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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4245-h.zip b/4245-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..054129d --- /dev/null +++ b/4245-h.zip diff --git a/4245-h/4245-h.htm b/4245-h/4245-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e28131b --- /dev/null +++ b/4245-h/4245-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6549 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" /> +<title>A History of the Early Part of the Reign of James the Second</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1, H2 { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + } + H3, H4, H5 { + text-align: left; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + table { border-collapse: collapse; } + td { vertical-align: top; border: 1px solid black;} + td p { margin: 0.2em; } + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .pagenum {position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + color: gray;} + + .citation {vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: none;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h2> +<a href="#startoftext">A History of the Early Part of the Reign of James the Second, by Charles James Fox</a> +</h2> +<pre> +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A History of the Early Part of the Reign of +James the Second, by Charles James Fox, Edited by Henry Morley + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A History of the Early Part of the Reign of James the Second + + +Author: Charles James Fox + +Editor: Henry Morley + +Release Date: October 4, 2007 [eBook #4245] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE EARLY PART OF THE +REIGN OF JAMES THE SECOND*** +</pre> +<p><a name="startoftext"></a></p> +<p>Transcribed from the 1888 Cassell & Company edition by +David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org</p> +<p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">cassell’s +national library</span>.</p> +<h1>A HISTORY<br /> +<span class="smcap">of the</span><br /> +<span class="smcap"><i>early part of the reign</i></span><br /> +<span class="smcap">of</span><br /> +JAMES THE SECOND</h1> +<p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">by</span><br /> +CHARLES JAMES FOX.</p> +<p style="text-align: center">CASSELL & COMPANY, <span +class="smcap">Limited</span>:<br /> +<span class="smcap"><i>london</i></span>, <span +class="smcap"><i>paris</i></span>, <span class="smcap"><i>new +york & melbourne</i></span>.<br /> +1888.</p> +<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> +<p>Fox’s “History of the Reign of James II.,” +which begins with his view of the reign of Charles II. and breaks +off at the execution of Monmouth, was the beginning of a History +of England from the Revolution, upon which he worked in the last +years of his life, for which he collected materials in Paris +after the Peace of Amiens, in 1802—he died in September, +1806—and which was first published in 1808.</p> +<p>The grandfather of Charles James Fox was Stephen, son of +William Fox, of Farley, in Wiltshire. Stephen Fox was a +young royalist under Charles I. He was twenty-two at the +time of the king’s execution, went into exile during the +Commonwealth, came back at the Restoration, was appointed +paymaster of the first two regiments of guards that were raised, +and afterwards Paymaster of all the Forces. In that office +he made much money, but rebuilt the church at Farley, and earned +lasting honour as the actual founder of Chelsea Hospital, which +was opened in 1682 for wounded and superannuated soldiers. +The ground and buildings had been appointed by James I., in 1609, +as Chelsea College, for the training of disputants against the +Roman Catholics. Sir Stephen Fox himself contributed +thirteen thousand pounds to the carrying out of this +design. Fox’s History dealt, therefore, with times in +which his grandfather had played a part.</p> +<p>In 1703, when his age was seventy-six, Stephen Fox took a +second wife, by whom he had two sons, who became founders of two +families; Stephen, the elder, became first Earl of Ilchester; +Henry, the younger, who married Georgina, daughter of the Duke of +Richmond, and was himself created, in 1763, Baron Holland of +Farley. Of the children of that marriage Charles James Fox +was the third son, born on the 24th of January, 1749. The +second son had died in infancy.</p> +<p>Henry Fox inherited Tory opinions. He was regarded by +George II. as a good man of business, and was made Secretary of +War in 1754, when Charles James, whose cleverness made him a +favoured child, was five years old. In the next year Henry +Fox was Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The +outbreak of the Seven Years’ War bred discontent and change +of Ministry. The elder Fox had then to give place to the +elder Pitt. But Henry Fox was compensated by the office of +Paymaster of the Forces, from which he knew even better than his +father had known how to extract profit. He rapidly acquired +the wealth which he joined to his title as Lord Holland of +Farley, and for which he was attacked vigorously, until two +hundred thousand pounds—some part of the money that stayed +by him—had been refunded.</p> +<p>Henry Fox, Lord Holland, found his boy, Charles James, +brilliant and lively, made him a companion, and indulged him to +the utmost. Once he expressed a strong desire to break a +watch that his father was winding up: his father gave it him to +dash upon the floor. Once his father had promised that when +an old garden wall at Holland House was blown down with gunpowder +before replacing it with iron railings, he should see the +explosion. The workmen blew it down in the boy’s +absence: his father had the wall rebuilt in its old form that it +might be blown down again in his presence, and his promise +kept. He was sent first to Westminster School, and then to +Eton. At home he was his father’s companion, joined +in the talk of men at his father’s dinner-parties, +travelled at fourteen with his father to the Continent, and is +said to have been allowed five guineas a night for +gambling-money. He grew up reckless of the worth of money, +and for many years the excitement of gambling was to him as one +of the necessaries of life. His immense energy at school +and college made him work as hard as the most diligent man who +did nothing else, and devote himself to gambling, horse-racing, +and convivial pleasures as vigorously as if he were the weak man +capable of nothing else. The Eton boys all prophesied his +future fame. At Oxford, where he entered Hertford College, +he was one of the best men of his time, and one of the +wildest. A clergyman, strong in Greek, was arguing with +young Fox against the genuineness of a verse of the Iliad because +its measure was unusual. Fox at once quoted from memory +some twenty parallels.</p> +<p>From college he went on the usual tour of Europe, spending +lavishly, incurring heavy debts, and sending home large bills for +his father to pay. One bill alone, paid by his father to a +creditor at Naples, was for sixteen thousand pounds. He +came back in raiment of the highest fashion, and was put into +Parliament in 1768, not yet twenty years old, as member for +Midhurst. He began his political life with the family +opinions, defended the Ministry against John Wilkes, and was +provided promptly with a place as Paymaster of the Pensions to +the Widows of Land Officers, and then, when he had reached the +age of twenty-one, there was a seat found for him at the Board of +Admiralty.</p> +<p>At once Fox made his mark in the House as a brilliant debater +with an intellectual power and an industry that made him master +of the subjects he discussed. Still also he was scattering +money, and incurring debt, training race-horses, and staking +heavily at gambling tables. When a noble friend, who was +not a gambler, offered to bet fifty pounds upon a throw, Fox +declined, saying, “I never play for pence.”</p> +<p>After a few years of impatient submission to Lord North, Fox +broke from him, and it was not long before he had broken from +Lord North’s opinions and taken the side of the people in +all leading questions. He became the friend of Burke; and +joined in the attack upon the policy of Coercion that destroyed +the union between England and her American colonies. In +1774, at the age of twenty-five, Fox lost by death his father, +his mother, and his elder brother, who had succeeded to the +title, and who had left a little son to be his heir. In +February of that year Lord North had finally broken with Fox by +causing a letter to be handed to him in the House of Commons +while he was sitting by his side on the Treasury Bench.</p> +<blockquote><p>“His Majesty has thought proper to order a +new commission of the Treasury to be made out, in which I do not +perceive your name. <span +class="smcap">North</span>.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>By the end of the year he was member for Malmesbury, and one +of the chiefs in opposition. When Lord North opened the +session of 1775 with a speech arguing the need of coercion, Fox +compared what ought to have been done with what was done, and +said that Lord Chatham, the King of Prussia, nay, even Alexander +the Great, never gained more in one campaign than Lord North had +lost. He had lost a whole continent. When Lord +North’s ministry fell in 1782, Fox became a Secretary of +State, resigning on the death of Rockingham. In coalition +with Lord North, Fox brought in an India Bill, which was rejected +by the Lords, and caused a resignation of the Ministry. +Pitt then came into office, and there was rivalry between a Pitt +and a Fox of the second generation, with some reversal in each +son of the political bias of his father.</p> +<p>In opposing the policy that caused the American Revolution Fox +and Burke were of one mind. He opposed the slave +trade. After the outbreak of the French Revolution he +differed from Burke, and resolutely opposed Pitt’s policy +of interference by armed force.</p> +<p>William Pitt died on the 23rd January, 1806. Charles +James Fox became again a Secretary of State, and had set on foot +negotiations for a peace with France before his own death, eight +months later, at the age of fifty-seven.</p> +<p>During the last ten or twelve years of his life Fox had +withdrawn from the dissipations of his earlier years. His +interest in horse-racing flagged after the death, in 1793, of his +friend Lord Foley, a kindly, honourable man, upon whose judgment +in such matters Fox had greatly relied. Lord Foley began +his sporting life with a clear estate of £1,800 a year, and +£100,000 in ready money. He ended his sporting and +his earthly life with an estate heavily encumbered and an empty +pocket.</p> +<p style="text-align: right">H. M.</p> +<h2>INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.</h2> +<p>Introductory observations—First period, from Henry VII. +to the year 1588—Second period, from 1588 to +1640—Meeting of Parliament—Redress of +grievances—Strafford’s attainder—The +commencement of the Civil War—Treaty from the Isle of +Wight—The king’s execution—Cromwell’s +power; his character—Indifference of the nation respecting +forms of government—The Restoration—Ministry of +Clarendon sod Southampton—Cabal—Dutch War—De +Witt—The Prince of Orange—The Popish plot—The +Habeas Corpus Act—The Exclusion Bill—Dissolution of +Charles the Second’s last Parliament—His power; his +tyranny in Scotland; in England—Exorbitant +fines—Executions—Forfeitures of +charters—Despotism established—Despondency of good +men—Charles’s death; his character—Reflections +upon the probable consequences of his reign and death.</p> +<p>In reading the history of every country there are certain +periods at which the mind naturally pauses to meditate upon, and +consider them, with reference, not only to their immediate +effects, but to their more remote consequences. After the +wars of Marius and Sylla, and the incorporation, as it were, of +all Italy with the city of Rome, we cannot but stop to consider +the consequences likely to result from these important events; +and in this instance we find them to be just such as might have +been expected.</p> +<p>The reign of our Henry VII. affords a field of more doubtful +speculation. Every one who takes a retrospective view of +the wars of York and Lancaster, and attends to the regulations +effected by the policy of that prince, must see they would +necessarily lead to great and important changes in the +government; but what the tendency of such changes would be, and +much more, in what manner they would be produced, might be a +question of great difficulty. It is now the generally +received opinion, and I think a probable opinion, that to the +provisions of that reign we are to refer the origin, both of the +unlimited power of the Tudors and of the liberties wrested by our +ancestors from the Stuarts; that tyranny was their immediate, and +liberty their remote, consequence; but he must have great +confidence in his own sagacity who can satisfy himself that, +unaided by the knowledge of subsequent events, he could, from a +consideration of the causes, have foreseen the succession of +effects so different.</p> +<p>Another period that affords ample scope for speculation of +this kind is that which is comprised between the years 1588 and +1640, a period of almost uninterrupted tranquillity and +peace. The general improvement in all arts of civil life, +and, above all, the astonishing progress of literature, are the +most striking among the general features of that period, and are +in themselves causes sufficient to produce effects of the utmost +importance. A country whose language was enriched by the +works of Hooker, Raleigh, and Bacon, could not but experience a +sensible change in its manners and in its style of thinking; and +even to speak the same language in which Spenser and Shakespeare +had written seemed a sufficient plea to rescue the commons of +England from the appellation of brutes, with which Henry VIII. +had addressed them. Among the more particular effects of +this general improvement the most material and worthy to be +considered appear to me to have been the frequency of debate in +the House of Commons, and the additional value that came to be +set on a seat in that assembly.</p> +<p>From these circumstances a sagacious observer may be led to +expect the most important revolutions; and from the latter he may +be enabled to foresee that the House of Commons will be the +principal instrument in bringing them to pass. But in what +manner will that house conduct itself? Will it content +itself with its regular share of legislative power, and with the +influence which it cannot fail to possess whenever it exerts +itself upon the other branches of the legislative, and on the +executive power; or will it boldly (perhaps rashly) pretend to a +power commensurate with the natural rights of the representative +of the people? If it should, will it not be obliged to +support its claims by military force? And how long will +such a force be under its control? How long before it +follows the usual course of all armies, and ranges itself under a +single master? If such a master should arise, will he +establish an hereditary or an elective government? If the +first, what will be gained but a change of dynasty? If the +second, will not the military force, as it chose the first king +or protector (the name is of no importance), choose in effect all +his successors? Or will he fail, and shall we have a +restoration, usually the most dangerous and worst of all +revolutions? To some of these questions the answers may, +from the experience of past ages, be easy, but to many of them +far otherwise. And he will read history with most profit +who the most canvasses questions of this nature, especially if he +can divest his mind for the time of the recollection of the event +as it in fact succeeded.</p> +<p>The next period, as it is that which immediately precedes the +commencement of this history, requires a more detailed +examination; nor is there any more fertile of matter, whether for +reflection or speculation. Between the year 1640 and the +death of Charles II. we have the opportunity of contemplating the +state in almost every variety of circumstance. Religious +dispute, political contest in all its forms and degrees, from the +honest exertions of party and the corrupt intrigues of faction to +violence and civil war; despotism, first, in the person of a +usurper, and afterwards in that of an hereditary king; the most +memorable and salutary improvements in the laws, the most +abandoned administration of them; in fine, whatever can happen to +a nation, whether of glorious of calamitous, makes a part of this +astonishing and instructive picture.</p> +<p>The commencement of this period is marked by exertions of the +people, through their representatives in the House of Commons, +not only justifiable in their principle, but directed to the +properest objects, and in a manner the most judicious. Many +of their leaders were greatly versed in ancient as well as modern +learning, and were even enthusiastically attached to the great +names of antiquity; but they never conceived the wild project of +assimilating the government of England to that of Athens, of +Sparta, or of Rome. They were content with applying to the +English constitution, and to the English laws, the spirit of +liberty which had animated and rendered illustrious the ancient +republics. Their first object was to obtain redress of past +grievances, with a proper regard to the individuals who had +suffered; the next, to prevent the recurrence of such grievances +by the abolition of tyrannical tribunals acting upon arbitrary +maxims in criminal proceedings, and most improperly denominated +courts of justice. They then proceeded to establish that +fundamental principle of all free government, the preserving of +the purse to the people and their representatives. And +though there may be more difference of opinion upon their +proposed regulations in regard to the militia, yet surely, when a +contest was to be foreseen, they could not, consistently with +prudence, leave the power of the sword altogether in the hands of +an adverse party.</p> +<p>The prosecution of Lord Strafford, or rather, the manner in +which it was carried on, is less justifiable. He was, +doubtless, a great delinquent, and well deserved the severest +punishment; but nothing short of a clearly proved case of +self-defence can justify, or even excuse, a departure from the +sacred rules of criminal justice. For it can rarely indeed +happen that the mischief to be apprehended from suffering any +criminal, however guilty, to escape, can be equal to that +resulting from the violation of those rules to which the innocent +owe the security of all that is dear to them. If such cases +have existed they must have been in instances where trial has +been wholly out of the question, as in that of Cæsar and +other tyrants; but when a man is once in a situation to be tried, +and his person in the power of his accusers and his judges, he +can no longer be formidable in that degree which alone can +justify (if anything can) the violation of the substantial rules +of criminal proceedings.</p> +<p>At the breaking out of the Civil War, so intemperately +denominated a rebellion by Lord Clarendon and other Tory writers, +the material question appears to me to be, whether or not +sufficient attempts were made by the Parliament and their leaders +to avoid bringing affairs to such a decision? That, +according to the general principles of morality, they had justice +on their side cannot fairly be doubted; but did they sufficiently +attend to that great dictum of Tully in questions of civil +dissension, wherein he declares his preference of even an unfair +peace to the most just war? Did they sufficiently weigh the +dangers that might ensue even from victory; dangers, in such +cases, little less formidable to the cause of liberty than those +which might follow a defeat? Did they consider that it is +not peculiar to the followers of Pompey, and the civil wars of +Rome, that the event to be looked for is, as the same Tully +describes it, in case of defeat—proscription; in that of +victory—servitude? Is the failure of the negotiation +when the king was in the Isle of Wight to be imputed to the +suspicions justly entertained of his sincerity, or to the +ambition of the parliamentary leaders? If the insincerity +of the king was the real cause, ought not the mischief to be +apprehended from his insincerity rather to have been guarded +against by treaty than alleged as a pretence for breaking off the +negotiation? Sad, indeed, will be the condition of the +world if we are never to make peace with an adverse party whose +sincerity we have reason to suspect. Even just grounds for +such suspicions will but too often occur, and when such fail, the +proneness of man to impute evil qualities, as well as evil +designs, to his enemies, will suggest false ones. In the +present case the suspicion of insincerity was, it is true, so +just, as to amount to a moral certainty. The example of the +petition of right was a satisfactory proof that the king made no +point of adhering to concessions which he considered as extorted +from him; and a philosophical historian, writing above a century +after the time, can deem the pretended hard usage Charles met +with as a sufficient excuse for his breaking his faith in the +first instance, much more must that prince himself, with all his +prejudices and notions of his divine right, have thought it +justifiable to retract concessions, which to him, no doubt, +appeared far more unreasonable than the petition of right, and +which, with much more colour, he might consider as +extorted. These considerations were probably the cause why +the Parliament so long delayed their determination of accepting +the king’s offer as a basis for treaty; but, unfortunately, +they had delayed so long that when at last they adopted it they +found themselves without power to carry it into execution. +The army having now ceased to be the servants, had become the +masters of the Parliament, and, being entirely influenced by +Cromwell, gave a commencement to what may, properly speaking, be +called a new reign. The subsequent measures, therefore, the +execution of the king, as well as others, are not to be +considered as acts of the Parliament, but of Cromwell; and great +and respectable as are the names of some who sat in the high +court, they must be regarded, in this instance, rather as +ministers of that usurper than as acting from themselves.</p> +<p>The execution of the king, though a far less violent measure +than that of Lord Strafford, is an event of so singular a nature +that we cannot wonder that it should have excited more sensation +than any other in the annals of England. This exemplary act +of substantial justice, as it has been called by some, of +enormous wickedness by others, must be considered in two points +of view. First, was it not in itself just and +necessary? Secondly, was the example of it likely to be +salutary or pernicious? In regard to the first of these +questions, Mr. Hume, not perhaps intentionally, makes the best +justification of it by saying that while Charles lived the +projected republic could never be secure. But to justify +taking away the life of an individual upon the principle of +self-defence, the danger must be not problematical and remote, +but evident and immediate. The danger in this instance was +not of such a nature, and the imprisonment or even banishment of +Charles might have given to the republic such a degree of +security as any government ought to be content with. It +must be confessed, however, on the other aide, that if the +republican government had suffered the king to escape, it would +have been an act of justice and generosity wholly unexampled; and +to have granted him even his life would have been one among the +more rare efforts of virtue. The short interval between the +deposal and death of princes is become proverbial, and though +there may be some few examples on the other side as far as life +is concerned, I doubt whether a single instance can be found +where liberty has been granted to a deposed monarch. Among +the modes of destroying persons in such a situation, there can be +little doubt but that that adopted by Cromwell and his adherents +is the least dishonourable. Edward II., Richard II., Henry +VI., Edward V., had none of them long survived their deposal, but +this was the first instance, in our history at least, where, of +such an act, it could be truly said that it was not done in a +corner.</p> +<p>As to the second question, whether the advantage to be derived +from the example was such as to justify an act of such violence, +it appears to me to be a complete solution of it to observe that, +with respect to England (and I know not upon what ground we are +to set examples for other nations; or, in other words, to take +the criminal justice of the world into our hands) it was wholly +needless, and therefore unjustifiable, to set one for kings at a +time when it was intended the office of king should be abolished, +and consequently that no person should be in the situation to +make it the rule of his conduct. Besides, the miseries +attendant upon a deposed monarch seem to be sufficient to deter +any prince, who thinks of consequences, from running the risk of +being placed in such a situation; or, if death be the only evil +that can deter him, the fate of former tyrants deposed by their +subjects would by no means encourage him to hope he could avoid +even that catastrophe. As far as we can judge from the +event, the example was certainly not very effectual, since both +the sons of Charles, though having their father’s fate +before their eyes, yet feared not to violate the liberties of the +people even more than he had attempted to do.</p> +<p>If we consider this question of example in a more extended +view, and look to the general effect produced upon the minds of +men, it cannot be doubted but the opportunity thus given to +Charles to display his firmness and piety has created more +respect for his memory than it could otherwise have +obtained. Respect and pity for the sufferer on the one +hand, and hatred to his enemies on the other, soon produce favour +and aversion to their respective causes; and thus, even though it +should be admitted (which is doubtful) that some advantage may +have been gained to the cause of liberty by the terror of the +example operating upon the minds of princes, such advantage is +far outweighed by the zeal which admiration for virtue, and pity +for sufferings, the best passions of the human heart, have +excited in favour of the royal cause. It has been thought +dangerous to the morals of mankind, even in fiction and romance, +to make us sympathise with characters whose general conduct is +blameable; but how much greater must the effect be when in real +history our feelings are interested in favour of a monarch with +whom, to say the least, his subjects were obliged to contend in +arms for their liberty? After all, however, notwithstanding +what the more reasonable part of mankind may think upon this +question, it is much to be doubted whether this singular +proceeding has not as much as any other circumstance, served to +raise the character of the English nation in the opinion of +Europe in general. He who has read, and still more, he who +has heard in conversation discussions upon this subject by +foreigners, must have perceived that, even in the minds of those +who condemn the act, the impression made by it has been far more +that of respect and admiration than that of disgust and +horror. The truth is that the guilt of the +action—that is to say, the taking away of the life of the +king, is what most men in the place of Cromwell and his +associates would have incurred; what there is of splendour and of +magnanimity in it, I mean the publicity and solemnity of the act, +is what few would be capable of displaying. It is a +degrading fact to human nature, that even the sending away of the +Duke of Gloucester was an instance of generosity almost +unexampled in the history of transactions of this nature.</p> +<p>From the execution of the king to the death of Cromwell, the +government was, with some variation of forms, in substance +monarchical and absolute, as a government established by a +military force will almost invariably be, especially when the +exertions of such a force are continued for any length of +time. If to this general rule our own age, and a people +whom their origin and near relation to us would almost warrant us +to call our own nation, have afforded a splendid and perhaps a +solitary exception, we must reflect not only that a character of +virtues so happily tempered by one another, and so wholly +unalloyed with any vices, as that of Washington, is hardly to be +found in the pages of history, but that even Washington himself +might not have been able to act his most glorious of all parts +without the existence of circumstances uncommonly favourable, and +almost peculiar to the country which was to be the theatre of +it. Virtue like his depends not indeed upon time or place; +but although in no country or time would he have degraded himself +into a Pisistratus, or a Cæsar, or a Cromwell, he might +have shared the fate of a Cato, or a De Witt; or, like Ludlow and +Sidney, have mourned in exile the lost liberties of his +country.</p> +<p>With the life of the protector almost immediately ended the +government which he had established. The great talents of +this extraordinary person had supported during his life a system +condemned equally by reason and by prejudice: by reason, as +wanting freedom; by prejudice, as a usurpation; and it must be +confessed to be no mean testimony to his genius, that +notwithstanding the radical defects of such a system, the +splendour of his character and exploits render the era of the +protectorship one of the most brilliant in English history. +It is true his conduct in foreign concerns is set off to +advantage by a comparison of it with that of those who preceded +and who followed him. If he made a mistake in espousing the +French interest instead of the Spanish, we should recollect that +in examining this question we must divest our minds entirely of +all the considerations which the subsequent relative state of +those two empires suggest to us before we can become impartial +judges in it; and at any rate we must allow his reign, in regard +to European concerns, to have been most glorious when contrasted +with the pusillanimity of James I., with the levity of Charles +I., and the mercenary meanness of the two last princes of the +house of Stuart. Upon the whole, the character of Cromwell +must ever stand high in the list of those who raised themselves +to supreme power by the force of their genius; and among such, +even in respect of moral virtue, it would be found to be one of +the least exceptionable if it had not been tainted with that most +odious and degrading of all human vices, hypocrisy.</p> +<p>The short interval between Cromwell’s death and the +restoration exhibits the picture of a nation either so wearied +with changes as not to feel, or so subdued by military power as +not to dare to show, any care or even preference with regard to +the form of their government. All was in the army; and that +army, by such a concurrence of fortuitous circumstances as +history teaches us not to be surprised at, had fallen into the +hands of a man than whom a baser could not be found in its lowest +ranks. Personal courage appears to have been Monk’s +only virtue; reserve and dissimulation made up the whole stock of +his wisdom. But to this man did the nation look up, ready +to receive from his orders the form of government he should +choose to prescribe. There is reason to believe that, from +the general bias of the Presbyterians, as well as of the +Cavaliers, monarchy was the prevalent wish; but it is observable +that although the Parliament was, contrary to the principle upon +which it was pretended to be called, composed of many avowed +royalists, yet none dared to hint at the restoration of the king +till they had Monk’s permission, or rather command to +receive and consider his letters. It is impossible, in +reviewing the whole of this transaction, not to remark that a +general who had gained his rank, reputation, and station in the +service of a republic, and of what he, as well as others, called, +however falsely, the cause of liberty, made no scruple to lay the +nation prostrate at the feet of a monarch, without a single +provision in favour of that cause; and if the promise of +indemnity may seem to argue that there was some attention, at +least, paid to the safety of his associates in arms, his +subsequent conduct gives reason to suppose that even this +provision was owing to any other cause rather than to a generous +feeling of his breast. For he afterwards not only +acquiesced in the insults so meanly put upon the illustrious +corpse of Blake, under whose auspices and command he had +performed the most creditable services of his life, but in the +trial of Argyle produced letters of friendship and confidence to +take away the life of a nobleman, the zeal and cordiality of +whose co-operation with him, proved by such documents, was the +chief ground of his execution; thus gratuitously surpassing in +infamy those miserable wretches who, to save their own lives, are +sometimes persuaded to impeach and swear away the lives of their +accomplices.</p> +<p>The reign of Charles II. forms one of the most singular as +well as of the most important periods of history. It is the +era of good laws and bad government. The abolition of the +court of wards, the repeal of the writ De Heretico Comburendo, +the Triennial Parliament Bill, the establishment of the rights of +the House of Commons in regard to impeachment, the expiration of +the Licence Act, and, above all, the glorious statute of Habeas +Corpus, have therefore induced a modern writer of great eminence +to fix the year 1679 as the period at which our constitution had +arrived at its greatest theoretical perfection; but he owns, in a +short note upon the passage alluded to, that the times +immediately following were times of great practical +oppression. What a field for meditation does this short +observation from such a man furnish! What reflections does +it not suggest to a thinking mind upon the inefficacy of human +laws and the imperfection of human constitutions! We are +called from the contemplation of the progress of our +constitution, and our attention fixed with the most minute +accuracy to a particular point, when it is said to have risen to +its utmost perfection. Here we are, then, at the best +moment of the best constitution that ever human wisdom +framed. What follows? A tide of oppression and +misery, not arising from external or accidental causes, such as +war, pestilence, or famine, nor even from any such alteration of +the laws as might be supposed to impair this boasted perfection, +but from a corrupt and wicked administration, which all the so +much admired checks of the constitution were not able to +prevent. How vain, then, how idle, how presumptuous is the +opinion that laws can do everything! and how weak and pernicious +the maxim founded upon it, that measures, not men, are to be +attended to.</p> +<p>The first years of this reign, under the administration of +Southampton and Clarendon, form by far the least exceptionable +part of it; and even in this period the executions of Argyle and +Vane and the whole conduct of the Government with respect to +church matters, both in England and in Scotland, were gross +instances of tyranny. With respect to the execution of +those who were accused of having been more immediately concerned +in the king’s death, that of Scrope, who had come in upon +the proclamation, and of the military officers who had attended +the trial, was a violation of every principle of law and +justice. But the fate of the others, though highly +dishonourable to Monk, whose whole power had arisen from his zeal +in their service, and the favour and confidence with which they +had rewarded him, and not, perhaps, very creditable to the +nation, of which many had applauded, more had supported, and +almost all had acquiesced in the act, is not certainly to be +imputed as a crime to the king, or to those of his advisers who +were of the Cavalier party. The passion of revenge, though +properly condemned both by philosophy and religion, yet when it +is excited by injurious treatment of persons justly dear to us, +is among the most excusable of human frailties; and if Charles, +in his general conduct, had shown stronger feelings of gratitude +for services performed to his father, his character, in the eyes +of many, would be rather raised than lowered by this example of +severity against the regicides. Clarendon is said to have +been privy to the king’s receiving money from Louis XIV.; +but what proofs exist of this charge (for a heavy charge it is) I +know not. Southampton was one of the very few of the +Royalist party who preserved any just regard for the liberties of +the people; and the disgust which a person possessed of such +sentiments must unavoidably feel is said to have determined him +to quit the king’s service, and to retire altogether from +public affairs. Whether he would have acted upon this +determination, his death, which happened in the year 1667, +prevents us now from ascertaining.</p> +<p>After the fall of Clarendon, which soon followed, the king +entered into that career of misgovernment which, that he was able +to pursue it to its end, is a disgrace to the history of our +country. If anything can add to our disgust at the meanness +with which he solicited a dependence upon Louis XIV., it is, the +hypocritical pretence upon which he was continually pressing that +monarch. After having passed a law, making it penal to +affirm (what was true) that he was a papist, he pretended (which +was certainly not true) to be a zealous and bigoted papist; and +the uneasiness of his conscience at so long delaying a public +avowal of his conversion, was more than once urged by him as an +argument to increase the pension, and to accelerate the +assistance, he was to receive from France. In a later +period of his reign, when his interest, as he thought, lay the +other way, that he might at once continue to earn his wages, and +yet put off a public conversion, he stated some scruples, +contracted, no doubt, by his affection to the Protestant +churches, in relation to the popish mode of giving the sacrament, +and pretended a wish that the pope might be induced by Louis to +consider of some alterations in that respect, to enable him to +reconcile himself to the Roman church with a clear and pure +conscience.</p> +<p>The ministry known by the name of the Cabal seems to have +consisted of characters so unprincipled, as justly to deserve the +severity with which they have been treated by all writers who +have mentioned them; but if it is probable that they were ready +to betray their king, as well as their country, it is certain +that the king betrayed them, keeping from them the real state of +his connexion with France, and from some of them, at least, the +secret of what he was pleased to call his religion. Whether +this concealment on his part arose from his habitual treachery, +and from the incapacity which men of that character feel of being +open and honest, even when they know it is their interest to be +so, or from an apprehension that they might demand for themselves +some share of the French money, which he was unwilling to give +them, cannot now be determined. But to the want of genuine +and reciprocal confidence between him and those ministers is to +be attributed, in a great measure, the escape which the nation at +that time experienced—an escape, however, which proved to +be only a reprieve from that servitude to which they were +afterwards reduced in the latter years of the reign.</p> +<p>The first Dutch war had been undertaken against all maxims of +policy as well as of justice; but the superior infamy of the +second, aggravated by the disappointment of all the hopes +entertained by good men from the triple alliance, and by the +treacherous attempt at piracy with which it was commenced, seems +to have effaced the impression of it, not only from the minds of +men living at the time, but from most of the writers who have +treated of this reign. The principle, however, of both was +the same, and arbitrary power at home was the object of +both. The second Dutch war rendered the king’s system +and views so apparent to all who were not determined to shut +their eyes against conviction, that it is difficult to conceive +how persons who had any real care or regard either for the +liberty or honour of the country, could trust him +afterwards. And yet even Sir William Temple, who appears to +have been one of the most honest, as well as of the most +enlightened, statesmen of his time, could not believe his +treachery to be quite so deep as it was in fact, and seems +occasionally to have hoped that he was in earnest in his +professed intentions of following the wise and just system that +was recommended to him. Great instances of credulity and +blindness in wise men are often liable to the suspicion of being +pretended, for the purpose of justifying the continuing in +situations of power and employment longer than strict honour +would allow. But to Temple’s sincerity his subsequent +conduct gives abundant testimony. When he had reason to +think that his services could no longer be useful to his country +he withdrew wholly from public business, and resolutely adhered +to the preference of philosophical retirement, which, in his +circumstances, was just, in spite of every temptation which +occurred to bring him back to the more active scene. The +remainder of his life he seems to have employed in the most noble +contemplations and the most elegant amusements; every enjoyment +heightened, no doubt, by reflecting on the honourable part he had +acted in public affairs, and without any regret on his own +account (whatever he might feel for his country) at having been +driven from them.</p> +<p>Besides the important consequences produced by this second +Dutch war in England, it gave birth to two great events in +Holland; the one as favourable as the other was disastrous to the +cause of general liberty. The catastrophe of De Witt, the +wisest, best, and most truly patriotic minister that ever +appeared upon the public stage, as it was an act of the most +crying injustice and ingratitude, so, likewise, is it the most +completely discouraging example that history affords to the +lovers of liberty. If Aristides was banished, he was also +recalled; if Dion was repaid for his services to the Syracusans +by ingratitude, that ingratitude was more than once repented of; +if Sidney and Russell died upon the scaffold, they had not the +cruel mortification of falling by the hands of the people; ample +justice was done to their memory, and the very sound of their +names is still animating to every Englishman attached to their +glorious cause. But with De Witt fell also his cause and +his party; and although a name so respected by all who revere +virtue and wisdom, when employed in their noblest sphere, the +political service of the public, must undoubtedly be doubly dear +to his countrymen, yet I do not know that, even to this day, any +public honours have been paid by them to his memory.</p> +<p>On the other hand, the circumstances attending the first +appearance of the Prince of Orange in public affairs, were, in +every respect, most fortunate for himself, for England, for +Europe. Of an age to receive the strongest impressions, and +of a character to render such impressions durable, he entered the +world in a moment when the calamitous situation of the United +Provinces could not but excite in every Dutchman the strongest +detestation of the insolent ambition of Louis XIV., and the +greatest contempt of an English government, which could so far +mistake or betray the interests of the country as to lend itself +to his projects. Accordingly, the circumstances attending +his outset seem to have given a lasting bias to his character; +and through the whole course of his life the prevailing +sentiments of his mind seem to have been those which he imbibed +at this early period. These sentiments were most peculiarly +adapted to the positions in which this great man was destined to +be placed. The light in which he viewed Louis rendered him +the fittest champion of the independence of Europe; and in +England, French influence and arbitrary power were in those times +so intimately connected, that he who had not only seen with +disapprobation, but had so sensibly felt the baneful effects of +Charles’s connection with France, seemed educated, as it +were, to be the defender of English liberty. This +prince’s struggles in defence of his country, his success +in rescuing it from a situation to all appearance so desperate, +and the consequent failure and mortification of Louis XIV., form +a scene in history upon which the mind dwells with unceasing +delight. One never can read Louis’s famous +declaration against the Hollanders, knowing the event which is to +follow, without feeling the heart dilate with exultation, and a +kind of triumphant contempt, which, though not quite consonant to +the principles of pure philosophy, never fails to give the mind +inexpressible satisfaction. Did the relation of such events +form the sole, or even any considerable part of the +historian’s task, pleasant indeed would be his labours; +but, though far less agreeable, it is not a less useful or +necessary part of his business, to relate the triumphs of +successful wickedness, and the oppression of truth, justice, and +liberty.</p> +<p>The interval from the separate peace between England and the +United Provinces, to the peace of Nymwegen, was chiefly employed +by Charles in attempts to obtain money from France and other +foreign powers, in which he was sometimes more, sometimes less +successful; and in various false professions, promises, and other +devices to deceive his parliament and his people, in which he +uniformly failed. Though neither the nature and extent of +his connection with France, nor his design of introducing popery +into England, were known at that time as they now are, yet there +were not wanting many indications of the king’s +disposition, and of the general tendency of his designs. +Reasonable persons apprehended that the supplies asked were +intended to be used, not for the specious purpose of maintaining +the balance of Europe, but for that of subduing the parliament +and people who should give them; and the great antipathy of the +bulk of the nation to popery caused many to be both more +clear-sighted in discovering, and more resolute in resisting the +designs of the court, than they would probably have shown +themselves, if civil liberty alone had been concerned.</p> +<p>When the minds of men were in the disposition which such a +state of things was naturally calculated to produce, it is not to +be wondered at that a ready, and, perhaps, a too facile belief +should have been accorded to the rumour of a popish plot. +But with the largest possible allowance for the just +apprehensions which were entertained, and the consequent +irritation of the country, it is wholly inconceivable how such a +plot as that brought forward by Tongue and Oates could obtain any +general belief. Nor can any stretch of candour make us +admit it to be probable, that all who pretended a belief of it +did seriously entertain it. On the other hand, it seems an +absurdity, equal almost in degree to the belief of the plot +itself, to suppose that it was a story fabricated by the Earl of +Shaftesbury and the other leaders of the Whig party; and it would +be highly unjust, as well as uncharitable, not to admit that the +generality of those who were engaged in the prosecution of it +were probably sincere in their belief of it, since it is +unquestionable that at the time very many persons, whose +political prejudices were of a quite different complexion, were +under the same delusion. The unanimous votes of the two +houses of parliament, and the names, as well as the number of +those who pronounced Lord Strafford to be guilty, seem to put +this beyond a doubt. Dryden, writing soon after the time, +says, in his “Absalom and Achitophel,” that the plot +was</p> +<blockquote><p>“Bad in itself, but represented +wore:”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>that</p> +<blockquote><p>“Some truth there was, but dash’d and +brew’d with lies:”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>and that</p> +<blockquote><p>“Succeeding times did equal folly call,<br +/> +Believing nothing, or believing all.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>and Dryden will not, by those who are conversant in the +history and works of that immortal writer, be suspected either of +party prejudice in favour of Shaftesbury and the Whigs, or of any +view to prejudice the country against the Duke of York’s +succession to the crown. The king repeatedly declared his +belief of it. These declarations, if sincere, would have +some weight; but if insincere, as may be reasonably suspected, +they afford a still stronger testimony to prove that such belief +was not exclusively a party opinion, since it cannot be supposed +that even the crooked politics of Charles could have led him to +countenance fictions of his enemies, which were not adopted by +his own party. Wherefore, if this question were to be +decided upon the ground of authority, the reality of the plot +would be admitted; and it must be confessed, that, with regard to +facts remote, in respect either of time or place, wise men +generally diffide in their own judgment, and defer to that of +those who have had a nearer view of them. But there are +cases where reason speaks so plainly as to make all argument +drawn from authority of no avail, and this is surely one of +them. Not to mention correspondence by post on the subject +of regicide, detailed commissions from the pope, silver bullets, +&c. &c., and other circumstances equally ridiculous, we +need only advert to the part attributed to the Spanish government +in this conspiracy, and to the alleged intention of murdering the +king, to satisfy ourselves that it was a forgery.</p> +<p>Rapin, who argues the whole of this affair with a degree of +weakness as well as disingenuity very unusual to him, seems at +last to offer us a kind of compromise, and to be satisfied if we +will admit that there was a design or project to introduce popery +and an arbitrary power, at the head of which were the king and +his brother. Of this I am as much convinced as he can be; +but how does this justify the prosecution and execution of those +who suffered, since few if any of them, were in a situation to be +trusted by the royal conspirators with their designs? When +he says, therefore, that that is precisely what was understood by +the conspiracy, he by no means justifies those who were the +principal prosecutors of the plot. The design to murder the +king he calls the appendage of the plot: a strange expression +this, to describe the projected murder of a king; though not more +strange than the notion itself when applied to a plot, the object +of which was to render that very king absolute, and to introduce +the religion which he most favoured. But it is to be +observed, that though in considering the bill of exclusion, the +militia bill, and other legislative proceedings, the plot, as he +defines it—that is to say, the design of introducing popery +and arbitrary power—was the important point to be looked +to; yet in courts of justice, and for juries and judges, that +which he calls the appendage was, generally speaking, the sole +consideration.</p> +<p>Although, therefore, upon a review of this truly shocking +transaction, we may be fairly justified in adopting the milder +alternative, and in imputing to the greater part of those +concerned in it rather an extraordinary degree of blind credulity +than the deliberate wickedness of planning and assisting in the +perpetration of legal murders, yet the proceedings on the popish +plot must always be considered as an indelible disgrace upon the +English nation, in which king, parliament, judges, juries, +witnesses, prosecutors, have all their respective, though +certainly not equal, shares. Witnesses, of such a character +as not to deserve credit in the most trifling cause, upon the +most immaterial facts, gave evidence so incredible, or, to speak +more properly, so impossible to be true, that it ought not to +have been believed if it had come from the mouth of Cato; and +upon such evidence, from such witnesses, were innocent men +condemned to death and executed. Prosecutors, whether +attorneys and solicitors-general, or managers of impeachment, +acted with the fury which in such circumstances might be +expected; juries partook naturally enough of the national +ferment; and judges, whose duty it was to guard them against such +impressions, were scandalously active in confirming them in their +prejudices and inflaming their passions. The king, who is +supposed to have disbelieved the whole of the plot, never once +exercised his glorious prerogative of mercy. It is said he +dared not. His throne, perhaps his life, was at stake; and +history does not furnish us with the example of any monarch with +whom the lives of innocent or even meritorious subjects ever +appeared to be of much weight, when put in balance against such +considerations.</p> +<p>The measures of the prevailing party in the House of Commons, +in these times, appear (with the exception of their dreadful +proceedings in the business of the pretended plot, and of their +violence towards those who petitioned and addressed against +parliament) to have been, in general, highly laudable and +meritorious; and yet I am afraid it may be justly suspected that +it was precisely to that part of their conduct which related to +the plot, and which is most reprehensible, that they were +indebted for their power to make the noble, and, in some +instances, successful struggles for liberty, which do so much +honour to their memory. The danger to be apprehended from +military force being always, in the view of wise men, the most +urgent, they first voted the disbanding of the army, and the two +houses passed a bill for that purpose, to which the king found +himself obliged to consent. But to the bill which followed, +for establishing the regular assembling of the militia, and for +providing for their being in arms six weeks in the year, he +opposed his royal negative; thus making his stand upon the same +point on which his father had done; a circumstance which, if +events had taken a turn against him, would not have failed of +being much noticed by historians. Civil securities for +freedom came to be afterwards considered; and it is to be +remarked, that to these times of heat and passion, and to one of +those parliaments which so disgraced themselves and the nation by +the countenance given to Oates and Bedloe, and by the persecution +of so many innocent victims, we are indebted for the Habeas +Corpus act, the most important barrier against tyranny, and best +framed protection for the liberty of individuals, that has ever +existed in any ancient or modern commonwealth.</p> +<p>But the inefficacy of mere laws in favour of the subjects, in +the case of the administration of them falling into the hands of +persons hostile to the spirit in which they had been provided, +had been so fatally evinced by the general history of England, +ever since the grant of the Great Charter, and more especially by +the transactions of the preceding reign, that the parliament +justly deemed their work incomplete unless the Duke of York were +excluded from the succession to the crown. A bill, +therefore, for the purpose of excluding that prince was prepared, +and passed the House of Commons; but being vigorously resisted by +the court, by the church, and by the Tories, was lost in the +House of Lords. The restrictions offered by the king to be +put upon a popish successor are supposed to have been among the +most powerful of those means to which he was indebted for his +success.</p> +<p>The dispute was no longer, whether or not the dangers +resulting from James’s succession were real, and such as +ought to be guarded against by parliamentary provisions, but +whether the exclusion or restrictions furnished the most safe and +eligible mode of compassing the object which both sides pretended +to have in view. The argument upon this state of the +question is clearly, forcibly, and, I think, convincingly, stated +by Rapin, who exposes very ably the extreme folly of trusting to +measures, without consideration of the men who are to execute +them. Even in Hume’s statement of the question, +whatever may have been his intention, the arguments in favour of +the exclusion appear to me greatly to preponderate. Indeed, +it is not easy to conceive upon what principles even the Tories +could justify their support of the restrictions. Many among +them, no doubt, saw the provisions in the same light in which the +Whigs represented them, as an expedient, admirably, indeed, +adapted to the real object of upholding the present king’s +power, by the defeat of the exclusion, but never likely to take +effect for their pretended purpose of controlling that of his +successor, and supported them for that very reason. But +such a principle of conduct was too fraudulent to be avowed; nor +ought it, perhaps, in candour to be imputed to the majority of +the party. To those who acted with good faith, and meant +that the restrictions should really take place and be effectual, +surely it ought to have occurred (and to those who most prized +the prerogatives of the crown it ought most forcibly to have +occurred), that in consenting to curtail the powers of the crown, +rather than to alter the succession, they were adopting the +greater in order to avoid the lesser evil. The question of +what are to be the powers of the crown, is surely of superior +importance to that of who shall wear it? Those, at least, +who consider the royal prerogative as vested in the king, not for +his sake but for that of his subjects, must consider the one of +these questions as much above the other in dignity as the rights +of the public are more valuable than those of an +individual. In this view the prerogatives of the crown are, +in substance and effect, the rights of the people; and these +rights of the people were not to be sacrificed to the purpose of +preserving the succession to the most favoured prince much less +to one who, on account of his religious persuasion, was justly +feared and suspected. In truth, the question between the +exclusion and restrictions seems peculiarly calculated to +ascertain the different views in which the different parties in +this country have seen, and perhaps ever will see, the +prerogatives of the crown. The Whigs, who consider them as +a trust for the people—a doctrine which the Tories +themselves, when pushed in argument, will sometimes +admit—naturally think it their duty rather to change the +manager of the trust than to impair the subject of it; while +others, who consider them as the right or property of the king, +will as naturally act as they would do in the case of any other +property, and consent to the loss or annihilation of any part of +it, for the purpose of preserving the remainder to him whom they +style the rightful owner. If the people be the sovereign +and the king the delegate, it is better to change the bailiff +than to injure the farm; but if the king be the proprietor, it is +better the farm should be impaired—nay, part of it +destroyed—than that the whole should pass over to an +usurper. The royal prerogative ought, according to the +Whigs (not in the case of a popish successor only, but in all +cases), to be reduced to such powers as are in their exercise +beneficial to the people; and of the benefit of these they will +not rashly suffer the people to be deprived, whether the +executive power be in the hands of an hereditary or of an elected +king, of a regent, or of any other denomination of magistrate; +while, on the other hand, they who consider prerogative with +reference only to royalty, will, with equal readiness, consent +either to the extension or the suspension of its exercise, as the +occasional interests of the prince may seem to require. The +senseless plea of a divine and indefeasible right in James, which +even the legislature was incompetent to set aside, though as +inconsistent with the declarations of parliament in the statute +book, and with the whole practice of the English constitution, as +it is repugnant to nature and common sense, was yet warmly +insisted upon by the high church party. Such an argument, +as might naturally be expected, operated rather to provoke the +Whigs to perseverance than to dissuade them from their measure: +it was, in their eyes, an additional merit belonging to the +exclusion bill that it strengthened, by one instance more, the +authority of former statutes in reprobating a doctrine which +seems to imply that man can have a property in his +fellow-creatures. By far the best argument in favour of the +restrictions, is the practical one that they could be obtained, +and that the exclusion could not; but the value of this argument +is chiefly proved by the event. The exclusionists had a +fair prospect of success, and their plan being clearly the best, +they were justified in pursuing it.</p> +<p>The spirit of resistance which the king showed in the instance +of the militia and the exclusion bills, seems to have been +systematically confined to those cases where he supposed his +power to be more immediately concerned. In the prosecution +of the aged and innocent Lord Stafford, he was so far from +interfering in behalf of that nobleman, that many of those most +in his confidence, and, as it is affirmed, the Duchess of +Portsmouth herself, openly favoured the prosecution. Even +after the dissolution of him last parliament, when he had so far +subdued his enemies as to be no longer under any apprehensions +from them, he did not think it worth while to save the life of +Plunket, the popish Archbishop of Armagh, of whose innocence no +doubt could be entertained. But this is not to be wondered +at, since, in all transactions relative to the popish plot, minds +of a very different cast from Charles’s became, as by some +fatality, divested of all their wonted sentiments of justice and +humanity. Who can read without horror, the account of that +savage murmur of applause, which broke out upon one of the +villains at the bar, swearing positively to Stafford’s +having proposed the murder of the king? And how is this +horror deepened, when we reflect, that in that odious cry were +probably mingled the voices of men to whose memory every lover of +the English constitution is bound to pay the tribute of gratitude +and respect! Even after condemnation, Lord Russell himself, +whose character is wholly (this instance excepted) free from the +stain of rancour or cruelty, stickled for the severer mode of +executing the sentence, in a manner which his fear of the +king’s establishing a precedent of pardoning in cases of +impeachment (for this, no doubt, was his motive) cannot +satisfactorily excuse.</p> +<p>In an early period of the king’s difficulties, Sir +William Temple, whose life and character is a refutation of the +vulgar notion that philosophy and practical good sense in +business are incompatible attainments, recommended to him the +plan of governing by a council, which was to consist in great +part of the most popular noblemen and gentlemen in the +kingdom. Such persons being the natural, as well as the +safest, mediators between princes and discontented subjects, this +seems to have been the best possible expedient. Hume says +it was found too feeble a remedy; but he does not take notice +that it was never in fact tried, inasmuch as not only the +king’s confidence was withheld from the most considerable +members of the council, but even the most important +determinations were taken without consulting the council +itself. Nor can there be a doubt but the king’s +views, in adopting Temple’s advice, were totally different +from those of the adviser, whose only error in this transaction +seems to have consisted in recommending a plan, wherein +confidence and fair dealing were of necessity to be principal +ingredients, to a prince whom he well knew to be incapable of +either. Accordingly, having appointed the council in April, +with a promise of being governed in important matters by their +advice, he in July dissolved one parliament without their +concurrence, and in October forbade them even to give their +opinions upon the propriety of a resolution which he had taken of +proroguing another. From that time he probably considered +the council to be, as it was, virtually dissolved; and it was not +long before means presented themselves to him, better adapted, in +his estimation, even to his immediate objects, and certainly more +suitable to his general designs. The union between the +court and the church party, which had been so closely cemented by +their successful resistance to the Exclusion Bill, and its +authors, had at length acquired such a degree of strength and +consistency, that the king ventured first to appoint Oxford, +instead of London, for the meeting of parliament; and then, +having secured to himself a good pension from France, to dissolve +the parliament there met, with a full resolution never to call +another; to which resolution, indeed, Louis had bound him, as one +of the conditions on which he was to receive a stipend. No +measure was ever attended with more complete success. The +most flattering addresses poured in from all parts of the +kingdom; divine right, and indiscriminate obedience, were +everywhere the favourite doctrines; and men seemed to vie with +each other who should have the honour of the greatest share in +the glorious work of slavery, by securing to the king, for the +present, and after him to the duke, absolute and uncontrollable +power. They who, either because Charles had been called a +forgiving prince by his flatterers (upon what ground I could +never discover), or from some supposed connection between +indolence and good nature, had deceived themselves into a hope +that his tyranny would be of the milder sort, found themselves +much disappointed in their expectations.</p> +<p>The whole history of the remaining part of his reign exhibits +an uninterrupted series of attacks upon the liberty, property, +and lives of his subjects. The character of the government +appeared first, and with the most marked and prominent features, +in Scotland. The condemnation of Argyle and Weir, the one +for having subjoined an explanation when he took the test oath, +the other for having kept company with a rebel, whom it was not +proved he knew to be such, and who had never been proclaimed, +resemble more the acts of Tiberius and Domitian, than those of +even the most arbitrary modern governments. It is true, the +sentences were not executed; Weir was reprieved; and whether or +not Argyle, if he had not deemed it more prudent to escape by +flight, would have experienced the same clemency, cannot now be +ascertained. The terror of these examples would have been, +in the judgment of most men, abundantly sufficient to teach the +people of Scotland their duty, and to satisfy them that their +lives, as well as everything else they had been used to call +their own, were now completely in the power of their +masters. But the government did not stop here, and having +outlawed thousands, upon the same pretence upon which Weir had +been condemned, inflicted capital punishment upon such criminals +of both sexes as refused to answer, or answered otherwise than +was prescribed to them to the most ensnaring questions.</p> +<p>In England, the city of London seemed to hold out for a +certain time, like a strong fortress in a conquered country; and, +by means of this citadel, Shaftesbury and others were saved from +the vengeance of the court. But this resistance, however +honourable to the corporation who made it, could not be of long +duration. The weapons of law and justice were found feeble, +when opposed to the power of a monarch who was at the head of a +numerous and bigoted party of the nation, and who, which was most +material of all, had enabled himself to govern without a +parliament. Civil resistance in this country, even to the +most illegal attacks of royal tyranny, has never, I believe, been +successful, unless when supported by parliament, or at least by a +great party in one or other of the two houses. The court +having wrested from the livery of London, partly by corruption, +and partly by violence, the free election of their mayor and +sheriffs, did not wait the accomplishment of their plan for the +destruction of the whole corporation, which, from their first +success, they justly deemed certain, but immediately proceeded to +put in execution their system of oppression. Pilkington, +Colt, and Oates, were fined a hundred thousand pounds each for +having spoken disrespectfully of the Duke of York; Barnardiston, +ten thousand, for having in a private letter expressed sentiments +deemed improper; and Sidney, Russell, and Armstrong, found that +the just and mild principles which characterise the criminal law +of England could no longer protect their lives, when the +sacrifice was called for by the policy or vengeance of the +king. To give an account of all the oppression of this +period would be to enumerate every arrest, every trial, every +sentence, that took place in questions between the crown and the +subjects.</p> +<p>Of the Rye House plot it may be said, much more truly than of +the popish, that there was in it some truth, mixed with much +falsehood; and though many of the circumstances in +Kealing’s account are nearly as absurd and ridiculous as +those in Oates’s, it seems probable that there was among +some of those accused a notion of assassinating the king; but +whether this notion was over ripened into what may be called a +design, and, much more, whether it were ever evinced by such an +overt act as the law requires for conviction, is very +doubtful. In regard to the conspirators of higher ranks, +from whom all suspicion of participation in the intended +assassination has been long since done away, there is +unquestionably reason to believe that they had often met and +consulted, as well for the purpose of ascertaining the means they +actually possessed as for that of devising others for delivering +their country from the dreadful servitude into which it had +fallen; and thus far their conduct appears clearly to have been +laudable. If they went further, and did anything which +could be fairly construed into an actual conspiracy to levy war +against the king, they acted, considering the disposition of the +nation at that period, very indiscreetly. But whether their +proceedings had ever gone this length, is far from certain. +Monmouth’s communications with the king, when we reflect +upon all the circumstances of those communications, deserve not +the smallest attention; nor indeed, if they did, does the letter +which he afterwards withdrew prove anything upon this +point. And it is an outrage to common-sense to call Lord +Grey’s narrative written, as he himself states in his +letter to James II., while the question of his pardon was +pending, an authentic account. That which is most certain +in this affair is, that they had committed no overt act, +indicating the imagining of the king’s death, even +according to the most strained construction of the statute of +Edward III.; much less was any such act legally proved against +them. And the conspiring to levy war was not treason, +except by a recent statute of Charles II., the prosecutions upon +which were expressly limited to a certain time, which in these +cases had elapsed so that it is impossible not to assent to the +opinion of those who have ever stigmatised the condemnation and +execution of Russell as a most flagrant violation of law and +justice.</p> +<p>The proceedings in Sidney’s case were still more +detestable. The production of papers, containing +speculative opinions upon government and liberty, written long +before, and perhaps never even intended to be published, together +with the use made of those papers, in considering them as a +substitute for the second witness to the overt act, exhibited +such a compound of wickedness and nonsense as is hardly to be +paralleled in the history of juridical tyranny. But the +validity of pretences was little attended to at that time, in the +case of a person whom the court had devoted to destruction, and +upon evidence such as has been stated was this great and +excellent man condemned to die. Pardon was not to be +expected. Mr. Hume says, that such an interference on the +part of the king, though it might have been an act of heroic +generosity, could not be regarded as an indispensable duty. +He might have said with more propriety, that it was idle to +expect that the government, after having incurred so much guilt +in order to obtain the sentence, should, by remitting it, +relinquish the object just when it was within its grasp. +The same historian considers the jury as highly blamable, and so +do I; but what was their guilt in comparison of that of the court +who tried, and of the government who prosecuted, in this infamous +cause? Yet the jury, being the only party that can with any +colour be stated as acting independently of the government, is +the only one mentioned by him as blamable. The prosecutor +is wholly omitted in his censure, and so is the court; this last, +not from any tenderness for the judge (who, to do this author +justice, is no favourite with him), but lest the odious +connection between that branch of the judicature and the +government should strike the reader too forcibly; for Jeffreys, +in this instance, ought to be regarded as the mere tool and +instrument (a fit one, no doubt), of the prince who had appointed +him for the purpose of this and similar services. Lastly, +the king is gravely introduced on the question of pardon, as if +he had had no prior concern in the cause, and were now to decide +upon the propriety of extending mercy to a criminal condemned by +a court of judicature; nor are we once reminded what that +judicature was, by whom appointed, by whom influenced, by whom +called upon, to receive that detestable evidence, the very +recollection of which, even at this distance of time, fires every +honest heart with indignation. As well might we palliate +the murders of Tiberius, who seldom put to death his victims +without a previous decree of his senate. The moral of all +this seems to be, that whenever a prince can, by intimidation, +corruption, illegal evidence, or other such means, obtain a +verdict against a subject whom he dislikes, he may cause him to +be executed without any breach of indispensable duty; nay, that +it is an act of heroic generosity if he spares him. I never +reflect on Mr. Hume’s statement of this matter but with the +deepest regret. Widely as I differ from him upon many other +occasions, this appears to me to be the most reprehensible +passage of his whole work. A spirit of adulation towards +deceased princes, though in a good measure free from the +imputation of interested meanness, which is justly attached to +flattery when applied to living monarchs, yet, as it is less +intelligible with respect to its motives than the other, so is it +in its consequences still more pernicious to the general +interests of mankind. Fear of censure from contemporaries +will seldom have much effect upon men in situations of unlimited +authority: they will too often flatter themselves that the same +power which enables them to commit the crime will secure them +from reproach. The dread of posthumous infamy, therefore, +being the only restraint, their consciences excepted, upon the +passions of such persons, it is lamentable that this last defence +(feeble enough at best) should in any degree be impaired; and +impaired it must be, if not totally destroyed, when tyrants can +hope to find in a man like Hume, no less eminent for the +integrity and benevolence of his heart than for the depth and +soundness of his understanding, an apologist for even their +foulest murders.</p> +<p>Thus fell Russell and Sidney, two names that will, it is +hoped, be for ever dear to every English heart. When their +memory shall cease to be an object of respect and veneration, it +requires no spirit of prophecy to foretell that English liberty +will be fast approaching to its final consummation. Their +department was such as might be expected from men who knew +themselves to be suffering, not for their crimes, but for their +virtues. In courage they were equal, but the fortitude of +Russell, who was connected with the world by private and domestic +ties, which Sidney had not, was put to the severer trial; and the +story of the last days of this excellent man’s life fills +the mind with such a mixture of tenderness and admiration, that I +know not any scene in history that more powerfully excites our +sympathy, or goes more directly to the heart.</p> +<p>The very day on which Russell was executed, the University of +Oxford passed their famous decree, condemning formally, as +impious and heretical propositions, every principle upon which +the constitution of this or any other free country can maintain +itself. Nor was this learned body satisfied with +stigmatising such principles as contrary to the Holy Scriptures, +to the decrees of councils, to the writings of the fathers, to +the faith and profession of the primitive church, as destructive +of the kingly government, the safety of his majesty’s +person, the public peace, the laws of nature, and bounds of human +society; but after enumerating the several obnoxious +propositions, among which was one declaring all civil authority +derived from the people; another, asserting a mutual contract, +tacit or express, between the king and his subjects; a third, +maintaining the lawfulness of changing the succession to the +crown; with many others of a like nature, they solemnly decreed +all and every of those propositions to be not only false and +seditious, but impious, and that the books which contained them +were fitted to lead to rebellion, murder of princes, and atheism +itself. Such are the absurdities which men are not ashamed +to utter in order to cast odious imputations upon their +adversaries; and such the manner in which churchmen will abuse, +when it suits their policy, the holy name of that religion whose +first precept is to love one another, for the purpose of teaching +us to hate our neighbours with more than ordinary rancour. +If <i>Much Ado about Nothing</i> had been published in those +days, the town-clerk’s declaration, that receiving a +thousand ducats for accusing the Lady Hero wrongfully, was flat +burglary, might be supposed to be a satire upon this decree; yet +Shakespeare, well as he knew human nature, not only as to its +general course, but in all its eccentric deviations, could never +dream that, in the persons of Dogberry, Verges, and their +followers, he was representing the vice-chancellors and doctors +of our learned university.</p> +<p>Among the oppressions of this period, most of which were +attended with consequences so much more important to the several +objects of persecution, it may seem scarcely worth while to +notice the expulsion of John Locke from Christ Church College, +Oxford. But besides the interest which every incident in +the life of a person so deservedly eminent naturally excites, +there appears to have been something in the transaction itself +characteristic of the spirit of the times, as well as of the +general nature of absolute power. Mr. Locke was known to +have been intimately connected with Lord Shaftesbury, and had +very prudently judged it advisable for him to prolong for some +time his residence upon the Continent, to which he had resorted +originally on account of his health. A suspicion, as it has +been since proved unfounded, that he was the author of a pamphlet +which gave offence to the government, induced the king to insist +upon his removal from his studentship at Christ Church. +Sunderland writes, by the king’s command, to Dr. Fell, +bishop of Oxford and dean of Christ Church. The reverend +prelate answers that he has long had an eye upon Mr. +Locke’s behaviour; but though frequent attempts had been +made (attempts of which the bishop expresses no disapprobation), +to draw him into imprudent conversation, by attacking, in his +company, the reputation, and insulting the memory of his late +patron and friend, and thus to make his gratitude and all the +best feelings of his heart instrumental to his ruin, these +attempts all proved unsuccessful. Hence the bishop infers, +not the innocence of Mr. Locke, but that he was a great master of +concealment both as to words and looks; for looks, it is to be +supposed, would have furnished a pretext for his expulsion, more +decent than any which had yet been discovered. An expedient +is then suggested to drive Mr. Locke to a dilemma, by summoning +him to attend the college on the first of January ensuing. +If he do not appear, he shall be expelled for contumacy; if he +come, matter of charge may be found against him for what he shall +have said at London or elsewhere, where he will have been less +upon his guard than at Oxford. Some have ascribed +Fell’s hesitation, if it can be so called, in executing the +king’s order, to his unwillingness to injure Locke, who was +his friend; others, with more reason, to the doubt of the +legality of the order. However this may have been, neither +his scruple nor his reluctance was regarded by a court who knew +its own power. A peremptory order was accordingly sent, and +immediate obedience ensued. Thus, while without the shadow +of a crime, Mr. Locke lost a situation attended with some +emolument and great convenience, was the university deprived of, +or rather thus, from the base principles of servility, did she +cast away the man, the having produced whom is now her chiefest +glory; and thus, to those who are not determined to be blind, did +the true nature of absolute power discover itself, against which +the middling station is not more secure than the most +exalted. Tyranny, when glutted with the blood of the great, +and the plunder of the rich, will condescend to bent humbler +game, and make a peaceable and innocent fellow of a college the +object of its persecution. In this instance one would +almost imagine there was some instinctive sagacity in the +government of that time, which pointed out to them, even before +he had made himself known to the world, the man who was destined +to be the most successful adversary of superstition and +tyranny.</p> +<p>The king, during the remainder of his reign, seems, with the +exception of Armstrong’s execution, which must be added to +the catalogue of his murders, to have directed his attacks more +against the civil rights, properties, and liberties, than against +the lives of his subjects. Convictions against evidence, +sentences against law, enormous fines, cruel imprisonments, were +the principal engines employed for the purpose of breaking the +spirit of individuals, and fitting their necks for the +yoke. But it was not thought fit to trust wholly to the +effect which such examples would produce upon the public. +That the subjugation of the people might be complete, and +despotism be established upon the most solid foundation, measures +of a more general nature and effect were adopted; and first, the +charter of London, and then those of almost all the other +corporations in England, were either forfeited or forced to a +surrender. By this act of violence two important points +were thought to be gained; one, that in every regular assemblage +of the people in any part of the kingdom the crown would have a +commanding influence; the other, that in case the king should +find himself compelled to break his engagement to France, and to +call a parliament, a great majority of members would be returned +by electors of his nomination, and subject to his control. +In the affair of the charter of London, it was seen, as in the +case of ship-money, how idle it is to look to the integrity of +judges for a barrier against royal encroachments, when the courts +of justice are not under the constant and vigilant control of +parliament. And it is not to be wondered at, that, after +such a warning, and with no hope of seeing a parliament assemble, +even they who still retained their attachment to the true +constitution of their country, should rather give way to the +torrent than make a fruitless and dangerous resistance.</p> +<p>Charles being thus completely master, was determined that the +relative situation of him and his subjects should be clearly +understood, for which purpose he ordered a declaration to be +framed, wherein, after having stated that he considered the +degree of confidence they had reposed in him as an honour +particular to his reign, which not one of his predecessors had +ever dared even to hope for, he assured them he would use it with +all possible moderation, and convince even the most violent +republicans, that as the crown was the origin of the rights and +liberties of the people, so was it their most certain and secure +support. This gracious declaration was ready for the press +at the time of the king’s death, and if he had lived to +issue it, there can be little doubt how it would have been +received at a time when</p> +<blockquote><p> “nunquam libertas gratior +extat<br /> +Quam sub rege pio,”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>was the theme of every song, and, by the help of some +perversion of Scripture, the text of every sermon. But +whatever might be the language of flatterers, and how loud soever +the cry of a triumphant, but deluded party, there were not +wanting men of nobler sentiments and of more rational +views. Minds once thoroughly imbued with the love of what +Sidney, in his last moments, so emphatically called the good old +cause, will not easily relinquish their principles: nor was the +manner in which absolute power was exercised, such as to +reconcile to it, in practice, those who had always been averse to +it in speculation. The hatred of tyranny must, in such +persons, have been exasperated by the experience of its effects, +and their attachment to liberty proportionably confirmed. +To them the state of their country must have been intolerable: to +reflect upon the efforts of their fathers, once their pride and +glory, and whom they themselves had followed with no unequal +steps, and to see the result of all in the scenes that now +presented themselves, must have filled their minds with +sensations of the deepest regret, and feelings bordering at least +on despondency. To us, who have the opportunity of +combining in our view of this period, not only the preceding but +subsequent transactions, the consideration of it may suggest +reflections far different and speculations more +consolatory. Indeed, I know not that history can furnish a +more forcible lesson against despondency, than by recording that +within a short time from those dismal days in which men of the +greatest constancy despaired, and had reason to do so, within +five years from the death of Sidney arose the brightest era of +freedom known to the annals of our country.</p> +<p>It is said that the king, when at the summit of his power, was +far from happy; and a notion has been generally entertained that +not long before his death he had resolved upon the recall of +Monmouth, and a correspondent change of system. That some +such change was apprehended seems extremely probable, from the +earnest desire which the court of France, as well as the Duke of +York’s party in England, entertained, in the last years of +Charles’s life, to remove the Marquis of Halifax, who was +supposed to have friendly dispositions to Monmouth. Among +the various objections to that nobleman’s political +principles, we find the charge most relied upon, for the purpose +of injuring him in the mind of the king, was founded on the +opinion he had delivered in council, in favour of modelling the +charters of the British colonies in North America upon the +principles of the rights and privileges of Englishmen. +There was no room to doubt (he was accused of saying) that the +same laws under which we live in England, should be established +in a country composed of Englishmen. He even dilated upon +this, and omitted none of the reasons by which it can be proved +that an absolute government is neither so happy nor so safe as +that which is tempered by laws, and which limits the authority of +the prince. He exaggerated, it was said, the mischiefs of a +sovereign power, and declared plainly that he could not make up +his mind to live under a king who should have it in his power to +take, when he pleased, the money he might have in his +pocket. All the other ministers had combated, as might be +expected, sentiments so extraordinary; and without entering into +the general question of the comparative value of different forms +of government, maintained that his majesty could and ought to +govern countries so distant in the manner that should appear to +him most suitable for preserving or augmenting the strength and +riches of the mother country. It had been, therefore, +resolved that the government and council of the provinces under +the new charter should not be obliged to call assemblies of the +colonists for the purpose of imposing taxes, or making other +important regulations, but should do what they thought fit, +without rendering any account of their actions except to his +Britannic Majesty. The affair having been so decided with a +concurrence only short of unanimity, was no longer considered as +a matter of importance, nor would it be worth recording, if the +Duke of York and the French court had not fastened upon it, as +affording the best evidence of the danger to be apprehended from +having a man of Halifax’s principles in any situation of +trust or power. There is something curious in discovering +that even at this early period a question relative to North +American liberty, and even to North American taxation, was +considered as the test of principles friendly or adverse to +arbitrary power at home. But the truth is, that among the +several controversies which have arisen there is no other wherein +the natural rights of man on the one hand, and the authority of +artificial institution on the other, as applied respectively by +the Whigs and Tories to the English constitution, are so fairly +put in issue, nor by which the line of separation between the two +parties is so strongly and distinctly marked.</p> +<p>There is some reason for believing that the court of +Versailles had either wholly discontinued, or, at least, had +become very remiss in, the payments of Charles’s pension; +and it is not unlikely that this consideration induced him either +really to think of calling a parliament, or at least to threaten +Louis with such a measure, in order to make that prince more +punctual in performing his part of their secret treaty. But +whether or not any secret change was really intended, or if it +were to what extent, and to what objects directed, are points +which cannot now be ascertained, no public steps having ever been +taken in this affair, and his majesty’s intentions, if in +truth he had any such, becoming abortive by the sudden illness +which seized him on the 1st of February, 1685, and which, in a +few days afterwards, put an end to his reign and life. His +death was by many supposed to have been the effect of poison; but +although there is reason to believe that this suspicion was +harboured by persons very near to him, and, among others, as I +have heard, by the Duchess of Portsmouth, it appears, upon the +whole, to rest upon very slender foundations.</p> +<p>With respect to the character of this prince, upon the +delineation of which so much pains have been employed, by the +various writers who treat of the history of his time, it must be +confessed that the facts which have been noticed in the foregoing +pages furnish but too many illustrations of the more unfavourable +parts of it. From these we may collect that his ambition +was directed solely against his subjects, while he was completely +indifferent concerning the figure which he or they might make in +the general affairs of Europe; and that his desire of power was +more unmixed with love of glory than that of any other man whom +history has recorded; that he was unprincipled, ungrateful, mean, +and treacherous, to which may be added, vindictive and +remorseless. For Burnet, in refusing to him the praise of +clemency and forgiveness, seems to be perfectly justifiable, nor +is it conceivable upon what pretence his partisans have taken +this ground of panegyric. I doubt whether a single instance +can be produced of his having spared the life of any one whom +motives either of policy, or of revenge, prompted him to +destroy. To allege that of Monmouth as it would be an +affront to human nature, so would it likewise imply the most +severe of all satires against the monarch himself, and we may +add, too, an undeserved one; for, in order to consider it as an +act of meritorious forbearance on his part, that he did not +follow the example of Constantine and Philip II., by imbruing his +hands in the blood of his son, we must first suppose him to have +been wholly void of every natural affection, which does not +appear to have been the case. His declaration that he would +have pardoned Essex, being made when that nobleman was dead, and +not followed by any act evincing its sincerity, can surely obtain +no credit from men of sense. If he had really had the +intention, he ought not to have made such a declaration, unless +he accompanied it with some mark of kindness to the relations, or +with some act of mercy to the friends of the deceased. +Considering it as a mere piece of hypocrisy, we cannot help +looking upon it as one of the most odious passages of his +life. This ill-timed boast of his intended mercy, and the +brutal taunt with which he accompanied his mitigation (if so it +may be called) of Russell’s sentence, show his +insensibility and hardness to have been such, that in questions +where right feelings were concerned, his good sense, and even the +good taste for which he has been so much extolled, seemed wholly +to desert him.</p> +<p>On the other hand, it would be want of candour to maintain +that Charles was entirely destitute of good qualities; nor was +the propriety of Burnet’s comparison between him and +Tiberius ever felt, I imagine, by any one but its author. +He was gay and affable, and, if incapable of the sentiments +belonging to pride of a laudable sort, he was at least free from +haughtiness and insolence. The praise of politeness, which +the stoics are not perhaps wrong in classing among the moral +virtues, provided they admit it to be one of the lowest order, +has never been denied him, and he had in an eminent degree that +facility of temper which, though considered by some moralists as +nearly allied to vice, yet, inasmuch as it contributes greatly to +the happiness of those around us, is in itself not only an +engaging but an estimable quality. His support of the queen +during the heats raised by the popish plot ought to be taken +rather as a proof that he was not a monster than to be ascribed +to him as a merit; but his steadiness to his brother, though it +may and ought, in a great measure, to be accounted for upon +selfish principles, had at least a strong resemblance to +virtue.</p> +<p>The best part of this prince’s character seems to have +been his kindness towards his mistresses, and his affection for +his children, and others nearly connected to him by the ties of +blood. His recommendation of the Duchess of Portsmouth and +Mrs. Gwyn, upon his death-bed, to his successor is much to his +honour; and they who censure it seem, in their zeal to show +themselves strict moralists, to have suffered their notions of +vice and virtue to have fallen into strange confusion. +Charles’s connection with those ladies might be vicious, +but at a moment when that connection was upon the point of being +finally and irrevocably dissolved, to concern himself about their +future welfare and to recommend them to his brother with earnest +tenderness was virtue. It is not for the interest of +morality that the good and evil actions, even of bad men, should +be confounded. His affection for the Duke of Gloucester and +for the Duchess of Orleans seems to have been sincere and +cordial. To attribute, as some have done, his grief for the +loss of the first to political considerations, founded upon an +intended balance of power between his two brothers, would be an +absurd refinement, whatever were his general disposition; but +when we reflect upon that carelessness which, especially in his +youth, was a conspicuous feature of his character, the absurdity +becomes still more striking. And though Burnet more +covertly, and Ludlow more openly, insinuate that his fondness for +his sister was of a criminal nature, I never could find that +there was any ground whatever for such a suspicion; nor does the +little that remains of their epistolary correspondence give it +the smallest countenance. Upon the whole, Charles II. was a +bad man and a bad king; let us not palliate his crimes, but +neither let us adopt false or doubtful imputations for the +purpose of making him a monster.</p> +<p>Whoever reviews the interesting period which we have been +discussing, upon the principle recommended in the outset of this +chapter, will find that, from the consideration of the past, to +prognosticate the future would at the moment of Charles’s +demise be no easy task. Between two persons, one of whom +should expect that the country would remain sunk in slavery, the +other, that the cause of freedom would revive and triumph, it +would be difficult to decide whose reasons were better supported, +whose speculations the more probable. I should guess that +he who desponded had looked more at the state of the public, +while he who was sanguine had fixed his eyes more attentively +upon the person who was about to mount the throne. Upon +reviewing the two great parties of the nation, one observation +occurs very forcibly, and that is, that the great strength of the +Whigs consisted in their being able to brand their adversaries as +favourers of popery; that of the Tories (as far as their strength +depended upon opinion, and not merely upon the power of the +crown), in their finding colour to represent the Whigs as +republicans. From this observation we may draw a further +inference, that, in proportion to the rashness of the crown in +avowing and pressing forward the cause of popery, and to the +moderation and steadiness of the Whigs in adhering to the form of +monarchy, would be the chance of the people of England for +changing an ignominious despotism for glory, liberty, and +happiness.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> +<p>Accession of James II.—His declaration in council; +acceptable to the nation—Arbitrary designs of his +reign—Former ministers continued—Money transactions +with France—Revenue levied without authority of +Parliament—Persecution of Dissenters—Character of +Jeffreys—The King’s affectation of +independence—Advances to the Prince of Orange—The +primary object of this reign—Transactions in +Scotland—Severe persecutions there—Scottish +Parliament—Cruelties of government—English +Parliament; its proceedings—Revenue—Votes concerning +religion—Bill for preservation of the King’s +person—Solicitude for the Church of England—Reversal +of Stafford’s attainder rejected—Parliament +adjourned—Character of the Tories—Situation of the +Whigs.</p> +<p>Charles II. expired on the 6th of February, 1684-85, and on +the same day his successor was proclaimed king in London, with +the usual formalities, by the title of James the Second. +The great influence which this prince was supposed to have +possessed in the government during the latter years of his +brother’s reign, and the expectation which was entertained +in consequence, that his measures, when monarch, would be of the +same character and complexion with those which he was known to +have highly approved, and of which he was thought by many to have +been the principal author, when a subject left little room for +that spirit of speculation which generally attends a demise of +the crown. And thus an event, which when apprehended a few +years before had, according to a strong expression of Sir William +Temple, been looked upon as the end of the world, was now deemed +to be of small comparative importance.</p> +<p>Its tendency, indeed, was rather to ensure perseverance than +to effect any change in the system which had been of late years +pursued. As there are, however, some steps indispensably +necessary on the accession of a new prince to the throne, to +these the public attention was directed, and though the character +of James had been long so generally understood as to leave little +doubt respecting the political maxims and principles by which his +reign would be governed, there was probably much curiosity, as +upon such occasions there always is, with regard to the conduct +he would pursue in matters of less importance, and to the general +language and behaviour which he would adopt in his new +situation. His first step was, of course, to assemble the +privy council, to whom he spoke as follows:—</p> +<p>“Before I enter upon any other business, I think fit to +say something to you. Since it hath pleated Almighty God to +place me in this station, and I am now to succeed so good and +gracious a king, as well as so very kind a brother, I think it +fit to declare to you that I will endeavour to follow his +example, and most especially in that of his great clemency and +tenderness to his people. I have been reported to be a man +for arbitrary power; but that is not the only story that has been +made of me; and I shall make it my endeavour to preserve this +government, both in Church and State, as it is now by law +established. I know the principles of the Church of England +are for monarchy, and the members of it have shown themselves +good and loyal subjects; therefore I shall always take care to +defend and support it. I know, too, that the laws of +England are sufficient to make the king as great a monarch as I +can wish; and as I shall never depart from the just rights and +prerogatives of the crown, so I shall never invade any +man’s property. I have often heretofore ventured my +life in defence of this nation and I shall go as far as any man +in preserving it in all its just rights and liberties.”</p> +<p>With this declaration the council were so highly satisfied, +that they supplicated his majesty to make it public, which was +accordingly done; and it is reported to have been received with +unbounded applause by the greater part of the nation. Some, +perhaps, there were, who did not think the boast of having +ventured his life very manly, and who, considering the +transactions of the last years of Charles’s reign, were not +much encouraged by the promise of imitating that monarch in +clemency and tenderness to his subjects. To these it might +appear, that whatever there was of consolatory in the +king’s disclaimer of arbitrary power and professed +attachment to the laws, was totally done away, as well by the +consideration of what his majesty’s notions of power and +law were, as by his declaration that he would follow the example +of a predecessor, whose government had not only been marked with +the violation, in particular cases, of all the most sacred laws +of the realm, but had latterly, by the disuse of parliaments, in +defiance of the statute of the sixteenth year of his reign, stood +upon a foundation radically and fundamentally illegal. To +others it might occur that even the promise to the Church of +England, though express with respect to the condition of it, +which was no other than perfect acquiescence in what the king +deemed to be the true principles of monarchy, was rather vague +with regard to the nature or degree of support to which the royal +speaker might conceive himself engaged. The words, although +in any interpretation of them they conveyed more than he possibly +ever intended to perform, did by no means express the sense which +at that time, by his friends, and afterwards by his enemies, was +endeavoured to be fixed on them. There was, indeed, a +promise to support the establishment of the Church, and +consequently the laws upon which that establishment immediately +rested; but by no means an engagement to maintain all the +collateral provisions which some of its more zealous members +might judge necessary for its security.</p> +<p>But whatever doubts or difficulties might be felt, few or none +were expressed. The Whigs, as a vanquished party, were +either silent or not listened to, and the Tories were in a temper +of mind which does not easily admit suspicion. They were +not more delighted with the victory they had obtained over their +adversaries, than with the additional stability which, as they +vainly imagined, the accession of the new monarch was likely to +give to their system. The truth is that, his religion +excepted (and that objection they were sanguine enough to +consider as done away by a few gracious words in favour of the +Church), James was every way better suited to their purpose than +his brother. They had entertained continual apprehensions, +not perhaps wholly unfounded, of the late king’s returning +kindness to Monmouth, the consequences of which could not easily +be calculated; whereas, every occurrence that had happened, as +well as every circumstance in James’s situation, seemed to +make him utterly irreconcilable with the Whigs. Besides, +after the reproach, as well as alarm, which the notoriety of +Charles’s treacherous character must so often have caused +them, the very circumstance of having at their head a prince, of +whom they could with any colour hold out to their adherents that +his word was to be depended upon, was in itself a matter of +triumph and exultation. Accordingly, the watchword of the +party was everywhere—“We have the word of a king, and +a word never yet broken;” and to such a length was the +spirit of adulation, or perhaps the delusion, carried, that this +royal declaration was said to be a better security for the +liberty and religion of the nation than any which the law could +devise.</p> +<p>The king, though much pleased, no doubt, with the popularity +which seemed to attend the commencement of his reign, as a +powerful medium for establishing the system of absolute power, +did not suffer himself, by any show of affection from his people, +to be diverted from his design of rendering his government +independent of them. To this design we must look as the +mainspring of all his actions at this period; for with regard to +the Roman Catholic religion, it is by no means certain that he +yet thought of obtaining for it anything more than a complete +toleration. With this view, therefore, he could not take a +more judicious resolution than that which he had declared in his +speech to the privy council, and to which he seems, at this time, +to have steadfastly adhered, of making the government of his +predecessor the model for his own. He therefore continued +in their offices, notwithstanding the personal objections he +might have to some of them, those servants of the late king, +during whose administration that prince had been so successful in +subduing his subjects, and eradicating almost from the minds of +Englishmen every sentiment of liberty.</p> +<p>Even the Marquis of Halifax, who was supposed to have +remonstrated against many of the late measures, and to have been +busy in recommending a change of system to Charles, was continued +in high employment by James, who told him that, of all his past +conduct, he should remember only his behaviour upon the exclusion +bill, to which that nobleman had made a zealous and distinguished +opposition; a handsome expression, which has been the more +noticed, as well because it is almost the single instance of this +prince’s showing any disposition to forget injuries, as on +account of a delicacy and propriety in the wording of it, by no +means familiar to him.</p> +<p>Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, whom he appointed lord +treasurer, was in all respects calculated to be a fit instrument +for the purposes then in view. Besides being upon the worst +terms with Halifax, in whom alone, of all his ministers, James +was likely to find any bias in favour of popular principles, he +was, both from prejudice of education, and from interest, +inasmuch as he had aspired to be the head of the Tories, a great +favourer of those servile principles of the Church of England +which had been lately so highly extolled from the throne. +His near relation to the Duchess of York might also be some +recommendation, but his privity to the late pecuniary +transactions between the courts of Versailles and London, and the +cordiality with which he concurred in them, were by far more +powerful titles to his new master’s confidence. For +it must be observed of this minister, as well as of many others +of his party, that his <i>high</i> notions, as they are +frequently styled, of power, regarded only the relation between +the king and his subjects, and not that in which he might stand +with respect to foreign princes; so that, provided he could, by a +dependence, however servile, upon Louis XIV., be placed above the +control of his parliament and people at home, he considered the +honour of the crown unsullied.</p> +<p>Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, who was continued as +secretary of state, had been at one period a supporter of the +exclusion bill, and had been suspected of having offered the +Duchess of Portsmouth to obtain the succession to the crown for +her son, the Duke of Richmond. Nay more, King James, in his +“Memoirs,” charges him with having intended, just at +the time of Charles’s death, to send him into a second +banishment; but with regard to this last point, it appears +evident to me, that many things in those “Memoirs,” +relative to this earl, were written after James’s +abdication, and in the greatest bitterness of spirit, when he was +probably in a frame of mind to believe anything against a person +by whom he conceived himself to have been basely deserted. +The reappointment, therefore, of this nobleman to so important an +office, is to be accounted for partly upon the general principle +above-mentioned, of making the new reign a mere continuation of +the former, and partly upon Sunderland’s extraordinary +talents for ingratiating himself with persons in power, and +persuading them that he was the fittest instrument for their +purposes; a talent in which he seems to have surpassed all the +intriguing statesmen of his time, or perhaps of any other.</p> +<p>An intimate connection with the court of Versailles being the +principal engine by which the favourite project of absolute +monarchy was to be effected, James, for the purpose of fixing and +cementing that connection, sent for M. de Barillon, the French +ambassador, the very day after his accession, and entered into +the most confidential discourse with him. He explained to +him his motives for intending to call a parliament, as well as +his resolution to levy by authority the revenue which his +predecessor had enjoyed in virtue of a grant of parliament which +determined with his life. He made general professions of +attachment to Louis, declared that in all affairs of importance +it was his intention to consult that monarch, and apologised, +upon the ground of the urgency of the case, for acting in the +instance mentioned without his advice. Money was not +directly mentioned, owing, perhaps, to some sense of shame upon +that subject, which his brother had never experienced; but lest +there should be a doubt whether that object were implied in the +desire of support and protection, Rochester was directed to +explain the matter more fully, and to give a more distinct +interpretation of these general terms. Accordingly, that +minister waited the next morning upon Barillon, and after having +repeated and enlarged upon the reasons for calling a parliament, +stated, as an additional argument in defence of the measure, that +without it his master would become too chargeable to the French +king; adding, however, that the assistance which might be +expected from a parliament, did not exempt him altogether from +the necessity of resorting to that prince for pecuniary aids; for +that without such, he would be at the mercy of his subjects, and +that upon this beginning would depend the whole fortune of the +reign. If Rochester actually expressed himself as Barillon +relates, the use intended to be made of parliament cannot but +cause the most lively indignation, while it furnishes a complete +answer to the historians who accuse the parliaments of those days +of unseasonable parsimony in their grants to the Stuart kings; +for the grants of the people of England were not destined, it +seems, to enable their kings to oppose the power of France, or +even to be independent of her, but to render the influence which +Louis was resolved to preserve in this country less chargeable to +him, by furnishing their quota to the support of his royal +dependant.</p> +<p>The French ambassador sent immediately a detailed account of +these conversations to his court, where, probably, they were not +received with the less satisfaction on account of the request +contained in them having been anticipated. Within a very +few days from that in which the latter of them had passed, he was +empowered to accompany the delivery of a letter from his master, +with the agreeable news of having received from him bills of +exchange to the amount of five hundred thousand livres, to be +used in whatever manner might be convenient to the king of +England’s service. The account which Barillon gives, +of the manner in which this sum was received, is altogether +ridiculous: the king’s eyes were full of tears, and three +of his ministers, Rochester, Sunderland, and Godolphin, came +severally to the French ambassador, to express the sense their +master had of the obligation, in terms the most lavish. +Indeed, demonstrations of gratitude from the king directly, as +well as through his ministers, for this supply were such, as if +they had been used by some unfortunate individual, who, with his +whole family, had been saved, by the timely succour of some kind +and powerful protector, from a gaol and all its horrors, would be +deemed rather too strong than too weak. Barillon himself +seems surprised when he relates them; but imputes them to what +was probably their real cause, to the apprehensions that had been +entertained (very unreasonable ones!) that the king of France +might no longer choose to interfere in the affairs of England, +and consequently that his support could not be relied on for the +grand object of assimilating this government to his own.</p> +<p>If such apprehensions did exist, it is probable that they were +chiefly owing to the very careless manner, to say the least, in +which Louis had of late fulfilled his pecuniary engagements to +Charles, so as to amount, in the opinion of the English +ministers, to an actual breach of promise. But the +circumstances were in some respects altered. The French +king had been convinced that Charles would never call a +parliament; nay, further perhaps, that if he did, he would not be +trusted by one; and considering him therefore entirely in his +power, acted from that principle in insolent minds which makes +them fond of ill-treating and insulting those whom they have +degraded to a dependence on them. But James would probably +be obliged at the commencement of a new reign to call a +parliament, and if well used by such a body, and abandoned by +France, might give up his project of arbitrary power, and consent +to govern according to the law and constitution. In such an +event, Louis easily foresaw, that, instead of a useful dependent, +he might find upon the throne of England a formidable +enemy. Indeed, this prince and his ministers seem all +along, with a sagacity that does them credit, to have foreseen, +and to have justly estimated, the dangers to which they would be +liable, if a cordial union should ever take place between a king +of England and his parliament, and the British councils be +directed by men enlightened and warmed by the genuine principles +of liberty. It was therefore an object of great moment to +bind the new king, as early as possible, to the system of +dependency upon France; and matter of less triumph to the court +of Versailles to have retained him by so moderate a fee, than to +that of London to receive a sum which, though small, was thought +valuable, no as an earnest of better wages and future +protection.</p> +<p>It had for some time been Louis’s favourite object to +annex to his dominion what remained of the Spanish Netherlands, +as well on account of their own intrinsic value, as to enable him +to destroy the United Provinces and the Prince of Orange; and +this object Charles had bound himself, by treaty with Spain, to +oppose. In the joy, therefore, occasioned by this noble +manner of proceeding (for such it was called by all the parties +concerned), the first step was to agree, without hesitation, that +Charles’s treaty with Spain determined with his life, a +decision which, if the disregard that had been shown to it did +not render the question concerning it nugatory, it would be +difficult to support upon any principles of national law or +justice. The manner in which the late king had conducted +himself upon the subject of this treaty, that is to say, the +violation of it, without formally renouncing it, was gravely +commended, and stated to be no more than what might justly be +expected from him; but the present king was declared to be still +more free, and in no way bound by a treaty, from the execution of +which his brother had judged himself to be sufficiently +dispensed. This appears to be a nice distinction, and what +that degree of obligation was, from which James was exempt, but +which had lain upon Charles, who neither thought himself bound, +nor was expected by others to execute the treaty, it is difficult +to conceive.</p> +<p>This preliminary being adjusted, the meaning of which, through +all this contemptible shuffling, was, that James, by giving up +all concern for the Spanish Netherlands, should be at liberty to +acquiesce in, or to second, whatever might be the ambitious +projects of the court of Versailles, it was determined that Lord +Churchill should be sent to Paris to obtain further pecuniary +aids. But such was the impression made by the frankness and +generosity of Louis, that there was no question of discussing or +capitulating, but everything was remitted to that prince, and to +the information his ministers might give him, respecting the +exigency of affairs in England. He who had so handsomely +been beforehand, in granting the assistance of five hundred +thousand livres, was only to be thanked for past, not importuned +for future, munificence. Thus ended, for the present, this +disgusting scene of iniquity and nonsense, in which all the +actors seemed to vie with each other in prostituting the sacred +names of friendship, generosity, and gratitude, in one of the +meanest and most criminal transactions which history records.</p> +<p>The principal parties in the business, besides the king +himself, to whose capacity, at least, if not to his situation it +was more suitable, and Lord Churchill, who acted as an inferior +agent, were Sunderland, Rochester, and Godolphin, all men of high +rank and considerable abilities, but whose understandings, as +well as their principles, seem to have been corrupted by the +pernicious schemes in which they were engaged. With respect +to the last-mentioned nobleman in particular, it is impossible, +without pain, to see him engaged in such transactions. With +what self-humiliation must he not have reflected upon them in +subsequent periods of his life! How little could Barillon +guess that he was negotiating with one who was destined to be at +the head of an administration which, in a few years, would send +the same Lord Churchill not to Paris, to implore Louis for +succours towards enslaving England, or to thank him for pensions +to her monarch, but to combine all Europe against him in the +cause of liberty, to rout his armies, to take his towns, to +humble his pride, and to shake to the foundation that fabric of +power which it had been the business of a long life to raise, at +the expense of every sentiment of tenderness to his subjects, and +of justice and good faith to foreign nations. It is with +difficulty the reader can persuade himself that the Godolphin and +Churchill here mentioned are the same persons who were afterwards +one in the cabinet, one in the field, the great conductors of the +war of the succession. How little do they appear in one +instance! how great in the other! And the investigation of +the cause to which this excessive difference is principally +owing, will produce a most useful lesson. Is the difference +to be attributed to any superiority of genius in the prince whom +they served in the latter period of their lives? Queen +Anne’s capacity appears to have been inferior even to her +father’s. Did they enjoy in a greater degree her +favour and confidence? The very reverse is the fact. +But in one case they were the tools of a king plotting against +his people; in the other, the ministers of a free government +acting upon enlarged principles, and with energies which no state +that is not in some degree republican can supply. How +forcibly must the contemplation of these men, in such opposite +situations, teach persons engaged in political life that a free +and popular government is desirable, not only for the public +good, but for their own greatness and consideration, for every +object of generous ambition!</p> +<p>The king having, as has been related, first privately +communicated his intentions to the French ambassador, issued +proclamations for the meeting of parliament, and for levying, +upon his sole authority, the customs and other duties which had +constituted part of the late king’s revenue, but to which, +the acts granting them having expired with the prince, James was +not legally entitled. He was advised by Lord Guildford, +whom he had continued in the office of keeper of the great seal, +and who upon such a subject, therefore, was a person likely to +have the greatest weight, to satisfy himself with directing the +money to be kept in the exchequer for the disposal of parliament, +which was shortly to meet; and by others, to take bonds from the +merchants for the duties, to be paid when parliament should +legalise them. But these expedients were not suited to the +king’s views, who, as well on account of his engagement +with France, as from his own disposition, was determined to take +no step that might indicate an intention of governing by +parliaments, or a consciousness of his being dependent upon them +for his revenue, he adopted, therefore, the advice of Jeffreys, +advice not resulting so much, probably, either from ignorance or +violence of disposition, as from his knowledge that it would be +most agreeable to his master, and directed the duties to be paid +as in the former reign. It was pretended, that an +interruption in levying some of the duties might be hurtful to +trade; but as every difficulty of that kind was obviated by the +expedients proposed, this arbitrary and violent measure can with +no colour be ascribed to a regard to public convenience, nor to +any other motive than to a desire of reviving Charles I.’s +claims to the power of taxation, and of furnishing a most +intelligible comment upon his speech to the council on the day of +his accession. It became evident what the king’s +notions were, with respect to that regal prerogative from which +he professed himself determined never to depart, and to that +property which he would never invade. What were the +remaining rights and liberties of the nation, which he was to +preserve, might be more difficult to discover; but that the laws +of England, in the royal interpretation of them, were sufficient +to make the king as great a monarch as he, or, indeed, any prince +could desire, was a point that could not be disputed. This +violation of law was in itself most flagrant; it was applied to a +point well understood, and thought to have been so completely +settled by repeated and most explicit declarations of the +legislature, that it must have been doubtful whether even the +most corrupt judges, if the question had been tried, would have +had the audacity to decide it against the subject. But no +resistance was made; nor did the example of Hampden, which a half +century before had been so successful, and rendered that +patriot’s name so illustrious, tempt any one to emulate his +fame, so completely had the crafty and sanguinary measures of the +late reign attained the object to which they were directed, and +rendered all men either afraid or unwilling to exert themselves +in the cause of liberty.</p> +<p>On the other hand, addresses the most servile were daily sent +to the throne. That of the University of Oxford stated that +the religion which they professed bound them to unconditional +obedience to their sovereign without restrictions or limitations; +and the Society of Barristers and Students of the Middle Temple +thanked his majesty for the attention he had shown to the trade +of the kingdom, concerning which, and its balance (and upon this +last article they laid particular stress), they seemed to think +themselves peculiarly called upon to deliver their opinion. +But whatever might be their knowledge in matters of trade, it was +at least equal to that which these addressers showed in the laws +and constitution of their country, since they boldly affirmed the +king’s right to levy the duties, and declared that it had +never been disputed but by persons engaged, in what they were +pleased to call rebellion against his royal father. The +address concluded with a sort of prayer that all his +majesty’s subjects might be as good lawyers as themselves, +and disposed to acknowledge the royal prerogative in all its +extent.</p> +<p>If these addresses are remarkable for their servility, that of +the gentlemen and freeholders of the county of Suffolk was no +less so for the spirit of party violence that was displayed in +it. They would take care, they said, to choose +representatives who should no more endure those who had been for +the Exclusion Bill, than the last parliament had the abhorrers of +the association; and thus not only endeavoured to keep up his +majesty’s resentment against a part of their +fellow-subjects, but engaged themselves to imitate, for the +purpose of retaliation, that part of the conduct of their +adversaries which they considered as most illegal and +oppressive.</p> +<p>It is a remarkable circumstance, that among all the adulatory +addresses of this time, there is not to be found, in any one of +them, any declaration of disbelief in the popish plot, or any +charge upon the late parliament for having prosecuted it, though +it could not but be well known that such topics would, of all +others, be most agreeable to the court. Hence we may +collect that the delusion on this subject was by no means at an +end, and that they who, out of a desire to render history +conformable to the principles of poetical justice, attribute the +unpopularity and downfall of the Whigs to the indignation excited +by their furious and sanguinary prosecution of the plot, are +egregiously mistaken. If this had been in any degree the +prevailing sentiment, it is utterly unaccountable that, so far +from its appearing in any of the addresses of these times, this +most just ground of reproach upon the Whig party, and the +parliament in which they had had the superiority, was the only +one omitted in them. The fact appears to have been the very +reverse of what such historians suppose, and that the activity of +the late parliamentary leaders, in prosecuting the popish plot, +was the principal circumstance which reconciled the nation, for a +time, to their other proceedings; that their conduct in that +business (now so justly condemned) was the grand engine of their +power, and that when that failed, they were soon overpowered by +the united forces of bigotry and corruption. They were +hated by a great part of the nation, not for their crimes, but +for their virtues. To be above corruption is always odious +to the corrupt, and to entertain more enlarged and juster notions +of philosophy and government, is often a cause of alarm to the +narrow-minded and superstitious. In those days particularly +it was obvious to refer to the confusion, greatly exaggerated of +the times of the commonwealth; and it was an excellent watchword +of alarm, to accuse every lover of law and liberty of designs to +revive the tragical scene which had closed the life of the first +Charles. In this spirit, therefore, the Exclusion Bill, and +the alleged conspiracies of Sidney and Russell, were, as might +naturally be expected, the chief charges urged against the Whigs; +but their conduct on the subject of the popish plot was so far +from being the cause of the hatred born to them, that it was not +even used as a topic of accusation against them.</p> +<p>In order to keep up that spirit in the nation, which was +thought to be manifested in the addresses, his majesty ordered +the declaration, to which allusion was made in the last chapter, +to be published, interwoven with a history of the Rye House Plot, +which is said to have been drawn by Dr. Spratt, Bishop of +Rochester. The principal drift of this publication was, to +load the memory of Sidney and Russell, and to blacken the +character of the Duke of Monmouth, by wickedly confounding the +consultations holden by them with the plot for assassinating the +late king, and in this object it seems in a great measure to have +succeeded. He also caused to be published an attestation of +his brother’s having died a Roman Catholic, together with +two papers, drawn up by him, in favour of that persuasion. +This is generally considered to have been a very ill-advised +instance of zeal; but probably James thought, that at a time when +people seemed to be so in love with his power, he might safely +venture to indulge himself in a display of his attachment to his +religion; and perhaps, too, it might be thought good policy to +show that a prince, who had been so highly complimented as +Charles had been, for the restoration and protection of the +Church, had, in truth, been a Catholic, and thus to inculcate an +opinion that the Church of England might not only be safe, but +highly favoured, under the reign of a popish prince.</p> +<p>Partly from similar motives, and partly to gratify the natural +vindictiveness of his temper, he persevered in a most cruel +persecution of the Protestant dissenters, upon the most frivolous +pretences. The courts of justice, as in Charles’s +days, were instruments equally ready, either for seconding the +policy or for gratifying the bad passions of the monarch; and +Jeffreys, whom the late king had appointed chief justice of +England a little before Sidney’s trial, was a man entirely +agreeable to the temper, and suitable to the purposes, of the +present government. He was thought not to be very learned +in his profession; but what might be wanting in knowledge he made +up in positiveness; and, indeed, whatever might be the +difficulties in questions between one subject and another, the +fashionable doctrine, which prevailed at that time, of supporting +the king’s prerogative in its full extent, and without +restriction or limitation, rendered, to such as espoused it, all +that branch of law which is called constitutional extremely easy +and simple. He was as submissive and mean to those above +him as he was haughty and insolent to those who were in any +degree in his power; and if in his own conduct he did not exhibit +a very nice regard for morality, or even for decency, he never +failed to animadvert upon, and to punish, the most slight +deviation in others with the utmost severity, especially if they +were persons whom he suspected to be no favourites of the +court.</p> +<p>Before this magistrate was brought for trial, by a jury +sufficiently prepossessed in favour of Tory politics, the Rev. +Richard Baxter, a dissenting minister, a pious and learned man, +of exemplary character, always remarkable for his attachment to +monarchy, and for leaning to moderate measures in the differences +between the Church and those of his persuasion. The +pretence for this prosecution was a supposed reference of some +passages in one of his works to the bishops of the Church of +England; a reference which was certainly not intended by him, and +which could not have been made out to any jury that had been less +prejudiced, or under any other direction than that of +Jeffreys. The real motive was, the desire of punishing an +eminent dissenting teacher, whose reputation was high among his +sect, and who was supposed to favour the political opinions of +the Whigs. He was found guilty, and Jeffreys, in passing +sentence upon him, loaded him with the coarsest reproaches and +bitterest taunts. He called him sometimes, by way of +derision, a saint, sometimes, in plainer terms, an old rogue; and +classed this respectable divine, to whom the only crime imputed +was the having spoken disrespectfully of the bishops of a +communion to which he did not belong, with the infamous Oates, +who had been lately convicted of perjury. He finished with +declaring, that it was a matter of public notoriety that there +was a formed design to ruin the king and the nation, in which +this old man was the principal incendiary. Nor is it +improbable that this declaration, absurd as it was, might gain +belief at a time when the credulity of the triumphant party was +at its height.</p> +<p>Of this credulity it seems to be no inconsiderable testimony, +that some affected nicety which James had shown with regard to +the ceremonies to be used towards the French ambassador, was +highly magnified, and represented to be an indication of the +different tone that was to be taken by the present king, in +regard to foreign powers, and particularly to the court of +Versailles. The king was represented as a prince eminently +jealous of the national honour, and determined to preserve the +balance of power in Europe, by opposing the ambitious projects of +France at the very time when he was supplicating Louis to be his +pensioner, and expressing the most extravagant gratitude for +having been accepted as such. From the information which we +now have, it appears that his applications to Louis for money +were incessant, and that the difficulties were all on the side of +the French court. Of the historians who wrote prior to the +inspection of the papers in the foreign office in France, Burnet +is the only one who seems to have known that James’s +pretensions of independency with respect to the French king were +(as he terms them) only a show; but there can now be no reason to +doubt the truth of the anecdote which he relates, that Louis soon +after told the Duke of Villeroy, that if James showed any +apparent uneasiness concerning the balance of power (and there is +some reason to suppose he did) in his conversations with the +Spanish and other foreign ambassadors, his intention was, +probably, to alarm the court of Versailles, and thereby to extort +pecuniary assistance to a greater extent; while, on the other +hand, Louis, secure in the knowledge that his views of absolute +power must continue him in dependence upon France, seems to have +refused further supplies, and even in some measure to have +withdrawn those which had been stipulated, as a mark of his +displeasure with his dependant, for assuming a higher tone than +he thought becoming.