ignominious; and the jealous, refractory behavior
of the parliament, though in itself dangerous, was the only remedy for so many 
greater ills, with which the public, fronm the
misguided counsels of the king, was so nearly threatened. Such were the 
dispositions of men's minds at the conelusion of the
peace of Nimeguen: and these dispositions naturally prepared the way for the 
events which followed. Wve must now return
to the affairs of Scotland, which we eft in some disorder, after the suppression 
of the insurrection in 1666. The king, who at
that time endeavored to render himself popular in England, adopted like measures 
in Scot. 




Page 161 

CHARLES rI. 161 and, and he intrusted the government into the hands chiefly of 
Tzeddale and Sir Robert Murray, men of
prudence and moderation. These ministers made it their principal object to 
compose the religious differences, which ran so
high, and for which scarcely any modern nation but the Dutch had as yet found 
the proper remedy. As rigor and restraint
had failed of success in Scotland, a scheme of comprehension was tr.ed; by which 
it was intended to diminish greatly the
authority of bishops, to abolish their negative voice in the ecclesiastical 
courts, and to leave them little morie than the right of
precedency among the Presbyters. But the Presbyterian zealots entertained great 
jealousy against.this scheme. They
remembered that, by such gradual steps, King James had endeavored to introduce 
Episcopacy. Should the ears and eyes of
men be once reconciled to the name and habit of bishops, the whole power of the 
function, they dreaded, would soon
follow: the-least communication with unlawful and anti. Christian institutions 
they esteemed dangerous and criminal. " Touch
not, taste not, handle not;" this cry went out amongst them: and the king's 
ministers at last perceived, that they should
prostitute the dignity of government, by making advances, to which the 
malecontents were determined not to correspond.
The next project adopted was that of indulgence. In pros. ecution of this 
scheme, the most popular of the expelled
preachers, without requiring any terms of submission to the established 
religion, were settled in vacant churches; and small
salaries of about twenty pounds a year were offered to the rest, till they 
should otherwise be provided for. These last refused
the king's bounty, which they considered as the wages of a criminal silence. 
Even the former soon repented their compliance.
The people, who had been accustomed to hear them rail against their superiors, 
and preach to the times, as they termed its
deemed their sermons languid and spiritless when deprived of these ornaments. 
Their usual gifts, they thought, had left them,
on account of their submission, which was stigmatized as Erastianism. They gave 
them the appellation, not of ministers of
Christ, but of t.he king's curates: as the clergy of the established church were 
commonly denominated the bishop's curates.
The preachers themselves returned in a little time to their former practices, by 
which they hoped to regain their former
dominion over the minds of men. The conventicles multiplied daily in the west; 
the 14* 




Page 162 

162 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. clergy of the established church were insulted; the laws 
were neglected; the Covenanters
even met daily in arms at their places of wor~4iip; and though they usually 
dispersed themselves after div\,aic service, yet the
government took a just alarm at seeing men, who were so entirely governed by 
their seditious teachers, dare to set authority
at defiance, and during a time of full peace to put themselves in a 
militaryposture. There was here, it is apparent, in the
political body, a disease dangerous and inveterate; and the government had tried 
every remedy but the true one to allay and
correct it. An unlimited toleration,.after sects have diffused themselves and 
are strongly rooted, is the only expedient which
can allay their fervor, and make the civil union acquire a superiority above 
religious distinctions. But as the operations of this
regimen are commonly gradual, and at first imperceptible, vulgar politicians are 
apt, for that reason, to have recourse to
more hasty and more dangerous remedies. It is observable too, that these 
nonconformists in Scotland neither offered nor
demanded toleration; but laid claim to an entire superiority, and to the 
exercise of extreme rigor against their adversaries.
The covenant, which they idolized, was a persecuting, as well as a seditious 
band of confederacy; and the government,
instead of treating them like madmen, who should be soothed, and flattered, and 
deceived into tranquillity, thought
themselves entitled to a rigid obedience, and were too apt, from a mista. ken 
policy, to retaliate upon the dissenters, who
had erred from the spirit of enthusiasm. Amidst these disturbances, a new 
parliament was-assembled at Edinburgh; * and
Lauderdale was sent down commissioner. The zealous Presbyterians, who were the 
chief patrons of liberty, were too
obnoxious to resist, with any success, the measures of government; and in 
parliament the tide still ran strongly in favor of
monarchy. The commissioner had such influence as to get two acts passed, which 
were of great con. sequence to the
ecclesiastical and civil liberties of the kingdom. By the one it was declared, 
that the settling of all things with regard to the
external government of the church, was a right of the crown: that whatever 
related to ecclesiastical meetings, matters, and
persons, was to be ordered Rneording to such directions as the king should send 
to his *October 19, 1669. 




Page 163 

CHARLES II. 163 privy council: and that these, being published by them, should 
have the force of laws. The other act
regarded the militia, which the king by his own authority had two years before 
established, instead of the army which was
disbanded. By this act, the militia was settled, to the number of twentytwo 
thousand men, who were to be constantly armed
and regularly disciplined. And it was further enacted, that these troops should 
be held in readiness to march into England,
Ireland, or any part of the king's dominions, for any cause in which his 
majesty's authority, power, or greatness was
concerned; on receiving orders, not from the king himself, but from the privy 
council of Scotland. Lauderdale boasted
extremely of his services in procuring these two laws. The king by the former 
was rendered absolute master of the church,
and might legally, by his edict, reestablish, if he thought proper, the Catholic 
religion in Scotland. By the latter, he saw a
powerful force ready at his call: he had even the advantage of being able to 
disguise his orders under the name of the privy
council; and in case of failure in his enterprises, could by such a pretence 
apologize for his conduct to the parliament of
England. But in propor. tion as these laws were agreeable to the king, they gave 
alarm to the English commons, and were
the chief cause of the redoubled attacks which they made upon Lauderdale. These 
attacks, however, served only to fortify
him in his interest with the king; and though it is probable that the militia of 
Scotland, during the divided state of that kingdom,
would, if matters had come to extremities, have been of little service against 
England, yet did Charles regard the credit of it
as a considerable support to his authority: and Lauderdale, by degrees, became 
the prime, or rather sole, minister for
Scotlantd. The natural indolence of the king'disposed him to place entire 
confidence in a man who had so far extended the
royal prerogative, and who was still disposed to render it absolutely 
uncontrollable. In a subsequent session of the same
parliament,* a severe law was enacted against conventicles. Ruinous fines were 
imposed both on the preachers and hearers,
even if the meetings had been in houses; but field conventicles were subjected 
to the penalty of death and confiscation of
goods: four hun. dred marks Scotch were offered as a reward to those who * July 
28, 1670. 




Page 164 

164 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. should seize the criminals; and they were indemnified 
for any slaughter which they might
commit in the execution of such an undertaking. And as it was found difficult to 
get evidence against these conventicles,
however numerous, it was enacted by another law, that whoever, being required by 
tne council, refused to give information
upon oath, should be punished by arbitrary fines, by imprisonment, or by 
banishment to the plantations. Thus all persecution
naturally, or rather necessarily, adopts the iniquities, as well as rigors, of 
the inquisition. What a considerable part of the
society consider as their duty and honor, and even many of the opposite party 
are apt to regard with compassion and
indulgence, can by no other expedient be subjected to such severe penalties as 
the natural sentiments of mankind
appropriate only to the greatest crimes. Though Lauderdale found this ready 
compliance in the parliament, a party was
formed against him, of which Duke Hamilton was the head. This nobleman, with 
Tweddale and others, went to London, and
applied to the king, who, during the present depression and insignificance of 
parliament, was alone able to correct the abuses
of Lauderdale's administration. But even their complaints to him might be 
dangerous; and all approaches of truth to the
throne were barred by the ridiculous law against leasing~making; a law which 
seems to have been extorted by the ancient
nobles, in order to protect their own tyranny, oppression, and injustice. Great 
precautions, therefore, were used by the
Scottish malecontents4n their representations to the king; but no redress was 
obtained. Charles loaded them with caresses,
and continued Lauderdale in his authority. A very bad, at least a severe use was 
made of this author. ity. The privy council
dispossessed twelve gentlemen or noblemen of their houses;* which were converted 
into so many garrisons, established for
the suppression of conventicles. The nation, it was pretended, was really, on 
account of these religious assemblies, in a state
of war; and by the ancient law, the king, in such an emergence, was empowered to 
place a garrison in any house where he
should judge it expedient. It were endless to recount every act of violence and 
arbitrary authority exercised during
Lauderdale's administration. * In 1675. 




Page 165 

CHARLES 11. 10 All the lawyers were put from the bar, nay, banished by the 
king's order twelve miles frofti the capital,
and by that means the whole justice of the kingdom was suspended for a year; 
till these lawyers were brough* to declare it
as their opinion, that all appeals to parliament were illegal. A letter was 
procured from the king, for expelling twelve of the
chief magistrates of Edinburgh, and-declaring them incapable of all public 
office; though their only crime had been their want
of compliance with Lauderdale. The boroughs of Scotland have a privilege of 
meeting once a year by their deputies, in order
to consider the state of trade, and make by-laws for its regulation: in this 
convention a petition was voted, complaining of
some late acts which obstructed commerce; and praying the king, that he would 
empower his commissioner, in the next
session of parliament, to give his assent for repealing them. For this 
presumption, as it was called, several of the members
were fined and imprisoned. One More, a member of parliament, having moved in the 
house, that, in imitation of the English
parliament, no bill should pass except after three readings, he was, for this 
pretended offence, immediately sent to prison by
the commissioner. The private deportment of Lauderdale was as insolent and 
provoking as his public administration was
violent and tyrannical. Justice, likewise, was universally perverted by fiction 
and interest: and from the great rapacity of that
duke, and still more of his duchess, all offices alid favors were openly put to 
sale. No one was allowed to approach the
throne who was not dependent on him; and no remedy could be hoped for or 
obtained against his manifold oppressions. Tile
case of Mitchel shows, that this minister was as much destitute of truth and 
honor as of lenity and justice. Mitchel was a
desperate fanatic, and had entertained a resolution of assassinating Sharpe, 
archbishop of St. Andrews, who, by his former
apostasy and subsequent rigor, had rendered himself extremely odious to the 
Covenanters. In the year 1668, Mitchel fired a
pistol at the primate, as he was sitting in his coach; but the bishop of Orkney, 
stepping into the coach, happened to stretch
out his arm, which intercepted the ball, and was much shattered by it. This 
happened in the principal street of the city; but so
generally was the archbishop hated, that the assassin was allowed peaceably to 
walk off; and having turned a street or two,
and thrown off a wig which disguised him, he immediately appeared in public, and 




Page 166 

166 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. remained altogether unsuspected. Some years after, 
Sharpe remarked one who seemed
to eye him very eagerly; and being still anxious lest an attempt of 
assassination should be renewed, hp ordered the man to be
seized and examined. Two loaded pistols were found upon him; and as he was now 
concluded to be the author of the
former attempt, Sharpe promised that if he would confess his guilt, he should be 
dismissed without any punishment. Mitchel
(for the conjecture was just) was so credulous as to believe him; but was 
immediately produced before the council by the
faithless primate. The council, having no proof against him, but hoping to 
involve the whole body of Covenanters in this
odious crime, solemnly renewed the promise of pardon, if he would make a full 
discovery; and it was a great disappointment
to them, when they found upon his confession, that only one person, who was now 
dead, had been acquainted with his
bloody purpose. Mitchel was then carried before a court of judicature, and 
required to renew his confession; but being
apprehensive, lest, though a pardon for life had been promised him, other 
corporal punishment might still be inflicted, he
refused compliance; and was sent back to prison. He was next examined before the 
council, under pretence of his being
concerned in the insurrection at Pentland; and though no proof appeared against 
him, he was put to the question, and,
contrary to the most obvious principles of equity, was urged to accuse himself. 
He endured the torture with singular
resolution, and continued obstinate in the denial of a crime, of whic'h, it is 
believed, he really was not guilty. Instead of
obtaining his liberty, he was sent to the Bass, a very high rock surrounded by 
the sea; at this time converted into a state
prison, and full of the unhappy Covenanters. He there remained in great misery, 
loaded with irons, till the year 1677, when it
was resolved, by some new examples, to strike a fresh terror into the persecuted 
but still obstinate enthusiasts. Mitchel was
then brought before a court of judicature, and put upon his trial for an attempt 
to assassinate an archbishop and a privy
counsellor. His former confession was pleaded against him, and was proved by the 
testimony of the duke of Lauderdale,
lord commissioner, Lord Hatton his brother, the earl of Rothes, and the primate 
himself. Mitchel, besides maintaining that the
privy council was no court of judicature, and that a confession before them was 
not judicial, asserted, that he had been
engaged to make that confession by a solemn promise of paldon. The four privy 
counsellors denied' upon 




Page 167 

CHARLES II. 167 oath that any such promise had ever been given. The prisoner 
then desired that the council books might
be produced in court; and even offered a copy of that day's proceedings to be 
read; but the privy counsellors maintained,
that, after they had nlade oath, no further proof could be admitted, and that 
the hooks of council contained the.king's secrets,
which were on no account to be divulged. They were not probably aware, when they 
swore, that the clerk having engrossed
the promise of pardon in the narrative of Mitchel's confession, the whole minute 
had been signed by the chancellor, and that
the proofs of their perjury were by that means committed to record. Though the 
prisoner was conaemned, Lauderdale was
still inclined to pardon him; but the unrelenting primate rigorously insisted 
upon his execution, and said, that if assassins
remained unpunished, his life must be exposed to perpetual danger. Mitchel was 
accordingly executed at Edinburgh, in
January, 1678. Such a complication of cruelty and treachery shows the character 
of those ministers to whom the king at this
time intrusted the government of Scotland. Lauderdale's administration, besides 
the iniquities arising from the violence of his
temper, and the still greater iniquities inseparable from all prqojects of 
persecution, was attended with other circumstances
which engaged him in severe and arbitrary measures. An absolute government was 
to be introduced, which on its
commencement is often most rigorous; and tyranny was still obliged, for want of 
military power, to cover itself under an
appearance of law; a situation which rendered it extremely awkward in its 
motions, and, by provoking opposition, extended
the violence of its oppressions. The rigors exercised against conventicles, 
instead of breaking the spirit of the fanatics, had
tended only, as is usual, to render them more obstinate, to increase the fervor 
of their zeal, to link them more closely
together, and to inflame them against the established hierarchy. The commonalty, 
almost everywhere in the south, particularly
in the western counties, frequented conventicles without reserve; and the 
gentry, though they themselves commonly
abstained from these illegal' places of worship, connived at this irregularity 
in their inferi. ors. In order to interest the former
on the side of the persecutors, a bond or contract was, by order of the privy 
council, tendered to the landlords in the west,
by which they were to engage for the good behavior of their tenants; and in case 
any tenant frequented a conventicle, the
landlord was to sub 




Page 168 

HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ject himself to the same fine as could by law be exacted 
from the delinquent. It was ridiculous
to give sanction to laws by voluntary contracts: it was iniquitous to make one 
man answerable for the conduct of another: it
was illegal to impose such hard conditions upon men who had nowise offended. For 
these reasons, the greater part of the
gentry refused to sign these bonds; and Lauderdale, enraged at this opposition, 
endeavored to break their spirit by
expedients which were still more unusual and more arbitrary. The law enacted 
against conventicles had called them
seminaries of rebellion. This expression, which was nothing but a flourish of 
rhetoric, Lauderdale and the privy council were
willing to understand in a literal- sense; and because the western counties 
abounded in conventicles, though otherwise in
profound peace, they pretended that these counties were in a state of actual war 
and rebellion. Thev made therefore an
agreement with somle highland chieftains to call out their clans, to the number 
of eight thousand men: to these tney joined the
guards, and the militia of Angus; and they sent the whole to live at free 
quarters upon the iands of such as had refused the
bonds illegally required of them. The obnoxious counties were the most populous 
and most industrious in Scotland. The
highlanders' were the people the most disorderly and the least civilized. It is 
easy to imagine the havoc and destruction which
ensued. A multitude, not accustomed to discipline, averse to the restraint uf 
laws, trained up in rapine and vio. lence, were let
loose amidst those whom ihey were taught to regard as enemies to their prince 
and to their religion. Nothing escaped their
ravenous hands: by menaces, by violence, and sometimes by tortures, men were 
obliged to discover their concealed wealth.
Neither age, nor sex, nor innocence afforded protection; and the gentry, finding 
that even those who had been most
compliant, and who had subscribed the bonds, were equally exposed to the 
rapacity of those barbarians, confirmed
themselves still more in the resolution of refusing them. The voice of the 
nation was raised against this enormous outrage; and
after two months' free quarter, the highlanders were sent back to their hills, 
loaded with the spoils and execrations of the
west. Those who had been engaged to subscribe the bonds, could find no security 
but by turning out such tenants as they
sus. jActed of-an inclination to conventicles, and thereby depopuo lating their 
estates. To increase the misery of these
unhappy 




Page 169 

CRARLES II. 169 armers, the council enacted, that none should be received any 
where, or allowed a habitation, who
brought not a certifycate of his conformity from the parish minister. That the 
obstinate and refractory might not escape further
persecution, a new device was fallen upon. By the law of Scotland, any man who 
should go betfre a magistrate, and swear
that he thought himself in danger from another, might obtain a writ of law-
burrows, as it is called; by which the latter was
bound, under the penalty of imprisonment and outlawry, to find security for his 
good behavior. Lauderdale entertained the
absurd notion of making the king sue out writs of law-burrows against his 
subjects. On this pretence, the refusers of the
bonds were summoned to appear before the council, and were required to bind 
themselves, under the penalty of two years'
rent, neither to frequent conventicles themselves, nor allow their family and 
tenants to be present at those unlawful
assemblies. Thus chicanery was joined to tyranny; and the majesty of the king, 
instead of being exalted, was in reality
prostituted; as if he were obliged to seek the same security which one neighbor 
might require of another. It was an old law,
but seldom executed, that a man who was accused of any crime, and did not appear 
in order to stand his trial, might be
intercommuned, that'is, he might be publicly outlawed; and.whoever afterwards, 
either on account of business, relation, nay,
charity, had the least intercourse with him, was subjected to the same penalties 
as could by law. be inflicted on the criminal
himself. Several writs of intercommuning were now issued against the hearers and 
preachers in conventicles; and by this
severe anj even absurd law, crimes and guilt went on multiplying in a 
geometrical propor tion. Where laws themselves are so
violent, it is no wonder that an administration should be tyrannical. Lest the 
cry of an oppressed people should reach the
throne the council forbade, under severe penalties, all noblemen or gentlemen of 
landed property to 1aaV, tho kiiigaom; a
severe edict, especially where the sovereign himself resided in a fol eign 
country. Notwithstanding this act of council, Cassilis
first, afterwards Hamilton and Tweddale, went to.London and laid their 
complaints before the king. These violent pro
ceedings of Lauderdale were opposite to the natural temper of Charles; and he 
immediately issued orders for discontinu ing
the bonds and the writs of law-burrows. But as he was commonly little touched 
with what lay at a distance, he enter VOL.
VI. 15 H 




Page 170 

170 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. tained not the proper indignation against those who had 
abused his authority: even while
he retracted these oppressive measures, he was prevailed with to avow and praise 
them in a letter which he wrote to the
privy council. This proof of confidence might fortify the hands of the ministry; 
but the king ran a manifest risk of losing the
affections of his sub. jects, by not permitting, even those who were desirous of 
it, to distinguish between him and their
oppressors. It is reported * that Charles, after a full hearing of the debates 
concerning Scottish affairs, said, "1 perceive that
Lauderdale has been guilty of many bad things against the people of Scotland; 
but I cannot find that he has acted any thing
contrary to my interest;" a sentiment unworthy of a sovereign. During the 
absence of Hamilton and the other discontented
lords, the king allowed Lauderdale to summon a convention of estates at 
Edinburgh. This assembly, besides granting some
money, bestowed applause on all Lauderdale's administration, and *in their 
addresses to the king, expressed the highest
contentment and satisfaction. But these instances of complaisance had the 
contrary effect in England from what was
expected by the contrivers of them. All men there concluded, that- in Scotland 
the very voice of liberty was totally
suppressed; and that, by the prevalence of tyranny, grievances were so rivetted, 
that it was become dangerous even to
mention them, or complain to the prince, who alone was able to redress them. 
Friom the slavery of the neighboring kingdom,
they inferred the arbitrary disposition of the king; and from the violence with 
which sovereign power was there exercised,
they apprehended the miseries which might ensue to themselves upon their loss of 
liberty. If persecution, it was asked, by a
Protestant church could be carried to such extremes, what might be dreaded from 
the prevalence of Popery,, which had
ever, in all ages, made open profession of exterminating by fire and sword every 
opposite sect or communion? And if the
first approaches towards unlimited authority were so tyrannical, how dismal its 
final establishment; when all dread of
opposition should at last be removed by mercenary armies, and all sense of shame 
by long and inveterate habit! * Burnet. 




