eigner.

It is supposed that an intercepted letter which the Duke de Berwick, the
half-brother of the Chevalier, addressed to a person of distinction in
England, first gave the intelligence of an intended invasion.[67] The
burden of that letter was to encourage the riots and tumults, and to
keep up the spirits of the people with a promise of prompt assistance.
The impeachment of Viscount Bolingbroke and of the Duke of Ormond
followed shortly afterwards; and although these noblemen provided for
their own safety by flight, they were degraded as outlaws, and in the
order in Council were styled, according to the usual form of law, "James
Butler, yeoman," and "Henry Bolingbroke, labourer," and the arms of
Ormond were taken from Windsor Chapel, and torn in pieces by the Earl
Marshal.

The English fleet, under the command of Sir George Byng, was stationed
in the Downs, in case of a surprise. Portsmouth was put in a state of
defence; and, during the month of July, the inhabitants of London beheld
once more a sight such as had never been witnessed by its citizens since
the days of the Great Rebellion. In Hyde Park the troops of the
household were encamped, according to the arrangements of General
Cadogan, who had marked out a camp. The forces were commanded by the
Duke of Argyle. In Westminster the Earl of Clare reviewed the militia,
and the trained bands were directed to be in readiness for orders. At
the same time fourteen colonels of the Guards, and other inferior
officers were cashiered by the King's orders, on suspicion of being in
James Stuart's interest; so deep a root had this cause, which many have
pretended to treat as a visionary scheme of self-interest, taken in the
affections even of the British army.

A proclamation ordering all Papists and reputed Papists to depart from
the cities of London and Westminster, was the next act of the
Government. All persons of the Roman Catholic persuasion were to be
disarmed and their horses sold; a declaration against transubstantiation
was to be administered to them, and the oath of abjuration to
non-jurors.[68] After such mandates, it seems idle to talk of the
tyranny of Henry the Eighth.

There is no doubt but that the greatest alarm and consternation reigned
at St. James's. The stocks fell, but owing to the vigilance of the
Ministry, information was obtained of the whole scheme of the invasion,
in a manner which to this day has never been satisfactorily explained.

The Ea