</p> +<p>Whether with a view of giving some countenance to those who +were praising him upon the above mentioned topic, or from what +other motive it is now not easy to conjecture, James seems to +have wished to be upon apparent good terms, at least, with the +Prince of Orange; and after some correspondence with that prince +concerning the protection afforded by him and the states-general +to Monmouth, and other obnoxious persons, it appears that he +declared himself, in consequence of certain explanations and +concessions, perfectly satisfied. It is to be remarked, +however, that he thought it necessary to give the French +ambassador an account of this transaction, and in a manner to +apologise to him for entering into any sort of terms with a +son-in-law, who was supposed to be hostile in disposition to the +French king. He assured Barillon that a change of system on +the part of the Prince of Orange in regard to Louis, should be a +condition of his reconciliation: he afterwards informed him that +the Prince of Orange had answered him satisfactorily in all other +respects, but had not taken notice of his wish that he should +connect himself with France; but never told him that he had, +notwithstanding the prince’s silence on that material +point, expressed himself completely satisfied with him. +That a proposition to the Prince of Orange, to connect himself in +politics with Louis would, if made, have been rejected, in the +manner in which the king’s account to Barillon implies that +it was, there can be no doubt; but whether James ever had the +assurance to make it is more questionable; for as he evidently +acted disingenuously with the ambassador, in concealing from him +the complete satisfaction he had expressed of the Prince of +Orange’s present conduct, it is not unreasonable to suppose +that he deceived him still further, and pretended to have made an +application, which he had never hazarded.</p> +<p>However, the ascertaining of this fact is by no means +necessary for the illustration, either of the general history or +of James’s particular character, since it appears that the +proposition, if made, was rejected; and James is, in any case, +equally convicted of insincerity, the only point in question +being, whether he deceived the French ambassador, in regard to +the fact of his having made the proposition, or to the sentiments +he expressed upon its being refused. Nothing serves more to +show the dependence in which he considered himself to be upon +Louis than these contemptible shifts to which he condescended, +for the purposes of explaining and apologising for such parts of +his conduct as might be supposed to be less agreeable to that +monarch than the rest. An English parliament acting upon +constitutional principles, and the Prince of Orange, were the two +enemies whom Louis most dreaded; and, accordingly, whenever James +found it necessary to make approaches to either of them, an +apology was immediately to be offered to the French ambassador, +to which truth sometimes and honour was always sacrificed.</p> +<p>Mr. Hume says the king found himself, by degrees, under the +necessity of falling into an union with the French monarch, who +could alone assist him in promoting the Catholic religion in +England. But when that historian wrote, those documents had +not been made public, from which the account of the +communications with Barillon has been taken, and by which it +appears that a connection with France was, as well in point of +time as in importance, the first object of his reign, and that +the immediate specific motive to that connection was the same as +that of his brother; the desire of rendering himself independent +of parliament, and absolute, not that of establishing popery in +England, which was considered as a more remote contingency. +That this was the case is evident from all the circumstances of +the transaction, and especially from the zeal with which he was +served in it by ministers who were never suspected of any leaning +towards popery, and not one of whom (Sunderland excepted) could +be brought to the measures that were afterwards taken in favour +of that religion. It is the more material to attend to this +distinction, because the Tory historians, especially such of them +as are not Jacobites, have taken much pains to induce us to +attribute the violences and illegalities of this reign to +James’s religion, which was peculiar to him, rather than to +that desire of absolute power which so many other princes have +had, have, and always will have, in common with him. The +policy of such misrepresentation is obvious. If this reign +is to be considered as a period insulated, as it were, and +unconnected with the general course of history, and if the events +of it are to be attributed exclusively to the particular +character and particular attachments of the monarch, the sole +inference will be that we must not have a Catholic for our king; +whereas, if we consider it, which history well warrants us to do, +as a part of that system which had been pursued by all the Stuart +kings, as well prior as subsequent to the restoration, the lesson +which it affords is very different, as well as far more +instructive. We are taught, generally, the dangers +Englishmen will always be liable to, if, from favour to a prince +upon the throne, or from a confidence, however grounded, that his +views are agreeable to our own notions of the constitution, we in +any considerable degree abate of that vigilant and unremitting +jealousy of the power of the crown, which can alone secure to us +the effect of those wise laws that have been provided for the +benefit of the subject: and still more particularly, that it is +in vain to think of making a compromise with power, and by +yielding to it in other points, preserving some favourite object, +such, for instance, as the Church in James’s case, from its +grasp.</p> +<p>Previous to meeting his English parliament, James directed a +parliament which had been summoned in the preceding reign, to +assemble at Edinburgh, and appointed the Duke of Queensbury his +commissioner. This appointment is, in itself, a strong +indication that the king’s views, with regard to Scotland +at least, were similar to those which I have ascribed to him in +England; and that they did not at that time extend to the +introduction of popery, but were altogether directed to the +establishment of absolute power as the <i>end</i>, and to the +support of an episcopal church, upon the model of the Church of +England, as the <i>means</i>. For Queensbury had explained +himself to his majesty in the fullest manner upon the subject of +religion; and while he professed himself to be ready (as, indeed, +his conduct in the late reign had sufficiently proved) to go any +length in supporting royal power and in persecuting the +Presbyterians, had made it a condition of his services, that he +might understand from his majesty that there was no intention of +changing the established religion; for if such was the object, he +could not make any one step with him in that matter. James +received this declaration most kindly, assured him he had no such +intention, and that he would have a parliament, to which he, +Queensbury, should go as commissioner, and giving all possible +assurances in the matter of religion, get the revenue to be +settled, and such other laws to be passed as might be necessary +for the public safety. With these promises the duke was not +only satisfied at the time, but declared, at a subsequent period, +that they had been made in so frank and hearty a manner, as made +him conclude that it was impossible the king should be acting a +part. And this nobleman was considered, and is handed down +to us by contemporary writers, as a man of a penetrating genius, +nor has it ever been the national character of the country to +which he belonged to be more liable to be imposed upon than the +rest of mankind.</p> +<p>The Scottish parliament met on the 23rd of April, and was +opened by the commissioner, with the following letter from the +king:—</p> +<blockquote><p>“My Lords and Gentlemen,—The many +experiences we have had of the loyalty and exemplary forwardness +of that our ancient kingdom, by their representatives in +parliament assembled, in the reign of our deceased and most +entirely beloved brother of ever blessed memory, made us desirous +to call you at this time, in the beginning of our reign, to give +you an opportunity, not only of showing your duty to us in the +same manner, but likewise of being exemplary to others in your +demonstrations of affection to our person and compliance with our +desires, as you have most eminently been in times past, to a +degree never to be forgotten by us, nor (we hope) to be +contradicted by your future practices. That which we are at +this time to propose unto you is what is as necessary for your +safety as our service, and what has a tendency more to secure +your own privileges and properties than the aggrandising our +power and authority (though in it consists the greatest security +of your rights and interests, these never having been in danger, +except when the royal power was brought too low to protect them), +which now we are resolved to maintain, in its greatest lustre, to +the end we may be the more enabled to defend and protect your +religion as established by law, and your rights and properties +(which was our design in calling this parliament) against +fanatical contrivances, murderers, and assassins, who having no +fear of God, more than honour for us, have brought you into such +difficulties as only the blessing of God upon the steady +resolutions and actings of our said dearest royal brother, and +those employed by him (in prosecution of the good and wholesome +laws, by you heretofore offered), could have saved you from the +most horrid confusions and inevitable ruin. Nothing has +been left unattempted by those wild and inhuman traitors for +endeavouring to overturn your peace; and therefore we have good +reason to hope that nothing will be wanting in you to secure +yourselves and us from their outrages and violence in time +coming, and to take care that such conspirators meet with their +just deservings, so as others may thereby be deterred from +courses so little agreeable to religion, or their duty and +allegiance to us. These things we considered to be of so +great importance to our royal, as well as the universal, interest +of that our kingdom, that we were fully resolved, in person, to +have proposed the needful remedies to you. But things +having so fallen out as render this impossible for us, we have +now thought fit to send our right trusty and right entirely +beloved cousin and councillor, William, Duke of Queensbury, to be +our commissioner amongst you, of whose abilities and +qualifications we have reason to be fully satisfied, and of whose +faithfulness to us, and zeal for our interest, we have had signal +proofs in the times of our greatest difficulties. Him we +have fully intrusted in all things relating to our service and +your own prosperity and happiness, and therefore you are to give +him entire trust and credit, as you now see we have done, from +whose prudence and your most dutiful affection to us, we have +full confidence of your entire compliance and assistance in all +those matters, wherein he is instructed as aforesaid. We +do, therefore, not only recommend unto you that such things be +done as are necessary in this juncture for your own peace, and +the support of our royal interest, of which we had so much +experience when amongst you, that we cannot doubt of your full +and ample expressing the same on this occasion, by which the +great concern we have in you, our ancient and kindly people, may +still increase, and you may transmit your loyal actions (as +examples of duty) to your posterity. In full confidence +whereof we do assure you of your royal favour and protection in +all your concerns, and so we bid you heartily +farewell.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>This letter deserves the more attention because, as the +proceedings of the Scotch parliament, according to a remarkable +expression in the letter itself, were intended to be an example +to others, there is the greatest reason to suppose the matter of +it must have been maturely weighed and considered. His +majesty first compliments the Scotch parliament upon their +peculiar loyalty and dutiful behaviour in past times, meaning, no +doubt, to contrast their conduct with that of those English +parliaments who had passed the Exclusion Bill, the Disbanding +Act, the Habeas Corpus Act, and other measures hostile to his +favourite principles of government. He states the granting +of an independent revenue, and the supporting the prerogative in +its greatest lustre, if not the aggrandising of it, to be +necessary for the preservation of their religion, established by +law (that is, the Protestant episcopacy), as well as for the +security of their properties against fanatical assassins and +murderers; thus emphatically announcing a complete union of +interests between the crown and the Church. He then bestows +a complete and unqualified approbation of the persecuting +measures of the last reign, in which he had borne so great a +share; and to those measures, and to the steadiness with which +they had been persevered in, he ascribes the escape of both +Church and State from the fanatics, and expresses his regret that +he could not be present, to propose in person the other remedies +of a similar nature, which he recommended as needful in the +present conjuncture.</p> +<p>Now it is proper in this place to inquire into the nature of +the measures thus extolled, as well for the purpose of +elucidating the characters of the king and his Scottish minsters, +as for that of rendering more intelligible the subsequent +proceedings of the parliament, and the other events which soon +after took place in that kingdom. Some general notions may +be formed of that course of proceedings which, according to his +majesty’s opinion, had been so laudably and resolutely +pursued during the late reign, from the circumstances alluded to +in the preceding chapter, when it is understood that the +sentences of Argyle and Laurie of Blackwood were not detached +instances of oppression, but rather a sample of the general +system of administration. The covenant, which had been so +solemnly taken by the whole kingdom, and, among the rest, by the +king himself, had been declared to be unlawful, and a refusal to +abjure it had been made subject to the severest penalties. +Episcopacy, which was detested by a great majority of the nation, +had been established, and all public exercise of religion, in the +forms to which the people were most attached, had been +prohibited. The attendance upon field conventicles had been +made highly penal, and the preaching at them capital, by which +means, according to the computation of a late writer, no less +remarkable for the accuracy of his facts than for the force and +justness of his reasonings, at least seventeen thousand persons +in one district were involved in criminality, and became the +objects of persecution. After this letters had been issued +by government, forbidding the intercommuning with persons who had +neglected or refused to appear before the Privy Council, when +cited for the above crimes, a proceeding by which not only all +succour or assistance to such persons, but, according to the +strict sense of the word made use of, all intercourse with them, +was rendered criminal, and subjected him who disobeyed the +prohibition to the same penalties, whether capital or others, +which were affixed to the alleged crimes of the party with whom +he had intercommuned.</p> +<p>These measures not proving effectual for the purpose for which +they were intended, or, as some say, the object of Charles +II.’s government being to provoke an insurrection, a demand +was made upon the landholders in the district supposed to be most +disaffected of bonds, whereby they were to become responsible for +their wives, families, tenants, and servants, and likewise for +the wives, families, and servants of their tenants, and, finally, +for all persons living upon their estates, that they should not +withdraw from the Church, frequent or preach at conventicles, nor +give any succour, or have any intercourse with persons with whom +it was forbidden to intercommune; and the penalties attached to +the breach of this engagement, the keeping of which was obviously +out of the power of him who was required to make it, were to be +the same as those, whether capital or other, to which the several +persons for whom he engaged might be liable. The +landholders, not being willing to subscribe to their own +destruction, refused to execute the bonds, and this was thought +sufficient grounds for considering the district to which they +belonged as in a state of rebellion. English and Irish +armies were ordered to the frontiers; a train of artillery and +the militia were sent into the district itself; and six thousand +Highlanders, who were let loose upon its inhabitants, to exercise +every species of pillage and plunder were connived at, or rather +encouraged, in excesses of a still more atrocious nature.</p> +<p>The bonds being still refused, the government had recourse to +an expedient of a most extraordinary nature, and issued what the +Scotch called a writ of Lawburrows against the whole +district. This writ of Lawburrows is somewhat analogous to +what we call “swearing the peace” against any one, +and had hitherto been supposed, as the other is with us, to be +applicable to the disputes of private individuals, and to the +apprehensions which, in consequence of such disputes, they may +mutually entertain of each other. A government swearing the +peace against its subjects was a new spectacle; but if a private +subject, under fear of another, hath a right to such a security, +how much more the government itself? was thought an unanswerable +argument. Such are the sophistries which tyrants deem +satisfactory. Thus are they willing even to descend from +their loftiness into the situation of subjects or private men, +when it is for the purpose of acquiring additional powers of +persecution; and thus truly formidable and terrific are they, +when they pretend alarm and fear. By these writs the +persons against whom they were directed were bound, as in case of +the former bonds, to conditions which were not in their power to +fulfil, such as the preventing of conventicles and the like, +under such penalties as the Privy Council might inflict, and a +disobedience to them was followed by outlawry and +confiscation.</p> +<p>The conduct of the Duke of Lauderdale, who was the chief actor +in these scenes of violence and iniquity, was completely approved +and justified at court; but in consequence probably of the state +of politics in England at a time when the Whigs were strongest in +the House of Commons, some of these grievances were in part +redressed, and the Highlanders, and writs of Lawburrows were +recalled. But the country was still treated like a +conquered country. The Highlanders were replaced by an army +of five thousand regulars, and garrisons were placed in private +houses. The persecution of conventicles continued, and +ample indemnity was granted for every species of violence that +might be exercised by those employed to suppress them. In +this state of things the assassination and murder of Sharp, +Archbishop of St. Andrews, by a troop of fanatics, who had been +driven to madness by the oppression of Carmichael, one of that +prelate’s instruments, while it gave an additional spur to +the vindictive temper of the government, was considered by it as +a justification for every mode and degree of cruelty and +persecution. The outrage committed by a few individuals was +imputed to the whole fanatic sect, as the government termed them, +or, in other words, to a description of people which composed a +great majority of the population in the Lowlands of Scotland; and +those who attended field or armed conventicles were ordered to be +indiscriminately massacred.</p> +<p>By such means an insurrection was at last produced, which, +from the weakness, or, as some suppose, from the wicked policy of +an administration eager for confiscations, and desirous of such a +state of the country as might, in some measure, justify their +course of government, made such a progress that the insurgents +became masters of Glasgow and the country adjacent. To +quell these insurgents, who, undisciplined as they were, had +defeated Graham, afterwards Viscount Dundee, the Duke of Monmouth +was sent with an army from England; but, lest the generous +mildness of his nature should prevail, he had sealed orders which +he was not to open till in sight of the rebels, enjoining him not +to treat with them, but to fall upon them without any previous +negotiation. In pursuance of these orders the insurgents +were attacked at Bothwell Bridge, where, though they were +entirely routed and dispersed, yet because those who surrendered +at discretion were not put to death, and the army, by the strict +enforcing of discipline, were prevented from plunder and other +outrages, it was represented by James, and in some degree even by +the king, that Monmouth had acted as if he had meant rather to +put himself at the head of the fanatics than to repel them, and +were inclined rather to court their friendship than to punish +their rebellion. All complaints against Lauderdale were +dismissed, his power confirmed, and an act of indemnity, which +had been procured at Monmouth’s intercession, was so +clogged with exceptions as to be of little use to any but to the +agents of tyranny. Several persons, who were neither +directly nor indirectly concerned in the murder of the +archbishop, were executed as an expiation for that offence; but +many more were obliged to compound for their lives by submitting +to the most rapacious extortion, which at this particular period +seems to have been the engine of oppression most in fashion, and +which was extended not only to those who had been in any way +concerned in the insurrection, but to those who had neglected to +attend the standard of the king, when displayed against what was +styled, in the usual insulting language of tyrants, a most +unnatural rebellion.</p> +<p>The quiet produced by such means was, as might be expected, of +no long duration. Enthusiasm was increased by persecution, +and the fanatic preachers found no difficulty in persuading their +flocks to throw off all allegiance to a government which afforded +them no protection. The king was declared to be an apostate +from the government, a tyrant, and an usurper; and Cargill, one +of the most enthusiastic among the preachers, pronounced a formal +sentence of excommunication against him, his brother the Duke of +York, and others, their ministers and abettors. This +outrage upon majesty together with an insurrection contemptible +in point of numbers and strength, in which Cameron, another +field-preacher, had been killed, furnished a pretence which was +by no means neglected for new cruelties and executions; but +neither death nor torture were sufficient to subdue the minds of +Cargill and his intrepid followers. They all gloried in +their sufferings; nor could the meanest of them be brought to +purchase their lives by a retractation of their principles, or +even by any expression that might be construed into an +approbation of their persecutors. The effect of this heroic +constancy upon the minds of their oppressors was to persuade them +not to lessen the numbers of executions, but to render them more +private, whereby they exposed the true character of their +government, which was not severity, but violence; not justice, +but vengeance: for example being the only legitimate end of +punishment, where that is likely to encourage rather than to +deter (as the government in these instances seems to have +apprehended), and consequently to prove more pernicious than +salutary, every punishment inflicted by the magistrate is +cruelty, every execution murder. The rage of punishment did +not stop even here, but questions were put to persons, and in +many instances to persons under torture, who had not been proved +to have been in any of the insurrections, whether they considered +the archbishop’s assassination as murder, the rising at +Bothwell Bridge rebellion, and Charles a lawful king. The +refusal to answer these questions, or the answering of them in an +unsatisfactory manner, was deemed a proof of guilt, and immediate +execution ensued.</p> +<p>These last proceedings had taken place while James himself had +the government in his hands, and under his immediate +directions. Not long after, and when the exclusionists in +England were supposed to be entirely defeated, was passed (James +being the king’s commissioner), the famous bill of +succession, declaring that no difference of religion, nor any +statute or law grounded upon such, or any other pretence, could +defeat the hereditary right of the heir to the crown, and that to +propose any limitation upon the future administration of such +heir was high treason. But the Protestant religion was to +be secured; for those who were most obsequious to the court, and +the most willing and forward instruments of its tyranny, were, +nevertheless, zealous Protestants. A test was therefore +framed for this purpose, which was imposed upon all persons +exercising any civil or military functions whatever, the royal +family alone excepted; but to the declaration of adherence to the +Protestant religion was added a recognition of the king’s +supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, and a complete renunciation +in civil concerns of every right belonging to a free +subject. An adherence to the Protestant religion, according +to the confession of it referred to in the test, seemed to some +inconsistent with the acknowledgment of the king’s +supremacy and that clause of the oath which related to civil +matters, inasmuch as it declared against endeavouring at any +alteration in the Church or State, seemed incompatible with the +duties of a counsellor or a member of parliament. Upon +these grounds the Earl of Argyle, in taking the oath, thought fit +to declare as follows:—</p> +<p>“I have considered the test, and I am very desirous to +give obedience as far as I can. I am confident the +parliament never intended to impose contradictory oaths; +therefore I think no man can explain it but for himself. +Accordingly I take it, as far as it is consistent with itself and +the Protestant religion. And I do declare that I mean not +to bind up myself in my station, and in a lawful way, to wish and +endeavour any alteration I think to the advantage of the Church +or State, not repugnant to the Protestant religion and my +loyalty. And this I understand as a part of the +oath.” And for this declaration, though unnoticed at +the time, he was in a few days afterwards committed, and shortly +after sentenced to die. Nor was the test applied only to +those for whom it had been originally instituted, but by being +offered to those numerous classes of people who were within the +reach of the late severe criminal laws, as an alternative for +death or confiscation, it might fairly be said to be imposed upon +the greater part of the country.</p> +<p>Not long after these transactions James took his final leave +of the government, and in his parting speech recommended, in the +strongest terms, the support of the Church. This gracious +expression, the sincerity of which seemed to be evinced by his +conduct to the conventiclers and the severity with which he had +enforced the test, obtained him a testimonial from the bishops of +his affection to their Protestant Church, a testimonial to which, +upon the principle that they are the best friends to the Church +who are most willing to persecute such as dissent from it, he +was, notwithstanding his own nonconformity, most amply +entitled.</p> +<p>Queensbury’s administration ensued, in which the maxims +that had guided his predecessors were so far from being +relinquished, that they were pursued, if possible, with greater +steadiness and activity. Lawrie of Blackwood was condemned +for having holden intercourse with a rebel, whose name was not to +be found in any of the lists of the intercommuned or proscribed; +and a proclamation was issued, threatening all who were in like +circumstances with a similar fate. The intercourse with +rebels having been in great parts of the kingdom promiscuous and +universal, more than twenty thousand persons were objects of this +menace. Fines and extortions of all kinds were employed to +enrich the public treasury, to which, therefore, the +multiplication of crimes became a fruitful source of revenue; and +lest it should not be sufficiently so, husbands were made +answerable (and that too with a retrospect) for the absence of +their wives from church; a circumstance which the Presbyterian +women’s aversion to the episcopal form of worship had +rendered very general.</p> +<p>This system of government, and especially the rigour with +which those concerned in the late insurrections, the +excommunication of the king, or the other outrages complained of, +were pursued and hunted sometimes by bloodhounds, sometimes by +soldiers almost equally savage, and afterwards shot like wild +beasts, drove some of those sectaries who were styled +Cameronians, and other proscribed persons, to measures of +absolute desperation. They made a declaration, which they +caused to be affixed to different churches, importing, that they +would use the law of retaliation, and “we will,” said +they, “punish as enemies to God, and to the covenant, such +persons as shall make it their work to imbrue their hands in our +blood; and chiefly, if they shall continue obstinately and with +habitual malice to proceed against us,” with more to the +like effect. Upon such an occasion the interference of +government became necessary. The government did indeed +interfere, and by a vote of council ordered, that whoever owned, +or refused to disown, the declaration on oath, should be put to +death in the presence of two witnesses, though unarmed when +taken. The execution of this massacre in the welvet +counties which were principally concerned, was committed to the +military, and exceeded, if possible, the order itself. The +disowning the declaration was required to be in a particular form +prescribed. Women, obstinate in their fanaticism, lest +female blood should be a stain upon the swords of soldiers +engaged in this honourable employment, were drowned. The +habitations, as well of those who had fled to save themselves, as +of those who suffered, were burnt and destroyed. Such +members of the families of the delinquents as were above twelve +years old were imprisoned for the purpose of being afterwards +transported. The brutality of the soldiers was such as +might be expected from an army let loose from all restraint, and +employed to execute the royal justice, as it was called, upon +wretches. Graham who has been mentioned before, and who, +under the title of Lord Dundee, a title which was probably +conferred upon him by James for these or similar services, was +afterwards esteemed such a hero among the Jacobite party, +particularly distinguished himself. Of six unarmed +fugitives whom he seized, he caused four to be shot in his +presence, nor did the remaining two experience any other mercy +from him than a delay of their doom; and at another time, having +intercepted the flight of one of these victims, he had him shown +to his family, and then murdered in the arms of his wife. +The example of persons of such high rank, and who must be +presumed to have had an education in some degree correspondent to +their station, could not fail of operating upon men of a lower +order in society. The carnage became every day more general +and more indiscriminate, and the murder of peasants in their +houses, or while employed at their usual work in the fields, by +the soldiers, was not only not reproved or punished, but deemed a +meritorious service by their superiors. The demise of King +Charles, which happened about this time, caused no suspension or +relaxation in these proceedings, which seemed to have been the +crowning measure, as it were, or finishing stroke of that system, +for the steady perseverance in which James so much admired the +resolution of his brother.</p> +<p>It has been judged necessary to detail these transactions in a +manner which may, to some readers, appear an impertinent +digression from the narrative in which this history is at present +engaged, in order to set in a clearer light some points of the +greatest importance. In the first place, from the summary +review of the affairs of Scotland, and from the complacency with +which James looks back to his own share of them, joined to the +general approbation he expressed of the conduct of government in +that kingdom, we may form a pretty just notion, as well of his +maxims of policy, as of his temper and disposition in matters +where his bigotry to the Roman Catholic religion had no +share. For it is to be observed and carefully kept in mind, +that the Church, of which he not only recommends the support, but +which be showed himself ready to maintain by the most violent +means, is the Episcopalian Church of the Protestants; that the +test which he enforced at the point of the bayonet was a +Protestant test, so much so indeed, that he himself could not +take it; and that the more marked character of the conventicles, +the objects of his persecution, was not so much that of heretics +excommunicated by the Pope, as of dissenters from the Church of +England, and irreconcilable enemies to the Protestant liturgy and +the Protestant episcopacy. But he judged the Church of +England to be a most fit instrument for rendering the monarchy +absolute. On the other hand, the Presbyterians were thought +naturally hostile to the principles of passive obedience, and to +one or other, or with more probability to both of these +considerations, joined to the natural violence of his temper, is +to be referred the whole of his conduct in this part of his life, +which in this view is rational enough; but on the supposition of +his having conceived thus early the intention of introducing +popery upon the ruins of the Church of England, is wholly +unaccountable, and no less absurd, than if a general were to put +himself to great cost and pains to furnish with ammunition and to +strengthen with fortifications a place of which he was actually +meditating the attack.</p> +<p>The next important observation that occurs, and to which even +they who are most determined to believe that this prince had +always popery in view, and held every other consideration as +subordinate to that primary object, must nevertheless subscribe, +is that the most confidential advisors, as well as the most +furious supporters of the measures we have related, were not +Roman Catholics. Lauderdale and Queensbury were both +Protestants. There is no reason, therefore, to impute any +of James’s violence afterwards to the suggestions of his +Catholic advisers, since he who had been engaged in the series of +measures above related with Protestant counsellors and +coadjutors, had surely nothing to learn from papists (whether +priests, jesuits, or others) in the science of tyranny. +Lastly, from this account we are enabled to form some notion of +the state of Scotland at a time when the parliament of that +kingdom was called to set an example for this, and we find it to +have been a state of more absolute slavery than at that time +subsisted in any part of Christendom.</p> +<p>The affairs of Scotland being in the state which we have +described, it is no wonder that the king’s letter was +received with acclamations of applause, and that the parliament +opened, not only with approbation of the government, but even +with an enthusiastic zeal to signalise their loyalty, as well by +a perfect acquiescence to the king’s demands, as by the +most fulsome expressions of adulation. “What prince +in Europe, or in the whole world,” said the chancellor +Perth, “was ever like the late king, except his present +majesty, who had undergone every trial of prosperity and +adversity, and whose unwearied clemency was not among the least +conspicuous of his virtues? To advance his honour and +greatness was the duty of all his subjects, and ought to be the +endeavour of their lives without reserve.” The +parliament voted an address, scarcely less adulatory than the +chancellor’s speech.</p> +<blockquote><p>“May it please your sacred +majesty—Your majesty’s gracious and kind remembrance +of the services done by this, your ancient kingdom, to the late +king your brother, of ever glorious memory, shall rather raise in +us ardent desires to exceed whatever we have done formerly, than +make us consider them as deserving the esteem your majesty is +pleased to express of them in your letter to us dated the +twenty-eighth of March. The death of that our excellent +monarch is lamented by us to all the degrees of grief that are +consistent with our great joy for the succession of your sacred +majesty, who has not only continued, but secured the happiness +which his wisdom, his justice, and clemency procured to us: and +having the honour to be the first parliament which meets by your +royal authority, of which we are very sensible, your majesty may +be confident that we will offer such laws as may best secure your +majesty’s sacred person, the royal family and government, +and be so exemplary loyal, as to raise your honour and greatness +to the utmost of our power, which we shall ever esteem both our +duty and interest. Nor shall we leave anything undone for +extirpating all fanaticism, but especially those fanatical +murderers and assassins, and for detecting and punishing the late +conspirators, whose pernicious and execrable designs did so much +tend to subvert your majesty’s government, and ruin us and +all your majesty’s faithful subjects. We can assure +your majesty, that the subjects of this your majesty’s +ancient kingdom are so desirous to exceed all their predecessors +in extraordinary marks of affection and obedience to your +majesty, that (God be praised) the only way to be popular with us +is to be eminently loyal. Your majesty’s care of us, +when you took us to be your special charge, your wisdom in +extinguishing the seeds of rebellion and faction amongst us, your +justice, which was so great as to be for ever exemplary, but +above all, your majesty’s free and cheerful securing to us +our religion, when your were the late king’s, your royal +brother’s commissioner, now again renewed, when you are our +sovereign, are what your subjects here can never forget, and +therefore your majesty may expect that we will think your +commands sacred as your person, and that your inclination will +prevent our debates; nor did ever any who represented our +monarchs as their commissioners (except your royal self) meet +with greater respect, or more exact observance from a parliament, +than the Duke of Queensbury (whom your majesty has so wisely +chosen to represent you in this, and of whose eminent loyalty and +great abilities in all his former employments this nation hath +seen so many proofs) shall find from</p> +<p>“May it please your sacred majesty, your majesty’s +most humble, most faithful, and most obedient subjects and +servants,</p> +<p style="text-align: right">“<span +class="smcap">Perth</span>, Cancell.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Nor was this spirit of loyalty (as it was then called) of +abject slavery, and unmanly subservience to the will of a despot, +as it has been justly denominated by the more impartial judgment +of posterity, confined to words only. Acts were passed to +ratify all the late judgments, however illegal or iniquitous, to +indemnify the privy council, judges, and all officers of the +crown, civil or military, for all the violences they had +committed; to authorise the privy council to impose the test upon +all ranks of people under such penalties as that board might +think fit to impose; to extend the punishment of death which had +formerly attached upon the preachers at field conventicles only, +to all their auditors, and likewise to the preachers at house +conventicles; to subject to the penalties of treason all persons +who should give or take the covenant, or write in defence +thereof, or in any other way own it to be obligatory; and lastly, +in a strain of tyranny, for which there was, it is believed, no +precedent, and which certainly has never been surpassed, to enact +that all such persons as being cited in cases of high treason, +field or house conventicles, or church irregularities, should +refuse to give testimony, should be liable to the punishment due +by law to the criminals against whom they refused to be +witnesses. It is true that an act was also passed for +confirming all former statutes in favour of the Protestant +religion as then established, in their whole strength and tenour, +as if they were particularly set down and expressed in the said +act; but when we recollect the notions which Queensbury at that +time entertained of the king’s views, this proceeding forms +no exception to the general system of servility which +characterised both ministers and parliament. All matters in +relation to revenue were of course settled in the manner most +agreeable to his majesty’s wishes and the recommendation of +his commissioner.</p> +<p>While the legislature was doing its part, the executive +government was not behindhand in pursuing the system which had +been so much commended. A refusal to abjure the declaration +in the terms prescribed, was everywhere considered as sufficient +cause for immediate execution. In one part of the country +information having been received that a corpse had been +clandestinely buried, an inquiry took place; it was dug up, and +found to be that of a person proscribed. Those who had +interred him were suspected, not of having murdered, but of +having harboured him. For this crime their house was +destroyed, and the women and children of the family being driven +out to wander as vagabonds, a young man belonging to it was +executed by the order of Johnston of Westerraw. Against +this murder even Graham himself is said to have remonstrated, but +was content with protesting that the blood was not upon his head; +and not being able to persuade a Highland officer to execute the +order of Johnston, ordered his own men to shoot the unhappy +victim. In another county three females, one of sixty-three +years of age, one of eighteen, and one of twelve, were charged +with rebellion; and refusing to abjure the declaration, were +sentenced to be drowned. The last was let off upon +condition of her father’s giving a bond for a hundred +pounds. The elderly woman, who is represented as a person +of eminent piety, bore her fate with the greatest constancy, nor +does it appear that her death excited any strong sensations in +the minds of her savage executioners. The girl of eighteen +was more pitied, and after many entreaties, and having been once +under water, was prevailed upon to utter some words which might +be fairly construed into blessing the king, a mode of obtaining +pardon not unfrequent in cases where the persecutors were +inclined to relent. Upon this it was thought she was safe, +but the merciless barbarian who superintended this dreadful +business was not satisfied; and upon her refusing the abjuration, +she was again plunged into the water, where she expired. It +is to be remarked that being at Bothwell Bridge and Air’s +Moss were among the crimes stated in the indictment of all the +three, though, when the last of these affairs happened, one of +the girls was only thirteen, and the other not eight years of +age. At the time of the Bothwell Bridge business, they were +still younger. To recite all the instances of cruelty which +occurred would be endless; but it may be necessary to remark that +no historical facts are better ascertained than the accounts of +them which are to be found in Woodrow. In every instance +where there has been an opportunity of comparing these accounts +with records, and other authentic monuments, they appear to be +quite correct.</p> +<p>The Scottish parliament having thus set, as they had been +required to do, an eminent example of what was then thought duty +to the crown, the king met his English parliament on the 19th of +May, 1685, and opened it with the following speech:—</p> +<blockquote><p>“My lords and gentlemen,—After it +pleased Almighty God to take to his mercy the late king, my +dearest brother, and to bring me to the peaceable possession of +the throne of my ancestors, I immediately resolved to call a +parliament, as the best means to settle everything upon these +foundations as may make my reign both easy and happy to you; +towards which I am disposed to contribute all that is fit for me +to do.</p> +<p>“What I said to my privy council at my first coming +there I am desirous to renew to you, wherein I fully declare my +opinion concerning the principles of the Church of England, whose +members have showed themselves so eminently loyal in the worst of +times in defence of my father and support of my brother (of +blessed memory), that I will always take care to defend and +support it. I will make it my endeavour to preserve this +government, both in Church and State, as it is by law +established: and as I will never depart from the just rights and +prerogatives of the crown, so I will never invade any man’s +property; and you may be sure that having heretofore ventured my +life in the defence of this nation, I will still go as far as any +man in preserving it in all its just rights and liberties.</p> +<p>“And having given this assurance concerning the care I +will have of your religion and property, which I have chose to do +in the same words which I used at my first coming to the crown, +the better to evidence to you that I spoke them not by chance, +and consequently that you may firmly rely upon a promise so +solemnly made, I cannot doubt that I shall fail of suitable +returns from you, with all imaginable duty and kindness on your +part, and particularly to what relates to the settling of my +revenue, and continuing it during my life, as it was in the +lifetime of my brother. I might use many arguments to +enforce this demand for the benefit of trade, the support of the +navy, the necessity of the crown, and the well-being of the +government itself, which I must not suffer to be precarious; but +I am confident your own consideration of what is just and +reasonable will suggest to you whatsoever might be enlarged upon +this occasion.</p> +<p>“There is one popular argument which I foresee may be +used against what I ask of you, from the inclination men have for +frequent parliaments, which some may think would be the best +security, by feeding me from time to time by such proportions as +they shall think convenient. And this argument, it being +the first time I speak to you from the throne, I will answer, +once for all, that this would be a very improper method to take +with me; and that the best way to engage me to meet you often is +always to use me well.</p> +<p>“I expect, therefore, that you will comply with me in +what I have desired, and that you will do it speedily, that this +may be a short session, and that we may meet again to all our +satisfactions.</p> +<p>“My lords and gentlemen,—I must acquaint you that +I have had news this morning from Scotland that Argyle is landed +in the West Highlands, with the men he brought with him from +Holland: that there are two declarations published, one in the +name of all those in arms, the other in his own. It would +be too long for me to repeat the substance of them; it is +sufficient to tell you I am charged with usurpation and +tyranny. The shorter of them I have directed to be +forthwith communicated to you.</p> +<p>“I will take the best care I can that this declaration +of their own faction and rebellion may meet with the reward it +deserves; and I will not doubt but you will be the more zealous +to support the government, and give me my revenue, as I have +desired it, without delay.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>The repetition of the words made use of in his first speech to +the privy council shows that, in the opinion of the court, at +least, they had been well chosen, and had answered their purpose; +and even the haughty language which was added, and was little +less than a menace to parliament if it should not comply with his +wishes, was not, as it appears, unpleasing to the party which at +that time prevailed, since the revenue enjoyed by his predecessor +was unanimously, and almost immediately, voted to him for +life. It was not remarked, in public at least, that the +king’s threat of governing without parliament was an +unequivocal manifestation of his contempt of the law of the +country, so distinctly established, though so ineffectually +secured, by the statute of the sixteenth of Charles II., for +holding triennial parliaments. It is said Lord-keeper +Guildford had prepared a different speech for his majesty, but +that this was preferred, as being the king’s own words; +and, indeed, that part of it in which he says that he must answer +once for all that the Commons giving such proportions as they +might think convenient would be a very improper way with him, +bears, as well as some others, the most evident marks of its +royal origin. It is to be observed, however, that in +arguing for his demand, as he styles it, of revenue, he says, not +that the parliament ought not, but that he must not, suffer the +well-being of the government depending upon such revenue to be +precarious; whence it is evident that he intended to have it +understood that if the parliament did not grant, he purposed to +levy a revenue without their consent. It is impossible that +any degree of party spirit should so have blinded men as to +prevent them from perceiving in this speech a determination on +the part of the king to conduct his government upon the +principles of absolute monarchy, and to those who were not so +possessed with the love of royalty, which creates a kind of +passionate affection for whoever happens to be the wearer of the +crown, the vindictive manner in which he speaks of Argyle’s +invasion might afford sufficient evidence of the temper in which +his power would be administered. In that part of his speech +he first betrays his personal feelings towards the unfortunate +nobleman, whom, in his brother’s reign, he had so cruelly +and treacherously oppressed, by dwelling upon his being charged +by Argyle with tyranny and usurpation, and then declares that he +will take the best care, not according to the usual phrases to +protect the loyal and well disposed, and to restore tranquillity, +but that the declaration of the factious and rebellions may meet +with the reward it deserves, thus marking out revenge and +punishment as the consequences of victory, upon which he was most +intent.</p> +<p>It is impossible that in a House of Commons, however composed, +there should not have been many members who disapproved the +principles of government announced in the speech, and who were +justly alarmed at the temper in which it was conceived. But +these, overpowered by numbers, and perhaps afraid of the +imputation of being concerned in plots and insurrections (an +imputation which, if they had shown any spirit of liberty, would +most infallibly have been thrown on them), declined expressing +their sentiments; and in the short session which followed there +was an almost uninterrupted unanimity in granting every demand, +and acquiescing in every wish of the government. The +revenue was granted without any notice being taken of the illegal +manner in which the king had levied it upon his own +authority. Argyle was stigmatised as a traitor; nor was any +desire expressed to examine his declarations, one of which seemed +to be purposely withheld from parliament. Upon the +communication of the Duke of Monmouth’s landing in the west +that nobleman was immediately attainted by bill. The +king’s assurance was recognised as a sufficient security +for the national religion; and the liberty of the press was +destroyed by the revival of the statute of the 13th and 14th of +Charles II. This last circumstance, important as it is, +does not seem to have excited much attention at the time, which, +considering the general principles then in fashion, is not +surprising. That it should have been scarcely noticed by +any historian is more wonderful. It is true, however, that +the terror inspired by the late prosecutions for libels, and the +violent conduct of the courts upon such occasions, rendered a +formal destruction of the liberty of the press a matter of less +importance. So little does the magistracy, when it is +inclined to act tyrannically, stand in need of tyrannical laws to +effect its purpose. The bare silence and acquiescence of +the legislature is in such a case fully sufficient to annihilate, +practically speaking, every right and liberty of the subject.</p> +<p>As the grant of revenue was unanimous, so there does not +appear to have been anything which can justly be styled a debate +upon it, though Hume employs several pages in giving the +arguments which, he affirms, were actually made use of, and, as +he gives us to understand, in the House of Commons, for and +against the question; arguments which, on both sides, seem to +imply a considerable love of freedom and jealousy of royal power, +and are not wholly unmixed even with some sentiments +disrespectful to the king. Now I cannot find, either from +tradition, or from contemporary writers, any ground to think that +either the reasons which Hume has adduced, or indeed any other, +were urged in opposition to the grant. The only speech made +upon the occasion seems to have been that of Mr. (afterwards Sir +Edward) Seymour, who, though of the Tory party, a strenuous +opposer of the Exclusion Bill, and in general supposed to have +been an approver, if not an adviser, of the tyrannical measures +of the late reign, has the merit of having stood forward singly, +to remind the House of what they owed to themselves and their +constituents. He did not, however, directly oppose the +grant, but stated, that the elections had been carried on under +so much court influence, and in other respects so illegally, that +it was the duty of the House first to ascertain who were the +legal members, before they proceeded to other business of +importance. After having pressed this point, he observed +that if ever it were necessary to adopt such an order of +proceeding, it was more peculiarly so now, when the laws and +religion of the nation were in evident peril; that the aversion +of the English people to popery, and their attachment to the laws +were such, as to secure these blessings from destruction by any +other instrumentality than that of parliament itself, which, +however, might be easily accomplished, if there were once a +parliament entirely dependent upon the persons who might harbour +such designs; that it was already rumoured that the Test and +Habeas Corpus Acts, the two bulwarks of our religion and +liberties, were to be repealed; that what he stated was so +notorious as to need no proof. Having descanted with force +and ability upon these and other topics of a similar tendency, he +urged his conclusion, that the question of royal revenue ought +not to be the first business of the parliament. Whether, as +Burnet thinks, because he was too proud to make any previous +communication of his intentions, or that the strain of his +argument was judged to be too bold for the times, this speech, +whatever secret approbation it might excite, did not receive from +any quarter either applause or support. Under these +circumstances it was not thought necessary to answer him, and the +grant was voted unanimously, without further discussion.</p> +<p>As Barillon, in the relation of parliamentary proceedings, +transmitted by him to his court, in which he appears at this time +to have been very exact, gives the same description of +Seymour’s speech and its effects with Burnet, there can be +little doubt but their account is correct. It will be found +as well in this, as in many other instances, that an unfortunate +inattention on the part of the reverend historian to forms has +made his veracity unjustly called in question. He speaks of +Seymour’s speech as if it had been a motion in the +technical sense of the word, for inquiring into the elections, +which had no effect. Now no traces remaining of such a +motion, and, on the other hand, the elections having been at a +subsequent period inquired into, Ralph almost pronounces the +whole account to be erroneous; whereas the only mistake consists +in giving the name of motion to a suggestion, upon the question +of a grant. It is whimsical enough, that it should be from +the account of the French ambassador that we are enabled to +reconcile to the records and to the forms of the English House of +Commons, a relation made by a distinguished member of the English +House of Lords. Sir John Reresby does indeed say, that +among the gentlemen of the House of Commons whom he accidentally +met, they in general seemed willing to settle a handsome revenue +upon the king, and to give him money; but whether their grant +should be permanent, or only temporary, and to be renewed from +time to time by parliament, that the nation might be often +consulted, was the question. But besides the looseness of +the expression, which may only mean that the point was +questionable, it is to be observed, that he does not relate any +of the arguments which were brought forward even in the private +conversations to which he refers; and when he afterwards gives an +account of what passed in the House of Commons (where he was +present), he does not hint at any debate having taken place, but +rather implies the contrary.</p> +<p>This misrepresentation of Mr. Hume’s is of no small +importance, inasmuch as, by intimating that such a question could +be debated at all, and much more, that it was debated with the +enlightened views and bold topics of argument with which his +genius has supplied him, he gives us a very false notion of the +character of the parliament and of the times which he is +describing. It is not improbable, that if the arguments had +been used, which this historian supposes, the utterer of them +would have been expelled, or sent to the Tower; and it is certain +that he would not have been heard with any degree of attention or +even patience.</p> +<p>The unanimous vote for trusting the safety of religion to the +king’s declaration passed not without observation, the +rights of the Church of England being the only point upon which, +at this time, the parliament were in any degree jealous of the +royal power. The committee of religion had voted +unanimously, “That it is the opinion of the committee, that +this House will stand by his majesty with their lives and +fortunes, according to their bounden duty and allegiance, in +defence of the reformed Church of England, as it is now by law +established; and that an humble address be presented to his +majesty, to desire him to issue forth his royal proclamation, to +cause the penal laws to be put in execution against all +dissenters from the Church of England whatsoever.” +But upon the report of the House, the question of agreeing with +the committee was evaded by a previous question, and the House, +with equal unanimity, resolved: “That this House doth +acquiesce, and entirely rely, and rest wholly satisfied, on his +majesty’s gracious word, and repeated declaration to +support and defend the religion of the Church of England, as it +is now by law established, which is dearer to us than our +lives.” Mr. Echard, and Bishop Kennet, two writers of +different principles, but both churchmen, assign, as the motive +of this vote, the unwillingness of the party then prevalent in +parliament to adopt severe measures against the Protestant +dissenters; but in this notion they are by no means supported by +the account, imperfect as it is, which Sir John Reresby gives of +the debate, for he makes no mention of tenderness towards +dissenters, but states as the chief argument against agreeing +with the committee, that it might excite a jealousy of the king; +and Barillon expressly says, that the first vote gave great +offence to the king, still more to the queen, and that orders +were, in consequence, issued to the court members of the House of +Commons to devise some means to get rid of it. Indeed, the +general circumstances of the times are decisive against the +hypothesis of the two reverend historians; nor is it, as far as I +know, adopted by any other historians. The probability +seems to be, that the motion in the committee had been originally +suggested by some Whig member, who could not, with prudence, +speak his real sentiments openly, and who thought to embarrass +the government, by touching upon a matter where the union between +the church party and the king would be put to the severest +test. The zeal of the Tories for persecution made them at +first give into the snare; but when, upon reflection, it occurred +that the involving of the Catholics in one common danger with the +Protestant dissenters must be displeasing to the king, they drew +back without delay, and passed the most comprehensive vote of +confidence which James could desire.</p> +<p>Further to manifest their servility to the king, as well as +their hostility to every principle that could by implication be +supposed to be connected with Monmouth or his cause, the House of +Commons passed a bill for the preservation of his majesty’s +person, in which, after enacting that a written or verbal +declaration of a treasonable intention should be tantamount to a +treasonable act, they inserted two remarkable clauses, by one of +which to assert the legitimacy of Monmouth’s birth, by the +other, to propose in parliament any alteration in the succession +of the crown, were made likewise high treason. We learn +from Burnet, that the first part of this bill was strenuously and +warmly debated, and that it was chiefly opposed by Serjeant +Maynard, whose arguments made some impression even at that time; +but whether the serjeant was supported in his opposition, as the +word <i>chiefly</i> would lead us to imagine, or if supported, by +whom, that historian does not mention; and, unfortunately, +neither of Maynard’s speech itself, nor indeed of any +opposition whatever to the bill, is there any other trace to be +found. The crying injustice of the clause which subjected a +man to the pains of treason merely for delivering his opinion +upon a controverted fact, though he should do no act in +consequence of such opinion, was not, as far as we are informed, +objected to or at all noticed, unless indeed the speech above +alluded to, in which the speaker is said to have descanted upon +the general danger of making words treasonable, be supposed to +have been applied to this clause as well as to the former part of +the bill. That the other clause should have passed without +opposition or even observation, must appear still more +extraordinary, when we advert, not only to the nature of the +clause itself, but to the circumstances of there being actually +in the House no inconsiderable number of members who had in the +former reign repeatedly voted for the Exclusion Bill.</p> +<p>It is worthy of notice, however, that while every principle of +criminal jurisprudence, and every regard to the fundamental +rights of the deliberative assemblies, which make part of the +legislature of the nation, were thus shamelessly sacrificed to +the eagerness which, at this disgraceful period, so generally +prevailed of manifesting loyalty, or rather abject servility to +the sovereign, there still remained no small degree of tenderness +for the interests and safety of the Church of England, and a +sentiment approaching to jealousy upon any matter which might +endanger, even by the most remote consequences, or put any +restriction upon her ministers. With this view, as one part +of the bill did not relate to treasons only, but imposed new +penalties upon such as should, by writing, printing, preaching, +or other speaking, attempt to bring the king or his government +into hatred or contempt, there was a special proviso added, +“that the asserting and maintaining, by any writing, +printing, preaching, or any other speaking, the doctrine, +discipline, divine worship, or government of the Church of +England as it is now by law established, against popery or any +other different or dissenting opinions, is not intended, and +shall not be interpreted or construed to be any offence within +the words or meaning of this Act.” It cannot escape +the reader, that only such attacks upon popery as were made in +favour of the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, +and no other, were protected by this proviso, and consequently +that, if there were any real occasion for such a guard, all +Protestant dissenters who should write or speak against the Roman +superstition were wholly unprotected by it, and remained exposed +to the danger, whatever it might be, from which the Church was so +anxious to exempt her supporters.</p> +<p>This bill passed the House of Commons, and was sent up to the +House of Lords on the 30th of June. It was read a first +time on that day, but the adjournment of both houses taking place +on the 2nd of July, it could not make any further progress at +that time; and when the parliament met afterwards in autumn, +there was no longer that passionate affection for the monarch, +nor consequently that ardent zeal for servitude which were +necessary to make a law with such clauses and provisoes palatable +or even endurable.</p> +<p>It is not to be considered as an exception to the general +complaisance of parliament, that the Speaker, when he presented +the Revenue Bill, made use of some strong expressions, declaring +the attachment of the Commons to the national religion. +Such sentiments could not be supposed to be displeasing to James, +after the assurances he had given of his regard for the Church of +England. Upon this occasion his majesty made the following +speech:—</p> +<blockquote><p>“My lords and gentlemen,—I thank you +very heartily for the bill you have presented me this day; and I +assure you, the readiness and cheerfulness that has attended the +despatch of it is as acceptable to me as the bill itself.</p> +<p>“After so happy a beginning, you may believe I would not +call upon you unnecessarily for an extraordinary supply; but when +I tell you that the stores of the navy and ordnance are extremely +exhausted, that the anticipations upon several branches of the +revenue are great and burthensome; that the debts of the king, my +brother, to his servants and family, are such as deserve +compassion; that the rebellion in Scotland, without putting more +weight upon it than it really deserves, must oblige me to a +considerable expense extraordinary: I am sure, such +considerations will move you to give me an aid to provide for +those things, wherein the security, the ease, and the happiness +of my government are so much concerned. But above all, I +must recommend you to the care of the navy, the strength and +glory of this nation; that you will put it into such a condition +as may make us considered and respected abroad. I cannot +express my concern upon this occasion more suitable to my own +thoughts of it than by assuring you I have a true English heart, +as jealous of the honour of the nation as you can be; and I +please myself with the hopes that by God’s blessing and +your assistance, I may carry the reputation of it yet higher in +the world than ever it has been in the time of any of my +ancestors; and as I will not call upon you for supplies but when +they are of public use and advantage, so I promise you, that what +you give me upon such occasions shall be managed with good +husbandry; and I will take care it shall be employed to the uses +for which I ask them.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Rapin, Hume, and Ralph observe upon this speech, that neither +the generosity of the Commons’ grant, nor the confidence +they expressed upon religious matters, could extort a kind word +in favour of their religion. But this observation, whether +meant as a reproach to him for his want of gracious feeling to a +generous parliament, or as an oblique compliment to his +sincerity, has no force in it. His majesty’s speech +was spoken immediately upon, passing the bills which the Speaker +presented, and he could not therefore take notice of the +Speaker’s words unless he had spoken extempore; for the +custom is not, nor I believe ever was, for the Speaker to give +beforehand copies of addresses of this nature. James would +not certainly have scrupled to repeat the assurances which he had +so lately made in favour of the Protestant religion, as he did +not scruple to talk of his true English heart, honour of the +nation, &c., at a time when he was engaged with France; but +the speech was prepared for an answer to a money bill, not for a +question of the Protestant religion and church, and the false +professions in it are adapted to what was supposed to be the only +subject of it.</p> +<p>The only matter in which the king’s views were in any +degree thwarted was the reversal of Lord Stafford’s +attainder, which, having passed the House of Lords, not without +opposition, was lost in the House of Commons; a strong proof that +the popish plot was still the subject upon which the opposers of +the court had most credit with the public. Mr. Hume, +notwithstanding his just indignation at the condemnation of +Stafford, and his general inclination to approve of royal +politics, most unaccountably justifies the Commons in their +rejection of this bill, upon the principle of its being impolitic +at that time to grant so full a justification of the Catholics, +and to throw so foul an imputation upon the Protestants. +Surely if there be one moral duty that is binding upon men in all +times, places, and circumstances, and from which no supposed +views of policy can excuse them, it is that of granting a full +justification to the innocent; and such Mr. Hume considers the +Catholics, and especially Lord Stafford, to have been. The +only rational way of accounting for this solitary instance of +non-compliance on the part of the Commons is either to suppose +that they still believed in the reality of the popish plot, and +Stafford’s guilt, or that the Church party, which was +uppermost, had such an antipathy to popery, as indeed to every +sect whose tenets differed from theirs, that they deemed +everything lawful against its professors.</p> +<p>On the 2nd of July parliament was adjourned for the purpose of +enabling the principal gentlemen to be present in their +respective counties at a time when their services and influence +might be so necessary to government. It is said that the +House of Commons consisted of members so devoted to James, that +he declared there were not forty in it whom he would not himself +have named. But although this may have been true, and +though from the new modelling of the corporations, and the +interference of the court in elections, this parliament, as far +as regards the manner of its being chosen, was by no means a fair +representative of the legal electors of England, yet there is +reason to think that it afforded a tolerably correct sample of +the disposition of the nation, and especially of the Church +party, which was then uppermost.</p> +<p>The general character of the party at this time appears to +have been a high notion of the king’s constitutional power, +to which was superadded a kind of religious abhorrence of all +resistance to the monarch, not only in cases where such +resistance was directed against the lawful prerogative, but even +in opposition to encroachments which the monarch might make +beyond the extended limits which they assigned to his +prerogative. But these tenets, and still more the principle +of conduct naturally resulting from them, were confined to the +civil, as contra-distinguished from the ecclesiastical polity of +the country. In Church matters they neither acknowledged +any very high authority in the crown, nor were they willing to +submit to any royal encroachment on that side; and a steady +attachment to the Church of England, with a proportionable +aversion to all dissenters from it, whether Catholic or +Protestant, was almost universally prevalent among them. A +due consideration of these distinct features in the character of +a party so powerful in Charles’s and in James’s time, +and even when it was lowest (that is, during the reigns of the +two first princes of the House of Brunswick), by no means +inconsiderable, is exceedingly necessary to the right +understanding of English history. It affords a clue to many +passages otherwise unintelligible. For want of a proper +attention to this circumstance, some historians have considered +the conduct of the Tories in promoting the revolution as an +instance of great inconsistency. Some have supposed, +contrary to the clearest evidence, that their notions of passive +obedience, even in civil matters, were limited, and that their +support of the government of Charles and James was founded upon a +belief that those princes would never abuse their prerogative for +the purpose of introducing arbitrary sway. But this +hypothesis is contrary to the evidence both of their declarations +and their conduct. Obedience without reserve, an abhorrence +of all resistance, as contrary to the tenets of their religion, +are the principles which they professed in their addresses, their +sermons, and their decrees at Oxford; and surely nothing short of +such principles could make men esteem the latter years of Charles +II., and the opening of the reign of his successor, an era of +national happiness and exemplary government. Yet this is +the representation of that period, which is usually made by +historians and other writers of the Church party. +“Never were fairer promises on one side, nor greater +generosity on the other,” says Mr. Echard. “The +king had as yet, in no instance, invaded the rights of his +subjects,” says the author of the Caveat against the +Whigs. Thus, as long as James contented himself with +absolute power in civil matters, and did not make use of his +authority against the Church, everything went smooth and easy; +nor is it necessary, in order to account for the satisfaction of +the parliament and people, to have recourse to any implied +compromise by which the nation was willing to yield its civil +liberties as the price of retaining its religious +constitution. The truth seems to be, that the king, in +asserting his unlimited power, rather fell in with the humour of +the prevailing party than offered any violence to it. +Absolute power in civil matters, under the specious names of +monarchy and prerogative, formed a most essential part of the +Tory creed; but the order in which Church and king are placed in +the favourite device of the party is not accidental, and is well +calculated to show the genuine principles of such among them as +are not corrupted by influence. Accordingly, as the sequel +of this reign will abundantly show, when they found themselves +compelled to make an option, they preferred, without any degree +of inconsistency, their first idol to their second, and when they +could not preserve both Church and king, declared for the +former.</p> +<p>It gives certainly no very flattering picture of the country +to describe it as being in some sense fairly represented by this +servile parliament, and not only acquiescing in, but delighted +with the early measures of James’s reign; the contempt of +law exhibited in the arbitrary mode of raising his revenue; his +insulting menace to the parliament, that if they did not use him +well, he would govern without them; his furious persecution of +the Protestant dissenters, and the spirit of despotism which +appeared in all his speeches and actions. But it is to be +remembered that these measures were in nowise contrary to the +principles or prejudices of the Church party, but rather highly +agreeable to them; and that the Whigs, who alone were possessed +of any just notions of liberty, were so outnumbered and +discomforted by persecution, that such of them as did not think +fit to engage in the rash schemes of Monmouth or Argyle, held it +to be their interest to interfere as little as possible in public +affairs, and by no means to obtrude upon unwilling hearers +opinions and sentiments which, ever since the dissolution of the +Oxford parliament, in 1681, had been generally discountenanced, +and of which the peaceable, or rather triumphant, accession of +James to the throne was supposed to seal the condemnation.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> +<p>Attempts of Argyle and Monmouth—Account of their +followers—Argyle’s expedition discovered—His +descent in Argyleshire—Dissensions among his +followers—Loss of his shipping—His army dispersed, +and himself taken prisoner—His behaviour in +prison—His execution—The fate of his +followers—Rumbold’s last declaration +examined—Monmouth’s invasion of England—His +first success and reception—His delays, disappointment, and +despondency—Battle of Sedgmoor—He is discovered and +taken—His letter to the king—His interview with +James—His preparations for death—Circumstances +attending his execution—His character.</p> +<p>It is now necessary to give some account of those attempts in +Scotland by the Earl of Argyle, and in England by the Duke of +Monmouth, of which the king had informed his parliament in the +manner recited in the preceding chapter. The Earl of Argyle +was son to the Marquis of Argyle, of whose unjust execution, and +the treacherous circumstances accompanying it, notice has already +been taken. He had in his youth been strongly attached to +the royal cause, and had refused to lay down his arms till he had +the exiled king’s positive orders for that purpose. +But the merit of his early services could neither save the life +of his father, nor even procure for himself a complete +restitution of his family honours and estates; and not long after +the restoration, upon an accusation of leasing-making, an +accusation founded, in this instance, upon a private letter to a +fellow-subject, in which he spoke with some freedom of his +majesty’s Scottish ministry, he was condemned to +death. The sentence was suspended and finally remitted, but +not till after an imprisonment of twelve months and +upwards. In this affair he was much assisted by the +friendship of the Duke of Lauderdale, with whom he ever +afterwards lived upon terms of friendship, though his principles +would not permit him to give active assistance to that nobleman +in his government of Scotland. Accordingly, we do not, +during that period, find Argyle’s name among those who held +any of those great employments of State to which, by his rank and +consequence, he was naturally entitled. When James, then +Duke of York, was appointed to the Scottish government, it seems +to have been the earl’s intention to cultivate his royal +highness’s favour, and he was a strenuous supporter of the +bill which condemned all attempts at exclusions or other +alterations in the succession of the crown. But having +highly offended that prince by insisting, on the occasion of the +test, that the royal family, when in office, should not be +exempted from taking that oath which they imposed upon subjects +in like situations, his royal highness ordered a prosecution +against him, for the explanation with which he had taken the test +oath at the council-board, and the earl was, as we have seen, +again condemned to death. From the time of his escape from +prison he resided wholly in foreign countries, and was looked to +as a principal ally by such of the English patriots as had at any +time entertained thoughts, whether more or less ripened, of +delivering their country.</p> +<p>James, Duke of Monmouth, was the eldest of the late +king’s natural children. In the early parts of his +life he held the first place in his father’s affections; +and even in the height of Charles’s displeasure at his +political conduct, attentive observers thought they could discern +that the traces of paternal tenderness were by no means +effaced. Appearing at court in the bloom of youth, with a +beautiful figure and engaging manners, known to be the darling of +the monarch, it is no wonder that he was early assailed by the +arts of flattery; and it is rather a proof that he had not the +strongest of all minds, than of any extraordinary weakness of +character, that he was not proof against them. He had +appeared with some distinction in the Flemish campaigns, and his +conduct had been noticed with the approbation of the commanders +as well as Dutch as French, under whom he had respectively +served. His courage was allowed by all, his person admired, +his generosity loved, his sincerity confided in. If his +talents were not of the first rate, they were by no means +contemptible; and he possessed, in an eminent degree, qualities +which, in popular government, are far more effective than the +most splendid talents; qualities by which he inspired those who +followed him, not only with confidence and esteem, but with +affection, enthusiasm, and even fondness. Thus endowed, it +is not surprising that his youthful mind was fired with ambition, +or that he should consider the putting himself at the head of a +party (a situation for which he seems to have been peculiarly +qualified by so many advantages) as the means by which he was +most likely to attain his object.</p> +<p>Many circumstances contributed to outweigh the scruples which +must have harassed a man of his excellent nature, when he +considered the obligations of filial duty and gratitude, and when +he reflected that the particular relation in which he stood to +the king rendered a conduct, which in any other subject would +have been meritorious, doubtful, if not extremely culpable in +him. Among these, not the least was the declared enmity +which subsisted between him and his uncle, the Duke of +York. The Earl of Mulgrave, afterwards Duke of +Buckinghamshire, boasted in his “Memoirs,” that this +enmity was originally owing to his contrivances; and while he is +relating a conduct, upon which the only doubt can be, whether the +object or the means were the most infamous, seems to applaud +himself as if he had achieved some notable exploit. While, +on the one hand, a prospect of his uncle’s succession to +the crown was intolerable to him, as involving in it a certain +destruction of even the most reasonable and limited views of +ambition which he might entertain, he was easily led to believe, +on the other hand, that no harm, but the reverse, was intended +towards his royal father, whose reign and life might become +precarious if he obstinately persevered in supporting his +brother; whereas, on the contrary, if he could be persuaded, or +even forced, to yield to the wishes of his subjects, he might +long reign a powerful, happy, and popular prince.</p> +<p>It is also reasonable to believe, that with those personal and +private motives others might co-operate of a public nature and of +a more noble character. The Protestant religion, to which +he seems to have been sincerely attached, would be persecuted, or +perhaps exterminated, if the king should be successful in his +support of the Duke of York and his faction. At least, such +was the opinion generally prevalent, while, with respect to the +civil liberties of the country, no doubt could be entertained, +that if the court party prevailed in the struggle then depending +they would be completely extinguished. Something may be +attributed to his admiration of the talents of some, to his +personal friendship for others among the leaders of the Whigs, +more to the aptitude of a generous nature to adopt, and, if I may +so say, to become enamoured of those principles of justice, +benevolence, and equality, which form the true creed of the party +which he espoused. I am not inclined to believe that it was +his connection with Shaftesbury that inspired him with ambitious +views, but rather to reverse cause and effect, and to suppose +that his ambitious views produced his connection with that +nobleman; and whoever reads with attention Lord Grey’s +account of one of the party meetings at which he was present, +will perceive that there was not between them that perfect +cordiality which has been generally supposed; but that Russell, +Grey, and Hampden, were upon a far more confidential footing with +him. It is far easier to determine generally, that he had +high schemes of ambition, than to discover what was his precise +object; and those who boldly impute to him the intention of +succeeding to the crown, seem to pass by several weighty +arguments, which make strongly against their hypothesis; such as +his connection with the Duchess of Portsmouth, who, if the +succession were to go to the king’s illegitimate children, +must naturally have been for her own son; his unqualified support +of the Exclusion Bill, which, without indeed mentioning her, most +unequivocally settled the crown, in case of a demise, upon the +Princess of Orange; and, above all, the circumstance of his +having, when driven from England, twice chosen Holland for his +asylum. By his cousins he was received, not so much with +the civility and decorum of princes, as with the kind familiarity +of near relations, a reception to which he seemed to make every +return of reciprocal cordiality. It is not rashly to be +believed, that he, who has never been accused of hardened +wickedness, could have been upon such terms with, and so have +behaved to, persons whom he purposed to disappoint in their +dearest and best grounded hopes, and to defraud of their +inheritance.</p> +<p>Whatever his views might be, it is evident that they were of a +nature wholly adverse, not only to those of the Duke of York, but +to the schemes of power entertained by the king, with which the +support of his brother was intimately connected. Monmouth +was therefore, at the suggestion of James, ordered by his father +to leave the country, and deprived of all his offices, civil and +military. The pretence for this exile was a sort of +principle of impartiality, which obliged the king, at the same +time that he ordered his brother to retire to Flanders, to deal +equal measure to his son. Upon the Duke of York’s +return (which was soon after), Monmouth thought he might without +blame return also; and persevering in his former measures and old +connections, became deeply involved in the cabals to which Essex, +Russell, and Sidney fell martyrs. After the death of his +friends, he surrendered himself; and upon a promise that nothing +said by him should be used to the prejudice of any of his +surviving friends, wrote a penitentiary letter to his father, +consenting, at the same time, to ask pardon of his uncle. A +great parade was made of this by the court, as if it was designed +by all means to goad the feelings of Monmouth: his majesty was +declared to have pardoned him at the request of the Duke of York, +and his consent was required to the publication of what was +called his confession. This he resolutely refused at all +hazards, and was again obliged to seek refuge abroad, where he +had remained to the period of which we are now treating.</p> +<p>A little time before Charles’s death he had indulged +hopes of being recalled; and that his intelligence to that effect +was not quite unfounded, or if false, was at least mixed with +truth, is clear from the following circumstance:—From the +notes found when he was taken, in his memorandum book, it appears +that part of the plan concerted between the king and +Monmouth’s friend (probably Halifax), was that the Duke of +York should go to Scotland, between which, and his being sent +abroad again, Monmouth and his friends saw no material +difference. Now in Barillon’s letters to his court, +dated the 7th of December, 1684, it appears that the Duke of York +had told that ambassador of his intended voyage to Scotland +though he represented it in a very different point of view, and +said that it would not be attended with any diminution of his +favour or credit. This was the light in which Charles, to +whom the expressions, “to blind my brother, not to make the +Duke of York fly out,” and the like, were familiar, would +certainly have shown the affair to his brother, and therefore of +all the circumstances adduced, this appears to me to be the +strongest in favour of the supposition, that there was in the +king’s mind a real intention of making an important, if not +a complete, change in his councils and measures.</p> +<p>Besides these two leaders, there were on the continent at that +time several other gentlemen of great consideration. Sir +Patrick Hume, of Polworth, had early distinguished himself in the +cause of liberty. When the privy council of Scotland passed +an order, compelling the counties to pay the expense of the +garrisons arbitrarily placed in them, he refused to pay his +quota, and by a mode of appeal to the court of session, which the +Scotch lawyers call a bill of suspension, endeavoured to procure +redress. The council ordered him to be imprisoned, for no +other crime, as it should seem, than that of having thus +attempted to procure, by a legal process, a legal decision upon a +point of law. After having remained in close confinement in +Stirling Castle for near four years, he was set at liberty +through the favour and interest of Monmouth. Having +afterwards engaged in schemes connected with those imputed to +Sidney and Russell, orders were issued for seizing him at his +house in Berwickshire; but having had timely notice of his danger +from his relation, Hume of Ninewells, a gentleman attached to the +royal cause, but whom party spirit had not rendered insensible to +the ties of kindred and private friendship, he found means to +conceal himself for a time, and shortly after to escape beyond +sea. His concealment is said to have been in the family +burial-place, where the means of sustaining life were brought to +him by his daughter, a girl of fifteen years of age, whose duty +and affection furnished her with courage to brave the terrors, as +well superstitious as real, to which she was necessarily exposed +in an intercourse of this nature.</p> +<p>Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, a young man of great spirit, had +signalised himself in opposition to Lauderdale’s +administration of Scotland, and had afterwards connected himself +with Argyle and Russell, and what was called the council of +six. He had, of course, thought it prudent to leave Great +Britain, and could not be supposed unwilling to join in any +enterprise which might bid fair to restore him to his country, +and his countrymen to their lost liberties, though, upon the +present occasion, which he seems to have judged to be unfit for +the purpose, he endeavoured to dissuade both Argyle and Monmouth +from their attempts. He was a man of much thought and +reading, of an honourable mind, and a fiery spirit, and from his +enthusiastic admiration of the ancients, supposed to be warmly +attached, not only to republican principles, but to the form of a +commonwealth. Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree had fled his +country on account of the transactions of 1683. His +property and connections were considerable, and he was supposed +to possess extensive influence in Ayrshire and the adjacent +counties.</p> +<p>Such were the persons of chief note among the Scottish +emigrants. Among the English, by far the most remarkable +was Ford, Lord Grey of Wark. A scandalous love intrigue +with his wife’s sister had fixed a very deep stain upon his +private character; nor were the circumstances attending this +affair, which had all been brought to light in a court of +justice, by any means calculated to extenuate his guilt. +His ancient family, however, the extensive influence arising from +his large possessions, his talents, which appear to have been +very considerable, and above all, his hitherto unshaken fidelity +in political attachments, and the general steadiness of his +conduct in public life, might in some degree countervail the +odium which he had incurred on account of his private +vices. Of Matthews, Wade, and Ayloff, whose names are +mentioned as having both joined the preliminary councils, and +done actual service in the invasions, little is known by which +curiosity could be either gratified or excited.</p> +<p>Richard Rumbold, on every account, merits more particular +notice. He had formerly served in the republican armies; +and adhering to the principles of liberty which he had imbibed in +his youth, though nowise bigoted to the particular form of a +commonwealth had been deeply engaged in the politics of those who +thought they saw an opportunity of rescuing their country from +the tyrannical government of the late king. He was one of +the persons denounced in Keeling’s narrative, and was +accused of having conspired to assassinate the royal brothers in +their road to Newmarket, an accusation belied by the whole tenor +of his life and conduct, and which, if it had been true, would +have proved him, who was never thought a weak or foolish man, to +be as destitute of common sense as of honour and probity. +It was pretended that the seizure of the princes was to take +place at a farm called Rye House, which he occupied in Essex, for +the purposes of his trade as maltster; and from this circumstance +was derived the name of the Rye House Plot. Conscious of +having done some acts which the law, if even fairly interpreted +and equitably administered, might deem criminal, and certain that +many which he had not done would be both sworn and believed +against him, he made his escape, and passed the remainder of +Charles’s reign in exile and obscurity; nor is his name, as +far as I can learn, ever mentioned from the time of the Rye House +Plot to that of which we are now treating.</p> +<p>It is not to be understood that there were no other names upon +the list of those who fled from the tyranny of the British +government, or thought themselves unsafe in their native country, +on account of its violence, besides those of the persons above +mentioned, and of such as joined in their bold and hazardous +enterprise. Another class of emigrants, not less sensible +probably to the wrongs of their country, but less sanguine in +their hopes of immediate redress, is ennobled by the names of +Burnet the historian and Mr. Locke. It is difficult to +accede to the opinion which the first of these seems to +entertain, that though particular injustices had been committed, +the misgovernment had not been of such a nature as to justify +resistance by arms. But the prudential reasons against +resistance at that time were exceedingly strong; and there is no +point in human concerns wherein the dictates of virtue and +worldly prudence are so identified as in this great question of +resistance by force to established government. Success, it +has been invidiously remarked, constitutes in most instances the +sole difference between the traitor and the deliverer of his +country. A rational probability of success, it may be truly +said, distinguishes the well-considered enterprise of the +patriot, from the rash schemes of the disturber of the public +peace. To command success is not in the power of man; but +to deserve success, by choosing a proper time, as well as a +proper object, by the prudence of his means, no less than by the +purity of his views, by a cause not only intrinsically just, but +likely to insure general support, is the indispensable duty of +him who engages in an insurrection against an existing +government. Upon this subject the opinion of Ludlow, who, +though often misled, appears to have been an honest and +enlightened man, is striking and forcibly expressed. +“We ought,” says he, “to be very careful and +circumspect in that particular, and at least be assured of very +probable grounds to believe the power under which we engage to be +sufficiently able to protect us in our undertaking; otherwise I +should account myself not only guilty of my own blood, but also, +in some measure, of the ruin and destruction of all those that I +should induce to engage with me, though no cause were never so +just.” Reasons of this nature, mixed more or less +with considerations of personal caution, and in some, perhaps, +with dislike and distrust of the leaders, induced many, who could +not but abhor the British government, to wait for better +opportunities, and to prefer either submission at home, or exile, +to an undertaking which, if not hopeless, must have been deemed +by all hazardous in the extreme.</p> +<p>In the situation in which these two noblemen, Argyle and +Monmouth, were placed, it is not to be wondered at if they were +naturally willing to enter into any plan by which they might +restore themselves to their country; nor can it be doubted but +they honestly conceived their success to be intimately connected +with the welfare, and especially with the liberty of the several +kingdoms to which they respectively belonged. Monmouth, +whether because he had begun at this time, as he himself said, to +wean his mind from ambition, or from the observations he had made +upon the apparently rapid turn which had taken place in the minds +of the English people, seems to have been very averse to rash +counsels, and to have thought that all attempts against James +ought at least to be deferred till some more favourable +opportunity should present itself. So far from esteeming +his chance of success the better, on account of there being in +James’s parliament many members who had voted for the +Exclusion Bill, he considered that circumstance as +unfavourable. These men, of whom, however, he seems to have +over-rated the number, would, in his opinion, be more eager than +others to recover the ground they had lost, by an extraordinary +show of zeal and attachment to the crown. But if Monmouth +was inclined to dilatory counsels, far different were the views +and designs of other exiles, who had been obliged to leave their +country on account of their having engaged, if not with him +personally, at least in the same cause with him, and who were +naturally enough his advisers. Among these were Lord Grey +of Wark, and Ferguson; though the latter afterwards denied his +having had much intercourse with the duke, and the former, in his +“Narrative,” insinuates that he rather dissuaded than +pressed the invasion.</p> +<p>But if Monmouth was inclined to delay, Argyle seems, on the +other hand, to have been impatient in the extreme to bring +matters to a crisis, and was of course anxious that the attempt +upon England should be made in co-operation with his upon +Scotland. Ralph, an historian of great acuteness as well as +diligence, but who falls sometimes into the common error of +judging too much from the event, seems to think this impatience +wholly unaccountable; but Argyle may have had many motives which +are now unknown to us. He may not improbably have foreseen +that the friendly terms upon which James and the Prince of Orange +affected at least to be, one with the other, might make his stay +in the United Provinces impracticable, and that, if obliged to +seek another asylum, not only he might have been deprived, in +some measure, of the resources which he derived from his +connections at Amsterdam, but that the very circumstance of his +having been publicly discountenanced by the Prince of Orange and +the states-general, might discredit his enterprise. His +eagerness for action may possibly have proceeded from the most +laudable motives, his sensibility to the horrors which his +countrymen were daily and hourly suffering, and his ardour to +relieve them. The dreadful state of Scotland, while it +affords so honourable an explanation of his impatience, seems to +account also, in a great measure, for his acting against the +common notions of prudence, in making his attack without any +previous concert with those whom he expected to join him +there. That this was his view of the matter is plain, as we +are informed by Burnet that he depended not only on an army of +his own clan and vassals, but that he took it for granted that +the western and southern counties would all at once come about +him, when he had gathered a good force together in his own +country; and surely such an expectation, when we reflect upon the +situation of those counties, was by no means unreasonable.</p> +<p>Argyle’s counsel, backed by Lord Grey and the rest of +Monmouth’s advisers, and opposed by none except Fletcher of +Saltoun, to whom some add Captain Matthews, prevailed, and it was +agreed to invade immediately, and at one time, the two +kingdoms. Monmouth had raised some money from his jewels, +and Argyle had a loan of ten thousand pounds from a rich widow in +Amsterdam. With these resources, such as they were, ships +and arms were provided, and Argyle sailed from Vly on the 2nd of +May with three small vessels, accompanied by Sir Patrick Hume, +Sir John Cochrane, a few more Scotch gentlemen, and by two +Englishmen, Ayloff, a nephew by marriage to Lord Chancellor +Clarendon, and Rumbold, the maltster, who had been accused of +being principally concerned in that conspiracy which, from his +farm in Essex, where it was pretended Charles II. was to have +been intercepted in his way from Newmarket, and assassinated, had +been called the Rye House Plot. Sir Patrick Hume is said to +have advised the shortest passage, in order to come more +unexpectedly upon the enemy; but Argyle, who is represented as +remarkably tenacious of his own opinions, persisted in his plan +of sailing round the north of Scotland, as well for the purpose +of landing at once among his own vassals, as for that of being +nearer to the western counties, which had been most severely +oppressed, and from which, of course, he expected most +assistance. Each of these plans had, no doubt, its peculiar +advantages; but, as far as we can judge at this distance of time, +those belonging to the earl’s scheme seemed to +preponderate; for the force he carried with him was certainly not +sufficient to enable him, by striking any decisive stroke, to +avail himself even of the most unprepared state in which he could +hope to find the king’s government. As he must, +therefore, depend entirely upon reinforcements from the country, +it seemed reasonable to make for that part where succour was most +likely to be obtained, even at the hazard of incurring the +disadvantage which must evidently result from the enemy’s +having early notice of his attack, and, consequently, +proportionable time for defence.</p> +<p>Unfortunately this hazard was converted into a certainty by +his sending some men on shore in the Orkneys. Two of these, +Spence and Blackadder, were seized at Kirkwall by the bishop of +the diocese, and sent up prisoners to Edinburgh, by which means +the government was not only satisfied of the reality of the +intended invasion, of which, however, they had before had some +intimation, but could guess with a reasonable certainty the part +of the coast where the descent was to take place, for Argyle +could not possibly have sailed so far to the north with any other +view than that of making his landing either on his own estate, or +in some of the western counties. Among the numberless +charges of imprudence against the unfortunate Argyle, charges too +often inconsiderately urged against him who fails in any +enterprise of moment, that which is founded upon the circumstance +just mentioned appears to me to be the most weighty, though it is +that which is the least mentioned, and by no author, as far as I +recollect, much enforced. If the landing in the north was +merely for the purpose of gaining intelligence respecting the +disposition of the country, or for the more frivolous object of +making some few prisoners, it was indeed imprudent in the highest +degree. That prisoners, such as were likely to be taken on +this occasion, should have been a consideration with any man of +common sense is impossible. The desire of gaining +intelligence concerning the disposition of the people was indeed +a natural curiosity, but it would be a strong instance of that +impatience which has been often alleged though in no other case +proved to have been part of the earl’s character, if, for +the sake of gratifying such a desire, he gave the enemy any +important advantage. Of the intelligence which he sought +thus eagerly, it was evident that he could not in that place and +at that time make any immediate use; whereas, of that which he +afforded his enemies, they could and did avail themselves against +him. The most favourable account of this proceeding, and +which seems to deserve most credit, is, that having missed the +proper passage through the Orkney Islands, he thought proper to +send on shore for pilots, and that Spence very imprudently took +the opportunity of going to confer with a relation at Kirkwall; +but it is to be remarked that it was not necessary for the +purpose of getting pilots, to employ men of note, such as +Blackadder and Spence, the latter of whom was the earl’s +secretary; and that it was an unpardonable neglect not to give +the strictest injunctions to those who were employed against +going a step further into the country than was absolutely +necessary.</p> +<p>Argyle, with his wonted generosity of spirit, was at first +determined to lay siege to Kirkwall, in order to recover his +friends; but, partly by the dissuasions of his followers, and +still more by the objections made by the masters of the ships to +a delay which might make them lose the favourable winds for their +intended voyage, he was induced to prosecute his course. In +the meantime the government made the use that it was obvious they +would make of the information they had obtained, and when the +earl arrived at his destination, he learned that considerable +forces were got together to repel any attack that he might +meditate. Being prevented by contrary winds from reaching +the Isle of Islay, where he had purposed to make his first +landing, he sailed back to Dunstafnage in Lorn, and there sent +ashore his son, Mr. Charles Campbell, to engage his tenants and +other friends and dependants of his family to rise in his behalf; +but even there he found less encouragement and assistance than he +had expected, and the laird of Lochniel, who gave him the best +assurances, treacherously betrayed him, sent his letter to the +government, and joined the royal forces under the Marquis of +Athol. He then proceeded southwards, and landed at +Campbelltown in Kintyre, where his first step was to publish his +declaration, which appears to have produced little or no +effect.</p> +<p>This bad beginning served, as is usual in such adventures, +rather to widen than to reconcile the differences which had early +begun to manifest themselves between the leader and his +followers. Hume and Cochrane, partly construing, perhaps +too sanguinely, the intelligence which was received from +Ayrshire, Galloway, and the other Lowland districts in that +quarter, partly from an expectation that where the oppression had +been most grievous, the revolt would be proportionably the more +general, were against any stay, or, as they termed it, loss of +time in the Highlands, but were for proceeding at once, weak as +they were in point of numbers, to a country where every man +endowed with the common feelings of human nature must be their +well-wisher, every man of spirit their coadjutor. Argyle, +on the contrary, who probably considered the discouraging +accounts from the Lowlands as positive and distinct, while those +which were deemed more favourable appeared to him to be at least +uncertain and provisional, thought the most prudent plan was to +strengthen himself in his own country before he attempted the +invasion of provinces where the enemy was so well prepared to +receive him. He had hopes of gaining time, not only to +increase his own army, but to avail himself of the Duke of +Monmouth’s intended invasion of England, an event which +must obviously have great influence upon his affairs, and which, +if he could but maintain himself in a situation to profit by it, +might be productive of advantages of an importance and extent of +which no man could presume to calculate the limits. Of +these two contrary opinions it may be difficult at this time of +day to appreciate the value, seeing that so much depends upon the +degree of credit due to the different accounts from the Lowland +counties, of which our imperfect information does not enable us +to form any accurate judgment. But even though we should +not decide absolutely in favour of the cogency of these +reasonings which influenced the chief, it must surely be admitted +that there was, at least, sufficient probability in them to +account for his not immediately giving way to those of his +followers, and to rescue his memory from the reproach of any +uncommon obstinacy, or of carrying things, as Burnet phrases it, +with an air of authority that was not easy to men who were +setting up for liberty. On the other hand, it may be more +difficult to exculpate the gentlemen engaged with Argyle for not +acquiescing more cheerfully, and not entering more cordially into +the views of a man whom they had chosen for their leader and +general; of whose honour they had no doubt, and whose opinion +even those who dissented from him must confess to be formed upon +no light or trivial grounds.</p> +<p>The differences upon the general scheme of attack led, of +course, to others upon points of detail. Upon every +projected expedition there appeared a contrariety of sentiment, +which on some occasions produced the most violent disputes. +The earl was often thwarted in his plans, and in one instance +actually over-ruled by the vote of a council of war. Nor +were these divisions, which might of themselves be deemed +sufficient to mar an enterprise of this nature, the only adverse +circumstances which Argyle had to encounter. By the forward +state of preparation on the part of the government, its friends +were emboldened; its enemies, whose spirit had been already +broken by a long series of sufferings, were completely +intimidated, and men of fickle and time-serving dispositions were +fixed in its interests. Add to all this, that where spirit +was not wanting, it was accompanied with a degree and species of +perversity wholly inexplicable, and which can hardly gain belief +from any one whose experience has not made him acquainted with +the extreme difficulty of persuading men who pride themselves +upon an extravagant love of liberty, rather to compromise upon +some points with those who have in the main the same views with +themselves, than to give power (a power which will infallibly be +used for their own destruction) to an adversary of principles +diametrically opposite; in other words, rather to concede +something to a friend, than everything to an enemy. Hence, +those even whose situation was the most desperate, who were +either wandering about the fields, or seeking refuge in rocks and +caverns, from the authorised assassins who were on every side +pursuing them, did not all join in Argyle’s cause with that +frankness and cordiality which was to be expected. The +various schisms which had existed among different classes of +Presbyterians were still fresh in their memory. Not even +the persecution to which they had been in common, and almost +indiscriminately subjected, had reunited them. According to +a most expressive phrase of an eminent minister of their church, +who sincerely lamented their disunion, the furnace had not yet +healed the rents and breaches among them. Some doubted +whether, short of establishing all the doctrines preached by +Cargill and Cameron, there was anything worth contending for; +while others, still further gone in enthusiasm, set no value upon +liberty, or even life itself, if they were to be preserved by the +means of a nobleman who had, as well by his serviced to Charles +the Second as by other instances, been guilty in the former parts +of his conduct of what they termed unlawful compliances.</p> +<p>Perplexed, no doubt, but not dismayed, by these difficulties, +the earl proceeded to Tarbet, which he had fixed as the place of +rendezvous, and there issued a second declaration (that which has +been mentioned as having been laid before the House of Commons), +with as little effect as the first. He was joined by Sir +Duncan Campbell, who alone, of all his kinsmen, seems to have +afforded him any material assistance, and who brought with him +nearly a thousand men; but even with this important +reinforcement, his whole army does not appear to have exceeded +two thousand. It was here that he was over-ruled by a +council of war, when he proposed marching to Inverary; and after +much debate, so far was he from being so self-willed as he is +represented, that he consented to go over with his army to that +part of Argyleshire called Cowal, and that Sir John Cochrane +should make an attempt upon the Lowlands; and he sent with him +Major Fullarton, one of the offices in whom he most trusted, and +who appears to have best deserved his confidence. This +expedition could not land in Ayrshire, where it had at first been +intended, owing to the appearance of two king’s frigates, +which had been sent into those seas; and when it did land near +Greenock, no other advantage was derived from it than the +procuring from the town a very small supply of provisions.</p> +<p>When Cochrane, with his detachment, returned to Cowal, all +hopes of success in the Lowlands seemed, for the present at +least, to be at an end, and Argyle’s original plan was now +necessarily adopted, though under circumstances greatly +disadvantageous. Among these, the most important was the +approach of the frigates, which obliged the earl to place his +ships under the protection of the castle of Ellengreg, which he +fortified and garrisoned as well as his contracted means would +permit. Yet even in this situation, deprived of the +co-operation of his little fleet, as well as of that part of his +force which he left to defend it, being well seconded by the +spirit and activity of Rumbold, who had seized the castle of +Ardkinglass, near the head of Loch Fin, he was not without hopes +of success in his main enterprise against Inverary, when he was +called back to Ellengreg, by intelligence of fresh discontents +having broken out there, upon the nearer approach of the +frigates. Some of the most dissatisfied had even threatened +to leave both castle and ships to their fate; nor did the +appearance of the earl himself by any means bring with it that +degree of authority which was requisite in such a juncture. +His first motion was to disregard the superior force of the men +of war, and to engage them with his small fleet; but he soon +discovered that he was far indeed from being furnished with the +materials necessary to put in execution so bold, or, as it may +possibly be thought, so romantic a resolution. His +associates remonstrated, and a mutiny in his ships was predicted +as a certain consequence of the attempt. Leaving, +therefore, once more, Ellengreg with a garrison under the command +of the laird of Lochness, and strict orders to destroy both ships +and fortification, rather than suffer them to fall into the hands +of the enemy, he marched towards Gareloch. But whether from +the inadequacy of the provisions with which he was to supply it, +or from cowardice, misconduct, or treachery, it does not appear, +the castle was soon evacuated without any proper measures being +taken to execute the earl’s orders, and the military stores +in it to a considerable amount, as well as the ships which had no +other defence, were abandoned to the king’s forces.</p> +<p>This was a severe blow; and all hopes of acting according to +the earl’s plan of establishing himself strongly in +Argyleshire were now extinguished. He therefore consented +to pass the Leven, a little above Dumbarton, and to march +eastwards. In this march he was overtaken, at a place +called Killerne, by Lord Dumbarton, at the head of a large body +of the king’s troops; but he posted himself with so much +skill and judgment, that Dumbarton thought it prudent to wait, at +least, till the ensuing morning, before he made his attack. +Here, again Argyle was for risking an engagement, and in his +nearly desperate situation, it was probably his best chance, but +his advice (for his repeated misfortunes had scarcely left him +the shadow of command) was rejected. On the other hand, a +proposal was made to him, the most absurd, as it should seem, +that was ever suggested in similar circumstances, to pass the +enemy in the night, and thus exposing his rear, to subject +himself to the danger of being surrounded, for the sake of +advancing he knew not whither, or for what purpose. To this +he could not consent; and it was at last agreed to deceive the +enemies by lighting fires, and to decamp in the night towards +Glasgow. The first part of this plan was executed with +success, and the army went off unperceived by the enemy; but in +their night march they were misled by the ignorance or the +treachery of their guides and fell into difficulties which would +have caused some disorder among the most regular and +best-disciplined troops. In this case such disorder was +fatal, and produced, as among men circumstanced as Argyle’s +were, it necessarily must, an almost general dispersion. +Wandering among bogs and morasses, disheartened by fatigue, +terrified by rumours of an approaching enemy, the darkness of the +night aggravating at once every real distress, and adding terror +to every vain alarm; in this situation, when even the bravest and +the best (for according to one account Rumbold himself was +missing for a time) were not able to find their leaders, nor the +corps to which they respectively belonged; it is no wonder that +many took this opportunity to abandon a cause now become +desperate, and to effect individually that escape which, as a +body, they had no longer any hopes to accomplish.</p> +<p>When the small remains of this ill-fated army got together, in +the morning, at Kilpatrick, a place far distant from their +destination, its number was reduced to less than five +hundred. Argyle had lost all authority; nor, indeed, had he +retained any, does it appear that he could now have used it to +any salutary purpose. The same bias which had influenced +the two parties in the time of better hopes, and with regard to +their early operations, still prevailed now that they were driven +to their last extremity. Sir Patrick Hume and Sir John +Cochrane would not stay even to reason the matter with him whom, +at the onset of their expedition, they had engaged to obey, but +crossed the Clyde, with such as would follow them to the number +of about two hundred, into Renfrewshire.</p> +<p>Argyle, thus deserted, and almost alone, still looked to his +own country as the sole remaining hope, and sent off Sir Duncan +Campbell, with the two Duncansons, father and son—persons, +all three, by whom he seemed to have been served with the most +exemplary zeal and fidelity—to attempt new levies +there. Having done this, and settled such means of +correspondence as the state of affairs would permit, he repaired +to the house of an old servant, upon whose attachment he had +relied for an asylum, but was peremptorily denied entrance. +Concealment in this part of the country seemed now impracticable, +and he was forced at last to pass the Clyde, accompanied by the +brave and faithful Fullarton. Upon coming to a ford of the +Inchanon they were stopped by some militia-men. Fullarton +used in vain all the best means which his presence of mind +suggested to him to save his general. He attempted one +while by gentle, and then by harsher language, to detain the +commander of the party till the earl, who was habited as a common +countryman, and whom he passed for his guide, should have made +his escape. At last, when he saw them determined to go +after his pretended guide, he offered to surrender himself +without a blow, upon condition of their desisting from their +pursuit. This agreement was accepted, but not adhered to, +and two horsemen were detached to seize Argyle. The earl, +who was also on horseback, grappled with them till one of them +and himself came to the ground. He then presented his +pocket pistols, on which the two retired, but soon after five +more came up, who fired without effect, and he thought himself +like to get rid of them, but they knocked him down with their +swords and seized him. When they knew whom they had taken +they seemed much troubled, but dared not let him go. +Fullarton, perceiving that the stipulation on which he had +surrendered himself was violated, and determined to defend +himself to the last, or at least to wreak, before he fell, his +just vengeance upon his perfidious opponents, grasped at the +sword of one of them, but in vain; he was overpowered, and made +prisoner.</p> +<p>Argyle was immediately carried to Renfrew, thence to Glasgow, +and on the 20th of June was led in triumph into Edinburgh. +The order of the council was particular: that he should be led +bareheaded in the midst of Graham’s guards, with their +matches cocked, his hands tied behind his back, and preceded by +the common hangman, in which situation, that he might be more +exposed to the insults and taunts of the vulgar, it was directed +that he should be carried to the castle by a circuitous +route. To the equanimity with which he bore these +indignities, as indeed to the manly spirit exhibited by him +throughout, in these last scenes of his life, ample testimony is +borne by all the historians who have treated of them, even those +who are the least partial to him. He had frequent +opportunities of conversing, and some of writing, during his +imprisonment, and it is from such parts of these conversations +and writings as have been preserved to us, that we can best form +to ourselves a just notion of his deportment during that trying +period; at the same time a true representation of the temper of +his mind in such circumstances will serve, in no small degree, to +illustrate his general character and disposition.</p> +<p>We have already seen how he expresses himself with regard to +the men who, by taking him, became the immediate cause of his +calamity. He seems to feel a sort of gratitude to them for +the sorrow he saw, or fancied he saw in them, when they knew who +he was, and immediately suggests an excuse for them, by saying +that they did not dare to follow the impulse of their +hearts. Speaking of the supineness of his countrymen, and +of the little assistance he had received from them, he declares +with his accustomed piety his resignation to the will of God, +which was that Scotland should not be delivered at this time, nor +especially by his hand; and then exclaims, with the regret of a +patriot, but with no bitterness of disappointment, “But +alas! who is there to be delivered! There may,” says +he, “be hidden ones, but there appears no great party in +the country who desire to be relieved.” Justice, in +some degree, but still more that warm affection for his own +kindred and vassals, which seems to have formed a marked feature +in this nobleman’s character, then induces him to make an +exception in favour of his poor friends in Argyleshire, in +treating for whom, though in what particular way does not appear, +he was employing, and with some hope of success, the few +remaining hours of his life. In recounting the failure of +his expedition it is impossible for him not to touch upon what he +deemed the misconduct of his friends; and this is the subject +upon which of all others, his temper must have been most +irritable. A certain description of friends (the words +describing them are omitted) were all of them without exception, +his greatest enemies, both to betray and destroy him; and . . . +and . . . (the names again omitted) were the greatest cause of +his rout, and his being taken, though not designedly, he +acknowledges, but by ignorance, cowardice, and faction. +This sentence had scarce escaped him when, notwithstanding the +qualifying words with which his candour had acquitted the +last-mentioned persons of intentional treachery, it appeared too +harsh to his gentle nature, and declaring himself displeased with +the hard epithets he had used, he desires they may be put out of +any account that is to be given of these transactions. The +manner in which this request is worded shows that the paper he +was writing was intended for a letter, and as it is supposed, to +a Mrs. Smith, who seems to have assisted him with money; but +whether or not this lady was the rich widow of Amsterdam, before +alluded to, I have not been able to learn.</p> +<p>When he is told that he is to be put to the torture, he +neither breaks out into any high-sounding bravado, any premature +vaunts of the resolution with which he will endure it, nor, on +the other hand, into passionate exclamations on the cruelty of +his enemies, or unmanly lamentations of his fate. After +stating that orders were arrived that he must be tortured, unless +he answers all questions upon oath, he simply adds that he hopes +God will support him; and then leaves off writing, not from any +want of spirits to proceed, but to enjoy the consolation which +was yet left him, in the society of his wife, the countess being +just then admitted.</p> +<p>Of his interview with Queensbury, who examined him in private, +little is known, except that he denied his design having been +concerted with any persons in Scotland; that he gave no +information with respect to his associates in England; and that +he boldly and frankly averred his hopes to have been founded on +the cruelty of the administration, and such a disposition in the +people to revolt as he conceived to be the natural consequence of +oppression. He owned, at the same time, that he had trusted +too much to this principle. The precise date of this +conversation, whether it took place before the threat of the +torture, whilst that threat was impending, or when there was no +longer any intention of putting it into execution, I have not +been able to ascertain; but the probability seems to be that it +was during the first or second of these periods.</p> +<p>Notwithstanding the ill success that had attended his +enterprise, he never expresses, or even hints, the smallest +degree of contrition for having undertaken it: on the contrary, +when Mr. Charteris, an eminent divine, is permitted to wait on +him, his first caution to that minister is, not to try to +convince him of the unlawfulness of his attempt, concerning which +his opinion was settled, and his mind made up. Of some +parts of his past conduct he does indeed confess that he repents, +but these are the compliances of which he had been guilty in +support of the king, or his predecessors. Possibly in this +he may allude to his having in his youth borne arms against the +covenant, but with more likelihood to his concurrence, in the +late reign, with some of the measures of Lauderdale’s +administration, for whom it is certain that he entertained a +great regard, and to whom he conceived himself to be principally +indebted for his escape from his first sentence. Friendship +and gratitude might have carried him to lengths which patriotism +and justice must condemn.</p> +<p>Religious concerns, in which he seems to have been very +serious and sincere, engaged much of his thoughts; but his +religion was of that genuine kind which, by representing the +performance of our duties to our neighbour as the most acceptable +service to God, strengthens all the charities of social +life. While he anticipates, with a hope approaching to +certainty, a happy futurity, he does not forget those who have +been justly dear to him in this world. He writes, on the +day of his execution, to his wife, and to some other relations, +for whom he seems to have entertained a sort of parental +tenderness, short, but the most affectionate letters, wherein he +gives them the greatest satisfaction then in his power, by +assuring them of his composure and tranquillity of mind, and +refers them for further consolation to those sources from which +he derived his own. In his letter to Mrs. Smith, written on +the same day, he says, “While anything was a burden to me, +your concern was; which is a cross greater than I can +express” (alluding probably to the pecuniary loss she had +incurred); “but I have, I thank God, overcome +all.” Her name, he adds, could not be concealed, and +that he knows not what may have been discovered from any paper +which may have been taken; otherwise he has named none to their +disadvantage. He states that those in whose hands he is, +had at first used him hardly, but that God had melted their +hearts, and that he was now treated with civility. As an +instance of this, he mentions the liberty he had obtained of +sending this letter to her; a liberty which he takes as a +kindness on their part, and which he had sought that she might +not think he had forgotten her.</p> +<p>Never, perhaps, did a few sentences present so striking a +picture of a mind truly virtuous and honourable. Heroic +courage is the least part of his praise, and vanishes as it were +from our sight, when we contemplate the sensibility with which he +acknowledges the kindness, such as it is, of the very men who are +leading him to the scaffold; the generous satisfaction which he +feels on reflecting that no confession of his has endangered his +associates; and above all, his anxiety, in such moments, to +perform all the duties of friendship and gratitude, not only with +the most scrupulous exactness, but with the most considerate +attention to the feelings as well as to the interests of the +person who was the object of them. Indeed, it seems +throughout to have been the peculiar felicity of this man’s +mind, that everything was present to it that ought to be so; +nothing that ought not. Of his country he could not be +unmindful; and it was one among other consequences of his happy +temper, that on this subject he did not entertain those gloomy +ideas which the then state of Scotland was but too well fitted to +inspire. In a conversation with an intimate friend, he says +that, though he does not take upon him to be a prophet, he doubts +not but that deliverance will come, and suddenly, of which his +failings had rendered him unworthy to be the instrument. In +some verses which he composed on the night preceding his +execution, and which he intended for his epitaph, he thus +expresses this hope still more distinctly</p> +<blockquote><p>“On my attempt though Providence did +frown,<br /> +His oppressed people God at length shall own;<br /> +Another hand, by more successful speed,<br /> +Shall raise the remnant, bruise the serpent’s +head.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>With respect to the epitaph itself, of which these lines form +a part, it is probable that he composed it chiefly with a view to +amuse and relieve his mind, fatigued with exertion, and partly, +perhaps, in imitation of the famous Marquis of Montrose, who, in +similar circumstances, had written some verses which have been +much celebrated. The poetical merit of the pieces appears +to be nearly equal, and is not in either instance considerable, +and they are only in so far valuable as they may serve to convey +to us some image of the minds by which they were produced. +He who reads them with this view will, perhaps, be of opinion +that the spirit manifested in the two compositions is rather +equal in degree than like in character; that the courage of +Montrose was more turbulent, that of Argyle more calm and +sedate. If, on the one hand, it is to be regretted that we +have not more memorials left of passages so interesting, and that +even of those which we do possess, a great part is obscured by +time, it must be confessed, on the other, that we have quite +enough to enable us to pronounce that for constancy and +equanimity under the severest trials, few men have equalled, none +ever surpassed, the Earl of Argyle. The most powerful of +all tempters, hope, was not held out to him, so that he had not, +it is true, in addition to his other hard tasks, that of +resisting her seductive influence; but the passions of a +different class had the fullest scope for their attacks. +These, however, could make no impression on his well-disciplined +mind. Anger could not exasperate, fear could not appal him; +and if disappointment and indignation at the misbehaviour of his +followers, and the supineness of the country, did occasionally, +as surely they must, cause uneasy sensations, they had not the +power to extort from him one unbecoming or even querulous +expression. Let him be weighed never so scrupulously, and +in the nicest scales, he will not be found, in a single instance, +wanting in the charity of a Christian, the firmness and +benevolence of a patriot, the integrity and fidelity of a man of +honour.</p> +<p>The Scotch parliament had, on the 11th of June, sent an +address to the king wherein, after praising his majesty, as +usual, for his extraordinary prudence, courage, and conduct, and +loading Argyle, whom they styled an hereditary traitor, with +every reproach they can devise—among others, that of +ingratitude for the favours which he had received, as well from +his majesty as from his predecessor—they implore his +majesty that the earl may find no favour and that the +earl’s family, the heritors, ringleaders, and preachers who +joined him, should be for ever declared incapable of mercy, or +bearing any honour or estate in the kingdom, and all subjects +discharged under the highest pains to intercede for them in any +manner of way. Never was address more graciously received, +or more readily complied with; and, accordingly, the following +letter, with the royal signature, and countersigned by Lord +Melford, Secretary of State for Scotland, was despatched to the +council at Edinburgh, and by them entered and registered on the +29th of June.</p> +<blockquote><p>“Whereas, the late Earl of Argyle is, by the +providence of God, fallen into our power, it is our will and +pleasure that you take all ways to know from him those things +which concern our government most, as his assisters with men, +arms, and money, his associates and correspondents, his designs, +etc. But this must be done so as no time may be lost in +bringing him to condign punishment, by causing him to be demeaned +as a traitor, within the space of three days after this shall +come to your hands, an account of which, with what he shall +confess, you shall send immediately to us or our secretaries, for +doing which this shall be your warrant.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>When it is recollected that torture had been in common use in +Scotland, and that the persons to whom the letter was addressed +had often caused it to be inflicted, the words, “it is our +will and pleasure that you take all ways,” seem to convey a +positive command for applying of it in this instance; yet it is +certain that Argyle was not tortured. What was the cause of +this seeming disregard of the royal injunctions does not +appear. One would hope, for the honour of human nature, +that James, struck with some compunction for the injuries he had +already heaped upon the head of this unfortunate nobleman, sent +some private orders contradictory to this public letter; but +there is no trace to be discovered of such a circumstance. +The managers themselves might feel a sympathy for a man of their +own rank, which had no influence in the cases where only persons +of an inferior station were to be the sufferers; and in those +words of the king’s letter which enjoin a speedy punishment +as the primary object to which all others must give way, they +might find a pretext for overlooking the most odious part of the +order, and of indulging their humanity, such as it was, by +appointing the earliest day possible for the execution. In +order that the triumph of injustice might be complete, it was +determined that, without any new trial, the earl should suffer +upon the iniquitous sentence of 1682. Accordingly, the very +next day ensuing was appointed, and on the 13th of June he was +brought from the castle, first to the Laigh Council-house, and +thence to the place of execution.</p> +<p>Before he left the castle, he had his dinner at the usual +hour, at which he discoursed, not only calmly, but even +cheerfully, with Mr. Charteris and others. After dinner he +retired, as was his custom, to his bed-chamber, where it is +recorded that he slept quietly for about a quarter of an +hour. While he was in his bed, one of the members of the +council came and intimated to the attendants a desire to speak +with him: upon being told that the earl was asleep, and had left +orders not to be disturbed, the manager disbelieved the account, +which he considered as a device to avoid further +questionings. To satisfy him, the door of the bed-chamber +was half opened, and he then beheld, enjoying a sweet and +tranquil slumber, the man who, by the doom of him and his +fellows, was to die within the space of two short hours! +Struck with this sight, he hurried out of the room, quitted the +castle with the utmost precipitation, and hid himself in the +lodgings of an acquaintance who lived near, where he flung +himself upon the first bed that presented itself, and had every +appearance of a man suffering the most excruciating +torture. His friend, who had been apprised by the servant +of the state he was in, and who naturally concluded that he was +ill, offered him some wine. He refused, saying, “No, +no, that will not help me: I have been in at Argyle, and saw him +sleeping as pleasantly as ever man did, within an hour of +eternity. But as for me—.” The name of +the person to whom this anecdote relates is not mentioned, and +the truth of it may therefore be fairly considered as liable to +that degree of doubt with which men of judgment receive every +species of traditional history. Woodrow, however, whose +veracity is above suspicion, says he had it from the most +unquestionable authority. It is not in itself unlikely; and +who is there that would not wish it true? What a +satisfactory spectacle to a philosophical mind, to see the +oppressor, in the zenith of his power, envying his victim! +What an acknowledgment of the superiority of virtue! What +an affecting and forcible testimony to the value of that peace of +mind which innocence alone can confer! We know not who this +man was; but when we reflect that the guilt which agonised him +was probably incurred for the sake of some vain title, or, at +least, of some increase of wealth, which he did not want, and +possibly knew not how to enjoy, our disgust is turned into +something like compassion for that very foolish class of men whom +the world calls wise in their generation.