And, after many hours tossing him about, he was carried to the lord mayor; whom they charged to commit him to the Tower, which the lord Lucas had then seized, and in it had declared for the prince. The lord mayor was so struck with the terror of this rude populace, and with the disgrace of a man who had made all people tremble before him, that he fell into fits upon it, of which he died soon after.

to me.

RETURN OF JAMES II.

BURNET.

Upon the news of the king's desertion, it was proposed that the prince should go on with all possible haste to London. But that was not advisable. For the king's army lay so scattered through the road all the way to London, that it was not fit for him to advance faster, than as his troops marched before him; otherwise, any resolute officer might have seized or killed him. Though, if it had not been for that danger, a great deal of mischief, that followed, would have been prevented by his speedy advance; for now began that turn, to which all the difficulties, that did afterwards disorder our affairs, may be justly imputed. Two gentlemen of Kent came to Windsor the morning after the prince came thither. They were addressed And they told me of the accident at Feversham, and desired to know the prince's pleasure upon it. I was affected with this dismal reverse of the fortune of a great prince, more than I think fit to express. I went immediately to Benthink, and wakened him, and got him to go to the prince, and let him know what had happened, that some order might be presently given for the security of the king's person, and for taking him out of the hands of a rude multitude, who said, they would obey no orders but such as came from the prince. The prince ordered Zuylestein to go immediately to Feversham, and to see the king safe, and at full liberty to go whithersoever he pleased. But as soon as the news of the king's being at Feversham came to London, all the indignation that people had formerly conceived against him was turned to pity and compassion. The privy council met upon it. Some moved, that he should be sent for. Others said, he was king, and might send for his guards and coaches, as he pleased; but it became not them to send for him. It was left to his general, the earl of Feversham, to do what he thought best. So he went for him with his coaches and guards. And, as he came back through the city, he was welcomed with expressions of joy by great numbers; so slight and unstable a thing is a multitude, and so soon altered. At his coming to Whitehall, he had a great court about him. Even the papists crept out of their lurking holes, and appeared at court with much assurance. The king himself began to take heart. And both at Feversham, and now at Whitehall, he talked in his ordinary high strain, justifying all that he had done; only he spoke a little doubtfully of the business of Magdalen college. But when he came to reflect on the state of his affairs, he saw it was so broken, that nothing was now left to deliberate upon. So he sent the earl of Feversham to Windsor, without demanding any passport; and ordered him to desire the prince to come to St. James's, to consult with him of the best way for settling the nation.

When the news of what had passed at London came to Windsor, the prince thought the privy council had not used him well, who after they had sent to him to take the government upon him, had made this step without consulting him. Now the scene was altered, and new counsels were to be taken. The prince heard the opinions, not only of those who had come along with him, but of such of the nobility as were now come to him, among whom the marquis of Halifax was one. All agreed, that

It was

it was not convenient that the king should stay at Whitehall. Neither the king, nor the prince, nor the city, could have been safe, if they had been both near one another. Tumults would probably have arisen out of it. The guards, and the officious flatterers, of the two courts, would have been unquiet neighbours. thought necessary to stick to the point of the king's deserting his people, and not to give up that by entering upon any treaty with him. And since the earl of Feversham, who had commanded the army against the prince, was come without a passport, he was for some days put in arrest.

It was a tender point now to dispose of the king's person. Some proposed rougher methods the keeping him a prisoner, at least till the nation was settled, and till Ireland was secured. It was thought, his being kept in custody, would be such a tie on all his party, as would oblige them to submit and be quiet. Ireland was in great danger. And his restraint might oblige the earl of Tyrconnel to deliver up the government, and to disarm the papists, which would preserve that kingdom, and the protestants in it. But, because it might raise too much compassion, and perhaps some disorder, if the king should be kept in restraint within the kingdom, therefore the sending him to Breda was proposed. The earl of Clarendon pressed this vehemently, on the account of the Irish protestants, as the king himself told me; for those that gave their opinions in this matter did it secretly and in confidence to the prince. The prince said, he could not deny but that this might be good and wise advice; but it was that to which he could not hearken; he was so far satisfied with the grounds of this expedition, that he could act against the king in a fair and open war; but for his person, now that he had him in his power, he could not put such a hardship on him, as to make him a prisoner; and he knew the princess's temper so well, that he was sure she would never bear it; nor did he know what disputes it might raise, or what effect it might have upon the parliament that was to be called; he was firmly resolved never to suffer anything to be done against his person; he saw it was necessary to send him out of London; and he would order a guard to attend upon him, who should only defend and protect his person, but not restrain him in any sort.

