The History of England, from the Accession of James II Volume III Part 33

[Footnote 408: See Grey's Debates, and the Commons' Journals from March to July. The twelve categories will be found in the journals of the 23d and 29th of May and of the 8th of June.]

[Footnote 409: Halifax MS. in the British Museum.]

[Footnote 410: The Life and Death of George Lord Jeffreys; Finch's speech in Grey's Debates, March 1. 1688/9.]

[Footnote 411: See, among many other pieces, Jeffreys's Elegy, the Letter to the Lord Chancellor exposing to him the sentiments of the people, the Elegy on Dangerfield, Dangerfield's Ghost to Jeffreys, The Humble Pet.i.tion of Widows and fatherless Children in the West, the Lord Chancellor's Discovery and Confession made in the lime of his sickness in the Tower; Hickeringill's Ceremonymonger; a broadside ent.i.tled "O rare show! O rare sight! O strange monster! The like not in Europe! To be seen near Tower Hill, a few doors beyond the Lion's den."]

[Footnote 412: Life and Death of George Lord Jeffreys,]

[Footnote 413: Tutchin himself gives this narrative in the b.l.o.o.d.y a.s.sizes.]

[Footnote 414: See the Life of Archbishop Sharp by his son. What pa.s.sed between Scott and Jeffreys was related by Scott to Sir Joseph Jekyl.

See Tindal's History; Echard, iii. 932. Echard's informant, who is not named, but who seems to have had good opportunities of knowing the truth, said that Jeffreys died, not, as the vulgar believed, of drink, but of the stone. The distinction seems to be of little importance. It is certain that Jeffreys was grossly intemperate; and his malady was one which intemperance notoriously tends to aggravate.]

[Footnote 415: See a Full and True Account of the Death of George Lord Jeffreys, licensed on the day of his death. The wretched Le n.o.ble was never weary of repeating that Jeffreys was poisoned by the usurper.

I will give a short pa.s.sage as a specimen of the calumnies of which William was the object. "Il envoya," says Pasquin "ce fin ragout de champignons au Chancelier Jeffreys, prisonnier dans la Tour, qui les trouva du meme goust, et du mmee a.s.saisonnement que furent les derniers dont Agrippine regala le bon-homme Claudius son epoux, et que Neron appella depuis la viande des Dieux." Marforio asks: "Le Chancelier est donc mort dans la Tour?" Pasquin answers: "Il estoit trop fidele a son Roi legitime, et trop habile dans les loix du royaume, pour echapper a l'Usurpateur qu'il ne vouloit point reconnoistre. Guillemot prit soin de faire publier que ce malheureux prisonnier estoit attaque du'ne fievre maligne; mais, a parler franchement, i1 vivroit peutestre encore s'il n'avoit rien mange que de la main de ses anciens cuisiniers."--Le Festin de Guillemot, 1689. Dangeau (May q.) mentions a report that Jeffreys had poisoned himself.]

[Footnote 416: Among the numerous pieces in which the malecontent Whigs vented their anger, none is more curious than the poem ent.i.tled the Ghost of Charles the Second. Charles addresses William thus:

"Hail my blest nephew, whom the fates ordain To fill the measure of the Stuart's reign, That all the ills by our whole race designed In thee their full accomplishment might find 'Tis thou that art decreed this point to clear, Which we have laboured for these fourscore year."]

[Footnote 417: Grey's Debates, June 12 1689.]

[Footnote 418: See Commons' Journals, and Grey's Debates, June 1. 3. and 4. 1689; Life of William, 1704.]

[Footnote 419: Barnet MS. Harl. 6584.; Avaux to De Croissy, June 16/26 1689.]

[Footnote 420: As to the minutes of the Privy Council, see the Commons'

Journals of June 22. and 28., and of July 3. 5. 13. and 16.]

[Footnote 421: The letter of Halifax to Lady Russell is dated on the 23d of July 1689, about a fortnight after the attack on him in the Lords, and about a week before the attack on him in the Commons.]

[Footnote 422: See the Lords' Journals of July 10. 1689, and a letter from London dated July 11/21, and transmitted by Croissy to Avaux. Don Pedro de Ronquillo mentions this attack of the Whig Lords on Halifax in a despatch of which I cannot make out the date.]

