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IX.

1688.

BOCK invasion from abroad, and at the contempt and hatred which he had incurred at home, the king endeavoured, when too late, to retract his former illegal measures; but when the Dutch fleet was dispersed, and driven back by a storm to Holland, his confidence in the protection of heaven revived. The expedition was renewed in a few days. While the English fleet was confined to its station, off Harwich, the prince, with six hundred transports and ships of war, passed with an east wind through the Straits of Dover, in the presence of wondering multitudes, who gazed from each coast at the sublime spectacle 3'; and disembarking at Torbay, on England. the fifth of November, he afforded a signal proof to the nation, that its navy will not always prevent an invasion, nor a standing army ensure stability to the throne.

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Scotland, to which we now return, had been cabals in timely apprised of the intended invasion. The troops had been summoned to England, and replaced by the militia and undisciplined highlanders, with which the privy council, whose authority. depended on the presence of the army, reluctantly complied. The inclinations of all parties were examined. Some of the episcopal clergy had ceased to pray for the prince of Wales; but the loyalty of their party was soon restored, and the bishops concurred in a pious and convivial address to James, as the darling of heaven, that God might 31 Boyer's Life of William.

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1688.

give him the hearts of his subjects and the necks BOOK of his enemies 32. But the presbyterians refused, in the most explicit terms, to support the government. Their clergy who had returned from Holland, and the exiles who accompanied the prince of Orange, had already prepared them to expect his arrival; and although it is uncertain how far the confederacy extended through Scotland, some of the chief nobility participated in his designs. Argyle was invited and escaped to Holland; lord Cardross returned from America to join the prince. Drumlanrig, the duke of Queensberry's son, introduced his countrymen into the confederacy in England, and the earls of Anandale, Glencairn, Crawford, Dundonald, Tarras, lords Ross and Bargenny, and many gentlemen of the first rank, were engaged in Scotland. No sooner had the army passed the borders, than they resorted from all parts of the country to Edinburgh; and the privy council, whose authority sunk in proportion to its former violence, was forced to connive at their secret cabals. The Cameronians were dispersed in small parties along the borders; and as few dispatches escaped their vigilance, the privy council was deprived of all intelligence or instructions from court, When the arrival of the prince of Orange was discovered, their perplexity was increased by the most contradictory reports. His declaration for Scotland was received with avidity; 32 Skinner, ii. 514.

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BOOK and was proclaimed at Irvine, Air, and Glasgow, while the authority of the privy council was almost dissolved. As their confidential messenger had carried their dispatches to the prince's camp, a committee was appointed to repair to court, but before its arrival there, the revolution was accomplished in both kingdoms 33.

Progress of the revolu

tion in England.

For a few days the prince of Orange was joined by no one; but when the first example had been given, the extent of the confederacy was announced by a rapid and universal defection from the king. The gentlemen of Somerset and Devonshire hastened to the prince, on advancing to Exeter, and entered eagerly into an association for his support. The earl of Bath admitted his fleet into Plymouth. The earl of Devonshire, and the gentlemen of Derby and Nottingham, declared for the prince and for a free parliament. Lord Delamer took arms in Cheshire; and in the northern counties, lord Danby and his associates surprised Newcastle, York, and Hull. The same spirit of defection had extended to the army. Cornbury, the earl of Clarendon's son 34, was among the first to desert; but when a petition for a free parliament, signed by nineteen peers and prelates, was

33 Balcarras' Mem.

34 Oh God! says Clarendon in his Diary, that my son should be a rebel! A few days afterwards he follows his son, or, in his own words, turns rebel himself. Clar. Diary, 15 Nov.

evaded by James, he was followed by Churchill, Kirk, Trelauny, Drumlanrig, the dukes of Ormond and Grafton, prince George of Denmark the king's son-in-law, while a greater number of inferior officers refused to fight against the prince of Orange. The king, who had arrived at Salisbury to give battle to the prince, was overwhelmed with misfortunes. All England appeared in commotion. The capital was full of discontent: the very fleet declared for a free parliament; and surrounded, as he believed, by a disaffected army, he knew not in whom to confide. He withdrew his army, and retired to London; but when informed of his daughter the princess Anne's escape, "God help me," cried the unhappy monarch, with tears of anguish, "my own children have "deserted me." Every new disaster increased his perturbation. He summoned a council of peers; issued writs for a new parliament; dispatched commissioners to propose a treaty; but as the prince, amidst the acclamations of all ranks, continued to advance, he was bereft of all fortitude and strength of mind. His conduct was irresolute, pusillanimous, absurd; and unable to submit to necessity, yet incapable of a single effort of generous despair, he sunk, without dignity, beneath his misfortunes. He consulted only with his queen, who was affrighted at a parliamentary impeachment; and with his priests, who chose rather to exhibit their proselyte as an exile to

BOOK

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1688.

IX.

1688.

BOOK Europe, than to abandon him upon a throne. His father's execution was still present to his desponding thoughts; and he listened credulously to every suggestion of personal danger, without reflecting either on the difference of the characters or of the times. His terrors were flattered as the result of political wisdom, and he was easily persuaded that his departure would produce a scene of anarchy, which would eventually facilitate the recovery of absolute power. The queen and his son were conveyed secretly to France. His own departure was determined by the prince of Orange's demands, which, however imperious, were requisite for the settlement and security of the nation, and if accepted by James, might still have preserved his descendants on the throne. His hopes were absurdly placed on the public confusion; to increase which, he recalled and burnt the writs for a new parliament; directed Feversham to disband the army; threw the great seal into the Thames; and with a single attendant, embarked at midnight in a small vessel for France. When his flight was discovered next day, an event beyond the expectation of his enemies, completed the consternation and despair of his friends. The populace began to plunder the chapels and houses of papists; but their excesses were soon restrained by the peers and prelates residing in London, who assembled in council to resume the government, and invited the prince of Orange to provide

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