The Lord Churchil left a Letter to the fame purpofe, November. which runs thus:

SIR,

Ince Men are feldom fufpected of Sincerity when they

Since

act contrary to their Interests; and tho' my dutiful Behaviour to your Majefty in the worst of Times (for which I acknowledge my poor Services much overpay'd) may not be fufficient to incline you to a charitable Interpretation of my Actions; yet, I hope, the great advantage I enjoy under your Majefty, which I can never expect in any other change of Government, may reafo nably convince your Majefty and the World, that I am acted by an higher Principle, when I offer that Violence to my Inclination and Intereft, as to defert your Majesty at a time, when your Affairs feem to challenge the ftricteft Obedience from all your Subjects, much more from one who lies under the greateft perfonal Obligations imaginable to your Majefty. This, Sir, could proceed from nothing but the inviolable Dictates of my Confcience, and a neceffary Concern for my Religion, (which no good man can oppofe) and with which I am inftructed, nothing ought to come in competition: Heaven knows 'with what Partiality my dutiful Opinion of your Majesty hath hitherto reprefented thofe unhappy Defigns, which inconfiderate and felf interested men have framed against your Majefty's true Intereft and the Proteftant Religion. But as I can no longer join with fuch, to give a pretence by Conqueft to bring them to effect, fo I will alwaies, 'with the hazard of my Life and Fortune, (fo much your 'Majefty's due) endeavour to preferve your Royal Perfon and Lawful Rights, with all the tender Concern and du'tiful Refpect that becomes,

SIR,
Your Majesty's
Moft dutiful and most obliged
Subject and Servant.

The going off of thefe Great Men ftruck the King himfelf with Terror and Affliction, and the Army, which was before in very much diforder, became thereby fo full

M

of

November. of Fear and Sufpicion, that a falfe Alarm being made by defign or accident, on Sunday the 25th. of November, the King and the whole Army left Salisbury; the Army retreating to Reading, and the King to Andover, and on Monday the 26th. of November returned in the Evening to London, The Princess Ann of Denmark, his fecond Daughter, was gone privately the night before from whi ehall, with the Lady Churchil; and if he had not left a Letter too behind her, which fhew'd the reafon of her retiring, in all probability, all the Popish Party about Whitehall had been cut in pieces by the King's own Guards, upon a furmile they had made away this beloved Princefs: So that they were forced to print her Letter to the Queen, to fecure them felves from Violence.

The first thing the King did after his return to London, was, to remove Sir Edward Hales from being Lieutenant of the Tower, and to put Sir Bevil Skelton, a Proteftant, in his place. Sir Edward had angered the whole City to the utmost, by planting feveral Mortar pieces on the Walls towards the City, which tho' defigned only to awe it, had enraged more than frighted them. So that His Majesty faw he was not fafe at Whitehall, as long as Sir Edward was Mafter of the Tower.

The 28th. day His Majefty ordered in a Privy-Council the Lord Chancellor to iffue out Writs for the Sitting of a Parliament at westminster, the 15th. day of Januany fol: lowing: But it was now too late, and the Nation was in that Ferment, that it was not much regarded what the Court did or faid.

The 30th. day of November, the King, to appease the Minds of the People, iffued out this Proclamation :

W EE have thought fit, as the best and most proper means to Establish a laffing Peace in this our "Kingdom, to call a Parliament, and have therefore orde "red our Chancellor to caufe Writs to be iffued forth for fummoning a Parliament to meet at Westminster, upon the *Fifteenth day of January next enfuing the Date of this our Royal Proclamation. And, that nothing may be wanting "on our part, towards the Freedom of Elections, as we

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have already restored all Cities, Towns Corporate, and November. 'Burroughs throughout our Kingdom, to their ancient Charters, Rights, and Priviledges; fo we command and require 'all Perfons whatfoever, that they prefume not by Menace or any other undue means, to influence Elections, or procure the Vote of any Elector. And we do alfo ftrictly require and command all Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, and other Officers, to whom the Execution or Return of any 'Writ, Summons, Warrant, or Precept, for Members to 'the enfuing Parliament fhall belong; that they cause fuch 'Writ, Summons, Warrant, or Precept, to be duly publifhed and executed, and Returns thereupon fairly made, "according to the true merits of fuch Elections.

'And for the Security of all Perfons both in their Ele'ations and Service in Parliament, we do hereby publish and declare, That all our Subjects fhall have free Liberty to elect, and all our Peers, and fuch as fhall be elected Members of our House of Commons, fhall have free Liberty and Freedom to ferve and fit in Parliament, notwithstanding they have taken Arms, or committed any act of Hoftility, or been any way aiding or affifting therein. And for the better affurance hereof, We have gracioufly directed a general Pardon to our Subjects, to be forthwith prepared to pafs our Great Seal.