Page 171 

CRAnLES fI. 171 CHAPTER LXVII. CHARLES II. [1678.] THE English nation, ever 
since the fatal league with France,
had entertained violent jealousies against the court; and the subsequent 
measures adopted by the king had tended more to
increase than cure the general prejudices. Some mysterious design was still 
suspected in every enter-:prise and profession:
arbitrary power and Popery were apprehended as the scope of all projects: each 
breath or rumor made the people start
with anxiety: their enemies, they thought, were in their very bosom, and had 
gotten possession of their sovereign's
confidence. While in this timorous, jealous disposition, the cry of a plot all 
on a sudden -struck their ears: they were
wakened from their slumber; and like men affrightened and in the dark, took 
every figure for a spectre. The terror of each
man became the source of terror to another. And a universal panic being 
diffused, reason and argument, and common sense
and common humanity, lost all influence over them. From this disposition of 
men's minds we are to account for the progress
of the Popish plot, and the credit given to it; an event which would otherwise 
appear prodigious and altogether inexplicable.
On the twelfth of August, one Kirby, a chemist, accosted the king as he was 
walking in the park. " Sir," said he "keep within
the company: your enemies have a design upon your life; and you may be shot in 
this very walk." Being asked the reason of
these strange speeches, he said, that two men, called Grove and Pickering, had 
engaged to shoot the king, and Sir George
Wakeman, the queen's physi. cian, to poison him. This intelligence, he added, 
had been communicated to him by Dr.
Tongue, whom, if permitted lie would introduce to his majesty. Tongue was a 
divine of the church of England; a man active;
restless, full of projects void of understanding. He brought papers to the king, 
which contained information of a plot, and
were digested into forty, three articles. The king, noL having leisure to perus6 
them 




Page 172 

172 HISTORY OF. ENGLAND. sent them to the treasurer, Danby, and ordered the two 
in. formers to lay the business
before that. minister. Tongue confessed to Danhby, that he himself had not drawn 
the papers; that they had been secretly
thrust under his door; and that, though he suspected, he did not certainly know 
who was the author. After a few days, he
returned, and told the treasurer, that his suspicions, he found, were just; and 
that the author of the intelligence, whom he had
met twice or thrice in the street, had acknowledged the whole matter, and had 
given him a more particular account of the
conspiracy, but desired that his name Inight be concealed, being apprehensive 
lest the Papists Ihould murder him. The
information was renewed with regard to Grove's and Pickering's intentions of 
shooting the king; and Tongue even
Pretended, that, at a particular time, they were to set out for Nindsor with 
that intention. Orders were given for arresting
hem, as soon as they should appear in that place: but though.his alarm was more 
than once renewed, some frivolous reasons
were still found by Tongue for their having delayed the journey. And the king 
concluded, both from these evasions, and from
the mysterious, artificial manner of communicating the intelligence, that the 
whole was an imposture. Tongue came next to the
treasurer, and told him, that a packet of letters, written by Jesuits concerned 
in the plot, was that night to be put into the
post-house for Windsor, directed to Bennifield, a Jesuit, confessor to the duke. 
When this intelligence was conveyed to the
king, he replied, that the packet mentioned had a few hours before been brought 
to the duke by Bennifield, who said, that he
suspected some bad design upon him i that the letters seemed to contain matters 
of a dangerous import, and that he knew
them not to be the handwriting of the persons whose names were subscribed to 
them. This incident still further confirmed the
king in his incredulity. The matter had probably slept forever, had it not been 
tor the anxiety of the duke; who, hearing that
priests and Jesuits, and even his own confessor, had been accused, was desirous 
that a thorough inquiry should be made by
the council into the pretended conspiracy. Kirby and Tongue were inquired after, 
and were now found to be living in close
connection with Titus Oates, the person who was said to have conveyed the first 
intelligence to Tongue. Oates affirmed, that
he had fallen under suspicion with the Jesuits; that he had received 




Page 173 

ILCRARVs IX 173 three blows with a stick and a box on the ear from the pro. 
vincial of that order, for revealing their
conspiracy; and that, overhearing them speak of their intentions to. punish him 
more severely, he had withdrawn, and
concealed himself. This man, in whose breast was lodged a secret involving the 
fate of kings and kingdoms, was allowed to
remain in such necessity, that Kirby was obliged to supply him with daily bread; 
and it was a joyful surprise to him, when he
heard that the council was at last disposed to take some notice of his 
intelligence. But as he expected more encouragement
from the public than from the king or his ministers, he thought proper, before 
he was presented to the council, to go with his
two companions to Sir Edmundsbury Godfrey, a noted and active justice of peace, 
and to give evidence before him of all
the articles of the conspiracy. The wonderful intelligence which Oates conveyed 
both to Godfrey and the council, and
afterwards to the parliament, was to this purpose.* The pope, he said, on 
examining the matter in the congregation de
propaganda, had found himself entitled to the possession of England and Ireland 
on account of the heresy of prince and
people, and had accordingly assumed the sovereigntv of these kingdoms. This 
supreme power he had thought ploper to
delegate to the society of Jesuits; and De Oliva, general of that order, in 
consequence of the papal grant, had exerted every
act of regal authority, and particularly had supplied, by commissions under the 
seal of the society, all tile chief offices, both
civil and military. Lord Arundel was created chancellor, Lord Powis treasurer, 
Sir William Goclolphin privy seal, Coleman
secretary of state, Langhorne.attorney.genteral, Lord Bellasis general of the 
papal army, Lord Peters lieutenant-general,
Lord Stafford paymaster; and interior commissions, signed by the provincial of 
the Jesuits, were distributed all over England.
All the dignities too of the church were filled, and many of them with Spaniards 
and other foreigners. The provincial had held
a consult of the Jesuits under his authority; where the king, whom they 
opprobriously called the Black Bastard, was solemnly
tried and condemned as a heretic, and a resolution taken to put him to death. 
Father Le Shee (tfor so this great plotter and
informer called Father La Chaise, the noted confessor of the French Oates's 
Narrative. 15' 




Page 174 

174 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. sing) had consigned in London ten thousand pounds, to be 
paid to any man who should
merit it by this assassination. A Spanish provincial had expressed like 
liberality: the prior of the Benedictines was willing to
go the length of six thousand: the Dominicans approved of the action, but 
pleaded poverty. Ten thousand pounds had been
offered to Sir George Wakeman, the queen's physician, who demanded fifteen 
thousand, as a reward for so great a service:
his demand was complied with; and five thousand had been paid him by advance. 
Lest this means should fail, four Irish
ruffians had been hired by the Jesuits, at the rate of twenty guineas apiece, to 
stab the king at Windsor.; and Coleman,
secretary to the late duchess of York, had given the messenger, who carried them 
orders, a guinea to quicken his diligence.
Grove and Pickering were also employed to shoot the king with silver bullets: 
the former was to receive the sum of fifteen
hundred pounds; the latter, being a pious man, was to be rewarded with thirty 
thousand masses, which, estimating masses at
a shilling apiece, amounted to a like-value. Pickering would have executed his 
purpose, had not the flint at one time dropped
out of his pistol, at another time the'riming. Coniers, the Jesuit, had bought a 
knife at the price of ten shillings, which he
thought was not dear, considering the purpose for which he intended it, to wit, 
stabbing the king. Letters of subscription
were circulated among the Catholics all over England, to raise a sum for the 
same purpose. No less than fifty Jesuits had
met, in May last, at the White Horse Tavern, where it was unanimously agreed to 
put the king to death. This synod did
afterwards, for more convenience, divide themselves into many lesser cabals or 
companies; and Oates was employed to
carry notes and letters from one to another, all tending to the same end, of 
murdering the king. He even carried, from one
company to another, a paper, in which they formally expressed their resolution 
of executing that deed; and it was regularly
subscribed by all of them. A wager of a hundred pounds was laid, and stakes 
made, that the king should eat no more
Christmas pies.. In short, it was determined, to use the expression of a Jesuit, 
that if he would not become R. C., (Roman
Catholic,) he should no longer be C. R., (Charles Rex.) The great fire of London 
had been the work of the Jesuits, who had
employed eighty or eighty-six persons for that purpose, and had expended seven 
hundred fire-balls; but they had a good
return for their nmoney, for they had been able to pilfer goods from the fire to 




Page 175 

CHARLES II. 175 the amount of fourteen thousand pounds: the Jesuits had also 
raised another fire on St. Margaret's Hill,
whence they had stolen goods to the value of two thousand pounds; another at 
Southwark: and it was determined in like
manner to burn all the.chief cities in England. A paper model was already framed 
for the firing London; the stations were
regularly marked out, where the several fires were to commence;. and the whole 
plan of operations was so concerted, that
-prealations were taken by the Jesuits  to vary their measures, according to the 
variation of the wind. Fire-balls were
farailiarly called among them Teuxbury mustard pills; and were said to contain a 
notable biting sauce. In the great fire. it had
been determined to murder the king; but he had displayed such diligence and 
humanity in extinguishing the flames, that even
the Jesuits relented, and spared his life. Besides these assassinations and 
fires, insurrections, rebellions, and massac.res were
projected by that religious order in all the three kingdoms. There were twenty 
thousand Catholics in London, who would rise
in four and twenty hours, or less; and Jennisan, a-Jesuit, said, that they might 
easily cut the throats of a hundred thousand
Protestants. Eight thousand Catholics had agreed to take arms in Scotland. 
Ormond was to be murdered by fou: Jesuits; a
general massacre of the Irish Protestants was concerted; and forty thousand 
black bills were already provided for-that
purpose. Coleman had remitted two hundred thousand pounds to promote the 
rebellion in Ireland; and -the French king was
to land a great army in that island. Poole, who wrote the Synopsis, was 
particularly marked out for assassination; as was
also Dr.;Stillingfleet, a controversial writer against the Papists. Burnet tells 
us, that Oates paid him the same compliment.
After all this havoc, the crown was to be offered to the duke, but on the 
following conditions: that he receive it as a gift from
the pope; that he confirm all the papal commissions for offices and employments; 
that he ratify all past transactions, by
pardoning the incendiaries, and the murderers of his brother and of the people; 
and that he consent to the utter extirpation of
the Protestant religion. If he refuse these conditions, he himself was 
immediately to be poisoned or assassinated. " To pot
James must go," according to the expression ascribed, by Oates to the Jesuits. 
Oates, the informer of this dreadful plot, was
himself the most infamous of mankind. He was the son of an Anabaptist preacher, 
chaplain to Colonel Pride; but having
taken orders 




Page 176 

1i6 HISTORY OF "tGLAND. in the church,.e had been settled in a small living by 
the duke'of Norfolk. Ile had been
indicted for perjury, and by some means had escaped. He was afterwards a 
chaplain on' board the fleet; whence he had
been dismissed on complaint of some unnatural practices not fit to be named. He 
then became a convert to the Catholics;
but he afterwards boasted, that his conversion was a mere pretence, in order to 
get into their secrets and to'betray them.*
He was sent over to the Jesuits' college at St. Omers, and though above thirty 
years of age, he there lived some time among
the students. He was despatched on an errand to Spain; and thence returned to 
St. Omers; where the Jesuits, heartily tired
of their convert, at last dismissed him from their seminary. It is likely that, 
from resentment of this usage, as well as from want
and indigence, he was induced, in combination with Tongue, to contrive that plot 
of which he accused the Catholics. This
abandoned man, when examined before the council, betraye'd his impostures in 
such a manner, as would have utterly
-discredited the most consistent story,, and the most reputable evidence. While 
in Spain, he had been carried, he said, to
Don John, who promised great assistance to the execu tion of the Catholic 
designs. The king asked him what sort f a man
Don John was: he answered, a tall, lean man; directly contrary to truth, as the 
king well knew.t He totally mistook the
situation of the Jesuits' college at Paris.. Though he pretended great 
intimacies with Coleman, he knew him not, when placed
very near him; and had no other excuse than that his sight was bad in candle 
light.~ He fell into like mistakes with regard to
Wakeman. Notwithstanding these objections, great attention was paid to Oates's 
evidence, and the plot became very soon
the subject of conversation, and even the object of terror to the people. The 
violeht animosity which had been excited
against the Catholics in general, made the public swallow the grossest 
absurdities, when they accompanied an accusation of
those religionists: and the more diabolical any contrivance appeared, the better 
it sulited the tremendous idea entertained of a
Jesuit. Tlanby, likewise, who stood in opposition to the French and Catholic 
interest at court, was willing to encourage every
story which might serve to discredit that party. By his suggestion, * Burnet 
Echird, North, L'Estrange, etc. U B'urnet, North.:
Ndrth. B Burn6t, North, TriV. 




Page 177 

CHARLES II. 177 when a warrant was signed for arresting Coleman, there was 
inserted a clause for seizing his papers; a
circumstance attended with the most important consequences. Coleman, partly on 
his own account, partly by orders from
the duke, had been engaged in a correspondence with Father La Chaise, with the 
pope's nuncio at Brussels, and with other
Catholics abroad; hnd being himself a fiery zealot, busy and sanguine, the 
expressions in his letters often betrayed great
violence and indiscretion. His correspondence, during the years 1674, 1675, and 
part of 1676, was seized, and contained
many extraordinary passages. In particular, he said to La Chaise, " We have here 
a mighty work upon our hands, no less
than the conversion of three kingdoms, and by. that perhaps the utter subduing 
of a pestilent heresy, which has a long time
domineered over a great part of this northern world. There were never such hopes 
of suceess since the days of Queen
Mary, as now in our days. God has given us a prince," meaning the duke, "who is 
beeccme (may I say a miracle) zealous of
being the author and instrument of so glorious a work; but the opposition we are 
sure to meet with is also like to be great: so
that it imports us to get all the aid and assistance we can." In another letter 
he said, "I call scarce believe myself awake, or
the thing real, when I think of a prince in such an age as we live in, converted 
to such a degree of zeal and piety, as not to
regard any thing in the world in comparison of God Almighty's glory, the 
salvation of his own soul, and the conversion of our
poor kingdom." In other passages, the interests of the crown of England, those 
of the French king, and those of the Catholic
reliaion,'are spoken of as inseparable. The duke is also said to have connected 
his interests unalterably with those of Lewis.
The king himself, he affirms, is always inclined to favor the Catholics, when he 
may do it without hazard. "Money,"' Coleman
adds, " cannot fail of persuading the king to any thing. There is nothing it 
cannot make him do, were it ever so much to his
prejudice. It has such an absolute power over him that he cannot resist it. 
Logic, built upon money, has in our court more
powerful charms than any other sort of argument." For these reasons, he proposed 
to Father La Chaise, that the French king
should remit the sum of three hundred thousand pounds, on condition that the 
parliament be dissolved; a meas -ire to which,
he affirmed, the king was of himself sufficiently anclined, were it not for his 
hQpes of obtaining money from 




Page 178 

178 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. that assembly. The parliament, he said, had. already 
constrained the king to make peace
with Holland, contrary to the interests of the Catholic religion, and of his 
most Christian majesty: and if they should meet
again, they would surely engage him further, even to the making of war against 
France. It appears also from the same letters,
that the assembling of the parliament so late as April in the year 1675, had 
been procured by the intrigues of the Catholic
and French party, who thereby intended to. show the Dutch and their confederates 
that they could expect no assistance
from England. When the contents of these letters were publicly known, they 
diffused the panic with which the nation began
already to be seized on account of the Popish plot. Men reasoned more from their 
fears and their passions, than from the
evidence before them. It is certain, that the restless and enterprising spirit 
of the Catholic church, particularly of the Jesuits,
merits attention, and is in some degree dangerous to every other communion. Such 
zeal of proselytism actuates that sect, that
its missionaries have penetrated into every nation of the globe; and, in one 
sense, there is a Popish plot perpetually carrying
on against all states, Protestant, Pagan, and Mahometan. It is likewise very 
probable, that the conversion of the duke, and
the favor of the king, had inspired the Catholic priests with new hopes of 
recovering in these islands their lost dominion, and
gave fresh vigor to that intemperate zeal by which they are commonly actuated. 
Their first aim was to obtain a toleration; and
such was the evidence, they believed, of their theological tenets, that, could 
they but procure entire liberty, they must
infallibly in time open the eyes of the people. After they had converted 
considerable numbers, they might be enabled, they
hoped, to reinstate themselves in full authority, and entirely to suppress that 
heresy with which the kingdom had so long been
infected. Though these dangers to the Prot. estant religion were distant, it was 
justly the object of great concern to find, that
the heir of the crown was so blinded with bigotry, and so deeply engaged in 
foreign interests; and that the king himself had
been prevailed on, from low interests, to hearken to his dangerous insinuations. 
Very bad consequences might ensue from
such perverse habits and attachments; nor could the nation and parliament guard 
against them with too anxious a precaution.
But that the Roman pontiff could hope to assume the sovereignty of these 
kingdoms; a project which, even during the
darkness of the eleventh and twelfth 




Page 179 

CHARLES II. 179 centuries, would have appeareqd chimerical: that lie should 
delegate this authority to the Jesuits, that
order in the Romish church which was the most hated: that a massacre could be 
attempted of the Protestants, who
surpassed the Catholics a hundred fold, and were invested with the whole 
authority of the state: that the king himself was to
be assassinated, and even the duke, the only support of their party: these were 
such absurdities as no human testimony was
sufficient to prove; much less the evidence of one man, who was noted for 
infamy, and who could not keep himself, every
moment, from falling into the grossest inconsistencies. Did such intelligence 
deserve even so much attention as to be refuted,
it would appear, that Coleman's letters were sufficient alone to destroy all its 
credit. For how could so long a train of
correspondence be carried on by a man so much trusted by the party, and yet no 
traces of insurrections, if really intended,
of fires, massacres, assassina(ions, invasions, be ever discovered in any single 
passage of these letters? But all such
reflections, and many more equally obvious, were vainly employed against that 
general preposses. sion with which the nation
was seized. Oates's plot and Coleman's were universally confounded together: and 
the evidence of the latter being
unquestionable, the belief of the former, aided by the passions of hatred and of 
terror, took possession of the whole people.
There was danger, however, lest time might open the eyes of the public; when the 
murder of Godfrey completed theo
general delusion, and rendered the prejudices of the nation absolutely 
incurable. This magistrate had been missing some
days; and after much search, and many surmises, his body was found lying in a 
ditch at Primrose Hill: the marks of strangling
were thought to appear about his neck, and some contusions on his breast: his 
own sword was sticking in the body; but as
no considerable quantity of blood ensued on drawing it out, it was concluded, 
that it had been thrust in after his death, and
that he had not killed himself: he had rings on his fingers and money in his 
pocket; it was therefore inferred, that he had not
fallen into the hands of robbers. Without further reasoning, the cry rose, that 
he had been assassinated by the Papists, on
account of his taking Oates's evidence. This clamor was quickly propagated, and 
met with universal belief. The panic spread
itself on every side with infinite rapidity; and all men, astonished with fear, 
and animated with rage, saw in Godfrey's fate all
the horrible designs ascribed to the Catholics 




Page 180 

180 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. and no further doubt remainedzof Oates's veracity. The 
voice of the nation united against
that hated sect; and notwithstanding that the bloody conspiracy was supposed to 
be now detected, men could scarcely be
persuaded that their lives were yet in safety. Each hour teemed with new rumors 
and sur. raises. Invasions from abroad,
insurrections at home, even private murders and poisonings, were apprehended. 
T6. deny the reality of the plot was to be an
accomplice: to hesita 3 was criminal: royalist, republican; churchman, sectary 
courtier, patriot; all parties concurred in the
illusion. Tho city pipared for its defence as if the enemy wyere at its gates: 
the chains and posts were put up: and it was a
noted saying at that time of Sir Thomas Player, the chamberlain, that, were it 
not for these precautions, all the citizens might
rise next morning with their throats cut.* In order to propagate the popular 
frenzy, several artifices were employed. The
dead body of Godfrey was carried into the city, attended by vast multitudes. It 
was publicly exposed in the streets, and
viewed by all ranks of men; and every one who saw it went away inflamed, as well 
by the mutual contagion of sentiments, as
by the dismal spectacle itself. The funeral pomp was celebrated with great 
parade. The corpse was conducted through the
chief streets of the city: seventy. two clergymen marched before: above a 
thousand persons of distinction followed after: and
at the funeral sermon, two ablebodied divines mounted the pulpit, and stood on 
each side of the preacher, lest in paying the
last duties to this unhappy magistrate, he should, before the whole people, be 
murdered by the Papists. t In this disposition
of the nation, reason could no more be heard than a whisper in the midst of the 
most violent hurricane. Even at present,
Godfrey's murder can scarcely, upon any system, be rationally accounted for. 
That he was assassinated by the Catholics,
seems utterly improbable. These religionists could not be engaged to commit that 
crime from policy, in order to deter other
magistrates from acting against them, Godfrey's fate was nowise capable of 
producing that effect, unless it were publicly
known that the Catholics were his murderers; an opinion which, it was easy to 
foresee, must prove the ruin of their party.
Besides, how many magistrates, during more than a century, had acted in the most 
violent * North, p, 206. + North, p. 205.




Page 181 

CHARLES 11. 181 manner against the Catholics, without its being ever suspected 
that any one had been cut off by
assassination? Such jealous times as the present were surely ill fitted for 
beginning these dangerous experiments. Shall we
therefore say, that the Catholics were pushed on, not by policy, but by blind 
revenge, against Godfrey? But Godfrey had
given them little or no occasion of offence in taking Oates's evidence. His part 
was merely an act of form belonging to his
office; nor could he, or any man in his station, possibly refuse it. In the rest 
of his conduct, he lived on good terms with the
Catholics, and was far from distinguishing himself by his severity against that 
sect. It is even certain, that he had contracted
an intimacy with Coleman, and took care to inform his friend of the danger to 
which, by reason of Oates's evidence, he was
at present exposed. There are some writers who, finding it impossible to account 
for Godfrey's murder by the machinations
of the Catholics, have recourse to the opposite supposition. They lay hold of 
that obvious presumption, that those commit
the crime who reap advantage by it; and they affirm, that it was Shaftesbury and 
the heads of the popular party who
perpetrated that deed, in order to throw the odium of it on the Papists. If this 
supposition be received, it must also
be.admitted, that the whole plot was the contrivance of these politicians; and 
that Oates acted altogether under their
directions But it appears that Oates, dreading probably the opposition of 
powerful enemies, had very anxiously acquitted the
duke, Danby, Ormond, and all the ministry; persons who were certainly the most 
obnoxious to the popular leaders. Besides,
the whole texture of the plot contains such low absurdity, that it is impossible 
to have been the invention of any man of sense
or education. It is true the more' monstrous and horrible the conspiracy, the 
better was it fitted to terrify, and thence to
convince, the populace: but this effect, we may safely say, no one could 
beforehand have expected; and a fool was in this
case more likely to succeed than a wise man. Had Shaftesbury laid the plan of a 
Popish conspiracy, he had probably
rendered it moderate, consistent, credible; and on that very account had never 
met with the prodigious success with which
Oates's tremendous fictions were attended. Ve must, therefore, be contented to 
remain foreveI ignorant of the actors in
Godfrey's murder; and only pronounce in general, that that event, in all 
likelihood, had no connection VOL. VI. 16 H 




Page 182 

182 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. one way or other, with the Popish plot. Any man, 
especially so active a magistrate as
Godfrey, might, in such a city as London, have many enemies, of whom his friends 
and family had no suspicion. He was a
melancholy man; and there is some reason, notwithstanding the pretended 
appearances to the contrary, to suspect that he
fell by his own hands. The affair was never examined with tranquillity, or even 
with common sense, during the time; and it is
impossible for us, a this distance, certainly to account for it. No one doubted 
but the Papists had assassinated Godfrey; but
still the particular actors were unknown. A proclamation was issued by the king, 
offering a pardon and a reward of five
hundred pounds to any one who should discover them. As it was afterwards 
surmised, that the terror of a like assassination
would prevent discovery, a new proclamation was issued, promising absolute 
protection to any one who should reveal the
secret. Thus were indemnity, money, and security offered to the fairest bidder: 
and no one needed to fear, during the present
fury of the people, that his evidence would undergo too severe a scrutiny. While 
the nation was in this ferment, the
parliament was assembled. In his speech, the king told them, that, though they 
had given money for disbanding the army,* he
had found Flanders so exposed, that he had thought it necessary still to keep 
themron foot, and doubted not but this
measure would meet with their approbation. He informed them, that his revenue 
lay under great anticipations, and at best
was never equal to the constant and necessary expense of government; as would 
appear from the state of it, which he
intended to lay before them. He also mentioned the plot formed against his life 
by Jesuits; but said that he would forbear
delivering any opinion of the matter, lest he' should seem to say too much or 
too little; and that he would leave the scrutiny of
it entirely to the law. Tht king was anxious to keep the question of the Popish 
plot from the parliament; where, he suspected,
many designilng people would very much abuse the present credulity of 1le 
nation. but Danby, who hated the Catholics, and
courted popularity, and perhaps hoped that the king, if his life were believed 
in danger from the Jesuits, would be more
cordially * They had granted him six hundred thousand pounds for disnanding- the 
army, for reimbursing the charges of his
naval armament and for paying the princess of Orange's portion. 




