JAMES THE SECOND.

15

was peculiarly exposed. We cannot, therefore, wonder thatwild stories without number were repeated and believed by'the common people. His Majesty’s tongue had swelled to thesize of a neat’s tongue. A cake of deleterious powder hadbeen found in his brain. There were blue spots on his breast.There were black spots on his shoulder. Something had beenput into his snuffbox. Something had been put into his broth.Something had been put into his favourite dish of eggs andambergrease. The Duchess of Portsmouth had poisoned himin a cup of chocolate. The Queen had poisoned him in a jarof dried pears. Such tales ought to be preserved; for theyfurnish us with a measure of the intelligence and virtue of thegeneration which eagerly devoured them. That no rumour ofthe same kind has ever, in the present age, found creditamong us, even when lives on which great interests dependedhave been terminated by unforeseen attacks of disease, is tobe attributed partly to the progress of medical and chemicalscience, but partly also, it may be hoped, to the progresswhich the nation has made in good sense, justice, and hu-manity.*

When all was over, James retired from the bedside to hiscloset, where, during a quarter of an hour, he remained alone.Meanwhile the Privy Councillors who were in the palace as-sembled. The new King came forth, and took his place atthe head of the board. He commenced his administration,according to usage, by a speech to the Council. He ex-pressed his regret for the loss which he had just sustained,

* Welwood, 139.; Burnet,!. 609 ; Sheffield's Character of Charlesthe Second; North’s Life of Guildford, 252.; F.xamen, 648.; RevolutionPolitics; Higgons on Burnet. What North says of the embarrassmentand vacillation of the physicians is confirmed by the despatches ofCitters.

I have been much perplexed, by the strange story about Short’s suspi-cions. 1 was, at one time, inclined to adopt North’s solution. But,though I attach little weight to the authority of Welwood and Burnet insuch a case, I cannot reject the testimony of so well informed and sounwilling a witness as Sheffield.

CHAP.

tv.

1685 ,

Speech ofJames II.to thePrivyCouncil.