fequence of their advice; that he would pay more A. C. 1677. attention to their addreffes; and that he would remove the duke of Lauderdale from his councils. The king replied, That he was furprised at the extravagance of their addrefs, to which he would not at present make the answer it deferved. As they had already passed a poll-tax for the fervice of the year, he began to make levies, which were carried on with such surprising diligence and success, that in fix weeks his army of thirty thousand men was completed. The duke of Monmouth was fent over with three thousand to garrison Oftend, a fleet was equipped, and the court breathed nothing but defiance against the French monarch.

with Lewis,

The States-general, apprised of these prepara- His fecret tions, dispatched Van Lewin as their ambaffador to negotiation London, with inftructions to declare, That if the king of England would immediately denounce war against France, they would break off their negotiation with Lewis, and act vigorously in conjunction with their allies. Charles, finding himself obliged to give a categorical anfwer, told Sir William Temple, who brought the proposal from the Dutch ambaffador, that, feeing the ftates were contented to accept of the conditions which France had prescribed, and Lewis had offered to purchase with a fum of money his confent to that which he could not prevent, he faw no reason for rejecting the gratuity. He therefore ordered Temple to treat with Barillon, the French ambaffador; but Sir William refused to be concerned in fuch a fcandalous negotiation. He found others, however, who undertook the office. The bargain was ftruck for three hundred thousand pounds; but Barillon afterwards gave him to understand that his master would not pay the money unless he would engage, by a fecret article, that he would never maintain an army that should exceed eight thousand men, reckoning the

I 4

whole

A. C. 1677. whole force in his three kingdoms. When this demand was fignified to Charles, "Cod's fifh (faid

The com mors pafs a

army.

he) does my brother of France think to serve me "thus? Are all his promises to make me absolute "mafter of my people come to this? Or does he "think it a thing to be done with eight thousand "men?" This exclamation plainly proves, that Charles had entertained fuch a defign; though the preparations in which he was now employed feem to have been made with a view to raise the price of his neutrality with the French monarch. At this juncture he certainly held the balance of power in Eorope: but he had neither ambition to act as umpire among the princes of Chriftendom, nor refolution to profecute any plan of importance; and, with respect to the interests of his country, he was abfolutely indifferent. He never exerted himself but in tranfient efforts, as he chanced to be ftimulated by the clamours of his parliament, the importunity of his wants, or the inceffant instigation of thofe who enjoyed, his confidence.

When the two houses met in May, in vain he had bill for dif- recourfe to promises and intreaties. The commons banding the refolved, that fhould his majefty think proper to declare war againft France, they would enable him to maintain it: otherwife they would concert meafures for difbanding the army. The king alledged, that Lewis had offered a truce till the twentyfeventh day of July; and until that term should be expired, it would be improper to difband the forces. Notwithstanding this declaration, they voted that the troops levied fince the month of September should be difmiffed. On the eighteenth day of June, Charles told the two houses, in a speech, that the peace between France, Spain, and Holland, was almoft as good as concluded: he faid, the Spaniards had pofitively declared they were not able to bear the expence of maintaining garrifons

in Flanders, which must be left expofed, unless A. C. 1677. England would undertake to fupport the fortifications: he therefore obferved, it would be neceffary to keep a good fleet at fea; and, in particular, to provide for the safety of Oftend, where otherwise the French might maintain a fleet of forty fhips of war, exactly oppofite to the mouth of the Thames. If they defired he should live in ftrict union with his parliament, they would make an addition of three hundred thousand pounds to his revenue, in which cafe they might bring in a bill for appropriating fifty thousand yearly to the fupport of the fleet and artillery: then he would be always ready to pass whatever acts should be proposed for the benefit of the nation. Finally, he defired they would remember that he had engaged to pay forty thousand pounds for the portion of the princess Mary: that the first moiety was already due, and demanded by the prince of Orange. This fpeech had no other effect but that of irritating the commons, who abfolutely rejected the propofal touching the augmentation of the revenue. They likewife finished the bill for difbanding the army; granting, however, fix hundred thousand pounds for the payment of it. The king having paffed it, together with another for an additional tax upon wine for three years; and a third, decreeing that the dead fhould be buried in flannel, for the benefit of the woollen manufacture, the parliament was prorogued.

