“Then came the Commonwealth and the days of ‘Old Noll.’ It was not a ‘Merrie England’ in his time, I warrant you. There were no Maypoles and no Bartholomew fairs in his day; it was almost a sin to eat a mince pie. You young fellows would think yourselves hardly done by if those times were to return. But we were a strong nation then, my lad. Foreigners feared us, the Dutchmen had to eat humble pie, and money flowed right merrily into our coffers. It was a harsh and cheerless time, no doubt, and there was no liberty to speak of, but trade was brisk, and this land has never seen such good prosperous days since.
“When Cromwell died—the night after the great storm—and his son Dick couldn’t be bothered with business of state, we sent across the sea for Charles’s son, and I remember well the joy with which these fickle folk greeted him as he rode into London on Oak-apple Day. But, my lad, I blush with shame to think of the foreign wickedness he brought with him, of the way he squandered the public money and ‘made Israel to sin.’ Not to my dying day shall I forget standing in the Strand—the very year in which you were born—and hearing the Dutch guns roaring in the Thames. It was a bitter disgrace; we all felt it, and we all longed for Blake and Old Noll again to send the Dutchman to the right about in double-quick time. Aye, and the second Charles did worse than that; he sold himself and us to the French king for a dirty pension, and plotted to overturn the Church and rob us of our liberties. But, thank God! he went to his own place before he had time to do his worst. And then came his brother, James the Second. Well, you know all about him. Two short months ago he lay within these very walls. Now they say he’s with the French king, and here’s his son-in-law standing in his shoes. The Dutchman is welcome, lad; he is the saviour of the country, and he has secured our liberties. Please God, under him the old days of good government and prosperity shall come back again.”
The liberties of the land were indeed secured, for no future British king would dare to tread the path which the Stuarts had trod to their destruction. William and Mary now ruled in England by virtue of a solemn contract made between themselves and their subjects. Before the crown was offered to them they were required to assent to the Declaration of Rights, which branded as illegal all the arrogant pretensions of the Stuarts. This Declaration asserted anew the national liberties, and is the third great charter of British liberty.
The Prince of Orange landing at Torbay.
(From the picture by J. M. W. Turner, R.A. in the National Gallery.)