</p> +<p>Soon after his short repose Argyle was brought, according to +order, to the Laigh Council-house, from which place is dated the +letter to his wife, and thence to the place of execution. +On the scaffold he had some discourse, as well with Mr. Annand, a +minister appointed by government to attend him, as with Mr. +Charteris. He desired both of them to pray for him, and +prayed himself with much fervency and devotion. The speech +which he made to the people was such as might be expected from +the passages already related. The same mixture of firmness +and mildness is conspicuous in every part of it. “We +ought not,” says he, “to despise our afflictions, nor +to faint under them. We must not suffer ourselves to be +exasperated against the instruments of our troubles, nor by +fraudulent, nor pusillanimous compliances, bring guilt upon +ourselves; faint hearts are ordinarily false hearts, choosing sin +rather than suffering.” He offers his prayers to God +for the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and +that an end may be put to their present trials. Having then +asked pardon for his own failings, both of God and man, he would +have concluded; but being reminded that he had said nothing of +the royal family, he adds that he refers, in this matter, to what +he had said at his trial concerning the test; that he prayed +there never might be wanting one of the royal family to support +the Protestant religion; and if any of them had swerved from the +true faith, he prayed God to turn their hearts, but, at any rate, +to save His people from their machinations. When he had +ended, he turned to the south side of the scaffold, and said, +“Gentlemen, I pray you do not misconstruct my behaviour +this day; I freely forgive all men their wrongs and injuries done +against me, as I desire to be forgiven of God.” Mr. +Annand repeated these words louder to the people. The earl +then went to the north side of the scaffold, and used the same or +the like expressions. Mr. Annand repeated them again, and +said, “This nobleman dies a Protestant.” The +earl stepped forward again, and said, “I die not only a +Protestant, but with a heart-hatred of popery, prelacy, and all +superstition whatsoever.” It would perhaps have been +better if these last expressions had never been uttered, as there +appears certainly something of violence in them unsuitable to the +general tenor of his language; but it must be remembered, first, +that the opinion that the pope is <i>Antichrist</i> was at that +time general among almost all the zealous Protestants in these +kingdoms; secondly, that Annand being employed by government, and +probably an Episcopalian, the earl might apprehend that the +declaration of such a minister might not convey the precise idea +which he, Argyle, affixed to the word Protestant.</p> +<p>He then embraced his friends, gave some tokens of remembrance +to his son-in-law, Lord Maitland, for his daughter and +grandchildren, stripped himself of part of his apparel, of which +he likewise made presents, and laid his head upon the +block. Having uttered a short prayer, he gave the signal to +the executioner, which was instantly obeyed, and his head severed +from his body. Such were the last hours, and such the final +close, of this great man’s life. May the like happy +serenity in such dreadful circumstances, and a death equally +glorious, be the lot of all whom tyranny, of whatever +denomination or description, shall in any age, or in any country, +call to expiate their virtues on the scaffold!</p> +<p>Of the followers of Argyle, in the disastrous expedition above +recounted, the fortunes were various. Among those who +either surrendered or were taken, some suffered the same fate +with their commander, others were pardoned; while, on the other +hand, of those who escaped to foreign parts, many after a short +exile returned triumphantly to their country at the period of the +revolution, and under a system congenial to their principles, +some even attained the highest honours of the State. It is +to be recollected that when, after the disastrous night-march +from Killerne, a separation took place at Kilpatrick between +Argyle and his confederates, Sir John Cochrane, Sir Patrick Hume, +and others, crossed the Clyde into Renfrewshire, with about, it +is supposed, two hundred men. Upon their landing they met +with some opposition from a troop of militia horse, which was, +however, feeble and ineffectual; but fresh parties of militia as +well as regular troops drawing together, a sort of scuffle +ensued, near a place called Muirdyke; an offer of quarter was +made by the king’s troops, but (probably on account of the +conditions annexed to it) was refused; and Cochrane and the rest, +now reduced to the number of seventy took shelter in a fold-dyke, +where they were able to resist and repel, though not without loss +on each side, the attack of the enemy. Their situation was +nevertheless still desperate, and in the night they determined to +make their escape. The king’s troops having retired, +this was effected without difficulty; and this remnant of an army +being dispersed by common consent, every man sought his own +safety in the best manner he could. Sir John Cochrane took +refuge in the house of an uncle, by whom, or by whose wife, it is +said, he was betrayed. He was, however, pardoned; and from +this circumstance, coupled with the constant and seemingly +peevish opposition which he gave to almost all Argyle’s +plans, a suspicion has arisen that he had been treacherous +throughout. But the account given of his pardon by Burnet, +who says his father, Lord Dundonald, who was an opulent nobleman, +purchased it with a considerable sum of money, is more credible, +as well as more candid; and it must be remembered that in Sir +John’s disputes with his general, he was almost always +acting in conjunction with Sir Patrick Hume, who is proved, by +the subsequent events, and indeed by the whole tenor of his life +and conduct, to have been uniformly sincere and zealous in the +cause of his country. Cochrane was sent to England, where +he had an interview with the king, and gave such answers to the +questions put to him as were deemed satisfactory by his majesty; +and the information thus obtained whatever might be the real and +secret causes, furnished a plausible pretence at least for the +exercise of royal mercy. Sir Patrick Hume, after having +concealed himself some time in the house, and under the +protection of Lady Eleanor Dunbar, sister to the Earl of +Eglington, found means to escape to Holland, whence he returned +in better times, and was created first Lord Hume of Polwarth, and +afterwards Earl of Marchmont. Fullarton, and Campbell of +Auchinbreak, appear to have escaped, but by what means is not +known. Two sons of Argyle, John and Charles, and Archibald +Campbell, his nephew, were sentenced to death and forfeiture, but +the capital part of the sentence was remitted. Thomas +Archer, a clergyman, who had been wounded at Muirdyke, was +executed, notwithstanding many applications in his favour, among +which was one from Lord Drumlanrig, Queensbury’s eldest +son. Woodrow, who was himself a Presbyterian minister, and +though a most valuable and correct historian, was not without a +tincture of the prejudices belonging to his order, attributes the +unrelenting spirit of the government in this instance to their +malice against the clergy of his sect. Some of the holy +ministry, he observes, as Guthrie at the restoration, Kidd and +Mackail after the insurrections at Pentland and Bothwell Bridge, +and now Archer, were upon every occasion to be sacrificed to the +fury of the persecutors. But to him who is well acquainted +with the history of this period, the habitual cruelty of the +government will fully account for any particular act of severity; +and it is only in cases of lenity, such as that of Cochrane, for +instance, that he will look for some hidden or special +motive.</p> +<p>Ayloff, having in vain attempted to kill himself, was, like +Cochrane, sent to London to be examined. His relationship +to the king’s first wife might perhaps be one inducement to +this measure, or it might be thought more expedient that he +should be executed for the Rye House Plot, the credit of which it +was a favourite object of the court to uphold, than for his +recent acts of rebellion in Scotland. Upon his examination +he refused to give any information, and suffered death upon a +sentence of outlawry, which had passed in the former reign. +It is recorded that James interrogated him personally, and +finding him sullen, and unwilling to speak, said: “Mr. +Ayloff, you know it is in my power to pardon you, therefore say +that which may deserve it:” to which Ayloff replied: +“Though it is in your power, it is not in your nature to +pardon.” This, however, is one of those anecdotes +which are believed rather on account of the air of nature that +belongs to them, than upon any very good traditional authority, +and which ought, therefore when any very material inference with +respect either to fact or character, is to be drawn from them, to +be received with great caution.</p> +<p>Rumbold, covered with wounds, and defending himself with +uncommon exertions of strength and courage, was at last +taken. However desirable it might have been thought to +execute in England a man so deeply implicated in the Rye House +Plot, the state of Rumbold’s health made such a project +impracticable. Had it been attempted he would probably, by +a natural death, have disappointed the views of a government who +were eager to see brought to the block a man whom they thought, +or pretended to think, guilty of having projected the +assassination of the late and present king. Weakened as he +was in body, his mind was firm, his constancy unshaken; and +notwithstanding some endeavours that were made by drums and other +instruments, to drown his voice when he was addressing the people +from the scaffold, enough has been preserved of what he then +uttered to satisfy us that his personal courage, the praise of +which has not been denied him, was not of the vulgar or +constitutional kind, but was accompanied with a proportionable +vigour of mind. Upon hearing his sentence, whether in +imitation of Montrose, or from that congeniality of character +which causes men in similar circumstances to conceive similar +sentiments, he expressed the same wish which that gallant +nobleman had done; he wished he had a limb for every town in +Christendom. With respect to the intended assassination +imputed to him, he protested his innocence, and desired to be +believed upon the faith of a dying man; adding, in terms as +natural as they are forcibly descriptive of a conscious dignity +of character, that he was too well known for any to have had the +imprudence to make such a proposition to him. He concluded +with plain, and apparently sincere, declarations of his +undiminished attachment to the principles of liberty, civil and +religious; denied that he was an enemy to monarchy, affirming, on +the contrary, that he considered it, when properly limited, as +the most eligible form of government; but that he never could +believe that any man was born marked by God above another, +“for none comes into the world with a saddle on his back, +neither any booted and spurred to ride him.”</p> +<p>Except by Ralph, who, with a warmth that does honour to his +feelings, expatiates at some length upon the subject, the +circumstances attending the death of this extraordinary man have +been little noticed. Rapin, Echard, Kennet, Hume, make no +mention of them whatever; and yet, exclusively of the interest +always excited by any great display of spirit and magnanimity, +his solemn denial of the project of assassination imputed to him +in the affair of the Rye House Plot is in itself a fact of great +importance, and one which might have been expected to attract, in +no small degree, the attention of the historian. That Hume, +who has taken some pains in canvassing the degree of credit due +to the different parts of the Rye House Plot, should pass it over +in silence, is the more extraordinary because, in the case of the +popish plot, he lays, and justly lays, the greatest stress upon +the dying declarations of the sufferers. Burnet adverts as +well to the peculiar language used by Rumbold as to his denial of +the assassination; but having before given us to understand that +he believed that no such crime had been projected, it is the less +to be wondered at that he does not much dwell upon this further +evidence in favour of his former opinion. Sir John +Dalrymple, upon the authority of a paper which he does not +produce, but from which he quotes enough to show that if produced +it would not answer his purpose, takes Rumbold’s guilt for +a decided fact, and then states his dying protestations of his +innocence, as an instance of aggravated wickedness. It is +to be remarked, too, that although Sir John is pleased roundly to +assert that Rumbold denied the share he had had in the Rye House +Plot, yet the particular words which he cites neither contain nor +express, nor imply any such denial. He has not even +selected those by which the design of assassination was denied +(the only denial that was uttered), but refers to a general +declaration made by Rumbold, that he had done injustice to no +man—a declaration which was by no means inconsistent with +his having been a party to a plot, which he, no doubt, considered +as justifiable, and even meritorious. This is not all: the +paper referred to is addressed to Walcot, by whom Rumbold states +himself to have been led on; and Walcot, with his last breath, +denied his own participation in any design to murder either +Charles or James. Thus, therefore, whether the declaration +of the sufferer be interpreted in a general or in a particular +sense, there is no contradiction whatever between it and the +paper adduced; but thus it is that the character of a brave and, +as far as appears, a virtuous man, is most unjustly and cruelly +traduced. An incredible confusion of head, and an uncommon +want of reasoning powers, which distinguish the author to whom I +refer, are, I should charitably hope, the true sources of his +misrepresentation; while others may probably impute it to his +desire of blackening, upon any pretence, a person whose name is +more or less connected with those of Sidney and Russell. It +ought not, perhaps, to pass without observation, that this attack +upon Rumbold is introduced only in an oblique manner: the rigour +of government destroyed, says the historian, the morals it +intended to correct, and made the unhappy sufferer add to his +former crimes the atrocity of declaring a falsehood in his last +moments. Now, what particular instances of rigour are here +alluded to, it is difficult to guess: for surely the execution of +a man whom he sets down as guilty of a design to murder the two +royal brothers, could not, even in the judgment of persons much +less accustomed than Sir John to palliate the crimes of princes, +be looked upon as an act of blameable severity; but it was +thought, perhaps, that for the purpose of conveying a calumny +upon the persons concerned, or accused of being concerned, in the +Rye House Plot, an affected censure upon the government would be +the fittest vehicle.</p> +<p>The fact itself, that Rumbold did, in his last hours, solemnly +deny the having been concerned in any project for assassinating +the king or duke, has not, I believe, been questioned. It +is not invalidated by the silence of some historians: it is +confirmed by the misrepresentation of others. The first +question that naturally presents itself must be, was this +declaration true? The asseverations of dying men have +always had, and will always have, great influence upon the minds +of those who do not push their ill opinion of mankind to the most +outrageous and unwarrantable length; but though the weight of +such asseverations be in all cases great, it will not be in all +equal. It is material therefore to consider, first, what +are the circumstances which may tend in particular cases to +diminish their credit; and next, how far such circumstances +appear to have existed in the case before us. The case +where this species of evidence would be the least convincing, +would be where hope of pardon is entertained; for then the man is +not a dying man in the sense of the proposition, for he has not +that certainty that his falsehood will not avail him, which is +the principal foundation of the credit due to his +assertions. For the same reason, though in a less degree, +he who hopes for favour to his children, or to other surviving +connections, is to be listened to with some caution; for the +existence of one virtue does not necessarily prove that of +another, and he who loves his children and friends may yet be +profligate and unprincipled; or, deceiving himself, may think +that while his ends are laudable, he ought not to hesitate +concerning the means. Besides these more obvious +temptations to prevarication, there is another which, though it +may lie somewhat deeper, yet experience teaches us to be rooted +in human nature: I mean that sort of obstinacy, or false shame, +which makes men so unwilling to retract what they have once +advanced, whether in matter of opinion or of fact. The +general character of the man is also in this, as in all other +human testimony, a circumstance of the greatest moment. +Where none of the above-mentioned objections occur, and where +therefore the weight of evidence in question is confessedly +considerable, yet is it still liable to be balanced or outweighed +by evidence in the opposite scale.</p> +<p>Let Rumbold’s declaration, then, be examined upon these +principles, and we shall find that it has every character of +truth, without a single circumstance to discredit it. He +was so far from entertaining any hope of pardon, that he did not +seem even to wish it; and indeed if he had had any such +chimerical object in view, he must have known that to have +supplied the government with a proof of the Rye House +assassination plot, would be a more likely road at least, than a +steady denial, to obtain it. He left none behind him for +whom to entreat favour, or whose welfare or honour was at all +affected by any confession or declaration he might make. +If, in a prospective view, he was without temptation, so neither, +if he looked back, was he fettered by any former declaration; so +that he could not be influenced by that erroneous notion of +consistency to which it may be feared that truth, even in the +most awful moments, has in some cases been sacrificed. His +timely escape in 1683 had saved him from the necessity of making +any protestation upon the subject of his innocence at that time; +and the words of the letter to Walcot are so far from containing +such a protestation, that they are quoted (very absurdly, it is +true) by Sir John Dalrymple as an avowal of guilt. If his +testimony is free from these particular objections, much less is +it impeached by his general character, which was that of a bold +and daring man, who was very unlikely to feel shame in avowing +what he had not been ashamed to commit, and who seems to have +taken a delight in speaking bold truths, or at least what +appeared to him to be such, without regarding the manner in which +his hearers were likely to receive them. With respect to +the last consideration, that of the opposite evidence, it all +depends upon the veracity of men who, according to their own +account, betrayed their comrades, and were actuated by the hope +either of pardon or reward.</p> +<p>It appears to be of the more consequence to clear up this +matter, because if we should be of opinion, as I think we all +must be, that the story of the intended assassination of the +king, in his way from Newmarket, is as fabulous as that of the +silver bullets by which he was to have been shot at Windsor, a +most singular train of reflections will force itself upon our +minds, as well in regard to the character of the times, as to the +means by which the two causes gained successively the advantage +over each other. The Royalists had found it impossible to +discredit the fiction, gross as it was, of the popish plot; nor +could they prevent it from being a powerful engine in the hands +of the Whigs, who, during the alarm raised by it, gained an +irresistible superiority in the House of Commons, in the City of +London, and in most parts of the kingdom. But they who +could not quiet a false alarm raised by their adversaries, found +little or no difficulty in raising one equally false in their own +favour, by the supposed detection of the intended +assassination. With regard to the advantages derived to the +respective parties from those detestable fictions, if it be +urged, on one hand, that the panic spread by the Whigs was more +universal and more violent in its effects, it must be allowed, on +the other, that the advantages gained by the Tories were, on +account of their alliance with the crown, more durable and +decisive. There is a superior solidity ever belonging to +the power of the crown, as compared with that of any body of men +or party, or even with either of the other branches of the +legislature. A party has influence, but, properly speaking, +no power. The Houses of Parliament have abundance of power, +but, as bodies, little or no influence. The crown has both +power and influence, which, when exerted with wisdom and +steadiness, will always be found too strong for any opposition +whatever, till the zeal and fidelity of party attachments shall +be found to increase in proportion to the increased influence of +the executive power.</p> +<p>While these matters were transacting in Scotland, Monmouth, +conformably to his promise to Argyle, set sail from Holland, and +landed at Lyme in Dorsetshire, on the 11th of June. He was +attended by Lord Grey of Wark, Fletcher of Saltoun, Colonel +Matthews, Ferguson, and a few other gentlemen. His +reception was, among the lower ranks, cordial, and for some days +at least, if not weeks, there seemed to have been more foundation +for the sanguine hopes of Lord Grey and others, his followers, +than the duke had supposed. The first step taken by the +invader was to issue a proclamation, which he caused to be read +in the market-place. In this instrument he touched upon +what were, no doubt, thought to be the most popular topics, and +loaded James and his Catholic friends with every imputation which +had at any time been thrown against them. This declaration +appears to have been well received, and the numbers that came in +to him were very considerable; but his means of arming them were +limited, nor had he much confidence, for the purpose of any +important military operation, in men unused to discipline, and +wholly unacquainted with the art of war. Without examining +the question whether or not Monmouth, from his professional +prejudices, carried, as some have alleged he did, his diffidence +of unpractised soldiers and new levies too far, it seems clear +that, in his situation, the best, or rather the only chance of +success, was to be looked for in counsels of the boldest +kind. If he could not immediately strike some important +stroke, it was not likely that he ever should; nor indeed was he +in a condition to wait. He could not flatter himself, as +Argyle had done, that he had a strong country, full of relations +and dependants, where he might secure himself till the +co-operation of his confederate or some other favourable +circumstance might put it in his power to act more +efficaciously. Of any brilliant success in Scotland he +could not, at this time, entertain any hope, nor, if he had, +could he rationally expect that any events in that quarter would +make the sort of impression here which, on the other hand, his +success would produce in Scotland. With money he was wholly +unprovided; nor does it appear, whatever may have been the +inclination of some considerable men, such as Lords Macclesfield, +Brandon, Delamere, and others, that any persons of that +description were engaged to join in his enterprise. His +reception had been above his hopes, and his recruits more +numerous than could be expected, or than he was able to furnish +with arms; while, on the other hand, the forces in arms against +him consisted chiefly in a militia, formidable neither from +numbers nor discipline, and moreover suspected of +disaffection. The present moment, therefore, seemed to +offer the most favourable opportunity for enterprise of any that +was likely to occur; but the unfortunate Monmouth judged +otherwise, and, as if he were to defend rather than to attack, +directed his chief policy to the avoiding of a general +action.</p> +<p>It being, however, absolutely necessary to dislodge some +troops which the Earl of Feversham had thrown into Bridport, a +detachment of three hundred men was made for that purpose, which +had the most complete success, notwithstanding the cowardice of +Lord Grey, who commanded them. This nobleman, who had been +so instrumental in persuading his friend to the invasion, upon +the first appearance of danger is said to have left the troops +whom he commanded, and to have sought his own personal safety in +flight. The troops carried Bridport, to the shame of the +commander who had deserted them, and returned to Lyme.</p> +<p>It is related by Ferguson that Monmouth said to Matthews, +“What shall I do with Lord Grey?” To which the +other answered, “That he was the only general in Europe who +would ask such a question;” intending, no doubt, to +reproach the duke with the excess to which he pushed his +characteristic virtues of mildness and forbearance. That +these virtues formed a part of his character is most true, and +the personal friendship in which he had lived with Grey would +incline him still more to the exercise of them upon this +occasion; but it is to be remembered also that the delinquent +was, in respect of rank, property, and perhaps too of talent, by +far the most considerable man he had with him; and, therefore, +that prudential motives might concur to deter a general from +proceeding to violent measures with such a person, especially in +a civil war, where the discipline of an armed party cannot be +conducted upon the same system as that of a regular army serving +in a foreign war. Monmouth’s disappointment in Lord +Grey was aggravated by the loss of Fletcher of Saltoun, who, in a +sort of scuffle that ensued upon his being reproached for having +seized a horse belonging to a man of the country, had the +misfortune to kill the owner. Monmouth, however unwilling, +thought himself obliged to dismiss him; and thus, while a fatal +concurrence of circumstances forced him to part with the man he +esteemed, and to retain him whom he despised, he found himself at +once disappointed of the support of the two persons upon whom he +had most relied.</p> +<p>On the 15th of June, his army being now increased to near +three thousand men, the duke marched from Lyme. He does not +appear to have taken this step with a view to any enterprise of +importance, but rather to avoid the danger which he apprehended +from the motions of the Devonshire and Somerset militias, whose +object it seemed to be to shut him up in Lyme. In his first +day’s march he had opportunities of engaging, or rather of +pursuing, each of those bodies, who severally retreated from his +forces; but conceiving it to be his business, as he said, not to +fight, but to march on, he went through Axminster, and encamped +in a strong piece of ground between that town and Chard in +Somersetshire, to which place he proceeded on the ensuing +day. According to Wade’s narrative, which appears to +afford by far the most authentic account of these transactions, +here it was that the first proposition was made for proclaiming +Monmouth king. Ferguson made the proposal, and was +supported by Lord Grey, but it was easily run down, as Wade +expresses it, by those who were against it, and whom, therefore, +we must suppose to have formed a very considerable majority of +the persons deemed of sufficient importance to be consulted on +such an occasion. These circumstances are material, because +if that credit be given to them which they appear to deserve, +Ferguson’s want of veracity becomes so notorious, that it +is hardly worth while to attend to any part of his +narrative. Where it only corroborates accounts given by +others, it is of little use; and where it differs from them, it +deserves no credit. I have, therefore, wholly disregarded +it.</p> +<p>From Chard, Monmouth and his party proceeded to Taunton, a +town where, as well from the tenor of former occurrences as from +the zeal and number of the Protestant dissenters, who formed a +great portion of its inhabitants, he had every reason to expect +the most favourable reception. His expectations were not +disappointed.</p> +<p>The inhabitants of the upper, as well as the lower classes, +vied with each other in testifying their affection for his +person, and their zeal for his cause. While the latter rent +the air with applauses and acclamations, the former opened their +houses to him and to his followers, and furnished his army with +necessaries and supplies of every kind. His way was strewed +with flowers; the windows were thronged with spectators, all +anxious to participate in what the warm feelings of the moment +made them deem a triumph. Husbands pointed out to their +wives, mothers to their children, the brave and lovely hero who +was destined to be the deliverer of his country. The +beautiful lines which Dryden makes Achitophel, in his highest +strain of flattery, apply to this unfortunate nobleman, were in +this instance literally verified:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Thee, saviour, thee, the nation’s +vows confess,<br /> +And, never satisfied with seeing, bless.<br /> +Swift unbespoken pomps thy steps proclaim,<br /> +And stammering babes are taught to lisp thy name.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>In the midst of these joyous scenes twenty-six young maids, of +the best families in the town, presented him in the name of their +townsmen with colours wrought by them for the purpose, and with a +Bible; upon receiving which he said that he had taken the field +with a design to defend the truth contained in that Book, and to +seal it with his blood if there was occasion.</p> +<p>In such circumstances it is no wonder that his army increased; +and, indeed, exclusive of individual recruits, he was here +strengthened by the arrival of Colonel Bassett with a +considerable corps. But in the midst of these prosperous +circumstances, some of them of such apparent importance to the +success of his enterprise, all of them highly flattering to his +feelings, he did not fail to observe that one favourable symptom +(and that too of the most decisive nature) was still +wanting. None of the considerable families, not a single +nobleman, and scarcely any gentleman of rank and consequence in +the counties through which he had passed, had declared in his +favour. Popular applause is undoubtedly sweet; and not only +so, it often furnishes most powerful means to the genius that +knows how to make use of them. But Monmouth well knew that +without the countenance and assistance of a proportion, at least, +of the higher ranks in the country, there was, for an undertaking +like his, little prospect of success. He could not but have +remarked that the habits and prejudices of the English people +are, in a great degree, aristocratical; nor had he before him, +nor indeed have we since his time, had one single example of an +insurrection that was successful, unaided by the ancient families +and great landed proprietors. He must have felt this the +more, because in former parts of his political life he had been +accustomed to act with such coadjutors; and it is highly probable +that if Lord Russell had been alive, and could have appeared at +the head of one hundred only of his western tenantry, such a +reinforcement would have inspired him with more real confidence +than the thousands who individually flocked to his standard.</p> +<p>But though Russell was no more, there were not wanting, either +in the provinces through which the duke passed, or in other parts +of the kingdom, many noble and wealthy families who were attached +to the principles of the Whigs. To account for their +neutrality, and, if possible, to persuade them to a different +conduct, was naturally among his principal concerns. Their +present coldness might be imputed to the indistinctness of his +declarations with respect to what was intended to be the future +government. Men zealous for monarchy might not choose to +embark without some certain pledge that their favourite form +should be preserved. They would also expect to be satisfied +with respect to the person whom their arms, if successful, were +to place upon the throne. To promise, therefore, the +continuance of a monarchical establishment, and to designate the +future monarch, seemed to be necessary for the purpose of +acquiring aristocratical support. Whatever might be the +intrinsic weight of this argument, it easily made its way with +Monmouth in his present situation. The aspiring temper of +mind which is the natural consequence of popular favour and +success, produced in him a disposition to listen to any +suggestion which tended to his elevation and aggrandisement; and +when he could persuade himself, upon reasons specious at least, +that the measures which would most gratify his aspiring desires +would be, at the same time, a stroke of the soundest policy, it +is not to be wondered at that it was immediately and impatiently +adopted. Urged, therefore, by these mixed motives, he +declared himself king, and issued divers proclamations in the +royal style; assigning to those whose approbation he doubted the +reasons above adverted to, and proscribing and threatening with +the punishment due to rebellion such as should resist his +mandates, and adhere to the usurping Duke of York.</p> +<p>If this measure was in reality taken with views of policy, +those views were miserably disappointed; for it does not appear +that one proselyte was gained. The threats in the +proclamation were received with derision by the king’s +army, and no other sentiments were excited by the assumption of +the royal title than those of contempt and indignation. The +commonwealthsmen were dissatisfied, of course, with the principle +of the measure: the favourers of hereditary right held it in +abhorrence, and considered it as a kind of sacrilegious +profanation; nor even among those who considered monarchy in a +more rational light, and as a magistracy instituted for the good +of the people, could it be at all agreeable that such a +magistrate should be elected by the army that had thronged to his +standard, or by the particular partiality of a provincial +town. Monmouth’s strength, therefore, was by no means +increased by his new title, and seemed to be still limited to two +descriptions of persons; first, those who, from thoughtlessness +or desperation, were willing to join in any attempt at +innovation; secondly, such as, directing their views to a single +point, considered the destruction of James’s tyranny as the +object which, at all hazards, and without regard to consequences, +they were bound to pursue. On the other hand, his +reputation both for moderation and good faith was considerably +impaired, inasmuch as his present conduct was in direct +contradiction to that part of his declaration wherein he had +promised to leave the future adjustment of government, and +especially the consideration of his own claims, to a free and +independent parliament.</p> +<p>The notion of improving his new levies by discipline seems to +have taken such possession of Monmouth’s mind that he +overlooked the probable, or rather the certain, consequences of a +delay, by which the enemy would be enabled to bring into the +field forces far better disciplined and appointed than any which, +even with the most strenuous and successful exertions, he could +hope to oppose to them. Upon this principle, and especially +as he had not yet fixed upon any definite object of enterprise, +he did not think a stay of a few days at Taunton would be +materially, if at all, prejudicial to his affairs; and it was not +till the 21st of June that he proceeded to Bridgewater, where he +was received in the most cordial manner. In his march, the +following day, from that town to Glastonbury, he was alarmed by a +party of the Earl of Oxford’s horse; but all apprehensions +of any material interruptions were removed by an account of the +militia having left Wells, and retreated to Bath and +Bristol. From Glastonbury he went to Shipton-Mallet, where +the project of an attack upon Bristol was communicated by the +duke to his officers. After some discussion, it was agreed +that the attack should be made on the Gloucestershire side of the +city, and with that view to pass the Avon at Keynsham Bridge, a +few miles from Bath. In their march from Shipton-Mallet, +the troops were again harassed in their rear by a party of horse +and dragoons, but lodged quietly at night at a village called +Pensford. A detachment was sent early the next morning to +possess itself of Keynsham, and to repair the bridge, which might +probably be broken down to prevent a passage. Upon their +approach, a troop of the Gloucestershire horse-militia +immediately abandoned the town in great precipitation, leaving +behind them two horses and one man. By break of day, the +bridge, which had not been much injured, was repaired, and before +noon, Monmouth, having passed it with his whole army, was in full +march to Bristol, which he determined to attack the ensuing +night. But the weather proving rainy and bad, it was deemed +expedient to return to Keynsham, a measure from which he expected +to reap a double advantage; to procure dry and commodious +quarters for the soldiery, and to lull the enemy, by a movement, +which bore the semblance of a retreat, into a false and delusive +security. The event, however, did not answer his +expectation, for the troops had scarcely taken up their quarters, +when they were disturbed by two parties of horse, who entered the +town at two several places. An engagement ensued, in which +Monmouth lost fourteen men, and a captain of horse, though in the +end the Royalists were obliged to retire, leaving three +prisoners. From these the duke had information that the +king’s army was near at hand, and, as they said, about four +thousand strong.</p> +<p>This new state of affairs seemed to demand new councils. +The projected enterprise upon Bristol was laid aside, and the +question was, whether to make by forced marches for Gloucester, +in order to pass the Severn at that city, and so to gain the +counties of Salop and Chester, where he expected to be met by +many friends, or to march directly into Wiltshire, where, +according to some intelligence received [“from one +Adlam”] the day before, there was a considerable body of +horse (under whose command does not appear) ready, by their +junction, to afford him a most important and seasonable +support. To the first of these plans a decisive objection +was stated. The distance by Gloucester was so great, that, +considering the slow marches to which he would be limited, by the +daily attacks with which the different small bodies of the +enemy’s cavalry would not fail to harass his rear, he was +in great danger of being overtaken by the king’s forces, +and might thus be driven to risk all in an engagement upon terms +the most disadvantageous. On the contrary, if joined in +Wiltshire by the expected aids, he might confidently offer battle +to the royal army; and, provided he could bring them to an action +before they were strengthened by new reinforcements, there was no +unreasonable prospect of success. The latter plan was +therefore adopted, and no sooner adopted than put in +execution. The army was in motion without delay, and being +before Bath on the morning of the 26th of June, summoned the +place, rather (as it should seem) in sport than in earnest, as +there was no hope of its surrender. After this bravado they +marched on southward to Philip’s Norton, where they rested; +the horse in the town, and the foot in the field.</p> +<p>While Monmouth was making these marches, there were not +wanting, in many parts of the adjacent country, strong symptoms +of the attachment of the lower orders of people to his cause, and +more especially in those manufacturing towns where the Protestant +dissenters were numerous. In Froome there had been a +considerable rising, headed by the constable, who posted up the +duke’s declaration in the market-place. Many of the +inhabitants of the neighbouring towns of Westbury and Warminster +came in throngs to the town to join the insurgents; some armed +with fire-arms, but more with such rustic weapons as opportunity +could supply. Such a force, if it had joined the main army, +or could have been otherwise directed by any leader of judgment +and authority, might have proved very serviceable; but in its +present state it was a mere rabble, and upon the first appearance +of the Earl of Pembroke, who entered the town with a hundred and +sixty horse and forty musketeers, fell, as might be expected, +into total confusion. The rout was complete; all the arms +of the insurgents were seized; and the constable, after having +been compelled to abjure his principles, and confess the enormity +of his offence, was committed to prison.</p> +<p>This transaction took place the 25th, the day before +Monmouth’s arrival at Philip’s Norton, and may have, +in a considerable degree, contributed to the disappointment, of +which we learn from Wade, that he at this time began bitterly to +complain. He was now upon the confines of Wiltshire, and +near enough for the bodies of horse, upon whose favourable +intentions so much reliance had been placed, to have effected a +junction, if they had been so disposed; but whether that +Adlam’s intelligence had been originally bad, or that +Pembroke’s proceedings at Froome had intimidated them, no +symptom of such an intention could be discovered. A +desertion took place in his army, which the exaggerated accounts +in the Gazette made to amount to near two thousand men. +These dispiriting circumstances, added to the complete +disappointment of the hopes entertained from the assumption of +the royal title, produced in him a state of mind but little short +of despondency. He complained that all people had deserted +him, and is said to have been so dejected, as hardly to have the +spirit requisite for giving the necessary orders.</p> +<p>From this state of torpor, however, he appears to have been +effectually roused by a brisk attack that was made upon him on +the 27th, in the morning, by the Royalists, under the command of +his half-brother, the Duke of Grafton. That spirited young +nobleman (whose intrepid courage, conspicuous upon every +occasion, led him in this, and many other instances, to risk a +life, which he finally lost in a better cause), heading an +advanced detachment of Lord Feversham’s army, who had +marched from Bath, with a view to fall on the enemy’s rear, +marched boldly up a narrow lane leading to the town, and attacked +a barricade, which Monmouth had caused to be made across the way, +at the entrance of the town. Monmouth was no sooner +apprised of this brisk attack, than he ordered a party to go out +of the town by a by-way, who coming on the rear of the Grenadiers +while others of his men were engaged with their front, had nearly +surrounded them, and taken their commander prisoner, but Grafton +forced his way through the enemy. An engagement ensued +between the insurgents and the remainder of Feversham’s +detachment, who had lined the hedges which flanked them. +The former were victorious, and after driving the enemy from +hedge to hedge, forced them at last into the open field, where +they joined the rest of the king’s forces, newly come +up. The killed and wounded in these encounters amounted to +about forty on Feversham’s side, twenty on +Monmouth’s; but among the latter there were several +officers, and some of note, while the loss of the former, with +the exception of two volunteers, Seymour and May, consisted +entirely of common soldiers.</p> +<p>The Royalists now drew up on an eminence, about five hundred +paces from the hedges, while Monmouth, having placed, of his four +field-pieces, two at the mouth of the lane, and two upon a rising +ground near it on the right, formed his army along the +hedge. From these stations a firing of artillery was begun +on each side, and continued near six hours, but with little or no +effect. Monmouth, according to Wade, losing but one, and +the Royalists, according to the Gazette, not one man, by the +whole cannonade. In these circumstances, notwithstanding +the recent and convincing experience he now had of the ability of +his raw troops to face, in certain situations at least, the more +regular forces of his enemy, Monmouth was advised by some to +retreat; but upon a more general consultation, this advice was +over-ruled, and it was determined to cut passages through the +hedges and to offer battle. But before this could be +effected the royal army, not willing again to engage among the +enclosures, annoyed in the open field by the rain which continued +to fall very heavily, and disappointed, no doubt, at the little +effect of their artillery, began their retreat. The little +confidence which Monmouth had in his horse—perhaps the ill +opinion he now entertained of their leader—forbade him to +think of pursuit, and having stayed till a late hour in the +field, and leaving large fires burning, he set out on his march +in the night, and on the 28th, in the morning, reached Froome, +where he put his troops in quarter and rested two days.</p> +<p>It was here he first heard certain news of Argyle’s +discomfiture. It was in vain to seek for any circumstance +in his affairs that might mitigate the effect of the severe blow +inflicted by this intelligence, and he relapsed into the same low +spirits as at Philip’s Norton. No diversion, at least +no successful diversion, had been made in his favour: there was +no appearance of the horse, which had been the principal motive +to allure him into that part of the country; and what was worst +of all, no desertion from the king’s army. It was +manifest, said the duke’s more timid advisers, that the +affair must terminate ill, and the only measure now to be taken +was, that the general with his officers should leave the army to +shift for itself, and make severally for the most convenient +sea-ports, whence they might possibly get a safe passage to the +Continent. To account for Monmouth’s entertaining, +even for a moment, a thought so unworthy of him, and so +inconsistent with the character for spirit he had ever +maintained—a character unimpeached even by his +enemies—we must recollect the unwillingness with which he +undertook this fatal expedition; that his engagement to Argyle, +who was now past help, was perhaps his principal motive for +embarking at the time; that it was with great reluctance he had +torn himself from the arms of Lady Harriet Wentworth, with whom +he had so firmly persuaded himself that he could be happy in the +most obscure retirement, that he believed himself weaned from +ambition, which had hitherto been the only passion of his +mind. It is true, that when he had once yielded to the +solicitations of his friends so far as to undertake a business of +such magnitude, it was his duty (but a duty that required a +stronger mind than his to execute) to discard from his thoughts +all the arguments that had rendered his compliance +reluctant. But it is one of the great distinctions between +an ordinary mind and a superior one, to be able to carry on +without relenting a plan we have not originally approved, and +especially when it appears to have turned out ill. This +proposal of disbanding was a step so pusillanimous and +dishonourable that it could not be approved by any council, +however composed. It was condemned by all except Colonel +Venner, and was particularly inveighed against by Lord Grey, who +was perhaps desirous of retrieving, by bold words at least, the +reputation he had lost at Bridport. It is possible, too, +that he might be really unconscious of his deficiency in point of +personal courage till the moment of danger arrived, and even +forgetful of it when it was passed. Monmouth was easily +persuaded to give up a plan so uncongenial to his nature, +resolved, though with little hope of success, to remain with his +army to take the chance of events, and at the worst to stand or +fall with men whose attachment to him had laid him under +indelible obligations.</p> +<p>This resolution being taken, the first plan was to proceed to +Warminster, but on the morning of his departure hearing, on the +one hand, that the king’s troops were likely to cross his +march, and on the other, being informed by a quaker, before known +to the duke, that there was a great club army, amounting to ten +thousand men, ready to join his standard in the marshes to the +westward, he altered his intention, and returned to +Shipton-Mallet, where he rested that night, his army being in +good quarters. From Shipton-Mallet he proceeded, on the 1st +of July, to Wells, upon information that there were in that city +some carriages belonging to the king’s army, and +ill-guarded. These he found and took, and stayed that night +in the town. The following day he marched towards +Bridgewater in search of the great succour he had been taught to +expect; but found, of the promised ten thousand men, only a +hundred and sixty. The army lay that night in the field, +and once again entered Bridgewater on the 3rd of July. That +the duke’s men were not yet completely dispirited or out of +heart appears from the circumstance of great numbers of them +going from Bridgewater to see their friends at Taunton, and other +places in the neighbourhood, and almost all returning the next +day according to their promise. On the 5th an account was +received of the king’s army being considerably advanced, +and Monmouth’s first thought was to retreat from it +immediately, and marching by Axbridge and Keynsham to Gloucester, +to pursue the plan formerly rejected, of penetrating into the +counties of Chester and Salop.</p> +<p>His preparations for this march were all made, when, on the +afternoon of the 5th, he learnt, more accurately than he had +before done, the true situation of the royal army, and from the +information now received, he thought it expedient to consult his +principal officers, whether it might not be advisable to attempt +to surprise the enemy by a night attack upon their +quarters. The prevailing opinion was, that if the infantry +were not entrenched the plan was worth the trial; otherwise +not. Scouts were despatched to ascertain this point, and +their report being that there was no entrenchment, an attack was +resolved on. In pursuance of this resolution, at about +eleven at night, the whole army was in march, Lord Grey +commanding the horse, and Colonel Wade the vanguard of the +foot. The duke’s orders were, that the horse should +first advance, and pushing into the enemy’s camp, endeavour +to prevent their infantry from coming together; that the cannon +should follow the horse, and the foot the cannon, and draw all up +in one line, and so finish what the cavalry should have begun, +before the king’s horse and artillery could be got in +order. But it was now discovered that though there were no +entrenchments, there was a ditch which served as a drain to the +great moor adjacent, of which no mention had been made by the +scouts. To this ditch the horse under Lord Grey advanced, +and no farther; and whether immediately, as according to some +accounts, or after having been considerably harassed by the enemy +in their attempts to find a place to pass, according to others, +quitted the field. The cavalry being gone, and the +principle upon which the attack had been undertaken being that of +a surprise, the duke judged it necessary that the infantry should +advance as speedily as possible. Wade, therefore, when he +came within forty paces of the ditch, was obliged to halt to put +his battalion into that order, which the extreme rapidity of the +march had for the time disconcerted. His plan was to pass +the ditch, reserving his fire; but while he was arranging his men +for that purpose, another battalion, newly come up, began to +fire, though at a considerable distance; a bad example, which it +was impossible to prevent the vanguard from following, and it was +now no longer in the power of their commander to persuade them to +advance. The king’s forces, as well horse and +artillery as foot, had now full time to assemble. The duke +had no longer cavalry in the field, and though his artillery, +which consisted only of three or four iron guns, was well served +under the directions of a Dutch gunner, it was by no means equal +to that of the royal army, which, as soon as it was light, began +to do great execution. In these circumstances the +unfortunate Monmouth, fearful of being encompassed and made +prisoner by the king’s cavalry, who were approaching upon +his flank, and urged, as it is reported, to flight by the same +person who had stimulated him to his fatal enterprise, quitted +the field accompanied by Lord Grey and some others. The +left wing, under the command of Colonel Holmes and Matthews, next +gave way; and Wade’s men, after having continued for an +hour and a half a distant and ineffectual fire, seeing their left +discomfited, began a retreat, which soon afterwards became a +complete rout.</p> +<p>Thus ended the decisive battle of Sedgmoor; an attack which +seems to have been judiciously conceived, and in many parts +spiritedly executed. The general was deficient neither in +courage nor conduct; and the troops, while they displayed the +native bravery of Englishmen, were under as good discipline as +could be expected from bodies newly raised. Two +circumstances seem to have principally contributed to the loss of +the day; first, the unforeseen difficulty occasioned by the +ditch, of which the assailants had had no intelligence; and +secondly, the cowardice of the commander of the horse. The +discovery of the ditch was the more alarming, because it threw a +general doubt upon the information of the spies, and the night +being dark they could not ascertain that this was the only +impediment of the kind which they were to expect. The +dispersion of the horse was still more fatal, inasmuch as it +deranged the whole order of the plan, by which it had been +concerted that their operations were to facilitate the attack to +be made by the foot. If Lord Grey had possessed a spirit +more suitable to his birth and name, to the illustrious +friendship with which he had been honoured, and to the command +with which he was entrusted, he would doubtless have persevered +till he found a passage into the enemy’s camp, which could +have been effected at a ford not far distant: the loss of time +occasioned by the ditch might not have been very material, and +the most important consequences might have ensued; but it would +surely be rashness to assert, as Hume does, that the army would +after all have gained the victory had not the misconduct of +Monmouth and the cowardice of Grey prevented it. This rash +judgment is the more to be admired, as the historian has not +pointed out the instance of misconduct to which he refers. +The number of Monmouth’s men killed is computed by some at +two thousand, by others at three hundred—a disparity, +however, which may be easily reconciled, by supposing that the +one account takes in those who were killed in battle, while the +other comprehends the wretched fugitives who were massacred in +ditches, corn-fields, and other hiding-places, the following +day.</p> +<p>In general, I have thought it right to follow Wade’s +narrative, which appears to me by far the most authentic, if not +the only authentic account of this important transaction. +It is imperfect, but its imperfection arises from the +narrator’s omitting all those circumstances of which he was +not an eye-witness, and the greater credit is on that very +account due to him for those which he relates. With respect +to Monmouth’s quitting the field, it is not mentioned by +him, nor is it possible to ascertain the precise point of time at +which it happened. That he fled while his troops were still +fighting, and therefore too soon for his glory, can scarcely be +doubted; and the account given by Ferguson, whose veracity, +however, is always to be suspected, that Lord Grey urged him to +the measure, as well by persuasion as by example, seems not +improbable. This misbehaviour of the last-mentioned +nobleman is more certain; but as, according to Ferguson, who has +been followed by others, he actually conversed with Monmouth in +the field, and as all accounts make him the companion of his +flight, it is not to be understood that when he first gave way +with his cavalry, he ran away in the literal sense of the words, +or if he did, he must have returned. The exact truth, with +regard to this and many other interesting particulars, is +difficult to be discovered; owing, not more to the darkness of +the night in which they were transacted, than to the personal +partialities and enmities by which they have been disfigured, in +the relations of the different contemporary writers.</p> +<p>Monmouth with his suite first directed his course towards the +Bristol Channel, and as is related by Oldmixon, was once +inclined, at the suggestion of Dr. Oliver, a faithful and honest +adviser, to embark for the coast of Wales, with a view of +concealing himself some time in that principality. Lord +Grey, who appears to have been, in all instances, his evil +genius, dissuaded him from this plan, and the small party having +separated, took each several ways. Monmouth, Grey, and a +gentleman of Brandenburg, went southward, with a view to gain the +New Forest in Hampshire, where, by means of Grey’s +connections in that district, and thorough knowledge of the +country, it was hoped they might be in safety, till a vessel +could be procured to transport them to the Continent. They +left their horses, and disguised themselves as peasants; but the +pursuit, stimulated as well by party zeal as by the great +pecuniary rewards offered for the capture of Monmouth and Grey, +was too vigilant to be eluded. Grey was taken on the 7th in +the evening; and the German, who shared the same fate early on +the next morning, confessed that he had parted from Monmouth but +a few hours since. The neighbouring country was immediately +and thoroughly searched, and James had ere night the satisfaction +of learning that his nephew was in his power. The +unfortunate duke was discovered in a ditch, half concealed by +fern and nettles. His stock of provision, which consisted +of some peas gathered in the fields through which he had fled, +was nearly exhausted, and there is reason to think that he had +little, if any other sustenance, since he left Bridgewater on the +evening of the 5th. To repose he had been equally a +stranger; how his mind must have been harassed, it is needless to +discuss. Yet that in such circumstances he appeared +dispirited and crestfallen, is, by the unrelenting malignity of +party writers, imputed to him as cowardice and meanness of +spirit. That the failure of his enterprise, together with +the bitter reflection that he had suffered himself to be engaged +in it against his own better judgment, joined to the other +calamitous circumstances of his situation, had reduced him to a +state of despondency, is evident; and in this frame of mind, he +wrote, on the very day of his capture, the following letter to +the king:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Sir,—Your majesty may think it the +misfortune I now lie under makes me make this application to you; +but I do assure your majesty, it is the remorse I now have in me +of the wrong I have done you in several things, and now in taking +up arms against you. For my taking up arms, it was never in +my thought since the king died: the Prince and Princess of Orange +will be witness for me of the assurance I gave them, that I would +never stir against you. But my misfortune was such as to +meet with some horrid people, that made me believe things of your +majesty, and gave me so many false arguments, that I was fully +led away to believe that it was a shame and a sin before God not +to do it. But, sir, I will not trouble your majesty at +present with many things I could say for myself, that I am sure +would move your compassion; the chief end of this letter being +only to beg of you, that I may have that happiness as to speak to +your majesty; for I have that to say to you, sir, that I hope may +give you a long and happy reign.</p> +<p>“I am sure, sir, when you hear me, you will be convinced +of the zeal I have of your preservation, and how heartily I +repent of what I have done. I can say no more to your +majesty now, being this letter must be seen by those that keep +me. Therefore, sir, I shall make an end in begging of your +majesty to believe so well of me, that I would rather die a +thousand deaths than excuse anything I have done, if I did not +really think myself the most in the wrong that ever a man was, +and had not from the bottom of my heart an abhorrence for those +that put me upon it, and for the action itself. I hope, +sir, God Almighty will strike your heart with mercy and +compassion for me, as he has done mine with the abhorrence of +what I have done: wherefore, sir, I hope I may live to show you +how zealous I shall ever be for your service; and could I but say +one word in this letter, you would be convinced of it; but it is +of that consequence, that I dare not do it. Therefore, sir, +I do beg of you once more to let me speak to you; for then you +will be convinced how much I shall ever be, your majesty’s +most humble and dutiful</p> +<p>“<span class="smcap">Monmouth</span>.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>The only certain conclusion to be drawn from this letter, +which Mr. Echard, in a manner perhaps not so seemly for a +Churchman, terms submissive, is, that Monmouth still wished +anxiously for life, and was willing to save it, even at the cruel +price of begging and receiving it as a boon from his enemy. +Ralph conjectures with great probability that this unhappy +man’s feelings were all governed by his excessive affection +for his mistress and that a vain hope of enjoying, with Lady +Harriet Wentworth, that retirement which he had so unwillingly +abandoned, induced him to adopt a conduct, which he might +otherwise have considered as indecent. At any rate it must +be admitted that to cling to life is a strong instinct in human +nature, and Monmouth might reasonably enough satisfy himself, +that when his death could not by any possibility benefit either +the public or his friends, to follow such instinct, even in a +manner that might tarnish the splendour of heroism, was no +impeachment of the moral virtue of a man.</p> +<p>With respect to the mysterious part of the letter, where he +speaks of one word which would be of such infinite importance, it +is difficult, if not rather utterly impossible, to explain it by +any rational conjecture. Mr. Macpherson’s favourite +hypothesis, that the Prince of Orange had been a party to the +late attempt, and that Monmouth’s intention, when he wrote +the letter, was to disclose this important fact to the king, is +totally destroyed by those expressions, in which the unfortunate +prisoner tells his majesty he had assured the Prince and Princess +of Orange that he would never stir against him. Did he +assure the Prince of Orange that he would never do that which he +was engaged to the Prince of Orange to do? Can it be said +that this was a false fact, and that no such assurances were in +truth given? To what purpose was the falsehood? In +order to conceal from motives, whether honourable or otherwise, +his connection with the prince? What! a fiction in one +paragraph of the letter in order to conceal a fact, which in the +next he declares his intention of revealing? The thing is +impossible.</p> +<p>The intriguing character of the Secretary of State, the Earl +of Sunderland, whose duplicity in many instances cannot be +doubted, and the mystery in which almost everything relating to +him is involved, might lead us to suspect that the expressions +point at some discovery in which that nobleman was concerned, and +that Monmouth had it in his power to be of important service to +James, by revealing to him the treachery of his minister. +Such a conjecture might be strengthened by an anecdote that has +had some currency, and to the truth of which, in part, King +James’s “Memoirs,” if the extracts from them +can be relied on, bear testimony. It is said that the Duke +of Monmouth told Mr. Ralph Sheldon, one of the king’s +chamber, who came to meet him on his way to London, that he had +had reason to expect Sunderland’s co-operation, and +authorised Sheldon to mention this to the king: that while +Sheldon was relating this to his majesty, Sunderland entered; +Sheldon hesitated, but was ordered to go on. +“Sunderland seemed, at first, struck” (as well he +might, whether innocent or guilty), “but after a short time +said, with a laugh, ‘If that be all he (Monmouth) can +discover to save his life, it will do him little +good.’” It is to be remarked, that in +Sheldon’s conversation, as alluded to by King James, the +Prince of Orange’s name is not even mentioned, either as +connected with Monmouth or with Sunderland. But, on the +other hand, the difficulties that stand in the way of our +interpreting Monmouth’s letter as alluding to Sunderland, +or of supposing that the writer of it had any well-founded +accusation against that minister, are insurmountable. If he +had such an accusation to make, why did he not make it? The +king says expressly, both in a letter to the Prince of Orange, +and in the extract, from his “Memoirs,” above cited, +that Monmouth made no discovery of consequence, and the +explanation suggested, that his silence was owing to Sunderland +the secretary’s having assured him of his pardon, seems +wholly inadmissible. Such assurances could have their +influence no longer than while the hope of pardon remained. +Why, then, did he continue silent, when he found James +inexorable? If he was willing to accuse the earl before he +had received these assurances, it is inconceivable that he should +have any scruple about doing it when they turned out to have been +delusive, and when his mind must have been exasperated by the +reflection that Sunderland’s perfidious promises and +self-interested suggestions had deterred him from the only +probable means of saving his life.</p> +<p>A third, and perhaps the most plausible, interpretation of the +words in question is, that they point to a discovery of +Monmouth’s friends in England, when, in the dejected state +of his mind at the time of writing, unmanned as he was by +misfortune, he might sincerely promise what the return of better +thoughts forbade him to perform. This account, however, +though free from the great absurdities belonging to the two +others, is by no means satisfactory. The phrase, “one +word,” seems to relate rather to some single person, or +some single fact, and can hardly apply to any list of associates +that might be intended to be sacrificed. On the other hand, +the single denunciation of Lord Delamere, of Lord Brandon, or +even of the Earl of Devonshire, or of any other private +individual, could not be considered as of that extreme +consequence which Monmouth attaches to his promised +disclosure. I have mentioned Lord Devonshire, who was +certainly not implicated in the enterprise, and who was not even +suspected, because it appears, from Grey’s narrative, that +one of Monmouth’s agents had once given hopes of his +support; and therefore there is a bare possibility that Monmouth +may have reckoned upon his assistance. Perhaps, after all, +the letter has been canvassed with too much nicety, and the words +of it weighed more scrupulously than, proper allowance being made +for the situation and state of mind of the writer, they ought to +have been. They may have been thrown out at hazard, merely +as means to obtain an interview, of which the unhappy prisoner +thought he might, in some way or other, make his advantage. +If any more precise meaning existed in his mind, we must be +content to pass it over as one of those obscure points of +history, upon which neither the sagacity of historians, nor the +many documents since made public, nor the great discoverer, Time, +has yet thrown any distinct light.</p> +<p>Monmouth and Grey were now to be conveyed to London, for which +purpose they set out on the 11th, and arrived in the vicinity of +the metropolis on the 13th of July. In the meanwhile, the +queen dowager, who seems to have behaved with a uniformity of +kindness towards her husband’s son that does her great +honour, urgently pressed the king to admit his nephew to an +audience. Importuned, therefore, by entreaties, and +instigated by the curiosity which Monmouth’s mysterious +expressions, and Sheldon’s story, had excited, he +consented, though with a fixed determination to show no +mercy. James was not of the number of those, in whom the +want of an extensive understanding is compensated by a delicacy +of sentiment, or by those right feelings, which are often found +to be better guides for the conduct than the most accurate +reasoning. His nature did not revolt, his blood did not run +cold, at the thoughts of beholding the son of a brother whom he +had loved embracing his knees, petitioning, and petitioning in +vain, for life; of interchanging words and looks with a nephew, +on whom he was inexorably determined, within forty-eight short +hours, to inflict an ignominious death.</p> +<p>In Macpherson’s extract from King James’s +“Memoirs,” it is confessed that the king ought not to +have seen, if he was not disposed to pardon the culprit; but +whether the observation is made by the exiled prince himself, or +by him who gives the extract, is in this, as in many other +passages of those “Memoirs,” difficult to +determine. Surely if the king had made this reflection +before Monmouth’s execution, it must have occurred to that +monarch, that if he had inadvertently done that which he ought +not to have done, without an intention to pardon, the only remedy +was to correct that part of his conduct which was still in his +power, and since he could not recall the interview, to grant the +pardon.</p> +<p>Pursuant to this hard-hearted arrangement, Monmouth and Grey, +on the very day of their arrival, were brought to Whitehall, +where they had severally interviews with his majesty. +James, in a letter to the Prince of Orange, dated the following +day, gives a short account of both these interviews. +Monmouth, he says, betrayed a weakness which did not become one +who had claimed the title of king; but made no discovery of +consequence.</p> +<p>Grey was more ingenuous (it is not certain in what sense his +majesty uses the term, since he does not refer to any discovery +made by that lord), and never once begged his life. Short +as this account is, it seems the only authentic one of those +interviews. Bishop Kennet, who has been followed by most of +the modern historians, relates, that “This unhappy captive, +by the intercession of the queen dowager, was brought to the +king’s presence, and fell presently at his feet, and +confessed he deserved to die; but conjured him, with tears in his +eyes, not to use him with the severity of justice, and to grant +him a life, which he would be ever ready to sacrifice for his +service. He mentioned to him the example of several great +princes, who had yielded to the impressions of clemency on the +like occasions, and who had never afterwards repented of those +acts of generosity and mercy; concluding, in a most pathetical +manner, ‘Remember, sir, I am your brother’s son, and +if you take my life, it is your own blood that you will +shed.’ The king asked him several questions, and made +him sign a declaration that his father told him he was never +married to his mother: and then said, he was sorry indeed for his +misfortunes; but his crime was of too great a consequence to be +left unpunished, and he must of necessity suffer for it. +The queen is said to have insulted him in a very arrogant and +unmerciful manner. So that when the duke saw there was +nothing designed by this interview but to satisfy the +queen’s revenge, he rose up from his majesty’s feet +with a new air of bravery, and was carried back to the +Tower.”</p> +<p>The topics used by Monmouth are such as he might naturally +have employed, and the demeanour attributed to him, upon finding +the king inexorable, is consistent enough with general +probability, and his particular character; but that the king took +care to extract from him a confession of Charles’s +declaration with respect to his illegitimacy, before he announced +his final refusal of mercy, and that the queen was present for +the purpose of reviling and insulting him, are circumstances too +atrocious to merit belief, without some more certain +evidence. It must be remarked also, that Burnet, whose +general prejudices would not lead him to doubt any imputations +against the queen, does not mention her majesty’s being +present. Monmouth’s offer of changing religion is +mentioned by him, but no authority quoted; and no hint of the +kind appears either in James’s Letters, or in the extract +from his “Memoirs.”</p> +<p>From Whitehall Monmouth was at night carried to the Tower, +where, no longer uncertain as to his fate, he seems to have +collected his mind, and to have resumed his wonted +fortitude. The bill of attainder that had lately passed +having superseded the necessity of a legal trial, his execution +was fixed for the next day but one after his commitment. +This interval appeared too short even for the worldly business +which he wished to transact, and he wrote again to the king on +the 14th, desiring some short respite, which was peremptorily +refused. The difficulty of obtaining any certainty +concerning facts, even in instances where there has not been any +apparent motive for disguising them, is nowhere more striking +than in the few remaining hours of this unfortunate man’s +life. According to King James’s statement in his +“Memoirs,” he refused to see his wife, while other +accounts assert positively that she refused to see him, unless in +presence of witnesses. Burnet, who was not likely to be +mistaken in a fact of this kind, says they did meet, and parted +very coldly, a circumstance which, if true, gives us no very +favourable idea of the lady’s character. There is +also mention of a third letter written by him to the king, which +being entrusted to a perfidious officer of the name of Scott, +never reached its destination; but for this there is no +foundation. What seems most certain is, that in the Tower, +and not in the closet, he signed a paper, renouncing his +pretensions to the crown, the same which he afterwards delivered +on the scaffold; and that he was inclined to make this +declaration, not by any vain hope of life, but by his affection +for his children, whose situation he rightly judged would be +safer and better under the reigning monarch and his successors, +when it should be evident that they could no longer be +competitors for the throne.</p> +<p>Monmouth was very sincere in his religious professions, and it +is probable that a great portion of this sad day was passed in +devotion and religious discourse with the two prelates who had +been sent by his majesty to assist him in his spiritual +concerns. Turner, bishop of Ely, had been with him early in +the morning, and Kenn, bishop of Bath and Wells, was sent, upon +the refusal of a respite, to prepare him for the stroke, which it +was now irrevocably fixed he should suffer the ensuing day. +They stayed with him all night, and in the morning of the 15th +were joined by Dr. Hooper, afterwards, in the reign of Anne, made +bishop of Bath and Wells, and by Dr. Tennison, who succeeded +Tillotson in the see of Canterbury. This last divine is +stated by Burnet to have been most acceptable to the duke, and, +though he joined the others in some harsh expostulations, to have +done what the right reverend historian conceives to have been his +duty, in a softer and less peremptory manner. Certain it +is, that none of these holy men seem to have erred on the side of +compassion or complaisance to their illustrious penitent. +Besides endeavouring to convince him of the guilt of his +connection with his beloved lady Harriet, of which he could never +be brought to a due sense, they seem to have repeatedly teased +him with controversy, and to have been far more solicitous to +make him profess what they deemed the true creed of the Church of +England, than to soften or console his sorrows, or to help him to +that composure of mind so necessary for his situation. He +declared himself to be a member of their Church, but, they denied +that he could be so, unless he thoroughly believed the doctrine +of passive obedience and non-resistance. He repented +generally of his sins, and especially of his late enterprise, but +they insisted that he must repent of it in the way they +prescribed to him, that he must own it to have been a wicked +resistance to his lawful king, and a detestable act of +rebellion. Some historians have imputed this seemingly +cruel conduct to the king’s particular instructions, who +might be desirous of extracting, or rather extorting, from the +lips of his dying nephew such a confession as would be matter of +triumph to the royal cause. But the character of the two +prelates principally concerned, both for general uprightness and +sincerity as Church of England men, makes it more candid to +suppose that they did not act from motives of servile compliance, +but rather from an intemperate party zeal for the honour of their +Church, which they judged would be signally promoted if such a +man as Monmouth, after having throughout his life acted in +defiance of their favourite doctrine, could be brought in his +last moments to acknowledge it as a divine truth. It must +never be forgotten, if we would understand the history of this +period, that the truly orthodox members of our Church regarded +monarchy not as a human, but as a divine institution, and passive +obedience and non-resistance, not as political maxims, but as +articles of religion.</p> +<p>At ten o’clock on the 15th Monmouth proceeded in a +carriage of the lieutenant of the Tower to Tower Hill, the place +destined for his execution. The two bishops were in the +carriage with him, and one of them took that opportunity of +informing him that their controversial altercations were not yet +at an end, and that upon the scaffold he would again be pressed +for more explicit and satisfactory declarations of +repentance. When arrived at the bar which had been put up +for the purpose of keeping out the multitude, Monmouth descended +from the carriage, and mounted the scaffold, with a firm step, +attended by his spiritual assistants. The sheriffs and +executioners were already there. The concourse of +spectators was innumerable; and if we are to credit traditional +accounts, never was the general compassion more affectingly +expressed. The tears, sighs, and groans, which the first +sight of this heartrending spectacle produced, were soon +succeeded by a universal and awful silence; a respectful +attention and affectionate anxiety to hear every syllable that +should pass the lips of the sufferer. The duke began by +saying he should speak little; he came to die, and he should die +a Protestant of the Church of England. Here he was +interrupted by the assistants, and told, that if he was of the +Church of England, he must acknowledge the doctrine of +non-resistance to be true. In vain did he reply that if he +acknowledged the doctrine of the Church in general it included +all: they insisted he should own that doctrine, particularly with +respect to his case, and urged much more concerning their +favourite point, upon which, however, they obtained nothing but a +repetition in substance of former answers. He was then +proceeding to speak of Lady Harriet Wentworth, of his high esteem +for her, and of his confirmed opinion that their connection was +innocent in the sight of God, when Goslin, the sheriff, asked +him, with all the unfeeling bluntness of a vulgar mind, whether +he was ever married to her. The duke refusing to answer, +the same magistrate, in the like strain, though changing his +subject, said he hoped to have heard of his repentance for the +treason and bloodshed which had been committed; to which the +prisoner replied, with great mildness, that he died very +penitent. Here the Churchmen again interposed, and renewing +their demand of particular penitence and public acknowledgment +upon public affairs, Monmouth referred them to the following +paper, which he had signed that morning:</p> +<blockquote><p>“I declare that the title of king was forced +upon me, and that it was very much contrary to my opinion when I +was proclaimed. For the satisfaction of the world, I do +declare that the late king told me he was never married to my +mother. Having declared this, I hope the king who is now +will not let my children suffer on this account. And to +this I put my hand this fifteenth day of July, 1685.</p> +<p>“<span class="smcap">Monmouth</span>.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>There was nothing, they said, in that paper about resistance; +nor, though Monmouth, quite worn-out with their importunities, +said to one of them, in the most affecting manner, “I am to +die—pray my lord—I refer to my paper,” would +those men think it consistent with their duty to desist. +There were only a few words they desired on one point. The +substance of these applications on the one hand, and answers on +the other, was repeated over and over again, in a manner that +could not be believed, if the facts were not attested by the +signatures of the persons principally concerned. If the +duke, in declaring his sorrow for what had passed, used the word +invasion, “Give it the true name,” said they, +“and call it rebellion.” “What name you +please,” replied the mild-tempered Monmouth. He was +sure he was going to everlasting happiness, and considered the +serenity of his mind in his present circumstances as a certain +earnest of the favour of his Creator. His repentance, he +said, must be true, for he had no fear of dying; he should die +like a lamb. “Much may come from natural +courage,” was the unfeeling and stupid reply of one of the +assistants. Monmouth, with that modesty inseparable from +true bravery, denied that he was in general less fearful than +other men, maintaining that his present courage was owing to his +consciousness that God had forgiven him his past transgressions, +of all which generally he repented with all his soul.</p> +<p>At last the reverend assistants consented to join with him in +prayer, but no sooner were they risen from their kneeling posture +than they returned to their charge. Not satisfied with what +had passed, they exhorted him to a true and thorough +repentance. Would he not pray for the king, and send a +dutiful message to his majesty to recommend the duchess and his +children? “As you please,” was the reply; +“I pray for him and for all men.” He now spoke +to the executioner, desiring that he might have no cap over his +eyes, and began undressing. One would have thought that in +this last sad ceremony, the poor prisoner might have been +unmolested, and that the divines would have been satisfied that +prayer was the only part of their function for which their duty +now called upon them. They judged differently, and one of +them had the fortitude to request the duke, even in this stage of +the business, that he would address himself to the soldiers then +present, to tell them he stood a sad example of rebellion, and +entreat the people to be loyal and obedient to the king. +“I have said I will make no speeches,” repeated +Monmouth, in a tone more peremptory than he had before been +provoked to; “I will make no speeches. I come to +die.” “My lord, ten words will be +enough,” said the persevering divine; to which the duke +made no answer, but turning to the executioner, expressed a hope +that he would do his work better now than in the case of Lord +Russell. He then felt the axe, which he apprehended was not +sharp enough, but being assured that it was of proper sharpness +and weight, he laid down his head. In the meantime many +fervent ejaculations were used by the reverend assistants, who, +it must be observed, even in these moments of horror, showed +themselves not unmindful of the points upon which they had been +disputing, praying God to accept his imperfect and general +repentance.</p> +<p>The executioner now struck the blow, but so feebly or +unskilfully, that Monmouth, being but slightly wounded, lifted up +his head, and looked him in the face as if to upbraid him, but +said nothing. The two following strokes were as ineffectual +as the first, and the headsman, in a fit of horror, declared he +could not finish his work. The sheriffs threatened him; he +was forced again to make a further trial, and in two more strokes +separated the head from the body.</p> +<p>Thus fell, in the thirty-sixth year of his age, James, Duke of +Monmouth, a man against whom all that has been said by the most +inveterate enemies both to him and his party amounts to little +more than this, that he had not a mind equal to the situations in +which his ambition, at different times, engaged him to place +himself. But to judge him with candour, we must make great +allowances, not only for the temptations into which he was led by +the splendid prosperity of the earlier parts of his life, but +also for the adverse prejudices with which he was regarded by +almost all the contemporary writers, from whom his actions and +character are described. The Tories, of course, are +unfavourable to him; and even among the Whigs, there seems, in +many, a strong inclination to disparage him; some to excuse +themselves for not having joined him, others to make a display of +their exclusive attachment to their more successful leader, King +William. Burnet says of Monmouth, that he was gentle, +brave, and sincere: to these praises, from the united testimony +of all who knew him, we may add that of generosity; and surely +those qualities go a great way in making up the catalogue of all +that is amiable and estimable in human nature. One of the +most conspicuous features in his character seems to have been a +remarkable, and, as some think, a culpable degree of +flexibility. That such a disposition is preferable to its +opposite extreme, will be admitted by all who think that modesty, +even in excess, is more nearly allied to wisdom than conceit and +self-sufficiency. He who has attentively considered the +political, or, indeed, the general concerns of life, may possibly +go still further, and rank a willingness to be convinced, or in +some cases even without conviction, to concede our own opinion to +that of other men, among the principal ingredients in the +composition of practical wisdom. Monmouth had suffered this +flexibility, so laudable in many cases, to degenerate into a +habit which made him often follow the advice, or yield to the +entreaties, of persons whose characters by no means entitled them +to such deference. The sagacity of Shaftesbury, the honour +of Russell, the genius of Sydney, might, in the opinion of a +modest man, be safe and eligible guides. The partiality of +friendship, and the conviction of his firm attachment, might be +some excuse for his listening so much to Grey; but he never +could, at any period of his life, have mistaken Ferguson for an +honest man. There is reason to believe that the advice of +the two last-mentioned persons had great weight in persuading him +to the unjustifiable step of declaring himself king. But +far the most guilty act of this unfortunate man’s life was +his lending his name to the declaration which was published at +Lyme, and in this instance Ferguson, who penned the paper, was +both the adviser and the instrument. To accuse the king of +having burnt London, murdered Essex in the Tower, and, finally, +poisoned his brother, unsupported by evidence to substantiate +such dreadful charges, was calumny of the most atrocious kind; +but the guilt is still heightened, when we observe, that from no +conversation of Monmouth, nor, indeed, from any other +circumstance whatever, do we collect that he himself believed the +horrid accusations to be true. With regard to Essex’s +death in particular, the only one of the three charges which was +believed by any man of common sense, the late king was as much +implicated in the suspicion as James. That the latter +should have dared to be concerned in such an act, without the +privacy of his brother, was too absurd an imputation to be +attempted, even in the days of the popish plot. On the +other hand, it was certainly not the intention of the son to +brand his father as an assassin. It is too plain that, in +the instance of this declaration, Monmouth, with a facility +highly criminal, consented to set his name to whatever Ferguson +recommended as advantageous to the cause. Among the many +dreadful circumstances attending civil wars, perhaps there are +few more revolting to a good mind than the wicked calumnies with +which, in the heat of contention, men, otherwise men of honour, +have in all ages and countries permitted themselves to load their +adversaries. It is remarkable that there is no trace of the +divines who attended this unfortunate man having exhorted him to +a particular repentance of his manifesto, or having called for a +retraction or disavowal of the accusations contained in it. +They were so intent upon points more immediately connected with +orthodoxy of faith, that they omitted pressing their penitent to +the only declaration by which he could make any satisfactory +atonement to those whom he had injured.</p> +<h2>FRAGMENTS.</h2> +<p><i>The following detached paragraphs were probably intended +for the fourth chapter</i>. <i>They are here printed in the +incomplete and unfinished state in which they were found</i>.</p> +<p>While the Whigs considered all religious opinions with a view +to politics, the Tories, on the other hand, referred all +political maxims to religion. Thus the former, even in +their hatred to popery, did not so much regard the superstition, +or imputed idolatry of that unpopular sect, as its tendency to +establish arbitrary power in the State, while the latter revered +absolute monarchy as a divine institution, and cherished the +doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance as articles of +religious faith.</p> +<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p> +<p>To mark the importance of the late events, his majesty caused +two medals to be struck; one of himself, with the usual +inscription, and the motto, <i>Aras et sceptra tuemur</i>; the +other of Monmouth, without any inscription. On the reverse +of the former were represented the two headless trunks of his +lately vanquished enemies, with other circumstances in the same +taste and spirit, the motto, <i>Ambitio malesuada ruit</i>; on +that of the latter appeared a young man falling in the attempt to +climb a rock with three crowns on it, under which was the +insulting motto, <i>Superi risere</i>.</p> +<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p> +<p>With the lives of Monmouth and Argyle ended, or at least +seemed to end, all prospect of resistance to James’s +absolute power; and that class of patriots who feel the pride of +submission, and the dignity of obedience, might be completely +satisfied that the crown was in its full lustre.</p> +<p>James was sufficiently conscious of the increased strength of +his situation, and it is probable that the security he now felt +in his power inspired him with the design of taking more decided +steps in favour of the popish religion and its professors than +his connection with the Church of England party had before +allowed him to entertain. That he from this time attached +less importance to the support and affection of the Tories is +evident from Lord Rochester’s observations, communicated +afterwards to Burnet. This nobleman’s abilities and +experience in business, his hereditary merit, as son of Lord +Chancellor Clarendon, and his uniform opposition to the Exclusion +Bill, had raised him high in the esteem of the Church +party. This circumstance, perhaps, as much, or more than +the king’s personal kindness to a brother-in-law, had +contributed to his advancement to the first office in the +State. As long, therefore, as James stood in need of the +support of the party, as long as he meant to make them the +instruments of his power, and the channels of his favour, +Rochester was, in every respect, the fittest person in whom to +confide; and accordingly, as that nobleman related to Burnet, his +majesty honoured him with daily confidential communications upon +all his most secret schemes and projects. But upon the +defeat of the rebellion, an immediate change took place, and from +the day of Monmouth’s execution, the king confined his +conversations with the treasurer to the mere business of his +office.</p> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE EARLY PART OF THE +REIGN OF JAMES THE SECOND***</p> +<pre> + +***** This file should be named 4245-h.htm or 4245-h.zip****** + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/2/4/4245 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A History of the Early Part of the Reign of James the Second + + +Author: Charles James Fox + +Editor: Henry Morley + +Release Date: October 4, 2007 [eBook #4245] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE EARLY PART OF THE +REIGN OF JAMES THE SECOND*** + + +Transcribed from the 1888 Cassell & Company edition by David Price, email +ccx074@pglaf.org + +CASSELL'S NATIONAL LIBRARY. + + + + + +A HISTORY +OF THE +_EARLY PART OF THE REIGN_ +OF +JAMES THE SECOND + + +BY +CHARLES JAMES FOX. + +CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED: +_LONDON_, _PARIS_, _NEW YORK & MELBOURNE_. +1888. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Fox's "History of the Reign of James II.," which begins with his view of +the reign of Charles II. and breaks off at the execution of Monmouth, was +the beginning of a History of England from the Revolution, upon which he +worked in the last years of his life, for which he collected materials in +Paris after the Peace of Amiens, in 1802--he died in September, 1806--and +which was first published in 1808. + +The grandfather of Charles James Fox was Stephen, son of William Fox, of +Farley, in Wiltshire. Stephen Fox was a young royalist under Charles I. +He was twenty-two at the time of the king's execution, went into exile +during the Commonwealth, came back at the Restoration, was appointed +paymaster of the first two regiments of guards that were raised, and +afterwards Paymaster of all the Forces. In that office he made much +money, but rebuilt the church at Farley, and earned lasting honour as the +actual founder of Chelsea Hospital, which was opened in 1682 for wounded +and superannuated soldiers. The ground and buildings had been appointed +by James I., in 1609, as Chelsea College, for the training of disputants +against the Roman Catholics. Sir Stephen Fox himself contributed +thirteen thousand pounds to the carrying out of this design. Fox's +History dealt, therefore, with times in which his grandfather had played +a part. + +In 1703, when his age was seventy-six, Stephen Fox took a second wife, by +whom he had two sons, who became founders of two families; Stephen, the +elder, became first Earl of Ilchester; Henry, the younger, who married +Georgina, daughter of the Duke of Richmond, and was himself created, in +1763, Baron Holland of Farley. Of the children of that marriage Charles +James Fox was the third son, born on the 24th of January, 1749. The +second son had died in infancy. + +Henry Fox inherited Tory opinions. He was regarded by George II. as a +good man of business, and was made Secretary of War in 1754, when Charles +James, whose cleverness made him a favoured child, was five years old. In +the next year Henry Fox was Secretary of State for the Southern +Department. The outbreak of the Seven Years' War bred discontent and +change of Ministry. The elder Fox had then to give place to the elder +Pitt. But Henry Fox was compensated by the office of Paymaster of the +Forces, from which he knew even better than his father had known how to +extract profit. He rapidly acquired the wealth which he joined to his +title as Lord Holland of Farley, and for which he was attacked +vigorously, until two hundred thousand pounds--some part of the money +that stayed by him--had been refunded. + +Henry Fox, Lord Holland, found his boy, Charles James, brilliant and +lively, made him a companion, and indulged him to the utmost. Once he +expressed a strong desire to break a watch that his father was winding +up: his father gave it him to dash upon the floor. Once his father had +promised that when an old garden wall at Holland House was blown down +with gunpowder before replacing it with iron railings, he should see the +explosion. The workmen blew it down in the boy's absence: his father had +the wall rebuilt in its old form that it might be blown down again in his +presence, and his promise kept. He was sent first to Westminster School, +and then to Eton. At home he was his father's companion, joined in the +talk of men at his father's dinner-parties, travelled at fourteen with +his father to the Continent, and is said to have been allowed five +guineas a night for gambling-money. He grew up reckless of the worth of +money, and for many years the excitement of gambling was to him as one of +the necessaries of life. His immense energy at school and college made +him work as hard as the most diligent man who did nothing else, and +devote himself to gambling, horse-racing, and convivial pleasures as +vigorously as if he were the weak man capable of nothing else. The Eton +boys all prophesied his future fame. At Oxford, where he entered +Hertford College, he was one of the best men of his time, and one of the +wildest. A clergyman, strong in Greek, was arguing with young Fox +against the genuineness of a verse of the Iliad because its measure was +unusual. Fox at once quoted from memory some twenty parallels. + +From college he went on the usual tour of Europe, spending lavishly, +incurring heavy debts, and sending home large bills for his father to +pay. One bill alone, paid by his father to a creditor at Naples, was for +sixteen thousand pounds. He came back in raiment of the highest fashion, +and was put into Parliament in 1768, not yet twenty years old, as member +for Midhurst. He began his political life with the family opinions, +defended the Ministry against John Wilkes, and was provided promptly with +a place as Paymaster of the Pensions to the Widows of Land Officers, and +then, when he had reached the age of twenty-one, there was a seat found +for him at the Board of Admiralty. + +At once Fox made his mark in the House as a brilliant debater with an +intellectual power and an industry that made him master of the subjects +he discussed. Still also he was scattering money, and incurring debt, +training race-horses, and staking heavily at gambling tables. When a +noble friend, who was not a gambler, offered to bet fifty pounds upon a +throw, Fox declined, saying, "I never play for pence." + +After a few years of impatient submission to Lord North, Fox broke from +him, and it was not long before he had broken from Lord North's opinions +and taken the side of the people in all leading questions. He became the +friend of Burke; and joined in the attack upon the policy of Coercion +that destroyed the union between England and her American colonies. In +1774, at the age of twenty-five, Fox lost by death his father, his +mother, and his elder brother, who had succeeded to the title, and who +had left a little son to be his heir. In February of that year Lord +North had finally broken with Fox by causing a letter to be handed to him +in the House of Commons while he was sitting by his side on the Treasury +Bench. + + "His Majesty has thought proper to order a new commission of the + Treasury to be made out, in which I do not perceive your name. NORTH." + +By the end of the year he was member for Malmesbury, and one of the +chiefs in opposition. When Lord North opened the session of 1775 with a +speech arguing the need of coercion, Fox compared what ought to have been +done with what was done, and said that Lord Chatham, the King of Prussia, +nay, even Alexander the Great, never gained more in one campaign than +Lord North had lost. He had lost a whole continent. When Lord North's +ministry fell in 1782, Fox became a Secretary of State, resigning on the +death of Rockingham. In coalition with Lord North, Fox brought in an +India Bill, which was rejected by the Lords, and caused a resignation of +the Ministry. Pitt then came into office, and there was rivalry between +a Pitt and a Fox of the second generation, with some reversal in each son +of the political bias of his father. + +In opposing the policy that caused the American Revolution Fox and Burke +were of one mind. He opposed the slave trade. After the outbreak of the +French Revolution he differed from Burke, and resolutely opposed Pitt's +policy of interference by armed force. + +William Pitt died on the 23rd January, 1806. Charles James Fox became +again a Secretary of State, and had set on foot negotiations for a peace +with France before his own death, eight months later, at the age of fifty- +seven. + +During the last ten or twelve years of his life Fox had withdrawn from +the dissipations of his earlier years. His interest in horse-racing +flagged after the death, in 1793, of his friend Lord Foley, a kindly, +honourable man, upon whose judgment in such matters Fox had greatly +relied. Lord Foley began his sporting life with a clear estate of 1,800 +pounds a year, and 100,000 pounds in ready money. He ended his sporting +and his earthly life with an estate heavily encumbered and an empty +pocket. + +H. M. + + + + +INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. + + +Introductory observations--First period, from Henry VII. to the year +1588--Second period, from 1588 to 1640--Meeting of Parliament--Redress of +grievances--Strafford's attainder--The commencement of the Civil +War--Treaty from the Isle of Wight--The king's execution--Cromwell's +power; his character--Indifference of the nation respecting forms of +government--The Restoration--Ministry of Clarendon sod +Southampton--Cabal--Dutch War--De Witt--The Prince of Orange--The Popish +plot--The Habeas Corpus Act--The Exclusion Bill--Dissolution of Charles +the Second's last Parliament--His power; his tyranny in Scotland; in +England--Exorbitant fines--Executions--Forfeitures of charters--Despotism +established--Despondency of good men--Charles's death; his +character--Reflections upon the probable consequences of his reign and +death. + +In reading the history of every country there are certain periods at +which the mind naturally pauses to meditate upon, and consider them, with +reference, not only to their immediate effects, but to their more remote +consequences. After the wars of Marius and Sylla, and the incorporation, +as it were, of all Italy with the city of Rome, we cannot but stop to +consider the consequences likely to result from these important events; +and in this instance we find them to be just such as might have been +expected. + +The reign of our Henry VII. affords a field of more doubtful speculation. +Every one who takes a retrospective view of the wars of York and +Lancaster, and attends to the regulations effected by the policy of that +prince, must see they would necessarily lead to great and important +changes in the government; but what the tendency of such changes would +be, and much more, in what manner they would be produced, might be a +question of great difficulty. It is now the generally received opinion, +and I think a probable opinion, that to the provisions of that reign we +are to refer the origin, both of the unlimited power of the Tudors and of +the liberties wrested by our ancestors from the Stuarts; that tyranny was +their immediate, and liberty their remote, consequence; but he must have +great confidence in his own sagacity who can satisfy himself that, +unaided by the knowledge of subsequent events, he could, from a +consideration of the causes, have foreseen the succession of effects so +different. + +Another period that affords ample scope for speculation of this kind is +that which is comprised between the years 1588 and 1640, a period of +almost uninterrupted tranquillity and peace. The general improvement in +all arts of civil life, and, above all, the astonishing progress of +literature, are the most striking among the general features of that +period, and are in themselves causes sufficient to produce effects of the +utmost importance. A country whose language was enriched by the works of +Hooker, Raleigh, and Bacon, could not but experience a sensible change in +its manners and in its style of thinking; and even to speak the same +language in which Spenser and Shakespeare had written seemed a sufficient +plea to rescue the commons of England from the appellation of brutes, +with which Henry VIII. had addressed them. Among the more particular +effects of this general improvement the most material and worthy to be +considered appear to me to have been the frequency of debate in the House +of Commons, and the additional value that came to be set on a seat in +that assembly. + +From these circumstances a sagacious observer may be led to expect the +most important revolutions; and from the latter he may be enabled to +foresee that the House of Commons will be the principal instrument in +bringing them to pass. But in what manner will that house conduct +itself? Will it content itself with its regular share of legislative +power, and with the influence which it cannot fail to possess whenever it +exerts itself upon the other branches of the legislative, and on the +executive power; or will it boldly (perhaps rashly) pretend to a power +commensurate with the natural rights of the representative of the people? +If it should, will it not be obliged to support its claims by military +force? And how long will such a force be under its control? How long +before it follows the usual course of all armies, and ranges itself under +a single master? If such a master should arise, will he establish an +hereditary or an elective government? If the first, what will be gained +but a change of dynasty? If the second, will not the military force, as +it chose the first king or protector (the name is of no importance), +choose in effect all his successors? Or will he fail, and shall we have +a restoration, usually the most dangerous and worst of all revolutions? +To some of these questions the answers may, from the experience of past +ages, be easy, but to many of them far otherwise. And he will read +history with most profit who the most canvasses questions of this nature, +especially if he can divest his mind for the time of the recollection of +the event as it in fact succeeded. + +The next period, as it is that which immediately precedes the +commencement of this history, requires a more detailed examination; nor +is there any more fertile of matter, whether for reflection or +speculation. Between the year 1640 and the death of Charles II. we have +the opportunity of contemplating the state in almost every variety of +circumstance. Religious dispute, political contest in all its forms and +degrees, from the honest exertions of party and the corrupt intrigues of +faction to violence and civil war; despotism, first, in the person of a +usurper, and afterwards in that of an hereditary king; the most memorable +and salutary improvements in the laws, the most abandoned administration +of them; in fine, whatever can happen to a nation, whether of glorious of +calamitous, makes a part of this astonishing and instructive picture. + +The commencement of this period is marked by exertions of the people, +through their representatives in the House of Commons, not only +justifiable in their principle, but directed to the properest objects, +and in a manner the most judicious. Many of their leaders were greatly +versed in ancient as well as modern learning, and were even +enthusiastically attached to the great names of antiquity; but they never +conceived the wild project of assimilating the government of England to +that of Athens, of Sparta, or of Rome. They were content with applying +to the English constitution, and to the English laws, the spirit of +liberty which had animated and rendered illustrious the ancient +republics. Their first object was to obtain redress of past grievances, +with a proper regard to the individuals who had suffered; the next, to +prevent the recurrence of such grievances by the abolition of tyrannical +tribunals acting upon arbitrary maxims in criminal proceedings, and most +improperly denominated courts of justice. They then proceeded to +establish that fundamental principle of all free government, the +preserving of the purse to the people and their representatives. And +though there may be more difference of opinion upon their proposed +regulations in regard to the militia, yet surely, when a contest was to +be foreseen, they could not, consistently with prudence, leave the power +of the sword altogether in the hands of an adverse party. + +The prosecution of Lord Strafford, or rather, the manner in which it was +carried on, is less justifiable. He was, doubtless, a great delinquent, +and well deserved the severest punishment; but nothing short of a clearly +proved case of self-defence can justify, or even excuse, a departure from +the sacred rules of criminal justice. For it can rarely indeed happen +that the mischief to be apprehended from suffering any criminal, however +guilty, to escape, can be equal to that resulting from the violation of +those rules to which the innocent owe the security of all that is dear to +them. If such cases have existed they must have been in instances where +trial has been wholly out of the question, as in that of Caesar and other +tyrants; but when a man is once in a situation to be tried, and his +person in the power of his accusers and his judges, he can no longer be +formidable in that degree which alone can justify (if anything can) the +violation of the substantial rules of criminal proceedings. + +At the breaking out of the Civil War, so intemperately denominated a +rebellion by Lord Clarendon and other Tory writers, the material question +appears to me to be, whether or not sufficient attempts were made by the +Parliament and their leaders to avoid bringing affairs to such a +decision? That, according to the general principles of morality, they +had justice on their side cannot fairly be doubted; but did they +sufficiently attend to that great dictum of Tully in questions of civil +dissension, wherein he declares his preference of even an unfair peace to +the most just war? Did they sufficiently weigh the dangers that might +ensue even from victory; dangers, in such cases, little less formidable +to the cause of liberty than those which might follow a defeat? Did they +consider that it is not peculiar to the followers of Pompey, and the +civil wars of Rome, that the event to be looked for is, as the same Tully +describes it, in case of defeat--proscription; in that of +victory--servitude? Is the failure of the negotiation when the king was +in the Isle of Wight to be imputed to the suspicions justly entertained +of his sincerity, or to the ambition of the parliamentary leaders? If +the insincerity of the king was the real cause, ought not the mischief to +be apprehended from his insincerity rather to have been guarded against +by treaty than alleged as a pretence for breaking off the negotiation? +Sad, indeed, will be the condition of the world if we are never to make +peace with an adverse party whose sincerity we have reason to suspect. +Even just grounds for such suspicions will but too often occur, and when +such fail, the proneness of man to impute evil qualities, as well as evil +designs, to his enemies, will suggest false ones. In the present case +the suspicion of insincerity was, it is true, so just, as to amount to a +moral certainty. The example of the petition of right was a satisfactory +proof that the king made no point of adhering to concessions which he +considered as extorted from him; and a philosophical historian, writing +above a century after the time, can deem the pretended hard usage Charles +met with as a sufficient excuse for his breaking his faith in the first +instance, much more must that prince himself, with all his prejudices and +notions of his divine right, have thought it justifiable to retract +concessions, which to him, no doubt, appeared far more unreasonable than +the petition of right, and which, with much more colour, he might +consider as extorted. These considerations were probably the cause why +the Parliament so long delayed their determination of accepting the +king's offer as a basis for treaty; but, unfortunately, they had delayed +so long that when at last they adopted it they found themselves without +power to carry it into execution. The army having now ceased to be the +servants, had become the masters of the Parliament, and, being entirely +influenced by Cromwell, gave a commencement to what may, properly +speaking, be called a new reign. The subsequent measures, therefore, the +execution of the king, as well as others, are not to be considered as +acts of the Parliament, but of Cromwell; and great and respectable as are +the names of some who sat in the high court, they must be regarded, in +this instance, rather as ministers of that usurper than as acting from +themselves. + +The execution of the king, though a far less violent measure than that of +Lord Strafford, is an event of so singular a nature that we cannot wonder +that it should have excited more sensation than any other in the annals +of England. This exemplary act of substantial justice, as it has been +called by some, of enormous wickedness by others, must be considered in +two points of view. First, was it not in itself just and necessary? +Secondly, was the example of it likely to be salutary or pernicious? In +regard to the first of these questions, Mr. Hume, not perhaps +intentionally, makes the best justification of it by saying that while +Charles lived the projected republic could never be secure. But to +justify taking away the life of an individual upon the principle of self- +defence, the danger must be not problematical and remote, but evident and +immediate. The danger in this instance was not of such a nature, and the +imprisonment or even banishment of Charles might have given to the +republic such a degree of security as any government ought to be content +with. It must be confessed, however, on the other aide, that if the +republican government had suffered the king to escape, it would have been +an act of justice and generosity wholly unexampled; and to have granted +him even his life would have been one among the more rare efforts of +virtue. The short interval between the deposal and death of princes is +become proverbial, and though there may be some few examples on the other +side as far as life is concerned, I doubt whether a single instance can +be found where liberty has been granted to a deposed monarch. Among the +modes of destroying persons in such a situation, there can be little +doubt but that that adopted by Cromwell and his adherents is the least +dishonourable. Edward II., Richard II., Henry VI., Edward V., had none +of them long survived their deposal, but this was the first instance, in +our history at least, where, of such an act, it could be truly said that +it was not done in a corner. + +As to the second question, whether the advantage to be derived from the +example was such as to justify an act of such violence, it appears to me +to be a complete solution of it to observe that, with respect to England +(and I know not upon what ground we are to set examples for other +nations; or, in other words, to take the criminal justice of the world +into our hands) it was wholly needless, and therefore unjustifiable, to +set one for kings at a time when it was intended the office of king +should be abolished, and consequently that no person should be in the +situation to make it the rule of his conduct. Besides, the miseries +attendant upon a deposed monarch seem to be sufficient to deter any +prince, who thinks of consequences, from running the risk of being placed +in such a situation; or, if death be the only evil that can deter him, +the fate of former tyrants deposed by their subjects would by no means +encourage him to hope he could avoid even that catastrophe. As far as we +can judge from the event, the example was certainly not very effectual, +since both the sons of Charles, though having their father's fate before +their eyes, yet feared not to violate the liberties of the people even +more than he had attempted to do. + +If we consider this question of example in a more extended view, and look +to the general effect produced upon the minds of men, it cannot be +doubted but the opportunity thus given to Charles to display his firmness +and piety has created more respect for his memory than it could otherwise +have obtained. Respect and pity for the sufferer on the one hand, and +hatred to his enemies on the other, soon produce favour and aversion to +their respective causes; and thus, even though it should be admitted +(which is doubtful) that some advantage may have been gained to the cause +of liberty by the terror of the example operating upon the minds of +princes, such advantage is far outweighed by the zeal which admiration +for virtue, and pity for sufferings, the best passions of the human +heart, have excited in favour of the royal cause. It has been thought +dangerous to the morals of mankind, even in fiction and romance, to make +us sympathise with characters whose general conduct is blameable; but how +much greater must the effect be when in real history our feelings are +interested in favour of a monarch with whom, to say the least, his +subjects were obliged to contend in arms for their liberty? After all, +however, notwithstanding what the more reasonable part of mankind may +think upon this question, it is much to be doubted whether this singular +proceeding has not as much as any other circumstance, served to raise the +character of the English nation in the opinion of Europe in general. He +who has read, and still more, he who has heard in conversation +discussions upon this subject by foreigners, must have perceived that, +even in the minds of those who condemn the act, the impression made by it +has been far more that of respect and admiration than that of disgust and +horror. The truth is that the guilt of the action--that is to say, the +taking away of the life of the king, is what most men in the place of +Cromwell and his associates would have incurred; what there is of +splendour and of magnanimity in it, I mean the publicity and solemnity of +the act, is what few would be capable of displaying. It is a degrading +fact to human nature, that even the sending away of the Duke of +Gloucester was an instance of generosity almost unexampled in the history +of transactions of this nature. + +From the execution of the king to the death of Cromwell, the government +was, with some variation of forms, in substance monarchical and absolute, +as a government established by a military force will almost invariably +be, especially when the exertions of such a force are continued for any +length of time. If to this general rule our own age, and a people whom +their origin and near relation to us would almost warrant us to call our +own nation, have afforded a splendid and perhaps a solitary exception, we +must reflect not only that a character of virtues so happily tempered by +one another, and so wholly unalloyed with any vices, as that of +Washington, is hardly to be found in the pages of history, but that even +Washington himself might not have been able to act his most glorious of +all parts without the existence of circumstances uncommonly favourable, +and almost peculiar to the country which was to be the theatre of it. +Virtue like his depends not indeed upon time or place; but although in no +country or time would he have degraded himself into a Pisistratus, or a +Caesar, or a Cromwell, he might have shared the fate of a Cato, or a De +Witt; or, like Ludlow and Sidney, have mourned in exile the lost +liberties of his country. + +With the life of the protector almost immediately ended the government +which he had established. The great talents of this extraordinary person +had supported during his life a system condemned equally by reason and by +prejudice: by reason, as wanting freedom; by prejudice, as a usurpation; +and it must be confessed to be no mean testimony to his genius, that +notwithstanding the radical defects of such a system, the splendour of +his character and exploits render the era of the protectorship one of the +most brilliant in English history. It is true his conduct in foreign +concerns is set off to advantage by a comparison of it with that of those +who preceded and who followed him. If he made a mistake in espousing the +French interest instead of the Spanish, we should recollect that in +examining this question we must divest our minds entirely of all the +considerations which the subsequent relative state of those two empires +suggest to us before we can become impartial judges in it; and at any +rate we must allow his reign, in regard to European concerns, to have +been most glorious when contrasted with the pusillanimity of James I., +with the levity of Charles I., and the mercenary meanness of the two last +princes of the house of Stuart. Upon the whole, the character of +Cromwell must ever stand high in the list of those who raised themselves +to supreme power by the force of their genius; and among such, even in +respect of moral virtue, it would be found to be one of the least +exceptionable if it had not been tainted with that most odious and +degrading of all human vices, hypocrisy. + +The short interval between Cromwell's death and the restoration exhibits +the picture of a nation either so wearied with changes as not to feel, or +so subdued by military power as not to dare to show, any care or even +preference with regard to the form of their government. All was in the +army; and that army, by such a concurrence of fortuitous circumstances as +history teaches us not to be surprised at, had fallen into the hands of a +man than whom a baser could not be found in its lowest ranks. Personal +courage appears to have been Monk's only virtue; reserve and +dissimulation made up the whole stock of his wisdom. But to this man did +the nation look up, ready to receive from his orders the form of +government he should choose to prescribe. There is reason to believe +that, from the general bias of the Presbyterians, as well as of the +Cavaliers, monarchy was the prevalent wish; but it is observable that +although the Parliament was, contrary to the principle upon which it was +pretended to be called, composed of many avowed royalists, yet none dared +to hint at the restoration of the king till they had Monk's permission, +or rather command to receive and consider his letters. It is impossible, +in reviewing the whole of this transaction, not to remark that a general +who had gained his rank, reputation, and station in the service of a +republic, and of what he, as well as others, called, however falsely, the +cause of liberty, made no scruple to lay the nation prostrate at the feet +of a monarch, without a single provision in favour of that cause; and if +the promise of indemnity may seem to argue that there was some attention, +at least, paid to the safety of his associates in arms, his subsequent +conduct gives reason to suppose that even this provision was owing to any +other cause rather than to a generous feeling of his breast. For he +afterwards not only acquiesced in the insults so meanly put upon the +illustrious corpse of Blake, under whose auspices and command he had +performed the most creditable services of his life, but in the trial of +Argyle produced letters of friendship and confidence to take away the +life of a nobleman, the zeal and cordiality of whose co-operation with +him, proved by such documents, was the chief ground of his execution; +thus gratuitously surpassing in infamy those miserable wretches who, to +save their own lives, are sometimes persuaded to impeach and swear away +the lives of their accomplices. + +The reign of Charles II. forms one of the most singular as well as of the +most important periods of history. It is the era of good laws and bad +government. The abolition of the court of wards, the repeal of the writ +De Heretico Comburendo, the Triennial Parliament Bill, the establishment +of the rights of the House of Commons in regard to impeachment, the +expiration of the Licence Act, and, above all, the glorious statute of +Habeas Corpus, have therefore induced a modern writer of great eminence +to fix the year 1679 as the period at which our constitution had arrived +at its greatest theoretical perfection; but he owns, in a short note upon +the passage alluded to, that the times immediately following were times +of great practical oppression. What a field for meditation does this +short observation from such a man furnish! What reflections does it not +suggest to a thinking mind upon the inefficacy of human laws and the +imperfection of human constitutions! We are called from the +contemplation of the progress of our constitution, and our attention +fixed with the most minute accuracy to a particular point, when it is +said to have risen to its utmost perfection. Here we are, then, at the +best moment of the best constitution that ever human wisdom framed. What +follows? A tide of oppression and misery, not arising from external or +accidental causes, such as war, pestilence, or famine, nor even from any +such alteration of the laws as might be supposed to impair this boasted +perfection, but from a corrupt and wicked administration, which all the +so much admired checks of the constitution were not able to prevent. How +vain, then, how idle, how presumptuous is the opinion that laws can do +everything! and how weak and pernicious the maxim founded upon it, that +measures, not men, are to be attended to. + +The first years of this reign, under the administration of Southampton +and Clarendon, form by far the least exceptionable part of it; and even +in this period the executions of Argyle and Vane and the whole conduct of +the Government with respect to church matters, both in England and in +Scotland, were gross instances of tyranny. With respect to the execution +of those who were accused of having been more immediately concerned in +the king's death, that of Scrope, who had come in upon the proclamation, +and of the military officers who had attended the trial, was a violation +of every principle of law and justice. But the fate of the others, +though highly dishonourable to Monk, whose whole power had arisen from +his zeal in their service, and the favour and confidence with which they +had rewarded him, and not, perhaps, very creditable to the nation, of +which many had applauded, more had supported, and almost all had +acquiesced in the act, is not certainly to be imputed as a crime to the +king, or to those of his advisers who were of the Cavalier party. The +passion of revenge, though properly condemned both by philosophy and +religion, yet when it is excited by injurious treatment of persons justly +dear to us, is among the most excusable of human frailties; and if +Charles, in his general conduct, had shown stronger feelings of gratitude +for services performed to his father, his character, in the eyes of many, +would be rather raised than lowered by this example of severity against +the regicides. Clarendon is said to have been privy to the king's +receiving money from Louis XIV.; but what proofs exist of this charge +(for a heavy charge it is) I know not. Southampton was one of the very +few of the Royalist party who preserved any just regard for the liberties +of the people; and the disgust which a person possessed of such +sentiments must unavoidably feel is said to have determined him to quit +the king's service, and to retire altogether from public affairs. Whether +he would have acted upon this determination, his death, which happened in +the year 1667, prevents us now from ascertaining. + +After the fall of Clarendon, which soon followed, the king entered into +that career of misgovernment which, that he was able to pursue it to its +end, is a disgrace to the history of our country. If anything can add to +our disgust at the meanness with which he solicited a dependence upon +Louis XIV., it is, the hypocritical pretence upon which he was +continually pressing that monarch. After having passed a law, making it +penal to affirm (what was true) that he was a papist, he pretended (which +was certainly not true) to be a zealous and bigoted papist; and the +uneasiness of his conscience at so long delaying a public avowal of his +conversion, was more than once urged by him as an argument to increase +the pension, and to accelerate the assistance, he was to receive from +France. In a later period of his reign, when his interest, as he +thought, lay the other way, that he might at once continue to earn his +wages, and yet put off a public conversion, he stated some scruples, +contracted, no doubt, by his affection to the Protestant churches, in +relation to the popish mode of giving the sacrament, and pretended a wish +that the pope might be induced by Louis to consider of some alterations +in that respect, to enable him to reconcile himself to the Roman church +with a clear and pure conscience. + +The ministry known by the name of the Cabal seems to have consisted of +characters so unprincipled, as justly to deserve the severity with which +they have been treated by all writers who have mentioned them; but if it +is probable that they were ready to betray their king, as well as their +country, it is certain that the king betrayed them, keeping from them the +real state of his connexion with France, and from some of them, at least, +the secret of what he was pleased to call his religion. Whether this +concealment on his part arose from his habitual treachery, and from the +incapacity which men of that character feel of being open and honest, +even when they know it is their interest to be so, or from an +apprehension that they might demand for themselves some share of the +French money, which he was unwilling to give them, cannot now be +determined. But to the want of genuine and reciprocal confidence between +him and those ministers is to be attributed, in a great measure, the +escape which the nation at that time experienced--an escape, however, +which proved to be only a reprieve from that servitude to which they were +afterwards reduced in the latter years of the reign. + +The first Dutch war had been undertaken against all maxims of policy as +well as of justice; but the superior infamy of the second, aggravated by +the disappointment of all the hopes entertained by good men from the +triple alliance, and by the treacherous attempt at piracy with which it +was commenced, seems to have effaced the impression of it, not only from +the minds of men living at the time, but from most of the writers who +have treated of this reign. The principle, however, of both was the +same, and arbitrary power at home was the object of both. The second +Dutch war rendered the king's system and views so apparent to all who +were not determined to shut their eyes against conviction, that it is +difficult to conceive how persons who had any real care or regard either +for the liberty or honour of the country, could trust him afterwards. And +yet even Sir William Temple, who appears to have been one of the most +honest, as well as of the most enlightened, statesmen of his time, could +not believe his treachery to be quite so deep as it was in fact, and +seems occasionally to have hoped that he was in earnest in his professed +intentions of following the wise and just system that was recommended to +him. Great instances of credulity and blindness in wise men are often +liable to the suspicion of being pretended, for the purpose of justifying +the continuing in situations of power and employment longer than strict +honour would allow. But to Temple's sincerity his subsequent conduct +gives abundant testimony. When he had reason to think that his services +could no longer be useful to his country he withdrew wholly from public +business, and resolutely adhered to the preference of philosophical +retirement, which, in his circumstances, was just, in spite of every +temptation which occurred to bring him back to the more active scene. The +remainder of his life he seems to have employed in the most noble +contemplations and the most elegant amusements; every enjoyment +heightened, no doubt, by reflecting on the honourable part he had acted +in public affairs, and without any regret on his own account (whatever he +might feel for his country) at having been driven from them. + +Besides the important consequences produced by this second Dutch war in +England, it gave birth to two great events in Holland; the one as +favourable as the other was disastrous to the cause of general liberty. +The catastrophe of De Witt, the wisest, best, and most truly patriotic +minister that ever appeared upon the public stage, as it was an act of +the most crying injustice and ingratitude, so, likewise, is it the most +completely discouraging example that history affords to the lovers of +liberty. If Aristides was banished, he was also recalled; if Dion was +repaid for his services to the Syracusans by ingratitude, that +ingratitude was more than once repented of; if Sidney and Russell died +upon the scaffold, they had not the cruel mortification of falling by the +hands of the people; ample justice was done to their memory, and the very +sound of their names is still animating to every Englishman attached to +their glorious cause. But with De Witt fell also his cause and his +party; and although a name so respected by all who revere virtue and +wisdom, when employed in their noblest sphere, the political service of +the public, must undoubtedly be doubly dear to his countrymen, yet I do +not know that, even to this day, any public honours have been paid by +them to his memory. + +On the other hand, the circumstances attending the first appearance of +the Prince of Orange in public affairs, were, in every respect, most +fortunate for himself, for England, for Europe. Of an age to receive the +strongest impressions, and of a character to render such impressions +durable, he entered the world in a moment when the calamitous situation +of the United Provinces could not but excite in every Dutchman the +strongest detestation of the insolent ambition of Louis XIV., and the +greatest contempt of an English government, which could so far mistake or +betray the interests of the country as to lend itself to his projects. +Accordingly, the circumstances attending his outset seem to have given a +lasting bias to his character; and through the whole course of his life +the prevailing sentiments of his mind seem to have been those which he +imbibed at this early period. These sentiments were most peculiarly +adapted to the positions in which this great man was destined to be +placed. The light in which he viewed Louis rendered him the fittest +champion of the independence of Europe; and in England, French influence +and arbitrary power were in those times so intimately connected, that he +who had not only seen with disapprobation, but had so sensibly felt the +baneful effects of Charles's