ton court on the twenty-ninth of May, the king's birth-day, and jult two years after his triumphal entrance into London.

Whatever teftimonies of public joy were given on this occafion, yet in a fhort time there appeared not that ferenity at court, which was expected. There was a lady of youth and beauty, with whom the king had lived in great and notorious familiarity from the time of his coming into England; and who, a little before the queen's arrival, had been delivered of a fon, whom the king owned. The fcandal of fuch a connection, though he was a married woman, had hitherto been the lefs in confideration of the king's being young, vigorous, and fingle; and upon a prefumption, that when he fhould be married, he would contain himself within stricter bounds of decency and virtue. But it foon appeared that this favourite mistrefs not only retained, but greatly increafed her former influence; and fucceeded too well in completely alienating the king's affections from his queen, and filling him with prejudices against the virtuous counfels of his best friends.

When the queen came to Hampton-court, fhe brought with her a formed refolution that she would never fuffer the lady, who was fo much spoken of, to be in her pretence. The king was determined on the very reverfe; and, in a day or two, led the lady himself into her majesty's chamber, and prefented her to the queen, who received

thank them for their fervices before the prorogation. As foon as this bufinefs was dispatched, he went immediately to Portsmouth; and, as we are told by his brother," was married privately by lord Aubigny, a fecular prieft and almoner to the queen, according to the rites of Rome, in the queen's chamber. None were prefent but the Portuguese ambaffador, three more Portuguefe of quality, and two or three Portuguese women: the outward ceremony was afterwards performed by Dr. Sheldon, bifhop of London " This account, written by James himself, correfponds nearly with what Burnet relates from the fame teltimony. Only Burnet adds, that, when Sheldon came to perform the ceremony, the queen would not fay the words of matrimony, nor bear the fight of the bishop; but that the king faid the words haftily; upon which the bishop pronounced them married perfons.'

*This was the famous, or rather infamous Barbara Villiers, who had been married to a Mr. Palmer; but who had as little regard for decency or virtue as Charles. Their criminal intercourse began the very night of the restoration. An attempt was made to bribe her husband's acquiefcence by the title of earl of Cafllemain; and afterwards, upon his feparating from her, she was advanced to be duchess of Cleveland. Burnet tells us," he was a woman of great beauty, but mott enormously vicious and ravenous; foolish, but imperious; very uneafy to the king; and always carrying on intrigues with other men, while yet fhe pretended the was jealous of him. His paffion for her, and her ftrange behaviour towards him, did fo diforder him, that often he was not mafter of himself, nor capable of minding bufinefs." Sufficient proofs of this are given in the above history.'

her

her with the fame grace as fhe had done the reft, there being many lords and other ladies at the fame time there. But whether her majesty in the inftant knew who she was, or upon recollection found it afterwards, fhe no fooner fat down in her chair than her colour changed, tears gufhed out of her eyes, her nofe bled, and she fainted, fo that she was forthwith removed into another room, and all the company withdrew. Though thefe were the natural workings of flesh and blood in a young and jealous wife, the king was fo enraged, that, from that moment, he treated the queen even in public with the utmost indifference and indignity*, till her fpirit being at length broken by fuch cruelty, and the firmnefs of her mind exhaufted in ufelefs ftruggles, the funk into the oppofite extreme of condefcenfion and meannefs. She not only admitted the lady to be of her bedchamber, and used her kindly in private, but was familiar and merry with her in public, fo that her majefty forfeited all the compaffion before felt for the barbarity of the affronts fhe underwent; and the king's indifference was now changed into a fettled contempt.

