CHARLES THE SECOND.

13

At that time the common people throughout Europe, and chap.nowhere more than in England, were in the habit of attribu- "“j 685 .ting the deaths of princes, especially when the prince was Stjspi-^popular and the death unexpected, to the foulest and darkest poison,kind of assassination. Thus James the First had been accusedof poisoning Prince Henry. Thus Charles the First had beenaccused of poisoning James the First. Thus when, in the

at length; but the initials are perfectly intelligible, except in one place.

It is said that the D. of Y. was reminded of the duty which he owed to hisbrother by P. M A. C. F. I must own myself quite unable to decipher thelast five letters. It is some consolation that Sir Walter Scott was equallyunsuccessful. Since the first edition of this work was published, severalvery ingenious conjectures touching these mysterious letters have beencommunicated to me; but I am convinced that the true solution has notyet been suggested.

It should seem that no transactions in history ought to be more ac-curately known to us than those which took place round the deathbed ofCharles the Second. We have several relations written by persons whowere actually in his room. We have several relations written by personswho, though not themselves eye witnesses, had the best opportunities ofobtaining information from eye witnesses. Yet whoever attempts todigest this vast mass of materials into a consistent narrative will find thetask a difficult one. Indeed James and his wife, when they told the storyto the nuns of Chaillot, could not agree as to some circumstances. TheQueen said that, after Charles bad received the last sacraments, theProteslantBishops renewed their exhortations. The King said that nothingof the kind took place. “Surely,” said the Queen, “you told me soyourself.” “It is impossible that I could have told you so,” said theKing; “for nothing of the sort happened.”

It is much to be regretted that Sir Henry Halford should have takenso little trouble to ascertain the facts on which he pronounced judgment.

He does not seem to have been aware of the existence of the narrativesof James, Barillon, and Iluddleston.

As this is the first occasion on which I cite the correspondence ofthe Dutch ministers at the English court, I ought here to mention thata series of their despatches, from the accession of James the Second tohis flight, forms one of the most valuable parts of the Mackintosh collec-tion. The subsequent despatches, down to the settlement of the govern-ment in February, 1689,1 procured from the Hague. The Dutch archiveshave been far too little explored. They abound with information inter-esting in the highest degree to every Englishman. They are admirablyarranged; and they are in the charge of gentlemen whose courtesy, libe-rality, and zeal for the interests of literature, cannot be too highlypraised. I wish to acknowledge, in the strongest manner, my own obli-gations to Mr. De Jonge and to Mr. Van Zwanne.