For concealing the connexion while the King was alive, he might plead the custom of the time.

But in the confusion of parties and the uncertainty of government that followed William's death, Defoe slid into practices which cannot be justified by any standard of morality.
It was by accident that Defoe drifted into this equivocal position.

His first writings under the new reign were in staunch consistency with what he had written before.

He did not try to flatter the Queen as many others did by slighting her predecessors; on the contrary, he wrote a poem called _The Mock Mourners_, in which he extolled "the glorious memory"-- a phrase which he did much to bring into use--and charged those who spoke disrespectfully of William with the vilest insolence and ingratitude.

He sang the praises of the Queen also, but as he based his joy at her accession on an assurance that she would follow in William's footsteps, the compliment might be construed as an exhortation.