and perfecutor of God's people. A troop of thefe A. C. 1679. armed fanatics, chancing to meet this prelate and his daughter in his coach, upon a heath in the neighbourhood of St. Andrews, dragged him from the carriage; and, without paying the leaft regard to the cries and intreaties of his daughter, murdered him in the most barbarous manner. This cruel affaffination was celebrated by the covenanters as an exploit meritorious in the fight of God. They became more and more infolent and enterprizing. They published a declaration against prelacy, and burned several acts of parliament in the market. place of Rutherglen, a small borough near Glasgow. Captain Graham, afterwards lord Dundee, attacked one of their conventicles, and was repulfed with the loss of thirty men. They now refolved to try their fortune in the field. They took poffeffion of Glasgow; expelled the established clergy; iffued a proclamation, declaring they had taken up arms against the king's fupremacy, popery, prelacy, and a popish fucceffor. The king was no fooner informed of this infurrection, than he difpatched Monmouth with fome troops of English cavalry to Scotland. Thefe being joined by the Scottish guards, and fome regiments of militia, marched against the infurgents, who were pofted at Bothwel-bridge, between Glafgow and Hamilton, to the number of eight thousand, commanded by their minifters. They defended the bridge until their ammunition was expended: then they retired; and Monmouth paffing, drew up his forces without opposition. They could not ftand the fire of his artillery, but immediately fled in confufion. Seven hundred were killed in the purfuit, and twelve hundred taken prifoners. The duke treated them with great lenity. He difmiffed those who promised to live peaceably under the government. Three hundred, who rejected this condition, were embarked

A.C. 1679. embarked for the plantations, and perifhed in the voyage. The duke of Monmouth was naturally brave and merciful; but he was supposed to have courted popularityon this occafion. He had married a Scottish lady, the rich heiress of Buccleugh, allied to all the chief nobility, and hoped to fucceed the duke of Lauderdale in all his influence. He prevailed upon the king to grant an act of indemnity in favour of thofe poor wretches who had been harraffed and hunted into rebellion by the feverity of the government; but Lauderdale took care to draw it up in fuch a manner, that it feemed rather a full pardon to him and all his adherents, than an indulgence to the "intercommuned" cove

York re

pairs to Scotland.

vanters.

The duke of In the latter end of Auguft the king was taken ill of an intermitting-fever at Windfor. This being thought dangerous by the phyficians, Charles, with the privity of Effex, Sunderland, and Hallifax, fent a courier for the duke of York, who returned privately to England; but, before he reached Windfor, the king was recovered. The duke of Monmouth had refigned himself to the management of Shaftsbury, and feemed to afpire at the fucceffion to the crown. He was highly favoured by the king, and idolized by the people: nevertheless, the duke of York, being fupported with the intereft of the earls of Effex and Hallifax, refufed to return to the continent until Monmouth was deprived of his commiffion, and ordered to quit the kingdom. This great point being gained, the duke of York retired again to Bruffels; but he foon obtained leave to refide in Scotland, that he might have an opportunity of conciliating the affections of that people, and be at hand, in case of his brother's decease.

Meal tub plot.

Before he left England, he had prevailed upon' the king to poftpone the meeting of the new parliament

5

liament by prorogation. He hoped, that as the A. C.1079 nation began to cool, his right to the fucceffion would regain the ground it had loft. Besides, he had fome expectation from, a new plot, which he thought would tranflate the odium from the catholics to the prefbyterians. One Dangerfield, more infamous (if poffible) than Oates and Bedloe, a wretch who had been fet in the pillory, fcourged, branded, and tranfported for fraud, felony, and coining, hatched a plot, in conjunction with a midwife called Cellier, a Roman catholic of abandoned morals. They were faid to be encouraged by the earl of Castlemain, the countefs of Powis, and the five popish lords in the Tower. Dangerfield declared there was a defign on foot to fet up a new form of government, and remove the king,, with the royal family. He communicated this intelligence to the king and the duke of York, who fupplied him with money, and countenanced his difcovery. He hid fome feditious papers in the lodgings of one colonel Manfel, and then brought cuftom-house officers into the apartments to fearch for fmuggled merchandize. The papers were found; and the council having examined the affair, concluded they were forged by Dangerfield. They ordered all the places he frequented to be fearched; and, in the house of Cellier, the whole scheme of the confpiracy was discovered upon paper, concealed in a meal-tub, whence it acquired the name of the Meal-tub plot. Dangerfield being committed to Newgate, made an ample confeffion of the forgery, which he faid was contrived by the earl of Castlemain, the countess of Powis, and the five lords in the Tower: that the design was to fuborn witneffes to prove a charge of fodomy and perjury upcn Oates; to affaffinate the earl of Shaftsbury; to accufe the dukes of Monmouth and Buckingham, the earls of Effex, Hallifax, and others, of having

