1661.
His scheme was soon prepared and adopted by Parliament. The regiments10 were to be broken up gradually, the order of disbandment being determined11 by lot, with the reservation that Monk's own regiments of horse and foot, together with two others that had been taken over by the Dukes of York and Gloucester,[202] should be kept until the last. An Act copied from an[290] Ordinance12 of the Commonwealth13 was passed, to enable discharged soldiers to engage in trades without preliminary apprenticeship14, and thus to facilitate their return to civil life. By extraordinary exertions15 the needful money was raised, and the work proceeded apace. It seemed as if the close of the year 1660, according to the old reckoning which began the new year on the 25th of March, would have seen it completed, for by the first week in January the hand of disbandment had reached Monk's regiment9 of horse.
There however it was stayed. On the 6th of January an insurrection of fifth-monarchy men, a fanatical sect16 which had felt the might of Cromwell's repressing arm, not only saved the last relic17 of the New Model, but laid the foundation stone of a new Army. The rising was not suppressed without difficulty, not indeed until the veterans of Monk's regiment of foot, to whom such work was child's play, came up and swept it contemptuously away. The outbreak showed the need of keeping a small permanent force for the security of the King's person. The disbandment of this regiment and of the troop of horse-guards which had been assigned to Monk on his first arrival in London was thereupon countermanded19, and the King gave orders for the raising of a new regiment of Guards in twelve companies, to be commanded by Colonel John Russell; of a regiment of horse in eight troops to be commanded by the Earl of Oxford20; and of a troop of horse-guards, to be commanded by Lord Gerard. The Duke of York's troop of horse-guards, the same which he had led to an unsuccessful charge at Dunkirk Dunes21, was also summoned home from Dunkirk.
The first stones of the new army being thus laid, there remained nothing but formally to abolish, in accordance with the letter of the Act of Parliament, the last remnant of the New Model. On the 14th of February, 1661 Monk's regiment of foot was mustered22 on Tower Hill, where it solemnly laid down its arms, and as solemnly took them up again, with great rejoicing, as the Lord General's regiment of Foot-Guards. But to[291] England at large this corps23 had but one name, that which still survives in its present title of the Coldstream Guards. Though ranking second on the list of our infantry24, this is the senior regiment of the British Army. Other corps may boast of earlier traditions, but this is the oldest national regiment and the sole survivor25 of the famous New Model. Well may it claim, in its proud Latin motto, that it is second to none.
Colonel Russell's regiment, being the King's own regiment of Guards, and raised specially26 for the protection of his person, obtained precedence not unnaturally27 of its earlier rival, and presently, by absorbing the handful of gallant28 men who had refused to surrender at Dunkirk Dunes, established its claim to represent the defeated cavaliers, as the Coldstream represent the victorious29 Roundheads, in the long contest of the Civil War. It is the regiment once called the First Guards, and now the Grenadier Guards, and it has known little of defeat since it ceased to fight against its countrymen.
1661-1662.
The two troops of Life-Guards—the first the King's, commanded by Lord Gerard, the second the Duke of York's own—took precedence in like manner of Monk's Life-Guard; and after long existence as independent troops, blossomed at last into the First and Second regiments of Life-Guards that now stand at the head of our Army list. They were composed of men of birth and education, and for more than a century were rightly called gentlemen of the Life-Guards. Cromwell too had possessed30 such a guard, for he knew the value of gentlemen who had courage, honour, and resolution in them. Thus they stood apart from Lord Oxford's regiment of horse, which is still known to us from the colour of its uniform by its original name of the Blues31. This corps was almost certainly made up of disbanded troopers of the New Model, of which there was no lack at that time in England;[203] while its colonel brought to it[292] traditions of still earlier days in the honoured name of Vere.
