came before Torbay, with a fixed resolution to attack the Hollanders as they lay at anchor. But his fleet was dispersed by a violent storm, and forced to return to Spithead, in such a shattered condition, as to be no more fit for service that season'. It is no wonder that, after such fortunate circumstances, many of William's followers began to consider him and themselves as the peculiar favourites of Heaven; and that even the learned Dr. Burnet could not help exclaiming, in the words of Claudian, O nimium dilecte Deo, cui militat æther, "Heaven's darling charge! to aid whose great design, The prince, immediately on his landing, dispersed a printed declaration, which had been already published in Holland, and contributed not a little to his future success. In that elaborate performance, written originally in French by the pensionary Fagel, and translated into English by Dr. Burnet, the principal grievances of the three British kingdoms were enumerated, namely, the exercise of a dispensing and suspending power; the revival of the court of ecclesiastical commission; the filling of almost all offices with catholics; the open encouragement given to popery, by building numerous chapels and seminaries for that sect; the displacing of judges, if they gave sentence contrary to the orders or the inclinations of the court; the annulling of the charters of the corporations, so as to subject elections to arbitrary will; the treating of petitions to the throne, even the most modest, and from persons of the highest rank, as criminal and seditious; the commitment of the whole authority in Ireland into the hands of papists; and the assumption of an absolute power over the religion and laws of Scotland. He concluded with protesting, that the sole object of his expedition was to procure a redress of these grievances from a legal and free parliament, which, besides examining the proofs of the legitimacy of the prince of Wales', might provide for the liberty and security of the nation. 1 Burnet, book iv.-Torrington's Mem. 2 The proofs produced by James, in support of the birth of his son, before an extraordinary council, to which the lords, both spiritual and temporal, were summoned, and at which the mayor and alderman of London and all the judges were present, were as strong as the case seemed to require. But if any doubts in regard to this matter could still remain in the most prejudiced mind, the declaration of the duke of Berwick, the king's natural son, and a man of unimpeached veracity, would be sufficient to remove them. "I could speak knowingly on the subject," says he, "for I was present; and, notwithstanding my respect and attachment Though this declaration was received with ardour by the nation, the prince, for some time after his landing, could not boast of his good fortune. A great deal of rain having fallen, the roads were rendered almost impassible; and he possessed neither cattle nor carriages sufficient to convey the baggage of his army. He directed, however, his encumbered march to Exeter; but without being joined by any person of eminence, either on his way, or for eight days after his arrival at that place. His troops were discouraged: he himself began to think of abandoning his enterprise; and actually held a council of his principal officers to deliberate whether he should not re-embark 1. Impatient of disappointment, he is said even to have publicly declared his resolution to permit the English to settle their own differences with their king, and to direct his father-in-law where to punish, by transmitting to him the secret correspondence of his subjects'. The friends of the court exulted at the coldness of William's reception; but their joy was of short duration. One Burrington having shown the example, the prince was joined by the gentry of the counties of Devon and Somerset, and an association was signed for his support. The earl of Abingdon, Mr. Russell, Mr. Wharton, Mr. Howe, and many other persons of influence, repaired to Exeter. All England was soon in commotion. Lord Delamere took arms in Cheshire; the city of York was seized by the earl of Danby; the earl of Bath, governor of Plymouth, declared for the prince; and the earl of Devonshire made a like declaration in Derby'. Every day discovered some new instance of that general confederacy, into which the nation had entered against the measures of the king. But the most dangerous symptom, and that which rendered his affairs desperate, was the defection of the army. Many of the principal to the king, I could never have consented to so detestable an action, as that of introducing a supposititious child, in order to deprive the true heirs of the crown. Much less should I have continued, after the king's death, to support the pretensions of an impostor; honour and conscience would have restrained me." (Mem. of the duke of Berwick, written by himself, vol. i. p. 40.) The answer of Anne princess of Denmark (July 4, 1688) to the questions of her sister Mary, relative to the birth of the prince of Wales, is still more satisfactory. Though seemingly disposed to favour the idea of an imposture, she enumerates so particularly, even to indelicacy, the circumstances attending the queen's delivery, and the persons of both sexes present at it (who were many, and of high rank), that it is truly astonishing William should afterward have assigned the illegitimacy of the supposed prince, as one of his reasons for landing in England, (Dalrymp. Append. part ii.) See farther, on this much contested subject, a letter from Dr. Hugh Chamberlayne to the princess Sophia, ubi sup. Memoirs of the duke of Berwick, vol. i. 2 Dalrymple's Append. officers were animated with the prevailing spirit of the nation, and disposed to prefer the interests of their country to their duty to their sovereign. Though they might have a due sense of the favours which James had conferred upon them, they were startled at the thought of rendering him absolute master, not only of the liberties, but even of the lives and property of his subjects; yet this, they saw, must be the consequence of suppressing the numerous insurrections, and obliging the prince of Orange to quit the kingdom. They therefore determined rather to bear the reproach of infidelity, than become the instruments of despotism. The example of desertion, among the officers, was set by lord Colchester, son of earl Rivers, and by lord Cornbury, son of the earl of Clarendon. The king was advancing to Salisbury, the