holding another new parliament: that no parliament should continue longer than three years at farthest, to be accounted from the first day of the first session: and that the parliament then subsisting should cease and determine on the 1st day of November next following, unless their majesties should think fit to dissolve it sooner. The duke of Devonshire, the marquis of Halifax, the earls of Weymouth and Aylesbury, protested against this bill, because it tended to the continuance of the present parliament longer than, as they apprehended, was agreeable to the constitution of England.

§ XLVII. While this bill was depending, Dr. John Tillotson, archbishop of Canterbury, was seized with a fit of the dead palsy, in the chapel of Whitehall, and died on the 22d day of November, deeply regretted by the king and queen, who shed tears of sorrow at his decease; and sincerely lamented by the public, as a pattern of elegance, ingenuity, meekness, charity, and moderation. These qualities he must be allowed to have possessed, notwithstanding the invectives of his enemies, who accused him of puritanism, flattery, and ambition ; and charged him with having conduced to a dangerous schism in the church, by accepting the archbishopric during the life of the deprived Sancroft. He was succeeded in the metropolitan see by Dr. Tennison, bishop of Lincoln, recommended by the whig party, which now predominated in the cabinet. The queen did not long survive her favourite prelate. In about a month after his decease, she was taken ill of the small-pox, and the symptoms proving dangerous, she prepared herself for death with great composure. She spent some time in exercises of devotion, and private conversation with the new archbishop; she received the sacrament with all the bishops who were in attendance; and expired on the 28th day of December, in the thirty-third year of her age, and in the sixth of her reign, to the inexpressible

grief of the king, who, for some weeks after her death, could neither see company, nor attend to the business of state. Mary was in her person tall and well proportioned, with an oval visage, lively eyes, agreeable features, a mild aspect, and an air of dignity. Her apprehension was clear, her memory tenacious, and her judgment solid. She was a zealous Protestant, scrupulously exact in all the duties of devotion, of an even temper, and of a calm and mild conversation. She was ruffled by no passion, and seems to have been a stranger to the emotions of natural affection: for she ascended, without compunction, the throne from which her father had been deposed, and treated her sister as an alien to her blood. In a word, Mary seems to have imbibed the cold disposition and apathy of her husband; and to have centred all her ambition in deserving the epithet of a humble and obedient wife.P

§ XLVIII. The princess Anne being informed of the queen's dangerous indisposition, sent a lady of her bedchamber, to desire she might be admitted to her majesty; but this request was not granted. She was thanked for her expression of concern; and given to understand, that the physicians had directed that the queen should be kept as quiet as possible. Before her death, however, she sent a forgiving message to her sister: and, after her decease, the earl of Sunderland effected a reconciliation between the king and the princess, who vi

P Her obsequies were performed with great magnificence. The body was attended from Whitehall to Westminster-abbey by all the judges, serjeants at law, the lord-mayor and aldermen of the city of London, and both houses of parliament; and the funeral sermon was preached by Dr. Tennison, archbishop of Canterbury: Dr. Kenn, the deprived bishop of Bath and Wells, reproached him in a letter, for not having called upon her majesty, on her death-bed, to repent of the share she had in the Revolution. This was answered by another pamphlet. One of the Jacobite clergy insulted the queen's memory, by preaching on the following text: Go now, see this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a king's daughter." On the other hand, the lord-mayor, aldermen, and common-counci of London, came to a resolution to erect her statue, with that of the king, in the Royal Exchange.

sited him at Kensington, where she was received with uncommon civility. He appointed the palace of St. James's for her residence, and presented her with the greater part of the queen's jewels. But a mutual jealousy and disgust subsisted under these exteriors of friendship and esteem. The two houses of parliament waited on the king at Kensington, with consolatory addresses on the death of his consort: their example was followed by the regency of Scotland, the city and clergy of London, the dissenting ministers, and almost all the great corporations in England.*

CHAP. V.

WILLIAM.

§ I. Account of the Lancashire plot-§ II. The commons inquire into the abuses which had crept into the army-§ III. They expel and prosecute some of their own members for corruption in the affair of the East India company-§ IV. Examination of Cooke, Acton, and others -§ V. The commons impeach the duke of Leeds-§ VI. The parliament is prorogued-§ VII. Session of the Scottish parliament-§ VIII. They inquire into the massacre of Glencoe-§ IX. They pass an act for erecting a trading company to Africa and the Indies-§ X. Proceedings in the parliament of Ireland-§ XI. Disposition of the armies in Flanders-§ XII. King William undertakes the siege of Namur§ XIII. Famous retreat of prince Vaudemont. Brussels is bombarded by Villeroy-§ XIV. Progress of the siege of Namur-§ XV. Villeroy attempts to relieve it. The besiegers make a desperate assault§ XVI. The place capitulates. Boufflers is arrested by order of king William-§ XVII. Campaign on the Rhine and in Hungary— § XVIII. The duke of Savoy takes Casal— § XIX. Transactions in Catalonia-§ XX. The English fleet bombards St. Maloes, and other places on the coast of France-§ XXI. Wilmot's expedition to the West Indies-§ XXII. A new parliament-§ XXIII. They pass the bill for regulating trials in cases of high-treason—§ XXIV. Resolutions with respect to a new coinage-§ XXV. The commons address the