But there was yet another regiment to be gathered in from the battlefield of Dunkirk Dunes, this time not from the defeated but from the victorious army. In view of the peril32 of the King from Vernier's insurrection, Lewis the Fourteenth was requested to restore to him the regiment of Douglas, the representative of the Scots Brigade of Gustavus Adolphus; and this famous corps, having duly arrived in the year 1662, became the Royal or Scots regiment, and took the place which it still occupies at the head of the infantry of the Line under the old title of the Royal Scots. It returned to France in 1662 and did not return permanently33 to the English service until 1670, but it retained its precedence and it retains it still.
1661,
October.
So far for the King's provision for his own safety. But it was also necessary for him to provide himself with money, and this he did in the simplest fashion by marrying an heiress, Catherine, Princess of Portugal, who brought him half a million of money, Bombay and Tangier, to say nothing of promises of pecuniary34 aid from Lewis the Fourteenth, who encouraged the match for his own ends. Tangier being in constant peril of recapture by the Moors35 was a troublesome possession, and required a garrison36, for which duty a regiment of foot and a strong troop of horse were raised by the Earl of Peterborough, the recruits being furnished mainly by the garrison of Dunkirk. These corps also survive among us as the Second or Queen's regiment of Foot, and the First or Royal Dragoons.
1661-1665.
Concurrently37 in this same year 1661 an Act was passed for the re-organisation of the militia38. The obligations to provide horse-men and foot-men were distributed, following the venerable precedent39 of the statute40 of Winchester, according to a graduated scale of property, and the complete control of each county's force was committed to the lord-lieutenant. To him also were entrusted41 powers to organise42 the force into regiments and companies, to appoint officers, and to levy[293] rates for the supply of ammunition43. Finally, the supreme44 command of the militia, over which the Long Parliament had fought so bitterly with Charles the First, was restored to the King, together with that of all forces by sea and land.
1665,
February.
So much was accomplished in the first two years of Charles the Second. It sufficed for two years longer, when English commercial enterprise involved the restored monarchy in its first war. In truth it is hardly recognised how powerfully the spirit of adventure and colonisation had manifested itself under the Stuarts. The Empire indeed was growing fast. In 1661 England already possessed the New England States, Maryland and Virginia, as well as, for the time, Acadia, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. Off the American coast the Bermudas were hers; in the Caribbean Archipelago Barbados, Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, and Jamaica were settled; while Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Tobago, though not yet wrested45 from the Caribs, were reckoned subject to the British Crown. In 1663 one Company received a charter for the settlement of Carolina, and another, the Royal African, which enjoyed the monopoly of the trade in negro slaves, had fixed46 its headquarters at Cape47 Coast Castle. Nor must it be omitted that the East India Company, originally incorporated in 1599, received in 1660 a second charter conferring ampler powers, most notably48 in respect of military matters.
England, however, had abundance of rivals in distant adventure, whereof none was more jealous and more powerful than the Dutch federation49 which her own good arm had created. Cromwell had read the Dutch a lesson in 1653, and had imposed upon them restrictions50 which, if observed, would have checked their encroachments on English trade; but the Dutch not only evaded51 these obligations, but added to this delinquency wanton aggression52 both on the Guinea Coast and in the East Indies. The African Company at once commenced reprisals53 on the Gold Coast, and an[294] expedition against the New Netherlands of America captured New Amsterdam and gave it its now famous name of New York. Meanwhile the complaints of English merchants were willingly heard by both King and Parliament. Charles had received no great kindness in his exile from the oligarchical54 faction55 which dominated the Dutch Republic; and now that the same faction had stripped the House of Nassau of its high dignities, to the prejudice of his nephew William, he was not sorry for the opportunity of revenge. Parliament voted liberal supplies for the war. A new regiment, called the Admiral's regiment, was raised by the Duke of York for service on board ship; large drafts were taken from the two regiments of Guards for the same purpose, and on the 3rd of June, James, Duke of York, won with them a great naval56 action off Lowestoft.
