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discovered this treason, and it ended in the destruction of the conspirators. A stop was put to the intended invasion, and a warm association of the English Parliament broke the hearts of some friends of the abdicated king, and confounded the measures of all of them,

King William was a hero in the field, and on the seat of government remarkably mild and gentle; always steady in his principles of religion, and ardently attached to the cause of liberty. Through the whole of his reign he manifested a fervent zeal for securing the Protestant interest; and in nothing did he give a clearer proof of this, than in settling the crown on the illustrious House of Hanover; a family, he was confident, that would pursue the same generous and noble designs which had influenced his own views and conduct. On the death of Queen Mary, and the young hopeful prince, the Duke of Gloucester, he saw the entail of the crown reduced to the life of the Princess of Denmark, and that there was after her death, next in succession, a long train of Popish princes. That he might make his care of us live, after he himself was dead, he rested not till the illustrious Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, was, by act of Parliament, declared next in succession, in the Protestant line, to the crown of England: which establishment was confirmed by a bill, signed with his own hand a little before his much lamented death, and several posterior acts. This is that invaluable legacy King William left us, and such it truly is for if there had been no revolution, humanly speaking, there had been no Protestant succession!

The next reign was that of Queen Anne, the second daughter of James II. when Duke of York, by Lady Anne Hyde, daughter of the great Earl Clarendon. In 1668, she married Prince George of Denmark, by whom

she had several children, but all of them died young. In the eight first years of which, our success against a Popish monarch and interest abroad, was very great; but in the latter part of that reign, Popish bigots were busy plotting, and contriving how to deprive this nation of the Protestant religion and civil liberties. So great was their influence with that queen, that she at last was prevailed on to send an invitation to the Pretender to come and take on him the crown of these kingdoms. But through the over-ruling conduct of Divine Providence, this invitation became the ruin of their scheme; for the person who was sent with the invitation, instead of going to the Pretender, went to the Elector of Hanover, and by that means all their designs were rendered nugatory.

The French king was ready on all occasions to attempt a restoration; what could not be done for the royal father, he now tried to do for the pretended son; and having proclaimed him King of England, attempted, in the 6th year of the reign of Queen Anne, to make him So. The Pretender, with a body of French troops, embarking at Dunkirk, sailed for Scotland: but how ready soever they might imagine the Scots were for a revolt, they soon found themselves disappointed, and were forced to return to the same port in a shattered condition.

In the 9th year of this reign, a melancholy catastrophe happened. The contention of party threatened to throw the nation into confusion. All on a sudden the ministry was changed, the Parliament dissolved, our credit sunk at home, our reputation abroad, and the most successful war ended in the most inglorious peace; at a time also, when the honour of England had never been greater abroad, nor the satisfaction at home more perfect and

entire. Now, among the best people, the general opinion was, that the Revolution was never at any previous period so near expiring. At this critical and most gloomy juncture, the Providence of God wonderfully interposed for the protection of the Revolution. On the first of August, 1714, the queen died, in the 50th year of her age. George I. the son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick Lunenburgh, and Elector of Hanover, as the direct descendant of James I. by his daughter Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, succeeded to the throne of Great Britain, in virtue of an act of Parliament, passed in the latter part of the reign of King William III. limiting the succession of the crown, after the demise of that monarch, and Queen Anne (without issue) to the Princess Sophia of Hanover, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants. Thus, through the bounty of Heaven, we received King William's blessed legacy. God's own arm brought salvation, in the most seasonable and peaceful accession of the renowned King George I. to the throne of these kingdoms, to which he had an indisputable right. He had descended, in a direct female line, from the Kings of England. His royal mother, the Princess Sophia, was grand-daughter to King James I. and sister's daughter to King Charles I. He was also grandson to the King of Bohemia, by his royal father. So that, by his royal mother, he was next Protestant heir in consanguinity to the imperial crown of Britain: besides his Parliamentary right, which is sufficient, and, indeed, the best claim to the crown of these realms, he had also that of proximity of blood in the Protestant line.

How seasonable was this very interesting event! King George I. came to the throne when the truest friends to the late queen and our country, who deserved best of

both, were all on a sudden incapacitated for advancing either her honour, or the good of the country: when those who might justly be suspected of being friends to the Pretender, were promoted in their room: when treasonable books and pamphlets were dispersed among the people for the support of the Pretender's claim ; when men were enlisted by Papists and nonjurors to assert the mock-king's title, and dispatched into France the more to be animated in the service of their master, by his own presence, and conversation with foreign friends. What frowns had the true friends to the Protestant succession to bear! What heads were at work! What consultations were behind the curtain, for accomplishing a design at which the sun would have blushed! When these things were near a crisis, though many were insensible of their danger, as well as others were unwilling to believe it, and all were unable to prevent it,—then did the Protestant succession take place without opposition, notwithstanding the number of its enemies. The hands. of the Popish and Jacobite party were immediately tied, their power was restrained, their designs were defeated, and a dreadful scene of misery and woe was happily prevented. The regency was put into the hands of wise and faithful men: the big expectation of Rome and the Pretender was sunk at once; the faces of their advocates and abettors, on their sudden disappointment, were covered with shame. The hearts of the righteous leaped within them for joy, on the prospect of a present redress of their grievances, and the hope of a future and more ample security. The happy accession of King George I. to the throne of Great Britain, on the memorable first of August, 1714; his peaceable proclamation throughout his dominions, his safe arrival in this country on the 18th of September; and his coronation on the 20th of October,

are days that shine with a meridian brightness in the English Calendar. This was a truly interesting period, inasmuch as the death of our miseries, and the birth of our mercies, in a great measure bear date from that time: this joyful event stopped a current of tears, filled the mouths of Protestants with laughter, and their tongues with singing!

As to the character of King George I. much might be said to his praise. The endowments of his mind were as remarkable as the greatness of his birth. He possessed a generous and public spirit, always seeking the common good of his subjects. He conferred valuable favours on his subjects in his foreign dominions, before he left them; and for the loss of his presence they testified the most unfeigned sorrow. He was a prince of remarkable courage, mangnanimity, and justice. He set his subjects an excellent example of moderation, temperance, and sobriety; the exact order and seasonable hours observed at court bore ample witness to this truth. He was a hearty well-wisher to the Protestant interest; what he suffered for the sake of this cause, and his preferring the crown of Britain to that of Bohemia, affording sufficient evidence. He came to this country to save us from Popery and slavery; for what else could be an inducement? He was a high and mighty prince before he came among us; had large dominions, and abundance of honours, being the Grand Standard-bearer, Archtreasurer, and Prince Elector of the Roman empire. He soon issued a proclamation for the encouragement of religion and virtue, and discountenancing vice and immorality. These things prove, beyond contradiction, that he was sincere and ardent in his attachment to Protestants. Soon after he ascended the British throne, he was heard to say, "My maxim is, never to abandon

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