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From the downfall of Lord Clarendon's ministry, until the Prince of Orange's marriage in the year 1677.

Ruling public paffions of Charles. His wavering conduc about triple alliance. Secret intrigue of the Duke of Buckingham and Duchefs of Orleans for the deftruction of Holland.-Separate intrigue of Charles and the Duchess for the fame end. Intrigue of the Duke of York with Popish Lords for the fame end, adopted by Charles.—Secret money-treaty in the year 1670, with Louis, for the deftruc tion of Holland, and the King's becoming catholic, concluded by popish counsellors. Charles dupes his proteftant sounfellors in the year 1671, and makes them parties to the treaty, without their knowing the article for his popery.

The King's fhifts to avoid declaring himself catholic. --Firft vifit of the Prince of Orange to England. High tone of the King and his proteftant counsellors after he had duped them.Bold courfes of thofe counsellors. They defert the King.-Lord Danby's ministry. -Several money treaties with France- Double dealing and meanness of Charles in foreign politics.--His differences with parliament for feveral years.

THE

·

Charles's

ruling public gallions.

TH

HE ruling public paffions of Charles the II. were love of the French, and antipathy to the Dutch nations, to which many caufes contributed. His love of France was formed on the natural gaiety of his teniper, the hours of youth spent in a country where men enjoy all the pleasures, and appear to feel none of the pains of life, and his partiality to a conftitution in which it must be the fault of the Sovereign himself if he ever meets with oppofition. The manners of the people of Holland, fo oppofite to his own, and the form of their government, fimilar to that which had nearly deftroyed monarchy in England, created his perfonal diflike. The affronts which they had put upon the youth of his nephew the Prince of Orange, and the high tone which they affumed, and which is natural to all maritime powers, because they can infult every where with impunity, hurt his pride. He envied the glories of Cromwell, who had humbled the then mafters of the ocean. Neceffitous from the parfimony of parliament, he hoped to fupply his wants by the plunder of a people, who at that time were possessed of most of the wealth of Europe. And, by raifing the English trade upon the ruins of the Dutch trade, he flattered himself, that he might both please the nation, and increase his own revenues by the increase of his customs. A few years after he was reftored to his throne, he had taken advantage of the national jealoufies of the English; and, converting the piques of merchants into the quarrels of nations, had engaged England in a war with Hol▾ land. During that war, he offered to abandon all Flanders to France, if the would not interpofe to fave Holland from the power of his arms. The ill-humours of parliament, the difgrace at Chatham, and the junction of France and Denmark with Holland, which gave occafion

* D'Eftrades, 1665.

for

For an obfervation of Lewis XIV. "That the English

faw no coafts except thofe of enemies, from Bergen to "Bayonne," obliged Charles, against his will, to defift from that war. Whilst the peace of Breda, which put an end to it, was forming, Charles was receiving by the hands of Lord Hollis his ambaffador to the Dutch, projects from a Frenchman, Gourville, (whom Voltaire honours with the title of friend of the Prince of Condé) for a strict connection with France, and for lulling De Wit into a fatal fecurity, by those personal flatteries, which republicans are too apt to take kindly from princes; projects, which Charles, who was the greatest diffembler, and the best actor that ever fat on any throne, readily adopted *.

Soon after, indeed, he entered into the triple alliance with Sweden and Holland to protect Flanders from the fudden pretenfions of Louis XIV. in right of his wife, But before he did fo, he had privately made advances to France, to prevent his being obliged to enter into that alliance; but they were disappointed by the circumfpection of the French court, which received them not fo readily as he expected. The treaty was however no fooner finished than he wrote apologies for it to his fifter the Duchefs of Orleans, and to Lewis the XIV. And amidst the rejoicings for the triple alliance, Sir Thomas Clifford, who poffeffed more of Charles's confidence than any of his ministers ever did, betrayed, by an unguarded expreffion, the secret intentions of his master: "Not"withstanding all this joy," faid he, "we must still have "another Dutch war.'

the Duke

But before Charles ventured, after entering into that Secret in alliance, to express in more than whispers to Monfieur trigue of Rouvigny, who was by accident then in England, the of Buckvengeance ingham

Vide a full account of this treacherous French intrigue in Courville's memoirs, vol. ii. p. 14, 65, and 160.

and Du

chefs of Orleans for the deftruction of Holland.

vengeance which he meditated against Holland, the Duke of Buckingham, who either was, or thought he was, a favourite of the Duchefs of Orleans, was carrying on a project, unknown to his master, with that Princess, for bringing about a fecret alliance between the two Kings for the deftruction of Holland. He first broached it to Rouvigny, and afterwards carried on the correspondence with the Duchefs by means of Sir Ellis Lighton. She defired him to enter into a communication with Monfieur Comminge the French ambassador; but, in order to gain importance to himself, by managing the affair with her only, he declined it. On the 23d of January, 1668, Charles had figned the triple alliance for the preservation of Holland: Two letters from Charles to Louis and the Duchefs of Orleans, in the Depot des Affaires Etrangeres at Verfailles, fhow, that on the 3d of February, Charles fent Sir John Trevor ambassador to Paris to regulate matters on the footing of that alliance. But from Buckingham's letter to the Duchefs in the fame repofitory, of date 17th February, it appears, that the negotiation between him and her for defeating the ends of it, had, at that time proceeded fome length.

It was, however, feveral months before the follicitations of the Duchefs of Orleans and Buckingham with Charles produced any confiderable effect. He indeed continued his communications with Rouvigny, and offered a fecret league offenfive and defenfive, and a perfect participation of meafures with France. But Louis and he, each distrusting that the other would betray the fecret to the Dutch, hesitated who fhould make the first advance; and Charles ftood in awe of his people, though he had fatally imbibed an opinion in his exile, that he had an intereft feparate from theirs.

A:

Charles

for the

fame end.

At last, in the winter of the year 1668, he made a Separate propofal in writing, by his ambaffador Lord Hollis at intrigueof Paris, for a fecret alliance with Louis. But reflecting and the upon the danger of entrusting the conduct of a treaty for Duchefs the deftruction of a republic, to a man who had drawn his fword in a republican caufe, he foon after ceased to make ufe of the services of Hollis. Unhappy, and irresolute whom to truft, he declined treating with Comminge, under pretence that he was a weak man; he defired his fifter to put no confidence in Buckingham, who he thought would abuse it; and propofed that the conduct of the treaty fhould be confined to her and himfelf only. Louis confented, with that mixture of gallantry and politics in which he constantly found his intereft, while he pretended to facrifice the last to the first; for he had intelligence, that the Duchefs who poffeffed all the beauty and intriguing fpirit of her mother, had gained the compleat dominion of her brother's fpirit; that, on taking leave of her when she went to France, he had been seen often to weep; and that he had granted every favour which the had at that time asked for any of his fubjects.

trigue of the Duke of York

for the

But Charles's difficulty in finding perfons to trust Secret inwith the conduct of the fecret treaty he intended, was unexpectedly removed by the accident of the converfion of the Duke of York. The ruling paf- with pofion in that Prince's breaft was zeal for religion. For pifh lords this, even whilft a youth and an exile, he had broken fame end. through the laws of difcretion and of nature, by infifting that the Duke of Glocefter fhould be taken from his mother's arms, to prevent her enticing his youth to the popish religion. The Duke's attachment to the Roman catholic religion was the ftronger, because he believed that it was the refult of his reafon : For he had long ftudied the controversy, before he ultimately fixed his faith, and was not converted until the beginning of the year