During this unhappy contest between a wife and a mistress, the fpirit of intrigue, the ftrength of perfonal influence, and all the arts of perfuafion were fully exerted by the different factions at court. The chancellor and his friends went as far in their endeavours to diffuade the king from his improper purposes as they could do without incurring his abfolute difpleafure. They warned him of the fatal confequences of fuch conduct, and proved very clearly that it was not lefs inconfiftent with policy than with religion. But all their arguments and remonftrances were in vain +. The violence of his majesty's

The king never took the leaft notice of her majefty in public; but was always converfing, even in her prefence, with his favourite Barbara. He difmiffed most of the queen's Portuguese attendants and fent them to Lisbon, without any compenfation for their fervices, or the fmalleft apology for the disappointment of their hopes. He caufed the utmoft ftri&tnefs to be obferved by the officers of the revenue in the receipt of that part of the portion that was brought over by the fleet; and committed to prifon Diego de Silva, (who had come to England on promife of being made treasurer to the queen,) merely because the poor man had undertaken to see the money paid, and could not now find funds adequate to the difcharge of that engagement. But notwithstanding the groffness of these perfonal infults, Charles did not neglect the contract he had entered into with Lewis for affifting the Portuguefe. Befides the protection afforded to their trade by our fleets, the victory at the famous battle of Amexial in June 1663, which established the independence of Portugal, was entirely owing to the English auxiliaries, whofe valour, intrepidity and fuccefs were on that day fo confpicuous, as to make the Portuguese commander exclaim, "Thefe heretics are better to us than all our faints."

+ The chancellor having used every effort in vain, abfented himself for a few days from court, to avoid any farther concern in

majefty's paffion made him liften with more pleasure to those who flattered it. The earl of Bristol, and several other ambitious and profligate men, who dreaded the queen's gaining any afcendancy, and the increase of the chancellor's power from her good opinion of him, paid their court to the other lady, and left nothing undone, or unfaid, to rivet the king's attachment to her. All fcruples on the fcore of religion they turned into ridicule, as if it were only an invention of the clergy to impofe upon men, and to restrain them from the liberty and ufe of thofe faculties which God and nature had given them. Befides, they faid, his marriage was in fact diffolved by the breach of the conditions on the part of Portugal. They then addreffed themselves to the king's paffions; firft to his pride, by fuggefting to him the difgrace of giving up the point to a woman infected with all the caprice and jealoufy of her country; and next to his love, by ftill more artful and feducing infinuations: they faid, "that the charms of his perfon and profeffions had won the heart of a young and beautiful lady of a noble extraction, whofe father had loft his life in the fervice of the crown*; that she had provoked the jealoufy and rage of her husband to that degree, that he had feparated himself from her, and now the difconfolate lady had no place of retreat left from the infamy of the world but in his majefty's tenderness and protection." Thus was the king encouraged in his wort propenfities; the lady had apartments affigned her at court; his majesty spent most of his time in her company, or in the converfation of thofe, whofe greatest talent confifted in being able to raise a laugh at the expence of every thing ferious and facred; and the wifeft men defpaired of finding any remedies to apply to the increafing diffolutenefs and debauchery of the times.'

fo fcandalous a bufinefs. In the mean time the king wrote to him a letter on the fubject, in which he fays: "I wish I may be unhappy in this world and in the world to come, if I fail in the leaft degree of what I refolved, which is, of making my lady Castlemaine of my wife's bedchamber: and whosoever I find use any endeavours to hinder this refolution of mine, except it be only to myfelf, I will be his enemy to the last moment of my life. You know how true a friend I have been to you: if you will oblige me eternally, make this bufinefs as easy to me as you can, what opinion foever you are of; for I am refolved to go through this matter, let what will come on it, which again I (wear before Almighty God: therefore, if you defire to have the continuance of my friendship, meddle no more with this business, except it be to beat down all falfe and fcandalous reports, and to facilitate what I am fure my honour is fo much concerned in and whofoever I find to be my lady Caftlemaine's enemy in the matter, I do promife, upon my word, to be his enemy as long as I live." At the beginning, and in the conclufion of this letter, he defires the chancellor to give the fame hints to his friends. Can fuch a letter require any comment?'

She was the daughter of lord Francis Villiers, who, in the year 1648, was killed at Kingston, in a skirmish with fome of the parliamentary forces.'

The

The editor, who remarks his author's tenderness toward Charles, corrects his bias in a variety of notes, and in paffages inferted to fupply deficient links in the narrative chain: but we must obferve, that the antidote is rather attempted by coarse names and harsh epithets *, than by throwing new light on the author's relation, or by mafterly reflections.

