commons against the ministers. Many violent motions against them were lost by a small majority. A day was appointed to consider the state of the kingdom with regard to popery, and the commons went so far as to vote, that how urgent soever any occasion should occur, they would lay no farther charge on the people, till secured against the prevalence of the catholic party. The king was enraged at this last vote, and grew suspicious of some sinister design as soon as he complied with their requests.

During these dissensions Lewis opened the campaign early in the spring, and after threatening Luxembourg, Mons, and Namur, he suddenly besieged Ghent and Ypres, and in a few weeks made himself master of both places. Charles now began to inlist forces, and such was the ardour of the English for a war with France, that an army of above twenty thousand men was completed in a few weeks. The duke of Monmouth was sent over with three thousand men to secure Ostend; a fleet was fitted out with great diligence, and a quadruple alliance was projected between England, Holland, Spain, and the emperor. But a passionate address of the lower house suddenly damped the vigour of these resolutions. They desired to be acquainted with the measures taken by his majesty, praying him to dismiss evil counsellors, and particularly the duke of Lauderdale, on whose removal they strenuously insisted. The king told them that their address was so extravagant that he was not willing speedily to give it the answer it deserved; and he began again to lend an ear to the proposals of Lewis, who offered him great sums of money if he would consent to France's making an advantageous peace with the allies. There was, however, an article proposed, which so incensed the king that he said, that as long as he lived he would never forget it: Lewis required as a preliminary to any payment

that the king should engage never to keep above eight thousand regular troops in Great Britain. "Cod's-fish," said Charles (his usual oath), "does

my brother of France think to serve me thus ? "Are all his promises to make me absolute master " of my people come to this? or does he think "such a thing to be done with eight thousand men."

In the mean time the Dutch ambassador at Nimeguen received orders from the states to go to the French king at Ghent, and to concert the terms of a general treaty, and of an actual truce for six weeks. According to the terms agreed on, six towns, some of them of no great importance, were to be restored to Spain; but Ypres, Condé, Valenciennes, Tournay, in which consisted the chief strength of her frontier, were to remain with France.

At this intelligence the loudest murmurs and complaints arose in England against the king, who dreading the consequences of losing the affections of his subjects, began to wish heartily for war, which he hoped would restore him to his ancient popularity. He immediately dispatched Temple to concert with the states vigorous measures for opposing France. This minister concluded in six days a treaty by which Lewis was obliged to declare, within sixteen days after the date, that he would presently evacuate the six towns to be restored to the Spaniards; and in case of his refusal, Holland was bound to continue the war, and England to declare immediately against France, in conjunction with the whole confederacy. But instead of seconding these measures, the commons, influenced partly by Baril lon's intrigues, partly by their former jealousies against the king, voted the army immediately to be disbanded.

The king represented by a message the danger of

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disarming before peace was concluded, and the impossibility of his honourably recalling his troops from those towns in Flanders which were put under his protection, and which had at present no other means of defence. The commons agreed to prolong the term with regard to these forces.

On the last of the sixteen days allowed to the French king to declare his intentions about the restoration of the six towns in Flanders, the French ambassadors at Nimeguen came to the Dutch plenipotentiary, and told him that they had received orders to consent to the evacuation of the towns, and immediately to conclude and sign the peace: the papers were instantly drawn and signed by the ministers of France and Holland, August 1st. By this treaty, France secured the possession of FrancheComté, together with Cambray, Aire, St. Omer, Valenciennes, Tournay, Ypres, Bouchain, Cassel, &c. and restored to Spain only Charleroi, Courtray, Oudenarde, Ath, Ghent, and Limbourg.

The ambassadors of the allies loudly exclaimed against the treaty, and it was hoped that the States would disavow their plenipotentiary and renew the war. The prince of Orange, in order to engage them to that measure, attacked the French army near Mons, after the signing of the peace, and obtained some advantage over Luxembourg, who, resting secure on the faith of the treaty, concluded the war to be finished. This circumstance, however, though concurring with the solicitations of Charles, who seemed now determined on a war with France, did not prevent the States from ratifying the treaty of Nimeguen; it was reluctantly acceded to by the other powers, and peace was consequently restored to Europe. But a strong spirit of indignation prevailed among the English against their sovereign, whose supineness and irresolution

had suffered Lewis to make such important acquisitions.

The royal assent is given to the bill for granting six hundred thousand pounds for disbanding the army, to the act for burying in woollen, and some other acts; and the parliament was prorogued to the 1st of August, but did not meet till the 21st of October.

Scotland at that same time was far from being in a state of tranquillity; conventicles multiplied in the West, religious differences ran high, and the clergy of the established church were frequently insulted. To repress the rising spirit of presbyterianism a new parliament had, in 1669, been assembled at Edinburgh, and the duke of Lauderdale was sent over as commissioner. He had such influence as to have two acts passed, which were of great importance. By the one it was declared, that the settling of all things respecting the external government of the church, was a right of the crown; that whatever related to ecclesiastical meetings, masters, and persons, was to be ordered according to such directions as the king should send to his privy council; and that, these being published by them, should have the force of laws. The other act regarded the militia, which the king, by his own authority, had two years before established, instead of the army which was disbanded. By this act the militia was settled to the number of twenty-two thousand men, who were to be constantly armed and regularly disciplined; and it was further enacted, that these troops should be held in readiness to march into England, Ireland, or any part of the king's dominions, for any cause in which his majesty's authority, power, or greatness was concerned, receiving orders, not from the king himself, but from the privy council of Scotland, where Lauderdale was

promoted by degrees to the situation of prime or rather sole minister. The injustice, violence, and tyranny of his administration, particularly against the covenanters, raised up a strong party against him, of which the duke of Hamilton was the head. Charles, however, notwithstanding the representations of the latter, still continued Lauderdale in authority.

The rigour exercised against conventicles, had only increased the zeal of those who frequented them. Against the western counties, where the conventicles most abounded, Lauderdale and the privy council, armed and let loose the highlanders, who, trained up in rapine and violence, marked their footsteps with blood and devastation. Many complaints of these persecutions were addressed to the king, who gave orders for stopping in some measure these violent proceedings, but he is reported to have observed at the same time, "Though "Lauderdale appeared to have been guilty of many "bad things against the people of Scotland, I cannot "find that he has acted in any instance against my "interest!" A pretty explicit confession, that his interest was connected with injustice, violence, and tyranny!

The language and conduct of the king daily increas ed the general prejudices; arbitrary power and popery were supposed to be the scope of all his projects; each breath or rumour made the people start with anxiety; their enemies, they thought were in their very bosom, and possessed exclusively their sovereign's confidence. Mysterious designs of the most criminal nature were apprehended. While in that frantic state of irritation and antipathy to popery, the cry of a plot all of a sudden struck their ears, and terrified them to such a degree, that common sense lost all inflence over them. This disposition of men's minds accounts for the ready and incon