Page 183 

CRHALE-S II. m83 loved by the nation, had entertained opposite designs dnd the 
very first day of the session, lhe opened
the matter 7 the house of peers. The king was extremely displeased wit this 
temerity, and told his minister, "Though you do
not b fieve it, you will find, that you have given the parliament a h.ndle to 
ruin yourself, as well as to disturb.all my affairs; an'
you will surely live to repent it." Danby had afterwards surf zient reason to 
applaud the sagacity of his master. The cry of the
plot was immediately echoed from one house to the other. The authority of 
parliament gave sanc1 on to that fury with which
the people were already agitated. An address was voted for a solemn fast: a form 
of prayer was contrived for that solemnity;
and because the Popish plot had been omitted in the first draught, it was 
carefully ordered to be inserted; lest omniscience
should want intelligence, to use the words of an historian.* In order to 
continue and propagate the alarm, addresses were
voted for laying before the house such papers as might d'iscover the horrible 
conspiracy; for the removal of Popish recusants
from London; for administering every where the oaths of allegiance and 
supremacy; for denying access at court to all
unknown or suspicious persons; and for appointing the train bands of London and 
Westminster to be in readiness. The lords
Powis, Stafford, Arundel, Peters, and Bellasis were committed to the Tower, and 
were soon after impeached for high
treason. And both houses, after hearing Oates's evidence, voted, " That the 
lords and commons are of opinion, that there
hath been, and still is, a damnable and hellish plot, contrived and carried on 
by the Popish recusants, for assassinating the
king, for subverting the government, and for rooting out and destroying the 
Protestant religion." So vehement were the
houses, that they sat every day, forenoon and afternoon, on the subject of the 
plot: for no other business could be attended
to. A committee of lords was appointed to examine prisoners and witnesses: blank 
warrants were put into their hands, for
the commitment of such as should be accused or suspected. Oates, who, though his 
evidence were true, must, by his own
account, be regarded as an infamous villain, was by every one applauded, 
caressed. and called the savior of the nation. He
was recommended by the parliament to the king. He was lodged in Whitehall, * 
North, p. 207. 




Page 184 

184 HISTO'RY OF ENGLAND. protected by guards, and encouraged by a pension of one 
thousand two hundred pounds
a year. It was not long befobre such bountiful encouragement brought forth new 
witnesses. William Bedloe, a man, if
possible, more infamous than Oates, appeared next upon the stage. He was of very 
low birth, had been noted for several
cheats, and even thefts; had travelled over many parts of Europe under borrowed 
names, and frequently passed himself for a
man of quality; and had endeavored, by a variety of lies and contrivances, to 
prey ulpon the ignorant and unwary. W'hen he
appeared before ti.e council, he gave intelligence of Godfrey's murder only, 
which, he said, had been perpetrated in
Somerset House, where the queen lived, by Papists, some of them servants in her 
family. He was questioned about the plot;
but utterly denied all knowledge of it, and also asserted, that he had no 
acquaintance with Oates. Next day, when examined
before the committee of lords, he bethought himself better, and was ready to 
give an ample account of the plot, which he
found so anxiously inquired into. This narrative he made to tally, as well as he 
could, with that of Oates, which had been
published: but that he might make himself acceptable by new matter, he added 
some other circumstances, and these still
more tremendous and extraordinary. He said, that ten thousand men were to be 
landed from Flanders in Burlington Bay, and
immediately to seize Hull: that Jersey and Guernsey were to be surprised by 
forces from Brest; and that a French fleet was
all last summer hovering in the Channel for that purpose: that the lords Powis 
and Peters were to form an army in
Radnorshire, to be joined by another army, consisting of twenty or 
thirty'thousand religious men and pilgrims, who were to
land at Milford Haven from St. Iago in Spain: that there were forty thousand men 
ready in London; besides those who
would, on the alarm, be posted at every alehouse door, in order to kill the 
soldiers as they came out of their quarters: that
Lord Stafford, Coleman, and Father Ireland, lhad money sufficient to defray the 
expenses of all these armaments: that he
himself was to receive four thousand pounds, as one that could murder a man; as 
also a commission from Lord Bellasis, and
a benediction from the pope: that the king was to be assassinated; all the 
Protestants massacred who would not seriously be
converted; the government offered to ONE, if he would consent to hold it of the 
church; but if he should refuse that
condition, as was suspected, the 




Page 185 

C.Atr.,:s tL lf5 supreme authority would be given to certain lords under the 
nomination of the pope. In a subsequent
examination before the commons, Bedloe added, (for these men always brought out 
their intelligence successively and by
piecemeal,) -that Lord Carrington was also in the conspiracy for raising men and 
money against the government; as was
likewise Lord Brudenel. These noblemen, with all the other persons men. tioned 
by Bedloe, were immediately committed to
custody by the parliament. It is remarkable, that the only resource of Spain, in 
her present decayed condition, lay in the
assistance of England: and, so far from being in a situation to transport ten 
thousand men for the invasion of that kingdom,
she had solicited and obtained English forces to be sent into the garrisons of 
Flanders, which were not otherwise able to
defend themselves against the French. The French too, we may observe, were at 
that very time in open war with Spain, and
yet are supposed to be engaged in the same design against England; as if 
religious motives were become the sole actuating
principle among sovereigns. But none of these circumstances, how. ever obvious, 
were able, when set in opposition to
multiplied horrors, antipathies, and prejudices, to engage the least atten. tion 
of the populace: for such the whole nation were
at this time become. The Pdpish plot passed for incontestable: and had not men 
soon expected with certainty the legal
punishment of these criminals, the Catholics had been exposed to the hazard of a 
universal massacre. The torrent, indeed, of
national prejudices ran so high, that no one, without the most imminent danger, 
durst venture openly to oppose it; nay,
scarcely any one, without great force of judgment, could even secretly entertain 
an opinion contrary to the prevailing
sentiments. The loud and unanimous voice of a great nation has mighty authority 
over weak minds; and even later historians
are so swayed by the concurring judgment of such multitudes, that some of them 
have esteemed themselves sufficiently
moderate, when they affirmed, that many circumstances of the plot were true, 
though some were added, and others much
magnified. But it is an obvious principle, that a witness who perjures himnself 
in one circumstance is credible in none: and the
authority of the plot, even to the end of the prosecutions, Stood entirely upon 
witnesses. Though the Catholics had been
suddenly and unexpectedly detected, at the very moment when their conspiracy, it 
is said, was ripe for execution, nc 16 * 




Page 186 

186 HIS~ORY OF ENGLAND. arms, no ammunition, no money, no commissions; no papers 
no letters, after the most
rigorous search, ever were discovered to confirm the evidence of Oates and 
Bedloe. Yet still the nation, though often
frustrated, went on in the eager pursuit and confident belief of the conspiracy: 
and even the manifold inconsistencies and
absurdities contained in the narratives, instead of discouraging them, served 
only as further incentives to discover the bottom
of the plot, and were considered as slight objections, which a more complete 
information would fully remove. In all history, it
will be difficult to find such another instance of popular frenzy and bigoted 
delusion. In order to support the panic.among the
people, especially among the citizens of London, a pamphlet was published with 
this title: "A narrative and impartial
discovery of the horrid Popish plot, carried on for burning and destroying the 
cities of London and Westminster, with their
suburbs: setting forth the several consults, orders, and resolutions of the 
Jesuits concerning the same: by Captain William
Bedloe, lately engaged in that horrid design, and one of the Popish committee 
for carrying on such fires." Every fire which
had happened for several years past, is there ascribed to the machinations of 
the Jesuits, who purposed, as Bedloe said, by
such attempts, to find an opportunity for the general massacre of the 
Protestants; and, in the mean time, were well pleased to
enrich themselves by pilfering goods from the fire. The king, though he scrupled 
not, wherever he could speak freely, to
throw the highest ridicule on the plot, and on all who believed it, yet found it 
necessary to adopt the popular opinion before
the parliament. The torrent, he saw, ran too strong to be controlled; and he 
could only hope, by a seem. ing compliance, to
be able, after some time, to guide and direct and elude its fury. He made, 
therefore, a speech to both houses; in which he
told them, that he would take the utmost care of his person during these times 
of danger; that he was as ready as their hearts
could wish, to join with them in all means for establishing the Protestant 
religion, not only during his own time, but for all
future ages; and that, provided the right of succession were preserved, he would 
consent to any laws for restraining a Popish
successor: and, in conclusion, he exhorted them to think of effectual means for 
the conviction of Popish recusants; and he
highly'praised the duty and loyalty of all his subjects, who had discovered 
such,nxious concern for his safety. 




Page 187 

CHARLES II. 187 These gracious expressions abated nothing of the vehemence of 
parliamentary prcceedings. A bill was
introduced for a new test, in which Popery was denominated idolatry; and all 
members, who refused this test, were excluded
from both houses. The bill passed the commons without much opposition; but in 
the upper house the duke moved, that an
exception might be admitted in his favor. With great earnestness, and even with 
tears in his eyes, he told them that he was
now to cast himself on their kindness, in the greatest concern which he could 
have in the world; and he protested, that,
whatever his religion. might be, it should only be a private thing between God 
and his own soul, and never shltuld.appear in
his public conduct. Notwithstanding this strong effort, in so important a point, 
he prevailed only by two voices: a sufficient
indication of the general disposition of the people. " I would not have," said a 
noble peer, in the debate on this bill, "so much
as a Popish man or a Popish woman to remain here; not so much as a Popish dog or 
a Popish bitch; not so much as a
Popish cat to pur or mew about the king." What is more extraordinary, this 
speech met with praise and approbation.
Encouraged by this general fury, the witnesses went still a step farther in 
their accusations; and though both Oates and
Bedloe had often declared, that there was no other person of distinction whom 
they knew to be concerned in the plot, they
were now so audacious as to accuse the queen herself of entering into the design 
against the life of her husband. The
commons, in an address to the king, gave countenance to this scandalous 
accusation; but the lords would not be prevailed
with to join in the address. It is here, if any where, that we may suspect the 
suggestions of the popular leaders to have had
place. The king, it was well known, bore no great affection to his consort; and 
now, more than ever, when his brother and
heir was so much hated, had reason to be desirous of issue, which might quiet 
the jealous fears of his people. This very
hatred, which prevailed against the duke, would much facilitate, he knew, any 
expedient that could be devised for the
exclusion of that prince; and nothing further seemed requisite for the king, 
than to give way in this particular to the rage and
fury of the nation. But Charles, notwithstanding all allurements of pleasure, or 
interest, or safety, had the gener osity to
protect his injured consort. " They think," said he, "' I have a mind to a new 
wife; but for all that, I will not see 




Page 188 

Iag HISTOt1Y OF ENGLAND an innocent woman abused."* He immediately ordered Oates 
to be strictly confined,
seized his papers, and dismissed his servants; and this daring informer was 
obliged to make applications to parliament, in
order to recover his liberty During this agitation of men's minds, the 
parliament gave new attention to the militia; a
circumstance which, eveul during times of greatest tranquillity, can never 
prudently be neglected. They passed a bill, by
which it was enacted, that a regular militia should be kept in arms during six 
weeks of the year, and a third part of them do
duty,every fortnight of that time. The popular leaders probably intended to make 
use of the general prejudices, and even to
turn the arms of the people against the prince.t But Charles refused his assent 
to the bill, and told the parliament, that he
would not, were it for half an hour, part so far with the power of the sword: 
but if they would contrive any other bill for
ordering the militia, and still leave it in his power to assemble or dismiss 
them as he thought proper, he would willingly give it
the roval assent. The commons, dissatisfied with this negative, though the king 
had never before employed that prerogative,
immediately voted that all the new-levied forces should be disbanded. They 
passed a bill, granting money for that purpose;
but to show their extreme jealousy of the crown, besides appropriating the money 
by the strictest clauses, they ordered it to
be paid, not into the exchequer, but into the chamber of London. The lords 
demurred with regard to so extraordinary a
clause, which threw a violent reflection on the king's ministers, and even oiln 
himself; and by that means the act remained in
suspense. It was no wonder, that the present ferment and credulity of the nation 
engaged men of infamous character and
indigent circumstances to become informers, when persons of rank and condition 
could be tempted to give into that
scandalous practice. Montague, the king's ambassador at Paris, ha. procured a 
seat in the lower house; and without
obtaining or asking the king's leave,,he suddenly came over to England. Charles, 
suspecting his intention, ordered his papers
to be seized; but Montague, who foresaw this measure, had taken care to secrete 
one paper, which he immediately laid
before the house of commons. It was a letter from the treasurer Danby, written 
in the beginning of the year, during the
nego-:North's E_,amdn, p. 186. t Burnet, vol. i. p. 437. 




Page 189 

CHARLES II. 189 tiations at Nimeguen for the general peace. Montague was there 
directed to make a demand of money
from France; or, in other words, the king was willing secretly to sell his good 
offices to Lewis, contrary to the general
interests of the confederates, and even to those of his own kingdoms. The 
letter, among other particulars, contains these
words: " In case the conditions of peace shall be accepted, the king expects to 
have six millions of livres a year for three
years, from the time that thi.s agreement shall be signed between his majesty 
and the king of France; because it will probably
be two or three years before the parliament will be in humor to give him any 
supplies after the making of any peace.with
France; and the ambassador here has always agreed to that sum; but not for so 
long a time." Danby was so unwilling to
engage in this negotiation, that the king, to satisfy. him, subjoined witl his 
own hand these words: "This letter is writ by my
order. C. R." Montague, who revealed this secret correspondence, had even the 
baseness to sell his base treachery at a high
price to the French monarch.* The commons were inflamed with this intelligence 
against Danby; and carrying their
suspicions further than the truth, they concluded, that the king had all along 
acted in concert with the French court; and that
every step which he had taken in conjunction with the allies, had been illusory 
and deceitful. Desirous of getting to the
bottom of so important a secret, and being pushed by Danby's numerous enemies, 
they immediately voted an impeachment
of high treason against that minister, and sent up six articles to the house of 
peers. These articles were, That he had
traitorously engrossed to himself regal power, by giving instructions to his 
majesty's ambassadors, without the participation
of the secretaries of state, or the privy council:' that he had traitorously 
endeavored to subvert the government, and introduce
arbitrary power; and to that end, had levied and continued an army, contrary to 
act of parliament: that he had traitorously
endeavored to alienate the affections of his majesty's subjects, by negotiating 
a disadvantageous peace with France, and
procuring money for that purpose: that he was popishly affected, and had 
traitorously concealed, after he haid notice, the
late horrid and bloody plot, contrived by the Papists against his majesty's 
person and government: that he had wasted the *
Appendix to *SirJohn Datrymplo's.ex1ie.. 




Page 190 

190 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. king's treasure: and that he had, by indirect means, 
obtained several exorbitant grants
from the crown. It is certain that the treasurer, in giving instructions to an 
ambassador, had exceeded the bounds of his
office; and as the genius of a monarchy, strictly limited, requires, that the 
proper minister should be answerable for every
abuse of power, the commons, though they here advanced a new pretension, might 
justify themselves by the utility, and even
necessity of it. But in other respects their charge-against Danby was very ill 
grounded. That minister made it appear to the
house of lords, not only that Montague, the informer against him, had all along 
promoted the money negotiations with
France, but that he himself was ever extremely averse to the interests of that 
crown, which he esteemed pernicious to his
master and.to his country. The French nation, he said, had always entertained, 
as he was certainly informed, the highest
contempt both of the king's person and government. His diligence, he added, in 
tracing and discovering the Popish plot, was
generally known; and if he had common sense, not to say common honesty, he would 
surely be anxious to preserve the life
of a master by whom he was so much favored. He had wasted no treasure, because 
there was no treasure to waste. And
though he had reason to be grateful for the king's bounty, he had made more 
moderate acquisitions than were generally
imagined, and than others in his office had often done, even during a shorter 
administration. The house of peers plainly saw,
that, allowing all the charges of the commons to be true, Danby's crimes fell 
not under- the statute of Edward III; and though
the words treason and traitorously had been carefully inserted in several 
articles, this appellation could not change the nature
of things, or subject him to the penalties annexed to that crime.. They refused, 
therefore, to commit Danby upon this irregular
charge: the commons insisted on their demand; and a great contest was likely to 
arise, when the king, who had already seen
sufficient instances of the ill humor of the parliament, thought proper to 
prorogue them. This prorogation was soon after
followed by a dissolution;- a desperate remedy in the present disposition of the 
nation. But the disease, it must -be owned,
the king had reason to esteem desperate. The utmost rage had been discovered by 
the commons, on account of the Popish
plot; and their fury began already to point against the royal family, if not 
against the throne itself. The duke had 




Page 191 

CHARLES II. 191 been struck at in several motions: the treasurer had been 
impeached: all supply had been refused, except
on the most disagreeable conditions: fears, jealousies, and antipathies were 
every day multiplying in parliament; and though
the people were strongly infected with the same prejudices, the king hoped, 
that, by dissolving the present cabals, a set of
men might be chosen, more moderate in their pursuits, and less tainted with the 
virulence of faction. Thus came to a period a
parliament which had sitten during the whole course of this reign, one year 
excepted. Its conclusion was very different from
its commencement. Being elected during the joy and festivity of the restoration, 
it consisted almost entirely of royalists; who
were disposed to support the crown by all the liberality which the habits of 
that age would permit. Alarmed by the alliance
with France, they gradually withdrew their confidence from the king; and finding 
him still to persevere in a foreign inter6st,
they pro. ceeded to discover symptoms of the most refractory and most jealous 
disposition. The Popish plot pushed them
beyond all bounds of moderation; and before their dissolution, they seemed to be 
treading fast in the footsteps of the last
long parliament, on whose conduct they threw at first such violent blame. In all 
their variations, they had still followed the
opinions and prejudices of the nation; and ever seemed to be more governed by 
humor and party views than by pubrie
interest, and more by public interest than by any corrupt or private influence. 
During the sitting of the parliament, and after its
prorogation and dissolution, the trials of the pretended criminals were carried 
on; and the courts of judicature, places which,
if possible, ought to be kept more pure from injustice than even national 
assemblies themselves, were strongly infected with
the same party rage and bigoted prejudices. Coleman, the most obnoxious of the 
conspirators, was first brought to his trial.
His letters were produced against him. They contained, as he himself confessed, 
much indiscretion: but unless so far as it is
illegal to be a zealous Catholic, they seemed to prove nothing criminal, much 
less treasonable against him. Oates and Bedloe
deposed, that he had received a commission signed by the superior of the 
Jesuits, to be Papal secretary of state, and had
consented to the poisoning, shooting, and stab. bing of the king: he had even, 
according to Oates's deposition, advanced a
guinea to promote those bloody purposes. These 




Page 192 

192 B JTORY OF ENGLAND. wild stories were confounded with the projects contained 
in his letters; and Coleman
received sentence of death. The sentence was soon after executed upon him.* He 
suffered with calmness and constancy,
and to the last persisted in the strongest protestations of his innocenct. 
Coleman's execution was succeede~ by the trial of
Father Ireland, who, it is pretended, had sigl.ed, together with fifty Jesuits, 
the great resolution of murdering the king. Grove
and Pickering, who had undertaken to shoot him, were tried at the same time. The 
only witnesses against the prisoners were
still Oates and Bedloe. Ireland affirmed, that he was in Staffordshire all the 
month of August last, a time when Oates's
evidence made him in London. He proved his assertion by good evidence.; and 
would have proved it by undoubted, had he
not most iniquitously been debarred, while in prison, from all use of pen, ink, 
and paper, and denied the liberty of sending for
witnesses. All these men, before their arraignment, were condemned in the 
opinion of the judges, jury, and spec. tators; and
to be a Jesult, or even a Catholic, was of itself a;iufficient proof of guilt. 
The chief justice,t in particular, gave sanction to all
the narrow prejudices and bigoted fury of the populace. Instead of being counsel 
for the prisoners, as his office required, he
pleaded the cause against them, browbeat their witnesses, and on every occasion 
represented their guilt as certain
and.uncontroverted. He even went so far as publicly to affirm, that the Papists 
had not the same principles which Protestants
have, and therefore were not entitled to that common credence, which the 
principles and practices odf the latter call.for. And
when the jury brought in their verdict against the prisoners, he said, " You 
have done, gentlemen, like very good subjects,
and very good Christians, that is to say, like very good Protestants, and now 
much good may their thirty thousand masses
do them;" alluding to the masses by which Pickering was to be rewarded for 
murdering the king. All these unhappy men
went to execution, protesting their innocence; a circumstance which made no 
impression on the spectators. [1.679.] The
opinion, that the Jesuits allowed of lies and mental reservations for promoting 
a good cause, was at this time so universally
received, that no credit was given to testimony delivered either by that order, 
or by any of their disciples. It was forgotten,
that all the conspira* Decuamber 3. t Sir William Scroggs. 




