1687. About this time the King went on his Progrefs, in Order, as 'twas given out, to view the Southern The King's and Weltern Parts of the Kingdom, particularly Western the Haven and Fortifications of Portsmouth, but Progress, chiefly with Defign to tamper with the Electors Auguft 16. of the Corporations thro' which he paft. And as 1687. the Prefence of a Soveraign ftrikes an awful and commanding Veneration on the Minds of thofe who feldom approach Majefty, it can hardly be exprefs'd with what joyful Acclamations he was receiv'd, and what dutiful Acknowledgments were paid him at Portsmouth, Bath, Glocefter, WorSept. 5. cefter, Ludlow, Shrewsbury, Chester, Newport, Litchfield, Coventry, Banbury, Bristol and Winchester: The University of Oxford diftinguifh'd themselves upon this Occafion, endeavouring by all poffible demonftrations of Duty and Refpect to Diffipate the King's Prepoffeffions against them; but all their Pompous Entertainments, and Eloquent Speeches, were not able to attone for the Oppofition the Popish Cabal met with in Magdalen-Colledge; fo that the King left Oxford very much diffatisfied, as has already been related. In almost all other Places, befides Oxford, the King's Solicitations had a wonderful Succefs, the Electors promifing to fend fuch for their Reprefentatives in Parliament, as would concur with His Majefty's Defigns. And indeed. how could they refufe what the King defired of them, when he declar'd, at the fame time, that to remove all Jealouties, he would not fuffer any Roman Catholick to be a Member of that Affembly? The generality of People, who are apt to have an implicit Faith in any thing that is deliver'd by a King's Sacred Mouth, conceiv'd great Hopes of this His Majefties Declaration; but the Politicians faw thro' the Artifice, which appeared most plainly when the King declar'd in Council: That having granted a Liberty of Confcience to all his Subjects, and refolving not only to maintain the fame, but to use his utmost endeavours that it might pafs into a Law, and become an establish'd Security to After-Ages, be had thought fit to review the Lifts of the Deputy Lieutenants, and Justices of the Dec. 11. 1687. Peace, Peace, in the feveral Counties, that thofe might be 1687. continued, who should be ready to Contribute, what in them lay, towards the Accomplishment of fo good and neceffary a Work; and fuch others added to them, from whom His Majefty might reasonably expect the like Concurrence and Affiftance: For fince the King in his Proclamation for Liberty of Confcience claim'd it as one of the Rights infeparably annext to, and inherent in his Royal Perfon by the Law of Nature, to have the Benefit of the Service of all his Subjects, if by means of the Abrogation Eof the Penal Laws, the Romanifts were once made capable of exercifing publick Offices, they might alfo be call'd or elected to ferve in Parliament. To further the Defigns of the Court, the newmodell'd Lord-Lieutenants were order'd by the King to Summon in his Name the Chief Officers and Gentlemen in their Refpective Counties, and to lay the Cafe before them fo, as to flatter or terrifie 'em out of their Freedom in the Election of Parliament-Men. Another fort of Men, call'd Regulators, were Commiffion'd to the fame Purpofe, being fent all over England, to delude the People, either by fair Promifes or Menaces, into a fatal compliance with the King. But notwithftanding all these precautions, His Majefty found himfelt difappointed in his hopes of having a Parliament at his Devotion. In fome Counties almost all the Gentry difappear'd on the fudden; to avoid the Solicitations of the Lord-Lieutenants. The Gentlemen of Dorjet/hire being affembled by the Earl of Bristol, were no fooner acquainted with the King's Intentions, but they Anfwer'd, that an Affair of fo great Importance deferv'd to be difcufs'd in the Grand Council of the Nation, to which they would fend their Deputies, when His Majefty fhould think fit to call a free Parliament. The fame Anfwer was made in the Affemblies of feveral other Counties; and in Chefhire, amongst about Seven Hundred Perfons, there were only Seventeen who gave their Confent to the Repealing of the Tefts and Penal Laws. Tho 1687. Tho' there was little reafon to believe that King James fhould ever compafs his Ends by a Parliament, confidering the Averfeness the chief Counties fhew'd to his Defigns,the free Spirit, which is the diftinguifhing Character of a Houfe of Commons, and the Difficulty of Bribing the Majority of that numerous Affembly, yet the Proteftants were not without Fears: They confider'd that the Council was almoft filled with Popish Lords, that Father Petre, His Majefty's Confeffor and * Nov. 11. chief Almoner, was lately made Clerk of the 1687. Clofet, and had the leading Vote in their Confultations; that the Church of England-Men were turn'd out of the higheft Employments to make room for Romanists, or fuch as under the Name of Diffenters promoted the Popish Defigns; and that the King having the Power of England in his Hands, and that of France to support him, in Cafe of need, he might enter upon defperate Measures to eftablish Popery. However, the moft moderate among them comforted themfelves with the Thoughts that the King being advanc'd in Years, his Reign therefore could not