JAMES THE SECOND.

371

Air a second apostasy. These men the Prince, with just con-tempt, suffered to wait at the door of his apartment in vain-expectation of an audience. *

On Monday, the seventeenth of December, all the Peerswho were at Windsor were summoned to a solemn consulta-tion at the Castle. The subject proposed for deliberationwas what should be done with the King. William did notthink it advisable to be present during the discussion. Heretired; and Halifax was called to the chair. On one pointthe Lords were agreed. The King could not be suffered toremain where he was. That one prince should fortify himselfin Whitehall and the other in Saint James’s, that there shouldbe two hostile garrisons within an area of a hundred acres,was universally felt to be inexpedient. Such an arrangementcould scarcely fail to produce suspicions, insults, and bicker-ings which might end in blood. The assembled Lords, there-fore, thought it advisable that James should be sent out ofLondon. Ham, which had been built and decorated byLauderdale, on the banks of the Thames, out of the plunderof Scotland and the bribes of France, and which was regardedas the most luxurious of villas, was proposed as a convenientretreat. When the Lords had come to this conclusion, theyrequested the Prince to join them. Their opinion was thencommunicated to him by Halifax. William listened and ap-proved. A short message to the King was drawn up.“Whom,” said William, “shall we send with it?” “Oughtit not,” said Halifax, “to be conveyed by one of your High-ness’s officers?” “Nay, my Lord,” answered the Prince;“by your favour, it is sent by the advice of your Lordships,and some of you ought to carry it.” Then, without pausingto give time for remonstrance, he appointed Halifax, Shrews-bury, and Delamere to be the messengers. **

The resolution of the Lords appeared to be unanimous.But there were in the assembly those who by no means ap-

* Mulgrave’s Account of the Revolution; Clarendon’s Diary, Dec. 16.1688.

** Burnet, i. 800.; Clarendon’s Diary, Dec. 11. 1688; Citters, Dec. 1|.1688.

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