Page 193 

CHARLES II. 193 r-rs engaged in the gunpowder treason, and Garnet, tne Jequit, 
among the rest, had freely on the
scaffold nrade confession of their guilt. Though Bedloe had given information of 
Godfrey's murder he still remained a single
evidence against the persons accused, and all the allurements of profit and 
honor had not hitherto tempted any one to
confirm the testimony of that informer. At last, means were found to complete 
the legal evidence. One Prance, a silversmith
and a Catholic, had been accused by Bedloe of being an accomplice in the murder; 
and upon his denial, had been thrown
into prison, loaded with heavy irons, and confined to the condemned hole, a 
place cold, dark, and full of nastiness. Such
rigors were supposed to be exercised by orders from the secret committee of 
lords, particularly Shaftesbury and
Buckingham; who, in examining the prisoners, usually employed (as it is said, 
and indeed sufficiently proved) threatenings
and promises, rigor and indulgence, and every art, under pretence of' extorting 
the truth from them. Prance had not courage
to resist, but confessed himself an accomplice in Godfrey's murder. Being asked 
concerning the plot, he also thought proper
to be acquainted with it, and conveyed some intelligence to the council. Among 
other absurd circumstances, he said that one
Le Fevre bought a second-hand sword of him; because he knew not, as he said, 
what times were at hand; and Prance
expressing some concern for poor tradesmen, if such times came, Le Fevre 
replied, that it would be better for tradesmen if
the Catholic religion were restored; and particularly, that there would be more 
church work for silversmiths. All this
information, with regard to the plot as well as the murder of Godfrey, Prance 
solemnly retracted, both before the king and
the secret committee: but being again thrown into prison, he was induced, by new 
terrors and new sufferings, to confirm his
first information, and was now produced as a sufficient evidence. Hill, Green, 
and Berry were tried for Godfrey's murder; all
of them men of low stations. Hill was servant to a physician: the other two 
belonged to the Popish chapel at Somerset
House. It is needless to run over all the particulars of a long trial: it will 
be sufficient to say, that Bedloe's evidence and
Prance's were in many circumstances totally irreconcila ble; that both of them 
labored under unsurmountable diffi cylties, not
to say gross absurdities; and that they were inval idated by contrary evidence, 
which is altogether convincing vIo. Vr. 1" H 




Page 194 

194 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. But all was in vain: the prisoners were condemned and 
exe. cutCl. They all denied their
guilt at their execution; and as Berry died a Protestant, this circumstance was 
regarded as very considerable: but, instead of
its giving some check to the general credulity of the people, men were only 
surprised, that a Protestant could be induced at
his death to persist in so manifest a falsehood. As the army could neither be 
kept up nor disbanded without money, the king,
how little hopes soever he could entertain of more compliance, found himself 
obliged to summon a new parliament. The
blood already shed on account of the Popish plot, instead of satiating the 
people, served only as an incentive to their fury;
and each conviction of a criminal was hitherto regarded as a new proof of those 
horrible designs imputed to the Papists. This
election is perhaps the first in England, which, since the commencement of the 
monarchy, had. been carried on by a violent
contest between the parties, and where the court interested itself to a high 
degree in the choice of the national
representatives. But all its efforts were fruitless, in opposition to the 
torrent of prejudices which prevailed. Religion, liberty,
property, even the lives of men, were now supposed to be at stake; and no 
security, it was thought, except in a vigilant
parliament, could be found against the impious and bloody conspirators. Were 
there any part of the nation to which the
ferment, occasioned by the Popish plot, had not as yet propagated itself, the 
new elections, by interesting the whole people
in public concerns, tended to diffuse it into the remotest corner; and the 
consternation univer. sally excited proved an
excellent engine for influencing the electors. All the zealots of the former 
parliament were rechosen: new ones were added:
the Presbyterians, in particular, being transported with the most inveterate 
antipathy against Popery, were very active and
very successful in the elections. That party, it is said, first began at this 
time the abuse of splitting their freeholds, in order to
multiply votes and electors. By accounts which came from every part of England, 
it was concluded, that the new
representatives would, if possible, exceed the old in their refractory 
opposition to the court, and furious persecution of the
Catholics. The king was alarmed when he saw so dreadful a tempest arise from 
such small and unaccountable beginniiags.
His life, if Oates and Bedloe's information were true, had been aimed at by the 
Catholics: even the duke's was in danger' 




Page 195 

CHARLES II. 195 the higher, therefore, the rage mounted against Popery, the more 
should the nation have been reconciled
to these princes, in whom, it appeared, the church of Rome reposed no 
confidence. But there is a sophistry which attends all
the passions, especially those into which the populace enter. Men gave credit to 
the informers, so far as concerned the guilt
of the Catholics: but they still retained their old suspicions, that these 
religionists were secretly favored by the king, and had
obtained the most entire ascendant over his brother. Charles had too much 
penetration not to see the danger to which the
succession, and even his own crown and dignity, now stood exposed. A numerous 
party, he found, was formed against him:
on the one hand, composed of a populace, so credulous from prejudice, so blinded 
with religious antipathy, as implicitly to
believe the most palpable absurdities; and conducted, on the other hand, by 
leaders so little scrupulous, as to endeavor, by
encouraging perjury, subornation, lies, impostures, and even by shedding 
innocent blood, to gratify their own furious
ambition, and subvert all legal authority. Roused from' his lethargy by so 
imminent a peril, he began to exert that vigor of
mind, of which, on great occasions, he was not destitute; and without quitting 
in appearance his usual facility of temper, he
collected an industry, firmness, and vigilance, of which he was believed 
altogether incapable. These qualities, joined so
dexterity and prudence, conducted him happily through the many shoals which 
surrounded him; and he was at last able to
make the storm fall on the heads of those who had blindly raised or artfully 
conducted it. One chief step which the king took
towards gratifying and appeasing his people and parliament, was, desiring the 
duke to withdraw beyond sea, that no further
suspicion might remain of the influence of Popish counsels. The duke readily 
complied; but first required an order for that
purpose, signed by the king; lest his absenting himself should be interpreted as 
a proof of fear or of'guilt. He also desired,
that his brother should satisfy him, as well as the public, by a declaration of 
the illegitimacy of the duke of Monmouth. James,
duke of Monmouth, was the king's natural son by Lucy Walters, and born about ten 
years before the restoration. He
possessed all the qualities which could engage the affections of the populace; a 
distinguished valor, an affable address, a
thoughtless generosity, a graceful person. He rose still higher in the public 
favor, by reason of the universak 




Page 196 

196 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. hatred to which the duke, on account of lis religion, 
was exposed. Monmouth's capacity
was mean; l.is temper pliant: so that, notwithstanding his great popularity, he 
had never been dangerous, had he not implicitly
resigned himself to the guidance of Shaftesbury, a man of such a restless 
temper, such subtle wit, and such abandoned
principles. That daring poi. itician had flattered Monmouth with the hopes of 
succeeding to the crown. The story of a
contract of marriage, passed between the king and Monmouth's mother, and 
secretly kept in a certain black box, had been
industriously spread abroad, and was greedily received by the multitude. As the 
horrors of Popery still pressed harderon
them, they might be induced either to adopt that fiction, as they had already 
done many others more incredible, or to commit
open violation on the right of succession. And it would not be difficult, it was 
hoped, to persuade the king, who was
extremely fond of his son, to give him the preference above a brother, who, by 
his imprudent bigotry, had involved him in
such inextricable dif'ficulties. But Charles, in order to cut off all such 
expectations, as well as to remove the duke's
apprehensions, took care, in full council, to make a declaration of Monmouth's 
illegitimacy, and to deny all promise of
marriage with his mother. The duke, being gratified in so reasonable a re4uest, 
willingly complied with the king's desire, and
retired to Brussels. But the king soon found that, notwithstanding this precau. 
tion, notwithstanding his concurrence in the
prosecution of the 6pish plot, notwithstanding the zeal which he expressed, and 
even at this time exercised against the
Catholics, he had nowise obtained the confidence of his parliament. The 
refractory humor of the lower house appeared in
the first step which they took upon their assembling. It had ever been usual for 
the commons, in the election of their speaker,
to consult the inclinations of the sovereign; and even the long parliament, in 
i641, had not thought proper to depart from so
established a custom. The king now desired, that the choice should fall on Sir 
Thomas Meres: but Seymour, speaker to the
last parliament, was instantly called to the chair, by a vote which seemed 
unanimous. The king, when Seymour was
presented to him for his approbation, rejected him, and ordered the commons to 
proceed to a new choice.. A great flame
was excited.- The commons maintained, that the king's approbation was merely a 
matter of form, and that he could not, 




Page 197 

CHARLES II. 197 without giving a reason, reject the speaker chosen; the king, 
that, since he had the power of rejecting, he
might, if he pleased, keep the reason in his own breast. As the question had 
never before been started, it might seem difficult
to find princilples upoi which it could be decided.* By way of compromise, it 
was agreed to set aside both candidates.
Gregory, a lawyer, was chosen; and the election was ratified by the king. It has 
ever since been understood, that the choice
of the speaker lies in the house; but that the king retains the power of 
rejecting any person disagreeable to him. Seymour
was deemed a great enemy to Danby; and it was the influence of that nobleman, as 
commonly supposed, which had
engaged the king to enter into this ill-timed controversy with the commons. The 
impeachment, therefore, of Danby was on
that account the sooner revived; and it was maintained by the commons, that 
notwithstanding the intervening dissolution,
every part of that proceeding stood in the same condition in which it had been 
left by the last parliament; a pretension which,
though unusual, seems tacitly to have been yielded them. The king had beforehand 
had the precaution to grant a pardon to
Danby; and, in order to screen the chancellor from all attacks by the commons, 
he had taken the great seal into his own
hands, and had himself affixed it to the parchment. He told the parliament, 
that, as Danby had a6cted in every thing by his
orders, he was in no respect criminal; that his pardon, however, he would insist 
upon; and if it should be found anywise
defective in form, he would renew it again and again, till it should be rendered 
entirely complete; but that lie was resolved to
deprive him of all employments, and to remove him from court. The commons were 
nowise satisfied with this concession
They pretended, that no pardon of the crown could be pleaded in bar of an 
impeachment by the commons. The preroga.
tive of mercy had hitherto been understood to be altogether unlimited in the 
king; and this pretension of the commons, it must
be confessed, was entirely new. It was, however, not unsuitable to the genius of 
a monarchy strictly limited, where * In
1566, the speaker said to Queen Elizabeth, that without her allowance the 
election of the house was of no significance.
D'Ewes's Journal, p. 97. In the parliament 1592, 1593, the speaker, who was Sir 
Edward Coke, advances a like position.
D'Ewes, p. 459; Townshend, p. 35. So that this pretension of the commons seems 
to have been somewhat new; like many
of their other powers and privileges 17 




Page 198 

198 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. the king's ministers are supposed to be forever 
accountable to national assemblies, even
for such abuses of power as they may commit by orders from their master. The 
present emergence, while the nation was so
highly inflamed, was the proper time for pushing such popular claims; and the 
commons failed not to avail t':-mselves of this
advantage. They still insisted on the impeachment of Danby. The peers, in 
compliance with them, departed from their former
scruples, and ordered Danby to be taken into custody. Danby absconded. The 
commons passed a bill, appointing him to
surrender himself before a certain day, or, in default of it, attainting him. A 
bill had passed the upper house, mitigating the
penalty to banishment; but after some conferences, the peers thought proper to 
yield to the violence of the commons, and
the bill of attainder was carried. Rather than undergo such severe penalties, 
Danby appeared, and was immediately
committed to the Tower. While a Protestant nobleman met with such violent 
prosecution, it was not likely that the Catholics
would be overlooked by the zealous commons. The credit of the Popish plot still 
stood upon the oaths of a few infamous
witnesses. Though such immense preparations were supposed to have been made in 
the very bowels of the kingdom, no
traces of them, after the most rigorous inquiry, had as yet appeared. Though so 
many thousands, both abroad and at home,
had been engaged in the dreadful secret, neither hope, nor fear, nor remorse, 
nor levity, nor suspicions, nor private
resentment, had engaged any one to confirm the evidence. Though the Catholics, 
particulady the Jesuits, were represented
as guilty of the utmost indiscretion, insomuch that they talked of the king's 
murder as common news, and wrote of it in plain
terms by the common post, yet, among the great number of letters seized, no one 
contained any part of so complicated a
conspiracyThough the informers pretended that, even after they had resolved to 
betray the secret, many treasonable
commissions and papers had passed through their hands, they had not had the 
precaution to keep any one of them, in order
to fortify their evidence. But all these difficulties, and a thousand more, were 
not found too hard of digestion by the nation
and parliament. The prosecution and further discovery of the plot were still the 
object of general concern. The commons
voted, that, if the king should come to an untimely end, they would revenge his 
death upon the Papists; not reflecting that this
sect were not his only enemies. They promised rewards to new 




Page 199 

CHARLES II. 199 discoverers; not considering the danger which they incurred of 
granting bribes to perjury. They made
Bedloe a present of five hundred pounds; and particularly recommended the care 
of his safety to the duke of Monmouth.
Colonel Sackville, a member, having, in a private company, spoken opprooriously 
of those who affirmed that there was any
plot, was expelled the house. The peers gave power to their committees to send 
for and examine such as would maintain the
innocence of those who had been condemned for the plot. A pamphlet having been 
published to discredit the informers, and
to vindicate the Catholic lords in the Tower, these lords were required to 
discover the author, and thereby to expose their
own advocate to prosecution. And both houses concurred in renewing the former 
vote, that the Papists had undoubtedly
entered into a horrid and treasonable conspiracy against the king, the state, 
and the Protestant religion. It must be owned,
that this extreme violence, in prosecution of so absurd an imposture, disgraces 
the noble cause of liberty in which the
parliament was engaged. We may even conclude from such impatience of 
contradiction, that the prosecutors themselves
retained a secret suspicion, that the general belief was but ill grounded. The 
politicians among them were afraid to let in light,
lest it might put an end to so useful a delusion: the weaker and less dishonest 
party took care, by turning their eyvcs aside,
not to see a truth, so opposite to those furious pLassioUls by which they were 
actuated, and in which they were determined
obstinately to persevere. Sir William Temple had lately been recalled from his 
foreign employments; and the king, who, after
the removal of Danby, had no one with whom he could so much as discourse with' 
freedom of public affairs, was resolved,
upon Coventry's dismission, to make him one of his secretaries of state. But 
that philosophical patriot, too little interested for
the intrigues of a court, too full of spleen and delicacy for the noisy 
turbulence of popular assemblies, was alarmed at the
universal discontents and jealousies which prevailed, and was determined to make 
his retreat, as soon as possible, from a
scene which threatened such confusion. Meanwhile, he could not refuse the 
confidence with which his master honored him;
and he resolved to employ it to the public service. He represented to the king, 
that, as the jealousies of the nation were
extreme, it was necessary to cure them by some new remedy, and to restore that 
mutual confidence, so requisite for the 




Page 200 

200 HISTORY OF, ENGLAND. safety both of king and people: that to refuse every 
thing to the parliament in their present
disposition, or to yield every thing, was equally dangerous to the constitution 
as well as to public tranquillity: that if the king
would introduce into his councils such men as. enjoyed the confidence of his 
people, fewer concessions would probably be
required; or, if unreasonable demands were mnade, the king, under the sanction 
of such counsellors, might be eniabled, with
the greater safety, to refuse them: and that the heads of the popular party, 
being gratified with the king's favor, would
probably abate of that 1violence by which they endeavored at present to pay 
court to the multitude. The king assented to
these reasons; and, in concert with Temple, he laid the plan of a new privy 
council, without whose advice he declared
himself determined for the future to take no measure of importance. This council 
was to consist of thirty persons, and was
never to exceed that number. Fifteen of the chief officers of the crown were to 
be continued, who, it was supposed, would
adhere to the king, and, in case of any extremity, oppose the exorbitancies of 
faction. The other half of the council was to be
composed, either of men of character, detached from the court, or of those who 
possessed chief credit in both houses. And
the king, in filling up the names of his new council, was well pleased to find, 
that the members, in land and offices, possessed
to the amount of three hundred thousand pounds a year.; a sum nearly equal to 
the whole property of the house of
commons, against whose violence the new council was intended as a barrier to the 
throne.* This experiment was tried, and
seemed at first to give some satisfaction to the public. The earl of Essex, a 
nobleman of the popular party, son of that Lord
Capel who had been beheaded a little after the late king, was created treasurer 
in the room of Danby: the earl of
Sunderland, a man of intrigue * Their names were:'Prince Rupert, the archbishop 
of CanterLury. Lord Finch, chancellor, earl
of Shaftesbury, president, earl of Allglesea, privy seal, duke of 
AlbeMrarle,.duke of aMonmouth, duke of Ne w. castle,
duke of Lauderdale, duke of Ormond, marquis of Winchester marquis of Worcester, 
earl of Arlington, earl of Salisbury, earl
of Bridgewater, earl of Sunderland, earl of Essex, earl of Bath, Viscount 
Fauconberg, Viscount Halifax, bishop of London,
Lord Robarts, Lord Hollis; Lord Russel, Lord Cavendish, Secretary Coventry, Sir 
Francis North, chief justice, Sir Henry
Capel, Sir John Ernley, Sir Thomas Chicheley, Sir William Temple, Edward-
Seymour, Hanry Powle, 




Page 201 

CHARLES UI. 201 and capacity, was made secretary of state: Viscount Halif~ax, a 
finie genius, possessed of learning,
eloquence, industry, but subject to inquietude, and fond of refinements, was 
admitted ir.to the council. These three, together
with Temple, who often joined them, though he kept himself more detached from 
public business, formed a kind of cabinet
council, from which all affairs received their first digestion. Shaftesbury was 
made president of the council; contrary to the
advice of Temple, who foretold the consequences of admitting a man of so 
dangerous a character into any part of the public
administration. As Temple foresaw, it happened. Shaftesbury, finding that he 
possessed no more than the appearance of
court favor, was re!,olved still to adhere to the popular party, by whose 
attachmlent he enjoyed an undisputed superiority in
the lower house, and possessed great influence in the other. The very appearance 
of court favor, empty as it was, tended to
render him more dangerous. His partisans, observing the progress which he had 
already made, hoped that he would- soon
acquire the entire ascendant; and he constantly flattered them, that if they 
persisted in their purpose, the king, from indolence,
and necessity, and fondness for Monmouth, would at last be induced, even at the 
expense of his brother's right, to make
them every concession. Besides, the antipathy to Popery, as well as jealousy of 
the king and duke, had taken too fast
possession of men's minds, to be removed by so feeble a remedy as this new 
council projected by Temple. The commons,
soon after the establishment of that council, proceeded so far as to vote 
unanimously, "That the duke of York's being a
Papist, and the hopes of his coming to the crown, had given the highest 
countenance to the present conspiracies and designs
of the Papists against the king and the Protestant religion." It was -expected, 
that a bill for excluding him the throne would
soon be brought in. To prevent this bold measure, the king concerted some 
limitations, which he proposed to the parliament.
He introduced his plan by the following gracious expressions: "And to show you 
that, while you are doing your parts, my
thoughts have not been misemployed, but that it is my constant care to do every 
thing that may preserve your religion, and
secure it for the future in all events; I have'commanded my lord chant cellor to 
mention several particulars, which, I hope, will
be an evidence that, in all things which concern the public secu. rity, I shall 
not follow yown zeal, but lead it." 




