610 



Britain. 



"JiaiB II. 



- IGsS. 



William 

 iands in 

 England. 



Tne Enj,'- 

 libh nobili- 

 ty join his 

 tandard. 



James ap- 

 plies to 

 Germany 

 for aid. 



the whole army, soon shewed to be impracticable. 

 By his order, the nvjt.r of J .uchfield's regiment drew 

 out the battalion, ami required them to promise sup- 

 port to the king in repealing the penal statutes, or to 

 ground their arm?. To his astonishment, all but two 

 captains and a few popish soldiers threw down their 

 arras. James ordered them to take them up, adding 

 sullenly, that for the future he would not do them 

 the honour to consult them. When intelligence at 

 la.-t came from the English minister at the Hague, 

 that the invasion of England was really intended, and 

 avowed by the Dutch government, James, in a panic, 

 tried to avert the wrath of his people, by restoring 

 the charters which had been annihilated, annulling 

 the court of ecclesiastical commission, and other acts; 

 but as he revoked those concessions on th; first news 

 of a disaster having befallen the Dutch fleet, his sin- 

 cerity was as much distrusted "as his timidity was 

 despised. 



On the 21st of October, the prince set sail from 

 Helvoetsluys, with nearly 500 vessels, and an army 

 of 11-,000 men. He first encountered a storm, which 

 drove him back ; but his loss being soon repaired, the 

 fleet put to sea again under the English Admiral 

 Herbert, and on the second morning after it sailed, 

 was discovered stretching towards the channel, with 

 all the sail it could spread. The same wind detained 

 the king's fleet near Harwich, and enabled the Dutch 

 to pass the straits of Dover without opposition. 

 Both shores were covered with multitudes of people, 

 who, besides admiring the grandeur of the spectacle, 

 were held in suspcnce by the awful importance of the 

 enterprize. On the 5th of November, the anniversary 

 of the gun- powder plot, the prince concluded his 

 voyage, and landed his army in Torbay. 



The Dutch army marched first to Exeter ; but 

 general as the invitation of the English had been, 

 several days elapsed before they resorted to the 

 standard of their deliverer. Sir Edward Seymour 

 first made proposals for an association, which was 

 universally signed. By degrees, the Earl of Abing- 

 don, Mr Russel son of the Earl of Bedford, and 

 other gentlemen of distinction, came to Exeter ; Lord 

 Delamere took arms in Cheshire ; the Earl of Danby 

 seized York ; the Earl of Bath, governor of Ply- 

 mouth, declared for the prince ; the Earl of Devon- 

 shire made a like declaration in Derby. The deser- 

 tion of the army quickly followed. Lord Colchester 

 was the first officer that went over ; Lord Cornbury 

 succeeded in an attempt to bring over some troops of 

 cavalry; Lord Churchill, who had a high command, 

 resorted to the prevailing party, and carried with him 

 the Duke of Grafton, natural son to the late king. 



The falling monarch applied to Leopold, emperor 

 of Germany, but received no favourable answer. 

 His fleet was disaffected ; and though he had yet an 

 army of more than 20,000 men, he dreaded leading 

 them to battle. He joined this army at Salisbury, and 

 Deemed for a moment resolved to live or die king ; 

 but at the end of six days, he returned to London, 

 and a skirmish having taken place between the two 

 armies, a report that those of James's being entirely 

 defeated, accelerated the declaration of mai.v in 

 favour of William. The desertion of prince George 

 of Denmark, and of his daughter the princes* Anne, 



BRITAIN. 



who being under the influence of Lord Churchill, 

 were persuaded to join the prince of Orange, struck 

 down the tottering remains of his fortitude. In des- 

 pair, he called a council of all the peers and prelates 

 who were in London, and followed their advice in 

 issuing writs for a new parliament, and in sending 

 Halifax, Nottingham, and Godolphin, as commis- 

 sioners to treat with the prince of Orange. In pas- 

 sing to the council, he asked the father of Lord 

 Russel (whose pardon he had prevailed upon Charles 

 to refuse), for his advice and assistance. " I had 

 once a son," said the venerable Earl of Bedford, 

 " who could have served your majesty on this oc- 

 casion." James was struck speechless at the reply. 

 Though the prince knew that these commissioners 

 were in his own interest, he refused to give a satis- 

 factory answer. Meanwhile, the insurrection spread 

 over England, and every day some important acces-' 

 sion was made to the popular cause. And as the 

 contagion reached Scotland, the Papists and violent 

 royalists in that kingdom fled or concealed themselves, 

 and the Scottish privy council addressed themselves 

 to William. 



James's terrors now rose for his personal safety ; 

 and still more so, as the queen, alarmed at the general 

 hatred which her religion inspired, and at the danger 

 of a parliamentary impeachment, fled with her in- 

 fant son to Gravesend, where a yacht conveyed her 

 to Calais. The king, if he could be supposed, 

 under the influence of such terrors, to cherish either 

 hopes or designs, imagined he might throw the 

 kingdom into anarchy by his flight. He threw the 

 great seal into the river, and about 12 at night on 

 the 10th of December, took a boat at Whitehall 

 and crossed the river in disguise. He was attended 

 only by Sir Edward Hales, and two servants, and 

 continuing his journey all night, arrived in the morn- 

 ing at Feversham. Near that place he was seized 

 by some fishermen, who imagined his party were Po- 

 pish priests flying from the country ; and amidst the 

 insults of the populace, was brought back to Fever- 

 sham. At the inn of the village he was seen by a 

 seaman who had served under him, and who melted 

 into tears when he recognized him. The seamen of 

 the place immediately formed a guard for his protec- 

 tion ; but he was removed from their hands by the 

 officers of the mditia, by whom he was treated with 

 less respect. The confusion which arose after the 

 king's flight became known, was violent, but short, 

 and was rather distinguished by terror than by out- 

 rage. All was calmed, however, by the bishops and 

 peers assuming the reins of government. They chose 

 the Marquis of Halifax president of their council, 

 issued orders to the fleet and army, and applied to 

 the Prince of Orange as to their expected sovereign, 

 who was now on his march to London. 



The Prince of Orange advanced to London by 

 slow marches, to shew that he was invited to the go- 

 vernment, and did not hasten to seize it. But after 

 he had reached Windsor, the unwelcome intelligence 

 >vas brought to him of James having been stopt in 

 his night. The Prince sent James a letter, forbid- 

 ding him to approach nearer to London than Ro- 

 chester ; but the letter missed the king, who return- 

 ed to London, and was welcomed with shouts by the 



Britai 



He sfni 

 com mil 

 Bioneii 



treat wr 

 Wiltian 



The ' 

 tscap 

 Franc 



The Ki 

 also le 

 Londo 



but 

 zed bi 



some ; 

 crmen 



W.lliaa 

 adv.mc 

 Londoi 



