A. C. 1687 in favour of Parker bishop of Oxford, who was as profligate as the other. The fellows refused to comply with this injunction. The king repaired in perfon to Oxford, and the fellows were brought into his prefence. He reproached them with their infolence and difobedience, in the most imperious terms; and commanded them to chufe the bifhop of Oxford their prefident, without further delay. They prefented a petition which he would not receive; and Parker was still rejected. He afterwards established an inferior commiffion to vifit Magdalen-college. The chiefs of this delegation, were Cartwright bishop of Chefter, and one of the judges. They endeavoured to intimidate the fellows into compliance by menaces: but, finding them refolute, they proposed an expedient for faving the king's honour by means of a declaration, which the members of the college were willing to fubfcribe. The king was not fatisfied with this medium. He infifted upon their owning their contempt of his order, and promifing they would comport themfelves with more refpect for the future. He demanded that they fhould acknowledge the juftice and legality of the ecclefiaftical court, implore his forgiveness upon their knees, and fubmit to the bishop of Oxford as their prefident. Those conditions being rejected by all the fellows, except Charnock, and one other; the recufants were, by the fentence of the commiffioners, expelled from the college, and deprived of their fellowships. This judgment was affirmed by the ecclefiaftical court, which moreover decreed, that the prefident and the fellows fhould be declared incapable of holding ecclefiaftical benefices. Notwithstanding this fentence, the prefident refufed to quit his houfe, until he was forcibly expelled. Then the college was filled with catholics, and Charnock appointed viceprefident.

This flagrant invafion of the laws and religion A. C. 1687. of the kingdom proved one of the most unpopular acts of the king's whole reign: but, indeed, by this time he had made confiderable progrefs towards abfolute dominion, and had fome reafon to think the nation in general acquiefced in its flavery; for he was flattered even in his highest pretenfions by the clergy, the laity, and all forts of communities; among these the fociety of the Temple distinguished themselves by a fulfome addrefs, in which they declared, that the prerogative being the gift of God, no earthly power could diminish it; and that it neceffarily remained entire and infeparably attached to his royal perfon. Yet the tory parliament, fubmiffive as they were in the beginning, and attached to the king by the ties of affection, could never be brought to a compliance with his ultimate defigns upon the religion and conftitution of their country. He had disposed of all the great employments to perfons of his own communion. The juftices of the peace were either catholics, or prote ftants devoted to his will; and they employed all their influence in establishing the king's difpenfing power. James intended to call a new parliament, and began to take measures for the election of fuch members as would pay an implicit obedience to his commands. He clofeted individuals, and endea- Endeavours voured to convince them of the neceffity for abolish- to influence ing penal laws. He employed arguments, threats, of members and promises alternately. The fame methods were for a new practifed by his minifters, deputy-lieutenants, judges, and juftices, in different parts of the kingdom. Writs of Quo Warranto wero issued against some refractory corporations, which were obliged to fubmit to his commands; and he himself made a progrefs through feveral counties, in order to intimidate and cajole the people. But all his endeavours proved unfuccefsful: he met with nothing

but

the election

parliament.

A. C. 1687. but coldness, reluctance, and difaffection; so that he would not hazard the meeting of a new parliament.

The pope's nuncio

makes his

The pope had, in the preceding year, conferred the dignity of nuncio upon Ferdinand Dada, public entry who had refided privately in England, and attendinto Wind- ed the king's perfon ever fince his acceffion to the

for.

throne. Now James refolved to pull off the
mafque, and produce him in public to his people;
though, by the laws of England, no perfon could
affume the character of pope's nuncio, without in-
curring the penalty of high treason. On the third
day of July, this prieft made his public entry into
Windfor, in his pontificals, preceded by the crofs,
and attended by a great number of monks, in the
habits of their refpective orders. The duke of
Somerset being lord of the bed-chamber in waiting,
refufed to conduct the nuncio to an audience, al-
ledging that he could not obey the king's order
without tranfgreffing the law. The duke of
Grafton was not fo fcrupulous; and Somerfet loft
his office, together with a regiment of dragoons,
which he had for fome time commanded.
these unpopular measures of the king are faid to
have been fuggefted by the queen, and father
Edward Peters his confeffor, a fhallow bigot, who
was publicly admitted as a member to the council-
board, contrary to the advice of all the leading
men among the catholics

*

All

James knowing how popular the prince of Orange was among the diffenters in England; and that the nation in general revered the princess as prefumptive heir of the crown, refolved to procure, if poffible, his concurrence in repealing the penal laws, believing this would difpofe the parliament

In the courfe of this year, the duke of Buckingham, deferted by his

friends, and defpifed by all the world, died in great want and obfcurity.

to

to a compliance with his will, in confirming the A. C. 1687. declaration. In order to found the prince, he employed one Stuart, who was acquainted with Fagel the penfionary, to affure this counsellor, in a letter, that the intereft of England, as well as of the prince, required the abolition of the teft and penal Jaws. As Fagel made no reply to this address, Stuart renewed the attack in a fecond and third letter; till at length, tired by the penfionary's filence, he gave him to understand, that the king had employed him to write, and defired to know the fentiments of the prince on this fubject. Then Fagel, by direction of the prince, wrote an answer, which was published. He faid the prince and princefs would willingly agree to indulge the catholics with liberty of confcience; and ardently wifhed that the proteftant diffenters were allowed the free exercife of their religion: but they would never confent to the abolition of the teft and penal laws, which were enacted to exclude the catholics from parliament, and public employments, that they might never be in a condition to overturn the proteftant religion.

Their opinion was fupported by very clear and convincing reafons, which, while they irritated the king against his fon-in-law, ferved to confirm great part of the nation in the refolution which they had lately taken to oppofe the arbitrary defigns of the miniftry. They began to perceive that the kingdom would infallibly be reduced to slavery, and the proteftant religion extinguished, unless they should engage in fome fpeedy and effectual measures for their own prefervation. They turned their eyes upon the prince of Orange; and fome were inclined to wait patiently, until the princefs fhould fucceed to the throne by the courfe of nature: but they banished thofe forbearing maxims, when a

pro

A. C. 1688. proclamation was published, declaring the queen's The queen's pregnancy, and ordaining a day of thankfgiving pregnancy for the occafion. These tidings filled the catholics

The king's dilguft to the Dutch.

with exceffive joy, and the reft of the nation with the most dismal prefages. The jefuits were bold enough to prophefy that the queen would bring forth a fon. They pretended her conception was the miraculous effect of vows made by her and her mother to the bleffed Virgin, and our lady of Loretto. Addreffes of congratulation were immediately wafted to the king from all corners of the ifland, as if the whole nation had thought the birth of a prince would be a public bleffing. But thefe addreffes were procured by the emiffaries of the miniftry. All the proteftants in the kingdom were alarmed, as at the eve of a terrible calamity. A great number fondly believed that the queen's pregnancy was counterfeit. She had been for fome years in an ill ftate of health; and this circumftance, confidered through the medium of paffion, fuggefted the belief of an impofture. Before James afcended the throne, this lady had been pregnant, and at that time her enemies circulated a report of the fame nature; but, as the infant proved a female, they took no step to confirm or extend the fufpicion.

The king was fo elevated with this profpect of male-iffue, that he feemed to fet the prince of Orange at defiance. He difclaimed the correfpondence between Stuart and Fagel: he countenanced the Algerines, who were at war with the Dutch: he recalled the fix British regiments that were in the fervice of the States-general: he augmented his navy, and feemed to wait for nothing but a pretence to declare war against Holland. The States, in aniwer to his demand, reprefented, that, by treaties, they were not obliged to part with the regiments,