History of England, from the Accession of James the Second, the — Volume 4 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 965 pages of information about History of England, from the Accession of James the Second, the — Volume 4.

History of England, from the Accession of James the Second, the — Volume 4 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 965 pages of information about History of England, from the Accession of James the Second, the — Volume 4.
to be reconciled to Lewis.  Lewis was now sensible that he had committed a great error when he had roused against himself at once the spirit of Protestantism and the spirit of Popery.  He permitted the French Bishops to submit themselves to the Holy See.  The dispute, which had, at one time, seemed likely to end in a great Gallican schism, was accommodated; and there was reason to believe that the influence of the head of the Church would be exerted for the purpose of severing the ties which bound so many Catholic princes to the Calvinist who had usurped the British throne.

Meanwhile the coalition, which the Third Party on one side and the Pope on the other were trying to dissolve, was in no small danger of falling to pieces from mere rottenness.  Two of the allied powers, and two only, were hearty in the common cause; England, drawing after her the other British kingdoms; and Holland, drawing after her the other Batavian commonwealths.  England and Holland were indeed torn by internal factions, and were separated from each other by mutual jealousies and antipathies; but both were fully resolved not to submit to French domination; and both were ready to bear their share, and more than their share, of the charges of the contest.  Most of the members of the confederacy were not nations, but men, an Emperor, a King, Electors, Dukes; and of these men there was scarcely one whose whole soul was in the struggle, scarcely one who did not hang back, who did not find some excuse for omitting to fulfil his engagements, who did not expect to be hired to defend his own rights and interests against the common enemy.  But the war was the war of the people of England and of the people of Holland.  Had it not been so, the burdens which it made necessary would not have been borne by either England or Holland during a single year.  When William said that he would rather die sword in hand than humble himself before France, he expressed what was felt, not by himself alone, but by two great communities of which he was the first magistrate.  With those two communities, unhappily, other states had little sympathy.  Indeed those two communities were regarded by other states as rich, plaindealing, generous dupes are regarded by needy sharpers.  England and Holland were wealthy; and they were zealous.  Their wealth excited the cupidity of the whole alliance; and to that wealth their zeal was the key.  They were persecuted with sordid importunity by all their confederates, from Caesar, who, in the pride of his solitary dignity, would not honour King William with the title of Majesty, down to the smallest Margrave who could see his whole principality from the cracked windows of the mean and ruinous old house which he called his palace.  It was not enough that England and Holland furnished much more than their contingents to the war by land, and bore unassisted the whole charge of the war by sea.  They were beset by a crowd of illustrious mendicants, some rude, some

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History of England, from the Accession of James the Second, the — Volume 4 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.