The history of England, from the accession of James the Second . the crime which ,had brought him to the gallows. Indeed he had, before the Committee of the Commons, owned that the Assassination Plot could not be justified. ,But, in his last declaration, he avowed his share in that plot, not only ,without a w^ord indicating remorse, but with something w^hich resembled 1exultation. Was this a man to be absolved by Christian divines, absolved ?before the eyes of tens of thousands, absolved with rites evidently in-tended to attract public attention, with rites of which there was no trace |in the
The history of England, from the accession of James the Second . the crime which ,had brought him to the gallows. Indeed he had, before the Committee of the Commons, owned that the Assassination Plot could not be justified. ,But, in his last declaration, he avowed his share in that plot, not only ,without a w^ord indicating remorse, but with something w^hich resembled 1exultation. Was this a man to be absolved by Christian divines, absolved ?before the eyes of tens of thousands, absolved with rites evidently in-tended to attract public attention, with rites of which there was no trace |in the Book of Common Prayer or in the practice of the Church ofEngland ? 1 Commons Journals, April i, 2. 1696 ; LHermitage, April y\. 1696 ; Van Cleverskirke, ofthe same date. I 1696 WILLIAM THE THIRD 2613 In journals, pamphlets, and broadsides, the insolence of the threeLevites, as they were called, was sharply reprehended. Warrants were -^ i ^ ^ .1 -j ** ^ a^*:-^* ?•;? b-:-!!? s a ~^ ~: 4 5 £ ^-Si ^:, ^;- - ri ^ -5^ ^i J^ /; J ?555 = ^ . - =^ * i f^ <L^. H O -J ?a:XH ?:o K ?4% W o soon out. Cook and Snatt were taken and imprisoned : but Collierwas able to conceal himself, and, by the help of one of the presses whichwere at the service of his part}-, sent forth from his hiding place adefence of his conduct. He declared that he abhorred assassination as 2614 HISTORY OF ENGLAND chap, xxi ; I much as any of those who railed against him ; and his general characterwarrants us in believing that this declaration was perfectly the rash act into which lie had been hurried by party spirit furnishedhis adversaries with ver) plausible reasons for questioning his sincerit).A crowd of answers to his defence appeared. Preeminent among themin importance was a solemn manifesto, signed by the two Archbishops,and by all the Bishops who were then in London, twelve in number. ?Even Crewe of Durham and Sprat of Rochester set their names to this !document. They condemned the proceedings
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