1

least foundation for the calumny. "In that case," said
Halifax, "I have no objection to aver, as a gentleman
speaking to a gentleman, on my honor, which is as sacred
as my oath, that I have not invited the Prince of Orange
over."* Clarendon and Nottingham said the same. The
king was still more anxious to ascertain the temper of the
prelates. If they were hostile to him, his throne was in-
deed in danger. But it could not be. There was some-
thing monstrous in the supposition that any bishop of the
Church of England could rebel against his sovereign.
Compton was called into the royal closet, and asked
whether he believed that there was the slightest ground
for the prince's assertion. The bishop was in a strait, for
he was himself one of the seven who had signed the invi
tation; and his conscience, not a very enlightened con-
science, would not suffer him, it seems, to utter a direct
falsehood. "Sir," he said, "I am quite confident that
there is not one of my brethren who is not as guiltless as
myself in this matter."
The equivocation was ingenious;
but whether the difference between the sin of such an
equivocation and the sin of a lie be worth any expense of
ingenuity may perhaps be doubted.
The king was sat-
isfied. "I fully acquit you all," he said. "But I think
it necessary that you should publicly contradict the slan-
derous charge brought against you in the prince's declar-
ation." The bishop very naturally begged that he might
be allowed to read the paper which he was required to
contradict; but the king would not suffer him to look at it.

On the following day appeared a proclamation threat-
ening with the severest punishment all who should circu
late, or who should even dare to read, William's mani-
festo. The primate and the few spiritual peers who hap-
pened to be then in London had orders to wait upon the
king. Preston was in attendance with the prince's dec-
laration in his hand. "My lords," said James, "listen to
* Ronquillo, Nov. 12, 1688.
ciertas, aunque mas las encubrian

"Estas respuestas," says Ronquillo, “sou
en la corte."

+ London Gazette, Nov. 5, 1688. The proclamation is dated Nov. 2.

In that case

ver, as a genta

-, which is as ePrince of On

all the same

the temper his throne w

There wa y bishop

is sovere

and as

test grow a strait, f Ed the int

tened ou er a dire ident th

genia

such

this passage.
It concerns you." Preston then read the
sentence in which the spiritual peers were mentioned.
The king proceeded: "I do not believe one word of this:
I am satisfied of your innocence; but I think it fit to let
you know of what you are accused."

The primate, with many dutiful expressions, protested that the king did him no more than justice. "I was born in your majesty's allegiance. I have repeatedly confirmed that allegiance by my oath. I can have but one king at one time. I have not invited the prince over; and I do not believe that a single one of my brethren has done so." "I am sure I have not," said Crewe of Durham. "Nor I," said Cartwright of Chester. Crewe and Cartwright might well be believed, for both had sat in the Ecclesiastical Commission. When Compton's turn came, he parried the question with an adroitness which a Jesuit might have envied. "I gave your majesty my answer yesterday." James repeated again and again that he fully acquitted them all. Nevertheless, it would, in his judgment, be for his service and for their own honor that they should publicly vindicate themselves. He therefore required them to draw up a paper setting forth their abhorrence of the prince's design. They remained silent; their silence was supposed to imply consent; and they were suffered to withdraw.*

Meanwhile the fleet of William was on the German Ocean. It was on the evening of Thursday, the first of November, that he put to sea the second time. The wind blew fresh from the east. The armament, during twelve hours, held a course toward the northwest. The light vessels sent out by the English admiral for the purpose of obtaining intelligence brought back news which confirmed the prevailing opinion that the enemy would try to land in Yorkshire. All at once, on a signal from the prince's ship, the whole fleet tacked, and made sail for the British Channel. The same breeze which favored the voyage of the invaders prevented Dartmouth from coming out of the

• Tanner MSS.

Thames. His ships were forced to strike yards and top masts; and two of his frigates, which had gained the open sea, were shattered by the violence of the weather and driven back into the river.*

