The seven bishops committed to the Tower.
What followed is well known. On Friday the 8th June the Archbishop of Canterbury and the six bishops who had signed the petition were summoned[pg 527] before the council and asked if they acknowledged their respective signatures. They were next required to enter into bond for appearance before the King's Bench. This they declined to do, and were thereupon committed to the Tower.[1606] To have carried them through the streets of the city might have caused a riot; they were therefore conveyed to the Tower by water, "and all along as they passed the banks of the river were full of people, who kneeled down and asked their blessing, and with loud shouts expressed their good wishes for them and their concern in their preservation."[1607] The enthusiasm of the Londoners did not end here. They continued to flock to the Tower, filling the small chapel where the bishops attended service to overflowing in order to gaze upon their beloved pastors and receive their blessing.[1608] After being kept in separate confinement, and allowed to meet only at meals and in chapel, for ten days, the bishops were allowed to come out on bail.
Trial and acquittal of the bishops, 29 and 30 June, 1688.
On the 29th June they appeared before the King's Bench on a charge of publishing a seditious libel. A technical difficulty presented itself at the outset, but this was got over, and after a trial of some hours the question of their innocence or guilt was left to a jury drawn, not from London, but from the county of Middlesex. One of the panel stuck out against the rest, and wished to bring in a verdict of guilty, but after being locked up through the night he allowed himself to be persuaded by his fellow-jurymen, and on the morning of the 30th June a verdict of not guilty was found. Thereupon "there were such shoutings, so long continued, and as it were echoed[pg 528] into the city, that all people were struck with it."[1609] Bonfires were lighted, guns discharged and church bells rung, not only in London but throughout the kingdom.
Disaffection among the troops at Hounslow.
The beginning of the end was approaching. Already the troops encamped at Hounslow, on which James placed so much dependence, showed signs of disaffection. He had hoped that his army would have overawed London, instead of which the free spirit of London had, as a result of his policy, entirely captivated his army. So long as the king was in their midst the troops maintained a respectful demeanour, but as soon as his back was turned they threw off all restraint, and joined in the general exultation at the late joyful deliverance to the Church of England.[1610]
The birth of Prince Charles Edward, 10 June, 1688.
The birth of a prince (10 June), which had recently taken place, served to hasten the crisis. Those who were willing to have waited patiently for a recurrence to the old order of things at the king's death now saw their hopes dashed to the ground. The king's heir and successor, brought up, as he undoubtedly would be, in the tenets of his father, promised them little relief. Even before the birth of the prince overtures had been made to William of Orange to appear in England at the head of an army. Nevertheless the Court of Aldermen displayed its loyalty by resolving that the conduits in Cheapside and at the Stocks Market should run with claret on Thanksgiving-day. The sheriffs were to take the matter in hand, whilst the sum of £50 was raised by the court to defray the cost, the mayor contributing £10, each of the sheriffs £5, and the rest of the[pg 529] aldermen the balance between them.[1611] Later on (29 June) the mayor, aldermen and sheriffs waited upon the infant prince and kissed his hand. The various nurses were presented by the Chamberlain with the respectable douceur of sixty guineas, whilst ten guineas were given to the lord chancellor's messenger who brought the news to the city of the prince's birth.[1612]
Invitation to William of Orange, 30 June, 1688.
The day that saw the bishops acquitted a letter was despatched, signed by Shrewsbury, Danby, Compton (the suspended Bishop of London) and others, to the Prince of Orange, again inviting him to land in England with an armed force, and promising to render him every assistance. After some hesitation William accepted the invitation, and began to make preparations, both naval and military, for his descent on England. Towards the close of September news came from Holland of the vast preparations that were being pushed forward in that country. A fleet of sixty sail was in readiness, and the prince himself was shortly expected on board. James lost no time in informing the lord mayor of the state of affairs, and desired that he and the aldermen would take measures for preserving the city in peace.[1613] On the 28th he issued a proclamation informing his subjects of the threatened invasion, and calling upon them to lay aside all jealousies and to unite in defending the country against the foreign enemy.[1614]