the suspicion of popish plots had been made ridiculous, and persecution hateful, and though a surface feeling of loyalty had been excited, yet the real feelings of the British public had been measured and weighed; the public attention had been excited by questions dangerous in principle and tendency; and it was made apparent to the clear-eyed and sagacious whose position enabled them to see what was working up in the councils of every party, that there must shortly be a trial of strength unfavourable to the court, perhaps fatal to the crown, still more probably to the reigning prince. Of this party, the unprincipled Shaftesbury was now the ostensible leader. However respectable was the party to which he owed his strength, the means which he adopted were worthy of himself: to produce confusion in Ireland, all the most flagitious expedients, suborned informations, pretended plots and insidious suggestions were resorted to for the purpose of compelling the duke of Ormonde to quit his impartial and all-protecting and governing policy, and to adopt that same fatal train of oppressive measures, by which Parsons and his colleagues brought on the worst consequences of the great rebellion in Ireland. And when these efforts failed to hurry the duke of Ormonde a step out of the line of moderation, humanity, and justice, in which he governed both parties without deferring to the fears or prejudices of either; a new course was adopted, and a successive train of manoeuvres was put in practice, for the twofold purpose of carrying the plans of the faction which now headed the country party into effect without the duke of Ormonde's consent; and eventually forcing him to resign. With this view they proposed to remodel the privy council in Ireland, so as thus to secure such nominations as should effectually place the administration of that country in their own hands. This the king refused to permit. They then procured evidences of a plot, which went no farther than the oppression of some individuals, and shall be noticed hereafter, so far as its importance merits.

The death of the gallant earl of Ossory taking place during these annoyances, was a deep affliction, as well as a heavy prejudice to the duke. His spirit and eloquence had much contributed to repress the personal direction of their hostilities, and his death now gave an impulse to their virulence. In about three weeks after, they began to make interest for his removal, and held a consultation upon the fittest person to succeed him: there was a warm contention between the lords Essex and Halifax, which divided the party, which, however, at last agreed in favour of Essex. But this cabal had no immediate result: the king was for the moment determined to support the duke against a faction which he considered hostile to the throne. Their premature violence soon involved themselves in danger, and gave a triumph to the court. The earl of Shaftesbury began to boast openly of his expectations of a triumph over the court, and made use of unguarded expressions against the duke of York, of whom, among other things, he said "he would make him as great a vagabond on the earth as Cain." The king's party meanwhile were not wanting to themselves in a contest of deception and fraud: there was no resource too unworthy for their honour, or too base for their dignity. As Shaftesbury had fabricated a popish conspiracy, so the wisdom of the royal councils brought forth a protestant plot. It is not indeed easy to imagine a more unsafe