But there were English soldiers outside England who were troubled by this war. The descendants of the volunteers, who had followed Morgan in 1572 and had won an imperishable name under Francis Vere, were still in the Dutch service and were now comprised in seven regiments, three of them English and four Scotch57, numbering in all three-and-fifty companies. As soon as war was declared the Pensionary De Witt forced upon the United Provinces a resolution that the British regiments must either take the oath of allegiance to the States-General or be instantly cashiered. This was the reward offered by the Dutch Republic to the brave foreigners who, with their predecessors59, had done her better service than she could ever repay. Dismissal from the service meant ruin to the unfortunate officers, and want and misery60 to the men. Many Dutchmen were ashamed of the resolution, but they passed it; and it remained only to be seen whether British loyalty62 would stand the test. The English officers hesitated not a moment. They refused point blank to swear fealty63 to Holland, and were ruthlessly turned adrift. By the help of the English Ambassador, however, they made their way to England and were presently formed[295] into the Holland regiment, which now ranks as the Third of the Line and is known from the facings which it has worn for more than two centuries, by the honoured name of the Buffs.[204]
The Scottish regiments behaved very differently. Though Charles was a Stuart and a Scot, only two officers had the spirit to follow the English example. The rest, who at first had made great protestation of loyalty, remained with their Dutch masters and, like all shamefaced converts, professed64 exaggerated love for the Dutch service and extravagant65 willingness to invade Great Britain if required. A century hence these regiments will be seen begging in vain to be received into the British service, and only accepted at last, after enduring sad insult from the Dutch, in time to become not the Fourth but the Ninety-Fourth of the Line. The corps finally ceased to exist in 1815, while the Buffs are with us to this day. It was a hard fate, but there is a nemesis66 even for unfaithful regiments.
1666.
In the following year Lewis the Fourteenth, seeing therein an opportunity for furthering his darling project of extending his frontier to the Rhine, threw in his lot with the Dutch and declared war against England. The time is worthy67 of remark. For a century England in common with all Europe had abandoned traditional friendships and enmities, and sought out new allies by the guidance of religious sentiment. All this was now at an end, and the old jealousy68 of France was strong throughout the nation. But though the people were in earnest, the King was not; the policy of keeping France in check was after two years abandoned, and Charles, like a true Stuart, sold himself to Lewis the Fourteenth. False, wrong-headed, and unpatriotic, the dynasty was already preparing for itself a second downfall.
1672.
The next step was a declaration of war by France and England against Holland. One hundred and fifty thousand men, under the three great captains, Turenne,[296] Condé and Luxemburg, with Lewis in person at the head of all, swept down upon the United Provinces, mastered three of them almost without resistance, and actually crossed the Rhine. Six thousand English, grouped around a nucleus69 from the Guards, served with them under the command of James, Duke of Monmouth, and among the officers was a young captain named John Churchill. He had been born in 1650, less than three months before Dunbar, had been page to the Duke of York, and had received through him an ensigncy in the King's Guards. He had seen his first service, as became an English officer, in savage70 warfare71 at Tangier; he now enjoyed his first experience of a scientific campaign under the first General of the day. Soon he became known to Turenne himself not only as the handsomest man in the camp, but as an officer of extraordinary gallantry, coolness, and capacity. As Morgan had won the great captain's eulogy72 at Ypres, so did young Churchill at Maestricht; and it is worthy of note that on both of the two occasions when an English contingent73 served under Turenne the most brilliant little action of the war was the work of the red-coats.
But on the Dutch side also there was a young man, born in the same year as Churchill, who was to show lesser74 qualities indeed as an officer, though, as his opportunity permitted him, perhaps hardly inferior qualities as a man. William of Orange, long excluded by the jealousy of faction from the station and the duties of his rank, with firm resolution and unshaken nerve assumed the command of the United Provinces, and began the great work of his life, the work which was to be finally accomplished by the handsome English soldier in the enemy's camp, of taming the insolence75 of the French.
1674.
