several years in retirement at his
hereditary seat in Cumberland. He had planted forests round his house,
and had employed Verrio to decorate the interior with gorgeous
frescoes which represented the gods at their banquet of ambrosia. Very
reluctantly, and only in compliance with the earnest and almost angry
importunity of the King, Lonsdale consented to leave his magnificent
retreat, and again to encounter the vexations of public life.

Trumball resigned the Secretaryship of State; and the Seals which he
had held were given to Jersey, who was succeeded at Paris by the Earl of
Manchester.

It is to be remarked that the new Privy Seal and the new Secretary of
State were moderate Tories. The King had probably hoped that, by calling
them to his councils, he should conciliate the opposition. But the
device proved unsuccessful; and soon it appeared that the old practice
of filling the chief offices of state with men taken from various
parties, and hostile to one another, or, at least, unconnected with one
another, was altogether unsuited to the new state of affairs; and that,
since the Commons had become possessed of supreme power, the only way to
prevent them from abusing that power with boundless folly and violence
was to intrust the government to a ministry which enjoyed their
confidence.

While William was making these changes in the great offices of state, a
change in which he took a still deeper interest was taking place in his
own household. He had laboured in vain during many months to keep
the peace between Portland and Albemarle. Albemarle, indeed, was
all courtesy, good humour, and submission; but Portland would not
be conciliated. Even to foreign ministers he railed at his rival and
complained of his master. The whole Court was divided between the
competitors, but divided very unequally. The majority took the side
of Albemarle, whose manners were popular and whose power was evidently
growing. Portland's few adherents were persons who, like him, had
already made their fortunes, and who did not therefore think it worth
their while to transfer their homage to a new patron. One of these
persons tried to enlist Prior in Portland's faction, but with very
little success. "Excuse me," said the poet, "if I follow your example
and my Lord's. My Lord is a model to us all; and you have imitated him
to good purpose. He retires with half a million. You have large grants,
a lucrative employment in Holland, a fine house. I h