The original work is introduced by an able fummary view of the preceding reigns of James I. and Charles I. which we fuppofe to be extracted from fome of our late historians; because the fupplement is confeffed to be principally formed from Mrs. Macaulay's hiftory.

N.

ART. III. Dr. Somerville's Hiftory of Political Tranfa&tions, &c. from the Refloration to the Death of King William.

THE

[Article concluded from our laft Vol. p. 421.]

HE intelligent author of this work, to the confideration of which we now with pleasure return, juftly remarks, that fignal revolutions in the ftate of nations and governments are rarely accomplished by any fingle event, however important, nor by the fole operation of internal caufes. Numerous circumflances, both internal and external, doubtless concurred to produce the great and ever-memorable events of the Revolution in 1688: -but the immediate caufes were the bigotted attachment of the king to the Roman Catholic religion, the illegal, injudicious, and difhoneft fteps, which he took to encourage it, and his claim of the difpenfing power exercised in favour of papists, and ratified by the judges. Men of every station and party felt the injury of this attachment: the religion and the rights of their country were interefting concerns to every patriotic and generous heart. Thofe who, in the former reign, had invariably exalted the prerogative of the prince, now opened their eyes to dangers, which in a moment overturned their specious theories. They perceived that there was a point, at which fubmiffion ought to end, and refiftance fhould begin. Some

* Deteftable monfters-Hypocritical tyrant-Defpicable fycophant-Detefted family-Traitors-Incomparable fovereign!!!Unprincipled king-Monster of falfehood, bafenefs, injuftice, and cruelty A drunken debauchce, and an arbitrary bigot-Such a notoriously debauched, unprincipled, impious profligate, as Charles II. Royal poltroon-Royal butchers-Ufual bafenefs and perfidy -Cowardice and villainy-Wife policy and wonderful humanity of Charles I.!!! However justly all thefe names and epithets may be applied, they are more in character over a bowl of punch, amid the fumes of tobacco, than in the historic page.

expedient

expedient for redrefs, or fome plan of deliverance, was the object in which the wifh of every party centered. The smallest deviation from the establifhed plan of government was likely to be adopted with the most unanimous confent, and to be effected with the greatest cafe and expedition. If nothing less than the depofition of the reigning prince could fecure the conftitution and religion, allegiance would be naturally transferred to the next lineal and legitimate heir. The religion of the prince of Orange, his illuftrious talents as a ftatefman and a warrior, and his near relation to the royal family, recommended him as the fittest inftrument to deliver the nation from impending ruin. The activity, vigilance, and intrigues, of this prince, coincided exactly with the neceffities and the defires of the people of England; and various circumftances in the flate of Europe. encouraged and feconded the views of both, and co-operated toward the accomplishment of the Revolution.

These and many other particulars, which operated directly or indirectly toward the completion of this great event, are dif tinctly related by Dr. Somerville, with fuch reflections as may ferve to affift the reader in forming a judgment of the policy with which the bufinefs was conducted. From the fubfequent narrative of the well-known tranfactions of the reign of William, it is unneceflary to make extracts. We chufe rather to felect fome of the remarks interfperfed through this part of the work, in vindication of characters which will ever be dear to the friends of freedom.

Dr. S. thus defends King William from the charge of bigotry:

"The king," fays Mr. Macpherfon, "feemed to fall into the weakness of his predeceffor, in encouraging diffenters against the established church. The prejudices of James, in favour of the Papifts, were almoft equalled by thofe of William for the Calvinists." Macpherfon's Hiftory, vol. i. chap. 9. Of the comprehenfion bill the fame author fays, "His predeceffor, in all his frantic schemes of religion, could not have propofed a more impolitic measure. The conduct of William was compared with difadvantage to the indifcriminate tolerance of James, as more ought to be expected from the former than from the latter." Ibid.

Thefe expreffions amount to a direct charge against William; that he was infected with bigotry, or an unreasonable partiality to Calvinifm, and that the meatures which he was prompted, through the influence of these prejudices, to purfue, were inconfiftent with wife policy.

There is not, in the whole hiftory of William, a fingle action that favours of bigotry, or wild attachment to any particular form of worship or fyllem of religious opinions; while there are many evidences of his moderation as a proteftant, his indulgence towards

Roman