use of Commons for a continuance of
the Act, which was not suffered to be brought up; upon this they applied
themselves to the Lords, who passed a Bill accordingly, and sent it down
to the Commons, where it was not so much as allowed a first reading.

And indeed it is not easy to conceive upon what motives the legislature
of so great a kingdom could descend so low, as to be ministerial and
subservient to the caprices of the most absurd heresy that ever appeared
in the world; and this in a point, where those deluding or deluded
people stand singular from all the rest of mankind who live under civil
government: but the designs of an aspiring party, at that time were not
otherwise to be compassed, than by undertaking any thing that would
humble and mortify the Church; and I am fully convinced, that if a sect
of sceptic philosophers (who profess to doubt of every thing) had been
then among us, and mingled their tenets with some corruptions of
Christianity, they might have obtained the same privilege; and that a
law would have been enacted, whereby the solemn doubt of the people
called sceptics, should have been accepted instead of an oath in the
usual form; so absurd are all maxims formed upon the inconsistent
principles of faction, when once they are brought to be examined by the
standard of truth and reason.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

THE HISTORY OF THE FOUR LAST

YEARS OF THE QUEEN.

BOOK IV.

We left the plenipotentiaries of the allies, and those of the enemy,
preparing to assemble at Utrecht on the first of January, N.S., in order
to form a congress for negotiating a general peace; wherein although the
Dutch had made a mighty merit of their compliance with the Queen, yet
they set all their instruments at work to inflame both Houses against
Her Majesty's measures. Mons. Bothmar, the Hanover envoy, took care to
print and disperse his Memorial, of which I have formerly spoken:
Hoffman, the Emperor's resident, was soliciting for a yacht and convoys
to bring over Prince Eugene at this juncture, fortified, as it was given
out, with great proposals from the Imperial court: the Earl of
Nottingham became a convert, for reasons already mentioned: money was
distributed where occasion required; and the Dukes of Somerset and
Marlborough, together with the Earl of Godolphin, had put themselves at
the head of the junto, and their adherents, in order to attack the
court.

Some days after