[Footnote 423: This was on Sat.u.r.day the 3d of August. As the division was in Committee, the numbers do not appear in the journals. Clarendon, in his Diary, says that the majority was eleven. But Narcissus Luttrell, Oldmixon, and Tindal agree in putting it at fourteen. Most of the little information which I have been able to find about the debate is contained in a despatch of Don Pedro de Ronquillo. "Se resolvio" he says, "que el sabado, en comity de toda la casa, se trata.s.se del estado de la nation para representarle al Rey. Emperose por acusar al Marques de Olifax; y reconociendo sus emulos que no tenian partido bastante, quisieron remitir para otro dia esta motion: pero el Conde de Elan, primogenito del Marques de Olifax, miembro de la casa, les dijo que su padre no era hombre para andar peloteando con el, y que se tubiesse culpa lo acabasen de castigar, que el no havia menester estar en la corte para porta.r.s.e conforme a su estado, pues Dios le havia dado abundamente para poderlo hazer; conque por pluralidad de votes vencio su partido." I suspect that Lord Eland meant to sneer at the poverty of some of his father's persecutors, and at the greediness of others.]

[Footnote 424: This change of feeling, immediately following the debate on the motion for removing Halifax, is noticed by Ronquillo,]

[Footnote 425: As to Ruvigny, see Saint Simon's Memoirs of the year 1697: Burnet, i. 366. There is some interesting information about Ruvigny and about the Huguenot regiments in a narrative written by a French refugee of the name of Dumont. This narrative, which is in ma.n.u.script, and which I shall occasionally quote as the Dumont MS., was kindly lent to me by the Dean of Ossory.]

[Footnote 426: See the Abrege de la Vie de Frederic Duc de Schomberg by Lunancy, 1690, the Memoirs of Count Dohna, and the note of Saint Simon on Dangeau's Journal, July 30, 1690.]

[Footnote 427: See the Commons' Journals of July 16. 1689, and of July 1. 1814.]

[Footnote 428: Journals of the Lords and Commons, Aug. 20. 1689; London Gazette, Aug, 22.]

[Footnote 429: "J'estois d'avis qu', apres que la descente seroit faite, si on apprenoit que des Protestans se fa.s.sent soulevez en quelques endroits du royaume, on fit main ba.s.se sur tous generalement."--Avaux, July 31/Aug 10 1689.]

[Footnote 430: "Le Roy d'Angleterre m'avoit ecoute a.s.sez paisiblement la premiere fois que je luy avois propose ce qu'il y avoit a faire contre les Protestans."--Avaux, Aug. 4/14]

[Footnote 431: Avaux, Aug. 4/14. He says, "Je m'imagine qu'il est persuade que, quoiqu'il ne donne point d'ordre sur cela, la plupart des Catholiques de la campagne se jetteront sur les Protestans."]

[Footnote 432: Lewis, Aug 27/Sept 6, reprimanded Avaux, though much too gently, for proposing to butcher the whole Protestant population of Leinster, Connaught, and Munster. "Je n'approuve pas cependant la proposition que vous faites de faire main ba.s.se sur tous les Protestans du royaume, du moment qu', en quelque endroit que ce soit, ils se seront soulevez: et, outre que la punition du'ne infinite d'innocens pour peu de coupables ne seroit pas juste, d'ailleurs les represailles contre les Catholiques seroient d'autant plus dangereuses, que les premiers se trouveront mieux armez et soutenus de toutes les forces d'Angleterre."]

[Footnote 433: Ronquillo, Aug. 9/19 speaking of the siege of Londonderry, expresses his astonishment "que una plaza sin fortification y sin genies de guerra aya hecho una defensa tan gloriosa, y que los sitiadores al contrario ayan sido tan poltrones."]

[Footnote 434: This account of the Irish army is compiled from numerous letters written by Avaux to Lewis and to Lewis's ministers. I will quote a few of the most remarkable pa.s.sages. "Les plus beaux hommes," Avaux says of the Irish, "qu'on peut voir. Il n'y en a presque point au dessous de cinq pieds cinq a six pouces." It will be remembered that the French foot is longer than ours. "Ils sont tres bien faits: mais; il ne sont ny disciplinez ny armez, et de surplus sont de grands voleurs."

"La plupart de ces regimens sont levez par des gentilshommes qui n'ont jamais este a l'armee. Ce sont des tailleurs, des bouchers, des cordonniers, qui ont forme les compagnies et qui en sont les Capitaines." "Jamais troupes n'ont marche comme font celles-cy. Ils vent comme des bandits, et pillent tout ce qu'ils trouvent en chemin."

"Quoiqu'il soit vrai que les soldats paroissent fort resolus a bien faire, et qu'ils soient fort animez contre les rebelles, neantmoins il ne suffit pas de cela pour combattre..... Les officiers subalternes sont mauvais, et, a la reserve d'un tres peut nombre, il n'y en a point qui ayt soin des soldats, des armes, et de la discipline." "On a beaucoup plus de confiance en la cavalerie, dont la plus grande partie est a.s.sez bonne." Avaux mentions several regiments of horse with particular praise. Of two of these he says, "On ne peut voir de meilleur regiment."

