FN 200 Bonrepaux, Mar 25/June 4 1687.
FN 201 Rochester's Minutes, Dec. 19 1686; Barillon, Dec 30 / Jan 9 1686/7; Burnet, i. 685. Clarke's Life of James the Second, ii.
102.; Treasury Warrant Book, Dec. 29. 1686.
FN 202 Bishop Malony in a letter to Bishop Tyrrel says, "Never a Catholic or other English will ever think or make a step, nor suffer the King to make a step for your restauration, but leave you as you were hitherto, and leave your enemies over your heads: nor is there any Englishman, Catholic or other, of what quality or degree soever alive, that will stick to sacrifice all Ireland for to save the least interest of his own in England, and would as willingly see all Ireland over inhabited by English of whatsoever religion as by the Irish."FN 203 The best account of these transactions is in the Sheridan MS.
FN 204 Sheridan MS.; Oldmixon's Memoirs of Ireland; King's State of the Protestants of Ireland, particularly chapter iii.; Apology for the Protestants of Ireland, 1689.
FN 205 Secret Consults of the Romish Party in Ireland, 1690.
FN 206 London Gazette, Jan. 6. and March 14. 1686/7; Evelyn's Diary, March 10 Etherege's letter to Dover is in the British Museum.
FN 207 "Pare che gli animi sono inaspriti della voce che corre per il popolo, desser cacciato il detto ministro per non essere Cattolico, percio tirarsi al esterminio de' Protestanti."--Adda, 1687.
FN 208 The chief materials from which I have taken my description of the Prince of Orange will be found in Burnet's History, in Temple's and Gourville's Memoirs, in the Negotiations of the Counts of Estrades and Avaux, in Sir George Downing's Letters to Lord Chancellor Clarendon, in Wagenaar's voluminous History, in Van Kamper's Karakterkunde der Vaderlandsche Geschiedenis, and, above all, in William's own confidential correspondence, of which the Duke of Portland permitted Sir James Mackintosh to take a copy.
FN 209 William was earnestly intreated by his friends, after the peace of Ryswick, to speak seriously to the French ambassador about the schemes of assassination which the Jacobites of St.
Germains were constantly contriving. The cold magnanimity with which these intimations of danger were received is singularly characteristic. To Bentinck, who had sent from Paris very alarming intelligence, William merely replied at the end of a long letter of business,--"Pour les assasins je ne luy en ay pas voulu parler, croiant que c'etoit au desous de moy." May 2/121698. I keep the original orthography, if it is to be so called.
FN 210 From Windsor he wrote to Bentinck, then ambassador at Paris. "Jay pris avant hier un cerf dans la forest avec les chains du Pr. de Denm. et ay fait on assez jolie chasse, autant que ce vilain paiis le permest. March 20/April 1 1698. The spelling is bad, but not worse than Napoleon's. William wrote in better humour from Loo. "Nous avons pris deux gros cerfs, le premier dans Dorewaert, qui est un des plus gros que je sache avoir jamais pris. Il porte seize." Oct 25/Nov 4 1697.
FN 211 March 3. 1679.
FN 212 "Voila en peu de mot le detail de nostre St. Hubert. Et j'ay eu soin que M. Woodstoc" (Bentinck's eldest son) "n'a point este a la chasse, bien moin au soupe, quoyqu'il fut icy. Vous pouvez pourtant croire que de n'avoir pas chasse l'a on peu mortifie, mais je ne l'ay pas ause prendre sur moy, puisque vous m'aviez dit que vous ne le souhaitiez pas." From Loo, Nov. 4.
1697.
FN 213 On the 15th of June, 1688.
FN 214 Sept. 6. 1679.
FN 215 See Swift's account of her in the Journal to Stella.
FN 216 Henry Sidney's Journal of March 31. 1680, in Mr.
Blencowe's interesting collection.
FN 217 Speaker Onslow's note on Burnet, i. 596.; Johnson's Life of Sprat.
FN 218 No person has contradicted Burnet more frequently or with more asperity than Dartmouth. Yet Dartmouth wrote, "I do not think he designedly published anything he believed to he false."At a later period Dartmouth, provoked by some remarks on himself in the second volume of the Bishop's history, retracted this praise but to such a retraction little importance can be attached. Even Swift has the justice to say, "After all, he was a man of generosity and good nature."--Short Remarks on Bishop Burnet's History.
It is usual to censure Burnet as a singularly inaccurate historian; hut I believe the charge to be altogether unjust. He appears to be singularly inaccurate only because his narrative has been subjected to a scrutiny singularly severe and unfriendly. If any Whig thought it worth while to subject Reresby's Memoirs, North's Examen, Mulgrave's Account of the Revolution, or the Life of James the Second, edited by Clarke, to a similar scrutiny, it would soon appear that Burnet was far indeed from being the most inexact writer of his time.
FN 219 Dr. Hooper's MS. narrative, published in the Appendix to Lord Dungannon's Life of William.
FN 220 Avaux Negotiations, Aug. 10/20 Sept. 14/24 Sept 28/Oct 8Dec. 7/17 1682.
FN 221 I cannot deny myself the pleasure of quoting Massillon's unfriendly, yet discriminating and noble, character of William.
"Un prince profond dans ses vues; habile a former des ligues et a reunir les esprits; plus heureux a exciter les guerres qu'a combatire; plus a craindre encore dans le secret du cabinet, qu'a la tete des armees; un ennemi que la haine du nom Francais avoit rendu capable d'imaginer de grandes choses et de les executer; un de ces genies qui semblent etre nes pour mouvoir a leur gre les peuples et les souverains; un grand homme, s'il n'avoit jamais voulu etre roi."--Oraison funebre de M. le Dauphin.
