CHAP. A. D. 1688. Approach of the Prince of Orange. Change of measures. Fatuity of James and profligacy of Jeffreys Stadtholder of the United Provinces. He therefore gladly listened to the representations of those who had fled to Holland to escape from the tyranny exercised in their native country, or who sent secret emissaries to implore his aid; and he boldly resolved to come to England - not as a military conqueror, but, for their deliverance, and to obtain the Crown with the assent of the nation. That he and his adherents might be protected against any sudden effort to crush them, a formidable fleet was equipped in the Dutch ports, and a considerable army, which had been assembled professedly for a different purpose, was ready on a short notice to be embarked in it. James, who had been amusing himself by making the Pope godfather to his son, and had listened with absolute incredulity to the rumours of the coming invasion, suddenly became sensible of his danger, and, to avert it, was willing to make any sacrifice to please his people. The slender merit of the tardy, forced, and ineffectual concessions which were offered is claimed respectively by the apologists of the King, of Jeffreys, and of the Earl of Sunderland, but seems due to the last of the three. James's infatuation was so transcendent, he was so struck with judicial blindness,-being doomed to destruction, he was so demented, that, if let alone, he probably would have trusted with confidence to his divine right and the protection of the Virgin, even when William had landed at Torbay. As far as I can discover, from the time when Jeffreys received the Great Seal, he never originated any measures wise or wicked, and, without remonstrance, he heartily co-operated in all those suggested by the King, however illegal or mischievous they might be. I do not find the slightest foundation for the assertion that, with all his faults, he had a regard for the Protestant religion, which made him stand up in its defence. The Declaration of Indulgence, to which he put the Great Seal, might be imputed to a love of toleration (to which he was a stranger), but what can be said of the active part he took in the High Commission Court, and in introducing Roman Catholics into the Universities and into the Church. The Earl of Sunderland, though highly unprincipled, was a man of great dis - CI. Sunder Oct. 27. 1688. cernment and courage; he could speak boldly to the King; CHAP. and he had joined in objecting to the precipitate measures for giving ascendency to his new religion, which had produced Conduct of this crisis. His seemingly forced removal from office he him- the Earl of self probably suggested, along with the other steps now taken land, to appease the people. Whoever might first propose the altered policy, Jeffreys Conceswas the instrument for carrying it into effect, and thereby sions to it lost all its grace and virtue. He took off the suspension of please the the Bishop of London, and, by a supersedeas under the Great Seal, abolished the High Commission Court. He annulled all the proceedings respecting Magdalen College, and issued the necessary process for re-instating Dr. Hough and the Protestant fellows. He put the Great Seal to a general pardon. people. to the But the re-action was hoped for, above all, from the restor- Overtures ation of the City charters. On the 2d of October he sent City. a flattering message to the Mayor and Aldermen to come to Whitehall in the evening, that they might be presented at Court by "their old Recorder." Here the King told them that he was mightily concerned for the welfare of their body, and that at a time when invasion threatened the kingdom, he was determined to show them his confidence in their loyalty, by restoring the rights of the city to the state in which they were before the unfortunate quo warranto proceedings had been instituted, in the late reign. Accordingly, on the following day, a meeting of the Common Council was called at Guildhall, and the Lord Chancellor proceeded thither in his state-carriage, attended by his purse-bearer, mace-bearer, and other officers, and, after a florid speech, delivered them charters. letters patent under the Great Seal, which waived all forfeitures, revived all charters, and confirmed all liberties the city had ever enjoyed under the King or any of his ancestors. Great joy was manifested; but the citizens could not refrain from showing their abhorrence of the man who brought these glad tidings, and on his return they hissed him, * See Diary of second Lord Clarendon, 3d Oct. 1688. The Lord lor's visit Chancel to Guild hall to restore the and hooted him, and gave him a foretaste of the violence he was soon to experience from an English mob. It is said that, upon a rumour that the Prince of Orange had suffered some disaster, the King repented of these concessions, and ordered them to be recalled: but, in truth, the assent of the Crown was expressed by the Chancellor to the restoration of Treby to the office of Recorder, and to the election of Sir John Shorter, a churchman, as Mayor, in the room of Eyles, an anabaptist, who had been appointed by the Crown, that he might be succeeded by a Roman Catholic. The forfeited and surrendered charters were likewise restored to the other corporations in England. These popular acts, however, were generally ascribed to fear, and