to make an explicit declaration of their sentiments respecting those topics. And pensionary Fagel, by command of their highnesses, returned a written answer to Stuart, the confidential agent of his majesty, "that it was the unalterable opinion of their highnesses that no man should be exposed to any species of persecution merely on account of his adopting a faith different from that of the state. They freely consented therefore to the repeal of the penal statutes; but as to the test laws, they regarded them as by no means of a penal nature, but as just and necessary precautions for the security of the established religion, which would obviously be exposed to the most imminent danger should these bulwarks of the national church be removed *.

* On the authority of this declaration, bishop Sherlock has affirmed in unqualified terms, contrary to known and established facts, that king William was averse to the repeal of the test laws. In reply to the arguments and solicitations of James, the prince and princess of Orange very properly distinguished between the principle of the penal laws and that of the test laws. The object of the first is the forcible suppression of non-conformity as a species of criminal disobedience; of the second, a just and necessary regard to self-preservation against the attacks of a dangerous adversary. While the danger existed, to have consulted to the repeal of the latter would have been making themselves accessary to the national ruin. But when the revolution had taken, place, and the safety of the nation was secured, the civil and political disabilities created by the test, not being warranted by a real

The king was highly incensed at this refusal, and declared that he would not accept of the repeal of the penal laws, unaccompanied by that of the test. He said, he was the head of the family; and that the prince ought to conform to his will, instead of which he had constantly opposed him. The king also affected great displeasure against the states of Holland, and appeared eager to seek occasions of quarrel. On the other hand, the prince, finding that he had wholly lost the favor of the king, and perceiving that the period was at length arrived when he might exert himself with dignity, propriety, and effect, scrupled not to dispatch Dykvelt, a man of capacity and address, into England, for the purpose of establishing a correspondence with the leaders of all the different parties-assuring them of the prince's earnest desire to preserve the constitution inviolate both in church and state, and to concur with them in any measure which they deemed conducive to the public interest or safety.

Birth of the

Wales

About this period happened an event which1668. greatly tended to accelerate the progress and fa- Prince of cilitate the success of these secret negotiations. This was no other than the birth of a prince of

and urgent political necessity, were converted into acts of oppression and persecution; and that great monarch displayed his justice, wisdom, and generosity, in the efforts made by him to obtain their repeal.

Wales, June 10, 1688. Such had been the unparalleled infatuation displayed by the king throughout the whole course of his reign, that it cannot be thought strange he should, by the generality of his subjects, be deemed capable of the crime of imposing upon the nation a supposititious child, in order to insure the accomplishment of those projects which he now began to despair of being able to effect within the compass of his own life. It tended strongly to corroborate this suspicion, that the queen had been for several years in an ill state of health, and was now supposed incapable of bearing children. During the months of pregnancy, and at the birth, sufficient care was not taken to obviate the jealous surmises which were known to be entertained, but which the pride of the king and queen prompted them to treat with disdain. After the reports, at first whispered abroad, were more loudly and generally circulated, and acquired great and increasing credit, attempts were in vain made to ascertain with legal precision the reality of the birth ; though there is certainly no just or reasonable ground to stain the memory of this prince, however odious or contemptible, by imputing to him a design so agrantly criminal. The prince of Orange, who perceived in consequence of this event the prospect with which he had been so long flattered, of succeeding to the British crown after

the demise of the king, suddenly and unexpectedly vanish, was no longer inclined to keep any measures with the English court. And he was now incited no less by ambitious than patriotic motives to divest the king of that authority which he had so grossly abused; and a great share of which must, in case of a revolution in the government, naturally devolve upon him. The English nation, on the other hand, after the birth of an heir-apparent, saw no possible refuge or resource from the despotism with which it was threatened, but in the courage, ability, and virtue of the prince of Orange, who was at the same time best qualified and best entitled to take the lead in the plan of resistance now determined upon. Invitations to the prince for this purpose, from a great number of persons of the first rank and consequence in the kingdom, were carried over by Zuylestein, on his return to Holland from an embassy of compliment, which the prince, to preserve the faint appearance of amity, had sent to the king on the birth of his son.

of Sunder

It is remarkable that even Sunderland himself, Duphcity from whose sagacity and penetration these in- land. trigues could not be concealed, far from displaying that firmness and decision which were necessary to extinguish or counteract them, entered, as there are strong grounds to believe into a secret and indirect correspondence with the prince, and

State of Europe

adopted such measures as were calculated to facilitate the success of his intended enterprize. Fully sensible of the dangerous predicament in which he stood, and filled with doubts and fears respecting the issue of the approaching conflict, this minister exerted all the arts of his insidious policy to provide for his personal safety, whether it terminated in favor of the prince or of the king. Whilst he maintained a good understanding with the prince therefore, and directed the royal councils in the manner most likely to promote his designs, in order effectually to deceive the king, and to ingratiate himself still farther into his favor and confidence, he took this opportunity of declaring himself a convert to the Roman-catholic religion: an artifice sufficiently gross, considering the present posture of affairs, had not the king's weakness been still more open and palpable.

The state of Europe at this period was peculiarly favorable to the enterprise now in contemplation. A warm dispute actually subsisting between the courts of Vienna and Versailles respecting the succession to the bishopric of Liege, afforded the states of Holland, who were nearly interested in the event, an opportunity of augmenting their forces by sea and land, without giving immediate cause of suspicion or umbrage. After the Prince their naval and military preparations, however, had continued some weeks without intermission,

Projects of

of Orange.