JAMES THE SECOND.

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cial announcement of that opinion had appeared, many per- ® I ] -^ P -sons who had not access to good private sources of informa- —tion were deceived or perplexed by the confidence with whichthe partisans of the Court asserted that their Highnessesapproved of the King’s late acts. To contradict those as-sertions publicly would have been asimple and obvious course,if the sole object of William had been to strengthen hisinterest in England. But he considered England chiefly asan instrument necessary to the execution of his great Euro-pean design. Towards that design he hoped to obtain thecooperation of both branches of the House of Austria, ofthe Italian princes, and even of the Sovereign Pontiff. Therewas reason to fear that any declaration which was satisfactoryto British Protestants would excite alarm and disgust atMadrid, Vienna, Turin, and Rome. For this reason thePrince long abstained from formally expressing his senti-ments. At length it was represented to him that his con-tinued silence had excited much uneasiness and distrustamong his wellwishers, and that it was time to speak out. Hetherefore determined to explain himself.

A Scotch Whig, named James Stewart, had fled, somecorro-years before, to Holland, in order to avoid the boot and the ofgallows, and had become intimate with the Grand Pensionary StewartFagel, who enjoyed a large share of the Stadtholder’s con- Fagel.tidence and favour. By Stewart had been drawn up theviolent and acrimonious manifesto of Argyle. When the In-dulgence. appeared, Stewart conceived that he had an op-portunity of obtaining, not only pardon, but reward. Heoffered his services to the government of which he had beenthe enemy: they were accepted; and he addressed to Fagela letter, purporting to have been written by the directionof James. In that letter the Pensionary was exhorted to useall his influence with the Prince and Princess, for the pur-pose of inducing them to support their father’s policy. Aftersome delay Fagel transmitted a reply, deeply meditated,and drawn up with exquisite art. No person who studies thatremarkable document can fail to perceive that, though it isframed in a manner well calculated to reassure and delight