QUEEN MARY II.

MARY, QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN, WIFE OF KING WILLIAM THE THIRD.

SHE was the daughter of James, Duke of York, afterwards King James the Second, and the Lady Anne Hyde, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon. They were privately married at Worcester House, September 5, 1660, by Dr. Joseph Crowcher, the duke's chaplain.

She was born April, 30, 1662, and in the sixteenth year of her age was married at St. James's, November 4, 1677, to William, Prince of Orange, afterwards King William the Third.

She appeared to be most happily disposed from her very birth. She was good and gentle, before she was capable of knowing that it was her duty to be so. This temper grew up with her in the whole progress of her childhood. She might need instruction, but she wanted no persuasion. And it is said, that she never once in the whole course of her education gave any occasion to reprove her. She went into every thing that was good, often before she knew it, and always after she once understood it.

She was but growing out of childhood when she went among strangers, and removed from her own country to Holland; but she went under the guard of so exact a conduct, and so much discretion, she expressed such a gentleness, access to her was so easy, and her deportment was so obliging, her life was such an example, and her charity was so free, that perhaps no age could furnish a parallel. Never were there such universal love and esteem paid to any as she received from persons of all ranks and conditions in the United Provinces. They were like transport and rapture. The veneration was so profound, that, how just soever it might be, it seemed rather excessive. Neither her foreign birth, nor regal extraction, neither the diversity of interests or opinions, nor her want of power and treasure equal to her bounty, diminished the respect that was offered her, even from a people, whose constitution gave them naturally a jealousy of too great a merit in those who are at the head of their gov

ernment.

It may well be considered as a very happy event, not only to our country, but to Christendom itself, that the princess did not imbibe the popish religion, the religion sooner or later in life both of her father and her mother. She was a protestant upon principle; and when her father, then upon the throne of Great Britain, wrote her a letter in favor of popery, she returned him an answer, drawn up by

herself, to the following purport. "She acquainted him, that she had taken much pains to be settled in religion; that those of the Church of England who had instructed her, had freely laid before her that which was good in the Romish religion, that so, seeing the good and bad of both, she might judge impartially, according to the apostle's rule of proving all things and holding fast that which was good; that though she had come young out of England, yet that she had not left behind her either the desire of being well informed, or the means for it; that she had furnished herself with books, and had those about her who might clear any doubts to her; that she saw clearly in the Scriptures that she must work out her own salvation with fear and trembling, and that she must not believe by the faith of another, but according as things appeared to herself; that it ought to be no prejudice against the Reformation, if many of them who professed led ill lives; and if any of them lived ill, none of the principles of their religion allowed them in it; that many of them led good lives, and that more might do it by the grace of God, but that there were many devotions in the Church of Rome, on which the Reformed could set no value. She acknowledged, that, if there was an infallibility in the church, all other controversies must fall to the ground; but that she could never yet be informed where that infalli bility was lodged, whether in the pope alone, or in a general council, or in both; and she desired to know in whom the infallibility rested, when there were two or three popes at a time acting one against another with the assistance of councils, which they called general; for at least the succession was then much disordered. She observed, that as for the authority that is pretended to be given to St. Peter over the rest, that, that place which was chiefly alleged for it,* was otherwise interpreted by those of the Church of England, as importing only the confirmation of an apostle, when in answer to that question, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?' He had by a triple confession washed off his triple denial; that the words which the king had cited were spoken to (concerning) the other apostles, as well as to him;t that it was agreed by all, that the apostles were infallible, who were guided by God's Holy Spirit, but that, that gift, as well as many others, had ceased long ago; that St. Peter had no authority over the rest of the apostles, or otherwise St. Paul, understood our Lord's words ill, who withstood St. Peter to his face, because he was to be blamed; and she further took notice, that if St. Peter himself could not maintain that authority, she could not see how it could be given to his successors, whose bad lives had ill agreed with his doctrine. She also alleged, that she did not see why the ill use that some made of the Scriptures ought to deprive others of them; that it was true that all sects made use of them, and found something in

them which they drew out to support their opinions, and yet, that for all this our Savior bade the Jews search the Scriptures; and that St. Paul ordered his epistles to be read to all the saints in the churches, and that in one place he says, 'I write as to wise men, judge what I say; and if they might judge an apostle, much more any other teacher. She likewise observed, that under the law of Moses the Old Testament was to be read not only in the hearing of the scribes and the doctors of the law, but likewise in the hearing of the women and children; and that, since God had made us reasonable creatures, it seemed necessary to employ our reason chiefly in the matters of the greatest concern; that, though faith was above our reason, yet that it proposed nothing to us that was contradictory to it; that every one ought to satisfy himself in these things, as our Savior convinced Thomas, by making him thrust his own hand into the print of the nails, not leaving him to the testimony of the other apostles, who were already convinced. She added, that she was confident that, if the king would hear many of his own subjects, they would fully satisfy him as to all those prejudices that he had against the Reformation, in which nothing was acted tumultuously, but all was done according to law; that the design of it was only to separate from the Romish Church, so far as it had separated from the primitive church, in which the Reformers had brought things to as great a perfection as those corrupt ages were capable of.

