The History of England, from the Accession of James II Volume IV Part 29

"Mr. Penn says that Your Majesty has had several occasions, but never any so favourable, as the present; and he hopes that Your Majesty will be earnest with the most Christian King not to neglect it: that a descent with thirty thousand men will not only reestablish Your Majesty, but according to all appearance break the league." This paper is among the Nairne MSS., and was translated by Macpherson.]

[Footnote 40: Narcissus Luttrell's Diary, April 11. 1691.]

[Footnote 41: Narcissus Luttrell's Diary, August 1691; Letter from Vernon to Wharton, Oct. 17. 1691, in the Bodleian.]

[Footnote 42: The opinion of the Jacobites appears from a letter which is among the archives of the French War Office. It was written in London on the 25th of June 1691.]

[Footnote 43: Welwood's Mercurius Reformatus, April 11. 24. 1691; Narcissus Luttrell's Diary, April 1691; L'Hermitage to the States General, June 19/29 1696; Calamy's Life. The story of Fenwick's rudeness to Mary is told in different ways. I have followed what seems to me the most authentic, and what is certainly the last disgraceful, version.]

[Footnote 44: Burnet, ii. 71.]

[Footnote 45: Lloyd to Sancroft, Jan. 24. 1691. The letter is among the Tanner MSS., and is printed in the Life of Ken by a Layman.]

[Footnote 46: London Gazette, June 1. 1691; Birch's Life of Tillotson; Congratulatory Poem to the Reverend Dr. Tillotson on his Promotion, 1691; Vernon to Wharton, May 28. and 30. 1691. These letters to Wharton are in the Bodleian Library, and form part of a highly curious collection, which was kindly pointed out to me by Dr. Bandinel.]

[Footnote 47: Birch's Life of Tillotson; Leslie's Charge of Socinianism against Dr. Tillotson considered, by a True Son of the Church 1695; Hickes's Discourses upon Dr. Burnet and Dr. Tillotson, 1695; Catalogue of Books of the Newest Fashion to be Sold by Auction at the Whigs Coffee House, evidently printed in 1693. More than sixty years later Johnson described a st.u.r.dy Jacobite as firmly convinced that Tillotson died an Atheist; Idler, No, 10.]

[Footnote 48: Tillotson to Lady Russell, June 23. 1691.]

[Footnote 49: Birch's Life of Tillotson; Memorials of Tillotson by his pupil John Beardmore; Sherlock's sermon preached in the Temple Church on the death of Queen Mary, 1694/5.]

[Footnote 50: Wharton's Collectanea quoted in Birch's Life of Tillotson.]

[Footnote 51: Wharton's Collectanea quoted in D'Oyly's Life of Sancroft; Narcissus Luttrell's Diary.]

[Footnote 52: The Lambeth MS. quoted in D'Oyly's Life of Sancroft; Narcissus Luttrell's Diary; Vernon to Wharton, June 9. 11. 1691.]

[Footnote 53: See a letter of R. Nelson, dated Feb. 21. 1709/10, in the appendix to N. Marshall's Defence of our Const.i.tution in Church and State, 1717; Hawkins's Life of Ken; Life of Ken by a Layman.]

[Footnote 54: See a paper dictated by him on the 15th Nov. 1693, in Wagstaffe's letter from Suffolk.]

[Footnote 55: Kettlewell's Life, iii. 59.]

[Footnote 56: See D'Oyly's Life of Sancroft, Hallam's Const.i.tutional History, and Dr. Lathbury's History of the Nonjurors.]

[Footnote 57: See the autobiography of his descendant and namesake the dramatist. See also Onslow's note on Burnet, ii. 76.]

[Footnote 58: A vindication of their Majesties' authority to fill the sees of the deprived Bishops, May 20. 1691; London Gazette, April 27.

and June 15. 1691; Narcissus Luttrell's Diary, May 1691. Among the Tanner MSS. are two letters from Jacobites to Beveridge, one mild and decent, the other scurrilous even beyond the ordinary scurrility of the nonjurors. The former will be found in the Life of Ken by a Layman.]

[Footnote 59: It does not seem quite clear whether Sharp's scruple about the deprived prelates was a scruple of conscience or merely a scruple of delicacy. See his Life by his Son.]

[Footnote 60: See Overall's Convocation Book, chapter 28. Nothing can be clearer or more to the purpose than his language

"When, having attained their unG.o.dly desires, whether ambitious kings by bringing any country into their subjection, or disloyal subjects by rebellious rising against their natural sovereigns, they have established any of the said degenerate governments among their people, the authority either so unjustly established, or wrung by force from the true and lawful possessor, being always G.o.d's authority, and therefore receiving no impeachment by the wickedness of those that have it, is ever, when such alterations are thoroughly settled, to be reverenced and obeyed; and the people of all sorts, as well of the clergy as of the laity, are to be subject unto it, not only for fear, but likewise for conscience sake."

