acted like a council of the Holy Office. Whoever looked on the face
of the nation saw everything quiet; not one of those symptoms
appearing which must have shown themselves more or less at that
moment if in reality there had been any measures taken during the
former reign to defeat the Protestant succession. His Majesty
ascended the throne with as little contradiction and as little
trouble as ever a son succeeded a father in the possession of a
private patrimony. But he who had the opportunity, which I had till
my dismission, of seeing a great part of what passed in that
Council, would have thought that there had been an opposition
actually formed, that the new Establishment was attacked openly from
without and betrayed from within.

The same disposition continued after the King's arrival. This
political Inquisition went on with all the eagerness imaginable in
seizing of papers, in ransacking the Queen's closet, and examining
even her private letters. The Whigs had clamoured loudly, and
affirmed in the face of the world that the nation had been sold to
France, to Spain, to the Pretender; and whilst they endeavoured in
vain, by very singular methods, to find some colour to justify what
they had advanced without proof, they put themselves under an
absolute necessity of grounding the most solemn prosecution on
things whereof they might indeed have proof, but which would never
pass for crimes before any judges but such as were parties at the
same time.

In the King's first Speech from the Throne all the inflaming hints
were given, and all the methods of violence were chalked out to the
two Houses. The first steps in both were perfectly answerable; and,
to the shame of the peerage be it spoken, I saw at that time several