Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/220

206 the historical towers and honours of Woodstock." As it was, the lady historian truly says, "Woodstock, with all its Norman antiquities, its memories of the Plantagenets, its nymph-like baths, its mysterious labyrinths, and its haunted bowers, whispering of royal love and queenly vengeance; Woodstock, where the peerless chevalier of the black armour, first-born son of the third Edward, unclosed his eyes to the light; where his mother, Philippa the Good, spent her young married life; Woodstock, which Chaucer sung, and described, with topographical fidelity, every court, every pleasaunce, and every mighty tree therein, and every gothic nook and embrasure; and not only Chaucer, but elder poets of exquisite simplicity have told the tales pertaining to its glades in strains not even now effaced from English memory; yes, the Woodstock of Henry the Beauclerk, and of Henry Plantagenct; the Woodstock of his much-wronged Rosamond, whether wife or deceived fiancée; the Woodstock of Edward and Philippa, of the regal Elizabeth, and the beautiful Henrietta—was delivered to Vanbrugh and Sarah of Marlborough as a prey, to be defaced and destroyed; and worse—to load its green glades and lawns with heavy hideousness. The Dutch architect himself, struck with the grandeur of the royal ruins, spared them awhile, for 'the purpose of prospect,' as he said; but she, with the taste of a thorough parvenue, never rested until the towers of Woodstock were blasted with gunpowder, and their last vestige effaced from the sight."

Whilst Marlborough received this princely gift for his battle of Blenheim, Sir George Rooke narrowly escaped an impeachment for his winning Gibraltar for his country. As a tory, the whigs pursued him with all their acrimony. The lords, where the whigs prevailed, commenced an inquiry into alleged mismanagements in the admiralty and navy departments, and they found ground enough, or made enough, to get him dismissed and Sir Cloudesley Shovel appointed rear-admiral of England in his stead. Such were the disgraceful actions to which the whigs of that day could condescend in their party malice.

The prisoners of Marlborough, whom Louis XIV. left yet unredeemed—marshal Tallard and the other French generals taken at Hochstadt—were sent, under care of a detachment of the royal regiment of horse guards, to Nottingham and Lichfield, where they were treated with great respect, and permitted to extend their rides to ten miles round the places of their detention.

The two houses of parliament now continued fighting out the remainder of the session with the ease of the Aylesbury election. Encouraged by the conduct of the lords and the declaration of lord chief justice Holt—that if any messengers of the commons dared to enter Westminster Hall to seize any lawyer who had pleaded in favour of the Aylesbury electors, he would commit them to Newgate—five fresh electors sued the constables on the ground of their having impeded the lawful exercise of their franchise. The house of commons committed these five persons to Newgate, who thereupon applied to the court of Queen's Bench for a habeas corpus. The court refused to interfere. Two of the prisoners then petitioned the queen to bring their case before her in parliament. The commons immediately prayed the queen not to interfere with their privileges by granting a writ of error in this case. She replied that she would not willingly do anything to give them just cause of offence, but that this matter relating to judicial proceedings was of such high importance to the subject, that she thought herself bound to weigh and consider everything relating to it. The commons, fearing from this answer that the queen might be induced to grant the prisoners a writ of error, sent and took them from Newgate, and kept them in the custody of their serjeant-at-arms, at the same time voting all the lawyers who had pleaded in favour of the prisoners guilty of a breach of privilege. The prisoners then appealed to the lords, and the lords, after seeking a conference with the commons to arrive at some conclusion as to the right in this case, but with no result, appealed to the queen, declaring that the commons were assailing the birthright of every subject, and violating Magna Charta by refusing these citizens the right of appealing to a court of justice; and they prayed her to give orders for the immediate issue of the writs of error.

Her majesty assured them that she would have complied with their request, but that it was now absolutely necessary to prorogue parliament, and, therefore, further proceedings, they would see, must be useless. The lords considered this as a triumph, the queen's words implying that they had right on their side, and thus equally implying a censure on the commons. In fact, the queen was glad to get rid of the dilemma and of this troublesome tory parliament at the same time. The same day that the lords waited on her she went to their house and prorogued parliament till the 1st of May; but on the 5th of April she dissolved it by proclamation, and writs were issued for calling a new one.

The queen, having dismissed parliament, went with her husband to Newmarket, and accepted an invitation to visit the university of Cambridge, where, amongst others, she knighted the celebrated mathematical professor, Isaac Newton.

In order to carry the measures in Scotland that were highly necessary, ministers there were changed. The marquis of Tweeddale and Johnstone, who had been found utterly incompetent, were dismissed, and the duke of Queensberry was again restored as lord privy seal, and the young duke of Argyll, who had many good qualities and much ability, as well as some mean traits, was made commissioner. The two great objects which he was instructed to carry was a bill settling the protestant succession, and another authorising a treaty with England for a union. From the violent spirit of opposition displayed during the last session, any one would have deemed these objects hopeless. The parliament was divided into three factions—the cavaliers, or Jacobites, the revolutioners, and the flying squadron, as it was called, who pretended to be independent, but sought their own ends by embarrassing or strengthening the other parties, as suited them. They were headed by the discarded marquis of Tweeddale.

No sooner was the session opened than the old manœuvres commenced. The marquis of Annandale proposed that the question regarding the limitations of government should take precedence of all others, and that a committee should be appointed to consider the condition of the coin and of commerce. The earl of Mar moved that the question of the treaty of England should come on first, but the house decided