CHARLES II.

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that the parliament, though the spirit of party,for the present, attached them to the crown ,were still more attached to those powers andprivileges, which their predecessors had usurpedfrom the sovereign : That aster the first flow ofkindness was spent, they had discovered evidentsymptoms of discontent; and would be sure toturn against the king all the authority which theyyet retained, and still more those pretensions whichit was easy for them in a moment to revive:That they not only kept the king in dependenceby means of his precarious revenue, but hadnever discovered a suitable generosity, even inthose temporary supplies , which they grantedhim : That it was high time for the prince torouse himself from his lethargy, and to recoverthat authority, which his predecessors, during somany ages , had peaceably enjoyed : That thegreat error or misfortune of his father was thenot having formed any close connexion withforeign princes , who , on the breaking out ofthe rebellion, might have found their interest insupporting him: That the present alliances, beingentered into with so many weaker potentates ,who themselves stood in need of the king’s pro-tection , could never serve to maintain, muchless augment , the royal authority : That theFrench monarch alone , to generous a prince,and by blood so nearly allied to the king, wouldbe found both able and willing, if gratified inhis ambition, to defend the common'cause ofkings against usurping subjects : That a war,undertaken against Holland by the united force

HAP

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I67S.