A.D. 1684.]

DANGER OF HALIFAX

349

ambassador, at the request of Charles, repaired to the Hague; a new, but in all probability a counterfeit negotiation ensued; the prince appeared to submit to the pleasure of his uncle, and Monmouth departed under the pretence of returning to Brussels. But he soon disap- Nov. peared, came privately to England, had a secret interview 30. with his father, and went back to the Hague with a promise that within three months he should be publicly received at court, and the duke of York be banished in his turn into Flanders or Scotland *. With his visit to England, and his clandestine correspondence with Halifax, James was perfectly acquainted; but of the king's promise he probably knew nothing. Charles had requested him to go and hold a parliament in Scotland, to which he had assented, looking on the proposal as a fresh proof of the friendship and confidence of his brother.

Concurrent with this intrigue there existed another, which had for its object the disgrace of Halifax himself. In council he had advised the king to give to the English colonies in America local legislatures in imitation of that in the mother country; and in support of his argument had expatiated on the superiority of a representative over a despotic government. His words were noticed by his adversaries, who insinuated to the king, that the old leaven still fermented in his breast; that he still cherished antimonarchical principles; and that he was a dangerous man to be trusted with so important an office as that of the privy seal. Charles listened, or appeared to listen, to these suggestions; they were repeated by the duke of York, the duchess of Portsmouth, and lord Sunderland; and an assurance was Bulstrode, 390. "Je scais que dans le fonds du cœur il a toujours quelque amitié pour lui, et que le roi ne peut être faché, que je lui aye fait de civilités." The prince to Bentinck, Dalrymple, 62.

D'Avaux, iv. 67 Dalrymple, 58. 74. 94. Welwood, 322. "Feb. 3. "A letter from L. (Halifax) that my business was almost as well as done, "but must be so sudden as not to leave room for 39's (the duke's) party "to counterplot; that it is probable he would chuse Scotland rather than "Flanders or this country, which was all one to 29 (the king)." Mo mouth's diary in Welwood, 323.

+ D'Avaux, iv. 71, 72. 88. 94. Fox, App. viii.

Feb.

2.

obtained that on the first fitting opportunity the obnoxious minister should be removed from office, if he did not previously retire of his own accord *. It is probable that the king equally dissembled with both parties. He suffered their intrigues, cajoled them with the hope of victory, promised to the duke the dismissal of Halifax, to Halifax the banishment of the duke; and thus, by abusing their credulity, purchased for himself a momentary relief from disquietude, and removed to a future and uncertain day the task of deciding between their conflicting claims and recriminations.

1685. That day, however, he was not destined to see. On Monday, the second of February, after a feverish and restless night, he rose at an early hour. To his attendants he appeared drowsy and absent: his gait was unsteady, his speech embarrassed. About eight, as he walked across the room to his chair, he fell on the floor in a state of insensibility, with his features strongly convulsed. It fortuned that two physicians were within call, of whom one, who had practised as a surgeon, instantly opened a vein. The blood flowed freely the most stimulating remedies were subsequently applied †, and the royal patient gradually recovered his consciousness and the use of his speech. In the evening he suffered a relapse, but unexpectedly rallied the next 3. morning, and improved so much in the course of that and the following day, that his physicians began to cherish the hope of his recovery. But in twenty-four hours the prospect changed. The king's strength was exhausted; doses of Jesuits powder were administered without effect; he repeatedly fell into a state of stupor, and on the fourth evening it became evident that his *Fox, App. vii-ix; and a letter of Barillon, 1 Janv.

5.

+ "On lui mit des poëles chaudes sur la tête, sans qu'il parût les sentir . on lui a appliqué des vesicatoires à la tête, aux épaules, aux bras, et aux jambes, on lui a donné des vomitifs en quantité, qui ont fait quelque effet." Barillon, 12. 14 Fev. "Le Roi estoist dans une chaise, un fer rouge sur la teste, les dents qu'on lui tenoit ouvertes à force." Recit de la mort du feu Roi d'Angleterre, by a nun of Chaillot, who wrote it for the use of the community from the mouths of James and his queen on 10 Sep. 1692. N. S.

A.D. 1685.]

SICKNESS OF THE KING.

351

dissolution was rapidly approaching. The impression which these changes made on the public mind furnishes a strong proof that Charles, with all his faults, was beloved by his subjects. The announcement of his malady spread a deep gloom over the metropolis: the report of his convalescence the next day was received by the citizens with expressions of joy, the ringing of bells, and numerous bonfires. When at last the danger became manifest, crowds hastened to the churches to solicit from heaven the health of their sovereign; and we are assured that repeatedly the service was interrupted by the sighs and sobs of the congregation. In the two royal chapels the ministers succeeded each other in rotation; and the prayers were continued every two hours till his death *.

