Whitehall, which, up to the flight of James, had been crowded by friends or time-servers, now became a desert; and St. James’s, which had been a desert, now became a rendezvous for courtiers of every kind. Those who held staves, keys, or other badges of office, laid them down; and the whole herd of seekers, expectants, and claimants jostled one another on the threshold of the house where the new master of England had taken up his abode. Clarendon went to Court instantly, but could not get near His Highness for the crowd of people. [Sidenote: THE CRISIS.] A clerical address appears to have been amongst the first, if not the very first, presented to him on his arrival. At noon, after the rainy night when the Bishop of St. Asaph knocked at a door in the little cloisters at Westminster, Dr. Paman, a domestic of the Archbishop of Canterbury, called on Dr. Patrick to inform him that the Prince had appointed three o’clock in the afternoon to receive the Bishops. “Will my Lord of Canterbury be with them?” asked Patrick. “Yes, yes,” was the reply. Whether an interview between the Prince and any Bishops did take place that day, or the messenger had mistaken the time, or the appointment had been altered, certain it is that the Archbishop did not go, and we have no particular account of the presentation of an address before the 21st. On that occasion, Compton, Bishop of London, took the lead. Two days before, he and some of his clergy met to agree upon an address. There were present persons who desired the insertion of a passage to the effect that the Prince should “have respect to the King, and preserve the Church established by law;” and “one of considerable note refused to go, because these clauses were not inserted.” Certain Nonconformists heard what was going on, and requested they might unite with their Episcopal brethren. Compton complied, and on Friday morning, the 21st, when the address was to be presented, sixteen early risers left their homes and threaded their way through the dusky streets. “No more could be got together in due time that morning, for the Bishop was to make the address about 9 or 10 o’clock that day.” They deputed Howe, Fairclough, Stancliffe, and Mayo “to go with the conformable clergy (who numbered about 99) and the Bishop of London to attend the Prince.” Admitted to His Highness’s presence, the Bishop--a perfect courtier--conducted the interview with becoming grace, addressing him _viva voce_, and gratifying the Nonconformists by a special reference to them as brethren who differed on some minor matters, but in nothing substantial, and who fully concurred in the address presented, “at which words, the Prince took particular notice of the four Nonconformist ministers”--an incident which no doubt would give rise to some talk that memorable Christmas-time. [Sidenote: 1688.]