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James II he loved the House of Stuart, ever heartily acquiesced in this new policy.

The reception of the "Irish ambassadors," as the two chief judges were derisively called, must have removed any lingering doubts which he may have felt upon this point. It was only with great difficulty that Rice and Nugent obtained admission to the council board, where the former is said to have pleaded the cause of his countrymen with tact, ability, and moderation, but to have been much embarrassed by the indiscreet and intemperate utterances of his colleague. Lords Powys and Bellasyse were not restrained, even by respect for the royal presence, from expressing with less courtesy than candour, their unqualified hostility to the Irish demands; and with those demands James, who was not less capricious than he was obstinate, now declared that he was unable to comply. At the same time the common people, among whom the objects of the mission were well known, gave vent to their indignation in a manner which it was impossible to misinterpret. The judges were pursued through London by a boisterous and disorderly rabble, brandishing potatoes, the symbol of their country's degradation, and returned to Ireland even less disposed than they had previously been to appreciate the blessings of the English connection. 151