After the first attack, the moment the king recovered his speech, he had asked for the queen, who came immediately, and continued to wait on him with the most affectionate attention, till the sight of his sufferings threw her into fits, and the physicians forbade her to leave her own apartment. Interest, as well as affection, prompted the duke of York to be present: nor did he ever quit the bed-side of his brother, unless it were for a few minutes to receive reports concerning the state of the city, and to give orders for the maintenance of tranquillity and the securing of his own succession. In like manner the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops of London, Durham, Ely, and Bath and Wells, were constantly in attendance, and one of them watched in his turn during the night in the king's chamber. Early on the Thursday morning Kenn, of Bath and Wells, seized a favourable moment to warn the monarch of his danger; and the air of resignation, with which the announcement was received, encouraged him to read the office appointed for the visitation of the sick. When he

See M.S. letters of Barillon (12. 14. Fev.), and a very interesting letter to sir Robert Southwell from Mr. Fraser, one of the medical attendants, in the London Monthly Miscellany, p. 383.

came to the rubric respecting confession, he paused— observed that it was a matter not of obligation, but of choice and, receiving no answer, asked whether the king repented of his offences. against the law of God. Charles replied in the affirmative, and the prelate having pronounced the usual form of absolution, asked if he might proceed to the administration of the sacrament. The king appeared to take no notice of the question; but Kenn renewed the proposal with a louder voice, and Charles replied in a faint tone, that there was still time enough. The elements were, however, brought and placed on a table; and the question was repeatedly asked by the bishop, who could extort no other answer from the dying man but that "He would think of it."

Hitherto the duke of York, though aware of his brother's secret preference of the catholic worship, and reminded of it both by his own wife at the request of the queen, and by Barillon at the instance of the duchess of Portsmouth, had been silent on the subject of religion. It was not that, as the ambassador suspected, his attention was entirely absorbed by the necessity of providing for his own succession; but that he knew not what course to pursue in a matter of so much delicacy and danger. By law the reconciliation of any individual to the church of Rome was an act of high treason; no priest could be privately introduced to the king for that purpose, whilst the room was crowded with lords, bishops, and medical attendants*; and to remove them without a plausible reason could only provoke suspicion and inquiry. He had noticed and understood the evasive and reluctant language of his brother to bishop Kenn in the morning and probably indulged a hope that Charles by an open and spontaneous declaration would free him

Barillon tells us that the attendants in the room amounted to more than twenty (p. 92). Frazer that they were five bishops, and twenty-five lords and privy councillors, p. 384. He adds that every night there sate "in the room by him four doctors, four lords of the council, three lords of "the bed-chamber, three grooms of the bed-chamber, one apothecary and one surgeon, besides several inferior servants." Ibide

.

1

A.D. 1685.] CHARLES RECONCILED TO ROME.

353

from responsibility. In this he was disappointed; and about six or seven in the evening, having motioned to the company to withdraw to the other end of the apartment, he knelt down by the pillow of the sick monarch, and asked if he might send for a catholic priest. "For "God's sake do!" was the king's reply; "but," he immediately added, "will it not expose you to danger?" James replied, that he cared not for the danger; and, having despatched a trusty messenger in search of a priest, stated aloud that the king required all present to quit the apartment, with the exception of the earl of Bath, lord of the bed-chamber, and the earl of Feversham, captain of the guard: an exception owing to this, that, as they were both protestants, their attendance was likely to prevent, or to suppress, any sinister reports. In a short time Chiffenich conducted Hudleston-the same who had waited on the king at Moseley, after the battle of Worcester-through the queen's apartments to a private door on the right hand of the bed; and James introduced him to the king with these words: "Sir, this worthy man once saved your life; he now comes to save your soul." The priest threw himself on his knees, and offered to the dying monarch the aid of his ministry. To his inquiries Charles replied that it was his desire to die in the communion of the Roman catholic church; that he heartily repented of all his sins, and in particular of having deferred his reconciliation to that hour; that he hoped for salvation from the merits of Christ his Saviour; that he pardoned all his enemies, asked pardon of all whom he had offended, and was in peace with all men; and that he purposed, if God should spare him, to prove the sincerity of his repentance by a thorough amendment of life, Hudleston, having received his confession, anointed him, administered the eucharist, and withdrew *. It was desirable

66

66

Barillon makes several mistakes respecting Hudleston. He tells us that the English monk was no great doctor, aud was on that account previously instructed by a Portuguese friar: whereas, the truth was that VOL. XII. 2 A