The design of the assassins was to have slaughtered every individual below the age of seventy; but in consequence of this neglect of orders, as many as one hundred and sixty individuals appear to have escaped from the sword.

The extreme horror and indignation excited throughout the whole of the British dominions, by the tale of this fearful tragedy, could not fail to reach the ear of King William. Whether affectedly or not, he expressed the strongest commiseration for the unfortunate sufferers, and unhesitatingly affirmed that he had no remembrance of having given the fatal order, and that it must have been signed by him, among a mass of other papers, without knowing its contents. Such was William's own explanation of the affair however, as he screened the offenders, few gave him the credit of ignorance, or placed any faith in the abhorrence which he professed for the deed. Few, indeed, will be inclined to believe, that a document of such importance could be laid before the King for his signature, unaccompanied by some explanation from his ministers in regard to its contents.

The fact is undoubted, that, for some time, a correspondence had been carried on between Lord Tarbet and the English government, respecting the propriety of adopting a ruthless policy, similar to that which was enacted at Glencoe. After King William's death, several letters were found,

addressed to him by Lord Tarbet, in which, in the event of the Highlanders refusing the oath of allegiance, it was proposed that they should be massacred in cold blood. Lord Tarbet affirms in this correspondence, that the last Highland campaign had cost the government £150,000, and gives it as the opinion of many of his Majesty's counsellors, that it were "better to root them out by war, than to give them any favour."*

As regards William's personal share in the massacre of Glencoe, the presumption seems to be, that, when he signed the death-warrant of the Macdonalds, he imagined that it merely comprehended the execution of a dangerous enemy and a few of his more daring retainers. Indeed, that he knowingly consented to the annihilation of a whole clan,-to the promiscuous slaughter of the helpless and the young,-not only our preconceived notions of his character, but our regard for the common credit of human nature, most undoubtedly prompt us to disbelieve.

* Dalrymple, vol. ii. p. 209, Appendix.

CHAPTER VII.

William determines on paying a visit to his native country.— Leaves Kensington, January 16, 1691.-Embarks at Gravesend. On nearing the Dutch coast, he quits the ship, and is exposed for eighteen hours in an open boat. His calmness in the midst of danger.-Lands at Goree, and proceeds to the Hague. Magnificent preparations made for his arrival. -Calamy's description of the public rejoicings.-William appoints Von Tromp to the command of the Dutch fleet.His meeting with the States General.-Anecdote illustrative of his love of country. He prevails on the States to join the confederacy against France.-Capture of Namur by the French.-Lampoon suggested by William's return to England.-Burnet's account of his behaviour at the battle of Landen.-Compliment paid to his bravery by the Prince de Condé. His right to the British throne acknowledged by the French King. Peace of Ryswick.-Addison's Latin poem on the subject.-William's offer to Swift of a captaincy of horse.-Anecdote related by the Duchess of Marlborough. -William's ungracious conduct to the English nobility.Death of the Queen, in 1694, deeply felt by the King.

In the month of January 1691, William, being anxious to meet in person the princes who were at this period in confederation against France, departed on the first visit paid by him to his native country since his elevation to the English throne. Splendour and ostentation were

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not in general to his taste, but on this occasion he determined to make his public entry into the Hague with extraordinary magnificence, and, with this view, selected several of the first nobility in England to accompany him during the visit. In thus departing from the usual simplicity of his tastes, he seems to have been influenced partly by a desire of striking awe into the foreign Congress, over which he was about to preside, and partly by a wish to exhibit his accession of splendour to his own countrymen, thus at the same time gratifying their pride and his

own.

Everything being prepared for the journey, on the noon of the 6th of January William quitted Kensington, attended by a large retinue, and, after passing the night at Sittingbourn, arrived next day at Canterbury. The wind, however, proved adverse; and, moreover, it being represented to him that large shoals of ice had collected on the coast of Holland, he was induced to relinquish his journey for the time, and returned disappointed to Kensington.

On the 16th, the frost having broken up, the journey was again commenced; and, under a convoy of twelve ships, commanded by Admiral Rooke, William embarked at Gravesend for Holland. The voyage was not unprosperous till they arrived off the Dutch coast, when the weather became hazy and unfavourable. William was ex

tremely impatient to reach the land, and as a fisherman, whom they hailed, informed them that they were not above a league and a half distant, the King resolved to take boat. Accordingly, accompanied by the Duke of Ormond, the Earls of Portland and Monmouth, the Lord Steward and Lord Chamberlain, and two of his Dutch attendants, he quitted the ship and proceeded in the direction of the land. His position very shortly became not only uncomfortable but alarming. Night came on; the haze increased with the darkness; and, in this dilemma, drenched with sea-water, and surrounded by floating masses of ice, the King and his courtiers were compelled to pass as many as eighteen hours.

At one time, such was their apparent danger, that, although in the presence of the King, the sailors were unable to conceal their apprehension. Nothing could be more characteristic than the manner in which William rebuked their timidity:-"What!" he said, "are you afraid to die in my company?" Fortunately, the following morning, they came in sight of land, and about eight o'clock, miserable and dripping with wet, the whole party were landed safely at Goree. William obtained some refreshment at a fisherman's hut, consisting of a small room and a kitchen, after which he again took boat, and was conducted to the neighbourhood of Maeslandsluys.