connection with France, seemed educated, as +it were, to be the defender of English liberty. This prince's struggles +in defence of his country, his success in rescuing it from a situation to +all appearance so desperate, and the consequent failure and mortification +of Louis XIV., form a scene in history upon which the mind dwells with +unceasing delight. One never can read Louis's famous declaration against +the Hollanders, knowing the event which is to follow, without feeling the +heart dilate with exultation, and a kind of triumphant contempt, which, +though not quite consonant to the principles of pure philosophy, never +fails to give the mind inexpressible satisfaction. Did the relation of +such events form the sole, or even any considerable part of the +historian's task, pleasant indeed would be his labours; but, though far +less agreeable, it is not a less useful or necessary part of his +business, to relate the triumphs of successful wickedness, and the +oppression of truth, justice, and liberty. + +The interval from the separate peace between England and the United +Provinces, to the peace of Nymwegen, was chiefly employed by Charles in +attempts to obtain money from France and other foreign powers, in which +he was sometimes more, sometimes less successful; and in various false +professions, promises, and other devices to deceive his parliament and +his people, in which he uniformly failed. Though neither the nature and +extent of his connection with France, nor his design of introducing +popery into England, were known at that time as they now are, yet there +were not wanting many indications of the king's disposition, and of the +general tendency of his designs. Reasonable persons apprehended that the +supplies asked were intended to be used, not for the specious purpose of +maintaining the balance of Europe, but for that of subduing the +parliament and people who should give them; and the great antipathy of +the bulk of the nation to popery caused many to be both more +clear-sighted in discovering, and more resolute in resisting the designs +of the court, than they would probably have shown themselves, if civil +liberty alone had been concerned. + +When the minds of men were in the disposition which such a state of +things was naturally calculated to produce, it is not to be wondered at +that a ready, and, perhaps, a too facile belief should have been accorded +to the rumour of a popish plot. But with the largest possible allowance +for the just apprehensions which were entertained, and the consequent +irritation of the country, it is wholly inconceivable how such a plot as +that brought forward by Tongue and Oates could obtain any general belief. +Nor can any stretch of candour make us admit it to be probable, that all +who pretended a belief of it did seriously entertain it. On the other +hand, it seems an absurdity, equal almost in degree to the belief of the +plot itself, to suppose that it was a story fabricated by the Earl of +Shaftesbury and the other leaders of the Whig party; and it would be +highly unjust, as well as uncharitable, not to admit that the generality +of those who were engaged in the prosecution of it were probably sincere +in their belief of it, since it is unquestionable that at the time very +many persons, whose political prejudices were of a quite different +complexion, were under the same delusion. The unanimous votes of the two +houses of parliament, and the names, as well as the number of those who +pronounced Lord Strafford to be guilty, seem to put this beyond a doubt. +Dryden, writing soon after the time, says, in his "Absalom and +Achitophel," that the plot was + + "Bad in itself, but represented wore:" + +that + + "Some truth there was, but dash'd and brew'd with lies:" + +and that + + "Succeeding times did equal folly call, + Believing nothing, or believing all." + +and Dryden will not, by those who are conversant in the history and works +of that immortal writer, be suspected either of party prejudice in favour +of Shaftesbury and the Whigs, or of any view to prejudice the country +against the Duke of York's succession to the crown. The king repeatedly +declared his belief of it. These declarations, if sincere, would have +some weight; but if insincere, as may be reasonably suspected, they +afford a still stronger testimony to prove that such belief was not +exclusively a party opinion, since it cannot be supposed that even the +crooked politics of Charles could have led him to countenance fictions of +his enemies, which were not adopted by his own party. Wherefore, if this +question were to be decided upon the ground of authority, the reality of +the plot would be admitted; and it must be confessed, that, with regard +to facts remote, in respect either of time or place, wise men generally +diffide in their own judgment, and defer to that of those who have had a +nearer view of them. But there are cases where reason speaks so plainly +as to make all argument drawn from authority of no avail, and this is +surely one of them. Not to mention correspondence by post on the subject +of regicide, detailed commissions from the pope, silver bullets, &c. &c., +and other circumstances equally ridiculous, we need only advert to the +part attributed to the Spanish government in this conspiracy, and to the +alleged intention of murdering the king, to satisfy ourselves that it was +a forgery. + +Rapin, who argues the whole of this affair with a degree of weakness as +well as disingenuity very unusual to him, seems at last to offer us a +kind of compromise, and to be satisfied if we will admit that there was a +design or project to introduce popery and an arbitrary power, at the head +of which were the king and his brother. Of this I am as much convinced +as he can be; but how does this justify the prosecution and execution of +those who suffered, since few if any of them, were in a situation to be +trusted by the royal conspirators with their designs? When he says, +therefore, that that is precisely what was understood by the conspiracy, +he by no means justifies those who were the principal prosecutors of the +plot. The design to murder the king he calls the appendage of the plot: +a strange expression this, to describe the projected murder of a king; +though not more strange than the notion itself when applied to a plot, +the object of which was to render that very king absolute, and to +introduce the religion which he most favoured. But it is to be observed, +that though in considering the bill of exclusion, the militia bill, and +other legislative proceedings, the plot, as he defines it--that is to +say, the design of introducing popery and arbitrary power--was the +important point to be looked to; yet in courts of justice, and for juries +and judges, that which he calls the appendage was, generally speaking, +the sole consideration. + +Although, therefore, upon a review of this truly shocking transaction, we +may be fairly justified in adopting the milder alternative, and in +imputing to the greater part of those concerned in it rather an +extraordinary degree of blind credulity than the deliberate wickedness of +planning and assisting in the perpetration of legal murders, yet the +proceedings on the popish plot must always be considered as an indelible +disgrace upon the English nation, in which king, parliament, judges, +juries, witnesses, prosecutors, have all their respective, though +certainly not equal, shares. Witnesses, of such a character as not to +deserve credit in the most trifling cause, upon the most immaterial +facts, gave evidence so incredible, or, to speak more properly, so +impossible to be true, that it ought not to have been believed if it had +come from the mouth of Cato; and upon such evidence, from such witnesses, +were innocent men condemned to death and executed. Prosecutors, whether +attorneys and solicitors-general, or managers of impeachment, acted with +the fury which in such circumstances might be expected; juries partook +naturally enough of the national ferment; and judges, whose duty it was +to guard them against such impressions, were scandalously active in +confirming them in their prejudices and inflaming their passions. The +king, who is supposed to have disbelieved the whole of the plot, never +once exercised his glorious prerogative of mercy. It is said he dared +not. His throne, perhaps his life, was at stake; and history does not +furnish us with the example of any monarch with whom the lives of +innocent or even meritorious subjects ever appeared to be of much weight, +when put in balance against such considerations. + +The measures of the prevailing party in the House of Commons, in these +times, appear (with the exception of their dreadful proceedings in the +business of the pretended plot, and of their violence towards those who +petitioned and addressed against parliament) to have been, in general, +highly laudable and meritorious; and yet I am afraid it may be justly +suspected that it was precisely to that part of their conduct which +related to the plot, and which is most reprehensible, that they were +indebted for their power to make the noble, and, in some instances, +successful struggles for liberty, which do so much honour to their +memory. The danger to be apprehended from military force being always, +in the view of wise men, the most urgent, they first voted the disbanding +of the army, and the two houses passed a bill for that purpose, to which +the king found himself obliged to consent. But to the bill which +followed, for establishing the regular assembling of the militia, and for +providing for their being in arms six weeks in the year, he opposed his +royal negative; thus making his stand upon the same point on which his +father had done; a circumstance which, if events had taken a turn against +him, would not have failed of being much noticed by historians. Civil +securities for freedom came to be afterwards considered; and it is to be +remarked, that to these times of heat and passion, and to one of those +parliaments which so disgraced themselves and the nation by the +countenance given to Oates and Bedloe, and by the persecution of so many +innocent victims, we are indebted for the Habeas Corpus act, the most +important barrier against tyranny, and best framed protection for the +liberty of individuals, that has ever existed in any ancient or modern +commonwealth. + +But the inefficacy of mere laws in favour of the subjects, in the case of +the administration of them falling into the hands of persons hostile to +the spirit in which they had been provided, had been so fatally evinced +by the general history of England, ever since the grant of the Great +Charter, and more especially by the transactions of the preceding reign, +that the parliament justly deemed their work incomplete unless the Duke +of York were excluded from the succession to the crown. A bill, +therefore, for the purpose of excluding that prince was prepared, and +passed the House of Commons; but being vigorously resisted by the court, +by the church, and by the Tories, was lost in the House of Lords. The +restrictions offered by the king to be put upon a popish successor are +supposed to have been among the most powerful of those means to which he +was indebted for his success. + +The dispute was no longer, whether or not the dangers resulting from +James's succession were real, and such as ought to be guarded against by +parliamentary provisions, but whether the exclusion or restrictions +furnished the most safe and eligible mode of compassing the object which +both sides pretended to have in view. The argument upon this state of +the question is clearly, forcibly, and, I think, convincingly, stated by +Rapin, who exposes very ably the extreme folly of trusting to measures, +without consideration of the men who are to execute them. Even in Hume's +statement of the question, whatever may have been his intention, the +arguments in favour of the exclusion appear to me greatly to +preponderate. Indeed, it is not easy to conceive upon what principles +even the Tories could justify their support of the restrictions. Many +among them, no doubt, saw the provisions in the same light in which the +Whigs represented them, as an expedient, admirably, indeed, adapted to +the real object of upholding the present king's power, by the defeat of +the exclusion, but never likely to take effect for their pretended +purpose of controlling that of his successor, and supported them for that +very reason. But such a principle of conduct was too fraudulent to be +avowed; nor ought it, perhaps, in candour to be imputed to the majority +of the party. To those who acted with good faith, and meant that the +restrictions should really take place and be effectual, surely it ought +to have occurred (and to those who most prized the prerogatives of the +crown it ought most forcibly to have occurred), that in consenting to +curtail the powers of the crown, rather than to alter the succession, +they were adopting the greater in order to avoid the lesser evil. The +question of what are to be the powers of the crown, is surely of superior +importance to that of who shall wear it? Those, at least, who consider +the royal prerogative as vested in the king, not for his sake but for +that of his subjects, must consider the one of these questions as much +above the other in dignity as the rights of the public are more valuable +than those of an individual. In this view the prerogatives of the crown +are, in substance and effect, the rights of the people; and these rights +of the people were not to be sacrificed to the purpose of preserving the +succession to the most favoured prince much less to one who, on account +of his religious persuasion, was justly feared and suspected. In truth, +the question between the exclusion and restrictions seems peculiarly +calculated to ascertain the different views in which the different +parties in this country have seen, and perhaps ever will see, the +prerogatives of the crown. The Whigs, who consider them as a trust for +the people--a doctrine which the Tories themselves, when pushed in +argument, will sometimes admit--naturally think it their duty rather to +change the manager of the trust than to impair the subject of it; while +others, who consider them as the right or property of the king, will as +naturally act as they would do in the case of any other property, and +consent to the loss or annihilation of any part of it, for the purpose of +preserving the remainder to him whom they style the rightful owner. If +the people be the sovereign and the king the delegate, it is better to +change the bailiff than to injure the farm; but if the king be the +proprietor, it is better the farm should be impaired--nay, part of it +destroyed--than that the whole should pass over to an usurper. The royal +prerogative ought, according to the Whigs (not in the case of a popish +successor only, but in all cases), to be reduced to such powers as are in +their exercise beneficial to the people; and of the benefit of these they +will not rashly suffer the people to be deprived, whether the executive +power be in the hands of an hereditary or of an elected king, of a +regent, or of any other denomination of magistrate; while, on the other +hand, they who consider prerogative with reference only to royalty, will, +with equal readiness, consent either to the extension or the suspension +of its exercise, as the occasional interests of the prince may seem to +require. The senseless plea of a divine and indefeasible right in James, +which even the legislature was incompetent to set aside, though as +inconsistent with the declarations of parliament in the statute book, and +with the whole practice of the English constitution, as it is repugnant +to nature and common sense, was yet warmly insisted upon by the high +church party. Such an argument, as might naturally be expected, operated +rather to provoke the Whigs to perseverance than to dissuade them from +their measure: it was, in their eyes, an additional merit belonging to +the exclusion bill that it strengthened, by one instance more, the +authority of former statutes in reprobating a doctrine which seems to +imply that man can have a property in his fellow-creatures. By far the +best argument in favour of the restrictions, is the practical one that +they could be obtained, and that the exclusion could not; but the value +of this argument is chiefly proved by the event. The exclusionists had a +fair prospect of success, and their plan being clearly the best, they +were justified in pursuing it. + +The spirit of resistance which the king showed in the instance of the +militia and the exclusion bills, seems to have been systematically +confined to those cases where he supposed his power to be more +immediately concerned. In the prosecution of the aged and innocent Lord +Stafford, he was so far from interfering in behalf of that nobleman, that +many of those most in his confidence, and, as it is affirmed, the Duchess +of Portsmouth herself, openly favoured the prosecution. Even after the +dissolution of him last parliament, when he had so far subdued his +enemies as to be no longer under any apprehensions from them, he did not +think it worth while to save the life of Plunket, the popish Archbishop +of Armagh, of whose innocence no doubt could be entertained. But this is +not to be wondered at, since, in all transactions relative to the popish +plot, minds of a very different cast from Charles's became, as by some +fatality, divested of all their wonted sentiments of justice and +humanity. Who can read without horror, the account of that savage murmur +of applause, which broke out upon one of the villains at the bar, +swearing positively to Stafford's having proposed the murder of the king? +And how is this horror deepened, when we reflect, that in that odious cry +were probably mingled the voices of men to whose memory every lover of +the English constitution is bound to pay the tribute of gratitude and +respect! Even after condemnation, Lord Russell himself, whose character +is wholly (this instance excepted) free from the stain of rancour or +cruelty, stickled for the severer mode of executing the sentence, in a +manner which his fear of the king's establishing a precedent of pardoning +in cases of impeachment (for this, no doubt, was his motive) cannot +satisfactorily excuse. + +In an early period of the king's difficulties, Sir William Temple, whose +life and character is a refutation of the vulgar notion that philosophy +and practical good sense in business are incompatible attainments, +recommended to him the plan of governing by a council, which was to +consist in great part of the most popular noblemen and gentlemen in the +kingdom. Such persons being the natural, as well as the safest, +mediators between princes and discontented subjects, this seems to have +been the best possible expedient. Hume says it was found too feeble a +remedy; but he does not take notice that it was never in fact tried, +inasmuch as not only the king's confidence was withheld from the most +considerable members of the council, but even the most important +determinations were taken without consulting the council itself. Nor can +there be a doubt but the king's views, in adopting Temple's advice, were +totally different from those of the adviser, whose only error in this +transaction seems to have consisted in recommending a plan, wherein +confidence and fair dealing were of necessity to be principal +ingredients, to a prince whom he well knew to be incapable of either. +Accordingly, having appointed the council in April, with a promise of +being governed in important matters by their advice, he in July dissolved +one parliament without their concurrence, and in October forbade them +even to give their opinions upon the propriety of a resolution which he +had taken of proroguing another. From that time he probably considered +the council to be, as it was, virtually dissolved; and it was not long +before means presented themselves to him, better adapted, in his +estimation, even to his immediate objects, and certainly more suitable to +his general designs. The union between the court and the church party, +which had been so closely cemented by their successful resistance to the +Exclusion Bill, and its authors, had at length acquired such a degree of +strength and consistency, that the king ventured first to appoint Oxford, +instead of London, for the meeting of parliament; and then, having +secured to himself a good pension from France, to dissolve the parliament +there met, with a full resolution never to call another; to which +resolution, indeed, Louis had bound him, as one of the conditions on +which he was to receive a stipend. No measure was ever attended with +more complete success. The most flattering addresses poured in from all +parts of the kingdom; divine right, and indiscriminate obedience, were +everywhere the favourite doctrines; and men seemed to vie with each other +who should have the honour of the greatest share in the glorious work of +slavery, by securing to the king, for the present, and after him to the +duke, absolute and uncontrollable power. They who, either because +Charles had been called a forgiving prince by his flatterers (upon what +ground I could never discover), or from some supposed connection between +indolence and good nature, had deceived themselves into a hope that his +tyranny would be of the milder sort, found themselves much disappointed +in their expectations. + +The whole history of the remaining part of his reign exhibits an +uninterrupted series of attacks upon the liberty, property, and lives of +his subjects. The character of the government appeared first, and with +the most marked and prominent features, in Scotland. The condemnation of +Argyle and Weir, the one for having subjoined an explanation when he took +the test oath, the other for having kept company with a rebel, whom it +was not proved he knew to be such, and who had never been proclaimed, +resemble more the acts of Tiberius and Domitian, than those of even the +most arbitrary modern governments. It is true, the sentences were not +executed; Weir was reprieved; and whether or not Argyle, if he had not +deemed it more prudent to escape by flight, would have experienced the +same clemency, cannot now be ascertained. The terror of these examples +would have been, in the judgment of most men, abundantly sufficient to +teach the people of Scotland their duty, and to satisfy them that their +lives, as well as everything else they had been used to call their own, +were now completely in the power of their masters. But the government +did not stop here, and having outlawed thousands, upon the same pretence +upon which Weir had been condemned, inflicted capital punishment upon +such criminals of both sexes as refused to answer, or answered otherwise +than was prescribed to them to the most ensnaring questions. + +In England, the city of London seemed to hold out for a certain time, +like a strong fortress in a conquered country; and, by means of this +citadel, Shaftesbury and others were saved from the vengeance of the +court. But this resistance, however honourable to the corporation who +made it, could not be of long duration. The weapons of law and justice +were found feeble, when opposed to the power of a monarch who was at the +head of a numerous and bigoted party of the nation, and who, which was +most material of all, had enabled himself to govern without a parliament. +Civil resistance in this country, even to the most illegal attacks of +royal tyranny, has never, I believe, been successful, unless when +supported by parliament, or at least by a great party in one or other of +the two houses. The court having wrested from the livery of London, +partly by corruption, and partly by violence, the free election of their +mayor and sheriffs, did not wait the accomplishment of their plan for the +destruction of the whole corporation, which, from their first success, +they justly deemed certain, but immediately proceeded to put in execution +their system of oppression. Pilkington, Colt, and Oates, were fined a +hundred thousand pounds each for having spoken disrespectfully of the +Duke of York; Barnardiston, ten thousand, for having in a private letter +expressed sentiments deemed improper; and Sidney, Russell, and Armstrong, +found that the just and mild principles which characterise the criminal +law of England could no longer protect their lives, when the sacrifice +was called for by the policy or vengeance of the king. To give an +account of all the oppression of this period would be to enumerate every +arrest, every trial, every sentence, that took place in questions between +the crown and the subjects. + +Of the Rye House plot it may be said, much more truly than of the popish, +that there was in it some truth, mixed with much falsehood; and though +many of the circumstances in Kealing's account are nearly as absurd and +ridiculous as those in Oates's, it seems probable that there was among +some of those accused a notion of assassinating the king; but whether +this notion was over ripened into what may be called a design, and, much +more, whether it were ever evinced by such an overt act as the law +requires for conviction, is very doubtful. In regard to the conspirators +of higher ranks, from whom all suspicion of participation in the intended +assassination has been long since done away, there is unquestionably +reason to believe that they had often met and consulted, as well for the +purpose of ascertaining the means they actually possessed as for that of +devising others for delivering their country from the dreadful servitude +into which it had fallen; and thus far their conduct appears clearly to +have been laudable. If they went further, and did anything which could +be fairly construed into an actual conspiracy to levy war against the +king, they acted, considering the disposition of the nation at that +period, very indiscreetly. But whether their proceedings had ever gone +this length, is far from certain. Monmouth's communications with the +king, when we reflect upon all the circumstances of those communications, +deserve not the smallest attention; nor indeed, if they did, does the +letter which he afterwards withdrew prove anything upon this point. And +it is an outrage to common-sense to call Lord Grey's narrative written, +as he himself states in his letter to James II., while the question of +his pardon was pending, an authentic account. That which is most certain +in this affair is, that they had committed no overt act, indicating the +imagining of the king's death, even according to the most strained +construction of the statute of Edward III.; much less was any such act +legally proved against them. And the conspiring to levy war was not +treason, except by a recent statute of Charles II., the prosecutions upon +which were expressly limited to a certain time, which in these cases had +elapsed so that it is impossible not to assent to the opinion of those +who have ever stigmatised the condemnation and execution of Russell as a +most flagrant violation of law and justice. + +The proceedings in Sidney's case were still more detestable. The +production of papers, containing speculative opinions upon government and +liberty, written long before, and perhaps never even intended to be +published, together with the use made of those papers, in considering +them as a substitute for the second witness to the overt act, exhibited +such a compound of wickedness and nonsense as is hardly to be paralleled +in the history of juridical tyranny. But the validity of pretences was +little attended to at that time, in the case of a person whom the court +had devoted to destruction, and upon evidence such as has been stated was +this great and excellent man condemned to die. Pardon was not to be +expected. Mr. Hume says, that such an interference on the part of the +king, though it might have been an act of heroic generosity, could not be +regarded as an indispensable duty. He might have said with more +propriety, that it was idle to expect that the government, after having +incurred so much guilt in order to obtain the sentence, should, by +remitting it, relinquish the object just when it was within its grasp. +The same historian considers the jury as highly blamable, and so do I; +but what was their guilt in comparison of that of the court who tried, +and of the government who prosecuted, in this infamous cause? Yet the +jury, being the only party that can with any colour be stated as acting +independently of the government, is the only one mentioned by him as +blamable. The prosecutor is wholly omitted in his censure, and so is the +court; this last, not from any tenderness for the judge (who, to do this +author justice, is no favourite with him), but lest the odious connection +between that branch of the judicature and the government should strike +the reader too forcibly; for Jeffreys, in this instance, ought to be +regarded as the mere tool and instrument (a fit one, no doubt), of the +prince who had appointed him for the purpose of this and similar +services. Lastly, the king is gravely introduced on the question of +pardon, as if he had had no prior concern in the cause, and were now to +decide upon the propriety of extending mercy to a criminal condemned by a +court of judicature; nor are we once reminded what that judicature was, +by whom appointed, by whom influenced, by whom called upon, to receive +that detestable evidence, the very recollection of which, even at this +distance of time, fires every honest heart with indignation. As well +might we palliate the murders of Tiberius, who seldom put to death his +victims without a previous decree of his senate. The moral of all this +seems to be, that whenever a prince can, by intimidation, corruption, +illegal evidence, or other such means, obtain a verdict against a subject +whom he dislikes, he may cause him to be executed without any breach of +indispensable duty; nay, that it is an act of heroic generosity if he +spares him. I never reflect on Mr. Hume's statement of this matter but +with the deepest regret. Widely as I differ from him upon many other +occasions, this appears to me to be the most reprehensible passage of his +whole work. A spirit of adulation towards deceased princes, though in a +good measure free from the imputation of interested meanness, which is +justly attached to flattery when applied to living monarchs, yet, as it +is less intelligible with respect to its motives than the other, so is it +in its consequences still more pernicious to the general interests of +mankind. Fear of censure from contemporaries will seldom have much +effect upon men in situations of unlimited authority: they will too often +flatter themselves that the same power which enables them to commit the +crime will secure them from reproach. The dread of posthumous infamy, +therefore, being the only restraint, their consciences excepted, upon the +passions of such persons, it is lamentable that this last defence (feeble +enough at best) should in any degree be impaired; and impaired it must +be, if not totally destroyed, when tyrants can hope to find in a man like +Hume, no less eminent for the integrity and benevolence of his heart than +for the depth and soundness of his understanding, an apologist for even +their foulest murders. + +Thus fell Russell and Sidney, two names that will, it is hoped, be for +ever dear to every English heart. When their memory shall cease to be an +object of respect and veneration, it requires no spirit of prophecy to +foretell that English liberty will be fast approaching to its final +consummation. Their department was such as might be expected from men +who knew themselves to be suffering, not for their crimes, but for their +virtues. In courage they were equal, but the fortitude of Russell, who +was connected with the world by private and domestic ties, which Sidney +had not, was put to the severer trial; and the story of the last days of +this excellent man's life fills the mind with such a mixture of +tenderness and admiration, that I know not any scene in history that more +powerfully excites our sympathy, or goes more directly to the heart. + +The very day on which Russell was executed, the University of Oxford +passed their famous decree, condemning formally, as impious and heretical +propositions, every principle upon which the constitution of this or any +other free country can maintain itself. Nor was this learned body +satisfied with stigmatising such principles as contrary to the Holy +Scriptures, to the decrees of councils, to the writings of the fathers, +to the faith and profession of the primitive church, as destructive of +the kingly government, the safety of his majesty's person, the public +peace, the laws of nature, and bounds of human society; but after +enumerating the several obnoxious propositions, among which was one +declaring all civil authority derived from the people; another, asserting +a mutual contract, tacit or express, between the king and his subjects; a +third, maintaining the lawfulness of changing the succession to the +crown; with many others of a like nature, they solemnly decreed all and +every of those propositions to be not only false and seditious, but +impious, and that the books which contained them were fitted to lead to +rebellion, murder of princes, and atheism itself. Such are the +absurdities which men are not ashamed to utter in order to cast odious +imputations upon their adversaries; and such the manner in which +churchmen will abuse, when it suits their policy, the holy name of that +religion whose first precept is to love one another, for the purpose of +teaching us to hate our neighbours with more than ordinary rancour. If +_Much Ado about Nothing_ had been published in those days, the +town-clerk's declaration, that receiving a thousand ducats for accusing +the Lady Hero wrongfully, was flat burglary, might be supposed to be a +satire upon this decree; yet Shakespeare, well as he knew human nature, +not only as to its general course, but in all its eccentric deviations, +could never dream that, in the persons of Dogberry, Verges, and their +followers, he was representing the vice-chancellors and doctors of our +learned university. + +Among the oppressions of this period, most of which were attended with +consequences so much more important to the several objects of +persecution, it may seem scarcely worth while to notice the expulsion of +John Locke from Christ Church College, Oxford. But besides the interest +which every incident in the life of a person so deservedly eminent +naturally excites, there appears to have been something in the +transaction itself characteristic of the spirit of the times, as well as +of the general nature of absolute power. Mr. Locke was known to have +been intimately connected with Lord Shaftesbury, and had very prudently +judged it advisable for him to prolong for some time his residence upon +the Continent, to which he had resorted originally on account of his +health. A suspicion, as it has been since proved unfounded, that he was +the author of a pamphlet which gave offence to the government, induced +the king to insist upon his removal from his studentship at Christ +Church. Sunderland writes, by the king's command, to Dr. Fell, bishop of +Oxford and dean of Christ Church. The reverend prelate answers that he +has long had an eye upon Mr. Locke's behaviour; but though frequent +attempts had been made (attempts of which the bishop expresses no +disapprobation), to draw him into imprudent conversation, by attacking, +in his company, the reputation, and insulting the memory of his late +patron and friend, and thus to make his gratitude and all the best +feelings of his heart instrumental to his ruin, these attempts all proved +unsuccessful. Hence the bishop infers, not the innocence of Mr. Locke, +but that he was a great master of concealment both as to words and looks; +for looks, it is to be supposed, would have furnished a pretext for his +expulsion, more decent than any which had yet been discovered. An +expedient is then suggested to drive Mr. Locke to a dilemma, by summoning +him to attend the college on the first of January ensuing. If he do not +appear, he shall be expelled for contumacy; if he come, matter of charge +may be found against him for what he shall have said at London or +elsewhere, where he will have been less upon his guard than at Oxford. +Some have ascribed Fell's hesitation, if it can be so called, in +executing the king's order, to his unwillingness to injure Locke, who was +his friend; others, with more reason, to the doubt of the legality of the +order. However this may have been, neither his scruple nor his +reluctance was regarded by a court who knew its own power. A peremptory +order was accordingly sent, and immediate obedience ensued. Thus, while +without the shadow of a crime, Mr. Locke lost a situation attended with +some emolument and great convenience, was the university deprived of, or +rather thus, from the base principles of servility, did she cast away the +man, the having produced whom is now her chiefest glory; and thus, to +those who are not determined to be blind, did the true nature of absolute +power discover itself, against which the middling station is not more +secure than the most exalted. Tyranny, when glutted with the blood of +the great, and the plunder of the rich, will condescend to bent humbler +game, and make a peaceable and innocent fellow of a college the object of +its persecution. In this instance one would almost imagine there was +some instinctive sagacity in the government of that time, which pointed +out to them, even before he had made himself known to the world, the man +who was destined to be the most successful adversary of superstition and +tyranny. + +The king, during the remainder of his reign, seems, with the exception of +Armstrong's execution, which must be added to the catalogue of his +murders, to have directed his attacks more against the civil rights, +properties, and liberties, than against the lives of his subjects. +Convictions against evidence, sentences against law, enormous fines, +cruel imprisonments, were the principal engines employed for the purpose +of breaking the spirit of individuals, and fitting their necks for the +yoke. But it was not thought fit to trust wholly to the effect which +such examples would produce upon the public. That the subjugation of the +people might be complete, and despotism be established upon the most +solid foundation, measures of a more general nature and effect were +adopted; and first, the charter of London, and then those of almost all +the other corporations in England, were either forfeited or forced to a +surrender. By this act of violence two important points were thought to +be gained; one, that in every regular assemblage of the people in any +part of the kingdom the crown would have a commanding influence; the +other, that in case the king should find himself compelled to break his +engagement to France, and to call a parliament, a great majority of +members would be returned by electors of his nomination, and subject to +his control. In the affair of the charter of London, it was seen, as in +the case of ship-money, how idle it is to look to the integrity of judges +for a barrier against royal encroachments, when the courts of justice are +not under the constant and vigilant control of parliament. And it is not +to be wondered at, that, after such a warning, and with no hope of seeing +a parliament assemble, even they who still retained their attachment to +the true constitution of their country, should rather give way to the +torrent than make a fruitless and dangerous resistance. + +Charles being thus completely master, was determined that the relative +situation of him and his subjects should be clearly understood, for which +purpose he ordered a declaration to be framed, wherein, after having +stated that he considered the degree of confidence they had reposed in +him as an honour particular to his reign, which not one of his +predecessors had ever dared even to hope for, he assured them he would +use it with all possible moderation, and convince even the most violent +republicans, that as the crown was the origin of the rights and liberties +of the people, so was it their most certain and secure support. This +gracious declaration was ready for the press at the time of the king's +death, and if he had lived to issue it, there can be little doubt how it +would have been received at a time when + + "nunquam libertas gratior extat + Quam sub rege pio," + +was the theme of every song, and, by the help of some perversion of +Scripture, the text of every sermon. But whatever might be the language +of flatterers, and how loud soever the cry of a triumphant, but deluded +party, there were not wanting men of nobler sentiments and of more +rational views. Minds once thoroughly imbued with the love of what +Sidney, in his last moments, so emphatically called the good old cause, +will not easily relinquish their principles: nor was the manner in which +absolute power was exercised, such as to reconcile to it, in practice, +those who had always been averse to it in speculation. The hatred of +tyranny must, in such persons, have been exasperated by the experience of +its effects, and their attachment to liberty proportionably confirmed. To +them the state of their country must have been intolerable: to reflect +upon the efforts of their fathers, once their pride and glory, and whom +they themselves had followed with no unequal steps, and to see the result +of all in the scenes that now presented themselves, must have filled +their minds with sensations of the deepest regret, and feelings bordering +at least on despondency. To us, who have the opportunity of combining in +our view of this period, not only the preceding but subsequent +transactions, the consideration of it may suggest reflections far +different and speculations more consolatory. Indeed, I know not that +history can furnish a more forcible lesson against despondency, than by +recording that within a short time from those dismal days in which men of +the greatest constancy despaired, and had reason to do so, within five +years from the death of Sidney arose the brightest era of freedom known +to the annals of our country. + +It is said that the king, when at the summit of his power, was far from +happy; and a notion has been generally entertained that not long before +his death he had resolved upon the recall of Monmouth, and a +correspondent change of system. That some such change was apprehended +seems extremely probable, from the earnest desire which the court of +France, as well as the Duke of York's party in England, entertained, in +the last years of Charles's life, to remove the Marquis of Halifax, who +was supposed to have friendly dispositions to Monmouth. Among the +various objections to that nobleman's political principles, we find the +charge most relied upon, for the purpose of injuring him in the mind of +the king, was founded on the opinion he had delivered in council, in +favour of modelling the charters of the British colonies in North America +upon the principles of the rights and privileges of Englishmen. There +was no room to doubt (he was accused of saying) that the same laws under +which we live in England, should be established in a country composed of +Englishmen. He even dilated upon this, and omitted none of the reasons +by which it can be proved that an absolute government is neither so happy +nor so safe as that which is tempered by laws, and which limits the +authority of the prince. He exaggerated, it was said, the mischiefs of a +sovereign power, and declared plainly that he could not make up his mind +to live under a king who should have it in his power to take, when he +pleased, the money he might have in his pocket. All the other ministers +had combated, as might be expected, sentiments so extraordinary; and +without entering into the general question of the comparative value of +different forms of government, maintained that his majesty could and +ought to govern countries so distant in the manner that should appear to +him most suitable for preserving or augmenting the strength and riches of +the mother country. It had been, therefore, resolved that the government +and council of the provinces under the new charter should not be obliged +to call assemblies of the colonists for the purpose of imposing taxes, or +making other important regulations, but should do what they thought fit, +without rendering any account of their actions except to his Britannic +Majesty. The affair having been so decided with a concurrence only short +of unanimity, was no longer considered as a matter of importance, nor +would it be worth recording, if the Duke of York and the French court had +not fastened upon it, as affording the best evidence of the danger to be +apprehended from having a man of Halifax's principles in any situation of +trust or power. There is something curious in discovering that even at +this early period a question relative to North American liberty, and even +to North American taxation, was considered as the test of principles +friendly or adverse to arbitrary power at home. But the truth is, that +among the several controversies which have arisen there is no other +wherein the natural rights of man on the one hand, and the authority of +artificial institution on the other, as applied respectively by the Whigs +and Tories to the English constitution, are so fairly put in issue, nor +by which the line of separation between the two parties is so strongly +and distinctly marked. + +There is some reason for believing that the court of Versailles had +either wholly discontinued, or, at least, had become very remiss in, the +payments of Charles's pension; and it is not unlikely that this +consideration induced him either really to think of calling a parliament, +or at least to threaten Louis with such a measure, in order to make that +prince more punctual in performing his part of their secret treaty. But +whether or not any secret change was really intended, or if it were to +what extent, and to what objects directed, are points which cannot now be +ascertained, no public steps having ever been taken in this affair, and +his majesty's intentions, if in truth he had any such, becoming abortive +by the sudden illness which seized him on the 1st of February, 1685, and +which, in a few days afterwards, put an end to his reign and life. His +death was by many supposed to have been the effect of poison; but +although there is reason to believe that this suspicion was harboured by +persons very near to him, and, among others, as I have heard, by the +Duchess of Portsmouth, it appears, upon the whole, to rest upon very +slender foundations. + +With respect to the character of this prince, upon the delineation of +which so much pains have been employed, by the various writers who treat +of the history of his time, it must be confessed that the facts which +have been noticed in the foregoing pages furnish but too many +illustrations of the more unfavourable parts of it. From these we may +collect that his ambition was directed solely against his subjects, while +he was completely indifferent concerning the figure which he or they +might make in the general affairs of Europe; and that his desire of power +was more unmixed with love of glory than that of any other man whom +history has recorded; that he was unprincipled, ungrateful, mean, and +treacherous, to which may be added, vindictive and remorseless. For +Burnet, in refusing to him the praise of clemency and forgiveness, seems +to be perfectly justifiable, nor is it conceivable upon what pretence his +partisans have taken this ground of panegyric. I doubt whether a single +instance can be produced of his having spared the life of any one whom +motives either of policy, or of revenge, prompted him to destroy. To +allege that of Monmouth as it would be an affront to human nature, so +would it likewise imply the most severe of all satires against the +monarch himself, and we may add, too, an undeserved one; for, in order to +consider it as an act of meritorious forbearance on his part, that he did +not follow the example of Constantine and Philip II., by imbruing his +hands in the blood of his son, we must first suppose him to have been +wholly void of every natural affection, which does not appear to have +been the case. His declaration that he would have pardoned Essex, being +made when that nobleman was dead, and not followed by any act evincing +its sincerity, can surely obtain no credit from men of sense. If he had +really had the intention, he ought not to have made such a declaration, +unless he accompanied it with some mark of kindness to the relations, or +with some act of mercy to the friends of the deceased. Considering it as +a mere piece of hypocrisy, we cannot help looking upon it as one of the +most odious passages of his life. This ill-timed boast of his intended +mercy, and the brutal taunt with which he accompanied his mitigation (if +so it may be called) of Russell's sentence, show his insensibility and +hardness to have been such, that in questions where right feelings were +concerned, his good sense, and even the good taste for which he has been +so much extolled, seemed wholly to desert him. + +On the other hand, it would be want of candour to maintain that Charles +was entirely destitute of good qualities; nor was the propriety of +Burnet's comparison between him and Tiberius ever felt, I imagine, by any +one but its author. He was gay and affable, and, if incapable of the +sentiments belonging to pride of a laudable sort, he was at least free +from haughtiness and insolence. The praise of politeness, which the +stoics are not perhaps wrong in classing among the moral virtues, +provided they admit it to be one of the lowest order, has never been +denied him, and he had in an eminent degree that facility of temper +which, though considered by some moralists as nearly allied to vice, yet, +inasmuch as it contributes greatly to the happiness of those around us, +is in itself not only an engaging but an estimable quality. His support +of the queen during the heats raised by the popish plot ought to be taken +rather as a proof that he was not a monster than to be ascribed to him as +a merit; but his steadiness to his brother, though it may and ought, in a +great measure, to be accounted for upon selfish principles, had at least +a strong resemblance to virtue. + +The best part of this prince's character seems to have been his kindness +towards his mistresses, and his affection for his children, and others +nearly connected to him by the ties of blood. His recommendation of the +Duchess of Portsmouth and Mrs. Gwyn, upon his death-bed, to his successor +is much to his honour; and they who censure it seem, in their zeal to +show themselves strict moralists, to have suffered their notions of vice +and virtue to have fallen into strange confusion. Charles's connection +with those ladies might be vicious, but at a moment when that connection +was upon the point of being finally and irrevocably dissolved, to concern +himself about their future welfare and to recommend them to his brother +with earnest tenderness was virtue. It is not for the interest of +morality that the good and evil actions, even of bad men, should be +confounded. His affection for the Duke of Gloucester and for the Duchess +of Orleans seems to have been sincere and cordial. To attribute, as some +have done, his grief for the loss of the first to political +considerations, founded upon an intended balance of power between his two +brothers, would be an absurd refinement, whatever were his general +disposition; but when we reflect upon that carelessness which, especially +in his youth, was a conspicuous feature of his character, the absurdity +becomes still more striking. And though Burnet more covertly, and Ludlow +more openly, insinuate that his fondness for his sister was of a criminal +nature, I never could find that there was any ground whatever for such a +suspicion; nor does the little that remains of their epistolary +correspondence give it the smallest countenance. Upon the whole, Charles +II. was a bad man and a bad king; let us not palliate his crimes, but +neither let us adopt false or doubtful imputations for the purpose of +making him a monster. + +Whoever reviews the interesting period which we have been discussing, +upon the principle recommended in the outset of this chapter, will find +that, from the consideration of the past, to prognosticate the future +would at the moment of Charles's demise be no easy task. Between two +persons, one of whom should expect that the country would remain sunk in +slavery, the other, that the cause of freedom would revive and triumph, +it would be difficult to decide whose reasons were better supported, +whose speculations the more probable. I should guess that he who +desponded had looked more at the state of the public, while he who was +sanguine had fixed his eyes more attentively upon the person who was +about to mount the throne. Upon reviewing the two great parties of the +nation, one observation occurs very forcibly, and that is, that the great +strength of the Whigs consisted in their being able to brand their +adversaries as favourers of popery; that of the Tories (as far as their +strength depended upon opinion, and not merely upon the power of the +crown), in their finding colour to represent the Whigs as republicans. +From this observation we may draw a further inference, that, in +proportion to the rashness of the crown in avowing and pressing forward +the cause of popery, and to the moderation and steadiness of the Whigs in +adhering to the form of monarchy, would be the chance of the people of +England for changing an ignominious despotism for glory, liberty, and +happiness. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Accession of James II.--His declaration in council; acceptable to the +nation--Arbitrary designs of his reign--Former ministers continued--Money +transactions with France--Revenue levied without authority of +Parliament--Persecution of Dissenters--Character of Jeffreys--The King's +affectation of independence--Advances to the Prince of Orange--The +primary object of this reign--Transactions in Scotland--Severe +persecutions there--Scottish Parliament--Cruelties of government--English +Parliament; its proceedings--Revenue--Votes concerning religion--Bill for +preservation of the King's person--Solicitude for the Church of +England--Reversal of Stafford's attainder rejected--Parliament +adjourned--Character of the Tories--Situation of the Whigs. + +Charles II. expired on the 6th of February, 1684-85, and on the same day +his successor was proclaimed king in London, with the usual formalities, +by the title of James the Second. The great influence which this prince +was supposed to have possessed in the government during the latter years +of his brother's reign, and the expectation which was entertained in +consequence, that his measures, when monarch, would be of the same +character and complexion with those which he was known to have highly +approved, and of which he was thought by many to have been the principal +author, when a subject left little room for that spirit of speculation +which generally attends a demise of the crown. And thus an event, which +when apprehended a few years before had, according to a strong expression +of Sir William Temple, been looked upon as the end of the world, was now +deemed to be of small comparative importance. + +Its tendency, indeed, was rather to ensure perseverance than to effect +any change in the system which had been of late years pursued. As there +are, however, some steps indispensably necessary on the accession of a +new prince to the throne, to these the public attention was directed, and +though the character of James had been long so generally understood as to +leave little doubt respecting the political maxims and principles by +which his reign would be governed, there was probably much curiosity, as +upon such occasions there always is, with regard to the conduct he would +pursue in matters of less importance, and to the general language and +behaviour which he would adopt in his new situation. His first step was, +of course, to assemble the privy council, to whom he spoke as follows:-- + +"Before I enter upon any other business, I think fit to say something to +you. Since it hath pleated Almighty God to place me in this station, and +I am now to succeed so good and gracious a king, as well as so very kind +a brother, I think it fit to declare to you that I will endeavour to +follow his example, and most especially in that of his great clemency and +tenderness to his people. I have been reported to be a man for arbitrary +power; but that is not the only story that has been made of me; and I +shall make it my endeavour to preserve this government, both in Church +and State, as it is now by law established. I know the principles of the +Church of England are for monarchy, and the members of it have shown +themselves good and loyal subjects; therefore I shall always take care to +defend and support it. I know, too, that the laws of England are +sufficient to make the king as great a monarch as I can wish; and as I +shall never depart from the just rights and prerogatives of the crown, so +I shall never invade any man's property. I have often heretofore +ventured my life in defence of this nation and I shall go as far as any +man in preserving it in all its just rights and liberties." + +With this declaration the council were so highly satisfied, that they +supplicated his majesty to make it public, which was accordingly done; +and it is reported to have been received with unbounded applause by the +greater part of the nation. Some, perhaps, there were, who did not think +the boast of having ventured his life very manly, and who, considering +the transactions of the last years of Charles's reign, were not much +encouraged by the promise of imitating that monarch in clemency and +tenderness to his subjects. To these it might appear, that whatever +there was of consolatory in the king's disclaimer of arbitrary power and +professed attachment to the laws, was totally done away, as well by the +consideration of what his majesty's notions of power and law were, as by +his declaration that he would follow the example of a predecessor, whose +government had not only been marked with the violation, in particular +cases, of all the most sacred laws of the realm, but had latterly, by the +disuse of parliaments, in defiance of the statute of the sixteenth year +of his reign, stood upon a foundation radically and fundamentally +illegal. To others it might occur that even the promise to the Church of +England, though express with respect to the condition of it, which was no +other than perfect acquiescence in what the king deemed to be the true +principles of monarchy, was rather vague with regard to the nature or +degree of support to which the royal speaker might conceive himself +engaged. The words, although in any interpretation of them they conveyed +more than he possibly ever intended to perform, did by no means express +the sense which at that time, by his friends, and afterwards by his +enemies, was endeavoured to be fixed on them. There was, indeed, a +promise to support the establishment of the Church, and consequently the +laws upon which that establishment immediately rested; but by no means an +engagement to maintain all the collateral provisions which some of its +more zealous members might judge necessary for its security. + +But whatever doubts or difficulties might be felt, few or none were +expressed. The Whigs, as a vanquished party, were either silent or not +listened to, and the Tories were in a temper of mind which does not +easily admit suspicion. They were not more delighted with the victory +they had obtained over their adversaries, than with the additional +stability which, as they vainly imagined, the accession of the new +monarch was likely to give to their system. The truth is that, his +religion excepted (and that objection they were sanguine enough to +consider as done away by a few gracious words in favour of the Church), +James was every way better suited to their purpose than his brother. They +had entertained continual apprehensions, not perhaps wholly unfounded, of +the late king's returning kindness to Monmouth, the consequences of which +could not easily be calculated; whereas, every occurrence that had +happened, as well as every circumstance in James's situation, seemed to +make him utterly irreconcilable with the Whigs. Besides, after the +reproach, as well as alarm, which the notoriety of Charles's treacherous +character must so often have caused them, the very circumstance of having +at their head a prince, of whom they could with any colour hold out to +their adherents that his word was to be depended upon, was in itself a +matter of triumph and exultation. Accordingly, the watchword of the +party was everywhere--"We have the word of a king, and a word never yet +broken;" and to such a length was the spirit of adulation, or perhaps the +delusion, carried, that this royal declaration was said to be a better +security for the liberty and religion of the nation than any which the +law could devise. + +The king, though much pleased, no doubt, with the popularity which seemed +to attend the commencement of his reign, as a powerful medium for +establishing the system of absolute power, did not suffer himself, by any +show of affection from his people, to be diverted from his design of +rendering his government independent of them. To this design we must +look as the mainspring of all his actions at this period; for with regard +to the Roman Catholic religion, it is by no means certain that he yet +thought of obtaining for it anything more than a complete toleration. +With this view, therefore, he could not take a more judicious resolution +than that which he had declared in his speech to the privy council, and +to which he seems, at this time, to have steadfastly adhered, of making +the government of his predecessor the model for his own. He therefore +continued in their offices, notwithstanding the personal objections he +might have to some of them, those servants of the late king, during whose +administration that prince had been so successful in subduing his +subjects, and eradicating almost from the minds of Englishmen every +sentiment of liberty. + +Even the Marquis of Halifax, who was supposed to have remonstrated +against many of the late measures, and to have been busy in recommending +a change of system to Charles, was continued in high employment by James, +who told him that, of all his past conduct, he should remember only his +behaviour upon the exclusion bill, to which that nobleman had made a +zealous and distinguished opposition; a handsome expression, which has +been the more noticed, as well because it is almost the single instance +of this prince's showing any disposition to forget injuries, as on +account of a delicacy and propriety in the wording of it, by no means +familiar to him. + +Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, whom he appointed lord treasurer, was +in all respects calculated to be a fit instrument for the purposes then +in view. Besides being upon the worst terms with Halifax, in whom alone, +of all his ministers, James was likely to find any bias in favour of +popular principles, he was, both from prejudice of education, and from +interest, inasmuch as he had aspired to be the head of the Tories, a +great favourer of those servile principles of the Church of England which +had been lately so highly extolled from the throne. His near relation to +the Duchess of York might also be some recommendation, but his privity to +the late pecuniary transactions between the courts of Versailles and +London, and the cordiality with which he concurred in them, were by far +more powerful titles to his new master's confidence. For it must be +observed of this minister, as well as of many others of his party, that +his _high_ notions, as they are frequently styled, of power, regarded +only the relation between the king and his subjects, and not that in +which he might stand with respect to foreign princes; so that, provided +he could, by a dependence, however servile, upon Louis XIV., be placed +above the control of his parliament and people at home, he considered the +honour of the crown unsullied. + +Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, who was continued as secretary of +state, had been at one period a supporter of the exclusion bill, and had +been suspected of having offered the Duchess of Portsmouth to obtain the +succession to the crown for her son, the Duke of Richmond. Nay more, +King James, in his "Memoirs," charges him with having intended, just at +the time of Charles's death, to send him into a second banishment; but +with regard to this last point, it appears evident to me, that many +things in those "Memoirs," relative to this earl, were written after +James's abdication, and in the greatest bitterness of spirit, when he was +probably in a frame of mind to believe anything against a person by whom +he conceived himself to have been basely deserted. The reappointment, +therefore, of this nobleman to so important an office, is to be accounted +for partly upon the general principle above-mentioned, of making the new +reign a mere continuation of the former, and partly upon Sunderland's +extraordinary talents for ingratiating himself with persons in power, and +persuading them that he was the fittest instrument for their purposes; a +talent in which he seems to have surpassed all the intriguing statesmen +of his time, or perhaps of any other. + +An intimate connection with the court of Versailles being the principal +engine by which the favourite project of absolute monarchy was to be +effected, James, for the purpose of fixing and cementing that connection, +sent for M. de Barillon, the French ambassador, the very day after his +accession, and entered into the most confidential discourse with him. He +explained to him his motives for intending to call a parliament, as well +as his resolution to levy by authority the revenue which his predecessor +had enjoyed in virtue of a grant of parliament which determined with his +life. He made general professions of attachment to Louis, declared that +in all affairs of importance it was his intention to consult that +monarch, and apologised, upon the ground of the urgency of the case, for +acting in the instance mentioned without his advice. Money was not +directly mentioned, owing, perhaps, to some sense of shame upon that +subject, which his brother had never experienced; but lest there should +be a doubt whether that object were implied in the desire of support and +protection, Rochester was directed to explain the matter more fully, and +to give a more distinct interpretation of these general terms. +Accordingly, that minister waited the next morning upon Barillon, and +after having repeated and enlarged upon the reasons for calling a +parliament, stated, as an additional argument in defence of the measure, +that without it his master would become too chargeable to the French +king; adding, however, that the assistance which might be expected from a +parliament, did not exempt him altogether from the necessity of resorting +to that prince for pecuniary aids; for that without such, he would be at +the mercy of his subjects, and that upon this beginning would depend the +whole fortune of the reign. If Rochester actually expressed himself as +Barillon relates, the use intended to be made of parliament cannot but +cause the most lively indignation, while it furnishes a complete answer +to the historians who accuse the parliaments of those days of +unseasonable parsimony in their grants to the Stuart kings; for the +grants of the people of England were not destined, it seems, to enable +their kings to oppose the power of France, or even to be independent of +her, but to render the influence which Louis was resolved to preserve in +this country less chargeable to him, by furnishing their quota to the +support of his royal dependant. + +The French ambassador sent immediately a detailed account of these +conversations to his court, where, probably, they were not received with +the less satisfaction on account of the request contained in them having +been anticipated. Within a very few days from that in which the latter +of them had passed, he was empowered to accompany the delivery of a +letter from his master, with the agreeable news of having received from +him bills of exchange to the amount of five hundred thousand livres, to +be used in whatever manner might be convenient to the king of England's +service. The account which Barillon gives, of the manner in which this +sum was received, is altogether ridiculous: the king's eyes were full of +tears, and three of his ministers, Rochester, Sunderland, and Godolphin, +came severally to the French ambassador, to express the sense their +master had of the obligation, in terms the most lavish. Indeed, +demonstrations of gratitude from the king directly, as well as through +his ministers, for this supply were such, as if they had been used by +some unfortunate individual, who, with his whole family, had been saved, +by the timely succour of some kind and powerful protector, from a gaol +and all its horrors, would be deemed rather too strong than too weak. +Barillon himself seems surprised when he relates them; but imputes them +to what was probably their real cause, to the apprehensions that had been +entertained (very unreasonable ones!) that the king of France might no +longer choose to interfere in the affairs of England, and consequently +that his support could not be relied on for the grand object of +assimilating this government to his own. + +If such apprehensions did exist, it is probable that they were chiefly +owing to the very careless manner, to say the least, in which Louis had +of late fulfilled his pecuniary engagements to Charles, so as to amount, +in the opinion of the English ministers, to an actual breach of promise. +But the circumstances were in some respects altered. The French king had +been convinced that Charles would never call a parliament; nay, further +perhaps, that if he did, he would not be trusted by one; and considering +him therefore entirely in his power, acted from that principle in +insolent minds which makes them fond of ill-treating and insulting those +whom they have degraded to a dependence on them. But James would +probably be obliged at the commencement of a new reign to call a +parliament, and if well used by such a body, and abandoned by France, +might give up his project of arbitrary power, and consent to govern +according to the law and constitution. In such an event, Louis easily +foresaw, that, instead of a useful dependent, he might find upon the +throne of England a formidable enemy. Indeed, this prince and his +ministers seem all along, with a sagacity that does them credit, to have +foreseen, and to have justly estimated, the dangers to which they would +be liable, if a cordial union should ever take place between a king of +England and his parliament, and the British councils be directed by men +enlightened and warmed by the genuine principles of liberty. It was +therefore an object of great moment to bind the new king, as early as +possible, to the system of dependency upon France; and matter of less +triumph to the court of Versailles to have retained him by so moderate a +fee, than to that of London to receive a sum which, though small, was +thought valuable, no as an earnest of better wages and future protection. + +It had for some time been Louis's favourite object to annex to his +dominion what remained of the Spanish Netherlands, as well on account of +their own intrinsic value, as to enable him to destroy the United +Provinces and the Prince of Orange; and this object Charles had bound +himself, by treaty with Spain, to oppose. In the joy, therefore, +occasioned by this noble manner of proceeding (for such it was called by +all the parties concerned), the first step was to agree, without +hesitation, that Charles's treaty with Spain determined with his life, a +decision which, if the disregard that had been shown to it did not render +the question concerning it nugatory, it would be difficult to support +upon any principles of national law or justice. The manner in which the +late king had conducted himself upon the subject of this treaty, that is +to say, the violation of it, without formally renouncing it, was gravely +commended, and stated to be no more than what might justly be expected +from him; but the present king was declared to be still more free, and in +no way bound by a treaty, from the execution of which his brother had +judged himself to be sufficiently dispensed. This appears to be a nice +distinction, and what that degree of obligation was, from which James was +exempt, but which had lain upon Charles, who neither thought himself +bound, nor was expected by others to execute the treaty, it is difficult +to conceive. + +This preliminary being adjusted, the meaning of which, through all this +contemptible shuffling, was, that James, by giving up all concern for the +Spanish Netherlands, should be at liberty to acquiesce in, or to second, +whatever might be the ambitious projects of the court of Versailles, it +was determined that Lord Churchill should be sent to Paris to obtain +further pecuniary aids. But such was the impression made by the +frankness and generosity of Louis, that there was no question of +discussing or capitulating, but everything was remitted to that prince, +and to the information his ministers might give him, respecting the +exigency of affairs in England. He who had so handsomely been +beforehand, in granting the assistance of five hundred thousand livres, +was only to be thanked for past, not importuned for future, munificence. +Thus ended, for the present, this disgusting scene of iniquity and +nonsense, in which all the actors seemed to vie with each other in +prostituting the sacred names of friendship, generosity, and gratitude, +in one of the meanest and most criminal transactions which history +records. + +The principal parties in the business, besides the king himself, to whose +capacity, at least, if not to his situation it was more suitable, and +Lord Churchill, who acted as an inferior agent, were Sunderland, +Rochester, and Godolphin, all men of high rank and considerable +abilities, but whose understandings, as well as their principles, seem to +have been corrupted by the pernicious schemes in which they were engaged. +With respect to the last-mentioned nobleman in particular, it is +impossible, without pain, to see him engaged in such transactions. With +what self-humiliation must he not have reflected upon them in subsequent +periods of his life! How little could Barillon guess that he was +negotiating with one who was destined to be at the head of an +administration which, in a few years, would send the same Lord Churchill +not to Paris, to implore Louis for succours towards enslaving England, or +to thank him for pensions to her monarch, but to combine all Europe +against him in the cause of liberty, to rout his armies, to take his +towns, to humble his pride, and to shake to the foundation that fabric of +power which it had been the business of a long life to raise, at the +expense of every sentiment of tenderness to his subjects, and of justice +and good faith to foreign nations. It is with difficulty the reader can +persuade himself that the Godolphin and Churchill here mentioned are the +same persons who were afterwards one in the cabinet, one in the field, +the great conductors of the war of the succession. How little do they +appear in one instance! how great in the other! And the investigation of +the cause to which this excessive difference is principally owing, will +produce a most useful lesson. Is the difference to be attributed to any +superiority of genius in the prince whom they served in the latter period +of their lives? Queen Anne's capacity appears to have been inferior even +to her father's. Did they enjoy in a greater degree her favour and +confidence? The very reverse is the fact. But in one case they were the +tools of a king plotting against his people; in the other, the ministers +of a free government acting upon enlarged principles, and with energies +which no state that is not in some degree republican can supply. How +forcibly must the contemplation of these men, in such opposite +situations, teach persons engaged in political life that a free and +popular government is desirable, not only for the public good, but for +their own greatness and consideration, for every object of generous +ambition! + +The king having, as has been related, first privately communicated his +intentions to the French ambassador, issued proclamations for the meeting +of parliament, and for levying, upon his sole authority, the customs and +other duties which had constituted part of the late king's revenue, but +to which, the acts granting them having expired with the prince, James +was not legally entitled. He was advised by Lord Guildford, whom he had +continued in the office of keeper of the great seal, and who upon such a +subject, therefore, was a person likely to have the greatest weight, to +satisfy himself with directing the money to be kept in the exchequer for +the disposal of parliament, which was shortly to meet; and by others, to +take bonds from the merchants for the duties, to be paid when parliament +should legalise them. But these expedients were not suited to the king's +views, who, as well on account of his engagement with France, as from his +own disposition, was determined to take no step that might indicate an +intention of governing by parliaments, or a consciousness of his being +dependent upon them for his revenue, he adopted, therefore, the advice of +Jeffreys, advice not resulting so much, probably, either from ignorance +or violence of disposition, as from his knowledge that it would be most +agreeable to his master, and directed the duties to be paid as in the +former reign. It was pretended, that an interruption in levying some of +the duties might be hurtful to trade; but as every difficulty of that +kind was obviated by the expedients proposed, this arbitrary and violent +measure can with no colour be ascribed to a regard to public convenience, +nor to any other motive than to a desire of reviving Charles I.'s claims +to the power of taxation, and of furnishing a most intelligible comment +upon his speech to the council on the day of his accession. It became +evident what the king's notions were, with respect to that regal +prerogative from which he professed himself determined never to depart, +and to that property which he would never invade. What were the +remaining rights and liberties of the nation, which he was to preserve, +might be more difficult to discover; but that the laws of England, in the +royal interpretation of them, were sufficient to make the king as great a +monarch as he, or, indeed, any prince could desire, was a point that +could not be disputed. This violation of law was in itself most +flagrant; it was applied to a point well understood, and thought to have +been so completely settled by repeated and most explicit declarations of +the legislature, that it must have been doubtful whether even the most +corrupt judges, if the question had been tried, would have had the +audacity to decide it against the subject. But no resistance was made; +nor did the example of Hampden, which a half century before had been so +successful, and rendered that patriot's name so illustrious, tempt any +one to emulate his fame, so completely had the crafty and sanguinary +measures of the late reign attained the object to which they were +directed, and rendered all men either afraid or unwilling to exert +themselves in the cause of liberty. + +On the other hand, addresses the most servile were daily sent to the +throne. That of the University of Oxford stated that the religion which +they professed bound them to unconditional obedience to their sovereign +without restrictions or limitations; and the Society of Barristers and +Students of the Middle Temple thanked his majesty for the attention he +had shown to the trade of the kingdom, concerning which, and its balance +(and upon this last article they laid particular stress), they seemed to +think themselves peculiarly called upon to deliver their opinion. But +whatever might be their knowledge in matters of trade, it was at least +equal to that which these addressers showed in the laws and constitution +of their country, since they boldly affirmed the king's right to levy the +duties, and declared that it had never been disputed but by persons +engaged, in what they were pleased to call rebellion against his royal +father. The address concluded with a sort of prayer that all his +majesty's subjects might be as good lawyers as themselves, and disposed +to acknowledge the royal prerogative in all its extent. + +If these addresses are remarkable for their servility, that of the +gentlemen and freeholders of the county of Suffolk was no less so for the +spirit of party violence that was displayed in it. They would take care, +they said, to choose representatives who should no more endure those who +had been for the Exclusion Bill, than the last parliament had the +abhorrers of the association; and thus not only endeavoured to keep up +his majesty's resentment against a part of their fellow-subjects, but +engaged themselves to imitate, for the purpose of retaliation, that part +of the conduct of their adversaries which they considered as most illegal +and oppressive. + +It is a remarkable circumstance, that among all the adulatory addresses +of this time, there is not to be found, in any one of them, any +declaration of disbelief in the popish plot, or any charge upon the late +parliament for having prosecuted it, though it could not but be well +known that such topics would, of all others, be most agreeable to the +court. Hence we may collect that the delusion on this subject was by no +means at an end, and that they who, out of a desire to render history +conformable to the principles of poetical justice, attribute the +unpopularity and downfall of the Whigs to the indignation excited by +their furious and sanguinary prosecution of the plot, are egregiously +mistaken. If this had been in any degree the prevailing sentiment, it is +utterly unaccountable that, so far from its appearing in any of the +addresses of these times, this most just ground of reproach upon the Whig +party, and the parliament in which they had had the superiority, was the +only one omitted in them. The fact appears to have been the very reverse +of what such historians suppose, and that the activity of the late +parliamentary leaders, in prosecuting the popish plot, was the principal +circumstance which reconciled the nation, for a time, to their other +proceedings; that their conduct in that business (now so justly +condemned) was the grand engine of their power, and that when that +failed, they were soon overpowered by the united forces of bigotry and +corruption. They were hated by a great part of the nation, not for their +crimes, but for their virtues. To be above corruption is always odious +to the corrupt, and to entertain more enlarged and juster notions of +philosophy and government, is often a cause of alarm to the narrow-minded +and superstitious. In those days particularly it was obvious to refer to +the confusion, greatly exaggerated of the times of the commonwealth; and +it was an excellent watchword of alarm, to accuse every lover of law and +liberty of designs to revive the tragical scene which had closed the life +of the first Charles. In this spirit, therefore, the Exclusion Bill, and +the alleged conspiracies of Sidney and Russell, were, as might naturally +be expected, the chief charges urged against the Whigs; but their conduct +on the subject of the popish plot was so far from being the cause of the +hatred born to them, that it was not even used as a topic of accusation +against them. + +In order to keep up that spirit in the nation, which was thought to be +manifested in the addresses, his majesty ordered the declaration, to +which allusion was made in the last chapter, to be published, interwoven +with a history of the Rye House Plot, which is said to have been drawn by +Dr. Spratt, Bishop of Rochester. The principal drift of this publication +was, to load the memory of Sidney and Russell, and to blacken the +character of the Duke of Monmouth, by wickedly confounding the +consultations holden by them with the plot for assassinating the late +king, and in this object it seems in a great measure to have succeeded. +He also caused to be published an attestation of his brother's having +died a Roman Catholic, together with two papers, drawn up by him, in +favour of that persuasion. This is generally considered to have been a +very ill-advised instance of zeal; but probably James thought, that at a +time when people seemed to be so in love with his power, he might safely +venture to indulge himself in a display of his attachment to his +religion; and perhaps, too, it might be thought good policy to show that +a prince, who had been so highly complimented as Charles had been, for +the restoration and protection of the Church, had, in truth, been a +Catholic, and thus to inculcate an opinion that the Church of England +might not only be safe, but highly favoured, under the reign of a popish +prince. + +Partly from similar motives, and partly to gratify the natural +vindictiveness of his temper, he persevered in a most cruel persecution +of the Protestant dissenters, upon the most frivolous pretences. The +courts of justice, as in Charles's days, were instruments equally ready, +either for seconding the policy or for gratifying the bad passions of the +monarch; and Jeffreys, whom the late king had appointed chief justice of +England a little before Sidney's trial, was a man entirely agreeable to +the temper, and suitable to the purposes, of the present government. He +was thought not to be very learned in his profession; but what might be +wanting in knowledge he made up in positiveness; and, indeed, whatever +might be the difficulties in questions between one subject and another, +the fashionable doctrine, which prevailed at that time, of supporting the +king's prerogative in its full extent, and without restriction or +limitation, rendered, to such as espoused it, all that branch of law +which is called constitutional extremely easy and simple. He was as +submissive and mean to those above him as he was haughty and insolent to +those who were in any degree in his power; and if in his own conduct he +did not exhibit a very nice regard for morality, or even for decency, he +never failed to animadvert upon, and to punish, the most slight deviation +in others with the utmost severity, especially if they were persons whom +he suspected to be no favourites of the court. + +Before this magistrate was brought for trial, by a jury sufficiently +prepossessed in favour of Tory politics, the Rev. Richard Baxter, a +dissenting minister, a pious and learned man, of exemplary character, +always remarkable for his attachment to monarchy, and for leaning to +moderate measures in the differences between the Church and those of his +persuasion. The pretence for this prosecution was a supposed reference +of some passages in one of his works to the bishops of the Church of +England; a reference which was certainly not intended by him, and which +could not have been made out to any jury that had been less prejudiced, +or under any other direction than that of Jeffreys. The real motive was, +the desire of punishing an eminent dissenting teacher, whose reputation +was high among his sect, and who was supposed to favour the political +opinions of the Whigs. He was found guilty, and Jeffreys, in passing +sentence upon him, loaded him with the coarsest reproaches and bitterest +taunts. He called him sometimes, by way of derision, a saint, sometimes, +in plainer terms, an old rogue; and classed this respectable divine, to +whom the only crime imputed was the having spoken disrespectfully of the +bishops of a communion to which he did not belong, with the infamous +Oates, who had been lately convicted of perjury. He finished with +declaring, that it was a matter of public notoriety that there was a +formed design to ruin the king and the nation, in which this old man was +the principal incendiary. Nor is it improbable that this declaration, +absurd as it was, might gain belief at a time when the credulity of the +triumphant party was at its height. + +Of this credulity it seems to be no inconsiderable testimony, that some +affected nicety which James had shown with regard to the ceremonies to be +used towards the French ambassador, was highly magnified, and represented +to be an indication of the different tone that was to be taken by the +present king, in regard to foreign powers, and particularly to the court +of Versailles. The king was represented as a prince eminently jealous of +the national honour, and determined to preserve the balance of power in +Europe, by opposing the ambitious projects of France at the very time +when he was supplicating Louis to be his pensioner, and expressing the +most extravagant gratitude for having been accepted as such. From the +information which we now have, it appears that his applications to Louis +for money were incessant, and that the difficulties were all on the side +of the French court. Of the historians who wrote prior to the inspection +of the papers in the foreign office in France, Burnet is the only one who +seems to have known that James's pretensions of independency with respect +to the French king were (as he terms them) only a show; but there can now +be no reason to doubt the truth of the anecdote which he relates, that +Louis soon after told the Duke of Villeroy, that if James showed any +apparent uneasiness concerning the balance of power (and there is some +reason to suppose he did) in his conversations with the Spanish and other +foreign ambassadors, his intention was, probably, to alarm the court of +Versailles, and thereby to extort pecuniary assistance to a greater +extent; while, on the other hand, Louis, secure in the knowledge that his +views of absolute power must continue him in dependence upon France, +seems to have refused further supplies, and even in some measure to have +withdrawn those which had been stipulated, as a mark of his displeasure +with his dependant, for assuming a higher tone than he thought becoming. + +Whether with a view of giving some countenance to those who were praising +him upon the above mentioned topic, or from what other motive it is now +not easy to conjecture, James seems to have wished to be upon apparent +good terms, at least, with the Prince of Orange; and after some +correspondence with that prince concerning the protection afforded by him +and the states-general to Monmouth, and other obnoxious persons, it +appears that he declared himself, in consequence of certain explanations +and concessions, perfectly satisfied. It is to be remarked, however, +that he thought it necessary to give the French ambassador an account of +this transaction, and in a manner to apologise to him for entering into +any sort of terms with a son-in-law, who was supposed to be hostile in +disposition to the French king. He assured Barillon that a change of +system on the part of the Prince of Orange in regard to Louis, should be +a condition of his reconciliation: he afterwards informed him that the +Prince of Orange had answered him satisfactorily in all other respects, +but had not taken notice of his wish that he should connect himself with +France; but never told him that he had, notwithstanding the prince's +silence on that material point, expressed himself completely satisfied +with him. That a proposition to the Prince of Orange, to connect himself +in politics with Louis would, if made, have been rejected, in the manner +in which the king's account to Barillon implies that it was, there can be +no doubt; but whether James ever had the assurance to make it is more +questionable; for as he evidently acted disingenuously with the +ambassador, in concealing from him the complete satisfaction he had +expressed of the Prince of Orange's present conduct, it is not +unreasonable to suppose that he deceived him still further, and pretended +to have made an application, which he had never hazarded. + +However, the ascertaining of this fact is by no means necessary for the +illustration, either of the general history or of James's particular +character, since it appears that the proposition, if made, was rejected; +and James is, in any case, equally convicted of insincerity, the only +point in question being, whether he deceived the French ambassador, in +regard to the fact of his having made the proposition, or to the +sentiments he expressed upon its being refused. Nothing serves more to +show the dependence in which he considered himself to be upon Louis than +these contemptible shifts to which he condescended, for the purposes of +explaining and apologising for such parts of his conduct as might be +supposed to be less agreeable to that monarch than the rest. An English +parliament acting upon constitutional principles, and the Prince of +Orange, were the two enemies whom Louis most dreaded; and, accordingly, +whenever James found it necessary to make approaches to either of them, +an apology was immediately to be offered to the French ambassador, to +which truth sometimes and honour was always sacrificed. + +Mr. Hume says the king found himself, by degrees, under the necessity of +falling into an union with the French monarch, who could alone assist him +in promoting the Catholic religion in England. But when that historian +wrote, those documents had not been made public, from which the account +of the communications with Barillon has been taken, and by which it +appears that a connection with France was, as well in point of time as in +importance, the first object of his reign, and that the immediate +specific motive to that connection was the same as that of his brother; +the desire of rendering himself independent of parliament, and absolute, +not that of establishing popery in England, which was considered as a +more remote contingency. That this was the case is evident from all the +circumstances of the transaction, and especially from the zeal with which +he was served in it by ministers who were never suspected of any leaning +towards popery, and not one of whom (Sunderland excepted) could be +brought to the measures that were afterwards taken in favour of that +religion. It is the more material to attend to this distinction, because +the Tory historians, especially such of them as are not Jacobites, have +taken much pains to induce us to attribute the violences and illegalities +of this reign to James's religion, which was peculiar to him, rather than +to that desire of absolute power which so many other princes have had, +have, and always will have, in common with him. The policy of such +misrepresentation is obvious. If this reign is to be considered as a +period insulated, as it were, and unconnected with the general course of +history, and if the events of it are to be attributed exclusively to the +particular character and particular attachments of the monarch, the sole +inference will be that we must not have a Catholic for our king; whereas, +if we consider it, which history well warrants us to do, as a part of +that system which had been pursued by all the Stuart kings, as well prior +as subsequent to the restoration, the lesson which it affords is very +different, as well as far more instructive. We are taught, generally, +the dangers Englishmen will always be liable to, if, from favour to a +prince upon the throne, or from a confidence, however grounded, that his +views are agreeable to our own notions of the constitution, we in any +considerable degree abate of that vigilant and unremitting jealousy of +the power of the crown, which can alone secure to us the effect of those +wise laws that have been provided for the benefit of the subject: and +still more particularly, that it is in vain to think of making a +compromise with power, and by yielding to it in other points, preserving +some favourite object, such, for instance, as the Church in James's case, +from its grasp. + +Previous to meeting his English parliament, James directed a parliament +which had been summoned in the preceding reign, to assemble at Edinburgh, +and appointed the Duke of Queensbury his commissioner. This appointment +is, in itself, a strong indication that the king's views, with regard to +Scotland at least, were similar to those which I have ascribed to him in +England; and that they did not at that time extend to the introduction of +popery, but were altogether directed to the establishment of absolute +power as the _end_, and to the support of an episcopal church, upon the +model of the Church of England, as the _means_. For Queensbury had +explained himself to his majesty in the fullest manner upon the subject +of religion; and while he professed himself to be ready (as, indeed, his +conduct in the late reign had sufficiently proved) to go any length in +supporting royal power and in persecuting the Presbyterians, had made it +a condition of his services, that he might understand from his majesty +that there was no intention of changing the established religion; for if +such was the object, he could not make any one step with him in that +matter. James received this declaration most kindly, assured him he had +no such intention, and that he would have a parliament, to which he, +Queensbury, should go as commissioner, and giving all possible assurances +in the matter of religion, get the revenue to be settled, and such other +laws to be passed as might be necessary for the public safety. With +these promises the duke was not only satisfied at the time, but declared, +at a subsequent period, that they had been made in so frank and hearty a +manner, as made him conclude that it was impossible the king should be +acting a part. And this nobleman was considered, and is handed down to +us by contemporary writers, as a man of a penetrating genius, nor has it +ever been the national character of the country to which he belonged to +be more liable to be imposed upon than the rest of mankind. + +The Scottish parliament met on the 23rd of April, and was opened by the +commissioner, with the following letter from the king:-- + + "My Lords and Gentlemen,--The many experiences we have had of the + loyalty and exemplary forwardness of that our ancient kingdom, by + their representatives in parliament assembled, in the reign of our + deceased and most entirely beloved brother of ever blessed memory, + made us desirous to call you at this time, in the beginning of our + reign, to give you an opportunity, not only of showing your duty to us + in the same manner, but likewise of being exemplary to others in your + demonstrations of affection to our person and compliance with our + desires, as you have most eminently been in times past, to a degree + never to be forgotten by us, nor (we hope) to be contradicted by your + future practices. That which we are at this time to propose unto you + is what is as necessary for your safety as our service, and what has a + tendency more to secure your own privileges and properties than the + aggrandising our power and authority (though in it consists the + greatest security of your rights and interests, these never having + been in danger, except when the royal power was brought too low to + protect them), which now we are resolved to maintain, in its greatest + lustre, to the end we may be the more enabled to defend and protect + your religion as established by law, and your rights and properties + (which was our design in calling this parliament) against fanatical + contrivances, murderers, and assassins, who having no fear of God, + more than honour for us, have brought you into such difficulties as + only the blessing of God upon the steady resolutions and actings of + our said dearest royal brother, and those employed by him (in + prosecution of the good and wholesome laws, by you heretofore + offered), could have saved you from the most horrid confusions and + inevitable ruin. Nothing has been left unattempted by those wild and + inhuman traitors for endeavouring to overturn your peace; and + therefore we have good reason to hope that nothing will be wanting in + you to secure yourselves and us from their outrages and violence in + time coming, and to take care that such conspirators meet with their + just deservings, so as others may thereby be deterred from courses so + little agreeable to religion, or their duty and allegiance to us. + These things we considered to be of so great importance to our royal, + as well as the universal, interest of that our kingdom, that we were + fully resolved, in person, to have proposed the needful remedies to + you. But things having so fallen out as render this impossible for + us, we have now thought fit to send our right trusty and right + entirely beloved cousin and councillor, William, Duke of Queensbury, + to be our commissioner amongst you, of whose abilities and + qualifications we have reason to be fully satisfied, and of whose + faithfulness to us, and zeal for our interest, we have had signal + proofs in the times of our greatest difficulties. Him we have fully + intrusted in all things relating to our service and your own + prosperity and happiness, and therefore you are to give him entire + trust and credit, as you now see we have done, from whose prudence and + your most dutiful affection to us, we have full confidence of your + entire compliance and assistance in all those matters, wherein he is + instructed as aforesaid. We do, therefore, not only recommend unto + you that such things be done as are necessary in this juncture for + your own peace, and the support of our royal interest, of which we had + so much experience when amongst you, that we cannot doubt of your full + and ample expressing the same on this occasion, by which the great + concern we have in you, our ancient and kindly people, may still + increase, and you may transmit your loyal actions (as examples of + duty) to your posterity. In full confidence whereof we do assure you + of your royal favour and protection in all your concerns, and so we + bid you heartily farewell." + +This letter deserves the more attention because, as the proceedings of +the Scotch parliament, according to a remarkable expression in the letter +itself, were intended to be an example to others, there is the greatest +reason to suppose the matter of it must have been maturely weighed and +considered. His majesty first compliments the Scotch parliament upon +their peculiar loyalty and dutiful behaviour in past times, meaning, no +doubt, to contrast their conduct with that of those English parliaments +who had passed the Exclusion Bill, the Disbanding Act, the Habeas Corpus +Act, and other measures hostile to his favourite principles of +government. He states the granting of an independent revenue, and the +supporting the prerogative in its greatest lustre, if not the +aggrandising of it, to be necessary for the preservation of their +religion, established by law (that is, the Protestant episcopacy), as +well as for the security of their properties against fanatical assassins +and murderers; thus emphatically announcing a complete union of interests +between the crown and the Church. He then bestows a complete and +unqualified approbation of the persecuting measures of the last reign, in +which he had borne so great a share; and to those measures, and to the +steadiness with which they had been persevered in, he ascribes the escape +of both Church and State from the fanatics, and expresses his regret that +he could not be present, to propose in person the other remedies of a +similar nature, which he recommended as needful in the present +conjuncture. + +Now it is proper in this place to inquire into the nature of the measures +thus extolled, as well for the purpose of elucidating the characters of +the king and his Scottish minsters, as for that of rendering more +intelligible the subsequent proceedings of the parliament, and the other +events which soon after took place in that kingdom. Some general notions +may be formed of that course of proceedings which, according to his +majesty's opinion, had been so laudably and resolutely pursued during the +late reign, from the circumstances alluded to in the preceding chapter, +when it is understood that the sentences of Argyle and Laurie of +Blackwood were not detached instances of oppression, but rather a sample +of the general system of administration. The covenant, which had been so +solemnly taken by the whole kingdom, and, among the rest, by the king +himself, had been declared to be unlawful, and a refusal to abjure it had +been made subject to the severest penalties. Episcopacy, which was +detested by a great majority of the nation, had been established, and all +public exercise of religion, in the forms to which the people were most +attached, had been prohibited. The attendance upon field conventicles +had been made highly penal, and the preaching at them capital, by which +means, according to the computation of a late writer, no less remarkable +for the accuracy of his facts than for the force and justness of his +reasonings, at least seventeen thousand persons in one district were +involved in criminality, and became the objects of persecution. After +this letters had been issued by government, forbidding the intercommuning +with persons who had neglected or refused to appear before the Privy +Council, when cited for the above crimes, a proceeding by which not only +all succour or assistance to such persons, but, according to the strict +sense of the word made use of, all intercourse with them, was rendered +criminal, and subjected him who disobeyed the prohibition to the same +penalties, whether capital or others, which were affixed to the alleged +crimes of the party with whom he had intercommuned. + +These measures not proving effectual for the purpose for which they were +intended, or, as some say, the object of Charles II.'s government being +to provoke an insurrection, a demand was made upon the landholders in the +district supposed to be most disaffected of bonds, whereby they were to +become responsible for their wives, families, tenants, and servants, and +likewise for the wives, families, and servants of their tenants, and, +finally, for all persons living upon their estates, that they should not +withdraw from the Church, frequent or preach at conventicles, nor give +any succour, or have any intercourse with persons with whom it was +forbidden to intercommune; and the penalties attached to the breach of +this engagement, the keeping of which was obviously out of the power of +him who was required to make it, were to be the same as those, whether +capital or other, to which the several persons for whom he engaged might +be liable. The landholders, not being willing to subscribe to their own +destruction, refused to execute the bonds, and this was thought +sufficient grounds for considering the district to which they belonged as +in a state of rebellion. English and Irish armies were ordered to the +frontiers; a train of artillery and the militia were sent into the +district itself; and six thousand Highlanders, who were let loose upon +its inhabitants, to exercise every species of pillage and plunder were +connived at, or rather encouraged, in excesses of a still more atrocious +nature. + +The bonds being still refused, the government had recourse to an +expedient of a most extraordinary nature, and issued what the Scotch +called a writ of Lawburrows against the whole district. This writ of +Lawburrows is somewhat analogous to what we call "swearing the peace" +against any one, and had hitherto been supposed, as the other is with us, +to be applicable to the disputes of private individuals, and to the +apprehensions which, in consequence of such disputes, they may mutually +entertain of each other. A government swearing the peace against its +subjects was a new spectacle; but if a private subject, under fear of +another, hath a right to such a security, how much more the government +itself? was thought an unanswerable argument. Such are the sophistries +which tyrants deem satisfactory. Thus are they willing even to descend +from their loftiness into the situation of subjects or private men, when +it is for the purpose of acquiring additional powers of persecution; and +thus truly formidable and terrific are they, when they pretend alarm and +fear. By these writs the persons against whom they were directed were +bound, as in case of the former bonds, to conditions which were not in +their power to fulfil, such as the preventing of conventicles and the +like, under such penalties as the Privy Council might inflict, and a +disobedience to them was followed by outlawry and confiscation. + +The conduct of the Duke of Lauderdale, who was the chief actor in these +scenes of violence and iniquity, was completely approved and justified at +court; but in consequence probably of the state of politics in England at +a time when the Whigs were strongest in the House of Commons, some of +these grievances were in part redressed, and the Highlanders, and writs +of Lawburrows were recalled. But the country was still treated like a +conquered country. The Highlanders were replaced by an army of five +thousand regulars, and garrisons were placed in private houses. The +persecution of conventicles continued, and ample indemnity was granted +for every species of violence that might be exercised by those employed +to suppress them. In this state of things the assassination and murder +of Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrews, by a troop of fanatics, who had been +driven to madness by the oppression of Carmichael, one of that prelate's +instruments, while it gave an additional spur to the vindictive temper of +the government, was considered by it as a justification for every mode +and degree of cruelty and persecution. The outrage committed by a few +individuals was imputed to the whole fanatic sect, as the government +termed them, or, in other words, to a description of people which +composed a great majority of the population in the Lowlands of Scotland; +and those who attended field or armed conventicles were ordered to be +indiscriminately massacred. + +By such means an insurrection was at last produced, which, from the +weakness, or, as some suppose, from the wicked policy of an +administration eager for confiscations, and desirous of such a state of +the country as might, in some measure, justify their course of +government, made such a progress that the insurgents became masters of +Glasgow and the country adjacent. To quell these insurgents, who, +undisciplined as they were, had defeated Graham, afterwards Viscount +Dundee, the Duke of Monmouth was sent with an army from England; but, +lest the generous mildness of his nature should prevail, he had sealed +orders which he was not to open till in sight of the rebels, enjoining +him not to treat with them, but to fall upon them without any previous +negotiation. In pursuance of these orders the insurgents were attacked +at Bothwell Bridge, where, though they were entirely routed and +dispersed, yet because those who surrendered at discretion were not put +to death, and the army, by the strict enforcing of discipline, were +prevented from plunder and other outrages, it was represented by James, +and in some degree even by the king, that Monmouth had acted as if he had +meant rather to put himself at the head of the fanatics than to repel +them, and were inclined rather to court their friendship than to punish +their rebellion. All complaints against Lauderdale were dismissed, his +power confirmed, and an act of indemnity, which had been procured at +Monmouth's intercession, was so clogged with exceptions as to be of +little use to any but to the agents of tyranny. Several persons, who +were neither directly nor indirectly concerned in the murder of the +archbishop, were executed as an expiation for that offence; but many more +were obliged to compound for their lives by submitting to the most +rapacious extortion, which at this particular period seems to have been +the engine of oppression most in fashion, and which was extended not only +to those who had been in any way concerned in the insurrection, but to +those who had neglected to attend the standard of the king, when +displayed against what was styled, in the usual insulting language of +tyrants, a most unnatural rebellion. + +The quiet produced by such means was, as might be expected, of no long +duration. Enthusiasm was increased by persecution, and the fanatic +preachers found no difficulty in persuading their flocks to throw off all +allegiance to a government which afforded them no protection. The king +was declared to be an apostate from the government, a tyrant, and an +usurper; and Cargill, one of the most enthusiastic among the preachers, +pronounced a formal sentence of excommunication against him, his brother +the Duke of York, and others, their ministers and abettors. This outrage +upon majesty together with an insurrection contemptible in point of +numbers and strength, in which Cameron, another field-preacher, had been +killed, furnished a pretence which was by no means neglected for new +cruelties and executions; but neither death nor torture were sufficient +to subdue the minds of Cargill and his intrepid followers. They all +gloried in their sufferings; nor could the meanest of them be brought to +purchase their lives by a retractation of their principles, or even by +any expression that might be construed into an approbation of their +persecutors. The effect of this heroic constancy upon the minds of their +oppressors was to persuade them not to lessen the numbers of executions, +but to render them more private, whereby they exposed the true character +of their government, which was not severity, but violence; not justice, +but vengeance: for example being the only legitimate end of punishment, +where that is likely to encourage rather than to deter (as the government +in these instances seems to have apprehended), and consequently to prove +more pernicious than salutary, every punishment inflicted by the +magistrate is cruelty, every execution murder. The rage of punishment +did not stop even here, but questions were put to persons, and in many +instances to persons under torture, who had not been proved to have been +in any of the insurrections, whether they considered the archbishop's +assassination as murder, the rising at Bothwell Bridge rebellion, and +Charles a lawful king. The refusal to answer these questions, or the +answering of them in an unsatisfactory manner, was deemed a proof of +guilt, and immediate execution ensued. + +These last proceedings had taken place while James himself had the +government in his hands, and under his immediate directions. Not long +after, and when the exclusionists in England were supposed to be entirely +defeated, was passed (James being the king's commissioner), the famous +bill of succession, declaring that no difference of religion, nor any +statute or law grounded upon such, or any other pretence, could defeat +the hereditary right of the heir to the crown, and that to propose any +limitation upon the future administration of such heir was high treason. +But the Protestant religion was to be secured; for those who were most +obsequious to the court, and the most willing and forward instruments of +its tyranny, were, nevertheless, zealous Protestants. A test was +therefore framed for this purpose, which was imposed upon all persons +exercising any civil or military functions whatever, the royal family +alone excepted; but to the declaration of adherence to the Protestant +religion was added a recognition of the king's supremacy in +ecclesiastical matters, and a complete renunciation in civil concerns of +every right belonging to a free subject. An adherence to the Protestant +religion, according to the confession of it referred to in the test, +seemed to some inconsistent with the acknowledgment of the king's +supremacy and that clause of the oath which related to civil matters, +inasmuch as it declared against endeavouring at any alteration in the +Church or State, seemed incompatible with the duties of a counsellor or a +member of parliament. Upon these grounds the Earl of Argyle, in taking +the oath, thought fit to declare as follows:-- + +"I have considered the test, and I am very desirous to give obedience as +far as I can. I am confident the parliament never intended to impose +contradictory oaths; therefore I think no man can explain it but for +himself. Accordingly I take it, as far as it is consistent with itself +and the Protestant religion. And I do declare that I mean not to bind up +myself in my station, and in a lawful way, to wish and endeavour any +alteration I think to the advantage of the Church or State, not repugnant +to the Protestant religion and my loyalty. And this I understand as a +part of the oath." And for this declaration, though unnoticed at the +time, he was in a few days afterwards committed, and shortly after +sentenced to die. Nor was the test applied only to those for whom it had +been originally instituted, but by being offered to those numerous +classes of people who were within the reach of the late severe criminal +laws, as an alternative for death or confiscation, it might fairly be +said to be imposed upon the greater part of the country. + +Not long after these transactions James took his final leave of the +government, and in his parting speech recommended, in the strongest +terms, the support of the Church. This gracious expression, the +sincerity of which seemed to be evinced by his conduct to the +conventiclers and the severity with which he had enforced the test, +obtained him a testimonial from the bishops of his affection to their +Protestant Church, a testimonial to which, upon the principle that they +are the best friends to the Church who are most willing to persecute such +as dissent from it, he was, notwithstanding his own nonconformity, most +amply entitled. + +Queensbury's administration ensued, in which the maxims that had guided +his predecessors were so far from being relinquished, that they were +pursued, if possible, with greater steadiness and activity. Lawrie of +Blackwood was condemned for having holden intercourse with a rebel, whose +name was not to be found in any of the lists of the intercommuned or +proscribed; and a proclamation was issued, threatening all who were in +like circumstances with a similar fate. The intercourse with rebels +having been in great parts of the kingdom promiscuous and universal, more +than twenty thousand persons were objects of this menace. Fines and +extortions of all kinds were employed to enrich the public treasury, to +which, therefore, the multiplication of crimes became a fruitful source +of revenue; and lest it should not be sufficiently so, husbands were made +answerable (and that too with a retrospect) for the absence of their +wives from church; a circumstance which the Presbyterian women's aversion +to the episcopal form of worship had rendered very general. + +This system of government, and especially the rigour with which those +concerned in the late insurrections, the excommunication of the king, or +the other outrages complained of, were pursued and hunted sometimes by +bloodhounds, sometimes by soldiers almost equally savage, and afterwards +shot like wild beasts, drove some of those sectaries who were styled +Cameronians, and other proscribed persons, to measures of absolute +desperation. They made a declaration, which they caused to be affixed to +different churches, importing, that they would use the law of +retaliation, and "we will," said they, "punish as enemies to God, and to +the covenant, such persons as shall make it their work to imbrue their +hands in our blood; and chiefly, if they shall continue obstinately and +with habitual malice to proceed against us," with more to the like +effect. Upon such an occasion the interference of government became +necessary. The government did indeed interfere, and by a vote of council +ordered, that whoever owned, or refused to disown, the declaration on +oath, should be put to death in the presence of two witnesses, though +unarmed when taken. The execution of this massacre in the welvet +counties which were principally concerned, was committed to the military, +and exceeded, if possible, the order itself. The disowning the +declaration was required to be in a particular form prescribed. Women, +obstinate in their fanaticism, lest female blood should be a stain upon +the swords of soldiers engaged in this honourable employment, were +drowned. The habitations, as well of those who had fled to save +themselves, as of those who suffered, were burnt and destroyed. Such +members of the families of the delinquents as were above twelve years old +were imprisoned for the purpose of being afterwards transported. The +brutality of the soldiers was such as might be expected from an army let +loose from all restraint, and employed to execute the royal justice, as +it was called, upon wretches. Graham who has been mentioned before, and +who, under the title of Lord Dundee, a title which was probably conferred +upon him by James for these or similar services, was afterwards esteemed +such a hero among the Jacobite party, particularly distinguished himself. +Of six unarmed fugitives whom he seized, he caused four to be shot in his +presence, nor did the remaining two experience any other mercy from him +than a delay of their doom; and at another time, having intercepted the +flight of one of these victims, he had him shown to his family, and then +murdered in the arms of his wife. The example of persons of such high +rank, and who must be presumed to have had an education in some degree +correspondent to their station, could not fail of operating upon men of a +lower order in society. The carnage became every day more general and +more indiscriminate, and the murder of peasants in their houses, or while +employed at their usual work in the fields, by the soldiers, was not only +not reproved or punished, but deemed a meritorious service by their +superiors. The demise of King Charles, which happened about this time, +caused no suspension or relaxation in these proceedings, which seemed to +have been the crowning measure, as it were, or finishing stroke of that +system, for the steady perseverance in which James so much admired the +resolution of his brother. + +It has been judged necessary to detail these transactions in a manner +which may, to some readers, appear an impertinent digression from the +narrative in which this history is at present engaged, in order to set in +a clearer light some points of the greatest importance. In the first +place, from the summary review of the affairs of Scotland, and from the +complacency with which James looks back to his own share of them, joined +to the general approbation he expressed of the conduct of government in +that kingdom, we may form a pretty just notion, as well of his maxims of +policy, as of his temper and disposition in matters where his bigotry to +the Roman Catholic religion had no share. For it is to be observed and +carefully kept in mind, that the Church, of which he not only recommends +the support, but which be showed himself ready to maintain by the most +violent means, is the Episcopalian Church of the Protestants; that the +test which he enforced at the point of the bayonet was a Protestant test, +so much so indeed, that he himself could not take it; and that the more +marked character of the conventicles, the objects of his persecution, was +not so much that of heretics excommunicated by the Pope, as of dissenters +from the Church of England, and irreconcilable enemies to the Protestant +liturgy and the Protestant episcopacy. But he judged the Church of +England to be a most fit instrument for rendering the monarchy absolute. +On the other hand, the Presbyterians were thought naturally hostile to +the principles of passive obedience, and to one or other, or with more +probability to both of these considerations, joined to the natural +violence of his temper, is to be referred the whole of his conduct in +this part of his life, which in this view is rational enough; but on the +supposition of his having conceived thus early the intention of +introducing popery upon the ruins of the Church of England, is wholly +unaccountable, and no less absurd, than if a general were to put himself +to great cost and pains to furnish with ammunition and to strengthen with +fortifications a place of which he was actually meditating the attack. + +The next important observation that occurs, and to which even they who +are most determined to believe that this prince had always popery in +view, and held every other consideration as subordinate to that primary +object, must nevertheless subscribe, is that the most confidential +advisors, as well as the most furious supporters of the measures we have +related, were not Roman Catholics. Lauderdale and Queensbury were both +Protestants. There is no reason, therefore, to impute any of James's +violence afterwards to the suggestions of his Catholic advisers, since he +who had been engaged in the series of measures above related with +Protestant counsellors and coadjutors, had surely nothing to learn from +papists (whether priests, jesuits, or others) in the science of tyranny. +Lastly, from this account we are enabled to form some notion of the state +of Scotland at a time when the parliament of that kingdom was called to +set an example for this, and we find it to have been a state of more +absolute slavery than at that time subsisted in any part of Christendom. + +The affairs of Scotland being in the state which we have described, it is +no wonder that the king's letter was received with acclamations of +applause, and that the parliament opened, not only with approbation of +the government, but even with an enthusiastic zeal to signalise their +loyalty, as well by a perfect acquiescence to the king's demands, as by +the most fulsome expressions of adulation. "What prince in Europe, or in +the whole world," said the chancellor Perth, "was ever like the late +king, except his present majesty, who had undergone every trial of +prosperity and adversity, and whose unwearied clemency was not among the +least conspicuous of his virtues? To advance his honour and greatness +was the duty of all his subjects, and ought to be the endeavour of their +lives without reserve." The parliament voted an address, scarcely less +adulatory than the chancellor's speech. + + "May it please your sacred majesty--Your majesty's gracious and kind + remembrance of the services done by this, your ancient kingdom, to the + late king your brother, of ever glorious memory, shall rather raise in + us ardent desires to exceed whatever we have done formerly, than make + us consider them as deserving the esteem your majesty is pleased to + express of them in your letter to us dated the twenty-eighth of March. + The death of that our excellent monarch is lamented by us to all the + degrees of grief that are consistent with our great joy for the + succession of your sacred majesty, who has not only continued, but + secured the happiness which his wisdom, his justice, and clemency + procured to us: and having the honour to be the first parliament which + meets by your royal authority, of which we are very sensible, your + majesty may be confident that we will offer such laws as may best + secure your majesty's sacred person, the royal family and government, + and be so exemplary loyal, as to raise your honour and greatness to + the utmost of our power, which we shall ever esteem both our duty and + interest. Nor shall we leave anything undone for extirpating all + fanaticism, but especially those fanatical murderers and assassins, + and for detecting and punishing the late conspirators, whose + pernicious and execrable designs did so much tend to subvert your + majesty's government, and ruin us and all your majesty's faithful + subjects. We can assure your majesty, that the subjects of this your + majesty's ancient kingdom are so desirous to exceed all their + predecessors in extraordinary marks of affection and obedience to your + majesty, that (God be praised) the only way to be popular with us is + to be eminently loyal. Your majesty's care of us, when you took us to + be your special charge, your wisdom in extinguishing the seeds of + rebellion and faction amongst us, your justice, which was so great as + to be for ever exemplary, but above all, your majesty's free and + cheerful securing to us our religion, when your were the late king's, + your royal brother's commissioner, now again renewed, when you are our + sovereign, are what your subjects here can never forget, and therefore + your majesty may expect that we will think your commands sacred as + your person, and that your inclination will prevent our debates; nor + did ever any who represented our monarchs as their commissioners + (except your royal self) meet with greater respect, or more exact + observance from a parliament, than the Duke of Queensbury (whom your + majesty has so wisely chosen to represent you in this, and of whose + eminent loyalty and great abilities in all his former employments this + nation hath seen so many proofs) shall find from + + "May it please your sacred majesty, your majesty's most humble, most + faithful, and most obedient subjects and servants, + + "PERTH, Cancell." + +Nor was this spirit of loyalty (as it was then called) of abject slavery, +and unmanly subservience to the will of a despot, as it has been justly +denominated by the more impartial judgment of posterity, confined to +words only. Acts were passed to ratify all the late judgments, however +illegal or iniquitous, to indemnify the privy council, judges, and all +officers of the crown, civil or military, for all the violences they had +committed; to authorise the privy council to impose the test upon all +ranks of people under such penalties as that board might think fit to +impose; to extend the punishment of death which had formerly attached +upon the preachers at field conventicles only, to all their auditors, and +likewise to the preachers at house conventicles; to subject to the +penalties of treason all persons who should give or take the covenant, or +write in defence thereof, or in any other way own it to be obligatory; +and lastly, in a strain of tyranny, for which there was, it is believed, +no precedent, and which certainly has never been surpassed, to enact that +all such persons as being cited in cases of high treason, field or house +conventicles, or church irregularities, should refuse to give testimony, +should be liable to the punishment due by law to the criminals against +whom they refused to be witnesses. It is true that an act was also +passed for confirming all former statutes in favour of the Protestant +religion as then established, in their whole strength and tenour, as if +they were particularly set down and expressed in the said act; but when +we recollect the notions which Queensbury at that time entertained of the +king's views, this proceeding forms no exception to the general system of +servility which characterised both ministers and parliament. All matters +in relation to revenue were of course settled in the manner most +agreeable to his majesty's wishes and the recommendation of his +commissioner. + +While the legislature was doing its part, the executive government was +not behindhand in pursuing the system which had been so much commended. A +refusal to abjure the declaration in the terms prescribed, was everywhere +considered as sufficient cause for immediate execution. In one part of +the country information having been received that a corpse had been +clandestinely buried, an inquiry took place; it was dug up, and found to +be that of a person proscribed. Those who had interred him were +suspected, not of having murdered, but of having harboured him. For this +crime their house was destroyed, and the women and children of the family +being driven out to wander as vagabonds, a young man belonging to it was +executed by the order of Johnston of Westerraw. Against this murder even +Graham himself is said to have remonstrated, but was content with +protesting that the blood was not upon his head; and not being able to +persuade a Highland officer to execute the order of Johnston, ordered his +own men to shoot the unhappy victim. In another county three females, +one of sixty-three years of age, one of eighteen, and one of twelve, were +charged with rebellion; and refusing to abjure the declaration, were +sentenced to be drowned. The last was let off upon condition of her +father's giving a bond for a hundred pounds. The elderly woman, who is +represented as a person of eminent piety, bore her fate with the greatest +constancy, nor does it appear that her death excited any strong +sensations in the minds of her savage executioners. The girl of eighteen +was more pitied, and after many entreaties, and having been once under +water, was prevailed upon to utter some words which might be fairly +construed into blessing the king, a mode of obtaining pardon not +unfrequent in cases where the persecutors were inclined to relent. Upon +this it was thought she was safe, but the merciless barbarian who +superintended this dreadful business was not satisfied; and upon her +refusing the abjuration, she was again plunged into the water, where she +expired. It is to be remarked that being at Bothwell Bridge and Air's +Moss were among the crimes stated in the indictment of all the three, +though, when the last of these affairs happened, one of the girls was +only thirteen, and the other not eight years of age. At the time of the +Bothwell Bridge business, they were still younger. To recite all the +instances of cruelty which occurred would be endless; but it may be +necessary to remark that no historical facts are better ascertained than +the accounts of them which are to be found in Woodrow. In every instance +where there has been an opportunity of comparing these accounts with +records, and other authentic monuments, they appear to be quite correct. + +The Scottish parliament having thus set, as they had been required to do, +an eminent example of what was then thought duty to the crown, the king +met his English parliament on the 19th of May, 1685, and opened it with +the following speech:-- + + "My lords and gentlemen,--After it pleased Almighty God to take to his + mercy the late king, my dearest brother, and to bring me to the + peaceable possession of the throne of my ancestors, I immediately + resolved to call a parliament, as the best means to settle everything + upon these foundations as may make my reign both easy and happy to + you; towards which I am disposed to contribute all that is fit for me + to do. + + "What I said to my privy council at my first coming there I am + desirous to renew to you, wherein I fully declare my opinion + concerning the principles of the Church of England, whose members have + showed themselves so eminently loyal in the worst of times in defence + of my father and support of my brother (of blessed memory), that I + will always take care to defend and support it. I will make it my + endeavour to preserve this government, both in Church and State, as it + is by law established: and as I will never depart from the just rights + and prerogatives of the crown, so I will never invade any man's + property; and you may be sure that having heretofore ventured my life + in the defence of this nation, I will still go as far as any man in + preserving it in all its just rights and liberties. + + "And having given this assurance concerning the care I will have of + your religion and property, which I have chose to do in the same words + which I used at my first coming to the crown, the better to evidence + to you that I spoke them not by chance, and consequently that you may + firmly rely upon a promise so solemnly made, I cannot doubt that I + shall fail of suitable returns from you, with all imaginable duty and + kindness on your part, and particularly to what relates to the + settling of my revenue, and continuing it during my life, as it was in + the lifetime of my brother. I might use many arguments to enforce + this demand for the benefit of trade, the support of the navy, the + necessity of the crown, and the well-being of the government itself, + which I must not suffer to be precarious; but I am confident your own + consideration of what is just and reasonable will suggest to you + whatsoever might be enlarged upon this occasion. + + "There is one popular argument which I foresee