Page 202 

202 HISTORY'OF ENGLAND. The limitations projected were of the utmost importance, 
and deprived the successor of
the chief branches of royalty. A method was there chalked out, by which the 
nation, on every new reign, could be insured of
having a parliament which the king should, not, for a certain time, have it in 
his power to dissolve. In case of a Popish
successor, the prince was to forfeit the right of conferring any ecclesiastical 
preferments: no member of the privy council, no
judge of the common law or in chancery, was to be put in or displaced but by 
consent of parliament: and the same
precaution was extended to the military part of the government; to the lord 
lieutenants and deputy lieutenants of the counties,
and to all officers of the navy. The chancellor of himself added, " It is hard 
to invent another restraint; considering how much
the revenue will depend upon the consent of parliament, and how impossible it is 
to raise money without such consent. But
yet, if any thing else can occur to the wisdom of parliament, which may further 
secdre religion and liberty against a Popish
successor, with )ut defeating the right of succession itself, his majesty will 
readily consent to it." It is remarkable, that, when
these limitations were first laid before the council, Shaftesbury and Temple 
were the only members who argued against them.
The reasons which they employed were diametrically opposite. Shaftesbury's 
opinion was, that the restraints were
insufficient; and that nothing but the. total exclusion of the duke could give a 
proper security to the kingdom. Temple, on the
other hand, thought, that the restraints were so rigorous as even to subvert the 
constitution; and that shackles put upon a
Popish successor woild not afterwards be easily cast off by a Protestant. It is 
certain, that the duke was extremely alarmed
when he heard of this step taken by the king, and that he was better pleased 
even with the bill Of exclusion itself, which, he
thought, by reason of its violence and injustice, could never possibly be 
carried into execution. There is also reason to
believe, that the king would not have gone so far, had he not expected, from the 
extreme fury of the commons, that
his'concessions would be rejected, and that the blame of not forming a 
reasonable accommodation would by that means lie
entirely at their door. It soon appeared that Charles had entertained a just 
opinion of the dispositions of the house. So much
were the commons actuated by the cabals of Shaftesbury and other male. contents, 
such violent antipathy prevailed against
P'o?-r-, 




Page 203 

CHARLES It. 203 the king's concessions, though much more important than could 
reasonably have been expected, were
not embraced. A bill was brought in for the total exclusion of the duke from the 
crown of England and Ireland. It was there
declared, that the sovereignty of these kingdoms, upon the king's death or 
resignation, should devolve to the person next in
succession after the duke; that all acts of royalty which that prince should 
afterwards perform, should not only be void, but
be deemed treason; that if he so much as entered any of these dominions, he 
should be deemed guilty of the same offence;
and that all who supported his title should be punished as rebels and traitors. 
This important bill, which implied banishment as
well as exclusion, passed the lower house by a majority of seventy-nine. The 
commons were not so wholly employed about
the exclusion bill as to overlook all other securities to liberty. The country 
party, during all- the last parliament, had much
exclaimed against the bribery and corruption of the members; and the same 
reproach had been renewed against the present
parliament. An inquiry was made into a complaint which was so dangerous to the 
honor of that assembly; but very little
foundation was found for it. Sir Stephen Fox, who was the paymaster, confessed 
to the house, that nine members received
pensions to the amount of three thousand four hundred pounds; and after a 
rigorous inquiry by a secret committee, eight
more pensioners were discovered. A sum also, about twelve thousand pounds, had 
been occasionally given or lent to
others. The writers of that age pretend, that Clifford and Danby had adopted 
opposite maxims with regard to pecuniary
influence. The former endeavored to gain the leaders and orators of the house, 
and deemed the others of no consequence.
The latter thought it sufficient to gain the majority, however composed. It is 
likely, that the means, rather than the intention,
were wanting to both these minIsters. Pensions and bribes, though it be 
difficult entirely to exclude them, are dangerous
expedients for government; and cannot be too carefully guarded against, nor too 
vehemently decried, by every one who has
a regard to the virtue and liberty of a nation. The influence, however, which 
the crown acquires from the disposal of places,
honors, and preferments, is to be esteemed of a different nature. This engine of 
power may decome too forcible, but it
cannot altogether be abolished 




Page 204 

204 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. without the'total destruction of monarchy, and even of 
all regular authority. But the
commons at this time were so jealous of the crown, that they brought in a bill, 
which was twice read, excluding from the
lower house all who possessed any ucrative office.'The standing army and tne 
king's guards were by the commons voted to
be illegal; a new pretension, it must be confessed, but necessary for the full 
security of liberty and a limited constitution.
Arbitrary imprisonment is a grievance which, in some de. gree, has place almost 
in every government, except in that of Great
Britain; aridl nur absolute security from it we owe chiefly to the presteat 
parliament; a merit, which makes some atonement
for the faction and violence into which their prejudices had, in other 
particulars, betrayed them. The Great Charter had laid
the foundation of this valuable part of liberty; the petition of right had 
renewed and extended it; but some provisions were still
wanting to render it complete, and prevent all evasion or delay from ministers 
and judges. The act of habeas corpus, which
passed this session, served these purposes. By this act, it was prohibited to 
send any one to a prison beyond sea. No judge,
under severe penalties, must refuse to any prisoner a writ of habeas corpus, by 
which the jailer was directed to produce in
court the body of the prisoner, (whence the writ has its name,) and to certify 
the cause of his detainer and imprisonment. If
the jail lie within twenty miles of the judge, the writ must be obeyed in three 
days; and so proportionably for greater
distances. Every prisoner must be indicted the first term after his commitment, 
and brought to trial in the subsequent term.
And no man, after being-enlarged by order of court, can be recommitted for the 
same offence. This law seems necessary for
the protection,of liberty in a mixed monarchy; and as it has not place in any 
other form of government, this consideration
alone may induce us to prefer our present constitution to all others. It must, 
however, be confessed, that there is some
difficulty to reconcile with such extreme liberty the full securityand the 
regular police of a state, especially the police of great
cities. It may also be doubted, whether the low state of the public revenue in 
this period, and of the military power. did rnL
still render some discretionary authority in the crown.necessary to the support 
of government. During these zealous efforts
for the protection of liberty. no 




Page 205 

CHARLES U. 20S complaisance for the crown was discovered by this parliament. The 
king's revenue lay under great debts
and anticipations: those branches granted in the years 1669 and 1670 were ready 
to expire. And the fleet was represented
by the king as in great decay and disorder. But the commons, instead of being 
affected by these distresses of the crown,
trusted chiefly to them for passing the exclusion bill, and for punishing and 
displacing all the ministers who were obnoxious to
them. They were therefore in no haste to relieve the king; and grew only the 
more assuming on account of his complaints and
uneasiness. Jealous, however, of the army, they granted the sum of two hundred 
and six thousand pounds, which had been
voted for disbanding it by the last parliament; though the vote, by reason of 
the subsequent prorogation and dissolution,
joined to some,scruples of the lords, had not been carried into an act. This 
money was appropriated by very strict clauses;
but the commons insisted not, as formerly, upon its being paid into the chamber 
of London. The impeachment of the five
Popish lords in the Tower, with that of the earl of Danby, was carried on with 
vigor. The power of this minister, and his
credit with the king, rendered him extremely obnoxious to the popular leaders; 
and the commons hoped that, if he were
pushed t6 extremity, he would be obliged, in order to justify his own conduct, 
to lay open the whole intrigue of the French
alliance, which they suspected to contain a secret of the most dangerous nature. 
The king, on his part, apprehensive of the
same consequences, and desirous to protect his minister, who was become criminal 
merely by obeying orders, employed his
whole interest to support the validity of that pardon which had been granted 
llim. The lords appointed a day for the
examination of the question, and agreed to hear counsel on both sides: but the 
commons would not submit their pretensions
to the discussion of argu. ment and inquiry. They voted, that whoever should 
presume, without their leave, to maintain before
the house of peers the validity of Danby's pardon, should be accounted a 
betrayer of the liberties of the English commons.
And they made a demand, that the bishops, whom thev knew to be devoted to the 
court, should be removed, not only when
the trial of the earl should commence, but also when the validity of his par. 
don should be discussed. The bishops before the
reformation had always enjoyed seat in parliament: but so far were they 
anciently fron vor vI 18 H 




Page 206 

206 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. regarding that dignity as a privilege, that they 
affected rather to form a separate order in
the state, independent of the civil magistrate, and accountable only.to the pope 
and to their own order. By the constitutions,
however, of Clarendon, enacted during the reign of Henrv II., they were obliged 
to give their presence in parliament; but as
the canon law prohibited theml from assisting in capital trials, they were 
allowed in such cases the privilege of absenting
themselves. A practice which was at first voluntary, became afterwards a rule; 
and on the earl of Strafford's trial, the
bishops, who would gladly have attended, and who were no longer bound by the 
canon law, were yet obliged to withdraw.
It had been usual for them to enter a protest, asserting their right to sit; and 
this protest, being considered as a mere form,
was always admitted and disregarded. But here was started a new question of no 
small importance. The commons, who
were now enabled, by the violence of the people, and the necessities of the 
crown, to make new acquisitions of powers and
privileges, insisted, that the bishops had no more title to vote in the question 
of the earl's pardon than in the impeachment
itself. The bishops asserted, that the pardon was merely a preliminary; and 
that, neither by the canon law nor the practice of
parliament, were they ever obliged, in capital cases, to withdraw till the very 
commencement of the trial itself. If their
absence were considered as a privilege, which was its real origin, it depended 
on their own choice how far they would insist
upon it. If regarded as a diminution of their right of peerage, such unfavorable 
customs ought never to be extended beyond
the very circumstance established by them; and all arguments, from a pretended 
parity of reason, were in that case of little or
no authority. The house of lords was so much influenced by these reasons, that 
they admitted the bishops' right to vote,
when the validity of the pardon should be examined. The commons insisted still 
on their withdrawing; and thus a quarrel
being commenced between the two houses, the king, who expected nothing but fresh 
instances of violence from this
parliament, began to entertain thoughts of laying hold of so favorable a 
pretence, and of finishing the session by a
prorogation. While in this disposition, he was alarmed with sudden intelligence, 
that the house of commons was preparing a
remonstrance, in order to inflame the nation still further upon the favorite 
topics of the plot and of Popery. He hastened,
therefore, to execute his intention, even without consulting his new council, by 
whose 




Page 207 

CHARLES II. 207 advice he had promised to regulate his whole conduct. And thus 
were disappointed all the projects of
the malecontents, who were extremely enraged at this vigorous measure of the 
king's. Shaftesbury publicly threatened, that
he would have the head of whoever had advised it. The parliament was soon after 
dissolved without advice of council; and
writs were issued for a new parliament. The king was willing to try every means 
which gave a prospect of more compliance
in his subjects; and, in case of failure, the blame, he hoped, would lie on 
those whose obstinacy forced him to extremities.
But even during the recess of parliament, there was no interruption to the 
prosecution of the Catholics accused of the plot:
the king found himself obliged to give way to this popular fury. Whitebread, 
provincial of the Jesuits, Fenwick, Gavan,
Turner, and Harcourt, all of them of the same oruer, were first brought to their 
trial. Besides Oates and Beckoe, Dugdale, a
new witness, appeared against the prisoners. This man had been steward to Lord 
Aston, and, though poor, possessed a
character, somewhat more reputable than the other two: but his account of the 
intended massacres and assassinations was
equally monstrous and incredible. He even asserted, that two hundred thousand 
Papists in England were ready to take arms.
The prisoners proved by sixteen witnesses from St. Omers, students, and most of 
them young men of family, that Oates was
in that seminary at the time when he swore that he was in London: but as they 
were Catholics and disciples of the Jesuits,
their testimony, both with the judges and jury, was totally disregarded. Even 
the reception which they met with in the court
was full of outrage and mockery. One of them saying, that Oates always continued 
at St. Omers, if he could believe his
senses, "You Papists," said the chief justice, "are taught not to believe your 
senses." It must be confessed that Oates, in
opposition to the students of St. Omers, found means to bring evidence of his 
having been at that time in London: but this
evidence, though it had at that time the appearance of some solidity, was 
afterwards discovered, when Oates himself was
tried for perjury, to be altogether deceitful In order further to discredit that 
witness, the Jesuits- proved, by undoubted
testimony, that he had perj Ired himself in Father Ireland's trial, whom they 
showed to have been in Staffordsh'ire at the very
time when Oates swore that he was committing treason in London. But all these 
pleas availed them nothing against the
general prejudice, They received sentence of 




Page 208 

208 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. death; and were executed, persisting to their last 
breath ir the most solemn, earnest, and
deliberate, though disregarded, protestations of their innocence. The next trial 
was that of Langhorne, an eminent lawyer, by
whom all the concerns of the Jesuits were manalged. Oatcs and Bedloe swore, that 
all the Papal commissions by which the
chief offices in England were filled-with Catholics, passed through his hands. 
When verdict was given against tile prisoner,
the spectators expressed their savage joy by loud 2a clarnations. So high indeed 
had the popular rage mounted, that the
witnesses for this unhappy man, on approaching the court, were almost torn in 
pieces by the rabble: one in particular was
bruised to such a degree, as to put his life in danger. And another, a woman, 
declared that, unless the court could afford her
protection, she durst not give evidence: but as the judges could go no further 
than promise to pmrnish such as should do her
any injury, the prisoner himself had the humanity to waive her testimony. So far 
the informers had proceeded with success:
their accusation was hitherto equivalent to a sentence of death. The first check 
which they received was on the trial of Sir
George Wakeman, the queen's physician, whom they accused of an intention to 
poison the king. It was a strong
circumstance in favor of Wakeman, that Oates, in his first information before 
the council, had accused him only upon
hearsay; and when asked by the chancellor, whether he had any thing further to 
charge him with, he added," God forbid I
should say any thing against Sir George; for I know nothing more against him." 
On the trial he gave positive evidence of the
prisoner's guilt. There were many. other circumstances which favored Wakeman: 
but what chiefly contributed to his
acquittal, was the connection of his cause with that of the queen, whom no one, 
even during the highest prejudices of the
times, could sincerely believe guilty. The great importance of the trial made 
men recollect themselves, and recall that good
sense and humanity which seemed, during some time, to have abandoned the nation. 
The chief justice hilnself, who had
hitherto favored the witnesses, exaggerated the plot, and railed against the 
prisoners, was observed to be considerably
mollified, and to give a favorable charge to the jury. Oates and Bedloe had the 
assurance to attack him to his face, and even
to accuse him of partiality before the council. The whole party, who had 
formerly much extolled his conduct, now made 




Page 209 

CHARLES II. 209 him the object of their resentment. Wakeman's acquittal was 
indeed a sensible mortification to the
furious prosecutors of the plot, and fixed an indelible stain upon the 
witnesses. But Wakeman, after he recovered his liberty,
finding himself exposed to such inveterate enmity, and being threatened with 
furtner prosecutions, thought it prudent to retire
beyond sea: and his flight was interpreted as a proof of guilt, by those who 
were still resolved to persist in the belief of the
conspiracy. The great discontents in England, and the refractory disposition of 
the parliament, drew the attention of the
Scottish Covenanters. and gave them a prospect of some time putting an end to 
those oppressions under which they had so
long labored. It was suspected to have been the policy of Lauderdale and his 
associates to push these unhappy men to
extremities, and foice them into rebellion, with a view of reaping profit from 
the forfeitures and attainders which would easue
upon it. But the Covenanters, aware of this policy, had hitherto forborne all 
acts of hostility; and that tyrannical minister had
failed of his purpose. An incident at last happened, which brought on an 
insurrection in that country. The Covenanters were
much enraged against Sharpe, the primate, whom they considered as an apostate 
from their principles, and whom they
experienced to be an unrelenting persecutor of all those who dissented from the 
established worship. He had an officer
under him, one Carmichael, no less zealous than himself against conventicles, 
and who, by his violent prosecutions, had
rendered himself extremely obnoxious to the fanatics. A company of' these had 
waylaid him on the road near St. Andrews,
with an intention, if not of killing him, at least of chastising him so severely 
as would afterwards render him more cautious in
persecuting the nonconformists.* While looking out for their prey, they were 
surprised at seeing the archbishop's coach pass
by; and they immediately interpreted this incident as a declaration of the 
secret purpose of Providence against him. But when
they observed that almost all his servants, by some accident, were absent, they 
no longer doubted, but Heaven had here
delivered their capital enemy into their hands. Without further deliberation, 
they fell upon him; dragged hiA from his coach;
tore * Wodrow's History, of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland, vol. ii. 
p. 23. 18* 




Page 210 

210 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. him from the arms of his daughter, who interposed with 
cries and tears; and piercing him
with redoubled wounds, left him dead on the spot, and immediately dispersed 
themselves. This atrocious action served the
ministry as a pretence for a more violent persecution against the fanatics, on 
whom, without distinction, they threw the guilt of
those furious assassins. It is indeed certain, that the murder of Sharpe had 
excited a universal joy among the Covenanters;
and that their blind zeal had often led themi in their books and sermons, to 
praise and recommend the assassination of their
enemies, whom they considered as the enemies of all true piety and godliness. 
The stories of Jael and Sisera, of Ehud and
Eglon, resounded from every pulpit. The officers quartered in the west received 
more strict orders to find out and disperse
all conventicles; and for that reason the Covenanters, instead of meeting in 
small bodies, were obliged to celebrate their
worship in numnerous assemblies, and to bring arms for their security. At 
Rutherglen, a small borough near Glasgow, they
openly set forth a declaration against prelacy; and in the market place burned 
several acts of parliament and acts of council,
which had established that mode of ecclesiastical government, and had prohibited 
conventicles. For this insult on the
supreme authority, they purposely chose the twentyninth of May, the anniversary 
of the restoration; and previously
extinguished the bonfires which had been kindled for that solemnity. Captain 
Graham, afterwards Viscount Dundee, an
active and enterprising officer, attacked a great conventicle upon Loudon Hill, 
and was repulsed with the loss of thirty men.
The Covenanters, finding that they were unwarily involved in such deep guilt, 
were engaged to persevere, and to seek, from
their valor and fortune alone, for that indemnity which the severity of the 
goyernment left them no hopes of ever being able
otherwise to obtain. They pushed on to Glasgow; and though at first repulsed, 
they afterwards made themselves masters of
that city; dispossessed the established clergy; and:ssued proclamations, in 
which they declared, that they fought against the
king's suitemacy, against Popery and prelacy, and, against a Popish successor. 
How accidental soever this insurrection might
appear, there is reason to suspect that some great men, in combination with the 
populat leaders in England, had secretly
instigated the 




Page 211 

CHARLES II. 211 Covenanters to proceed to such extremities,* and hoped for the 
same effects that had forty years before
ensued from the disorders in Scotland. The king also, apprehensive of like 
consequences, immediately despatched thither
Monmouth with a small body of English cavalry. That nobleman joined to these 
troops the Scottish guards, and some
regiments of militia, levied from the well-affected counties; and with great 
celerity marched in quest of the rebels. They had
taken post near Bothwell Castle, between Hamilton and Glasgow, where there was 
no access to them but over a bridge,
which a small body was able to defend against the king's forces. They showed 
judgment in tne choice of their post, but
discovered neither judgment nor valor in any 6ther step of their conduct. No 
nobility and few gentry had joined them: the
clergy were in reality the generals; and the whole army never exceeded eight 
thousand men. Monmouth attacked the bridge;
and the body of rebels who defended it maintained their post as long as their 
ammunition lasted. When they sent for more,
they received orders to quit their ground, and to retire backwards. This 
imprudent measure occasioned an immediate defeat
to the Covenanters. Monmouth passed the bridge without opposition, and drew up 
his forces opposite to the enemy. His
cannon alone put them to rout. About seven hundred fell in the pursuit; for, 
properly speaking, there was no action. Twelve
hundred were taken prisoners; and were treated by Monmouth with a humanity which 
they had never experienced in their
own countrymen. Such of them as would promise to live peaceably were dismissed. 
About three hundred, who were so
obstinate as to refuse this easy condition, were shipped for Barbadoes; but 
unfortunately perished in the voyage. Two of
their clergy were hanged. Monmouth was of a generous disposition; and, besides, 
aimed at popularity in Scotland. The king
intended to intrust the government of that kingdom in his hands. He had married-
a Scottish lady, heir of a great family, and
allied to all the chief nobility. And Lauderdale, as he was now declining in his 
parts, and was much decayed in his memory,
began to lose with the king that influence Which he had maintained during so 
many years, notwithstanding the efforts of his
numerous enemies both in Scotland and England, and notwithstanding the many 
violent and tyrannical actions of which he
had been * Algernon Sidney's Letters, p. 90. 




Page 212 

212 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. guilty. Even at present, he retained so much influence 
as to poison all the good intentions
which the king, either of hiln self or by Monmouth's suggestion, had formed with 
regard to Scotland. An act of indemnity
was granted; but Lauderdale took care that it should be so worded, as rather to 
afford protection to himself and his
associates, than to the unhappy Covenanters. And though orders were given to 
connive thenceforwards at all conventicles,
he found means, under a variety of pretences, to elude the execution of them. It 
must be owned, however, to his praise, that
he was the chief person who, by his counsel, occasioned the expeditious march of 
the forces and the prompt orders given to
Monrnouth; and thereby disappointed all the expectations of the English 
malecontents, who, reflecting on the disposition of
men's minds in both kingdoms, had entertained great.hopes from the progress of 
the Scottish insurrection. 




Page 213 

CHARLES II. 213 CHAPTER LXVIII. CHARLES II. [1679.] THE king, observing that the 
whole nation con. curred at
first ill the belief and prosecution of the Popish plot, had found it necessary 
for his own safety to pretend, in all public
speeches and transactions, an entire belief and acquiescence in that famous 
absurdity; and by this artifice he had eluded the
violent and irresistible torrent of the people. When a little time and 
recollection, as well as the exkecution of the pretended
conspirators, had somewhat moderated the general fury, he was now enabled to 
form a considerable party, devoted to the
interests of the crown, and determined to oppose the pretensions of the 
malecontents. In every mixed government, such as
that of England, the bulk of the nation will always incline to preserve the 
entire frame of the constitution; but according to the
various prejudices, interests, and dispositions of men, some will ever attach 
themselves with more passion to the regal,
others to the popular part of the government. Though the king, after his 
restoration, had endeavored to abolish the distinction
of parties, and had chosen his ministers from among all denominations, no sooner 
had he lost his popularity, and exposed
himself to general jealousy, than he found it necessary to court the old 
cavalier party, and to promise them full compensation
for that neglect of which they had hitherto complained. The p"eosent emergence 
made it still more necessary for him to apply
for their support; and there were many circumstances which determined them, at 
this time, to fly to the assistance of the
crown, and to the protection of the royal family. A party strongly attached to 
monarchy will naturally be jealous of the right
of succession, by which alone they believe stability to be preserved in the 
government, and a barrier fixed against the
encroachments of popular assemblies. The project, openly embraced, of 
excluding'the duke, appeared to that party a
dangerous innovation: and the design, secretly projected, of advancing Monmouth, 
made them apprehensive 




Page 214 

214 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. lest the inconveniencies of a disputed succession should 
be propagated to all posterity.
While the jealous lovers of lib erty maintained, that a king, whose title 
depended on the parliament, would naturally be more
attentive to the interests, at least to the humors of the people, the passionate 
admirers of monarchy considered all
dependence as a degradation of kingly government, and a great step towards the 
establishimrent of a commonwealth in
England. But though his union with the political royalists brought great 
accession of force to the kiog,,.he derived no less
support from the confederacy which he had at this time the address to form with 
the church of England. He represented to
the ecclesiastics the great number of Presbyterians and other sectaries, who had 
entered into the popular party; the en.
couragement and favor which they met with; the loudness of their cries with 
regard to Popery and arbitrary power. And 1e
made the established clergy and their adherents apprehend, that the old scheme 
for the abolition of prelacy as well as
monarchy was revived, and that the same miseries and oppressions awaited them, 
to which, during the civil wars and
usurpations, they had so long been exposed. The memory also of those dismal 
times united many indifferent and impartial
persons to the crown, and begat a dread lest the zeal for liberty should ingraft 
itself on fanaticism, and should once more
kindle a civil war in the kingdom. Had not the king still retained the 
prerogative of dissolving the parliament, there was indeed
reason to apprehend the renewal of all the pretensions and violences which had 
ushered in the last commotions. The one
period appeared an exact counterpart to the other: but still discerning judges 
could perceive, both in the spirit of the parties
and in the genius of the prince, a material difference; by means of which 
Charles was enabled at last, though with the
imminent peril of liberty, to preserve the pe.ce of the nation. The cry against 
Popery was loud; but it proceeded less from
religious than from party zeal, in those who propagated, and even in those who 
adopted it. The spirit of enthusiasm had
occasioned so much mischief, and had been so successfully exploded, that it was 
not possible, by any artifice, again to
revive and support it. Cant had been ridiculed, hypocrisy detected; the 
pretensions to a more thorough reformation, and to
greater purity, had become suspicious; and instead of de. nominating themselves 
the godly party, the appellation affected 




Page 215 

CHARLES II. 215 at the beginning of the civil wars, the present patriots were 
content with calling-themselves the good and
the honest party; * a sure prognostic that their measures were not to be so 
furious nor their pretensions so exorbitant. The
king too, though not endowed with the integrity and strict principles of. his 
father, was happy in a more amiable manner and
more popular address. Far from being distant stately, or reserved, he had not a 
grain of pride or vanity in his whole
composition;t but was the most affable, best bred man alive. He treated his 
subjects like noblemen, like gentlemen, like
freemen; not like vassals or boors. His professions were plausible, his whole 
behavior engaging; so that he won upon the
hearts, even while he lost the good opinion of his subjects, and often balanced 
their judgment of things by their personal
inclination. t In his public conduct likewise, though he had sometimes embraced 
measures dangerous to the liberty and
religion of his people, he had never been found to persevere obstinately in 
them, but had always returned into that path
which their united opinion seemed to point out to him. And upon the whole, it 
appeared to many cruel, and even iniquitous,
to remark too rigorously the failings of a prince who discovered so much 
facility in correcting his errors, and so much lenity
in pardoning the offences committed against himself. The general affection borne 
the king appeared signally about this time.
He fell sick at Windsor; and had two or three fits of a fever, so violent as 
made his life be thought in danger. A general
consternation seized all ranks of men, increased by the apprehensions 
entertained of his successor. In the present disposition
of men's minds, the king's death, to use an expression of Sir William Temple,~ 
was regarded as the end of the world. The
malecontents, it was feared, would proceed to extremities, and immediately 
kindle a civil war in the kingdom. Either their
entire success, or entire failure, or even the balance and contest of parties, 
seemed all of them events equally fatal. The king's
chief counsellors, therefore, Essex, Halifax, and Sunderland, who stood on bad 
terms with Shaftesbury and the popular
party, advised him to send secretly for the duke, that, in case of any sinister 
accident, that prince might be ready to assert his
right against the opposition which * Temple, vol. i. p. 335. t Temple, vol. i. 
p. 449 t Dissertation on Parties, etter vii. ~ Vol i.
p. 342. 




