dship on the dissenters, the parliament of Ireland sacrificed this
consideration to their common security against the Roman catholics, and
accepted the amendment without hesitation. This affair being discussed,
the commons of Ireland passed a vote against a book entitled, "Memoirs
of the late king James II." as a seditious libel. They ordered it to
be burned by the hands of the common hangman; and the bookseller and
printer to be prosecuted. When this motion was made, a member informed
the house that in the county of Limerick the Irish papists had begun to
form themselves into bodies, to plunder the protestants of their arms
and money; and to maintain a correspondence with the disaffected in
England. The house immediately resolved, that the papists of the kingdom
still retained hopes of the accession of the person known by the name of
the Prince of Wales in the life-time of the late king James, and now by
the name of James III. In the midst of this zeal against popery and
the pretender, they were suddenly adjourned by the command of the
lord-lieutenant, and broke up in great animosity against that nobleman.
[119] _[See note Z, at the end of this Vol.]_

THE ELECTOR TAKES POSSESSION OF RATISBON.

The attention of the English ministry had been for some time chiefly
engrossed by the affairs of the continent. The emperor agreed with the
allies that his son, the archduke Charles should assume the title of
king of Spain, demand the infanta of Portugal in marriage, and undertake
something of importance, with the assistance of the maritime powers. Mr.
Methuen, the English minister at Lisbon, had already made some progress
in a treaty with his Portuguese majesty; and the court of Vienna
promised to send such an army into the field as would in a little
time drive the elector of Bavaria from his dominions. But they were so
dilatory in their preparations, that the French king broke all their
measures by sending powerful reinforcements to the elector, in whose
ability and attachment Louis reposed great confidence. Mareschal
Villars, who commanded an army of thirty thousand men at Strasburgh,
passed the Rhine and reduced fort Kehl, the garrison of which was
conducted to Philipsburgh. The emperor, alarmed at this event, ordered
count Schlick to enter Bwaria on the side of Saltsburgh, with a
considerable body of forces; and sent another, under count Stirum, to
invade the same electorate by the way of Newmark, which was surrendere