Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 3.djvu/461

] to make war on France for the defence of Spain. This league became known as the Triple Alliance. Louis, who made pretences to the crown of Spain, was hoping, from the infirm health of its young monarch, Charles II., to obtain that kingdom, or to partition it betwixt himself and Leopold, the German emperor, with whom there was a secret treaty for that very purpose. So far, therefore, from opposing the plans of the new allies, he fell into them on certain conditions—namely, that he should retain the bulk of his conquests in the Netherlands. Holland beheld this arrangement with alarm, and refused to sanction it, upon which it was concluded without her approbation, and to punish the States, C'astel-Rodrigo, the Spanish governor of the Netherlands, gave up instead of Franche Comte, Lille, Tournay, Douai, Charleroi, and other places in Flanders, so that the French king advanced his frontier into the very face of Holland. Tins was settled by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle.

But whilst Charles was thus publicly piu^uing a policy much to the satisfaction of the nation, both on account of the improved prospects for trade, and because the triple alliance was an essentially protestant one, he was secretly agitating the question whether he should not openly avow popery, and was bargaining with Louis to become his pensioner, so as to relieve himself from any need to apply to parliament, and by this means to assume absolute power. Parliament, which met on the 10th of February, made a rigid inquiry into the proceedings of the late administration. They impeached commissioner Pett for his neglect when the Dutch fleet entered the river, admiral Penn of the embezzlement of one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds worth of prize goods, and Brounker, who had absconded, of giving orders to shorten sail after the victory of the 3rd of June. They then voted three hundred and ten thousand pounds, much less than Buckingham had demanded; and Charles, having in his opening speech recommended some plan to be adopted the batter to satisfy the minds of his protestant subjects, it immediately awoke a jealousy of indulgence to the papists and dissenters. It was found that Bridgman, the lord-keeper. Sir Matthew Hale, the chief baron, bishop Wilkins, and Buckingham and Ashley had been engaged in a scheme to tolerate the presbyterians and other sects. All the old bigotry of the house burst forth; there were violent denunciations of any liberty to nonconformists, and they again voted the continuance of the conventicle act. They then adjourned from the 8th of May to the 11th of August.

Buckingham, who, during the session of parliament, had not found himself very popular, now the object of driving out Clarendon was accomplished, in seeking to strengthen his party by removing such as were not favourable to him, drove his plans almost too far. He had a dread of Clarendon returning through the influence of his daughter, the duchess of York, and he endeavoured to undermine the duke with the king. He blamed the conduct of the admiralty, at the head of which James was; he displaced James's friends, and put his own dependents into offices in James's own department, in spite of his remonstrances; he spread rumours that the duke had lost the royal favour, and was about to be dismissed from the office of lord admiral. He even affected to go about with armed followers, on the plea of being in danger from the duke. But Charles soon convinced the minister that these attempts were vain, and then Buckingham began to pay court to the duke, which were repelled with contempt. The only mode of maintaining favour with Charles was to find plenty of money, and as Buckingham had failed in that, he recommended retrenchment and economy, which suited Charles still less. For the rest, both court and minister went on their way of open profligacy, and it would have been difficult to say which was the most void of shame or principle, the king or his chief servant. Charles was surrounded by Sedley. Buckhurst, and other libertines, who treated all the decencies of life with contempt, and the monarch laughed and encouraged them. Though Miss Stewart had become duchess of Richmond, he continued his attentions to her. He had elevated actresses to places in his harem, who bore the familiar names of Moll Davies and Nell Gwynne. Moll Davies was a dancer, Nelly was an actress of much popularity, and was a gay, merry, and witty girl, who extremely amused the king by her wild sallies. By Mary Davies he had a daughter, who afterwards married into the noble family of Radclyffe. Nell was the mother of the first duke of St. Albans; and Castlemaine, who had now a whole troop of little Fitzroys, was during the next year made duchess of Cleveland. Another lady was already on the way from France, sent by the cunning Louis XIV. for his own purposes. As for Buckingham, he very successfully imitated his royal master. In January of this year he fought a duel with lord Shrewsbury, whose wife he had seduced; and Pepys says that it was reported that lady Shrewsbury, in the dress of a page, held the duke's horse whilst he killed her husband. He then took her to his own house, and on his wife remarking that it was not fit for herself and his mistress to live together, he replied, "Why, so I have been thinking madame, and therefore I have ordered your coach to carry you to your father's."

In this precious court the subject of religion was just now an interesting topic. The duke of York told Charles secretly that he could no longer remain even ostensibly a protestant, and meant to avow his popery. Charles replied that he was thinking of the very same thing, and they would consult with the lords Arundel and Arlington, and Sir Thomas Clifford. They had a private meeting in the duke's closet; but though their three counsellors were catholics open or concealed, they advised Charles to consult with Louis XIV. before taking so important a step. The French king was apprehensive that his avowal of popery would occasion disturbances amongst his subjects, but these might be put down by the assistance of French money and French troops. That was the object at which Louis knew that this abandoned king was really driving, and the price of this assistance was to be England's co-operation in Louis's schemes of boundless ambition. Instead of Charles inducing Lotus to maintain peace with Holland, it was the object of Louis to drive Charles to break again the triple alliance, and plunge once more into the horrors of a wicked and mischievous war with that country. Charles hated the Dutch for the treatment he had received in Holland whilst an exile, and for the humiliations he had received from them in the last war. Louis wanted not only to swallow up