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cording to the principles publicly preached, no A.D. 1681. Eastern monarch was more absolute than the

King of England. This doctrine was supported in the courts of justice by the judges and lawyers to the utmost of their power."

The court had acted with great art in one par- The court

ticular. It had suffered the corporation and some other acts to lie, in a great measure, dormant for some years; by which means the people, who are seldom struck but with immediate dangers, lost their apprehensions of them, and were not alarmed at the strength which they had added to the crown. These were now put in execution, and the court had modelled the corporations to its mind.

Its next design was upon the city of London, which was the centre of liberty. The lord mayor, Sir John Moore, was a creature of power, and had been one of those who had joined in expressing their abhorrence of the petitions for the sitting of parliament. By his influence, and the directions and assistance which he received from the ministry, he forcibly and illegally procured two sheriffs to be elected contrary to the votes of a great majority of the citizens. He obstructed the poll which was taken for the two other can

carries

things with

a high

hand.

A.D. 1681. didates, one of whom was Mr. Papillon, who had been of Lord Shaftesbury's grand jury. Upon this, the court openly triumphed, and resolved to resume the charter of the city and of other obnoxious corporations.

Lord
Shaftes-

resistance

necessary.

Lord Shaftesbury saw the storm coming on. The crown was armed with sufficient power, and the judges were devoted to its most arbitrary measures. The ministry were provided with evidence ready to attest whatever they prescribed; and they had now secured sheriffs, and consequently juries, for their purpose. In this state of things, the earl thought it proper to keep himself retired, and accordingly he removed from his own house to a place of concealment.

Though Lord Shaftesbury knew himself to be bury thinks the principal object of the resentment of the court; though he was much afflicted by the gout, and by a general weakness of body which was the consequence of that disorder, the greatness of his spirit never abated. His mind continued as active and vigorous as ever. He saw that the king was determined to govern, during the rest of his life, without a parliament and upon the most arbitrary maxims. He saw that the influence of the Duke of York was greater than

ever, and that this influence produced the most A.D. 1681. pernicious consequences. He thought that the constitution was already invaded in some essential points, and he believed that it would be totally destroyed upon the duke's accession to the crown. In this situation of things, therefore, he looked upon it as right and necessary to save the nation by force, since it could not be done in a parliamentary way.

CHAPTER X.

Shaftesbury attempts to excite an Insurrection. - His Views and Plans. Necessity of despatch.-Caution of his Friends.

Ruin of the design. - Flight of Shaftesbury. His reception in Holland.-His Death.

A.D.1681. LORD SHAFTESBURY now proposed to several of Proposes to the lords and gentlemen of the patriotic party,

the country party to

make use of force.

that they should make a stand for the religion and the liberties of their country. He advised that nothing should be done injurious to the person of the king or a monarchical government; and that their chief object should be to provide a security against the succession of the Duke of York: nor did he doubt but that the king would presently hear them, when they offered to speak to him in a more effectual manner.

[Shaftesbury was now living in obscurity, and in momentary dread of being seized by the emissaries of the court. Any plot, therefore, in which he could act a part, must be promptly formed and immediately executed. He thought the

moment was favourable to the attempt; Mon- A.D. 1681. mouth was in Cheshire, where he had a strong body of partisans ready to rise in his favour immediately he called them forth. The news of such an attempt would necessarily cause the king to weaken the force in the metropolis, and Shaftesbury was prepared to seize the emergency. Walcot, West, Rumsey, and Ferguson, desperadoes or fanatics indeed in their individual characters, were invaluable instruments in a master hand. These men had enlisted and armed bands of men who were eager to move, and ardent in the cause of patriotism or plunder. Such a conspiracy could not be delayed without a certainty of discovery; it was necessarily known to an immense number of persons; and Shaftesbury was in an agony of impatience while his more cautious friends were debating upon the danger of the project, and waiting for opportunities never likely to occur. Unable himself to appear at their meetings, he sent frequent messages to urge them to despatch, until Monmouth and Russell dreaded lest he should make some abortive attempt, relying upon the city alone.]

They objected to him the difficulty of the undertaking, the great power of the crown, and the

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