be long; and that a Proteftant Princefs, who was the next Heir to the Crown, would foon make 'em forget the Hardfhips of a Popish Government, and reftore the happy Days of Queen Elizabeth; but they were ftruck with Confternation when they heard the Whispers of the Queen being with Child, loudly appointing a time The Queen of Publick Thanksgiving for fo Signal a Bleffing to is faid to His Majesty and bis Kingdoms. * Dec. 23. confirm'd by a Proclamation, he with Child. about it. * The Papits, who feem'd already to Triumph over the Protestants, were ftill more elevated upon Difcourfes this News. Nay, fome of them had the Impudence to affert, that tho' the Child fhould prove a Daughter, yet it would cut off the Princelles of Orange and Denmark from the Succeffion, upon a foolih Pofition, that a Daughter born fince the King's Advancement to the Throne, ought to take place before Princeffes born whilt he was but Duke of York. And because the Queen's Big-Belly was in a manner Miraculous, the Jefuits gave it out that 1 that it was either the Effect of a Petition which the lately deceas'd Dutchefs of Modena had put up in Heaven to the Bleffed Virgin Mary, or of a Vow the Queen had made to our Lady of Loretto, with a Present of a Golden Image enrich'd with Precious Stones. The molt difcerning among the Proteftants began at firft to fufpect the Queen's Bignels to be only a publick Report rais'd by the Jefuits and Priefts then in England to ripen their Sinister Designs; and were confirm'd in their fufpicion by reflecting, that 'twas not the firft Impofture thofe fort of People had made ufe of to alter the Lineal Succeffion of Kingdoms, in order to ferve the Church. They call'd to mind, that upon the like Occafion the Romish Priefts gave it out that Queen Mary was with Child, that they might procure her a Succeffor that would advance their Intereft, and the Papifts began to Triumph at Rome, when God was pleas'd to disappoint their Defigns in England. That a fet of Priefts were the wicked Inftruments of the cruel and unnatural ufurpation of Richard III. by preaching at St. Paul's Crofs, that Edward IV. his Brother was born in unlawful Wedlock; that by the Inventions and crafty Intrigues of a Prieft, Lambert Simnel, a Baker's Son, fuppofed Iffue of the Earl of Warwick rofe up against Henry VII. and was Proclaim'd King in Ireland; and laftly, that by the Advice of the fame Prieft, another fuppofed Perfon was fet up against the faid Henry VII. by Margaret Dutchefs of Burgundy, who was prevail'd with to affirm that he was Richard, one of the Sons of Edward IV. And this pretended Son of Edward form'd fo confiderable a party in Ireland,and was fo well receiv'd in Scotland, that he put in fair for the Crown of thofe two Kingdoms. The Remembrance of thefe and the like Impoftures, join'd with the fabulous Stories relating to the Caufe of the Queen's Conception, after he had been Childlefs feveral Years; the great Care the Jefuits took, openly to inlinuate that the would certainly be deliverd of a Prince, and feveral other concurring Accidents, gave the Proteftants' reafon 1687: 1687. to look upon the Queen's Big-Belly as a meer fuppofition. However, it could not but keep 'em in perpetual Alarms; for fuppofing it, as they did, to be a pious Fraud, the Difcovery of it would have been fo much the more difficult, as it was the intereft of the Popish Party to conceal it with extraordinary Care. One may well imagine that the Papifts did not fail to improve the Queen's Eignefs, to the Advancement of their Deligns. The Court Party gathered vifible Strength upon it, and taking advantage of the Alarms and Confternation of the Proteftants, they procured Addreffes from feveral Counties, wherein His Majefty's Dutiful Subjects, not only Congratulated him upon fo joyThe Ad- ful an Occafion,but affured him alfo of Their ready drefs of Compliance in the Electing fuch Members as should the County concur with His Majefty's Gracious intentions for the of Glou- Abrogation of the Penal Laws and Tells bis Sub equally refter, pernicious to His Majefties Prerogative, and his SubMarch 17. jects Liberty. The Addreffes of the Counties of 1687. Stafford, Monmouth, and York, the Cities of Canterbury, and Carlisle, the Towns of Northampton, Borough of Totnefs, &c. were to the fame Effect; but none was fo artfully penn'd as that of the * Scarbo- Corporation of Scarborough, which therefore L rough Ad- fhall fet down here at length. drefs, April 28. 1688. May it pleafe, your Majesty, the Union of York and Lancatter, made the Inheritance of this Empire one; the Conjunction of England and Scotland, made two Kingdoms one; but your Majesty's Declaration for Liberty of Confcience, has made our Interest one; thus our Bleffings have risen by degrees to their last Perfection; every Happiness was fucceeded by a greater, and every fucceeding Age ftrove, as it were, to outvy the former. 'Tis true, our Civil Wars have been renewed in the time of our Fathers, England and Scotland have again been difunited by an unnatural Rebellion ; but Liberty of Confcience is fo strong a Cement that no Age shall be able to Diffolve it its firmnefs will increafe by its Duration; for all Men will endeavour to propagate that Bleffing which brings a visible Reward along with it ; And if the darling |