may be used against + what I ask of you, from the inclination men have for frequent + parliaments, which some may think would be the best security, by + feeding me from time to time by such proportions as they shall think + convenient. And this argument, it being the first time I speak to you + from the throne, I will answer, once for all, that this would be a + very improper method to take with me; and that the best way to engage + me to meet you often is always to use me well. + + "I expect, therefore, that you will comply with me in what I have + desired, and that you will do it speedily, that this may be a short + session, and that we may meet again to all our satisfactions. + + "My lords and gentlemen,--I must acquaint you that I have had news + this morning from Scotland that Argyle is landed in the West + Highlands, with the men he brought with him from Holland: that there + are two declarations published, one in the name of all those in arms, + the other in his own. It would be too long for me to repeat the + substance of them; it is sufficient to tell you I am charged with + usurpation and tyranny. The shorter of them I have directed to be + forthwith communicated to you. + + "I will take the best care I can that this declaration of their own + faction and rebellion may meet with the reward it deserves; and I will + not doubt but you will be the more zealous to support the government, + and give me my revenue, as I have desired it, without delay." + +The repetition of the words made use of in his first speech to the privy +council shows that, in the opinion of the court, at least, they had been +well chosen, and had answered their purpose; and even the haughty +language which was added, and was little less than a menace to parliament +if it should not comply with his wishes, was not, as it appears, +unpleasing to the party which at that time prevailed, since the revenue +enjoyed by his predecessor was unanimously, and almost immediately, voted +to him for life. It was not remarked, in public at least, that the +king's threat of governing without parliament was an unequivocal +manifestation of his contempt of the law of the country, so distinctly +established, though so ineffectually secured, by the statute of the +sixteenth of Charles II., for holding triennial parliaments. It is said +Lord-keeper Guildford had prepared a different speech for his majesty, +but that this was preferred, as being the king's own words; and, indeed, +that part of it in which he says that he must answer once for all that +the Commons giving such proportions as they might think convenient would +be a very improper way with him, bears, as well as some others, the most +evident marks of its royal origin. It is to be observed, however, that +in arguing for his demand, as he styles it, of revenue, he says, not that +the parliament ought not, but that he must not, suffer the well-being of +the government depending upon such revenue to be precarious; whence it is +evident that he intended to have it understood that if the parliament did +not grant, he purposed to levy a revenue without their consent. It is +impossible that any degree of party spirit should so have blinded men as +to prevent them from perceiving in this speech a determination on the +part of the king to conduct his government upon the principles of +absolute monarchy, and to those who were not so possessed with the love +of royalty, which creates a kind of passionate affection for whoever +happens to be the wearer of the crown, the vindictive manner in which he +speaks of Argyle's invasion might afford sufficient evidence of the +temper in which his power would be administered. In that part of his +speech he first betrays his personal feelings towards the unfortunate +nobleman, whom, in his brother's reign, he had so cruelly and +treacherously oppressed, by dwelling upon his being charged by Argyle +with tyranny and usurpation, and then declares that he will take the best +care, not according to the usual phrases to protect the loyal and well +disposed, and to restore tranquillity, but that the declaration of the +factious and rebellions may meet with the reward it deserves, thus +marking out revenge and punishment as the consequences of victory, upon +which he was most intent. + +It is impossible that in a House of Commons, however composed, there +should not have been many members who disapproved the principles of +government announced in the speech, and who were justly alarmed at the +temper in which it was conceived. But these, overpowered by numbers, and +perhaps afraid of the imputation of being concerned in plots and +insurrections (an imputation which, if they had shown any spirit of +liberty, would most infallibly have been thrown on them), declined +expressing their sentiments; and in the short session which followed +there was an almost uninterrupted unanimity in granting every demand, and +acquiescing in every wish of the government. The revenue was granted +without any notice being taken of the illegal manner in which the king +had levied it upon his own authority. Argyle was stigmatised as a +traitor; nor was any desire expressed to examine his declarations, one of +which seemed to be purposely withheld from parliament. Upon the +communication of the Duke of Monmouth's landing in the west that nobleman +was immediately attainted by bill. The king's assurance was recognised +as a sufficient security for the national religion; and the liberty of +the press was destroyed by the revival of the statute of the 13th and +14th of Charles II. This last circumstance, important as it is, does not +seem to have excited much attention at the time, which, considering the +general principles then in fashion, is not surprising. That it should +have been scarcely noticed by any historian is more wonderful. It is +true, however, that the terror inspired by the late prosecutions for +libels, and the violent conduct of the courts upon such occasions, +rendered a formal destruction of the liberty of the press a matter of +less importance. So little does the magistracy, when it is inclined to +act tyrannically, stand in need of tyrannical laws to effect its purpose. +The bare silence and acquiescence of the legislature is in such a case +fully sufficient to annihilate, practically speaking, every right and +liberty of the subject. + +As the grant of revenue was unanimous, so there does not appear to have +been anything which can justly be styled a debate upon it, though Hume +employs several pages in giving the arguments which, he affirms, were +actually made use of, and, as he gives us to understand, in the House of +Commons, for and against the question; arguments which, on both sides, +seem to imply a considerable love of freedom and jealousy of royal power, +and are not wholly unmixed even with some sentiments disrespectful to the +king. Now I cannot find, either from tradition, or from contemporary +writers, any ground to think that either the reasons which Hume has +adduced, or indeed any other, were urged in opposition to the grant. The +only speech made upon the occasion seems to have been that of Mr. +(afterwards Sir Edward) Seymour, who, though of the Tory party, a +strenuous opposer of the Exclusion Bill, and in general supposed to have +been an approver, if not an adviser, of the tyrannical measures of the +late reign, has the merit of having stood forward singly, to remind the +House of what they owed to themselves and their constituents. He did +not, however, directly oppose the grant, but stated, that the elections +had been carried on under so much court influence, and in other respects +so illegally, that it was the duty of the House first to ascertain who +were the legal members, before they proceeded to other business of +importance. After having pressed this point, he observed that if ever it +were necessary to adopt such an order of proceeding, it was more +peculiarly so now, when the laws and religion of the nation were in +evident peril; that the aversion of the English people to popery, and +their attachment to the laws were such, as to secure these blessings from +destruction by any other instrumentality than that of parliament itself, +which, however, might be easily accomplished, if there were once a +parliament entirely dependent upon the persons who might harbour such +designs; that it was already rumoured that the Test and Habeas Corpus +Acts, the two bulwarks of our religion and liberties, were to be +repealed; that what he stated was so notorious as to need no proof. +Having descanted with force and ability upon these and other topics of a +similar tendency, he urged his conclusion, that the question of royal +revenue ought not to be the first business of the parliament. Whether, +as Burnet thinks, because he was too proud to make any previous +communication of his intentions, or that the strain of his argument was +judged to be too bold for the times, this speech, whatever secret +approbation it might excite, did not receive from any quarter either +applause or support. Under these circumstances it was not thought +necessary to answer him, and the grant was voted unanimously, without +further discussion. + +As Barillon, in the relation of parliamentary proceedings, transmitted by +him to his court, in which he appears at this time to have been very +exact, gives the same description of Seymour's speech and its effects +with Burnet, there can be little doubt but their account is correct. It +will be found as well in this, as in many other instances, that an +unfortunate inattention on the part of the reverend historian to forms +has made his veracity unjustly called in question. He speaks of +Seymour's speech as if it had been a motion in the technical sense of the +word, for inquiring into the elections, which had no effect. Now no +traces remaining of such a motion, and, on the other hand, the elections +having been at a subsequent period inquired into, Ralph almost pronounces +the whole account to be erroneous; whereas the only mistake consists in +giving the name of motion to a suggestion, upon the question of a grant. +It is whimsical enough, that it should be from the account of the French +ambassador that we are enabled to reconcile to the records and to the +forms of the English House of Commons, a relation made by a distinguished +member of the English House of Lords. Sir John Reresby does indeed say, +that among the gentlemen of the House of Commons whom he accidentally +met, they in general seemed willing to settle a handsome revenue upon the +king, and to give him money; but whether their grant should be permanent, +or only temporary, and to be renewed from time to time by parliament, +that the nation might be often consulted, was the question. But besides +the looseness of the expression, which may only mean that the point was +questionable, it is to be observed, that he does not relate any of the +arguments which were brought forward even in the private conversations to +which he refers; and when he afterwards gives an account of what passed +in the House of Commons (where he was present), he does not hint at any +debate having taken place, but rather implies the contrary. + +This misrepresentation of Mr. Hume's is of no small importance, inasmuch +as, by intimating that such a question could be debated at all, and much +more, that it was debated with the enlightened views and bold topics of +argument with which his genius has supplied him, he gives us a very false +notion of the character of the parliament and of the times which he is +describing. It is not improbable, that if the arguments had been used, +which this historian supposes, the utterer of them would have been +expelled, or sent to the Tower; and it is certain that he would not have +been heard with any degree of attention or even patience. + +The unanimous vote for trusting the safety of religion to the king's +declaration passed not without observation, the rights of the Church of +England being the only point upon which, at this time, the parliament +were in any degree jealous of the royal power. The committee of religion +had voted unanimously, "That it is the opinion of the committee, that +this House will stand by his majesty with their lives and fortunes, +according to their bounden duty and allegiance, in defence of the +reformed Church of England, as it is now by law established; and that an +humble address be presented to his majesty, to desire him to issue forth +his royal proclamation, to cause the penal laws to be put in execution +against all dissenters from the Church of England whatsoever." But upon +the report of the House, the question of agreeing with the committee was +evaded by a previous question, and the House, with equal unanimity, +resolved: "That this House doth acquiesce, and entirely rely, and rest +wholly satisfied, on his majesty's gracious word, and repeated +declaration to support and defend the religion of the Church of England, +as it is now by law established, which is dearer to us than our lives." +Mr. Echard, and Bishop Kennet, two writers of different principles, but +both churchmen, assign, as the motive of this vote, the unwillingness of +the party then prevalent in parliament to adopt severe measures against +the Protestant dissenters; but in this notion they are by no means +supported by the account, imperfect as it is, which Sir John Reresby +gives of the debate, for he makes no mention of tenderness towards +dissenters, but states as the chief argument against agreeing with the +committee, that it might excite a jealousy of the king; and Barillon +expressly says, that the first vote gave great offence to the king, still +more to the queen, and that orders were, in consequence, issued to the +court members of the House of Commons to devise some means to get rid of +it. Indeed, the general circumstances of the times are decisive against +the hypothesis of the two reverend historians; nor is it, as far as I +know, adopted by any other historians. The probability seems to be, that +the motion in the committee had been originally suggested by some Whig +member, who could not, with prudence, speak his real sentiments openly, +and who thought to embarrass the government, by touching upon a matter +where the union between the church party and the king would be put to the +severest test. The zeal of the Tories for persecution made them at first +give into the snare; but when, upon reflection, it occurred that the +involving of the Catholics in one common danger with the Protestant +dissenters must be displeasing to the king, they drew back without delay, +and passed the most comprehensive vote of confidence which James could +desire. + +Further to manifest their servility to the king, as well as their +hostility to every principle that could by implication be supposed to be +connected with Monmouth or his cause, the House of Commons passed a bill +for the preservation of his majesty's person, in which, after enacting +that a written or verbal declaration of a treasonable intention should be +tantamount to a treasonable act, they inserted two remarkable clauses, by +one of which to assert the legitimacy of Monmouth's birth, by the other, +to propose in parliament any alteration in the succession of the crown, +were made likewise high treason. We learn from Burnet, that the first +part of this bill was strenuously and warmly debated, and that it was +chiefly opposed by Serjeant Maynard, whose arguments made some impression +even at that time; but whether the serjeant was supported in his +opposition, as the word _chiefly_ would lead us to imagine, or if +supported, by whom, that historian does not mention; and, unfortunately, +neither of Maynard's speech itself, nor indeed of any opposition whatever +to the bill, is there any other trace to be found. The crying injustice +of the clause which subjected a man to the pains of treason merely for +delivering his opinion upon a controverted fact, though he should do no +act in consequence of such opinion, was not, as far as we are informed, +objected to or at all noticed, unless indeed the speech above alluded to, +in which the speaker is said to have descanted upon the general danger of +making words treasonable, be supposed to have been applied to this clause +as well as to the former part of the bill. That the other clause should +have passed without opposition or even observation, must appear still +more extraordinary, when we advert, not only to the nature of the clause +itself, but to the circumstances of there being actually in the House no +inconsiderable number of members who had in the former reign repeatedly +voted for the Exclusion Bill. + +It is worthy of notice, however, that while every principle of criminal +jurisprudence, and every regard to the fundamental rights of the +deliberative assemblies, which make part of the legislature of the +nation, were thus shamelessly sacrificed to the eagerness which, at this +disgraceful period, so generally prevailed of manifesting loyalty, or +rather abject servility to the sovereign, there still remained no small +degree of tenderness for the interests and safety of the Church of +England, and a sentiment approaching to jealousy upon any matter which +might endanger, even by the most remote consequences, or put any +restriction upon her ministers. With this view, as one part of the bill +did not relate to treasons only, but imposed new penalties upon such as +should, by writing, printing, preaching, or other speaking, attempt to +bring the king or his government into hatred or contempt, there was a +special proviso added, "that the asserting and maintaining, by any +writing, printing, preaching, or any other speaking, the doctrine, +discipline, divine worship, or government of the Church of England as it +is now by law established, against popery or any other different or +dissenting opinions, is not intended, and shall not be interpreted or +construed to be any offence within the words or meaning of this Act." It +cannot escape the reader, that only such attacks upon popery as were made +in favour of the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, and no +other, were protected by this proviso, and consequently that, if there +were any real occasion for such a guard, all Protestant dissenters who +should write or speak against the Roman superstition were wholly +unprotected by it, and remained exposed to the danger, whatever it might +be, from which the Church was so anxious to exempt her supporters. + +This bill passed the House of Commons, and was sent up to the House of +Lords on the 30th of June. It was read a first time on that day, but the +adjournment of both houses taking place on the 2nd of July, it could not +make any further progress at that time; and when the parliament met +afterwards in autumn, there was no longer that passionate affection for +the monarch, nor consequently that ardent zeal for servitude which were +necessary to make a law with such clauses and provisoes palatable or even +endurable. + +It is not to be considered as an exception to the general complaisance of +parliament, that the Speaker, when he presented the Revenue Bill, made +use of some strong expressions, declaring the attachment of the Commons +to the national religion. Such sentiments could not be supposed to be +displeasing to James, after the assurances he had given of his regard for +the Church of England. Upon this occasion his majesty made the following +speech:-- + + "My lords and gentlemen,--I thank you very heartily for the bill you + have presented me this day; and I assure you, the readiness and + cheerfulness that has attended the despatch of it is as acceptable to + me as the bill itself. + + "After so happy a beginning, you may believe I would not call upon you + unnecessarily for an extraordinary supply; but when I tell you that + the stores of the navy and ordnance are extremely exhausted, that the + anticipations upon several branches of the revenue are great and + burthensome; that the debts of the king, my brother, to his servants + and family, are such as deserve compassion; that the rebellion in + Scotland, without putting more weight upon it than it really deserves, + must oblige me to a considerable expense extraordinary: I am sure, + such considerations will move you to give me an aid to provide for + those things, wherein the security, the ease, and the happiness of my + government are so much concerned. But above all, I must recommend you + to the care of the navy, the strength and glory of this nation; that + you will put it into such a condition as may make us considered and + respected abroad. I cannot express my concern upon this occasion more + suitable to my own thoughts of it than by assuring you I have a true + English heart, as jealous of the honour of the nation as you can be; + and I please myself with the hopes that by God's blessing and your + assistance, I may carry the reputation of it yet higher in the world + than ever it has been in the time of any of my ancestors; and as I + will not call upon you for supplies but when they are of public use + and advantage, so I promise you, that what you give me upon such + occasions shall be managed with good husbandry; and I will take care + it shall be employed to the uses for which I ask them." + +Rapin, Hume, and Ralph observe upon this speech, that neither the +generosity of the Commons' grant, nor the confidence they expressed upon +religious matters, could extort a kind word in favour of their religion. +But this observation, whether meant as a reproach to him for his want of +gracious feeling to a generous parliament, or as an oblique compliment to +his sincerity, has no force in it. His majesty's speech was spoken +immediately upon, passing the bills which the Speaker presented, and he +could not therefore take notice of the Speaker's words unless he had +spoken extempore; for the custom is not, nor I believe ever was, for the +Speaker to give beforehand copies of addresses of this nature. James +would not certainly have scrupled to repeat the assurances which he had +so lately made in favour of the Protestant religion, as he did not +scruple to talk of his true English heart, honour of the nation, &c., at +a time when he was engaged with France; but the speech was prepared for +an answer to a money bill, not for a question of the Protestant religion +and church, and the false professions in it are adapted to what was +supposed to be the only subject of it. + +The only matter in which the king's views were in any degree thwarted was +the reversal of Lord Stafford's attainder, which, having passed the House +of Lords, not without opposition, was lost in the House of Commons; a +strong proof that the popish plot was still the subject upon which the +opposers of the court had most credit with the public. Mr. Hume, +notwithstanding his just indignation at the condemnation of Stafford, and +his general inclination to approve of royal politics, most unaccountably +justifies the Commons in their rejection of this bill, upon the principle +of its being impolitic at that time to grant so full a justification of +the Catholics, and to throw so foul an imputation upon the Protestants. +Surely if there be one moral duty that is binding upon men in all times, +places, and circumstances, and from which no supposed views of policy can +excuse them, it is that of granting a full justification to the innocent; +and such Mr. Hume considers the Catholics, and especially Lord Stafford, +to have been. The only rational way of accounting for this solitary +instance of non-compliance on the part of the Commons is either to +suppose that they still believed in the reality of the popish plot, and +Stafford's guilt, or that the Church party, which was uppermost, had such +an antipathy to popery, as indeed to every sect whose tenets differed +from theirs, that they deemed everything lawful against its professors. + +On the 2nd of July parliament was adjourned for the purpose of enabling +the principal gentlemen to be present in their respective counties at a +time when their services and influence might be so necessary to +government. It is said that the House of Commons consisted of members so +devoted to James, that he declared there were not forty in it whom he +would not himself have named. But although this may have been true, and +though from the new modelling of the corporations, and the interference +of the court in elections, this parliament, as far as regards the manner +of its being chosen, was by no means a fair representative of the legal +electors of England, yet there is reason to think that it afforded a +tolerably correct sample of the disposition of the nation, and especially +of the Church party, which was then uppermost. + +The general character of the party at this time appears to have been a +high notion of the king's constitutional power, to which was superadded a +kind of religious abhorrence of all resistance to the monarch, not only +in cases where such resistance was directed against the lawful +prerogative, but even in opposition to encroachments which the monarch +might make beyond the extended limits which they assigned to his +prerogative. But these tenets, and still more the principle of conduct +naturally resulting from them, were confined to the civil, as +contra-distinguished from the ecclesiastical polity of the country. In +Church matters they neither acknowledged any very high authority in the +crown, nor were they willing to submit to any royal encroachment on that +side; and a steady attachment to the Church of England, with a +proportionable aversion to all dissenters from it, whether Catholic or +Protestant, was almost universally prevalent among them. A due +consideration of these distinct features in the character of a party so +powerful in Charles's and in James's time, and even when it was lowest +(that is, during the reigns of the two first princes of the House of +Brunswick), by no means inconsiderable, is exceedingly necessary to the +right understanding of English history. It affords a clue to many +passages otherwise unintelligible. For want of a proper attention to +this circumstance, some historians have considered the conduct of the +Tories in promoting the revolution as an instance of great inconsistency. +Some have supposed, contrary to the clearest evidence, that their notions +of passive obedience, even in civil matters, were limited, and that their +support of the government of Charles and James was founded upon a belief +that those princes would never abuse their prerogative for the purpose of +introducing arbitrary sway. But this hypothesis is contrary to the +evidence both of their declarations and their conduct. Obedience without +reserve, an abhorrence of all resistance, as contrary to the tenets of +their religion, are the principles which they professed in their +addresses, their sermons, and their decrees at Oxford; and surely nothing +short of such principles could make men esteem the latter years of +Charles II., and the opening of the reign of his successor, an era of +national happiness and exemplary government. Yet this is the +representation of that period, which is usually made by historians and +other writers of the Church party. "Never were fairer promises on one +side, nor greater generosity on the other," says Mr. Echard. "The king +had as yet, in no instance, invaded the rights of his subjects," says the +author of the Caveat against the Whigs. Thus, as long as James contented +himself with absolute power in civil matters, and did not make use of his +authority against the Church, everything went smooth and easy; nor is it +necessary, in order to account for the satisfaction of the parliament and +people, to have recourse to any implied compromise by which the nation +was willing to yield its civil liberties as the price of retaining its +religious constitution. The truth seems to be, that the king, in +asserting his unlimited power, rather fell in with the humour of the +prevailing party than offered any violence to it. Absolute power in +civil matters, under the specious names of monarchy and prerogative, +formed a most essential part of the Tory creed; but the order in which +Church and king are placed in the favourite device of the party is not +accidental, and is well calculated to show the genuine principles of such +among them as are not corrupted by influence. Accordingly, as the sequel +of this reign will abundantly show, when they found themselves compelled +to make an option, they preferred, without any degree of inconsistency, +their first idol to their second, and when they could not preserve both +Church and king, declared for the former. + +It gives certainly no very flattering picture of the country to describe +it as being in some sense fairly represented by this servile parliament, +and not only acquiescing in, but delighted with the early measures of +James's reign; the contempt of law exhibited in the arbitrary mode of +raising his revenue; his insulting menace to the parliament, that if they +did not use him well, he would govern without them; his furious +persecution of the Protestant dissenters, and the spirit of despotism +which appeared in all his speeches and actions. But it is to be +remembered that these measures were in nowise contrary to the principles +or prejudices of the Church party, but rather highly agreeable to them; +and that the Whigs, who alone were possessed of any just notions of +liberty, were so outnumbered and discomforted by persecution, that such +of them as did not think fit to engage in the rash schemes of Monmouth or +Argyle, held it to be their interest to interfere as little as possible +in public affairs, and by no means to obtrude upon unwilling hearers +opinions and sentiments which, ever since the dissolution of the Oxford +parliament, in 1681, had been generally discountenanced, and of which the +peaceable, or rather triumphant, accession of James to the throne was +supposed to seal the condemnation. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Attempts of Argyle and Monmouth--Account of their followers--Argyle's +expedition discovered--His descent in Argyleshire--Dissensions among his +followers--Loss of his shipping--His army dispersed, and himself taken +prisoner--His behaviour in prison--His execution--The fate of his +followers--Rumbold's last declaration examined--Monmouth's invasion of +England--His first success and reception--His delays, disappointment, and +despondency--Battle of Sedgmoor--He is discovered and taken--His letter +to the king--His interview with James--His preparations for +death--Circumstances attending his execution--His character. + +It is now necessary to give some account of those attempts in Scotland by +the Earl of Argyle, and in England by the Duke of Monmouth, of which the +king had informed his parliament in the manner recited in the preceding +chapter. The Earl of Argyle was son to the Marquis of Argyle, of whose +unjust execution, and the treacherous circumstances accompanying it, +notice has already been taken. He had in his youth been strongly +attached to the royal cause, and had refused to lay down his arms till he +had the exiled king's positive orders for that purpose. But the merit of +his early services could neither save the life of his father, nor even +procure for himself a complete restitution of his family honours and +estates; and not long after the restoration, upon an accusation of +leasing-making, an accusation founded, in this instance, upon a private +letter to a fellow-subject, in which he spoke with some freedom of his +majesty's Scottish ministry, he was condemned to death. The sentence was +suspended and finally remitted, but not till after an imprisonment of +twelve months and upwards. In this affair he was much assisted by the +friendship of the Duke of Lauderdale, with whom he ever afterwards lived +upon terms of friendship, though his principles would not permit him to +give active assistance to that nobleman in his government of Scotland. +Accordingly, we do not, during that period, find Argyle's name among +those who held any of those great employments of State to which, by his +rank and consequence, he was naturally entitled. When James, then Duke +of York, was appointed to the Scottish government, it seems to have been +the earl's intention to cultivate his royal highness's favour, and he was +a strenuous supporter of the bill which condemned all attempts at +exclusions or other alterations in the succession of the crown. But +having highly offended that prince by insisting, on the occasion of the +test, that the royal family, when in office, should not be exempted from +taking that oath which they imposed upon subjects in like situations, his +royal highness ordered a prosecution against him, for the explanation +with which he had taken the test oath at the council-board, and the earl +was, as we have seen, again condemned to death. From the time of his +escape from prison he resided wholly in foreign countries, and was looked +to as a principal ally by such of the English patriots as had at any time +entertained thoughts, whether more or less ripened, of delivering their +country. + +James, Duke of Monmouth, was the eldest of the late king's natural +children. In the early parts of his life he held the first place in his +father's affections; and even in the height of Charles's displeasure at +his political conduct, attentive observers thought they could discern +that the traces of paternal tenderness were by no means effaced. +Appearing at court in the bloom of youth, with a beautiful figure and +engaging manners, known to be the darling of the monarch, it is no wonder +that he was early assailed by the arts of flattery; and it is rather a +proof that he had not the strongest of all minds, than of any +extraordinary weakness of character, that he was not proof against them. +He had appeared with some distinction in the Flemish campaigns, and his +conduct had been noticed with the approbation of the commanders as well +as Dutch as French, under whom he had respectively served. His courage +was allowed by all, his person admired, his generosity loved, his +sincerity confided in. If his talents were not of the first rate, they +were by no means contemptible; and he possessed, in an eminent degree, +qualities which, in popular government, are far more effective than the +most splendid talents; qualities by which he inspired those who followed +him, not only with confidence and esteem, but with affection, enthusiasm, +and even fondness. Thus endowed, it is not surprising that his youthful +mind was fired with ambition, or that he should consider the putting +himself at the head of a party (a situation for which he seems to have +been peculiarly qualified by so many advantages) as the means by which he +was most likely to attain his object. + +Many circumstances contributed to outweigh the scruples which must have +harassed a man of his excellent nature, when he considered the +obligations of filial duty and gratitude, and when he reflected that the +particular relation in which he stood to the king rendered a conduct, +which in any other subject would have been meritorious, doubtful, if not +extremely culpable in him. Among these, not the least was the declared +enmity which subsisted between him and his uncle, the Duke of York. The +Earl of Mulgrave, afterwards Duke of Buckinghamshire, boasted in his +"Memoirs," that this enmity was originally owing to his contrivances; and +while he is relating a conduct, upon which the only doubt can be, whether +the object or the means were the most infamous, seems to applaud himself +as if he had achieved some notable exploit. While, on the one hand, a +prospect of his uncle's succession to the crown was intolerable to him, +as involving in it a certain destruction of even the most reasonable and +limited views of ambition which he might entertain, he was easily led to +believe, on the other hand, that no harm, but the reverse, was intended +towards his royal father, whose reign and life might become precarious if +he obstinately persevered in supporting his brother; whereas, on the +contrary, if he could be persuaded, or even forced, to yield to the +wishes of his subjects, he might long reign a powerful, happy, and +popular prince. + +It is also reasonable to believe, that with those personal and private +motives others might co-operate of a public nature and of a more noble +character. The Protestant religion, to which he seems to have been +sincerely attached, would be persecuted, or perhaps exterminated, if the +king should be successful in his support of the Duke of York and his +faction. At least, such was the opinion generally prevalent, while, with +respect to the civil liberties of the country, no doubt could be +entertained, that if the court party prevailed in the struggle then +depending they would be completely extinguished. Something may be +attributed to his admiration of the talents of some, to his personal +friendship for others among the leaders of the Whigs, more to the +aptitude of a generous nature to adopt, and, if I may so say, to become +enamoured of those principles of justice, benevolence, and equality, +which form the true creed of the party which he espoused. I am not +inclined to believe that it was his connection with Shaftesbury that +inspired him with ambitious views, but rather to reverse cause and +effect, and to suppose that his ambitious views produced his connection +with that nobleman; and whoever reads with attention Lord Grey's account +of one of the party meetings at which he was present, will perceive that +there was not between them that perfect cordiality which has been +generally supposed; but that Russell, Grey, and Hampden, were upon a far +more confidential footing with him. It is far easier to determine +generally, that he had high schemes of ambition, than to discover what +was his precise object; and those who boldly impute to him the intention +of succeeding to the crown, seem to pass by several weighty arguments, +which make strongly against their hypothesis; such as his connection with +the Duchess of Portsmouth, who, if the succession were to go to the +king's illegitimate children, must naturally have been for her own son; +his unqualified support of the Exclusion Bill, which, without indeed +mentioning her, most unequivocally settled the crown, in case of a +demise, upon the Princess of Orange; and, above all, the circumstance of +his having, when driven from England, twice chosen Holland for his +asylum. By his cousins he was received, not so much with the civility +and decorum of princes, as with the kind familiarity of near relations, a +reception to which he seemed to make every return of reciprocal +cordiality. It is not rashly to be believed, that he, who has never been +accused of hardened wickedness, could have been upon such terms with, and +so have behaved to, persons whom he purposed to disappoint in their +dearest and best grounded hopes, and to defraud of their inheritance. + +Whatever his views might be, it is evident that they were of a nature +wholly adverse, not only to those of the Duke of York, but to the schemes +of power entertained by the king, with which the support of his brother +was intimately connected. Monmouth was therefore, at the suggestion of +James, ordered by his father to leave the country, and deprived of all +his offices, civil and military. The pretence for this exile was a sort +of principle of impartiality, which obliged the king, at the same time +that he ordered his brother to retire to Flanders, to deal equal measure +to his son. Upon the Duke of York's return (which was soon after), +Monmouth thought he might without blame return also; and persevering in +his former measures and old connections, became deeply involved in the +cabals to which Essex, Russell, and Sidney fell martyrs. After the death +of his friends, he surrendered himself; and upon a promise that nothing +said by him should be used to the prejudice of any of his surviving +friends, wrote a penitentiary letter to his father, consenting, at the +same time, to ask pardon of his uncle. A great parade was made of this +by the court, as if it was designed by all means to goad the feelings of +Monmouth: his majesty was declared to have pardoned him at the request of +the Duke of York, and his consent was required to the publication of what +was called his confession. This he resolutely refused at all hazards, +and was again obliged to seek refuge abroad, where he had remained to the +period of which we are now treating. + +A little time before Charles's death he had indulged hopes of being +recalled; and that his intelligence to that effect was not quite +unfounded, or if false, was at least mixed with truth, is clear from the +following circumstance:--From the notes found when he was taken, in his +memorandum book, it appears that part of the plan concerted between the +king and Monmouth's friend (probably Halifax), was that the Duke of York +should go to Scotland, between which, and his being sent abroad again, +Monmouth and his friends saw no material difference. Now in Barillon's +letters to his court, dated the 7th of December, 1684, it appears that +the Duke of York had told that ambassador of his intended voyage to +Scotland though he represented it in a very different point of view, and +said that it would not be attended with any diminution of his favour or +credit. This was the light in which Charles, to whom the expressions, +"to blind my brother, not to make the Duke of York fly out," and the +like, were familiar, would certainly have shown the affair to his +brother, and therefore of all the circumstances adduced, this appears to +me to be the strongest in favour of the supposition, that there was in +the king's mind a real intention of making an important, if not a +complete, change in his councils and measures. + +Besides these two leaders, there were on the continent at that time +several other gentlemen of great consideration. Sir Patrick Hume, of +Polworth, had early distinguished himself in the cause of liberty. When +the privy council of Scotland passed an order, compelling the counties to +pay the expense of the garrisons arbitrarily placed in them, he refused +to pay his quota, and by a mode of appeal to the court of session, which +the Scotch lawyers call a bill of suspension, endeavoured to procure +redress. The council ordered him to be imprisoned, for no other crime, +as it should seem, than that of having thus attempted to procure, by a +legal process, a legal decision upon a point of law. After having +remained in close confinement in Stirling Castle for near four years, he +was set at liberty through the favour and interest of Monmouth. Having +afterwards engaged in schemes connected with those imputed to Sidney and +Russell, orders were issued for seizing him at his house in Berwickshire; +but having had timely notice of his danger from his relation, Hume of +Ninewells, a gentleman attached to the royal cause, but whom party spirit +had not rendered insensible to the ties of kindred and private +friendship, he found means to conceal himself for a time, and shortly +after to escape beyond sea. His concealment is said to have been in the +family burial-place, where the means of sustaining life were brought to +him by his daughter, a girl of fifteen years of age, whose duty and +affection furnished her with courage to brave the terrors, as well +superstitious as real, to which she was necessarily exposed in an +intercourse of this nature. + +Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, a young man of great spirit, had signalised +himself in opposition to Lauderdale's administration of Scotland, and had +afterwards connected himself with Argyle and Russell, and what was called +the council of six. He had, of course, thought it prudent to leave Great +Britain, and could not be supposed unwilling to join in any enterprise +which might bid fair to restore him to his country, and his countrymen to +their lost liberties, though, upon the present occasion, which he seems +to have judged to be unfit for the purpose, he endeavoured to dissuade +both Argyle and Monmouth from their attempts. He was a man of much +thought and reading, of an honourable mind, and a fiery spirit, and from +his enthusiastic admiration of the ancients, supposed to be warmly +attached, not only to republican principles, but to the form of a +commonwealth. Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree had fled his country on +account of the transactions of 1683. His property and connections were +considerable, and he was supposed to possess extensive influence in +Ayrshire and the adjacent counties. + +Such were the persons of chief note among the Scottish emigrants. Among +the English, by far the most remarkable was Ford, Lord Grey of Wark. A +scandalous love intrigue with his wife's sister had fixed a very deep +stain upon his private character; nor were the circumstances attending +this affair, which had all been brought to light in a court of justice, +by any means calculated to extenuate his guilt. His ancient family, +however, the extensive influence arising from his large possessions, his +talents, which appear to have been very considerable, and above all, his +hitherto unshaken fidelity in political attachments, and the general +steadiness of his conduct in public life, might in some degree +countervail the odium which he had incurred on account of his private +vices. Of Matthews, Wade, and Ayloff, whose names are mentioned as +having both joined the preliminary councils, and done actual service in +the invasions, little is known by which curiosity could be either +gratified or excited. + +Richard Rumbold, on every account, merits more particular notice. He had +formerly served in the republican armies; and adhering to the principles +of liberty which he had imbibed in his youth, though nowise bigoted to +the particular form of a commonwealth had been deeply engaged in the +politics of those who thought they saw an opportunity of rescuing their +country from the tyrannical government of the late king. He was one of +the persons denounced in Keeling's narrative, and was accused of having +conspired to assassinate the royal brothers in their road to Newmarket, +an accusation belied by the whole tenor of his life and conduct, and +which, if it had been true, would have proved him, who was never thought +a weak or foolish man, to be as destitute of common sense as of honour +and probity. It was pretended that the seizure of the princes was to +take place at a farm called Rye House, which he occupied in Essex, for +the purposes of his trade as maltster; and from this circumstance was +derived the name of the Rye House Plot. Conscious of having done some +acts which the law, if even fairly interpreted and equitably +administered, might deem criminal, and certain that many which he had not +done would be both sworn and believed against him, he made his escape, +and passed the remainder of Charles's reign in exile and obscurity; nor +is his name, as far as I can learn, ever mentioned from the time of the +Rye House Plot to that of which we are now treating. + +It is not to be understood that there were no other names upon the list +of those who fled from the tyranny of the British government, or thought +themselves unsafe in their native country, on account of its violence, +besides those of the persons above mentioned, and of such as joined in +their bold and hazardous enterprise. Another class of emigrants, not +less sensible probably to the wrongs of their country, but less sanguine +in their hopes of immediate redress, is ennobled by the names of Burnet +the historian and Mr. Locke. It is difficult to accede to the opinion +which the first of these seems to entertain, that though particular +injustices had been committed, the misgovernment had not been of such a +nature as to justify resistance by arms. But the prudential reasons +against resistance at that time were exceedingly strong; and there is no +point in human concerns wherein the dictates of virtue and worldly +prudence are so identified as in this great question of resistance by +force to established government. Success, it has been invidiously +remarked, constitutes in most instances the sole difference between the +traitor and the deliverer of his country. A rational probability of +success, it may be truly said, distinguishes the well-considered +enterprise of the patriot, from the rash schemes of the disturber of the +public peace. To command success is not in the power of man; but to +deserve success, by choosing a proper time, as well as a proper object, +by the prudence of his means, no less than by the purity of his views, by +a cause not only intrinsically just, but likely to insure general +support, is the indispensable duty of him who engages in an insurrection +against an existing government. Upon this subject the opinion of Ludlow, +who, though often misled, appears to have been an honest and enlightened +man, is striking and forcibly expressed. "We ought," says he, "to be +very careful and circumspect in that particular, and at least be assured +of very probable grounds to believe the power under which we engage to be +sufficiently able to protect us in our undertaking; otherwise I should +account myself not only guilty of my own blood, but also, in some +measure, of the ruin and destruction of all those that I should induce to +engage with me, though no cause were never so just." Reasons of this +nature, mixed more or less with considerations of personal caution, and +in some, perhaps, with dislike and distrust of the leaders, induced many, +who could not but abhor the British government, to wait for better +opportunities, and to prefer either submission at home, or exile, to an +undertaking which, if not hopeless, must have been deemed by all +hazardous in the extreme. + +In the situation in which these two noblemen, Argyle and Monmouth, were +placed, it is not to be wondered at if they were naturally willing to +enter into any plan by which they might restore themselves to their +country; nor can it be doubted but they honestly conceived their success +to be intimately connected with the welfare, and especially with the +liberty of the several kingdoms to which they respectively belonged. +Monmouth, whether because he had begun at this time, as he himself said, +to wean his mind from ambition, or from the observations he had made upon +the apparently rapid turn which had taken place in the minds of the +English people, seems to have been very averse to rash counsels, and to +have thought that all attempts against James ought at least to be +deferred till some more favourable opportunity should present itself. So +far from esteeming his chance of success the better, on account of there +being in James's parliament many members who had voted for the Exclusion +Bill, he considered that circumstance as unfavourable. These men, of +whom, however, he seems to have over-rated the number, would, in his +opinion, be more eager than others to recover the ground they had lost, +by an extraordinary show of zeal and attachment to the crown. But if +Monmouth was inclined to dilatory counsels, far different were the views +and designs of other exiles, who had been obliged to leave their country +on account of their having engaged, if not with him personally, at least +in the same cause with him, and who were naturally enough his advisers. +Among these were Lord Grey of Wark, and Ferguson; though the latter +afterwards denied his having had much intercourse with the duke, and the +former, in his "Narrative," insinuates that he rather dissuaded than +pressed the invasion. + +But if Monmouth was inclined to delay, Argyle seems, on the other hand, +to have been impatient in the extreme to bring matters to a crisis, and +was of course anxious that the attempt upon England should be made in co- +operation with his upon Scotland. Ralph, an historian of great acuteness +as well as diligence, but who falls sometimes into the common error of +judging too much from the event, seems to think this impatience wholly +unaccountable; but Argyle may have had many motives which are now unknown +to us. He may not improbably have foreseen that the friendly terms upon +which James and the Prince of Orange affected at least to be, one with +the other, might make his stay in the United Provinces impracticable, and +that, if obliged to seek another asylum, not only he might have been +deprived, in some measure, of the resources which he derived from his +connections at Amsterdam, but that the very circumstance of his having +been publicly discountenanced by the Prince of Orange and the +states-general, might discredit his enterprise. His eagerness for action +may possibly have proceeded from the most laudable motives, his +sensibility to the horrors which his countrymen were daily and hourly +suffering, and his ardour to relieve them. The dreadful state of +Scotland, while it affords so honourable an explanation of his +impatience, seems to account also, in a great measure, for his acting +against the common notions of prudence, in making his attack without any +previous concert with those whom he expected to join him there. That +this was his view of the matter is plain, as we are informed by Burnet +that he depended not only on an army of his own clan and vassals, but +that he took it for granted that the western and southern counties would +all at once come about him, when he had gathered a good force together in +his own country; and surely such an expectation, when we reflect upon the +situation of those counties, was by no means unreasonable. + +Argyle's counsel, backed by Lord Grey and the rest of Monmouth's +advisers, and opposed by none except Fletcher of Saltoun, to whom some +add Captain Matthews, prevailed, and it was agreed to invade immediately, +and at one time, the two kingdoms. Monmouth had raised some money from +his jewels, and Argyle had a loan of ten thousand pounds from a rich +widow in Amsterdam. With these resources, such as they were, ships and +arms were provided, and Argyle sailed from Vly on the 2nd of May with +three small vessels, accompanied by Sir Patrick Hume, Sir John Cochrane, +a few more Scotch gentlemen, and by two Englishmen, Ayloff, a nephew by +marriage to Lord Chancellor Clarendon, and Rumbold, the maltster, who had +been accused of being principally concerned in that conspiracy which, +from his farm in Essex, where it was pretended Charles II. was to have +been intercepted in his way from Newmarket, and assassinated, had been +called the Rye House Plot. Sir Patrick Hume is said to have advised the +shortest passage, in order to come more unexpectedly upon the enemy; but +Argyle, who is represented as remarkably tenacious of his own opinions, +persisted in his plan of sailing round the north of Scotland, as well for +the purpose of landing at once among his own vassals, as for that of +being nearer to the western counties, which had been most severely +oppressed, and from which, of course, he expected most assistance. Each +of these plans had, no doubt, its peculiar advantages; but, as far as we +can judge at this distance of time, those belonging to the earl's scheme +seemed to preponderate; for the force he carried with him was certainly +not sufficient to enable him, by striking any decisive stroke, to avail +himself even of the most unprepared state in which he could hope to find +the king's government. As he must, therefore, depend entirely upon +reinforcements from the country, it seemed reasonable to make for that +part where succour was most likely to be obtained, even at the hazard of +incurring the disadvantage which must evidently result from the enemy's +having early notice of his attack, and, consequently, proportionable time +for defence. + +Unfortunately this hazard was converted into a certainty by his sending +some men on shore in the Orkneys. Two of these, Spence and Blackadder, +were seized at Kirkwall by the bishop of the diocese, and sent up +prisoners to Edinburgh, by which means the government was not only +satisfied of the reality of the intended invasion, of which, however, +they had before had some intimation, but could guess with a reasonable +certainty the part of the coast where the descent was to take place, for +Argyle could not possibly have sailed so far to the north with any other +view than that of making his landing either on his own estate, or in some +of the western counties. Among the numberless charges of imprudence +against the unfortunate Argyle, charges too often inconsiderately urged +against him who fails in any enterprise of moment, that which is founded +upon the circumstance just mentioned appears to me to be the most +weighty, though it is that which is the least mentioned, and by no +author, as far as I recollect, much enforced. If the landing in the +north was merely for the purpose of gaining intelligence respecting the +disposition of the country, or for the more frivolous object of making +some few prisoners, it was indeed imprudent in the highest degree. That +prisoners, such as were likely to be taken on this occasion, should have +been a consideration with any man of common sense is impossible. The +desire of gaining intelligence concerning the disposition of the people +was indeed a natural curiosity, but it would be a strong instance of that +impatience which has been often alleged though in no other case proved to +have been part of the earl's character, if, for the sake of gratifying +such a desire, he gave the enemy any important advantage. Of the +intelligence which he sought thus eagerly, it was evident that he could +not in that place and at that time make any immediate use; whereas, of +that which he afforded his enemies, they could and did avail themselves +against him. The most favourable account of this proceeding, and which +seems to deserve most credit, is, that having missed the proper passage +through the Orkney Islands, he thought proper to send on shore for +pilots, and that Spence very imprudently took the opportunity of going to +confer with a relation at Kirkwall; but it is to be remarked that it was +not necessary for the purpose of getting pilots, to employ men of note, +such as Blackadder and Spence, the latter of whom was the earl's +secretary; and that it was an unpardonable neglect not to give the +strictest injunctions to those who were employed against going a step +further into the country than was absolutely necessary. + +Argyle, with his wonted generosity of spirit, was at first determined to +lay siege to Kirkwall, in order to recover his friends; but, partly by +the dissuasions of his followers, and still more by the objections made +by the masters of the ships to a delay which might make them lose the +favourable winds for their intended voyage, he was induced to prosecute +his course. In the meantime the government made the use that it was +obvious they would make of the information they had obtained, and when +the earl arrived at his destination, he learned that considerable forces +were got together to repel any attack that he might meditate. Being +prevented by contrary winds from reaching the Isle of Islay, where he had +purposed to make his first landing, he sailed back to Dunstafnage in +Lorn, and there sent ashore his son, Mr. Charles Campbell, to engage his +tenants and other friends and dependants of his family to rise in his +behalf; but even there he found less encouragement and assistance than he +had expected, and the laird of Lochniel, who gave him the best +assurances, treacherously betrayed him, sent his letter to the +government, and joined the royal forces under the Marquis of Athol. He +then proceeded southwards, and landed at Campbelltown in Kintyre, where +his first step was to publish his declaration, which appears to have +produced little or no effect. + +This bad beginning served, as is usual in such adventures, rather to +widen than to reconcile the differences which had early begun to manifest +themselves between the leader and his followers. Hume and Cochrane, +partly construing, perhaps too sanguinely, the intelligence which was +received from Ayrshire, Galloway, and the other Lowland districts in that +quarter, partly from an expectation that where the oppression had been +most grievous, the revolt would be proportionably the more general, were +against any stay, or, as they termed it, loss of time in the Highlands, +but were for proceeding at once, weak as they were in point of numbers, +to a country where every man endowed with the common feelings of human +nature must be their well-wisher, every man of spirit their coadjutor. +Argyle, on the contrary, who probably considered the discouraging +accounts from the Lowlands as positive and distinct, while those which +were deemed more favourable appeared to him to be at least uncertain and +provisional, thought the most prudent plan was to strengthen himself in +his own country before he attempted the invasion of provinces where the +enemy was so well prepared to receive him. He had hopes of gaining time, +not only to increase his own army, but to avail himself of the Duke of +Monmouth's intended invasion of England, an event which must obviously +have great influence upon his affairs, and which, if he could but +maintain himself in a situation to profit by it, might be productive of +advantages of an importance and extent of which no man could presume to +calculate the limits. Of these two contrary opinions it may be difficult +at this time of day to appreciate the value, seeing that so much depends +upon the degree of credit due to the different accounts from the Lowland +counties, of which our imperfect information does not enable us to form +any accurate judgment. But even though we should not decide absolutely +in favour of the cogency of these reasonings which influenced the chief, +it must surely be admitted that there was, at least, sufficient +probability in them to account for his not immediately giving way to +those of his followers, and to rescue his memory from the reproach of any +uncommon obstinacy, or of carrying things, as Burnet phrases it, with an +air of authority that was not easy to men who were setting up for +liberty. On the other hand, it may be more difficult to exculpate the +gentlemen engaged with Argyle for not acquiescing more cheerfully, and +not entering more cordially into the views of a man whom they had chosen +for their leader and general; of whose honour they had no doubt, and +whose opinion even those who dissented from him must confess to be formed +upon no light or trivial grounds. + +The differences upon the general scheme of attack led, of course, to +others upon points of detail. Upon every projected expedition there +appeared a contrariety of sentiment, which on some occasions produced the +most violent disputes. The earl was often thwarted in his plans, and in +one instance actually over-ruled by the vote of a council of war. Nor +were these divisions, which might of themselves be deemed sufficient to +mar an enterprise of this nature, the only adverse circumstances which +Argyle had to encounter. By the forward state of preparation on the part +of the government, its friends were emboldened; its enemies, whose spirit +had been already broken by a long series of sufferings, were completely +intimidated, and men of fickle and time-serving dispositions were fixed +in its interests. Add to all this, that where spirit was not wanting, it +was accompanied with a degree and species of perversity wholly +inexplicable, and which can hardly gain belief from any one whose +experience has not made him acquainted with the extreme difficulty of +persuading men who pride themselves upon an extravagant love of liberty, +rather to compromise upon some points with those who have in the main the +same views with themselves, than to give power (a power which will +infallibly be used for their own destruction) to an adversary of +principles diametrically opposite; in other words, rather to concede +something to a friend, than everything to an enemy. Hence, those even +whose situation was the most desperate, who were either wandering about +the fields, or seeking refuge in rocks and caverns, from the authorised +assassins who were on every side pursuing them, did not all join in +Argyle's cause with that frankness and cordiality which was to be +expected. The various schisms which had existed among different classes +of Presbyterians were still fresh in their memory. Not even the +persecution to which they had been in common, and almost indiscriminately +subjected, had reunited them. According to a most expressive phrase of +an eminent minister of their church, who sincerely lamented their +disunion, the furnace had not yet healed the rents and breaches among +them. Some doubted whether, short of establishing all the doctrines +preached by Cargill and Cameron, there was anything worth contending for; +while others, still further gone in enthusiasm, set no value upon +liberty, or even life itself, if they were to be preserved by the means +of a nobleman who had, as well by his serviced to Charles the Second as +by other instances, been guilty in the former parts of his conduct of +what they termed unlawful compliances. + +Perplexed, no doubt, but not dismayed, by these difficulties, the earl +proceeded to Tarbet, which he had fixed as the place of rendezvous, and +there issued a second declaration (that which has been mentioned as +having been laid before the House of Commons), with as little effect as +the first. He was joined by Sir Duncan Campbell, who alone, of all his +kinsmen, seems to have afforded him any material assistance, and who +brought with him nearly a thousand men; but even with this important +reinforcement, his whole army does not appear to have exceeded two +thousand. It was here that he was over-ruled by a council of war, when +he proposed marching to Inverary; and after much debate, so far was he +from being so self-willed as he is represented, that he consented to go +over with his army to that part of Argyleshire called Cowal, and that Sir +John Cochrane should make an attempt upon the Lowlands; and he sent with +him Major Fullarton, one of the offices in whom he most trusted, and who +appears to have best deserved his confidence. This expedition could not +land in Ayrshire, where it had at first been intended, owing to the +appearance of two king's frigates, which had been sent into those seas; +and when it did land near Greenock, no other advantage was derived from +it than the procuring from the town a very small supply of provisions. + +When Cochrane, with his detachment, returned to Cowal, all hopes of +success in the Lowlands seemed, for the present at least, to be at an +end, and Argyle's original plan was now necessarily adopted, though under +circumstances greatly disadvantageous. Among these, the most important +was the approach of the frigates, which obliged the earl to place his +ships under the protection of the castle of Ellengreg, which he fortified +and garrisoned as well as his contracted means would permit. Yet even in +this situation, deprived of the co-operation of his little fleet, as well +as of that part of his force which he left to defend it, being well +seconded by the spirit and activity of Rumbold, who had seized the castle +of Ardkinglass, near the head of Loch Fin, he was not without hopes of +success in his main enterprise against Inverary, when he was called back +to Ellengreg, by intelligence of fresh discontents having broken out +there, upon the nearer approach of the frigates. Some of the most +dissatisfied had even threatened to leave both castle and ships to their +fate; nor did the appearance of the earl himself by any means bring with +it that degree of authority which was requisite in such a juncture. His +first motion was to disregard the superior force of the men of war, and +to engage them with his small fleet; but he soon discovered that he was +far indeed from being furnished with the materials necessary to put in +execution so bold, or, as it may possibly be thought, so romantic a +resolution. His associates remonstrated, and a mutiny in his ships was +predicted as a certain consequence of the attempt. Leaving, therefore, +once more, Ellengreg with a garrison under the command of the laird of +Lochness, and strict orders to destroy both ships and fortification, +rather than suffer them to fall into the hands of the enemy, he marched +towards Gareloch. But whether from the inadequacy of the provisions with +which he was to supply it, or from cowardice, misconduct, or treachery, +it does not appear, the castle was soon evacuated without any proper +measures being taken to execute the earl's orders, and the military +stores in it to a considerable amount, as well as the ships which had no +other defence, were abandoned to the king's forces. + +This was a severe blow; and all hopes of acting according to the earl's +plan of establishing himself strongly in Argyleshire were now +extinguished. He therefore consented to pass the Leven, a little above +Dumbarton, and to march eastwards. In this march he was overtaken, at a +place called Killerne, by Lord Dumbarton, at the head of a large body of +the king's troops; but he posted himself with so much skill and judgment, +that Dumbarton thought it prudent to wait, at least, till the ensuing +morning, before he made his attack. Here, again Argyle was for risking +an engagement, and in his nearly desperate situation, it was probably his +best chance, but his advice (for his repeated misfortunes had scarcely +left him the shadow of command) was rejected. On the other hand, a +proposal was made to him, the most absurd, as it should seem, that was +ever suggested in similar circumstances, to pass the enemy in the night, +and thus exposing his rear, to subject himself to the danger of being +surrounded, for the sake of advancing he knew not whither, or for what +purpose. To this he could not consent; and it was at last agreed to +deceive the enemies by lighting fires, and to decamp in the night towards +Glasgow. The first part of this plan was executed with success, and the +army went off unperceived by the enemy; but in their night march they +were misled by the ignorance or the treachery of their guides and fell +into difficulties which would have caused some disorder among the most +regular and best-disciplined troops. In this case such disorder was +fatal, and produced, as among men circumstanced as Argyle's were, it +necessarily must, an almost general dispersion. Wandering among bogs and +morasses, disheartened by fatigue, terrified by rumours of an approaching +enemy, the darkness of the night aggravating at once every real distress, +and adding terror to every vain alarm; in this situation, when even the +bravest and the best (for according to one account Rumbold himself was +missing for a time) were not able to find their leaders, nor the corps to +which they respectively belonged; it is no wonder that many took this +opportunity to abandon a cause now become desperate, and to effect +individually that escape which, as a body, they had no longer any hopes +to accomplish. + +When the small remains of this ill-fated army got together, in the +morning, at Kilpatrick, a place far distant from their destination, its +number was reduced to less than five hundred. Argyle had lost all +authority; nor, indeed, had he retained any, does it appear that he could +now have used it to any salutary purpose. The same bias which had +influenced the two parties in the time of better hopes, and with regard +to their early operations, still prevailed now that they were driven to +their last extremity. Sir Patrick Hume and Sir John Cochrane would not +stay even to reason the matter with him whom, at the onset of their +expedition, they had engaged to obey, but crossed the Clyde, with such as +would follow them to the number of about two hundred, into Renfrewshire. + +Argyle, thus deserted, and almost alone, still looked to his own country +as the sole remaining hope, and sent off Sir Duncan Campbell, with the +two Duncansons, father and son--persons, all three, by whom he seemed to +have been served with the most exemplary zeal and fidelity--to attempt +new levies there. Having done this, and settled such means of +correspondence as the state of affairs would permit, he repaired to the +house of an old servant, upon whose attachment he had relied for an +asylum, but was peremptorily denied entrance. Concealment in this part +of the country seemed now impracticable, and he was forced at last to +pass the Clyde, accompanied by the brave and faithful Fullarton. Upon +coming to a ford of the Inchanon they were stopped by some militia-men. +Fullarton used in vain all the best means which his presence of mind +suggested to him to save his general. He attempted one while by gentle, +and then by harsher language, to detain the commander of the party till +the earl, who was habited as a common countryman, and whom he passed for +his guide, should have made his escape. At last, when he saw them +determined to go after his pretended guide, he offered to surrender +himself without a blow, upon condition of their desisting from their +pursuit. This agreement was accepted, but not adhered to, and two +horsemen were detached to seize Argyle. The earl, who was also on +horseback, grappled with them till one of them and himself came to the +ground. He then presented his pocket pistols, on which the two retired, +but soon after five more came up, who fired without effect, and he +thought himself like to get rid of them, but they knocked him down with +their swords and seized him. When they knew whom they had taken they +seemed much troubled, but dared not let him go. Fullarton, perceiving +that the stipulation on which he had surrendered himself was violated, +and determined to defend himself to the last, or at least to wreak, +before he fell, his just vengeance upon his perfidious opponents, grasped +at the sword of one of them, but in vain; he was overpowered, and made +prisoner. + +Argyle was immediately carried to Renfrew, thence to Glasgow, and on the +20th of June was led in triumph into Edinburgh. The order of the council +was particular: that he should be led bareheaded in the midst of Graham's +guards, with their matches cocked, his hands tied behind his back, and +preceded by the common hangman, in which situation, that he might be more +exposed to the insults and taunts of the vulgar, it was directed that he +should be carried to the castle by a circuitous route. To the equanimity +with which he bore these indignities, as indeed to the manly spirit +exhibited by him throughout, in these last scenes of his life, ample +testimony is borne by all the historians who have treated of them, even +those who are the least partial to him. He had frequent opportunities of +conversing, and some of writing, during his imprisonment, and it is from +such parts of these conversations and writings as have been preserved to +us, that we can best form to ourselves a just notion of his deportment +during that trying period; at the same time a true representation of the +temper of his mind in such circumstances will serve, in no small degree, +to illustrate his general character and disposition. + +We have already seen how he expresses himself with regard to the men who, +by taking him, became the immediate cause of his calamity. He seems to +feel a sort of gratitude to them for the sorrow he saw, or fancied he saw +in them, when they knew who he was, and immediately suggests an excuse +for them, by saying that they did not dare to follow the impulse of their +hearts. Speaking of the supineness of his countrymen, and of the little +assistance he had received from them, he declares with his accustomed +piety his resignation to the will of God, which was that Scotland should +not be delivered at this time, nor especially by his hand; and then +exclaims, with the regret of a patriot, but with no bitterness of +disappointment, "But alas! who is there to be delivered! There may," +says he, "be hidden ones, but there appears no great party in the country +who desire to be relieved." Justice, in some degree, but still more that +warm affection for his own kindred and vassals, which seems to have +formed a marked feature in this nobleman's character, then induces him to +make an exception in favour of his poor friends in Argyleshire, in +treating for whom, though in what particular way does not appear, he was +employing, and with some hope of success, the few remaining hours of his +life. In recounting the failure of his expedition it is impossible for +him not to touch upon what he deemed the misconduct of his friends; and +this is the subject upon which of all others, his temper must have been +most irritable. A certain description of friends (the words describing +them are omitted) were all of them without exception, his greatest +enemies, both to betray and destroy him; and . . . and . . . (the names +again omitted) were the greatest cause of his rout, and his being taken, +though not designedly, he acknowledges, but by ignorance, cowardice, and +faction. This sentence had scarce escaped him when, notwithstanding the +qualifying words with which his candour had acquitted the last-mentioned +persons of intentional treachery, it appeared too harsh to his gentle +nature, and declaring himself displeased with the hard epithets he had +used, he desires they may be put out of any account that is to be given +of these transactions. The manner in which this request is worded shows +that the paper he was writing was intended for a letter, and as it is +supposed, to a Mrs. Smith, who seems to have assisted him with money; but +whether or not this lady was the rich widow of Amsterdam, before alluded +to, I have not been able to learn. + +When he is told that he is to be put to the torture, he neither breaks +out into any high-sounding bravado, any premature vaunts of the +resolution with which he will endure it, nor, on the other hand, into +passionate exclamations on the cruelty of his enemies, or unmanly +lamentations of his fate. After stating that orders were arrived that he +must be tortured, unless he answers all questions upon oath, he simply +adds that he hopes God will support him; and then leaves off writing, not +from any want of spirits to proceed, but to enjoy the consolation which +was yet left him, in the society of his wife, the countess being just +then admitted. + +Of his interview with Queensbury, who examined him in private, little is +known, except that he denied his design having been concerted with any +persons in Scotland; that he gave no information with respect to his +associates in England; and that he boldly and frankly averred his hopes +to have been founded on the cruelty of the administration, and such a +disposition in the people to revolt as he conceived to be the natural +consequence of oppression. He owned, at the same time, that he had +trusted too much to this principle. The precise date of this +conversation, whether it took place before the threat of the torture, +whilst that threat was impending, or when there was no longer any +intention of putting it into execution, I have not been able to +ascertain; but the probability seems to be that it was during the first +or second of these periods. + +Notwithstanding the ill success that had attended his enterprise, he +never expresses, or even hints, the smallest degree of contrition for +having undertaken it: on the contrary, when Mr. Charteris, an eminent +divine, is permitted to wait on him, his first caution to that minister +is, not to try to convince him of the unlawfulness of his attempt, +concerning which his opinion was settled, and his mind made up. Of some +parts of his past conduct he does indeed confess that he repents, but +these are the compliances of which he had been guilty in support of the +king, or his predecessors. Possibly in this he may allude to his having +in his youth borne arms against the covenant, but with more likelihood to +his concurrence, in the late reign, with some of the measures of +Lauderdale's administration, for whom it is certain that he entertained a +great regard, and to whom he conceived himself to be principally indebted +for his escape from his first sentence. Friendship and gratitude might +have carried him to lengths which patriotism and justice must condemn. + +Religious concerns, in which he seems to have been very serious and +sincere, engaged much of his thoughts; but his religion was of that +genuine kind which, by representing the performance of our duties to our +neighbour as the most acceptable service to God, strengthens all the +charities of social life. While he anticipates, with a hope approaching +to certainty, a happy futurity, he does not forget those who have been +justly dear to him in this world. He writes, on the day of his +execution, to his wife, and to some other relations, for whom he seems to +have entertained a sort of parental tenderness, short, but the most +affectionate letters, wherein he gives them the greatest satisfaction +then in his power, by assuring them of his composure and tranquillity of +mind, and refers them for further consolation to those sources from which +he derived his own. In his letter to Mrs. Smith, written on the same +day, he says, "While anything was a burden to me, your concern was; which +is a cross greater than I can express" (alluding probably to the +pecuniary loss she had incurred); "but I have, I thank God, overcome +all." Her name, he adds, could not be concealed, and that he knows not +what may have been discovered from any paper which may have been taken; +otherwise he has named none to their disadvantage. He states that those +in whose hands he is, had at first used him hardly, but that God had +melted their hearts, and that he was now treated with civility. As an +instance of this, he mentions the liberty he had obtained of sending this +letter to her; a liberty which he takes as a kindness on their part, and +which he had sought that she might not think he had forgotten her. + +Never, perhaps, did a few sentences present so striking a picture of a +mind truly virtuous and honourable. Heroic courage is the least part of +his praise, and vanishes as it were from our sight, when we contemplate +the sensibility with which he acknowledges the kindness, such as it is, +of the very men who are leading him to the scaffold; the generous +satisfaction which he feels on reflecting that no confession of his has +endangered his associates; and above all, his anxiety, in such moments, +to perform all the duties of friendship and gratitude, not only with the +most scrupulous exactness, but with the most considerate attention to the +feelings as well as to the interests of the person who was the object of +them. Indeed, it seems throughout to have been the peculiar felicity of +this man's mind, that everything was present to it that ought to be so; +nothing that ought not. Of his country he could not be unmindful; and it +was one among other consequences of his happy temper, that on this +subject he did not entertain those gloomy ideas which the then state of +Scotland was but too well fitted to inspire. In a conversation with an +intimate friend, he says that, though he does not take upon him to be a +prophet, he doubts not but that deliverance will come, and suddenly, of +which his failings had rendered him unworthy to be the instrument. In +some verses which he composed on the night preceding his execution, and +which he intended for his epitaph, he thus expresses this hope still more +distinctly + + "On my attempt though Providence did frown, + His oppressed people God at length shall own; + Another hand, by more successful speed, + Shall raise the remnant, bruise the serpent's head." + +With respect to the epitaph itself, of which these lines form a part, it +is probable that he composed it chiefly with a view to amuse and relieve +his mind, fatigued with exertion, and partly, perhaps, in imitation of +the famous Marquis of Montrose, who, in similar circumstances, had +written some verses which have been much celebrated. The poetical merit +of the pieces appears to be nearly equal, and is not in either instance +considerable, and they are only in so far valuable as they may serve to +convey to us some image of the minds by which they were produced. He who +reads them with this view will, perhaps, be of opinion that the spirit +manifested in the two compositions is rather equal in degree than like in +character; that the courage of Montrose was more turbulent, that of +Argyle more calm and sedate. If, on the one hand, it is to be regretted +that we have not more memorials left of passages so interesting, and that +even of those which we do possess, a great part is obscured by time, it +must be confessed, on the other, that we have quite enough to enable us +to pronounce that for constancy and equanimity under the severest trials, +few men have equalled, none ever surpassed, the Earl of Argyle. The most +powerful of all tempters, hope, was not held out to him, so that he had +not, it is true, in addition to his other hard tasks, that of resisting +her seductive influence; but the passions of a different class had the +fullest scope for their attacks. These, however, could make no +impression on his well-disciplined mind. Anger could not exasperate, +fear could not appal him; and if disappointment and indignation at the +misbehaviour of his followers, and the supineness of the country, did +occasionally, as surely they must, cause uneasy sensations, they had not +the power to extort from him one unbecoming or even querulous expression. +Let him be weighed never so scrupulously, and in the nicest scales, he +will not be found, in a single instance, wanting in the charity of a +Christian, the firmness and benevolence of a patriot, the integrity and +fidelity of a man of honour. + +The Scotch parliament had, on the 11th of June, sent an address to the +king wherein, after praising his majesty, as usual, for his extraordinary +prudence, courage, and conduct, and loading Argyle, whom they styled an +hereditary traitor, with every reproach they can devise--among others, +that of ingratitude for the favours which he had received, as well from +his majesty as from his predecessor--they implore his majesty that the +earl may find no favour and that the earl's family, the heritors, +ringleaders, and preachers who joined him, should be for ever declared +incapable of mercy, or bearing any honour or estate in the kingdom, and +all subjects discharged under the highest pains to intercede for them in +any manner of way. Never was address more graciously received, or more +readily complied with; and, accordingly, the following letter, with the +royal signature, and countersigned by Lord Melford, Secretary of State +for Scotland, was despatched to the council at Edinburgh, and by them +entered and registered on the 29th of June. + + "Whereas, the late Earl of Argyle is, by the providence of God, fallen + into our power, it is our will and pleasure that you take all ways to + know from him those things which concern our government most, as his + assisters with men, arms, and money, his associates and + correspondents, his designs, etc. But this must be done so as no time + may be lost in bringing him to condign punishment, by causing him to + be demeaned as a traitor, within the space of three days after this + shall come to your hands, an account of which, with what he shall + confess, you shall send immediately to us or our secretaries, for + doing which this shall be your warrant." + +When it is recollected that torture had been in common use in Scotland, +and that the persons to whom the letter was addressed had often caused it +to be inflicted, the words, "it is our will and pleasure that you take +all ways," seem to convey a positive command for applying of it in this +instance; yet it is certain that Argyle was not tortured. What was the +cause of this seeming disregard of the royal injunctions does not appear. +One would hope, for the honour of human nature, that James, struck with +some compunction for the injuries he had already heaped upon the head of +this unfortunate nobleman, sent some private orders contradictory to this +public letter; but there is no trace to be discovered of such a +circumstance. The managers themselves might feel a sympathy for a man of +their own rank, which had no influence in the cases where only persons of +an inferior station were to be the sufferers; and in those words of the +king's letter which enjoin a speedy punishment as the primary object to +which all others must give way, they might find a pretext for overlooking +the most odious part of the order, and of indulging their humanity, such +as it was, by appointing the earliest day possible for the execution. In +order that the triumph of injustice might be complete, it was determined +that, without any new trial, the earl should suffer upon the iniquitous +sentence of 1682. Accordingly, the very next day ensuing was appointed, +and on the 13th of June he was brought from the castle, first to the +Laigh Council-house, and thence to the place of execution. + +Before he left the castle, he had his dinner at the usual hour, at which +he discoursed, not only calmly, but even cheerfully, with Mr. Charteris +and others. After dinner he retired, as was his custom, to his +bed-chamber, where it is recorded that he slept quietly for about a +quarter of an hour. While he was in his bed, one of the members of the +council came and intimated to the attendants a desire to speak with him: +upon being told that the earl was asleep, and had left orders not to be +disturbed, the manager disbelieved the account, which he considered as a +device to avoid further questionings. To satisfy him, the door of the +bed-chamber was half opened, and he then beheld, enjoying a sweet and +tranquil slumber, the man who, by the doom of him and his fellows, was to +die within the space of two short hours! Struck with this sight, he +hurried out of the room, quitted the castle with the utmost +precipitation, and hid himself in the lodgings of an acquaintance who +lived near, where he flung himself upon the first bed that presented +itself, and had every appearance of a man suffering the most excruciating +torture. His friend, who had been apprised by the servant of the state +he was in, and who naturally concluded that he was ill, offered him some +wine. He refused, saying, "No, no, that will not help me: I have been in +at Argyle, and saw him sleeping as pleasantly as ever man did, within an +hour of eternity. But as for me--." The name of the person to whom this +anecdote relates is not mentioned, and the truth of it may therefore be +fairly considered as liable to that degree of doubt with which men of +judgment receive every species of traditional history. Woodrow, however, +whose veracity is above suspicion, says he had it from the most +unquestionable authority. It is not in itself unlikely; and who is there +that would not wish it true? What a satisfactory spectacle to a +philosophical mind, to see the oppressor, in the zenith of his power, +envying his victim! What an acknowledgment of the superiority of virtue! +What an affecting and forcible testimony to the value of that peace of +mind which innocence alone can confer! We know not who this man was; but +when we reflect that the guilt which agonised him was probably incurred +for the sake of some vain title, or, at least, of some increase of +wealth, which he did not want, and possibly knew not how to enjoy, our +disgust is turned into something like compassion for that very foolish +class of men whom the world calls wise in their generation. + +Soon after his short repose Argyle was brought, according to order, to +the Laigh Council-house, from which place is dated the letter to his +wife, and thence to the place of execution. On the scaffold he had some +discourse, as well with Mr. Annand, a minister appointed by government to +attend him, as with Mr. Charteris. He desired both of them to pray for +him, and prayed himself with much fervency and devotion. The speech +which he made to the people was such as might be expected from the +passages already related. The same mixture of firmness and mildness is +conspicuous in every part of it. "We ought not," says he, "to despise +our afflictions, nor to faint under them. We must not suffer ourselves +to be exasperated against the instruments of our troubles, nor by +fraudulent, nor pusillanimous compliances, bring guilt upon ourselves; +faint hearts are ordinarily false hearts, choosing sin rather than +suffering." He offers his prayers to God for the three kingdoms of +England, Scotland, and Ireland, and that an end may be put to their +present trials. Having then asked pardon for his own failings, both of +God and man, he would have concluded; but being reminded that he had said +nothing of the royal family, he adds that he refers, in this matter, to +what he had said at his trial concerning the test; that he prayed there +never might be wanting one of the royal family to support the Protestant +religion; and if any of them had swerved from the true faith, he prayed +God to turn their hearts, but, at any rate, to save His people from their +machinations. When he had ended, he turned to the south side of the +scaffold, and said, "Gentlemen, I pray you do not misconstruct my +behaviour this day; I freely forgive all men their wrongs and injuries +done against me, as I desire to be forgiven of God." Mr. Annand repeated +these words louder to the people. The earl then went to the north side +of the scaffold, and used the same or the like expressions. Mr. Annand +repeated them again, and said, "This nobleman dies a Protestant." The +earl stepped forward again, and said, "I die not only a Protestant, but +with a heart-hatred of popery, prelacy, and all superstition whatsoever." +It would perhaps have been better if these last expressions had never +been uttered, as there appears certainly something of violence in them +unsuitable to the general tenor of his language; but it must be +remembered, first, that the opinion that the pope is _Antichrist_ was at +that time general among almost all the zealous Protestants in these +kingdoms; secondly, that Annand being employed by government, and +probably an Episcopalian, the earl might apprehend that the declaration +of such a minister might not convey the precise idea which he, Argyle, +affixed to the word Protestant. + +He then embraced his friends, gave some tokens of remembrance to his son- +in-law, Lord Maitland, for his daughter and grandchildren, stripped +himself of part of his apparel, of which he likewise made presents, and +laid his head upon the block. Having uttered a short prayer, he gave the +signal to the executioner, which was instantly obeyed, and his head +severed from his body. Such were the last hours, and such the final +close, of this great man's life. May the like happy serenity in such +dreadful circumstances, and a death equally glorious, be the lot of all +whom tyranny, of whatever denomination or description, shall in any age, +or in any country, call to expiate their virtues on the scaffold! + +Of the followers of Argyle, in the disastrous expedition above recounted, +the fortunes were various. Among those who either surrendered or were +taken, some suffered the same fate with their commander, others were +pardoned; while, on the other hand, of those who escaped to foreign +parts, many after a short exile returned triumphantly to their country at +the period of the revolution, and under a system congenial to their +principles, some even attained the highest honours of the State. It is +to be recollected that when, after the disastrous night-march from +Killerne, a separation took place at Kilpatrick between Argyle and his +confederates, Sir John Cochrane, Sir Patrick Hume, and others, crossed +the Clyde into Renfrewshire, with about, it is supposed, two hundred men. +Upon their landing they met with some opposition from a troop of militia +horse, which was, however, feeble and ineffectual; but fresh parties of +militia as well as regular troops drawing together, a sort of scuffle +ensued, near a place called Muirdyke; an offer of quarter was made by the +king's troops, but (probably on account of the conditions annexed to it) +was refused; and Cochrane and the rest, now reduced to the number of +seventy took shelter in a fold-dyke, where they were able to resist and +repel, though not without loss on each side, the attack of the enemy. +Their situation was nevertheless still desperate, and in the night they +determined to make their escape. The king's troops having retired, this +was effected without difficulty; and this remnant of an army being +dispersed by common consent, every man sought his own safety in the best +manner he could. Sir John Cochrane took refuge in the house of an uncle, +by whom, or by whose wife, it is said, he was betrayed. He was, however, +pardoned; and from this circumstance, coupled with the constant and +seemingly peevish opposition which he gave to almost all Argyle's plans, +a suspicion has arisen that he had been treacherous throughout. But the +account given of his pardon by Burnet, who says his father, Lord +Dundonald, who was an opulent nobleman, purchased it with a considerable +sum of money, is more credible, as well as more candid; and it must be +remembered that in Sir John's disputes with his general, he was almost +always acting in conjunction with Sir Patrick Hume, who is proved, by the +subsequent events, and indeed by the whole tenor of his life and conduct, +to have been uniformly sincere and zealous in the cause of his country. +Cochrane was sent to England, where he had an interview with the king, +and gave such answers to the questions put to him as were deemed +satisfactory by his majesty; and the information thus obtained whatever +might be the real and secret causes, furnished a plausible pretence at +least for the exercise of royal mercy. Sir Patrick Hume, after having +concealed himself some time in the house, and under the protection of +Lady Eleanor Dunbar, sister to the Earl of Eglington, found means to +escape to Holland, whence he returned in better times, and was created +first Lord Hume of Polwarth, and afterwards Earl of Marchmont. Fullarton, +and Campbell of Auchinbreak, appear to have escaped, but by what means is +not known. Two sons of Argyle, John and Charles, and Archibald Campbell, +his nephew, were sentenced to death and forfeiture, but the capital part +of the sentence was remitted. Thomas Archer, a clergyman, who had been +wounded at Muirdyke, was executed, notwithstanding many applications in +his favour, among which was one from Lord Drumlanrig, Queensbury's eldest +son. Woodrow, who was himself a Presbyterian minister, and though a most +valuable and correct historian, was not without a tincture of the +prejudices belonging to his order, attributes the unrelenting spirit of +the government in this instance to their malice against the clergy of his +sect. Some of the holy ministry, he observes, as Guthrie at the +restoration, Kidd and Mackail after the insurrections at Pentland and +Bothwell Bridge, and now Archer, were upon every occasion to be +sacrificed to the fury of the persecutors. But to him who is well +acquainted with the history of this period, the habitual cruelty of the +government will fully account for any particular act of severity; and it +is only in cases of lenity, such as that of Cochrane, for instance, that +he will look for some hidden or special motive. + +Ayloff, having in vain attempted to kill himself, was, like Cochrane, +sent to London to be examined. His relationship to the king's first wife +might perhaps be one inducement to this measure, or it might be thought +more expedient that he should be executed for the Rye House Plot, the +credit of which it was a favourite object of the court to uphold, than +for his recent acts of rebellion in Scotland. Upon his examination he +refused to give any information, and suffered death upon a sentence of +outlawry, which had passed in the former reign. It is recorded that +James interrogated him personally, and finding him sullen, and unwilling +to speak, said: "Mr. Ayloff, you know it is in my power to pardon you, +therefore say that which may deserve it:" to which Ayloff replied: +"Though it is in your power, it is not in your nature to pardon." This, +however, is one of those anecdotes which are believed rather on account +of the air of nature that belongs to them, than upon any very good +traditional authority, and which ought, therefore when any very material +inference with respect either to fact or character, is to be drawn from +them, to be received with great caution. + +Rumbold, covered with wounds, and defending himself with uncommon +exertions of strength and courage, was at last taken. However desirable +it might have been thought to execute in England a man so deeply +implicated in the Rye House Plot, the state of Rumbold's health made such +a project impracticable. Had it been attempted he would probably, by a +natural death, have disappointed the views of a government who were eager +to see brought to the block a man whom they thought, or pretended to +think, guilty of having projected the assassination of the late and +present king. Weakened as he was in body, his mind was firm, his +constancy unshaken; and notwithstanding some endeavours that were made by +drums and other instruments, to drown his voice when he was addressing +the people from the scaffold, enough has been preserved of what he then +uttered to satisfy us that his personal courage, the praise of which has +not been denied him, was not of the vulgar or constitutional kind, but +was accompanied with a proportionable vigour of mind. Upon hearing his +sentence, whether in imitation of Montrose, or from that congeniality of +character which causes men in similar circumstances to conceive similar +sentiments, he expressed the same wish which that gallant nobleman had +done; he wished he had a limb for every town in Christendom. With +respect to the intended assassination imputed to him, he protested his +innocence, and desired to be believed upon the faith of a dying man; +adding, in terms as natural as they are forcibly descriptive of a +conscious dignity of character, that he was too well known for any to +have had the imprudence to make such a proposition to him. He concluded +with plain, and apparently sincere, declarations of his undiminished +attachment to the principles of liberty, civil and religious; denied that +he was an enemy to monarchy, affirming, on the contrary, that he +considered it, when properly limited, as the most eligible form of +government; but that he never could believe that any man was born marked +by God above another, "for none comes into the world with a saddle on his +back, neither any booted and spurred to ride him." + +Except by Ralph, who, with a warmth that does honour to his feelings, +expatiates at some length upon the subject, the circumstances attending +the death of this extraordinary man have been little noticed. Rapin, +Echard, Kennet, Hume, make no mention of them whatever; and yet, +exclusively of the interest always excited by any great display of spirit +and magnanimity, his solemn denial of the project of assassination +imputed to him in the affair of the Rye House Plot is in itself a fact of +great importance, and one which might have been expected to attract, in +no small degree, the attention of the historian. That Hume, who has +taken some pains in canvassing the degree of credit due to the different +parts of the Rye House Plot, should pass it over in silence, is the more +extraordinary because, in the case of the popish plot, he lays, and +justly lays, the greatest stress upon the dying declarations of the +sufferers. Burnet adverts as well to the peculiar language used by +Rumbold as to his denial of the assassination; but having before given us +to understand that he believed that no such crime had been projected, it +is the less to be wondered at that he does not much dwell upon this +further evidence in favour of his former opinion. Sir John Dalrymple, +upon the authority of a paper which he does not produce, but from which +he quotes enough to show that if produced it would not answer his +purpose, takes Rumbold's guilt for a decided fact, and then states his +dying protestations of his innocence, as an instance of aggravated +wickedness. It is to be remarked, too, that although Sir John is pleased +roundly to assert that Rumbold denied the share he had had in the Rye +House Plot, yet the particular words which he cites neither contain nor +express, nor imply any such denial. He has not even selected those by +which the design of assassination was denied (the only denial that was +uttered), but refers to a general declaration made by Rumbold, that he +had done injustice to no man--a declaration which was by no means +inconsistent with his having been a party to a plot, which he, no doubt, +considered as justifiable, and even meritorious. This is not all: the +paper referred to is addressed to Walcot, by whom Rumbold states himself +to have been led on; and Walcot, with his last breath, denied his own +participation in any design to murder either Charles or James. Thus, +therefore, whether the declaration of the sufferer be interpreted in a +general or in a particular sense, there is no contradiction whatever +between it and the paper adduced; but thus it is that the character of a +brave and, as far as appears, a virtuous man, is most unjustly and +cruelly traduced. An incredible confusion of head, and an uncommon want +of reasoning powers, which distinguish the author to whom I refer, are, I +should charitably hope, the true sources of his misrepresentation; while +others may probably impute it to his desire of blackening, upon any +pretence, a person whose name is more or less connected with those of +Sidney and Russell. It ought not, perhaps, to pass without observation, +that this attack upon Rumbold is introduced only in an oblique manner: +the rigour of government destroyed, says the historian, the morals it +intended to correct, and made the unhappy sufferer add to his former +crimes the atrocity of declaring a falsehood in his last moments. Now, +what particular instances of rigour are here alluded to, it is difficult +to guess: for surely the execution of a man whom he sets down as guilty +of a design to murder the two royal brothers, could not, even in the +judgment of persons much less accustomed than Sir John to palliate the +crimes of princes, be looked upon as an act of blameable severity; but it +was thought, perhaps, that for the purpose of conveying a calumny upon +the persons concerned, or accused of being concerned, in the Rye House +Plot, an affected censure upon the government would be the fittest +vehicle. + +The fact itself, that Rumbold did, in his last hours, solemnly deny the +having been concerned in any project for assassinating the king or duke, +has not, I believe, been questioned. It is not invalidated by the +silence of some historians: it is confirmed by the misrepresentation of +others. The first question that naturally presents itself must be, was +this declaration true? The asseverations of dying men have always had, +and will always have, great influence upon the minds of those who do not +push their ill opinion of mankind to the most outrageous and +unwarrantable length; but though the weight of such asseverations be in +all cases great, it will not be in all equal. It is material therefore +to consider, first, what are the circumstances which may tend in +particular cases to diminish their credit; and next, how far such +circumstances appear to have existed in the case before us. The case +where this species of evidence would be the least convincing, would be +where hope of pardon is entertained; for then the man is not a dying man +in the sense of the proposition, for he has not that certainty that his +falsehood will not avail him, which is the principal foundation of the +credit due to his assertions. For the same reason, though in a less +degree, he who hopes for favour to his children, or to other surviving +connections, is to be listened to with some caution; for the existence of +one virtue does not necessarily prove that of another, and he who loves +his children and friends may yet be profligate and unprincipled; or, +deceiving himself, may think that while his ends are laudable, he ought +not to hesitate concerning the means. Besides these more obvious +temptations to prevarication, there is another which, though it may lie +somewhat deeper, yet experience teaches us to be rooted in human nature: +I mean that sort of obstinacy, or false shame, which makes men so +unwilling to retract what they have once advanced, whether in matter of +opinion or of fact. The general character of the man is also in this, as +in all other human testimony, a circumstance of the greatest moment. +Where none of the above-mentioned objections occur, and where therefore +the weight of evidence in question is confessedly considerable, yet is it +still liable to be balanced or outweighed by evidence in the opposite +scale. + +Let Rumbold's declaration, then, be examined upon these principles, and +we shall find that it has every character of truth, without a single +circumstance to discredit it. He was so far from entertaining any hope +of pardon, that he did not seem even to wish it; and indeed if he had had +any such chimerical object in view, he must have known that to have +supplied the government with a proof of the Rye House assassination plot, +would be a more likely road at least, than a steady denial, to obtain it. +He left none behind him for whom to entreat favour, or whose welfare or +honour was at all affected by any confession or declaration he might +make. If, in a prospective view, he was without temptation, so neither, +if he looked back, was he fettered by any former declaration; so that he +could not be influenced by that erroneous notion of consistency to which +it may be feared that truth, even in the most awful moments, has in some +cases been sacrificed. His timely escape in 1683 had saved him from the +necessity of making any protestation upon the subject of his innocence at +that time; and the words of the letter to Walcot are so far from +containing such a protestation, that they are quoted (very absurdly, it +is true) by Sir John Dalrymple as an avowal of guilt. If his testimony +is free from these particular objections, much less is it impeached by +his general character, which was that of a bold and daring man, who was +very unlikely to feel shame in avowing what he had not been ashamed to +commit, and who seems to have taken a delight in speaking bold truths, or +at least what appeared to him to be such, without regarding the manner in +which his hearers were likely to receive them. With respect to the last +consideration, that of the opposite evidence, it all depends upon the +veracity of men who, according to their own account, betrayed their +comrades, and were actuated by the hope either of pardon or reward. + +It appears to be of the more consequence to clear up this matter, because +if we should be of opinion, as I think we all must be, that the story of +the intended assassination of the king, in his way from Newmarket, is as +fabulous as that of the silver bullets by which he was to have been shot +at Windsor, a most singular train of reflections will force itself upon +our minds, as well in regard to the character of the times, as to the +means by which the two causes gained successively the advantage over each +other. The Royalists had found it impossible to discredit the fiction, +gross as it was, of the popish plot; nor could they prevent it from being +a powerful engine in the hands of the Whigs, who, during the alarm raised +by it, gained an irresistible superiority in the House of Commons, in the +City of London, and in most parts of the kingdom. But they who could not +quiet a false alarm raised by their adversaries, found little or no +difficulty in raising one equally false in their own favour, by the +supposed detection of the intended assassination. With regard to the +advantages derived to the respective parties from those detestable +fictions, if it be urged, on one hand, that the panic spread by the Whigs +was more universal and more violent in its effects, it must be allowed, +on the other, that the advantages gained by the Tories were, on account +of their alliance with the crown, more durable and decisive. There is a +superior solidity ever belonging to the power of the crown, as compared +with that of any body of men or party, or even with either of the other +branches of the legislature. A party has influence, but, properly +speaking, no power. The Houses of Parliament have abundance of power, +but, as bodies, little or no influence. The crown has both power and +influence, which, when exerted with wisdom and steadiness, will always be +found too strong for any opposition whatever, till the zeal and fidelity +of party attachments shall be found to increase in proportion to the +increased influence of the executive power. + +While these matters were transacting in Scotland, Monmouth, conformably +to his promise to Argyle, set sail from Holland, and landed at Lyme in +Dorsetshire, on the 11th of June. He was attended by Lord Grey of Wark, +Fletcher of Saltoun, Colonel Matthews, Ferguson, and a few other +gentlemen. His reception was, among the lower ranks, cordial, and for +some days at least, if not weeks, there seemed to have been more +foundation for the sanguine hopes of Lord Grey and others, his followers, +than the duke had supposed. The first step taken by the invader was to +issue a proclamation, which he caused to be read in the market-place. In +this instrument he touched upon what were, no doubt, thought to be the +most popular topics, and loaded James and his Catholic friends with every +imputation which had at any time been thrown against them. This +declaration appears to have been well received, and the numbers that came +in to him were very considerable; but his means of arming them were +limited, nor had he much confidence, for the purpose of any important +military operation, in men unused to discipline, and wholly unacquainted +with the art of war. Without examining the question whether or not +Monmouth, from his professional prejudices, carried, as some have alleged +he did, his diffidence of unpractised soldiers and new levies too far, it +seems clear that, in his situation, the best, or rather the only chance +of success, was to be looked for in counsels of the boldest kind. If he +could not immediately strike some important stroke, it was not likely +that he ever should; nor indeed was he in a condition to wait. He could +not flatter himself, as Argyle had done, that he had a strong country, +full of relations and dependants, where he might secure himself till the +co-operation of his confederate or some other favourable circumstance +might put it in his power to act more efficaciously. Of any brilliant +success in Scotland he could not, at this time, entertain any hope, nor, +if he had, could he rationally expect that any events in that quarter +would make the sort of impression here which, on the other hand, his +success would produce in Scotland. With money he was wholly unprovided; +nor does it appear, whatever may have been the inclination of some +considerable men, such as Lords Macclesfield, Brandon, Delamere, and +others, that any persons of that description were engaged to join in his +enterprise. His reception had been above his hopes, and his recruits +more numerous than could be expected, or than he was able to furnish with +arms; while, on the other hand, the forces in arms against him consisted +chiefly in a militia, formidable neither from numbers nor discipline, and +moreover suspected of disaffection. The present moment, therefore, +seemed to offer the most favourable opportunity for enterprise of any +that was likely to occur; but the unfortunate Monmouth judged otherwise, +and, as if he were to defend rather than to attack, directed his chief +policy to the avoiding of a general action. + +It being, however, absolutely necessary to dislodge some troops which the +Earl of Feversham had thrown into Bridport, a detachment of three hundred +men was made for that purpose, which had the most complete success, +notwithstanding the cowardice of Lord Grey, who commanded them. This +nobleman, who had been so instrumental in persuading his friend to the +invasion, upon the first appearance of danger is said to have left the +troops whom he commanded, and to have sought his own personal safety in +flight. The troops carried Bridport, to the shame of the commander who +had deserted them, and returned to Lyme. + +It is related by Ferguson that Monmouth said to Matthews, "What shall I +do with Lord Grey?" To which the other answered, "That he was the only +general in Europe who would ask such a question;" intending, no doubt, to +reproach the duke with the excess to which he pushed his characteristic +virtues of mildness and forbearance. That these virtues formed a part of +his character is most true, and the personal friendship in which he had +lived with Grey would incline him still more to the exercise of them upon +this occasion; but it is to be remembered also that the delinquent was, +in respect of rank, property, and perhaps too of talent, by far the most +considerable man he had with him; and, therefore, that prudential motives +might concur to deter a general from proceeding to violent measures with +such a person, especially in a civil war, where the discipline of an +armed party cannot be conducted upon the same system as that of a regular +army serving in a foreign war. Monmouth's disappointment in Lord Grey +was aggravated by the loss of Fletcher of Saltoun, who, in a sort of +scuffle that ensued upon his being reproached for having seized a horse +belonging to a man of the country, had the misfortune to kill the owner. +Monmouth, however unwilling, thought himself obliged to dismiss him; and +thus, while a fatal concurrence of circumstances forced him to part with +the man he esteemed, and to retain him whom he despised, he found himself +at once disappointed of the support of the two persons upon whom he had +most relied. + +On the 15th of June, his army being now increased to near three thousand +men, the duke marched from Lyme. He does not appear to have taken this +step with a view to any enterprise of importance, but rather to avoid the +danger which he apprehended from the motions of the Devonshire and +Somerset militias, whose object it seemed to be to shut him up in Lyme. +In his first day's march he had opportunities of engaging, or rather of +pursuing, each of those bodies, who severally retreated from his forces; +but conceiving it to be his business, as he said, not to fight, but to +march on, he went through Axminster, and encamped in a strong piece of +ground between that town and Chard in Somersetshire, to which place he +proceeded on the ensuing day. According to Wade's narrative, which +appears to afford by far the most authentic account of these +transactions, here it was that the first proposition was made for +proclaiming Monmouth king. Ferguson made the proposal, and was supported +by Lord Grey, but it was easily run down, as Wade expresses it, by those +who were against it, and whom, therefore, we must suppose to have formed +a very considerable majority of the persons deemed of sufficient +importance to be consulted on such an occasion. These circumstances are +material, because if that credit be given to them which they appear to +deserve, Ferguson's want of veracity becomes so notorious, that it is +hardly worth while to attend to any part of his narrative. Where it only +corroborates accounts given by others, it is of little use; and where it +differs from them, it deserves no credit. I have, therefore, wholly +disregarded it. + +From Chard, Monmouth and his party proceeded to Taunton, a town where, as +well from the tenor of former occurrences as from the zeal and number of +the Protestant dissenters, who formed a great portion of its inhabitants, +he had every reason to expect the most favourable reception. His +expectations were not disappointed. + +The inhabitants of the upper, as well as the lower classes, vied with +each other in testifying their affection for his person, and their zeal +for his cause. While the latter rent the air with applauses and +acclamations, the former opened their houses to him and to his followers, +and furnished his army with necessaries and supplies of every kind. His +way was strewed with flowers; the windows were thronged with spectators, +all anxious to participate in what the warm feelings of the moment made +them deem a triumph. Husbands pointed out to their wives, mothers to +their children, the brave and lovely hero who was destined to be the +deliverer of his country. The beautiful lines which Dryden makes +Achitophel, in his highest strain of flattery, apply to this unfortunate +nobleman, were in this instance literally verified: + + "Thee, saviour, thee, the nation's vows confess, + And, never satisfied with seeing, bless. + Swift unbespoken pomps thy steps proclaim, + And stammering babes are taught to lisp thy name." + +In the midst of these joyous scenes twenty-six young maids, of the best +families in the town, presented him in the name of their townsmen with +colours wrought by them for the purpose, and with a Bible; upon receiving +which he said that he had taken the field with a design to defend the +truth contained in that Book, and to seal it with his blood if there was +occasion. + +In such circumstances it is no wonder that his army increased; and, +indeed, exclusive of individual recruits, he was here strengthened by the +arrival of Colonel Bassett with a considerable corps. But in the midst +of these prosperous circumstances, some of them of such apparent +importance to the success of his enterprise, all of them highly +flattering to his feelings, he did not fail to observe that one +favourable symptom (and that too of the most decisive nature) was still +wanting. None of the considerable families, not a single nobleman, and +scarcely any gentleman of rank and consequence in the counties through +which he had passed, had declared in his favour. Popular applause is +undoubtedly sweet; and not only so, it often furnishes most powerful +means to the genius that knows how to make use of them. But Monmouth +well knew that without the countenance and assistance of a proportion, at +least, of the higher ranks in the country, there was, for an undertaking +like his, little prospect of success. He could not but have remarked +that the habits and prejudices of the English people are, in a great +degree, aristocratical; nor had he before him, nor indeed have we since +his time, had one single example of an insurrection that was successful, +unaided by the ancient families and great landed proprietors. He must +have felt this the more, because in former parts of his political life he +had been accustomed to act with such coadjutors; and it is highly +probable that if Lord Russell had been alive, and could have appeared at +the head of one hundred only of his western tenantry, such a +reinforcement would have inspired him with more real confidence than the +thousands who individually flocked to his standard. + +But though Russell was no more, there were not wanting, either in the +provinces through which the duke passed, or in other parts of the +kingdom, many noble and wealthy families who were attached to the +principles of the Whigs. To account for their neutrality, and, if +possible, to persuade them to a different conduct, was naturally among +his principal concerns. Their present coldness might be imputed to the +indistinctness of his declarations with respect to what was intended to +be the future government. Men zealous for monarchy might not choose to +embark without some certain pledge that their favourite form should be +preserved. They would also expect to be satisfied with respect to the +person whom their arms, if successful, were to place upon the throne. To +promise, therefore, the continuance of a monarchical establishment, and +to designate the future monarch, seemed to be necessary for the purpose +of acquiring aristocratical support. Whatever might be the intrinsic +weight of this argument, it easily made its way with Monmouth in his +present situation. The aspiring temper of mind which is the natural +consequence of popular favour and success, produced in him a disposition +to listen to any suggestion which tended to his elevation and +aggrandisement; and when he could persuade himself, upon reasons specious +at least, that the measures which would most gratify his aspiring desires +would be, at the same time, a stroke of the soundest policy, it is not to +be wondered at that it was immediately and impatiently adopted. Urged, +therefore, by these mixed motives, he declared himself king, and issued +divers proclamations in the royal style; assigning to those whose +approbation he doubted the reasons above adverted to, and proscribing and +threatening with the punishment due to rebellion such as should resist +his mandates, and adhere to the usurping Duke of York. + +If this measure was in reality taken with views of policy, those views +were miserably disappointed; for it does not appear that one proselyte +was gained. The threats in the proclamation were received with derision +by the king's army, and no other sentiments were excited by the +assumption of the royal title than those of contempt and indignation. The +commonwealthsmen were dissatisfied, of course, with the principle of the +measure: the favourers of hereditary right held it in abhorrence, and +considered it as a kind of sacrilegious profanation; nor even among those +who considered monarchy in a more rational light, and as a magistracy +instituted for the good of the people, could it be at all agreeable that +such a magistrate should be elected by the army that had thronged to his +standard, or by the particular partiality of a provincial town. +Monmouth's strength, therefore, was by no means increased by his new +title, and seemed to be still limited to two descriptions of persons; +first, those who, from thoughtlessness or desperation, were willing to +join in any attempt at innovation; secondly, such as, directing their +views to a single point, considered the destruction of James's tyranny as +the object which, at all hazards, and without regard to consequences, +they were bound to pursue. On the other hand, his reputation both for +moderation and good faith was considerably impaired, inasmuch as his +present conduct was in direct contradiction to that part of his +declaration wherein he had promised to leave the future adjustment of +government, and especially the consideration of his own claims, to a free +and independent parliament. + +The notion of improving his new levies by discipline seems to have taken +such possession of Monmouth's mind that he overlooked the probable, or +rather the certain, consequences of a delay, by which the enemy would be +enabled to bring into the field forces far better disciplined and +appointed than any which, even with the most strenuous and successful +exertions, he could hope to oppose to them. Upon this principle, and +especially as he had not yet fixed upon any definite object of +enterprise, he did not think a stay of a few days at Taunton would be +materially, if at all, prejudicial to his affairs; and it was not till +the 21st of June that he proceeded to Bridgewater, where he was received +in the most cordial manner. In his march, the following day, from that +town to Glastonbury, he was alarmed by a party of the Earl of Oxford's +horse; but all apprehensions of any material interruptions were removed +by an account of the militia having left Wells, and retreated to Bath and +Bristol. From Glastonbury he went to Shipton-Mallet, where the project +of an attack upon Bristol was communicated by the duke to his officers. +After some discussion, it was agreed that the attack should be made on +the Gloucestershire side of the city, and with that view to pass the Avon +at Keynsham Bridge, a few miles from Bath. In their march from Shipton- +Mallet, the troops were again harassed in their rear by a party of horse +and dragoons, but lodged quietly at night at a village called Pensford. A +detachment was sent early the next morning to possess itself of Keynsham, +and to repair the bridge, which might probably be broken down to prevent +a passage. Upon their approach, a troop of the Gloucestershire horse- +militia immediately abandoned the town in great precipitation, leaving +behind them two horses and one man. By break of day, the bridge, which +had not been much injured, was repaired, and before noon, Monmouth, +having passed it with his whole army, was in full march to Bristol, which +he determined to attack the ensuing night. But the weather proving rainy +and bad, it was deemed expedient to return to Keynsham, a measure from +which he expected to reap a double advantage; to procure dry and +commodious quarters for the soldiery, and to lull the enemy, by a +movement, which bore the semblance of a retreat, into a false and +delusive security. The event, however, did not answer his expectation, +for the troops had scarcely taken up their quarters, when they were +disturbed by two parties of horse, who entered the town at two several +places. An engagement ensued, in which Monmouth lost fourteen men, and a +captain of horse, though in the end the Royalists were obliged to retire, +leaving three prisoners. From these the duke had information that the +king's army was near at hand, and, as they said, about four thousand +strong. + +This new state of affairs seemed to demand new councils. The projected +enterprise upon Bristol was laid aside, and the question was, whether to +make by forced marches for Gloucester, in order to pass the Severn at +that city, and so to gain the counties of Salop and Chester, where he +expected to be met by many friends, or to march directly into Wiltshire, +where, according to some intelligence received ["from one Adlam"] the day +before, there was a considerable body of horse (under whose command does +not appear) ready, by their junction, to afford him a most important and +seasonable support. To the first of these plans a decisive objection was +stated. The distance by Gloucester was so great, that, considering the +slow marches to which he would be limited, by the daily attacks with +which the different small bodies of the enemy's cavalry would not fail to +harass his rear, he was in great danger of being overtaken by the king's +forces, and might thus be driven to risk all in an engagement upon terms +the most disadvantageous. On the contrary, if joined in Wiltshire by the +expected aids, he might confidently offer battle to the royal army; and, +provided he could bring them to an action before they were strengthened +by new reinforcements, there was no unreasonable prospect of success. The +latter plan was therefore adopted, and no sooner adopted than put in +execution. The army was in motion without delay, and being before Bath +on the morning of the 26th of June, summoned the place, rather (as it +should seem) in sport than in earnest, as there was no hope of its +surrender. After this bravado they marched on southward to Philip's +Norton, where they rested; the horse in the town, and the foot in the +field. + +While Monmouth was making these marches, there were not wanting, in many +parts of the adjacent country, strong symptoms of the attachment of the +lower orders of people to his cause, and more especially in those +manufacturing towns where the Protestant dissenters were numerous. In +Froome there had been a considerable rising, headed by the constable, who +posted up the duke's declaration in the market-place. Many of the +inhabitants of the neighbouring towns of Westbury and Warminster came in +throngs to the town to join the insurgents; some armed with fire-arms, +but more with such rustic weapons as opportunity could supply. Such a +force, if it had joined the main army, or could have been otherwise +directed by any leader of judgment and authority, might have proved very +serviceable; but in its present state it was a mere rabble, and upon the +first appearance of the Earl of Pembroke, who entered the town with a +hundred and sixty horse and forty musketeers, fell, as might be expected, +into total confusion. The rout was complete; all the arms of the +insurgents were seized; and the constable, after having been compelled to +abjure his principles, and confess the enormity of his offence, was +committed to prison. + +This transaction took place the 25th, the day before Monmouth's arrival +at Philip's Norton, and may have, in a considerable degree, contributed +to the disappointment, of which we learn from Wade, that he at this time +began bitterly to complain. He was now upon the confines of Wiltshire, +and near enough for the bodies of horse, upon whose favourable intentions +so much reliance had been placed, to have effected a junction, if they +had been so disposed; but whether that Adlam's intelligence had been +originally bad, or that Pembroke's proceedings at Froome had intimidated +them, no symptom of such an intention could be discovered. A desertion +took place in his army, which the exaggerated accounts in the Gazette +made to amount to near two thousand men. These dispiriting +circumstances, added to the complete disappointment of the hopes +entertained from the assumption of the royal title, produced in him a +state of mind but little short of despondency. He complained that all +people had deserted him, and is said to have been so dejected, as hardly +to have the spirit requisite for giving the necessary orders. + +From this state of torpor, however, he appears to have been effectually +roused by a brisk attack that was made upon him on the 27th, in the +morning, by the Royalists, under the command of his half-brother, the +Duke of Grafton. That spirited young nobleman (whose intrepid courage, +conspicuous upon every occasion, led him in this, and many other +instances, to risk a life, which he finally lost in a better cause), +heading an advanced detachment of Lord Feversham's army, who had marched +from Bath, with a view to fall on the enemy's rear, marched boldly up a +narrow lane leading to the town, and attacked a barricade, which Monmouth +had caused to be made across the way, at the entrance of the town. +Monmouth was no sooner apprised of this brisk attack, than he ordered a +party to go out of the town by a by-way, who coming on the rear of the +Grenadiers while others of his men were engaged with their front, had +nearly surrounded them, and taken their commander prisoner, but Grafton +forced his way through the enemy. An engagement ensued between the +insurgents and the remainder of Feversham's detachment, who had lined the +hedges which flanked them. The former were victorious, and after driving +the enemy from hedge to hedge, forced them at last into the open field, +where they joined the rest of the king's forces, newly come up. The +killed and wounded in these encounters amounted to about forty on +Feversham's side, twenty on Monmouth's; but among the latter there were +several officers, and some of note, while the loss of the former, with +the exception of two volunteers, Seymour and May, consisted entirely of +common soldiers. + +The Royalists now drew up on an eminence, about five hundred paces from +the hedges, while Monmouth, having placed, of his four field-pieces, two +at the mouth of the lane, and two upon a rising ground near it on the +right, formed his army along the hedge. From these stations a firing of +artillery was begun on each side, and continued near six hours, but with +little or no effect. Monmouth, according to Wade, losing but one, and +the Royalists, according to the Gazette, not one man, by the whole +cannonade. In these circumstances, notwithstanding the recent and +convincing experience he now had of the ability of his raw troops to +face, in certain situations at least, the more regular forces of his +enemy, Monmouth was advised by some to retreat; but upon a more general +consultation, this advice was over-ruled, and it was determined to cut +passages through the hedges and to offer battle. But before this could +be effected the royal army, not willing again to engage among the +enclosures, annoyed in the open field by the rain which continued to fall +very heavily, and disappointed, no doubt, at the little effect of their +artillery, began their retreat. The little confidence which Monmouth had +in his horse--perhaps the ill opinion he now entertained of their +leader--forbade him to think of pursuit, and having stayed till a late +hour in the field, and leaving large fires burning, he set out on his +march in the night, and on the 28th, in the morning, reached Froome, +where he put his troops in quarter and rested two days. + +It was here he first heard certain news of Argyle's discomfiture. It was +in vain to seek