It is unnecessary to dwell further on the story of this campaign. The courage of William sufficed to tide Holland over the moment of supreme danger; and, the crisis once passed, Austria and Spain, alarmed at the designs of Lewis, hastened to her assistance.[297] Charles made peace with the Dutch in 1674, and, while declining to withdraw the English troops in the French service, promised to recruit them no further. Churchill came home to be colonel of the Second Foot; and from the troops disbanded at the close of the war, were formed three English regiments for the service of the Prince of Orange. Among their officers was James Graham of Claverhouse. We shall meet with him again, and we shall see two of the regiments also return in due time, like their prototype, the Buffs, to take their place in the English infantry of the Line.
1680.
1684.
With the treaty of 1674 the wars of Charles the Second came to an end. It was not that the people of England were unwilling76 to fight. They were heart and soul against the French; and the Commons cheerfully voted large sums for army and fleet while the war lasted, asking only that the money might be expended77 on its legitimate78 object. But the crookedness79 and untrustworthiness of the King were fatal to all military enterprise, and indeed to all honest administration. Though the military force of England was far too small for the safety of her possessions abroad, Parliament never ceased to denounce the evils of standing80 armies, and to clamour for the disbanding of all regiments. In the days of Cromwell the burden of the red-coats had been grievous to be borne, but Oliver had at all events made England respected in Europe. Charles sought to impose a like burden, but without sympathy for England's quarrels, and without care for England's glory. He made shift, nevertheless, to keep his existing regiments throughout his reign58, and in 1680 even to add another to them for the service of Tangier. In 1684 that ill-fated possession, having cost many thousands of lives and witnessed as gallant feats81 of arms as ever were wrought82 by English soldiers, was finally abandoned; though not before the English had learned one secret of Oriental warfare. In March 1663, after long endurance of incessant83 harassing84 attacks from the Moors, the Governor, who had hitherto stood on the defensive85, took the initiative and[298] launched the Royal Dragoons straight at them. So signal was the success of this first venture that it was repeated a fortnight later by the same regiment, and renewed on a grander scale after two months by a sally of the whole garrison, which after desperate fighting ended once more in victory. So much at least must be recorded of this first long lost settlement in Africa.[205] The new regiment, which had arrived too late for fighting, came home to take rank as the Fourth of the Line and to remain with us to this day.
In truth the little Army, which Parliament so bitterly hated, was busy enough from the day of the King's accession to the day of his death. In regiments or detachments it fought in Tangier, in Flanders, and in the West Indies; it did marines' duty in four great naval actions, one of them the fiercest ever fought by the English, and it suppressed an insurrection in Scotland and a rebellion in Virginia. The reign gave it a foretaste of the work that lay before it in the next two centuries, and showed good promise for the manner in which that work would be done.
1685.
Charles died on the 6th of February 1685. His brother James, who succeeded him, was a man of stronger military instincts than any English king since Henry the Eighth. He had served through four campaigns under Turenne and through two more with the Spaniards, and his narrative86 of his wars shows that he had studied the military profession with singular industry and intelligence of observation. Nor was he less interested in naval affairs. He had commanded an English fleet in two great actions without discredit87 as an Admiral, and with signal honour as a brave man. Moreover, he felt genuine pride in the prowess alike of the English sailor and the English soldier. Finally he had shown uncommon88 ability and diligence as an administrator89. The Duke of Wellington a century and[299] a half later spoke90 with the highest admiration91 of the system which James had established at the Office of Ordnance92, and actually restored it, as Marlborough had restored it before him, when he himself became Master-General. The Admiralty again acknowledges that his hand is still felt for good in the direction of the Navy. In fact, whatever his failings, James was an able, painstaking93, and conscientious94 public servant, and as such has no little claim to the gratitude95 of the nation.
