Roussel, a French Protestant Minister, who after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes had witnessed the demolition of his church, and had dared one night, at the request of his congregation, to preach amidst the ruins, was for the offence sentenced to be broken on the wheel. Having effected his escape from France, he happened, at the time of James’ arrival in Ireland, to be an exile there. One of the first things done by this Royal friend of religious liberty was to deliver the refugee to the Ambassador of Louis, who had him conveyed home to undergo his sentence.[168] Copies of James’ Declaration were circulated in England, and found their way to Cambridge. One Thomas Fowler, from the University, stood at the bar of the House of Commons on the 20th of June, to state that the documents came down in boxes, directed to the Masters of Queen’s and St. John’s; and one of the Burgesses for the University acquainted the House that the boxes were in the custody of the Vice-Chancellor.[169] [Sidenote: 1689.] The Government in England, with their elected Sovereign, was challenged to submit to the cashiered King, or to hold their own by force of arms. The gauntlet being thrown down before the world, no alternative remained but for William to return to Holland, or to fight out the contest as best he could. The position in which these circumstances placed him in reference to the Nonjurors is obvious. Personally he had no disposition to come to extremities with them; he had given proof of a desire to treat them with the utmost leniency; but the exigencies of his position rendered it indispensable that at this moment he should be unyielding towards all justly suspected of disaffection. Of the disaffection of the Nonjurors there could be no doubt. They refused to take the new oath on the very ground that, by virtue of the old one, their allegiance belonged to James. James was their anointed King, their King by Divine right; William was esteemed by them as no better than a usurper.