the coalition of all parties, including the preachers of passive obedience, — to obtain a permanent redress of grievances by force, continued resolute and unshaken. When William landed, the frightful severities of Jeffreys in the west had the effect of preventing the populace from flocking to his standard, but he met with no opposition, and soon persons of great consideration and influence sent in their adhesion to him. When we read in history of civil commotions and foreign invasions, we are apt to suppose that all the ordinary business of life was suspended. But on inquiry, we find that it went on pretty much as usual, unless where interrupted by actual violence. While the Prince of Orange was advancing to the capital, and James was marching out to give him battle, if his army would have stood true,—the Court of Chancery sat regularly to hear" exceptions" and "motions for time to plead;" and on the very day on which the Princess Anne fled to Nottingham, and her unhappy father exclaimed, in the extremity of his agony, "God help me! my own children have forsaken me," the Lord Chancellor decided, that "if an administrator pays a debt due by bond before a debt due by a decree in Equity, he is still liable to pay the debt due by the decree."* * 24th Nov. 1688. 2 Vernon, 88., Searle v. Lane. This, however, appears to have been the last day of his sitting. CHAP. A. D. 1688. Change of dynasty was not yet talked of, and the cry was for "a free parliament." To meet this, the King resolved to call one in his own name; and the last use which Jeffreys made of the Great Seal was by sealing writs for the election A new parof members of the House of Commons, who were ordered to meet on the 15th of January following. liament summoned. solves to His parting inter view with Jeffreys. This movement only infused fresh vigour into the Prince James reof Orange, who now resolved to bring matters to a crisis; leave the and James finding himself almost universally deserted,—as kingdom. the most effectual way, in his judgment, of annoying his enemies, very conveniently for them, determined to leave the kingdom. Preparatory to this he had a parting interview with Jeffreys, to whom he did not confide his secret, but he obtained from him all the parliamentary writs which had not been issued to the sheriffs, amounting to a considerable number, and these, with his own hand, he threw into the fire, so that a lawful parliament might not be assembled when he was gone. To increase the confusion, he required Jeffreys to surrender the Great Seal to him, the plan of destroying it, — in the belief, that without it the government could not be conducted. having laid He deGreat Seal from Jeffreys. mands the A. D. 1688. flying, throws the James, in Great Seal Thames. All things being prepared, and Father Peter and the Earl of Melfort having been informed of his intentions, which he still concealed from Jeffreys, on the night of the 10th of December, James, disguised, left Whitehall accompanied by into the Sir Edward Hales, whom he afterwards created Earl of river Tenterden. London Bridge (which they durst not cross) being the only one then over the Thames, they drove in a hackney-coach to the Horse Ferry, Westminster, and as they crossed the river with a pair of oars, the King threw the Great Seal into the water, and thought he had sunk with it for ever the fortunes of the Prince of Orange. At Vauxhall they found horses in readiness for them, and they rode swiftly to Feversham, where they embarked for France. * See Diary of second Earl of Clarendon, Nov. 28, 29. 1688. CHAPTER CII. CONCLUSION OF THE LIFE OF LORD CHANCELLOR JEFFREYS. CHAP. Dec. 11. 1688. Consternation of Jeffreys on the King's flight. Attempts to seize Father Peter and the Pope's Nuncio. INSTEAD of narrating the adventures of the monarch, when he was intercepted at Feversham, we must confine ourselves to what befell the unhappy Ex-chancellor. He heard early next morning of the royal flight, and was thrown into a state of the greatest consternation. He was afraid of punishment from the new government which was now to be established, and being asked by a courtier if he had heard "what the heads of the Prince's declaration were?" he answered, "I am sure that my head is one, whatever the rest may be." He dreaded still more the fury of the mob, of which the most alarming accounts were soon brought him. In the existing state of anarchy, almost the whole population of the metropolis crowded into the streets in quest of intelligence*; the excitement was unexampled; there was an eager desire to prevent the King's evil Councillors from escaping along with him; and many bad characters, under pretence of a regard for the Protestant religion, took the opportunity to gratify their love of violence and plunder. The first object of vengeance was Father Peter; but it was found that in consequence of the information of the King's intentions conveyed to him and the Earl of Melfort, they had secretly withdrawn the day before, and were now in safety. The Pope's Nuncio was rescued from great peril by the interposition of the Lords of the Council, who had met, and, exercising temporarily the powers of government, were striving to preserve the public tranquillity. * See Hubert's description to King John of the smith swallowing the tailer's news, "With his shoes and measure in his hand, |