Letter of 11th December, expreffes King James's astonishment at the defertion of Douglas's Scotch regiment, because, of all his regiments, he trufted it the moft. In this letter, and that of 27th December, Barillon fays James had ordered Jefferies to refide in the palace, in order that the Great Seal might be at hand to be carried off; and that James believed the lofs of the Great Seal could not be repaired, and that the conftitution must fall loose by his disappearance. Letter of 13th December, defcribes the various and contradictory advices with which King James was tormented from all quarters, Letter of 22d December, defcribes the indignation of the English common foldiers upon hearing Lord Feverfham's order for difbanding them read. Letter of 24th December, relates that when King James was discovered by the fishermen in his first flight, one of them knelt and wept; that upon this James wept, and the other fishermen who had behaved ill to him before, at the fight of his tears, fell upon their knees; and that at Feversham the common people behaved to him with far more respect than those of better condition; for which Barillon affigns this reafon, that these laft were afraid of the Prince of Orange. Lord Dartmouth's notes on Bifhop Burnet's History, contains the following anecdotes of the time in question. Extract ft, from Lord Dartmouth's notes. Note on p. 790. of Bishop Burnet's Hiftory. "The Duke of Shrewsbury told me, the Prince was much furprifed at his backwardness in joining with him, and began to fufpect he was betrayed, and had fome thoughts of returning; in which cafe he refolved to publish the Kk 2 names names of all thofe that had invited him over, which he faid would be a juft return for their treachery, folly, and cowardice. Lord Shrewsbury told him he believed the great difficulty amongst them was, who fhould run the hazard of being the firft, but if the ice were once broke, they would be as much afraid of being the laft; which proved very true." Extract 2d. Note on p. 819. "There was a great meeting at the Earl of Devonshire's, where the difpute ran very high between Lord Halifax and Lord Danby; one for the Prince, the other for the Princefs: At laft Lord Halifax faid, he thought it would be very proper to know the Prince's own fentiments, and defired Fagel would fpeak, who defended himself a great while, by saying he knew nothing of his mind upon that fubject, but if they would know his own, he believed the Prince would not like to be his wife's gentleman ufher; upon which Lord Danby faid, he hoped they all knew enough now, for his part he knew too much, and broke up the affembly, as Sir Michael Wharton who was prefent told me." Extract 3d. Note on p. 808. "The Duke of Leeds told me, that Lord Tyrconell fent feveral meffages to King William, that he was ready to deliver up Ireland, if he would but give him a decent excufe, by fending any thing that looked like a force to demand it: But Lord Halifax told him, that if Ireland was quiet, there would be no pretence for keeping up an army: And if there was none, he would be turned out, as cafily as he had been brought in; for it was impoffible to please England long, and he might fee they began to be difcontented already," Peers. BOOK in London. tion meets. Convention. VII. --- Book VII, 1688. THE Prince calls together the Members of Charles the PART I T upon the King's fecond flight. HE King's fecond flight did not make thofe violent State of impreffions upon the minds of his fubjects, which men's minds the first had done. The fpirits of men, haraffed and exhaufted with fufpente and perplexity, funk into a momentary infenfibility, wifhed for repofe, and hoped to find it, for a time at leaft, in the difappearance of the King. His fal! produced a calm, and a relief from anxiety, not pity for him, not indignation against him; the weakness of his behaviour having ftified thofe paffions equally in the breafts of his friends and his foes. The PART I. calls toge ther the Charles II.'s The Prince's fituation was now become delicate. In his manifefto he had declared, that the calling of a free parliament was the chief end of his expedition. But, to The Prince affemble a parliament upon the writs which had been iffued by the King, was to acknowledge his authority; members of and to call it by his own authority, without any other, parliament. might have the appearance of ufurpation. The Prince's good fenfe, which always ferved him moft when he stood most in need of it, extricated him from this difficulty: There was already a houfe of peers in action; and, in order to fupply the form of a houfe of commons, he, the fame day that news arrived of the King's flight from Rochefter, summoned those who had been members of any of the parliaments of Charles II. together with the lord mayor, aldermen, and common council of London, to meet him, three days after, at St. James's. Dee. 23. Proceedings In this interval, the peers affembled the day after the of the peers. King's flight, in the houfe of Lords, where the strain of their debates correfponded to the perturbation of their minds. It was propofed by fome Lords, in the intereft of James, to begin with reading the Prince of Orange's declaration But this, as a reftraint upon his future profpects, was over-ruled. Other Lords, in the fame intereft, begged that the King's paper of apology for his flight, which was then in the poffeffion of Lord Middleton, fecretary of ftate, might be read, as the laft words of their fovereign, before he was compelled to leave his kingdoms: But, upon the affurance of Lord Godolphin, that it contained nothing which could give fatisfaction to the houfe, they dropped their intreaties; falfely imagining that that Lord was in the fame intereft with themselves. Lord Paget maintained, that the King's retreat was a demife in law; and moved that the Princefs of Orange might be declared Queen. He was feconded by the *Clarendon's Diary, 24th December, bishop Book VII. 1688. bishop of London. But this motion was difagreeable to PART I the whigs, because, by making no provifions for the fecurity of liberty, it haftened matters too much; and to the Prince, because it preferred his confort to himself. With a view to draw the attention upon an object which might exclude the pretenfions both of the Prince and Princefs of Orange, Lord Clarendon preffed for an enquiry into the birth of the Prince of Wales; but was interrupted by Lord Wharton, who faid, "He wondered to hear any body mention that child who was once called the "Prince of Wales." Some Lords, attentive to the ancient forms of government, advised, that thofe members of the commons, who were already returned upon the writs which had been iffued, fhould meet at the time fpecified in the writs, and give orders for proceeding in the other elections: But their advice was flighted by both parties; by the King's enemies, left a parliament affembled upon his writs might feem to act under his authority; and by his friends, because they did not chufe to have a parliament affembled at all in the prefent difpofition of things. At length, the affem- They adbly refolved upon an address to the Prince, which contained two important articles: The one, that he should, in his own name, call a convention of the states, and to call a to meet on the 22d of January; the other, that, in the convention. mean time, he should take upon him the administration of all public affairs. To thefe requests a third was added: "That the prince would fhew the moft particular at tention to the condition of Ireland:" A country which had been long the object of fear and jealousy to the English. This addition was oppofed by the Prince's friends *: A circumftance of which little notice was taken at the time, but which was afterwards retorted on the Prince himself. The addrefs was figned by the whole house, many of whom had been members of the old court and * Duke of Buckingham's Works, council. dress the Prince to take admi. nistration, |