Page 216 

216 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. he was likely to meet with. When the duke arrived, he 
found his brother out of danger;
and it was agreed to conceal the invitation which he had received. His journey, 
however, was attended with important
consequences. He prevailed on the king to disgrace Monmouth, whose projects were 
now known and avowed; to deprive
him of his command in the armnly; and to send him beyond sea. He himself 
returned to Brussels; but made a short stay in
that place. He obtained leave to retire to Scotland, under pretence still of 
quieting the apprehensions of the English nation;
but in reality with a view of securing that kingdom in his interests. Though 
Essex and Halifax had concurred in the resolution
of inviting over the duke, they soon found that they had not obtained his 
confidence, and that even the king, while he made
use of their service, had no sincere regard for their persons. Essex in disgust 
resigned the treasury: Halifax retired to his
country seat: Temple, despairing of any accommodation among such enraged 
parties, withdriw almnost entirely to his books
and his gardens. The king, who changed ministers as well as measures with great 
indifference, bestowed at this time his chief
confidence on Hyde, Sunderlatid, and Godolphin. Hyde succeeded Essex in the 
treasury. All the king's ministers, as well as
himself, were extremely averse to the meetirrg of the new parliament, which. 
they expected to find as refractory as any of the
preceding. The elections had gone mostly in favor of the country party. The 
terrors of the plot had still a mighty influence
over the populace; and the apprehensions of the duke's bigoted principles and 
arbitrary character weighed with men of
sense and reflection. The king therefore resolved to prorogue the parliament, 
that he might try whether time would allay
those humors, which, by every.other expedient, he had in vain attempted to 
mollify. In this measure he did not expect the
concurrence of his council. He knew that those popular leaders, whom he had 
admitted, would zealously oppose a
resolution which disconcerted all their schemes; and that the royalists 
would'not dare, by supporting it, to expose themselves
to the vengeance of the parliament, when it should be assembled. These reasons 
obliged him to take this step entirely of
himself; and he only declared his resolution in council. It is remarkable that, 
though the king had made profession never to
embrace any measure without the advice of these counsellors, he had often broken 
that resolution, and had been
necessitated, ip 




Page 217 

CHARLES II. 217 affairs of the greatest consequence, to control their opinion. 
Many of them in disgust threw up about this
time; particularly Lord Russel, the most popular man in the nation, as well from 
the mildness and integrity of his character, as
from- his zealous attachment to the religion and liberties of his country. 
Though carried into some excesses, his intentions
were ever esteemed upright; and being heirto the greatest fortune in the 
kingdom, as well as void of ambition, men believed
that nothing but the last necessity could ever engage him to em btrace any 
desperate measures. Shaftesbury, who was, in
most particulars, of an opposite character, was removed by the king from the 
office of president of the council; and the earl
of Radnor, a ran who possessed whimsical talents and splenetic virtues, was 
substituted in his place. It was the favor and
countenance of the parliament which had chiefly encouraged the rumor of plots; 
but the nation had gotten so much into that
vein of credulity, and every necessitous villain was so much incited by the 
success of Oates and Bedloe, that even during the
prorogation the people were not allowed to remain in tranquillity. There was one 
Dangerfield, a fellow who had been burned
in the hand for crimes, transported, whipped, pilloried four times, fined for 
cheats, outlawed for felony, convicted of coining;
anrd exposed to all the public infamy which the laws could inflict on -the 
basest arnd most shameful enormities. The credulity
of the people, and the humor of the times, enabled even this man to become a 
person of consequence. He was the author of
a new iincident, called the meal-tub plot, from the place where some napers 
relating to it were found. The bottom of this
affair it is difficult and not very material to discover. It only appears, that 
Dangerfield, under pretence of betraying the
conspiracies of the Presbyterians, had been countenanced by some Catholics of 
condition, and had even been admitted to
the duke's presence and the king's; and that under pretense of revealing r,aw 
Popish plots, he had obtained access to
Shaftesbury and some of the popular leaders. Which side he intended to cheat, is 
uncertain; or whether he did not rather
mean to cheat both: but he soon found, that the belief of the nation was more 
open to a Popish than a Presbyterian plot; and
he resolved to strike in with the prevailing humor.'hough no weight could be 
laid on his testimony, great clamor was raised;
as if the court, by way of retaliation, had intended to load the Presbyterians 
with the guilt of a false conspiracy VOL. VI. 19
H 




Page 218 

218 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, It must be confessed, that the present period, by the 
preva. lence and suspicion of such
mean and ignoble arts on all sides, throws a great stain on the British annals. 
One of the most innocent artifices practised by
party meg at this time, was the additional ceremony, pomp, and expense, with 
which a pope-burning was celebrated in
London: the spectacle served to entertain, and amuse, and inflame the populace. 
The duke of Monmouth likewise came over
without leave, and made a triumphant procession through many parts of the 
kingdom, extremely caressed and admired by
the people. All these arts seemed requisite to support the general prejudices 
during the long interval of parliament. Great
endeavors were also used to obtain the king's consent for the meeting of that 
assembly. [1680.] Seventeen peers presented
a petition to this purpose. Many of the corporations imitated the example. 
Notwithstanding several marks of displeasure, and
even a menacing proclamation from the king, petitions came from all parts, 
earnestly insisting on a session of parliament. The
danger of Popery, and the terrors of the plot, were never forgotten in any of 
these addresses. Tumultuous petitioning was
one of the chief artifices by which the malecontents in the last reign had 
attacked the clown: and though the manner of
subscribing and delivering petitions was now somewhat regulated by act of 
parliament, the thing itself still remained; and was
an admirable expedient for infesting the court, for spreading discontent, and 
for uniting the nation in any popular clamor. As
the king found no law by which he could punish those importunate, and, as he 
deemed them, undutiful solicitations, he was
obliged to encounter them by popular applications of a contrary tendency. 
Wherever the church and court party prevailed,
addresses were framed, containing expressions of the highest regard to his 
majesty, themost entire acquiescence in his
wisdom, the most dutiful submission to his prerogative, and the deepest 
abhorrence of those who endeavored to encroach
upon it, by prescribing to him any time for assembling the parliament. Thus the 
nation came to be distinguished into
petitioners and abhorrers. Factions indeed were at this time extremely animated 
against each other. The very names by
which each party denominated its antagonist, discover the virulence and rancor, 
which prevailed. For besides petitioner and
abhorrer; appellations which were soon forgotten, this year is remarkable for 
being the epoch of the well-known epithets of
"' whig" 




Page 219 

CHARLES II. 219 and " tory,' by which, and sometimes without any material 
difference, this island has been so lonog
divided. The court party reproached their antagonists with their affinity to the 
fanatical conventiclers in Scotland, who were
known by the name of whigs: the country party found a resemblance between the 
courtiers and the Popish banditti in
Ireland, to whom the appellation of tory was affixed. And after this manner 
these foolish terms of reproach came into public
and general use; and even at present seem not nearer their end than when they 
were first invented. The king used every art
to encourage his partisans, and to reconcile the people to his government. He 
persevered in the great zeal which he affected
against Popery. He even allowed several priests to be put to death, for no other 
crime than their having received orders in
the Romish church. It is singular, that one of them, called Evans, was playing 
at tennis when the warrant for his immediate
execution was notified to him: he swore that, he would play out his set first. 
Charles, with the same view of acquiring
popularity, formed an alliance with Spain, and also offered an alliance to 
Holland: but the Dutch: terrified with the great
power of France, and seeing little resource in a country so distracted as 
England, declined acceptance. He had sent for the
duke from Scotland; bat desired him to return, when the time of assembling the 
parliament began to approach. It was of
great conlsequence to the popular party, while tho meeting of parliament 
depended on the king's will, to keep the law,
whose operations are perpetual, entirely on their side. The sheriffs of London 
by their office return the juries: it had been
usual for the mayor to nominate one sheriff by drinking to him; and the common 
hall had ever, without dispute, con firmed
the mayor's choice. Sir Robert Clayton, the mayor, appointed one who ywas not 
acceptable to the popular party: the
common hall rejected him; and Bethel and Cornish, twu Independents and 
republicans, and of consequence deeply engaged
with the malecontents, were chosen by a majority of voices. In spite of all 
remonstrances and opposition, thm cit.zens
persisted in their choice; and the court party was obliged for the present to 
acquiesce. Juries, however, were not so partial in
the city, but that reason and justice, even when the Popish plot was in 
question, could sometimes prevail. The earl of
Castlemaine, husband to the duchess of Cleveland, was acquitted about this time 




Page 220 

220 HISTORY OF'ENGLAND. though accused by Oates and Dangerfield of an intention 
to assassinate the king. Sir
Thomas Gascoigne, a very aged gentleman in the north, being accused by two 
servants, whom he had dismissed for
dishonesty, received a like verdict These trials were great blows to the plot, 
which now began to stagger, in the judgment of
most men, except those who were entirely devoted to the country party. But in 
order still to keep alive the zeal against
Popery, the earl of Shafteslwury appeared in Westminster Hall, attended by the 
earl of [Juntingdon, the lords Russel,
Cavendish, Grey, Brandon, Sir Henry Caverly, Sir Gilbert Gerrard, Sir William 
Cooper, and other persons of distinction,
and presented to the grand jury of Middlesex reasons for indicting the duke of 
York as a Popish recusant. While the jury
were deliberating on this extraordinary presentment, the chief justice sent for 
them, and suddenly, even somewhat irregularly,
dismissed them. Shaftesbury, however, obtained the end for which he had 
undertaken this bold measure: he showed to all
his f'llowers the desperate resolution which he had embraced, never to admit of 
any accommodation or composition with the
duke. By such daring conduct he gave them assurance, that he was fully 
determined not to desert their cause; and he
engaged them to a like devoted perseverance in all the measures which he should 
suggest to them. As the kingdom was
regularly and openly divided into two zealous parties, it was not difficult for 
the king to know, that the majority of the new
house of commons was engaged in interests opposite to the court: but that he 
might leave no expedient untried; which could
compose the unhappy differences among his subjects, he resolved at last, after a 
long interval, to assemble the parliament. In
his speech he told them, that the several prorogations which he had made had 
been very advantageous to his neighbors, and
very useful to himself: that he had employed that interval in perfecting with 
the crown of Spain an alliance which had often
been desired by former parliaments, and which, he doubted not, would be 
extremely agreeable to them: that, in order to give
weight to this measure, and render it beneficial to Christendom, it was 
necessary to avoid all domestic dissensions, and to
unite themselves firmly in the same views and' purposes: that he wvas 
determnied, that nothing on his part should be wanting
to such a salutary end; and provided the succession were preserved In its due 
and legal course, he would concur in any
expedit at 




Page 221 

CHARLbs 1. 221 for the security of the Protestant religion: that the further 
examination of the Popish plot, and the
punishment of the criminals, were requisite for the safety both of king and 
kingdom: and after recommending to them the
necessity of providiilg, by some supplies, for the safety of Tangiers, he 
proceeded in these words: " But that which I value.
above all the treasure in the world, and which I am sure will give us greater 
strength and reputation both at home and abroad
than any treasure can do, is a perfect union among ourselve?. Nothing blt this 
can restcne the kingdom to that strength and
vigor which It seems to have lost, and raise us again totlhat consideration 
which England hath usually possessed. All Europe
have their eyes upon this assembly, and think their own happiness and misery, as 
well as ours, will depend upon it. If' we
should be so unhappy as to fall into misunderstandings among ourselves to that 
degree as wvolld render our friendship
unsafe to trust to, it will not be wondered at, if our neighbors should begin to 
take new resolutions, and )perhaps such as
may be fatal to us. Let us therefore take care, that we do not gratify our 
enemies, and discourage our friends, by any
unseasonable disputes. If any such do happen, the world will see that it is no 
fault of mine; for I have dote all that it was
possible for me to do, to keep yofi in peace while I live and to leave you so 
when I die. But from so great prudenlice and so
good affection as yours, I can fear nothing of this kind; but do rely upon you 
all, that you will do your best endeavors to
bring this parliament to a good and happy conclusion." All these mollifying 
expressions had no influence with the commons.
Every step which they took betrayed the zeal with which they were animated. They 
voted, that it was the undoubted right of
the subject to petition the king for the calling and sitting of parliament. Not 
content with this decision, wvich seems justifiable
in a mixed monarchy, they fell with the utmost violence on all those abhorrers, 
who in their addresses to the crown, had
expressed their disapprobation of those petitions. They did not reflect, that it 
was as lawful for one party of men as for
another to express their sense of public affairs; and that the best established 
right may, in particular circumstances, be
abused, and even the exercise of it become an object of abhorrence. For this 
offence they expelled Sir Thomas Withens.
They appointed a committee for further inquiry into such members as had been 
guilty of a like crime and complaints were
lodged against Lord Paston, Sir Robert 19 




Page 222 

222 HISTORY OF ENGLANU Malverer, Sir Bryan Stapleton, Taylor, and Turner. They 
addressed' the king against Sir
George Jefferies, recorder of London, for his activity in the same cause; and 
they frightened him into a resignation of his
office, in which he was succeeded by Sir George Treby, a great leader of the 
popular party. They voted an impeachment
against North, chief justice of the common pleas, for drawing the proclamation 
against tumultuous petitions; but upon
examination found the proclamation so cautiously worded, that it afforded them 
no handle against him. A petition had been
presented to the king from Taunton. " How dare you deliver me such a paper? " 
said,ne king to the person who presented
it.' Sir," replied he, " my name is DARE." For this saucy reply, but under other 
pretences, he had been tried, fined, and
committed to prison. The commons now addressed the king for his liberty, and for 
remitting his fine. Some printers also and
authors of seditious libels they took under their protection. Great numbers of 
the abhorrers, from all parts of England, were
seized by order of the commons, and committed to custody.'he liberty of the 
subject, which had been so carefully guarded
by the Great Charter, and by the late law of habeas corpus, was every day 
violated by their arbitrary and capricious
commitments. The chief jealousy, it is true, of the English constitution is 
naturally and justly directed against the crown; nor
indeed have the commons any other means of securing their privileges than by 
commitments, which, as they cannot
beforehand be exactly determined by law, must always appear in some degree 
arbitrary. Sensible of these reasons, the
people had hitherto, without murmuring, seen this discretionary power exercised 
by the house: but as it was now carried to
excess, and was abused to serve the purposes of faction, great complaints 
against it were heard from all quarters. At last,
the vigor and courage of one Stowel of Exeter, an abhorrer, put an end to the 
practice. He refused to obey the serjeant at
arms, stood upon his defence, and said that he knew of no law by which they 
pretended to commit him. The house, finding it
equally dangerous to proceed or to recede, got off by an evasion: they inserted 
in their votes, that Stowel was indisposed,
and that a month's time was allowed him for the recovery of his health. But the 
chief violence of the house of commons
appeared in all their transactions with regard to the plot, which they 
prosecuted with the same zeal and the same credulity as
their 




Page 223 

CHARLES II. 223 predecessors. They renewed the former vote, which affirmed the 
reality of the horrid Popish plot; and, in
order the more to terrify the people, they even asserted that, notwithstanding 
the discovery, the plot still subsisted. They
expelled Sir Robert Can and Sir Robert Yeomans, who had been complained of for 
saying, that there was no Popish, but
there was a Presbyterian plot. And they greatly lamented the death of Bedloe, 
whom they called a material witness, and on
whose testimony they much depended. He had been seized with a fever at Bristol; 
had sent for Chief Justice North;
confirmed all his former evidence, except that with regard to the duke and the 
queen; and desired North to apply to the king
for some money to relieve him in his necessities. A few days after, he expired; 
and the whole party triumphed extremely in
these circulnstances of his death: as if such a testimony could be deemed the 
affirmation of a dying man; as if his confession
of perjury in some instances could assure his veracity in the rest; and as if 
the perseverance of one profligate could outweigh
the last words of so many men, guilty of no crime but that of Popery. The 
commons even endeavored, by their countenance
and protection, to remove the extreme infamy with which Dangerfield was loaded, 
and to restore him to the capacity of
being an evidence. The whole tribe of informers they applauded and rewarded: 
Jennison, Turberville, Dugdale, Smith, La
Faria, appeared before them; and their testimony, however frivolous or absurd, 
met with a favorable reception: the king was
applied to in their behalf for pensions and pardons: their narratives were 
printed with that sanction which arose from the
approbation of the house: Dr. Tongue was recommended for the first considerable 
church preferment which should become
vacant. Considering men's determined resolution to believe, instead of admiring 
that a palpable'falsehood should be
maintained by witnesses, it may justly appear wonderful, that no better evidence 
was ever produced against the Catholics.
The principal reasons which still supported the clamor of the Popish plot, were 
the apprehensions entertained by the people
of the duke. of York, and the resolution embraced by their leaders of excluding 
him from the throne. Shaftesbury, and many
considerable men of the party, had rendered themselves irreconcilable with him, 
and could find their safety no way but in his
ruin. Monmouth's friends hoped that the exclusion of that prince would make way 
for their 




Page 224 

224 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. patron. The resentment against the duke's apostasy, the 
love:f liberty, the ieal for religion,
the attachment to faction; all these motives incited the country party. And 
above all, what supported the resolution of
adhering to the exclusion, and rejecting all-other expedients offered, was the 
hope, artfully encouraged, that the king would
at last be obliged to yield to their demand. His revenues were extremely 
burdened; and, even if free, could scarcely suffice
for the necessary charges of government, much less for that pleasure and expense 
to which he was inclined. Though he had
withdrawn his countenance from Monmouth, he was known secretly to retain a great 
affection for him. On no occasion had
he ever been found to persist obstinately against difficulties and importunity. 
And as his beloved mistress, the duchess of
Portsmouth, head been engaged, either from lucrative views, or the hopes of 
making the succession fall on her own children,
to unite herself with the popular party, this incident was regarded as a 
favorable prognostic of their success. Sunderland,
secretary of state, who had linked his interest with that of the duchess, had 
concurred in the same measure. But besides
friendship for his brother, and a regard to the right of succession, there were 
many strong reasons which had determined
Charles to persevere in opposing the exclusion. A11 the royalists and the 
devotees to the church, that party by which alone
monarchy was supported, regarded the right of succession as inviolable; and if 
abandoned by the king in so capital. an
article, it was to be feared that they would, in their turn, desert his cause, 
and deliver him over to the pretensions and
usurpations of the country party. The country party, or the whigs, as they were 
called, if they did not still retain some
propensity towards a republic, were at least affected with a violent jealousy of 
regal power; and it was equally to be
dreaded, that being enragec-with past opposition, and ani. mated by present 
success, they would, if they prevailed in this
pretension, be willing as well as able to reduce the prerogative within very 
narrow limits. All menaces therefore, all prom.
ises, were in vain employed against the king's resolution: he never would be 
prevailed on to desert his friends, and put
himself into the hands-of his enemies. And having voluntarily made such 
important concessions, and tendered, over and over
again, such strong. limitations, lie was well pleased to find them rejected by 
the obstinacy of the commons; and hope'i that,
after the spirit of opposition had spent itself in fruitless. 