'And for the reconciling all publick Breaches, and obliterating the very Memory of all paft Mifcarriages, We ⚫do hereby exhort and kindly admonish all our Subjects to difpofe themselves to elect fuch perfons for their Re'prefentatives in Parliament, as may not be byaffed by 'Prejudice or Paffion, but qualify'd with Parts, Experience, and Prudence, proper for this Conjuncture, and agreeable to the ends and purposes of this our Gracious Procla

⚫mation.

The Account of this Refolution going to the Fleet, all the December. Officers and the Admirals drew up this Addrefs:

December,

To the KING'S Moft Excellent Majefty;

The Humble Address of George Lord Dartmouth, Admiral of your Majesty's Fleet, for the prefent Expedition; and the Commanders of your Majesty's Ships of War, now actually at the Spithead, in your Majefty's Service, under his Lordship's Com mand.

Moft Dread Soveraign,

THE deep Sense we have had of the great Dangers

your Majefty's Sacred Perfon has been in, and the great effufion of Chriftian Blood that threatned this your Majefty's Kingdoms, and in all probability would have 'been fhed, unlefs God of His infinite Mercy had put it into your Majesty's Heart to call a Parliament, the only means, in our Opinions, under the Almighty, left to quiet the Minds of your People; we do give your Majesty our moft humble and hearty Thanks for your gracious Condefcenfion, befeeching Almighty God to give your Ma'jefty all imaginable Happiness and Profperity, and to grant, that fuch Counfels and Refolutions may be promoted, as conduce to your Majesty's Honour and Safety, and tend to the Peace and Settlement of this Realm, both in Church and State, according to the established Laws of the King*dom.

On board the Refolution, at Spithead, Decemb. 1. 1688..

Dartmouth.

Signed

Berkley.
Ro. Strickland.

And under them, by 38.other Commanders.

In the week following, the pretended Prince of Wales was fent down to Portfmonth, with Orders to the Lord Dartmouth to fend him under a good Convoy with his Nurfe into France. This he was faid to have utterly refufed; whereupon he was brought back to London again on Saturday Drs. 8. and the Queen refolved to go over with him her felf

and

and not contented with this, extorted from the King a Promife December,
to follow her himfelf: Which was the very worst Coun-
fel the worst Enemy he had in the World could poffibly
have given him.

But to return back, Scotland was by this time almost in
as bad a condition as England, and fome of the Nobility
and Gentry of Scotland were fent up with a Petition for
a Free Parliament; and the Popish Chapels at York, Bri-
fol, Glocefter, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Woolverhampton,
Bromidgham, Cambridge, and St. Edmond's Bury, were about this
time demolished, and whereever the Lords in Arms came,
the Papifts were disarmed: And in Norfolk, the Duke of
Norfolk, their Lord-Lieutenant, had a great appearance of the
Gentry with him, where he and they declared for a Free-
Parliament, and the Protection of the Proteftant Religion.
This meeting was at Norwich the First of December, and af-
ter that, the fame Declaration was renewed at Yarmouth,
and the Suffolk men approved of it, but wanted a Lord
Lieutenant to affemble and bead them, in order to the fhew--
ing their concurrence with fafety.

Bristol was feized by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Sir John Guife; the Lord Lovelace was delivered by the Gentry of Gloucestershire, out of the Caftle of Gloucester, where till then he had been imprifoned. The Lords, Molineux and Afton, in the mean time feized Chefter for the King, being R.C's, and Berwick ftood firm to him too; but New-Caftle received the Lord Lumley, and Declared for a Free Parliament and the Proteftant Religion: York was in the hands of the affociated Lords; and the Garrifon of Hull feized the Lord Langdale their Governour, a Papift, and the Lord Montgomery, and difarmed fome Popish Forces newly fent thither, and then, Declared for a Free Parliament and the Proteftant Reli-, gion And Plimouth had long before fubmitted to the Prince. of Orange: And the Army at Reading, upon another falfe. Alarm on Saturday the 8th. of December, retired in great hafte, to Twyford Bridge, and endeavouring to regain their poft, a, Party of the Prince's men, who were fent for by the Inhabitants of Reading, upon their threatning to plunder and fire the Town, attacked the Irish Dragoons, and flew Fifty of them, the Irish making little Defence, tho' the Prince's

Party