over England, the people made public rejoicings as if they had won a great victory: and so indeed they had; it was the victory of law and right. When the news reached the king, he was in the camp at Hounslow; it made him very angry, but he was still more angry when he found how pleased the soldiers were. His throne was already passing away from him, but he did not know it.

CHAPTER LXVIII.

A SON IS BORN TO THE KING.-THE PRINCE OF ORANGE COMES TO ENGLAND, NOVEMBER, 1688.-JAMES DESERTED BY HIS OFFICERS, AND BY HIS DAUGHTER ANNE.-FLIGHT OF THE KING. THE CROWN IS OFFERED TO THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF ORANGE. THE BILL OF RIGHT.

(From 1688 to 1689.)

UNTIL the summer of 1688, the nation had borne the misgovernment of the king and his encouragement of popery, in the hope that at his death all things would be changed for the better. For it was known that both his daughters were warmly attached to the faith of the English Church. But on the second day after the bishops were committed to the Tower, these hopes for the future were overcast by the birth of a son to James.

Nearly all the nation, and even the princess Anne herself, refused to believe that the infant over whose birth the king and queen were rejoicing, was really their son. They said it was the son of a stranger who had been secretly brought into the palace, and it was to no purpose that the king and his wife declared the infant prince to be their own child. The

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people were firmly persuaded that the Romish religion permitted men to say what was not true, if it was for the advancement of their church; and they believed James to be so bent upon re-establishing popery in England, that he would rather deprive his daughters of their inheritance, and leave the crown to the son of a stranger, than allow it to descend to Protestant sovereigns.

The husband of the king's eldest daughter, William, Prince of Orange, had long been anxiously observing all that took place in England. He had hoped that England would join in a league with Spain, Germany, and Holland, to withstand the ambitious king of France, Louis the Fourteenth, who was always watching for an opportunity of enlarging his power and dominions at the expense of his neighbours. But instead of opposing Louis, James secretly received money from him, as his brother Charles had done, and Louis encouraged him to disregard the wishes of his subjects, and promised him help.

William soon perceived that James did not care how much he displeased his people, or what became of the other states of Europe, so long as he could make popery triumphant in England, but he did not openly interfere until the summer of 1688. He then resolved to appear in England, at the head of a body of troops, and call on the nation to rise up in defence of their religion and liberty. Louis suspected that William was about to invade England, and told James so; he also offered to lend him some ships of war, and to send a large army to threaten Holland by land, and so force the Prince of Orange to remain at home. But James would not believe that there was any

thing to fear, and was very much offended when Louis sent word to the states of Holland that the King of England was under his protection.

When Louis found that James received his offers of assistance with reproaches instead of thanks, he left him to take care of himself, and the prince's army was ready to set sail before the king would believe that any attack was intended. When at last he became sensible of his danger, he was appalled. The English fleet and army were more than sufficient to repel a Dutch invasion; but James knew that the hearts of his people were no longer with him, and he was afraid that neither the soldiers nor the sailors would fight in his cause.

During some weeks, the Dutch armament was prevented from sailing by contrary winds, and the king employed this time in endeavouring to regain the affection of his subjects. He restored all the magistrates and clergymen whom he had displaced, abolished the Court of High Commission, and made some other concessions. But it was too late now; the people believed that he only did these things out of fear, and that he would be as unjust as ever when he was no longer afraid. They rejoiced therefore when they heard that William and his army had landed at Torbay. The same winds which impelled his ships along the Channel, had prevented the king's fleet from coming out of the Thames to withstand his progress. The prince bore these words embroidered in large letters on his flag-"I will maintain the liberties of England and the Protestant religion." His troops were composed of men of different nations; there were Englishmen, Swedes, Swiss,

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and Dutch, but all wore a very martial appearance, and conducted themselves in a most orderly manner. They marched first to Exeter, then to Salisbury, their numbers still increasing, as, one after another, the chief gentlemen of the country came to join the prince.

James had gone to his army, which was stationed at Salisbury, but he did not know whom to trust, and when several of his own kinsmen and principal officers went over to the prince's camp, he lost heart entirely, and retreated hastily towards London. Amongst those who left him at this time was Prince George of Denmark, the husband of his daughter Anne. Prince George was a dull quiet man, and the king did not much regret his loss; his anger and dismay were far more excited by the desertion of Lord Churchill, a man of extraordinary genius, whom James had raised from an obscure station to wealth and honour. Lord Churchill and his wife were in the household of the princess Anne, who loved Lady Churchill so entirely that she seemed to have no will but hers.

When Anne heard of Churchill's desertion, she fled with his wife from the palace by night, and, guarded by her former tutor, the Bishop of London, proceeded to Nottingham, where a great number of gentlemen had met together to join the Prince of Orange. As a sincere Protestant, Anne must have wished to see a great change for the better in her father's government, but it was hard that she should fly from him in the time of his distress, and it seemed to grieve him more than all his other troubles. When he arrived in London, and found her gone, "God

help me!" he exclaimed, "my own children have forsaken me."

His other daughter, Mary, had never seen him since he gave her, at the age of sixteen, to be the wife of the Prince of Orange, and all her affection had long been fixed on her husband. If ever she wished to be some day Queen of England, it was that she might give all the power and dignity of her crown into the hands of the prince. The chief desire of James now was to get his wife and infant son safely away to France, and to follow them himself as soon as possible.

He had still many loyal subjects who prayed him to make some agreement with the Prince of Orange, by which all things should be safely and happily settled, both for himself and the kingdom. And he feigned to consent to their wishes; but it was only that he might leave the country without any one knowing it. Late at night on the 9th of December, in the midst of a violent storm, the queen with her infant son crossed in a boat to Lambeth, from whence she proceeded to Gravesend. Two French gentlemen went with her to protect her by the way, and she embarked safely for France, where King Louis received her with a very kind welcome.

Two nights after the queen had left the palace, the king made his escape secretly, and set out for Sheerness, where he had ordered a vessel to be in waiting. In order to prevent any one from taking authority to govern in his absence, he carried away the Great Seal, and threw it into the Thames. The Great Seal is. employed to seal all acts of the sovereign-pardons, proclamations, &c.; with this seal they have the force