of Orange, who shewed him all marks of honour and distinction. But ( 45 ) when James ascended the throne, the prince thought it politic to dismiss Monmouth and all his followers. He was then induced to make a landing in England, though the nation was not then ripe for a revolt. For the grievances of that reign were hitherto of small importance; and the people were not as yet in a disposition to remark them with great severity. The duke sailed from the Texel in a ship of thirty guns, accompanied with two other vessels. There were on board several English exiles from Flanders, men of desperate fortunes, and who had no means of retrieving their affairs but by a change of government at home. They met with such contrary winds, that they were nineteen days at sea, and landed on the 8th of June, at Lime, in Dorsetshire. Though he had scarcely a hundred followers at landing, so popular was his name, that in four days he had assembled above 2,000 horse and foot. They were, indeed, almost all of them the lowest of the people; and the declaration which he published, was chiefly calculated to suit the prejudices of the vulgar, or the most bigotted of the whig party.

Monmouth, though he had formerly given many proofs of personal courage, had not the vigour of mind requisite for such a great undertaking. After marching through many towns in the west, and proclaiming himself in all these places, he attacked the king's army at Sedgemoor, near Bridgewater; where, after a desperate combat of three hours, he was totally vanquished. He fled from the field of battle, above twenty miles, till his horse sunk under him. He then changed clothes with a peasant, in order to conceal himself. The peasant was discovered by the pursuers, who now redoubled the diligence of their search; at last he was found in a ditch, covered with fern, quite spent with fatigue, and some green pease in his pocket, the

only food he had eaten since his defeat.

When he arrived in London, after he had a fruitless interview with: the king, he was ordered for immediate execution. He was brought to the scaffold on the 15th of July, and met his death in a manner that became his rank and character. He warned the executioner not to fall into the error which he had committed in beheading Lord Russel; where he was obliged to redouble the blow. But this precaucould strike only a feeble blow on the neck of Monmouth; who raised tion had not the desired effect, for it so intimidated the man, that he his head from the block, and looked him in the face, as if reproaching him for his failure. He again laid down his head, and the executioner struck him twice, but without effect; on which he threw aside the axe, and declared himself incapable of finishing the bloody office. The

·

sixth

more the head was severed from the body. Thus died, in the thirtyyear of his age, James, Duke of Monmouth, whose character, in the consciousness of which, and the allurement of ambition, had enmany respects, was truly amiable. He was the darling of the people; gaged him in enterprizes far beyond his capacity; and which, in the

end, cost him his life.

INVASION OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF

formidable rival, in the commencement of his reign, had it been managed with prudence, would naturally have tended much to increase his power and authority. But, by reason of the cruelty with which it was prosecuted in the west, by Lord Chief Justice Jefferies and Colonel. Kirke, with the connivance of the king, and of the temerity with which it afterwards inspired him, was a principal cause of his sudden ruin and downfall. When the nation, by repeated flagrant acts of the sovereign, were fully convinced that he was absolutely determined to subvert the constitution, both in church and state, they thought it full time to form a scheme for preventing the destruction of their laws, religion, and liberties.

The Prince of Orange, nephew to the king by birth, and his son-inlaw by marrying Lady Mary, his daughter, was fixed upon for their deliverer. All persons, though of opposite parties, whigs, tories, churchmen, and non-conformists, formed an union, and concurred in their applications to that prince. And thus all faction was, for a time, laid asleep in England; and rival parties, forgetting their animosity, had secretly concurred in a design of resisting their rash, inflexible, and misguided monarch. Their solicitations to the prince were not in vain. He was easily engaged to yield to them, and to embrace the defence of a nation which, during its present fears and distresses, regarded him as his sole protector. He was peculiarly happy, throughout his whole life, in the situations in which he was placed. Silent and thoughtful; given to hear and to inquire; of a sound and steady understanding, firm in what he once resolved or once denied; strongly intent on business, little on pleasure: by these virtues he engaged the attention of all men. He saved his own country from ruin; he restored the liberties of Britain; he supported the general independency of Europe. And thus, though his virtue, it is confessed, is not the purest which we meet with in history, it will be difficult to find any person whose actions and conduct have contributed more eminently to the general interests of society and of mankind. When the prince had determined to put himself at the head of the protestant party in England, he desired several of the nobility, who waited on him at the Hague, to demand the assistance of the States, in the name of the whole kingdom, which they easily obtained.

pre

When King James heard of the Prince of Orange's designs and parations for an invasion, he became distracted with fears and apprehensions. Having received certain advice, that he might soon expect to see the Dutch fleet upon the coast, with a land-army on board, accompanied with many English noblemen and persons of distinction, who had, for some time, concealed themselves in Holland, he was so terrified, that neither he nor his council could form any plausible scheme for opposing their invasion. In this alarming exigency, he adopted some popular measures, which failed of producing the desired effect: they came too late, and were generally considered as the result of fear, rather than that of inclination, or a real change of sentiment. During these transactions, the prince applied himself, with the greatest assiduity, to complete his armament; and, as soon as every thing es finished, he published a manifesto, explaining the true motives for pedition. He solemnly disclaimed in it all thoughts of conquest,

declaring that his sole intention was that of maintaining the protestant
( 47 )
religion, and the laws and liberties of these kingdoms, which had been
so openly violated; and the procuring a free parliament, which might
at once settle all the rights of the subject, and the prerogatives of the
crown, on a firin basis; and that he had no idea of disturbing his
father-in-law in the enjoyment of the sovereignty. He added, that
he had undertaken this necessary and difficult task, at the invitation
of many lords, both ecclesiastical and civil; by numbers of gentlemen,
and other subjects in these realms, of all ranks.

