In 1682, a majority of the corporation surrendered to the king the charter which he had granted them nine years before, and in lieu of it a new one was substituted not so favourable to the city; the king having reserved the right of removing magistrates of whom he did not approve. In 1687, by the mandate of James II., ten aldermen and nineteen councillors were displaced; but the arbitrary conduct of that monarch soon brought about his ruin, and when Henry, Duke of Norfolk, rode into the Market Place at the head of 300 knights and gentlemen and declared for a _free_ parliament, the corporation and citizens responded with loud acclamations. After the glorious revolution of 1688, the first charter of Charles II. was restored to the city, and the aldermen who had been removed were reinstated in their offices. William and Mary, king and queen of England, began their reign on February 13th, 1688, and during their reign the city flourished exceedingly, and the country in general was prosperous. In 1697 the coin was regulated afresh, the old money being called in and recoined, for which purpose, mints were established in various places, among others one in this city, which coined £259,371. The quantity of coin and plate brought in here to be coined was 17,709 ounces. We may here give the statements of two eminent writers respecting Norwich and Norfolk in this century. Sir Thomas Browne, jun., in 1662, wrote as follows about the city and county:— “Let any stranger find me out so pleasant a county, such good ways, large heaths, three such places as Norwich, Yarmouth, and Lynn, in any county of England, and I’ll be once again a vagabond and visit to them.” And he wrote so with good reason. Few, if any, of the cities of England then contained more handsome buildings, or presented so good an appearance as did the old city of Norwich, while only London and Bristol surpassed her in the extent and importance of their commerce. Lord Macaulay, in his graphic History of England thus describes the state of the city in the 17th century:—