z The earls of Rochester and Nottingham are said to have started a doubt, whether the parliament was not dissolved by the queen's death; but this dangerous motion met with no countenance.

king, to recall a grant he had made to the earl of Portland—§ XXVI. Another against the new Scottish company-§ XXVII. Intrigues of the Jacobites-§ XXVIII. Conspiracy against the life of William§ XXIX. Design of an invasion defeated-§ XXX. The two houses engage in an association for the defence of his majesty-§ XXXI. Establishment of a land-bank-§ XXXII. Trial of the conspirators§ XXXIII. The allies burn the magazine at Givet-§ XXXIV. Lewis XIV. makes advances towards a peace with Holland— § XXXV. He detaches the duke of Savoy from the confederacy— § XXXVI. Naval transactions-§ XXXVII. Proceedings in the parliaments of Scotland and Ireland—§ XXXVIII. Zeal of the English commons in their affection to the king-§ XXXIX. Resolutions touching the coin, and the support of public credit-§ XL. Enormous impositions-§ XLI. Sir John Fenwick is apprehended—§ XLII. A bill of attainder being brought into the house against him, produces violent debates-§ XLIII. His defence § XLIV. The bill passes§ XLV. Sir John Fenwick is beheaded-§ XLVI. The earl of Monmouth sent to the Tower-§ XLVII. Inquiry into miscarriages by sea—§ XLVIII. Negotiations at Ryswick-§ XLIX. The French také Barcelona-§ L. Fruitless expedition of admiral Neville to the West Indies-§ LI. The elector of Saxony is chosen king of Poland§ LII. Peter the czar of Muscovy travels in disguise with his own ambassadors § LIII. Proceedings in the congress at Ryswick§ LIV. The ambassadors of England, Spain, and Holland, sign the treaty-§ LV. A general pacification.

§ I. THE kingdom now resounded with the complaints of the Papists and malecontents, who taxed the ministry with subornation of perjury, in the case of the Lancashire gentlemen who had been persecuted for the conspiracy. One Lunt, an Irishman, had informed sir John Trenchard, secretary of state, that he had been sent from Ireland, with commissions from king James to divers gentlemen in Lancashire and Cheshire: that he had assisted in buying arms, and enlisting men to serve that king in his projected invasion of England: that he had been twice dispatched by those gentlemen to the court of St. Germains, assisted many Jacobites in repairing to France, helped to conceal others that came from that kingdom; and that all those persons told him they were furnished with money by sir John Friend, to defray the expense of their expeditions. His testimony was confirmed by other infamous emissaries, who received but too much countenance from the government.

Blank warrants were issued, and filled up occasionally

with such names as the informers suggested. These were delivered to Aaron Smith, solicitor to the treasury, who, with messengers, accompanied Lunt and his associates to Lancashire, under the protection of a party of Dutch horse-guards, commanded by one captain Baker. They were empowered to break open houses, seize papers, and apprehend persons, according to their pleasure; and they committed many acts of violence and oppression. The persons, against whom these measures were taken, being apprised of the impending danger, generally retired from their own habitations. Some, however, were taken and imprisoned: a few arms were secured; and, in the house of Mr. Standish, at Standishhall, they found the draft of a declaration to be published by king James at his landing. As this prosecution seemed calculated to revive the honour of a stale conspiracy, and the evidences were persons of abandoned characters, the friends of those who were persecuted found no great difficulty in rendering the scheme odious to the nation. They even employed the pen of Ferguson, who had been concerned in every plot that was hatched since the Ryehouse conspiracy. This veteran, though appointed housekeeper to the excise-office, thought himself poorly recompensed for the part he had acted in the revolution, became dissatisfied, and, upon this occasion, published a letter to sir John Trenchard on the abuse of power. It was replete with the most bitter invectives against the ministry, and contained a great number of flagrant instances, in which the court had countenanced the vilest corruption, perfidy, and oppression. This production was in every body's hand, and had such an effect upon the people, that when the prisoners were brought to trial at Manchester, the populace would have put the witnesses to death, had they not been prevented by the interposition of those who were friends to the accused persons, and had already taken effectual measures for