Charles and

Mean while the States-general negotiated a peace New treaty with France for themselves and Spain; and Lewis between having agreed to reftore Ghent, Aeth, Charleroy, the Dutch. Oudenarde, Courtray, and Limbourg, to his mot catholic majefty; the Dutch ambaffadors received orders to fign the treaty but when the Spanish ambaffador demanded of the French plenipotentiaries at what time those towns should be restored,

they

A. C. 1677. they were given to understand that the French king would detain them until the allies should have made reftitution of the places they had wrefted from the crown of Sweden. This declaration retarded the conclufion of the treaty. Charles was fo incensed at this conduct of Lewis, that he forthwith fent Sir William Temple to the Hague, with full power to fign a mutual league with the ftates, by which the contracting powers obliged themfelves to compel France by force of arms to reftore the fix towns in Flanders. This treaty was concluded in a few days, to the general fatisfaction of all those states that dreaded the power and ambition of the French monarch..

Peace of

This was a vigorous measure, which the king of Nimeguen. England had not steadiness enough to fupport. He fent Du Cros, the Swedish agent at London, with an order to Temple, commanding him to repair forthwith to Nimeguen, and tell the Swedish plenipotentiaries, in his name, that if they would confent to the immediate evacuation of the fix places in Flanders, he would, after the conclufion of the peace, employ all his interest in procuring the restitution of the towns which their mafter had loft during the war. Du Cros no fooner arrived in Holland, then he visited the deputies of the states apart; and not only made them acquainted with the order he had received for Sir William Temple; but affured them, at the fame time, that the kings of France and England had already agreed upon a plan of a pacification, from which Charles would never deviate, notwithstanding his last treaty with the States-general. Nevertheless the Dutch plenipotentiaries at Nimeguen refolutely refufed to fign the peace, unless the French king would engage to make immediate reftitution of the fix towns; and the French ambaffadors seemed inflexible till the very laft day of the congrefs, which was the first of Auguft,

Auguft, when all of a fudden they defifted from A. C. 1677. their pretenfions, and the treaty was figned. This was foon followed by an accommodation between France and Spain; and, in a few months, all the confederates enjoyed the benefit of a pacification, except the duke of Lorraine, who was not reftored to his dominions.

St. Denys.

The duke of Luxembourg had formed the Battle of blockade of Mons, and Lewis endeavoured to protract the treaty, until that place fhould be reduced. Even after the treaty was figned, the prince of Orange, who had not yet received a formal intimation of it from the ftates, marched up to the duke of Luxembourg, who refted fecure on the faith of the treaty, and attacked him with great fury at St. Denys, where the French sustained some damage. This action was the effect either of ambition or of revenge; for the prince certainly knew that the peace was figned at Nimeguen.

affairs in

For a course of twelve years, Lauderdale had State of governed Scotland with the most cruel and perfi-Scotland, dious defpotifm; except during a small intermiffion while the government was in the hands of the earl of Tweddale and Sir Robert Murray, men of moderate principles and difcretion. Episcopacy had been fettled in that kingdom; but was fo contrary to the genius of the people, that conventicles multiplied every day. The established clergy were infulted; and the covenanters became extremely infolent and troublesome, not contented with the indulgence and toleration they enjoyed by the connivance of the government. The two acts procured in the parliament of Scotland, relating to the king's fupremacy and the militia, rendered Lauderdale as abfolute as any eastern emperor. He paffed other laws against nonconformifts, by virtue of which he fined, imprisoned, and banished the fubject: fo that his adminiftration was a most cruel

and