A resolution was taken of sending the lords Halifax, Shrewsbury, and Delamere, to London, who were first to order the English guards that were about the court to be drawn off, and sent to quarters out of town; and, when that was done, the count of Solms with the Dutch guards was to come and take all the posts about the court. This was obeyed without any resistance or disorder, but not without much murmuring. It was midnight before all was settled. And then these lords sent to the earl of Middleton, to desire him to let the king know, that they had a message to deliver to him from the prince. He went in to the king; and sent them word from him, that they might come with it immediately. They came, and found him abed. They told him, the necessity of affairs required that the prince should come presently to London; and he thought it would conduce to the safety of the king's person, and the quiet of the town, that he should retire to some house out of town; and they proposed Ham. The king seemed much dejected; and asked, if it must be done immediately. They told him, he might take his rest first; and they added, that he should be attended by a guard, who should only guard his person, but should give him no sort of disturbance. Having said this, they withdrew. The earl of Middleton came quickly after them, and asked them, if it would not do as well, if the king should go to Rochester; for since the prince was not pleased with his coming up from Kent, it might be perhaps acceptable to him, if he should go thither again. It was very visible, that this was proposed in order to a second escape.

They promised to send word immediately to the prince of Orange, who lay that night at Sion, within eight miles of London. He very readily consented to it.

And the king went next day to Rochester, having ordered all that which is called the moving wardrobe to be sent before him, the count of Solms ordering every thing to be done as the king desired. A guard went with him that left him at full liberty, and paid him rather more respect than his own guards had done of late. Most of that body, as it happened, were papists. So when he went to mass, they went in, and assisted very reverently. And when they were asked how they could serve in an expedition that was intended to destroy their own religion, one of them answered, his soul was God's, but his sword was the prince of Orange's. The king was so much delighted with this answer, that he repeated it to all that came about him. On the same day the prince came to St. James's. It happened to be a very rainy

day. And yet great numbers came to see him. But, after they had stood long in the wet, he disappointed them; for he, who neither loved shows nor shoutings, went through the park. And even this trifle helped to set people's spirits on edge.

The Revolution was thus brought about, with the universal applause of the whole nation; only these last steps began to raise a fermentation. It was said, here was an unnatural thing, to waken the king out of his sleep, in his own palace, and to order him to go out of it, when he was ready to submit to every thing. Some said, he was now a prisoner, and remembered the saying of king Charles the first, that the prisons and the graves of princes lay not far distant from one another; the person of the king was now struck at, as well as his government; and this specious undertaking would now appear to be only a disguised and designed usurpation. These things began to work on great numbers. And the posting the Dutch guards where the English guards had been, gave a general disgust to the whole English army. They indeed hated the Dutch besides, on the account of the good order and strict discipline they were kept under; which made them to be as much beloved by the nation, as they were hated by the soldiery. The nation had never known such an inoffensive march of an army. And the peace and order of the suburbs, and the freedom of markets in and about London, was so carefully maintained, that in no time fewer disorders had been committed than were heard of this winter.

None of the papists or Jacobites were insulted in any sort. The prince had ordered me, as we came along, to take care of the papists, and to secure them from all violence. When he came to London, he renewed these orders, which I executed with so much zeal and care, that I saw all the complaints that were brought me fully redressed. When we came to London, I procured passports for all that desired to go beyond the sea. Two of the popish bishops were put in Newgate. I went thither in the prince's name. I told them, the prince would not take upon him yet to give any orders about prisoners; as soon as he did that, they should feel the effects of it. But in the meanwhile I ordered them to be well used, and to be taken care of, and that their friends might be admitted to come to them. So truly did I pursue the principle of moderation, even towards those from whom nothing of that sort was to be expected.

Now that the prince was come, all the bodies about the town came to welcome him. The bishops came the next day. Only the archbishop of Canterbury, though he had once agreed to it, yet would not come. The clergy of London came next. The city, and a great many other bodies, came likewise, and expressed a great deal of joy for the deliverance wrought for them by the prince's means. Old serjeant Maynard came with the men of the law. He was then near ninety, and yet he said the liveliest thing that was heard of on that occasion. The prince took notice of his great age, and said, that he had outlived all the men of the law of his time; he answered, he had liked to have outlived the law itself, if his highness had not come over.

The first thing to be done after the compliments were over, was to consider how

the nation was to be settled. The lawyers were generally of opinion, that the prince ought to declare himself king, as Henry the seventh had done. This, they said, would put an end to all disputes, which might otherwise grow very perplexing and tedious; and, they said, he might call a parliament which would be a legal assembly, if summoned by the king in fact, though his title was not yet recognised. This was plainly contrary to his declaration, by which the settlement of the nation was referred to a parliament; such a step would make all that the prince had hitherto done pass for an aspiring ambition, only to raise himself; and it would disgust those who had been hitherto the best affected to his designs; and make them less concerned in the quarrel, if, instead of staying till the nation should offer him the crown, he would assume it as a conquest. These reasons determined the prince against that proposition. He called all the peers, and the members of the three last parliaments, that were in town, together with some of the citizens of London. When these met, it

