its authority without the effusion of blood. Before long James II landed in Ireland, but was defeated and fled once more to France (1690). As a sequel of this civil strife Roman Catholics were hunted like wild beasts and thousands of the Irish were compelled to leave their country.
In Scotland also the struggle was fierce and desperate. Terrible measures followed upon William's victory. At Glencoe the clan of the Macdonalds was entirely exterminated.
The reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) was disturbed by party strife. Superstition was rampant. Anne herself sincerely believed that she could cure the sick by touching them. An official announcement actually appeared in the London Gazette, "Stating that on certain days the Queen would 'touch' people to cure them of 'King's evil' or scrofula."[1]
After eighteen centuries of self-government there was no efficient police force in London; it was dangerous to go about at night in the streets, which were miserably lighted and heaped with filth, and infested with ruffians. Neither was there any safety along the highways; and even in the daytime it was imprudent to travel without an armed escort. The roads were in a fearful condition; and so great was the expense of transportation that farmers often let their produce rot on the ground rather than attempt to get it to the nearest market-town. The poor man's parish was virtually his prison, and if he left it to seek work elsewhere he was certain to be sent back to the place where he was legally settled.[2] Hanging was the common punishment for most offenses. Men and women were frequently whipped along the streets. Fastened to the pillory ordinary offenders were publicly exposed to the insults and outrages of the populace.
Notwithstanding the change of dynasty when the House of Hanover came into power, civil wars con-