for any circumstance in his affairs that might mitigate +the effect of the severe blow inflicted by this intelligence, and he +relapsed into the same low spirits as at Philip's Norton. No diversion, +at least no successful diversion, had been made in his favour: there was +no appearance of the horse, which had been the principal motive to allure +him into that part of the country; and what was worst of all, no +desertion from the king's army. It was manifest, said the duke's more +timid advisers, that the affair must terminate ill, and the only measure +now to be taken was, that the general with his officers should leave the +army to shift for itself, and make severally for the most convenient sea- +ports, whence they might possibly get a safe passage to the Continent. To +account for Monmouth's entertaining, even for a moment, a thought so +unworthy of him, and so inconsistent with the character for spirit he had +ever maintained--a character unimpeached even by his enemies--we must +recollect the unwillingness with which he undertook this fatal +expedition; that his engagement to Argyle, who was now past help, was +perhaps his principal motive for embarking at the time; that it was with +great reluctance he had torn himself from the arms of Lady Harriet +Wentworth, with whom he had so firmly persuaded himself that he could be +happy in the most obscure retirement, that he believed himself weaned +from ambition, which had hitherto been the only passion of his mind. It +is true, that when he had once yielded to the solicitations of his +friends so far as to undertake a business of such magnitude, it was his +duty (but a duty that required a stronger mind than his to execute) to +discard from his thoughts all the arguments that had rendered his +compliance reluctant. But it is one of the great distinctions between an +ordinary mind and a superior one, to be able to carry on without +relenting a plan we have not originally approved, and especially when it +appears to have turned out ill. This proposal of disbanding was a step +so pusillanimous and dishonourable that it could not be approved by any +council, however composed. It was condemned by all except Colonel +Venner, and was particularly inveighed against by Lord Grey, who was +perhaps desirous of retrieving, by bold words at least, the reputation he +had lost at Bridport. It is possible, too, that he might be really +unconscious of his deficiency in point of personal courage till the +moment of danger arrived, and even forgetful of it when it was passed. +Monmouth was easily persuaded to give up a plan so uncongenial to his +nature, resolved, though with little hope of success, to remain with his +army to take the chance of events, and at the worst to stand or fall with +men whose attachment to him had laid him under indelible obligations. + +This resolution being taken, the first plan was to proceed to Warminster, +but on the morning of his departure hearing, on the one hand, that the +king's troops were likely to cross his march, and on the other, being +informed by a quaker, before known to the duke, that there was a great +club army, amounting to ten thousand men, ready to join his standard in +the marshes to the westward, he altered his intention, and returned to +Shipton-Mallet, where he rested that night, his army being in good +quarters. From Shipton-Mallet he proceeded, on the 1st of July, to +Wells, upon information that there were in that city some carriages +belonging to the king's army, and ill-guarded. These he found and took, +and stayed that night in the town. The following day he marched towards +Bridgewater in search of the great succour he had been taught to expect; +but found, of the promised ten thousand men, only a hundred and sixty. +The army lay that night in the field, and once again entered Bridgewater +on the 3rd of July. That the duke's men were not yet completely +dispirited or out of heart appears from the circumstance of great numbers +of them going from Bridgewater to see their friends at Taunton, and other +places in the neighbourhood, and almost all returning the next day +according to their promise. On the 5th an account was received of the +king's army being considerably advanced, and Monmouth's first thought was +to retreat from it immediately, and marching by Axbridge and Keynsham to +Gloucester, to pursue the plan formerly rejected, of penetrating into the +counties of Chester and Salop. + +His preparations for this march were all made, when, on the afternoon of +the 5th, he learnt, more accurately than he had before done, the true +situation of the royal army, and from the information now received, he +thought it expedient to consult his principal officers, whether it might +not be advisable to attempt to surprise the enemy by a night attack upon +their quarters. The prevailing opinion was, that if the infantry were +not entrenched the plan was worth the trial; otherwise not. Scouts were +despatched to ascertain this point, and their report being that there was +no entrenchment, an attack was resolved on. In pursuance of this +resolution, at about eleven at night, the whole army was in march, Lord +Grey commanding the horse, and Colonel Wade the vanguard of the foot. The +duke's orders were, that the horse should first advance, and pushing into +the enemy's camp, endeavour to prevent their infantry from coming +together; that the cannon should follow the horse, and the foot the +cannon, and draw all up in one line, and so finish what the cavalry +should have begun, before the king's horse and artillery could be got in +order. But it was now discovered that though there were no +entrenchments, there was a ditch which served as a drain to the great +moor adjacent, of which no mention had been made by the scouts. To this +ditch the horse under Lord Grey advanced, and no farther; and whether +immediately, as according to some accounts, or after having been +considerably harassed by the enemy in their attempts to find a place to +pass, according to others, quitted the field. The cavalry being gone, +and the principle upon which the attack had been undertaken being that of +a surprise, the duke judged it necessary that the infantry should advance +as speedily as possible. Wade, therefore, when he came within forty +paces of the ditch, was obliged to halt to put his battalion into that +order, which the extreme rapidity of the march had for the time +disconcerted. His plan was to pass the ditch, reserving his fire; but +while he was arranging his men for that purpose, another battalion, newly +come up, began to fire, though at a considerable distance; a bad example, +which it was impossible to prevent the vanguard from following, and it +was now no longer in the power of their commander to persuade them to +advance. The king's forces, as well horse and artillery as foot, had now +full time to assemble. The duke had no longer cavalry in the field, and +though his artillery, which consisted only of three or four iron guns, +was well served under the directions of a Dutch gunner, it was by no +means equal to that of the royal army, which, as soon as it was light, +began to do great execution. In these circumstances the unfortunate +Monmouth, fearful of being encompassed and made prisoner by the king's +cavalry, who were approaching upon his flank, and urged, as it is +reported, to flight by the same person who had stimulated him to his +fatal enterprise, quitted the field accompanied by Lord Grey and some +others. The left wing, under the command of Colonel Holmes and Matthews, +next gave way; and Wade's men, after having continued for an hour and a +half a distant and ineffectual fire, seeing their left discomfited, began +a retreat, which soon afterwards became a complete rout. + +Thus ended the decisive battle of Sedgmoor; an attack which seems to have +been judiciously conceived, and in many parts spiritedly executed. The +general was deficient neither in courage nor conduct; and the troops, +while they displayed the native bravery of Englishmen, were under as good +discipline as could be expected from bodies newly raised. Two +circumstances seem to have principally contributed to the loss of the +day; first, the unforeseen difficulty occasioned by the ditch, of which +the assailants had had no intelligence; and secondly, the cowardice of +the commander of the horse. The discovery of the ditch was the more +alarming, because it threw a general doubt upon the information of the +spies, and the night being dark they could not ascertain that this was +the only impediment of the kind which they were to expect. The +dispersion of the horse was still more fatal, inasmuch as it deranged the +whole order of the plan, by which it had been concerted that their +operations were to facilitate the attack to be made by the foot. If Lord +Grey had possessed a spirit more suitable to his birth and name, to the +illustrious friendship with which he had been honoured, and to the +command with which he was entrusted, he would doubtless have persevered +till he found a passage into the enemy's camp, which could have been +effected at a ford not far distant: the loss of time occasioned by the +ditch might not have been very material, and the most important +consequences might have ensued; but it would surely be rashness to +assert, as Hume does, that the army would after all have gained the +victory had not the misconduct of Monmouth and the cowardice of Grey +prevented it. This rash judgment is the more to be admired, as the +historian has not pointed out the instance of misconduct to which he +refers. The number of Monmouth's men killed is computed by some at two +thousand, by others at three hundred--a disparity, however, which may be +easily reconciled, by supposing that the one account takes in those who +were killed in battle, while the other comprehends the wretched fugitives +who were massacred in ditches, corn-fields, and other hiding-places, the +following day. + +In general, I have thought it right to follow Wade's narrative, which +appears to me by far the most authentic, if not the only authentic +account of this important transaction. It is imperfect, but its +imperfection arises from the narrator's omitting all those circumstances +of which he was not an eye-witness, and the greater credit is on that +very account due to him for those which he relates. With respect to +Monmouth's quitting the field, it is not mentioned by him, nor is it +possible to ascertain the precise point of time at which it happened. +That he fled while his troops were still fighting, and therefore too soon +for his glory, can scarcely be doubted; and the account given by +Ferguson, whose veracity, however, is always to be suspected, that Lord +Grey urged him to the measure, as well by persuasion as by example, seems +not improbable. This misbehaviour of the last-mentioned nobleman is more +certain; but as, according to Ferguson, who has been followed by others, +he actually conversed with Monmouth in the field, and as all accounts +make him the companion of his flight, it is not to be understood that +when he first gave way with his cavalry, he ran away in the literal sense +of the words, or if he did, he must have returned. The exact truth, with +regard to this and many other interesting particulars, is difficult to be +discovered; owing, not more to the darkness of the night in which they +were transacted, than to the personal partialities and enmities by which +they have been disfigured, in the relations of the different contemporary +writers. + +Monmouth with his suite first directed his course towards the Bristol +Channel, and as is related by Oldmixon, was once inclined, at the +suggestion of Dr. Oliver, a faithful and honest adviser, to embark for +the coast of Wales, with a view of concealing himself some time in that +principality. Lord Grey, who appears to have been, in all instances, his +evil genius, dissuaded him from this plan, and the small party having +separated, took each several ways. Monmouth, Grey, and a gentleman of +Brandenburg, went southward, with a view to gain the New Forest in +Hampshire, where, by means of Grey's connections in that district, and +thorough knowledge of the country, it was hoped they might be in safety, +till a vessel could be procured to transport them to the Continent. They +left their horses, and disguised themselves as peasants; but the pursuit, +stimulated as well by party zeal as by the great pecuniary rewards +offered for the capture of Monmouth and Grey, was too vigilant to be +eluded. Grey was taken on the 7th in the evening; and the German, who +shared the same fate early on the next morning, confessed that he had +parted from Monmouth but a few hours since. The neighbouring country was +immediately and thoroughly searched, and James had ere night the +satisfaction of learning that his nephew was in his power. The +unfortunate duke was discovered in a ditch, half concealed by fern and +nettles. His stock of provision, which consisted of some peas gathered +in the fields through which he had fled, was nearly exhausted, and there +is reason to think that he had little, if any other sustenance, since he +left Bridgewater on the evening of the 5th. To repose he had been +equally a stranger; how his mind must have been harassed, it is needless +to discuss. Yet that in such circumstances he appeared dispirited and +crestfallen, is, by the unrelenting malignity of party writers, imputed +to him as cowardice and meanness of spirit. That the failure of his +enterprise, together with the bitter reflection that he had suffered +himself to be engaged in it against his own better judgment, joined to +the other calamitous circumstances of his situation, had reduced him to a +state of despondency, is evident; and in this frame of mind, he wrote, on +the very day of his capture, the following letter to the king: + + "Sir,--Your majesty may think it the misfortune I now lie under makes + me make this application to you; but I do assure your majesty, it is + the remorse I now have in me of the wrong I have done you in several + things, and now in taking up arms against you. For my taking up arms, + it was never in my thought since the king died: the Prince and + Princess of Orange will be witness for me of the assurance I gave + them, that I would never stir against you. But my misfortune was such + as to meet with some horrid people, that made me believe things of + your majesty, and gave me so many false arguments, that I was fully + led away to believe that it was a shame and a sin before God not to do + it. But, sir, I will not trouble your majesty at present with many + things I could say for myself, that I am sure would move your + compassion; the chief end of this letter being only to beg of you, + that I may have that happiness as to speak to your majesty; for I have + that to say to you, sir, that I hope may give you a long and happy + reign. + + "I am sure, sir, when you hear me, you will be convinced of the zeal I + have of your preservation, and how heartily I repent of what I have + done. I can say no more to your majesty now, being this letter must + be seen by those that keep me. Therefore, sir, I shall make an end in + begging of your majesty to believe so well of me, that I would rather + die a thousand deaths than excuse anything I have done, if I did not + really think myself the most in the wrong that ever a man was, and had + not from the bottom of my heart an abhorrence for those that put me + upon it, and for the action itself. I hope, sir, God Almighty will + strike your heart with mercy and compassion for me, as he has done + mine with the abhorrence of what I have done: wherefore, sir, I hope I + may live to show you how zealous I shall ever be for your service; and + could I but say one word in this letter, you would be convinced of it; + but it is of that consequence, that I dare not do it. Therefore, sir, + I do beg of you once more to let me speak to you; for then you will be + convinced how much I shall ever be, your majesty's most humble and + dutiful + + "MONMOUTH." + +The only certain conclusion to be drawn from this letter, which Mr. +Echard, in a manner perhaps not so seemly for a Churchman, terms +submissive, is, that Monmouth still wished anxiously for life, and was +willing to save it, even at the cruel price of begging and receiving it +as a boon from his enemy. Ralph conjectures with great probability that +this unhappy man's feelings were all governed by his excessive affection +for his mistress and that a vain hope of enjoying, with Lady Harriet +Wentworth, that retirement which he had so unwillingly abandoned, induced +him to adopt a conduct, which he might otherwise have considered as +indecent. At any rate it must be admitted that to cling to life is a +strong instinct in human nature, and Monmouth might reasonably enough +satisfy himself, that when his death could not by any possibility benefit +either the public or his friends, to follow such instinct, even in a +manner that might tarnish the splendour of heroism, was no impeachment of +the moral virtue of a man. + +With respect to the mysterious part of the letter, where he speaks of one +word which would be of such infinite importance, it is difficult, if not +rather utterly impossible, to explain it by any rational conjecture. Mr. +Macpherson's favourite hypothesis, that the Prince of Orange had been a +party to the late attempt, and that Monmouth's intention, when he wrote +the letter, was to disclose this important fact to the king, is totally +destroyed by those expressions, in which the unfortunate prisoner tells +his majesty he had assured the Prince and Princess of Orange that he +would never stir against him. Did he assure the Prince of Orange that he +would never do that which he was engaged to the Prince of Orange to do? +Can it be said that this was a false fact, and that no such assurances +were in truth given? To what purpose was the falsehood? In order to +conceal from motives, whether honourable or otherwise, his connection +with the prince? What! a fiction in one paragraph of the letter in order +to conceal a fact, which in the next he declares his intention of +revealing? The thing is impossible. + +The intriguing character of the Secretary of State, the Earl of +Sunderland, whose duplicity in many instances cannot be doubted, and the +mystery in which almost everything relating to him is involved, might +lead us to suspect that the expressions point at some discovery in which +that nobleman was concerned, and that Monmouth had it in his power to be +of important service to James, by revealing to him the treachery of his +minister. Such a conjecture might be strengthened by an anecdote that +has had some currency, and to the truth of which, in part, King James's +"Memoirs," if the extracts from them can be relied on, bear testimony. It +is said that the Duke of Monmouth told Mr. Ralph Sheldon, one of the +king's chamber, who came to meet him on his way to London, that he had +had reason to expect Sunderland's co-operation, and authorised Sheldon to +mention this to the king: that while Sheldon was relating this to his +majesty, Sunderland entered; Sheldon hesitated, but was ordered to go on. +"Sunderland seemed, at first, struck" (as well he might, whether innocent +or guilty), "but after a short time said, with a laugh, 'If that be all +he (Monmouth) can discover to save his life, it will do him little +good.'" It is to be remarked, that in Sheldon's conversation, as alluded +to by King James, the Prince of Orange's name is not even mentioned, +either as connected with Monmouth or with Sunderland. But, on the other +hand, the difficulties that stand in the way of our interpreting +Monmouth's letter as alluding to Sunderland, or of supposing that the +writer of it had any well-founded accusation against that minister, are +insurmountable. If he had such an accusation to make, why did he not +make it? The king says expressly, both in a letter to the Prince of +Orange, and in the extract, from his "Memoirs," above cited, that +Monmouth made no discovery of consequence, and the explanation suggested, +that his silence was owing to Sunderland the secretary's having assured +him of his pardon, seems wholly inadmissible. Such assurances could have +their influence no longer than while the hope of pardon remained. Why, +then, did he continue silent, when he found James inexorable? If he was +willing to accuse the earl before he had received these assurances, it is +inconceivable that he should have any scruple about doing it when they +turned out to have been delusive, and when his mind must have been +exasperated by the reflection that Sunderland's perfidious promises and +self-interested suggestions had deterred him from the only probable means +of saving his life. + +A third, and perhaps the most plausible, interpretation of the words in +question is, that they point to a discovery of Monmouth's friends in +England, when, in the dejected state of his mind at the time of writing, +unmanned as he was by misfortune, he might sincerely promise what the +return of better thoughts forbade him to perform. This account, however, +though free from the great absurdities belonging to the two others, is by +no means satisfactory. The phrase, "one word," seems to relate rather to +some single person, or some single fact, and can hardly apply to any list +of associates that might be intended to be sacrificed. On the other +hand, the single denunciation of Lord Delamere, of Lord Brandon, or even +of the Earl of Devonshire, or of any other private individual, could not +be considered as of that extreme consequence which Monmouth attaches to +his promised disclosure. I have mentioned Lord Devonshire, who was +certainly not implicated in the enterprise, and who was not even +suspected, because it appears, from Grey's narrative, that one of +Monmouth's agents had once given hopes of his support; and therefore +there is a bare possibility that Monmouth may have reckoned upon his +assistance. Perhaps, after all, the letter has been canvassed with too +much nicety, and the words of it weighed more scrupulously than, proper +allowance being made for the situation and state of mind of the writer, +they ought to have been. They may have been thrown out at hazard, merely +as means to obtain an interview, of which the unhappy prisoner thought he +might, in some way or other, make his advantage. If any more precise +meaning existed in his mind, we must be content to pass it over as one of +those obscure points of history, upon which neither the sagacity of +historians, nor the many documents since made public, nor the great +discoverer, Time, has yet thrown any distinct light. + +Monmouth and Grey were now to be conveyed to London, for which purpose +they set out on the 11th, and arrived in the vicinity of the metropolis +on the 13th of July. In the meanwhile, the queen dowager, who seems to +have behaved with a uniformity of kindness towards her husband's son that +does her great honour, urgently pressed the king to admit his nephew to +an audience. Importuned, therefore, by entreaties, and instigated by the +curiosity which Monmouth's mysterious expressions, and Sheldon's story, +had excited, he consented, though with a fixed determination to show no +mercy. James was not of the number of those, in whom the want of an +extensive understanding is compensated by a delicacy of sentiment, or by +those right feelings, which are often found to be better guides for the +conduct than the most accurate reasoning. His nature did not revolt, his +blood did not run cold, at the thoughts of beholding the son of a brother +whom he had loved embracing his knees, petitioning, and petitioning in +vain, for life; of interchanging words and looks with a nephew, on whom +he was inexorably determined, within forty-eight short hours, to inflict +an ignominious death. + +In Macpherson's extract from King James's "Memoirs," it is confessed that +the king ought not to have seen, if he was not disposed to pardon the +culprit; but whether the observation is made by the exiled prince +himself, or by him who gives the extract, is in this, as in many other +passages of those "Memoirs," difficult to determine. Surely if the king +had made this reflection before Monmouth's execution, it must have +occurred to that monarch, that if he had inadvertently done that which he +ought not to have done, without an intention to pardon, the only remedy +was to correct that part of his conduct which was still in his power, and +since he could not recall the interview, to grant the pardon. + +Pursuant to this hard-hearted arrangement, Monmouth and Grey, on the very +day of their arrival, were brought to Whitehall, where they had severally +interviews with his majesty. James, in a letter to the Prince of Orange, +dated the following day, gives a short account of both these interviews. +Monmouth, he says, betrayed a weakness which did not become one who had +claimed the title of king; but made no discovery of consequence. + +Grey was more ingenuous (it is not certain in what sense his majesty uses +the term, since he does not refer to any discovery made by that lord), +and never once begged his life. Short as this account is, it seems the +only authentic one of those interviews. Bishop Kennet, who has been +followed by most of the modern historians, relates, that "This unhappy +captive, by the intercession of the queen dowager, was brought to the +king's presence, and fell presently at his feet, and confessed he +deserved to die; but conjured him, with tears in his eyes, not to use him +with the severity of justice, and to grant him a life, which he would be +ever ready to sacrifice for his service. He mentioned to him the example +of several great princes, who had yielded to the impressions of clemency +on the like occasions, and who had never afterwards repented of those +acts of generosity and mercy; concluding, in a most pathetical manner, +'Remember, sir, I am your brother's son, and if you take my life, it is +your own blood that you will shed.' The king asked him several +questions, and made him sign a declaration that his father told him he +was never married to his mother: and then said, he was sorry indeed for +his misfortunes; but his crime was of too great a consequence to be left +unpunished, and he must of necessity suffer for it. The queen is said to +have insulted him in a very arrogant and unmerciful manner. So that when +the duke saw there was nothing designed by this interview but to satisfy +the queen's revenge, he rose up from his majesty's feet with a new air of +bravery, and was carried back to the Tower." + +The topics used by Monmouth are such as he might naturally have employed, +and the demeanour attributed to him, upon finding the king inexorable, is +consistent enough with general probability, and his particular character; +but that the king took care to extract from him a confession of Charles's +declaration with respect to his illegitimacy, before he announced his +final refusal of mercy, and that the queen was present for the purpose of +reviling and insulting him, are circumstances too atrocious to merit +belief, without some more certain evidence. It must be remarked also, +that Burnet, whose general prejudices would not lead him to doubt any +imputations against the queen, does not mention her majesty's being +present. Monmouth's offer of changing religion is mentioned by him, but +no authority quoted; and no hint of the kind appears either in James's +Letters, or in the extract from his "Memoirs." + +From Whitehall Monmouth was at night carried to the Tower, where, no +longer uncertain as to his fate, he seems to have collected his mind, and +to have resumed his wonted fortitude. The bill of attainder that had +lately passed having superseded the necessity of a legal trial, his +execution was fixed for the next day but one after his commitment. This +interval appeared too short even for the worldly business which he wished +to transact, and he wrote again to the king on the 14th, desiring some +short respite, which was peremptorily refused. The difficulty of +obtaining any certainty concerning facts, even in instances where there +has not been any apparent motive for disguising them, is nowhere more +striking than in the few remaining hours of this unfortunate man's life. +According to King James's statement in his "Memoirs," he refused to see +his wife, while other accounts assert positively that she refused to see +him, unless in presence of witnesses. Burnet, who was not likely to be +mistaken in a fact of this kind, says they did meet, and parted very +coldly, a circumstance which, if true, gives us no very favourable idea +of the lady's character. There is also mention of a third letter written +by him to the king, which being entrusted to a perfidious officer of the +name of Scott, never reached its destination; but for this there is no +foundation. What seems most certain is, that in the Tower, and not in +the closet, he signed a paper, renouncing his pretensions to the crown, +the same which he afterwards delivered on the scaffold; and that he was +inclined to make this declaration, not by any vain hope of life, but by +his affection for his children, whose situation he rightly judged would +be safer and better under the reigning monarch and his successors, when +it should be evident that they could no longer be competitors for the +throne. + +Monmouth was very sincere in his religious professions, and it is +probable that a great portion of this sad day was passed in devotion and +religious discourse with the two prelates who had been sent by his +majesty to assist him in his spiritual concerns. Turner, bishop of Ely, +had been with him early in the morning, and Kenn, bishop of Bath and +Wells, was sent, upon the refusal of a respite, to prepare him for the +stroke, which it was now irrevocably fixed he should suffer the ensuing +day. They stayed with him all night, and in the morning of the 15th were +joined by Dr. Hooper, afterwards, in the reign of Anne, made bishop of +Bath and Wells, and by Dr. Tennison, who succeeded Tillotson in the see +of Canterbury. This last divine is stated by Burnet to have been most +acceptable to the duke, and, though he joined the others in some harsh +expostulations, to have done what the right reverend historian conceives +to have been his duty, in a softer and less peremptory manner. Certain +it is, that none of these holy men seem to have erred on the side of +compassion or complaisance to their illustrious penitent. Besides +endeavouring to convince him of the guilt of his connection with his +beloved lady Harriet, of which he could never be brought to a due sense, +they seem to have repeatedly teased him with controversy, and to have +been far more solicitous to make him profess what they deemed the true +creed of the Church of England, than to soften or console his sorrows, or +to help him to that composure of mind so necessary for his situation. He +declared himself to be a member of their Church, but, they denied that he +could be so, unless he thoroughly believed the doctrine of passive +obedience and non-resistance. He repented generally of his sins, and +especially of his late enterprise, but they insisted that he must repent +of it in the way they prescribed to him, that he must own it to have been +a wicked resistance to his lawful king, and a detestable act of +rebellion. Some historians have imputed this seemingly cruel conduct to +the king's particular instructions, who might be desirous of extracting, +or rather extorting, from the lips of his dying nephew such a confession +as would be matter of triumph to the royal cause. But the character of +the two prelates principally concerned, both for general uprightness and +sincerity as Church of England men, makes it more candid to suppose that +they did not act from motives of servile compliance, but rather from an +intemperate party zeal for the honour of their Church, which they judged +would be signally promoted if such a man as Monmouth, after having +throughout his life acted in defiance of their favourite doctrine, could +be brought in his last moments to acknowledge it as a divine truth. It +must never be forgotten, if we would understand the history of this +period, that the truly orthodox members of our Church regarded monarchy +not as a human, but as a divine institution, and passive obedience and +non-resistance, not as political maxims, but as articles of religion. + +At ten o'clock on the 15th Monmouth proceeded in a carriage of the +lieutenant of the Tower to Tower Hill, the place destined for his +execution. The two bishops were in the carriage with him, and one of +them took that opportunity of informing him that their controversial +altercations were not yet at an end, and that upon the scaffold he would +again be pressed for more explicit and satisfactory declarations of +repentance. When arrived at the bar which had been put up for the +purpose of keeping out the multitude, Monmouth descended from the +carriage, and mounted the scaffold, with a firm step, attended by his +spiritual assistants. The sheriffs and executioners were already there. +The concourse of spectators was innumerable; and if we are to credit +traditional accounts, never was the general compassion more affectingly +expressed. The tears, sighs, and groans, which the first sight of this +heartrending spectacle produced, were soon succeeded by a universal and +awful silence; a respectful attention and affectionate anxiety to hear +every syllable that should pass the lips of the sufferer. The duke began +by saying he should speak little; he came to die, and he should die a +Protestant of the Church of England. Here he was interrupted by the +assistants, and told, that if he was of the Church of England, he must +acknowledge the doctrine of non-resistance to be true. In vain did he +reply that if he acknowledged the doctrine of the Church in general it +included all: they insisted he should own that doctrine, particularly +with respect to his case, and urged much more concerning their favourite +point, upon which, however, they obtained nothing but a repetition in +substance of former answers. He was then proceeding to speak of Lady +Harriet Wentworth, of his high esteem for her, and of his confirmed +opinion that their connection was innocent in the sight of God, when +Goslin, the sheriff, asked him, with all the unfeeling bluntness of a +vulgar mind, whether he was ever married to her. The duke refusing to +answer, the same magistrate, in the like strain, though changing his +subject, said he hoped to have heard of his repentance for the treason +and bloodshed which had been committed; to which the prisoner replied, +with great mildness, that he died very penitent. Here the Churchmen +again interposed, and renewing their demand of particular penitence and +public acknowledgment upon public affairs, Monmouth referred them to the +following paper, which he had signed that morning: + + "I declare that the title of king was forced upon me, and that it was + very much contrary to my opinion when I was proclaimed. For the + satisfaction of the world, I do declare that the late king told me he + was never married to my mother. Having declared this, I hope the king + who is now will not let my children suffer on this account. And to + this I put my hand this fifteenth day of July, 1685. + + "MONMOUTH." + +There was nothing, they said, in that paper about resistance; nor, though +Monmouth, quite worn-out with their importunities, said to one of them, +in the most affecting manner, "I am to die--pray my lord--I refer to my +paper," would those men think it consistent with their duty to desist. +There were only a few words they desired on one point. The substance of +these applications on the one hand, and answers on the other, was +repeated over and over again, in a manner that could not be believed, if +the facts were not attested by the signatures of the persons principally +concerned. If the duke, in declaring his sorrow for what had passed, +used the word invasion, "Give it the true name," said they, "and call it +rebellion." "What name you please," replied the mild-tempered Monmouth. +He was sure he was going to everlasting happiness, and considered the +serenity of his mind in his present circumstances as a certain earnest of +the favour of his Creator. His repentance, he said, must be true, for he +had no fear of dying; he should die like a lamb. "Much may come from +natural courage," was the unfeeling and stupid reply of one of the +assistants. Monmouth, with that modesty inseparable from true bravery, +denied that he was in general less fearful than other men, maintaining +that his present courage was owing to his consciousness that God had +forgiven him his past transgressions, of all which generally he repented +with all his soul. + +At last the reverend assistants consented to join with him in prayer, but +no sooner were they risen from their kneeling posture than they returned +to their charge. Not satisfied with what had passed, they exhorted him +to a true and thorough repentance. Would he not pray for the king, and +send a dutiful message to his majesty to recommend the duchess and his +children? "As you please," was the reply; "I pray for him and for all +men." He now spoke to the executioner, desiring that he might have no +cap over his eyes, and began undressing. One would have thought that in +this last sad ceremony, the poor prisoner might have been unmolested, and +that the divines would have been satisfied that prayer was the only part +of their function for which their duty now called upon them. They judged +differently, and one of them had the fortitude to request the duke, even +in this stage of the business, that he would address himself to the +soldiers then present, to tell them he stood a sad example of rebellion, +and entreat the people to be loyal and obedient to the king. "I have +said I will make no speeches," repeated Monmouth, in a tone more +peremptory than he had before been provoked to; "I will make no speeches. +I come to die." "My lord, ten words will be enough," said the +persevering divine; to which the duke made no answer, but turning to the +executioner, expressed a hope that he would do his work better now than +in the case of Lord Russell. He then felt the axe, which he apprehended +was not sharp enough, but being assured that it was of proper sharpness +and weight, he laid down his head. In the meantime many fervent +ejaculations were used by the reverend assistants, who, it must be +observed, even in these moments of horror, showed themselves not +unmindful of the points upon which they had been disputing, praying God +to accept his imperfect and general repentance. + +The executioner now struck the blow, but so feebly or unskilfully, that +Monmouth, being but slightly wounded, lifted up his head, and looked him +in the face as if to upbraid him, but said nothing. The two following +strokes were as ineffectual as the first, and the headsman, in a fit of +horror, declared he could not finish his work. The sheriffs threatened +him; he was forced again to make a further trial, and in two more strokes +separated the head from the body. + +Thus fell, in the thirty-sixth year of his age, James, Duke of Monmouth, +a man against whom all that has been said by the most inveterate enemies +both to him and his party amounts to little more than this, that he had +not a mind equal to the situations in which his ambition, at different +times, engaged him to place himself. But to judge him with candour, we +must make great allowances, not only for the temptations into which he +was led by the splendid prosperity of the earlier parts of his life, but +also for the adverse prejudices with which he was regarded by almost all +the contemporary writers, from whom his actions and character are +described. The Tories, of course, are unfavourable to him; and even +among the Whigs, there seems, in many, a strong inclination to disparage +him; some to excuse themselves for not having joined him, others to make +a display of their exclusive attachment to their more successful leader, +King William. Burnet says of Monmouth, that he was gentle, brave, and +sincere: to these praises, from the united testimony of all who knew him, +we may add that of generosity; and surely those qualities go a great way +in making up the catalogue of all that is amiable and estimable in human +nature. One of the most conspicuous features in his character seems to +have been a remarkable, and, as some think, a culpable degree of +flexibility. That such a disposition is preferable to its opposite +extreme, will be admitted by all who think that modesty, even in excess, +is more nearly allied to wisdom than conceit and self-sufficiency. He +who has attentively considered the political, or, indeed, the general +concerns of life, may possibly go still further, and rank a willingness +to be convinced, or in some cases even without conviction, to concede our +own opinion to that of other men, among the principal ingredients in the +composition of practical wisdom. Monmouth had suffered this flexibility, +so laudable in many cases, to degenerate into a habit which made him +often follow the advice, or yield to the entreaties, of persons whose +characters by no means entitled them to such deference. The sagacity of +Shaftesbury, the honour of Russell, the genius of Sydney, might, in the +opinion of a modest man, be safe and eligible guides. The partiality of +friendship, and the conviction of his firm attachment, might be some +excuse for his listening so much to Grey; but he never could, at any +period of his life, have mistaken Ferguson for an honest man. There is +reason to believe that the advice of the two last-mentioned persons had +great weight in persuading him to the unjustifiable step of declaring +himself king. But far the most guilty act of this unfortunate man's life +was his lending his name to the declaration which was published at Lyme, +and in this instance Ferguson, who penned the paper, was both the adviser +and the instrument. To accuse the king of having burnt London, murdered +Essex in the Tower, and, finally, poisoned his brother, unsupported by +evidence to substantiate such dreadful charges, was calumny of the most +atrocious kind; but the guilt is still heightened, when we observe, that +from no conversation of Monmouth, nor, indeed, from any other +circumstance whatever, do we collect that he himself believed the horrid +accusations to be true. With regard to Essex's death in particular, the +only one of the three charges which was believed by any man of common +sense, the late king was as much implicated in the suspicion as James. +That the latter should have dared to be concerned in such an act, without +the privacy of his brother, was too absurd an imputation to be attempted, +even in the days of the popish plot. On the other hand, it was certainly +not the intention of the son to brand his father as an assassin. It is +too plain that, in the instance of this declaration, Monmouth, with a +facility highly criminal, consented to set his name to whatever Ferguson +recommended as advantageous to the cause. Among the many dreadful +circumstances attending civil wars, perhaps there are few more revolting +to a good mind than the wicked calumnies with which, in the heat of +contention, men, otherwise men of honour, have in all ages and countries +permitted themselves to load their adversaries. It is remarkable that +there is no trace of the divines who attended this unfortunate man having +exhorted him to a particular repentance of his manifesto, or having +called for a retraction or disavowal of the accusations contained in it. +They were so intent upon points more immediately connected with orthodoxy +of faith, that they omitted pressing their penitent to the only +declaration by which he could make any satisfactory atonement to those +whom he had injured. + + + + +FRAGMENTS. + + +_The following detached paragraphs were probably intended for the fourth +chapter_. _They are here printed in the incomplete and unfinished state +in which they were found_. + +While the Whigs considered all religious opinions with a view to +politics, the Tories, on the other hand, referred all political maxims to +religion. Thus the former, even in their hatred to popery, did not so +much regard the superstition, or imputed idolatry of that unpopular sect, +as its tendency to establish arbitrary power in the State, while the +latter revered absolute monarchy as a divine institution, and cherished +the doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance as articles of +religious faith. + +* * * * * + +To mark the importance of the late events, his majesty caused two medals +to be struck; one of himself, with the usual inscription, and the motto, +_Aras et sceptra tuemur_; the other of Monmouth, without any inscription. +On the reverse of the former were represented the two headless trunks of +his lately vanquished enemies, with other circumstances in the same taste +and spirit, the motto, _Ambitio malesuada ruit_; on that of the latter +appeared a young man falling in the attempt to climb a rock with three +crowns on it, under which was the insulting motto, _Superi risere_. + +* * * * * + +With the lives of Monmouth and Argyle ended, or at least seemed to end, +all prospect of resistance to James's absolute power; and that class of +patriots who feel the pride of submission, and the dignity of obedience, +might be completely satisfied that the crown was in its full lustre. + +James was sufficiently conscious of the increased strength of his +situation, and it is probable that the security he now felt in his power +inspired him with the design of taking more decided steps in favour of +the popish religion and its professors than his connection with the +Church of England party had before allowed him to entertain. That he +from this time attached less importance to the support and affection of +the Tories is evident from Lord Rochester's observations, communicated +afterwards to Burnet. This nobleman's abilities and experience in +business, his hereditary merit, as son of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, and +his uniform opposition to the Exclusion Bill, had raised him high in the +esteem of the Church party. This circumstance, perhaps, as much, or more +than the king's personal kindness to a brother-in-law, had contributed to +his advancement to the first office in the State. As long, therefore, as +James stood in need of the support of the party, as long as he meant to +make them the instruments of his power, and the channels of his favour, +Rochester was, in every respect, the fittest person in whom to confide; +and accordingly, as that nobleman related to Burnet, his majesty honoured +him with daily confidential communications upon all his most secret +schemes and projects. But upon the defeat of the rebellion, an immediate +change took place, and from the day of Monmouth's execution, the king +confined his conversations with the treasurer to the mere business of his +office. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE EARLY PART OF THE +REIGN OF JAMES THE SECOND*** + + +******* This file should be named 4245.txt or 4245.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/2/4/4245 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Hart +and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] +[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales +of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or +software or any other related product without express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.10/04/01*END* + + + + +A HISTORY OF THE EARLY PART OF THE REIGN OF JAMES THE SECOND + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + + +Fox's "History of the Reign of James II.," which begins with his +view of the reign of Charles II. and breaks off at the execution of +Monmouth, was the beginning of a History of England from the +Revolution, upon which he worked in the last years of his life, for +which he collected materials in Paris after the Peace of Amiens, in +1802--he died in September, 1806--and which was first published in +1808. + +The grandfather of Charles James Fox was Stephen, son of William +Fox, of Farley, in Wiltshire. Stephen Fox was a young royalist +under Charles I. He was twenty-two at the time of the king's +execution, went into exile during the Commonwealth, came back at the +Restoration, was appointed paymaster of the first two regiments of +guards that were raised, and afterwards Paymaster of all the Forces. +In that office he made much money, but rebuilt the church at Farley, +and earned lasting honour as the actual founder of Chelsea Hospital, +which was opened in 1682 for wounded and superannuated soldiers. +The ground and buildings had been appointed by James I., in 1609, as +Chelsea College, for the training of disputants against the Roman +Catholics. Sir Stephen Fox himself contributed thirteen thousand +pounds to the carrying out of this design. Fox's History dealt, +therefore, with times in which his grandfather had played a part. + +In 1703, when his age was seventy-six, Stephen Fox took a second +wife, by whom he had two sons, who became founders of two families; +Stephen, the elder, became first Earl of Ilchester; Henry, the +younger, who married Georgina, daughter of the Duke of Richmond, and +was himself created, in 1763, Baron Holland of Farley. Of the +children of that marriage Charles James Fox was the third son, born +on the 24th of January, 1749. The second son had died in infancy. + +Henry Fox inherited Tory opinions. He was regarded by George II. as +a good man of business, and was made Secretary of War in 1754, when +Charles James, whose cleverness made him a favoured child, was five +years old. In the next year Henry Fox was Secretary of State for +the Southern Department. The outbreak of the Seven Years' War bred +discontent and change of Ministry. The elder Fox had then to give +place to the elder Pitt. But Henry Fox was compensated by the +office of Paymaster of the Forces, from which he knew even better +than his father had known how to extract profit. He rapidly +acquired the wealth which he joined to his title as Lord Holland of +Farley, and for which he was attacked vigorously, until two hundred +thousand pounds--some part of the money that stayed by him--had been +refunded. + +Henry Fox, Lord Holland, found his boy, Charles James, brilliant and +lively, made him a companion, and indulged him to the utmost. Once +he expressed a strong desire to break a watch that his father was +winding up: his father gave it him to dash upon the floor. Once +his father had promised that when an old garden wall at Holland +House was blown down with gunpowder before replacing it with iron +railings, he should see the explosion. The workmen blew it down in +the boy's absence: his father had the wall rebuilt in its old form +that it might be blown down again in his presence, and his promise +kept. He was sent first to Westminster School, and then to Eton. +At home he was his father's companion, joined in the talk of men at +his father's dinner-parties, travelled at fourteen with his father +to the Continent, and is said to have been allowed five guineas a +night for gambling-money. He grew up reckless of the worth of +money, and for many years the excitement of gambling was to him as +one of the necessaries of life. His immense energy at school and +college made him work as hard as the most diligent man who did +nothing else, and devote himself to gambling, horse-racing, and +convivial pleasures as vigorously as if he were the weak man capable +of nothing else. The Eton boys all prophesied his future fame. At +Oxford, where he entered Hertford College, he was one of the best +men of his time, and one of the wildest. A clergyman, strong in +Greek, was arguing with young Fox against the genuineness of a verse +of the Iliad because its measure was unusual. Fox at once quoted +from memory some twenty parallels. + +From college he went on the usual tour of Europe, spending lavishly, +incurring heavy debts, and sending home large bills for his father +to pay. One bill alone, paid by his father to a creditor at Naples, +was for sixteen thousand pounds. He came back in raiment of the +highest fashion, and was put into Parliament in 1768, not yet twenty +years old, as member for Midhurst. He began his political life with +the family opinions, defended the Ministry against John Wilkes, and +was provided promptly with a place as Paymaster of the Pensions to +the Widows of Land Officers, and then, when he had reached the age +of twenty-one, there was a seat found for him at the Board of +Admiralty. + +At once Fox made his mark in the House as a brilliant debater with +an intellectual power and an industry that made him master of the +subjects he discussed. Still also he was scattering money, and +incurring debt, training race-horses, and staking heavily at +gambling tables. When a noble friend, who was not a gambler, +offered to bet fifty pounds upon a throw, Fox declined, saying, "I +never play for pence." + +After a few years of impatient submission to Lord North, Fox broke +from him, and it was not long before he had broken from Lord North's +opinions and taken the side of the people in all leading questions. +He became the friend of Burke; and joined in the attack upon the +policy of Coercion that destroyed the union between England and her +American colonies. In 1774, at the age of twenty-five, Fox lost by +death his father, his mother, and his elder brother, who had +succeeded to the title, and who had left a little son to be his +heir. In February of that year Lord North had finally broken with +Fox by causing a letter to be handed to him in the House of Commons +while he was sitting by his side on the Treasury Bench. + + +"His Majesty has thought proper to order a new commission of the +Treasury to be made out, in which I do not perceive your name. +NORTH." + + +By the end of the year he was member for Malmesbury, and one of the +chiefs in opposition. When Lord North opened the session of 1775 +with a speech arguing the need of coercion, Fox compared what ought +to have been done with what was done, and said that Lord Chatham, +the King of Prussia, nay, even Alexander the Great, never gained +more in one campaign than Lord North had lost. He had lost a whole +continent. When Lord North's ministry fell in 1782, Fox became a +Secretary of State, resigning on the death of Rockingham. In +coalition with Lord North, Fox brought in an India Bill, which was +rejected by the Lords, and caused a resignation of the Ministry. +Pitt then came into office, and there was rivalry between a Pitt and +a Fox of the second generation, with some reversal in each son of +the political bias of his father. + +In opposing the policy that caused the American Revolution Fox and +Burke were of one mind. He opposed the slave trade. After the +outbreak of the French Revolution he differed from Burke, and +resolutely opposed Pitt's policy of interference by armed force. + +William Pitt died on the 23rd January, 1806. Charles James Fox +became again a Secretary of State, and had set on foot negotiations +for a peace with France before his own death, eight months later, at +the age of fifty-seven. + +During the last ten or twelve years of his life Fox had withdrawn +from the dissipations of his earlier years. His interest in horse- +racing flagged after the death, in 1793, of his friend Lord Foley, a +kindly, honourable man, upon whose judgment in such matters Fox had +greatly relied. Lord Foley began his sporting life with a clear +estate of 1,800 pounds a year, and 100,000 pounds in ready money. +He ended his sporting and his earthly life with an estate heavily +encumbered and an empty pocket. + +H. M. + + + + +A HISTORY OF THE EARLY PART OF THE REIGN OF JAMES II. + + + + +INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. + + + +Introductory observations--First period, from Henry VII. to the year +1588--Second period, from 1588 to 1640--Meeting of Parliament-- +Redress of grievances--Strafford's attainder--The commencement of +the Civil War--Treaty from the Isle of Wight--The king's execution-- +Cromwell's power; his character--Indifference of the nation +respecting forms of government--The Restoration--Ministry of +Clarendon sod Southampton--Cabal--Dutch War--De Witt--The Prince of +Orange--The Popish plot--The Habeas Corpus Act--The Exclusion Bill-- +Dissolution of Charles the Second's last Parliament--His power; his +tyranny in Scotland; in England--Exorbitant fines--Executions-- +Forfeitures of charters--Despotism established--Despondency of good +men--Charles's death; his character--Reflections upon the probable +consequences of his reign and death. + +In reading the history of every country there are certain periods at +which the mind naturally pauses to meditate upon, and consider them, +with reference, not only to their immediate effects, but to their +more remote consequences. After the wars of Marius and Sylla, and +the incorporation, as it were, of all Italy with the city of Rome, +we cannot but stop to consider the consequences likely to result +from these important events; and in this instance we find them to be +just such as might have been expected. + +The reign of our Henry VII. affords a field of more doubtful +speculation. Every one who takes a retrospective view of the wars +of York and Lancaster, and attends to the regulations effected by +the policy of that prince, must see they would necessarily lead to +great and important changes in the government; but what the tendency +of such changes would be, and much more, in what manner they would +be produced, might be a question of great difficulty. It is now the +generally received opinion, and I think a probable opinion, that to +the provisions of that reign we are to refer the origin, both of the +unlimited power of the Tudors and of the liberties wrested by our +ancestors from the Stuarts; that tyranny was their immediate, and +liberty their remote, consequence; but he must have great confidence +in his own sagacity who can satisfy himself that, unaided by the +knowledge of subsequent events, he could, from a consideration of +the causes, have foreseen the succession of effects so different. + +Another period that affords ample scope for speculation of this kind +is that which is comprised between the years 1588 and 1640, a period +of almost uninterrupted tranquillity and peace. The general +improvement in all arts of civil life, and, above all, the +astonishing progress of literature, are the most striking among the +general features of that period, and are in themselves causes +sufficient to produce effects of the utmost importance. A country +whose language was enriched by the works of Hooker, Raleigh, and +Bacon, could not but experience a sensible change in its manners and +in its style of thinking; and even to speak the same language in +which Spenser and Shakespeare had written seemed a sufficient plea +to rescue the commons of England from the appellation of brutes, +with which Henry VIII. had addressed them. Among the more +particular effects of this general improvement the most material and +worthy to be considered appear to me to have been the frequency of +debate in the House of Commons, and the additional value that came +to be set on a seat in that assembly. + +From these circumstances a sagacious observer may be led to expect +the most important revolutions; and from the latter he may be +enabled to foresee that the House of Commons will be the principal +instrument in bringing them to pass. But in what manner will that +house conduct itself? Will it content itself with its regular share +of legislative power, and with the influence which it cannot fail to +possess whenever it exerts itself upon the other branches of the +legislative, and on the executive power; or will it boldly (perhaps +rashly) pretend to a power commensurate with the natural rights of +the representative of the people? If it should, will it not be +obliged to support its claims by military force? And how long will +such a force be under its control? How long before it follows the +usual course of all armies, and ranges itself under a single master? +If such a master should arise, will he establish an hereditary or an +elective government? If the first, what will be gained but a change +of dynasty? If the second, will not the military force, as it chose +the first king or protector (the name is of no importance), choose +in effect all his successors? Or will he fail, and shall we have a +restoration, usually the most dangerous and worst of all +revolutions? To some of these questions the answers may, from the +experience of past ages, be easy, but to many of them far otherwise. +And he will read history with most profit who the most canvasses +questions of this nature, especially if he can divest his mind for +the time of the recollection of the event as it in fact succeeded. + +The next period, as it is that which immediately precedes the +commencement of this history, requires a more detailed examination; +nor is there any more fertile of matter, whether for reflection or +speculation. Between the year 1640 and the death of Charles II. we +have the opportunity of contemplating the state in almost every +variety of circumstance. Religious dispute, political contest in +all its forms and degrees, from the honest exertions of party and +the corrupt intrigues of faction to violence and civil war; +despotism, first, in the person of a usurper, and afterwards in that +of an hereditary king; the most memorable and salutary improvements +in the laws, the most abandoned administration of them; in fine, +whatever can happen to a nation, whether of glorious of calamitous, +makes a part of this astonishing and instructive picture. + +The commencement of this period is marked by exertions of the +people, through their representatives in the House of Commons, not +only justifiable in their principle, but directed to the properest +objects, and in a manner the most judicious. Many of their leaders +were greatly versed in ancient as well as modern learning, and were +even enthusiastically attached to the great names of antiquity; but +they never conceived the wild project of assimilating the government +of England to that of Athens, of Sparta, or of Rome. They were +content with applying to the English constitution, and to the +English laws, the spirit of liberty which had animated and rendered +illustrious the ancient republics. Their first object was to obtain +redress of past grievances, with a proper regard to the individuals +who had suffered; the next, to prevent the recurrence of such +grievances by the abolition of tyrannical tribunals acting upon +arbitrary maxims in criminal proceedings, and most improperly +denominated courts of justice. They then proceeded to establish +that fundamental principle of all free government, the preserving of +the purse to the people and their representatives. And though there +may be more difference of opinion upon their proposed regulations in +regard to the militia, yet surely, when a contest was to be +foreseen, they could not, consistently with prudence, leave the +power of the sword altogether in the hands of an adverse party. + +The prosecution of Lord Strafford, or rather, the manner in which it +was carried on, is less justifiable. He was, doubtless, a great +delinquent, and well deserved the severest punishment; but nothing +short of a clearly proved case of self-defence can justify, or even +excuse, a departure from the sacred rules of criminal justice. For +it can rarely indeed happen that the mischief to be apprehended from +suffering any criminal, however guilty, to escape, can be equal to +that resulting from the violation of those rules to which the +innocent owe the security of all that is dear to them. If such +cases have existed they must have been in instances where trial has +been wholly out of the question, as in that of Caesar and other +tyrants; but when a man is once in a situation to be tried, and his +person in the power of his accusers and his judges, he can no longer +be formidable in that degree which alone can justify (if anything +can) the violation of the substantial rules of criminal proceedings. + +At the breaking out of the Civil War, so intemperately denominated a +rebellion by Lord Clarendon and other Tory writers, the material +question appears to me to be, whether or not sufficient attempts +were made by the Parliament and their leaders to avoid bringing +affairs to such a decision? That, according to the general +principles of morality, they had justice on their side cannot fairly +be doubted; but did they sufficiently attend to that great dictum of +Tully in questions of civil dissension, wherein he declares his +preference of even an unfair peace to the most just war? Did they +sufficiently weigh the dangers that might ensue even from victory; +dangers, in such cases, little less formidable to the cause of +liberty than those which might follow a defeat? Did they consider +that it is not peculiar to the followers of Pompey, and the civil +wars of Rome, that the event to be looked for is, as the same Tully +describes it, in case of defeat--proscription; in that of victory-- +servitude? Is the failure of the negotiation when the king was in +the Isle of Wight to be imputed to the suspicions justly entertained +of his sincerity, or to the ambition of the parliamentary leaders? +If the insincerity of the king was the real cause, ought not the +mischief to be apprehended from his insincerity rather to have been +guarded against by treaty than alleged as a pretence for breaking +off the negotiation? Sad, indeed, will be the condition of the +world if we are never to make peace with an adverse party whose +sincerity we have reason to suspect. Even just grounds for such +suspicions will but too often occur, and when such fail, the +proneness of man to impute evil qualities, as well as evil designs, +to his enemies, will suggest false ones. In the present case the +suspicion of insincerity was, it is true, so just, as to amount to a +moral certainty. The example of the petition of right was a +satisfactory proof that the king made no point of adhering to +concessions which he considered as extorted from him; and a +philosophical historian, writing above a century after the time, can +deem the pretended hard usage Charles met with as a sufficient +excuse for his breaking his faith in the first instance, much more +must that prince himself, with all his prejudices and notions of his +divine right, have thought it justifiable to retract concessions, +which to him, no doubt, appeared far more unreasonable than the +petition of right, and which, with much more colour, he might +consider as extorted. These considerations were probably the cause +why the Parliament so long delayed their determination of accepting +the king's offer as a basis for treaty; but, unfortunately, they had +delayed so long that when at last they adopted it they found +themselves without power to carry it into execution. The army +having now ceased to be the servants, had become the masters of the +Parliament, and, being entirely influenced by Cromwell, gave a +commencement to what may, properly speaking, be called a new reign. +The subsequent measures, therefore, the execution of the king, as +well as others, are not to be considered as acts of the Parliament, +but of Cromwell; and great and respectable as are the names of some +who sat in the high court, they must be regarded, in this instance, +rather as ministers of that usurper than as acting from themselves. + +The execution of the king, though a far less violent measure than +that of Lord Strafford, is an event of so singular a nature that we +cannot wonder that it should have excited more sensation than any +other in the annals of England. This exemplary act of substantial +justice, as it has been called by some, of enormous wickedness by +others, must be considered in two points of view. First, was it not +in itself just and necessary? Secondly, was the example of it +likely to be salutary or pernicious? In regard to the first of +these questions, Mr. Hume, not perhaps intentionally, makes the best +justification of it by saying that while Charles lived the projected +republic could never be secure. But to justify taking away the life +of an individual upon the principle of self-defence, the danger must +be not problematical and remote, but evident and immediate. The +danger in this instance was not of such a nature, and the +imprisonment or even banishment of Charles might have given to the +republic such a degree of security as any government ought to be +content with. It must be confessed, however, on the other aide, +that if the republican government had suffered the king to escape, +it would have been an act of justice and generosity wholly +unexampled; and to have granted him even his life would have been +one among the more rare efforts of virtue. The short interval +between the deposal and death of princes is become proverbial, and +though there may be some few examples on the other side as far as +life is concerned, I doubt whether a single instance can be found +where liberty has been granted to a deposed monarch. Among the +modes of destroying persons in such a situation, there can be little +doubt but that that adopted by Cromwell and his adherents is the +least dishonourable. Edward II., Richard II., Henry VI., Edward V., +had none of them long survived their deposal, but this was the first +instance, in our history at least, where, of such an act, it could +be truly said that it was not done in a corner. + +As to the second question, whether the advantage to be derived from +the example was such as to justify an act of such violence, it +appears to me to be a complete solution of it to observe that, with +respect to England (and I know not upon what ground we are to set +examples for other nations; or, in other words, to take the criminal +justice of the world into our hands) it was wholly needless, and +therefore unjustifiable, to set one for kings at a time when it was +intended the office of king should be abolished, and consequently +that no person should be in the situation to make it the rule of his +conduct. Besides, the miseries attendant upon a deposed monarch +seem to be sufficient to deter any prince, who thinks of +consequences, from running the risk of being placed in such a +situation; or, if death be the only evil that can deter him, the +fate of former tyrants deposed by their subjects would by no means +encourage him to hope he could avoid even that catastrophe. As far +as we can judge from the event, the example was certainly not very +effectual, since both the sons of Charles, though having their +father's fate before their eyes, yet feared not to violate the +liberties of the people even more than he had attempted to do. + +If we consider this question of example in a more extended view, and +look to the general effect produced upon the minds of men, it cannot +be doubted but the opportunity thus given to Charles to display his +firmness and piety has created more respect for his memory than it +could otherwise have obtained. Respect and pity for the sufferer on +the one hand, and hatred to his enemies on the other, soon produce +favour and aversion to their respective causes; and thus, even +though it should be admitted (which is doubtful) that some advantage +may have been gained to the cause of liberty by the terror of the +example operating upon the minds of princes, such advantage is far +outweighed by the zeal which admiration for virtue, and pity for +sufferings, the best passions of the human heart, have excited in +favour of the royal cause. It has been thought dangerous to the +morals of mankind, even in fiction and romance, to make us +sympathise with characters whose general conduct is blameable; but +how much greater must the effect be when in real history our +feelings are interested in favour of a monarch with whom, to say the +least, his subjects were obliged to contend in arms for their +liberty? After all, however, notwithstanding what the more +reasonable part of mankind may think upon this question, it is much +to be doubted whether this singular proceeding has not as much as +any other circumstance, served to raise the character of the English +nation in the opinion of Europe in general. He who has read, and +still more, he who has heard in conversation discussions upon this +subject by foreigners, must have perceived that, even in the minds +of those who condemn the act, the impression made by it has been far +more that of respect and admiration than that of disgust and horror. +The truth is that the guilt of the action--that is to say, the +taking away of the life of the king, is what most men in the place +of Cromwell and his associates would have incurred; what there is of +splendour and of magnanimity in it, I mean the publicity and +solemnity of the act, is what few would be capable of displaying. +It is a degrading fact to human nature, that even the sending away +of the Duke of Gloucester was an instance of generosity almost +unexampled in the history of transactions of this nature. + +From the execution of the king to the death of Cromwell, the +government was, with some variation of forms, in substance +monarchical and absolute, as a government established by a military +force will almost invariably be, especially when the exertions of +such a force are continued for any length of time. If to this +general rule our own age, and a people whom their origin and near +relation to us would almost warrant us to call our own nation, have +afforded a splendid and perhaps a solitary exception, we must +reflect not only that a character of virtues so happily tempered by +one another, and so wholly unalloyed with any vices, as that of +Washington, is hardly to be found in the pages of history, but that +even Washington himself might not have been able to act his most +glorious of all parts without the existence of circumstances +uncommonly favourable, and almost peculiar to the country which was +to be the theatre of it. Virtue like his depends not indeed upon +time or place; but although in no country or time would he have +degraded himself into a Pisistratus, or a Caesar, or a Cromwell, he +might have shared the fate of a Cato, or a De Witt; or, like Ludlow +and Sidney, have mourned in exile the lost liberties of his country. + +With the life of the protector almost immediately ended the +government which he had established. The great talents of this +extraordinary person had supported during his life a system +condemned equally by reason and by prejudice: by reason, as wanting +freedom; by prejudice, as a usurpation; and it must be confessed to +be no mean testimony to his genius, that notwithstanding the radical +defects of such a system, the splendour of his character and +exploits render the era of the protectorship one of the most +brilliant in English history. It is true his conduct in foreign +concerns is set off to advantage by a comparison of it with that of +those who preceded and who followed him. If he made a mistake in +espousing the French interest instead of the Spanish, we should +recollect that in examining this question we must divest our minds +entirely of all the considerations which the subsequent relative +state of those two empires suggest to us before we can become +impartial judges in it; and at any rate we must allow his reign, in +regard to European concerns, to have been most glorious when +contrasted with the pusillanimity of James I., with the levity of +Charles I., and the mercenary meanness of the two last princes of +the house of Stuart. Upon the whole, the character of Cromwell must +ever stand high in the list of those who raised themselves to +supreme power by the force of their genius; and among such, even in +respect of moral virtue, it would be found to be one of the least +exceptionable if it had not been tainted with that most odious and +degrading of all human vices, hypocrisy. + +The short interval between Cromwell's death and the restoration +exhibits the picture of a nation either so wearied with changes as +not to feel, or so subdued by military power as not to dare to show, +any care or even preference with regard to the form of their +government. All was in the army; and that army, by such a +concurrence of fortuitous circumstances as history teaches us not to +be surprised at, had fallen into the hands of a man than whom a +baser could not be found in its lowest ranks. Personal courage +appears to have been Monk's only virtue; reserve and dissimulation +made up the whole stock of his wisdom. But to this man did the +nation look up, ready to receive from his orders the form of +government he should choose to prescribe. There is reason to +believe that, from the general bias of the Presbyterians, as well as +of the Cavaliers, monarchy was the prevalent wish; but it is +observable that although the Parliament was, contrary to the +principle upon which it was pretended to be called, composed of many +avowed royalists, yet none dared to hint at the restoration of the +king till they had Monk's permission, or rather command to receive +and consider his letters. It is impossible, in reviewing the whole +of this transaction, not to remark that a general who had gained his +rank, reputation, and station in the service of a republic, and of +what he, as well as others, called, however falsely, the cause of +liberty, made no scruple to lay the nation prostrate at the feet of +a monarch, without a single provision in favour of that cause; and +if the promise of indemnity may seem to argue that there was some +attention, at least, paid to the safety of his associates in arms, +his subsequent conduct gives reason to suppose that even this +provision was owing to any other cause rather than to a generous +feeling of his breast. For he afterwards not only acquiesced in the +insults so meanly put upon the illustrious corpse of Blake, under +whose auspices and command he had performed the most creditable +services of his life, but in the trial of Argyle produced letters of +friendship and confidence to take away the life of a nobleman, the +zeal and cordiality of whose co-operation with him, proved by such +documents, was the chief ground of his execution; thus gratuitously +surpassing in infamy those miserable wretches who, to save their own +lives, are sometimes persuaded to impeach and swear away the lives +of their accomplices. + +The reign of Charles II. forms one of the most singular as well as +of the most important periods of history. It is the era of good +laws and bad government. The abolition of the court of wards, the +repeal of the writ De Heretico Comburendo, the Triennial Parliament +Bill, the establishment of the rights of the House of Commons in +regard to impeachment, the expiration of the Licence Act, and, above +all, the glorious statute of Habeas Corpus, have therefore induced a +modern writer of great eminence to fix the year 1679 as the period +at which our constitution had arrived at its greatest theoretical +perfection; but he owns, in a short note upon the passage alluded +to, that the times immediately following were times of great +practical oppression. What a field for meditation does this short +observation from such a man furnish! What reflections does it not +suggest to a thinking mind upon the inefficacy of human laws and the +imperfection of human constitutions! We are called from the +contemplation of the progress of our constitution, and our attention +fixed with the most minute accuracy to a particular point, when it +is said to have risen to its utmost perfection. Here we are, then, +at the best moment of the best constitution that ever human wisdom +framed. What follows? A tide of oppression and misery, not arising +from external or accidental causes, such as war, pestilence, or +famine, nor even from any such alteration of the laws as might be +supposed to impair this boasted perfection, but from a corrupt and +wicked administration, which all the so much admired checks of the +constitution were not able to prevent. How vain, then, how idle, +how presumptuous is the opinion that laws can do everything! and how +weak and pernicious the maxim founded upon it, that measures, not +men, are to be attended to. + +The first years of this reign, under the administration of +Southampton and Clarendon, form by far the least exceptionable part +of it; and even in this period the executions of Argyle and Vane and +the whole conduct of the Government with respect to church matters, +both in England and in Scotland, were gross instances of tyranny. +With respect to the execution of those who were accused of having +been more immediately concerned in the king's death, that of Scrope, +who had come in upon the proclamation, and of the military officers +who had attended the trial, was a violation of every principle of +law and justice. But the fate of the others, though highly +dishonourable to Monk, whose whole power had arisen from his zeal in +their service, and the favour and confidence with which they had +rewarded him, and not, perhaps, very creditable to the nation, of +which many had applauded, more had supported, and almost all had +acquiesced in the act, is not certainly to be imputed as a crime to +the king, or to those of his advisers who were of the Cavalier +party. The passion of revenge, though properly condemned both by +philosophy and religion, yet when it is excited by injurious +treatment of persons justly dear to us, is among the most excusable +of human frailties; and if Charles, in his general conduct, had +shown stronger feelings of gratitude for services performed to his +father, his character, in the eyes of many, would be rather raised +than lowered by this example of severity against the regicides. +Clarendon is said to have been privy to the king's receiving money +from Louis XIV.; but what proofs exist of this charge (for a heavy +charge it is) I know not. Southampton was one of the very few of +the Royalist party who preserved any just regard for the liberties +of the people; and the disgust which a person possessed of such +sentiments must unavoidably feel is said to have determined him to +quit the king's service, and to retire altogether from public +affairs. Whether he would have acted upon this determination, his +death, which happened in the year 1667, prevents us now from +ascertaining. + +After the fall of Clarendon, which soon followed, the king entered +into that career of misgovernment which, that he was able to pursue +it to its end, is a disgrace to the history of our country. If +anything can add to our disgust at the meanness with which he +solicited a dependence upon Louis XIV., it is, the hypocritical +pretence upon which he was continually pressing that monarch. After +having passed a law, making it penal to affirm (what was true) that +he was a papist, he pretended (which was certainly not true) to be a +zealous and bigoted papist; and the uneasiness of his conscience at +so long delaying a public avowal of his conversion, was more than +once urged by him as an argument to increase the pension, and to +accelerate the assistance, he was to receive from France. In a +later period of his reign, when his interest, as he thought, lay the +other way, that he might at once continue to earn his wages, and yet +put off a public conversion, he stated some scruples, contracted, no +doubt, by his affection to the Protestant churches, in relation to +the popish mode of giving the sacrament, and pretended a wish that +the pope might be induced by Louis to consider of some alterations +in that respect, to enable him to reconcile himself to the Roman +church with a clear and pure conscience. + +The ministry known by the name of the Cabal seems to have consisted +of characters so unprincipled, as justly to deserve the severity +with which they have been treated by all writers who have mentioned +them; but if it is probable that they were ready to betray their +king, as well as their country, it is certain that the king betrayed +them, keeping from them the real state of his connexion with France, +and from some of them, at least, the secret of what he was pleased +to call his religion. Whether this concealment on his part arose +from his habitual treachery, and from the incapacity which men of +that character feel of being open and honest, even when they know it +is their interest to be so, or from an apprehension that they might +demand for themselves some share of the French money, which he was +unwilling to give them, cannot now be determined. But to the want +of genuine and reciprocal confidence between him and those ministers +is to be attributed, in a great measure, the escape which the nation +at that time experienced--an escape, however, which proved to be +only a reprieve from that servitude to which they were afterwards +reduced in the latter years of the reign. + +The first Dutch war had been undertaken against all maxims of policy +as well as of justice; but the superior infamy of the second, +aggravated by the disappointment of all the hopes entertained by +good men from the triple alliance, and by the treacherous attempt at +piracy with which it was commenced, seems to have effaced the +impression of it, not only from the minds of men living at the time, +but from most of the writers who have treated of this reign. The +principle, however, of both was the same, and arbitrary power at +home was the object of both. The second Dutch war rendered the +king's system and views so apparent to all who were not determined +to shut their eyes against conviction, that it is difficult to +conceive how persons who had any real care or regard either for the +liberty or honour of the country, could trust him afterwards. And +yet even Sir William Temple, who appears to have been one of the +most honest, as well as of the most enlightened, statesmen of his +time, could not believe his treachery to be quite so deep as it was +in fact, and seems occasionally to have hoped that he was in earnest +in his professed intentions of following the wise and just system +that was recommended to him. Great instances of credulity and +blindness in wise men are often liable to the suspicion of being +pretended, for the purpose of justifying the continuing in +situations of power and employment longer than strict honour would +allow. But to Temple's sincerity his subsequent conduct gives +abundant testimony. When he had reason to think that his services +could no longer be useful to his country he withdrew wholly from +public business, and resolutely adhered to the preference of +philosophical retirement, which, in his circumstances, was just, in +spite of every temptation which occurred to bring him back to the +more active scene. The remainder of his life he seems to have +employed in the most noble contemplations and the most elegant +amusements; every enjoyment heightened, no doubt, by reflecting on +the honourable part he had acted in public affairs, and without any +regret on his own account (whatever he might feel for his country) +at having been driven from them. + +Besides the important consequences produced by this second Dutch war +in England, it gave birth to two great events in Holland; the one as +favourable as the other was disastrous to the cause of general +liberty. The catastrophe of De Witt, the wisest, best, and most +truly patriotic minister that ever appeared upon the public stage, +as it was an act of the most crying injustice and ingratitude, so, +likewise, is it the most completely discouraging example that +history affords to the lovers of liberty. If Aristides was +banished, he was also recalled; if Dion was repaid for his services +to the Syracusans by ingratitude, that ingratitude was more than +once repented of; if Sidney and Russell died upon the scaffold, they +had not the cruel mortification of falling by the hands of the +people; ample justice was done to their memory, and the very sound +of their names is still animating to every Englishman attached to +their glorious cause. But with De Witt fell also his cause and his +party; and although a name so respected by all who revere virtue and +wisdom, when employed in their noblest sphere, the political service +of the public, must undoubtedly be doubly dear to his countrymen, +yet I do not know that, even to this day, any public honours have +been paid by them to his memory. + +On the other hand, the circumstances attending the first appearance +of the Prince of Orange in public affairs, were, in every respect, +most fortunate for himself, for England, for Europe. Of an age to +receive the strongest impressions, and of a character to render such +impressions durable, he entered the world in a moment when the +calamitous situation of the United Provinces could not but excite in +every Dutchman the strongest detestation of the insolent ambition of +Louis XIV., and the greatest contempt of an English government, +which could so far mistake or betray the interests of the country as +to lend itself to his projects. Accordingly, the circumstances +attending his outset seem to have given a lasting bias to his +character; and through the whole course of his life the prevailing +sentiments of his mind seem to have been those which he imbibed at +this early period. These sentiments were most peculiarly adapted to +the positions in which this great man was destined to be placed. +The light in which he viewed Louis rendered him the fittest champion +of the independence of Europe; and in England, French influence and +arbitrary power were in those times so intimately connected, that he +who had not only seen with disapprobation, but had so sensibly felt +the baneful effects of Charles's connection with France, seemed +educated, as it were, to be the defender of English liberty. This +prince's struggles in defence of his country, his success in +rescuing it from a situation to all appearance so desperate, and the +consequent failure and mortification of Louis XIV., form a scene in +history upon which the mind dwells with unceasing delight. One +never can read Louis's famous declaration against the Hollanders, +knowing the event which is to follow, without feeling the heart +dilate with exultation, and a kind of triumphant contempt, which, +though not quite consonant to the principles of pure philosophy, +never fails to give the mind inexpressible satisfaction. Did the +relation of such events form the sole, or even any considerable part +of the historian's task, pleasant indeed would be his labours; but, +though far less agreeable, it is not a less useful or necessary part +of his business, to relate the triumphs of successful wickedness, +and the oppression of truth, justice, and liberty. + +The interval from the separate peace between England and the United +Provinces, to the peace of Nymwegen, was chiefly employed by Charles +in attempts to obtain money from France and other foreign powers, in +which he was sometimes more, sometimes less successful; and in +various false professions, promises, and other devices to deceive +his parliament and his people, in which he uniformly failed. Though +neither the nature and extent of his connection with France, nor his +design of introducing popery into England, were known at that time +as they now are, yet there were not wanting many indications of the +king's disposition, and of the general tendency of his designs. +Reasonable persons apprehended that the supplies asked were intended +to be used, not for the specious purpose of maintaining the balance +of Europe, but for that of subduing the parliament and people who +should give them; and the great antipathy of the bulk of the nation +to popery caused many to be both more clear-sighted in discovering, +and more resolute in resisting the designs of the court, than they +would probably have shown themselves, if civil liberty alone had +been concerned. + +When the minds of men were in the disposition which such a state of +things was naturally calculated to produce, it is not to be wondered +at that a ready, and, perhaps, a too facile belief should have been +accorded to the rumour of a popish plot. But with the largest +possible allowance for the just apprehensions which were +entertained, and the consequent irritation of the country, it is +wholly inconceivable how such a plot as that brought forward by +Tongue and Oates could obtain any general belief. Nor can any +stretch of candour make us admit it to be probable, that all who +pretended a belief of it did seriously entertain it. On the other +hand, it seems an absurdity, equal almost in degree to the belief of +the plot itself, to suppose that it was a story fabricated by the +Earl of Shaftesbury and the other leaders of the Whig party; and it +would be highly unjust, as well as uncharitable, not to admit that +the generality of those who were engaged in the prosecution of it +were probably sincere in their belief of it, since it is +unquestionable that at the time very many persons, whose political +prejudices were of a quite different complexion, were under the same +delusion. The unanimous votes of the two houses of parliament, and +the names, as well as the number of those who pronounced Lord +Strafford to be guilty, seem to put this beyond a doubt. Dryden, +writing soon after the time, says, in his "Absalom and Achitophel," +that the plot was + + +"Bad in itself, but represented wore:" + + +that + + +"Some truth there was, but dash'd and brew'd with lies:" + + +and that + + +"Succeeding times did equal folly call, +Believing nothing, or believing all." + + +and Dryden will not, by those who are conversant in the history and +works of that immortal writer, be suspected either of party +prejudice in favour of Shaftesbury and the Whigs, or of any view to +prejudice the country against the Duke of York's succession to the +crown. The king repeatedly declared his belief of it. These +declarations, if sincere, would have some weight; but if insincere, +as may be reasonably suspected, they afford a still stronger +testimony to prove that such belief was not exclusively a party +opinion, since it cannot be supposed that even the crooked politics +of Charles could have led him to countenance fictions of his +enemies, which were not adopted by his own party. Wherefore, if +this question were to be decided upon the ground of authority, the +reality of the plot would be admitted; and it must be confessed, +that, with regard to facts remote, in respect either of time or +place, wise men generally diffide in their own judgment, and defer +to that of those who have had a nearer view of them. But there are +cases where reason speaks so plainly as to make all argument drawn +from authority of no avail, and this is surely one of them. Not to +mention correspondence by post on the subject of regicide, detailed +commissions from the pope, silver bullets, &c. &c., and other +circumstances equally ridiculous, we need only advert to the part +attributed to the Spanish government in this conspiracy, and to the +alleged intention of murdering the king, to satisfy ourselves that +it was a forgery. + +Rapin, who argues the whole of this affair with a degree of weakness +as well as disingenuity very unusual to him, seems at last to offer +us a kind of compromise, and to be satisfied if we will admit that +there was a design or project to introduce popery and an arbitrary +power, at the head of which were the king and his brother. Of this +I am as much convinced as he can be; but how does this justify the +prosecution and execution of those who suffered, since few if any of +them, were in a situation to be trusted by the royal conspirators +with their designs? When he says, therefore, that that is precisely +what was understood by the conspiracy, he by no means justifies +those who were the principal prosecutors of the plot. The design to +murder the king he calls the appendage of the plot: a strange +expression this, to describe the projected murder of a king; though +not more strange than the notion itself when applied to a plot, the +object of which was to render that very king absolute, and to +introduce the religion which he most favoured. But it is to be +observed, that though in considering the bill of exclusion, the +militia bill, and other legislative proceedings, the plot, as he +defines it--that is to say, the design of introducing popery and +arbitrary power--was the important point to be looked to; yet in +courts of justice, and for juries and judges, that which he calls +the appendage was, generally speaking, the sole consideration. + +Although, therefore, upon a review of this truly shocking +transaction, we may be fairly justified in adopting the milder +alternative, and in imputing to the greater part of those concerned +in it rather an extraordinary degree of blind credulity than the +deliberate wickedness of planning and assisting in the perpetration +of legal murders, yet the proceedings on the popish plot must always +be considered as an indelible disgrace upon the English nation, in +which king, parliament, judges, juries, witnesses, prosecutors, have +all their respective, though certainly not equal, shares. +Witnesses, of such a character as not to deserve credit in the most +trifling cause, upon the most immaterial facts, gave evidence so +incredible, or, to speak more properly, so impossible to be true, +that it ought not to have been believed if it had come from the +mouth of Cato; and upon such evidence, from such witnesses, were +innocent men condemned to death and executed. Prosecutors, whether +attorneys and solicitors-general, or managers of impeachment, acted +with the fury which in such circumstances might be expected; juries +partook naturally enough of the national ferment; and judges, whose +duty it was to guard them against such impressions, were +scandalously active in confirming them in their prejudices and +inflaming their passions. The king, who is supposed to have +disbelieved the whole of the plot, never once exercised his glorious +prerogative of mercy. It is said he dared not. His throne, perhaps +his life, was at stake; and history does not furnish us with the +example of any monarch with whom the lives of innocent or even +meritorious subjects ever appeared to be of much weight, when put in +balance against such considerations. + +The measures of the prevailing party in the House of Commons, in +these times, appear (with the exception of their dreadful +proceedings in the business of the pretended plot, and of their +violence towards those who petitioned and addressed against +parliament) to have been, in general, highly laudable and +meritorious; and yet I am afraid it may be justly suspected that it +was precisely to that part of their conduct which related to the +plot, and which is most reprehensible, that they were indebted for +their power to make the noble, and, in some instances, successful +struggles for liberty, which do so much honour to their memory. The +danger to be apprehended from military force being always, in the +view of wise men, the most urgent, they first voted the disbanding +of the army, and the two houses passed a bill for that purpose, to +which the king found himself obliged to consent. But to the bill +which followed, for establishing the regular assembling of the +militia, and for providing for their being in arms six weeks in the +year, he opposed his royal negative; thus making his stand upon the +same point on which his father had done; a circumstance which, if +events had taken a turn against him, would not have failed of being +much noticed by historians. Civil securities for freedom came to be +afterwards considered; and it is to be remarked, that to these times +of heat and passion, and to one of those parliaments which so +disgraced themselves and the nation by the countenance given to +Oates and Bedloe, and by the persecution of so many innocent +victims, we are indebted for the Habeas Corpus act, the most +important barrier against tyranny, and best framed protection for +the liberty of individuals, that has ever existed in any ancient or +modern commonwealth. + +But the inefficacy of mere laws in favour of the subjects, in the +case of the administration of them falling into the hands of persons +hostile to the spirit in which they had been provided, had been so +fatally evinced by the general history of England, ever since the +grant of the Great Charter, and more especially by the transactions +of the preceding reign, that the parliament justly deemed their work +incomplete unless the Duke of York were excluded from the succession +to the crown. A bill, therefore, for the purpose of excluding that +prince was prepared, and passed the House of Commons; but being +vigorously resisted by the court, by the church, and by the Tories, +was lost in the House of Lords. The restrictions offered by the +king to be put upon a popish successor are supposed to have been +among the most powerful of those means to which he was indebted for +his success. + +The dispute was no longer, whether or not the dangers resulting from +James's succession were real, and such as ought to be guarded +against by parliamentary provisions, but whether the exclusion or +restrictions furnished the most safe and eligible mode of compassing +the object which both sides pretended to have in view. The argument +upon this state of the question is clearly, forcibly, and, I think, +convincingly, stated by Rapin, who exposes very ably the extreme +folly of trusting to measures, without consideration of the men who +are to execute them. Even in Hume's statement of the question, +whatever may have been his intention, the arguments in favour of the +exclusion appear to me greatly to preponderate. Indeed, it is not +easy to conceive upon what principles even the Tories could justify +their support of the restrictions. Many among them, no doubt, saw +the provisions in the same light in which the Whigs represented +them, as an expedient, admirably, indeed, adapted to the real object +of upholding the present king's power, by the defeat of the +exclusion, but never likely to take effect for their pretended +purpose of controlling that of his successor, and supported them for +that very reason. But such a principle of conduct was too +fraudulent to be avowed; nor ought it, perhaps, in candour to be +imputed to the majority of the party. To those who acted with good +faith, and meant that the restrictions should really take place and +be effectual, surely it ought to have occurred (and to those who +most prized the prerogatives of the crown it ought most forcibly to +have occurred), that in consenting to curtail the powers of the +crown, rather than to alter the succession, they were adopting the +greater in order to avoid the lesser evil. The question of what are +to be the powers of the crown, is surely of superior importance to +that of who shall wear it? Those, at least, who consider the royal +prerogative as vested in the king, not for his sake but for that of +his subjects, must consider the one of these questions as much above +the other in dignity as the rights of the public are more valuable +than those of an individual. In this view the prerogatives of the +crown are, in substance and effect, the rights of the people; and +these rights of the people were not to be sacrificed to the purpose +of preserving the succession to the most favoured prince much less +to one who, on account of his religious persuasion, was justly +feared and suspected. In truth, the question between the exclusion +and restrictions seems peculiarly calculated to ascertain the +different views in which the different parties in this country have +seen, and perhaps ever will see, the prerogatives of the crown. The +Whigs, who consider them as a trust for the people--a doctrine which +the Tories themselves, when pushed in argument, will sometimes +admit--naturally think it their duty rather to change the manager of +the trust than to impair the subject of it; while others, who +consider them as the right or property of the king, will as +naturally act as they would do in the case of any other property, +and consent to the loss or annihilation of any part of it, for the +purpose of preserving the remainder to him whom they style the +rightful owner. If the people be the sovereign and the king the +delegate, it is better to change the bailiff than to injure the +farm; but if the king be the proprietor, it is better the farm +should be impaired--nay, part of it destroyed--than that the whole +should pass over to an usurper. The royal prerogative ought, +according to the Whigs (not in the case of a popish successor only, +but in all cases), to be reduced to such powers as are in their +exercise beneficial to the people; and of the benefit of these they +will not rashly suffer the people to be deprived, whether the +executive power be in the hands of an hereditary or of an elected +king, of a regent, or of any other denomination of magistrate; +while, on the other hand, they who consider prerogative with +reference only to royalty, will, with equal readiness, consent +either to the extension or the suspension of its exercise, as the +occasional interests of the prince may seem to require. The +senseless plea of a divine and indefeasible right in James, which +even the legislature was incompetent to set aside, though as +inconsistent with the declarations of parliament in the statute +book, and with the whole practice of the English constitution, as it +is repugnant to nature and common sense, was yet warmly insisted +upon by the high church party. Such an argument, as might naturally +be expected, operated rather to provoke the Whigs to perseverance +than to dissuade them from their measure: it was, in their eyes, an +additional merit belonging to the exclusion bill that it +strengthened, by one instance more, the authority of former statutes +in reprobating a doctrine which seems to imply that man can have a +property in his fellow-creatures. By far the best argument in +favour of the restrictions, is the practical one that they could be +obtained, and that the exclusion could not; but the value of this +argument is chiefly proved by the event. The exclusionists had a +fair prospect of success, and their plan being clearly the best, +they were justified in pursuing it. + +The spirit of resistance which the king showed in the instance of +the militia and the exclusion bills, seems to have been +systematically confined to those cases where he supposed his power +to be more immediately concerned. In the prosecution of the aged +and innocent Lord Stafford, he was so far from interfering in behalf +of that nobleman, that many of those most in his confidence, and, as +it is affirmed, the Duchess of Portsmouth herself, openly favoured +the prosecution. Even after the dissolution of him last parliament, +when he had so far subdued his enemies as to be no longer under any +apprehensions from them, he did not think it worth while to save the +life of Plunket, the popish Archbishop of Armagh, of whose innocence +no doubt could be entertained. But this is not to be wondered at, +since, in all transactions relative to the popish plot, minds of a +very different cast from Charles's became, as by some fatality, +divested of all their wonted sentiments of justice and humanity. +Who can read without horror, the account of that savage murmur of +applause, which broke out upon one of the villains at the bar, +swearing positively to Stafford's having proposed the murder of the +king? And how is this horror deepened, when we reflect, that in +that odious cry were probably mingled the voices of men to whose +memory every lover of the English constitution is bound to pay the +tribute of gratitude and respect! Even after condemnation, Lord +Russell himself, whose character is wholly (this instance excepted) +free from the stain of rancour or cruelty, stickled for the severer +mode of executing the sentence, in a manner which his fear of the +king's establishing a precedent of pardoning in cases of impeachment +(for this, no doubt, was his motive) cannot satisfactorily excuse. + +In an early period of the king's difficulties, Sir William Temple, +whose life and character is a refutation of the vulgar notion that +philosophy and practical good sense in business are incompatible +attainments, recommended to him the plan of governing by a council, +which was to consist in great part of the most popular noblemen and +gentlemen in the kingdom. Such persons being the natural, as well +as the safest, mediators between princes and discontented subjects, +this seems to have been the best possible expedient. Hume says it +was found too feeble a remedy; but he does not take notice that it +was never in fact tried, inasmuch as not only the king's confidence +was withheld from the most considerable members of the council, but +even the most important determinations were taken without consulting +the council itself. Nor can there be a doubt but the king's views, +in adopting Temple's advice, were totally different from those of +the adviser, whose only error in this transaction seems to have +consisted in recommending a plan, wherein confidence and fair +dealing were of necessity to be principal ingredients, to a prince +whom he well knew to be incapable of either. Accordingly, having +appointed the council in April, with a promise of being governed in +important matters by their advice, he in July dissolved one +parliament without their concurrence, and in October forbade them +even to give their opinions upon the propriety of a resolution which +he had taken of proroguing another. From that time he probably +considered the council to be, as it was, virtually dissolved; and it +was not long before means presented themselves to him, better +adapted, in his estimation, even to his immediate objects, and +certainly more suitable to his general designs. The union between +the court and the church party, which had been so closely cemented +by their successful resistance to the Exclusion Bill, and its +authors, had at length acquired such a degree of strength and +consistency, that the king ventured first to appoint Oxford, instead +of London, for the meeting of parliament; and then, having secured +to himself a good pension from France, to dissolve the parliament +there met, with a full resolution never to call another; to which +resolution, indeed, Louis had bound him, as one of the conditions on +which he was to receive a stipend. No measure was ever attended +with more complete success. The most flattering addresses poured in +from all parts of the kingdom; divine right, and indiscriminate +obedience, were everywhere the favourite doctrines; and men seemed +to vie with each other who should have the honour of the greatest +share in the glorious work of slavery, by securing to the king, for +the present, and after him to the duke, absolute and uncontrollable +power. They who, either because Charles had been called a forgiving +prince by his flatterers (upon what ground I could never discover), +or from some supposed connection between indolence and good nature, +had deceived themselves into a hope that his tyranny would be of the +milder sort, found themselves much disappointed in their +expectations. + +The whole history of the remaining part of his reign exhibits an +uninterrupted series of attacks upon the liberty, property, and +lives of his subjects. The character of the government appeared +first, and with the most marked and prominent features, in Scotland. +The condemnation of Argyle and Weir, the one for having subjoined an +explanation when he took the test oath, the other for having kept +company with a rebel, whom it was not proved he knew to be such, and +who had never been proclaimed, resemble more the acts of Tiberius +and Domitian, than those of even the most arbitrary modern +governments. It is true, the sentences were not executed; Weir was +reprieved; and whether or not Argyle, if he had not deemed it more +prudent to escape by flight, would have experienced the same +clemency, cannot now be ascertained. The terror of these examples +would have been, in the judgment of most men, abundantly sufficient +to teach the people of Scotland their duty, and to satisfy them that +their lives, as well as everything else they had been used to call +their own, were now completely in the power of their masters. But +the government did not stop here, and having outlawed thousands, +upon the same pretence upon which Weir had been condemned, inflicted +capital punishment upon such criminals of both sexes as refused to +answer, or answered otherwise than was prescribed to them to the +most ensnaring questions. + +In England, the city of London seemed to hold out for a certain +time, like a strong fortress in a conquered country; and, by means +of this citadel, Shaftesbury and others were saved from the +vengeance of the court. But this resistance, however honourable to +the corporation who made it, could not be of long duration. The +weapons of law and justice were found feeble, when opposed to the +power of a monarch who was at the head of a numerous and bigoted +party of the nation, and who, which was most material of all, had +enabled himself to govern without a parliament. Civil resistance in +this country, even to the most illegal attacks of royal tyranny, has +never, I believe, been successful, unless when supported by +parliament, or at least by a great party in one or other of the two +houses. The court having wrested from the livery of London, partly +by corruption, and partly by violence, the free election of their +mayor and sheriffs, did not wait the accomplishment of their plan +for the destruction of the whole corporation, which, from their +first success, they justly deemed certain, but immediately proceeded +to put in execution their system of oppression. Pilkington, Colt, +and Oates, were fined a hundred thousand pounds each for having +spoken disrespectfully of the Duke of York; Barnardiston, ten +thousand, for having in a private letter expressed sentiments deemed +improper; and Sidney, Russell, and Armstrong, found that the just +and mild principles which characterise the criminal law of England +could no longer protect their lives, when the sacrifice was called +for by the policy or vengeance of the king. To give an account of +all the oppression of this period would be to enumerate every +arrest, every trial, every sentence, that took place in questions +between the crown and the subjects. + +Of the Rye House plot it may be said, much more truly than of the +popish, that there was in it some truth, mixed with much falsehood; +and though many of the circumstances in Kealing's account are nearly +as absurd and ridiculous as those in Oates's, it seems probable that +there was among some of those accused a notion of assassinating the +king; but whether this notion was over ripened into what may be +called a design, and, much more, whether it were ever evinced by +such an overt act as the law requires for conviction, is very +doubtful. In regard to the conspirators of higher ranks, from whom +all suspicion of participation in the intended assassination has +been long since done away, there is unquestionably reason to believe +that they had often met and consulted, as well for the purpose of +ascertaining the means they actually possessed as for that of +devising others for delivering their country from the dreadful +servitude into which it had fallen; and thus far their conduct +appears clearly to have been laudable. If they went further, and +did anything which could be fairly construed into an actual +conspiracy to levy war against the king, they acted, considering the +disposition of the nation at that period, very indiscreetly. But +whether their proceedings had ever gone this length, is far from +certain. Monmouth's communications with the king, when we reflect +upon all the circumstances of those communications, deserve not the +smallest attention; nor indeed, if they did, does the letter which +he afterwards withdrew prove anything upon this point. And it is an +outrage to common-sense to call Lord Grey's narrative written, as he +himself states in his letter to James II., while the question of his +pardon was pending, an authentic account. That which is most +certain in this affair is, that they had committed no overt act, +indicating the imagining of the king's death, even according to the +most strained construction of the statute of Edward III.; much less +was any such act legally proved against them. And the conspiring to +levy war was not treason, except by a recent statute of Charles II., +the prosecutions upon which were expressly limited to a certain +time, which in these cases had elapsed so that it is impossible not +to assent to the opinion of those who have ever stigmatised the +condemnation and execution of Russell as a most flagrant violation +of law and justice. + +The proceedings in Sidney's case were still more detestable. The +production of papers, containing speculative opinions upon +government and liberty, written long before, and perhaps never even +intended to be published, together with the use made of those +papers, in considering them as a substitute for the second witness +to the overt act, exhibited such a compound of wickedness and +nonsense as is hardly to be paralleled in the history of juridical +tyranny. But the validity of pretences was little attended to at +that time, in the case of a person whom the court had devoted to +destruction, and upon evidence such as has been stated was this +great and excellent man condemned to die. Pardon was not to be +expected. Mr. Hume says, that such an interference on the part of +the king, though it might have been an act of heroic generosity, +could not be regarded as an indispensable duty. He might have said +with more propriety, that it was idle to expect that the government, +after having incurred so much guilt in order to obtain the sentence, +should, by remitting it, relinquish the object just when it was +within its grasp. The same historian considers the jury as highly +blamable, and so do I; but what was their guilt in comparison of +that of the court who tried, and of the government who prosecuted, +in this infamous cause? Yet the jury, being the only party that can +with any colour be stated as acting independently of the government, +is the only one mentioned by him as blamable. The prosecutor is +wholly omitted in his censure, and so is the court; this last, not +from any tenderness for the judge (who, to do this author justice, +is no favourite with him), but lest the odious connection between +that branch of the judicature and the government should strike the +reader too forcibly; for Jeffreys, in this instance, ought to be +regarded as the mere tool and instrument (a fit one, no doubt), of +the prince who had appointed him for the purpose of this and similar +services. Lastly, the king is gravely introduced on the question of +pardon, as if he had had no prior concern in the cause, and were now +to decide upon the propriety of extending mercy to a criminal +condemned by a court of judicature; nor are we once reminded what +that judicature was, by whom appointed, by whom influenced, by whom +called upon, to receive that detestable evidence, the very +recollection of which, even at this distance of time, fires every +honest heart with indignation. As well might we palliate the +murders of Tiberius, who seldom put to death his victims without a +previous decree of his senate. The moral of all this seems to be, +that whenever a prince can, by intimidation, corruption, illegal +evidence, or other such means, obtain a verdict against a subject +whom he dislikes, he may cause him to be executed without any breach +of indispensable duty; nay, that it is an act of heroic generosity +if he spares him. I never reflect on Mr. Hume's statement of this +matter but with the deepest regret. Widely as I differ from him +upon many other occasions, this appears to me to be the most +reprehensible passage of his whole work. A spirit of adulation +towards deceased princes, though in a good measure free from the +imputation of interested meanness, which is justly attached to +flattery when applied to living monarchs, yet, as it is less +intelligible with respect to its motives than the other, so is it in +its consequences still more pernicious to the general interests of +mankind. Fear of censure from contemporaries will seldom have much +effect upon men in situations of unlimited authority: they will too +often flatter themselves that the same power which enables them to +commit the crime will secure them from reproach. The dread of +posthumous infamy, therefore, being the only restraint, their +consciences excepted, upon the passions of such persons, it is +lamentable that this last defence (feeble enough at best) should in +any degree be impaired; and impaired it must be, if not totally +destroyed, when tyrants can hope to find in a man like Hume, no less +eminent for the integrity and benevolence of his heart than for the +depth and soundness of his understanding, an apologist for even +their foulest murders. + +Thus fell Russell and Sidney, two names that will, it is hoped, be +for ever dear to every English heart. When their memory shall cease +to be an object of respect and veneration, it requires no spirit of +prophecy to foretell that English liberty will be fast approaching +to its final consummation. Their department was such as might be +expected from men who knew themselves to be suffering, not for their +crimes, but for their virtues. In courage they were equal, but the +fortitude of Russell, who was connected with the world by private +and domestic ties, which Sidney had not, was put to the severer +trial; and the story of the last days of this excellent man's life +fills the mind with such a mixture of tenderness and admiration, +that I know not any scene in history that more powerfully excites +our sympathy, or goes more directly to the heart. + +The very day on which Russell was executed, the University of Oxford +passed their famous decree, condemning formally, as impious and +heretical propositions, every principle upon which the constitution +of this or any other free country can maintain itself. Nor was this +learned body satisfied with stigmatising such principles as contrary +to the Holy Scriptures, to the decrees of councils, to the writings +of the fathers, to the faith and profession of the primitive church, +as destructive of the kingly government, the safety of his majesty's +person, the public peace, the laws of nature, and bounds of human +society; but after enumerating the several obnoxious propositions, +among which was one declaring all civil authority derived from the +people; another, asserting a mutual contract, tacit or express, +between the king and his subjects; a third, maintaining the +lawfulness of changing the succession to the crown; with many others +of a like nature, they solemnly decreed all and every of those +propositions to be not only false and seditious, but impious, and +that the books which contained them were fitted to lead to +rebellion, murder of princes, and atheism itself. Such are the +absurdities which men are not ashamed to utter in order to cast +odious imputations upon their adversaries; and such the manner in +which churchmen will abuse, when it suits their policy, the holy +name of that religion whose first precept is to love one another, +for the purpose of teaching us to hate our neighbours with more than +ordinary rancour. If Much Ado about Nothing had been published in +those days, the town-clerk's declaration, that receiving a thousand +ducats for accusing the Lady Hero wrongfully, was flat burglary, +might be supposed to be a satire upon this decree; yet Shakespeare, +well as he knew human nature, not only as to its general course, but +in all its eccentric deviations, could never dream that, in the +persons of Dogberry, Verges, and their followers, he was +representing the vice-chancellors and doctors of our learned +university. + +Among the oppressions of this period, most of which were attended +with consequences so much more important to the several objects of +persecution, it may seem scarcely worth while to notice the +expulsion of John Locke from Christ Church College, Oxford. But +besides the interest which every incident in the life of a person so +deservedly eminent naturally excites, there appears to have been +something in the transaction itself characteristic of the spirit of +the times, as well as of the general nature of absolute power. Mr. +Locke was known to have been intimately connected with Lord +Shaftesbury, and had very prudently judged it advisable for him to +prolong for some time his residence upon the Continent, to which he +had resorted originally on account of his health. A suspicion, as +it has been since proved unfounded, that he was the author of a +pamphlet which gave offence to the government, induced the king to +insist upon his removal from his studentship at Christ Church. +Sunderland writes, by the king's command, to Dr. Fell, bishop of +Oxford and dean of Christ Church. The reverend prelate answers that +he has long had an eye upon Mr. Locke's behaviour; but though +frequent attempts had been made (attempts of which the bishop +expresses no disapprobation), to draw him into imprudent +conversation, by attacking, in his company, the reputation, and +insulting the memory of his late patron and friend, and thus to make +his gratitude and all the best feelings of his heart instrumental to +his ruin, these attempts all proved unsuccessful. Hence the bishop +infers, not the innocence of Mr. Locke, but that he was a great +master of concealment both as to words and looks; for looks, it is +to be supposed, would have furnished a pretext for his expulsion, +more decent than any which had yet been discovered. An expedient is +then suggested to drive Mr. Locke to a dilemma, by summoning him to +attend the college on the first of January ensuing. If he do not +appear, he shall be expelled for contumacy; if he come, matter of +charge may be found against him for what he shall have said at +London or elsewhere, where he will have been less upon his guard +than at Oxford. Some have ascribed Fell's hesitation, if it can be +so called, in executing the king's order, to his unwillingness to +injure Locke, who was his friend; others, with more reason, to the +doubt of the legality of the order. However this may have been, +neither his scruple nor his reluctance was regarded by a court who +knew its own power. A peremptory order was accordingly sent, and +immediate obedience ensued. Thus, while without the shadow of a +crime, Mr. Locke lost a situation attended with some emolument and +great convenience, was the university deprived of, or rather thus, +from the base principles of servility, did she cast away the man, +the having produced whom is now her chiefest glory; and thus, to +those who are not determined to be blind, did the true nature of +absolute power discover itself, against which the middling station +is not more secure than the most exalted. Tyranny, when glutted +with the blood of the great, and the plunder of the rich, will +condescend to bent humbler game, and make a peaceable and innocent +fellow of a college the object of its persecution. In this instance +one would almost imagine there was some instinctive sagacity in the +government of that time, which pointed out to them, even before he +had made himself known to the world, the man who was destined to be +the most successful adversary of superstition and tyranny. + +The king, during the remainder of his reign, seems, with the +exception of Armstrong's execution, which must be added to the +catalogue of his murders, to have directed his attacks more against +the civil rights, properties, and liberties, than against the lives +of his subjects. Convictions against evidence, sentences against +law, enormous fines, cruel imprisonments, were the principal engines +employed for the purpose of breaking the spirit of individuals, and +fitting their necks for the yoke. But it was not thought fit to +trust wholly to the effect which such examples would produce upon +the public. That the subjugation of the people might be complete, +and despotism be established upon the most solid foundation, +measures of a more general nature and effect were adopted; and +first, the charter of London, and then those of almost all the other +corporations in England, were either forfeited or forced to a +surrender. By this act of violence two important points were +thought to be gained; one, that in every regular assemblage of the +people in any part of the kingdom the crown would have a commanding +influence; the other, that in case the king should find himself +compelled to break his engagement to France, and to call a +parliament, a great majority of members would be returned by +electors of his nomination, and subject to his control. In the +affair of the charter of London, it was seen, as in the case of +ship-money, how idle it is to look to the integrity of judges for a +barrier against royal encroachments, when the courts of justice are +not under the constant and vigilant control of parliament. And it +is not to be wondered at, that, after such a warning, and with no +hope of seeing a parliament assemble, even they who still retained +their attachment to the true constitution of their country, should +rather give way to the torrent than make a fruitless and dangerous +resistance. + +Charles being thus completely master, was determined that the +relative situation of him and his subjects should be clearly +understood, for which purpose he ordered a declaration to be framed, +wherein, after having stated that he considered the degree of +confidence they had reposed in him as an honour particular to his +reign, which not one of his predecessors had ever dared even to hope +for, he assured them he would use it with all possible moderation, +and convince even the most violent republicans, that as the crown +was the origin of the rights and liberties of the people, so was it +their most certain and secure support. This gracious declaration +was ready for the press at the time of the king's death, and if he +had lived to issue it, there can be little doubt how it would have +been received at a time when + + + "nunquam libertas gratior extat +Quam sub rege pio," + + +was the theme of every song, and, by the help of some perversion of +Scripture, the text of every sermon. But whatever might be the +language of flatterers, and how loud soever the cry of a triumphant, +but deluded party, there were not wanting men of nobler sentiments +and of more rational views. Minds once thoroughly imbued with the +love of what Sidney, in his last moments, so emphatically called the +good old cause, will not easily relinquish their principles: nor +was the manner in which absolute power was exercised, such as to +reconcile to it, in practice, those who had always been averse to it +in speculation. The hatred of tyranny must, in such persons, have +been exasperated by the experience of its effects, and their +attachment to liberty proportionably confirmed. To them the state +of their country must have been intolerable: to reflect upon the +efforts of their fathers, once their pride and glory, and whom they +themselves had followed with no unequal steps, and to see the result +of all in the scenes that now presented themselves, must have filled +their minds with sensations of the deepest regret, and feelings +bordering at least on despondency. To us, who have the opportunity +of combining in our view of this period, not only the preceding but +subsequent transactions, the consideration of it may suggest +reflections far different and speculations more consolatory. +Indeed, I know not that history can furnish a more forcible lesson +against despondency, than by recording that within a short time from +those dismal days in which men of the greatest constancy despaired, +and had reason to do so, within five years from the death of Sidney +arose the brightest era of freedom known to the annals of our +country. + +It is said that the king, when at the summit of his power, was far +from happy; and a notion has been generally entertained that not +long before his death he had resolved upon the recall of Monmouth, +and a correspondent change of system. That some such change was +apprehended seems extremely probable, from the earnest desire which +the court of France, as well as the Duke of York's party in England, +entertained, in the last years of Charles's life, to remove the +Marquis of Halifax, who was supposed to have friendly dispositions +to Monmouth. Among the various objections to that nobleman's +political principles, we find the charge most relied upon, for the +purpose of injuring him in the mind of the king, was founded on the +opinion he had delivered in council, in favour of modelling the +charters of the British colonies in North America upon the +principles of the rights and privileges of Englishmen. There was no +room to doubt (he was accused of saying) that the same laws under +which we live in England, should be established in a country +composed of Englishmen. He even dilated upon this, and omitted none +of the reasons by which it can be proved that an absolute government +is neither so happy nor so safe as that which is tempered by laws, +and which limits the authority of the prince. He exaggerated, it +was said, the mischiefs of a sovereign power, and declared plainly +that he could not make up his mind to live under a king who should +have it in his power to take, when he pleased, the money he might +have in his pocket. All the other ministers had combated, as might +be expected, sentiments so extraordinary; and without entering into +the general question of the comparative value of different forms of +government, maintained that his majesty could and ought to govern +countries so distant in the manner that should appear to him most +suitable for preserving or augmenting the strength and riches of the +mother country. It had been, therefore, resolved that the +government and council of the provinces under the new charter should +not be obliged to call assemblies of the colonists for the purpose +of imposing taxes, or making other important regulations, but should +do what they thought fit, without rendering any account of their +actions except to his Britannic Majesty. The affair having been so +decided with a concurrence only short of unanimity, was no longer +considered as a matter of importance, nor would it be worth +recording, if the Duke of York and the French court had not fastened +upon it, as affording the best evidence of the danger to be +apprehended from having a man of Halifax's principles in any +situation of trust or power. There is something curious in +discovering that even at this early period a question relative to +North American liberty, and even to North American taxation, was +considered as the test of principles friendly or adverse to +arbitrary power at home. But the truth is, that among the several +controversies which have arisen there is no other wherein the +natural rights of man on the one hand, and the authority of +artificial institution on the other, as applied respectively by the +Whigs and Tories to the English constitution, are so fairly put in +issue, nor by which the line of separation between the two parties +is so strongly and distinctly marked. + +There is some reason for believing that the court of Versailles had +either wholly discontinued, or, at least, had become very remiss in, +the payments of Charles's pension; and it is not unlikely that this +consideration induced him either really to think of calling a +parliament, or at least to threaten Louis with such a measure, in +order to make that prince more punctual in performing his part of +their secret treaty. But whether or not any secret change was +really intended, or if it were to what extent, and to what objects +directed, are points which cannot now be ascertained, no public +steps having ever been taken in this affair, and his majesty's +intentions, if in truth he had any such, becoming abortive by the +sudden illness which seized him on the 1st of February, 1685, and +which, in a few days afterwards, put an end to his reign and life. +His death was by many supposed to have been the effect of poison; +but although there is reason to believe that this suspicion was +harboured by persons very near to him, and, among others, as I have +heard, by the Duchess of Portsmouth, it appears, upon the whole, to +rest upon very slender foundations. + +With respect to the character of this prince, upon the delineation +of which so much pains have been employed, by the various writers +who treat of the history of his time, it must be confessed that the +facts which have been noticed in the foregoing pages furnish but too +many illustrations of the more unfavourable parts of it. From these +we may collect that his ambition was directed solely against his +subjects, while he was completely indifferent concerning the figure +which he or they might make in the general affairs of Europe; and +that his desire of power was more unmixed with love of glory than +that of any other man whom history has recorded; that he was +unprincipled, ungrateful, mean, and treacherous, to which may be +added, vindictive and remorseless. For Burnet, in refusing to him +the praise of clemency and forgiveness, seems to be perfectly +justifiable, nor is it conceivable upon what pretence his partisans +have taken this ground of panegyric. I doubt whether a single +instance can be produced of his having spared the life of any one +whom motives either of policy, or of revenge, prompted him to +destroy. To allege that of Monmouth as it would be an affront to +human nature, so would it likewise imply the most severe of all +satires against the monarch himself, and we may add, too, an +undeserved one; for, in order to consider it as an act of +meritorious forbearance on his part, that he did not follow the +example of Constantine and Philip II., by imbruing his hands in the +blood of his son, we must first suppose him to have been wholly void +of every natural affection, which does not appear to have been the +case. His declaration that he would have pardoned Essex, being made +when that nobleman was dead, and not followed by any act evincing +its sincerity, can surely obtain no credit from men of sense. If he +had really had the intention, he ought not to have made such a +declaration, unless he accompanied it with some mark of kindness to +the relations, or with some act of mercy to the friends of the +deceased. Considering it as a mere piece of hypocrisy, we cannot +help looking upon it as one of the most odious passages of his life. +This ill-timed boast of his intended mercy, and the brutal taunt +with which he accompanied his mitigation (if so it may be called) of +Russell's sentence, show his insensibility and hardness to have been +such, that in questions where right feelings were concerned, his +good sense, and even the good taste for which he has been so much +extolled, seemed wholly to desert him. + +On the other hand, it would be want of candour to maintain that +Charles was entirely destitute of good qualities; nor was the +propriety of Burnet's comparison between him and Tiberius ever felt, +I imagine, by any one but its author. He was gay and affable, and, +if incapable of the sentiments belonging to pride of a laudable +sort, he was at least free from haughtiness and insolence. The +praise of politeness, which the stoics are not perhaps wrong in +classing among the moral virtues, provided they admit it to be one +of the lowest order, has never been denied him, and he had in an +eminent degree that facility of temper which, though considered by +some moralists as nearly allied to vice, yet, inasmuch as it +contributes greatly to the happiness of those around us, is in +itself not only an engaging but an estimable quality. His support +of the queen during the heats raised by the popish plot ought to be +taken rather as a proof that he was not a monster than to be +ascribed to him as a merit; but his steadiness to his brother, +though it may and ought, in a great measure, to be accounted for +upon selfish principles, had at least a strong resemblance to +virtue. + +The best part of this prince's character seems to have been his +kindness towards his mistresses, and his affection for his children, +and others nearly connected to him by the ties of blood. His +recommendation of the Duchess of Portsmouth and Mrs. Gwyn, upon his +death-bed, to his successor is much to his honour; and they who +censure it seem, in their zeal to show themselves strict moralists, +to have suffered their notions of vice and virtue to have fallen +into strange confusion. Charles's connection with those ladies +might be vicious, but at a moment when that connection was upon the +point of being finally and irrevocably dissolved, to concern himself +about their future welfare and to recommend them to his brother with +earnest tenderness was virtue. It is not for the interest of +morality that the good and evil actions, even of bad men, should be +confounded. His affection for the Duke of Gloucester and for the +Duchess of Orleans seems to have been sincere and cordial. To +attribute, as some have done, his grief for the loss of the first to +political considerations, founded upon an intended balance of power +between his two brothers, would be an absurd refinement, whatever +were his general disposition; but when we reflect upon that +carelessness which, especially in his youth, was a conspicuous +feature of his character, the absurdity becomes still more striking. +And though Burnet more covertly, and Ludlow more openly, insinuate +that his fondness for his sister was of a criminal nature, I never +could find that there was any ground whatever for such a suspicion; +nor does the little that remains of their epistolary correspondence +give it the smallest countenance. Upon the whole, Charles II. was a +bad man and a bad king; let us not palliate his crimes, but neither +let us adopt false or doubtful imputations for the purpose of making +him a monster. + +Whoever reviews the interesting period which we have been +discussing, upon the principle recommended in the outset of this +chapter, will find that, from the consideration of the past, to +prognosticate the future would at the moment of Charles's demise be +no easy task. Between two persons, one of whom should expect that +the country would remain sunk in slavery, the other, that the cause +of freedom would revive and triumph, it would be difficult to decide +whose reasons were better supported, whose speculations the more +probable. I should guess that he who desponded had looked more at +the state of the public, while he who was sanguine had fixed his +eyes more attentively upon the person who was about to mount the +throne. Upon reviewing the two great parties of the nation, one +observation occurs very forcibly, and that is, that the great +strength of the Whigs consisted in their being able to brand their +adversaries as favourers of popery; that of the Tories (as far as +their strength depended upon opinion, and not merely upon the power +of the crown), in their finding colour to represent the Whigs as +republicans. From this observation we may draw a further inference, +that, in proportion to the rashness of the crown in avowing and +pressing forward the cause of popery, and to the moderation and +steadiness of the Whigs in adhering to the form of monarchy, would +be the chance of the people of England for changing an ignominious +despotism for glory, liberty, and happiness. + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Accession of James II.