marry his two nieces to princes of the Romish religion; but in spite of these entreaties, and in compliance with others of an opposite nature, he married the eldest to the Prince of Orange, and afterwards the youngest to the Prince of Denmark, both Protestants; one of the happiest actions of his life, and by which he made amends for the errors of his reign.

James II. the second son of Charles I. born at London, in the year 1663, in which year he was created Duke of York, succeeded Charles II. on the throne of England. In the first speech he made as king, he said, “That since it had pleased Almighty God to place him in that station, and that he was now to succeed so good and gracious a king, as well as so very kind a brother, he thought fit to declare to them, that he would endeavour to follow his example, and especially in that of his great clemency and tenderness to his people; and that though he had been reported to be a man for arbitrary power, yet he was resolved to make it his endeavour to preserve the government of England, both in church and state, as it was then established by law. That he knew the principles of the Church of England were for monarchy; and that the members of it had showed themselves good and loyal subjects; therefore he would always take care of it, and defend it, and support it. That he knew the laws of England were sufficient to make the king as great a monarch as he could wish; and that as he would never depart from the just rights and prerogatives of the crown, so he would never invade any man's property;" concluding, "That as he had often hitherto ventured his life in defence of this nation, so he was resolved to go as far as any man in preserving it in all its just rights and liberties." These pretensions and promises appeared very fair and satisfactory; and which

if he had fulfilled, he would have immortalized his name; but in a very short time, he gave manifest proofs that they were false and delusive.

Thus, at length, the Papists of England having got a prince on the throne who was confessedly of their own sentiments, they now ventured to pull off the entire mask which they had hitherto worn, and made such hasty, open, and violent advances, on both civil and religious liberty, that the Reformation lost ground daily. They had, within the space of four years, nearly demolished that comely structure which had been upwards of one hundred years in rearing. Black clouds appeared gathering every where through England, Scotland, and Ireland, and assumed a terrible aspect. Rome was caressed, and a Roman prelate appeared publicly at London, as the Pope's nuncio, though by law it was high treason. The Earl of Castlemain was despatched to Rome, as extraordinary ambassador, with a magni

a "Innocent XI received this embassy as one that saw further than those who sent it. The ambassador had but a cold reception of the holy father, and none of the cardinals, but those of a particular faction, and the good-natured cardinal of Norfolk, took any further notice of it, than good manners obliged them. The Court of Rome were too refined politicians, to be imposed upon with show and noise, to expect great matters from such hasty, ill-timed advances as were made to them.

court.

"Castlemain had several audiences of the pope, but to little purpose; for whenever he began to talk of business, the pope was seasonably attacked with a fit of coughing, which broke off the ambassador's discourse for that time, and obliged him to retire. These audiences and fits of coughing continued from time to time, while Castlemain remained at Rome, and were the subject of diversion to all but a particular faction at At length he was advised to come to threats, and to give out that he would be gone, since he could not have an opportunity to treat with the pope about the business he came for. Innocent was so little concerned for the ambassador's resentment, that when they told told him of it, he answered with his ordinary coldness, Well! Let him go, and tell him, It is fit he rise early in the morning, that he may rest himself at noon; for in this country it is dangerous to travel in the heat of the day.-Welwood's Memoirs, &c.

ficent train, and a most sumptuous equipage, with a design, no doubt, to reconcile England, Scotland, and Ireland, to the Holy See. Then did the nation swarm with Jesuits and Papal emissaries of every sort. Father Peters, a Jesuit, was sworn of the privy council. Jesuit schools and seminaries were erected in most of the largest towns. Bishops were publicly consecrated in the royal chapel, and appointed to exercise their episcopal functions in their respective dioceses. Their pastoral letters, directed to the lay Catholics of England, were printed by the king's printer, with public license, and openly dispersed in every direction. The privileges of both Universities were invaded, and Popish priests were seen occupying the pulpits of the Protestant clergy.

