The Jacobites openly exulted in an event which they imagined would remove the chief bar to the interest of the prince of Wales; but the protestants generally turned their eyes upon the princess Sophia, electress dowager of Hanover, and grand-daughter of James I.It was with a view to concert the establishment of her succession, that the court of Brunswick now returned the visit of king William.

The present state of affairs in England, however, afforded a very uncomfortable prospect.

The people were generally alienated from the person and government of the reigning king, upon whom they seem to have surfeited.

The vigour of their minds was destroyed by luxury and sloth; the severity of their morals was relaxed by a long habit of venality and corruption.

The king's health began to decline, and even his faculties decayed apace.