20 Defoe : his Life and Writings. JAN. 



man of London on the 26th of January, 1687-8, having claimed his 

 freedom by birth." 



We return to the politics of this eminent writer. After the execution 

 of Monmouth, and the utter overthrow of his adherents, James II. no 

 longer scrupled to avow his predilection for popery. His first plan was 

 to raise some new regiments, and officer them by papists : his second, to 

 import Catholic priests from the country ; and his third, to erect chapels 

 and seminaries for the youth of that persuasion, and even to consecrate 

 a popish bishop in his own chapel at Windsor. He published, more- 

 over, a royal declaration, by virtue of which all penal and sanguinary 

 laws, in matters of religion, were to be suspended, all oaths and tests to 

 be suppressed, and all dissenters, whether Protestant or Catholic, to be 

 held equally capable of public employments. This, at first sight, 

 appeared a fine triumph for the non-conformists ; but Defoe soon pene- 

 trated the hypocrisy of the declaration, that it was nothing more nor 

 less than a plan to engraft popery, under the specious form of toleration, 

 on the ruins of the established church. 



Readers of the present day can scarcely form an idea of the horror with 

 which Protestants of ail persuasions, at this particular epoch, regarded 

 the " damnable and idolatrous" doctrines of Catholicism. It was a perfect 

 mania. The pope was synonimous with anti-Christ ; the mass-houses were 

 Pandeemoniums ; the priests, fiends and sorcerers. Nothing was too absurd 

 to obtain credence, provided it told against the papists. The Jews, during 

 the dynasty of the Plantagenets, never inspired one half the horror that 

 the Catholics excited throughout the brief reign of James II. Defoe, 

 though tolerant and enlightened in other respects, partook largely of this 

 influenza, and, much as he disapproved their conduct, yet joined zealously 

 with the high-church party in their endeavours to dethrone the infa- 

 tuated Stuart. Pamphlet after pamphlet appeared in rapid succession 

 from his pen on this great question, for which he was courted by the 

 more influential ecclesiastics, who, alarmed for the safety of their plura- 

 lities, lowered their usual tone of hostility, and whispered the word of 

 promise in the credulous ears of the dissenters. But Defoe was not 

 duped by this specious conduct. He knew that the church would 

 never condescend to tolerate those of his persuasion, and that the 

 alliance now struck up between them was merely a temporary one, 

 to be dissolved when the danger that threatened both equally, was 

 removed. Still, as he revereneed the constitution more than he 

 disrelished the high-church party, he openly espoused their cause, 

 and with the aid of the seven famous bishops, succeeded in eject- 

 ing the monarch. Mr. Wilson dismisses briefly the share Defoe 

 bore in this great work ; it is on record, however, that his writings 

 contributed in no trivial degree to accelerate its progress, and that 

 he was in consequence looked on for a time as one of the lions of 

 the age. 



We have mentioned the seven bishops as material agents in the 

 Revolution that placed the Prince of Orange on the throne of England. 

 It may therefore be supposed that we have alluded to them in the light 

 of patriots. Lest any of our readers should be led away by such sup- 

 position, we think it but right to state that the opposition of the bishops 

 to James had its origin in the basest of all passions the love of gain. 

 So long as the king presumed not to interfere with their pluralities, they 

 allowed him to tax the country at pleasure, to govern without Parlia- 