So far then the succession of a diligent96 and competent administrator to the shrewd but incorrigibly97 idle Charles promised advantages that were obvious enough. But there was another side to the question. Parliament had requited98 James's services to the public by excluding him as an avowed99 Catholic from all public employment, whether civil or military; and James was a narrow-minded, a vindictive100, and, like all the Stuarts, essentially101 a wrong-headed man. Though valuable as the head of a department, he was totally unfit to administer a kingdom; though not devoid102 of constancy and patience in adversity, he was swift and unsatiable in revenge; though ambitious of military fame, proud of English valour, and not without jealousy for English honour, he saw no way to the greatness which he coveted103 in Europe except by the overthrow104 of English liberty. He longed to interfere105 effectively abroad, but with England crushed under his heel, not free and united at his back.
So he too sold himself to France, hoping to consolidate106 his power by her help and to turn it in due time to her own hurt; and meanwhile he sought to strengthen himself by the maintenance of a standing Army. For this design Monmouth's insurrection of 1685 afforded sufficient excuse.[206] The opportune107 return of the garrison of Tangier had already added two regiments of Foot and one of Horse to the English[300] establishment; and James seized the occasion of the outbreak to summon the six British regiments, three of them Scottish and three English, from Holland. These, though they presently returned to William's service, secured for two of their number on the invasion of England in 1688 the precedence of Fifth and Sixth of the Line. Simultaneously108 twelve new regiments of infantry and eight of cavalry109 were raised under the same pretext110. Of the foot the first was an Ordnance-regiment, designed like the firelocks of the New Model to act as escort to the artillery111, and was called from its armament the Regiment of Fusiliers. It is still with us as the Seventh of the Line. The remainder of the foot, some of them formed round the nucleus of independent garrison-companies, also abide112 with us, numbered the Eighth to the Fifteenth.[207] Of the cavalry six were regiments of horse, and are now known as the First to the Sixth Regiments of Dragoon Guards; the remaining two, which are now numbered the Third and Fourth, after having been successively dragoons and light dragoons, have finally become the two senior regiments of hussars. Add to these thirty independent companies of foot, borne for duties in garrison, and it will be seen that King James's army was increasing with formidable speed.
The King himself found genuine delight, not in the sinister113 spirit of an oppressor but in the laudable pride of a soldier, in reviewing his troops. In August 1685 he inspected ten battalions115 and twenty squadrons which were in camp at Hounslow, and wrote to his son-in-law, William of Orange, with significant satisfaction of their efficiency. In November he met Parliament, and required of it the continuance of the standing Army in lieu of the militia. The courtiers had received their cue, and pointed116 to the flight of the western militia before Monmouth's raw levies117 as proof sufficient of its[301] untrustworthiness. The fact indeed was self evident. But Parliament was not disposed to welcome a royal speech which submitted no further measures than the maintenance of a standing army and the admission of popish officers to command therein. The memories of Oliver and of his major-generals was still vivid, and the revocation118 of the edict of Nantes was but a month old. Red-coats as saints had been bad; red-coats as papists would doubtless be worse. Edward Seymour, the head of that historic house, put the matter as Englishmen love to put it. The militia, he confessed, was in an unsatisfactory state, but it might be improved, and with this and the navy the country would be secure; but a standing army there must not be. Then as now, it will be observed, the House of Commons never stinted119 the navy, nor doubted its ability to repel120 invasion; and then as now it refused to remember that the British possessions are not bounded by the British Isles121, and that a successful war is something more than a war of defence. But unfortunately it had but too good ground for opposing the King in this case. The debate lasted long. James had asked for ￡1,400,000 for the Army; the Chancellor122 of the Exchequer123 expressed his willingness to accept ￡1,200,000; the House voted ￡700,000, and even then declined to appropriate the sum to any specific purpose.
December.
1686,
June.
1686-1688.
