Nevertheless the idea of the prince being publicly entertained
in the city was so distasteful to the queen and her government that she
found fault with the citizens for daring to approach her with a mere
verbal message (she was suffering from gout at the time),(1982) and
declined to return an answer to any message which was not brought to her
"with the same respect as has always been paid by the city of London to
her predecessors."(1983) That there might be no mistake about the matter
the queen's answer was sent to the City in writing by Lord Dartmouth. The
Court of Aldermen at once appointed a committee to search the City's
Records for the purpose of ascertaining how and in what manner messages
had been delivered from the court to her majesty and her predecessors,
whether they had usually been in writing or only verbal. On the 5th
February the committee reported that they found that such messages had
been delivered in a variety of ways: sometimes by the lord mayor alone,
sometimes by two or three aldermen, and at other times by the recorder and
sheriffs only. One instance had been found of a message having been sent
by a single sheriff. Not once did they find that a message had been
delivered in writing.(1984) It need scarcely be said that under the
circumstances all idea of the entertainment was dropt.

In spite of the prince's high character the greatest calumnies were
whispered against him behind his back. He was said to be conspiring with
Marlborough and the Whigs to raise an insurrection in the streets, fire
the city and seize the person of the queen. A general panic prevailed.
Even the roysterings of a few drunken revellers calling themselves
"Mohocks"(1985)--the successors of the "Roreres" and "Riffleres" of a past
age--were looked upon as signs and tokens of some deep laid plot, so that
more than ordinary precautions had to be taken, both in the city and
elsewhere, to prevent riot.(1986) Finding at length that his presence in
England did not promote his object the prince, after a stay of some weeks,
returned to the Hague.

(M979)

By the 6th June negotiations with France had so far advanced that the
queen went down to the House of Lords to fulfil, as she said, her promise
of communicating to her parliament the terms of peace before it was
absolutely concluded. What pleased the citizens most in her elaborate
speech was the announcement of the steps taken to secure the Protestant
succession to the House of Hano