d, after
defending himself in writing. He was no great loss at home, and died
abroad some seven years afterwards.

There then came into power a ministry called the Cabal Ministry, because
it was composed of LORD CLIFFORD, the EARL OF ARLINGTON, the DUKE OF
BUCKINGHAM (a great rascal, and the King's most powerful favourite), LORD
ASHLEY, and the DUKE OF LAUDERDALE, C. A. B. A. L. As the French were
making conquests in Flanders, the first Cabal proceeding was to make a
treaty with the Dutch, for uniting with Spain to oppose the French. It
was no sooner made than the Merry Monarch, who always wanted to get money
without being accountable to a Parliament for his expenditure, apologised
to the King of France for having had anything to do with it, and
concluded a secret treaty with him, making himself his infamous pensioner
to the amount of two millions of livres down, and three millions more a
year; and engaging to desert that very Spain, to make war against those
very Dutch, and to declare himself a Catholic when a convenient time
should arrive. This religious king had lately been crying to his
Catholic brother on the subject of his strong desire to be a Catholic;
and now he merrily concluded this treasonable conspiracy against the
country he governed, by undertaking to become one as soon as he safely
could. For all of which, though he had had ten merry heads instead of
one, he richly deserved to lose them by the headsman's axe.

As his one merry head might have been far from safe, if these things had
been known, they were kept very quiet, and war was declared by France and
England against the Dutch. But, a very uncommon man, afterwards most
important to English history and to the religion and liberty of this
land, arose among them, and for many long years defeated the whole
projects of France. This was WILLIAM OF NASSAU, PRINCE OF ORANGE, son of
the last Prince of Orange of the same name, who married the daughter of
Charles the First of England. He was a young man at this time, only just
of age; but he was brave, cool, intrepid, and wise. His father had been
so detested that, upon his death, the Dutch had abolished the authority
to which this son would have otherwise succeeded (Stadtholder it was
called), and placed the chief power in the hands of JOHN DE WITT, who
educated this young prince. Now, the Prince became very popular, and
John de Witt's brother CORNELIUS was sentenced to banishment on a false
accusati