Now Popery dared every where to appear openly, and the doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance were preached boldly; and, to produce the greater effect, inculcated on the conscience under pain of damnation. The Papists declared, that it was a great evil to say any thing in defence of the Protestant religion and liberties; and some of those who had the courage to vindicate these, were presently imprisoned, as offenders against the king's person and government. The bishop of London was suspended for not suspending Dr. Sharp, who had preached against Popery. Seven bishops were illegally imprisoned for doing their duty.

In this reign, the corporations were filled with Popish magistrates, the benches with Popish judges, the army with Popish officers, or persons so inclined. An army was raised without the consent of Parliament, to maintain an arbitrary prince in all his lawless pretensions, and to force a free people into slavery and a false religion. The Earl of Clarendon was removed from the office of privy seal and the government of Ireland, to make way

for the Earl of Tyrconnel, in the one case, and the Lord Arundel in the other. The whole government of Ireland was actually put into the hands of Papists, an absolute power was assumed in Scotland, and the tyrant of France was ready to give our bigotted prince all possible assistance in his black and destructive designs, with large armies and immense treasure. No less than thirty thousand men, with vast supplies of money, were offered King James II. by the French king, to support this design, of preparing chains for all the Protestants in Europe. All the fences of our rights, our liberties, and our religion, were thrown down; blood was prodigiously shed in the west of England; a power of dispensing with laws was claimed and exercised; charters were demanded and resigned; property was rendered precarious; an high commission court was erected, to humble or ruin those who opened their mouth against Popery; freemen were dispossessed of their franchises, without any just pretence; an Irish army was brought over to dispirit a free people, and dragoon them into slavery and Popery; and a great part of the militia of the kingdom was put into the hands of professed Papists. In a word, the royal prerogative was advanced above law; liberty and property were lost; the Protestant religion itself was on the point of ruin; under all these heavy grievances, it was a crime to complain, and the calling a legal Parliament to redress them, was impossible in the then circumstances. Now our enemies thought their work was done, and indeed a Protestant had a strong faith that did not think so.

Thus King James II. under the influence and controul of Popery, immediately broke his coronation oath, trampled on the laws, both civil and ecclesiastical, broke in on the most sacred parts of the constitution, allowed

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and encouraged the free and public exercise of the Popish religion, and gave undeniable evidence, by a notorious course of actions, that he fully intended to bring the nation under the intolerable yoke of Popery. Under a sense of those miseries, which they feared being rendered perpetual, the hearts of all serious and thinking Protestants, to adopt the prophetic style, began to melt, and to fail them, for fear of those things that were then apparently coming on them.

When the civil and religious liberties of this nation were thus on the point of being taken away by the Papists, and deliverance seemed to be impossible; then the good and righteous Governor of the world interposed, opened a way for escape, and gave a sudden overthrow to tyrannical power. He snatched Europe from slavery, delivered Protestants from spiritual bondage, and stamped the broad seal of his displeasure on papal intolerance, gross idolatry, destructive error, and barbarous actions. He rescued us out of the hands of bloody enemies, secured our religion, drove the spirit of persecution before him, and became a repairer of our breaches, and a restorer of paths to dwell in.

a RAPIN gives the following account of the debate in the House of Lords, on the Bill for excluding the DUKE OF YORK, (afterwards James II.) from the succession to the crown: "The Duke," says he, (6 spoke

on the Bill, for excepting himself, with tears in his eyes, protesting that whatever his religion might be, it should only be a private thing between God and his own soul, and no effect of it should ever appear on his government.-Tindal's Rapin, vol. xiv. p. 147. edit. 1731.

When this same duke became king, as an author has remarked, we have seen how he kept his word: so far from his religion being "a private thing," he strove to make it the public religion of England; and so far from it not affecting "the government," he would, in a short time, have completely overturned the government of the realm, both in church and state, had not the nation discovered that Popery in power, and a Protestant constitution, were things that could not exist together.