James was greatly annoyed. He answered the note of the Commons with a reprimand, and prorogued124 Parliament; nor did he summon it again during the remainder of his reign. He then concentrated from thirteen to sixteen thousand men at Hounslow Heath, and kept them encamped there for three years in the hope of overawing London. Never did man make a more complete mistake. The Londoners, after their first alarm had passed away, soon discovered that the camp was a charming place of amusement. A new generation had sprung up since a Parliamentary colonel had held a sham61 fight to compensate125 the people for the loss of the sports of May-day, and there was a certain[302] novelty in military display. Hounslow camp became the fashion, and the lines were thronged126 with a motley crowd of all classes of the people; for then as now the women loved a red-coat, and where the women led the men followed them. The troops were doubtless well worth seeing, for James flattered himself that they were the best paid, the best equipped, and the most sightly in Europe.
Still, merry as the camp might be, there were not wanting signs of a graver spirit beneath the new red-coats. There were early rumours127 of quarrels between protestant and catholic soldiers, ominous128 to the catholic officers whom James had set in command against the law. Agitators129 scattered130 tracts131 appealing to the Army to stand up in defence of the liberties of England and the protestant religion; and the Londoners perceived, what James did not, that consciences cannot be bought for eightpence a day, nor flesh and blood extinguished by a red coat and facings. The Buffs had been the earliest English volunteers in the cause of liberty and protestantism; the Royal Scots had rolled back papistry under the Lion of the North, and, as if one presbyterian regiment were not sufficient, there was another, just brought into England for the first time from Scotland, and known by its present name of the Scotch or Scots Guards. Again, monks132 in the habit of their Order were among the visitors to the camp; and it was easy to ask how long it was since such men had been seen in England, and what was the cause of their disappearance133. Cromwell's soldiers had made short and cruel work of monks in Ireland; yet soldiers, only one generation younger, were to be called upon to fight against their kith and kin18 for a king who openly favoured them, a king, too, who in the face of all law openly thrust papists into all places of authority.
1688,
June.
It was not long before the seed sown by the agitators began to bear fruit. When the seven bishops134 who had refused to read the declaration which suspended the penal135 laws against catholics were committed to the[303] Tower, the guards drank their health; and when the news of their acquittal reached Hounslow Heath, it was received by the Army with boisterous136 delight. In alarm James broke up the camp and scattered the regiments broadcast over the country. Having thus isolated137 them he attempted to work upon them separately, and selected as the first subject for this experiment Lord Lichfield's Regiment, known to us as the Twelfth Foot. The men were drawn138 up on Blackheath in the King's presence, and were informed that they must either sign a pledge to carry out the royal policy of indulgence towards catholics, or leave his service forthwith. Whole ranks without hesitation139 took him at his word, and grounded their arms, while two officers and a few privates, all of them catholics, alone consented to sign. James stood aghast with astonishment140 and disgust. Dismissal meant something more than mere141 exclusion142 from the Army; it carried with it the forfeiture143 of all arrears of pay and of the price of the officers' commissions, but neither men nor officers took account of that. James eyed them in silence for a time, and then bade them take up their arms. "Another time," he said, "I shall not do you the honour to consult you."
Foiled in England, James turned, as his father had turned before him, to Ireland. The Irish speak of the curse of Cromwell; they might more justly speak of the curse of the Stuarts, for no two men have brought on them such woe144 as Charles and James. Already, in 1686, the King had sent a degenerate145 Irishman, the Earl of Tyrconnel, to ensure popish ascendency at any rate in Ireland; and no better man could have been found for such mischievous146 work than lying Dick Talbot. The army in Ireland consisted at the time of his arrival of about seven thousand men: within a few months Tyrconnel, by wholesale147 dismissal of all protestants, had turned it upside down. Five hundred men were discharged from a single regiment on the ground that they were of inferior stature148, and their places shamelessly[304] filled by ragged149, half-trained Irish, beneath them both in size and quality. In all four thousand soldiers were broken, stripped of the uniforms which they had bought by the stoppage of their pay, and dismissed half-naked to go whither they would. Three hundred protestant officers shared a like fate in circumstances of not less hardship. Many of them had fought bravely for the Stuarts in past days, the majority had purchased their commissions, yet all alike were turned adrift in ruin and disgrace. The disbanded took refuge in Holland, whence they presently returned under the colours of William of Orange, with such feelings against the Irish as may be guessed.
