Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/276

262 from Derby, still figure amongst the most respectable county families. His grandfather, John Sacheverel, was a determined puritan clergyman, who was silenced at the restoration of Charles II., and died in prison for his faith. His father, however, had become as zealous a churchman on the other side, and Dr. Sacheverel had inherited his principles. He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, was chamber-fellow with Addison, and was so much esteemed by him till their politics separated them, that the latter dedicated his "Farewell to the Muses" to him in 1694. This is sufficient to demonstrate that a man to whom Addison would show such a public mark of respect, was neither fool nor dunce. On the contrary, Sacheverel cultivated both Latin and English poetry; translated and dedicated to Dryden part of Virgil's first "Georgic;" published Latin poems in the "Musæ Anglicanæ," and stood high as a college tutor. That he was a man vain, ambitious, and soon carried away by a love of notoriety, is equally clear.

The motion made by Mr. Dolben in regard to Sacheverel in the house of commons was seconded by Sir Peter King, one of the aldermen of London, who had listened to the sermon in St. Paul's with astonishment and indignation. He denounced it as abounding with matter false, injurious, impious, and tending to sedition and schism in the church. This had not been the case with all the city dignitaries on that occasion. Sir Gilbert Heathcote had indeed been equally astonished at it, and declared that the preacher ought to be called to account for it; but the lord mayor, Sir Samuel Garrard, had applauded it, and had allowed it to be published with his sanction. Neither was it the first of the kind which had been preached in London. One Francis Higgins had been haranguing on the same topics in the pulpits all over the metropolis with the most outrageous declamations on the dangers of the church. Sacheverel, however, had brought the fever to a crisis. The most violent paragraphs were read in the house of commons, and voted scandalous and seditious libels. The doctor was summoned to the bar of the house, and having acknowledged the authorship of the sermons, pleaded the encouragement which he had received to print that on "The Perils of a Fake Brother" by the lord mayor. Sir Samuel Garrard, who was a member of the house, now repudiated his encouragement, and the doctor being ordered to withdraw, it was resolved that he should be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanours at the bar of the lords, and Mr. Dolben was ordered to conduct his impeachment. A committee was appointed to prepare the articles, and Sacheverel was taken into custody.

The commons at the same time resolved that the Rev. Benjamin Hoadley, rector of St. Peter-le-Poor, who, as well as bishop Burnet, and the queen's minister's, had been severely reflected on by Sacheverel in his sermons, had honourably justified the principles on which the revolution and the throne of the queen were founded, and deserved well of the nation. They, moreover, presented an address to the queen, praying her to bestow some dignity in the church on Hoadley for his eminent services to both church and state. Hoadley had preached a sermon before the lord mayor, demonstrating the right to resist and depose bad kings, and defending the revolution, and had done far more than that, had published a treatise called "The Measure of Obedience to the Civil Magistrate," in which the same principles were advocated. These had drawn down on him Sacheverel's censure, and that of a far more powerful adversary, Dr. Atterbury, a high tory divine. The queen gave the commons a civil answer, but was by no means inclined to patronise Hoadley or his doctrines; for, though sitting on a revolution throne, she was as little pleased with the notion of dethroning sovereigns as her father had been. A private patron, however, a lady, came forward, and gave him the living of Streatham, and on the accession of George I. Hoadley rapidly rose to the bench, first to the bishopric of Bangor, and thence to those of Hereford, Salisbury, and Winchester in succession.

There was a busy stir at court regarding Sacheverel's sermons, as well as in the commons. Godolphin, the lord treasurer, who had been severely handled by the preacher at St. Paul's, under the name of Volpone, flew to the queen in a great rage, and insisted on Sacheverel being prosecuted for the attack on the principles of the revolution, which he contended reflected even on her, and the safety of her crown. The queen, however, knew that she had been spoken of by the preacher in the most flattering style, and as the attack was really against the whigs, whom she was trying to get rid of, she professed to be offended by the sermon, but was not eager to adopt severe measures. Marlborough, who knew very well what was aimed at, seconded Godolphin with all his power, declaring that if such men were allowed to go on, they would soon preach them all out of the kingdom. The law officers of the crown thought the best manner of treating the offender was to burn his book and shut him up in prison during the session. Others were of the same opinion, but the violent whigs were bent on his impeachment, Somers dissenting from this, and Sunderland decidedly for it. But the commons had settled the question for them. There had been some opposition to the impeachment in the commons itself, and Harley, who was at the bottom of the whole movement, had endeavoured to get rid of the prosecution by representing Sacheverel as a man too inconsiderable to be prosecuted by impeachment, and that, as to the sermon at St. Paul's, it might contain some things that one could not approve, but nothing great enough to warrant a charge of high crimes and misdemeanours, the whole affair being "a circumgyration of incoherent words, without any order."

When the impeachment was carried up to the lords, Sacheverel petitioned to be admitted to bail, but this was refused. The commons committed him to the custody of the deputy-usher of the black rod, but the lords afterwards admitted him to bail. The articles were carried up to the lords on the 13th of January, 1710, and Sacheverel drew up an answer, in which he wholly denied some of the articles, and endeavoured to justify himself in respect to the rest. The commons made a reply, and declared themselves ready to prove the charge. A long delay, however, took place before the day of trial could be fixed. Marlborough and his friends now appeared as indifferent to the prosecution as they were eager for it before, and Marlborough made his preparations to join the army in Flanders. The truth was, that there was a violent struggle going on at court which