CHAPTER III

UNDER JAMES II

(1685-1688)

"He went like one that had been stunned.

And is of sense forlorn,

A sadder and a wiser man

He rose the morrow morn."

JAMES'S coronation took place on the 23rd of April, when the crown, not fitting properly, was in danger of falling off. Henry Sidney, Keeper of the Robes, kept it firm, saying humorously, "This is not the first time our family have supported the Crown." The untoward incident was much commented upon and considered a bad omen. It certainly detracted from the solemnity of the occasion. The night following the coronation a ball was given at Whitehall, while fireworks were displayed and the town illuminated. Lord Churchill was shortly sent by James on a special embassy to Louis XIV., to announce his brother's death and his own accession to the throne.

James had always been unpopular on account of his religion, but he soon managed to estrange all parties. The loyalty of his Protestant subjects was early put to the proof. While still heir presumptive he heard mass privately, but as king he threw open the doors of the chapel at Whitehall to the public for services of the Roman Catholic faith, whilst priests and monks were seen openly in the streets in the uniform of their Orders. At the present day toleration for another's faith is in

Condes ander,

her

54

DUCHESS SARAH

the natural order of things, but in James's time this was not the case. The country was not ready for such a radical change; it brought back too vividly to the popular mind the religious persecutions in Mary's reign. Toleration could only come gradually, and James by his short-sightedness postponed that day.

On Easter Sunday the rites of the Church of Rome were performed with regal splendour. A long train of peers followed his Majesty to the service in great state, among these the Duke of Norfolk carrying the sword of state. He stopped at the door of the chapel, not wishing to take part in the ceremony. The King said, "My lord, your father would have gone further." The duke replied, "Your Majesty's father would not have gone so far."

Parading his religion thus against the law of the land was a foolish move on James's part, but this, however, was only a beginning. It now became his great object to convert the whole of England to his faith, and he left no means untried to effect this. Even those of his own persuasion were convinced of the unwisdom of his methods, and all Protestants were greatly alarmed.

The landing and insurrection of the Duke of Monmouth was an outcome of the discontent and one of the first events of James's reign. Monmouth, son of Charles II. by Lucy Walters, a Welsh girl of remarkable beauty, had always been a favourite of his father's, who, however, had banished him from the kingdom at the time of the Exclusion Bill; for he was becoming too much of a Protestant hero, in opposition to the Duke of York, the rightful heir to the throne. He had married at an early age Ann Scott, the heiress of Buccleuch, had taken her name, and been shortly after created Duke of Monmouth in England and Duke of Buccleuch in Scotland. Mon

mouth took refuge in Holland, where he was well received by the Prince and Princess of Orange, who hoped to establish a claim to his father's gratitude by treating him with kindness. Monmouth learnt to skate, and in return taught English country-dances to the ladies of the Dutch court. It is said his cousin, the princess, accompanied him in his expeditions on the ice, wearing very short skirts, to "the wonder and mirth of the foreign ministers." It was during his stay at the Hague that Monmouth heard of his father's death. The sad news overwhelmed him with grief, which he gave vent to in deep sobs and piercing cries. There was little chance of his uncle recalling him from banishment, consequently it is not to be wondered at that his admirers and fellow-exiles were able to induce him to head an invasion of England. The necessary funds were provided by his mistress, Henrietta, Baroness Wentworth, who loved Monmouth passionately, and had sacrificed everything to follow him into exile; "her rents, her diamonds, and her credit were put at his disposal."

William of Orange had insisted on Monmouth's retiring from Holland on James's accession, and he subsequently wrote to his father-in-law to deny any complicity in the invasion. He no doubt watched the trend of events and profited by what he observed.

In July the Tory Government was suddenly alarmed to hear that the Duke of Monmouth had landed on the south coast, and had already been proclaimed king at Taunton and Bridgewater. A price of £5000 was

immediately set upon his head.

King James's army was under the command of Albemarle, Feversham, and Churchill, while large forces of militia and trained bands were called upon to co-operate with the regular troops to oppose the invasion.

Monmouth failing to reach Bristol, and finding Bath

garrisoned for the King, returned to Bridgewater and
hazarded all at the Battle of Sedgmoor, where he was
He escaped disguised as a peasant,
utterly defeated.
and two days after, on July 8th, was captured and taken
to London. He was tried, found guilty of high treason,
and beheaded.

The unfortunate people who had supported Mon-
mouth were grievously punished, fined, maltreated, and
many of them hanged by an infamous judge named
Jeffreys, who was sent down to the west, and held a
court known to this day as the Bloody Assizes.
ended the rebellion.

Thus

To return to the court of St. James's, soon after James's accession in July a Colonel Culpepper insulted the Earl of Devonshire in the Palace, upon which that fiery and proud nobleman followed him into the presence of the King, and pulled the colonel by the nose into the

anteroom.

Such a fracas before the very eyes of the monarch could not go unpunished. Lord Devonshire was ordered to pay a fine of £30,000 or go to prison, notwithstanding he was a peer. He, however, successfully escaped, and for some time evaded capture.'

It appears that a large sum, no less than £60,000, had been advanced by the Earl of Devonshire's father and grandfather for the Royal cause, bonds for the amount being held by the countess dowager, who offered to surrender them to secure her son's liberty. This arrangement did not suit his Majesty, who had no particular desire to discharge the debt contracted by his brother. The only way the earl had of securing his liberty was by giving a bond that he would pay the fine when called upon.

James was not so extravagant as Charles, and the

1 "Court and Society," Earl of Manchester.

large revenue voted by Parliament sufficed for his needs. He never called upon Lord Devonshire to pay the fine, and the bond was found by William after James's flight, and was returned by him to the donor.

After coming to the throne, James had little time for amusement. Occasionally we read of his attending some cock-fight or tennis-match. The Duke of Beaufort of that day, writing to the duchess, says, "The King has been this afternoon at the Cockpit seeing Lord Grandison's cocks fight, where I won 3 guineas of his Majesty and two of Lord Churchill."

Sometimes the King managed to hunt, and in May 1686 he had a famous run across the river from Newhall Park and killed in Hatfield. As the day was late and horses spent, it was decided to seek the hospitality of the Earl of Dorset at Copthall. It happened that Lord Dorset was dining out with a party of gentlemen, and Lady Dorset had taken the opportunity of paying a few calls in the neighbourhood. She had gone some distance from the house, when a servant stopped the coach and delivered the royal message. Lady Dorset would gladly have excused herself, being well aware of the absence of her cook and butler at Waltham Fair, but a second messenger arrived on the heels of the first, upon which her ladyship turned her coach and drove home, sending it back for the King. She then set to work with her maid's help to break open locks and doors, and exerted herself so well that on the King's arrival an excellent repast was prepared for him.

Delighted with his visit, James returned to London and met on the road the Earl of Dorset, who made many apologies for not having been at home to receive his Majesty. "Make no excuse, my lord," replied the King, "it was exceedingly well done and very handsome."1

1 Strickland, vol. v.