But James did not stop here. He now conceived the notion of surrounding himself with Irish battalions, and of moulding the English regiments to his will by kneading into them a leaven150 of Irish recruits. When we reflect that it was just such an importation of Irish that had turned all England against his father, we can only stand amazed at such folly151. The English held the Irish for aliens and enemies; they knew them as a people who for centuries had risen in massacre152 and rebellion whenever the English garrison had been weakened, and that had sunk again into abject153 submission154 as soon as England's hands were free to suppress them. They did not know them, in spite of their occasional gallant resistance to Cromwell, as a great fighting race. They had not read, or, reading, had not believed, the testimony155 of Robert Munro to their merits as soldiers.[208] Lastly and chiefly the Irish were catholics and the English protestants.
The resentment156 against the new policy soon made itself manifest. The Duke of Berwick, the King's natural son, who had been appointed colonel of the Eighth Foot, gave orders that thirty Irish recruits should be enlisted157 in the regiment. The men said flatly that they would not serve with them, and the lieutenant-colonel with five of his captains openly[305] remonstrated158 with the Duke against the insult. They had raised the regiment, they said, at their own expense for the King's service, and could procure159 as many English recruits as they wanted; rather than endure to have strangers forced upon them they would beg leave to resign their commissions. James was furious. He tried the six officers by a court-martial, which sentenced them to be cashiered; but the culprits none the less received the sympathy and applause of the whole nation. The prevalent feeling against the Irish found vent5 in a doggrel ballad160, known, from the gibberish of its burden, by the name of Lillibulero. Partly from the nature of its contents, still more probably from the rollicking gaiety of its tune,[209] it became a great favourite with the Army, and if we may judge from Captain Shandy's partiality for it, was the most popular marching song of the red-coats in Flanders.
But meanwhile William of Orange had received his invitation to come with an armed force for the delivery of England from the Stuarts, and for some months had been making preparations for an invasion. It was long before James awoke to his danger, but when at last he perceived it he hastened to strengthen the Army. Commissions were issued for the raising of new regiments, of which two are still with us as the Sixteenth and Seventeenth of the Line, and of new companies for existing regiments. Four thousand men in all were added to the English establishment; three thousand were summoned from Ireland, and as many more from Scotland; and James reckoned that he could meet the invader161 with forty thousand men. On the 2nd of November William, after one failure, got his expedition safely to sea, and by a feint movement induced James to send several regiments northward[306] to meet a disembarkation in Yorkshire. These regiments were hastily recalled on the intelligence that the armament had passed the Straits of Dover steering162 westward163, and fresh orders were given for concentration at Salisbury.
In a short time twenty-four thousand men were assembled at the new rendezvous164, but before James could join them, he received news that Lord Cornbury, the heir of his kinsmen165 the Hydes, had deserted166 to the enemy. Cornbury had attempted to take his own regiment, the Royal Dragoons, and two regiments of horse with him; but officers and men became suspicious, and with the exception of a few who fell into the hands of William's horse and took service in his army, all returned to Salisbury. Before setting out for the camp James summoned his principal officers to him—Churchill, since 1683 Lord Churchill, and recently promoted lieutenant-general; Henry, Duke of Grafton, colonel of the First Guards; Kirke and Trelawny, colonels of the Tangier Regiments. One and all swore to be faithful to him; and the King left London for Salisbury.
