Dec. 20.

throne. William, aftonished at their fickleness, refolved not to trust them, until he had adjusted the clashing interests of all parties to the present posture of his fortunes. In contraft with his own intentness of purpose, he difcerned the inconfiftency of those with whom he had to deal. He conducted himself with admirable difcretion and calmness: he said little; and by no act did he overstep the position of a provident general, quartering his army in and near the capital of a friendly nation which he was come to rescue from oppreffion. This was the turn he fucceeded in giving to the public mind, which he had the tact to feem always to follow, rather than lead.

On the 20th of December, the Sheriffs, and a deputation from the city, had an audience to express their sense of gratitude and attachment. On the Dec. 24. 24th the Lords, having met in their own House, voted an address, defiring his Highness to take upon him the temporary management of affairs, and to cause letters to be written, fubfcribed by himself, to the counties, univerfities and towns, directing them to choose members who fhould affemble in Parliament. The Prince did not confider their authority fufficient, without an equal fanction from the Commons; and before he would return an answer, he invited all who had served in any of the Parliaments of Charles II., also the Lord Mayor, and Aldermen, and fifty of the Common Council, to wait upon him. Accordingly 160 members, with the citizens, came to St. James's Dec. 26. on the 26th, and being made acquainted with the ftate of affairs, were defired to meet for deliberation

in the House of Commons at Westminster. This

they immediately did, made choice of their speaker, and concurred in the addrefs of the Lords. Under their joint authority, the Prince iffued his fummons for the meeting of a Convention on the 22nd of January. The 30th of December, being Sunday, he Dec. 30. received the Holy Communion according to the rites of the Church of England.

It may be well afked what became all this time of the Jefuits, Monks, and Roman Counsellors, who had been the active agents of mischief, and the immediate cause of the King's downfal. They were abfolutely put to the rout: fome efcaped to France, others hid themselves; their chapels were burnt, or pillaged by the mob. A letter from Father Con* to the Provincial of the Jesuits at Rome gives a lively picture of their confufion, and of their own daring folly that brought it about:

"Honour'd Father William,

"London, 10 Dec. 1688.

"There is now an end of all the pleafing hopes of seeing our holy religion make a progress in this country. The King and Queen are fled, their adherents are left to themfelves, and a new Prince, with a foreign army, has got poffeffion without the leaft refiftance. It is a thing unseen, unheard of, unrecorded in history, that a king in peaceful possession of his realm, with an army of 30,000 fighting men, and 40 ships of war, fhould quit his kingdom without firing a pistol. The foreigners themselves who have got poffeffion are astonished

Burnet fays, "I knew Con well, who had been long in Rome; and most of the letters between England and Rome passed through his hands. He was a crafty man, and knew news well, and loved money." Burnet's Hift. of his Own Time, edit. 1839, p. 296.

at their own fuccefs, and laugh at the English for their cowardice and difloyalty to their Prince. It looks as if heaven and earth had confpired against us. But this is not all; the great evil comes from ourselves; our own imprudence, avarice, and ambition have brought all this upon us. The good king has made ufe of fools, knaves, and blockheads; and the great minifter that you fent hither has contributed alfo his share.* Instead of a moderate, discreet and fagacious minifter, you sent a mere boy, a fine fhowy fop to make love to the ladies;

Egregiam verò laudem, et fpolia ampla tulistis.

But enough on this head, my dear friend; the whole affair is over. I am only sorry that I made one among so many madmen, who were incapable of either directing or governing. I now return, as I can, with the little family+ to a land of Christians: this unhappy voyage cofts me dear: but there is no help for it. The profpect was fair, if the business had been in the hands of men of sense; but, to our difgrace, the helm was held by rogues. I have already paid the compliments of the new year to our patrons; and I now do the fame to you and to all friends. If God grants me a fafe paffage beyond fea, you fhall hear from me.

"I remain as usual.

Ferdinand, Count d'Adda. Although James in his Memoirs would seem to confirm this opinion of the Nuncio's character, it would appear, from several authorities, that he was a moderate and politic man, who would willingly have restrained the impetuofity of Father Petre, and others of the King's Counsellors. Welwood fays (Memoirs, p. 184)," However the world has been impofed on to believe that the Pope's Nuncio at the English Court, who is fince made a Cardinal, was an inftrument to push on things to extremities, yet certain it is, he had too much good sense to approve of all the measures that were taken; and therefore defired often to be recalled, left he fhould be thought to have a hand in them." See Routh's Edition of Burnet's James II., note to p. 191; alfo the note to p. 372 antè of this volume.

fi.e. the Jefuits.

"A Scotch gentleman named Salton* who is arrived here from P. D. O.+ fends his refpects to you, and Signore Tomaso. The confufion here is great, nor is it known what is likely to be the event, much less what it will be: but for us there is neither faith nor hope left. We are totally put to the rout this time, and the Fathers of our Holy Company have contributed their part towards this deftruction. All the reft, Bishops, Confeffors, Friars and Monks, have acted with little prudence." +

* Fletcher of Saltoun.

† Pere D'Orleans, Author of "Hiftoire des Revolutions d'Angleterre, &c., jufqu'en 1691." He died in 1698 (Moreri).

Lord Clarendon's Correfpondence and Diary, vol. ii. p. 506, tranflated from the Italian Letter in the Tanner MSS., vol. xxviii. fol. 278. Another Italian copy may be found in the Harleian MSS. 7,001. Both are in the Italian writing of the day.

CHAPTER XIX.

The confiftent conduct of Ken at the Revolution-Meeting of the Convention Parliament-Declaration, that the Throne was vacant, not approved by Ken and others-The Crown conferred on William and Mary-The Revolution confidered.

HE Hiftory of James II. prefents to us the spectacle of a king facrificing his inherited crown, and all that life had to offer of power, honour, or happiness, to the vain hope of re-establishing Romanism, which had long been rejected by the nation. Mr. Fox imputes to him the love of arbitrary power, as his master paffion: we may rather afcribe his acts to a fincere attachment to his religion, and what he believed the dictates of confcience. The whole history of the world teems with examples of errors, and even crimes, committed under the hollow fanction of a mistaken conscience. The affaffin of Henri Quatre fincerely thought he was ridding the Chriftian world of a dangerous heretic. The maffacre of St. Bartholomew was perpetrated under the belief that, in promoting the caufe of the Roman Catholic religion, it would tend to the glory of God. Oliver Cromwell's confcience, if we are to believe his own affertions, prompted him to bring Charles II. to the block. The religious perfecutions of all fects, in all times,— and "man's inhumanity to man," in whatever caufe,