Protestantism in Scotland - James Aitken Wylie

deceptive; for while the duke professed to bow to
the nation's wishes by publicly stripping himself of
his offices, he, continued to wield in private all the
influence he had before exercised openly.
The fears of the nation rose still higher. The
Test Act had done little to shelter them from the
storm they saw approaching, and they demanded
other and greater securities. The duke had laid
down his staff as commander of the army, but byand-by
he would grasp a yet mightier rod, the
sceptre of England namely. The nation demanded
his exclusion from the throne. There could be no
permanent safety for the liberties of England, they
believed, till the duke's succession was declared
illegal. The army lay encamped at Blackheath; this
also aggravated the popular terror.
The excuse pleaded by the court for stationing
the army so near to London was the fear of the
Dutch. The Dutch against whom the army are to
act, said the people, are not so far off as Holland,
they are the men who assemble in St. Stephens.
The court has lost all hope of the Parliament
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