Meanwhile the Dutch fleet ran fast before the gale, and reached the Straits at about ten in the morning of Satur day, the third of November. William himself, in the Brill, led the way. More than six hundred vessels, with canvas spread to a favorable wind, followed in his train. The transports were in the center. The men of war, more than fifty in number, formed an outer rampart. The squadron which guarded the rear, and which, if Dart mouth had given chase, would have been the first to engage, was commanded by Herbert; and many English sailors, inflamed against popery, and attracted by high pay, were under Herbert's command. No arrangement could be more prudent. There was, in the king's fleet, much discontent and an ardent zeal for the Protestant faith. But within the memory of old mariners the Dutch and English navies had thrice, with heroic spirit and various fortune, contended for the empire of the sea. Our sailors had not forgotten the broom with which Van Tromp had threatened to sweep the Channel, or the fire which De Ruyter had lighted in the dock-yards of the Medway. Had the rival nations been once more brought face to face on the element of which both claimed the sovereignty, all other thoughts might have given place to mutual animosity. A bloody and obstinate battle might have been fought. Defeat would have been fatal to William's enterprise. Even victory would have deranged all his deeply-meditated schemes of policy. He therefore wisely determined that the pursuers, if they overtook him, should be hailed in their own mother tongue, and adjured, by an admiral under whom they had served and whom they es teemed, not to fight against old messmates for popish tyr

Burnet, i., 787, Rapin; Whittie's Exact Diary; Expedition of the Prince of Orange to England, 1688; History of the Desertion, 1688; Dartmouth to James, Nov. 5, 1688, in Dalrymple.

anny.

Such an appeal might possibly avert a conflict. If a conflict took place, one English commander would be opposed to another; nor would the pride of the islanders be wounded by learning that Dartmouth had been compelled to strike to Herbert.*

Happily, William's precautions were not necessary. Soon after midday he passed over the Straits. His fleet spread to within a league of Dover on the north and of Calais on the south. The men of war on the extreme right and left saluted both fortresses at once. The troops appeared under arms on the decks. The flourish of trumpets, the clash of cymbals, and the rolling of drums were distinctly heard at once on the English and French shores. An innumerable company of gazers blackened the white beach of Kent. Another mighty multitude covered the coast of Picardy. Rapin de Thoyras, who, driven by persecution from his country, had taken service in the Dutch army and accompanied the prince to England, described the spectacle, many years later, as the most magnificent and affecting that was ever seen by human eyes. At sunset the armament was off Beachy Head. Then the lights were kindled. The sea was in a blaze for many miles. But the eyes of all the steersmen were fixed throughout the night on three huge lanterns which flamed on the stern of the Brill.†

Meanwhile a courier had been riding post from Dover Castle to Whitehall with news that the Dutch had passed the Straits and were steering westward. It was necessary to make an immediate change in all the military arrangements. Messengers were dispatched in every direction. Officers were roused from their beds at dead of * Avaux, July, Aug. 4, 1688. In a letter to Bentinck, dated Sept. 1, 1688, William insists strongly on the importance of avoiding an action, and begs Bentinck to represent this to Herbert. "Ce n'est pas le tems de faire voir sa bravoure, ni de se battre si l'on le peut éviter. Je luy l'ai déjà dit: mais il sera nécessaire que vous le répétiez, et que vous le luy fassiez bien comprendre."

6

t Rapin's History; Whittie's Exact Diary. I have seen a cotemporary Dutch chart of the order in which the fleet sailed.

444

night At three on the Sunday morning there was a great muster by torchlight in Hyde Park. The king had sent several regiments northward in the expectation that Wiliam would land in Yorkshire. Expresses were dis patched to recall them. All the forces except those which were necessary to keep the peace of the capital were or dered to move to the west. Salisbury was appointed as the place of rendezvous; but, as it was thought possible that Portsmouth might be the first point of attack, three battalions of guards and a strong body of cavalry set out for that fortress. In a few hours it was known that Portsmouth was safe; and these troops received orders to change their route and to hasten to Salisbury.*

armament.

When Sunday, the fourth of November, dawned, the cliffs of the Isle of Wight were in full view of the Dutch That day was the anniversary both of William's birth and of his marriage. Sail was slackened during part of the morning, and Divine service was performed on board of the ships. In the afternoon and through the night the fleet held on its course. Torbay was the place where the prince intended to land. But the morning of Monday, the fifth of November, was hazy. The pilot of the Brill could not discern the sea-marks, and carried the fleet too far to the west. great. To return in the face of the wind was impossible. was the next port; but at Plymouth a garriPlymouth son had been posted under the command of Lord Bath. The landing might be opposed; and a check might produce serious consequences.

The danger was

There could be little doubt,

moreover, that by this time the royal fleet had got out of the Thames, and was hastening full sail down the Channel. Russell saw the whole extent of the peril, and exclaimed to Burnet, "You may go to prayers, doctor: all is over." At that moment the wind changed; a soft breeze from the south; the mist dispersed; the sun shone forth; and under the mild light of an autumna. Adda, Nov., 1688; News-letter in the Mackintosh Collection; Cit

sprang up

ters, Nov.