Lewis into supplying the means by which the king's conversion could be published without danger, and when that was done, to avoid quarrelling with the Dutch. The confidential envoys of Charles at Paris evidently ntertained the same idea,[1] and the scheme was near succeeding.
Charles opened his mind to the French ambassador, the brother of the great Colbert, on the 1 2th of November 1669. It was, he said, the most important secret of his life, and he would probably be considered mad, and all those with him who were undertaking to restore Catholicism in England. Nevertheless he hoped, with the help of Lewis, to succeed in that great work. The sects hated the Established Church more than the Catholic religion, and would make no resistance if they obtained the freedom they desired. The great fortresses were in the hands of trusty men, and the Irish army might be relied upon, for Lord Orrery, who was at heart a Catholic, wold take the lead if Ormond should refuse. On this point Charles was mistaken, for Orrery was sent for, and had an interview with the king, in which he was informed of the design, and refused to take part in it.[2] "He ended by saying that he was urged by his conscience, and by the confusion he saw increasing daily in his kingdom, to the diminution of his authority, to declare himself a Catholic ; and that, besides the spiritual advantage he would derive from it, he considered also that it was the only way of restoring the monarchy." Lewis applauded the intention, but advised that it should be postponed until after the war ; for he feared that he might be deprived of the assistance of England by the internal dissensions which that measure would be sure to provoke. These two influences contended for a while in the mind of Charles, but he had not strength of purpose to resist the pressure that came from France.
- ↑ "II m'a paru que l'affaire de religion 6tant ce qui tient le premier lieu dans l'esprit de M . le Comte d'Arondel, il n'y a que le retardement de la declaration qui le touche ; et comme il croit que la guerre contre les Hollandais produiroit cet effet-la, c'est la seule raison pour laquelle il s'y oppose" (Turenne to Ruvigny : Mémoires de Turenne, i. 669).
- ↑ Morrice, Life of Orrery, p. 86.