Page 225 

CHARLES II. 225 violence, the time would come, when he might safely appeal 
against his parliament to his people. So
much were the popular leaders determined to carry matters to extremities, that 
in less than a week after the comrn
mencement of the session, a motion was made for bringing in an exclusion bill, 
and a committee was appointed for that
purpose. Ths bill differed in nothing from the former, but in two articles, 
which showed still an increase of zeal in the
commons: the bill was to be read to the people twice a year n all the churches 
of the kingdom; and every one who should
support the duke's title, was rendered incapable of receiving a pardon but by 
act of parliament. The debates were carried on
with great violence on blrth sides. The bill was defended by Sir William Jones, 
who had now resigned his office of
attorney-general, by Lord Russel, by Sir Francis Winnington, Sir Harry Capel, 
Sir William.Pulteney, by Colonel Titus,
Treby, Hambden, Montague. It was opposed by Sir Leoline Jenkins, secretary of 
state, Sir John Ernley, chancellor of the
exchequer, by Hyde, Seymour, Telnple. The arguments transmitted to us may be 
reduced to the following topics. In every
government, said the exclusionists, there is some. where an authority absolute 
and supreme; nor can any determination, how
unusual soever, which' receives the sanction of the legislature, admit 
afterwards of dispute or control. The liberty of a
constitution, so far from diminishing this absolute power, seems rather to add 
force to it, and to give it greater influence over
the people. The more members of the state concur in any legislative decision, 
and the more free their voice, the less
likelihood is there that any opposition will be made to those measures which 
receive the final sanction of their authority. In
England, the legislative power is lodged in king, lords, and commons, which 
comprehend every order of the community; and
there is no pretext for exempting any circumstance of government, not even the 
succession of the clown, from so full and
decisive a jurisdiction. Even express declarations have, in this particular, 
been made of parliamentary authority: instances
have occurred where it has been exerted; and though prudential reasons may 
justly be alleged, why such innovations should
not be attempted but on extraor. dinary occasions, the power and right are 
forever vested in the community. But if any
occasion can be deemed extraordina. ry, if any emergence can require unusual 
expedients, it is the 




Page 226 

226 HISTORY 0? ENGLAND. present; when the heir to the crown has renounced the 
rell. gion of the state, and has
zealously embraced a faith totally hostile and incompatible. A prince of that 
communion can never put trust in a people so
prejudiced against him: the peoplle must be equally diffident of such'a prince: 
foreign and destructive alliances will seem to
one the only protection of his throne: perpetual.jealousy, opposition, faction, 
even insurrections will be employed by the
other as the sole se.curities for their liberty and religion. Though theological 
prineiples, when set in opposition to passions,
have often small influence on mankind in general, still less on princes, yet 
when tlhev become symbols of faction, and marks
of party distinctions, they concur with one of the strongest passions in the 
hurman frame, and are then capable of carrying
men to the greatest extremities. Notwithstanding the better judgment and milder 
disposition of the king, how much has the
influence of the duke already disturbed the tenor of government! how often 
engaged the nation into measures totally
destructive of their foreign interests and honor, of their domestic repose and 
tranquillity! The more the absurdity and
incredibility of the Popish plot are insisted on, the stronger reason it affords 
for the exclusion of the duke; since the universal
belief of it'discovers the extreme antipathy of the nation to his religion, and 
the utter impossibility of ever bringing them to
acquiesce peaceably under the dominion of such a sovereign. The prince, finding 
himself in so perilous a situation, must seek
for security by desperate remedies, and by totally subduing the privileges of a 
nation, which had betrayed such hostile
dispositions towards himself, and towards every thing which he deems the most 
sacred. It is in vain to propose limitations
and expedients. Whatever share of authority is left in the duke's hands, will be 
employed to the destruction of the nation; and
even the additional restraints, by discovering the public diffidence and 
aversion, will serve him as incitements to put himself in
a condition entirely superior and independent. And as the laws of' England still 
make resistance treason, and neither do nor
can admit of any positive exceptions, what folly to leave the kingdom in so 
perilous and absurd a situation; where the
greatest virtue will be exposed to the most severe proscription, and where the 
laws can only be saved by expedients, which
these same laws have declared the highest crime and enormity! The court party 
reasoned in an opposite manner. An 




Page 227 

CHARLES rf. 227 authority, they said, wholly absolute and uncontrollable's a 
mere chimera, and is nowhere to be found in
any human institutions. All government is founded on opinion and a sense of 
duty; and wherever the supreme magistrate, by
any law or positive prescription, shocks an opinion regarded as fundamental, and 
established with a firmness equal to that of
his own authority, he subverts the principle by which he him. self is 
established, and can no longer hope for obedience. In
European monarchies, the right of succession is justly esteemed a fundamental; 
and even though the whole legisla. ture be
vested in a single person, it would never be permitted him, by an edict, to 
disinherit his lawful heir, and call a stranger or
more distant relation to the throne. Abuses in other parts of government are 
capable of redress, from more dispassionate
inquiry or better information of the sovereign, and till then ought patiently to 
be endured: but violations of the right of
succession draw such terrible consequences after them, as are not to be 
paralleled by any other grievance or inconve.
nience. Vainly is it pleaded that England is a mixed monarchy; and that a law, 
assented to by king, lords, and commons, is
enacted by the concurrence of every part of the state: it is plain, that there 
remains a very powerful party, who may indeed
be outvoted, but who never will deem a law, subversive of hereditary right, 
anywise valid or obligatory. Limitations, such as
are proposed by the king, give no shock to the constitution, which, in many 
particulars, is already limited; and they may be
so calculated as to serve every pur. pose sought for by an exclusion. If the 
ancient barriers against regal authority have been
able, during so marny ages, to remain impregnable, how much more those 
additional ones, which, by depriving the monarch
of power, tend so fai to their own security? The same jealousy too of religion, 
which has engaged the people to lay these
restraints upon the successor, will extremely lessen the number of his 
partisans, and make it utterly impracticable for him,
either by force or artifice, to break the fetters imposed upon him. The king's 
age and vigorous state of health promise him a
long life; and can it be prudent to tear in pieces the whole state, in order to 
provide against a contingency which, it is very
likely, may never happen? No human schemes can secure the public in all 
possible, imaginable events; and the bill of
exclusion itself however accurately framed, leaves room for obvious and natural 
suppositions, to which it pretends not to
provide any 




Page 228 

228 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. remedy. Should the duke hfve a son after the king's 
death, must that son, without any
default of his own, forfeit his title? or must the princess of Orange descend 
from the throne, in order to give place to the
lawful successor? But were all these reahonings false, it still remains to be 
considered that, in public deliberations, we seek
not the expedient which is best in itself, but the best of such as are 
practicable. The king willingly consents to limitations, and
has already offered some which are of the utmost importance: but he is 
determined to endure any extremity rather than allow
the right of succession to be invaded. Let us beware of that factious violence, 
which leads to demand more than will be
granted; lest we lose the advantage of those beneficial concessions, and leave 
the nation, on the king's demise, at the mercy
of a zealous prince, irri. tated with the ill usage which, he imagines, he has 
already met with. In the-house of commons, the
reasoning of the exclusionists appeared the more convincing; and the bill passed 
by a great majority. It was in the house of
peers that the king expected to oppose it with success. The court party was 
there so prevalent, that it was carried only by a
majority of two to pay so much regard to the bill as even to commit it. When it 
came to be debated, the contest was violent.
Shaftesbury, Sunderland, and Essex argued for it; Halifax chiefly conducted the 
debate against it, and displayed an extent of
capacity and a force of eloquence which had never been sur. passed in that 
assembly. He was animated, as well by the
greatness of the occasion, as by a rivalship with his uncle Shaftesbury; whom, 
during that day's debate, he seemed, in the
judgment of all, to have totally eclipsed. The king wasr present during th.e 
whole debate, which was prolonged till eleven at
night. The bill was thrown out by a considerable majority. All the bishops, 
except three, voted against it. Besides the
influence of the court over them, the church of England, they imagined or 
pretended, was in greater danger from the
prevalence of Presbyterianism than of Popery, which, though favored by the duke, 
and even by the king, was extremely
repugnant to the genius of the nation. The commons discovered much ill humor 
upon this disappointment. They immediately
voted an address for the ro. moval of Halifax from the king's councils and 
presence forever. Though the pretended cause
was his advising the late frequent prorogations of parliameL.t, the real reason 
was appyt 




Page 229 

CIARLES I 229 rently his vigorous opposition to the exclusion bill. When the 
king applied for money to enable him to
maintain Tangiers. which he declared his present revenues totally unable to de. 
fend, instead of complying, they voted such
an address as was in reality a remonstrance, and one little less violent than 
that famous remonstrance which ushered in the
civil wars. All the abuses of government, from the beginning almost of the 
reign, are there insisted on; the Dutch war, the
alliance with France, the prorogations and dissolutions of parliament; and as 
all these measures, as well as the damnable and
hellish plot, are there ascribed to the machinations of Papists, it was plainly 
insinuated, that the king had, all along, lain under
the influence of that party, and was in reality the chief conspirator against 
the religion and liberties of his people. The
commons, though they conducted the great business of the exclusion with extreme 
violence, and even imprudence, had yet

much reason for the jealousy which gave rise to it: but their vehement 
prosecution of the Popish plot, even after so long an
interval, discovers such a spirit, either of credulity or injustice, as admits 
of no apology. The impeachment of the Catholic
lords in the Tower was revived; and as Viscount Stafford, from his age, 
infirmities, and narrow capacity, was deemed the
least capable of defending himself, it was determined to make him the. first 
victim, that his condemnation might pave the
-way for a sentence against the rest. TThe chancellor, now created earl of 
Nottingham, was appointed high steward for
conducting the trial. Three witnesses were produced against the prisoner; Oates 
Dugdale, and Turberville. Oates swore, that
he saw Fenwick the Jesuit, deliver to Stafford a commission signed by De Oliva, 
general of the Jesuits, appointing him
paymaster to the PapaV army, which was to be levied for the subduing of England; 
for this ridiculous imposture still
maintained its credit with the commons. Dugdale gave testimony, that the 
prisoner, at Tixal, a seat of Lord Aston's, had
endeavored to engage him in the design of murdering the king; and had promised 
him, besides the honor of being sainted by
the church, a reward of five hundred pounds for that service. Turberville 
deposed, that the prisoner, in his own house at
Paris, had made him a tike. proposal. To offer money for murdering a king, 
without laying down any scheme by which the
assassin may insure some probability or possibility of escape, is so incredible 
in itself, and may so easily be maintained by
any prostitute eviYOL. VI, 20 H 




Page 230 

230 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. dence, that an accusation of that nature, not 
accompanied with circumstances, ought very
little to be attended to by any court of judicature. But notwithstanding the 
small hold which the witnesses afforded, the
prisoner was able, in many materia' particulars, to discredit their testimony. 
It was sworn by Dugdale, that Stafford had
assisted in a great consult of the Catholics held at Tixal; but Stafford proved 
by undoubted testimony, that at the time
assigned he was in Bath, and in that neighborhood. Turberville had served a 
novitiate among the Dominicans; but having
deserted the convent, he had enlisted as a trooper in the French army; and being 
dismissed that service, he now lived in
London, abandoned by all his relations, and exposed to great poverty. Stafford 
proved, by the evidence of his gentleman
and his page, that Turberville had never, either at Paris or at London, been 
seen irnhis company; and it might justly appear
strange, that a person who had so important i secret in his keeping, was so long 
entirely neglected by him. The clamor and
outrage of the populace, during the trial, were extreme: great abilities and 
eloquence were displayed by the managers, Sir
William Jones, Sir Francis Winnington, and Serjeant Maynard:. yet did the 
prisoner, under all these disadvantages, make a
better defence, than was expected, either by his friends or his enemies: thie 
unequal contest in which he was engaged, was a
plentiful source of compassion to every mind seasoned with humanity. He 
represented that, during a course of forty years,
from the very commencement of the civil wars, he had, through many dangers, 
difficulties, and losses, still maintained his
loyalty: and was it credible, that now, in his old age, easy in his 
circumstances, but dis. pirited by infirmities, he would belie
the whole course of his life, and engage against his royal master, from whom he 
had ever received kind treatment, in the
most desperate and most bloody of all conspiracies? He remarked the infamy of 
the witnesses; the contradictions and
absurdities of their testimony; the extreme indigence in which they had lived, 
though engaged, as they pretended, in a
conspiracy with kings, princes, and nobles; the credit and opulence to which 
they were at present raised. With a simplicity
and tenderness more persuasive than the greatest oratory, he still made 
protestati,)ns of his innocence; and could not
forbear. every moment, expressing the most lively surprise and indignation at 
the audacious impudence Df the witnesses. 




Page 231 

CHARLES I. 231. It will appear astonishing to us, as it did to Stafford himself, 
that the peers, after a solemn trial of six
days, should, by a majority of twenty-fo~ur voices, give sentence against him. 
He received, however, with resignation the
fatal verdict. "God's holy name be praised," was the only exclamation which he 
uttered. When the high steward told him, that
the peers would intercede with the king for remitting the more cruel and 
ignominious parts of the sentence, hanging and
quartering, he burst into tears; but he told the lords, that he was moved to 
this weakness by his sense of their goodness, not
by any terror of that fate which he was doomed to suffer. It is remarkable that, 
after Charles, as is usual in such cases, had
remitted to Stafford the. hanging and quartering, the two sheriffs, Bethel and 
Cornish, indulging their own republican humor,
and complying with the prevalent spirit of their party, ever jealous of 
monarchy, started a doubt with regard to the king's
power of exercising even this small degree of lenity. " Since he cannot pardon 
the whole," said they, "how can he have
power to remit any part of the sentence?" They proposed the doubt to both 
houses: the peers pronounced it superfluous;
and even the commons, apprehensive lest a question of this nature might make way 
for Stafford's escape, gave this singular
answer: " This house is content, that the sheriffs do execute William late 
Viscount Stafford by severing his head from his
body only.* Nothing can be a stronger proof of the fury of the times, than that 
Lord Russel, notwithstanding the virtue and
humanity of his character, seconded in the house this barbarous scruple of the 
sheriffs. In the interval between the sentence
and execution, many efforts were made to shake the resolution of the infirm and 
aged prisoner, and to bring him to some
confession of the treason for which he was condemned. It was even rumored, that 
he had confessed; and the zealous
partymen, who, no doubt, had secretly, notwithstanding their credulity, 
entertained some doubts with regard to the reality of
the Popish conspiracy, expressed great triumph on the occasion. But Stafford, 
when again called before the house of peers,
discovered many schemes, which had been laid by himself and others, for 
procuring a toleration to the Catholics, at least a
mitigation of the penal laws enacted against them: and he protested, that this 
was the sole treason of which he had ever been
guilty. Stafford now prepared himself for death with the intrepidity which 
became his birth and station, and which was the
natural 




Page 232 

232 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. result of the innocence and integrity which, during the 
course of a long life, he had ever
maintained: his mind seemed even to collect new force from the violence and 
oppression under which he labored. When
going to execution, he called for a cloak to defend him against the rigor of the 
season. " erhaps," said he, " I may shake with
cold; but, I trust in God, not for fear." On the scaffold, he continued, with 
reiterated and earnest asseverations, to.make
protestations of his innocence: all his fervor was exercised on that point: when 
he mentioned the witnesses, whose perjuries
had bereaved him of life, his expressions were full of mildness and of charity. 
lie solemnly disavowed all those immoral
principles, which over-zealous Protestants had ascribed without distinction to 
the church of Rome: and he hoped, he said,
that the time was now approaching, when the present delusion would be 
dissipated;-and when the force of truth,.hough late,
would engage the whole world to make reparation to his injured honor. The 
populace, who had exulted at Stafford's trial
and condemnation, were now melted into tears, at the sight of that tender 
fortitude which shone forth in each feature, and
motion, and accent of this aged noble. Their profound silence was only 
interrupted by sighs and groans: with difficulty they
found speech to assent to those protestations of innocence which he frequently 
ripeated: W"We believe you, my lord! God
bless you, my lord! " These expressions with a faltering accent flowed from 
them. The executioner himself was touched with
sympathy. Twice he lifted up the axe, with an intent to strike the fatal blow; 
and as often felt his resolution to fail him. A deep
sigh was heard to accompany his last effort, which laid Stafford forever at 
rest. All the spectators seemid to feel the blow.
And when the head was held up to them with the usual cry, "This is the head of a 
traitor," no clamor of assent was uttered.
Pity, remorse, and astonish. ment had taken possession of every heart, and 
displayed itself in every countenance. Tlhis is the
last blood which was shed on account of the Popish plot; an incident which, for 
the credit of the nation, it were better to
bury in eternal oblivion; but which it is neces. sary to perpetuate, as well to 
maintain the truth of history, as to warn, if
possible, their posterity and all mankind never again to fall into so shameful, 
so barbarous a delusion. The execution of
Stafford gratified the prejudices of the 




Page 233 

CHA RLES UI. 23 cot.nlry party; but it contributed nothing to their power and 
security: on the contrary, by exciting
commiseration, it tended still further to increase the disbelief of the whole 
plot, which began now to prevail. The commons,
therefore, not to lose the present opportunity, resolved to make both friends 
and enemies sensible of their power. They
passed a bill for easing the Protestant dissenters, and for repealing the 
persecuting statute of the thirty-fifth of Elizabeth: this
laudable bill was likewise carried through the house of peers. The chief justice 
was very obnoxious for dismissing the grand
jury in an irregu. lar manner, and thereby disappointing that bold measure of 
Shaftesbury and his friends, who had presented
the duke as a recusant. For this crime the commons sent up an impeachment 
against himn; as also against Jones and
Westonl, two of the judges, who, in some speeches from the bench, had gone so 
fatas to give to many of the first reformers
the appellation of fanatics. The king, in rejecting the exclusion bill, had 
sheltered himself securely behind the authority of the
house of peers; and the commons had been deprived of the usual pretence, to 
attack the sovereign himself under color of
attacking his ministers and counsellors. In prosecution, however, of the scheme 
which he had formed, of throwing the blame
on the commons in case of any rupture, he made them a new speech. After warning 
them, that a neglect of this opportunity
would never be retrieved, he added these words: "'I did promise you the fullest 
satisfaction which your hearts could wish, for
the security of the Protestant religion, and to concur with you in any remedies 
which might consist with preserving the
succession'of the crown in its due and legal course of descent. I do again, with 
the same reservations, renew the same
promises to you: and being thus ready on my part to do all that can reasonably 
be expected from me, I should be glad to
know from you, as soon as may be, how far I shall be assisted by you, and what 
it is you desire from me." The most
reasonable objection against the limitations proposed by the king, is, that they 
introduced too considerable an innovation in
the government, and almost totally annihilated the power of the future monarch. 
But considering the present disposition of the
commons and their leaders, we may fairly presume, that this objection would have 
small weight with them, and that their
disgust against the court would rather incline them to diminish than support 
regal authority. They 20 * 




Page 234 

3v4 HISTORY OF ENGI4AND, still hoped, from the king's urgent necessities and his 
usual facility, that he woild throw
himself wholly into their hands; and that thus, without waiting for the 
accession of the duke, they might immediately render
themselves absolute masters of the government. The commons, therefore, besides 
insisting still on the exclusion, proceeded
to bring in bills of an important, and some of them of an alarming nature: one 
to renew the triennial act, which had been so
inadvertently repealed in the beginning of the reign; a second to make the 
office of judge during good behavior; a third to
declare the levying of money without consent of parliament to be high treason; a 
fourth to order an association for the safety
of his majesty's person, for defence of the Protestant religion, for the 
preservation of the Protestant subjects against all
invasions and opposition whatsoever, and for preventing the duke of York, or any 
Papist, from succeeding to the crown.
JThe memory of the covenant was too recent for men to overlook the consequences 
of such an association; and the king,
who was particularly conversant in Davila, could not fail of recollecting a 
memorable foreign instance, to fortify this domestic
experience. The commons also passed many votes, which, though they had not the 
authority of laws, served, however, to
discover the temper and disposition of the house. They voted, that whoever had 
advised his majesty to refuse the exclusion
bill, were promoters of Popery and enemies to the king and kingdom. In another 
vote, they named the marquis of
Worcester, the earls of Clarendon, Feversham, and Halifax, Laurence Hyde, and 
Edward Seymour, as those dangerous
enemies; and they requested his majesty to remove them from his person and 
councils forever. They voted, that, till the
exclusion bill were passed, they could not, consistent with the trust reposed in 
them, grant the king any manner of supply.
And lest he should be enabled, by- any other expedient, to support the 
government, and preserve himself independent, they
passed another vote, in which. they declared, that whoever should hereafter 
lend, by way of advance, any money upon
those branches of the king's revenue arising from customs, excise, or hearth 
money, should be judged a hinderer of the
sitting,f parliament, and be responsible for the same in parliament. The king 
might presume that the peers, who had rejected
the exclusion bill, would still continue to defend the throne, and that none of 
the dangerous bills, introduced into the other 




Page 235 

CHARLES I 235 house, would ever be presented for the royal assent and appro. 
bation. But as there remained no hopes of
bringing the commons to any better temper, and as their further sitting served 
only to keep faction alve, and to perpetuate the
general ferment of the nation, he came secretly to a resolution of proroguing 
them. [1681.] They got intelligence about a
quarter of an hour before the black rod came to their door. Not to lose such 
precious time, they passed, in a tumultuous
manner, some extraordinary resolutions. They voted, that whosoever advised his 
majesty to prorogue this parliament to any
other purpose than in order to pass the bill of exclusion, was a betrayer of the 
king, of the Protestant religion, and of the
kingdom of England; a promoter of the French interest, and a pensioner of 
France: that thanks be given to the city of
London for their manifest loyalty, anni for their care and vigilance in the 
preservation of the king and of the Protestant
religion: that it is the opinion of this house, that that city was burned in the 
year 1666 by the Papists, designing thereby to
introduce arbitrary power and Popery into the kingdom: that humble application 
be made to his majesty for restoring the
duke of Monmouth to all his offices and commands, from which, it appears to the 
house, he had been removed by the
influence of the duke of York: and that it is the opinion of the house, that the 
prosecution of the Protestant dissentre, upon
the penal laws is at this time grievous to the subject, a weakening of the 
Protestant interest, an encouragement of Popery,
and dangerous to the peace of the kingdom. The king passed some laws of no great 
importance: but the bill for repealing the
thirty-fifth of Elizabeth, he privately ordered the clerk'of the crown not to 
present to him. By this artifice, which was equally
disobliging to the country party as if the bill had been rejected, and at the 
same time implied some timidity in the king, that
salutary act was for the present eluded. The king had often of himself 
attempted, and sometimes by irregular means, to give
indulgence to nonconformists: but besides that he had usually expected to 
comprehe - i the Catholics in this liberty, the
present refractory dispositioof the sectaries had much incensed him against 
them; and he was resolved, if possible, to keep
them still at mercy. The last votes of the commons seemed to be an attempt of 
forming indirectly an association against the
crown, after tey found that their association bill could not pass: the 
dissenting -interest the city, and the duke of Monmouth,
they endeavored 




Page 236 

23$0 HISTORT OF ENGLAND. to connect with the country party. A civil war indeed 
never appeared so likely as at
present; and it was hign time for the king to dissolve a parliament which seemed 
to have entertalined sulch dangerous
projects. Soon after, he s.ummoaled another. Thotugh he observed, that the 
country party haJ es;abl;shcd their interest so
strongly ill all the electing boroug1hs, that Xeo could not hope for any 
disposition more favorable in the new parliament, this
expedient was still a prosecuption of his former project, of trying every method 
by which he might form an accommodation
with the commons; and if all failed, he hoped that he could the better justify 
to his people, at least to 1his party, a final breach
with them. It had always been much regretted by the royalists, during the civil 
wars, that the long parliament had been
assembled al Westminster, and had thereby received force and encourage. ment 
from the vicinity of a potent and factious
city, which had zealously embraced their party. Though the king war now 
possessed of guards, which in some measure
overawed the populace, he was determined still further to obviate all 
inconveniences; and he summoned the new parliament
to meet at Oxford. The city of London showed how just a judgment he had formed 
of their dispositions. Besides reelecting
the same members, they voted thanks to them for their former behavior, in 
endeavoring to discover the depth of the horrid
and hellish Popish plot, and to exclude the duke of York, the principal cause of 
the ruin and misery impending over the
nation. Monmouth with fifteen peers presented a petition against assembling the 
parliament at Oxford," where the two
houses," they said, " could not be in satety; but would be easily exposed to the 
swords of the Papists and their adherents, of
whom too many had crept into his majesty's guards." These insinuations, which 
pointed so evidently at the king himself, were
not calculated t8 persuade him, but to inflame the people. The exclusionists 
might have concluded,'both from the king's
dissolution of the last parliament, and from his summoning of the present to 
meet at Oxford, that he was determined to
maintain his declared resolution of rejecting their favorite bill: but they 
still flattered themselves, that his urgent necessitiets
would influence his easy temper, and finally gain them the ascendant. The 
leaders came to parliament, attended not onlyby
their sev wants, but by numerous bands of their partisans. The four city 
nmembers in particular were followed by 