Then follows the canon

"If any man shall affirm that, when any such new forms of government, begun by rebellion, are after thoroughly settled, the authority in them is not of G.o.d, or that any who live within the territories of any such new governments are not bound to be subject to G.o.d's authority which is there executed, but may rebel against the same, he doth greatly err."]

[Footnote 61: A list of all the pieces which I have read relating to Sherlock's apostasy would fatigue the reader. I will mention a few of different kinds. Parkinson's Examination of Dr. Sherlock's Case of Allegiance, 1691; Answer to Dr. Sherlock's Case of Allegiance, by a London Apprentice, 1691; the Reasons of the New Converts taking the Oaths to the present Government, 1691; Utrum horum? or G.o.d's ways of disposing of Kingdoms and some Clergymen's ways of disposing of them, 1691; Sherlock and Xanthippe 1691; Saint Paul's Triumph in his Sufferings for Christ, by Matthew Bryan, LL.D., dedicated Ecclesim sub cruce gementi; A Word to a wavering Levite; The Tr.i.m.m.i.n.g Court Divine; Proteus Ecclesiasticus, or observations on Dr. Sh--'s late Case of Allegiance; the Weasil Uncased; A Whip for the Weasil; the Anti-Weasils.

Numerous allusions to Sherlock and his wife will be found in the ribald writings of Tom Brown, Tom Durfey, and Ned Ward. See Life of James, ii.

318. Several curious letters about Sherlock's apostasy are among the Tanner MSS. I will give two or three specimens of the rhymes which the Case of Allegiance called forth.

"When Eve the fruit had tasted, She to her husband hasted, And chuck'd him on the chin-a.

Dear Bud, quoth she, come taste this fruit; 'Twill finly with your palate suit, To eat it is no sin-a."

"As moody Job, in shirtless ease, With collyflowers all o'er his face, Did on the dunghill languish, His spouse thus whispers in his ear, Swear, husband, as you love me, swear, 'Twill ease you of your anguish."

"At first he had doubt, and therefore did pray That heaven would instruct him in the right way, Whether Jemmy or William he ought to obey, Which n.o.body can deny,

"The pa.s.s at the Boyne determin'd that case; And precept to Providence then did give place; To change his opinion he thought no disgrace; Which n.o.body can deny.

"But this with the Scripture can never agree, As by Hosea the eighth and the fourth you may see; 'They have set up kings, but yet not by me,'

Which n.o.body can deny."]

[Footnote 62: The chief authority for this part of my history is the Life of James, particularly the highly important and interesting pa.s.sage which begins at page 444. and ends at page 450. of the second volume.]

[Footnote 63: Russell to William, May 10 1691, in Dalrymple's Appendix, Part II. Book vii. See also the Memoirs of Sir John Leake.]

[Footnote 64: Commons' Journals, Mar. 21. 24. 1679; Grey's Debates; Observator.]

[Footnote 65: London Gazette, July 21. 1690.]

[Footnote 66: Life of James, ii. 449.]

[Footnote 67: Shadwell's Volunteers.]

[Footnote 68: Story's Continuation; Proclamation of February 21. 1690/1; the London Gazette of March 12.]

[Footnote 69: Story's Continuation.]

[Footnote 70: Story's Impartial History; London Gazette, Nov. 17. 1690.]

[Footnote 71: Story's Impartial History. The year 1684 had been considered as a time of remarkable prosperity, and the revenue from the Customs had been unusually large. But the receipt from all the ports of Ireland, during the whole year, was only a hundred and twenty-seven thousand pounds. See Clarendon's Memoirs.]

[Footnote 72: Story's History and Continuation; London Gazettes of September 29. 1690, and Jan. 8. and Mar. 12. 1690/1.]

[Footnote 73: See the Lords' Journals of March 2. and 4. 1692/3 and the Commons' Journals of Dec. 16. 1693, and Jan. 29. 1695/4. The story, bad enough at best, was told by the personal and political enemies of the Lords justices with additions which the House of Commons evidently considered as calumnious, and which I really believe to have been so. See the Gallienus Redivivus. The narrative which Colonel Robert Fitzgerald, a Privy Councillor and an eyewitness delivered in writing to the House of Lords, under the sanction of an oath, seems to me perfectly trustworthy. It is strange that Story, though he mentions the murder of the soldiers, says nothing about Gafney.]

[Footnote 74: Burnet, ii. 66.; Leslie's Answer to King.]

[Footnote 75: Macariae Excidium; Fumeron to Louvois Jan 31/Feb 10 1691.

It is to be observed that Kelly, the author of the Macariae Excidium and Fumeron, the French intendant, are most unexceptionable witnesses.

They were both, at this time, within the walls of Limerick. There is no reason to doubt the impartiality of the Frenchman; and the Irishman was partial to his own countrymen.]

[Footnote 76: Story's Impartial History and Continuation and the London Gazettes of December, January, February, and March 1690/1.]

[Footnote 77: It is remarkable that Avaux, though a very shrewd judge of men, greatly underrated Berwick. In a letter to Louvois, dated Oct.