Arrived there, he learned from Lord Feversham, his general-in-chief, that though the men were loyal the officers were not to be trusted. It is said that Feversham proposed to dismiss all that he suspected and promote sergeants167 in their stead. His suspicions proved to be just. Within a week Churchill, Grafton, Kirke, and Trelawny had all deserted to the Prince of Orange. Other officers were less open in their treachery; and it is said that one battalion114 of the Foot Guards was led into William's camp by its sergeants and corporals. The desertion of his own children finally broke the spirit of James. On the 11th of December he signed an order for the disbandment of the Army, and took to flight; and on the 16th he returned to London to find on the following night that the battalions of the Prince of Orange were marching down St. James's Park upon Whitehall. The old colonel of the Coldstream Guards,[307] Lord Craven, though now in his eightieth year, was for resistance, but James forbade him. The Coldstream Guards filed off, and a Dutch regiment mounted guard at Whitehall. Five days later James left England for ever.
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semblance
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disastrous
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monarchy
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accomplished
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vent
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arrears
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tact
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monk
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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11
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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12
ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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13
commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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14
apprenticeship
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| n.学徒身份；学徒期 | |
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15
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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16
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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17
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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18
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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19
countermanded
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| v.取消（命令），撤回( countermand的过去分词 ) | |
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20
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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21
dunes
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| 沙丘( dune的名词复数 ) | |
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22
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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23
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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24
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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25
survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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26
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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27
unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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28
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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29
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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30
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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31
blues
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| n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐 | |
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32
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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33
permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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34
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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35
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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36
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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37
concurrently
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| adv.同时地 | |
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38
militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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39
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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40
statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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41
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
organise
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| vt.组织，安排，筹办 | |
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43
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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44
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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45
wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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46
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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47
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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48
notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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49
federation
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| n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会 | |
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50
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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51
evaded
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| 逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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52
aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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53
reprisals
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| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
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54
oligarchical
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| adj.寡头政治的，主张寡头政治的 | |
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55
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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56
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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57
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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58
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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59
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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60
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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61
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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62
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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63
fealty
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| n.忠贞，忠节 | |
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64
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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65
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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66
nemesis
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| n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手 | |
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67
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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68
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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69
nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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70
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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71
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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72
eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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73
contingent
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| adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队 | |
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74
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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75
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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76
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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77
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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78
legitimate
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|
| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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79
crookedness
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| [医]弯曲 | |
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80
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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81
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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82
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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83
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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84
harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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85
defensive
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|
| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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86
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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87
discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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88
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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89
administrator
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| n.经营管理者，行政官员 | |
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90
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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91
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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92
ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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93
painstaking
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| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
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94
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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95
gratitude
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|
| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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96
diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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97
incorrigibly
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| adv.无法矫正地；屡教不改地；无可救药地；不能矫正地 | |
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98
requited
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| v.报答( requite的过去式和过去分词 )；酬谢；回报；报复 | |
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99
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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100
vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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101
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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102
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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103
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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104
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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105
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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106
consolidate
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| v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并 | |
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107
opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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108
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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109
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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110
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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111
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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112
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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113
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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114
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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115
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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116
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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117
levies
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| （部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队 | |
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118
revocation
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| n.废止，撤回 | |
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119
stinted
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| v.限制，节省（stint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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120
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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121
isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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122
chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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123
exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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124
prorogued
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| v.使（议会）休会( prorogue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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125
compensate
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| vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消 | |
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126
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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127
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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128
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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129
agitators
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| n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机 | |
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130
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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131
tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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132
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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133
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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134
bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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135
penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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136
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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137
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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138
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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139
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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140
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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141
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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142
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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143
forfeiture
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| n.（名誉等）丧失 | |
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144
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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145
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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146
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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147
wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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148
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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149
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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150
leaven
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| v.使发酵；n.酵母；影响 | |
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151
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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152
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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153
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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154
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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155
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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156
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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157
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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158
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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159
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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160
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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161
invader
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| n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者 | |
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162
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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163
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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164
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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165
kinsmen
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| n.家属，亲属( kinsman的名词复数 ) | |
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166
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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167
sergeants
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| 警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士 | |
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