N° 74.

M

A. C. 1679. having been concerned in the confpiracy againft the king and his brother. The earl of Caftlemain and the countess of Powis were fent to the Tower; and the king himself was fufpected of having encouraged this impofture. But people, who reafoned without prejudice, believed the confeffion and information were equally falfe.

Earl of Shaftsbury expelied from the council.

The earls of Effex and Hallifax preffed the king to affemble the parliament: but he was afraid of finding them irritated by this new discovery; and therefore withstood all their importunities. Dif gufted at this refufal, and dreading the popular refentment, they withdrew themselves from the king's confidence. Effex refigned the treafurer's ftaff, which was bestowed upon Laurence Hyde, who, with Sunderland and Godolphin, became his chief counsellors. Lord Ruffel, one of the most popular and virtuous men in the nation, quitted the council. board: Sir William Temple retired to the country; and Shaftsbury being removed from the board, his place was filled by the earl of Radnor. The immediate cause of his removal was an infult he offered to the king in his absencé. Charles had met his brother at Newmarket, from whence the duke of York fet out for Scotland: this interview was no fooner known to Shaftfbury, than he called a council at Whitehall; and preffed them to prefent an addrefs to his majefty, representing the danger to which his life was expofed from the duke's prefence. This turbulent nobleman finding himself expelled from the council, and from all share in the adminiftration, advised Monmouth to return to the king's England, even without the king's leave. Charles

Monmouth returns to

England without

leave.

refufed to fee him when he arrived in London, but ordered him to leave the kingdom. Inftead of obeying this command, he accompanied Shaftsbury in a progrefs through many parts of the kingdon, among thousands of people who affembled

to

to fee this darling of the English nation. Such A. C. 1679. conduct feemed to indicate a defign against the ef- Burnet, tablished government, and induced many perfons L'Etrange, of confideration to efpoufe the intereft of the duke Rapin. of York, rather than fee their country reinvolved in the miseries of a civil war. Shaftfbury, by means of his emiffaries, procured petitions to the king from different parts of the kingdom; demanding a parliament; and excited fuch a spirit of difcontent against the government, as feemed to prognofticate a very dangerous rebellion. Charles was extremely incenfed at the duke of Monmonth; and chagrined at feeing himself deferted by his counsellors. Lord Cavendish, Sir Henry Capel, and Mr. Powel, difcontinued their attendance at council; and fome places in the admiralty were relinquifhed. All the antiminifterial members were re-elected in the new parliament; and the whole nation was filled with murmurs, that foretold a ftorm like that which had fwept his father from the throne.

A. C. 1680,

diftinguish

Whig and

The nearness and importance of the danger The oppofeemed to infpire him with more vigour than he fite factions was ever known to poffefs. The parliament meet- ed by the ing on the twenty-fixth day of January, he told me of them, in a fhort fpeech, that the prefent ftate of Tory. the nation rendered an intermiffion abfolutely neceffary; and therefore he prorogued them to the fifteenth day of April. Then he declared in coun. cil, that he had ordered the duke of York to return to court, judging his prefence neceffary at a time when queftions were ftarted, in which his intereft was fo nearly concerned. That prince returned in February, and was received by his brother with extraordinary marks of affection. In all probability, his advice and exhortations corroborated the king's refolution: fo that he determined to try his ftrength with that reftlefs faction which he could not appease. The partifans of the court

M 2

retorted