The prince's measures were all so well concerted, that, in three
days, above 400 transports were hired; and the army being embark-
ed, quickly fell down the rivers and canals from Nimeguen. The ar-
tillery, arms, stores, and horses were embarked, and the prince sailed
from Helvoet Sluys, with a fleet of near 500 vessels, and an army of
14,000 men.
After sailing about fourteen leagues, the wind shifted to
the west, and blew so violent a storm, that in a very few hours, scarce
three ships were to be seen together. But this loss being soon repaired,
the fleet put again to sea, under the command of Admiral Herbert,
and stood away, with a fair wind, towards the west of England. The
same wind which favoured the Dutch, detained the king's fleet in the
river, and gave the prince au opportunity of passing the Streights of
Dover without molestation. Both shores were covered with multitudes
of people, who, besides admiring the grandeur of the spectacle, were
held in anxious suspence at the prospect of an enterprize the most im-
portant that had for some years been undertaken in this part of the

world.

y

After a prosperous voyage, the prince landed his army safely in Torbay, on the 5th of November, the anniversary of the Gunpowder Treason. The Dutch army marched immediately, to Exeter, and there the prince's declaration was published. But the whole country was so terrified at the dreadful executions that had ensued on Monmouth's invasion, that nobody, for several days, joined the prince. The Bishop of Exeter fled with the utmost precipitation to London, and carried to court the first intelligence of this invasion. The king e was pleased with this instance of zeal, that he rewarded the prelate with

e

11

e

the archbishopric of York, which had been long kept vacant, with an intention of bestowing it on some catholic. Major Barrington was the first person who joined the prince, and his example was soon followed by the gentry of the counties of Devon and Somerset. By de grees, the whole kingdom was in commotion. But the most alarming symptom was the disaffection, which, from the general spirit ofthe people, not from any particular reason, had crept into the army. The officers all seemed to prefer the interest of their country and of their religion, before those principles of honour and fidelity which are esteemed the most sacred ties by men of that profession. Several offi cers of distinction informed Feversham, their general, that they could not, in conscience, fight against the Prince of Orange, who came to defend the protestant cause; and many deserted the king; among the rest, Lord Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough.

W !

Distracted and perplexed at such alarming circumstances, James suddenly took the resolution of returning to London, from Salisb

9

Invasion of Ireland by James II.

and attempt at an invafion of Eng-
land, in his favour, by Lewis XIV. 50
Second attempt of Lewis XIV. to
invade England.

55

reign Norwegian and Norman invafions Of the French and Spanish early attemps at invafion

29

31

The Spanish Armada
Philip's other attempts at invafion. 38

Dutch invafion

Duke of Monmouth's invasion. Invafion of the Prince of Orange, and the establishment of the Revolution

Third attempt at invafion from
France, in 1715; from Sweden
in 1717; from Spain, in 1718;
and of a confpiracy to promote an
infurrection and invafion, in 1722 63
13 Of the projected invafion in 1743,
by France

20

43

44

45

PART II.

FRENCH GRUELTIES.

•

·

·

Preface to the Second Part
85
Peter Porcupine's cruelties 87 to 156
Jourdan, the Cut-throat's cruelties in
Avignon, by knocking them down
with bars of iron, and then cut-
ting them in pieces with cutlaffes,
and afterwards throwing the man-
gled remains into a deep pit
Cruelties to Mr. Novi, and his fon,.
whom the cut-throats butchered
before the old man's face
Cruelties to Mr. Teron, by butcher-
ing his boy, of ten years of age,
before his face, in order to enjoy
the father's torments and the
child's tears, by first threatening
the boy, and then putting the fa-
ther to death.

89

Page

Of the rebellion in 1745, and the
menaced invafions of France in
1755, 1756, and 1759

Of the threatened invafions in 1779

·

and 1782, by France and Spain
An attempt to invade Ireland, by
the French, in 1796
Defcent on the coaft of Wales, by
the French, in 1797

88

ib.

68

Abbé Depuis's head mangled, while
a boy cut a hole in his cheek, in or-
der to hoift up the head to the mob 89
Mr. Langoiran's head cut off, and

carried through a mob and ten
'thousand foldiers

The wonderful courage of Mr. Cha-
brol, when affaffinated by hun-
dreds with clubs, guns, fabres,
and knives

82

Three hundred priests deliberately
maffacred at Paris, for not per-
juring themselves

The cruel murder of the Princess
Lambelle.
The Countess of Perpignan, her
three daughters, and many others
roafted
-b

ib.

90

91

ib.