was told them, that, in the present distraction, the prince desired their advice about the best methods of settling the nation. It was agreed in both these houses, such as they were, to make an address to the prince, desiring him to take the administration of the government into his hands in the interim. The next proposition passed not so unanimously; for, it being moved, that the prince should be likewise desired to write missive letters to the same effect, and for the same persons to whom writs were issued out for calling a parliament, that so there might be an assembly of men in the form of a parliament, though without writs under the great seal, such as that was that had called home king Charles the second. To this the earl of Nottingham objected, that such a convention of the states could be no legal assembly, unless summoned by the king's writ. Therefore he moved, that an address might be made to the king, to order the writs to be issued out. Few were of his mind. The matter was carried the other way; and orders were given for those letters to be sent round the nation.

The king continued a week at Rochester. And both he himself, and every body else, saw that he was at full liberty, and that the guard about him put him under no sort of restraint. Many that were zealous for his interests went to him, and pressed him to stay, and to see the issue of things; a party would appear for him; good terms would be got for him; and things would be brought to a reasonable agreement. He was much distracted between his own inclinations, and the importunities of his friends. The queen, hearing what had happened, writ a most vehement letter to him, pressing his coming over, remembering him of his promise, which she charged on him in a very earnest, if not in an imperious strain. letter was intercepted. I had an account of it from one that read it. The prince ordered it to be conveyed to the king; and that determined him. So he gave secret orders to prepare a vessel for him; and drew a paper, which he left on his table, reproaching the nation for their forsaking him. He declared, that though he was going to seek for foreign aid to restore him to his throne, yet he would not make use of it to overthrow either the religion established, or the laws of the land. And so he left Rochester very secretly, on the last day of this memorable year, and got safe over to France.

This

PROGRESS OF ENGLAND UNDER THE TWO LAST STUART KINGS.

DAVID HUME.

The militia fell much into decay during these two reigns, partly by the policy of the kings, who had entertained a diffidence of their subjects, partly by that ill-judged law which limited the king's power for mustering and arraying them. In the beginning, however, of Charles's reign the militia was still deemed formidable. De Witt having proposed to the French king an invasion of England during the Dutch war, that monarch replied that such an attempt would be entirely fruitless and would tend only to unite the English. "In a few days,” he said, “after our landing there will be fifty thousand men at least upon us."

Charles, in the beginning of his reign, made a considerable figure for number of ships, valour of the men, and conduct of the commanders. Even in 1678 the fleet consisted of eighty-three ships, besides thirty that were at that time on the stocks. On the king's restoration he found only sixty-three vessels of all sizes. During the latter part of Charles's reign the navy fell somewhat to decay, by reason of the narrowness of the king's revenue, but James soon after his accession restored it to its former power and glory, and before he left the throne carried it much farther. The administration of the admiralty under Pepys is still regarded as a model for order and economy. The fleet at the Revolution consisted of 173 vessels of all sizes; and required 42,000 seamen to man it. That king when duke of York had been the first inventor of sea signals. The military genius during these two reigns had not totally decayed among the young nobility. Dorset, Mulgrave, Rochester, not to mention Ossory, served on board the fleet, and were present in the most furious engagements against the Dutch.

The commerce and riches of England did never, during any period, increase so fast as from the Restoration to the Revolution. The two Dutch wars, by disturbing the trade of that republic, promoted the navigation of this island, and after Charles had made a separate peace with the states, his subjects enjoyed unmolested the trade of Europe. The only disturbance which they met with was from a few French privateers which infested the channel, and Charles interposed not in behalf of his subjects with sufficient spirit and vigour. The recovery or conquest of New York and the Jerseys was a considerable accession to the strength and security of the English colonies, and together with the settlement of Pennsylvania and Carolina, which was effected in that reign, extended the English empire in America. The persecution of the dissenters, or more properly speaking the restraints imposed upon them, contributed to augment and people those colonies. Dr. Davenant affirms that the shipping of England more than doubled during these twenty-eight years. Several new manufactures were established: in iron, brass, silk, hats, glass, paper, &c. One Brewer leaving the Low Countries when they were threatened with a French conquest, brought the art of dyeing woollen cloth into England, and by that improvement saved the nation great sums of money. The increase of coinage during these two reigns was £10,261,000. A board of trade was erected in 1670, and the earl of Sandwich was made president. Charles revived and supported the charter of the East India company; a measure whose utility is by some thought doubtful. He granted a charter to the Hudson's Bay company; a measure probably hurtful.

We learn from sir Josiah Child that in 1688 there were on the Change more men worth £10,000 than there were in 1650 worth a thousand; that £500 with a daughter was in the latter period deemed a larger portion than £2000 in the former (1688); that gentlewomen in those earlier times thought themselves well clothed in a serge gown which a chambermaid would, in 1688, be ashamed to be seen in; and that