The correctness of the opinion which he had formed both of the infantry and of the cavalry was, after his departure from Ireland, signally proved at the Boyne.]

[Footnote 435: I will quote a pa.s.sage or two from the despatches written at this time by Avaux. On September 7/17. he says: "De quelque coste qu'on se tournat, on ne pouvoir rien prevoir que de desagreable. Mais dans cette extremite chacun s'est evertue. Les officiers ont fait leurs recrues avec beaucoup de diligence." Three days later he says: "Il y a quinze jours que nous n'esperions guare de pouvoir mettre les choses en si bon estat mais my Lord Tyrconnel et tous les Irlandais ont travaille avec tant d'empress.e.m.e.nt qu'on s'est mis en estat de deffense."]

[Footnote 436: Avaux, Aug 25/Sep 4 Aug 26/Sep 5; Life of James, ii.

373.; Melfort's vindication of himself among the Nairne Papers. Avaux says: "Il pourra partir ce soir a la nuit: car je vois bien qu'il apprehende qu'il ne sera pas sur pour luy de partir en plein jour."]

[Footnote 437: Story's Impartial History of the Wars of Ireland, 1693; Life of James, ii. 374; Avaux, Sept. 7/17 1689; Nih.e.l.l's journal, printed in 1689, and reprinted by Macpherson.]

[Footnote 438: Story's Impartial History.]

[Footnote 439: Ibid.]

[Footnote 440: Avaux, Sep. 10/20. 1689; Story's Impartial History; Life of James, ii. 377, 378 Orig. Mem. Story and James agree in estimating the Irish army at about twenty thousand men. See also Dangeau, Oct. 28.

1689.]

[Footnote 441: Life of James, ii. 377, 378. Orig. Mem.]

[Footnote 442: See Grey's Debates, Nov. 26, 27, 28. 1689, and the Dialogue between a Lord Lieutenant and one of his deputies, 1692.]

[Footnote 443: Nih.e.l.l's Journal. A French officer, in a letter to Avaux, written soon after Schomberg's landing, says, "Les Huguenots font plus de mal que les Anglois, et tuent force Catholiques pour avoir fait resistance."]

[Footnote 444: Story; Narrative transmitted by Avaux to Seignelay, Nov 26/Dec 6 1689 London Gazette, Oct. 14. 1689. It is curious that, though Dumont was in the camp before Dundalk, there is in his MS. no mention of the conspiracy among the French.]

[Footnote 445: Story's Impartial History; Dumont MS. The profaneness and dissoluteness of the camp during the sickness are mentioned in many contemporary pamphlets both in verse and prose. See particularly a Satire ent.i.tled Reformation of Manners, part ii.]

[Footnote 446: Story's Impartial History.]

[Footnote 447: Avaux, Oct. 11/21. Nov. 14/24 1689; Story's Impartial History; Life of James, ii. 382, 383. Orig. Mem.; Nih.e.l.l's Journal.]

[Footnote 448: Story's Impartial History; Schomberg's Despatches; Nih.e.l.l's Journal, and James's Life; Burnet, ii. 20.; Dangeau's journal during this autumn; the Narrative sent by Avaux to Seignelay, and the Dumont MS. The lying of the London Gazette is monstrous. Through the whole autumn the troops are constantly said to be in good condition.

In the absurd drama ent.i.tled the Royal Voyage, which was acted for the amus.e.m.e.nt of the rabble of London in 1689, the Irish are represented as attacking some of the sick English. The English put the a.s.sailants to the rout, and then drop down dead.]

[Footnote 449: See his despatches in the appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs.]

[Footnote 450: London Gazette; May 20 1689.]

[Footnote 451: Commons' Journals, Nov. 13, 23. 1689; Grey's Debates, Nov. 13. 14. 18. 23. 1689. See, among numerous pasquinades, the Parable of the Bearbaiting, Reformation of Manners, a Satire, the Mock Mourners, a Satire. See also Pepys's Diary kept at Tangier, Oct. 15. 1683.]

[Footnote 452: The best account of these negotiations will be found in Wagenaar, lxi. He had access to Witsen's papers, and has quoted largely from them. It was Witsen who signed in violent agitation, "zo als" he says, "myne beevende hand getuigen kan." The treaties will be found in Dumont's Corps Diplomatique. They were signed in August 1689.]