JAMES THE SECOND.

113

western coast of Scotland, and that it should be promptlyfollowed by a descent of England.

Argyle was to hold the nominal command in Scotland: buthe was placed under the control of a Committee which re-served to itself all the most important parts of the military ad-ministration. This Committee was empowered to determinewhere the expedition should land, to appoint officers, tosuperintend the levying of troops, to dole out provisions andammunition. All that was left to the general was to direct theevolutions of the army in the field, and he was forced topromise that even in the field, except in the case of a surprise,he would do nothing without the assent of a council of war.

Monmouth was to command in England. His soft mindhad, as usual, taken an impress from the society which sur-rounded him. Ambitious hopes, which had seemed to be ex-tinguished, had revived in his bosom. He remembered theaffection with which he had been constantly greeted by thecommon people in town and country, and expected that theywould now rise by hundreds of thousands to welcome him.He remembered the good will which the soldiers had alwaysborne him, and flattered himself that they would come overto him by regiments. Encouraging messages reached him inquick succession from London. He was assured that theviolence and injustice with which the elections had been car-ried on had driven the nation mad, that the prudence of theleading Whigs had with difficulty prevented a sanguinary out-break on the day of the coronation, and that all the greatLords who had supported the Exclusion Bill were impatient torally round him. Wildman, who loved to talk treason in pa-rables, sent to say that the Earl of Richmond, just two hun-dred years before, had landed in England with a handful ofmen, and had a few days later been crowned, on the field ofBosworth, with the diadem taken from the head of Richard.Danvers undertook to raise the City. The Duke was deceivedMacaulay, History, U. g

CHAP.

v.

ll)S5.