head-quarters of his army, when he received this intelligence; yet, as the soldiers in general seemed firm in their allegiance, and the officers in a body expressed their abhorrence of such treachery, he resolved to march boldly against the invaders. But a sudden bleeding at the nose, with which he was seized, occasioned a delay of some days; and farther symptoms of defection appearing among the officers, while the prince of Orange was continuing his progress, he judged it prudent to retire toward London. Lord Churchill, afterward the great duke of Marlborough, and the duke of Grafton, natural son of Charles II., who had given their opinion for remaining at Salisbury, fled under cover of the night to the prince. Successive misfortunes poured in upon the unfortunate monarch. Trelawney, who occupied an advanced post at Warminster, deserted with other officers. Prince George of Denmark, the king's son-in-law, and the young duke of Ormond, left him at Andover. Every day diminished the number of his adherents; and, to increase his accumulated misfortunes, he found at his arrival in Lon- Nov. 26. don, that his favourite daughter, the princess of Denmark, had secretly withdrawn herself the night before, in company with lady Churchill. All his firmness of mind left him; tears started from his eyes; and he broke out into sorrowful exclamations, expressive of a deep sense of his forlorn state. "God help me!" cried he, in the agony of his heart: "my own children have forsaken me '!" Henceforth, the conduct of the infatuated James is so much marked with folly and pusillanimity, as to divest his character of 1 Burnet, book iv.-Memoirs of the duke of Berwick, vol. i. all respect, and almost his sufferings of compassion. Having assembled, as a last resource, a council of peers, he issued, by their advice, writs for a new parliament; and appointed the marquis of Halifax, the earl of Nottingham, and lord Godolphin, his commissioners, to treat with the prince of Orange. Thinking the season for negotiation past, William continued to advance with his army, at the same time that he amused the commissioners. Though he knew they were friendly to his cause, he long denied them an audience. Meanwhile James, distracted by his own fears, and alarmed by the real or pretended apprehensions of others, sent the queen and his son privately into France, and embraced the extraordinary resolution of following them. He accordingly left his palace at midnight, Dec. 10. attended only by sir Edward Hales; and, in order to complete his imprudence and despair, he commanded the earl of Feversham to disband the army, recalled the writs for the meeting of the parliament, and threw the great seal into the Thames1. These acts of indiscretion and weakness flattered the prince of Orange with the hopes of speedy and complete success. If James had deliberately resolved to place William on the throne, he could scarcely have taken measures more conducive to that end. To prevent the anarchy and disorder which might ensue from this extraordinary abdication, such of the peers as were then in London assembled in Guildhall; and erecting themselves into a supreme council, executed all the functions of royalty. They gave directions to the mayor and aldermen for keeping the peace of the city: they issued their commands, which were readily obeyed, to the fleet, to the neglected army of James, and to the garrisons. They ordered the militia to be raised; and they published a declaration, by which they unanimously resolved to apply to the prince of Orange to settle the affairs of the nation, deserted by the king through the influence of his evil counsellors. William was not backward in assuming that authority, which the imprudence of James had devolved upon him. He exercised various acts of sovereignty; and, to make his presence more welcome in London, he is said to have propagated a report, that the disbanded Irish had taken arms, and commenced a general massacre of the Protestants. Such a rumour, at least, prevailed 1 Burnet.-Echard. 2 Account of the Revolution, by John duke of Buckingham. for a time, and begot universal consternation. The alarm-bells were rung, the beacons fired; and men fancied they saw at a distance the smoke of the burning cities, and heard the dying groans of those who were slaughtered by the enemies of their religion! Nothing less than the approach of the prince of Orange and his Protestant army, it was thought, could save the capital from ruin. William had reached Windsor, when he was informed that the king had been seized in disguise, by some fishermen, near Feversham in Kent. The intelligence threw all parties into confusion. The prince sent orders to James, not to approach nearer to London than Rochester. But the messenger missed him on the way, and he once more entered his capital amidst the loudest acclamations of joy. The people forgot his misconduct in his misfortunes, and all orders of men seemed to welcome his return 2. This, however, was only a transient gleam before a new storm. The king was awakened in the night by some noblemen who brought a message from the prince, desiring him to remove to Ham; and, as the Dutch guards had previously taken possession of his palace, and displaced the English, he retired in the morning, intimidated and desponding. Although he was convinced, that he could not do a more acceptable service to his rival, and that he had underrated the loyalty of his subjects, he still resolved to make his escape to France'. The earls of Arran, Dunbarton, Aylesbury, Lichfield, and Middleton, the gallant lord Dundee, and other officers of distinction, argued strenuously against this resolution. They represented to the king, that the opinions of mankind began already to change, and that events would daily rise in favour of his authority. "The question, sir," urged Dundee, with all his generous ardour, "is whether you will stay in England, or fly to France? Whether you shall trust the returning zeal of your native subjects, or rely on a foreign power?-Here you ought to stand. Keep possession of a part, and the whole will submit by degrees. Resume the spirit of a king; summon your subjects to their allegiance: your army, though disbanded, is not annihilated. Give me your commission, and I will collect ten thousand of your soldiers: I will carry your standard at their head through England, and drive before you the Dutch and their Hist. of the Desertion, p. 91. Memoirs of James-Kennet. Memoirs of James. |