--His declaration in council; acceptable to +the nation--Arbitrary designs of his reign--Former ministers +continued--Money transactions with France--Revenue levied without +authority of Parliament--Persecution of Dissenters--Character of +Jeffreys--The King's affectation of independence--Advances to the +Prince of Orange--The primary object of this reign--Transactions in +Scotland--Severe persecutions there--Scottish Parliament--Cruelties +of government--English Parliament; its proceedings--Revenue--Votes +concerning religion--Bill for preservation of the King's person-- +Solicitude for the Church of England--Reversal of Stafford's +attainder rejected--Parliament adjourned--Character of the Tories-- +Situation of the Whigs. + +Charles II. expired on the 6th of February, 1684-85, and on the same +day his successor was proclaimed king in London, with the usual +formalities, by the title of James the Second. The great influence +which this prince was supposed to have possessed in the government +during the latter years of his brother's reign, and the expectation +which was entertained in consequence, that his measures, when +monarch, would be of the same character and complexion with those +which he was known to have highly approved, and of which he was +thought by many to have been the principal author, when a subject +left little room for that spirit of speculation which generally +attends a demise of the crown. And thus an event, which when +apprehended a few years before had, according to a strong expression +of Sir William Temple, been looked upon as the end of the world, was +now deemed to be of small comparative importance. + +Its tendency, indeed, was rather to ensure perseverance than to +effect any change in the system which had been of late years +pursued. As there are, however, some steps indispensably necessary +on the accession of a new prince to the throne, to these the public +attention was directed, and though the character of James had been +long so generally understood as to leave little doubt respecting the +political maxims and principles by which his reign would be +governed, there was probably much curiosity, as upon such occasions +there always is, with regard to the conduct he would pursue in +matters of less importance, and to the general language and +behaviour which he would adopt in his new situation. His first step +was, of course, to assemble the privy council, to whom he spoke as +follows:- + +"Before I enter upon any other business, I think fit to say +something to you. Since it hath pleated Almighty God to place me in +this station, and I am now to succeed so good and gracious a king, +as well as so very kind a brother, I think it fit to declare to you +that I will endeavour to follow his example, and most especially in +that of his great clemency and tenderness to his people. I have +been reported to be a man for arbitrary power; but that is not the +only story that has been made of me; and I shall make it my +endeavour to preserve this government, both in Church and State, as +it is now by law established. I know the principles of the Church +of England are for monarchy, and the members of it have shown +themselves good and loyal subjects; therefore I shall always take +care to defend and support it. I know, too, that the laws of +England are sufficient to make the king as great a monarch as I can +wish; and as I shall never depart from the just rights and +prerogatives of the crown, so I shall never invade any man's +property. I have often heretofore ventured my life in defence of +this nation and I shall go as far as any man in preserving it in all +its just rights and liberties." + +With this declaration the council were so highly satisfied, that +they supplicated his majesty to make it public, which was +accordingly done; and it is reported to have been received with +unbounded applause by the greater part of the nation. Some, +perhaps, there were, who did not think the boast of having ventured +his life very manly, and who, considering the transactions of the +last years of Charles's reign, were not much encouraged by the +promise of imitating that monarch in clemency and tenderness to his +subjects. To these it might appear, that whatever there was of +consolatory in the king's disclaimer of arbitrary power and +professed attachment to the laws, was totally done away, as well by +the consideration of what his majesty's notions of power and law +were, as by his declaration that he would follow the example of a +predecessor, whose government had not only been marked with the +violation, in particular cases, of all the most sacred laws of the +realm, but had latterly, by the disuse of parliaments, in defiance +of the statute of the sixteenth year of his reign, stood upon a +foundation radically and fundamentally illegal. To others it might +occur that even the promise to the Church of England, though express +with respect to the condition of it, which was no other than perfect +acquiescence in what the king deemed to be the true principles of +monarchy, was rather vague with regard to the nature or degree of +support to which the royal speaker might conceive himself engaged. +The words, although in any interpretation of them they conveyed more +than he possibly ever intended to perform, did by no means express +the sense which at that time, by his friends, and afterwards by his +enemies, was endeavoured to be fixed on them. There was, indeed, a +promise to support the establishment of the Church, and consequently +the laws upon which that establishment immediately rested; but by no +means an engagement to maintain all the collateral provisions which +some of its more zealous members might judge necessary for its +security. + +But whatever doubts or difficulties might be felt, few or none were +expressed. The Whigs, as a vanquished party, were either silent or +not listened to, and the Tories were in a temper of mind which does +not easily admit suspicion. They were not more delighted with the +victory they had obtained over their adversaries, than with the +additional stability which, as they vainly imagined, the accession +of the new monarch was likely to give to their system. The truth is +that, his religion excepted (and that objection they were sanguine +enough to consider as done away by a few gracious words in favour of +the Church), James was every way better suited to their purpose than +his brother. They had entertained continual apprehensions, not +perhaps wholly unfounded, of the late king's returning kindness to +Monmouth, the consequences of which could not easily be calculated; +whereas, every occurrence that had happened, as well as every +circumstance in James's situation, seemed to make him utterly +irreconcilable with the Whigs. Besides, after the reproach, as well +as alarm, which the notoriety of Charles's treacherous character +must so often have caused them, the very circumstance of having at +their head a prince, of whom they could with any colour hold out to +their adherents that his word was to be depended upon, was in itself +a matter of triumph and exultation. Accordingly, the watchword of +the party was everywhere--"We have the word of a king, and a word +never yet broken;" and to such a length was the spirit of adulation, +or perhaps the delusion, carried, that this royal declaration was +said to be a better security for the liberty and religion of the +nation than any which the law could devise. + +The king, though much pleased, no doubt, with the popularity which +seemed to attend the commencement of his reign, as a powerful medium +for establishing the system of absolute power, did not suffer +himself, by any show of affection from his people, to be diverted +from his design of rendering his government independent of them. To +this design we must look as the mainspring of all his actions at +this period; for with regard to the Roman Catholic religion, it is +by no means certain that he yet thought of obtaining for it anything +more than a complete toleration. With this view, therefore, he +could not take a more judicious resolution than that which he had +declared in his speech to the privy council, and to which he seems, +at this time, to have steadfastly adhered, of making the government +of his predecessor the model for his own. He therefore continued in +their offices, notwithstanding the personal objections he might have +to some of them, those servants of the late king, during whose +administration that prince had been so successful in subduing his +subjects, and eradicating almost from the minds of Englishmen every +sentiment of liberty. + +Even the Marquis of Halifax, who was supposed to have remonstrated +against many of the late measures, and to have been busy in +recommending a change of system to Charles, was continued in high +employment by James, who told him that, of all his past conduct, he +should remember only his behaviour upon the exclusion bill, to which +that nobleman had made a zealous and distinguished opposition; a +handsome expression, which has been the more noticed, as well +because it is almost the single instance of this prince's showing +any disposition to forget injuries, as on account of a delicacy and +propriety in the wording of it, by no means familiar to him. + +Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, whom he appointed lord treasurer, +was in all respects calculated to be a fit instrument for the +purposes then in view. Besides being upon the worst terms with +Halifax, in whom alone, of all his ministers, James was likely to +find any bias in favour of popular principles, he was, both from +prejudice of education, and from interest, inasmuch as he had +aspired to be the head of the Tories, a great favourer of those +servile principles of the Church of England which had been lately so +highly extolled from the throne. His near relation to the Duchess +of York might also be some recommendation, but his privity to the +late pecuniary transactions between the courts of Versailles and +London, and the cordiality with which he concurred in them, were by +far more powerful titles to his new master's confidence. For it +must be observed of this minister, as well as of many others of his +party, that his HIGH notions, as they are frequently styled, of +power, regarded only the relation between the king and his subjects, +and not that in which he might stand with respect to foreign +princes; so that, provided he could, by a dependence, however +servile, upon Louis XIV., be placed above the control of his +parliament and people at home, he considered the honour of the crown +unsullied. + +Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, who was continued as secretary +of state, had been at one period a supporter of the exclusion bill, +and had been suspected of having offered the Duchess of Portsmouth +to obtain the succession to the crown for her son, the Duke of +Richmond. Nay more, King James, in his "Memoirs," charges him with +having intended, just at the time of Charles's death, to send him +into a second banishment; but with regard to this last point, it +appears evident to me, that many things in those "Memoirs," relative +to this earl, were written after James's abdication, and in the +greatest bitterness of spirit, when he was probably in a frame of +mind to believe anything against a person by whom he conceived +himself to have been basely deserted. The reappointment, therefore, +of this nobleman to so important an office, is to be accounted for +partly upon the general principle above-mentioned, of making the new +reign a mere continuation of the former, and partly upon +Sunderland's extraordinary talents for ingratiating himself with +persons in power, and persuading them that he was the fittest +instrument for their purposes; a talent in which he seems to have +surpassed all the intriguing statesmen of his time, or perhaps of +any other. + +An intimate connection with the court of Versailles being the +principal engine by which the favourite project of absolute monarchy +was to be effected, James, for the purpose of fixing and cementing +that connection, sent for M. de Barillon, the French ambassador, the +very day after his accession, and entered into the most confidential +discourse with him. He explained to him his motives for intending +to call a parliament, as well as his resolution to levy by authority +the revenue which his predecessor had enjoyed in virtue of a grant +of parliament which determined with his life. He made general +professions of attachment to Louis, declared that in all affairs of +importance it was his intention to consult that monarch, and +apologised, upon the ground of the urgency of the case, for acting +in the instance mentioned without his advice. Money was not +directly mentioned, owing, perhaps, to some sense of shame upon that +subject, which his brother had never experienced; but lest there +should be a doubt whether that object were implied in the desire of +support and protection, Rochester was directed to explain the matter +more fully, and to give a more distinct interpretation of these +general terms. Accordingly, that minister waited the next morning +upon Barillon, and after having repeated and enlarged upon the +reasons for calling a parliament, stated, as an additional argument +in defence of the measure, that without it his master would become +too chargeable to the French king; adding, however, that the +assistance which might be expected from a parliament, did not exempt +him altogether from the necessity of resorting to that prince for +pecuniary aids; for that without such, he would be at the mercy of +his subjects, and that upon this beginning would depend the whole +fortune of the reign. If Rochester actually expressed himself as +Barillon relates, the use intended to be made of parliament cannot +but cause the most lively indignation, while it furnishes a complete +answer to the historians who accuse the parliaments of those days of +unseasonable parsimony in their grants to the Stuart kings; for the +grants of the people of England were not destined, it seems, to +enable their kings to oppose the power of France, or even to be +independent of her, but to render the influence which Louis was +resolved to preserve in this country less chargeable to him, by +furnishing their quota to the support of his royal dependant. + +The French ambassador sent immediately a detailed account of these +conversations to his court, where, probably, they were not received +with the less satisfaction on account of the request contained in +them having been anticipated. Within a very few days from that in +which the latter of them had passed, he was empowered to accompany +the delivery of a letter from his master, with the agreeable news of +having received from him bills of exchange to the amount of five +hundred thousand livres, to be used in whatever manner might be +convenient to the king of England's service. The account which +Barillon gives, of the manner in which this sum was received, is +altogether ridiculous: the king's eyes were full of tears, and +three of his ministers, Rochester, Sunderland, and Godolphin, came +severally to the French ambassador, to express the sense their +master had of the obligation, in terms the most lavish. Indeed, +demonstrations of gratitude from the king directly, as well as +through his ministers, for this supply were such, as if they had +been used by some unfortunate individual, who, with his whole +family, had been saved, by the timely succour of some kind and +powerful protector, from a gaol and all its horrors, would be deemed +rather too strong than too weak. Barillon himself seems surprised +when he relates them; but imputes them to what was probably their +real cause, to the apprehensions that had been entertained (very +unreasonable ones!) that the king of France might no longer choose +to interfere in the affairs of England, and consequently that his +support could not be relied on for the grand object of assimilating +this government to his own. + +If such apprehensions did exist, it is probable that they were +chiefly owing to the very careless manner, to say the least, in +which Louis had of late fulfilled his pecuniary engagements to +Charles, so as to amount, in the opinion of the English ministers, +to an actual breach of promise. But the circumstances were in some +respects altered. The French king had been convinced that Charles +would never call a parliament; nay, further perhaps, that if he did, +he would not be trusted by one; and considering him therefore +entirely in his power, acted from that principle in insolent minds +which makes them fond of ill-treating and insulting those whom they +have degraded to a dependence on them. But James would probably be +obliged at the commencement of a new reign to call a parliament, and +if well used by such a body, and abandoned by France, might give up +his project of arbitrary power, and consent to govern according to +the law and constitution. In such an event, Louis easily foresaw, +that, instead of a useful dependent, he might find upon the throne +of England a formidable enemy. Indeed, this prince and his +ministers seem all along, with a sagacity that does them credit, to +have foreseen, and to have justly estimated, the dangers to which +they would be liable, if a cordial union should ever take place +between a king of England and his parliament, and the British +councils be directed by men enlightened and warmed by the genuine +principles of liberty. It was therefore an object of great moment +to bind the new king, as early as possible, to the system of +dependency upon France; and matter of less triumph to the court of +Versailles to have retained him by so moderate a fee, than to that +of London to receive a sum which, though small, was thought +valuable, no as an earnest of better wages and future protection. + +It had for some time been Louis's favourite object to annex to his +dominion what remained of the Spanish Netherlands, as well on +account of their own intrinsic value, as to enable him to destroy +the United Provinces and the Prince of Orange; and this object +Charles had bound himself, by treaty with Spain, to oppose. In the +joy, therefore, occasioned by this noble manner of proceeding (for +such it was called by all the parties concerned), the first step was +to agree, without hesitation, that Charles's treaty with Spain +determined with his life, a decision which, if the disregard that +had been shown to it did not render the question concerning it +nugatory, it would be difficult to support upon any principles of +national law or justice. The manner in which the late king had +conducted himself upon the subject of this treaty, that is to say, +the violation of it, without formally renouncing it, was gravely +commended, and stated to be no more than what might justly be +expected from him; but the present king was declared to be still +more free, and in no way bound by a treaty, from the execution of +which his brother had judged himself to be sufficiently dispensed. +This appears to be a nice distinction, and what that degree of +obligation was, from which James was exempt, but which had lain upon +Charles, who neither thought himself bound, nor was expected by +others to execute the treaty, it is difficult to conceive. + +This preliminary being adjusted, the meaning of which, through all +this contemptible shuffling, was, that James, by giving up all +concern for the Spanish Netherlands, should be at liberty to +acquiesce in, or to second, whatever might be the ambitious projects +of the court of Versailles, it was determined that Lord Churchill +should be sent to Paris to obtain further pecuniary aids. But such +was the impression made by the frankness and generosity of Louis, +that there was no question of discussing or capitulating, but +everything was remitted to that prince, and to the information his +ministers might give him, respecting the exigency of affairs in +England. He who had so handsomely been beforehand, in granting the +assistance of five hundred thousand livres, was only to be thanked +for past, not importuned for future, munificence. Thus ended, for +the present, this disgusting scene of iniquity and nonsense, in +which all the actors seemed to vie with each other in prostituting +the sacred names of friendship, generosity, and gratitude, in one of +the meanest and most criminal transactions which history records. + +The principal parties in the business, besides the king himself, to +whose capacity, at least, if not to his situation it was more +suitable, and Lord Churchill, who acted as an inferior agent, were +Sunderland, Rochester, and Godolphin, all men of high rank and +considerable abilities, but whose understandings, as well as their +principles, seem to have been corrupted by the pernicious schemes in +which they were engaged. With respect to the last-mentioned +nobleman in particular, it is impossible, without pain, to see him +engaged in such transactions. With what self-humiliation must he +not have reflected upon them in subsequent periods of his life! How +little could Barillon guess that he was negotiating with one who was +destined to be at the head of an administration which, in a few +years, would send the same Lord Churchill not to Paris, to implore +Louis for succours towards enslaving England, or to thank him for +pensions to her monarch, but to combine all Europe against him in +the cause of liberty, to rout his armies, to take his towns, to +humble his pride, and to shake to the foundation that fabric of +power which it had been the business of a long life to raise, at the +expense of every sentiment of tenderness to his subjects, and of +justice and good faith to foreign nations. It is with difficulty +the reader can persuade himself that the Godolphin and Churchill +here mentioned are the same persons who were afterwards one in the +cabinet, one in the field, the great conductors of the war of the +succession. How little do they appear in one instance! how great in +the other! And the investigation of the cause to which this +excessive difference is principally owing, will produce a most +useful lesson. Is the difference to be attributed to any +superiority of genius in the prince whom they served in the latter +period of their lives? Queen Anne's capacity appears to have been +inferior even to her father's. Did they enjoy in a greater degree +her favour and confidence? The very reverse is the fact. But in +one case they were the tools of a king plotting against his people; +in the other, the ministers of a free government acting upon +enlarged principles, and with energies which no state that is not in +some degree republican can supply. How forcibly must the +contemplation of these men, in such opposite situations, teach +persons engaged in political life that a free and popular government +is desirable, not only for the public good, but for their own +greatness and consideration, for every object of generous ambition! + +The king having, as has been related, first privately communicated +his intentions to the French ambassador, issued proclamations for +the meeting of parliament, and for levying, upon his sole authority, +the customs and other duties which had constituted part of the late +king's revenue, but to which, the acts granting them having expired +with the prince, James was not legally entitled. He was advised by +Lord Guildford, whom he had continued in the office of keeper of the +great seal, and who upon such a subject, therefore, was a person +likely to have the greatest weight, to satisfy himself with +directing the money to be kept in the exchequer for the disposal of +parliament, which was shortly to meet; and by others, to take bonds +from the merchants for the duties, to be paid when parliament should +legalise them. But these expedients were not suited to the king's +views, who, as well on account of his engagement with France, as +from his own disposition, was determined to take no step that might +indicate an intention of governing by parliaments, or a +consciousness of his being dependent upon them for his revenue, he +adopted, therefore, the advice of Jeffreys, advice not resulting so +much, probably, either from ignorance or violence of disposition, as +from his knowledge that it would be most agreeable to his master, +and directed the duties to be paid as in the former reign. It was +pretended, that an interruption in levying some of the duties might +be hurtful to trade; but as every difficulty of that kind was +obviated by the expedients proposed, this arbitrary and violent +measure can with no colour be ascribed to a regard to public +convenience, nor to any other motive than to a desire of reviving +Charles I.'s claims to the power of taxation, and of furnishing a +most intelligible comment upon his speech to the council on the day +of his accession. It became evident what the king's notions were, +with respect to that regal prerogative from which he professed +himself determined never to depart, and to that property which he +would never invade. What were the remaining rights and liberties of +the nation, which he was to preserve, might be more difficult to +discover; but that the laws of England, in the royal interpretation +of them, were sufficient to make the king as great a monarch as he, +or, indeed, any prince could desire, was a point that could not be +disputed. This violation of law was in itself most flagrant; it was +applied to a point well understood, and thought to have been so +completely settled by repeated and most explicit declarations of the +legislature, that it must have been doubtful whether even the most +corrupt judges, if the question had been tried, would have had the +audacity to decide it against the subject. But no resistance was +made; nor did the example of Hampden, which a half century before +had been so successful, and rendered that patriot's name so +illustrious, tempt any one to emulate his fame, so completely had +the crafty and sanguinary measures of the late reign attained the +object to which they were directed, and rendered all men either +afraid or unwilling to exert themselves in the cause of liberty. + +On the other hand, addresses the most servile were daily sent to the +throne. That of the University of Oxford stated that the religion +which they professed bound them to unconditional obedience to their +sovereign without restrictions or limitations; and the Society of +Barristers and Students of the Middle Temple thanked his majesty for +the attention he had shown to the trade of the kingdom, concerning +which, and its balance (and upon this last article they laid +particular stress), they seemed to think themselves peculiarly +called upon to deliver their opinion. But whatever might be their +knowledge in matters of trade, it was at least equal to that which +these addressers showed in the laws and constitution of their +country, since they boldly affirmed the king's right to levy the +duties, and declared that it had never been disputed but by persons +engaged, in what they were pleased to call rebellion against his +royal father. The address concluded with a sort of prayer that all +his majesty's subjects might be as good lawyers as themselves, and +disposed to acknowledge the royal prerogative in all its extent. + +If these addresses are remarkable for their servility, that of the +gentlemen and freeholders of the county of Suffolk was no less so +for the spirit of party violence that was displayed in it. They +would take care, they said, to choose representatives who should no +more endure those who had been for the Exclusion Bill, than the last +parliament had the abhorrers of the association; and thus not only +endeavoured to keep up his majesty's resentment against a part of +their fellow-subjects, but engaged themselves to imitate, for the +purpose of retaliation, that part of the conduct of their +adversaries which they considered as most illegal and oppressive. + +It is a remarkable circumstance, that among all the adulatory +addresses of this time, there is not to be found, in any one of +them, any declaration of disbelief in the popish plot, or any charge +upon the late parliament for having prosecuted it, though it could +not but be well known that such topics would, of all others, be most +agreeable to the court. Hence we may collect that the delusion on +this subject was by no means at an end, and that they who, out of a +desire to render history conformable to the principles of poetical +justice, attribute the unpopularity and downfall of the Whigs to the +indignation excited by their furious and sanguinary prosecution of +the plot, are egregiously mistaken. If this had been in any degree +the prevailing sentiment, it is utterly unaccountable that, so far +from its appearing in any of the addresses of these times, this most +just ground of reproach upon the Whig party, and the parliament in +which they had had the superiority, was the only one omitted in +them. The fact appears to have been the very reverse of what such +historians suppose, and that the activity of the late parliamentary +leaders, in prosecuting the popish plot, was the principal +circumstance which reconciled the nation, for a time, to their other +proceedings; that their conduct in that business (now so justly +condemned) was the grand engine of their power, and that when that +failed, they were soon overpowered by the united forces of bigotry +and corruption. They were hated by a great part of the nation, not +for their crimes, but for their virtues. To be above corruption is +always odious to the corrupt, and to entertain more enlarged and +juster notions of philosophy and government, is often a cause of +alarm to the narrow-minded and superstitious. In those days +particularly it was obvious to refer to the confusion, greatly +exaggerated of the times of the commonwealth; and it was an +excellent watchword of alarm, to accuse every lover of law and +liberty of designs to revive the tragical scene which had closed the +life of the first Charles. In this spirit, therefore, the Exclusion +Bill, and the alleged conspiracies of Sidney and Russell, were, as +might naturally be expected, the chief charges urged against the +Whigs; but their conduct on the subject of the popish plot was so +far from being the cause of the hatred born to them, that it was not +even used as a topic of accusation against them. + +In order to keep up that spirit in the nation, which was thought to +be manifested in the addresses, his majesty ordered the declaration, +to which allusion was made in the last chapter, to be published, +interwoven with a history of the Rye House Plot, which is said to +have been drawn by Dr. Spratt, Bishop of Rochester. The principal +drift of this publication was, to load the memory of Sidney and +Russell, and to blacken the character of the Duke of Monmouth, by +wickedly confounding the consultations holden by them with the plot +for assassinating the late king, and in this object it seems in a +great measure to have succeeded. He also caused to be published an +attestation of his brother's having died a Roman Catholic, together +with two papers, drawn up by him, in favour of that persuasion. +This is generally considered to have been a very ill-advised +instance of zeal; but probably James thought, that at a time when +people seemed to be so in love with his power, he might safely +venture to indulge himself in a display of his attachment to his +religion; and perhaps, too, it might be thought good policy to show +that a prince, who had been so highly complimented as Charles had +been, for the restoration and protection of the Church, had, in +truth, been a Catholic, and thus to inculcate an opinion that the +Church of England might not only be safe, but highly favoured, under +the reign of a popish prince. + +Partly from similar motives, and partly to gratify the natural +vindictiveness of his temper, he persevered in a most cruel +persecution of the Protestant dissenters, upon the most frivolous +pretences. The courts of justice, as in Charles's days, were +instruments equally ready, either for seconding the policy or for +gratifying the bad passions of the monarch; and Jeffreys, whom the +late king had appointed chief justice of England a little before +Sidney's trial, was a man entirely agreeable to the temper, and +suitable to the purposes, of the present government. He was thought +not to be very learned in his profession; but what might be wanting +in knowledge he made up in positiveness; and, indeed, whatever might +be the difficulties in questions between one subject and another, +the fashionable doctrine, which prevailed at that time, of +supporting the king's prerogative in its full extent, and without +restriction or limitation, rendered, to such as espoused it, all +that branch of law which is called constitutional extremely easy and +simple. He was as submissive and mean to those above him as he was +haughty and insolent to those who were in any degree in his power; +and if in his own conduct he did not exhibit a very nice regard for +morality, or even for decency, he never failed to animadvert upon, +and to punish, the most slight deviation in others with the utmost +severity, especially if they were persons whom he suspected to be no +favourites of the court. + +Before this magistrate was brought for trial, by a jury sufficiently +prepossessed in favour of Tory politics, the Rev. Richard Baxter, a +dissenting minister, a pious and learned man, of exemplary +character, always remarkable for his attachment to monarchy, and for +leaning to moderate measures in the differences between the Church +and those of his persuasion. The pretence for this prosecution was +a supposed reference of some passages in one of his works to the +bishops of the Church of England; a reference which was certainly +not intended by him, and which could not have been made out to any +jury that had been less prejudiced, or under any other direction +than that of Jeffreys. The real motive was, the desire of punishing +an eminent dissenting teacher, whose reputation was high among his +sect, and who was supposed to favour the political opinions of the +Whigs. He was found guilty, and Jeffreys, in passing sentence upon +him, loaded him with the coarsest reproaches and bitterest taunts. +He called him sometimes, by way of derision, a saint, sometimes, in +plainer terms, an old rogue; and classed this respectable divine, to +whom the only crime imputed was the having spoken disrespectfully of +the bishops of a communion to which he did not belong, with the +infamous Oates, who had been lately convicted of perjury. He +finished with declaring, that it was a matter of public notoriety +that there was a formed design to ruin the king and the nation, in +which this old man was the principal incendiary. Nor is it +improbable that this declaration, absurd as it was, might gain +belief at a time when the credulity of the triumphant party was at +its height. + +Of this credulity it seems to be no inconsiderable testimony, that +some affected nicety which James had shown with regard to the +ceremonies to be used towards the French ambassador, was highly +magnified, and represented to be an indication of the different tone +that was to be taken by the present king, in regard to foreign +powers, and particularly to the court of Versailles. The king was +represented as a prince eminently jealous of the national honour, +and determined to preserve the balance of power in Europe, by +opposing the ambitious projects of France at the very time when he +was supplicating Louis to be his pensioner, and expressing the most +extravagant gratitude for having been accepted as such. From the +information which we now have, it appears that his applications to +Louis for money were incessant, and that the difficulties were all +on the side of the French court. Of the historians who wrote prior +to the inspection of the papers in the foreign office in France, +Burnet is the only one who seems to have known that James's +pretensions of independency with respect to the French king were (as +he terms them) only a show; but there can now be no reason to doubt +the truth of the anecdote which he relates, that Louis soon after +told the Duke of Villeroy, that if James showed any apparent +uneasiness concerning the balance of power (and there is some reason +to suppose he did) in his conversations with the Spanish and other +foreign ambassadors, his intention was, probably, to alarm the court +of Versailles, and thereby to extort pecuniary assistance to a +greater extent; while, on the other hand, Louis, secure in the +knowledge that his views of absolute power must continue him in +dependence upon France, seems to have refused further supplies, and +even in some measure to have withdrawn those which had been +stipulated, as a mark of his displeasure with his dependant, for +assuming a higher tone than he thought becoming. + +Whether with a view of giving some countenance to those who were +praising him upon the above mentioned topic, or from what other +motive it is now not easy to conjecture, James seems to have wished +to be upon apparent good terms, at least, with the Prince of Orange; +and after some correspondence with that prince concerning the +protection afforded by him and the states-general to Monmouth, and +other obnoxious persons, it appears that he declared himself, in +consequence of certain explanations and concessions, perfectly +satisfied. It is to be remarked, however, that he thought it +necessary to give the French ambassador an account of this +transaction, and in a manner to apologise to him for entering into +any sort of terms with a son-in-law, who was supposed to be hostile +in disposition to the French king. He assured Barillon that a +change of system on the part of the Prince of Orange in regard to +Louis, should be a condition of his reconciliation: he afterwards +informed him that the Prince of Orange had answered him +satisfactorily in all other respects, but had not taken notice of +his wish that he should connect himself with France; but never told +him that he had, notwithstanding the prince's silence on that +material point, expressed himself completely satisfied with him. +That a proposition to the Prince of Orange, to connect himself in +politics with Louis would, if made, have been rejected, in the +manner in which the king's account to Barillon implies that it was, +there can be no doubt; but whether James ever had the assurance to +make it is more questionable; for as he evidently acted +disingenuously with the ambassador, in concealing from him the +complete satisfaction he had expressed of the Prince of Orange's +present conduct, it is not unreasonable to suppose that he deceived +him still further, and pretended to have made an application, which +he had never hazarded. + +However, the ascertaining of this fact is by no means necessary for +the illustration, either of the general history or of James's +particular character, since it appears that the proposition, if +made, was rejected; and James is, in any case, equally convicted of +insincerity, the only point in question being, whether he deceived +the French ambassador, in regard to the fact of his having made the +proposition, or to the sentiments he expressed upon its being +refused. Nothing serves more to show the dependence in which he +considered himself to be upon Louis than these contemptible shifts +to which he condescended, for the purposes of explaining and +apologising for such parts of his conduct as might be supposed to be +less agreeable to that monarch than the rest. An English parliament +acting upon constitutional principles, and the Prince of Orange, +were the two enemies whom Louis most dreaded; and, accordingly, +whenever James found it necessary to make approaches to either of +them, an apology was immediately to be offered to the French +ambassador, to which truth sometimes and honour was always +sacrificed. + +Mr. Hume says the king found himself, by degrees, under the +necessity of falling into an union with the French monarch, who +could alone assist him in promoting the Catholic religion in +England. But when that historian wrote, those documents had not +been made public, from which the account of the communications with +Barillon has been taken, and by which it appears that a connection +with France was, as well in point of time as in importance, the +first object of his reign, and that the immediate specific motive to +that connection was the same as that of his brother; the desire of +rendering himself independent of parliament, and absolute, not that +of establishing popery in England, which was considered as a more +remote contingency. That this was the case is evident from all the +circumstances of the transaction, and especially from the zeal with +which he was served in it by ministers who were never suspected of +any leaning towards popery, and not one of whom (Sunderland +excepted) could be brought to the measures that were afterwards +taken in favour of that religion. It is the more material to attend +to this distinction, because the Tory historians, especially such of +them as are not Jacobites, have taken much pains to induce us to +attribute the violences and illegalities of this reign to James's +religion, which was peculiar to him, rather than to that desire of +absolute power which so many other princes have had, have, and +always will have, in common with him. The policy of such +misrepresentation is obvious. If this reign is to be considered as +a period insulated, as it were, and unconnected with the general +course of history, and if the events of it are to be attributed +exclusively to the particular character and particular attachments +of the monarch, the sole inference will be that we must not have a +Catholic for our king; whereas, if we consider it, which history +well warrants us to do, as a part of that system which had been +pursued by all the Stuart kings, as well prior as subsequent to the +restoration, the lesson which it affords is very different, as well +as far more instructive. We are taught, generally, the dangers +Englishmen will always be liable to, if, from favour to a prince +upon the throne, or from a confidence, however grounded, that his +views are agreeable to our own notions of the constitution, we in +any considerable degree abate of that vigilant and unremitting +jealousy of the power of the crown, which can alone secure to us the +effect of those wise laws that have been provided for the benefit of +the subject: and still more particularly, that it is in vain to +think of making a compromise with power, and by yielding to it in +other points, preserving some favourite object, such, for instance, +as the Church in James's case, from its grasp. + +Previous to meeting his English parliament, James directed a +parliament which had been summoned in the preceding reign, to +assemble at Edinburgh, and appointed the Duke of Queensbury his +commissioner. This appointment is, in itself, a strong indication +that the king's views, with regard to Scotland at least, were +similar to those which I have ascribed to him in England; and that +they did not at that time extend to the introduction of popery, but +were altogether directed to the establishment of absolute power as +the END, and to the support of an episcopal church, upon the model +of the Church of England, as the MEANS. For Queensbury had +explained himself to his majesty in the fullest manner upon the +subject of religion; and while he professed himself to be ready (as, +indeed, his conduct in the late reign had sufficiently proved) to go +any length in supporting royal power and in persecuting the +Presbyterians, had made it a condition of his services, that he +might understand from his majesty that there was no intention of +changing the established religion; for if such was the object, he +could not make any one step with him in that matter. James received +this declaration most kindly, assured him he had no such intention, +and that he would have a parliament, to which he, Queensbury, should +go as commissioner, and giving all possible assurances in the matter +of religion, get the revenue to be settled, and such other laws to +be passed as might be necessary for the public safety. With these +promises the duke was not only satisfied at the time, but declared, +at a subsequent period, that they had been made in so frank and +hearty a manner, as made him conclude that it was impossible the +king should be acting a part. And this nobleman was considered, and +is handed down to us by contemporary writers, as a man of a +penetrating genius, nor has it ever been the national character of +the country to which he belonged to be more liable to be imposed +upon than the rest of mankind. + +The Scottish parliament met on the 23rd of April, and was opened by +the commissioner, with the following letter from the king:- + + +"My Lords and Gentlemen,--The many experiences we have had of the +loyalty and exemplary forwardness of that our ancient kingdom, by +their representatives in parliament assembled, in the reign of our +deceased and most entirely beloved brother of ever blessed memory, +made us desirous to call you at this time, in the beginning of our +reign, to give you an opportunity, not only of showing your duty to +us in the same manner, but likewise of being exemplary to others in +your demonstrations of affection to our person and compliance with +our desires, as you have most eminently been in times past, to a +degree never to be forgotten by us, nor (we hope) to be contradicted +by your future practices. That which we are at this time to propose +unto you is what is as necessary for your safety as our service, and +what has a tendency more to secure your own privileges and +properties than the aggrandising our power and authority (though in +it consists the greatest security of your rights and interests, +these never having been in danger, except when the royal power was +brought too low to protect them), which now we are resolved to +maintain, in its greatest lustre, to the end we may be the more +enabled to defend and protect your religion as established by law, +and your rights and properties (which was our design in calling this +parliament) against fanatical contrivances, murderers, and +assassins, who having no fear of God, more than honour for us, have +brought you into such difficulties as only the blessing of God upon +the steady resolutions and actings of our said dearest royal +brother, and those employed by him (in prosecution of the good and +wholesome laws, by you heretofore offered), could have saved you +from the most horrid confusions and inevitable ruin. Nothing has +been left unattempted by those wild and inhuman traitors for +endeavouring to overturn your peace; and therefore we have good +reason to hope that nothing will be wanting in you to secure +yourselves and us from their outrages and violence in time coming, +and to take care that such conspirators meet with their just +deservings, so as others may thereby be deterred from courses so +little agreeable to religion, or their duty and allegiance to us. +These things we considered to be of so great importance to our +royal, as well as the universal, interest of that our kingdom, that +we were fully resolved, in person, to have proposed the needful +remedies to you. But things having so fallen out as render this +impossible for us, we have now thought fit to send our right trusty +and right entirely beloved cousin and councillor, William, Duke of +Queensbury, to be our commissioner amongst you, of whose abilities +and qualifications we have reason to be fully satisfied, and of +whose faithfulness to us, and zeal for our interest, we have had +signal proofs in the times of our greatest difficulties. Him we +have fully intrusted in all things relating to our service and your +own prosperity and happiness, and therefore you are to give him +entire trust and credit, as you now see we have done, from whose +prudence and your most dutiful affection to us, we have full +confidence of your entire compliance and assistance in all those +matters, wherein he is instructed as aforesaid. We do, therefore, +not only recommend unto you that such things be done as are +necessary in this juncture for your own peace, and the support of +our royal interest, of which we had so much experience when amongst +you, that we cannot doubt of your full and ample expressing the same +on this occasion, by which the great concern we have in you, our +ancient and kindly people, may still increase, and you may transmit +your loyal actions (as examples of duty) to your posterity. In full +confidence whereof we do assure you of your royal favour and +protection in all your concerns, and so we bid you heartily +farewell." + + +This letter deserves the more attention because, as the proceedings +of the Scotch parliament, according to a remarkable expression in +the letter itself, were intended to be an example to others, there +is the greatest reason to suppose the matter of it must have been +maturely weighed and considered. His majesty first compliments the +Scotch parliament upon their peculiar loyalty and dutiful behaviour +in past times, meaning, no doubt, to contrast their conduct with +that of those English parliaments who had passed the Exclusion Bill, +the Disbanding Act, the Habeas Corpus Act, and other measures +hostile to his favourite principles of government. He states the +granting of an independent revenue, and the supporting the +prerogative in its greatest lustre, if not the aggrandising of it, +to be necessary for the preservation of their religion, established +by law (that is, the Protestant episcopacy), as well as for the +security of their properties against fanatical assassins and +murderers; thus emphatically announcing a complete union of +interests between the crown and the Church. He then bestows a +complete and unqualified approbation of the persecuting measures of +the last reign, in which he had borne so great a share; and to those +measures, and to the steadiness with which they had been persevered +in, he ascribes the escape of both Church and State from the +fanatics, and expresses his regret that he could not be present, to +propose in person the other remedies of a similar nature, which he +recommended as needful in the present conjuncture. + +Now it is proper in this place to inquire into the nature of the +measures thus extolled, as well for the purpose of elucidating the +characters of the king and his Scottish minsters, as for that of +rendering more intelligible the subsequent proceedings of the +parliament, and the other events which soon after took place in that +kingdom. Some general notions may be formed of that course of +proceedings which, according to his majesty's opinion, had been so +laudably and resolutely pursued during the late reign, from the +circumstances alluded to in the preceding chapter, when it is +understood that the sentences of Argyle and Laurie of Blackwood were +not detached instances of oppression, but rather a sample of the +general system of administration. The covenant, which had been so +solemnly taken by the whole kingdom, and, among the rest, by the +king himself, had been declared to be unlawful, and a refusal to +abjure it had been made subject to the severest penalties. +Episcopacy, which was detested by a great majority of the nation, +had been established, and all public exercise of religion, in the +forms to which the people were most attached, had been prohibited. +The attendance upon field conventicles had been made highly penal, +and the preaching at them capital, by which means, according to the +computation of a late writer, no less remarkable for the accuracy of +his facts than for the force and justness of his reasonings, at +least seventeen thousand persons in one district were involved in +criminality, and became the objects of persecution. After this +letters had been issued by government, forbidding the intercommuning +with persons who had neglected or refused to appear before the Privy +Council, when cited for the above crimes, a proceeding by which not +only all succour or assistance to such persons, but, according to +the strict sense of the word made use of, all intercourse with them, +was rendered criminal, and subjected him who disobeyed the +prohibition to the same penalties, whether capital or others, which +were affixed to the alleged crimes of the party with whom he had +intercommuned. + +These measures not proving effectual for the purpose for which they +were intended, or, as some say, the object of Charles II.'s +government being to provoke an insurrection, a demand was made upon +the landholders in the district supposed to be most disaffected of +bonds, whereby they were to become responsible for their wives, +families, tenants, and servants, and likewise for the wives, +families, and servants of their tenants, and, finally, for all +persons living upon their estates, that they should not withdraw +from the Church, frequent or preach at conventicles, nor give any +succour, or have any intercourse with persons with whom it was +forbidden to intercommune; and the penalties attached to the breach +of this engagement, the keeping of which was obviously out of the +power of him who was required to make it, were to be the same as +those, whether capital or other, to which the several persons for +whom he engaged might be liable. The landholders, not being willing +to subscribe to their own destruction, refused to execute the bonds, +and this was thought sufficient grounds for considering the district +to which they belonged as in a state of rebellion. English and +Irish armies were ordered to the frontiers; a train of artillery and +the militia were sent into the district itself; and six thousand +Highlanders, who were let loose upon its inhabitants, to exercise +every species of pillage and plunder were connived at, or rather +encouraged, in excesses of a still more atrocious nature. + +The bonds being still refused, the government had recourse to an +expedient of a most extraordinary nature, and issued what the Scotch +called a writ of Lawburrows against the whole district. This writ +of Lawburrows is somewhat analogous to what we call "swearing the +peace" against any one, and had hitherto been supposed, as the other +is with us, to be applicable to the disputes of private individuals, +and to the apprehensions which, in consequence of such disputes, +they may mutually entertain of each other. A government swearing +the peace against its subjects was a new spectacle; but if a private +subject, under fear of another, hath a right to such a security, how +much more the government itself? was thought an unanswerable +argument. Such are the sophistries which tyrants deem satisfactory. +Thus are they willing even to descend from their loftiness into the +situation of subjects or private men, when it is for the purpose of +acquiring additional powers of persecution; and thus truly +formidable and terrific are they, when they pretend alarm and fear. +By these writs the persons against whom they were directed were +bound, as in case of the former bonds, to conditions which were not +in their power to fulfil, such as the preventing of conventicles and +the like, under such penalties as the Privy Council might inflict, +and a disobedience to them was followed by outlawry and +confiscation. + +The conduct of the Duke of Lauderdale, who was the chief actor in +these scenes of violence and iniquity, was completely approved and +justified at court; but in consequence probably of the state of +politics in England at a time when the Whigs were strongest in the +House of Commons, some of these grievances were in part redressed, +and the Highlanders, and writs of Lawburrows were recalled. But the +country was still treated like a conquered country. The Highlanders +were replaced by an army of five thousand regulars, and garrisons +were placed in private houses. The persecution of conventicles +continued, and ample indemnity was granted for every species of +violence that might be exercised by those employed to suppress them. +In this state of things the assassination and murder of Sharp, +Archbishop of St. Andrews, by a troop of fanatics, who had been +driven to madness by the oppression of Carmichael, one of that +prelate's instruments, while it gave an additional spur to the +vindictive temper of the government, was considered by it as a +justification for every mode and degree of cruelty and persecution. +The outrage committed by a few individuals was imputed to the whole +fanatic sect, as the government termed them, or, in other words, to +a description of people which composed a great majority of the +population in the Lowlands of Scotland; and those who attended field +or armed conventicles were ordered to be indiscriminately massacred. + +By such means an insurrection was at last produced, which, from the +weakness, or, as some suppose, from the wicked policy of an +administration eager for confiscations, and desirous of such a state +of the country as might, in some measure, justify their course of +government, made such a progress that the insurgents became masters +of Glasgow and the country adjacent. To quell these insurgents, +who, undisciplined as they were, had defeated Graham, afterwards +Viscount Dundee, the Duke of Monmouth was sent with an army from +England; but, lest the generous mildness of his nature should +prevail, he had sealed orders which he was not to open till in sight +of the rebels, enjoining him not to treat with them, but to fall +upon them without any previous negotiation. In pursuance of these +orders the insurgents were attacked at Bothwell Bridge, where, +though they were entirely routed and dispersed, yet because those +who surrendered at discretion were not put to death, and the army, +by the strict enforcing of discipline, were prevented from plunder +and other outrages, it was represented by James, and in some degree +even by the king, that Monmouth had acted as if he had meant rather +to put himself at the head of the fanatics than to repel them, and +were inclined rather to court their friendship than to punish their +rebellion. All complaints against Lauderdale were dismissed, his +power confirmed, and an act of indemnity, which had been procured at +Monmouth's intercession, was so clogged with exceptions as to be of +little use to any but to the agents of tyranny. Several persons, +who were neither directly nor indirectly concerned in the murder of +the archbishop, were executed as an expiation for that offence; but +many more were obliged to compound for their lives by submitting to +the most rapacious extortion, which at this particular period seems +to have been the engine of oppression most in fashion, and which was +extended not only to those who had been in any way concerned in the +insurrection, but to those who had neglected to attend the standard +of the king, when displayed against what was styled, in the usual +insulting language of tyrants, a most unnatural rebellion. + +The quiet produced by such means was, as might be expected, of no +long duration. Enthusiasm was increased by persecution, and the +fanatic preachers found no difficulty in persuading their flocks to +throw off all allegiance to a government which afforded them no +protection. The king was declared to be an apostate from the +government, a tyrant, and an usurper; and Cargill, one of the most +enthusiastic among the preachers, pronounced a formal sentence of +excommunication against him, his brother the Duke of York, and +others, their ministers and abettors. This outrage upon majesty +together with an insurrection contemptible in point of numbers and +strength, in which Cameron, another field-preacher, had been killed, +furnished a pretence which was by no means neglected for new +cruelties and executions; but neither death nor torture were +sufficient to subdue the minds of Cargill and his intrepid +followers. They all gloried in their sufferings; nor could the +meanest of them be brought to purchase their lives by a retractation +of their principles, or even by any expression that might be +construed into an approbation of their persecutors. The effect of +this heroic constancy upon the minds of their oppressors was to +persuade them not to lessen the numbers of executions, but to render +them more private, whereby they exposed the true character of their +government, which was not severity, but violence; not justice, but +vengeance: for example being the only legitimate end of punishment, +where that is likely to encourage rather than to deter (as the +government in these instances seems to have apprehended), and +consequently to prove more pernicious than salutary, every +punishment inflicted by the magistrate is cruelty, every execution +murder. The rage of punishment did not stop even here, but +questions were put to persons, and in many instances to persons +under torture, who had not been proved to have been in any of the +insurrections, whether they considered the archbishop's +assassination as murder, the rising at Bothwell Bridge rebellion, +and Charles a lawful king. The refusal to answer these questions, +or the answering of them in an unsatisfactory manner, was deemed a +proof of guilt, and immediate execution ensued. + +These last proceedings had taken place while James himself had the +government in his hands, and under his immediate directions. Not +long after, and when the exclusionists in England were supposed to +be entirely defeated, was passed (James being the king's +commissioner), the famous bill of succession, declaring that no +difference of religion, nor any statute or law grounded upon such, +or any other pretence, could defeat the hereditary right of the heir +to the crown, and that to propose any limitation upon the future +administration of such heir was high treason. But the Protestant +religion was to be secured; for those who were most obsequious to +the court, and the most willing and forward instruments of its +tyranny, were, nevertheless, zealous Protestants. A test was +therefore framed for this purpose, which was imposed upon all +persons exercising any civil or military functions whatever, the +royal family alone excepted; but to the declaration of adherence to +the Protestant religion was added a recognition of the king's +supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, and a complete renunciation in +civil concerns of every right belonging to a free subject. An +adherence to the Protestant religion, according to the confession of +it referred to in the test, seemed to some inconsistent with the +acknowledgment of the king's supremacy and that clause of the oath +which related to civil matters, inasmuch as it declared against +endeavouring at any alteration in the Church or State, seemed +incompatible with the duties of a counsellor or a member of +parliament. Upon these grounds the Earl of Argyle, in taking the +oath, thought fit to declare as follows:- + +"I have considered the test, and I am very desirous to give +obedience as far as I can. I am confident the parliament never +intended to impose contradictory oaths; therefore I think no man can +explain it but for himself. Accordingly I take it, as far as it is +consistent with itself and the Protestant religion. And I do +declare that I mean not to bind up myself in my station, and in a +lawful way, to wish and endeavour any alteration I think to the +advantage of the Church or State, not repugnant to the Protestant +religion and my loyalty. And this I understand as a part of the +oath." And for this declaration, though unnoticed at the time, he +was in a few days afterwards committed, and shortly after sentenced +to die. Nor was the test applied only to those for whom it had been +originally instituted, but by being offered to those numerous +classes of people who were within the reach of the late severe +criminal laws, as an alternative for death or confiscation, it might +fairly be said to be imposed upon the greater part of the country. + +Not long after these transactions James took his final leave of the +government, and in his parting speech recommended, in the strongest +terms, the support of the Church. This gracious expression, the +sincerity of which seemed to be evinced by his conduct to the +conventiclers and the severity with which he had enforced the test, +obtained him a testimonial from the bishops of his affection to +their Protestant Church, a testimonial to which, upon the principle +that they are the best friends to the Church who are most willing to +persecute such as dissent from it, he was, notwithstanding his own +nonconformity, most amply entitled. + +Queensbury's administration ensued, in which the maxims that had +guided his predecessors were so far from being relinquished, that +they were pursued, if possible, with greater steadiness and +activity. Lawrie of Blackwood was condemned for having holden +intercourse with a rebel, whose name was not to be found in any of +the lists of the intercommuned or proscribed; and a proclamation was +issued, threatening all who were in like circumstances with a +similar fate. The intercourse with rebels having been in great +parts of the kingdom promiscuous and universal, more than twenty +thousand persons were objects of this menace. Fines and extortions +of all kinds were employed to enrich the public treasury, to which, +therefore, the multiplication of crimes became a fruitful source of +revenue; and lest it should not be sufficiently so, husbands were +made answerable (and that too with a retrospect) for the absence of +their wives from church; a circumstance which the Presbyterian +women's aversion to the episcopal form of worship had rendered very +general. + +This system of government, and especially the rigour with which +those concerned in the late insurrections, the excommunication of +the king, or the other outrages complained of, were pursued and +hunted sometimes by bloodhounds, sometimes by soldiers almost +equally savage, and afterwards shot like wild beasts, drove some of +those sectaries who were styled Cameronians, and other proscribed +persons, to measures of absolute desperation. They made a +declaration, which they caused to be affixed to different churches, +importing, that they would use the law of retaliation, and "we +will," said they, "punish as enemies to God, and to the covenant, +such persons as shall make it their work to imbrue their hands in +our blood; and chiefly, if they shall continue obstinately and with +habitual malice to proceed against us," with more to the like +effect. Upon such an occasion the interference of government became +necessary. The government did indeed interfere, and by a vote of +council ordered, that whoever owned, or refused to disown, the +declaration on oath, should be put to death in the presence of two +witnesses, though unarmed when taken. The execution of this +massacre in the welvet counties which were principally concerned, +was committed to the military, and exceeded, if possible, the order +itself. The disowning the declaration was required to be in a +particular form prescribed. Women, obstinate in their fanaticism, +lest female blood should be a stain upon the swords of soldiers +engaged in this honourable employment, were drowned. The +habitations, as well of those who had fled to save themselves, as of +those who suffered, were burnt and destroyed. Such members of the +families of the delinquents as were above twelve years old were +imprisoned for the purpose of being afterwards transported. The +brutality of the soldiers was such as might be expected from an army +let loose from all restraint, and employed to execute the royal +justice, as it was called, upon wretches. Graham who has been +mentioned before, and who, under the title of Lord Dundee, a title +which was probably conferred upon him by James for these or similar +services, was afterwards esteemed such a hero among the Jacobite +party, particularly distinguished himself. Of six unarmed fugitives +whom he seized, he caused four to be shot in his presence, nor did +the remaining two experience any other mercy from him than a delay +of their doom; and at another time, having intercepted the flight of +one of these victims, he had him shown to his family, and then +murdered in the arms of his wife. The example of persons of such +high rank, and who must be presumed to have had an education in some +degree correspondent to their station, could not fail of operating +upon men of a lower order in society. The carnage became every day +more general and more indiscriminate, and the murder of peasants in +their houses, or while employed at their usual work in the fields, +by the soldiers, was not only not reproved or punished, but deemed a +meritorious service by their superiors. The demise of King Charles, +which happened about this time, caused no suspension or relaxation +in these proceedings, which seemed to have been the crowning +measure, as it were, or finishing stroke of that system, for the +steady perseverance in which James so much admired the resolution of +his brother. + +It has been judged necessary to detail these transactions in a +manner which may, to some readers, appear an impertinent digression +from the narrative in which this history is at present engaged, in +order to set in a clearer light some points of the greatest +importance. In the first place, from the summary review of the +affairs of Scotland, and from the complacency with which James looks +back to his own share of them, joined to the general approbation he +expressed of the conduct of government in that kingdom, we may form +a pretty just notion, as well of his maxims of policy, as of his +temper and disposition in matters where his bigotry to the Roman +Catholic religion had no share. For it is to be observed and +carefully kept in mind, that the Church, of which he not only +recommends the support, but which be showed himself ready to +maintain by the most violent means, is the Episcopalian Church of +the Protestants; that the test which he enforced at the point of the +bayonet was a Protestant test, so much so indeed, that he himself +could not take it; and that the more marked character of the +conventicles, the objects of his persecution, was not so much that +of heretics excommunicated by the Pope, as of dissenters from the +Church of England, and irreconcilable enemies to the Protestant +liturgy and the Protestant episcopacy. But he judged the Church of +England to be a most fit instrument for rendering the monarchy +absolute. On the other hand, the Presbyterians were thought +naturally hostile to the principles of passive obedience, and to one +or other, or with more probability to both of these considerations, +joined to the natural violence of his temper, is to be referred the +whole of his conduct in this part of his life, which in this view is +rational enough; but on the supposition of his having conceived thus +early the intention of introducing popery upon the ruins of the +Church of England, is wholly unaccountable, and no less absurd, than +if a general were to put himself to great cost and pains to furnish +with ammunition and to strengthen with fortifications a place of +which he was actually meditating the attack. + +The next important observation that occurs, and to which even they +who are most determined to believe that this prince had always +popery in view, and held every other consideration as subordinate to +that primary object, must nevertheless subscribe, is that the most +confidential advisors, as well as the most furious supporters of the +measures we have related, were not Roman Catholics. Lauderdale and +Queensbury were both Protestants. There is no reason, therefore, to +impute any of James's violence afterwards to the suggestions of his +Catholic advisers, since he who had been engaged in the series of +measures above related with Protestant counsellors and coadjutors, +had surely nothing to learn from papists (whether priests, jesuits, +or others) in the science of tyranny. Lastly, from this account we +are enabled to form some notion of the state of Scotland at a time +when the parliament of that kingdom was called to set an example for +this, and we find it to have been a state of more absolute slavery +than at that time subsisted in any part of Christendom. + +The affairs of Scotland being in the state which we have described, +it is no wonder that the king's letter was received with +acclamations of applause, and that the parliament opened, not only +with approbation of the government, but even with an enthusiastic +zeal to signalise their loyalty, as well by a perfect acquiescence +to the king's demands, as by the most fulsome expressions of +adulation. "What prince in Europe, or in the whole world," said the +chancellor Perth, "was ever like the late king, except his present +majesty, who had undergone every trial of prosperity and adversity, +and whose unwearied clemency was not among the least conspicuous of +his virtues? To advance his honour and greatness was the duty of +all his subjects, and ought to be the endeavour of their lives +without reserve." The parliament voted an address, scarcely less +adulatory than the chancellor's speech. + + +"May it please your sacred majesty--Your majesty's gracious and kind +remembrance of the services done by this, your ancient kingdom, to +the late king your brother, of ever glorious memory, shall rather +raise in us ardent desires to exceed whatever we have done formerly, +than make us consider them as deserving the esteem your majesty is +pleased to express of them in your letter to us dated the twenty- +eighth of March. The death of that our excellent monarch is +lamented by us to all the degrees of grief that are consistent with +our great joy for the succession of your sacred majesty, who has not +only continued, but secured the happiness which his wisdom, his +justice, and clemency procured to us: and having the honour to be +the first parliament which meets by your royal authority, of which +we are very sensible, your majesty may be confident that we will +offer such laws as may best secure your majesty's sacred person, the +royal family and government, and be so exemplary loyal, as to raise +your honour and greatness to the utmost of our power, which we shall +ever esteem both our duty and interest. Nor shall we leave anything +undone for extirpating all fanaticism, but especially those +fanatical murderers and assassins, and for detecting and punishing +the late conspirators, whose pernicious and execrable designs did so +much tend to subvert your majesty's government, and ruin us and all +your majesty's faithful subjects. We can assure your majesty, that +the subjects of this your majesty's ancient kingdom are so desirous +to exceed all their predecessors in extraordinary marks of affection +and obedience to your majesty, that (God be praised) the only way to +be popular with us is to be eminently loyal. Your majesty's care of +us, when you took us to be your special charge, your wisdom in +extinguishing the seeds of rebellion and faction amongst us, your +justice, which was so great as to be for ever exemplary, but above +all, your majesty's free and cheerful securing to us our religion, +when your were the late king's, your royal brother's commissioner, +now again renewed, when you are our sovereign, are what your +subjects here can never forget, and therefore your majesty may +expect that we will think your commands sacred as your person, and +that your inclination will prevent our debates; nor did ever any who +represented our monarchs as their commissioners (except your royal +self) meet with greater respect, or more exact observance from a +parliament, than the Duke of Queensbury (whom your majesty has so +wisely chosen to represent you in this, and of whose eminent loyalty +and great abilities in all his former employments this nation hath +seen so many proofs) shall find from + +"May it please your sacred majesty, your majesty's most humble, most +faithful, and most obedient subjects and servants, "PERTH, Cancell." + + +Nor was this spirit of loyalty (as it was then called) of abject +slavery, and unmanly subservience to the will of a despot, as it has +been justly denominated by the more impartial judgment of posterity, +confined to words only. Acts were passed to ratify all the late +judgments, however illegal or iniquitous, to indemnify the privy +council, judges, and all officers of the crown, civil or military, +for all the violences they had committed; to authorise the privy +council to impose the test upon all ranks of people under such +penalties as that board might think fit to impose; to extend the +punishment of death which had formerly attached upon the preachers +at field conventicles only, to all their auditors, and likewise to +the preachers at house conventicles; to subject to the penalties of +treason all persons who should give or take the covenant, or write +in defence thereof, or in any other way own it to be obligatory; and +lastly, in a strain of tyranny, for which there was, it is believed, +no precedent, and which certainly has never been surpassed, to enact +that all such persons as being cited in cases of high treason, field +or house conventicles, or church irregularities, should refuse to +give testimony, should be liable to the punishment due by law to the +criminals against whom they refused to be witnesses. It is true +that an act was also passed for confirming all former statutes in +favour of the Protestant religion as then established, in their +whole strength and tenour, as if they were particularly set down and +expressed in the said act; but when we recollect the notions which +Queensbury at that time entertained of the king's views, this +proceeding forms no exception to the general system of servility +which characterised both ministers and parliament. All matters in +relation to revenue were of course settled in the manner most +agreeable to his majesty's wishes and the recommendation of his +commissioner. + +While the legislature was doing its part, the executive government +was not behindhand in pursuing the system which had been so much +commended. A refusal to abjure the declaration in the terms +prescribed, was everywhere considered as sufficient cause for +immediate execution. In one part of the country information having +been received that a corpse had been clandestinely buried, an +inquiry took place; it was dug up, and found to be that of a person +proscribed. Those who had interred him were suspected, not of +having murdered, but of having harboured him. For this crime their +house was destroyed, and the women and children of the family being +driven out to wander as vagabonds, a young man belonging to it was +executed by the order of Johnston of Westerraw. Against this murder +even Graham himself is said to have remonstrated, but was content +with protesting that the blood was not upon his head; and not being +able to persuade a Highland officer to execute the order of +Johnston, ordered his own men to shoot the unhappy victim. In +another county three females, one of sixty-three years of age, one +of eighteen, and one of twelve, were charged with rebellion; and +refusing to abjure the declaration, were sentenced to be drowned. +The last was let off upon condition of her father's giving a bond +for a hundred pounds. The elderly woman, who is represented as a +person of eminent piety, bore her fate with the greatest constancy, +nor does it appear that her death excited any strong sensations in +the minds of her savage executioners. The girl of eighteen was more +pitied, and after many entreaties, and having been once under water, +was prevailed upon to utter some words which might be fairly +construed into blessing the king, a mode of obtaining pardon not +unfrequent in cases where the persecutors were inclined to relent. +Upon this it was thought she was safe, but the merciless barbarian +who superintended this dreadful business was not satisfied; and upon +her refusing the abjuration, she was again plunged into the water, +where she expired. It is to be remarked that being at Bothwell +Bridge and Air's Moss were among the crimes stated in the indictment +of all the three, though, when the last of these affairs happened, +one of the girls was only thirteen, and the other not eight years of +age. At the time of the Bothwell Bridge business, they were still +younger. To recite all the instances of cruelty which occurred +would be endless; but it may be necessary to remark that no +historical facts are better ascertained than the accounts of them +which are to be found in Woodrow. In every instance where there has +been an opportunity of comparing these accounts with records, and +other authentic monuments, they appear to be quite correct. + +The Scottish parliament having thus set, as they had been required +to do, an eminent example of what was then thought duty to the +crown, the king met his English parliament on the 19th of May, 1685, +and opened it with the following speech:- + + +"My lords and gentlemen,--After it pleased Almighty God to take to +his mercy the late king, my dearest brother, and to bring me to the +peaceable possession of the throne of my ancestors, I immediately +resolved to call a parliament, as the best means to settle +everything upon these foundations as may make my reign both easy and +happy to you; towards which I am disposed to contribute all that is +fit for me to do. + +"What I said to my privy council at my first coming there I am +desirous to renew to you, wherein I fully declare my opinion +concerning the principles of the Church of England, whose members +have showed themselves so eminently loyal in the worst of times in +defence of my father and support of my brother (of blessed memory), +that I will always take care to defend and support it. I will make +it my endeavour to preserve this government, both in Church and +State, as it is by law established: and as I will never depart from +the just rights and prerogatives of the crown, so I will never +invade any man's property; and you may be sure that having +heretofore ventured my life in the defence of this nation, I will +still go as far as any man in preserving it in all its just rights +and liberties. + +"And having given this assurance concerning the care I will have of +your religion and property, which I have chose to do in the same +words which I used at my first coming to the crown, the better to +evidence to you that I spoke them not by chance, and consequently +that you may firmly rely upon a promise so solemnly made, I cannot +doubt that I shall fail of suitable returns from you, with all +imaginable duty and kindness on your part, and particularly to what +relates to the settling of my revenue, and continuing it during my +life, as it was in the lifetime of my brother. I might use many +arguments to enforce this demand for the benefit of trade, the +support of the navy, the necessity of the crown, and the well-being +of the government itself, which I must not suffer to be precarious; +but I am confident your own consideration of what is just and +reasonable will suggest to you whatsoever might be enlarged upon +this occasion. + +"There is one popular argument which I foresee may be used against +what I ask of you, from the inclination men have for frequent +parliaments, which some may think would be the best security, by +feeding me from time to time by such proportions as they shall think +convenient. And this argument, it being the first time I speak to +you from the throne, I will answer, once for all, that this would be +a very improper method to take with me; and that the best way to +engage me to meet you often is always to use me well. + +"I expect, therefore, that you will comply with me in what I have +desired, and that you will do it speedily, that this may be a short +session, and that we may meet again to all our satisfactions. + +"My lords and gentlemen,--I must acquaint you that I have had news +this morning from Scotland that Argyle is landed in the West +Highlands, with the men he brought with him from Holland: that +there are two declarations published, one in the name of all those +in arms, the other in his own. It would be too long for me to +repeat the substance of them; it is sufficient to tell you I am +charged with usurpation and tyranny. The shorter of them I have +directed to be forthwith communicated to you. + +"I will take the best care I can that this declaration of their own +faction and rebellion may meet with the reward it deserves; and I +will not doubt but you will be the more zealous to support the +government, and give me my revenue, as I have desired it, without +delay." + + +The repetition of the words made use of in his first speech to the +privy council shows that, in the opinion of the court, at least, +they had been well chosen, and had answered their purpose; and even +the haughty language which was added, and was little less than a +menace to parliament if it should not comply with his wishes, was +not, as it appears, unpleasing to the party which at that time +prevailed, since the revenue enjoyed by his predecessor was +unanimously, and almost immediately, voted to him for life. It was +not remarked, in public at least, that the king's threat of +governing without parliament was an unequivocal manifestation of his +contempt of the law of the country, so distinctly established, +though so ineffectually secured, by the statute of the sixteenth of +Charles II., for holding triennial parliaments. It is said Lord- +keeper Guildford had prepared a different speech for his majesty, +but that this was preferred, as being the king's own words; and, +indeed, that part of it in which he says that he must answer once +for all that the Commons giving such proportions as they might think +convenient would be a very improper way with him, bears, as well as +some others, the most evident marks of its royal origin. It is to +be observed, however, that in arguing for his demand, as he styles +it, of revenue, he says, not that the parliament ought not, but that +he must not, suffer the well-being of the government depending upon +such revenue to be precarious; whence it is evident that he intended +to have it understood that if the parliament did not grant, he +purposed to levy a revenue without their consent. It is impossible +that any degree of party spirit should so have blinded men as to +prevent them from perceiving in this speech a determination on the +part of the king to conduct his government upon the principles of +absolute monarchy, and to those who were not so possessed with the +love of royalty, which creates a kind of passionate affection for +whoever happens to be the wearer of the crown, the vindictive manner +in which he speaks of Argyle's invasion might afford sufficient +evidence of the temper in which his power would be administered. In +that part of his speech he first betrays his personal feelings +towards the unfortunate nobleman, whom, in his brother's reign, he +had so cruelly and treacherously oppressed, by dwelling upon his +being charged by Argyle with tyranny and usurpation, and then +declares that he will take the best care, not according to the usual +phrases to protect the loyal and well disposed, and to restore +tranquillity, but that the declaration of the factious and +rebellions may meet with the reward it deserves, thus marking out +revenge and punishment as the consequences of victory, upon which he +was most intent. + +It is impossible that in a House of Commons, however composed, there +should not have been many members who disapproved the principles of +government announced in the speech, and who were justly alarmed at +the temper in which it was conceived. But these, overpowered by +numbers, and perhaps afraid of the imputation of being concerned in +plots and insurrections (an imputation which, if they had shown any +spirit of liberty, would most infallibly have been thrown on them), +declined expressing their sentiments; and in the short session which +followed there was an almost uninterrupted unanimity in granting +every demand, and acquiescing in every wish of the government. The +revenue was granted without any notice being taken of the illegal +manner in which the king had levied it upon his own authority. +Argyle was stigmatised as a traitor; nor was any desire expressed to +examine his declarations, one of which seemed to be purposely +withheld from parliament. Upon the communication of the Duke of +Monmouth's landing in the west that nobleman was immediately +attainted by bill. The king's assurance was recognised as a +sufficient security for the national religion; and the liberty of +the press was destroyed by the revival of the statute of the 13th +and 14th of Charles II. This last circumstance, important as it is, +does not seem to have excited much attention at the time, which, +considering the general principles then in fashion, is not +surprising. That it should have been scarcely noticed by any +historian is more wonderful. It is true, however, that the terror +inspired by the late prosecutions for libels, and the violent +conduct of the courts upon such occasions, rendered a formal +destruction of the liberty of the press a matter of less importance. +So little does the magistracy, when it is inclined to act +tyrannically, stand in need of tyrannical laws to effect its +purpose. The bare silence and acquiescence of the legislature is in +such a case fully sufficient to annihilate, practically speaking, +every right and liberty of the subject. + +As the grant of revenue was unanimous, so there does not appear to +have been anything which can justly be styled a debate upon it, +though Hume employs several pages in giving the arguments which, he +affirms, were actually made use of, and, as he gives us to +understand, in the House of Commons, for and against the question; +arguments which, on both sides, seem to imply a considerable love of +freedom and jealousy of royal power, and are not wholly unmixed even +with some sentiments disrespectful to the king. Now I cannot find, +either from tradition, or from contemporary writers, any ground to +think that either the reasons which Hume has adduced, or indeed any +other, were urged in opposition to the grant. The only speech made +upon the occasion seems to have been that of Mr. (afterwards Sir +Edward) Seymour, who, though of the Tory party, a strenuous opposer +of the Exclusion Bill, and in general supposed to have been an +approver, if not an adviser, of the tyrannical measures of the late +reign, has the merit of having stood forward singly, to remind the +House of what they owed to themselves and their constituents. He +did not, however, directly oppose the grant, but stated, that the +elections had been carried on under so much court influence, and in +other respects so illegally, that it was the duty of the House first +to ascertain who were the legal members, before they proceeded to +other business of importance. After having pressed this point, he +observed that if ever it were necessary to adopt such an order of +proceeding, it was more peculiarly so now, when the laws and +religion of the nation were in evident peril; that the aversion of +the English people to popery, and their attachment to the laws were +such, as to secure these blessings from destruction by any other +instrumentality than that of parliament itself, which, however, +might be easily accomplished, if there were once a parliament +entirely dependent upon the persons who might harbour such designs; +that it was already rumoured that the Test and Habeas Corpus Acts, +the two bulwarks of our religion and liberties, were to be repealed; +that what he stated was so notorious as to need no proof. Having +descanted with force and ability upon these and other topics of a +similar tendency, he urged his conclusion, that the question of +royal revenue ought not to be the first business of the parliament. +Whether, as Burnet thinks, because he was too proud to make any +previous communication of his intentions, or that the strain of his +argument was judged to be too bold for the times, this speech, +whatever secret approbation it might excite, did not receive from +any quarter either applause or support. Under these circumstances +it was not thought necessary to answer him, and the grant was voted +unanimously, without further discussion. + +As Barillon, in the relation of parliamentary proceedings, +transmitted by him to his court, in which he appears at this time to +have been very exact, gives the same description of Seymour's speech +and its effects with Burnet, there can be little doubt but their +account is correct. It will be found as well in this, as in many +other instances, that an unfortunate inattention on the part of the +reverend historian to forms has made his veracity unjustly called in +question. He speaks of Seymour's speech as if it had been a motion +in the technical sense of the word, for inquiring into the +elections, which had no effect. Now no traces remaining of such a +motion, and, on the other hand, the elections having been at a +subsequent period inquired into, Ralph almost pronounces the whole +account to be erroneous; whereas the only mistake consists in giving +the name of motion to a suggestion, upon the question of a grant. +It is whimsical enough, that it should be from the account of the +French ambassador that we are enabled to reconcile to the records +and to the forms of the English House of Commons, a relation made by +a distinguished member of the English House of Lords. Sir John +Reresby does indeed say, that among the gentlemen of the House of +Commons whom he accidentally met, they in general seemed willing to +settle a handsome revenue upon the king, and to give him money; but +whether their grant should be permanent, or only temporary, and to +be renewed from time to time by parliament, that the nation might be +often consulted, was the question. But besides the looseness of the +expression, which may only mean that the point was questionable, it +is to be observed, that he does not relate any of the arguments +which were brought forward even in the private conversations to +which he refers; and when he afterwards gives an account of what +passed in the House of Commons (where he was present), he does not +hint at any debate having taken place, but rather implies the +contrary. + +This misrepresentation of Mr. Hume's is of no small importance, +inasmuch as, by intimating that such a question could be debated at +all, and much more, that it was debated with the enlightened views +and bold topics of argument with which his genius has supplied him, +he gives us a very false notion of the character of the parliament +and of the times which he is describing. It is not improbable, that +if the arguments had been used, which this historian supposes, the +utterer of them would have been expelled, or sent to the Tower; and +it is certain that he would not have been heard with any degree of +attention or even patience. + +The unanimous vote for trusting the safety of religion to the king's +declaration passed not without observation, the rights of the Church +of England being the only point upon which, at this time, the +parliament were in any degree jealous of the royal power. The +committee of religion had voted unanimously, "That it is the opinion +of the committee, that this House will stand by his majesty with +their lives and fortunes, according to their bounden duty and +allegiance, in defence of the reformed Church of England, as it is +now by law established; and that an humble address be presented to +his majesty, to desire him to issue forth his royal proclamation, to +cause the penal laws to be put in execution against all dissenters +from the Church of England whatsoever." But upon the report of the +House, the question of agreeing with the committee was evaded by a +previous question, and the House, with equal unanimity, resolved: +"That this House doth acquiesce, and entirely rely, and rest wholly +satisfied, on his majesty's gracious word, and repeated declaration +to support and defend the religion of the Church of England, as it +is now by law established, which is dearer to us than our lives." +Mr. Echard, and Bishop Kennet, two writers of different principles, +but both churchmen, assign, as the motive of this vote, the +unwillingness of the party then prevalent in parliament to adopt +severe measures against the Protestant dissenters; but in this +notion they are by no means supported by the account, imperfect as +it is, which Sir John Reresby gives of the debate, for he makes no +mention of tenderness towards dissenters, but states as the chief +argument against agreeing with the committee, that it might excite a +jealousy of the king; and Barillon expressly says, that the first +vote gave great offence to the king, still more to the queen, and +that orders were, in consequence, issued to the court members of the +House of Commons to devise some means to get rid of it. Indeed, the +general circumstances of the times are decisive against the +hypothesis of the two reverend historians; nor is it, as far as I +know, adopted by any other historians. The probability seems to be, +that the motion in the committee had been originally suggested by +some Whig member, who could not, with prudence, speak his real +sentiments openly, and who thought to embarrass the government, by +touching upon a matter where the union between the church party and +the king would be put to the severest test. The zeal of the Tories +for persecution made them at first give into the snare; but when, +upon reflection, it occurred that the involving of the Catholics in +one common danger with the Protestant dissenters must be displeasing +to the king, they drew back without delay, and passed the most +comprehensive vote of confidence which James could desire. + +Further to manifest their servility to the king, as well as their +hostility to every principle that could by implication be supposed +to be connected with Monmouth or his cause, the House of Commons +passed a bill for the preservation of his majesty's person, in +which, after enacting that a written or verbal declaration of a +treasonable intention should be tantamount to a treasonable act, +they inserted two remarkable clauses, by one of which to assert the +legitimacy of Monmouth's birth, by the other, to propose in +parliament any alteration in the succession of the crown, were made +likewise high treason. We learn from Burnet, that the first part of +this bill was strenuously and warmly debated, and that it was +chiefly opposed by Serjeant Maynard, whose arguments made some +impression even at that time; but whether the serjeant was supported +in his opposition, as the word CHIEFLY would lead us to imagine, or +if supported, by whom, that historian does not mention; and, +unfortunately, neither of Maynard's speech itself, nor indeed of any +opposition whatever to the bill, is there any other trace to be +found. The crying injustice of the clause which subjected a man to +the pains of treason merely for delivering his opinion upon a +controverted fact, though he should do no act in consequence of such +opinion, was not, as far as we are informed, objected to or at all +noticed, unless indeed the speech above alluded to, in which the +speaker is said to have descanted upon the general danger of making +words treasonable, be supposed to have been applied to this clause +as well as to the former part of the bill. That the other clause +should have passed without opposition or even observation, must +appear still more extraordinary, when we advert, not only to the +nature of the clause itself, but to the circumstances of there being +actually in the House no inconsiderable number of members who had in +the former reign repeatedly voted for the Exclusion Bill. + +It is worthy of notice, however, that while every principle of +criminal jurisprudence, and every regard to the fundamental rights +of the deliberative assemblies, which make part of the legislature +of the nation, were thus shamelessly sacrificed to the eagerness +which, at this disgraceful period, so generally prevailed of +manifesting loyalty, or rather abject servility to the sovereign, +there still remained no small degree of tenderness for the interests +and safety of the Church of England, and a sentiment approaching to +jealousy upon any matter which might endanger, even by the most +remote consequences, or put any restriction upon her ministers. +With this view, as one part of the bill did not relate to treasons +only, but imposed new penalties upon such as should, by writing, +printing, preaching, or other speaking, attempt to bring the king or +his government into hatred or contempt, there was a special proviso +added, "that the asserting and maintaining, by any writing, +printing, preaching, or any other speaking, the doctrine, +discipline, divine worship, or government of the Church of England +as it is now by law established, against popery or any other +different or dissenting opinions, is not intended, and shall not be +interpreted or construed to be any offence within the words or +meaning of this Act." It cannot escape the reader, that only such +attacks upon popery as were made in favour of the doctrine and +discipline of the Church of England, and no other, were protected by +this proviso, and consequently that, if there were any real occasion +for such a guard, all Protestant dissenters who should write or +speak against the Roman superstition were wholly unprotected by it, +and remained exposed to the danger, whatever it might be, from which +the Church was so anxious to exempt her supporters. + +This bill passed the House of Commons, and was sent up to the House +of Lords on the 30th of June. It was read a first time on that day, +but the adjournment of both houses taking place on the 2nd of July, +it could not make any further progress at that time; and when the +parliament met afterwards in autumn, there was no longer that +passionate affection for the monarch, nor consequently that ardent +zeal for servitude which were necessary to make a law with such +clauses and provisoes palatable or even endurable. + +It is not to be considered as an exception to the general +complaisance of parliament, that the Speaker, when he presented the +Revenue Bill, made use of some strong expressions, declaring the +attachment of the Commons to the national religion. Such sentiments +could not be supposed to be displeasing to James, after the +assurances he had given of his regard for the Church of England. +Upon this occasion his majesty made the following speech:- + + +"My lords and gentlemen,--I thank you very heartily for the bill you +have presented me this day; and I assure you, the readiness and +cheerfulness that has attended the despatch of it is as acceptable +to me as the bill itself. + +"After so happy a beginning, you may believe I would not call upon +you unnecessarily for an extraordinary supply; but when I tell you +that the stores of the navy and ordnance are extremely exhausted, +that the anticipations upon several branches of the revenue are +great and burthensome; that the debts of the king, my brother, to +his servants and family, are such as deserve compassion; that the +rebellion in Scotland, without putting more weight upon it than it +really deserves, must oblige me to a considerable expense +extraordinary: I am sure, such considerations will move you to give +me an aid to provide for those things, wherein the security, the +ease, and the happiness of my government are so much concerned. But +above all, I must recommend you to the care of the navy, the +strength and glory of this nation; that you will put it into such a +condition as may make us considered and respected abroad. I cannot +express my concern upon this occasion more suitable to my own +thoughts of it than by assuring you I have a true English heart, as +jealous of the honour of the nation as you can be; and I please +myself with the hopes that by God's blessing and your assistance, I +may carry the reputation of it yet higher in the world than ever it +has been in the time of any of my ancestors; and as I will not call +upon you for supplies but when they are of public use and advantage, +so I promise you, that what you give me upon such occasions shall be +managed with good husbandry; and I will take care it shall be +employed to the uses for which I ask them." + + +Rapin, Hume, and Ralph observe upon this speech, that neither the +generosity of the Commons' grant, nor the confidence they expressed +upon religious matters, could extort a kind word in favour of their +religion. But this observation, whether meant as a reproach to him +for his want of gracious feeling to a generous parliament, or as an +oblique compliment to his sincerity, has no force in it. His +majesty's speech was spoken immediately upon, passing the bills +which the Speaker presented, and he could not therefore take notice +of the Speaker's words unless he had spoken extempore; for the +custom is not, nor I believe ever was, for the Speaker to give +beforehand copies of addresses of this nature. James would not +certainly have scrupled to repeat the assurances which he had so +lately made in favour of the Protestant religion, as he did not +scruple to talk of his true English heart, honour of the nation, +&c., at a time when he was engaged with France; but the speech was +prepared for an answer to a money bill, not for a question of the +Protestant religion and church, and the false professions in it are +adapted to what was supposed to be the only subject of it. + +The only matter in which the king's views were in any degree +thwarted was the reversal of Lord Stafford's attainder, which, +having passed the House of Lords, not without opposition, was lost +in the House of Commons; a strong proof that the popish plot was +still the subject upon which the opposers of the court had most +credit with the public. Mr. Hume, notwithstanding his just +indignation at the condemnation of Stafford, and his general +inclination to approve of royal politics, most unaccountably +justifies the Commons in their rejection of this bill, upon the +principle of its being impolitic at that time to grant so full a +justification of the Catholics, and to throw so foul an imputation +upon the Protestants. Surely if there be one moral duty that is +binding upon men in all times, places, and circumstances, and from +which no supposed views of policy can excuse them, it is that of +granting a full justification to the innocent; and such Mr. Hume +considers the Catholics, and especially Lord Stafford, to have been. +The only rational way of accounting for this solitary instance of +non-compliance on the part of the Commons is either to suppose that +they still believed in the reality of the popish plot, and +Stafford's guilt, or that the Church party, which was uppermost, had +such an antipathy to popery, as indeed to every sect whose tenets +differed from theirs, that they deemed everything lawful against its +professors. + +On the 2nd of July parliament was adjourned for the purpose of +enabling the principal gentlemen to be present in their respective +counties at a time when their services and influence might be so +necessary to government. It is said that the House of Commons +consisted of members so devoted to James, that he declared there +were not forty in it whom he would not himself have named. But +although this may have been true, and though from the new modelling +of the corporations, and the interference of the court in elections, +this parliament, as far as regards the manner of its being chosen, +was by no means a fair representative of the legal electors of +England, yet there is reason to think that it afforded a tolerably +correct sample of the disposition of the nation, and especially of +the Church party, which was then uppermost. + +The general character of the party at this time appears to have been +a high notion of the king's constitutional power, to which was +superadded a kind of religious abhorrence of all resistance to the +monarch, not only in cases where such resistance was directed +against the lawful prerogative, but even in opposition to +encroachments which the monarch might make beyond the extended +limits which they assigned to his prerogative. But these tenets, +and still more the principle of conduct naturally resulting from +them, were confined to the civil, as contra-distinguished from the +ecclesiastical polity of the country. In Church matters they +neither acknowledged any very high authority in the crown, nor were +they willing to submit to any royal encroachment on that side; and a +steady attachment to the Church of England, with a proportionable +aversion to all dissenters from it, whether Catholic or Protestant, +was almost universally prevalent among them. A due consideration of +these distinct features in the character of a party so powerful in +Charles's and in James's time, and even when it was lowest (that is, +during the reigns of the two first princes of the House of +Brunswick), by no means inconsiderable, is exceedingly necessary to +the right understanding of English history. It affords a clue to +many passages otherwise unintelligible. For want of a proper +attention to this circumstance, some historians have considered the +conduct of the Tories in promoting the revolution as an instance of +great inconsistency. Some have supposed, contrary to the clearest +evidence, that their notions of passive obedience, even in civil +matters, were limited, and that their support of the government of +Charles and James was founded upon a belief that those princes would +never abuse their prerogative for the purpose of introducing +arbitrary sway. But this hypothesis is contrary to the evidence +both of their declarations and their conduct. Obedience without +reserve, an abhorrence of all resistance, as contrary to the tenets +of their religion, are the principles which they professed in their +addresses, their sermons, and their decrees at Oxford; and surely +nothing short of such principles could make men esteem the latter +years of Charles II., and the opening of the reign of his successor, +an era of national happiness and exemplary government. Yet this is +the representation of that period, which is usually made by +historians and other writers of the Church party. "Never were +fairer promises on one side, nor greater generosity on the other," +says Mr. Echard. "The king had as yet, in no instance, invaded the +rights of his subjects," says the author of the Caveat against the +Whigs. Thus, as long as James contented himself with absolute power +in civil matters, and did not make use of his authority against the +Church, everything went smooth and easy; nor is it necessary, in +order to account for the satisfaction of the parliament and people, +to have recourse to any implied compromise by which the nation was +willing to yield its civil liberties as the price of retaining its +religious constitution. The truth seems to be, that the king, in +asserting his unlimited power, rather fell in with the humour of the +prevailing party than offered any violence to it. Absolute power in +civil matters, under the specious names of monarchy and prerogative, +formed a most essential part of the Tory creed; but the order in +which Church and king are placed in the favourite device of the +party is not accidental, and is well calculated to show the genuine +principles of such among them as are not corrupted by influence. +Accordingly, as the sequel of this reign will abundantly show, when +they found themselves compelled to make an option, they preferred, +without any degree of inconsistency, their first idol to their +second, and when they could not preserve both Church and king, +declared for the former. + +It gives certainly no very flattering picture of the country to +describe it as being in some sense fairly represented by this +servile parliament, and not only acquiescing in, but delighted with +the early measures of James's reign; the contempt of law exhibited +in the arbitrary mode of raising his revenue; his insulting menace +to the parliament, that if they did not use him well, he would +govern without them; his furious persecution of the Protestant +dissenters, and the spirit of despotism which appeared in all his +speeches and actions. But it is to be remembered that these +measures were in nowise contrary to the principles or prejudices of +the Church party, but rather highly agreeable to them; and that the +Whigs, who alone were possessed of any just notions of liberty, were +so outnumbered and discomforted by persecution, that such of them as +did not think fit to engage in the rash schemes of Monmouth or +Argyle, held it to be their interest to interfere as little as +possible in public affairs, and by no means to obtrude upon +unwilling hearers opinions and sentiments which, ever since the +dissolution of the Oxford parliament, in 1681, had been generally +discountenanced, and of which the peaceable, or rather triumphant, +accession of James to the throne was supposed to seal the +condemnation. + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Attempts of Argyle and Monmouth--Account of their followers-- +Argyle's expedition discovered--His descent in Argyleshire-- +Dissensions among his followers--Loss of his shipping--His army +dispersed, and himself taken prisoner--His behaviour in prison--His +execution--The fate of his followers--Rumbold's last declaration +examined--Monmouth's invasion of England--His first success and +reception--His delays, disappointment, and despondency--Battle of +Sedgmoor--He is discovered and taken--His letter to the king--His +interview with James--His preparations for death--Circumstances +attending his execution--His character. + +It is now necessary to give some account of those attempts in +Scotland by the Earl of Argyle, and in England by the Duke of +Monmouth, of which the king had informed his parliament in the +manner recited in the preceding chapter. The Earl of Argyle was son +to the Marquis of Argyle, of whose unjust execution, and the +treacherous circumstances accompanying it, notice has already been +taken. He had in his youth been strongly attached to the royal +cause, and had refused to lay down his arms till he had the exiled +king's positive orders for that purpose. But the merit of his early +services could neither save the life of his father, nor even procure +for himself a complete restitution of his family honours and +estates; and not long after the restoration, upon an accusation of +leasing-making, an accusation founded, in this instance, upon a +private letter to a fellow-subject, in which he spoke with some +freedom of his majesty's Scottish ministry, he was condemned to +death. The sentence was suspended and finally remitted, but not +till after an imprisonment of twelve months and upwards. In this +affair he was much assisted by the friendship of the Duke of +Lauderdale, with whom he ever afterwards lived upon terms of +friendship, though his principles would not permit him to give +active assistance to that nobleman in his government of Scotland. +Accordingly, we do not, during that period, find Argyle's name among +those who held any of those great employments of State to which, by +his rank and consequence, he was naturally entitled. When James, +then Duke of York, was appointed to the Scottish government, it +seems to have been the earl's intention to cultivate his royal +highness's favour, and he was a strenuous supporter of the bill +which condemned all attempts at exclusions or other alterations in +the succession of the crown. But having highly offended that prince +by insisting, on the occasion of the test, that the royal family, +when in office, should not be exempted from taking that oath which +they imposed upon subjects in like situations, his royal highness +ordered a prosecution against him, for the explanation with which he +had taken the test oath at the council-board, and the earl was, as +we have seen, again condemned to death. From the time of his escape +from prison he resided wholly in foreign countries, and was looked +to as a principal ally by such of the English patriots as had at any +time entertained thoughts, whether more or less ripened, of +delivering their country. + +James, Duke of Monmouth, was the eldest of the late king's natural +children. In the early parts of his life he held the first place in +his father's affections; and even in the height of Charles's +displeasure at his political conduct, attentive observers thought +they could discern that the traces of paternal tenderness were by no +means effaced. Appearing at court in the bloom of youth, with a +beautiful figure and engaging manners, known to be the darling of +the monarch, it is no wonder that he was early assailed by the arts +of flattery; and it is rather a proof that he had not the strongest +of all minds, than of any extraordinary weakness of character, that +he was not proof against them. He had appeared with some +distinction in the Flemish campaigns, and his conduct had been +noticed with the approbation of the commanders as well as Dutch as +French, under whom he had respectively served. His courage was +allowed by all, his person admired, his generosity loved, his +sincerity confided in. If his talents were not of the first rate, +they were by no means contemptible; and he possessed, in an eminent +degree, qualities which, in popular government, are far more +effective than the most splendid talents; qualities by which he +inspired those who followed him, not only with confidence and +esteem, but with affection, enthusiasm, and even fondness. Thus +endowed, it is not surprising that his youthful mind was fired with +ambition, or that he should consider the putting himself at the head +of a party (a situation for which he seems to have been peculiarly +qualified by so many advantages) as the means by which he was most +likely to attain his object. + +Many circumstances contributed to outweigh the scruples which must +have harassed a man of his excellent nature, when he considered the +obligations of filial duty and gratitude, and when he reflected that +the particular relation in which he stood to the king rendered a +conduct, which in any other subject would have been meritorious, +doubtful, if not extremely culpable in him. Among these, not the +least was the declared enmity which subsisted between him and his +uncle, the Duke of York. The Earl of Mulgrave, afterwards Duke of +Buckinghamshire, boasted in his "Memoirs," that this enmity was +originally owing to his contrivances; and while he is relating a +conduct, upon which the only doubt can be, whether the object or the +means were the most infamous, seems to applaud himself as if he had +achieved some notable exploit. While, on the one hand, a prospect +of his uncle's succession to the crown was intolerable to him, as +involving in it a certain destruction of even the most reasonable +and limited views of ambition which he might entertain, he was +easily led to believe, on the other hand, that no harm, but the +reverse, was intended towards his royal father, whose reign and life +might become precarious if he obstinately persevered in supporting +his brother; whereas, on the contrary, if he could be persuaded, or +even forced, to yield to the wishes of his subjects, he might long +reign a powerful, happy, and popular prince. + +It is also reasonable to believe, that with those personal and +private motives others might co-operate of a public nature and of a +more noble character. The Protestant religion, to which he seems to +have been sincerely attached, would be persecuted, or perhaps +exterminated, if the king should be successful in his support of the +Duke of York and his faction. At least, such was the opinion +generally prevalent, while, with respect to the civil liberties of +the country, no doubt could be entertained, that if the court party +prevailed in the struggle then depending they would be completely +extinguished. Something may be attributed to his admiration of the +talents of some, to his personal friendship for others among the +leaders of the Whigs, more to the aptitude of a generous nature to +adopt, and, if I may so say, to become enamoured of those principles +of justice, benevolence, and equality, which form the true creed of +the party which he espoused. I am not inclined to believe that it +was his connection with Shaftesbury that inspired him with ambitious +views, but rather to reverse cause and effect, and to suppose that +his ambitious views produced his connection with that nobleman; and +whoever reads with attention Lord Grey's account of one of the party +meetings at which he was present, will perceive that there was not +between them that perfect cordiality which has been generally +supposed; but that Russell, Grey, and Hampden, were upon a far more +confidential footing with him. It is far easier to determine +generally, that he had high schemes of ambition, than to discover +what was his precise object; and those who boldly impute to him the +intention of succeeding to the crown, seem to pass by several +weighty arguments, which make strongly against their hypothesis; +such as his connection with the Duchess of Portsmouth, who, if the +succession were to go to the king's illegitimate children, must +naturally have been for her own son; his unqualified support of the +Exclusion Bill, which, without indeed mentioning her, most +unequivocally settled the crown, in case of a demise, upon the +Princess of Orange; and, above all, the circumstance of his having, +when driven from England, twice chosen Holland for his asylum. By +his cousins he was received, not so much with the civility and +decorum of princes, as with the kind familiarity of near relations, +a reception to which he seemed to make every return of reciprocal +cordiality. It is not rashly to be believed, that he, who has never +been accused of hardened wickedness, could have been upon such terms +with, and so have behaved to, persons whom he purposed to disappoint +in their dearest and best grounded hopes, and to defraud of their +inheritance. + +Whatever his views might be, it is evident that they were of a +nature wholly adverse, not only to those of the Duke of York, but to +the schemes of power entertained by the king, with which the support +of his brother was intimately connected. Monmouth was therefore, at +the suggestion of James, ordered by his father to leave the country, +and deprived of all his offices, civil and military. The pretence +for this exile was a sort of principle of impartiality, which +obliged the king, at the same time that he ordered his brother to +retire to Flanders, to deal equal measure to his son. Upon the Duke +of York's return (which was soon after), Monmouth thought he might +without blame return also; and persevering in his former measures +and old connections, became deeply involved in the cabals to which +Essex, Russell, and Sidney fell martyrs. After the death of his +friends, he surrendered himself; and upon a promise that nothing +said by him should be used to the prejudice of any of his surviving +friends, wrote a penitentiary letter to his father, consenting, at +the same time, to ask pardon of his uncle. A great parade was made +of this by the court, as if it was designed by all means to goad the +feelings of Monmouth: his majesty was declared to have pardoned him +at the request of the Duke of York, and his consent was required to +the publication of what was called his confession. This he +resolutely refused at all hazards, and was again obliged to seek +refuge abroad, where he had remained to the period of which we are +now treating. + +A little time before Charles's death he had indulged hopes of being +recalled; and that his intelligence to that effect was not quite +unfounded, or if false, was at least mixed with truth, is clear from +the following circumstance: --From the notes found when he was +taken, in his memorandum book, it appears that part of the plan +concerted between the king and Monmouth's friend (probably Halifax), +was that the Duke of York should go to Scotland, between which, and +his being sent abroad again, Monmouth and his friends saw no +material difference. Now in Barillon's letters to his court, dated +the 7th of December, 1684, it appears that the Duke of York had told +that ambassador of his intended voyage to Scotland though he +represented it in a very different point of view, and said that it +would not be attended with any diminution of his favour or credit. +This was the light in which Charles, to whom the expressions, "to +blind my brother, not to make the Duke of York fly out," and the +like, were familiar, would certainly have shown the affair to his +brother, and therefore of all the circumstances adduced, this +appears to me to be the strongest in favour of the supposition, that +there was in the king's mind a real intention of making an +important, if not a complete, change in his councils and measures. + +Besides these two leaders, there were on the continent at that time +several other gentlemen of great consideration. Sir Patrick Hume, +of Polworth, had early distinguished himself in the cause of +liberty. When the privy council of Scotland passed an order, +compelling the counties to pay the expense of the garrisons +arbitrarily placed in them, he refused to pay his quota, and by a +mode of appeal to the court of session, which the Scotch lawyers +call a bill of suspension, endeavoured to procure redress. The +council ordered him to be imprisoned, for no other crime, as it +should seem, than that of having thus attempted to procure, by a +legal process, a legal decision upon a point of law. After having +remained in close confinement in Stirling Castle for near four +years, he was set at liberty through the favour and interest of +Monmouth. Having afterwards engaged in schemes connected with those +imputed to Sidney and Russell, orders were issued for seizing him at +his house in Berwickshire; but having had timely notice of his +danger from his relation, Hume of Ninewells, a gentleman attached to +the royal cause, but whom party spirit had not rendered insensible +to the ties of kindred and private friendship, he found means to +conceal himself for a time, and shortly after to escape beyond sea. +His concealment is said to have been in the family burial-place, +where the means of sustaining life were brought to him by his +daughter, a girl of fifteen years of age, whose duty and affection +furnished her with courage to brave the terrors, as well +superstitious as real, to which she was necessarily exposed in an +intercourse of this nature. + +Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, a young man of great spirit, had +signalised himself in opposition to Lauderdale's administration of +Scotland, and had afterwards connected himself with Argyle and +Russell, and what was called the council of six. He had, of course, +thought it prudent to leave Great Britain, and could not be supposed +unwilling to join in any enterprise which might bid fair to restore +him to his country, and his countrymen to their lost liberties, +though, upon the present occasion, which he seems to have judged to +be unfit for the purpose, he endeavoured to dissuade both Argyle and +Monmouth from their attempts. He was a man of much thought and +reading, of an honourable mind, and a fiery spirit, and from his +enthusiastic admiration of the ancients, supposed to be warmly +attached, not only to republican principles, but to the form of a +commonwealth. Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree had fled his country +on account of the transactions of 1683. His property and +connections were considerable, and he was supposed to possess +extensive influence in Ayrshire and the adjacent counties. + +Such were the persons of chief note among the Scottish emigrants. +Among the English, by far the most remarkable was Ford, Lord Grey of +Wark. A scandalous love intrigue with his wife's sister had fixed a +very deep stain upon his private character; nor were the +circumstances attending this affair, which had all been brought to +light in a court of justice, by any means calculated to extenuate +his guilt. His ancient family, however, the extensive influence +arising from his large possessions, his talents, which appear to +have been very considerable, and above all, his hitherto unshaken +fidelity in political attachments, and the general steadiness of his +conduct in public life, might in some degree countervail the odium +which he had incurred on account of his private vices. Of Matthews, +Wade, and Ayloff, whose names are mentioned as having both joined +the preliminary councils, and done actual service in the invasions, +little is known by which curiosity could be either gratified or +excited. + +Richard Rumbold, on every account, merits more particular notice. +He had formerly served in the republican armies; and adhering to the +principles of liberty which he had imbibed in his youth, though +nowise bigoted to the particular form of a commonwealth had been +deeply engaged in the politics of those who thought they saw an +opportunity of rescuing their country from the tyrannical government +of the late king. He was one of the persons denounced in Keeling's +narrative, and was accused of having conspired to assassinate the +royal brothers in their road to Newmarket, an accusation belied by +the whole tenor of his life and conduct, and which, if it had been +true, would have proved him, who was never thought a weak or foolish +man, to be as destitute of common sense as of honour and probity. +It was pretended that the seizure of the princes was to take place +at a farm called Rye House, which he occupied in Essex, for the +purposes of his trade as maltster; and from this circumstance was +derived the name of the Rye House Plot. Conscious of having done +some acts which the law, if even fairly interpreted and equitably +administered, might deem criminal, and certain that many which he +had not done would be both sworn and believed against him, he made +his escape, and passed the remainder of Charles's reign in exile and +obscurity; nor is his name, as far as I can learn, ever mentioned +from the time of the Rye House Plot to that of which we are now +treating. + +It is not to be understood that there were no other names upon the +list of those who fled from the tyranny of the British government, +or thought themselves unsafe in their native country, on account of +its violence, besides those of the persons above mentioned, and of +such as joined in their bold and hazardous enterprise. Another +class of emigrants, not less sensible probably to the wrongs of +their country, but less sanguine in their hopes of immediate +redress, is ennobled by the names of Burnet the historian and Mr. +Locke. It is difficult to accede to the opinion which the first of +these seems to entertain, that though particular injustices had been +committed, the misgovernment had not been of such a nature as to +justify resistance by arms. But the prudential reasons against +resistance at that time were exceedingly strong; and there is no +point in human concerns wherein the dictates of virtue and worldly +prudence are so identified as in this great question of resistance +by force to established government. Success, it has been +invidiously remarked, constitutes in most instances the sole +difference between the traitor and the deliverer of his country. A +rational probability of success, it may be truly said, distinguishes +the well-considered enterprise of the patriot, from the rash schemes +of the disturber of the public peace. To command success is not in +the power of man; but to deserve success, by choosing a proper time, +as well as a proper object, by the prudence of his means, no less +than by the purity of his views, by a cause not only intrinsically +just, but likely to insure general support, is the indispensable +duty of him who engages in an insurrection against an existing +government. Upon this subject the opinion of Ludlow, who, though +often misled, appears to have been an honest and enlightened man, is +striking and forcibly expressed. "We ought," says he, "to be very +careful and circumspect in that particular, and at least be assured +of very probable grounds to believe the power under which we engage +to be sufficiently able to protect us in our undertaking; otherwise +I should account myself not only guilty of my own blood, but also, +in some measure, of the ruin and destruction of all those that I +should induce to engage with me, though no cause were never so +just." Reasons of this nature, mixed more or less with +considerations of personal caution, and in some, perhaps, with +dislike and distrust of the leaders, induced many, who could not but +abhor the British government, to wait for better opportunities, and +to prefer either submission at home, or exile, to an undertaking +which, if not hopeless, must have been deemed by all hazardous in +the extreme. + +In the situation in which these two noblemen, Argyle and Monmouth, +were placed, it is not to be wondered at if they were naturally +willing to enter into any plan by which they might restore +themselves to their country; nor can it be doubted but they honestly +conceived their success to be intimately connected with the welfare, +and especially with the liberty of the several kingdoms to which +they respectively belonged. Monmouth, whether because he had begun +at this time, as he himself said, to wean his mind from ambition, or +from the observations he had made upon the apparently rapid turn +which had taken place in the minds of the English people, seems to +have been very averse to rash counsels, and to have thought that all +attempts against James ought at least to be deferred till some more +favourable opportunity should present itself. So far from esteeming +his chance of success the better, on account of there being in +James's parliament many members who had voted for the Exclusion +Bill, he considered that circumstance as unfavourable. These men, +of whom, however, he seems to have over-rated the number, would, in +his opinion, be more eager than others to recover the ground they +had lost, by an extraordinary show of zeal and attachment to the +crown. But if Monmouth was inclined to dilatory counsels, far +different were the views and designs of other exiles, who had been +obliged to leave their country on account of their having engaged, +if not with him personally, at least in the same cause with him, and +who were naturally enough his advisers. Among these were Lord Grey +of Wark, and Ferguson; though the latter afterwards denied his +having had much intercourse with the duke, and the former, in his +"Narrative," insinuates that he rather dissuaded than pressed the +invasion. + +But if Monmouth was inclined to delay, Argyle seems, on the other +hand, to have been impatient in the extreme to bring matters to a +crisis, and was of course anxious that the attempt upon England +should be made in cooperation with his upon Scotland. Ralph, an +historian of great acuteness as well as diligence, but who falls +sometimes into the common error of judging too much from the event, +seems to think this impatience wholly unaccountable; but Argyle may +have had many motives which are now unknown to us. He may not +improbably have foreseen that the friendly terms upon which James +and the Prince of Orange affected at least to be, one with the +other, might make his stay in the United Provinces impracticable, +and that, if obliged to seek another asylum, not only he might have +been deprived, in some measure, of the resources which he derived +from his connections at Amsterdam, but that the very circumstance of +his having been publicly discountenanced by the Prince of Orange and +the states-general, might discredit his enterprise. His eagerness +for action may possibly have proceeded from the most laudable +motives, his sensibility to the horrors which his countrymen were +daily and hourly suffering, and his ardour to relieve them. The +dreadful state of Scotland, while it affords so honourable an +explanation of his impatience, seems to account also, in a great +measure, for his acting against the common notions of prudence, in +making his attack without any previous concert with those whom he +expected to join him there. That this was his view of the matter is +plain, as we are informed by Burnet that he depended not only on an +army of his own clan and vassals, but that he took it for granted +that the western and southern counties would all at once come about +him, when he had gathered a good force together in his own country; +and surely such an expectation, when we reflect upon the situation +of those counties, was by no means unreasonable. + +Argyle's counsel, backed by Lord Grey and the rest of Monmouth's +advisers, and opposed by none except Fletcher of Saltoun, to whom +some add Captain Matthews, prevailed, and it was agreed to invade +immediately, and at one time, the two kingdoms. Monmouth had raised +some money from his jewels, and Argyle had a loan of ten thousand +pounds from a rich widow in Amsterdam. With these resources, such +as they were, ships and arms were provided, and Argyle sailed from +Vly on the 2nd of May with three small vessels, accompanied by Sir +Patrick Hume, Sir John Cochrane, a few more Scotch gentlemen, and by +two Englishmen, Ayloff, a nephew by marriage to Lord Chancellor +Clarendon, and Rumbold, the maltster, who had been accused of being +principally concerned in that conspiracy which, from his farm in +Essex, where it was pretended Charles II. was to have been +intercepted in his way from Newmarket, and assassinated, had been +called the Rye House Plot. Sir Patrick Hume is said to have advised +the shortest passage, in order to come more unexpectedly upon the +enemy; but Argyle, who is represented as remarkably tenacious of his +own opinions, persisted in his plan of sailing round the north of +Scotland, as well for the purpose of landing at once among his own +vassals, as for that of being nearer to the western counties, which +had been most severely oppressed, and from which, of course, he +expected most assistance. Each of these plans had, no doubt, its +peculiar advantages; but, as far as we can judge at this distance of +time, those belonging to the earl's scheme seemed to preponderate; +for the force he carried with him was certainly not sufficient to +enable him, by striking any decisive stroke, to avail himself even +of the most unprepared state in which he could hope to find the +king's government. As he must, therefore, depend entirely upon +reinforcements from the country, it seemed reasonable to make for +that part where succour was most likely to be obtained, even at the +hazard of incurring the disadvantage which must evidently result +from the enemy's having early notice of his attack, and, +consequently, proportionable time for defence. + +Unfortunately this hazard was converted into a certainty by his +sending some men on shore in the Orkneys. Two of these, Spence and +Blackadder, were seized at Kirkwall by the bishop of the diocese, +and sent up prisoners to Edinburgh, by which means the government +was not only satisfied of the reality of the intended invasion, of +which, however, they had before had some intimation, but could guess +with a reasonable certainty the part of the coast where the descent +was to take place, for Argyle could not possibly have sailed so far +to the north with any other view than that of making his landing +either on his own estate, or in some of the western counties. Among +the numberless charges of imprudence against the unfortunate Argyle, +charges too often inconsiderately urged against him who fails in any +enterprise of moment, that which is founded upon the circumstance +just mentioned appears to me to be the most weighty, though it is +that which is the least mentioned, and by no author, as far as I +recollect, much enforced. If the landing in the north was merely +for the purpose of gaining intelligence respecting the disposition +of the country, or for the more frivolous object of making some few +prisoners, it was indeed imprudent in the highest degree. That +prisoners, such as were likely to be taken on this occasion, should +have been a consideration with any man of common sense is +impossible. The desire of gaining intelligence concerning the +disposition of the people was indeed a natural curiosity, but it +would be a strong instance of that impatience which has been often +alleged though in no other case proved to have been part of the +earl's character, if, for the sake of gratifying such a desire, he +gave the enemy any important advantage. Of the intelligence which +he sought thus eagerly, it was evident that he could not in that +place and at that time make any immediate use; whereas, of that +which he afforded his enemies, they could and did avail themselves +against him. The most favourable account of this proceeding, and +which seems to deserve most credit, is, that having missed the +proper passage through the Orkney Islands, he thought proper to send +on shore for pilots, and that Spence very imprudently took the +opportunity of going to confer with a relation at Kirkwall; but it +is to be remarked that it was not necessary for the purpose of +getting pilots, to employ men of note, such as Blackadder and +Spence, the latter of whom was the earl's secretary; and that it was +an unpardonable neglect not to give the strictest injunctions to +those who were employed against going a step further into the +country than was absolutely necessary. + +Argyle, with his wonted generosity of spirit, was at first +determined to lay siege to Kirkwall, in order to recover his +friends; but, partly by the dissuasions of his followers, and still +more by the objections made by the masters of the ships to a delay +which might make them lose the favourable winds for their intended +voyage, he was induced to prosecute his course. In the meantime the +government made the use that it was obvious they would make of the +information they had obtained, and when the earl arrived at his +destination, he learned that considerable forces were got together +to repel any attack that he might meditate. Being prevented by +contrary winds from reaching the Isle of Islay, where he had +purposed to make his first landing, he sailed back to Dunstafnage in +Lorn, and there sent ashore his son, Mr. Charles Campbell, to engage +his tenants and other friends and dependants of his family to rise +in his behalf; but even there he found less encouragement and +assistance than he had expected, and the laird of Lochniel, who gave +him the best assurances, treacherously betrayed him, sent his letter +to the government, and joined the royal forces under the Marquis of +Athol. He then proceeded southwards, and landed at Campbelltown in +Kintyre, where his first step was to publish his declaration, which +appears to have produced little or no effect. + +This bad beginning served, as is usual in such adventures, rather to +widen than to reconcile the differences which had early begun to +manifest themselves between the leader and his followers. Hume and +Cochrane, partly construing, perhaps too sanguinely, the +intelligence which was received from Ayrshire, Galloway, and the +other Lowland districts in that quarter, partly from an expectation +that where the oppression had been most grievous, the revolt would +be proportionably the more general, were against any stay, or, as +they termed it, loss of time in the Highlands, but were for +proceeding at once, weak as they were in point of numbers, to a +country where every man endowed with the common feelings of human +nature must be their well-wisher, every man of spirit their +coadjutor. Argyle, on the contrary, who probably considered the +discouraging accounts from the Lowlands as positive and distinct, +while those which were deemed more favourable appeared to him to be +at least uncertain and provisional, thought the most prudent plan +was to strengthen himself in his own country before he attempted the +invasion of provinces where the enemy was so well prepared to +receive him. He had hopes of gaining time, not only to increase his +own army, but to avail himself of the Duke of Monmouth's intended +invasion of England, an event which must obviously have great +influence upon his affairs, and which, if he could but maintain +himself in a situation to profit by it, might be productive of +advantages of an importance and extent of which no man could presume +to calculate the limits. Of these two contrary opinions it may be +difficult at this time of day to appreciate the value, seeing that +so much depends upon the degree of credit due to the different +accounts from the Lowland counties, of which our imperfect +information does not enable us to form any accurate judgment. But +even though we should not decide absolutely in favour of the cogency +of these reasonings which influenced the chief, it must surely be +admitted that there was, at least, sufficient probability in them to +account for his not immediately giving way to those of his +followers, and to rescue his memory from the reproach of any +uncommon obstinacy, or of carrying things, as Burnet phrases it, +with an air of authority that was not easy to men who were setting +up for liberty. On the other hand, it may be more difficult to +exculpate the gentlemen engaged with Argyle for not acquiescing more +cheerfully, and not entering more cordially into the views of a man +whom they had chosen for their leader and general; of whose honour +they had no doubt, and whose opinion even those who dissented from +him must confess to be formed upon no light or trivial grounds. + +The differences upon the general scheme of attack led, of course, to +others upon points of detail. Upon every projected expedition there +appeared a contrariety of sentiment, which on some occasions +produced the most violent disputes. The earl was often thwarted in +his plans, and in one instance actually over-ruled by the vote of a +council of war. Nor were these divisions, which might of themselves +be deemed sufficient to mar an enterprise of this nature, the only +adverse circumstances which Argyle had to encounter. By the forward +state of preparation on the part of the government, its friends were +emboldened; its enemies, whose spirit had been already broken by a +long series of sufferings, were completely intimidated, and men of +fickle and time-serving dispositions were fixed in its interests. +Add to all this, that where spirit was not wanting, it was +accompanied with a degree and species of perversity wholly +inexplicable, and which can hardly gain belief from any one whose +experience has not made him acquainted with the extreme difficulty +of persuading men who pride themselves upon an extravagant love of +liberty, rather to compromise upon some points with those who have +in the main the same views with themselves, than to give power (a +power which will infallibly be used for their own destruction) to an +adversary of principles diametrically opposite; in other words, +rather to concede something to a friend, than everything to an +enemy. Hence, those even whose situation was the most desperate, +who were either wandering about the fields, or seeking refuge in +rocks and caverns, from the authorised assassins who were on every +side pursuing them, did not all join in Argyle's cause with that +frankness and cordiality which was to be expected. The various +schisms which had existed among different classes of Presbyterians +were still fresh in their memory. Not even the persecution to which +they had been in common, and almost indiscriminately subjected, had +reunited them. According to a most expressive phrase of an eminent +minister of their church, who sincerely lamented their disunion, the +furnace had not yet healed the rents and breaches among them. Some +doubted whether, short of establishing all the doctrines preached by +Cargill and Cameron, there was anything worth contending for; while +others, still further gone in enthusiasm, set no value upon liberty, +or even life itself, if they were to be preserved by the means of a +nobleman who had, as well by his serviced to Charles the Second as +by other instances, been guilty in the former parts of his conduct +of what they termed unlawful compliances. + +Perplexed, no doubt, but not dismayed, by these difficulties, the +earl proceeded to Tarbet, which he had fixed as the place of +rendezvous, and there issued a second declaration (that which has +been mentioned as having been laid before the House of Commons), +with as little effect as the first. He was joined by Sir Duncan +Campbell, who alone, of all his kinsmen, seems to have afforded him +any material assistance, and who brought with him nearly a thousand +men; but even with this important reinforcement, his whole army does +not appear to have exceeded two thousand. It was here that he was +over-ruled by a council of war, when he proposed marching to +Inverary; and after much debate, so far was he from being so self- +willed as he is represented, that he consented to go over with his +army to that part of Argyleshire called Cowal, and that Sir John +Cochrane should make an attempt upon the Lowlands; and he sent with +him Major Fullarton, one of the offices in whom he most trusted, and +who appears to have best deserved his confidence. This expedition +could not land in Ayrshire, where it had at first been intended, +owing to the appearance of two king's frigates, which had been sent +into those seas; and when it did land near Greenock, no other +advantage was derived from it than the procuring from the town a +very small supply of provisions. + +When Cochrane, with his detachment, returned to Cowal, all hopes of +success in the Lowlands seemed, for the present at least, to be at +an end, and Argyle's original plan was now necessarily adopted, +though under circumstances greatly disadvantageous. Among these, +the most important was the approach of the frigates, which obliged +the earl to place his ships under the protection of the castle of +Ellengreg, which he fortified and garrisoned as well as his +contracted means would permit. Yet even in this situation, deprived +of the co-operation of his little fleet, as well as of that part of +his force which he left to defend it, being well seconded by the +spirit and activity of Rumbold, who had seized the castle of +Ardkinglass, near the head of Loch Fin, he was not without hopes of +success in his main enterprise against Inverary, when he was called +back to Ellengreg, by intelligence of fresh discontents having +broken out there, upon the nearer approach of the frigates. Some of +the most dissatisfied had even threatened to leave both castle and +ships to their fate; nor did the appearance of the earl himself by +any means bring with it that degree of authority which was requisite +in such a juncture. His first motion was to disregard the superior +force of the men of war, and to engage them with his small fleet; +but he soon discovered that he was far indeed from being furnished +with the materials necessary to put in execution so bold, or, as it +may possibly be thought, so romantic a resolution. His associates +remonstrated, and a mutiny in his ships was predicted as a certain +consequence of the attempt. Leaving, therefore, once more, +Ellengreg with a garrison under the command of the laird of +Lochness, and strict orders to destroy both ships and fortification, +rather than suffer them to fall into the hands of the enemy, he +marched towards Gareloch. But whether from the inadequacy of the +provisions with which he was to supply it, or from cowardice, +misconduct, or treachery, it does not appear, the castle was soon +evacuated without any proper measures being taken to execute the +earl's orders, and the military stores in it to a considerable +amount, as well as the ships which had no other defence, were +abandoned to the king's forces. + +This was a severe blow; and all hopes of acting according to the +earl's plan of establishing himself strongly in Argyleshire were now +extinguished. He therefore consented to pass the Leven, a little +above Dumbarton, and to march eastwards. In this march he was +overtaken, at a place called Killerne, by Lord Dumbarton, at the +head of a large body of the king's troops; but he posted himself +with so much skill and judgment, that Dumbarton thought it prudent +to wait, at least, till the ensuing morning, before he made his +attack. Here, again Argyle was for risking an engagement, and in +his nearly desperate situation, it was probably his best chance, but +his advice (for his repeated misfortunes had scarcely left him the +shadow of command) was rejected. On the other hand, a proposal was +made to him, the most absurd, as it should seem, that was ever +suggested in similar circumstances, to pass the enemy in the night, +and thus exposing his rear, to subject himself to the danger of +being surrounded, for the sake of advancing he knew not whither, or +for what purpose. To this he could not consent; and it was at last +agreed to deceive the enemies by lighting fires, and to decamp in +the night towards Glasgow. The first part of this plan was executed +with success, and the army went off unperceived by the enemy; but in +their night march they were misled by the ignorance or the treachery +of their guides and fell into difficulties which would have caused +some disorder among the most regular and best-disciplined troops. +In this case such disorder was fatal, and produced, as among men +circumstanced as Argyle's were, it necessarily must, an almost +general dispersion. Wandering among bogs and morasses, disheartened +by fatigue, terrified by rumours of an approaching enemy, the +darkness of the night aggravating at once every real distress, and +adding terror to every vain alarm; in this situation, when even the +bravest and the best (for according to one account Rumbold himself +was missing for a time) were not able to find their leaders, nor the +corps to which they respectively belonged; it is no wonder that many +took this opportunity to abandon a cause now become desperate, and +to effect individually that escape which, as a body, they had no +longer any hopes to accomplish. + +When the small remains of this ill-fated army got together, in the +morning, at Kilpatrick, a place far distant from their destination, +its number was reduced to less than five hundred. Argyle had lost +all authority; nor, indeed, had he retained any, does it appear that +he could now have used it to any salutary purpose. The same bias +which had influenced the two parties in the time of better hopes, +and with regard to their early operations, still prevailed now that +they were driven to their last extremity. Sir Patrick Hume and Sir +John Cochrane would not stay even to reason the matter with him +whom, at the onset of their expedition, they had engaged to obey, +but crossed the Clyde, with such as would follow them to the number +of about two hundred, into Renfrewshire. + +Argyle, thus deserted, and almost alone, still looked to his own +country as the sole remaining hope, and sent off Sir Duncan +Campbell, with the two Duncansons, father and son--persons, all +three, by whom he seemed to have been served with the most exemplary +zeal and fidelity--to attempt new levies there. Having done this, +and settled such means of correspondence as the state of affairs +would permit, he repaired to the house of an old servant, upon whose +attachment he had relied for an asylum, but was peremptorily denied +entrance. Concealment in this part of the country seemed now +impracticable, and he was forced at last to pass the Clyde, +accompanied by the brave and faithful Fullarton. Upon coming to a +ford of the Inchanon they were stopped by some militia-men. +Fullarton used in vain all the best means which his presence of mind +suggested to him to save his general. He attempted one while by +gentle, and then by harsher language, to detain the commander of the +party till the earl, who was habited as a common countryman, and +whom he passed for his guide, should have made his escape. At last, +when he saw them determined to go after his pretended guide, he +offered to surrender himself without a blow, upon condition of their +desisting from their pursuit. This agreement was accepted, but not +adhered to, and two horsemen were detached to seize Argyle. The +earl, who was also on horseback, grappled with them till one of them +and himself came to the ground. He then presented his pocket +pistols, on which the two retired, but soon after five more came up, +who fired without effect, and he thought himself like to get rid of +them, but they knocked him down with their swords and seized him. +When they knew whom they had taken they seemed much troubled, but +dared not let him go. Fullarton, perceiving that the stipulation on +which he had surrendered himself was violated, and determined to +defend himself to the last, or at least to wreak, before he fell, +his just vengeance upon his perfidious opponents, grasped at the +sword of one of them, but in vain; he was overpowered, and made +prisoner. + +Argyle was immediately carried to Renfrew, thence to Glasgow, and on +the 20th of June was led in triumph into Edinburgh. The order of +the council was particular: that he should be led bareheaded in the +midst of Graham's guards, with their matches cocked, his hands tied +behind his back, and preceded by the common hangman, in which +situation, that he might be more exposed to the insults and taunts +of the vulgar, it was directed that he should be carried to the +castle by a circuitous route. To the equanimity with which he bore +these indignities, as indeed to the manly spirit exhibited by him +throughout, in these last scenes of his life, ample testimony is +borne by all the historians who have treated of them, even those who +are the least partial to him. He had frequent opportunities of +conversing, and some of writing, during his imprisonment, and it is +from such parts of these conversations and writings as have been +preserved to us, that we can best form to ourselves a just notion of +his deportment during that trying period; at the same time a true +representation of the temper of his mind in such circumstances will +serve, in no small degree, to illustrate his general character and +disposition. + +We have already seen how he expresses himself with regard to the men +who, by taking him, became the immediate cause of his calamity. He +seems to feel a sort of gratitude to them for the sorrow he saw, or +fancied he saw in them, when they knew who he was, and immediately +suggests an excuse for them, by saying that they did not dare to +follow the impulse of their hearts. Speaking of the supineness of +his countrymen, and of the little assistance he had received from +them, he declares with his accustomed piety his resignation to the +will of God, which was that Scotland should not be delivered at this +time, nor especially by his hand; and then exclaims, with the regret +of a patriot, but with no bitterness of disappointment, "But alas! +who is there to be delivered! There may," says he, "be hidden ones, +but there appears no great party in the country who desire to be +relieved." Justice, in some degree, but still more that warm +affection for his own kindred and vassals, which seems to have +formed a marked feature in this nobleman's character, then induces +him to make an exception in favour of his poor friends in +Argyleshire, in treating for whom, though in what particular way +does not appear, he was employing, and with some hope of success, +the few remaining hours of his life. In recounting the failure of +his expedition it is impossible for him not to touch upon what he +deemed the misconduct of his friends; and this is the subject upon +which of all others, his temper must have been most irritable. A +certain description of friends (the words describing them are +omitted) were all of them without exception, his greatest enemies, +both to betray and destroy him; and . . . and . . . (the names again +omitted) were the greatest cause of his rout, and his being taken, +though not designedly, he acknowledges, but by ignorance, cowardice, +and faction. This sentence had scarce escaped him when, +notwithstanding the qualifying words with which his candour had +acquitted the last-mentioned persons of intentional treachery, it +appeared too harsh to his gentle nature, and declaring himself +displeased with the hard epithets he had used, he desires they may +be put out of any account that is to be given of these transactions. +The manner in which this request is worded shows that the paper he +was writing was intended for a letter, and as it is supposed, to a +Mrs. Smith, who seems to have assisted him with money; but whether +or not this lady was the rich widow of Amsterdam, before alluded to, +I have not been able to learn. + +When he is told that he is to be put to the torture, he neither +breaks out into any high-sounding bravado, any premature vaunts of +the resolution with which he will endure it, nor, on the other hand, +into passionate exclamations on the cruelty of his enemies, or +unmanly lamentations of his fate. After stating that orders were +arrived that he must be tortured, unless he answers all questions +upon oath, he simply adds that he hopes God will support him; and +then leaves off writing, not from any want of spirits to proceed, +but to enjoy the consolation which was yet left him, in the society +of his wife, the countess being just then admitted. + +Of his interview with Queensbury, who examined him in private, +little is known, except that he denied his design having been +concerted with any persons in Scotland; that he gave no information +with respect to his associates in England; and that he boldly and +frankly averred his hopes to have been founded on the cruelty of the +administration, and such a disposition in the people to revolt as he +conceived to be the natural consequence of oppression. He owned, at +the same time, that he had trusted too much to this principle. The +precise date of this conversation, whether it took place before the +threat of the torture, whilst that threat was impending, or when +there was no longer any intention of putting it into execution, I +have not been able to ascertain; but the probability seems to be +that it was during the first or second of these periods. + +Notwithstanding the ill success that had attended his enterprise, he +never expresses, or even hints, the smallest degree of contrition +for having undertaken it: on the contrary, when Mr. Charteris, an +eminent divine, is permitted to wait on him, his first caution to +that minister is, not to try to convince him of the unlawfulness of +his attempt, concerning which his opinion was settled, and his mind +made up. Of some parts of his past conduct he does indeed confess +that he repents, but these are the compliances of which he had been +guilty in support of the king, or his predecessors. Possibly in +this he may allude to his having in his youth borne arms against the +covenant, but with more likelihood to his concurrence, in the late +reign, with some of the measures of Lauderdale's administration, for +whom it is certain that he entertained a great regard, and to whom +he conceived himself to be principally indebted for his escape from +his first sentence. Friendship and gratitude might have carried him +to lengths which patriotism and justice must condemn. + +Religious concerns, in which he seems to have been very serious and +sincere, engaged much of his thoughts; but his religion was of that +genuine kind which, by representing the performance of our duties to +our neighbour as the most acceptable service to God, strengthens all +the charities of social life. While he anticipates, with a hope +approaching to certainty, a happy futurity, he does not forget those +who have been justly dear to him in this world. He writes, on the +day of his execution, to his wife, and to some other relations, for +whom he seems to have entertained a sort of parental tenderness, +short, but the most affectionate letters, wherein he gives them the +greatest satisfaction then in his power, by assuring them of his +composure and tranquillity of mind, and refers them for further +consolation to those sources from which he derived his own. In his +letter to Mrs. Smith, written on the same day, he says, "While +anything was a burden to me, your concern was; which is a cross +greater than I can express" (alluding probably to the pecuniary loss +she had incurred); "but I have, I thank God, overcome all." Her +name, he adds, could not be concealed, and that he knows not what +may have been discovered from any paper which may have been taken; +otherwise he has named none to their disadvantage. He states that +those in whose hands he is, had at first used him hardly, but that +God had melted their hearts, and that he was now treated with +civility. As an instance of this, he mentions the liberty he had +obtained of sending this letter to her; a liberty which he takes as +a kindness on their part, and which he had sought that she might not +think he had forgotten her. + +Never, perhaps, did a few sentences present so striking a picture of +a mind truly virtuous and honourable. Heroic courage is the least +part of his praise, and vanishes as it were from our sight, when we +contemplate the sensibility with which he acknowledges the kindness, +such as it is, of the very men who are leading him to the scaffold; +the generous satisfaction which he feels on reflecting that no +confession of his has endangered his associates; and above all, his +anxiety, in such moments, to perform all the duties of friendship +and gratitude, not only with the most scrupulous exactness, but with +the most considerate attention to the feelings as well as to the +interests of the person who was the object of them. Indeed, it +seems throughout to have been the peculiar felicity of this man's +mind, that everything was present to it that ought to be so; nothing +that ought not. Of his country he could not be unmindful; and it +was one among other consequences of his happy temper, that on this +subject he did not entertain those gloomy ideas which the then state +of Scotland was but too well fitted to inspire. In a conversation +with an intimate friend, he says that, though he does not take upon +him to be a prophet, he doubts not but that deliverance will come, +and suddenly, of which his failings had rendered him unworthy to be +the instrument. In some verses which he composed on the night +preceding his execution, and which he intended for his epitaph, he +thus expresses this hope still more distinctly + + +"On my attempt though Providence did frown, +His oppressed people God at length shall own; +Another hand, by more successful speed, +Shall raise the remnant, bruise the serpent's head." + + +With respect to the epitaph itself, of which these lines form a +part, it is probable that he composed it chiefly with a view to +amuse and relieve his mind, fatigued with exertion, and partly, +perhaps, in imitation of the famous Marquis of Montrose, who, in +similar circumstances, had written some verses which have been much +celebrated. The poetical merit of the pieces appears to be nearly +equal, and is not in either instance considerable, and they are only +in so far valuable as they may serve to convey to us some image of +the minds by which they were produced. He who reads them with this +view will, perhaps, be of opinion that the spirit manifested in the +two compositions is rather equal in degree than like in character; +that the courage of Montrose was more turbulent, that of Argyle more +calm and sedate. If, on the one hand, it is to be regretted that we +have not more memorials left of passages so interesting, and that +even of those which we do possess, a great part is obscured by time, +it must be confessed, on the other, that we have quite enough to +enable us to pronounce that for constancy and equanimity under the +severest trials, few men have equalled, none ever surpassed, the +Earl of Argyle. The most powerful of all tempters, hope, was not +held out to him, so that he had not, it is true, in addition to his +other hard tasks, that of resisting her seductive influence; but the +passions of a different class had the fullest scope for their +attacks. These, however, could make no impression on his well- +disciplined mind. Anger could not exasperate, fear could not appal +him; and if disappointment and indignation at the misbehaviour of +his followers, and the supineness of the country, did occasionally, +as surely they must, cause uneasy sensations, they had not the power +to extort from him one unbecoming or even querulous expression. Let +him be weighed never so scrupulously, and in the nicest scales, he +will not be found, in a single instance, wanting in the charity of a +Christian, the firmness and benevolence of a patriot, the integrity +and fidelity of a man of honour. + +The Scotch parliament had, on the 11th of June, sent an address to +the king wherein, after praising his majesty, as usual, for his +extraordinary prudence, courage, and conduct, and loading Argyle, +whom they styled an hereditary traitor, with every reproach they can +devise--among others, that of ingratitude for the favours which he +had received, as well from his majesty as from his predecessor--they +implore his majesty that the earl may find no favour and that the +earl's family, the heritors, ringleaders, and preachers who joined +him, should be for ever declared incapable of mercy, or bearing any +honour or estate in the kingdom, and all subjects discharged under +the highest pains to intercede for them in any manner of way. Never +was address more graciously received, or more readily complied with; +and, accordingly, the following letter, with the royal signature, +and countersigned by Lord Melford, Secretary of State for Scotland, +was despatched to the council at Edinburgh, and by them entered and +registered on the 29th of June. + + +"Whereas, the late Earl of Argyle is, by the providence of God, +fallen into our power, it is our will and pleasure that you take all +ways to know from him those things which concern our government +most, as his assisters with men, arms, and money, his associates and +correspondents, his designs, etc. But this must be done so as no +time may be lost in bringing him to condign punishment, by causing +him to be demeaned as a traitor, within the space of three days +after this shall come to your hands, an account of which, with what +he shall confess, you shall send immediately to us or our +secretaries, for doing which this shall be your warrant." + + +When it is recollected that torture had been in common use in +Scotland, and that the persons to whom the letter was addressed had +often caused it to be inflicted, the words, "it is our will and +pleasure that you take all ways," seem to convey a positive command +for applying of it in this instance; yet it is certain that Argyle +was not tortured. What was the cause of this seeming disregard of +the royal injunctions does not appear. One would hope, for the +honour of human nature, that James, struck with some compunction for +the injuries he had already heaped upon the head of this unfortunate +nobleman, sent some private orders contradictory to this public +letter; but there is no trace to be discovered of such a +circumstance. The managers themselves might feel a sympathy for a +man of their own rank, which had no influence in the cases where +only persons of an inferior station were to be the sufferers; and in +those words of the king's letter which enjoin a speedy punishment as +the primary object to which all others must give way, they might +find a pretext for overlooking the most odious part of the order, +and of indulging their humanity, such as it was, by appointing the +earliest day possible for the execution. In order that the triumph +of injustice might be complete, it was determined that, without any +new trial, the earl should suffer upon the iniquitous sentence of +1682. Accordingly, the very next day ensuing was appointed, and on +the 13th of June he was brought from the castle, first to the Laigh +Council-house, and thence to the place of execution. + +Before he left the castle, he had his dinner at the usual hour, at +which he discoursed, not only calmly, but even cheerfully, with Mr. +Charteris and others. After dinner he retired, as was his custom, +to his bed-chamber, where it is recorded that he slept quietly for +about a quarter of an hour. While he was in his bed, one of the +members of the council came and intimated to the attendants a desire +to speak with him: upon being told that the earl was asleep, and +had left orders not to be disturbed, the manager disbelieved the +account, which he considered as a device to avoid further +questionings. To satisfy him, the door of the bed-chamber was half +opened, and he then beheld, enjoying a sweet and tranquil slumber, +the man who, by the doom of him and his fellows, was to die within +the space of two short hours! Struck with this sight, he hurried +out of the room, quitted the castle with the utmost precipitation, +and hid himself in the lodgings of an acquaintance who lived near, +where he flung himself upon the first bed that presented itself, and +had every appearance of a man suffering the most excruciating +torture. His friend, who had been apprised by the servant of the +state he was in, and who naturally concluded that he was ill, +offered him some wine. He refused, saying, "No, no, that will not +help me: I have been in at Argyle, and saw him sleeping as +pleasantly as ever man did, within an hour of eternity. But as for +me--." The name of the person to whom this anecdote relates is not +mentioned, and the truth of it may therefore be fairly considered as +liable to that degree of doubt with which men of judgment receive +every species of traditional history. Woodrow, however, whose +veracity is above suspicion, says he had it from the most +unquestionable authority. It is not in itself unlikely; and who is +there that would not wish it true? What a satisfactory spectacle to +a philosophical mind, to see the oppressor, in the zenith of his +power, envying his victim! What an acknowledgment of the +superiority of virtue! What an affecting and forcible testimony to +the value of that peace of mind which innocence alone can confer! +We know not who this man was; but when we reflect that the guilt +which agonised him was probably incurred for the sake of some vain +title, or, at least, of some increase of wealth, which he did not +want, and possibly knew not how to enjoy, our disgust is turned into +something like compassion for that very foolish class of men whom +the world calls wise in their generation. + + +Soon after his short repose Argyle was brought, according to order, +to the Laigh Council-house, from which place is dated the letter to +his wife, and thence to the place of execution. On the scaffold he +had some discourse, as well with Mr. Annand, a minister appointed by +government to attend him, as with Mr. Charteris. He desired both of +them to pray for him, and prayed himself with much fervency and +devotion. The speech which he made to the people was such as might +be expected from the passages already related. The same mixture of +firmness and mildness is conspicuous in every part of it. "We ought +not," says he, "to despise our afflictions, nor to faint under them. +We must not suffer ourselves to be exasperated against the +instruments of our troubles, nor by fraudulent, nor pusillanimous +compliances, bring guilt upon ourselves; faint hearts are ordinarily +false hearts, choosing sin rather than suffering." He offers his +prayers to God for the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and +Ireland, and that an end may be put to their present trials. Having +then asked pardon for his own failings, both of God and man, he +would have concluded; but being reminded that he had said nothing of +the royal family, he adds that he refers, in this matter, to what he +had said at his trial concerning the test; that he prayed there +never might be wanting one of the royal family to support the +Protestant religion; and if any of them had swerved from the true +faith, he prayed God to turn their hearts, but, at any rate, to save +His people from their machinations. When he had ended, he turned to +the south side of the scaffold, and said, "Gentlemen, I pray you do +not misconstruct my behaviour this day; I freely forgive all men +their wrongs and injuries done against me, as I desire to be +forgiven of God." Mr. Annand repeated these words louder to the +people. The earl then went to the north side of the scaffold, and +used the same or the like expressions. Mr. Annand repeated them +again, and said, "This nobleman dies a Protestant." The earl +stepped forward again, and said, "I die not only a Protestant, but +with a heart-hatred of popery, prelacy, and all superstition +whatsoever." It would perhaps have been better if these last +expressions had never been uttered, as there appears certainly +something of violence in them unsuitable to the general tenor of his +language; but it must be remembered, first, that the opinion that +the pope is Antichrist was at that time general among almost all the +zealous Protestants in these kingdoms; secondly, that Annand being +employed by government, and probably an Episcopalian, the earl might +apprehend that the declaration of such a minister might not convey +the precise idea which he, Argyle, affixed to the word Protestant. + +He then embraced his friends, gave some tokens of remembrance to his +son-in-law, Lord Maitland, for his daughter and grandchildren, +stripped himself of part of his apparel, of which he likewise made +presents, and laid his head upon the block. Having uttered a short +prayer, he gave the signal to the executioner, which was instantly +obeyed, and his head severed from his body. Such were the last +hours, and such the final close, of this great man's life. May the +like happy serenity in such dreadful circumstances, and a death +equally glorious, be the lot of all whom tyranny, of whatever +denomination or description, shall in any age, or in any country, +call to expiate their virtues on the scaffold! + +Of the followers of Argyle, in the disastrous expedition above +recounted, the fortunes were various. Among those who either +surrendered or were taken, some suffered the same fate with their +commander, others were pardoned; while, on the other hand, of those +who escaped to foreign parts, many after a short exile returned +triumphantly to their country at the period of the revolution, and +under a system congenial to their principles, some even attained the +highest honours of the State. It is to be recollected that when, +after the disastrous night-march from Killerne, a separation took +place at Kilpatrick between Argyle and his confederates, Sir John +Cochrane, Sir Patrick Hume, and others, crossed the Clyde into +Renfrewshire, with about, it is supposed, two hundred men. Upon +their landing they met with some opposition from a troop of militia +horse, which was, however, feeble and ineffectual; but fresh parties +of militia as well as regular troops drawing together, a sort of +scuffle ensued, near a place called Muirdyke; an offer of quarter +was made by the king's troops, but (probably on account of the +conditions annexed to it) was refused; and Cochrane and the rest, +now reduced to the number of seventy took shelter in a fold-dyke, +where they were able to resist and repel, though not without loss on +each side, the attack of the enemy. Their situation was +nevertheless still desperate, and in the night they determined to +make their escape. The king's troops having retired, this was +effected without difficulty; and this remnant of an army being +dispersed by common consent, every man sought his own safety in the +best manner he could. Sir John Cochrane took refuge in the house of +an uncle, by whom, or by whose wife, it is said, he was betrayed. +He was, however, pardoned; and from this circumstance, coupled with +the constant and seemingly peevish opposition which he gave to +almost all Argyle's plans, a suspicion has arisen that he had been +treacherous throughout. But the account given of his pardon by +Burnet, who says his father, Lord Dundonald, who was an opulent +nobleman, purchased it with a considerable sum of money, is more +credible, as well as more candid; and it must be remembered that in +Sir John's disputes with his general, he was almost always acting in +conjunction with Sir Patrick Hume, who is proved, by the subsequent +events, and indeed by the whole tenor of his life and conduct, to +have been uniformly sincere and zealous in the cause of his country. +Cochrane was sent to England, where he had an interview with the +king, and gave such answers to the questions put to him as were +deemed satisfactory by his majesty; and the information thus +obtained whatever might be the real and secret causes, furnished a +plausible pretence at least for the exercise of royal mercy. Sir +Patrick Hume, after having concealed himself some time in the house, +and under the protection of Lady Eleanor Dunbar, sister to the Earl +of Eglington, found means to escape to Holland, whence he returned +in better times, and was created first Lord Hume of Polwarth, and +afterwards Earl of Marchmont. Fullarton, and Campbell of +Auchinbreak, appear to have escaped, but by what means is not known. +Two sons of Argyle, John and Charles, and Archibald Campbell, his +nephew, were sentenced to death and forfeiture, but the capital part +of the sentence was remitted. Thomas Archer, a clergyman, who had +been wounded at Muirdyke, was executed, notwithstanding many +applications in his favour, among which was one from Lord +Drumlanrig, Queensbury's eldest son. Woodrow, who was himself a +Presbyterian minister, and though a most valuable and correct +historian, was not without a tincture of the prejudices belonging to +his order, attributes the unrelenting spirit of the government in +this instance to their malice against the clergy of his sect. Some +of the holy ministry, he observes, as Guthrie at the restoration, +Kidd and Mackail after the insurrections at Pentland and Bothwell +Bridge, and now Archer, were upon every occasion to be sacrificed to +the fury of the persecutors. But to him who is well acquainted with +the history of this period, the habitual cruelty of the government +will fully account for any particular act of severity; and it is +only in cases of lenity, such as that of Cochrane, for instance, +that he will look for some hidden or special motive. + +Ayloff, having in vain attempted to kill himself, was, like +Cochrane, sent to London to be examined. His relationship to the +king's first wife might perhaps be one inducement to this measure, +or it might be thought more expedient that he should be executed for +the Rye House Plot, the credit of which it was a favourite object of +the court to uphold, than for his recent acts of rebellion in +Scotland. Upon his examination he refused to give any information, +and suffered death upon a sentence of outlawry, which had passed in +the former reign. It is recorded that James interrogated him +personally, and finding him sullen, and unwilling to speak, said: +"Mr. Ayloff, you know it is in my power to pardon you, therefore say +that which may deserve it:" to which Ayloff replied: "Though it is +in your power, it is not in your nature to pardon." This, however, +is one of those anecdotes which are believed rather on account of +the air of nature that belongs to them, than upon any very good +traditional authority, and which ought, therefore when any very +material inference with respect either to fact or character, is to +be drawn from them, to be received with great caution. + +Rumbold, covered with wounds, and defending himself with uncommon +exertions of strength and courage, was at last taken. However +desirable it might have been thought to execute in England a man so +deeply implicated in the Rye House Plot, the state of Rumbold's +health made such a project impracticable. Had it been attempted he +would probably, by a natural death, have disappointed the views of a +government who were eager to see brought to the block a man whom +they thought, or pretended to think, guilty of having projected the +assassination of the late and present king. Weakened as he was in +body, his mind was firm, his constancy unshaken; and notwithstanding +some endeavours that were made by drums and other instruments, to +drown his voice when he was addressing the people from the scaffold, +enough has been preserved of what he then uttered to satisfy us that +his personal courage, the praise of which has not been denied him, +was not of the vulgar or constitutional kind, but was accompanied +with a proportionable vigour of mind. Upon hearing his sentence, +whether in imitation of Montrose, or from that congeniality of +character which causes men in similar circumstances to conceive +similar sentiments, he expressed the same wish which that gallant +nobleman had done; he wished he had a limb for every town in +Christendom. With respect to the intended assassination imputed to +him, he protested his innocence, and desired to be believed upon the +faith of a dying man; adding, in terms as natural as they are +forcibly descriptive of a conscious dignity of character, that he +was too well known for any to have had the imprudence to make such a +proposition to him. He concluded with plain, and apparently +sincere, declarations of his undiminished attachment to the +principles of liberty, civil and religious; denied that he was an +enemy to monarchy, affirming, on the contrary, that he considered +it, when properly limited, as the most eligible form of government; +but that he never could believe that any man was born marked by God +above another, "for none comes into the world with a saddle on his +back, neither any booted and spurred to ride him." + +Except by Ralph, who, with a warmth that does honour to his +feelings, expatiates at some length upon the subject, the +circumstances attending the death of this extraordinary man have +been little noticed. Rapin, Echard, Kennet, Hume, make no mention +of them whatever; and yet, exclusively of the interest always +excited by any great display of spirit and magnanimity, his solemn +denial of the project of assassination imputed to him in the affair +of the Rye House Plot is in itself a fact of great importance, and +one which might have been expected to attract, in no small degree, +the attention of the historian. That Hume, who has taken some pains +in canvassing the degree of credit due to the different parts of the +Rye House Plot, should pass it over in silence, is the more +extraordinary because, in the case of the popish plot, he lays, and +justly lays, the greatest stress upon the dying declarations of the +sufferers. Burnet adverts as well to the peculiar language used by +Rumbold as to his denial of the assassination; but having before +given us to understand that he believed that no such crime had been +projected, it is the less to be wondered at that he does not much +dwell upon this further evidence in favour of his former opinion. +Sir John Dalrymple, upon the authority of a paper which he does not +produce, but from which he quotes enough to show that if produced it +would not answer his purpose, takes Rumbold's guilt for a decided +fact, and then states his dying protestations of his innocence, as +an instance of aggravated wickedness. It is to be remarked, too, +that although Sir John is pleased roundly to assert that Rumbold +denied the share he had had in the Rye House Plot, yet the +particular words which he cites neither contain nor express, nor +imply any such denial. He has not even selected those by which the +design of assassination was denied (the only denial that was +uttered), but refers to a general declaration made by Rumbold, that +he had done injustice to no man--a declaration which was by no means +inconsistent with his having been a party to a plot, which he, no +doubt, considered as justifiable, and even meritorious. This is not +all: the paper referred to is addressed to Walcot, by whom Rumbold +states himself to have been led on; and Walcot, with his last +breath, denied his own participation in any design to murder either +Charles or James. Thus, therefore, whether the declaration of the +sufferer be interpreted in a general or in a particular sense, there +is no contradiction whatever between it and the paper adduced; but +thus it is that the character of a brave and, as far as appears, a +virtuous man, is most unjustly and cruelly traduced. An incredible +confusion of head, and an uncommon want of reasoning powers, which +distinguish the author to whom I refer, are, I should charitably +hope, the true sources of his misrepresentation; while others may +probably impute it to his desire of blackening, upon any pretence, a +person whose name is more or less connected with those of Sidney and +Russell. It ought not, perhaps, to pass without observation, that +this attack upon Rumbold is introduced only in an oblique manner: +the rigour of government destroyed, says the historian, the morals +it intended to correct, and made the unhappy sufferer add to his +former crimes the atrocity of declaring a falsehood in his last +moments. Now, what particular instances of rigour are here alluded +to, it is difficult to guess: for surely the execution of a man +whom he sets down as guilty of a design to murder the two royal +brothers, could not, even in the judgment of persons much less +accustomed than Sir John to palliate the crimes of princes, be +looked upon as an act of blameable severity; but it was thought, +perhaps, that for the purpose of conveying a calumny upon the +persons concerned, or accused of being concerned, in the Rye House +Plot, an affected censure upon the government would be the fittest +vehicle. + +The fact itself, that Rumbold did, in his last hours, solemnly deny +the having been concerned in any project for assassinating the king +or duke, has not, I believe, been questioned. It is not invalidated +by the silence of some historians: it is confirmed by the +misrepresentation of others. The first question that naturally +presents itself must be, was this declaration true? The +asseverations of dying men have always had, and will always have, +great influence upon the minds of those who do not push their ill +opinion of mankind to the most outrageous and unwarrantable length; +but though the weight of such asseverations be in all cases great, +it will not be in all equal. It is material therefore to consider, +first, what are the circumstances which may tend in particular cases +to diminish their credit; and next, how far such circumstances +appear to have existed in the case before us. The case where this +species of evidence would be the least convincing, would be where +hope of pardon is entertained; for then the man is not a dying man +in the sense of the proposition, for he has not that certainty that +his falsehood will not avail him, which is the principal foundation +of the credit due to his assertions. For the same reason, though in +a less degree, he who hopes for favour to his children, or to other +surviving connections, is to be listened to with some caution; for +the existence of one virtue does not necessarily prove that of +another, and he who loves his children and friends may yet be +profligate and unprincipled; or, deceiving himself, may think that +while his ends are laudable, he ought not to hesitate concerning the +means. Besides these more obvious temptations to prevarication, +there is another which, though it may lie somewhat deeper, yet +experience teaches us to be rooted in human nature: I mean that +sort of obstinacy, or false shame, which makes men so unwilling to +retract what they have once advanced, whether in matter of opinion +or of fact. The general character of the man is also in this, as in +all other human testimony, a circumstance of the greatest moment. +Where none of the above-mentioned objections occur, and where +therefore the weight of evidence in question is confessedly +considerable, yet is it still liable to be balanced or outweighed by +evidence in the opposite scale. + +Let Rumbold's declaration, then, be examined upon these principles, +and we shall find that it has every character of truth, without a +single circumstance to discredit it. He was so far from +entertaining any hope of pardon, that he did not seem even to wish +it; and indeed if he had had any such chimerical object in view, he +must have known that to have supplied the government with a proof of +the Rye House assassination plot, would be a more likely road at +least, than a steady denial, to obtain it. He left none behind him +for whom to entreat favour, or whose welfare or honour was at all +affected by any confession or declaration he might make. If, in a +prospective view, he was without temptation, so neither, if he +looked back, was he fettered by any former declaration; so that he +could not be influenced by that erroneous notion of consistency to +which it may be feared that truth, even in the most awful moments, +has in some cases been sacrificed. His timely escape in 1683 had +saved him from the necessity of making any protestation upon the +subject of his innocence at that time; and the words of the letter +to Walcot are so far from containing such a protestation, that they +are quoted (very absurdly, it is true) by Sir John Dalrymple as an +avowal of guilt. If his testimony is free from these particular +objections, much less is it impeached by his general character, +which was that of a bold and daring man, who was very unlikely to +feel shame in avowing what he had not been ashamed to commit, and +who seems to have taken a delight in speaking bold truths, or at +least what appeared to him to be such, without regarding the manner +in which his hearers were likely to receive them. With respect to +the last consideration, that of the opposite evidence, it all +depends upon the veracity of men who, according to their own +account, betrayed their comrades, and were actuated by the hope +either of pardon or reward. + +It appears to be of the more consequence to clear up this matter, +because if we should be of opinion, as I think we all must be, that +the story of the intended assassination of the king, in his way from +Newmarket, is as fabulous as that of the silver bullets by which he +was to have been shot at Windsor, a most singular train of +reflections will force itself upon our minds, as well in regard to +the character of the times, as to the means by which the two causes +gained successively the advantage over each other. The Royalists +had found it impossible to discredit the fiction, gross as it was, +of the popish plot; nor could they prevent it from being a powerful +engine in the hands of the Whigs, who, during the alarm raised by +it, gained an irresistible superiority in the House of Commons, in +the City of London, and in most parts of the kingdom. But they who +could not quiet a false alarm raised by their adversaries, found +little or no difficulty in raising one equally false in their own +favour, by the supposed detection of the intended assassination. +With regard to the advantages derived to the respective parties from +those detestable fictions, if it be urged, on one hand, that the +panic spread by the Whigs was more universal and more violent in its +effects, it must be allowed, on the other, that the advantages +gained by the Tories were, on account of their alliance with the +crown, more durable and decisive. There is a superior solidity ever +belonging to the power of the crown, as compared with that of any +body of men or party, or even with either of the other branches of +the legislature. A party has influence, but, properly speaking, no +power. The Houses of Parliament have abundance of power, but, as +bodies, little or no influence. The crown has both power and +influence, which, when exerted with wisdom and steadiness, will +always be found too strong for any opposition whatever, till the +zeal and fidelity of party attachments shall be found to increase in +proportion to the increased influence of the executive power. + +While these matters were transacting in Scotland, Monmouth, +conformably to his promise to Argyle, set sail from Holland, and +landed at Lyme in Dorsetshire, on the 11th of June. He was attended +by Lord Grey of Wark, Fletcher of Saltoun, Colonel Matthews, +Ferguson, and a few other gentlemen. His reception was, among the +lower ranks, cordial, and for some days at least, if not weeks, +there seemed to have been more foundation for the sanguine hopes of +Lord Grey and others, his followers, than the duke had supposed. +The first step taken by the invader was to issue a proclamation, +which he caused to be read in the market-place. In this instrument +he touched upon what were, no doubt, thought to be the most popular +topics, and loaded James and his Catholic friends with every +imputation which had at any time been thrown against them. This +declaration appears to have been well received, and the numbers that +came in to him were very considerable; but his means of arming them +were limited, nor had he much confidence, for the purpose of any +important military operation, in men unused to discipline, and +wholly unacquainted with the art of war. Without examining the +question whether or not Monmouth, from his professional prejudices, +carried, as some have alleged he did, his diffidence of unpractised +soldiers and new levies too far, it seems clear that, in his +situation, the best, or rather the only chance of success, was to be +looked for in counsels of the boldest kind. If he could not +immediately strike some important stroke, it was not likely that he +ever should; nor indeed was he in a condition to wait. He could not +flatter himself, as Argyle had done, that he had a strong country, +full of relations and dependants, where he might secure himself till +the co-operation of his confederate or some other favourable +circumstance might put it in his power to act more efficaciously. +Of any brilliant success in Scotland he could not, at this time, +entertain any hope, nor, if he had, could he rationally expect that +any events in that quarter would make the sort of impression here +which, on the other hand, his success would produce in Scotland. +With money he was wholly unprovided; nor does it appear, whatever +may have been the inclination of some considerable men, such as +Lords Macclesfield, Brandon, Delamere, and others, that any persons +of that description were engaged to join in his enterprise. His +reception had been above his hopes, and his recruits more numerous +than could be expected, or than he was able to furnish with arms; +while, on the other hand, the forces in arms against him consisted +chiefly in a militia, formidable neither from numbers nor +discipline, and moreover suspected of disaffection. The present +moment, therefore, seemed to offer the most favourable opportunity +for enterprise of any that was likely to occur; but the unfortunate +Monmouth judged otherwise, and, as if he were to defend rather than +to attack, directed his chief policy to the avoiding of a general +action. + +It being, however, absolutely necessary to dislodge some troops +which the Earl of Feversham had thrown into Bridport, a detachment +of three hundred men was made for that purpose, which had the most +complete success, notwithstanding the cowardice of Lord Grey, who +commanded them. This nobleman, who had been so instrumental in +persuading his friend to the invasion, upon the first appearance of +danger is said to have left the troops whom he commanded, and to +have sought his own personal safety in flight. The troops carried +Bridport, to the shame of the commander who had deserted them, and +returned to Lyme. + +It is related by Ferguson that Monmouth said to Matthews, "What +shall I do with Lord Grey?" To which the other answered, "That he +was the only general in Europe who would ask such a question;" +intending, no doubt, to reproach the duke with the excess to which +he pushed his characteristic virtues of mildness and forbearance. +That these virtues formed a part of his character is most true, and +the personal friendship in which he had lived with Grey would +incline him still more to the exercise of them upon this occasion; +but it is to be remembered also that the delinquent was, in respect +of rank, property, and perhaps too of talent, by far the most +considerable man he had with him; and, therefore, that prudential +motives might concur to deter a general from proceeding to violent +measures with such a person, especially in a civil war, where the +discipline of an armed party cannot be conducted upon the same +system as that of a regular army serving in a foreign war. +Monmouth's disappointment in Lord Grey was aggravated by the loss of +Fletcher of Saltoun, who, in a sort of scuffle that ensued upon his +being reproached for having seized a horse belonging to a man of the +country, had the misfortune to kill the owner. Monmouth, however +unwilling, thought himself obliged to dismiss him; and thus, while a +fatal concurrence of circumstances forced him to part with the man +he esteemed, and to retain him whom he despised, he found himself at +once disappointed of the support of the two persons upon whom he had +most relied. + +On the 15th of June, his army being now increased to near three +thousand men, the duke marched from Lyme. He does not appear to +have taken this step with a view to any enterprise of importance, +but rather to avoid the danger which he apprehended from the motions +of the Devonshire and Somerset militias, whose object it seemed to +be to shut him up in Lyme. In his first day's march he had +opportunities of engaging, or rather of pursuing, each of those +bodies, who severally retreated from his forces; but conceiving it +to be his business, as he said, not to fight, but to march on, he +went through Axminster, and encamped in a strong piece of ground +between that town and Chard in Somersetshire, to which place he +proceeded on the ensuing day. According to Wade's narrative, which +appears to afford by far the most authentic account of these +transactions, here it was that the first proposition was made for +proclaiming Monmouth king. Ferguson made the proposal, and was +supported by Lord Grey, but it was easily run down, as Wade +expresses it, by those who were against it, and whom, therefore, we +must suppose to have formed a very considerable majority of the +persons deemed of sufficient importance to be consulted on such an +occasion. These circumstances are material, because if that credit +be given to them which they appear to deserve, Ferguson's want of +veracity becomes so notorious, that it is hardly worth while to +attend to any part of his narrative. Where it only corroborates +accounts given by others, it is of little use; and where it differs +from them, it deserves no credit. I have, therefore, wholly +disregarded it. + +From Chard, Monmouth and his party proceeded to Taunton, a town +where, as well from the tenor of former occurrences as from the zeal +and number of the Protestant dissenters, who formed a great portion +of its inhabitants, he had every reason to expect the most +favourable reception. His expectations were not disappointed. + +The inhabitants of the upper, as well as the lower classes, vied +with each other in testifying their affection for his person, and +their zeal for his cause. While the latter rent the air with +applauses and acclamations, the former opened their houses to him +and to his followers, and furnished his army with necessaries and +supplies of every kind. His way was strewed with flowers; the +windows were thronged with spectators, all anxious to participate in +what the warm feelings of the moment made them deem a triumph. +Husbands pointed out to their wives, mothers to their children, the +brave and lovely hero who was destined to be the deliverer of his +country. The beautiful lines which Dryden makes Achitophel, in his +highest strain of flattery, apply to this unfortunate nobleman, were +in this instance literally verified: + + +"Thee, saviour, thee, the nation's vows confess, +And, never satisfied with seeing, bless. +Swift unbespoken pomps thy steps proclaim, +And stammering babes are taught to lisp thy name." + + +In the midst of these joyous scenes twenty-six young maids, of the +best families in the town, presented him in the name of their +townsmen with colours wrought by them for the purpose, and with a +Bible; upon receiving which he said that he had taken the field with +a design to defend the truth contained in that Book, and to seal it +with his blood if there was occasion. + +In such circumstances it is no wonder that his army increased; and, +indeed, exclusive of individual recruits, he was here strengthened +by the arrival of Colonel Bassett with a considerable corps. But in +the midst of these prosperous circumstances, some of them of such +apparent importance to the success of his enterprise, all of them +highly flattering to his feelings, he did not fail to observe that +one favourable symptom (and that too of the most decisive nature) +was still wanting. None of the considerable families, not a single +nobleman, and scarcely any gentleman of rank and consequence in the +counties through which he had passed, had declared in his favour. +Popular applause is undoubtedly sweet; and not only so, it often +furnishes most powerful means to the genius that knows how to make +use of them. But Monmouth well knew that without the countenance +and assistance of a proportion, at least, of the higher ranks in the +country, there was, for an undertaking like his, little prospect of +success. He could not but have remarked that the habits and +prejudices of the English people are, in a great degree, +aristocratical; nor had he before him, nor indeed have we since his +time, had one single example of an insurrection that was successful, +unaided by the ancient families and great landed proprietors. He +must have felt this the more, because in former parts of his +political life he had been accustomed to act with such coadjutors; +and it is highly probable that if Lord Russell had been alive, and +could have appeared at the head of one hundred only of his western +tenantry, such a reinforcement would have inspired him with more +real confidence than the thousands who individually flocked to his +standard. + +But though Russell was no more, there were not wanting, either in +the provinces through which the duke passed, or in other parts of +the kingdom, many noble and wealthy families who were attached to +the principles of the Whigs. To account for their neutrality, and, +if possible, to persuade them to a different conduct, was naturally +among his principal concerns. Their present coldness might be +imputed to the indistinctness of his declarations with respect to +what was intended to be the future government. Men zealous for +monarchy might not choose to embark without some certain pledge that +their favourite form should be preserved. They would also expect to +be satisfied with respect to the person whom their arms, if +successful, were to place upon the throne. To promise, therefore, +the continuance of a monarchical establishment, and to designate the +future monarch, seemed to be necessary for the purpose of acquiring +aristocratical support. Whatever might be the intrinsic weight of +this argument, it easily made its way with Monmouth in his present +situation. The aspiring temper of mind which is the natural +consequence of popular favour and success, produced in him a +disposition to listen to any suggestion which tended to his +elevation and aggrandisement; and when he could persuade himself, +upon reasons specious at least, that the measures which would most +gratify his aspiring desires would be, at the same time, a stroke of +the soundest policy, it is not to be wondered at that it was +immediately and impatiently adopted. Urged, therefore, by these +mixed motives, he declared himself king, and issued divers +proclamations in the royal style; assigning to those whose +approbation he doubted the reasons above adverted to, and +proscribing and threatening with the punishment due to rebellion +such as should resist his mandates, and adhere to the usurping Duke +of York. + +If this measure was in reality taken with views of policy, those +views were miserably disappointed; for it does not appear that one +proselyte was gained. The threats in the proclamation were received +with derision by the king's army, and no other sentiments were +excited by the assumption of the royal title than those of contempt +and indignation. The commonwealthsmen were dissatisfied, of course, +with the principle of the measure: the favourers of hereditary +right held it in abhorrence, and considered it as a kind of +sacrilegious profanation; nor even among those who considered +monarchy in a more rational light, and as a magistracy instituted +for the good of the people, could it be at all agreeable that such a +magistrate should be elected by the army that had thronged to his +standard, or by the particular partiality of a provincial town. +Monmouth's strength, therefore, was by no means increased by his new +title, and seemed to be still limited to two descriptions of +persons; first, those who, from thoughtlessness or desperation, were +willing to join in any attempt at innovation; secondly, such as, +directing their views to a single point, considered the destruction +of James's tyranny as the object which, at all hazards, and without +regard to consequences, they were bound to pursue. On the other +hand, his reputation both for moderation and good faith was +considerably impaired, inasmuch as his present conduct was in direct +contradiction to that part of his declaration wherein he had +promised to leave the future adjustment of government, and +especially the consideration of his own claims, to a free and +independent parliament. + +The notion of improving his new levies by discipline seems to have +taken such possession of Monmouth's mind that he overlooked the +probable, or rather the certain, consequences of a delay, by which +the enemy would be enabled to bring into the field forces far better +disciplined and appointed than any which, even with the most +strenuous and successful exertions, he could hope to oppose to them. +Upon this principle, and especially as he had not yet fixed upon any +definite object of enterprise, he did not think a stay of a few days +at Taunton would be materially, if at all, prejudicial to his +affairs; and it was not till the 21st of June that he proceeded to +Bridgewater, where he was received in the most cordial manner. In +his march, the following day, from that town to Glastonbury, he was +alarmed by a party of the Earl of Oxford's horse; but all +apprehensions of any material interruptions were removed by an +account of the militia having left Wells, and retreated to Bath and +Bristol. From Glastonbury he went to Shipton-Mallet, where the +project of an attack upon Bristol was communicated by the duke to +his officers. After some discussion, it was agreed that the attack +should be made on the Gloucestershire side of the city, and with +that view to pass the Avon at Keynsham Bridge, a few miles from +Bath. In their march from Shipton-Mallet, the troops were again +harassed in their rear by a party of horse and dragoons, but lodged +quietly at night at a village called Pensford. A detachment was +sent early the next morning to possess itself of Keynsham, and to +repair the bridge, which might probably be broken down to prevent a +passage. Upon their approach, a troop of the Gloucestershire horse- +militia immediately abandoned the town in great precipitation, +leaving behind them two horses and one man. By break of day, the +bridge, which had not been much injured, was repaired, and before +noon, Monmouth, having passed it with his whole army, was in full +march to Bristol, which he determined to attack the ensuing night. +But the weather proving rainy and bad, it was deemed expedient to +return to Keynsham, a measure from which he expected to reap a +double advantage; to procure dry and commodious quarters for the +soldiery, and to lull the enemy, by a movement, which bore the +semblance of a retreat, into a false and delusive security. The +event, however, did not answer his expectation, for the troops had +scarcely taken up their quarters, when they were disturbed by two +parties of horse, who entered the town at two several places. An +engagement ensued, in which Monmouth lost fourteen men, and a +captain of horse, though in the end the Royalists were obliged to +retire, leaving three prisoners. From these the duke had +information that the king's army was near at hand, and, as they +said, about four thousand strong. + +This new state of affairs seemed to demand new councils. The +projected enterprise upon Bristol was laid aside, and the question +was, whether to make by forced marches for Gloucester, in order to +pass the Severn at that city, and so to gain the counties of Salop +and Chester, where he expected to be met by many friends, or to +march directly into Wiltshire, where, according to some intelligence +received ["from one Adlam"] the day before, there was a considerable +body of horse (under whose command does not appear) ready, by their +junction, to afford him a most important and seasonable support. To +the first of these plans a decisive objection was stated. The +distance by Gloucester was so great, that, considering the slow +marches to which he would be limited, by the daily attacks with +which the different small bodies of the enemy's cavalry would not +fail to harass his rear, he was in great danger of being overtaken +by the king's forces, and might thus be driven to risk all in an +engagement upon terms the most disadvantageous. On the contrary, if +joined in Wiltshire by the expected aids, he might confidently offer +battle to the royal army; and, provided he could bring them to an +action before they were strengthened by new reinforcements, there +was no unreasonable prospect of success. The latter plan was +therefore adopted, and no sooner adopted than put in execution. The +army was in motion without delay, and being before Bath on the +morning of the 26th of June, summoned the place, rather (as it +should seem) in sport than in earnest, as there was no hope of its +surrender. After this bravado they marched on southward to Philip's +Norton, where they rested; the horse in the town, and the foot in +the field. + +While Monmouth was making these marches, there were not wanting, in +many parts of the adjacent country, strong symptoms of the +attachment of the lower orders of people to his cause, and more +especially in those manufacturing towns where the Protestant +dissenters were numerous. In Froome there had been a considerable +rising, headed by the constable, who posted up the duke's +declaration in the market-place. Many of the inhabitants of the +neighbouring towns of Westbury and Warminster came in throngs to the +town to join the insurgents; some armed with fire-arms, but more +with such rustic weapons as opportunity could supply. Such a force, +if it had joined the main army, or could have been otherwise +directed by any leader of judgment and authority, might have proved +very serviceable; but in its present state it was a mere rabble, and +upon the first appearance of the Earl of Pembroke, who entered the +town with a hundred and sixty horse and forty musketeers, fell, as +might be expected, into total confusion. The rout was complete; all +the arms of the insurgents were seized; and the constable, after +having been compelled to abjure his principles, and confess the +enormity of his offence, was committed to prison. + +This transaction took place the 25th, the day before Monmouth's +arrival at Philip's Norton, and may have, in a considerable degree, +contributed to the disappointment, of which we learn from Wade, that +he at this time began bitterly to complain. He was now upon the +confines of Wiltshire, and near enough for the bodies of horse, upon +whose favourable intentions so much reliance had been placed, to +have effected a junction, if they had been so disposed; but whether +that Adlam's intelligence had been originally bad, or that +Pembroke's proceedings at Froome had intimidated them, no symptom of +such an intention could be discovered. A desertion took place in +his army, which the exaggerated accounts in the Gazette made to +amount to near two thousand men. These dispiriting circumstances, +added to the complete disappointment of the hopes entertained from +the assumption of the royal title, produced in him a state of mind +but little short of despondency. He complained that all people had +deserted him, and is said to have been so dejected, as hardly to +have the spirit requisite for giving the necessary orders. + +From this state of torpor, however, he appears to have been +effectually roused by a brisk attack that was made upon him on the +27th, in the morning, by the Royalists, under the command of his +half-brother, the Duke of Grafton. That spirited young nobleman +(whose intrepid courage, conspicuous upon every occasion, led him in +this, and many other instances, to risk a life, which he finally +lost in a better cause), heading an advanced detachment of Lord +Feversham's army, who had marched from Bath, with a view to fall on +the enemy's rear, marched boldly up a narrow lane leading to the +town, and attacked a barricade, which Monmouth had caused to be made +across the way, at the entrance of the town. Monmouth was no sooner +apprised of this brisk attack, than he ordered a party to go out of +the town by a by-way, who coming on the rear of the Grenadiers while +others of his men were engaged with their front, had nearly +surrounded them, and taken their commander prisoner, but Grafton +forced his way through the enemy. An engagement ensued between the +insurgents and the remainder of Feversham's detachment, who had +lined the hedges which flanked them. The former were victorious, +and after driving the enemy from hedge to hedge, forced them at last +into the open field, where they joined the rest of the king's +forces, newly come up. The killed and wounded in these encounters +amounted to about forty on Feversham's side, twenty on Monmouth's; +but among the latter there were several officers, and some of note, +while the loss of the former, with the exception of two volunteers, +Seymour and May, consisted entirely of common soldiers. + +The Royalists now drew up on an eminence, about five hundred paces +from the hedges, while Monmouth, having placed, of his four field- +pieces, two at the mouth of the lane, and two upon a rising ground +near it on the right, formed his army along the hedge. From these +stations a firing of artillery was begun on each side, and continued +near six hours, but with little or no effect. Monmouth, according +to Wade, losing but one, and the Royalists, according to the +Gazette, not one man, by the whole cannonade. In these +circumstances, notwithstanding the recent and convincing experience +he now had of the ability of his raw troops to face, in certain +situations at least, the more regular forces of his enemy, Monmouth +was advised by some to retreat; but upon a more general +consultation, this advice was over-ruled, and it was determined to +cut passages through the hedges and to offer battle. But before +this could be effected the royal army, not willing again to engage +among the enclosures, annoyed in the open field by the rain which +continued to fall very heavily, and disappointed, no doubt, at the +little effect of their artillery, began their retreat. The little +confidence which Monmouth had in his horse--perhaps the ill opinion +he now entertained of their leader--forbade him to think of pursuit, +and having stayed till a late hour in the field, and leaving large +fires burning, he set out on his march in the night, and on the +28th, in the morning, reached Froome, where he put his troops in +quarter and rested two days. + +It was here he first heard certain news of Argyle's discomfiture. +It was in vain to seek for any circumstance in his affairs that +might mitigate the effect of the severe blow inflicted by this +intelligence, and he relapsed into the same low spirits as at +Philip's Norton. No diversion, at least no successful diversion, +had been made in his favour: there was no appearance of the horse, +which had been the principal motive to allure him into that part of +the country; and what was worst of all, no desertion from the king's +army. It was manifest, said the duke's more timid advisers, that +the affair must terminate ill, and the only measure now to be taken +was, that the general with his officers should leave the army to +shift for itself, and make severally for the most convenient sea- +ports, whence they might possibly get a safe passage to the +Continent. To account for Monmouth's entertaining, even for a +moment, a thought so unworthy of him, and so inconsistent with the +character for spirit he had ever maintained--a character unimpeached +even by his enemies--we must recollect the unwillingness with which +he undertook this fatal expedition; that his engagement to Argyle, +who was now past help, was perhaps his principal motive for +embarking at the time; that it was with great reluctance he had torn +himself from the arms of Lady Harriet Wentworth, with whom he had so +firmly persuaded himself that he could be happy in the most obscure +retirement, that he believed himself weaned from ambition, which had +hitherto been the only passion of his mind. It is true, that when +he had once yielded to the solicitations of his friends so far as to +undertake a business of such magnitude, it was his duty (but a duty +that required a stronger mind than his to execute) to discard from +his thoughts all the arguments that had rendered his compliance +reluctant. But it is one of the great distinctions between an +ordinary mind and a superior one, to be able to carry on without +relenting a plan we have not originally approved, and especially +when it appears to have turned out ill. This proposal of disbanding +was a step so pusillanimous and dishonourable that it could not be +approved by any council, however composed. It was condemned by all +except Colonel Venner, and was particularly inveighed against by +Lord Grey, who was perhaps desirous of retrieving, by bold words at +least, the reputation he had lost at Bridport. It is possible, too, +that he might be really unconscious of his deficiency in point of +personal courage till the moment of danger arrived, and even +forgetful of it when it was passed. Monmouth was easily persuaded +to give up a plan so uncongenial to his nature, resolved, though +with little hope of success, to remain with his army to take the +chance of events, and at the worst to stand or fall with men whose +attachment to him had laid him under indelible obligations. + +This resolution being taken, the first plan was to proceed to +Warminster, but on the morning of his departure hearing, on the one +hand, that the king's troops were likely to cross his march, and on +the other, being informed by a quaker, before known to the duke, +that there was a great club army, amounting to ten thousand men, +ready to join his standard in the marshes to the westward, he +altered his intention, and returned to Shipton-Mallet, where he +rested that night, his army being in good quarters. From Shipton- +Mallet he proceeded, on the 1st of July, to Wells, upon information +that there were in that city some carriages belonging to the king's +army, and ill-guarded. These he found and took, and stayed that +night in the town. The following day he marched towards Bridgewater +in search of the great succour he had been taught to expect; but +found, of the promised ten thousand men, only a hundred and sixty. +The army lay that night in the field, and once again entered +Bridgewater on the 3rd of July. That the duke's men were not yet +completely dispirited or out of heart appears from the circumstance +of great numbers of them going from Bridgewater to see their friends +at Taunton, and other places in the neighbourhood, and almost all +returning the next day according to their promise. On the 5th an +account was received of the king's army being considerably advanced, +and Monmouth's first thought was to retreat from it immediately, and +marching by Axbridge and Keynsham to Gloucester, to pursue the plan +formerly rejected, of penetrating into the counties of Chester and +Salop. + +His preparations for this march were all made, when, on the +afternoon of the 5th, he learnt, more accurately than he had before +done, the true situation of the royal army, and from the information +now received, he thought it expedient to consult his principal +officers, whether it might not be advisable to attempt to surprise +the enemy by a night attack upon their quarters. The prevailing +opinion was, that if the infantry were not entrenched the plan was +worth the trial; otherwise not. Scouts were despatched to ascertain +this point, and their report being that there was no entrenchment, +an attack was resolved on. In pursuance of this resolution, at +about eleven at night, the whole army was in march, Lord Grey +commanding the horse, and Colonel Wade the vanguard of the foot. +The duke's orders were, that the horse should first advance, and +pushing into the enemy's camp, endeavour to prevent their infantry +from coming together; that the cannon should follow the horse, and +the foot the cannon, and draw all up in one line, and so finish what +the cavalry should have begun, before the king's horse and artillery +could be got in order. But it was now discovered that though there +were no entrenchments, there was a ditch which served as a drain to +the great moor adjacent, of which no mention had been made by the +scouts. To this ditch the horse under Lord Grey advanced, and no +farther; and whether immediately, as according to some accounts, or +after having been considerably harassed by the enemy in their +attempts to find a place to pass, according to others, quitted the +field. The cavalry being gone, and the principle upon which the +attack had been undertaken being that of a surprise, the duke judged +it necessary that the infantry should advance as speedily as +possible. Wade, therefore, when he came within forty paces of the +ditch, was obliged to halt to put his battalion into that order, +which the extreme rapidity of the march had for the time +disconcerted. His plan was to pass the ditch, reserving his fire; +but while he was arranging his men for that purpose, another +battalion, newly come up, began to fire, though at a considerable +distance; a bad example, which it was impossible to prevent the +vanguard from following, and it was now no longer in the power of +their commander to persuade them to advance. The king's forces, as +well horse and artillery as foot, had now full time to assemble. +The duke had no longer cavalry in the field, and though his +artillery, which consisted only of three or four iron guns, was well +served under the directions of a Dutch gunner, it was by no means +equal to that of the royal army, which, as soon as it was light, +began to do great execution. In these circumstances the unfortunate +Monmouth, fearful of being encompassed and made prisoner by the +king's cavalry, who were approaching upon his flank, and urged, as +it is reported, to flight by the same person who had stimulated him +to his fatal enterprise, quitted the field accompanied by Lord Grey +and some others. The left wing, under the command of Colonel Holmes +and Matthews, next gave way; and Wade's men, after having continued +for an hour and a half a distant and ineffectual fire, seeing their +left discomfited, began a retreat, which soon afterwards became a +complete rout. + +Thus ended the decisive battle of Sedgmoor; an attack which seems to +have been judiciously conceived, and in many parts spiritedly +executed. The general was deficient neither in courage nor conduct; +and the troops, while they displayed the native bravery of +Englishmen, were under as good discipline as could be expected from +bodies newly raised. Two circumstances seem to have principally +contributed to the loss of the day; first, the unforeseen difficulty +occasioned by the ditch, of which the assailants had had no +intelligence; and secondly, the cowardice of the commander of the +horse. The discovery of the ditch was the more alarming, because it +threw a general doubt upon the information of the spies, and the +night being dark they could not ascertain that this was the only +impediment of the kind which they were to expect. The dispersion of +the horse was still more fatal, inasmuch as it deranged the whole +order of the plan, by which it had been concerted that their +operations were to facilitate the attack to be made by the foot. If +Lord Grey had possessed a spirit more suitable to his birth and +name, to the illustrious friendship with which he had been honoured, +and to the command with which he was entrusted, he would doubtless +have persevered till he found a passage into the enemy's camp, which +could have been effected at a ford not far distant: the loss of +time occasioned by the ditch might not have been very material, and +the most important consequences might have ensued; but it would +surely be rashness to assert, as Hume does, that the army would +after all have gained the victory had not the misconduct of Monmouth +and the cowardice of Grey prevented it. This rash judgment is the +more to be admired, as the historian has not pointed out the +instance of misconduct to which he refers. The number of Monmouth's +men killed is computed by some at two thousand, by others at three +hundred--a disparity, however, which may be easily reconciled, by +supposing that the one account takes in those who were killed in +battle, while the other comprehends the wretched fugitives who were +massacred in ditches, corn-fields, and other hiding-places, the +following day. + +In general, I have thought it right to follow Wade's narrative, +which appears to me by far the most authentic, if not the only +authentic account of this important transaction. It is imperfect, +but its imperfection arises from the narrator's omitting all those +circumstances of which he was not an eye-witness, and the greater +credit is on that very account due to him for those which he +relates. With respect to Monmouth's quitting the field, it is not +mentioned by him, nor is it possible to ascertain the precise point +of time at which it happened. That he fled while his troops were +still fighting, and therefore too soon for his glory, can scarcely +be doubted; and the account given by Ferguson, whose veracity, +however, is always to be suspected, that Lord Grey urged him to the +measure, as well by persuasion as by example, seems not improbable. +This misbehaviour of the last-mentioned nobleman is more certain; +but as, according to Ferguson, who has been followed by others, he +actually conversed with Monmouth in the field, and as all accounts +make him the companion of his flight, it is not to be understood +that when he first gave way with his cavalry, he ran away in the +literal sense of the words, or if he did, he must have returned. +The exact truth, with regard to this and many other interesting +particulars, is difficult to be discovered; owing, not more to the +darkness of the night in which they were transacted, than to the +personal partialities and enmities by which they have been +disfigured, in the relations of the different contemporary writers. + +Monmouth with his suite first directed his course towards the +Bristol Channel, and as is related by Oldmixon, was once inclined, +at the suggestion of Dr. Oliver, a faithful and honest adviser, to +embark for the coast of Wales, with a view of concealing himself +some time in that principality. Lord Grey, who appears to have +been, in all instances, his evil genius, dissuaded him from this +plan, and the small party having separated, took each several ways. +Monmouth, Grey, and a gentleman of Brandenburg, went southward, with +a view to gain the New Forest in Hampshire, where, by means of +Grey's connections in that district, and thorough knowledge of the +country, it was hoped they might be in safety, till a vessel could +be procured to transport them to the Continent. They left their +horses, and disguised themselves as peasants; but the pursuit, +stimulated as well by party zeal as by the great pecuniary rewards +offered for the capture of Monmouth and Grey, was too vigilant to be +eluded. Grey was taken on the 7th in the evening; and the German, +who shared the same fate early on the next morning, confessed that +he had parted from Monmouth but a few hours since. The neighbouring +country was immediately and thoroughly searched, and James had ere +night the satisfaction of learning that his nephew was in his power. +The unfortunate duke was discovered in a ditch, half concealed by +fern and nettles. His stock of provision, which consisted of some +peas gathered in the fields through which he had fled, was nearly +exhausted, and there is reason to think that he had little, if any +other sustenance, since he left Bridgewater on the evening of the +5th. To repose he had been equally a stranger; how his mind must +have been harassed, it is needless to discuss. Yet that in such +circumstances he appeared dispirited and crestfallen, is, by the +unrelenting malignity of party writers, imputed to him as cowardice +and meanness of spirit. That the failure of his enterprise, +together with the bitter reflection that he had suffered himself to +be engaged in it against his own better judgment, joined to the +other calamitous circumstances of his situation, had reduced him to +a state of despondency, is evident; and in this frame of mind, he +wrote, on the very day of his capture, the following letter to the +king: + + +"Sir,--Your majesty may think it the misfortune I now lie under +makes me make this application to you; but I do assure your majesty, +it is the remorse I now have in me of the wrong I have done you in +several things, and now in taking up arms against you. For my +taking up arms, it was never in my thought since the king died: the +Prince and Princess of Orange will be witness for me of the +assurance I gave them, that I would never stir against you. But my +misfortune was such as to meet with some horrid people, that made me +believe things of your majesty, and gave me so many false arguments, +that I was fully led away to believe that it was a shame and a sin +before God not to do it. But, sir, I will not trouble your majesty +at present with many things I could say for myself, that I am sure +would move your compassion; the chief end of this letter being only +to beg of you, that I may have that happiness as to speak to your +majesty; for I have that to say to you, sir, that I hope may give +you a long and happy reign. + +"I am sure, sir, when you hear me, you will be convinced of the zeal +I have of your preservation, and how heartily I repent of what I +have done. I can say no more to your majesty now, being this letter +must be seen by those that keep me. Therefore, sir, I shall make an +end in begging of your majesty to believe so well of me, that I +would rather die a thousand deaths than excuse anything I have done, +if I did not really think myself the most in the wrong that ever a +man was, and had not from the bottom of my heart an abhorrence for +those that put me upon it, and for the action itself. I hope, sir, +God Almighty will strike your heart with mercy and compassion for +me, as he has done mine with the abhorrence of what I have done: +wherefore, sir, I hope I may live to show you how zealous I shall +ever be for your service; and could I but say one word in this +letter, you would be convinced of it; but it is of that consequence, +that I dare not do it. Therefore, sir, I do beg of you once more to +let me speak to you; for then you will be convinced how much I shall +ever be, your majesty's most humble and dutiful + +"MONMOUTH." + + +The only certain conclusion to be drawn from this letter, which Mr. +Echard, in a manner perhaps not so seemly for a Churchman, terms +submissive, is, that Monmouth still wished anxiously for life, and +was willing to save it, even at the cruel price of begging and +receiving it as a boon from his enemy. Ralph conjectures with great +probability that this unhappy man's feelings were all governed by +his excessive affection for his mistress and that a vain hope of +enjoying, with Lady Harriet Wentworth, that retirement which he had +so unwillingly abandoned, induced him to adopt a conduct, which he +might otherwise have considered as indecent. At any rate it must be +admitted that to cling to life is a strong instinct in human nature, +and Monmouth might reasonably enough satisfy himself, that when his +death could not by any possibility benefit either the public or his +friends, to follow such instinct, even in a manner that might +tarnish the splendour of heroism, was no impeachment of the moral +virtue of a man. + +With respect to the mysterious part of the letter, where he speaks +of one word which would be of such infinite importance, it is +difficult, if not rather utterly impossible, to explain it by any +rational conjecture. Mr. Macpherson's favourite hypothesis, that +the Prince of Orange had been a party to the late attempt, and that +Monmouth's intention, when he wrote the letter, was to disclose this +important fact to the king, is totally destroyed by those +expressions, in which the unfortunate prisoner tells his majesty he +had assured the Prince and Princess of Orange that he would never +stir against him. Did he assure the Prince of Orange that he would +never do that which he was engaged to the Prince of Orange to do? +Can it be said that this was a false fact, and that no such +assurances were in truth given? To what purpose was the falsehood? +In order to conceal from motives, whether honourable or otherwise, +his connection with the prince? What! a fiction in one paragraph of +the letter in order to conceal a fact, which in the next he declares +his intention of revealing? The thing is impossible. + +The intriguing character of the Secretary of State, the Earl of +Sunderland, whose duplicity in many instances cannot be doubted, and +the mystery in which almost everything relating to him is involved, +might lead us to suspect that the expressions point at some +discovery in which that nobleman was concerned, and that Monmouth +had it in his power to be of important service to James, by +revealing to him the treachery of his minister. Such a conjecture +might be strengthened by an anecdote that has had some currency, and +to the truth of which, in part, King James's "Memoirs," if the +extracts from them can be relied on, bear testimony. It is said +that the Duke of Monmouth told Mr. Ralph Sheldon, one of the king's +chamber, who came to meet him on his way to London, that he had had +reason to expect Sunderland's co-operation, and authorised Sheldon +to mention this to the king: that while Sheldon was relating this +to his majesty, Sunderland entered; Sheldon hesitated, but was +ordered to go on. "Sunderland seemed, at first, struck" (as well he +might, whether innocent or guilty), "but after a short time said, +with a laugh, 'If that be all he (Monmouth) can discover to save his +life, it will do him little good.'" It is to be remarked, that in +Sheldon's conversation, as alluded to by King James, the Prince of +Orange's name is not even mentioned, either as connected with +Monmouth or with Sunderland. But, on the other hand, the +difficulties that stand in the way of our interpreting Monmouth's +letter as alluding to Sunderland, or of supposing that the writer of +it had any well-founded accusation against that minister, are +insurmountable. If he had such an accusation to make, why did he +not make it? The king says expressly, both in a letter to the +Prince of Orange, and in the extract, from his "Memoirs," above +cited, that Monmouth made no discovery of consequence, and the +explanation suggested, that his silence was owing to Sunderland the +secretary's having assured him of his pardon, seems wholly +inadmissible. Such assurances could have their influence no longer +than while the hope of pardon remained. Why, then, did he continue +silent, when he found James inexorable? If he was willing to accuse +the earl before he had received these assurances, it is +inconceivable that he should have any scruple about doing it when +they turned out to have been delusive, and when his mind must have +been exasperated by the reflection that Sunderland's perfidious +promises and self-interested suggestions had deterred him from the +only probable means of saving his life. + +A third, and perhaps the most plausible, interpretation of the words +in question is, that they point to a discovery of Monmouth's friends +in England, when, in the dejected state of his mind at the time of +writing, unmanned as he was by misfortune, he might sincerely +promise what the return of better thoughts forbade him to perform. +This account, however, though free from the great absurdities +belonging to the two others, is by no means satisfactory. The +phrase, "one word," seems to relate rather to some single person, or +some single fact, and can hardly apply to any list of associates +that might be intended to be sacrificed. On the other hand, the +single denunciation of Lord Delamere, of Lord Brandon, or even of +the Earl of Devonshire, or of any other private individual, could +not be considered as of that extreme consequence which Monmouth +attaches to his promised disclosure. I have mentioned Lord +Devonshire, who was certainly not implicated in the enterprise, and +who was not even suspected, because it appears, from Grey's +narrative, that one of Monmouth's agents had once given hopes of his +support; and therefore there is a bare possibility that Monmouth may +have reckoned upon his assistance. Perhaps, after all, the letter +has been canvassed with too much nicety, and the words of it weighed +more scrupulously than, proper allowance being made for the +situation and state of mind of the writer, they ought to have been. +They may have been thrown out at hazard, merely as means to obtain +an interview, of which the unhappy prisoner thought he might, in +some way or other, make his advantage. If any more precise meaning +existed in his mind, we must be content to pass it over as one of +those obscure points of history, upon which neither the sagacity of +historians, nor the many documents since made public, nor the great +discoverer, Time, has yet thrown any distinct light. + +Monmouth and Grey were now to be conveyed to London, for which +purpose they set out on the 11th, and arrived in the vicinity of the +metropolis on the 13th of July. In the meanwhile, the queen +dowager, who seems to have behaved with a uniformity of kindness +towards her husband's son that does her great honour, urgently +pressed the king to admit his nephew to an audience. Importuned, +therefore, by entreaties, and instigated by the curiosity which +Monmouth's mysterious expressions, and Sheldon's story, had excited, +he consented, though with a fixed determination to show no mercy. +James was not of the number of those, in whom the want of an +extensive understanding is compensated by a delicacy of sentiment, +or by those right feelings, which are often found to be better +guides for the conduct than the most accurate reasoning. His nature +did not revolt, his blood did not run cold, at the thoughts of +beholding the son of a brother whom he had loved embracing his +knees, petitioning, and petitioning in vain, for life; of +interchanging words and looks with a nephew, on whom he was +inexorably determined, within forty-eight short hours, to inflict an +ignominious death. + +In Macpherson's extract from King James's "Memoirs," it is confessed +that the king ought not to have seen, if he was not disposed to +pardon the culprit; but whether the observation is made by the +exiled prince himself, or by him who gives the extract, is in this, +as in many other passages of those "Memoirs," difficult to +determine. Surely if the king had made this reflection before +Monmouth's execution, it must have occurred to that monarch, that if +he had inadvertently done that which he ought not to have done, +without an intention to pardon, the only remedy was to correct that +part of his conduct which was still in his power, and since he could +not recall the interview, to grant the pardon. + +Pursuant to this hard-hearted arrangement, Monmouth and Grey, on the +very day of their arrival, were brought to Whitehall, where they had +severally interviews with his majesty. James, in a letter to the +Prince of Orange, dated the following day, gives a short account of +both these interviews. Monmouth, he says, betrayed a weakness which +did not become one who had claimed the title of king; but made no +discovery of consequence. + +Grey was more ingenuous (it is not certain in what sense his majesty +uses the term, since he does not refer to any discovery made by that +lord), and never once begged his life. Short as this account is, it +seems the only authentic one of those interviews. Bishop Kennet, +who has been followed by most of the modern historians, relates, +that "This unhappy captive, by the intercession of the queen +dowager, was brought to the king's presence, and fell presently at +his feet, and confessed he deserved to die; but conjured him, with +tears in his eyes, not to use him with the severity of justice, and +to grant him a life, which he would be ever ready to sacrifice for +his service. He mentioned to him the example of several great +princes, who had yielded to the impressions of clemency on the like +occasions, and who had never afterwards repented of those acts of +generosity and mercy; concluding, in a most pathetical manner, +'Remember, sir, I am your brother's son, and if you take my life, it +is your own blood that you will shed.' The king asked him several +questions, and made him sign a declaration that his father told him +he was never married to his mother: and then said, he was sorry +indeed for his misfortunes; but his crime was of too great a +consequence to be left unpunished, and he must of necessity suffer +for it. The queen is said to have insulted him in a very arrogant +and unmerciful manner. So that when the duke saw there was nothing +designed by this interview but to satisfy the queen's revenge, he +rose up from his majesty's feet with a new air of bravery, and was +carried back to the Tower." + +The topics used by Monmouth are such as he might naturally have +employed, and the demeanour attributed to him, upon finding the king +inexorable, is consistent enough with general probability, and his +particular character; but that the king took care to extract from +him a confession of Charles's declaration with respect to his +illegitimacy, before he announced his final refusal of mercy, and +that the queen was present for the purpose of reviling and insulting +him, are circumstances too atrocious to merit belief, without some +more certain evidence. It must be remarked also, that Burnet, whose +general prejudices would not lead him to doubt any imputations +against the queen, does not mention her majesty's being present. +Monmouth's offer of changing religion is mentioned by him, but no +authority quoted; and no hint of the kind appears either in James's +Letters, or in the extract from his "Memoirs." + +From Whitehall Monmouth was at night carried to the Tower, where, no +longer uncertain as to his fate, he seems to have collected his +mind, and to have resumed his wonted fortitude. The bill of +attainder that had lately passed having superseded the necessity of +a legal trial, his execution was fixed for the next day but one +after his commitment. This interval appeared too short even for the +worldly business which he wished to transact, and he wrote again to +the king on the 14th, desiring some short respite, which was +peremptorily refused. The difficulty of obtaining any certainty +concerning facts, even in instances where there has not been any +apparent motive for disguising them, is nowhere more striking than +in the few remaining hours of this unfortunate man's life. +According to King James's statement in his "Memoirs," he refused to +see his wife, while other accounts assert positively that she +refused to see him, unless in presence of witnesses. Burnet, who +was not likely to be mistaken in a fact of this kind, says they did +meet, and parted very coldly, a circumstance which, if true, gives +us no very favourable idea of the lady's character. There is also +mention of a third letter written by him to the king, which being +entrusted to a perfidious officer of the name of Scott, never +reached its destination; but for this there is no foundation. What +seems most certain is, that in the Tower, and not in the closet, he +signed a paper, renouncing his pretensions to the crown, the same +which he afterwards delivered on the scaffold; and that he was +inclined to make this declaration, not by any vain hope of life, but +by his affection for his children, whose situation he rightly judged +would be safer and better under the reigning monarch and his +successors, when it should be evident that they could no longer be +competitors for the throne. + +Monmouth was very sincere in his religious professions, and it is +probable that a great portion of this sad day was passed in devotion +and religious discourse with the two prelates who had been sent by +his majesty to assist him in his spiritual concerns. Turner, bishop +of Ely, had been with him early in the morning, and Kenn, bishop of +Bath and Wells, was sent, upon the refusal of a respite, to prepare +him for the stroke, which it was now irrevocably fixed he should +suffer the ensuing day. They stayed with him all night, and in the +morning of the 15th were joined by Dr. Hooper, afterwards, in the +reign of Anne, made bishop of Bath and Wells, and by Dr. Tennison, +who succeeded Tillotson in the see of Canterbury. This last divine +is stated by Burnet to have been most acceptable to the duke, and, +though he joined the others in some harsh expostulations, to have +done what the right reverend historian conceives to have been his +duty, in a softer and less peremptory manner. Certain it is, that +none of these holy men seem to have erred on the side of compassion +or complaisance to their illustrious penitent. Besides endeavouring +to convince him of the guilt of his connection with his beloved lady +Harriet, of which he could never be brought to a due sense, they +seem to have repeatedly teased him with controversy, and to have +been far more solicitous to make him profess what they deemed the +true creed of the Church of England, than to soften or console his +sorrows, or to help him to that composure of mind so necessary for +his situation. He declared himself to be a member of their Church, +but, they denied that he could be so, unless he thoroughly believed +the doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance. He repented +generally of his sins, and especially of his late enterprise, but +they insisted that he must repent of it in the way they prescribed +to him, that he must own it to have been a wicked resistance to his +lawful king, and a detestable act of rebellion. Some historians +have imputed this seemingly cruel conduct to the king's particular +instructions, who might be desirous of extracting, or rather +extorting, from the lips of his dying nephew such a confession as +would be matter of triumph to the royal cause. But the character of +the two prelates principally concerned, both for general uprightness +and sincerity as Church of England men, makes it more candid to +suppose that they did not act from motives of servile compliance, +but rather from an intemperate party zeal for the honour of their +Church, which they judged would be signally promoted if such a man +as Monmouth, after having throughout his life acted in defiance of +their favourite doctrine, could be brought in his last moments to +acknowledge it as a divine truth. It must never be forgotten, if we +would understand the history of this period, that the truly orthodox +members of our Church regarded monarchy not as a human, but as a +divine institution, and passive obedience and non-resistance, not as +political maxims, but as articles of religion. + +At ten o'clock on the 15th Monmouth proceeded in a carriage of the +lieutenant of the Tower to Tower Hill, the place destined for his +execution. The two bishops were in the carriage with him, and one +of them took that opportunity of informing him that their +controversial altercations were not yet at an end, and that upon the +scaffold he would again be pressed for more explicit and +satisfactory declarations of repentance. When arrived at the bar +which had been put up for the purpose of keeping out the multitude, +Monmouth descended from the carriage, and mounted the scaffold, with +a firm step, attended by his spiritual assistants. The sheriffs and +executioners were already there. The concourse of spectators was +innumerable; and if we are to credit traditional accounts, never was +the general compassion more affectingly expressed. The tears, +sighs, and groans, which the first sight of this heartrending +spectacle produced, were soon succeeded by a universal and awful +silence; a respectful attention and affectionate anxiety to hear +every syllable that should pass the lips of the sufferer. The duke +began by saying he should speak little; he came to die, and he +should die a Protestant of the Church of England. Here he was +interrupted by the assistants, and told, that if he was of the +Church of England, he must acknowledge the doctrine of non- +resistance to be true. In vain did he reply that if he acknowledged +the doctrine of the Church in general it included all: they +insisted he should own that doctrine, particularly with respect to +his case, and urged much more concerning their favourite point, upon +which, however, they obtained nothing but a repetition in substance +of former answers. He was then proceeding to speak of Lady Harriet +Wentworth, of his high esteem for her, and of his confirmed opinion +that their connection was innocent in the sight of God, when Goslin, +the sheriff, asked him, with all the unfeeling bluntness of a vulgar +mind, whether he was ever married to her. The duke refusing to +answer, the same magistrate, in the like strain, though changing his +subject, said he hoped to have heard of his repentance for the +treason and bloodshed which had been committed; to which the +prisoner replied, with great mildness, that he died very penitent. +Here the Churchmen again interposed, and renewing their demand of +particular penitence and public acknowledgment upon public affairs, +Monmouth referred them to the following paper, which he had signed +that morning: + + +"I declare that the title of king was forced upon me, and that it +was very much contrary to my opinion when I was proclaimed. For the +satisfaction of the world, I do declare that the late king told me +he was never married to my mother. Having declared this, I hope the +king who is now will not let my children suffer on this account. +And to this I put my hand this fifteenth day of July, 1685. + +"MONMOUTH." + + +There was nothing, they said, in that paper about resistance; nor, +though Monmouth, quite worn-out with their importunities, said to +one of them, in the most affecting manner, "I am to die--pray my +lord--I refer to my paper," would those men think it consistent with +their duty to desist. There were only a few words they desired on +one point. The substance of these applications on the one hand, and +answers on the other, was repeated over and over again, in a manner +that could not be believed, if the facts were not attested by the +signatures of the persons principally concerned. If the duke, in +declaring his sorrow for what had passed, used the word invasion, +"Give it the true name," said they, "and call it rebellion." "What +name you please," replied the mild-tempered Monmouth. He was sure +he was going to everlasting happiness, and considered the serenity +of his mind in his present circumstances as a certain earnest of the +favour of his Creator. His repentance, he said, must be true, for +he had no fear of dying; he should die like a lamb. "Much may come +from natural courage," was the unfeeling and stupid reply of one of +the assistants. Monmouth, with that modesty inseparable from true +bravery, denied that he was in general less fearful than other men, +maintaining that his present courage was owing to his consciousness +that God had forgiven him his past transgressions, of all which +generally he repented with all his soul. + +At last the reverend assistants consented to join with him in +prayer, but no sooner were they risen from their kneeling posture +than they returned to their charge. Not satisfied with what had +passed, they exhorted him to a true and thorough repentance. Would +he not pray for the king, and send a dutiful message to his majesty +to recommend the duchess and his children? "As you please," was the +reply; "I pray for him and for all men." He now spoke to the +executioner, desiring that he might have no cap over his eyes, and +began undressing. One would have thought that in this last sad +ceremony, the poor prisoner might have been unmolested, and that the +divines would have been satisfied that prayer was the only part of +their function for which their duty now called upon them. They +judged differently, and one of them had the fortitude to request the +duke, even in this stage of the business, that he would address +himself to the soldiers then present, to tell them he stood a sad +example of rebellion, and entreat the people to be loyal and +obedient to the king. "I have said I will make no speeches," +repeated Monmouth, in a tone more peremptory than he had before been +provoked to; "I will make no speeches. I come to die." "My lord, +ten words will be enough," said the persevering divine; to which the +duke made no answer, but turning to the executioner, expressed a +hope that he would do his work better now than in the case of Lord +Russell. He then felt the axe, which he apprehended was not sharp +enough, but being assured that it was of proper sharpness and +weight, he laid down his head. In the meantime many fervent +ejaculations were used by the reverend assistants, who, it must be +observed, even in these moments of horror, showed themselves not +unmindful of the points upon which they had been disputing, praying +God to accept his imperfect and general repentance. + +The executioner now struck the blow, but so feebly or unskilfully, +that Monmouth, being but slightly wounded, lifted up his head, and +looked him in the face as if to upbraid him, but said nothing. The +two following strokes were as ineffectual as the first, and the +headsman, in a fit of horror, declared he could not finish his work. +The sheriffs threatened him; he was forced again to make a further +trial, and in two more strokes separated the head from the body. + +Thus fell, in the thirty-sixth year of his age, James, Duke of +Monmouth, a man against whom all that has been said by the most +inveterate enemies both to him and his party amounts to little more +than this, that he had not a mind equal to the situations in which +his ambition, at different times, engaged him to place himself. But +to judge him with candour, we must make great allowances, not only +for the temptations into which he was led by the splendid prosperity +of the earlier parts of his life, but also for the adverse +prejudices with which he was regarded by almost all the contemporary +writers, from whom his actions and character are described. The +Tories, of course, are unfavourable to him; and even among the +Whigs, there seems, in many, a strong inclination to disparage him; +some to excuse themselves for not having joined him, others to make +a display of their exclusive attachment to their more successful +leader, King William. Burnet says of Monmouth, that he was gentle, +brave, and sincere: to these praises, from the united testimony of +all who knew him, we may add that of generosity; and surely those +qualities go a great way in making up the catalogue of all that is +amiable and estimable in human nature. One of the most conspicuous +features in his character seems to have been a remarkable, and, as +some think, a culpable degree of flexibility. That such a +disposition is preferable to its opposite extreme, will be admitted +by all who think that modesty, even in excess, is more nearly allied +to wisdom than conceit and self-sufficiency. He who has attentively +considered the political, or, indeed, the general concerns of life, +may possibly go still further, and rank a willingness to be +convinced, or in some cases even without conviction, to concede our +own opinion to that of other men, among the principal ingredients in +the composition of practical wisdom. Monmouth had suffered this +flexibility, so laudable in many cases, to degenerate into a habit +which made him often follow the advice, or yield to the entreaties, +of persons whose characters by no means entitled them to such +deference. The sagacity of Shaftesbury, the honour of Russell, the +genius of Sydney, might, in the opinion of a modest man, be safe and +eligible guides. The partiality of friendship, and the conviction +of his firm attachment, might be some excuse for his listening so +much to Grey; but he never could, at any period of his life, have +mistaken Ferguson for an honest man. There is reason to believe +that the advice of the two last-mentioned persons had great weight +in persuading him to the unjustifiable step of declaring himself +king. But far the most guilty act of this unfortunate man's life +was his lending his name to the declaration which was published at +Lyme, and in this instance Ferguson, who penned the paper, was both +the adviser and the instrument. To accuse the king of having burnt +London, murdered Essex in the Tower, and, finally, poisoned his +brother, unsupported by evidence to substantiate such dreadful +charges, was calumny of the most atrocious kind; but the guilt is +still heightened, when we observe, that from no conversation of +Monmouth, nor, indeed, from any other circumstance whatever, do we +collect that he himself believed the horrid accusations to be true. +With regard to Essex's death in particular, the only one of the +three charges which was believed by any man of common sense, the +late king was as much implicated in the suspicion as James. That +the latter should have dared to be concerned in such an act, without +the privacy of his brother, was too absurd an imputation to be +attempted, even in the days of the popish plot. On the other hand, +it was certainly not the intention of the son to brand his father as +an assassin. It is too plain that, in the instance of this +declaration, Monmouth, with a facility highly criminal, consented to +set his name to whatever Ferguson recommended as advantageous to the +cause. Among the many dreadful circumstances attending civil wars, +perhaps there are few more revolting to a good mind than the wicked +calumnies with which, in the heat of contention, men, otherwise men +of honour, have in all ages and countries permitted themselves to +load their adversaries. It is remarkable that there is no trace of +the divines who attended this unfortunate man having exhorted him to +a particular repentance of his manifesto, or having called for a +retraction or disavowal of the accusations contained in it. They +were so intent upon points more immediately connected with orthodoxy +of faith, that they omitted pressing their penitent to the only +declaration by which he could make any satisfactory atonement to +those whom he had injured. + + + +FRAGMENTS. + + + +The following detached paragraphs were probably intended for the +fourth chapter. They are here printed in the incomplete and +unfinished state in which they were found. + +While the Whigs considered all religious opinions with a view to +politics, the Tories, on the other hand, referred all political +maxims to religion. Thus the former, even in their hatred to +popery, did not so much regard the superstition, or imputed idolatry +of that unpopular sect, as its tendency to establish arbitrary power +in the State, while the latter revered absolute monarchy as a divine +institution, and cherished the doctrines of passive obedience and +non-resistance as articles of religious faith. + +* * * + +To mark the importance of the late events, his majesty caused two +medals to be struck; one of himself, with the usual inscription, and +the motto, Aras et sceptra tuemur; the other of Monmouth, without +any inscription. On the reverse of the former were represented the +two headless trunks of his lately vanquished enemies, with other +circumstances in the same taste and spirit, the motto, Ambitio +malesuada ruit; on that of the latter appeared a young man falling +in the attempt to climb a rock with three crowns on it, under which +was the insulting motto, Superi risere. + +* * * + +With the lives of Monmouth and Argyle ended, or at least seemed to +end, all prospect of resistance to James's absolute power; and that +class of patriots who feel the pride of submission, and the dignity +of obedience, might be completely satisfied that the crown was in +its full lustre. + +James was sufficiently conscious of the increased strength of his +situation, and it is probable that the security he now felt in his +power inspired him with the design of taking more decided steps in +favour of the popish religion and its professors than his connection +with the Church of England party had before allowed him to +entertain. That he from this time attached less importance to the +support and affection of the Tories is evident from Lord Rochester's +observations, communicated afterwards to Burnet. This nobleman's +abilities and experience in business, his hereditary merit, as son +of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, and his uniform opposition to the +Exclusion Bill, had raised him high in the esteem of the Church +party. This circumstance, perhaps, as much, or more than the king's +personal kindness to a brother-in-law, had contributed to his +advancement to the first office in the State. As long, therefore, +as James stood in need of the support of the party, as long as he +meant to make them the instruments of his power, and the channels of +his favour, Rochester was, in every respect, the fittest person in +whom to confide; and accordingly, as that nobleman related to +Burnet, his majesty honoured him with daily confidential +communications upon all his most secret schemes and projects. But +upon the defeat of the rebellion, an immediate change took place, +and from the day of Monmouth's execution, the king confined his +conversations with the treasurer to the mere business of his office. + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of History of James the Second +by Charles James Fox + diff --git a/old/hsjms10.zip b/old/hsjms10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e4ba8d7 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/hsjms10.zip |