[1] The seven gentlemen who signed in cipher the secret letter to
William, Prince of Orange, were Henry Sidney, brother of Algernon
Sidney (S480); Edward Russell, a kinsman of Lord Russell, beheaded by
Charles II (S480); the Earl of Devonshire, chief of the Whig party;
Lord Shrewsbury; Danby, the old Tory minister of Charles II; Compton,
Bishop of London, whom James II had tyrannically suspended; and Lord
Lumley. See the letter in J. Dalrymple's "Memoirs of Great Britain,"
II, Appendix, p. 228.
[2] Bright's, Guizot's, Lingard's, and Von Ranke's Histories of
England.
491. The "Glorious Revolution of 1688; William comes, James goes.
William's ship, which led his fleet, displayed this flag.
I WILL MAINTAIN THE LIBERTIES OF ENGLAND AND THE PROTESTANT RELIGION
He landed with 14,000 troops on the shore of Torbay, Devonshire. (See map facing p. 334.) It was the fifth and last rgeat landing in the history of England.[1] He declared that he came in the interest of his wife Mary, the heir to the throne (S477), and in the interest of the English nation, to secure a free and legal Parliament which should decide the question of the succession. James endeavored to rally a force to resist him, but Baron Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough (S509), and the King's son-in-law, Prince George, both secretly went over to William's side.
[1] The first being that of the Romans, the next that of the Saxons, the third that of St. Augustine, the fourth that of William he Conqueror, the fifth that of the Prince of Orange.
His troops likewise deserted, and finally even his daughter Anne went over to the enemy. "Now God help me!" exclaimed James, in despair; "for my own children forsake me!" The Queen had already fled to France, taking with her her infant son, the unfortunate Prince James Edward, whose birth (S490) had caused the revolution. Instead of a kingdom, he inherited nothing but the nickname of "Pretender," which he in turn transmitted to his son.[2] King James soon followed his wife.
[2] Prince James Edward Stuart, the so-called "Old Pretender," and his son, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the so-called "Young Pretender." See, too, Genealogical Table, p. 323.
As he crossed the Thames in a boat by night, James threw the Great Seal of State into the river, in the vain hope that without it a Parliament could not be legally summoned to decide the question which his adversary had raised.[3] The King got as far as the coast, but was discovered by some fishermen and brought back. William reluctantly received him, and purposely allowed him to escape a second time. He reached France, and Louis XIV, who had long had the treacherous King in his secret pay, received him at the court of Versailles. There could be now no reasonable doubt that James's daughter Mary (S477) would receive the English crown.
[3] On the Great Seal of State (S145).