Sir _Walter_. And lastly, have we not very violent reasons to suspect, that he never had any true hearty concern for the protestant interest, whatever he pretended to the contrary, who so notoriously sacrific’d it at the treaty of _Ryswick_; who, to enable him to carry on the late revolution against his uncle and father-in-law, enter’d into a league; one of the first articles of which, was, to oblige the king of _France_ to do justice to the usurpations of the _Roman_ see? And lastly, who, if he had no aversion, had certainly no affection for the church of _England_, the support, as well as ornament of the whole reformation, which evidently appear’d by his bestowing its best preferments upon _illos quos pingere nola_, a sett of moderate lukewarm gentlemen, that were willing (good men) to throw up the constitution, whenever their enemies should ask them the question. What shall I say of others, that were advanc’d for no other merit, but because they had been justly punish’d in former reigns for their seditious practices, or descended from _Oliverian_ parents; or lastly, because they held antimonarchical and antihierarchical doctrine, both in pulpit and press, which they honestly call’d free-thinking? _Smith._ Nay, this is mere calumny; for can any thing but the blackest envy presume: to attack him upon the score of religion? Sir _Walter_. For once I’ll spare his religion, yet ’tis certain his ministers had not the least tincture of it. To the eternal honour of his reign, be it observ’d, all the _Socinian_ treatises that stole into the world in the late accursed times of licentiousness and disorder, were fairly reprinted, and these, together with the modern improvements of _Deism_, fold in the face of the sun, without the least check or discountenance from any at the helm: ’twas come to that pitch at last, that a man might better call the divinity of our Saviour into question, than the legality of that revolution; and safer insult the ashes of king _James_ the 1st, _Charles the martyr_, and the whole royal line, than attack such a lew’d, perjur’d, infamous scoundrel as _Oates_. ’Tis a general maxim, that the court always steers its course _ad Exemplum Cæsaris_; and that a shrewd guess may be made of a prince’s morals, by those of his ministers. If this observation holds good, a man would find himself strangely tempted to say some rash things of your monarch, which good manners and decency oblige me to pass over in silence. _Smith._ But still you say nothing of _Ireland_.