"Thus, she concluded, she gave him the trouble of a long account of the grounds upon which she was persuaded of the truth of her religion, in which she was so fully satisfied, that she trusted, by the grace of God, that she should spend the rest of her days in it, and that she was so well assured of the truth of our Savior's words, that she was confident the gates of hell should not prevail against it, but that he would be with it to the end of the world. All ended thus, that the religion she professed taught her, her duty to him, so that she should ever be his most obedient daughter and servant." Bishop Burnet tells us, that he set down very minutely every particular that was in those letters, that of the king, and this of the princess, and very nearly in the same words; and adds, "That he had an high opinion of the princess' good understanding, and of her knowledge in these matters before he saw this letter, but that the letter surprised him, and gave him an astonishing joy, to see so young a person, all on the sudden, without consulting any one person, to be able to write so solid and learned a letter, in which she mixed with the respect which she had paid her father, so great a firmness, that by it she cut off all further treaty; so that her repulsing the attack that the king had made upon her with so much resolution and force, let the popish party see that she understood her religion as well as loved it."*

* Burnet's History of his Own Time, Vol. II. p. 411–414. edit. of 1815.

After the princess had lived several years in Holland, the ornament of her sex and station, upon the wonderful success of her husband the Prince of Orange, in his great enterprise to rescue our country from popery and slavery, both which were endeavored with his utmost power by James the Second her father, she ascended the throne of these realms in conjunction with her husband, at the joint invitation of both houses of parliament; and they were accordingly proclaimed king and queen, February 13, 1668, to the great joy of the nation.

In this step of hers, that might carry a face, which at first appearance seemed liable to censure, as her father was now king no more, and herself and husband reigned in his room, she weighed the reasons on which she went, with a caution and exactness that well became the importance of them, the bias lying still against that which, to vulgar minds, seemed to be her interest. She was convinced that the public good of mankind, the preservation of that religion which she was assured was the only true one, and those real extremities to which matters were driven, ought to supersede all other considerations. She had generous ideas of the liberty of human nature, and of the true ends of government; she thought it was designed to make mankind safe and happy, and not to raise the power of those into hands it was committed upon the ruins of property and liberty; nor could she think that religion was to be delivered up to the humors of misguided princes, whose persuasion made them as cruel in imposing on their subjects the dictates of others, as they themselves were implicit in submitting to them; but yet, after all, her inclinations lay so strong to the duty, that of honoring her father, which nature had put upon her, that she made a sacrifice of herself in accepting that high elevation of being queen of these realms, that perhaps was harder to her to bear than if she had been to be made a sacrifice in the severest sense. She saw that not only her own reputation might be eclipsed by her taking the throne, but that religion too might suffer in those reproaches which she must expect. These considerations were much more with her than crowns with all the lustres that adorn them; but yet the saving whole nations determined her in the matter, as her acceptance of the royal dignity was the only visible means left to preserve the Protestant Religion, not only in Great Britain, but every where beside.

Though her mind discovered no tincture of enthusiasm, yet she could not avoid thinking that her preservation during her childhood in that flexibility of age and understanding, without so much as one single attempt made upon her, was to be ascribed to a special Providence watching over her. To this she added her early deliverance from the danger of all temptations, and the advantages she enjoyed afterwards to employ much privacy in so large a course of study, which had not been possible for her to have attained, if she had lived in the constant dissipation of a public court. These things concurring, con

vinced her that God had conducted her by an immediate hand, and that she was raised up to preserve that religion which was then every where in its last agonies; but yet when these and many other considerations, to which she had carefully attended, determined her to take the throne, nature still felt itself loaded. She bore her elevation with the outward appearances of satisfaction, because she thought it became her not to discourage others, or give them an occasion to believe that her uneasiness was of another nature than it really was, but in the whole matter she put a constraint upon herself, that is, upon her temper, (for no consideration whatsoever could have induced her to have forced her conscience,) that was more sensible and violent to her than any thing that could have been wished her by her most virulent enemies.

Her sense of religion and duty not only operated in this great step of life, of such moment to herself, and benefit to the world, but the whole of her character and behavior abundantly evinced what an extraordinary piety and virtue possessed her soul. Her punctual exactness not only to public offices, but to her secret retirements, was so regular, that it was never put off in the greatest crowd of business, or little journeys; for then, though the hour was anticipated, the duty was never neglected. She took care to be so early on these occasions, that she might never either quite forget, or very much shorten that devotion upon which she reckoned that the blessings of the whole day turned. She observed the Lord's day so religiously, that, besides her hours of retirement, she was constantly thrice a day in the public worship of God, and for a great part of the year four times a day, while she lived beyond sea. She was constant to her monthly attendances at the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and withdrew herself more than ordinary in preparation for some days before them. In them, as well as in all the other parts of the worship of God, an uncommon seriousness ever appeared in her, without one glance allowed for observation. She spread a spirit of devotion among all who were about her, who could not see so much in her without being affected in something of the same manner themselves, though few attained to such a steady application as they beheld in her. In her demeanor in the house of God there was nothing theatrical, nothing given to show. Every thing was sincere as well as solemn, and genuine as well as majestic.

Her attention to sermons was so entire, that as her eye never wandered from a good preacher, so she discovered no weariness at an indifferent one. When she was asked, how she could be so attentive to some sermons that fell remarkably below perfection, she would answer, "that she thought it did not become her by any part of her behavior to discourage, or so much as seem to dislike one, who was doing his best." The hardest censure that she passed upon the poorest preachers was to say nothing to their advantage, for she never withheld her commendations from any who deserved them. She