of horse guards.

His conduct in office showed in brilliant contrast to that of the
men with whom he was placed. He alone was free from the slightest
suspicion of corruption and venality, and he speedily made enemies
among his colleagues by the open contempt which he manifested for
their gross corruption.

Although he had taken so prominent a part in bringing King William
to England, Monmouth soon became mixed up in all sorts of intrigues
and plots. He was already tired of the reign of the Dutch king,
and longed for a commonwealth. He was constantly quarreling with
his colleagues, and whenever there was a debate in the House of
Lords Monmouth took a prominent part on the side of the minority.
In 1692 he went out with his regiment of horse guards to Holland,
and fought bravely at the battle of Steenkirk. The campaign was a
failure, and in October he returned to England with the king.

For two years after this he lived quietly, devoting his principal
attention to his garden and the society of wits and men of letters.
Then he again appeared in parliament, and took a leading part in
the movement in opposition to the crown, and inveighed in bitter
terms against the bribery of persons in power by the East India
Company, and the venality of many members of parliament and even
the ministry. His relations with the king were now of the coldest
kind, and he became mixed up in a Jacobite plot. How far he was
guilty in the matter was never proved. Public opinion certainly
condemned him, and by a vote of the peers he was deprived of all
his employments and sent to the Tower. The king, however, stood
his friend, and released him at the end of the session.