Page 237 

CHARLES t. t37 great multitudes, wearing ribbons, in which were woven these 
words, "No Popery! No slavery!" The king
had his guards regularly mustered: his party likewise endeavored to make a show 
of their strength; and on the whole, the
assembly at Oxford rather bore the appearance of a tumultuous Polish diet, than 
of a regular English parliament. The king,
who had hitherto employed the most gracious expressions to all his parliaments, 
particularly the two last, thought proper to
address himself to the present in a more authoritative manner. He complained of 
the unwarrantable proceedings of the
former house of commons; and said, that, as he would never use arbitrary 
government himself, neither would he ever suffer it
in others. By calling, however, this parliament so soon, he had sufficiently 
shown, that no past irregularities could inspire him
with a prejudice against those assemblies. He now afforded them, he added, yet 
another opportunity of providing for the
public safety; and to all the world had given one evidence more, that on his 
part he had not neglected the duty incumbent on
him. The commons were not overawed by the magisterial air of the king's speech. 
They consisted almost entirely of the same
members; theyr chose the same speaker; and they in. stantly fell into the same 
measures, the impeachment of Danby, the
repeal of the persecuting statute of Elizabeth, the inquiry into the Popish 
plot, and the bill of exclusion. So violent were they
on this last article, that no other expedient, however plausible, could so much 
as be hearkened to. Ernley, one of the king's
ministers, proposed, that the duke should be banished, during life, five hundred 
miles from England, and that on the king's
demise the next heir should be constituted regent with regal power: yet even 
this expedient, which left the duke only the bare
title of king, could not, though seconded by Sir Thomas Lyttleton and Sir Thomas 
Mompes. son, obtain the attention of the
house. The past disappointments of the country party, and the opposition made by 
the court, had only rendered them more
united, more haughty, and more determined. No method but their own, of excluding 
the duke, could give them any
satisfaction. There was one Fitzharris, an Irish Catholic, who had insinuated 
himself into the duchess of Portsmouth's
acquaintance, and had been very busy in conveying to her intelligence of any 
libel written by the country party, or rf any
designs en. tertained against her or against the covj.. For services of 




Page 238 

238 HISI ORY OF ENGLAND. this kind, and perhaps too from a regard to his father, 
Sit Edward Fitzharris, who had
been an eminent royalist, he had received from the king a present of two hundred 
and fifty pounds. This man met with one
Everard, a Scotchman, a spy of the exclusionists, and an informer concerning the 
Popish plot; and he engaged him to write a
libel against,the king, the duke, and the whole administration. What 
Fitzharris's intentions were, cannot well be ascertained: it
is piobable, as he afterwards asserted, that he meant to carry this libel to his 
patron, the duchess, and to make a merit of the
discovery. Everard, who suspected some other design, and who was well pleased on 
his side to have the merit of a
discovery with his patrons, resolved to betray his friend: he posted Sir William 
Waller, a noted justice of peace, and two
persons more, behind the hangings, and gave them an opportunity of seeing and 
hearing the whole transaction. The libel,
sketched out by Fitzharris, and executed partly by him, partly by Everard, was 
the most furious, indecent, and outrageous
performance imaginable, and such as was fitter to hurt than serve any party 
which should be so imprudent as to adopt it.
Waller carried the intelligence to the king, and obtained a warrant for 
committing Fitzharris, who happened at that very time
to have a copy of the libel in his pocket. Finding himself now delivered over to 
the law, he resolved to pay court to the
popular party, who were alone able to protect him, and by whom he observed 
almost all trials to be governed and directed.
He affirmed, that he had been employed by the court to write the libel, in order 
to throw the odium of it on the exclusion.
ists: but this account, which was within the bounds of credibility, he disgraced 
by circumstances which are altogether absurd
and improbable. The intention of the ministers, he said, was to send about 
copies to all the heads of the country party; and
the moment they received them, they were to be arrested, and a conspiracy to be 
imputed to them. *'hat he might merit
favor by still more important intelligence, he commenced a discoverer of the 
great Popish plot; and he failed not to confirm
all the tremendous circumstances insisted on by his predecessors. He said, that 
the second Dutch war was entered into with
a view of extirpating the Protestant religion, both abroad and at home; that 
Father Parry, a Jesuit, on th.e disappointment by
the peace, told him, that the Catholics resolved to murder the king, and had 
even engaged the queen in that design; that the
envoy of Mcdena offered him tell 




Page 239 

CHARLES II. 239 thousand pounds'to kill the king, and upon his refusal the envoy 
said, that the duchess of Mazarine, who
was as expert at poisoning as her sister, the countess of Soissons, would, with 
a little phial, execute that design; that upon the
king's death, the army in Flanders was to come over and massacre the 
Protestants; that money was raised in Italy for
recruits and supplies, and there should be no more parliaments; and that the 
duke was privy to this whole plan, and had even
entered into the design of Godfrey's murder, which was exe. cuted in the manner 
related by Prance. The popular leaders had
all along been very desirous of having an accusation against the duke; and 
though Oates and Bedloe, in their first evidence,
had not dared to go so far, both Dugdale and Dangerfield had afterwards been 
encouraged to supply so material a defect,
by comprehending him in the conspiracy. The commons, therefore, finding that 
Fitzharris was also willing to serve this
purpose, were not ashamed to adopt his evidence, and resolved for that end to 
save him from the destruction with which he
was at present threatened. The king had removed him from the city prison, where 
he was exposed to be tampered with by
the exclusionists; had sent him to the Tower; and had ordered him to be 
prosecuted by an indictment at common law. In
order to prevent his trial and execution, an impeachment was voted 9y the 
commons against him, and sent up to the lords.
That they might show the greater contempt of the court, they ordered, by way of 
derision, that the impeachment should be
carried up by Secretary Jenkins; who was so provoked by the intended affront, 
that he at first refused obedience; though
afterwards, being threatened with commitment, he was induced to comply. The 
lords voted to remit the affair to the ordinary
courts of justice, before whom, as- the attorney-general informed them, it was 
already determined to try Fitzharris. The
commons maintained, that the peers were obliged to receive every impeachment 
from the commons; and this indeed seems
to have been the first instance of their refusal: they therefore voted, that the 
lords, in rejecting their impeachment, had denied
jus. tice, and had violated the constitution of parliament. They also declared, 
that whatever inferior court should proceed
against Fitzharris, or any one that lay under irhpeachment, would be guilty of a 
high breach of privilege. Great heats were
likely to ensue; and as the king saw no appealnlle of any better temper n the 
commons, he gladly laid hold of the 




Page 240 

240 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. opportunity afforded by a quarrel between the two house 
and he proceeded to a
dissolution of the parliament. The secret was so well kept, that the commons had 
no intimation of it till the black rod came to
their door, and summoned them to attend the king at the house of peers. This 
vigorous measure, though it might have been
foreseen, excited such astonishment in the country party, as deprived them of 
all spirit, and reduced them to absolute
despair. They were sensible, though too late, that the king had finally taken 
his resolution, and was determined to endure any
extremity rather than submit to those terms which they had resolved to impose 
upon him. They found that he had patiently
waited till affairs should come to full maturity; and having now engaged a 
national party on his side, had boldly set his
enemies at defiance. No parliament, they knew, would be summoned for some years; 
and during that long interval, the court,
though perhaps at the head of an inferior party, yet being possessed of all 
authority, would have every advantage over a
body dispersed and disunited. These reflections crowded upon every one; and all 
the exclusionists were terrified, lest
Charles should follow the blow by some action more violent, and immediately take 
vengeance on them for their long and
obstinate opposition to his measures. The king on his part was no less 
apprehensive, lest despair might prompt them to have
recourse to force, and make some sudden attempt upon his person. Both parties 
therefore hurried from Oxford; and in an
instant that city, so crowded and busy, was left in its usual emptiness and 
tranquillity. The court party gathered force from the
dispersion and astonishment of their antagonists, and adhered more firmly to the 
king, whose resolutions, they now saw,
could be entirely depended on. The violences of the exclusionists were every 
where exclaimed against and aggravated; and
even the reality of the plot, that great engine of their authority, was openly 
called in question. The clergy especially were busy
in this great revolution; and being moved, partly by their own fears, partly by 
the insinuations of the court, they represented
all their antagonists.as sectaries and republicans, and rejoiced in escaping 
those perils which they believed to have been
hang. ing over them. Principles the most opposite to civil liberty were every 
where enforced from the pulpit, and adopted in
numerous addresses; where the king was flattered in his present measures, and 
congratulated on his escape from par 




Page 241 

CHARLES II. 241 inents. Could words have been depended on, the nation appeared 
to be running fast into voluntary
servitude, and seemed even ambitious of resigning into the king's hands all the 
privileges transmitted to them, through so
many ages, by kheir gallant ancestors. But Charles had sagacity enough to 
distinguish between men's real internal sentiments,
and the language which zeal and opposition to a contrary faction may sometimes 
extort from them. Notwithstanding all these
professions of duty and obedience, he was resolved not to trust, for a long 
time, the peoe le with a new election, but to
depend entirely on his own economy for alleviating those necessities. under 
which he labored. Great retrenchments were
made in the household: even his favorite navy was neglected: Tangiers, though it 
had cost great sums of money, was a few
years after abandoned and demolished. The mole was entirely destroyed; and the 
garrison, being brought over to England,
served to augment that small army which the king relied on as the solid basis of 
his authority. It had been happy for the
nation, had Charles used his victory with justice and moderation equal to the 
prudence and dexterity with which he obtained
it. The first step taken by the court was the trial of Fitzharris. Doubts were 
raised by the jury with regard to their power of
trying him, after the concluding vote of the commons: but the judges took upon 
them to decide the question in the affirm.
ative, and the jury were obliged to proceed. The writing of the libel was 
clearly proved upon Fitzharris: the only ques. tibn
was with regard to his intentions. He asserted, that he was a spy of the court, 
and had accordingly carried the libel to the
duchess of Portsmouth; and he was desirous that the jury should, in this 
transaction, consider him as a cheat, not as a traitor.
He failed, however, somewhat in the proof; and was brought in guilty of treason 
by the jury. Finding himself entirely in the
hands of the king, he now retracted all his former impostures with regard to the 
Popish plot, and even endeavored to atone
for them by new impostures agaimt the country party. He affirmed, that these 
fictions had been extorted from him by the
suggestions and artifices of Treby, the recorder, and of Bethel and Cornish, the 
two sheriffs: this account he persisted in even
at his execution' and though men knew that nothing could be depended on which 
came from one so corrupt, and so lost to
all sense of honor, yet were they inclined, from his perseverance, to rely VOL. 
VI. 21 H 




Page 242 

'242 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. somewhat more on his veracity in these last 
asseveraties. But it appears that his wife had
some connections with Mrs. Wall, the favorite maid of the duchess of Portsmouth; 
and Fitzharris hoped, if he persisted in a
story agreeable to the court, that some favor might, on that account, be shown 
to his family. It is amusing to reflect on the
several lights in which this story has been represented by the opposite 
factions. The country party affirmed, that Fitzharris
had been employed by the court, in order to throw the odium of the libel on the 
exclusionists, and thereby give rise to a
Protestant plot: the court party maintained, that the exclusionists had found 
out Fitz. harris, a spy of the ministers, and had set
him upon this undertaking, from an intention of loading the court with the 
imputation of such a design upon the exclusionists.
Rather than acquit their antagonists, both sides were willing to adopt an 
account the most intricate and incredible. It was a
strange situation in which the people at this time were placed; to be every day 
tortured with these perplexed stories, and
inflamed with such dark suspicions against their fellow-citizens. This was no 
less than the fifteenth false plot, or sham plot, as
they were then called, with which the court, it was imagined, had endeavored to 
load their adversaries.* The country party
had intended to make use of Fitzharris's evidence, against the duke and the 
Catholics; and his execution was therefore a
great mortification to them. But the king and his ministers were resolved not to 
be contented with so slender an advantage.
They were determined to pursue the victory, and to employ against the 
exclusionists those very offensive arms, however
unfair, which that party had laid up in store against their antagonists. The 
whole gang of spies, witnesses, informers,
suborners, who had so long been sup ported and encouraged by the leading 
patriots, finding now.hat the king was entirely
master, turned short upon their old patrons, and offered their service to the 
ministers. To the disgrace of the court and of the
age, they were received with hearty welcome, and their testimony, or rather 
perjury, made use of in order to commit legal
murder upon the opposite party. With an air of triumph and derision, it was 
asked, "Are not these men good witnesses, who
have established the Popish plot, upon whose testimony Stafford and so many * 
College's trial. 




Page 243 

CHARLES II. 243 O]tholics have been executed, and whom you yourselves have so 
long celebrated as men of credit and
veracity? You have admitted them into your bosom: they are best acquainted with 
your treasons: they are determined in
another shape to serve their king and country: and you cannot complain, that the 
same measure which you meted to others,
should now, by a righteous doom or vengeance, be measured out to you." It is 
certain that the principle of retaliation may
serve in some cases as a full apology, in others as an alleviation, for a 
conduct which would otherwise be exposed to great
blame. But these infamous arts, which poison justice in its very source, and 
break all the bands of human society, are so
detestable and dangerous, that no pretence of retaliation can be pleaded as an 
apology or even an alleviation of the crime
incurred by them. On the contrary, the greater indignation the king and his 
ministers felt, when formerly exposed to.the
perjuries of abandoned men, the more reluctance should they now have discovered 
against employing the same instruments
of vengeance upon their antagonists. The first person on whom the ministers fell 
was one Col. lege, a London joiner, who
had become extremely noted for his zeal against Popery, and was much connected 
with Shaftesbury and the leaders of the
country party-: for as they relied much upon the populace, men of College's rank 
and station were useful to them. College
had been in Oxford armed with sword and pistol during the sitting of the 
parliament; and this was made the foundation of his
crime. It was pretended that a conspiracy had been entered into to seize the 
king's person, and detain him in confinement, till
he should make the concessions demanded of him. The sheriffs of London were in 
strong opposition to the court; and it was
not strange, that the grand jury named by them rejected the bill against 
College. The prisoner was therefore sent to Oxford,
where the treason was said to have been committed. Lord Norris, a courtier, was 
sheriff of the county; and the inhabitants
were in general devoted to the court party. A jury was named, consisting 
entirely of royalists; and though they were men of
credit and character, yet such was the factious rage which prevailed, that 
little justice could be expected by tne prisoner.
Some papers, containing hints and directions for his defence, were taken from 
him, as he was conducted to his trial; an
iniquity which some pretended to justify by alleging that a like violence had 
been practised against a prisoner 




Page 244 

244 HISTORY OF -E-3JLAND. during the fury of the Popish plot. Such wild notions 
of it. iation were at that time
propagated by the court party. The witnesses produced against College were 
Dugdale, Tur. berville, Haynes, Smith; men
who had before given evidence against the Catholics, and whom the jury, for that 
very reason, regarded as the most
perjured villains. College, though beset with so many toils, and oppressed with 
so many iniqui. ties, defended himself with
spirit, courage, capacity, presence of mind; and he invalidated the evidence of 
the crown, by convincing arguments and
undoubted testimony: yet did the jury, after half an hour's deliberation, bring 
in a verdict against him. The inhuman spectators
received the verdict with a -shout of applause: but the prisoner was nowise 
dismayed. At his execution, he maintained the
same manly fortitude, and still denied the crime imputed to him. His whole 
conduct and demeanor prove him to have been a
man led astray only by the fury of the times, and to have been governed by an 
honest but indiscreet zeal for his country and
his religion. Thus the two parties, actuated by mutual rage, but cooped up 
within the narrow limits of the law, levelled with
poisoned daggers the most deadly blows against each other's breast, and buried 
in their factious divisions all regard to truth,
honor, and humanity. 




Page 245 

CHsaLms lA. 245 CIIAPTER LXIX. CHARLES II. [1681.] WHEN the cabal entered into 
the mysterious alliance with
France, they took care to remove tlie duke of Ormond from the committee of 
foreign affairs; and nothing tended further to
increase the national jealousy entertained against the new measures, than to see 
a man of so much loyalty, as well as probity
and honor, excluded from public courn cils. They had even so great interest with 
the king as to get Ormond recalled from the
government of Ireland; and Lord Robarts, afterwards earl of Radnor, succeeded 
him in that important employment. Lord
Berkeley succeeded Robarts; and the earl of Essex, Berkeley. At last, in the 
year 1677, Charles cast his eye again upon
Ormond, whom he had so long neglected; and sent him over lieutenant to Ireland. 
" I have done every thing," said the king, "
to disoblige that man; but it is not in my power to make him my enemy." Ormond, 
during his disgrace, had never joined the
malecontents, nor encouraged those clamors which, with too much reason, but 
often for bad purposes, were raised against
the king's measures. He even thought it his duty regularly, though with dignity, 
to pay his court at Whitehall; and to prove,
that his attachments were founded on gratitude, inclination, and principle, not 
on any temporary advantages. All the
expressions which dropped from him, while neglected by the court, showed more of 
good humor than any prevalence of
spleen and indignation. " I can do you no service," said he to his friends; "I 
have only the power left by my applications to do
you some hurt." When Colonel Cary Dillon solicited him to second his pretensions 
for an office, and urged that he had no
friends but God and his grace, "Alas! poor Cary," replied the duke, "I pity 
thee: thou couldst not have two friends that
possess less interest at court." " I am thrown by," said,,e-, on another 
occasion, "like an old rusty clock; yet even that
neglected machine, twMic in twenty-four hours, points right." Oa ucoh oasiois, 
when Qrmond from lececy, paid his 21* 




Page 246 

246 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. attendance at court, the king, equally ashamed to show 
him civility and to neglect him,
was abashed and confounded. "Sir," said the profligate Buckingham, " I wish to 
know whether it be the duke of Ormond
that is out of favor with your majesty, or your majesty with the duke of Ormond; 
for, of the two, you seem the most out (Jf
countenance." When Charles found it his interest to show favor to the old 
royalists, and to the church of England, Ormond,
who was much revered by that whole party, could not fail of recovering, together 
with the government of Ireland, his former
credit and authority. His administration, when lord lieutenant, corresponded to 
the general tenor of his life; and tended
eqiually to promote the interests of prince and people, of Jrotestant and 
Catholic. Ever firmly attached to the established
religion, he was able, even during those jealous times, to escape suspicion, 
though he gratified not vulgar prejudices by any
persecution of the Popish party. He increased the revenue of Ireland to three 
hundred thousand pounds a year: he
maintained a regular army of ten thousand men: he supported a well-disciplined 
militia- of twenty thousand: and though the
act of settlement had so far been infringed, that Catholics were permitted to 
live in corporate towns, they were guarded with
so careful an eye, that the most timorous Protestant never apprehended any 
danger from them. The chief object of Essex's
ambition was to return to the stationr of lord lieutenant, where he had behaved 
with honor and integrity: Shaftesbury and
Buckingham bore an extreme hatred to Ormond, both from personal and party 
considerations: the great aim of the
anti-courtiers was to throw reflections on every part of the king's government. 
It could be no surprise, therefore, to the lord
lieutenant to learn, that his administration was attacked in parliament, 
particularly by Shaftesbury; but he had the satisfaction,
at the same time, to hear of the keen though polite defence made by his son, the 
generous Ossory. After justifying several
particulars of Ormond's administration against that intriguing patriot, Ossory 
proceeded in the following words: " Having
spoken of what the lord lieutenant has done, I presume with the same truth to 
tell your lordships what he has not done. He
never advised the breaking of the triple league; he never advised the shut. ting 
up of the exchequer; he never advised the
declaration for a toleration; he never advised the falling out with the Dutch 
and the joining with France: he was not the author
of 




Page 247 

CHARLES II. 247 that most excellent position, Delenda est Carthago, that 
Holland, a Protestant country, should, contrary
to the true interests of England, be totally destroyed. I beg that your 
lordships will be so just as to judge of my father and all
men according "to their actions and their. counsels." These few sentences, 
pronounced by a plain, gallant soldier, noted for
probity, had a surprising effect upon the audience, and confounded all the 
rhetoric of his eloquent and factious adversary.
The prince of Orange, who esteemed the former character as much as he despised 
the latter, could not forbear
congratulating by letter the earl of Ossory on this new species of victory which 
he had obtained. Ossory, though he ever
kept at a distance from faction, was the most popular man in the kingdom; though 
he never made any compliance with the
corrupt views of the court, was beloved and respected by the king. A universal 
grief appeared on his death, which happened
about this time, and which the populace, as is usual wherever they are much 
affected, foolishly ascribed'to poison. Ormond
bore the loss with patience and dignity; though he ever retained a pleasing, 
however melancholy, sense of the signal merit of
Ossory. " I would not exchange my dead son," said he, "for any living son in 
Christendom." These particularities may appear
a digression; but it is with pleasure, I own, that I relax myself for a moment 
in the contempla;il) uo;!hese humane and virtuous
characters, amidst that scene of fury and faction, fraud and violence, in which 
at present our narration has unfortunately
engaged us. Besides the general interest of the country party to decry the 
conduct of all the king's ministers, the prudent and
peaceable administration of Ormond was in a particular manner displeasing to 
them. In England,.where the Catholics were
scarcely one to a hundred, means had been found to excite a universal panic, on 
account of insurrections and even
massacres projected by that sect; and it could not hut seem strange that in 
Ireland, where they exceeded the Protestants six
to one, there should no symptoms appear of any comb'nation or conspiracy. Such 
an incident, when duly consitvtd, might
even in England shake the credit of the plot,, ad diminish the authority of 
those leaders who had so long, w:th such industry,
inculcated the belief of it on the nation. Rewards, therefore, were published in 
Ireland to any ttyt would bring intelligence or
become witnesses; and sot.,-e