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"carried me with him to Farnham Castle. I was not above twelve years old, but remember the bishop talked much of the Duke, and concluded with desiring my father to tell him from him, that if ever he depended upon the doctrine of nonresistance, he would find himself deceived, for there were very few of that opinion, though there were not many of the Church of England that thought proper to contradict it in terms, but was very sure they would in practice. My father told me he had frequently put King James in mind of Morley's last message to him, though to very little purpose; for all the answer was, that the bishop was a very good man, but grown old and timorous."* James at last found out to his

cost, that Morley was a true prophet.

The bishops held several meetings at Lambeth, relative to the order in council, and at length agreed upon a petition to the king, setting forth the reasons why they could not obey his injunction. Having obtained a private interview for the purpose, they presented it in person, upon the 18th of May, 1688, when a discussion of a singular nature took place. As soon as the king had recovered from his surprise, he charged the bishops with having raised the standard of rebellion; told them, that the dispensing power had never been questioned by the men of the Church of England; and that he insisted upon his orders being executed. The affrighted prelates, as if overcome by the grave charge, fell upon their knees, and with a martial spirit, protested their readiness to spill the last drop of their blood in his service. One of them, transported either by fear or loyalty, declared, that they were ready to die at his feet. Kenn, who spoke the most rationally, desired they might have the same liberty which the king allowed to the rest of his subjects, and left the issue of the event with God. James having dismissed them in anger, was long at a loss to know what to do. Motives of vengeance and of

THE BISHOPS COMMITTED TO THE 1OWER.

141

policy alternately took the lead in his councils; for the court was well aware of the popularity of the bishops, who received strong testimonials from various quarters, in approbation of their conduct. They were at length cited before the privy council, to answer to the charge of misdemeanour, and there conducted themselves in a manner becoming true Englishmen. After a variety of interrogatories relative to their petition, it was resolved to proceed against them for a seditious libel, and upon their refusal to enter into recognizances for their appearance at Westminster Hall, a warrant was issued for their commitment to the tower.*

Nothing short of infatuation could have prompted the king to so impolitic a measure. Had he proceeded against the bishops for their resistance to his supremacy, there would have been some colour for his conduct; but for the charge of libel in the decent exercise of an undoubted privilege, there could be no pretence, so long as the laws were in existence. James, who precipitated all his measures, was evidently unprepared for their disobedience, little expecting that those who had declaimed so much to others against resistance, would now practice it themselves. It was, therefore, with some reason that he reproached them with having preached and printed for the dispensing power, when it suited their purpose.

The sensation produced by the imprisonment of the bishops was such as had not been often witnessed in the metropolis. When they were conveyed to the Tower, multitudes flocked to see them, many prostrating themselves upon the ground to receive their blessing. To them it was a season of real triumph, for they behaved throughout with the greatest propriety, and all the disgrace that belonged to the affair stuck close to their adversaries. Many persons of consequence visited them in their captivity, as did several non-conforming ministers; tendering their condolence and their services, and

• D'Oyley's Life of Sancroft, i. 250, &c.

142

TRIAL OF THE BISHOPS.

exhorting them to persevere in the same course of resistance, of which they had so happily set the example.

It was not long before the verdict of a jury gave a new impulse to the public feeling. The trial of the bishops was followed by their acquittal, which occasioned the strongest demonstrations of joy in all ranks of people. Even the king's army was infected, and the news spread with rapidity through the kingdom. There have been few occasions of public rejoicing that more distinctly marked the national opinion. Bonfires, illuminations, and other tokens of satisfaction were resorted to in the metropolis; the church bells were every where set in motion; and the churches were crowded with persons eager to testify their gratitude for this signal deliverance. The prelates themelves received numerous congratulations, being hailed as the champions of their country; their portraits were exhibited in the print shops, and eagerly purchased by their admirers; and they were grouped together in spiritual caricatures, as the seven stars, and the seven golden candlesticks of the Protestant churches.

Had James possessed any political foresight, he would have begun now to retrace his steps. Instead of indulging in sullenness, and exasperation, and endeavouring to delude the people with fair promises, if he had dismissed his bad advisers, re-assembled his parliament, and resorted to a constitutional system of government, he might have preserved his crown, and the free exercise of his religion, which was the most that he was warranted to expect. But the infatuated monarch, urged on by evil counsellors, fell a victim to his bigotry, choosing rather to become the inglorious partizan of a religious sect, than the king of a free and powerful nation. The folly of his conduct was distinctly marked in its punishment; for, betrayed by his own servants, and deserted by his friends and his family, he, with scarcely any resistance, stepped out of a throne which was giving way under him; became a fugitive in the land of his birth, and was compelled,

REFLECTION UPON JAMES'S CONDUCT.

143 at length, to seek an asylum in a foreign country. It is a just observation of Lord Bolingbroke, that "the behaviour and conduct of King James II. would be sufficient if there was no other instance, and there are thousands to shew, that as strong prejudices, however got, are the parents, so a weak understanding is the nurse of bigotry and injustice, and violence and cruelty its offspring.'

Dissertation on Parties, p. 97.

CHAPTER IX.

Supplications of the Church in her Extremity.—Overtures to the Dissenters.Sancroft proposes a Reformation in the Church.- His Healing Instructions to the Clergy.-The good of Affliction.-Its Effects upon Sancroft.-And upon the rest of the Clergy.-The Tories become alienated from James.Bolingbroke's Remarks upon their Conduct.- Invitation to the Prince of Orange. His Declaration.-Disingenuity of the Bishops.-Arrival of the Prince.-De Foe's Account of the Sensation produced by it.-Its Effect upon the King.-Religious Mockery.—James deserted by his Army.--And his Family.-De Foe's Account of the Alarm occasioned by the Flight of the Princess.--Some Skirmishing at Reading.-De Foe's Narrative of the Behaviour of the Irish there.—The King leaves London in Disguise.-And Embarks for France.-Detected and brought to Feversham.-De Foe's Account of his Ill-usage there.-James returns to London.-Leaves the Kingdom.-De Foe's Reflectims upon that Event.-James's Modern Admirers.-Causes of his Mis-government.—His merciless Character.-Anecdote of his Perfidy.

1688.

THE gulph which had long swallowed up the liberties of the nation, and was now opening still wider to receive the parliamentary church, had the effect of awakening the attention of considerate men, and of promoting that union of parties in which alone consisted any hope of salvation. The bishops, grown more bold by their acquittal, applied themselves with increased energy to the defence of their immunities; and, now perceiving the danger into which they had brought themselves, supplicated the men whom they had been persecuting as "fanatics," to come over to their as