land into
every contest between France and Spain freed the hands of Lewis for the
stroke he was patiently planning against the Low Countries. Lewis
however proved a shrewd bargainer, and not a half of the sum originally
demanded as its price found its way into the royal treasury. But the
money was accepted as a pledge of the close connexion which was to bind
the two crowns together. Charles declared the cession to be "one of the
greatest proofs he could give of his friendship for the French king,"
and the Duke of York pressed the bargain with assurances that his
strongest desire, like that of his brother, was "to unite our interests
with those of France." Clarendon was as desirous of such a union as his
master. In his eyes the friendship of France, the money, the force
placed in his hands by the return of the garrison of Dunkirk to England,
were so many safeguards against the outbreak of rebellion which his
policy had provoked.

[Sidenote: Ashley Cooper.]

But he had reckoned without Charles, and the time was come when the king
was to show how widely his temper and aim differed from those of his
Chancellor. Charles had no taste for civil war, nor had he the slightest
wish to risk his throne in securing the supremacy of the Church. His aim
was to use the strife between the two great bodies of Protestant
religionists so as to secure toleration for the Catholics and revive at
the same time his prerogative of dispensing with the execution of laws.
At the close of 1662 therefore he suddenly broke from the policy of
Clarendon and laid his plans for toleration before the Presbyterian
party who were struggling against the Chancellor in the royal council.
Of that party Ashley Cooper, Lord Ashley, was now in influence, though
not in rank, the chief. Every step in his career had brought out the
boldness, the self-reliance, the versatility and readiness of resource
which distinguished his character. In mere boyhood he had saved his
estate from the greed of his guardians by boldly appealing in person for
protection to Noy, who was then attorney-general. As an undergraduate at
Oxford he organized a rebellion of the freshmen against the oppressive
customs which were enforced by the senior men of his college, and
succeeded in abolishing them. At eighteen he was a member of the Short
Parliament. On the outbreak of the Civil War he took part with the king;
but in the midst of the royal successes he foresaw the ruin of the royal
cause,