. Historical portraits ... the lives of Fletcher .. . rfere with his legalcareer. His ability as an advocate and his great erudition paved theway for his rapid advance, and he made his name when he appearedas a junior counsel for the Seven Bishops. He had the power oflucid exposition, rendered more effective by a musical voice and apleasant delivery. Hence on entering the House of Commons in1689 he at once won its ear by his eloquence and its respect by hisfamiliarity with constitutional matters. The Whig plan for thecoronation of William and Mary owed its success in great measureto his
. Historical portraits ... the lives of Fletcher .. . rfere with his legalcareer. His ability as an advocate and his great erudition paved theway for his rapid advance, and he made his name when he appearedas a junior counsel for the Seven Bishops. He had the power oflucid exposition, rendered more effective by a musical voice and apleasant delivery. Hence on entering the House of Commons in1689 he at once won its ear by his eloquence and its respect by hisfamiliarity with constitutional matters. The Whig plan for thecoronation of William and Mary owed its success in great measureto his influence, the Declaration of Rights was largely the work ofhis hand. As a reward for these services he was made Solicitor-General on May 4, 1689. He performed his functions, political andlegal, with continual success, three years later was promoted to thepost of Attornej--General, and in 1693 became Keeper of the GreatSeal, though for the title of Chancellor and his peerage he had to waittill 1697. The King relied constantly on his advice in his dealings. JOHN, LORD SOMERSFrom the portrait bj Sir Godfrey Kneller in the National Portrait Gallery face p. 388 JOHN, LORD SOMERS 289 with Parliament, and in 1695 Somers was appointed one of theCouncil of Regency during WiHiams absence in Holland. In thiscapacity he was made to bear a larger share of responsibility for theKings foreign polic}- than his actions warranted. Addison and theWhig satellites sang his praises without stint, while the Toriesreviled him without mercy; but in fact Somers lacked the decisionof character to force his will on William. He had sufficient insightto detect the weaknesses of the First Partition Treaty when itwas laid before him, but he had not the force of mind to impressthem strongly upon the King, or to refuse the ratification of theGreat Seal. His unpopularity grew steadily with the revival of thepower of the Tories, who in 1700 found a convenient handle againsthim in the assistance which he gave to
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectportraitpainting
