and commanding the Fellows to elect two of the most unfit men he could find in the whole kingdom; the one secretly, the other openly, a Roman Catholic. When the Fellows had the courage and firmness to resist, "many horrible rude reflections" being made upon the king's authority, said one who heard their debates, they were turned out of their fellowships, and many of them reduced to the utmost poverty. The Church and the Dissenters. 25. All this roused the indignation of the Tories and the Church to such a point that their favourite doctrine of passive obedience was strained almost to breaking. As the king was determined to persevere in his course, and to put Catholics into all the most important posts in the kingdom, and as he could get no support, though as yet there was no open resistance, from the Church or the Tories, he was obliged to try and make friends with the Dissenters, and pretend that he wished for liberty of conscience to all. But the Dissenters knew very well what he really wished, and when he talked of indulgence they knew what his indulgence He had given a specimen of that in the way he and his agent, Claverhouse, had treated their brethren, the poor Covenanters, in Scotland. Directly he began to reign he passed a law enacting that any one in that country who preached in a "conventicle" under a roof, any one who even attended a preaching or prayer-meeting in the open air, should be put to death. The horrible brutality with which these poor innocent people were pursued, tortured, hanged, and drowned, all in the name of religion, might have made Oliver turn in his grave. Though there was no Milton now to write or pray in their behalf, it was long remembered how those martyrs went to their death with words of trust and praise on their lips. meant. 26. Now James tried to get the Dissenters in England to take his part by promising them freedom and protection. He declared that all the laws against liberty of conscience should be repealed, and commanded the bishops and clergy to read the declaration in all the Churches in the kingdom. The bishops, whether they approved of these liberal sentiments or not, knew very well that no King of England had a right to make or unmake laws at his pleasure; they knew too that, though he pretended to wish every one's conscience to be free, he only meant in his heart that the Roman Catholics should be free, for he had shown it in all his actions. 27. The Dissenters knew it too, and for once they and the Church of England joined heartily together in defence of the Protestant religion and the liberty of Englishmen. Seven bishops who were on the spot refused to read the Declaration of Indulgence, or to tell their clergy to do so. One of the seven was the Archbishop of Canterbury; another was the good Bishop Ken. It was no doubt 66 The seven bishops. a bitter moment to them when they found they must either oppose the king or consent to his ruining the Church and the liberties of England. They acted very cautiously and respectfully. They laid a petition before James, in which they assured him that their hesitation did not proceed from any want of duty or obedience to his Majesty, our Holy Mother the Church of England," they said, "being both in her principles and her constant practice unquestionably loyal;" but yet they declared that they could not in prudence, honour, or conscience publish his Declaration of Indulgence. The king was very angry; he called the petition a libel, and said he was the king, and would be obeyed. His Jesuit confessor, Father Petre, "seemed now as one transported with joy;" he thought the time was come (as indeed it was) when the king would break with the Church of England. 28. The whole nation looked on breathless. Nearly all the clergy followed the bishops' lead. Not above 200 in the whole country could be found to read the Declaration; and of these many did it in a way which would not have pleased the king much had he heard it. Some "declared in their sermons, that though they obeyed the order, they did not approve of the Declaration; and one, more pleasantly than gravely, told his people that though he was obliged to read it, they were not obliged to hear it; and he stopped till they all went out, and then he read it to the walls." The Dean of Westminster could hardly hold the proclamation in his hand for trembling, and "everybody looked under a strange consternation." The king, in the greatest indignation at being thwarted in his will, sent all the seven bishops to the Tower. The Londoners were in wild excitement at seeing the king and the Church in this opposition to one another; but there was no doubt in their minds which was right. Rich and poor crowded around the bishops to cheer and honour them, and to ask their blessing. 29. The king, nevertheless, was as blind and dogged as ever. He caused the bishops to be brought up to trial. The agitation of all the people rose higher and higher. When it was known that after a long trial the bishops were acquitted, the whole air was filled with shouts of joy and triumph. The king heard his own soldiers shouting too. said. "So much the worse for them," he Even then he had not perception enough to say, "So much the worse for me." to a son. 30. In the midst of all this excitement the queen gave birth This was the last and hardest blow of all. A son would, of course, succeed his father in preference to The birth of a daughter; and the birth of this unfortunate child a prince. put an end to all the hopes which had been so long cherished that the Princess Mary of Orange wonld quietly take her father's place. The new-born prince would be brought up a Roman Catholic, and there would be no end to tyranny and oppression. It was believed by great numbers of people that he was not really the son of the king and queen, but was brought into the palace in a warming-pan, and imposed upon the country as a prince, though no one believes that story now. 31. In despair a message was secretly sent over the sea to William, Prince of Orange, to come to the rescue, with the promise that if he would once show himself the people would rise in his support. William wished for nothing better; he came with an army of 15,000 men, and landed on the fifth of November at Torbay, in William, Devonshire. It was some time before any nobles or men of importance joined his standard, so much so, indeed, that at one moment he seems even to have thought of returning. By degrees, however, they began to gather around him. The northern counties also arose in his cause, and he advanced from Exeter with a large train of English adherents. James came to meet him as far as Salisbury in a pitiable state of fear and uncertainty. One after another of his friends, or those whom he thought his friends, dropped off from him. His second daughter, Anne, who had always lived at court with her husband, the Prince of Denmark, fled from the palace at Whitehall. Many even of the officers of his army joined the Prince of Orange. One of these, and the most important of all, was the very general who had won the victory of Sedgemoor, and who was afterwards known as the greatest commander of his age, John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. James had always treated him with the utmost confidence and kindness, and had raised him up from being a mere obscure page to high honours and dignities, yet he now betrayed and deserted him in his utmost need. Churchill and his wife were the dearest friends of the Princess Anne, and it was through their influence that she had abandoned her father. 32. James was so utterly disconcerted and disheartened by all these desertions that he returned to London without striking a blow, sent off his wife and young child secretly to France, and in a few days escaped thither himself. This was the happiest thing possible for William, who came to London, having fought no battle, and shed no blood, not as a conqueror, but as a friend and deliverer. 1688. He enters London. LECTURE LI.-THE REVOLUTION AND KING WILLIAM. Effects of the Revolution. William and Mary. Religious toleration. 1. THIS Revolution, the Glorious Revolution, as it was proudly called, was the final victory of the liberty of England. The Revolution. All through our history there had been at intervals conflicts and struggles between the power and rights of the king, and the power and rights of the people. Now it was made clear, once and for ever, to both king and people, that a sovereign could not reign in England unless he reigned for the good of the people; and that he, as much as the poorest of his subjects, was bound by the laws of the land. 2. All the things that the Stuarts had been struggling for so obstinately and so blindly had to be resigned for ever. It was once more laid down clearly by Act of Parliament that the king could raise no money except by consent of the representatives of the people; that he might keep no standing army without the consent of parliament; that parliament was to be elected freely without the king interfering; that, when elected, parliament was to be allowed to discuss matters freely without the king interfering; that the people might offer petitions, if they felt themselves aggrieved, without being punished for it; that the judges were not to be set up and put down according to the king's pleasure, but to continue in their offices as long as they judged wisely, justly, and mercifully; that no man, rich or poor, should be put in prison for a single day by the arbitrary will of the king; that the king had no power to make or unmake laws without the agreement of the parliament. Lastly, it was settled that, in future, no one but a Protestant should be king or queen of England. 3. If. William and Mary had been tyrants, perhaps they might have thought a crown and an authority limited like this |